Chapter Text
The television blasted a bright neon spotlight shining on a potbelly bearded rooster with two little chickens. The group of birds were presenting something truly peculiar.
Randy grinned and placed a hand to a boy with a newsboy cap and a girl with a pink dress. "On this episode of Ottoman Empire: The Next Generation, we will be showing my kids Andy and Mandy how to properly play on an old game console! My brother Johnny and I used to play with this bad boy all the time.”
The boy chicken rolled his eyes. "Dad, what is that?"
"Yeah, is it broken?" The girl asked, staring at her cell phone.
Dewey groaned, laying flat on his stomach wedged on the sofa pillows inside the comfortable, but at the moment boring mansion. "Ugh this show is terrible. How can you stand watching it? Dunno how I can even stomach it for five minutes, let alone half an hour."
Louie shrugged, popping open a can of Pep and taking a long sip.
"They don't even have most of the original cast members! It's pathetic!" He complained with a huffy pout. "The classic wasn't great, but it had its charm that made it relatable for everyone. This is clearly targeted to a much younger demographic."
"To think, at once I hated the original," Louie commented. "But I was always too lazy to turn it off. Then when the later seasons came by, it actually was pretty decent. This is just...crap."
"All you need to do is hold the controller upright, Mandy," Randy directed his daughter.
"Dad, this is so lame!"
"Nope, this show is so lame!" Dewey retorted back at the television.
"Turn it off then."
Dewey pondered that statement for a moment, before shaking his head. "Nerp. Too lazy. Remote...too far away."
The truth was, today was a horrible predicament for the blue and green duo. After their defeat of F.O.W.L headquarters, intense adventures had been on the down low ever since. Plus with the dog days of August approaching and sweaty summers slowing down to prepare them for school, it was hard to be motivated to do anything besides lie around like a sack of potatoes.
Well, with the exception of a few members of the family. Donald and Daisy had left for their boating trip with May and June in tow about a month ago, Launchpad had officially moved to St. Canard to be with Drake. Webby, Mrs Beakley and Scrooge were off doing some new family bonding parkour day and Huey...
Huey was actually nowhere to be found. They assumed he was off with their mom somewhere, maybe some Junior (or was it Senior now?) Woodchuck Adventure that would leave the blue and green brothers bored out of their minds. Still, it was odd not hearing a peep from either of them.
That was until they heard a very loud, very obnoxious scream of horror.
The red clad teen duckling trampled his way into the sitting room. Huey panted for a moment as he lept on top of the coffee table, waving his arms madly. "Guys!"
Neither of his brothers bothered to react, trying to watch the show even with him partially blocking the screen.
"Guys!" He repeated, growing increasingly frustrated with how unphased they were.
Louie tilted his head. "Do you mind scooting out of the way? There's a show playing."
Huey folded his arms, refusing to budge. "Seriously? You would rather watch mindless television than listen to me?"
"Yes." Dewey and Louie replied automatically without skipping a beat.
"Hmph!" The oldest triplet promptly grabbed the remote and turned off the T.V. Both brothers let out a whine, but Huey ignored them. "Now will you listen to my issue? My problem? My nodus?"
"Now you're just making up words."
"Yeah, what are you, a dictionary?" Louie smirked.
Huey plopped down on the coffee table. "Sorry. I'm a little stressed out. And when I'm frazzled, my vocabulary goes..."
"Haywire?" Dewey prompted.
"Beserk?"
"Exactly!"
"Can you turn the T.V back on now?" Louie grumbled. "Switch it to the next channel after. There's this new hospital series that came out..."
Dewey perked up. "Ooh, is that the one where the one nurse secretly poisons all of her patients?"
"And ends up dating the brain surgeon before killing her too, yes the very same, dear Dewford."
"I'm clearly in distress and all you two can think about is this brain rotting nonsense?" Huey whined. "Television is a time waster for more important things. Like helping me!" He jumped right in the middle of the sofa between Dewey and Louie. Louie attempted to snatch the remote control, but Huey was one step ahead, and shoved it under the cushions.
"Fine, you win. What's going on?" Louie raised an eyebrow before taking another long sip of soda.
"I've been preparing for the Senior Woodchuck initiation in September," Huey explained. "Once a woodchuck turns thirteen, they move up a rank. Well Violet and I were chatting about badges and she showed me her genealogy badge!" He exclaimed and gasped dramatically.
"Buh?"
"The study of family history," He massaged his temples.
"Oh," Dewey thought for a moment. "Don't you have that already?"
"I do, but..." Huey frowned. "Violet has both her dads' sides. Their entire family history!"
"Yeah, and Webby has a whole flow chart of the McDuck/Duck clan. So you're good in that department."
"Plus you've already got the badge so who cares?" Louie crushed his can of Pep and tossed it on the coffee table.
"No, no, no it's not about the badge," said Huey. "Like I said, Violet had both sides of her family. Sure I have the Duck and McDuck family but..."
Dewey and Louie looked puzzled, wondering where he was going with this.
"The McDuck and Duck family is only on Mom's side."
"Yeah, so?"
"Our father's side is a complete mystery!" He blurted out, voice wavering.
Dewey gasped as if Huey had said a bad word.
"What?"
Huey continued. "We know nothing about him or his family."
"Uh, we don't have a Dad," Louie stuffed one hand in his hoodie pocket.
Huey scrunched his beak. "Surely we do, right?"
"If we did, wouldn't mom have brought him up?" Louie countered. When Huey could not think of a retort, he looked smug."Exactly. We don't have a dad."
"Some people only have one parent, like Webby and Boyd!"
"Those are completely different situations and you know it, Dewey."
"Who cares anyway?" Louie scoffed. "If he was really important, mom would have mentioned 'him' by now. Or Uncle Donald. Our dad clearly wasn't important enough, so he doesn't matter and I don't care."
Huey moved closer to Dewey, thinking he would be more curious. "You were super determined to find mom! What's so different about finding our dad?"
"That was a little bit different," Dewey admitted. "I had more to work with when it came to mom. Not a lot though. Huh. Maybe you're on to something."
"I'm going to find out everything about him then," Huey climbed off the sofa and faced his younger brothers. "I'll ask mom! She ought to know something!"
"Wait, I'll go with you!" Dewey followed suit, while Louie stayed behind. "You coming, Lou?"
The youngest fiddled with some string on his hoodie. "I dunno, I mean..." He bit his lip. "I like what we have now. It was a huge adjustment realizing we have a mom. What if I'm not impressed with what I see? What if he's...bad?"
"There's only way for us to find out!" Dewey proclaimed. "And we're gonna Dewey it!"
Louie smiled and shook his head. "Alright, I'll come with. Only because it would be lame if you two dorks knew about Dad before me."
The triplets found Della Duck in one of the mansion's many offices after Duckworth kindly told them the way. She was hunched over a desk and scribbling on some paper. Upon hearing the door open, she instantly spun around with the swivel chair.
"Kids!" She beamed. "Hang on a sec, I'm just finishing this letter to Donald, and then I'll be all ears." She turned back and signed her name. When she was finished, she turned back to her sons. "What's up?"
Louie already was scampering towards the desk to grab some lemon drops wrapped in a bowl.
Della laughed and ruffled his hair fondly.
"Help yourself."
“Sweet!” Dewey instantly grabbed a handful.
"Hi Mom," Huey said nervously.
With his mouthful of sweets, Louie glanced at Huey. "Go on then. Ask her."
Huey suddenly felt shy and unsure of asking such invasive questions. But he knew she was the one with answers, and being his mother, she would be loving and truthful. So he stepped forward. "I'm curious about genealogy and all that and I was wondering...you must know something about our dad right?"
He expected her to look uncomfortable, but instead she chuckled. "Sweetie, I know you might be longing for an actual dad, but you've already got some pretty awesome father figures in your life. Uncle Scrooge, Uncle Donald, even Launchpad...kinda."
"I know, I was sorta expecting another parent in my- our lives. You know how in most cases with some exceptions there are, um, two parents. Does that make sense?"
"Sure it does," Della smiled softly. "Although you of all people know that families come in all forms! Take Violet and her dads. Or even me and Penny. Maybe she'll be like another parent to you guys," She let Dewey climb into her lap and she squeezed him tight. "No pressure though."
"Wait a moment..." Huey's eyes went wide. "If you're attracted to Penny- then perhaps the three of us were created through artificial insemination!"
"What the huh?" Dewey stared blankly. "Artificial...insem...seminar...sem…"
“It means some random duck donated his-”
Della turned pink. "Nerp, no you were not."
"Then how?? I need a scientific explanation!"
Della ran a hand through her hair and groaned. "Ugh, I thought Donald covered this already. Right. So. When a girl duck, or rather a duck with a specific kind of parts has-"
"No!" The triplets chorused in horror.
"We know that part!" Dewey shrieked.
"Yeah, jeez mom!" Louie shielded his eyes. "This is mortifying!"
"Ohhhhh thank goodness," Della breathed a sigh of relief. "Not that it isn't important, but I'll tell you, it isn't the most pleasant discussion."
"We know," Huey shivered. "Mom, I- we- well, mostly me, want to know more about our dad. Who he was as a person."
Della paled, swallowing. "I..."
"Yeah, why did he leave?" Dewey asked.
"Do you have any photo evidence of his existence?" Louie seemed eager now to join in, since Della looked more and more reluctant.
"Mom?" Huey's brown eyes sparkled with curiosity and determination.
Della moved from the chair and sat on the floor, gesturing for them to do the same or sit on the nearby scattered cushions. "Your Uncle Donald didn't tell you anything, did he? I can't say I'm surprised."
"Why? Was he that bad?"
"No...well...?" She hesitated. "Considering Don didn't tell you kids everything about what happened to me and the Spear of Selene fiasco, I'm not shocked he wouldn't talk about your dad."
"So we do have a dad!"
Della realized she was caught, and her eyes darted back and forth suspiciously. "You know what? Why don't we do something fun, just the four of us! I know you guys are feeling a little old for Funzo's but the arcade is still fun!"
Huey's heart sank, devastated. "Mom, please tell us the truth. If dad was really bad, then tell us."
Della gazed at each of her sons sadly. "I'm sorry guys. I shouldn't have tried to change the subject," She exhaled. "Yes, you do have a dad.” She continued even after the boys gasped dramatically. “He was a complicated man, it's not as simple as saying he was 'bad' or 'good'. The reason I haven't told you kids is because, well, I haven't seen him in thirteen years, and I don't want you guys to base your opinions on him from only my side of the story. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I get it, you don't want us to be biased," Huey murmured.
"Can't you tell us something?" Louie begged.
Faced with her kids' puppy dog eyes, Della finally relented. "Alright, ya goofs, I'll tell you. Scooch in close, there you go. It all started on an expedition to the town of Brisbeak..."
~The Flashback~
Soaring through the clear blue skies at top speed, was the famous Cloud Slayer, quite literally slaying all the wispy clouds. It whipped and whirled past any tough winds with its mighty wings and jets keeping it in control. It was a miracle to fly with such ease, and it was all thanks to the great Della Duck.
Despite the initial turbulence that occurred shortly after they lifted off into the air, they were cruising relatively smoothly.
"Atta job, lass!" Scrooge boomed from behind Della, grinning at his niece proudly, and then at the sky ahead, watching it fade into a rich goldish red hue from the sunset. "How much longer do ye suppose we'll be in the air?"
"Well," Della glanced at the dashboard from inside the cockpit. "Judging by the air velocity, and the current speed we're moving at, plus the time we took off, I predict it'll be about 19 more hours."
"19 hours?" Donald sat up from his chair, mouth agape. "That's forever!"
"Hey, at least you're not the one flying," She remarked. "Why are we going to Brisbeak anyway, Uncle Scrooge? You didn't mention any strange artifacts or anything adventure worthy there."
"According to the brochure, it's just some old town," Donald added.
"Aha, that's where it fools ya!" Scrooge chuckled to the younger ducks. "Brisbeak is one of the oldest towns in Australia, but we aren't there for a history lesson," He glared at Donald playfully before continuing. "Oh no, we're headin' to the deep forest intertwined. There resides the famous golden crocodile. Legend states that every part of it is covered in solid gold."
"Figures the only animal you would like as a pet would be the gold one," Della smirked.
"Oi, I cannae keep the blazin’' beast, but I want to be able to get a close look at it," Scrooge said with a wave of his cane.
"Maybe this will be the trip where I'll finally wrestle a croc!"
Donald looked anxious at his sister and uncle before shaking his head.
"Let's get this show on the road!"
"We can take shifts every few hours or so, if you fancy," Scrooge offered. "Nearly twenty hours of flying will have ya knackered and toppling over!"
"Please, if I can fly through a hurricane like that one time , this will be a breeze! A cakewalk!" She adjusted the controls. "19 hours will go by fast, trust me."
Turns out, flying nineteen hours straight with little to no breaks was in fact not a cakewalk, nor was it easy. Della was of course too stubborn to admit it, but it was evident that she was exhausted by the time she clumsily landed the plane.
"We made it..." She said groggily, slamming her face on the dashboard.
"This is it," Scrooge stated, stepping out the plane first on the sandy tiles and inhaling the air. "Brisbeak, Australia. Well? Why are you two lollygagging loafers just standing there? We've got places to be!" The older duck snapped at his niece and nephew trailing behind.
Della could hardly keep her eyes open, everything seemed blurry, and all sounds around her were shrill and faded. The jetlag was definitely settling in right about now, and every step was unbearably exhausting.
"Della, are you okay?" She thought she heard Donald's say in his squawking voice, but to be honest everything sounded high pitched and strained, as though there was a consistent ringing in her ears.
"M' fine- woah!" Della lurched forward, stumbling into something- or someone.
"Oof!' Someone exclaimed, catching her before she hit the ground. "Alright there?"
"Ugh, yeah," She groaned, rubbing her head. She was still dazed, but spotted the taller male duck looking at her with concerned icy blue eyes. "Thanks?"
The guy nodded and tapped her shoulder. "Careful where you're going next time."
Della grimaced. "Yeah, no kidding."
"Who was that?" Donald asked as he left.
"How should I know? I just stepped off the plane," She grumbled with another loud yawn. "Stupid jetlag, makin' me trip-"
"You look about ready to collapse," Scrooge commented. "Let's check into the hotel and give you time to sleep."
"I knew you should have taken over for her after eight hours," Donald complained to Scrooge.
Della didn't quite remember being hauled up by her uncle and brother inside the fancy hotel, but she did remember collapsing into her bed, sinking into the enormously comfy pillows and just like that, was out like a light. Nothing could wake her, and nothing did.
She was awoken to the golden sunlight trickling through the windows. Figuring she was only asleep for an hour at most, she rolled back over.
"Della? Time to wake up now," Scrooge's voice was soothing and hushed, but still annoying when all she wanted to do was sleep. He wasn't the one who flew the plane.
She groaned. "Five more minutes. I was flyin' the plane for twelve hours, I deserve the sleep!"
"Well, now you've slept more than double that. It's the next day."
Della shot up from the bed, startled. "What?" She tripped over the sheets as she clambered towards the window. "No way I slept through the entire day! You're making things up!"
Scrooge chuckled. "You deserved the rest, lass. Even if it was longer than expected one. Now, Donald has already wandered off to do some tourist mumbo jumbo- said something about relaxing by the hotel pool and I want to look for the map to the forest. Is there anything in particular you want to do?"
Della stretched her wings and sighed, content with the summer sunshine beaming down on her through the glass window. The view was perfect. In fact, she could see the entire village. "I think l'll walk around the town and do some proper exploring."
"Sounds fantastic! Once I find the map, we can all meet back at the hotel," Scrooge said.
Della gave him a thumbs up, already heading out the door. "See you then, Uncle Scrooge!"
One thing for sure about Brisbeak, was that it was nothing like Duckberg. She didn't expect it to be, obviously, but it was a nice change of pace. Everything was so relaxing, and everyone seemed so friendly.
She was enjoying the lush scenery, when suddenly someone approached her, already striking up a conversation.
"Oi there! Good to see both your legs are standin' upright! Crikey, that could have been a nasty fall!"
Della blinked, confused and startled. "Buh...huh?"
The stranger snorted, shaking his head. He was a handsome wood duck with a swoopy brown hair covering his blue eyes. He was even dressed in some volunteer uniform, in all khaki. "Course, you wouldn't remember me, you were a bit dodgy last time I saw ya!" She stared back at him in bewilderment. "I caught you before you hit the ground, you were completely ready to fall asleep!"
"Oh...oh!" Della laughed, expression brightening as she faintly recalled the slightly embarrassing moment. "That was you?" She felt blood rush to her cheeks. "I am so sorry, normally I'm not so clumsy. It was ...well, I was exhausted."
"Nah, don't worry about it," He assured her warmly. "Completely understandable."
"My name's Della Duck," They firmly shook her hand.
He dipped his head. "Augustus Featherweight."
"Oof, that's a mouthful," Della joked. "Mind if I call you Gus?"
Gus looked stunned, and for a moment she worried she had offended him, but then his grin widened. "Gus. I quite like that! My family always called me Auggie growing up, but I think that's a bit childish, don't you?" He hummed. "Tourist, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "Is it that obvious?"
"Oh, I don't mean to offend," He blushed. "Tourists do often radiate the same energy. A good one, obviously but-"
"You saw the plane, didn't you?"
Gus blinked, then smirked. "Perhaps I did. Nothing gets past you, does it?"
"To answer your question, yes I am a tourist," Della stated proudly.
"American?" He supplied.
"Hey, yeah! What, do Americans give off a different vibe too?"
"You could say that," He chuckled in amusement. "So, what brings you to Brisbeak?"
"Oh, a little bit of this, a little of that-" Her lips curled into a grin. She didn't want to spill every last detail, after all. "My brother and our Uncle Scrooge love traveling, and we've never actually been to Brisbeak..."
Gus stared at her in astonishment, bangs swept out from his eyes. "Uncle...Scrooge? Wait. As in Scrooge McDuck? The bajillionaire??"
"And the most daring adventurer of all time, Scrooge McDuck," Della said, chest puffed out in pride. "I'm assuming you've heard of him, most people have."
"Heard of him?" Gus exclaimed. "Blimey, he's the richest duck in the world, of course I know em'! Well, er, not know him personally. He's your uncle?"
"Sure is!"
Gus seemed to still be processing this information as he continued to ramble on in excitement. "I've admired him since I was an ankle-biter, sure, but I had no idea- and that must mean you're the Della Duck, not just any Della Duck! I can't believe I didn't make the connection."
"Oh, it's alright, I don't mind," Della assured him. "Don and I don't typically get the same amount of attention as," She put on a faux Scottish accent. "The richest duck in the world, curse me kilts!"
Gus grinned eagerly, rubbing the back of his neck gingerly. "Perhaps I could show you around Brisbeak, if you would like? If you're not busy, I mean."
Della thought for a moment, surprised by the question. She shrugged. "Sure, sounds fun."
Gus ended up taking her through various parts of Brisbeak, mainly through the historical landmarks. Della tried to stay invested, but honestly history was never her thing. Thankfully Gus seemed to get the hint.
He stopped in front of a gate and smiled. "I think I've bored you long enough. Why don't I show you something really cool?"
"Oh, you weren't saying anything that boring- is that a kangaroo?" She climbed over the fence to get a closer look.
Indeed there appeared to be a herd of bouncing animals with floppy ears munching on grass and funny looking leaves.
"Close. It's a wallaby, they're in the same family," Gus explained, joining her side. "That one right there has a joey in her pouch."
"Awww!" She cooed.
"Yep, I spent most of my time here..." He gestured to the badge on his khaki jacket.
"You work here?"
"Sure do, my grandparents actually founded it" He said. "Not as exciting as say, adventuring for lost cities or fighting pirates, but I'd say it's still fun enough."
"In all fairness, I only did those things you listed once," Della teased. "No, but you shouldn't dismiss your work like that. That's really awesome! What do you do?"
Gus hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I usually go searching for any animals needing our help. My parents take care of running the business, and my sister is part of the veterinary program. We have some volunteers who help around here and there too."
"A sister huh?" Della raised an eyebrow. "Older or younger?"
"We're triplets actually. If you wanna get technical, I'm the youngest by seven minutes. My middle sister moved to Tokyolk with her own family." He added the last part almost as an afterthought.
"Triplets?? Holy smokes, imagine that! And I thought having a twin was cool!"
Gus glanced down. "It has its ups and downs, I suppose." He seemed eager to change the subject. "If I may ask, what was the best adventure you've ever been on, Della?"
She thought for her moment, her eyes drifting away from the wallabies to Gus. "Hmm. That's a hard one, I've been adventuring since I was a kid! We've been to almost every single place, or at least the ones we can find. Brisbeak was the last spot that Scrooge wanted us to go for a little while until we found something new."
"Surely there are more places to go?"
"Oho, I'm never gonna stop exploring," Della insisted. "No, I just wanna go beyond Earth. See if there's anything in space. There's gotta be, and I'm gonna be the one to find it all. Or at least, as much as I can."
"Space? That's...a lot."
"To be fair, my family always taught me to dream big."
"From what I've seen from you today, Della, with your determination, you could fly straight to the moon and back."
Della perked up. "You think so?"
He snorted. "Why not? It's not like anyone or anything could stop you."
Della returned to the hotel, humming to herself merrily.
"There you are!" Scrooge said, sprawled out on the couch with his top hat removed, seemingly relaxing before she walked in. "I thought we agreed to meet for dinner? And where is Donald?"
"Er..."
As if on cue, Donald opened the door. "I tried signing up for the Brisbeak Music Festival and they rejected my audition!"
"Alright, that explains where you were but..."
"I met someone and we hung out-- you know he took me to an animal sanctuary and then we ate. Not at the sanctuary, obviously," Della said. "Sorry I didn't tell you."
Scrooge looked surprised. "Who was this young man?"
"Oh, Gus Featherweight, I think that was his last name?" Della sat down on her bed.
"Featherweight...that sounds familiar," Scrooge murmured. "He didn't mention anything about the golden crocodile, did he?"
"No Uncle Scrooge, he didn't. Don't worry, I don't think he's one of your enemies."
Scrooge chuckled. "You could never be too sure, lass. Well I'm off to bed. Goodnight Della, goodnight Donald."
"Goodnight Uncle Scrooge!"