Once Upon a Time, Things were Better (2)
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Louie’s voice echoed through the still corridors of McDuck Manor.
“B-But he’s Uncle Donald! He said he wouldn’t leave us!” Huey was panicking. Della nearly panicked herself.
This was all her fault. She would have had another breakdown if Mrs. Beakley wouldn’t have intervened.
“Let your mother speak.” It was her stern yet motherly voice which gave a Della a little bit more courage.
It was then Louie noticed Della clench her fists and take a deep breath.
He suddenly realized why her actions were familiar.
When the triplets were 8, Louie had called Dewey ‘stupid, self-obsessed and ridiculous’, which hurt Dewey enough to make him run away. Uncle Donald’s expression left a lasting impact, leaving him in a similar position.
(Needless to say, Dewey had been hit by a car since he had been entirely worked up, and Louie would forever remember the day when the hospital called them up.)
But Dewey had been okay. Louie had apologized. He was given a chance.
Maybe his mom could be given one too. Uncle Donald was probably okay too, right? …right?
“Della, speak,” said Mrs. Beakley, interrupting his thoughts.
Breathe in, breathe out. You can do this Della. “I told him we hated him.” Wonderful opening, Dumbella, said the Donald in her head.
“Why?” Dewey asked, still on an edge with worry and a little anger written on his face. As much as Dewey hated to admit it, Della could see the Donald in him.
Now that she realized it, all the boys were like Donald in their own way. It hit her with guilt and pain.
…This was probably how Donald felt for all those years.
“He said things were better off with me on the moon,” she finally managed to mumble, tears welling up. And a lot more things too. But so did I.
She had really messed up big time, hadn’t she?
Scrooge’s quiet and worried voice was one she had last heard a decade before. “You didn’t really believe that, did you lass?”
She had disappointed her father-like figure. She shouldn’t even be here. She should have never survived the moon. Donald was right as always. She was the screw-up, the second twin.
Who brings an entire invasion fleet behind them? Donald would’ve seen right through Lunaris.
She didn’t miss the united gasp when she ran out of the room in tears without speaking. But that didn’t mean she’d turn back.
Because that was what defined her, of course. Even before the boys, she was a coward. What harm would it do to run away once more?
Donald made his way to the headquarters. A part of him said he needed to go back to his family, to the people he had loved his entire life.
The other part of him missed the boys, but told him it was okay. If his family could adjust to Della’s disappearance, his would be easier to adjust to. After all, they didn’t need a person who didn’t know what he was doing.
At the same time, he could be a great FOWL agent thanks to his previous training in the navy and SHUSH and as the Duck Avenger. It wasn’t like the other jobs he usually had; boring, rooting in one spot or being at the mercy of people who knew nothing. And last time he checked, SHUSH was pretty incompetent after letting the major agents retire.
Being on the right side of the law had led him to 10 years of hopelessness and debt. This was his only chance to prove himself.
He had to be careful though. FOWL could have called him because he was Scrooge’s nephew. He hated being a pawn, and he wasn’t about to listen to people this time.
Little did he know, it was what FOWL wanted.
“Duck hasn’t arrived yet,” stated Bradford Buzzard, glancing at the agents in front of him as he fiddled with the Rubik’s cube.
“Remember, he will be here only to track and find the data from SHUSH.”
“But sir, he’s McDuck’s nephew. We could use him for the main plan.”
“Steelbeak, use your head. He still cares for his ‘family’, no matter how much he may deny it. He’ll use our plan against us if he finds out we’re going to take them down. Do not discuss the plan in front of him.”
“Then what will we use him for? His only advantage is that he can fight.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Dee. He’s the underdog. The only reason I’ve given him this offer is because of his secret identity as a SHUSH agent. Heron here has faced him.”
“He’s stealthy, striking only when needed and escaping without any trace. He was one of the few agents who managed to bring down the foundation of FOWL before it collapsed.” Heron spoke, revenge deep in her voice.
The Buzzards nodded. “Remember, he is here as an agent, and not as Scrooge’s nephew. We can’t let him put two and two together. He will be extremely useful for the agency if we gain his trust. We should be happy he’s not gone back to SHUSH, even if most of the agency is full of imbeciles at the moment.” The last part was said in a low voice.
The other agents nodded solemnly, just before someone knocked on the door.
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