A/N:
Hi y'all reading this! I am here with a Fanfiction and AU I made with a friend of mine Lilly (Lillyseeddruafox264) who is collaborating with me to make this story, she's an amazing and fantastic person, full of great ideas and cool stories. No joke, check 'em out! They're outstanding! But yeah, I don't take full credit for this idea, both myself and Lilly made it what it is and please enjoy, review and I will always accept criticism!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of DuckTales, if I did, I probably wouldn't be writing Fanfiction xD
Title: Brothers
Summary:
"Something happened the day Della disappeared... When three brothers are separated from each other, growing up without each other at their side, one day the eldest brother, Huey, finally finds his Uncles greatest secret. His brothers. With the help of Webby, can Huey reunite himself with his long lost brothers? But then what happens when the secrets finally out? Separated when babies AU. 2017 Verse."
OoO
His eyes were trained on the grey sky above, a warning to the storm brewing.
He was rather glad that it wasn't all sunshine as he sighed, sinking into the seat of the car as he looked away to the unoccupied seat in front of him. He wasn't having the best day, so the gloomy whether was welcome.
He had finally come back to Duckberg after a semester of torture of "BlackWell Academy". A private birding school he was forced to go to every year. He clenched his fists, a light scowl forming on his face. He wanted to scream, but his mouth was clamped shut. He couldn't just scream, it would be unwise and frankly, he didn't have a reason to scream, he just really, really wanted to. Being back in Duckberg should have made him feel happier, more secure, away from the confines of that school. But all the joy which he would usually have had all but died down the moment he saw the town.
He already knew what was awaiting him, he was used to now, after all these years. He would be delusional to keep thinking that anything would change. As soon as he got back to the Manor, he would be met with almost utter silence. He knew that during his house back home, he would be questioned on his grade, which he knew were straight As (he made sure all his work was up to standards). And perhaps, just perhaps, he would be given a pat on the shoulder and a "I'm proud of you, my boy." And that would be that. Sure, he loved to bask in the excited and warm feeling of knowing that he was proud of him, but then he always knew that once that conversation was over he probably wouldn't see him again.
His Uncle always had work to do, even though he didn't work. He would always have things to sign, money to go through, he always had to make sure he could keep all his money to himself. The stingy man never had time for the young duckling anymore, neither him or the youngest duckling sitting beside him, also in silence. He guessed she also knew what was coming.
"So Huey," the driver began, Launchpad, calling out his name to gain the young ducks attention. It worked. "How was BlackWell?"
Huey, or Hubert Duck, could have scoffed, if he haven't have understood how rude it was. "The same as always, I guess. Pretty lame." Huey gave a small and awkward smile followed by a shrug in reply.
The driver began to laugh, "yeah that sounds like BlackWell alright, haha!"
Huey had to be honest, the small talk did help lighten up the tension and his mood slightly. He didn't want to feel this bummed out, but unfortunately his hopes had simply refused to be crushed one more time.
"I met a new friend this semester too!" Came the gleeful shout of the youngest duck, Webbigail Vanderquack, Huey's almost adopted sister. She leaned to the side as she spoke, leaning closer to Huey as though Launchpad would look away from the road to her. Oh wait he did.
"Launchpad the road!" Huey called out, catching the driver off guard, for a few seconds he stared at the oldest duckling effort the words finally registered in his brain.
"Oh sorry about that kids," he chuckled nervously, diverting his eyes from the two children, just managing to swerve out of the way of an oncoming car. It seemed as though looking at Webby for that second almost got the three killed.
Huey panted for a second, muttering a sort "oh thank goodness." Before Webby continued her story on how she met her new friend.
"Her name's Lena, she's a little older than us, and a little bit of a trouble maker," Webby laughed nervously for a second, probably recollecting whatever made her think her new friend was a troublemaker. "But she's really cool and we had lots of fun together outside of class."
"She sounds like a pretty cool friend." Launchpad gave Webby a big thumbs up, but kept his eyes on the road when he did. Webby gave a broad grin of her own before leaning back into her original seat, looking out of the window with a much more optimistic attitude. Not that she didn't have it already before they all began to talk, but she defiantly seemed a lot happier. Huey gave his own smile at the sight.
Looking out of his own window with a far less gloomy expression, he noticed the money bank off in the distance. His smile faltered into a frown as his shoulders began to sink. It was like a big slap in the face, a reminder of what was going to happen. He took a deep breath in and then out again slowly. Preparing himself.
He'd always lived with his Uncle, you see, so he always knew that the McDuck Money Bin was nothing more than a sentiment of how much work had, was and would do. He was raised by his Uncle, his mother seemly disappeared after he had been left in his care. He didn't know anything about his other family members. There were a few names which would slip from his beak. Like Donald or Gladstone, but they were just names, he could bet a ton of ducks had that name, so searching for his other family was impossible. Though Webby did try, didn't work out though.
He let another sigh escape his beak, leaning his head onto the glass of the window. The new position made his Junior WoodChuck Guide Book dig into his torso slightly, but it didn't hurt, just uncomfortable. And because of that he decided to just leave it where it was. Actually, thinking of his Guide Book, he couldn't help but recall when he finally convinced his Uncle to let him go.
He had begged and pleaded his Uncle to go, because he needed to know how to survive, he needed to know all the facts he could show him, he just simply needed to go. At first his Uncle had told him that he could teach him everything he needed to know about survival, but it still left a young Huey pleading to go to the camp. Finally after weeks of torment from the young duckling, his Uncle finally let him go, and that was how Huey became a Junior WoodChucker.
Although he didn't smile on the outside, of the inside he was grinning like an idiot. His eyes expressed the warm, tingly feeling inside however. As he store out of the car window, ignoring the light chatter between Webby and Launchpad, he noticed a duck walking with quite the spring in his step. He war a black sailor suit but that's all that Huey could really catch from the duck as they drove passed him. There were a few other residents walking around, an old woman beagle, who seemed to be holding something in her jacket as she talked to two other larger and meaner looking beagles. Again, Huey couldn't take in much details of the people as Launchpad was driving rather fast, and Huey's eyes could only move so fast. Still it was proving to doing it's job, having himself distracted from thinking about his Uncle. He had just formed a slightly happier attitude, he didn't need his own thoughts to rip that away from him.
"We're finally here," Launchpad announced, but Huey already knew that as soon as they were heading up the driveway into McDuck Manor. He pushed his eyes away from the car window as he got ready to push down the button to unbuckle himself. He didn't want to do it too early. Unlike the other duckling beside him who was all too ready to escape the car. Huey gave a small eye roll as the gates slowly opened up to them, allowing Launchpad to go through. No crashes. That was a first, who knows maybe Launchpad was getting-
The sudden stop caused the two ducklings to jerk forward. Within the moment, Huey had pressed the button to unbuckle himself as he and Webby smashed into the back of the seats in front of them. For a moment, Huey looked at Webby, making sure she was okay as she sat back, holding her head from the sudden jerk.
"Uh-oh..." Huey heard before he looked over to Launchpad who was staring in front of him, his face in horror. "That was McDee's favourite limo."
Curious of what Launchpad was talking about, Huey peeked around the car seat he had just fallen into and realised why he and Webby had fallen forward. There, connected to the front of their car, was the back of a black limousine, you could tell that Launchpad hadn't stopped in time as small and large cracks appeared from just above where the car had crashed. It wasn't too bad however, no one got hurt and there didn't seem to be much damage from the car. Just the limousine. Just great. That's just what Huey needed, a distant and angry Uncle.
He heard a door of the car opening, turning his attention to the sound he watched as Webby removed herself from the car. He followed in suit in the same car, meaning he pushed passed through the seats to come out the same side as Webby. He shut the door as he heard her ask, "he probably won't notice right?" Huey felt himself frowning at the question and the sight before him.
"How could he not?" Huey gave a concerned look to Webby before they watched Launchpad back away from the limousine, Huey stepping back, just in case he would get his foot ran over.
"You're right!" Webby spoke with exasperation present in her time. She threw her hands up. "What are we going to do?"
Huey found himself at a loss for words, the crumpled back of the limo was something which could simply be smoothed over. "Uhh..."
"Wait, your a Junior WoodChuck? Did they teach you anything in that camp on how to fix a car?" Webby looked at him with hopeful eyes and suddenly Huey left a layer of guilt rise up. He shook his head, making that hope in her eyes shrivel. Damn it, what were they supposed to do?
A sudden bang of a door closing caused anxiety to well up inside of Huey. He didn't dare turn around but he knew exactly who it was, the voice which called down was only a validation.
"Ah, so you're finally back, I've been waiting a whole hour for you little troublemakers." The thick Scottish accent was terrifying as Huey stared at the destruction of the limousine. He had to make up an excuse. He didn't want to get Launchpad fired, even if he had done this countless times, maybe just this one time Scrooge might actually snap.
"Scrooge!" Webby shouted as she turned around and ran into the arms of his Uncle. Of course he couldn't see them, as by now they were behind him, but he knew they were hugging nonetheless. They always did. He blinked a couple of times, and after hearing his name being called once, twice, thrice, he finally looked behind him, finding his Uncle smiling brightly at him.
His Uncle had an arm wrapped around Webby's shoulder, a cane in the other one. "C'mon lad, let's talk about what happened to you in BlackW- hold on a minute- Launchpad! What happened to my limo?" His attention drifted from Huey, who hadn't known he was holding a breath until his Uncle gaze came of him and drifted to the other adult there who was getting out of the car.
"I- uhh-" Launchpad began, staring at the mess he had made, however he was quickly interrupted with a wave of a cane.
"Ahh, never mind, it doesn't matter, I have much more important things to talk about," his eyes found Huey once more. "Let's go then, Webbigail, Hubert."
Just as Huey had suspected, things went the way they always did. They were questioned about grades, and they had a small talk of what had happened in the school. But again, it was only a quick chat as he had a meeting to attend to. When Scrooge finally left the room, it left Webby and Huey sat alone.
"Do you think we can still catch him?" Asked Webby, grinning widely. She had a scheme.
"Why?" Was all Huey asked, cautiously. The look on Webby's face meant she had a plan, a plot. He couldn't help but feel weary under her gaze. She was nearly always like this. Being trapped inside the Manor was quite boring, especially for a girl like Webby who would like to see the outside world. And well Huey had to agree with her, he too, wanted to see the town of DuckBerg properly.
"Because if we go with him to the Money Bin, maybe we could get into the archives again." Those words were all Huey needed to nod. That was their all time favourite place together. The two loved to read, and in Scrooge's archives there had to be at least a hundred books. However more than that, the two ducklings had noticed something on the last isles of the bookshelves. On the wall is a handle with a code on it. They were close to finally cracking the code, Huey just knew it. So when Webby brought it up once more, the two ducklings raced out of the room to follow his Uncle. They called out to him which allowed the elder Duck to stop and look back.
"What is it?" He asked when the two ducklings came into his view.
"We want to come with you to the Money Bin!" Shouted Huey. At first, Scrooge looked skeptical as he tried to think of a reason the two ducklings wanted to come with him to the Money Bin. He had always thought they hated the Money Bin, all but the Archives. Ah, right. Scrooge gave a sky grin tithe ducklings who had finally caught up with him to a new limousine.
"Wanting to go to the archives, eh?" The elder duck chuckled before opening the limos door and allowing to two cheering ducklings inside. "Off to it now Launchpad and we'll see if you can not have another accident." He was of course talking about the other limousine, to which Huey couldn't help but smirk.
"What is it that you guys find so interesting about the Archives anyway?" Asked Scrooge as he eyed both Webby and Huey. Both of the ducklings had decided never to tell his Uncle that when they moved a rather large plant and a smaller book shelf which looked rather out of place they had found a handle and a keypad. There was only nine digits on the keypad, and if it was the correct digit it would turn green and stay on the keypad until another green digit was hit. If a red one was hit they had to start all over again. That was why Huey just knew they would be able to crack the code today. But he had to be honest, he wondered what the code meant, since from the information they had covered so far, it was like a random jumble of numbers. But then again, Huey knew his Uncle Scrooge, and he knew that Scrooge had a hell of a lot of secrets he wanted to hide from Webby and himself. So the thought of Scrooge dialling a set of random numbers did come off as strange, but the more Huey thought about it, the more he kind of understood. If it was a secret he didn't want anyone to find out, dialling a random set of numbers in made sense. That way you probably wouldn't remember what it was and your enemies wouldn't either. But two little ducklings? Well they seemed to be doing good so far.
They hadn't let Quickfast know either. She hated them going to that part of the Archives anyway, and if Huey had to think why it was because he knew that she knew about that door and whatever was behind it, neither Scrooge or Quickfast, the librarian, wanted the children to know. But that's what made it more thrilling, more enchanting. However, that's what also made it seem dangerous, and Huey had already thought of situations where it was something which shouldn't be seen by his twelve year old eyes, never mind Webby's. Sure, they were the same age, but he had big brother tendencies and he wouldn't want Webby to see something horrible that could scar her.
"We love to read about your adventures!" Webby exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I love all your books, they're so interesting and they teach us a lot, right Huey?"
Huey hadn't even realised how captured he was in his thoughts until he heard his name by Webby. He looked at her for a moment, perplexed, however after a whole he realised what she had asked. "O-oh, yeah." He turned to Scrooge, who seemed to be inquired by Huey's lack of attention, and nodded. Huey usually didn't lose his attention, not unless there was something troubling. Scrooge thought of saying something to the young lad, but nothing seemed to be the right words. Besides, with Webby close by, he doubted that Huey would say a peep.
"The ones with the mummies are my favourite!" Chimed Webby, continuing the conversation. "Oooh and the ones where you almost die, because you never know if you actually do or not until the end!"
Huey stared at Webby with a confused yet concerned expression. "I'm pretty sure even before you open the first page, you already know he doesn't die."
Webby stared at Huey in awe, "really, how?"
The elder ducklings concerned face became more and more concerned for his sister-like friend. He glanced at his Uncle, who looked at him back, with an almost identical expression before both of them looked at Webby, still excited on how she would learn the secret.
"Well you see, Webbigail-"
"It's obvious he doesn't die, otherwise he wouldn't be here right now," Huey shrugged, speaking in a matter-of-dactyl tone. "So whether or not there's a chance he will die in a story, we already know the outcome: he survives."
Webby store at Huey for a long time, her face dropping into a deadpan bed expression. "Well duh," she rolled her eyes, surprising Huey. "Sure he survived the whole thing, but there still could have been a time when he did die and he was resuscitated back to life."
The words were a bigger shock to Huey than how her expression changed. He had to admit, she had a valid point, but either way, his point clearly still had some value too.
"Even if he did die, we know that he survives anyway." Huey sat back in his seat in a huff. He wasn't sure if it was because he was angry that he hadn't realised what she was talking about sooner or he just didn't like being wrong. Probably a bit of both.
"But that's the fun of it, Huey," Webby also leaned back as though it would allow Huey to listen to her clearer. "In the end, sure he survived, but what is it that he lost? He gained? What if he was cursed? What if he listed a girl he fell in love with-"
"I assure you lassie, there's never a girl in my stories." Scrooge chuckled to himself. "Well maybe one or two- but not in the way you children think."
Huey had to be honest, he got what Webby was saying, but Huey liked the stories that showed just how brave, tactical and intelligent Scrooge was. Like taking down a hoard of Yetis, or defeating the Scorpion King in Egypt. He loved to see how decisive he was. How he could turn something against him into his advantage. Transform a barrier into a passageway to victory.
Actually, the more he thought about what Webby was talking about, they liked the same kind of adventure stories but for different reasons. He wanted to see just how intelligent Scrooge was on the battlefield, whilst she was more curious of whether or not he actually survived, if he would lose or gain something he would keep or lose forever. And a possible love interest, he guessed. He gave a warm smile to Webby, as though he was giving up his own battle, she had clearly prove her point correct. He gained a smile back.
The ride to the McDuck's Money Bin wasn't all that long of a trip. Mostly because the Bin was located quite close to the Manor (obviously because Scrooge wanted to be as close as he could be with it) and by the time they had gotten there, Huey was thankfully he, nor Webby, or Scrooge, had whiplash. As for Launchpad, well he wasn't too sure anymore.
"How does he have a drivers licence?" Huey huffed quietly as he left the limo, straightening up his BlackWell uniform- a black blazer, white polo shirt and a red tie. Although he also had his red cap on - of course he had to take it off during his time at BlackWell but as soon as he was off it's property, he was more than eager to keep the cap on.
It had been something left by his mother, so he just felt whenever he had it on, he would be close to his mother. Even if she wasn't around him physically. Webby seemly heard Huey's question and gave a shy smile and a shrug as she closed the door behind her. "Maybe they were just really generous people?" Huey had to admit. There was a difference between generous and idiotic people. But when he looked back to Launchpad, who was saying his goodbyes to the group, he couldn't have asked for a better driver. Well... He could ask for Launchpad to become a better driver although, he didn't want a completely new person taking Launchpad's seat. He had grown up with the driver, and the driver had really gotten to know him. Launchpad knew how to make Huey laugh or smile, even if he was having the worst of days, so he was grateful for the companionship for his driver. Perhaps that's what the people thought what they gave him his licence?
Huey, once again, didn't realise he was lost in thought until he felt a tug on his arm. Webby inclined her head towards the door, tugging a little harder on his blazer. Yeah, he got the point. "Come on then." He gave out a breathy laugh as he spoke, laughing lightly at her impatience. It was probably because she had been so excited to finally find out exactly what was behind that hidden door. He had to admit too, he had been curious too. Hell, the duckling had once started to dream about the door and the possibilities behind it. Though, Webby was probably so excited because they had been at BlackWell for so long that the build up of curiosity or both of them was probably overflowing. The thought of anticipation sent shivers down Huey's spine as thy entered the Money Bin, going a different way from his Uncle Scrooge.
"I'll see you kids later," Scrooge gave his wave goodbye. "You have half an hour, make the most of it!"
Although the timescale seemed quite average, the fact that it was only half an hour, for ducklings that timescale went in five minutes. Not literally, obviously. Huey gave a nod to his Uncle as Webby called out a, "Okay, Scrooge!" Meaning the two now had agreed to his terms and conditions. Whatever that meant.
It meant they would get grounded if they didn't come back in two hours and made him look for them. Of course, that also meant they couldn't go earlier but with that code, they'd be there for a while anyway.
The two made their way to the Archives, Huey scavenging through his pockets, both inside and out of his blazer. "I know I brought it..." He muttered to himself, digging from pocket to another as he searched for the missing folded piece of paper.
There was a moment of silence, Webby watching Huey as he struggled to find the piece of paper. "Do you remember what he had?" Webby asked. There could have been a miracle that he did remember the numbers. The scowl forming made her sigh. So no. No he didn't.
Huey in the meanwhile was getting angrier and angrier, at the fact that he had lost it. He heard her question and he had internally answered a "no" but remained silent on the outside. He remembered that he did it because Launchpad had picked them up. He had made sure it was secure in his pocket, but now it was gone. He had fear that he had left it in the car Launchpad had picked them up in, or in the limousine which Launchpad had also driven away. He couldn't believe he had left behind something so impor- wait was that a folded piece of paper he just felt. The anger he had once felt quickly rushed over him as he pulled the paper from his pocket. "It's okay, I found it."
Webby grinned before she took it from him, causing him to yelp in both surprise and annoyance. "Two, one, nine." Webby read, that was the code they had broke so far. They had to go through every digit, and after seven wrong codes it switches off for half an hour, well the timer could be longer, it had only been once that they had gotten to that seven digit. He just hoped the next digits in the codes were under five. Though as soon as you got the right digit the pointer on the wrong codes reset so you have another seven tries. But they actually wanted to see what was in the room.
"Does it tell us what number we got to before?" Huey asked, peeking over Webby's shoulder to look at the piece of paper.
Eyes scanning the page Webby finally answered with, "four... I think." The added extra caused Huey to cross his arms, thinking if he could remember going up to four. When he couldn't remember he gave a sigh before seeing Webby fold the paper once more, instead putting it in her pocket before they both stopped at the doors of the library.
A knock. Nothing. Webby looked at Huey, shrugging. Huey shrugged back. Another knock. Again, nothing. The two ducklings weren't going to spend anymore time stood outside when they could be finding out the secrets of Scrooge McDuck. The two nodded to each other, both agreeing with what they were about to do. Suddenly the two began to pound on the door, almost desperately as though if they didn't get into the Archives, they would be eaten alive. Of course that certainly caught the attention of the librarian when she finally opened the door, although she didn't have time to even ask who it was when Webby raced passed her, calling for Huey to follow her.
The librarian sighed, pushing her glasses back up her beak. She hadn't been fazed by the sudden action, she was used to it by now. "Sorry," squeaked Huey, as he always did.
"Just go Hubert," Huey took it as a sigh that if he didn't leave now he'd see her temper later. He flashed her a small smile before running out to Webby, calling for her to slow down before she broke something.
The librarian closed the door. "Eleven years and two days." She muttered under her breath.
Meanwhile with Huey and Webby, it had only taken around five minutes before they made it to their destination.
"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Webby exclaimed excitedly, jumping on the spot as she passed the piece of paper to him, as well as a blue pen. "Two, one, nine, five!"
Huey tried it. Ding. Ding. Ding. Error. The code flashed red and disappeared. Huey gave a sigh, great, he certainly didn't remember what digit they got to in the code but he certainly remembered that error.
"Two, one, nine, six!" Webby said, still jumping up and down.
Huey didn't need her to tell him what to write down, he already knew what he needed to type, but he remained silent anyway. She was just excited, and if he wasn't too busy thinking of the potential code, he would have been in her shoes.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Error.
This time Huey could hear Webby beginning to stop bouncing on the spot. She was probably rather losing energy or enthusiasm.
This time Webby remained silent which caused Huey to conclude it was probably enthusiasm she was losing rather than energy.
Two. Ding. One. Ding. Nine. Ding. Seven...
Ding.
Huey instantly grinned as Webby cheered behind him. "Write it down!"
Huey did just that, he added a seven to the code written on the piece of paper. Two, one, nine, seven. Now he had seven more attempts, otherwise the two would have to wait quite a bit. So hopefully the number wasn't nine.
Things remained silent as they went through three errors, finally came the last ding. The moment the last digit turn green a click was heard. Both ducklings froze. There was no way that they had actually done it... Right?
None of them moved for the longest time but the fact that they had around twenty minutes left until Scrooge would return from his meeting, they didn't have time to be stood there dawdling. Huey finally made the move.
He grabbed the cold metal handle, twisting it down he then pulled the door back. It was heavy, so heavy that Webby had to help him push the door open. When it finally came out of its frame, Huey was shocked although not all that surprised that the door was thick. That explains why it was so hard to pull open. That and it was probably stiff from never being used before. The two ducklings panted as they had finally gotten the door open just enough for them to squeeze passed it. Although when they looked into it, there was nothing but darkness.
It looked terrifying.
No... It looked petrifying for the the two ducklings.
Huey gulped audibly as Webby sucked in a breath, moved passed Huey and pushed her body through the gap and into the darkness.
"Webby!" Huey called out to her as her form slowly dispersed into the darkness. Breathing heavily Huey imitated Webby's actions, pushing his body through the gap.
For a long time, all there was was darkness. He was reaching out, continually calling Webby's name.
"Ha! I found it!" He heard Webby's voice echoed in the darkness.
There was a click and suddenly Huey was surrounded by a brightening light, almost seemingly burning his eyes with its brightness. As his eyes adjusted he couldn't help but suck in a breath.
The walls were yellow, almost making them seem like gold, as portraits of his mother were littered around the room. Some hanging, some not, some on her own, some with his Uncle Scrooge and some with her, Uncle Scrooge and a Duck he had never seen before, but recognised the sailor suit.
Thinking back to when he had seen a cheerful duck walk the sidewalk his heart almost stopped beating. He had drove passed someone who knew his mom. Not even that, he looked like his mom. Like they could be-
"Huey, I think you should take a look at this," Webby said, breaking the silence. Huey slowly turned his gaze from the portrait to Webby, who was stood in front of a pedestal, a glass box protecting whatever paper was inside. Curious, he walked until he was beside her, scanning what looked like a letter although as soon as he had began to skim it, Webby began to talk, noticing Huey had joined her.
"Dear Uncle Scrooge,
Sorry it's been a while and this is short notice. Well, a little more than short notice, but I simply didn't know what else to do. Giving you Hubert was for the best, and I hope you understand that I couldn't have him with his brothers. With Donald being poor and already having Dewford, I couldn't possibly ask him of anymore; we both know what Gladstone is like too, so giving Hubert and Louis would be a little stressful, especially when he hasn't always been the best with children. Especially babies. And I couldn't possibly have you running around three babies on your own, you might try and act young but you'll feel older than you already are if you even try to look after the three, trust me." Webby hadn't stopped reading, and they weren't at the end either, but Huey felt his heart skip before he felt it pound his chest, just like they had the library door.
Dewford... Louis... Hubert... He knew that Hubert was him, that was his name, and he had heard the names Gladstone and Donald, he had even heard Scrooge telling Mrs. Beakley that this Donald even lived in DuckBerg, but Dewford and Louis? They were strangers but...
"But I thought you'd be glad I gave you the oldest, so perhaps he won't be as much trouble as his younger brothers. Take care of Hubert for me, thank you.
Your beautiful Niece,
Della."
Huey felt himself feel strange. He felt numb yet he didn't. This room... Cluttered with everything about his mom and then the letter Webby had found.
"Huey you have brothers!" Webby practically screamed. "You were always wondering if you're an only child! And now we know you're not!"
Huey wished he could have been as excited as Webby at the time, but it was a lot to take in. He stared at Webby in shock, a hint of confusion swirling in his eyes. "Brothers..." Huey whispered, testing the words on his tongue. It felt... Alien... He closed his beak tight before he gave a small, happy smile. "I have brothers!"
"I know!" Webby shouted, her arms flying out as though it could show her excitement. "We have to find them!"
Huey stared at Webby for a moment, taken back by her statement. Find them? The thought of having brothers never really occurred to him, being raised with a younger sister-like friend, he always had the thought of having sisters.
"We have to, Huey!" Webby said, putting enthusiasm into the word 'have'. Inside, he knew she was right. He did have to find his brothers.
"I know, but where are we going to start Webby?" He asked, looking back at the letter.
Webby did the same. "We have this?" She pointed to the letter.
Huey sighed. She was right. They had the letter and that letter held an amazing amount of information for them both. Perhaps even enough... "Well we know that Scrooge has mentioned a Donald before... Maybe knowing that he has Dewford, all we need to do is find anyone called Donald with a son called Dewford?"
If it was even possible, Webby's face beamed with even more excitement.
For a long while, the two stood there, basking in the thought of Huey actually having brothers, although soon came the skip of his heart, followed by the thought of doubt.
"Where are we going to start?"
Webby looked at Huey when she heard him talk, her shoulders sinking at the question. He was right... What were they going to do? There was a whole city of DuckBerg and Webby wasn't sure if they would be able to find them.
"We could split up! Go around DuckBerg asking locals if they knew a kid called Dewey with his guardian called Donald!" Webby grinned, placing her hands on her hips. "DuckBerg isn't big enough for any of us not to find at least something!"
The fact that Huey knew it wouldn't be easy, he still considered Webby's idea. DuckBerg was a pretty big place though, the chance of them finding anything was... Well close to zero. Yet that hope and determination, so prominent within her large eyes, begging him to just agree, to just give it a shot. Huey gave a sigh before a small smile creeped onto his lips. "Alright Webby, let's give it a shot."
The cry of happiness that rang out of Webby was almost astounding as she grabbed Huey's blazer, dragging him towards the exit. "When Scrooge comes back we can ask if we could go around town."
"Just make sure you don't mention anything about what we're doing though," Huey warned. Webby nodded immediately, they have had the conversation a lot of times. Whenever they did something they weren't supposed to, Huey always had to warn Webby. Sometimes she could blabber without thinking and things just slipped out. Not go mention the fact that Webby was a really bad liar.
Webby nodded, thankfully understanding what Huey was talking about. Huey then took a deep breath in, walking to the edit of the room, peeking around it, before letting go of the breath he was holding. "It's clear," he pushed the door opened just that little more as he squeezed passed.
"How long has it been?" Webby questioned, following Huey before the two ducklings pushed the door, placing the plant in from of the handle and keypad. The leaves which were long and thin were able to cover the hand and keypad. There were a lot of leaves, so they created a thick barrier between the prying eyes of others and the handle and keypad. From the look of it, it was just a regular old wall. Perfect.
"Twenty minutes," Huey guessed, shrugging as they turned to leave the Archives. "But we should head back anyway, Uncle Scrooge could let us walk home for being early."
Huey gave Webby a wink, something which confused the female duckling for a moment before her eyes narrowed in acknowledgement, smirking as a simple, "ahh" escaped her beak.
The two walked back, waving a goodbye to Emily, as the librarian nodded. "It's nice to see you two troublemakers are back in town."
Huey must have been a little off as Scrooge had come just that little bit sooner than expected, but he wasn't all that bothered. It was better to be early by any time then be late.
"Don't tell me you kids have been waiting for me for long," Scrooge sighed, seeing Huey and Webby sitting down, leaning against the wall, talking amongst themselves. Upon hearing Scrooges words, the two jumped up.
"Uh- hi Scrooge!" Grinned Webby, saluting Scrooge, trying to make up for being caught whispering.
Huey felt a lump in his throat, and he was terrified that Scrooge had heard what he and Webby had just been talking about, however the smile and expression his Uncle was giving him, it was very unlikely. Besides, his Uncle never retorting anything which meant that he probably hadn't heard them. The thought made Huey's cheat deflate in relief. He didn't need to explain anything today.
But one day I will have to, he thought.
"Are you ready to head home then?" Scrooge asked, flipping out his phone, probably to call up Launchpad to come pick them up.
Huey opened his mouth to tell Scrooge that he and Webby wanted to walk home however the phone his Uncle had in his hand had stopped dialling and whoever he had called had answered. "Yes, we're about done here... Uh huh..." Huey let his shoulders drop, there was no way that he and Webby could-
"Scrooge, me and Huey want to walk home!" Webby shouted quickly.
Scrooge had been taken off-guard by the sudden outburst by Webby. "One moment, Launchpad," - ah, so Huey was right- before he put the hold against his shoulder, as a way to muffle their words. "What do you mean, you're walking home?"
Webby shrugged, "we've been at school ALL term! We want to see what's happened in DuckBerg!"
"Well, there haven't been many-"
"Please Uncle Scrooge, we just want to get reacquainted with the town again!" Okay, so maybe reacquainted probably wasn't the right word, but Scrooge actually looked intrigued by the use of the word.
He gave a sigh, "I can't just let you two to just wonder around the streets all by yourself." Huey knew that if they didn't convince his Uncle in the next few minutes, they could kiss the possibility away.
"We won't leave each other's side!" Huey quickly grabbed Webby's hand, forcing their intertwined hand up towards his Uncle, as though it was a way to prove that they wouldn't let go.
Scrooge gave another sigh. "I guess, it's only eleven in the morning, if your promise to be back by two, I suppose you could have a little time around town."
Webby grinned, as Huey squeezed her hand. They were allowed. They were allowed! THEY WERE ALLOWED!
Out of all the years Huey had been growing up with Scrooge being his legal guardian (which is all his life) he had never once had the nerve to ask Scrooge anything like this. Even Webby had refused to, and she was quite an adventurous girl! But now, with both of them by each other side, Huey wasn't sure if he wanted the brothers he never knew, because he had the greatest sister of them all. That being said, the temptation to finally find his newly found brothers was too great, he knew that with the help of said, greatest sister of all, he would have to find them!
It didn't take Launchpad to arrive at the Money Bin, and the two Ducklings were told that they couldn't leave until he got there. So when he did, Webby and Huey were both eager to finally leave. "Can we go?" He asked, rather impatiently.
"Aye, aye, you can go, but I want you back at the Manor at two on the dot." Huey and Webby nodded, and for a moment, Scrooge looked discouraged, as though he was making a mistake, something flashed before his eyes, Huey couldn't tell what it was, but it had come and gone to quickly for the young duck to distinguish it. Scrooge gave them a sad smile, something which made Huey grin wider - that meant that he was letting them go, that he wasn't just going to go back on his word! - and nodded. Webby and Huey watched as their guardian (well Huey's guardian anyway) and Lauchpad leave, both the ducklings gripping into each other excitedly.
"Okay, so we'll have to split up," Huey explained as he let go of Webby's hand. They were away from the Money Bin now and were walking the streets. "We'll come back to the Money Bin in an hour to see if we have found anything, okay?" Asked Huey, Webby nodded.
"And if one of us find your brother?" Huey had to think for a moment before replying to her question.
"If he can't come to the Money Bin with us, we'll ask for an address or number or something," again, Webby gave a nod.
The two began to split up, both waking in the opposite directions to each other. Huey did look back at Webby however, as though to make sure she was fine walking by herself. She never once turned back to Huey again, rather she just continued on walking down the street before turning the corner. Huey stopped walking once she was out of sight. He could feel his brother instincts almost taking over him. The two were never separated, and when they were it was only because of BlackWell. But at BlackWell there wasn't any immediacy danger. Not like DuckBerg. It had been six months since they had been in the town. Anything could have happened within the town, so leaving Webby wasn't the best idea. Anything could happen to her.
Upon that thought, Huey took a step towards her direction however he stopped himself, thinking about the about of times Webby had kicked his tail feather whenever she wanted something he had was countless. Out of everybody in the world, Huey was the only one who truly understood how strong Webby really was. Despite his brain gnawing for him to follow her, Huey knew better, and rather than following her like a lost puppy to make sure that she would be alright, he turned, and Huey talked away, leaving most (not all) of the anxiety of Webby getting hurt behind.
An hour could feel as long as a day, or can feel like 5 minutes, either way, when Huey looked at his clock he was surprised to see that he had ten minutes until he was supposed to be meeting Webby at the Money Bin. Calculating his way back to the Money Bin, it would probably take him around ten minutes. If he ran anyway.
He began to run, not particularly surprised when he felt a couple of raindrops fall onto his hands and face, thankfully his blazer protected his chest and arms. So far he had no luck in finding any information about his brother or "Donald" he had asked some local shops and even some residents that lived around DuckBerg. Unfortunately, no one knew who Donald and Dewey were.
As Huey ran, he clutched a piece of paper to his chest, tucking it under his blazer for protection. It was a piece if paper containing a list of places Huey had tried. It was to help himself and Webby when it came down to narrowing down where they had been and where they needed to go.
By the time Huey had gotten near the Money Bin, he had began to jog, and the few splashes of raindrops had turned into a shower. Huey blinked a couple of times when he saw Webby stood under a little shelter and away from the rain. He smiled, thankful that she hadn't been standing in the rain waiting for him.
The moment he got under the shelter, Huey shivered. He had seen the rain clouds above this morning, he would have known that it would begin to pour like this. He should have made himself and Webby bring their raincoats with them before they headed to the Money Bin with his Uncle Scrooge.
"Any luck?" Huey looked up at her when she spoke, the saddened expression she wore meant she found nothing either. Huey shook his head before bowing it in defeat. What were they thinking? Of course they wouldn't have been able to find anything, they had nothing to show or any information besides names of who his brothers might have been. And Huey knew that Scrooge wouldn't tell them anything. If his Uncle wouldn't have told him that he had brothers in the first place, why would he tell them where they were once Huey found out he had brothers?
Huey looked back up at Webby. "We should just go home."
Webby looked shocked and frankly horrified at Huey's words. Although when she opened her mouth to retort that they couldn't just give up, she could see that Huey had had enough of an adventure for the day. They had just come back from BlackWell too, so it would take him a while to get back into routine. Something which was always stressful for Huey. She remained silent for a moment, thinking about her words before she spoke. "Could we at least go to the harbour?"
Huey's eyes narrowed at the question. "The harbour?" He repeated, not understanding why Webby would want to check for his brother down there. "Why?"
Webby shook her head, smirking slyly. "Can we?"
Huey felt his beak tuck downwards. He knew that in the rain, it was not a good idea, yet her expression made Huey reevaluate whether they should or not.
"Okay," Huey agreed. Webby looked like she knew something he didn't and he was interested in why she wanted to go to the harbour of all placed.
Webby grinned as she took a hold of Huey's arm, dragging him back into the rain and began racing towards the harbour. Huey had tried to stop her from running as he dropped his paper onto the floor. The moment it fell out of his blazer was the moment the paper began to crumple and shrink from how wet it was becoming before Huey finally saw it drop into a puddle, officially unsalvageable. He allowed Webby to continue to drag him as he reached back towards the piece of paper calling out, "no!"
"It's okay Huey!" Webby reassured, finding that they were rather close to the harbour now. "We don't need it if we find your brother here!"
Huey looked at her, and although she didn't look back at him, it didn't stop his eyes from narrowing into a scowl. "We need it if we don't find him!" Huey snapped, however it fell on deaf ears, as Webby began to slow down, looking at the boats from just a street away. The two stood there for a moment in silence, Huey eyeing Webby as her own eyes searched for something on the boats.
When Huey did turn to look at the boats, a couple of people were on the boats, many shouting that with the rain here, winds would be coming soon. "What are we waiting for?" Asked Huey, looking back at Webby. Instead of answering, Webby crossed the road, letting go of Huey, who was surprised at her sudden movement, following in step. "Webby! We need to go back now before we catch a cold, or worse!"
Webby still refused to answer and as closed as she got she could finally hear it. "Huey! Don't you hear it?" She questioned grinning to the duckling beside her. Her head snapped in a different direction again. "Someone's calling out Dewey..." It was a mutter, but Huey heard her.
He listened out for the name however he couldn't hear it over all the other voices. "Webby there's no one called Dewford here, we need to go now!" There was a gust of wind, pushing both Webby and Huey back. This was dangerous, Huey's mind screamed. Being on the docks when it was pouring it down and the winds were pushing them back, they could slip, fall or be pushed into the sea, and he doubted anyone would know if that happened to them. Huey grabbed a hold of Webby's arm, just as she did when she was dragging him to the harbour. Boy, did he regret letting her do that. Just as he was about to drag away from the boats, and most of all, the sea she suddenly screamed.
"DEWFORD!" Her scream caused Huey to lose his grip on her for a moment, allowing her to step forward, away from him, and scream the name again, only this time it wasn't as loud as the first time. "Dewford!"
Huey was about to tell Webby that it was no use and that thy needed to leave! Now! However with another gush of the wind followed a voice.
"WHAT?" As soon as Huey and Webby heard the call back, as many of the people had disappeared into their boats for safety, it was very clear that the voice was replying to them.
"Huey did you hear that?" Webby grabbed a hold of his hand and began to push against the wind, calling out the name once more, and receiving a reply.
Huey was shocked beyond words. How lucky is it that just when Webby screamed the name of his brother, someone would reply back to them. "Webby, we need to go-"
Suddenly an unfamiliar voice cut him off. "Are you the ones calling out my name?" Huey was taken back by the unfamiliar duck. He looked the same age as Webby and Huey, which really unnerved Huey honestly.
"Yeah, we're looking for a boy named Dewford who lives with a Donald?" Huey wanted to drag Webby all the way back to McDuck Manor for telling the boy it, especially under such dangerous circumstances, however the boy only nodded.
"Come on quickly, Uncle Donald would murder me if he knew I let you guys just stand on the docks with this weather." Huey couldn't see what the boy looked like, as the yellow raincoat he was wearing covered his eyes, he could only see his beak, making him a little skeptical on trusted him him.
"Webby, wait!" Huey tried to stop Webby from going onto the boat, however it was no use, she had already walked onto the boat, pulling Huey after her. They followed the boy into the house boat, which was lucky since the moment they stepped into it, the boy hadn't even had to close the door, instead it was slammed shut by the wind.
"That's some weather," the boy snickered, pulling his hood back, uncovering his features. "And Uncle Donald was scared about living in the mountains."
Huey's beak dropped at the sight of the other unknown duck. It was almost like looking into a mirror. Except for the hair. Huey's was always flat, and well, always under his cap, whilst this boys was spiked up, but even still, it was strange recognising the stranger. Recognising himself in the stranger. His heart skipped. Was this...
"Hi I'm Dewey, so who are you?" Asked... Dewey, as he took his raincoat off.
