Donald lay sprawled across his bed in the boat, snoring and stirring at the sound of birds outside his window. As time went on, sunlight crept up his bed, over his covers, and bathed his face in a bright light. He squinted open his eyes.

"Ugh…" Donald smacked his lips several times to get rid of the taste of sleep. "Another day."

He rose slowly, and frowned at the clock on his bedside. Six o'clock? That couldn't be right… No, it wasn't. The second hand wasn't moving at all.

"Seriously?" Donald opened the back, only to see a little note tucked in where the batteries should be.

Borrowing batteries for school project. Thanks! –Huey, Dewey and Louie

He crumpled the note. "Huey! Dewey! Louie! Get over here now!"

No response.

"Boys! Ugh," Donald slammed the clock down and stomped into the kitchen. "What did you three do with my batteries? You know I need them to wake up! Boys?"

The kitchen was empty, which was weird. Usually they'd be running around, pestering him to let them outside, making things explode… something other than this silence.

Donald frowned, but then he had an idea. "If you're pretending to be asleep, it's not gonna work! I know you can hear me!"

He stormed into the bedroom and was greeted by the sight of three empty beds."Oh, no. Boys?" He tore up the whole boat looking for them; once it was clear they weren't on board, he made for the door, dialing a number on the phone. "Police? I need to report three missing boys, they're-aah!"

With a splash, he plummeted into the water.

"Hey, where's the gangplank? And why are we in… a pool?" Donald pulled himself out of the water, looking first at the mansion (Scrooge's mansion; he remembered now), then at the small duck in a red hat standing above him.

"Huey?"

Huey pulled out a walkie talkie. "This is Junior Woodchuck coming in. The uncle is awake, I repeat, the uncle is awake. Over."

"Okay, cool. We should tell him-"

"You should say 'copy', Louie. Over."

"What?"

"Okay, cool' is not an official phrase for walkie talkies. You're supposed to say that you copy."

"Does it matter?"

"Well, according to the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook-"

Louie's sigh crackled through the device. "Fine, fine. I copy. Now will you ask him what he wants for tea?"

Donald, who had been watching the exchange first with surprise, then with mounting anger, finally interjected. "Tea?"

"Yeah! Apparently fancy rich people have a meal between lunch and dinner!"

"I know what tea is! What I want to know is why you boys made me sleep in so long!"

Louie's voice came in from the walkie talkie. "Don't worry about it, Uncle Donald. You don't need to wake up that early."

"Yes I do! I was going to go job hunting!"

"Why? We're living with Scrooge McDuck! He's not exactly strapped for cash, you know."

Donald clenched his fists. "We're not living here forever, you know."

"What?" Dewey suddenly cut into the conversation. "Why?!"

"It's… it's complicated." He shook his head. "But that's not important! You three are in big trouble! Houseboat, now!"

"Oh, look at that!" The sound of a door shutting accompanied Louie's voice. "I think I'm lost in Scrooge's mansion… won't be able to make it for the lecture. Sorry!"

"Louie!"

"Oh, and I'm… breaking up… too…"

"Louie-! Ugh. Dewey? I know you can hear me!"

The walkie talkie stayed silent. Huey grinned nervously at his steaming uncle.

"Here's your batteries back, Uncle Donald."

Donald took them with a glare. "School project, huh?"

"Well, technically-"

"Nevermind. You wait in the houseboat." Donald stomped towards the mansion. "I've got seventy five rooms to look through."