The first night in Scrooge's mansion again was calm. Dinner was full of energy as everyone asked about how Louie was. He was at last with his family. Louie sat with Dewey in order to assured Huey and Webby that it was okay.

Sometimes Louie would feel his heart stop, but that was fine. Dewey was his brother.

But how long would it be before being his brother wasn't enough?

The thought was whispering to him again and again throughout the evening. Everyone knew, but nobody dared to ruin the nicer atmosphere.

Huey was awfully interested in how everything was in the school Louie transferred to. Louie told him about the teachers and assignments they had to do. Webby also asked about his friends, but Louie subtly avoided the question. Scrooge felt out of place due to how long it had been since he had last seen Louie.

He had tried to join in on the questioning, but noticed how brief the responses were.

Later that night, Louie slept in his old bed underneath the his brothers'. "Maybe it won't be so bad."

"Louie! LOUIE!"

The muffled sound of Donald's voice started to fade away. Louie could remember how dark the ocean was. The terrifying, calm ocean. After Webby was thrown off by Glomgold, he had a slight dislike for it. The inky black blue surrounded him.

Strangely enough, there was some red in the ocean. Was this during a sunset?

No, it was blood.

So even if he didn't drown, he'd still die from something else. Maybe a shark can eat him.

As he drowned even further, he saw someone diving into the ocean. That duck was swimming straight towards him.

Stop, please don't try to save me.

Once the darkness fully engulfed him, he opened his eyes. There he was, in the school hallways again.

His legs started moving on their own. He passed several students who greeted him happily.

"Hey, Louie!"

"What's up, Louie?"

"Ey!"

Soon, he came face to face with someone he didn't want to see.

Another student he didn't particularly like.

"You'll never amount to anything, you know? You don't even try. You're alone in life. You're a coward."

"..."

"Do you think that running away will help anyone? It's pathetic. Nobody here actually likes you. Those students you greeted used you as a scapegoat"

"..."

"You're own brothers think you're just a coward."

"..."

"I know you're a coward, and you know full well that you're a coward."

"..."

"You just want attention. Maybe Dewey's the one who wants the most attention, but here, you would do anything for it. Nobody cares."

"So aggressive today," Louie said to his reflection. "But you know how I feel so what's the point?"

The mirror dissipated and the black ocean returned. This time he really did feel the water rushing to his lungs. Louie felt the urge to scream, and so he did.

"Louie! LOUIE!"

The duck in green woke up to Dewey shaking him.

"Are you ok?"

His head was pounding. Was that just a random nightmare.

"Hm? What happened?"

"You started screaming."

Louie sighed and relaxed.

"Yeah, sometimes that happens."

"What were you dreaming about?"

Louie debated on what to say. No, don't be a burden. "I don't remember. It's nothing serious anyways."

His laid back personality tricked Dewey into believing that he told the absolute truth.

He heard footsteps. At the door was Huey with a backpack on. "Let's go, Uncle Scrooge is waiting!"

Dewey hurried excitedly down the hall. Huey shook his head with a smile. He then turned to the youngest triplet.

"Do...you want to join us?"

Louie was about to refuse, but right as he was about to, Scrooge appeared at the doorway. "The lad cannot be alone. Beakley is out to retrieve an important item for me, and so nobody can watch over you if you stay at home."

Louie sat up straight. "Wait, what?! Why? I'm not a kid anymore!"

Scrooge gave him a look of sympathy. "Donald was very insistent on not leaving you alone."

Huey looked at both of them. "I thought Donald would've wanted Louie to stay home."

Scrooge nodded. "That is the ideal place he should be in, but he made it clear that under no circumstance must Louie be left alone."

The triplet in red looked at Louie quizzically. "Why is that?"

"It's nothing. Donald's just overprotective." Louie spoke flatly.

Scrooge nodded. "Donald just wants Louie to be safe."

"Ok…" Huey was clearly not going to believe it, but he let it go. The oldest triplet left the room to find Dewey.

Scrooge glanced at Louie. "Louie, Donald told me about your...condition. He's right to be concerned if-,"

"I know. I'm not going to do that, okay? If my brothers or even Webby finds me doing that, they're going to babysit me."

"If you say so. I still want you to come with us. You don't even need to get out of the Sunchaser. I'm sure Launchpad is fine with staying behind with you."

"...Fine,"

Louie walked past Scrooge with his clothes and hygiene products. Before he left, Scrooge murmured.

"I promise, I'm not letting that happen again."

"I know you won't."

It was fifteen minutes before they were to embark on a new journey to find an ancient treasure. Everyone was ready and chatting it up.

Huey and Webby discussed the old legend and facts.

Dewey and Launchpad were getting their supplies ready. Dewey in particular taking a look at the weapons.

Louie of course felt out of place. He remembered when Scrooge told him that he definitely had traits from Della. Well, he definitely does not have much of Della's adventuring traits like he used to.

He still shrugged it off and went anyways. A little bit of anxiety had crept up on him, but he remained cool headed. Louie called out to his family. "I'll be right back! I need to take care of something."

Dewey and Webby took notice and followed him.

The youngest triplet muttered to himself, "I won't need them on the trip. I'll be in the plane anyways."

Suddenly he turned around. "You guys seriously need to stop stalking me. Do you guys know what personal space is?"

He wasn't mad or scared, just irritated. After all, they didn't see what was in his pockets.

"Sorry, it's just that from what Huey told me, you can't be alone for some reason."

"I'm not gonna die after a few seconds of being gone guys." Louie leaned back against the sinks casually. "You guys need to stop worrying about me. I'm fine."

Dewey put up a finger but Webby shook her head. He sighed. "Fine, have it your way."

The middle brother walked off. Webby looked at Louie. "If you ever need to talk, you know where to go."

"Thanks Webby." Louie smiled.

He had a moment to himself no that they weren't there anymore. Louie looked at his reflection again. "I'd rather you scream at my face than leave me feeling empty, ok? I'm not going to be a burden."

The reflection just copied him like a mirror should. Louie sighed. "That's it Louie. We're back in the adventuring department."

On the Sunchaser, Louie listened to music on his phone while looking at all of the land below them. It was calming.

Then, the plane crashed just as usual.

It made Louie grab onto his seat for a moment before letting go when the plane came to a full stop.

"Alright, we're here!" Launchpad yelled.

Huey, Dewey, and Webby cheered. They started leaving to look around the savanna.

"I wonder how many lions we'll see!" Dewey exclaimed.

Webby laughed. "Not too many in this area, but maybe we can find a cheetah."

Scrooge patted Louie on the shoulder. "We'll be back before you know it!"

"Cool, good luck."

Scrooge nodded and left. Huey also stopped to say a few words. "Be safe."

Louie rolled his eyes. "I would never try to get myself into danger unless there was gold involved."

Huey smiled and ruffled Louie's hair. "Glad you understand."

After all of them have left, Louie had hung out in the back with headphones. Launchpad was humming the theme to Darkwing Duck's theme song. After twenty minutes, Launchpad said, "Hey, Louie?"

"Yeah?" Louie said. He took off his headphones and looked at Launchpad, waiting for a follow up.

"Why did you disappear all of those years ago?"

"What?"

"Like, you know, before Dewey and Mr. McD hit you with the knife?"

Louie grimaced. Launchpad realized what he said and tried covering it up. "Uh, I mean on that adventure for the temple of riches?"

Louie sighed. "It's fine Launchpad. I thought I saw something glistening like gold in the distance and-,"

"We're back!"

Launchpad looked out the window and opened the door to the plane. "Hey Mr. McD!"

It seems that he had forgotten what Louie had to say. It was most certainly preferable that way to Louie.

Webby was holding a book with a look of glee on her face. Dewey's new spear was sharp. Huey's Junior Woodchuck Guidebook was flipped open to a page about curses.

In Scrooge's hand was a chest of treasure and many masks. Huey examined one of the masks carefully.

"They say that each one represents some sort of negative aspect of each person. If you wear one, you'll show that negative trait until you take it off, and the longer you leave it on, the harder it is to take it off, physically and mentally!"

Scrooge nudged Huey's hand away. "Be careful. This could get in the wrong hands."

Louie gave a lazy wave and grinned. "Hey, glad to see you're having fun."

Webby squealed. "You have no idea!"

Louie looked at a black mask with green markings and another one with yellow symbols. "Hey, that's pretty cool."

Webby giggled. "The yellow one mask of greed and selfishness! Oh! And the green one is envy. The black one adapts to whoever its host is. It takes over your mind and brings out the MOST negative thing about you. Fascinating isn't it?"

Louie nodded. His attention was on the black one. "Huh, wonder what that negative aspect would be for me."

"Hm?" Webby was snapped out of her awe.

"Nothing, glad you're having fun."

The trip back was buzzing with enthusiasm. However, there was only one person who didn't feel anything. Louie was staring at the masks that caught his eye. He couldn't share any joy. In fact, he felt empty. He didn't want to move, talk, or even breathe. There was a void of emotions in him.

No bit of happiness or sadness entered his mind, only the emptiness.

"I thought I said I would rather I scream at myself. Why did I have to feel numb now?"

He looked back to his happy family.

"What a pain,"