Sorry I've been quiet for a while, guys. My mom broke her foot, so it's been a little crazy these past few weeks. But here we are.
And yes. We're doing this. And we're doing it in the longest chapter to date. Strap in, everybody. This is going to be a ride!
Oh, and thanks to William Shakespeare and Gavin 'Miracle of Sound' Dunne.
Freedom from Fear
Chapter 11
To the Moon!
The Sword of Selene was finally complete. While not as maneuverable as its parent, the Spear of Selene, what with having smaller wings, it made up for it by having a large cockpit, capable of holding more people, and a more powerful engine, able to reach greater speeds. All and all, it was perfect for retrieving someone from the moon and bringing all parties back safely.
Scrooge and Donald were going some final checks with Gyro Gearloose. Given the delicacy of the mission and the requirements for smooth landings, the inventor would be coming as their pilot instead of Launchpad.
Launchpad took it well, only crying for a minute or so about not being able to go to space.
The conditions for launch were right, the systems were in place, the gear was packed, and the Buzzard Brothers had no idea that any of this was going on.
There was just one little problem…
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN'T COME?" the triplets yelled in unison.
"This is a dangerous mission," Donald said, "Even if there are all sorts of safety checks, it's still too big for you kids. You're staying planetside with Launchpad and Mrs. B. And that's the end of it."
Uncle Scrooge said much the same.
"I've already lost one family member to the blackness of space," he said, "I won't be losing more if I can help it. Even though we know where to go, it's still a dangerous mission. You lot are staying here."
The triplets sulked at that.
"I get that it's dangerous," Huey said as he and his brothers rejoined Lena and Webby, "But it's our mom!"
"Hey, I get it, Red," Lena said, "If I'd heard my mother was alive, I'd be moving heaven and earth to get to her."
"Any chance you can poof us onto the ship?" Louie asked.
"No," Lena replied, suddenly serious, "Teleporting is a very advanced branch of magic, and very dangerous if you don't have someone teaching you. It's not self-study at all. The horror stories I've heard of people who tried to do it on their own would make you lose a week of sleep."
"And because Magica didn't have power herself to demonstrate or fix accidents, she never taught you," Webby guessed.
Lena snapped her fingers and pointed at her little sister.
"Okay then," Dewey said, "So we need to get onto the Sword without Uncle Donald or Uncle Scrooge knowing until it's too late. We can't rely on magic, and there's little doubt that Beakley will be watching us to make sure we don't get up to anything."
"I can handle Granny," Webby offered, "I'll just tell her you three are sulking in the bathroom or something."
"Then I can help her sneak away and join you," Lena said.
"But we still need to get on the rocket," Dewey argued.
A throat clearing caught their attention, and they turned to see Gyro.
"You kids should really have plotted in a more private place," he said bluntly.
The children groaned, Lena in particular cursing that she didn't put up a 'cone of silence' spell. Gyro just motioned them over and showed them his tablet.
"You kids want to see something cool? Data readouts for our target location."
Huey noticed it first.
"Hey, wait a minute…"
"Smart looking, kid. Satellite imagery and magical scrying have discovered that the targeted area is an anomaly upon the moon. This strange blue area seems to have structures upon it. And if the calculations are true, there's a contained artificial atmosphere. Probably not a lot in the way of oxygen, hence the special masks I've created for the job, but at least enough air pressure that there shouldn't be any need for a bulky suit for protection."
"And if you're wrong?" asked Huey.
"Scrooge, Donald, and I have suits just in case. You'll have to stay on the ship."
"Wait, we?" Dewey asked.
Gyro smiled.
"Be by the fuel trucks in ten minutes. I'll sneak you all aboard and give you your own masks."
The children looked at each other, hope and excitement on the faces.
"Thanks for this, Gyro," Louie said.
"Hey, it's your mom," Gyro shrugged.
The scientist walked off, leaving the children to chatter excitedly.
"Okay, okay, okay! Focus," Huey said, "We need to get ready."
"I'll make a show," Louie said, "Webby, you distract Beakley. Dewey, you have Launchpad. Lena, you make sure you have the Hand. We might end up needing it."
As the children broke to perform their duties, a charge seemed to fill them.
They were going to the moon. They were going to rescue Della Duck.
oOo
Webby and Lena slipped down the halls, invisible. They only had a few minutes to rendezvous with the boys, and every second counted.
As they turned a corner, however, they stopped at the sight of a wolf leaning against the wall.
"Lena Le Strange," he said, staring right where they were.
"Phobos," Lena replied.
"You can lift your spell, I have us covered."
Lena did so, and stared unflinchingly at the God of Fear. Webby was struck with shock.
"Er…hi, I'm Webby."
"I'm aware," Phobos replied, "I keep tabs on people with exceptional courage. And by my estimates, you two are off to rescue one such person."
"What about it?" Lena asked.
"I merely urge caution, but not for the reasons Scrooge McDuck has. Mine concerns my creation, the gauntlet you now bear."
Lena flicked her gaze down onto her arm, taking in the Hand of Phobos.
"What about it? I won its allegiance fair and square."
"Yes, you did. Which is why I came with a warning. The gauntlet was forged by me, a god. As such, it has unique ties to this world's magical fields, as all weapons of its type do. You are taking it on an adventure that will take you away from this world…and away from the full strength of its magical fields."
Lena's eyes went wide.
"Ah, now you see."
"What's going to happen?" Lena asked, eyeing her gauntlet like most people eye grenades.
"I don't know. The moon has a magical field of its own, but one far different from Earth's. Your magic might react differently. Any creature you summon might be twisted and altered into a different type of horror. Or maybe it won't. Or maybe the Hand might not even work at all. There are simply too many unknowns."
Lena stared at the Hand for a moment, pondering. But she soon shook her head.
"That's not going to stop me. My family is flying into danger to rescue one of their own. I have to help them."
Phobos smiled lightly.
"I thought that might be the case, I just wanted you to be well-informed. Very well, good luck then."
They blinked, and he was gone.
"Lena, what was that about?" Webby asked.
"I've got someone looking out for me," Lena replied, taking Webby's hand and renewing the invisibility spell, "Come on, we've got no time to lose."
The girls slipped out of the building and onto the tarmac. In the distance, the rocket stood tall. A hose ran from it to a truck, and they made their way there.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie were hidden beneath it, waiting. Webby and Lena rolled underneath beside them, Lena cutting her invisibility spell.
"Neat trick," Dewey said.
"Pretty draining, though," Lena replied, slipping off the gauntlet for a moment.
"So how are we doing this?" Webby asked.
Before they could answer, they saw Gyro's legs come into view.
"I assume you're under the truck," they heard him say, "I convinced Scrooge and Donald to grab a few snacks in case this trip takes longer than expected. We should be able to reach the moon within half a day with my engine enhancements, but we might end up going slower in case of space debris. There's a storage chamber under the floor of the cockpit, you can hide in there."
Gyro then walked off, either to check something or give himself plausible deniability. Probably both.
The kids raced up the ladder and into the rocket. Dewey pried open the hinged panel on the floor of the cockpit, and they all climbed in.
"Good thing we're small," Louie said.
"Speak for yourself," Lena replied.
"Hope the extra weight doesn't throw off the rocket's trajectory," Huey said.
"I overheard Uncle Scrooge and Gyro talking about how this thing has a more powerful engine than the Spear," Webby said, "The additional weight we provide shouldn't be too much for it"
The five squeezed into the compartment, closing it behind them.
"Quit shoving!"
"Watch your knee."
"Webby, your bow's in my face."
"When was the last time you washed this hoodie?"
"Whose hand is that?" Lena growled suddenly.
"Sorry…"
"You're lucky I can't slug you."
oOo
The rumbling of the Sword of Selene beneath their feet was oddly soothing, in Scrooge's opinion.
"What's our status, Gyro?"
"I'd say we're about halfway there," Gyro replied.
"It's actually really pretty out here," Donald said.
"If you like that sort of thing. I've never been one for aesthetics."
"Which explains the stark white look of Gizmoduck, I suppose," Scrooge said.
"White is clean."
A thump suddenly echoed through the cockpit.
"What was that?" Donald squawked.
"What was what?" Gyro asked.
Scrooge, however, felt it where he was standing, and pulled open the panel.
"Curse me kilts!"
"Hi, Uncle Scrooge," the triplets and Webby chorused nervously.
"Sup?" Lena said.
They could just see the part where his mind burst into flame.
"Are you all mad? I specifically forbade you from coming along on this mission!"
"This is our mom we're talking about!" Dewey shouted back, "We need to be here!"
"You don't need to be anywhere except for back home!" Donald screamed, "Gyro, turn us around."
"We've been flying for hours, we're already halfway there, and you want to turn around?" Gyro scoffed, "We turn back now, we won't have enough fuel for a trip to the moon, and your sister will have to wait even longer. It's too late to turn back now. Good thing I brought a few extra facemasks…"
Donald saw red.
"It…was…YOU!"
"Don't look at me, I didn't see them get onto the ship."
Donald reached out, his hands ready to strangle Gyro, but Scrooge and the boys held him back.
"Uncle Donald, let him live!"
"Donald, we still need him to pilot this thing!"
"This is actually kind of fun to watch," Lena said, swinging out of the hole herself.
"You're terrible, Lena," Webby replied, but Lena could see a small gleam of mischief in her eye.
'I am rubbing off in her,' she thought.
Eventually, Donald calmed, but glared at the children with undisguised anger. Scrooge, having spent some of his energy holding his nephew back, seemed to resign himself to this.
"Fine, what's done is done, I can admit that," he said, "But if you're going to be coming, you're to follow my orders exactly, no arguments. Space isn't a playground."
The children nodded, and Louie spoke up.
"We have a chance to finally meet our mom. I don't think there's anything that could have stopped us."
"Lena and I are just here for support," Webby said, "It's important to them, so it's important to us."
Scrooge sighed.
"I want her back too…Gyro, any chance we can speed this up?"
"We've skirted that debris field I was worried about, so sure," Gyro replied, easing forward a throttle.
oOo
The rocket slowly touched down upon the surface.
"We're on the moon," Huey breathed, looking out the window over the dusty surroundings.
The rocky expanse they had landed on had a bluish tint to it. It was light, but it was there, coating the dust and rock and mixing with the expected gray hues. The Earth loomed in the sky, an impressive sight to behold.
"Not gonna lie, this is a really cool feeling," Lena said.
"Let's get out there!" Dewey cried, "One small step for a duck, one giant le—EEP!"
"Hold your horses, lad," Scrooge said, yanking the young duck back with his cane, "This is completely new territory. We have to be smart about this."
"I was going to wait for you!"
"Like you did in Atlantis?" Webby deadpanned.
"What happened in Atlantis?" Lena asked.
"He ran in as soon as deathtraps were mentioned."
"He did what?" Donald growled.
"Traitor," Dewey grunted.
Gyro loudly cleared his throat.
"So, as I have previously explained, it was theorized from the evidence that this blue area of the moon had some kind of atmosphere, for some inexplicable reason. Something to investigate as we explore, perhaps. Looking at the instruments installed in the Sword, I can deduce that we indeed will not need the standard suits. The overall barometric pressure appears to be low, rather like the thin, high-altitude air of particularly high mountaintops."
"Then the masks were a good idea, Gyro," Scrooge said, "Della must have gotten very used to the thin air if she's been here for this long."
"I hope she'll be able to adapt back to normal air," Huey said, "She might experience a type of reverse altitude sickness."
"That's a thing?" Louie asked, "I thought it only happened from high to low."
"Low to high is rarer, for obvious reasons, but it does happen. We'll have to watch her carefully as we're bringing her home."
"Cross that bridge when we come to it," Donald said, opening a compartment and passing around the masks.
The masks were made of a clear substance, like plastic but clearly not, with a small tank strapped to the underside. It fit easily over their beaks, and had attached goggles to protect the eyes.
Louie made exaggerated breathing noises as he strapped his on.
"Dewey…I am your brother," he intoned in a deep voice.
"Your impression stinks," Dewey shot back, shoving his brother lightly.
"Alright kids, here's the plan," Scrooge said, "Donald, Gyro, and I will scout the area, get a lay of the land. We'll start a search pattern after that."
"Hopefully Della saw the rocket, though, and this'll be a short trip," Donald said.
"Come now, nephew. When has it ever been that easy?"
"So we're staying with the ship?" Louie asked, frowning.
Scrooge and Donald gave him a glare that brooked no argument.
"If you're not back in an hour, we're coming after you," Lena said, glaring right back.
"You don't know what's out there," Scrooge argued.
"Exactly."
Scrooge grumbled, but nodded.
"I'll be sure to set my watch, then."
oOo
Dewey took a swan dive off the top of the rocket. As he fell through the air, he twisted about. He hit the ground with both feet and launched himself back upward, gaining impressive air.
"Ya-HOO!"
"Watch how high you go, Dewey! The low gravity means coming back down is a lot harder to do!" Huey shouted, bouncing in place himself.
"You guys know that if you start to drift too far, I can yank you back telekinetically, right?" Lena asked, laying in the blue-tinted dust and stargazing.
"Take the picture already, Louie," Webby said, her arms held high.
"Just trying to get the right angle so it looks like you're holding the Earth," Louie said, "Ah, here we go."
He clicked his phone.
"I think that's going to come out great."
"When we get home, I want to see if we can print it," Webby said, "That thing's going on my wall."
"Hope you have a good frame for it."
"I've got an idea in mind."
Lena kept on stargazing, enjoying the peace and the light sound of the younger children's laughter. It often surprised her how quickly she'd integrated into life in the extended McDuck clan. Where once coldness and silence were the order of the day, now warmth and laughter filled her life. She found that the mere sound of Webby or the triplets was soothing to her nerves.
And after today, there would hopefully be more reasons for joy in the mansion.
Lena checked her facemask for the fifth time since putting it on, mostly out of paranoia. While there was some air in this strange blue area was breathable, it was barely so. Dewey had tested it out of curiosity, and found that he could barely breathe. Lena was of the opinion that Della Duck was made of iron if she had stood such an atmosphere for a decade.
Lena then pulled her sleeve back a bit, looking at her watch.
"That's an hour," she said aloud, getting up, "Blue, you spot the scouting party?"
Dewey took to the air again, coming back down in a crouch with a frown on his face.
"Nothing. We're alone out here."
"They should have been back by now," Huey said.
"Okay, then," Webby said, "Huey, send a message back home. Tell them what happened and that we're going out to look."
"I sent an update on us as Uncle Scrooge was heading off, so Beakley should be expecting it," Lena said.
"Lena, think you can manage a tracking spell?"
"We'll find out."
Huey went into the rocket to send the message. He came back with the Hand of Phobos.
"Here's hoping," Lena said, taking it from him.
"Why so unsure?" Louie asked, "We helped you practice tracking spells before."
"That was on Earth," Webby said, "Before we joined you to sneak onto the rocket, Phobos appeared to us. He warned Lena that taking the Hand beyond Earth's magical field would have strange consequences."
"Consequences as in?" Huey asked.
"As in the gauntlet might not work, or the magic might twist in weird ways," Lena replied, "Or maybe it'll work fine. We won't know until we try."
Lena slid the gauntlet on…
And immediately frowned. There was no rush of power, no opening of her sight and mind. It was like slipping on a glove, and that was it.
She tried to cast a simple spell for light. Nothing happened.
"Oh Tartarus…"
"Nothing doing?" Webby asked.
"Not even a spark of power," Lena replied.
"Then we search the old-fashioned way," Dewey said, "Let's go, guys. Lena, you keep poking at the Hand, maybe it'll react somehow."
"I plan to."
And the five began to walk.
oOo
The blue area of the moon was not lifeless.
While the surface was barren, only a few rock-like protrusions that almost resembled structures, there was an extensive tunnel system beneath, an underground city that, while not a New York, was of the kind of scale of Chicago or Duckburg.
The population was reptilian, scaly and bipedal. Their technology wasn't too dissimilar from Earth's, but they had weapons and robotics that were sufficiently sci-fi for the situation.
It was these beings that had taken Scrooge, Donald, and Gyro by surprise. The ducks were swiftly overwhelmed and captured, and brought into the city and a palatial structure that was no doubt home to the ruler of the city.
"So, how many times being captured does this make?" Donald asked as they were led down the halls by uniformed reptiles.
"At least over a hundred, I've lost count," Scrooge replied, "You?"
"About seventy-three."
"I think this is my first time," Gyro said pleasantly, before frowning heavily, "I don't like it!"
"You'll get used to it," Scrooge and Donald chorused.
They finally arrived in a spacious room. Reclined in a throne at the other end was a reptile dressed in fine clothing. His slit-eyed stare was harsh, and there was a spark of madness in his eye.
The ducks were thrown at the feet of the regal reptile, who spoke in a tongue not dissimilar from their own.
"So…what do we have here? Spies? Invaders from the blue ball?"
The king grasped Donald's beak, lifting his face up roughly.
"This one resembles the White Ghost. That creature…has she brought more enemies to my kingdom? Is it not enough that she defies my rule? That she wages war against my order? Now she has brought allies?"
The king shoved Donald to the ground.
"NO! I shall have no more dissidents! I shall prove that I remain strong against all enemies of my rule!"
Scrooge opened his mouth, but the king had already turned to his guards.
"Take them to the dungeons! They shall be publicly executed come the morn. Perhaps that will lure out the Ghost."
"Now wait a minute!" Scrooge shouted, only for the king to motion a guard.
"You will be silent!" the king cried as the guard struck Scrooge.
The guards dragged the struggling prisoners away.
"None shall challenge the rule of Maximus," the king growled, "NONE!"
oOo
"It almost looks like a house," Webby said, looking at the rocky structure before them.
"What are the odds that there are aliens here?" Louie said.
"Aliens? Get real," Lena scoffed.
"Says the witch."
Lena sputtered.
"I'm just saying, we've been all over the blue area, and there's no sign of Uncle Scrooge. What tracks we saw ended in a lot of messed up sand."
"Louie's got a point," Huey said, "At this point, we can't rule out foul play."
"But aliens on the moon?" Lena asked.
"There's an atmosphere here. It's not a very good one, but it's here."
"That still doesn't—"
Then the rock opened up nearby, disgorging several figures, which aimed weapons at them.
"Halt, invaders!"
The children put their hands up.
"You were saying, Lena?"
"Shut up, Red."
There were three armored beings and three floating metal forms, robots. All aimed dangerous looking rifles at them.
"More strange creatures," the lead being said in a high-pitched voice, "Bind them."
"Yes ma'am!" the other two said.
They and the robots encircled the children. Webby shifted her foot, but Lena noticed and hissed at her.
"We're outnumbered and outgunned. Don't do anything rash."
Webby frowned.
"So you just want us to surrender?"
"They have guns, and the Hand isn't working. Better to let them win for now and figure out a way to escape later."
"No whispering!" the lead guard ordered.
"Ma'am, this is the second group that's been captured today. They must have a vessel somewhere."
"I'm aware. Let's get them settled, then send the warbots to scout. Should have done that earlier…"
Suddenly, a small object flew out of nowhere and attached to the robot behind the ducks. A burst of electricity ripped through it, and it fell to the ground, sparking.
Another object hit the ground, exploding into smoke.
Something pushed the children down to the ground. They could barely make out a form stealing the rifle from the fallen robot and using it to blast the other two to pieces.
Two guardsmen tried to charge it, but were swiftly defeated. The figure moved like lightning, striking hard and in exact places to take them down, using the stolen weapon like a baton in addition to her fists.
"The White Ghost!" the lead guard hissed.
She stumbled through the smoke towards the children, her weapon raised.
"Surrender, Ghost! Or I blast the—"
The muzzle of a gun poked her chest and she stopped dead.
The last of the smoke cleared…
"Get away from them, you bitch!"
There was a sound like thunder, and the guard was sent flying. She slammed to the ground and didn't move.
The White Ghost was a duck. She wore a tattered pilot's jacket, one sleeve gone and the other more patches than sleeve. An equally tattered blue scarf was wrapped around her neck. Her wrists and hands were wrapped for protection, as were her feet. Her feathers were in dire need of a preening, and her hair hung long and unkempt.
She lifted her goggles and stared at the children, almost unsure of what she was seeing.
But she knew. Deep in the depths of her soul, she knew.
Of the boys, Dewey realized it first. He saw those same eyes in the mirror every morning. The other two weren't far behind him.
The face was creased with age and harsh experience, but it was still one they had burned into their brains for a lifetime, a face they never thought they'd see in real life.
"Mom?" Dewey breathed.
"Boys?" Della all but whispered.
The triplets practically flew the last few feet between them. The force of their charge knocked Della over, but no one cared.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie hugged their mother for the first time. Della wrapped her arms around her sons tightly, as if afraid they would disappear if she let go.
Tears of indescribable joy watered the dusty ground of the moon that day.
"You're alive, you're alive!" Louie gasped.
"Oh my God, I heard Scrooge's message, but I didn't think…oh GOD, you're actually here," Della said, trailing off into excited squeaks.
Huey was at a complete loss for words, just making soft quacks and crying his eyes out.
"We found you," Dewey kept saying, "We found you."
Webby and Lena shuffled awkwardly, both feeling like they were intruding. And then Della lurched over to them, still holding onto Huey and Louie, with Dewey latched onto her chest like a limpet, and somehow yanked the girls into the hug too.
"You two, get in here!"
Webby and Lena squawked as they joined the crush.
"Uh, ma'am, we're not actually related to you…"
"Yeah, we just came along for the ride, help out and all-"
"Don'tcaretoohappyEVERYBODYGETSHUGS!"
They stayed like that for a while, and then they heard a groan from one of the guardsmen.
Della immediately ended the hug, picking up the rifle she'd been using and jerking her head.
"Come on, let's get to safety. We can continue this once we're out of the open," she said, her face serious.
She rushed away, the children right behind her. A ways away, she pushed aside a rock, revealing a hole.
"In here," she said, jerking her rifle toward it.
Everyone piled in, Della sealing their entrance shut behind them.
"Where are we?" Huey asked.
"Old service tunnel," Della said, pulling her goggles down, "Hardly anyone comes here. One of my hideouts is nearby, it should be safe."
She took the lead, sweeping any corners with her rifle. Through the darkness they went, Della seemingly unaffected.
"How can you even see?" Dewey asked.
"It's the goggles. The lenses are a special polymer."
"Neat," Webby said, "I have a pair of night vision goggles myself, but I left them at home."
"Night vision goggles? Oh, I'm going to like you," Della laughed.
They finally stopped at a door half-hidden by a metal sheet.
"Here's our stop. Get in, quick."
The boys quickly pulled aside the metal sheet and entered, followed by Webby. Lena and Della kept an eye around, then slipped in themselves, Della pulling the metal over their entrance before fully closing the door.
"Great, now it's even darker," Louie said.
There was a click, and light poured into the room from an old lamp on the ceiling.
"You're welcome," Della said, setting the rifle against the wall.
"What is this place?" Huey asked.
The room was barely bigger than a motel room. There was a cot in one corner covered in threadbare blankets, a basket with some old shirts next to it. On a table was a half-assembled radio, along with a disassembled laser rifle and a scattering of tools.
"Old power station, long out of use," Della replied, taking off her goggles, "No one uses this tunnel anymore, so this was perfect for me. It's not much, but it's a place to hang my hat, one of several I've got scattered around. But my part of the story can wait. I want to hear about you all."
"Like?"
"Well, mother of the year question, but I'd like to know my children's names. Did Donald use my idea list or make up some of his own?"
"Interesting how you just assumed Donald raised them," Lena said.
"Pah! Of course he did, I told him flat out that if anything ever happened to me, he'd get custody. Had paperwork drawn up and everything the second I found out I was pregnant. With my lifestyle, I didn't want to take any chances."
"Well, I'm Hubert, but everyone calls me Huey."
"Dewford, but I prefer Dewey."
"Louie."
"That your actual name, or a nickname like your brothers?" Della asked.
"Yes."
Della just stared at him, one eyebrow raised.
"Wait, you already have a mom look? How is that possible? This is the first time we've met!"
"I practiced in the mirror. Grandma gave me tips."
Louie was silent, so Della turned her gaze to the other two.
"His real name's Llewelyn."
Lena snickered, while Louie gaped at Huey.
"Dude! Not cool!"
"What, she's our mom!"
"Well, now we know who would give up under torture first," Webby said.
"Why would you need to know that? On second thought, don't answer that," Lena responded.
"And who are your lady friends?" Della asked with a smirk, "Anything I should know about them?"
Her smile said it all.
"No way!" the triplets chorused.
"Webby's like a sister, and so's Lena," Dewey said.
"And I'm pretty sure if one of us did try something, Lena would turn him into a frog," Louie deadpanned.
"A newt, more likely," Lena said, "But you'd get better."
"Lena, I presume," Della said, holding in a chuckle.
"Yo. Before you ask about the newt comment, I'm magic."
"And I'm Webby! Hi!"
"She's a tiny spy."
"Interesting company you boys are keeping," Della laughed.
"Well what about you?" Huey asked, "Not every day you find out your mom's some kind of half-feral vigilante alien fighter."
"Well, at least I'm not boring."
Della's smile seemed forced, and she soon dropped it. Regret was writ large on her face.
"Right…I suppose I owe some kind of explanation…it started ten years ago…"
"With the Spear of Selene," Dewey said.
"Know about that part, do you?"
Dewey was silent, but he looked sad.
"Well, I've often cursed the day I ever came up with that thing. But yes, it started when I stole it and went right into a cosmic storm. Like an idiot. Wish I could go back in time just to smack myself upside the head. I should have turned back the second I saw the signs, but I was too full of stupid pride."
Della scoffed.
"Seems to be our family's fatal flaw."
"You have no idea," Lena muttered.
"But regardless, I lost control of the rocket during the storm. I was battered about for what felt like hours, the cosmic lighting having completely fried my systems. I crash-landed here on the moon, and got pretty injured."
Della's sadness turned to anger.
"And then they came."
"The aliens?" Huey asked.
"I call them the Greens, because of the green color of their scales. I don't know where they came from, but they've lived beneath the surface of the moon for a long time. That blue area up above? It's where their atmospheric machines have exhaust, that's where the air comes from. I didn't know that at the time, all I did know was that I was hurt, I could barely breathe, and I was being attacked by lizards. Their king, Maximus, is a madman. He thought I was some kind of spy from the 'blue ball'. In my weakened state, I could do nothing as they threw me into their prison. Even as I recovered, much more slowly than if I had received proper treatment mind, no one would listen to me."
Della got a faraway look in her eyes, remembering.
"It was horrible in there. Five years sealed in a hole, sometimes tortured for nonexistent information and only given the barest minimum to survive. I nearly lost myself. The only thing that kept me going were thoughts of my dearest brother who I've always counted on, my incredible uncle who was like a father to me, and three little eggs that I wanted desperately to see again."
She looked at the triplets with a loving gaze.
"I didn't know a damn thing about you, but you saved me more times than I can count. I dreamt of you every night, filling in little details as I went. But when I heard Scrooge's message, those little thoughts suddenly became so real. And everything I had gone through suddenly didn't matter, because I was going to see my children."
The boys slipped forward and hugged her carefully. She hugged them back tenderly, joyful tears slipping down her beak.
"So how'd you get out?" Louie asked when they parted.
"You ever hear of an old movie called The Shawshank Redemption?" Della asked.
"Yes, I've seen it," Lena replied.
"Oh-ho, we got a rebel here! Although in the interests of being a responsible adult, where exactly did you see an R-rated movie?"
"Snuck into a college campus movie night. One of the students caught me, but I managed to weasel my way out of trouble. He told me he figured that this was a better option for a first R-rated movie than something like Robocop with blood splatters every five minutes."
"I can't really argue with that, considering how much sleep I lost when I decided to sneak an R-rated horror movie."
She shuddered.
"Still freaked out by clowns…now, my escape. For those of you in the audience not in on the joke, the main character of the movie escapes from prison after spending about twenty years picking a hole into his cell wall, digging a tunnel until it met a sewage pipe and escaping from there. Mine was just like that, but replace sewage with ventilation shaft. Ended up with a lot of burned feathers I had to pluck, but I was out. I then spent the next five years on a one-duck guerilla war, destabilizing the mad king's tyrannical grip while trying to figure out how to get home, or at least send a transmission back to Earth. Problem is, the Greens aren't big on radio waves. Never needed more than short-range transmissions, their civilization was small enough that they never had to send things far. I couldn't get anything that could boost my signal, it just didn't exist here."
"And I'm guessing space travel was also a big no," Webby said.
"That obvious, huh?"
She swept a hand toward the piecemeal radio on the table.
"I jury-rigged something, which was how I received Scrooge's message about an incoming rescue, but that thing isn't nearly powerful enough to send a message back. Half the reason I even got the message in the first place was thanks to how close we are to the surface."
"Well, that's not an issue anymore," Huey said, "The rocket we came in on is fully capable of bringing us all home."
"Great!" Della smiled.
"But there's some bad news."
"Of course there is," Della said, slumping.
"We came with Uncle Scrooge and Uncle Donald," Dewey said, "Them and Doc Gearloose were supposed to be scouting the area, but they were gone for so long that we decided to look for them."
Della ground her beak, then grabbed the stolen rifle.
"Stay here, I'll scout around."
"No way, that's how this whole thing started!"
"Dewey, this isn't a discussion. Besides, I've been a ghost in the city for five years. I have this."
She tore one of the shirts apart into strips, then tied the strips to the rifle to make a strap, allowing her to carry it on her back.
"I'm serious, stay put," she said, tugging on her goggles.
And with that, she left.
"So we're following her, right?" Dewey asked.
"Yeah, because facing the Greens worked so well last time," Lena scoffed, tapping her unreactive gauntlet.
"I have to go with Lena on this," Louie said, "We're a little out of our depth here. Mom's the expert, she's been playing spy in this alien city for a long time. This time, we probably should wait."
"And if she doesn't come back?" Dewey asked.
"She's coming back this time," Huey said.
"We just got her back, we can't lose her again!"
"So we, what? Risk our lives on unknown territory, beyond anything we've ben through before, to try and help someone who's been a ghost in this territory for five years? Mom's got way more experience in this situation than we do, we'd just get in her way."
"And probably get us all captured," Webby added.
Dewey grumbled.
"I don't like it either, bro," Huey said, "But the only safe option is to wait and trust that she knows what she's doing."
oOo
Della skittered through the tunnels until she came to a door. Carefully sliding out it, she dropped down onto a roof of the underground city of the Greens.
The city looked like if someone took a city skyline and folded it in half. Buildings shot upward until they hit the ceiling, or hung from said ceiling like enormous stone bats. It often reminded Della of a cave, with stalagmites and stalactites and rocky columns where the two met. In the distance was the palace of the king, shining like jewel, but having seen diamonds up close, Della often regarded it as zirconium, which only half had to do with her opinion of the man who lived there. Dull blue lights dotted the stone buildings, bathing the area in a bluish glow.
It made her white feathers and hair stand out, but she had long since mastered the art of stealth. And even in a city such as this, people rarely looked up.
She dashed across the room, leaping and clinging to a stalactite building and shimmying higher until she came to a wire strung up high. She swung up onto the wire and crawled along it like a spider along thread.
She dropped down onto the next building, wincing a bit as old pain shot up her left leg. It was an old injury, a remnant of the crash. She'd done her best to set the bone herself while imprisoned, but she had always been fairly certain it hadn't healed right.
'Well, since I'm going home anyway, I'll be seeing a doctor about it,' she thought.
Truth be told, she imagined a long hospital stay once she arrived back on Earth. While she was certain foreign diseases weren't a problem, or it would have come up earlier, Della knew that a decade of rough living had taken a toll on her body. While she'd done her best to mitigate her circumstances, such as improvised weight training to keep her muscles from atrophying in the lesser gravity, there were still things she couldn't counter, or even a few she'd missed.
But she'd jump off that bridge when she came to it.
With the ease of experience, Della traversed the city. She leapt and climbed between buildings, rarely staying in one place for long. This speed and ease of traversal had earned her the 'Ghost' part of her nickname, and she had a long history of dodging the city guardsmen and vanishing like smoke, despite their best efforts.
Speaking of guardsmen, she spotted a pair on the street below, their armor shining in the light as they made a patrol. Civilians ducked out of their way, and Della knew from experience that fear was on their faces.
She'd experienced first-hand the cruelty of King Maximus. His own people disliked him, but many felt they could do nothing. So upon escaping, Della made it her mission to become a constant problem for the king.
Sabotaging the guardsmen, stealing food and medicine to leave in the less-fortunate parts of the city, keeping an eye on what revolutionary cells there were and aiding them when possible. Della Duck had done it all. Because even if there was danger, be it a forgotten death trap, a mystical curse, or a simple bully with too much power, Ducks didn't back down.
She shimmied down a power conduit between two buildings, slipping behind a dumpster in the alley and straining her ears.
"Did you hear? There's going to be a big public execution tomorrow."
"One of the rebels?"
"Better."
"Wait, did they finally get the White Ghost?"
"No, but three invaders just like her were picked up. White Ghost was probably an advance scout or something, and now more have shown up. His Majesty is going to kill them to send a message."
"Ghost ain't gonna like that. You sure we aren't playing with fire here?"
"Watch it, that's slanderous talk."
"I'm just saying, the White Ghost has been giving us the runaround for five years, and we've never come close to catching her. If these invaders are like her, how do we know that all we're gonna do is tick her off?"
"Forget it. Those three spies are going to die tomorrow morning. If the Ghost has a problem, she can come herself, right into the arms of the King."
Della ground her beak as the guardsmen passed.
'Well f*ck,' she thought.
She wanted to curse out loud, but she kept silent, merely shimmying back up the building.
It had only been self-ingrained habit of silence while out and about that prevented her from cursing then and there, or as she rushed across rooftops. She held it in as she traveled back to her safehouse, her beak gritted tightly shut. Only when she had entered her place of safety did she let it out, momentarily forgetting that she had guests.
The children jumped as Della came back into the room like a storm, barking something that made their jaws drop.
"Geez, the mouth on you," Huey said.
Della jumped herself, just realizing what she'd done.
"Oh, sorry. Old family joke that Donald got the lion's share of our parents' tempers, but I swear enough for both of us."
"And Uncle Donald is supposed to be the sailor," Dewey said.
"He always preferred angry quacking. That just doesn't do it for me."
"Back on topic, what's the situation?" Webby asked.
"It's as we feared. They got captured. I overheard some guardsmen shooting the shit. Mad Maximus thinks they're spies, and is all set to publicly execute them come morning."
"We can bust them out, right?" Louie asked.
"I've never been able to sneak into the palace without a lot going on elsewhere drawing attention," Della said, shaking her head, "Maximus is a paranoid guy, and he's probably stepped up security because he thinks his current prisoners could draw me out. He's got a serious mad-on for me."
"Great, now what do we do?" Huey asked, "How are we supposed to perform a jailbreak on an alien palace crawling with the guards of a paranoid king?"
Suddenly, there was a sharp crack. A soft giggle echoed in the air.
"Simple," Lena said, a mischievous grin on his face, "We give the Mad King Maximus something to fear."
She lifted her right hand, showing off the Hand of Phobos.
The gem on the back glowed an eerie light.
"And just like that, we're in business," Louie chuckled darkly.
oOo
King Maximus was signing a few papers in his office when he heard a whistle. He looked up…
And made a sound like a stepped-on mouse upon locking eyes with the White Ghost.
"Hi," she said playfully, wiggling her fingers.
Then she turned on her heel and walked out the door, laughing lightly.
Maximus was ashamed to say it took him a minute to react, the sheer audacity of the situation making his brain freeze.
"GUARDS! Intruder! The White Ghost is in the palace!"
The entire palace scrambled, guards readying weapons and storming through the halls en masse.
But this was not an ordinary intruder alert…
oOo
"There she is! Blast her!"
The withering barrage of laser fire did nothing as the White Ghost ran and twisted around the bolts, ducking and weaving as she ran down the halls before turning a corner.
The guards rushed around, only to smack right into another group.
"Watch it, we're chasing the Ghost!"
"That's absurd! We were just chasing the Ghost!"
A whistle got the two groups' attention, and they turned as one to an open door.
"Hey there!" she said, before closing the door behind her.
The guards immediately blasted down the door…
But the room was empty.
"That's impossible," one said, "There are no windows in this room. There's no way out!"
oOo
The White Ghost slid down a stair railing, laughing in glee.
Guards stomped down the stairs after her, their armor clanking with every step.
She leapt off the railing as it ended, landing with a roll and popping back to her feet. She ducked into a large ballroom and disappeared behind a pillar.
"We have her now!"
A whistle got their attention, and they saw her waving from behind a pillar at the far end. They raced after her, questioning how she moved there.
"Yoo-hoo!"
The White Ghost spun around a pillar not far from them, and one guard shot at her, grazing her.
"I think I got her!"
"Hey bright eyes!"
They all turned to see her halfway up a different pillar.
"You missed!" she cried, before scurrying up the pillar and flipping onto the balcony it supported with a cry of "Whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop!"
"How did she do that?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" came a voice from behind them.
They spun around and saw a grinning White Ghost. They were so stunned, they did nothing as she spun on her heel and raced out the door.
oOo
The White Ghost raced through a kitchen, laughing as she exited into a dining hall. Guards chased after her, only to run smack into a table. The Ghost merely leaped across the tables nimbly.
"You're never going to get me!" she cried.
She raced out the room, and the guards scrambled to follow…
Only to stop dead the second they exited the hall.
"What's wrong?" asked the White Ghost.
"Seeing double?" asked the White Ghost.
The two Ghosts laughed and took off in different directions, leaving behind horrified guards.
oOo
"…and all of the sudden there were two of them!"
"She's left the ballroom, we're following!"
"White Ghost spotted outside the Red Room! Moving to pursue!"
"Target located near the treasure chamber…"
"She just stole my helmet!"
"She was flicking through the records room for an unknown reason, she bolted the second we found her…"
"Lost track of her by the watch tower, will comb the area…"
The king and the captain of the guard listened to the reports coming in over captain's master transceiver with ever-mounting horror.
"How is she doing this?" the captain asked, "She's everywhere at once! She's never been able to do this before!"
As if called, the White Ghost burst into the room, pursued by a pair of guards. She stopped in the middle of the room, letting the guards catch up to her and tackle her…
Only for them to pass right through her, as if she was a cloud of smoke.
She grinned toward the king.
"Shall we their fond pageant see?" the White Ghost laughed, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
She then vanished before their eyes, her laughter still ringing in the air.
"What in all the stars is going on here?" King Maximus shouted.
oOo
"Okay, we're clear."
At Della's order, the group slipped out of the shadows and down the hall.
"However your friend Lena is doing it, it's working," she said, "All the guards are so turned around, we've got an easy shot to the dungeons."
"Up and down, up and down,
I will lead them up and down:
I am fear'd in field and town:
Goblin, lead them up and down."
"Is she going to be okay, though?" Della asked over Lena's laughter.
"She always gets like this when she does too much with the gauntlet," Huey said, "Power high. Webby should be able to keep her straight. The rate she's going, she'll probably crash when she takes it off, though."
"By then, we'll be launching ourselves off this rock and back to Duckburg," Dewey countered.
"True."
"How are you doing, Lena?" Webby asked, rubbing the older duck's arm reassuringly.
"Quite fine, Englabeth! Oi be jus' peachy," Lena replied in a horrible Cockney accent, before dropping it and leaning on Webby, "What is reality? What is illusion? For a magician, either could be."
"Guys, let's speed this up," Webby said bluntly, "The different magic fields here are affecting the Hand, and it's affecting Lena. I don't want her to push herself any more than she has to."
"So long as she can still pull off Plan B, I think we'll be fine," Louie said.
"Can I?" Lena said smugly.
They still picked up the pace anyway.
They finally reached the dungeons, finding it deserted. The doors had viewing holes to look in on the prisoners, so everyone spread out to find the one occupied by Scrooge, Donald, and Gyro.
"Guys, I found them!" Dewey shouted, having jumped to look inside.
"Dewey, what are you doing here?" came Donald's voice.
"Rescuing you!"
Everyone quickly got back together, and Huey inspected the lock.
"I don't think I can pick this. The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook doesn't have anything like this—"
"Then stand back," Della said, unslinging her rifle.
The children got out of the way, and Della blasted the lock and kicked open the door.
"I'm still cleaning up after you, huh Donnie?" she smirked.
Donald's jaw dropped. Then he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her, tears in his eyes.
"Della," he sobbed, "Oh God, it is you…"
"Hey bro," she whispered back, "Sorry for disappearing on you."
"You should be, you jerk!" Donald all but shouted, but there was a smile on his face.
Scrooge rushed over and hugged them both.
"It's good to see you again, Spitfire," he said.
"You too, Uncle Scrooge. I'm sorry, I never should have gotten into the rocket in the first place."
"What's done is done, we're together again. Back up, Donald, let me get a good look at her."
The hug was broken, and Scrooge looked Della up and down, frowning slightly.
"No offense, but you look terrible."
"Well, I haven't had the best time in the past decade."
"You grew your hair out," Donald said.
"It was unintentional, but I'm used to it now," Della said, flicking a lock of hair, "But we can talk more once we get to safety."
"Finally!" Gyro shouted, having been silent until then, "My attempts to effect escape have been less than stellar."
He pushed his way out of the cell, then stopped at the wild look Lena was giving him.
"What's with you?"
"She's channeling a lot of magic to keep us covered," Louie said.
"Which points out our time limit," Huey said, "We don't know how much longer her illusions can keep the guards distracted, and I for one don't want to find out. We should sneak back out before-"
"HEY YOU!"
Everyone jumped, whirling around to see a guard. He immediately hit a button on the wall, and an alarm sounded out.
"Aw, f*ck," Della moaned.
"Lena, Plan B," Webby said.
Lena cackled unsettlingly.
oOo
The walls of the palace exploded outward, sending debris scattering. A large black shape lurched out of it, roaring loud enough to rattle the ceiling.
The monstrosity seemed to have been birthed from the Greens' foulest nightmares, a multi-limbed horror that surged forward, flinging aside anything in its path. It leapt and latched onto a building, scuttling up it and beginning a skittering trek across rooftops.
Nestled among the field of short tentacles that grew from its back like a mane were Scrooge, Donald, Della, Gyro, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby. They clung for dear life to the undulating back of the beast, some tentacles wrapped around their middles and helping keep them there like seatbelts.
Lena stood on what passed for the creature's head, heedless of the slavering, multi-hinged jaw mere feet from her, her glowing feet evidence as to what kept her attached. She directed her creation onward, singing as she gestured:
"Push the kinetics
A troubled spirit breaking through
A bitter debt to repay now…
"But don't you dread it
A friend would never lie to you
Helping you get through the pain now"
"Well, that's fitting," Webby muttered.
"And when everything is upside down!
When you're yelling but you make no sound,
Life is gonna spin you round,
Oh~ and get a little bit stranger!"
"You're sure she's fine?" Della asked, "Because this is really f*cking weird!"
"Her last name is Le Strange, I'd think this was par for the course," Gyro shouted back.
"When everything is upside down!
A tremor in the underground!
The nights are gonna take this town,
Oh~ and get a little bit stranger
Stranger…"
"She's usually a lot more chill, actually," Louie said, "Occasional anxiety aside."
"Lost in the spaces behind
Hold out a hand in your mind
Don't have to face it alone!"
The creature finally reached their exit point, and let them all off. Lena directed it back to the city.
"Lead them on a merry chase," she said.
As the massive creature skittered away, Lena turned back to the others, humming and swaying to her little song. Webby reached out and pulled her along.
"This old service tunnel will take us to the surface, then we can get to your ship," Della said, "Hopefully the Greens haven't found it."
They raced through the tunnels and across the rocky surface of the moon, finally reaching the rocket.
"Bigger than the last Spear of Selene," Della commented.
"We call this the Sword of Selene, actually," Scrooge said.
Everyone piled in, Webby and Lena bringing up the rear.
"We're clear, gogogo!" Lena shouted, taking a brief look behind her.
"Strap in everyone!" Della shouted, diving into the pilot's seat and raking her gaze over the controls with a practiced eye.
"Hang on, this is my ship, I'll fly-"
"Gyro, sit down!" Scrooge shouted, "We don't have time to argue!"
"But sir—"
"Della's the best damn pilot I've ever known, she's got this!"
In a matter of minutes, the rocket was launching. Della let out a long breath.
"Finally…I'm off the moon…I'm going home…"
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Scrooge.
"Rest easy, Spitfire. You're back with your family."
"Uncle Scrooge, I'm sorry for taking the Spear in the first place. If I hadn't-"
"No more of that. This family's been in too much pain already to keep blame going around ten years after the fact."
Della slowly nodded.
Lena slumped in her chair, pushing the gauntlet off as Webby pulled.
"Thanks, Pink," she moaned, "Do me a favor, wake me when we land."
Webby gave Lena a small hug as the older girl's eyes fluttered closed.
"You rest, Lena."
"So…we're finally going home with Mom," Louie said, staring toward the front of the cockpit.
"I know, right?" Dewey said, "It almost doesn't feel real."
"Believe it, guys," Huey said, "Our mom is back. Everyone's together."
The triplets looked at the mother with smiles on her faces as she pointed the rocket towards home.
A few minutes later, those smiles would vanish.
It started with some coughing. Della coughed a little as she flew. Then she coughed some more. She thumped her chest a little, feeling like it was getting tight. She coughed again, ending with a wheeze.
And that's when she realized that something was definitely wrong.
She tried to say something, but her voice was drowned out by coughs. She let go of the control yoke and clutched at her chest, coughing and wheezing.
She felt herself be moved out of the chair, heard Scrooge barking orders, but it felt far away, like the voices were coming from underwater. All she could focus on was the fact that she couldn't breathe.
Donald had gotten to Della first, dragging her out of the chair and laying her on the ground. Scrooge ordered Gyro to take the wheel before attending to Della himself. Donald was already performing CPR, but Della was still wheezing and twitching.
"What's going on?" Dewey cried.
"Oh God, I was afraid of this," Huey said, "Reverse altitude sickness, in spades! Her body's spent too long in that thin atmosphere, her lungs are struggling to adapt to this thicker one!"
"So what do we do?" Louie shouted.
"Her lungs aren't getting her enough oxygen, we need to help get her more."
"Oxygen?" Gyro gasped, "I have an idea! Get out one of the masks! And someone take the wheel!"
Webby grabbed one of the masks and rushed over to Gyro, even as the scientist opened a storage chamber beneath one of the chairs and extracted a slim case. Inside were some tools, and he immediately got to work. In moments, he lifted the mask with a cry, and rushed over to Della.
"I've reconfigured the mask. It'll provide a steady stream of oxygen at a better rate than before. It should counter what's going on…hopefully, I'm not a medical doctor."
"Then we need to get her one," Scrooge said, getting out of the pilot's chair, "Put this thing into overdrive!"
"Yes sir!" Gyro said, trading places and hitting a few switches.
While Donald fussed over his sister, who seemed to be breathing a little easier, Scrooge turned to the triplets, who all had worried looks on their faces.
"I know what you lads are thinking. Stop it right now. You are not going to lose your mother again! I've seen this before, and it's treatable. She's going to be fine! We'll get her to a doctor and fix her up. She'll be home before you know it, whole and healthy. I swear it on the graves of my ancestors!"
The boys kept somber looks on the faces for a while, keeping close to Della the whole way home as she fell into an exhausted slumber.
oOo
Many hours later, the rocket touched down. When they were closer to Earth, Scrooge had managed to get a message to Mrs. Beakley, and she had prepared for their arrival.
The second the door on the rocket opened, Launchpad was rushing in, grabbing up Della, and rushing back out to deliver her to the ambulance that had been called. Scrooge chased after him to speak to the paramedics.
However, waiting by the ambulance were his board of directors, alongside an apologetic Bentina.
"I'm sorry, they found out," she said.
"Not your fault, Mrs. Beakley. Gentlemen, I'd like to stay and chat, but I have more pressing business to-"
"You just couldn't leave well enough alone," Bradford snarled, "How much did you pour into this secret project? Isn't it bad enough you nearly bankrupted the company with a fool's errand?"
"This was different. I actually had a location!" Scrooge snarled back, "And I don't think I like your tone!"
"Your judgement is askew, Mr. McDuck—"
"And you didn't happen to notice the person Launchpad rushed by with? I don't have time for this, Bradford. I need to see to my niece."
"We need to discuss this!"
"I'm not discussing anything until Della is fine!"
"So you're going to abandon this over a silly girl who got herself in trouble, just like the last t-"
There was a loud crack, and Bradford fell to the ground, out cold. Scrooge stood over him with an extended fist, his face a mask of rage.
"Don't. You. Dare."
He glared at the other two Buzzard Brothers, but they raised their hands and stepped back.
"We can discuss this later," they said in unison.
"Smart," Scrooge said, before turning toward the ambulance, "Beakley, Launchpad, get the kids and follow us, Donald and I will ride with Della."
oOo
The diagnosis was long, but it wasn't anything unexpected.
General malnutrition, from having to steal food that her body had trouble fully processing sometimes. A minor malunion in her tibia, which would require some minor surgery at a later date to repair, if she ever accepted it since she'd gotten used to it. Some muscle atrophy, although the doctors commended her tactics of mitigation, given that it could have been much worse. General wear and tear.
What Della hadn't counted on was the reverse altitude sickness. According to the doctors, she had been dangerously close to a full-on low altitude cerebral edema. Much like its high altitude cousin, her lungs and brain had been shocked by the abrupt change in air pressure, and some damage had been done. Thankfully, the doctors had gotten to her in time to prevent more serious complications. The oxygen treatment Gyro had whipped up had helped immensely in buying her time.
In the end, Della was given a strict diet to adhere to, some medication, physical therapy appointments, and a portable oxygen concentrator. Her lungs had received a lot of shock, and she would have to use it to occasionally bolster her oxygen levels.
Della didn't like the tubes going into her nostrils, but it was better than the alternative, and she felt that she would get used to them in time.
What else she didn't like was the insistence of keeping her in the hospital for a few days for observation. She was a girl of action, she hated being cooped up for long periods. By the second day, she was practically bouncing off the walls.
The only good parts were the visitors. The triplets, her boys, were an almost constant presence. Just being with them was a balm to her, and she was eager to know as much as possible about them. Donald usually accompanied them, throwing in his own comments to this or that story, or providing context to something.
She got the funny feeling they were holding something back, but shrugged it off, glad for the interaction.
All the same, she was extremely happy when Scrooge came in with the release paperwork.
"Finally! Get me out of this f*cking place! I f*cking hate hospitals!"
"One last thing before we go," Scrooge said, and he handed her a box.
Della opened it and gasped. Reaching in, she lifted up a brand-new pilot's jacket.
"Figured you'd want a new one, considering your old one was mostly scraps."
"Uncle Scrooge, get over here so I can hug you," was the deadpan reply.
oOo
Della looked up at McDuck Manor, smiling. It was good to be home.
She entered the mansion, and immediately jumped at the blue glow that appeared before her.
"Welcome home, Miss Della."
Della blinked awkwardly.
"Duckworth, are you a ghost?"
Duckworth merely smiled.
"Okay, then," she said slowly before following her brother.
"Yeah, I've gotten used to that," Donald said, "Your room's this way. Uncle Scrooge unlocked it, and Duckworth and Mrs. B spend all day yesterday giving it a deep clean. Last thing we need is you getting too much dust."
"I'll have to look it over, make sure it's up to my strict preferences," Della said haughtily, but her grin showed what she was really feeling.
Della brandished a cane Scrooge had let her borrow, and Donald walked on her other side, ready to help if she stumbled. It would be a while before her muscles built back up, but she wasn't concerned. In the meantime, she'd just need a little help as she walked. They found Mrs. Beakley and the boys waiting, the boys just exiting.
"We were just helping Mrs. B bring in some clothes," Huey said.
"Little under the wire, don't you think?" Della asked.
The boys shrugged, but Della just laughed.
"I'm teasing. I'm going to lay down for a bit. We can shoot the shit later, okay?"
The boys nodded, but Beakley grimaced.
"Della, I'd prefer if you watched your language in the future. There are children present."
"If they know what it means, they're old enough to know when to use it. If not, they know not to repeat it."
"Give it up, Mrs. B," Donald said, "Scrooge and I tried for years to get her to clean up her language. Never worked."
"Perhaps I should give it a shot, start a swear jar."
"Don't bother. I gave up after the third attempt at one of those."
Beakley gave Della a glare. Della got an odd smile on her face.
"Boys, cover your ears a moment," she said mysteriously.
The triplets did so, and witnessed their mother say something that had Mrs. Beakley's jaw drop. Della then gave a haughty smile and hobbled into her room to get settled.
"What happened?" Louie said.
"My sister just unloaded all of the Seven Dirty Words right into Mrs. B's face," Donald replied, clearly struggling not to laugh.
"I wonder if this is going to be a running gag," Dewey said.
Later in private, Donald told the children, including Lena and Webby, that if he caught them using similar language, they would be punished for it.
"I can't stop my sister from cursing, but I can at least prevent you from getting into the habit."
oOo
After her brief nap, Della went in search of Donald. She momentarily gawked at the houseboat in the pool, but shrugged. Donald had always felt most comfortable on the water anyway. No doubt the boys had rooms on the boat as well.
She inched up the gangplank, taking care and leaning heavily on the cane, and found Donald washing a few dishes.
"Donnie? Can I talk to you?"
"Sure, sis. What's up?"
"I was hoping you had some pictures of the boys I could see."
"Oh, plenty. Let me get the albums."
The two ended up pouring over pictures in albums and on Donald's phone. Della laughed at the overprotective nature of her brother showcased in the pictures, but chalked it up to grief from her disappearance playing havoc on his careful nature.
The second that thought had crossed her mind, the little seed of doubt she'd been carrying for so long rapidly grew.
"Della?" Donald asked, seeing tears in his sister's eyes.
Della just sobbed, rubbing at her eyes and accidently knocking out her oxygen tube.
"Hey, easy. What's wrong?" Donald asked, helping her replace the tube.
"It's just…God, all that lost time! I missed so much…I never should have gotten on that rocket. My own children are strangers."
"Della, no," Donald said, "You're here now. We have time now. We can-"
"What, make up for lost time?" she snapped, "Donald, I missed their first steps, their first words. I missed every bedtime story. I missed their first day of school, and the first time they got in trouble at school. I lost ten years! How can I claim to be their mother when I haven't been there?"
"Stop talking like that! Our family has been through too much to be cut down by something as stupid as time! You are Della Duck, the bravest person I've ever known. You are going to get through this and be the fantastic mother I always knew you would be."
Della just collapsed against her brother, a decade's worth of sorrow coming out at once.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie found them like that. Donald doing his best to comfort Della, both of them crying. Between Donald's soft words of reassurance and Della's sobs of regret, it wasn't hard for them to figure out what was going on.
Without a second thought, they joined in.
"Boys, I'm so sorry…I was never there…"
"You're here now, that's what matters," Huey said.
"We're family, we'll get through this," Dewey added.
Louie just nuzzled his head against Della's torso, giving soft quacks and trying to transmit as much care as he could.
But the pain was still there. And it would spread. Soon, all five of them were weeping bitterly for the years they had lost.
I'm not crying, you're crying!