What The Stars Take, The Moon Gives

Chapter 1: Never Next to Normal

The sky above Duckburg was misty with the creamy orange, vibrant gold, velvety rose, and soothing scarlet which broke through the dimming shades of night's alluring indigo, cool violets, and mysterious obsidian that would soften itself with the scattering of stars before the sun and the clear blue sky covered them from dreamy eyes. Although summer had come and went with the excitement of the frightful Shadow War aftermath, its warm arms were not so quick to give autumn leeway to bloom. The magnificent mansion of Scrooge McDuck, along with the finished restoration of his Money Bin, embraced the feisty morning's warmth. Even the humble and worn houseboat of the Scottish drake's nephew, which was finally put back together and had just been moved back to the Manor from the harbor the day before, seemed perkier than usual.

The Morning Star finished pulling itself from the horizon and shone down on the citizens of the sea-side metropolis. It was a Saturday and each member of the Manor found that they were busy with one thing or another. Beakley had taken Webby out for a little "Ladies' Day Out," Donald was off again to another job interview, Dewey was watching more Darkwing Duck episodes with Launchpad, Scrooge had already left to speak to a new investor from Spoonerville, Huey was still practicing sewing (thankfully remembering to eat and rest), and Louie was thinking up ideas for his recently started idea for Louie, Inc.

Munching on the last double chocolate chip cookie he snatched from the cookie jar, he walked outside as he brainstormed. How would he get started? What kind of business would it be? As hard as he tried to think about it, an idea couldn't come to mind. Louie wasn't stupid or creative, far from it. His fifth grade going on sixth grade art and math classes proved that. But he had no actual personal interests or hobbies other than treasures and get-rich-fast schemes. Growing up on the houseboat with a loving, though bad luck-prone, uncle who only made enough to feed them, keep a roof over their heads, and send him and his brothers to school, Louie didn't have any motives for life except go onto college and get a well-paying job. Being introduced to his great uncle awoken a lust for wealth that he had tried to keep in during the ten years of his life. Now, realizing that he was not as great a young adventurer or science expert as his brothers, but was great with seeing angles, he saw his calling; being a businessman and starting a company. He just needed to figure it out first…somehow.

"Maybe I'll come up with some ideas on the houseboat," the green-clothed brother murmured to no one in particular as he headed towards his intended destination. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Uncle Donald bought some spare notebooks."

The youngest Duck triplet padded through the grass, the dew of the dawn having been dried up by the rays of the sun, leaving it crisp and soft until the colder seasons would coat it with leaves, frost, and snow in just a few months. He walked up the wooden board serving as a connection between the Manor's solid ground and the floating island that was Donald Duck's boat that he and his nephews called home for over a decade. It contrasted so amazingly with the large lavished home that had been the home of the richest duck in the world's nephew…and niece. It had been a month or two since the revelation of what happened to Della and the events of the Shadow War, yet Louie still had mixed feelings about all that he learned.

Although he no longer resented Scrooge for what happened to her and had come to accept that she was most likely gone for good, finding out the truth left him feeling a cornucopia of emotions for the one family he never knew. Sadness that he would only ever know her through stories and that her "passing" and the wounds that needed still to heal. Anger at her for even getting on the ship which led to the rift in their family that had lasted for so many years and Donald facing the burden of raising three kids while juggling through different trials. Hurt that she chose that ship over them, not even waiting until they had hatched so she never would have gotten lost to the cosmic storm that ultimately ended her.

He felt his stomach begin to twist and now more than anything wanted a sip of Pep. Sadly, there was currently none in mansion and Beakley would not be getting any groceries until the next day. Perhaps Uncle Donald had already stocked up on some?

Entering the houseboat, Louie slowed his pace as he felt something off. It wasn't a scared feeling, but rather a peculiar feeling. It reminded him of all the times he walked in just as someone had left in a rush, like when the hot-tempered drake would hurry out to run errands on a Sunday morning before anyone was up or Dewey just snuck out to hitch a ride on a mobile boat. The aura also reminded him of bad moments, such as when his two older brothers got into a fight and stomped away in different directions, though never far as Donald wouldn't allow them. It even resembled the feeling he would get when he came home by himself and Donald was hold up in his room worrying over something that he couldn't tell them.

Taking further steps into the houseboat, he noticed some other unusual things. Two of the kitchen cabinets were askew, as if someone had open them but then tried to close them real fast without much force. Then the clever duckling noticed the green apple on the table. The fruit itself wasn't strange and Louie remembered that Donald had run errands the day before prior to getting the boat back, showing that he had gotten groceries. It was the state of it. It was partially bitten, which was a no-no in the houseboat.

Being the unlucky member of the family, Donald had gone through rocky periods of employment, his occupation of a job ranged from a couple of months to a year or two (the longest had been three years and a half). As a result, the sailor-suited duck ensured that nothing, especially food, went to waste. Bananas and apples that were about to near their expiration date were made into banana bread and applesauce respectively. Spinach that was about to wilt was made into spanakopita (Louie bet he got the recipe from Storkules). Stray eggs, pasta, veggies, and others were made into a delicious dinner frittata. Leftover roast was chopped, spiced and turned into tacos. For all his accidents, Donald Duck was a good cook, challenging Beakley's own gourmet feats. What's more is that the apple had weird bites in it, as if the person who was eating it had not known how to do so, like a baby. Only the bites and teeth indents indicated that the consumer was far from infantile.

The final thing he noticed were the footprints of water that appeared to have come from the bathroom. The footprints were strange as they didn't appear to have any toes and were quite slim. The lack of a mist either meant it was a cold shower or they had showered hours before. He said they because he saw that there was two sets of them…and they led to his and his brothers room.

Louie considered running to get his brothers and Launchpad, but then thought again. If the ones responsible were currently hiding, then he couldn't just leave. Who knows if they would make a break for it?

Besides, the youngest Duck brother thought defiantly. If worse comes to worse, I can get out of it. I see all the angles.

With that thought, he marched to the door. Pressing his ear to the door, he quietly listened. Though he didn't hear anything, he felt…anticipated, as if whatever was standing on the other side of the door was waiting for him to barge in. Take a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped inside. The first thing he noticed was the smell of paint, varnish, wood, and sea, no surprise as it had been newly fixed and some of the parts had been dredged up from the sea bottom. The second thing he noticed was the barrenness of the room (again, no surprise as a portion of their stuff had either been destroyed by Magica's shadow minions or their uncle decided to put some of their belongings away for safe keeping). The only pieces of furniture that lay within the room was the triple bunkbeds, not counting the sheets, covers, and pillows in their respective colors. The final thing he noticed was the unusual journal sitting on the bed.

Just as he began to move towards it, he heard a soft gasp from behind. Whirling around, he was greeted with a puff of dusty blue smoke that blinded his vision, causing him to cough out, "Hey! What the-!"

The sentence was interrupted as he felt, smelled, and tasted the dusty vapor go into his eyes, nose, and beak respectively. He coughed and sputtered as he futilely tried to bat the offending substance away (offensive in the sense that it blinded him, it actually smelled sweet). Suddenly, the room started to fade and his body felt like someone filled it with wet concrete. As he slumped to the floor, the last thing he saw and heard before his vision blacked out were two figures by the door, one blue and the other purple, and nervous whispering.

"Stars, stars, stars, stars, stars, stars, stars, stars!"

"Eclipsius!"

"I'm sorry! I panicked! He was going to grab my journal and then he was going to turn around and see us!"

"He's so small. He's no bigger than some of the younger ones back home. How big a dose did you give him?"

"Just a small one, Polara. I swear."

The scolder, Polara, brushed strands of her dark magenta and violet hair out of her entirely eggplant-colored eyes with one of her royal purple hands. In fact, all of her skin was royal purple, not too dark and not too light. The one being scolded, Eclipsius, had cerulean skin that shamed the sea without being more light than dark or vice versa and entirely cornflower-colored blue eyes. His hair was a deep red that looked as if it was spun from rubies. Currently, both his hair and her own were wet and looked as though they had tumbled into the pool which they didn't really mind as they had somewhat looked ragged for the past several days.

Both of them had no noses, three fingers on each hand, and no visible ears (that part was the only thing they shared with the small duck). Although their eyes were entirely eggplant and cornflower colored, there was a spot of white in each to act as a pupil. And though both stood somewhat taller than the adult duck that owned the boat (but still very shorter than the sturdy female they caught a glimpse of), both were adolescent, fourteen years to be exact. They were also lithe, showing that their bodies had yet to start filling in, though they were far from unattractive. Polara was currently pulling a coat over herself which was also covering an oversized Cape Suzette shirt. The only things that seemed to fit her were a pair of sweatpants. Eclipsius himself wore a worn plaid that, although not his size, did not slip off him. Ditto the jeans he wore.

"What now?" Polara inquired.

"Well, the dose I hit him with wasn't that powerful. He'll wake up in a couple minutes," Eclipsius answered. "We have two options; leave or try to reason with him."

"We'll have to do with the second option. We have nowhere to go and no way to get back home," she murmured softly.

"You're right. It was dumb for me to think we even had a choice," he nodded, rubbing his face.

"That's just your nature. You look for everything that's possible until one proves more possible than others," Polara soothed. "That's what will help make you a great Aether Wielder."

A small smile, coupled by a dusting of gold, appeared on Eclipsius's face before he cleared his throat and said quickly whilst bending down picking up the unconscious duckling, "Okay, let's get ready."

The first thing that hit Louie was the scent of sea, paint, and something else he was not familiar with. The second thing was that he was wrapped in a blanket and was being held tightly, enough to keep him from moving but not hard enough to hurt him. The third part was his vision, how his eyes went from feeling heavy to feeling lighter than air. As he blinked away the unintended sleep, he was greeted with the sight of two creatures he never saw before. They were even more strange looking than the Terrafirmians. Their eyes looked down into his own and he felt an urge to scream. Before he could stop himself, his beak snapped open.

But no sound came out.

"I'm sorry," Eclipsius told him sincerely. "But I had to make sure you wouldn't scream. So, I gave you a little something to keep you quiet."

Louie tasted his mouth and found a flavor that was starchy and smoky.

"I'll give you the antidote if you promise not to scream or fight us," the cerulean-colored young male pleaded. "Just hear us out. It's all we ask. Please."

Seeing as how the two had him where they wanted him along with the desperate, but unaggressive, looks they were giving him, he slowly nodded. Eclipsius turned and brought out a black satchel with gold stitching which he proceeded to open before pulling out a small vial that contained a honey-colored fluid. Knowing where this was going, Louie opened his mouth to which the slightly older male responded to as he uncapped the vial dripped three drops into the green-clothed Duck brother's mouth. The drops had a bittersweet taste but soon he felt a sensation in his throat, like it was clearing up.

Giving a small cough he finally spoke, "What was that?"

"Plants extracts and concoctions," the cerulean adolescent answered. "Perfectly non-lethal."

"Yeah, that makes up for the fact that two strangers knocked me out and currently have me in a makeshift straightjacket," the clever brother stated, nodding his beak to his body which they had cocooned in the green blanket they snatched off his bed, both holding him in something cross between an awkward hug and a swaddle. "What are you guys? Where did you come from? Why were you hiding on my Uncle Donald's houseboat? Are you here to hurt us?"

"The first three questions need extensive explanations," Polara said. "As for the last, we are not here to hurt anyone."

"I'll take your word for it," Louie muttered. "If you set me down."

Both adolescent newcomers shared a look before carefully setting the green-clothed duckling go. After freeing himself from the blanket, he looked at them again and then stopped. Though both were looking at him with alertness and attentiveness, their wild hair and unfitting garbs gave them a look that screamed weary and in-need of help. His eyes then fell on a stack of clothes that he had missed upon coming into the room. Clothes that he knew were not his, his brothers', or his Uncle Donald's. He remembered the apple and the shower. How long had it been since they ate or bathed? Something began to bubble in his chest which he recognized as pity. Both had been struggling for who knows how long and they were both older than him by a couple of years. In fact, both looked like they were only slightly older than L-she had been.

"Are you guys hungry?" he asked out of nowhere.

Both looked surprised but were unable to get the words out before simultaneous low growls emitted from both adolescent newcomers abdomens which changed their surprised expressions into ones of embarrassment and guilt. The twinge that Louie had felt in his stomach earlier changed from self-pity into sympathy for the two older youths. In contrast to what some outside of his family thought, the green-clothed duckling was not heartless. During the times where he, his brothers, and their uncle fell on hard times, there was always the unspoken fear of whether they would lose the houseboat, never mind their next meal or snack.

He thought about fixing them something in the houseboat's kitchen, recalling all the times where classmates or babysitters were over and Donald had something prepared for them to eat as well. However, remembering how nervous the sailor-suited duck had been as he left that morning, Louie had second thoughts. Surely if his brothers were still busy with their own thing, they wouldn't notice if he welcomed in some guests for a bite to eat. He was sure he could make something for them. And they could stay in the TV room or in his brothers' bedroom until he figured something out.

"Let's go inside and we'll see if we can grab you guys something to munch on," the youngest Duck triplet said, gesturing for the two to follow him.

"Don't you need the permission of your elders?" Polara inquired.

"Please," the clever triplet laughed. "When you meet my family, you guys are going to be welcomed without a problem."

Casting her male companion a curious glance to which he responded to with confusion, she grabbed her share of the discarded clothes and followed the younger male out the door, closely followed by Eclipsius.

Heading towards the door he came out from, Louie spoke again, "By the way, my name's Louie. What's yours?"

"I'm Eclipsius," the cerulean male answered immediately.

"I'm Polara," the violet female replied.

"Cool," he said, though he was wondering what kind of parents gave their kids names that sounded so…out of this world.

"What's a straightjacket anyway?" Eclipsius inquired in confusion.

No answer came from Louie as they entered the house.

Since we're all in quarantine, I thought I would get out some more fanfics I've been thinking of. And if Eclipsius and Polara have Moonlander looks, that's because…reasons that will not be revealed until in the next chapter. This is an AU where the Moonvasion does not happen. I know, I'm a rogue. Please enjoy and leave comments! Moonvasion doesn't happen and Lunaris isn't the villain in this universe.