"They just want to learn about their family. I thought you guys would understand that."

As Webby turns to leave Huey stops her. "Wait Webby. I'm sorry. You're right"

"I am?"

"What are you talking about?" Louie interrupted. "You just told us you saw one of them steal the sword. How could they not be FOWL agents."

"I'm not saying they aren't working for FOWL" Webby made a face and was about to protest but Huey continued before she could. "But even if they were sent by FOWL that wouldn't make them evil. They were created by FOWL. It'd be weirder if they weren't working for them."

Webby took a moment to think about that. A part of her still wanted to insist that the girls were just confused and scared but she had to admit that Huey's reasoning made some sense. If FOWL had told May and June to infiltrate them then they wouldn't really have a way to refuse. Who knows what FOWL would have done to them if they had. And it wasn't like he was treating the girls like villains anymore. Still...

"I see where you're coming from," Louie responded. "But that doesn't actually change much does it? Even if they're not evil that would still make them our enemies right?"

And that was the rub wasn't it. Even if Huey wasn't calling them evil the result was the same. The triplets still saw them as enemies.

"If Webby sees them as family then they're our family too!" Dewey spoke up suddenly. "You don't abandon family. Even if they've been brainwashed by supervillains."

Dewey's outburst surprised Webby. The fact that he was willing to go so far as to welcome the two clones into his family for her sake was incredibly touching. Still, as much as she appreciated the sentiment, she doubted the more logical triplets would go along with such an emotional argument. They cared about her too but to them, May and June were still just dangerous strangers.

"I agree," Huey said. Completely derailing her thought process. "Those two need help getting out from FOWL's clutches and we're the only ones who can give it to them."

"Do you actually think we can convince them to change sides. They were created by FOWL. Probably to destroy us! And you think being nice to them is going to fix that."

Louie's response was far closer to what she expected. The boy really didn't like the idea of being played for a fool.

"It worked with Lena" Dewey interjected.

The similarities had crossed her mind. It was probably why Lena was so sensitive about those two.

"I know it's a big risk Louie but if I've learned anything in the last year it's that sometimes you need to take a leap of faith. We can't do this without you. None of us can read people the way you can." Louie took a moment to consider his brothers' words before responding.

"Lena was a fluke." Louie replied. "By the time we knew she was evil she had already turned good. This is completely different. If we go with this plan then, no matter how careful we are, we are eventually going to have to place our trust in those two. Anything else and they'd just think we were using them. I don't know about you guys but I for one am not willing to trust people who I know for a fact intend to stab me in the..."

"Goldie" Dewey interrupted, causing Louie to stop talking mid rant. It wasn't the best argument considering how his last scheme with Goldie had ended. Still, if nothing else it did hit close to home.

For a while Louie just seemed to stare at his brothers in silence. To most people those stares might seem meaningless but Webby knew that they contained an entire conversation that she wasn't privy to. These moments never lasted long. The boys liked talking aloud. But the fact that they could do this always made her feel a small surge of jealousy whenever it happened. They always did their best to make her feel like she was one of them but things like this were undeniable proof that she wasn't nearly as close to them as they were to each other. She probably never would be. They were actually family after all. She was just a friend who was close enough to be considered family. Maybe that was why the idea of having genetic sisters was appealing to her. The idea that she could have something like what they had seemed incredible.

Webby was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by the realization that Louie's gaze was now focused squarely on her. She could tell he was still undecided about what to do. On the one hand he definitely saw a chance for success, if not a large one. On the other hand, he was really worried about what would happen if they failed. He seemed less worried about FOWL's master plan than about how she would react. That made sense, she supposed. Finding out that Granny sometimes lied to her had caused her to shut down completely. Louie had been the one to help her get back up after that. He clearly didn't want to see her reaction to outright betrayal. It was sweet really, but she was stronger than she used to be. And even if she did fall apart she had the boys to help her put herself back together. Most importantly they shouldn't just assume they'd fail.

"Sometimes you have to look for the best in people, and not assume the worst." Louie said softly. "Alright I'm in too. Let's go corrupt some innocent minds to the dark side." Without another word he started walking towards Webby's room.

"You realize we're the good guys right?" Dewey said racing after him...

Huey added nothing. Merely patting Webby on the back as he followed his brothers. For a moment Webby just stared at them. Then she wiped her eyes on her sleeve and followed after them with a smile.

Maybe she was closer to them than she'd thought...