Chapter 1: Beginning of a Mystery!

"We did it kids, more treasure under the McDuck family name." a proud Scrooge said entering the doors of McDuck Manor. Each of the kids enter behind him, carrying bags and chests full of treasure.

It has been around one year since the defeat of the Fiendish Organization of World Larceny. Ever since then, the kids have grown into their own individuals.

Huey works as an intern for his best friend Fenton and aims to make the GizmoCloud more accessible to the public. His scientific brain is impressive to Fenton and Gandra and they constantly promote Huey's advancement despite his age. Since earning his failure badge, he's made a commitment to himself to work harder than ever before, earning himself the title of Senior Woodchuck. Through his own troop, he reshaped the Woodchucks into an organization not based on earning badges or finding artifacts, but rather on growing connections and finding a family within each other.

Dewey started attending flight school once a week to learn more aspects of flying, which he enjoys(he even does really well on the tests). Although Dewey entered flight school at an older age than his fellow classmates, his skills are immeasurable and his experiences on his adventures make him one of the most skilled pilots ever seen(mama Della is very proud!). He is still tougher than anyone in his family and is willing to take any risk necessary. Going back and forth between school and adventuring has given Dewey more flying experiences than ever before, and flying the plane is his favorite pastime when he is bored.

Louie's scrooge-like whiskers started to grow shortly after FOWL was defeated and he is very proud of them. His Uncle Scrooge saw it as a sign of Louie's sharp genes and encouraged him to keep growing them out, which is exactly what he did. He works with his Uncle Scrooge side by side, working on business deals with him. Ever since Scrooge's conviction in court, Louie was fascinated by law and business, and aspires to attend law school, but his laziness is still around with his favorite pastime just hanging around the house or developing the next scheme, mostly for family reasons these days.

And then there is Webby, the daughter of Scrooge himself. Her excited personality always shines on every adventure the family goes on, and her perspective on her family has not changed since the confrontation of FOWL. Her granny and Scrooge enjoyed parenting her side by side and are proud of the young lady she is becoming. Her perception of life remains optimistic, but she takes note of her father. She sees him in a new light that she had not thought of previously. These new adventures seem… similar and strange. Something seemed wrong, but she could not place her finger on it.

Huey and Dewey carry the bags and chests of treasure to the garage, but Scrooge placed a firm hand on Huey's shoulder.

"Thanks lads, but I'll take it from here. Why don't you… watch the television or play games outside."

"There's nothing good to watch on TV now that Ottoman Empire no longer runs new episodes." Louie groaned. "And who wants to go outside?"

Huey placed the bag of gold on the floor and walked over to Louie. He placed his arm around his neck and the other one towards their bedroom. "You know, I have some work I have to do for the GizmoCloud. Louie, maybe you wanna read those books you like about the law so you can practice, *cough cough* hard work?"

"You know I don't actually like to read it, I just like the information. I would not call it a fun pastime." Louie swatted Huey's arm off of his shoulder. Huey turned and smiled. Louie could tell this was a deal waiting to happen.

"For 10% of my allowance?"

Louie smirked and crossed his arms. He then chuckled and shook Hueys hand. "Deal."

"And Dewey and I will practice fighting skills in my room Dad!" Webby blurted out. Dewey looked at Webby with excitement and he pumped his fist in the air.

Scrooge placed his hand behind his head and chuckled. "Thanks kids. Now, I am going to do some uh… business work. Have fun!" He grabbed the bags and headed down the hallway. Webby watches his movement closely with suspicion. He looked nervous… Was he hiding something?

Webby and Dewey walked to Webbys room. She locked the door, closed the windows, and grabbed a notepad and a pen. Dewey saw the punching bag hanging in the middle of the room and prepared his fighting stance. Grit and giddy excitement was plastered across his face.

"So, what moves are we practicing first? Punches? Knee ups? Oooh oooh, maybe the roundhouse kick!" He attempted to swing his leg around to kick the punching bag hanging from the ceiling, but missed and fell on the floor. "I'm fine, that kick was… pretty good except for missing the target."

He watched Webby pacing back and forth with a notepad. She stopped and stared at her family board and pulled something off of it. She looked at it with wonder and confusion. "Are we gonna practice? What's going on?" the blue boy asked.

Webby turned her head and helped pull Dewey up. "Sorry Dewey. I am actually curious about something else. Do you think Daddy Scrooge has been acting… strange lately?"

Dewey shrugged. "I haven't noticed all too much. He is adventuring with us, finding treasures, and stores it for later. That seems a lot like Uncle Scrooge to me."

"No, I mean, we have collected artifacts before. First the missing mysteries, and before that, artifacts from stories and myths he has heard or read. Now, it seems he is searching for gold. That's it. For the past few months, it's been an adventure for gold doubloons to another adventure for golden coins. It seems like he is doing it for a purpose, for a reason. But I don't know why or what for." She looked at Dewey who stood with curiosity. He raised an eyebrow.

"I think that maybe it might be because of this." Webby gave Dewey the locket. He opened it slowly. A puff of dust rose from this rusted locket, but the inside was even more interesting. It was a picture of Goldie, the ex and love interest of Scrooge McDuck.

"What does Scrooge's girlfriend have to do with his venture for gold?" Dewey asked. "He loves gold anyway. Isn't, like… his thing?"

Webby took the locket from Dewey's hands and lifted the picture. From behind was a piece of paper, folded and crumpled. She unfolded this crumpled piece of paper with Goldie's face on it. "This is a note that Goldie gave to Scrooge a few years ago. I took it from his room and put it in this locket to put in on my board." She smirked and whispered into Dewey's ear "and so he would not recognize it". He punched her in the arm and Webby laughed. She took a breath and pointed at the piece of paper.

"But there is a note on here, which says 'if you ever need some gold, come find me', signed by Goldie herself!"

"And…..? Dewey questioned.

Webby facepalmed and pointed at the picture again with intensity. "And Scrooge might feel guilty or borrowed gold from her or something. He wants to pay her back I think! I am not exactly sure, but this is the beginning of a mystery. What is my Dad hiding and is Goldie a part of this."

Dewey sighed and tried to reason with her. "Webby, Scrooge's hunt for gold could be him just being… Scrooge. It could be for another reason or for nothing. This sounds like a ridiculous mystery…" Webby lowered her head in defeat.

"And I LOVE IT! Your right. Something could be going on with Uncle Scrooge and it seems like your theory might lead us somewhere. It is time for the adventuring duo of Dewford Turbo Duck and Webbigail Vanderquack McDuck to solve a mystery, just like the good old days." He proclaimed. He raised his arm, pointed forward, and grabbed Webby's arm to pull her in. "Now, I'm going to go get Huey and Louie." He turned to leave the room, but he felt Webby pull on his arm.

"No, don't do that." she pleaded.

Dewey turned around in dismay. "Why? We should involve them. The last time I made that mistake, it came at a great cost. I don't want to keep anything from Huey and Louie."

Webby bit her beak. "I know. You're right… but I am not even sure if this is something huge or not. We should figure some information out first, then involve them. Huey can't keep a secret very well and Louie's connection with Goldie could cause some fear if this is all for nothing. I promise as soon as this seems to be bigger than we thought, we will tell them."

Dewey looked at the dusty locket again. This could be something silly, which Huey and Louie would not care for. But what if it was important? He and Webby have searched for the craziest mysteries, from searching for what happened to his mother to the reason behind Uncle Donald's anger. This could reveal something big, but regardless, it was a chance for the mystery duo to return to its former glory.

"Okay, lets Do-ey it! I know exactly where to look first." he ran out the door with Webby following behind. It felt like old times as the mystery duo was at it again. She was excited, but nervous. A mystery involving her own family rather than another scared her. What if something worse was happening?

Well, she knew one thing for sure, it was time to solve the mystery!

…

A door opened slowly as the shadow of Scrooge reflected from the moon through the window. The office in the money bin was dark without a light lit, except for the flashlight around his tophat. He entered the room with the bags of golden treasures over his shoulder. He had carried bags of treasure thousands of times, but this time felt different. The bags were a weight on his shoulder and he could barely breathe. He had been holding back, but it was time for the relief.

He came face to face with a bookcase covered with dust. Everyone has seen this bookcase, full of his myths and legends for his adventures. From the stories of the pyramid of Toth Rah to the legends of Mount Neverest. Even the stories of mystical artifacts such as the Papyrus of Binding sat on that shelf, and the kids would read these books day after day(especially Huey, what a learner he was).

What they don't know is the security measure…

He pulled a book from the shelf to reveal a keypad.

06141884

The bookcase moved to reveal a door with a circle combination. Scrooge placed his hands and pulled the lock to the left and to the right. The metal door opened to reveal a closet full of bags of gold. The dark metal walls creaked and spider webs were hanging from the ceiling. He dropped the bags on the floor and closed his eyes. The sensation of riches in the room brought him shock. He stumbled backwards and exhaled his breath. He took his hat off and clutched it tight in his hands.

"It is time." he whispered under his breath.