Part 3 – The Greatest Birthday Present

"So how do you like sleeping in a bed?" Webby asked as she waited for June to settle down beside May before tucking her in just like Granny always used to. She kept her voice down so as to not awaken the three other girls, who were blissfully unaware of the two heart-to-heart conversations that had launched that night.

"It's way different than the tubes, but way comfier," June replied with a smile.

Then her voice faltered. "But…"

"But what?" Webby asked kindly.

"…but I still can't sleep," June whispered in a small voice. "This is really nice, but it's just so…different from Heron's lab. We were always surrounded by computer screens and machines making beeping noises. And usually, Heron sedated us so she could run her tests. Here, it's so…quiet. And so roomy."

Webby thought for a moment, then felt an idea float into her mind. "Wait here."

She tiptoed over Lena and Violet's bodies to climb down the ladder. Within a few moments, she was back, cradling something. But not just any something; what she passed to June's hands was an old sentimental belonging of hers that the latter had ironically tried to use earlier as an improvised weapon to kidnap her.

"June, meet Quacky."

"Who's Quacky?" she asked curiously, trying to examine it in the moonlight.

"My old Quacky Patch doll," Webby explained, her tone laced with nostalgia. "When I was really little and had trouble sleeping, I would cuddle her to my chin, curl up into a ball, and let her do the rest. Quacky would shield me from all my fears. She was always there for me whenever I felt lonely, and protected both of us from bad dreams and the forces of evil. I never had any problem sleeping as long as I held her close."

June listened to her, then obediently cuddled the little doll to her chin. Within moments, a wide smile grew upon her face as she closed her eyes in comfort. The sight of this filled Webby's heart with a beautiful, tingling sensation.

"I sorta outgrew her," she added, taking a seat on the edge of the bed so she could gently stroke June's hair. "So that's why I think it's time to give her to someone who will need her."

Her sister opened her eyes. "You're giving Quacky to me?"

Webby nodded. "Think of her as my personal housewarming gift to you. I'll find something for May tomorrow."

June blushed as she smiled even wider. "No one has ever given me a gift before."

"That's not true," Webby countered with a playful grin. She ran her finger along June's cheek affectionately. "You were given a family today. And family is the greatest gift of all."

Silence fell upon them as Webby continued to stroke June's hair, wanting nothing more than to make sure her sister was at peace. She watched as the younger girl's eyes began to droop heavily, snuggling the Quacky Patch doll even tighter to her body as she slowly curled up into a little ball beneath the covers, very much a contrast to her previous sleeping mode of straight, rigid, tube-suited conformation. But the smile on her face did not waver.

Webby gazed carefully at this adorable sight. Seeing June visibly relax made it clear that even after all these years, Quacky had not lost her magic touch.

"Webby?" June's drowsy voice reached her, sleep beginning to win her over.

"Yeah?"

There was silence. And then, barely a whisper. "I love you."

Webby beamed softly as she felt her heart melt. She bent down and kissed her sleeping sister's cheek. "I love you too."

She stayed with June for a little longer after that, waiting until she was absolutely sure that she was asleep. But even then, Webby opted to just simply sit on the side of the bed and watch over her. It was hard to believe how peaceful she and June had been together compared to the intensive fight that had erupted between the pair all those hours ago, not to mention the very rough scuffles she had had to put up with while dragging her restrained 'captive' around and simultaneously masquerading as her. This precious and beautiful soul snuggled down for the night was the one she recognized when she had first met the clones and brought them to her room in secret, leading Webby to wholeheartedly believe that despite F.O.W.L.'s sinister mission for her, June had always been this sweet little girl.

A sweet little girl who demonstrated the same impressive fighting skills that Webby had spent years developing to put up a surprisingly good fight.

The head of the Quacky Patch doll was peering at her above the blanket, held right to June's chin. Such a simply toy that didn't seem like much to Webby now, still held a warm place in her heart. It had, after all, been the only friend to her all those years ago. Even after convincing herself that she had outgrown her childhood toy and pinning an arrow through its chest to the wall, Webby took comfort during her lonely years knowing that her doll was still there. But now, to see Quacky passed down to someone else who very obviously needed her tonight, she felt that fuzzy feeling of sisterly pride wash through her once again. She reached out to pull the blanket higher over June's shoulder, feeling herself swell with joy, knowing that she very well might get to do this again tomorrow night. Perhaps May would need some late-night talks too. That one was a debatable, since May had proven herself to be the more confident and tougher clone of the pair. But regardless, she was in the same position as June: this experience was all new to her. Whatever would happen, Webby decided that she would be ready for it.

"Maybe being the oldest sister won't be so hard," she murmured to herself as she finally stood up to walk back to her spot on the floor.

"If you ask me, I think you got this in the bag."

Webby froze as a familiar voice rang through her ears. "Lena?"

"Ding-dong, is breakfast ready?" the teenager cracked. She was peering up at Webby with her elbow propped upon her pillow, indicating that she had not just woken up.

"How much of that did you hear?" Webby asked as she sat down on top of her waiting sleeping bag.

Lena shrugged. "Pretty much all of it. Not much happens without me knowing. Plus, you guys are gonna have to speak a lot quieter in the future if you want to have secret late-night chats.

Webby smiled, enjoying Lena's smug honesty. The shadow sorceress always seemed to possess a sixth-sense when it came to knowing what she was up to.

Her previous thought floated back to her, making her lose her nerve slightly. "Do you really think I can pull this off? You know, be a good oldest sister to May and June?" she asked, nervously twiddling her thumbs.

She got an idle hand-wave as a response. "As if what I just saw with you and Blue seconds ago wasn't enough proof. Like I said, Pink. You got this in the bag. You're a perfect little sister to us, so being the oldest shouldn't be any different."

Anyone might have thought that Lena was being rather dismissive here to brush off a deep question like this, but Webby was well-accustomed to her straight-forward methods of getting to the point while also being fully sincere about it, and knew that her friend was being completely honest with her answer. She had always appreciated this wholeheartedly.

It was in that moment when she realized exactly where she had recognized June's earlier statement about having trouble fitting in with a family full of people who already had an existing history with each other: nearly three years ago now, during the 'girls-night' she had spent with Lena at the playground after escaping the Beagle Boys…she had confessed to her new friend whom she had only just met how she feared that she might not truly be able to fit in with the boys due to how much history they already had with each other. Lena had eased her anxiety by simply telling her that they now had a history together. This memory still meant a lot to Webby right down to her core regarding their bond.

And as quickly as this memory had resurfaced, another one flashed before her too…an ugly one that made her lose her smile.

"Lena? About earlier, I'm…I'm so sorry. Back with June and the string on the board, and…and…"

Her voice hitched and her stomach shuddered. Before she knew what was happening, tears were pooling in her eyes as her scornful remark towards her friend came rushing back in full view.

Lena noticed her rapid change in mood immediately. "Woah, hey, easy, Webby. Get over here," she whispered hastily.

Webby obeyed, crawling over to her friend and sliding into the sleeping bag to lie next to her. It was really only made for one person, but that just meant the two needed to huddle right up to each other. This wasn't the first time they had done this.

The moment she was settled in, Webby lost all restraint and wrapped her arms around Lena, letting her tears leak from her squeezed eyes as she hugged her close.

"I'm sorry, Lena," she sobbed quietly. "I didn't mean to say those things…I was just…I wasn't thinking at all. I'm sorry."

She felt Lena's hand cup her cheek and raise her face to look up to her own.

"Webby, it's all right. We were both messed up over everything that was going on," Lena soothed in a tone that was both blunt and gentle. "I know why you felt the way that you did, so I don't blame ya for giving me the cold face. But…I hope you know why I felt the way I did back there."

Webby wiped her eyes and snuggled closer to Lena's chest. "I do. I just…I still want you to know that I'm sorry. You're not still mad at me?"

Lena stifled a genuine chuckle. "I never was. But I will admit…seeing Blue cut my string did give my gut a punch. Being connected to you just means so much to me."

She knew this of course, but hearing Lena say it out loud gave Webby all the more reason to hug her tighter. "Same here. And I would have stopped her too if you hadn't walked in right at that moment. But I guess…I was so caught up about May suggesting that Granny was keeping secrets from me…that my mind wasn't thinking about that at the time."

The teenager nodded in understanding. "That's fair."

She nudged Webby's head with her cheek. "Still, even if I was mad at you, do you think I would have hesitated to kick F.O.W.L.'s butt the moment I found out that they had kidnapped you? Anyone who lays a finger on you gets a fistful of magic shoved up where it hurts."

Webby couldn't help but giggle just a bit.

"And besides," Lena added, "if you can forgive me for putting your whole family in jeopardy back when I was under Magica's control, what friend would I be if I can't forgive you over this bite-sized stitch? We're cool."

Her bold statement made Webby sigh with relief. She tightened her embrace around the sorceress and buried her face into her shoulder. "May and June are my sisters. But so are you," she said resolutely. "And you always will be. You're just as much family to me as they are. That's never gonna change, okay?"

Lena wrapped her own arm around her little sister, pulling her closer. "Never," she confirmed with her own smile. "This turned out to be one heck of a birthday for you, huh Pink?"

Webby grinned, having almost forgotten that it was indeed still her birthday. Another year older, and with it, so many things had changed.

But at the same time, many things were still the same.

"Totally. And the best part about it was that I got the greatest birthday present I could ever ask for."

"What, sisters?" Lena quizzed.

"No," she answered right away. "I already have those."

"Scrooge for your dad?"

"No, not even that."

"All right, I give up. What is it?"

Webby closed her eyes and beamed contently. "What I got was the biggest and loudest reminder ever that my family is awesome no matter what."

With all that said, she rested her head comfortably upon Lena's shoulder, finally allowing her heart to settle once and for all. A swooping wave of calmness was slowly washing through her as she snuggled into Lena's warm side. And in the back of her mind, she realized that the desire to apologize to her friend may very well have been one of the key factors that had been keeping her up tonight in the first place. As proven by June, guilt was never something she could simply brush away. And now that the burden had been fully erased, it meant that she was ready to move on.

And there Webby lay for the rest of the night, the magic of sleep summoning her to the world of dreams like it did every night. But in this moment, filled with the assurance of her family and the beating of Lena's heart, the magic seemed even more amazing than ever. At long last, for the first time that day and that night, Webby felt truly at peace; her perspective of family had been solidified, June's worries had been eased, and she had made amends with Lena. There were without question plenty more details still to take care of, and she anticipated that tomorrow would contain some very interesting topics of conversation. How would Scrooge choose to act towards her now? How was May coping with all these changes? What sort of present could she find for her new sister? What sort of adventures were going to happen now that the family had two sets of triplets in the house? And what kind of excuse had Louie cooked up during the night that would secure at least a fraction of the family wealth for his own pockets as soon as possible?

But tomorrow was another day. And those details would happen when they were ready to. For now, Webby could simply smile as she slept, knowing that her while her past had been a fabrication, her present was repaired and most importantly, her future was looking brighter than ever.

After all, following an adventure that had been so close to being her last, Webby knew that her greatest adventure was only just beginning.

THE END

A/N: There's not much for me to say about DuckTales 2017 as a whole that hasn't been already said or universally proclaimed in loud voices already. I love the series. I love the episodes. I love the animation. I loved the story direction and character development. I love the references and utmost respect given to the original DuckTales source material. I love the attention given to every miniscule, microscopic detail and the absolute passion that is evident in every aspect the show covered. I love every reason we've had to praise DuckTales. Frank Angones and Matt Youngberg had a very clear vision of how they wanted their creation to come together and showcase to the world in carefully planned stepping stones. And they did this in a way that I don't think could have been topped. They have made it so clear that they loved this project, both by mouth and by product. And boy oh boy does the end product really show.

As for the finale, I was expecting the unexpected (Junior Woodchuck Guidebook #1! Did you notice that they saved the #1 rule for the final episode?). And even by doing that, I was left on the edge of my seat. The thing about the 3 finales was that each one was better than the previous. I thought 'Shadow War' was thrilling. 'Moonvasion' was even MORE thrilling. But 'The Last Adventure' absolutely blew me away. It wasn't just thrilling; it was mind-boggling and heartwarming. Every mystery and subtle hint dropped throughout all 3 seasons finally came to play right here. Plot twists, heartbreak, secrets and lies, and wrap-arounds were executed at their fullest. It all just captivated me right down to the core.

But as much as I loved the finale, I have 2 major problems with it that I will do my best to explain. I understand that the finale received a mix of reception. Many people loved it, while the rest did not as the story just did not work for them. These of course are just my opinions, so bear with me

Frank Angones stated that this plot had been in development since the very beginning of Season 1, which makes the story all that much better when you realize how much finale content had been right under your nose this whole time. A good story must be planned thoroughly, namely having its ending planned before the beginning. Everything that we have questioned, from Bradford's true motives to the whereabouts of Webby's parents, received answers at long last.

Bradford was probably one of the best villains they ever created, if not THE best. He was the one who made me rethink about the most. He didn't want to create chaos to control the world just for the heck of it. He wanted to end chaos to bring control to the world, albeit through scheming, questionable methods. In many ways, he had the right idea and is actually quite relatable because there are people in the real world who are exactly like that. Contrast this to any classic Disney villain who wants to control the world and its people just to say that they can. The greed for power and money is so cliché with an overused motive that it's not fun anymore. Bradford's desire for world peace and order is something way more understandable. His methods of doing so are revealed to truly be evil to the core as established by the sword amplifying who he was within, but nonetheless, he was a clever, calculating villain with a huge motive and was far more intimidating than one who only laughs maniacally just to sound evil.

May and June were also a big surprise. In today's world of instant information, spoilers, and leakage, I am still shocked that they managed to stay a secret until their official reveal. Their role in the plot was insanely clever. I initially didn't think too much of them when we found out that they were set to appear in the last episode; I just thought, 'Okay, cool, more forgotten characters brought to the spotlight!' But not only did they return to official media form, they were used as central pieces to the story. These girls are honestly so endearing. They have distinct personalities, sympathizable motives, and a believable arc. They really just wanted to understand their purpose in the world. Not that much different from Dewey, Louie, Webby, Della, Lena, or so many others at all. Their ending was well-received; they got the family and sense of belonging that they had always wanted. I've seen some fans claim that their ending was forced, to which I disagree whole-heartedly. How else would you want their fate to end up? What, for them not to be accepted into this goofy family of colourful characters? No thank you, I'll stick to this one. My only complaint regarding them is that Webby never got a scene with them in the end, but I don't doubt that she will have plenty of time to bond with her newly discovered sisters. It's a shame we'll never get to see them again because I really want to! Guess that's where fanfiction will have to step in.

Just like you, when it was revealed that May and June would be returning, I wondered where April could be. I'll admit that I did start to put the pieces together when the first look at the girls showed them wearing palette-swapped outfits of Webby's. But I never would have guessed how deeply this secret was rooted. And now, with the twins literally being Webby's sisters, making her a triplet of her very own clan, there is so much potential that I want to write about, some of which was used in this story. But we'll save that for another day. My biggest excitement about May and June was that they were directly connected Webby's biggest mystery that I have questioned ever since the first season: Where are Webby's parents?

I was NOT expecting Webby's backstory to be explored here. Like at all. I wasn't even expecting Webby to be the main character of the finale. This unfortunately, leads me to my first problem with the finale (and actually ties in with the overall season). Taking everything that we've learned over the years, you can clearly see that Season 1 was about Dewey and the past. Season 2 was about Louie and the present. And Season 3 was presumably about Huey and the future. Now, Huey wasn't really a character I found all that interesting to follow along with since he didn't have that much of a story to tell. Dewey and Louie's development stories were told in stages throughout the first 2 seasons that led to their ultimate conclusion that assisted them in the finale, but nothing Huey learned in his focus episodes seemed to arc throughout the season. They were more one-off instances of growth, rather than chapters of a bigger story. Huey was used as a very obvious key player this season since he led most of the expeditions involving the missing mysteries, but it didn't feel like he was being built up in character. Episodes like 'Challenge of the Senior Woodchuck' and 'Split Sword of Swanstantine' are really fun examples about Huey overcoming internal obstacles to become a better person, but none of them really sharpened him for a climatic ending test, as it did with Dewey and Louie.

This is why the sudden spotlight shift to Webby was extremely abrupt. I have a theory that they had planned to devote an entire fourth season to her in the same way as the triplets and keep the third centered on Huey, but had to switch plans when it was announced the third season to be the last. I don't know how TV network systems operate, but Frank did state after the announcement that he and his team must always treat their current season like it will be their last, hence they had been prepared for this. In my mind, they were planning on making Season 3 about Huey, then continue the adventure in Season 4 by focusing on Webby and let the uncovering of her origins be the main season plot. But when the DuckTales plug was pulled, they had to compromise and squeeze Webby's story into the mix of Huey episodes, while finding a way to weave Huey into it as a major character. If this was indeed the way it was supposed to go, they didn't do a very good job, since Webby's story was only teased in 'Lost Harp of Mervana', then finally brought up in the finale. And that leads me to my second gripe:

If I have anything negative to say about the finale, one is that Huey didn't get the fulfilling character arc we were hoping for, and the other is that Webby's backstory had never a focus at any point prior to the finale. She spends all this time helping the triplets find their lost mother and is with the Duck family every step of the way as they patch up their rifts and reunite together. But not once is it ever acknowledged what became of her actual family.

I'm sure this was a minor detail that could have happened offscreen (i.e. maybe Dewey or Huey confides with Webby privately of what happened to her parents), but surely every fan out there who loves Webby would be dying to know, right? Fan-works from 2017 onwards definitely support that desire. In the canon of the show, it's never mentioned even once and Webby seems perfectly happy to be only actually related to her Granny within her place in the family. And it took until the very last episode, brought up by May and June, total strangers she had only just met, to directly pop the question balloon that's been hovering in the air for all these years. This is the only thing, viewed as a central plot in the show, that feels extremely rushed.

If you want us to follow such a moving plot point, you need to give us time to absorb it. Do not just throw it upon us and tell us that this is an important mystery we must solve this instant. It annoys me why exploring Webby's backstory would be brought up only now, at the tail-end of the series, especially given that she's such an integral cast member. We've known how every main character came to be in this universe except for Webby. This all just leads me to once again believe that a fourth season would have been used at its fullest to spread this mystery out in a gradual build-up leading to a dramatic reveal of Webby being a weapon created by F.O.W.L., but had to be retooled to meet the demand of ending it all in 3 seasons instead. As it is, the pacing is incredibly off, especially compared to all the build-up time they used previously for Magica's shadow war, Della's return, the moon invasion, and all the other big pivotal events the family has been through.

Let's talk about Webby specifically. I love Webby just as much as you do. What they chose to do with her in this reboot compared to her original 1987 portrayal was one of the best decisions made. But with that said, my major problem with Webby is that she has never really had her own place. Yeah, she's an honourary member of the family, but she was never anchored in the setting since she was always just there with no explanation as to how or why. Without so much as a reason for Webby being present other than being Beakley's granddaughter, she was always missing that final piece that solidified who she was in the show's universe. We know how the triplets landed in Scrooge's life, but what about Webby? Why is she in the mansion? Why is her grandmother looking after her and not her parents? Her spot didn't feel fully earned because we knew nothing about it. DuckTales 2017 is essentially a new show and so that means everyone is a new character and thus should be given roots as to why they are there. We were never given any information on Webby's backstory. As much as I love Webby, her presence in the entire show's run was always the biggest question to me. 'Confidential Files of Agent 22' is still to this day one of my favourite episodes, because it established a little more of how Beakley and Scrooge knew each other, devoted time for Scrooge and Webby to bond, and fully integrated Webby into the family. But even so, her origins still remained a mystery.

To finally see that mystery solved was the best thing to me ever, especially when knowing that this wasn't something the writers just thought up at the last minute, rather had planned since the pilot episode. I've seen fans stating their disapproval with this concept, saying Webby's story was rushed and under-developed, or even completely unnecessary. Some people believe that the writers did not do their research properly and thought Webby and April were the same character, but that just isn't the case. Everything the show has done and given to us is standing evidence that they definitely know what they're doing. DuckTales 2017 is a reboot, not a complete retelling of the original DuckTales 1987. This means they're fully allowed to tell the stories that they desire, which includes making any changes they want, as long as they are done in respect of the source material and in favour of the story they are trying to tell. And after 3 years of witnessing such faithful transformation of literally every piece of material from the original show and DuckTales media into something modern, new, and over the top fun, how on earth can you say the writers don't do their research? If you're just going to use the exact same DuckTales universe from 1987 without any effort to make tasteful alterations to craft a fresh new identity to stand out in the world, then what even is the point? For me personally, the use of Webby as the lost April clone works in the story. It's better than any of the other proposals I've seen out there. Pepper's daughter, what are you even talking about? Go watch Star vs the Forces of Evil if you want jumping of the sharks and last-minute gimmicks in ways I didn't even think were possible. Being Scrooge's daughter does fracture Webby's long-standing theme of being family by 'found' and not by blood, but in the context of this story, it still works because she was already core family to begin with. And I honestly don't believe that anything will change following the twist discovery, hence the whole point of why I wrote this fanfic to begin with. Scrooge and Webby loved each other in a father-daughter relationship already, much like Donald and the triplets. And Webby's bond with Beakley doesn't change either. Everything in my fanfic story was meant to establish just that. If it didn't work for you, that's fine. I'm not saying you're wrong. Everyone has an opinion on this topic and this is one is mine.

Even with those 2 complaints, I still loved the finale. But I think what I love most of all is how everyone got such a wonderful send-off. Usually, handling so many characters in one go is difficult, what with so many subplots seeming to clash and interrupt each other. But the individual stories of each of our beloved characters were interweaved so subtly here that nothing felt jumbled at all. I thank the usage of 90 minutes for that. Everyone is clearly shown with their placement in the world established and leaves their future so much brighter. Launchpad becomes the hero he always dreamed to be. Webby finds her origins. Della lets Donald go. Fenton and Gandra remain together. Scrooge embraces the strength of his family. May and June discover their real family. Beakley completed her mission to keep Webby safe. Huey, Dewey, and Louie know where their placement in the family belongs. It's all such a heartwarming farewell to the characters we've come to know and love since we met them starting back in late 2017.

These are all, obviously, just my thoughts and opinions. But that doesn't mean you are wrong if you disagree with anything you just read from me. Feel free to disagree. I applaud you for having an opinion instead of having none and instead saying 'Oh look, new DuckTales content…instant rating of 110%!' After 3 whole seasons of ground-breaking stories, a lot was riding on this final episode. Expectations were extremely high. But like anything fabricated in this world, it won't please everyone. Nothing ever does. The majority of us give 'The Last Adventure' a thumbs-up, while the rest did not. I'm not going to fault anyone for disagreeing with my thoughts. This is the internet, a free place where we can have our own opinions on anything. A place where I can sit down and write a DuckTales fanfic and offer my thoughts on this particular episode and the series as a whole.

So what ARE my thoughts on the series as a whole?

DuckTales was such a ride. It gave us a plethora of adventures that built upon each other to tell the story of one great big adventure. I am so appreciative of the new life it breathed upon characters we've known for years along with so many obscure and forgotten ones. And whether you liked 'The Last Adventure' or not, we cannot deny this: these 3 seasons will forever stand as a sensation that rightfully deserves the praise it has received. I smile brightly knowing that Frank and Matt took the correct steps to please the big corporate figureheads that run children's TV, honour the roots of every original DuckTales material out there, and make a series that had its own unique identity to stand out amongst the rest of the shows out there. Unlike hundreds of other shows that you'll watch and then forget within 2 months, DuckTales will stick with you if you love it as much as I do. The excitement it gave both me and the millions of fans all around the world is something to beam fondly upon.

Yes, DuckTales is officially complete. But the adventures will never cease to be. I'm sad that we won't be getting new content anymore, but I'm far happier that it could all end on such a powerful note. It was not milked to the bottom of the barrel, nor did it have to start relying on crude humour or toilet jokes to keep its audience invested. It was not reduced to mediocre mandated garbage and half-axed content from a team who struggles to keep the audience that boomed when it first started. I would much prefer a shorter-lived project filled with goodness than one that never dies even when it begs to be killed. Spongebob? SVTFOE? Teen Titans GO? No, DuckTales did not enter that territory in any way and I will forever be glad that it never will. And hey, 3 full seasons is a pretty great accomplishment. There are plenty of episodes and adventures for us to go back and relive again.

We must say good bye…but we're saying good bye to something amazing, not something that's already dead. Hats off to Frank, Matt, and their dedicated team of writers, voice actors, animators, and every artist involved in this amazing series. And once more, I also want to thank you viewers here on Fanfiction too for your continued support. I'm thrilled to write stories for a series that receives all this love. Very few cartoons these days are powerful enough to stick in your mind even years after watching them. And as we all know from recalling such classic TV shows from our childhood, if a cartoon impacts you in a way that lasts, it is worth holding on to.