Disclaimer: I do not own Duck Tales.

Chapter Four: Ghost

"No, you don't have to wait," Mandie said, pulling her hand out of mine. She took a few steps back, and casually put both her hands in her jacket pockets. I frowned and leaned against the wall. Mandie loved to touch things - there was no way she would just put her hands in her pocket like that unless -

"Mandie," My frown softened a little. One thing that I should mention about my little sister is that she's lactose intolerant. She can't drink a full glass of milk without getting stomach cramps. "Did you have any…" I glanced down the hallway, where Mrs. Beakley was cleaning off the table. Mr. McDuck appeared to be reading a newspaper, both of them out of earshot. "Dairy products?"

"No!" Mandie squeaked, and her bill turned red...which I guess is how ducks blush. I gave Mandie one of my 'really' looks. After squirming under my stare for about five seconds, she broke. "Maybe…"

"I knew it," I mumbled, running a hand through my hair. My parents found out Mandie was lactose intolerant when she was little, and they had to feed her formula...as she grew older she wondered why she couldn't have milk, or ice cream, or literally any dairy products. We've all explained it to her, but she still drinks milk or eats yogurt - just to see if she's not allergic anymore. "You know you're not supposed to do that."

"But I thought it was a dream at first!" Mandie protested, standing up a little straighter. "I thought I was dreaming and it wouldn't matter - so I drank a glass of milk, and added milk to my oatmeal, and had yogurt on my toast -"

"Gee wizz, you ate all that?" I asked, a little harsher than I should have. But I wasn't think about my tone of voice - I was thinking that my little sister's stomach was cramping up, and that would totally not happen in a dream. This was way too real...even if everyone here was an anthropomorphic water fowl.

"I didn't know!" Mandie cried, tearing up. She clutched her stomach beneath her jacket, and a wave of guilt consumed me. Why did I have to blow up like that? "I'm sorry and my stomach hurts - and I want Mom and Dad!"

That's when Mandie started crying, hiccupping-burping and holding her stomach. Great. Now I'd made her cry, and it made me feel a whole lot guiltier. Taking a breath, I calmed myself down. Getting upset wasn't going to solve anything - I just had to keep calm and breath.

"I'm sorry, Mandie," I said, bending down and pulling my little sister into a hug. She leaned against me, drenching my shirt with her tears. Belatedly, I realized she and I were wearing the same clothes we'd had on this morning. I was wearing a pair of jeans and my Avengers t-shirt (though all the Avengers were ducks now...except Tony Stark, who looked liked a stork), and Mandie was wearing her purple jacket, gray skort, and, well, since her jacket was zipped up I didn't know what sort of shirt she was wearing. "I shouldn't have raised my voice and -"

My words stuck in my throat as, from the wall in front of me, a grayish-green glowing ghost (say that five times fast!) came shifting through the wall. I hugged Mandie tightly to me, backing up as much as I could until I was pressed up against the other side of the hall.

The ghost formed into what looked like a dog, with a ring of white hair around his head, and a very bushy pair of white eyebrows. He was also wearing a very fancy suit, which instantly made me think he was either a dead butler, like from that one movie The Haunted Mansion, or the ghost of a very old looking vampire.

"I beg your pardon," The ghost said, his voice very eloquent. I could only stand and stare. Ghosts terrified me. Even if they were people dressed up in sheets - they terrified me. Heck, Casper The Friendly Ghost gave me jitters - and seeing one in real life - that was talking to me - this was just too much. "But I thought I heard someone crying, and thought I could be of assistance."

I stared, unsure of how to act at first. My first instinct was to run, but with Mandie in my arms I don't think that would go too well. My second instinct was to throw something at it, but...I didn't have anything. So I did the next best thing - I screamed.

"GGGGHHHHHOOOOOOSSSSSTTTTTT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, half-dragging half-pulling Mandie down the hall in a run. "CALL THE GHOST BUSTERS OR THE PRIEST OR WHOEVER - "

"Please miss, there's no need to shout," The ghost said, floating up beside me. I let out another scream and tried to move away from him, but that was hard with Mandie squirming in my arms.

"Micha, let me go!" Mandie complained, pushing against me. Instead I held her tighter. I wasn't letting a ghost get to my little sister...or me, for that matter. "Micha! I can't breathe! Let go!"

I stared at the ghost, debating what I should do next. If I let go of Mandie, then we could both run. If I just tried to carry her, we'd probably be dead. If I -

"What in blazes is goin on?" Mr. McDuck demanded, stomping down the hallway. He didn't seem to be aware of the ghost. "I bring ye into me house, and after breakfast ya start raving and ranting about a silly thing like a ghost -"

"Have you not seen Scary Stories To Tell in The Dark?" I demanded, my arms still tightly wrapped around Mandie. "Or The Haunted Mansion, or literally any ghost movie at all?"

"Oh fer pete's sake," Mr. McDuck sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Duckworth, did ye frighten the girl with your demon form?"

"I'm sorry - WHAT?" At that point, I was beyond scared, I was on full freak out mode. It was then I finally let go of Mandie, and pushed her down the hall with no ghosts. "Mandie - you have to target out the house. Now."

"Why?" She asked, still holding her stomach. She'd stopped crying a little while ago. I pointed at the floating ghost, who was looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Excuse me - ghost!" The ghost made a face as I pointed, and folded his arms primly.

"I'm not just any ghost," He sniffed. "I am the ghost of Archibald Duckworth, and I've worked for Mr. McDuck for many years!"

"Still a ghost." I said, backing up. I bumped into Mandie as I did so, and tried to push her back with me, but she wouldn't budge. What is it with everyone and this ghost? "Mandie - I told you to run!"

"He's not a bad ghost," Mandie told me calmly. The calm way she said it kind of freaked me out. "He's a nice one."

"Precisely," Mr. McDuck said, stamping his cane on the ground. "Now would ye please stop yelling, and trying to run away from him?"

I looked between Mandie, Duckworth, and Mr. McDuck. I did not like ghosts. I didn't trust them either - I'd seen too many movies where the ghost wanted to get back into his body, or get revenge - or just scared people for fun! But, considering this Duckworth hadn't tried to do anything...sinister, other than scaring the pants off me...maybe he was okay. And Mandie said he was nice ghost, and she knew more about this tv show than I did. Besides, what choice did I have?

"Okay," I said, my voice sounding a little quiet. Mr. McDuck let out a relieved sigh, and left. I could see Mrs. Beakley watching from the end of the hall, with a...sword in her hand? Okay, that was a bit strange. Er, stranger, I guess. "Sorry, I just...I have phasmophobia."

"You're allergic to ghosts?" Mandie asked, wide eyed. Her question made me smile a little.

"No, phasmophobia is the fear of ghosts." I corrected her.

"Ooooh," Mandie said, nodding her head. I nodded, glancing nervously back up at Duckworth.

"Ah." Duckworth said, his expression softening a little. He still had his arms crossed, though. "That explains a lot."

"Yeah…" I trailed off, rubbing the side of my arm. I was still a little freaked out that I was talking to a ghost, but the adrenaline had died down some. I looked at the floor, then, unsure of what to say next. Then Mandie burped.

"Excuse me," Mandie said, blushing red again. Oh. Right. Mandie still had that stomach ache going on.

"Um," I looked back up at the butler. I tried not to look through him - though it was kind of hard since he was see-through. "Mr. Duckworth -"

"Duckworth, please." The butler said, his voice as polite as ever. I nodded, fiddling with my thumbs a bit.

"Duckworth. Mandie, my little sister, she, um," I glanced at Mandie, who was slouching against the wall to cover up the fact she was still holding her stomach. She was looking anywhere but at me. She knew what I was going to say. "She has an intolerance to lactose and...well, she kind of had a lot of dairy products at breakfast…"

"Oh, oh my," Duckworth looked pityingly at Mandie, then at me. I could tell he wasn't sure who to address at this point. "What would your sister like to do?"

"I want to lie down." Mandie grumbled. I reached over and patted her shoulder gently. Well, at least I know now allergies and intolerance is normal here in this universe.

"Of course," Duckworth said with a nod towards my sister. "Would you care for a ginger ail as well?"

"That would be great." I said, as Mandie shook her head from side to side. Duckworth raised an eyebrow.

"I don't like ginger ail…" Mandie whined, giving me a pouty look. I did my best to look like mom did when she had set her mind to something.

"I know you don't like ginger ail, Mandie, but it helps with stomach aches."

"But it tastes weird!"

"I could but a slice of orange or lemon in it," Duckworth offered. I glanced at him, and then back at Mandie. Despite my phobia, this ghost was beginning to grow on me.

"How does that sound?" I asked my little sister. She looked between us, then down at her stomach. After a few moment of deliberation, she nodded her head. "All right, now that that's settled, how's about I get you to your room."

"Okay," Mandie nodded and began shuffling down the hall. I went with her, and Duckworth - well he disappeared after Mandie said she was okay with a fruit slice. I suppressed a shudder for Mandie's sake, as well as my own. If there was a ghost living in this house, and I was staying here for the foreseeable future - I might as well get used to him.

After we reached Mandie's room, I helped her get comfortable. I got her set up in her bed so she had pillows supporting her everywhere, with a radio and books within reach (because this room did not have a tv - more proof that this was not Disneyland). Once that was done, I sat down next to Mandie and rubbed her back while we waited for Duckworth.

I knew he was near when the hair, or I guess feathers, on the back of my neck stood up. Moments later, a knock came on the door. Slipping to the floor, I went to open the door. Duckworth stood floating, a tray with ginger ail, some saltine crackers, as well as a few lemon and orange slices.

"Hi," I said, opening up the door a little wider. Duckworth nodded and entered. I wondered for a moment why he hadn't just phazed through the walls - and then I remembered he had a tray of non-ghost stuff. I waited by the door while Duckworth placed the tray in front of Mandie.

When Duckworth started floating back, I cleared my throat and looked pointedly at Mandie. She was halfway through munching on a cracker.

"What?" She asked, a few crumbs tumbling to the tray.

"Don't forget the magic words," I said, hoping I spoke quietly enough for only her to hear. A look of recognition flashed across her face and she looked towards Duckworth.

"Thank you Mr. Duckworth," She said, in her most polite voice.

"You are very welcome, Miss Mandie," Duckworth replied with a little bow. I gave Mandie an approving smile from where I stood. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call. Dusting the mansion is not nearly as fun as it used to be."

"See you later," Mandie said, waving as Duckworth floated up through the ceiling. I didn't try to hide a shudder this time. Even if Duckworth was a nice ghost, his ghostly powers still freaked me out. Probably best I don't watch him enter or exit a room, unless he has something that's solid in his hand.

"Okay Mandie," I said, giving my sister a little wave. "I'm going to head off too. If you need anything...well, um, just call Duckworth."

Mandie gave me a thumbs up and went back to eating a cracker. With a sigh, I closed her bedroom door and stood alone in the hallway. What was I supposed to do now? After that whole ghost debaco, I didn't really want to see Mr. McDuck. Launch Pad said he had the Darkwing Duck tv show, so maybe I could watch that but...I didn't really know Launch Pad. And the others...well I didn't really know anybody.

Which meant only one thing. It was time I introduced myself.

So sorry for the late update. It has been such a long week, and time seems to have no meaning at the moment. Monday morning I woke up and thought it was Saturday. And today I woke up and thought it was Monday, so...yeah, time feels a bit strange right now. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter - have a great rest of your day, and stay safe!