Wow, the angst train keeps coming.

This story is a different timeline than Dewey and The Turtles (which updated, by the way, and like, no one seems to have noticed?) but Dewey still has the same kids he has in this story.

The two biggest reasons why this story is in a different timeline is because Huey, Louie, and Webby chose slightly different paths than the ones I intend for them in DaTT, and also because in this story Scrooge is a bit of an asshole.

And where are Donald and Della?

...I don't know yet.

I'll figure it out before chapter five, for sure.

For now, I don't see this story having more than ten chapters but I have a feeling it'll have at least eight. We'll see what happens.

Enjoy the angst! And while you're delving into angst, Read The Bad Summer by mandaree1 because I just found it, and oh my gosh is it amazing.

Chapter 1- Dewey

Huey and Louie Duck and Webby Vanderquack had grown up and away from the legacy of Scrooge McDuck, but Dewey Duck was still holding on. He was Scrooge's pilot now so he obviously still worked closely with the old man, even as he took on a life of his own.

It worried him, in some ways, how easily they had been able to brush off their past of solving mysteries and rewriting history. Huey and Louie were completely removed from adventure and treasure hunting, with Huey working as an award-winning surgeon and Louie as a lawyer well on the way to heading his own firm. At least Webby was still adventurous, though the details of her missions were kept secret from her loved ones. But all of them were their own people now, while Dewey clung to the past, clung to believing their Uncle was still a good man as he grew older, meaner, and more obsessive.

But it was all beginning to weigh down on him, as the years passed, taking care of his Uncle as well as his own little family. Dewey had found himself becoming more and more like his Uncle Donald as the years went on, he could hardly say no to an earnest face, so while he'd found no one to share his life with and wasn't interested in searching, he'd adopted four children and probably wouldn't turn down more if they entered his life. He had three boys and one girl. Poetic cinema.

The thing that scared him the most was that one day Uncle Scrooge was going to lose it, and his family wouldn't be there when he lost his grip on reality. He was already nearly senile, though he'd held onto smarter than the smarties for as long as he could. Now Dewey fought more of his battles than Scrooge did because tougher than the toughies was slipping too. Dewey couldn't be what his Uncle needed because he wasn't smart or sharp in the ways his brothers were, and he was running out of the courage and energy that Webby had no short supply of.

Every day Dewey considered calling his siblings back to the house they wanted nothing to do with. Scrooge had become bitter with age, had seen his family leave, and gladly shut the gate on them. Of course, Scrooge missed them but he was too stubborn to call and they were too stubborn to come back. Dewey knew asking them now would do nothing, but he was desperate for a second chance.

So he did the next best thing. He made a few calls and assembled a motley crew at a local coffee shop. If he couldn't trick his siblings home on his own, he'd get their significant others to lay the trap.

It was early some Saturday morning, and a shadow, a genius, and an android sat before him, waiting for him to speak.

"Things have gotten worse in the manor," he began.

"Webby doesn't want anything to do with the manor," Lena interjected, always the first to speak up in defense of her wife.

"And I understand that. He's an angry old man now, and his venom is enough to push anyone away. Everything is different now. I don't think he has much time left. But that's exactly why they need to come back."

"How are we supposed to change their minds?" Violet asked. Violet and Lena traveled together studying the paranormal and keeping people safe from otherworldly dangers. Violet already had two books published on her research and a third was on the way. Huey was credited as an editor, Dewey had devoured them both, but that was the only indication that his older brother wanted anything to do with the lifestyle that had once captivated him.

"I just need you to talk to them. I know they wouldn't want me drowning alone, any other problem I've faced they've been there. But on this matter, they just tell me to leave, that it's my fault that I stayed. Maybe they'll listen to you."

"If Louie knew you were drowning he'd come home," Boyd said thoughtfully, tapping on the table, "He doesn't want this. He doesn't want you hurting, I know he worries about you, Dewey."

"You think it would work?"

"I think I'd try. You're family too, Dewey. I won't let my family get hurt, and neither will Louie. He just doesn't want to get hurt himself."

"I know, I know you're all risking a lot, I know that Scrooge's words can hurt but I also know that our family has lost too much to not say goodbye when we have the chance."

"I'm not convinced," Lena said, arms crossed.

"There's no guarantee we could convince them, or that there would be satisfying closure for either party or that no one will get hurt," Violet listed off reservations, agreeing with her sister.

"I can't promise that everything will be okay. But I need my family right now. You guys are part of that family. Do you think you could talk to them? Please? For me?"

"Fine," Lena grumbled, "But if he hurts her again I won't be able to trust either of you."

"Thank you, Lena."

"If Lena is willing then I'll try as well," Violet promised.

Boyd put a hand on Dewey's shoulder, "You're doing a good job, Dewey. You're doing the right thing. I know it must be hard on you, and maybe your siblings don't want to listen right now. But you'll always have someone to talk to."

"I know. Thank you, Boyd. I need to get back to the kids but thank you for meeting me. And thank you for agreeing to this."

"Anytime," Boyd said, "I'll talk to Louie about giving Scrooge even the smallest of a second chance."

"Good luck," Dewey whispered, knowing that his brothers wouldn't be easy to sway. He had more hope for Webby if Lena could spin it right, but he didn't know what would happen when all was said and done. He just had to hope.