DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Ducktales and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Disney.

Please support the official release.

Season 1 Finale – Outwordly Circumstances (Della)

A decade spent in isolation tends to leave a peculiar impression on a person.

Some would go insane from the lack of social contact, others may just find enlightenment by meditation through the unconventionally long hermitage that this entailed. The female duck that was currently fiddling with a pen while staring at the still picture she got from her first successful radar reception was neither. She was stuck in the middle. And while that sounded wacky to imagine, her mind persisted at the thought that her children were fine and well- and with family!

One of the many dilemmas that had crossed her mind was that Donald would have been so angry at Scrooge he would have refused to let the kids near him. As if the old Scottish relic was to blame for her own mistakes. She could huff at that notion, perceiving the indirect and possibly unplanned insult at her age. Then again, despite being an adult, Della Duck had committed a few non-negligible stupid and childish actions that had long-lasting effects on some adventures. Never to the degree she was currently being subjected to, but it was still a factor in the overall circumstance. Good news she was great to hear, but the weird news was even better. Especially when the face she saw looked quite unusual. Not a dog, not a 'known' mammal. An alien?

She gasped and then hummed to herself. Her kids befriended an actual alien! And… actually, that was upsetting!

"How come my kids got to befriend a frigging alien when I'm the one stuck on the moon!?" Della angrily thought, then closed her eyes as soon as she realized what she just said and groaned. "Phooey, I guess that's another part of my 'punishment' for going on the moon with this faulty ship!" She kicked the nearby desk with her prosthesis and scoffed at the brief ache coming from the joint which connected the sturdy metal to her flesh.

Sure, she couldn't feel much on the leg itself, but that didn't mean vibrations weren't going to make the rest of the limb itch like crazy at times.

…

Oh right! Human!

She looked back at the screen, remembering the rest of the TV footage she got out of that situation. Magica was responsible for an attack on Duckburg, her family saved the day and… there were two humans. The first one was easy to spot due to his hair being dark compared to the pristine white from the other ducks. He had glasses, a bit of a beard and… such a silly smile.

It is interesting… the human! Not the smile! Ahah… wait, who am I defending myself to?

Della shook her head again, grumbling about loss of perception before shifting her focus to the newest detail she spotted from the footage. Another human, this one was smaller, shier and-

Oh my lord, she is so cute!

It wasn't normally something that would flare up in her mind about adorable children, but Della ruled it out as her motherly instincts were acting up. After all, her boys were also there in that frame, and the combined cuteness (together with the spunky look that was displayed by the little female duckling standing beside her kids) just made the entire situation more wholesome than usual.

...How come that happens when I'm not around?

Maybe because she was too focused on action to relish in the 'much-expected good ending'. Plus, there was something else about it that tapped at the back of her head. Something that was so intense that it was difficult to ignore.

She sighed. "I do miss those times."

She had her adventure, but no happy endings. Only… silence. And a mirror. Mirrors were scary, Della could hardly look at it anymore after years of trying to make herself an imaginary friend out of it. The only thing that came out of it was a sense of upset which was easily the one thing that could have broken her if allowed to fester for a long time. The mirror was that. A mirror. And the mirror showed some stuff about her she didn't like. The quote 'If you gaze at the abyss long enough, the abyss gazes back at you' came to mind. A prolonged glance can easily shake her with memories of failures all tied to this very situation. And it just left her hurting.

…

Hence why all mirrors are bad!

But depression wasn't something Della felt taken by. Rather, she was haunted by her own mistakes. Mistakes she was willing to fix once she got off from the moon. Somehow. Maybe the kids were going to dig around about what happened to her- there was no way they would miss it. Donnie may be hurting about it, about her disappearance, but he wasn't one that would give up on her like that. Della huffed, then remembered one thing that could have actually damned her.

Did Gyro tell Scrooge about the special product he put in the ship which would allow the ship's crew to last 'eternally' without needing food and oxygen? You know, the blasted licorice chewing gum that was setting her on a warpath to strangle the life out of the pathetic scientist?!

A longer sigh ensued. "Couldn't life just spare me for a while?"

She started to tap on the desk, a familiar tune from Powerline and then the older human's words came to her mind.

"Mr. Bukharin, didn't you fear for your life even for a moment? Magica de Spell is renowned to be quite deadly on those she has no qualms to eliminate after all," A journalist had asked, then elaborating on why the question was relevant.

The human just went with… "My family was in trouble. And no fear could ever beat that, to let any harm fall on them."

…

Of course. Why didn't she think of it that way?

Della loved her family- she loved it through that isolation but never once she actually went beyond the purpose of step one. Yes, her return wasn't the end goal, but the first step of many for something else- something that Della owed to her kids. A caring mother that could teach them how to be cool, how to deal with adventures and… and share fond times with. And that end goal gave her an incredible amount of strength as she finally resumed her plans to get back home. She had to, and failure was no option.

Still, one thought flashed while she was brainstorming.

"Bukharin, Bukharin, Bukharin… why is that name familiar?" The adventurer pondered quietly, scratching under her chin and then twirling her chair a bit.

She could tell she heard it before. But where? Hmm… human wasn't a familiar term. Why did she know that name but not his species' name? She huffed, a new mystery that was just begging her to solve. Ah yes, that was going to be a good way to get her mind back to the game. A mystery back home, one that she could solve whenever she felt ready to get back to adventures. First she had a family to get to, and a family to make up for what she did ten years ago.

"Yes," Della confessed. "Nothing will stop Della Duck now that she is set on a worthy goal!"

Soon her mood soared and she was set to get things straight as she planned her return back home. Back to her family, back to her kids and… back to understanding what the heck is a human and why some looked cute and some looked hands- odd!

Humans are odd and not handsome- Shut up, Donnie!

AN

Season finale and next up is the first 'episode'. Time to stray a bit from Canon with the Ithaquack trip and maybe there will be a need to up some rating on some websites...