Scrooge simply stood there. After a few seconds, he gained enough confidence to start stuttering. Webby held her arms over her sisters, protecting them as they all gazed at Goldie curiously. Scrooge finally managed to form words.

"Wh-I-How-H-how?"

He turned around and pointed to Donald. "You!"

"I swear, I had no idea she was on board! Would've tossed her into the sea…" The sailor murmured.

So, Scrooge turned back to Goldie. "You!"

"Me." She agreed. "So, uh, about that Other Bin? Heard tell you have a Hayfelday tentacle in there."

Scrooge waved a hand dismissively. "Go on, everyone. I'll deal with this deceitful damsel."

Everyone hesitantly filed inside, except the three girls, and Donald and Beakley. (The ones who either thought Scrooge would need help or the ones who were curious about her.) Once everyone who wanted to went inside, Scrooge started shouting.

"Of course you can't get into me Other Bin, you common thief!" He glowered at her.

"Well, that was a little harsh." She had already wandered over and started inching towards the open back door. "You didn't even bother with alliteration that time." Scrooge grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"I'll be as harsh as I like, Goldie! You don't bother to show your face for three years after the defeat of F.O.W.L, and then one day you just show up out of the blue asking to see my most priceless and dangerous artifacts? I thought you had died somewhere in the Indian jungles, or wherever is you were!"

He gripped her wrist tightly and dragged her away from the door. "Come on, lassie. I'll carry you out meself, if I have to."

In one quick motion, she spun around and gripped her other hand on his shoulder, leaning over him with a smirk. "Well, Scroogie, I'm not dead, am I? I'm alive, breathing, whispering…" She inched her beak towards his. Webby covered her sisters' curious eyes. Scrooge hesitated, then clamped her beak shut and shoved her away.

"Oh, no. Not this time. You, my friend, are leaving." He made to scoop her up, but she dodged him and raced across the lawn. "You'll have to catch me first, handsome!"

"Someone stop her!" He said, more exasperated than panicked.

Everyone left outside lunged at Goldie, but she swiftly dodged all capture attempts. Donald jumped to grab her and ended up falling headfirst in the pool.

"Um, hello? Little help here!" Called May, who had boosted herself up on Beakley's shoulders and was attempting to reach Goldie, rapidly scaling the wall. Too late. She reached an open window and slipped inside.

"Wait, is that my room?" Scrooge wondered. Goldie reappeared at the windowsill not long after with a small, blue and purple object in her hands. "Oh, I'd recognize this little guy anywhere. I've heard the stories, but I didn't know he was still around." She took a lighter out of her pocket. Scrooge took a hesitant step back. "What are you doing? I-is that Whiskers?" He exclaimed in a panic.

"Maybe." She inched the lighter closer to the hair ball's fur.

"Alright, fine, I'll show you me Other Bin!" Scrooge relented.

Goldie put the lighter away and jumped down from the windowsill, climbing like a lizard down to the ground. "Wonderful. I knew you'd come through, Scroogie. But first, do you mind if I just chill for a minute at your place? That houseboat is seriously disgusting."

Donald glared at her, muttering vague threats under his breath. Scrooge could only growl.

……

And so, with really no choice in the matter, the family sat down with Goldie in the living room, for the sake of Whiskers' life. She glanced around after she had sat down.

"Huh. That painting's new. Oh, so's that Medusa gauntlet. And that Incan idol…"

"Who is she?" Asked May.

Scrooge stood up and walked over to his girls. "Ah, I almost forgot to introduce you two. Girls, this is Goldie O' Gilt."

"I recognize that one. I took her hostage once." Goldie pointed to Webby.

"That tells me nothing. Who is this lady?" May whispered in Webby's ear. Daisy leaned over to listen as well. She had no idea what was happening.

"Dad's old partner." The oldest sister whispered back. "Goldie O' Gilt. She's been both his on-and-off love interest and the backstabbing adventurer that steals treasure right out from under his beak for over a century!"

"Wow." Said June. She raised her hand and loudly asked. "Does that make her our mom?"

Everyone's eyes widened, including Scrooge and Goldie's.

"Hm?" Goldie turned to them.

"Does that make you our mom, Miss Goldie?"

"Don't be ridiculous, June, she doesn't even have a robotic limb!" May said.

Scrooge gestured to the three children, ignoring the comments. "Goldie, this is May, June, and Webby. My daughters."

"Uh, I'm sorry what? You've got to be kidding me! You're ancient! How do you have-?" Goldie took on another saucy grin. "Oh, Scroogie, what have you been up to?"

He blanched. "It's not what you think." He rubbed his head. "They're my clones, making them technically my daughters...I'll explain later."

"I look forward to it." She looked over to the youngest McDucks. "Well, hi, girls. I suppose you can call me Aunt Goldie if you really want to. Uh," she gestured to the three in succession. "April, March, and Julie?"

"Close enough." Dewey muttered.

"Alright, Goldie, quit stalling. What do you really want from us?" Louie asked.

"Sharpie!" She responded. "You're looking well. How go your business endeavors?"

Louie tilted a hand back and forth in a 'eh, so-so' kind of motion.

"Answer us, O' Gilt." Huey said. "According to mine and Webby's research, there is approximately a eighty-eight percent chance of you trying to steal from us, a forty-seven percent chance of Scrooge being fooled," (Scrooge made a noise of protest in the background), and a fifty-nine percent chance of one of us being taken for ransom. Approximately."

Goldie looked at the red triplet, impressed. "Alright then, Smartie. Anything else?"

"Nothing that would be safe to tell you."

Goldie laughed and pointed out the triplets individually as well. "So, we've got Sharpie and Smartie over here. Let me guess-you're Toughie, aren't you?" She pointed at Dewey, who folded his arms and shot back,

"Um, it's actually Turbo!"

"Of course it is."

"Quit stalling and just tell us why you came here!" Louie yelled.

"What he said." Scrooge flatly agreed.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you kids know about the Hayfelday?"

"The what?" Asked Dewey.

"The Hayfelday. Native to the seas by Japan. You know, humongous, glimmering, crystalline octopus creature with the head of a person and quite a handsome top hat?" She jerked Scrooge's hat playfully. "It doesn't matter. The point is, that thing's tentacles have suckers on them with such strong suction that one press on any ash, burnt toast, or any solid with carbon in it, really, will turn it to diamond."

"Diamond?" Asked Daisy with a polite interest.

"Diamond?" Louie excitedly gasped.

"Diamond?" Asked Webby. "I thought you were always after gold."

"Well, you can trade diamonds in for gold, sweetie." Goldie said.

Webby shrugged. "I guess."

"And guess who just so happens to have slain one of these beasts and keeps one of its tentacles under lock and key?"

They all looked at Scrooge, who groaned. "And guess who is not showing the blasted thing to anyone, let alone have them take it, no matter the circumstances?"

Goldie slid the lighter out of one of her pockets and Whiskers out of the other. "Whoops."

He snatched both away from her irritably.

"Are they…flirting?" Asked June.

"Pretty much." Webby replied.

"Uncle Scrooge, I don't get it. Why would you keep this thing locked up down there instead of, you know, using it to become a million times richer?" Louie questioned.

"It's not that simple, lad." He said. "That tentacle is incredibly dangerous. Those suckers have a mind of their own, and remember, we are carbon-based life forms. They would like nothing more than to reach out and-"

"Turn us to diamond to join them." May realized.

Scrooge nodded gravely. "Under incredibly high pressure and heat. An excruciatingly painful death. I barely managed to get the thing down there! Killing the cursed Kaiju was the easy part."

"So…no, then." Louie said.

"Why did you bring an entire tentacle home in the first place?" Beakley asked incredulously. "Was your head even screwed on the right way?"

"I thought I could handle its power and quadruple my wealth!" Scrooge defended. "Until…a friend of mine, my RainForest delivery guy, got too close and…" The family looked at Scrooge, shocked. He heavily continued, "He's stuck somewhere in the basement now. As far as we know, there is no cure to being turned to diamond."

Dewey nervously glanced away. "Would this RainForest friend of yours happen to be near the garage?"

Scrooge glared at him. "Lad, what happened?"

"Nothing…."

"Is that it? That's the only danger we're in here? Well, I see you still won't show me where the tentacle is, so…" Goldie dashed away. She stopped and froze as the doorbell rang. Beakley took the opportunity to tackle her and wrestle her into the kitchen. Most of them rushed in after her. Daisy just sat there, still with no idea as to what was happening, listening to the sounds of the struggle. "This is normal, right? This is normal family squabbling."

"Someone get that door!" Called Scrooge. "Duckworth's still on vacation!"

"I'll get it." Called Huey. He walked over to the little camera that showed whoever was outside the gate. He yelped. "It's Violet!"

"Mr. McDuck?" She asked through the speaker. "Your nephew left his Senior Woodchuck Guidebook at the meet today. Might I enter and return it?"

"Please just leave it outsi-"

Dewey rushed up to the intercom, elbowing Huey out of the way. "What my brother meant was, 'Yes, of course you can come in and talk in close proximity to me!" He turned off the intercom. "Dang, you left your SWG at the meet? You must have been really absent-minded!"

Louie nudged Huey and whispered. "You got this, bro. Ask her out. This is your moment!" Webby, June and May also raced into the room, ducking behind a couch with the two boys to watch whatever was about to happen.

"You know, a girl likes it when you just try and be yourself." Daisy told him from the sofa. Huey gave a shaky thumbs up and opened the gate by pressing a button. A knock came at the front doors few moments later. He opened it. Violet stood there with two SWGs tucked under her arm. "Good afternoon, Hubert."

"H-h-hi, Violet."

"Your Senior Woodchuck Guidebook." She held out one arm with the book in her hand.

"Th-thanks." He was already turning red again. "You know, there is a riddle passed down through the ages about woodchucks…"

"Is that so?"

He nodded. "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

She stared back blankly. "I don't recall that particular query…"

Louie smirked, pulling out his phone to record from behind the couch. "Drink it in, everyone. This is the first Meet Huete to take place in over a decade."

"A what?" Asked May.

"A Meet Huete. A meet cute so awkward and so full of weird vibes, that only our dear Hubert has ever been able to cause it. When we were in preschool, he tried to flirt with this blonde girl, Laura, and ended up explaining the butts different types of bugs have. There has been no wooing of women on his part since."

"Until today!" Dewey grinned. "He must really like Miss Sabrewing."

"Isn't it only a meet cute if they meet for the first time?" Pointed out June. Huey had taught them a few things.

Dewey held a finger to her beak. "Shh. Don't disturb the delicate balance of my clever pun..."

Huey continued to bumble through the conversation. "Of course, no one has actually proven that a woodchuck can't chuck wood, meaning it is still possible, and scientists still leave the question up to debate…"

"Meet Huete! Meet Huete!" The brothers whisper-chanted.

"Aw, come on. Don't you guys think you're being a little mean? He's trying, and it's going reasonably well!" Webby whispered.

"If Vi isn't weirded out by this even a little bit, I will give you ten dollars." Louie replied.

"So, uh, how've you been, Violet?" Huey asked not far away.

"Oh, fairly well. And you?"

"Ha ha, that's a good one. Wait." He cringed. "Sorry."

"You're fine. Simple social blunders and intimate knowledge on woodchuck riddles is actually quite endearing to some people, you know." An almost unnoticeable blush appeared over her freckles.

Webby held out a hand expectantly. Louie dropped ten dollars into it. Meanwhile, Huey continued,

"Cool. Uh, uh, so, Vi, I was wondering if you, well, you know, you and I, ever wanted to..to.."

"Yes?"

"Talk about bugs! Did you know that honeybees visit five thousand flowers a day? Or that their tongue is called a probiscus?"

Louie nodded. "There it is." He held out his hand and Webby handed the money back with a frown.

But then..

"Of course I did." Violet replied. "I took several entomology courses over the summer. Still, I thought that was common knowledge."

"Me too! Until my brothers told me it wasn't. Isn't it strange how people think being well-informed is a weird thing?" Huey shrugged and chuckled. She did as well, then said,

"Once, my parents walked into my room in the middle of me summoning the spirit of our old guinea pig. Another time I befriended a Sasquatch in order to draw an anatomical diagram."

"No way! I once befriended a Sasquatch. His name was Tenderfoot."

Behind the couch, Webby held out her hand smugly. Louie slapped the ten dollars back into it.

Silence fell. Then, Violet said, "Well, I'll see you around, Hubert." She walked away, waving.

"Bye!" Called Huey. He shut the door and leaned against it with a sigh of relief. "That wasn't too bad."

The kids climbed out from behind the couch.

"That was so cute!" Squealed June. "You two are perfect together!"

"I knew you could do it!" Webby hugged him, ten dollars grasped in her fist. Dewey high-fived him. Louie laid a hand on his shoulder. "Dude. You forgot to ask her out."

……