As promised we go back to semi-serious this time around.

The sound of traffic permeated the air outside headquarters.

To the outside observer it appeared a normal office building. Agents within the walls were normal office workers, desk jockeys who spent all day on the computer or filling out paperwork. In reality they were an incarnation of the global spy agency known as S.H.U.S.H, more specifically the Tokyolk branch. It was a perfect place to hide and Agent Tezuka, a more recent recruit, took great pride in what work she was able to do on behalf of the agency.

Right now, however, she was investigating rumors of F.O.W.L activity in the underbelly known as Shinjuku. It was dimly lit, even in mid-afternoon, and she gritted her teeth in disgust as she entered the warehouse the informant had told them about. The place was completely abandoned in such a way that made her feel as if they'd been had. That was before she heard a noise in one of the back rooms—the sound of someone struggling to free themselves from some kind of bindings. She rushed over and kicked down the door to find a female duck tied up with duct tape around her bill.

Instantly Tezuka ripped the tape off and the woman gasped for air.

"Thank you," she sighed. "Thank you so much. You're part of S.H.U.S.H, right?"

"Are you?"

"Yes." She was exhausted, clearly battered and bruised. "I was, long ago."

"Come with me." Tezuka untied her and led the woman out of the warehouse.

At headquarters, the woman accepted a cup of tea and introduced herself as Iris Duck. She was an American agent and as soon as her name was said, a couple of the higher-ups immediately went into a panic. Apparently Iris had vanished on a mission over a decade earlier and having her back was a massive deal. It became a matter of getting the paperwork assembled to send Iris back to America, back to her family while she recovered from her ordeal.

Tezuka, on the other hand, didn't take this explanation as easily. The fact that she'd been left behind by F.O.W.L didn't spell good news for Iris as an agent. Either she was a spy or she'd been bugged, and neither was appealing. Fortunately Iris made it clear she just wanted to go home and spend time with her family. Once Tezuka got her to America that was it. The Japanese agent would never have to see Iris again.

Good riddance.

"Welcome to the room of theater dreams!"

April pushed open the door to her room and let the other child residents of the manor take it in. Her canopy bed sat off the ground, almost like a bunk bed were it not for the table underneath it that served as a desk and the matching bookcase. Stuffed animals lined the guardrail, standing watch in their owner's absence. The walls had posters for notable Broadway shows and movies that April clearly admired. Other than that, there were more bookshelves and beanbag chairs and even a couch that sat in the corner near the TV.

"It's like her room back at the old house but more spacious," May explained. "We didn't have as much room there."

"I can finally have enough space to practice!" April squealed excitedly.

"Cool," Dewey said, going over and sinking into one of the beanbag chairs. "Ooh, this is Louie-levels of lazy."

"That's pretty lazy," Webby remarked.

"Enough with my room," April sighed. "I guess it's May's turn."

The seven headed down the hall to the room May had claimed as her own. Her bed was just a normal twin-size bed with normal sheets. The big thing that caught everyone's attention was the long table she'd set up in the middle. On top of it was her dungeon-master gear as well as paper and pencils. It was clear she'd set it up to be a new place for their little guild to meet. Other than that the room was fairly clean and the posters that lined the walls advertised her favorite trading-card game that she'd gotten Huey into (but nobody else).

June seemed to realize that her turn was coming up.

"My room's not ready yet," she confessed. "It's a mess and I'm still working on something that I want done before I finish setting up."

"What are you working on?" Huey asked.

"I'm fixing my computer. The monitor's fine but I stripped out the guts of the actual CPU to—"

"Ugh, boring," Dewey scoffed.

"Hey, how come you guys don't have your own rooms?" April asked the boys.

"We've shared a room our whole lives," Louie snorted. "We tried it the first week or so we lived here and couldn't do it. It came from growing up on the houseboat."

"Hey, kids! Mrs. B says everyone needs to come downstairs for a meeting on house rules!" Della called, sticking her head around the corner. The kids shrugged and followed her down to where Mrs. Beakley had set up the chalkboard.

Daisy was sitting next to Donald, but just as the kids entered her phone went off. Mrs. Beakley nodded for her to answer and Daisy went outside the dining room.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Is this Daisy Duck?" asked the person on the other end.

"Yes, this is she. May I ask who is calling?"

"My name is Shoto Miyashita. I am calling from S.H.U.S.H headquarters in Tokyolk."

"Okay, but why? I haven't had anything to do with your people in over a decade."

"Recently we were investigating F.O.W.L activity in Shinjuku and we found something. Your sister Iris is alive."

Daisy nearly dropped the phone in shock.

"Wait, are you joking?!"

"No, Miss Duck. She's coming back to America. Her flight leaves in a few hours and I was instructed to inform her family. Am I correct that you are her only living family?"

"No, but I'll tell them myself."

"Wonderful. Miss Duck, I wish you the best of luck with your sister. She'll be landing at the St. Canard airport tomorrow morning at nine am along with one of our agents."

"Thank you, Mr. Miyashita. I'll be there."

She hung up and heard footsteps running from the door. The kids were eavesdropping. She should've known. Upon entering the dining room she was fixed with stares from the whole family.

"Aunt Daisy, you're crying," June spoke up. "Did something bad happen?"

"No, June Bug. Actually, something good happened. That was a call from an agent of the Tokyolk branch of S.H.U.S.H." She wiped a tear from her eye. "They found Iris. She's coming home tomorrow."

All three of the girls had wide eyes. None of them looked like they could believe it, and Mrs. Beakley was the same.

"Well, at any rate, I'm going to be picking her up from the airport tomorrow if you girls want to come."

"I'm going to stay here," April told her aunt. "I think it would overwhelm Iris to meet all three of us at once."

"Yeah, maybe," agreed May.

"I know I was on the moon for ten years and it was overwhelming when I came back, so that's a fair assessment," Della spoke up. "I think one familiar face to start off is good before you start throwing in the unfamiliar."

"Well, then," Mrs. Beakley sighed. "I'll make up the guest room, if that's all right with you, Mr. McDuck."

"It's fine with me. Not the first reunion to happen in these halls and I doubt it'll be the last. Only stipulation is that she be included under house rules."

"Yes, sir."

Iris stared out the window of the plane as they descended.

Back on American soil. Wow.

Seeing the city of St. Canard brought back memories of growing up with her little sister. Playing games in their apartment, watching as Daisy went off to fashion school and being recruited by the agency… she shook her head. No. Remembering the good times would only make doing her job harder. She wasn't betraying Daisy or her daughters; she was protecting them from the madman Scrooge McDuck. They'd understand once this was over and they could be a family.

"We're landing," Tezuka told her, shaking the duck from her thoughts.

"Thank you, Tezuka."

"Who is coming to meet you at the airport?"

"My little sister. I haven't seen her since I left my eggs with her."

"Hm. How many?"

"Three. All girls."

"I don't envy you. I recently had to deal with a pair of boys about that age and I don't want to do it again. Both of them were a pain in the tail."

"Babysitting?"

"One was a robot. The other was naïve and almost got Tokyolk burned to the ground."

"Oof." Iris cringed in response.

The plane landed smoothly and Iris grabbed what little luggage she'd been afforded. Tezuka was there to ensure Iris got home safely, then she'd be heading back to Japan alone. They arrived at the baggage claim and Iris caught sight of a sign that said 'IRIS' in bright bold letters. Holding that sign was none other than her baby sister. She rushed through the crowd and they hugged tightly.

"You're here," Daisy whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. "It's really you!"

"And you're here, too!"

"Ahem," Tezuka coughed.

"Oh, right." They broke apart. "Daisy, this is Agent Tezuka. Tezuka, this is my sister Daisy."

"A pleasure," Daisy greeted the agent, holding out a hand.

"Same here. Do you have a way to bring her home?"

"Yep. Thank you so much for bringing her back to me. Our family owes you so much gratitude."

"Don't mention it. I'm heading back to Tokyolk tomorrow. Make sure your sister gets plenty of rest."

"I will."

Daisy and Iris headed out to the parking lot, where they got into Daisy's car and started the drive home. Iris was surprised as they drove through St. Canard and over the Audubon Bay Bridge towards Duckburg. She'd known Daisy's boyfriend lived there but she'd thought Daisy still lived in St. Canard.

"How long have you lived in Duckburg?"

"Eight years. I got a job with Emma Glamour and it made more sense for me to move with the girls."

"What… what are they like?"

"April's the oldest. She loves theater and performing. Then there's May. She lives in a little fantasy world and she's fascinated by legends and fairy tales. And then there's June. We call her our little grease monkey since she's always working on something—usually her special roller skates."

Iris watched as they pulled up to Killmotor Hill, the famed home of McDuck Manor and Scrooge McDuck.

"Isn't this Scrooge McDuck's house?"

"Yes. I'm dating his nephew and we recently moved in. He said you could stay too, since you're family."

Family. He considers me… family.

Suddenly she wasn't so sure about Director Buzzard's plan…

"Hey, you okay?"

June looked up at Louie.

"You're tightening and untightening the wheels on your skates." He sat down next to her. "You wanna talk?"

"I'm just… nervous. About meeting our mom. Aunt Daisy's told us so many stories since we found out the truth and I'm worried I'm not gonna—"

"Impress her?"

"Yeah. She was an agent of S.H.U.S.H and a really awesome person. How do I measure up to that?"

"You don't." She stared at him. "Listen, my mom's Della Duck. She's an adventurer extraordinaire and an amazing pilot. I was worried that if I met her she wouldn't think I was worthy of being her son because I wasn't as smart as Huey or confident as Dewey. Or even as daring as Webby. But she doesn't care about being worthy because she's my mom and she loves me. It doesn't matter if I measure up. What matters is that I'm her son."

"So…?"

"So don't worry about it. You're June. You're an awesome skater, a gifted mechanic, and a really amazing person. She'll understand all that because she's your mom and if she doesn't understand, she will if you give her time."

"Thanks, Louie."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

They smiled at each other and then Dewey broke in.

"Louie! June! Quit flirting and help us with the banner!"

"We weren't flirting!" Louie protested, his cheeks flaming red with embarrassment. June giggled, setting down her skate to go hold the ladder steady.

"They're coming up the driveway!" announced Huey, turning back towards everyone from the window.

Everyone stood together, watching as the doorknob turned and the front door opened to reveal a woman who was definitely Daisy's sister. The family resemblance was strong. Iris stared at the three girls at the front of the group, tears forming in her eyes.

"Everyone, meet Iris Duck."

June hesitated for a moment before stepping forwards and cautiously offering Iris a hug. May and April followed suit. Louie could feel it in the air; where there had been joy and relief when Della came home there was uncertainty and mistrust for the girls. It made sense in his mind. The cause of Della's absence had been clear and her reasons for not coming home understandable. Iris had no such case in her favor.

The silence was awkward.

"So!" Della spoke up, breaking the spell. "Lunch? You must be starving."

"Yes, I'd appreciate some time with the family." Iris smiled awkwardly and they all made their way towards the dining room.

A dream reunion, it was not.

Tap tap

"Come in."

Louie entered June's room to find computer parts sitting all over her desk as she fiddled with some kind of motherboard. She was muttering to herself as she worked and he sat down on her bed across from her.

"I know that didn't go how you wanted," he sighed.

"I always thought that when I met my mother, things would make sense. Like we'd be a normal family. But that's not what happened."

He knew what she meant. All afternoon conversation had been stiff and awkward. April and May had a slightly easier time connecting with their mother over their respective loves for theatrics and fantasy. June's love of mechanics, by contrast, had not quite gotten Iris's attention in the same way. He had seen it gnawing at her and that was why he'd come to talk to her. He understood what it felt like a little better than most, given that he'd struggled to connect with Della.

"June, I think you lost any chance at your family being normal the day we met and found out your aunt was dating my uncle."

"True enough. It's a lot."

"Take baby steps. I didn't connect with my mom right away. It took a while for us to find anything we had in common."

"She's basically an older female Dewey." He laughed in agreement.

"So, enough about the awkwardness with your mom. What are you working on?"

"I'm improving the storage on my computer. Pretty simple. It makes it more ideal for playing games."

"Uh-huh…"

"We both know you're not as tech-savvy as I am, so don't pretend you know what I'm talking about."

"I'm not. You know, my laptop could use an upgrade…"

"You gonna pay me?"

"I'll get Dewey to do your chores."

"Hm… nope."

"What do you mean, nope?"

"I mean that's not good enough. I think I have an idea, though." She turned to face him. "How about this—if I fix up your laptop, you have to go with me to my school dance."

"Excuse me, what."

"I think it's a fair trade. Besides, I can get an 'A' on the dancing unit in gym if I go to the dance. I don't want to go alone." She narrowed her eyes. "You don't wanna go, that's fine. I guess I'll just ask someone else to be my date."

"No, I'll do it. Geez."

"Thank you. Sorry. I just… didn't want to be that kid who asked their sibling to the dance."

"No, no, I get it. Not like we have school dances here."

"I'll give you more details later. Good night!"

He headed back to his own room.

"Well done, Duck. You've infiltrated the manor."

"Scrooge said I'm family since my sister is dating his nephew." Iris swung her legs as she spoke to Bradford.

"A perfect cover. It's well known that Scrooge's top priority is his family. Target that and the rest falls into place."

"Should I get to know my children?"

"Of course. They've been part of that group longer than you have. They're bound to have some kind of useful information."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Duck, out."

Iris cut off communication and sighed, laying back in the bed.

What have I gotten myself into?

Surprise, Iris isn't evil. At least…

It's a Patty Hearst situation. To a certain degree. Sorry, it's late and I need to go to bed.

Also, I could've just made this an entire chapter of Louie reassuring June.

So long and thanks for all the fish!