Chapter 1: Anger and Frustration

"You are grounded." Della said sternly.

"What?!" Louie sputtered. "I'm 19, Mom! You can't ground me anymore!" he said gruffly.

"You made Huey and Dewey miss their exams just because you needed the car to go to a party!" Della snapped.

"Well, what about Launchpad? He couldn't drop them? He—"

"—was at the Money Bin for a staff meeting. Seriously, Louie, go to your room." Della interrupted.

"But—"

"Now." Della said sternly.

Louie growled. "Whatever."

Huey and Dewey exchanged apologetic look with Louie as he went upstairs, and he just scowled. He slammed his room door and flopped onto his bunk. He wasn't sure when he dozed off but he woke up to Webby shaking him. Huey and Dewey stood off to the side.

"What is it, guys?" Louie asked, annoyed. He snuggled deeper into the pillow, trying to block out the sudden light.

"You've been asleep for 18 hours." Huey said.

Louie shot up. "18?!"

"Yes! We're going to Big Rock Candy Mountain… but Mom said you're still grounded." he said.

"Figures," Louie said, unfazed. He knew his mom was trying to irk him. "Is she going to lock me up with a robot again, or…?" Louie asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"The DT-87 got destroyed." Dewey pointed out.

Louie groaned. "Just go. You two are the whole reason I'm here."

"We didn't mean to snitch! Mom asked us why we missed our exams!" Huey defended.

Louie was ready for him. "You could've called and asked me to pick you two up! Or you could've taken the bus or a taxi!"

"Lou—" Huey tried.

"Just go!" he snapped angrily. "I'm done talking about this!"

Louie tossed onto his side, facing away from them, signaling that the conversation was over. They sighed but gently closed his door behind them.

Webby frowned, an uneasy feeling stirring in her stomach. "We could go try talking to your mom. The last time we left him alone, Louie almost joined all of Scrooge's enemies."

Hueu pondered this. "Well, it was to help Scrooge… but I don't know how far it could've gone. You never know with Louie."

"With that kind of attitude, it's no wonder Mom's grounding him. Let's go." Dewey scoffed.

At this, Huey bristled. "Dewey's right. We'll talk to him when he calms down. He's still mad about the whole situation."

Webby sighed, but knew she couldn't argue with both brothers. "Alright. Let's go."

Little did they know that Louie was listening to every word they said.