Second to last chapter! The next one will be the epilogue. Enjoy!
Huey tackled Dewey in a hug and they all swarmed Della when she returned and then, for an awful minute, they waited, each terrified that that was it, that Louie, who hadn't even wanted to come on this trip, wouldn't let go, wouldn't return from the beyond.
Webby was just about to set up a second seance when the green triplet made his reappearance.
Dewey, who had been clinging to Huey and barely holding it together, nearly passed out then.
That was when it occurred to the others that having such a close and emotionally taxing encounter with the spirit world was not great for your health, so a very woozy Dewey and Louie were rushed to bed, and Della retired to her cabin soon after.
Scrooge was full of nothing but relief and, once he made sure the crew was all accounted for and okay, he charted a course home. Webby and Huey brainstormed questions to ask Dewey, Louie, and Della, and the three almost ghosts tried to sleep off the literal sinking feeling.
Dewey woke up first, feeling a little feverish and groggy. He saw Louie tossing and turning in the bunk below him and he wondered then if all of it had been real.
"Louie?" He shook his brother awake like he had the day before, met with groans at first until Louie finally opened his eyes and sat up.
"What do you want, Dewey?" Louie asked, still incredibly groggy.
"That really happened, didn't it?"
"Yeah," Louie said with a sigh.
"We almost died."
"Just like every other family vacation."
"Uncle Donald…" A lump formed in Dewey's throat.
Louie fell back against the sheets, pulling the blanket over his head.
"I don't want to think about it."
"But we have to! Louie you were almost trapped in the spirit world forever- and I know we're both feeling the effects of that. The only way we're going to get through this is together."
"It feels like I left a part of myself in the spirit world," Louie confessed, lowering the blanket and looking mournfully at Dewey.
Dewey nodded, "I feel that way too. I guess in a way, we did."
"I feel like I betrayed him. Like I should have been able to save him."
Dewey sighed, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"It wasn't your fault, Louie. I know Uncle Donald is at peace knowing that we're okay. And we're together so… We're going to be okay."
Louie felt a little stupid for asking, but he needed the reassurance, "Promise?"
"I promise."
Louie hummed to himself before singing softly, "Unafraid of the unknown because I'll face it all with you."
Dewey smiled sadly, "Exactly. We'll have each other's backs. And mom and Uncle Scrooge and Huey and Webby… They're all out there, ready to be there for us."
"Can we stay here a little longer? Facing them would make it real."
Dewey nodded and lay back on the bed beside Louie, pointing out weird little faces in the wooden bedframe until they were both feeling a little bit better.
Then they headed out of the cabin, immediately met with the concern of their entire family.
Della fell to her knees, "Boys? How are you feeling? Are you alright?"
She placed her hand on their foreheads in turn, feeling the tail end of identical fevers.
"It still hurts," Louie said in a whisper.
"But we thought it would be better if we could all hurt together," Dewey said, holding onto Louie's hand and trying to stay strong for both of them.
Scrooge scooped the two of them up in a big hug, reminding Huey, Dewey, and Louie how Donald used to effortlessly carry the three of them.
"It's okay, lads, we're going to get through this as a family."
Della and the others joined in the hug and one by one, the crying started.
Della was the first one to compose herself, though her heart was aching fiercely.
"We should… We should have a memorial. We don't have a body but we could give him a symbolic burial at sea. I think it's what Donald would have wanted."
Huey nodded. He didn't have a voice to speak but he was still trying to step up for his siblings.
"That's a good idea, lass," Scrooge said, wiping the tears from his eyes.
They headed up to the deck of the ship, where the very visible crew was bustling about. Duckburg was coming into view and so they would soon be saying goodbye to this ghost ship. But for now, they had to say a second goodbye to Donald.
Scrooge and Della were the only ones to speak, as the children were too consumed with grief to say much of anything.
Scrooge spoke of the years adventuring with his niece and nephew, and how he wished he'd never pushed Donald away. There was a lot of regret in his voice, but also a lot of gratitude.
"I'm so glad I got Donald back, even just for a little while. He grew into such a wonderful man and such a brave adventurer, I will never not be proud of him. I will never not feel lucky he was in my life."
Della's tune was a little sadder, a little more wistful. She hadn't had the time Scrooge had had to reconnect with Donald. But, yesterday, she'd had a few minutes to say goodbye.
"Donald did so many great things in his life, he left quite a legacy, but one of the things he was proudest of was the kids he raised. I may not have gotten to see Donald again in the flesh, but I see him through everything you kids do. He truly left the best parts of himself in you."
Huey turned away then and cried harder while his siblings hugged him tightly, but Della's words soothed as much as they ached. Donald was gone, they could all finally admit it, but his legacy lived on. They were alive and so the best parts of Donald were alive too.
The water was calm when they pulled into the harbor, and Della, Scrooge, and the kids all knew that Donald was definitely resting in peace.