(To all those who took the time to review my first chapter, thank you! I'll try to reply to them all!)

Here's my second story, it's pretty bad and rushed but I wanted to do something that talked more about the whole Beagle family and their past a bit, New Year story seemed like a fair time to do it. It's kind of crap, chances are I'll rewrite it to be more interesting.

The next stories I feel are better, at least!

Also if you're interested in my headcanons for the Beagle Boys, my Beagle Boys blog linked on my profile has some of them. Thanks for reading, & happy new year!

And A Scrappy New Year

It was New Year's Eve, and it had been a full week since the big blizzard hit, leaving the Beagle household completely snowed in with tensions running high.

It was around noontime when the lazy Beagles were finally waking up.

"Ouch!" Something hard kicked BigTime hard in the shin, starting him awake from his warm slumber.

"BigTime, you always hog the blanket!"

He peered over and saw Babyface glaring at him, dangling near the edge of the bed with his hands pulling on the other side of the covers.

Not this again. Having to share a bed with the brat, just 'cause they were the two smallest guys in the family, was the worst.

"Yeah, well, I'm older!" BigTime shot back as a pathetic argument, pulling back angrily. Babyface held his corner of the covers tight, scrunching up his nose.

"Why're you such a jerk!?"

"Why're you such a baby!?"

"Oh, SHUT UP, the both of ya!" Bankjob groaned loudly, dropping from his upper bank and to the floor with a huge thud. "I swear. I've had it up to here with all your messin' around!" He stomped around the cramped bedroom, muttering and looking for something. "Now where's my hat?"

His brothers shrugged- except for Baggy, who was lying on his mattress with a handful of crayons and coloring on a piece of paper.

Bankjob glowered at him. "I think you're wearin' my hat."

Baggy looked up. "Uh….but, um, I thought 'dis one was mine."

"No, it's mine 'cuz its too big fer you and I have the biggest head!" Bankjob barked.

Baggy recoiled and offered the hat up to his brother. It was just better to do what he said.

Down the hall, Bouncer was banging desperately on the bathroom door. "'Ey! Bugle! You drown in there?!"

Bugle ignored him completely, just humming to himself and scrubbing up in layers of suds. A minute to himself was all he wanted.

BANG! The door burst open suddenly and Bouncer dashed inside, giving a sigh of relief. Bugle peered over the shower curtain, eyes narrowing. "Seriously, man? Ever heard of personal space?"

Bouncer just pulled a face and flushed. Bugle yelped and hopped backwards.

"Oh, ow! Man! That's hot!"

Meanwhile, Burger Beagle was in the kitchen chugging down a bottle of milk with gusto. His brothers soon joined him there, their tummies rumbling for lunch.

"'Least there's some stuff to eat," BigTime sighed, springing open the fridge.

Except it was empty.

All eyes, furious, burned into Burger. He burped and giggled nervously. "I'm sorry! I eat when I'm bored!"

That did it.

"Ma!"

"Maaaaaaa!"

"MAAAHAHHAHAHHAHAH!"

From her hideout in the tiny, musty attic, Ma Beagle cringed. Sure, she loved her boys to bits, but they were driving her up the wall. She sat on the floor, looking through the cardboard boxes of memorabilia. She brushed a layer of cobwebs off the next box and uncovered a thick, weathered scrapbook. She smiled. An old photo album!

In the kitchen, chaos has broken loose. Yelling and insults were flung, fists were flying, brothers pushing, hitting, and pinching.

Ma walked in, surveying the action with a scowl on her face. "Well, well, well."

The boys all stopped dead in their tracks. Oh, shoot! They quickly dropped what they were doing and stood straight and attentively in front of their mother.

"So this is the way you repay me, after bustin' you out, bringin' you into my home, takin' such good care of you?" Ma berated. The seven boys looked shamefully down at the floor. "I guess it's just you boys are too good for your dear old mummy?"

"N-no, it's not that, Ma," BigTime protested. "We love it here!"

"We're just goin' a little stir-crazy 'cuz of the snow!" Bankjob added, nodding fervently. "It's New Years Eve…and we can't do any of the things we'd been wantin' to do!"

"We looted a whole buncha fireworks, and now we can't even use 'em!" Babyface complained.

"That, and 'da snow conked out 'da cable so we can't watch the ball droppin' in Ducks Square," Bouncer muttered, trying hard not to show how disappointed he really was over the matter.

"I mighta ate the stuffs we's was savin' for dinner…" Burger gave her a guilty look. "I'm sorry! You…you're the best mummy ever!" Way to slather it on too thick.

Ma wasn't impressed by their apology, but it was better than nothing.

"Well, if you really want to show me you care…" Ma Beagle held up the thick album and started walking into the other room.

"Ooh, whazzat, Ma?" Baggy asked excitedly. The boys followed after her into the living room, curious. "You gonna read us a story?"

"Better," Ma said as she settled into her favorite rocker. "I found some old pictures! Now sit down!"

"Aw, no!" There was a collective groan from everyone as they sat down on the floor. Family photos were the worst.

Ma Beagle cracked open the book and held it up so they could all see it.

"Aw, now here's your grandfather, Blackheart," she said fondly, pointing to a black and white photograph of a confident-looking Beagle with a long mustache. He was wearing a captain's hat and suit, and standing on a dock on the river in front of an extravagant steamboat.

"This hasta be an old picture," Bankjob said, looking it over. "Gramps has a big white beard now."

"And he sure as heck don't have a boat like that!"

"And he's put on around 200 pounds."

Ma snapped the book shut and rolled her eyes. "If you're done, will ya shut up and let medo the talkin'?"

The boys hushed and Ma opened the album back up to the next page. The photo was of her, significantly younger and slimmer, laying in a hospital bed with frizzy blonde hair in a bun and smiling weakly at the camera. In her arms, she held a cranky looking little Beagle baby in a dark mask.

"Uh, who's that, Ma?" BigTime asked.

Ma squinted at the picture. "Huh. Not sure. You kids always looked the same to me, could be anyone."

"Who's the daddy?" Burger giggled with a big smile on his face.

Ma's face turned murderous and she stomped on his hand. "I thought I told you never to ask that question!"

"Okay, okayyyyy!" Burger whined, shaking his bruised hand and slinking back behind his brothers.

She then pointed out the next picture.

"Right from the start, Bombshell showed he had a talent for chemistry!" The boys recognized their older brother, Bombshell, as the bulky and serious-looking third grader in the photo. He was standing in front of a lab table with a homemade explosive in his hands. In the background, teachers and students alike were yelling in terror.

"They had to evacuate the whole school," Ma said, wiping away a proud tear.

The next photo had a different little Beagle, around four or five years old. He was running around holding a plastic airplane in his hand, spinning and evading around invisible obstacles. No doubt who this was- it could only be their older brother, Bomber Beagle, the family's aviator.

"I always figured Bomber was an airhead," BigTime commented. "Only a dimwit would wanta be locked up in flying metal coffin."

"Yeah, he's like ol' Scrooge's friend!" Bouncer snickered.

"Don't you compare your brother to Launchpad McJerk!" Ma snapped, kicking out at him. Now that was an insult taken too far.

The following page showed a series of pictures, the first of a very short young Beagle playing with a ball, a happy little smile on his face.

"Aw, BigTime, look how little you were!" Ma gushed.

"Yeah, well, he ain't much bigger now!" Bankjob said loudly.

BigTime's face burned in embarrassment.

And then baby Bankjob came in. Although he and BigTime were close in age, he had always been more confident…and bigger. In the two subsequent photos, Bankjob had shoved BigTime to the ground…and then started to walk off with the ball while BigTime sat bawling on the ground.

"You pushed me!" BigTime exclaimed angrily.

Bankjob shrugged. "Oh come on. You must've been askin' for it."

"I was three!"

"Aww, aren't you two so sweet?" Ma said.

The next two photos were of Baggy, slightly freckled and in an oversized, tattered coat, playing in the rain; first, jumping in puddles, and second, holding up a big fat frog up to the camera and grinning widely.

"Baggy, you always had a way with animals," Ma noted.

"Only because he is one," snickered Bugle. Baggy chuckled along stupidly.

"I wonder what did happen to all those pets you brought home?" Ma wondered aloud.

Everyone looked at Burger.

On the facing page were three pictures that seemed to go together. In the first, Bouncer, perhaps around age 6, was looking at the camera sulkily and pointing at his mask. The next was…just a blur, really. In the last picture, Bouncer was holding his butt and looking all the more miserable.

"D'eh…what's d'is?" Bouncer asked uncomfortably. Just looking at the picture was making his rear end flare up in pain.

"Aw, I remember this!" Ma said fondly. "Huge milestone! Your first time talking back to me. You were sayin' you didn't like wearin' the mask!" She laughed. "I told you you'd learn to love it."

"Yeesh…" Present-day Bouncer had the feeling that she'd actually done a lot more than told him, but he didn't really want to incur her wrath a second time.

"Oh, now this is cute," Ma flipped to the next page where a preteen Bugle was wearing cheap shades and a black turtleneck sweater, beboping and rocking an itty-bitty Babyface in a crummy blanket.

"Aw, look! Seems like Babyface really enjoyed your singing, Bugle!" Ma tittered. "You really knew the way to calm him down."

Babyface looked at the picture and then at his sneering brother, disgusted.

"Oh wait."

The next picture showed the bawling blob bashing Bugle on the head with a rattle.

Ma grunted. "Huh. I guess all of you are pretty worthless."

The following picture was of a dorky looking Beagle Boy with huge glasses holding up a huge manuscript.

"Megabyte published his first novel on quantum physics just when he started third grade!" Ma beamed. "Oh, it's a shame all you boys are so stupid. "

None of the brothers liked Megabyte, so hearing this praise for him was agonizing. Show-off. Peacock! NERD! Yeah he went to college…but so what? It's not like was any better than a kindy-garden education!

Right by it was a photo of three young girls- a blonde, redhead, and brunette- wearing a ridiculous amount of messy makeup, tacky plastic jewelery, and oversized heels. Boom-Boom, Bouffant, and Babydoll- their cousins, the Beagle Babes.

"Ah, my little nieces," Ma looked at the picture fondly. "Always makin' me wish I'd had a coupla girls instead of an legion of dumb boys."

The brothers vaguely remembered how bad it had been the last time their cousins had visited as children. Fashion Show this, or Lemme Do Your Nails that. They shuddered just at the thought of going through the horrible process of "bedazzling" again.

The next photos must've been taken some time later, because all the boys looked a few years older. Posing together in a team picture, the brothers stood on a field equipped with baseball mitts and bats. BigTime and Bankjob, the oldest, were probably twelve, and Babyface, the youngest, looked to be about five.

"Do you remember your first big game, boys?" Ma Beagle looked at the picture with a huge smile.

"Uh…not really." The answer was unanimous.

"Well, ya LOST!" Ma snapped, causing them all to jump back a bit. "But…" She smiled. "At least you remembered what was important."

"Havin' fun?" Baggy guessed.

"CHEATIN'!" Ma exploded. But she cooled off quickly.

"You all took a shine to the criminal life as kids," Ma said, turning the page. "But it was when you were teenagers that you really started to make me proud!"

On the next page were several different pictures of the older Beagle Boys getting into all kinds of trouble. In one, Bouncer, coming into his muscled physique, was kneeling down by a car on the corner, deflating the tires one by one and looking over his shoulder. In another, Baggy, looking very awkward and gangly, was leafing through a naughty magazine, completely unaware. Next to him, with his feet in the air, Bugle was holding a blunt and staring at the ceiling.

Bugle sniggered and Baggy blushed until his ears were bright red.

Next came a picture of Bankjob and Babyface sitting together. Bankjob was big, almost his adult size. He was fiddling with a switchblade knife across his cuticles while Babyface, still a preteen, popped the heads off of some old dolls.

Here was Burger's first stickup, and he must have decided it at a fast food joint, because he had come home holding a gun in one hand and about twenty leaking bags of greasy burgers in the other.

Next was a photo of BigTime as an early teen, sneering nastily and pointing to Old Scrooge McDuck's moneybin in the distance.

"Oh! And here's your first arrest," Ma said proudly, pointing excitedly at the photo write underneath. In it, BigTime, Burger, Bankjob, and Bouncer were all behind bars in a paddy wagon, looking desperately out towards the viewer to help them.

"Ohohoho, this must've been the first time you hit Scrooge's moneybin!" she observed.

"Why'd ya just sit there and take a picture?!" whined BigTime. He remembered the unfortunate event like it was yesterday.

"Oh, you know I wouldn't abandon you boys," Ma said. "I had you out within the week, didn't I? And a little jailtime does wonders for building character!"

The last photo looked relatively recent, taken within the last five years or so. All the boys stood in front of the very wood cabin they were in now, with their numbered placards on their chests and with Ma standing right in the middle.

Ma sniffed, and the boys looked up at her with anxiously.

"Ma-," started BigTime, standing up and his eyes widening.

" I wish we had more family moments like we did back then," Ma Beagle said sadly, shutting the album and putting it aside. "But you boys are all grown-up now. You don't need your mother…"

"No, uh, wait, mum!" Baggy protested.

"Yeah, we like wasting valuable time with you!" Babyface squirmed.

"Why, you's the one who's taught us our thievin' ways! Who would we be without ya?" Bankjob was on his feet and putting an arm around his mother's shoulders.

Ma sniffled and looked up, smiling. "Well. There's just a few hours left of this crummy year left anyhow. How 'bout we make it into somethin' us Beagles can remember?"

All the Beagle Boys jumped up and cheered.

"Well, then, first thing we'll need is a good, end-of-the-year supper!" Ma said, heading to the kitchen with her hands on her hips.

"But Burger ate all the food, remember?" complained BigTime.

"Not quite," said Ma. "Luckily, your Mom's smart and always plans ahead!"

She winked and dug out a pile of frozen meat pies (stuffed with extra black eyed peas for luck!) that must've been in a hidden compartment at the back of the fridge. It'd finally happened. She'd Burger-proofed the fridge.

After a few moments of torturous waiting for them to heat up, the boys could finally dig in to their meal.

Suddenly Bouncer hacked and coughed, and spat up a tiny razor blade. He gave a worried look to his mother.

She shrugged and chuckled. "Ah, I guess sometimes I forget I don't need to toss in anythin' extra." She grabbed a bottle out of a cabinet and poured some for herself, and then passed it around the table.

"Wine, Ma? How'd ya get your mitts on this one?!" Bankjob asked with surprise.

"Oh, don't worry, Bankjob. Nobody cares if you nab the cheap stuff," Ma winked. "Hey! Babyface, I don't think so. I'm a bad role model but I'm not that bad!"

The youngest Beagle, about to pour some for himself, looked at her sourly and passed it over.

"Mmm, mmm!" Burger licked his lips and burped loudly. "Why, y'know the best thing about being outta the slammer is the home-cooked meals! You should come and work makin' 'em in prison, Ma!"

"They wouldn't be home-cooked then, would they, dummy?!" BigTime said.

"Hey, duh, there's some fireworks startin'!" Baggy called out from the window. The boys all popped up excitedly to see the display. This was the best part of the night!

For hours, the fireworks could be seen from all across Duckburg. The night sky was filled with colorful bursts and explosions (which the Beagles particularly loved), and then the air became thick and tense as the clock counted down the few minutes left of the year.

"Any of you boys have a New Year's Resolution?" Ma asked as the last fireworks of the old year lit the night sky.

"D'uhhh…" Baggy started.

"Oh, I do! I'm gonna be taller!"

"By the end of next year, I'm gonna be able to bench another 200 pounds!"

"And I'll 'ave tasted every top special in the town of Duckburg!"

Ma gave them all an expectant look. "And…?"

Oh, of course. They all knew the answer: "…And break into Scrooge's money bin!"

"Come in for the picture, boys," Ma said, holding up a camera. "The first one for the new year!"

The boys, grumbling, shuffled together in front of the window and gave phony smiles. If it made her happy… CLICK.

And right then, the clock hit midnight.

"Hey, Ma, I think 'dat firework was just shaped like Scrooge," commented Bouncer suddenly.

Ma Beagle's let out an angry, inhuman shriek and smashed the camera to bits onto the floor.

The boys' eyes all met and they let out a sigh. "Happy New Year, Ma."