Huey and Louie watched their disgruntled middle brother shuffled with his things down the ladder to the garage.

"What's with him?" Louie sat up off the floor.

Huey rolled his shoulders. "Something's always up with him. He just likes to make it seem like he's fine so he can be extra dramatic about it later."

"Sounds about right." Louie pulled his hood over his head and curled up in his hammock like he was a hamster. The Ottoman Empire background music grew louder.

Huey stared down at his suitcase. He had an outfit for every eventuality, notebooks in case they needed to document names or addresses, all of his essential hair products since he no longer wore the hat to hide his morning cowlick, and his old junior woodchuck survival kit. I guess that's everything.

Years of traveling with Uncle Donald for his work trips and Uncle Scrooge for adventures had gotten them used to packing in a hurry. Their room, well, Dewey and Louie's sides of the room were always a mess, but each of them knew where everything was in case they'd have to leave the next morning.

Everything but… Huey sighed and glanced at Louie whose back was to him. Sneaking around behind him, he crept up to his bunk. He waited until he heard the boisterous voices of Johnny and Randy arguing over how one of them tufted an ottoman before he lifted his mattress.

Under a loose board was a small hiding place he had made for himself shortly before Louie went to juvie. He fished around inside until he felt the familiar crumpled, red leather binding of his most prized possession. The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook.

He laid down on the bed and ran his fingers over the front of it before smoothing some old pieces of tape that were holding the spine together. A warm sense of peace washed over him. When everything else in his life rapidly changed, the junior woodchuck guidebook stayed the same - besides a little wear and tear from all the years it was cherished.

Huey dragged his thumb across the pages and breathed in its scent. Any part of him that the "the Duke" still had a hold on relaxed, and he felt more in control than he had all day. As he flipped through the pages, money fell out onto the bed. He peeked back at Louie in his hammock. Still blissfully unaware. Letting out a breath, he sorted through the cash, counting it. $1,500. Good, Louie didn't find it. He smiled to himself.

And that should be more than enough to get us through the trip without Mom or Uncle Donald's help. His eyes moved from the money to the junior woodchuck guidebook and back again. For a moment, the little junior woodchuck in the back of his head began to scold him.

"What are you doing, Huey? That money was supposed to be for your first archaeological trip with Uncle Scrooge. You can't use that."

Huey stared down at the green stack in his hands. He had been setting that cash aside since he was ten years old, planning to one day use it to pay his own way to Egypt or Rome. Little Huey planned to spend two weeks with his great uncle's team of archaeologists to witness real archaeological discoveries being made, hands on.

That was little Huey's plan. He pictured Louie's eyes when they had first come up with the idea to look for their dad and then Dewey's lightened spirits at the prospect of the three of them gallivanting across the country again. He stuffed the money in his pocket. Now this is more important. His brothers needed this trip more than the little Huey inside of him needed the trip to Rome.

He hopped off of his bunk bed, the junior woodchuck guidebook tucked under his arm. "We should pack some food too."

Silence.

Huey stared at his little brother all wrapped up in his cocoon. "Lou Lou?"

More silence.

After setting the guidebook in his suitcase and zipping it closed, he cleared his throat. "Lewellyn Fergus!" Huey chimed I'm his Uncle D voice.

Louie groaned, flopping around in the hammock to face him. "Ugh! Blergh. If you're gonna say it, don't say it like that. It's an awful sounding name as it is. It doesn't need Uncle Donald's melodious voice to ruin it." He kept his eyes on his phone. "What do you want?"

"I was implying that you should go pack us some food for the trip."

"Why can't you do it?"

Huey crossed his arms. "You know why, Lou. I'm not going back to the belly of the beast. Not now."

Louie groaned and threw his head back, pausing his show and stuffing his phone in his hoodie. "Dewey probably packed an entire backpack full of snacks and candy. We can just steal… I mean, borrow from him. That's what having him as a brother is for!"

"He hates us mooching off his stuff. It always gets him going on the middle child rant."

"Ugh, who cares? He should just be used to it by now." Louie closed his hoodie around his beak. "We're his brothers. He packs the best snacks. What does he think is going to happen?"

Huey marched over to his hammock and spun it around until he toppled out onto the floor.

"Hey!" Louie struggled to open his hood.

"Just go downstairs and pack some cereal or something. We're not living off of Dewey's snacks."

Louie growled, yanking his hood back and fixing his hat back on his head. He pushed himself to his feet. "And we won't have to." He pulled a card out of his pocket and flashed it in front of Huey's face.

"Where'd you get that?"

Louie pocketed it before his brother could snatch it away from him. "Why does it matter? Uncle D and Mom refuse to tell us anything about our dad, they owe us this trip."

Huey squeezed his fists at his sides.

"Besides, it's our last trip as a team for a while. If they really thought about it, they'd give it to us anyway."

The Duke's heat began to bubble Huey's stomach. He took deep breaths to ward off the red. He said he'd stop taking stuff from Uncle D. He swore he would. "You can't justify it anymore, Louie. You just can't. Uncle D's done so much for us as it is." He grabbed for Louie's pocket.

Louie pulled away, pushing Huey back with his foot. "You weren't saying that earlier when they were chewing you out downstairs. I mean, come on, Hue, how else were you planning on paying for the gas? Road trips aren't free."

"He doesn't need you using up more of his money. Especially not for our dumb trip!" Huey tackled him.

"Hey! Get off!" Louie rolled around on the floor, clasping their uncle's credit card between his hands.

Perching on top of him, Huey wrestled to get his little brother's hands open. "You said you were going to stop stealing from Uncle D," he growled, shoving him against the floorboards.

Louie tucked his hands underneath himself, causing them to roll across the ground until he was on top. "He gave us the RV! He wants us to go. I bet you he won't even notice it's gone. He'll be too busy relaxing on the boat. It'll be just like old times."

Huey got a hold on the card and it became a tug-of-war. "No, Lou!"

"Let go! He'll get over it. He always has!"

Louie's eyes were practically green. This side of his brother made Huey's blood burn. He let out a guttural growl before kicking his brother in the stomach and yanking the card out of his hands.

Louie coughed and curled in on himself, hugging his stomach. *cough, cough* "Well, that was just mean. It's just a little money, what does it matter?" He sat with his back against Dewey's bed.

Huey fell back, shaking his head. "This isn't about the money. It's about you."

Silence.

Huey watched as his brother's whole demeanor changed. His eyes lost the green and his limbs curled into his hoodie. "I hate what the just the thought of money does to you, Lou. You lose all sense of consequence."

Louie tucked his chin between his knees. "I never said I was going to avoid the consequences. I just know money and I know we can't afford the trip on our own… or, we won't get very far, at least." He sighed, lowering his eyes. "I thought that I could at least give us this trip and then take whatever punishment Uncle D decided to bring down on me after you two left."

Huey heaved a sigh. "You can't do that."

"I will if I need to. I mean, sure, Uncle D will probably kick me out, but that's been a long time coming anyway. And it'll be worth it." He lifted his head and gave Huey the most confident, brave face he'd ever seen on his little brother.

"Lou, I have the money. Trust me, I wouldn't have agreed to the trip otherwise. I know what happens to all of your money and Dewey can never keep track of his."

Louie opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it again, resting his chin on his knees. After several minutes, he lifted his head again. "Hue, I'm-"

"Save it." Huey got up, the credit card clasped in his hand. "Just don't take it again."

"After that fight? Yeah, I think I'm good. It's too exhausting." Louie sat back, crossing his legs and sticking his hands back in this hoodie.

Huey rolled his eyes, hiding a smile. At least the Duke is good for something.

"So… dumb trip, huh?" Louie smirked, sarcasm in his tone. "Tell me how you really feel."

"Huey is leaving the building!" He called over his shoulder before saluting the the air and sliding down the ladder.

"I thought you said you weren't going to confront the beast again," Louie called after him.

"I changed my mind!" Huey called back. At this point I'm not sure which is worse, the money-mite or the pressure-parents. But I'd rather face Uncle D when he's not in a rage, looking for a stolen credit card.