Chapter Text
Prologue
Despite popular belief, Louie Duck was not lazy.
He was just… selective in what to use his energy for and at which moments.
That those moments used to be few and quite specific, only meant that he usually preferred calmness, not doing much and keeping his mind occupied by simple and routine activities. He preferred being bored to the option of giving his mind free rein to overthink, or the disappointment of things going wrong. Besides, with how crazy his life was, it was better to save his energy.
Still, when the situation called for it, he could be dedicated, push himself, and fight over and over again for what he wanted. He knew he would find a way to get it most of the time.
And when he couldn´t, well, those times would be a lesson of some sort, and eventually he'd make sure to learn it so he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
(Of course, each mistake did not have a single lesson, in most there were more than ten intertwined, and it wasn’t always easy to see them all, but at least he tried.)
So, after the Timephoon disaster, and when everything calmed down once the moon invasion was over, he set about finding out what had gone wrong.
(Also, after the experience with Emma Glamour, he wasn't really in the mood for any grand schemes or cons either, reading about time travel would at least have his mind busy on something else.)
And well, after a couple of weeks, various old (and banned) books about magic and science, internet conspiracies, urban legends, and a notebook full of notes trying to sort the information out, Louie decided it was better not to mess with time again.
Sure, he could try, but it was too uncertain. There were things that were supposed to happen and other things that weren't, and it was impossible to tell them apart, because it was impossible to know who decided what was right and what wasn't.
For example, Gyro's trip to Gumption for the gold rush didn't do any harm because he was supposed to go and help Scrooge and Goldie get the gold; whereas him taking the lost treasures didn't, so it generated a disaster. It was that simple.
Ha.
Simple.
Determining what should or should not happen was impossible and the consequences of being wrong were too high. He had found writings about attempts that brought catastrophic consequences and furious guardians of time. In perspective, the timephoon was not the worst thing that could have happened.
In the time he spent researching he also found some interesting things, but too dangerous and stupid to try. So when he was finally satisfied with his research, he decided to put it all in a file and forget about it. He concluded that it was possible to travel in time and destiny could be changed, but the way to do it was too risky and stupid to even try, doing so would be only acceptable in a too extreme situation, one that Louie couldn't even imagine. He hoped he would never have to live one.
Until, of course, it happened.
Chapter 1: When everything goes wrong
It was just one of those days in which Louie woke up tired and irritable.
After the lunar invasion, Bradford along with the rest of his uncle's board of directors were practically absent, busying themselves with matters that supposedly did not require Scrooge's attention.
Grateful for the sudden freedom, the family decided to indulge in all the adventures they wanted. They had gone everywhere, from the sea to the jungle to the North Pole. Della wanted to see all that she had missed in her years away and Scrooge was more than happy to oblige. They went out constantly, their sleep schedules were a disaster and everyone had already tired of trying to pack the right thing for each place, so now the Sunchaser looked like a giant rusty wardrobe.
Their adventures were as dangerous and exhausting as ever and Della definitely didn't help change that, her reckless attitudes and endless energy had gotten them into more trouble than he could count. They lived running for their lives and Louie was absolutely exhausted and frustrated that he couldn't have a single day of peace.
Aside from that, things had also been a bit tense, especially for the triplets. He wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion, the stress, the pressure, the return of his mother, the near deaths, or the fact that their planet was invaded, but all three were a bit on edge.
Dewey and him fought about almost everything these days, and Huey seemed just sick of dealing with them. He couldn't blame his oldest brother, fights used to start out of nowhere and escalate very quickly, if he tried to intervene, Dewey would focus his attack on him while Louie would hide in his hood, praying he could go back to his bed and just sleep.
He was so damn tired of it all, he just wanted to have some peace, just a moment of not having to run for his life and feel happy and safe, it was all he asked for.
The insomnia didn't help, he didn't know what was worse, not being able to sleep or being woken up by nightmares. His greatest aspiration these days was to be so tired that, rather than sleep, he would fall unconscious and the nightmares could not reach, allowing him to rest.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen very often and his nights boiled down to struggling to fall asleep and then being woken up by a horrible nightmare, only to spend the rest of the night sleeping fitfully. It had been more than a month without being able to sleep one night in a row, months without being able to sleep well.
So when they woke him up at 6 am for another adventure, Louie was definitely not happy.
Sure, he could decide not to go and just stay home and watch TV, but he hated the look his mother would give him, the one filled with a kind of disappointment, anger, and a bunch of other things he couldn't or wouldn't decipher, similar to the one she gave Donald lightly whenever he decided not to go with them.
The difference was that Della knew Donald had stayed away from adventures because of her, so she held her tongue and kept from snapping at him. Instead, Louie had no compelling reasons, no, he was the lazy, evil and greedy member of the family who did everything possible to ruin their fun.
And although he was already getting used to his mother's looks, and even to the brief disappointment of the rest of the family, it was Dewey's that hurt him the most and the one that prevented him from saying no to an adventure most of the time. That look of exasperation, disappointment and anger that appeared for a few seconds when he said he didn't want to go, hurt like a stab in the heart. And there was something else in that look, but it was always too short to identify. Maybe it was better that way.
Dewey didn't look at him like that before and he really would prefer to prevent him from doing it, so he swallowed his complaints and endured as best he could, he didn't want to see his brother so upset, he was sick of fighting.
That didn't mean he had to like adventures.
And much less the excited screams of his brother in the early hours of the morning.
That’s why when Dewey started trying to jump on his bed, he lost it.
With one kick he knocked his brother hard to the floor, making him hit his elbow painfully and almost twist his ankle. If Louie wasn't so tired and so damn done , he probably would have run to apologize and pick his brother up.
But he was, so he shot an annoyed look at his brother who was getting up from the floor. "What's wrong with you?"
Dewey was now also irate. “What's wrong with me? You're the one who knocked me out of bed!"
“You're the one who was trying to jump off the bottom of a bunk bed at 6am. What were you trying to do? Break your head over your own bed or get me kicked out of mine?”
“I just wanted to wake you up! It's not my fault that you're lazy and don't even think about getting up."
Huey chose that moment to quickly get out of bed, still sleepy. "Calm down guys, why are you fighting so early?" he asked resignedly. Louie guessed he was as jaded as he was, he almost felt guilty.
But he was still upset.
“Dewford here, is a reckless selfish being who can't act like a normal person even at this hour.” Okay, he was being a bit harsher than he intended, but he was so tired.
Dewey frowned. “Seriously, you of all people just called me selfish? you are the selfish evil triplet who only thinks of himself and new ways to hurt others, Llewellyn !” Well, ouch.
"Dewey!" Huey scolded, but Louie stopped him with a bitter little laugh.
"Selfishness could be in the family crest, almost no one is saved, not Scrooge, not Della and certainly not you, so stop pretending you're better than me."
"At least I'm not so evil that my own mother is unable to love me!" Dewey screamed, immediately regretting hearing what came out of his mouth and seeing the shocked looks on his brothers' faces.
Dewey looked at the oldest, who was looking at him with a mixture of disbelief, disappointment and pure anger that made him flinch.
Louie's look, on the other hand, almost made him sick.
His brother's eyes were wet but empty and he was clutching his chest as if he had been hit.
Or rather, as if his own brother had taken his heart and smashed it to pieces before his eyes.
"Louie, I'm so sorry… it was a mistake… I'm sorry… It wasn´t… I didn't mean to…" Dewey tried to explain, but his attempts were stopped by the door slamming open.
“Good morning, sunshines! It's getting late and adventure awaits us, come on, go eat breakfast, there are a lot of things, bread, eggs, waffles…” Suddenly Della noticed the position in which her children were: all three up, in pajamas, and with a tense air surrounding them. "Uh... am I interrupting something?"
To the surprise of the olders, it was Louie who answered and his voice sounded as calm and confident as ever. "Nothing, we were just discussing where the adventure will be this time, I was betting on Africa," he shrugged and looked for his phone and his hoodie. "I'm going to the bathroom to get ready, see you downstairs." Then he left the room without looking at anyone.
"Emmm... ok, good for me, don't take long guys, I'll wait for you downstairs!" Della said, closing the door and leaving the two ducklings alone.
Dewey stared at the door, as if trying to figure out what had happened and how things had gone so wrong so fast. He could have stayed like this for hours if not for the punch to his cheek that knocked him to the ground and made him taste blood.
Huey was standing next to him, breathing heavily and shaking, trying to contain himself. “How dare you Dewey? How could you say something like that?" His brother's voice came out strained and hurt, Dewey felt his chest tighten.
"Huey, I'm really sorry, I wasn't thinking." The older one gave him a look. "Ok, I never think, I know, but I really didn't mean that, I was just upset with him and something came up that I knew was going to hurt him and It wasn't fair I know, he was being a jerk and I lost patience, but I know it doesn't justify it, nothing does.”
"You seriously hurt him, Dewey. I saw how his gaze broke and was empty, you said something horrible to him that you know he is struggling with." Huey calmed down a bit, enough to sit on the ground near where the youngest was still lying. "I'm not sure how this fight started, or how it escalated so much, but I know he didn't deserve that." Dewey didn't know either, his relationship with Louie was somewhat tense, but he never wanted to explode like that, much less hurt him, after all, he was his baby brother.
Dewey struggled to sit down. "I know Huey, seriously, Louie only said some truth that I didn't like and I exploded against him, but I didn't want to hurt him."
Huey was silent for a few minutes, trying to collect his thoughts. "Do you really believe what you said?" The eldest's voice came out as a whisper and still made Dewey choke on a sob he didn't know he was holding back.
"Not completely... I don't think he's evil, not at all, he can be a little mischievous when the situation calls for it and even a little greedy, but he doesn't want to hurt anyone and I know he's a good person, he's loyal and kind when he wants to, and he knows how to listen and he is caring and I love him, but…”
"But?"
"But sometimes I do think Mom doesn't love him." Huey let out a shaky breath, and silence fell between them for another minute.
"Sometimes I think that too," Huey sighed, "but that's not the problem now, the problem is that Louie is hurt and thinks you think he's mean and selfish and not worth loving." Dewey gave a whimper. “You have to fix this.”
"I... I don't know how Huey, what are you supposed to do when you hurt your little brother like that?"
"Talk to him." He put a hand on the blue's shoulder in support. "Apologize and listen to him, I don't know how bad his relationship with mom is, but we must support him, he's our little brother, it's not fair that he doesn't feel loved for her.”
Dewey wanted to explain to Huey about his own fears about that relationship and his reluctance to blindly support his younger brother, but he held back and contented himself with leaning gently into his brother.
"I don't know how to talk to people, least of all Louie who is always listening between the lines and interpreting every single thing you said ten times over."
"I know you can dew it." Huey stood up softly and held out his hand to Dewey. "Come on, it's already late and everyone must be waiting for us, it's better to get dressed quickly." The youngest looked at him incredulously.
"Do you really think it's a good time to go on an adventure?"
Huey sighed. "No, but I know that if we call off the trip everyone will know that we had a fight and Louie will feel even worse and wouldn't listen, it’s better to move on, or at least I think so."
Dewey thought for a moment and sighed resignedly. "You're right, it's best to go on this adventure and give Louie some space before trying to talk to him." That would also give him some time to think about how to apologize to his brother and start fixing things, they had been fighting for a long time, it wasn't fair to any of them.
The brothers began to dress quickly, knowing that it was best not to delay things further and leave soon. The sooner they left, the sooner they would return home and be able to mend things with their brother.
They didn't know how wrong they were.
Louie had locked himself in the bathroom, struggling to breathe.
He wished he was crying, letting out all the pain in his chest in tears and moans, but his eyes had gone dry and the pain in his chest banned him from venting in any way.
He had been such an idiot. He had conned himself, he thought he could pretend everything was fine and it would be. Maybe he and Della didn't understand or trust each other, but he had thought that they could live together as if nothing had happened, pretending that they had a real relationship and that she loved him as much as she loved his brothers, but it didn't work and everyone knew.
He wasn't even mad at Dewey, but now he didn't think he could look at any of his brothers because what Dewey said was true and Huey didn't deny it, which meant they believed it. It wasn't a figment of his imagination, his mother really didn't love him, because he was too evil to be loved.
He had tried, he really did. He had tried to make a perfect plan to show that his plans did not only bring bad things. When that failed, he decided to get away from the schemes. He also changed his attitude, he bit his tongue and avoided saying what he thought or throw sarcastic or hurtful comments at every moment. He evaded trouble, he stayed on the sidelines in the adventures, without complaining, but not actively participating either, letting the others live the emotion they wanted while he fought not to inconvenience anyone.
But nothing had worked, his mother could not love him, not for what he did, but for what he was , something that apparently could not change.
He wondered if it happened with all his family, if none was capable of truly loving him, not even his brothers.
(The only one he believed in was Donald, but because he was sure that man couldn't hate a child even if he wanted to. For them there was only safe and fatherly love in his heart.)
He wanted to be different, to fit in, to be like them. To be like he was supposed to be, to be loved and to belong, but apparently, he couldn't.
Why did he have to be the different one? Why couldn't he fit into his own family? They weren't the problem; it was him who wasn't capable of being like them.
After a moment he decided that there was no point in staying there waiting for that pain to pass, he knew it wouldn't for a while, he already carried it before, the fight with Dewey only settled it.
The worst thing is that it showed him that all his attempts to change were useless, maybe he just had to resign himself to the fact that this was his reality and that he couldn't change it. The sooner he accepted it, the sooner the pain could begin to heal.
He just wished it was that simple.
Louie was thankful that at least the trip was short.
The flight had been tense for the children, the triplets couldn't even look at each other, much less talk to each other. Webby shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not knowing what had happened and apparently too scared to ask.
Despite that, the adults didn't seem to notice anything. Della was making sure that Launchpad didn't touch anything on her precious plane, and Scrooge was rambling about where they were going, not noticing that no one was paying attention to him.
Louie never paid much attention to him anyway, but he managed to catch the basics. An ancient temple in a nearly impenetrable jungle in Mexico, whose corridors full of deadly, endless tunnels protected a stone that guarded the power of the sun or something. In short, a dangerous and scary road for something else they would never use. Typical.
Louie really was tired of risking his life and the lives of his family for things that weren't worth it.
When they finally landed, the plane had only minor damage that Launchpad was more than used to fixing, so he stayed behind. Della, as usual, ran towards the temple without thinking too much, the only difference being that this time neither Dewey nor Webby joined her.
Scrooge walked quickly to catch up with Della, ignorant to the children walking slowly behind him, hesitant to even enter. Finally, Webby decided it was best for her to stay close to Scrooge in case the triplets needed to talk alone.
For their part, the triplets had no intention of speaking, so they slowly followed the rest of their family that was ahead of them by several meters. They stayed close, but without looking at each other.
For Louie that was not abnormal, he used to stay behind in the adventures, trying not to get in the way too much, leaving the excitement to the rest of his family, even the treasures didn't excite him as much as before.
But this time it was different, he wasn't deliberately trying to go unnoticed, he just felt empty, the pain in his chest hadn't diminished and he felt as if everything was covered by a fog, taking the color out of things.
A quick glance around told him that his brothers weren't doing much better. Huey walked at the head of the trio, glancing back with concern from time to time, ambling listlessly despite the vast amount of ancient writing and rare plants that could be seen on the stone walls; he hadn't even pulled out his guidebook.
Dewey must have been behind him, because he couldn't see him. That in itself was strange, Dewey was always up front with Della, ready to jump into danger at the first opportunity.
Perhaps if they hadn't argued, some of them would have remembered what Scrooge said about the tunnels that formed a labyrinth under the temple, and would at least have had the common sense to not stray too far from the adults.
Or maybe, if the adults weren't so focused on their goals, they would have remembered that their main duty was to take care of the children and that they had to keep them close so that nothing happened to them, that was their responsibility.
But they had and they were, so when the ground suddenly gave way under their feet, the triplets fell into one tunnel while the adults and Webby fell into another.
They fell down the long dirt tunnel, screaming as they tried to slow down a bit, but it was impossible, it finally ended and they fell a few meters to the ground. The blow left them bruised and dazed.
Louie rolled on the floor and hit his head, his ears ringing and he felt bruised scrapes forming all over his body. Exhausted and completely dizzy, he tried to get up to find his brothers in the semi-darkness of the place, but he hadn't taken more than a couple of trembling steps when a force knocked him back to the ground.
Dewey gasped in pain.
Time stood still for Louie as he watched his brother fall to the ground with a large reddish thorn going through his body.
Louie felt his breath go out of him and froze in place, trying to figure out what had happened. It was Huey who pulled him by the arm to help him move Dewey to a safe place, where the monster guarding the crypt couldn't do any more harm. They ended up hiding behind a rock that quickly began to be attacked by the monster, slowly weakening it, but neither of the brothers cared.
Dewey looked terrible, the thorn in his chest was huge, bigger and thicker than his arm and it went completely through. Even with that thing plugging the wound the blood was already bathing his shirt making it turn a nauseating purple color. His breaths came out in ragged whistles with moans of pain, his eyes were cloudy, barely looking at them, while his whole body struggled to keep breathing.
Huey had him supported in his arms without letting his back touch the ground to avoid further damage. Louie quickly took the other side, holding his brother lovingly as tears fell hard from all three.
“Hey… guys,” Dewey's voice came out in a breathy whisper and Louie couldn't help but wince at the blood that came from his beak.
Huey waved his hands trying to do something, anything to help his brother. “Dew, Dewey, you… you're going to be fine… you're going to be fine… we're going to take you to a hospital or something and you're going to recover and then you're going to do cool stunts on the roof and you'll give Uncle Donald a heart attack… and Scrooge and Mom will be so proud of you and… and…” Louie could see his older brother breaking down in sobs and resting his forehead on Dewey's. “I'm sorry… I love you… you'll be fine, I promise…” He sobbed harder, Louie still couldn't breathe.
If Huey couldn't do anything to save Dewey, nobody could.
“It’s… it's okay… I lo-e…u.” Dewey managed a weak smile between his gasps, Huey cried harder, Louie broke down.
"We love you too, so you can't give up, I forbid you, you have to hold on, we're ducks, we don't back down." Louie sobbed, looking around, hoping something or someone would show up and save his brother, anything not to watch the light leaving his eyes.
"Louie, I'm sorry." Blood came out of Dewey's beak and stained his hoodie. "You're… bes-br-others could ask for."
Louie wanted to tell him that he was also the best middle brother anyone could ask for, that he loved him more than anything in the world, that he was sorry for yelling at him, that he couldn't leave because they were triplets and were supposed to be together forever, that they were the Duck Boys and they need each other.
But he couldn't, Dewey went limp in his arms.
Louie felt even more empty than before and the pain in his chest multiplied, he wanted to scream or moan in pain like Huey did, but he couldn't, his body barely responded, his mind didn't either, unable to catch up with the situation and understand what was happening. The only sign of the pain choking him were the tears that fell freely down his cheeks as he gasped for breath.
At some point he could feel Huey pulling him closer to him, hugging him tightly while still holding Dewey's body in his arms.
The brothers could have stayed there forever, embracing each other so that nothing could separate them; if it weren't for the fact that the monster's efforts were bearing fruit, the stone that protected them was about to give way.
Huey pulled away first, using his hand to gently close Dewey's eyes and kiss his forehead, whispering more words of love and apology. Then he got up and tried to get Louie to do the same.
But Louie couldn't move, he felt numb, lost.
He felt Huey kneel beside him and take his shoulders. "Lou...Louie look at me, we can't stay here." His brother's words sounded desperate and tearful. Louie looked at him doubtfully, even if his mind refused to accept what was happening, he knew very well that they couldn't leave Dewey alone.
"We can't leave him here," he whispered, pressing Dewey's body against his chest. "He wouldn't like this place, it's too dark, we can't leave him here alone, we can't let that thing hurt him anymore… we have to take him home," he sobbed, resting his head on his brother's feathers.
Huey let out a wrenching sob and tightened his grip on his shoulders. "I know, you're right, and I promise we'll come back for him and take him home where he belongs, but now we have to get out of here and take down that monster or none of us would get out," the older said desperately, Louie felt his heart break more.
Hesitating, Louie finally released Dewey and let him rest on the floor, kissing his forehead before getting up on shaky legs.
For the first time he really saw the place. It was dark, but they could still see, they were in a large yellow stone chamber several meters below ground. It was moist, and they were surrounded by lush and unknown vegetation that covered everything. The exit of the tunnel through which they had fallen was more than three meters above the ground; it was impossible for them to reach it. At the bottom, next to a small entrance to a downward tunnel that could be the only way of escape, there was a furious monster, it looked like a giant plant, with bright purple flowers and long branches of huge thorns that it threw strongly towards them, there was no way to hide from it.
Huey, who had seen the same thing as him, sighed, wiping away the tears that still fell from his eyes. "There is only one escape route and we have no way to defend ourselves. We’ll have to try to sneak between the plants, I can't think of anything else." Then his older brother dragged him into a crushing hug. “Everything will be alright, Louie. You will be alright, I love you so much.”
Louie felt his chest tighten. "I love you too," he whispered, and then his brother broke the hug, grabbing his wrist as he led him through the plants, trying not to alert the enraged monster that was looking for them.
What they didn't know was that this wasn't the only monster in the room. When they were only a few meters from the tunnel, more plants began to move, growling towards them and throwing things.
Louie felt more tears come out of his eyes, they couldn't get out of there, they were quickly surrounding them, and would reach them with their log vines even if they launched themselves down the tunnel, they were trapped.
He was about to stop and just hug his remaining brother before they both died, when Huey grabbed him from behind and yanked him towards the exit, staying behind to block the entrance.
“Huey! No!" Louie clawed at the dry ground with his hands and pressed his feet to the ground, trying with all his might not to fall, to save his brother. He managed to turn around to look at the older in a desperate attempt to get him to follow him, to not leave him alone.
Huey fought against the plants that attacked him from all sides. "Louie, run! Come on!" Louie couldn't listen to him, he buried his knees to avoid falling, but he couldn't get up. "Go away, Loui-" His brother's voice was cut off as a thick vine wound around his neck, choking him.
"NO! Hue, please,” he cried, struggling harder to get back up, but it was useless. Huey gave him a resigned but loving look as he stopped fighting. "No, no, no, no, please don't leave me alone," he begged between sobs.
His only response was the horrible crack as his brother's neck snapped.
The sound took his breath away and despite his struggles, he ended up falling down the tunnel.
He fell on a soft surface and heard noise around him, he shrank into himself hoping, begging , that whatever monster it was there would kill him quickly and let him go to his brothers.
Instead, strong arms gently grasped his shoulders.
“Louie? Louie! Lad are you okay? What happened? Where are your brothers?" His great-uncle's voice sounded desperate. Louie shuddered with sobs and looked down, trying to find his voice.
“They… they are gone,” his voice was very soft even to his ears, but it seemed like he had shouted it.
"What? what do you mean Louie? Where are Huey and Dewey?" Della took Scrooge's place, she looked crazed, her hair full of twigs and dirt smeared. “Louie, where are they? Where are my kids?!” she cried, and Louie started shaking harder.
“They are gone!” he repeated. “They are up there, we have to go back for them, we have to take them home,” he cried and walked away from his mother to try to go back up the tunnel, but it was too high for him, he cried harder as he jumped to try to reach it. "They can't stay there alone, I can't leave them," he sobbed, falling to the ground, Scrooge took him in his arms.
"Easy lad, I'll go get them, stay here." He put him down and Louie struggled to get up again as he panicked, gasping for air.
"No! Don't go, please don't leave me alone," he begged, and immediately felt guilty, his brothers needed help to return home, they had already lost too much because of him, it wasn't fair that he stopped Scrooge, but he was so scared .
A small hand gripped his tightly. “I'll stay with you Louie, you won't be alone,” Webby assured him, and he fell to the ground again, dragging her with him and crying on her shoulder, terrified of losing her too.
Scrooge approached him carefully and put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down lad, we'll get them back."
But Louie didn't answer, he felt as dead as his brothers.