Grinning, Webby jumped at the knock. She opened the door of the hotel room. Bradford and her had been staying in one for the past three days while everyone was... figuring things out. She beamed at the boys who stood in the door. "Yay! You guys found the room!" The young girl was eager to see how her friends were after the chaos that ended their trip.

"Barely. Someone decided to let Louie have the room number you gave us, and we all know about how bad he is at giving directions." Huey pointed towards Louie with his head, hands on his hips. Louie rolled his eyes in a "whatever" tone.

Welcoming them in, Webby kept her optimistic smile. She shut the door behind them. "Bradford went to get groceries, but Gladdy said he would stop by too!" She counted off her fingers, "Though we haven't heard anything from Launchpad or Fethry." The boys seemed somewhat unsettled at the mention of Launchpad. Or maybe Fethry. Or maybe both.

Another knock at the door came along. Webby was thankful or the interruption to her thoughts. After standing on her tippy toes to see through the peep hole, she opened the door. Gladdy walked in.

"Hey, kids!" he said with a short wave. Giving them a crooked smile, he asked, "How have you guys been?"

Gesturing to the room, Webby jumped up on one of the beds. "Good. We've been hanging at this hotel. What about you, Gladdy?"

"Well, I knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this one guy's cousin who let me stay in his mom's basement, so that's where I've been staying! And it didn't flood! Not having bad luck is great! Too bad the eclipse is tonight. That's when my curse will return." He shook himself from talking to much. "Anyways, boys, where have you guys been staying?"

The triplets exchanged a look. Louie shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, uh, here and there."

Taking a spot next to Webby on the bed, Huey pulled his toaster onto his lap. "Bready got into a fight with a possum! It was cool." He kicked his legs back and forth.

Gladdy looked over them, his expression somewhat concerned. "Maybe Fethry was better to us than we gave him credit for." That earned a glare from each of the boys. Gladdy put his hands up in defense. "Come on, he's not that bad."

"Right, because he didn't get out mom killed." Dewey rolled his eyes. An awkward air hung over the room, making Webby stiffen.

"Uh, who wants to play Baggle!" She jumped from the bed to the other and grabbed the box from a table. Raising the game over head roundly, her grin stretched far across her beak, forcing the mood to pick up. She pushed any sadness she was feeling deep down. No room to be sad when everyone else was sad. Someone had to keep this family together.

...

Sneakers hitting against concrete was the rhythm to Lena's smiling song as she made her way to her revenge. Tonight was the eclipse, where her powers would be at their peak. Magica was helpless to stop her, her magic hindered by the eclipse, allowing Lena to take it. Everything was set, except for lack of penny, but Lena was sure she would find it before the eclipse ended. Determined to find it.

"This time tomorrow, I'll have everything I've always wanted." It felt good to actually say it out loud. It made it all the more real. Too happy to care if anyone was watching, she tried forming a purple fire at the tip of her find. She rolled it around like a ball. "Revenge is underrated." Lena would be coming up on the mansion soon. And it wouldn't be hard to get in with her "best friend" welcoming her to do so. Nothing could be better.

Lena felt a strange tug in her get. Her steps stopped. Maybe just nervous bugs. When she tried to move forward, the feeling overtook her. She stumbled to her knees and let out a groan. Dark shadows bled from her eyes, pooling in front of her. The shadow formed the familiar silhouette of her aunt.

"Lena DeSpell! Let me go this instant!" Magica trend to pull away but Lena's ever-growing magic kept her there.

"Can't let you stop me, aunt Magica. You know why I'm doing this." Lena pushed herself to her feet, stringy shadow still clinging to her face.

"This won't end well. Listen to me."

Lena took a deep breath, absorbed the shadow back inside. There. No more interruptions. Looking up, Lena found she was just across the street from the gates of the used-to-be McDuck Manor. Perfect.

Straightening, Lena made her way across the road, swinging her arms confidently. Just out the gate was speaker. She hesitated before pressing the button. What would she say? Maybe some sort of lie how she wanted to hang out with Webby. Maybe their toaster got out, she had found it, so she stopped by to return it. Eh, the first one would do just fine.

Pressing down the switch, she opened her mouth with a deep breath. "Hi, this is Lena, and I-"

The gate parted open almost immediately. The sound nearly made her jump. Well, that was easier than expected. The teen duck marched on.

"This is it, Lena." She talked herself up as she went. "You'll get that penny, make sure Fethry gets his just deserts, then after that, get my revenge on Scrooge, then live happily ever in some cute little cottage." She rubbed her hands together, making her way on the steps. "And everyone in the Duck family will fear the name Lena DeSpell!" She spread her arms dramatically, getting worked up. Oh yeah, today was going to be a great day. If it wasn't, well, she still had a few back up cards to play.

She hadn't even knocked when the door opened. Her eyes widened at the sight. Fethry stood in the doorway, dressed in his crimson bathrobe, hair a disheveled mess and bags under his eyes.

"Fethry...?"

"Lena! Hi! Come inside!" He grinned, welcoming her in. Was he onto her? Was this some sort of trap? Why was he so eager to see her?

The inside of the mansion made her even more confused. Pizza boxes were scattered about, and it definitely smelt like something died.  She scrunched her beak in disgust, stiffening. "What happened here?"

"Well, my family recently moved out, so I've had a lot of free time." He glanced around at the trash, as if he didn't want to acknowledge it. "They found out I convinced their mother to run away and never come back, so now I'm horribly alone." Waving off the comment like it was nothing, he continued, "But hey, who needs family, am I right? I spent over a decade without 'em so I'm sure this is no different." He went quiet, staring at the ground, clearly not convinced of his own statement.

Hearing all this, Lena almost felt bad for trying to ruin his life even further. Almost. Now to ask about the penny. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a penny, would you? I need it for... stuff." At least it wasn't lying. She taped her pointer fingers together awkwardly. She'd never enacted an evil scheme before.

Shrugging, Fethry moved to sit on the stairs. "Eh, I used to have one, but then there was a ghost in it so we threw it out."

Lena blinked. "You threw it out?"

"Yeah, it was this whole thing on my birthday." He smiled fondly. "Huey threw the party for me, and Dewey got his head stuck in a helmet, and I was locked in a closet. That was a fun day." He expression shifted to hurt. "But they're gone now, so..."

"You just threw it out?" Lena was trying hard to swallow her emotion. She had been working desperately to get that coin, and they got rid of it like it was nothing more than a piece of lint on a sweater. "Ugh! I needed that gho-" She drew out the word when Fethry looked at her confused. "Oooo to the bathroom. I need to go to the bathroom? Where would that be?" Good save.

"Just down the hall." He pointed.

"Thanks." Bowing her head, she followed his direction.

Once she made it there, she shut the door behind her. She took in a deep breath before letting out a bottled shout. "I can't believe he just- Ugh!" She punched the mirror, hurting her hand more than the glass, which led to more whimpering.

Magica appeared in the mirror. "I told you it was hopeless."

Lena glared. "It's not hopeless. I'm going to get that stupid coin if it's the last thing I do! I just have to figure out where he got rid of it and I'm golden." Sticking up her beak prideful, she pat down her sweater.

"I'm supposed to be keeping you out of trouble, but it's getting harder to do when you're fighting against me." Magica crossed her arms.

Lena reached out to touch the mirror, absorbing the shadow back in. "Don't worry, aunt Magica. When I'm done, you'll have your old body back, meaning I'll be out of your shadow and out of your hair. Finally." She recomposed herself before stepping out.

...

After ten rounds of Baggle, Webby was getting bored of the game. But she had to keep playing if she was going to keep everyone happy. "Best twenty out of thirty?"

Huey let out a groan, Louie had fallen asleep, and Dewey flopped back on the bed. Gladdy squinted at the little piece of paper they'd been keeping score on. "I think I miscounted somewhere..." he mumbled.

She frowned, though deep down she was very happy that no one else wanted to play. "So, that's a no?"

"Sorry, Webbs, but I think we're gonna go." Dewey nudged his older brother.

Louie shot up with a start, throwing his arms outward, hitting Huey in the face. "I'm awake!" Louie tucked his arms in, seeing the damage he'd done.

Webby started up from the bed. "You don't have to leave."

The triplets walked towards the door. "It's getting kind of late." It wasn't true, but Louie was probably trying to hide the fact that they weren't really in a "hanging out with people" mood. "We'd hate to keep you from your nice, comfy bed." The green duckling lingered on the bed, probably longing for another nap. The boys said their goodbyes before exited the room.

Webby watched after them, a sinking feel burrowing itself into her. Gladdy snapped her out of it, ruffling her hair. "I'm sure they'll be fine. They're probably still upset with the stuff with Fethry, but before you know it, we'll all be living in the mansion again as a happy family."

"I hope you're right." Though she told herself it was true, she didn't feel like it. As her eyes moved across the room, she spotted something at the foot of the bed. "They left Bready!" She picked the toaster up. "I've got to get this to them before they leave." The young girl took off through the door to find her friends.

She found them in the lobby of the hotel. She was just about to call out to them when she heard a fragment of their conversation.

"Why can't we go? Mom did it."

Webby's gleeful steps froze. She hunched around the corner of the hall, listening.

"Dewey, that's a bad example. We're not leaving Duckburg." Louie frowned.

"We can't go back to Fethry, or Donald, or anyone. There's no where else to go."

"Then we'll just be homeless in an unfamiliar town."

"Louie." Dewey sighed. "You're tired. We'll go and make aa fresh start."

"That was what mom said before she disappeared," Huey said, the first time Webby heard his voice in the conversation.

"Before she died."

"Disappeared. They never found the body, so she could very well be alive."

"Whatever." Dewey shook off Huey's comment. "Are you with me or not?"

Huey and Louie exchanged a worried look before the latter sighed. "Fine. We'll go. But let's wait until tomorrow... I am tired."

Webby held her breath, not wanting to believe what she'd just heard. Her eyes grew watery, but she refused to cry. Her best friends and family weren't gone yet. She had forgotten what she had even come down there for and rushed back up to her room to find Gladdy.

"Gladdy! I have horrible news!" She burst into the room, toaster clutched above her head.

"What? You still have the toaster, so this must be horrible news." Gladdy came to meet her by the door.

"The boys want to leave Duckburg! What are we gonna do!"

Gladdy's eyes widened. "Wait, really? But they're just kids! And I love the little guys, they can't just go!"

"So what are we going to do!" Webby hugged Bready for comfort. The two began pacing, trying to brainstorm ideas.

"We have to get this family back together sooner than I thought." Gladdy and Webby locked eyes. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"An amazingly fun and elaborate farewell dinner party elaborate scheme!" they said in unison.

Webby set Bready down and jumped up on the springy mattress. "Yes!" She bounced on her knees, counting off her fingers. "Step one: we throw the boys a farewell party to convince them they don't want to go!"

Gladdy nodded eagerly. "Step two: reveal surprise guest, Fethry, and remind them all how much they miss each other!"

Putting her hands on her hips, Webby beamed. "And step three: there is no step three, because we just nailed this in two steps!" She pumped her fists in the air.

"Up top!" Gladdy raised his hand and they highfived. It was a little aggressive, hurting both their wrists, but they didn't let it bring them down.

Webby was going to save her family.

...

Louie had a very bad feeling in his gut. "And what makes you think we're not gonna go out there and get stabbed by criminals or kidnapped, or some horrible combination of the two. You can't say you want to run away without any sort of plan." They had yet to actually leave the hotel, on account of their conversation.

Dewey put his hands on his hips. "The old Dewey would've been worried about that stuff, but the new Dewey doesn't fear getting stabbed." He stopped, rethinking what he'd just said. "Wait, that came out wrong. Huey, what do you think?"

"Uh..." The red triplet looked torn over having to pick sides. Thankfully, he didn't have to, as a crumpled up piece of paper flew through the air and hit him on the head. Taken back, he picked it up from the floor and flattened it out. He began to read it out loud. "Dear Hubert, Dewford, and Llewe-"

Louie slapped his hand over his brother's mouth anxiously and continued for him. "You've been invited to a dinner party hosted by Webigail and Gladstone. Do you accept?" At the bottom of the paper were two little boxes, one marked yes and the other no. Louie didn't have to wonder where it came from. He looked up to see Gladdy and Webby peaking around the corner, probably from where they threw the paper. "Uh, yes...?" he called to the two.

"You have to mark it on the paper," Webby returned in a hushed voice. After digging around in his pocket, Louie retrieved a pen, marked the yes box, rolled the paper back up into a ball, and threw it back. The pair sunk back behind the corner, reading the answer. "They said yes!" he heard them cheer. Louie couldn't help but feel like this was more than just a simple dinner, but he didn't mind. This would be a nice change of pace from the last few days.