Slipping on her sneakers, Lena thought back over her plan. She stood up from her bed, staring at herself in the mirror. The abandoned amphitheater didn't make much of a home, but it was enough for now. But soon that wouldn't matter. Once she got that penny, everything would be better for her. She was sure of it. Right?

She kept her eyes focused on the mirror as she talked herself up. "Alright, no more messing around. The eclipse is in ten days. My window is closing." She ran a hand through her hair, letting out a breath. She assumed a smile and walked towards her nightstand. Scooping up two colorful yarn bracelets, she looked them over, making sure they were perfect.

"What are you doing?"

Lena yelped, jumping back from her own shadow. It had taken on red eyes and the figure of her aunt. "Aunt Magica, hey! I don't like it when you do that. Give me some kind of warning."

Magica put her hands on her hips. "You didn't answer my question."

"Relax, I'm going to a sleepover at Webby's." Lena waved the bracelets. "Look, making friends, just like you wanted."

"I love that you're getting yourself out there, but not right now. We have to prepare for the eclipse and-"

"How much preparing could that take? It's not that big of a deal." Lena shrugged and started towards the exit of the basement. Magica followed, being her shadow and all. The teenage girl made her way through town to the mansion as she talked with her aunt. "The eclipse only makes your magic weak. If we need to defend ourselves from some sort of magic thing, there are other ways to fight. And how often are we threatened by a weird mystical thing?" She sideglanced at her aunt, glued to the wall of the buildings next to her.

"Lena, you know it's more than that. Some magic gets stronger, and someone might take the opportunity to attack with magic being hectic." Magica's voice was lined with concerned.

Lena made a circle with her finger, smirking. "I've still got mine, if you need that to make you feel safe."

"Your magic is raw and untamed."

"It wouldn't be if you trained me..." Lena frowned, slipping her hands in her pockets.

"Lena." Magica's tone was stern.

"Well, I'm not the one who made us live in an apartment run by a crazy lady trying to feed off everyone's magic!" After Lena's sharp burst, people on the street looked at her funny. She turned red, sinking into her sweater. Her eyes scanned ahead, seeing she was almost to the mansion.

Her shadow moved in front of her, stopping her. Magica sighed. "It was for your own good. Everything I do is to keep you safe."

"Of course." What about the penny situation, Lena wanted to ask, but she refrained. She smiled at her aunt, a mask to cover how she really felt. But it would all be over soon. She would get that penny and once that was done, she could get away from Magica.

After some more walking, she found herself at the mansion gate. After asking the butler to open it or her, she stepped inside. She looked to her aunt. "So, I'm off to my sleepover. And just for the sake of not being awkward, I would prefer it if you didn't eavesdrop on us. Please?"

"Alright, but I'll check in on you tomorrow morning. Enjoy yourself." Her shadow sunk into her feet before returning to her normal one.

Lena narrowed her eyes at the door as she came up on it. "I will." Raising her hand, she gave the door a light knock. The door opened to reveal the pink duckling, smiling.

"Lena!" Webby caught Lena in a hug.

"Webby! Hey!" They broke apart and Lena dug around in her pocket for the bracelets. "I made us friendship bracelets!" She handed Webby a pink and blue one while Lena got the green and purple one.

Webby grinned at it, trying it out on her wrist. "Cool! Thanks! Come inside." She waved the teen in, and they entered the mansion.

Lena took in the space. The place was certainly worthy of being called a mansion. She heard the shattering of dishes in a far off room, followed by some yelling. She winced, looking to Webby for an explanation. "What was that?"

Shrugging, Webby said, "Probably Gladdy and Bradford."

"Oh." After looking around some more, Lena noticed a lack of triplets. "Where are your brothers?"

Webby stared at her confused before giggling. "They're not my brothers, they're Gladdy and Fethry's cousins. They left on some adventure. I would've gone too, but I've got plans with you tonight."

Webby led Lena up to her bedroom. It was decorated with bright colors and on the shelf were a few play tea sets, and maybe even some real ones. Another shelf was dedicated to stuffed animals. Two sleeping bags lay on the floor. "We're gonna sleep in these tonight," Webby explained. "But we don't have to go to bed yet! Bradford says I don't have to follow my bedtime tonight! How amazing is that!" Webby smirked, hands on her hips. "So, what do you want to do first?"

Lena put a finger to her chin, thinking it over. Should she humor Webby, let them at least have a few moments of real sleepover before Lena went hunting for the coin? Before she betrayed the girl? The thought of betrayal made Lena's stomach drop. She pushed the thought out of her head. She wasn't betraying the Ducks, she was just... doing what needed to be done. That was what she told herself.

In the end, she decided to play along with the sleepover. "I've never been to a sleepover, so what sort of stuff do you do at these things?"

"I've never had a sleepover either, but Gladdy said that all his sleepovers started with fun inside jokes and food and ended with someone getting hurt and or being scarred for life." Webby frowned. "But I don't think that last part sounds very fun, so you and I can skip that part. So, got any inside jokes?" She looked up at Lena expectantly.

"Uh..." Lena rubbed the back of her neck. "Remember that time we set a motel on fire?"

"Ha! Good one!" That seemed to be good enough to Webby, so it was good enough for Lena too. Webby pumped her fists in the air. "Now we eat food!" She marched out of the room.

Lena followed in step with her. She took a deep breath to distill the uneasiness within her. Patience. It would all be over soon.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

...

The triplets bumped along in the backseat of the Jeep, split up by a tower of luggage. Dewey sat by himself on one side while Louie and Huey were buckled on the other. Louie stared out the back window, trying to determine where they were going. All he could see were dark, overgrown trees among a muddy marsh.

Louie found it oddly quiet, the only noise being the rumble of the car engine. He would've at least expected some loud nagging from Huey or blaring music from the front seat. Louie looked to his youngest brother, who had his hands folded in his lap, kicking his legs.

"Huey-"

"Nothing!" Huey stiffened, grinning forcefully. Dewey looked over the suit cases, and both him and Louie gave Huey a strange look. They stared at him a moment longer, and Huey sunk into his seat.

"Alright then," Louie said, his eyes lingering. He turned back to the window. Huey obviously had something on his mind that he didn't feel like sharing. Louie would pry later. "Fethry, where are we going, anyways?"

Fethry didn't bother looking back from his spot in the passenger seat. "Somewhere I hoped I'd never come back."

Louie expected him to say more, but nothing came. He let out a breath, sitting back in his seat. He found himself antsier than he expected. "Well, looks like everyone's hiding something on this trip. Dewey, Launchpad, got any secrets I should know about?" He had said it rhetorically, but Dewey answered him anyways with a head shake.

The car drove a bit farther before rolling up on a gravely pavement. They stopped and Fethry got out of the car. He let the triplets out the back. Stepping out, Louie found they were at a mansion, but at least three times bigger than theirs. Actually, it resembled more a castle than a mansion.

"Launchpad, go hide the Jeep in the bushes. I'll call you if I need you." Fethry stepped up to the castle, narrowing his eyes. Launchpad nodded and left with the car.

Listing his head, Louie looked over the castle. "So, uh, mind telling us where we are?"

"It looks like some sort of haunted mansion! Are we gonna fight ghosts!" Huey grinned up at their cousin. Dewey frowned.

"Nope. Worse." Fethry sagged, letting out a groan as the front door to the castle opened.

"Who's there! Be warned, I do not tolerate outsiders!" An old woman stepped out on the porch, shaking her fist. She marched up to Fethry, glaring up at him.

"Yes, you've made that quite obvious." Fethry rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips.

"Fethry Duck. Children." She gave a curt nod to them in turn. Another duck came from the castle, presumably her husband. The triplets watched, confused.

"Grandma and grandpa. How nice to see you." Fethry's voice was dry, lined with reluctance.

"Wait, what?" the triplets said in unison. The adults ignored them.

"Ah, you don't get to call us that. Last I checked, you weren't related to us." The woman stuck her beak up, and turned from them.

"Whatever, Downy, I don't need your approval to be happy. I have money to do that." Fethry gestured to Downy and her husband and addressed the boys. "Boys, meet your great grandparents, Downy and Fergus McDuck." Fergus gave the boys a small wave while Downy scowled skeptically. Fethry sighed, eyeing her. "They're Della's boys."

Downy loosened up and Fergus scooped them up in a hug before they could decline. "Aw, they're so cute!" He squeezed them tighter, and Louie found it hard to breathe.

"At least someone respects the McDuck bloodline." Downy huffed, crossing her arms.

"Yes, because they chose to be related to you. If it were up to me, I'd have nothing to do with your dumb family!"

"You don't!"

"And yet I'm standing here!" Fethry threw his hands up.

Louie finally managed to get out of Fergus' hug. He waved his hand over Fethry and Downy. "Wanna explain what all this is?"

"She doesn't like me because I'm not technically a McDuck, but that doesn't mean I get out of all the drama that comes with being a McDuck, oh no!" Fethry and Downy glared at each other, like two cats in an alleyway.

"He's not a McDuck! He's just a distant in-law."

"I'm just as related to her as Gladdy, but he never gets any trouble about it."

"No, because Matilda adopted Gladstone and-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can I just get what I came for?" Fethry put his hands on his hips.

She shook her head. "Not just yet, you have to earn it!"

"Ugh! Fine, let's just go inside." Grumbling, Fethry marched up to the house.

They all went along with him. The castle was built with a cobblestone interior. The home looked like it was frozen in time, torch lights and cobwebs welcoming them in. Several portraits lined the walls, decorated with paintings of McDucks of old. Louie recognized a few. He had done his share of research on his family. But he was surprised at how many there were, and it made him realize how little he really knew.

Downy gave a long description of each one, listing all their achievements throughout their lives. Some had fought wars while others had simply invented a type of bread or a sport. One had been known for inventing a kind of bow. The more he heard about his family history, the better he felt. The family he had once been ashamed of seemed something small due to a few bad apples compared to the great things from the past McDucks. Of course, there was always the chance Downy was making it up, or facts had been lost to time and her old age, but it was nice to imagine he had a good family.

"And this painting was from one summer that the boys spent together. Here's little Donald and a little Gladstone." She pointed to a picture that held the image of the young ducks, Gladstone tripping in the back and Donald laughing. Louie stared at it, wondering how Donald could look so kind and friendly. It was nothing like he was used to. Whatever happened to make Donald such a jerk? Louie also noticed a large chunk of the painting was torn off.

Fethry came to stand by Louie, smiling. "Oh, hey, I remember that that day! But I thought I was there too-" His eyes moved the torn spot. His expression dropped. "Oh, look at that. She cut me out of it."

"Only McDucks go on this wall." She walked past him, a smug expression on her face.

Fethry rolled his eyes, mocking her with his hands. "Nyeh, only McDucks go on this wall."

"I heard that!"

"What are we doing here anyways?" Louie walked after the rest of the group, head turned to his cousin. "If you don't like each other?"

"Eh, Bradford sent me to pick something up for him. Gladdy convinced them to let me grab it over carrier pigeon, but apparently I have to 'earn it,' whatever that means."

Before Louie could ask exactly what the thing was, Fethry and Louie joined they rest of the group. They came up on another duck portrait. Louie recognized it to be their great uncle, Scrooge McDuck. He stood heroically over a cliff side, a determined expression on his face.

"And here's Scrooge McDuck, our son and your great uncle." Downy readjusted the corner of the picture. "He was a great adventurer in his day, traveling around the world, collecting a great many magical artifacts and earning himself the title as one of the most powerful ducks in the world."

"Endangering children, complete disregard for anyone, having absolutely no limits to what he would do to get his hands on whatever random thing he felt like he wanted that day." Sarcastically counting the list off his fingers, he stayed locked in a glare with Downy. "Yeah, great guy. Remember when Magica DeSpell defeated him?" He smirked. "Despite the trauma, that was a good day."

"Fethry. Are you done?"

"Oh, please, continue."

Huffing, Downy moved onto the next family picture. Louie caught Dewey's gaze lingering on the frame of Donald and Gladdy as kids. Louie nudged him and Dewey snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. The sped up to keep up with the others.

...

After sneaking some snacks from the kitchen while Bradford was distracted with Gladstone, (He had been yelling at him for somehow breaking several dishes while claiming not to have touched a single one), the girls went back to Webby's room. Lena sat on her sleeping bag, chewing on a sucker and watching the night sky out the window. Her aunt would probably reprimand her for chewing hard candy, but her aunt wasn't there at the moment.

The thought of her aunt made her stomach twist. She still had to get the penny. If she did betray Magica, what would she say?

"So, what should we do now?" Webby's hair tipped to one side as she leaned her head.

Lena bit her beak, considering. She was getting antsy and impatient. Maybe now would be good time to make her move. But she had to bring it up casually, make it seem natural. "Something fun. Where's somewhere you're not supposed to go?"

"Um, there's this place under the garage called the other bin. Why?"

"We should go there! Your grandpa said rules are off for tonight, right?"

"Bradford's not my grandpa, but that was just about bedtime."

"Your family's too complicated."

"Not really-"

"Whatever." Lena waved Webby's comment away. "Anyways, the other bin. That place sounds fun, we should go!" Lena had been reading up on he construction of the mansion. When Scrooge, the original owner, had it constructed, he added a vault for his most prized possessions. It only seemed logical Fethry would do the same. That penny was as good as hers.

"But Bradford told me not to go in there. Maybe we should play a game instead. Boggle?" Webby got up and started digging through her toy chest. She pulled out the game and handed it to Lena.

The teen looked from the game to Webby. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the other bin? You're not the least bit curious what's in there?"

Webby shook her head. "Nope."

Lena sighed. "Fine, you've left me no choice." She snapped her fingers, and Webby froze. Her friendship bracelet and eyes glowed purple. Lena smiled. "Oh my gosh, that actually worked!" And Magica thought her magic was untamed. Lena circled Webby, thinking over her spell. She had enchanted the friendship bracelets, allowing hers to control whoever wore the other.

Leaning up close to Webby's ear, Lena whispered, "You want to go to the other bin. You'll take me there."

Webby nodded slowly. With another snap of her fingers, Lena released Webby from the trance. The glow faded and she shuddered. "I... uh... What were we talking about?"

Lena clasped her hands together innocently. "You said you were gonna show me the other bin, silly. Remember?"

Webby perked up. "Oh, right! I remember now. Come on, Lena, let's go." Webby marched ahead, smiling. Smirking, Lena went along after. Soon, she'd get that penny and all her worries would be over.

...

After a tour of almost the entire castle, Downy let them disperse, all except Fethry. Fethry stayed to bug her about whatever he was trying to get. She had only dismissed them a moment before Louie lost track of his brothers.

He wandered around the castle, trying to find them. Every hallway looked almost the same, the only difference being the portraits and a few suits of armor. Louie ran his hand along the wall as not to get lost himself. The castle was massive, made up of a maze of corridors. How was he ever going to find his brothers in here? How did anyone find the front door in this mess?

Certain he had gotten turned around at some point, Louie stopped and thought it over. He spun, trying to remember what hallways he'd already gone through. His footsteps echoed through the space. He recognized a few paintings from the tour before. Using those as his guide, he made his way down a few more paths.

Finally, he found the hall with the portrait of Scrooge. At the end of that hall was Dewey, looking at another portrait. Louie sighed in relief. Dewey didn't notice him. Louie opened his mouth to call to him. "Hey, De-"

Someone yanked him from behind, pulling him around the corner. Louie struggled in the person's grip, their hands covering his mouth. As a last resort, he licked his attacker's hand.

"Ew, Louie!" Huey pulled his hand away, shaking off the saliva.

Louie turned to face his youngest brother. "Huey, what are you doing?"

"I have a secret to tell you." Huey looked over the corner, narrowing his eyes at Dewey. Huey swiveled on his feet back to Louie. "But you can't tell Dew."

"What? What is it?" Louie crossed his arms.

"Dewey's been looking for something... or rather someone." Huey nudged his older brother, smirking.

"Just spit it out already. Who?"

"Her name starts with a M-"

"Huey!" Louie face palmed. He loved his brother, but Huey played too many games.

"And ends with a -om." Huey eyed Louie, waiting for his reaction.

"Who's name starts with an M and ends with a- Oh!" Realization hit Louie in the face. He gasped. "Wait, really?"

Huey nodded smugly. "Mmhmm. And I figured it out. No need to tell me what a great detective I am, I already know."

Louie peeked over at Dewey, frowning. "But why?"

"Aren't you ever curious about her? It makes sense. I just wonder why he didn't tell us."

"Well..."

"I mean, I don't have to wonder, because some day she's gonna back for us and then she can explain herself." Huey turned his cap sideways, probably thinking it made him look cool. It felt offsetting to Louie, so he put it back.

"What do you mean? You said that when Donald got arrested too." Louie slipped his hands in his pockets, eyes on the floor. Part of him was betrayed by Dewey. Why would he go digging for mom and not tell Louie? Did he not trust him?

"Well, one time in the trailer, you got up and that kind of woke me up and then when you came back, you seemed kind of upset, and I think it was about mom, or something , and then when I asked, you said she'd come back, and then-"

"Okay, I get it." Louie sighed and turned back to the hallway Dewey was in. "Let's just... go see what Dewey's up to. But don't say anything about this."

Huey nodded, and the two went to meet Dewey.

...

Dewey looked over the picture of Donald and Gladstone. He couldn't make sense of how Donald seemed so nice, so innocent in the portrait. What had happened to make him so calloused now?

But more interesting that that, Dewey noticed a small corner of paper sticking out the corner. He was curious as to what it was. He reached up to grab it.

"Hey Dewey!" Dewey yelped at Huey's voice. Dewey turned to see his brothers behind him.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"Nothing. Right, Huey?" Louie smiled at them.

"Right, nothing at all." Huey laughed a little, which Dewey found strange since neither of them had said anything particularly funny. "Eh, Dewey?" He pat Dewey on the back a little too hard, knocking the blue triplet forward. Dewey tripped, stumbling into the picture and knocking it off the wall. All three gasped. Dewey and Louie glared at Huey, who laughed awkwardly. "Oops."

With a roll of his eyes, Dewey turned back to the picture. The paper was now very visible, clipped to the back of the fabric of the canvas. He squinted at it, taking it from the frame.

"Ooh, what's that?" Huey was quick to put himself next to Dewey. Dewey stepped back for space. Louie got the note from Dewey's hands and looked it over.

He read it out loud. "12 and another year has passed, and we're here on your day at last. If borrowed crown is what you seek, venture below and follow your beak. To ensure the arrow miss the mark, pluck a diddy on an arc." Louie turned his head at the words. "What's this about?"

"Maybe it's a treasure hunt. It did say crown, and it had riddles, and that's like, the definition of a treasure hunt." Huey looked over their shoulders at the words.

Louie shrugged. "Fair enough."

Dewey took a turn with the page. He noticed the handwriting looked strangely familiar. Then it clicked. It matched the handwriting of Della Duck, their mother. He had seen her handwriting on a note before, the one in the box. He tried to decipher it. "What does it mean?" Was it the next clue to her disappearance? Why would she write a scavenger hunt.

Huey grabbed the letter and waved it over his head. "Well, I'm gonna find the first clue before you do!" He took off, and Louie chased after him. Dewey sighed and, after fixing the picture, followed along. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if his brothers helped with the next clue. It only was a scavenger hunt, after all. What could go wrong?