Chapter Text
Louie hadn’t noticed it right away. It had been small, you know? That’s how these sort of things start, but… he still felt like he should have seen it coming, what with him being “sharper then the sharpies”(a title that he often loved, but commonly loathed).
He had practically expected it ever since he stopped being a toddler, and yet it was his own ignorance not wanting to acknowledge it that made him realize too late that it was finally happening.
When did it really start? Louie wasn’t sure. Maybe it was when they moved in with their great uncle. Maybe it was during game night, or in the pyramids, or some other time when his own anxieties had been revealed and yet still ignored. Maybe it was when Della came home, or when she had gotten on him for the Timetub incident(he knows that’s when it started for her ). Maybe… maybe it had always been there?
Louie had never really fit with his family. They all had their things; their skills, their quirks, their aspirations and thrills for adventure. Louie? He liked treasure, but he was lazy and didn’t like the actual adventure part of the equation to getting what he wanted. The rest of his family, even Scrooge, would happily give up any treasures to still have the experience of the adventure. Louie would give up all adventure for some peace in life and enough money to just live happy and stress free.
He had made this clear from the start, heck even long before it. He wasn’t like the rest of them. The only thing he liked about the adventures, other than the treasure, was that he was doing it with the family he loved. But… Why had that love start to become one sided?
He had felt it at moments, and seen it in the way his brothers would commonly ignore him, or in the way Webby and Scrooge would occasionally disregard him. He definitely knew it by the way Della would narrow her gaze and watch him like a hawk, waiting for his latest screw up. He brushed the first ones off as nothing, and looked to his mothers actions as how she commonly treated him. But… a part of him knew it was wrong, and another part of him wanted to constantly cry in his bed.
Louie didn’t try to think about it, because he knew that if he did, there would be no denying it. If he acknowledged the problem, then that meant the problem existed. He didn’t want the issue to exist, because that would mean that he was right all along, for years. That would mean that all those depressive thoughts were right, and any reassurances he had once had were lies. That would mean that every “I love you” or “Forever” or “Promise” was just a fib that his entire family had been playing him with.
But the problem was still there, and despite how much Louie tried to ignore it, fate forced him to acknowledge it on one fateful day.
Today. Right now. Here, in the McDuck Manor, where Louie stood in the foyer looking up to his ghost butler with a face that he was certain had gone void of any emotions. “They left?”
Duckworth at least had it in him to look apologetic, even looking sad and guilty as he nodded. “I’m afraid so, Louie… They had all risen early to fly to europe. Mr. McDuck and Webby were extremely eager to find their latest adventure. All I know is they left for Switzerland, and plan to return by tomorrow at noon… I’m sure they hadn’t meant to forget you, Louie. Perhaps it was due to them having woken so early, that it must have slipped their minds.”
.
They had left him. Whenever any of them did something like this, they were always supposed to tell everyone else. But… that was whenever it was a solo adventure, or just a small amount of them. For everyone but himself to leave? No warning, or even talk of Switzerland at any point before?
This was clearly no accident. Huey and Dewey sleep above him; how on earth could either of them forget he was still asleep?
Louie just nodded and left back to his room, not looking to the ghosts face for any false pity.
The problem had been acknowledged, and now he couldn’t argue with that dark part of himself that then forced him to cry in his bed.
When they came home, it was like everything was fine. For them, at least. Louie hadn't even known they were back until Huey and Dewey walked in laughing about something.
The two continued to talk, moving to sit at the desk across the room. They didn’t even spare a glance towards their triplet, who sat on his bunk, phone in hand but eyes watering at the sight of them. He waited for a few minutes, but they never even turned.
Louie couldn't take it any longer and just left the room. Neither paid him any mind as he ran out.
He went to Webby's room, but he hesitated on knocking.
While his brothers had been ignorant, Webby, Scrooge, and Mrs. Beakley had just been straight dismissive. Last time he had spoken to his “honorary sister”, she had taken his interest in her plans as a scheme. “Stop acting so innocent, Louie. I know you just want to know how much gold you can gnab. Can you just actually care for once, instead of just thinking about yourself?” He had silently walked away and avoided any conversation with her since.
Webby had ragged on him for his supposed double intentions, and Scrooge had chastised him for not thinking of others. “So much talk of wanting to become humble, and yet you still can't even put your own family first, can you lad?”
Louie hadn't found it in him to even bother arguing, instead just muttering an apology for whatever he could have possibly done wrong. When Scrooge had finished, Mrs. Beakley hadn't spoken to him, but the cold stares she had been giving him lately were words enough.
Making his way downstairs, Louie tried to think of something else. Anything. But no matter what, his mind would push out his distractions and force him to think about the situation. On one hand, it was good that his mind was forcing him to acknowledge and try to deal with the problem, one might even say this was healthy. However, on the other hand, the situation left Louie with the knowledge that he was currently hated by his entire family.
Yes, that included Uncle Donald.
Donald was what hurt most. This was his uncle; his pseudo dad; his one true parent. The man who had raised him, and loved him unconditionally even during the ups and downs… Currently, that man couldn't look at Louie without clear disappointment in his eyes.
A lot had happened when Della returned during Donald's absence, and they had all tried to fill him in on what he had missed. Apparently, it was only recently that he had been told of a certain incident…
Louie had been on his phone when he walked in on Donald sitting in the dining room, a cup of late afternoon coffee in hand as he met his nephew's gaze. When Louie had sat beside him, seeing that the man had wanted to talk, he froze upon hearing the hard tone of his uncle's raspy voice. “Your mother told me about the Timetub incident.”
Louie couldn't remember the discussion very clearly after that. Even now, the incident made him feel awful. He would taste bile rising, and yet his tongue would feel like ash in his mouth. His gaze had gone foggy and his body had felt numb. He heard nothing but static for a solid minute. When he had tried to tune back in, it was to his uncle asking him what he had been thinking.
“...I'm sorry…”
That was all he could say. Louie couldn't find it in him to muster up anything else. He couldn't try to defend himself, because he knew what he did was wrong, and that there was no excuse. So what if most of it had been an accident? Why would Donald believe his pathetic nephew over his own sister, anyways?
Overall, the last few weeks had been filled with Louie only responding with an apology. If he wasn't apologizing, he was speaking in short eclipsed sentences, that often weren't even received. No one noticed, and no one cared.
Arriving at the foyer once more, Louie paused briefly upon seeing a few crates. They were all opened, and a few old relics were in them from their trip. Most of it looked to be made of woven sticks or stones, so Louie wouldn't call those interesting really. However, one crate did hold some old fashioned jewelry, with some pieces having opals and diamonds on them.
Louie internally kicked himself when he immediately registered their worth of money in his head. He had been told to stop thinking like that…
One crate in particular was rather small. It held some stuffing hay, with some strange rock on it. Louie knew it was a gem, but he had never seen one like this before. Perhaps it was a Jadeite, with its electric green, and tints of blue and yellow. It was perfectly crafted and refined already, and markings were engraved into it all around. It was in some old language of imagery though, and he could barely see it with the naked eyes, but he-
“What do you think you are doing?!”
Louie yelped, nearly dropping the gem in the process. When he turned around, his heart sunk down deeper inside him for extra hiding.
Della stormed over, eyes blazing and tone absolutely livid. “You aren't allowed to touch anything, Louie! God, you just can't help being greedy, can you?! The moment we all leave the room, you just go and do you, and try to gnab what you can, isn't that right?”
Louie gaped. What?! He hadn't been taking anything! “N-no! I was just looking at it, I- I wasn't try-”
Della held up a hand to silence him, scoffing loudly in a way so hurtful, Louie didn't even bother hiding the tears. Having heard the commotion, Donald and Mrs. Beakley walked in just as Della continued. “You never listen! You purposefully ignore what you're told to do, and just think of yourself! I’ve told you a hundred times, Llewelyn; you have got to snap out of this greedy persona, and fix this! You can't keep acting like this!”
Louie sniffled, eyes trained down at the ground. His hands had already slipped back into his pocket, still holding the strange gemstone. He would give it back of course, as he hadn't even had the mindset to take anything anyways. But… he couldn't do it now… Maybe when his mother was more calm, or when they left the room again, but-
“At least have the decency to look me in the eye when I'm talking to you, Llewelyn. Not only do you need to cut it with greed, but you need to work on the respect,” Della said. Louie could see Scrooge had entered as well, but the three other adults stood on the sidelines, allowing Della to continue. “I am the parent here, and you are the child! If I tell you to not touch anything, then you aren’t supposed to touch anything-”
At that, Louie at least had to speak up. He looked up to her incredulously, “You hadn't though! No one said anything like that to me!”
Della threw up her arms and barked out a sarcastic laugh, followed by Scrooge crossly saying, “We all did, Lad; remember? Your mother and I were the first ones to tell you all to not touch anything we got from the old ruins. We went over this on the way out and on the flight back.”
...Wow. Maybe they hadn't left him on purpose, but frankly; this was starting to seem worse. They had completely forgotten his existence.
Louie gave his own sarcastic laugh, feeling slightly crazed as he shouted, “Oh! You mean on that adventure you all went on, while I was clearly forgotten at home?!”
There was an abrupt silence, and Louie saw the resounding horror slip onto Donald, Beakley, and Scrooges faces. Della froze up though, the anger slowly fading away and becoming replaced with confusion, “Wha- what?”
“You all left before I even woke up! I was panicking when I couldn't find anyone, and Duckworth was the one who had to tell me that you all had left to go somewhere in Switzerland! By the way, was that a preplanned adventure by chance, because I hadn't heard of it until you all had already left halfway across the Atlantic!”
His own anger bubbled up. Louie felt as if he were going through the different stages of grief at that moment, unsure whether to be angry, or to cry, or to laugh at the situation. If he really did feel like bursting into hysterics, then he might be going insane…
Duckworth floated in through one of the nearby walls, sadly backing up his statement. “I'm afraid it's true. I hadn't realized you had all left Louie behind until it was too late for you all to return.”
Della stared at Louie with something he hadn't seen before. Guilt? He honestly couldn't tell. His mother had never worn the emotion before, and even still, the words she had spoken were how she had felt either way. Was it the fact she had completely forgotten her child and just supposed he was there for the last 24 hours? Even if so, Louie still didn't expect anything good to come from this.
Feeling his fists tighten on the stone, Louie teared up as he returned his gaze to the ground. He still had so much more to say, and yet- he knew that none of them would care. He had already interrupted his mother, and he had talked back at her. He was already guaranteed to be grounded. “I'm sorry…”
That was all that could come out. That was all he said before he fled, turning and running out of the house with tears streaking his cheeks. He faintly heard them all yell out for him, but he didn't want to hear it. He couldn't listen to anymore shouts of his name, angry rants thrown at him, or his family telling him to stop being the only thing he knew how to be.
Running down the large hill, Louie ran into the forest area, out of sight from the road in case he was followed. He just wanted to be alone for now, and to calm down somewhere that didn't remind him so much of how he was hated.
Because that's what he was.
Louie hadn't noticed it right away, but now he could see it clearly. No one loved him anymore… and a part of him wondered if they ever really did.
When Louie had ran for a good ten minutes, his feet had begun to hurt from the rocks and twigs he had been stepping on, and he decided he was hidden away enough to sit. He had positioned himself back on a pine tree, and just let his head fall back as he tried to breathe. Most of the sobs had left him as he had ran, so he was too breathless now to let loose anymore. The tears were mostly starting to come to an end, but their tracks still bothered his cheeks.
“Why…? Why won't it stop?”
Louie knew he was a problem; he had been continuously told so nonstop. After all, if everyone else saw it in him, then it must really be him in the wrong. So why then? Why couldn't he stop? He had tried so hard, but it was never enough… Why did he have to be like this?
“I'm sorry…” He said it to himself. He said it to his dying heart. He said it to the world that had to deal with him. He said it to the family that he didn't fit in with-
“I don't fit in at all, anywhere,” Louie muttered. “Not with my family… Not in this world… I guess I just really don't belong, huh?”
He hadn't felt like he was there long, but when he soon calmed from another short crying fit and a brief panic attack(those were hell to deal with on his own nowadays), he finally looked at his surroundings more.
...Did it… get darker?
Louie groaned when he spotted the moon and stars. It had been about three o’clock when he ran, he's almost certain! How long had he been crying for?! “Well… better expect the family to go to big rock candy mountain without me again. They'll probably be gone for a month, and that's only if they have enough fun to forget my brothers are triplets and not twins…” Honestly, he would deem the situation likely to happen.
When he got back to the mansion, he paused at the fountain in front. There were now two cars parked in front, and neither were his Uncle Scrooges’.
One was a dark red truck, and the other… Louie could only tell you that it was blue. He honestly had never seen a car look that insane. Insane was a good word here though, as this looked like some kind of car that was meant for the newest Men in Black movie.
They must have gotten some guests over while he was gone. Just as he suspected; they obviously didn't care.
When he tried to open the door, it was just typical for it to be locked. Louie had wanted to just go to bed without any more encounters, but he was far too exhausted to go climbing up the wall to their bedroom window. Maybe they should start sleeping in different rooms… Louie had never really slept in his own room, but he was sure his brothers wouldn't oppose the idea of him leaving them more space. Heck, they probably wouldn't even notice.
Knocking on the door, Louie wiped at some of the leftover tear tracks, hoping he didn't look as pathetic as he felt. When the door opened, Duckworth briefly looked around before looking down in the realization that it was Louie.
Or… perhaps realization was an understatement.
Duckworth stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing slowly in a look of shock and wonder. Louie rose a brow curiously, wondering what had gone on while he had run off. What, had they also forgotten to tell him they were planning to kick him out?
“You good, D-Worth?” Honestly, Duckworth and Launchpad were the only ones Louie could act the most normal around. They hadn't changed at all, unlike his family, and they had treated him the same as before and the same as they did everyone else. That was why he felt comfortable still using their nicknames. However, when he said this one, the ghost butler somehow managed to pale(literally though, how?).
“...Llewelyn?”
Louie cringed. Della had begun to call him his full name often as of recent weeks, and it had made Louie hold his full name in an even deeper hatred. When someone he was on better terms with used it, it made him feel a bit sick. “You know it's just Louie. Is everyone still here?”
Duckworth startled and shakily moved aside, motioning hurriedly for Louie to come in. Hmm… maybe it was the lighting, but the manor looked a bit different now. Then again, the shadows casted could do that at this time of night.
Duckworth glanced around warily, showing extreme nervousness. “Uhm, not exactly, no… Some are absent at the moment, but your… your brothers and uncle are here…”
Louie frowned more at that, wanting to know where everyone else had gone. But, he was sure that he would later be chastised for not minding his own business if he were to ask further. Simply nodding instead, Louie waved back as he turned to go to the kitchen. “Welp! I'll just grab whatever leftovers there is and then head to bed.”
Duckworth blinked rapidly, seeming to try and fail to figure something out. “Erm… ‘To bed’?”
Louie paused and frowned at how the man emphasized his words as a question. Had his brothers seriously already kicked him out of the room while he was gone? “I haven't been kicked out of the triple-bunk bed yet, have I?”
Duckworth flew swiftly in front of him, shaking his head in rapid panic. “No! No, of course not! Everything is still there, just as it all was the day you left it!”
...Louie had that feeling now. You know that feeling, when someone says something unknowingly, and it makes you both overthink and underestimate a situation? Louie felt like he shouldn't look too much into Duckworth’s word choice given so far, but that plus the man's attitude were starting to tip him off that something was wrong.
“Duckworth… What happened?”
The ghost actually hesitated, “Could… Could you perhaps specify your question a bit more, as I'm afraid that quite many things have occurred since you’ve been gone.”
What? Seriously, what was up with Duckworth? Louie huffed, “Whatever, never mind. Look, can I just eat and then go to sleep? I've cried so much that it’s given me a huge headache, and you know Ibuprofen does nothing for me.” The man simply followed him into the kitchen, watching him curiously.
When there, Louie frowned upon seeing things had completely changed. Huh, Mrs. Beakley must have been allowed to spring clean everything while he had left. Whenever she did, things would be like now; everything had been reorganized into a different area, and Louie would become “Captain Lost” in his own kitchen.
However, when he opened the fridge to find foods he had both never seen, or known they hadn't had recently, Louie frowned over to Duckworth. “Yeah… Can I just grab a Pep?”
The man grinned at that, seeming to relax a tad bit as he led Louie over to a cabinet. However, when he opened it, it revealed to just be another hidden fridge. Louie gaped at the assortment of snacks and sodas. “That was a fridge?! Oh, or is that new? Seriously, how long was I outside for, for Mrs. B to reorganize so quickly?” As he opened and chugged a can, he failed to notice the way Duckworth looked at him.
“...Excuse me for one moment, Llewe- Erm, Louie. Why not you have some snacks, hmm?” Duckworth lightly pushed him towards the hidden fridge, but Louie frowned despite the permission. He didn't know if the others would be okay with this, as he had been told that his constant snacking on junk food was a waste, and also rather greedy of him. However, the ghost man had already fled before Louie could comment.
Deciding to just head to bed and maybe just fib on having consumed more than just the can of soda, Louie made his way back to the foyer, to head off towards the bedroom. As he exited, he then noticed another large change.
Ever since they had all moved in, more family portraits had been hung up here and there. However, as he entered the foyer, he noticed that some of them just full out replaced some of the ones that had once been just Scrooge. He remembered some of them well, as they had the whole family in it smiling happily. As he stopped in front of the fireplace, Louie looked up to the portrait of his great uncle, and-
He stilled, feeling his breath hitch a bit.
What was that?
He didn't look when Duckworth flew in, with Donald, Huey, and Dewey, rushing after him. Louie didn't notice them all stop at different places on the stairs, with Donald being at the bottom.
Louie continued to stare up at the portrait, a mixture of emotions going on as he tried to figure this out. Why was that up there? He was the sharp one, so he should understand, right? So why couldn't he?
Donald's voice spoke up, choked and shaky as he hesitantly stepped closer. “...Louie…?”
Louie didn't understand… What was going on? Why was everything starting to seem different now? Why was that up there? Where was the rest of his family? Why was that up there?
Louie looked over just as Duckworth called him by his full name. What Louie saw, plus the portrait, was enough to send him through all the stages of grief in mere seconds, for the second time that day.
Why did Uncle Donald seem so much older? Why were his brothers so tall? Why was everything so different, when Louie was certain he had only been gone for maybe half an hour? Why was everything turning dark and starting to tilt, almost as if he were-
“LOUIE!”
That was the last thing he heard before he passed out, falling unconscious below the gaze of the portrait of himself.