Chapter 8:

Edited by my friend: TheHardieBoy

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"I'm torn between

Fulfilling my wildest dreams

To satisfy the beast inside of me

And I grounded love

That raises me high above

The grabbing hands of cowards

And of thieves."

~Avicii, Ten More Days.

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Della:

She gave up.

What did Louie want from her? The whole situation seemed so ridiculous.

"Everything alright?" Donald asked the second she walked in.

Assuming for a second that Louie must've walked in and ran to his room, Della wasn't sure how to respond, so she shrugged.

"Did something happen?" he persisted.

"Louie seemed very upset."

"Can we talk about this alone?" Della asked. She didn't want the other kids or Scrooge to talk over her or see her get mad.

Donald nodded, and she led him to her room, where they could talk privately.

"Louie hates me."

"What?"

"He does. It's like I can't do anything right anymore. I take Dewey on adventures, he loves me. Huey and I engage in woodchucks and video games, he loves me! And then there's Louie. That kid has no respect for me, and he doesn't want anything to do with me. I'm done."

"What have you done with Louie?"

"You think this is my fault?" Della asked.

"I didn't ask what you did TO Louie... I asked, what did you do WITH Louie."

"What?"

"You adventure with Dewey, you play video games with Huey. What have you done to improve your relationship with Louie?"

"I tried talking to him, it didn't work."

Donald sighed. "Unfortunately you can't rush with Louie. You have to take your time. Let him come to you. Then just try listening to him."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I put too much pressure on him. I just want to make things right."

"And you will. Just give it time."

Louie:

"See? What did I tell you? She doesn't care about you. You're just the grape favored pep in a bundle of cherry and orange. Nobody likes it. It just sits in the fridge forever until it goes bad."

"I'm sure she didn't mean it that way."

"I'm sure she did. Just like everyone else.

Huey's is the smart and loyal one.

Dewey is the fun and passionate one with the big heart.

Webby's the adorable wild card you can't hate and...

Then there's Louie.

The... other one."

"I have talent!"

"None that they care about! Your mom hates who you are!"

'Your plans, your schemes, they only lead to bad things for your family, if you want to be part of this family. You gotta stop.'

Louie just figured out who he was and how he fit into this family, and then... this happens. How could Della honestly hate who he is? Why isn't it enough for her? Why isn't he enough?

Louie got goosebumps.

Without Louie incorporated...

Without seeing the angles...

Without scheming....

Who was Louie Duck?

"There is no Louie Duck, there's only you and me. I have a plan, Louie. If you listen to me, I promise I'll be here for you. I will defend and take care of you. You won't have to live in fear anymore."

"Okay, what do you want from me?"

"Do you have a weapon you can steal? If not you can just use a knife from the kitchen or a stick outside."

"I have a khopesh, will that work?"

"That'll be perfect. Go get it, and then we'll leave."

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here."

"I can't leave my family behind."

"They left you behind."

"Yeah, but they-"

"They don't care about you!

Huey said so himself, you don't have a real place in this so-called family.

Dewey said you were mean.

Webby is constantly saying that you do nothing but cause trouble.

Scrooge thinks you're lazy.

Beakley barely knows your name.

Della can't stand you.

And who the heck knows what Donald thinks.

Louie... I'm the only one left that thinks you're worth something."

"Then why do you criticize me all the time?"

I want you to get better. Some things are just true. You're not perfect, but I think you have potential."

"You do?"

"Absolutely. If we work together, we can own this place."

Louie thought about it for a moment...

"'If you want to be a part of this family, you gotta stop."

Maybe...

Maybe Louie didn't want to be part of this family. Louie ran upstairs to find his khopesh.

Huey:

Huey walked into his room to find Louie going through drawers and the closet, and overall making a huge mess. "Looking for something?" he asked.

Whatever it was, he found it and hid it behind his back. "Uh no, I'm fine."

"Oh okay..." Huey rubbed his arm awkwardly. "Could we talk for a second?"

"Uhg, fine," Louie replied.

"Louie... what's that?" Huey pointed to Louie's arm.

"What?"

Huey walked close, hesitantly grabbed Louie's arm, and pulled the sleeve up, "What's that?"

Louie pulled away. "Oh that, that's just a bruise."

"From what?"

"I don't know, I just kinda noticed it one day."

"We need to tell Uncle Scrooge. It could be a curse or something."

"No!" Louie yelled.

Huey backed away slowly.

"I'm sorry, I mean, it's not. I think I saw it a few days after the moonvation incident. You know, when we landed on the island. It was a pretty bad crash. I must've hurt my arm."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Huey knew better, but he wasn't going to pressure Louie anymore. He needed to get help.

Huey decided to leave him alone and find someone he knew could help him.

He knocked on the door, a little nervous on how this was going to go.

"Come in," Webby said.

Huey opened the door and asked, "Violet, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Ooooo," Lena and Webby teased.

Violet ignored them and met with Huey in the hall.

"Yes?"

"Something is wrong with Louie."

Violet spoke, "Could you be more specific?"

Huey sighed. "He hasn't been acting like himself. He's irritable, he doesn't seem to get enough sleep, he's been so distant, and I found a black patch of skin on his arm."

Violet wrote that down. "Except for the black patch, how is that different from the normal Louie?"

"Never mind, I should've gone to Scrooge first." Huey started to leave until Violet took his hand.

"Wait. What shape is it?"

"I didn't get a good look, but it was like a circle but with a lightning bolt coming out of it."

Violet thought about it for a second. "Follow me."

Louie:

After Huey left, Louie packed the rest of the stuff he'd need.

"Okay, Louie, new plan. We'll leave tonight so nobody is suspicious. Just try not to fight with your mom till then okay?"

"Why?"

"Trust me,

This'll all be over soon. Everything will be okay."

"Fine."

A few hours later:

Louie tried to stay clear of Della.

He'd assumed he was grounded again for the outburst, so he figured she would leave him alone.

Just like last time.

Louie walked downstairs to get something to drink when he almost ran into Della. She moved out of his way, so he kept walking.

"Wait, Louie."

"I was just getting some water," he said defensively.

"Liar."

"I just want to talk about what happened."

His instincts told him to run, but that would cause problems. How could he get out of this without arguing with her? If he heard one more fake apology with a condescending explanation, he might lose it.

"Don't even bother, Mom, I totally get it."

"What?" she asked.

"You were right, I completely messed up back there. What will you do with me? I should go back upstairs and think about the trouble I caused. Thank you so much for the experience and the life lesson. Well bye!"

"Hold on," Della said and pulled Louie into an unwanted hug. "I know it's been hard for you, and I'm sorry I had to punish you, but I'm really proud of how well you're taking this."

Louie's heart sank. There was nothing she could say that would hurt more than this.

She was proud of him....?

He wasn't taking this well. He was leaving.

If she knew the truth, she'd be devastated.

"Louie, don't let her get to you.

Just leave the situation before it gets too personal."

"Thanks, Mom"

She probably thought everything would be alright now.

She'd be right though....

"The problem is leaving."