Ducktales: Your Own Path

The Magic Test

The ride up to the cabin was silent, save for the faint noise of the lift itself. It wasn't until the sun had gone down, and everyone was inside the cabin that Huey walked up to Louis, who was on the stairs.

All Louis heard was the faint noise of his oldest brother's voice. His mind was still on the day's events. How did the pack find them? What did they want with them? Why wasn't Travis seen anywhere during the fight? And most nagging of all, what did Jason plan to do?

"Louie!" Huey shouted, breaking Louis from his thoughts. "I was... trying to thank you for... you know, what happened back there."

Louis blinked, not looking at Huey. "Yeah, of course."

"Look, I know I haven't been the best brother lately..." Huey began before Louis interrupted.

"I really don't wanna get into this right now. Or ever, in fact."

Huey sighed. "What do you suddenly have against this family?"

Louis groaned and rolled his eyes. "Nothing!"

"Then why did you leave?" Huey pressed.

"Because I felt like it," Louis answered irritably. "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go do something other than have this conversation."

With that, Louis left Huey by the stairs and walked into the dining room, where Della and Chloe were chatting. When Chloe saw Louis, she stood up.

"Hey, uh, I'm gonna check on Louise," she said. "I'll be right back."

Louis simply shrugged and walked toward the fridge, ignoring whatever Della said. He pulled out a soda and took a long swig from it, feeling it flow into his stomach.

Just before Louis could go to leave, he glanced at Della, who was pushing out a chair across from her.

"What?" Louis asked.

Della shrugged. "Just... wanna have a chit chat with my youngest son."

Rolling his eyes, he asked, "There's no way I'm getting out of this, is there?"

"Well, I mean, it'd be, you know, nice to talk, maybe actually catch up a little bit, but you don't have to," Della answered.

Hesitantly, Louis sat down and looked at Della expectedly. "Well?"

Della, in turn, tapped her fingers on the table. "I don't know. Um, Chloe said you fought well today at the mall."

Louis shrugged. "Just protecting Huey and Violet."

"That was nice of you," Della replied with a seemingly desperate smile. "You know, considering what happened in Cabo and later in Duckburg, you might just be able to top Uncle Scrooge as the family's best fighter."

"I don't know about that," Louis said. "Geez, is he even alive?"

A visible shiver traveled through Della's back. "He's survived way worse than a group of thugs. I'm sure he's fine."

"I guess," Louis replied, letting out a yawn. "Well, I'm gonna get some..."

"Louie... Louis, wait," Della interrupted, catching him off guard. "Chloe told me about what you guys talked about when we first got here."

Louis blinked a few times. That was the first time she or anyone other than Sam or Jason called him Louis. "She... she did?"

"I know you don't wanna talk about it, so... just listen," Della requested.

"Um... okay," Louis replied, sitting back down.

Della sat down as well, taking a deep breath. "I know that I am a far from perfect mother. I've made a lot of mistakes, some of which I'm still trying to make up for today. And no matter what you say, I know you still hold some of those mistakes against me."