Hey, everyone! I've wanted to write something for DuckTales (specifically the reboot) for a while, but have come up with a blank for an actual story. I came up with this idea for a one-shot while studying and decided to act upon it. It's a little more somber than the material I usually write, but it was good practice for tone in my stories. Be sure to R&R!

The trip back to McDuck Manor wasn't filled with the cheerful laughter like it had been in the past. Instead, the atmosphere was melancholic. The only thing heard was the broken Darkwing Duck cassette tape as Launchpad flew the damaged Sunchaser back toward the mansion. In an attempt to lighten the mood, the pilot reassured the party of six before taking off again that this flight would be nothing compared to when he flew a plane that was engulfed in flames, which he crashed into the ocean.

Nobody said anything.

The kids were in the same seats as before. Beakley was with them this time, trying to console the four kids who were silently crying. Her narrowed eyes turned to the elder standing near the front of the plane. He was facing away from them and his hands were clasped behind his back; she knew he was trying to ignore what was happening.

Scrooge continued to look out the front window, watching the clouds pass by as the sun started to set. The evening sky gave the puffy clouds a pink and orange hue. It reminded him of the adventures that him, Donald, and Della would share. After long days of exploring, there would occasionally be a sunset that was spectacular to watch. He immediately pushed the thought out of his head, as the once charming memories were now too painful.

The duck sighed in relief as the Sunchaser began to descend after what felt like hours. He slightly turned his head to look at the boys from his peripheral vision. Thankfully, nobody looked back at him. Scrooge felt a lump in the back of his throat and gulped, watching the five ducks embrace each other. The triplets didn't say anything about moving, but he knew they would tell Donald about the events that transpired today, and they would definitely leave as soon as possible.

He turned his glance back to the outside. Scrooge knew he messed up; he had lived with the guilt for years. However, the boys deserved the right to know about their mom. He mentally kicked himself for not telling them sooner.

The plane landed with an abrupt "thump" on the ground, lurching everyone slightly forward. Once the aircraft stopped, Launchpad pressed a button that opened up the exit. Huey, Duey, and Louie couldn't have left that contraption faster. Beakley and Webby followed suit, but didn't leave as quickly as the triplets. The young girl stopped walking and looked back at Scrooge, slightly concerned. She had no idea what this meant for all of them.

Beakley gave her arm a gentle tug, causing Webby to look up to her. Beakley looked back with sad eyes. Her heart hurt - she had never seen her granddaughter this sad. Neither one looked back at McDuck as they began to walk off the plane.

Once he felt that everyone's presence behind him had left, Scrooge lost the composure he had about him. The duck exhaled and pinched the bridge of his beak. Launchpad remained sitting and turned his head to face his superior.

"Do... do you need anything, Mr. McD?"

Scrooge raised his head up and exhaled sharply. "No, Launchpad. Go home."

Without another word, Scrooge turned around and walked off the plane. The pilot stared sadly at the duck, similar thoughts as Webby's popped into his brain. Launchpad sighed and turned off the ignition of the plane.

Scrooge ambulated into the house and immediately went toward his study; his thinking place. He hastily threw open the door and walked toward his desk near the back of the room. Scrooge gripped the wood, not really caring if any old splinters made their way into his palms. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Why did this happen again?.. Why? Why? Why?

"Is he even gonna say goodbye?"

Scrooge's eyes opened and his heart sank at the sound of Webby's voice, but no emotion graced his face. He figured Webby and Beakley would be going as well.

"We're taking those vacation days, if that's alright with you, sir," his secretary stated bitterly.

"Fine," he grumbled, feeling anger start to swirl inside of him. He heard the patter of only one set of feet walk away. Scrooge surmised that Beakley was still there.

"Well, you've successfully pushed your family and everyone who cared about you away. Again. I hope you're happy."

Before Scrooge could formulate a sentence, he heard her leave as well. His eyes glared back toward the door in frustration. He never thought he would go through this a second time. Losing Della and then subsequently the relationship with Donald practically broke him.

Scrooge walked behind his desk and opened a drawer. Inside were envelopes and papers related to his companies, but they were not what he was looking for. The duck fished around for an object he hadn't seen in almost ten years.

A key.

He stared at the slightly rusted object, then looked over at another door in the room. He had grown to despise the library adjacent to his study. Scrooge couldn't remember the last time he was even in there. Before her disappearance, Della would spend a lot of her time reading the many books and maps in that room, dreaming about all the future adventures they would go on.

Scrooge walked over to the door and gently placed the key inside. He heard the "click" as it unlocked and opened the door, hearing the old hinges tiredly squeak. Even with the curtains drawn back to let in the evening light, the room was still dark. Scrooge walked over to a chair that was covered with a white sheet. He pulled off the fabric and sat down on the red piece of furniture, dust particles floating slightly in the air. He gripped the arms of the chair and felt his breathing and heartbeat increase. He was just so... livid.

Livid at himself.

Scrooge sighed and closed his eyes, allowing his back to slump slightly. He then looked at the bookshelf in front of him, more memories beginning to appear. Scrooge stared at the large moveable ladder attached to the bookshelf and remembered when Della, probably about eight or nine years old, climbed very, very high up. He walked into the library, cup of tea in his left hand and a newspaper in his right. Scrooge happened to glance up at the little duckling as she slipped on one of the ladder rungs and started to fall. He dropped the cup and the paper, sprinted toward her, and caught the duck. Scrooge remembered his arms being sore for two days due to the impact of her fall.

"Della! What were you thinking?!"

She sheepishly smiled. "Sorry, Uncle Scrooge. I just wanted to read about the Amazon, and the only book I could find about it was up there."

He sighed and closed his eyes, then grinned back at her. "I like your sense of adventure. But next time, ask me or your older brother to get something that high up for you. Got it?"

He placed Della on the ground and she rolled her eyes. "Uncle Scrooge, I'm not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself."

Scrooge smiled. "I know you can. I just want to keep you safe, that's all."

The last bit of the memory really dug the metaphorical knife in deep. He wished the only thing he had to keep his niece safe from was falling off the bookshelf.

Scrooge shook his head and looked at an older painting on the wall. It was when both Della and Donald were teenagers; they had made it to the Amazon. The three of them were smiling, the uncle's arms around his niece's and nephew's shoulders. Scrooge couldn't remember the exact context of the painting and that fact made him rather upset.

He slid further into the chair and closed his eyes. More memories started to come back. Scrooge would usually think about another topic and ignore his feelings.

But this time, he was alone, leaving him more vulnerable to experience bereavement.

He remembered her being so nervous the first time she flew a plane.

"But what if I crash?" she turned and asked him as he buckled his seatbelt. Scrooge gave her a smile.

"You're not. I'll be right here the whole time."

"But what if-"

"Della. You'll be fine. Just relax and let your adventuring instincts take over! This is in your blood."

The fifteen-year-old exhaled and put the goggles over her eyes. She started up the plane and made it ascend just as Scrooge had taught her. He cheered her on as they flew toward the clouds and she began to smile. However, during the descent, she got a little cocky. Instead of landing on the ground, Della miscalculated and landed in the branches of a pine tree. Her cheeks flushed out of embarrassment.

"Heh heh. Oops."

She thought Scrooge would have been furious that she had messed up. Instead, he laughed heartily, to which she joined in.

He remembered the excitement he felt when he found out she was going to have kids.

Donald and Scrooge were sitting at breakfast in silence. It was a pretty typical morning. Della came walking in with a wide smile on her face.

"Good morning, fellas."

Donald looked at her, slightly confused. "You are not a morning person. Why are you so cheery?"

"Well, I have some very big news."

The duck quirked an eyebrow. "...and?"

Her smile grew wider. "I'm expecting."

Scrooge was about to eat a bite of French toast, but immediately put the piece of food down. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Come again?"

Her smile faltered slightly. "I-I'm going to have a baby."

Both of their eyes widened, but Scrooge was the first to display any emotion; he smiled, stood up, and began to walk toward her. He gave her a big hug.

"Aw, Della. Congratulations. You are going to be a wonderful mother."

She grinned back. "Thank you, Uncle."

Scrooge snapped his fingers together as an idea formulated in his head. "This is such a momentous occasion. We'll have to think of something spectacular to celebrate."

"...actually, I had an idea about that."

The older duck tilted his head slightly in confusion. "What would that be?"

Della began to twiddle her thumbs. "Well, you know I've wanted to explore space for a while... maybe, I could... get a rocket?"

She pulled out a blueprint from her jacket pocket and showed Scrooge. He unfolded the paper and his eyes widened at the design. The amount of possibilities that this could provide...

"Della, this... this layout is marvelous!" Scrooge exclaimed.

"No," Donald interjected.

Della groaned and turned to her sibling. "Donald, we have been all over Earth. There is nowhere else to go except space."

"Della, you are pregnant. This is a whole different responsibility now. Other options need to be considered."

"Oh, like you know something about responsibility? You're only two minutes older than I am!"

"Enough," Scrooge annoyedly stated, folding up the blueprint. These two bickered so often that this was practically a daily occurrence at this point. "Stop fighting just for a few minutes. We will put a pin in this conversation and come back to it."

Donald sighed and stood up, having barely touched his food. "Fine. I'll be outside," he stated with a short tone.

The eldest sibling walked out of the large dining room. Della looked back at her uncle, who smiled at her. She returned the grin and also left the room. While the older duck was alone, Scrooge unfolded the design once again and the wheels began to turn in his brain.

He remembered the enthusiasm about surprising Della with the Spear of Selene.

He remembered how shocked he was after reading the note she left behind.

...

He remembered the sorrow he felt after he lost the signal with the spacecraft.

He vaguely remembered screaming into the intercom.

"Della! Della, can you hear me? Della?! DELLA!"

Scrooge buried his face in his hands in an attempt to hold back the tears. For ten years, he refused to let himself grieve. He believed that she was still out there. Della had always been strong and would make it home.

...She had to make it home...

"You're the richest duck in the world! Why didn't you send up more ships to look for her?!"

Scrooge winced as Louie's voice echoed in his head. He never wanted to stop finding Della. The millions of dollars in budget cuts and rearranging were all done to find her.

All of that seemingly in vain.

"Then you encouraged her to keep flying through a cosmic storm?!" Huey's voice stated. "You could have called her down. There were too many variables!"

The oldest triplet didn't understand. There were meteors all around her. If he made her come back, there was the potential of her crashing.

She would have died.

Scrooge's stomach turned into anxious knots as the painful recollections flowed into his head.

He remembered how angry Donald was.

He remembered the resentment his nephew had toward him.

"So you're the reason our mom is gone. Cheap old Scrooge probably bailed as soon as it put a dent in his money bin."

He would have given up everything if it wasn't for those damn vultures dictating his expenses.

He remembered them pulling him away from the control panel.

He remembered fighting, begging and pleading with them to let him continue searching for her.

Scrooge lifted his face out of his hands as he felt a whirlwind of emotions. The most prominent one was the one he least expected.

Grief.

She's gone... she's... gone. I couldn't save her.

He placed his arms back on the armrests of the chair and felt his beak quiver slightly.

"Well, you've successfully pushed your family and everyone who cared about you away. Again. I hope you're happy."

Beakley's response rang in his ears. He opened his eyes slightly and glanced toward the open door into the study, almost expecting someone, anyone, to be there. He felt the tears begin to stain the feathers on his cheeks.

He was completely alone.

"I am."

I normally don't like to write Chapters that are under 3,000 words, but it's hard to make a scene that's only about a minute and a half long super lengthy.

I may write a real DuckTales story someday, but I'm halfway through another FanFic of mine and I don't really have any other ideas yet for this fandom. Haha. Thanks for checking out this story! Until next time!

-TheLexTurtle