Ducktales: Abandonment

Forced Reunion

For the next few months, things went back to normal. Donald went back to trying to fix his houseboat, which Beakley had to abandon during the Shadow War. The boys came back to live at the manor as well, as did Beakley and Webby. Chloe still took some time off work, but didn't mind having to skip out on adventures every now and then.

The boys, now knowing Chloe was their sister, were still pretty much the same; Huey still sought as much knowledge as possible by any means, Dewey was still just as eager as ever for adventure and excitement, and Louie... well, he was the one triplet that did change. 

Chloe and Louie grew close after he moved back in. They were each other's confidant. Louie had admitted to no one except for her that... he was scared whenever they went on adventures, not knowing how he was supposed to fit in. Chloe, in turn, did what she could to let him know that it was okay, and that there was nothing to be ashamed of. Not long after, Louie found out he had a gift, a left brain of sorts. He saw situations in ways no one else could. Chloe was beyond proud of him, and promised to help him strengthen this gift as much as she could.

As for Webby, Chloe was a little sad to admit that they were unable to make much progress on bringing Lena back other than narrowing down where she likely was: the Shadow Realm.

Magica had yet to be found, by authorities or otherwise. There were times when Chloe felt she could sense her, but nothing had really come of it.

As for today, it was a long one. The buzzards had called Chloe in for an impromptu meeting concerning how much time she'd been taking off lately. It was obvious they were simply looking for an excuse to fire her, but luckily, Scrooge was smart enough to not give them that authority. Regardless, they tried their hardest to find a loophole, and it drove Chloe mad.

Chloe walked into the manor, dragging her feet. She didn't need a mirror to know she had bags under her eyes. She made a mental note to convince Scrooge to let her work from home a bit more.

To her surprise, the foyer was completely empty, as was the living room. The kitchen was a bit of a mess, which Beakley and Duckworth were currently cleaning. Scrooge, Webby, and the boys were nowhere to be seen, which was odd because it wasn't that late. However, after giving a loud yawn, Chloe decided to just get to her room and get some sleep. She dragged herself up the stairs, through the hallway, and into her room. She set down her laptop and dropped into bed, not bothering to change her shirt or even cover herself with the blanket. Almost immediately, Chloe felt herself nodding off into some much needed slumber.

"Clarissa?"

Never mind.

With a bit of a groan, Chloe forced her eyes open and sat up to look at...

Her eyes immediately went wide, her mind suddenly wide awake. 

Standing in front of her, with hair that reached down to her knees, a sleeveless brown shirt, and a seemingly robotic leg... was none other than her own mother, Della Duck.

She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. However, after the initial shock faded, Chloe's eyes turned downward. "Never thought I'd see you again."

Della took a step forward. "I-I know, and I'm... really, really sorry. You... You've gotten so big."

"Yeah... that tends to happen when you leave for over ten years," Chloe replied.

"You're right; I deserve that," Della agreed. "I, uh, see you took my old room."

Chloe looked around at the room, anywhere but Della. "Oh really? Uncle Scrooge never told me that."

"Yep... so, how are you?" Della asked.

"Honestly, too tired to deal with... whatever it is you're trying to do here," Chloe answered, lying back down, facing away from Della.