the terrible fire of old regret

Summary: Scrooge McDuck's niece goes missing.

Word count: 3384

Warnings: None

2007; Sao Paulo & Dawson -> Duckburg

Dickie Duck was eight years old when her guardian - who she so lovingly called Grandma - sent her far, far away to go to an English-speaking boarding school in South America. At first she was scared and upset, but very quickly found that she really liked Brazil and she really liked the school and she really liked Granny’s friend who lived nearby. She missed her grandma a lot, but she couldn’t deny that being around kids her own age was a lot better than how things were before.

Plus - Granny bought Dickie her very own cell phone. She was the only one of her friends that had their own phone already! Which meant she couldn’t exactly text them, but it also meant she was super popular among her classmates. And she had so many friends now - in Dawson there weren’t a lot of other kids and most of them knew each other so well already from having grown up there…but most of the kids at her new school were also new to the school! So it was super easy to make friends.

Her grandma's friend, who she called Uncle Papudo, was really nice. He wasn’t always around, since he really liked going out on boating trips, but if she needed help, he was there. And Granny sent him money as thanks, and she sent him money to give to Dickie, too, so she could buy whatever she needed. Milkshakes, a new guitar, all the important stuff.

Dickie was having a good time. She really liked São Paulo. She really liked her friends and her school, and she really liked how Granny visited a lot and hung out with her for days at a time! She’d take Dickie on little trips around the country or show her cool places in the city.

That being said, she hadn’t expected to see her so much. From August of 2006 to February of 2007, Granny visited every single month for four or five days. But then came March and she was nowhere to be seen.

(She sent a cute little letter about being busy that month. But Dickie had a feeling it was more than that. For no particular reason, she just knew.)

Still, Granny promised to visit again as soon as she could, so Dickie took that in stride and kept living her life as usual.

—--

It was April 1st when Goldie first saw the news. She thought it might be a joke, but…well, it’d be pretty tasteless if it was.

SCROOGE MCDUCK’S NIECE GOES MISSING!

It was headlining papers all over the world - especially anywhere that Scrooge had a significant impact. Anywhere he had people or factories or history, and of course Dawson was no exception. The article talked about Scrooge and the amount of money he was spending trying to find Della, and the reward money he’d put up for anyone who could help him find Della, and Goldie couldn’t help but notice that not a single one of the articles mentioned any details about Della herself. Especially not the fact that Della was…pregnant.

Goldie tried to remember when they’d had that phone call. Was it possible that Della laid the egg already? Or had she disappeared while pregnant? Either way it was pretty sad. She hoped Della would turn up in a few days, maybe having gone on a New Mom-style bender. That wouldn’t be completely out of character for her, she supposed.

But then, a few days later, the papers were still talking about Della’s disappearance. And they still didn’t include any details about Della or her pregnancy, or exactly how she'd disappeared, though apparently most of the millions Scrooge was spending was on space ships. Goldie had to admit, she wasn’t totally surprised by the concept of Della getting lost in space. That sounded exactly like the kind of shenanigans she’d get herself into. But she kept wondering about the egg. Had she laid it? Lost it? Taken it with?

She wondered how Scrooge had reacted when Della told him.

Then, briefly, she wondered how Donald had reacted. He always seemed exasperated by all the dating around that his sister did, but he wasn’t disrespectful and he had a playful side of his own. Goldie knew it wasn’t really her business, since she wasn’t family, but her curiosity stayed with her nonetheless.

Soon it was April 6th and the newspapers and the internet were still talking about Scrooge and his missing niece and Goldie had this guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach that she should visit him and talk to him and maybe even…comfort him? If…if at all possible. He was probably out of his mind with worry and fear, especially considering the amount of money he was spending. And that was just based on news estimates, he was probably actually spending even more.

She'd never known him to spend that kind of money. Not on anything. This proved that if there was ever something Scrooge McDuck loved more than gold, it was his family.

Goldie was sitting at her desk, glasses perched on her beak instead of wearing her usual contacts. She'd really slipped into Grandma Mode thanks to her time with Dickie, which had been fine with her at the time. She was more than ancient and felt like it and though it hurt at first, she didn't completely mind looking like it, too.

But now she was thinking about visiting Scrooge for the first time in quite a long time. Her first instinct said to dye her hair. Her second instinct was to yell at herself for trying to change her natural looks for a guy (even if he happened to be the guy, for her). Her third instinct said to fuck all of that and just go visit him while he's clearly in the middle of a serious crisis and he might actually need her because there was no mention of Donald in any of the articles so something must've happened with him, too. Scrooge was probably alone and miserable and going mad.

And she could try to be there for him. For the first time. She could make an effort to show him that their relationship was more than just fun and games, it could also be healing and comforting. It could! She just had to go to Duckburg and make it happen. She just had to move.

Just had to order some plane tickets. A quick internet search.

Just a few clicks.

That was all she needed to do.

Instead, Goldie stared at the computer screen, feeling very uncomfortable. It wasn't that she didn't want to be there for him, she did, but she didn't know if he would want her to be there. He'd thrown her out a million times before, but this was a very different situation. His rejections always stung, but this would be so much worse.

She took a deep breath and started her search. If he didn't want her comfort, he could at least give her some answers. She really wanted to know what happened with Della's baby. And a phone call seemed much too informal considering what was going on. So…she had no other choice.

Goldie didn't pay any attention to the price; she was just happy there was a red-eye to Duckburg leaving in a few hours. She would be at Scrooge's house by the morning.

–--

It was early in the morning when she arrived in Duckburg, and Goldie didn’t waste any time making her way to the manor.

Though she always liked to pop in through his bedroom window, this particular day she thought it’d be a good idea to knock on the front door. He was in a delicate situation and Goldie wanted to try her best to be…comforting. In one way or another. She wasn’t really sure how this would go, but she was willing to try.

However, before Goldie got to the door, she noticed some movement in the dining room. Curious to see how Scrooge was doing before confronting him, she snuck over to the nearest window and peeked inside as subtly as possible.

The sight before her was unexpected, to say the least.

Scrooge and Twenty-Two - who Goldie hadn’t seen in a very long time, but recognized immediately - were sitting at the table and cradling an infant with a little pink bow on her head. Despite the wrinkles, the three of them looked like a picture-perfect family.

It made her face heat up, seeing the two of them like that. Goldie never really suspected anything was happening between Scrooge and Bentina, nothing romantic at least, but their friendship was challenging for her. They’d been close for several decades now and from what Goldie was seeing - the many packed bags and number of boxes in the room - it looked like they were living together.

The baby wasn’t a surprise. Obviously Della had had her baby before disappearing. So Scrooge called up his good friend to help him raise his grand-niece. Who else would he have called? Bentina was tough, sure, but she was kind and good-hearted and probably nurturing. Goldie wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Bentina had her own kids at one point.

So, yeah, sure, of course. Scrooge and his good platonic friend were going to raise a child together. That definitely made Goldie feel very comfortable and secure in her relationship. It definitely wasn’t just another in a long list of reminders that she could never have provided Scrooge with the family he really wanted and if he’d been aware of that from the beginning their relationship likely never would’ve become the 100+ year convoluted mess that it was.

She backed away from the window and looked down at her shoes. She walked all the way from his front gate to his front door just so he wouldn’t know she was coming by the sound of a car. This was the kind of thing that women tended to walk in on when they didn’t announce themselves ahead of time. She couldn’t get mad at Scrooge for looking to someone else for comfort and assistance. Someone more capable and helpful and kind. Someone more interested and qualified and someone that he wouldn’t get into arguments with all the time, giving the baby a terrible outlook on relationships. Instead, the baby would see Scrooge and Bentina being good buddies and having each other’s backs and the baby would learn to form healthy relationships filled with affection and open communication and honesty and love.

Goldie wouldn’t have been able to help with that. She wouldn’t have wanted to help with that! Goldie had no doubt that if she knocked on the door right now, Bentina would throw her out and demand she never come back. And Scrooge wouldn’t say a goddamn thing because she’d be right to do so.

Finally, after several minutes of self-loathing and self-deprecation, Goldie turned around to go back home. She didn’t need to be in Duckburg for another minute, let alone stand in front of Scrooge’s house like a lovelorn sap.

When she turned, however, she came face-to-face with the butler who always seemed to be there when she was trying to split.

Duckworth was holding a suitcase and had a nice hat on his head and looked like he’d just returned from a trip.

They stared at each other uncomfortably, neither sure what to say. Which was odd for Duckworth, who seemed to always have a little comment to make when he saw Goldie O’Gilt. In this case, however, he looked past Goldie into the dining room window and was quickly able to deduce the reason for her forlorn expression.

He opened his mouth to say something, but her glare changed his mind. What could he even say? He didn’t know the context of Beakley’s arrival and he definitely didn’t know where that baby came from. He’d left Scrooge’s home just after Donald did and knew for a fact that Donald had taken all three of Della’s eggs with him.

So he had no answers. Nothing to comfort Miss O’Gilt with and nothing to change her mind about what she was witnessing.

She walked past him silently and he frowned, trying to think of anything to placate her.

“He’d be happy to see you, Miss O’Gilt,” Duckworth said finally, just before she was out of earshot.

Goldie stood still and clenched her fists at her side, angry and frustrated and tired. So, so tired. She hadn’t gotten much sleep on the plane, unfortunately.

“Yeah, well…” Goldie grumbled quietly. “...he seems fine to me.”

She wasn’t sure what it was about Duckworth that made her not hate him, but he’d always been fine. Kept his distance, didn’t judge her and Scrooge’s relationship, didn’t get in her way when she left in the early morning or middle of the night. Sometimes his little comments or questions were unnecessary, but at the same time…it was nice to know that someone was interested in how she felt.

So she always answered his questions. He was never very satisfied with her answers, she could tell, but they were answered nonetheless. And based on Scrooge’s cluelessness, Duckworth wasn’t just asking to report back to his boss. He was asking because he was a good person and those were the kind of questions that good people asked.

“Don’t stay away too long, then,” Duckworth responded. “It’s been a long time since you dropped by.”

Goldie continued to walk away, holding up her hand with a lazy wave as she went on her way. It had been a long time. She and Scrooge hadn’t spent such a long time apart in, well…in a very, very long time. It didn’t feel great. But seeing him with Bentina like that felt even worse.

So she left.

And maybe she wouldn’t come back. Who knew what the future would hold?

—

Duckworth returned to the mansion with a few questions on his mind.

First of all: why was Twenty-Two in their home? Second of all: where did that infant come from? Third of all: had anyone heard from Donald or Della yet?

Instead of asking right away, he just stared at what seemed to be his three housemates huddled together around the dining room table.

Beakley and Scrooge looked up at him, both of their smiles turning into frowns.

“You came back,” Scrooge said softly. “Wasnae sure if ye would.”

“I couldn’t stop imagining how filthy this place would get without me,” the butler said genuinely. “Especially now that there’s guests here.” Though he was looking at the two guests in front of him, he wondered if Miss O’Gilt had made her presence known as well or if she took one look inside the mansion and bolted.

“We’re staying permanently,” Beakley said with a glare. “And we’ll be working together once I’ve settled in.”

Scrooge was focused on the infant in front of him, not paying any attention to the animosity between his two housemates and now coworkers. Beakley had a deep frown on her face, knowing full well that working together with Scrooge’s butler was going to be an unending challenge.

“Splendid,” Duckworth responded, sounding much more sarcastic than he intended. But how could he not? He and Twenty-Two did not get along and they never would. “And the child belongs to…?”

“Me,” Beakley said quickly. “She’s my granddaughter.”

“Her mother?”

“Dead.”

Duckworth assumed that meant her daughter had died in childbirth. “I’m sorry for your loss, Twenty-Two.”

She just waved him off. “It’s Mrs. Beakley now.”

Scrooge interrupted, holding the baby up excitedly. “And this is Webbigail!”

Duckworth walked over and nodded at the infant. “She’s very cute.”

Scrooge placed her back into her carrier basket and sighed. “I may not have Donald or Della anymore…but maybe Webby here will enjoy adventurin’ with me instead!”

Beakley rolled her eyes. “She’s going to be staying within these walls for as long as possible, Scrooge.”

He looked at her with confusion in his eyes, ready to question that, but the glare from his former S.H.U.S.H. partner shut him right up. Scrooge looked back down at the baby, who was giggling and flinging her hands at the little toy dangling in front of her face. “Of course, Beakley.”

“I’m just trying to keep her safe.” Beakley picked up Webbigail’s carrier and one of her bags. “Now I don’t plan on spending another night on the couch. Which room is mine?”

—

Over the past decade, Goldie had only run into Scrooge because of her adventures with time travel. She hadn’t gone back too far, but there were little differences she could recognize. A missing wrinkle or smooth feathers where he’d someday have a scar…it was weird. Time travel was not something they should’ve been allowed to mess with, and yet…they did. All the time.

There were Gods and Demons and Whatevers out there, so why didn’t any supernatural, mystical being try to stop them?

Goldie got stuck wondering about it sometimes. If no one was stopping them, maybe they weren’t doing anything wrong. Maybe every time they traveled through time and saved someone or changed something, they were always meant to save that person or change that thing and everything was predetermined and there was no way to change what already happened and existed.

She was sitting at the airport and thinking about her next move. She knew she should visit Dickie again, but her heart wasn’t in it. All she really wanted to do was…get away. Get away from everything and everyone she knew.

God, sometimes she fantasized about having a fresh start, but she was feeling it more than usual at that moment. She really wished she could start over. With Scrooge, with the orphans, with her entire life. She could’ve done so much better if she’d just known what was coming. She could’ve made better decisions. Quicker decisions.

Goldie stuffed her hands into her pocket and was surprised to feel a familiar item she didn’t realize she had on her. She pulled it out and stared at what looked like a normal piece of chalk, but she knew it was much more than that.

What she so lovingly referred to as Dimensional Chalk, Goldie had seen it sparkling from a small classroom in a tiny little town in Northeast Pennsylvania. It practically called to her, so of course she snuck in and grabbed it and almost immediately discovered that drawing a complete shape with the Chalk created a portal to anywhere you announced a desire to go.

She wanted to get away from everything, well…where better to go than to another dimension entirely?

With the Chalk in hand, she’d never have to deal with getting stuck like she did so long ago. Not that it would matter now like it did then. Scrooge hadn’t seen her in ten years and he certainly wasn’t upset about it this time.

Goldie frowned as the overhead speaker called for the next flight. Her’s was still several hours away, since she didn’t expect to be heading back to Dawson so soon.

She grabbed her things and stomped over to a bathroom, quickly locking herself in one of the smaller stalls. She hung up her bag and tapped the Dimensional Chalk against one of the walls.

It was perfectly visible. She could go.

And so she whispered, “Somewhere hot and scary,” as she drew a messy rectangle on the wall, waiting patiently for the area inside to start glowing.

Goldie had been too relaxed lately. She wanted something big and intense and dramatic. She wanted her adrenaline rushing. She wanted to feel happy to be alive. And from what she could see inside the portal, the world in front of her was exactly what she needed.

As she stepped through, Goldie made sure to rub the edge of her chalk rectangle and mess it up so the portal would be broken. She didn’t need some airport janitor accidentally following her. She just needed a few hours to go crazy and steal something valuable and try not to die. And as she stepped completely into the new dimension, she recognized it instantly:

Demogorgana.

Yup, that was the perfect spot. Now all she had to do was decide what to steal...

REAL HISTORY FACTS:
- I don't know if this should be under 'real life' but whatever. The Dimensional Chalk is a reference to the Nickelodeon cartoon Chalkzone.

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- Obviously this is all about Della’s disappearance. Donald took the eggs soon after and then Beakley arrived with Webby. Beakley told Scrooge that Webby’s her granddaughter and that she was in hiding from F.O.W.L. to keep her family safe. Good stuff.
- Goldie is gonna go to Demogorgana and steal...you know what it is! The Eye! And she’s gonna have a great time starting that uprising.