Magica sat on the couch and waved her hand over the cracked egg. The purple runes resurfaced on the shell of the egg. Magica sighed as she traced a small sigil along the crack.
Lena opened the front door. "Oh, hey."
"Hi." Magica said half heartedly. She waved her hand over the egg, clearing the spell.
"Is that…a crack?" The teen sat on the coffee table and traced her finger along the egg. "What happened?"
"The baby rolled inside and fell off the bed. Gladstone caught her but she moved again and hit the ground." She gritted through her teeth. "Gladstone took her to the hospital. Everything is okay with her."
"And where's baby daddy at? Getting dinner?"
"I don't…I don't know. I came here in the other car. I've been home for a few hours." Magica sighed.
Lena pulled out her phone and dialed a number. She held the phone to her ear. "Crap. He isn't answering."
"I yelled at him."
"Huh?" Lena hung up the phone.
"I yelled at him." She said again, her voice quivering.
"What makes it different from the other thousand times you've yelled at him?" She shoved her phone in her pocket.
"I made him cry." Magica rubbed her red eyes, preventing herself from crying. "I was just so scared and stressed, and I just…I lost it. And then Daisy lectured me in the car on the way back home about how I yelled at him and I just-"
"Magica…it's fine. You got upset and stressed. This is bound to happen."
"But I made him cry, Lena. I didn't think I'd ever do that." Magica leaned her head back on the couch. The egg wiggled a bit in her lap. She pet the shell gently, calming the movement from inside. "He's just been so anxious lately. Like…he's trying so hard to be this perfect dad. And it's wonderful to see him try so hard, and work so hard at it…but..."
"But what?"
"He's working so hard at it and I feel like I'm just there."
Lena snickered. "For once the lazy and arrogant Gladstone Gander is a harder worker than you."
Magica shut her eyes and smiled. "He is." She sighed. The egg wiggled again in her lap. She tried to settle it again, but it wouldn't sit still. "I kinda miss my lazy, arrogant, narcissist."
"Same. This whole 'Dad-stone' thing is getting exhausting." Lena flipped her hair.
"'Dadstone?' Who the hell came up with that?" Magica snorted, lifting the wiggling egg into her arms and rocking it.
"The boys." She shrugged. "They came up with it after I told them about how crazy he's gotten with the whole baby thing."
"Whatever you do, do not ever tell Gladstone that pun. He'd love it and use it until the day he died." The witch got up and rocked the egg in her arms. It jerked. "Merda, this egg won't stop moving."
Lena's eyes went wide. "Aunt Magica…I think…"
CRACK!
A second crack appeared on the egg.
"Cazzo! She's coming!" Magica screamed. Her face went pale. "Gladstone…we have to find him!"
Lena ran to the hallway closet and pulled out a scroll and a green pendulum. "It might take a few minutes, but-"
CRACK!
"We don't have a few minutes, Lena. We need to scry on the go. Get the bag from the nursery. I'll get the egg in the car and we'll find him ourselves." Lena nodded at her and ran into the nursery. Magica looked down at the egg. "Just wait a few more minutes, Daphne. We just need to find Daddy and then you can show up."
CRACK!
"Of course. Just like your father."
The black SUV sped down the city streets. The engine roared and echoed as it passed by every alley and intersection.
"I'm starting to think this baby is gonna have his luck, considering all these green lights." Lena said, trying to steady the map onto the dashboard of the car. "Turn right!"
Magica drifted the car into the turn. The smell of burnt rubber filled the interior of the car.
RING RING!
Lena put her phone on speaker. "What's up?"
"It's Webby. I'm with Donald. He hasn't seen Gladstone. They called Grandma Duck and Fethry and he hasn't been in contact with them either. Daisy is using her contacts at the news studio to see if he's come up in any social media accounts for any local raffles or prize winnings. There hasn't been anything yet, but I'm pretty sure if anything happens, we'll know."
"Thanks Webby. It means alo-"
"Give me the phone, Webbigail."
"Um…okay Mr. McDuck?"
"Magica, can you hear me?"
"Sadly."
"Left turn here." Lena said.
Magica swerved the car through a yellow light. "What do you want, Scrooge?"
"I think…I think I have an idea as to where he might be. But I don't know the exact location."
"And how the hell does that help me?"
"Because I don't know where this place is, but he told me about this place he would go to when he needed space to think. Some place by a river. There were these orange wildflowers-"
"I know where he is!" Magica swerved right and onto the freeway. "I'll find him on my own. Thanks."
"Umm… Good luck, I guess."
"I won't need it." Magica reached over and ended the call. "Lena, close the map. We won't need it where we're going."
CRACK!
Magica looked back at the egg through the rear view mirror. Cracks were scattered across the egg. It wiggled inside the car seat. "Just a few more minutes, piccola. Just hold on for a few more minutes."
CRACK!
The SUV kicked up dirt down the forest path. Lena held onto her seat as the car jumped and lurched. "Magica. There's a cliff up ahead."
"I know. And a ravine." She slammed on the brakes and parked the car a few feet from a tree that sat at the edge of the cliff. Magica bolted out of the car, leaving the door open. She went into the back seat and grabbed the egg, running to the edge of the cliff. Magica crawled over the small wooden fence and looked down.
"There he is!"
Gladstone laid on the bank of the river atop an old tree trunk, lost in thought. The cotton candy colored dusk sky reflected onto the water below. Bushels of wild posies sat around him, their orange petals bright against the water.
"Magica! Wait! It's too dangerous to take the egg!" Lena yelled from the car.
CRACK!
A small shard of the shell popped off the egg. It fell and landed in the water not far from Gladstone's beak. He looked up.
"Magica? How did you find me-"
"The baby is coming!" She yelled down the ravine. Gladstone's eyes went wide as he pulled himself up and began climbing up the cliff wall.
CRACK!
Another shard fell. A small white feathered finger poked out.
"Gladstone! Hurry! She's gonna break through!" Magica poked the little finger back in the egg. "Just hold up one minute, sweetie. He's almost here."
Gladstone's hand reached the top of the cliff. "I'm here! I made-"
The dirt around his fingers crumbled, breaking off the cliff. Gladstone's grip faltered, and he fell back into the ravine.
"Gladstone!" Magica screamed.
Lena jumped out of the car and ran out to the cliffside. "I got this."
Lena's eyes became a glossy black-red. Her body went grey, and then black. Her physical body melted into the ground, turning into an ink like puddle that slid on the edge of the cliff. She dropped down to the ravine and slid underneath Gladstone's falling body. His shadow grew larger as he fell closer to the ground.
"Gotcha!" Lena hissed, as her shadow form grabbed a hold of Gladstone's shadow and lifted him up the air, a few feet from the ground. He floated in the air, panting.
"How the hell-"
Lena shifted her inky shadow form into her silhouette. "We can explain later. Just hold on!"
Lena catapulted Gladstone up the cliff, tossing him in the air. He landed just a few feet from Magica. He sat up in shock.
"SINCE WHEN CAN LENA DO THAT?" He screamed.
"We can deal with that later! Right now we have-"
CRACK!
A large shard of the shell popped off the egg. Gladstone scrambled to Magica. She plopped herself down onto the ground. He sat in front of her, reaching to hold the egg as it cracked again. A little white feathered hand popped out. Gladstone put his finger onto the hand. It gripped his finger immediately.
Lena slid her form up the cliff and remolded herself back to normal. She fell to the floor in exhaustion. She looked up at the couple, the baby hand practically glowing between them.
CRACK!
A little webbed foot pushed out a chunk of the shell towards Gladstone, making a small door like exit out of the egg. Magica pulled open the shell a bit, opening the egg as the baby kicked off the shard.
Gladstone's eyes began to water. "Oh my God. She's perfect."
A/N: And She is born...erm...hatched. And trust me guys, this child is perfection. I've written a few fluff chapters with the baby and ooommmffffff guys...it's so cute. I've got a Halloween chapter planned, a really fun chapter with Fethry, there's one with Lena and Webby babysitting, and another chapter with a suuuuuper big character surprise. ;)
Please let me know your reactions! And don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!
Love you all!
~Alex
