Webby rocked her legs back and forth, staring out the window of the limo. Feathry sat next to her and across from them were the boys, Huey upside down and unbuckled. Launchpad was driving them somewhere, Webby wasn't exactly sure. Feathry was on the phone.
Finally he hung up and looked to the triplets. "Well, I've talked with your teachers and cleared you all to skip school today." He scrunched his face. "Also, I think your art teacher has a crush on me. And I may or may not be going on a date with her this weekend."
Huey stuck out his tongue while Dewey clapped his hands together. "Aww!"
"No, I mean, I actually have no clue. It was very confusing," Feathry said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's been a while since we missed school." Louie looked to his brothers.
"Yeah, remember last time!" Huey chuckled, nudging Louie with his foot.
"No one needs to remember last time." Louie's face turned red and he tried to shut his brother's beak unsuccessfully.
"Captain Lost," Dewey snickered quietly. Huey burst laughing.
Webby tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "I don't get it."
Dewey waved his hand as he spoke. "Well, this one time, it was snowing, but Louie was so determined he knew the way. But we ended up getting-"
"Lost?" Webby still didn't get it.
"Yeah, I guess you sorta had to be there."
Huey grinned. "Captain Lost! Captain Lost!"
"Okay! We get it!" Louie seemed upset, but Webby was sure she saw a smirk cross his face.
"Heh, we got in big trouble after that." Huey smiled sadly.
Dewey rubbed his arms. "Yeah…"
"So where are we going anyway, Mr. Duck?" She turned her attention back to the adult.
"Uh, my cousin Gladstone's. I'm pretty sure I already said that." Feathry readjusted his coat.
"I don't think so."
"Nerp."
"Who's that?" Louie asked.
Huey gasped. "A family member Louie hasn't heard of? I bet it's some dark family secret!"
"It's not."
"Uh-huh, sure."
"It's really not. Are you sure you never heard of Gladstone?" Feathry raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
"No, I don't think Uncle Donald ever mentioned him and you haven't said anything about him so…" Louie shrugged.
"Weird, Gladstone is like, the only person in this family that doesn't hate everyone else or vice versa. Anyways, he called asking for help. I don't know what he needed help for, the phone cut out before he could say." Feathry chuckled.
Webby was about to ask a question when the vehicle jerked violently and they stopped. She let out a yelp in surprise. Huey tumbled out of his seat, seeing as he had no seatbelt. "What was that!"
Once Feathry caught his breath, he knocked on the divider. "Launchpad!"
The driver rolled it down. "Sorry, we, uh, crashed…? I don't know, it was weird. The steering wheel jerked away from me." Launchpad frowned, staring at the wheel.
Instead of being confused like any normal person would, Feathry just smiled. "Nice, that means we're here! Come on Little Donalds. And Webby." The kids exchanged a look before following Feathry out the limo. Webby saw they were crashed in front of an apartment complex. The building was green, unlike the dried up grass lawn. Feathry turned to Launchpad. "We'll be back in a few hours or so."
Feathry showed them into the complex. Webby noticed it looked much nicer on the inside than the outside. The older duck glanced down at a text on his phone. "Apartment 1313," he read aloud. They made their way to a small elevator. It was so small it only fit four people.
She frowned once all the others had gotten in. "Uh, I'll just take the stairs." She forced a smile.
"You sure Webbs? You can take my spot." Dewey started to get out.
"It's okay, I'll meet you up there," she said again before making her way to the stairway. She stared up the steps and sighed. Why were there so many? She frowned. She was starting to feel a little left out. She started up the stairs to the 13th floor. This would probably go a lot quicker with someone to talk to. Webby nodded to herself. She would have to get a best friend to add some spice to her life. When she got the chance of course. Bradford was giving her a lot of freedom since the boys moved in, allowing her out of the house more. But lately she was starting to feel a bit like a fifth wheel, what with all their adventures being Duck family focused.
She was surprised to find that she made it to the 13th floor before the others. Her legs were exhausted. She practiced breathing steadily while she waited for them by the elevator door. The door opened with a ding. The family stepped out one by one. "What took you so long?" She wondered.
"Someone thought it would be fun to push EVERY SINGLE BUTTON!" Louie threw his hands in the air, glaring at Huey.
"But it looked like a Christmas tree! What do you want me to do? Not push it?" Huey crossed his arms.
"Yes!" They said in unison.
They all walked to the apartment labeled 1313. Webby looked over the door. Seemed normal enough. Maybe this would be a quick adventure. Feathry knocked on the door.
"Coming!" a voice called from the other side. It was followed by the sound of something glass breaking. Then a few tumbling sounds. And finally the door handle rattled. Only for the knob to fall off. "Hang on a moment…"
Webby looked to Feathry for answers, but he just smirked.
There was a loud creak and the door fell from its hinges, almost hitting Webby. She jumped back, startled.
A duck dressed in green stood in the doorway. His eyes met Feathry. "Feathry!"
"Hey Gladdy."
Gladstone scooped Feathry up in a hug. "You came! For a second there I thought you wouldn't come, I couldn't actually tell since our call was interrupted. My phone caught on fire and then there was this whole thing with a pigeon and an apricot, and you know the usual, aaaand I'm rambling now, so I'm going to stop talking. Come inside and I'll tell you all about what I found." He waved for them to follow as he stepped over the door.
The kids gave Feathry a look. He caught their gazes, then glanced back at Gladstone. "Ooooh, did I not mention he's cursed with bad luck?" He went after his cousin into the apartment.
"Wait, cursed with bad luck?" Louie raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, how do you know he's not just really unfortunate?" Dewey and Gladstone pulled the door back up to its normal position.
"Hey, cous, can you get me the screwdriver from the counter?" Gladstone held out his hand. "Preferably handed, not tossed." Feathry nodded and did as told. Gladstone tried to put the door back on its hinges, but the screwdriver broke apart. He shrugged. "Eh, this door is gonna fall again at some point anyways." He turned to the family and rubbed his hands together. Answering Louie's question, he said, "It's a curse. I got a bad case of Murphy's Law on one of our 'thrilling'-" He made air quotes with his hands. "-adventures with Uncle Scrooge. But over the years I've learned how to deal with it."
Gladstone walked to the fridge. The kitchen and the living room were in the same room, only separated by an island.
Webby tilted her head. "Murphy's Law?"
"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong," Feathry and Gladstone said in unison.
Gladstone pulled a canned soda from the fridge. "Can I offer anyone a Pep?" Dewey held out his hand, but Gladstone hesitated. He held the can away from him and popped the top. Nevertheless, the fizz sprayed directly in the older duck's face. When the soda stopped, Gladstone handed it to Dewey.
Huey jumped up and raised his hand. "Is Murphy's Law genetic?"
"No, at least not mine. Why?"
The second the words left his mouth, the red triplet's bangs caught of fire. Gladstone's eyes widened. Louie patted his brother's hair, extinguishing the flame. "That."
"Okay…?" Gladstone nodded slowly. "You might want to get that checked out." He looked over the triplets. He gasped. "Wait a minute! Wait just a Murphy minute! Are these- Oh my gosh!" Without warning, he grabbed Dewey and squeezed him tight. "Goodness you are precious! I haven't seen you three since you were little eggs!"
Dewey gasped for breath. Feathry frowned. "What? She let you see them? I didn't even know they existed until, like, a month ago."
"Eh, I'm sure it's nothing personal." Gladstone put Dewey down and ruffled his hair.
"Anyways, you said you needed help with something?" Louie said.
Gladstone nodded. "Yes, right. Okay, I have stumbled upon-" He spread his arms out dramatically. "-a conspiracy! I tried telling one of my neighbor Al, but I was interrupted by a power outage, and then there was fire, and, ehh, anyways, I-" He was interrupted by a knock on the door. He smiled awkwardly. "Excuse me for just a sec, fam." He answered the door.
Webby glanced past Gladstone to see who was there. It was an red fox in a green dress and her hair pulled back into a bun. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Gladstone."
"Miss Weihu! How may I help you this fine morning?" He grinned and rocked his fist sideways.
The fox frowned and raised and eyebrow. "Your rent didn't go through this month."
"Ah, yep, I'll fix that later today!" Gladstone gave a two finger salute and waved the woman off. "Bye!" He closed the door and turned back to the group. Webby tilted her head curiously. "Uh, that was my landlord, Jiu Weihu. Also, did I tell you much the rent here is? It's insane! I would've moved but there was this whole with asparagus, and you know how I hate asparagus, but, you know, I've never actually tasted it. I hate it for other reasons because-"
"Gladstone!" They all sent him glares.
It took him a moment before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. "Right. I've uncovered a conspiracy that-" Another knock at the door. The boys groaned. Gladstone rolled his eyes and smirk. "Well, you know what they say. When one door closes, another door opens." He opened the door again, but he stood in the way so Webby couldn't see who it was.
"Gladstone! Gladdy! How's my favorite neighbor!" Whoever it was sounded like a young girl.
"Lena, what-"
"Hey, can I use your fire escape? Please? Answer quickly."
"Uh, sure…?"
"Great! You are the best! Also, if some beagles come around asking for me, don't tell them where I went. Okay, bye!" The girl shoved past Gladstone and moved like a blur to the fire escape. Webby didn't get a good look at her before she had raced out.
Webby smiled. That girl looked fun. She glanced between the window and the others. That girl might just be the spice to Webby's life that she needed. And surely no one would notice if she slipped out for a second, right? She edged her way to the fire escape. And without anyone noticing, she made her way out.
…
A bajillion gears were turning in Dewey's head. Gladstone had known his mother. She had trusted him enough to tell him about her eggs. Maybe she had trusted him enough to tell him where she was going too. Dewey grinned, but not too much. He didn't want his brothers to ask questions. He would wait until he was alone with Gladstone to bug him.
"Gladdy, just spit it out before someone else shows up!" Feathry threw his hands up, sending a look at his cousin.
Gladstone nodded and took a deep breath. "I… forgot what I was going to say." He smiled nervously while the others frowned. Gladstone rubbed the back of his neck. "My curse is acting like a bad case of atopic dermatitis right now, so how about we waste a little bit of time and I will tell you when it calms down a bit?"
Dewey quirked his head. "Does it work like that?"
"Eh, sure it does!" Gladstone half smiled wile Feathry shrugged, unsure. Gladstone led everyone to the apartment door and held it open for everyone.
When they stepped out into the hallway, Dewey frowned. The elevator was under maintenance, despite the fact they had just used it.
"You know, last time the elevator was under maintenance, I got stuck in there with this one girl, my old gym teacher, and the local crazy person."
"What is there to do around here, anyways?" Huey asked, tugging on Gladstone's shirt.
"Uh, I think there's a water fountain somewhere downstairs, and they do, like shows and stuff. And there's a bunch of other stuff too."
"Thank you for that wonderful description, Gladdy," Feathry deadpanned.
Huey grinned. "Water fountain? Cool!"
"That sounds boring," Louie said, glancing at the youngest triplet. "How much water do you think they waste a day doing that?"
"Pft, simple minded Louie," Huey smirked. "Everyone knows they just reuse the water."
"Not really," Dewey said quietly.
Gladstone put his hands on his hips. "Why don't we split up? Feathry, you can take red cap and headband down to the- Hey, where is headband?"
It was then that Dewey noticed that Webby was missing. He began to internally panic. "Webby?"
"She was probably so excited about the water show that she's already down there, come on, let's go!" Huey spoke fast and tried to drag Feathry off by his arm.
The adult just rolled his eyes. "Huey, chill. We'll look for her, you three go do whatever it is you're gonna do." He walked away, Huey running ahead of him.
Gladstone turned to Louie and Dewey. Dewey glanced at his brother. If he was going to ask Gladstone about Della, he would have to distract Louie somehow. "Well, kids, let's go find something to do that hopefully doesn't spiral out of control into some sort of bad luck adventure! Also, we have to take the stairs."
Louie pumped his fists. "Yes! Cardio!"
…
It wasn't long before Webby found the girl. She was hiding in an alleyway, glancing around the corner every minute or so, looking for someone. Webby came around the other side and moved to stand beside her. "Whatcha doing?"
"Gah!" The girl yelped and spun around, facing Webby. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" The girl blew her bangs out of her face, which Webby noticed were dyed blue. When the girl regained her cool, she cleared her throat. "Wow, you're really… pink. That's just a lot of pink. Who are you, anyways?"
"I'm Webby Vanderquack!" She put out her hand. The girl stared at it suspiciously. "I was in Gladstone's apartment earlier."
"I'm Lena." Lena shook Webby's hand with both of hers. "Hey, did you know circus clowns keep elephant hairs in their pocket for good luck?"
"No…" Webby tilted her head curiously.
Lena shrugged. "Eh, I don't really know if that's true." She laughed to herself. "Just an ice breaker."
Webby didn't really know where to go from there, so she blurted whatever came to mind. "I like your hair."
"Thanks, but I actually didn't do this on purpose." She held a strand away from her face and she squinted at it. "I think someone pranked me." She slipped her hands into her sweater pockets and shrugged. "My aunt offered to help me fix it, but it looks nice this way, so I'm not too mad about it."
Leaning against the wall, Lena pulled out a phone and started scrolling on it. The teen chuckled at something, then went on scrolling. Webby bit her lip. She had to keep the conversation going if she wanted to make a new friend. "Who are you running from?"
At the mention of her pursuers, Lena glanced up from her phone and back around the corner. "Beagle boys."
Webby raised an eyebrow. "I thought the Beagle boys were nice?"
Lena nodded. "Oh yeah, most of them are, except the 6th Avenue Friendlies. The name is very misleading. They were bullying this kid, so I said 'hey!' and they were all like 'Grrr.' So yeah, that's how that happened, heh." She put her phone back in her pocket and turned to leave. "Well, it's been nice knowing ya Pink, but I've got to go. My aunt's probably worried about me."
Following after her, Webby smiled awkwardly. "Wait… um…" Aw man, she had run out of ideas to keep talking.
Lena stopped and spun around to face the younger girl. "What? Don't you have, like, friends or family to back to, or something?"
"Well, uh, sorta?" Webby didn't know why her voice came out like a question. She fidgeted nervously. "I've got a complex family dynamic. My grandma is an evil spy, my parent figure is a butler who was also a former spy, and the people I live with are Feathry Duck and, just recently, his cousins removed however many times. But I haven't gotten that close to them yet."
Lena's eyes widened. "Wait, you live with THE Feathry Duck? Wow! I'm like, a really sheltered kid, and even I know who that is! What's he really like?" She grinned, suddenly very interested in what Webby had to say.
"Uh… famous…?"
Lena smirked and shrugged. "Eh, I guessed. Well, if you want you can hang with me." She winked then gestured for Webby to follow. "Oh, and for the record, it's not just because you live with Feathry. Sorry if it came across that way," Lena said, smiling awkwardly. Webby smiled back.
They were just about the leave the alleyway when-
"Hey nerds!"
A chill went up Webby's spine. Lena groaned and spun around. "Goodness, not these guys again." She smirked at the three beagles at the other end of the alley. "Hey! Wassup!"
"Looks like blue hair's got a sidekick now," one of the beagles snickered.
The leader snapped his fingers. "Lena, quit trying to play the hero and just give back what you stole," he grumbled.
Wait, stole?
"Ha! Death first!" Lena put her hands on her hips and closed her eyes dramatically. "Besides, how can I steal what was mine to begin with?"
"Why you- boys, get her!"
One of them rushed at them, but Lena yanked Webby to the side and dodged herself. She stuck out her foot and tripped the dog. "I'm gonna tell your mom!" she said in a singsong tone. Turning to Webby, Lena nodded. "Alright, Pink, let's get out of here."
Webby turned to run but was snatched up by the second beagle. She let out a yelp and tried to fight him off unsuccessfully.
"Let her go, you jerk!" Lena out her fists up. The leader of the beagles grabbed her, and though she put up a better fight than Webby, she was also stuck in his grasp. "You've caused a lot of trouble for us little lady. Now give it back!" He held out his hand, but Lena just glared at it.
"Never! Viva la resistance!" She narrowed her eyes, swung back, and kicked him hard in the face. He stumbled backwards, dropping the teen. She landed on her feet and grabbed Webby from the second beagle. Wow, this girl was amazing. Definitely some spice to Webby's life.
They took off running, trying to create distance between them and the beagles. Webby squealed internally. New best friend, check!
Feathry and Huey eventually found another elevator, now that they were out of range from Gladstone's curse. They made their way down to the 1st floor. Feathry stepped out of the elevator, realizing he had gotten turned around. Where had they entered from again? Was it this way, or maybe…?
He spun in a circle. "Hey, Hue, do you remember-"
"Licking doorknobs is illegal on other planets? Of course!" Huey smiled up at him.
Feathry stared at him a moment, processing. "Uh… no. The exit. Where is it? Maybe Webby left or something."
"I don't know. Maybe she had to go to the bathroom?" Huey started walking around, Feathry following behind him. "Maybe we could find a map or something. Like a quest!" Huey ran up ahead, getting mixed in the shuffle of people in the lobby.
Feathry called after him, trying to catch the boy. Feathry sighed. "Great, now that's three things I have to find. Webby, the exit, and Huey." He tried to squeeze through people, give himself space to think. It was discombobulating, Feathry wondered if he would have to add claustrophobia to his list of fears. Taking another step, he tripped and face planted into the carpet. He groaned.
A hand appeared in his line of vision. He took it and someone helped him up. He dusted himself off. "Uh, thanks," he said, before looking up at who had helped him. It was the fox woman from earlier.
"My pleasure, Mr. Duck," she said with a slight nod.
Feathry was used to people recognizing him before he knew them, but it still caught him off guard occasionally. "You are…?"
"Miss Jiu Weihu, owner of this humble establishment." She folded her hands into her long sleeves. "Tell me, what you led you to grace us with your presence?"
Feathry glanced around while he spoke, still hoping to find maybe a red cap or a flash of pink somewhere. "My cousin lives here, so…" He drifted off, biting his lip.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Gander."
He looked back to her. "Yeah, actually, how did you-"
"If you are looking for the red boy I saw you with earlier, you might want to check by the water fountain." She pointed in to her right, drawing Feathry's attention.
"Thanks!" Feathry started heading in that direction. Another question popped into his head. "Oh, and also, you wouldn't happen to know where…" When he spun around, Jiu was no where to be seen. He frowned. "…the exit is…Never mind."
He did find Huey by a water fountain. The boy was sitting on the floor, his head in his palms, watching the show. Somewhere from a speaker, some nonsense about whatever was blaring incredibly loud. Looking at it from afar, Feathry thought it looked incredibly boring.
Feathry found a spot next to his younger cousin, who looked like he was about to fall asleep. "Huey, don't run off like that."
"Got it."
"Huey?"
"This is really boring." Huh. Great minds think alike. The boy threw his hands up. "There are, like, zero explosions, and I have not gotten wet once! Where is the splash zone!"
Feathry chuckled. "That bad huh?"
"Yeah, and I heard this thing goes on for three hours." Huey sighed and lay on the carpet. He started whining.
"You don't have to stay the full three hours." Feathry raised an eyebrow.
Huey's face lit up. "Really? Thank goodness!"
"Yeah, we still have to find Webby, so I'm not wasting 3 hours on nonsense."
"Sounds like a plan!" Huey jumped to his feet.
…
The first thing Dewey realized is that Gladdy liked to talk. A lot. Maybe bugging him about Della wouldn't be as hard as Dewey thought.
"I'm sure your uncle Donald and Feathry told you all about our adventures as kids," Gladdy said smiling. They walked around the second floor of the building. According to Gladdy, that was were most of the fun stuff was.
Dewey tucked his hands into his sleeve's. "Not really…" Louie shook his head, confirming Dewey's statement.
"Really? There was that time Feathry saved me from those llamas, one time Donald and I ran from woodpeckers, another time Della and I ended up on television after that fire at the school…" Gladdy went on talking, but Dewey's attention was drawn to his brother. Louie tensed at the mention of their mother. Dewey always had a suspicion Louie knew what had happened to her. The former couldn't risk asking Gladstone about her while the latter was around. He would probably put an end to Dewey's searching.
They stopped when they came to a stand labeled "Guess how many fingers I'm holding up." Gladdy smirked. "Oh, I'm great a these!"
"Are you?" Louie raised an eyebrow. "I mean, with your condition and all."
"Pft, come on, you act like it's a curse." Gladdy stopped when he realized what he said. "Wait a minute-"
"Would you like to try your luck sir?" the man at the stand asked. Gladdy leaned against the stand and slid money across to the man.
"Does this count as gambling?"
"Shh, Louie, you're ruining the process." After a moment, Gladdy finally guessed. "27."
"No."
Gladdy kept trying, just guessing 27 over and over again. Dewey and Louie exchanged a glance.
"How does he think he's holding up 7 fingers?" Dewey whispered to his brother. Louie shrugged.
The green triplet tugged at Gladdy's shirt. "Hey Gladstone, I've got to-"
"Two is correct."
Louie was caught of guard. "What?" The man handed the boy a set of car keys. "I- I, uh-" After a moment of stuttering, a smile spread across his face. "Cool! I got a car!" He looked to Gladdy and Dewey. "I'm, uh, gonna go check out the car I won, I guess." He ran off before they could stop him, laughing a little.
Gladdy watched after him. "Okay…so what do you want to do now Dewdrop?"
Dewey bit his lip, excitement bubbling inside of him. This is it! This is your chance! Just ask! Dewey opened his mouth, but no words would come out, a lump caught in the back of his throat. Speak! You're blowing it! Anxiety replaced his excitement. What if Gladstone didn't tell him? What if he told Feathry Dewey had asked! Or worse, Louie!
What if she was a bad person?
That was the biggest fear he had.
He took a deep breath. He would never know if he did't ask. Be brave, he told himself.
He looked Gladdy in the eyes. "Do you know what happen to Della?"
…
Panting, Lena and Webby stopped in an abandoned warehouse near the apartment complex. The older girl pushed the door open, letting Webby inside. She followed after. Webby skipped along, humming to the pitter patter of her feet on the cold concrete. The lighting was dim but sufficient, and cargo containers took up most of the space.
Lena cupped her hands over her mouth, stepping out into the open space. "Hellooooo!" Her voice bounced off the walls. When no one responded, Lena put a hand on her hip, saying, "Welp, looks like we're safe for now."
Webby grinned. "Cool. But I have a couple of questions."
"Shoot."
"Um, those beagles said you stole something?" Webby flashed an awkward smile at her new friend. She wanted to be absolutely certain she wasn't hanging out with some kind of criminal.
Lena rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Pft! I did not! Those ugly beagles totally stole it from me first. I was just returning it back to its owner."
"Which was?"
"Just some necklace, nothing special. It's been in my family for a while, and they took it from me, so while I was defending that kid, I thought it was also a good time to reclaim my property. They were probably hoping to make a quick buck or something." She shrugged with one shoulder. "It's not like I'm some criminal mastermind or something."
"T-thanks for the clarification," Webby chuckled. The girls continued through the warehouse, talking, but stopped when they heard voices.
"I'm certain they went this way…"
Webby and Lena exchanged a wide eyed glance before hiding behind one of the crates. Webby peaked around the corner, spotting one of the beagles. He was alone. She figured they had probably split up to find them easier. This sure was a lot of hassle to go through for just a necklace.
"That one's Bluebird Beagle, the dumbest one of the bunch," Lena whispered. "We could probably trick him or something… Any ideas?"
Before Webby could answer, Bluebird appeared right behind the girl. She spun around and gasped.
"Hey," he said. "You're them girls I'm supposed to catch!"
Webby tensed, sticking her arms to her sides. Her mind searched for an escape, but she wasn't great at thinking on her feet. Oh, why hadn't she just stayed with Gladstone and the others? "Um…"
"There you are Englibeth!" Lena shouted, stepping out from behind Webby. She couldn't help but notice the teen's new addition of a British accent. "I've been looking positively everywhere for you!"
Webby gave Lena a look as to say what are you doing? Realization came over her. Play along. "Uh, yes! I'm o sorry to worry you…Brittania…?"
Bluebird scratched his head. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Ah, I see, we haven't met yet." Lena bent over and stuck out her arm to him. "We are Brittania and Englibeth, Ma's kids from across the pond like. We live at the orphanage, you see." She stood straight and held out her pinky, as if that made her more legitimate.
"I'm not sure-"
"Yes, indubitably," Webby added. "We'll just be going now, and leave you to find those two rascals you were searching for. We wish you luck!" Webby did a curtsy before moving past him towards the door out.
The girls noticed he had a walk-in talkie in hand. Lena smirked. "Also, we're taking this," she said, snatching it from him.
He waved at them. "Okay then, lovely meeting you girls. I'll tell you if I found those other ones."
"Stupendous!" Webby called, before shutting the door behind her. Lena and Webby giggled before running off again.
They found a park across the street from the apartment complex. They jumped on the marigoround, Lena pushing them with her foot.
"Oh man, that was amazing!" Lena waved the walk-in talkie in her hand. "And now we can hear where they're going next! Ha!"
"Where'd you get all that fancy talk? That was smart!" Webby felt the wind in her hair as they spun around.
Lena waved her hand. "Well, I grew up with my aunt who talks with a British accent, and occasionally when she's mad, she mocks me with a Scottish accent, which is really weird. So I didn't hear an American accent until I started going to school, which was actually pretty recent since I was homeschooled up until Middle school." She smirked.
Webby laughed. "Pretty neat, Brittania."
"Sure is, Englibeth," Lena said, jumping off the marigoround. She strode over to the monkey bars and climbed up, walking along the top. "Pft, sorry for the stupid nicknames."
"I think they're cool." Webby followed Lena underneath the bars. "I can't wait to tell the guys about you!"
"You mean the guys who live in your home and yet you still don't know much about them?" Lena rolled her eyes. "I bet they didn't even notice you were gone."
"No, it's not like that!" Webby frowned. "I've just kind of felt like a fifth wheel lately, but it's not their fault. They're still getting adjusted too. Louie's usually busy with something, Huey thinks girls are gross, and Dewey… is working on a personal project of his and he lets me help. But they are fun! Like, this one time, it was snowing, and Louie got them lost, and since then, they call him Captain Lost!" She forced a laugh, not really getting it herself.
Lena tilted her head, glancing around. "I… don't get it. Is that, like, a joke or something?"
Webby sighed. "I don't get it either." She allowed herself to drop off the bars and she sulked over to the seesaw. "They just have so much history together."
Lena pushed the other end of the seesaw down. "Hey, chin up. Now we have history together!" She flashed a smile at the younger duck before standing on her end of the seesaw. The structure squeaked as the girls laughed, going up and down.
Webby felt a buzz in her pocket, and she gasped, getting off the seat. Lena flopped off, landing on the hard dirt. "Ow, a little warning would've been nice."
Webby pulled a pager out of her pocket. Bradford had never given her a phone so this was the next best thing. It was a message from Feathry. She squinted at the small, digital letters. "'Where are you?' Oh, I guess they did know I was gone." She chuckled nervously. Turning to Lean, she added, "Hey, maybe we should head back now?"
Lena shot finger guns at her. "Good idea. My aunt is probably pulling her hair out wondering where I am." She started walking across the street, looking both ways first. Webby followed along.
They were probably done helping Gladdy anyways. They couldn't have gotten into too much trouble while she was gone, could they?
…
"I'm sorry, did you say tigers?" Huey grinned up at Jiu, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Feathry just stared wide eyed.
"Yes, Jade Tigers. And they're for sale." The fox waved her hand to two green tigers sitting behind her.
Excitement boiled inside of Huey. They were everything he never knew he always wanted. He glanced between Feathry and the tigers. "Feathry?"
"I…" The older duck just stared at the tigers, mouth gaping.
Without waiting for an answer, Huey ran up to the tigers, looking them over. "Tigers are so cool! Are the number of stripes on their back how many people they've killed? Do they have laser eyes? Why are they green? If you stare at them really hard, will they obey your every command or will they start a mutiny and have a tiger revolution?" Huey started into the eyes of one of the tigers, getting close in its face. He could even feel its breathing on his cheek. Noted: tiger's teeth were really sharp.
Jiu raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" Her calm manner seemed shaken by his questions.
"Feathry, can I buy one please!!!" Huey wrapped his arms around the neck of one of the tigers. "I LOVE HIM SO MUCH ALREADY!"
"Are you kidding me! We'll take them both!" Feathry grinned, examining the second one. "This is so cool, and that guy at the mall with the iguana is gonna be sooooooo jealous!"
Huey pumped his fists in the air. The best part, neither Louie nor Bradford were there to stop them. Booya! Noted: always asks Feathry for the potentially dangerous stuff.
Feathry and Huey high fived. The adult turned to Jiu and handed her a business card. "Here, call this number and have the guy who answers the phone forward the money to you. And if the vulture thinks it's a scam and asks to talk to me, tell him that Feathry says he can't keep me from my dreams and that I'm a grown adult." He smirked and pat one of the tigers on the head. It growled at him.
She stared at the card a moment, processing. "…yes sir, of course." She turned and walked off.
Huey hugged his tiger harder. "I will name him Sir Hubert the second, and he shall be mine, and I will love him and squeeze him forever!"
Feathry slipped a hand into his pocket. "Now that I have accomplished all my life goals, back to finding the exit and Webby. I paged her a second ago."
"I don't get it, is that a boomer thing?"
Feathry shot Huey a glare. "I just bought you a tiger, you ungrateful-"
"Hi, Mr. Duck!"
Feathry yelped as Webby appeared behind him. "Gah! We need to get you a bell, or something."
"Tell me about it," a girl who was with Webby said. "Cool, is that a tiger?"
"Why yes it is, thanks for noticing." Huey smirked.
"And you are?" Feathry asked.
"Name's Lena, part hero, part movie star." She grinned, shooting finger guns at the two. Huey smiled and waved. She seemed nice.
"Okay." Feathry shook her hand.
"Hey, have we met before?" Lena cocked her head to the side.
"I'm famous, so…"
"No, but I mean in person before. I just feel like I've heard your voice. Eh, I'm probably overthinking it." Lena waved a hand, dismissing the notion.
"Where'd you go Webbs?" Huey asked.
"Hanging out with my new bestie," Webby said, putting her hands on her hips and dancing a little. "Did you guys fix Gladstone's problem."
"We would've, if we knew what it was. But the ol' ML made him forget, so no. We haven't." Feathry deadpanned. Then a smile crossed his face. "But hey, it wasn't a total loss! Cause Huey and I just bought a couple of tigers, which is pretty rad if I do say so myself."
"Bradford will never let you keep those," Webby pointed out.
"Just let us enjoy this moment!" Huey shouted.
"Oh! Webby! Where did you come in from!" Feathry said, snapping his fingers.
"Oh, just from over… there…" Webby spun full circle and frowned. "Huh. I've got no clue." They looked to Lena, who just shrugged.
Feathry sighed. "Alright then, let's just go meet up with the others. Come on kids. Come on tigers."
"Hey, how do you think tigers would work with Murphy's law?" Lena asked.
Dewey bit his lip after Gladdy didn't say anything. Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh. The blue triplet started to wonder if maybe he should've kept his mouth shut. His stomach churned. He just asked one of the questions he wasn't supposed to. Once, when Huey and Louie weren't around, he had asked Donald when he was younger. Not only did his question not get answered, he also got in huge trouble. Who knew what would happen now! Do you know what happened to Della?! Who asks that! Dewey began spiraling. Gladdy would tell Feathry, and then he would have to explain to Webby, a bajillion things would go wrong, why did he think this was a good idea, and-
"Uh…" Gladdy broke the silence, looking around nervously. He started laughing awkwardly, his arms stiffly stuck to his sides. It was strangely comforting for Dewey that he was the only one scared of this question. Gladdy laughed so awkwardly, he ended up just coughing into his fist.
Dewey raised an eyebrow. "Gladstone?"
Gladdy cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, it's just, I wasn't expecting that question today. Or ever really."
"Well?" Dewey forced himself to keep going. If he was ever going to know the truth, he would have to be brave.
"I, uh…-" Gladdy bit down on his knuckle, "-do not. Sorta. It's- it's…" He sighed, forcing himself to look at Dewey. "As I'm sure you know, it's complicated."
Dewey fidgeted, glancing at the floor. "Yeah. B-but… I need to know."
After a moment, Gladstone scrunched his beak and gave in. He flashed a warm smile. "Alright, how about I will answer 3 questions, and no more. No less." He shrugged, questioning Dewey with his eyes.
Dewey frowned. It wasn't exactly what he was hoping for, but it was a nice compromise. He would have to choose his questions wisely. "Fine." After thinking it over, he decided to start out with the mystery of where Gladdy disappeared to in all their family history, never mention by anyone. "If our mom trusted you enough to let you see us as eggs, and Feathry says you're so great, and all that other stuff, how come no one ever talks about you? You're not even in the picture."
"Picture? What picture?"
Dewey pulled a small polaroid photo he had taken of the painting he had found in the garage. He had mentally labeled it as evidence in the search for his mother. He carried it around with him, for mystery purposes, definitely not comfort purposes. He held it up to Gladdy. "This."
Gladdy took the photo and examined it. "Oh, yeah, I remember this. I am in this picture!" He lowered it for Dewey to see.
The boy in blue squinted at it. "Where?"
"Right there. I tripped right before the picture was taken." Gladdy pointed to a green smudge in the background.
Dewey wasn't entirely convinced, but eh, it was good enough. "That still doesn't answer the rest of my question."
"Well, I guess no one ever talks about 'cause Murphy's Law or something. I don't know." Gladdy rubbed the back of his neck. "The rules of the curse aren't one hundred percent clear, but it's not exactly unlucky to be popular."
"Okay, next question. Do you know what the Spear is? Della mentions it in a letter." Maybe Dewey and Webby would finally have a lead that could actually take them somewhere.
"Selene's Spear? Oh yeah." Gladdy hesitated a moment, like he was thinking something over. Dewey wondered what. "Selene's Spear is a… motel. And a really garbage one too." He smirked. "I rarely talk bad about anything, but like, that place is really unkempt." Gladdy stuck out his tongue, to punctuate his point.
Dewey made a mental note to look that up later with Webby. If they could get an address or something, maybe they would find Della.
He opened his mouth to ask his final question when he was interrupted. "Hey, I'm back, what are you guys talking about?" Dewey flinched. Louie.
"Not secrets!" Dewey mentally face palmed. It was the worst answer he could've given, but he panicked under stress and didn't know what else to say.
Louie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's not suspicious."
Gladdy glanced between Dewey and Louie. Nonononono, he was going to tell Louie everything!
"So, what happened with you?" Gladdy asked, smiling.
Dewey felt relief wash over him. Gladdy wouldn't tell. The boy wished he could thank him a thousand times over.
Louie frowned and sighed. "Well, I learned the hard way why you shouldn't gamble. I lost my car. And also any money I had." He shrugged, and his face returned to a smile. "But I learned a valuable lesson and that's that."
Gladdy pat them both on the head. "Neat. Come on, let's go find the others and see if they found the pink girl duck."
"Webby," Dewey and Louie said in sinc.
…
It wasn't long before they met with the others. They met on the ground floor. Louie couldn't help but notice another girl with them besides Webby.
"Hey cool, you found her," Gladdy said, fist bumping his cousin. Feathry nodded.
The new girl glanced between Huey, then Dewey, and finally on Louie. There was a moment where Louie recognized the realization in her face. "Aw, cute, you're triplets!" She clapped her hands together and grinned. "Is that like your thing? You're color coded and stuff and all exactly the same?"
Louie, along with his brothers, felt very offended at this random statement. "No way! We're all unique snowflakes!" Well. How ironic that they all said it at the same time. "Well, this usually never happens." Shoot, they did it again. Louie started to feel embarrassed. "Stop saying everything I'm saying!" Are you kidding me? "Gah!" The three stopped talking, exchanging glances. Louie smirked inside his head. Well, he bet his brothers didn't know the longest word in the dictionary. "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis! Seriously!?" The triplets glared at each other.
The new girl chuckled. "Pft, you guys are funny. Sup, I'm Lena." Dewey and Louie introduced themselves, only making Lena smirk. "Wait a minute, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Oh my gosh, this is amazing. You guys have, like, the ultimate triplet names."
Louie rolled his eyes. If were up to him, he would be named something cooler, like Rebel or something. Actually, he took that back, Rebel didn't fit him at all.
"Okay, Gladstone, we need to get back on track." Feathry grabbed Gladdy by the shoulders. "What did you actually call us for? I got tigers waiting in the car and should probably head back to the mansion."
Wait, Feathry had what in the car now?
The adults went on talking, but Lena distracted Louie and the other kids. "Hey, guess what?"
"What?" Huey, Dewey, and Webby asked in unison.
"Chicken butt. Nah, just kidding. You guys want to do something fun?" Lena smirked and raised an eyebrow.
"Sure, new best friend!" Webby grinned, rocking on her heals.
Louie shook his head and stepped in front of the group. "No, we need to stay put, that way we'll be there when Feathry needs us."
Lena put a hand on her hip. "I would usually be all for that, but I am thirsty after all that running, and they have infused water here."
Huey ginned, bouncing up and down. "Ooh, that sounds fancy!"
"It's really not, it's just water with a bunch of fruit and junk in it, but it makes me feel fancy, so…" Lena shrugged. "It basically is. And it's right over there, so we'll be back in 2 seconds tops." She pointed to a couple water jugs set up against the wall a few yards away.
"Wait, what were you running from?" Louie tilted his head. He wasn't so sure about this Lena girl.
"Beagles," she said, leading the other kids to the water.
Louie hesitated before following. Someone had to keep them out of trouble. "I thought the Beagles were nice?"
"That's what I said!" Webby jabbed a finger at Louie.
Lena pressed down on a button on the water tank. Huey put a cup underneath and when it was full, let someone else have a turn. He stared at his cup, frowning.
Louie stepped over to his brother. "What's wrong?"
"All the fruit is still in the tank, so there's not any in my cup." Huey to a swig, then stuck out his tongue. "Also, it tastes like water."
"It's called a gimmick," Louie said, chuckling.
"Eh, it still makes me feel fancy," Huey said, and proceeded to drink the rest.
…
Webby got some water, but she didn't drink it. She was too busy enjoying the fact that her best friend and her other best friends would probably become best friends, and soon they would all be the ultimate best friends.
"Hey, Pink, hydration is important," Lena said when she caught Webby staring too long. Webby drank her cup and wiped her mouth. Lena leaned against the wall. She smiled at Webby, then to the boys. "I probably need to get back to my apartment, but I will see you four later." She pushed herself off the wall and started to head to the stairway.
"You're leaving?"Webby frowned.
Lena nodded, shooting finger guns. "Yeppers."
Webby had kind of hoped Lena would stay longer, but at least now they were friends. "Goodbye then… Brittania."
Lena did a curtsy. "Till our paths cross again, Englibeth!" Her British accent returned before spun around and got lost in the crowd.
Webby noticed the boys exchange looks. "I don't get it," Huey whispered loudly.
Webby smiled and shrugged. "Eh, you had to be there."
Lena clicked her tongue. Webby gasped, but it was too late. Lena spun around and walked straight into the leader of the 6th avenue friendlies. She took up a defensive stance, taking a step back. The other two beagles stood behind him.
The boys looked to Webby for answers. "These are the beagles we told you about," she said.
"Huh. You here to surrender?" Lena put her hands on her hips and stuck out her tongue.
The lead beagle growled. "We both know that necklace is worth more than you let on! Hand it over!"
Lena glanced sideways at Webby, letting out a awkwardly loud laugh. "Ha! I have no clue what you're talking about! Heh…" Lena shook herself. "Whatever. Just leave me alone and maybe I'll consider letting you live." She pointed her beak upward with a smug expression.
Without a word, the other two beagles made their move. Bluebird grabbed Webby while the other snatched up the boys upside down.
"Oh my gosh! We're being kidnapped!" Dewey yelped. Webby's heart pounded . She looked to the adults, who didn't even notice them. Webby tried to think of something, drawing a blank. She wasn't an exceptionally skilled fighter, and when it came to fight or flight, she usually picked flight. How could they get out of this?
Lena glared at the leader. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
"Call it 'having a hostage.'" He leaned into her face. "Hand over the necklace. That thing's worth more than you and me combined."
Webby bit down on her lip. What would the totally cool and amazing Lena do? She would probably think of a way to outsmart them, like back at the warehouse. Let's see… the beagles wanted something valuable. Or at least, something they thought was valuable. Webby smiled. Ding!
"Listen jerk, I-"
"Oh man, if this is how they act with a simple necklace, imagine what they would do if they knew what I had!" Lena and the beagle gave Webby a confused look. She pretended to look surprised. "Oops, I said too much."
The lead beagle stomped over to her. "What?"
"Oh, it's nothing."
"What!" he demanded.
"Alright, fine. It's a device, created by the ancients long ago!" She squirmed in Bluebird's grip and grabbed her pager. "It can pass messages through time and space and they're incredibly rare. But I doubt you would be interested." Webby tried to shrug.
The beagle eyed the device eagerly. "Give it to me."
Webby snatched the pager back and looked the beagle in the eyes. "No." He growled. She smirked. "Alright, I will give it to you for the low low price of letting my friends and I go."
He eyed her suspiciously, hesitating. "If I find out you're lying-"
"Everything I've said about it has been true." She chuckled internally.
The beagle looked at her again before grumbling. "Fine." He snatched the pager away and snapped his fingers. The beagles dropped her and the boys hard, making the duckling a little sore. She shook herself and got to her feet. She did her best to hide her giddiness.
The beagle shoved the pager in his pocket and frowned. "Come on boys." The other two followed after him as they left the building.
Webby waited until they were far away enough to smile. Before she could say a word, Lena swept her up into a hug. "Ha! That was epic, Pink!"
Dewey high fived her. "Where did you learn to lie like that?"
She held up a finger. "Ah! I didn't lie! Simply twisted words." She smirked.
Lena grinned. "Smart."
"Just looking out for my friends!"
Lena nudged Webby. "Ah, best friend!"
Webby bit her lip to keep from squealing! She said it!
Lena turned to go. "Okay, now I really have to leave. So, um, peace out dorks!" She flashed Webby one last smile, waved to the boys, and left.
Gladdy frowned at his cousin. "Look, I really wish I could remember, but I can't! I know it was important though.
Feathry sighed. "Dumb Murphy's Law."
"Having a negative attitude doesn't change anything, so turned that frown upside down!" Gladdy flashed him a smiled, nudging him. Feathry smirked a little.
His landlord, Jiu stepped towards them. "Well, Mr. Gander," she began. "Your payment finally came through, so that's all sorted out. But, unfortunately, Mr. Duck, your butler refused to let you have tigers, and told me to tell you that that is a very irresponsible purchase and he doesn't care if you're a grown adult." She folded her hands, frowning at Feathry.
Gladstone looked her over. And then it hit him. The thing he was calling for help for. He took a step backwards.
"What! That is totally unfair!" Feathry threw his hands up. "Bradford can't tell me what to do! He's not my secretary, or my parent. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have a tiger!"
Jiu cleared her throat, ignoring Feathry's rants, eyes locking on Gladdy. "Something wrong, Mr. Gander?"
Gladstone had hoped he wasn't so obvious, but apparently she could read the fact that he knew all over his face. He coughed into his fist, turned pale. "Oh yeah, I'm fine!" That last word came out squeakier than he wanted.
Jiu narrowed her eyes at him. Feathry tilted his head. "Gladdy? What's up?"
Gladdy glanced between the fox and his cousin. "I, uh, just remembered something." Well, it wasn't a lie. He noticed the kids had gotten back from grabbing water, and they were also giving him weird looks. He grinned, maybe a little too much. He grabbed Feathry's wrist, stepping backwards.
Feathry didn't pull back, confusion written on his face. "I remember what I called you here for," Gladdy explained, trying to sound calm. "And I think we should leave. Nowish."
Jiu glared at Gladdy, a frown spreading in a thin line on her lips. She rose a hand slowly. "Mr. Gander, are you sure about that?"
Gladdy tried to take another step back, but a green chain formed out of no where around his ankle. He tripped backwards with a yelp. Feathry knelt to help him up.
"What's going on?"
"Well, the thing I called you here for, uh, funny story, heh. Turns out I'm prisoner here!" He chuckled awkwardly.
Louie crossed his arms."How could you forget that?!"
"Murphy's Law." Gladdy shrugged, getting to his feet.
He looked to Jiu Weihu. She held out her arms, green flames in each hand. The floor shifted into playing cards, rumbling beneath them. The family group together on a card. Gladdy's heart raced as the card they were on flew up into the air.
Jiu let her hair down and her dress fanned out, revealing nine tails, a green fireball at the end of each one. Her fur changed from red to white, and her eyes turned green. She snarled at the family, taking a fighting stance. She licked her teeth, then grinned. "So. You found me out."
"I… I was gonna ask how you figured this out, but then I realized I don't even want to know," Louie said.
Gladdy shrugged. "It involved pistachios." He looked around, realizing that the apartment complex had completely changed, and they were now suspended in the air with nothing but nothingness below them. He recognized a few of his neighbors on the faces of playing cards and frowned.
"Wooh! Adventure!" Huey cheered.
"No! Adventure!" Dewey said, cowering behind his younger brother.
"Hey, Gladds, mind explaining?" Feathry asked, taking up a defensive stance against Jiu.
Jiu began circling them, her long, flowing tails trailing behind her. Gladdy cleared his throat. "Well, as it turns out, my landlord is an ancient spirit who feeds off of magic and curses and stuff."
"Basically," Jiu added. "Mr. Gander's curse has kept me fed for a while. I'm only sad that now that he knows the truth, he'll probably try to fight me now."
"Duh, who wouldn't?" Huey raised an eyebrow at the fox.
"Look, lady," Feathry began. "I know that you're a crazy spirit and all, but I would prefer it if you didn't feed off my cousin's weird curse. Also, I fought a ghost last week, so do you really want to fight with us?"
"Ah, Feathry Duck. Tell me, how did you find yourself as the most popular duck in the world?" Jiu pressed her finger tips together, shooting the duck a sideways glance.
"Uh, one thing led to another, I guess," Feathry said, not sounding too sure about it.
Jiu listed her head, thoughtful looking. "Surely it must've had something to do with magic. And how delicious would that be?"
"I wish I had found the exit sooner." Feathry face palmed. "I doubt magic had anything to do with it, but either way, I won't be your prisoner."
"What if it came down to you or Mr. Gander?" Before either Gladdy or Feathry could comprehend what she said, she snapped her fingers. The chain around Gladdy's ankle disappeared and the ground split between them into smaller cards.
The cards fell softly into some sort of track, also made of cards. Before the two was a starting line. The kids huddled over the side of the larger card above them to watch. Gladdy and Feathry exchanged a worried look.
Jiu grew larger until she stood over them, watching from above. A toothy smirk came over her face. "I'm feeling generous today, so I'll make a deal." She waved her giant hand over the course. "I propose a game. And let's make it a challenge. A race. If Mr. Gander wins, you may all go free. And, because I am absolutely certain that he won't, as an added bonus, I will leave this realm and leave all you mortals alone. But," she paused a moment before continuing. "If Feathry wins, you all end up stuck with me, to feed on your magic for as long as I live. Which is forever." She glanced at the kids with a sly smile. "Sound fair, children?"
"Booooo!" Huey shouted. Dewey and Louie clapped a hand over their brother's mouth, probably scared of what angering the spirit would do.
Gladdy frowned at Feathry. "It doesn't really look like we have a choice."
Feathry crossed his arms and stuck his beak up smugly. "Simple. I just won't win." As the words escaped his mouth, his feet glowed green with Jiu's magic. Her hands lit up green as she controlled him with a smirk. She walked him around in circle just to show she could. Feathry glared at her. "That is an invasion of personal space."
"Ready?" She raised three fingers in the air.
Gladstone rubbed his arms, looking down. "I'm really sorry about this, Cous. I didn't mean to put you and the rest of the fam in danger."
"Set?"
Feathry sighed. "Hey, it's fine. Just… don't lose!"
"Go!" Jiu snapped her fingers and set Feathry running down the track. Gladdy tried to keep up. It wasn't long before the card made path split into two. Feathry went to the left while Gladdy turned right.
Gladdy's heart pounded, the sound of his feet thumping on the track pounding in his ears. He saw a gap coming up ahead. He slid to a stop and looked over the edge. His eyes widened. The cards had been turned on their thin side, creating a zig zagged bridge across. He tilted his head at it. How was he supposed to get across this? He glanced down. "Well, the worst that could happen was to fall into nothingness. Neat."
He shook himself and took in a deep breath. He could do this. Just focus.
Biting his lip, he awkwardly put his foot out to reach the first card. He tried to balance on it unsuccessfully, an fell forward to the next card. Sticking out his arms, he caught himself before he could fall. He let out a sigh of relief.
His relief was short lived when he heard the gurgle of water.
…
Feathry's eyes widened at the lines of water spraying in an x shape in front of him. Without his control, his feet kept moving forward, and quickly. He tried as hard as he could to stop, but Jiu's magic was too powerful. If he couldn't stop from walking into the water, maybe he could duck underneath. He yelped, his back in his pain as he limboed under it.
He stood up straight once he had passed it.
Jiu snickered above him. "What was that?"
"I have aquaphobia, jerk," he snapped.
She smirked and snapped her fingers. "Maybe you'll like this better." Before his eyes, water changed into lava. Feathry definitely didn't like this better.
Rows of card walls stood in font of him, blocking his path. Conveniently, the lava burned between the walls, allowing him to pass. The heat burned his feet as he passed, but he couldn't stop. He eyed her suspiciously. He mumbled under his breath. "Cheater."
…
Gladdy let out a scream, running from a trail of lava following him. He jumped from the thin line of cards track to the main path. He sped as quick as he could, but the spouts of lava were faster. One almost singed his tail feathers, causing him to pick up the pace. In the process he tripped and rolled forward. Right off the path.
He saw a track lower down and aimed for it. He braced for impact, the lava still coming after him. His body tensed with he feeling of falling. The heat of the lava was starting to get to him. He landed halfway on the platform. He scrambled to get his legs up before the lava could get him.
Within a split second of a lava pillar shooting up, he just barely made it on. He jumped to his feet, grinning. "Hah! Take that, lava!" He fist pumped the air. His celebration was cut short when a small drop of lava landed at his feet. He jumped back. "Right. Remember your shark mantra. 'Don't stop swimming or you'll die.'"
Gladdy soon found that the tracks merged again and Feathry met up with him.
Feathry flashed him a smile. "Nice job, Gladdy. I'm surprised you made it this far!"
He stumbled a bit, caused by Jiu. She glared down at them. "Quit complimenting him!"
Gladdy and Feathry exchanged a nod and continued the race. Even without the help of Jiu, Feathry was faster than Gladdy. He found himself falling behind. He took steady breaths, trying to focus.
He was stopped in his tracks by a tiger jumping out of nowhere. He yelped, testing up. He couldn't help but notice it had a green color pallet, just like everything else here. "It's Sir Hubert the second!" Huey called from above. "Aw, who loves their papa?"
Gladdy turned his attention back to the tiger. It growled at him, prowling forward. He raised his hands defensively, stepping back. "Good kitty, kitty, kitty."
The tiger's striped formed into strange blades. The feline dissolved entirely and the stripes shot forward, directly at Gladdy. He started running the other way. One flew above his head, nearly grazing his feathers. He ducked, hoping to ovoid any other stray blades.
It wasn't long until he found himself backed against a wall. He frowned. "Aw, phooey." He shut his eyes, bracing for impact. There was the sharp thin of the blades hitting the card.
He peeked an eye open, surprised that none hit him. He tried to step forward, only to realize one had pinned his sleeve to the wall. He frowned, trying to pull away. He looked up to see Feathry was almost at the finish line.
Gladdy turned back to the sleeve and yanked at it unsuccessfully. A stripe from above him dislodged and somehow fell back into the wall, pinning his sleeve down also. Gladdy stared at his sleeve with a deadpan expression. "Really, ML? That's not even how physics work." He sighed.
Sinking to the floor, his arm was held up. He pulled his knees closer. "The universe really doesn't want me to win this one. What's the point?" He frowned, staring at his feet.
"Come on, Gladstone!" Gladdy looked up to see Dewey cheering him on. "You can't give up now! We're all depending on you!" They exchanged a smile. "Why quit when you're so close! You've got this!" Gladdy liked this kid. He reminded him of himself when he was younger. "Also, if you lose, we all have to be prisoners, so please don't lose." Yep, definitely his younger self.
Gladdy stood up with new found strength. He looked determinedly at his sleeve. After think it over a moment, he decided he could always buy a new shirt.With his beak, he tore off the sleeve. He shook out his arm, finally free. He saw Feathry moments away from the finish line.
"Hey, Gladds? You may wanna hurry up!" he called back.
Gladdy frowned, knowing he couldn't win with Jiu still controlling his cousin. He bit down on his knuckle, thinking. Ding! He grabbed the ripped epic of his shirt and rolled it up into a little ball of fabric. He would back, and he chucked it directly at Jiu's face.
She yelped, losing control of Feathry. He stopped in his tracks. Gladdy called as he ran, "Feaths, run back as far as you can to give me a head start!"
"Got it!" Feathry spun around and ran in the other direction. Gladdy fought his way over a few walls, knowing his time would be short. When he and his cousin reached a midpoint, they high fived.
Jiu shook herself and took over Feathry's legs again. But Gladdy already had a good enough lead on him. He left forward and crossed the finish line.
"Wooh! Go Gladdy!" Webby cheered, bouncing up and down on the platform.
Jiu stared with eyes wide. "What! No! He was supposed to lose!"
Feathry gained control of himself again and moved to stand next to his cousin. He put his arm over Gladdy's shoulder. "Warned you not to mess with us," he said smirking.
Jiu glared at them. "No!"
The ground beneath them shook as it all began to transform again. The space transformed back into the apartment complex. The cards with trapped people shifted back into the habitants. The platform the kids were on lowered back into the ground and they ran to congratulate the cousins.
Jiu's fur glowed a faint green and she started to phase away. She glared at the family, disappearing in a green fire. "Fine. Take him. He's nothing but bad luck anyway."
Feathry pulled Gladdy closer. "Excuse me, that's the man who beat you you're talking about. Goodbye, Jiu Weihu."
She finally vanished in the flames, and the building around them shook. It also faded away in green fire. It surprisingly wasn't hot.
So now, the family, along with a bunch of random people, were standing in an empty lot.
Gladdy pointed finger guns at Dewey. "Thanks for the speech, Dewdrop." Dewey smiled up at him as the older ruffled his hair. "I was definitely not expecting to win that, what with how the day was going. And thanks for your help to, Feaths."
"I'd compete in a life threatening race with you any day," Feathry said, grinning smugly.
Gladdy rubbed the back of hi neck, watching the sun set over the docks in the distance. "So… I have no home now. I have to go look for somewhere to sleep, so I guess you guys will be on your way and-"
"Gladdy, what are you talking about?"
"What?"
"Well, I've got a bajillion spare rooms back at the mansion. You expect me not to use them?"
"You mean…"
Feathry nudged at Gladdy. "Hey, Gladds, you want to move into my totally amazing mansion?"
Gladdy grinned. "For real?!"
Feathry nodded. Gladdy caught him in a tight hug. "Yes! Thank you! You will not regret it! Thank you!" They separated and Gladdy ruffled his younger cousin's hair.
A limo rolled up to the curb. The driver window rolled down to reveal Launchpad. He was wearing a pair of black sunglasses. "Hey Mr. Duck. You guys done here?"
Huey titled his head curiously. "Launchpad? What happened to you?"
"I was in St. Canard. A thousand times cooler than Dorkburg." He grinned, showing off the sunglasses.
Feathry rolled his eyes. "LP, you kidder. Come on, let's head home."
…
It had been well after the sun had gone down. A crisp wind blew by, sending a chill down Lena's spine. She shivered, pulling her sweater tighter. She folded her arms, walking down the sidewalk. All in one day, she had made a friend, been turned into a card, been turned back into herself, and lost her home.
She sighed, the sound of clashing waves filling her ears. That meant she was close. She would need somewhere else to stay now. And she knew where. Back at the abandoned amphitheater, where she had lived before her aunt had found the apartment.
The thought of her aunt made her pull out the blue necklace from her pocket. She rubbed her palm over it, watching it shine. She smiled a bit and crossed the sidewalk onto the sand of the beach.
Lena soon found herself at the amphitheater. He sneakers made a clopping sound as she walked along the concrete. Her eyes scanned over the ground. She found a small outlined rectangle in the wooden boards at the edge. She walked over and stomped her foot on it. It opened up into the floor. She slid down a ladder and found herself in an open space, begin enough for one person.
She closed the hatch behind her and let out a breath. Finally alone.
She stared at the necklace a moment before holding it out in front of her.
"Summon shadows, and do not stall." Her voice echoed softly in the room. The necklace began to glow purple.
"Show thyself before this wall." Loose papers and dust flew up around her. She planted her feet firmly, remembering the spell.
"Free they dread soul from its prison." She stared up at the wall, her grip on the amulet tightening.
"Once more shall thee be risen!" Lena's shadow extended, forming a woman with a curvy figure and glowing red eyes.
The shadow smiled at her.
"Aunt Magica," Lena spoke. "We have a problem."
The shadow tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?"
Lena sat cross legged on the floor, wrapping her hair around her finger. "Well, turns out our landlord was an evil spirit who feeds on magic." Lena gave her aunt a sideways look. "I find that weird that you didn't sense it before. Unless…"
Magica crossed her arms. "What are you implying?"
"You knew about her, didn't you? When we moved in. She's been feeding off my magic and you knew it." Lena glared.
"I have no clue what you're talking about," Magica said. "Don't be ridiculous. I only want what's best for you."
"Yeah yeah, I'm on to you." Lena pat her knees bored. She glanced around the room. "I guess we're staying here then."
"Then his is goodnight?"
"Wait." Lena hesitated before going on. "I met someone today…"
"Oh good. Who?"
She bit her lip. "Feathry Duck."
Hope you enjoyed this episode! The next one is The Rainbow Lagoon of Pearl Agony Plains! I'm really excited for that one! Thanks for the support!