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FICTION

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Chapter 4 – Adventuring of the Atlantic Kind (Webby)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

Webbigail 'Webby' Vanderquack had waited for an opportunity like this for years now. A little girl that had been nurtured on knowledge tying one of the greatest adventurers in the world to the very man that her grandmother had worked for even before she had been around... and she was finally there, going to enjoy an amazing trip to unfold the secrets of Atlantis. The entire idea had her vibrating in excitement as Webby finally got her chance to shine, but also see the glamour of uncovering the remains of an old civilization.

Of course, she wasn't alone on this trip. Scrooge McDuck was in charge of the expedition, giving second responsibility to an individual that had gained her interest due to how unique and unusual he was in the entire equation presented by Scrooge's own grandchildren being the catalyst for this peculiar situation. John Bukharin, not a name she ever heard until just recently and definitely not affiliated for long to the Duck branch of the family. Still, in her mind, this presented a fascinating addition because of his ties to both Donald Duck and the triplets. Webby was… no social expert, but she was quite good in studying social situations from afar, as a spectator. And she could clearly see what was the role of the 'human' within the ecosystem introduced by the three boys.

A foil, or a partial one at best, that acted as a deterrent from the excessive elements tied up to the flaws of the girl's newest friends and prevented most issues from arising due to these matters without being too harsh about it. Sure, Dewey was quick to call the young man a 'fun-ruiner', but it was clear that the insult wasn't meant nor received to be taken seriously. Huey was stopped from trying to hand out the 'adventure shirts' he somehow got for the occasion despite the fact it was clear Scrooge was plotting the best course for their destination through the copy of the old map they were going to use to reach the ruins they were after. The old Duck mentioned that they needed to be careful, else they could end up facing trouble due to the obstacles between them and the temple they were trying to reach through the submarine Scrooge had got for the occasion. Launchpad was driving the vehicle, somehow. Despite having spent years at the McDuck Manor, this was the first time ever Webby saw the generally silly tall duck handle a vehicle that wasn't a car.

Had she missed something? Perhaps she could ask for more info on the matter from her granny and-

It was there that the girl realized something she had ignored up until now. She forgot to alert her grandmother that she had joined the group for this first adventure. Her heart felt as if it leapt into her throat, a hint of dread urging her to find a solution to this problem quickly. Her granny wasn't going to be angry at her, at least not as much as many other parents would in the same situation, but she would definitely worry. And it would be Webby's fault at that point. In a moment of nervousness, the girl gauged her options. Either keep quiet about it, or to ask someone for help in this awkward predicament. Asking Scrooge was already crossed out as the old adventurer had no reason to cover for her. The triplets? Maybe Louie could provide her with an alibi. He seemed capable of creating one in the immediate moment, just like he did when Scrooge passed him the phone to talk with his 'Uncle Donald'. Then again… she wasn't sure how much her grandmother would accept as acceptable from someone already proven to be a troublemaker. But perhaps there was still someone she could ask.

"John?" Her voice squeaked as she approached the man while he was busy with some matters that had just happened.

The human paused from his stern glance at Dewey as he had just stopped the boy from trying to get hold of the map and alter the course. Despite how that could have brought more 'excitement' there was no way to say that the monsters already reported by the paper hadn't reproduced and increased their numbers in the local marine fauna. Attempting that risky move would have definitely made the adventure more dangerous than needed. Sure, risky is funny when one is prepared to live through it. But when it was sudden and too dangerous? Webby was a practitioner of common sense. Sometimes. Still, not the main element of her interruption.

"Yes Webby?"

"Can you… Can you please talk with my Grandma? I forgot to tell her we were going on an adventure and… IkindOfDon'tWantToHaveHerWorryAboutIt!"

The last part was delivered so fast that the man's face told her he only understood roughly half of what she said, but he still took hold of the phone that she presented him, the same one that Scrooge had given Louie to speak with Donald since it was the only device that worked this deep underwater, and he offered a friendly smile back at her.

"I suppose you don't want her to worry much about what we're doing... and yeah, I can see why that could be difficult to handle."

"Really?" She asked while tilting her head to the side to show her interest and confusion. Humans were this close to them? Then again, it would explain why John's only difference compared to them, at least in societal terms, was his unique appearance. And that's all.

"When I was around your age, I wasn't the best at keeping track of calling my mom to tell her when I was out with friends. So, it became quite awkward to always end up going back home to her worried sick and appearing quite… angry."

She nodded, the girl could actually see the relationship and… John was soon making the call after she gave him the correct number. The moments before the old woman picked up felt tense for the duckling, but much to her surprise, the rest went by like a breeze. The human was smooth with his explanation as to why he was calling her, the main theme of the explanation and vouching that things would be fine and that 'the kids would be kept away from any majorly dangerous issues'. It didn't seem to completely gain the approval of the girl's grandmother, but she knew Grandma accepted the situation after promising to pay him a visit in case he betrayed that promise. Not unusual for Webby to hear, but she could tell the human was caught off-guard by how far her grandmother was willing to go against him in case he messed up big time. And that extended to Scrooge himself. But other than that, the girl couldn't help but focus on one part that left her amazed from that conversation. Something that Louie quickly pointed out as he had listened to as much of the call as she did.

"You didn't lie to her... and yet she isn't angry?" The green-shirt-wearing boy inquired with some surprise. "How?"

"You can still speak the truth without being too blunt about it. It's all a matter of wording what you say correctly."

"But… how?"

"By stop being a quick liar, lad?" Scrooge's intervention got Louie to jump as the boy frowned at the comment before replying to that semi-question.

"Still-"

"If ye don't want to be honest, then ye wouldn't ever be believed by anyone, Louie."

"And that doesn't sound much… it would get bad fast."

Louie ultimately nodded, thinking about something either crafty or deep. So a prank or some philosophical thought to implement upon himself. Nothing really in the immediate time frame, but Webby had other thoughts to think about. Now that the phone had been given back to her, the girl finally analyzed a topic she had kept particularly neutral about. What did John mean to her when it came to adventures? A normal responsible adult? Someone to talk to? The answer to all these questions had yet to come to her. Instead of wasting time brainstorming this matter, Webby ultimately decided to do the best thing she could think of at that moment and get back to the rest of the kids. Dewey was set for this adventure, with Huey being the most gung-ho for the sake of entertainment and curiosity while the 'token evil Triplet' merely nodded it off while muttering to himself something about… 'money'?

After spending some time chatting with the trio, John was quick to give them some spare pillows he found laying around and give them his explanation about it.

"We got roughly sixteen hours of waiting before we get there."

"Shanty time?" Huey offered.

"I doubt you want to hear that for more than two hours normally, Huey. I doubt anyone wants to hear those for that long," The human rebuked, gaining a pout but also an accepting sight as they all took a seat by the surprisingly comfy chairs and took a 'little' nap until they were there. 'Surprisingly enough', the trip proved to be shorter than the predicted time frame. Dewey had moved to where both Scrooge and Launchpad were while the rest had been sleeping for the rest of the trip. With John keeping track of the rest of the children since he trusted Scrooge to not let his grandnephew to cause much trouble. The situation that ensued in a nutshell? Dewey got the chance to alter the direction of the path to take to a straight line that aimed directly through all the known monsters within the document while the old duck was busy keeping Launchpad awake after two hours of relative calm had gone by. In the end they couldn't stay asleep, not when they ended up facing multiple situations involving mermen, electric sea-monsters and other creatures harbored within the general sea area they were traveling in. They also took a small pause since Huey had to go to the bathroom but the one in the Sub was… 'clogged by Mermen'.

After making a quick use of one of the bathrooms from a nearby unoccupied tanker which totally didn't scream anything suspicious to them, they finally arrived at their destination. Webby had only read books about Atlantis as the long-thought fantasy civilization had always been the center point of mystical ruins and old cultures that were either created as fiction to elevate the supernatural level or were actual 'graveyards of old traditions'. The temple was upside down due to it having fallen from the surface and doing a full 180° flip before it landed. Which meant that most of the traps were working perfectly as shown by the rotating saw blades that activated… on the 'ceiling'. But while that reduced the odds of harm coming their way, they still ended up experiencing quite the troubling circumstances now that they were seeking the greatest treasure within the temple, the gem that was supposedly one-of-a-kind in the entire world. It had to be recovered for this adventure to feel complete. It was there that Webby felt the excitement, but also the fright, associated with a true adventure. The first of many issues was a trap regarding snakes putting Launchpad out of commission. The snakes weren't poisonous, but the tall duck was far from conscious and capable of moving on his own, forcing John to hold onto the fellow man and help reduce their pace for a while.

This development… stung at Dewey's sense of adventure, like the upside down rotating saw blades did. He wanted to go faster, he wanted to feel the cool breeze of danger coming close to him. And he sure got a close call when he dodged a blast of fire coming from the lower floors just in time as he had finished crossing the bridge with his granduncle, and destroyed the bridge he was moving through with Scrooge. The group split due to this... and the children looked up at John as soon as Scrooge was done telling them to find another way to meet up where the two were going. Sighing, the human started giving orders on how to progress onwards. While the place looked to have been built to be quite one-sided when it came to the initial planning for this temple, that didn't mean that cracks and broken walls didn't allow for some adventurous maneuvering through the entire section of the area until they arrived at the treasure room. Or at least, a section near to it considering the lacking amount of golden coins surrounding them and the general lack of the crystal they were after. The very crystal that was currently being held by someone Webby knew by reputation and picture. Flintheart Glomgold, he had recruited three thugs to cover for him while he ran back at the vehicle they used to get inside the ruins. The trio was armed with blades, but didn't seem like much. Not when a sobered-up Launchpad, two of the triplets, her and John were around to stop them for good. The fight didn't even last a minute as the trio was easily overwhelmed and beaten by their combined force.

Cue a quick run back to the submarine and getting everyone, even Glomgold's former grunts out of the ruins and back to Ducksburg. The return was… exhilarating. Yes, Webby now could see the full extent of the fun tied to adventures. It was so thrilling, to see mysterious new places, face issues and puzzles- maybe even fight some of the classic villains too. She was smiling happily as she disembarked from the sub while Scrooge handed out Glomgold his defeat for trying to outsmart the Duck Family. By the end of that adventure, the young girl that was Webbigail 'Webby' Vanderquack felt like she got what she wanted… Yet it brought up more questions. Questions tied up to a certain human and a general sense of curiosity to dig more into the full extent of their relatable factor. She couldn't help but feel this… sensation, this need, to know more about the man.

'Who was John Bukharin?' Webby quietly wondered to herself while drawing them both in the newest page of her diary, right at the bottom section after she was done narrating her interesting day.

AN

Interactions of the Curious Kind.

Next time, John's POV about his current life situation!

REVIEW Q&A!

Spawn Spider: Fluff is the term used by authors/writers to highlight a main theme in a story which cover hugs, cuddles, nice interactions generally all those thing that makes the reader feel 'fluffy' and 'possibly hit by weaponized cuteness'. It's usually the opposite of Lewd/Lemons.

Coldblue2015: There will be a particular circumstance which will make John something else other than human. Of course, caused by one of the usual shenanigans. Or plotted attacks against him in particular.

Pa1110:
1) I will use the Ducktales 2017 as the main timeline, but also bring up things that are only available to the comics, like Scrooge's backstory and a particular aspect of the show that was never answered due to how 'too much' it would be against Scrooge's own character. No bash, but Scrooge messed up at a certain point of his life;
2) He will try, but with caution. He had seen what happened to Peter Griffin when he tried to pull that stunt.