A video image flashed on the projector. A calm, soothing voiceover came on as the logo for Glomgold Industries appeared. "Welcome to the Glomgold Industries Second Chance program. We know it's hard to get a job if you have a criminal record. That's why we believe in second chances and providing work for people who have been in jail. And that's just one of the many charities we provide here at Glomgold Industries with our founder, Flintheart Glomgold. Here, our employees are the greatest treasure of all."
Donald rolled eyes at the cheesy line. The lights in the room turned on and the projector screen rolled up. A short, roundish duck stepped forward. Glomgold. Donald glanced at the other ex-convicts in the room. He couldn't believe that people actually bought this malarkey.
"Thank you to everyone who joined the Second Chance program," Glomgold greeted with a smile. "Now, as the richest duck in the world, I decided to put my money to use and bail a select few out of jail and hire you." He rested his hands on his cane, being and older duck. Then he passed out some small cards to everyone with names. "These are name tags and they will also give you a discount on medical expenses in case of emergency. Here we have Gabby McStaberson, Hack and Slash Smashnokov, and Donald Duck."
Donald took the name tag. In truth he didn't really want to be here. Currently they were in the middle of the ocean on a large boat. He was never really a fan of water. Or boats.
"Remind me what we're doing again?" Donald asked, raising his hand.
"I'm glad you asked. I've discovered that there's an opening to Atlantis and that it holds a very powerful gem. A gem that could power the city and give a clean energy source for years, maybe even centuries. So, you guys can help me find it as your first step to redemption," Glomgold said.
"Oh goodie," Donald said sarcastically.
"But we have to hurry. I heard rumor that Feathry Duck, my rival, will try to get it first. But he only wants it to up his status and popularity," Glomgold added.
Donald grumbled under his breath about his cousin. Feathry had the boys right now, and Donald knew only trouble would come from that. If he found out he abused them, Donald might never get them back. Plus, he still had to teach those kids a lesson. He just knew one of them had ratted him out to the cops.
Glomgold made a few more announcements to the group, drawing Donald's attention. "Alright, there's a salad bar out on the deck if you want anything, and we'll meet back here before we reach the shore. Break." And with that, the old duck walked off.
Donald moved towards a phone mounted on the wall. He quickly dialed the number and waited.
"This is Feathry Duck," a voice answered.
...
Feathry held the phone up to his ear. "Who's this?"
"Your cousin."
Feathry's tone dropped. "Oh. Hey, Don."
"You've got the boys right? Where are you?" Donald asked on the other end.
"Like I'm just going to tell you," Feathry said, putting a hand on his hip. Just then, Huey poked his head out of the submarine. Yes, they were also in the middle of the ocean in a yellow submarine.
"Hoist the main sail! Turn starboard! Uh... Other boat words to Atlantis!" the red triplet shouted, sporting his hat on backwards. "DIVE, DIVE, DIVE!" He punctuated his statement with a whooping sound, pumping his fists in the air.
Feathry's eyes widened, and the sub began to descend. "Wait, no, Launchpad! The hatch isn't closed yet!" Huey continued jumping up and down excited and Feathry noticed his feathers were on fire. He put them out with his hand and hurriedly moved to close the hatch. A good amount of water still got inside, soaking the two.
Fethry hopped from foot to foot, idly trying not to step in the water. "Ew ew, wet wet wet!"
Huey shook himself, splashing some water.
"Don't do that! And why were you on fire!" Feathry panicked.
Huey put on a wide, cheeky grin. "Because I'm a hottie." Then he ran off, splashing in the little bits of water.
Feathry just rolled his eyes with a smirk and continued down the ladder. Once he was two or three rungs away from the bottom, he hopped down. "Hello? Hello?" Donald pressed. By this point, he had completely forgotten about his phone. He pulled it up to his ear again.
"Donald, hey, what do you want? I'm trying to watch the kids YOU abandoned," he remarked.
He heard Donald grunt on the other end. "Excuse me? I never asked to be a parent. Why don't you tell that to Dells?" he said. Then he sighed. "Just let me talk to Louie."
"Heck no," Feathry said, walking through the sub.
"I'm still their legal guardian and I demand to speak to Louie," Donald said.
Feathry balled his fists, eyes wandering to the duckling in blue (that was Louie, right?). The boy was helping Webby pump water out of the sub. "I- Just- ugh! Alright fine!" Feathry said, realizing he was defeated. He put out the phone to the blue triplet. "Talk to your uncle."
...
Dewey fumbled with the phone for a bit before answering. "Hello? Uncle Donald? What do you want?" he asked. Webby watched the conversation.
"Dewey? Can I talk to Louie?"
"Louie's in the other room, but anything you can say to him you can say to me."
He heard his uncle sigh on the other end. "Alright fine. I heard you're going to Atlantis. Isn't that dangerous?"
Dewey ran a hand through his hair nervously. To be honest, he had been worried about the danger, but he wouldn't admit it. "Um... I guess it could possibly be dangerous. But since when do you care?"
"Just looking out for the runt of the family. Don't want anything bad to happen to you kids."
Donald often called Dewey the runt, but he always thought it was stupid, since he wasn't even the youngest. If anyone was the runt, it'd be Huey. The thought crossed Dewey's mind that his brother had been dropped as an egg, but he quickly dismissed it. "Wait a minute, I see what you're doing. Stop it."
"Doing what?"
"Using me!" This was the most Dewey had ever talked back to Donald, and it gave him a somewhat sense of empowerment.
"Dewey-"
"Yeah, you know what? I'm going to hang up."
Dewey frowned and pressed the end call button before Donald could protest. A chill went up his spine just thinking about what he'd just done. He'd hung up on his uncle. AndDOnald couldn't do anything about it. It was a scary thought. But he was also proud.
Webby tilted her head. "What was that all about?"
"Well, he asked if we were going to Atlantis, and he said that was dangerous, and he was just fishing for information to find an excuse to show Feathry as not being capable of watching children," he said, shoving the phone in his coat pocket.
Webby looked down. "Oh. Well I think Feathry is capable of watching children. He's taken care of me so far," she said, smiling.
"Doesn't matter what you and I think," he said, leaning on the pump. "It's what Donald can convince others to think. Just the slightest thing and Feathry can be deemed 'unworthy' or whatever," he said, sadly. He frowned, wishing with all his heart he wouldn't be sent back to Donald. He'd been living with Feathry for just over a week now, but it was already the best home he'd ever had.
She tried to make lighter conversation. "So, what was life like with Donald, anyway?" She failed.
The question caught Dewey off guard and he awkwardly shrugged. "Um..." Chills went up his spine as he reminisced the beatings. He shuddered. "Bad," was all he could say.
"Sorry," Webby said, fiddling with her hair.
He smiled sadly. Something about her made him want to pour out all the pain and just tell her the truth. He blew his feathers out of his face. "It's alright. I don't think I would've made it without my brothers." He glanced towards the main part of the sub, where he could see his brothers having a water fight. Feathry began to reprimand them after they kept splashing him. Dewey chuckled to himself.
"So you kinda depend on them?"
He blinked. Depend? That made him sound weak. "Well... I mean, I can take care of myself, they just make things better." He wasn't entirely sure he could survive a day on his own, but whatever.
"So Louie's like the leader, Huey makes you guys smile and you..." Please say the brave one. Please say the brave one. "Make sure no one does anything to hurt themselves." Webby smiled innocently, unaware of what Dewey was thinking.
"What! No, I can be risky! I do things!" He threw his hands in the air, letting the pump slip. He quickly caught his side before it could cause any problems.
She tilted her head. "Dewey, you made us walk to the docs because you said it would be safer than driving in a car."
"I've never been in one of those things! How can I trust it! For all I know it could eat children!"
...
Up in the front of the submarine, Feathry talked with Launchpad. "So, have you ever piloted a sub before," he wondered, leaning back in a seat.
Launchpad shrugged. "Eh, can't be too hard, can it?" he said.
Feathry leaned his head on his palm on a small desk in the cockpit. "I guess. I don't know, I've never piloted one either."
"ROAD TRIP!" Huey shouted, jumping between the two. Launchpad flinched from surprise. "I. Love. Road trips!" he cried. He began pacing in circles energetically.
"Have you ever been on a road trip?" Feathry asked, smiling at the boy's enthusiasm. To Launchpad it was like a headache being around that kid.
The red triplet shook his head. "Absolutely not. But if I've learned anything from tv, road trips are amazing. Something always goes wrong that send the family on some wild adventure!" he said, pumping his fists in the air. "Maybe we'll get a flat tire!"
"We're in a submarine."
"Or run out of gas!"
"We filled the tank before we left and stocked up on gas cans."
"Or forget somebody on shore! Let's see..." Huey counted everybody on his fingers. "Feathry, Launchpad, Louie, Webby..." He held up seven fingers and gasped. "Oh my gosh! We forgot Dewey and me!"
Launchpad held in a laugh, not wanting his boss to hear.
"Um Huey," Dewey said, standing behind him. "I'm right here and you're... you." His voice was just loud enough to be heard. Each one of these kids were annoying in their own way, weren't they?
"Oh, thanks," Huey said, letting out a sigh of relief. He patted himself down just to be sure. Launchpad rolled his eyes.
Dewey pulled a piece of paper from behind his back. "To distract myself from worrying about every possible thing that could go wrong on this mission, I've put together a travel itinerary." He was about to hand the paper to Launchpad when Huey took it and ripped it up. At least this red kid did one good thing.
"Boo!" the youngest triplet cried.
"But-"
"Boring! There are no plans in an adventure!" Huey continued. Dewey frowned.
"Besides, kids, I don't think there will be much time for any of that," Feathry put in.
"Yeah, we'll be too busy screaming in terror at all the random monsters we're going to face!" Huey said, holding up his hands like monster claws.
"M-monsters?" Dewey stuttered, tucking in his tail.
"Oh, yeah, loads of them," Launchpad commented. "They'll rip apart your flesh and tear out your soul and destroy everything you know and love." Maybe this was fun.
Dewey glared at the pilot. "Cut it out!" he said, though very obviously trembling.
Feathry waved his hand. "No, there won't be any in monsters in Atlantis. At least, I don't think so. Unless you count that Glomgold. Always giving to charity and stuff." He rolled his eyes.
None of this was helping the boy, as he just looked more frightening.
"So, if we did face monsters, could I be in charge of defenses?" Huey asked. Before Feathry could answer, Louie cut in.
"I'm oldest, I would be in charge."
Huey let his arms sag and sent a look at his brother. "No fair! You always get to be in charge!"
"Exactly, because I'm oldest," Louie said, holding his beak in the air.
"You guys, this sub isn't even equipped with defenses," Feathry put in.
"Wish I was the oldest," Huey grumbled, crossing his arms.
Huey and Louie frowned, Dewey standing in between them. "But you know what it is equipped with?" Dewey said grinning. How come Launchpad had a hunch what he was about to say?
...
"Seatbelts!" Dewey said, smiling. Now all the kids were strapped in the back, waiting to arrive at their destination. "I love seatbelts!" He lugged to himself giddily. He was like a kid on Christmas morning.
Huey rolled his eyes, holding the toaster on his lap. "Good thing I brought Bready, or I might've died from boredom!" He shouted that last part at his brother. Dewey ignored him. They would thank him for the safety later.
Feathry looked over the kids, making sure they were all buckled. "Remember kids, safety first or whatever," he said, then walked off to go sketch out a map.
"Wait, aren't we going to a boobytrapped city just for fame?" Louie pointed out from the back, but everyone ignored him.
"Cousin Feathry and I are so alike! He said 'safety first' and that's in my top ten favorite sayings list," Dewey said to Huey. Then the blue triplet remembered what Webby had said. "Uh, I mean, next to 'Take risks', of course." His cheeks burned red, stealing a look at Webby to see if she noticed.
The red triplet raised an eyebrow, staring down at Bready. "You have ten favorite sayings? Also, I have never heard you say 'Take risks'."
Dewey waved off his comment. "Do you think I'll ever be as famous as Feathry? I mean, we have such a great relationship, I'm sure I'm already a tiny bit famous by association."
Huey shrugged, fiddling with the toaster button. "I don't think he even knows our names," he said.
"What?"
"Yeah, I think he called me Herbert earlier," he said.
Dewey shook his head and glanced back at Feathry. "That's nonsense. Watch." He spoke extra loud. "Hey, Feathry, when are we going to set off, Feathry?" He made sure to enunciate his name.
Feathry just kept his eyes locked on the map. "In just a sec, little Donald," he said.
Dewey frowned and blew his hairs out of his face. "Told you," Huey said.
"Yeah, whatever. He knows my name. He's just trying to unlearn the habit of calling us that horrible nickname," Dewey shuddered.
"Whatever you say, Dew."
Fethry got up and handed the map to Launchpad. The path had red marks labeling places that were too dangerous to travel. That made Dewey smile.
"Now, to Atlantis!" Fethry said, turning to the kids. They cheered. "In 16 hours!" the adult added. The ducklings sunk in their chairs.
"Whoo! Safety!" Dewey said alone, earning a stare from everybody. His face turned red and he sat back down. "I- I thought everyone would cheer with me," he muttered, clearly embarrassed.
...
The trip was long and boring, making Huey and Webby whine the whole time. Louie and Fethry tuned them out and chatted, while on the other hand, Huey and Webby's complaining was driving Launchpad insane. Dewey found it hard to get comfortable in his chair and rearranged himself several times. But eventually, all the kids fell asleep.
At one point, Dewey woke up to see everyone except the pilot sleeping. He got up from his chair to stretch his legs. Walking over to the front, he decided to make light conversation with Launchpad.
"So, where are we on the map so far?" he asked, picking it up.
"There."
"Where?"
Launchpad put his forefinger on Dewey's shirt, then flicked the boy's beak. Dewey stumbled backwards while Launchpad snickered.
Dewey laughed timidly. "Heh, good one," he said quietly. His voice always got quiet when he was worried or scared. And being Dewey, that was often. He took a deep breath. Stand up for yourself. "Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot the other day in the plane, but maybe we could be friends?" he asked, putting out his hand.
Launchpad didn't make eye contact and kept driving the sub. "Me? Friends with a loser like you? Nah, not a fan of children," he said with a slight laugh.
Dewey stiffened, the conversation getting awkward now. "O-okay. Um... what are those blinking lights?" He pointed to three green dots on the radar.
Launchpad squinted at it. "Oh no."
"Oh no what?"
"Oh no there are a bunch of mermaids heading straight towards us," he explained.
Dewey's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Mermaids? Like nice ones or the ones in movies Louie won't let us watch?" Mermaids are nice. At least, that's what he told himself.
"Probably the second one," Launchpad said, flipping a few switches on the sub.
Dewey tucked his tail. "But the map was supposed to lead us AWAY from danger!" he yelped.
"This stupid conversation probably distracted us off course," Launchpad remarked.
Before Dewey could say something, the submarines alarms went off. Everybody woke up and Fethry came to the front. "What's going on!" he asked.
"Dewey and I were just having friendly conversation when the radar showed mermaids heading our way," Launchpad said.
Dewey just watched the man lie to his boss' face with a gaping mouth.
"Alright, kids, get ready for a fight!" Fethry said, turning to the kids. The others rubbed sleep from their eyes, still not really knowing what was going on.
While Fethry debriefed the other kids, Launchpad turned to Dewey, stinking out his tongue. Dewey wanted to make a comment about how immature he was being, but thought better of it. He would probably be just like Donald. Only he was pretty good at getting away with it.
The submarine shook as the mermaids made their attack.
...
Louie looked for something to use as a weapon, the mermaids making their way into the sub. He finally settled for a spare pipe he had found. When he turned around, he found himself face to face with one of the sea creatures. With a scream, he hit the mermaid across the face with the pipe. He panted once it fell to the ground unconscious.
He looked up and scanned the sub over. His entire family were all occupied with their own mermaids to fight. Huey and Webby fought one together with a toaster while Feathry and Launchpad fought off a couple together. Louie's attention was drawn by a yelp from Dewey. He was being cornered by a creature, drool dripping from it's razor teeth. Dewey pressed his back against the wall, whimpering. Unlike Louie and the others, he didn't have something to defend himself with.
Louie ran for the mermaid and hit it as hard as he could with the pipe. It was knocked back and glared at Louie. With it distracted, Dewey attempted a kick. But the creature caught him with a scaled hand.
"Dewey!" Louie cried. He swept for the mermaid's head with the pipe and it fell back, knocked out.
The two boys breathed heavily. Louie smiled at his brother, but it was surprisingly met with a frown. "I could've done it myself, Lou," Dewey said.
Louie helped him to his feet. "Sure thing, little bro. I just want to make sure you're safe."
Dewey was quiet a moment, staring at the submarine floor. "Okay, fine." But Louie wasn't entirely convinced.
But he could ask questions later. Right now they were under attack.
...
After fighting off mermaids, the kraken, and a tsunami god, all the kids plopped down on the floor of the submarine, breathing heavily.
Fethry wiped sweat from his brow, panting. "Ugh, you kids will be the death of me," he said. He got to his feet and dusted himself off. Then he went to inspect any more damage done to the submarine.
"Dewey! Dewey will be the death of you!" Dewey called after him.
Huey raised an eyebrow at him. "Dude, why would you want that?" he asked.
"Because I just want him to address me by name," Dewey said, sitting up.
"Whatever, you do you, Dew," Huey said. Then he smiled. "Hey. Do and Dew." He nudged his brother. "Guess you'll just have to Dewey it," he chuckled.
Dewey smiled. "And, um, you can, um, Huey it...?" He attempted to make a joke with the red triplet's name. Dewey was never good at comebacks. That was more Huey's expertise.
Huey shook his head. "Doesn't really have the same ring to it."
Louie walked over and rested his arms on his brothers' heads. "Come on, Huey, don't Hue-miliate him," he snickered. The three boys laughed.
Webby stepped towards Fethry and tugged on his coat. "Fethry, I have to use the bathroom, but, um, it's a little... occupied," she said, pointing to a mermaid trying to break in through the bathroom.
Fethry gasped and kicked the mermaid back. He slammed the door and locked it, just to be safe. "Right, that won't work, but we don't really have a rest stop in the middle of the ocean." He bit his lip, looking for a solution.
"How about that random, unmarked tanker?" Louie said, pointing out the window. Outside was a large boat.
There he goes again, fixing everyone's problems. Dewey shook himself, dismissing the thought. He was used to pushing feelings down. How come with this newfound freedom it was harder?
Fethry tilted his head, staring out at the boat. "Well that's convenient."
...
Back with Donald, he sat around with the other criminals. Glomgold was making them get to know each other and talk about their lives as an exercise. Currently, they were sharing about their families.
Donald scrolled through his phone pictures. He had been partnered with Gabby. "And this is my ex wife Daisy. I still every once in a while drive by her house and throw eggs at her mailbox. It's funny how cute she looks when she's angry," he said, showing Gabby a picture of a duck in a purple dress. He swiped to the next one. "These are my pals Jose and Panchito, but they're in jail right now. Man, we were so drunk in this picture," he said with a laugh. This picture had him with a parrot and rooster.
"And this," Donald said, flipping through multiple pictures. All these ones were blurry and just the corners of feathers or an eye. "This is when I asked Huey, my nephew, to take a picture of something for me. But he accidentally ended up just taking a picture of himself," he snickered. The next image held blurs of red, blue, and green. "And then the boys started fighting over who should take the picture. Heh, they're so stupid," he said.
Gabby stared at the picture. "That's not very nice. I'm sure they were trying their best," she said.
"Yeah, well, their best sucks. Those three can't do anything right. Which is why they need me to do everything for them," he said. Then he put away his phone. "So, tell me about your family."
Gabby put a finger to her chin. "Well, my mother was always a patient woman who was kind and always taught me to be kind. I only ended up with a bad group in high school, and it broke mother's heart. I just wish I could make up for all the mistakes I've made. A few years back, I..." She kept talking but Donald zoned out. He honestly didn't care for anyone's life story.
An alarm rang overhead, making Gabby stop. Finally, Donald thought. They got up and went to go investigate the noise. Glomgold was already there at the security cameras, where they saw who had triggered the noise.
Donald's eyes widened to see Fethry on the camera screen. He stood outside a room, tapping his foot. The room door opened and out stepped a duckling dressed in a pink headband and dress. Then, out of another room a bit more down the deck, the triplets walked out. Fethry turned to leave, but Dewey ran back to wash his hands. Then rejoined the rest. Fethry ruffled the boy's hair and they walked off.
"Feathry! I'm going to kill him! And when I get my hands on those brats-" Donald started.
Glomgold held up a hand, "Ah, Donald, watch it. That attitude is not welcome here."
Donald crossed his arms and grumbled.
...
Feathry waited at the edge of the boat, helping the kids back into the sub. "Come on, kiddos, let's go before whoever owns this boats sees us," he said, waving the kids in with his hand. The ducklings climbed back in, one by one. Then Feathry joined them.
Once everyone was in the submarine, Launchpad started it up and they were off on their adventure again. Feathry sat in the back, not really wanting to interact with the children. Sure, they had saved him from that dragon and they were now helping him find this treasure, but he still didn't know how to interact with them. He didn't even know they existed until the day they'd come, and it had been so long since he had seen Della or Donald.
One of the ducklings, the blue one, walked up to him. He still hadn't exactly learned their names yet. The boy blew his hair out of his face. "Hey, little Donald, what do you want?" Feathry asked.
The boy fidgeted with his hands. "It's Dewey actually. Umm, I- I- I just wanted to say..." The boy mumbled so Feathry couldn't hear him.
Feathry rolled his eyes at how nervous the boy was. Were they even related? "What was that?"
"Thanks for taking us in. We wouldn't have anywhere else to turn if you didn't help us. I know we're asking a lot," Dewey spoke up, avoiding eye contact.
Feathry softened. "I- It's no problem." It wasn't entirely true. It's always strange inviting someone you hardly know to live with you. Even if it almost effects nothing, it's still weird.
Feathry was caught off guard when the duckling hugged him. He hesitated before hugging back. When they stopped hugging, he raised an eyebrow. "Did one of your brothers dare you to do this?"
Dewey shook his head.
"No secret motives?"
"Other than to get away from Huey's singing, I don't think so," he said.
"Come on, your brother's singing isn't THAT bad," Feathry smirked. The two ducks looked to the red triplet, who was standing in his chair, belting out in song about his toaster. Feathry was right. It wasn't that bad. It was worse.
Dewey and Feathry covered their ears at the extremely out of tune song. They exchanged a look and laughed.
"Sir, we're coming up on Atlantis," Launchpad said.
Huey stopped singing and jumped out of his chair, running to go see.
"Thank goodness, he stopped," Feathry chuckled quietly to Dewey. The boy smiled. "Come on, let's go check it out!"
They joined with the others, who all had their faces pressed against the window. Atlantis was a gorgeous temple, decorated in stone statues of water gods and goddesses. The ducklings oohed and awed at it.
"Imagine how much cooler it must look inside, with booby traps and stuff like that!" Huey said, bouncing up and down.
Louie's eyes widened and he set a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Maybe don't run into the booby traps, okay? That- that would not be good," he said, trying to calm him.
"All the treasure would be so pretty!" Webby beamed, her eyes bright. She did a twirl.
Launchpad pulled the submarine into the city. They found a small opening where air had been trapped inside, and got out there. The kids and Launchpad swam to a ledge on the temple and waited for Feathry.
He stood on top of the sub, noticing the gap of water between the craft and the city was quite large. He gulped, eyes widening at the water. He started getting hot flashes. Having an irrational fear is worse than having a normal fear because you can't even justify it.
"Dude, just jump. You're not going to get wet and it's not that far," Louie said from the city.
Feathry nodded, more to himself than to the green duck. He readied himself to jump across, palms getting sweaty. He couldn't embarrass himself in front of children. Finally, he shut his eyes and leapt. Only, his foot slipped on the last part and he fell into the water.
He gasped, paddling at the surface. "Water! Wet! Can't swim!" he painted and yelped. Visions of drowning and choking filled his head and his heart raced. Oh gosh! Body, quit overreacting! I'm fine! I'm not dying! Telling himself that did not stop his arms from flailing about.
Louie rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand. The distance wasn't really that far. Louie pulled Feathry to shore and he plopped himself on the stone floor. He coughed and shook water from himself. "I hate water!" There was a ringing in his ears, adding to the stress and how dramatic he was being. He really hated this random fear of his.
Once he had caught his breath, he stood still a moment. He shuddered, now cold and dripping. He sat down on the floor, trying to ring out his suit. Webby planted a kiss on his forehead, probably feeling bad for him. He smiled at that.
...
"Okay, so it says here that the people of Atlantis built the city to be able to study the stars better. But the only people who came out here were astronomers, so the supports weren't very strong. The hole city fell into the sea. It says the temple of Atlantis holds many different chambers," Fethry began, pointing to the inscription in the temple wall. "Sort of like a maze. Each chamber has a different challenge and in the center of them all is the jewel of Atlantis!"
Everyone gathered around. There was a map, noting the different chambers, each one described with crude symbol. The temple was set up like a labyrinth; someone wouldn't have to go through all the chambers to get to the jewel. Only a few, depending on which route you took.
"Let's take a picture of the map, so we won't get lost," Fethry said. He stuck out his hand, waiting for someone to give him a phone.
Webby raised her hand. "Feathry, none of us own phones. What about yours?"
Fethry reached into his pocket and pulled out a wet device. He frowned, discovering it wouldn't turn on. "Dang it, mine's wet. Maybe Launchpad?" he asked hopefully.
Launchpad nodded and handed over his phone. After taking the picture, Fethry gave it back to him. "There. Now we have some sense of direction. Onward, to adventure!" He put a hand on his hip and pointed forward, heroically.
"Cousin Fethry, Huey ran in before you even took the picture," Louie pointed out.
Feathry's eyes widened. "Gosh, darn it. Boy! Come back! I'm supposed to be watching you!" Fethry called, taking off into the temple. The others followed after.
...
Meanwhile, Glomgold and his crew were just coming up on the temple ledge. He was the first to step onto land, followed by Donald and the others.
"Game plan, team. If we want to get that gem before that greedy Feathry gets it, we have to act smart. Any ideas?" Glomgold said, his stout figure standing before the group.
No one gave an answer, so finally Donald decided to take a shot at it. "We could just follow them and then steal it from under their noses," he said, without much energy into the thought.
Glomgold rested his hands on his cane. "Now, that's not exactly the idea I was looking for, as that's a little bit cheating, but that's why we brainstorm," he said, trying to encourage them.
"Dude, how do you cheat at life?" Donald asked, waving his hands. He walked next to Glomgold and turned to face the other ex-criminals. "Who are you going to listen to? This idiot, or me?"
Glomgold took a few steps back. "Now, Donald, that's not very constructive language."
"I don't care," Donald said, crossing his arms. "I'm a grown adult and I was doing perfectly fine on my own before this stupid program. Who's with me?"
The others hesitated. Glomgold spoke into a walkie-talkie. "Send security."
Just like that, two beagles came off of the boat. They stood, watching, just in case something were to happen.
"Fine, you guys follow this loser, I'm going to go get my kids. I am still their legal guardian, and I'm getting them back." Donald huffed and started to walk into the temple. But the beagles stopped him.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Duck, but the deal I made with the mayor was that criminals could only go free if they completed the second chance program. And if you quit, then you'll have to go back to your cell," Glomgold explained.
"What! That's ridiculous!" Donald shouted. But the beagles grasped his arms firmly, trying to stop any trouble. Donald pulled away from them and raised his hands. "Alright, alright. Anything's better than listening to this guy go on and on," he gave in. He frowned, the beagles ushering him back on the boat.
Halfway on the boat, in one swift movement, Donald snatched a key from a beagle. To his fortune, neither of them noticed. The duck smirked. He wouldn't be locked up for long.
...
The family walked through the city of Atlantis. It wasn't as much of a city as it was a collection of tunnels and passages. Huey was discreetly trying to trigger traps the whole time, only it wasn't so discreet. Everyone could tell he was trying to do it. Thankfully, they hadn't run into any traps yet.
Louie kept an eye on his brothers, making sure they didn't get to far or "accidentally " trigger something (looking at you Huey).
"Hey, wonder what would happen if I stepped on this tile?" Huey said, taking a step towards a brick poking out slightly from the floor. Louie sighed and face palmed.
"Huey, quit trying to set something off."
Huey put a hand on his heart dramatically. "What! Me? No! Never! Why would I want to do that?" he said in a high pitched voice.
Louie rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his hoodie, which was tied around his waist. "Besides, if you haven't activated one by now, there probably aren't any," he shrugged.
"Okay, for one, I never said I was looking for traps. And two, really? How are there no traps in this entire place? What a rip off!" Huey said, kicking at a rock dejectedly. Said rock rolled on a certain tile, which sunk into the floor under the small pressure.
Everyone stopped and Louie flinched. "Maybe I was wrong," he said.
"Yes! Death trap!" Huey cheered. Everyone glared at him.
A rock wall fell from the ceiling, all of a sudden, separating the group. Dewey and Feathry on one side, Launchpad, Huey, Louie, and Webby on the other.
...
"Guys! Are you okay!" Dewey called over, heart racing. There a moment before Louie answered.
"Yeah, we're fine. You?"
Dewey bit his lip, glancing around. "We're good, but we have to find a way back to you. We'll stay here..." He noticed Feathry start to head on. Not wanting to be alone, Dewey walked backwards with his tail tucked. "Or I guess we'll keep going...?" he told his brother. Then he spun around and ran off after his cousin.
"We'll meet them back up later," Feathry shrugged, ruffling the boy's hair.
Dewey bit his beak, worried for his brothers and Webby. It didn't help that they had ended up with Launchpad. "Sure."
They walked for a bit before coming to a wall. They stopped, examining it.
"Dead end?" Dewey wondered.
Fethry shook his head. "No, I'm not so sure..." He felt over the wall and came to a brick that was sticking out farther than the rest. He smiled and pressed it. Slowly, a small opening appeared. "Ha ha! Yes! Now, go through and find a way to open it on the other side," he said, gesturing.
Dewey stared at the opening, fiddling with his hands uneasily. It looked dark, and he would be all alone. "In there? Without even knowing what's on the other side? But what if it's dangerous?"
"Come on, kiddo, the danger is the fun part! I can't do it because I can't fit. Just go in," Fethry said. He waved his fingers at Dewey, ushering him in. He glanced at the hole uneasily.
"A-alright," Dewey stuttered, getting down on his hands and knees. He crawled under, and soon he was on the other side. It was even darker now that he was in the chamber. The only light came from the small hole he had crawled in through.
"What do you see?" Feathry called.
"It's sort of dark but I can make out some levers." He squinted, the dark levers almost visible. They were a couple yards over his head. Who knew what would happen if he pulled them.
"Great kiddo! Pull the one to let me through," Feathry said.
"That's the problem. There's more than one and they're high up." He tilted his head at them, trying to get a better view.
"Just climb to them!"
Dewey gulped, staring at a few bricks that poked out of the wall. They looked damp from water seeping in through the cracks. He would have to climb a bit of ways up, not to mention to possibility of slipping. He took in a deep breath. "But what if I pull the wrong one and it ends up crushing you or me? Or what if I fall while climbing? I-I can't do it."
Feathry's voice called from the other side. "You can do this."
"No, I can't. I can't do anything." All the doubts that had pushing him all day finally came out. "I can't do anything without Louie."
Dewey was almost sure he heard Feathry say, "Wait, that's not Louie?" There was a moment of quiet before he said, "What does this have to do with him?"
"I can't do anything right without Louie. He keeps me safe. He makes sure I don't get into trouble. Without him I just mess everything up. I can't do it by myself. I- I'm too scared." The boy's voice cracked. He tucked in his tail, eyes focused on the levers.
There was a moment of silence before his cousin spoke again. " It's okay. I get scared too. I mean, did you see when I feel into that water earlier?" He gave a light chuckle, and the memory made Dewey smile. "We're a lot more similar than you think. You don't need Louie to do anything. You can do it by yourself. Your brothers are just there to help you along."
Dewey flexed his fingers, taking in a breath and considering climbing. A half smile grew on his face. Feathry was right. He could do this. No, he could Dewey this.
"Alright, I'm gonna do it." He stepped forward, taking hold of the first ledge. He hesitated before climbing any higher. This would be just like gym class. Which you failed. He shook the thought away and kept climbing. He kept his gaze focused on the levers, determined not to look down. Before he knew it, he reached the first one. "Got it!" He called, a sense of pride welling up in him. The unfamiliar feeling felt good.
"I'm going to pull it, so... ya know... in case it's a trap, you might wanna take a step back." Dewey laughed nervously to himself. It wasn't gonna happen.
He hoped.
Once he pulled it, it was followed by the creaking of rocks. It only took Dewey a moment to realize the ceiling was sinking. "Gah! Feathry!" He yelped, almost losing his grip. His eyes widened, watching the ceiling come down. "It was a trap! The ceiling is falling and now we're all gonna die!!!" He cried frantically.
"Pft, no, we won't all die, just you."
"NOT HELPING!"
"Right, right, sorry. Um..." There was a moment of silence while Feathry thought. "Try flipping the lever back!"
Dewey did as told, but the ceiling kept sinking. Oh yeah, and now the walls were closing in too. "OH GOSH NOW IT'S WORSE!"
"Don't panic, kid! Flip the other ones!"
Dewey flipped the levers he could reach without falling. He heard a few more sounds as gears grinded and clicked in place. A small hole to the right of him opened up, releasing a multitude of spiders. Dewey froze, unable to look away from the arachnids. His eyes wide and his heart racing, he found himself so petrified he could even scream.
The most he could let out was an almost inaudible, incredibly squeaky whisper. "H-h-hey there, s-spiders..." He smiled awkwardly, trying to push down his fear.
"Kid, are you alright?"
"Everything is fine."
"What?"
"I said everything is fine."
"I can't hear you. Just this weird screeching noise."
"I SAID EVERYTHING IS FINE! EVERYTHING IS-" Dewey's shout was cut off by a spider crawling up his sleeve. He could feel it in there, it's little legs on his skin almost in a rhythm. A chill shot up his spine at the thought and he let out a yelp. His hand slipped off the went ledge, plunging him into darkness. Thankfully, he was able to catch another notch before hitting the ground with his free hand. With his other, he shoo it violently until he saw the spider fling away. With his beak he pulled his sleeve over his arm and shuddered. "I'm good! Just a bunch of spiders and I'm about to be crushed and all." He played off his fears like a joke, just so it'd be easier for him to swallow.
"Kid, just get out of there! I can't risk losing you!" Feathry actually sounded worried.
Dewey shut his eyes, blocking out all the sound. He couldn't give up now. He'd prove everything uncle Donald had ever said about him to be true. That he was weak. Scared. The runt.
"Kiddo!"
"Wait, I can do it! I can get you through!"
"Kid-"
"Trust me."
Silence passed. Then, "Alright."
Dewey ventured to open his eyes, scanning for any other levers. He frowned. The only switches were back up there, and the ceiling had already began to cover them. He started to climb down the wall, wanting to give himself the longest opportunity possible. He just had to find some way out of here. His eyes moved to the floor, frantically searching for anything useful. He noticed dots were engraved in the tiles on the floor. He examined them more, finding them familiar. With the way the dots were set up, it almost looked like...
"Hey! The ground has constellations on it!" He pointed them all out to himself, noting their placements. "They're in the right order and everything, just like a star chart. Except..." He tilted his head, spotting the Ursa Major. "This one is next to Sagittarius, not where it should be." A rumbling drew his attention back to the roof, which was now about a foot above his head. He tucked his tail, his fears returning. He glanced back down at the constellation. Maybe it was a puzzle. And one Dewey could figure out nonetheless. That made him smile a bit.
He pressed his foot down on the Ursa Major stone, and it sunk under his webbed foot. There was a sharp click and all the traps stopped. The ceiling and walls returned to their normal spot and the spider hole closed (of course the ones that had already come out still scampered around.) Dewey let out a sigh of relief, blowing his loose feathers out of his face. But they just flopped back down in his view.
The wall blocking off Feathry lifted up, along with the one parallel, and the older duck scooped up his cousin in his arms. "Dude! That was amazing!"
Dewey blushed. "Really?"
"Yeah! Also, how do you know about constellations so well?" Feathry said, setting him down.
Rubbing the back of his head, Dewey said, "Well, sometimes I would wake up from nightmares, and I didn't want to bother anyone, so I would kinda stare out the window and memorize them." He gave a short chuckle.
"That's really cool. Nice job, Bluey."
"It's Dewey, actually," the blue duckling corrected.
Feathry snapped his finger. "Right. Sorry. I'm trying to figure it out."
...
"Launchpad, I'm pretty sure we've been going in circles for a while now. Do you know where we're going?" Louie crossed his arms, starting to get fed up with the pilot.
"Yes, but it was funnier to take us in circles and see how long it'd take for you to notice," Launchpad said smirking.
Louie rolled his eyes and kept walking. He used the little putter patter of his feet to stay sane. It was really hard, being the only responsible one in the group. Webby kept humming, but sweet as she was, it was really loud and out of tune. And then there was Huey, who wouldn't stop talking about his toaster. Her favorite foods, her favorite games, her favorite animal, her favorite person (Huey of course).
Just when it seemed like he would finally stop, Launchpad had to go and ask what the toaster's favorite movie was. Louie began screaming internally. What was this guy's problem? Did Launchpad just enjoy Louie's torture? Louie loved his brother and all, but there was a point where he had to draw the line. But he would never let Launchpad see that he got to him.
They continued walking, Louie's hand against the wall so they wouldn't get lost.
"Hey! I think I see the jewel of Atlantis up ahead!" Launchpad said.
"Really! Where!" Huey beamed, completely dropping his sentence about Bready's (Was that what he had called it?) favorite types of grass. He ran up ahead, until Launchpad tripped him with his foot. He face planted into the rock floor. Louie gasped.
"Oops," was all Launchpad said.
Huey stumbled to his feet. "I think you accidentally tripped me. But I'm okay." He wasn't, he had a scrape on his knee, but Huey's optimism wouldn't let him complain about that. Launchpad ignored him and kept walking.
Louie frowned and clenched his fists. He would let people bully him all day rather than see it happen to one of his brothers. "Hey Launchpad, I think you dropped something!" Louie called. "Yeah, I think you dropped your manners. Oh wait, never mind, you never had any." It wasn't great but it was the best he could come up with. He thought he heard Webby snicker, but when he looked back at her she avoided eye contact.
"I'd watch it if I were you kid," Launchpad said without glancing back.
"Well... uh... maybe you should watch it!" Louie was trying, okay?
Webby shook her head, but a small smile crept on her face. Launchpad spun to face them, and immediately her smirk disappeared. "Look, kid, you're only here because your cousin wanted to be charitable for once. Because he felt obligated to do so. So I'd remembered that next time the idea crosses your head that you actually matter. Cause you don't."
Webby and Huey glanced between them nervously. Louie narrowed his eyes at the adult, deciding whether or not he should fight back. Webby mouthed the words to him, Don't. Louie sighed, releasing his fists.
Launchpad scoffed. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He then licked his hand and proceeded to ruffle Louie's feathers with it. He walked on, Huey and Webby following. Huey stole a said glance at his brother.
Louie stuck out his tongue in disgust. He fixed his hair, anger still rising up inside him. At least it was him and not one of his brothers.
...
Feathry beamed as he and Dewey came upon the chamber with the Jewel of Atlantis. The chamber was open, the ground covered in gold. In the middle of it all was a statue of a hand holding up a blue gem. The gem Feathry presumed was the jewel.
Dewey smiled and ran towards the jewel. "We found it! Now we can get out of here! I've had enough close encounters with death today, thank you." He gave a little laugh and tried to pull it loose.
But Feathry stopped him. "Wait. Don't you think this will have a trap too?" He moved to stand behind him, looking over the gem.
"Oh, you're right." Dewey let go of the gem and turned to face his cousin. "Alright so how do we go about... d-d-doing this..." The duckling took on a scared appearance, his gaze looking past Feathry.
Feathry raised an eyebrow and spun around, following his gaze. And that's when he saw him.
"Sup, Cous," Donald said, standing at the entry way of the chamber.
Feathry took a step back, tensing up. "Donald? What are you doing here? It's... been a while."
"Yeah." Donald avoided eye contact with his cousin while Feathry rubbed his arm nervously.
"Don..."
"I know she went to you," Donald said, a tinge of bitterness in his voice. It only took Feathry a moment to realize who he was talking about. Della.
"It wasn't my fault. She tricke-"
"Whatever," Donald said, interrupting him. "Anyways, I've come to get my kids. Dewey, come here." He narrowed his eyes at the blue triplet.
Feathry glanced at Dewey, who looked more worried than Feathry had ever seen him. And that was saying something. Dewey blew his hair up and took a step from out behind the older duck. The boy looked up at him then to Donald.
"Come on, Dewey, you don't want to make things worse than they already are." Donald crossed his arms, focused on the duckling. Dewey kept his eyes locked on the ground, walking across the chamber to his guardian.
Anger sparked in Feathry. "Wait." Dewey froze, still not nothing to look at either of them. Feathry took a step forward. "Donald, you can't take them. I know how you treat them. If you keep it up, you're no better than Della." That made both Dewey and Donald look up. Dewey stared at Feathry, his eyes worried and his mouth parted. But he said nothing.
"Don't say her name," Donald said, glaring at Feathry. A moment of silence passed between them. Then Donald took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll leave two of them alone." Feathry tilted his head. Why only two? "If Dewey tells me which one of them called the cops on me. I'll keep that triplet. Either that or I'm taking all three."
All eyes focused on Dewey, which only made the duckling tremble more. Feathry bit his beak. Donald couldn't do this. It wasn't fair to put the fate of his brothers in Dewey's hands. He was scared enough as it was. But it seemed there was nothing Feathry could do. Donald still had legal ownership of them.
When Dewey said nothing, Donald pressed on, "Dewey, just tell the truth and I'll let two of you go."
"N-none of- We didn't- No one called the cops," Dewey said, shutting his eyes. Hs voice cracks felt like a punch in the stomach to Feathry.
"Liar! Who did it?"
"We didn't!"
"It was Louie, wasn't it? That brat!"
"He didn't! None of us did!"
"Quit trying to be brave, Dewey! Just tell me who-"
"Stop!" Feathry shouted. He glared at the older duck, his hands tightening into fists. "If it was none of them, just accept it! Maybe you just suck at being a criminal! Now leave them alone!" Feathry ran in front of Dewey, spreading out his arms like a human shield. His heart was racing and his thoughts were swimming. He couldn't let this go on for any longer.
For a moment, the only sound was their heavy breathing. But it was broken by a laugh from Donald, catching the other two off guard. They exchanged a worried look.
"Oh, Feathry." Donald began to circle them, like a shark watching for prey. "You're so stupid, man. You didn't even know they existed until, like, last week, and now you want to play hero? Pft, dude, you only want to be in their lives now because it's convenient for you." Donald put a hand on his hip and smirked. "Don't think I didn't see that little status update."
A pang of guilt hit Feathry in the stomach. It had been true that the only reason he had taken them in in the first place was because it would do good for his image. But now, it seemed like there was something deeper than that. He was their only hope right now. Which wasn't great, considering it was Feathry. Now he just wished he could've been there for them 10 years ago.
Feathry's heart jumped as he felt a small, warm presence in his hand. He glanced down to see Dewey, clutching his hand closely. A small smile crept on Feathry's face.
"And you're buying it," Donald said with an eye roll. That had been directed toward Dewey. The boy let go of Feathry's hand and he pointed his index fingers together nervously. Donald looked around the room, his eyes landing on the jewel. A smirk crossed his face. He walked towards it and set his hand over the blue jewel.
"Donald, what are you doing?"
"I assume this triggers a trap or something?"
"Donald, don't-"
"Whoops." Donald shoved the gem out of it's spot, landing on the ground with a hard thud. Dewey pulled closer to Feathry as the temple began to shake violently. Donald picked up the jewel. "Well, I'ma go give this to that Glomdork, who knows? Maybe he'll let me back into his stupid program!" He walked past Dewey and Feathry to the entrance of the chamber. Before leaving, he spun around to face them. "Well, later idiots." A rock wall fell from the ceiling, blocking off the rest of the temple from the chamber. And trapping Dewey and Feathry inside.
...
Dewey's heart was racing with panic, his life flashing before his eyes. "Oh my gosh, we're gonna die!" He began hyperventilating, frozen in place.
Feathry knelt down and shook him by the shoulders. "Relax! We're not gonna die!"
Dewey shook his head and shut his eyes. "No, we are! And it's all my fault! I should've just said it was me! And now uncle Donald is gonna get my brothers and we're gonna die some horrendous death!" He wanted to break down and cry but he was too panicked to do so.
"Well, was it you?"
"No, but-"
"Then you shouldn't have said it was you. Never take responsibility for something you didn't do, even if it hurts." Feathry smiled sadly at him.
Dewey took a deep, loud breath. "You're right, I just need to breathe, and then we can figure out a way out of here." Before he had even finished his sentence, his feet felt wet. He glanced down to see water rising from the ground. Feathry must have seen it too.
"OH MY GOSH WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Feathry yelped, jumping from foot to foot.
Dewey threw his hand in the air. "Not helping! We're fine! There's barely any water!" There was something calming about not being the only one freaking out. It was weird.
"Yeah, for now! But soon it'll be up to our knees! And then our waists, and then our necks, and then-!" He climbed on top of the hand statue, eyes stuck on the water.
Dewey bit his beak. First he had to calm Feathry down, and then they could get out. "Look, everything will fine. As long as we keep a cool head,we can make it out. Alright?"
Feathry took in a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. I'm being immature." Fear was still in his eyes, Dewey could recognize it, but he did a better job of hiding it.
Dewey discovered that the water was up to his knees now, so he climbed up by Feathry. "W-what's the plan?" Dewey asked.
...
"And, if we take a right here..." Louie smirked, leading the other ducks through the tunnel. Launchpad had refused to take them the right direction, but he would gladly let Louie lead aimlessly. "Then we should be..." The walked into and open area and Louie thrust his arm out proudly. Yep, he was pretty good at direction and seeing all the angles, if he did say so hims-
"Cool! We're back where we started!" Huey ran up ahead of the group, pointing to the sub parked in the water.
Louie stopped, letting his arms sag. "What! But this is," -he caught Launchpad smirking- "right we're I wanted us to go! Yep. All according to plan." Louie put his hands on his hips and hoped his smile looked convincing.
Webby set a hand on his shoulder. "Well, at least we can wait here until Feathry and Dewey get back. Maybe they found the jewel." She flashed him a smile and then joined Huey, who was sitting and kicking his feet in the water.
"Fine," Louie said under his breath, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets, which was tied around his waist.
"Nice save," Launchpad said sarcastically.
Louie rolled his eyes. He was about to make a comment back, but the sound of voices stopped him. He bit his beak, listening. "You guys, I think someone else is here."
Webby and Huey stopped laughing and listened. "Really? Who?" He said, somewhat loudly. Webby slapped her hand over his mouth. She rose a finger to her mouth, signaling for him to shush.
Louie crept along the edge of the water, searching for someone. A while away, behind their submarine, he saw another submarine, smaller than theirs. Standing near it was a group of people, talking strategy.
Louie tilted his head curiously. That must be the Glomgold Feathry told us about. A figure walked out of a tunnel near the group. The duckling squinted to get a better look. Once he recognized the figure, he tensed.
Donald Duck.
"Louie, who is it?" someone said fro behind him. Louie jumped.
"Huey! Don't scare me like that!" he yelped as quietly as he could.
"Well? Who's there?"
Louie glanced back at his uncle, then moved to stand in the way. "Uh... no one." He nodded, more to himself than to his brother.
"Alright, weirdo," Huey chuckled, then walked back over to Webby and Launchpad.
A sigh escaped Louie and he turned back to see Glomgold and the others. His heart stopped when Donald caught his gaze from across the cavern. The boy wanted to look away but couldn't. Donald gave him a look that made a chill run up Louie's spine. A look that said "Don't think I've forgotten about you."
Then Donald turned to the rest of his group and said something Louie couldn't hear. Donald handed Glomgold a giant blue gem.
Louie bit his cheek, thinking. If that was the Jewel of Atlantis, that meant he probably ran into Feathry and Dewey. The green triplet's heart sank. That could only mean trouble. Dewey was in trouble.
Louie's eyes widened and he turned back to the others. He had to go after Dewey, but... He glanced at Launchpad, then at Huey and Webby. He couldn't leave them alone with Launchpad. Looking to the tunnel they had come out of, Louie let out a sigh. He just had to hope Dewey and Feathry could hold their own.
Louie cleared his throat. "So, um, guys... Glomgold got the jewel."
...
Dewey and Feathry sat on a treasure chest, one of the few things that could float in the room. The water as rising faster and faster and they were only a few yards from the ceiling now. Dewey's eyes focused on the water, unable to look away. His heart beat was accelerating as the water rose.
"Feathry..."
"If I'm going to die, I guess I should have really cool last words, huh?" Feathry put a finger to his chin and glanced up thoughtfully.
Dewey blew his hair out of his face, just for it to fall back down again. "I-I'm not sure that really matters, since no one will be around to tell the others they were your last words."
"Guess you're right..." Feathry stared up at the ceiling, distracted. "Hey, Dewey. Look!"
Dewey followed his gaze to the roof. He tilted his head and squinted. It was engraved with more constellations. "Hey! It's a star chart again! Maybe we can use it!" He stumbled to his feet, the rocking water making it hard. He looked it over, studying for any inconsistencies. "I can't see it too well... I'm going to try to get a better look." He scanned over he water, his eyes landing on a wooden plank. "Do you think that can hold my weight?"
Feathry shook his head. "I seriously doubt it."
"I think I can make it."
"No you can't."
"I CAN MAKE IT!" It was more him trying to convince himself he could than anything else.
Feathry threw his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay. Just so you know, if you fall in and start to drown, I- I can't save you. I'll probably end up drowning myself."
"Noted." Dewey shook away his fear and readied himself to jump. "Alright... 3... 2,1,go!" He shut his eyes, jumping across to the plank.
He landed on the edge, and he pumped his fists i the air. "Yes!" The plank wobbled, knocking off his balance. He winced and doubled over to keep from falling. He slowly got back to his feet, trying not to hyperventilate. "I'm good. I'm good," he said in his squeaky whisper voice. He glanced back, and Feathry gave him a thumbs up. Dewey looked up, remembering why he had jumped in the first place.
"Okay... if this is anything like the last puzzle... The button to push should be..." He edged himself across the board an found the misplaced constellation. He had to crouch, the water getting higher and higher. Dewey smirked and set his hand on the tile. "Here!" He pushed on it with two hands.
His heart dropped when it barely budged. "I think it's stuck!" he panicked.
"Don't worry, you've got this! Dewey, you can do this!" Dewey sensed panic in Feathry's voice but he tried to ignore it.
He nodded to himself. "I can Dewey this." He lay on his back and thrust his feet as hard as he could on the tile. He shut his eyes tight, too scared if he failed. Then he heard a click.
The tile went in and gears churned. He peeked and eye open and realized the water level was going down. He turned to Feathry, who was smiling widely. "Ha! You did it, kid!" Once the water had gone down low enough, Feathry made his way to Dewey and scooped him up in a hug. "Great job!"
Dewey rubbed his arm and blushed. "I-It was nothing."
"Are you kidding? We almost died my least favorite way to die! It was epic!"
The two ducks turned at the sound of a passage way opening up. They smiled. "Come on, let's get back to your brothers."
...
Feathry and Dewey turned a corner to find themselves back where they had parked the sub.
Dewey ran up ahead of Feathry, pride bubbling inside him. He grinned when he saw his brothers. "You guys! You would not believe it! There was this water trap, and we were gonna die, but then-"
"Glomgold got the jewel," Huey said, frowning. He sat cross legged and his head on his palms.
"But I'm glad you guys are okay!" Louie cut in, giving a weird smile.
Dewey sank, but tried to look on the bright side. "Yeah. Too bad he got the gem though."
Feathry set a hand on the blue triplet's shoulder. "So, we might not have gotten it, even after risking our lives, but we're alive and that's what counts."
"But-" Louie elbowed Huey before he could finish his sentence.
Feathry ruffled Dewey's head feathers, and his hair stood up for once. Before immediately flopping back down."Come on, let's get back to the mansion."
...
Feathry, Huey, Louie, and Webby were playing with the random stuff in the garage. Huey almost tripped over a box, so Dewey decided to put it up. It was probably for everyone's safety, to be honest,with all the artifacts in here.
Moving towards the back of the garage, Dewey could hear their laughs and shouts.
"Hey, look, I found the sword!"
"HUEY PUT THAT DOWN!"
Dewey chuckled to himself and set the box near the painting he and Louie had seen the other day. The one of Feathry, Donald, and someone else. Dewey smiled at it sadly, thinking it must've been a beautiful portrait in it's time. But now it seemed time had played its toll on each of their personalities.
As Dewey started to move away from it, a bit of the third person caught his eye. The girl's eye to be exact. Those same eyes Louie, Dewey, and Huey had. The middle child tilted his head in curiosity. He moved towards the and outstretched his hand. He pushed the torn piece up to get a better view at the girl.
A female duck with short white hair and a yellow sweater. She smiled nervously in the picture, like how Dewey did whenever he posed for a picture.
Dewey gasped and took a step back. All he could make out was a small whisper. "Mom?"
Thanks for reading and the support! Next episode: The Infernal Internship of Zan Owlison!