Hey, guys.
It's funny that this is chapter seven, cuz it's about the least lucky chapter of the whole thing.
Also, to answer TheoryofWeirdness's question: I meant for Fenton to be describing what happened after his and Gandra's first date, because they don't officially become a couple on that date and we don't really know they're together for pretty much an entire season. I took a little creative liberty with Fenton's descriptions because I knew that the two had to end up together somehow outside of what the series showed. Although, I admit I should have rewatched The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee before writing it, because, in retrospect it turned out a little off. Especially Fenton implying that they didn't have a deeper connection until after the date. That was definitely a mistake on my part.
Thanks for the feedback, though! Thanks for all of your feedback and reviews!!
……
Almost immediately after her plan formed, Webby leaned over to her best friend. "Lena. Psst. Lena!"
She looked up from a spell book with foreboding black ink leaking from a few pages. "What?"
"Have you noticed how Huey and Vi act around each other?"
She snorted, then whispered, "'Has anyone not noticed?' is more like it. They're ridiculous. They definitely have a thing for each other. Violet even told me."
"She did?"
Lena nodded, setting her book aside. "The only one that doesn't seem to know at least a little is Huey."
Webby squealed (as silently as she could.) Lena looked at her clearly ecstatic friend. "You want shenanigans, don't you?"
"Is it that obvious?" The grin hadn't left Pink's face.
Dewey sat up from the floor. "Ooh! Shenanigans? Dewey want in!" Webby high-fived him.
Lena reluctantly smiled. "Alright. I'll help you guys out. But only because I think Vi needs this."
The three young ducks fist-bumped, whispering. "For ViHue!"
……
Quite some time ago, Beakley and Duckworth had vanished to study the possible clues separately, somewhere upstairs. The four middle-aged ducks and May and June were left alone in the hallway. After a time, the two girls calmed down enough and were about to join the other children in the living room, having inherited most of Webby's skills and therefore her knack for languages. However, they settled on retreating somewhere upstairs to discuss the situation themselves, assuring Donald and Daisy that they would be fine after some alone time.
Now, Donald, Della, and Daisy couldn't think of anything useful to do but sit and watch Gyro across from them, holding scrolls up to his face and muttering under his breath.
"So, what do you think he's finding?" Daisy asked.
"Shh!"
"Sorry. I just, well, would like to know how to help. This is my future uncle-in-law."
"Shhhhh!" He put one finger right up to Daisy's beak. Donald grabbed the man's wrist and pulled it away with a scowl.
Gyro ignored him and immediately went back to his reading, muttering Japanese phrases that may or may not have been threats.
Donald and Della both rolled their eyes with a sigh, the latter pacing tight circles around her cell. Della tapped her metallic leg against the cage bars. It made a soft, reflective ringing. Gyro cringed at the sound but ignored it. She experimentally tapped it again, a little harder. She tapped four times in rapid succession.
Dunnn. Dunn. Dunn. Dunn.
Gyro gripped the book very, very tightly. Della kept tapping at a steady beat.
Dunnn. Dunnnn. Dunnnn. Dunnnnn. Dunnnn. Dunnnn. Dunnnnn.
Gyro threw the book to the floor and stood up from his cross-legged position, shouting, "FINE! I GUESS SCROOGE CAN JUST STAY FROZEN AND DEAD FOREVER!"
He cleared his throat. "Sorry, sorry. What I meant to say was, if I can't get this research done, then I can't help all of you. And, let's face it, are any of those kids really capable of figuring out anything important?"
"I think I found something important! Maybe?" Called a voice from another room. "I-I'm not sure. Just get in here!"
Gyro moaned. "Blue nephew."
The three uncaged adults stood up and started walking away.
"Oh, right." Della said. "Well, just..let me know if you find anything good! Haha…" She looked very saddened, missing out on an adventure.
Donald walked back toward the cage. "We'll figure this out. You just stay put and let us handle it."
She sighed, slumping against the cage. "Fine. I BELIEVE IN YOU KIDS!" She yelled, hoping they'd hear her from the family room.
Donald dug around inside his ear that had been right next to Della's face as she shouted. "And I believe I've gone partially deaf."
The three hurried over to the living room couch, where Dewey was holding Louie's laptop, looking both thrilled and terrified. "Okay. One of the books had a passage about diamond limbs, according to this…special illustration." He showed them a small drawing on the page of a horrified man holding his arm, diamond encasing it. "So, I translated it on the laptop."
"Right to left?" Checked Gyro.
"Yes! I'm not stupid, man." Dewey said. "I have a lot of experience with all kinds of media."
"He read a manga series, like, once." Huey clarified.
"Dewey, well done!" Webby looked pleasantly surprised, setting down a scroll three times her height.
"What did it say?" Asked Violet.
Dewey blew out a slow puff of air. "Okay: to stop the octopus from getting rich, one big cloud, an ear of black corn, a member of the party is a sacrifice for very good, three lost loved flies-"
Everyone's eager faces quickly slid into confused expressions.
"Woah, woah, what? A member of the party? As in, a sacrifice of…one of us?" Asked Fenton.
"That's what it sounded like." Daisy said.
"I vote Della." Gyro said. Donald and the two remaining triplets turned to him, offended.
"Why not Louie? He's already pretty much done for." Lena said.
"Wait, what?!" Donald exclaimed.
"Not dead, diamond-ified." Violet corrected. "And I'm sure that's not the only solution to the curse. Seems somewhat drastic."
Donald sighed in relief.
Gyro was looking at the laptop suspiciously. "Let me see that." He said. Dewey handed it over and he frowned at the screen for a second. "You put this through Waddle Translate, didn't you?"
"…Maybe."
"Come on, Dewey!" Said Huey. "That thing is the least reliable translator in the history of history!"
"Anything programmed by Beaks would be." Gyro agreed.
"What? It was the only free one." Dewey defended.
Gyro sighed. "Unbelievable." He held the screen even closer to his face, pushing his glasses up his beak with the other hand. "Well, this doesn't help, anyway. It's a recipe for tempura."
Huey was holding the book Dewey had butchered on Waddle Translate, carefully eying the cover. "I've seen this cover before. I may have another volume in the same series. I think it's upstairs. And it had an octopus on the cover!"
"Really?" Asked Dewey. "And you're remembering this now?"
"I-I can go get it!" Huey started for the staircase. Lena, Dewey and Webby nodded toward one another.
"Hey, it might not be safe to go alone!" Dewey called. "I think he should bring someone with him."
Huey stopped. "What?"
Lena shrugged, trying to look natural. "Hey, Vi, why don't you go with him?"
Violet's eyes widened. "I-I doubt Huey needs anyone to-"
Lena suddenly swooned, hands glowing blue.
"Oh, no!" Exclaimed Webby. "Lena's magic is going haywire!"
"I…can't..control it!" Lena pretended, lifting both Huey and Violet into the air in a cloud of pink and blue energy. "Would…if I could…oh, no!" Huey and Violet glanced at each other as they lazily floated up the staircase, shoulder to shoulder, both knowing exactly what the girls were pulling, but not knowing that the other knew. Violet sighed, glaring at her friends as they continued the charade, Lena moving her luminescent hands every which way in slow motion, Dewey yelling and acting as if the magic was hurting him, Webby shrugging as if she had no idea what was up.
The two victims landed on the top of the staircase, stole glances at one another, then started down the hall.
"Why did she need to go with him?" Donald asked suspiciously. "Is it really that dangerous, Dewey?"
"I doubt it." Said Daisy.
"Well…" Scrooge's daughter started flicking the ends of her hair.
"Webby?" Dewey questioned. "There is no danger, right?"
"Well, if you think about it, there is no evidence that Goldie successfully trapped the tentacle in the Other Bin." Webby informed them. "I don't think she would have had time to corral it back into its chamber like she said she did. And, few know this, but the Other Bin is equipped with several secret exits that the tentacle could probably work its way around, outside of its specific, carbon-free chamber. It could actually be wandering around the halls as we speak, like the huge snake from Harold Feather and the Room of Things That Are Very Secret!"
Everyone froze right where they were, realizing exactly what Webby was saying.
"D-didn't a kid get eaten in that movie?" Fenton asked.
"Uh huh. Wait. Oh no! We gotta get up there!" Webby finally began to properly panic.
"Seriously! You wait until now to tell us this?" Dewey incredulously said.
"You don't have to tell me twice. I'm coming, Huey!" Donald had already started up the stairs. The others followed suit.
On the way up the stairs, Lena said to Fenton, "Wait-you're a Harold Feather fan? I thought you were more of the science-y type."
Fenton nodded. "Oh, I am. Except in the case of Harold Feather. A truly superb story."
"Ooh! What's your house?" Webby asked.
"GriffinTalon. Yours?"
"Same!" Webby gushed.
Lena panted as they finished the staircase, raising an arm. "SlitherSnake here."
"I knew it!" Declared Webby, not even a little fatigued.
"Ahem!" Called Gyro, hands on his knees, wheezing. "Aren't we discussing a life-threatening crisis? Sorry to interrupt the nerd-fest, but some of us would like to avoid dying today."
The three nerds glanced at Gyro, then at one another. "SlitherSnake."
"Your mom's a slither snake!" Called Dewey from behind, still climbing the stairs. "Can we hurry it up?"
"Right, sorry." Fenton apologized. "So, in theory, the Hayfelday tentacle could come and attack at any moment?"
"Yup!" Said Webby. "Which is why we need to hurry. Oh, I hope those two are okay!"
……
Huey made his way through a dark hallway, Violet a mere few feet behind. I swear, when I get my hands on those three…
She offered him a small, hesitant smile, and he smiled back. They reached Webby's door and Huey pulled it open. "A-after you."
She entered the room and he followed, and both of them began searching Webby's bookshelves.
It didn't take Huey long to find the correct tome. The book was the size of a telephone book and covered in old paper, peeling and faded, intricate lettering spanning the entire front and back. "This is it."
He, for some reason, held it out to Violet. "Here."
She was about to accept the offering when the book slid out of Huey's moist hands and smashed onto his foot. Huey flinched and cried out in pain. "Ow! Oh, gosh…Don't worry, I'm okay."
She giggled, then thoughtfully looked at his hands for a time. Without warning, she took one of his hands in both of hers, apparently observing it. "You seem very anxious, and your hands have an abnormal amount of perspiration. Perhaps it is due to the stress of the dangerous situation your family have roped themselves into."
"Well, yeah, I mean, I guess that could be one reason…"
Violet seemed to realize what she had done. "My apologies, I never waste an opportunity like this. You see, I've considered going into a psychology-related career." She let go of his hand and it fell limply to his side.
"You-you'd be good at that." Huey said. "You and that calm, practical mind." He rubbed his hand where her fingers had touched it absentmindedly.
She turned away shyly. "I should…not have grabbed your hand without warning just to diagnose. I am ever so sorry."
"Oh, you don't have to apologize. Maybe….just…" He reached out and grabbed her hands, putting them on top of his.
She looked back toward him, surprised. "Hubert?"
They couldn't seem to take their eyes off one another, or speak a single word to each other. Webby's little study corner suddenly seemed as intimate and romantic as an Italian restaurant. This was weirder than the museum date or the meet Huete, it was scarier than Quackfaster with an axe, and it was more perfect than anything had ever been between the two of them over the course of the three years they had been friends.
Then, the door was flung open by several people at once.
"Huey! Violet!" Called Webby.
"We need to leave!" Cried Dewey. "And-woah, what's up with this?"
Violet let go of Huey's hands. "Uh…." They both said.
"Sorry to interrupt." Said Fenton. "But, according to Webby, we have just a little bit of a calamity on our hands."
"Huh?" Asked Huey, finally regaining speech. He bent down and scooped up the heavy book. "What happened now?"
"The Hayfelday could be anywhere!" Said Donald. "Webby says it probably escaped a while ago! Our best bet is to trap it in this house and evacuate everyone!"
"Uh, okay, okay! Well, where's Beakley? Or May and June?" Huey said.
Webby gasped. "Oh, no. May and June! They-they're probably in their usual hiding place!"
She and Dewey scrambled up the ladder. After a moment, they came back down. "No sign of them." Said Webby hopefully. "Maybe they escaped?"
"Alright, everyone, new priority." Said Donald. "Find Beakley and the girls."
"Should we split up?" Wondered Fenton.
"Safer not to." Said Donald.
"The mansion's huge!" Argued Lena. "How would we cover it all?"
"Are we sure the creature has escaped in the first place?" Gyro questioned. "I mean, all we have is her random theory." He gestured to Webby. "What makes us so sure that the Hayfelday is stalking us? What if we just went downstairs and kept working on a cure? I mean, Pink, where's your evidence?"
She pointed to the ceiling behind him, horrified.
He followed her gaze, turning around and squinting at the lightless ceiling. "Huh. Well, yes, that is quite convincing-AAUUGGH!" The researcher screamed as something purple and slimy snaked around him and carried him up and away. Everyone was too terrified to move, until Gearloose fell back down and smacked onto the carpet, encased completely in translucent stone.
"Dr. Gearloose!" Fenton cried.
"No time, guys! We gotta move!" Lena sprinted down the hallway, and the others followed.
As they ran for their lives, side by side, Huey felt his hand brush against Violet's fingertips. After some hesitation, they grasped each other's hands tightly, too panicked to be embarrassed. It somehow felt…a little less nerve-wracking this way.
They could all still hear a horrifying screech behind them, but they didn't dare to to turn around. They ran down the long hallway, all screaming as loud as they could. A purple-sleeved arm threw open one of the many doors. "Inside! Now!" Beakley said. Everyone ducked into the room, and she slammed the door behind them. Huey could hear the beast's cry from outside, as well as his own heart beating. From the abundance of fragile decorations and weapons of all sorts laid neatly across walls, he surmised they were in Beakley's bedroom. He could still feel a warm something in his fingers. He glanced over and quickly let go of Violet's hand.
"Granny!" Webby cried. "You're alright!"
"In most senses of the word." The ex-secret agent said. She looked very haggard and worn out. Della stood beside her, well on her way down the road to diamond-ification, arms and side and part of her neck completely infected. Duckworth floated beside her lazily.
Bentina surveyed the group. "Where's Gearloose?"
"Diamond." Donald replied. "Wait, what are you doing here?" He finally noticed Della standing beside Beakley and Duckworth.
"I remembered I shoved my old pocket knife in my leg somewhere." Della patted her steel thigh fondly. "It had a lock pick."
Donald looked furious. His sister explained, "Look, as long as this…thing's out, wandering around our house, I'm protecting my family, even if that means I have to fight one-third diamond! Trust me, Don, I've faced worse."
Donald sighed reluctantly.
Another screech came from behind, and they all heard the sound of something spraying. The Hayfelday was using its other deadly weapon to hunt its prey: acid-like slime.
"We have much bigger problems!" Said Huey. "We gotta figure out how to stop that thing!"
"We could start with the book." Lena suggested.
Huey remembered he was still holding the ancient volume. "Right."
He flipped it open and flicked through most of the pages before stopping. "This says 'Hayfelday'!"
"Read it!" Everyone said in unison. Pale pink stuff was leaking through the door with a squelching sound. The tentacle was advancing.
Everyone besides Huey ran for the door and pushed back with all their might. After a second or two of resistance, Beakley decided, "It's no use. Everyone in the closet."
Huey frantically roved over the section, feeling way too full of fear and adrenaline to focus on actually translating anything.
"Hubert!" Violet saw that the red-capped triplet was too preoccupied with his reading to obey the order. "Inside! Come!" She grabbed his arm, pulled him up, and they squeezed into the closet just as the door to the room collapsed into a few corroded chunks of wood.
Through the peephole, Huey finally got a good look at the monster: a gargantuan purple tentacle, as thick as a telephone pole and at least four yards long. It trailed pink slime behind it, and, at the end where Scrooge had severed it from the actual octopus, a mouth full of wickedly sharp teeth opened wide, having grown in after decades of rotting.
"Now what?" Asked Dewey, squished between Webby and Beakley.
"Don't breathe until it leaves the room." Beakley responded as if it were simple.
It was honestly a miracle all of them could fit, just barely. Della had somehow found a spot against the wall of the closet where she avoided touching everyone (but not everything,), squeezing the rest of them even more tightly together on the other side. Their housekeeper had a surprisingly huge closet, and Duckworth didn't take up any space or even need to worry about hiding. Even so, Huey's face was shoved between Fenton's lower beak and whatever clothes Beakley had on this side of her closet. He could also feel something soft and warm against his pounding chest. It was Violet's head, he realized. He gulped and tried not to panic. After such an awkward and almost heartfelt conversation, of course he had to be wedged in against her in a closet with seven other people. They all crammed painfully together in expectant silence. The tentacle wound around the room a few times, then spit a glop of acid directly on the book with the Hayfelday section. Fenton and Dewey both had to reach over and clamp Huey's beak shut to stop him from screaming as their only clue dissolved into nothing.
After what seemed like forever, the huge, sucker-covered worm seemed satisfied and exited the room, leaving a trail of acid in its wake.
Beakley unlocked the door and they all toppled out of the closet in a heap, daring to breathe again. Violet, for at least the fourth time that day, quickly scooted away from Huey whom she had landed directly on, blush tinging her cheeks.
"Okay, I know you're an ex-spy slash secret agent and all, but that was the worst idea you've ever had." Dewey complained. "Do you know how bony Uncle Donald's elbows are?"
Huey knelt numbly before the sizzling puddle of pink on the wood floor, which was also rapidly being eaten through. "Gone. It's..gone."
Violet and Webby sat beside him. "Now what?" Asked Violet.
"I…I have no idea." Said Huey. "Webby?"
She shrugged sadly. So did Lena.
"Wait! Who cares about the one stupid book?" Della said. "Didn't you guys say you had a whole bagful of stuff to read downstairs?"
"If we hurry, we can beat the Hayfelday to it!" Webby realized. "Let's go!"
They all raced downstairs as stealthily as possible into the living room, seeing some faint slime trails but no Hayfelday. Upon entering the room, their eyes were met with several gruesome sights. First and foremost, within the ten minutes they'd all been upstairs, the living room had become nearly unrecognizable. Blobs of acid hung from the furniture and the walls; the worst of these areas had holes forming in them. Someone's bed was halfway through one particularly ruined spot in the ceiling.
The only thing that remained of any papers, books, the bag they'd come in, or even Louie's poor laptop, were bubbling pools of acid.
Random objects were now large diamonds and scattered messily all across the room. The couch had been overturned and partially eaten, dripping with pink slime, and the inescapable steel cage had been mangled into a blob of metal.
Worst of all, Scrooge, Goldie, Louie, and Gyro stood or sat in a row, arranged neatly like trophies on a mantlepiece. And, right above on the actual mantlepiece, hugging each other with looks of horror on their faces, were gem versions of Webby's two little sisters.
……
