Hey guys! I've been excited for this chapter. And I got an Instagram account. If you want to follow me, my account is called Giddy_Reflections. But it's a private account so message me and tell me you heard about it on . This chapter takes place before Webby became a Scrooge enthusiast. Okay, so here goes Webby...
Webby crept through the halls of McDuck manner. The lights were out and she was all alone. "Granny?" she called. She treaded lightly, ready for whatever might be lurking in the darkness. "Granny?" she said again. She felt a swift wind behind her. Terror beat in the small girl's heart. She calmed herself. "Nothing to worry about," she reminded herself.
Webby continued treading through the pitch black halls. She took one step, which lead to an arrow launching at her. She yelped and grabbed a silver tray next to her. She lifted it up in front of her face and deflected the arrow. "Ha!" she cheered. But her victory was too soon. Several more arrows sprang at her. Though caught off guard, she moved to block all the arrows. They made a ringing sound as they hit the platter.
Waiting until she was sure there were no more, she held the tray like a shield. When Webby was certain the coast was clear, she continued walking. But it wasn't long before a figure jumped out at her from the shadows.
Webby screamed and attempted to fight off whoever tackled her. Whoever it was was bigger than her. It was hard for Webby to overthrow them. Finally, the figure had pinned her to the ground. "Your defense is weak," they said. The lights turned on and Webby gasped when she saw who it was.
"Granny?" she said. Beakly got up off of Webby. "Granny, you called me down for breakfast." Beakly helped Webby off the ground. "That's just what I wanted you to think," Beakly explained. Webby tried to connect what her grandma was saying. "You need to be ready for anything. Expect the unexpected." Webby frowned. "So I wasn't even in any real danger? Man," she said. She kicked at the ground.
"Webby, dear, why would that disappoint you?" Beakly asked. "Because life is so boring! I'm stuck in this mansion all day everyday, always doing the same old stuff. I wish I could go outside and-" "But Webby, you do go outside," Beakly interrupted. "I mean outside of the gates!" she complained. Beakly shook her head. "You're not ready. You couldn't even defend yourself against me. That's why I train you." Webby sighed.
"Now, come eat breakfast and then we'll get going on your studies," Beakly ended the conversation. "Yes, granny," Webby said. She followed after her grandma downstairs to the kitchen. There, Beakly already had breakfast made and the table set.
Scrooge sat at the head of the table, his nose stuck in a newspaper. "Beakly!" he called. "Nutmeg tea, right here, sir," she said, pushing a cup towards him. He thanked her and took a sip from his cup before turning back to his papers. Webby didn't know Scrooge too well. He was just the old guy whose house she lived in. She was pretty sure he didn't know her name, even if she had lived there her whole life. To him, she was just the little freeloader.
There was also the weird pilot that came by now and then. She kind of knew him. Launchpad McQuack. But, like Scrooge, they weren't too close. They just said hi to each other now and then.
After breakfast, Webby started on her training and studying. She never knew what she was training for, but she found it incredibly boring. It was always the same old drills. Same old books. Same old day. Webby finished her Latin, Spanish, Assyrian, German. After she finished studying languages, she went through fighting stances.
Though to any normal person Webby was a genius, Webby felt like she couldn't keep up with all the work. Like she was falling behind. Her head went around in circles, trying to remember whether conjugations went with nouns or verbs. Was "portus" gate or harbor? What did "murus" mean again?
When Webby finally had a break, she flopped down on her bed. Her grandmother had given her 5 minutes. And she was strict. Webby felt overwhelmed with all the tasks she had. Besides school, she had chores and other responsibilities. She wished she could just dump it all and go somewhere new.
It was late in the evening by the time she completed everything. She walked through the halls. She wanted to sleep, but she knew if she did, she would just wake up to the same cycle. Either that, or Beakly would wake her in the middle of the night for another surprise drill.
Weeks later (don't ask me how long, it's just been a while later)...
Webby looked at her digital clock. 11:00 p.m. She could still make it. She stared out at the night sky. She had to go. All she had to do was convince Beakly.
She ran up to her grandmother. "Granny! I have a question!" she shouted in her over enthusiastic tone. "What dear?" Beakly waited. "Okay, so, tonight is the night that we celebrate the earth rotating around the sun in full," Webby began. "New year's, yes," Beakly clarified. "Great! So, I was wondering if you might, possibly, pretty please, let me go to see them launch fireworks in the park, please?" she said, putting on her best puppy dog eyes.
"Absolutely not." Beakly turned and continued her duties. "But, but I think I'm ready! What's out there, anyway?" Webby pleaded. Beakly looked at her granddaughter, considering what to say. "Nothing, nothing that you don't have in here." "Wait, WE HAVE FIREWORKS?!?!" The young duckling grinned as wide as she could. "No! No, don't play with fire," Beakly said, stopping Webby before she ran off to go find matches.
"Okay, then can I go?" Webby persisted. Beakly shook her head. Webby sulked away. As she stared out the window, she thought of how magnificent the fireworks would look in person. She walked to the kitchen and sat at the counter, disappointed. She was startled when she heard a fridge door open and shut. Scrooge sleepily grabbed a carton of milk and poured himself a glass. He was wearing a red bath robe and pink slippers. He rubbed sleep from his eyes.
"Mr. McDuck? I thought you went to bed early and hate New year's." Webby said. "Aye, I do. I just got up for some milk." He continued to ignore her. But Webby wanted to talk out her emotions. "I want to go to the park but granny won't let me," she vented. Scrooge went on, not paying attention to her. "She says I'm not ready, but she hasn't actually told me what's so dangerous out there. What could be so dangerous I can't leave?" she sighed. "Oh, there's a lot of dangerous things out in there," Scrooge spoke up. Webby was surprised when he responded.
"What do you mean?" "Ancient temples, curses, perilous adventures," he said without looking up from his milk. "Really!" Webby said. She thought she saw a smile cross his face, like he was reminiscing. "Oh, sure. When I was younger, I used to travel the world all the time!" Scrooge slowly started to get more and more excited, talking about the past. "You? No way," Webby said in disbelief. He nodded.
"Me, my nephew Donald, and my- my-" He stopped. "What? What's wrong?" Webby asked, interested in the story. He put the milk back in the fridge and moved to leave the kitchen. "What is it?" she asked. He stopped at the door. "The world is a dangerous place," he simply said. "It's not worth the excitement and adventure." And with that, he left.
Webby sat there, wondering why he had stopped. And then an idea came into her head. She knew it was wrong and she would get in trouble, but once she thought of it, she couldn't get it out of her mind.
The night moon stared down at her as Webby stepped out to the edge of the entrance of Kilmotor hill. She wanted to see the fireworks. She looked back at the mansion. Then she stared out into Duckberg. She would leave and be back just after midnight. She could do this.
But her conscience still tugged at her. She took a another glance at the mansion and thought of what her grandmother would say. She moved her eyes toward the gate.
Song (To the tune of How Far I'll Go from Moana)
Webby:
I've been waiting at the edge of the mansion
As long as I can remember
Never really knowing why
I wishI was like my grandmother
But I come back to the gated wall
No matter how hard I try
Webby walked in circles, contemplating her actions. Could she really go? Would the world be as dangerous as Beakly and Scrooge had said? Would it really be everything she hoped for?
Every turn I take
Every trail I track
Every path I make
Every road leads back
To the place I know
Where I can not go
Where I long to be
Webby climbed up onto of the brick wall that turned into the gate. She walked along the wall, careful not to fall. Then, when she had confidence in herself, she ran.
See the line where town meets the sea
It calls me
I wanna know
How far it goes!
I'm certain I'm ready as I will ever be
One day I'll know
Webby's eyes shot from the mansion to the town. She knew she shouldn't be doing this. She jumped down from the wall.
If I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
I know
Everybody in this mansion
Seems so happy in this mansion
Everything is by design
She began walking back up the hill. It was a silly idea anyway.
I know
Everybody in this mansion
Has a role in the mansion
So maybe I can roll with mine
I can train with pride
I can make us strong
I'll be satisfied
If I play along
But the voice inside
sings a different song
Webby tugged on her hair in an indecisive way. She would leave, just this once. Just to see the fireworks. No one would know. But could she really?
What is wrong with me!
See the light as it shines in the sky
It's blinding!
And no one knows
how much it glows
And I feel like it's calling out to me
So come find me
Webby ran back to the wall and climbed on top of it. She stood there, ready to jump. She was hesitant and took one last look of the mansion.
And let me know
What's beyond that line?
Will I cross that line?
Webby jumped down.
See the line where the town meets the sea
It calls me
I wanna know
How far it goes
I want to travel the world, see the earth
So come find me
One day I'll know
How far I'll go!
END SONG
Webby sneakily crept into town, scared of what danger she might face. Snakes? Bandits? Poison? She continued through the town until she found the park. She was surprised when she saw how un-dangerous the park really was. The park boomed with loud music. There were food trucks. People sat at benches, eating and talking. Webby walked up to one of the food trucks with suspicion.
Looking through the window of one, she saw a dog cooking a circular chunk of meat on a grill. She leaned in. "What's that?" she pointed. The dog cooking the food turned to her. "A hamburger patty," he said. "What's a hamburger?" she asked. The dog stared at her. "You don't know what a hamburger is?" he asked. The small duckling shook her head, wondering if she should. "Is it poison?" she questioned. The dog laughed. "Some might say." "What does it taste like?" she said. He looked up thoughtfully. "Like the best thing in the world, other than pizza and cake," he said.
Webby didn't know what pizza and cake were, but she was still curious about the hamburger. "Can I try one?" "Sure, for five dollars," he said. Webby gave him the money and sat down with her hamburger. She carefully inspected it. She walked around it, seeing it from all angles. She took off the bun and studied the insides. She sniffed it, checking for poison. It didn't smell poisoned to her. She lifted it up to her mouth and was about to take a bite.
She was stopped by shouting. "Okay, folks! Only one more minute till midnight!" a duck called from onstage. Webby grinned. One more minute and she would see the fireworks.
She tried again to take a bite of the hamburger, but was stopped once again. "Webbigail Danger Vanderquack!" she heard someone shout. She tensed. She knew that voice all to well. She turned around. "Hi, granny," she said. Beakly stood before her, hands on her hips. "I told you no and you disobeyed me," she said. "But I-" Webby began. "No, no buts. I told you." Webby looked down at her feet. "Come on, Webby, we're going home," Beakly demanded. "But my hamburger," Webby sighed, following after her grandmother.
Back at the mansion, she laid down upset on her bed. She had been grounded. She glanced out her bedroom window. The fireworks had gone off and were almost over. And she didn't even get try a hamburger. She looked back down. She was like a bird in a cage, wanting to spread her wings and fly. But she couldn't.
She heard a knock at her door. "Come in," she said, not really caring. She was surprised when she saw Scrooge. "Hi, Mr.McDuck." "Good, evening lass. I heard about your little expedition," Scrooge said. He took a seat next to her on the bed. "Ye know, I used to know a girl just like ye," he said. Webby wasn't interested. She just wanted to sleep.
"She wanted to see the world too. She wanted to see it so much, she soon found she had seen it all." Scrooge nudged Webby, from which he got a small smile out of her. "When she had decided she had seen it all, she wanted to see more." "What do you mean?" Webby asked, now sitting up. "She wanted to see space! But then she- well- she got hurt..." He drifted off. Webby stared at him a minute, noticing his pain.
"Anyway, the point is," he said, back in reality. "Your grandmother only wants what's best for ye. She wants to protect ye. But that doesn't mean ye have to stop adventuring." Webby looked at him with curious eyes. He pulled something from behind his back and handed it to her.
"A book?" she said. He nodded. "This is a book of my adventures. You could read them, and it'll be like ye right there with the adventure," he explained. She hugged the book to her chest. "Thank you, Mr.McDuck," she said. He ruffled her feathers. "Well, I'm going to turn in, lass." He got up and left. But she stayed up all night reading.
Well, that's the end of the one shots. I'm sorry if this one didn't get you in the feels as much as the other ones, but I hope you enjoyed it. This has been really fun to write, and I'd like to thank all the people who followed, favorited, and reviewed. (puppydogs68, Kit419, Not Ponytails or Cotton Tails, Nakesnotsnakes, and everyone else)!