Webby hoisted herself up on the stair railing and slid down. She held her headband on, the rush blowing her hair back. When she reached the bottom, she jumped down.
"Bradford!" she called out. She raced for the door of the lighthouse. "Bradford, where are you!"
She was about to leave when the door slammed shut. She gasped, taking a step back. The dog from earlier had closed it. He stepped towards her slowly.
"Where are you going, little lady?" He narrowed his eyes at her.
"I- I- Where's Bradford?" The words caught in the back of her throat. She had to get out of here, and fast.
The dog was standing over her now, his shadow covering her. Webby stiffened and gulped. Aw phooey.
She was ready to accept her fate when there was a shout. She peeked open one eye to see Bradford standing over the unconscious body of the dog.
"Bradford!" She grinned with relief.
"Come on, let's go," he said, ruffling her feathers.
She nodded eagerly. "I like that idea."
"Webbigail!" Beakly's voice thundered from up the lighthouse.
Bradford took Webby's hand. "Beakly will be here quickly, we have to move!" They exited the lighthouse as fast as they could and headed for the car.
Webby slid herself into the passenger side, slamming the car door shut. Bradford turned the key, frantically trying to start up the engine. "Come on. Come on!"
A few hiccups as the car revved, and the vehicle started up. He shifted the car into reverse and they pulled away.
"We can get lost in traffic," Bradford said when they reached the main road.
Webby shut her eyes, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was still pounding from all the excitement. She stared out the window. The sun was beginning to set over the bay of Duckburg. Her mind wandered to all the things her grandmother had told her.
"Bradford-"
"What did she tell you?"
She looked up at the vulture. "What?"
"What did Beakly tell you?" Bradford's eyes stayed locked on the road as he spoke.
"Well, uh, she just told me about FOWL, and she asked if I knew anything about magic. But magic doesn't exist... right?" Webby tilted her head, knowing there was something more.
Bradford sighed. "Webby, magic does exist."
Webby gasped, but it was a fake gasp. "What! What an interesting fact, that I definitely didn't already suspect. At all!"
Bradford chuckled. "But why would Beakly think you knew anything about that sort of stuff?"
"She said she thought you had told me." Webby fidgeted nervously in her seat. The question was burning inside her. Finally, she summoned the courage to ask. "Bradford, where was I? B- before I moved into the mansion? And why did you bring back there?"
Bradford looked solemn. "I had made a deal. With Beakly."
5 years ago...
Beakly caried an unconscious Webby up Kilmotor hill in the rain. Beakly should've known the girl would find out. Sooner or later.
After the girl had walked in on an interrogation, Beakly knew it wouldn't be beneficial to keep Webby at FOWL headquarters anymore. Or to keep her around. At all. But one more say might help her decide what to do with the girl.
Beakly found herself on the steps of the mansion. She knocked on the door. Sure, it was the middle of the night, but she knew he would probably still answer.
It was only a moment before the old buzzard opened the door. He looked surprised to see her. "Bentina? What are you doing here?"
"I've got a situation. Where's the owner of the house?"
"He's up in his room sleeping, but-"
"Then he won't even notice I'm here," Beakly said, making her way past Bradford, into the house. She stepped into the parlor and set the girl on the coffee table. Bradford followed after her. He gasped when he saw the duckling.
"Is she..."
"No, not yet. 22, I'm going to kill her." Beakly kept her eyes on the girl.
"What? But she's a little girl! Why? Also, I go by Bradford now." Bradford crossed his arms, frowning.
"Heh, same old 22. You were the only one I could go to for advice. She saw an interrogation, and now she has to die." Beakly began searching through the room. "Now, where do you keep your knives?"
"Beakly, no." Bradford picked the girl up from the table. "I won't let you."
"Why are you acting so soft? You were one of the greatest FOWL agents we ever had, and now that you're retired, you stop what needs to be done! Unless..." Beakly scanned over his body language. He stared at the ground, fidgeting awkwardly. "You never were a FOWL agent. You worked for SHUSH the whole time."
"It doesn't matter now. My spy days are behind me. But you are not killing this girl." Bradford moved farther away from the woman.
Beakly rolled her eyes. But an idea popped into her head. There was always the chance that Beakly would need Webby again in the future. And if she did kill her, there was a chance that the board of FOWL wouldn't approve.
She put a hand on her hip. "Fine. I'll let the girl live. But on two conditions."
Bradford raised an eyebrow. "Two?"
Beakly nodded. "You take her in. She gets to live here and you make sure she's stays out of trouble and what not. And second..." She smirked, stepping towards Bradford. He hugged the duckling tighter. "I still keep tabs on her. All I have to say is 'I'm ready,' and you bring her to me."
"And if I don't?"
"If you fail to return her within the next 24 hours, well, the deal is off. And she dies. One way or another. Got it?" She traced the child's face with her hand, but Bradford pulled away.
They exchanged a glare, before finally Bradford sighed. "Understood."
...
"After a while, I hoped she'd just forgotten about it entirely. But then last night she called." Bradford frowned, finishing his story.
Webby glanced down. "My own grandmother tried to kill me."
"Webby..." Bradford glanced at her. "She's not your family."
"But, she is."
Bradford shook his head. "Maybe by blood, but she doesn't act like it. Family is who cares for you. Like me, Feathry, and even though they just moved in, the boys care for you too."
A small smile crossed Webby's face. "You didn't mention Lsunchpad."
"No. I didn't." He chuckled a bit, making her laugh too.
After a moment of calmness, Bradford said, "Of course, now our family will have a target on our back. Beakly doesn't give up easily."
"And we'll face her together! Because nothing is stronger than family!" She smiled warmly at the buzzard.
Bradford smirked. "That's the spirit. Now... do you want to get some ice cream?"
"Of course!"
...
Beakly stood next to the dog on the balcony of the lighthouse. They stared out into the city of Duckburg.
"Should we go after them?"
"No need Duckworth." Beakly put her hands on the rails, smirking. "Now she knows Bradford doesn't tell her everything. And she'll come back when she wants answers."
Duckworth crossed his arms. "The board isn't going to like that very much. We needed her. To stop-"
"I know that we needed her!" She glared at Duckworth, anger rising. "Patience is a virtue!"
"Not my virtue," Duckworth grumbled. Beakly ignored him. Her plan would come together soon. She just had to wait.
...
The boys were cramped together in a suit of armor, hiding from the ghost. Dewey sat on top, head poking out, followed by Louie and Huey at the bottom as the legs. Welp, this was not what Louie thought he would be doing today.
"I can't breathe in here!" Dewey whisper shouted.
"Chill, Dew, we'll get out of here if we be quiet." Louie was positioned awkwardly, wedged between his brothers.
"I should've listened when Bradford said 'Feathry doesn't want a party, so don't waste your time.'" Huey spoke with his best Bradford impression. "But I didn't! And now Feathry is probably dead!"
"And we'll be too, if you don't stop talking!" Louie tried to cover Huey's beak, but he couldn't reach him.
"It's all my fault! This is the worst party ever!"
"Dude! You need to stop talking!" Louie gave his youngest brother a quick nudge.
"Guys," came Dewey's squeaky, almost inaudible voice. "The ghost found us."
"AAAAHHHHH!" Huey and Louie shouted in unison. Huey started running, moving all three of them in the armor. The breastplate fell off, leaving Dewey, Louie, and Huey's torso exposed. Now that they could actually see the ghost chasing them, they started screaming more.
The ghost formed an ax out of purple smog and raised it above his head.
They continued racing though the halls of the mansion, but the ghost stayed on their trail. He swung the ax, hitting Dewey's helmet and giving Louie a jump scare. The helmet broke off and Dewey let out a gasp for breath.
"Thank goodness! I never want to see that helmet again!" Just as the words left Dewey's mouth, the ghost swung again. The blue triplet ducked just in time. "NEVER MIND I WANT THE HELMET BACK!"
The was a whoosh as the ghost transformed into smoke. Louie looked forward, seeing that they were coming to a fork. "Huey! Turn right!" They continued going straight. "I said turn right!" He glanced down at his brother to see a frightened expression on his face.
"I'm not controlling the armor! The weird ghost thing is!" Huey yelped. Louie looked down and found that the legs of the armor were covered in the smoke. And they were heading full speed for the wall. "Guys, if we're going to die, I have a confession to make," Huey piped up. Dewey and Louie decided to do that too.
"I like to sniff dryer sheets!"
"Sometimes Bready gives me nightmares!"
"I was the one who called the cops on Uncle Donald!"
"WAIT WHAT!"
The armor crashed into the wall, smashing into pieces. The triplets landed on the ground amongst the rubble. The ghost seemed to have disappeared, but it was only for the moment. Louie shuffled to his feet, eyes wide. He dusted himself off, then helped Dewey up.
Huey sat up, laughing. "Ha, Louie sniffs dryer sheets." He stood up and started heading down the hall. "Come on, we have to figure out what that ghost wants and save Feathry."
"Wait, Huey, what did you say?" Louie asked.
"Let's go save Feathry?" Huey tilted his head.
"No, just before that," Dewey said, stepping towards the youngest.
"Uh... nothing. We should stop wasting time." Huey tried to keep walking, but Louie grabbed his wrist.
"You called the cops? When?" Louie couldn't believe it. He had just thought they had found Donald out some other way.
Huey bit his lip and avoided eye contact, rubbing the back of his neck. "That night. After you and Dewey fell asleep. Look, I..." He sighed before continuing. "We hated it there, and even though you two acted like it wasn't that bad, something needed to change, and so..." He smiled awkwardly, fidgeting with his hands.
Dewey hugged Huey, catching him off guard and almost knocking off his cap. Louie ruffled the boy's feathers. Huey cleared his throat. "Alright, guys, enough sappy stuff. It's not that big of a deal..." He chuckled lightly.
"Yes, changing the course of our lives isn't a big deal." Louie rolled his eyes with a smirk.
Dewey and Huey parted from the hug. "Thanks Huey."
"No problem Dew." Huey took a deep breath then put his hands on his hips. "Now. About the ghost?"
"We know he wants his daughter... whoever that is," Louie said, shrugging. "We don't know that many girls, so my guess is as good as anyone else's."
"Heyo! I've got an idea!" Huey started off down the hallway to their bedroom. Dewey and Louie exchanged a look before following him.
...
"This is will help us communicate with the ghost!"
"You've had a lot of bad ideas tonight, but this by far is the most... creative."
"Thanks."
The boys stood in the foyer, Huey with an 8 ball in his hands. "The ghost is somewhere in this house. So we ask it questions, shake the ball, and then we'll have our answers!"
"Is that how ghosts work?" Dewey wondered, huddling close to Huey.
"Let's see..." Huey shook the ball, and a response appeared. Yes- definitely. "Well, there's your answer."
Louie took the ball. "Who is your daughter?" Then he shook it next to his ear. The triplets leaned in so they could all see. Reply hazy, try again. "Huh."
"You have to ask yes or no questions. Try, does your daughter's name start with an A?" Dewey said, taking the toy. He squinted at the answer. "My reply is no."
"What about B?" Huey's answer came out the same. "C?" My reply is no.
Louie took a turn at the 8 ball. "That's not getting us anywhere. Um... We'll get back to whoever the daughter is later. Is Feathry alive?" He rolled his eyes when he saw the answer. "Most likely. Thanks for the clear answer ghost." He thought up another question. "Are the guests alive?" Yes.
"Wait, how come it doesn't know for sure whether or not our cousin is alive, but it knows the guests are?" Dewey tilted his head.
Louie ignored him. "Are the guests still in the house?" My Sources say no. "Is Feathry still in the house?" Yes.
"Well, that's good news.Where is he?" Huey got a turn at the ball. "Wait, never mind, it's yes or no. Maybe-" Huey took a step forward and tripped. The ball rolled forward and landed on: Better not tell you now. "Rude." He frowned.
"If we find your daughter, will you give us back Feathry?" Dewey picked up the toy and shook. It is certain. "And if we don't?" Outlook not so good. His eyes widened.
"Enough guessing games. Is there a way we could eliminate possible people with less questions?" Louie said, putting a hand on his hip.
Dewey nodded. "How about, Does your daughter's name start with a letter from the first half of the alphabet? That wipes out A through M." After passing the ball between his hands, it said yes.
Huey grabbed the toy from his brother. "Does it start with a letter from the second half?" Before Dewey could stop him, Huey bounced up and down.
"It just said yes, why would we need to check the second-"
"It also says yes."
"What?" Dewey checked the ball, and it did indeed say yes. "That's weird..."
Louie took the toy. "Hang on. Ghost, do you have two daughters?" The ball said Signs point to yes. "One who's name starts from the first half and one who's name starts from the second half of the alphabet. Well, that clears things up."
"No it doesn't."
"I was being sarcastic Huey." Louie began pacing. "How are we going to find two girls without a clue to who they could be?"
An idea came to Huey. He leaned over to Dewey and whispered something. Dewey nodded. Then he whispered it to Louie. But before they could enact Huey's plan, smoke emerged from the floor. It formed into the ghost and it's eyes locked on the red triplet. He shrunk under his gaze. He waved to the ghost nervously. "Hey, you think he heard our plan?"
"You mean the one where we just forget about finding his daughters and go find Feathry ourselves? Yeah, maybe." Louie grabbed his brothers by the wrists and they ran for cover. They raced through the mansion, not caring to look back to see if the ghost was actually following them. They found themselves in the kitchen. Louie slammed the door shut and started barricading it with whatever he could find.
"I'm starting to think near death experiences are going to be a regular thing today," Huey said. He huddled up next to Dewey, frightened. Once Louie finished with the door, they had a moment of quiet. Just the sound of them breathing.
The quiet was interrupted by a loud bang and rattle. Huey nearly jumped out of his skin. They looked to the source of the rattling. The kitchen pantry. They all looked to each other. Dewey and Huey's eyes landed on Louie. They watched him expectantly.
The green triplet sighed and walked towards the pantry door. His hand hovered over the handle, hesitating. Finally, he drew in a deep breath and swung the door open.
"Aaahhh!"
"Ahhhh!"
"Feathry?"
...
"Boys?" Feathry fell out of the pantry, out of breath.
"We thought the ghost got you," Huey said.
"Well, he did, but he just locked me in there until you guys showed up." Feathry got up and dusted himself off. "It sounded crazy out there. Did you guys get rid of the ghost?"
"Nerp, it's still out there trying to kill us," Dewey said, pointing to the kitchen entry.
"Yeah, and it came from your penny! So explain yourself Feathry!" Louie held up. the coin to the adult.
Feathry took the coin and looked over it. "I had no clue this thing was haunted. But I'm not surprised. I did get it from Uncle Scrooge. And now I get his ominous warnings about it." He mustered his best Scottish accent. "Feathry lad, don't lose this! Guard it with yer life! It holds unknowable dangers." He laughed to himself. "Eh, something like that. And we all thought he was crazy."
"About getting the ghost back in?" Louie wave his hands frantically. "He said he was looking for his daughters, but we don't know who they are."
Before Feathry could say anything, the door to the kitchen burst open, the ghost floating through. The duck's eyes widened. He had seen the ghost before, but it was in the dark. Now that Feathry could actually see him... He had met this ghost once before. When he was alive. 14 years ago. On is 13th birthday.
Feathryshook himself back to reality. "Come on, kiddos, let's go!" He ushered the boys out the back door quickly. The back door led out to the backyard. The sky was completely dark now, and the air was cold. The ghost followed them outside. Feathry took a few steps back until he felt something wet under her feet. He glanced behind him to see they were a few feet from the pool. Filled with water.
He shut his eyes and breathed in and out. He couldn't let his fear of water get to him. Not when they had other problems to deal with. He turned back to the ghost.
"Feathry... Duck..." came its gravely voice. A chill went up Feathry's spine.
"Feathry, what are we going to do?" Louie asked.
"Um..." Feathry tried to clear his head. He rubbed the penny in his hand. He just had to get the ghost back in the coin. Easy.
The ghost lunged for him. Feathry yelped and held out the penny. The ghost was stopped and started being sucked into the coin. Only a bit, but it was something. "Ha! It worked!" Feathry beamed.
Before the ghost was entirely pulled in, it snarled. He made one last rush at Feathry and knocked him backwards.
The two flew back, into the pool. There was a loud splash and a stinging sensation as they hit the water. Feathry started to hyperventilate and all he could think about was the water.
Don't freeze up. Don't freeze up. Focus!
But he couldn't. When his head was dunked underwater, his mind filled with memories. Everything was the same as it had been then.
His birthday. Water. And someone else. Last time there was thrashing too. Feathry had made it out okay in the end then, but someone else hadn't. And now it was the same someone else. The ghosts of his past.
Feathry couldn't breath. He needed oxygen. And it didn't help that his body didn't want to cooperate. He shut his eyes tight. He could've move. He was too scared. He remembered all too clearly that 13th birthday.
"Feathry!" One voice rang through and snapped him back to reality. 14 years ago it had been a girl's voice. And now it was Dewey's.
His eyes shot open. The ghost was keeping him from coming up. He tried to fight it off, but it was hard to fight something that wasn't physically.
The penny. He still had it in his hand. He pressed it closer to the ghost, and it sucked him up quicker. Finally, the ghost disappeared into the coin. Feathry swam upward, desperate for air.
He climbed up on the side of the pool, dripping and coughing. He flopped down on the concrete, out of breath.
"Feathry! You did it!" Dewey beamed.
Feathry had no energy to speak, so he just gave the duckling a thumbs up. He held up the coin. "Got... him." His heart rate still went racing. He shut his eyes. Just a quick nap.
"Feathry."
"Just... let me rest my eyes for a sec." When he had finally caught his breath, he got to his feet. His head spun. He walked to the edge of the pool. His hands trembled. Taking a deep breath, he chucked the penny into the water. Then he turned to the triplets. "Well, we'll never see him again."
"Hopefully," Louie added. "Did you know that ghost?"
Feathry stiffened. "No... why?"
"He called you by name. So he knew you." Louie tilted his head curious.
Feathry started to walk inside with the boys. "Huh. Weird. Anyways, why don't we go inside and... chill or something."
"I like that idea," Huey and Dewey said in unison.
Louie glanced at his cousin suspiciously before following them inside.
...
"We're back!" Webby yelled in a singsong tone when they entered the mansion. Bradford shut the door behind her.
Dewey came to great her. "Hey. What'd you two do?"
"Eh. Spy stuff. You?"
"Ghost stuff."
"Cool."
"Cool."
14 years ago...
"Can I open my eyes yet?"
"Never!"
"Not yet."
Feathry nearly tripped over a root in the hard dirt. "You guys?"
"Alright, fine, baby," Donald remarked, smirking at his cousin.
Feathry now got a view of their location. They were going up an incredibly steep hill through brush and trees. "Wow. That's high. Where are we going?"
"Well, we know how much you love your birthday," Della began. She stood behind Feathry and pushed him upwards. "So we set up a little surprise on the cliff side."
"But I thought Uncle Scrooge said we had to stay at the mansion," Feathry said, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you want a birthday or not?" Donald chuckled and continued up the terrain.
"You guys," Della said softly. "I know we thought it was a good idea to do this on a cliff, but I'm not so sure now."
Feathry and Donald looked back at her. "Why?"
There was a rustling in the trees behind her, then a fourth duckling fell through the brush, face planting. "I'm good!" he said.
"That's why." Della smirked, then went to help Gladstone up. She yelped when she saw he was covered in bugs and random insects.
Gladstone pulled out a lint roller from his pocket and rolled the bugs off. "Okay, to Feathry's secret birthday party we go!"
Feathry chuckled.
"Hey, Feaths, race ya to the top!" Donald began running before Feathry could process the challenge.
He nodded. "Oh, you're on!"
The cousins continued up the hill. They finally made it to the top, where Donald, Della, and Gladstone had set up a small, circular fold up table. On the table was a poorly made cake with 13 candles.
Feathry smiled at it, then turned to hug his cousins. "Thank you! You guys are the best!"
Donald ruffled his feathers. "Anything for you."
Della smiled. "Yeah. If no one else is gonna look out for us in this world, then we've got to look out for each other."
"Now let's eat cake!" Gladstone cheered, pumping his fists in the air.
They all hated the cake. But no one wanted to be rude, so no one complained, and they all ate the entire cake.
"What'd you wish for?" Gladstone asked, putting an arm around his youngest cousin.
"I'm not aloud to tell you, or else it won't come true. Especially you, Mr. bad luck charm," Feathry laughed.
"Alright, that's fair." Gladstone sat down in the dirt and patted on his knees, content. "I would wish that we all stay best friends forever. This is nice."
"There was never a doubt," Della said, taking a seat next to Gladstone. "We're family. And that's how it's always going to be."
"Agreed," Feathry and Donald said in unison.
End of episode 4! Thanks for the support!