Feathry and Huey eventually found another elevator, now that they were out of range from Gladstone's curse. They made their way down to the 1st floor. Feathry stepped out of the elevator, realizing he had gotten turned around. Where had they entered from again? Was it this way, or maybe...?
He spun in a circle. "Hey, Hue, do you remember-"
"Licking doorknobs is illegal on other planets? Of course!" Huey smiled up at him.
Feathry stared at him a moment, processing. "Uh... no. The exit. Where is it? Maybe Webby left or something."
"I don't know. Maybe she had to go to the bathroom?" Huey started walking around, Feathry following behind him. "Maybe we could find a map or something. Like a quest!" Huey ran up ahead, getting mixed in the shuffle of people in the lobby.
Feathry called after him, trying to catch the boy. Feathry sighed. "Great, now that's three things I have to find. Webby, the exit, and Huey." He tried to squeeze through people, give himself space to think. It was discombobulating, Feathry wondered if he would have to add claustrophobia to his list of fears. Taking another step, he tripped and face planted into the carpet. He groaned.
A hand appeared in his line of vision. He took it and someone helped him up. He dusted himself off. "Uh, thanks," he said, before looking up at who had helped him. It was the fox woman from earlier.
"My pleasure, Mr. Duck," she said with a slight nod.
Feathry was used to people recognizing him before he knew them, but it still caught him off guard occasionally. "You are...?"
"Miss Jiu Weihu, owner of this humble establishment." She folded her hands into her long sleeves. "Tell me, what you led you to grace us with your presence?"
Feathry glanced around while he spoke, still hoping to find maybe a red cap or a flash of pink somewhere. "My cousin lives here, so..." He drifted off, biting his lip.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Gander."
He looked back to her. "Yeah, actually, how did you-"
"If you are looking for the red boy I saw you with earlier, you might want to check by the water fountain." She pointed in to her right, drawing Feathry's attention.
"Thanks!" Feathry started heading in that direction. Another question popped into his head. "Oh, and also, you wouldn't happen to know where..." When he spun around, Jiu was no where to be seen. He frowned. "...the exit is...Never mind."
He did find Huey by a water fountain. The boy was sitting on the floor, his head in his palms, watching the show. Somewhere from a speaker, some nonsense about whatever was blaring incredibly loud. Looking at it from afar, Feathry thought it looked incredibly boring.
Feathry found a spot next to his younger cousin, who looked like he was about to fall asleep. "Huey, don't run off like that."
"Got it."
"Huey?"
"This is really boring." Huh. Great minds think alike. The boy threw his hands up. "There are, like, zero explosions, and I have not gotten wet once! Where is the splash zone!"
Feathry chuckled. "That bad huh?"
"Yeah, and I heard this thing goes on for three hours." Huey sighed and lay on the carpet. He started whining.
"You don't have to stay the full three hours." Feathry raised an eyebrow.
Huey's face lit up. "Really? Thank goodness!"
"Yeah, we still have to find Webby, so I'm not wasting 3 hours on nonsense."
"Sounds like a plan!" Huey jumped to his feet.
...
The first thing Dewey realized is that Gladdy liked to talk. A lot. Maybe bugging him about Della wouldn't be as hard as Dewey thought.
"I'm sure your uncle Donald and Feathry told you all about our adventures as kids," Gladdy said smiling. They walked around the second floor of the building. According to Gladdy, that was were most of the fun stuff was.
Dewey tucked his hands into his sleeve's. "Not really..." Louie shook his head, confirming Dewey's statement.
"Really? There was that time Feathry saved me from those llamas, one time Donald and I ran from woodpeckers, another time Della and I ended up on television after that fire at the school..." Gladdy went on talking, but Dewey's attention was drawn to his brother. Louie tensed at the mention of their mother. Dewey always had a suspicion Louie knew what had happened to her. The former couldn't risk asking Gladstone about her while the latter was around. He would probably put an end to Dewey's searching.
They stopped when they came to a stand labeled "Guess how many fingers I'm holding up." Gladdy smirked. "Oh, I'm great a these!"
"Are you?" Louie raised an eyebrow. "I mean, with your condition and all."
"Pft, come on, you act like it's a curse." Gladdy stopped when he realized what he said. "Wait a minute-"
"Would you like to try your luck sir?" the man at the stand asked. Gladdy leaned against the stand and slid money across to the man.
"Does this count as gambling?"
"Shh, Louie, you're ruining the process." After a moment, Gladdy finally guessed. "27."
"No."
Gladdy kept trying, just guessing 27 over and over again. Dewey and Louie exchanged a glance.
"How does he think he's holding up 7 fingers?" Dewey whispered to his brother. Louie shrugged.
The green triplet tugged at Gladdy's shirt. "Hey Gladstone, I've got to-"
"Two is correct."
Louie was caught of guard. "What?" The man handed the boy a set of car keys. "I- I, uh-" After a moment of stuttering, a smile spread across his face. "Cool! I got a car!" He looked to Gladdy and Dewey. "I'm, uh, gonna go check out the car I won, I guess." He ran off before they could stop him, laughing a little.
Gladdy watched after him. "Okay...so what do you want to do now Dewdrop?"
Dewey bit his lip, excitement bubbling inside of him. This is it! This is your chance! Just ask! Dewey opened his mouth, but no words would come out, a lump caught in the back of his throat. Speak! You're blowing it! Anxiety replaced his excitement. What if Gladstone didn't tell him? What if he told Feathry Dewey had asked! Or worse, Louie!
What if she was a bad person?
That was the biggest fear he had.
He took a deep breath. He would never know if he did't ask. Be brave, he told himself.
He looked Gladdy in the eyes. "Do you know what happen to Della?"
...
Panting, Lena and Webby stopped in an abandoned warehouse near the apartment complex. The older girl pushed the door open, letting Webby inside. She followed after. Webby skipped along, humming to the pitter patter of her feet on the cold concrete. The lighting was dim but sufficient, and cargo containers took up most of the space.
Lena cupped her hands over her mouth, stepping out into the open space. "Hellooooo!" Her voice bounced off the walls. When no one responded, Lena put a hand on her hip, saying, "Welp, looks like we're safe for now."
Webby grinned. "Cool. But I have a couple of questions."
"Shoot."
"Um, those beagles said you stole something?" Webby flashed an awkward smile at her new friend. She wanted to be absolutely certain she wasn't hanging out with some kind of criminal.
Lena rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Pft! I did not! Those ugly beagles totally stole it from me first. I was just returning it back to its owner."
"Which was?"
"Just some necklace, nothing special. It's been in my family for a while, and they took it from me, so while I was defending that kid, I thought it was also a good time to reclaim my property. They were probably hoping to make a quick buck or something." She shrugged with one shoulder. "It's not like I'm some criminal mastermind or something."
"T-thanks for the clarification," Webby chuckled. The girls continued through the warehouse, talking, but stopped when they heard voices.
"I'm certain they went this way..."
Webby and Lena exchanged a wide eyed glance before hiding behind one of the crates. Webby peaked around the corner, spotting one of the beagles. He was alone. She figured they had probably split up to find them easier. This sure was a lot of hassle to go through for just a necklace.
"That one's Bluebird Beagle, the dumbest one of the bunch," Lena whispered. "We could probably trick him or something... Any ideas?"
Before Webby could answer, Bluebird appeared right behind the girl. She spun around and gasped.
"Hey," he said. "You're them girls I'm supposed to catch!"
Webby tensed, sticking her arms to her sides. Her mind searched for an escape, but she wasn't great at thinking on her feet. Oh, why hadn't she just stayed with Gladstone and the others? "Um..."
"There you are Englibeth!" Lena shouted, stepping out from behind Webby. She couldn't help but notice the teen's new addition of a British accent. "I've been looking positively everywhere for you!"
Webby gave Lena a look as to say what are you doing? Realization came over her. Play along. "Uh, yes! I'm so sorry to worry you...Brittania...?"
Bluebird scratched his head. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Ah, I see, we haven't met yet." Lena bent over and stuck out her arm to him. "We are Brittania and Englibeth, Ma's kids from across the pond like. We live at the orphanage, you see." She stood straight and held out her pinky, as if that made her more legitimate.
"I'm not sure-"
"Yes, indubitably," Webby added. "We'll just be going now, and leave you to find those two rascals you were searching for. We wish you luck!" Webby did a curtsy before moving past him towards the door out.
The girls noticed he had a walk-in talkie in hand. Lena smirked. "Also, we're taking this," she said, snatching it from him.
He waved at them. "Okay then, lovely meeting you girls. I'll tell you if I found those other ones."
"Stupendous!" Webby called, before shutting the door behind her. Lena and Webby giggled before running off again.
They found a park across the street from the apartment complex. They jumped on the marigoround, Lena pushing them with her foot.
"Oh man, that was amazing!" Lena waved the walk-in talkie in her hand. "And now we can hear where they're going next! Ha!"
"Where'd you get all that fancy talk? That was smart!" Webby felt the wind in her hair as they spun around.
Lena waved her hand. "Well, I grew up with my aunt who talks with a British accent, and occasionally when she's mad, she mocks me with a Scottish accent, which is really weird. So I didn't hear an American accent until I started going to school, which was actually pretty recent since I was homeschooled up until Middle school." She smirked.
Webby laughed. "Pretty neat, Brittania."
"Sure is, Englibeth," Lena said, jumping off the marigoround. She strode over to the monkey bars and climbed up, walking along the top. "Pft, sorry for the stupid nicknames."
"I think they're cool." Webby followed Lena underneath the bars. "I can't wait to tell the guys about you!"
"You mean the guys who live in your home and yet you still don't know much about them?" Lena rolled her eyes. "I bet they didn't even notice you were gone."
"No, it's not like that!" Webby frowned. "I've just kind of felt like a fifth wheel lately, but it's not their fault. They're still getting adjusted too. Louie's usually busy with something, Huey thinks girls are gross, and Dewey... is working on a personal project of his and he lets me help. But they are fun! Like, this one time, it was snowing, and Louie got them lost, and since then, they call him Captain Lost!" She forced a laugh, not really getting it herself.
Lena tilted her head, glancing around. "I... don't get it. Is that, like, a joke or something?"
Webby sighed. "I don't get it either." She allowed herself to drop off the bars and she sulked over to the seesaw. "They just have so much history together."
Lena pushed the other end of the seesaw down. "Hey, chin up. Now we have history together!" She flashed a smile at the younger duck before standing on her end of the seesaw. The structure squeaked as the girls laughed, going up and down.
Webby felt a buzz in her pocket, and she gasped, getting off the seat. Lena flopped off, landing on the hard dirt. "Ow, a little warning would've been nice."
Webby pulled a pager out of her pocket. Bradford had never given her a phone so this was the next best thing. It was a message from Feathry. She squinted at the small, digital letters. "'Where are you?' Oh, I guess they did know I was gone." She chuckled nervously. Turning to Lean, she added, "Hey, maybe we should head back now?"
Lena shot finger guns at her. "Good idea. My aunt is probably pulling her hair out wondering where I am." She started walking across the street, looking both ways first. Webby followed along.
They were probably done helping Gladdy anyways. They couldn't have gotten into too much trouble while she was gone, could they?
...
"I'm sorry, did you say tigers?" Huey grinned up at Jiu, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Feathry just stared wide eyed.
"Yes, Jade Tigers. And they're for sale." The fox waved her hand to two green tigers sitting behind her.
Excitement boiled inside of Huey. They were everything he never knew he always wanted. He glanced between Feathry and the tigers. "Feathry?"
"I..." The older duck just stared at the tigers, mouth gaping.
Without waiting for an answer, Huey ran up to the tigers, looking them over. "Tigers are so cool! Are the number of stripes on their back how many people they've killed? Do they have laser eyes? Why are they green? If you stare at them really hard, will they obey your every command or will they start a mutiny and have a tiger revolution?" Huey started into the eyes of one of the tigers, getting close in its face. He could even feel its breathing on his cheek. Noted: tiger's teeth were really sharp.
Jiu raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" Her calm manner seemed shaken by his questions.
"Feathry, can I buy one please!!!" Huey wrapped his arms around the neck of one of the tigers. "I LOVE HIM SO MUCH ALREADY!"
"Are you kidding me! We'll take them both!" Feathry grinned, examining the second one. "This is so cool, and that guy at the mall with the iguana is gonna be sooooooo jealous!"
Huey pumped his fists in the air. The best part, neither Louie nor Bradford were there to stop them. Booya! Noted: always asks Feathry for the potentially dangerous stuff.
Feathry and Huey high fived. The adult turned to Jiu and handed her a business card. "Here, call this number and have the guy who answers the phone forward the money to you. And if the vulture thinks it's a scam and asks to talk to me, tell him that Feathry says he can't keep me from my dreams and that I'm a grown adult." He smirked and pat one of the tigers on the head. It growled at him.
She stared at the card a moment, processing. "...yes sir, of course." She turned and walked off.
Huey hugged his tiger harder. "I will name him Sir Hubert the second, and he shall be mine, and I will love him and squeeze him forever!"
Feathry slipped a hand into his pocket. "Now that I have accomplished all my life goals, back to finding the exit and Webby. I paged her a second ago."
"I don't get it, is that a boomer thing?"
Feathry shot Huey a glare. "I just bought you a tiger, you ungrateful-"
"Hi, Mr. Duck!"
Feathry yelped as Webby appeared behind him. "Gah! We need to get you a bell, or something."
"Tell me about it," a girl who was with Webby said. "Cool, is that a tiger?"
"Why yes it is, thanks for noticing." Huey smirked.
"And you are?" Feathry asked.
"Name's Lena, part hero, part movie star." She grinned, shooting finger guns at the two. Huey smiled and waved. She seemed nice.
"Okay." Feathry shook her hand.
"Hey, have we met before?" Lena cocked her head to the side.
"I'm famous, so..."
"No, but I mean in person before. I just feel like I've heard your voice. Eh, I'm probably overthinking it." Lena waved a hand, dismissing the notion.
"Where'd you go Webbs?" Huey asked.
"Hanging out with my new bestie," Webby said, putting her hands on her hips and dancing a little. "Did you guys fix Gladstone's problem."
"We would've, if we knew what it was. But the ol' ML made him forget, so no. We haven't." Feathry deadpanned. Then a smile crossed his face. "But hey, it wasn't a total loss! Cause Huey and I just bought a couple of tigers, which is pretty rad if I do say so myself."
"Bradford will never let you keep those," Webby pointed out.
"Just let us enjoy this moment!" Huey shouted.
"Oh! Webby! Where did you come in from!" Feathry said, snapping his fingers.
"Oh, just from over... there..." Webby spun full circle and frowned. "Huh. I've got no clue." They looked to Lena, who just shrugged.
Feathry sighed. "Alright then, let's just go meet up with the others. Come on kids. Come on tigers."
"Hey, how do you think tigers would work with Murphy's law?" Lena asked.