Dewey was very surprised to find the floor covered in paper and scraps when he entered the lobby. He tilted his head curiously at the mess.
"Hey, Dewey," Webby said with a grin from the front desk. Storkules as taking a nap on the chair next to her.
Dewey waved slowly. A small chimera jumped out of the paper piles, startling the blue triplet. The three headed creature skipped to where Webby was and she gave it a pat on the head.
From behind Dewey, Lena entered, a grin plastered on her face. "I just had the most amazing afternoon ever! I met Poseiduck and asked him a bajillion questions! My throat hurts from talking so much!"
"I wasted a bunch of paper and got a bunch of paper cuts, so I would count my afternoon as a success too!" Webby waved her hands with small red scratches all over them. "What'd you do Dewey?"
"I cleaned up after a bunch of tiny people, and it was strangely enjoyable." He blew his hair out of his face only for it to fall back down. He frowned. "We still have't found anything on my mom yet, and we only have an hour..." Stopping his eyes widened. "Oh no."
"What 'Oh no'?" Lena asked.
"How long have we been here?"
"At least an hour and a half..." Lena bit her lip. Realizing, she smacked her palm to her forehead. "Oh, dang it, we only had an hour! Do you think Launchpad left us here?"
Now Webby began panicking. "Quick! Does anyone have a clock! Oh snickerdoodles, we're going to be stuck on this island forever!"
Anxiety sinking in, Dewey ran around in circles screaming. He tripped over some pages and face planted into the floor.
"I had so much more I wanted to do!" Lena wailed dramatically. She melted next to Dewey.
A sigh attracted the kids' attention. Selene had been standing at the door the hold time. She scanned over the kids and gave a deadpan look. "What's going on here? You've been here for literally ten minutes. Chill out."
Dewey shot up. "What!" they said in unison.
Selene nodded. "Yes. And why is there trash all over the floor?"
"It's called art," Webby pointed out, standing on the desk.
Selene didn't look convinced. "Whatever. I think I know what's happening here. You didn't eat that candy, did you?" She gestured to the jar of purple candies. The three nodded. She rubbed the bridge of her beak. "Okay, okay, I guess it's story time. So." She folded her hands together.
"Ithaquack is an abandoned trash hole, if you didn't notice, and the reason why is those candies. You ever heard of lotus?"
Lena's hand shot up. "Oh! Me! I know! They're those flowers that make it feel like no time has passed at all even if days, weeks, or even years actually have! Right?"
Selene waved the girl off. "Yes, yes, you're very smart. Now shut up. The gods had been using lotus flowers to keep people entertained here for centuries. They turned them into candies to make them edible. But then, my father, Zeus, he decided it was messed up to trap people here for so long, even though that's how I run my business." Anger flared in her eyes, but she took a deep breath to calm herself. Walking over to the desk, she picked Webby off it and set her on the floor. Selene wiped Webby's feet marks off the surface.
"So Zeus put a curse on all the lotus plants. He made them go bad, so now we call them notus. Because they do the opposite of a lotus."
"They make a short time feel long," Dewey said.
Selene clicked her tongue. "Eh, it does have a brain. Yup. So after that, everyone left because they felt like they had been here forever. Only a few people stayed here out of their own free will, for whatever reason." She rolled her eyes and leaned against the desk.
Dewey put a knuckle to his chin, thinking it over. Maybe now would be a good time to ask about what he had come for. "Did Della Duck come to stay here?"
"Della Duck?" Selene hummed, trying to remember. "Oh yeah, I knew her. She always said we were best friends, but we were kind of just acquaintances."
"Oh."Dewey frowned.
"But she did intend to come stay here. It was five years ago, I think. She called and asked if I could save her a room. Not like she really needed to, it's not like anyone's ever here. But I think she knew that. She wanted the quiet, to be alone. But she never showed up." She shrugged.
Dewey's heart lifted with the new information. He had something more to work with. He bought over the goddess' words. He stopped, noticing something. "Wait, 5 years ago? No, no, no, but my mom left 10 years ago. Are you sure it was 5?"
"Ah, you're her kid. Well, it was definitely 5 years ago. Which I guess that means she was doing something else before, but I can't help you out there. Like I said, we weren't that close."
Nervously fidgeting with his sleeves, he frowned. His sadness changed into frustration. "Ugh, I just have more questions than I got answers!" He let out an exasperated sigh.
Webby pat his shoulder. "It's okay, Dew. We'll figure out what happened to her. I promise."
Lena bit her lip and nodded.
"Thanks Webbs," he said. He turned towards the door. "Well, I guess we got all that we came for. Come on, guys, let's get back to the plane." He shuddered at the thought of going back home with Launchpad at the wheel.
"Wait, let me get my little kitty friend."
Webby ran back to the desk and grabbed the chimera from where he was sleeping, on the computer. In the process, she knocked the monitor over onto the paper covered floor. Sparks flew and the paper caught on fire. She yelped and moved to stand next to her friends. Selene tried to stamp out the fire, but she only managed to spread it. Storkules woke up to the screaming and smell of smoke. Dewey's heart raced as he watched the fire, any reasonable thought leaving him. His feet were frozen in place. It wasn't until Selene shoved him out the door that he moved again.
They all stood outside, the building on fire. Selene waved her hands in panic, watching her business go up in flames. "No, no, no, no. Storkules!"
He nodded and flew up, grabbing a nearby cloud. He rung it like a dishrag and water spilled over the building. The fire disappeared into smoke. A long moment of silence passed.
And when it ended it was al too soon.
"What the heck! This is my business you just destroyed! Do you know how much it's gonna cost to fix this! And not only the actual building, but now I have to get a new computer too!" Selene's face was red with anger. Dewey winced at her loud voice.
"I mean, you kind of had to do that anyways," Lena snickered.
"Smart Alec, eh?" Selene clenched her fists and sighed. "Fine, to pay off the damage you've done, you will have to work for me for at least 3 eternities!"
Dewey's eyes widened. That was definitely more than an hour. "What! The damage couldn't have been that much." He shrugged, laughing awkwardly. "How much does working here pay, anyways?"
"Less than a cent an hour. It's really bad here."
"I'm pretty sure that's illegal," Webby said, tilting her head at the woman.
"Well, the alternative is I unleash the wrath of Olympus on you, so take your pic." Selene put a hand on her hip.
"Those are both horrible options!" Dewey's knees buckled, but he forced himself to be brave. He could think of a way out of this. "Is there a way that we don't inevitably die?" She shook her head. He bit his lip. Well, there was one other option.
He grabbed Webby and Lena's hands and started up the pavement was back to the plane.
"What kind of plan is this!" Lena pulled her hand from him to keep up better.
"A tactical retreat. He who runs away lives to fight another day," Dewey said matter of factly.
Webby grinned, running along side them. "I like it! It's risky!"
A loud crack of thunder rang from somewhere. Dewey flinched, but the plane was just in sight. The sky's turned dark. Glancing back, Dewey could see Selene and Storkules coming after them. Thankfully, the back of the sun chaser was wide open. He slid to a stop and climbed in. Webby and Lena did the same.
"Quick Launchpad! Start the pane! We've accidentally unleashed the wrath of Olympus!" Webby waved her hands frantically.
Launchpad raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"Just fly man!" Lena grabbed him by the collar of his shirt before shoving him in the pilot's seat.
Shaking himself, Launchpad flipped a few switches and closed up the hatch. Taking hold of the steering, they took off.
Dewey buckled up and let out a sigh of relief. It was short lived at the plan jerked. At first he thought it was just Launchpad trying to psych him out, but when Dewey saw the surprised expression on the man's face he wasn't so sure.
"I think we might be under attack," Launchpad said into the speaker.
"It's the wrath!" Webby jumped up dramatically.
"Calm down, I think I can the plane steady..." He messed around with some more controls and the plane sped up. "We've got to get out of her. We're being chased by two flying people. What is up with you Ducks and weird things always happening!"
The plane shook violently. Dewey's stomach dropped with it. He clutched the seat handles tightly. All he wanted to do was find out what happened to his mother. He didn't know that would involve all this.
A loud snap broke the air. The engines whirred down and they began their decent. Lightning hit the plane. The kids each let out a scream. The plane swooped as Launchpad pulled on the joystick.
"Okay, we lost power for a second, but as long as we got the backup, we should be fine." He glanced back at the kids, but he didn't look exactly certain.
Too more snaps as two more lightning bolts struck the plane. The cargo plane did a barrel roll, making Dewey's stomach churn. He held on to his beak to keep from both throwing up and screaming. The girls held each other, terrified while Launchpad tried to do anything he could to keep from crashing.
They made impact.
...
Dewey rubbed his head, coming to. Shaking himself, his memory came back to him. He surveyed the area. Lena was helping Webby out of the plane wreckage while Launchpad was figuring himself out.
"Dewey?" came two family voices.
Turning around, Dewey saw Huey and Louie. His face lit up and he ran to hug them. "Man, am I glad to see you two!"
Louie broke their hug. "Why! Why do you guys get in life threatening situations when I'm not around! We are never doing Only Child day again!"
Dewey looked around and realized they had crashed into the side of the Waddle building. A tree also lay in the rubble. A few feet away stood another kid and three small robots. "Well, looks like we've all had an eventful day, huh?"
"Um, excuse me? You can't just crash in while I'm trying to destroy people!" A young parrot boy with rockets for feet scowled at Dewey.
"And you still have to pay for starting that fire!" Thus entered Selene and Storkules on the scene.
"Well, at least the people I met today aren't trying to kill me." Louie smirked, as if bragging. Just as the words exited his mouth, the three robots got on each other's shoulders to be talked and held a lit lighter up to the boys. Louie sighed. "Oh boy."
"Don't worry, I've got your back Huey," the other kid said with a smile.
Storkules used his powers and trapped everyone except the triplets in small cages made of lightning.
"Or never mind."
The triplets turned and huddled. "Ok team, game plan. What are we up against?" Louie glanced between his brothers.
"An evil android boy."
"Angry half bloods."
"Small robots who are siblings but hate each other and everyone. So the usual." Louie shrugged. "I'll take the android, Dewey you've got the bulbs, and Huey's got the gods. Break!" The triplets nodded and split.
Dewey spun around to be met by the robot lightbulbs.He yelped as their lighter got uncomfortably close. Taking the light from them, he turned it off. The smallest bot still dangled on the end. "Let's not play with fire. Why are you guys so bitter anyways?" The medium bot tried to bite him before realizing he didn't have teeth. The robot frowned. The oldest started kicking the blue triplet.
Dewey knocked it back. "Hey, that's not nice." He tried to think of some way to make them stop. "You guys seem pretty upset about... something. I'm sure you'd be a lot happier if you were nicer. So please don't hurt me?"
The robots looked at each other. After a moment of consideration, they nodded. The small one let go of the lighter and fell into the oldest's arms.
Smilingly, Dewey chuckled. "Hey, that was easy. I got them to stop fighting each other Louie!"
...
Louie, who was fighting with the parrot boy, gaped at Dewey. "What? But- How! They wouldn't listen to me!" Louie just barely ducked a punch from the robot boy.
He shook himself from the distraction and focused on the parrot. "How come you look so much like Mark Beaks?"
The robot grumbled. "I do not! I'm not Mark, I'm Boyd! B-O-Y-D, got it?"
Louie put up his hands defensively. "Okay, chill! It was just a question. So sensitive."
Boyd threw a few more punches at the green triplet. Louie blocked them, stepping backwards. Boyd pushed off Louie, flipped, and aimed his rocket fire at Louie. Tucking and rolling, he found himself behind Boyd. Eyes looking over him, Louie noticed a small panel on his neck.
"Please don't damage him. He's still my brother!" Doofus called from his cage.
Louie nodded, just as Boyd's foot came for his face. Louie fell back and winced. Boyd stood over him. Rubbing his eyes, Louie frowned. Grinning, Boyd put his hands on his hips. "Ha! You're week. Once I destroy you, I'll destroy Huey, and then after that I might go destroy that Violet girl, depends how I'm feeling." Boyd shrugged. "Either way, Doofus will be sad, and then I'll be happy.
"And I thought I was a horrible brother." Louie pushed himself up and around Boyd. Elbowing him in the back of the head, the hatch popped open, revealing a few switches. Louie pinned Boyd down with his foot and flipped the off switch. Boyd let out a scream before powering down. Louie flashed a smile at Doofus. "You're brother should be fine. I think. I don't really know." Doofus shrugged.
...
Huey dodged a bolt of lightning from the stork. "Hi, I'm Huey!"
"I don't care," The swan snapped. She stopped floating and flicked her hair back. She glared at the stork. "Just hurry up and smite him!" Crossing her arms, she frowned. "Selene, goddess of the moon. What the heck does that even mean? I have to rely on my stupid brother to kill people."
"Excuse me? I'm not stupid!" The stork shot lighting at his sister she yelped and jumped back.
Huey glanced between them. Noted: they didn't like each other. Maybe he could use that to his advantage.
He steppe towards the two, who had began bickering. "Hey. Sounds like you two have some issues. You both have low self esteem."
They stopped and eyed him weird. "what are you talking about? I have great self esteem." Selene pointed her beak up.
"Exactly. You need to put others down to feel good about yourself while also telling yourself you're amazing. Try actually lifting people up instead. You'll find you'll feel much better, and not only that, but you'll have more friends. And then you'll feel more included."
Her face expression changed to confusion and her eyes began to get watery.
"Ha! You just got called out by a kid!" The stork laughed.
Selene pouched him. "Shut up!"
Huey turned to the stork. "And I bet she's been insulting you your whole life, huh? That's why you fee the need to prove her wrong while at the same time slowly becoming the very thing she called you. People have the power to speak destiny into people. If you're told you'll be great, you'll be great. If you're told you're dumb, well..." Huey pat him. "You just need a hug and to be told you are worth something. You're not... stupid." Huey's voice started cracking and his mind went to uncle Donald for some weird reason. He pushed the feeling down.
Huey cleared his throat. "So, just hug it out, and from this point forward, help each other out. It's gonna take some time to break old habits, but trust me, in the end it will be worth it."
Selene and the stork exchanged a look. Selene wiped her eyes and scoffed. "Whatever. Weirdo. Come on, Storkules. Let's get out of here." She glanced at Huey I discuss before flying off with her brother.
Huey heard her mumble something under breath. "I should've kicked them out the second they asked about Della."
He tilted his head curiously. What?
Noted: Dewey was asking about Della... for whatever reason.
Huey was snapped out of his thoughts by a pat on the back by Louie. "Nice job, Hue! Where'd you get all that?"
"Read it in a magazine or something." He shrugged.
Dewey gave him a smile. "And for the record, you're not stupid."
Huey's face turned red with embarrassment. "I don't know what you're talking about. No, no, I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about them. Obviously."
His brothers rolled their eyes. "Obviously."
With the demigods gone, the lightning cages disappeared. Their friends, and Launchpad, were free.
Zan and Mark entered the room, their eyes wide.
"Why is there a gaping hole in my lab!" Mark dragged his hands over his face, frowning. "Where are my bots?" The three bulbs ran up to their creator and climbed up his legs to his hand. He sighed. "Well at least you three are safe. You're not so easily replaced."
Zan nudged him. "Good thing we make bank and can totally fix this."
...
After all the commotion, everyone headed home. The long day was over, and the triplets were glad to be back together.
As Huey lay in bed, he couldn't help but mull over the small comment Selene had said. Was the Only Child day just a trick to throw Huey and Louie off? What was Dewey up to?
End of episode 7! It might be a while until I start episode 8, as I've got a lot of ideas for it and I've got to organize my thoughts. But it shouldn't be too long! And the new characters will be added to the Q&A book tomorrow! Thanks for reading!