As the sun shone over the Duckburg bay, the water rolled over the shore, lapping in layers. The air was perfect, not a storm cloud in sight, and nothing could stop Webby and Louie from a relaxing boat ride across the bay.
"What a beautiful day!" Webby skipped along the beach, holding the fishing rods in her arms.
"And I can finally beat Huey's fishing record!" Louie pushed the boat to the edge of the water. "Twenty fish in one afternoon? Well how about twenty one!" Once he had the boat close enough, he hopped in. Taking Webby's hand, he helped her in as well. It was a humble boat, worn and somewhat falling apart, probably not safe to be floating on in the deep blue bay, but it was what the two of them had found in the garage.
"Afterwards, can we get hamburgers at the tavern on the dock! I was so excited to go fishing, I forgot breakfast." Webby stood at the front of the boat, the sea wind kicking up her hair.
"Sure thing, Webbs." Louie took hold of the oars, moving them out to sea. Sitting next to him was an alarm clock. The hands marked five minutes till noon, right when his attempt at the fishing record would start. He kept an eye on the clock, careful not to accidentally waste a precious minute.
Webby sang herself a made up sea shanty, drumming along with her hand on the side of the boat. "Nothing could ruin this perfect day!"
"Nope." Louie nodded along. The clock hands hit twelve, and he threw his line outward. "Nothing could ruin this perfect day."
A shadow moved under the boat. The waves knocked the boat a little, then a lot. Louie's line bobbed back and forth. He rested his head on his hand, waiting for a bite. He noted the edge of the underwater figure moved farther from them before circling back around. He stared at it, distracted from his goal.
"Uh... Webby?"
"Fishing is kind of boring. We just sit here? The view is nice at least."
"Webby, do you see that?"
"See what?" Webby moved next to Louie's side, following his eye line.
The figure swam back towards them, and Louie realized how large the thing actually was. The water parted as the beast rose up above the water, causing the waves to strike against their rickety boat. Shades of blue, purple, pink, and white decorated the creature, its stature towering above the whole bay. Two beady black eyes stared down at the ducklings, a roar leaving its jaws. A giant krill threatened to knock their boat across the bay. The tail reached up before smacking down on the water.
Louie's eyes widened at the massive wave rolling straight towards them. Webby clung to the edge of the boat for life. Their knees buckled beneath them on the waning ground. Moments before the wave crashed into them, Louie grabbed Webby and leaped into the water. The boat was torn to pieces, bits of the wreckage floating above them. They breached the surface, the two ducklings clinging to a plank.
From his view of the dock, Louie saw the fishermen running out to try to fight the monster. The krill cried out at their harpoons and nets. Throwing its head up in the air, it turned back before diving into the bay. It disappeared before anyone could go after it.
Louie and Webby watched after it, eyes wide. In unison, they said, "What was that!"
(A/N Animatic by SHARPSW0RD )
Louie draped a towel around himself as he stepped into the dock tavern. He took a spot at a table next to Webby. One of the waitresses brought a hamburger, placing it in front of the girl. She grinned, pulling the plate closer.
Louie watched as the fishermen argued about what to do about the giant krill haunting Duckburg bay. The boy cleared his throat, trying to be heard over the sailors. "Wait, you guys have seen this thing before?"
"Aye, kiddo," one of the fishers started. It took Louie a moment to recognize him as Flintheart Glomgold, a philanthropist and according to Fethry, their greatest rival."The great krill was first seen about a month ago, right after Lena's attack on Duckburg. Many of us have tried to stop it, but none have succeeded. But she appears everyday, at noon right on time. No one knows from whence she came or where she goes. But I promise, I will catch her."
"How come we haven't heard anything about it until now?" Louie asked aloud. "Aren't we, like, a super adventure family?"
Glomgold looked the two over, leaning back in his chair. "Say, aren't you two Fethry's kids?"
Louie opened his mouth to respond, but Webby stopped him. "Depends. Who's asking, Glomgold?" She glared at him, her beak pointed upward.
"Webby, what are you doing?"
"He's Fethry's sworn enemy! I'm not just going to give the enemy secret information!"
Glomgold laughed. "Oh, little girl, I promise you, Fethry's rivalry with me is very one sided-"
"GLOMGOLD!" The tavern door threw open, a fiery Fethry standing in the doorway. All eyes were on him after that entrance. He marched to where Louie and Webby sat. Before Louie could protest, Fethry pulled him into a suffocating and not at all affectionate hug, patting him on the head. "What are you doing talking to my children? Unforgivable!"
"We just saved your kids from the giant krill that's been hanging around the bay-"
"Oh yeah? You think you're so great, don't you? Saving people's lives and such?" Fethry narrowed his eyes, squeezing Louie tighter. "What are you even doing here?"
Glomgold simply smiled. "Oh, I like coming here to fish! You know, I was once a sailor myself, until hunting a shark not much different from this krill monster situation got the better of me. That's why I'm determined to stop this sea monster! Her reign ends here!" The fishermen cheered in response.
Louie pushed out of Fethry's arms, getting the space to breathe. He landed wobbly on his feet. "Ha! That's bound to beat Huey's fishing record any day! I'm in!"
"No, you're not." Fethry stole a fry off of Webby's plate. "I already told you guys, I'm gonna catch the krill and save the great city of Duckburg."
"Yeah, weeks ago!" one sailor shouted out.
"We need the problem solved now!"
"We can't fish with that monster scaring everything away!"
Fethry shrunk under their shouts. Louie frowned up at him. Had Fethry already known about the krill? How had this adventure eluded them? Louie decided there must be some ulterior motive to it. He wouldn't be surprised if it was some publicity stunt. Old habits died hard.
"I'll get that krill faster than Fethry can," Glomgold said. The statement should've been drowned out by the other sailors, but that promise rang through the room.
"Ha! You really think you can beat me to catching a monster?" Fethry smacked his palm on the table that Glomgold sat at, glaring him down. "I'd bet my pride on it. I will catch the giant krill before you ever could, Glommy!"
"Well, I'd bet twenty bucks on it, so I guess we have a deal." The two ducks shook hands, cementing the bet.
"I call Glomgold's team." Louie moved to stand next to Glomgold, earning a shocked look from Webby. "Honestly, if Fethry's failed to catch this thing for so long, I don't anyone could, but Glomgold probably won't go about it in the most life threatening way possible."
Fethry gasped. "Turning my own flesh and blood against me, Glommy? This means war! Come on, Webby, we'll catch this krill faster than they can."
Webby nodded, though it was more used as a "yeah, take that" to Louie rather than agreeing with the older bird. The two marched out of the restaurant, determination in their eyes.
"Well, kiddo, looks like you're my first mate!" Glomgold gave Louie a firm pat on the back.
It finally clicked with the boy that he had accidentally teamed up with the richest duck in the world, a treasure trove of business advice and wisdom. Louie looked up at him, a grin spreading on his face. This was way cooler than beating Huey's fishing record. "First mate Louie Duck reporting for duty, Mr. Glomgold!"
...
Webby skipped after Fethry as they returned to the mansion.
"Unbelievable!" Fethry marched straight into the kitchen. "My own cousin working against me, after all I've done for him." He stood at the counter across Mitzy, sitting at one of the stools and drinking from a mug of coffee. "Can you believe it?"
"I think I'd believe it more if I knew what you were talking about," Mitzy said, setting the cup down. Her multicolored hair lay on her shoulders, glistening in the light. Webby took a spot next to her.
"Louie is working with my sworn enemy Glomgold to try and catch the giant krill before I can. Which is utterly nonsense because we all know if anyone could catch that thing, it'd be me."
"And your amazing adventure family!" Webby put in. "The krill attacked Louie and I while we were fishing this morning."
"Well, luckily you two didn't get hurt. Just the boat got smashed." Mitzy shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Webby watched the woman's eyes grow nervous.
"Oh, I, uh, was in the area. My house is near the dock so..." Mitzy turned to Fethry. "Fethry! Tell us about how much you hate Glomgold."
"No one is that nice!" Fethry waved his hands frustratedly. "Clearly hiding something." He tapped a knuckle to his chin, thinking. His eyes lit up with an idea. "Speaking of which, hey Webbs, how'd you like to be a spy?"
Webby nearly jumped from her seat, smiling. "Oh! Like Bradford?"
At that moment, Bradford had been walking past the kitchen entry sipping a cup of tea. He doubled over, nearly choking.
Fethry frowned. "What?"
"Whatever she said, it's not true!" Bradford called, once he had finished choking. He continued walking by.
"Nope, not true," Webby assured. "So, what kind of spy work do you need me to do, cousin Fethry?"
Rubbing his hands together, Fethry weaved a scheme. "Go with Louie and offer to help them hunt the krill. Then you can report back to me and tell me where they're at in their plans. You just gather any information you think could be helpful to me. Got it?"
"Yes sir!" Webby giggled at the plan, excited nonetheless.
"Uh huh." Mitzy didn't seem convinced of the idea. "And what's your plan to stop the giant krill? It's best it gets resolved as soon as possible. She's already been terrorizing people for a month now.."
Fethry looked off, his uncertain smile showing that he had no plan. "I'm gonna figure it out, my love. Don't worry."
"Don't call me that. We're just friends now, remember?" Moving to put her mug in the sink, Mitzy laughed to herself. "I don't think I'd ever want to be the unlucky duck that has to date Fethry Duck ever again."
His spirits visibly sinking, Fethry tried to distract himself with the giant krill. "Fine then, I'll stop the giant krill myself. And Webby and I will have a great time."
"I didn't say I didn't want to help!" Mitzy moved closer to him, offering an apology smile. "I've got a few ideas on how to stop the giant krill of my own."
With a smirk, Fethry hit his fist into his hand. "Then let operation Webby spies on Louie while Mitzy and I find a way to stop the giant krill in the bay from spreading chaos over Duckburg, and i finally best my greatest rival Flintheart Glomgold commence!"
Idk if y'all saw my announcement, but updates are now every other Saturday until my schedule clears up a bit. Thanks for reading!