Serendipity (Karlnapity Fantasy AU)

Chapter 24

Fun fact: this whole fanfiction only happened because it was more interesting than my math homework at the time and now the whole thing is just a big OneNote file that crashed my laptop several times because the file is huge.

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As the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Quackity made his way to the roof of the academy. To his surprise, no one was there but him; all the other students were holed up in their dark rooms, going outside only for necessities. As much as he wanted to emulate them, the black-haired couldn't stay indoors anymore. His wings had been twitching for days, longing for the wind to blow around them. Now that he felt the warm rays of the sun on his plumage, peeking out for once from two slits on his shirt, he closed his eyes for a brief look. After a long discussion with Sapnap, he had finally agreed to let the Blaze help him preen his wings. It took a long time and it was painful, but his wings already looked much better than before.

Now Quackity stood at the edge of the roof and boldly stretched his mechanical leg over the edge of the roof for a brief moment. Then he quickly backed away and sucked in his breath excitedly. With a mixture of fear and pure adrenaline pulsing through his body, he thought about jumping. He still wasn't completely ready, considering how much his wings had suffered lately, but a little glide would probably be alright. He glanced back to make sure no one else was on the roof with him and moved his feet even closer to the edge. His toes were now practically floating in the air.

No wind was blowing yet, and he hoped it would stay that way. A deep breath and spread wings, and Quackity plunged headlong down the ledge. There was something self-destructive about jumping off buildings because although he could always catch himself when he fell, there were many close calls. It was like playing with death, and so far he had always been lucky.

At the beginning of his flight, everything even went according to plan. With joy, he allowed himself a chirp swallowed by the fields and forests surrounding the academy.

Who would have thought that a surprising gust from the side could throw the Duck hybrid off balance so quickly?
Joy and pride turned into mortal fear within milliseconds. As the crosswind caught him and tore at his feathers, the environment changed abruptly. The wild grass full of weeds that surrounded the cobblestone paths of the academy became a gaping canyon and he drew closer and closer to the treetops whose large branches reached out and threatened to bore into his body.

Quackity cried out and whirled through the air in panic. Having long since lost control of the wind and his wings, the world around him became a mixture of blue and green as he whirled through the air, desperately trying to find his footing in the void with his arms. This time he would die or lose his last leg but in no attempt to escape or save anyone. No, this time Quackity would die because he had been stupid.

He felt set back months. His nightmares repeated themselves, only this time he really fell. Before his eyes, he saw thousands of situations where Karl hit the ground in front of him and his body smashed on the ground. Or Schlatt's body. Or his old leg.

Just before he could prepare himself for the familiar cracking of his bones and the feeling of the ground beneath his feet, two arms wrapped around his torso and pulled him up. His scream stilled and he felt an upper body press against his back and the flap of two powerful wings. They barely made a sound as they held the duck in the air and near his ear, Quackity heard a familiar "fuck".

~~~

Wilbur was not surprised when he saw Quackity at the edge of the roof. The only confusing thing about it was the time of day because normally he wouldn't have gone on a glide until the middle of the night.

Earlier, before all the chaos began and Quackity was still fairly new, the two boys crossed paths on the roof of the old academy. They didn't mind each other's presence, just exchanged glances before Quackity launched himself off the edge of the academy and glided down the backside. Wilbur caught himself watching the hybrid a few times. Under the cover of night, the black-haired no longer hid his wings and flipped hooks in the air before catching himself just before he hit the ground.