A Duck's Luck

The Great Compass Extortion Case

Remembering what Webby had said before , Delilah made sure to be as quiet as she could so she wouldn't catch Duckworth's attention . Seeing as he was a ghost , it only made sense for him to be up roaming around all night ( because ghosts don't need sleep ! ) Outside of Webby's room , the mansion was extremely dark and intimidating , but Delilah pushed through . The walls around her curved high above her head , shadows were stretched almost unusually and with every step she took there was a soft creak from the floorboards beneath her . In the dark , the whole manor was like a maze . She would start in the kitchen and end up in a room that she thought was all the way on the other side of the building . While Delilah did all this , she made sure to keep her steps as light as possible . Every now and then she would see Duckworth's ghostly glow floating down the hall , and she would either hide behind a wall or hold her breath in to be as quiet as a mouse . Finally , Delilah made her way to Scrooge's office and approached the main door . She reached out , tugged on the lock and ,,,, it was locked .
Delilah kept pulling , hoping that it would open . She desperately needed to get in - otherwise she wouldn't be able to get the compass and she would have no idea where to find Eris . After jiggling the doorknob and trying to open it as best as she could , she finally gave up . She turned back around in defeat , about to walk back down the hall to Webby's room when she heard some noises . She froze and looked around - the halls were way too dark for her to look down , and the only light that was nearby was a candle that had been lit in one of the rooms . There were sounds of rustling and rummaging from in front of her , and Delilah squinted to try and see what the source of the noise was . To her surprise , slowly making his way down the hall and into the orangey glow from the candlelight was Dewey . " Dewey ? Is that you ? " Delilah whispered out to him . Dewey must have been a little taken aback from her voice , and he flinched . " Delilah ? What are you doing here ? " He asked her , a little shaken from the surprise . Delilah looked down at her feet a little awkwardly and adjusted the straps on her bag . " I um ,, I needed to get into Uncle Scrooge's office ,, " Dewey tilted his head , a little confused , and asked " What do you need to get into his office for ? He always locks it at night . " After lying to Webby , Delilah knew she wouldn't be able to lie anymore . She explained her story to him - the WHOLE story - and explained that she was going to go look for her dad . " What ? You're going to go and find a literal GODDESS ?? By yourself ?? " Dewey asked her as he got closer to her . " Well , yeah ! He's my dad and I- " Delilah began , but she was cut off . " No way ! I'm going with you ! " Dewey said almost as if it was a command . " No ! Dewey , I want to do this by myself ! " Delilah pleaded , her heart still set on being able to do something by herself for once without anyone's help . " But it's dangerous out there ! Who knows what challenges face you ! " he replied . " Wait here ! " Without waiting for Delilah's response , Dewey speed-walked down the hall to go get some of his own supplies for the journey . Delilah sighed and sat up against the office's doors , having no choice but to wait for Dewey to come back .
As Delilah sat there , she began to contemplate if this was all really a good idea . Dewey was right , she did have no idea what was out there . In her experience with adventuring with her family they had seen some pretty crazy things - but everything would be okay because they would all work together . This time , it would be just Delilah though . Maybe having Dewey around wouldn't be so bad , she thought . Maybe he can help me , but just a little bit . Dewey finally came back with his own stash of stuff and his normal clothes on . " Okay Dewey , you can come . But just make sure you stick with me , okay ? " Delilah offered . Dewey nodded in agreement , and now it was official ; the two of them were going to go find Donald .
" Alright ! What's the first thing we gotta do ? " Dewey asked excitedly . Under his breath , Delilah could hear him talking about how much fun this adventure would be and how it would give them quality cousin bonding time . " Well first , we need to get the compass from Scrooge's office . But ,,, it's locked . " Dewey examined the door and its lock very carefully , and just like Delilah expected he began to tug on the doorknob . Twisting the handle as hard as he could and even using his legs to pull on the knob , eventually his hands slipped and he fell on the floor with a *thud* . Delilah stopped and looked around to see if maybe Duckworth had heard them , but there was nothing . " Hmmm ,,, this door really is locked ! " Dewey said , putting his hand on his chin . " Luckily , I know just what to dew ! " He said , digging around in his bag and pulling out a bobby pin . " I thought we might have some locks to pick , so I took these from Louie . except , I didn't know we'd have to be doing it so soon . " Dewey then began to attempt to pick the lock on the door with the bobby pin , scooting close to the door to see what he was doing in the dark . Delilah kept a lookout , making sure there wasn't anyone spying on them . In the distance though , Delilah heard footsteps . Faint , far away footsteps . Her heart sank , and she turned to Dewey . " Dewey , hurry ! I think someone's coming ! " She said as she gently pushed on his arm . " I'm almost done ! Just ,,, " With another twist of the pin , there was a faint *click* from the door . " Got it ! " Dewey grabbed Delilah's arm and brought her inside the office , then shut the door behind them . Dewey and Delilah put their ears up to the door to listen , and heard the footsteps walk by the door . The two small ducks calmed themselves and wiped their foreheads in relief . " Now , what are we doing here again ? " Dewey asked as Delilah began to walk over to the shelf in the corner of the room . " We need to get that up there !" Delilah pointed up at the glowing compass on the top shelf , and Dewey's eyes caught it too . The two looked around for something that may potentially help them , but the only thing they could find was Scrooge's desk chair . " We could use Scrooge's chair , but I don't think we'd be able to reach the top shelf . " Dewey said as he pushed the chair over to the base of the shelf .
Delilah went and turned the office lights on then walked back over to Dewey and thought for a little bit . " What if you get on the chair , then I get on your shoulders ? " Delilah suggested . She had seen Huey , Dewey , and Louie do it a lot , and she had always thought it looked fun , if a little risky too . " Alright ! Hop on ! " Dewey said as he got up on the chair and bent over a little so Delilah could get on his shoulders . Carefully , Delilah made her way onto the chair with him and Dewey used his hands to help guide Delilah's feet onto his shoulders . She wobbled a little , not having been used to balancing a lot , and used the shelves to help her balance . Despite the fact that she was on Dewey's shoulders , they were still a few inches short of being able to reach the compass . " C'mon , Delilah ! My back is starting to hurt ! " Dewey said with strain in his voice , and Delilah tried to think quickly . She stood on his shoulders with her tippy toes and stretched herself as far as she could . At last , she could feel the cold metal of the compass's base . " I think I've got it ! " Delilah said excitedly , and she grabbed the compass with one quick swoop . Except , she may have moved a little too fast , because instantly after that the two began to wobble back and forth . Dewey and Delilah both began to fall , and Delilah squeezed her eyes shut . She , Dewey , and the chair all fell down to the floor with a loud *thud* . Slowly , Delilah opened her eyes , and to her relief the compass was in her hands , not a cut or scratch . " Dewey , we did it ! " Delilah said happily as she showed Dewey the golden compass . The two of them high fived , but their joy didn't last for long . Scrooge's office door opened , and the two prepared for the worst .
" What are you guys doing !? " Webby said as she stood in the office's doorway . " Webby ! How did you - " Delilah began , but stopped herself after realizing that she may have heard their crash . Webby walked over to the two and helped them up , then put Scrooge's chair back in the right place . " Delilah , what's going on ? You've been acting really weird lately " Webby asked as she crossed her arms . Delilah took a deep breath and once again explained the full story to her . " And Dewey's gonna come with me , " Delilah said as she motioned towards Dewey . " Oh , hey ! Webby , you should come with us too !! It'll be like a fun little adventure, just the three of us ! " Dewey offered as he wrapped his arms around the two girls' shoulders . " I was gonna come whether you guys wanted me to or not ! It's dangerous out there , especially for you two ! " Webby said as she began to walk out of the office and turned out the lights . " Yeahh !!! Family adventure !! " Dewey said , happily following behind her . Once more , Delilah stayed back a few feet and looked at the golden compass in her hands . The needle was glowing , and pointing east just like before . She shut the office doors behind her and faced her two cousins . " Alright Delilah , what do we do next ? " Dewey asked her . Delilah looked at Webby , then Dewey . Even though she had wanted to go on this journey alone , the more she thought about it the more she realized that maybe having company wouldn't be so bad . She wasn't as scared and she wouldn't be alone . Finally , Delilah spoke . " Well , we have to follow the needle , which is pointing east . So , off to the beach we go ! "