A Duck's Luck

A Whole New World

After the encounter with the sirens , Delilah and Webby were exhausted ; so they had Dewey row the boat while they rested for a while . As the sun began to disappear behind the ocean line , all three of the kids used their blankets from the bags to snuggle up on the bottom of the boat for the night . Delilah tucked the compass under one of the planks of the boat and adjusted her makeshift pillow made of folded clothes . The waters were calm and the only noise was the sound of the boat slowly drifting through the sea . The three kids all stared at the sky and looked at the stars , some shining brighter than others .
" This reminds me of my room at home , " Webby said softly , referring to the glowy stars she had on her bedroom ceiling . Dewey then chimed in , talking about how the stars reminded him of his mom when she was missing . Delilah stayed quiet , listening to her cousins' heartfelt stories about how the stars resonated with them . Delilah then thought of her own encounter with stars and how , when she was young , would often look out the window of Daisy's apartment , all the way on the top floor . When she couldn't sleep , she would count the stars in the sky until she became sleepy enough , and she would even fall asleep against the window . Nighttime was also usually the time where she would go look at stuff from her dad , which was all stashed away in Daisy's closet . She would look at old photos of her parents happily together under the starlight , wondering what it must have been like at the time the picture was taken .
Delilah began to slowly close her eyes as her eyelids began to get heavy . Despite the stinging marks the sirens had left on her while they clawed at her earlier , the pain no longer bothered her . Letting the sounds of the ocean calm her more and more , she finally fell into a deep slumber .
When she opened her eyes , Delilah was no longer in the boat . Instead , she was in a dark and unfamiliar hallway ; a red carpet was laid out in front of her . At the end was a strange light . Curiously , Delilah began walking down the hall . Large , obsidian pillars rose above her head on both sides of the hall , and there was green fog surrounding the walls , just like the fog in Duckburg . Slowly creeping her way down the hall , Delilah soon found she could only go forward ; A mysterious force was preventing her from turning any other direction . As she got closer to the light , there were peculiar whispers that would get louder and louder as she continued on . When Delilah got to just a few feet away from the mysterious light , she suddenly felt a strange burning sensation inside her . Not like any emotions she had ever felt before ; a mix between uncontrollable fear and anger . Her heart began to ache and she felt like she was going to throw up at any minute . Delilah grabbed at her chest , hoping to ease the pain , only to find that there was a hole where her heart had been . Terrified and confused , Delilah stared at the light for what seemed like an eternity . She closed her eyes and , despite the warning signs her body gave her , continued on into the light .
Delilah woke up before she could see what was on the other side . She felt her chest and to her relief there was no hole . She sat up and looked around . She had briefly forgotten about her mission and when she adjusted her eyes to the light , the boat had washed up on some shore . Dewey and Webby were still asleep , so she decided to wait for them to wake up before she would explore . She looked around at the large , sandy beach . The water was now crystal clear ( unlike it had been when they saw the sirens ) and it looked like your stereotypical tropical paradise . Her eyes wandered around , tracing the outlines of the large palm trees that grew golden coconuts and admiring the tropical forest up a few feet away from the beach . Forgetting about her previous plan , she excitedly jumped out of the boat . Delilah loved beaches , especially pretty ones like this ! She frolicked through the white sand and smelled all the hibiscus flowers , glossing bright green and lime colored plants and strong , sturdy vines urging her to explore the forest . Unfortunately , she couldn't , not until Webby and Dewey woke up .
That's when she remembered ; the compass ! She rushed back to the row boat where Dewey and Webby slept peacefully and rummaged around under the wooden planks . When her hand brushed against cold metal , she sighed in relief . Careful not to wake the two up , she quickly snagged the compass and checked for scratches . Like always , the needle was still pointing east - straight ahead . Delilah sat down in front of the small boat on the shore , just between the sand and water . every now and then the waves would wash up and get her skirt wet , but she didn't mind .
It felt like she had been sitting there for hours until Dewey and Webby finally began to wake up . " Where are we ? " Webby asked sleepily , rubbing her eyes . " Looks like some kind of tropical paradise , " Dewey said while yawning . At that , Webby perked up and hopped out of the boat . Looking at her surroundings , she became increasingly more excited . " Is it a deserted island !? " She asked , looking around and noticing there was not a building in sight . " I've always wanted to try and escape a deserted island with my friends !! " Webby squealed , wrapping her arms around the two others and pulling them close . " If it IS a deserted island , then we can just get back in the boat and leave " Dewey pointed out , causing Webby to sadly drop him and Delilah from her loving hug . " C'mon , the least we can do is explore a little ! " Delilah suggested cheerfully . She began walking down the sandy beach of the island , towards the neon thrush of the tropical forest . She knew they were looking for her dad , but she still needed more information on Eris . In all honesty , Delilah had no idea where Eris was located and what structure she resided in . Her hope was to find a village somewhere on the island that could give her a little bit more resources . Additionally , the kids had started to run low on food and desperately needed to stock up . " What are we gonna do with the boat ? " Webby asked , staying behind as Dewey caught up with Delilah . " We can just leave it , we'll come back for it . " Delilah said , leading Dewey farther and farther up the beach . Webby glanced at the boat and shrugged , then ran to catch up with the others .