A/N- I'm so glad that no one thought DW's actions were out of line! Anyway, to start the countdown, only four more updates--after this one--to go!
Chapter 9- Meeting Place
Darkwing entered McDuck Manor--where Gizmoduck had told him to come to if he ever needed to--and was ushered to an upstairs bedroom suite by an elderly maid. Darkwing entered the bedroom room to find that--with some pleasant surprise--Morgana had come to Duckburg. However, Morgana's shock when he closed the door behind him was not so pleasant. Gizmoduck, who stood beside Darkwing's wife, dropped his beak in shock.
"What happened? Did Negaduck hurt her?!" Morgana said, rushing towards Darkwing.
Darkwing looked down at the unconscious Gosalyn in his arms. He brushed pass Morgana and Gizmoduck and placed Gosalyn in an adjoining bedroom. He closed the door to the room as he came back out.
"Dark?" Morgana asked, her expression caught somewhere between confusion and worry.
Darkwing sighed. He took off his hat and rubbed his forehead.
"No, Negaduck didn't hurt her. She's not hurt," he said, walking over to a chair and taking a seat.
"Then why is she unconscious, Wingie?" Gizmoduck asked, rolling over toward him.
Morgana nodded in agreement. Again, Darkwing sighed.
"I did it. I used chloroform," he said.
Both the witch and the roboduck gasped. Morgana's look instantly turned to fury.
"Why did you do that? How could you do that?" she yelled.
"I didn't know if Negaduck had brainwashed her into thinking that she had to stay with him. I didn't know if she would fight me," Darkwing said, standing to defend himself.
"Hold on a minute," Gizmoduck said, holding up his hands. "Why would Negaduck brainwash someone he kidnapped?"
"Kidnapped?" Morgana asked, turning towards him. "She wasn't kidnapped. Did Darkwing tell you that?"
Gizmoduck shot a sidelong glance towards Darkwing before asking Morgana, "If she wasn't kidnapped--which is what Darkwing told me--why was she with him?"
"She ran away him. They're…in love," Morgana said, sitting down on the edge of another chair.
"In love?" Gizmoduck said. "Darkwing, is this true?"
"That's what Gosalyn said," Darkwing said. "But this is Negaduck's fault."
"Wingie, you, more than anyone else, ought to know that love is no one's fault."
"Negaduck's evil. Pure evil," Darkwing said, turning his back on the two of his accusers.
"So you don't think that Gosalyn should love him at all then? Is that what this is about?"
"Morgana doesn't agree with it either," Darkwing said.
Gizmoduck turned in shock to Morgana, who nodded weakly.
"He is evil," she said. "He killed Launchpad."
"We all mourned Launchpad," Gizmoduck said. "Me, Neptunia, and Stegmutt. I trust you all remember everyone from this manor being at his funeral as well, don't you? That's how you met them! But you two, more than anyone else, should know that past villainy can't change the heart's mind. Darkwing, you loved Morgana ever since you met her--if I recall what you told me at your wedding reception--and she was still a villain then. What right do the both of you have to condemn Gosalyn for her love?"
Morgana stood and walked over to the window. She appeared to be in deep thought. Darkwing, however, looked as if he had not heard a word Gizmoduck had said.
"She had never killed anyone before," he said.
There was silence after this. Gizmoduck rolled around so that he would not be staring neither at Darkwing or Morgana's back. Morgana sighed, putting her hand on the window as outside rain began to fall.
"That's not true, Dark," she said without turning. "And you know it."
Darkwing looked at her. She turned, sorrow in her eyes. She shook her head and crossed her arms.
"You know that I killed a few people back then. Oh, not as many as Negaduck has, to be sure, but do numbers really count when you talk about murder?" she asked.
Darkwing opened his beak to reply, but Morgana held up a hand to stop him.
"Let me finish what I have to say. And you're not going to like it. My father visited me just before I called you about knowing Gosalyn's location. He told me that he had been using a location spell at the same time that I had. He then asked me if I thought that I should be trying to take Gosalyn back. At the time, due to certain factors, I was sure about it. But now…now that I've heard the same things--in a fashion--that my father had said coming from Gizmoduck, I'm not so sure. I think they're in love, Dark. In fact, I'm pretty certain of it."
"How can you be certain of it?" Darkwing asked, his eyebrow arched.
Gizmoduck looked at her with the same curious expression. She sighed.
"Because of how I found her. Dark, there was a long, strong signature coming from her. Do you remember what I told you that was?"
Darkwing's brow furrowed as he apparently thought back to a conversation he and his wife had had. Suddenly, as it dawned on him, his eyes narrowed and a growl entered into his voice.
"They've…slept together?" he asked.
"What?" Gizmoduck asked incredulously.
"Darkwing, I don't know about you, but I don't think Gosalyn would do that with just anybody. I think she truly loves him," Morgana said.
"How do you know that it wasn't…forced?" Darkwing said, seeming to fall backwards toward the bedroom door.
"I can tell. Magical signatures don't lie. It was consenting. And I think the two of us are in the wrong…that we've always been in the wrong. I think we ought to talk to Gosalyn when she wakes up. Let her know that we understand now."
Darkwing turned from her. After a few moments of simply standing there, he shook his head.
"No," he said.
"No?" Gizmoduck asked.
"No. I'm going to take care of Negaduck, once and for all. Morg, Giz, when Gos wakes up, don't let her leave this room, okay?" Darkwing said, turning to them.
"But, Dark…"
"Okay?" Darkwing growled.
Huffing, Morgana nodded. Darkwing shot a glare at Gizmoduck, and he nodded as well. Then, sweeping his cape around him, Darkwing exited the room.
…………………
Negaduck pulled to a hasty stop before the greenhouse. Immediately, a feeling of unnamable dread came over him. In the sidecar, Steelbeak stepped out, shaking his head.
"You know, I never cared for motorcycles. That's how come F.O.W.L High Command had to provide me with my new beak," he said, tapping his steel beak.
Negaduck hopped off the bike and walked slowly through the glass doors of the greenhouse. Steelbeak watched him with a curious eye as he followed behind.
"Uh, what's wrong, Negaduck?" he asked.
"I don't know. Something's not right," the former Mallard Menace said, coming to a stop in the center of the glass structure. "Where's Gosalyn?"
As if in answer, the telephone off to Negaduck's right began to ring off the hook. Steelbeak and Negaduck exchanged a quick glance before Steelbeak shrugged and Negaduck answered the phone.
"Hello?" Negaduck growled. "I'm willing to bet, buddy, that you've got the wrong number."
"Not likely. This is Negaduck, isn't it?" replied the distorted, slightly robotic sounding voice at the other end.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"You'll know soon enough. I bet your wondering about now where your little red-haired girlfriend is, aren't ya?"
Negaduck's grip on the phone tightened. Allowing a growl to escape, he asked, "Where's Gosalyn?"
Steelbeak raised an eyebrow in questioning, but Negaduck ignored him for the moment.
"If you want to see her, come to the Duckburg Docks at midnight tonight. Don't be late. And come alone," the voice said.
"If you've harmed her, I'll--" Negaduck began, but stopped when he heard the click of the other line hanging up.
He slammed the receiver back onto its hook. Steelbeak, meanwhile, had taken a seat on the couch.
"Somebody snatched your gal, I take it?" he asked.
His only reply was a growl as Negaduck had begun to search the greenhouse. Steelbeak allowed a small cackle to escape him before he pulled from behind him a gun.
"Is this something like you have in mind? I'll let you try it free for thirty days. It's guaranteed to either kill or injure on impact. This is an offer I would only give to you, Negs," the F.O.W.L agent said.
Negaduck turned and took the gun from Steelbeak. Making sure that it was loaded, he went for the door, saying, "Stay here. I'll be back."
Steelbeak nodded. "I'm sure you will be."
Negaduck detached the sidecar from his bike, started it up, and zoomed away.
…………………
Meanwhile, at the Duckburg Docks, Darkwing Duck put away the voice changer and withdrew from his cape a weapon of his own. Choosing a seat on a nearby crate, he allowed the rain to fall upon him as he awaited the arrival of Negaduck.
End Notes: Okay, so what about that? What is going to happen next? Find out next time! Please review!
