A/N: I posted the longest chapter on the longest night of the year. Coincidence? Absolutely.

Buckle in.

Once the doors to the TARDIS were closed, and everyone inside — some multiverse travelers wandering down the endless hallways to set their weapons down or grab refreshment — the Doctor looked around with a grin. "Everyone in?"

A few weak affirmations rose up from the crowd and the Doctor said, "Excellent," before hitting a few buttons, pulling more knobs, then thrusting the ship into motion.

The familiar grinding noise filled the room, the gears above their heads turning and the lights in the center glass cylinder pulsating. Gosalyn smiled at how comfortable the familiarity of the whole thing made her. Settling in amongst her family, she waited for the TARDIS to land and cast her mind back over the year she'd had.

—…—…—…—…—…—…—…—

The wind whipped around her, almost as if trying to slow her fall.

But she cut through it effortlessly.

Careening ever closer to the asphalt below.

Turning her head towards the battle waging several blocks away, Gosalyn thought of everyone over there. How they would take this. She didn't care much about herself, though she certainly didn't want to die.

But Max.

Launchpad.

Negaduck.

Her father.

They would be crushed.

And it was for them, more than for herself, that she wished desperately for this to be different. That she had one last trick up her sleeve.

Or that she could have said her goodbyes.

Closing her eyes, Gosalyn relaxed.

Awaiting the endless darkness to take her.

Hopefully the impact wouldn't be too pain—

Hold on.

Snapping her eyes open, Gosalyn reached into her jeans pocket.

Even with her fumbling fingers, she managed to yank out the multiverse band Stellar had been wearing.

Gripping it desperately, she fiddled with the buttons and dials along the edges, desperate to get it to work.

The wind was whipping her hair around her eyes, making it hard to see.

The watch started to glow.

Numbers appeared on the screen. Then changed.

But.

Nothing was happening.

Hitting the face of the watch with her hand, she loosed a desperate whimper and kept messing with it.

Trying to trigger something as she glanced over her shoulder.

Her heart stopped.

The asphalt was so close.

Then.

It disappeared.

Gosalyn fell through a glowing circle, dizziness and nausea hitting her instantly as she passed from her world into another.

The portal closed almost immediately after she tumbled through it.

Everything around her blurred as she tried to get her bearings.

And she was still falling.

Sideways, from what she could make of the vague shapes around her.

Then.

In an instant.

She wasn't falling anymore.

Something caught her.

Bands coiled around her torso, gripping on tightly as it absorbed the impact of her fall.

And it grunted.

They.

Him.

He grunted.

"Woah," said the voice, slightly winded from catching her. "You're lucky I was testing out my boot thrusters today, or that would have been messy."

The world was still coming into focus.

She was still feeling disoriented and nauseous and more than a little hysterical from the realization that she had almost been murdered but had somehow — miraculously — not died.

But Tony was here. Tony Mallard of the Duckvengers universe had caught her as she'd fallen into his lab.

She was okay.

She was safe.

Tony had her.

"You know," said Tony, floating down to the ground and setting her on her feet, "this isn't even the fifth weirdest thing that's happened to me today." He kept his hands on her shoulders, blue eyes fixed intently on her face. "You okay?"

Gosalyn sucked in a breath, glanced around to get her bearings, and continued to breathe as Tony's workshop stabilized around her. The nausea sunk down to a sour ball in the pit of her stomach, lingering but not demanding. "I don't… I think so?"

Tony watched her for a moment, slowly releasing his grip on her. He reached out, dragging over a stool and sitting her on it before he moved away, removing the boots of his Iron Duck armor that he'd been wearing. "You have real good timing, kid. I have new arrows and a bow for you."

He walked over to a workbench, closing all the floating computer monitors and read outs. RATCATCHER, the first intelligent bot he'd built as a child, shoved a smoothie of what looked like motor oil at Tony.

He glanced down in disgust. "What are you—? No, I don't want that. Put it down. No, don't hand it to me, just put it— Set the stupid… screw it." Tony sauntered away from RATCATCHER and towards a weapons cabinet, which he began digging through. "You're a tragedy and I'm sending you away to the nearest city college."

RATCATCHER, a claw attached to a metal base, drooped with a long sad beep, the motor oil spilling out of the cup as he rolled away from Tony.

Gosalyn, breathing through her nose, studied the back of Tony. "Am I really only the fifth weirdest thing you've seen today?"

"Maybe the sixth. But when you have a demigod, assassins, and a pair of super soldiers from the 40's for roommates, your whole scale for what's 'normal' goes right out the window." Tony pulled out another quiver, stocked with arrows, and a bow. He turned and set them on a workbench, sending Gosalyn a glance out of the corner of his eye. "You good, or do you want one of RATCATCHER's motor oil smoothies to take the edge off?"

RATCATCHER looked over to Gosalyn, the cup still clutched in his claw. She smiled at him. "I'm okay, but I'll let you know as soon as I need one."

RATCATCHER beeped something then turned back to deposit the cup on a counter. He grabbed a mop, cleaning up the mess on the floor, Tony's newer bots watching with beeps and clicks of their own.

"So, you wanna tell me how you wound up falling into my workshop out of midair?" Tony asked, walking toward Gosalyn and stepping over RATCATCHER's growing dust pile.

Gosalyn fiddled with the watch. "Ana tried to murder me."

Tony took in a sharp breath. "Start from the beginning."

So, she did. Went into the whole story about Ana's invasion on the Prime Universe with Darkwarrior, how she'd shoved Gosalyn off the top of the First National Bank, how Gosalyn had ended up in this room. Tony remained unmoving for most of the story, only holding out his hand for the watch when she mentioned it, which she quickly handed over.

As Gosalyn finished her story, Tony continued to study her. He allowed a moment of silence to pass before he stood suddenly and said, "Go to bed."

Gosalyn's head snapped up. "What?"

He looked down at the watch before tossing it onto one of the nearby workbenches. "Get some sleep. We can worry about the rest later."

"But they're gonna keep attacking!" Gosalyn said, all but jumping off her stool. Tony placed his hands on her shoulders, steering her to the small dingy couch in the corner of his workshop that he often used as a makeshift bed.

"Ana said there would be at least one, if not two, more waves of robots. We have to go back and help them!" Gosalyn said.

"We will. After you sleep." Tony pushed her down onto the couch. It was old and worn and she sunk right into the cushions. Without thinking, she curled onto her side, Tony bringing up a blanket to drape over her shoulders.

"We'll need reinforcements," she said around a yawn. "I don't know if the Duckvengers will be enough."

"You did great work, kiddo," Tony soothed, patting her shoulder. "Let me work on this for awhile. After you wake up, we'll come up with a plan."

"'M not sleepy." Gosalyn tried to get up, to push Tony away, but now that she was lying down, exhaustion descended heavily on her. All the adrenaline that had been coursing through her system was gone, leaving her with nothing left to fight with, no remaining energy. Her bones felt too dense, her muscles too languid, and her eyes wouldn't stay open.

~…~…~…~…~

When she blinked awake however long later, it was to see Tony flicking through holographic screens and typing furiously on his keyboards, eyes darting back and forth over several displays.

Gosalyn sat up and he looked over at her. "How you feeling, kid?" Tony asked, shifting his attention back on his screens.

"Less awful," she said, pushing the blanket to the far side of the couch and stretching. "How long was I asleep?"

"Few hours." He collapsed one screen and pulled open another. "Before you get all upset about not being able to help your dad, I've got my eyes on the portal Ana used to travel to your universe. Nothing has walked through it yet, but it looks like there are two more waves of troops that are gonna bust through within the next three hours."

Gosalyn got to her feet and walked over to Tony, studying the screens and unable to make out much of anything on them. "So, how are we doing this?"

"You're right that we'll need more recruits," said Tony, fingers flying over a keyboard. "Everyone here's ready to suit up as soon as I give the word, but those armies are big and it would take a couple hours for the Duckvengers to make some headway. So, I'll ask you the same question." He finished typing with a flourish then looked to her. "How do you want to do this?"

"I don't know who else to call," Gosalyn said, sitting on a stool nearby. "Everyone else I can think of who might help is in another universe, but that's gonna take too long, going up and down that staircase. I might be able to hit one more universe, but I don't know if it will be enough."

"We can look at travel options," Tony suggested, running a hand through his feathers. "I don't think I can build a ship in time…." He froze, hand on the back of his neck, and looked up at his screens. A slow grin spread across his beak and he reached forward, swiping through the display until the window he wanted opened up. Using both hands, he zoomed in on the image. "Lucky for me, a ship already exists. We just need to borrow it."

Gosalyn's eyebrows rose. She recognized the blue police call box that was the main mode of transportation for a version of Drake Mallard that called himself "The Doctor." "His ship can travel anywhere in space and time within his own universe," she pointed out. "I don't know if it's capable of multiverse travel."

"I can whip up something so that it can be," said Tony, scurrying around the table and heading to another workbench where he began sorting through tools and scattered machinery. "You get the Doctor here and I'll make it so you two can zip around the multiverse and bring back whoever you want to the Tower."

It wasn't a bad idea. If Ana was going to be bringing her own army to the Prime Universe, Gosalyn could get one of her own together.

"Any ideas on how I can get to his world? And track him down?" Gosalyn asked. The spiral staircase that led to all the other universes wasn't available to her right now since it wasn't active back in Duckburg.

Tony looked over his shoulder, that excited grin still on his beak. "He's got a phone number."

The number in question began to glow on the screen and Gosalyn sent a smile up towards one of the cameras in the ceiling, thanking Tony's AI, MORGANA, for her help. "You think he can receive a call from another universe?"

"Might as well try."

That was a good point.

Gosalyn grabbed her phone and dialed.

After a few buzzes, it connected.

"Hello?" came a very confused sounding voice.

"Doctor?" Gosalyn looked up at Tony, who flashed her a thumbs up as he gathered more hardware. "It's Gosalyn Mallard from the Prime Universe. There's a bit of a situation I'd like your help with. If you can spare the time."

"Considering this is a time machine," said the Doctor, "I can spare as much as you'd like. Where shall we meet up?"

"Um…." Gosalyn looked to Tony again, putting her hand over the mouthpiece. "He wants to meet."

"Give MORG his coordinates," Tony said, not missing a beat in his scavenging, slapping a few pieces of metal together and turning on his soldering iron. "She can open a portal."

Switching to speakerphone, Gosalyn asked, "Where are you at, Doctor?"

"A lovely little planet just outside the Cat's Eye Nebula. Very friendly people here, if a little furry."

"Exact coordinates, please, Doctor," said MORGANA.

"Hold on, let me see what the TARDIS says." The Doctor was only gone for a moment before he was reciting a long string of numbers. Almost instantaneously, a glowing colorful portal spun to life in Tony's workshop, closer to his collection of expensive cars rather than his workbenches. Beyond the portal, the Doctor was peering through, phone held to his ear and a smile on his face. He hung up the phone, disappearing back into the TARDIS and the blue box floated into Tony's workshop, coming to rest on the floor as the portal closed behind it.

The door to the TARDIS opened again, the Doctor spilling out into the room, dressed in a pinstriped suit with red converse on his feet.

Gosalyn had come across him when she had been jumping from universe to universe in her search for Negaduck. It had been one of her shorter adventures, his TARDIS technology was advanced enough to inform her that Negaduck wasn't in the Doctor's universe without her having to physically look for him.

He smiled at Gosalyn, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked over. "How can I help?"

She explained everything. From being kidnapped and taken to the Posiverse to Ana now attacking the Prime universe to her idea of gathering an army of Drake Mallards from around the multiverse to fight back.

By the time she was done with her summary, Tony held up a small circular device. "Slap this onto your console in that blue box of yours, Doc, and you'll be able to travel to any universe your little heart desires."

"Only if you want," Gosalyn said quickly. "I know this isn't really your fight, but I would appreciate the help."

"If one universe is waging war against another, what's to stop them from waging war on us all down the line?" the Doctor asked, holding his hand out for Tony's multiverse device, which Tony slapped into his palm. "It doesn't matter whose fight this might be, we all are involved." He looked at Gosalyn. "You have an idea of who could help us out?"

Dozens of worlds flashed into her mind, all with impressive fighters and combatants and she smiled. "Sure do."

"Then we don't have a moment to lose!" The Doctor sprung towards the TARDIS, flinging open the door. He looked back to Tony. "Are we bringing them back here to rally before we go to war?"

"I think that would be best," said Tony. "I'll get the Duckvengers up to speed. We can all meet here in the next few hours, go over the particulars, then head out. As long as we leave by, oh, 11:00 or so, we should be right on target to get to the Prime Universe by the time the biggest army arrives."

"I'll get everyone here by 10:30," promised the Doctor, disappearing into the TARDIS.

Gosalyn glanced to Tony, smiling. "I'll see you soon."

"Keep a sharp eye," warned Tony, walking over to another workbench and picking up a new quiver, full of arrows, and a bow. Handing them to her, he said, "I reinforced the straps on your quiver so no one can cut through them. Let me know what you think of the new bow when you get back."

Gosalyn took the weapons with a grin. "You're the best."

"I know," Tony said with a smirk. "I have a few doctorates that say the same thing." He winked at her as she stepped into the TARDIS, the door closing behind her.

It looked the same as it had when she'd first been in here. A large amber colored room that curved around her, small circles embossed in the walls. In the center of the room stood a massive control panel. Wires ran along the ceiling into other parts of the ship and all led back down into the rounded top of said control panel. From beneath the bulbous top stretched a long thin glass tube, a greenish blue glowing underneath the glass. The tube connected into the base that curved outward, different knobs and levers and buttons set into the paneling all around its surface.

The Doctor was sprinting around the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers. Tony's circular multiverse traveling device was plugged into one of the ports, glowing a bright blue.

"Need any help?" Gosalyn asked as she strapped her new quiver on.

The Doctor spun to study her for a moment before he beckoned her over. "Pull this lever when I say so."

She took up her station, watching as the Doctor continued to run around, pushing more buttons and flipping switches. "Now, set your other hand on the panel in front of you," he instructed.

Gosalyn did as she was told, the panel glowing beneath her fingers.

"All right," said the Doctor, pushing a few more buttons and looking up at the glass cylinder, "think of where you'd like to go."

Thinking it might help Tony to have another scientist to take some of the load off of the multiverse travel details, Gosalyn thought of Dr. Drake Brown.

"Pull the lever," said the Doctor, a smile on his face.

She did.

And the TARDIS took off, or so she assumed. The ship didn't move much beneath their feet, but the sound of gears grinding together echoed throughout the room before there was a dull thud and the noise stopped.

The Doctor made his way to the front door. Grabbing the handle, he looked over his shoulder at Gosalyn, excitement shining from his eyes. "Let's see how well that worked."

And he opened the door.

The new universe was dark and stormy. Through the sheets of rain, she caught sight of a car turned upside down, the wheels in the air and the cab crushed.

Wondering if Dr. Brown was in trouble, she stepped out into the rain, the Doctor on her heels. She started to make her way towards the car when the ground shook, both of them losing their balance. As she fell to her knees, Gosalyn glanced behind her to ascertain the threat.

Her beak dropped open in amazement.

A T-Rex stomped up, bending down and swallowing the TARDIS whole.

"Not good not good," the Doctor muttered as his ship disappeared from view.

A moment later, a hand was clamped over Gosalyn's beak and someone whispered in her ear, "Don't move. He can't see us if we don't move."

Hoping this voice knew what he was talking about, Gosalyn held still as the T-Rex approached, his head bent low and nostrils flaring. The beast exhaled, a huge wave of warm breath hitting her. Every instinct was screaming to run, to grab her weapons and try to defend herself, but the arm around her was firm, holding her in place.

The T-Rex seemed to lose interest, though, because it stood up to its full height and roared, the earth around them shuddering, before it stomped away into the jungle.

As soon as its tail had disappeared into the trees, whoever had been holding onto them released his grip and Gosalyn gulped in deep breaths, looking over at the Doctor.

He, too, looked at her. "Well, that complicates things."

"Where did you two come from?" the stranger said.

Gosalyn looked over to see a Drake Mallard, wearing a fedora and a blue button down shirt that was soaked through from the rain. Whether it was a version of her father or Negaduck still remained to be seen.

"That's a bit of a long story," said the Doctor, standing up and pulling out a small thin device from his suit pocket. He spun in a circle, the device lighting up on one end and emitting a strange noise. "We're looking for someone."

"I don't know who," said Gosalyn, getting to her feet.

"What do you mean you don't know who?" the Doctor asked, looking at her, the device in his hand quieting as the light extinguished. "The TARDIS followed your directions."

"I don't know where we are! I've never been here before!"

The Doctor studied her before nodding and activating his device again. "Sounds like we need to make a few adjustments to the navigation system. Once we find the T-Rex and get the TARDIS back."

"Are you out of your mind?" the Drake Mallard said, also standing and putting his hands on his hips. "That's one of the foremost predators in all of history and you're going to go after it?"

"It has my ship," the Doctor said with a shrug. He glanced at the small gadget in his hand. "Are we near Costa Rica?"

"Yeah," huffed the Drake Mallard, still looking somewhat incredulous. "John McDuck bought this island to create a dinosaur theme park. I'm supposed to endorse it, but he won't get any positive reviews from me after this," he motioned to the toppled car.

Now that Gosalyn was getting her bearings, and didn't have a monstrous reptilian predator focused on her, she could make out huge stone pillars through the rain, all connected by electric wires. Sort of like an animal enclosure. A dinosaur theme park.

"Are there more dinosaurs here?" Gosalyn asked, looking back at the Drake Mallard.

He nodded. "A lot more. Now, you may have ideas about going after the T-Rex, but I'm heading back to the main building and see if we can find more people."

"We?" Gosalyn asked.

The Drake Mallard motioned back towards the car and, right on cue, three small heads poked out from behind it. Younger versions of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Gosalyn's affection for her friends grew as she eyed them as small ducklings.

The Drake Mallard sighed as he came up to stand beside Gosalyn. "I'm sure their uncle's worried sick about them."

She nodded and glanced at him. "We'll help you."

The Drake Mallard eyed her before sticking out a hand. "Dr. Drake Grant."

She grabbed his hand and shook it with a smile. "I'm Gosalyn. This is the Doctor."

"Yes, hi, hello," said the Doctor, walking around with his light up mechanism. "Everyone keep an eye out for the T-Rex, yes?"

They did manage to find the T-Rex eventually, and get the TARDIS back, but not before narrowly escaping different hoards of dinosaurs and a pack of velociraptors who were too smart for comfort.

Gosalyn and the Doctor piled into the TARDIS as the others in their party climbed aboard a helicopter, Jurassic Park never to officially open to the public.

"Well, I guess we'll have to figure out how to fight with just the Duckvengers," said Gosalyn around a sigh as she took up her position at the console of the TARDIS.

"Why is that?" asked the Doctor, who was running around the console again.

"We have to get back! The fight's already started by now."

The Doctor stopped mid-stride and peered around the glass pole at Gosalyn with a grin on his face. "This is a time machine. We can take as long as we want and show up whenever we need to. We could even be early. Now," he pushed a few more buttons and flicked two more switches before he stood beside her, "let's try this again."

~…~…~…~…~

The next universe wasn't where Gosalyn had intended to go, either.

But it, at least, held a Drake Mallard who could come back with them and fight.

If he hadn't been out of the office when they went to enlist his help.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Jones is on an excavation in India," explained the university secretary when they walked up to the help desk. "But if you need to get ahold of him, I would be happy to send a telegram."

Gosalyn smiled. "Thank you, but I'll reach out to him myself."

Another brief ride in the TARDIS had them standing outside the temple of Mara where Dr. Drake "Indiana" Jones certainly wasn't conducting an excavation. Tourists had disappeared inside said temple, and he'd gone in to find them.

Last week.

No one had seen, or heard from, him since, according to his faithful friend Launchpad, who was standing vigil outside the temple.

Of course Gosalyn and the Doctor went after him. Of course they got caught up in the temple's traps, but they managed to find Indiana Jones. Of course their main mode of transportation was a manual Jeep that Gosalyn had to learn how to drive while on the run from the ghost of Mara because she'd never learned stick shift before in her life. Of course she stalled a couple dozen times in the narrow winding hallways that were lined with skeletons and snakes and bugs and rats, the Doctor and Indiana telling her to step on it all while she was wearing heels and a skirt because, you know, 1940's.

But they escaped. Of course.

And of course Indiana Jones jumped aboard the TARDIS to help.

He was their first recruit.

~…~…~…~…~

The next universe was just as accidental as the first few. But at least there were more potential recruits.

If only the Doctor and Gosalyn hadn't been arrested upon arrival.

A looming Stellar Mallard who was dressed in all black armor, including a helmet that covered his entire head and face, the outfit punctuated with a large flowing cape, pointed at them as they stepped out of the TARDIS, demanding, "How did you get aboard?"

The Doctor and Gosalyn exchanged glances, but couldn't come up with a good excuse before black armored Stellar had some of his cronies — wearing all white armor — take them into custody, saying, "They must be part of the rebel alliance looking for information about our base. Take them away."

As they were marched to their cell, Gosalyn managed to get a look out of the large windows only to see the gaping maw of space past the panes of glass. Any hope of someone coming to find and help them died until they were sprung from their cell by Drake Skywalker. Who was ready and willing to give them a hand with their own battle once the space station they were on was destroyed.

Easy enough. Gosalyn was a sharp shooter, after all, and the Doctor a fair pilot. One well-aimed missile took down the base.

Drake Skywalker brought his lightsaber and a connection to something called "the Force" when they dropped him off at Duckvengers Tower.

~…~…~…~…~

Fourth time was the charm, and Gosalyn breathed a sigh of relief as they made their way through the town of Hill Valley.

Dr. Drake Brown was a recluse who lived in a large house away from the rest of the town, so he wasn't hard to find. He was willing to help them, as well, his young friend Max McFly jumping in and offering any skills he had.

Gosalyn had grown used to finding versions of her father, of Negaduck, even of Launchpad, while on these trips. Seeing Max, though, was less familiar. And it hurt in a different way than the familiar deep ache she felt when she interacted with with versions of her family. This was more sharp and startling.

By her estimation, she and the Doctor had been running around for about a week. Maybe two. It wouldn't be too much longer before she was back in her own universe, alongside her own Max. Protecting her city with her father and Negaduck.

She just had to hold on until then. When they would all be together again soon.

~…~…~…~…~

"You help me get my ship, and I'll help you with your little scuffle," said Captain Drake Sparrow from inside a jail cell.

Gosalyn hadn't been sure about recruiting a pirate, but the idea excited the Doctor to an alarming degree, so here they stood.

"Can't we help you get you ship back after we defeat the other universe?" Gosalyn asked.

Captain Drake Sparrow scoffed. "How would you feel bringing me into battle as a captain with no ship, eh?"

Gosalyn massaged her temples, wondering if the Doctor had any medicine for the headache starting behind her eyes. "Captain is a title. It's given to you, not tied to a boat."

"Ship," Captain Drake Sparrow said immediately.

Gosalyn sent him a withering look. "To a ship. It's not tied to a ship."

"The Black Pearl isn't an ordinary ship. And I'm not an ordinary captain. You help me get the Pearl and I'll go with you. Otherwise, I'm content to sit here until Providence deems it necessary to spring me from this cell. Savvy?"

Gosalyn grit her teeth. Glanced at the Doctor, who was still looking like a kid at Christmas, getting to interact with this pirate.

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Fine."

Ghost pirate ship with skeletons as crew would have been a nice heads up, but, hey. When you're as hooked on rum as Captain Drake Sparrow, it's a miracle you can string a coherent sentence together.

To be fair, he was an impressive duelist. So he'd be useful in the upcoming battle.

~…~…~…~…~

Gosalyn had started stepping out of the TARDIS with borderline reckless abandon. It didn't show much wisdom, but she was desperate to recruit as many Drake Mallards as she could in the shortest amount of time possible. She'd long ago stopped counting the days that had passed since she'd seen her home, the growing number making the pain in her gut almost unbearable.

This time, though, as she loped through the doors, she was nearly swallowed whole by a three-headed dog, who was snarling at the sight of her.

The Doctor managed to grab her and yank her outside the room the animal was in, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Who are you? How were you able to Apparate inside Hogwarts grounds?" came a familiar sounding voice.

Familiar in that it was her father.

Sounding as in it was a very young version of him.

Dressed in black robes with a crest embroidered on the chest. His feathers were a mess, he was wearing glasses, and it looked like there was a scar on his forehead.

"How old are you?" Gosalyn asked immediately.

The young Drake Mallard bristled. "Eleven."

"Was that a Cerberus?" the Doctor asked, pressing his ear against the wood and listening.

"Yes, and I think it's guarding something," said the young Drake Mallard.

"Brilliant," breathed the Doctor.

"Why is an eleven year old going up against a three-headed dog?" Gosalyn asked, crossing her arms and peering down at the boy. Which was so bizarre, lecturing her father on his own personal safety.

The young Drake Mallard looked up at Gosalyn, a cocky grin on his beak. "I'll tell you about it if you tell me how you Apparated in here."

It was a testament to how much she'd been traveling, how many bizarre experiences she'd had, that she shrugged and said, "Yeah, okay."

The boy's confidence dropped in an instant as he whipped around suddenly, eyes wide as he peered back down the long corridor lit by torches in sconces mounted onto the walls. A long four-legged shadow stretched out from a doorway and young Drake Mallard pointed at it, whispering, "That's Mr. Fluffy, which means the caretaker, Mr. Mortimer, can't be far behind."

Not recognizing the names but hearing the desperation, Gosalyn stepped up beside Drake and took his hand.

"You know what we have to do now, don't you?" asked the Doctor, looking down to Drake with a smile and taking the child's other hand.

Drake shook his head, gripping Gosalyn's hand tightly. Her heart surged with protectiveness and a bone-deep need to go home, but she just squeezed the small duckling's hand reassuringly.

"We run," the Doctor whispered before taking off, pulling Drake and Gosalyn along after him as he sprinted into the dark recesses of the castle.

Young Drake's full name was Drake Potter and he was attending a school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. His steely determination and desire to do good caused Gosalyn and the Doctor to travel forward in the same timeline (after they'd recovered the TARDIS from the room the three-headed dog was kept in). They found Drake again in his future when he was eighteen.

Drake Potter smiled in recognition when he saw them step out of the TARDIS, saying things had been quite boring since his last year at Hogwarts and he'd be happy to help them.

~…~…~…~…~

Hogwarts wasn't the last time Gosalyn and the Doctor came across magic.

A place called Middle Earth had history heavy with it. And its inhabitants weren't surprised to learn of another battle at hand, even though the location was very far away, and willingly lent their assistance.

After they all successfully walked away from a canyon city called Helm's Deep that had been under attack.

~…~…~…~…~

Traveling didn't come without consequences. Like getting sick.

"You're the best doctor that I could find and you won't treat him?" Gosalyn demanded, crossing her arms as she peered down her beak at the unshaven version of Negaduck, who was lounging behind his desk in rumpled clothing and tossing a ball up into the air.

"Glad your ears are working," Dr. Drake House said, his ice blue eyes flicking to Gosalyn before he focused back on his ball. "Would you like me to schedule an MRI since it seems there's something wrong with your brain? Not understanding simple phrases is a symptom of—"

Having had enough, Gosalyn walked around the desk and snatched the ball out of the air. Leaning down so she was eye level with House, she pointed the ball at him menacingly. "You're the only one who can fix him."

"I'm the only one who can fix a lot of people," House said, rolling his eyes and leaning back in his chair.

Oh. He was bored.

Well, she could fix that.

Gosalyn stood straight. "It's a disease you've never seen."

House scoffed. "There's nothing I haven't seen."

"It's affecting both of his hearts."

House's head snapped up to look at her. "There's more than one?"

"Which you've seen before, I get it." Gosalyn threw the ball back at him and traipsed out of the room.

She strode down the hallway towards the elevators and suppressed her grin as she heard House call, "Bring him in," from behind her.

Even though they didn't find anyone to help with their fight, Gosalyn did learn a little about medicine as House did, indeed, save the Doctor.

~…~…~…~…~

"I did not sign up for ghosts!" Gosalyn cried after learning the lore of the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

The Doctor clicked his tongue as he studied the dusty art on the walls, his sonic screwdriver out and scanning the room. "I remember you saying you didn't sign up for wizards when we were at Hogwarts, and you handled them very well."

"Wizards are living people. What am I supposed to do with ghosts in an abandoned 1930's hotel?" Gosalyn looked around the empty lobby, the Art Deco style beautiful even in its decay.

"Start by saying hello."

Gosalyn sighed. Then straightened her shoulders and called, "Hello?" into the silence.

Two things happened simultaneously.

An earth-shattering crash resounded from the lobby elevator, the hotel quaking around them.

And a voice came from behind Gosalyn, saying a cheerful, "Hello!" which turned out to belong to a long-deceased bellhop.

The Doctor huffed a laugh. "Quite an entrance you made!" He gestured to the elevator.

The bellhop looked between the elevator and the Doctor, clearly confused. "That wasn't me."

Super didn't sign up for this.

~…~…~…~…~

"I suppose on some level, I knew you would return," said Drake Holmes as he welcomed them into his flat on Baker Street. "One does not get called in as a specialist for one case only to never be called again for another."

"So, you'll come with us?" Gosalyn asked, feeling supremely uncomfortable in the Victorian clothing she'd had to wrestle into. There were so many layers, and all of them stiff and unforgiving.

"Naturally. Watson and I will be at your disposal—"

"Great!"

"—once our current case is concluded."

"Of course," Gosalyn sighed.

The Doctor nudged her, a familiar gleam in his eye that he got when he was more excited about spending time in a universe than recruiting fighters for the multiverse battle at hand.

No matter who they met or how much time they spent in any given world, Gosalyn never lost sight of the end goal. Of the reason she was here. The longer she spent away from her family, the more desperate she was to return to them.

But a case with the famed consulting detective Drake Holmes and his partner Gosalyn Watson was pretty thrilling. Even if Holmes had the whole thing solved within a day, not giving anyone much of a chance to sleuth.

~…~…~…~…~

"Is this a classic Old Western shoot out?!" the Doctor exclaimed, looking over at them with shining eyes.

Drake Cartwright surveyed the Doctor silently before glancing at Gosalyn. "Your friend is weird." He ducked down further behind the bolder as another shot was fired, the bullet glancing off the top of their rocky cover.

"Yeah, well, he's excited," Gosalyn said, studying the pack of supplies that Drake had strapped to his back. She reached out and grabbed the rifle and a mirror.

"What are you-?"

"Stay still," she said, wrestling the items free and tossing the mirror to the Doctor. "Flash that over there." She pointed to one side of the rock they were all huddled behind.

The Doctor grinned and placed the mirror close to the ground, rocking it back and forth.

Gosalyn peered around the opposite side of the bolder, watching the cavernous landscape for any movement. What she got was even better. Two shots from two different locations exploded towards their hiding place. One from behind a mess of brush and the other from a thicket of trees.

Making sure the barrels were loaded, Gosalyn leapt up and pointed the gun at the brush. There was a faint outline of whoever was back there and she aimed for its shoulder before firing. She didn't have time to wonder if she'd hit her target before she'd reloaded the chamber and shot another bullet at the thicket, aiming for the long arm she saw outstretched. Ducking down, she listened for a second round of attacks, but they never came.

She handed the rifle back to Drake who was staring at her dumbfounded. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Gosalyn," she said with a grin.

"I'm so disappointed," said the Doctor, standing and looking out over the dry expanse with a frown on his beak. "Shoot offs sound much more exciting in stories."

~…~…~…~…~

Gosalyn couldn't hold back her grin as she craned her neck back to look up into the eyes of the dragon that loomed before her. He was lounging in front of a waterfall, the water lapping up against his gold and scarlet scales. Dragons were always depicted as big creatures, films and books detailing them as larger than life, but seeing one in person was a transformative experience. He wasn't big. He was gargantuan.

"Listen," said Gosalyn, "we have a big fight happening back in my world, and we've been recruiting people for it, but all I want is for you to be there. I'm not exaggerating when I say I don't care who else shows up. You coming with us would be the coolest thing ever."

Drake Mallard, dressed as a knight (because he probably was one; this world was a like fairy tale come to life) scowled at her but the dragon, who called himself Draco, chuckled, the noise low and resoundingly deep.

"Why would I fight your battle, small one, when there is one brewing here in my homeland?"

Gosalyn scoffed. "Because you get the satisfaction of being a dragon — the only dragon — in this fight."

"I am the only dragon here, it makes little difference if I am in you world or in this one."

"I, too, am the last of my kind," said the Doctor, who looked way less jazzed about talking to a dragon than Gosalyn expected of him. "And I cannot impress upon you the importance of this fight we are recruiting for. It will, inevitably, spread from her world and into ours if we don't fight back now."

Draco considered them. His tail flicked once, a spray of water splashing up and he smiled, his fangs glistening in the sun. "Would I travel back with you in that tiny blue box?"

The Doctor turned back to look at the TARDIS. "I might have to get creative. Gos, stay out here and I'll see what I have inside."

The Doctor ran into the TARDIS and Gosalyn smiled up at Draco who grinned back down at her.

~…~…~…~…~

"Nope," said the Doctor, turning around and walking straight back into the TARDIS. "Nope, nope, nope."

"Doctor!" Gosalyn hissed, shoving against the door of the TARDIS before he could shut it in her face. "Where are you going?"

"A few hours ahead." He motioned behind them, towards the small group of people they had stumbled across. "I can't stand that man. But you'll be fine! I'll see you soon!" With that, he closed the door and the TARDIS disappeared with the customary grinding of gears.

Gosalyn turned about face to observe the small group gathered in front of her, flashing a smile and acting like it was perfectly normal to walk out of a blue box that materialized in and out of existence. The collection of children and their parents glanced at one another, distrust clearly written on their faces.

But a man sporting a top hat, a purple coat with elaborate embroidery, and shockingly messy hair burst from the group with a grin and a cane in hand. "Are you the teacher we've been waiting for?"

"Yes," Gosalyn said with confidence. That was what sold a lie, as she'd learned from her experience with the spymasters and con artists from her multiverse travels. You had to be confident, even if you didn't feel it.

"Your ward is over there," the man pointed somewhere within the group, "and now the tour can get started!" He clapped his hands together and sprung back to the front, leading everyone down the long hallway towards a doorway at the other end.

In the wake of the departing group was left a small angry Scrooge McDuck who couldn't have been more than ten years old. Gosalyn's breath caught in her throat as he thrust his chin up and surveyed her with those clever eyes.

"You're not one of my teachers," he said.

"No," Gosalyn responded, walking over to him. "But it seems like you need an adult to be able to go on this tour. And I guess I'm the adult between the two of us."

"The tour would be better if I went on my own." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's not up to you," said Gosalyn, resisting the urge to bend down so they could be at eye level. Scrooge would never thank her for treating him differently than anyone else, no matter the universe he came from. "You need me so you can go on this tour. I need to meet up with my friend who will, probably, be at the end of this. So, why don't we both do each other a favor and just pretend like everything is normal?"

"Everything all right back there?" called the eccentric man dressed in bright colors and multiple prints.

Scrooge eyed Gosalyn for a moment before calling, "Yes. We're coming."

Gosalyn smiled as they fell into step beside each other. "I'm Gosalyn."

"Scrooge," he said shortly.

She nodded to the tour guide. "And he is?"

Scrooge looked up at her incredulously. "That's Willy Wonka. There was that whole golden ticket hunt where the winners got to tour his candy factory? Do you not watch the news?"

"Not so much lately," Gosalyn said, eyeing Willy Wonka with trepidation.

She was nervous to find out why the Doctor had left so quickly. The tour would tell.

~…~…~…~…~

"Happy anniversary!" exclaimed the Doctor, setting a vanilla frosted cake in front of Gosalyn. She was sitting at a work table in the main library of the TARDIS, cross referencing all the Drake Mallards she'd pulled together and seeing who else they might want to recruit.

She glanced between the Doctor the the cake. "What anniversary?"

"Of us traveling together," the Doctor said, grinning. "It's been a year." He scrunched up his face and looked off into the distance. "Maybe a little over a year. That first trip to the dinosaur theme park is still a blur and I can't remember how long we were there."

Looking at the cake, Gosalyn didn't realize she had stood up until she heard the legs of her chair scraping against the floor. Until the Doctor was holding up his hands, palms facing her, a worried expression on his face.

"No," she said, studying the Doctor's expression for any sign of a joke. "No, it hasn't… it hasn't been that long. Has it?"

"The TARDIS keeps accurate records," soothed the Doctor, eyes glued to her face.

"I… I've been gone for a year? And no one knows?"

The Doctor blinked, something in his face going soft at her tone. "No one has felt the length of time. For all of them, it's only been a few moments. Seconds, even. Once we return, I promise no one will have realized you were gone."

"But I'll know," Gosalyn said, unsure why she couldn't quite catch her breath. "I'll always be one year older than everyone thinks I am. I'll have one more year of experience. One more year of knowledge. No time will have passed from their point of view, but I... I'll never be the same."

The Doctor reached forward, taking her hand. She gripped onto it, trying to pull in deeper breaths. Maybe her family wouldn't think she'd been gone for long. But what if, on some level, they knew? Could feel the days weeks and months she'd spent away from them? What if she was so different when she went back that they didn't recognize her?

The Doctor squeezed her hand and she glanced up to meet his gaze. "It's one of the burdens of time travel. Not many people get to experience it. I'm sorry I didn't better prepare you."

"I…." She inhaled a deep breath before letting it out in a big sigh. "I never thought about it from this end. I always saw it from the other side, where it only takes five minutes for something to happen. I hadn't considered that when you're on this side, it's a lot longer."

The Doctor nodded, keeping a firm, but not restricting, grip on her hand. "I've enjoyed our time, if it's any consolation. It's been nice to have you with me."

Gosalyn looked at the Doctor, really looked at him, seeing how his smile didn't quite meet his eyes. They'd been together a whole year and she'd never thought to ask the simplest question of them all. "How long have you traveled on your own?"

The small smile disappeared and he reclaimed his hand, stuffing it into his pocket. He gave a casual shrug. "A while."

Her breathing back to normal, her heart slowing back to it's standard beat, Gosalyn continued her examination of the lines on his face. "When did you lose your family?"

"Oh," the Doctor sighed, looking somewhere over Gosalyn's shoulder. "A couple thousand years ago. I had a daughter…." Here, he looked back at her, something heart-wrenching in his gaze as he glanced over her features.

"Did she not want to come with you?" Gosalyn asked, unable to think of a single Gosalyn who wouldn't drop everything to be with her Drake Mallard.

"No, I'm sure she would…. There was a Time War. Not many people survived." He shrugged again, his gaze traveling down to the table. He inhaled then brought his eyes up to meet hers again. "That's why we have to stop Ana. I refuse to have another war on my hands."

Gosalyn smiled slightly and reached over to her list. "I think there's only a few more Drakes I'd like to recruit."

"Are you sure you're all right?" asked the Doctor, keeping his tone neutral.

"When you have the responsibility of protecting people, you don't get to make easy decisions. You don't get to keep your head down. You don't get safety."* She circled the last names on her list, and handed it to the Doctor. "I signed up for this. I shouldn't be surprised when there's a price to pay. I just hope it's worth it."

The Doctor grabbed her list, studied the names, and grinned. He led them back to the main control room where he punched in a few keystrokes of letters and numbers before pulling the lever, the TARDIS kicking to life around them. "It will be. Protecting those whom you love always is."

Gosalyn waited until he stopped moving before wrapping her arms around him from behind. "Happy anniversary, Doctor."

He leaned back into her embrace, the fingers of one of his hands coming up to wrap around her wrist.

~…~…~…~…~

Duckvengers Tower had 93 floors. And it was practically full to bursting with the number of Drakes, Gosalyns, Launchpads, Negaducks they had scrounged together.

Tony had pinpointed the exact moment they needed to arrive in the Prime Universe, and everyone piled into the TARDIS, prepping their gear and grabbing the last bites of their meal.

"Good work, kid," Tony said, standing outside the TARDIS and watching as the hundreds of people they'd brought together clamored back inside. The Doctor was greeting everyone as they came aboard, showing them to different rooms and accommodations so the main control room wouldn't be overcrowded. "You got yourself a pretty decent army."

Gosalyn knocked her shoulder against his with a grin. "I wouldn't want to fight against me."

"Hell no," Tony agreed, glancing at her with a smirk. "You have way too much spirit."

A sharp pain lanced through her rib cage at the thought of her family, whom she hadn't seen in over a year. She was so close.

So close to helping them out.

To seeing them again.

To being home.

"Let's go show the Poisverse just how much," she said, tightening the straps on her quiver before following the last of the Drakes into the TARDIS.

—…—…—…—…—…—…—…—

She'd pulled open the door of the TARDIS more times than she could count.

But this time.

To yank the door towards her and walk into the familiar Darkwing Tower. To feel her father, Negaduck, and Max at her back. To see Goofy and Scrooge standing in front of her, expressions of surprise and delight mingling on their faces.

Scrooge said it best when he grinned at her and folded his hands precisely atop his cane. "Welcome home."

A/N: *Quote by Travis McElroy from The Adventure Zone: Amnesty arc.*