Thicker Than Water

by EricaX

Takes places directly after "Beginnings and Endings". Being forced to start from scratch, Launchpad and Drake are now living in Duckberg and both working for Scrooge McDuck. After recovering from his painful loss and fighting off depression, Drake just wants to move on. But certain enemies plan on making that impossible for him.

11. Chapter 11

Thicker Than Water - Chapter 11

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Gosalyn's complaint had fallen on deaf ears as Darkwing twisted the doorknob and opened the door. His eyes immediately landed on the silhouette of a familiar duck in a suit and fedora who was blocking his way.

Negaduck and half a dozen thugs dressed in all black where standing outside their door waiting for him.

The yellow clad duck laughed menacingly. Seeing that he had Darkwing's full attention, he rubbed his hands together and said, "Oh, you're absolutely right, Darkwing. It IS just you and Launchpad. Or to be more precise-just your BLOOD that I need!" He pulled out a knife from his jacket pocket as he took a threatening step closer and began cackling.

Darkwing yelped in alarm, his hand releasing the doorknob as though he'd been burned. He stepped backwards before reality set in. Anger immediately clouded his eyes as he balled his hands into fists. "Negaduck" he growled.

The thugs that were surrounding Negaduck all stepped forward in an attempt to look more intimidating than they already did. They were all tall, dressed completely in black; even so much as covering their faces with masks, though some of them were showing their beaks and noses. They all appeared to be muscular and well built.

"Wait, what!? What's happening!?" came Gosalyn's voice from inside.

Darkwing's eyes never left Negaduck's however. He didn't answer his daughter's question. "I see you've made some new friends" he hissed, gesturing to the thugs.

Negaduck raised an eyebrow. "Pfft, friends? Please. You know friendship isn't my style, Wingy. More like...business associates. It's amazing who you can find to hire for mobbing in a town where the World's Richest Duck resides. I wonder if the ol' coot realizes just how much crime is hidden underneath his little town."

"He knows you're working with Magica!" quipped Darkwing as he ventured several feet further out the door. Negaduck seemed to follow his steps as though he wanted Darkwing to be lured out. He didn't care. He hoped to keep Launchpad and Gosalyn out of this, but seeing as how he knew Negaduck needed Launchpad's blood as well as his, he doubted that would happen.

Mockingly, Negaduck raised his hands up to the side of his face and said, "Oh no! Not that! Tell me it isn't true!" he taunted in a slightly higher pitched voice. He then gave Darkwing a deadpan expression as he lowered his hands. "Please. I don't give two flying hoots if that ol' codger knows I'm working with Magica!"

Darkwing's frown deepened from being poked fun at.

Negaduck then pointed a finger at him. "Also! Let's clear something up right now! I am not working FOR that annoying, cackling witch! That would imply I work under someone and take orders! I don't take orders from anyone! We just happen to share the same end goal, is all! So I am working WITH her!"

"Touchy subject. Noted." said the purple vigilante snarkily.

That only seemed to infuriate Negaduck further. With a snarl and a snap of his fingers, Negaduck growled, "Bring out the pilot and girl!" His eyes never left Darkwing's.

Darkwing gasped as he watched a couple of the thugs start walking towards Launchpad's house. One flanking the left and the other flanking the right, Darkwing didn't know which one to go after. Though he didn't have much of a chance to even consider which one to go after before pain shot through his left cheek. He cried out and nearly fell backwards when Negaduck punched him in the face.

"What's the matter, Darkwing!?" taunted Negaduck. "Don't like that?! That's just a TASTE of what I'm about to do to you!"

Negaduck swung to hit Darkwing again, but the vigilante was ready this time and was able to duck and dodge. He sprinted off to Negaduck's right and slipped behind him; his cloak billowing in the rush. Negaduck whirled around and readied for an attack.

Darkwing was making a circle back to attack but was halted by the sound of glass shattering. His eyes widened as his eyes immediately went to the house. "Launchpad! Gosalyn!" he cried out worriedly.

With Darkwing distracted, Negaduck pounced on him and wrapped his arms around the vigilante's neck; properly choking him.

"Erk-!" gasped Darkwing as his eyes went wide in alarm and his hands instantly reached up to try to pry Negaduck off him.

"DAD!" came Gosalyn's cry of shock and worry.

Just as Gosalyn stepped out of the threshold of the door, a nearby thug grabbed her.

"Gosalyn, no!" gasped Darkwing, his fingers still trying to pry Negaduck's hand away.

"Get offa me, ya creep!" growled Gosalyn. She kicked her feet but the thug was holding her with his chest to her back, which made it harder for her to hit him.

"Gosalyn! DW!" Launchpad was now joining the fray. As soon as he saw what was going on, he jumped in, grabbing the thug holding Gosalyn and yanking him backwards. This action caused the thug to shout in alarm and pain and drop Gosalyn.

"Gosalyn!" managed Darkwing with limited air. "Go get help! We're outnumbered! Erk!" His words barely got out as Negaduck gripped his throat tighter.

Leaning in towards his doppelganger, Negaduck sneered. "What's this? Is Wingy admitting defeat!?" He finally let go of Darkwing, pushing the vigilante until Darkwing stumbled backwards, causing him to trip on his cape and fall to the ground.

Darkwing groaned and rubbed at his throat.

"Dad!" Gosalyn called over to him again. She dodged another attack from a different thug.

"Go to McDuck's!" He told her. "He needs to know what's going on!" Darkwing looked over at Negaduck just in time to avoid getting kicked hard in the rib. Rolling in the grass, Darkwing moved away in time and quickly stood up. "Go and get help!"

Gosalyn just stared at her father with wide fearful eyes. She turned to Launchpad and could see he wasn't faring any better as he was fighting his own pair of thugs. With a loud nervous gulp, Gosalyn nodded. She dodged being caught by two thugs and darted off into the night. "I won't let you down, dad!" she called back.

She grunted a moment later when Negaduck sneaked up on her and smacked her in the back of the head. The young duckling immediately blacked out and fell to the grass.

"Awww, how sweet" mocked Negaduck. "So sweet I could vomit!" He pulled out a knife and swiped at Darkwing, who jumped backwards.

"GOSALYN!" Darkwing's voice was filled with panic and worry. He went to reach for her but Negaduck jumped in his way.

Punching the two goons in the face, Launchpad was finally free from being attacked. He ran over towards the two identical mallards. "DW!"

Seeing Launchpad advancing on them, Negaduck acted quickly. He pushed Darkwing against a tree and before the hero had a chance to react, the villain grabbed his right hand, slammed it against the tree trunk, and plunged the knife in the palm of Darkwing's hand.

Darkwing's cry of pain rang through the darkened woods and also caused Launchpad to stop dead in his tracks.

"DARKWING!"

Darkwing whimpered and moaned as blood quickly pooled into his hand and dripped down into the grass. The blade had gone completely through; just like when he had been emotionless and done the same thing to Negaduck not a week prior.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" cackled Negaduck menacingly. He let go of the blade's handle and took a proud look at his victory. "Yeah! Ya feel that, Wingy!? That's payback for when you did the very same thing to ME! It's not so fun to be on the receiving end is it!?"

"I wasn't myself when that happened!" was Darkwing's immediate come back. He weakly tried to pull at the handle of the knife, but Negaduck was there to prevent him from doing that by pushing down on the handle. He weakly tried to swat Negaduck's hand away but to no avail.

"Oh, but you most certainly were!" hissed Negaduck. "You claim that potion took away your emotions, but what it really did was release the monster you really are! Hahahaha!" He let go of the knife, which was still stuck in Darkwing's hand and tree trunk, and glanced back at Launchpad. "Ya see this, ya great clod!? Your precious Darkwing rendered to a useless weakling!" He nodded towards some of the thugs, who at this point had started to stand up and ready themselves for round two.

Before Launchpad could do anything, he was flanked and grabbed by the arms by two of Negaduck's cronies. "Leave him alone!" Launchpad found himself shouting.

Negaduck raised an eyebrow at him. "Not before I take something I need!" He pulled out a small glass vial from his jacket and uncorked it. He then pressed the lip of the vial to Darkwing's stab wound and waited patiently for the blood to fill it.

Darkwing groaned and wriggled, trying to alleviate the pain in anyway possible.

"That's right, Wingy! I have your blood now! If things were up to me, I'd kill you right now on the spot! Yet Magica says she needs you alive in order for everything to go to plan. While she can't tell me what to do, I am rather curious how her plans are going to pan out, so I'll play along." Seeing that the vial was now filled with blood, he pulled it back close and corked it. Once the vial was safely back in his jacket, he turned his attention to the pilot.

"Now it's your turn, dummy" he told Launchpad.

The two thugs let go of Launchpad, who immediately stepped forward to reach Darkwing, but then one of the men slammed something hard into the back of Launchpad's head. Grunting from the pain, Launchpad began to see stars. "Oh, hey..." he mumbled incoherently. "I see stars! But they're not-in the sky..." He promptly fell backwards and landed hard on the cold grass.

"NO!" screamed Darkwing. "NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" He fought harder against the grip of the two thugs holding him.

Negaduck ignored him, his attention fully on Launchpad as he walked over and towered over the fallen pilot. He pulled out another knife while Launchpad groaned and placed a hand on his head where he had received the hard blow.

"DW?" mumbled Launchpad as he blearily looked up. Due to the darkness he could only see the sillohuette of the person in front of him; who sadly looked identical to his friend.

"Guess again" taunted Negaduck. He then paused and glanced over at Darkwing.

Noticing that Negaduck was now looking at him, Darkwing snarled. "Get away from him Negaduck! You don't need his blood! Or even MY blood! Whatever you have planned with Magica isn't going to work! You'll lose either way!"

Negaduck shook his head condescendingly. "Tsk tsk, Darkwing. You clearly haven't been paying attention at all! Even if Magica's plans get ruined, you're all still tied to the ritual and if that fails...You die! So, I look at it this way...It's a win/win for me!" He looked over just in time to see Launchpad start to sit up. He kicked the pilot hard in the jaw with his foot, sending Launchpad back to the ground groaning in pain.

Darkwing fought harder, managing to get a few steps closer to them before the thugs holding him pulled him back. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

"Hmm..." hummed Negaduck thoughtfully. "How should I go about this?"

Launchpad was attempting to sit up again when a searing pain shot through his right forearm. "AHHHH!"

Negaduck had sliced a long, deep slash into Launchpad's arm. Red instantly stained his brown shirt and through the torn tear, blood was pooling in a similar fashion to Darkwing's wound. Doing the same thing he did before, Negaduck began collecting Launchpad's blood. Once it was collected, he corked the second vial and tucked it away next to the vial of Darkwing's blood.

"LAUNCHPAD!" yelled Darkwing in fright and panic. He used his free hand to begin pulling at the knife once again. After several long agonizing moments, the knife came out. He screamed in pain again and he threw the bloodied knife far away into the darkness of the night. Clutching his bad hand tightly, Darkwing looked up and glared at Negaduck, who was still towering over Launchpad.

"Alright boys!" Negaduck called out. "We got what we came for! Now, if you want the payment that was promised to you, go out and finish the night off with some good ol' terrorizing! You know where to meet up in the morning!"

"You got it, boss!" replied one of the goons. The rest of them nodded; understanding their orders.

Negaduck turned just in time to see Darkwing stumble in the grass; falling to his knees from the sheer pain of his hand. "Hurts, doesn't it?" mocked Negaduck.

Darkwing just continued to glare up at him.

"Not as much as THIS will hurt! I do believe I still owe myself a debt! I told you three years ago that if you didn't play by my rules, McQuack would die!"

Darkwing froze at his words, his eyes widening in horror.

"You're still not playing by my rules!"

"You can't kill him! You JUST said you can't kill us yet!"

Negaduck took a moment to appear as though he was thinking it over. "Oh, that's right. Heh, Doesn't mean I can't still do some bodily harm!" With the same knife he had used to cut Launchpad, Negaduck raised it high and so he could slam it into Launchpad's chest.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Darkwing's call of despair rang through the air.

Negaduck's arm began coming down to strike when a large tidal wave of water crashed into his side. With a shout of alarm, Negaduck was swept away by the gushing water; which hardly even touched Launchpad from his spot on the ground.

"Are you feeling overwhelmed by petty villains!? Can't get rid of those nasty pains in the behind because they refuse to give up and scram!? That's okay, just let Liquidator Brand Water wash it away!" came the bubbly voice of Liquidator.

Liquidator morphed into his canine form a few feet from where Launchpad laid on the ground. He watched triumphantly as Negaduck was washed away further and further into the wooded park.

They watched as Negaduck was pushed further and further away from them.

"Curse you, Liquidator!" the yellow-clad villain screamed back at them.

Staring in disbelief, Darkwing gathered enough of his senses to rush over to Launchpad and check on his dearest friend.

Liquidator took a step back to give them space and looked over just in time to see Bushroot run over to them. "Launchpad! Gosalyn! Are you guys alright!?" the mutant plant wanted to know. He moved closer so he could inspect his friend's injuries.

"More friends of yours?" inquired Liquidator. Bushroot didn't reply; just rolled his eyes.

Darkwing was there in a heartbeat, running past Bushroot, and clearly ignoring his own pain. "Launchpad!"

Launchpad was lying there with his eyes closed and his body limp.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" muttered Darkwing carefully. He knelt down right next to Launchpad and leaned over him, his good hand running over his friend's chest to check for injuries. He hadn't been able to tell whether or not Negaduck had succeeded in stabbing him a second time. He knew Negaduck had been attempting to fatally wound Launchpad. Magica had told him not to kill them, but that didn't mean he couldn't do serious damage regardless.

Seeing that it was only his arm that had been injured, Darkwing let out a long sigh of relief. His face then crumpled when he saw the ugly gash on the pilot's arms. Forgetting that Bushroot and Liquidator were still there, Darkwing buried his face in Launchpad's chest and with his good hand, he clenched tightly to the pilot's shirt. Tears gathered in his eyes and threatened to fall. "Launchpad! Oh, thank goodness he didn't stab you in the chest! I was so certain he had! Ugh, but he still stabbed you nonetheless! He still hurt you because of me!"

Launchpad grunted and moved a bit underneath Darkwing. "N-Nonsense, DW! This isn't your fault!"

Darkwing shook his head. "Oh, but it is! It is! I thought he was going to-Was going to-" he whimpered. "I thought he was going to kill you and it would have been all my fault!"

Bushroot and Liquidator shared an uneasy look; neither of them quite knowing what to do.

"DW-"

"No! This is happening because of me! He wouldn't be after you if it wasn't for me! Gosalyn wouldn't be hurt if it wasn't for me! Magica might still be plotting against McDuck but he's coming after me because of who I am! Because I'm Darkwing!" There was silence for a moment before Darkwing shouted out to the world, "I HATE BEING DARKWING DUCK!"

His declaration echoed throughout the night.

Silence.

"Y-You..." began the baritone voice of Bushroot.

Darkwing glanced ever so slightly towards the mutant.

"You don't have actually mean that, do you?"

Liquidator looked back and forth between his loved one and his enemy.

Launchpad raised a hand with his good arm and gently caressed Darkwing's cheek. "Aww, shucks, DW! You don't need to be that self-hating over me. You know you're not the one to blame."

"It IS my fault though!" argued the vigilante.

"Heh, always the dramatic one, eh, DW?"

Darkwing said nothing as his next worry was Gosalyn. He went to her and instantly pulling her into his lap as he sat down next to her. He rubbed at her forehead with his good hand and was relieved to find that she was slowly waking up. "Ugh...Dad?"

Darkwing smiled. "Yep. Hello, baby girl blue."

Gosalyn smiled and sat up properly. "What happened to Negaduck?"

"Bushroot and Liquidator came and helped us out" mumbled the vigilante.

Gosalyn looked up to see they were in fact there. She beamed up at Bushroot. "Alright! Way to go, Bushroot and Liquidator!"

Liquidator visibly puffed his chest out at the praise. "Ahh, another satisfied consumer!"

Bushroot smiled and cleared his throat. "You're welcome, Gosalyn. Though not to ruin the moment, but you should probably know Negaduck has a couple dozen bruisers and goons roaming through the park right now. More might be back."

Just as his words were spoken, a few of the mentioned goons appeared around them. With a wave of his leafy hand, vines began popping up around them and began fighting against the men.

Launchpad pushed himself up into a sitting position; trying his best not to jar his arm too much. "Thank you for coming to help us, Bushroot. Liquidator." He nodded to both of them respectively.

Liquidator shrugged. "Supposedly you're a friend of my dear Reggie's so I figured I could give you the benefit of the doubt and help you two out." He elongated his body so he could swoop in and get into Launchpad's face. "And it still stands, if I find out you've hurt Bushroot in any way-" He trailed off, knowing Launchpad and Darkwing both got the hint.

"We get it. We get it!" said Darkwing frantically. He was busy tearing off a piece of his cape to wrap around his hand. Gosalyn helped him wrap it. "This is the second time my cape has been ripped due to a hand wound." He muttered, recalling when Magica had cut open Fenton's hand a couple days prior.

The five of them were soon distracted as more thugs began reappearing.

The sound of someone shouting in alarm rang through the air, which grabbed the attention of everyone around them. Everyone stopped fighting long enough to listen a moment before they went back to fighting.

Launchpad shoved one of Negaduck's followers away before shouting in alarm, "That sounded like Gyro's voice!" He grabbed at his bad arm, which stung from being used in his self defense.

"Who!?" demanded Darkwing as he leaned against a tree. He used the tree's trunk to push back on as he kicked a thug in the face.

"My friend Gyro! He lives around here! He lives on the other side of the park-But maybe he's in trouble too!" responded Launchpad as he ducked from getting hit.

Darkwing gasped in pain as his bad hand brushed against the rough bark of the tree. He flinched and pulled his hand close to examine it. The makeshift bandage had already started to become undone and he was now getting dirt and grime on the open wound. "Shoot! This hurts!" he growled. "Stupid emotionless me had to go and slice open Negaduck's hand-Only for him to turn around and do it to me too! He always was a copy cat!"

"Get away from me!" came Gyro's voice again.

Launchpad gasped and looked off in the direction of his voice. "Yeah, I'm pretty positive that's Gyro! Come on, DW! He needs our help!" " He turned to his mutant plant friend. "Bushroot, are you two okay dealing with these guys!? We really need to go and help our other friend!"

Bushroot nodded with a faint smile. "We'll be okay! I've got Liquidator with me!" assured the floral duck.

Launchpad nodded. "Thanks again for your help guys!"

Darkwing nodded to them both before he and the pilot darted off into the night.

As Liquidator dodged a hit from a thug, he commented, "You know? That Launchpad fellow does seem rather decent!"

Bushroot squeaked when a thug tried to sneak up on him from behind. He ducked and a nearby tree began to move and grabbed the thug by the torso and threw him several yards away. Standing back up, Bushroot looked up at the oak tree. "Thank you, Oakley!" To Liquidator he said, "He really is a nice guy, Buddy!"

"Are you SURE I shouldn't be worried?" teased the liquid canine.

"Positive!"

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Gyro had been organizing his book collection, since his last experiment caused the metal screws of the shelf to rust away and break off, when he heard the commotion outside of his house.

He heard the sound of several voices shouting at each other. It didn't necessarily sound like arguing, however, some was a little on the vulgar side. Worried that it was more trans-phobic haters lurking around, Gyro decided to close all the curtains in his small home and lock the door.

He glanced over to find Lil' Bulb sitting in his tiny blue armchair that Gyro had made for him. The little creation was happily reading a tiny book.

"Should we check what's in there?" he could one of the voice ask.

Gyro tensed, his shoulders going upward as he panicked. There was no other buildings around, so his house must have been what they were talking about!

Gyro was just beginning to wonder if he should find a weapon or invention of some sort for self defense when his front door was suddenly kicked open with so much force, the metal hinges broke.

The inventor shouted in alarm as Lil' Bulb dove out of his chair and hid for cover.

Once the door was open, several large burly men wearing nothing but black clothes and a black face masks stepped inside.

"W-What do you want!?" Gyro found himself asking.

One of the thugs looked Gyro up and down. "Orders were to terrorize the park. You live along the borders of the park-Therefore, you count as something to terrorize!"

Gyro bit back a whimper of worry at his words. "Oh, dear..." He turned around just in time to see one of the thugs go to touch his molecular enhancer gun. It was still in its test phases and no where near ready to be used so that was how he found himself snapping, "Don't touch that!" His warning did the trick and the thug in question jerked its hand away just in time. "It's a very unstable invention of mine!"

The thug he had yelled at glared at him from behind his mask and didn't see at all pleased to having been told what to do.

"Lookie here, boys! This little nerd thinks he can tell us what to do!" he snickered, cracking his knuckles. He was the tallest of the three of them and his beak was one of the only features that could be seen thanks to his mask. He was a sea gull and by the looks of it, he was about as strong as Launchpad at the very least; meaning Gyro had no chance against him.

"Heh heh! Show him, Gulliver!"

"Yeah! Show him!"

The one Gyro now knew to be Gulliver stepped closer as Gyro stepped back.

Just when Gyro began to think the situation couldn't get worse, Negaduck barged into the little house, pushing aside one of the thugs in the process. He walked in with his usual swagger and menacing sneer and Gyro gulped at the sight of him. Though he wasn't familiar with the mallard dressed in yellow, the inventor was positive he was not a foe he wanted to mess with.

What was odd about it all was that Negaduck appeared to be soaking wet; as though he had just been swimming in a river. However, this didn't make him look any less menacing.

Gyro took a step back and yelped in fright when his back rammed into his work bench; rendering him vulnerable with no way to escape.

"Well, well" tsked Negaduck. "What do we have here, boys?" He looked Gyro up and down, taking in the sight of the tall lanky chicken. He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "And who are you supposed to be?"

Gyro clamped his beak shut, unsure if he should reply or not.

He got his answer when his silence seemed to annoy Negaduck.

The shorter mallard grabbed Gyro by one of his suspenders and pulled him down until they were nearly beak to beak. "Listen, dork! I just got pummeled by a wall of water in the form of Liquidator! I am NOT in the mood! I asked you a question! You'd be best off to answer me!"

Gyro's wide terrified eyes stared into Negaduck's cold icy ones. He managed to get himself to speak. "G-Gyro G-Gearloose!"

The name was hardly out of his mouth before Negaduck released him and pushed him away. Gyro stumbled and nearly fell to the floor had he not caught himself on his work bench.

Taking in the room around him, Negaduck was finally noticing the large collection of tools, gears, lab equipment, chemistry sets, and other miscellaneous hardware cluttering the house. "Gearloose..." he muttered. He raised and shook his finger as he searched his memory. "Gearloose. Gearloose...I've heard that name before..."

The thugs all looked at each other as they waited for their boss to continue. Gyro stood there and fretted with his fingers nervously.

Negaduck then snapped his finger as it came to him. He pointed at Gyro. "Gearloose! Yes! You're that mad scientist that often builds things for that old miser McDuck!"

Gyro found himself nodding. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Lil' Bulb sneaking around behind object to object and trying desperately to get closer to its creator without being seen. Once he saw Lil' Bulb looking at him, he discreetly shook his head at it. The last thing he wanted was for something to happen to his dear friend Lil' Bulb. Lil' Bulb titled its light bulb head in question before ducking behind a pile of text books as Negaduck stepped closer to it.

"Hmm...But I've heard that name somewhere else, I'm sure of it. But I know for a fact you've worked with McDuck before! Hmmm, you invent things, eh?" observed Negaduck. Though it was obviously a rhetorical question and Gyro wisely chose not to answer it for Negaduck continued saying, "If you work for McDuck then surely you must be worth it. I imagine that penny pincher isn't about to waste his time and money on just anyone!"

Gyro shook his head. "No, no! I-I just repair electronics and such!" he lied, hoping that whatever scheme the villain was forming would be shot down. Though it wasn't completely untrue either, since he did fix appliances and the like on the side for extra cash.

Negaduck was far from naive and even further from being stupid. He eyed Gyro suspiciously. "Oh really?" he goaded. So you're NOT the same Gearloose who invented robots to speed up the construction of buildings and built McDuck his very own submarine and helicopter?"

Gyro looked away, knowing he'd been caught in the lie. "Okay...so, maybe I've invented a few things too..."

In a surprisingly softer voice than anyone would expect, Negaduck spoke in a voice that resembled comfort. His voice was too sharp for the sentiment to be true though. "Now, now! No need to be modest!" He began pacing the center of the room; the thugs all spread out around the perimeter of the house as Gyro stayed standing by his work bench. As he walked, water was dripping off his clothes. "I have a few questions for you."

Next thing Gyro knew, he was carrying on a somewhat civil conversation with Negaduck.

"W-What would those be, exactly?" whimpered Gyro nervously.

Stopping dead center in the middle of the room, Negaduck looked Gyro right in the eyes with a hard glare. "Have you ever heard of the Negaverse?"

Wracking his brain, Gyro thought a second before blurting out, "Um, well, I'm not right sure. Could you explain it to me?"

Negaduck gave him a bored expression. "Was hoping I didn't have to, but whatever. I'll indulge you a little. See, the Negaverse is where I come from. It's MY dimension! It's just like this world only in a darker light!"

"Like an alternate universe?" squeaked the inventor with curiosity.

Negaduck shrugged. "I suppose that's another way to explain it."

"You say it's called the Negaverse?"

Negaduck nodded. "It's what I call it."

"What makes it Negative?" He dared a glance over to where he thought he'd seen Lil' Bulb duck behind a table leg. His guess was right; he could see his faithful creation inching closer to the open door. He watched Lil' Bulb run out the door to hopefully get someone to help him out of this mess. Negaduck suddenly stepped into his line of sight and frowned up at him.

Negaduck narrowed his eyes. "As I said, it's like this world only opposite. In a sense. You know McDuck, right?" At Gyro's nod he pressed on, "McDuck is all about morals and earning every penny he's got and being the biggest and stingiest penny pincher alive! Well, in MY world, he's a mob boss! Practically owns and runs the mafia! Has no morals and while he still may be a penny pincher, he's cold and ruthless!"

Gyro's eyes went wide at the very thought of Scrooge McDuck associating in any way with an organization as bad as the mafia. "OH! B-Blathering Blatherskite! That's-That's negative alright! Complete opposite of our world!"

Negaduck nodded. "Hence the reason I dubbed it the Negaverse!" he sneered.

The sound of wings flapping loudly in the doorway, everyone turned their attention to the black hat wearing the little blue hat swoop down and hand on Gyro's armchair by the door. "There you are! Caw! Magica is waiting for you!"

Growling in annoyance, Negaduck grabbed a wrench from nearby and threw it at Poe. "I got the damn blood! I have it here in my coat! She'll get it when I'm through with the geek squad here!"

Poe angrily snapped his beak at Negaduck. "Not part of plan! Get moving! NOW! Caw!"

"Ugh" grumbled Negaduck. "Listen, I'm on a tight schedule. We can finish this talk later. Point is-I want you to build me a machine that will make it easier to go back and forth between worlds." He snapped his fingers and signaled two of the thugs to flank Gyro. "Gulliver! You're in charge of taking him in! No foul ups, ya hear me!?"

Gyro gasped as Gulliver instructed the other two thugs to each take one of his arms and begin pushing him out the door. Gyro tried resisting them, digging his heels into the wooden floorboards of his house. "No! NO! Please! You can't take me!"

"Au contraire, Gearloose!" crooned Negaduck mischievously as he watched his new hostage resist. "You'll find I can do anything I want! Heh heh heh ha ha haa!" He cackled loudly.

Gyro groaned as the thugs tightened their hold on him and pushed him outside.

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"Oh, yes! Who's a good little 60 watt light bulb!?" cooed the nasally voice of Megavolt as he very slowly and tenderly stroked the street lamp's iridescent light bulb. He was currently upside down as he did this, for he was hugging the top of the light post tightly and looking over the edge. His limbs were a tangled mess around the lamp post; securely keeping him from falling. "Boy! The street lamps here are a LOT better than the ones back in St. Canard!"

Quackerjack was sitting at the base of the lamp post, his back leaning against the pole and both his legs and arms crossed. He was being uncharacteristically quiet as he stared off into space. Though he didn't appear to be in deep thought, if the silly expression on his face was anything to go by. His tongue was sticking out of his beak and his eyes were half lidded with boredom.

"I mean..." Megavolt continued rambling. "These are actually updated! Not old, half-used lights in these things! It's like the city actually CARES!"

Quackerjack didn't respond, just continued to keep the same position.

Megavolt raised an eyebrow and looked upwards, though technically he was looking down due to his current location. "Quacky? What's with you? You're bein' awful quiet down there!"

Quackerjack finally moved, blinking out of his blank stare and pulled his tongue back in. He looked up at his partner, the bells at the end of his jester hat jingling softly. "Heh heh! My tongue feels weird now! Like it dried cause I stuck it out for too long!" He chuckled before asking, "Are you done yet?"

"Almost" muttered the electrified rodent. He quickly yet gently unscrewed the light bulb from the lamp post; shivering with pleasure when a zap of electricity sparked through the now empty light plug. He tucked the light bulb safely away before he began to slowly climb down the post.

Once his feet were back on the ground, he smiled at Quackerjack. "Now I am!"

Quackerjack stood with a hop and bounced on the balls of his feet. "Excellent! Now we can go and be bored somewhere else in this mopey town!"

"Yeah, why ARE we here again?" questioned Megavolt as they began walking down the pathway through Duckburg park.

Quackerjack took in a deep breath and put his hands behind his head before replying, "We're here because ol' McDucky-do invited Bushy to some meeting-that's supposedly NOT a party-And we decided to tag along to crash it!"

"Wait-McDucky-WHO!?"

"McDuck" reiterated Quackerjack. He glanced over to see Megavolt's confused expression. "Scrooge McDuck?"

Megavolt still stared blankly ahead of them as he walked.

"World's Richest Duck" the jester continued to elaborate. "We were at his mansion? We tried playing in his pool? His fuddy-duddy butler wouldn't let us though and claimed they didn't have any pool toys, which I still don't believe!"

Megavolt wracked his fried brain but still came up with nothing. He slowly shook his head. "Nope. Nadda. Not gettin' anything."

Quackerjack sighed as his shoulders sagged dramatically. "Why do I even bother trying!?" he moaned.

The two of them walked on through the darkening park as the sun finally set completely over the horizon. Just as Quackerjack began to whistle an off beat tune, both villains spotted the little light darting through the grass at the same time.

Quackerjack and Megavolt stopped just at the edge of the cement walkway and stared, transfixed, as a little light bulb bounced along towards them in a rush.

Lil' Bulb was darting over to them as fast as it could, desperate to find anyone this late at night. Sadly, the little creation had no way of knowing these two were notorious villains but at this point, Lil' Bulb was willing to accept any help given.

"Holy circuits!" gasped Megavolt in excitement. His mismatched eyes were staring at Lil' Bulb with wonder. "Is that not the CUTEST thing you've ever SEEN!?"

Quackerjack raised an amused eyebrow at it. "It...actually kinda is..." He quickly pulled out his own favorite toy. "However, I still find Mr. Banana Brain MUUUCH cuter!"

Megavolt wasn't listening however, for he had fallen to his knees and Quackerjack could have sworn he saw tears start to line the edges of his partner's goggles. "AWWW! I have no idea where this little fella came from, but it knows who it's momma is! That's right! Come here you little beauty!" Megavolt reached his gloved hands out to Lil' Bulb, his fingers twitching in anticipation.

Lil' Bulb stopped abruptly at Megavolt's actions, pausing long enough to look back and forth between the two villains. The little anthropomorphic invention seemed wary of Megavolt's enthusiasm and opted to running towards Quackerjack instead. The creation reached one of its little metal three-prong hands up and pulled on the jester's colorful and puffy pants.

"Why, hello little one!" greeted Quackerjack in the same voice he used when he was speaking to one of his new toys. "WherEVER did you come from, hmmm?" He leaned down and held open his right palm so that Lil' Bulb could climb on. Once Lil' Bulb was in his hand, the jester stood up.

Megavolt giggled happily as he stood up and leaned close to Lil' Bulb; holding tightly to Quackerjack's arm. "Awwww, look at him! Pure cuteness! And it seems to have a mind of its own! Its been given sentience! And what a simple design! It's brilliant!"

Quackerjack opened his mouth to speak but Lil' Bulb interrupted him. It began purring and buzzing animatedly while pointed in the direction he came and jumping up and down in desperation.

Megavolt's fascination only grew. "It's trying to speak to us!"

Quackerjack turned his head to his friend. "Well? You're the one who's friends with light bulbs and microwaves and every other electrical device! Can you understand what its saying?"

Megavolt sucked in a breath to answer but paused as he realized he couldn't. He listened a moment more to Lil' Bulb's noises. "I-I can't..." he blinked in shock. He gasped and grasped the sides of his face. "Have I lost the ability to speak to my fellow luminaries!?"

Lil' Bulb's arms sagged down as though frustrated. The wires in its bulb head turned downward as though it was upset and it began stomping its foot up and down on Quackerjack's palm.

"Ummm...I think the little thing is getting upset" guessed Quacjerkack.

Lil' Bulb began swinging its little arms wildly and trying to point in the direction he came from again.

"It would seem so!" agreed Megavolt. "I may not be able to understand him like I would like to-But I need to help this little fella! Maybe he wants us to follow?"

Lil' Bulb pointed to Megavolt, who grinned happily, and nodded its light bulb head. Without waiting, Lil' Bulb jumped down from Quackerjack's hand and into the grass where he gestured for them to follow.

Quackerjack and Megavolt looked to each other in question.

"Well, its not like we had plans. I was pretty bored anyways!" shrugged the jester.

Megavolt nodded. "Yes! And I owe it to my fellow luminaries to help a friend in need! Let us go!" he called out dramatically.

That was how they found themselves following the little anthropomorphic creation through the darkened park.

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"Please...Let me go..." whimpered Gyro.

The soft pleas were failing on deaf ears. No more effective than the loud pleas.

Negaduck had left them to their own devices; disappearing in another direction. Gyro wasn't entirely sure he was happy the angry mallard had left or not.

"Shut it!" snapped Gulliver from where he was walking in front of them. "Boss says he wants you. He didn't say in one peice."

The two other men snickered at the joke.

As they continued walking through the wooded area of the park, purple smoke began clouding up around them. Thicker than fog, the four of them looked around them nervously as it raised up around them.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night!"

Gyro tried using this distraction as a chance to escape, but he grunted in frustration when the guy holding him only held on tighter. Instead he just stared out into the smoke. Unlike his friends, he's never seen one of Darkwing's introductions.

"Ugh, it's that Darkwing guy the boss warned us about!" complained Gulliver. Gyro just glanced over at him in confusion.

"I am the blade that cuts through your hand!"

"Seriously?" came the unimpressed, deadpan voice of Gosalyn.

The purple smoke cleared out and Darkwing, Launchpad, and Gosalyn were able to see Gyro still being held hostage by one of the thugs.

Gyro's eyes widened and he trying jerking out of the vice like grip of his captor at the sight of a familiar face. He nearly fell over in his attempt to escape. "Launchpad!" he cried out.

"I am-" Darkwing tried to finish but was cut off when a hand seized his throat tightly. He wheezed out the rest, "...unfortunately...Darkwing Duck!"

Gulliver smirked as he brought Darkwing closer.

Gosalyn took this time to attack, jumping up from behind and punching the guy in the side of the face. Darkwing Gulliver both stumbled to the ground and Darkwing immediately began coughing and gasping for breath. Meanwhile, Launchpad and Gosalyn both attacked the two thugs holding onto Gyro.

Gosalyn used her shortness to her advantage and kicked the guy from under, causing him to fall and slam hard into the ground. Launchpad was able to grab the other guy's shoulders and pull him off Gyro, who was now free. The inventor gave out a small shout and darted away as Launchpad hit the thug one last time before making him collapse.

Darkwing stood up, rubbing at his throat, and was shocked to find most of the work done for him.

"Heh, nice work guys!" he praised his daughter and best friend. "Now let's get-"

Just as Darkwing was going to plan their next move, Gulliver shouted out, "HOLD IT!"

Everyone froze and looked at him.

What they saw had Launchpad stare on in horror. "GYRO!"

Gulliver was behind the inventor, holding him tightly to his chest; his right hand clutched tightly around Gyro's throat; forcing inventor's head upwards. "Nobody move!" they were ordered. "I'm sure no one wants your little inventor friend to get hurt, now do ya?"

"What do you want with my friend!? He's innocent!" demanded Launchpad.

Gulliver shrugged. "You so sure about that? Why do you think he's innocent? Because he's your friend?"

"Yeah! That's exactly why!" fought back Launchpad.

"Pfft! As if! You're tryin' to tell me not one of his inventions went bad!?" spat Gulliver. "That he doesn't have secret evil schemes of his own!?"

As if on cue, Gyro's eyes widened when he felt the familiar wiry metal limbs of his faithful Lil' Bulb start climbing up his pant leg. As Gulliver continued to speak, Lil' Bulb made its way up to his shoulder and silently cheered. Gyro could only wonder what his little creation was doing.

"The boss on the other hand seemed familiar enough with his work! That makes me suspicious about what your little friend here does with all the toys he makes!" He stepped back and started leaving.

'I'm so sorry!" rang out a jovial voice. "But did somebody mention TOYS!?"

"Huh?" came the inarticulate reply of Gulliver as he turned to the new voice.

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

The snapping and chattering of half a dozen toy teeth began chomping their way to the thugs. Just as Gulliver was about to run, dragging Gyro with him, one of the teeth got behind him and bit him right the rear. Gulliver howled with pain as he released Gyro and jumped high up into the air.

Gyro gasped and scrambled away to obtain his freedom. He ran as fast as he could over to Launchpad with Lil' Bulb holding on tightly to his shirt. He grabbed tightly to Launchpad's good arm, all but hiding himself behind the pilot's taller and wider frame.

Darkwing, Gosalyn, Launchpad, and Gyro, could only stand there stunned as Quackerjack appeared. The jester was doing cartwheels and laughing maniacally as his toy teeth chased away Gulliver and the other thugs. "Hee hee haa haa! That's right, my little toys! You suuure showed them!"

"Where'd it go!? Where'd it go!?" came the nasally voice of Megavolt. The four friends turned to see Megavolt ducking back and forth between the trees as though he was searching for something. He glanced up and saw Darkwing. "Oh! Hey! Uh...Where did you come from?"

Sighing, Darkwing fought the urge to roll his eyes. "What in good golly's name is going on here!?" he demanded instead of answering the villain. "First Bushroot and Liquidator help us fight off Negaduck's goons! Now YOU TWO are here helping us out! Since when are YOU guys supposed to save the day, huh!?"

"Ooooh, someone's crankyyyy!" said Quackerjack in a sing song voice.

Darkwing just huffed out his annoyance, holding his injured hand tightly.

"Sooo...Those were Negaduck's new friends, huh?" asked Quackerjack conversationally. "Kinda lame if ya ask me." He picked up one of his toy teeth and petted it. "They don't even know how to play with my teeth!"

Lil' Bulb chose that moment to begin purring earnestly on Gyro's shoulders.

This, of course, gained Megavolt's attention immediately. He pointed a blue gloved finger at the invention. "There it is!" He rushed over to Gyro, who was half hiding behind Launchpad.

Darkwing, hating being out of the loop, stepped in his way. "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Cool it, Megs! What are you fussing about now!?"

"Don't you see him!? That adorable little anthropomorphic light bulb!? It's genius! Not to mention its got some kind of sentience! He's fascinating!" explained Megavolt as he grabbed hold of Darkwing and started trying to climb over top of him. His crazed eyes never left Lil' Bulb.

Darkwing grunted as he tried pulling his ex best friend off of him. "Would you-uh, would you stop trying to climb over me!? Quackerjack! He's your villainous partner! Get him offa me!"

Quackerjack, standing several feet away, idly twirled one of the ends of his jester hat with his finger; causing the bells to ring a bit louder. "Nahh, I'm finding this mildly entertaining..." He said between chews. He then blew a bubble of his gum and let it pop loudly.

Megavolt lost the battle as Darkwing managed to throw him off and back to his feet. Stumbling slightly, Megavolt's eyes turned to Gyro. "You! Why is it hanging around you!? What makes YOU so special, huh!?"

Gyro squeaked at the sudden attention. "B-Because it's mine! I created it! It's name is Lil' Bulb! Though sometimes I call it Helper since it's my little helper! Lil' Bulb can do all sorts of things!"

Megavolt's eyes grew dangerously wide.

Gyro flinched at his intense stare.

"Y-you INVENTED him!?"

"It's not a 'him'! But yes!"

"WOOOOW!" was all Megavolt could reply with. He was staring at Gyro with newfound awe.

"Yeah, well, fawn over him all ya want, Megavolt! From a DISTANCE! Cause some of us are injured and need to get cleaned up!" interrupted Darkwing. He made sure to keep himself between the electrified rodent and Gyro.

"Blathering Blatherskite!" cried out Gyro when he saw Launchpad's bloodied arm. "You weren't kidding Mr. Darkwing!"

Darkwing blinked at being referred to in such a manner. "Y-Yeah. Of course, I wasn't kidding. ...So anywho! Thanks Megs! Quacky! But we're off!"

"Wait wait wait! I have so many questions to ask!" cried out Megavolt, reaching his arms out to Lil' Bulb.

Another purple smoke bomb went off, leaving Quackerjack and Megavolt coughing it up.

"That is the lamest thank you I have EVER heard!" whined Quackerjack.

Megavolt was just staring off into space. "He INVENTED it!" He turned to Quackerjack. "How come I'VE never invented something that cool!?"

Quackerjack merely shrugged.

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The moon was lighting up the sky in full view by the time they finally made it out of the park and into safety and through the town of Duckburg. Everything had been such a blur that they didn't find themselves too talkative on the walk to the manor.

"Ugh, stupid Negaduck" hissed Darkwing under his breath. He was cradling his hand, which was wrapped in the remains of his cape. He'd been forced to ask Launchpad to rip the rest of his cape off so he could use it to help stop the bleeding of his bad hand.

Darkwing, Launchpad, Gosalyn, and Gyro had all just walked through the metal gates of McDuck Manor and were walking up to the front door as the vigilante grouched about his hand.

"T-Thank you again for saving me back there" stuttered Gyro from where he was walking alongside Launchpad.

Launchpad smiled happily at him. "Shucks, Gyro! There's no need to say thank you! You're a friend! I'd do it for ya every day if I had to!"

"Keen Gear! This is exciting! So, what are you, some kind of mad scientist!?" giggled Gosalyn excitedly.

Gyro glanced down at the young duck. "Oh! Goodness, no! Nothing like that! I'm just an inventor!"

Lil' Bulb purred happily on his shoulder.

Gosalyn chuckled at the creation. "Suuuuure!"

The rest of the conversation was cut off as Darkwing knocked on the front door to the mansion with his good hand. When nothing happened, he went to knock again but the door opened before he could.

Darkwing jumped slightly when Duckworth opened the door.

"Greetings" said the butler. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hi, Duckworth!" beamed the pilot.

Duckworth blinked at him. "Hello, Mr. McQuack. Mr. Gearloose." His eyes landed on Launchpad's injured arm. "Oh, dear!" He then glanced over and saw that Darkwing was hurt as well.

"Say, what's all the ruckus?" The raspy voice of Donald could be heard on the other side of the door. Duckworth opened it fully to allow the four of them inside. Once they walked in, Gosalyn beamed up with a giddy smile; thrilled to be inside the infamous McDuck Manor once more. She began looking around at all the paintings and artifacts in the main room.

"Remember, Gos! Don't touch anything!" hissed Darkwing in his fatherly tone.

"Wakk!" came Donald's shout of panic. "What happened to you guys?!"

Gosalyn turned her attention to Donald. "What did he say?"

Duckworth stepped in, clearing his throat and desperately trying to control the situation. "Mr. Duck, I think it would be best if you go and find your uncle.I do believe Launchpad and his friends will be needing his assistance."

With a huff, Donald nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Sure." It was clear that he was irritated by the obvious dismissal. "I'll check on the boys while I'm at it."

"Boys?" asked Gosalyn, stepping up close to the sailor. "You mean Huey, Dewey, and Louie? They still live here, right?" She remembered spending some time with them three years ago while Scrooge was keeping her and Launchpad safe from Negaduck. Though she'd been at the mansion not days ago for the meeting, she hadn't seen them then. She had wondered if she would see them again. She missed Honker, who was back in St. Canard, so she figured spending time with the triplets would help make up for it.

Donald, having never seen Gosalyn before, blinked down at her in confusion. "You know my nephews?"

Gosalyn nodded. "I met them a while back. Yeah."

"What's your name?"

"Gosalyn Mallard."

"I'll let them know you're here" replied Donald with a fond smile. He would always have a soft spot for children.

"Keen gear! Thanks!"

Donald left without another word.

Duckworth coughed in order to gain everyone's attention. "If you gentlemen would follow me, we'll find you a first aid kit and you can clean yourselves up."

"Thank you" mumbled Darkwing with sincerity. He fiddled with the bloodied remains of his cape.

His knew his frazzled nerves wouldn't be able to handle much more and was grateful to be in the safe confines of McDuck manor. He glanced over at Launchpad and Gosalyn. His heart felt like it was breaking when he saw Launchpad's arm. He tried not to think of that brief moment when he had thought Launchpad had been stabbed in the chest. With a shudder, Darkwing followed Duckworth and the others.

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Scrooge sighed blissfully as Fenton's beak hit just the right spot underneath his jaw.

The two of them were preening. One of the most intimate acts known to ducks. The older duck was underneath the younger accountant on top of Scrooge's plush bed.

It had started out innocently enough. It still was pretty innocent, actually, since they were both still fully clothed and on top of the covers.

Scrooge had spent several hours at the Money Bin getting important work done but had returned home as soon as he could. With everything going on, especially with Magica involved, Scrooge didn't like the idea of being too far away from his family for long.

Fenton, though feeling better thanks to Morgana's healing potion, was still finding himself short on breath and exhausted at times and therefore was napping most of the afternoon. He had been visiting with Mrs. Beakley in the kitchen when Scrooge had arrived home and of course, as soon as Scrooge was home, he was practically the old miser's shadow. Not that Scrooge was complaining.

They wound up in the bedroom and now here they were. Preening each other's feathers.

Fenton was sitting on top of Scrooge, running his hands through Scrooge's head feathers. "Hmm...Scroogey...My love, my paramour..." he whispered between preening. "You make me so happy..."

Instead of replying, Scrooge quickly pushed himself up, making Fenton squeak in surprise as the old adventurer flipped them around so that the world's richest duck was now above his accountant. Scrooge didn't leave Fenton much time to recover and was soon leaning down and nuzzling his beak down along Fenton's neck.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Uncle Scrooge!?" came the familiar raspy voice of Donald Duck.

Scrooge pulled away from Fenton at the sound of the doorknob turning. Fenton cried out in alarm and slammed a pillow over his face in embarassment of being caught.

"Aye! What d'yeh want!?" growled Scrooge with a deep scowl for being interupted.

Unaffected by his uncle's annoyed tone, Donald continued to open the door; though he kept it ajar and peered inside. "Can I come in? It's important!"

"If yeh must" huffed Scrooge as he climbed off of Fenton and plopped himself down on the side of his bed.

"Scroogey!" hissed an appalled Fenton. While Scrooge sat there with an air of indifference, Fenton frantically lifted and climbed under the covers to hide himself.

Donald, having heard the best invitation he knew he would get, pushed the door fully open. He began talking before he was even fully inside. "I just wanted to tell you that Launchpad is asking-" He smiled at his uncle, mid-sentence, but his smile quickly vanished and his words died in his throat when he noticed the very obvious quivering lump behind Scrooge. Donald's face immediately turned red from his blush. "U-Uncle Scrooge! I thought you said I could come in!" He staggered backwards a bit, his hand still on the doorknob.

Scrooge just stared at him. "Aye, I did."

"Is that Fenton under the covers?"

"No. It's Goldie" Scrooge deadpanned.

"Hi, Donald!" greeted Fenton from under the covers in a slightly higher voice. "Please don't hate me!"

Donald only blinked at him, his hand still on the door.

Growling in annoyance, Scrooge rolled his eyes and sneered, "Of COURSE it's Fenton! How dare yeh think otherwise! Do'yeh take me as some kinda trollop!?"

"Why is he hiding under your covers?"

"I'm not gracin' that with an answer! I know yer sharper than that! Now, don't mind, Fenton! He's just far more shy than I am and frankly he's none of yer business! Now, what's this about Launchpad? Is everything alright?"

Donald didn't seem to know what to do or say, his eyes occasionally going back to where Fenton was hiding. He supposed he should just be grateful his uncle was still fully clothed. That thought only made his face turn more red before he answered, "Launchpad is here and he's asking for you!"

That seemed to perk Scrooge's interest and his annoyance for being interrupted seemed to vanish. "Brigadoon!" He glanced over at the grandfather clock in the corner of his bedroom. "I dinnae realize it was already that late in the evenin'! I called Darkwing t'come t'the mansion! That must be what they're here for!"

Donald shook his head, suddenly looking worried. "I don't think that's the only reason they're here, Uncle Scrooge. Launchpad didn't come alone. Gyro is here too along with some little girl named Gosalyn and a guy in a purple cape!"

"Gyro is here!?" exclaimed Scrooge in surprise. While the inventor had been given the invitation to stop by at any time he wanted, it was slightly rare for him to visit. Especially unannounced. Scrooge then remembered Darkwing being mentioned. "And yeh say Darkwing is with Launchpad too? Donnae surprise me. Lovesick fools, they are."

"They're both injured, I think." added Donald.

"Injured!? Who's injured!?" demanded Scrooge with concern. He sprang up from his spot on the bed and walked over to his nephew.

"Are they okay!?" piped up Fenton from beneath the covers.

Donald narrowed his eyes at Fenton's hiding spot. "Come out and ask me to my face, ya palooka!"

"Heh! Ignore me!" chuckled Fenton nervously.

Scrooge snapped his fingers in front of Donald to gain his attention. "Donald! Focus! Who's injured!?"

"Launchpad and that purple guy" replied the sailor. "I think Gyro and the girl are okay. Launchpad says there's something important he has to tell you!"

Scrooge nodded. He quickly grabbed his cane and adjusted his glasses before gently pushing Donald aside and heading out into the hallway. Over his shoulder he called to Fenton, "I'll be back, Fenton, me treasure! You just stay there and relax!"

Fenton's head popped out from under the covers as he stared at the door. "Pshhaw! Relax!? I just found out my friends are injured and you expect me to RELAX!?" he exclaimed as he quickly climbed out of the bed and went to stand next to a baffled and somewhat miffed Donald. In Scrooge's rush, the sailor found himself too stunned to follow. Glancing over at Donald, Fenton quietly said, "I really do hope Launchpad and the others are okay..."

Donald flinched at the sound of his voice and jumped back slightly when he saw Fenton suddenly standing next to him. His eyes narrowed at the accountant.

Fenton's blush came back full blown as it dawned on him that Donald had just walked in on their private moment. Scratching the back of his head, Fenton sheepishly looked away and stepped a respectful step back from the sailor. "Heh. Sorry you had to walk in on that." When Donald didn't immediately reply nor react besides glaring at him, he said, "Haven't seen you in a couple days. Spending time with the Daisy and the triplets, huh?"

"Now that we're alone, I wanna ask: Why are you REALLY dating my uncle?" demanded Donald in an accusing tone.

Fenton sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat. "I've told you, Donald. I really do love him!"

Donald rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Like I haven't heard that one before!"

Looking away dejectedly, Fenton sighed. "You know, your uncle makes me feel like a SOMEBODY! Have you ever felt like your life is just passing you by and you're not amounting to anything?"

This caused the sailor to pause. His silence was answer enough.

Fenton nodded. "You have then. Well, I felt like an absolute nobody until I met Scrooge! He looked at me and saw potential! Or rather...He did after I kept pestering him over and over to give me the job as his accountant!" He laughed nervously at the memory of sneaking into his paramour's office and begging over and over to have that job. "But eventually he saw me for more than just a lousy accountant! He started trusting me with more responcibilities! He's just...He's the first person to ever see me...for ME!"

Without really thinking about it, they both meandered into the hallway; neither of them making eye contact.

Fenton went on. "I didn't fall in love with him at first. I just had so much pride for working for him, you know? A guy as sucessful as that? It's amazing knowing you work for him! It's just...I started seeing him more and more thanks to me being Gi-" He cleared his throat, catching himself in time. He'd almost blown his cover: again. "T-Thanks to me being his personal accountant. A-And just seeing how happy he is when he wins a bet, or comes back from an adventure with more treasure or an ancient relic-That's what I fell in love with."

Fenton's eyes closed halfway as a fond smile came to his beak.

Donald was just standing there listening. He glanced down the hallway and found that he didn't know what to say. He certainly hadn't expected such a long love filled speech.

"I fell in love with his smiles. His laugh. His determination to do the right thing! His morality! He earned his entire fortune SQUARE! He's not some theiving rich guy who's out to get everybody! He just honestly loves his money and he loves earning it fairly! That's so inspirational, don't you think, Donald!?"

Donald shrugged. "I guess so..."

"But my favorite thing about Scrooge-Is that he loves his family even more than his money!"

"Pfft!" scoffed Donald. He tapped his foot in annoyance. "I wouldn't be too sure about that!"

Fenton frowned. "Oh, but he does! He really does!"

Donald shook his head. "My uncle Scrooge doesn't love anything more than his money! He's said so many times in the past that family is nothing but trouble and that we're just another expense!"

Looking heartbroken, it was Fenton's turn to now shake his head in denial. "No! No, that's not true at all!"

"How would you know!?" snapped Donald, stepping forward into Fenton's face. "You haven't been around THAT long! You didn't grow up living under his thumb! Living in his mansion! After Della and I lost our parents, Scrooge took us in! You know what!? As soon as we were old enough to have jobs-He made us get one and pay rent! RENT! Just for living in his mansion! You're trying to tell me he doesn't love his money more than us!?"

"I-I didn't know-I didn't know that!" gulped Fenton, his positivity now sinking.

"Well, now you do! So stop trying to come in here acting as though you know my uncle better than I do! You only know parts of him! You only know the parts he wants you to see!" spat Donald angrily.

Fenton shook his head in disbelief. "Lies! He's not hiding anything about himself from me!"

Donald began to laugh; a low wheezing laugh that made Fenton look on with alarm. The sailor grabbed hold of his torso as his laughs grew louder. "Uncle Scrooge was right! You ARE naive!"

Down the hallway, out of the line of sight, Scrooge was walking briskly back towards them. He stopped adbruplty the moment he heard the two of them arguing. He stared down at them and quickly ducked behind the corner so he wouldn't be seen. He didn't like what he was hearing from his nephew.

Feeling the growing sense of frustration bubble up inside him, Fenton stomped his foot down angrily. "So what if I'm naive!? Scroogey wouldn't use that against me! And-" He watched as Donald continued to laugh. "Ugh, Donald! Would you please listen to me!?"

Donald was still chuckling but he slowly began to control his laughter and was able to stand straighter to look up at the accountant.

"Listen! You can say whatever mean and cruel things you want about me! But I won't stand hearing a word against my Scrooge!" declared Fenton.

From his hiding spot, Scrooge's eyes widened momentarily before a soft smile formed on his beak.

Donald rolled his eyes which only aggravated Fenton more.

"Did you know: I was so nervous to meet you!"

That caught Donald's attention.

It caught Scrooge's as well.

Donald stopped his snickering and finally looked Fenton in the eye. "Really? You were nervous to meet me!?"

Fenton nodded. "Absolutely!"

That stopped Donald short. "Why!?"

"Because ever since I started spending time with your family, all I've heard was how amazing you are! Your nephews ADORE you! They're constantly telling me how much they miss you! About their amazing uncle who's out there exploring the sea! They're so proud of you!"

Donald shuffled his feet, his cheeks turning a bit pink.

"And don't even get me started on Scrooge! Believe it or not, Donald, he's only ever said nice things about you!" said Fenton.

Donald gaped at the accountant. "No way! He's never said one good thing about me! I'll never be good enough in his eyes! I've always just been a failure to him! Nothing I've ever done has been good enough! I become a Junior Woodchuck and got amazing marks! Nothing! No praise! I get a promotion at my first job! Nothing! To be fair, I went from cleaning toilets to being night security at his museum, but to ME it was a big deal!"

Fenton nodded faintly, his face filled with sympathy. He remembered those days when his job was a bust.

"He never took any interest in my hobbies! I bet he doesn't even know I can dance or play five different instruments! He never let me take any college classes I wanted to take! It was always business after business class! That was the only way he'd help pay my way through!"

"B-But he DID help pay! I mean-That's gotta count for something!" Fenton attempted to sound encouraging.

"HA! And guess what!? I'm still paying him back for it all!" hissed Donald. "Half my pay from the Navy goes to him! Old miser can't even do something NICE for his own nephew without getting anything back in return!"

Fenton shook his head. It was obvious he was close to tears. He covered his ears, not wanting to hear anymore. "No, no, no! It can't be! Scrooge isn't like that at all! I've-I've seen it! He CAN be rough around the edges and he insults me about as often as he says he loves me, I'll admit to that! But-But that's just who he is! I don't take it to heart! I'm sure he has his reasons for making you pay him back!"

"He does have one! He's greedy and only cares about money!" argued Donald.

"That's not true! He cares about you! About his nephews! He cares about ME!"

"Are you SURE about that!?"

"O-Of course, I'm sure! If he really didn't like me, he wouldn't have put up with me all this time! I'm sure of it!"

Donald's infamous anger simmered off and his shoulders lost some of their tension. He adjusted his little hat on his head and said , "Believe what you want to believe! Maybe you're not after his money, maybe ya are! Maybe he does actually care about you! I just know from personal experience that my uncle will always choose money and treasure over his loved ones! I wouldn't be surprised if he chose treasure over you; if he had to choose one or the other!"

Scrooge gasped, having heard the whole thing. His eyes widening at the painful and unfortunately...truthful, blow. He leaned heavier on his cane and even used the wall to lean on for support. How could his own nephew think such things about him!? Is that really how Donald viewed him!?

Fenton was speechless. He opened and closed his beak several times. His mind had gone blank. He unconsciously placed a hand over his heart; Scrooge's earlier confession buzzing wildly in his mind. Scrooge HAD chosen treasure over him!

Yet there was a voice in his mind that shouted at him, reminded him, that Scrooge had not KNOWN he was choosing treasure over Fenton's life! So, it didn't count! It didn't count!

Donald shuffled his feet. He knew what he had said was harsh, but if Fenton wanted to be part of this family and to date Scrooge, then he needed to know the truth. He could see the internal battle warring inside the accountant's head.

With a loud tap of his cane on the wooden floor, Scrooge steeled himself with a deep frown and pushed himself forward. Fenton's silence spoke volumes to Scrooge and he knew his young paramour was struggling with Donald's words.

The sound of Scrooge's cane hitting the floor announced his presence and both ducks looked up to see him approach. Fenton met eyes with Scrooge before glancing away; his hand still rubbing over his chest. This only saddened the rich duck further.

"Oh...uh..." began Donald. He looked as though he was a little kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. To speak so badly of his uncle only for him to suddenly appear; it caused the sailor to turn a bit pink in the face. "Hi, Uncle Scrooge! Did ya find Launchpad and his friends?"

With a frown, Scrooge regarded Donald with a neutral expression. He lowered his eyes. "Nae. I was on me way down when I remembered me good first aid kit was in me bedroom. I'd forgotten that it was still up here from when I bandaged up Fenton's hand wound. If they are indeed injured, they'll need it."

Fenton began touching the aforementioned bandages that were still wrapped around his hand from when Magica had forcibly taken his blood. They had needed to redress it several times the first night.

Scrooge went to walk past Fenton, who was standing in front of his bedroom door. He tried making eye contact with the younger duck and give him a reassuring smile. As much as he wanted to scold and yell and scream at Donald for saying such horrible things-now was not the time. However, Fenton wouldn't look at him and instead and looking to the floor.

Scrooge silently cursed and closed his eyes as he walked into his bedroom.

A silent Fenton was never a good thing.

It only took a moment to grab the first aid kit since it was sitting on his dresser, yet when he walked back out of the hallway, both Fenton and Donald were gone.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Scrooge mentally told himself that he could only deal with one problem at a time. He looked down at the first aid kit in his hands. He couldn't waste time dawdling and fussing over circumstances that were out of control. With an air of determination, Scrooge set forth down the hallway; uncertain of what he was about to face.

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Author's Note: Poor Scrooge can't catch a break! Neither can Darkwing! Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think! Stay safe out there! :)