Hello Themusicmaniac here!
I hope you all are doing well this week! We're getting to the final portion of this story, but worry not! I am in the process of planning a sequel. I have ideas, too many ideas.
SciFiGirl253: Thank you! I love the lullaby as well, the first time I saw it, I actually almost cried (and I was in high school at the time!) It was definitely on Val's mind when she heard Gos sing it to Darkwing. Val... she has quite the night ahead of her.
I hope you all are having a great week. Be sure to stay safe, take a water break, and take care of yourselves. Enjoy!
"Valerie! Val!" I groaned and rubbed my eyes. It was still dark outside, and Goslayn was still asleep on the chair. "We need to go! The Ramrod's been powered up for the last time."
"What!" I yelled, as Darkwing quickly put his hand over my mouth, nodding towards Gos. "What?" I repeated, this time, whispering, "Don't we need Gosalyn to help find her grandfather?"
"No time!" He said as I sat up and combed my hand in my hair. "We'll find him when we get there." He grabbed my hand and led me to the Ratcatcher as I took the passenger vehicle.
He started the Ratcatcher and drove onto the bridge and into St. Canard. As I tried to wake up, I studied DW's face. He seemed determined, worried, and… scared. I don't know if I suddenly got a shot of adrenaline, or if the wind rushing through my feathers woke me up to the reality of where we were heading, but I snapped back to reality just then.
"Darkwing, I really think we should've taken Gosalyn!" I yelled over the rushing wind.
"Too dangerous." He yelled back, "I'm about to do something really reckless."
That… that wasn't a comforting thought.
"What are you going to do, Darkwing?" I asked. He just looked ahead at the road and stayed silent. "Darkwing?"
"I'm going to go for a frontal assault."
"WHAT?" I asked.
"Alone."
"WHAT?" I nearly fell out of the sidecar. "Darkwing, that's not just dangerous, that's stupid."
"I know." He said, still staring at the road, "But I need to do something."
"Yes!" I said, waving my arms in the air, "That's when you grab Gosalyn and Launchpad and make a plan! Not grab me and fight your way to the Ramrod!"
He drove the Ratcatcher into an alleyway a block from the lab and parked it.
"You follow me and hide. I'll approach the villians and force them to let me in. Then you follow. I'll power up the Ramrod and help find your dimension and Dr. Waddlemeyer. Then, once you're through, we'll destroy it!"
I grabbed his shoulders.
"Darkwing." I said desperately. "You haven't had sleep for three days. You aren't thinking straight! This plan isn't a good plan. Let's do something else."
"I thought I came up with great plans though."
"You do!" I said, "When you have had sleep and have time to think."
"Besides, we're a great team aren't we!" He said as if he hadn't heard me, "Let's go!"
"DW, wait!" Why didn't he listen to me? Is he that desperate to be the hero, so sleep deprived that he won't listen to reason?
This is going to be a disaster.
I looked both directions before I crossed the street, hiding in the bushes. Then I remembered Bushroot was probably there, so I hid behind concrete structures. I looked for cameras, people, anything that could see me as I made my way to where Darkwing was.
"Okay, you got this, I- I got this. Time to hero up." It was almost as if he was convincing himself that he was the hero here. Is he really not confident about himself? I mean, the other Darkwing Duck, wasn't just confident, he was egotistic. But this one… he was coming here to prove he was a hero.
"DW-"
"Shhhh." He said, as he approached the door. "I am the terror that flaps in the night!" He knocked on the door twice. "I am the last bite in the soggy cereal of sin. And I'm calling you out Bulba, so let me in!" He said, puffing out his chest at the door.
The doors opened to reveal the fearsome four and…
Steelbeak? What is he doing here?
"Oh good, you're all here." Darkwing said nervously. "Maybe you could attack me one at a time or..." The Liquidator punched him, as Quackerjack kicked him to Bushroot. They were kicking his butt! What should I do?
Go out? I knew for a fact that Steelbeak and Quackerjack both had personal vendettas against me.
And I would get caught.
I could stay here. That would not help DW out at all. And I hated seeing him beat up like this.
I could… go get help. Yeah!
I need to go get help. I just need to get out of here without anyone noticing.
I took a step back and-
"Ah!" Six heads turned my direction as I looked at my bleeding right hand. I cut my hand on the vent cover I had thrown down two weeks earlier. How didn't I notice that? And why hasn't it been cleaned up!
"Well well well, what do we have here." Steelbeak said, walking my direction.
"Valerie! Run!" Darkwing cried raspily. I scrambled to get up on my feet and run the other direction, as I felt something wrap around my ankle. It pulled and I immediately fell on my face. As it pulled me towards the villains, I struggled to get out. I reached for the vent cover, but couldn't get to it. I was out of options.
"Oh, this is the one I was telling you about! The one that jumped out of the robot."
"Geez, a building then a robot? It seems as if you like jumping from high places." Steelbeak remarked, walking towards me.
"No, it's just that psychos like you guys are driving me to do crazy things like jumping forty feet from a moving robot." I said as I frustratedly kicked the vine on my foot. Steelbeak grabbed the front of my jacket and brought me close to his face.
"No one. Calls me a psycho. You got that?"
"Leave her alone!" I heard Darkwing say from behind me.
"Oh, is the hero going to defend his damsel in distress?" Steelbeak mocked, as he threw me at Darkwing. Our heads collided and we fell to the ground. Darkwing was out cold. I got back up.
"Oh you did not just call me that!" I fumed, as Darkwing's unconscious body was behind me.
"And what are you going to do about it?" Steelbeak asked, as I walked towards him.
"This." I calmly said as I kicked him in the balls. Steelbeak crumpled. "That… was… a cheap shot."
"Yeah, but we're working with five on one." I nearly choked as the Liquidator hit me in the face and I avoided another attack from Bushroot. I went behind the Liquidator's back and made a face at Megavolt, which immediately caused him to shoot his electricity ray at the Liquidator and cancel them both out. I turned to locate the other two villains, but I felt my arms constrict around me as I looked down to see the ends of a jump rope swinging from my torso.
"Ohohohohooo! Gotcha!" It was Quackerjack. "I wouldn't try anything FUNNY if I was you!"
Darn. I was really on a roll there.
I struggled against my ties as Darkwing and I were carried back into the place I hated the most.
Poor Val is trying so hard to keep things together.
And they are falling apart.
Next week: Gos and Launchpad to the Rescue!
As always, thank you so much for the tremendous support and the views. I really appreciate each and every one of you!
See ya next week!