Ch.7: Emergency Call
Not far away, in the center of the main city of Duckburg, stood the tallest and most highly-advanced building Duckburgians had ever seen. Ducklair Tower, truly a most wonderful sight to behold.
Wonderful, but quiet. Quiet. Alone.
"Haa…," sighed One from his position on 151st floor. He missed the Duck Avenger.
It had been a few years now since the hero decided to retire from his crime-fighting days. One was shocked when Donald first came to him to give him the news.
(FlashBack)
"Ah, welcome back my friend" greeted One, as the Duck Avenger strolled back in through the door " I'm glad to see that you have made it back in one piece."
"Me too" said Donald, as he stripped off his superhero gear "it will be a while before those aliens repair that warship of theirs. Though, I've been noticing something, the Enrovians haven't been attacking that much lately. Do you think Gorthan…,"
"Might have changed his mind?" guessed One " Maybe. He did withdraw his invasion force when he could have won very easily. And I'm still surprised he selected you to referee his match when Rhauros tried to take over his throne."
"Maybe he's growing soft" One continued " although some Enrovians seem objective to such ideals."
"Yeah, that's always a pain" said Donald, taking a seat in a chair " The life of a superhero huh? Speaking of which, One, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?" asked One, his computer expression becoming concerned. From the sound of his friend's voice, it didn't sound like it was very good news.
"Haa" Donald sighed, trying to figure out how to explain "I think I need to spend more time with the boys. They're growing up, and will be entering High School any day now. They'll be home more often, and it's going to be hard to hide my secret life."
"Besides that" continued Donald " Daisy came to visit me last week, asking if I would come help with her new job. I haven't seen her for months, and it would good to catch up with her."
"So you want to retire then?" asked One a bit sadly, realizing what his friend truly wanted to say.
"Kind of," said Donald, looking down. " Part of me wants to stay, but I have family and…,"
"I understand" said One, interrupting " If this is truly what you want Donald, then go."
"Are you sure?" asked Donald, getting up, his eyes shining a bit with relieved disbelief.
"Yes" said One, now looking down " though I am going to miss you my friend."
"Hey we can still keep in contact" said Donald " I'll keep the suit and communicator handy okay pal? Any time there's an emergency just call, and I'll come back, I promise."
"Deal," said One with a grin.
"Good" said Donald " Well, I'd better get home. And by the way…I'll miss you too."
(End Flashback)
"Haa…," sighed One again, as the memory faded away from his mind.
It had been hard moving on since his friend had disappeared. Until the Duck Avenger came into One's life, life was serving a very meager purpose, especially since his former master, Everett Ducklair, went away to find himself in some sort of forgotten mountain range.
Donald had brought excitement and adventure into One's life, and though the computer was a bit conflicted in the beginning on whether he should terminate or keep their growing friendship, having someone else to spend time with was more preferred than to being alone.
Alone, the feeling he felt when his first master left, and now the feeling when his friend left as well.
Somewhere deep inside his circuits, One knew that their partnership couldn't simply last forever. Eventually, Donald would die, perishing bravely on the battlefield, or else want to retire, like he did now, and spend more time with his family and friends.
Despite the pain these options would bring, One knew that the latter option was better than the former. And no matter how serious the crimes came to be, it was up to the blue-coats now to maintain peace in Duckburg.
There was no need to interrupt the means of Donald's normal life, for something so trivial as a purse-snatching ring.
However, if there was only some way that they could be together again, working again as a team. The loneliness aching in One's circuits would cease, and he could enjoy life once again, instead of watching past recordings of what he and the Avenger did throughout the past.
Destruction came soon to grant that wish, as darkness gripped Ducklair Tower, and One's senses switched to alert, knowing that he had an intruder inside of his home.
Before the computer could even contemplate how the intruder could have sneaked past his sensors and slipped inside, the attack began, as shadow creatures came out of nowhere and started slashing everything they saw.
"Stop!" shouted One, as he activated some defenses until the back-up generators came online.
Luckily, not everything in Ducklair Tower was connected to the regular network. One's power source came from the planetary energy the Earth resonates, so he had plenty of power to spare.
However, even though he had some minor form of defense, these shadow creatures received the damage well, barely flinching as One shot them over and over again with his guns.
"I need help!" thought One desperately as the creatures advanced. "I need the Avenger here right now!"
Suddenly a scary thought entered One's mind.
"The X-Transformer! I need to protect it at all costs!"
Leaving part of his system behind to hurriedly get a message to the Duck Avenger, One dashed his way towards the weapons room to guard the shield that Donald had left behind.
There was no way to know for sure, but these creatures, who destroyed everything they touched, were probably sent over to steal the X-Transformer Shield.
Whoever sent these guys, One just knew, he needed to defend that shield whatever the cost! Confirmation came to his brain that his message had been sent. One just hoped that Donald would arrive in time.
Moments later, Donald finally arrived at Ducklair Tower, praying he wasn't to late as he dashed up the stairs in his Duck Avenger gear, hoping his friend was okay.
As he climbed up the stairs to the 151st floor, Donald cursed himself for a moment for leaving X-Transformer Shield behind. Without it, he was basically weaponless, but there was no way he could have taken it with him when he retired. If one of the boys had discovered it, chaos was sure to follow that path.
In his mind, Donald wondered what kind of chaos could have invaded Ducklair Tower to surprise One like this. All the power he could see was out, and there appeared to be long, deep scratches carved into the walls as he continued to ascend.
What horror had happened here? Donald was a little afraid to find out.
When he finally reached the 151st floor, weary and out of breath, thanks to the lack of elevators from the blackout, a sight of horror stood out clear before his eyes.
Electronic panels were ripped apart, the place was totally trashed, and more claw marks covered the entire room. Instantly Donald felt his heart welling up with fear as he looked and called out desperately for his friend.
"One! One! Where are you?!"
"Avenger!" suddenly appeared a green-colored orb with a face, scaring the superhero and making him jump back towards the door. " So glad that you're finally here!"
"Ha" breathed Donald before regaining his composure " Don't scare me like that! I was worried! One, what the heck happened here?"
"I wish I knew" said One, his face confused " the intruders were not like anything I had ever seen. I don't know how they managed to infiltrate Ducklair Tower, but the damage they've done was severe."
"I can see that" said Donald "I'm just glad you're alright. Any idea what they were after?"
"My guess was the X-Transformer Shield at first" said One " Only you and I knew it was still here. I sent a message to you and went to defend it, but then something strange occurred, and the intruders vanished as soon as they came."
"Huh" said Donald " That makes no sense. If they wanted to steal the X-Transformer, why would they do all this damage, and then leave without taking it?"
"That is the mystery" said One " and we have to figure it out. I'm sorry I interrupted your retirement for this but…,"
"It's okay One" said Donald " things at home are a bit hectic right now anyway. It will be good to worry about something else for a while. Now, tell me what we know…,"
Meanwhile, somewhere far away, a dark force was laughing, pleased to see he had made Donald forced to return. His legacy was back, his heir unveiled, now was the time to make things right, and destroy the hero this city had come to love.
