The two motorcycles came to a halt a short distance away from the police station. The entire area was
strangely quiet. Raven and Darkwing exchanged glances and made their way to the building. Using a
drain pipe, they climbed up to the second story. Inside they could see the police being held hostage by
some one the convicts that Negaduck had freed. The cons had their backs turned to the window. There
were only 3 of them. Darkwing gently lifted up the window and quietly climbed in. Raven followed as he
slunk silently up to the armed convict who stood behind the other two, surveying the scene. Raven lifted
her hands and made a quick, hard chopping motion, striking the man squarely on his shoulders. Raven
caught him as he immediately blacked out, his feet dropping out from under him. She dropped him
quietly to the floor.
They stepped over the uncountious heap on the floor and stood behind the other convicts. They
both held riffles in their hands, pointing them at a group of about 5 huddling officers. Raven looked to
Darkwing who was studying the situation. Finally he turned his head toward her and nodded. They both
sprang forth at the same time. Raven grabbed one of the men around the throat. Squeezing as hard as she
could, she pulled him back wards and threw him to the ground. His gun flew from his hands and slid over
the floor. Before he could get up, Raven smashed a boot into his face, knocking him out.
Darkwing had jumped forward, pushing the other con from behind. He stumped forward and
banged his head into the near by wall the officers were huddled against. He stumbled back wards in a
daze. Darkwing reached a leg out and tripped him. The man fell on his back. He watched with blurry
eyes as Darkwing gave him a swift punch in the face. He too, lay still on the ground.
"Get out the window, hurry!" Darkwing spoke to the officers. Raven opened the room's door and
peered out. Silently, she drew one of the swords. She flipped the blade into her hand and slowly pushed
the hilt out the door. There was a soft thud as she brought it down on some one's head. Darkwing
followed her out into the hallway. Looking back he saw a duck, laying motionless on the floor.
"We have to hurry." Raven said as they made their way cautiously down the hall of the station.
"There's no telling when he'll take this place out." Darkwing nodded.
"What ever that stuff is he's using, it sure packs one hell of a punch."
"It's a mix of acids and unstable chemicals. When combined they create a powerful explosive.
The national defense made small bombs containing the mixture. Production was later stopped when they
declared its use to be inhumane." Darkwing looked at Raven in surprise.
"You know a lot about this stuff?" He asked.
"One of the key chemicals for the mixture comes from a plant called the Wasabi. It's usually
used as a spice, and was a main export where I came from. When you work around something long
enough, you're bound to learn about a few of its alliterative uses." She replied.
They stopped at the end of the hall way. A stair way lead down to the large lobby of the station.
They hit the ground and crawled forward, hidden by the guard rail. Lifting their heads cautiously they
gazed over the rail and surveyed the lobby. Most of the hold up was going on below. Dozens of armed
thugs watched over quivering officers who were laying on the ground, their hands over their heads. The
convicts were enjoying the pay back. A line of more officers entered the lobby through a first floor
hallway. They were followed by Negaduck. He had a dart gun jammed into the back of the last officer.
Negaduck gave an evil laugh as they were forced to the floor with the others.
"This city's too easy! First the prison, then the station. Once I get all the law and order out of
this place, St. Canard will be mine! Then after St. Canard I'll work on the country, then the world!" He
stroked the dart gun in his hand. "And all it cost me were some worthless lives, some gas money and
ship fare!" One of the men ran up.
"All the officers are here, boss!"
"Good." Negaduck sneered. "Lets get out of range. Wouldn't want to get hit by flying debris."
From his place by the stairs, Darkwing had been surveying the scene. He had worked out a plan in his
head.
"All right, here's the plan. I'll set off a smoke bomb to keep those thugs busy. Then I'll grapple
that statue over there and swing down, knocking down Negaduck. You get the officers to safety, then
come back and....HEY!!!"
Darkwing realized he had been talking to thin air. With a growl, Raven jumped over the rail and
down to the lobby. She drew her swords and faced Negaduck, her eye glowing with rage. Negaduck
starred at her in disbelief.
"Why the hell aren't you dead!" He shrieked.
"Even death won't stop me from destroying you, demon!" Raven snarled. Negaduck rolled his
eyes.
"Yeah what ever. Kill her please." He walked away nonchalantly as his men closed in on Raven.
From his place near the rail, Darkwing muttered to himself.
"Crazy reckless female." He leapt over the rail and landed in the lobby close to Raven. A little
too close. He bumped into her, causing her to drop the swords. They slid across the floor where they
were picked up by a huge duck in black leather. The group closed in, ready to beat the two to a pulp.
"All right, Miss. Doesn't-think-before-she-acts. How do we get out of this one?" A wicked grin
came over Raven's face.
"Easy."
She closed her eye and inhaled deeply. She concentrated on the men's energy. She drew their
very life force into her body. It clashed with her own and swelled inside her. Suddenly her eye flew open
and she let out a forceful cry. Her arms shot out from her sides, her palms barred. The men on either side
of her were flung backwards with great force. Raven threw her arms out in front of her and tossed the
men blocking their path threw the glass windows of the entrance. She turned herself swiftly and the last
group was hurled into a marble wall. Darkwing starred in disbelief.
"What was that?!?" He asked in shock.
"Tai-chi." Raven answered.
"That was Tai-chi?!?" He shook his head in amazement. "Should have signed up for lessons."
"Later! Where's Negaduck?" Raven grabbed her swords from the still frame of the large duck
and scanned the rooms.
"Hey losers! Over here!" They turned to see Negaduck standing in the station's door way,
waving a dart gun. "Enjoy the last seconds of her stupid lives, morons! There's about 5 dozen cops here.
You're not gonna get them out of here in time before I destroy the place. Too bad for your pathetic hero's
ethics! There's probably plenty of time to get yourselves out! Oh well, so long twits!" Raven started to
follow him when Darkwing stopped her.
"Let him go! We've got to get these people out!" Raven gave a short growl before she sheathed
her blades and started to help the officers to their feet and out the door. In their haste, they didn't realize
the convicts had gotten to their feet and stumbled out different exits. There were only about 5 left inside
when a massive explosion rocked the station.
"Quick! get out!" Raven screamed.
She and Darkwing held the doors to the collapsing building open while the remaining officers
ran out. When they were all cleared, Raven and Darkwing headed after them. They were about 5 feet
from the building when Raven heard a cry for help. She whirled around to see one last female officer.
She was a few feet away from the door inside the building. A piece of the ceiling had fallen and crushed
her legs.
Raven bolted back through the door way. She tried to pick up the chunk of cement on the
officer's legs. It was too heavy. Raven lifted with all her strength. The heavy cement gradually lifted
from the woman. Raven heaved it aside with one good push. She grabbed the woman and ran for the
exit. They reached the door just as the building fell into its self.
It was a few minuets before Darkwing realized he was running by himself. He looked back to see
the building collapse. Thick clouds of dust rose from the destruction.
"Oh god no!" He said aloud. "She didn't..." His voice trailed off. He removed his hat and
lowered his head. "What a waste." He said sadly.
"Hey, Tracy! When you're done crying, I'd appreciate it if you'd call an ambulance." Darkwing's
eyes flew open. Raven emerged from the clouds of dust. She carried the officer in her arms. The woman
had fainted from the pain. Darkwing put his hat back on and tore his cap off. He wrapped it gently
around the woman's bleeding legs. He lead Raven over to the group of officers who stood on the other
side of the street. Raven handed her over to the officers.
"Watch her. We'll get help." Raven and Darkwing raced back to the motorcycles. Darkwing
called for an ambulance over the radio in the Rat Catcher. They hung around the corner and waited until
they could hear the sirens pull up to the curb. Before raven could put on her helmet Darkwing spoke.
"I wasn't worried or anything by the way. You're good at taking care of yourself. I knew you
were fine." Raven snickered.
"Yeah, right." She said as she pulled the helmet over her head. They sped off to Darkwing
tower.
The elevator reached the tower and the two passengers got off. Raven removed her helmet and
gave it a mild punch before tossing it next to her motorcycle. She unbuckled the swords and draped the
straps over the handle bars.
"Something wrong?" Darkwing asked, sarcastically.
"Stupid hostages!" Raven muttered. "Would have had him if it weren't for them..." Darkwing
shook his head.
"I'm sure that was one of Negaduck's alternate reasons for having them. Other than getting them
out of the way. He thought you were dead but he knew that I couldn't leave innocent people behind. I
guess he thought I'd be by myself. " Raven glared at him.
"You think I'd let innocent people die?"
"You were about to. You were headed after Negaduck, remember?" Raven growled.
"I could have gotten to him sooner, if you hadn't knocked me off balance!"
"Yeah, right." Raven turned away to starred out a window. Darkwing sighed. He walked over
to a huge computer. He began to type in commands.
"Maybe I can find out where all those thugs went..." Windows of different locations in the city
provided by hidden cameras and satellites popped onto the screen. Darkwing scanned the images, looking
for any suspicious activity. Suddenly the entire screen went blank. It was replaced by a blank, blue
image. Darkwing panicked. "AHH! The program crashed!! We're screwed! How am I supposed to find
anything now??" Raven came up to the computer. She surveyed the damage and pushed Darkwing out of
the way.
"Here, I'll fix it." She began to reboot the system. Darkwing looked on, impressed, but still
worried about the program.
"Do you know what you're doing?" He asked cautiously. Raven sneered at him, pinning her ears
back.
"I worked at a programming company in Japan for 4 years! So, yeah, I think I know what I'm
doing!" Darkwing backed off and let her work. In the corner, her heard the sound of spinning chairs. He
walked over to find Launchpad and Gosalyn.
"You ok, DW? We saw the station go down on the news."
"Yeah, I'm alright." Darkwing replied.
"Of course he is!" Gosolyn snickered. "He only knocked down an entire police station!"
Darkwing snapped at her.
"That was Negaduck's fault! Not mine!" Gosalyn giggled.
"Calm down dad! I was just kidding."
Darkwing sighed. He continued his conversation with Launchpad. Gosalyn began wandering
around the tower. The faint sound of clicking drew her attention to the computer. She came up behind
the chair. A figure with long black hair sat at the computer, working quickly to program the lost files.
Raven still had her ears pulled back, so all Gosalyn could see was the long black hair.
"That's funny." She thought. "I'd never would have figured Morgana to be a hacker!"
She stood silently behind the chair, watching words and commands fly across the screen.
Gosalyn stepped forward quietly, her eyes still on the computer screen. She reached out and gave what
she thought was Morgana's shoulder, a strong pat.
"Heya, Morgana."
Raven jolted out of the chair in surprise. She leapt out infront of Gosalyn, her teeth and claws
barred. She let out a fearful growl. Gosalyn stumbled backwards in shock. She lost her balance and fell.
She starred up in horror as the dark figure loomed over her. Gosalyn let out a shrill cry of fear. The noise
brought Darkwing and Launchpad running over.
"Inari, no!!" Darkwing shouted. "It's ok! She's my daughter!!!" Raven lowered her hands and
let her lips sink back over her teeth. Her heart was still racing as she starred at Gosalyn who had run
behind Darkwing for protection.
"She scarred the hell out of me!" Raven finally breathed.
"Well you didn't have to scare her!" Darkwing scolded. "She's just a child!"
"How was I supposed to know what she was! She came from out of no where! I just reacted!"
Gosalyn quivered from behind Darkwing.
"I'm sorry, I thought she was Morgana!" Darkwing sighed and held up his hand.
"Ok, let's just calm down. No one was hurt. There's no need to yell." He pulled Gosalyn out
from behind him. "Gosalyn, this is Raven Inari, she's helping me with Negaduck." He turned to face
Raven. "Inari, this is my daughter, Gosalyn."
Raven looked down at Gosalyn. She looked like she was about 9 or 10. She starred back up at
Raven with big green eyes. They sparkled with the innocence of child hood. And yet, Raven saw more.
The eyes had the look of those that had seen tragedy. That had suffered losses and witnessed things that a
child should not see. Raven also saw the glimmer of intelligence, courage, and curiosity. Some where in
Raven's heart, a cord was struck. The child standing before her was a stranger, but some how Raven felt
that she knew her. She reminded Raven of some one. Gosalyn bravely stepped forward and offered
Raven her hand.
"Uh, pleased to meet you Raven." The voice stuck in Raven's head. She could hear it repeat her
name over and over again. Suddenly a scene flashed into Raven's mind. She could see her sister, blood
running from her head. She heard her call out.
"Raven," The voice echoed in her head. "Raven....Raven...Raven......I'm sorry.....Raven..."
"Raven?" Raven shook her head clear. Gosalyn stood with her hand still open. Raven looked
down at her with a narrowed eye. She gave a quick snort and sat back down at the computer, finishing
her work. Gosalyn looked after her in surprise.
"She's not exactly the sociable type." Darkwing whispered.
"I'll say." Gosalyn muttered. "I'm going home, now I know you're ok." Darkwing nodded. He
watched his daughter hop into the revolving chairs and spin away. He turned to Raven and spoke angrily.
"You know, being mean to me is one thing, but being so mean to a little girl! What's wrong with
you?" Raven's eye didn't leave the screen.
"What's wrong with her? She always sneak up behind people and scare them to death?"
"That was an accident! She thought you were Morgana!"
"Well I'm not!!!" Raven snapped, turning her head momentarily from the screen. She sneered
and faced the computer again, clicking her fingers rapidly over the key board.
"That's for sure!" Darkwing snorted and walked off. Even over the clacking, Raven could here
his next words. They shot through her, like an arrow in her chest. "Morgana has a heart."
Raven's fingers continued to move. She continued to stare at the screen as a single tear fell from
her eye. It was quickly followed by others. She typed in a few more commands and hit enter. The
windows and images popped back onto the screen. Raven stood and quickly wiped the tears from her
face.
"There, all finished. The system was over loaded and the memory crashed. You should boot
some more RAM into that thing." Darkwing turned to face her.
"Uh, thanks." He said. He noticed that the left side of her face was damp. He couldn't help but
feel a twinge of guilt. "Inari, when I said..."
"I'm going back to Morgana's house for a while." She said, cutting him off. "I could use some
sleep. Call if you hear any thing." She ran past him before he had a chance to speak. She threw the
swords around her back and put her helmet on. As soon as she was at the bridge, she sped off. Darkwing
watched her go. He shook his head sadly. He had seen that kind of anger an frustration in people before.
Mostly criminals. They all ended up in the same place.
"Be careful Inari." He said to himself. "You're headed for an early grave..."
Raven had been crying the whole way to Morgana's. She tossed her boots by the door way and
walked in, trying to dry her face on her jacket sleeve. The sudden sound of Morgana's voice caught her
off guard.
"Raven I saw the news, I'm so glad you're all right! Where's Dark? Is he with you? Is he ok?"
"He's fine, he's at the tower." Morgana could tell there was something different about Raven's
voice.
"Raven? Is every thing ok?"
"Yeah." Raven answered. "I'm just tired. I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up if Darkwing calls
or anything." Morgana nodded and headed back down the hallway. Raven stared to climb the stairs, but
stopped. She turned back to Morgana.
"Morgana?" Her voice was strained and full of sadness. Morgana walked back to the foot of the
stairs.
"Yes, Raven?" Her voice was full of concern for the poor girl. Raven looked at Morgana, her eye
full of tears.
"Am I....evil?" Morgana's heart crumbled. She ran forward and threw her arms around Raven.
Raven hugged her back, tears falling down her face.
"No sweet heart, you're not evil!" Morgana spoke softly, rubbing Raven's back. "You're just
hurt, very badly. You lost your family, the only thing you had! Any one can see you're just in a lot of
pain." Raven made a rather pathetic sniffling noise.
"I didn't mean to hurt Darkwing." She muttered. "I just saw the man who killed my family
escape and I snapped!"
"He's ok now, dear. But you were letting your rage blind you. You have to let go of at least some
of that anger. Other wise it could end up killing you." Raven nodded.
"It just hurts so bad! It never stops! Even in my dreams, I can see them!"
"No matter how bad the pain is, it can't rule out the love you have for them. Or the love they still
have for you! They don't want you joining them Raven, not yet any way. Let go, Raven, before it's too
late." Raven pulled away from Morgana and turned her back. Her voice still broken and sad.
"That's easy for you to say." She commented over her shoulder. "You have some one on earth
that cares about you." She was about to continue up the stairs when she felt two warm hands on her
shoulders. Morgana turned her around. She put a hand under Raven's chin and lifted her head to look
her in the face.
"So do you!" Fresh tears welled in Raven's eye. A quivering smile played across her lips. Raven
choked on a sob as she threw her arms around Morgana, hugging her tightly. After a few seconds, Raven
heard a small voice.
"Ah, Raven, dear, I can't breath!" Raven immediately let go of her. Morgana held a hand to her
chest and breathed in deeply.
"Strong devil, aren't you?" Morgana joked between gasps of air. She smiled and patted Raven
on the back. "Go get some sleep. I'll let you know if any thing comes up." Raven turned and climbed up
the stairs. At the top she turned around one last time and smiled.
"Morgana."
"Yes?"
"Thank you." Morgana smiled.
"For what, dear?"
"For trusting me when no one else would."
"Raven, even before you came here, I could feel you. There were strong energies of hate and
anger flowing from across the world. I felt them as they grew closer and closer. At first I was terrified of
you. But then when I saw you in person, I felt that all the anger, all the rage, all the hate, were feeding off
of something else. Pain, sorrow and loneliness. And you felt that because you loved your family so much.
Raven, your mind may be clouded, but your heart is still good. Not even a million Negaducks can change
that!"
Raven smiled. She turned and walked into her room. She slid the swords and jacket to the
ground. She lay on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
Hours later, Raven was awoken by the sound of voices. She reached down for the swords and
quietly made her way to the hall. She stood silently at the top of the stair way. She listened until she
could recognize the voices. She walked down the stairs and into the parlor. Darkwing was seated in a
chair next to Morgana on the couch. They looked up from their conversation as she entered.
"I'm sorry, Raven. Did we wake you?" Morgana asked. Raven shook her head. She looked to
Darkwing.
"Something up?"
"No, I scanned the city for hours, even had LP take the Thunder Quack out. Couldn't find a
thing. Program works great now, though, thanks."
"No problem." Raven said softly.
"Dark and I were going to go out for a while." Morgana said. "Will you be ok here alone?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." They stood to go. Darkwing took what looked like a wrist watch from his
jacket. He handed it to Raven.
"Here, take this communicator. If something comes up get a hold of me, or I'll get a hold of
you." Raven nodded. She put the communicator around her wrist. Before they got to the door Raven
spoke to Darkwing.
"Listen, Tracy, I'm sorry about your daughter. I guess I just get irritated when I'm startled. I
didn't mean to scare her or anything." Darkwing nodded.
"It's all right. She's a tough kid!" He started out the door with Morgana, but turned around.
"Hey, LP wanted to go out on patrol tonight. If you wanted to make it up to Gosalyn, you could
watch her for me." Raven's eye widened in surprise.
"You want me to watch your daughter?" Morgana smiled.
"I told Dark that you were actually a very sweet person. I'm sure you and Gosalyn will get alone
fine when you get used to each other."
"What do you say?" Darkwing asked. Raven drew in a large breath.
"Ok." She answered. "She just better not bother me too much!" Morgana chuckled.
"Yes, I'm sure you'll have it out for her."
"Here," Darkwing drew a pen and pad from his jacket. "this is the address." He handed the
paper to Raven. She looked at it, confused.
"You don't live at the tower?" Darkwing chuckled.
"Nah. Like all good masked heroes, I have a secret identity." He narrowed his eyes for a
moment. "Which I'd ah, like to remain secret." Raven starred at him blankly.
"Who on earth am I going to tell?"
"No one I guess. Well any way, Gos can show you where the food is if she gets hungry. DO
NOT, under ANY circumstances, let her use the oven!"
Darkwing and Morgana left and headed down the road. Raven looked at the address. She
walked onto the porch and slipped her boots on. She put on her helmet and rode off down the road.
Raven pulled to a stop in the drive way of the suburban home. She checked the address on the
paper. It was the place. She found it hard to imagine that Darkwing Duck actually lived here. She
headed up the walk and rang the door bell. Launchpad came to the door. He was taken a back for a
moment, but tried to hid his nervousness.
"Uh, hi, Rav..uh..Inari. What's up?"
"Tracy said you wanted to patrol the city. He sent me over to watch his kid." Launchpad was
surprised.
"He did? Gosalyn?" Raven handed him the paper with the address. She could tell he didn't
believe her.
"He gave me the address." Launchpad read the paper and nodded. That was DW's hand writing
all right.
"Uh, ok. Come on in." He held the door open for her. Raven left her boots at the door and
walked in.
The house was tidy, but obviously lived in. Raven had never really been in a traditional
American family home. It seemed odd to her. She saw a picture on a near by coffee table. Launchpad
and Gosalyn sat smiling. Another man was sitting next to Gosalyn with his arm around her shoulder,
beaming down at her. Raven looked at his face and recognized him. It was Darkwing.
"So that's what he looks like when he's not wearing his Dick Tracy costume." Raven thought.
She turned when she heard foot steps on the stairs. Gosalyn headed down to the living room.
"Hey Launchpad, I heard a motorcycle! Did dad lose his mind and drive the Rat Catcher home?"
She froze at the end of the stairs when she saw Raven. "What's she doing here!" She gasped.
"DW sent her over." Launchpad answered the shocked 9 year old. "She's gonna keep and eye
on...uh...I mean watch you while I'm on patrol." Launchpad stuttered nervously as he saw Raven stare at
him. He hoped he hadn't offended her. Gosalyn glared at Raven.
"We don't have a crawl space." Gosalyn said, mockingly. "So if you want some place to hide my
body, your best bet is the attic!" Raven returned the glare. Launchpad found this a good time to leave.
He practically flung himself into one of the chairs.
"See you gals later!" He called. He hit the statue and was gone.
The two starred at each other for a while. Neither one of them wanted to talk first. Finally,
Gosalyn braved a few words.
"So, dad wanted you to watch me. Better get started."
She walked past Raven and into the living room. She switched on the TV and the video game
system on top of it. She grabbed the controller and started to play. Raven sighed and rolled her eyes. She
removed the swords and leather jacket and hung them on a coat rack. Raven walked into the living room
and sat down on the couch. She watched Gosalyn move an electronic duck in a yellow suit and blue
helmet through a maze of enemies.
"Wiffel Boy 2000, huh? Didn't know they made a version for game consoles." Gosalyn looked
back at her in surprise.
"You've played this game?" Raven shook her head.
"Not really. It was originally a built in feature on a new brand of PC. I worked on the team that
programmed it." Gosalyn's eyes lit up.
"You made Wiffel Boy 2000?"
"I helped. Me and two other people where in charge of graphics."
"I haven't beaten the game yet. Is your name in the credits." Raven shrugged.
"Dunno, I just worked on the PC version. I don't know who produced the game for individual
game systems." Gosalyn had forgotten the game. She was leaning her self against the coffee table, facing
Raven.
"Have you made any other games?" She asked, becoming engrossed in the conversation.
"A couple of golf games and a pin ball game. We put them in and they came with the computer.
I mostly programmed hard drives though."
"Wow, where'd you work?"
"A small computer programming company in Okinawa, Japan. I think the name in English is
Computech Inc." Gosalyn had left the floor and had pulled herself onto the opposite side of the couch.
"You're from Japan?" She asked. "You don't look like it."
"My mother was from America." Raven explained. "And Computech had a lot of American
clients and workers, which I guess softened my accent."
"What happened to your eye?" The question caught Raven off guard. She was silent for a
moment, trying to think of something.
"A car accident." She lied.
"Does it hurt?"
"Some times." That was another lie. Whether physically or mentally, it hurt all the time.
"Do you have any kids?" Gosalyn asked. Raven had to laugh.
"Nah, I'm only 22. Don't want to get ahead of myself."
"So what's it like in Japan?"
"Well, it's warm. The cities are really crowded. The mountains are really beautiful. Every one
works really hard." Gosalyn made a disgusted face.
"Is it true you have to go to school on Saturdays?"
"Kids in the city do. They also go to cramp schools every day after their regular school lets out."
"Yick! 5 days a week is too much as it is!" Gosalyn exclaimed. "Did you go to school that
much?"
"Not really. I lived in a small village. I was home schooled by my parents. They needed me
around when I got older to help with the crops and the fishing."
"I thought you said you worked for a computer company,"
"I did. I started work there when I was 18. My father didn't like the idea. He thought I was
dishonoring tradition."
"Wow, my dad would probably die of joy if I got a job at a place like that!" Raven shrugged.
"Different cultural values."
"Hey, tell me some more about Japan. And where you got those cool swords!"
Raven told Gosalyn about Japan, fighting, and computers. They talked on for hours. Gosalyn
hung on Raven's every word. Raven was glad that Gosalyn didn't seem afraid of her any more. But at the
same time it worried her. Gosalyn was young and impressionable. Raven didn't want Gosalyn to think
that she was some one to look up to.
Hot coffee splashed into the half empty cup. The waiter lifted the coffee pot and spoke to the
oddly dressed man.
"Any thing else sir? Sir?" Darkwing wasn't listening. He starred straight ahead, his eyes wide in
horror and shock. "Sir!?" The waiter practically shouted. Darkwing didn't even flinch. Some how he
managed to find his voice.
"No...thank you..."
The waiter gave him an odd look and walked away. Darkwing's eyes stayed wide open, never
blinking. He and Morgana sat at a secluded corner booth in a small coffee shop. They had gone there to
talk, or just to be together, many times since they had started dating. Darkwing was hardly even aware of
any one around him. He sat silently, letting the story Morgana had just told him sink in.
"Dark, are you all right?" Darkwing nodded softly. He blinked and shook his head.
"My God...." He began. "If she had just told me.....I would have understood her better...."
Morgana shook her head.
"She's in so much pain, Dark. She was upset enough after she told me."
"I knew Negaduck was evil, but some how I never would have though he could....my God....her
little sister too?"
"Yes, she was 9."
"Gosalyn's age...Maybe that's why she was so mean to her. Gos must have reminded Raven of
her sister. It probably upset her." Darkwing put a hand to his eyes and rubbed them. "Uhh, I wish I
could take back what I said to her!"
"She's not a bad person, Dark. She's just being controlled by bad emotions." Darkwing nodded.
"I love Gos to death. You too. I consider you two and Launchpad family. If any thing happened
to you all....I'd probably be doing the same thing she is."
"She needs help, Dark. The longer those emotions swell inside her, the more blind and reckless
she'll become. She'll either do something careless or burn out completely."
"I know Morg." Darkwing smiled and took Morgana's hands in his. "You're off to a pretty good
start with her. You surely do have a way with people." Morgana chuckled.
"Must be my charming personality." Darkwing raised her hands and kissed them softly.
"Or your incredible good looks." Morgana grinned.
"Why Darkwing Duck, are you trying to sweet talk me?"
"Is it working?" Darkwing asked, with a devilish smile on his face.
"Maybe." She teased.
"Have I told you how breathtakingly gorgeous you are yet?"
"hmmm, No, not yet."
"What about your eyes? Have I mentioned how beautiful they are? Especially in the moon light
on a clear night. And how they just lock onto your soul and pull you in?"
"No, I don't think you mentioned that either." Morgana's heart began to race.
"How about how pretty your hair looks when it falls around your shoulders. Or how crazy it
makes me when it brushes agents my face. Or when....."
Morgana leaned across the table and kissed him passionately. After a moment she pulled away.
Darkwing leaned back, dazed but happy. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a bill. Not even
paying attention to how much he had taken out, he slammed a 20 onto the table and jumped up. He
grabbed Morgana by the hands and pulled her out of the shop and onto the Rat Catcher. She giggled
knowingly as she wrapped her arms around his waist. They jolted backwards momentarily, as Darkwing
gunned the engine and sped down the road to Morgana's house.
Raven sat on the couch with her legs raised infront of her. She was reading the issue of Police
Beat Monthly she had found on the coffee table. Her eye landed on a reasonably priced stun gun. For a
moment she thought about writing down the item code and 1-800 number. Raven heard the sound of soft
foot steps on the stairs.
"I thought I told you to go to bed." She said, her eye never leaving the catalog.
"I'm not tired." Gosalyn insisted. Raven looked at the clock on the VCR.
"It's 12:30. How are you not tired?"
"I'm just not!" Raven rolled her eye.
"Your dad keep a mallet any where around here?"
"Nah, but some times he sings to me to get me to sleep." Raven shot her an odd look.
"Tracy sings?"
"Yeah, he made a new version of a lullaby my grampa used to sing to me."
"I would think that would make you go deaf as opposed to asleep."
"Hey it works!" Raven got to her feet.
"All right, up stairs."
She followed Gosalyn to her room. When they got there, Raven starred around in surprise.
There were socks and dirty cloths all over the floor. Sports equipment and other lose odds and ends were
strune about as well. Raven was amazed.
"Do Americans really let their kids be this messy?" She thought. Gosalyn hopped back into her
bed. Raven pulled a desk chair up to the bed side and sat down.
"All right shorty, let's hear this song of yours." Gosalyn cleared her throat and sang out of tune.
"Close your eyes, little girl blue, paint your dreams on your pillow. I'll be near to chase away
fears, and keep you safe 'til tomorrow." When she was finished Raven gave Gosalyn her best what-the-
hell-was-that-supposed-to-be look.
"That was the lamest thing I've ever heard." Raven commented. Gosalyn scowled.
"Well let's see you do better!" Raven looked at her with an even more puzzled expression.
"You want me to sing?" Gosalyn grinned.
"Yeah, didn't any one sing you a lullaby?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess my mother used to sing to me before I went to sleep." Gosalyn laid back in the
bed. She pulled the covers up part way.
"Well let's hear your song." She looked up at Raven patiently. Raven shook her head.
"I don't think I could..."
"Oh come on! You want me to go to sleep, don't you?" Raven sighed.
"All right, but if I hear the tiniest snicker, you'll be sleeping in a shallow grave!"
"Got it!" Gosalyn giggled. Raven swallowed before she opened her mouth. Gosalyn was
surprised at what a pretty voice Raven had.
"My child may warriors protect thy sleep, and banish nightmares to the deep, swim the oceans of
the night, watch stars dancing in their flight, dragons lift you to the sky, wings of silver help them glide,
protecting you from your fright, as the angel's hold you tight, the gods will bless you with their love,
shining from the stars above, soon the darkness will be gone, and I shall greet you with the dawn, until
then let your spirit fly, off into the midnight sky, rest well my child rest well..."
Just as Raven finished, Gosalyn's eyes shut. She started to gently snore. Raven was unable to
surpress the smile that spread across her face. She bent down on her knees in front of the bed. Carefully,
Raven lifted the covers and pulled them up to Gosalyn's shoulders. Raven crossed her arms on the side of
the bed and rested her head on them.
Raven watched the small, sleeping girl. Her mind wandered back to the melody she had just
sung. Raven remembered the last time she had heard it. It was late at night, and Ninyo had just had a
nightmare. Raven watched from across the room that she and her sister shared as her mother cradled the
girl in her arms, singing softly. As Raven watched Gosalyn sleep, she replayed the song in her mind. She
could hear her mothers gentle voice, and the sounds of her sister, breathing heavily. Raven's eye lid began
to fall. Before it closed, she looked at the girl one last time.
"Good night, Gosalyn." She whispered softly. Her eye closed. Before Raven drifted off to sleep,
she whispered again. "Good night, Ninyo."
Darkwing's eyes opened and he made an attempt at looking around the dark room. It was pitch
black, save for the small shaft of moon light that filtered in through the curtains. It spilled across the bed,
illuminating the two figures out lined in the sheets.
Darkwing wrapped his arms around Morgana. Her head was gently rested on his chest. She had
one arm around him, the other lay on him with her hand over his chest. Darkwing nuzzled her soft hair.
Morgana opened her eyes and smiled up at him. He kissed her softly on the head. Morgana moved her
self so that she could see the clock on the bed side table.
"Good morning!" She said, laughing softly. Darkwing looked over at the clock.
"Man, 3 a.m. already!" He looked back down at Morgana, he pouted jokingly. "Would you be
horribly mad if I went home to my daughter?" Morgana sighed and rolled over. She tried to sound angry,
but the smile on her face betrayed her.
"Oh fine! Just run away! You always loved her best!" Darkwing narrowed his eyes and grinned.
He reached over suddenly and pinned Morgana to the bed. He leaned down and kissed her long and hard
on the mouth. After a while, he pulled himself back up and smiled.
"Better?" He asked innocently. Morgana gave another sigh. She shut her eyes and let her head
fall into the pillow.
"Much." She whispered. Darkwing hopped off and bent down on his knees infront of the bed.
He reached up and held one of Morgana's hands, kissing it softly.
"May I go now, mistress?" Morgana laughed. She raised her other hand and made a small
waving motion.
"Go on, servant boy, let me rest." She rolled over on her side. Darkwing stood up and kissed her
on the cheek.
"Good night, Morg." He whispered.
"Good night, Dark." She replied in a tired voice. By the time Darkwing got dressed and out the
door, she was sound asleep.
The chairs came to a halt and Drake stood in his living room. He could see Launchpad's scarf
hung on the coat rack. With a second look, Drake also noticed Raven's jacket and swords hanging on the
hooks.
"She must still be around." Drake thought. He looked at the couch, it was empty. He peered
into the kitchen but it was empty and dark. Drake made his way up stairs. Maybe she had figured he
wasn't coming home and had crashed in his bed. As he walked down the hall way he noticed that
Gosalyn's door was open a crack. It was usually closed at night. Drake gently pushed the door open and
looked in side. The sight that met his eyes was heart warming.
Raven's head was still rested on the bed. Gosalyn had rolled over on her side and her face was
buried in Raven's hair that had spilled on to the sheets. Drake hesitated in the door for a moment. He
wondered if he should wake up Raven or not. It would risk waking up Gosalyn, but the position that
Raven was in didn't look very comfortable. Drake decided against it. They both looked peaceful and
happy.
Before he went to bed, Drake pulled a spare blanket from the hall closet. Ever so gently, he
draped it over Raven. She stirred slightly, but remained asleep. Drake crept the door and into the
hallway. He looked back into the room for a moment. He smiled to himself as he quietly closed the door.
"Good night, girls." He whispered as he shut the door. Drake made his way down the hall to his
room. He slipped into his boxers and crawled into bed. His mind still wandered as he closed his eyes. He
thought about what Morgana had said about Raven.
"Maybe there's hope for the wacko yet." He said to himself. The smile on Drake's face remained
as he drifted off to sleep.
strangely quiet. Raven and Darkwing exchanged glances and made their way to the building. Using a
drain pipe, they climbed up to the second story. Inside they could see the police being held hostage by
some one the convicts that Negaduck had freed. The cons had their backs turned to the window. There
were only 3 of them. Darkwing gently lifted up the window and quietly climbed in. Raven followed as he
slunk silently up to the armed convict who stood behind the other two, surveying the scene. Raven lifted
her hands and made a quick, hard chopping motion, striking the man squarely on his shoulders. Raven
caught him as he immediately blacked out, his feet dropping out from under him. She dropped him
quietly to the floor.
They stepped over the uncountious heap on the floor and stood behind the other convicts. They
both held riffles in their hands, pointing them at a group of about 5 huddling officers. Raven looked to
Darkwing who was studying the situation. Finally he turned his head toward her and nodded. They both
sprang forth at the same time. Raven grabbed one of the men around the throat. Squeezing as hard as she
could, she pulled him back wards and threw him to the ground. His gun flew from his hands and slid over
the floor. Before he could get up, Raven smashed a boot into his face, knocking him out.
Darkwing had jumped forward, pushing the other con from behind. He stumped forward and
banged his head into the near by wall the officers were huddled against. He stumbled back wards in a
daze. Darkwing reached a leg out and tripped him. The man fell on his back. He watched with blurry
eyes as Darkwing gave him a swift punch in the face. He too, lay still on the ground.
"Get out the window, hurry!" Darkwing spoke to the officers. Raven opened the room's door and
peered out. Silently, she drew one of the swords. She flipped the blade into her hand and slowly pushed
the hilt out the door. There was a soft thud as she brought it down on some one's head. Darkwing
followed her out into the hallway. Looking back he saw a duck, laying motionless on the floor.
"We have to hurry." Raven said as they made their way cautiously down the hall of the station.
"There's no telling when he'll take this place out." Darkwing nodded.
"What ever that stuff is he's using, it sure packs one hell of a punch."
"It's a mix of acids and unstable chemicals. When combined they create a powerful explosive.
The national defense made small bombs containing the mixture. Production was later stopped when they
declared its use to be inhumane." Darkwing looked at Raven in surprise.
"You know a lot about this stuff?" He asked.
"One of the key chemicals for the mixture comes from a plant called the Wasabi. It's usually
used as a spice, and was a main export where I came from. When you work around something long
enough, you're bound to learn about a few of its alliterative uses." She replied.
They stopped at the end of the hall way. A stair way lead down to the large lobby of the station.
They hit the ground and crawled forward, hidden by the guard rail. Lifting their heads cautiously they
gazed over the rail and surveyed the lobby. Most of the hold up was going on below. Dozens of armed
thugs watched over quivering officers who were laying on the ground, their hands over their heads. The
convicts were enjoying the pay back. A line of more officers entered the lobby through a first floor
hallway. They were followed by Negaduck. He had a dart gun jammed into the back of the last officer.
Negaduck gave an evil laugh as they were forced to the floor with the others.
"This city's too easy! First the prison, then the station. Once I get all the law and order out of
this place, St. Canard will be mine! Then after St. Canard I'll work on the country, then the world!" He
stroked the dart gun in his hand. "And all it cost me were some worthless lives, some gas money and
ship fare!" One of the men ran up.
"All the officers are here, boss!"
"Good." Negaduck sneered. "Lets get out of range. Wouldn't want to get hit by flying debris."
From his place by the stairs, Darkwing had been surveying the scene. He had worked out a plan in his
head.
"All right, here's the plan. I'll set off a smoke bomb to keep those thugs busy. Then I'll grapple
that statue over there and swing down, knocking down Negaduck. You get the officers to safety, then
come back and....HEY!!!"
Darkwing realized he had been talking to thin air. With a growl, Raven jumped over the rail and
down to the lobby. She drew her swords and faced Negaduck, her eye glowing with rage. Negaduck
starred at her in disbelief.
"Why the hell aren't you dead!" He shrieked.
"Even death won't stop me from destroying you, demon!" Raven snarled. Negaduck rolled his
eyes.
"Yeah what ever. Kill her please." He walked away nonchalantly as his men closed in on Raven.
From his place near the rail, Darkwing muttered to himself.
"Crazy reckless female." He leapt over the rail and landed in the lobby close to Raven. A little
too close. He bumped into her, causing her to drop the swords. They slid across the floor where they
were picked up by a huge duck in black leather. The group closed in, ready to beat the two to a pulp.
"All right, Miss. Doesn't-think-before-she-acts. How do we get out of this one?" A wicked grin
came over Raven's face.
"Easy."
She closed her eye and inhaled deeply. She concentrated on the men's energy. She drew their
very life force into her body. It clashed with her own and swelled inside her. Suddenly her eye flew open
and she let out a forceful cry. Her arms shot out from her sides, her palms barred. The men on either side
of her were flung backwards with great force. Raven threw her arms out in front of her and tossed the
men blocking their path threw the glass windows of the entrance. She turned herself swiftly and the last
group was hurled into a marble wall. Darkwing starred in disbelief.
"What was that?!?" He asked in shock.
"Tai-chi." Raven answered.
"That was Tai-chi?!?" He shook his head in amazement. "Should have signed up for lessons."
"Later! Where's Negaduck?" Raven grabbed her swords from the still frame of the large duck
and scanned the rooms.
"Hey losers! Over here!" They turned to see Negaduck standing in the station's door way,
waving a dart gun. "Enjoy the last seconds of her stupid lives, morons! There's about 5 dozen cops here.
You're not gonna get them out of here in time before I destroy the place. Too bad for your pathetic hero's
ethics! There's probably plenty of time to get yourselves out! Oh well, so long twits!" Raven started to
follow him when Darkwing stopped her.
"Let him go! We've got to get these people out!" Raven gave a short growl before she sheathed
her blades and started to help the officers to their feet and out the door. In their haste, they didn't realize
the convicts had gotten to their feet and stumbled out different exits. There were only about 5 left inside
when a massive explosion rocked the station.
"Quick! get out!" Raven screamed.
She and Darkwing held the doors to the collapsing building open while the remaining officers
ran out. When they were all cleared, Raven and Darkwing headed after them. They were about 5 feet
from the building when Raven heard a cry for help. She whirled around to see one last female officer.
She was a few feet away from the door inside the building. A piece of the ceiling had fallen and crushed
her legs.
Raven bolted back through the door way. She tried to pick up the chunk of cement on the
officer's legs. It was too heavy. Raven lifted with all her strength. The heavy cement gradually lifted
from the woman. Raven heaved it aside with one good push. She grabbed the woman and ran for the
exit. They reached the door just as the building fell into its self.
It was a few minuets before Darkwing realized he was running by himself. He looked back to see
the building collapse. Thick clouds of dust rose from the destruction.
"Oh god no!" He said aloud. "She didn't..." His voice trailed off. He removed his hat and
lowered his head. "What a waste." He said sadly.
"Hey, Tracy! When you're done crying, I'd appreciate it if you'd call an ambulance." Darkwing's
eyes flew open. Raven emerged from the clouds of dust. She carried the officer in her arms. The woman
had fainted from the pain. Darkwing put his hat back on and tore his cap off. He wrapped it gently
around the woman's bleeding legs. He lead Raven over to the group of officers who stood on the other
side of the street. Raven handed her over to the officers.
"Watch her. We'll get help." Raven and Darkwing raced back to the motorcycles. Darkwing
called for an ambulance over the radio in the Rat Catcher. They hung around the corner and waited until
they could hear the sirens pull up to the curb. Before raven could put on her helmet Darkwing spoke.
"I wasn't worried or anything by the way. You're good at taking care of yourself. I knew you
were fine." Raven snickered.
"Yeah, right." She said as she pulled the helmet over her head. They sped off to Darkwing
tower.
The elevator reached the tower and the two passengers got off. Raven removed her helmet and
gave it a mild punch before tossing it next to her motorcycle. She unbuckled the swords and draped the
straps over the handle bars.
"Something wrong?" Darkwing asked, sarcastically.
"Stupid hostages!" Raven muttered. "Would have had him if it weren't for them..." Darkwing
shook his head.
"I'm sure that was one of Negaduck's alternate reasons for having them. Other than getting them
out of the way. He thought you were dead but he knew that I couldn't leave innocent people behind. I
guess he thought I'd be by myself. " Raven glared at him.
"You think I'd let innocent people die?"
"You were about to. You were headed after Negaduck, remember?" Raven growled.
"I could have gotten to him sooner, if you hadn't knocked me off balance!"
"Yeah, right." Raven turned away to starred out a window. Darkwing sighed. He walked over
to a huge computer. He began to type in commands.
"Maybe I can find out where all those thugs went..." Windows of different locations in the city
provided by hidden cameras and satellites popped onto the screen. Darkwing scanned the images, looking
for any suspicious activity. Suddenly the entire screen went blank. It was replaced by a blank, blue
image. Darkwing panicked. "AHH! The program crashed!! We're screwed! How am I supposed to find
anything now??" Raven came up to the computer. She surveyed the damage and pushed Darkwing out of
the way.
"Here, I'll fix it." She began to reboot the system. Darkwing looked on, impressed, but still
worried about the program.
"Do you know what you're doing?" He asked cautiously. Raven sneered at him, pinning her ears
back.
"I worked at a programming company in Japan for 4 years! So, yeah, I think I know what I'm
doing!" Darkwing backed off and let her work. In the corner, her heard the sound of spinning chairs. He
walked over to find Launchpad and Gosalyn.
"You ok, DW? We saw the station go down on the news."
"Yeah, I'm alright." Darkwing replied.
"Of course he is!" Gosolyn snickered. "He only knocked down an entire police station!"
Darkwing snapped at her.
"That was Negaduck's fault! Not mine!" Gosalyn giggled.
"Calm down dad! I was just kidding."
Darkwing sighed. He continued his conversation with Launchpad. Gosalyn began wandering
around the tower. The faint sound of clicking drew her attention to the computer. She came up behind
the chair. A figure with long black hair sat at the computer, working quickly to program the lost files.
Raven still had her ears pulled back, so all Gosalyn could see was the long black hair.
"That's funny." She thought. "I'd never would have figured Morgana to be a hacker!"
She stood silently behind the chair, watching words and commands fly across the screen.
Gosalyn stepped forward quietly, her eyes still on the computer screen. She reached out and gave what
she thought was Morgana's shoulder, a strong pat.
"Heya, Morgana."
Raven jolted out of the chair in surprise. She leapt out infront of Gosalyn, her teeth and claws
barred. She let out a fearful growl. Gosalyn stumbled backwards in shock. She lost her balance and fell.
She starred up in horror as the dark figure loomed over her. Gosalyn let out a shrill cry of fear. The noise
brought Darkwing and Launchpad running over.
"Inari, no!!" Darkwing shouted. "It's ok! She's my daughter!!!" Raven lowered her hands and
let her lips sink back over her teeth. Her heart was still racing as she starred at Gosalyn who had run
behind Darkwing for protection.
"She scarred the hell out of me!" Raven finally breathed.
"Well you didn't have to scare her!" Darkwing scolded. "She's just a child!"
"How was I supposed to know what she was! She came from out of no where! I just reacted!"
Gosalyn quivered from behind Darkwing.
"I'm sorry, I thought she was Morgana!" Darkwing sighed and held up his hand.
"Ok, let's just calm down. No one was hurt. There's no need to yell." He pulled Gosalyn out
from behind him. "Gosalyn, this is Raven Inari, she's helping me with Negaduck." He turned to face
Raven. "Inari, this is my daughter, Gosalyn."
Raven looked down at Gosalyn. She looked like she was about 9 or 10. She starred back up at
Raven with big green eyes. They sparkled with the innocence of child hood. And yet, Raven saw more.
The eyes had the look of those that had seen tragedy. That had suffered losses and witnessed things that a
child should not see. Raven also saw the glimmer of intelligence, courage, and curiosity. Some where in
Raven's heart, a cord was struck. The child standing before her was a stranger, but some how Raven felt
that she knew her. She reminded Raven of some one. Gosalyn bravely stepped forward and offered
Raven her hand.
"Uh, pleased to meet you Raven." The voice stuck in Raven's head. She could hear it repeat her
name over and over again. Suddenly a scene flashed into Raven's mind. She could see her sister, blood
running from her head. She heard her call out.
"Raven," The voice echoed in her head. "Raven....Raven...Raven......I'm sorry.....Raven..."
"Raven?" Raven shook her head clear. Gosalyn stood with her hand still open. Raven looked
down at her with a narrowed eye. She gave a quick snort and sat back down at the computer, finishing
her work. Gosalyn looked after her in surprise.
"She's not exactly the sociable type." Darkwing whispered.
"I'll say." Gosalyn muttered. "I'm going home, now I know you're ok." Darkwing nodded. He
watched his daughter hop into the revolving chairs and spin away. He turned to Raven and spoke angrily.
"You know, being mean to me is one thing, but being so mean to a little girl! What's wrong with
you?" Raven's eye didn't leave the screen.
"What's wrong with her? She always sneak up behind people and scare them to death?"
"That was an accident! She thought you were Morgana!"
"Well I'm not!!!" Raven snapped, turning her head momentarily from the screen. She sneered
and faced the computer again, clicking her fingers rapidly over the key board.
"That's for sure!" Darkwing snorted and walked off. Even over the clacking, Raven could here
his next words. They shot through her, like an arrow in her chest. "Morgana has a heart."
Raven's fingers continued to move. She continued to stare at the screen as a single tear fell from
her eye. It was quickly followed by others. She typed in a few more commands and hit enter. The
windows and images popped back onto the screen. Raven stood and quickly wiped the tears from her
face.
"There, all finished. The system was over loaded and the memory crashed. You should boot
some more RAM into that thing." Darkwing turned to face her.
"Uh, thanks." He said. He noticed that the left side of her face was damp. He couldn't help but
feel a twinge of guilt. "Inari, when I said..."
"I'm going back to Morgana's house for a while." She said, cutting him off. "I could use some
sleep. Call if you hear any thing." She ran past him before he had a chance to speak. She threw the
swords around her back and put her helmet on. As soon as she was at the bridge, she sped off. Darkwing
watched her go. He shook his head sadly. He had seen that kind of anger an frustration in people before.
Mostly criminals. They all ended up in the same place.
"Be careful Inari." He said to himself. "You're headed for an early grave..."
Raven had been crying the whole way to Morgana's. She tossed her boots by the door way and
walked in, trying to dry her face on her jacket sleeve. The sudden sound of Morgana's voice caught her
off guard.
"Raven I saw the news, I'm so glad you're all right! Where's Dark? Is he with you? Is he ok?"
"He's fine, he's at the tower." Morgana could tell there was something different about Raven's
voice.
"Raven? Is every thing ok?"
"Yeah." Raven answered. "I'm just tired. I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up if Darkwing calls
or anything." Morgana nodded and headed back down the hallway. Raven stared to climb the stairs, but
stopped. She turned back to Morgana.
"Morgana?" Her voice was strained and full of sadness. Morgana walked back to the foot of the
stairs.
"Yes, Raven?" Her voice was full of concern for the poor girl. Raven looked at Morgana, her eye
full of tears.
"Am I....evil?" Morgana's heart crumbled. She ran forward and threw her arms around Raven.
Raven hugged her back, tears falling down her face.
"No sweet heart, you're not evil!" Morgana spoke softly, rubbing Raven's back. "You're just
hurt, very badly. You lost your family, the only thing you had! Any one can see you're just in a lot of
pain." Raven made a rather pathetic sniffling noise.
"I didn't mean to hurt Darkwing." She muttered. "I just saw the man who killed my family
escape and I snapped!"
"He's ok now, dear. But you were letting your rage blind you. You have to let go of at least some
of that anger. Other wise it could end up killing you." Raven nodded.
"It just hurts so bad! It never stops! Even in my dreams, I can see them!"
"No matter how bad the pain is, it can't rule out the love you have for them. Or the love they still
have for you! They don't want you joining them Raven, not yet any way. Let go, Raven, before it's too
late." Raven pulled away from Morgana and turned her back. Her voice still broken and sad.
"That's easy for you to say." She commented over her shoulder. "You have some one on earth
that cares about you." She was about to continue up the stairs when she felt two warm hands on her
shoulders. Morgana turned her around. She put a hand under Raven's chin and lifted her head to look
her in the face.
"So do you!" Fresh tears welled in Raven's eye. A quivering smile played across her lips. Raven
choked on a sob as she threw her arms around Morgana, hugging her tightly. After a few seconds, Raven
heard a small voice.
"Ah, Raven, dear, I can't breath!" Raven immediately let go of her. Morgana held a hand to her
chest and breathed in deeply.
"Strong devil, aren't you?" Morgana joked between gasps of air. She smiled and patted Raven
on the back. "Go get some sleep. I'll let you know if any thing comes up." Raven turned and climbed up
the stairs. At the top she turned around one last time and smiled.
"Morgana."
"Yes?"
"Thank you." Morgana smiled.
"For what, dear?"
"For trusting me when no one else would."
"Raven, even before you came here, I could feel you. There were strong energies of hate and
anger flowing from across the world. I felt them as they grew closer and closer. At first I was terrified of
you. But then when I saw you in person, I felt that all the anger, all the rage, all the hate, were feeding off
of something else. Pain, sorrow and loneliness. And you felt that because you loved your family so much.
Raven, your mind may be clouded, but your heart is still good. Not even a million Negaducks can change
that!"
Raven smiled. She turned and walked into her room. She slid the swords and jacket to the
ground. She lay on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
Hours later, Raven was awoken by the sound of voices. She reached down for the swords and
quietly made her way to the hall. She stood silently at the top of the stair way. She listened until she
could recognize the voices. She walked down the stairs and into the parlor. Darkwing was seated in a
chair next to Morgana on the couch. They looked up from their conversation as she entered.
"I'm sorry, Raven. Did we wake you?" Morgana asked. Raven shook her head. She looked to
Darkwing.
"Something up?"
"No, I scanned the city for hours, even had LP take the Thunder Quack out. Couldn't find a
thing. Program works great now, though, thanks."
"No problem." Raven said softly.
"Dark and I were going to go out for a while." Morgana said. "Will you be ok here alone?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." They stood to go. Darkwing took what looked like a wrist watch from his
jacket. He handed it to Raven.
"Here, take this communicator. If something comes up get a hold of me, or I'll get a hold of
you." Raven nodded. She put the communicator around her wrist. Before they got to the door Raven
spoke to Darkwing.
"Listen, Tracy, I'm sorry about your daughter. I guess I just get irritated when I'm startled. I
didn't mean to scare her or anything." Darkwing nodded.
"It's all right. She's a tough kid!" He started out the door with Morgana, but turned around.
"Hey, LP wanted to go out on patrol tonight. If you wanted to make it up to Gosalyn, you could
watch her for me." Raven's eye widened in surprise.
"You want me to watch your daughter?" Morgana smiled.
"I told Dark that you were actually a very sweet person. I'm sure you and Gosalyn will get alone
fine when you get used to each other."
"What do you say?" Darkwing asked. Raven drew in a large breath.
"Ok." She answered. "She just better not bother me too much!" Morgana chuckled.
"Yes, I'm sure you'll have it out for her."
"Here," Darkwing drew a pen and pad from his jacket. "this is the address." He handed the
paper to Raven. She looked at it, confused.
"You don't live at the tower?" Darkwing chuckled.
"Nah. Like all good masked heroes, I have a secret identity." He narrowed his eyes for a
moment. "Which I'd ah, like to remain secret." Raven starred at him blankly.
"Who on earth am I going to tell?"
"No one I guess. Well any way, Gos can show you where the food is if she gets hungry. DO
NOT, under ANY circumstances, let her use the oven!"
Darkwing and Morgana left and headed down the road. Raven looked at the address. She
walked onto the porch and slipped her boots on. She put on her helmet and rode off down the road.
Raven pulled to a stop in the drive way of the suburban home. She checked the address on the
paper. It was the place. She found it hard to imagine that Darkwing Duck actually lived here. She
headed up the walk and rang the door bell. Launchpad came to the door. He was taken a back for a
moment, but tried to hid his nervousness.
"Uh, hi, Rav..uh..Inari. What's up?"
"Tracy said you wanted to patrol the city. He sent me over to watch his kid." Launchpad was
surprised.
"He did? Gosalyn?" Raven handed him the paper with the address. She could tell he didn't
believe her.
"He gave me the address." Launchpad read the paper and nodded. That was DW's hand writing
all right.
"Uh, ok. Come on in." He held the door open for her. Raven left her boots at the door and
walked in.
The house was tidy, but obviously lived in. Raven had never really been in a traditional
American family home. It seemed odd to her. She saw a picture on a near by coffee table. Launchpad
and Gosalyn sat smiling. Another man was sitting next to Gosalyn with his arm around her shoulder,
beaming down at her. Raven looked at his face and recognized him. It was Darkwing.
"So that's what he looks like when he's not wearing his Dick Tracy costume." Raven thought.
She turned when she heard foot steps on the stairs. Gosalyn headed down to the living room.
"Hey Launchpad, I heard a motorcycle! Did dad lose his mind and drive the Rat Catcher home?"
She froze at the end of the stairs when she saw Raven. "What's she doing here!" She gasped.
"DW sent her over." Launchpad answered the shocked 9 year old. "She's gonna keep and eye
on...uh...I mean watch you while I'm on patrol." Launchpad stuttered nervously as he saw Raven stare at
him. He hoped he hadn't offended her. Gosalyn glared at Raven.
"We don't have a crawl space." Gosalyn said, mockingly. "So if you want some place to hide my
body, your best bet is the attic!" Raven returned the glare. Launchpad found this a good time to leave.
He practically flung himself into one of the chairs.
"See you gals later!" He called. He hit the statue and was gone.
The two starred at each other for a while. Neither one of them wanted to talk first. Finally,
Gosalyn braved a few words.
"So, dad wanted you to watch me. Better get started."
She walked past Raven and into the living room. She switched on the TV and the video game
system on top of it. She grabbed the controller and started to play. Raven sighed and rolled her eyes. She
removed the swords and leather jacket and hung them on a coat rack. Raven walked into the living room
and sat down on the couch. She watched Gosalyn move an electronic duck in a yellow suit and blue
helmet through a maze of enemies.
"Wiffel Boy 2000, huh? Didn't know they made a version for game consoles." Gosalyn looked
back at her in surprise.
"You've played this game?" Raven shook her head.
"Not really. It was originally a built in feature on a new brand of PC. I worked on the team that
programmed it." Gosalyn's eyes lit up.
"You made Wiffel Boy 2000?"
"I helped. Me and two other people where in charge of graphics."
"I haven't beaten the game yet. Is your name in the credits." Raven shrugged.
"Dunno, I just worked on the PC version. I don't know who produced the game for individual
game systems." Gosalyn had forgotten the game. She was leaning her self against the coffee table, facing
Raven.
"Have you made any other games?" She asked, becoming engrossed in the conversation.
"A couple of golf games and a pin ball game. We put them in and they came with the computer.
I mostly programmed hard drives though."
"Wow, where'd you work?"
"A small computer programming company in Okinawa, Japan. I think the name in English is
Computech Inc." Gosalyn had left the floor and had pulled herself onto the opposite side of the couch.
"You're from Japan?" She asked. "You don't look like it."
"My mother was from America." Raven explained. "And Computech had a lot of American
clients and workers, which I guess softened my accent."
"What happened to your eye?" The question caught Raven off guard. She was silent for a
moment, trying to think of something.
"A car accident." She lied.
"Does it hurt?"
"Some times." That was another lie. Whether physically or mentally, it hurt all the time.
"Do you have any kids?" Gosalyn asked. Raven had to laugh.
"Nah, I'm only 22. Don't want to get ahead of myself."
"So what's it like in Japan?"
"Well, it's warm. The cities are really crowded. The mountains are really beautiful. Every one
works really hard." Gosalyn made a disgusted face.
"Is it true you have to go to school on Saturdays?"
"Kids in the city do. They also go to cramp schools every day after their regular school lets out."
"Yick! 5 days a week is too much as it is!" Gosalyn exclaimed. "Did you go to school that
much?"
"Not really. I lived in a small village. I was home schooled by my parents. They needed me
around when I got older to help with the crops and the fishing."
"I thought you said you worked for a computer company,"
"I did. I started work there when I was 18. My father didn't like the idea. He thought I was
dishonoring tradition."
"Wow, my dad would probably die of joy if I got a job at a place like that!" Raven shrugged.
"Different cultural values."
"Hey, tell me some more about Japan. And where you got those cool swords!"
Raven told Gosalyn about Japan, fighting, and computers. They talked on for hours. Gosalyn
hung on Raven's every word. Raven was glad that Gosalyn didn't seem afraid of her any more. But at the
same time it worried her. Gosalyn was young and impressionable. Raven didn't want Gosalyn to think
that she was some one to look up to.
Hot coffee splashed into the half empty cup. The waiter lifted the coffee pot and spoke to the
oddly dressed man.
"Any thing else sir? Sir?" Darkwing wasn't listening. He starred straight ahead, his eyes wide in
horror and shock. "Sir!?" The waiter practically shouted. Darkwing didn't even flinch. Some how he
managed to find his voice.
"No...thank you..."
The waiter gave him an odd look and walked away. Darkwing's eyes stayed wide open, never
blinking. He and Morgana sat at a secluded corner booth in a small coffee shop. They had gone there to
talk, or just to be together, many times since they had started dating. Darkwing was hardly even aware of
any one around him. He sat silently, letting the story Morgana had just told him sink in.
"Dark, are you all right?" Darkwing nodded softly. He blinked and shook his head.
"My God...." He began. "If she had just told me.....I would have understood her better...."
Morgana shook her head.
"She's in so much pain, Dark. She was upset enough after she told me."
"I knew Negaduck was evil, but some how I never would have though he could....my God....her
little sister too?"
"Yes, she was 9."
"Gosalyn's age...Maybe that's why she was so mean to her. Gos must have reminded Raven of
her sister. It probably upset her." Darkwing put a hand to his eyes and rubbed them. "Uhh, I wish I
could take back what I said to her!"
"She's not a bad person, Dark. She's just being controlled by bad emotions." Darkwing nodded.
"I love Gos to death. You too. I consider you two and Launchpad family. If any thing happened
to you all....I'd probably be doing the same thing she is."
"She needs help, Dark. The longer those emotions swell inside her, the more blind and reckless
she'll become. She'll either do something careless or burn out completely."
"I know Morg." Darkwing smiled and took Morgana's hands in his. "You're off to a pretty good
start with her. You surely do have a way with people." Morgana chuckled.
"Must be my charming personality." Darkwing raised her hands and kissed them softly.
"Or your incredible good looks." Morgana grinned.
"Why Darkwing Duck, are you trying to sweet talk me?"
"Is it working?" Darkwing asked, with a devilish smile on his face.
"Maybe." She teased.
"Have I told you how breathtakingly gorgeous you are yet?"
"hmmm, No, not yet."
"What about your eyes? Have I mentioned how beautiful they are? Especially in the moon light
on a clear night. And how they just lock onto your soul and pull you in?"
"No, I don't think you mentioned that either." Morgana's heart began to race.
"How about how pretty your hair looks when it falls around your shoulders. Or how crazy it
makes me when it brushes agents my face. Or when....."
Morgana leaned across the table and kissed him passionately. After a moment she pulled away.
Darkwing leaned back, dazed but happy. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a bill. Not even
paying attention to how much he had taken out, he slammed a 20 onto the table and jumped up. He
grabbed Morgana by the hands and pulled her out of the shop and onto the Rat Catcher. She giggled
knowingly as she wrapped her arms around his waist. They jolted backwards momentarily, as Darkwing
gunned the engine and sped down the road to Morgana's house.
Raven sat on the couch with her legs raised infront of her. She was reading the issue of Police
Beat Monthly she had found on the coffee table. Her eye landed on a reasonably priced stun gun. For a
moment she thought about writing down the item code and 1-800 number. Raven heard the sound of soft
foot steps on the stairs.
"I thought I told you to go to bed." She said, her eye never leaving the catalog.
"I'm not tired." Gosalyn insisted. Raven looked at the clock on the VCR.
"It's 12:30. How are you not tired?"
"I'm just not!" Raven rolled her eye.
"Your dad keep a mallet any where around here?"
"Nah, but some times he sings to me to get me to sleep." Raven shot her an odd look.
"Tracy sings?"
"Yeah, he made a new version of a lullaby my grampa used to sing to me."
"I would think that would make you go deaf as opposed to asleep."
"Hey it works!" Raven got to her feet.
"All right, up stairs."
She followed Gosalyn to her room. When they got there, Raven starred around in surprise.
There were socks and dirty cloths all over the floor. Sports equipment and other lose odds and ends were
strune about as well. Raven was amazed.
"Do Americans really let their kids be this messy?" She thought. Gosalyn hopped back into her
bed. Raven pulled a desk chair up to the bed side and sat down.
"All right shorty, let's hear this song of yours." Gosalyn cleared her throat and sang out of tune.
"Close your eyes, little girl blue, paint your dreams on your pillow. I'll be near to chase away
fears, and keep you safe 'til tomorrow." When she was finished Raven gave Gosalyn her best what-the-
hell-was-that-supposed-to-be look.
"That was the lamest thing I've ever heard." Raven commented. Gosalyn scowled.
"Well let's see you do better!" Raven looked at her with an even more puzzled expression.
"You want me to sing?" Gosalyn grinned.
"Yeah, didn't any one sing you a lullaby?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess my mother used to sing to me before I went to sleep." Gosalyn laid back in the
bed. She pulled the covers up part way.
"Well let's hear your song." She looked up at Raven patiently. Raven shook her head.
"I don't think I could..."
"Oh come on! You want me to go to sleep, don't you?" Raven sighed.
"All right, but if I hear the tiniest snicker, you'll be sleeping in a shallow grave!"
"Got it!" Gosalyn giggled. Raven swallowed before she opened her mouth. Gosalyn was
surprised at what a pretty voice Raven had.
"My child may warriors protect thy sleep, and banish nightmares to the deep, swim the oceans of
the night, watch stars dancing in their flight, dragons lift you to the sky, wings of silver help them glide,
protecting you from your fright, as the angel's hold you tight, the gods will bless you with their love,
shining from the stars above, soon the darkness will be gone, and I shall greet you with the dawn, until
then let your spirit fly, off into the midnight sky, rest well my child rest well..."
Just as Raven finished, Gosalyn's eyes shut. She started to gently snore. Raven was unable to
surpress the smile that spread across her face. She bent down on her knees in front of the bed. Carefully,
Raven lifted the covers and pulled them up to Gosalyn's shoulders. Raven crossed her arms on the side of
the bed and rested her head on them.
Raven watched the small, sleeping girl. Her mind wandered back to the melody she had just
sung. Raven remembered the last time she had heard it. It was late at night, and Ninyo had just had a
nightmare. Raven watched from across the room that she and her sister shared as her mother cradled the
girl in her arms, singing softly. As Raven watched Gosalyn sleep, she replayed the song in her mind. She
could hear her mothers gentle voice, and the sounds of her sister, breathing heavily. Raven's eye lid began
to fall. Before it closed, she looked at the girl one last time.
"Good night, Gosalyn." She whispered softly. Her eye closed. Before Raven drifted off to sleep,
she whispered again. "Good night, Ninyo."
Darkwing's eyes opened and he made an attempt at looking around the dark room. It was pitch
black, save for the small shaft of moon light that filtered in through the curtains. It spilled across the bed,
illuminating the two figures out lined in the sheets.
Darkwing wrapped his arms around Morgana. Her head was gently rested on his chest. She had
one arm around him, the other lay on him with her hand over his chest. Darkwing nuzzled her soft hair.
Morgana opened her eyes and smiled up at him. He kissed her softly on the head. Morgana moved her
self so that she could see the clock on the bed side table.
"Good morning!" She said, laughing softly. Darkwing looked over at the clock.
"Man, 3 a.m. already!" He looked back down at Morgana, he pouted jokingly. "Would you be
horribly mad if I went home to my daughter?" Morgana sighed and rolled over. She tried to sound angry,
but the smile on her face betrayed her.
"Oh fine! Just run away! You always loved her best!" Darkwing narrowed his eyes and grinned.
He reached over suddenly and pinned Morgana to the bed. He leaned down and kissed her long and hard
on the mouth. After a while, he pulled himself back up and smiled.
"Better?" He asked innocently. Morgana gave another sigh. She shut her eyes and let her head
fall into the pillow.
"Much." She whispered. Darkwing hopped off and bent down on his knees infront of the bed.
He reached up and held one of Morgana's hands, kissing it softly.
"May I go now, mistress?" Morgana laughed. She raised her other hand and made a small
waving motion.
"Go on, servant boy, let me rest." She rolled over on her side. Darkwing stood up and kissed her
on the cheek.
"Good night, Morg." He whispered.
"Good night, Dark." She replied in a tired voice. By the time Darkwing got dressed and out the
door, she was sound asleep.
The chairs came to a halt and Drake stood in his living room. He could see Launchpad's scarf
hung on the coat rack. With a second look, Drake also noticed Raven's jacket and swords hanging on the
hooks.
"She must still be around." Drake thought. He looked at the couch, it was empty. He peered
into the kitchen but it was empty and dark. Drake made his way up stairs. Maybe she had figured he
wasn't coming home and had crashed in his bed. As he walked down the hall way he noticed that
Gosalyn's door was open a crack. It was usually closed at night. Drake gently pushed the door open and
looked in side. The sight that met his eyes was heart warming.
Raven's head was still rested on the bed. Gosalyn had rolled over on her side and her face was
buried in Raven's hair that had spilled on to the sheets. Drake hesitated in the door for a moment. He
wondered if he should wake up Raven or not. It would risk waking up Gosalyn, but the position that
Raven was in didn't look very comfortable. Drake decided against it. They both looked peaceful and
happy.
Before he went to bed, Drake pulled a spare blanket from the hall closet. Ever so gently, he
draped it over Raven. She stirred slightly, but remained asleep. Drake crept the door and into the
hallway. He looked back into the room for a moment. He smiled to himself as he quietly closed the door.
"Good night, girls." He whispered as he shut the door. Drake made his way down the hall to his
room. He slipped into his boxers and crawled into bed. His mind still wandered as he closed his eyes. He
thought about what Morgana had said about Raven.
"Maybe there's hope for the wacko yet." He said to himself. The smile on Drake's face remained
as he drifted off to sleep.
