Disclaimer: To those of you who still, after all this, think I own these characters…well, you might as well keep believing it, there's obviously no changing your mind.
Thank you thank you thank you reviewers!
Negaduck hissed in pain and clutched his bleeding fingers, knowing at least two were broken. He turned to Quackerjack and growled, "If I could use both my hands I'd personally shove that stupid doll of yours down your stupid throat!"
The jester stuck out Mr. Banana Brain.
"Too bad, Tad!"
Negaduck raised his good fist, but a shrill cry interrupted his near-pummeling.
"Lookie, Darkwing Duck has decided to come out and play!" Taurus Bulba cooed.
"PLAYTI – " Quackerjack began, but Darkwing clamped his beak shut.
The bull's face twisted into a wild smile.
"And he's brought friends too! I knew you would come to the party eventually Darkwing, but I did not know you would bring more guests. No matter, we will just have to warm up with a party game. How about 'shoot the hideout'?"
Bulba fell into a fit of hysterical laughter and began firing a round of shots from his arm, all of them aimed in the direction of Audubon Bay Bridge. The blasts could not breach the distance, and they fell haphazardly into the streets below.
Megavolt frowned and turned to Darkwing.
"This is the big bad crime lord you were going on and on about? He's crazy. And I know crazy," the rat said.
Darkwing didn't answer. He had always considered Taurus to be one of his more mentally stable adversaries, but now he was acting like a raging lunatic.
"If you think he's crazy now, you shoulda heard him before," Gosalyn commented.
"GAH! See, this is why I emphasized surprise! Get it?! Surprise! As in, catching the villain off guard to utilize his vulnerability, that kinda surprise!" Darkwing fumed, "Okay, I'll take care of bull brain. Aviana, he's gotta bring out the Eye sometime, make sure you get it – in one piece! And Gosalyn, repeat after me: I will keep my distance and not do anything to jeopardize my health."
"I will keep my distance and not do anything to jeopardize my health. But Darkwing – "
"No buts! Now…"
Darkwing made towards Bulba, but suddenly stopped. Something did not feel right, like he was missing something…
"I am the terror that flaps in the night I am the straw that breaks the camel's back I am Darkwing Duck!" the crime fighter spouted at light speed.
Now feeling complete, Darkwing rushed towards Taurus Bulba.
"Quick, I need something bang my head against," Negaduck muttered lowly.
Aviana looked at him amusedly and said, "You're really batting a thousand tonight Fuzzy."
"I know you from somewhere…" Megavolt mused, squinting at the duckette.
"No you don't Megs, you're thinking of that lady in Vegas," Quackerjack corrected casually.
"Oh. Yeah. Never mind then," Megavolt said.
Negaduck and Aviana stared at them blankly.
"Okay, I think I'll just go blind my mental eye now," Negaduck said flatly.
Gosalyn was listening in on the conversation when she saw something that made her heart stop. Darkwing wasn't here, so she'd have to go the next closest thing…
"Uh, Negaduck…"
Aviana turned to the black-masked mallard.
"Look, I don't know what you're going to do, but I'm going after the Devil's Eye."
"Oooh, that's a surprise," Negaduck snapped.
"Don't wait up for me," Aviana snapped back, and darted towards Darkwing and Bulba.
"Negaduck…" Gosalyn asked again.
The black-masked mallard did not acknowledge her presence, but instead turned to Bushroot, Megavolt, and Quackerjack.
"Do you blockheads need something?!"
"W-well we were just uh, just wondering w-what we should do," Bushroot stuttered.
"NEGADUCK!" Gosalyn bellowed.
The villain whipped around, his cape flourishing and a look of vehemence on his face. He glared down at Gosalyn and seethed, "Can't you see I'm ignoring you?!"
Gosalyn tugged on her pigtails in frustration.
"Look behind you," the duckling growled through clenched teeth.
" 'Look behind you'," Negaduck mocked, then turned around as if to humor her, only to come beak to beak with a soulless Launchpad.
"Not you again," the mallard whined.
The pilot cracked his joints and roared in Negaduck's face. He gulped.
"Why didn't you tell me he was here?" the villain hissed at Gosalyn.
Before the indignant redhead could answer, Launchpad lunged forward. In a flash Negaduck snatched Megavolt's arm and swung him into the zombie. They collided in an explosion of electricity, causing Launchpad's muscles to seize up.
"Ouch," Megavolt murmured, twitching.
Negaduck jumped behind the bewildered Quackerjack and Bushroot.
"Well kiddies, you said you wanted something to do – "
With that Negaduck shoved them towards Launchpad and the other approaching eggmen.
"Play nicely!" he called cheerily, then sprinted in Darkwing and Bulba's direction.
"Wait, come back!" Quackerjack cried desperately.
"We don't have insurance!" Megavolt added.
Their pleas went nowhere, while Launchpad and the eggmen began closing in on the three villains.
--
"Ha! Ha again! Triple ha! And ha s'more!"
Darkwing Duck dodged Taurus Bulba's lasers left and right.
"You need to work on your aim, metal mouth. May I suggest a new pair of eyes? Or should I just stand still and count to ten?"
Bulba roared and fired another shot at the trash-talking mallard.
Darkwing sidestepped the blast and quipped, "Don't have a cow Bulbsy."
"I will relish in watching your feathers boil in Hell, duck!" Bulba yelled contemptuously, "EGGMEN! ATTACK!"
The gruesome drones swarmed around Darkwing from all sides, clawing their way towards him like moths to a flame.
"Heh heh, problem…" Darkwing chuckled nervously to himself.
Hey…they seemed to all be coming at him at a reasonably similar rate…they would probably hit him all at once…if he timed it just right…
At the last second Darkwing dove under an eggman's legs. He heard the sound of bodies crashing into each other as he got back to his feet, unscathed.
"My brilliance astonishes me yet again!" the masked mallard shouted triumphantly.
Darkwing looked behind him at the pile of soulless eggman, tangled in a mass of arms and legs from their collision. He looked back to Taurus with an arrogant grin.
"One plate of scrambled eggmen with a side of beef to go!"
The bull's entire bulky body began trembling with uncontrolled rage.
"I will kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!"
"Don't count your chickens before they – yikes!"
Darkwing was cut off by a rapid fire from Bulba's helmet weaponry. He hopped up and down wildly as the cyborg's lasers shot towards his webbed feet.
--
"C'mon guys, can't we talk this out? What's a good non-maiming between friends?"
Launchpad and the eggmen ignored the desperate Megavolt's pleas and continued to move in on the three villains.
"Yeah, don't be so hasty – I never did anything to you!" Quackerjack cried.
Launchpad snarled.
"Fine, maybe to you," Quackerjack admitted with a touch of annoyance, then pointed to Mr. Banana Brain, "But he told me to do it!"
The jester froze. The eggmen were approaching him hungrily. All eyes were on him, he was in the spotlight…so he did the only thing he could think of that seemed fitting…
Megavolt and Bushroot stared as Quackerjack broke out into an impromptu tap dance.
"Poor Quackerjack…" Bushroot murmured, shaking his head sadly.
"The worst part is I think it's working," Megavolt pointed out.
Indeed, Launchpad and the eggmen had stopped bearing down on the three and were instead watching the jester with interest.
"Ta daaaaa!" Quackerjack sang, finishing his jig with a bow, "take it away, Megavolt!"
To the rodent's surprise, the zombies turned to him expectantly. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Uh, well okay…" Megavolt stuttered, then began his version of a tap dance.
Launchpad and the drones watched for a few seconds and started to growl, apparently dissatisfied with Megavolt's dancing skills.
"Give me a break!" Megavolt snapped defensively, "I don't see Bushtoot over here shakin' it up!"
"Sorry, two left feet," Bushroot said, shrugging.
"Grow a right foot then!" Megavolt suggested heatedly.
The soulless ducks continued their advance.
Quackerjack stated haughtily, "Well then. That just proves the theory that guys who talk to light bulbs can't dance."
Megavolt shot him a nasty look then turned to the zombies.
"Okay, now you've done it – I'm going to have to resort to drastic measures! Thou shall taste the wrath of the mighty Megavolt…Quack Fu style!"
Megavolt struck various karate poses and began crying out in a Japanese accent, "HEE-YA! WHOO-TAH! SHAZAM!"
The bluff did not amuse Launchpad. He growled and hoisted Megavolt into the air.
"Uh-oh," Megavolt squeaked.
"Aren't we on a roll tonight Sparky?" Quackerjack commented.
The jester made to help his friend but soulless eggmen grabbed him from behind.
"Watch, I'm ticklish!" Quackerjack giggled to the drones.
Megavolt scowled.
"Don't call me Sparkyyyyyyy!" he yelled as Launchpad heaved him into the air.
--
Taurus Bulba's lasers began to slow, allowing him and Darkwing Duck time for a brief recharge
"Phew," Darkwing breathed, then continued in a louder voice, "whatsa matter Bulbsy, need to visit a gas station?"
The bull's eyes flared. As he glowered at the cape-wearing bane of his existence, something snapped in his brain. His last shred of sanity vanished. All that was left was immeasurable hatred, the most passionate he had ever felt in his life.
Suddenly, Bulba felt himself become hyperaware of his surroundings. His circuits were in overdrive. He could feel the vibrations of the duckette in the black sweatshirt's footsteps, he could smell the sweat on Darkwing's look-alike's brow, he could hear Darkwing's heart beating beneath his chest.
Aviana charged at him from behind, planning to catch the cyborg by surprise. Instead she barely managed to twist out of the way as Taurus struck out at her like a snake.
Taking advantage of Bulba's distraction, Darkwing rushed forward and leapt into a web kick aimed for the back of the bull's head. Too bad Taurus knew exactly what the mallard was up to, or else it might have worked.
As it was, Bulba spun around and whipped out his arm, catching Darkwing directly in the stomach. The purple clad duck soared a good ten feet in the air before crashing back down on the rooftop with a loud thud!
"Dad!" Gosalyn cried out, and left the safety of a bystander to go aid her father.
The mallard laid on his back, completely stunned.
"Yes…I enjoy pina coladas and getting caught in the rain…" Darkwing mused dazedly.
"Just sit pretty for me duck, while I take care of your double," Bulba said, turning to Negaduck with a devilish grin.
"Crap," Negaduck grumbled.
The cyborg advanced. Thinking quickly, Negaduck pulled out Darkwing's gas gun he had "borrowed." He squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
"Dammit! There's nothing in this thing!"
"Well whose fault is that?" Darkwing said, his speech still slightly slurred.
Taurus laughed harshly and sprang at the villain. Negaduck looked at his hand, realizing for a panicked moment that he was armed with only broken fingers and an empty gun, about to be attacked by a huge cyborg. He did the only thing he could think of, and slung the gas gun at Bulba with all his might.
Guided by some divine influence, the butt of the gun struck Taurus Bulba squarely in the eye, shattering his cyber optic lens. The bull cried out in pain as the gas gun clattered to the ground.
"Man I'm good!" Negaduck commented while skirting out of the cyborg's path.
As Darkwing's head slowly cleared, he noticed his gun on the ground. He had extra capsules in his jacket, if he could just get to it…
As Bulba bellowed with pain, Darkwing crawled desperately towards his weapon. He was almost there – he stretched out his arm to grab it –
Taurus Bulba's foot came careening down, snapping Darkwing's beloved gas gun in half. Darkwing winced. It was like losing an old friend.
"So…who has underestimated who tonight, eh Darkwing?" Taurus cooed evilly, seizing Darkwing by the collar before the mallard could react.
He held Darkwing up to his face. The crime fighter kicked and struggled, glaring at Bulba with all the hatred he could muster.
Taurus sneered and said, "Finally I have you in my clutches, Darkwing Duck. I've waited so long…you are very helpless, you know that? Now, as little daughter-poo watches, I will slowly inflict the physical pain you have bestowed upon me. Where shall I begin…I guess your arm is as good as any…"
Gosalyn watched in horror as the bull spun Darkwing around and grasped his forearm. In one swift movement he snapped it like a twig.
The crack of his own bones splitting in two resonated in Darkwing's ears. For a brief moment he felt no pain, and wondered if nothing had happened, but the agony suddenly hit him like freight train. At first it was like a dull roar, but the roar began to encompass his whole body with a violent pain in his arm.
Darkwing gritted his teeth, determined not to show his anguish. His pain-dulled mind barely made out Bulba's, "I shall break every bone in your scrawny little body." For an instant Darkwing wondered if Taurus would remember to break the tiny bones in his ears…maybe he should remind him…No! He was hallucinating…the pain was so intense…
"And now to your other arm…and then your legs…and then Goosalyn's neck…"
Darkwing squirmed in Bulba's grasp, but stopped, exhausted from pain. He was at a loss until he saw a rat in a yellow jumpsuit hurtling towards him.
"Don't call me Sparkyyyyyyy!"
It was a head-on collision between an electric rodent and a metal bull. Megavolt's electricity surged through Taurus Bulba's body, and the cyborg's limbs went haywire. His grip on Darkwing instantly slackened, and the mallard dropped to the ground.
Megavolt staggered. Quackerjack called over to him, "Way to go Megs, you're two for two tonight!"
"Well you know what they say…any electrocution you can walk away from…" Megavolt said weakly.
Gosalyn rushed to her father's side.
"Gos, get out of here, go to Morgana's," Darkwing wheezed automatically.
"Oh yeah, like I'm gonna leave you here with the Fearsome Five, Taurus Bulba, and a truckload of zombies. Besides, you're hurt!" Gosalyn said firmly.
"I'm fine – " Darkwing started, but grimaced in pain.
"Right…" Gosalyn muttered, then looked down at his arm. There was a large, bloody blotch on her father's shirtsleeve and a hint of sharp, white bone had pierced through the jacket.
"Whoa…he really did a number on ya Darkwing."
"Piffle. It coulda been worse."
Gosalyn gulped and pointed up.
"I think this is the 'coulda been' part!"
Darkwing followed her gesture right to the barrel of Bulba's blaster arm. He threw himself in front of Gosalyn instinctively, ignoring the morbid thought of what good his body would do at point blank range.
"The typical hero, valiantly sacrificing his body to save the life of an innocent, a truly beautiful moment…makes me sick," Bulba spat, shoving the weapon further into Darkwing's face.
Darkwing breathed in, catching the strange, sterile smell the gun had to it, one that practically gave him a headache. He shook his head and shifted all his weight to his left, cradling his injured arm on his stomach.
"Ever since that night on the tower, Darkwing, I've barely been alive. I was half-dead after the explosion, and though my body may have healed, I'm still not living what many call a 'life'."
"What, am I suppose'ta feel sorry for you now?" Darkwing asked sourly.
"Shut up you sniveling fool! You're the one thought that kept me alive, the thought that someday you would pay, you would experience the torment that you have given me…and now that time has come…"
Bulba held his arm level with Darkwing's eyes. As he looked down, he realized that the eyes held no fear, only defiant hatred. Bulba sneered. That would soon change.
"But first, I must get rid of these jokers," Taurus informed, jerking his finger at Negaduck, Bushroot, Quackerjack, and Megavolt.
The cyborg revealed the Devil's Eye, raising it high above his head.
"Eggmen! Kill these worthless buffoons."
"I'll give you buffoon!" Negaduck snarled, pushing up his sleeves.
"Um, N-Negaduck…" Bushroot stuttered with a nervous tap on his shoulder.
"WHAT NOW?!"
"Look."
Negaduck gazed around, his eyes widening. Dozens upon dozens of soulless eggmen were clamoring towards them. Within seconds the members of the fearsome group were surrounded by bloodthirsty zombies.
Darkwing's stomach turned over guiltily. He didn't care if they were villains, in no way had he ever meant to drag them to their death. Now they were going to die, and it was all his fault. And Launchpad, he would probably die too. Hell, he and Gosalyn were going to die – Gosalyn. Gosalyn was going to die, and it was his doing…
The mallard could hardly watch as the eggmen closed in on the villains he knew all too well.
"Well Megs, I guess this is it…" Quackerjack said drearily.
"This is what?" Megavolt asked.
"The end, Sparky, the end! We're buying the farm, kicking the bucket, going to that big toy factory in the sky…"
"Oh, I get it, bulbs are about to burn out. And don't call me Sparky."
"Oh Megavolt! I'm sorry for using you as a guinea pig for my Jaws of Life toy, and squirting you with that water gun for my amusement!" Quackerjack sobbed.
"It's okay – I'm sorry for doubling your electricity bill every month and for spreading those pictures of you all over the Internet!" Megavolt sobbed back.
"And Bushroot – even though it was utterly hilarious, uprooting your entire plant nursery was wrong of me!" Quackerjack continued.
"THAT WAS YOU?!" the plant-duck screeched.
Quackerjack pulled out his doll.
"Mr. Banana Brain, you can have the Time Top. And Hypno Henry."
"Thanks ol' pal," Mr. Banana Brain said.
"Here Mr. Banana Brain, say goodbye to Negaduck for me – I'm terrible with goodbyes," the jester bawled.
"Get. That. Stupid. Doll. Outta. My. Face. And shut up already, we ain't dyin'!" Negaduck seethed.
"We're not?"
"No! The almighty Negaduck is not going to be bumped off by zombies! It's just too stupid!" Negaduck declared forcefully.
The mallard glanced around, beginning to wonder just how exactly he planned on not dying. The eggmen were getting closer…Negaduck resisted the urge blast them into tiny pieces, they'd probably just regenerate…gross…time was running out…
Negaduck saw a strange object out of the corner of his eye hurtling through the air. It struck an eggman right on the noggin before clattering at the villain's webbed feet. It was…a manhole covering? Suddenly he heard the sound of rushing water.
"Without further ado, courtesy of the St. Canard Sewage System, it's the LIQUIDATOR! Told ya I'd get up here eventually – holy stockbrokers, what happened up here?"
"Save the twenty questions for later Liquidator – " Negaduck began.
"Hey that rhymed!" Quackerjack interrupted.
Negaduck tweaked the jester's beak and continued to Liquidator, "Wipe this place clean!"
Liquidator's eyes lit up and he nodded. That was the one thing Negaduck had somewhat liked about the guy – he would always understand his clichés.
"Whaddaya say we go for a spin, eh fellas?" Liquidator gurgled to the eggmen.
Using the powers that came so naturally but were so impossible to explain, Liquidator summoned the water from the city's sewers. Manhole coverings flew into the air as jets of water pumped out the streets. Energy pumped through his body as Liquidator and the sewer water charged at the eggmen as one, large wave.
Before the drones could utter a grunt they were swept up in a torrent of water. Liquidator swam in a circle, making sure to catch every last zombie, until he had morphed into a cyclone of water.
Bulba roared in fury. Why did that damn duck's double have to get the better of him as well? No matter, he will just have to suffer all the more.
While Megavolt was teetering about nervously, Darkwing simply gawked at the waterspout surrounding him. They were in the middle of it, in the eye of the storm, while the eggmen were getting the ride of their life. He scouted the cyclone desperately for any sign of his sidekick, until he heard a strange grunting behind him.
"What do you think of my new right-hand man?" Bulba asked in a surprisingly calm manner, gesturing to Launchpad, who was standing alongside him obediently.
Darkwing swallowed his surge of jealousy and found that he could only glare at the bull contemptuously.
"What, Darkwing has nothing to say? I must admit, I am a teensy bit shocked…I would have thought that the, mighty, Darkwing Duck would not let a chance to state his last words slip," Bulba said, pushing his blaster arm directly against Darkwing's forehead.
The feel of cold metal on his feathers was nothing compared to the fearful tightening of Gosalyn's arms around his waist, or the anxious nuzzling of her beak into the back of his neck. The hatred burned within him like wildfire, but Darkwing just did not know what to do. Bulba was too irrational by this point – if he tried to stand up, he'd be shot. If he got the hell out of the way, Gosalyn would be shot. All he could do was sit there and act as the fragile wall between his daughter and her worst nightmare.
"Bulba listen to me – she's an eleven year old girl, just let her go, I'm the one you want, she has nothing to do with this, just let her go – "
Taurus ignored his pleas and said with evil delight, "I've lost my patience Darkwing. No more stalling – I will just end your pathetic life at this very moment. It may not be what I planned but, eh, good riddance."
"Bye Dad, I love you," Gosalyn whispered into his feathers.
Darkwing felt numb. All the words he wanted to say – to Launchpad, Morgana, and especially Gos, were lost. And now the little girl he held so dear was lost as well. Darkwing wanted nothing more than to tell her he was sorry, that she shouldn't be afraid, that he'd do all could to be there for her in death, but all he managed to choke out was, "I love you too Gos."
Darkwing found morbidly that he could not bring himself to shut his eyes. He stared at the laser cannon avidly until he noticed a black combat boot sail through the air and strike Bulba's hand. It knocked both the bull out of balance and the Devil's Eye from his grasp. His laser arm jerked to the side and fired, missing Darkwing and Gosalyn by inches. Aviana rushed forward and caught the orb before it hit the ground.
Wasting no time, Darkwing got to his feet the best he could with a broken arm.
"Gos, get somewhere safe!" he commanded, and was glad when she did not object.
Still keeping his eyes on the cyborg, Darkwing continued, "Good going Aviana, now, just give me the Eye and we'll take care of this beastly bovine – Aviana?"
She was not listening, but was instead staring at the orb intently.
"Uh Aviana, hate to break it to ya but we REALLY don't have time for admiring that thing," Darkwing urged impatiently.
The duckette just mouthed something and continued to stare at the Devil's Eye, her body beginning to shake.
"Give it to me, we had a deal!" Darkwing shouted forcefully.
Aviana shook her head and whispered hoarsely, "No…it's mine…it's finally mine…"
"Crap, now she's lost it!" Negaduck snapped suddenly, and marched over to her.
He made a reach for the orb, but Aviana pulled it away defensively.
"No, it's mine!" she hissed.
Negaduck made another grab for it, but Aviana squirmed out of the way.
"Just give it here, it apparently isn't very healthy for you!" he demanded.
"It's all I've wanted for years, how could it not be healthy for me?!"
"You're going insane!"
"Am not!"
"You're holding a black rock, staring at it like a crazed Amazon warrior and wearing one shoe. Hmm, seems a little psycho to me," Negaduck said tersely.
"Look who's talking – you're wearing a bright yellow jacket, a huge red hat, a black cape, and to top it all off you're not wearing pants. Hmm, seems a little psycho to me!" Aviana shouted back.
Negaduck scowled.
"Give it!"
"No!"
"GIVE IT!"
"NO!"
Negaduck made a wild grab for, while Aviana tried to keep him out of reach with her foot. He pushed forward and proved too much for her, finally wrapping his good hand around the Eye. He tugged, and she tugged back.
"Let…go!" Negaduck grunted.
"Ne…ver!" she grunted back.
As the two ducks wrestled for control, Taurus Bulba's short-fused temper ran out.
"Both of you are wrong, the Devil's Eye is mine! I sold my soul to it, I control it, it's MINE!"
These words seemed to hit home with Aviana.
"You sold your soul to it?!" she asked bewilderedly, but then yelped in pain.
The Devil's Eye was suddenly white-hot to the touch, burning with Taurus Bulba's anger. Aviana ground her teeth and tried to hold on…the Eye began to awake the dreadful memories, she could see them clearly…the red blood as she pulled the blade across her wrist…
The duckette cried out in anguish and released the Devil's Eye. She staggered backwards and fell, her hands still steaming from the heat. That left only Negaduck still holding the sizzling orb in the palm of his hand.
"One of you has come to your senses…now, just give the pretty stone to me…" Bulba persuaded to Negaduck quietly.
"DON'T GIVE IT TO HIM!" Darkwing and Aviana called out simultaneously.
Somewhere in the back of his mind Negaduck dully noted their advice and held onto the burning orb tightly. He didn't know if he should consider himself lucky that the blinding pain seemed to block out the horrible memories as he fell to his knees.
Negaduck was clutching the Devil's Eye with both hands now, his broken fingers seemed like a tickle compared to the burning anyway. He could barely tell that his whole body was trembling, that his face was distorted with pain, that he was sweating furiously; all he knew was that he was burning inside and out, and he couldn't let go.
Darkwing watched with bated breath as Negaduck writhed in pain. He looked at his double's anguished face and knew at once that he was practically looking into a mirror. It was his same face, the one he made when his arm had been broken, the same face that was too proud to let any sign of weakness show through.
Was that what Bulba had reduced them to? Two mallards at their lowest, trying everything they could just to survive? Darkwing heard a soft chuckle. He turned to see Taurus, who was staring with narrowed eyes at Negaduck and the Devil's Eye.
Without thinking, Darkwing Duck leapt forward and barreled into Taurus Bulba. Bulba lost eye contact, the Devil's Eye stopped burning, and Negaduck collapsed to the ground.
Darkwing shook his head, dizzy with pain. He immediately looked over to Negaduck, and gulped involuntarily. His double was laying strangely still.
Without warning Darkwing felt a cold hand seize him by the gruff of his neck. His arm wrenched painfully, and the crime fighter found himself too weak to struggle as Taurus Bulba brought him up to his face.
"Why are you so hard to kill?" the bull growled through his teeth.
Darkwing opened his beak to retort but gagged as Bulba tightened his chokehold.
"I hate you Darkwing Duck…" Taurus seethed, and his face was etched in hellish glee as he squeezed the mallard's neck.
The cyborg's enhanced senses became aware of an airborne object heading towards him.
"Not another damn boot," he said, and shot the object with his helmet weapons without even a glance.
A deafening CRACK reverberated around them. Taurus dropped Darkwing in surprise; Liquidator broke his whirlpool, scattering eggmen everywhere.
"Side effects may include extreme dizziness and nasea," Liquidator moaned.
Bulba frowned. That was a hell of a lot of noise for a boot. He turned his head to see what he had shot, and his insides squirmed.
The Devil's Eye was laying on the ground, broken in two, clean halves.
Darkwing gazed at the broken orb, the reality slowly sinking in. The only one who could've thrown it was –
Negaduck. Darkwing snapped his gaze to his double, who was breathing hoarsely, shaking like mad, his arm still poised from the throw. Darkwing locked eyes with his mirror image. Despite his exhaustion, Negaduck still glowered at him with an intense mixture of disgust and triumph, and suddenly it all came through to Darkwing. Negaduck had realized his most hated enemy had saved his life, and saving Darkwing's was his own twisted way of getting back at him for it.
Their staring match was cut short by a strangely familiar rushing of air. Heaps of white mists were pouring from the destroyed Eye, all making beelines to their eggmen owners.
Gosalyn watched as a large mist melted into Launchpad. The duckling blinked, and Launchpad's ghastly features had faded into his usual, warm appearance. The pilot shook his head. He looked around, the picture of confusion.
"Wha…boy, this is strange…where am I? I don't think I shoulda had that last Hippo Burger…"
Gosalyn lunged forward, grabbing him by his scarf and tugging him down to eye level.
"Launchpad!" she demanded sternly, "What's my name?"
Launchpad frowned and asked, "Is this some sorta trick question Gos?"
"You're back!" Gosalyn cheered, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Yup, I'm back!…wait, back from where?" the pilot asked.
"We've got a lot of explaining to do…"
They heard a strangled cry, and their attention turned to Taurus Bulba. Gosalyn and Launchpad gasped, staring at one of the strangest sights they had ever seen. A large portal, much like the one, Gosalyn noted, that lead into limbo, had opened up, red flames licking the entrance. Bulba was being sucked into it as if the portal were some kind of vacuum. His fingers scraped the ground as he was slowly drug towards the threshold.
"Mark my words…Darkwing…you haven't…seen the last of…Taurus…BULBA!" the cyborg screamed, before he flew into the doorway. The portal squeezed shut, and everything was quiet.
There was a strange, empty silence surrounding them. Negaduck sat on the ground in a dazed state, nursing his aching hands in a cool puddle of water. They were torn, shiny red, and bleeding; he had practically peeled the Devil's Eye off his palms. He wasn't all that surprised when the puddle moved, morphing into the Liquidator, who gave the mallard an almost sympathetic look. Well, as sympathetic as a super villain could look.
The rest of the Fearsome Four made their way towards Negaduck, looking at him in an almost "what do we do now?" fashion.
"Whoa, that was definitely the biggest cyborg I've ever seen sucked into a portal against his will," Megavolt finally muttered to anyone who would listen.
Aviana trudged over and half sat, half collapsed next to Negaduck, looking very pale.
"You okay?" she asked the villain halfheartedly.
Negaduck glared at her for a moment and then croaked, "What just happened?"
"When the Devil's Eye broke, it broke open limbo. All the souls escaped. So, the Devil wanted his eye back, and he opened Hell. And because Bulba sold his soul to it, he went to Hell too," Aviana said in a calm tone, as if this sort of thing happened every day.
"Oh, of course," Negaduck said, equally calm.
Negaduck caught the blank stare on the duckette's face. He had never been one for diplomacy, but he ventured awkwardly, "Sorry about your…Eye…thing… I guess you're a little upset…"
"I don't know how we lived through that," Aviana snapped in a sudden, strong voice, "We shouldn't have, and now I lost the most important thing to me. I don't know how you live in this city, I don't understand it, this place is…I don't know, but I'm leaving it. Here – "
Aviana pulled out an aged piece of parchment and shoved it into Negaduck's jacket.
"Take this. You'll need it more than I will," she paused, then growled, "God that sounded cliché. Anyway, good luck living in this freak show. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Negaduck looked to his hands, then to Darkwing, glaring fiercely.
"I'm sure."
"Goodbye Fuzzy."
"Goodbye Girlie."
Aviana shook her head, and walked quietly over to the fire escape. Kicking off her remaining boot, she disappeared over the edge of the rooftop.
Negaduck gingerly picked up the aged parchment and held it to his face. He was greeted with a bizarre set of letters in a language he couldn't read.
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" he hissed, then placed the parchment back beneath his jacket.
Suddenly he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Negaduck spun around to face a paling Quackerjack.
"WHAT?!" he roared.
"Jeez, you don't have to be so huffy – ahem, my associates and I were wondering um, what now?" Quackjack asked.
Negaduck glanced in Darkwing's direction, then to his hands. If anything could have risen the crime fighter on his "I-Hate-You-O-Meter"…
Negaduck turned to the four villains.
"Meet me at the Old Haunt. The Fearsome Five is back in business."
NOTE: Don't forget to read the epilogue…