Well, here we are at chapter two. Thank you if you've made it even
this far. And, of course, I appreciate all reviews. I encourage you to R
and R, but I never insist. All I ask is that you please enjoy the story.
Goslin ________________________________________________________________________
Goslin Mallard held the letter up to the lamp light, which had yet to be extinguished in her nightly routine. The word NEGADUCK was written in all capitals. defiantly not by hand in some strange font and, of course, a blood red color. This was definatly not like Negaduck. He had no patience for anything but reeking havoc, which, surprisingly, didn't require the skill. No, this letter took time and effort and concentration. The envelope's tongue was lined with gold outlining, something Negaduck would despise. No, this letter wasn't written by the person the name implied. Goslin was more than sure that Negaduck would commit suicide before bringing such a beauty into the world. She couldn't jump to assumptions, though. Maybe Negaduck had changed. After all. it had been nine years since anyone had so much as spoken the name. On that account, Goslin recalled, wasn't he supposed to be dead? Yes, sucked into a warp in time that would lead him to the Negaverse or somewhere where he was sure to remain for the rest of his days. No matter what, there was still the same problem. Opening the envelope was far too risky. Especially if it is the real Negaduck. There was only one person she could think it appropriate to turn too, even at this hour of night.
Honker Muddlefoot awoke to the sound of his home phone ringing. He lifted himself out of bed, really not wanting to be awake at 2:30 am. He had gotten out of science: SHUSH training early and had hoped to get some extra sleep in. Unfortunately for him, his request was far from being granted as the phone chimed for a third time, leaving him to scurry downstairs in an effort to pick it up before whomever had called decided he was a lost cause.
"Hello?" Honker said, in an effort not to sound so sleepy.
"Honker? Is that you? Jeez, you sound tired. This is Goslin."
"Goslin,"
"Huh?"
"Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Uhmmm..," she said, taking a small break to look at her watch. "It's 2:36." She sounded a trifle triumphant and not in the least sympathetic.
"Yeah, I know, so I'm tired. I need sleep. What on earth could be so important?"
"Check this; a letter from Negaduck himself."
"Goslin, when was the last time you had a cat scan?"
"Very funny. I'm serious. I figured I could trust you."
Honker took a deep sigh before answering. "Have you opened it?"
Through all of Honker's complaining, Goslin could still hear a hint of curiosity in his voice, she thought to herself as she drove her old Ford Mustang to SHUSH laboratories. He had sounded even more interested when he had heard of the letter's virginity of being opened. She herself had thoughts to what was in the letter, but she kept them private. Perhaps they would have been more forward to her if her main concern hadn't been weather the letter contained something deadly. The thought had crossed her mind that maybe the reason Negaduck had the letter so decked out was his way of saying 'goodbye'. Still, it wasn't his style. He would have done something more gruesome. Why would he want to kill her, anyway? Come to think of it, it was a stupid question to ask. Of course. She was the daughter of Darkwing Duck, his arch nemesis. And after her father's death, he may have been angered that Negaduck hadn't been the one who killed him. One question still remained placid and calm though. Why was Negaduck back in the real world? ________________________________________________________________________
Honker placed the envelope on the heavy machine that he had recently earned a license to use. It was mainly used to evaluate clues to criminal activity and, well, you couldn't say our characters weren't utilizing it correctly. A soft buzzing noise escaped the machine as it scanned the envelope from front to back, inside and outside. After a minute, the machine produced an answer.
"The test for drugs turned out negative. There's nothing dangerous in that envelope, Goslin."
"Would drugs include things like ANTHRAX?"
"Yeah, I meant to say that too, it's just that I'm."
"Tired?" Goslin finished.
"Yeah."
"So, shall we open it?"
"You do the honors." Honker said, recognizing her impatience.
Goslin skimmed her long, slender fingers over the gold seal of the envelope. It seemed almost to beg her to open it. She took a deep sigh and ripped open the seal, pulling out its skimpy contents. Inside was a thin piece of cardboard with some kind of organized hole cut in it. There were two long vertical rectangular holes cut into the small, thin piece she held; both identical with designs near the top of them. Deeper in the envelope Goslin saw a small, flat flashlight. And on a separate note attached to the cardboard (resembling somewhat a post-it note) was a piece of paper that read:
Come to me, bitch
"Honker, did you.?"
"Yeah, I read it."
"And did you.?" Goslin was having a hard time comprehending all that had just happened, all that she had seen. I suppose it would have helped if any of this had made sense to her. Honker, on the other hand, was sitting in a chair opposite her, head in hands, trying to figure this out. On the floor in front of him was the piece of cardboard from the envelope.
"It's the tower." Said Honker, barely above a whisper.
"What?" Asked Goslin.
"It-it's the tower of St. Canard. You know, your dad's old hideout."
"You mean, that's what the cardboard is?"
"Yeah."
"But then, what does he mean by."
"The flashlight." Honker muttered to himself, "THE FLASHLIGHT," he yelled at the top of his lungs as his chest puffed up with pride and a smile kissed the corner of his lips.
At the other extreme, Goslin seemed unimpressed. "What about it?"
"If we shine the flashlight on the cardboard, it does." he paused to pick up both the cardboard and the flashlight, 'THIS." In the nearly dark room, it was clearer than ever what they did once put together. The flashlight was held behind the cardboard and on the wall was a perfect replica of the towers of St. Canard in shadows.
"I get it, so maybe he wants us to shine this from my dad's old hideout window and flash the shadow on." she paused to recollect, "what's the building across from the tower"
"Which end?"
"The only end with a window, smart one."
"Uhm." he suddenly looked up with recognition in his eyes, "the old Fearsome Five headquarters!" ______________________________________________________________________
Honker and Goslin both let out a hearty cough as they tried to pry open the old hideout's only window. When the rusted metal near the bottom gave way, a cloud of dust appeared in the air, offspringing more coughing spells from both parties.
Honker pulled out from his pocket the piece of cardboard and positioned it right across the street where the old Fearsome Five headquarters still stood, proud as ever, but probably as dusty as the old Darkwing Duck hideout. When this deed was done, he turned off all the lights to the upstairs compartment of the hideout. Then, his hand shaking with anticipation, he grabbed the flashlight and positioned it behind the cardboard. He switched the thing on and waited, as the towers of St. Canard's shadow loomed, 10 times as big was it was on the SHUSH wall, on the side of the Fearsome Five headquarters.
Honker stood, sweat dripping down his brow for what seemed like ten minutes, but in reality may have been the same number in seconds. A motion was seen in the bright shadows on the headquarters, but before they could determine what it was, a knife pierced it's presence with aluminum clang against the huge portrait of Darkwing Duck which was relocated upstairs after his death. Attached to the knife, which was covered in blood, was another note, same lining, same font.
Goslin ________________________________________________________________________
Goslin Mallard held the letter up to the lamp light, which had yet to be extinguished in her nightly routine. The word NEGADUCK was written in all capitals. defiantly not by hand in some strange font and, of course, a blood red color. This was definatly not like Negaduck. He had no patience for anything but reeking havoc, which, surprisingly, didn't require the skill. No, this letter took time and effort and concentration. The envelope's tongue was lined with gold outlining, something Negaduck would despise. No, this letter wasn't written by the person the name implied. Goslin was more than sure that Negaduck would commit suicide before bringing such a beauty into the world. She couldn't jump to assumptions, though. Maybe Negaduck had changed. After all. it had been nine years since anyone had so much as spoken the name. On that account, Goslin recalled, wasn't he supposed to be dead? Yes, sucked into a warp in time that would lead him to the Negaverse or somewhere where he was sure to remain for the rest of his days. No matter what, there was still the same problem. Opening the envelope was far too risky. Especially if it is the real Negaduck. There was only one person she could think it appropriate to turn too, even at this hour of night.
Honker Muddlefoot awoke to the sound of his home phone ringing. He lifted himself out of bed, really not wanting to be awake at 2:30 am. He had gotten out of science: SHUSH training early and had hoped to get some extra sleep in. Unfortunately for him, his request was far from being granted as the phone chimed for a third time, leaving him to scurry downstairs in an effort to pick it up before whomever had called decided he was a lost cause.
"Hello?" Honker said, in an effort not to sound so sleepy.
"Honker? Is that you? Jeez, you sound tired. This is Goslin."
"Goslin,"
"Huh?"
"Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Uhmmm..," she said, taking a small break to look at her watch. "It's 2:36." She sounded a trifle triumphant and not in the least sympathetic.
"Yeah, I know, so I'm tired. I need sleep. What on earth could be so important?"
"Check this; a letter from Negaduck himself."
"Goslin, when was the last time you had a cat scan?"
"Very funny. I'm serious. I figured I could trust you."
Honker took a deep sigh before answering. "Have you opened it?"
Through all of Honker's complaining, Goslin could still hear a hint of curiosity in his voice, she thought to herself as she drove her old Ford Mustang to SHUSH laboratories. He had sounded even more interested when he had heard of the letter's virginity of being opened. She herself had thoughts to what was in the letter, but she kept them private. Perhaps they would have been more forward to her if her main concern hadn't been weather the letter contained something deadly. The thought had crossed her mind that maybe the reason Negaduck had the letter so decked out was his way of saying 'goodbye'. Still, it wasn't his style. He would have done something more gruesome. Why would he want to kill her, anyway? Come to think of it, it was a stupid question to ask. Of course. She was the daughter of Darkwing Duck, his arch nemesis. And after her father's death, he may have been angered that Negaduck hadn't been the one who killed him. One question still remained placid and calm though. Why was Negaduck back in the real world? ________________________________________________________________________
Honker placed the envelope on the heavy machine that he had recently earned a license to use. It was mainly used to evaluate clues to criminal activity and, well, you couldn't say our characters weren't utilizing it correctly. A soft buzzing noise escaped the machine as it scanned the envelope from front to back, inside and outside. After a minute, the machine produced an answer.
"The test for drugs turned out negative. There's nothing dangerous in that envelope, Goslin."
"Would drugs include things like ANTHRAX?"
"Yeah, I meant to say that too, it's just that I'm."
"Tired?" Goslin finished.
"Yeah."
"So, shall we open it?"
"You do the honors." Honker said, recognizing her impatience.
Goslin skimmed her long, slender fingers over the gold seal of the envelope. It seemed almost to beg her to open it. She took a deep sigh and ripped open the seal, pulling out its skimpy contents. Inside was a thin piece of cardboard with some kind of organized hole cut in it. There were two long vertical rectangular holes cut into the small, thin piece she held; both identical with designs near the top of them. Deeper in the envelope Goslin saw a small, flat flashlight. And on a separate note attached to the cardboard (resembling somewhat a post-it note) was a piece of paper that read:
Come to me, bitch
"Honker, did you.?"
"Yeah, I read it."
"And did you.?" Goslin was having a hard time comprehending all that had just happened, all that she had seen. I suppose it would have helped if any of this had made sense to her. Honker, on the other hand, was sitting in a chair opposite her, head in hands, trying to figure this out. On the floor in front of him was the piece of cardboard from the envelope.
"It's the tower." Said Honker, barely above a whisper.
"What?" Asked Goslin.
"It-it's the tower of St. Canard. You know, your dad's old hideout."
"You mean, that's what the cardboard is?"
"Yeah."
"But then, what does he mean by."
"The flashlight." Honker muttered to himself, "THE FLASHLIGHT," he yelled at the top of his lungs as his chest puffed up with pride and a smile kissed the corner of his lips.
At the other extreme, Goslin seemed unimpressed. "What about it?"
"If we shine the flashlight on the cardboard, it does." he paused to pick up both the cardboard and the flashlight, 'THIS." In the nearly dark room, it was clearer than ever what they did once put together. The flashlight was held behind the cardboard and on the wall was a perfect replica of the towers of St. Canard in shadows.
"I get it, so maybe he wants us to shine this from my dad's old hideout window and flash the shadow on." she paused to recollect, "what's the building across from the tower"
"Which end?"
"The only end with a window, smart one."
"Uhm." he suddenly looked up with recognition in his eyes, "the old Fearsome Five headquarters!" ______________________________________________________________________
Honker and Goslin both let out a hearty cough as they tried to pry open the old hideout's only window. When the rusted metal near the bottom gave way, a cloud of dust appeared in the air, offspringing more coughing spells from both parties.
Honker pulled out from his pocket the piece of cardboard and positioned it right across the street where the old Fearsome Five headquarters still stood, proud as ever, but probably as dusty as the old Darkwing Duck hideout. When this deed was done, he turned off all the lights to the upstairs compartment of the hideout. Then, his hand shaking with anticipation, he grabbed the flashlight and positioned it behind the cardboard. He switched the thing on and waited, as the towers of St. Canard's shadow loomed, 10 times as big was it was on the SHUSH wall, on the side of the Fearsome Five headquarters.
Honker stood, sweat dripping down his brow for what seemed like ten minutes, but in reality may have been the same number in seconds. A motion was seen in the bright shadows on the headquarters, but before they could determine what it was, a knife pierced it's presence with aluminum clang against the huge portrait of Darkwing Duck which was relocated upstairs after his death. Attached to the knife, which was covered in blood, was another note, same lining, same font.
