Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine, I just write about 'em.
Long chapter to make up for a long hiatus. Again folks, the reviews are GREAT. Thanks everyone!
BAM!!!
Negaduck kicked open the door to his hideout, ignoring the shower of plaster which followed. The three Doberman roused from their slumber and instantly began slobbering and snarling. They passed by Negaduck timidly and continued to the small duckling behind him.
Nega-Gosalyn stepped back fearfully as the glistening fangs moved closer. She stretched out a shaky hand, but stole it away quickly when the largest dog took a snap at it.
"Back, ya stupid mutts! BACK!" Negaduck yelled in a bark much worse than that of his hounds'.
The dogs slunk away into the darkness. Negaduck grumbled unmentionables to himself while Nega-Gosalyn frowned. What had happened to the happy, smiling Negaduck?
"Back by popular demand, we're finally here!"
"We would've been here sooner if Sparky could've remembered where he parked the car!"
"I didn't see YOU leading us right to the spot Chuckles! And if you call me Sparky one more time – "
"Don't you guys ever quit yelling? You even making my roots hurt."
Nega-Gosalyn's eyes lit up as the Fearsome Four made their presence known. Without thinking she dashed over to them and exclaimed with a wide grin, "Hi guys!"
She then hugged the closest member, who happened to be Megavolt.
The rodent scratched his head. Who was this kid – and why the heck was she hugging him?! He looked to Quackerjack for help but the jester only burst into scorning laughter.
"Gee Megs, who knew you were so popular with the ladies?"
"Shut up!"
Megavolt shot a bolt of electricity at Quackerjack, who literally danced out of the way. With a gasp Nega-Gosalyn pulled back. Suddenly she felt very foolish.
"Oh my gosh, I have completely forgotten! Over here they must be bad guys!" she whispered to herself.
"We're bad guys?" Megavolt blurted in amazement.
The rest of the Four nodded.
"Oh yeah. Heh, I forgot too," he chuckled.
Negaduck rolled his eyes.
"Back, ya stupid knobs, back!" he barked.
Looking slightly dejected the Fearsome Four slunk into the darkness and joined the dogs. Nega-Gosalyn watched them with a forlorn face. She was beginning to realize how much she loved the Friendly Four.
But she must put them behind her, she must. She had her real guardian back, and he was reformed, supposedly. Shifting her gaze upward to meet his, Nega-Gosalyn admired him with childlike innocence.
Negaduck looked back at her, but his stare was far from innocent. His scheming brain was working at a furious pace. What had he done on the roof that made her appeal to him like she was? For some odd reason he could not push the thought of 'pants' from his mind…or maybe lack thereof…bah, whatever, it didn't matter.
The black-masked mallard cleared his throat and began, "You've got a buncha questions worth answering here kid."
"Anything, just ask," Nega-Gosalyn replied.
"I see…how about enlightening me on how you managed to get here in Darkwing's neck of the woods from back home?"
The duckling swallowed. On their walk to the tower Darkwing Duck had told her many things, one of which being to never tell anyone about the Negaverse. And never, under any circumstances, tell Negaduck how to get there.
"Well…um…" she sputtered.
Negaduck took an aggressive step towards her. His black mask seemed unusually intimidating.
"Spill it! How'd you get here, how do we get back home?!"
"I – I can't tell you."
Negaduck's eyebrows raised. Obviously, the "scare it outta 'em" tactic wouldn't be as effective here as it was with the Fearsome Four.
"And you can't tell me because…" he trailed off.
His theoretical protégé looked at the floor in guilt and whispered, "Darkwing told me not to."
Negaduck made a sort of strangled cry and yanked on the edges of his hat. The redhead frowned, practically feeling the heat of his steadily increasing blood temperature.
"But you still care about me right? You said so on the roof, remember?" she asked hurriedly.
The red fedora remained slightly crinkled from where Negaduck's nails had dug into it. He stared at her with a blank face. The memories were running a marathon in his head. The smile, the laugh, the hug…
Ha, she really thought he loved her! Man, wait until she found out that he really…wait a minute. Nega-Gosalyn possessed the one thing he truly wanted – the key to the Negaverse. The real Negaduck could never pry that information from her, but a false Negaduck held a proverbial crowbar. She was a child, easily to manipulate. Well, maybe not as easy to manipulate as Darkwing, but still easy. Her emotions were on strings and he was the puppet master. If he played his cards right, he could win her over and gain her valuable trust.
Negaduck fought to suppress a bout of maniacal laughter and settled for the grin of a hungry cat promising a cornered mouse some cheese.
"Of course I care about you," he lied silkily, "I just never knew how much until I was trapped here without you."
Nega-Gosalyn gave him an uneasy smile. Something deep down in her gut told her not to trust him…but she wanted to so badly…
Unable to restrain herself, Nega-Gosalyn leapt forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. Negaduck ground his teeth and clutched his beak. That was thing he had almost forgotten about her: she liked to hug. A lot. This was going to take some getting used to.
"Okay. Enough," Negaduck said in a tight voice.
The duckling released him, her face glowing.
The mallard readjusted his ruffled jacket lapels. This pretending to be a loving father business was going to be tougher than he thought. And it wasn't going to be any easier living on a day and a half without sleep.
The weary springs protested under his weight as Negaduck sank onto the threadbare couch. His eyelids were sagging and it was abnormally difficult to keep his head up.
Nega-Gosalyn asked excitedly, "So, what do we do first?"
Her so-called father yawned.
"We take a nap," he responded, snoring before his head hit the cushions.
"Is he awake yet?" Morgana asked quietly.
Launchpad eyed the purple clad mallard hesitantly and replied, "Er, not really…"
"No Gosalyn…take the Chihuahua out of the casserole…" Darkwing Duck moaned in his sleep.
Launchpad had been keeping watch of his friend from the blue chairs while Morgana paced back and forth in thought. The crime fighter was laid out on the worn couch in his living room, still out cold from the night before. He grunted suddenly and slid his fingers beneath his mask to rub his eyes.
"What's going on…where's the Fearsome Five? Did we get 'em?" he asked, getting wider awake by the second.
"Sorry DW, they got away," Launchpad informed.
Darkwing felt himself filling with anger, both at himself and at his sidekick.
"How could you let them get away?!" Darkwing demanded of Launchpad as he pushed himself upright, "I did the tough part, handling Negaduck! All you had to do was crunch his craven cronies – "
The pilot looked hurt, but Morgana interjected furiously, "Don't you dare blame Launchpad for anything! If it weren't for him you would've been killed!"
"What are you talking about?!" Darkwing cried, looking at the sorceress as if she had three beaks.
"Ya passed out on the Ratcatcher," Launchpad reminded him quietly.
"I told you that you needed to sleep, but did you listen to me? Of course not! You think you're invincible – that the rest of your body is as hard as your head!" Morgana snapped.
"I never said I'm invincible, just undefeatable!" Darkwing asserted.
Morgana shook her head.
"Who was that little girl?" Launchpad asked his partner, "She looked exactly like Gos, but I didn't think pink dresses were really her style…"
The mallard's eyes darted about the room, noticing for the first time the conspicuous absence of his daughter.
"Gosalyn, where is – she left the house, didn't she?! She probably missed school to boot! I knew it, now I'm probably going to have to make bail again – "
"Launchpad made sure Gosalyn went to school this morning, and now she's safely in her room, I checked," Morgana cut in pointedly, "but quit trying to change the subject. Who was that girl? Did she have something to do with that Negaverse?"
"The what-verse?" Launchpad blurted.
"The Not-Worth-Mentioning-verse," Darkwing said in an attempt to put an end to the subject.
Morgana raised and eyebrow and asked, "Well if it's not worth mentioning, than why did you have me open it up, hmm? Why did Negaduck want it opened up, for that matter?"
The masked mallard balled his fists at the mention of his opposite's name.
"That vile villain, I almost forgot! I found out what he did to you Morg and I was about to show him what for but then – "
"You're changing the subject again," Morgana reminded him through clenched teeth.
"Oh, well sooorrry…what was the subject again?"
"The Negaverse."
"Right. The Negaverse…"
Darkwing thought quickly, trying to come up with a way to discontinue the particular conversation without making them think he was crazy…well, crazier than they already believed he was…
"I won't tell you anything about it. If you want to know more about the Negaverse, then just jump into a birthday cake like I did."
Judging by the looks on Morgana and Launchpad's faces, this was not the way to go.
"You…jumped into a…birthday cake?" Morgana asked hesitantly.
"Hey, where was I for that one?" Launchpad added.
Morgana sighed heavily.
"Listen Dark, you know I trust you, but lately you really haven't been making much sense…"
"C'mon, say it. You think I'm losing my marbles, don't you?" Darkwing hissed.
"No, it's not that! Well, yes, sort of…" Morgana rambled, "I mean with the Throat-Bloodier and now the cake thing…but that's it, correct? You haven't been seeing or hearing anything else out of the ordinary have you?"
"Um…no…" Darkwing lied. Launchpad gave him a meaningful look and he muttered, "Oh fine. I saw this big bird monster – I swear! But Launchpad and the Fearsome Four claim to have not seen a thing, which I think is entirely preposterous – how can you miss a two-headed bird for Pete's sake?!"
Morgana's eyes widened and she pressed, "A two-headed bird? You mean the Spine Snapper?"
"Hey, yeah, now that you mention it I remember Gos bringing up that monstrosity after reading that book you gave her…that's the second time I've seen something from that Transylvanian Beasts nonsense!" Darkwing said suspiciously, "Morgana, are you sure that book isn't cursed or something? No offense, but your track record isn't exactly stellar when it comes to this sorta thing."
"Why would I give Gosalyn something that's cursed?! And even if it was, YOU wouldn't be the only one to witness these apparitions – dozens of others would!" the sorceress retorted.
Darkwing Duck's eyes lit up.
"But I wasn't the only one, I can't be crazy! Negaduck saw it too!"
"So now you're comparing your sanity to Negaduck's?" Launchpad pointed out.
"Yes! Er, I mean no! I mean…Negaduck's nuts, but not that kind of nuts…why would we see the exact same thing?"
Morgana pondered this for a moment. Darkwing and Negaduck were practically identical, and now Gosalyn had a look alike as well…
A familiar question popped into her mind. Every time she had ever asked Darkwing about it he had always evaded answering, but now was as good a time as any to ask him once more.
"Dark, would this whole Negaverse thing…" the sorceress began carefully, "would it have anything to do with, um, with why you and Negaduck look so much alike?"
Darkwing slunk down into his seat, secretly vowing to never try to put anything past Morgana ever again.
"Mr. Banana Brain…oh Mr. Banana Brain…come out come out wherever you are…"
"If he ran off, you really think he'd come here?"
"Keep your battery on, I'm sure he's here."
Quackerjack and Megavolt's voices echoed against the stone walls of the lighthouse as they ascended it's dizzying heights. They reached the top of the stairs and stepped into Megavolt's hideout, the floor creaking wearily.
"Aha! There you are ya little scoundrel!" Quackerjack cried joyously, rushing forward and scooping his doll off of a microwave. He turned to Megavolt and announced, "Told ya he was here."
The rodent scratched his head, looking confused.
"But, I don't get it, how'd he get here?"
"How do you think I did, Sid?" Mr. Banana Brain asked, "I walked."
Megavolt blinked.
"Hey Megs, you got anything to eat in this pigsty? I'm starved!" Quackerjack yelled from the other side of the room.
"Can't you just go to one of those Hamburger Hippopotamus places or something? Why do you always have to freeload off of me?"
Megavolt heard Quackerjack shout angrily, "I can't believe this – you have six refrigerators, but no stinkin' food!"
"The light bulbs that live in the refrigerators didn't want a bunch of leftover food rooming with them. They said it smells and would bring the property value down," the rodent muttered absently.
He made his way over to a tattered old dresser and yanked open his sock drawer. The socks he had on were wearing thin, and he hated the way his rubber boots chafed his toes. Megavolt was sifting through his various socks when his gloved hand brushed against something hard. His brow furrowed with curiosity and he picked up the unknown object.
It was one half of what had once been an ominous, jet black orb – the Devil's Eye. A brief collection of memories fluttered through his mind – terrible zombie eggmen, a huge cyborg snapping Darkwing Duck's arm like a twig, Negaduck throwing the orb at the cyborg, he and Quackerjack picking up the two halves…
Quackerjack was asking him something about how he had managed to get the refrigerators up into the lighthouse to begin with, but Megavolt was too preoccupied with this half of the Eye to answer. It looked so harmless and unassuming, no one would have guessed it had once possessed a dreadful power.
"Megavolt are you even listening to me?!" Quackerjack questioned huffily.
"Huh?" grunted Megavolt, jerking out of his reverie.
The jester lowered his gaze to the black stone in his friend's hand.
"What made you get that thing out for?"
"I dunno…"
"Oh, let me guess – you can't remember. Is that it, huh?"
"No, it's not that, I was just thinking…maybe when this Devil's Eyeball – "
"Eye."
"Yeah, when this Devil's Eye split in two, maybe it perhaps foreshadows or is symbolic of the eventual schism that will spread between close friends and teams in the near future," Megavolt mused thoughtfully.
There was a very long pause with crickets providing the background music. Quackerjack stared at him for awhile, his face expressionless, until finally –
"C'mon Megavolt, it's just a big black paperweight," he countered, then broke into a singsong voice, "Little Jack Horner sat in a corner, eating his Christmas pie. He stuck in his thumb, pulled out a plumb, and said 'Megavolt's an idiot!' I mean, did you just come up with that drivel right now?"
"Come up with what drivel?" Megavolt asked blankly.
Quackerjack rolled his eyes, but suddenly his face stretched with a wide grin.
"Hey, who was that little creampuff who hugged you at the hideout? I simply must remember her when Christmas rolls around for that little stunt."
"How the heck should I know? But you know, she really reminded me of that one member of the Darkwing cult…"
"Oh yeah, the one who wears pigtails and kicks shins! She really did look like her, now that you mention it."
"Yeah, that one. Oh, what's her name…Rosalyn?"
"No you doof, it's not Rosalyn," Quackerjack scoffed.
"I think I knew a Rosalyn in high school," Megavolt mused.
"No you didn't."
"Did so!"
"You probably don't even remember finishing high school!"
"That's funny, I really don't…"
"Oh well, maybe we can play twenty questions with Negaduck tomorrow to find out who she is – or hopscotch! We could play hopscotch!" Quackerjack said randomly, "I love hopscotch, how could you NOT love hopscotch – "
Megavolt cut in, "Hey, what if, hypothetically, that little girl is that other little girl's twin from another universe?"
There was another heavy silence before the two villains burst out laughing.
"Oh yes, of course, that must be it!" Quackerjack sniggered.
"Everything would be the opposite in that universe!" Megavolt continued.
"Oh oh and Negaduck would rule supreme!" the jester added.
They laughed harder.
Megavolt clutched his side as he said, "Then I guess we'd be good guys – get this, instead of the Fearsome Four, we'd be the Friendly Four!"
They were practically rolling on the floor now.
"And, hee hee, how would we get to said universe Megavolt?" Quackerjack asked facetiously, wiping tears out of his eyes.
"Um, let's see," Megavolt thought aloud, trying to come up with the most ridiculous method possible, "oh I know – jump into a cake!"
" – a birthday cake – "
" – in a private room – "
" – of a bakery!"
The two laughed at the absurdity of it all.
Quackerjack added amidst a fit of chuckles, "Wait wait I got it! Remember that time we threw Darkwing Duck into a cake and Negaduck got all in a tizzy?"
"No."
"C'mon, remember, 'You knobs, you've ruined everything. You've thrown Darkwing Duck into the Negaverse! BLARGH!'"
"Oh yeah, his whole 'secret hideout' shebang," Megavolt remembered.
Quackerjack whispered dramatically, "Megavolt…that could be the alternate universe!"
For a moment they thought their sides would split with laughter.
"Oh man this is too funny…and I bet now Negaduck wants to go back!" Megavolt giggled.
"Ha, yeah, to create more unnecessary pain and suffering!" Quackerjack returned.
Megavolt's eyes lit up.
"And he'd live in a house! With that kid! And instead of cleaning the house up for chores, she'd dirty the house up!"
"Yeah, and he'd have a sidekick like Darkwing's – "
" – and he'd live in the middle of suburbia – "
" – with goofball neighbors – "
" – AND HAVE BACKYARD BIRTHDAY PARTIES!"
The two villains found they could not go on. Their insane laughter echoed throughout the night.
He marched towards the edge like a zombie, each heavy step bringing him that much closer. The wind down below was like a mere sneeze compared to the ferocious gusts here atop St. Canard Tower. His black cape flapped frantically behind him, and though he staggered in the wind's push and pull, his hat managed to remain on his head.
Negaduck reached the edge of the skyscaper and peered down into the vast sea of buildings and streets with cars swimming through it like schools of fish. There was nothing between him and a long, deadly plummet.
His webbed toes curled over the edge like a diving board. As he stared death in the face, his mind screamed. It was as though he was composed of two beings – one was miles away, shrieking fruitlessly for the other one to step away from the edge. Negaduck wanted to run as far as possible, to be safe and secure, but at the same time he felt the irresistible urge to jump. To leap into the air and fall. There was power in this; his power, the power of decision and control over his own fate.
A strong gust of wind nudged him forward. Jump, it pleaded, in an accented, strangely familiar voice, fall…
Negaduck stared into the sun and spread his arms, filled with the primal idea of avian flight. He closed his eyes…bent his knees…the sun was so cold…
Something was different. Negaduck chanced an open eye and his jaw dropped at what he saw. St. Canard Tower was gone, and he was now standing in the middle of a bright, grassy green field. Vibrant wildflowers speckled the landscape like a dusting of confetti. The sun was bright and warm, and the far off sound of singing floated in the air.
"What the…" Negaduck murmured.
The singing grew louder. Nearer. Suddenly, dozens of Little Lost Bunnies were pouring over the hills, heading straight for him.
"There he is! There's Negaducky!" one of the Bunnies cried.
With a collective shout of joy, the Little Lost Bunnies came dashing at him.
"AAARRRRGGGHHH!"
Negaduck screamed in horror and sprinted in the opposite direction. He had to get away from the Bunnies as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder to see the colorful rodents closing in on him at a remarkable pace. Damn, those fluffy freaks were fast!
The Bunnies caught up to him easily and threw themselves upon him in a playful tackle. Negaduck squirmed and scrambled but to no avail. He was going to be smothered to death by the Little Lost Bunnies…
The next thing the mallard knew the Bunnies had lifted him to his feet. They formed a large circle, all facing inward, which they linked hand in hand. To his dismay, Negaduck himself was part of the circle, joined by two Bunnies on either side.
"Lemme go you bunch of sickening little pipsqueaks!" he roared as he attempted to tug his hands free of the Bunnies' iron grip.
The singing started up again with renewed vigor. The Little Lost Bunnies danced rhythmically in a circle with Negaduck being drug along like an innocent man being led to the electric chair…they spun, faster and faster…the singing became one booming voice…their cherub-like faces became a multicolored blur of motion…Negaduck was tripping and stumbling trying to keep up with the insane dance –
"NO! NO MORE DANCING BUNNIES! STOP!"
"Calm down Negaduck, you're only dreaming!"
The villain opened his eyes. Once they adjusted to the darkness he found he was in his hideout, on the couch, with Nega-Gosalyn clutching his hand and fixing him with a worried stare.
"Phew…it was just a dream," Negaduck breathed to himself.
And a bizarre dream at that. The building part was nothing out of the ordinary; ever since the night with that wacko cyborg and the Devil's Eye he had dreamt of leaping off frightening heights – but Little Lost Bunnies? That was definitely a new one. Maybe that coffee he drank yesterday was worse than he had originally thought.
"Do you feel okay?" Nega-Gosalyn asked in a maternal tone and felt his forehead, "You seem a little warm."
Negaduck jerked his head out of the way and scowled.
"Would you quit it, I didn't ask for a diagnosis!"
The duckling yanked her hand back as if it were bitten, staring at him with wide, emerald eyes. Cringing inwardly, Negaduck struggled for a way to make up for lost ground.
"I meant uh, quit it, I don't need a diagnosis, because I, um, because I – I already have one! Doctor says it's indigestion."
Nega-Gosalyn's face softened.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry to hear that! You know, whenever I feel a bit off color, the Friendly Four and I would always play a game of some sort. Would you like to play a board game Negaduck?"
"I'd rather have a root canal," he muttered under his breath.
"I apologize, I couldn't hear you. Could you please repeat that?"
Negaduck plastered on an incredibly forced smile and exclaimed, "Of course I would! I do so love board games."
"Excellent!" the redhead replied, "I'll pick one out!"
She skipped out of sight, but Negaduck could still hear the echo of her shoes tapping down the hall.
Negaduck reassured himself calmly, "Okay, I can do this…all I have to do is play a board game…one simple, quiet, friendly, irritating, jaw-grinding, brain-numbing little board game…with her."
He shuddered involuntarily.
Drake tossed dinner plates onto the table noisily, trying his best to ignore the smells coming from Morgana's cooking.
"Oooh, the sautéed rat tails are almost ready," the sorceress announced.
Drake's stomach lurched.
"So Dark," she continued, "you've avoided the Negaverse question all afternoon, now tell me this: who was that girl in the dress?"
"I told you Morgana, I'm not going to tell you or anyone else who she is; you'd only think I'm more bonkers."
"If you don't wish to tell that's quite all right."
"It is?" Drake asked, astonished.
"Of course – I'll just give you an extra helping of rat tails."
"I see."
Morgana began talking to herself as much as to Drake when she said, "I'm still convinced it has something to do with you and Negaduck, why else would she look so much like Gosalyn?"
"Oh, speaking of whom – GOSALYN, DINNER!" Drake roared to the ceiling.
Gosalyn Mallard sat cross-legged on her bed, hunched over her Ancient Transylvanian Beasts tome. She flipped the page with a swish.
"And this dude right here is called Gut-Spiller, he's kind of like a big raccoon that, well, gobbles you up," she informed.
She flipped another page and Mr. Waddlemeyer asked with earnest, "And who is this next specimen?"
"Oh, that's a Gularian Taronga," Gosalyn replied dryly, "don't ask."
Another flip of the page revealed a small, ugly creature that reminded Gosalyn of a cat with a permanent curve in its back walking on two legs.
"Whoa, I haven't seen this one yet! The Hobble-Hurler…man, score ten points for weirdo names… 'The Hobble-Hurler is said to lure its victims to horrible deaths by calling out their material desires'…yikes, total bummage!"
"How interesting," the voice whispered in her head, "tell me more."
Gosalyn opened her beak to read but Drake's loud call of "GOSALYN, DINNER!" cut her off.
"Aw, I have to go," she said disappointedly.
Mr. Waddlemeyer asked, "So soon?"
"Well, I've been talkin' to ya all afternoon – but I'll eat super fast, you won't even know I'm gone!" Gosalyn assured as she headed out the door.
She waltzed into the kitchen just as Launchpad had finished placing the silverware. She took her seat and immediately began tapping her fingers and kicking her feet restlessly.
"Gee Gos, did you take a swig of Drake's coffee or something?" Launchpad joked.
"No," the duckling answered rather flatly.
Taken aback, Launchpad shrugged his shoulders and turned to the stove. Drake approached the table, holding the large bowl of rat tails out at arm's length, sticking out his tongue in disgust. He placed it intentionally opposite of his seat and glanced at Gosalyn. He hadn't seen her in nearly twenty-four hours.
"Howdy stranger," he greeted sarcastically.
"Hi," was Gosalyn's callous reply as she started scooping the steaming tails onto her plate.
Drake fixed his daughter with suspicious eyes.
"What's got your pigtails in a twist?"
Gosalyn's own eyes flashed dangerously. Why was he always so mistrustful of her? He always thought she was up to something. Granted, he was often correct, but still…oh no, did he know about Mr. Waddlemeyer? Gosalyn swallowed. If he found out, he'd never let her talk to Mr. Waddlemeyer again, and it was nice to have someone solely interested in her for a change. Did he know? It was a ridiculous notion, how could he possibly know; but you could never be too careful when you played with fire.
"What do mean 'twist'? I don't have any twist. There's no twist. Why would there be a twist?!" Gosalyn shrieked.
The kitchen went silent as all three adults stared at her. Drake looked back to Morgana, who shook her head and shrugged.
"Is something bothering you Gos?" she asked.
"No," Gosalyn replied quickly, "I'm just, um, hungry! Yeah, that's it, I'm hungry."
With that she began devouring her dinner like a shark in a feeding frenzy. Drake prodded his own dinner with his fork. He felt as though they hadn't spoken in an age, and it looked like his daughter wanted to keep it that way.
Morgana twirled the tails around her fork as she questioned, "Okay Dark, what will it be – information on that girl, or more rat tails?"
The mallard glanced at the slimy gray strings on his plate and shuddered.
"Fine, ya got me. She lives in the Negaverse. That is, she used to, until she followed me back here. Now she's in Negaduck's clutches, and who knows what dastardly deeds he's got planned for her. I'd go after her tonight, but…"
But he still felt extremely weak and fatigued from his bout of sleep deprivation, though he'd never dare admit it to his family.
"That's all well and good, but just who is she?" Morgana pursued.
"Who's who?" Gosalyn asked suddenly, unable to bottle her curiosity.
"Oh, there was this little girl who looked just like yow!" Launchpad yelped after Drake delivered a hefty blow to his shin from under the table.
"It's nothing dear," Drake muttered offhandedly with a glare in his sidekick's direction, "ANYWAY, what were you doing in your room all this time? Please say you were cleaning it…"
Gosalyn replied through a mouthful of food, "Ay wers juff reedink ah burk."
"What?" Drake and Launchpad asked simultaneously.
The duckling gulped down her food.
"I said I was just reading a book. The one Morgana gave to me for my birthday."
"You're enjoying it then?" the sorceress asked, "I know I certainly did when my father gave it to me as a child."
Drake poked his food as he mused, "Speaking of whom, why'd your dear old dad come here to St. Canard anyhow? Weren't Moloculo's exact words, 'I'd never place a rotten toenail in that normal-infested stink hole even if my afterlife depended on it'?"
Morgana tapped her fingers on the table dangerously.
"What's wrong with a father wanting to visit his daughter?"
Drake rubbed his chin and thought aloud, picking up fervor as he went along, "I was just pondering…he's never exactly taken a shine to me, to say the least…and now he mysteriously shows up, just as I'm being plagued by a bunch of unnatural Transylvanian monstrocities!"
"What are you trying to say?" the sorceress hissed.
"Nothing, it's just…coincidence? I think not!" Drake returned.
Morgana's eyes narrowed.
"My father has better things to do than attack YOU with trivial apparitions! He's a very important man you know!"
The mallard made a noise that sounded remarkably like a scoffing snort. Launchpad and Gosalyn drew back instinctively as Morgana rose to her feet.
"Excuse me?"
"What? I just choked on a piece of rat tail," Drake lied cheekily, pretending to stuff a forkful into his mouth. He unwisely inhaled. The rat tails became lodged in his throat and he found himself coughing and sputtering as he truly began choking on his food.
Morgana rolled her eyes and turned to Gosalyn.
"Which creature are you reading about now?" she asked calmly as if Drake wasn't gagging and pounding on his chest.
"The Hobble-Hurler," Gosalyn informed amidst her father's failed attempts to reach down his throat and pull the tails out, "the one that lures its victims to bloody, gruuuuesome deaths and stuff!"
Morgana smiled approvingly. Drake was now tugging on Launchpad's scarf and pointing to his throat desperately. The pilot gave his friend a few mighty thumps on the back. The room was momentarily filled with the unpleasant squelching sound of Drake coughing up his rat tails. The mallard gasped for air and fell back on his chair.
"Geez Dad, way to yak all over the floor," Gosalyn muttered, looking beneath the table at the mushy remains.
"Pardon me for DYING," Drake growled, "and 'yak' is not an appropriate dinner term young lady."
"What would you call appropriate then? Barf? Toss your cook – "
"That's enough! I was merely reenacting the circle of life. Haven't you ever seen those nature shows where the female bird regurgitates pre-digested food for its young?"
"Yeah, except you're not like, a mother pigeon or something DW," Launchpad pointed out.
"And I would certainly hope Gos isn't planning on eating THAT," Morgana added, motioning to the floor.
Gosalyn smirked and picked up her clean plate.
"I'm done. Can I go to my room now?" she asked.
For the second time that night the three adults stared at her in complete shock.
Drake questioned, "You – you actually want to go to your room?"
"Without any desert?" Launchpad mentioned, completely blown away at the prospect.
Gosalyn clenched her fist. This was beginning to get on her nerves. She tossed her plate into the sink with a loud clatter and marched towards the stairs.
"Yeah, I wanna go to my room. Gotta problem with that?!" she yelled rebelliously and disappeared behind her door with an angry slam.
Drake stood up and bellowed after her, "You had better lose the attitude little missy! You're too young to be an angst-ridden teen!"
With no reply, the mallard looked back at Launchpad and Morgana, who both frowned. Drake sighed helplessly.
"Was it something I said?"