Disclaimer: I do not own Darkwing Duck, Scrooge McDuck or any other Disney character.

Authors Note: Again, this fic ties in with "The Path Chosen." This is one of the alternate realities that Darkwing could have chosen. Fair warning; another Darkwing Duck / Ducktales crossover!

Hidden Dawn

Part 6

I plunge into the river, the icy water engulfs by entire body. The powerful currents are already sweeping me downstream. I swim hard against the flowing waters, struggling as I dive further down. All around me is darkness, then I have a strange sense of deja vu. Of being in the cold river water, floundering like a crippled fish, attempting to stay afloat against the currents that carried me away. Again I see images flashing I my minds eye, a storm, the river, being pulled under the water by the powerful torrents. I fight with all my might to stay above the water, but I'm going under into the darkness. Then I see something in the water near me, a large branch, I grab onto to stay afloat.

As I am being swept down stream, over the rumble of thunder I can hear laughter. I look up. On a bridge is a figure, a dark silhouette against a dark background. Who is it? I try to see a the face, but...

...As quickly as it had come, the vision is gone, again. I shake my head trying to clear it. I have to stay focused. I continue to dive. Then, through the murky waters, I see the car. Thankfully, it is right side up, and the currents have swept it into a embankment near the river side. I swim towards it. As I get closer, I can see that the windshield is indeed broken. The hole is on the drivers side. It's about the size of a basket ball. I swim down and peer in through the drivers side window. As I feared, the car is flooding. There is a man in the front seat trying to block the hole with a folded blanket, not that it's doing any good. There are two small girls, about eight and six years of age, in the back seat crying in fear. The rising water is nearly chest high to them already. I have to help them, but how? The children could not hold their breath long enough to make it to the surface. I rap on the window, they all startle at the sight of me. A masked duck dressed all in black swimming around under the muddy river doesn't exactly inspire trust.

I have to help them, but how? I need to find something, anything that I might use to save them. I hold up my hands signaling them to wait as I swim back to the truck of the car. I reach back and pull out a pocketknife from the kitbag. I pull out the file and use it to pick the lock of the trunk. Lock picking, yet another talent I surprise myself with. The trunk pops open and objects are instantly washed away. I manage to grab a Styrofoam cooler as it floats by, thankfully it seems to be empty. I find new radiator hose - this might work.

As always, I'm relying all that little voice deep inside and raw instincts to guide me. I pray they guide me true.

I cut the radiator hose into three parts. Turning the cooler upside down, I use the file blade to cut three small holes in the securely fastened lid. I shove all the hose pieces halfway into the hole. I place one of the hose to my mouth and take a breath. It works. The chest contains a small amount of air but I don't want to take it all up. I only needed one refreshing breath.

I swim back to the window and see that the water has almost completely filled the inside. The father and the two girls are paddling in the water, their heads against the roof, holding out in the few inches of space left inside. I pull at the car door. I'm oh-so relieve that it opens easily.

I have no time to be courteous, here. I reach up and grab the fathers leg pulling him down. He has no time to react as I shove the end of one of the hoses into his mouth. He gets the idea fast enough. I have him hold onto the chest as I swim up to get the girls.

I have all three of them, holding tight to the rope handle of the chest, breathing through my make shift oxygen tank. But I realize there is little air and little time to waste. I have a strong hold of the handle as I place my feet firmly on the roof of the car. I lean back on the Spring Pads in the heals of the boots, and we are all launched through the cold dark currents.

We all emerge, thankfully, near the river bank. The father grabs the oldest girl and I take the youngest and swim to shore. People rush down to help us. Somebody takes the child from my arms and I collapse on the frozen muddy bank. I'm so tired, I close my eyes.

I don't know how long I was down there. How long it took to rescue them. It feels like eternity.

I don't know how long it is before I hear the sirens of the ambulance or the voice of the so caller hero of Duckburg proclaiming something like "I'm here to save the day!"

Yeah right, a little late mighty mouse!

I am aware of people standing around me and a cover being placed over me, then everything fades into darkness...

...the next thing I know, I am walking in the darkness, heading towards a soft

glow of light in the distance. The light looks so welcoming, like it's calling to me. I walk faster. As I approach the light, it begins to dim, and soon I find myself standing in front of a mirror with the beautiful silver frame. I'm back in that dream! I'm actually relived. For a minute there, I thought I was dead! Alright, now what does this mirror hold. As I stand looking at the empty looking glass an image slowly appears. A duck dressed head to foot in silver and white. His costume is most impressive.

I'm not surprised when this reflection, like the others I've seen, moves on its own. He smiles at me, nods then turns to walk away. Only then do I see a large white door behind him. I watch as he opens the door and walks through it.

As the images fade away, a light begins to glow in the looking glass. It gets brighter and brighter until I am forced to cover my eyes. I step back a few feet and wait. After a few seconds, I open my eyes again. I am standing in the shadows, just on the edge of the soft light that now illuminates from the silver framed mirror. I look around. I can not see the mirrors from by previous dreams. The darkness now covers them, all but two. I can see only The silver framed mirror from which the light shines and another, just on the threshold of the light, near the shadows. I recognize it, the mirror that held no reflection. I can still hear that voice telling me not yet, it's not time for that one.

I turn again to the silver mirror. The light has grown soft and dimmed. Only now do I see that this mirror hangs not a wall, but a door! Like the one in the mirror. I hesitate before stepping up to it. Slowly, I reach for the silver knob and turn it. The door opens. I look through the door into what I could describe as a vortex of rippling light. What does it mean?

I awake from the dream with that question on my mind, what does it mean. I lay quietly for a little while pondering the dream before I realized, I'm not in my own bed. I sit up. I am in a big bed, one with a canopy. I am in a nightshirt. What happened to the costume. The costume! My hand touches the side of my face to feel the rim of the visors Gyro had made for me. I'm relieved.

I crawl out of the bed. There is a pair of slippers and a robe on a chair next to the bed. For me? I put them on and tiptoe out of the large, well furnished room and into a dimly lit hallway.

Wow! The hallway is large and elegantly designed. A dimly light recess light shows softly on a large paining on the wall. I recognize the figure in the painting immediately, Scrooge McDuck. So this is his mansion? Why am I here instead of Gyros place? I walk over to the glass doors of a balcony and slip out into the cold morning air.

I stand facing the eastern horizon. Like every day since I've been here, the sky is blanketed in a dismal grey overcast. A bleak red light emits behind the distant clouds, the only proof that dawn has come.

I am surprise by a voice behind me. "A dismal start to the day, isn't it lad?"

I turn to see Scrooge McDuck standing in the doorway, already dressed to face the day.

"I'm sorry," I say quickly "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No lad. I didn't get to be the richest duck in the world by sleeping in. I always get up early to get a jump on the day."

He steps out onto the balcony and closes the door. "If you're wondering how you got here, we brought you here from the riverside where you collapsed yesterday." He pauses before adding "You saved those peoples lives. If you hadn't dove in after them, it would have been to late by time Gizmoduck arrived."

Why am I not surprised?

He steps next to me to look at the eastern skies. "The clouds have been hanging over Duckburg for quite a time." He glances at me. "Sometimes it feels like they will never leave. That we will never see the sunshine again. But soon enough, the clouds will pass away and the sun will shine again. Such is the weather - such is life."

Why do I have a feeling he's trying to tell me something?

Scrooge shutters and rubs his hands together before saying "Now if you are through freezing your tail feathers off, I believe Duckworth is already making breakfast." He starts back through the glass door, motioning for me to follow. I follow him, hoping with all my heart that he's right. That sooner or later, the dark clouds will move on and give way to a bright new dawn.

To be continued...