Goofy grinned at everyone gathered in the yard. Brandishing an extension chord, he declared, "Let the joy of Christmas shine!" He plugged it in and the cabin was burst into blinding light.
Gosalyn squinted and raised a hand against the sudden dazzling decorations.
"Hoo, boy," Drake muttered next to her. Gosalyn sent him a glare before looking back at the cabin, blinking furiously at the contrast between the inky night and the stunning decorations.
It wasn't really that bright once your eyes adjusted.
Okay, yes is was.
But Goofy had clearly gone to a lot of trouble to hang color coordinated lights along the rooftops. He'd even alternated between red and white rope lights that twisted around the porch railings. Large light-up snowflakes dangled from the pine trees in the front yard and plastic candy canes stood at attention along the winding pathway to the front door. A plastic Santa, complete with sleigh and eight tiny reindeer sat atop the roof because no Christmas decorating was complete without a Santa Claus.
Was it a little overboard (maybe even a lot overboard)?
Sure.
But it was also sweet. There was something wholesome about Goofy's love of Christmas and it was so clearly reflected in his decorating.
"It looks great!" she said, grinning up at Goofy. He returned her smile and everyone else gathered around him, remarking on his job well done. Satisfied, Gosalyn glanced back at the cabin.
Over the tops of the trees behind the cabin, flames licked up towards the sky. She blinked in surprise, wondering if the different colored Christmas lights were making her see weird reflections.
Nope.
A plume of dark smoke followed in the wake of the flames, curling up and dissipating.
She glanced around, hoping someone else had seen what she'd seen, just to verify she wasn't making it up.
But everyone was distracted — and maybe blinded — by the decorations. They were still talking with Goofy or shielding their eyes against the conglomeration of lights.
Maybe it was better if she was the only one who'd seen the flames. Cause then she could investigate this on her own. If the forest was on fire, there was plenty of time to evacuate. If it was wayward campers, she could lecture them about the importance of fire safety.
If it was a villain — which all her instincts were screaming at her that it was — then she could neutralize the threat and be back before anyone realized she was gone.
There was no need to have everyone fear for their safety on Christmas Eve.
She slunk towards the cabin, glancing over her shoulder occasionally to ensure her short disappearance would go unnoticed.
No one paid her any mind.
So she was able to slip inside undetected.
Bolting up to her and Max's bedroom on the third floor, she grabbed her small suitcase and yanked it open. Inside was her Quiverwing costume. (No, her hero costume; she didn't go by Quiverwing anymore.) She lost little time in pulling it on and taking up her quiver, which was already stocked with arrows and had her bow attached. As she buckled it on, she walked to the window that faced the forest, peering out into the night.
There they were again. Huge explosions of flames. Flashes of brilliant gold and orange amongst the shadows of the trees.
Gosalyn shouldered the window open and glanced down. Too far to jump. Grappling hook it was. She took out an extra she'd packed in her suitcase and hooked it to the window sill. Tossing the rope toward the ground, she quickly scaled down the cabin, stringing her bow as she jogged through the forest to the area where she'd last seen the flames.
She grabbed a net arrow and nocked it, slowing down to a prowl as she crept through the underbrush.
This was about the place where the flames had been.
Give or take.
But there was nothing.
A twig snapped behind her and Gosalyn spun around, drawing the arrow back and aiming into the darkness. She crept backwards, one cautious step at a time, looking around at all the trees — and the spaces between them — surrounding her. Nothing stirred in the shadows.
The trees stood still.
The shadows didn't stir.
There wasn't even any noise other than her boots crunching in the snow.
Something jostled Gosalyn from behind.
She whirled around, her arrow drawn, searching for her target.
It was easy to spot.
"Negaduck?"
He lowered his chainsaw, which had been aimed at her neck, a look of irritation crossing his face. "Why'd you leave the cabin?"
Gosalyn relaxed, arrow in one hand and bow in the other. "Of all the cabins in all the world, you just happen to be at this one?"
He scowled. "I asked my question first."
"I think mine is more pressing."
"This," he gestured to himself then the forest, "is exactly what it looks like."
"It looks like you followed me here and are patrolling the woods."
"Then I don't know why you're so confused."
Gosalyn smirked. She'd missed him. "I saw flames, so I came to investigate."
"I'm hunting F.O.W.L.."
A wave of chilled panic cascaded through her, but she didn't have time to properly process the information.
F.O.W.L. Eggmen burst through the trees behind Negaduck, various weapons in hand.
Gosalyn easily stepped around Negaduck, taking aim and firing her net arrow. As she moved, Negaduck ducked down and slid around her, his arm winding up as if to throw something.
The net deployed, capturing all the Eggmen and securing them to the forest floor. They wriggled around helplessly, attempting to get their bearings and free themselves.
She stood straight, looking for more F.O.W.L. agents amidst the foliage. Negaduck bumped into her from behind and she glanced back at him. He, too, was looking over his shoulder at her as they stood back to back.
"We'll argue later?" Gosalyn asked.
"I guess," Negaduck sighed before throwing a knife and hitting an Eggmen in the throat. The agent collapsed on the forest floor, falling beside another Eggman with a knife sticking out of his helmet. "I'd rather not argue at all, but you can never let things go."
"I'm stubborn." Gosalyn grabbed another arrow.
"Spirited." Negaduck stepped away, holding his chainsaw up.
"Which you hate."
He shrugged. "There are worse things. Listen, I brought the Fearsome Four and they're somewhere in the forest fighting off Eggmen. Try not to hit them. But Steelbeak you can hit." With that, he revved his chainsaw and took off into the trees where the shadows had started to shift.
Gosalyn chuckled before another explosion of flames caught her attention. She ran towards them, taking out Eggmen as she came across them.
When she reached a clearing, she realized this was the epicenter of the fight.
Pine trees were stomping around under the close eye of Bushroot. Steelbeak was the one wielding the flame thrower as he pursued Eggmen. Quackerjack had an army of toys at his bidding. And Liquidator was creating avalanches left and right, burying F.O.W.L. under several feet of snow.
There was only one missing….
Gosalyn found Megavolt once she actually looked or him, huddled against an outcropping of rock with sparks flickering from his hat every few seconds.
Realizing he'd probably short circuited, Gosalyn reached for a new arrow, nocked it, and aiming for his chest. Her aim was true, the taser arrow lodging in the plug and recharging Megavolt to full power. When he glanced up to see where the arrow had come from, Gosalyn saluted.
Then she swept the feet out from under an Eggman with her bow while she reached back for another arrow.
The Eggmen kept coming, their numbers not dwindling no matter how many she, the Fearsome Five, or Steelbeak managed to take out. F.O.W.L. must have been recruiting if their numbers were up this much.
After sending a sonic arrow into a large group of Eggmen, which distracted them long enough for Liquidator to bury the group in snow, Gosalyn was startled to see a cloud of blue smoke fill the clearing. Her surprise changed to excitement as she heard the familiar intro.
"I am the Terror that Flaps in the Night! I am the seventh green bean casserole at the office Christmas potluck. I am Darkwing Duck!" Darkwing brandished his cape as the smoke dissipated, his smug expression melting into one of shock as he studied the scene around him.
At Darkwing's entrance, the Fearsome Four shrank down and started to retreat, but Negaduck managed to head them off, revving his chainsaw. "You knobs! He's on our side!" He grabbed Steelbeak by the throat as the rooster attempted to sneak past him. "Get back in there!" He tossed Steelbeak backwards, who stumbled and fell into a snowdrift.
Bushroot recovered first, sending a few pines down the mountain to confront the advancing Eggman army.
As a tree passed by, Gosalyn grabbed onto a low-hanging branch, hearing, "Get down here, young lady!" and, "Damn it, Gosalyn!" said simultaneously behind her.
But she worked better from a high vantage point.
Climbing up to a secure perch, she quickly and expertly fired off arrows. They had more wide-reaching effects on the Eggmen up here, and she was able to keep F.O.W.L. from getting too close to the Fearsome Four, her father, or Negaduck. As the tree stomped on agents or swept them away, Gosalyn acted as sniper for the group.
The pine suddenly shuddered, and she jerked forward, just managing to catch herself on a branch before toppling headlong to the ground.
But the tree was falling, the snow-covered ground quickly approaching.
Shouldering her bow, Gosalyn waited until they'd nearly made contact before leaping away.
She hit the ground on her side and tumbled down the mountainside.
Gosalyn lost her bow somewhere along the way, and might have kept rolling all the way down the mountain if it wasn't for F.O.W.L. High Command.
She came to a stop in front of them, all three obscured by the shadows.
Whipping out her pistol, she pointed it at the middle High Command official.
"Gosalyn Mallard," said one of them, his voice tight. "You are coming with us."
"Over my dead body," came Darkwing's voice before he stepped in between Gosalyn and High Command.
"You'll be dead before you so much as touch her," growled Negaduck, coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with Darkwing, the two of them shielding Gosalyn from view.
Negaduck revved his chainsaw.
Darkwing aimed his gas gun.
And High Command took flight, the two mallards giving chase.
Gosalyn rolled up to a sitting position, calling out, "I had them right where I wanted them!"
"Curse me kilts, I haven't had this much fun since we explored Mara's Temple!"
Knowing that voice, Gosalyn glanced around and easily found Scrooge running headlong into the fray, brandishing his cane. Huey had managed to get his hands on the flamethrower and he followed his uncle, shooting off his weapon occasionally.
Dewey, who'd been with them, stopped next to Gosalyn, holding out a hand. "You okay?"
She nodded and allowed Dewey to help her to standing. "Is anyone still at the cabin?" As she asked her question, Launchpad and Louie sped by on snowmobiles.
"Uncle Donald, Aunt Daisy, Jose, Panchito, and the Goofs. They're guarding it pretty well. We're trying to gather all of these weird men into one area so the plant and water dudes can take them all out at once."
Gosalyn nodded and holstered her pistol. "I think I'll circle back to the cabin, then. Make sure they're all okay." She glanced around the powdery snow for her bow. "I'll send any stray Eggmen your way."
"Eggmen, huh? I thought they'd have a cooler name." Dewey held out her bow to her.
She took it with a grateful smile. "F.O.W.L.'s not inventive."
"At least F.O.W.L. is a cool name. Eggmen. Ugh." He shuddered in revulsion then glanced over his shoulder. "I'm gonna catch up to Huey. Did you see he has a flamethrower?"
"Yeah, how'd he get that?"
"He practically wrestled it away from a rooster in a suit."
Smiling at the thought, Gosalyn said, "He deserved it. Be careful."
"You, too." Dewey took off, Gosalyn watching him until he had reunited with his family before heading back to the cabin.
She chased the few Eggmen back towards the clearing to get rounded up with the others, but had to take out a few with he bola chords and nets.
There were fewer and fewer Eggmen the closer she got to the cabin, which was a relief; not all in their company was equipped to fight against an organization bent on world domination.
Seeing no threats lurking behind the cabin, Gosalyn crept around to the front. Where Goofy stood, altering a few light strand placements. Gosalyn smiled, happy to see F.O.W.L. hadn't gotten this far and began walking towards him.
But her relief was short lived as an Eggman bolted from the garage towards the house.
Towards Goofy.
Gosalyn aimed and fired her arrow at the Eggman, pleased when he went down immediately with a taser to the leg.
Goofy glanced around and studied the fallen Eggman before looking at Gosalyn. "'S that where y'all got off to?"
Gosalyn advanced, uncoiling some rope and restraining the Eggman. "My work has a nasty habit of coming home with me."
"A-hyuck! Ya finish fightin' all of 'em off?"
She stood and glanced around the yard. She wanted to do a full sweep before she felt comfortable, but she still answered, "I think so."
"Then d'ya think you can work yer magic and get these to stay in place?" He held up a wayward strand of icicle lights.
Gosalyn grinned, setting down her bow. It wouldn't take her long to secure the lights. Then she could do her sweep.
Grabbing the string, she said, "I'll see what I can do."