Darkwing Duck: Prince of Thieves
Act VI
King Herb Muddlefoot of Santa Canardia tapped his fingers nervously on the arm of his throne. His wife Binkie sat at his side, faithful and silent, offering her support without saying a word. His two sons, Honker and Tank, stood at his side. Tank was poking his finger into Honker's shoulder repeatedly. The younger prince was doing his best to ignore the treatment and maintain a regal appearance.
The King glanced around the room, his gaze always returning to the main doors leading from the castle's main hall into the throne room. Periodically his eyes flicked distrustfully to Ray, the messenger who had been sent by Darkwing Duck's band of thieves to alert the King that they were holding his daughter hostage. Often, when Herb looked at Ray, the young man wasn't even giving him his due respect by returning his gaze, but instead was looking at the ground rather sullenly. When Herb did catch Ray's eyes, Ray simply looked at him almost incomprehendingly, as though he didn't know why the King bore a grudge against him.
Herb grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the arms of his throne. The waiting was becoming unbearable! He feared he might do something rash if it continued much longer.
And then, mercifully, the heavy doors to the throne room opened slowly, and a guard came running in with a package in his hands. He reached the feet of his king and prostrated himself. "Forgive me, your Majesty. I was as quick as I could be," he said humbly, and held the package out to a delighted Herb.
"At last!" cried Herb, beaming. "At last, my Hamburger Hippoburgers! I was beginning to feel weak from hunger!" Briefly wondering why they called it "fast" food, he tore into his meal with all the ferocity of a born ruler. When he was done, he addressed Ray. "I have come to a decision, boy," he said.
"And it's only been twenty minutes," mumbled Ray. "How about that."
"Approach me," commanded the King. Glowering, Ray did so. The guard standing behind him pushed on his shoulder, and Ray reluctantly made a brief bow to the King before crossing his arms and looking as casual as he could. Herb drew himself up regally. "I have decided that you will take the money to your leader."
Everyone in the throne room gasped. Even Ray gaped at him for a moment, before stuttering, "Er- th-thank you, Your Majesty...?"
Mike, one of the castle's Junior Palace Guards stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I want to see Princess Elizabeth returned safely as much as anyone, but I think this decision is a bit rash! Don't you-"
"Do not question my authority, boy!" said Herb. "I have not finished. Darkwing Duck demanded ten thousand gold pieces in exchange for Elizabeth. If that is what he desires, then that is what he shall get. However, the only person here who knows where Darkwing and his band are is this messenger boy, and he claims to be unable to remember exactly how to find them. If such is the case, he will need an escort back to his campgrounds."
Mike understood instantly. Of course! A tail, to find Darkwing's hideout, so that the group could be arrested later! "I'll go," he said, almost before Herb had finished his speech. He had to be the one to make sure that Elizabeth was all right. It was true, he was only a Junior Guard, but he knew he was destined to be much, much more. Please, please, please let the King have seen that...
Ray looked appraisingly at Mike. It was true, his sense of direction was... well, pathetic. An escort wasn't a bad idea. And this guy was just a kid, his own age, maybe even younger. He'd have no defense against the rest of the gang if he tried anything against them. "Okay, sure, I'll accept those terms," he said.
King Herb considered the matter. "Very well, boy. I know you won't fail me. Set off immediately, and return as quickly as you can." Mike nodded eagerly, grabbed Ray's arm, and fairly danced his way out of the throne room. Herb sighed, and looked at Binkie worriedly. "I fear for our daughter," he said. "Who knows what horrible things she's being subjected to?"
Elizabeth and Launchpad had been standing together, in silence, for nearly five minutes. The Princess was staring out over the side of the balcony, apparently at the scenery, and holding her hands together in front of her body. She seemed to be trying her best to ignore Launchpad, who was periodically turning his head to look at her.
Launchpad had been waiting for her to speak, trusting that she would initiate the conversation. After all, she had come to him, and apologized for the rough start they'd gotten off to. That implied that she wanted to talk, right? But after her apology, which he accepted right away, they'd merely exchanged a few pleasantries and then she'd begun staring out into the distance. He'd assumed she was trying to think of a topic, but after this much time had passed, it finally occured to him that maybe she wasn't going to say anything. He decided that it was up to him, and he cleared his throat. At the sound, she jumped. "Uh, sorry," he mumbled. "Well, Your Worship--"
"Will you please stop calling me that?" she said, rather tensely, not looking away from her fixated spot off the side of the balcony.
Surprised, he softly replied, "Sure, Beth." She flinched, but said nothing in argument. Why did she sound mad at him all of a sudden? He tried to figure out what he might have done wrong, and couldn't. He made another attempt to start a conversation. "So, how come you and Gos were out in the forest by yourselves like that, anyway?"
Her shoulders sagged forward a bit, and she sighed. "Mr. McQuack, I am fully aware it was a foolish thing to do. I don't need you to remind me, thank you."
Launchpad grit his teeth. Well, that was it, wasn't it? For all his attempts at civil conversation, she was still going to be like this. "Okay, what'd I do? Are you gonna tell me, or just keep talking to me like you hate me?"
He could have sworn he heard her gasp softly. A moment later she replied, "I can't believe you have to ask that."
"What???"
She whirled on him, looking angrier than he'd ever seen her. Through clenched teeth she hissed, "Launchpad, I am a Princess and you will treat me with the respect that such a title deserves. Do you understand me?!"
"Hey," he said, momentarily unsure of what to do. Part of him was ready to back down, quail from her anger. And yet another part of him was just as angry as she was. After her apology he'd expected, or at least hoped, that they would have a new beginning. And he was sure he hadn't said anything to set her off this time. "Hey," he repeated, "I treat people the way they treat me, Princess. And if you feel like you're gettin' short-changed, maybe you oughta take another look."
"How dare you," she whispered. "You arrogant brute. You haven't made any efforts to treat me well since I got here, since you stuck me in that tent with my hands tied together! Is that something that is expected to inspire gratitude!?"
"Gee, your hands sure didn't seem tied together when you hit me. Or am I remembering that wrong?"
"I- I apologized for that!" If he'd hoped to defuse her anger with that comment, he failed. She only seemed angrier.
"You're sure not makin' it easy to believe that you meant it!"
"Well then, where's my apology? You've been in my face since I got here, making fun of me, of everything I say! I can't help it, I was raised differently from this!"
"Maybe I was trying to be nice."
She laughed curtly. "Oh, of course. Nice. Your sense of what is 'nice' is awfully warped!"
He took a deep breath. "Look. Maybe there were a couple of times when I wasn't tryin' so hard to be nice. But I haven't seen you make an effort, and you know what else? I'm tired of this. Believe it or not, Your Worshipfulness, I have tried to be nice, more and more lately, and you just don't seem to wanna see it. So forget it, okay? Forget the whole thing. Y'know, you're lucky you are a princess, 'cause with an attitude like yours you'd never have any friends if ya weren't." As soon as the words were out he regretted them; that was too harsh. Maybe not as harsh as some of the things she'd said, but that was her decision. He shouldn't have said them.
He regretted them even more a second later, when she burst into tears. Not just sniffling or weeping, but huge, wracking sobs. The mask she had been hiding behind a second ago- and suddenly he was sure it was just a mask- disappeared completely before she buried her face in her hands and cried into them.
Launchpad was too surprised to react at all, at first. It was so sudden. His next reaction was to pull out a handkerchief and offer it to her. To his surprise, she took it, and cried into it for several long moments before managing to speak between her sobs. And when she did speak, it surprised him even more.
"Y-you-you're r-right," she stuttered, her voice hoarse. The tears weren't subsiding.
He wondered briefly if he should put an arm around her, to comfort her, and then the words registered. "Right? About what?"
Elizabeth started crying harder. "I-I am a h-horrible person... And I d-don't have any f-f-friends... And I..."
Her words stabbed him. "No!" he said desperately. "No, I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it, Princess, I really didn't."
"Puh-please don't call me that," she said in a small voice. "And don't take back what you said. I-It's t-t-true." Fresh tears started up.
"No it's not! Ya got Gos, don't ya?"
Elizabeth just shook her head over and over. "She's not... She'd r-rather be with D-Darkwing... She only likes me because I- because I'm a P-P-P-" She dissolved into sobbing.
"A Princess?" Launchpad finished softly. Elizabeth nodded some more. "That ain't true! I know that ain't true! If she were here, she'd tell ya, I bet." The Princess didn't respond, just looked at the ground, still clutching the handkerchief. "I shouldn't've said that. I'm sorry."
She shook her head now, and spoke in a wounded voice. "No. I've thought it myself many times."
"That doesn't make it okay for me to say it! And it doesn't make it true."
"I should never have left the castle. I have no friends, Launchpad. It's always been that way."
"Ya got me." He wasn't sure why he said it. It just came out before he really thought on it. Elizabeth looked up at him, shocked. "If... if ya want me, I mean."
A long moment later, she slowly nodded her head. "I'd... like that," she said quietly. "But I... apologize for my treatment of you. And, may I request that you don't make any more ... 'Princess' jokes?"
Launchpad had no idea what she was talking about, so he agreed readily. "Uh, I'm sorry, too, Beth. Um, is it okay for me to call you that?" She nodded wordlessly. "Okay. But, I'm sorry for... uh... for making you mad at me. Uh, can I ask you what it was that I did?"
Elizabeth took a deep, shuddering breath. The tears seemed to have stopped, for now. "It was... You always seemed to take so much delight in making me feel silly or threatened. Like by implying that we would sleep in the same tent, or telling me I talk too much, or something." It sounded silly outside of her head. "Or... maybe you were trying to be... 'nice' then?"
He coughed, a little sheepishly, she thought. "Uh, well, sometimes I was... but, uh, mostly... Well, heh, I won't do that anymore. Sorry." Then he smiled at her. She smiled back tentatively, and found that she enjoyed smiling at him.
Launchpad enjoyed it, too, for a different reason. It turned out, he was discovering, that Princess Elizabeth had one of the most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen. Neither spoke for a few moments.
"Well," she breathed, finally. "In answer to your question..." She noted his confusion. "Why Gosalyn and I were out in the forest, remember?" He nodded in remembrance. "Well, I felt I would rather leave home for a while. Things in the castle weren't quite what I was wishing for at the time. I suppose I just had a case of ennui."
"'On we'?" Launchpad repeated, puzzled.
"Yes... You know, boredom? Castle life can be quite routine, and- Oh, never mind. I don't suppose you'd really understand."
He didn't really understand... Not the term, at least. But the concept was one he had no trouble identifying. "Nah, hey, I gotcha. It can get kinda boring, cooped up in there with all the political types all day." vShe brightened. "Exactly! Exactly, it's all routine, no excitement or anything. I wanted a chance to find my true identity. I guess I found out that my true identity was the one that was staring me in the face the entire time. Boring old Beth." She sighed. All this time, she had hoped that her sense of being stifled meant that, deep down inside, she was a wild, spontaneous person. So much for that idea.
Launchpad chuckled. "Aw, you're just not givin' it enough time! Ya gotta loosen up more, that's all! Let your hair down, y'know, take a while to get used to it an' then you'll see what we can offer. I could show you lots of stuff I bet you'd like."
Elizabeth didn't quite know how to interpret that. She wondered if he had meant that comment to sound as... suggestive as it did? And how could he not have meant it? She felt herself blushing, and turned to stare at him incredulously. He was grinning at her. It was that grin he wore when he was baiting her - and not five minutes after he had promised not to do that... She felt let down, and hurt, more than she felt angry. She couldn't find a way to express how she felt, so she just looked at him for a moment. Then something clicked and suddenly his expression seemed different to her. No trace of mockery, or even of ill intent... Just a friendly, open grin. And... an intent, an effort even, to please her. She swallowed. He was being nice. All this time, and he'd been trying to be nice throughout it. Or for a lot of it, at any rate. She smiled back at him, the most genuine smile she'd given anyone since leaving the castle. "I'd like it very much if you would show me things, Launchpad," she said.
Launchpad positively beamed.
It was like a door was unlocked inside her suddenly. A rush of emotions hit her all at once, leaving her frightened, confused, and somehow strangely elated. This was the one. He was the one. Finally, at long last, she felt that her decision to leave the castle had held some merit after all. And yet the emotion was so big, so overpowering, it made her feel almost ill to her stomach somehow. It threatened to break her control. And in fact, she dearly wanted it to. She struggled for something to say. "I-I almost forgot, ah, is your stomach feeling better?"
"Huh?" Launchpad looked quite confused for a moment.
"Ah, from when I, er, hit you." She knew it was ridiculous to ask. That had been days ago now. Of course it was feeling better.
"Oh, oh yeah! Yeah, it's been fine for a while now. No sweat!"
"Ah. Good. Because, uh... I'd hate to think you were still suffering over something I did to you." Yes, that sounded good.
An odd grin came to Launchpad's face. Elizabeth tried to figure out what it meant; it was a look she hadn't seen on him before, except for once or twice when she had first met him. She decided to wait and see what he said, to clarify. "I didn't know you cared, Beth," he said, quietly but very clearly.
Uh-oh. "I- I don't," she said nervously. That hadn't been what she was expecting. She backed a step or two away from him.
"You don't?" He took a step forward, then another, and kept coming forward as she continued retreating. Her back hit the banister of the balcony, and he had her trapped. She shook her head, unable to look away from his eyes, paralyzed with fear and... something else. Expectation perhaps. Launchpad leaned a little closer to her. "Well I care about you."
She shook her head again, weakly, even as her heart raced at this admission. "N-no... no you don't..."
"Yes I do. I really do, Beth." His voice had become low, almost a whisper. "Are you sure you don't?"
She drew a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. "M-maybe..." was all she could manage.
Launchpad didn't answer. Instead he closed his eyes as well, and lowered his bill to hers.
The silence was split horrendously by a scream from down below. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! DARKWING, HEEEEEEEELLLLLLP!!!"
Elizabeth's eyes snapped open and she turned her head in the direction of the scream. Launchpad, who didn't respond to the scream immediately, found himself breathing in her hair. "Gosalyn!" she cried. "Oh no!" She pushed him aside and dashed back into the castle before Launchpad was really able to get a grasp on what was happening.
Darkwing pulled his horse to a stop, certain that he heard a yell over the pounding of its hooves. A high-pitched yell... Impossible to tell for sure where it was coming from, but all of a sudden he felt sickly sure. "Gosalyn!" he yelled, and turned the horse around and set it off as fast as it could run. The courtyard he and Gosalyn had been in was only a small distance away, but he was dismayed to remember that the passage he had come through was too narrow for the horse. Deciding not to waste time looking for another path that was accessible to his steed, he dismounted and ran the rest of the way.
Elizabeth was most of the way down the stairs when she realized that she had no idea where Gosalyn was. The way the cry had been echoing, it could have come from anywhere... Wait. It was echoing, but not from too far off... She wasn't in the garden, that was for sure. It must have come from a fairly open space.
Launchpad blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened. Beth was right there... He was going to kiss her... She'd run away. Because... Gos was screaming! And Beth had run off towards the sound! "BETH!!" he yelled. "BETH, WAIT! IT'S DANGEROUS!!" He started for the door, with the intent of following the passage she'd taken, then quickly changed his mind. It would be quicker to simply jump off the balcony. The drop wouldn't hurt him at all... Actually he'd done it quite often, usually in the mornings when he was starting his early morning jog. Unfortunately, Darkwing was running just under the balcony as Launchpad jumped, and he was clobbered by his sidekick. The two of them fell into a jumbled heap on the ground.
"Nice timing," said Darkwing after he'd caught his breath.
"GOSALYN??" yelled Elizabeth, up ahead of her. There was no answer. She slowed down a little. "GOS?!"
"BETH, D--" Gosalyn's shout was cut off abruptly. Someone had shushed her, apparently. But whether that was by putting their hand over her mouth, or something else, Elizabeth didn't know.
"GOS! IF YOU'RE OKAY, YELL!" She thought about that for a second, then corrected herself. "WAIT-- IF YOU'RE OKAY, THEN DON'T YELL! No, wait, that won't work either..." She was considering how to phrase her cry when she stumbled in to the clearing.
"Well, hello again, Princess!" said Megavolt menacingly.
"Eep! The Fearsome Five-- ah, Four!" said Elizabeth. An icy hand grabbed her heart. She counted the bad guys standing before her. "Five," she concluded slowly. This... did not bode well. "Then you, I presume, are Negaduck?" she addressed a duck who was identical to Darkwing in every fashion except his clothes- and the pure malice in his personality. He was holding Gosalyn, who was tightly bound and now gagged, on his horse.
"And you must be our hostage!" he replied. "Don't try the Princess act on me, Missy. I've seen plenty of real royalty before, and I'm afraid you just don't cut it. You can scream if you want to... I kind of like it, actually. But just keep in mind that it won't do you any good."
"Come on, sweetie, don't fight us... You don't want to get hurt," said Bushroot as Elizabeth assumed a Quack Fu position.
"Don't worry about hurting me," said Elizabeth coldly. "You guys just took me by surprise last time."
"Yeah, right," said Megavolt, and he advanced on her. Elizabeth took him out with a roundhouse kick to the stomach, and he collapsed, groaning. v"Next?" she said. The other three members of the group looked at each other nervously.
"Look at it this way," said Negaduck, behind them. "Deal with her... Or deal with me."
All three of them moved in on her at once. Elizabeth gave Bushroot a smack right in the bill, and then ducked and tried to kick the Liquidator's legs out from under him. Unfortunately, he didn't have any, and her foot passed right through him as Gosalyn's had earlier. He made a grab at her and she ducked, diving instead at Quackerjack's legs and knocking him over. She rolled over onto her back and threw Quackerjack at Bushroot, knocking them both out. The Liquidator continued to extend his limbs towards her, trying to grab her, and she kept darting out of the way just in time. She jumped to her feet and ran towards Megavolt, who was struggling to breathe.
He caught on immediately as to what she was about to do. "Oh no. No!" he shrieked as she ran in front of him just as the Liquidator reached for her again.
"Uh-oh," said the Liquidator, "I've got a headache this big..." The two connected, shorting each other out instantly.
Elizabeth came to a standstill in front of Negaduck, breathing hard and sweating lightly. "See Gos, I could so be a ninja," she said. "So, Negaduck, do we do this the easy way, or the stupid way?"
Negaduck snorted derisively. "I'm guessing the stupid way."
Elizabeth was momentarily thrown by his dismissiveness. She shook herself out of it. "Then- prepare yourself! I'm not afraid of you!!"
To her dismay, Negaduck smirked. "You honestly think any of those moves could take me out?! You were dealing with the peanut gallery! Of course you beat them! They're worthless!"
Elizabeth's face reddened. "How dare you write me off so easily?!"
Negaduck pulled up a shotgun, casually clicking off the safety as he did.
Elizabeth turned a sick-looking pale. "Uh... Where'd you get that?" she asked in a whisper.
"I always carry at least one with me," he answered conversationally.
"But... But firearms haven't even been concieved of yet!" she stuttered. He shrugged and aimed the gun precisely. "Great," she muttered, "now I'm gonna be killed by an anachronism." She gulped, determined not to show just how scared she was. "I-I'm sure Darkwing Duck will be here in no time, then."
"Who cares? Don't you get it?" he said. "Dimbulb Duck is nothing. You are nothing. But if you don't give yourself up right now, this brat will literally be nothing. Your choice." He held the gun up to Gosalyn's head, and for once Gosalyn was too scared to struggle. He could shoot her point-blank if Elizabeth didn't give in. It could be a bluff, but if it wasn't...
It took less than a second for Elizabeth to decide. "Okay." Negaduck grinned in a superior fashion, which really bugged Elizabeth. He handcuffed her hands behind her back so tightly that her arms felt like they were pulling out of their sockets, and gagged her. Then he set her on Quackerjack's horse and remounted his own.
Just as the rest of the Fearsome Five was starting to regain consciousness, the cavalry arrived- a bit too late.
"Eat arrow, evildoers!" announced Darkwing, finally making it to the clearing. He held a bow and arrow ready, and was aiming it even as he spoke. Launchpad was standing at his side. Elizabeth's heart leapt. If she hadn't been gagged, she'd have called to him.
"Oh, sure, you could shoot at me, but rest assured that you would only hit one of these frail, defenseless girls here," said Negaduck. Launchpad looked worried, but Darkwing maintained a poker face and kept his bow raised. "Still, I'd love to see you try, as long as you don't get blood on my new jacket..."
This had already occured to Darkwing, or else he'd have fired by now. He kept his expression as calm as he could, while his mind raced for a solution. There had to be a way to do this, something to aim for other than Negaduck... A tree branch, something, anything. He was Darkwing Duck, for crying out loud!!! Famous for keeping his cool in a disaster, for his ability to take on numerous foes... Where were those skills now that Gosalyn and the Princess needed him? The arm that was holding the arrow began to tremble just a bit.
Launchpad looked at him, waiting for him to do something. Trusting him, as usual. But, it seemed, only up to a point. Suddenly, and for the first time that Darkwing was aware of, Launchpad's patience snapped. "Beth!" he cried. "Negaduck, if you hurt her, I'll-" He began to rush forward. Negaduck signaled to the other members of his group, and Darkwing saw them edge forward into his line of vision.
He had no choice. He lowered the bow and arrow, and grabbed Launchpad to hold him back. His second-in-command turned to him, almost pleadingly, a look of desperation on his face. Darkwing shook his head. "A distraction by them is the last thing we need right now," he mumbled, indicating the Fearsome Four. Launchpad looked almost pained as he nodded his head. He turned to look at the Princess, and some unspoken form of communication passed between them within a matter of seconds. She nodded as well, slowly.
Negaduck began to laugh. Darkwing was filled with loathing, like he'd never been before, and not just directed at Negaduck. A good portion of it was directed at himself as well. "You're not safe yet, Negaduck," he growled. He watched Gosalyn as the group rode away, unable to look away from her. She watched him as well, and in her eyes he saw no blame... Only faith in him. I'm not scared. I've got you to protect me, he could almost hear her saying. His resolve was strengthened.
"You'll be sorry for this. YOU'LL BE SORRY!" His yell echoed after the Fearsome Five as they rode away.