Past and Present
Author's Note: This story is a prequel to the story "Shadow's Curse." It isn't completely necessary to have read the previous story, especially when you get to the flashback section, but it would explain a few things if you did read it. It's up to you though. :) As always, the Darkwing universe and all of its characters are property of the Disney company. The OC Karl Fizzy, however, belongs to me.
Tension was draped over the small room like a thick sheet as two opponents squared off. Their eyes, one set mismatched and the other beady and black, were locked on each other. The two men waited with muscles taut for the other to make the first move. Waiting and waiting and then...zap!
One of them finally gave into impatience and let loose a burst of electricity. His opponent anticipated his move and easily leapt into the air to avoid the blow. Bells rang clearly as he somersaulted down to the ground. Another stream of electricity came his way, but once again his agility saved him from being hit. Without missing a beat, he advanced forward and then used his momentum to stage a powerful kick. The attack caught his electric opponent by surprise and the webbed foot connected directly with the plug strapped over his chest. The kick knocked him backwards and he slid several feet across the floor. His opponent made a triumphant bow to the groans and whistles of the audience.
"Well, that was certainly, um..." A soft-spoken baritone voice trailed off, clearly trying to find a polite way to express his thought.
"I believe the word you're looking for is anti-climactic." This response was given by a young child genius.
"It really was and after all that fuss he made about how important this lesson would be." The winner of the conflict bragged theatrically.
"Yes, right, thank you all for your input." The electric rodent Megavolt muttered grumpily. "Just wait until tomorrow when I fry your tail feathers, you lousy clown..."
"Are you all right?" His adopted daughter Gosalyn questioned as she ran over to check on him. He assured his anxious daughter that he was fine and the hit he took would barely leave a mark come tomorrow. Megavolt was about to say more when a loud voice cut him off.
"Feeling bruised, battered, utterly humiliated? That's okay! Just remember that today's training experience will come in handy when it's time to face the real thing." Liquidator pointed out in his glib manner as he slid across the floor to turn on the lights in the garage.
"Likky's right, Megs." Quackerjack told his electric friend as he continued to wear a sour look. "I imitated one of Negaduck's kicks just like you asked me too and you didn't respond in time to stop me. It was all just practice, so there shouldn't be any hard feelings, right?"
Quackerjack extended his hand down to Megavolt who took it so that he could get back on his feet. Once he was, he grasped the jester's hand a little bit longer and sent a small shock of electricity through the others system. The feeling was similar to be shocked by a joy buzzer and Quackerjack pulled his hand away in annoyance.
"Right. No hard feelings." Megavolt said as the jester stuck his tongue out at him. "Anyway, I think that's enough training for today."
"Now he thinks we've trained enough..." The toymaker said with an eye roll.
"I agree with Megavolt." Bushroot put in to forestall any more sarcastic jibes that might be forthcoming. "I'm kind of dead on my roots as it is. I'd rather not start wilting."
"Eight out of ten doctors agree that too much strenuous exercise can have bad side effects on our health." Liquidator quipped as he glided back over towards Bushroot.
"I concur with them. Plus, we always do our more rigorous training sessions in the Tower where there's much more space and, well, much less chance that we'll break something or burn down the house." Tank stated as he adjusted his glasses.
"Okay, everybody, you've made your points." Megavolt sounded exasperated, but his facial expression showed that he was more amused than anything else. "We'll resume our normal routine in the Tower tomorrow."
The routine that Megavolt was referring to was their daily training sessions that took place in Negaduck's former Tower. The Friendly Four had commandeered it after Negaduck had disappeared into the space between dimensions and they'd been using it for their purposes ever since. Once the crime lord was gone, the Four had taken to cleaning up the streets and trying to bring order to the unruly St. Canard. This hadn't been an easy task for them, but they were also seeing some good results come of their hard work. Without the self-proclaimed ruler of the Negaverse around, the city of St. Canard had made a turn around for the better. The Friendly Four plus Gosalyn and Tank had been certain that Negaduck was gone for good after his defeat by Darkwing.
Unfortunately, they had all been proven wrong when Negaduck had reappeared on Halloween night last year—or more accurately his shadow form. Morgana, a former member of the Negaverse's Fearsome Five now turned ally for the Friendly Four, had explained to them afterwords that the criminal mastermind managed to escape from the void between dimensions and land of a planet where he could obtain magical power. The witch had also stated that Negaduck was bound to come back some day and they'd best prepare for it.
Thus, ever since the nearly deadly encounter had taken place, the Friendly Four and their adopted daughter Gosalyn decided to start preparing for his inevitable return. Tank participated occasionally, but he was mostly busy gathering intelligence on magic spells, dimensional travel and determining where the most likely places would be for Negaduck to land when he did come back.
The Friendly Four and Gosalyn had started their training session in the afternoon as they normally did. Tank came up a little later to watch and share some of the information he'd gathered. When they had used the chairs to spin back down to their shared house on Avian Way, Megavolt had been insistent that they had to start mimicking some of Negaduck's moves to get in some more realistic practice. The adamant rodent brought them all into the garage where Quackerjack volunteered to imitate their greatest enemy. Bushroot, Liquidator, Tank and Gosalyn set themselves up in the sidelines to watch the showdown and the rest was history.
"Let's go back inside the house." Bushroot suggested waving his leaf in front of his face to mimic a fan. "I'm usually a fan of hot, humid weather, being part plant and all, but this blasted summer heat is started to dry me out."
"Yeah and it's getting close to dinner time." Tank noted with excitement. He was a big fan of the plant mutant's cooking.
"Oh, that's right!" The botanist said with a note of surprise in his voice. "I'd better ask some of my friends for their tomatoes and cucumbers if we're going to have that fresh garden salad I was going to make."
"Need help getting things together?" Quackerjack inquired in an innocent manner. "I'm handy with cutting things up, remember?"
"Yeah, about that...you know when I told you to chop up the vegetables finely? That's not the same as mashing them into a fine and completely useless paste." Bushroot made a wry face.
"Please note that when making food cutting is wise, but butchering is ill-advised."Liquidator added in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Exactly." The plant duck stated, giving his liquid friend an appreciative smile.
"Spoilsports." Quackerjack replied with a pout.
Megavolt laughed at the toymaker's expression and was about to usher all of towards the inside of the house when a loud knock outside the garage door made them all pause. Wondering who it could be, the electric rodent walked over to the garage door opener and pressed the button. The door slid open and revealed the white-clad, blind sorceress Morgana. She gave a small bow to the group of people that she could sense, but not see.
"I apologize for dropping in on all of you without an invitation," Morgana started with hesitation clear in her tone, "but there's something important I feel that you need to hear."
"It's okay." Megavolt assured her, while the others exchanged bemused looks around him. "We'd like to hear what you have to tell us."
Morgana nodded and slowly walked into the hot garage. As soon as the witch entered the room, Liquidator left. She seemed to glance in his direction briefly, but her expression did not change. Gosalyn was almost certain that Morgana knew who had taken their leave when she had arrived and yet she did not seem at all offended by the move. In fact, it was a typical occurrence whenever she came by the house, Gosalyn noted as their magical ally prepared to speak.
"As you know, I've been using my powers to monitor any activity going on in the vast void between dimensions so that I could track any portals being created between our world and another. For the past couple months that I've been doing this, there hasn't been anything unusual going on in between dimensions and I haven't sensed any inter-dimensional travel. However, that's all changed as of this past week."
"Morgana, just tell us." The electric rat said with impatience as the tension in the room was building. Everyone was holding their breath with the same question on their minds. "Is Negaduck on his way back to our world?"
"No, he is not." She responded quickly and everyone else in the garage breathed a sigh of relief. "Though I wouldn't relax just yet. He isn't coming right now, but I think he may be returning to us sooner then I had originally anticipated. Recently, I've been sensing large energy surges in the void between dimensions and all of them have come from the same point in the time/space continuum. It was faint, but I could feel a bit of his presence in these surges. I tried to trace the bit of his presence I felt back to its origin and I now believe he's residing on an isolated planet that's light years away from ours. That I can even begin to sense his activity from here suggests that he's amassing vast amounts of power."
"So, do you have any idea when he'll return?" Bushroot inquired in a resigned tone of voice.
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you that for certain." Morgana replied apologetically. "What I can tell you for certain is that we should expect Negaduck to come back to this dimension before the end of this year."
Megavolt's, Quackerjack's and Bushroot's faces all mirrored the same grim expression as they took in the news. Tank and Gosalyn exchanged a troubled glance before they looked at Morgana again. They had all been hoping they would have more time than that.
"I'm sorry that I had to spoil your day with this, but I felt like it was my duty to tell you." The sorceress explained as she noticed how downtrodden all of them were after hearing what she had to say.
"Don't apologize." Quackerjack answered her in an unusually serious voice. "We're glad that you took the time to tell us. It will certainly give us a lot to talk about over dinner tonight."
"Speaking of dinner, I should probably head back to my Manor. I left something boiling in one of my brewing pots that I should get back to before it makes a mess. Excuse me." She never liked to linger long, given how uncomfortable she generally made things for them whenever she dropped by, so this excuse was made just as much for their sake as it was for hers. The witch gave them a quick wave goodbye, then turned on her heel to leave.
"Thank you again Morgana!" Megavolt called after her as she made her way out of the garage. He glanced at both of his comrades and they immediately began discussing the new intelligence they had been given. With her guardians distracted, Gosalyn decided that it was now or never if she wanted to ask the question that had been on her mind for a long time.
Morgana had just exited the garage when a hand stopped her. She realized it was Gosalyn and she graced the curly-haired duckling with a friendly smile.
"What is it, Gosalyn?"
"Um," the young girl started, knowing that what she was about to say might not be taken well, "can I ask you something?"
"Anything dear. What do you want to know?"
"It's, well..." Gosalyn swallowed, looked into the translucent eyes of the older woman as she decided it was time to be assertive, "why doesn't Liquidator like you?"
As soon as she heard the question, the smile faded from Morgana's face. She averted her eyes from Gosalyn and turned away slightly as if she'd been stung.
"I'm sorry," the red-haired duckling told her after an awkward pause, "it's just that I was concerned. I know that you and Liquidator aren't on good terms, but I think it would be better for all of us if we got along. That's why I asked the question. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
Morgana didn't say anything for a moment. Abruptly, she patted Gosalyn on the shoulder with a forced smile on her face. The kind child knew that the sorceress was trying to make her feel better, but the fake smile only accentuated the pained expression she was trying to hide.
"It's okay. I know you're just curious about it. I should have expected the question sooner or later, I suppose."
"So, will you tell me why?"
"Not today. Maybe some other time."
She tried to leave again, but Gosalyn stopped her with more questions.
"Is there any way to mend things between you two? Would it help if you apologized?" The young girl inquired innocently.
Morgana gave a deep sigh and folded her hands tightly in front of her white dress. Her milky green eyes stared unseeing at the pavement below her and her head was hung in remorse. Indeed, her entire form seemed to be hunched forward as if weighed down by some unpleasant memory. After a long pause, her lips parted, almost against her will and she spoke in a soft, heartsick voice:
"Gosalyn, you are innocent, sensitive, sweet and so very, very young. When you're a child, things seem much simpler than they are. When you grow older and become an adult, well, then you understand that there are some things that you've done that can't be absolved with a few words like, "I'm sorry." There are things that can happen between two people that can not be forgotten no matter how much time has passed or how much either party has changed..."
Gosalyn listened intently as the sorceress spoke and waited patiently as she trailed off, wondering what she would do next. The red-haired duckling really didn't know what to say after what she'd heard, so she said nothing at all. Morgana didn't speak another word, instead she walked slowly away from the former daughter of Negaduck. Gosalyn called after her, but wind had picked up out of nowhere and whirled around Morgana's figure, engulfing her. A flash of light blinded the young girl temporarily and the next thing she knew, the witch had disappeared. She stared at the place where the older woman had disappeared for a moment longer, lost in thought and feeling a bit guilty, then turned and headed back into the garage.
Megavolt, Bushroot and Quackerjack were discussing something amongst themselves and didn't seem as if they had noticed her conversation with Morgana or the witch's abrupt exit. Seeing that Liquidator had not come back to join the others, Gosalyn went inside the house to search for the watery being. As she entered the house, she spotted Tank who looked as though he was studying something. She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and he gave her a smile as a greeting.
"Hey! What's on your mind?" She asked with interest.
Tank didn't give her any verbal explanation. Instead, he pointed towards the living room and to the single inhabitant of it. Liquidator was sitting on the couch with his watery hands between his knees. His translucent blue eyes were set on the television that wasn't on and his mouth was fixed in a single line. The water dog's entire form was still and he made no sound. It was clear that he was lost in some type of unhappy revelry and, if it wasn't for the fact that his body was visible on the couch, the kids would have sworn that he was no longer living with them and had disappeared into the past.
Gosalyn and Tank exchanged a worried glance before both of them made the same decision. They walked timidly towards the Liquidator, who had yet to move a muscle from his position on the couch. When they walked into his line of sight, the wet dog blinked in surprise as he snapped out of his thoughts. A small smile formed on his fluid features as the two children looked at him, wondering what they should say.
"Hello, Gosalyn, Tank." He greeted them as cheerfully as he could manage. " Do you two need anything?"
"No," Gosalyn shook her head emphatically, "we really don't need anything. Actually, we wanted to know if you needed something."
"Me?" Liquidator asked with a small chuckle. "All reports of customer satisfaction suggest that the Liquidator has everything he could want. Other character studies state that if this ex-salesman was really in need of something, he would work towards getting it."
Even as he spoke in his typical ad jargon, both of the kids could tell that his normal salesman voice didn't have any of its usual boisterousness to it. It made his words seem very hollow and it was Tank who decided to clarify what Gosalyn had meant by her question.
"The two of us weren't talking about any sort of commercial need. Rather, we were trying to ask you if you were okay. You've been sitting listlessly on this couch ever since Morgana came by..."
Tank left off there for he could see the inquisitive expression on the liquid dog's face had changed to one of deep anger. He noticed that Liquidator's insides began to bubble and his form was giving off small spirals of steam. Both Gosalyn and Tank took a step away from him out of uncertainty and concern for what would happen to them if their guardian lost his temper. Seeing that he was scaring the kids, Liquidator took a deep breath and restored his form to its normal properties.
"I'm sorry you two. I didn't mean to scare you both. Psychological studies have shown that the worst of me comes forward whenever she comes by."
Neither of them had to ask who 'she' was. Gosalyn went to her water dog guardian and gave him the best hug that she could. Liquidator smiled at the gesture and wrapped her in his fluid arms. After a moment of peaceful silence, his daughter pushed away from him and met his blue eyes were her deep green ones.
"Liquidator, there's something that I've wanted to know for a while. Will you please tell me what happened between you and Morgana?"
The ex-salesman stiffened in his seat and responded in a quiet voice.
"The FCC rating system shows that this story is not appropriate for minors."
"While that may be true," Tank stated in his educational tone of voice, "I can personally tell you that living with my parents and Gosalyn living with Negaduck has shown us some things that most children only see in nightmares."
"If it helps," the red-haired duckling added before her guardian could protest again, "I already know a little part of the story."
Liquidator expression was melancholic as he responded to her statement. She was talking about the first time they had met. "Yes. Yes, that is true. So much has happened since then, I had almost forgotten about it..."
It was then that Liquidator recalled how frightened she had looked when she first saw him. It was not his appearance that had scared her, far from it. Rather, she had been concerned about his condition and had taken a big risk on his behalf. She and Tank both, now that he thought about it.
"We're only trying to help you." Tank broke the silence that had occurred between the three of them. "It's certainly not our intention to pry."
"That's right." Gosalyn concurred firmly. "The two of us just want to know what really happened. The whole story from beginning to end. Please?"
Liquidator gazed into Gosalyn's green eyes that were both pleading and earnest. He sighed again, this time in resignation.
"Nine out of nine justices show you have pleaded your case and won." Both of the kids smiled warmly at him, but he pointed to the floor before they could express their gratitude. "Get comfortable. This is a long story."
Gosalyn and Tank immediately obeyed his command and found places where they could sprawl out on the floor. Once they were settled, Liquidator took a deep breath and started speaking in steady voice.
"It all started two years ago, back when I was just a meager bottled water salesman named Bud Flood. I had never been a supporter of Negaduck and his policies, even then. As you both know, Negaduck had slowly been taking control over all the resources in the city. It had been a particularly hot summer that year, which caused bottled water sales to skyrocket. Our increased profit margins caught the eye of the city's most famous crime lord, who wanted our capital profits to be used only for his personal gain. This is where this tale truly begins..."
There was no sound in the dimly lit room as everyone took their seats around the oval table. The thick silence was broken by the sounds of chairs squeaking and clothes rustling as everyone finally settled. A grim element permeated the air as each of the occupants of the room looked at each other, wondering who should start. Finally, one of the men on the left side of the table loudly cleared his throat to get the others attention.
"Well, Gentlemen and Lady," the stringy mallard nodded to the only woman at the table who curtly nodded back, "there's no need for us to beat around the bush, so to speak. We all know why we're here."
Indeed every person in the room was well aware of why they were there and what they risked by even coming together in the first place. Five of them were the corporate heads of bottled water companies in St. Canard, the two most recognizable of which were the Koo Koo Fizzy Water head Karl Fizzy and Sparkling Crystal Flood Water Company's Bud Flood. Karl Fizzy, the stringy duck who had just spoken up, was better known as Koo Koo Karl and was instantly recognizable by his disheveled, mile high red hair, his eccentric mismatching outfit and his large webbed feet. He could have easily been mistaken for a clown, if not for the cloud of arrogance that seemed to engulf him from head to toe. Bud Flood, who was sitting on the opposite side from Karl, was a tall canine with brown fur, black hair with purple highlights and beady black eyes. He made his best efforts to look professional no matter what the situation and his brown business suit was pristine as always.
"Now that we're all here, we need to decide what we're going to do with the—shall we say ultimatum that we've been given." Karl continued with a pointed look as everyone around the table nodded.
Negaduck, the self-proclaimed leader of the Negaverse, had set his sights on owning everything in St. Canard and was now making his move on the bottled water companies. He had already made a valiant effort to pollute the tap water for the residents of the city, but with clean bottled water still on the market, he couldn't complete the task of controlling the water supply. In the past three days, all the corporate heads of bottled water companies had received a message from the chainsaw wielding mallard that basically boiled down to 'give up your company to me or else.' No one had to ask what the 'or else' part referred to. There was rarely a case where someone defied Negaduck and lived to tell about it.
"While I hate to be the one to voice this, it is time that we faced the inevitable. We all knew that Negaduck was going to try to covet our assets eventually and he has plenty of thugs around to make sure that he gets what he wants. I know that we've all put a lot of hard work into building the fortunes that we have and don't want to give up our autonomy, but we cannot hope to defy the Lord of St. Canard and win."
Most heads around the table nodded their assent, but a loud, barking voice broke the silence and grabbed their attention.
"You can't be serious!" Bud Flood said in disbelief. "You just want all of us to give up without a fight? The only way that it's certain that we'll lose this battle is if we don't even try."
"Valiant as always, Flood." Karl replied curtly. "Valiant and foolish. While your energy has always been appreciated, your philosophical points are not. The cold hard facts in front of our faces show that if we defy him we will all die. Now, I love what I do, you all know that, but I'm certainly not willing to die for it."
He tried to go on, but he was interrupted as Bud Flood got to his feet and slammed his fists into the table.
"This isn't just about you! What we decide to do here won't just affect our lives, but the lives of everyone in this city."
"I'm sure they'll understand." The red haired duck responded mildly. "After all, if they minded what he was doing so much, why isn't anyone trying to stop him?"
"There are people trying to stop them and you know it!"
"I hope you're not referring to electrician that fried his brain with one of his experiments or that plant thing from St. Canard University. Those two have padded cells waiting for them in the loony bin. Hardly what one would refer to as a resistance."
"Please, five out five statisticians could tell you that's all media propaganda spread by Negaduck himself! Besides, what about the owner of Quackerjack toys or any of the normal citizens who took a stand against this maniac? You can't just write all of them off as crazy."
"Well, that toymaker has always had a few screws loose, in my humble opinion." Karl said dismissively. "As for the normal everyday citizens standing up to Lord Negaduck, let me ask you this, Flood. Where are these people? I've certainly never see them. I don't think I have to explain to you why that is."
"First of all, any advertising campaign that refers to Negaduck as a 'Lord' of anything automatically discredits itself in my book. Secondly, yes, I'm well aware of what the criminal mastermind in question does to people who break his rules or outright oppose them, but I'll tell you something. I bet you that none of those people regret what they did. They weren't just going to hide in their homes and accept things as they were because some megalomaniac with a chainsaw wanted to rule the city. They realized that they didn't want to live in a place where they weren't allowed to even purchase a toy for their children, listen to the music of their preference or where every growing plant or tree was torn out or burnt down. There's no happiness to be found when a ruler mandates what you can eat, what you listen to, when you can leave your home or whether or not you can have clean water. These normal everyday citizens are fighting back because they know that just letting that happen, living in constant fear of being killed for the most trivial of crimes isn't living at all. It's waiting to die."
Everyone around the table was silent as he looked at each of them. Most couldn't meet his eyes and those that did were glaring defiance. The only supportive pair of eyes he saw in the room were the green eyes of Morgana Mawcaber. The tall duck with long black hair colored with white streaks that fell past her shoulders in a tight white dress was the sole female occupant of the room and was also the only one who wasn't a bottled water corporate head. The reason she was participating in this was because she used water in quite a few of her products and the lack of clean water was affecting her as of late. Bud considered her the only ally and friend he had in the entire room at the moment.
"What a touching sermon." Karl's tone made it clear that he meant the exact opposite of his words. "Have you ever considered the career path of a priest, Flood? I think you'd be quite suited to it."
Bud merely scowled at his sarcasm, but said nothing in return, refusing to be provoked by a childish jibe.
"As for the entire dying scenario that my dear friend across the table seems to be so keen on, I think I have a realistic solution to that problem. You see, I decided to see Lord Negaduck personally over this matter and I can assure you he was a very reasonable man to deal with. He told me that if we agreed to hand over our companies to him, then we would be able to keep the majority of our earnings, provided we each pay a small fee to him each month."
"Pray tell what this fee is for? Could it be a 'do not kill me' fee or is it required for funding his efforts to find spineless spokesmen to preach his wonderful agenda?" Bud questioned scathingly.
Karl ignored him. "In addition to what he's already generously offering, he's informed me that he will secretly befoul all of our water vats so that we'll have no liability. If the media asks any questions, we just say that we have no idea who did it and the police are investigating the matter. Our hands will be wiped clean of the incident and no suspicion will fall upon us." He crossed his arms and smiled smugly. "You won't get a much better deal than that, if I do say so myself."
Bud was about to interject again when a new voice beat him to it.
"Well, that all sounds very, shall we say, convenient." Morgana said a little too sweetly. "Forgive me if the phrase, 'too good to be true,' pops into my mind. This is Negaduck we're all talking about here. What makes you think he's going to abide by some contract he makes with you? Isn't his entire regime based upon the idea that he is above the law, while everyone else is subject to it?"
The sleek sales dog grinned at her words, seeing a vein begin to throb in Karl's temple.
"Well, Ms. Mawcaber if you have a better proposition, I'd like to hear it."
"With all due respect, I think your proposition of handing over all your companies to the most notorious criminal in St. Canard is little more running away from your problems with your tail tucked between your legs. Negaduck will only pretend to cooperate with you and your friends as long as he deems it necessary and then he'll find a way to get rid all of you. If you give in to his demands, you'll be rewarded with temporary safety followed very quickly by death. If you defy him and try to hang on to your companies—"
"Yes, yes, we know. We'll all die." Karl stated testily with an eye roll.
"Actually, I was going to say you might die." She replied primly, shrugging her shoulders. "The outcome could be the same, but if you don't take any risks you'll never know what could have been. Surely you business men aren't afraid to take some risks."
"I know I'm not." Bud answered with his usual confidence.
"Well, I and, dare I say, my associates," he panned his arm across the table, "know that taking unnecessary risks can damage and permanently capsize a profitable venture. Forgive me if I seem rude Ms. Mawcaber, but I think I can counter you're little phrase with one of my own: 'better safe then sorry.' I want to make sure I live to see my next profits and there is nothing more important to me then my life. I think the wisest and most business friendly position would be to take Negaduck's offer."
"So that's it, then?" Bud asked angrily. "Your just going to hand more power over to Negaduck just to save your tail feathers? I always knew you were nothing more than a hack."
"And I always knew that you were an unreasonable tightwad who disagreed with me at every turn just for the sake of being contrary. Face it Flood, you've lost and none of your brilliant speeches or temper tantrums are going to change that."
The owner of the Sparkling Crystal Pure Flood Water Company just shook his head, knowing that trying to debate with Karl would be a waste of his breath. His eyes scanned the other three corporate heads around the table.
"So, what say the rest of you?" Bud's voice had taken a no nonsense tone. "Surely you're not buying this tripe about a vindictive, two-timing crime lord giving us some kind of immunity deal. There's so much more at stake than our lives! You understand that, don't you?"
His urging got him no response other than stubborn glares and frowns. Undeterred, he plowed forward with his speech, determined to get them to listen to him.
"If we band together and go against Negaduck's wishes, then we'll send a message to all the good citizens of St. Canard. As long as we fight him together, we don't have to be afraid any more. The city can be restored to what it was and we can finally—"
"Oh, will you put a sock in it!" One of the other corporate heads spat impatiently. "Look, you're idealistic view of the world might work for you and everyone here knows how much you like to hear yourself talk and put yourself on a pedestal because you're so much more virtuous and whatnot, but enough is enough. I'm not going to die just to promote your ideals and neither are these two and that's that."
Bud Flood forced himself to swallow his fury before he said something he would really regret. Folding his hands on his lap, he looked at each occupant of the table one last time.
"You're sure you won't change your minds?" He spoke softly, almost pleadingly.
His only replies were sneers from the three other corporate heads and a smug smile from Karl Fizzy. Abruptly, Bud stood up from his chair and turned his back to his audience.
"Very well, then. Sign away your companies and put your trust in the devil. Obviously, I won't be joining you." He said coldly from over his shoulder. "Don't come crying to me when you find knives in your backs."
Without waiting for a reply, he stormed out of the small office room briskly, slamming the door as he left.
Once outside, he kicked some of the garbage that was piled up around his feet. Bud tried to take a breath of fresh air to calm himself, but the air itself was now so foul that it only served to further ignite his temper.
"Cowards!" He spat as he surveyed what was left of a once beautiful city.
Everywhere he looked, grime covered the buildings, roads and sidewalks. Litter was piled high on the sidewalks and the once bustling downtown shopping district was now devoid of any life. Shop windows were broken, lighted signs were blinking weakly if they hadn't been destroyed entirely and there was no merchandise to be seen. The building closest to him was one of the Quackerjack Toy shops that had once brought so much joy to the children of the city with its one-of-a-kind, hand crafted old fashioned toys. Now, all the colors on the store were fading, the glass window was smashed in, obscuring most of the logo and the only thing close to a toy was a stuffed teddy bear head that had been forcefully torn off its body. The toy industry in St. Canard had been successfully abolished a few months earlier.
Now the bottled water industry will go the same way. Negaduck's lackies will show up and taint all of our water vats. Then, the only thing the citizens of St. Canard will have to their names will be electricity and who knows how long it will be before that megalomaniac goes after that. I can't let this happen! Bud determined with his fists balled. There has to be something I can do about this…
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a rustling motion in the corner of his eye. Turning towards one of the seemingly deserted alley ways, he caught a brief glimpse of a brown coat tail disappearing behind one of the walls. Now aware that someone had been watching him, Bud took a couple quiet steps towards the small space in between the deserted buildings. He stopped abruptly when the cloaked figure appeared again of their own will. The dog couldn't make out any features on the suspect in question though he thought he heard the soft chime of bells as they crept forward. The figure had their back pressed against the wall and their head turned away, but their gloved hand was now completely visible and it was beckoning him to come closer. Curious, but also cautious, he decided he would see what it was this stranger wanted when a disembodied voice startled him.
"You certainly know how to make friends."
The water salesman jumped in surprise and whirled around to see the slender figure of Morgana Macawber assemble herself in thin air. This didn't surprise the water mogul as it should have for he was one of the few people outside of her immediate family who knew that she was a real witch. The pair had become good friends last year when they made a deal to let her use some of his water to make some of her potions. She had been looking for particularly pure water for her recipes and his had fit the bill. It was why she was just as concerned as he was about Negaduck's newfound interest in the bottled water industry.
"Yes, well, ten out of ten psychological studies suggest that having friends like those is worse than having an enemy. Your enemy will try to stab you from the front, while these 'friends' will aim for your back."
"They have proven to be rather worthless, haven't they?" Morgana added lightly, combing her fingers through her long black hair. "Though considering what my dealings with them have been like in the past, I can't say I'm all that surprised that they've chosen the easy way out. Whenever push came to shove, those smug, tough guy business tycoons up there devolved into wimpy little boys wringing their hands and crying that it was unfair." She ended her statement with a long eye roll with her deep green eyes. "It's no wonder that you and I became business partners. You're the only one of them with any backbone or drive, not to mention you're better looking than all of them combined."
Bud flashed his business partner an award winning smile after that compliment. He took one of her slender hands and brought it to his lips in a soft kiss.
"You've always been easy on the eyes yourself, Morgana."
There was no guile in the salesman's words as he said this. Morgana was a tall, slender duck who came up to his shoulder. She wore a tight-fitting white dress that was offset well by her long black hair with white streaks that fell just past her shoulders. Her green eyes were captivating and Bud had wondered more than once if that sparkle he saw in them was natural or if she used some spell to enhance them. Nevertheless, they were beautiful, as was she, and he had been very glad to see her as of late. She had been his only ally at that table as she had always been his only ally against Negaduck. He had been surprised to find someone else who was willing to speak openly about their negative views of the crime lord and had quickly grown to like their partnership on a personal level.
"Thank you, dear heart."She responded sweetly, drawing back her hand. "I just wish that there were more people out there like you who were willing to take a stand instead of just running away."
"Me too," came his wistful sigh. Remembering the figure he had seen earlier, he took a brief glance over his shoulder to where he had spotted them hiding. Whoever it was had left the scene and, though he had expected that to be the case, he couldn't help feeling a touch of disappointment.
"What's the matter? Are you looking for something?" Morgana questioned curiously as he continued to stare over his shoulder.
"More like someone." He answered cryptically as he turned back to her. She raised an eyebrow at him in an irritated fashion and he chuckled. She hated it when someone purposely withheld information from her. "Before you appeared out of thin air, I saw someone hiding in the alley. I thought they might have wanted to talk to me, but it looks like they took off."
She frowned deeply. "That's probably for the best. I don't think anyone who has to resort to skulking around abandoned alleys would be up to anything good."
"That depends on what your definition of 'good' is." Bud said with a shrug. "These days, people with good intentions are forced into the shadows, while people like Negaduck and his flunkies walk around in broad daylight. Besides, we're out in the open talking about how we don't like what our local crime lord is up to. I'm sure that in Negaduck's mind we're the bad guys for thinking that he doesn't have the right to tear up our fair city like this."
"You have a point, but I'd still advise caution." Morgana insisted with the same deep frown. "You're a renowned salesman with a lot of money and enough influence to be a thorn in Negaduck's side. I'd hate to see you put your trust in the wrong person and get hurt."
"I can take care of myself, Morg, but thank you for worrying about me all the same. I'll be careful, I promise."
"You'd better be," the witch told him with a smile as a spark formed on her finger, "or I'll come by and drive the point home."
He watched as the spark flared shortly, then sizzled out. He shook his head at the display and thought, not for the first time, that he was glad they were on the same side. The water salesman returned her mischievous smile with one of his own.
"Talk about making me an offer I can't refuse," Bud said with a wink. "I think it's about time for me to head back to my home anyway. It's been one of those disappointing days that can only be salvaged with a glass of wine."
"A good glass of wine does wonders no matter what kind of day it is." Morgana agreed as she watched him depart with a wave of his hand. "Take care of yourself, Buddy. I'll be in touch."
"I'll look forward to it!" He called back at her as he started the long walk back to his apartment. Try as he might, he couldn't push away his morbid thoughts about the future of St. Canard as the sun set over the smoky horizon. Little did he know that he was about to set events in motion that would change the course of his life forever...
Author's Note: Sooooo, how did you like it? Personally, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, especially once the actual flashback started. I'm pretty far into chapter two, so I'm hoping to update fairly soon if everything goes well.