Drake adjusted his grip on Quackerjack as he walked home. The poor kid was asleep, cuddling against him and holding Mr. Banana Brain as tightly as he could. Seeing the kid like this, knowing he was only so tired because he was scared of Negaduck and couldn't sleep last night, it was hard to believe that this had once been one of his most formidable villains.

Drake had always known deep down that maybe most of his villains needed help more than they needed prison. Liquidator had started as a simple con that needed to be stopped, but because of a freak accident that Drake knew was his fault, the dog had turned into a freak of nature that actually couldn't live in normal society.

Bushroot had anger issues, and he probably needed a lot of therapy to find other ways to cope with his frustrations than through revenge and violence, but Drake knew that he really was just a good natured guy who got the short end of the stick and didn't know how to cope.

Megavolt's memory was so bad that it was a wonder that he was able to live his day to day life. That rat needed medical attention, and probably therapy as well, if he well and truly believed that lightbulbs were sentient.

And then there was Quackerjack, who was currently sucking on his thumb as he nuzzled against Drake. Quackerjack was insane. He did bad things, but did it really count when a person actually wasn't able to understand that it was bad? To what extent had Quackerjack thought that this was all a game?

Drake had always known these things, but keeping the civilians safe had always been more important than putting in the time and effort to try to save a handful of criminals. Taking care of these kids though, it wasn't something he could ignore anymore.

Drake was in over his head. He'd felt overwhelmed taking care of one kid who needed a little extra help. Gos was hyperactive and had a hard time focusing in school, and because of the way her grandfather raised her she was very independent for her age, and had a hard time understanding that there were times when she should trust the adults around her.

Compared to these four though, Gos was a walk in the park. At least she was capable of sleeping and didn't feel like the only way to take care of people was by stealing for them. At least Gos, as much as she'd gotten in trouble at school, hadn't hurt people. Gos frequently didn't do what she was told, but she didn't forget it after five minutes.

And as hyper as Gos could be, it really wasn't anything compared to Quackerjack, who somehow seemed more insane now than he had been as an adult. So this was just how the kid was, and it wasn't just him overreacting because he didn't know how to cope with his company going out of business.

Something was actually wrong with Quackerjack's brain, and Drake didn't even know how to help him. How much of it was actually him, and how much of it was because of Negaduck's manipulation? Did it actually matter?

Quackerjack was hurting. Drake may not entirely understand why, but he was a detective. The least he could do was look for some answers.

When they got back to the house Drake considered taking Quackerjack inside and putting him to bed. He'd had a long night, and he had finally managed to get some sleep. But Drake had told Quackerjack that he would show him how to look for answers.

Drake didn't personally think that Negaduck could have possibly been there last night, or any other time, but he was determined to check. What kind of hero would he be if he ignored a potential threat from his most dangerous enemy? He could spare a few seconds to at least look for clues, and if he could do that, then he could definitely take a minute or two to show Quackerjack the ropes.

Instead of going inside, Drake went to the back of the house, nudging Quackerjack awake. "Come on, Jackie, wake up. We're home." Quackerjack mumbled and leaned sleepily against him. He blinked open his blurry eyes and looked at Drake in confusion.

"I'm awake." Quackerjack yawned and rubbed his eyes. Drake chuckled and set the young duck on the ground.

"Do you want to help me look for clues?" Drake asked. Quackerjack gasped, suddenly looking more awake.

"About Negaduck?" Quackerjack bounced on his feet. "Yes! I want to see!"

"Okay, where did you see him?" Drake asked.

"He was outside the window." Quackerjack said. Drake raised an eyebrow at him.

"Your room is on the second floor." Drake pointed out. Quackerjack didn't seem to understand what his point was. Drake sighed, knowing he would have to spell it out a bit more. "So you think that not only did Negaduck come to a quiet neighborhood in the middle of the night just to scare you, but you think that he flew up to the second floor to do it?"

"Don't be silly." Quackerjack crossed his arms and pouted. "Negaduck can't fly. Maybe he climbed the wall, or grabbed a ladder."

"Well, that would make looking for clues a little easier." Drake muttered. He brought Quackerjack under the guest bedroom window. "Something like drag marks from a ladder, or a scrap of clothing, or-"

"A feather?" Quackerjack said as he bent down and picked up a white feather. He held it up proudly. Drake just stared at it in shock and slight horror.

"...Yeah, something like that." Drake snatched the feather from Quackerjack. "Let me see it." He carefully studied the feather. Texture wise, it felt like one of his own. It actually felt and looked exactly like his own feathers. The texture, length and color were a near perfect match, and for the first time Drake wondered if maybe Quackerjack wasn't just completely out of his mind.

Drake finally looked away from the feather as he returned to studying the ground. He wasn't just trying to satisfy Quackerjack now. He was genuinely looking for clues. He didn't look for long before he saw another clue. It looked like there was a footprint in the ground.

It wasn't very deep, and Drake knew that he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been looking specifically for something like this. He carefully brought his own foot down on the print. It was a perfect fit. If Drake didn't know for a fact that he hadn't been back here for more than a week, he would convince himself that the feather and footprint were just his.

Drake took a deep breath and looked at Quackerjack. The kid was tilting his head at him and staring at him with anticipation. He was waiting to be validated or reassured, and Drake didn't know which one he was supposed to do. Should he tell Quackerjack that it was completely possible that Negaduck had been here last night, and possibly all of those other times too? Or should he say that it had probably just been in his head, and he was completely safe?

Drake didn't know which case was true, and he didn't know which one Quackerjack would find most comfort in. He had no idea what he was doing.

"Let's take this inside." Drake said. He looked around urgently, suddenly worried that Negaduck was just out of sight, watching them. Quackerjack didn't seem to understand the situation.

"I thought we were looking for clues." Quackerjack said. He was rocking on his heels.

"I've seen enough." Drake put a hand on Quackerjack's back and started to guide him to the back door.

"Does that mean you've solved the mystery?" Quackerjack beamed at him. It was Negaduck, wasn't it? That feather's his, right?"

Drake frowned. The kid looked far too excited about the possibility that Negaduck had been right outside his window last night. Did he not understand how dangerous Negaduck was? Was he just that scared of his insanity? Drake wondered if he should share his concerns with Quackerjack. Maybe it actually would help him feel better.

Drake was thinking of calmly pointing out the footprint and acknowledging the potential threat, while promising the boy that he would keep them safe. Before he could say anything though Bushroot poked his head out the back door.

"What are you doing?" Bushroot asked.

"We're looking for proof that Negaduck was here last night!" Quackerjack said eagerly. Drake grimaced and slammed a hand over the young duck's mouth. While Quackerjack could find an odd amount of comfort from the knowledge that he wasn't out of his mind, the other kids definitely wouldn't, and Drake didn't want to deal with panicking children.

"I thought you guys were going out for pizza." Drake said. He and Quackerjack couldn't have been gone for much more than an hour. He hadn't expected the others to come home so early.

"Liqui got bored and flooded the ball pit." Bushroot crossed his arms. "Launchpad brought us back early. So what's this about Negaduck?"

He looked cautious. Bushroot had only recently stopped panicking whenever Quackerjack mentioned that he had seen Negaduck. The kid would freak out if Drake said that he was remotely humoring the idea.

Drake looked from one kid to the other, finding himself at a crossroads of sorts. Did he make sure that Bushroot and the other kids felt safe? Or did he validate Quackerjack's experiences and make sure that the kid understood that he wasn't completely insane?

Drake knew that no matter what he did, he would upset and scare a kid, and it wouldn't be easy to make them feel better.

Drake didn't know who needed his reassurance more. All he knew was that Negaduck had wanted these kids for one reason or another. Drake wanted to protect all of them, but if he had to choose between which kid needed to be protected, he knew who it would be, and he felt bad for not even having to think about it.

Negaduck was like Drake, in that he didn't have powers, but had always wanted such abilities. Drake knew that it was the whole reason why Negaduck had turned them into kids in the first place. But where did that leave Quackerjack?

He didn't have any powers. Right now, he didn't even have the mental stability to be a formidable foe the way that his grown self was. What could Negaduck want with him?

From what Drake had heard, Quackerjack had been locked away from the others while they'd been with Negaduck. Maybe the villain had just turned Quackerjack into a child to get him out of the way, and so he'd had someone to threaten so he could better control the others. If Drake ever dared to stoop this low, he would probably do something like that.

Quackerjack could very well have been seeing Negaduck, but was the villain actually a threat to him? Or was he using Quackerjack to plant paranoia into everybody else until it was the right time to strike?

Drake sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't know just what Negaduck could want with Quackerjack, but he knew exactly what he wanted with Bushroot, as well as Liquidator and Megavolt. Those three were the ones in immediate danger. They'd been the ones who had been directly hurt by Negaduck. Right now, they were the ones that he needed to protect and make sure they felt safe.

"Quackerjack had a bad dream last night." Drake said. Jackie's excited grin dimmed as he stared at Drake with wide eyes. Drake avoided his gaze. "He thought he saw Negaduck again. I was just showing him that he imagined it."

Quackerjack blinked. "I…no, I didn't." He pointed to the feather that Drake was still holding. "I found a clue!"

"Kid, you pull on your feathers so much that they're all over the place." Drake said. Quackerjack grimaced and grabbed at the feathers on his head. He pulled away from Drake, looking at him with wide, betrayed eyes.

"It's not mine!" Quackerjack said. "You…you looked scared. You were trying to bring me inside. Why would you do that if there's nothing to be afraid of?"

Bushroot frowned at Quackerjack before turning his gaze to Drake. He didn't look convinced. "What were you afraid of if it wasn't Negaduck?"

"I wasn't scared." Drake said defensively. He crossed his arms, hiding away the feather. "I just…" He gave Quackerjack a concerned glance before leaning towards Bushroot. "Look, the kid's hallucinations are freaking me out."

"They're not hallucinations!" Quackerjack screamed. His hands were shaking, and he looked more unstable than Drake had seen him, even when he was an adult and ranting about his hatred for video games. "I-I'm not…I'm not crazy!"

"I never said you were." Drake said. He held his hands out to Quackerjack. The kid just stared at him like he was the one that was out of his mind. "Let's just go inside. You have to be hungry. Maybe you'll feel better after you eat something."

Quackerjack took a step away from him. "You solved the mystery. You know. You know I'm right. Tell me you know I'm right. Negaduck was here last night." He looked scared and desperate, and Drake wondered if he needed to be honest and deal with the consequences from there.

But he'd already made his decision. He had made Bushroot feel better and safe, and it was too late to take that back. Hating himself just a little bit for what he was doing, Drake looked Quackerjack right in the eyes.

"Negaduck was never here." Drake said evenly Tears came to Quackerjack's eyes, but he looked more angry than upset. "Now come inside. You need a nap."

"I need nothing." Quackerjack said coldly. He squeezed Mr. Banana Brain tightly and stormed inside, pushing away Drake's offered hand. Bushroot shifted uncomfortably and looked at Drake earnestly.

"Is he okay?" Bushroot asked.

"I don't think so." Drake grimaced. He tried to ignore the guilt he was feeling. Bushroot pouted.

"But will he be okay?" Bushroot asked. Drake felt like he should tell a white lie, but he didn't think he could handle lying to these kids anymore.

"I don't know." he said honestly.

"And Negaduck really wasn't here?" Bushroot asked hopefully. "You're not lying?"

Alright, so Drake could handle one more lie. "He wasn't here. You kids are safe." Bushroot relaxed, sufficiently reassured. He had no reason to think that Drake was lying to him. Still, he felt bad. These kids trusted him, and in trying to keep them safe he was lying to them and making them feel like they were losing their minds.

At times like this, Drake wondered how he could possibly be a good guardian for these kids. They deserved somebody who actually knew what he was doing.

They went inside to see Liquidator just inside the door, waiting for them. "What's wrong with Quackerjack He screamed and went upstairs. What happened?"

"He's crazy." Bushroot said plainly. Drake gave him a disappointed look, and Bushroot had the decency to look sheepish, though he didn't apologize. Drake would have to talk to the kids about how they talked about Quackerjack's issues, because he didn't think that calling him crazy was helping anybody.

"I'll go talk to him." Drake said, though he desperately didn't want to. Sometimes he hated being the grown-up.

He went upstairs to find Megavolt outside of their bedroom door, trying to talk to Quackerjack on the other side of the door.

"Anything?" Drake asked. Megavolt gave him a really pitiful look.

"He says people keep playing games with him, and he's tired of being someone else's toy." Megavolt frowned. "What did you do?"

Drake grimaced. "Something like what you did." Megavolt had played along with Negaduck's cruel games, because he hadn't had a choice. Drake, however, did have a choice. Hard decision or not, he'd still done this on purpose. "Why don't I take it from here?"

Megavolt crossed his arms and stood his ground. He wasn't going anywhere. Drake shook his head. "You know what? Fine." He opened the door and stepped inside, only for a heavy book to be thrown at his head. Drake yelped and closed the door to protect himself and Megavolt from the attack.

"Go away!" Quackerjack shouted. "You stupid, lying, liar face!" His voice broke and he seemed to stifle a sob. "I don't want to play anymore."

It was far from the worst thing Drake had been called, but it wasn't the most creative thing he'd heard from Quackerjack either. He felt like he'd broken the poor kid. Quackerjack clearly needed some time to calm down. Drake didn't want to leave him alone, because he knew that the kid didn't do well on his own, but he didn't think he had much of a choice right now.

"Take all the time you need, Jackie." Drake said quietly. "When you're ready to talk, I'll be here." He just heard a cry of fury and the thud as something hit the door. Drake wasn't startled, but Megavolt jumped like he had shocked himself. He stared at the door with wide eyes.

"Go downstairs, Megs." Drake said. "I'll be here for Quackerjack." Megavolt still looked reluctant to leave his friend, but he was even more out of his depth than Drake was. The rat looked guilty and relieved to be freed from this responsibility. "I'll tell you as soon as he's ready for some company."

With that last reassurance, Megavolt looked convinced. He gave the door a longing look before he stepped away and returned downstairs. Drake sighed, feeling completely drained. He leaned against the door.

"Looks like it's just you and me, kid." Drake said. He didn't get an answer. That was fine. He could wait.