This story is dedicated to my mom, who is far too much like me, in the same way that Drake is far too much like Gosalyn. I owe a lot to her, though. I was never threatened by terrorists or super villains, but she protected me from the much more numerous threats of bullies and uncaring officials, as heroically as any superhero. Darkwing Duck, Launchpad McQuack, Gosalyn Mallard, and all the other characters and places in this story are copyright by Disney. The Adventures of Quiverwing Quack The Scariest Moment of my Life By Joseph Bonis It was a quiet dark and stormy night. At least, it was dark and stormy inside the house at 537 Avian Way as the two strong wills of Gosalyn Mallard and her father, Drake Mallard, clashed. "You never listen to me!" Gosalyn wailed, hitting the table with her fist. "As far as you're concerned, I don't have any good ideas!" "You are a little girl of nineteen, Gosalyn!" Drake hollered back. "And I am still your father! When I tell you something, you will LISTEN to me!" Launchpad just sat back in the corner quietly. He hated it when those two fought: they were so alike, and neither of them listened to the other when they were fighting. As usually happened, they hadn't even been fighting about the subject at hand for quite some time now. "I'll listen to you if you listen to me, sometimes!" Gosalyn countered, "Just because I'm nineteen doesn't mean I don't have some good ideas!" Her voice was getting hoarse from screaming so much, but she would not back down. "Remember when I saved you and Launchpad from Negaduck? You never thanked me then, either!" "Now just a minute, young lady," Drake yelled back, "That was seven years ago! You never stop using that against me! Need I remind you that you would have died at the hands of Negaduck just a few days later, if I hadn't been there to bail you out of another bad idea?" "I was only out there by myself because you wouldn't listen to me! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get ready for my first day of College!" "You should have been ready already!" yelled Drake, "I told you three times yesterday to get your things together! You always keep things till the last minute! You never listen to me, and you always get in trouble when you don't listen to me!" "Dad, yesterday was too early! Some of these things I'm STILL USING! Or would you prefer that I didn't brush my teeth or comb my hair yesterday and today?" "Listen, young lady, until tomorrow, you are still living under my roof, and you will live by my rules! Now go to your room!" Gosalyn paused, the rage flowing through her till she could barely speak. "GO TO MY ROOM?" she exclaimed, incredulously, "GO TO MY ROOM??" Her beak quivered with anger, and she stomped over to the door. "You NEVER treat me with any respect! I HATE YOU!" She slammed the door behind her and stomped up the stairs, slamming another door as she reached her room. In her own way of thinking, there weren't nearly enough doors to slam on the way to her room, so she opened the door and slammed it again. Her room was filled with suitcases and boxes, stacked up high. The room looked empty, lighter-colored patches on the walls where there were once posters, shelves and dresser top empty and barren. She threw herself down on the bed, in that room that was as empty as the feeling in the pit of her stomach, and cried into her pillow till she fell asleep. ----- It was also a dark and stormy night in the Negaverse, but that was normal. However, it was even darker and stormier than usual at the house at 537 Avian Way. Negaduck had just walked into a room, and found that hated hero from Duckburg, Magica DeSpell, in the same room as his foster daughter, Gosalyn. "What's going on here?" he screamed, pulling out a rocket launcher and aiming it at Magica. "How did you find this place?" Magica looked nonplussed as she quietly said, "Well, I was just collecting my apprentice and then moving on to my secret hideout." "Apprentice?" He looked at Gosalyn, and suddenly realized that she was holding a few items he recognized from Morgana's house. "Gosalyn, what are you DONG?" Gosalyn shrunk before the attack, smoothing out her pink dress nervously. "Um... nothin'." She said quietly, trembling in fear. Magica shook her head and pushed her young apprentice forward. "No, tell him," she directed. "You can't live by his rules anymore." Negaduck glowered at Magica, shaking the rocket launcher to remind her it was aimed at her. "Shut up, you, or I won't bother with torture before making you a smear on the wall. This is my daughter, and you're not taking her away from me!" "Slave." Gosalyn said quietly. Negaduck turned to Gosalyn in surprise, his voice suddenly dangerously quiet. "What?" "Slave," Gosalyn repeated, her lower beak trembling. "Daughter implies love. You never loved me." "Well, of COURSE I never loved you!" screamed Negaduck, "You give me cavities by being in the same room! I give you food, give you a house, and even steal you those stupid clothes! What more do you WANT from me? Why can't you go out and kill someone like a good daughter?" Gosalyn looked up at him, a horribly sugary expression of loss and pain on her face. Negaduck threw up his hands in disgust. "Oh, I give up! Get out of my house, both of you! For your information, young lady, ESSOBEE is now my complete heir!" He then proceeded to blow up a totally inoffensive wall, followed by a second wall. The destruction continued until the place where Gosalyn had been raised was nothing but a smoking crater. Negaduck stood there in the street, seething, the Muddlefoots next door looking at him with the total awe of peasants in the presence of their lord and master. "I need some more," grumbled Negaduck to himself, "Aw, heck. Let's go assault Darkwing's city again." ----- Drake sat in front of the wheel of the car as Gosalyn and Launchpad carried the last boxes up to her dorm room. The silence between them had been unbearable, but he was not going to say anything to Gosalyn unless and until she said something first. Launchpad came down by himself, getting into the passenger seat. "Gos says she's got everything and you can go, Drake." Drake looked up in surprise, then got mad again. "Oh, sure, she doesn't even say good bye. Fine, then." He stomped on the gas pedal, tires screeching as he took off. "Aw, geez, I hate it when you two fight," muttered Launchpad. Gosalyn looked out her window at the car, then sat down on a chair, sighing. She had hoped that would make him come up and at least give her another lecture, but it seemed he wasn't going to talk to her. Well FINE, she wouldn't talk to him, either! She opened up a box and started heaving innocent sports equipment into the closet. After unpacking for a bit, the alarm clock by her bed started beeping at her. She smashed it into its component pieces, grateful for the chance to take out some of her anger, then suddenly realized what that alarm meant. "My first class!" She grabbed her backpack and threw it over one shoulder, taking a quick glimpse at the mirror to make sure she looked okay. She was wearing a snug pair of blue jeans and a purple sports shirt with pink sleeves and a big white '1' on the front, along with her usual red and white sneakers. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She suddenly wished she were still a kid, and her hair was in two tails instead of one, when life was simpler. She shook off the sudden fit of nostalgia and hurried out the door towards Freshman Composition. ----- Negaduck crawled out of the giant pink many-layered cake that served as his dimensional portal, still seething. "Okay," he pondered, "what brilliant plan should I use this time? Impersonate Darkwing and steal some new SHUSH weapon? Gather together the Fearsome Five and try to take over the city again?" He looked out over the skyline, and then down at the rocket launcher in his hand. "Aw, heck," he muttered, "I'll just go destroy some buildings." He leaped down from the catwalk the cake was on, landing on his sharp-toothed bike. Tires screeched as he zoomed off, firing off his rocket launchers at random intervals. ----- Gosalyn yawned and dropped her head on her crossed arms. English classes were just as boring in College as they were in High School. The teacher droned on and on and on... "Okay, class. Usually, a teacher would have your first essay be some sort of essay about who you are, what your likes and dislikes are, but I think that sort of thing is nothing more than a complicated list. Instead, I would like you to write about one thing, one time in your life. Your essays shall be entitled 'The Scariest Moment of my Life.' I want to know how you felt, what led up to it, what followed it, how it affected your life! This essay will be due Friday. As I know you're all very bored, and as we've already covered grading scales and exam policies, and all those other dull details, let's just call it a day." Gosalyn breathed a sigh of relief and tucked her notebook back in her backpack, starting to walk out the door. "This should be an easy essay. I can write about facing Negaduck, or Megavolt, or ... uh-oh. That's all Quiverwing's or Darkwing's exploits... I can't write about any of those. I've never had a scary moment as Gosalyn, by myself." She stopped motionless in the hall, students streaming past on each side. "Without the whole Darkwing and Quiverwing half of my life... I sound pretty boring! Oh no!" Sudden explosions sounded outside, and Gosalyn ran to the window to see what the commotion was all about. Her eyes widened as she saw Negaduck driving past on his motorcycle. "Wow! Negaduck's back in town! This looks like a job for-" She stopped suddenly, realizing she had no access to the bridge anymore. "Someone in costume. The nearest route to the Bridge is through Dad's house, better get going." ----- Drake sat in the kitchen, his beak propped up on his chin. "Where did I go wrong, Launchpad? I tried to teach her right and wrong, but we just keep fighting more and more." "Well, DW," said Launchpad, "You two are too much alike, sometimes." "ALIKE?" cried Drake, "She's nothing like me! She's hot-tempered, doesn't listen, is completely irrational... " His voice suddenly became very quiet. "Launchpad, do you think she really hates me?" Gosalyn paused outside the door, trying her best to be totally silent. She had been sneaking to the chairs so she could get to Darkwing Tower, but she couldn't leave now. "Naw," said Launchpad reassuringly, "She was just mad, DW. You know she loves you." "But LP," continued Drake, "Does she actually love me, or is she just so desperate for a family that she stays with me even though she hates me? I wish I was her real father, instead of just an adopted father." Gosalyn looked at the door between them in horror. She hadn't meant to hurt him so much. For an instant she was ready to step through the door and apologize, then Drake continued. "But that does't change the fact," said Drake, suddenly mad again, "that I am responsible for her as a father, and she should do what I tell her!" Gosalyn's back stiffened, and she stormed over to the easy chair and sit down. "Hrmph. See if I ever apologize to HIM." She brought her fist down fiercely on the head of the statue next to the chair. The head depressed, and the chair spun around in a blur, sending Gosalyn to Darkwing Tower. Quiverwing Quack stepped out of the changing room to find Darkwing standing there. "Negaduck's attacking the city. You are going to your next class, NOW." "Oh, Dad, I have responsibilities as Quiverwing Quack!" "I think I can take care of Negaduck by myself," snapped Darkwing. "You also have responsibilities as Gosalyn Mallard. Now get back to school!" Without waiting for a response, Darkwing hopped onto the Ratcatcher, where Launchpad was already sitting in the sidecar. The Ratcatcher leaped into action, driving out the window and down the thick bridge's cable. "Okay, LP!" cried Darkwing, "Let's get dangerous." "He isn't the boss of me," muttered Quiverwing, hopping into her own bike, the Scumchaser, and drove down a secret tunnel towards another part of town. She pressed a button on the handlebars of her bike, causing the door at the end of the tunnel to open. A Quiverwing Quack Comics billboard split in half, allowing Quivering to burst from the tunnel onto the city street, as the billboard closed up behind her. She drove off towards the columns of smoke, intoning her ritualistic preparation for battle. "Let's get dangerous." ----- Darkwing stood looking at the wooden skeleton of a building. "Geez, Launchpad, we keep discovering where he's been, not where he is. Time to use my keen deductive abilities to determine his plan of action!" "Oh, boy!" Launchpad jumped up and down. "Can I watch? I love it when you tell me what the bad guy's plan is!" "Of course, LP! Just... as... soon as I figure out what it is. There's no pattern, no rhythm, no common target, nothing! It's like he's just randomly destroying buildings! I can't figure out his ulterior motives!" "What if he doesn't have an ulterior motive, DW?" "Nah, that's not-" Darkwing cut off suddenly, then ah-hahed! "I've got it, LP! What if he doesn't HAVE an ulterior motive? He really is just randomly destroying buildings!" "You've done it again, DW!" enthused Darkwing. "So how are we going to find him?" "I... have no idea." Darkwing admitted, "If it's totally random, there's no way to anticipate him!" Quiverwing sat around the corner, having the same problem. She didn't want to get in another fight with Darkwing, especially in public. How could Launchpad say they were alike? Darkwing was hot-tempered, doesn't listen, was completely irrational... She stopped that train of thought, all too aware that it was exactly what Drake had been saying about her. Maybe they were somewhat alike- Her face lit up as a sudden idea hit her. "Hey, Dad!" she sprang out from behind the corner, suddenly energetic. "I have an idea!" "Where did you come from?" exclaimed Darkwing in surprise. "You're supposed to be at school!" "Oh, my next class isn't for an hour and a half," Quiverwing temporized. "Just listen already!" "Okay, fine," snapped Darkwing, "What's your big idea?" "You and Negaduck," explained Quiverwing, "You're pretty much the same person, only from different realities! You should be able to think the same way as he is! If you were going around shooting random buildings, and you had just gone through the path that he took, where would you go next?" "What? That's... " Darkwing paused, then shrugged. "Okay, so it's a good idea, Quiverwing. Let's go take him out together, okay?" Quiverwing smiled. "Thanks, Dad." ----- Negaduck pulled to a stop in front of the city park. "Ah," he gloried, "Look at all this orderly and beautiful greenery to raze to the ground. This is what I miss doing when I hang out with the Fearsome Five, especially with that wimp Bushroot hanging around." A puff of purple smoke puffed at the base of a tree, creating a large cloud. "I am the terror that flaps in the night!" "I was wondering when he'd show up," muttered Negaduck, reloading his missile launcher. "I am the immovable object to your unstoppable force! I am DARKWING DUCK!" Darkwing dodged the missile as it flew past him, frying the tree he had been standing under. He pulled out his gas gun and aimed it at Negaduck. "Your path of destruction ends here, Negaduck!" "Not likely," snarled Negaduck, getting off his bike, putting away the rocket launcher and pulling out a chainsaw. "Killing you is just the thing to help me cheer up after what that ungrateful daughter went and did to me!" "Wow," said Darkwing, lowering his gas gun. "For once I understand how you're feeling. She doesn't listen to you, either, does she?" A green puff of smoke appeared between Negaduck and his bike, cutting him off, Quiverwing appearing out of the smoke. "Daaaad! What are you doing?" Negaduck laughed evilly. "At least I'm not the only one with family problems. Well, your problems end here, Duck!" He lunged forward, swiping at Darkwing with the Chainsaw. Darkwing rolled onto his back, kicking the chainsaw from Negaduck's hands. The two mirror images battled hand and foot, battling too fast for Quiverwing to get a shot in. She stood ready with her bow and a boxing-glove arrow, but no opportunity presented itself. "DAD!" she cried, "Get out of the way!" "I'd love to, dear, if I thought I could manage without him killing me," Darkwing gritted out, rolling over the ground, scuffling with Negaduck, "But you'll just have to be patient." Suddenly a beeping came from Negaduck, and he snarled in frustration. "Scuse me, gotta take a call." He casually web-kicked Darkwing into a nearby tree, and pulled out a small communicator. "What?" he snapped at the hand-held screen, "I'm trying to kill somebody here!" "ND!" cried Nega-Launchpad, stubble spotting his beak, "We need help over here! Morgana's trapped in a weird crystal, and the Friendly Five are taking over the city!" "Friendly Five?" asked Darkwing, as he got up, "Wasn't it the Friendly Four?" "Magica joined," snapped Negaduck, "Scuse me, I've got a emergency to deal with. We'll finish this later." "And ND!" cried Launchpad from the screen, "Your daughter with the Friendly Four!" Negaduck snarled in frustration, kicking Quiverwing out of his way as he leaped onto his bike. "Stop, fiend!" cried Quiverwing, firing the boxing glove arrow. Negaduck grabbed a garbage can lid as he passed by it, deflecting the arrow as he escaped. "Follow him!" cried Darkwing, as he and Quiverwing hopped onto their own bikes. "Don't let him escape!" Negaduck led Darkwing and Quiverwing on a merry chase through main street, weaving in and out of traffic. For once not slowing to destroy something, Negaduck quickly reached the harbor, and dashed into the warehouse where his dimensional portal was. Quiverwing and Darkwing came in just as Negaduck was jumping into a cake. "What's he doing?" asked Quiverwing. Darkwing ran forward, "It's his portal into the Negaverse! I thought it was destroyed!" As he neared the cake, however, it exploded in a splatter of icing. "Rats! He got away!" he exclaimed. Quiverwing approached a bank of monitors, pondering the control panel. She tapped in a few buttons, and they turned on. "Hey, Dad! Look at this!" Darkwing stepped up beside Quiverwing, looking at the monitor. "Eeeewwww," wailed Quiverwing, "Is that really what I look like over there?" ----- Gosalyn wore a similar pink, frilly dress as she stood in a dank room facing Negaduck. Magica DeSpell and the rest of the Friendly Five were scattered around the room along with many ducks and dogs wearing SHUSH uniforms. The Friendly Five slowly were standing up, cradling twisted arms and broken legs, bandages covering much of their bodies. "That's it, you goody-do-gooders," snarled Negaduck, "This time I'm going to kill you, once and for all." Gosalyn stepped in front of Negaduck, a soft glow coming from a wand in her hands. "Everyone get out," she declared, her voice a little shakey, "I'll keep him busy while you all escape." Magica stepped forward, "You can't!" she cried, "He'll kill you!" "Maybe I don't care," snapped Gosalyn. "But, Gosalyn," whined Bushroot, "You're our friend! We don't want to lose you!" "You're my friend too, Bushroot! All of you are! That's why you have to get out, or we'll all die!" "How touching." Negaduck's voice dripped with sarcasm. "If you're all finished sounding like a soap opera, can we get on with the dying, now?" He lifted his rocket launcher, aiming it at Megavolt. "Suck Missile, do-gooder!" Gosalyn pointed at the rocket launcher, a streak of sparkles and light streaming from her wand to hit the weapon. It drooped and melted, forming a puddle on the floor. Negaduck turned to Gosalyn angrily. "HEY!" he cried, "That was my favorite Bazooka!" He leaped forward, landing on both hands, then bounding forward to land on his feet again, spinning around, magical blasts just barely missing him. Liquidator, only about six inches tall, was the last one out of the room as Negaduck finally reached Gosalyn and kicked the wand from her hand. ----- "No," gasped Quiverwing, pressing closer to the monitor, as Negaduck lifted a large lead pipe above the still body of his adopted daughter. Quiverwing shivered as a chill ran down her spine, helpless to stop the horrific image before her. Nega-Gosalyn rolled over, looking up at Negaduck, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Now you die," snarled Negaduck, "And I can finally rest easily again. You've been nothing but trouble for me ever since I found you." He started to bring down the lead pipe, but stopped, as Nega-Gosalyn's eyes quavered, her lower lip quavering. "Would you stop LOOKING at me that way?" he screamed at her, the pipe shaking in his hands. Nega-Gosalyn sniffed sadly. Negaduck snarled again and brought the pipe down against his own knee, bending it sharply in half, and threw it into the corner of the room. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he yelled at her, "Get out of my sight, get out of my life, get away from me!" Nega-Gosalyn slowly, painfully, got up. "You... you mean it?" she asked. "Just leave, before I change my mind!" snapped Negaduck, "And don't think this means you can get away with it next time!" Nega-Gosalyn darted forward and gave Negaduck a big hug, prompting a snarl and a panicked, "Get off of me!" from him. She released him, and ran out the door after the Friendly Five, leaving Negaduck to mutter darkly to himself, "Throw knives at me, drop nuclear warheads on me, that I can deal with, but-" he cut off suddenly, staring right out of the monitor. "Stupid camera." Drawing a pistol out of his pocket, he fired once, the monitor dying suddenly in a burst of static. Quiverwing let out the breath she realized she had been holding, and looked at Darkwing hesitantly. "Wow," she said, "Good thing we don't have troubles that bad, huh?" Darkwing nodded. "What were we fighting about, anyway? It seemed so important at the time." "Yeah. Um, Dad? You know I didn't mean... what I said. I really do love you." Darkwing smiled and sniffed, feeling tears come to his eyes. He grabbed Quiverwing and hugged her tightly. "I love you too, honey," he whispered, "You'll always be my little girl." "Thanks, Dad," she murmured, a little teary herself. ----- Gosalyn sat in front of her computer, wearing jeans and a t-shirt again, typing away at her Essay. "The Scariest Moment of my Life," she said out loud as she typed. The Scariest Moment of my Life By Gosalyn Mallard When I was young, my parents both died, and I stayed for several years with my Uncle. After a while, he too died, killed by the minions of the international criminal, Taurus Bulba, after they had stolen a superweapon from him. They discovered they had killed him prematurely, however, for the weapon would not work without a code which they thought I possessed. They tried to kidnap me, tried to kill me, and would have succeeded if they had not been stopped by Darkwing Duck. I write this not because it was the scariest moment of my life. Confronted by Terrorists and international criminals, dropping from a hundred stories up, never scared me as much as what happened just the other night. I lost my temper with my adopted father, Drake Mallard, and told him I hated him. I never gave a thought to how much I was hurting him, I was consumed by anger at something which really didn't matter. It wasn't until later that I realized he had taken me seriously, and might have believed what I said. In that moment, I thought I might lose everything that was dear to me. That moment, that single moment when I saw my life crashing before me, would be the scariest thing I have ever felt, and truly is the only moment that qualifies as the scariest moment in my life. When I look at all the dying in the world, the famines, the wars, the broken families, I realize that the little annoyances that make up day-to-day living are unimportant, and serve to make us better people. In the end, we love each other, and that's what really matters. The End