Original Darkwing Duck
Negaduck & Gosalyn (prime)
Fluff
Wind rushed by her and an arm snatched her up off the sidewalk. Her father must be in a hurry. It reminded her of the first time he had saved her and she laughed.
"Da-" Her voice was cut short along with her laughter when she saw his face. "You're not Darkwing."
"Nope." Negaduck chunked her into his side car and didn't slow below fifty the whole drive. He thought the girl wouldn't jump out of a car at that speed.
Gosalyn tried to scream but the air was sucked out of her lungs. She knew very little about Negaduck except he was the exact opposite of her father. He had been a new villain that just popped up after a stray bolt from one of Megavolt guns bounced off her father and hit a trashcan and sent the yellow clad duck shooting out of it.
Darkwing tried to keep Gosalyn as far away from the dark mallard as possible and she was thankful because he scared her. Not that she would admit it. The similarity to her own father was uncanny and to know there was that much potential for evil packed inside him made her wonder about the kind of person she had to be in the other university to get along with him. If they did get along.
Negaduck made a corner and almost sent Gosalyn flying across the intersection. She had accepted her faith. A stint in the hospital was better than one with Negaduck in her book but she felt a hand on the back of her shirt until he cleared the corner. It wasn't for the wind she thought she heard him mutter 'be careful'.
When he reached an abandoned apartment building in the outskirts of town he grabbed her arm and pulled her up a flight of steps to the second floor. She struggled and screamed at him to let her go. It reminded her of the times when she ignored her dad and went to help DW and he drug her back to her room. Negaduck rolled his eyes at her and tossed her in a chair although not as hard as he could have, she thought.
"Let me go or else," she said as he tightened the final knot.
"Or else what? If you could've done something you would have by now," he chuckled. She growled.
He started pacing around the crappy apartment. She couldn't help but think he looked uncertain. An uncommon look for Negaduck or her father for that matter. They were both certain in almost everything they did.
She looked across the small table. He had put her against the back wall of the apartment across from the door and behind a table. It gave her sense of an advantage because she could see whole apartment.
The room was poorly decorated with a demolished kitchen; a T.V. with a screen that she could barely see; a couch with springs sticking out; a mattress tucked in the back right corner; two windows covered in a layer of filth; and two other doors on the far wall. She assumed one was a bathroom and the other a closet.
She could tell he had made this place his home. From the tater picture of her father in the DW costume pinned above the T.V. that was shredded because he had used it to play darts to the open cans of peaches and bags of chips strode around the room. She suppressed a laugh. Her dad wouldn't be caught dead in place like this and those were his least favorite foods. Negaduck had stopped pacing and pulled the chair next to her. He in it backwards and stared at her.
"What's your name?" Negaduck's usual cruelty was missing but his voice was still stern. She couldn't help but think how much he sounded like her father.
"None ya. None ya business!" She spat at him. He growled at her. Sure she had seen her father give this pissed look to villains before but never at her. She almost couldn't get the word out. "Gos-Gosalyn."
He gave her a cruel smile. She couldn't look at him anymore and glance at the floor. She had that feeling when her dad found out she had done something wrong. Not quite guilt but disappointment in herself.
"What is Darkwing to you?" She blinked at the question.
He never said her father's name correctly. Her eyes flicked towards him. He looked genuinely curious like her dad on a new case. Did he not have a Gosalyn in his universe? She didn't know why that thought hurt her feelings.
"I am his number one fan." It was the same lie she had told a hundred times before to explain why they were always together but for some reason it came across differently this time. It felt like she was lying to her father, which she did all the time but never enjoyed doing.
"Of course, his ego would endanger you," Negaduck snarled but seemed more pissed at her father. Gos took offense to this.
"Hey! I endanger myself, thank you very much!" Negaduck laughed, actually laughed, like her father when she told a joke. It was a perfect match. He stood and raised a hand, placing it on her shoulder.
"You're funny, kid." She couldn't help flinching and hard. She nearly tipped the chair. He knit his eyebrows together, mentally she cursed herself. "Shit. Calm down, kid. I won't hurt you, tonight."
He gave a wicked smile as he plopped down on the couch ignoring the exposed springs. He flipped through channels. He finally settled on some cheesy horror movie. She tried not to show that she was interested but couldn't help gasping when the main characters found where all the missing town folks had been held. He glanced at her. She didn't have a good view of the screen so she strained to see as much as possible. He scoffed and went back to watching. When the credits started rolling, he looked over at her and she glanced away from the T.V. like she had just sat there hanging out of the chair to watch it for the past hour and half.
"Killer Clowns From Outerspace," he said, moving to the demolished kitchen.
She blinked in confusion. He opened the fridge, something that Gosayln hadn't seen first upon glancing around the room. Probably because it was black and only as tall as her. He rolled his eyes, popping something in the microwave.
"The name of the movie, kid. Keep up. You enjoyed it, uh? Hell, my Lyn, would've covered her eyes within the first three minutes."
He laughed. Lyn? He did have a Gosalyn? Her heart soared at the thought.
"Yeah, da- Darkwing doesn't like them so I make him watch at least one shity horror movie a week." She has almost forgotten who she was talking to. He frowned at her.
He cursed himself mentally. His Gosalyn would have never taken his cursing as an opportunity to curse herself. He was going to put a stop to it before Dorkwing found him and throttled him for it.
"Young lady's shouldn't curse." He popped something else in the microwave and let the first one cool.
"Why do you care what I do?" she scoffed.
"Dinguswing might actually do some permanent damage to me if he hears you say something like that." Gosalyn was shocked and pissed. She couldn't even think of a comeback.
She didn't need two fathers!
He opened the fridge again and pulled out two bottles of water. He brought them to the table. He leaned down beside her and untied one of her hands. She stayed unusually still unsure of what was going on. He walked back over and opened the microwave grabbing both meals and slammed them down in front of her with a plastic fork. He opened the bottle of water and took the seat beside her. She blinked.
It surprised her. Her father sat with her every night, that is every night he was home for dinner. Still it nagged at her. Darkwing and Negaduck were opposites; then what could have possessed him to sit with her. Don't get her wrong she loved the company but she would never tell her dad that. Gosalyn realized she was staring at the yellow duck.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you staring is rude?" Negaduck didn't look up from his microwaved spaghetti, yet another one of her father's least favorite foods.
"Probably. Not like I would've listened though," she muttered.
She was still mad that he was treating her like a kid. No, like his kid. Negaduck eyed her but didn't respond.
She turned to her dinner. Her father would have had a stroke if he saw what she was eating. He despised cheap microwaved food. Gosalyn couldn't complain though. It was lasagna, one of her favorites.
"Eat. It'll get cold." To both of their surprise, she obeyed. Mainly because she was starving but also she figured there were more effective ways to kill her than poison and she had a feeling that he would want an audience for her death.
While she ate, she couldn't help but steal glances at him and the more she looked at him the angrier she got. Why did he have to remind her of her father? Was he doing on purpose? Why was he being nice? Why was he reprimanding her like a child? Did he think she was weak? Did he pity her? She wanted to punch him. The plastic fork snapped in her grasp and Negaduck looked at her but she just kept eating so he shrugged it off.
He finished his food before her but sat and waited for her to finish. That was different from her father she thought. He would've left to go be Darkwing or do chores or something. She suppressed a smile after all she was still mad. Negaduck didn't even make a move for her plate or say anything to rush her either, until she put the broken fork down.
"Done?"
She nodded. This must be what it looked like at their home or a version of this. Surely she wasn't tied up, unless she was. Was that how he got her to like him in that universe? Trained her to like him? She cringed at the thought.
He stood up and reached for her arm to tie it back up and she pulled away, suddenly afraid again. He growled and she let him tie it down then he threw away their plates. She could feel tears forming. She was drained emotionally and physically.
"Why?" she asked without thinking.
"You're just bait." His voice was too soft. For a moment she wondered if she had imagined the whole thing. If this was Darkwing standing in front of her and he was pulling a piratical joke on her.
"Why me?" Her eyes fell.
She had been used as bait before. She had never acted like this. She never sat still. She would scream till her voice gave out but she couldn't help it. She could only see her father in Negaduck and she hated it. She hated him.
"You're his number one fan," he regurgitate the lie. That made a tear run down her check as much as she hadn't wanted it to.
He hated watching Gosalyn crying. He usually wrecked the thing that made her cry. Whether he had to blow up a slab of concrete that scraped her knee or had to put a kid or three in the hospital.
Before either of them realized he had crossed the kitchen to the table. She felt his hand brush away a tear and she leaned into it. It was instinctive for both of them. She realized her mistake and pulled away.
"If I was just bait, why bring me here? Why act like him?" she whispered.
He didn't have a good answer. He had meant to bring her to his newest scheme and wait for Dumbwing to show up. However, the way she laughed when he grabbed her, he found himself here instead.
He had forgotten she would be the opposite of his Gosalyn so he'd put that dumb movie on that his Gosalyn would've usually suffered through to make him happy. He thought she would scream but she didn't. He made her the worst thing he could think of and she ate every last bite. She probably thought he was trying to win her over. If that happened he wouldn't be upset. This girl was a fighter but that wasn't his intention. Although his intention wasn't to hurt her either.
Gosalyn was getting impatient. She could see the gears turning in his brain, just like her fathers. Everything reminded her of him. It was getting harder to hate him and that made her hate him more. She had to stop him from giving her that look.
"Stop! Stop! Please just stop!" His face twisted in confusion but still looked like Darkwing, like the times when Quackerjack would use Mr. Banana Brain to talk. She felt a few more tears escape. She shook her head. "I hate you. I hate how you look like him! I hate how you use that to your advantage. I hate how everything you do reminds me of him."
Now his face hardened like he might hit her and she closed her eyes. She wished he would. Then she could stop comparing them.
"Stop acting like him. Stop acting like you care about me. Hit me or scare me, do something, anything else!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Kill me, if you're going too. Please, I can't take it anymore."
He felt his eyes grow wide. He stared at the girl. She wanted death over him being nice to her? What weird world did he fall into?
"Gosalyn, I'm not going to hurt you." He didn't want her to hear him but she did.
"I wish you would. It would make it easier to hate you." Easier to hate him? He was the bad guy! The villain! She was supposed to fear him, tremble at the mere thought of him.
He gritted his teeth and stomped out of the room. The door slammed behind him and she was left crying in the chair. He was never good with emotions. He found himself pacing the roof and grumbling.
She thought he was going to kill her? What had that caped goody-two-shoes told her about him? Had he not told her that he had adopted her in the other universe? She seemed shocked when he brought her up. Everyone thought him ruthless but Gos had made sure he had a weakness, just one though.
He went back downstairs well after midnight. He had hoped she would have tired herself out; he was wrong. She was wide eyed. She clearly had been crying. He wanted to hurt whatever made her feel this way but he knew it was him that had done it so he walked to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
As far as she could tell it was well after midnight. She was using the chime of the nearby clock tower and the broken stove clock to keep time. DW must be missing her by now.
She didn't know what to expect when he walked in. Their eyes met for a minute and he seemed really angry. She thought he might actually do something to her this time. He might use her as a punching bag or use as a cutting board. She knew if you asked for punishment you would receive it. Her Grandfather had taught her that.
However, torture sounded more appealing than having Negaduck treating her like his little girl. She could barely handle her dad doing it. She didn't need two dads! However, he simply walked to one of the other doors in the apartment slamming it behind him.
She heard the water click on. She was right, it had been a bathroom. She was pretty sure he wasn't even in the shower and instead trying to wait her out. Trying to see who gave into sleep first.
After an hour or so Gosalyn's head started to bob and the water finally shut off. She thought maybe faking being asleep would be better than facing him again so she didn't pick it back up. She heard the door handle turn and she had to fight her instincts to snatch her head back up. She was also fighting her tiredness, not wanting to actually fall asleep in the mallard's present.
She heard him sigh as he crossed the floor. She forced herself to breath normally. She felt him kneel beside her and loosen her restraints. She expected him to pull away but he didn't. He stay motionless beside her.
He knew she wasn't asleep but he couldn't help but stare at her. Her checks were tear stained and that made him mad. Mad at himself. He had made his little girl cry. He reached up and brushed away a few strands of red hair that fell out of pigtails. He felt her tense at his touch. He wasn't good at expressing himself unlike his counterpart but he didn't want to watch Gosalyn suffer. Anyone but her.
"Gos, go to sleep," he said sternly but with no hate in his voice. She subconsciously pulled away, still not opening her eyes. He sighed again and actually felling guilty. He saw her give a little farther into sleep though. "I promise you, that you will never have to worry about me or anyone else hurting you."
The girl seemed to relax at his word, unintentionally of course. She probably passed out from exhausting but it was good enough for him. He didn't believe she would believe him. He was the bad guy after all.
He walked to the bed and threw himself down. He waited until the girl's body went completely slack. Then he found himself undoing her restraints. Carefully, he lifted her and put her in his side car. He didn't want to wake her up. If he remembered correctly his Gosalyn couldn't sleep in cars so this would be a cinch. He got all the way to the street and parked a few blocks away. He could carry her the rest of the way. He ran across the rooftops to the little house in the suburbs.
He jumped down on the front lawn and hoped that his counterpart would have a key under the mat. He leaned over and shocker he found what he was looking for. He made his way up the stairs quietly as possible. He didn't want to disturb anyone that might be in the house. He wasn't looking for a fight after all. He found the girl's room and opened the door. He barely had time to dodge a flying broom handle that came swing at him.
Chuckling, he laid the girl down in her bed and went to open a window. He heard the floorboards creak behind him.
"Negaduck! What are you," Darkwing was cut off by a shhh from Negaduck and he noticed his daughter starting to stir on her bed. He lowered his voice. "I don't know what you think you're up to but I'm going to put a stop to it!"
"Shut up, you imbecile! You'll wake her," he said harshly. Gosalyn rolled over and blinked awake to the scene laid out in front of her.
"Dad?" She rubbed her eyes and realized she was back home and ran over to hug Darkwing. He hugged her back.
"Gos, you're alright. Are you hurt?"
Negaduck scoffed at Darkwing's concern. Gosalyn turned around and locked eyes with him. Maybe he was too much like her dad but maybe that wasn't a bad thing.
"Thought I told you, staring was rude, kid." Negaduck narrowed his eyes on her.
"Thought I told you, I wasn't listening." She held his gaze for a moment before crossed her room and jumped on him. It shocked him, causing him to stumble backwards. It took a moment for him to realize it was a hug. She lowered her voice so DW couldn't hear. "I trust you, dad."
He froze but only for a second. Lyn rarely called him that even though he knew how she felt. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her before tossing her on the bed with a low growled.
"Well you should because I intended on keeping my promise." Then he disappeared out the window.
DW took no time and jumped on his little girl's bed.
"Are you alright? I've been looking everywhere for you. Did he hurt you?" He swooped her into a hug.
"Geez. I'm fine daaaad. He didn't do anything." She laughed and tried to push him off. He was planting kisses all over her. Suddenly he stopped and pulled away holding her at arm's length.
"What did he promise?" She could see the worry in her father's eyes. He was truly scared.
"Nothing, dad." She tried to laugh it off but he didn't move. As far as she could tell he wasn't breathing either. It was the same fear she had sitting in Negaduck's kitchen. The one that drove her to begging for death. "Why didn't you tell me he had a Gosalyn in his universe?"
Her father blinked at the change of subject. He lost all color.
"I didn't want to scare you, Gos. She was you and she was different from you but it wasn't a bad difference. I didn't want you to think you were a bad person or ever could be. Why did he say something about her?"
"It was just the way he talked about her," she paused, then hugged and laughed at her father, "she sounded lame. Don't worry I won't ever be that boring."
"You're not going to tell me what he was talking about are you?" She shook her head and barrier it into his chest.
"I can't but don't worry, dad. It's nothing b-aaah-d," she yawned.
'Maybe two dads won't be too bad after all,' she thought falling asleep in his arms.
Word Count: 3713