This is the Fourth in a series! It literally takes place SECONDS after Doubts and Doppelgangers. Thou hast been warned.

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Trials of Hero

Chapter One

Someplace Only You Know

There was a knock at the door. She paused her merry humming to make sure of what she heard. At this time of morning, when the boys had already left for school and her husband for work, the house was usually so quiet. Binkie Muddlefoot listened to the still air curiously as she held the dish she was drying steady. The knock came again. It was a nervous, almost urgent knock. Maybe the milkman had forgotten to get his tip? But they never had a milk man before, she blinked. After the knock came again she placed the dish aside and shuffled through the house. Well, if a milk man wanted to start delivering to the house who was she to be rude and leave him out in the cold? It was a few days shy of December after all, and it was so chilly in the mornings. As she approached the door she heard hushed voices. Female milk men? Why, what a novel idea. She opened the door.

"Hiya-Mrs.Muddlefoot-mind-if-we-come-in-thanks." Said the shorter milk ma…girl breathlessly as she pushed past her pulling a large suitcase, a tall curvaceous woman followed her.

Binkie closed the door and finally recognized the red headed duckling.

"Oh, Gosalyn dear, how nice to see you!" She smiled, then blinked. "But, gracious, won't you be late for school?" She blinked again and looked at the beautiful woman who accompanied her. "And who's your friend?"

"I'm Morgana Macabre." The duck offered with a weak smile and extended her hand, Binkie took it quickly. This Morgana had a firm grip for a lady. "… I'm Drake's girlfriend."

"Oh my stars!" Binkie smiled and clasped onto the young woman's hand happily. "How exciting! When did you two meet? Oh my, has he proposed to you yet? You're such a pretty thing! You know he's a good man, but he's so shy! I mean, he's so quiet every time we stop by. Maybe you can work on that horrible habit he has of grinding his teeth. He says he doesn't do it when he sleeps only when we drop in! Oh he can be so funny sometimes! There was this one time over the summer when Herb, oh that's my husband, we invited him over for a barbeque… My Herb loves to grill and I make a mean tuna salad. Do you cook? Oh! I just had a wonderful idea! We should invite you all over for dinner sometime! It would be so much fun!" She noticed the nervous smile the young woman gave her as she spoke. She must be such a reserved little thing to meet Drake's eye. He wasn't one for dramatics, she suspected.

"Actually Mrs. Muddlefoot, we were just stopping in to say good-bye. Morgana and I are going on a trip." The little girl spoke up.

"Oh how wonderful! Gosalyn so needs a good female role model in her life, maybe we can have a girl's night out when you come back! Where are you going?"

"W… well…" Morgana glanced at her captive hand.

"It's a surprise!" Gosalyn grinned at the chipper woman. "I'm not supposed to know! I think Dad's set up a trip to Disney World or something."

"Oh, an educational trip…" Binkie smiled and clasped her hands together. Morgana rubbed her newly released hand unsurely. "Can I get you ladies something before you go? Something to drink? Eat? I've got some left over pancakes. Oh my boys never get to eat as much as they should in the mornings. Especially not the way Honker left in such a hurry today, come to think of it… who was in front of your house Gosalyn dear?"

"T-the uh, milk man."

"Oh I knew it!" Binkie lightly pounded her fist with her hand. "Well the next time you see him would you ask him to stop by? I've always wanted a milk man!"

"Pardon me Mrs. Muddlefoot…" Morgana started.

"Oh, now call me Binkie!" She giggled.

"Uh… Binkie." Morgana gave her a weak smile. "Gosalyn tells me that you have spare keys to Drake's house?"

"Why we most certainly do! I believe we have a key to every lock! You see the woman who lived there before he and Gosalyn moved in… well, she was a bit strange. Always locked the doors when she heard us coming! How silly! She was an older lady and whenever we would ask her to come out of the room she'd be shut up in, she'd say she'd lost the key! Well we couldn't have her in there forever! Just imagine what the house would look like if she didn't straighten up! Not to mention what her cats would have done to the couches!" She noticed Morgana's eyes had glazed over slightly.

"Can we have one?" Gosalyn asked quickly as Binkie tried to figure out the woman's strange reaction.

"Well of course! It is your house after all dear! And we do have copies of all of them! Which key would you like?" Binkie smiled.

"T… the um, upstairs closet." Morgana blinked her daze away.

"Ah! That was one of her favorite places to lock herself in! I'll go get one for you!" She sang as she pranced away into the next room.

Morgana shook her head lightly and glanced at the girl who grinned.

"Is she always like that?" She whispered.

"Can you see why Dad grinds his teeth?" Gosalyn giggled then looked around quickly, Binkie could be heard humming as she went down to the basement. "But why do you want a key to the upstairs closet? And why did you teleport us to the Muddlefoot's front door? I thought we were leaving?"

"We are. But I couldn't let Drake see us come here, and I couldn't teleport us inside, I've never seen this place from the inside before. I could have had us appear halfway through a wall if I tried it."

"Okay, so what about the key? And why are we...?"

"Here it is!" Binkie proclaimed as she danced back into the room waving an unremarkable silver key in the air. She paused in the doorframe. "You only wanted one right? If you need more we've got at least seven down stairs!"

"No, one will do nicely." Morgana smiled and took the key, placing it in her pocket. "I'm terribly sorry Mrs…I mean, Binkie but do you have a rest room I can use?"

"But of course! There's one upstairs and one through the kitchen by the back door!"

"Do you have keyholes in any of the doors here?" Morgana asked, trying not to sound awkward, Gosalyn raised an eyebrow at the question. Binkie however didn't seem to think it strange at all.

"Hmm well, we used to have a lot of them but the new doors don't usually come with key holes anymore. Oh, the downstairs bathroom has one though!" She waved her hand toward the kitchen with a smile.

"Thank you, and would you mind not telling Drake we were here? He asked us not to bother you." Morgana smiled apologetically.

"Oh what a silly boy he is! Don't you worry, this will be a secret between just us girls!" Binkie winked. "Heavens to Betsy! I almost forgot there is an old dress upstairs that would look so charming on you Gosalyn! I'll go get it quick before you leave, imagine how pretty you'd look wearing it when Drake meets up with you! He'd hardly recognize you." She sighed happily and eyed the girl, oblivious to the grimace on her face before she danced up the stairs.

"Come on," Morgana whispered and moved through the room, Gosalyn following closely.

The bathroom door was open as they approached and Morgana pulled it shut. Gosalyn stared at her.

"You know you're supposed to go inside right?"

"Only if you want to stay at the Muddlefoot's." Morgana blinked sadly and waved her hand in the air, a heavy dark key appeared in her fingers. It looked old, the teeth were complicated and the head was crafted to look like it was covered in cobwebs. Amid the intricate detailing, a fancy letter "M" could clearly be seen. Gosalyn took her eyes away from the impressive bit of metal to see the frown on Morgana's face. She held her eyes on the key darkly, like she was disgusted at the very sight of it. Gosalyn eyed the small key hole in the door.

"That will never fit in there." She said lightly. Morgana shook her head.

"Yes it will." She sighed and locked eyes with the little girl. "Are you ready? I don't know if or when we'll be coming back."

"We'll be back." Gosalyn said firmly then looked back at the door. "And I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be, is that a magic key you made or something?"

"Or something." Morgana mumbled and moved the key toward the hole. The metal warped to accommodate the oddly shaped prongs and Gosalyn prepared herself for some amazing magic. There was a click and after a moment of hesitation Morgana turned the doorknob.

Gosalyn expected to see flying dragons, or swirling lights, perhaps a headless horseman with a flaming sword barreling toward them, maybe even a weightless clock spinning its hands backward. Instead, a musty, old smell rolled over her and a dark room panned out before her. She let her spirits fall, it wasn't very magical. In fact it was boring. Like the dark stone floored room was always on the other side of the Muddlefoot's bright white bathroom door. Peering through the dark she could see a mass of cobwebs and thick curtains, she even thought she heard rain.

"Go on dear." Morgana gave her a nervous smile.

Taking a hold of her heavy suitcase she lugged it through the door and felt the change in climate. The warmth of the Muddlefoot's house left her and a chill washed onto her as her sneakers passed over the flagstones. Her eyes glanced around the shadowed room as they adjusted to the dark. The air was stale and musty, dust kicked up in big clouds as her feet moved across the floor. It was a pretty big room, or perhaps the dark was playing with her eyes. She could make out heavy curtains speckled with dust hanging along the brick walls and cobwebs blanketed everything. There was a flash of lightening that tore through the room, illuminating the space for an instant. Eyes stared at her from the walls and after a small burst of panic she realized they were paintings. It was too dark to see them now, but she was sure that there wasn't anything alive in this seemingly forgotten place. The elaborate windows that stood out among the bricks were dirty but she could see the rain furiously pelting the browning glass. She let her eyes wander to a big bed that had a tattered canopy resting over it, and she placed her suitcase at the foot of it. She turned and inspected the room once more, it looked like it hadn't been touched in years… like it was haunted. A grin slid across her face, she felt like she'd stepped into one of the classic old Count Duckula movies.

"Keen gear." She breathed to the old air before she let her eyes find their way back to the door.

Morgana hadn't moved an inch. She was standing on the other side of the door, her feet safely placed on the small rug with pineapples on it the Muddlefoots had probably bought at a flea market somewhere. Gosalyn couldn't mistake the look on her face, the way she was staring at this room… it was clear she was completely miserable. The woman's eyes traveled the depths of the shadows painfully until she closed her eyes. Gosalyn noticed how Morgana was still clinging hard to the doorknob, like she was afraid she'd be sucked into this room all of a sudden.

"Morgana? Are you okay?"

The sorceress sighed lightly and lifted her heartbroken eyes to the little duckling. Her hand released its death grip on the knob and she pulled the key out of the lock, sliding it into her pocket snugly. Morgana's eyes flickered back to the happy little suburban house that stood out so strangely set against the backdrop of this eerie place. She stared hard and long, her eyes lingering over the simple décor as if she wanted to remember every single tacky nick knack the Muddlefoots had acquired throughout the years.

"Don't worry Morgana," Gosalyn said quietly as she slid her hands in her pant pockets. "… he'll be alright until we figure something out." The deep green eyes came back to her, a light smile on her bill.

"I hope you're right dear." Morgana shook her head as if to collect her wits before she took a deep bracing breath and stepped into the room. The second her foot hit the cobbles Gosalyn saw her cheeks pale and watched her wince. Morgana lifted a hand to her forehead weakly as Mrs. Muddlefoot's voice could be heard in the distance. Morgana pointed at the door behind her back and it closed on its own. She moved slowly to a chair and leaned on it sickly, Gosalyn blinked at her puzzled.

She almost asked her what was wrong until she noticed a faint glow seep under the other door in the room. It was a few feet away from the bed she stood at the foot of. She watched the crack at the bottom of this new door as the dim light grew stronger, it was getting closer. Gosalyn went to move toward it until heavy footfalls joined the creeping light. Morgana's eyes widened and shot to the door in panic and Gosalyn felt the feathers stand up on the back of her neck, an excited smile on her face. Morgana ran across the room, the dust rising like smoke around her until she reached Gosalyn. She was seized by the frantic sorceress and the woman used her own body to block her view of the door way. Gosalyn frowned up at her but the look on her face told her not to argue. The anticipation of what was on the other side of that door was almost too much for her horror craving heart to endure. There were excited squeaks coming through the wood as the flickering candlelight drew closer, the foot steps echoing off the stone walls. The candlelight was practically flowing under the door like water when Morgana spoke in a serious whisper.

"Don't move. Don't talk… just let me handle this, okay?"

Gosalyn's smile faded, this wasn't so much fun anymore. A large shadow moved in front of the door, blocking off some of the dancing light and the squeaking was accented by the beating of wings. Her excitement quickly turned to apprehension. Bats, Magica had turned into bats on that rooftop last night. It couldn't be her on the other side of that ominous looking door… could it? She glanced up at Morgana's face hoping to see an answer, only to see the scowl on her pretty face. Could it be someone worse than Magica? After what felt like an eternity the door slid open with a horrible rusty screech. Gosalyn covered her ears but tried to make out the figure that loomed in the now open door frame. It was very tall, and it looked like it was wearing a top hat and cape… she couldn't really tell. There were two bats flapping around its head but they took off after a moment, squeaking excitedly down the hall. The candle barely supplied any light at all, and only hinted at the form of the being in front them before it floated through the air to rest on a dust encrusted table. When the light had been removed she noticed something about where the figure's face had to be. There was a soft red glow coming from the right side, when she squinted she was sure it was an eye. Gosalyn felt Morgana stiffen her weak knees. Whoever this person was, she obviously didn't want to look vulnerable in front of them.

"Well…" A dry old sophisticated male voice traveled from the shadow. ".. look who's here." Gosalyn expected a snide or witty retort from the usually clever sorceress but nothing came. She felt her anxiety grow a little more. The tall man took his first steps in to the room. "So you've finally come to your senses have you?" Gosalyn noticed Morgana clench her fist. "Got tired of sharing caves with the Neanderthals? I'll admit it took you longer than I thought it would. How long has it been Morgana?"

"Ten years."

"Has it? My, how time does fly." The man said airily.

Gosalyn's imagination couldn't help but start weaving stories about this cold person. Was he her old teacher? Had he been mean to her in school and was jealous of her ability? So he framed her so that she had to leave? Made her become a wanderer for his own selfish gain? Maybe he challenged her to a magical duel that he cheated to win and she had to leave to keep her honor? Was he a crime boss that had her entire family killed and now she'd come back for revenge? With a strong side kick in tow, naturally. Or maybe he was an old man who was in love with her and tried to get her to marry him by black mailing her until she had to run away? She narrowed her eyes at the figure… yeah, he could be any of those she agreed.

"It's about time you gave up on that useless journey of yours."

"I did NOT give up." Morgana flared.

"And yet here you are…" There was a swish of fabric as he neared ever so slightly, the solid red eye being all Gosalyn could see. "… pardon me if I don't believe you."

"I'm not here because I wanted to come back." The sorceress snapped harshly.

"Well you certainly didn't receive an engraved invitation on my behalf either, but that doesn't make you any less here. Which leads me to understand that after all this time, that you have nowhere else to go. How did you survive this illustrious decade I wonder?"

"I could tell you stories that would make your jaw drop." She growled. "But the only thing that you need to know is that I'm here and I am going to stay here for a while."

"Is that so?" The harsh voice asked sardonically.

"Yes."

"How marvelous your little scheme is this time. But, your years among the apes have taken a toll upon your mind, my dear. You have forgotten that I am the master of this castle and I have the ultimate say in what goes on inside these walls. So, you had better drop that attitude of yours and submit your proposal humbly so that I may review your request. I have yet to decide if you are welcome here, though now that I think of it, I am in need of a cook." He said derisively.

"You're nothing but an old fool, you'll wish you'd never spoken to me this way…"

"I find that highly unlikely. These last few years may have seen you rolling around in filth with dogs but I have done nothing but rise to success. I am only a breath away from running the council, my magic is stronger than it has ever been, and my mind is as clear as a crystal cauldron. It appears that you are too blind to see this. Look at you Morgana, you look just like one of them. It's time you admitted to wandering too long in folly. Now you must realize that you were a fool to think you could achieve what greater witches and wizards than you and I have failed to do. Your immature, rash decision has nearly ruined you and I don't know if I feel the need to try and dust you off to try again. You truly are a sad sight, you look even frailer than when your ruby shattered. It's time you opened your eyes girl, you have failed."

Gosalyn could feel the anger flowing off of Morgana like waves of heat. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew one thing. She would hate to be this guy in a few seconds.

"Is that what you think?" Morgana rumbled venomously. "And you call ME blind!"

Gosalyn jumped in surprise at how fast Morgana's hands cut through the air leaving blue trails behind them. She quickly formed a glowing symbol in the dark and snapped. A dozen obsidian pillars appeared around the room, large white candles resting on their flat surfaces. Each wick exploded into life with unnaturally bright flames at the same time. Gosalyn had to squeeze her eyes shut to protect them from the assault. It was almost like a flood light had burst into action. After a stunned moment Morgana spoke again, her voice dark and angry.

"You are the one that is, and always have been, wrong. Now is no exception. I have found it. I've found my mystical source with no help from anyone, least of all you. I can even say that I've found where I'm supposed to be, I've found my place in the world. No, it's not your kitchen or anywhere near you… it's with 'normals'."

Gosalyn's shock finally wore off and she opened her eyes. The view she saw nearly made her eyes bug out of her head. She was used to seeing monsters and stuff on TV. She'd even hung out with the Marvels at Morgana's circus but… whatever this was… it was different. His plumage was a pale deathly looking green, his bill was wrinkled with is ancientness, his limbs were long and almost skeletal, his hair was a waterfall of silver that spilled out from under his tall hat, and his large red right eye was countered by a beady black left one. He was dressed in an expensive though old fashioned suit and an equally aged cape. His slender long fingers were crowned with menacing looking black claws that looked sharp enough to scar stone. If she hadn't been warned by Morgana she would have let out an impressed shout. Instead she held her mouth shut as the man looked around in unmasked surprise.

"I'm a stronger spell caster than you'll ever be." Morgana snarled lowly. In response his eyes slid slowly back onto her. "And as much as I hate to admit it I don't have anywhere to go at the moment. Before you start gloating over your correct prediction I think you ought to know I'm not alone."

Without warning Morgana stepped aside. Gosalyn was immediately fixed with a startled and furious pair of mismatched eyes. She tried to smile at him but all she could manage was a grimace. The fire in his eyes made her want to scamper back behind Morgana's legs.

"What is the meaning of this?" He fumed barely able to form words through his anger.

"This is Gosalyn Mallard and she will be staying here with me. I can see you know what she is." Morgana said calmly which earned her a livid glare. Gosalyn was glad she wasn't under the heated gaze anymore. "She's a normal and trust me when I say she's as normal as normals come." Morgana smirked and Gosalyn couldn't make up her mind if she should feel insulted or not. "So I suggest you get used to that idea."

"I will not. Not so long as I am Master here!" Roared the man in outrage. He snarled and aimed a finger at Gosalyn. Before she could even think about running, Morgana waved her fingers. Whatever spell he had hoped to throw at her only came out as soapy looking bubbles. His deep glower grew ever deeper as his eyes evilly moved back to the woman who crossed her arms with a slow, superior blink.

"Oh, you may still be the 'Master' of this castle but you'll find I can over throw your tyranny at every turn. It may amuse you to know that you've just been hexed. Any magic you try to use against this girl will only be effective for maybe cleaning up some of his filth." Morgana glanced around at the thick sheet of dust that lay on every surface before her eyes met his ferocity with their own. "But don't take that as a challenge. If you even think about trying to hurt her again, you can be damn sure you'll have to answer to me."

"Don't tell me she's your…"

"No." She cut him off. "No, she's not my daughter but I'd leap at the chance to change that." Gosalyn blinked numbly before she looked up at the stern faced woman. Did she really mean that?

"Morgana Macabre…" The creature growled furiously like he was gearing up to give her a lecture.

"Gosalyn?" The girl jumped when she heard her name spoken so nicely. "I'm so sorry I have to introduce you to this unpleasant person but… Gosalyn Mallard this is Moloculo Macabre." Gosalyn felt her eyes widen and she received a light smile. "Yes. He's my father, and I'm afraid he's always this obnoxiously insufferable." Morgana watched her expectantly. She felt his eyes boring into her like laser beams. Did she really expect her to respond?

"Er…" She glanced at the seething Moloculo and gave him a weak wave. "… hi?"

"I'll not stand for this!" He bellowed and Gosalyn flinched.

"Fine, then could you go be outraged in another room?" Morgana shot back as she stalked over to him. "I'm not in the best of moods to deal with you right now and you'll understand when I tell you how wicked my temper is." She gave him a small shove toward the door as the bats returned, a spider dangling between them. They flew into the room and landed on the bed to take in the scuffle. Moloculo looked on the verge of exploding. "There is no use arguing with me. I've become rather good at that as well. Now don't make me remove you from my bedroom."

"I'll not have that thing in my castle!" He jabbed a finger at Gosalyn and she put her hands on her hips.

"Her name is Gosalyn." Morgana rounded on him. "GOS-A-LYN" She prodded him with each syllable. "Now you remember that and get out."

"I will not!" He roared. "You cannot just march back into this castle and think you can make the rules. I will not allow this…"

"Be quiet." There was darkness in her voice and Moloculo's mouth moved but was stripped of its sound. "That's better. Now, I want you to understand something, right here. Right now. I am not the girl who you tried to control, I am not the person you broke, not anymore. I am a hard headed woman, one that was cheated and has cheated to get where I am today. If you had met me three months ago you would have been surprised to see yourself in me but I was saved from that. I am glad I was changed." Her fingers were still in place on his arm from their last jab and his eyes hovered over glowing white ring. She held it up pointedly and unable to speak he just narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes, my temperament isn't the only thing that's changed. Don't start thinking I've delved into forbidden magic now. No, this is the same ruby you gave me, the one that used to be a necklace. Only when my source touched it he imprinted it with some of his power, so no more ruby. No more links to you." She smirked at the surprised puzzlement he tried to hide under his angry expression. "That's right, I said 'he'." She called him on his discomfort and his already agitated stated escalated in unvoiced rage. "On top of him being my center he's the greatest person I've ever met and I love him with my entire being." She frowned at the scowling face. "He is also a normal. Which is why you're never EVER going anywhere near him." She snarled. "As soon as this all blows over Gosalyn and I are leaving and you can have your ridiculous musty old castle all to yourself again for the rest of your black hearted existence."

Gosalyn cringed at the ruthlessness of Morgana's tirade. She saw how angry Moloculo looked, but the words she was saying… didn't they make him want to cry? She couldn't imagine ever talking to Drake that way. What had happened to make them act this like this? During her vocal assault Morgana had managed to herd him toward the door, all he had to do now was take one step back to return to the dark hall.

"You'll have your voice back by morning." Morgana informed him coldly with one final shove, forcing him to clear the door and she quickly slammed it shut.

There was an enraged stomping of feet that echoed off the walls on the other side of the wood. Gosalyn watched Morgana slowly lean forward and set her forehead upon the closed door tiredly. There was silence as she took in the scene with dull confusion. She let her eyes wander to the creatures sitting on the bed and found three pairs of yellow eyes taking her in curiously. They were strange looking. The bats looked more like black tennis balls with wings and the spider looked like it had come out of a cartoon. The quiet was too much for her and she walked over to Morgana, she noticed her knees were wobbly again.

"Well, I can see why you didn't want Honker to come." She said with a glance at the small candle that Moloculo had left behind. A soft chuckle met her statement.

"Yes... I'm sorry you had to see that. But..." She lifted her head up, contentment on her pretty face. "... it felt so good."

"Yeah, I kinda got that." Gosalyn shook her head lightly. "Anyway, one things for sure..." She ran her finger along the dust coated table. "... I'll never complain about Dad again."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Morgana said quietly to herself but it didn't escape her ears.

"Wonderful." She grumbled as she wiped her now grey tipped finger on her shirt.

A hesitant squeak came from behind them and the two turned to see the trio of creatures watching them. Gosalyn raised an eyebrow at them, if she didn't know any better she'd think the creatures were trying to talk. But the grin that flooded Morgana's face made her wonder if she did know better.

"Eek! Squeak! Archie!" Morgana cried happily as she swept across the room, the bats flapped into the air to greet her. "Oh I've missed you..." She put a hand out to the spider and it crawled onto it mumbling. "Archie..." She giggled. "Thank you." Gosalyn came up beside here eyeing her shrewdly. Morgana glanced at her apologetically. "Oh how rude of me. This is Gosalyn she's... well..." She fumbled.

"Her boyfriend's daughter." Gosalyn took over. "You can talk to them?"

"Oh yes, they're my familiars." Morgana stroked the spider's head lovingly. "They were my first successful spells as a child."

"Cool beans! Can you teach me how to do that?"

"No, I'm sorry dear... magic is something you have to be born with. Not everyone has it, most are just..."

"Normals?" Gosalyn interceded helpfully but the thoughtful look the woman gave her made her feel anything but helpful.

"No, not exactly." She sighed lightly.

"It's okay, I get it. So, what are we going to do now?" Gosalyn watched as Eek (or was it Squeak?) as he (she?) flapped around in front of her. She put out her palm and the little creature landed softly on it, it was warm.

"We're going to sleep." Morgana waved her spider free hand and all the surfaces that had been laden with dust were suddenly clean. "It's been a horrible couple of days, I think we both need to try and recover. I know I need a few hours at least to get through my withdrawal from Drake."

"You don't look so bad now." Gosalyn looked her up and down. Compared to what he had to go through whenever Morgana left she looked like she'd just missed her morning cup of coffee. (Which Drake had told her was almost as bad... almost. )

"The ring helps..." Her eyes hovered on the glowing crystal serenely. "...but not completely."

"You have a plan right? We're came back here to get some awesome magic stuff to help him so we can go back and clean some clocks?" The bat fluttered out of her hand to hang on the canopy of the bed.

Morgana sighed with a slow blink and sat on the matress. Gosalyn didn't like where this was going.

"Drake needs us to stay away from this fight Gosalyn."

"Nuh-uh! No way! You can't tell me we're just supposed to sit here on our butts and let him go against those jerks alone!" She balled her hands into small fists. "If it wasn't for you these last few times..."

"Stop." She cut her off and looked away painfully. The child felt the fires of unfairness burning inside her. "He's alright for now, but if something happens... we can't go rushing back. Negaduck will expect us to. Do you want us to be used as bait again?"

"...no." She pouted sternly and folded her arms.

"Neither do I. If something really bad happens... I'll figure something out. But until then we're stuck here."

"What? The Muddlefoot's kitchen is right through there!" She pointed at the closet door.

"Not anymore."

She frowned at the somber woman then the door. What did she think she was stupid or something? They'd just come through there. She stalked over to the door in question and flung it open. She felt her heart sink as she stared into the small barren closet.

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Darkwing Duck and all related characters are © Disney

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Well, well, here we are. Chapter one. This day, three years ago a greenhorn Darkwing Duck n00b and first time fan fic writer posted her first story here for the world to see. Happy Birthday Roots of Revenge:D Yes, I'm a sentimental weenie that's why I waited til now to post it... (that and this story is murdering me). Honestly, expect slow updates here... I can't seem to wrangle my muse very well when it comes to this story, so be patient and I promise it will be worth it. That being said, this and the next chapter will be a sort of Prolog before I jump ahead a few days... just giving you the heads up! Hopefully ya weren't bored to tears!

Thanks for waiting, reading, and if you review there is a special place in my heart for you.