Season One: Episode One: Pilot

Chapter 4: Act Three

"Hey... Tankard." Goz wheezed, squeezing out of the hold.

"Hey, Red!" The truly giant rooster, as big as Launchpad, grinned. He turned a blue eye towards Honker. "Hey, Honkface. I see ya two are as wimpy as ever."

"Wanna take this outside and say that again?" Goz asked, holding up a fist.

"Like I didn' learn that lesson years ago, Red." Tank laughed, brushing back his comb. He turned and waved them inside. Goz noted that he had taken to wearing a black biker jacket over his red turtleneck.

"Gee, it can learn." Honker exclaimed, feigning surprise, as they followed Tank inside the simple apartment.

"Watch it, bro." Tank growled. "Or you'll be the one takin' it outside, right through the window!"

"Careful, you might mistake a painting for the window." Honker tutted. "Remember, the window's the one with things moving outside of it."

"Why, ya little shrimp!" Tank marched up to him.

"At least I'm not an ignorant plebian." Honker matched him step for step, getting closer.

"Don't insult me with words I can't understand, nerd."

"I'd say you should buy a dictionary, but I doubt you could read it, brute."

By this point, the brothers were chest-to-chest, Tank glaring down to catch Honker's equally-fierce gaze. A few moments passed in silence before they each grinned, laughing as they embraced.

"Oh, I missed ya, Honkface." Tank lifted him up.

"Missed you too, bro." Honker smiled softly as he was put back on the ground. "Most people just give up after I spout a few 'too-big' words at 'em."

"Yeah, between the two of ya, I'll finally have someone to argue with again." Tank gestured to Honker and Goz, who had ignored the brothers' game to rifle through the cupboards of the little kitchen connected to the living room. "Well, someone who won't just take one look at me and run screamin', anyways."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure being all big and muscular must be a real annoyance." Honker rolled his eyes.

"Actually, it helps a lot at my job." Tank answered, uncaring of (or possibly oblivious to) the sarcasm.

"You know, I don't actually know what you do." Goz said, taking a bag of Funions to the old couch.

"I'm a bouncer at a Nightclub in town." Tank answered. "The Bouncin' Ballroom. Dorky name, I know, but it's super popular. Pays well, too."

"A Nightclub bouncer?" Honker asked, joining Goz on the couch. "What happened to 'making it big' with your drums?"

"Well, that's still my goal, but I need something to pay the bills." Tank shrugged. "And, honestly, I'm kinda happy with the job. I get to listen to music, there's free snacks-"

"You get to beat people up." Honker added.

"I get to beat people up." Tank agreed, shoving Honker closer to Goz so he could sit down, propping his feet on a coffee table. "I could do worse, though I hardly need to tell ya that, little bro."

"I certainly thought you'd do worse. For once, I'm glad my calculations were off." Honker nodded. "Hey, is that where you met your girlfriend?"

Tank choked, eyes going wide.

"Girlfr-? Oh right, I forgot you wrote that you'd started dating someone!" Goz clapped her hands, getting Funion powder everywhere. "Is she pretty?"

"Um, yeah, we met at the Ballroom." Tank coughed, suddenly nervous. "And yeah, very... Pretty. Han- gorgeous, in fact."

"Ohh!" Goz grinned, leaning over Honker to get closer to Tank. "Tell me all about her! Where does she live? What's her name? Mammal or Avian? What does she do for living? When can we meet her?!"

"Goz, slow down, you know my brother gets confused by lots of questions at once." Honker told her, not a hint of mockery in his voice, just fact. He was getting concerned about the cornered look on his brother's face -- Tankard H. Muddlefoot never looked cornered, unless it was Mom asking what happened to cookie jar.

"L-live?" Tank shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "Uh, we have separate apartments. And, um, we sorta agreed to... Keep things on the down-low, that's it. Very private person, doesn't want to tell anybody about us until we're serious, but I'm okay with that. Hey, uh, ya look filthy!" Tank spoke fast, jumping up and grabbing Goz, shoving her towards the bathroom. "Why don't ya go get a bath? Ma would be furious if she knew I was letting you sit around covered in dust without even showing ya the, um, what's Dad call 'em? Oh, right, the facilities!"

"Uh, Tank, thank you, but-" Goz started, getting pushed fully into the surprisingly-nice bathroom.

"Ya take as long a bath as ya need, then I'll show ya yer room." Tank promised, closing the door. "Ya get yer own room, bein' a lady and all, while Honker can just share mine. Have a nice bath."

Goz blinked at the door, not sure what had just happened. Part of her wanted to march out and demand an explanation, but a bath really did sound nice... Honker could probably figure out was going on with his brother, and if not, maybe some time to calm down would convince Tank to spill the beans.

Goz had always loved water -- well, except for a brief period of time after Liquidator's first kidnapping attempt, but she got over that after her contour feathers really started growing in.

She slipped into the warm tub, delighting in splashing her feet about like she was nine again. She dunked her head under the water, scrubbing through her thin red headfeathers, gulping mouthfuls of water just to spray into the air.

All in all, she spent maybe too long in the bath, but it was nice. Though she absorbed at least half of it, which was gross.

When Goz went back out into the living room, she discovered Honker and Tank watching TV on the couch, with Screech curled in Tank's lap -- purring loudly. A small shake of Honker's head told her not to bring up what had happened -- though she was definitely interrogating Honker later -- and she joined them.

It was maybe 15:00 when Tank stretched and announced he was going to bed, asking them to keep it down since he had to start his shift soon and needed sleep. They didn't have to be too quiet, of course, since that boy could sleep through a horde of wildebeest protesters.

"So... What was up with Tank?" Goz asked, the moment Tank was gone.

"I don't know, but I've never seen him act like that before." Honker shook his head, looking genuinely worried. "Tank is... Direct. He tells you exactly what he's thinking, especially if he's upset. If he's hiding something, he'll tell you where you can stuff it and stomp off, not shove you into a bathroom and run away."

"Should we ask him about it?" Goz asked, trusting Honker's judgement on his brother.

"No, I don't think so." Honker shook his head slowly. "If it's something bad, I'm sure we'll figure it out. If it's something not bad, I'm sure he'll tell us eventually. Maybe he's just nervous about dating?"

"Maybe." But Goz couldn't shake the feeling there was more to it than that. "Everyone's entitled to their own secrets, I guess."

"Yeah. I guess." Honker sighed. He picked up the remote. "Do you want to keep watching TV?"

"Gimme." Goz asked, waiting for Honker to hand over the remote. She tapped it a few times, muttering and visualizing some complex stuff in her mind's eye. The TV clicked onto a new channel with a flash of purplish-green. "There, the Monster channel. Way better than Normie television."

They spent some time watching the TV, the rest of their day calm and peaceful, just like Goz had wanted from the start. Tank eventually came out to have breakfast/dinner with them, then...

"Oh, Goz, I totally forgot to show ya yer room." Tank whacked his forehead. He took her down the short hallway. He pointed to a blue door at the very end. "Ya already know the bathroom. That's me and Honker's room," he pointed to a red door on the left, then a green door on the right "and yer room. I've gotta get to work, won't be back till morning, but I think yer all set up now."

"Thanks so much, Tank." Goz smiled, waving as he headed to the front door.

"No problem, Red. See ya tomorrow." He waved to his brother. "Smell ya later, nerd."

"Considering our differing hygiene, I'll probably smell you first." Honker responded, waving. "Love you."

"Love ya." And with that, Tank was gone.

"Night, Honker." Goz yawned, picking up Screech.

"Goodnight." Honker replied. 

It wasn't too big a room, nor too small, but kinda strange. Across from Goz was a window with a sill so large it had been turned into a bed, with drawers under it. To the left was a much smaller window with a desk and a rolling chair under it, with a closet to the right. Everything was in various shades of green and black, weirdly enough, with a plush carpet under her feet. A bookshelf stood to one side of the closet, near the door, with a beanbag chair and a tall lamp on the side near the bed. The lamp was all twisted with swirling designs and red glass hanging from the strings, matching the room's main light.

Honestly, it looked like Tank had hired a interior designer and then didn't bother to check their work. It was nice, though. Strange, but not bad looking.

Goz got to unpacking, putting away her clothes and weapons first. She put her family photo and her laptop on the desk, putting Screech's stuff under it to make him a little cave. Her video games, extra suit, extra bow, and some arrows all went in the drawers under the bed -- for quick access.

She set a couple comics and figurines on the bookshelf, blocking her magic books and potions supplies. Her stuffed rabbit was plopped onto the bed, followed shortly by her. She was exhausted, more than ready for sleep, but there was still one thing she needed to do.

Sitting up, Goz pulled out her cellphone and scrolled through her contacts to find her Dad. Hitting the call button, she waited, petting Screech. No answer. She called a few more times, still no answer, even when she tried Launchpad's number.

Oh well, they're probably just already after some criminal or other. Maybe that kraken Neptunia was worried about had finally attacked. No fair, she really wanted to see that thing!

But, that didn't matter. That wasn't her life anymore, she had only even brought her suit in case of an emergency. Nope, her life was now one of peace, quiet, and time to figure out where she really wanted to be. In fact, she could enjoy something she hadn't gotten in a while -- a full night's sleep!

Goz kicked off her shoes, laid down under the covers, and sighed. On one side was Screech, the other her rabbit doll. Now time for some nice,

Peaceful,

Sleep.

...

....

.....……...…

Alright, so she couldn't sleep, that was to be expected in an unfamiliar place! It wasn't because she was worried about her dad, or missing superhero work. Not. At. All.

There were a million reasons she couldn't get any rest! Tank's weird behavior, for one. And Screech's snoring, for another. And the moon was shining right in through the window, which would keep anybody up.

Goz sighed, rolling over to stare at said moon, big and bright in the sky. There was a flower box with desert plants right outside her window, and she waved lazily at them. She could feel them growing, even at night. They were a comfort, and she was happy Tank had apparently remembered her love of plants, even if he didn't -- couldn't -- know the reasons for it.

That's what she needed to clear her head -- plants! She remembered passing a beautiful park on the way there, only a few blocks away. Goz opened her window, climbing out. She was several floors up, but that didn't bother her, climbing down easily with Screech right on her heels.

Was it stupid to go walking at night, in an unfamiliar city, without telling anybody that you left? Yes. But Goz was fine with Honker being the smart one, she'd always been a little too impulsive.

Ever since she'd started mutating, after that little incident with Bushroot's formula, Goz had functioned better during the day. But she loved the night. The city was so beautiful, a thousand stars illuminating it, as true in Firebird as it had been in St Canard. The night was the realm of mystery, magic, and wonder.

"Mreow." Screech ran a little ahead of her, chasing dust specks, and she just had to laugh. It felt good, for some reason, just walking like this. It wasn't long until they reached the park.

Grass, different then the kind back home, spread throughout the whole place, interrupted by rock gardens and winding paths. Plants of all sorts, both kinds common to the rest of town and not, sprouted up everywhere. She could sense how healthy everything was, and it made her smile, twirling around.

It was a good hour and a half of just walking and enjoying the plants before Goz sensed something wrong. It was a bit of discomfort, distress, almost-pain.

She looked around, finally spotting a small cactus being slowly crushed by a comparatively large rock.

"Oh, you poor thing! Here you go." She carefully moved the rock, sending a very small burst of magic to heal the cactus. It shook a little as the spell worked through it, a single purple flower starting to sprout. It reminded Gosalyn of Bushroot, making her laugh. "Aww, you like that, Little... Thornroot?"

It was late, Honker might check on her and get worried if she was gone, so she really needed to head back... But she didn't want to leave Thornroot. Sitting cross-legged and focusing her magic, Goz slowly transfigured the stone into a good-sized, naturey-looking planter.

Oh-so-gently moving the cactus into its new home, Goz stood and whistled for Screech. She started walking back to the apartment, humming, feeling a lot better for some reason. Maybe all she needed was a little air, getting some of magic out instead of letting it build up, and a bit of exercise.

This time when she curled up in bed, Goz fell into an unworried rest, feeling as if everything was going to be just fine...

Gosalyn was walking through a funhouse, a hall of mirrors, pigtails bouncing behind her. But her reflections were wrong, each different than her in some way. Their clothes, their expressions, their hairstyles -- they were all her, though.

And they were all black and white, no color to be found except red. Every single reflection had glowing red eyes.

"What's the matter, Little Girl Bluuuuue? Don't want to plaaaaay?" The sing-songy voice was wrong, echoing and deep but feminine, bouncing off the walls, coming from everywhere at once.

"Gosalyn!", "Goz!", "Red!"; voice after voice called her name, each sounding pained, in total despair. Except one. One was laughing. High pitched and cruel. Over and over and over again. It was was coming from one of her reflections, one with color, one that showed her all grown up.

"Should've stayed with Daddy, Little Girl Bluuuuue~." The reflection smiled cruelly, reaching out a clawed hand, shattering the mirror into four jagged pieces. Gosalyn tried to run, but it was useless, she was lifted into the air to meet giant red eyes and dripping fangs. She screamed, but it was drowned out by the wailing of desperate voices, all covered by laughter. Laughter, and music from a Jack-in-the-box...

"NO!" Goz screeched, magic coming to her fingertips as she bolted upright, ready to fight... To fight... Someone. She shook her head, the nightmare already fading into a distant memory.

There was a knock on her door. "Goz, ya alright in there?" Tank asked, sounding worried.

"We heard screaming." Honker added.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a nightmare, I guess." Goz sat on her bed, holding Screech, who was loudly purring in an attempt to comfort her. She smiled, whispering. "Good boy. Thanks."

"Ya decent, Red?" Tank asked, through the door.

"Since when does that matter?" Goz yelled back. He'd already seen her weirdly-thin feet a thousand times, so she honestly didn't care.

"Jus' checkin'." Tank answered, coming in with Honker right behind him.

"What's your species gotta do with it?" Goz asked.

Tank blinked in confusion, but Honker squawked out a laugh. "It's a joke, bro. Wordplay."

"...If ya say so." Tank shrugged. He went over to Goz, lifting her up by her hoodie to move her over enough for him to sit down. He pulled her close, patting her back. Tank Muddlefoot wasn't good with words, he was rough and tumble, but he'd always been good at comforting people. Growing up with a brother prone to anxiety attacks will do that to you. "Ya wanna talk about it, Red?"

"Not really." Goz admitted. "Can't really remember it, just... A mirror, I think?"

"But it's still scarin' ya?" Tank asked.

"Yeah." Goz nodded, speaking quietly.

They stayed like that for a while, with Honker eventually sitting down on her other side, until the feelings from the nightmare were completely gone.

After that, Tank went back to his room to sleep, which made Goz feel bad for waking him up.

"Do you want cereal, pancakes, or oatmeal?" Honker asked. He had taken over food duty sometime in their teens, not trusting Goz around the kitchen. It wasn't that she was bad at cooking, per se, more that she might get bored and rewire a blender or start making bubbling acid instead of food. She was much more patient nowadays, but by then they were both used to Honker handling food.

"Hmmm. Pancakes." Goz decided, sitting on a stool at the counter that divided the kitchen and the living room. Screech jumped up on the counter, meowing loudly. "And Screech would like a fish. Or an-"

"I am not making an omelette." Honker lightly glared at her, and Goz burst into giggles. Honker sighed and went about collecting ingredients. "There's some fish here, and milk... Oh, here's a cucumber."

"Iskcats don't eat vegetables, Honk." Goz crossed her arms.

"One, yes they do, just not many." Honker rolled his eyes. "And, two..." He set the cucumber down on the counter, backing away.

Screech sniffed the cucumber, fur raising. To Goz's utter bewilderment, the cat started hissing, jumping, and scratching at the cucumber. Finally, he ran off, bolting under the couch.

"...What just happened?" Goz asked, looking between Honker, the cucumber, and the couch.

"Despite being perfectly safe for them to eat, some cats will 'freak out' upon seeing a cucumber." Honker held up a finger, as if he was giving a lecture. Then he tilted his head, hand going to his side. "Though, I must admit I didn't expect such a strong reaction."

"Wait..." Gosalyn narrowed her eyes, glaring at Honker. "You freaked out my familiar, on purpose?!"

"Ummm..." Honker shrugged, backing away a little.

It took them about fifteen minutes, and five cat treats, to coax Screech back into the open. Goz as well insisted on burning the offending produce in front of Screech, so as to reassure him that she wouldn't let his enemies go unpunished.

Finally, they sat down to eat.

"Don't forget water, it's important to stay hydrated in a dry climate." Honker reminded her, handing her a bottle of water.

"Thanks, Honk." Goz downed about two thirds of the bottle, pouring the last down her shoes to be absorbed. "Oh, that reminds me, I got to water Thornroot."

"Thornroot?" Honker asked.

"My new cactus." Goz smiled. "I named him Thornroot 'cause he reminds me of Dr Bushroot."

"Okay, one, you are way too friendly with those villains." Honker started.

"Am not!" Goz protested.

"What's Megavolt's real name?" Honker asked.

"Uncle Elmo." Goz answered immediately, tilting her head in confusion. Honker raised an eyebrow.

"Two," Honker said, holding up two fingers, "when in the world did you get a cactus? We were together all day, yesterday."

"All day, not all night." Goz answered. "I went walking."

"That explains the dirt on your feet." Honker sighed. "Find anything interesting? Besides Thornroot, I mean."

"Yeah, this lovely little park-" Goz gasped, holding her head. Pain lanced through her.

"Q? What's wrong?" Honker asked, standing up to catch her as she wobbled on her stool.

"I don't know." Images flashed in her mind's eye, too quickly to comprehend. But all of them carried a sense of destruction, foreboding, and... "C-can we go to the park?"

"What?" Honker blinked "Uh, sure, but why?"

"I just..." Goz shook her head, stumbling towards the door. "I don't know, we just need to go there."

She was already out the door, Screech right behind her, too far away to hear Honker mutter before following her, "I just had to fall for a witch."

Goz raced a long the sidewalk, her headache lessening the closer she got to the park. It was a lovely day, really, much calmer than any day in St Canard. Exactly the day she came there for, a day she'd really enjoy if it wasn't for her headache, the kind of uneventful day you can only have in a city without super-

An explosion rocked the sky. Firetrucks zoomed by, sirens blaring, police cars barely behind, as several smaller explosions went off.

"What was that?" Honker asked.

"It's coming from the direction of the park, come on!" Goz climbed up the side of a building, taking to the rooftops.

"Uh, Q, maybe we shouldn't be going straight into an explosion?" But Honker was already right behind her. "What happened to wanting peace and calm?"

"It's an explosion, Honker." Goz said, as if that explained it. And, honestly, it did. Even without the vision or whatever, when life calls, how could Darkwing Duck's daughter do anything but jump?

"Hey, you kids can't be here!" A firefighter yelled.

"But, sir, my kitty cat!" Goz barely disguised her mocking tone as Screech obediently jumped off her shoulder and ran ahead.

Goz really wished she hadn't come. She sensed still-burning plants, feeling like hot pokers in her belly, surrounded by soot and ash. The park had been more-or-less entirely destroyed, but the fires were already almost gone. To destroy this much, this quickly, without burning the whole city down? That took a level of skill that-

"Oh no..." Goz whispered. In front of her was an area of the ground so dark it looked blacker than black, forming a familiar symbol. A heart, broken into four even, jagged pieces.

In the middle of the heart, where the cracks met, was a small pink box with a green and black striped bow. Goz slowly lifted it up, opening it with shaking hands. Photos.

There were photos from yesterday. Her being hugged by Tank. Her and Honker talking to Melody at Starduck's. Her walking in that very park.

There were photos from years ago. Her playing. At school. At the movies. Sleeping.

More recent photos of her babysitting the Fearsome kids. Her hanging out with Elmo in civvies. Arguing with Quackerjack over Whiffleboy. Liquidator and her making a fake commercial for his next heist (her dad had not been happy about that). Bushroot freaking out over her developing powers.

The last photo was her sitting next to herself. Her in her purple jersey and high tops, messy hair in pigtails, beak cracked open in a wide grin. And the other her in a lacy pink dress and black slippers, curled ringlets held up by bows, a dainty smile shining at the camera.

A note fell to the ground. It's words were simple, it's message clear.

See you soon, Cuz!

XOXO, Lady Blackheart.

PS: I wuv you!