Sitting down, cautiously, Giggles had no idea why her companion had suddenly taken such a drastic change in mood. A usual day would have been playful and fun, but today was different. Quackerjack had been avoiding her throughout the morning; Each time he saw her, he looked the other way as if keeping something from her. She knew this wasn't a game. There was something terribly wrong.
She watched him pace across the hall as she waited. After what seemed quite a while, Quackerjack took a breath and headed for the room where she sat. He took his seat, quietly looking at the floor, as he reached for the words to say.
Giggles: (picking at her nail polish) "So, what's the big secret?"
Quackerjack looked up as if startled and pulled from some distant place.
Quackerjack: (drawing out his words) "..I don't exactly know how to put this..."
Giggles: (noticing the unusually serious tone of his voice) "..No news is good news."
Quackerjack: (looking out the window with a brief smile) "Isn't that the truth..."
After a moment of silence, Giggles rose from her seat and bolted down the hall. She returned swiftly, but did not enter the room. She stood in the hallway, just out of sight, and in her place, Mr. Banana Brain peeked around the corner.
Giggles: (trying her best to mimic the voice) "You can tell us, Boss!"
She then glanced around the corner, herself, and was pleased to see Quackerjack with a slight grin upon his face. She smiled back with a look of accomplishment, then sat down on the floor next to his chair. She rested her chin on the chair's arm and studied Quackerjack's expressions carefully. She wasn't used to him this way, though she had seen it before.
Quackerjack: (with a dry mouth) "..Something's going to happen..And I don't think it's a good idea for you stick around
for it."
Giggles: (sitting up straight, confused) "Huh?"
Quackerjack: (sighing) "Look, someone's coming here..to the city...If you stay-..."
He trailed off with there, losing the wording he'd had planned. He leaned his elbows onto his knees as he tried to pull the words back to view.
Giggles: (with an intrigued glance) "..What's going on?"
Quackerjack suddenly stood, moving toward the window, as if watching for something, or someone. He stared off into the darkness outside, not saying a thing for several minutes. Silently, Giggles crawled from her place near the hall, stopping near her friend. In a playful jest, she hugged his leg.
Giggles: (looking up) "..Meow?"
He smiled as he looked down at her. He didn't know how to tell her of the dangers, but he had to. For her own safety, he had to warn her and get her as far from St. Canard as possible.
Slowly, he turned about and slid down the lower wall to the floor. He sat facing the room in thought for a moment before speaking.
Quackerjack: (turning toward her) "It's like this...A long time ago, I had a run-in with a guy called Paddywhack...It's a
really long story, but anyway, with some help from Darkwing, he was beaten and his little, mini-reign of
terror ended..."
She sat, listening to his every word. As he continued on with his tale, she stayed captivated within his past. After a long while, Quackerjack's tale was coming to an end. There were a few quiet minutes before anyone spoke again.
Quackerjack: "...What I'm trying to tell you...is he's back now."
Giggles: "Back? What do you mean 'back'?"
Quackerjack: "I caught wind of it this morning....Paddywhack's returned to St. Canard, and he's probably looking for
me...Or a way to get to me."
Giggles: "..Oh.."
Quackerjack: "That's why you have to leave."
Giggles: (playfully) "What? And let you have the fun?"
Quackerjack: (seeming a slight flustered) "It's not fun! I told you, this-..thing feeds off of suffering and with you around
me, you're a prime target to strike."
She cocked her head back some, a little surprised at his outburst. He never yelled or shouted, not at her. She sat with her back to the wall, near him, resting her arms on her knees. She tucked her face into her crossed arms without a word.
Quackerjack: (realizing what had just occured) "...Giggles...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to-"
Giggles: (cutting him off, without raising her face) "..It's okay."
Quackerjack: (with a sigh) "No, it's not. I just-...don't want you to feel like someone's out to get you..I want you to feel
safe; If anything else, you deserve that much."
Giggles: (her voice muffled) "No..Daddy was right. You don't need me around and niether does anyone else."
She started to get up from the floor, but Quackerjack grasped her shoulder, gently pulling her back down. He knew what was happening; She was reliving her childhood. He never wanted to make her do that, and so he did his best to keep her from thinking about the past, including never shouting at her.
Quackerjack: "Giggles, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted...I'm just..worried about you."
Giggles: (looking at him with a falling tear) "...Worried?..About me? But how?-"
Quackerjack: (stopping her question) "Shh-shh-shh, you're father was a bad man; He doesn't even deserve the title.
You're better than that."
Giggles: (turning away sharply) "Am I really?"
He froze, not knowing what to say.
Giggles: (in gentle sobs) "I'm no better! Look at me! I've spent over half of my life either on the streets or playing
supervillian! What kind of life is that?! That doesn't make me any better than him!"
Quackerjack: (slightly taken back) "No, no, no! You don't understand!"
Giggles: (again turning her face from him) "..Understand what?"
Quackerjack: (placing a hand on her shoulder) "Don't you see it?...Sure, we've made mistakes,..but everyone does!
Whether you know it or not, you've got a lot going for you here."
Giggles: (slightly turning back, but still not facing him) "...Like what?"
Quackerjack: "Well..You've proven how well you can take care of yourself, you've got a friend that wouldn't desert
you..You..do a pretty good Mr. Banana Brain!"
Giggles: (with slight laughter) "Big whoop.."
Quackerjack: "Aw, come on. It's not all that bad around here...is it?"
Giggles: (turning quickly to face him) "Oh no! Not here, really!..Just..."
Quackerjack: (gesturing for her to continue) "Just-.."
Giggles: (sighing) "I don't regret joining the empire so much...It almost made me feel like I belonged
somewhere...but..why did it have to be a bad one?"
Quackerjack: (with intrigue) "What do you mean?"
Giggles: "Well, think about it. What has being villians gotten us besides a whole bunch of trouble and a few kicks?"
He sat quietly, pondering this question.
Giggles: (continuing) "Don't you ever wonder what things might be like if we'd done stuff differently?..I mean, you
could've gone lots of places after your company went under..You could've had honest money, real friends-not
just people that want to use you...maybe even a family..."
Quackerjack searched in deep thought for a response to all of this as Giggles again rested her head upon her arms.
Quackerjack: "Well, sure some of those things would've been nice, but there's still time for all that."
Giggles: (looking at him, interested in his words) "Huh?"
Quackerjack: (drawing out his words) "..Sure, it'll take time, but-..it is possible.."
Giggles: "..You mean...turn our lives around?"
Quackerjack: "..Sure..Things can still change..Things can still be different or get better.."
Giggles: "..Do you know what you're saying?"
Quackerjack: (with a pondersome gaze) "..Yeah....If it's what you want, then-"
Giggles: (again cutting him off) "You'd do that?!...(quietly)for me?..Just give up everything you know?!"
Quackerjack: (smiling to himself, in thought) "Well, you need what's best for you, and hey, let's face it, the life of a
supervillian isn't exactly glamorous, stress-free living for me, either."
Suddenly moving, catching him off guard, she hugged him tightly.
Quackerjack: (chuckling) "What's this for?"
Giggles: "Going from villian to hero and saving us from the bad side of town in the netherworld!"
Quackerjack: (staring off to the distance) "...A hero?"
It took a moment for everything to sink in, but then he smiled and messed up her hair, as he often did in play.
Giggles: "Hey!"
He chuckled to himself as he watched her tie her pigtails back into their proper places.
Giggles: (playfully) "All right, you!"
Then, she pounced on him and began to tickle him mercilessly.
Quackerjack: (laughing histerically) "Hey, come on now! Giggles! I have to finish-"
She let off and sat back in her spot next to him, with a smirk.
Giggles: "That'll teach ya!"
Quackerjack: "Now where have I heard that before?"
She playfully glared at him. This exchange of remarks had been rehearsed many times throughout the years.
Quackerjack: (with a wide grin) "Eh, I'm a slow learner. (becoming serious once again)Really, though...I don't think it's
the best idea for you to stick around while he's in town."
Giggles: "Oh, stop worrying! I'll be fine! If he comes near me, I'll tickle him, too!"
Quackerjack: (shaking his head, smiling) It's not that easy."
Giggles: (sighing) "I know."
Quackerjack: "I'm not trying to tell you what to do..I just want you to be safe."
Giggles: "Safe, safe, you keep saying that. You go into crazy battle conditions with me and now you're obsessed with
my safety?"
Quackerjack: (smiling toward her) "So, I'm allowed to worry."
Giggles: "But why worry? Everything's gonna be fine, right?"
Quackerjack: (turning away his face) "..Yeah.."
Another moment of silence passing, she crept up, moving directly in front of him, and leaned over as to look him in the eye.
Giggles: (playfully)"What are you hiding?"
He looked up and was a slight startled once he noticed how close they were.
Quackerjack: (looking down) "..I just care about you...That's all.."
At this point, they both turned away. Each knew of the emotions lurking just beneath the surface here. They'd fought them off for years, though by this time, neither was quite sure why. Before, they had the empire to worry about; Not to mentionthe peak of their insanity. Now, though, was relatively peaceful, with the exception of a scheme from themselves or Megavolt now and then.
Quackerjack: (breaking the silence, looking her in the eye) "I'm getting you the best from now on. From this point, right
here, right now, we're walking the honest side."
Giggles: (her eyes growing wide) "Really?!"
Quackerjack: (smiling) "Really."
Giggles: "Right now?"
Quackerjack: "..Right now."
He gazed into her eyes for a moment while she was looking off to the side, enjoying the serenity he found in her.
Giggles: (turning her eyes back toward him) "Ellen."
Quackerjack: (confused) "What?"
Giggles: "My name..is Ellen."
He smiled, knowing the significance here. All of these years together and just now learning her real name, he knew things were already changing, and that things would, from then on, be different.
Quackerjack: "Ellen...I like it...(with a glint in his eye) but I think Ellie suits you better."
She smiled in a girlish way, amused with her new pet name.
Ellen: "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
She slid her fingertips underneath the rim of his mask, pushing it slowly upward to see the real man she'd lived with for so long. He froze for a moment, watching her hands in this delicate movement; He didn't stop her, but, rather, grasped her wrists, helping the motion. As the mask fell to the side of the pair, Ellen sat on her knees and studied his features carefully. She'd never seen the true him this close before. Almost mystified, she softly ran her fingers down the side of his face. As she did so, an unconscious smile crept upon him. She had rested her other hand on his shoulder before, as if steadying him so she would get the best view, but now, she ran it softly down the other side of his face. In such peace and tranquility, he moved his face closer into her palm. She began to pull her hand away, yet doing so in such a way as to tip his chin up to meet her gaze. One of her fingers grazed his lips as she pulled away her hand, and, without trying, he clenched his eyes shut.
She saw the flinches of his eyelids and hadn't missed witnessing any one of his reactions; She smiled softly toward him. As he opened his eyes, he again noticed how close they were. He stared helplessly into the blue pools of color that rested in her eyes; He wasn't sure that he could tear himself away from her this time, as he had in prior close calls, though none so close as this one was, and beside that, he didn't even want to. In an involuntary motion, the two leaned ever closer. He swallowed hard as she drew nearer than ever before and shifted his focus from her eyes to her lips, which he had long wished to caress upon his own. Only a breath apart, so many years of waiting, the dam was almost broken; Less than an inch away was the paradise which they had both long sought.
Both suddenly jumped as a loud noise crashed in the open window from the alley, outside.
Ellen: (gathering herself as she moved away from him) "What was that?"
Quackerjack: (frozen, still recovering from once again losing his chance ) "..I don't know.."
He rose from his place on the floor and scrutinized the alleyway. Finding nothing but a few cats and a toppled trash can, he took the caution of checking outside the door, as well, before giving the okay. After they had both calmed their nerves and caught their breath, Quackerjack looked over toward Ellen and found her gazing back. She turned, shyly, away.
Ellen: "..I guess..I'll go to bed now..."
Quackerjack: (staring toward the floor) "..Yeah..Rest is a good idea. You might need it...."
She turned into the corridor, but looked back at him before completely exiting.
Ellen: "Everything will be fine. Don't worry about Paddywhack.....(with a playful hint) Or me."
Quackerjack: (glancing up with a half-smile) "..I'll keep you safe; I promise."
Ellen: (smiling warmly) "I know you will...Goodnight."
Quackerjack: "..Goodnight, Ellie."
She smiled at him for a moment longer, then departed for bed. Quackerjack stood against the wall near the door for a few minutes more, staring up at nothing in particular. After checking all of the locks on the door and windows, he picked up his mask and headed toward the hall.
Quackerjack: (talking to his doll, sitting on the table) "Come on, Mr. Banana Brain...Time for bed."
He picked up his doll and went to his bedroom. After changing, he turned out the light, but did not go to bed. Instead, he dragged his blanket and a pillow into the hall, and slept there on the floor in front of Ellen's door. It might not offer much protection from an evil entity, but whatever he could possibly offer, he would give.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Though the night was rough, the dawn somehow came seemingly soon. With the rising sun new worries set in as old ones were put to rest. Quackerjack took a deep stretch as he sat up in his makeshift bed. Things were pretty quiet that night, but still so, he had to insure that Ellen was safe. He picked up his things and put them in their rightful places so that she wouldn't trip coming to breakfast. Walking back toward her door, something didn't sit right within him; He had good reason to worry, but he was trying very hard not to be overcome by paranoia.
Quackerjack: (knocking lightly on the door) "..Ellie?"
There was no answer; No voice came back as a comfort- not even the rustling sheets of her rolling over. Silence was the only thing filling the room just beyond that door and with the complete lack of sounds or signs of life, he tensed. That feeling in his stomach was growing stronger. He tried turning the doorknob, but it was locked. This puzzled him; Ellen never locked her door- not even when she was upset.
Quackerjack: (knocking louder, nervously) "Ellie? Are you in there? Is everything okay?"
Again there was no response. Running to the kitchen in a panic, he thought only of her and her safety. Upon getting to the junk drawer he'd come for, he dug furiously for the key to her room; He knew there was one there. He angrily muttered at himself about not being prepared as he looked for the key. He found it just as he'd accidentally cut his hand. He noticed the blood beginning to surface in his palm, but he didn't care; He didn't have time to care. He had to get to Ellie.
He ran back to the room and unlocked the door with shaking hands. As soon as it was open, he bursted in as if in a life-or-death manner, and to him, it was. He stumbled to catch his balance as he practically fell into the room. Looking up, he saw what he was dreading. Ellen was gone, her bed empty, the window open, and a torturous red stain upon the rug. He clenched his eyes tight, turning slightly away when he saw it. Glancing up with watering eyes, he noticed a single brown feather attatched to the window, fluttering in the morning breeze. Stunned, he stepped over and grasped it. Knowing what had happened, he fell to his knees on the floor in flowing tears. He was torn inside. Part of him wanted to blame Paddywhack, but part of him was also pointing the responsibility back to another familiar face- his own.
Placing a hand on the floor, he then noticed the broken picture frame that layed there. Dusting away the shattered glass, he saw that the picture was of him and Ellen from a theme park they had gone to a few months before. Seeing how happy they were in that photo panged his heart.
Quackerjack: (whispering with quiet sobs) "..I'm so sorry, Ellie. This is all my fault..I should've heard what
happened....I should've stayed awake...There had to be more I could've done..."
He then noticed that his hand was still bleeding. It had bled onto the picture. He wiped the photo off as best as he could with his nightshirt. He didn't care about himself; He just wanted that photo to remain new as if it would bring her back. He didn't even notice the pain of his wound, for his heart was hurt far worse.
He suddenly looked up as he heard a swift sound on the fire escape. When he saw the shadow, he knew who it was. The laugh only made the pain worse. He turned sharply to face his old foe.
Quackerjack: (standing, speaking angrily) "What have you done, Paddywhack? Where is she? If you hurt so much as a
hair on her head, I swear I'll-"
Paddywhack: (laughing once more) "You'll what?...Mmmm, yum yum yum. Tasty meal."
Quackerjack: "Look, you emotional vampire, I know you're feeding off of this but I don't care; I just want Ellie back."
Paddywhack: "Mmm, looks like a nice game of hide and seek and you're it!"
With those cold words, the evil entity vanished with the breeze. Breathing hard in fury, Quackerjack ran to the window.
Quackerjack: (shouting after him) "I'll get you for this, Paddywhack!!!"
Another shrill laugh came back on the breeze as a response. Not knowing what to do or even think, Quackerjack again collapsed to the floor. He knew he couldn't win alone, but he didn't know where else to start. He knew what he had to do; He knew there was only one place he could go for help. He would go, but not until he could collect himself. As a cold breeze blew in from outside, he cried into his hands. The stinging sensation of salene hitting his cut didn't matter. Only one hero could help make things right again; Only one.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Stay tuned,kiddies--
--NegaDot--