Note: Finally, here it is, my sequel to "The worst part of you is me"! I hope you'll find it to your pleasure! :)

Darkwing Duck is property of Disney.

Of what we really are

1. Chapter - And soon the world will cease to be

A flashy lightning bolt enlightened the vespertine sky of St. Canard and suffused Drake's living room with a faint light. Heavy rain crackled against the windows. Time had passed, and it was April now.

“I really don’t understand why you take delight in this stupid TV show”, Drake sighed wearily and ran his fingers through his feathers. A big cruiser in a lagoon flickered on the telly.

“But Drake, this is the brand-new season of “Pelican’s Island”! Finally we’ll get to know if the marriage of the second steersman will be celebrated on board and if the captain really fires his ship’s cook!”, Launchpad explained euphorically.

„How thrilling!“, Drake said and stretched his arm in a theatrically way, “at least Herb and Binky didn’t got the insane idea to watch the series over here this time again”, he snarled.

A well-known noise made him turn around. One of his blue transport-chairs had just rotated and the next second, a mallard in a yellow costume arose.

Negaduck.

Four months had passed since he had begun to stay at Drake's house, even though it still felt like it had been only yesterday he had been standing together with him in that lonely storage building. Negaduck nodded at Drake as a greeting and went into the kitchen. Drake sighed again. Most of the time Negaduck stayed at the Darkwing Tower and he rarely caught sight of him. He didn’t knew where Negaduck loafed or what he was doing during the day. Drake just knew one thing:

Negaduck had never been lonelier before.

--

As soon as the credits of “Pelican’s Island” flickered on the telly the phone rang. Drake nodded at Launchpad, wanting him to lift the receiver. Drake himself went into the kitchen, opened the door to the kitchen and looked inside:

“Hey Negaduck, are you hungry? We still have some cutlet left from dinner and, despite the fact that Launchpad cooked, and although it's quite spicy, it's edible this time…”

But Negaduck wasn’t there.

--

“Really? I’m not sure… you have to know that I found a job here in St. Canard and my attendance is really important …”, Launchpad babbled into the phone receiver.

“Yes, I know I promised that I'd come back, should you need my help again … Yes… as a temporary personnel? For 8 months?“ Launchpad wrinkled his forehead and seemed to think seriously.

“Alright”, Launchpad finally agreed, “await me in Duckburg tomorrow.”

--

Cold rain crackled on his beak and ran down in thin trickles. His blue eyes looked empty in the dark vespertine sky and looked at the sinister clouds in a magnetized way; they seemed to be a mirror of his mind. Four months had passed now since the turning point of his life. He swallowed and still stared up into the sky. Now that he was living at Darkwing’s house he became aware of himself having wasting his previous life more than ever and that Darkwing represented everything he had missed in his existence. He had to admit that he was enjoying his current life but he still felt… queasy. Unable to communicate with others.

All his live he had been giving orders and watching with pleasure how they were executed.

He couldn’t respond to others; this was the reason why he tried to run away from them. As well as from himself.

He nearly spent the whole day in Darkwing's secret hideout. Not infrequently he was attracted anew into the more wicked parts of the town; places of his criminal past. But he had to take care, slowly word spread of him following Darkwing and his betrayal of the others. Accepted by some, hated by the others because of this chance, Negaduck spent his being in deep insecurity and full of dark anticipations.

A loud thundering filled the night.

--

Drake looked around bemusedly. Didn’t Negaduck go into the kitchen?, he wondered and jumped out of his feathers as the door which lead to the garden bashed against the door frame, pushed by the strong wind.

“Negaduck?”, he asked and stretched his head through the door. Negaduck wouldn’t have been gone into the garden during this storm?

But just as suitable for his unpredictable behaviour he did that; Drake saw him sitting on a bank not far from the door. Slowly he approached him and watched him from a close distance.

What did his erstwhile arch-enemy become? Once he had been a ruthless, cruel villain… but now he was just a sallow image of the mallard he had been fighting all those years

The rain soaked Negaduck’s black cape and bent his fedora down on his beak under the weight of the rain.

“Negaduck?”, he asked once again, but his voice was swallowed by the thunder. Drake grabbed Negaduck’s shoulder- First, he didn’t move, but finally Negaduck turned around to face him. Drake looked into the blue eyes of his counterpart.

One single tear quietly ran down his cheek.

--

"And you agreed?" Darkwing bristled at Negaduck after they had returned into the dry house. He went into the bathroom as Drake had ordered him to in order to dry himself. Negaduck felt worse enough, Drake didn't want him to catch a bad cold. Or did Negaduck long for this so badly?

As similar as the both mallards were; Drake couldn’t put himself into Negaduck’s position. His life had just run way too different to be able to.

„I promised it back then“, Launchpad tried to defend himself and retrieved Drake out of his thoughts.

“Your previous employer just calls you and asks you to come back after years and you agree that easily?!”, Drake snubbed him. “Who shall aviate the Thunderquack when you’re away?!”

“But it’s just for 8 months and…”, Launchpad tried to add.

“For 8 months?!”, Drake screamed appalled and sat down on the sofa. “Excuse me, Launchpad. But the evil wrongdoers of St. Canard will take my beautiful city to pieces and I can not count on the help of my sidekick!”

“But Darkwing, before you met me you worked alone as well. Apart from that you have the Ratcatcher and your name is enough to terrify the crooks!”. Launchpad pacified him.

Yes, yes... of course I'm prepared for all the raids and those wannabe criminals, even if I'm on my own!", Drake extolled himself and jumped onto the couch, striking a heroic pose.

After all, I am the terror that flaps the night, I'm the seized closure of your bottle of coke, I am... totally alone at home then”, he recognized matter-of-factly after his heroic speech.

Gosalyn and Honker attended a residential school after their Christmas holidays. He first had been doubtful to leave Gosalyn alone, he really needed his little tomboy around him, even though she usually had nothing better to do than playing a match of her favourite sport in his living room. But he wished her the best and a good education would certainly become an important element of her life, which was the only reason for letting her go, still with a heavy heart, though.

But now Launchpad, too?

The next months certainly would become very lonesome hours for him.

But with this presumption he was only right to a limited degree.

--

The big long case clock in Drake’s living room struck 6 o'clock in the morning when a blue car stopped in front of his house.

“Launchpad, your taxi is waiting“, Drake yelled tauntingly up the stairs.

“I’m coming!”, he heard Launchpad answer from upstairs and a rumbling declared his departure. Drake shook his head. He assumed that the rumbling had belonged to the new flower pot with the begonia he had bought only several days ago.

„Here I am!“, Launchpad said with a smile all over his face. “Oh Drake… you know, the flower pot there on the window sill…”

“No problemo”, Drake sighed and smiled involuntarily. He knew he'd definitely miss Launchpad while he was away.

“Well Launchpad, don't have your driver wait for too long!", Drake cheered him up. "But we keep in touch in the meanwhile, do we?".

“Oh Draaake!", Launchpad fell into his arms sobbing loudly. “I’m so bad at saying goodbye!“, he sniffed and pressed Drake that close against his body that he mallard was nearly about to not only say goodbye to Launchpad, but also to his whole life as well.

“Everything’s fine… you just watched to many of your corny soap-operas”, Drake pat his back while Launchpad looked at him with tears in his eyes. "In 8 month we will be standing here again and the whole world will look different!"

Launchpad forced himself to smile a bit, bid farewell with a last loud sniff and walked through the door.

Drake leaned against the door frame and looked after the blue car until it turned right into the main street.

And Drake should be right after all.

In eight months they were to stand here again with the world looking totally different, for real.

--

This chapter wasn't that very eventful, but in the next one, several occurences are going to take place :)

Thanks for reading!