Disclaimer: I do not own TaleSpin.

Chapter Eight

Kit was having the time of his life; he was actually flying his Dad's plane, the Phoenix! Mathew watched his son proudly, thinking that with his and Baloo's help and guidance, Kit could be the next world's best pilot! Assuming that is what he wants to do, that is.

They were having a great father and son moment, but unknown to them, a group of Air Pirates lurks behind the mountains, waiting for the moment to strike!

Don Carnage picked up his radio microphone and radioed his fellow Pirates.

"Do whatever you want to de plane, but I want da boy alive and if you kill the boy, I'll cut you up into many bite-size pieces!"

The Phoenix was getting close to Pirate Island, currently the home of the Sinister Six.

Inside the Phoenix, Kit let out a small whimper and let go of the flight stick, spun around and clung onto his Dad's neck.

"Kit, what's wrong?" Mathew asked, concerned as Kit's face was twisting. Mathew tightens his one-arm embrace around Kit while he grasped the flight stick with the other hand and then he kissed Kit on the forehead. "It's okay, Lil Buddy, I got you. Now what's wrong?"

Kit turned around to point out the windshield. "That's Pirate Island down there…" he whispered with a miserable tone to his voice.

Mathew understood; the island was bringing back bad memories from his son's past. And the aura around the island gave Mathew the creeps.

"Okay, relax…" Mathew said soothingly as he pressed Kit against his chest protectively as he tightened the one-arm embrace around his son. "It's okay, Lil Buddy, we're not going there."

He was about to pull the flight stick back order to bring the plane higher up so they'd be above the clouds and Pirate Island would be block from view. But…

Bang, bang, bang! Ping, ping, ping!

The sound of bullets on metal could be heard and Mathew yelped, tossed Kit into the navigator's seat, and started some of his aerial tricks.

He swirled the Phoenix through the air to avoid the Pirates and Kit was thrown against his door, which spun open, and he fell out!

Behind it all, the Thunderquack was flying low, watching the Air Pirates attack the Phoenix.

"It doesn't look good, D.W.," said the pilot, Launchpad McQuack. "But it looks like M.C.'s got it under control—is that a Baloo Corkscrew?" He was amazed at how Mathew could perform that flight move.

Sitting next to him was a white feathered duck, wearing a similar outfit as NegaDuck, except his was purple with a green turtleneck underneath, he also wore a purple mask and cape with a gray hat—Darkwing Duck!

"L.P., look!" exclaimed Darkwing, pointing at Kit who had fallen out of the Phoenix. "A kid's falling out of the sky! I'm going in, you go help Mathew!"

"You got it, D.W.!" Launchpad said, giving Darkwing the thumb-up

The beak of the Thunderquack opened up and Darkwing on a motorcycle called the Ratcatcher shot out of it and flew toward the island below, following Kit.

Kit was falling through the air, he could not believe that for the second time in his life, he had fallen out of an airplane through the door of the cockpit! He reached into his sweater, pulled out his airfoil and set it under his feet so that he glides toward land. His stomach jolted as he saw which land he was heading to—Pirate Island!

He glided over to a jungle-like clearing, his airfoil hit a log on the landing, and he tipped and fell forward, landing with his face in the mud.

"Yuck!" Kit said in disgust as he pulled his face out of the mud and spitting some of it out of his mouth. He stood up and looked around, taking in his surroundings. "Oh, great…I'm alone…" he said sadly, then his smiled brightly as he snapped his fingers, feeling a brainstorm coming on. "Maybe if I gather some fire woods and start a fire, I could signal to my Dad where I am."

"Oh, you won't be seeing your Daddy anytime soon, my puny ex-protégé," said an all-too-familiar voice.

Kit spun around and saw Don Carnage with his gang of Air Pirate and a duck in a yellow and red outfit with a red hat.

"Hey, I know you!" Kit exclaimed, pointing at the duck. "You're NegaDuck!"

"That's right, kid—Get him and tie him up!" NegaDuck ordered, pointing a white feathered-finger at Kit.

Kit gulped and tried to run for it but someone grabbed him by his neck collar from behind…it was Dumptruck.

"There is nowhere to run, you naughty nuisance!" Carnage said, grinning evilly as Dumptruck slammed Kit against a nearby tree, and Mad Dog came forward eagerly with the ropes and tied Kit to the tree. "Now, where is the Stone?"

"What Stone?" Kit asked innocently.

"The one you took from me! Now, no more guessing-type games!"

Kit glared angrily at Carnage. "I don't have it, Carnage!"

"You do too!" Carnage yelled at him. "You do, you do, you do!" Carnage jumped up and down like a child throwing a fit at each 'you do's.' "You were the only and last person who took it from me, now where is it?"

NegaDuck stood watching this interrogation with scowl, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I DON'T HAVE IT!" Kit yelled.

"Still stalling for time, hmm? Well, we'll just see how long you last… Mad Dog, give our prisoner-type kid a T-T."

T-T? What's that? NegaDuck wondered, but he shrugged it off. Probably short for 'terrible torture.'

Mad Dog approached the helpless bear cub, who was tied to a tree where resistance was not an option. He grasped Kit's ankle, held his foot up, and begins tickling the bottom of it with his fingers.

Kit immediately started laughing. "Ha, ha, ha! No! Ha, ha, ha! Please stop! Ha, ha, ha! I can't stand that! HA, HA, HA!"

"Tell us where the Stone is and we'll stop." Carnage said. "Tickle faster, Mad Dog!"

Mad Dog obeyed, causing Kit to scream his lungs out with laughter.

What the—! NegaDuck stared wide-eyed at the scene before him. T-T?—TICKLE TORTURE? Then he smacked himself on the forehead with a palm and slid it down to his beak and flipping it, growling angrily as he did so.

"THAT'S YOUR IDEA OF TORTURE?" NegaDuck exploded, sounding irritated and exasperated at the same time. "WHAT IS THIS, PIRATE PRESCHOOL?—GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

NegaDuck marched toward Kit with the Pirates scurrying out of his way like scared little chickens. As he approached Kit, he reached behind his back under his cape and withdrew a chainsaw, starting it up and wielding it close to Kit's chest, looking back at the Pirates.

"This is how you interrogate someone!" NegaDuck growled, turning to face Kit. "Where is the Stone, boy?"

Kit gulped, his Dad had been right; NegaDuck does makes Carnage look tamed.

"I-I d-d-don't have it…" Kit stammered in fear.

"Yes, yes, you have already established that," NegaDuck said coldly. "But did I asked you if you had it?—NO! I asked you where it is! Now talk!" He moved his chainsaw an inch closer to Kit's belly.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night…" said a voice of mystery, they all looked around, but none of them could see the speaker.

"Last chance, boy, where is the Stone?" NegaDuck asked with a note of desperation and urgency in his voice, his chainsaw was now so close to Kit's belly that it slit his green sweater.

Kit squeaked with fright and then— "It's at the bottom of the ocean inside Cape Suzette!" he blurted out.

"I am the chill that runs up your spine…" The voice of mystery spoke again and this time, a cloud of blue smoke appeared around Kit, someone shoved NegaDuck a few yards away and Kit felt someone untying him very quickly. "I am Darkwing Duck!"

The blue smoke cleared away to reveal Kit, untied and standing next to St. Canard's famous crime-fighter, Darkwing Duck!

Darkwing looked down at Kit, Kit was about a head shorter then he was, he put an arm around Kit's shoulder.

"Hold on, kid, you're going to be alright." The masked duck told him. He reached into his green turtleneck and withdrew from it, a remote control.

Upon pressing a button on the remote, Kit heard an engine roaring to life in the distance and sped toward their clearing.

The Pirates and Don Carnage closed in on the pair of them with NegaDuck in front, holding his chainsaw.

Darkwing pushed Kit behind him and withdrew his gas gun from behind his back under his cape, took aim at NegaDuck and shot a pink canister at NegaDuck's chainsaw, it hit the blade and burst out a wad of bubble gum, which wrapped itself around the chainsaw and disabled it.

Then Darkwing aimed the gas gun at the ground and when he shot the next canister and a cloud of blue smoke engulfed both Kit and Darkwing. Kit felt himself being swept off his feet as the masked duck grabbed him by the waist and lifted him off the ground. The next thing Kit knew was that he and Darkwing were now sitting high up in the trees, out of reach of the Pirates and out of sight.

"Are you okay, kid?" asked Darkwing, his eyes scanning Kit for injuries, apart from the gash in his sweater, he was unharmed. Just to be sure, he lifted Kit's sweater up to examine his furry brown belly, and saw that there were no cut or gash there from the chainsaw. He let a breath of relief and put Kit's sweater back down over his belly. "At least you're not hurt."

"Yeah... Um, thanks for saving me, Darkwing." Kit said gratefully, wrapping his arms around the masked duck's neck.

"ACK! No problem, kid…" Darkwing choked and Kit loosened his grip.

Down below, they could hear the Pirates screaming and scattering like wild chickens and there was the roar of the Ratcatcher's engine as it drove around in circles around their tree, forcing the Pirates to retreat.

Darkwing grasped Kit's arm and jump down from the tree—it was a long way down and Kit yelled, the air rushing through his hair and face-fur as they went down, down, down and then Darkwing landed on the Ratcatcher like mounting a horse from a two-story building in an old western movie. Kit was hanging by the back of his sweater, dangling few feet off the ground in Darkwing's hand, who dropped him into the sidecar before taking off with a roar of the engine and sped away from the Pirates.

Baloo was flying the Phoenix; he had taken over the pilot seat since Mathew gave him control over the plane due to an emotional trauma.

"I can't believe I lost him," Mathew groaned miserably from the navigator's seat. "I should've waited for him to buckle up before doing that Baloo Corkscrew…"

"Stop blaming yourself, Matt." Baloo told him firmly. "You had Air Pirates all over ya an' you didn't have time ta think. I just hope we can find him."

Baloo stuck his head out of the window of the door on the pilot side to look down at the ground. He saw a purple motorcycle zooming across the jungle below.

"Hey, Matt, look down there."

Mathew stuck his head out of his window and saw it too.

"It's Darkwing Duck! Baloo, dip her down low and open the back hatches."

"Okay," Baloo said as he brought the Phoenix swooping down toward the motorcycle. When he was just low enough to the ground, he opened the back hatches, flying in front it.

Darkwing looked up at the Phoenix and instantly knew what to do.

"Hold on, kid, this is going to be a bumpy ride."

Kit readied himself as Darkwing drove the Ratcatcher up a ramp-like pillar and dived at the back of the Phoenix and into the cargo hold and the back hatches closed behind them.

Mathew hurried into the cargo hold from the cockpit and ran over the Ratcatcher.

"Kit!" he shouted joyously as he lifted Kit out of the sidecar and embraced him tightly. "Oh, Kit, thanks goodness you're safe!"

Kit wrapped his arms around his Dad's neck, pressing his cheek against his Dad's.

"Don't worry, Dad, I'm fine, Darkwing saved me." Kit said, attempting a brave smile, but his face kept twisting in tears. Finally, he could no longer hold back his emotions; he let out a sob and buried his face in Mathew's chest. "Dad! I was so scared, I thought I was gonna die!"

"Wh-wh-what?" Mathew stammered, holding Kit to his chest and patting him on the back of the head consolingly. He looked up at Darkwing for the answer.

"Uh…well… you see, Mathew..." Darkwing said nervously, he knew Mathew well enough to know how he would react to something like this. "I think you better put the kid down before I tell you…"

Just then, Baloo walked into the cargo hold, having put the plane on autopilot.

"Kit!" the big gray bear exclaimed, sounding overjoyed and relieved. He walked over to Mathew, who held Kit out to him. Baloo took Kit in his arms and gave him a hug. "Are you okay, Lil Britches?"

"Yeah, Papa Bear, I'm okay now." Kit replied in a small voice, he was still shaken up from the whole ordeal and he couldn't help but cling to Baloo's neck tight and hide his face.

Baloo's face displayed sympathy, he knew Kit was only okay physically, but he was emotionally hurt. He carried Kit back to the cockpit and closed the door behind him.

He sat down in the pilot seat, still holding Kit in his arms while Kit pressed himself to Baloo's chest, whimpering slightly.

"C'mon, Lil Britches, let it all out." Baloo said gently, rubbing Kit's head with the gentlest touch. "It's no good keeping it all bottled up inside."

Kit started crying, tears flowing out of both eyes and he hugged Baloo very tightly.

"Yeah, that's it, let it all out." Baloo said, hugging Kit as he let out all his emotions. "That's a good boy…" he whispered.

"DARN IT!" yelled a sudden loud voice from the cargo hold and POW! The plane vibrated as if hit by a truck! "I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

Kit yelped and jumped at the sudden loud outburst, Baloo held him a little tighter, trying to calm him down.

Uh-oh, that's Matt and he doesn't sound too happy. Baloo thought.

"Kit, stay right here." Baloo told him while setting him gently in the navigator's seat. Kit wrapped his arms around his knees and hid his face on top of them. "I'll be right back, Lil Britches." Baloo gave him a reassuring pat on the top of the head before walking out of the cockpit and into the cargo hold, closing the door behind him. "What in the blue blazes was going on in here?" he demanded of the small group around him.

It took a moment for Baloo to realize that Mathew was the only one closest to him, the others were all huddled together at the far end of the cargo hold. They did not seem scared and seeing Mathew's outrageously furious expression, he knew that they had all retreated back there to give Mathew room to unleash his anger but at the same time, avoid his wrath.

"What are you so worked up about?" Baloo asked Mathew, frowning.

Mathew let out a growl, his teeth bared and his expression told Baloo that he was so furious that he was likely to attack anyone at any moment.

Looking back at the group huddled together at the far end of the cargo hold; Baloo noticed Darkwing, Chip and Monterey Jack looking grim and Rebecca hugging Gadget. She was crying silently while Gadget comforts her.

"Darkwing said that NegaDuck attacked Kit…with a chainsaw!" Mathew growled, shaking with fury. "When I get my hands on him…Grrr… DARN IT!" he burst out as he punched the wall with a fist.

Baloo stood there, his body numb from the shock.

"N-n-no…" Baloo said numbly, looking back at the door to the cockpit, he murmured: "Lil Britches…"

Mathew threw himself into a seat and placed his head in his hands, moaning in grief. It was amazing how he switch emotions like that, first he was furious and ready to attack someone and then he sunk down in grief.

"Why...? Why…?" Mathew sobbed. "All I wanted to do was to find my son and be a part of his life; I didn't want to put him in danger like this."

Baloo, who couldn't stand the sight of Mathew falling apart like this and blaming himself for things he had no control over, decided to go back into the cockpit to comfort Kit.

He opened the cockpit door, stepped inside and closing the door behind him. He retook his seat and looked sideways at Kit. Kit was in the same position he was in when Baloo left the cockpit, his arms around his knees and his forehead resting on top of them

Baloo reached over and gently stroked Kit's head, Kit looked up at Baloo with tears still pouring out of his eyes, he held out his arms to Baloo as sign for Baloo to take him.

Baloo honored his navigator's unspoken request, lifted Kit out of his seat and held him close to his chest, hugging him with one arm and patting the back of the boy's head gently.

Kit rested his head on Baloo's chest and sobbed quietly.

Baloo looked down on Kit with sympathy, understanding that his navigator was scared for his life and have not had time to recover from the ordeal.

Baloo gasped when he saw the gash in Kit's sweater. Oh please, no, don't let this be a bad cut!

He lifted Kit's sweater up so to examine the boy's furry brown belly and saw, to his relief, that there were no wounds on Kit.

WHEW! Baloo sighed with relief as he lowered Kit's sweater back down and continued hugging him. Even if NegaDuck didn't really hurt Kit, he still scared the living daylight outta' him! Oh, when I get through with that guy, he'll be able to count all of his teeth on one finger!

"Baloo…" Kit sniffed. "H-h-he scared me…real bad...with that chainsaw pointing right here!" He pointed at the gash in his sweater. "I-I thought he was…gonna k-kill me!"

"Now, now." Baloo said soothingly, hugging Kit a little tighter. "You're safe now with ol' Baloo, and I ain't letting that creep within twenty yards from ya."

It took a while for Kit to cease his crying, he wrapped his arms around Baloo's neck.

"Thanks, Papa Bear…" he said softy, resting his head on Baloo's neck below Baloo's chin.

Well how was this chapter? A little emotional at the end but Kit's still twelve, he's still a child no matter how matured he is, you'd be like that too if you were that age and some villain threatens you with a chainsaw…

Well I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, please review on your way out.