Faith of the Heart

Part 1: Chapter 19
ST. CANARD

Written by DisneyFan-01
HTML Coding by Shadow20X6

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The golden light of the sun was getting darker as it was setting over the horizon.  One by one the lights of the city of St. Canard blinked on in every skyscraper and apartment building.  The traffic in the streets was getting lighter as all of the business people of the day were returning to their homes and families and the few night shifts were on their way to work.  

The stars were starting their sparkling appearance as much as they could since it was so difficult to see all of them because of the bright lights of the city.  The very few stars that were visible seemed to be teasing those who could not shine their brightest through the city sky, but with the full moon rising with the most imperious light, it seemed like the whole city was going to be peaceful in the bathing of the moonlight.

It may have seemed like it at first, but the sound of the city remained awake.  A few car horns were heard at an intersection near the uptown area and the siren of two police cars could be heard only a few blocks away from the downtown area.  

The water of the bay was calm and gentle with a few fishing boats leaving the harbor.  Their horns sound off as they passed beneath the famous and majestic Audubon Bay Bridge.  Up the high pylon of the St. Canard side of the bridge, a shadowy figure stood over the suspension cable with his cape flapping in the light breeze and his large fedora shading his masked eyes from the moonlight.

"Sunlight fades away from the city, the darkness tries to prevail, but the city lights of St. Canard shine with the rising moon.  However, around every corner turned, there is a dark shadow waiting to pounce upon the innocent.  But that won't happen in my city. . . for I am the terror that flaps in the night!  I am the bright light that burns the retinas of the eyes of evil!  I am Darkwing-"

"DUCK!!"

*POW!*

A hockey puck flew out of the watch tower under the cable saddles and smacked Darkwing in the back of the head.  With his hat landing near his web foot, he turned around shouting at his thirteen-year-old daughter, "Gosalyn!  I know you have a hockey game coming up this week, but does that mean you have to practice here!?"

"Sorry, Dad!  It ricocheted!" she stepped outside with her hockey stick.  "I'm really sorry.  I'm just bored.  When's LP gonna be here?"

"I don't know," Darkwing answered all frustrated while rubbing his head.  "All he told me was he had something to do in Duckburg and would come back tonight.  He better hurry up, we've got important stuff to do here."  Just as he bent over to pick up his hat, the light breeze blew it off the tower.

"Ah, great!  Like I never get enough trouble!"




Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, Marina, and the chipmunks appeared through their teleporting on the walkway of Audubon Bay Bridge.  Their eyes followed the bridge to the opposite side to see Duckburg glowing in the distance with its city lights.  Marina trotted a few steps from the boys with Jiminy on her shoulders and folded her hands as she gazed in awe.  

"Oh, wow!  Hot diggity dog!  Look at this!  St. Canard!  And. . . look at that!  Duckburg!  Wow!"

Donald crossed his arms and smirked, "You've been to Duckburg several times, Marina.  Why are you acting like this is the first time ever?"

"You know I've never been to St. Canard before," she answered.  "And I have never seen Duckburg in this perspective.  It looks so different.  And the bridge.  Audubon Bay Bridge.  I've never been this close before."

Jiminy smiled, "And you would never guess it that in the center of this bridge there's a thin subspace between two worlds.  Not to mention that your kingdom is only a few hours away from here."

"I wanna see for myself!" Marina ran ahead.

"Marina!" Donald called.  "We don't have time for this!"

"Wait for us, Marina!" Chip jumped down to the sidewalk.  "I wanna see too!"

"Me too!" Dale chased after him.

"Hey!" Donald jumped up and down.  "Get back here, you guys!"

"Ah, leave 'em be, Donald," Goofy placed a hand on his shoulder.  "They've never been here before, so let them look around."

Donald sighed, "Well, at least Marina had a long sleep and is back to her old self again. . . even though we had to hear more complaining about her sleeping in a hammock.  We better not be hearing about this the whole journey."

Marina made it to the center of the bridge.  She stopped at least two feet from an expansion gap.  She trembled and jumped up and down on her heels like an excited child ready to get a birthday present she always wanted.  

Dale giggled, "Hey, guys.  You know about island hopping?  Check this out."  He started jumping from one side of the gap to the next over and over, "World hopping!  Here I am in the world of Duckburg!  Whoops!  Now I've traveled thousands and thousands of miles to the world of St. Canard without breaking a sweat!  Oops!  Forgot something back in Duckburg.  Better go back an get it!  Well what'd ya know!  Here I am already!"

Marina reached her arm over the gap expecting to feel something between, but she felt nothing.  She bit her lip and squeaked with excitement for a second.  Then she hopped over and giggled crazily.  

"Hot diggity dog!  This is way too cool!"

Then she, Chip, and Dale hopped back and forth over the gap laughing like children playing hopscotch.  Jiminy was holding on to Marina's shoulder trying not to fall or lose his hat.  He yelled, "Marina!  Calm down!  You're more jumpy than me!"

She stopped but twirled around, "I can't help it."  She jumped over again and spun around again, only to find a business man in his slowing down car staring at them with a raised brow.  Marina and the chipmunks stopped awkwardly and inched away from the gap as the business man his way down the bridge into Duckburg.

"Okay... that was embarrassing," she mumbled.  "Now I know how you guys feel when you've got your tail between your legs."

"Hey, what's that?" Jiminy pointed away from the bridge.

They looked over the bay spotting a hat fluttering in the wind like a feather.  

"Say. . ." Marina tilted her head.  "That looks familiar."

The hat remained in the air as everyone heard the sound of a biplane coming from the Duckburg side.  They watched it as it went across the bay and by unlucky chance the flying hat was snagged right into the pilot's face causing the plane to fly jagged.

"Oh my goodness!" Jiminy gasped.  

"Wait a minute!" Chip grew a smile.  "Anyone else recognize that crazy flying maneuver?  Not to mention the the plane itself?"

"Holy cats!  You're right!" said Dale.  "It's gotta be him!"

"Launchpad!" Marina jumped for joy.

"Marina!  Let's go!  Let's see if he lands safely!!" Donald called.

Marina scoffed, "Knowing him, it's an obvious no-no.  He crashes better than he flies."  She picked up the chipmunks and ran back to the St. Canard side of the bridge to rejoin Donald and Goofy.

When she came to them, Goofy asked, "Say, uh. . . wasn't that Launchpad's plane?"

"Yeah," Donald answered.  "And knowing him, that's why we've gotta see if he's okay."

Right before anyone could take a step, everyone heard the sound of a motorcycle from above.  They looked up the suspension cable and saw a dark purple motorcycle with a side cart and a large bill in the front riding down at top speed.  

"Duck!" Chip yelled.

"What?" Donald didn't follow the others and ended up run over by the wheels.

"Donald!" Marina gasped.

But he was okay.  He just laid there a little dizzy with black tire marks going down his back.  He mumbled, "Women, children, and ducks first.  Did ya get the number of that truck?"

"Truck?" Goofy asked.  "I thought that was a motorcycle."

"It was a motorcycle," Jiminy frowned.

"Not just any motorcycle!" Dale smiled.  

"Yeah!" said Chip.  "That was the Ratcatcher!!"

Marina jumped to her feet, "That was him!  Darkwing Duck!  Quick!  After him!"

Donald stood up and shoved his hat on, "Oh, don't mind me!  I'm just roadkill now!"

"You'll live!"




Near the downtown area, the biplane crashed into an old bunker.  It was only a minor wreck with a few fixable damages, and luckily the bunker was Launchpad's.  The tall aviator duck came out of the wreckage unharmed and smiled, "Well. . . that wasn't so bad.  Could've been worse."

When he heard the sound of the Ratcatcher, he turned around and waved his hand, "Hey, there!  DW!!  I'm back!  Oh, I found your hat."

The Ratcatcher pulled over and Darkwing hopped off.  When he took off his helmet and snatch back his hat, he frowned, "Where have you been, LP?  You know we got important things to do here!  Why spend most of the time in Duckburg when we've got enough problems here?"

"Gosh, DW, I'm sorry," Launchpad shrugged.  "It's just that King Mickey was in the city.  I was just around the neighborhood and thought I's--"

"THE King Mickey Mouse of Magic Kingdom?!  Keen gear!!" Gosalyn jumped out of the side cart.  "What was he doing in Duckburg?  What was he really like in person?!  Did he kick Nightmare butts!?  I'll bet he did!  He's the coolest Nightmare butt kicker there ever was!!"

Darkwing cleared his throat while looking at his daughter with a raised brow.

"Uh. . . I mean. . . well, he's the best when it comes to fighting with magic that is," she spoke awkwardly.  "That is. . . well. . . uh. . . Launchpad, how do you know King Mickey in person?"

"Why he and I are like old pals," Launchpad answered.  "He just arrived in Duckburg to pick up a few supplies for his ship.  The town had a few Nightmares around last night, so he stayed and fought them off with a little help of Mr. McD's nephews.  Right now, he asked me to do a small favor for him."

"And what's that?" Darkwing asked.

"EX-Treme!!!"

Out of the cargo door of the wrecked plane jumped out none other than Donald's three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie.  They ran up to Launchpad's side excitedly.

Huey said, "LP!  You didn't tell us you knew Darkwing Duck!"

"This is awesome!!" Louie came up to the Duck Knight.  "We're huge fans of yours!  It's an honor, Sir!"

"Yeah!" Dewey shook hands with him.  "We've wanted to meet you for a long time, Darkwing.  You're the greatest hero ever!"

"Well," Darkwing smiled.  "No need to brag about it, but carry on if you must.  I suppose a few autographs are at need.  Who shall I make them out to?"

"Whoa!!" Dewey stopped shaking his hand when he spotted Gosalyn.  "Check her out!"

All three boys zipped over to the teenage duck girl and leaned against the Ratcatcher in flirtatious poses.

"Hey there, babe," said Louie.  

Huey leaned in, "How's about you n' I go to nearest pizza parlor tonight and split a double cheese?  My treat."

"What'ch'r name, cute stuff?" asked Dewey.  

Gosalyn's cheeks turned a little red as she answered with a smile, "Gosalyn.  It's Gosalyn."

"Oooh, Gosalyn," Huey lowered his voice to sound a bit more manly.  "I've always wanted to meet a girl by that name.  I never thought I'd meet a foxy one like yourself.  The name's Hubert, but you can call me Huey. . . or Hue if ya like."

"I'm Dewey."

"And I'm Louie."

Darkwing frowned, "Hey, what's the meaning of this?"

Launchpad placed a hand on his shoulder, "Ah, let'em be, DW.  Kids grow up fast these days.  One minute they're causing mischief and avoiding to clean their room, the next thing ya know, they're going out on a date."

"That's not the point, Launchpad!" Darkwing tried not to raise his voice.  "That's my daughter they're flirting with!  Who are these boys anyway?"

"Boys?!"

"Uncle D?!" the nephews gasped.

After appearing through teleportation again, Donald ran with open arms to his nephews.  He nearly tackled them as he scooped them up and gave them a big hug together.

"Oh, boys!  You've grown a bit more!  You're getting heavier!  I can see Unca Shcrooge got ya to eat your veggies!"

"Uncle D!" the boys were getting embarrassed in front of Gosalyn who actually started chuckling at them.

"Ah, c'mon, Uncle D.  Cut it out," Huey pushed himself out.

Donald let them go, "Wait a minute.  What are you boys doing here anyway?  I thought you were with Mickey."

Dewey dusted his shirt, "We were.  He's still in Duckburg helping the police gather up the rest of the Beagle Boys and fighting the remaining Nightmares."

Huey explained, "He thought it would be a good idea for us to practice our fighting in this city since LP was on his way back anyway.  We're planning on going back in the morning."

"Then it's off to other worlds and fight even more Nightmares," Louie punched his palm.

"Wull," Goofy came up to the boys with the others, "I'm glad you boys are finally gonna help out with this.  I'm sure you've been waiting a long time for it."

"We sure have," Dewey smiled.  "And sure is great to see you guys again."  He gave Goofy a high four.

Chip and Dale hopped off Marina's shoulder when Huey said, "Wow!  Cool!  Looks like the two of you are back into the Rescue Ranger business."

"We sure are!" Dale saluted.  

Marina knelt to the boys, "But I know you haven't changed much, boys.  It's only been about a few months since the last I've seen you.  All in all, it's great to see you."

"Same to you, Marina" Louie knocked fists with her.  

Then she opened her arms, "Now get over here, ya little troublemakers."

The boys chuckled and hugged her together.

Goofy walked up to Launchpad and shook hands with him, "It's great to see you as well, LP.  It's been a few years at least."

"Sure has, Goofy," said Launchpad.  "Hey there, Double-D.  How're things with Miss Daisy."

"Fine," Donald answered.  "You're looking well.  Nice landing there, by the way."

"Eh, like I said, it could've been worse," Launchpad shrugged.  "One of my best landings."

Marina stood up and approached him, "At least it's better than the last time you came to Magic Kingdom.  Less damage, no injuries. . . you're getting better.  I'm glad to see that, Launch."

"Three years has been longer than I thought, Marina," he looked her up and down.  "You've changed a bit."

With a big smile, Marina jumped into the arms of her old aviator friend.  As he hugged her back, she said, "Oh, you big lug, I've missed you so much."

"Me too."

In his hug she noticed something a little different in his arms.  As they parted, she touched his biceps, "Ooh, Launch.  I see you've been working out a lot."  She elbowed him and winked, "Bet the girls go crazy for you as usual.  Look at these muscles."

He flexed his arm, "Well, y'know. . . even an aviator's gotta keep in shape. . . especially if he's the sidekick of a great superhero like DW."

Everyone looked at Darkwing.

"EX-Treme!!!" the nephews gasped.  

"Not only do you know him," said Huey.  "But you WORK for him?!"

"So that's why you spend so much time in this city," said Dewey.

"Never would've guessed," said Louie.

"Hot Diggity Dog!" Marina trembled.  

Goofy smiled, "A-hyuck.  One of our old friends is a sidekick of a super hero."

Marina came over to the Duck Knight and shook hands with him, "This is a great honor indeed, sir.  I've been a fan of yours for years.  You're the greatest."

"Ah, well thank you, ma'am," Darkwing spoke proudly.  

"Marina," she told him.  "Marina Seadrift."

"Daughter of Lord Seadrift, I presume?  Then it's nice to meet you."

Dewey said, "Darkwing Duck, this is our Uncle, Donald Duck, and that's Goofy, Chip n' Dale, Rescue Rangers, and. . . some beetle guy."

"Cricket.  Jiminy Cricket."

Launchpad said, "Hey there, Mr. Cricket.  Oh, and this here is DW's daught--"

"Gosalyn," Darkwing cut him off.  "This is Gosalyn.  She's my dearest young friend."

"Nice to meet you, Gosalyn," Goofy waved.

Darkwing cleared his throat, "Well, anyway.  It's been nice meeting all of you, but I've got a job to do and we must be on our way.  LP, start up the Thunderquack.  Honker said that there's something going on in the center of town.  Gosalyn, let's go."

"We're coming, too," said Donald.

"Says who?" Darkwing frowned.  "I do my thing, you do your thing."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Darkwing," said Jiminy.  "But I think it's important that we come with you.  We're on a mission against the Nightmares and our scanner tells us that there are some in this city."

Huey said, "And King Mick sent us here to practice with our weapons.  And if there's anyone who can help us out, it's you, Darkwing Duck."

"Mickey would want us to come with you, sir," said Marina.  "We'll try our hardest not to get in the way, but if the Nightmares are involved with who you fight against, you're gonna need at least some of our help."

"You have a Nightmare scanner?" Darkwing asked.

"We've got one too," said Dewey.  "The Professor made it for us just yesterday."

Huey pulled out of his pocket a new scanner that looked much like a hand held video game.  He pressed a button and said, "Here!  The reading's in the center of the city."

Darkwing took the radar to examine it.  

Donald took out the other radar and said, "He's right.  We're getting the same reading."

"Keen Gear!" Gosalyn snatched the boys' radar from Darkwing.  "Can you guys also get the Whiffle-Boy Game on this thing?"

"Sure can," Louie winked.  "That and over a hundred other games."

"The Professor even put in an ePod player," said Dewey.  "We've got the best songs from some of the best rock stars around."

"Sweet!" Gosalyn smiled,  "Where can I meet this Prof?  I want one!"  

"No time," said Darkwing.  "If it's coming from the center of the city and Honker says that something's going on in the same spot, then we need to get going."

"And us?" Dale asked.

"D'oh. . . alright.  Just don't get in my way too much."

"Oh, we won't," said Chip.  "C'mon, Dale!  Rescue Rangers Away!!"

"LP, to the Thunderquack.... Let's get Dangerous."

Marina trembled excitedly, "Tee hee!  I love it when he says that!"