Chapter 1

Important Author's Note:

I have decided that this story needed to be worked with some more. I have added to some of the first chapters. Added more to it. Currently, Chapter 4 does not match up with the end of Chapter 3 and I apologize. I am working on that very quickly so that there is no confusion.

I posted this on the first chapter so that anyone new reading this will understand. The story is staying the same, just lengthened. Thank you for your time.

Summary: Sequel to Deepening Roots. After an explosion, Megavolt reverts back to his younger self, Elmo, who now just wants to know who he is. Drake Mallard wishes to help. Will he? Not if Quackerjack had anything to say about it. QuackerjackXMegavolt. Slash.

Author's Note: It IS the sequel to Deepening Roots. It's slash, of course, but nothing too graphic. I really enjoyed writing this first chapter. Do enjoy.

The inside of the tall luminous Lighthouse was silent, the lights out. In the kitchen of the Lighthouse room sat five pieces of burnt toast and the remains of what used to be a toaster. The microwave several inches away from it seemed fine, yet every few moments a few sparks of electricity would fly form it. The sink was filled with plastic disposable dishes and the faucet was bent upwards. Crumbs of unknown food was scattered all over the kitchen counter, wrapped up cheese waiting to be put back properly into the fridge.

On the other side of the room lay a broken couch. Springs and stuffing spilling out from the top of it. Laid out on the cushions of the couch laid a rat, dressed in a yellow jumper suit, purple goggles, and a red battery attached to his back.

Megavolt nuzzled his nose deeper into the cushions as he lightly snored.

The hours before had been spent trying to save appliances from the nasty consumers who he knew would treat them terribly. But then, he showed up.

That masked mallard who was always getting in his way. That duck bothered him more than anybody else knew. It made him paranoid everytime he saw Darkwing Duck, not only because the masked mallard insisted on ruining his plans, but because deep in the back of Megavolt's mind, a nagging feeling always came over him. He never knew how to explain this strange feeling, which was what made it all the more annoying.

Megavolt slept on the couch, his usual sleeping place, not caring at the moment what was going on. He was deep inside his dreams, where no masked mallard could bother him.

The door to the Lighthouse slammed open and in bounced a colorfully dressed jester bouncing on a pogo stick. Before Megavolt had the chance to react, having woken from the sound, he felt a heavy weight fall on him, causing him to lose all the air in his lungs.

"Hiya, drooly!" greeted Quackerjack, referring to the bit of drool on the corner of Megavolt's mouth. Scowling, and wiping at his mouth, Megavolt grunted, "Oh, why'd you have to go and do that!? Have you have heard of knocking?"

Quackerjack considered Megavolt's question for about two seconds before replying jovially, "No, unless you mean knock-knock jokes...Then, yes."

Megavolt shook his head. He tried pushing the jester off of him, but it seemed his arms held no strength in them today. "Get off me!"

Quackerjack gave him a hurt look. "But I like being on top of you..."

Megavolt blushed at this reply and started kicking at him. Quackerjack got off, his movements showing slight tension.

The jingly bells at the end of Quackerjack's hat softly rang as he turned back around at the rat, who was now sitting up on the couch. "So, I came by to see what my old pal was up to..." Megavolt stretched, not intending on replying. "I was actually expecting you to be working on one of those do-hickeys of yours..."

Megavolt scratched at the back of his neck, still trying to wake up. "No...did that yesterday..." He stood up, stretching some more. "Today was focused on saving my poor luminaries...Which failed" he sneered at the last remark.

Quackerjack made his way over to the kitchen, enthralled by the mess there was. "Wow, Sparky, you're kitchen is worse than mine is!!" he giggled at this thought.

Megavolt's right eye twitched in irritation at the mention of his nickname. "Heard anything from the boss?" He tried to change the subject. The last time he had gotten Quackerjack rounded up with hurt and anger, his bed had broken.

"Nah. Last I heard though, he was plannin' on leaving us for the Negaverse for a couple of days. Said something about a needin' to re-supply. Don't know why he would need to when you have a city full of big fun toys to steal right here!" He was now over at the window, which overlooked the city. He threw his arms up in the air and did a few back flips until he was right in front of Megavolt, who took a step back.

Grabbing at one of Megavolt's gloved hands, he pulled on it. "Hey, stop it!"

Quackerjack ignored him, yet stopped after a moment, sliding his arm around the rat's waist.. "So, what do you want to do?"

Megavolt slipped from the jester's grasp and headed over to the kitchen. "Not sure..."

"Meaning you have no plans?" He followed Megavolt, then looked over at the remains of the toaster. "What was this?"

"A toaster."

"What happened to it?" "It was being disobedient. It kept talking back to me, so I taught it a lesson" Megavolt said airily, as though this was an everyday occurrence to the average person. Megavolt was far from average, same with Quackerjack. Neither of them were what you could call stable.

Quackerjack stood there, wavering back and forth as he stared at the back of Megavolt's back, his face covered with a pout.

Megavolt, used to Quackerjack's antics through experience, asked without even looking, "What's wrong?"

"I-I was wondering...if you could help me with something..." replied Quackerjack, pulling down on his hat.

"If this is another toy that needs ele-" he was cut off when the jester clown jumped up into the other's arms. Megavolt had to wonder how one minute the duck was behind him, the next in his arms. He would never know.

Quackerjack wrapped his arms around Megavolt's neck, his pout still planted on his face. "No, no, no! This isn't just any toy!! This is a special toy! With this toy I would be able to be unstoppable!!" He then threw back his head and laughed insanely. Megavolt didn't seem at all fazed. He dropped the clown to the ground, who looked more hurt than he should have been.

"Forget it. I'm not up to it" dismissed Megavolt. He tried walking away, but the clown soon was tugging on him by the foot.

"Please! Please, Megsy, I need you for this!!" he whimpered. Megavolt looked down and regarded the other for several moments, trying to decide the best way to fry the duck. "Batteries aren't included..." he added sadly.

He didn't reply at first. He managed to get Quackerjack off his leg and went into his work room, where he slammed the door. Quackerjack was up at the door a moment later, banging on it. "Oh, come on, Megsy!! Please!! It won't take long. Just a few hooks ups here, hook up to your battery and we'd be all set. Please!!"

Megavolt opened up the door a crack. "That's the part of this plan that I don't like. Those 'few hook ups' will more than likely either short me out, or cause an enormously amount of voltage to pass through me, which, as crazy as it sounds, would probably kill even me." He shut the door again.

Quackerjack crossed his arms and pouted just he a little four year old would and leaned up against the door. "You're no fun." He didn't receive an answer.

Actually, that was the complete opposite of how Quackerjack felt towards Megavolt. He had always felt a strange sort of connection with the other. One that he had never been able to define. He always felt more excited when he was with Megavolt, more eccentric, more devilish. It wasn't rare for the duck to even spend the night with Megavolt.

He brought out Mr. Banana Brain, knowing the doll would have something to say about this, and he did. "I knew he wouldn't agree to this." Quackerjack glared at the doll.

"Who asked you!?"

"You did."

Quackerjack huffed, putting the doll away. After a few moments he asked, "What are you doing in there, Sparky?"

"Don't call me, Sparky!" came the frustrated cry.

Quackerjack stood up and tried the door, surprised that it was open. On the other side of the room Megavolt was standing in front a long table that was covered with wires, gadgets, and light bulbs. "What are you doing?" asked the jester, his hands behind his back as he peeked over Megavolt's shoulder.

Megavolt jumped. "W-When did you get here?" The rat looked at the other villain with complete shock.

"I've been here."

"Since when!?"

"For at least fifteen minutes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Interesting..." He muttered, looking back down at his work.

Quackerjack's' eyes narrowed. "Not as interesting as this..." The crazed duck leaned over and kissed the other on the cheek, causing a spark to slide across one of Megavolt's whiskers. Megavolt shifted over a little, wanting to keep focused on his work.

Quackerjack watched as Megavolt played around with what looked like a remote of some kind. He then was staring at Megavolt's face, watching the look of concentration as Megavolt worked hard to complete his task. He noticed how focused the rat looked, considering most of the time Megavolt hadn't a clue what was going on. It was these rare moments when Megavolt actually knew what he was doing. It fascinated the jester villain to no end.

"Megs?" he inquired.

No reply. Quackerjack decided it would be best to just press on.

"I was wondering if you could help me with something..." He hated to take advantage of his friend's poor memory, but he really wanted his creation to work. He knew his friend would already have forgotten the previous conversation they'd had just minutes ago.

He still received no reply. He was getting angry. Quackerjack didn't like being ignored. He liked being the center of attention. Everyone's maniacal laughter. He grasped Megavolt around the waist and tried again. "Please, Megsy...I'd really appreciate it..." He gave the electrified rodent another kiss of the cheek and got another spark on Megavolt's whiskers, then leaned on his shoulder.

"What are you working on?" asked Megavolt, after what seemed like ages to Quackerjack.

"A new toy of mine! It's going to be utterly brilliant!" giggled the jester, thrilled that he was making progress.

"Well, "started Megavolt, throwing the metal box in his hand on the table in aggravation. "Seeing as how I can't get this stupid thing to work, I may as well do something!"

Quackerjack bounced up and down with glee. "Oh, YES! Oh, Megsy, you won't regret this! Once you help me with this, there will be no stopping me. Haha!" He danced around with Mr. Banana Brain. Megavolt turned and regarded his friend.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on! I have things to do!" snapped the rodent. Quackerjack didn't need to be told twice, seeing as how he was getting his way. The two quickly set off.

-----

Megavolt has always found Quackerjack's hideout creepy. It didn't help that as soon as you entered the large metal door, thousands of eyes bore into you as you entered. They all belonged to the enormous collection of Quackerjack's dolls which were stacked high and proudly along both sides of the wall. Toys littered the entire place.

Megavolt never did have a taste for his friend's home. It made him uneasy. It was quite unsettling knowing that a thousand pair of eyes were staring you down.

"Now," Quackerjack was saying. He was pulling out a large box from the other room, dragging it with force to where Megavolt was waiting for him. As Quackerjack did that, Megavolt was preparing himself for what he knew he would regret.

"Where's the generator?" asked Megavolt, pulling on the cord of his belt to hook up.

"Generator?" squeaked Quackerjack, stopping in mid pull.

"Yes, generator..." sneered Megavolt, getting more edgy by the minute. Those damn eyes kept bothering him. "You know, big electrical box that harnesses great amounts of power. The thing that I need to get the power from." He spoke as though he was talking to a little kid, which, in a sense he was, by using small words and remembering not to go technical. This was Quackerjack he was talking to after all. The jester was smart, but not when it came to big words.

"Oh..." his jester hat deflated like a balloon as his face fell. "I--uh...I just assumed you'd be able to charge it yourself..."

Megavolt, who had been glaring back at the thousands of eyes, turned back to Quackerjack angrily. "No. Especially not something as large as what is in that box of yours." He pointed to the box. "I can't produce that much power all by myself, I need a power source to generate the power from."

Quackerjack looked as though he just found out there would be no Christmas this year. "Well--Well, now what!?"

Megavolt sighed. "We'll have to go to a generator. You're lucky I know where they all are here in St. Canard."

"Yes...lucky..." muttered Quackerjack as he started to push the large box towards the door. After a few pushes, he cried out. "This is gonna take forever!!"

Megavolt seemed unfazed. "It's not that far..."

"Not that far!? Not that far!? You're not the one pushing this large box!!" whined Quackerjack.

"Could you at least help me push?"

Megavolt didn't reply, just walked over and started pushing beside Quackerjack.

----

It took the two villains about an hour to drag the large heavy metal box down several blocks to nearest power plant. A few zaps from Megavolt's battery took care of the night patrol officers, allowing them easy access inside.

"Hehehe! Cameras are fun to destroy!!" giggled Quackerjack as he threw bouncy balls at the cameras on the ceiling, breaking the lenses.

"That's what you say. You're lucky I let you destroy them…" breathed Megavolt as he continued to push.

They both collapsed once the large box was beside the generator. They panted for breath. Quackerjack gained his energy back first and brought out a long cord from the generator. Grunting as he stood, Megavolt grabbed the cord and connected it to the back of his battery.

"Open up the box so that I can connect my cord to the toy..." Megavolt instructed.

Quackerjack did as he was told and within moments, the box was open. The large metal sides clanged loud on the floor. Megavolt looked up at the toy, which was about twelve feet high. It appeared to be just a smaller box with funny faces on it. "What is it?" he found himself asking after a minute of inspection.

"It's a Jack-in-the-Box! Only its special!! But you can't see why until you charge it up!" he cackled. Megavolt just rolled his eyes and found where he could plug in his cord.

"Now, I want you to go over to the generator and turn on that red lever. Don't turn it down all the way though. Just a little bit, for the more you push down on the lever, the more electricity is going to come through. Meaning, more powerful currents. And, judging by the size of this, you'll need to keep it on for about three minutes" explained Megavolt. Quackerjack nodded.

'More powerful, huh?' thought Quackerjack. He stood beside the red lever, looking between it and Megavolt, who was making sure everything was how it should be. He bit the bottom of his beak. He really wanted his toy to be as powerful as possible, but at the same time, he didn't like the thought of Megavolt getting hurt. Of course, his devious side won out as he decided he would put as much power into it as possible.

"Go ahead, turn it on!" called over Megavolt. Quackerjack didn't need to be told twice. He pulled down on the red lever slightly, just as Megavolt had instructed. The generator started to hum as electrical currents swam their way through the cords. He watched as

Megavolt tensed at the new presence of electricity in his body. The jester could see the electrical rodent wincing from the experience on the other side of the room.

After about two minutes went by, Quackerjack disobeyed what Megavolt warned him of, and pulled down more on the red lever, and instantly he could hear the generator hum even louder. It almost made him want to cover his ears. 'Everything seemed alright,' Quackerjack reasoned and became even more devious. He pulled down even more on the lever and sparks began to fly everywhere.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" came Megavolt's anguished screams.

Quackerjack gasped in surprise, as panic and fear took over him. The generator started to shake, the humming noise almost unbearable. More and more sparks started to fly everywhere as the cords connecting Megavolt and his toy to the generator started to explode. They quickly caught fire.

Quackerjack let go of the lever, wincing as he dodged all the sparks, using his arms to block his face. "MEGS!?" he shouted as loud as he could. He wasn't sure if he could be heard through the loud humming of the generator. He received no answer. He hands started to shake.

"You shouldn't have done that!!" came the familiar voice of Mr. Banana Brain.

"Shut up!!" he shouted back at the doll. "MEGS!!"

The fire that the cords had started began to spread, making smoke fill up the room. More and more sparks continued to fly everywhere and a moment later, there was a large explosion. Quackerjack was making his way towards the door, no longer able to stay inside any longer. He was almost at the door when a large burning mass of metal and plastic crashed in front of him.

Through the smoke, Quackerjack could see that it was the head of his Jack-in-the-Box, which must have exploded out of the metal box from all the electricity. The face of his Jack-in-the-Box melted, which horrified him as he watched the sinister eyes melt before him.

With a strangled squeak, Quackerjack ran around the burning mass and out the door. He gasped in large amounts of air in between wracking coughs. He felt his lungs burn from all the smoke. He looked around, seeing that the building was now on fire. If he paid anymore attention, he would also notice that half of the city of St. Canard was now out of power. The entire light plant was burning out of control. He ran back several yards, coughing through the smoke that was pouring out of the building.

Another large explosion came form the other side of the building, allowing Quackerjack to know that the other generators had now exploded.

His mind then turned to Megavolt. He frantically looked around him but saw nothing but the burning remains of the building and the peaceful docks and water that surrounded it. "MEGS!? MEGAVOLT!!" he shouted as loud as he could. Megavolt was nowhere in sight. Then, he distinctly heard the familiar sounds of police sirens. He turned around and saw half a dozen police cars making their way towards the building. Behind them where at a least a dozen fire trucks. He looked back at the building and couldn't help but give out a strangled cry of defeat, not caring if he was crying now. "MEGS!?" he tried once more. Nothing.

Sobs wracked his body as he quickly ran away from the scene of the crime, knowing that there was little chance that his friend -- lover -- playmate -- whatever he was, was alive.