This world was dark, even for her tastes.

Physically, that was.

She could not yet speak for the metaphorical; she had only just arrived, after all, and rumors were nothing to base one's perceptions on.

Searchlights were the primary source of light, their long beams stretching up into the dark sky, making a long sweep from one end of the metropolis to the other. If there was a moon or stars, she couldn't tell. The searchlights were too bright to allow anything in the vast vacuum of space to shine down onto the world below.

Her boots crunched on the newly fallen snow, a satisfying snap snap snap as she made her way down the street. There was no question as to the direction she was headed. The building in the center of town was the one to which the searchlights were fixed, giving off its position with all the finesse of a disco ball.

Darkwarrior Duck might be the most fearsome of all the Darkwings in the multiverse, but he still had the same ego. The same lack of sense when it came to anything involving stealth or sophistication.

At least there was order here. Her simmering irritation was soothed at seeing how precisely the citizens moved about. Crossed the street at crosswalks. Cars merged with clear signals for at least 300 feet before changing lanes. Everyone stuck to their side of the sidewalk, eyes forward without any sort of technology out to distract them.

It was because of this — this enforcement of rules and regulations — that she was walking down this sidewalk to begin with.

She crossed the street with a few citizens and continued marching toward the building that set her teeth on edge. On her own. No one else was heading anywhere close to this part of town.

Dark ebony robots, the shapes of which resembled Darkwarrior's head with claws extending out below their beaks hovered before her. What a terrible design. Their only option for movement was strictly airborn since they had no legs. And it seemed rather arrogant to shape something after one's own features.

Then again.

Look at their designer.

"Identification, please," came the modulated voice. Weak and wavering compared to those in her own world.

She stared unblinkingly at the robot. "Ana Di Lengo."

The robot hovered, bobbing up and down gently, completely silent for a few moments. "Error. Death records exist for one Ana Di Lengo. Identification, please."

She sent the bot — and whoever was watching through it's cameras — a thin smile. "Death records exist for the Ana in this universe perhaps. I, however, am not from here."

The robot fell into silence again. And moved aside as the door behind it swung open.

Complete blackness yawned before her, the building imposing and endless. She stepped through without a moments hesitation.

It was all for show, this grandiose structure. The security out front meant to intimidate the visitor and give them some idea of who they were about to deal with.

But Ana was not intimidated.

The blackness inside was not so complete that she couldn't see where she was going. The lobby was empty, a colossal curved staircase curling upwards that took her to the second level. Into a rounded antechamber, which also was empty.

The walls were fitted with large panels of glass, windows revealing the sprawling city around them. Pale snow blanketed the streets and buildings, dulling the lights that tried their best to illuminate the darkness. In the center of this rounded chamber was a circular platform, along one side of which were stacked rows of computer monitors like bricks in the facade of a building. They showed the city from different angles, some stationary shots evidently from fixed cameras and others moving, likely from robots on patrol, sending back their feed.

Within this half-circle of monitors sat one solitary chair. Padded. With low arms and a wide back. Almost wide enough to obscure the figure that was sitting in it. Almost.

The room was not so empty after all.

The chair was facing away from her. But she didn't need to see his face to know who was lying in wait.

"You're very far from home," came a purr out of the darkness.

Ana came to stand at the edge of the platform, hands tucked behind her back and head held high. "Turn around and face me, Drake. Where are your manners?"

The figure stiffened either at her tone or at the casual name she called him. Whichever the reason, Ana felt her beak twist into a triumphant smirk.

She allowed it to fall as the chair swiveled around. No need to show off.

Within the plush upholstery sat a familiar figure. Wearing the ridiculous purple outfit with a large brimmed fedora in a matching shade. He had foregone the button down suit and substituted it with something akin to a jumpsuit that was belted at the hips. Military grade boots — steel toed by the looks of them — would have blended into the darkness if they hadn't been polished to a shine. The infantile cape was secured around his shoulders, tucked underneath sizable spiked shoulder armor, making him all the more imposing and broad.

There was still a mask secured around his face, but his eyes glowed red. It was into these that Ana stared, unabashed and unafraid.

As Darkwarrior Duck sized her up.

She in her own black uniform. Much crisper and more impressive than his spiked armor. Drake was many things; subtle was not one of them, no matter the universe.

"Are we going to discuss why you're here? Or is this a staring contest?" he asked, his voice carefully controlled and giving away nothing. She was almost impressed. Almost.

"Don't joke with me, boy," Ana snapped. "You can guess why I'm here, surely."

Darkwarrior leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled in his militaristic gloves. "It must be something big if the great Ana Di Lengo traveled all the way from the Posiverse to visit me."

"Oh, yes, bravo," Ana intoned, glaring at Darkwarrior down her beak. "Come, come, Drake. If we are to be allies, I must be able to trust that you can put two and two together on your own."

He frowned. "My name is Darkwarrior."

Ana narrowed her eyes a fraction. "Not to me."

Darkwarrior eyed her.

She let the silence linger.

Silence is a funny thing. Everyone is quick to break it. It makes people uncomfortable, you see. The lack of noise makes them believe they need to be filling the void with something. If you stay quiet long enough, your counterpart will inevitably start talking.

"Allies, you and I?" Darkwarrior asked. "Against whom?"

Case in point.

Silence: a leader's most effective tool.

"Against the monstrosity that is Gosalyn Mallard Prime." Saying the name was like a bad taste on her tongue. Gosalyn Mallard had come into Ana's world to be put on trial and punished for her rash actions of traveling around the multiverse. She had not only escaped her lifelong sentence, but had incentivized the people of Ana's world — the Posiverse — to uprise and fight against the rules that had been put in place to protect them. Even Ana's second in command, her own son, had gone against her and joined ranks with the Gosalyn from their own world.

Gosalyn Mallard Prime had ruined everything.

And Ana would show that girl the justice that was in the wake of such haphazard and reckless rule breaking.

Ana took a breath.

Patience.

All in good time.

Darkwarrior raised an eyebrow, still peering over his steepled fingers. "She has a big support system. To go against her is to go against them all."

"Hence why I am here."

Smirking, Darkwarrior leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You need me."

"And your robots. When going up against repeat rule breakers, it's best to come prepared with the full force of the law."

Darkwarrior Duck was grinning fully now, a cunning curl of his beak.

Another voice, however, came from the darkness. A slighter sound, weaker. "We can offer our full forces."

Ana glanced to where the voice had come from and felt her fingers twitch at the sight, ready to grab a weapon. But she stayed her hand.

It was another Gosalyn. This one brown haired and softer. More reserved. She seemed to have some semblance of rules and etiquette, her hands hanging at her sides and her expression one of respect as she surveyed Ana with her green eyes.

Ana pushed aside her confusion — the entire point of the Darkwarrior universe was that a Gosalyn didn't exist, after all, so how one could be here was mind numbing — and inclined her head. "Together, I am confident that we can accomplish our goal."

"No violence," this brown-haired Gosalyn said as she stepped fully out of the shadows and stood beside Darkwarrior.

Ana studied them together, the dark uncompromising version of her son and this girl who shouldn't exist. Really, neither of them should exist. This universe was a blight on an otherwise perfect system.

But, desperate times.

Ana bowed her head. "No violence," she echoed.

The brown haired Gosalyn nodded. "Then we will help you bring order to the Prime Universe."

Ana sent a thin smile to the girl. "Might I ask who you are?"

"Christine."

Still a Gosalyn, but going by a different name. Interesting. Ana would need to study her records to find out where this one had come from, for it surely wasn't here. Could not be here.

"You have a bright future ahead of you, my dear." Ana looked between the two. "Shall we settle on a date?"

Darkwarrior finally stood, gesturing off to the side. "We can use my consulting room."

"There's less potential of being overheard in there," Christine offered, a smile gracing her beak as she led the way.

Ana nodded once in agreement before following the impossible girl.

A/N: Here we go again! Another 25 days of Geronimo fic headed your way!

I did want to take a moment to apologize for not being as active in the duck fandom lately. Things got very crazy very fast, and things are about to get EVEN crazier. While I don't know how much I'll be able to participate in the future, or even write, I thought why not go out with a bang, right? One last Christmas hurrah! I hope you enjoy!