Dreams and Doubts

Reginald Bushroot, the mutated plant doctor, sat alone on the ground shivering. His thin arms were wrapped around his legs as he peered hesitantly over his knees into the darkness. Everything around him was dark and there was no end in sight. Quickly, the botanist put his head down on his knees, fearing the darkness that engulfed him.

Master? A small voice from the dark called. Bushroot raised his head slowly and listened carefully.

Master. It said again. Master, help us! Please master!

Suddenly, dozens of voices joined the one lone voice, pleading and begging for his aid.

Master! Master, please help us! Come to us, Master! Save us!

"Where are you?" Bushroot stood up and shouted into the dark. He finally recognized that these were plants calling for his aid. "What am I supposed to save you from?"

This way! They pleaded with him. Come this way, Master!

A light shone in the dark and he saw a picture of two mountains in the distant, surrounded by trees. He walked towards the image and when his body touched it, the picture changed around him. Slowly walking forward, he suddenly surrounded by darkness again. He thought he saw a few gray walls, but he wasn't sure. He tapped his leafy fingers together nervously as he slowly walked forward.

The darkness kept getting thicker and thicker around him until finally he stopped moving. He looked around wildly, telepathically trying to reach the plants, but he could no longer hear them.

"Guys? Guys, where are you?" He spoke shakily, afraid to speak very loudly in the darkness.

A light fell upon him, grabbing his attention. Looking at his hands, he realized it was a deep, red light. His stomach sank as he slowly brought his head up to see the source of the light. He immediately shrank back as he saw that the red light was coming from a single, very large red eye that was hanging in mid-air.

Bushroot wanted to scream and run away, but he was too frightened to do anything. The eye narrowed and turned yellow. A hot yellow light flew out of the eye this time and covered his whole green body. He felt his skin burning as the hot fiery light engulfed him and all he knew was pain...

Bushroot gasped loudly as he sat up on the dirt floor. He clutched at himself, trembling and breathed heavily as he tried to calm down. He felt cold all over as he hugged his knees to his chest.

It's that dream again, he thought to himself as he started to calm down. I've been having it on and off for two weeks now, but it keeps getting more vivid each time. Those two peaks look awfully familiar. After a moment, he snapped his leaves together as he thought of where he had seen them. Of course! Twin Beaks! Those mountains are from Twin Beaks! Then, that means the plants are calling me from there. I guess they want me to uh, he gulped, take care of that thing. Whatever it is...

The thought of the red floating eye made him shiver and want to curl up in a ball. The distress he heard from the plants was very real and he did want to help them. Still...

Well, they can't expect me to, I mean, what can I do against that, really? I don't even know what it is. They are counting on me though, but I don't want to go by myself. If only someone would go with me...but who would want to..!

"AHHH!" A startled Bushroot jumped high into the air as he felt something wet slide underneath his feet. The rush of water made him lose his footing when he landed and he fell to the dirt floor. Trembling at first, he relaxed when the water formed into the familiar canine that was the Liquidator.

"Do you have too much time on your hands? Want a new plan to liven up your day? Then, call on the Liquidator to spice up an otherwise uneventful day!"

"Hm, sorry to disappoint you, Likky," the plant duck muttered as he got back to his feet, "but I think I've had as much excitement as I can handle for today."

The Liquidator studied him at this response and Bushroot realized he must still look a little bit off from his nightmare. He tried to make himself appear more at ease, but he was too late to fool the keen eyes of his partner in crime.

"What's the matter, Reggie?" The water dog asked quizzically, tilting his head to the side at the other beings frightened expression. "Complexion analysts everywhere would say that you're looking a little pale."

Bushroot clenched his fists and forced himself to stop shaking. He breathed out a long sigh and said, "It's the plants by Twin Beaks. I think they're in trouble."

"Twin Beaks? That weird town by the mountain that was nearly taken over by pod plants last year?" Liquidator inquired making a bit of confusion apparent in his tone. "Four out of five market analysts would like to know how the plant master is aware of the plight of flora several hours away from St. Canard?"

"I've been having dreams about them. Nightmares really." He said in a small voice as he watched at the aqua dog before him. He frowned as he noticed the other villain raised an eyebrow at him as if to say that he found the explanation very unlikely. "Besides, you know that I can speak to plants telepathically and I can feel what they feel. Something's really bothering them and they keep calling to me to fix it." He finished with another sigh, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

"So," the Liquidator continued after a period of silence, "what exactly does the caring plant doctor intend to do about this?"

"I want to go there and see what's scaring them so much," Bushroot replied, though his shaky voice sounded very much like he wanted to do the exact opposite, "and, well, I want you to come with me. You know, if it isn't too much trouble."

The wet dog put his hands on his hips with a small frown on his muzzle. "The salesman side of the great Liquidator would like to know what's in it for him?"

"Helping your favorite partner in crime in a time of need?" The mutant scientist said, his blue eyes pleading with the other villain to come with him.

Liquidator's expression softened slightly, but he still remained obstinate. "Sorry, Reggie, but that's not enough to seal the deal. Any market analyst would show that I value our partnership, but the Liquidator still does not work for free."

Bushroot ran a hand through his petals in frustration. He really wanted to help those plants out by Twin Beaks. At the same time, their fear was contagious and he was scared to go on his own. He needed Liquidator to go with him or else he simply couldn't force himself to go.

"Well, in those nightmares, I have been seeing some bags of cash left in some of the room. Gold too." He added as he saw the dog's ears perk at the mention of money. His stomach was filled with guilt at lying to his long time ally, but he felt like he didn't have any other choice. "Probably left lying around by whoever is harming my plants. I bet you could snag some of their funds for yourself before anyone even noticed."

"Hmm, with the Liquidator's mighty abilities in both stealth and speed, the percentage of returns on this investment will be quite high!" The liquid dog mused aloud, a large grin spreading across his muzzle. He held out a hand, which the plant duck hesitantly shook. "You got yourself a deal, Reggie. When do we leave?"

"Um, whenever you're ready I suppose." Bushroot said, relieved that the dog would be coming with him, but also worried about what he would find in Twin Beaks. The red eye was flashing in his memory even when he willed them away.

"Great! The Liquidator is ready to go and he guarantees that he knows the quickest route to our destination." He grabbed the green duck's arm and gave it a little pull. "And as they say, there's no time like the present. Let's go, Reggie!"

"O-Okay," Bushroot muttered as he found himself being dragged out of his Greenhouse by the water mutant. He tried to keep his shivering to himself as they entered the cold night and descended into the nearest sewer drain.

Meanwhile, in a small suburban home on Avian Way, a certain purple clad crime fighter was standing proudly on the living room couch, his cape drawn over his body.

"Darkwing Duck, grand protector of St. Canard, has scoured the streets of St. Canard, looking for the smallest hint of a crime. He has diligently checked every alley, every corner, every devious rock looking for traces of the criminal element. The sneaky criminals of this city think that they can get past him, but little do they know that Darkwing Duck is always one step ahead of them. Nothing escapes the keen eyes sight and razor sharp instincts of Darkwing Duck!"

"Right." A certain red-haired girl spread out under the couch muttered. She swallowed a wad of popcorn before turning her head towards the bellowing crime fighter. "If that's true, then shouldn't you be out busting crooks instead of standing on the couch?"

"Well, uh," Darkwing pulled at his collar before putting a hand over his chest and proudly pronouncing, "I just figured that since I hadn't found anything on the streets, I would come home and look at the evening news. Using a reliable source of information is what a good crime fighter does after all."

"Sure, Darkwing." Gosalyn said over a mouthful of popcorn as she changed the channel to a monster movie. Darkwing was about to protest the move when his sidekick came in carrying a large bowl of popcorn.

"Ah, don't worry about it DW." Launchpad reassured him as he plopped down on the couch next to the shorter mallard. "Maybe the villains have some kind of holiday today or something."

"Oh, I hope not." Darkwing moaned as he slumped on the couch. He crossed his arms sulkily, pouting at the TV. "I haven't had anything to do all this week. I've only taken on a few minor crooks and they were just your two-bit burglars. Darkwing Duck needs action, adventure, and out of the ordinary cases to fulfill his crime fighting persona!

"Now, take it easy there, DW," Launchpad admonished as he shoved some popcorn into his mouth. "There's nothing wrong with a quiet evening at home every once in a while. Besides, you oughta be careful what you wish for. You don't know what could happen."

Darkwing imitated his words childishly before closing his eyes and giving his stubborn reply. "It doesn't matter what comes at him. Darkwing Duck is ready for anything!"

"Whoa, like that?" His pilot asked curiously.

"Like what—wah!" Darkwing jumped a bit as a small purple Thunderquack appeared right in front of his face. The mouth opened and a small rolled piece of paper came out. Recognizing the Thunderquack that delivered messages from SHUSH, Darkwing eagerly grabbed the piece of paper and unrolled it. His eyes scanned the words quickly, a smile forming on his beak as he finished reading it.

"Woohoo! Yes! Finally, a case!" The purple caped crime fighter shouted in pure ecstasy.

"What's it say, DW?" His sidekick asked him as Gosalyn turned around to listen in on the conversation.

"It says that SHUSH headquarters is picking up strange signals coming out of forest in Twin Beaks. They think that FOWL has set up some kind of base out there and their agents haven't been able to figure out the source of the trouble. So, naturally, they want the one and only Darkwing to solve the case."

"Twin Beaks?" Gosalyn repeated with a glint of wonder in her eyes. "That was the town that got taken over by those creepy pod plants, right? Keen gear! Maybe this time some robots from outer space have landed there and they're planning to take over the town." Darkwing raised his eyebrows at the idea in disbelief and Gosalyn frowned at him, feeling defensive. "Well, how else would you explain the weird signals that are coming out of there?"

"With logic and deduction, that's how." Darkwing replied smugly, while Gosalyn rolled her eyes.

"Right because logic and deduction worked so well the last time we were at Twin Beaks." His impudent daughter muttered, earning her an irritated glare from her father.

"One more comment like that, young lady, and you'll find yourself getting a signal from the grounded for a week frequency."

"Heh, heh," Gosalyn said with a big innocent smile on her face, trying to change the subject. "So, uh, when are we leaving?"

"Launchpad and I are leaving immediately for Twin Beaks." The masked mallard replied as he got off the couch. "You are staying here and going to bed."

"What? No way! I am not missing out on a trip to Twin Beaks!"

"Gosalyn, this is not the same as the last trip." Darkwing told her sternly. "This is FOWL that we're dealing with and you know how dangerous they can be. Who knows what kind of gadget they've built that can make a signal powerful enough to screw up SHUSH equipment?"

Gosayln crossed her arms obstinately and pouted, not moving from her spot in front of her father. Darkwing was about to get into another argument when Launchpad stepped in.

"Gee DW, maybe you should let her come." The pilot said in a helpful tone. "Sure it's FOWL, but SHUSH says they just want you to investigate some weird signal, right? For all we know, somebody could have just left the TV on or something."

"Launchpad, it's FOWL, not the Muddlefoots." The shorter mallard informed him wryly.

"Speaking of the Muddlefoots, I heard they've been wanting to visit Twin Beaks for a while now." Gosalyn interjected deviously. "Maybe if I go over there and say I want to go to Twin Beaks, they'll take me. Then, I can go into those woods and find the signal all by myself and—"

"You will do no such thing!" Darkwing snapped, putting a hand over his eyes. He looked over at Launchpad for support, but all he got was a shrug. Sighing, the caped crime fighter finally gave in. "Okay, fine, you can come. I hope I don't regret this."

"You won't Darkwing! You can trust me." Gosalyn said as she hopped on his lap as he sat down on the spinning chairs.

"Why do those words not reassure me?" He muttered to himself as he hit the mouse on the head and went to his secret hideout.

In a few hours time, Bushroot and Liquidator had managed to get to the forest by Twin Beaks. Normally, this trip would have taken half a day, but with the pair of them using the water in the sewers as transportation, they arrived just as nightfall struck the forest. Following the directions the plants were sending to him, the pair emerged out of a manhole just outside of the strange town.

The Liquidator shot out of the manhole and extended a hand down to help Bushroot up. The plant duck clung to the wet hand tightly as he was pulled out of the dark passage. He landed on the concrete street lightly and pulled his arms around himself as he entered the cool night air.

"A little nippy for my tastes." The mutant scientist said before turning to the liquid dog in concern. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Though the winter weather is known for having adverse side affects on the otherwise versatile Liquidator, he can confidently say that the fall weather is no match for his natural heating abilities." The wet dog said with his usual confidence.

"Um, right." Bushroot replied, figuring if the other villain was using his ad jargons then he was probably fine. He dropped the subject and pointed towards the forest in front of them. "My plants say the trouble is coming from somewhere in the middle of this forest."

"Then, why keep out fine floral customers waiting? It's time to see if we can ease our clients' worries."

The ex-salesman strode forward towards the trees and disappeared into the darkness. Bushroot took a few hesitant steps after him, then stopped at the entrance of the forest. After a long moment, the Liquidator came back to see what the hold up was.

"What's the matter, Reggie? Aren't you coming?"

"I am, I mean, I want to! I mean, it's just..." He took a deep breath and tapped his leafy fingers together in a nervous gesture. "It's really dark in there and this is one of those weird places. You know, one of those places where abnormal things happen." The liquid dog made a motion with his hand for the other villain to get to the point. "What I'm trying to say is what if we run into a ghost or something?"

It took all of the Liquidator's salesman training not to snort at the question. Instead he just raised an eyebrow at Bushroot and said in a deadpan voice, "There's no such thing as ghosts, Reggie."

"How can you be so sure?" The plant duck asked, still eyeing the forest uneasily.

"Inquiring minds want to know if his partner in crime has ever seen a ghost before?" The green duck shook his head in response. "Neither has the Liquidator and the Liquidator doesn't believe in things that he has not seen himself. Now, let's go!"

With that, Liquidator grabbed Bushroot's wrist and dragged him into the dark forest. The botanist gave a short squeak at the action, but otherwise didn't protest. After a few strides into the forest, the wet dog let go of the plant duck's wrist and they continued walking with Liquidator leading and Bushroot following.

The liquid dog strode forward confidently, his eyes glowing in the dark as he easily saw the way in front of him. Living in the dark sewers had given the Liquidator good night vision, which he was using to scour the forest for some sign of misgiving. Bushroot followed close behind him, his hands up by his mouth and his head whipping back and forth at the slightest noise.

A white glow caught the blue eyes of the plant doctor as he looked to his right to see what it was. As soon as he looked in the direction of the white blob, the thing was gone. Frowning and wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, he turned his gaze forward again only to have another white glow catch his eyes. This time he turned to the left and what he saw left him speechless. The white glow was coming from a trio of skulls that were stuck together, each misshapen with toothless mouths opening and closing as if they were trying to speak. Finally, the three mouths opened at once and an eerie glow began to form inside the mouths. The terrified mutant looked in the direction the mouths were pointing and saw that they were aiming for Liquidator's back. Shivering in fright, he forced himself to turn away from the sight and run as fast as he could towards his partner in crime. He hoped he would catch the other mutant by surprise so that he could topple him over. He slammed into the other villain from behind as he ran as fast as he could.

"Whoa!" The Liquidator shouted as he was pushed over. Bushroot landed on top of him, sinking into his water somewhat since the wet dog wasn't solid. The plant duck clung to the dog's middle, expecting to feel some kind of attack go over his back and into the trees. When nothing happened, the mutant scientist looked up at where he saw the ghastly image and found that it had vanished.

"Reggie, inquiring minds would like to know what the big idea is?" The Liquidator asked irritably, as he tapped his fingers against the grass he was laying on. He dissolved into a puddle and reformed so that he was standing up again with his hands on his hips.

"T-There, there was something by that tree! It was a white image with three skulls and it was trying to shoot something at you! Honest!" Bushroot ended as the Liquidator began to look increasingly annoyed with him.

"There's nothing there, Reggie." The aqua dog told him after a quick glance, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible. "Nine out of ten fear analysts say that your nervousness is making you see things."

"But it was right there! I know it was!" The plant duck whined in dismay. The Liquidator merely shook his head and gave the other mutant a hand to get back on his feet.

"We don't have time for this!" His partner in crime told him impatiently. "As I've always said, time is money, although in your case the amount of time you take may decide the expiration date of some of your leafy friends."

Bushroot opened his beak to say something, but closed in when he figured there was no point in arguing anymore. He followed Liquidator wordlessly as they continued to walk through the dark, twisted forest. The botanist kept flicking his eyes back and forth, watching for the image he had seen earlier. He stopped cold when he saw another apparition with three skulls sitting by a nearby tree. The skulls grinned at him and the plant mutant jumped into the air with a squeak. He ran forward and grabbed the Liquidator's arm, shivering violently.

The liquid dog raised an eyebrow at the action, to which Bushroot merely pointed to where he has seen the image last. The ex-salesman looked over in the direction indicated and saw nothing but a gnarly tree with some grass blowing in the wind. The Liquidator placed his head in his free hand with a sigh. This was going to be a long night...

Meanwhile, up in the cloudy autumn sky, the Thunderquack was making its way to Twin Beaks and was about five minutes away from reaching its target. Gosalyn, who was delighted at getting to come along in spite of her father's protests, was watching the dark, foggy forests below with eager green eyes.

"Keen gear! I wonder if we're going to meet any aliens like we did the last time? Or maybe we'll see some more body snatchers? Oooh, or maybe we'll see some real live ghosts?"

"Gee, um, I certainly hope not." Launchpad said as he pulled as his collar with a slight shiver.

"There's nothing to worry about, LP." Darkwing replied dismissively as he examined the ends of his fingers. "Ghosts are just the creation of the overactive imagination. Nothing more."

"Oh yeah?" His spirited daughter challenged, coming up to the side of his chair. "And how do you know? Do you have any proof that they don't exist, Mr. Wise Guy?"

"Do you have any proof they do, Ms-I-Watch-Too-Many-Horror-Movies-For-My-Own-Good?"

"Sure I do! What about Morgana's family?"

The caped crime fighter was loathe to admit that she had a point, but his mind came up with a quick counter point. "Morgana's family is comprised of monsters, not ghosts and you know it, young lady. Now, take your seat." Darkwing ordered before the red-haired child could respond in kind. "We're about to land."

"Hang on to your seat belts, guys! We're in for a bumpy landing." The pilot informed them with a chuckle as he brought them down. Both Darkwing and Gosalyn let out short cries of fear as they headed straight for a patch of tall Evergreen trees. The plane jostled back and forth roughly, eventually coming to a screeching stop.

"Well," the masked mallard said, feeling queasy, "that landing certainly felt familiar." The top of the Thunderquack opened and he started exiting the plane. "I wonder wh—Ahhhhhh!"

The purple clad crime fighter had failed to realize they had landed in the branches of a tree and he had stepped out of the plane onto empty air. He fell to the forest floor with a splat, pain shooting through his body.

"Yessss..." Darkwing wheezed out as he pushed himself up. "This pain definitely gives me that deja vu feeling."

"You okay, there DW?" Launchpad questioned as he and Gosalyn used a rope to climb down from the Thunderquack.

"Fine. Fine." The caped crusader said as nonchalantly as possible, trying to brush himself off. "Nothing the ever durable Darkwing Duck couldn't handle."

"Right." Gosalyn muttered, seeing right through her father's excuses.

"So, where's this place that SHUSH wanted us to investigate, DW? It is close to here, right?"

"That's where my secret hideout locator gadget should come in handy!" He pulled out what looked like a small remote control with a green grid, joystick and antenna on the top. "The latest in SHUSH technology, don't you know?"

The purple powerhouse turned on the device, which started beeping and showed a flashing dot a few minutes away from where they were standing. Following the directions on the grid, Darkwing led the way to their destination with Gosalyn and Launchpad following close behind him.

"Alright, according to this gadget, we should be seeing FOWL's secret base, right about oomph," the air was forced out of the duck's lungs as he crashed into a large metal structure, "now..." He finished as he backed up and brushed himself off.

The trio looked at the metal door in front of them in amazement. It was held up by a concrete entryway that sunk into the ground. The door itself was solid steel with no handle or door knob in sight and, after a quick investigation of the area, it was difficult for the crime fighter to tell how deep the concrete passage went into the ground.

"Gee, DW, this looks like a pretty solid seal." Launchpad told the purple clad duck as he knocked against the steel door with his fist. "How are we supposed to get in?"

"That's easy Launchpad. We just have to use our heads." Darkwing said as he put one finger in the air. He closed his eyes and walked forward as he continued his ramble. "With the powers of reasoning, logic and deduction, there isn't anything that we can't accompli—Ahhhh!"

The crime fighter disappeared from sight after stepping on a patch of dirt that turned out to be hollow. Gosalyn and Launchpad gasped at the same time and ran towards the spot where Darkwing had vanished. They both stopped at the entrance of the square hole and peered down to see what condition the fallen hero was in. He seemed to have crash landed on a couple of boxes and was sprawled out in a painful position, but otherwise appeared unharmed.

"Are you alright, Darkwing?" Gosalyn asked with concern clear in her voice.

"Fine. Fine. I meant to do that, you know." Darkwing replied egotistically. The response caused Gosalyn to roll her eyes, but inwardly she was relieved that he was okay.

"Nice job, DW!" His sidekick complimented innocently. "Way to use logic or deduction or well, whatever it was you used to find this hidden entrance!"

"Thanks, Launchpad." The masked mallard wheezed out as he cracked his aching back. Once he was finished stretching, he straightened up and fired his hook shot, catching it on the edge of the entrance.

"You two use the rope to climb down." The purple clad duck commanded as he peered down the dark passageway. "We don't have a moment to lose!"

Gosalyn easily slid down the rope to join Darkwing on the steel floors below. Launchpad looked a little nervous at going down into the dark cavern below, but he got on the rope and made his way down anyway. Once the pilot was on the ground, the crime fighter reclaimed his hook shot and stashed it away in his cape.

"All right, let's get moving." The short mallard said as he started walking forward with his gas gun in his hands. "I need to figure out what those felonious feathered felons at FOWL were up to when they built this base."

His spirited daughter placed her hands behind her head and followed behind her father with not a care in the world. Launchpad, on the other hand, placed his fingers to his bill as if he wanted to start chewing them. The dark, cold atmosphere of the place was giving him the creeps. Seeing that his companions were leaving him behind, he gulped and trotted to catch up to them.

On the other side of the forest, Bushroot and Liquidator continued to make progress to their destination, though they were moving much slower than the liquid dog would have liked. His partner in crime kept jumping at the slightest movements and claiming that he saw things that weren't there. The Liquidator was trying to be patient, but he was finding that even his reserves were wearing thin as the plant duck continued to jump and yell every few minutes.

They walked a few more paces with Bushroot still clinging to the ex-salesman's arm. The wet dog was thinking to himself that it was a good thing that he no longer had any circulation in his body when he saw something ahead of them that made his ears perk up.

"Well, look at that." The dog whistled as he pointed to a a metal door in the ground. Both mutants strolled up to it and saw that it had a flat, metal bar across it to block unwanted visitors, but that it was otherwise unlocked.

"What do you think that is?" Bushroot inquired, finally letting go of his fellow villain's arm.

"Only one way to find out." Liquidator replied with a shrug. He started pulling on the thick metal bar to remove it and the botanist came over to help. Between the two of them, they managed to pull the bar away from the door with little trouble. Then, Liquidator went over to the door, gripped the handle tightly and pulled it open with a grunt.

Both villains gazed inside the doorway to see some chipped stairs leading downward into a dark, steel room. Bushroot tapped his fingers together nervously at the prospect of going down and not knowing what awaiting them once they got past the entrance.

"Are you sure we have to do down there?" The green duck said in a small voice as he pointed a quivering leaf towards the pitch black passageway.

Liquidator raised an eyebrow at the question. "I suppose that depends on whether or not you want to help your fellow flora or not."

The botanist frowned slightly, knowing that the other villain already knew the answer. "Of course I do."

"Then, as any game show host worth his reputation would say, come on down!" The boisterous dog gestured to the plant duck to go down the passageway. Seeing that his partner in crime was making no move to go down the stairs, the Liquidator smiled and took the lead. Not wanting to be left alone, Bushroot followed quickly behind him, placing his hands on the others back.

The plant duck continued to shiver and cower behind the dog as they continued down the ill-maintained stairs. After what seemed like eons to the uneasy green mutant, the pair finally made it to the bottom of the passageway. There were a few dim lights still working in small underground room. Liquidator took a few steps forward and saw that the walls were lined with computers, radios, lasers and other equipment that seemed in disrepair. The water dog noticed several severed wires lining the walls that were sparking with electricity and he made a mental note to avoid those at all costs.

"W-What is this place?" Bushroot whispered softly, afraid that his voice might attract the attention of some unwanted guests.

"Your guess is as good as mine on that one." The liquid canine replied with a shrug. A scraping noise in the distance caught the attention of both villains as their heads both turned to an archway a few feet away from them. The plant duck ran up behind the Liquidator and wrapped his thin arms around his waist in fright.

"What was that?" The botanist asked shakily, still clinging to the ex-salesman's midsection.

"No idea," The Liquidator responded as he gently removed the arms from around his waist, "but four out of four explorers know that there's only one way to find out. Come on!"

"But what if it's some ghosts causing trouble?" Bushroot commented as he reluctantly followed behind the watery ex-salesman.

"Ten out of ten paranormal investigators would show that there's no such thing as ghosts." Liquidator told him trying to keep his tone neutral at what he considered to be an inane question. The wet dog stopped abruptly when he heard the same scraping sound again. In the dim lights above and in the sparks let off by the broken wires, he could tell that something was moving.

"Stay here." He ordered Bushroot as he slid forward silently. As quick and noiselessly as he could he shot a powerful stream of cold water at the shadowy object in the distance. To his surprise, the short being shorted out and spun wildly upon the impact, falling gracelessly to the cold floor. Puzzled, the aqua dog went forward towards the white steam that seemed to be appearing from the creature. Feeling confident that it was dead, the Liquidator grabbed the thing as best he could and dragged it into the waning light.

"Look at this." Liquidator said with a whistle. Bushroot came over to his side and gazed down upon the metal being with interest. It had a rounded head with two glowing yellow eyes. Its body was an off color of yellow and there was rust in some places around its joints. "It's some kind of robot."

"You're right. What do you suppose it was supposed to do?"

More scraping noises alerted them to the presence of more robots. Liquidator sprung up at the sounds in front of him and smiled at his companion who was starting to looked spooked again. "Let's take some first class initiative and find out!"

He grabbed the botanist's wrist and dragged him forward as they went towards the source of the noise. They went straight until they stopped under a dirt archway and the light from some of the robots showed them what was going on. The small trash can like beings had long thin arms with shovels on the ends of them. They tirelessly spun themselves into the dirt around them, making piles of it on the floor behind them.

In the distance of the dark dirt tunnel, Liquidator thought he saw something flash. "Wait here." He instructed the other mutant as he sloshed forward to investigate. The liquid canine stopped abruptly when he found what had caught his eye. A small metal chain with a few letters written on it was shining in the dark. Liquidator took a step back abruptly when he realized that the chain was attached to a duck's corpse.

Blinking in surprise and a bit of shock, the ex-salesman bent down to take a closer look. The condition of the duck's corpse told him that it hadn't been dead for very long. Liquidator guessed he'd only died a week or two ago. He picked the chain up in his wet fingers to examine the lettering on it and found that it spelled the world "FOWL." He then realized that the duck was garbed in the standard uniform of one of FOWL's eggmen.

Eight of ten detective surveys find that this must have been an underground FOWL base. The water dog thought as he placed a hand underneath his chin. Then, the next question is, who or what tore this place up so badly?

He got out of his crouch and looked around at the robots, wondering what they were up to. His hollow blue eyes widened as he saw piles of roots sitting next to several of the robots. The Liquidator watched the robots claws dig into the soil and tear out more of the roots from the plants located above them. Cautiously, he approached the mechanical beings and picked up some of the roots to show to his leafy companion.

The wet dog returned to Bushroot only to find the plant mutant looking back and forth in a paranoid manner. He had one leafy hand up by his bill, as if he wanted to start chewing the thing in his nervousness.

"What is it now, Reggie?" Liquidator asked, trying not to sound as exasperated as he felt.

"I, well, I thought I heard some voices down here. I think they were coming from over there." The green mutant told his watery companion as he pointed off into the distance in front of him.

"Nine out of ten fear analysts show that you're starting to hear things." The ex-salesman spoke dismissively before holding up the pile of roots he had found. "In other news, the grand and powerful Liquidator may have found the source of your leafy friend's dismay.

"Oh, those are plant roots! Poor, poor things! Where did you find them?"

"Over by that dirt tunnel." The Liquidator pointed in the direction where he had just come from. "They're digging into the walls, increasing the tunnel space. They're ripping out the roots as they do it. All market research concludes that having your roots pulled out probably hurts a whole lot."

"You don't know the half of it." Bushroot muttered with a shake of his head. "Is there anyway to stop the robots?"

"You're asking if the watery powers of the Liquidator are capable of shorting out a bunch of walking tin cans?" The wet criminal asked rhetorically, smiling very smugly at the thought. "The Liquidator advertises that he could take care of such faulty tin cans in his sleep without any problems."

"Well, then, by all means," the plant doctor gestured for him to go and use his powers.

The Liquidator strode forward confidently and stopped when he was in range of the robots. He formed a hose at the ends of both his arms and aimed for the lines of working robots. Powerful gushes of water engulfed the unsuspecting metal beings at they were washed away in a powerful deluge. When the water died down, the robots were left sprawled on the cold ground, sparking and utterly useless.

Bushroot watched the spectacle from a distance and smiled at his partner in crime as he walked back over to him, rubbing his hands together in satisfaction.

"So, the former sales dog wants to know how his customer service ranking pans out with the flora of the plant world? Are they now feeling more at ease thanks to the glorious powers of the Liquidator?"

"Let me check." The plant duck muttered before closing his eyes and started to communicate with the plants outside the underground base. They were a bit more at ease now that their roots weren't being torn at, but something was still making them very edgy. Bushroot opened his eyes with an uneasy expression on his face. "Sorry, but that didn't do the trick. They do appreciate you getting rid of the robots, but something is still bothering them."

"Can they be more specific and tell this curious operator what's making them so upset?"

"I've already tried asking them what it is, but every time I press them they just get more frightened and stop talking. Whatever it is, it feels very unnatural to them. At least, that's the sense that I get."

"'Unnatural?'" The Liquidator repeated curiously before an echo caught their attention. Bushroot squeaked at the noise and hid behind the water dog in fear. The aqua dog merely raised his ears and tried to pinpoint the source of the noise.

"W-w-what was that?" Bushroot asked in a quivering voice.

"Couldn't tell you." His partner in crime responded before taking a step forward and gesturing for the other villain to follow him. "Sound analysts everywhere suggest that the noise came from this direction."

Bushroot followed closely behind Liquidator as they went further into the dark passageways. The plant mutant began to think that the place was beginning to look a bit too much like his dream. A noise behind him startled the poor frightened duck and he gripped Liquidator tightly. This time, Liquidator sloshed out his grip and glided in front of the scared plant mutant. His eyes narrowed as he tried to see what made the sound. Both of them began backing up slowly, keeping their eyes peeled and wondering what was going to happen next.

Author's Note: Alright, so this is a story I started back in late October and wanted to finish a while ago. When November hit and Nanowrimo went into full swing, I put it on hiatus to focus on some original work. I really wanted to go back to just writing a fun Darkwing story starring two of my favorite villains in Liquidator and Bushroot. This was originally supposed to be a one-shot story, but it was getting to long, so I decided to make it a two parter. I hope you have enjoyed it so far and are interested enough to stick around for the conclusion.