Second Chance

"I saw the witch go this way prince Canard." stated the knight as he pointed to the left, towards a half-built bridge.

"Stay here, I'll go check it out alone." replied the prince.

"You can't go alone! Some of us must come with you." said the head knight as he rode up to the prince on his horse.

"I know what I must do my friend, and I have to do it alone." retorted the prince.

"Your father ordered me to stay by your side no matter what you do." replied the head night as he got off his horse and stood in front of the prince." I'm going with you whether you like it or not!"

Prince Canard sighed and looked at the head knight. "O.K." answered the prince.

"Mallard!" yelled one of the knights to the head knight. "If your going with the prince I'm coming too!" the knight stepped forward and reviled that she was the royal sorceress.

"No! I don't want anyone else to come. I can handle this myself." cried the prince as he walked away towards the half built bridge. He then tripped on a rock and fell. He quickly got up like nothing happened and dusted himself off as some of the knights chuckled to themselves.

"The evil witch's magic in no match for the both of you. She deals out unholy magic. You need me to come!" spoke the sorceress.

"Fine you can come too" replied the prince. "Everyone else stay here!" he yelled to his troops. The prince got on his solid black horse. The head knight then too got on his mustard yellow horse.

"Hey! what about me!" cried the royal sorceress.

"You can ride with me m'lady." answered the head knight as he offered his hand to help the sorceress up on his horse. The three then rode to the half built bridge. There stood the witch, looking out at the waters at the end of half built bridge. Her long black and red streaked hair glistened in the sunlight. The witch turned and looked behind her, to the three coming near her in the distance. A smile cracked across her beak as her green eyes shined.

"It's not much farther to the half built bridge." spoke the head knight. "No doubt the witch plans to stop the bridge from being built."

The prince was quiet for a moment. "Well, you two stay here while I go see the witch."

"It's already been decided that we come with you." said the royal sorceress that sat behind the head knight.

"No, I'm talking to her alone." replied the prince as he raised his arrow launcher and shot at the two on the horse. The arrow launcher shot a rope that wrapped around the two and tied them up on top the horse.

"Hey!" yelled the head knight. "That isn't fair!" he struggled at the ropes.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll make sure my father the king doesn't find out, I don't want to get the both of you in trouble with him." spoke the prince. "When I get back I'll untie you two and we'll pretend this never happened."

"Prince Canard, you are making a grave mistake, the witch doesn't want to talk!" cried the royal sorceress.

"I know what I'm doing." replied Canard.

"I know what I'm doing." repeated the head knight in a sarcastic high voice. "Yeah, I 've heard you say that before. And every time I heard it we ended up saving you from getting hurt or killed."

"Remember the time with the dragon?" asked the royal sorceress.

"And the time with the black knight?" questioned the head knight.

" And the time with the . . ." started the royal sorceress as the prince then interrupted her.

"I didn't say anything about you two not being helpful. You two are like family to me. This is nothing against you. I just have to talk to . . . .her, alone." spoke the prince as he looked at the silhouette of the witch in the distance. "I'll be back."

"Wait!" yelled the head knight.

"What?" asked prince Canard.

"Is it true? What you say about us being like family?" questioned the head knight.

"Of course." replied the prince. For a second it was going to be a sappy tender moment till the head knight opened his beak again.

"Well, Family doesn't tie up family!!" screamed the head knight. The prince just sighed and hit the reins on his horse so it would go faster towards the half built bridge.

"Way to go nitwit!" cried the royal sorceress. "Next time let me handle the sweet talking to get him to untie us!"

"Prince Canard, You came alone? I'm very surprised." said the witch dryly.

"Why are you doing this? Killed so many innocent people in my kingdom for what?" asked the prince.

"Hmmm, what a quaint question. Well first of all I don't want this bridge built in the middle of MY waters where I want to build MY castle." The witch spoke as she held her golden staff tightly.

"I'm sure we can arrange something." retorted the prince. The witch just laughed.

"And what are you thinking young prince?" she questioned as she floated towards him. "You are the first person to talk to me without your sword drawn prepared to fight. What drives you to talk to me as if I was a normal rational being?"

"Ever since I saw you for the first time I saw you attacking my father's castle, I fell hopelessly in love with you." confessed prince Canard. Surprisingly, the witch backed away from Canard with almost a look of fear.

"What?" she asked very casually.

"You know, if it is your plan is to take over the kingdom, you can do the same by marrying me, I mean sometime I'm going to come into power and you will too as my wife." stuttered the prince.

The normally serious and unemotional witch looked at Canard in surprise.

"Your proposing to me?" asked the witch.

"Well, yeah." replied the prince. The witch's beak showed a look of confusion and then went into laughter.

"You want to marry me! Ha! very funny." giggled the witch.

"I'm not joking! I do love you!" cried the prince.

"Love?" she paused from laughing. "Well, sorry it won't work out. You see, I don't have the emotion of love because I deal with unholy magic. And it wouldn't work out anyways, I don't want to take over just this little kingdom. . .but the whole world also! And the first way I'm going to do that is prevent this bridge from being built. Having it built will make it harder to conquer this kingdom because outside help would be able to come here across this bridge." explained the witch.

"I see . . . ." faded prince Canard.

"So, what are you going to do now?" asked the witch.

"Well, I'm going to find some way of curing you from the inability to love." replied the prince. The witch let out a nervous laugh.

"There is no cure for it, it is of my own free choice." retorted the witch.

"I still have to try." spoke the prince as he started to walk away. The witch was quite confused by this prince's actions. As he went toward the land off the half built bridge the sky became dark. The witch stood with her staff in both hands. The sound of thunder roared in the sky. The prince turned around to look back at the witch. Her green eyes glowed and then moistened with tears coming to the corners of her eyes.

"Lighting do as I command." she whispered under her breath. Her staff shimmered as the spell was cast. That was the last thing that prince Canard saw as the deadly magic induced lighting hit it's target.

In the present, 1999 A.D. "Lighting. that's what caused all the damage" replied the SHUSH agent to J.Gander Hooter.

"But Lighting doesn't steal a crate full of precious artifacts from a museum." retorted J. Gander Hooter.

"Well, whatever it is, it took out our SHUSH agents that were protecting the artifacts and the F.O.W.L. agents that were in the area that were planing to steal the artifacts." explained the agent.

"What exactly was in the crate of artifacts that was stolen?" questioned J. Gander.

"A bunch of staffs from the medieval times" answered the agent.

"It's not here!" cried the female duck in glasses. She strummed her fingers across the green crystal on her necklace, something she normally did when she was nervous. She looked in the crate of staffs. "Maybe that's a good thing, I don't want to go through with this anyways. But on the other hand, I need the Thunder staff to control my powers." She paused and looked around her room to see the time on the digital clock. 7:30 a.m. it read. "I've been up all night! And I have to go to work in a half an hour!" cried the duck to herself. She sighed and talked to herself. "What have you gotten yourself into Ka-Tessa." she spoke.

"Gosalyn honey! Time to get up for school!" yelled Drake up the stairs.

"Coming *yawn*" Gosalyn looked at the clock and then at the unfinished homework on the floor. "Oh great, Ms. Feathington is going to be upset about me not doing my homework again." said Gosalyn to herself.

Gosalyn came down the stairs dressed for school.

"So, how was school yesterday?" asked Drake as he handed Gosalyn her lunchbox.

"Yeah, sure, fine." replied Gosalyn half awake.

"Well, a Ms. Feathington called yesterday and wanted to make a appointment for a parent teacher meeting." stated Drake.

"Oh great, my life can't get any worse." moaned Gosalyn.

"Ka-Tessa Feathington, your barely on time for school once again." spoke the principal.

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry, I just had a long night of . . .grading papers. Kept me up all night." spoke Ka-Tessa as she straightened her glasses.

"Well, I better let you get to your class before the bell rings." The principal replied. "But I'll be watching you."

"Yes sir." retorted Ka-Tessa as she got to class. She quickly ran her fingers through her red uncombed hair so she would at least look somewhat like a suitable teacher in front of her students. She walked in normal as if nothing was wrong. "Today class we are going to go over the local history of this city where we live and compare it to the history that was going on outside of this lovely city." Ka-Tessa looked up at her students to see not a one was paying attention to her. Instead they were throwing paper airplanes and doing the many other things that kids do. Only two kids in the class sat attentive, Honker and surprisingly Gosalyn. Ka-Tessa figured her father told her of the phone call and she was going to try to be on her best P's and Q's. Ka-Tessa sighed and sat in her desk. As Ka-Tessa sat in her chair she felt a sharp object. She stood up quickly to see several tacks on her chair. Suddenly lighting flashed outside. Ka-Tessa instantly jumped in fright and calmed down.

"Are you O.K. Ms. Feathington?" asked Gosalyn.

"Yeah, I just wish I could just get the class to pay attention." stated Ka-Tessa

" Hey! Everyone sit down and shut up!" yelled Gosalyn. Everyone in the class did so except for one loudmouth.

"Oh Gosalyn I didn't know you became the teacher's pet!" taunted the loudmouth kid. Gosalyn stood on top of her desk and spoke.

"You want a knuckle sandwich?" asked Gosalyn as she rolled back her sleeve as though she was going to hit someone.

"No" whined the kid as he sat down.

"O.K. The class now has your full attention Ms. Feathington" said Gosalyn as she sat back in her desk with her hand neatly folded and with a innocent look on her face.

"Not the way I would get the class to be quiet but it still got the desired effect." spoke Ka-Tessa to herself. "O.K. class, today we are going to learn the early history of the city of St. Canard. Now does anyone know the story of how the city got it's name?" asked Ka-Tessa. Only Honker raised his hand. "Go ahead Honker."

"Well, ya see, when the city of St. Canard first started as a colony it was headed by a monarchy and well. There was this prince named Canard that was kill in battle, and the church declared him a saint and then the city was named after him." replied Honker in one breath.

"That right Honker." stated Ka-Tessa.

"I read in a book once that what really happened was the prince was killed by a witch he was in love with." started Gosalyn. "She had all these cool magical powers and when the prince came alone to confess his love to her, Bam! One lighting charred prince!" yelled Gosalyn.

"That is quite enough Gosalyn." stated Ka-Tessa that she wanted Gosalyn to stop.

"But it doesn't end there. Then the prince's friends wanted revenge on the witch so that night . . ." Gosalyn stood on her desk as she was about to get overly dramatic. "The prince's friends had a battle with the witch. And finally the prince's friends knocked the witch off the side of the half built Aubounon Bay bridge down to a watery grave below!" As Gosalyn said the part about the witch being knock of the bridge she dramatically fell off her desk onto her back on the floor unharmed. After telling the story she looked up at the angered face of Ms. Feathington.

"Gosalyn Mallard, You have detention after school today!" spoke Ka-Tessa.

"But Ms. Feathington, I was only demonstrating the story of . . ." Gosalyn spoke to try to talk Ka-Tessa out of the detention as she then was interrupted.

"You can't talk your way out of this one. Go to the office now and call your father and tell him your going to need to be pick up a half and hour late from school today." stated Ka-Tessa.

"Yes Ms. Feathington" Gosalyn grumbled as she left the classroom to the office.

"We need you to steal a green jeweled pendant from this woman." spoke the shadowy F.O.W.L. figure as he handed Steal Beak a photograph.

"May I ask as to why I 'ave ta steal this one jeweled pendant?" questioned Steel Beak.

"Well, This pendant is said to have magical powers that will protect you from whatever killed the F.O.W.L. agents last night when they tried to take the Thunder Staff from the museum shipping dock." replied the shadowy figure.

"Wait a cotton picking minute" gulped Steel Beak. "Your going to send me out to steal the Thunder Staff, after that massacre that happened?"

"That wasn't the first time. Twice before that same mysterious lighting creature has attack both F.O.W.L. and SHUSH when trying to get the Thunder Staff." explained the shadowy F.O.W.L. figure.

"Oh Great, that makes me feel so much better" retorted Steel Beak.

"We promise after you get this pendant from this girl, the same massacre won't happen to you when you go after the staff." stated the shadowy figure.

"Ka-Tessa, your staying after school late today." stated the principal as he bumped into Ka-Tessa at the school library. "May I as what you are reading?"

"I'm looking for a short story about how the city was named after prince Canard." replied Ka-Tessa.

"Why?" asked the principal.

"Because a child in my class told the fictional version of the story. I wanted to see where she got that story from." said Ka-Tessa.

"She probably heard it from that museum they went to a field trip too a month ago." answered the principal.

"What museum?" questioned Ka-Tessa with great urgency as she strummed the green pendant she wore with her fingers.

"Um, I think it was the St. Canard museum of History." replied the principal.

"Thank you!" cried Ka-Tessa as she grabbed her coat and ran out of the library. As Ka-Tessa came running down the steps in front of the school she saw Gosalyn sitting on the steps all alone, looking quite bored.

"Your father should of been here fifteen minutes ago to pick you up." stated Ka-Tessa as she came by Gosalyn. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, ah, I think he's just running late . . at work." replied Gosalyn.

"Well, If he's not coming soon to pick you up, I guess I could drive you home." Offered Ka-Tessa."Do you have a key to the house in case it's locked?"

"I don't want to trouble you Ms. Feathington, I'm sure he'll show up soon." replied Gosalyn, who was iffy on the fact of being driven home by a teacher she didn't really like at the time.

"It's no trouble at all, It's on the way to the museum I'm going to anyways." explained Ka-Tessa.

At the scene of last nights crime

"So you see why it was imperative for you to capture who is trying to take the Thunder Staff?" asked J. Gander Hooter to Darkwing. Dark looked at the ashes that remained of some SHUSH agents.

"What was exactly seen here that caused this damage?" questioned Darkwing as he pulled out this Magnifying glass to look at the scene of the crime.

"Well, there was no survivors to get a eyewitness account." replied J. Gander.

"Not meaning to interrupt, but I could be the closest thing to a eyewitness account." interrupted a strange duck in a long green leather trench coat.

"And who are you?" asked Darkwing Duck

"This is Agent Flight. He's a paranormal expert." explained J. Gander Hooter.

"Please to meet you Darkwing." spoke Flight. Darkwing didn't seem to happy about Flight, hoping he wouldn't have him assigned to be a partner with him on this case.

"So, what do you see that happened here?" asked Darkwing.

"Well, where do I start. First of all the magic signature . . ." started Flight.

"The magic signature?" repeated Darkwing skeptically.

"Could you please remind Darkwing who is the paranormal expert!" said Flight to J.Gander Hooter.

"Just hear him out Darkwing." replied J. Gander. Darkwing grumbled in response but was willing to listen.

"The magic signature matches with a witch back in medieval times." explained Flight.

"So your saying it's a ghost that tried to steal the Thunder Staff and caused all this damage?" questioned Darkwing.

"Nope, ghosts can't do TRUE magic. This is done by the reincarnate of that witch. Her magic is very unstable. She didn't mean for this massacre to happen, her powers are too strong for her to control. But her mind my also be unstable. She'll be very dangerous to be around."

"So what are you going to tell my Dad about me?" asked Gosalyn to finally break the silence in the car.

"Oh, you mean that parent teacher meeting. Well you had a lot of missing assignments last unit in History class." replied Ka-Tessa.

"That whole personal history unit." grumbled Gosalyn.

"Gesh, that's not the attitude to have about family history." Ka-Tessa paused to stop the car for a red light. "All the other kids enjoyed researching and making the family trees, and you didn't turn that in. That was a easy A on your report card."

"Well, I don't really know much about my family history." retorted Gosalyn at a soft whisper.

"You should asked your Father then." suggested Ka-Tessa.

"I'm adopted." replied Gosalyn.

"Oh." studdered Ka-Tessa.

"The light is green." added Gosalyn.

"Oh, So it is." Ka-Tessa let go of the braking the car and then stepped lightly on the gas.

"I was adopted too." stated Ka-Tessa.

"Really?" questioned Gosalyn surprisingly.

"Yeah, my parents abandoned me when I was little." replied Ka-Tessa.

"My parents died when I was little and then my Grandpa took care of me, And when he was gone my dad adopted me." told Gosalyn.

"Gosalyn, I . . ." started Ka-Tessa but then the car suddenly stopped by itself with a odd clunk noise. "That's odd. I'll check the engine." Ka-Tessa turned off the car and put it in park. "Turn the car on when I tell you, O.K.?" She said as she got out of the car.

"Keen Gear! Dad would never let me do this." replied Gosalyn as she scooted over to the drivers side of the car. "Do I get extra credit?" Ka-Tessa gave her a 'you wish' look. "I was just asking" replied Gosalyn to the look from her teacher. Ka-Tessa opened the top to engine and looked in.

"Nothing seems wrong with it." said Ka-Tessa out loud. She touched some parts in the engine, which got black grease on her hands

"Do you know a lot about cars?" asked Gosalyn.

"Enough to get by." replied Ka-Tessa as she saw a odd shadow under the car. She bent down and saw a duck with a white egg shaped helmet on.

"Hi" the eggman under her car waved.

"Ms. F! Behind you!" cried Gosalyn. But it was too late, Steel Beak snatched the green pendant off Ka-Tessa's neck. Ka-Tessa stood up and turned around at a unnaturally fast speed. For some reason Steel Beak didn't notice this. He was too busy looking at the pendant.

"This little thing is the magical item that' ll protect me from thee lighting monster? I swear the F.O.W.L. leaders are not playing with a full deck." stated Steel Beak. There were three other eggmen by him. Ka-Tessa tried to snatch the pendant back but Steel Beak moved it away in time, and in the other hand had a gun pointed to her. "Not so fast toots, we can make this the hard way, or the harder way."

"You don't know what you've done." She said. A yellow glowing misty started from Ka-Tessa's feet and up to her head in a matter of seconds. A look of fear and sadness, and then a twisted look of anger on her face. All Gosalyn could only see her teacher's back and not the evil look on the normally kind face. Gosalyn tried to open the car door to get out and try to help. But the doors mysteriously locked from the inside! Ka-Tessa took one step towards Steel Beak, and even though he was holding the gun to her, he stepped back in half fear, half confusion. Then a circle ray of lighting spread from Ka-Tessa all the way to the end of the block, turning the eggmen, a old woman walking his dog, and a child riding his bike, into ash. She didn't mean to hit the innocent bystanders. It was more painful for Ka-Tessa that she had hit them, than it was for the one's that actually got hit. But she couldn't control it. Steel Beak stood there, clutching the pendant he had stolen from Ka-Tessa, and looked at the ashes left of his lackys. Ka-Tessa's eyes closed and she fell to her knees like a crumpled rag as the yellow mist faded from her body. Steel Beak took this as a cue to get away. He jumped into a egg shaped F.O.W.L. car and high tailed out of there, realizing that the woman he had just stole the pendant from was the 'lighting monster.'

Ka-Tessa opened her eyes from what seemed like a eternity. Her eyes than shot open wide in worry. "Gosalyn!" she yelled towards her car as she got up. "Are you O.K.?" Ka-Tessa opened the driver's side car door to find Gosalyn not there.

"Hey! This isn't fair!" yelled the royal sorceress through the dungeon bars. "It isn't our fault your son was killed!"

"You and Sir Mallard" started the King, pointing at the sorceress standing at the bars. Then at the head knight that sat on the cell bench drinking a cup of water. "were supposed to be looking after my son. You failed at that task." said the king as he walked up the stairs that out of the dungeon, with two guards following him. The Royal Sorceress quickly grabbed the cup from the head knight and knocked it against the bars.

"Injustice! Injustice!" she screamed as the King left the dungeon.

"Hey! I was drinking that!" cried Sir Mallard as he snatched the mug back from the Royal Sorceress.

"Finally! at least one word out of you since we got arrested." replied the Royal Sorceress.

"Has it not sunk in what has just happened?" asked Sir Mallard. "We have to get out of here, Crystal, and find Jeslyn."

"Your daughter! I almost forgot about her! What will she do now that your arrested!" cried Crystal.

" I don't know! That's what I'm worried about!" replied Sir Mallard.

"After we find her, what are we going to do?" asked Crystal.

"We're going back to the half built bridge and get revenge on the witch for killing our Prince." replied Sir Mallard.

"But first we have to get out of here, and how do we do that?" asked Crystal.

"Well, your the royal sorceress." replied Sir Mallard.

"What! Are you expecting me to cast some spell to get us out of here?" questioned Crystal.

"Yes" answered Sir Mallard. Crystal closed her eyes and concentrated.

"There's no need for me to cast a spell." She said as she opened her eyes. "There is already a secret passage . . ." Crystal looked around the room with her sixth sense. "There!" She pointed to two large stones in the back wall.

"Where does the passage go?" asked Sir Mallard.

"All the way to the bridge." replied Crystal.

Darkwing, now as Drake Mallard, spinned in the recliner into the house from the bridge. As he stood up from the chair he checked his watch.

"Oh, It's already six, And Gosalyn is still at the school!" Drake then put on his jacket and went out to the school to pick up Gosalyn, not knowing his daughter wasn't there.

"Gosalyn!!!!" yelled Ka-Tessa. She then realized that there was no ash in the front seat where Gosalyn had been.

"Keen Gear!" cried Gosalyn as she jumped out of hiding from the back seat of the car. "That was so cool! You have magical powers! I know someone that has powers too! you should meet her." Ka-Tessa sighed in relief that Gosalyn was O.K. And by Gosalyn's reaction, Ka-Tessa could tell the little redhead hadn't notice that she had hit innocent people with her powers.

"Comon, let me take you home now." said Ka-Tessa as she sat herself down in the driver's seat. Gosalyn climbed into the passenger side.

"Where did you learn magic???" asked Gosalyn. "Does you going to the museum have anything to do with this? Can I come with you?

"Gos, what you just saw didn't happen, understand? And your not coming to the museum with me" stated Ka-Tessa as she started up the car.

"Well, I'm not good at keeping secrets." replied Gosalyn with a devilish grin.

"You wouldn't. . ." said Ka-Tessa. She then quickly thought of a bluff. "Anyways, I can read you mind with my magic, so I know a few juicy secrets about you."

"What! what do you know!?!?!?" exclaimed Gosalyn as she believed Ka-Tessa's lie.

"Well, about your Father . . . ." faded Ka-Tessa, knowing almost every guy had a secret, but she expected something like Tax evasion, not what she was going to learn later.

"O.K. fine, take me home." grumbled Gosalyn as she crossed her arms and sat back in anger. Ka-Tessa drove a little ways and stopped.

"Having magical powers isn't all fun and games, especially when you can't control them. I was worried I had turned you to ash too." started Ka-Tessa. "And now that my pendant was taken, It's even more dangerous to be around me. I'm just going to take you home and you pretend this never happened."

"Well, you didn't turn me to ash." stated Gosalyn. "And want to come with you to the museum, I've been there on a field trip so I know where everything is. I could help you."

"Wait, repeat what you said." commanded Ka-Tessa.

"I could help you?" replied Gosalyn confused.

"No, before that, You didn't get turned to ash, and you should have. . . ." faded Ka-Tessa. "O.K, I'll drop you off at home, ask you dad if you can come with me to the museum."

"Yes!" exclaimed Gosalyn, happy that she was about to be a part of an adventure.

Coming Soon: 
Part 3: Meeting a Saint