One-Shot: Hey, Speaking of...: (Darkwing Duck/Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

[patriciatepes]

Title: Hey, Speaking of...
Word Count: ~1500
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or Darkwing. Buffy and related characters belong to Whedon. Darkwing and related characters belong to Disney.
Summary: Companion to The Building Blocks of Good and Evil. Buffy and Darkwing meet in The Black Room to discuss a few looming problems.
A/N: So I have a chaptered sequel planned for The Building Blocks of Good and Evil, but when I decided to take up the Fic-A-Day challenge this was written for, plus some other things, the start of it got pushed back. So, this one is for the people still waiting for its start. This is set after Buffy Season 7, disregarding the comics (save for just a few ideas plucked here and there). This also disregards the Darkwing Duck comics, also save for a few ideas here and there. This ficlet is set sometime in between the end of Building Blocks and the beginning of its yet-to-be-written sequel, Devil You Don't Know.

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Hey, Speak Of...

Buffy finished chanting, opening her eyes to find the room made, once again, of that inky blackness that covered the walls and furniture—leaving nothing but outlines behind. It had taken Willow a couple of tries to teach the slayer the spell that would summon the Black Room and connect her to various different dimensions—if one did not specify. But Buffy had caught on, and now she stood, alone, on her side of the Black Room.

She approached the "glass" wall that served as a representative of the barrier between dimensions and smiled at the person on the other side.

"Long time, no see, Darkwing," Buffy said.

On the other side of the wall, an anthropomorphic—Andrew had taught her this word—duck, dressed in a purple suit, with matching cape and wide fedora hat, crossed his feathered arms and grinned a little reluctantly.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Buffy. I wish I could say that everything was going well," he said.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at the hero, crossing her own arms now. "What's wrong? It's not Negaduck again, is it?"

Darkwing huffed out a tiny laugh.

"Well, he's escaped, if that's what you mean. But if you're asking if he's brought any more of your world's negatives over… no. It's not that. It's Gosalyn."

Buffy's lips were pulled into a deep frown, recalling the bright-eyed, red-headed little duckling that was Darkwing's daughter. When Buffy had come to St. Canard, all had been well—business as usual suited that description better—but when she had left… Darkwing had learned of the existence of his world's slayers, leading to the current one, an eighteen year old girl named Mindy, to be killed. The power of the slayer had passed on to Gosalyn. Buffy had assured Darkwing that this was manageable, but judging by the look on the Masked Mallard's face, things were not going as she had promised.

"What's going on? Have the watchers come for her?"

Buffy had pressed her hands hard onto the wall, finding that it felt no different than glass as well. She wished she could hop through, visit her friends in the other dimension… but travelling there was easier said than done. Darkwing shook his head.

"Not yet. Morgana did a spell to confuse them and hold them off. No, the problem is the scythe you mentioned. We've done some research, and it pointed almost immediately to St. Canard's biggest vineyard. It wasn't there."

Buffy pursed her lips. "How certain are you on the research?"

"Well, Launchpad mentioned…"

Buffy was laughing, trying her best to cover it. But after a moment, Darkwing scratched the back of his head, joining in.

"Yeah… But Morgana did look it over. She said that it was our best bet."

"Well, have you tried all the vineyards? I mean, surely a big city like St. Canard doesn't just have one."

Darkwing shrugged, turning and putting his back to the wall, sliding down it.

"It's more than just the missing scythe, Buffy. I think Morgana's keeping something from me, about the spell that's keeping those watchers away. And it's Gosalyn too. I caught her sneaking out last night, trying to go off and fight some vampires or something. She's too young! It's not fair."

Buffy sat down, putting a comforting hand against the wall. She smiled sadly, nodding.

"You're right. It's not fair. But Gosalyn's strong, and her heart's in the right place. She idolizes you, and what you do, you know. She's lucky to have you for a dad."

Darkwing peeked over his shoulder.

"I don't want to lose her. To the watchers, to some monster, to anything or anyone. I wish they could take it away."

Buffy smiled. "You know Gos wouldn't go for that."

Darkwing laughed. "Yeah, that's a problem too."

"Well, you're still her father. That's a good thing."

"Did you still go to your parents when this started for you?"

Buffy's eyes darted away, and Darkwing sighed dramatically.

"That's what I mean!" the hero said, jumping back to his feet and pointing.

Buffy got back to her feet as well, looking down at the significantly shorter Darkwing Duck.

"I didn't tell my mother because I knew she wouldn't believe me. But Gosalyn knows that you know. She'll come to you if she feels she needs to; you just have to make sure she knows that she can. Also… and it's gonna kill you to hear this, but you should train her."

"What? I'm trying to keep her out of this mess!"

"I told you that trouble finds a slayer. And I told you to train her. Darkwing, the longer she goes with this sneaking out without having the proper skills, the more danger she's in. If you teach her to fight, to harness her strength, she'll be better equipped to deal with all of this. It doesn't mean that she had to go out on patrol every night. But if she runs into trouble, or if trouble runs into her, she'll be prepared."

Darkwing sighed nodding. Buffy threw a cautious glance over her shoulder toward the blacked-out cauldron. She turned back.

"Willow said that it's hard for a novice like me to maintain this spell. She said that if it wasn't for me being a slayer, then I wouldn't be able to do it yet at all. The place I found the scythe in was hidden. Try having Morgana search for it using the essence of the slayer."

"Not a bad idea. I wish I could say that we'd speak again soon."

Buffy shrugged. "Who knows? But if you need me, for anything…"

"I know how to call. Or rather, Morg does. Thanks, Buffy."

The black faded away before Buffy could respond, the door of Willow's bedroom in the Cleveland House opening as she turned. Dawn started, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry! Did I cut you off?" her sister asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No. I was ending it anyhow. Darkwing's worried about Gosalyn. And so am I."

Dawn entered the room, taking a seat on Willow's jewel-tone colored bed. She shrugged, watching as her older sibling began to clean up the cauldron.

"They'll be fine. Have they found the scythe?"

Buffy shook her head. Dawn slid off the bed, hugging her sister tightly.

"None of it is your fault. I mean, think of what could have happened if Mindy had died and you had never been there."

"She would still be alive if it wasn't for me."

"For NegaYou. And she might've died anyway. You said it yourself. Slayers come with an expiration date on the package."

Buffy nodded. "I guess you're right. I just hate that there's nothing else I can do but talk to them. I can't even visit."

"Well, Willow has been looking into interdimensional travelling. She might find a fix to this problem."

"I hope so. I'd hate to think that Darkwing might need my help, and I couldn't show up to give it to him. You know, he mentioned that Negaduck has escaped."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "He can handle him."

"I know. Something just… just doesn't sit right with that for some reason."

Dawn threw an arm about her sister's shoulders. "Well, for now we've got our own issues to deal with. Spike found a nest of demons just a couple blocks from here. He thinks they're kidnapping kids and kittens."

"Evil!" Buffy shuddered, shaking her head.

The two sisters exited the room, both giving a last glance backward at the cauldron. They couldn't do anything about the problems in their friends' world. Not now.

Not yet, rather, if Buffy had her say on the subject.