Eastern Palace, Hyrule, VideoLand.

"No, we won't!" said Darkwing.  "We shall not take the first dungeon path and search all paths, beginning with the one we're in, to find Ganon; that'll take too long!"  Darkwing and the Thunder Kittens were just inside the Eastern Palace on Hyrule for shelter from the rain.  Darkwing and Wilykat were arguing over how to find Agahnim, Ganon, the Fearsome Four, and Ludwig.  Wilykit was listening. . . and not because she wanted to.

            "Well, do you have any other suggestions, you fat idiot?" demanded Wilykat.

            "Now, you have some respect, young man!  Uh, Wilykit, do I really look fat?"

            "No, give or take a few decimetres," said Wilykit.

            "We're going to take my way if there are no other suggestions," said Wilykat.

            "Why don't we just go into the Golden Land, go to Ganon's Death Mountain Tower, and look there?" said Darkwing.

            "Because we'd be fried before we got a kilometre if we didn't take my path first!" said Wilykat.  "If we took my path first, we'd be well equipped to defeat all Ganon's monsters on the way!"

            "Well, that is the most absurd thing I have ever heard in my life!" said Darkwing.  "My Gas Gun has an endless supply of gadgets that will cinch our way through those monsters!"

            "Your Gas Gun doesn't have the abilities of the items we'd get along the path!"

            "I'll tell you what, boys," said Wilykit, sick of this.

            "Yes?" said Wilykat and Darkwing simultaneously, most eager to reach an agreement.

            "Why don't we go to Hyrule Castle first?" suggested Wilykit.

            "Okay, I give up," said Darkwing, failing to see the point.  "Why?"

            Wilykat looked up to the Lord and asked, "Why are we cursed with such an idiot, God?  How have we offended you?"

            "There," said Wilykit, "Link may have the necessary items for getting up to Ganon's Dark World Tower.  That way, we can take Darkwing's short path and remain in our natural number of pieces."

            "Good idea, Wilykit!" said Wilykat.

            "Oh, all right," said Darkwing.  "Let's go."  Wilykit shook her head.  "Well, why not?"

            "Not right now, because the rain's pouring harder," said Wilykit.  "We're waiting until it reaches a lower concentration level."

            "Why should we?"

            Wilykit was sick of this fool.  "Because, Darkwing Duck, Steelheart told Wilykat and me to do this.  I am older than he, and thus am his leader.  She just sent you to drag my little brother along.  I'm the leader here, and I say we're not going anywhere until this blasted rain lightens up!  No more arguments!!"

            "All right."

            * * *

            Ganon's Tower, Dark World, Hyrule.

            Much later, in Ganon's Dark World Tower, the seven villains were conferring.  "Well, my dear Ganon," said Ludwig, "are you eager to perform your dreadful task tomorrow?"

            "Yes, I am," said Ganon.  "I cannot wait to finally get evil hands back on all three Triforces!  They rightfully belong in evil hands, anyway; the Triforce presumed me dead when the ancestor of present-day Link, Link, destroyed me.  However, I came back.  AND THAT BLASTED TRIFORCE STILL THINKS THAT THE FAMILY OF THAT SO-CALLED 'LEGENDARY HERO,' THE LAST DESCENDANTS OF WHOM ARE PRESENT-DAY ZELDA AND LINK, IS ITS RIGHTFUL CONTROLLER!!!  Well, when I finally get it in my claws, I'll show it a thing or two!!  I already want to write something for that present-day Link:  a nasty obituary!  Ha, ha, ha!  My wish will come true some day!  Then, they'll all be sorry that they messed with us!!"

            "At least the race rules," said Mega Volt, "are set up so that that annoying Link will be unable to stop you from getting the Triforce."

            "Yes, a fortunate turn of events," said Ganon.  "If some fool comes along in trying to stop me, I'll destroy him or her!  Hee, hee, hee!"

            Outside the Tower were Darkwing and the Thunder Kittens.  "You two stay here," said Darkwing.  "I'm going in."

            "I don't want to miss the action!" said Wilykat.  Darkwing put his hand on Wilykat's shoulder.

            "Look, Kitten, I didn't specifically ask to baby-sit you two, and you, yourself, have gotten me rather annoyed.  So follow my instructions, okay?  Now, be my eyes out here.  There may come some villains who have a particularly good taste for duck stew and kitten fricassee.  If that's so, annihilate them.  Got it?"

            Wilykat mumbled, "Okay."  Darkwing entered.  "Not like you were the one Steelheart. . ."

            "DARKWING, COME BACK HERE!!" shouted Wilykit.

            "Wilykit!"

            Darkwing's head emerged from the door.  "What is it?" asked Darkwing.

            "Wilykat had his fingers crossed behind his back when he mumbled, 'Okay.' " said Wilykit.

            "My young friend," said Darkwing, directing what he was saying to Wilykat, "you had better stay out here, or I'm going to call Tygra, and he and I are going to have a very anger-toned chat about you.  So, stay put!  Oh, one more thing:  do come in if I am not back in about five minutes and have not called you.  If it appears to you that I have been caught, go back to the Castle of Hyrule and inform Link and Zelda; then, call the Silver Hawks and Thunder Cats.  Got it?"

            "Uh," said Wilykat, sorting out the orders, "I guess so."

            "Good lad!" said Darkwing, who then re-entered.

            On the verge of crying, Wilykat nearly shouted, "Thanks a lot, Wilykit!  Some sister you are!  I got my head bitten of by Darkwing again!"

            Wilykit said, "Wilykat, if you were in my shoes, what would you have done?  You know that of which crossing the fingers behind the back is indicative, don't you?"

            "I do," said Wilykat, "but I would not be so sore at you right now if I were tampering with that column over there."

            "If you were tampering with the column, I would have done more than call that stupid quack," said Wilykit.  "Thunder Cats are not supposed to lie, you know."

            "Well, let's just do as he says unless we get a message otherwise.  That means we. . ."

            "I know what he told us!  Do you think I'm deaf or something?"

            "Hey!  Don't you start biting my head off, too!"

            "I'm sorry, brother.  You just tend to annoy me at times.  Are you all right?"

            "Yeah.  I just hate being yelled at."

            "I didn't mean it.  I never mean it.  Do you forgive me?"

            "Yes, of course."

            In the Tower, Darkwing was cautiously moving about the inner hall, keeping his eyes moving so as to spot danger at any possible place.  "The daring Darkwing Duck," said Darkwing in his 'narration-style,' "moves through the evil dungeon with his keen eyes alert to any evil creatures.  His eyes moving every second, he is determined to spot a danger at first notice."  He heard something from the rightmost stairway.  "Hmm.  Voices; one is indicative of my old enemy, the Liquidator; another betrays the presence of my other old enemy, Mega Volt!"  Aside to an imaginary audience, he said, "I'd have called him Sparkie, but, if I had, he'd have come up here and barbecued me.  Heh, heh!"  Back to 'narration,' Darkwing said (and did what he said), "Darkwing Duck descends cautiously the stairway from which the sounds come, quietly so as to keep the villainous scum below from noticing him.  When he emerges at the lower level, he looks around for more evil creatures, but he finds none.  He recognises the room's layout from watching one of his friends, Captain N, play the game that has an identical place.  He looks for a hidden lever."  Darkwing looked all around the room.  He noticed two pots.  He went to the southwestern-most one and lifted it.  "Darkwing Duck finds the lever hidden below a pot highly decorated with tacky Hylian designs.  He uses a heavy gas from his Gas Gun to hold the lever so as to keep the door from closing.  He goes to peek through the door.  He has found a room that was once filled with spinning tiles, but the tiles have already been deployed.  He still makes his way across the room cautiously, alert to any danger.  He also seems to be moving away from the voices.  Still, he continues his exploration.  He soon comes upon a room with four torches, a closed shutter-door, and several moving floors that have ceased to move.  He sets his Gas Gun for fire and, in lighting the four torches, opens the shutter-door.  He moves quickly through the shutter-door before any of the torches burns out.  He finds himself in a chamber with a crystal fence blocking his way.  He looks over a thin barrier and sees a crystal switch at the end of a conveyor belt.  He uses the Cane of Somaria, given to him by Link, to make an orange block to toss on the conveyor belt, and he uses the same cane again to turn the block into energy and blast the switch so that the crystal fence goes down.  His way to a door is barred by another crystal fence.  He does the same two things with the cane, only he makes sure that he's between both fences before the energy blasts the switch again.  He makes his way to the door and enters.  He finds a transport-tile, on which he steps.  He finds himself in a chamber with an 'island' in the middle of a room with an invisible floor that leads directly to the door out.  He goes straight to the door without any incident and finds himself in a more dangerous room.  This room has an invisible floor.  He goes to where the floor begins and makes his way to the rightmost door on the north wall.  He enters that door when he finally gets to it.  He places a bomb on one of the cracked portions of the floor of the next room, bombing his way to a lower room.  He drops into the lower room onto an icy floor.  He goes to the northern door and locates some items.  He goes in and gets them, then returns to the ice room.  He then goes to the western door, looking through it.  He sees no one, so he enters the next room.  No one is there.  He takes the stairs up to the higher level. . . and he finds whom he is looking for!"  Indeed, Darkwing had found them for whom he was looking!  Ganon, Agahnim, Ludwig, and the Fearsome Four were unable to see or hear Darkwing, but Darkwing was in a position where he could see and hear them.

            "Well, Ganon," said Liquidator, "it's been a pleasure meeting you.  And Agahnim, too!  Just be careful when you go to nab it!"

            "We shall, Liquidator," said Ganon.  "We'll be seeing you later, then."

            "See you guys later!" said Ludwig.  Ludwig and the Fearsome Four left.

            "Rats!" said Darkwing to himself.  "I missed their entire conversation.  Wait!  I can leave one of Steelheart's bugs here!"  Darkwing left one of Steelheart's devices that literally listened in on others on the wall.  He then got out his radio.  "This is Darkwing Duck to the Thunder Kittens.  Ludwig and the Fearsome Four are exiting.  Keep out of their way.  No objections this time!"

            On the other end of the radio, Wilykat said, "Okay, ducky.  We'll be waiting for you."

            "Good," said Darkwing.  "This is Darkwing Duck; over and out."

            "Well," said Ganon, "I guess it's time to return to the top of the tower so that we can keep our watch on Hyrule, eh?"

            "Yes," said Agahnim.  "Let's go, Ganon."  The two went to go to the top of the tower.  Darkwing waited for a few minutes before following them.  He followed them at a safe distance up the tower and put a bug on the wall of their main room.

            "Now, we'll be able to hear you all the time, Ganon!" said Darkwing.  "Now to get out of here!"  Darkwing took his time descending, as the floors of a few chambers would love to give way.  He then exited through the door into the rain.  "The shower's not over yet.  This must be the Liquidator's storm."

            "Did someone call my name?" said a voice that could be only the Liquidator's.

            "Oh, no!" said Darkwing.  "Not that self-centred lump of water!"  One of the raindrops turned into the Liquidator himself.

            "I am not self-centred, Darkwing Dope!" said Liquidator.

            "Why could you not just have stayed at Metroid?" asked Darkwing.

            "Because I felt you spying on us in there, duck.  Oh!  And guess whom I found when my pals and I almost exited the palace?"

            "Almost?  You mean. . ."  Darkwing looked back in.  ". . .yaaah!"  Mega Volt, Bushroot, and Quacker Jack jumped him from the inside.  When a fight smoke cleared, Darkwing was wrapped up in one of Bushroot's vines.

            "And about your two young pals," said Ludwig, coming out.  "Ask Mega Volt about them."

            "Oh, they're right here," said Mega Volt with his hands behind his back.  He brought his right arm and hand into view.  'Attached' to the index finger of his right hand was a bolt of electricity whose end was wrapped around the Thunder Kittens like a rope.  "Ha, ha, ha!  It looks like they stuck their finger in the light socket. . . but they didn't!  Hee, hee, hee!"

            "Oh, very funny, you demented electron-tosser!" snapped Wilykat.

            "That's for being here, Kittens," said Liquidator.  "Ganon did not give you permission to be here."

            Bushroot said, "And I'm not a stupid enough weed to tell you that he is going to steal the Triforce for us!"

            "You idiot!" screamed Mega Volt, dropping the Thunder Kittens and running to Bushroot.  "You'd better be glad you didn't tell him when Ganon was going to do such an act!"

            Bushroot said, "Oh, that!  Yeah, Ganon's going to take the Triforce during the. . ."

            "Shut up, daisy-face!!" shouted Mega Volt, shocking the vegetable.  "If you tell him when Ganon's going to take the Triforce, I'm going to barbecue your damned hide off!!!"

            "Tsk, tsk, Sparkie!" said Darkwing.  "You shouldn't use profanity. . . especially not around kids."

            "Wingie!" snapped Wilykit.

            "AND YOU, DUCKY, SHOULD NEVER CALL ME 'SPARKIE'!!!"  Mega Volt almost fried Darkwing, but Liquidator motioned him to stop.  "Why did you do that, Liquidator?" asked Mega Volt.

            "AND DON'T CALL ME 'SPARKIE'!!!!!" exclaimed Mega Volt.

            "What was that about?" asked Steelheart.

            "Oh, sorry!" said Liquidator.  "Mega Volt yelled at me because I called him 'Sparkie'; Quacker Jack yelled at me because I called him 'Chuckles'; and Bushroot yelled at me because I called him 'Melon-head.'  I'd have yelled at them if they had called me 'Waterhead.'  Please, Steelheart, don't make that mistake.  Nine hundred ninety-nine out of a thousand dentists would recommend that you not do so.  Now, how about your three pals?  When do they need to be back?"

            "ASAP," said Steelheart.  "As soon as possible.  What is their current condition?"

            "Oh, they're okay," said Liquidator.  "Darkwing called Mega Volt 'Sparkie,' so Mega Volt almost cleaned his clock, but they're all in mint condition.  Hmm, hmm!"

            "Very funny, Liquidator," said Steelheart.  "Just send them home, please.  If the Thunder Kittens are harmed in the slightest, you'll regret it."

            "Okay," said Liquidator.  "See you later, Steelheart."

            "I'll see you later, Liquie," said Steelheart.  Liquidator then hung up.

            "Oh, you don't mean that we have to send them back before I fry Darkwing for calling me 'Sparkie,' do you?" asked Mega Volt dejectedly.  "-Moan!-  I was favouring the prospect!"

            Bushroot untied Darkwing as Darkwing said, "A tough break for you, my dear pal."  When Bushroot finished untying Darkwing, Ludwig created a warp to Hawkhaven.  "Well, until the next time we meet."  The Thunder Kittens stepped through the warp.  Before Darkwing left, he said, "Farewell, Waterhead, Melon-head, Chuckles, Sparkie, and von Stoopa!"  Darkwing quickly stepped through the warp before Liquidator, Bushroot, Quacker Jack, Mega Volt, and Ludwig could fricassee him.

            "Talk about detestable nicknames!" said Ludwig.  "Add 'von Stoopa' to your list for me, please, Liquidator."  Liquidator did so.

            "Now, boss," said Mega Volt, "shall we mosey on back to Metroid now?"

            "Yes, I think so," said Ludwig.  "Let's go.  We need to fix the cloaking device."  Ludwig warped them all to Metroid.