literature

The Scarlet, 1

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The newspapers were incredibly depressing as of late. Every headline, every article, and every printed word seemed to only be about sad matters. Even just a glance at today's papers was enough to sink one's heart.

'Search For Missing Geniuses Officially Called Off!'
'Tax Hikes Expected To Rise By End Of Spring!'
'Second Riot In Downtown : Unrest In Poverty!'


Yet on this chilly February morning, the one selling the papers wasn't sad at all. The twenty-year old young man sitting on the edge of a marble fountain was all smiles as he exchanged papers for coins. He had read the news and understood the gravity of each situation but still continued to cheerily thank each customer he had. He was an unusual sight, a small mouse dressed in ratty and ragged brown clothes, smiling brightly as he sold news that could bring strong men to tears. The clothes weren't enough to keep him warm since he shivered every so often, but even that was not enough to dampen his spirits.

The reason for his attitude was approaching from the end of the street, inside a carriage painted gold and blue. The carriage had only a single chilly rider and a single chilly horse but the carriage's size and decorations were enough to tell anyone by a single passing glance that the person inside was of great social status. Even though this area of the city was inhabited by the poor and common folk, those living here were used to seeing this carriage at this place and at this time. The carriage stopped beside the fountain, and the well dressed rider climbed down from his place and onto the ground. He gently opened the carriage door, and the reason for the paper boy's happiness stepped out into the cold.

Though the woman that emerged was around his age and was also a mouse, to call them 'alike' would be cause for ridicule. As far as the seller of words was concerned, the girl was nothing like him and she was all the better for it. Her clothes weren't ragged and tattered but stitched together with the finest of cloth and without a speck of dirt on them. Her dress today was deep purple, and was highlighted by a flimsy purple ribbon tying up her growing locks of black hair. To prepare for today's weather, she was also wearing a white fluffy coat, a white fluffy scarf, and the whitest and fluffiest of all muffs for her hands. She was petite, and when their eyes met, she also began to smile with warmth and tenderness.

"Good morning, Mickey." Even her voice contained warmth and all at once Mickey wasn't freezing anymore. "I hope you saved one for me."  She walked towards the fountain, and sat by his side, not caring if her coat or dress was stained.

"Ha! Don't I always?" It was a familiar routine. He handed her a paper from on top of his stack, and she'd reach within her coat pocket to hand him far more coins than the paper cost. He tucked them away in his pants pocket as she carefully read the front page once her muff was off. "How ya been, Minnie?"

"Oh, just fine." She shrugged one dismissive shoulder. "It's really the same thing every day, there's nothing new going on…" She then paused as something was remembered. "Well, except one thing. You know Scrooge McDuck?"

"Find me a guy who doesn't!" He smirked a little at the question, leaning over her shoulder to read the words he'd already read more than a dozen times.

She allowed the closeness, eyes still down on the paper. "I got an invitation from him to attend a party he's holding tonight. He's officially announcing the heir to his business and his fortune… his nephew, Donald Duck. No one's heard anything about this Donald, so everyone who's anyone is attending to see who will take over that empire someday." She ended the announcement with a dull sigh. "And it's going to be dreadfully boring. I wish I didn't have to go these parties, they're full of nothing but snobs."

Mickey chuckled as he shook his head. "Aw, c'mon, it's gotta be a little fun! All of that food, and the… food…"

It was Minnie's turn to cast him a smirk. "You would find that the most exciting thing. But it's still going to be very boring." She looked back down towards the paper. "Honestly, I wish you could go. You'd find some way to make it fun." Due to her reading, she didn't notice the red hue on Mickey's cheeks, nor the lump in his throat. She didn't even seem to notice his sudden fidgeting and inability to speak as she began to discuss the headlines, which was another routine for them. "They've called off the search?"

Mickey managed to force his voice box to resume working to answer her. "H-Huh? … Oh, right!" He leaned back as he thought about it. "It has been some time since that explosion… those guys probably died in it anyway."

"Maybe…" Minnie's voice took a sad turn as she recalled those events. "But they never did find the bodies, and those men were so very kind. I met them once to donate some money to the school they were going to make." Though she knew exactly what the event and explosion was, she read the article anyway, seeing everything happen again in her mind. Exactly half a year ago, Professor Ludwig Von Drake and Professor Gyro Gearloose were planning to open a school for the super smart, but the building they were living in exploded due to a gas leak. No one had been hurt, but the professors were never found, and no one could find out who leaked the gas or set the fire to cause the explosion. The money that had been donated to build the school had also vanished which lead some to whisper conspiracy and murder, but nothing conclusive was ever found. "I'd like to think they're still alive somewhere."

Mickey tried not to smile since the discussion was of a grim topic, but he couldn't help himself. Her compassion for men she only met once was endearing. "Well… well, maybe they are." He looked away, his tone going uneasy for reasons Minnie couldn't pinpoint. "M-Maybe one day, they'll just… walk down the street! Maybe they're on vacation!" She couldn't tell if he was joking, because he sounded so nervous when he had no reason to be. "Maybe… maybe."

Since she found his reaction so odd, she moved onto the next article. She frowned deeply as her sadness turned anger. "More taxes, more riots… why are people surprised when it happens? The lower class can barely afford to pay now and they want to increase the taxes? Of course people will protest!"

Mickey calmed down and rested his hands at his sides. "Scrooge might've had a hand in it. How much do ya think his party cost?"

"I hate it!" Minnie yanked the paper open so forcefully that she almost tore it. "These people… just because they have money, they think they live in a different world! They don't even see the lower class as people! One of these days, I swear, I'm going right up to the Queen and kicking open her front door and - "

"And gettin' yer head cut off." Mickey cut in, trying to soften her well intentioned anger. "I know it ain't fair, Minnie, but what can we do? When the people start these big, dangerous riots, just makes them rich folk think we're nuts.  And those riots sometimes end up hurtin' the same people they're tryin' ta help…" He shrugged helplessly. "It's like neither side will listen."

"It's just awful." Minnie leaned her head onto Mickey's shoulder, looking for comfort, and again not noticing the flare it caused in the boy's cheeks. "I wish I could do more to help. I try to donate as much as I can, but then Mother and Father freeze my accounts… if only they knew what kind of wonderful people live here."

Mickey could not be reached for comment right away as such close personal contact with his best friend was making his mind halt. Lately it had been getting harder and harder to hide his feelings when she was so affectionate with him. It was even harder to form sentences when he could smell her hair and feel her face on his chest. "Won… wonder…" He took a gulp of good air to try and jolt his senses. "H-Haha… ha… w-well, if there were… more rich folk who thought like you do… maybe it wouldn't be so bad." It wasn't just his bubbling emotions that made him speak this. The young woman had been kind and generous since birth and was loved by everyone who knew her. Her thoughts about the common folk were strange for her title and she always tried to make others share these ideas. There was little doubt in anyone's mind that if it were possible, she'd donate every single coin she had to help those less fortunate.

It was just one of the many reasons Mickey was so devastatingly in love with her. It was agonizing that while he could speak easily with her if he treated her as a friend, the moment he tried to talk to her with love in his mind his body wouldn't cooperate and he would look foolish. This was one of those times. He intended to say that he thought she was wonderful too. What came out was "Y-Y-You… um… I… I think… thinking… thought… what ya s-s-said… only…" There were perhaps a million reasons for these sudden attacks of anxiety but she never picked up on them.

Minnie then lifted her head as something caught in her eye in the page she turned. "What's this?" After Mickey exhaled deeply from his rush of embarrassment, he leaned to see what she was looking at. An entire page was devoid of stories and articles and instead appeared to be written like a mailed letter. The writing was written in fancy cursive and centered right in the middle of the page.

Today, I make a declaration to all of France!

Too long have the poor and the rich been deaf to one another, and too long have crimes been committed in the name of their own brand of justice. It has been forgotten that beyond coins and mansions, we are all people, and we are all France! We all need one another! It is my intention to shatter the lines that divide us, and bring forth a France where equality is the norm!
From this day onward, those who seek to harm others for their own greed will meet the kiss of my blade. The revolution begins today!

The Scarlet.


Minnie blinked a few times to make sure she was reading this correctly. Before she could read it a fourth time, Mickey suddenly yanked the paper out of her hands. "Hey, what is this?" He looked it over up and down, looking just as confused as she was. "This wasn't in here when it was bein' printed! Is this some kinda joke?"

"Maybe it's an ad for a play." Minnie tried to reason, though even that didn't make much sense. "Or maybe it's a prank."

"Whoever it is, they aint funny." Mickey grumbled as he closed the paper. "I could lose my job over a slip like that! And what kinda stupid name is 'The Scarlet'?" He folded it up and returned it to Minnie's hands. "Some people just don't take the paper seriously."

"Well, I do." Minnie patted his hand in an effort to comfort him. "And I'm sure you won't lose your job over a silly little prank." Her hand rested on top of his, and she became quiet. They slowly looked at each other right in the eyes. The prank was forgotten as they gazed at each other. Anyone looking in on this scene could have assumed they were having an awkward staring contest.

He swallowed hard as he looked down at her, for he was slightly taller than her. Perhaps another opportunity to say that 'wonderful' line was his to take. "Um… what… what you said… before, with the… y'know…" She was being very patient with him, not interrupting and continuing to gaze up at him with those big beautiful eyes. He felt staring too long at such beauty would be as hazardous to his health as when one stares at the sun. He was certainly feeling that same heat radiating off of her. "With the, the, um… too, also…" Gosh, why did she have to be so pretty? And kind? And wonderful? And-

"Duchess Minerva!"

Mickey almost fell into the fountain waters when he heard the carriage rider formally address his crush. He flailed for a moment before catching his balance, and Minnie pouted with crossed arms at the interruption, glaring right at her rider who stood by the carriage. He was tapping a pocket watch in his hand, and clicking his tongue. "You're running late."

Minnie rolled her eyes but came off of the fountain and stood on the ground. "Oh, fine, I'm coming…" She looked Mickey over for a quick moment, and then began to unfurl the scarf around her neck. "Here, you must be freezing."

"Aw, Minnie!" He knew protesting would do no good but it wouldn't be right to just up and accept it. "I'm fine!" He did stay still as she carefully wrapped it around his neck. "And I'll get it all dirty… I promise, I'll give it back to ya tomorrow, first thing!"

"Keep it." Minnie said firmly when she was finished, stepping back and admiring her work. "It looks nice on you." She cast him a smile, and then put her muff back on as she heard him mumble a shy thank you. "I'll see you tomorrow! Make sure there's one waiting for me!"

"Don't I always?" He called after her as she entered her carriage and was rewarded with her melodious giggling before the door closed. He ignored the haughty look the rider gave him, and soon the carriage was riding off, leaving little trace it had ever been there in the first place. When it was long gone, Mickey fingered the scarf around his neck, still able to smell a faint trace of her. It would take him years of saving up to buy just the material it was made out of. She was a duchess, a woman of high rank and beauty, who could get everything she wanted with a bat of her eyelash and yet chose to help those beneath her at every chance. He was a boy with no parents, no real home to speak of, and only owned the clothes on his back.

The idea of him ever having her love was a real matter of ridicule. They were barely alike, though they had shared a childhood together. But if he spent all day mourning over the impossibilities of his romance, he'd never get any papers sold. So he drew himself up, gave the scarf a quick kiss for luck, and picked up his papers. "Papers, get yer papers here! Hot off the press!"

~*~

Donald Duck had very little interest in attending the party in his honor that night. It was in full swing while he was in his room, still trying to adjust to the idea of living there. It was a lot bigger than the one back home in the countryside, and all of the metal material made him uncomfortable. Even his fancy new clothes made him twist and turn, and he felt he had to keep smoothing them down. He would have been comfortable sitting on his new bed and looking at the photographs he had been allowed to bring, but his presence was demanded. His door was opened by a butler, a tall dog who, if Donald was remembering correctly, was named Ducksworth. "Mister McDuck would like to see you downstairs."

Donald sighed heavily, putting his photos aside and sliding off the bed. "I'm comin', I'm comin'…"

"You are coming." Ducksworth corrected by stressing heavily on the g. "Mister McDuck would prefer you try and speak like a man of his class."

Donald cast him a glare as he headed for the door. "Does what I want count for anythin'?" He paused. "Anything."

"Not tonight, sir." Ducksworth stepped aside to let Donald out, and then followed him down the hallway. "I understand that this is a very big change for you, but you should try and make the best of it. Mister McDuck's trust is a very hard thing to gain, and he is bestowing his entire fortune and business on you when he eventually passes on."

Donald snorted as the stairs came closer. "Don't gimmie – give me – any of that. We both know I'm only getting this because I'm his only male blood relative alive, who also isn't eight years old." Donald stopped at the top of the stairs, looking down at the party. Though Scrooge was rich, he was also annoyingly cheap. Instead of renting out a ballroom, the old man had used his own house to host the party. The living room was now full of elite people chowing down on expensive food, and Donald felt fright come over him. He was in a house full of strangers that he was supposed to impress. The temptation to turn tail and run was defeated when he remembered Ducksworth was right behind him. Stifling a groan, he continued walking downward and tried to find his uncle.

At the bottom of the stairs, Donald's gaze slowly went over every single person there, looking for any sign of his miser of a relative. He turned his head from left to right, but then abruptly stopped. Something had caught his eyes, and he went back to his left. By the fireplace, there was a young lady curtsying as she held up a plate of appetizers. She was a duck with loose hair falling into delicate ringlets around her shoulders. Her dress was clearly stitched together from old dresses, yet it still hugged her body perfectly tightly. Long eyelashes, dark eyes, a winning smile… she was the most beautiful woman Donald had ever seen in his short life.

His entire body became seized with desire as there was nothing he wanted more to do than to run to her side and take her delicate hands. Consumed with sudden and desperate love, he began making a beeline right for the maiden, when his shoulder was yanked roughly to a side. "Donald, there you are!" It was Scrooge McDuck, whose grip on Donald was tighter than iron. "Where have you been? You should have been downstairs when the party started!"

"Ah-huh, yeah, sure!" Donald tried to lean away as best he could make it, eyes locked on the girl who was now leaving the fireplace. "Um, Uncle, I need to - "

"You need to meet the Duchess and get in her good graces!" Scrooge snapped, dragging Donald away from his quest. "And many of my business partners are here too, you need to introduce yourselves to each and every single one of them."

"But – But – Awww, Uncle Scrooge!" Donald's cries fell on deaf ears as he helplessly watched the love of his life vanish in the crowd. This couldn't be the end of the affair! He'd find her again, he had to! Everything in his life was meant to lead up to this moment of finding such an angel!

The angel would have disagreed had she known his intentions. Her 'winning' smile was fake and her curtsies were forced. Since her plate was empty, she headed back into the kitchen, and when the door behind her was closed, she stomped her feet and hollered at the top of her lungs. "I HATE THESE PEOPLE! Oooh, the nerve!" She banged her plate against a stove in her anger. "I just want to strangle each and every single one of them!"

One of the skinnier chefs lifted his head from his work. "I don't think you'd get paid if you did that, Daisy."

"Oh, shut up, Linguini." Daisy hissed even though her anger wasn't directed towards him. "This guy actually asked if I touched the food… as if I was poisonous!" In defiance, she scurried to a close table and picked up each appetizer with her fingers. "I hope he chokes on it. I hope they all choke! They're wasting all this money just to announce some guy is taking over this old man's fortune, when the old man isn't even dead yet!"

Linguini hesitated to ask his next question, fully aware of the power of her temper. He kept his eyes down on the food in an effort to pitifully shield himself. "If you feel that way… why did you take the job?"

Daisy finished filling the plate, grinding her beak in her frustration. "…Because I need the money, and it's only for one night. I need every single coin I can get." There were also other reasons, but she couldn't share them with the chef. "I'll see you later." Without another word, she headed back into the crowds with the fake smile plastered on. She knew she had to keep her anger in check no matter how badly she was treated. The best thing to do was to keep quiet and endure. She weaved in and out of the crowd as the food was picked, but one word made her freeze in place. She stopped, and looked to a large red couch where several women were fanning themselves, and Daisy recognized one of them as Duchess Minerva. Everyone knew who she was, and she had said the word that made Daisy stop in her tracks  - revolution.

"The revolution begins today." Minnie had said, carefully holding a small glass of wine in one hand. "And then it just ended with 'The Scarlet'. Wasn't it the strangest thing?"

"I read that too!" One of the women replied, a duck with blonde hair pushed up. "Truly bizarre… And what a strange way to end it. I think someone's just trying to get a scare out of us."

Minnie took a thoughtful sip before continuing. "I don't know, Brigitta. It sounded weird, but I liked some of the stuff in there… like everyone being equal." She smiled brightly at the notion. "And I think we all do need each other. If that's what this Scarlet person means by a revolution, then I'm all for it!" She tried to smile at the other ladies, but their expressions ranged from deadpan to incredulous. "…What?"

Brigitta laughed weakly, slowing down her fan. "Oh, youth… just wait until you're a little older, dear, and then you'll understand. Everything's perfectly fine the way it is now, and nothing is ever going to change. Anyone who wants a revolution is just asking for a headache."

Daisy's hands trembled with fury as she stood there listening. She couldn't care less about the Scarlet or whatever he was supposed to be. Her fury lay with the notion of a revolution merely being a 'headache'. There would be a revolution, but it wouldn't just be a headache for these wretches. This is what she was saving her money for, what she was planning for, a real revolution that wouldn't be announced in some shoddy newspaper, it would be –

The tapping of a fork to glass jostled her out of her anger. In the middle of the room, Scrooge was doing this tapping to get everyone's attention, and it worked as all heads towards him and the nervous nephew by his side. When Scrooge was certain he had everyone's eyes, he stopped the tapping and put the fork on another servant's plate. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is good to see you all here tonight at McDuck Manor. It is with great joy that I announce my nephew, Donald Duck, as heir to my fortune." He roughly grabbed Donald by the shoulder, and the younger duck meekly waved to the applauding crowd. "I have complete faith leaving my empire in his hands, once I'm gone. A toast!" He held up his glass, and those who also had glasses did the same. "To the future!"

"To the future!" The crowd cheered back, and glasses were clinked together, with echoes of laughter bouncing off every wall.  Scrooge continued introducing Donald to other strangers, Donald continued trying to search for his mystery maiden, Daisy continued to hold in her wrath, and Minnie continued to lament her boredom and long for the company of the boy who had her scarf. Everything looked ready to continue on as it always did.

The doors from the kitchen were then kicked open! Ten men in torn apart police uniforms stumbled in, each one carrying a loaded shotgun and each one shot into the air. The laughter was replaced with screams, and those who didn't duck for cover scrambled for the doors, only to find to their horror that they were locked from the outside. When the shots ended, Daisy could see that one of the intruders was holding the terrified Linguini by the arm, and pointing a shotgun at his head. The leader of the attackers, a grizzly looking canine, shot into the air once more, and then barked at the crowd. "Silence! And be quiet, too! I, the intelligent and handsome Don Karnage, and my men, who are almost as intelligent and handsome as Don Karnage, are taking this party hostage!" He pointed the weapon to Linguini who grew deathly pale. "Anyone makes a funny movement, the skinny boy gets it! And so will the rest of you!"

Scrooge McDuck growled deep in his throat, taking his cane off of his arm and heading right for the intruders. "How dare you come into my manor! I'll see to it that each and every one of you is hung! Just who do you think you are!" Donald and Ducksworth had to grab each of his arms to try and prevent him from going any further, as Karnage easily pointed his gun right back at him.

"We are the revolutionaries!" Karnage twirled his shotgun in a fancy flair. "We will be bringing the change France needs! And you know the saying… you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Now we just have to decide which egg goes first!"

Daisy dropped her plate in shock. "You're not part of the revolution!" She spoke without thinking, and quickly covered her beak with her hands. Even if it was the truth, that these men were not in her secret army, saying that out loud was enough to sign her death certificate. Even so, what was going on? Who were these men, and why were they saying they were the revolutionaries? Could they be from another group?

Karnage laughed, showing off all of his sharpened teeth. "We are getting some volunteered eggs! This is marvelous! Soon we will have eggs all over the streets of France! And the rich people will see our eggs! And then with our eggs, we will… um… make… scrambled… hold on, I can do this metaphor…" he struggled to think of how to keep making sense, although all it was really doing was making him hungry. Eventually he gave up and held up his gun. "Oh, let's just kill them all and then get ourselves some egg sandwiches, I'm starving. Fire at will!" One of the intruders shrieked in fear. "No, not at Will! I mean kill the rich eggs!"

Gasps and screams were the first things fired, as the victims held onto each other, hid behind each other, and the shotguns took aim. Minnie couldn't move, her limbs turning to statue in her fear. No, please, she couldn't go like this! Not when she still hadn't told him!

Just then, a single glass shard fell from the ceiling. It was enough to give everyone pause, and slowly tilt their heads upward, at the enormous glass chandelier that hung above them. Another glass shard fell from it… and then another… and then, the entire thing trembled… and in a sudden rush, it hurtled downwards to the floor. There was enough time so that the already frightened party guests could run out of the way as it smashed directly in the center of the living room. Even the so-called revolutionaries were stunned, eyes glued to the sudden destruction. It wasn't just the apparent random falling of the chandelier that was surprising everyone, but also now they saw someone was standing on top of the wreckage. Judging by the way he was touching the top of the chandelier, he had been on it on during the ride down. It wasn't a far cry to say he had caused the fall too.

The red cape he wore was almost twice as long as he was, and it was attached to his jacket, covering the top half of his body. Two belts held his brown pants along with a long scabbard, and a silver handle stuck out of the scabbard. As he let go of the chandelier, he tugged at his white gloves and white cuffs, before smoothing down the frock on his chest. Above his frock was a single red jewel, shining beautifully. Also red was his hat with a black trim and a single white feather sticking out of it. The final piece of red were his visor-like goggles, a mask that lay comfortably on his nose but made it easy to see his piercing green eyes. He finally addressed the crowd of onlookers. "… Well, I had to get your attention somehow."

Will lightly nudged Karnage, trying to whisper to him. "Hey, boss, I thought the job was just for us ten. Who's this guy?"

Karnage roughly shoved his elbow into Will's ribs. "Shush! And say nothing, too!" He then cleared his throat, aiming his shotgun at the newest party guest. "You're invading my invasion! That's very rude, I'll have you know. How are we supposed to have a revolution with all of this interruption?"

The man hopped off the wreckage, and walked through the crowd until he was in front of rich victims. When he spoke his voice was deep and smooth, and yet there was something off about it. No one in the room could determine just how or why, but for some reason his voice didn't sound natural. It was pleasing to listen to, but… not real. "Indeed, how are you supposed to have a revolution… when all you plan on doing is spilling innocent blood?"

"Innocent!" The dog laughed and pointed his weapon at the crowd. "There's not an innocent person in here, save for me, Don Karnage! They're all guilty of abusing their power!"

The red dressed man stood in place, looking up at Karnage. "In our system of laws, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. In this crowd there are those who want to spend their coins on those who have none. There are those who want to bring equality. If you lump them in with those who live in another world of haughtiness, then you are doing no better than those who accuse you of being barbarians." He carefully placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, but did not draw it. "But then… I don't think you are the real revolutionaries."

Karnage hesitated for a second. How could this soliloquy speaking stranger possibly know who these men really were? That information was tightly hidden! "You're speaking nonsense now! I don't have time for this, and I'm still hungry!" He took aim at Minnie and Daisy – who, in their terror, had wound up clinging to each other in front of the couch. The girls screamed as the shot was fired yet neither of them was harmed. In the time it took the bullet to fly, the man in red had moved in front of them, holding his cape out to block the bullets. The cape seemed to suddenly solidify before their very eyes, and the bullets bounced off it before lifelessly falling on the floor. The cape then returned to its natural cloth form, and the man let it drop.

He wagged a finger at Don Karnage. "I wasn't finished. And how can you fire at women?" He turned around to look at them, a charming smile on his lips. "And on such beautiful women. Are you ladies all right?" Minnie and Daisy could only nod their heads in sync, still not letting good of each other. "Good. Not to worry, I'll get rid of this mess, and there won't be a single wrinkle on your nice dresses." He winked, and was a blur again, suddenly running towards Karnage and kicking him in the stomach. The canine had no time to recover before his snout was grabbed and he was flipped over the red man's shoulder. Flurry of movements followed, as the men struggled to shoot him, but he'd be already out of their range. There was a slash of gray in their eyesight, and the ends of many guns were sliced off. The man in red twirled his now drawn sword, as the attackers stared at their destroyed weapons, dumbfounded. How could a sword cut through a gun?

The one holding Linguini fumbled with his still undamaged gun, trying to fire at his hostage, but the man in red yanked Linguini's free arm, and then shoved it forward, making Linguini forcibly punch his attacker right in the nose. The man in red continued to do this to Linguine's other limbs, using the cook like a puppet to beat up the hostage taker until he was a pained mess on the floor. Once Linguini was free, he stood in place and stared at his hands, unable to believe what just happened. "Huh… didn't know I had it in me." He smiled weakly at his hero, before wisely darting to the safety of the crowd. The red man politely tipped his hat to the cook before returning to the fight.

Karnage managed to gather his senses, and sat dizzily up with one hand to his head. When his vision cleared he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His nine armed, tough, and tall men were getting the snot beaten out of them by a small man in red frilly clothes. Their shotguns were sliced up by his sword, he was faster than they could catch, and his punches and kicks were as strong as a man three times his size. In under a minute, the men had all been knocked out, slumped over furniture or flopping onto the floor. None of them had been killed, and though some were bleeding by sword cuts, none of it was fatal. Karnage rubbed his eyes to make sure this was accurate, but the scene didn't change.

Karnage tried to get to his feet, his own shotgun still in one hand. "Who… who in the world are you?!"

The man in red wiped the blood on his sword off with his cape. "Before I tell you who I am… how about I tell everyone who you are?"

"I am Don Karnage!" He snarled, unable to get straight aim due to how badly his arms were shaking. "What have I been saying this entire time with my ridiculous accent? I am Don Karnage!"

The man in red wagged his finger again. "You're also a hired group of smalltime assassins called the Sky Pirates. You were paid to pretend to be revolutionaries so you could enforce the idea that the poor are nothing more than savages, and try to destroy the real revolution itself."

"How did you know that?!" Karnage said all too quickly, and then bit his tongue in regret. "… That is, if it was correct, how could you have known it?"

"My eyes and ears are everywhere in France… for I am the justice that France has been seeking." Now this man seemed to be addressing everyone in the manor. "Perhaps some of you have read my declaration in today's paper? I meant every word. I will help the rich and the poor, for I help all people who wish to help others. In the eyes of good and evil, we are all equal, including myself. I am... The Scarlet."

Gasps again were collected in the crowd, and Karnage's shoulders hitched in worry. "You want to be the Scarlet? Fine! I'll make you scarlet all against the wall!" He touched the trigger, but sound of sirens stopped him from pressing down.

The windows began to flash tints of red and blue, and the Scarlet nodded in approval. "That would be the police. No doubt whoever hired you also made sure they wouldn't arrive until you made a good impression on the crowd." He smirked as he saw the color drain out of Karnage's face. "And judging by your look, I guess you weren't informed about that part of the plan. Your boss probably wanted to make sure all loose ends were cut off."

Karnage was practically foaming at the mouth as both fury and fright collided in his mind. Nothing was going according to plan, and it was all this stupid little man's fault! Nuts to the man who paid Karnage, the canine was going to take everyone out! With a hungry roar, he lifted his gun to shoot, but the Scarlet already moved, slicing his blade across Karnage's knees and causing the sky pirate to fall backwards in howling pain. In that very same instant, men burst forth from the kitchen once more, but this time they were actual police in actual police uniforms. They only got one word out – "Freeze!" – before actually looking at the scene.

The Scarlet smiled brightly at the officers. "Thanks for picking up my tab, gentlemen. Though I'd like a little more compensation than just cleaning up. Justice can be an expensive quest." He looked over the quiet crowd, before settling his eyes back on Minnie and Daisy. He walked up to them, and then knelt down, softly taking Minnie's hand. "If I may, would you care to depart with this ring?" On her finger was a decorative purple ring, and Minnie felt no sentimental attachment to it. It's what made her slowly nod, along with the intense gaze the masked hero was giving her. "My thanks… my wonderful duchess." He lifted her hand, but instead of simply pulling the ring off, he bit it gently, sliding it off her finger, and grinned at her winningly when it was off.

Alas, Don Karnage was not out of the game yet, as he painfully sat up once more and pointed right at the Scarlet. "Arrest him! He's the revolutionary, and he tried to kill these nice people! Not Don Karange!"

The Scarlet spat out the ring immediately, and stood up straight, fumbling with the jewelry as his voice took on a flustered manner. "Are ya nuts?! Whaddya tryin' ta - " He then stopped himself, and cleared his throat, shoving the ring down his sleeve. "I do believe that's my cue to go."

"Hold on just a minute!" One of the officers pointed a pistol at him. "We'd like to bring you in for questioning!"

"I don't have the answers you want!" The Scarlet was again running in a blur, and yanked the shotgun out of Karnage's hands, along with giving him a kick to the nose for ruining his moment with the duchess. The Scarlet fired once at a nearby window, shattering it to pieces. He then tossed the gun aside and jumped out of the window. The police scrambled to follow him, running back to the kitchen and exiting the building.

From within the manor, they could hear the shouts of the officers, though some did try to poke their heads out of the broken window to see for themselves. To their shock, the Scarlet was actually running up the building, defying gravity by running straight up the wall! In seconds he was on the rooftop, and jumped off onto the adjacent building's roof. He vanished into the night, leaving confused officers, a howling canine, and chattering party guests. Though there were important matters to discuss, such as who hired the fake revolutionaries, all Minnie could think about was the man who held her ring.
Original Commentary on March 27 2012:

Chapter One : Scarlet.

Welcome one and all to my next big project, The Scarlet! Inspired very loosely by The Scarlet Pimpernel, this story will take place in a different France where thanks to the genius minds of Gyro Gearloose and Ludwig Von Drake, technology has surpassed the age they live in. However, the two mysteriously died in a fire, and the age of technology is being suppressed by the age of wealth. The gap between the rich and wealthy is staggering, and there are talks of a revolution aiming to change that.

Our hero is Mickey Mouse, a common paper boy who, with hidden benefactors, is transformed into the heroic Scarlet, a hero who seeks to unite the two classes and prevent the upcoming bloody path the rich and poor have set against one another. Daisy Duck, Max, and others seek to weaken the rich and punish them for living on the high life. Then there's the case of the Four Dukes and One Duchess, powerful but distant relatives of the Queen of France. If you attain the power of all five, you could theoretically rule all of France by sheer power of wealth! But that won't be easy... Duchess Minerva, best friend of Mickey (and the aim of his obvious crush), wants peace between the classes, and hopes for equality for all.

But there is a darker force waiting in the shadows. One Duke wants more than a gap between the classes - he wishes to annihilate the poor and weak all together. Familiar characters will be playing vastly different roles - Pete, Daisy, Donald, Goofy, Clarabelle, Horace - and Mickey will struggle to keep his identity a secret among them. Can he save France from destroying itself - and just who does Minnie love? The paperboy, or the Scarlet?

With that summary out of the way, it's time to doll out some thanks.

:iconameartillustrations: , who once again helped me create this world!
:iconcici-chi: , who came up with the costumes and beautiful designs!
:iconelera: & :icontwisted-wind: for wonderful moral support!
And naturally, the best darn editor in the whole wide world, :icontell-me-lies: ! 

I hope you all enjoy this as much as you did PVP, so here we go!


Preview/Cover image by :icontwisted-wind:

Updated Commentary on May 21 2016: 


I LOVE THIS STORY
I LOVE THIS STORY
I LOVE THIS STORY

Heart Heart Heart Heart Heart Heart Heart Heart 

I really do. It is one of my all time favorite things I have ever written, and I wish it had the same "fame" as PvP had, as I believe it's 110% better in terms of both story and characterization. There's still a ton of things I had to cut for the sake of clarity and comprehension (For example, at one point I planned to have Darkwing Duck and Morgana in it -  DWD was going to be a police officer, and Morgana as a cat burglar) but I'm still very pleased with how it all came together.

And when I say 'loosely inspired' by The Scarlet Pimpernel, I mean REALLY LOOSE. Honestly the only thing it has in common are corrupt rich people, a masked hero, and the name. Sorta. A lot of this stuff was inspired by the Broadway musical of the same name, which I recommend listening to. 

If you didn't know, Linguini is from Ratatouille, Brigitta is an Italian Disney comic book character, and Don Karnage (and by extension 'will')  are from Tale Spin. Man, remembering Karnage is a hoot. I really recommend looking up clips of the show just to hear him.

Also, here's fanart of the first segment of this chapter by the amazing :iconhentaib2319: !
© 2016 - 2024 steamboat-promises
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hentaib2319's avatar
OH Thank yooouu:bird: