I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

AN: This was an idea that has been banging around inside my head forever but I never could figure out a beginning for it. Well I'm just starting partway through and going for it. I realize that Mallory would have handled things differently but I did it for the drama. I don't want to make this one a long story but we'll see what happens as I write. Sometimes it's not my choice and the writing just develops itself. The pace for this is going to be a little faster than usual. I am still working on my other stories for anyone who still reads them and those who have been waiting. Sorry it's taking so long. Hope I haven't lost you yet. 😊

Broken Hearts

Everything was so fucked up. Why did she let herself be pushed into this corner? Before she never would have done this. Had she really become this desperate? Apparently so. Mallory clutched her towel closer to herself at the feel of the tall drake's heat at her back.

It had been their only chance at going home, for the materials to make a gateway generator were back on Puckworld.

Algren, a duck she knew from Puckworld, had accidentally stumbled upon Earth while testing his gateway generator. Seeing the small signal briefly flash on her com, she went to investigate. It wasn't too far from her current location at the mall. Jumping on her duck-cycle and driving to the location, the red head was confused to see a duck in a large suit meant for outer space. Hearing the cycle, they turned towards her and stared. Mallory threw her kick stand down and got off her bike, approaching with caution. "Mallory?"

She froze hearing her name. "Who are you?"

The duck checked the air around himself and confirmed it was safe to breath. There hadn't been any bacteria detected that was different from Puckworld's, meaning it was safe to remove the helmet and breath the air here without fear of foreign diseases that could kill since he had no immunity to them from not growing up on this planet. Taking off the bulky headgear, the duck revealed to her wasn't one she was particularly happy to see. He had known her and her family since she was young.

"Well well. Look whose alive." He smirked, then looked around confused. "Where are we?"

"Earth. How did you get here?" She demanded to know. From her personal experience the only way anyone from Puckworld had been able to get here was by working with Dragaunus.

"With this." He showed it to her while smiling, proud of what he had achieved.

She knew instantly what it was. It was their ticket home and this all lead to her current situation. He made more with the promise that she owed him. Mallory reluctantly agreed not knowing what he was going to ask for in return but now that she thought about it, she should have realized what he wanted. Her.

Now here she was standing in a hotel bathroom wrapped in only a towel with a very angry drake standing behind her.

He punched the mirror, fracturing their image in it. Mallory jumped from the unexpected move, curling in on herself a little. She attempted to step aside but his other fist collided with the wall on the other side of her, denting it in, forcing her to lean forward. She didn't dare remove her eyes from the sink in front of her as his breath ghosted over the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She would have enjoyed the feel of it had this been a different situation.

"Do you have any idea why I'm upset?"

Mallory slowly shook her head no, feeling like moving too fast would set him off.

"I'm upset because he had what I wanted to be mine."

Mallory's eyes shot up to meet his in the broken reflection, he looked so sad. Her breath left her in sobbing gasps at hearing that he had shared her feelings. "I didn't know." All this time she thought he was indifferent to her small but obvious forms of flirting. He never responded.

Wildwing didn't say anything, just stood up straight and let his bloody knuckles hang at his sides. Unable to keep eye contact with her anymore he turned away and walked to the door, stopping before leaving the bathroom. "Get dressed Mallory." He spoke without turning to look at her and then left, closing the door behind him.

When he was gone Mallory fell to her knees, still clutching the blanket around herself. "I'm sorry." She whimpered, careful to not be too loud as sobs broke passed her mouth. She closed her hands around her beak to stop the heart broken noises from escaping. Tears streamed steadily down her cheeks, dripping to the floor with small splat sounds. Wiping her face with her arm and swallowing the lump in her throat she stood up and dressed. "What have I done?"

Wildwing stared angrily at the unconscious duck on the floor. This guy who Mallory allowed to take advantage of her in order for them to get home. The scum bag. A good person wouldn't have held something like this over someone else's head to get them to sleep with them. The sound of the bathroom door opening caught his attention, he looked over his shoulder at Mallory who wouldn't meet his gaze. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Being the stoic leader of a group of crime fighting ducks taught him how to hide his emotions. If this had been when they first arrived on Earth he would probably look similar to Mallory because right now his heart was breaking. "Why didn't you tell me?" He couldn't look at her right now, all he kept seeing was that bastard about to crawl on top of her. Taking his anger out on the duck's face hadn't helped diminish the heartache.

"If I told anyone the deal was off. I wasn't willing to risk our way home." She spoke softly, her voice sounded so foreign to him at that moment.

"You should have come to me no matter what. I thought you trusted me." He stood up looking around the room. Hearing this made more tears sting the back of Mallory's eyes. "Where are the other dimensional gateways generators?" He demanded.

Mallory walked to a hidden safe and showed it to her leader. "I couldn't figure a way around it." He stepped forward and scanned the safe with the mask, revealing the metal box's weak spot. Moving Mallory back behind him he stepped back and fired at the wall to the right of it, destroying the steel bolt's locking mechanism and disabling the self-defense system. Wildwing grabbed the three small generators and placed them in his side pouch. Without looking at her still, he spoke. "This is all of them?"

"Yes."

"Good. You're never to see him again."

"Yes."

Looking at the still unconscious duck, Wildwing quickly grabbed Algren by the back of the neck and lifted him up with ease off the floor. With one hand he grabbed a generator and set it for the Puckworldian desert. It would take Algren a day to walk to the city and being naked while doing it would be all the more unpleasant. Activating it, he and Mallory watched as the harsh landscape of Puckworld's red desert appeared in a giant circular gateway before them. He tossed the naked Algren through it like he was a trash bag being thrown into the garbage. The duck landed on the other side groaning as he started to come to. Wildwing closed the gateway and left the duck to his harsh walk back to the city. Once the gateway was closed, Wildwing walked to the door. "We're going back to the Pond. Now." It was an order to follow him back. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling dirty as she followed him to the Migrator.

…..

He didn't tell the others how he got the gateway generators and they didn't ask since he was in such a terrible mood when he brought them back. Thankfully he kept what he discovered that night to himself but he also avoided her whenever he could. When they were out on missions if he could avoid being next to her, he would. Her attempts to talk to him were met with a glare, telling her he didn't want to speak. It was obvious to the others that something happened between Wildwing and Mallory that put a great divide in the friendship they use to have but they chose not to ask. What was happening between the two ducks was their business alone.

With the materials gathered from Puckworld, everyone now had their own mini generator and took trips back to their home world whenever they pleased. Mallory hardly ever used it. To her it was only a reminder of what she had done and how she had ruined any hopes of having a more intimate relationship with Wildwing, the drake she was in love with. He however apparently didn't see it as that, since he used it so frequently to go back. He was going back to Puckworld more and more now and a part of her wondered where he was going since she saw on more than one occasion that Nosedive would still be around when he left.

As the month went on Mallory would only speak to Wildwing if spoken too. Conversation was kept to a minimal. She was hurt by his treatment of her but he was hurt too, which is why he was acting the way he was. She knew this was the reason but for how long would he hold it against her? He didn't even let her explain that nothing had happened yet. He came in and knocked Algren out before anything could take place.

Another week went by and nothing changed. Slowly Mallory's sadness turned into resentment. She became stoic, using her resentment to turn off her emotions towards him and it was working until the day came that she decided that she was going to visit home. Stepping back into Puckworld would have brought her so much joy before but now it only made her feel shameful. Her boated feet crunched the soft snow covering the clean streets. In some sections of the city, it was as if the invasion didn't happen. The team kept to themselves what they did for Puckworld, they decided they didn't want the fame, they had enough of that on Earth. Instead they just wanted a little peace and quiet.

Letting her feet lead her to her destination, happy couples and families walked by holding hands and laughing without a care in the world as they went about their lives. Completely unaware that everything could go back to normal thanks to the sacrifice and hard work of one of the ducks that just walked by.

Spotting a flower shop, Mallory walked in and bought a large bouquet of Moon Flowers, her mother's favorite. Walking back out with her gift she had to quickly step back to dodge the small children skating and laughing as they chased each other down the street. The two sisters skate circles around couples and disappear into the crowd. She missed being so free and careless, missed having no worries. Missed her life from before the invasion but that was gone now. Continuing her long walk to see her family, she looked up at the large moon in the sky, a gentle smile touching her face. One of the reasons her mother loved Moon Flowers was because they only bloomed at night and when they did, the moon's light reflected off them, making them glow. Her mother called Mallory her little moon flower, the nick name was lovingly bestowed upon her because she said Mallory was the light of her life.

Seeing the moon brought her mind to the many differences between Puckworld and Earth. One being the most notable to her was the size of their moon. Their moon was closer, making it look much bigger in the sky and their sun was further, it was the reason for the colder climate. Puckworld sat closer to the outer rim of what humans called the 'Goldilocks Zone.' Not too hot and not too cold to sustain life. Another difference was that their planet was twice the size of Earth, making their gravity stronger but not too much. Coming back felt strange, her body felt a little heavy however she quickly became used to it. It was one of the reasons the ducks were naturally stronger than humans.

Lost in her thoughts she didn't realize that the streets gew empty and finally she arrived at a quiet cemetery away from the center of the city. Pushing open the gates she walked in, bouquet of flowers in hand. Navigating through the cemetery and down the softly lite paths, Mallory found the three graves she was looking for. An empty spot sat to their left, it was reserved for Mallory for when she died, that way she would sit right next to her mother. "Hi guys. It's been a while. I'm sorry I took so long to come visit." Gently she pulled out four flowers and placed them in the small pot on her father's grave and did the same for her brothers. Standing in front of her mothers, she gently kneeled and placed the rest of the bouquet in the pot.

"Mother. More than anything I miss our conversations. You always knew what I needed to hear even before I told you I had a problem. I wish I could ask for your advice now. There is a drake, I love him and I did something really stupid. I thought I was doing the right thing, making the right sacrifice. I did something shameful to get my friends back home and he found out." She sighed. "He was angry. I didn't realize he had feelings for me and now he hates me. I don't know what to do to fix it… I wish you could tell me what to do." The graves remained silent as the fresh flowers swayed softly in the cold brittle wind. "I miss you all so much.' She whispered, feeling the cold breeze gentle brush through her hair. "But I'll see you again one day. Until then, I love you." She stood up, dusted the snow off the grave stones and kissed the top of each. Somehow she had to get Wildwing to listen to her and let her explain.

Quietly making her way back down the path to the front gate, she left behind the pretty snow powdered cemetery and walked out, ready to make one last stop while she was back. Wanting to see the downtown skating rink, the one with the famous DuCaine statue in the center. She had heard from the others that it had been replaced, her family would have been happy to know it.

She used to skate there when she was a young girl with her brother, it was a spot that held many happy memories and she needed some of that right now. It was obvious that she was getting closer just from how populated the streets were becoming again. Soon the pretty duck stood in large crowds, others laughing and waiting in line for a chance to go out on the ice. Just as her teammates said the Drake DuCaine statue stood tall in the center of the rink, looking as if it had never fallen. Leaning against the banister she smiled and watched all the ducks playing games and flirting on the ice. She remembered when some of her dates brought her here. They always thought they were being creative but the truth was they all did the same thing. She didn't mind, this place was special to her. It made her proud.

Emerald eyes scanned the ducks on the ice, passing over groups until her eye caught a familiar face. Wildwing was there, holding hands with a pretty brunette duck, laughing and skating around. Taking a step back as if she had been slapped, she suddenly felt uncomfortable, awkward, and nervous. A part of her felt that she should leave, it was as if she was invading in on a private moment but at the same time wanted to know who the girl was. Using her scarf to cover her bright red hair, Mallory watched them skate around conversing and laughing. It didn't seem like much currently. Maybe it was an old friend. She hoped it was.

Suddenly a kid came charging out, not watching where he was going and before he could stop he accidently ran into the brunette duck's legs. She yelled out falling backwards but Wildwing was fast, catching her before she hit the ground and pulling her close. The kid looked like he made a quick apology and skated off, embarrassed. However, the two didn't seem to notice, they were just staring at each other. Mallory's breath hitch when the brunette made the first move and kissed him on the beak. Wildwing closed his eyes and kissed her back.

Mallory's heart dropped into her stomach, feeling sick and watching sadly as they obliviously stood in the middle of the ice rink, wrapping their arms around each other and deepening the kiss. A few minutes felt like hours to Mallory when they finally pulled away, looking to the world like they were in love. "So much for trying to fix anything." She sadly thought, despite herself tears leaked from her eyes as she turned away and disappeared back into the crowds, bumping into other ducks in her desperate attempt to get away. She heard one of the ducks she bumped into yelled out as he dropped his shopping bag. He yelled something but she didn't stop to listen. Running away as fast as her feet would take her, the red head didn't know where she was going, it was just in the opposite direction of where she left the pieces of her heart.

…..

She didn't know how long she had been running but it had been a while now, her lungs were burning and so were her legs but she kept going. Tears were still streaming down her face as puffs of hot air left her beak. "Was this how he felt when he saw me? If so, then I deserve this. No wonder he hates me. I want to hate him and it was just a kiss." Before she knew it, she had left the city. "This whole time he had been going back so often to see someone else. I lost him the day he found out what I did." Unable to run anymore and far from the center of the city where the streets were desolate, she slowed to a walk, aimlessly moving in an unknown direction.

Lights briefly flashed by her, signally a vehicle went by. She thought nothing of it until the lights were on her again, making her turn to see who it was. A flying taxi pulled up alongside of her. "You shouldn't be walking out here this late at night. It gets dangerous here since the end of the invasion. You're headed towards a desolate area. Thieves and crooks have hideouts this way." She stopped walking to look at the driver. "Why don't you get in sweetheart. I'll take you wherever you need to go, no charge." He offered kindly.

Without a word, her cold feet numbly walked to the backdoor, opened it and got in. "So where do you want to go." There was only one place she could think of that she wanted to go, but she didn't know if it was standing anymore. She gave the kind driver her family's estate address.

…..

It was still standing. Matter of fact it looked like the war didn't happen here. There stood the beautiful McMallard estate, completely untouched by the war that had destroyed so much. "You're one of those McMallards?" The taxi driver looked back at her in awe now.

"Yeah." Mallory stared out the taxi window at her old home, lost in her thoughts.

"I didn't realize. There are only a few of the prestigious crested families left. Boy, are they gonna to be happy to hear you're alive then." Mallory didn't answer to that. She knew what that meant and she dreaded it. "Are you gonna go in?" Should she? If she did and someone was there then it would be the point of no return but she had officially lost Wildwing and the others would be moving back to Puckworld soon. They had already started planning for their return. So, what else could she do? She could run. Let everyone think that she was dead but one day someone would recognize her. When that happened, she would literally be dragged back kicking and screaming. The red head sighed, resigning herself to her reality. Her parent had taught her never to run from her responsibilities, they would be ashamed if they could hear her thoughts now.

"Yeah I'm going in. Thank you for the ride… Here take this." Handing him a forty eddo, far more then what it would have cost for the taxi ride and got out.

"Wow this is way too much!" He called back.

"Keep it." She closed the door and walked up the estate as the taxi flew off back towards the city. Entering the code to the front gate to let herself in, surprised that the code was still the same. Was it possible that Edmond was here? Walking down the lite path to the front door, Mallory knocked. After a few moments, the door was answered by none other than Edmond. His jaw dropped at the sight that greeted him.

"Ms. Mallory!"

"Edmond…" She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the old butler, a part of her didn't believe that he would actually be there. "Oh Edmond! I'm so happy you're alive!"

…..

Mallory smiled as Edmond walked her through the estate. "This is just wonderful! I knew you were out there. I just knew you were still alive Ms. Mallory." Edmond and her mother practically raised her. On Puckworld being a part of the crested families was akin to royalty. They held great power and sway in politics, something Mallory was never very good at. She didn't like their manipulative ways but she had to be a part of it thanks to the blood that flowed through her veins. The very same blood which dubbed her as a national treasure, especially since she was the last of her family. "You are here to stay aren't you Ms. Mallory?" Edmond asked hopefully.

"Just Mallory, Edmond. You're family, you don't need to call me that. Besides, I wasn't very good with all of this fancy stuff anyway." She looked at him. "As for staying, there is still work to do back on Earth."

"Earth? Where is Earth?"

"That's a long story."

"Well why don't you tell me about it over dinner and tea. It's getting late out, I'll have to insist that you stay. This is your home after all, you should be staying here." He nodded to himself. "I took the liberty of changing your parents room and moving your things in there. Since you are the lady of this estate, it is your room now."

"Edmond. Can we keep my return to ourselves?"

Edmond looked at Mallory strangely. "Why? The other families will need to know. There is protocol to follow." He seemed disappointed with this.

"Please. I need time to figure all this out. I didn't think the house would even be here. I need to… plan." She finished.

The older duck sighed. "Very well. But you know as well as I do that they will find out. Then there will be no choice."

"I know." Mallory sighed in relief that she wasn't going to be found out yet. The red head could already feel the metaphorical heavy chains tightening. She knew that eventually this day would come just hoped that it wouldn't be so soon.

…..

Wildwing walked back to his room in the Pond. He really had enjoyed his date. Ida was pretty and charming but she was clumsy. It was kind of cute in a way, slowly it was growing on him. He smiled to himself as he thought about some of his previous dates with her and couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face. It dropped suddenly when he walked passed Mallory's room. Even now a month later he was still angry at her. Wildwing surprised himself with the level of anger that he had held on to but she hurt him like no one had ever hurt him before. His heart still broke thinking about what he saw. It was time to move on. He needed to get over this, sometimes he thought he was but then he would see her and become angry all over again.

Hating to admit it but Wildwing had to acknowledge that he was in love with her. "Am I still? Is that why it hurts so bad?" Turning away he was determined to forget about his feelings for her. Perhaps Ida could help him move on.

…..

Mallory awoke the next day expecting to be at the Pond but found herself in a strange place. Sitting up quickly her breathing increase in pace with slight panic until she really took in her surroundings. Remembering all that had happened within the span of a few hours she laid back down rubbing her forehead at the oncoming headache and heartbreak. She was home. Wildwing loved someone else. Edmond was alive but her whole family was gone. She was going to have to take over as the head of the family. She was most likely going to be forced to-. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Ms. Mallory? Are you up?"

"Yes Edmond. And please call me Mallory."

"Of course, Mallory. I'll get your breakfast ready. Would you like it in your room or downstairs?"

"Downstairs is fine."

"Very good then." His footsteps disappear down the hall.

Sighing Mallory sat up and slide her legs over the side of the bed, putting her weight on her feet to stand and then stretching. Looking around herself, she sadly noted how lonely it felt in the large mansion. Having Edmond here was a comfort but she still felt the whole in her chest and the lump in her throat from the loss of her family. The halls were silent, no longer did she hear her mother practicing the violin or the sound of her father pacing and discussing business. No longer would her brother tease her and yell that he was going to eat her breakfast if she didn't get moving. The estate seemed so much smaller then and so much warmer.

Getting dressed then silently padding down the halls to the kitchen, Mallory found her food ready and waiting for her. Edmond had made her favorite. "Thanks Edmond."

He smiled a little sadly back at her from the sink, knowing that she was feeling the loss of her family more than ever now that she was here alone for the first time without them. She had not been back since the invasion started. "Of course, Mallory." He wanted to do anything to bring her some small form of comfort. He could imagine that coming back held a sense of foreboding for her. For soon she would be surrounded by wolves again and they were all going to want a piece of the very last McMallard. The last of the DuCaine blood line.

…..