My short little snippets of conversations and one-shots seem to always turn into something monstrous. I have problems. I have gone back and forth on this story for so long that I have decided to stop myself by posting, because I'll keep editing it and making it longer if I don't.
This does not follow the First Face Off episodes perfectly, but it's not really meant to. I took an episode and stretched it and molded it into the backstory of backstories.
The Meet
Wildwing watched from afar as Canard and the young female duck conversed heatedly a few yards away.
Despite the animated movements of the two they kept their voices quiet, leaving Wildwing and Nosedive unable to discern what they were talking about.
"What do you think is the hold up?" Nosedive finally whispered, brushing some dirt off his ripped up vest. Wildwing's younger brother's outfit had probably been the trendiest wear of Puckworld a year ago, but now they were faded and ripped up so much that they looked like they had a rust-colored overlay. His tan feathers hid most of the dirt and filth that coated him, but his usually blonde hair displayed the soot proudly.
The two brothers had only been out of their encampment for a couple of days. They would've been caught by now, too, if it hadn't been for Canard guiding them through the old sewage tunnels of the city. While escaping the encampments was not a very hard feat in most of the Saurian bases on DuCaine Metropolis, staying alive afterwards was.
Rather than reinforce security the Saurians opted to simply kill those that fled. It was a ruthless tactic that usually worked, especially when they brazenly presented the remains of escapees to the rest of the prisoners to ensure their obedience.
For the few that did escape and were never seen again, most zealously believed it was because they had joined the Resistance somewhere. Wildwing was realistic enough to realize, however, that most had probably succumbed to the harsh elements instead.
The Resistance was large, according to Canard, but they were thinly scattered to avoid being detected. They would remain that way until their upcoming mission was complete.
And what a hell of a mission it was.
"Don't know, Baby Bro," Wildwing finally responded, leaning against the wall of the alley they waited in. His own clothes had seen better days: his pants and shirt had faded to the same rusty color that seemed to plague the entire city and his red jacket—albeit still mostly in one piece—was worn so thin it felt like it didn't do anything at all. He was pretty sure his normally white feathers had been stained to a permanent shade of gray, too.
He sighed a bit and looked up at the skyline of DuCaine Metropolis to their south. A half mile north of them laid a Resistance base underground, most likely housing the young cadets that had been in Puckworld Academy when the Invasion hit. The female with Canard now was supposedly the daughter of General McMallard.
Wildwing wouldn't have known who that was if not for experiencing the first week of the Invasion. It took a few days before the Monitor Towers finally captured the city and, during that time, the news still managed to provide last minute safety rendezvous points and details of the battle.
He still remembered the day vividly, sitting with Nosedive and his parents in the basement and listening to the radio as the first retaliation commenced in the air above DuCaine Metropolis. The large airship of the military, the Guardian, bravely fought the Master Tower, believed to be the command center for all the smaller Monitor Towers bringing in massive robotic armies of Hunter Drones. The battle was intense and the Master Tower was nearly destroyed, but a cloning mechanism was initiated and left the Guardian fighting a blind enemy.
Without a target the Guardian quickly took on massive damage, rendering it to scrap metal.
General McMallard ordered evacuations and bravely stayed behind, maneuvering the large airship into the bay to avoid massive casualties. Wildwing's family lived north of the capital, but he still remembered the extreme suspense and subsequent gratitude as he sat with his family listening.
Eventually, as the weeks wore on, even the radio became nothing but static and left the world in a blackout. During the mass evacuations he and Nosedive had become separated from their parents. Not long after they were captured and enslaved to mine beryllium crystals.
The Master Tower was never seen again after that first day. Most believed it had taken refuge back in space, but Wildwing believed the damage it took in that first battle left it grounded somewhere. Either way, it remained cloaked and wisely so.
In present time the redhead crossed her arms and turned away from Canard, seemingly signaling the end of the conversation. Canard shook his head and walked back towards the two brothers.
Nosedive, always impatient, sighed in frustration. "Is she coming with us or what?" he asked the captain.
Canard gave Nosedive a rather curt glare, shutting the teenager up. "She is, don't worry."
"Canard, what's the issue?" Wildwing prompted a bit more tactfully than Nosedive, glancing back at the female who was now pacing slightly with her hands on her hips.
Canard followed his gaze. "She'll be going AWOL from her command on the base because we can't tell them what we're doing."
Both Wildwing and Nosedive cocked their heads questioningly. Nosedive was faster than Wildwing when he asked, "What? Why not?"
"We've had too many traitors in our midst. The Saurians are teaching ducks how to use their ancient magic … and it's brainwashing them into doing their bidding. If she tells her command the word will spread like wildfire. Even if there isn't a traitor on her base, it'll eventually find its way to one." Canard looked at the two brothers, his voice even more grim than usual: "And we got one shot at ending this."
Wildwing and Nosedive looked at each other, silent. "So I'm guessing AWOL is kind of a bad thing for you military types?" Nosedive finally asked, rubbing the back of his head.
Canard smirked but did not answer him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handheld computer, bringing up a small hologram to show their location within the city. He pressed a few commands on it, causing the hologram to show the route they'd be taking the next few days.
Despite the modern technology in his possession, Canard himself looked a little worse for wear. He wore a basic navy blue unitard, heavy combat boots and a tactical vest made of thick leather that housed a myriad of weapons and gear. Covering that was a brown jacket, also military-grade. Everything was well worn and his normally pristine brown feathers and hair were spotty with soot, a sign that even the Resistance knew to conserve their resources for more important things than new clothes and daily showers.
He hoped Canard had a few extra outfits lying around at his base, however, because Wildwing wasn't keen on going into battle with paper-thin clothes he'd been wearing for nearly a year.
And what he would give for even a five-minute shower….
Footsteps behind them caused all three to look and see the female mallard approach.
"You've made your decision, I take it," Canard stated rather than asked, his voice suddenly becoming much more assertive.
The redhead nodded, her hands clasped behind her back in a typical at-ease position. Her short flaming red hair was a stark contrast to her peach feathers and blue eyes. She wore a sleeveless purple unitard—the typical color of Puckworld military—as well as a lighter purple chest plate. Her utility belt had the Special Forces emblem engraved on its gold clasp: two crossed hockey sticks with the letters "PSF" in the background.
She looked at Nosedive and Wildwing questioningly, causing Wildwing to quickly look away from his studious observation of her.
Canard was prompted by her actions and nodded to the brothers. "Lieutenant Mallory McMallard, meet civilians Wildwing and Nosedive Flashblade."
Mallory did a double take. "Civilians, sir?" she asked, though her voice barely masked its incredulousness.
Nosedive did not look the least offended. "Lieutenant? I thought you guys said this was a school?"
Mallory flashed him an angry glance. "It was a school."
"What about the cadets?" Nosedive asked. "I thought these were all students or something."
"We're at war, there are no students," Mallory curtly explained. "First years were sent away. Second years and up given a weapon and orders. We don't have the resources nor the time to continue training anyone."
"So … were you a student?"
Mallory glared. "You ask a lot of questions."
"Jeez, sorry," Nosedive held up his hands in mock surrender.
"You and I will be the only military on this mission, McMallard," Canard answered her previous question, getting back to the task at hand. "I've picked civilians with certain skillsets to help avoid word getting out. You know as well as I do that it's our forces that are getting hit hard by traitors."
Mallory's earlier expression became masked quickly as she looked at Canard uncertainly. "Then why me, sir?"
"You're a McMallard."
"Yes, but what about—"
"Your brothers are knee-deep in drone missions taking out Raptors and Monitor Towers, McMallard. And while they might be a damn good shot they'd butt heads with a fellow rank running a rogue mission with a band of civilians. You, however, won't." Canard motioned to the others to start moving as he began walking down the alley. "Besides," he added over his shoulder, "Your hand-to-hand combat is much more useful for the task at hand."
Wildwing and Nosedive had begun following Canard at his prompt, but Mallory lagged behind slightly. When Wildwing turned back he saw her hands clenched tightly at her sides, obviously angry at Canard's response.
Wildwing didn't know much about the military, but he guessed Canard's answer was a bit of a slap in the face at Mallory's lower rank than her brothers. And ranks he knew enough of to know that you follow orders without question.
Canard had always been a hothead, of that Wildwing knew for certain. The way he was acting now, however, suggested he'd been faced with enough these past few months to make him a lot less forgiving in his actions and words.
Truth be told, he was sure all of them had seen more than enough to last a lifetime.
Wildwing knew there were three others that they had set out to find. He had not considered that nearly all of them would be civilians. Canard had gone through the basics of the mission but he had certainly not gone through the how.
Wildwing shook his head to himself as they continued down the alley and into an old warehouse, down to its basement and into the city's old sewage system. DuCaine Metropolis had since renovated to a more sophisticated system, leaving the zigzagging tunnels empty and forgotten about.
Well, the Resistance had certainly not forgotten about them. They were hard to get into since all the entrances on the streets had been sealed, but if you knew where to go they were a quick and easy way to progress through the city unseen. They were pitch-black, however, and Canard happened to be the only one with a flashlight. He opted to not point it forwards but down to the ground, illuminating their immediate area but keeping them from seeing too far ahead.
While illuminating ahead allowed you to see a good distance, it also alerted others of your whereabouts much more quickly. While not ideal, it was enough light to not trip on your own two feet. He also realized that Canard had been down here enough to have likely learned the hard way about alerting others of your whereabouts; for that, Wildwing kept his beak shut.
It would take them nearly an hour to make it back to their camp for the night. Wildwing sighed a bit at the thought, his body still weak from the encampments. Food there had consisted of cheap gruel, but even that sometimes became scarce. When they had taken off with Canard he had provided military-style meal packets that—while not exactly the best tasting—were filling and provided Wildwing and Nosedive with some well-needed nourishment.
But they'd been imprisoned for months and regaining their strength would take time that they unfortunately did not have.
Canard was up ahead a few paces, followed by Nosedive. While there was no sewage in the sewage lines, the smell of what once was lingered pretty well. It didn't help that the water still seeped in from time to time, too, humidifying the unpleasant aroma and causing their footsteps to echo with the occasional splash as they silently made their way through the maze.
"Stop," Mallory whispered, startling Wildwing. It was a firm but simple command.
He followed it, stopping his progression. He hissed to Nosedive, who turned and looked back at him questioningly. Wildwing quickly motioned with his head and Nosedive turned back, promptly realizing Canard was getting too far ahead. Taking his chances, Nosedive hastily but quietly jogged ahead, trying to avoid the puddles as best he could. He grabbed Canard's shoulder, causing the large duck to turn around and shrug him off angrily.
The captain stopped himself from saying anything, however, when he saw Wildwing and Mallory further back. Mallory had pulled out a pucklauncher from her holster, aimed down and away from her. She hand signaled Canard with three fingers, motioning to her right.
Wildwing had no idea what she was saying, but up ahead there was a T-section in the tunnels. He strained to listen and, sure enough, through the silence he heard more footsteps coming their way.
Canard cupped the head of his flashlight with his hand, leaving only a faint glow to illuminate their area. He quickly made his way back to Wildwing and Mallory, Nosedive following.
"There was an impromptu scouting this morning," Mallory whispered. "I think it's them returning."
Canard silently cursed. "If they see us here they'll make us return to base."
Mallory shook her head. "You have your identification, right? You have authority here. They'll recognize your name from the Lordar stronghold—we've done a lot of supply trading with them." Mallory looked up and away from the group. "But if they see me here they'll suspect something's up."
Canard nodded, thinking. "Wildwing, does your jacket have a hood?"
Wildwing nodded and, understanding where this was going, hastily shrugged it off. Mallory handed Canard her pucklauncher, put the jacket on and flipped the hood up. She quickly took off her belt with the military logo etched on its buckle and also handed it to Canard.
Canard placed the pucklauncher in an inside pocket on his jacket and shoved the belt into a small sack attached to his own belt.
Mallory zipped up the jacket, hiding her armor. The jacket was huge on her and hid her figure pretty well. With the hood up and hiding her red hair she quickly transformed herself from a well-known Lieutenant to a civilian in the blink of an eye.
"You're with him," Canard directed his words to Mallory but pointed at Wildwing, "and I'm taking you to the Lordar base because you believe your little sister is there."
The three other ducks nodded. Canard turned back around and uncovered his flashlight, pulling out his own pucklauncher from its holster.
He aimed the weapon down and the flashlight forward, its beam hitting the far wall of the T-section. The footsteps coming from that direction stopped abruptly.
Wildwing felt an arm snake around his and looked down to see Mallory next to him. She kept her face down and used her other hand to pull the hood over her face as far as it would go.
"IDENTIFY YOURSELVES!" A booming voice echoed from the hall, well aware that Canard's light was a purposeful announcement of their whereabouts.
"Captain Canard Thunderbeak, Lordar base, with three civilians!"
There was more silence, followed by: "Lieutenant Herald with Sergeants Jasper and Quill, Academy base. We'll be rounding the corner with weapons drawn, sir, until identification can be made!"
Mallory cursed silently, causing Canard to look at her questioningly.
"Weapon drawn, will wait here Lieutenant," Canard answered back to the strangers, his eyes still on Mallory. "What's the problem?" he whispered to her.
"You can't say we have a sister at Lordar—Herald deals with the civilians on both bases." Canard cursed silently as well, turning back as he heard the three quickly approaching. They hadn't rounded the corner yet.
Mallory's eyes searched the ground as she thought. She looked back up at Canard. "I'm going to interrupt you, just follow my lead. Mention Greading," she whispered quickly.
Canard's expression changed as he recognized the name and he nodded, turning back and waiting with his pucklauncher aimed towards the ground.
Mallory leaned into Wildwing. "When I leave, follow. When I tell you to say something, say it like it's true."
Wildwing swallowed hard but nodded. Acting was never one of his strong suits.
Nosedive, overhearing everything, glanced over at his brother and jokingly whispered, "Why do you always get the chicks, Wing?"
Wildwing shot him a glare but stayed silent. Mallory didn't respond and, taking a risk to look down, Wildwing realized very quickly that she was anxious.
While they weren't in any real danger, being discovered would probably mean a dishonorable discharge from her position. Wildwing imagined a fate like that would mark her as a traitor to most of the ducks she knew.
For many, that'd probably be a fate worse than enslavement or death.
Wildwing had no idea how to act in a situation like this, but Mallory's anxiety made him want to put on the act of his life. He took a deep breath and tried to imagine the situation they've concocted as real.
With that in mind he took his arm that Mallory was holding and wrapped it protectively around her back. She was startled when he moved it but quickly saw what he was doing. In return she took her arms and wrapped them around herself tightly, keeping her body slightly to the side and behind him. To anyone looking at them it would appear that she was afraid and he was attempting to protect her.
To add to that Nosedive took a step forward and to the side, partially standing in front of her.
Canard's flashlight beam fogged with shadows as three ducks rounded the corner, weapons aimed at the group. They walked briskly and purposely, prepared for any counter movements.
Canard and the rest kept still, Canard's weapon aimed towards the ground.
When the group finally approached Canard stated, "I'm going to reach into my pocket for my identification."
A tall light gray duck with blonde hair shook his head. "No need, I recognize you. I was on Lordar base for supplies a month ago. Captain Herald," he introduced himself by pulling out his own identification.
Canard took it and looked at it, nodding before he returned it.
Herald motioned to the other male ducks and they holstered their weapons, Herald following suit. "What brings you to Academy?"
Canard took a deep sigh, feigning a bit of relief that the three ducks were who they said they were. "Actually, I'm taking these three to Lordar," he stated, indicating with his head behind him.
Herald squinted his eyes slightly at the three. "They're not from Academy. You find them in this area?"
Mallory hunched over, startling Wildwing. His arm was still around her and he wanted to say something but quickly realized saying her name would not be wise. Hoping he wasn't about to make an ass of himself, he reached for her gently and asked, "Emma..?"
"Emma" groaned and she hoarsely whispered, "I think I'm going to be sick." Without waiting for a response she ran to the side of the large tunnel, kneeling where the ground began to shift upwards from the tunnel's round shape and propping herself up with one hand.
Wildwing was frozen to his spot from Herald's quick reach for his gun. However, when the three ducks saw where Mallory went they paused in their actions, perplexed.
Wildwing took the opportunity to quickly follow after her. He came up behind her, placing his arm around her. Before he could say anything he saw Mallory discreetly stick her finger down her throat, causing her to instinctively gag.
Wildwing nearly gagged himself when he saw her but kept up his act well, using his large form to block the others from seeing what she was doing.
It only took one more self-gag before Mallory threw up on the side of the tunnel, the sound quite real to all within the immediate area.
Herald made a face and looked back to Canard questioningly. "Is she all right…?"
After Mallory's first heave she whispered to Wildwing: "Pregnant."
Wildwing looked back at the group. "She's pregnant," he stated, his voice laced with worry.
Herald's expression softened significantly, taking Canard by surprise. The tan duck hid his expression well however, instead turning to look at Wildwing and Mallory as he heard yet another episode of vomiting.
Herald shook his head slightly as he returned his attention to Canard. "I see. Is that why you're taking them to Lordar?"
Canard nodded. "Yes, with Dr. Greading there I think it might be best for her."
Herald nodded almost compassionately. "Yes, my own mate was recently there because she was with child, too."
"Oh?" Canard stated, a hint of donning flashing his features. "Is a congratulations in order?"
Herald smiled and it was obvious he was proud. "Yes, thank you. Healthy boy, three and a half kilograms."
Canard's smile became larger and he patted Herald on the shoulder. "That's fantastic news; something we all need these days."
Herald nodded, his attention reverting back to Mallory. "My mate had some terrible sickness in the beginning as well. How far along is she?"
Mallory, still breathing heavily from forcing herself to vomit, whispered quietly to Wildwing: "Three months."
"About three months," Wildwing said aloud, briefly looking at Herald. At that point Mallory slowly began to stand, Wildwing helping her. He waited until she nodded and he slowly guided her back to the group, Mallory keeping her head down low and an arm only lightly on her stomach to keep the sweater looking baggy on her.
Herald glanced at Nosedive and Canard. "I sure hope you don't plan on making the whole trip tonight, do you?"
Canard shook his head. "Oh, I set up camp about halfway there already. I wanted to make sure the area looked safe first."
Herald, happy with that response, motioned to the other two ducks with him. "Well, we'll let you be on your way then." He walked around the group, only stopping briefly next to Wildwing. "Take good care of her," he added.
Wildwing nodded, his arm still around Mallory.
"We'll be getting supplies in three weeks," Herald added, turning back around at the group. "I hope to see you all there?"
Canard nodded. "I'm in and out of there quite a bit, but I'm sure we'll cross paths again."
Herald smiled and nodded, once again motioning to his group to continue down the path Canard's group had just come from.
"Congrats again!" Canard called, waving. Herald did not turn around but waved in response.
Canard silently looked at his team and nodded, walking towards the T-section of the tunnel. The rest followed silently.
It wasn't until they had rounded the corner and gone about a half a block did Mallory push herself off Wildwing.
She quickly shrugged out of his jacket, handing it to him. "Good job," she finally said, her voice still hoarse.
Wildwing nodded, taking the jacket and slipping it on. "You're the one that made yourself throw up."
"Yeah, dude. Ew," Nosedive responded, shivering. "Do that often girly-girl?"
Mallory glared at him, brushing her hair with her hands to fix what the hood had messed up. "We're taught that in case we need to swallow something for safety."
During this time Canard had reached into his sack and retrieved Mallory's belt, as well as her pucklauncher from his jacket. He handed them to her and stated, "I guess that training has a lot of uses." He smirked as she snatched her belongings quickly.
"It worked, didn't it?" she snipped, placing her belt back on.
"Yeah, you knew exactly what to say to keep him from getting suspicious," Nosedive commented. "Is conning ducks another one of your talents?"
With her belt in place Mallory hastily placed her pucklauncher in its holster. "I only knew about his situation because I helped bring his mate and kid back to the Academy. I'm not a fan of using ducks, but I knew he wouldn't ask too many questions with that kind of situation, okay?"
Wildwing, hearing the defense rising in her voice, calmly stated, "It worked well, I think."
Mallory sighed. "He'll follow up when he returns to Lordar base, unfortunately."
"By then you'll be a hero, McMallard," Canard stated, his voice back in a military tone. "He won't give two feathers about that lie once he knows what you were a part of."
Mallory's head bent down slightly and she did not respond. Wildwing hoped, for her sake, that was true.