Silver haired street fighter of war
I do not own The Mighty Ducks or any of the other characters within this story, only the characters that I come up within my mind.
A young teenage/adult girl, who has been abandoned by her mother and ran away from a terrible orphanage, struggles to survive within the streets of New York City but that soon changes when she is suddenly transported to a different world. She now fights to survive a war that is taking place on a planet that isn't inhabited by humans, but by ducks. Can she survive?
Main character of the story
Name: Riko Hikari
Nickname: Quicksilver
Age: 18 (Will turn 19 in the next story that will follow this one.)
Hair color: Silver
Eye color: Golden amber
Clothing: A dark blue vest over a short sleeve black T-shirt, dark blue jean shorts and white/red runners.
Personality: She is distant to the people around her and always keeps to herself, but she won't hesitate in helping people who are in danger. She can be hot tempered if rubbed the wrong way, is stubborn when asking help from others when she is injured and she doesn't trust people so easily, but when she's around people long enough she will start to warm up to them, eventually.
Parents: Riko has none for she was abandoned by her mother many years ago and her father died before she was even born. She ran away from the orphanage after she turned 18 and had lived on the streets of New York City.
Items: fingerless gloves and a choker collar.
Likes: Fighting, playing hockey with her team members, her teammates and adventures.
Dislikes: Someone bossing her around, being lied to, sitting on the sidelines when she is injured, dresses, stuck up people, publicity stunts, being helpless, her mother and over grown lizards.
The beginning and the first face off: part 1
Person's profile
A long time ago, I was only a 4 year old girl that knew nothing about the world and its dangers for I was too young to understand anything back then, but I soon learned the hard way as I grew older. My mother always kept me in the house as she would always leave me at home alone to fend for myself while she got herself drunk at these clubs in New York City. My mother never let me outside of the house, not even for a second and she doesn't want to waste her time in schooling me either for she always thought of me as nothing, but a piece of misery that had entered her life after my father died many years ago. I always thought that I would be stuck in spending my whole life inside my mother's house when one day, my life changed forever after I became 8 years old. My mother took me to this really nasty orphanage and left me there with the care takers who were always mean to me, and the children that were equally as bad as them. People would come to the orphanage once in a while to adopt a child of their very own, but when they saw me they would instantly glare or walk away out of fear. You see…I'm not very normal looking to people.
My hair was a pale silver/white that grew down between my shoulder blades while my eyes are a bright amber/gold that would pierce into anyone's soul if the person stared into them for too long.
Time soon passed and my mother never did return to get me, but I knew from the start that she would leave me to fend for myself once again. It was when I soon turned 18 that I decided to run away from the orphanage and live my life on the street. It was rough, but I learned to be strong by fighting my own battles against punks who come looking for a fight and my days are always a test of survival. I grew colder to the people around me as I blocked my emotions out from my mind and I rarely show them in front of people. My life was always the same as I wonder the streets of my city while fighting to survive. But my life is about to take an unexpected turn when I'm suddenly transported to another world where human's don't exist and it is being invaded by over grown lizards that call themselves the Saurian overlords. I soon become part of group that called themselves the resistance and now I'm caught up in a war between two different races.
I tell you, does my life get any better than this?
Normal profile
New York City was ablaze with noise as cars moved down the roads. People were walking down the concrete streets without a care in the world, but one person stuck out from the crowd of people as she walked down the sidewalk with her hands in her pockets. She had sliver/white hair that grew down to the middle of her shoulder blades and golden/amber eyes that were as cold as steel.
She was wearing a short sleeve black t-shirt with a dark blue vest over top of it, dark blue jean shorts and red/white runners. Around the girl's neck was a black chocker collar and on her hands were black fingerless gloves.
The girl's name was Riko and she was a runaway from an orphanage that had been cruel to her when she was a little girl. She is 18 years old so she was able to take care of herself when it came to the street life of New York. Riko looked down at the ground below her feet as she walked down the streets of the city with people walking in front of her or past her. But she soon turned off the street and began walking down an alleyway before stopping. Riko stood in the alley for a moment while not moving as the wind blew through her silver hair. She slowly turned around and came face to face with five guys that were wearing black leather jackets over their red, white, blue and black shirts. They were all wearing the same blue jeans and black shoes and their hair colors consisted of both brown, black and blonde.
Riko smirked when she saw them for she knew this gang and their leader very well: "So this is your reinforcements huh?"
"That's right doll," answered the leader of the group as he stepped forward towards Riko. "And this time, you are going down."
"Oh," replied Riko in amusement as she crossed her arms over her chest. "This should be interesting. I hadn't had a challenge from any of the other gangs on the street lately so I hope you and your gang will give me some excitement today."
"Ooh," whistled the leader and his gang members as they smirked at Riko. "Then if you're really ready to fight, than who are we to argue? Get her boys."
On the leader's command, two of his grunts ran towards Riko as they got ready to grab her by the arms. Riko stood her ground as she watched the two men running towards her, but she soon did the unexpected. Riko, like a blur, lashed out at the two men that were running at her by punching her two fists into her attacker's guts. Those two simple hits made the two men crumble to the ground while they clutched their stomachs in pain.
"Pathetic," muttered Riko unimpressed as she glared at the leader in front of her. "Is that the best that you and your men have to offer?"
"Why you little…" growled one of the men before he charged at her in fury.
Riko merely stared at the man that was running towards her before giving him a fast round house kick to the head and sent him crashing into the brick wall of the alley.
"Nice try," said Riko in a bored tone as she stared down at the man that lay unconscious on the ground before turning to the leader of the group. "You and your gang members aren't really much of a challenge. You only charge at me head on. If you ask me, you and your men aren't really fighters at all, but simple cowards that like to beat up on weak people for fun."
The leader and his right hand man grew angry when they heard the insult the 18 year old had given them before they charged at her in a full out fury. Riko sighed in disappointment as she started to fight off the two men without breaking a sweat.
'These guys don't have the brains for fighting,' thought Riko as she slammed her elbow into the leader's stomach before karate chopping her right hand into the other man's neck thus knocking them both out. 'These people aren't worth fighting anymore. I need to have some real competition that can out rival me.'
Riko looked down at the men that she had knocked out before turning and walking away from the mess that she had made.
'This city is becoming duller & duller every single day,' grumbled Riko as she came to an outer street and started walking away from the alley.
Riko was back within the crowed of people as she walked with her head down while stuffing her hands back into her pockets.
In Central Park
Riko was walking through Central Park as the sun began to slowly set over the city. Riko had her hands in her pockets as she stared down at the path that she was walking upon.
'Man, life in this city sure is boring.' Riko mused in sourness as she kicked some dirt up with her left foot before she sat down on one of the park's benches and leaned back so that she could look up at the darkening sky above her. 'Every time I fight a street punk or his gang members *BANG!* the fight is over before it even started. What's the point in fighting street punks if they only drop dead after I've punched them once in their gut?'
Everything was quiet within the park as a cool breeze blew over Riko's face. It swept a few strands of her hair away from her face as the 18 year old closed her eyes to the world around her. This was one of the rarest moments that Riko could finally have some peace of mind where no one can disturb her, but her peace was suddenly disturbed when she felt the wind grow stronger around her. Riko quickly stood up from the park bench. Her hair blew behind her as the wind blasted past the 18 year old girl's body.
"What's going on here!" shouted Riko in a confused voice.
That was when her ears caught the sound of something tearing behind her. The street fighter quickly turned and what she saw was a portal suddenly appeared before her eyes. Riko glared at the odd phenomenon while she braced herself against the wind that was sucking her towards the vortex. That was when she started to hear screaming from inside the vortex. The 18 year old kept glaring at the portal as she listened hard to the voices that were screaming and shouting within it.
'Just what in the world is that thing?' thought Riko as the screaming still continued to fill the street fighter's ears.
The wind grew stronger around Riko as if it were urging her to jump into the portal. The street fighter stood her ground as she listened to screaming of people for a few more minutes. The screams were full of fear and pain and it soon struck a nerve in Riko's body. Anger began to flow through her veins as the street fighter finally decided to take a chance by jumping into the vortex to find out where the screaming was coming from. Riko's hands turned into fists before she took a running leap as she let the wind carry her into the vortex. The vortex quickly closed up behind Riko and everything became normal within Central Park, minus the absent street fighter.
Inside the vortex
Riko twisted and turned as the wind currents tossed her around within the vortex. The screams that Riko had heard before she'd entered the portal grew louder along with another sound that the street fighter couldn't identify yet until a blast went off within her ears. The street fight quickly realized that the blast was the sound of a gun being fired off by some unknown gun that she wasn't familiar with. Riko stared up ahead of her as she saw the exit of the vortex before she finally came out on the other side.
Riko flipped through the air before she landed on her feet as she made contact with the ground. The street fighter flipped a few strands of her hair out of her face before she stood up to get a better look at her surroundings and what she saw wasn't a pretty sight to look at. Many of the building were torn down and laid in ruins around the 18 year old and the sky was painted blood red.
"What in a world?" started Riko but she was quickly interrupted when she heard heavy metal footsteps coming up behind her.
Riko quickly turned around and saw a red robot that was 9 feet tall towering over her. It pointed its gun at the human girl before it began to speak in a robotic voice.
"Surrender or be destroyed," ordered the robot.
Riko only rolled her eyes at the robot before she leapt up from the ground. She flipped in the air before bringing her right foot down on the robot's head. The head was instantly ripped off by the force of Riko's kick before the silver haired street fighter landed back down on the ground while she watched the robot topple backwards.
"Sorry bolts, but I don't take orders from robots," stated Riko before she ran away from the still form of the robot when she heard the approaching footsteps of more robots coming her way.
Riko quickly ducked into an alley as she watched a group of robots march past her hiding spot: "Just where in the world am I?"
"You're on a planet that has been invaded by the Saurian overlords, that's where you are missy," spoke a voice from behind Riko.
The street fighter turned around to see who had spoken to her and what she saw behind her made the young 18 year old stare at the person in surprise. Sitting behind Riko was a humanoid male duck that looked to be in his 40's. The duck had light grey feathers and dull brown eyes that had lost all hope in life. He was wearing a ragged brown jacket over a white shirt, black pants and black boots.
Riko stared at the duck for a moment as she took in the details of this stranger: "Who are you? And on top of that, what are you?"
"My name is Joseph Stonefeather little lady," answered the duck in a raspy voice, "An old mallard that had escaped the drones who invaded this planet."
Riko walked towards the duck before stopping only few feet away from him: "What exactly is this planet?"
"The planet is called Puckworld young lady," answered Joseph in a lifeless voice. "It was named in honor of our greatest hero, Drake DuCaine, who had saved our planet from a band of evil Saurian Overlords a hundred years ago. But now the Saurian Overlords are back and they have taken over Puckworld once again."
Riko frowned at the duck in front of her before turning towards the entrance of the alleyway to see a few more of those robots lurking around, but they were far away from the alley that she and the duck were hiding in. The street fighter turned back to the older duck.
"You mean those robots out there are the Saurian Overlord's pets?" whispered Riko as she knelt down to get eye level with the duck.
"Yes," replied Joseph sadly. "They are also the ones that imprisoned the people of Puckworld and turned them into slaves, yet there is a rumor going around that there is a group who calls themselves the resistance that could free us from our enemy, but it's only a rumor. I'm afraid that our planet is doomed to forever be in the shadows of the Saurian Overlords."
"Sounds like you've lost a lot of hope old man," voiced Riko as her cold golden eyes softened in sympathy.
"I have," spoke Joseph sadly before he looked at Riko. "But who exactly are you, missy?"
"Me?" said Riko as she pointed at herself. "I'm Riko Hikari, the best street fighter from New York City, planet Earth."
"Planet Earth?" repeated Joseph as his eyes brightened up in amazement. "I've heard of another planet called Earth. It is said that Earth is inhabited by beings called humans, tell me…are you truly a human?"
Riko looked at the older duck in surprise but she quickly nodded her head as she answered the duck's question. Joseph soon smiled across his beak as tears began to appear in the corner of his eyes.
"I must have done something good within my life to have met a human like you," chuckled Joseph. "But I've heard that young humans were supposed to have blonde, black, brown or red hair, not silver/white."
"Let's just say that I'm a different kind of human that is an outcast to her kind," explained Riko as she turned her eyes downwards to stare at the ground. "And humans don't have golden/amber eyes either."
"Well, whether you're different or not I'm glad that I have lived this long in life to meet you, Riko," said Joseph with a smile.
Riko looked at the old duck in surprise before she suddenly heard a gun shot being fired off at them from behind. She quickly acted as the street fighter tackled the old duck to the ground.
"Look out!" shouted Riko as a laser beam cut into the stone building that Joseph had been leaning up against a few moments ago.
Riko quickly got up from the ground to glare at the robot that had shot at them.
"Halt!" shouted the robot as it pointed its gun at Riko and Joseph.
Riko let out a growl as she jumped up from the ground before kicking down a nearby trashcan with the lid flying off of it. Riko quickly grabbed the air born trashcan lid out of midair before she threw it towards the robot as it spun and flew like a blur through the air. The force that Riko put into throwing the trashcan lid sent the robot crashing to the ground once the lid made contact with the robot's head. The street fight quickly turned to Joseph as she helped the old duck up by draping his left arm over her shoulders.
"Come on, let get out of here!" exclaimed Riko before she and Joseph began to run as the robot started to slowly climb back onto its feet.
Riko and Joseph quickly exited the alley as they ran from their pressures. They ran for about an hour before they found a hiding spot behind some rubble as they stopped to catch their breath, but mostly for Joseph to rest. Riko leaned Joseph up against the wall of rubble before she edged out towards the corner as she took a quickly peek to see if the robots were still following them. The street fighter saw two of the robots walking around in the open as they searched for both her and Joseph.
"Ugh…these guys just don't know when to quite!" hissed Riko in anger as she snuck back behind the ruble before looking over at Joseph. "I'm going to lead these tin-heads away from you. That will give you enough time to escape and find a safe place to hide."
"No," whispered Joseph as he place a hand on top of Riko's right shoulder to stopped the young street fight from running out of their hiding spot. "I'm afraid that there are no more safe hiding spots within this city anymore and I can't let you risk your life in sacrificing yourself to those drones."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" voiced Riko with impatience.
"You must make a run for it," answered Joseph calmly. "Get out of this city as fast as you can and head towards the mountains. There are two mountains that you need to look for. They're called Twin Beaks, though in human language it would be known as Twin Peaks."
"Why do you want me to go there?" asked Riko suspiciously as her golden eyes hardened in defiance.
"I've read through a few books on the legend of Drake DuCaine and in the legends they say that something is hidden within those mountains," responded Joseph. "People say that it is only a legend, but I believe that it is true for the item that you need to look for once belonged to the hero that had saved Puckworld."
Riko stared at Joseph as she signaled for him to continue by nodding her head: "The item that you need to look for is a goalie shaped duck mask, but it is no ordinary mask my friend. This mask can let the user see through the Saurian Overlord's cloak of darkness, but the mask will only work on ducks."
"So what do you want me to do if or when I find this mask?" questioned Riko with a frown.
"Give Drake DuCaine's mask to a duck that you see is worthy of leading a rebellion against the Saurian Overlords and freeing the people of Puckworld," replied Joseph. "Please, Riko, you might be the only hope in saving us from the Saurian Overlords."
Riko stared hard at Joseph for a moment before glancing towards the corner of the ruble until she turned to look back at Joseph.
"But what about those Drone-heads?" questioned Riko again, "If I step out there then they will definitely catch us for sure."
"Just leave that to me," reassured Joseph as he place a hand on the street fighter's shoulder once again. "I'll let those drones capture me while you make an escape."
"Are you crazy!" hissed Riko in anger. "You can't just let those two bolt-for-brains' take you!"
"It's the only way," reasoned Joseph gently. "Besides, I am too old and I won't make it to Twin Beaks. Please, you are the only one that can do it."
Riko was about to argue with the duck, but was cut off when Joseph raised his right hand as he signaled for her to stop arguing with him before he slowly stood up from the ground. Riko watched as the old duck slowly walked over to the end of the ruble and disappeared around the corner. Riko turned her head away from the corner that Joseph had disappeared around before she got up and made a run for it. The street fighter quickly ducked behind a building before she looked around the corner. Riko saw Joseph getting punched by one of the drones before it grabbed him after the drake fell to the ground and was now dragging away the unconscious duck by the collar of his jacket. The street fighter clenched her hands into fists as she watched the two drones drag Joseph away with them before she tore her eyes away from the scene. She took off down the empty streets as the words of the old duck played out within her head.
'You are the only hope in saving Puckworld.'
Riko clenched her jaw in anger and determination as the street fighter ran full speed down the streets of the ruin city.
'Don't worry, Joseph' voiced Riko within her head. 'I promise that I'll find the mask, no matter what it takes!'
Riko kept running through the destroyed city while dodging drones whenever she saw or came near them. She soon came to a darker part of the city where she stopped to catch her breath as she sat down on a pile of rubble to rest. The street fighter hung her head back as she stared up at the red sky above her while wiping the sweat away from her forehead with her right arm.
"I hope I get out of this city soon," voiced Riko as she kept looking up at the sky above her.
Everything was quiet around Riko for a moment before she suddenly sensed that she was being watched. The street fighter quickly stood up and began to calmly look around at the shadows that the buildings or rubble had cased over the street that she was standing in. Her senses quickly kicked in when she suddenly sensed that something was standing behind her. Riko shot out with her right foot as she kicked her attacker in the stomach before she jump back and got into a fighting stance.
The being that Riko had kicked was a humanoid golden feathered raptrin. He was wearing a red cape, an armored chest plate with a crest on it, golden metal vambraces, a red belt around his waist, black pants and boots. In his hands he held a silver sword that glowed with blue electricity.
The raptrin let out a groan as he rubbed the spot where Riko had kicked him before he glared at the silver haired street fighter.
"And here I thought I had found someone who was easy to steal money from," grumbled the raptrin angrily in a British accent.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not that kind of gal to be easily picked on," said Riko with a smirk.
"We'll just see about that, freak!" growled the raptrin before he ran at Riko with his blade raised high above his head.
Riko merely rolled her eyes before she grabbed a metal poll that stuck out of the ground behind her and pulled it out in one swift movement. The poll was 6 feet long and was 4 inches thick. The street fighter quickly blocked the falcon's sword before she kicked him in the stomach again. The raptrin let out a grunt as he stepped back in pain before he was suddenly struck in the side by Riko's metal rod as he was knocked to the ground. Riko twirled her makeshift staff around her head for a few moments before bringing it down towards her side.
"Nice try feather brain," taunted Riko as a smirk still played out on her face. "But you're going to have to do better than that to defeat me!"
The raptrin growled as he slowly stood up from the ground. He gripped the hilt of his sword as he held it in front of him. Riko stuck out her right hand as she taunted the bird by signaling for him to come and get her. Rage consumed the raptrin as he ran at Riko once again. He swung his sword wildly as the falcon tried to cut the street fighter across the chest, but Riko instantly blocked him with her metal staff and she kept blocking the humanoid bird's sword strokes. Riko soon grew bored with blocking and decided to end it right now. The street fighter swept her staff down at the bird's legs and knocked him right off his feet. The raptrin grunted as he fell onto his back and Riko saw her chance to strike as she brought her staff down to slam it into the bird's chest, but her staff was instantly blocked by a golden blade.
Riko quickly jumped away as she held her staff ready to strike the person that had blocked her attack.
The person that had stopped her was a duck with grey feathers. A long bang of hair hung over the duck's forehead with a white streak running underneath it and a small chip was seen on the left end of his beak. He was wearing a maroon suit, a brown belt around his waist, black boots and a cybernetic eye patch over his right eye. The duck looked to be 26 years old. Riko wasn't all that surprised to see another bird enter the battle for she had a feeling that the raptrin wasn't alone on this street.
"Well, looks like I have another opponent to fight," stated Riko with a smirk.
"Hey, take it easy," said the duck in a Brooklyn accent. "I don't want any trouble 'ere kid."
"Well that's too bad," stated Riko. "Because when you mess with me and start attacking me than the only way for this fight to end is if we fight until we drop or until one of us gives up."
"Then I guess it's going to be the hard way then huh?" said the duck as he raised an eyebrow Riko.
"If you can handle a girl that is," mocked Riko.
The duck smirked as he got his sword ready for battle before he and Riko started to circle each other. The duck signaled for the raptrin to leave and the bird of prey didn't argue as he quickly ran into the shadows. Riko and the duck glared at each other as they slowly circled around one another before they both stood in a battle stance. Riko made the first move as she ran towards the duck before she began to do lightning fast cartwheels, backflips and handsprings which caught the duck completely off guard. The young street fighter suddenly sprung off from the ground as she flipped through the air before landing behind the duck. Riko struck out with her staff, but the duck quickly turned and blocked the street girl's attack with his sword.
Riko smirked before she continued to go on the offence as she began to move her staff faster and more fluently while the duck blocked or dodged her strikes. Riko then caught the duck off guard again as she dropped to the ground and knocked the drake right off his feet by sweeping her left leg under him. The mallard landed on his back but quickly recovered as he sprung back up onto his feet and swung his sword at the street fighter. Riko merely dodged by handspringing backwards before she landed in a defense position.
"Not bad," commented Riko to the duck.
"I should say the same for you kid," said duck with a smirk as he went into a defense position as well. "I never thought I would wind up fighting a female who has fast reflexes like you."
"Well there's an old saying that we have back on my home planet, 'Never judge a book by its cover.'"
"So true," stated the duck with a chuckle. "So what's your name kid?"
"Riko Hikari, the best street fighter in New York City, planet Earth," answered the 18 year old. "And you are?"
"The name is Duke L'Orange, the famous jewel thief on Puckworld," replied the duck.
"And also the best swords man as well," added Riko. "Now do you want to continue our battle or…"
Riko suddenly trailed off when she quickly sensed a familiar presence behind her. She quickly turned around and saw a horde of drones coming her way.
"That's just great," grumbled Riko in annoyance. "The one time that I finally found someone to match my skills and it gets interrupted by a group of drones."
Duke quickly came up to her side as his left eye widened in fear: "Oh man, this is not good!"
"We'll have to continue our battle some other time drake," stated Riko as she and the duck looked at one another.
"I have to agree with ya there kid," replied Duke in agreement. "Come on! Let's get out of 'ere before those drones catch us!"
"Right behind you!" exclaimed Riko as she followed Duke.
The two ran for it with the drones hot on their heels. Riko still held her makeshift staff as she ran side by side with the grey feathered duck. Duke had sheathed the blade of his sword as he attached the hilt of his blade to his left shoulder. The two of them dodged a few lasers that were fired at them while they were being chased by the drones. Riko growled in anger as she thought about turning around to face those robots, but she was suddenly caught off guard when Duke grabbed her left arm and pulled her around a corner.
"This way!" he exclaimed.
Riko quickly followed the duck into an abandoned building. Duke quickly let go of Riko's arm as he crouched down on the ground. He grabbed a metal handle bar that was attached to a wooden trapdoor. Duke quickly opened the wooden trapdoor before he turned to look at Riko.
"We can escape those drones down 'ere," Duke explained to the young street fighter. "It leads to the secret hideout of my gang members."
Riko stared down into the tunnel before looking at Duke in distrust: "I'll trust you...for now."
The street fighter quickly leapt into the dark depths of the secret passageway with Duke leaping in after her as the trap door slammed shut behind them.
Secret passageway
All was silent within the darkness of the passageway except for the footsteps of two individuals. Duke was walking in front of Riko with a flashlight in his left hand to light their way through the dark tunnel. Riko stared intently at the back of Duke's head before she began to speak.
"So…are you another individual that escaped the invasion of these robotic dimwits?"
"I'm one of a few," answered Duke as he looked over his shoulder at Riko. "But I'm kind of surprise to see someone like you wondering around the streets of Ice City like that. Where'd ya come from anyways kid?"
"I told you in my introduction, I came from a planet called Earth," replied Riko calmly.
"Never heard of it," stated Duke with a shrug of his shoulders before he looked straight ahead again.
"Funny," muttered Riko in thought. "A duck that I've met up with when I first got here seemed to have known what my planet was."
"Oh, and who might this duck's name be?" questioned Duke with interest.
"Joseph Stonefeather," answered Riko bluntly before she suddenly bumped into Duke's back when the drake quickly stopped in front of her.
"Hey," grumbled Riko as she stepped back a few feet away from Duke with a glare on her face. "Why'd you stop all of a sudden?"
Duke turned around to face the street fighter with his left eye wide open in surprise: "Did you just say that the duck's name was Joseph Stonefeather?"
Riko blinked at Duke before she nodded her head while staring at the duck curiously: "Yeah, that's what I just said. Why, do you know him or something?"
"Yeah, I do," answered Duke as he looked down at the ground. "Joseph was once part of the Brotherhood of the Blades, but he soon went straight by becoming a research professor on myths and legends. He was my master…and a father that I'd never had."
Riko stared at Duke in shock before she turned her eyes down towards the ground: "He must have been a great duck for you to have known for so long."
"Yeah, he was," voiced Duke before he turned his gaze back on Riko. "But you met him right? How is he, is he okay?"
Riko's right hand curled up into fists while clenching her jaw in anger as she remembered how Joseph had been dragged away by those drones before she closed her eyes in regret.
"He was fine when I first met up with him," started Riko in a low voice. "That was until we were chased by those drones. Joseph and I managed to get away from them when we found a hiding place behind some ruble where we could rest for a while, but we couldn't make our escape because two drones had followed us. I was about to lead the robots away from Joseph so that he could escape on his own, but he…"
"But he gave himself up so that you could escape, right?" finished Duke as he looked at the young human in front of him.
Riko nodded her head before growling: "I should have been the one to get captured not him!"
"Kid, he knew what he was doing," voiced Duke as he placed his right hand on Riko's shoulder which made the street fighter look up at him in surprise. "That's just the kind of guy Joseph is, he would risk his life in protecting someone that he thought was worthy to be his friend, but he doesn't give his trust out to just anybody. He must have seen something inside of you that would have made him give up his life to those drones."
Riko stared up at Duke with one eyebrow raised in confusion before she decided to change the subject.
"Anyways…before Joseph was taken away by the drones he told me about an item that I have to find within the mountains. The item is hidden in a place called the Twin Beaks and I need to get there as fast as possible."
"Twin Beaks, huh?" echoed Duke as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Isn't that where ducks say that Drake DuCaine's mask is hidden?"
"That's the place," said Riko with a determined look on her face. "And I made a promise to Joseph that I'd find that mask and give it to a duck that has the right qualities of being a leader. I know it sounds like a crazy and a suicidal mission, but I've gotta try."
Duke looked down into Riko's golden eyes and saw that she was dead serious on her task. The duck smiled before he nodded his head.
"Alright kid, if you really need to get to Twin Beaks that badly than you're going to have to get yourself a ride." Duke said before he turned and began to walk back down the tunnel again. "And I know just the duck that will help you. She's a master in mechanics and she is also one of the best computer hackers on Puckworld."
"Then I can't wait to meet her," stated Riko with a smirk as she began to follow Duke once again. "So how old is she?"
"She's 16 years old, a little younger than you." Duke explained as he walked ahead of Riko. "Her name is Kathryn. She's quiet temperamental when someone messes with her machines, but she is hard headed, a good fighter in the battle field and she is very sharp in thinking up a last minute hat trick in get herself out of a tough spot. But she can also be quiet the prankster when she wants to be."
"Sounds like you know this person very well," stated Riko with a chuckle.
"Well I have to, after all…she is my sister," said Duke with a smirk as he looked over his shoulder at Riko.
Riko blinked in surprise at what Duke had just said before she gave a small smiled back at the duck in front of her. The two of them continued to walk down the dark hallway in silence before they came upon a steel door standing in front of them. Duke walked up to it before he banged his right fist four times against the door. Riko stood behind Duke as the two of them waited for a moment before they heard the sound of someone walking towards the door on the other side. The door creaked open as a black feathered 22 year old duck poked his head out.
The duck was wearing a dark blue shirt with a sliver vest over top, dark grey pants that were held up by a brown belt coming around his waist and black combat boots. On his belt was a silver hilt of the same kind of sword that Duke had attached on his left shoulder. The black duck had brown eyes and short black hair that grew to his neck and few blue streaks going through the drake's bangs that hung above the mallard's eyebrows.
A relieved sigh came out of the black duck's beak when he saw Duke: "Master Duke, thank goodness it's only you."
"Well who were you expecting Tate, Santa Clause?" joked Duke with a chuckle before he pocketed the flashlight in the pouch that hung on his belt.
The black duck smiled before he suddenly noticed Riko who was quietly standing behind Duke as the street fighter placed her makeshift staff down on the ground so the black duck wouldn't see her as a threat.
"Master Duke who is that stranger behind you?" asked the black duck curiously as he pointed towards Riko.
Duke turned around and motioned for Riko to step up beside him before he turned back to the black duck.
"Tate, I like you to meet Riko Hikari," said Duke as he introduced the young street fighter. "She's from a planet called Earth. She's a street fighter and a pretty tough one at that."
"Oh yeah, the one that Falcone had mentioned when he got back here to the hideout," voiced the black duck, Tate, as he scratched the side of his head. "He said that he met up with a strange creature with silver hair that attacked him on sight. Said it was ugly looking, but now that I've seen her for myself I have to admit that she looks impressive."
Riko blushed as she scratched the back of her head: "I'm not all that impressive to look at."
"Don't be modest," said Duke with a chuckle as he patted Riko on the shoulder. "Anyways, Riko I want you to meet my apprentice and best friend Tate Jetwing."
"Nice to meet you," said Tate as he held his hand out towards Riko who gladly accepted it.
"Likewise," stated Riko with a nod before letting go of his hand.
"So Tate, what's been going on since I last left?" asked Duke from out of the blue.
"Oh, nothing much, except that Kathryn was yelling at Matt again," answered Tate with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Let me guess, Matt destroyed one of my sister's inventions again after he tried to ask her out on date, right?"
"Yep," responded Tate with a nod of his head. "Man, you'd think the guy would take a hint."
"Don't let it get to ya kid," reassured Duke with a smile. "Matt is always like this with the girls."
"Yeah, I know" said Tate as he let Riko and Duke through the door before he closed it behind them. "But your sister is way too young for Matt to be dating. That drake should be thinking more about how we're going to beat those Saurian slime-balls and their drones instead of chasing after girls all day."
"I'll make sure to talk to Matt later," said Duke as he walked beside his apprentice. "Right now I need to talk with my sister, you know where she is?"
"Still in the hanger," answered Tate with a chuckle. "She's working really hard on her new vehicles that she just created a few weeks ago."
Duke smiled as he rolled his good eye in amusement. Just like his sister to lock herself up in the hanger. Riko had left behind her makeshift staff back within the secret passageway so that she wouldn't appear threatening when she entered the secret headquarters of the Brotherhood and she had to say that this place wasn't impressive to look at.
The walls within the hideout were cracked and looked like they could come down at any moment. There were a few crates here and there, some old furniture and a lot of ducks that didn't look too friendly as some of them glared at her in anger or fear of her presence within their hide out. Duke must have noticed too because he had moved himself closer to the young street fighter so that he could protect her if any of his members tried to attack the sliver haired human. Tate soon brought them to a wooden door before he knocked on it with his left fist.
"Kathryn, are you in there?" called out the black duck.
"Yeah I'm in here Tate!" shouted a female voice on the other side. "And I'm busy so go away!"
"But I have someone one who wants to see you!" exclaimed Tate. "And it isn't Matt this time!"
"Then who is it!" barked Kathryn in annoyance.
"It's your brother, Duke!" answered Tate.
There was a sound of metal hitting the ground before the sound of feet came running up to the door. The door quickly opened as a 16 year old female duck stepped out of the room.
The duck had dusty brown/grey feathers with long black hair tied up into a ponytail and light blue eyes. She was wearing a black short sleeve t-shirt, faded blue jeans and black combat boots. Leather vambraces with metal steel attached to them sat on the female duck's lower arms and around her neck was a leather loose choke collar with an emerald pendent hanging down at the front.
The female duck, Kathryn, quickly jumped onto Duke as she wrapped her arms around his neck with the older duck wrapping his arms around his sibling's waist as he twirled her around before stopping.
"Duke, oh man I was so worried about you!" exclaimed Kathryn in excitement before she pulled away from the older duck. "I thought those drones had gotten you."
"Sorry about that Kathryn," said Duke as he looked down at his sister. "I had to go looking for Falcone since he snuck out again, but I bumped into someone on the streets when I saw her fighting with Falcone."
The female duck looked over and saw Riko standing behind Duke with her hands on her hips. The female duck grew suspicious as she glared at the human street fighter.
"And who is this?" she questioned.
"Kathryn, I want you to meet Riko," replied Duke as he introduced the silver haired street fighter to his sister. "A human from a planet called Earth."
"You mean the same mythical planet that our old master would always keep rambling on about?" voiced Kathryn as she looked up at her brother with wide eyes.
"That's the one," answered Duke with a nod.
Kathryn looked at Riko for a moment before she burst out laughing: "Yeah right…next you'll be telling me that the legends of Drake DuCaine are actually real along with his magical mask."
"The legends of Drake DuCaine are as real as I am," replied Riko bluntly as she crossed her arms over her chest while she glared at the younger duck in front of her. "And I'd promised Joseph that I would go to Twin Beaks to find Drake Ducaine's mask for him."
Kathryn quickly stopped laughing when Riko had mentioned Joseph's name before the young female duck stared wide eyed at the human in front of her.
"Did you just say, Joseph? As in Joseph Stonefeather?" questioned Kathryn in a quiet voice before she took a step towards Riko. "Where is he, is he alright?"
Riko's eyes softened in sadness as she turned her gaze down at the ground. Duke looked over at Tate and saw the 22 year old looking at Riko with pleading eyes as the same questions played out through the black duck's head.
"It's best that we discuss this in the hanger," suggested Duke as he led the two younger ducks and human into the hanger.
Duke closed the door of the hanger behind him when they had all entered the room before Riko finally answered the question that the two ducks were asking of her. She told them what had happened to Joseph and the two ducks took it really hard, especially Kathryn as she fell to the floor and on to her knees with her hand covering her eyes and began to cry. Duke lowered himself down to the ground and held his sister in his arms as the older sibling tried to comfort the younger duck. Tate slammed his fist into the wall of the hanger as anger flooded his senses.
"Those Saurian scum bags," growled the black duck. "They're going to pay for this one day."
"And they will," said Riko calmly. "That's a promise."
Kathryn soon calmed down before she and Duke got up from the ground. The 16 year old wiped away the last of her tears before she looked at Riko.
"So…what are you going to do once you found the mask?" asked Kathryn.
"Joseph told me to find a duck that has the right qualities of being a leader and give the mask to him." Riko explained to the 16 year old. "But from what your brother told me, Twin Beaks is pretty far. That's why Duke brought me here to you. He said that you could give me a special vehicle that could take me to Twin Beaks."
"Well, I think I might have the vehicle that could help get you there," replied Kathryn as she led Riko, Tate and Duke to a group of tarps. "I've been working on these babies for weeks."
Kathryn grabbed one of the tarps before she gave it a good yank. The tarp went flying off as it reviled the object that had been hidden underneath. Duke let out a whistle as Riko and Tate stared at the item in front of them.
The vehicle that sat in front of them was some type of motorcycle except that it didn't have any wheels. Its style was that of a sports bike with a silver and blue paint job on its body. Riko walked up to the side of it as she inspected the vehicle before she turned to look at Kathryn.
"So this is one of the vehicles that you've been working on?" asked the street fighter curiously.
"Sure is," replied Kathryn proudly. "It's called a hover cycle. It's designed to travel across both land and water. It can travel up to 1000 miles, max. It is silent and undetectable for enemy scanners to pick up on radar."
"Whoa Kat, you've totally out done yourself again," praised Tate as he looked at the female duck in front of him.
"I've also built two more hover cycles like the first one," continued Kathryn as she removed the last two tarps to reveal two more hover cycles underneath them.
They were in the same style like the first hover cycle but instead of being blue, their coloring was that of red and yellow.
"I've been hiding these babies from the other brotherhood members so that none of the others would destroy them." Kathryn explained to the group before looking over at Riko with a smirk. "I hope that this is the transportation you are looking for."
Riko smirked back before she bent over the controls as she looked at some of the buttons on the control system.
"I have to admit that these guys are pretty awesome," stated Riko. "But the only question is…how do they work?"
"That's easy," responded Kathryn as she walked up on the other side of the hover cycle before she pointed to the blue button on the dashboard. "Press this button to start the engine, and then twist the handle bars on the bike. They will instantly bring the thrusters online.
"If you want to go forward just lean towards the front; to go faster press this red button on the left; if you want to slow down just press this green button here to decrease the power and if you want to stop just pressed this yellow button. It's as simple as that."
"And if I want to lean from side to side I just tilt my body in the direction I want to go, right?"
"That's right," replied Kathryn with a nod as she answered Riko's question.
"That's all I need to know," said Riko before she walked up to Duke and Tate. "Now all I need to do is figure out where the Twin Beaks are."
"I know where they are," piped Tate as he pointed a thumb at himself. "I've traveled all around Puckworld before I met up with Master Duke and became part of the Brotherhood of the Blades. I can lead you to Twin Beaks no problem."
"Alright then, you can lead the way," said Riko in approval. "And we'd better stock up on supplies, because I have a feeling that this journey is going to be a long one."
"Leave that to me kid," said Duke. "I'll gather up some of the supplies you and Tate will need for this trip."
"Thank you Duke," said Riko with a nod. "The two of us will depart as soon as we can."
"Make that three," piped in Kathryn as she stepped up to stand in front of Riko, Tate and Duke. "You're going to need a mechanic incase the hover cycles break down before you get anywhere near Twin Beaks."
Riko stared hard at Kathryn before she turned to look at Duke: "What do you think?"
"Well…as her brother I would say that it would be too dangerous for my sister to go." Duke replied. "But on the other hand, Kathryn does have a point."
"Then I guess we don't have much of a choice here," stepped in Tate as he shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "After all, I don't know much about machines and I'm pretty sure that Riko doesn't know much about how our technology works here on Puckworld."
"And Kathryn does bring up a very good point," Riko mumbled as she rubbed the underside of her chin. "Besides, she knows exactly how these hover cycles work better than any of us do…alright Kathryn you can come along."
"Yes!" shouted Kathryn as she jumped up into the air. "I'm finally going to get out of hideout!"
Riko rolled her eyes before she felt Duke grab her arm and gently pulled her to the side before he began to quietly talk to her.
"Riko, this trip of yours will be risky," whispered Duke. "And I'm a little worried on what might happen to my sister and apprentice."
"I understand," voiced Riko with a nod. "I'll make sure to keep a close eye on them and see to it that nothing happens to them."
"Thanks kid," whispered Duke. "I owe ya one."
"You don't owe me anything," replied Riko. "After all, you've already helped me on figuring out how I'm going to get to Twin Beaks so it's the least I could do for you."
Duke smiled before he placed a hand on her shoulder: "You guys take care of yourselves out there, okay?"
Riko nodded her head in reply. Duke nodded back before he turned and left the room. Riko walked back over to Tate and Kathryn as they began talking about the hover cycles.
"So what should we call these babies?" questioned Tate as he looked at the hover cycles. "I mean, we can't just keep calling these guys hover cycles."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," muttered Kathryn as she scratched the back of her head in thought. "Any ideas or suggestions on what we should call our new rides?"
"I think we should name them," stepped in Riko as she walked over to the blue hover cycle. "That way we can tell these guys apart from each other."
"That sounds like a good idea to me," replied Tate in agreement as he walked over to the red hover cycle. "And I know just what to call red here."
"And what's that?" asked Kathryn as she cocked an eyebrow at Tate.
"Desert Thunder," replied Tate with a smirk.
Kathryn rubbed the lower part of her beak in thought before nodding in approval: "Yeah…that sounds like a good name, it has a nice ring to it."
Riko nodded her head in agreement before looking down at the blue hover cycle beside her: "I think I'll call my ride Wind Chaser."
"Then that just leaves the yellow cycle," stated Tate as he turned his gaze on the cycle behind him.
"I already know what to call my ride," responded Kathryn as she stepped up to the yellow cycle. "I'm going to call it Doom Star."
"Those all sound like pretty good names to me," spoke Duke as he walked into the hanger with three leather shoulder bags in his arms.
Duke walked over to the trio and gave them each a bag: "There are enough supplies in these bags to last you throughout the trip."
"Thanks bro," said Kathryn as she gave Duke a kiss on the cheek. "And don't you worry we'll be back before you know it."
"I know," replied Duke as he ruffled his sister's hair a little. "You just watch yourselves out there, alright?"
"We will," responded Kathryn with a nod before she lifted up the seat of her cycle.
Underneath the seat was a secret compartment that could store any of the items that the young team would need on their trip. Kathryn placed her bag into the compartment before walking off to grab her tool kit. Riko and Tate lifted up their seats as they placed their bags inside the compartments of their cycles before placing their seats back down again.
"I've also placed a saber in your bag Riko, so use it if you ever face off against one of them drones on your journey." Duke explained to the young teen as he walked up to stand beside the street fighter.
"Thanks Duke," said Riko as she and Duke shook hands with each other.
Kathryn walked over to one of the tables within the hanger once she had placed her toolkit into the secret compartment and lowered her seat back down to its original spot. On the table were three sets of black helmets and goggles. Kathryn picked up one of the goggles and placed them over her eyes. She then slipped one of the helmets onto her head before she grabbed the other two helmets and goggles for her teammates. She walked over to Riko and Tate as she handed the helmets and goggles over to them.
"Safety first," stated Kathryn as Riko and Tate took the helmets and goggles from her.
The trio soon mounted their bikes after they had placed their goggles over their eyes and strapped their helmets onto their heads. Riko suddenly thought of something before she started her engines.
"Do any of the underground tunnels lead out of the city?" she asked Kathryn and Tate.
"Yeah, there is one within the hanger that leads out towards the outer boarders of the city," replied Kathryn as she pressed a white button on her control panel. "It will take us right out towards the desert so none of the drones will detect us."
Riko faced forward when she heard the sound of large metal doors opening in front of her. Two metal doors slowly slid open as they reviled a large tunnel ahead of the group. Riko smirked as she pressed the blue button to start her engine. The cycle hummed to life as it began to slowly lift itself and its rider up off the ground with Tate and Kathryn's bikes following after her as they revved their engines to life.
"Let's move out!" shouted Riko over the roaring of engines before she leaned forward on her hover cycle.
In that instant, the three cycles took off down the secret tunnel as Duke watched the trio disappear in the distance.
'Please watch over them,' prayed Duke within his head before he left the hanger.
In the tunnel
Tate was ahead of the group while Riko and Kathryn followed behind him. The 22 year old looked over his shoulder to shout at the two females behind him.
"We'll be approaching the exit in a few minute!"
"Alright!" yelled Riko to the group. "Once we get out of the other end we'll accelerate into hypersonic!"
"Roger!" echoed Kathryn and Tate in agreement.
"On my mark!" shouted Riko as she saw light up ahead of them. "Three, two, one…accelerate now!"
The trio quickly pressed the red button on their cycles. In that instant the engines kicked in as the bikes blasted forward while the trio hanged on tight.
Outside the walls of the city
Outside of the city, four drones were patrolling as they were looking for any escaped citizens that had gotten away before the evasion. All was quiet for them until they were suddenly blown back by an unknown burst of wind that came out of nowhere. The drones quickly picked themselves up as they use their scanners to see what had just hit them, but all they saw was a large landscape of desert in front of them.
The desert
Three cycles flew across the desert in a blur as the riders raced towards their destination. Tate was in front of the pack as he led the way to Twin Beaks while giving out a whoop of joy.
"Yee-haw!" yelled out Tate against the wind. "Now this is what I'm talkin' about!"
"At this speed we'll reach Twin Beaks in no time flat!" shouted Kathryn.
"Alright team, let's do it to it!" shouted Riko over the rush of wind.
With that, the trio disappeared across the desert not knowing the dangers or adventures that will await them out there.
To be continued