Hi All. So, I have been working on this particular story for two years now. It has suffered from more than one re-write and does result in a cross over with another of my fave cartoons. Anywho, I am happy with the first part of this story now and am going to start uploading it. Once that section is uploaded there may be a little break before I upload the next part, I may even end up splitting it into more than one story, but I'm not sure yet. Plus I want to be sure I am happy with it before I upload it.

This is set several years after the show, just so you know. And I have taken some liberties with ages as they were never really given in the show, merely implied. So please no comments about any ages, I am aware they might not be accurate for the show, but I have taken the liberties to help the story fit. Anywho, I hope you enjoy my story. Please leave a review if you do enjoy it.

Angel 3

Chapter 1:

The lights and colours were blinding. He didn't know how long he had been spinning within the vortex he had found himself in. The last thing he remembered was the sound of his best friend calling his name. That was it. It was a blinding light and a deafening silence ever since. Canard had to admit he was getting incredibly bored of the nothingness. When he was sure he was going mad and all hope had left him, he saw something different. He didn't know how to move in the nothingness and wanted nothing more than to check out the oddity before him. But he didn't know how. He squinted to try and get a better look at whatever it was. Part of him told him it was stupid to merely squint. That it wouldn't help him see this thing before him any better. But he squinted anyway. He wasn't sure how to describe it. Whereas his surroundings had, up until recently, been the blinding lights, this was almost dark. But Canard wasn't sure if that was just the contrast preventing him from seeing any details. It took a couple of moments before the tan mallard realised that the darkness was heading towards him. He almost panicked, but he was so desperate to get out of the nothingness he didn't even try to avoid whatever was heading towards him. As his body passed through the darkness he was suddenly falling, and everything was strange. Canard cried out in shock, but he didn't fall for long before he landed on the hard ground and he was surrounded by darkness once again.

"Any change Tanya?" Wildwing asked as he entered the infirmary. When Drake One had alerted them to the teleportation energy, they had expected Draganus. When they had arrived, and found an unconscious Canard he had instantly scanned the prone form to make sure it wasn't the Chameleon again. He had laughed aloud in disbelief when the mask had confirmed it was really his missing friend. Tanya immediately set to work checking Canard for injuries and had declared that he must have fallen when he had teleported from wherever he had been, that he had knocked his head pretty badly. Grin had assisted her in getting him to the aerowing and they were soon back at the pond.

"Not yet." Tanya told him. "But he is stable. My main concern is his mental state when he wakes up." She pushed up her glasses to rub her eyes. "I mean we don't know where he's been. We don't know what's happened to him. He might develop PTSD. He might…" Wildwing placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Then we'll help him as best we can." Wildwing smiled at his friend and teammate.

"What if we can't?" Tanya countered with almost frightened eyes.

"Canard is the strongest person I know." Wildwing assured her.

"You could start by keeping your voices down." Canard grumbled from the bed. The duck's arm came up and he rubbed his head before trying to sit up.

"Don't you dare!" Tanya scolded before pushing him back down. "You are injured, and you need to rest!"

"Where am I?" Canard ignored the woman fussing over him.

"Welcome to Earth buddy." Wildwing grinned.

"How long have I..?" Canard asked noticing that Wildwing looked a little older than he remembered.

"Five years." Wildwing replied sadly.

"Five years?! It feels like yesterday!" Canard said as he finally relented and lay back down which earned him an approving nod from Tanya. "Draganus?"

"Still loose." Wildwing admitted.

"But he hasn't taken over this planet either." Tanya clarified whilst she glared at Wildwing over her glasses. Wildwing knew there would be another talk with her soon about his confidence and self-esteem. Tanya meant well but he really wished the woman didn't treat him as some kind of patient when he had one of his anxious moments. He knew Tanya respected him and he had accepted that he was their leader, but it still made him feel about three inches tall when she slipped into doctor mode.

"Well that's something I guess." Canard rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to knead the kinks out.

"Do you remember anything?" Tanya asked Canard.

"About what?" Canard made a face then realised what she was asking him about, "Oh, um… not really. Just bright lights and nothing."

"Interesting." Tanya rubbed her chin, "I wanna run some tests. It's possible you were in some kind of space outside of reality. You may not have even aged and…." She stopped at the looks both Wildwing and Canard were giving her. "But that can wait till you've rested and are feeling better." She added quickly with a blush.

Nosedive rested his head on the picnic table he had taken up residence on. He'd felt pretty bad when his brother had lost his best friend. Not least because a part of him was almost glad when Canard had gone missing. Now he was back, and his brother was happy.

"Nosedive!" He jumped at the squeal of the young child he knew would soon be leaping on top of him. Sure, enough a small body landed on his back and small arms were around his neck.

"Hey, Molly." He grinned, glad for the distraction. The little girl, satisfied she had hugged her friend enough moved to sit on the seat beside him. Molly was a six-year-old girl he had met when he and his team had been on a meet and greet at the local school that Molly attended. Molly had been one of the few kids who had been brave enough to talk to them as if they were like any other people. She was small for her age and had blonde wavy hair with bright blue eyes.

"Can I braid your hair again?" She grinned. "I wanna practice and I've already done my mom's" Nosedive chuckled with a nod in the affirmative. Molly climbed onto the table and sat down then waited for Nosedive to shift so his back was to her. She then started to separate his hair but stopped. "Your hair's all tangly again!" She complained.

"Yeah," He replied, "I may have forgotten to comb it this morning."

"You'll get split ends." An older woman's voice scolded from his right. He turned to wave at Jessica Fury, Molly's mother, who walked over to the pair. "Molly, how many times had I told you not to run off like that." When you looked at Jessica it was obvious she was Molly's mother. He hair was a shade or two darker than Molly's and the only real difference was that Jessica's eyes were more green than blue. Jessica was also incredibly tall. Nosedive was sure the woman must be at least six feet tall and had often wondered if she had done something athletic at some point before she became a teacher and a mother.

"But mom, I saw Nosedive and…"

"No buts young lady. Nosedive might have been busy, or someone could have knocked you over or even taken you." Jessica frowned at her daughter.

"I'm sorry Mommy." Moly said with a pout.

"Just try to think before you act a little more," Jessica told her daughter before sitting down beside the pair, "Why don't you go play for a while, I'll lend Nosedive my brush and you can braid his hair in a little bit. I can see Aron and Kimberley over by the swings."

"OK!" Molly replied rushing over to her friends. "Hey guys!" She yelled as she approached the two other children.

"I know I've said this before, but she is way too cute." Nosedive laughed.

"Too bad she knows that." Jess rolled her eyes then looked more closely at the young man beside her, "What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You are not your usual hyperactive self." She explained, "Normally you would go play with the kids for a while before talking to a boring old mother like me."

"You're not boring and you're not old." It was Nosedive's turn to roll his eyes, "You're the same age as Wildwing!"

"But I'm a mom and a teacher, so that makes me automatically boring and old." Jessica joked with a wink.

"Whatever." Nosedive wanted to laugh, he knew she was trying to cheer him up. He just wasn't up to putting on his usual act.

"OK, there is definitely something wrong." Jessica frowned. "Fess up kid."

"It's Canard."

"The guy that went missing on your way here?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, well he's back." Nosedive leant over and held his head in his hands.

"And you're worried about how he's going to treat you now he's back?" Jessica asked. Knowing full well that the duck Nosedive was referring to had wanted to leave her young friend behind in a work camp, rather than take him with them.

"Pretty much." Nosedive looked up again but sought out Molly's form and smiled as he watched her whoop for joy as Molly slid down the slide.

"Considering that you are the reason any of your team survived, he'd have to be a real jerk to treat you like a kid now." Jessica tried to assure him.

"Mom?!" Molly called from the park.

"Yes baby?" Jessica replied.

"Did you lend Nosedive your brush yet? I want to show Aron and Kim how I can braid hair!" Molly grinned as she and her friends ran back over to them. Nosedive and Jessica laughed at the sight and Jessica handed him her brush. The blonde duck pulled it through his hair a few times to get rid of the tangles then helped Molly back up behind him on the table again. Her friends sat on the other side, so they could watch their friend work.

"So, have you spoken to your brother about this?" Jessica asked him as her daughter began preparing his hair.

"What for? Canard has always made sure not to be a jerk to me in front of him and I don't want Wildwing to lose his best friend cause of me." Nosedive said with a bitter edge to his voice.

"Well maybe it's time you did." Jessica told him, "He's your brother, he'll want to know if you're upset. Take it from someone who is an older sister."

"Didn't you say you were a twin?" Nosedive asked.

"I am, but I also have a little sister." She told him with a wink, "That and Alex is three minutes younger than me so…" She winked which made Nosedive laugh. Nosedive noticed Jessica focussing on something beyond him but before he could ask, "Looks like you'll be able to talk to him sooner rather than later." She indicated, and he instinctively turned his head.

"Nosedive!" Molly whined, "Stop moving! Now I have to start over!"

"Sorry." Nosedive cringed very conscious that his brother was approaching and didn't know that he'd made friends with the small family and Molly's little friends.

"Um, Nosedive?" Wildwing raised a brow at the scene of a small blonde girl messing with his brother's long hair.

"Hey bro." Nosedive replied not looking at his brother.

"You took off and no one knew where you were." Wildwing said with an edge of concern in his voice. Jessica hid a knowing smile. "And you're not answering your com."

"He's letting me braid his hair." Molly stated.

"I can see that." Wildwing smiled at her kindly. "You're doing a pretty good job too."

"Thanks! My mom taught me. Her name's Jessica and she's the best mom in the world." Molly continued to babble on about how amazing her mother was. Both Wildwing and Nosedive did not fail to spot Jessica's face going a bit red.

"You OK bro?" Wildwing asked his little brother.

"Yeah I'm fine." Nosedive replied, and Jessica rolled her eyes at his response. Something that was not missed by Wildwing at all.

"I don't believe you." Wildwing crossed his arms and glared at his brother with his best 'I'm standing in for dad' look.

"All done!" Molly declared as she finished the braid off with a hairband.

"Well, since you're done we should probably get going Molly." Jessica said, "We'll take Aron and Kimberley back to their parents then make our way home and…"

"You don't have to leave just cause my brother showed up you know." Nosedive said to her, not making eye contact with his human friend.

"You have something you need to talk about with him and you don't need us in the way." Jessica declared, showing where her daughter got her attitude from. "You know where to find us if you need to talk. But right now, that's what your brother is for." She winked and led the kids away ignoring the stare she could feel coming from the older Flashblade as she and the children left.

"Wasn't that kid..?" Wildwing began.

"From the school thing a while back? Yeah." Nosedive shrugged.

"OK, Dive." Wildwing sat down beside his brother, "I want to know what's wrong."

"No. You don't" Nosedive said stubbornly.

"Nosedive." Wildwing said with a warning edge. After his brother pouted and crossed his arms defensively, Wildwing rolled his eyes and sighed. "Is this about Canard?" The older brother frowned when that got a reaction. Nosedive had instantly grown stiff and his face gave away the answer without the younger needing to utter a word. "I know you two have never really got on that well." Nosedive looked away from his brother, "Dive talk to me!"

"And what?!" Nosedive snapped, "tell you I can't stand your best friend? He wanted to leave me behind! He wanted to leave me in that work camp. He didn't even once ask what either of us went through in there! And you know why? Because he's never cared about anyone but himself!" Nosedive's breathing had become erratic and he wanted to hit something really bad at that point.

"And you think I've forgiven him for that?" Wildwing asked pointedly.

"Well haven't you?" Nosedive asked quietly.

"No!" Wildwing replied, "I will never forgive him for expecting me to leave you behind when he found us. But he does care about more than just himself. If he didn't then he wouldn't have sacrificed himself to let us get away from that energy worm."

"I guess." Nosedive admitted.

"Nosedive, I want you to promise me something." Wildwing waited to make sure his little brother was listening to him, "Promise me that you'll come to me if Canard ever gives you a hard time. Okay?" Nosedive didn't respond, "Nosedive?"

"Fine! I promise." He replied almost angrily.

"You're my little brother Dive. Canard may be my best friend, but you come first. You're the only family I have left. I'm not about to let Canard get between us. You got that." Wildwing placed a hand on his brother's shoulder who looked up at him. Nosedive suddenly threw his arms around his big brother's neck.

"I love you bro." Nosedive told his brother.

"Love you too little brother." Wildwing replied squeezing his brother back, "You know what?" Wildwing said to change the subject and take his brother's mind off of the recent events, "I feel like pizza. How about you?"

"Sounds good to me." Nosedive grinned.

Back at the pond Canard was beginning to get bored until he spotted a tuft of red hair from the doorway. Mallory stood on the other side of the doorway deciding whether or not she was going to go in and see Canard. The others didn't know that the pair had been an item before they had created the strike force. Didn't know that she had been the one to help him find the mask and take the aerowing for their mission. She'd tried to forget him, but now he was back, and she wasn't sure whether to be fuming or relieved.

"You just going to stand out there?" Mallory jumped and turned to glare at Canard who was out of bed and had an unreadable look on his face.

"Tanya won't much like you being out of bed yet." Mallory told him looking away from him.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." He shrugged, "Why? You gonna rat me out captain?"

"Of course not!" She snapped. "Lieutenant." She added out of familiarity.

"I missed you." He told her, "I know to me I wasn't in there long, but I thought about you."

"You just jumped." She said quietly. "There was no goodbye. No acknowledgement of what we had. You just had to play hero and jump."

"You think I had a choice?" Canard asked. "If didn't do what I did, we all would have died that day."

"I know that!" Mallory shouted then realised she had exclaimed a little louder than she'd thought, "I know that." She repeated more quietly, "I'm well aware of what needed to be done. I grew up a military brat, remember? That doesn't make it any easier to swallow."

"I'm sorry Mallory." Canard cupped her cheek. "But I couldn't let them win. I couldn't let them kill you or the others."

"Before all this..." Mallory looked at him, so she was sure she could see his reaction, "The things you said…Did you mean them?" Canard smiled and slipped an arm around her waist to pull her closer.

"I meant every word." He held her close as he breathed in her scent.

"You were just gone." Mallory wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. "No one knew about… so I just pretended like…Oh Gods, it hurt so much!" She didn't know when she started crying, and part of her was mortified about the fact. It certainly wasn't something she normally did. In fact, it was something she made a point not to do in front of anyone. Her father had taught her that emotions were a weakness that could be used against her. But her father was no longer alive, and they weren't even on Puckworld anymore. And Canard was back.

"I'm sorry Mallory." Canard's heart broke as Mallory sobbed into his shoulder. He knew it was his fault she was breaking down like this, but he wasn't sure what he could have done differently to save her from the pain he had caused her. "But I'm here now. And I'd like to think, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"You do, and I will be hunting you down." Mallory told him as she enjoyed the warmth of his body.

Later that night, Wildwing entered the infirmary to check on his best friend to find a certain red head curled up at his side. Both she and Canard were fast asleep. They lay on top of the covers so Wildwing quietly went to the cupboard to grab another one and covered the pair, so they wouldn't get cold overnight. He turned off the lights as he left and continued on to his room with a small smile on his beak.

Next chapter will be uploaded soon. This is the 6th time I have proof read this and I will probably end up proof reading them all again for the umpteenth time, just to be sure. If I have missed anything I'm really sorry! I really hope you enjoyed my first chapter. Toodles. x