1 – Life's a Pain
Okay, so I don't know what got over me, but I really wanted to write, story ideas keep on popping up in my head in the most inconvenient moments. So here are some heads up, the update times are going to be random. Also, this story takes place after the events of "Unleashed" and before "Skulls and Bones". I wanted to connect the two. So here it is and enjoy!
There was a disgusting stench of burnt flesh in the air and bone dust severely deprived one of his sight. The rays of light were revealed as they hit the microscopic particles in the air. They traveled in straight lines down from the lamp and illuminated a black water monitor underneath. His eyes were widened and his pupils barely visible. He was panting heavily, indulging his body in the precious oxygen as if he had just risen from the dead. He stayed like that for half an hour before finally mustering up the willpower to stand up. It took all four of his limbs to pull himself out of the depths of the chair.
He remained there in front of the mirror, his forelegs braced against the table. His eyes wandered slightly to his left, where he spotted two small chunks of pink flesh, once part of his brain. The scent of his own flesh was being picked up by his forked tongue and carried into his Jacobson's organ. Eating it would return valuable nutrients, but somehow he couldn't make himself do it. The mere thought of that once being part of a living creature, even if it was himself, awoke something inside of him, an unsettling feeling in his stomach.
He slowly extended his claw, his throbbing head robbing him of his surgical steadiness, and picked up the pieces. He threw them into the bottle of disinfectant before seizing a lighter. The beautiful orange flame, erupting from the small metallic device, was almost magic. "Goodbye, old life," he said in an icy cold whisper.
3 weeks later
In the penguin habitat, the quartet was just finishing up their morning training. "…And jazz hands!" was the last command Skipper gave. He looked to his left and saw Rico and Kowalski standing still, while Private had his flippers extended in front of him and a wide smile on his face. The lead penguin groaned, "Rico!" he called and the Mohawk wielding bird delivered a slap to his younger teammate.
"Ouch!" squawked Private as he rubbed the sore spot. "What was that for?" he asked.
"That last command was a test. We don't have hands and even if we did, we'd never have something like that in our routine."
"Oh, um, sorry… now what?"
"Kowalski, what's on the agenda?"
The lieutenant pulled out his trusty clipboard and quickly delivered the requested information. "According to the generic symbols on this sheet of cellulose, it's Sunday, which means the zoo's closed," he replied.
"Excellent," the captain said rubbing his flippers together, "I want us to use the day as efficiently as possible, so what do you suggest?"
"I propose a quick recon, followed by the usual resolving of minor problems and finally handing in the mission reports. That done, we'd still have enough time to peacefully enjoy the Sunday afternoon."
Rico laughed and clapped his flippers in response.
"Looks like Rico agrees, so that's more than half of us. Motion carried," Skipper said.
"Maybe we could go and visit Alexander as well," suggested Private, but was met with dead silence from his teammates. "Or… not," me muttered to himself.
Skipper walked over to his side and placed a comforting flipper on the young soldier's shoulder, "Look, he'll come out when he figures things out. It's not something we can rush. I can't imagine what it's like to have that kind of burden on your shoulders, all those lives…"
Private averted his look, while trying to keep the memories from surfacing. "Skippah…" he began, and got his leader's attention, "Do you think we could get snowcones later?" he asked with a smile.
The leader smirked and shook his head, "Sure," he replied.
A few hours later
In the Central park, a familiar family of a single mother and 4 ducklings was enjoying a beautiful day by the water. The yellow balls of fluff, racing across the surface of the water, were so adorable. With their bright orange beaks and big black eyes, they could fool even the most paranoid observer.
"You're it!" yelled Samuel as he dunked his brother underwater. It resulted in a burst of laughter from the others as they began chasing each other. They weren't so innocent and cute as one might think.
Mother duck just smiled as she watched them from the shore. She couldn't help but be concerned as a mother always is. If it were up to her, she would just wrap each one of her hatchlings up in bubble wrap and carry them around on her back, but she couldn't, they would all still grow up and eventually head out into the world. She couldn't watch over them forever.
A sharp pain struck the mother duck in her abdomen. She forced her beak shut so as to not alert her children. She felt her balance dwindling away, but managed to catch herself, by repositioning her foot. Her quick movements, however, didn't remain unnoticed.
Eggy swam to the shore, with a concerned look in his eyes, "Mother, is something being the matter?" the remaining ducklings joined his side, sporting similar expressions.
"Why no," she replied with the best fake smile she could muster up, "Whatever makes you think th-AAAH!" she screamed and clutched her stomach.
"Mommy!" the ducklings screamed in fear as they jumped out of the water and hugged their mother.
The duck looked down at the sight of her children embracing her. They were her gems, she couldn't risk it any further. A bird may be able to hide injuries for a very long time, but she already passed her limits, she couldn't risk leaving her children alone. Whatever was wrong with her had been bothering her for over a week now and it wasn't something she could just walk off.
"Babies…" she began, panting due to the pain, "go get Mr. Private… momma needs help," she managed to say, before falling over.
As fate would have it, on their way towards the snowcone vendor, a rookery of four penguins slid over a nearby hill. Skipper immediately noticed that something was wrong with the family of ducks, "Change of plans, men," he said and changed his course. His team followed without a word, the snowcones could wait, after all.
"Kowalski, analysis!" Skipper ordered.
Private moved the ducklings aside to make room for the scientist.
"Just as I expected," he said after a minute, "Learning medical books by heart won't do you any good if you don't have the field praxis to support that knowledge."
Skipper rolled his eyes, "Great, so what now?"
"I believe the answer is quite obvious."
The leader sighed, "Fine; Rico, grab Momma; Private, watch the kids; Kowalski, you're coming with me, someone's about to get a premature end to his vacation."
What can you expect from this fic? A little romance, a little killing, no genocide and a lot of humor. Does anybody have a name suggestion for Mother duck? I don't want to keep on calling her that. Hope you liked it so far and review!
