I don't own any of this, yada, yada, yada…
Drake 1 screamed through the complex, announcing trouble. Tanya was the first one in, typing away as Grin, Mallory, Duke, Nose Dive, and Wild Wing came rushing in, fully prepped.
Tanya said over the alarm, "Teleportation energy, detected at the old M.A.Z.E. in the city!"
M.A.Z.E. stood for, Maze Adapted: Zach Elerrs. Some kid named that had adapted the place as a home after he'd gotten lost in the labyrinth like bushes.
Wing shouted, "Let's go!" They all headed for the Migrator and were soon on their way.
They reached the outer ring within twenty minutes. Wing took charge. "Alright, we'll split up. Tanya and Mal, you guys are together. Grin, Dive, you guys are together. Duke and me will go together. If there's any trouble, contact each other through communicators."
Everyone nodded his or her head in agreement. Except Dive. "Aw, man! I want to go with you!" Dive had been having nightmares and had constantly wanted to stay close to his big brother.
Wing shook his head. "No, Dive. Go with Grin. If Tanya's right, there should be four Saurians here. We need to have you somewhere safe."
Wing put his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. Dive looked worried. Wing had been acting different lately. So had Duke. And Wing's next act proved something was up.
Wing took the Mask off and looked at it with a little bit of every emotion known to man. He finally held it out to Dive. "If anything happens, you're going to need this to lead the team."
Dive looked bewildered. Why was Wing acting like this? He slowly reached out and felt the smooth gold of the Mask. Then, he was forced to grab it so it wouldn't fall to the ground. By the time he looked up, Duke and Wing were already in the M.A.Z.E.
Duke looked at Wing, who looked back at him. He knew what was up. He was part of it. Duke read his friend's eyes. They showed pain, guilt, dread, and anger. Duke realized he probably looked the same to his friend.
It was simple. The four Saurians were Dragonus, Wraith, Siege, and Chameleon. And two ducks had a deal with them.
Mal, Tanya, Dive, and Grin followed silently after their two comrades. Who were, in short, scaring them. They followed with skills that Duke would have been proud of, driven on by curiosity, worry, and fear.
They stopped at a corner and looked around. They seemed to be in the middle of the M.A.Z.E. There was a large circle around them, clear of any bushes. Wing and Duke were standing in the middle. They looked full of fear and dread. They didn't notice their friends.
Mal asked, "Okay, something weird is going on. Any ideas?" Grin said in his maddening clam voice, "Something is not right." Dive couldn't resist whispering, "No shit! How long did it take you to figure that out?"
Tanya urged them to be quiet as she noticed movement. Suddenly, Chameleon emerged from a hiding spot, followed by Wraith. Dive snickered, still holding the Mask, "Two against two? Now, those are good odds!" He was about to say some more when Wraith spoke, "Your weapons?"
Mal said, "Aw, that has got to be the lamest try to get someone's gun in all time!" Tanya said in a worried voice, "Maybe, but it worked."
They watched as Duke pulled off his sword, grappler hook, COM watch, and puck launcher. Wing pulled off his ice shield, glove launcher, puck launcher, and COM watch. They laid them on the ground.
Dive's jaw dropped. "What are they doing? They could have beaten them, easy! What the hell is going on!?!?" The others seemed just as speechless.
Siege teleported in and stood in front of the ducks with an evil grin. Wraith said, "Check them." Siege did, first by ordering the mallards at blaster point to drop to their knees, then searched their pockets and clothing. After a few minutes he said, "They're clean."
Wraith said, "Good ducks. I don't know how we would have reacted to concealed weapons. Now, I assume you have the Mask?"
Wing gritted his teeth before saying, "No, I don't." Siege growled out, "That was part of the deal!" Wing said, "There was an explosion at the Pond, and it was damaged. I couldn't take it. The other ducks would have known something was up."
Siege bit out, "You should have snuck it, then!" Without warning, he brought his tail around to Wing's right side. The club at the end bashed against his armor, shattering it. Wing flew a couple of feet before skidding to a halt.
Duke was about to take a step to help him when Siege pointed his blaster at him and said, "You stay right there, unless you want to join him."
Duke spat out, "Beating us senseless was not part of the deal!" Siege answered, "Neither was lying! We'd have known if there was a blast at the Pond! Unless our inside ducks didn't tell us about it."
Wing painfully got to his feet. Blood was dripping from his side. He winced as he moved one of his ribs. Duke didn't care about Siege's warning and ran to his side. Wing gratefully accepted his help.
Wraith scolded Siege, "We are not to spoil the merchandise! Dragonus wants his slaves back in pristine shape!" Siege grunted, "Well, one of his new ducky slaves is going to have a few broken ribs!"
Dive watched with horror at Wing's wound. Blood was flowing from it freely. Suddenly, he felt anger like never before. He was about to attack when he heard something else.
Duke said, "Listen, I want to reconfirm our deal. Our part is: we're your slaves. Our lives are yours. Your part is: You leave the rest of the ducks and the world alone and you blow up your dimension generator."
Siege nodded. Suddenly, Dragonus walked to the center of the ring. He glared at the two ducks. He noticed Wing's wound and asked, "Why did you attack him?" Siege answered, "My lord, he didn't bring the Mask."
Dragonus sighed and put up a hand to rub his temples while saying, "Wild Wing, you know that the Mask was part of the deal." Wing gritted his teeth as he nodded. Dragonus said, "Well, then, I guess we'll have to make this a little more interesting."
Suddenly, Drones teleported in around Wing and Duke. For a brief instant, Wing thought that they were going to attack him. But then, Dragonus received his full attention. "Get the ducks hiding behind the hedge! You hear me ducks? If you do not come quietly I'll kill these two mallards!"
Dive didn't waste anytime. He quickly shoved the Mask under the bush, then motioned for the others to follow him. Wing looked on in horror as his brother and teammates were surrounded. Dive stood firm and looked at his brother coldly. Without any warning, he sprang and tackled him to the ground. They rolled a few times and Dive managed to land a few punches. Wig didn't even try to fight him. Suddenly, Dive punched his hurt side. Wing screamed. Dive grabbed him by the throat and was strangling him when Duke rammed into him, pushing him off of him.
Wing was unconscious, either from the lack of air or from the pain. Dive stood up and stood over him, yelling, "Why'd you betray us, huh? You're our leader! You're my brother! Your not supposed to do this! Leaders aren't supposed to do this!" Wing regained consciousness just as him brother kicked him in the side. He no longer had the strength or energy to scream. He just sat there, tired eyes looked up at Dive.
Wing sat up and said, "Dive, I did this for you." Without warning, Siege injected something into Dive's arm from behind. A few seconds later, he fell to the ground. His last view of the world before darkness claimed him was a tear rolling down his brother's bill.
Drake 1 screamed through the complex, announcing trouble. Tanya was the first one in, typing away as Grin, Mallory, Duke, Nose Dive, and Wild Wing came rushing in, fully prepped.
Tanya said over the alarm, "Teleportation energy, detected at the old M.A.Z.E. in the city!"
M.A.Z.E. stood for, Maze Adapted: Zach Elerrs. Some kid named that had adapted the place as a home after he'd gotten lost in the labyrinth like bushes.
Wing shouted, "Let's go!" They all headed for the Migrator and were soon on their way.
They reached the outer ring within twenty minutes. Wing took charge. "Alright, we'll split up. Tanya and Mal, you guys are together. Grin, Dive, you guys are together. Duke and me will go together. If there's any trouble, contact each other through communicators."
Everyone nodded his or her head in agreement. Except Dive. "Aw, man! I want to go with you!" Dive had been having nightmares and had constantly wanted to stay close to his big brother.
Wing shook his head. "No, Dive. Go with Grin. If Tanya's right, there should be four Saurians here. We need to have you somewhere safe."
Wing put his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. Dive looked worried. Wing had been acting different lately. So had Duke. And Wing's next act proved something was up.
Wing took the Mask off and looked at it with a little bit of every emotion known to man. He finally held it out to Dive. "If anything happens, you're going to need this to lead the team."
Dive looked bewildered. Why was Wing acting like this? He slowly reached out and felt the smooth gold of the Mask. Then, he was forced to grab it so it wouldn't fall to the ground. By the time he looked up, Duke and Wing were already in the M.A.Z.E.
Duke looked at Wing, who looked back at him. He knew what was up. He was part of it. Duke read his friend's eyes. They showed pain, guilt, dread, and anger. Duke realized he probably looked the same to his friend.
It was simple. The four Saurians were Dragonus, Wraith, Siege, and Chameleon. And two ducks had a deal with them.
Mal, Tanya, Dive, and Grin followed silently after their two comrades. Who were, in short, scaring them. They followed with skills that Duke would have been proud of, driven on by curiosity, worry, and fear.
They stopped at a corner and looked around. They seemed to be in the middle of the M.A.Z.E. There was a large circle around them, clear of any bushes. Wing and Duke were standing in the middle. They looked full of fear and dread. They didn't notice their friends.
Mal asked, "Okay, something weird is going on. Any ideas?" Grin said in his maddening clam voice, "Something is not right." Dive couldn't resist whispering, "No shit! How long did it take you to figure that out?"
Tanya urged them to be quiet as she noticed movement. Suddenly, Chameleon emerged from a hiding spot, followed by Wraith. Dive snickered, still holding the Mask, "Two against two? Now, those are good odds!" He was about to say some more when Wraith spoke, "Your weapons?"
Mal said, "Aw, that has got to be the lamest try to get someone's gun in all time!" Tanya said in a worried voice, "Maybe, but it worked."
They watched as Duke pulled off his sword, grappler hook, COM watch, and puck launcher. Wing pulled off his ice shield, glove launcher, puck launcher, and COM watch. They laid them on the ground.
Dive's jaw dropped. "What are they doing? They could have beaten them, easy! What the hell is going on!?!?" The others seemed just as speechless.
Siege teleported in and stood in front of the ducks with an evil grin. Wraith said, "Check them." Siege did, first by ordering the mallards at blaster point to drop to their knees, then searched their pockets and clothing. After a few minutes he said, "They're clean."
Wraith said, "Good ducks. I don't know how we would have reacted to concealed weapons. Now, I assume you have the Mask?"
Wing gritted his teeth before saying, "No, I don't." Siege growled out, "That was part of the deal!" Wing said, "There was an explosion at the Pond, and it was damaged. I couldn't take it. The other ducks would have known something was up."
Siege bit out, "You should have snuck it, then!" Without warning, he brought his tail around to Wing's right side. The club at the end bashed against his armor, shattering it. Wing flew a couple of feet before skidding to a halt.
Duke was about to take a step to help him when Siege pointed his blaster at him and said, "You stay right there, unless you want to join him."
Duke spat out, "Beating us senseless was not part of the deal!" Siege answered, "Neither was lying! We'd have known if there was a blast at the Pond! Unless our inside ducks didn't tell us about it."
Wing painfully got to his feet. Blood was dripping from his side. He winced as he moved one of his ribs. Duke didn't care about Siege's warning and ran to his side. Wing gratefully accepted his help.
Wraith scolded Siege, "We are not to spoil the merchandise! Dragonus wants his slaves back in pristine shape!" Siege grunted, "Well, one of his new ducky slaves is going to have a few broken ribs!"
Dive watched with horror at Wing's wound. Blood was flowing from it freely. Suddenly, he felt anger like never before. He was about to attack when he heard something else.
Duke said, "Listen, I want to reconfirm our deal. Our part is: we're your slaves. Our lives are yours. Your part is: You leave the rest of the ducks and the world alone and you blow up your dimension generator."
Siege nodded. Suddenly, Dragonus walked to the center of the ring. He glared at the two ducks. He noticed Wing's wound and asked, "Why did you attack him?" Siege answered, "My lord, he didn't bring the Mask."
Dragonus sighed and put up a hand to rub his temples while saying, "Wild Wing, you know that the Mask was part of the deal." Wing gritted his teeth as he nodded. Dragonus said, "Well, then, I guess we'll have to make this a little more interesting."
Suddenly, Drones teleported in around Wing and Duke. For a brief instant, Wing thought that they were going to attack him. But then, Dragonus received his full attention. "Get the ducks hiding behind the hedge! You hear me ducks? If you do not come quietly I'll kill these two mallards!"
Dive didn't waste anytime. He quickly shoved the Mask under the bush, then motioned for the others to follow him. Wing looked on in horror as his brother and teammates were surrounded. Dive stood firm and looked at his brother coldly. Without any warning, he sprang and tackled him to the ground. They rolled a few times and Dive managed to land a few punches. Wig didn't even try to fight him. Suddenly, Dive punched his hurt side. Wing screamed. Dive grabbed him by the throat and was strangling him when Duke rammed into him, pushing him off of him.
Wing was unconscious, either from the lack of air or from the pain. Dive stood up and stood over him, yelling, "Why'd you betray us, huh? You're our leader! You're my brother! Your not supposed to do this! Leaders aren't supposed to do this!" Wing regained consciousness just as him brother kicked him in the side. He no longer had the strength or energy to scream. He just sat there, tired eyes looked up at Dive.
Wing sat up and said, "Dive, I did this for you." Without warning, Siege injected something into Dive's arm from behind. A few seconds later, he fell to the ground. His last view of the world before darkness claimed him was a tear rolling down his brother's bill.