HAI! Well, here's another chapter. This one is probably the longest one I've written thus far, and I hope you guys like it =3 My medical knowledge from this chapter is strictly from watching episodes of ER and various ones of Scrubs, so...ya. Just deal.

P.S. Does Taco Bell make triple spicy hot tacos? ^ends random thought^

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS or Taco Bell. If I did own both or either, I'd be rich

The leader sat next to Duke's bed, reading a book. Nosedive was off somewhere, Mallory was in the Armaments Room, claiming to be cleaning various weapons, Tanya was due to come back to the Infirmary soon (she checked up on Duke at least every two hours), and Grin had gone on what he had called 'a spiritual quest'.

What the larger drake was looking for, Wildwing was not sure.

Not much had changed since they had come back to the Pond almost…how long now? Wildwing had barely left the Infirmary since the first night, so he wasn't sure anymore. Nosedive and Grin would come in and stay with him and bring food, making sure that the goalie ate something to keep up his strength. Mallory was the only one who had not visited since the first night. Wildwing had a feeling that it had something to do with the fact that she kept accusing him of stealing the jewels for himself during that whole ordeal and was now feeling guilty about it. It would explain why she hadn't come back anyway.

"You don't have to stay in here all the time, y'know."

The older Flashblade looked up to see Tanya at the foot of their injured teammate's bed. "I know," Wildwing said, putting his book down. "But I would feel bad if he woke up and no one was here." He looked back at Duke and sighed.

"But you can't keep doing this," Tanya told him. "It's been a week since the incident with Dragaunus and Falcone. Duke hasn't woken up once and you haven't -y'know - left here since that night. You need more than a few hours sleep every other night!"

Wildwing just stared at a spot on the floor. "Maybe so, but I wouldn't be able to even if I left," he told her. "Duke's helped both Dive and me so much, and it would feel like…I was abandoning him if I left now-"

Suddenly, he looked at the ex-thief. "What's wrong?" asked Tanya.

"I've got that same feeling," Wildwing said. "The same feeling when Nosedive had surgery and it took longer. It felt like something just hit the pit of my stomach…"

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Nosedive had been hanging out with Thrash and Mookie at a local Taco Bell when he suddenly felt something…weird. "What's up Dive?" Mookie asked.

"I dunno," Nosedive answered. "I've got this weird feeling that something's happening, or about to."

"You mean with that maroon-jump suited guy that you've been updating us about?" Thrash asked. "What's his name, Duke?"

Dive merely nodded, looking back in the direction of the Pond. "I think I'm gonna go back and see if anything's happening," he finally said. He got up and started back to the Duckcycle he had taken out…

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Grin was suddenly snapped out of his deep meditation when he felt something. He was at a nearby park, trying to meditate with nature since the Pond had too many 'dark clouds' hanging over.

But something just now had shattered his concentration, and it took a lot to do that whenever Grin meditated. The much larger duck couldn't feel a certain presence anymore, and that greatly troubled him.

Getting up from his spot on the ground, he activated his rocket skates and sped off towards the Pond…

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This isn't half bad aft'ah awhile, Duke thought. But seriously, I've been stuck like this for a week it seems. It gets borin'. When can I wake up?

That's when he heard from far off something suddenly stop. What the puck was that?

"Great Mother of Ducks!"

"What do we do?!"

Footsteps running. "I'm gonna grab the paddles! Just go outside and wait!"

"Tanya-"

"NOW!"

And then whatever world Duke was in went black.

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Nosedive was making his way to the elevator in the locker room when he ran into Grin. "Grinster!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing back? I thought you went to 'meditate with nature'."

"I was," the other answered. "And I thought you were with your friends."

"I was too," Nosedive answered, the two continuing to the elevator. "But something started bugging me, so I felt like I had to come back"

"That happened to me as well," Grin said. "I felt a presence missing from our team."

Those words made Nosedive stop right in his tracks. "Wait, you can't feel a certain aura?" he asked. Grin shook his head. "If you can't feel it, then…o geez! We gotta hurry!"

Grin and Nosedive began to run to the elevator that would take them to the bottom half of the Pond…

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Wildwing was pacing outside the doors of the Infirmary when Nosedive and Grin made it there. "Wing! What's going on?" Nosedive asked.

The leader looked up from the floor and quit pacing. "Somebody needs to go get Mallory."

"Wha?"

"She won't answer her comm, so someone needs to get her."

"But what about-"

"NOSEDIVE! Just do it!"

The teenager ran off, shocked that his brother had yelled at him. Something bad must be going on, he thought as he ran off to find Mallory…

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Mallory had polished her puck blaster so many times now, she could see herself reflecting off the gun. But it's better than going back down to the Infirmary, Mallory thought, sighing sadly.

After sitting with Wildwing and Duke that first night, she couldn't get herself to go back down there. She felt terrible because she had accused Duke of so much during the incident a little over a week ago. She didn't know if it was because of her military training and the fact that Duke was originally the greatest thief on Puckworld, but even so...

She should've known better.

He had joined the Resistance after all and even after coming to Earth, the only real 'stealing' he ever really did was the minor pick pocketing he would do as a joke on the others. The only other thing Duke really did was pick locks, but the only times he had ever done that were usually required during one of their investigations of Dragaunus or other villains.

"Mallory! We gotta problem!"

The red-headed gal was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard Nosedive's voice and the 'whooshing' of the doors opening. "What's wrong?" she asked, facing the teenager. "Did Drake One pick up something somewhere?"

"Something's wrong with Duke!"

That got her to immediately drop the puck blaster and run off to the Infirmary with Nosedive leading the way...

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After a few minutes, Nosedive and Mallory were at the Infirmary doors with Wildwing and Grin. "What's going on?" Mallory asked upon stopping. "What's happening?"

"Duke went into cardiac arrest almost half an hour ago," Wildwing answered.

The others just stood where they were, the news hitting them like a tidal wave. Nosedive stumbled backwards to the closest bench seat, Mallory just stood there, and Grin's expression became very grim.

"Great DuCaine," Nosedive finally muttered. He looked up at his brother. "What happened Wing? Why'd it happen?"

Wildwing sat next to his brother, placing an arm around the younger Flashblade's shoulders. "I dunno little brother," Wing answered. "It just did. But Duke's a fighter, don't forget that."

"He can't go."

The three males looked at Mallory. "He can't go yet," she said. "I haven't apologized yet for everything I did-"

"He was aware of your sorrow."

Mallory looked to Grin. "Duke made peace with his past and you accepted it," the Zen-oriented duck said. "He knows that."

The red-head looked surprised for a moment. Then her face fell back into one of sadness. "I still feel horrible about what I said," she said quietly. "Even if I apologized back at the Fredonia Clocktower, I still feel like I owe him another one."

Grin looked at her and simply nodded. "But for now, we wait," he said, taking a seat on the floor. "If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are."

Mallory just stared at him. "…what?"

"Exactly."

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Another half hour passed before the Infirmary doors opened and Tanya came out, looking tired. The others looked up from their seats, worried for their friend.

Wildwing finally broke the silence. "So Tanya? Is he…?"

Tanya sighed. "It took awhile, but he's stable."

The others heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank Drake," Mallory said quietly.

Wildwing stood up from his seat. "Can we see him Tanya?" he asked.

Tanya thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, but keep it brief," she said. "A cardiac arrest is pretty stressful on someone's body."

The others followed Tanya inside.

Duke pretty much looked the same as he did before. The only difference was that there were a few more bandages around his chest than before.

"Is it just me, or are there more of those wrapped around him?" Mallory asked, pointing towards Duke.

"I had to - uh - cut off the original bandages to use the paddles on him," Tanya told her. "Then when I was re-applying them, I had to cover the spots where the paddles burned through his -uh - feathers."

"He's got burns now?!" Nosedive exclaimed.

"They're minor ones," the team tech said. "They're just from where I…" She couldn't finish her sentence, because that would bring up what had happened before.

The others just looked at their injured friend. "I guess all we can do is continue to wait," Wildwing finally said, looking at the heart monitor that was spiking every few seconds…

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Oi…what was that?

Duke was back in the state of awareness he had been in. But something felt different this time. It was like…he could feel more of the things around him. Which was odd.

I wonder what happened awhile ago. It didn't feel like I died, but I know I didn't wake up. So what was that?

Duke really wanted to wake up and see what was going on. So he tried to open his eyes for the ump-teenth time-

-and felt his eyes twitching.

Great Drake! Can I open my eyes now?!

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"I'm gonna go with Nosedive and pick up something for all of us to eat," Tanya said to Wildwing, who had taken back the seat next to Duke's bed. "Anything inparti-inpartic- anything special you want to eat?"

Wildwing shook his head. "Nah, get anything," he answered. "I'll eat it."

Tanya just smiled. "You sure you'll be okay by yourself?" she asked. Nosedive was waiting for her in the Ready Room, Grin was in his room, meditating, and Mallory was…somewhere.

The leader nodded. "I'm sure," he answered.

So Tanya left, leaving the goalie with his book and Duke. While Wildwing would've loved to get up and walk around, he felt that he couldn't. As he had told Tanya, he didn't want Duke waking up with no one around…

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Duke could feel his eyes twitch. I hope they left my eye patch on, or else I'm not gonna be able to see, he thought. He managed to open his eyes a little, only to be greeted by very bright lights. The ex-thief quickly shut them, as they were blindingly bright.

I'm not dead am I? he thought. Duke slightly opened them again, to find it a bit easier to see…and noticed that he was looking up at the lights of the Infirmary. The ex-thief managed to avert his gaze to the side of the bed and see who was with him.

"Wildwing?"