Saurian Code Productions: Season Two

by Nightbloom

The adventures continue in an all new season leading up to an interesting revelation in the season finale. Ep 11 up! Conclusion of the season finale. City wide battle has commenced. For victory, sacrifices must be made. (Dec 05, 2013)

14. Ep 13 Allies and (Part 3 of 3)

A/N: Mighty Ducks belongs to Disney. This time around, no added scenes after 2nd Author's notes. Mostly because I didn't want to risk people missing it. :)

Previously on Mighty Ducks:

Nosedive leaned up against the wall and slid down as Wildwing left his side to get information on both Klegghorn and to status with the others.

The numbness he was feeling began to fade, only to be replaced by the horrible ache in his chest.

He felt a warmth beside him as Wildwing sat next to him.

The pain moved up to his throat and his eyes burned.

"How are you holding up?" Wildwing asked, gently.

Nosedive let out a choked sob. "I should have moved! If I hadn't frozen… if I had only moved… he wouldn't have… he wouldn't have…"

Wildwing let out a mournful sigh as he pulled in his brother close. "Easy, little brother," he murmured. "Don't give up hope. Klegghorn will pull through."

X

"With the exception of the human cop I took care of, none of you dealt a damaging blow to the ducks! And we didn't get that many of the crystals. In fact, you two didn't get any at all!" Dragaunus roared at his three henchmen, his greatest ire against Siege and Chameleon.

"Sorry boss! We don't know what happened. We picked them up and they were already unstable."

From the side, Nightbloom watched, a small smirk on her face. It quickly vanished as she thought back to the battle in the labs. Her pride was still hurting from having been seen by one of the Ducks.

X

"Guys, the city is under attack!" Phil called out, getting through to Wing.

"We know! So are we!" was Wing's response shortly before being cut off.

Phil swallowed hard as he tried to get a hold of them again and failing.

"Oh man," he muttered as he ran to his closet.

Allies and Enemies: Sacrifices (Part 3)

The building shook as blasts echoed off the walls.

Klegghorn held his laser gun close to his chest as he pressed against the wall next to the door. He slowly opened it, hearing the sounds of gunfire and screams. He carefully peered out and could see that some of the agents had their backs towards him, looking upwards to where most of the sounds were coming from.

So they were trying to keep the medical area covered.

No matter. Klegghorn moved forward to join the crew.

One of the agents was none other than Belle.

"Shouldn't you be home?" Klegghorn asked.

"Shouldn't you be in a med bed?" she retorted. "Either way, glad you could join us. Those blasted Saurians decided to go for a preemptive strike. Seems they were a bit more resourceful than we thought considering that after all this time they were so small scaled. Guess the attack a couple months ago gave them the confidence to just go all out."

"Cockiness," Klegghorn muttered. "But we aren't pushovers. They're gonna learn that lesson if it's the last thing we do."

X

"To the Migrator and Aerowing!" Wildwing shouted. "We can't let them get to those!"

The ducks scrambled to the hanger bay, shooting at the numerous drones making their way into their base.

The team split in two, Wildwing, Nosedive, Duke and Tanya taking the Aerowing, while Grin, Mallory and Canard took the Migrator.

Both vehicles shot out of the hanger bay and out into the open.

"Rendezvous at the CT base!" Canard called over their communication.

Tanya growled. "They're also under attack!" she said.

"Then we'll go for back up. We can't afford to lose another headquarters," said Wildwing. "We'll spot you from the sky."

"Oh my stars," murmured Mallory, once she had a good view of the city.

"What? What's going on?" asked Canard.

The rest of the team inside the Aerowing stared in shock.

"The city… the whole city is under attack."

Columns of smoke could be seen rising into the air as small explosions lit up the sky.

X

Danny pounded on doors. "Wake up!" he shouted. "Gather any family members and head south! Wake up any neighbors you can!" He then ran to the next house as someone would respond.

Seeing and hearing the distant explosions spurred the waking people into action.

Fear was a powerful motivator and Danny would use it to his advantage to get as many people to safety.

X

Phil could feel the sweat pouring off his face as he ran down his apartment hallway, banging on the doors and shouting, "The city is under attack! We got to get out of here now!"

"What should we do?" some panicked people asked.

"Move away from the fighting!"

"We can't just run away!" some people insisted.

"Then be prepared to defend your homes," Phil responded to them, slightly annoyed.

Fortunately, some people offered to take certain floors to spread the word.

Phil ran out to the garage and hopped into his car.

He drove over to a neighboring apartment complex.

Running into the main lobby, he tried to catch his breath. Where to start?

Glancing over, he spotted a small glass box with a switch.

A fire alarm.

Phil grinned. That would work.

X

The Aerowing swept down in front of the headquarters' entrance, blasting away any droids that were top side, clearing the path for the Migrator.

The Migrator ran down other droids and pulled up in front of the headquarters.

"Scanners are picking up that the droids are entering from underground!" Tanya cried out.

"We need to see if we can block them!"

"Wing, let me!" said Nosedive. "I mean, I've played enough games I'm pretty sure I can calculate a good hit!"

Wildwing gave his brother a worried glance but nodded. "Give it your best shot."

Nosedive aimed the Aerowing's weapons to the ground where Tanya's computers were showing the river of droids heading into the headquarters.

He opened fire.

Wildwing watched as the ground crumbled into a massive hole. Unfortunately, he was too late to stop the droids. Judging by the empty chamber, they had finished passing and no more were walking through.

He radioed the information to Canard as he landed the Aerowing.

"Backtrack their path," Canard ordered. "Find out where they came from. We'll move forward and offer assistance to the CT headquarters."

"Roger." Wildwing didn't even dispute the orders. His city was in danger and they needed to resolve this fast.

Exiting the Aerowing, Wildwing, Tanya, Nosedive, and Duke headed over to the opening they had made, meeting up with Canard, Mallroy, and Grin. Nodding to each other, they all dropped down the hole and then separated.

X

Nightbloom surveyed the scene before her. It seemed the human soldiers had reached a point in which they could make a stand. What peeked her interest was that even civilians had their own efforts going.

Somewhere along the way, she spotted a red headed youth leading a few others into herding the ones that were scared into safer locations.

Elsewhere, she had also spotted the broad shouldered manager. Despite his bumbling and selfish personality, there was a strong character underneath him.

She felt it unnecessary to waste her time in getting involved with either group. The militant humans… they were different.

She observed to see their tactics, and could see how resilient they were. Even though the technology was superior to their own, she could see how they could quickly adapt, seeking out weaknesses.

And by the looks of it, their defenses have already improved. If she was not mistaken, some of their defensive weapons looked like something the ducks had been using.

The sound of an air craft caught her attention and she could see the ship the ducks flew heading to the direction of the human's headquarters. Without another thought, she decided to teleport herself in that direction.

Once there, she spotted how the ducks were separating. It was almost certain that Dragaunus would find out what was going on and send reinforcements to delay the ducks.

She debated which group to follow before deciding on the larger group. Knowing Dragaunus, he would call for her to assist with that group as they ran the risk of locating the dimensional portal.

Dropping down into the tunnel, she used the shadows of the support beam to slowly follow the four.

X

Inside the CT headquarters, agents were slowly finding themselves back into corners with little chance for escape.

Agent Belle growled as she looked at Klegghorn. "Just got word that we have more drones breaking in from underneath us."

"So we're surrounded?"

"Not exactly. They're breaking into sub level 3. We still have sub levels 4 through 6 under that, including the Research and Development teams."

Klegghorn nodded. "I'll try to head them off with another group, maybe even find a way to get to any agents in those levels. Which way are they coming from?"

"The southern west labs."

"On it."

Klegghorn broke away, motioning to a few of the agents to follow him.

They made their way down the closest emergency stairwell, listening in for any exchanging fire before continuing down.

Sweat dripped down his forehead and he felt a bit dizzy. He knew he had no time to recover. Lives were at stake. He pressed forward and hoped that back up in the form of army or ducks would arrive.

X

Canard could hear gun and laser blasts up ahead and he motioned to the others to hold back. Raising up his arm, he pressed his communicator, hoping he'd get a hold of either Agent Belle or Klegghorn.

He was happy to see the red headed ex-captain on the screen.

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys," the human said.

"We're coming up behind the droids. There's three of us. The other four went backtracking where the droids were coming from.

"Listen, whatever help you can give us we'll take. I have a team heading to the lower sub levels so we can head back up the other way. Seems like they haven't found the emergency stairwells but no way of knowing if they've compromised the elevator shafts just yet."

Another blip sounded and Agent Belle showed up on the screen. "Klegghorn, check for the emergency ventilation shafts. The lower levels are equipped with those and will go up, so you may be able to take out a wall and ambush the droids. With the ducks coming up from the rear, we'll at least have a chance at eliminating a good number of them."

Canard grinned. "Ready when you are," he said.

X

It took Phil almost three minutes to realize his phone was ringing. He almost dropped it as he tried to answer while motioning which direction the people should be heading.

"Kind of busy," he shouted into the phone.

"Mr. Palmfeather? It's Danny, Klegghorn's son. I've been trying to get a hold of him and I've had no luck. Have any of the ducks heard from him?"

"Sorry, kid. I can't even keep contact with the Ducks longer than five seconds. Knowing them, they're probably at the headquarters. But if I get a hold of them, I can pass a message."

"Thanks. Listen, I'm pushing some people away from the battle zones. I've got an idea on where we can find shelter."

"I'm all ears, kid."

X

Wildwing, Duke, Tanya, and Dive were running down one of the tunnels. Wing's mask was giving clean readings of life forms and electrical signals except for the ones lining the tunnels.

Electrical currents were running through some wires and Wing could see that they were attached to some form of video surveillance.

Having met no opposition yet meant one of two things; they had not been detected yet, or they were heading towards a trap.

Whatever the reason, Wildwing knew they had no choice but to press forward.

Trailing the rear was Duke. While he had the stealth to move and scout ahead, he was relying on Wing's mask to alert them of any issues.

Not to mention, he couldn't help but feel as if they were being followed. Yet Wing's mask hadn't caught any readings, and even as he fell behind, he couldn't catch a glimpse of anything.

If they were being tailed, their follower was keeping enough distance between them to avoid detection.

Duke continued moving forward after the rest of his team. If the unknown tracker made a move, he would be ready.

X

"You really shouldn't be doing this, sir," said one of the agents to Klegghorn, as he hauled himself up into one of the shafts.

"I'm not going to ask one of my men to do something I'm not willing to do myself."

"But, sir! None of us were in a med bed an hour ago."

"Stop reminding me!" Klegghorn faltered as he felt the sharp sting of his laser burn. He did his best to ignore it again and continued to climb upwards.

He could hear the laser blasts of the droids nearby.

"Belle," he called into his comm.

"Go ahead."

"We're going to cause some extensive floor and wall damage here. Just make sure all the men are clear."

"Roger."

Klegghorn placed a small device against the wall before scooting back down.

He glanced at the concerned agent.

"Are the others in place?" he asked.

The agent nodded.

"All right! Fall back! I need everyone clear!"

X

Canard's finger twitched, ready to pull the trigger of his puck blaster. Waiting was an issue for him right now but he knew for the safety of his team they had to wait for Klegghorn's signal on the attack.

"Did we confirm what his signal would be?" Mallory asked.

Canard shook his head. "My guess is it's big if he wants us a certain distance behind the group."

A blast rattled the area as half of the droids' force fell through a hole in the floor.

"Think that's the signal?" Mallory asked in awe.

"Move in!" shouted Canard as he began firing at the group remaining on the same level.

X

Dust filled the air messing with the sensors on many of the droids, delaying their reactions.

As a result, the human agents donning masks were able to descend upon the crippled droids and finish them off.

Klegghorn glanced up and fired at some of the droids that were backing into the hole.

"Nice move!" he heard Belle call through his ear piece.

Klegghorn grinned. "We'll see you in a few. Moving up as soon as we're covered."

"It's Canard. Give us a few. We're pushing droids further in."

"Cease fire," Klegghorn demanded of his troop. "When the ducks pass, we'll move up."

X

An alarm began beeping on the Raptor's computer system. Perplexed, Dragaunus pulled up the information.

He growled in outrage as he saw that half of his troop in charge of destroying the CT base had been eliminated.

He brought up all the cameras to see what was going on.

"Curse those ducks!"

At the CT headquarters, one of his active droids was sending live feed of the battle. The group was being whittled away by the humans and three of the ducks.

But the only way for the ducks to be attacking from that position was for them to have come up behind them; which meant they had accessed his tunnels!

Flipping to the tunnel's security feed, Dragaunus let out a roar at discovering that the other four ducks were well on their way to back tracking the place where the droids had originated from.

"Wraith!" he roared.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Send Siege and Chameleon to intersect the ducks in the tunnels. You shall head to the headquarters and delay them as long as you can so they don't join up with the others. Where's Nightbloom?"

"Still unknown, sir."

"Of course," Dragaunus snarled. "Never around when needed. I'll head to the dimensional portal myself."

"Yes, my lord."

X

"Sir, you're still injured," admonished Mallory, noticing Klegghorn was not in uniform but in scrubs as one of the other agents helped to pull him up.

Klegghorn, who was visibly trembling, waved her off. "The city is under attack. I really don't have time to lie around. Did enough of that already."

Belle snorted. "You either have a high tolerance for pain or you are just recklessly stubborn."

Klegghorn gave her a wry grin.

Canard, Mallory, and Grin glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

Another agent jogged up to the group.

"Agent Belle, RD informed us the prototype is ready."

"Then start it."

"Prototype?" asked Canard.

"They've been working on several projects, including a wider ranged jammer than the electric disrupter grenades we used during the lab attacks. It should stop those droids cold but it only has an effective range of 200 yards radius. It'll be enough to help us clear this building, but it's gonna be slow to weed out those top side."

"And you only have one functional prototype?"

"Untested on the field, too. Let's hope it works."

Five minutes later, two agents escorted one of the techs from below, carrying a briefcase.

Klegghorn grinned. "Great!" He motioned for the tech to hurry up.

The briefcase popped open and the technician quickly assembled a small tower and flipped some switches.

Klegghorn glanced up, listening to the laser fight up ahead.

"It's ready, sir!" the tech said just as Belle's voice came through his ear piece.

"Any time, guys!"

Klegghorn replied through his com link, "Power off and switch to manuals!"

He glanced at Canard. "Quick, shut off your com units!"

The ducks did as they were told and everything went dark except for the lights on the prototype and the bursts of lights from the laser blasts.

"Now!"

A click and a hum of electrical current was heard. It flared three times and the sounds of cheers could be heard from where the laser fight had still been taking place.

Lights flickered back on and Klegghorn turned on his communicator.

"Belle? Belle! Do you copy Agent Belle?"

"Loud and clear, Agent Klegghorn. The droids have successfully been deactivated. "

"Excellent." Klegghorn looked at Canard.

"Now that that's done… you guys haven't heard from Danny, have you?"

Canard frowned. "No… but maybe Phil has. We just haven't been able to talk with him either."

Klegghorn looked away.

"I'm sure he's okay, Klegghorn. Danny seems like a level headed kid."

"Yeah, he is." Klegghorn gave a wry grin. "More than me. But a phone call would be nice. Haven't had a chance to look for one."

"In that case, I recommend we give your son one of our communicators when we get the chance."

"What else is going on? Haven't exactly heard what it's like out there."

Canard took a deep breath.

X

Siege and Chameleon teleported into the tunnels with several droids.

"We have to keep them from going further," Chameleon said. "Best way will be to separate them."

A chirp from their communicators caught their attention.

"Thought you should know that four ducks are on a straight path to the dimensional portal," came Nightblooms' voice.

Siege growled. "We already know that! Lord Dragaunus isn't happy with you disappearing."

"Do you have a plan or are you going to waste time?"

The two glanced at each other.

"There is a fork further up ahead in the tunnel they currently are located. They'll be forced to separate briefly to recon the tunnel. It's doubtful they will remain separated for a long period of time."

The two continued trying to figure out where the female was going with the information.

"It would slow them down if they could not backtrack to regroup," she finally added with a dry tone.

"We knew that!" snapped Chameleon.

"What? We did?"

"It would have come to us. Let's go."

The Saurians headed down the tunnel in hopes of catching the ducks when after reaching the split in the path.

X

Nightbloom stood with her eyes closed, hand on one of the wires that were attached to the cameras. Her hand was slightly glowing as she utilized her magic to link up with the technology and observe the ducks.

They had already reached the fork in the row and looked to be debating on which way who would travel. Needless to say, Wildwing took Nosedive into one tunnel while the female Tanya and the sword fighter Duke took the other one.

She disconnected from the wire and looked at her hand as she flexed it. Mixing magic with technology always left her feeling a bit drained which is why she was delaying confrontations as much as possible. As she waited for Siege and Chameleon to arrive, she quickly made up her mind on which route to continue with.

She briefly wondered how long it would take the other ducks to wrap up at the headquarters and head this way.

X

Wraith materialized right behind the ducks inside of the CT headquarters. Unfortunately, he was not expecting that the humans would react as quickly as they had.

He barely had enough time to throw up a shield before bullets rained down on him followed by the pucks from the ducks' weapons.

He stepped back to brace himself.

It was a rather fatal mistake on his part. He had really hoped that he would have had some droids still fighting, but from the looks of it, they were all deactivated.

"This doesn't bode well for Lord Dragaunus," he moaned to himself.

He could only hope that his magic lasted long enough for the humans and ducks to run out of ammo so he could unleash a blast of his powers.

X

Wildwing and Nosedive continued running down the tunnel before stopping.

"What is it?" Nosedive asked.

"I'm reading a large opening up ahead." He quickly got on his com unit. "Tanya, Duke, I think I'm coming across something on my end."

"Regroup?"

"Yeah. We'll move ahead at a slower pace and get a better look."

X

Tanya sighed.

"Good thing we didn't run all this time," Duke said with a grin, despite his feathers still on end. He just knew they were being followed.

But he still hadn't caught sight of his follower. Hopefully this way he would increase his chances of spotting him or her, or at the very least evidence of the follower.

X

"About time," Nightbloom murmured as Siege and Chameleon arrived. The two males threw her a look. She pointed down the paths.

"The ones named Wildwing and Nosedive went down that way. The ones known as Tanya and Duke went the other way."

Siege grinned. "I'll take the team captain."

Chameleon grinned. "I'll take the broad. I'm sure I'll be able to handle one eye."

"I will block one of the paths before following the other."

"Won't that trap one of us?"

Nightbloom rolled her eyes. "The tunnels all end in the same place. It'll just take longer to reach it."

Chameleon snorted and quickly headed down the path that the female and male combo had taken.

Siege growled and headed down the direction of Wildwing and Nosedive.

Nightbloom waited for a bit. Then she raised her hand and waved it around the opening of the tunnel that Chameleon had gone down into. Concrete crumbled and metal rusted. She then pulled out her katana and swiped over the damaged area causing it to cave in.

With a smirk, she vanished.

X

Wraith growled as he was continually bombarded by projectiles.

He just needed one moment to fire some sort of spell to annihilate the humans and ducks. Just one.

But they weren't letting up and he was getting tired.

Unfortunately, Canard seemed to realize the Saurian's dilemma. He looked at Belle and Patterson who had joined their side.

"If we keep this up, he won't be able to fire a shot. But we need him to drop his shield long enough to get some type of shot in."

"Pity we're not in the prisoner levels. We have the prototype containment unit and the floor's rigged for an electrical charge."

"What do you mean?" asked Mallory.

"Magic is a type of power. What if our electrical disrupters affect him? We've never had constant access to magic to test both theories. We could just use one of the grenades."

Canard raised an eyebrow. "Constant access?"

"We've been exploring lots of possibilities."

"Well, it sounds like a plausible theory. Can't hurt at this point. We might run out of bullets before he runs out of juice."

Belle nodded and motioned for one of the agents to get her one of the disrupter grenades.

Klegghorn couldn't help but chuckle as he took a few more shots. "Very plausible considering I never had the reload a clip in my gun while working Anaheim's PD."

"And we've never tested how many shots our laser blasters can do before needing a recharge."

Mallory glanced at her puck launcher. "Well we are running low on ours."

An agent came up with one of the grenades.

"Grin, why don't you toss it so we minimize the chances of anyone getting in the way of our shots?"

Grin took the grenade and lobbed it at Wraith.

Meanwhile, the Saurian braced himself as he saw something larger arc through the air towards him.

If it was one of those human's explosives, he knew he needed to exert just a bit more power to avoid being thrown across the hall.

The grenade impacted his shield, and rather than a blast, a scattering of electricity danced across his shield.

He faltered momentarily, feeling his shield weaken.

He pulled it back up full strength… but not before a blasted puck bypassed it and struck his chest, sending a shock wave throughout his body.

The Saurian wizard collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

X

"Did you hear that?" asked Tanya, stopping from moving forward.

Duke glanced at her, sidestepping a horrid looking rat as it scurried past him.

He nodded and they both jogged back towards the direction of the sound. They stopped short seeing that the tunnel had collapsed, completely blocking their way back to the other tunnel.

"Wing, we have a problem. We've been blocked in."

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. But it doesn't look like it happened on its own."

Duke pointed at several of the concrete rubble that had scorch marks to Tanya.

"Move further ahead then but be careful. These tunnels should at least head towards the same location since the drones were all moving the opposite direction."

"Copy."

X

Wildwing moved forward with Nosedive trailing behind him, puck blaster out.

"How far for that opening?" Dive asked.

"About 100 meters if the readings are right. I can see a surge of electrical power coming from it."

"Do you think it's the Raptor?"

"Not the same kind of power readings. Whatever it is, it's big."

A roar startled them and as they whirled around, a big mass of red collided into Dive and Wing, sending them to the ground.

X

Duke and Tanya stopped. "Great, another fork in the road."

"Which way should we go?"

"You're asking me?"

"Should we split up?"

Duke held back his answer. "Tanya, we're already down to us two. I don't know if it's a good idea to go solo."

"Well it's not like anything can come up behind us. We already know there's nothing there. We can cover more ground this way and see if we can find a point in which these tunnels meet or an opening to top side. I mean, these tunnels look like they're running parallel to sewers and power lines. And if we see anything, we report and come back to regroup."

"That's what we were supposed to do with Nosedive and Wing."

"Well, yeah, but anyone could have followed us from the beginning."

And Duke knew that someone did. He gave her a cautious nod. If their stalker was somehow still on their trail, he couldn't help but feel like they would want to single him out. What better way than to be solo."

"Ok. But you call me immediately if you see any sign of trouble."

Tanya gave him a grin. "Not a problem."

Tanya waved back at him as she jogged down the right tunnel. Duke turned and went down the left.

Up above the rat watched the two ducks separate. With a grin, it dropped to the ground and transformed.

X

"What's this?" asked Canard as the human agents dropped Wraith into what looked like a glass bubble.

"A test. We'll find out if this actually works. Again, on the theory that magic is energy based, this special prison is to negate that power rendering him a legit prisoner. To avoid accidental shock to human guards, it's kept up by those acrylic posts that shield the power cords charging the cell.

"And if it fails?"

Super Intendant Matthews came up behind them. "If it fails, then we eliminate him with extreme prejudice. Besides, we noticed that they could have teleported in here, but something kept them from doing so until those drones blasted a hole in our walls. So we may have inadvertently found a way to keep them out. Research and Development are to begin finding out what in our structure disrupts their technology to make further advancements in shields and weapons. A failsafe mechanism will trigger to seal the exits to this room should the cell not work and he releases any magical powers."

Canard nodded. "That's pretty… thorough," he commented, uncertain how he felt about the human admitting that they would just kill Wraith.

He tried to explain to himself that had the situation been reversed, the Saurians wouldn't have even entertained the possibility of keeping them prisoners.

He looked to Grin. "If they have this taken care of, we better head out and see if we can meet up with Wing."

"Agreed."

Matthews nodded. "We'll get in contact with the National Guard and let them know that we have a way to stop drones in close proximity."

Canard looked at Mallory. "See if you can contact Phil and let him know the situation. I'm sure he'd appreciate the update. And pass Klegghorn's message."

X

Phil shut down his communicator and looked at the large group of frightened people. So far they had headed a good distance from the combat but sounds of laser fights could still be heard. As much as he wanted to find official help, he knew they had their hands full with the droids.

"We'll stay our ground here for now. Word is the CT agents are holding their own and have stopped the advancement of the droids on the headquarters attack. They're going to offer their experimental weapons to the army to help with the city attack."

"What if they come from underground?" asked a man.

"I'm sure they'll figure out how to track them. For right now, I suggest you try to get some rest. We may be here a while until the National Guard can get to us."

People restlessly settled down and Phil couldn't help but feel pride that he was actually keeping people safe.

He flipped his phone open to call Daniel Klegghorn and give him the news.

X

Danny watched over his group of frightened people. He continued to monitor the situation, granted that there were more people out there willing to do as he had said.

If only Commissioner Lyons hadn't been one of the people he had picked up.

"Marvelous job," he was saying, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "Are you a soldier in training?"

"No, sir. I'm a police cadet."

"Well then! I know I'm in a need of some good men. Maybe I can put in a word for you and have you on my team!"

Danny grimaced. "That's okay, sir. I like getting to where I need to be on my own."

"Nonsense. We all need a helping hand."

Danny mentally frowned. Considering how this man treated his father, he knew what Lyons meant. He would be willing to lend a hand as long as Danny helped improve his image but not surpass it.

"I'll think about it, sir."

"No, seriously. What is your name?"

Danny's phone began to ring, giving him a viable excuse to move away from the egotistical man. He shot him a quick glance and smirked as he answered. "Daniel Klegghorn here." With that, Danny moved away from the stunned man to get his information from Phil.

X

Up ahead in his tunnel, Duke could see that the lights were dim. But that also allowed for him to notice that there was a light moving as its glow reflected off the walls.

Someone was carrying some kind of light source and was moving down further in the tunnel.

He raised his wrist to contact the others and stopped. There was a chance that his voice would carry through and alert whoever was down there to his presence.

He readied his saber and quietly trailed after the disappearing light.

X

Tanya pulled up her GPS unit to figure out where she was compared to the others. By the looks of it, Wildwing and Dive must have had a simpler path with minimal turns as they were considerably further away from Duke and herself.

And she could see that they were in direct route to a cluster of warehouses.

"Underground!" she groaned, realizing why they were having trouble locating the Saurians. They were using the warehouses from underneath.

A shuffling sound caught her attention and she whirled around.

"Duke?" she called out. A rat scurried past her, causing her to let out a muffled shriek.

"Stupid rodent," Tanya breathed out with a nervous laugh, embarrassed that she let such a small thing scare her.

"I resent that remark," came a familiar voice.

Tanya stumbled back as the rat transformed into the Chameleon.

"Hello, girly!" the Saurian said with a wicked grin.

X

Belle frowned as Mallory and Grin drove their duck cycles into the tunnel, utilizing the pile of debris as a ramp.

Klegghorn just looked irritated as Canard pushed him a bit closer in a wheel chair.

"This is humiliating," he complained.

"Well, it was this or attempting to catch you when you finally fainted."

"I wouldn't have fainted!"

"You are an interesting shade of grey. There's being stubborn and being reckless."

Belle smirked at hearing his comment.

Canard gave a cheeky grin as Klegghorn turned his head to glare at him.

"Yes. I agree with Agent Belle."

Belle sighed. "I still don't like you guys heading in without backup, but…"

"The National Guard is gonna need your assistance in stopping the droids. And part of our team is already tracing their source of origin."

"They should be able to handle it," Klegghorn gruffly commented.

Canard grinned.

Belle motioned to one of the agents. "Take some of our electrical disrupters. Never know if you'll be needing them."

Canard took four of the grenades from the agent. "Thanks," he said. "And take care of Klegghorn for us," he added with a wink.

Belle coughed as Klegghorn somehow managed to flush a light pink.

Without another word, Canard dropped down to join Mallory and Grin. He jumped on Mallory's bike and together they drove in the direction of their team mates.

X

Wildwing and Dive barely had time to catch their breath as Siege's heavy and powerful tail swung around and caught them around their stomachs.

They crashed into the wall for a second time.

Wildwing rolled away from his brother in hopes to either delay the next attack or at the very least move Siege away from his brother.

Standing up he noticed that Siege went after Nosedive who had moved towards the same direction they were heading. Was he trying to keep them from going further into the tunnel? If so, then they were on the right track.

"Dive!" he shouted.

Nosedive moved up against the wall as Siege circled around him.

He threw himself to the ground and Wing began to fire his puck launcher. Siege raised his arm, blocking some of the shots.

Nosedive began to fire from his blaster as well, aiming for Siege's feet.

Siege roared in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

"Move ahead!" Wildwing ordered. Nosedive turned to run as Wildwing shot a stun puck at Siege.

Siege twitched and lay still, groaning.

It wasn't going to last long. He and Dive needed to advance as far as he could before Siege got up and came after them again.

X

Tanya's heart beat against her chest as she dodged Chameleon's fist. Like last time, he had transformed into a female boxer, clearly attempting to win like last time. And Tanya was determined to attempt to avoid him touching her.

But she also noticed that he quickly moved to block her from going further.

So the tunnel would eventually lead to where she needed to go. That or he was determined to push her back to a dead end.

She threw up her shield as one of his punches landed really close. That punch pushed her back a bit.

Chameleon grinned and transformed into a larger creature that looked like a mutated muscle man. He roared and pulled back his fist. Tanya grunted as she slammed against the tunnel's wall. A backhand from Chameleon sent her reeling to the floor.

Tanya coughed as she tried to get up, but Chameleon grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her back, spinning her around and throwing her into the wall.

He reached for her again and she pulled out her blaster in time to shoot a stun puck.

It grazed Chameleon enough to make him fall back in pain, his arm growing limp.

"You miserable duck!" he snarled as she got up and forced herself to run, trying to think of what she could do.

"I'm under attack!" she said on her comm.

"We're en route!" came Canard's voice.

"My tunnel was blocked."

"We've got Grin!"

The echo of Chameleon's enraged roar alerted her that he was closing in.

She picked up speed and turning the corner, she suddenly remembered the sight of Nosedive throwing Grin to the mats. She may have not practiced the move, but it was her only chance.

Hardening her resolve, she turned around and waited.

Chameleon came into sights and he cackled as he continued barreling towards her.

He threw a fist, which she grabbed, pulled back… and tossed him over her.

Chameleon slammed into the nearby wall, transforming into his old self. He groaned and passed out.

With a satisfied nod, Tonya limped back in the direction she had come from.

"Take your time, guys. Crisis averted," she said proudly.

X

Duke paused. Somehow, he had lost whomever he was following as his tunnel connected to another. Although, judging by the way the right one turned, it looked like it would be the one Tanya would eventually come in through.

His communicator beeped and Tanya's message about being under attack came through. He turned to run down the tunnel thinking that it may have been who he was following. Two minutes later he heard the "Crisis averted."

"Tanya, I think I found a connection between your tunnel and mine."

"I see you on my scanner. ETA five minutes."

"Who was it?" asked Canard over the comm.

"Chameleon. He apparently had been following me in the form of a rat."

"I saw someone ahead. It may have been Siege or Wraith."

"We just left Wraith incarcerated at HQ."

"Siege is immobile behind us, but probably not for long," came Wing's winded voice.

"Well someone was ahead of me. Maybe it was Lord Dragaunus. We must be heading in the right direction."

"Keep moving then."

"We're gonna need help!"

Nosedive's frantic voice caught their attention and Duke and Tanya began to run.

X

Dive and Wing barely had time to duck when they emerged from the tunnel into the wide space that looked almost like a large basement. Stairs leading up indicated there was a building above, and judging by the size, a warehouse or even an air plane hangar. The only things they were able to make out before lasers started firing in their direction was the Saurian technology obviously built in to make what looked like a massive bay door open from underneath. And there was a large machine that had to be the dimensional portal device. Or at least two separate pieces that were connected by a growing portal.

The portal itself was large enough for aircrafts to fly through.

Dragaunus stood by the controls but he wasn't bothering to turn around to face the two.

Instead, his droids that were helping guard the machine began firing.

"You keep them from coming near this machine!" Dragaunus snarled. "Wraith, Siege, Chameleon? What are you morons doing? And where's Nightbloom?!"

X

Nightbloom stood hidden in the metal rafters that Dragaunus had installed under the building to keep it secure enough. Having created this giant structure underneath made the topside floor weak and the last thing that had been needed was for a cave in to occur.

Fortunately for her, it gave her plenty of hiding spots.

Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the portal slowly growing.

So the ducks were a bit slow. Or most of them were. The current team captain and his brother were currently involved in a laser fight with the droids.

She quickly moved her way through the rafters and tying a rope to one of the bars, silently dropped to one of the machines.

Looking at the crystals that were helping power it, she reached in and twisted one of them. It flashed brightly and a humming sound went through the machines. She quickly retreated back to her rope and climbed up, pulling her rope in and waited.

The portal began to grow at a faster speed.

She grinned.

X

Dragaunus laughed in victory as he noticed that his dimensional portal suddenly increased in its productivity and the portal itself was growing larger.

"Now if only my General is ready for the attack," he grumbled. The portal was big enough for the single rider carriers to ride through, but so far nothing. Was his general waiting to bring them all in using the big space ships?

X

Siege groaned as he pushed himself up.

"Cripes," he groaned. "I learned to fight them individually. Haven't considered looking to see what they would do when teamed up."

"Wraith, Siege, Chameleon! What are you morons doing?"

Siege cringed. "On my way, Lord Dragaunus."

The hefty saurian teleported to the hangar bay area, knowing it was pointless to keep it hidden now.

X

Chameleon startled awake at the sound of his boss's steamed voice coming through his communicator.

"Oh, am I in trouble now," he muttered, trying to steady himself as he stood up.

"Where did the geek learn that move?" he asked himself. He had been sure of an easy victory as it was almost a replay of their previous encounter.

No matter. Dragaunus needed them and they had to hurry.

He teleported out of there. If Dragaunus was calling, the hiding spot had been found out.

X

Duke and Tanya arrived in time to start shooting at one of the droids that was closing in on the trapped Wing and Dive.

The droids' attentions were divided between the two groups but were relentless with their attacks.

"What do you think?" Tanya shouted.

"I think we should separate them a bit more, but look for appropriate cover!"

It would most likely be a bad call if they did draw droids after them but had no way of defending themselves.

Duke and Tanya separated, using some of the large crates and support beams for cover.

Several exposed underground water pipes added to the confusion as the droids moved their way around it, identifying the metal pipes as blocks in their paths and sidestepping around it.

Dragaunus completely ignore them, shielded by some of the droids as he continued to manipulate his dimensional portal that was quickly growing in size.

A moment later, Chameleon and Siege appeared, firing in all directions. They slowly backed up to Dragaunus, giving him more cover.

"Where's Wraith?" growled out Dragaunus.

"We don't know," responded Chameleon.

Wondering if the third Saurian was in hiding, Duke got in contact with Tanya. "Make sure you keep an eye on any other teleportations. We've got Chameleon and Siege back here with us. Wraith is MIA."

"Wraith is currently in confinement," said Canard. "We're almost there. We can hear you guys."

That encouragement had Duke feel a bit braver and he began to move further to the side. Once the other three arrived, they would really be spaced out and try to eliminate the droids. Unlike the previous encounters, this time the number was manageable. And if they managed to find a way to shut the droids, then the people of Anaheim would have a better chance.

The motorized sounds of their bikes caught their attention. Within moments, Canard, Mallory, and Grin rode into action. Firing their blasters, Canard jumped off Mallory's bike and rolled behind the crates that Duke had previously been using.

Mallory and Grin also leapt off their bikes, and the momentum of the cycles sent them crashing into two of the nearest droids, taking them out.

They also dashed for cover, firing as they went.

"Keep them back!" Dragaunus shouted.

Wildwing and Dive, having most of the attention drawn, began trying to circle their way around towards the dimensional portal machine.

Canard, seeing this, decided it was a good time to use one of the electrical disrupter grenades.

He was uncertain if he could hit the device, but he had a good clear shot for some of the droids. With any luck, once they were down, the other would move to fill the void and focus on him as a viable threat.

He threw it to the droids closest to the brothers.

It hit the droids in the torso region causing it to shake violently before collapsing to the floor. Three other droids that were standing next to it were also affected as the pulse reached out like tendrils and connected to the metal plates making up the droids.

They didn't collapse, but they clearly powered down as they slumped forward in their current positions.

The other droids began to focus on Canard. Looking to his left and right, he threw a grenade in Mallory's and Grin's direction, motioning with his hand for them to wait for a bit before throwing it.

They each nodded.

X

Wildwing and Nosedive noticed that the barrage of laser shots that were heading their way diminished. Risking a chance, Wildwing noticed that they were headed to where Canard was currently hiding out.

Concerned for his former team captain, Wildwing knew that he needed to use the opportunity to get closer to Dragaunus. He moved to dart around Nosedive and was stopped.

"Where are you going?" Dive asked, holding onto his arm tightly.

"I'm going to ambush Dragaunus. Stay here and keep covered."

"Bro, no. If you go, I go. There's no way I'm letting you head off against him by yourself."

"We don't have much choice, Dive. I have to."

"And I'm coming with you! No matter what, two is gonna be better than one against him."

Wildwing mentally sighed. His brother was right. With the others pinned down, he only had Nosedive as back up.

"Fine. But be careful. We'll only have on shot at this."

X

Canard motioned towards Mallory who hurled the next grenade. She hit one droid that was point robot to a team of seven. Their proximity was also impacted by the pulse and all eight droids deactivated. As a result, they all began firing in her direction.

Canard dove out from behind his hiding place and rushed to where Wing and Dive were.

But when he got there, they were already gone. Looking around, he spotted that they were closer to Dragaunus who was still focused on his machine. The portal was large enough for an airship to come in. The portal needed to shut down and soon.

X

Mallory scrambled to a more secure cover than the crates she was behind. Ducking behind one of the steel pillars, she was forced to dive to one side as both Siege and Chameleon emerged from the tunnels, laser guns shooting.

She rolled towards Grin and got up with enough time to activate her shield and protect them from the lasers.

Siege let out a grunt of pain as one of the droid's shots singed his shoulder, having not stopped shooting as they followed Mallory.

Chameleon's height saved him as a couple shots hit the wall above his head.

"Stupid droids!" Chameleon shouted.

Mallory glanced back at Grin.

"Where's Tanya?"

Grin nodded towards a direction further away. "She's trying to get to the portal."

Mallory risked a glanced at the portal and saw a couple things. Nosedive and Wildwing were dashing towards Dragaunus who looked as if he hadn't noticed them yet.

She could also see Tanya darting out from behind another pillar also heading towards the portal but was considerable further away.

Unfortunately, Chameleon also spotted them.

"Boss! Look out!"

With that, the Saurian transformed into an eagle and flew in the direction of Tanya.

Dragaunus whirled around to face Nosedive and Wildwing.

Turning back around, she spotted Siege charging the two of them. She braced herself.

He collided into the shield throwing her into Grin and sending them crashing to the floor.

X

Tanya, having heard Chameleon shout, was prepared when the Saurian landed in front of her. Mid transformation she was already sweeping at his feet and he slammed into the ground, losing his laser gun.

She dove for it as he also scrambled for it.

X

Dragaunus swept his arm across just in time to catch Wildwing across the face and send him flying back. Nosedive, however, was just enough to the side to avoid being hit by Wildwing and leapt up high enough to bring his feet against Dragaunus's chest, forcing him to stumble back.

Nosedive also stumbled a bit as he landed, but quickly regained his footing and held out his puck launcher.

Dragaunus whirled around and his tail caught Nosedive by the feet and send him colliding into the ground. Dragaunus raised his arms, claws grasping each other, to bring them down on the fallen young duck. But before he could swing down, Wildwing tackled him, catching him by the stomach.

Both of them hit the dashboard of the portal just as an alarm suddenly began to sound.

The portal began to change color.

Dragaunus, noticing the change, roared in anger. He shoved Wildwing off of him and got up to look at the dashboard. Most of it was damaged from the impact except for a small cracked screen that flashed the words "Danger: Overload: Reversing Polarity: Emergency Failsafe Malfunction."

"Curses!" shouted Dragaunus as he yanked the dashboard off. The portal began to warp in shape as the crystals turned a different color. Despite not being connected to the operation controls, it looked like the portal had taken a life of its own.

Dragaunus swung the control panel down over Wildwing, stunning the mallard.

Nosedive rushed towards them and Dragaunus swung the panel upwards, catching Nosedive from under his chin, snapping his head up. Dragaunus reached out and grabbed Nosedive by his armor before the young male fell back to the ground and lifted him up.

"I don't know why I bothered all this time," Dragaunus growled. "But pushing you out of my mind allowed me to proceed with a clearer vision."

He turned and threw Nosedive towards some of his droids.

Nosedive collapsed to the ground with a groan as the droids ignored him, focused on the ducks with the weapon that was taking them down.

Dragaunus turned in time to have Wildwing plant a punch across his jaw. Dragaunus let out another swing, catching Wing with enough force to send him in Nosedive's direction.

He stormed his way towards them, raising the console one more time to bring it down on both brothers.

From behind, Canard body slammed him, pushing him over and past Nosedive and Wildwing.

X

Noticing the color the portal had taken, Nightbloom decided it was time to go. With all the massive energy swirling about, it would be difficult to magically transport out. So she began to make her way towards the stairs that would lead to the actual warehouse.

X

Tanya landed a couple of blows into Chameleon's stomach, causing him to release his laser gun. She threw it halfway across the room and proceeded to relentlessly throw punches and kicks to keep him from having time to transform.

A crash of crates caught her attention and she saw that Grin and Mallory were now exposed to enemy gunfire.

Looking back at the portal, she could see that something was already going wrong.

She pulled out the last of the grenades and threw it towards the drones firing at her team.

She let out a yelp as Chameleon's transformed body swung a large arm towards her face.

She grabbed on and swung her body up, ankles catching muscle man Chameleon around the neck, causing the saurian to choke and revert back to his smaller self.

Both fell to the ground.

X

Between the three battles going on, Duke was torn about who to aid. Then he noticed movement above.

Eyes tracking the movement, Duke felt his heart race as he caught sight of his ultimate target.

The female saurian was moving away from the battle, possibly making an escape. Typical Saurian… abandoning her team in their time of need.

He used his grappling hook to swing his way across the room and land in front of the female just as she dropped to the ground.

Katana and saber clashed as she quickly reacted.

"Not so fast, toots!" Duke said with a grin.

"Fool!" the female snarled. "The dimensional portal is unstable. It would be wise for you and your friends to leave as soon as possible."

"And let Dragaunus bring in his armada? I don't think so!"

Duke began to lunge forward with his attacks, pushing the female back, even though she expertly deflected his moves.

Narrowing her eyes, she began to counter attack.

X

The portal warped again and slowly began to form an inward vortex.

X

Canard, Wildwing, and Dragaunus were the first ones to notice something was wrong.

A breeze that shouldn't exist was picking up moment, and glancing towards the portal, they saw that a vacuum vortex was forming.

Alarmed, Wildwing focused on Nosedive who was unconscious.

Tanya, being a bit closer, realized what was happening before she could feel the effects.

"The portal is inversing! It's gonna pull things in!" she shouted.

X

Nightbloom's and Duke's swords and sabers were clashing nonstop, meeting each parry and thrust with a block and countermove.

Duke had never felt so alive in sword play, which was ironic since he knew a wrong move would result in death.

The battle seemed like it could go on forever, and if he were willing to give it a poetic description, he would have said it was like an intimate dance.

"Look at the machine!" the female growled through clench teeth. "The crystal is unstable! It won't just open a portal. It'll create a vacuum!"

"And why should I trust you? You haven't told your fellow Saurians that. Were you planning on just letting them get sucked up?"

"Yes!"

Duke faltered and she managed to knock his hand up and outward, leaving his chest open for an attack.

She reached out and knocked his chest with the handle of her katana. "Vacate the premises now!"

Duke felt a rush of air before he heard it. Glancing back, he could see that the portal had formed… like a tornado.

In the back of his mind, he knew that Mallory, Grin, and Tanya were in a position to find safety. Wildwing, Canard, and Nosedive were in harm's way. And judging by the strengthening of the suction, he was going to be in danger too.

The strength of the suction pulled him back enough that his movements slowed. The female saurian reacted as well, turning her back towards the suction and thrusting her swords hard into the ground at an angle. She must have used some type of magic to boost her strength because they went halfway into the ground, giving her something to hold onto as her feet slipped out from under her.

Duke had just enough weight and strength to throw himself in her direction and throw one hand around her waist and another to grab onto one of her katana.

"Argh! Let go!" she shouted.

"Sorry, toots. I'd be crazy to do so."

X

Tanya scrambled to hold onto the closest steel braces. Behind her, she could heard Chameleon attempting to do the same. But judging by his panicky voice, he wasn't succeeding.

"Help me, help me, help me!" he was crying out as his claws scraped along the floor slowly moving back. Grabbing her puck launcher, she changed her settings to use the pucks as bolas. Holding onto the steel bar with one hand, she aimed her puck launcher at Chameleon and fired.

The force of the bolas and the pull of the portal sent Chameleon flying into a nearby pole and the bolas wrapped around him, securing him. Then she held on with both arms as the force of the portal grew.

X

Mallory, Grin, and Siege paused as they realized that everything was going wrong.

Distracted at the sight of his boss and team mate in trouble, Grin pulled back a fist and punched Siege across the jaw, knocking him out.

Mallory motioned for Grin to grab him and together they hauled him into the hallway and around the corner where Mallory quickly tied him up.

She went to go back to the warehouse but Grin stopped her.

"It's too dangerous," he said, worry evident in his eyes.

"But they're in danger!"

"We're going to have to trust that they'll be okay."

X

Wildwing grabbed Nosedive as the suction of the dimensional portal grew stronger. He pulled the unconscious youth into his arms and desperately looked around to see if there was anything he could grab onto. Spotting a pipe, he dragged himself and Dive towards it and grabbed on just as the suction increased enough to start pulling him back.

A pained cry caught his attention and he turned to see Dragaunus had landed a hit on Canard, sending the mallard in their direction.

"Canard!" he shouted as he saw that he wasn't going to even hit the ground.

The dimensional portal pulled Canard past Wing, but the shout alerted him to react fast and the mallard reached out to grab Wildwing's leg.

Wing grunted with the added weight, but determination kept him from letting go of the pipe and his brother.

A scratching sound was heard and looking back to where Dragaunus was. The Saurian was being dragged across the floor, his claws trying to dig in to keep him steady.

Heart pumping, he knew that the Saurian was going to be passing them, and with both arms occupied, Wildwing was defenseless. Canard, hanging on to his leg, no longer had his weapon so he was also in a similar state.

The velocity of the wind picked up more, lifting them even more upwards.

Electric sparks began to fly from the machines, the sparks being sucked in immediately into the portal.

Dragaunus roared as he sailed past Wing.

His claws reached out and caught Canard's ankle, digging in.

Wildwing felt his grip weaken and Canard let out a muffled cry of pain as Dragaunus grabbed a hold of his other foot.

"If I go, you're all going with me!" the Saurian shouted.

Wing glanced up at the pipe, eyesight growing blurry with tears of desperation.

The others were trapped where they were; they could not risk themselves to save them. It would guarantee a quick trip into dimensional limbo. He could only hold on as long as he could and hope that the portal would overheat before he lost his grip.

For one harrowing second, he felt the weight disappear and then he found himself almost losing Dive.

Glancing back down, Canard had lost his grip on his leg and managed to snag Dive's ankle. But holding on was now even harder. He could see no way out.

X

Both Duke and the female were now lifted off the ground.

The Saurian threw a look over her shoulder, yellow eyes promising death. Then she looked down past him and an annoyed look crossed her face.

"Grab onto my katanas and do not let go!" she shouted, the sound of the suction having increased to the point that they now had to yell to be heard.

Duke took the chance to follow her order and let go of her waist to grab the other handle.

What followed took him by surprise that he almost let go.

The female moved her hands and twisted around to turn herself face up.

The position suddenly felt too intimate and Duke felt his face heating up. "Uh, what are you doing?" he asked.

The female ignored him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"What are you doing?!" he repeated, his voice increasing in pitch.

She looked him in the eye. "Do not let go," she repeated, and let go of the handles.

Duke tightened his grip with her added weight and watched as she fumbled around for the rope at her waist, loosening it and then reaching around to wrap one end around his waist.

"I will aim for the support beam," she shouted into his ear. "When I wrap the rope around that, you will let go and land on the beam. Brace yourself against it."

"What?!"

"Your companions will not last long in their current position."

Duke twisted his head to look back in the direction of Wing and the others and saw that his captain was holding on by one hand to a pipe that ran into the ground, and that in his other arm, he was basically holding Dive, Canard, and Dragaunus.

"Crud," he muttered. He was going to have to trust the Saurian.

Without warning, the female released her grip around him and flew out from under him. He watched as she headed towards the portal and one of the support beams. His gut clenched as it looked like she almost missed the beam, but felt relief when he saw that she had landed on it. She reached around and wrapped the rope around the beam and then tied it around her waist. Her yellow eyes met his and she gave a nod as she let go of the beam and headed towards the portal and the others.

Duke took a deep breath and released his own grip. He grazed the floor as the rope guided him to the beam. Preparing himself for impact, Duke braced his legs and grabbed the rope as soon as he hit the beam.

The rope went taunt, and he could only pull back, unable to see what was going on.

X

Wildwing let out a cry as he felt both his grip on the pipe and his grip on his brother weakening. He knew, no matter what, that he would be unable to go on without his brother. If he had to let go, then he would let go and be with his brother, but he would not let go of his brother to save himself.

His fingers slipped and two grey hands wrapped around his wrist, jostling his small but quick ascent towards the portal.

Wide eyed, he looked up to see whom he assumed was the female saurian that Duke had mentioned.

"Nightbloom!" he heard Dragaunus roar.

A rope was tied around her waist and wrapped around one of her legs, giving her some stability.

"No, let go!" Wildwing shouted. "I'm losing grip on my brother! I'm not letting him go anywhere without me."

The female growled, but whether it was in annoyance or because of the strength she was exerting, Wildwing didn't know.

She looked past him at Canard.

"The time for betrayal is near," she said with gritted teeth.

Horrified, Wing looked down at Canard who was looking up in shock.

Her eyes glowed.

"Remember."

X

There was no way of knowing how much time had passed since he let go of the mask and left Wildwing in charge. All he knew was once in limbo, the worm had let go in search of better energy he supposed. But once it was gone, he was all alone, floating in a vast space of nothing.

He thought he would go mad.

He didn't hunger… but he was thirsty… yet he didn't perish in the few days he expected to die. There was no way to tell if it was night or day… but he knew a lot of time had passed. Every second dragged out. He was dying an incredibly slow death.

And he was going mad.

He thought he was hallucinating when he heard the sound of an engine. It wasn't loud… just a soft whine of a space craft moving in space.

He thought he was dreaming.

Because who would be here in limbo and chance upon a stranded dimensional traveler?

He assumed he was finally dying and his brain was trying to cope with the trauma by giving him false hope… a realistic hallucination to ease his weary soul.

He let himself go and closed his eyes, succumbing to darkness as a traction beam cast a bright light onto his floating body.

X

He was on a med bed.

Canard couldn't believe his eyes.

He had something solid underneath him, and while he knew the lights had to be dim, everything was still bright to him. An IV was hooked up to his arm, and a mask was tied around his beak, providing oxygen.

A machine was beeping to his side.

Looking around, he could see that he wasn't in a building. The metal ceiling and floors let him know that it was a ship.

But he couldn't tell whose ship it was.

He could only hope that it was a potential friend. A foe wouldn't have nursed him back to health… unless it was for some devious purpose.

He slowly moved out of the bed, mentally cursing to himself when his legs gave out underneath him. Taking a good look at them, he could see that they had atrophied.

So at least three months had passed… possibly more.

He gritted his teeth and stretched them out, testing to see how weak they really were. Having disconnected himself from the machines, he was a bit surprised to see that no one had come to check on him.

Was the ship vacant?

No matter. Canard continued moving forward towards the door. Once there, he wondered if there was some code to get out. He stood staring at it, but then it just opened.

A bit suspicious, Canard ventured forward, cautiously. He could see that there were no other forms of life nearby. The metal hallway was empty. This ship could be moderately sized, but he knew it could also be as large as the Raptor.

But he could feel a slight hum underneath him, meaning that he was at the very least a level above the engines.

In what seemed like an hour, he finally navigated himself around the halls to a doorway that looked important. Just like the med door, but unlike the other doors, it opened up on its own. With his legs aching and trembling, he carried forward.

It was the navigation pod. There in front of him he could see stars flying past him as streaks. It was clear that this ship was currently using some form of hyper drive. Numerous lights lit up the buttons and levers on the console, and a holographic display of the universe marked the current location.

But what was really amazing, and startling, was the being sitting in the captain's chair.

Yellow serpentine eyes looked at him coldly. "Sit," said a female voice.

Canard felt naked. A Saurian in front of him and nothing on him to attack and defend himself with. But she made no move to attack him, so he slowly made his way to the copilot seat and sat down, his legs barely holding him up now.

"Were you part of the resistance that followed the one called Lord Dragaunus as he fled from Puckworld?" the female asked.

"Yes," Canard warily responded as he slowly took her in. Wearing a lavender and emerald green dress in a style similar to the Mandarin Avian culture, she looked like nobility. A golden hair pin kept most of her long black hair up. The dress was short and underneath dark tights that tucked into boots that went over her knees allowed her enough mobility to defend herself if he attempted to attack.

"You were floating in limbo. Where is the rest of you team?"

"I'm not sure. Whatever planet the dimensional portal opened up to."

The female hit a few buttons and levers and turned to face him.

"I am Lady Nightbloom Calla Lily of East Sauria. I am also known as Nightbloom Firepassion of the Saurian Code. What can you tell me about the self-proclaimed lord?"

Canard felt suspicion and anger rising.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I have been assigned to locate and detain the false lord by whatever means necessary until the rest of the Code can come to hold trial."

"What?"

The female Saurian sighed in what was possibly irritation. Unlike Dragaunus who has expressed rage or evil glee, and other Saurians that he had the misfortune of meeting, this female showed almost no emotion. It was kind of disconcerting. But the fact that she was looking to bring Dragaunus in as a criminal… it didn't make sense.

"The lords of West Sauria broke treaty and attempted to become lords of the rest of the planet. Outmatched, they left to rule elsewhere. We of East Sauria, and founders of the Saurian Code, felt obligated to seek out the traitors and deal with them as deemed necessary. Of course our allies have assisted in giving the Saurian Code a ruthless reputation which assists in many things. Having some Western lords believe in our way of thought eases infiltration as well."

"What is the Saurian Code?"

"An organization with a high sense of honor and strict regulations, mallard. Now I repeat, what do you know of Dragaunus?"

X

Canard lifted weights with his legs, forcing himself to go above and beyond to regain his strength. His time with Nightbloom was strange these past few weeks. She kept questioning him about everything he had witnessed under Dragaunus's rule. It was strange to learn that not all Saurians were ruthless warlords.

He had, in fact, participated in video conversations with Lady Nightbloom's father, his generals, and other races as well, including his own. And it was then that he learned just how far the Saurian rule had extended, and just how big the fight had become.

He was also surprised to find out that not only was Lady Nightbloom nobility. She was considered royalty. He found himself gawking to see her fully dressed with a long kimono and elaborate head pieces whenever she spoke with her father and supporting generals.

"Those traitorous western lords have infected many systems, ruining some planets and encouraging others to seek and damage neighboring galaxies. We are on the verge of a galactic war and there are many helpless planets that are not aware of the danger that is coming their way."

"Such as the one that my team landed on?"

Nightbloom had confirmed that this was the case, which concerned Canard. He had wanted to try to find his team.

Nightbloom eventually found out where Dragaunus and his team had ended up.

"Residue of the dimensional gateway's energy was still on your person," she said. "The system has finally been able to track to coordinates."

"Then why aren't we headed there?"

"Patience. You are not well and a careful plan must be made."

Her calm demeanor drove him nuts half the time.

But while he trained his body, he learned several things as well.

Her rules kept her from outright lying, but she excelled in misleading with her words.

"That was your assumption, Thunderbeak," she would say when he would challenge her. It took him almost a month to just word his questions so that she had no choice but to give him a straight answer.

By then, he also became part of regular video conferences.

Months went by and then Nightbloom gave him some unexpected news when he approached her while she was cloaked in the shadows of her ship. Her outline could be seen as it blocked out the stars.

"My father has initiated contact with the planet Earth, the one in which your team landed in. They have been holding well on their own, but they are not alone. Others have already infiltrated the planet for either defensive or offensive purposes and our teams are attempting to oust them. Your team has had the most exposure in public news casts. For that reason, my father wishes for us to go to Earth and aid the team."

"You mean we're finally seeking Dragaunus out to fight him?"

"Not quite."

"What do you mean?"

"We are to delay him and sabotage him until my father and the council has completed their mission and arrive to help take him into custody."

"What mission?"

"Infiltration and mutiny of Dragaunus's armada."

Canard remained silent for a moment.

"Your father has been working on the inside of his armada?"

"And I shall work inside Dragaunus's team."

Canard struggled with the feeling of fear at the thought of Nightbloom dealing one on one with Dragaunus. It wasn't that he felt she couldn't handle herself. It was just knowing that she would be in there without any form of backup.

"And if things go wrong?"

"I will have your help."

Canard scoffed. "How? You can't go to Dragaunus with me in tow. He wouldn't trust you. I'm having trouble believing that he would trust you going in alone! Surely he'll think something is up."

Nightbloom tilted her head to look at him, not looking the bit concerned. "You will be joining your team, building them up. And I have a plan that may wreak havoc on Dragaunus's emotions, although it may create some unnecessary tension amongst your team."

"I don't think I can do this."

"We have no choice. It's almost time."

"I don't want to go through with this."

"You must. And it won't matter. Come morning… you will forget the plan. But you will set in motion what I need to implement it."

"I don't understand."

"Emotions can be the downfall of any race," she murmured. "We will use one of your team's members to join Dragaunus with a spell, and when the timing is right, and trust has been given, I will find a way to break that spell and leave the war lord struggling with confusion."

"That's not answering my question."

"You did not have a question."

Canard stared at her. He tried again. "I don't think I'd be able to go along with that plan. I'll be too concerned for my team member's safety. And just how am I going to get to my team? The appearance of you and me will be highly suspect."

The female stared at him for a moment, the lights of the control panel reflecting off her eyes. For a brief moment, they looked cold and hard as always. Then they seemed to soften. Or at least appear soft enough to make his heart beat a bit faster like it had in the past couple months.

"My dear Canard," she said softly, placing one hand against the side of his face. "Your team will not know of me."

"How? Why? And what do you mean that I won't remember in the morning?" His voice got louder and he felt hysteria, although he would deny it if asked about it, creeping into his voice.

Nightbloom's eyes began to glow and a strange mist began to form around her hand. "The Saurian Code honors no lies, so truths must be veiled. Speak freely but reveal nothing. Listen to my orders and suggestions when I say that the time for betrayal is near. And fully awaken when I say remember."

His vision began to grow dark.

As if it were all a distant dream.

He tried to speak out against it, worried more for her safety than his own.

And then nothing.

A flash of light.

And then he was surrounded by familiar faces… but… he couldn't help but feel that something important was forgotten.

But maybe someday, he would remember.

Remember.

"Remember."

X

Wildwing was confused and terrified. Did Canard know this female? What betrayal were the referring to?

"Don't you let go!" Dragaunus was shouting.

The female ignored them all, her eyes focused on Canard.

"I remember!" Canard shouted.

"Do you still trust me?"

Canard nodded.

"What's going on?" Wildwing asked, a bit of hysteria in his voice.

"Then do what is necessary."

Canard turned to look at Wildwing, seeing the confusion in his friend's eyes.

"Wildwing… Just remember… not all was what it may have seemed. Watch after them. Watch after all of them. After all, you're team captain."

"What?"

Canard let go.

"Canard! No!"

Canard and Dragaunus flew up into the portal.

And disappeared as the device caught fired and began to lose power.

A small explosion sounded and everyone who had been holding on fell down to the ground.

X

The loss of Dragaunus seemed to stun the other two Saurians into submission as the ducks tied them up together.

The female stared at Duke who approached her with ropes, a bit torn between feeling happy that he had the upper hand and apprehensive that she would start a fight, for she seemed unwilling to cooperate.

To his surprise, she pushed past him and towards the two Saurians before kneeling down next to them, hands on her lap, head bowed, silent.

None of the others dared restrain her.

Agents began pouring into the warehouse, the droids no longer moving and impeding the advancement.

The arrival of Agent Belle and Super Intendant Matthews gave the ducks an answer that they were not expecting.

"Lady Nightbloom Calla'Lilly. I understand you were Lord Mai's inside source planet side."

The female Saurian gave one short nod as the other two male Saurians shouted in outrage.

Duke felt his jaw drop as the other ducks were just equally stunned at seeing the human approach the Saurian and bow before her before extending his hand to help her stand up.

"I was also told by some of the teams that you assisted them topside, taking down droids that were blocking in some of the soldiers."

"It was an honor, Super Intendant." Nightbloom lowered her head and bowed, left hand clasped over her right fist, held up to her chest. "My methods were a bit unorthodox in your eyes, but the results were what we wanted."

"Unorthodox!" shouted Duke. "We lost a team mate to the dimensional limbo!"

The female blinked at him as she stood up. "He was recovered once, L'Orange," she said, catching him off guard that she knew his name. "I have no doubts that he will be recoverable once more. Or do you have little faith in him?" Duke didn't know how to take the small smirk she gave him, and that glint in her eye that made it seem as if she knew something he didn't.

Matthews turned to the ducks. "We will have a debriefing tomorrow at 1600 hours. We have a massive clean up to start. Miss Nightbloom, I understand that you had a chance to look at the dimensional portal and may be able to replicate it?"

"Affirmative. I am confident we can get a working model in a year that will allow for travel and begin an exploration and trade of other worlds." She turned back to glance at the ducks behind her. "And for others to finally visit… or return… to their home world."

The ducks looked amongst each other. They were still a bit thrown by the news they were receiving, but at the same time, if what the female was saying was true… the thought of going home gave them the biggest relief they had ever felt.

A huge battle won once more, and now they had the promise of seeing the home. Losses that may not be true losses. A potential ally.

Things were looking up.

X

Canard sighed as he floated through the quiet space. Several yards away, he could make out the muffled sounds of Dragaunus yelling at him, flapping around. Most likely attempting to swim his way to him through space.

He supposed that it was a small blessing that the dimensional limbo was horrible at letting sounds travel. He would need to be closer to hear what Dragaunus was saying, or shouting, and he was happy to do without it.

He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep.

But not even a few moments later, he heard the sound of humming engine.

His eyes popped open to see an enormous ship coming his way.

A ship with a familiar symbol.

Canard grinned.

X

One month later

Nosedive lay sprawled on the couch, reading one of his comic books. He heard the door open to the newly rebuilt and refurbished rec room, decked out in the new colors his team was going to be wearing in the next hockey season. It was taking some getting used to.

Curiosity got the better of him and he sat up to see Mallory and Nightbloom entering the room.

It still struck him as odd to have a Saurian residing in their headquarters, but as she was assigned to stay on the planet until the assembly of the dimensional portal was complete, Wildwing made the choice to offer her a room.

None of them were thrilled with that choice, especially Duke.

But Nosedive found himself doing his best to support his brother with his decision. Especially after the Saurian had turned to him and apologized.

"Forgive me, hatchling," she had said back at the warehouse. "I used you to cloud Dragaunus's judgment. Canard's actions in the beginning were not completely of his own. I manipulated him too."

"But where's Canard?"

"Do not worry, young one. I'm sure in time you will be reunited with your friend. After all, he escaped dimensional limbo once."

She then shed her appearance for a very different one. Gone was the dark purple and green outfit, having been modelled to something similar to what Dragaunus's team wore. She had something similar to the Asian culture of the earth, and the Madarin race of Puckworld, done in shades of lilac and jade. It gave her a softer appearance. And her lack of emotions drove him to want to make her react, leading to plenty of time spent with her much to the bafflement of the others.

But for now, the apprehension of seeing Tanya was killing him.

Despite her cold attitude, she willingly went with Mallory and Tanya for the robust female's makeover.

And upon hearing their arrival, the other ducks were coming out of hiding.

Nightbloom just looked at them and glided across the rec room towards their resting area. "The mission was successful," she said, before disappearing down the hall.

Mallory snorted. "Not a mission! She treated it like it was though." She turned to the entrance way. "Tanya, come on! You look great!" She turned to the others. "I couldn't get her to completely ditch her old style of clothes but we're gonna get there."

Tanya shuffled in and the mallard's jaws dropped at the new look Tanya was sporting.

Tanya's face went dark as she flushed in embarrassment with the scrutiny.

Gone was the tall hair that resembled a wheat bundle, now cut short and pixie like. With the length gone, it turned out she had a bit of a wave that created a somewhat tousled look. Gone were her large glasses, having been replaced by a slimmer pair.

And gone was the one piece suit that practically defined Tanya. She wore a khaki cargo style capris, a form fitting black shirt, and a jacket done out in a couple different colors of white, orange, and black.

"Looking nice, Tawny!" whistled Duke.

Tanya flew to her room with an embarrassed, "You guys are too much!"

But she paused in front of her mirror and took in her new look.

Mallory was right.

She felt different. As if a new chapter was opening up on her life. And maybe, on the life of the others. And it felt good.

X

In a room filled with rows of occupied chairs, a woman stood at a podium, addressing a crowd. Posters marked HO and Anti-aliens littered the room.

"People of Earth!" she was shouting. "Our government is betraying us by inviting these aliens in! We must stand firm and urge them to drive these invaders out by whatever means necessary!"

People cheered.

"We will be heard. We will be known. We will make our message clear, even if it means using the supposed heroes as examples!"

A/N: So we reached the end of the second virtual season. Finally. So… will there be a season three? It won't be updated often but I will continue. I have other projects I'm working on which slows down my MD stuff… Not to mention my original intention completely changed halfway through part one. For those curious… what changed was the reference to the impending alien invasion. Again, I made the decision to make the next season a bit more grown up, in terms of language and themes, but nowhere near as dark as my Alternate Lives story. I have such a hard time keeping language rated g, lol. Plus I wanted a better reason to introduce different aliens than the Mary Sue-esque thing of having them come in like the Ducks did. And Young Justice gave me an idea too. So… hopefully the following season will still live up to old fans standards and be all exciting and new. Until later!