Quick shout out to my readers. You guys are the absolute best! It's amazing to me how quickly you guys are posting reviews on this and it seriously motivates me! You guys are so awesome and so supportive! I'm only caught up another three chapters so I'm hoping I'll have time to write this weekend. You guys deserve the quickest reviews I can possibly muster with how patient you guys have been through this whole story! Again, thanks so much you guys and yes, we are getting really close to wrapping this bad boy up! Enjoy!
"Alright!" the ducks perked up, hearing the Chameleon cheer, "game over for the duck and the cop!"
"Wildwing's gone?" Tanya sounded heart broken, leaning back onto the floor. Mallory looked away from them. He couldn't be gone. He just couldn't be.
"Come on guys, we can't give up. I've got an idea." Duke murmured, pulling a panel off the side of Drake 1. Tanya saw what he was getting at and sat up, scooting over. Duke knew she would know better what to look for and scooted out of the way.
"You sons of bitches!" A look of surprise crossed Duke's face as he realized who was out of bed from the flu.
"Anna?" Mallory asked, glancing up.
The wraith and chameleon both looked wide eyed in Anna's direction.
"Oh crap. I didn't realize we were missing a duck!" The chameleon squeaked.
Anna was fuming, drawing her sword and moving toward Drake 1.
"I've got the ground strap," Tanya finally announced. "It should drain the charge from these energy bands" as she spoke, the bands around her wrists lost its charge, and she was able to get free. She got the bands around her legs undone before moving onto Mallory. Then, she got Duke free and then finally, Jess.
The wraith threw a fireball at Anna, but she was able to bat it away with her saber.
"Ten more minutes…" the chameleon stared intensely at the screen.
"I can hold her off for ten more minutes." The wraith promised, pulling out fireball after fireball. Anna was able to bat one back towards the Wraith, and he ducked, looking surprised. But then, she had to duck behind a console, sheathing her saber and pulling out the puck launcher. She waited for the fireballs to cease before firing on the wraith. The wraith ducked back, and the chameleon squeaked, jumping up and over to avoid getting shot at.
"What in the hell's going on here!" Anna's heart dropped as she heard Siege's voice. He had returned.
"Don't worry, it's just one duck!" the chameleon called back, pulling down on a lever. A gun dropped down from the ceiling, aiming at Anna.
"Oh shit!" she gasped, ducking out from behind the console to get away from the gun. The wraith took his chance, firing a fireball at her now that she was exposed. That should have been it for Anna, but before she knew it, she was picked up instantly and was flying through the air.
"Duke?" He smiled as she wrapped herself around him.
The rest of the ducks emerged from on top of Drake 1, all puck launchers drawn and aimed at the lizards.
They opened fire on the lizards, making them duck. Once Duke and Anna got back on top of the console, they rejoined the battle, firing whenever they could. It was difficult with the gun from the ceiling consistently firing in their direction.
"How did you guys get free?" Anna asked.
"Well, with your distraction, it was easy." Tanya praised. Anna smirked, taking aim at the lizards down below them.
The fight went on for a few minutes before, without warning, the ceiling gun moved back into its hidey hole.
"Somebody turned off the defenses!" Mallory announced.
"But who?" asked Tanya.
"Who cares!" Duke responded, "Ducks rock!" he shouted, jumping from on top of the monitor. As he came down, he kicked Siege away and opened fire on the other two. He got a couple of shots off before turning back around to run for cover. The girls all looked at each other before following suit, jumping down behind the console and firing from behind cover, careful not to hit Duke who was running toward them.
Duke saw Wildwing and Klegghorn standing behind the girls, but now wasn't the time for a heart filled reunion.
He turned back around, opening fire on the saurians again.
"This is for you Wildwing!" Tanya suddenly claimed as she fired.
"Thanks, Tanya. Appreciate it."
Her eyes widened as she realized Wildwing had moved to fire beside her, "Wildwing! You're okay!"
"Listen," Mallory got Wildwing's attention as they ducked back behind the console. Anna and Duke continued to fire on the lizards every few seconds while still hearing the conversation, "those goons are using Drake 1 to access the military's missile launch codes."
"With all those warheads, Dragaunus could rule the world." Wildwing pieced together.
"And, they've planted a bunch of explosive pucks in the generator." Duke added, turning around for a second.
"And they're gonna go off in six minutes," Mallory added. Tanya got a look of worry on her face.
"And the stadium is probably full by now."
"It's just one thing after another today, isn't it." Wildwing muttered. Klegghorn got his attention.
"You stop the bombs. I owe these scuz buckets some payback." He said, pulling out his gun. Wildwing nodded, running off toward the generator. Klegghorn popped up from hiding, "You lousy lizards! Nobody tries to conquer the world from my precinct!"
The rest of the ducks joined Klegghorn as they came out of hiding. The lizards had completely ducked down.
"Boss, we need a little help." Came a whimper from Chameleon.
"Forget it, sleezebag. Nobody's gonna help you!" Klegghorn shouted.
"You were saying, worthless maggot?" They all turned to see Dragaunus standing behind them.
"It's Dragaunus!" Duke informed. Before they could do anything, Dragaunus fired a stun ray at the ducks and human, knocking them out cold. All except one. Anna was just behind the console enough that the ray missed her.
"I hope you aren't too stunned by this." Dragaunus said to the ducks on the ground.
"You evil sonofabitch!" Dragaunus turned to see Anna flying at him.
"Anna, long time…" he peeled her off at him, holding her out, "no see."
She flipped up, kicking him in the face as she came back down. He snickered, moving forward. She fired a couple of pucks at him, but he blocked them easily. She backed up slowly as he grabbed her by the throat. She struggled, pulling at his claws.
"Now, Anna. Don't do anything too rash. I'd hate to have to bear the news to Canard that his baby sister messed up and got herself killed!" he growled.
"What?" Anna gasped. She had forgotten about her assumptions. "You do have him!" she hissed through the chokehold.
"You are clever," Dragaunus remarked, smirking. "I've held onto him in hopes of maybe one day using him against you. Thus far, I haven't had to stoop so low. He is strong, though. He can go for days without food or water. You would be proud to see him still surviving. All he ever talks about is you." He sneered.
"Let my brother go." Anna choked out. Dragaunus let out a chuckle.
"I don't think so." He said, tossing her across the floor. She rolled a little and as she sat up, she held her arm.
"I'll kill you!" she shouted, getting back up and running toward him. Dragaunus turned back around, back handing her and sending her flying into the console. She gritted her teeth and let out a grunt as she felt something crack. She was almost certain Dragaunus had just busted a rib. Maybe two. She tasted blood as she turned back to face him.
"You've been a thorn in my side for too long!" Dragaunus growled. He moved toward her. She put up her arms, ready for a fight but she was only able to block one blow before his tail came from behind, tripping her. She landed on her back, breathing heavily. Dragaunus picked her up by the throat, and she struggled against his grasp.
"Let me go." She struggled to get the words out. He smiled menacingly, bringing her close to him.
"As you wish." He tossed her into the console of Drake 1. Her head hit the console and she collapsed on the ground.
Dragaunus turned back to Drake 1, seeing that the countdown had finished.
"The missiles are mine!" he exclaimed.
Right at that moment, the elevator doors slid open to reveal Phil, Grin, Nosedive and Jason.
"Who wants coffee and donuts?" Phil asked, walking in.
"Dragaunus!" Nosedive gasped, seeing the saurians, and then seeing his teammates laying on the floor. He, Grin and Jason did a quick change, but Dragaunus was too fast, firing a stun ray at them as well. They fell back, hitting the floor. The donuts and coffee flew out of Phil's hands, and one of the donuts rolled toward Klegghorn.
He smelled the donut and started to come to.
Dragaunus tapped some numbers into Drake 1's panel.
"I've downloaded the codes into this data cylinder. Program the teleporter to take us to the raptor." He told Siege. Siege nodded in confirmation.
As the codes released from the console, Dragaunus picked them up, holding them above his head in triumph.
"Who on this retched planet would dare to defy me!"
"You're looking at him, wise guy!" Klegghorn had completely come to, firing a shot at the data cylinder. It dropped from Dragaunus' claws, completely destroyed.
"The codes! No!" he shouted in defeat. At that moment, all the ducks came to behind Klegghorn. All accept one. They all aimed at the spot the saurians stood in.
"Boss, we gotta split!" Chameleon said, tugging on Dragaunus' robes. Dragaunus glared before the saurians teleported out of there.
Once the saurians were gone, the group all turned to each other with smiles on their faces. They had done it. They drove the lizards out of their home.
"Anna!" the triumph was short lived as Duke ran over to the duck that still lay on the floor. He picked her up, holding her upper torso in his arms.
"What happened to her?" Mallory asked, rushing over to Duke's side.
"When Dragaunus stunned us, he must have missed her." Duke reasoned.
"So that warranted beating the shit out of her?" Jason asked incredulously.
"Dragaunus doesn't like Thunderbeaks, and it's been a while since he's been in the field. He's probably got a lot of pent up anger for Anna and her brother." Duke explained.
"Duke?" he looked back down to see Anna had come to in his arms.
"Oh thank Ducaine." He said, pulling her into a hug. She hugged him back, coming to sit up.
"Anna, what happened?" Tanya asked.
"What do you think? I had a hot-headed lizard come down on me." Anna groaned, grabbing the side of Drake 1. Duke took her other hand and helped her to stand up. He stopped her for a second, taking her face in her hands.
"What?" she asked, not sure why he was touching her like this in front of the others.
"I think you've got a black eye forming." He commented, turning her head slightly. "He cracked the skin right here…" he trailed off, grazing his thumb near the open cut so she knew where it was.
At that moment, Anna's comm beeped.
"The game's about to start." She commented, looking up at the others. They all stared at her blankly. "Well, get going!" she ordered, her voice cracking. Duke hung back for a second.
"I gave you an order. Go get dressed out for the game." She snapped at him. Her torso hurt, her arm hurt from getting slammed into the side of Drake 1, and she had a roaring headache. Her throat was also slightly sore.
"You sure you're alright, sweetheart."
"Get going!" she ordered, pointing him toward the locker rooms. He gave up, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. Her gaze softened, watching him walk away. She knew he was just worried about her, but she didn't have time to worry about herself. She was worried about her little exchange with Dragaunus.
"You might need to go to the hospital." Klegghorn tried, interrupting her thoughts.
"I said I'm fine." She tried to reason. He held up his hands.
"Alright, alright. I'm not your babysitter." He said, walking out.
Anna went to follow but paused for a moment. Her head hurt, but one thing stood out to her. One thing remained clear in her mind: Dragaunus claimed to have Canard prisoner.
It would be so easy for him to be lying. He could be bating her to come looking for a brother that wasn't even on his ship. She hoped that was the case. She hoped Canard was nowhere near that lizard, but a lump caught in her throat as she tried to forget what she already knew; Dragaunus had Canard's communicator. How could she be sure he didn't also have Canard?
After the game found the ducks all standing around the rec room.
"You think Cap will be going easier on us?" Nosedive asked, leaning against the console.
"I think we earned ourselves another ally today." Wildwing commented.
"Good, because we can use all the help we can get in the fight against Dragaunus," Mallory commented.
"You can say that again," Anna muttered beside her. Her voice had gotten hoarser, and bruises had formed around her neck.
"You feel any better?" Wildwing asked her.
"I'm tough." She commented, crossing her arms.
"That's not what I meant." He trailed off, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I know. Wildwing, can I have a moment with you?" she asked.
"Hey, why does he get to know secrets, and we don't?" Nosedive asked.
"Nosedive, some secrets need to be kept between two people. Unless you feel everyone needs to know about the motorcycle girl?" she asked.
"Uh, no…" Nosedive let loose a nervous chuckle, "go ahead. Keep all the secrets you want with Wing. I'm gonna, uh… go… read some comics or something." It was obvious he was uncomfortable with Anna's statement as he flitted out of the room.
"Motorcycle girl?" Jess asked with a raised eyebrow as she followed him out.
Wildwing rolled his eyes at his little brother.
"Could you guys give us a few?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure. I need to go get some laundry going anyway." Duke murmured, walking out. The rest followed suit, murmuring things they needed to get done as they left Wildwing and Anna alone.
"What's up?" he asked.
"It's Canard." She started, and she saw his features tense at the mention of his name. "I think Dragaunus has him prisoner."
"What uh, what gave you that idea?" he asked. Anna sighed out.
"I can't be sure. Do you remember when we thought we'd found Canard? In the mountains?"
"Yeah, but it was just the chameleon." Wildwing concluded.
"Right. Except I looked into video footage from when we lost him and concluded he was wearing his wrist comm when we lost him. So how would we be able to track his comm directly to the chameleon unless the chameleon had the comm."
"But then how did they get his comm?"
"Exactly!" Anna said
"Why are you just now telling me this?" he demanded.
"So much was going on, I honestly forgot about it. It was just a hunch after all. I had no way to prove Canard was on Dragaunus' ship."
"and you do now?" Anna took a breath at his words.
"I can't be sure if Dragaunus spoke the truth or if he was trying to rile me up, or lead me into some sort of future trap, but when I fought with him, he told me he had Canard prisoner. He said he'd just been waiting for an opportunity to use Canard against us and he just hadn't had a reason."
"I highly doubt that. He's had so many opportunities to use Canard against us."
"That's what I thought. But Wildwing, what if he's not bluffing. What if he does have Canard prisoner. If he does, Canard could be hurt. He could be dying."
Wildwing sighed out, seeing the serious look in her eyes.
"Even if he does have Canard captive, we have no way to track the raptor. We proved when we first got to Earth that it takes too long to drive up and down the city blocks scanning the buildings individually."
"I know that, Wildwing." She snapped.
"Well then what do you want me to do about it!"
She looked taken aback for a moment.
"I don't know, Wing. Maybe be just as worried about your best friend as I am about my brother?"
"You don't think I'm worried?" he looked taken aback now, "all I ever think about is losing my best friend. I wake up from nightmares where I see Canard letting go of the mask, and every night I'm powerless to stop it, just as I was when it really happened. There's not a day that goes by that I don't wish he and I had switched places."
Tears welled up in Anna's eyes as she hugged Wildwing. He wrapped his arms back around her as they both stood there, unsure of what had become of their brother and friend.
She pulled out of the hug and looked up at him, "I'm not saying you don't care. I know you do. I forget sometimes because you're so good at shoving it down. You have to." She paused for a minute, "I don't know what I want. I wish there was a way we could better track the raptor, so we could find out for sure if Canard is there."
"Hey," he put a hand on her shoulder, "we'll find him. I've promised you that before, haven't I?" she nodded, another tear running down her cheek, "well then don't you forget it. I haven't broken my promise yet. We're going to get him back."
He looked away, looking at the blank screen of Drake 1. "and if Dragaunus does have Canard, he's in for a world of hurt."
Later that night, Anna laid in her bed, her hand tracing up and down Duke's chest. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her close to his bare body.
"That was great." He murmured, kissing the top of her head.
"Yeah, you weren't too bad yourself." She smirked, leaning up and letting him kiss her directly. They pulled back for a second.
"Why didn't you catch the flu?" she asked suddenly.
"Maybe you just had a twenty-four-hour bug. I mean, you haven't thrown up since you took those anti-nausea pills, right?" he asked.
"Well yeah, but you were with me the night before I showed symptoms of some type of bug. Why didn't you get sick?" she asked.
"Duke L'Orange doesn't get sick, sweetheart." He smirked. She rolled her eyes at him, leaning up to kiss him again. They lightly kissed for a moment before his beak was suddenly roughly pressing against hers. He rolled over so that he was on top of her.
"Owe!"
"what's wrong?" he stopped, pulling away from her.
"Nothing." She promised.
"What?" he asked, flipping on the bedside lamp. He could see her fully now. Her eye was still puffed up, bruises around her throat. Then, he saw a big bruise taking up a good portion of her upper arm as well as more bruising that crossed her ribs.
He cursed, sitting up in the bed.
"Duke, I'm fine. Really."
"Did I hurt ya the first round?" he pushed.
"No!" she answered too quickly, and he gave her a look. "Fine, but it was a good hurt." She tried sheepishly.
"No, no. biting is a good hurt. Pinching, scratching, handcuffs. Those are good hurts. This shouldn't hurt." He snapped, motioning to her full body.
"So, I got a little bruised up."
"Bruised up? Anna, he cracked three of your ribs!"
"So what? It's not like you haven't been bruised up before!" she snapped. He sighed out.
"Yes, I have been bruised up before, but sweetheart, I hate seeing you hurt. And when I just add to it, I hate myself. I don't want to be the one that causes you pain."
"Hey," she put her hand on his cheek, guiding him to look at her, "you didn't cause this. You wanna be mad at someone, be mad at Dragaunus. Want to hate somebody, hate Dragaunus." He pulled away from her touch, but she grabbed his face with both of her hands, making him look at her again. Their beaks were inches apart.
"Baby, you didn't do this. Besides, as long as you're gentle, we can have all the fun we want." She enticed.
"Anna, I-" his words caught in his throat as he leaned his head into her neck. He wanted to tell her right then and there. He felt like he could. They'd known each other for so long now, it wasn't weird that he loved her. But he thought back to their relationship. They'd only become official with each other not too long ago. If it had been a classic relationship, it'd be too soon to tell her he loved her. It was like she knew what he was trying to say. No more words were spoken as she lifted his head, guiding him back to her lips as she kissed him passionately.
His body fell back into hers, though he wrapped his arm around her lower back to lower her gently back onto the bed.
