Help_8

This is the longest chapter I have ever written...phew, it was hard work! But this story is getting more and more complicated! I don't know how I invent these things....ARGH!
This part is mainly about Nosedive. Forgive me. I am just a freak ;-)

*glares angrily towards PapillonStar* I wanted to wait until you posted Part 10, but you didn't! Then I descided that it was unfair to torture all the others out there and uploaded it. But it's still your turn! *mumbles something*




Help
by Kaeera
CHAPTER 8:

You would have died

Nosedive crawled out of the window, inspired by the idea to leave this place as fast as possible. Free, free at last!
Leaving everybody behind – they would be stuck with their own problems! Ha! He didn't care anymore. Not at all.

There was Puckworld, and there was peace.

He had suffered enough. First the subway, and then this. Nobody could expect from him to stay any longer – the others would probably be happy that he left, because he was only the fool of the group.

"And you think that's the right way to go?", a soft voice asked. Nosedive froze. He didn't have heard anyone enter – and it wasn't any familiar voice at all.
Not familiar? Deep in his mind he remembered someone with this voice, but that couldn't be...
Slowly he turned around. And gasped in shock as he saw the white woman standing there, right behind him.
Her hair was as blond as his, and she was smiling an angelic smile. In fact, she looked very much like an angel. The clothes she wore where white, but the whole body seemed to be transparent.
The young duck stepped forward and raised his hands as if he wanted to touch the figure, but his hands stopped shortly before...

"Mom...", his voice was barely a whisper. "Mom!", he repeated, this time with more force. This couldn't be – his mother was dead. Dead people didn't come back, unless...

"Did I die?", he asked frightened.

"No.", she answered, "Not yet."

He shook his head. "B-but....when I am not dead, what are you doing here? After all, you _are_ dead! That's a dream, or? No, it's reality....I don't know what it is!", he yelled frustrated and tried to sort the thoughts which were whirling around in his head.

"Nosedive, do you think that's the right way?", his mother asked again and looked straight into his eyes with a serious expression.

"What – this one?", Nosedive pointed to the window and snorted, "Well, it's a lot of better than staying here, I guess. After all, there isn't another way, so how do I know if it's the right way?!"

The angelic duck smiled again. "There is another way."
Dive's eyes followed her gaze and landed on the (grey) door. "Oh well", he muttered, "Of course there's a way through this damn door – if I'd have a key!"

"You didn't have a key for the window either."

"Oh.", was the only thing he could say and he stared down on his bloody hands. Strange that it didn't hurt. Maybe because this was a dream?

"But anyway, I wouldn't want to go through this door – Wing and the others are out there and they don't want me anymore. They would just send me back, and I had to start right at the beginning."

"I know that the way through the door is the harder one", his mother stated, "but Dive, think carefully, and then tell me: Is this way through the window right? Is it real?"

Real? What did she mean with that? Nosedive thought and stared again out of the window. It was very real. He, after all, could smell the fresh air, could hear the sounds....it wasn't an illusion. No illusion could be that realistic. So why the question?

Hey, but...it was Puckworld. But not the Puckworld how he had seen it the last time.
No, it was the Puckworld of his childhood!

But then...no, that couldn't be true...had he.....Confused, he tried to express his several thoughts into a sentence:

"No, it's not real....it's something I remember, but it's not life like it is today. And you can't live in the past, so it would have been the wrong way..."

He heard a soft laughter: "You've always been a very smart kid, Dive."

"Mom?", he asked without looking at her, "What would have happened if I had went through this window?"

Please don't say what I am thinking right now!
I don't want to hear it...

"You would have died."


* * *

The Pond, kitchen:

The only sound came from the refrigerator as Mallory entered the room. She opened it and took the milk out.
Then she stood there, staring at the wall with the forgotten milk in her hands.
Was it really yesterday Nosedive stormed out of the Pond to go to the inner city? Full of enthusiasm?
She couldn't believe it. These hours must have been the longest in her young life, and it still didn't end!
Mallory had never been very patient, and this was killing her nerves.

"Not thirsty?", someone asked and entered the kitchen.

Mallory continued staring at the wall. "Tanya, tell me: How can I drink when a friend of me is probably dying – or going insane?"

Tanya shrugged and answered: "Well, logically you can't help him through is pain when you suffer, too, but I understand what you mean. I can't rest or work properly either. It's just nagging at me, never leaving me alone."

"Poor Wildwing!", she continued, "For him it's more terrible than dead. If Nosedive dies....then our leader will never be the same again!"

"But, Why for God's Sake only Nosedive? Why the youngest? Why the one who enjoys life the most? It's unfair....I mean, he can be a fool, but he's a good kid and he deserves it to have a normal teenager time!", Mallory shook her head, "And I told him that he's worthless....I feel so guilty! If he dies, my last words have been 'You are worthless'! I didn't mean that!"

Tanya put her arm around the shoulder of the younger duck. "I think Nosedive knows that you didn't mean it. Don't feel bad about what you have said to him. That sounds as if you had given up hope! Don't you believe that he will survive this?"

"S-Sure.", Mallory stuttered and tried to hide the small tear in her eye.

Tanya smiled. "I guess if our belief is strong enough, then he will make it through. And when he wakes up, you can tell him everything you want, okay?"

"Okay.", Mallory smiled back and muttered a soft 'Thanks' before she hurried to leave the room, still the milk in her hand.

Tanya stayed back alone and stared at the same spot of the wall Mallory had watched earlier. "If I just could believe it myself!", she whispered, stood up and left the room, too.


* * *

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. So close to his death! Only some meters...he would have died! With 17!
Oh my god....so this wasn't a dream. In a dream you can't die.

"But maybe dead isn't so bad after all", he said slowly, "Why living? Nobody cares for me anymore, without Trash and Mookie, maybe. And they are human beings, have nothing to do with me. And I could come with you...", Nosedive looked into his mother's face, eyes pleading.

"Oh yeah, you could come with me, but is it that what you want?", she watched him pacing up and down. "The one you love, would they abandon you?"

"What means 'would', they already did!", he yelled, tears in his eyes, "My whole life I've been afraid that something like that would happen, and now it became hard reality! Right when I started to believe that I was important for them, like they were important for me!"

"Nosedive, I've already told you that you are a smart kid, but sometimes it's better to think with your heart than with your brain!"

The white shadow became more and more transparent. "Mom, don't leave me!", the duck shouted in panic, afraid to be alone in his prison again, with nobody to talk. "Please, Mom, don't abandon me, too!"

But his mother vanished into some sparkling lights and the last words he could hear were "I have to go back, Dive. Never loose your trust....and think with your heart..."

Nosedive frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Thinking with your heart...a heart couldn't think, it could only feel...

Feel?

Surprised he discovered that deep inside he still trusted – and loved – his brother. And that he actually didn't believe that this _was_ his brother.

With a smile on his lips he remembered the words of his mother: "You have always been a smart kid..."

He hadn't heard this sentence very often, but when he did, it meant so much for him!
Nobody had never seen anything different in him than a fool, a clown. Nobody considered that deep inside this duck with the big beak there might be a more sensitive mind, somebody who searches for love and trust.
Nobody without his family. They showed their love for him, and when the day was grey and everything sad, this words had always cheered him up: You are a smart kid....

And now she had said it again. Smart. Yeah, he could be smart – if he wanted.
So he would open this door – now – and search a away out of this misery.
He could do this! After all, he had people who supported him!

And, even more important: he had himself! He and his stupid brain would manage this.
In Nosedive-Style.

He rubbed his hands: "Ooooookay, let's go to work!", he shouted and examined the door.
"Well, eating some tacos wouldn't be that bad..."


* * *


Wildwing was reading an old comic book of Dive. Well, he tried to read it, but his mind wouldn't focus. He stared at the colorful drawings of superheroes – heroes who survived every blast with a smile, always a smart comment in their lips...
The Mighty Ducks were heroes, too, in a way. It was strange to think of yourself as a hero. But it was hard reality.
Unfortunately real hero-life wasn't that easy like it was described in Dive's comics. It contained also things like injuries, getting no sleep because you have to fight, never being able to go out without a weapon and the constant fear that something really bad might happen – like now.
Maybe that was a reason why Dive liked this comics so much, he realised. Life was so simply in them, unlike theirs.
He remembered the time his life had been simple and normal, too...

FLASHBACK

A much younger Wildwing, maybe 12 or 13 years old, is sitting in his room, reading a book. Suddenly his younger brother storms in: "Wing, Wing, do you play hockey with me?" His eyes are big and pleading, like the eyes of a pup....although Wildwing would prefer it to read his book now, he can't resist this look....like always.
"Okay, bro, just let me finish this chapter!"
"Oooooookay!!!", Dive yells happily and leaves the room, bouncing up and down: "I get the stuff, just hurry!"
"Hmmhm", is the reply of his brother who has already turned back to his book.

"Wildwing, honey?", his mother appears in the door, "Don't play too long, we will eat soon!"
"S'okay, Mom", Wing waved with one hand, eyes never leaving the book, "Dive will be exhausted after half an hour. We will be back in time."

"Okay....ah, and don't get too dirty. Your pullover looked terrible yesterday!"

"Mom...."

"Yes, I know, I am annoying you. I'll go my way. Just take care of Dive, will you? He's so young and cheerful..."

"Mom, don't worry – I will always take care of Dive, promised!"

This promise – he had made it so easily, but totally convinced that he would manage this...after all, his parents were also there.
But now their parents were gone, and he was the only one to take care of Dive. He hadn't done a very good job, though.
Had he broken his promise?

Slowly, he brushed the sweaty hair out of his brother's face. "Dive, please come back...", he whispered and sighed. "I miss you."


* * *


Nosedive peeked around the corner and saw a large corridor. The color was, of course, grey. Finally he had managed to find a way out! It had taken him a lot of patience to open this stupid door, and now his hands all read and swollen, but now he was free.

Free!

Free without an idea where to go. He sighed. This_was_weird_! He had two choices, left or right, and both looked very similar.
How great! His mind had to be really twisted – maybe he should visit a doctor after that. Or maybe not. It would be ashaming.

He would have stood there longer if he hadn't heard a voice. A voice he had missed during his time here...

"Dive, please come back...."

He froze. That was Wildwing's voice, and he sounded so....frightened, worried....hopeless!
It couldn't be! Wing was strong! He was never...no, he was always worried. How could he forget that? It was, after all, his brother he was thinking about. Worrying was normal for this guy. Oh well. This time he was quite happy about his brother's attitude – it would help him to find the way out of here!

Slowly he walked left, to the place he had located his brother's voice.

"I'm coming, Wing!", he whispered, a determined expression on his face. "I'm coming back!"



To be continued....


Some Author Notes: And, what did you think of this? I don't know anything about Nosedive's and Wildwing's parents, so I invented something. Hope you aren't angry! Well, this time there's a turning point in the story, I think. He's out of his room! How long did I let him suffer there?*evil grin* I am such a nasty author*hides in a corner* I think in the next part there will be Dive's awakening. Hope so. I actually planned to write it in this chapter, but then I got the idea of his mother and everything turned out longer....
if you have any ideas how I should write the next chapter, so please write them in your review or mail me! I am always open for suggestions and constructive criticiscm(@Ottercub....lied and laid...*laughs* I bet I made the same mistake again, but I am too lazy to overread it! :-P)
Anything else? Oh yeah, I am back from orchestra practise(3 days) and I AM TIRED! Didn't get that much sleep, ya know.
So I am gonna stop now! LOVE YOU ALL! And your wonderful reviews....thanks to them I managed it to make this chapter longer...and to write it relatively fast(I wasn't at home very often!) THANKS!!*bows deeply and wipes tears away* - Kaeera