Author : Wild-Melody
Disclaimer : I don't own nothing other than my story idea, the Mighty Ducks all belong to Disney, save for the few that I've thought up.
Warning : NC-17, just to be safe for right now.
The Awakening
Chapter 2 : The Awakening
The fire raged through her soul, her body felt like it was consumed by flames. The heat of the inferno blazed through her veins and she moaned as she felt someone put a cold rag against her forehead. The coldness felt good but it sent her body into shock. "Get it off!" she screamed. She began to thrash around, her arms and legs jerked involuntarily. Someone grabbed hold of her body and held it down, their weight baring her down into the mattress below her. "Let me go!" she screamed and tried to move, trying to dislodge who ever it was that was laying down on top of her.
"Tanya!" she heard Wildwing's voice. "We need that hypodermic spray right now!" His voice was loud in her ear, like his mouth was right next to her ear. Is he the one laying on me? she mentally wondered. The cool cloth was removed from her forehead and she felt slight pressure applied to her throat followed by a gentle whir. A hypo spray, she thought to herself.
She felt herself gently moving into oblivion. Her surroundings began to blur into one another until they completely converged and she had no idea what she staring at. Suddenly one image tore itself apart from the rest of the menagerie. She was looking right at herself, What the hell?!
Are you ready to begin your training? The other duck asked.
Huh? I don't understand. Am I dead?
The other duck laughed softly, Not at all Mallory, you're still very much alive. For now at least. The other duck walked up to her and gently took Mal's left hand in her own. I have much to teach you and only a very short time.
What's happened?
Nightshade poisoned you, do you not remember? Mallory slowly shook her head. It's just an after effect of the poison, when you wake up…if you wake up, you should remember everything.
What's going on?
I'm going to train you, or at least as best as I can. Your mother would do it but she's busy right now trying to find a cure for the poison on this planet. If she can't find one all this will be for nothing. Just in case though, you must be ready to face Nightshade and all that he may try to throw at you.
I can't defeat him by myself, can I?
Skysong looked at her great-granddaughter, the look in her eyes was all the answer Mallory needed. You don't think I can. She stated flatly. If you don't think I can what's the use in trying to train me?
There is always that chance, you yourself should know that. Hasn't your life so far on this planet told you that? Besides which, you are the only one on this miserable planet who can even attempt to fight Nightshade, without you the others won't stand a chance. There was a brief pause. Or would you rather Nightshade win? He'll kill them all, beginning with Wildwing. Mallory shot her great-grandmother a dark look. He knows of your feelings for your leader, and he will try and use them against you. Once you wake up, get them out in the open, Nightshade won't be able to use them then.
Nightshade's way of fighting is to use what you want no one else to know…like he tried to use your magick against you. He would've told them in time if you hadn't healed Nosedive and revealed what you are. Nightshade likes secrets. If you have any that could harm you or your friends now is the time to reveal them.
Mallory looked over at her great-grandmother. My only secret is my feelings for Wildwing, other than that there is nothing else. Other than the magick, but they already know that now. She paused briefly as a memory flashed before her eyes. Grandmother, Nosedive was scared of me, why?
Oh honey, your father always thought he was doing you a favor by hiding your gift from you, in reality he hurt you. Skysong waved her feathered hand above the barren ground and two chairs appeared from the thin air. Sit down and I'll try to explain things as best as I can.
The two sat down and Mal rested her bill on the palms of her hands, prepared to hear a rather long story. Skysong turned her eyes heavenward, Oh Great Mother of all Ducks, give me the strength and insight to teach this young one all she'll need to know. She then turned her eyes to Mallory. You know the story of how Nightshade was banished to the Dark Realms? Mallory nodded her head yes.
Well, before that, long before Nightshade ever went to the dark side of our magick, we were widespread through out Puckworld. There was the occasional bad Magius here and there, but nothing so bad that we couldn't handle them. Then Nightshade came and all that changed.
Your Great-Grandfather Darkskies and I both almost died that night, the night that Nightshade was banished. Skysong sighed, We weren't feared until then. We were ordinary ducks up until that battle, then everything changed. Ducks began to worry that we'd all go evil. They began to worry about mass destruction, 'Would we all follow in Nightshade's steps?' Was the question that ran through most ducks minds.
We began to vanish, bit-by-bit our magick left the world, and we went into hiding. We were afraid to practice that which was our birthright. Our magick died with us. Skysong looked at her great-granddaughter and sighed. The young were taught in secret. When your grandmother Wind Dancer learned of your mother's pregnancy she was ecstatic. The only downside was that your mother had married outside of the magickal caste, we weren't sure how your father would handle finding out that he was married to a Magius or that he had fathered a half-breed Magius.
Klifford took it rather well, we didn't know until your birth that he had known the whole time what your mother was. He loved her and that's all that mattered, that's when we finally accepted him and he accepted us. We respected his wishes that you not be taught about magick. With the world the way it was then, we didn't want to ruin your chance at being accepted as 'normal', so to speak.
Skysong covered Mallory's hand with her own. It was the saddest day of our lived when your mother passed away. Your father didn't remarry until a few years later, but he never forgot about Windracer. You became his sun on a rainy day. That which you are was hidden from you to keep you safe, now our decision may have backfired and that which we did to safe guard you may have put you in the ultimate danger. If that is so my granddaughter, we are all sorry.
Mallory sighed, Hopefully it won't matter to the others. If so, I'll deal with it somehow or another. We've been through too much, they can't hate me over something as minor as this…can they? Mallory looked imploringly at her great-grandmother.
Skysong just shrugged her shoulders, Honestly my dear, I don't know. It will be up to them, and depends on how much they've been conditioned against magick users.
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"She's starting to wake up," Tanya said as she monitored the read outs on the med-table.
"Did you figure out what it was?" Wildwing asked as he looked down at the duck lying on the medical bed. "She didn't loose that much blood…it wasn't from healing Nosedive, was it?" his eyes quickly looked over where his little brother was curled up on a medcom bed not far from Mallory's.
"No," came Tanya's nasally voice. She continued to look over the print outs, Mal's temperature was still skyrocketing and she was delirious, mumbling something about dark skies and sky songs and something to do with night shades. "She was poisoned." Tanya said, she surveyed something else that the medcom had printed out. "It a-appears that it…w-well originated there." She pointed to the small bandage on Mal's stomach.
"The stab wound?" Wildwing asked. He walked over to stand on the other side of the medcom so he was across from Tanya. "Do you think it was intentional?" He asked, "I saw her fighting with that strange duck that showed up with the Saurians, maybe he did it…"
Tanya tapped a few more buttons, she was becoming impatient with the readouts. "This is-isn't good," she looked them over and looked them over again. "I don't like this."
"What?" Wildwing asked as he walked around the medcom table again, this time so he could stand behind her and have a look at the print outs too. "I don't see anything." He said glancing over the figures on the sheet.
"This poison is from Puckworld." Tanya said. "The ingredients needed for the cure aren't found here on Earth." She turned around to face Wildwing, "We don't have a cure Wildwing."
"Cure for what?" came Mallory's groggy voice from the bed.
"Um, hi Mal." Tanya said as she looked sadly up at Wildwing. "Nothing, don't worry about it." Tanya said quickly, to quickly.
"How you feeling?" Wildwing asked as he knelt down next to the bed so he was eyelevel with Mallory.
"Like I got ran over by a Mack truck, other than that fine I guess." She looked up at Tanya, "Can you get me a drink, I'm parched?" She asked. Tanya bobbed her head and left the infirmary to go to the ready room. Mal didn't like tap water, she had to have fresh bottled water.
"Um, how's Nosedive doing?" Mal asked quietly, as she spied the kid asleep on the next medcom bed over. "He's still not scared of me, is he?"
"He remembered a little more after you passed out." Wildwing paused and refused to meet her gaze. He cleared his throat as he stood up, "Are you really a witch?"
She shut her eyes and swallowed hard. "I belong to a group known as Magius…or I should say my mother's family did. The magick ran through my mom's side, my dad was as normal as you." She chanced a glance up at him but she couldn't tell nothing because of the mask he wore on his face. "I'm still me Wildwing, I haven't changed any…well, maybe some, but not much." she paused and reached out her hand and captured his with her own. "I haven't change any, you have to believe me in this."
He looked down at where their hands were joined, something raced through him. Something like a bolt of electricity arced from her to him, and they both felt it. She struggled to sit up and he placed his free hand behind her back to help ease her up. "It's going to take some getting use to, that's all." Wildwing said, but he still held her hand firmly in his.
"I have many new abilities now…some of them may come in handy, others may not, we'll just have to wait and see." Mal said as she rested her head against his chest. "I have something I have to tell you before anything else happens."
Wildwing looked down at her, "What?" He asked.
"I…"she paused, unsure of how to put her feelings into words. She decided not to and pulled his head down to her's and placed her beak gently against his. She felt him pull away momentarily and prayed he wouldn't refuse her. His body suddenly relaxed and she felt his hand let go of hers and wrap itself around her waist pulling her closer to him, his other hand was buried in her hair.
She was the one to break the kiss as she pulled away from him gasping for air. He wore a strange grin on his face, "If you ever want to tell me something again, I won't mind." He said softly as he buried his face in her hair. That was how Tanya found the two of them when she walked into the infirmary with Mallory's water.
She cleared her throat and laughed at how the two jumped, "Um, sorry but am I like, you know…interrupting something?" she asked as she grinned evilly. "Or should I leave you two along for a little while longer?"
