I'm sorry it's taken so long! But here's chapter 8 finally!
One thing: I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to anyone touched in anyway by the tragic events that occurred last Tuesday. Just know this, everything will get better. Don't lose hope.
With that said and done, on with the fic! I know it's short…just bear with me…
Only Second Best
Chapter 8
Nosedive ran into the elevator. "C'mon…c'mon…" he urged. "C'mon…" After what seemed like an eternity, the doors slid open. Dive ran down the hall and burst into the ready-room.
Nosedive gasped.
The room looked like a war zone. Smoke rose up out of the holes blasted in the walls. Debris covered the floor. Drake 1 had sparks jumping out of the consul. There was a gaping whole was blown through the wall.
Nosedive stepped through the new doorway. The hall was in the same condition. He entered the galley. The table was overturn. Food covered the walls. Glass littered the floor. And Canard was in the middle of the mess.
"What happened?" Dive cried. Canard jumped. He shrugged.
"I have no idea. I came back a few minutes ago, and it looked like this. I have no idea what happened. I can't find the others, either."
Nosedive flipped open his comm. "Wildwing? Come in Wildwing." The only reply was static. "C'mon Wing! Tanya? Mal? Grinster? Duke? Anyone?!" Nothing but static. Dive slammed it shut.
"Aw man…" he said.
"What happened?" asked Canard.
"Obviously Dragonus came and attacked the guys. I think it's safe to say they were captured." Dive suddenly became angry. "But what I wanna know is where were you during all of this?!"
"I was out. I had to get away for a bit…when I came back it was too late," Canard snarled.
"You ran out?!"
"So did
you!"
"Time out!" Nosedive said, putting his hands together in a T. "We can finish this later! First, we gotta find the guys."
"Where would they be?" asked Canard.
"Easy. The Raptor. But finding the Raptor in Anahiem is like finding a needle in a haystack…Damn! If only we had the Mask…" Dive said.
"Let's use the computer in the Aerowing to scan for those Saurians!" said Canard, slamming his fist into his hand,
"You idiot!" Nosedive yelled. "The computer's not big enough to scan the whole city! And besides, it can't detect the Raptor with its cloaking device!"
"Well excuse me!" shouted Canard. "I don't see you coming up with any ideas!"
Nosedive's blood started to boil. Canard turned around to face the wall. They stood in silence for a few moments. Finally Canard spoke up.
"What is Dragonnus trying to do, anyway? I haven't seen a pattern in his attacks…"
"Maybe it'd help if you opened your eyes…" grumbled Dive.
"You're not helping!" shouted Canard, whirling around.
"Neither are you!" Dive yelled back.
Silence once more. Nosedive turned to leave the room.
"And where do you think you're going?" asked Canard.
"To see if I can find anything on Drake 1 to tell us about the attack."
Nosedive pounded the consul. 'Man, this thing is so trashed…Tan's gonna throw a fit…if she hasn't already…' he thought to himself. The screen was jerky, with several images and numbers flashing. He typed on the tattered keyboard, hoping to access the Pond's security system. He wasn't getting far. He slammed his fist again.
Canard came in. "Find anything?"
"Go away."
"I only asked a question."
"Leave me alone."
Suddenly a loud buzz sounded from Drake 1. A map of the Pond came up on the screen. A red dot was on the sewer-entrance. "That's how they got in…but how did they get past the security system?"
"How should I know?" asked Canard. Dive glared at him, and then turned back to his work.
The alarms shrieked. "Teleportation energy detected!" shouted Dive. "At the oil refinery…" He jumped out of his chair and ran towards the hanger.
"Where are you going?" asked Canard.
"Maybe I'll find out what those Saurian slime-balls are up to and where they're hiding!" shouted Dive over his shoulder, annoyed. Canard hurried after him.
They entered the hanger, and their jaws dropped. The Aerowing was gone, and the Migrator was trashed. The Duckcycles were still intact, though.
Dive grabbed his helmet off the hook and mounted a cycle. Canard followed suit.
"What are you doing?" asked Dive, starting the cycle.
"Like I'm going to let you go alone, no matter how much I hate you," said Canard, starting his.
Nosedive glared at him, but shrugged and headed for the refinery. Canard followed.
Tanya scratched at her bonds. "These thing itch!" she complained.
"Now what are we supposed to do?" asked Mallory. Tanya shrugged.
They sat back against the wall. Duke grunted, the bruise on his shoulder still tender. Grin was meditating, as usual. Wildwing was still unconscious. Everyone was worried about him, but no one could do a thing, seeing as how they were in separate cells.
Tanya started to worry about Canard and Nosedive. "Do you suppose those two are ok?" she asked.
"Well, Ol' Lizard-lips doesn't know about Canard, I think, so we should use that to our advantage," said Mallory. "And with Nosedive, well, I dunno."
"Do you think Draggy found them yet?" asked Duke.
"I can't say," replied Mallory. "But with Nosedive's hot-headed way of fighting, we had better pray he hasn't."
"I'm just worried about them. If Dragonus doesn't destroy them, they'll destroy each other first," said Tanya.
The others nodded.
The two Duckcycles pulled up into the refinery, only to find it empty.
"I'm going to see if I can find any clues to the Raptor's where-abouts," Canard said, walking away.
"Don't come back…" muttered Nosedive. He started to tap at the mini-computer on his Duckcycle.
After a few minutes, Canard came back empty-handed, and Dive had found nothing. "Notta trace…" said Dive sadly.
"Wait a sec…" said Canard. "Do you smell smoke?" They both sniffed the air.
"That can't be good…oil and fire don't mix…" Dive said.
"Maybe we should get outta here…" said Canard.
Dive started to reply, but was cut of when the tank next to them exploded.
TO BE CONTINUED…
