From the Outside Looking In
Part 3
By: americananime
A/N: Anyone who can tell me each of the duck's positions on the team (the correct hockey term) will get a request picture or something; I'm not sure of the terms or the positions, beside Goalie and Center (Duke and Wildwing, am I right? Please let me be! Also, I THINK that Nosedive is defense, but I'm not sure -- right or left?) Help a poor bum out, ja? Please? In the meantime, please excuse my baddy-ness with the terminology; all though I love the sport (Go Sea Wolves!), I don't know jack about any of the technicalities. My dad has to explain what's happening most of the time when we go to games. Oh, and gutter brains, just because Nosedive & Wildwing sleeping in the same bed DOES NOT = yaoi. They're brothers, and they're aloud to do that. I don't support Yaoi!
Anyway, I would like to know how YOU think Dragonous is spelled. I'm having a bit of a hissy fit over a mailing list incident that happened recently, and I'd like to hear from the general public.
____________________________________
Nosedive emerged from the secret passage in Captain Comics first. Wildwing was helping him, noticing that he was limping in his left leg.
Mook and Thrash met him with the type of happiness that one only sees when a friend that had been dead to them was alive again. Nosedive greeted his buddies in typical fashion: He recited the latest mongoose joke that he had made up while in the Saurian's grasp.
"Nosedive," Mookie said through tears. "You're an idiot," He grinned a toothy grin at his friends, doing a small salute.
"That's me."
"Wild Angels," Duke whispered, almost in awe, and no one had to ask why. The paramedics arrived shortly after that; it looked like they would be missing a defense player for the season.
They patched Nosedive up, with his usual good-natured objections. He was bouncing and ready to go before anyone was willing to let him.
"Take a rest, Nosedive." Wildwing told his younger brother.
In the parking lot, they heard a squeal of wheels burning rubber over the asphalt. Phil came rushing in, breathing heavily.
"I have reservations booked for you at a small motel where no one will look; Is one of my booblas going to be out? Oh no! What are we going to do?" Phil grabbed Nosedive by the collar of his shirt.
"I don't know, Phil. Hire someone else," Nosedive said, trying to brush his manager off.
"Not to reckon with Phil's force, but we've got things a little more important than the season on our hands!" Mallory said, giving Phil a good sound kick behind the knee.
While Phil screamed in pain, the ducks briefly conferred about what they were going to do. They agreed sleeping on it might not bring the fastest solution, but it would be the best one.
They arrived at the motel, which was horrible. There were two rooms; one for the girls and one for the boys. With two beds in each room, Mallory and Tanya fit nicely.
Nosedive and Wildwing piled up because they were brothers, Duke claimed the second bed because Grin couldn't be supported by it, and the big guy himself slept on the floor.
That is to say, he sat on the floor and talked.
"Nosedive, what happened in there?" Wildwing whispered, long after they thought the other two were asleep.
Nosedive winced, his face lit by the cheep artificial light that fell through the windows long passed midnight in the LA area.
"C'mon, Nosedive."
"A lot of running, a lot of fear, and a lot of Dragonous, Was all Nosedive would say for a while. Duke stirred slightly in his bed, secretly listening in on the brothers' quite conversation.
Wildwing's eyes flared with anger that his younger brother had been abused and tortured by Dragonous. By some instinct, some supernatural bond that the two brothers had, Wildwing could sense exactly what his younger brother had felt and was feeling: fear.
"Nosedive, you're still afraid," Wildwing said, ever the master of stating the obvious. Nosedive's body was curled with his head between his knees, and he gave a sort of agreement from inside his little ball.
"Nosedive, c'mon, it's all right. You can tell me," Wildwing said, gently.
"Well, see, at one point he got mad ... it was scary, Wing. My mind draws a blank whenever I think about it, and I'd prefer not to talk about it." Nosedive's soft snore was heard after a moment of silence.
Wildwing felt like he'd just been slammed into a brick wall. But this was the first thing his brother had ever not told him, and it stung.
He was about to fall back to sleep when Duke's soft voice whispered, "Wildwing?"
Wildwing looked down on the floor, twisting around slightly.
"He tells me everything,"
"Yes he does. But you can't expect him to tell you everything forever ... do you tell him everything?"
Wildwing looked startled; there were a lot of things that he didn't tell Nosedive. He didn't tell him about what had happened to him in the work camps on Puckworld, or even some things that had happened on Earth. He had thought of it as protection; it had been a shield to Nosedive, but it had been Wildwing's own way of keeping things to himself.
"No, I guess I don't," Wildwing rolled over and went to sleep as well.
When they woke up, they found that they had a call from Phil waiting on them.
Wildwing dialed the number that was listed. It was one he didn't know, most likely Phil's home number. He heard a brief ringing and then Phil picked up the phone.
"Hello, Phillip Palmfeather speaking."
"Phil? Hey, this is Wildwing. We need to talk,"
"I'll say we do! What time is it?! How late do you ducks sleep on your planet? I've been worried all night and the hotel wouldn't patch me to you!"
"Phil, we were asleep. It's five in the morning. And I really don't feel like arguing with you."
"All right, All right," Phil muttered, angrily.
"Anyway, Phil, where are we going to stay?" Wildwing's voice was touched with a sense of urgency.
"I don't know. The only thing I can think to do is take some money out of your account and rent an apartment or something."
"Phil, that's impractical. We can't just rent an apartment; we most likely couldn't find one to rent!" Phil's sigh was audible from the other side of the line.
The line clicked dead.
Later in the day, Wildwing, Nosedive, and the rest of the team stood in front of the pond, armed with the only guns Klegghorn had been aloud to give them. Among other things, they also had pepper spray and knockout gas, if it was to be any help.
"I'll take the vents," Nosedive volunteered. Duke said, "I've got the basement entrance."
"And we'll take the best way in," Wildwing held up a stick of dynamite. Nosedive found this extremely funny, since this was exactly what they weren't going to do. Mallory and Tanya were taking the route that the Migrator usually took, Grin was smashing in the front door, Duke was taking the entrance from the roof, and Nosedive and Wildwing were taking the sewer.
"It's okay, bro," Wildwing said as he noticed the petrified look on Nosedive's face when they reached the sewer. It reminded Wildwing of a place he didn't want to be, too.
"Wing, I don't know if I can go back in there," Nosedive grasped a pipe. He didn't know why the fear was returning - his brother was here now. But maybe it wasn't something that his brother could do for him. Maybe it was something he had to do on his own.
He took a deep breath and moved on through the sludge. He stopped suddenly as Wildwing took an unexpected turn.
"Where are we going?"
"We're headed to another entrance that was recently constructed," Wildwing replied. Nosedive blinked, wondering why he hadn't known about a new entrance.
"When did it get built?" He ask, watching the world around him grow darker.
"Just now," Suddenly, a shimmer surrounded Wildwing, and he turned into Chameleon. Nosedive jumped back, instinctively grabbing his pistol, and stood in a ready position.
"Saurian Scum, I think you need a bashin'." Nosedive said, yelping and leaping forward. Some of the martial arts lessons he had taken when he was younger came into play as he kicked and swirled. He just couldn't bring himself to use the gun. He wasn't meant to.
Chameleon soon was on the floor, but Wraith was there to back him up in seconds.
The sorcerer turned out to be a bit more of a challenge; since he kept the young duck back, Nosedive couldn't pull any moves in close combat. He pulled out the gun and hit him with a well-aimed shot to the arm.
He got up to crawl away, but he was slung against the wall by Siege. He had to think fast now.
The Saurian was too big to pull any moves on, not the mention he had almost an impenetrable shell all over his body.
"Stop." Dragonous's voice rang from behind them. Nosedive turned and glared at him, writhing in the pain.
"We need him," The largest Saurian picked Nosedive up by the back of his vest, not caring that he clawed him in the neck.
A little while later, Nosedive came to. He had been knocked out, most likely with gas, but he couldn't' remember the particulars.
Dragonous stood above him, chuckling slightly.
"It all leads down to this," He put down a glowing green gem in front of Nosedive. His blue eyes crossed looking at the enchanting glow. He didn't speak, though. He waited, trusting that Dragonous would explain what this had to do with both of them, and why he needed Nosedive so much, and how this fit into the most recent plan for world domination.
"It is the stone of Drake Ducaine, the one that was used to forge the mask." Wraith said, his shadowy figure appearing out of a swirling column of green smoke. Nosedive's eyes grew wider; this exact object had been the subject of so much of his favorite comic books, movies and even professional documentaries when he had been on his home world. It was a legend, almost as famous as the Mask itself.
"What am I supposed to do with it?" Nosedive's arms folded, glaring slightly.
Dragonous put a lump of gold down in front of the young drake. Nosedive looked at it, guessing what that meant. He wanted him to forge something as powerful as the mask, maybe a weapon, maybe another mask.
"Why do you think I can do it?" He spat at the Saurian that loomed above him.
"That is simple. You are the heir of Ducaine, and you are the one that must do it! It would never be as powerful as if your brother did it; you have something that he doesn't." Nosedive's eyes narrowed and then widened, his mind searching for what he could possibly have that Wildwing didn't.
"You have trust, you have faith, and you have," Dragonous made a sound of distaste. "Innocents." He spat the word out like a curse word. Nosedive stared at him, taking the glowing rock in his hands.
"I want a sword, one with the destructive power strong enough for domination, strong enough to destroy that mask," Dragonous demanded, standing tall.
"What makes you think I'm gonna do anything for you?" He demanded, angrily. Siege walked in, and Wildwing was being dragged along on his knees, without the mask. He also had a gun pressed against his head.
Nosedive gave a cry of anger, but Dragonous told Chameleon, who was holding the gun, to fire at will.
"Stop!" He cried, grabbing the stone tighter and pressing it against the gold. He carved fast, not even his hands knowing the shape that he forged, the stone guiding without the slightest orders.
`Did Drake Ducaine do it like this? Did he know what he was shaping?' Nosedive wondered, letting his hands fly. A long, samurai type sword formed under his hands, wielded with ruins that he didn't know the meanings to.
The sword was complete; he had finished it. And he couldn't think of a better thing to do with it, than - of course - using it. Nosedive, with a sudden burst of courage, grabbed it and dived toward Chameleon, slashing mindlessly. He cut the gun in half, letting it fall to the ground, and then wrestled Wildwing free of Siege.
"You imbeciles! Do something!" Dragonous yelled, leaping forward towards Nosedive.
The duck ducked, grasping the sword and managing a cut it Dragonous's stomach. He rolled over, back on his feet, gasping for breath. Meanwhile, Duke had made it to them first. He fired off a puck, which wrapped rope around Dragonous, causing him to fall over on his side.
Nosedive dashed to Siege, trying to drive him back, toward the ice. The ice was the Saurians' weak point; they had no grace, no skill, and no advantage there. Before he could drive anyone onto the rink, a faint flickering went over all of the Saurians, and they disappeared.
Chameleon's teleport didn't go smoothly, and he landed in a dark corner of the stands.
Duke dashed up, grabbing the little green monster by his neck. He was about to strangle him when Nosedive's voice rose up: "Don't kill him, Duke!"
Duke looked down toward the ice, where his younger friend was standing. He nodded his head, knowing that Nosedive was right. He couldn't kill the little green minion; but what to do with him was now the question.
"We'll put him in a cell," Wildwing said, walking up the stands. Duke nodded; the ducks' cells weren't as cruel as the Saurians', but they were impossible to get out of. It would be especially hard for a little unintelligent thing like Chameleon.
Nosedive nodded, taking Chameleon carefully to the cell as the other ducks belatedly arrived on the scene.
Afterward
That night, things were back to normal. Mallory had discovered the beetles in her shoes earlier, and Wildwing was declaring five o'clock practices once again.
The only thing that was different was Nosedive. He felt different. He was different. He had changed.
He gently touched the sword that he had wrought, knowing that something had changed, that he had grown, grown a courage that he had never known. Or maybe the courage hadn't grown; maybe it had been there all along.
Never the less, he knew that things would be different. Maybe for the first time in his life, he felt like he was equal to the other team members.
He had showed stealth, like Duke, when he had hidden from Dragonous. He had showed clam when he told Duke to spare Chameleon, like Grin, and he had been a soldier like Mallory when he had obeyed Duke to stay in the hiding place. He had shown computer skills when he had hacked into DrakeOne's databases, like Tanya. And, most importantly, he had shown bravery and skill, like Wildwing, when it mattered most.
"Nosedive?" Wildwing gave a small knock on Nosedive's door. Nosedive turned around, a basket of dirty cloths in his hands.
"Yeah, Wing, what's up?" He ask, as though nothing had happened.
"I'm proud of you."
"Yeah, can't help but be proud?" Wildwing rustled Nosedive's hair, grinning. Then he pulled out something. It was green and white, to match Nosedive's uniform, and it looked like some kind of big case that would fit onto a belt.
"Nosedive, thought you could use this for your sword; You'll want it later, I think," Wildwing told him, and then abruptly walked out.
* * *
A/N: Does anyone like it? *wince* Wow, five pages, that's a lot for me! Anyway, do you like it? Huh? I don't want to disappoint everyone who's been so kind to review. Anyway, this story kind of launches for the rest of my other stories, except for two in planning - "The Ducaine Story" (About the original Drake Ducaine, although some of the references about the glowing rock and a few other things), and "The Invasion." (Although some references might also be made there.)
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Part 3
By: americananime
A/N: Anyone who can tell me each of the duck's positions on the team (the correct hockey term) will get a request picture or something; I'm not sure of the terms or the positions, beside Goalie and Center (Duke and Wildwing, am I right? Please let me be! Also, I THINK that Nosedive is defense, but I'm not sure -- right or left?) Help a poor bum out, ja? Please? In the meantime, please excuse my baddy-ness with the terminology; all though I love the sport (Go Sea Wolves!), I don't know jack about any of the technicalities. My dad has to explain what's happening most of the time when we go to games. Oh, and gutter brains, just because Nosedive & Wildwing sleeping in the same bed DOES NOT = yaoi. They're brothers, and they're aloud to do that. I don't support Yaoi!
Anyway, I would like to know how YOU think Dragonous is spelled. I'm having a bit of a hissy fit over a mailing list incident that happened recently, and I'd like to hear from the general public.
____________________________________
Nosedive emerged from the secret passage in Captain Comics first. Wildwing was helping him, noticing that he was limping in his left leg.
Mook and Thrash met him with the type of happiness that one only sees when a friend that had been dead to them was alive again. Nosedive greeted his buddies in typical fashion: He recited the latest mongoose joke that he had made up while in the Saurian's grasp.
"Nosedive," Mookie said through tears. "You're an idiot," He grinned a toothy grin at his friends, doing a small salute.
"That's me."
"Wild Angels," Duke whispered, almost in awe, and no one had to ask why. The paramedics arrived shortly after that; it looked like they would be missing a defense player for the season.
They patched Nosedive up, with his usual good-natured objections. He was bouncing and ready to go before anyone was willing to let him.
"Take a rest, Nosedive." Wildwing told his younger brother.
In the parking lot, they heard a squeal of wheels burning rubber over the asphalt. Phil came rushing in, breathing heavily.
"I have reservations booked for you at a small motel where no one will look; Is one of my booblas going to be out? Oh no! What are we going to do?" Phil grabbed Nosedive by the collar of his shirt.
"I don't know, Phil. Hire someone else," Nosedive said, trying to brush his manager off.
"Not to reckon with Phil's force, but we've got things a little more important than the season on our hands!" Mallory said, giving Phil a good sound kick behind the knee.
While Phil screamed in pain, the ducks briefly conferred about what they were going to do. They agreed sleeping on it might not bring the fastest solution, but it would be the best one.
They arrived at the motel, which was horrible. There were two rooms; one for the girls and one for the boys. With two beds in each room, Mallory and Tanya fit nicely.
Nosedive and Wildwing piled up because they were brothers, Duke claimed the second bed because Grin couldn't be supported by it, and the big guy himself slept on the floor.
That is to say, he sat on the floor and talked.
"Nosedive, what happened in there?" Wildwing whispered, long after they thought the other two were asleep.
Nosedive winced, his face lit by the cheep artificial light that fell through the windows long passed midnight in the LA area.
"C'mon, Nosedive."
"A lot of running, a lot of fear, and a lot of Dragonous, Was all Nosedive would say for a while. Duke stirred slightly in his bed, secretly listening in on the brothers' quite conversation.
Wildwing's eyes flared with anger that his younger brother had been abused and tortured by Dragonous. By some instinct, some supernatural bond that the two brothers had, Wildwing could sense exactly what his younger brother had felt and was feeling: fear.
"Nosedive, you're still afraid," Wildwing said, ever the master of stating the obvious. Nosedive's body was curled with his head between his knees, and he gave a sort of agreement from inside his little ball.
"Nosedive, c'mon, it's all right. You can tell me," Wildwing said, gently.
"Well, see, at one point he got mad ... it was scary, Wing. My mind draws a blank whenever I think about it, and I'd prefer not to talk about it." Nosedive's soft snore was heard after a moment of silence.
Wildwing felt like he'd just been slammed into a brick wall. But this was the first thing his brother had ever not told him, and it stung.
He was about to fall back to sleep when Duke's soft voice whispered, "Wildwing?"
Wildwing looked down on the floor, twisting around slightly.
"He tells me everything,"
"Yes he does. But you can't expect him to tell you everything forever ... do you tell him everything?"
Wildwing looked startled; there were a lot of things that he didn't tell Nosedive. He didn't tell him about what had happened to him in the work camps on Puckworld, or even some things that had happened on Earth. He had thought of it as protection; it had been a shield to Nosedive, but it had been Wildwing's own way of keeping things to himself.
"No, I guess I don't," Wildwing rolled over and went to sleep as well.
When they woke up, they found that they had a call from Phil waiting on them.
Wildwing dialed the number that was listed. It was one he didn't know, most likely Phil's home number. He heard a brief ringing and then Phil picked up the phone.
"Hello, Phillip Palmfeather speaking."
"Phil? Hey, this is Wildwing. We need to talk,"
"I'll say we do! What time is it?! How late do you ducks sleep on your planet? I've been worried all night and the hotel wouldn't patch me to you!"
"Phil, we were asleep. It's five in the morning. And I really don't feel like arguing with you."
"All right, All right," Phil muttered, angrily.
"Anyway, Phil, where are we going to stay?" Wildwing's voice was touched with a sense of urgency.
"I don't know. The only thing I can think to do is take some money out of your account and rent an apartment or something."
"Phil, that's impractical. We can't just rent an apartment; we most likely couldn't find one to rent!" Phil's sigh was audible from the other side of the line.
The line clicked dead.
Later in the day, Wildwing, Nosedive, and the rest of the team stood in front of the pond, armed with the only guns Klegghorn had been aloud to give them. Among other things, they also had pepper spray and knockout gas, if it was to be any help.
"I'll take the vents," Nosedive volunteered. Duke said, "I've got the basement entrance."
"And we'll take the best way in," Wildwing held up a stick of dynamite. Nosedive found this extremely funny, since this was exactly what they weren't going to do. Mallory and Tanya were taking the route that the Migrator usually took, Grin was smashing in the front door, Duke was taking the entrance from the roof, and Nosedive and Wildwing were taking the sewer.
"It's okay, bro," Wildwing said as he noticed the petrified look on Nosedive's face when they reached the sewer. It reminded Wildwing of a place he didn't want to be, too.
"Wing, I don't know if I can go back in there," Nosedive grasped a pipe. He didn't know why the fear was returning - his brother was here now. But maybe it wasn't something that his brother could do for him. Maybe it was something he had to do on his own.
He took a deep breath and moved on through the sludge. He stopped suddenly as Wildwing took an unexpected turn.
"Where are we going?"
"We're headed to another entrance that was recently constructed," Wildwing replied. Nosedive blinked, wondering why he hadn't known about a new entrance.
"When did it get built?" He ask, watching the world around him grow darker.
"Just now," Suddenly, a shimmer surrounded Wildwing, and he turned into Chameleon. Nosedive jumped back, instinctively grabbing his pistol, and stood in a ready position.
"Saurian Scum, I think you need a bashin'." Nosedive said, yelping and leaping forward. Some of the martial arts lessons he had taken when he was younger came into play as he kicked and swirled. He just couldn't bring himself to use the gun. He wasn't meant to.
Chameleon soon was on the floor, but Wraith was there to back him up in seconds.
The sorcerer turned out to be a bit more of a challenge; since he kept the young duck back, Nosedive couldn't pull any moves in close combat. He pulled out the gun and hit him with a well-aimed shot to the arm.
He got up to crawl away, but he was slung against the wall by Siege. He had to think fast now.
The Saurian was too big to pull any moves on, not the mention he had almost an impenetrable shell all over his body.
"Stop." Dragonous's voice rang from behind them. Nosedive turned and glared at him, writhing in the pain.
"We need him," The largest Saurian picked Nosedive up by the back of his vest, not caring that he clawed him in the neck.
A little while later, Nosedive came to. He had been knocked out, most likely with gas, but he couldn't' remember the particulars.
Dragonous stood above him, chuckling slightly.
"It all leads down to this," He put down a glowing green gem in front of Nosedive. His blue eyes crossed looking at the enchanting glow. He didn't speak, though. He waited, trusting that Dragonous would explain what this had to do with both of them, and why he needed Nosedive so much, and how this fit into the most recent plan for world domination.
"It is the stone of Drake Ducaine, the one that was used to forge the mask." Wraith said, his shadowy figure appearing out of a swirling column of green smoke. Nosedive's eyes grew wider; this exact object had been the subject of so much of his favorite comic books, movies and even professional documentaries when he had been on his home world. It was a legend, almost as famous as the Mask itself.
"What am I supposed to do with it?" Nosedive's arms folded, glaring slightly.
Dragonous put a lump of gold down in front of the young drake. Nosedive looked at it, guessing what that meant. He wanted him to forge something as powerful as the mask, maybe a weapon, maybe another mask.
"Why do you think I can do it?" He spat at the Saurian that loomed above him.
"That is simple. You are the heir of Ducaine, and you are the one that must do it! It would never be as powerful as if your brother did it; you have something that he doesn't." Nosedive's eyes narrowed and then widened, his mind searching for what he could possibly have that Wildwing didn't.
"You have trust, you have faith, and you have," Dragonous made a sound of distaste. "Innocents." He spat the word out like a curse word. Nosedive stared at him, taking the glowing rock in his hands.
"I want a sword, one with the destructive power strong enough for domination, strong enough to destroy that mask," Dragonous demanded, standing tall.
"What makes you think I'm gonna do anything for you?" He demanded, angrily. Siege walked in, and Wildwing was being dragged along on his knees, without the mask. He also had a gun pressed against his head.
Nosedive gave a cry of anger, but Dragonous told Chameleon, who was holding the gun, to fire at will.
"Stop!" He cried, grabbing the stone tighter and pressing it against the gold. He carved fast, not even his hands knowing the shape that he forged, the stone guiding without the slightest orders.
`Did Drake Ducaine do it like this? Did he know what he was shaping?' Nosedive wondered, letting his hands fly. A long, samurai type sword formed under his hands, wielded with ruins that he didn't know the meanings to.
The sword was complete; he had finished it. And he couldn't think of a better thing to do with it, than - of course - using it. Nosedive, with a sudden burst of courage, grabbed it and dived toward Chameleon, slashing mindlessly. He cut the gun in half, letting it fall to the ground, and then wrestled Wildwing free of Siege.
"You imbeciles! Do something!" Dragonous yelled, leaping forward towards Nosedive.
The duck ducked, grasping the sword and managing a cut it Dragonous's stomach. He rolled over, back on his feet, gasping for breath. Meanwhile, Duke had made it to them first. He fired off a puck, which wrapped rope around Dragonous, causing him to fall over on his side.
Nosedive dashed to Siege, trying to drive him back, toward the ice. The ice was the Saurians' weak point; they had no grace, no skill, and no advantage there. Before he could drive anyone onto the rink, a faint flickering went over all of the Saurians, and they disappeared.
Chameleon's teleport didn't go smoothly, and he landed in a dark corner of the stands.
Duke dashed up, grabbing the little green monster by his neck. He was about to strangle him when Nosedive's voice rose up: "Don't kill him, Duke!"
Duke looked down toward the ice, where his younger friend was standing. He nodded his head, knowing that Nosedive was right. He couldn't kill the little green minion; but what to do with him was now the question.
"We'll put him in a cell," Wildwing said, walking up the stands. Duke nodded; the ducks' cells weren't as cruel as the Saurians', but they were impossible to get out of. It would be especially hard for a little unintelligent thing like Chameleon.
Nosedive nodded, taking Chameleon carefully to the cell as the other ducks belatedly arrived on the scene.
Afterward
That night, things were back to normal. Mallory had discovered the beetles in her shoes earlier, and Wildwing was declaring five o'clock practices once again.
The only thing that was different was Nosedive. He felt different. He was different. He had changed.
He gently touched the sword that he had wrought, knowing that something had changed, that he had grown, grown a courage that he had never known. Or maybe the courage hadn't grown; maybe it had been there all along.
Never the less, he knew that things would be different. Maybe for the first time in his life, he felt like he was equal to the other team members.
He had showed stealth, like Duke, when he had hidden from Dragonous. He had showed clam when he told Duke to spare Chameleon, like Grin, and he had been a soldier like Mallory when he had obeyed Duke to stay in the hiding place. He had shown computer skills when he had hacked into DrakeOne's databases, like Tanya. And, most importantly, he had shown bravery and skill, like Wildwing, when it mattered most.
"Nosedive?" Wildwing gave a small knock on Nosedive's door. Nosedive turned around, a basket of dirty cloths in his hands.
"Yeah, Wing, what's up?" He ask, as though nothing had happened.
"I'm proud of you."
"Yeah, can't help but be proud?" Wildwing rustled Nosedive's hair, grinning. Then he pulled out something. It was green and white, to match Nosedive's uniform, and it looked like some kind of big case that would fit onto a belt.
"Nosedive, thought you could use this for your sword; You'll want it later, I think," Wildwing told him, and then abruptly walked out.
* * *
A/N: Does anyone like it? *wince* Wow, five pages, that's a lot for me! Anyway, do you like it? Huh? I don't want to disappoint everyone who's been so kind to review. Anyway, this story kind of launches for the rest of my other stories, except for two in planning - "The Ducaine Story" (About the original Drake Ducaine, although some of the references about the glowing rock and a few other things), and "The Invasion." (Although some references might also be made there.)
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