Author's Notes 3/30/02:
Happy Easter!! Here is my present to you all. Chapter FIVE! There is a lot of Explaining going on in this chapter, so if you're not getting it, you should now.
I also worked really hard at capturing the devotion of one brother to another that no one ever sees in the cartoon. (pity.) Review Please!
~Windresss
Disclaimer: Disney has too much money to be trying to squeeze me like some Grapefruit.
Never Say Forever.
Chapter 5: Forever Doesn't Last.
The imperious leader of the Mighty Ducks crumpled, his hands grasping at the frail form lying limply before him on the damp dirt floor.
"Dive!" He shook the boy, cupping the back of his head desperately and shaking him harder, his words a slur of lost hope, "Dive! DIVE!! -DIVE!!-"
His straining voice lost its strength, falling silent in a tightly convulsing throat, and the scrambling duck wrapped his arms around his little brother, cushioning the body against his chest.
WildWing's large form rocked back in forth in the silence, his head pressed into the crook of NoseDive's throat, sobs welling from within his core... only go unheard by the single creature who could quiet them.
His tears spilled across his bill, glistening shards of crystallized light amongst the sapphire fire of blood that painted his little brother. Such a small amount, to wash away the life-force coating his hands...
The small figure that was once NoseDive Flashblade was lowered to the floor once more, the strong arms hold him falling to the team captain's sides... 'my fault..'
"..My fault..." Murmured incoherently, the truth still stung the defeated duck that watched over his sacrificed brother.
His back arched, head flinging back as his palms fisted in the bloodied mud, and again he screamed.
"MY FAAAAUUUUUUUULLLT!"
*****
Duke had to grab onto the crumbling prison wall before he slid to the ground, the anguish behind the howl threatening his typically stalwart composure. He blinked, his one good eyes stinging, and forced the tears away... 'not now...'
A strong hand gently gripped his shoulder and he cast an appreciative glance to Grin, who only nodded, his eyes strangely bright.
Mallory's hand covered her beak, Tears slipping slowly from her eyes, her shoulders trembling with the grief she dare not express.
Tanya had to turn away, shaking her head in desperate denial, her hands fisted in her wild hair. For the first time in her life, she found she could do nothing. Her technology could not save them this time...
It was Grin who made the first move towards their mourning leader, his heart aching at the unrestrained grief written upon the lines of WildWing's slumped stature.
The white duck remained oblivious to his team's presence, too lost in the pain of his brother's death and the events leading up to it..
~~One Day Ago; Underground Prison~~
'I can't believe I'm this stupid..'
WildWing again tested the retrains that held him, trying to ignore the prodding of a scientist to his upper arm. He felt a sharp prick and shifted his head quickly.
"Just taking a bit of blood, Mr. Flashblade." A monotone voice, bearing an unrecognizable accent, justified the presence of a needle protruding from the duck's vein. Not that that made him any happier about it.
"What do you want with me?" His tone was even, strictly leader-like. For now, all that Wing had was his game face, and he planned on exploiting it to learn all he could.
The voice continued as if he hadn't heard the duck speak at all, its source appearing as an average sized and completely unamazing man wearing black-rimmed glasses and a pristine lab coat,
"You really are quite a fascinating creature, Mr. Flashblade. We've tried, but have never successfully created a being like you. Science could acquire so much from studying you...."
WildWing's eyes flared wide, his arms clenching as he yanked on the bonds holding him. The moment of panic passed, and he was once again ice rink cool.
"You know I'll be missed. You won't get away with this."
The scientist's visage changed, twisting into a maniacal grin that set the Duck's feathers on edge, "But Mr. Flashblade, certainly you didn't think we'd be satisfied with just you? We will want to study each of you individually...and with our additional funding, we have the means to do it."
"..Additional...fund..in..g..." WildWing's words stuttered to a stop as realization dawned in his eyes, staring up at the large, red-scaled figure that stepped from the shadows, chuckling evilly.
~~Present Day; Underground Prison~~
A gentle hand settled on the ravaged leader's shoulder, only to be withdrawn hastily as Wing recoiled, his arms tightening around NoseDive's body.
With Unseeing eyes, the white duck jerked around, "Get Back! You stay away from him!"
Mallory and Tanya instantly retreated, Grin lingering indecisively. However, Duke's beak firmed, and he kneeled down determinedly next to his leader, "WildWing..." His hand gestured slowly to the lifeless form held in his arms.
"Don't you Touch him! You'll Hurt him! EVERYONE WAS ALWAYS HURTING HIM!!" Wing's hoarse voice rose steadily in octave, becoming a mindless shriek.
It was then that Grin's solid arms closed around the team captain's figure, firm gentleness asserted as he pulled him from NoseDive.
"NOOO!" The hysterical duck thrashed in Grin's tight hold, the final reserves of his strength quickly exhausting themselves, "..NO...No, Dive, no....n...not Dive..."
His struggling eased, Wing's bulk slumping into Grin, his unrestrained crying muffled into the quiet Duck's shoulder. Grin simply held him, his stoic expression belying the wetness on his cheeks.
Duke looked away from the image of their shattered leader, so often a pillar of strength, and gazed down at the slender body of a duck he was sure could never be held by death.
'How many times had he defied probability by coming out on top?...this can't be-....NO! It Is!' Duke closed his eye, fingers rubbing at it discreetly and adjusting his patch. He then hesitantly reached to slide his arms under the youngest duck's form, lifting him against his chest.
He stepped close to Grin, who continued to support the emaciated figure of WildWing, and they moved as one for the dirt cut steps leading upward from the bowels of the underground facility.
*****
When WildWing opened his eyes, his blurred vision picked out Grin and Duke's worried expressions, Mallory's feigned indifference, and Tanya's determined efficiency.
'A nightmare..' His mind snatched greedily at that explanation, 'It was all a horrible nightmare, and Dive...Dive...'
"Dive?" He sat up, the sudden action making his thoughts swim. When they regained clarity, he witnessed the sad glint in Grin's usually genial visage, and the soft shake of Duke's head...
He felt hollow inside, his head dropping into his hands. '..too good to be true..'
"WildWing.." It was Duke, a question in his voice. The white duck's jaw tightened. He was the leader, wasn't he? 'Then act like it.' ...but it all seemed so pointless.
Slowly lifting his head, Wing was surprised to see a row of bound scientists sitting against the far wall of the lab area.
"...it was easy enough to take them prisoner, once we found you and..." Tanya's explanation trailed off, and WildWing didn't ask. His eyes were riveted on the nondescript Scientist who had spoken to him a day ago.
~~One Day Ago; Underground Prison~~
"You're a -Fool,- Human! Dragonaus doesn't play fair. He'll use you until you're no longer of any value to him and then he'll -dispose- of you!" Wing watched the scientist move blithely about the lab, seething, "Don't you get it??"
Completely unconcerned, the nameless man glanced to the Duck and smiled thinly, "Would you like an example of how we have sought to create those like you, Mr. Flashblade? I'm sure you'll find it most enlightening."
The Mighty Ducks leader issued a sound of frustrated anxiety, glaring after the man, who was going about setting up a strange looking machine. He flipped several toggles, the soft hum of energy awakening filling the small below ground space.
"If you'll observe, Mr. Flashblade...." The scientist shot WildWing a look, then returned to his work. "In this tank we have the most lethal recorded scorpion on the planet. Certainly not a character you would wish to meet anywhere other than here."
As WildWing watched, the scientist poured a small amount of acid on the animal, its legs writhing for a long moment before stilling for good. He then daintily reached in and plucked the scorpion up by its tail and walked the short distance to the cylindrical dome of the machine, setting the lifeless predator inside.
"You see, Mr. Flashblade," The stranger continued genially, "..everything is made up of stem cells... they are the universal cell that can reproduce into anything."
He then opened a cooler and lifted out a severed bull's head, its eyes rolled back in its head. Wing's beak tightened, disgusted by the display thus far. The bovine he, too, set within the cylinder.
"It really is a miracle, Duck. Things can be regrown. What was done may be undone...or altered." At this, he beckoned an assistant to him, "...all it takes is the proper stimuli..."
With sudden dexterity, the scientist pulled a gun from his pocket, lifting it and pausing to witness the assistant's look of confusion before blowing a hole in the man's forehead.
WildWing bellowed, lunging at the lunatic scientist, only to be brought short by his restraints, "YOU MANIAC!"
The unruffled man watched WildWing's display dispassionately before leaning down and hooking his arms under the dead man's shoulders, slowly dragging him to the machine. "Calm yourself, Duck. I'm proving a point."
Once he had loaded the body into the cylinder with the rest of the items, the scientist sealed the encasement and turned to the console. He typed out a series of complicated commands for the machinery, its quiet humming gradually growing louder.
"What are you -doing?!-" WildWing had to shout over the machine's noise now, squinting to try to see what was happening on the inside of the cylinder.
"Patience." It was all the reply he received. A minute later, blinding light burst from within the cylinder, its force throwing him back against the wall.
Just as abruptly as it began, the process was over, and the cylinder's cover was lifting, a monstrous form slipping from inside to fall with a heavy thump on the dirt floor. WildWing strained to see through the smoke rolling off the shape's surface, attempting to discern what it was. It stirred, a lolling growl escaping the silhouette.
"Mr. Flashblade, welcome to the new era in genetic engineering..." The scientist locked a chain onto the figure, assuring its integrity before yanking on its end harshly. The creature staggered to its feet, issuing a nervous snort, and WildWing's jaw dropped.
Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn't human anymore.
~~Present Day; Underground Prison~~
Caught unaware, Grin couldn't hold the figure of his leader when he lunged himself at the insane scientist. WildWing grabbed the man by his lab coat lapels and yanked him forward, "YOU!!"
Duke shot the largest team member an alarmed look, and Grin nodded curtly, stepping forward.
WildWing cocked a fist back, then buried it into the scientists face, it's center exploding into a nosebleed. As the duck drew back a second time, the scientist recoiled as far as his lab coat, now stained red, would let him. However, a burly palm closed around the fisted hand, halting its course. WildWing jerked his gaze over his shoulder, to Grin's sad expression, "Let -go- Grin."
The gray duck simply shook his head, grabbing the resisting form of the Wing back into his grip and dragging him from the scientist, who cowered against the wall.
"No, Grin, you don't understand! Stop! He created them...He Killed Dive!" WildWing's fighting abruptly came to a halt, a hiccupping gasp drawn inward in the expectant silence...
"And he can bring him back again..."
The staggered gasp echoed in the eerie quiet of the underground prison, oddly muted by the packed-dirt walls.
It didn't last.
"...You bring him -Back!!-" Tears falling from eyes that leapt fire, the raging leader broke past Grin's restraining hold, again leaping forward and seizing the bloodied human by his throat.
He threw the small scientist into the wall, holding him up by his neck alone..
"...Or by the stars, I'll make you -SUFFER!-"
***Ooook, so ya'll figured out what's gonna happen? Well don't tell the others! Tell me! ...Cause I'm not really too sure. no no, I am, don't listen to me. I've just got voices. R&R!***
Happy Easter!! Here is my present to you all. Chapter FIVE! There is a lot of Explaining going on in this chapter, so if you're not getting it, you should now.
I also worked really hard at capturing the devotion of one brother to another that no one ever sees in the cartoon. (pity.) Review Please!
~Windresss
Disclaimer: Disney has too much money to be trying to squeeze me like some Grapefruit.
Never Say Forever.
Chapter 5: Forever Doesn't Last.
The imperious leader of the Mighty Ducks crumpled, his hands grasping at the frail form lying limply before him on the damp dirt floor.
"Dive!" He shook the boy, cupping the back of his head desperately and shaking him harder, his words a slur of lost hope, "Dive! DIVE!! -DIVE!!-"
His straining voice lost its strength, falling silent in a tightly convulsing throat, and the scrambling duck wrapped his arms around his little brother, cushioning the body against his chest.
WildWing's large form rocked back in forth in the silence, his head pressed into the crook of NoseDive's throat, sobs welling from within his core... only go unheard by the single creature who could quiet them.
His tears spilled across his bill, glistening shards of crystallized light amongst the sapphire fire of blood that painted his little brother. Such a small amount, to wash away the life-force coating his hands...
The small figure that was once NoseDive Flashblade was lowered to the floor once more, the strong arms hold him falling to the team captain's sides... 'my fault..'
"..My fault..." Murmured incoherently, the truth still stung the defeated duck that watched over his sacrificed brother.
His back arched, head flinging back as his palms fisted in the bloodied mud, and again he screamed.
"MY FAAAAUUUUUUUULLLT!"
*****
Duke had to grab onto the crumbling prison wall before he slid to the ground, the anguish behind the howl threatening his typically stalwart composure. He blinked, his one good eyes stinging, and forced the tears away... 'not now...'
A strong hand gently gripped his shoulder and he cast an appreciative glance to Grin, who only nodded, his eyes strangely bright.
Mallory's hand covered her beak, Tears slipping slowly from her eyes, her shoulders trembling with the grief she dare not express.
Tanya had to turn away, shaking her head in desperate denial, her hands fisted in her wild hair. For the first time in her life, she found she could do nothing. Her technology could not save them this time...
It was Grin who made the first move towards their mourning leader, his heart aching at the unrestrained grief written upon the lines of WildWing's slumped stature.
The white duck remained oblivious to his team's presence, too lost in the pain of his brother's death and the events leading up to it..
~~One Day Ago; Underground Prison~~
'I can't believe I'm this stupid..'
WildWing again tested the retrains that held him, trying to ignore the prodding of a scientist to his upper arm. He felt a sharp prick and shifted his head quickly.
"Just taking a bit of blood, Mr. Flashblade." A monotone voice, bearing an unrecognizable accent, justified the presence of a needle protruding from the duck's vein. Not that that made him any happier about it.
"What do you want with me?" His tone was even, strictly leader-like. For now, all that Wing had was his game face, and he planned on exploiting it to learn all he could.
The voice continued as if he hadn't heard the duck speak at all, its source appearing as an average sized and completely unamazing man wearing black-rimmed glasses and a pristine lab coat,
"You really are quite a fascinating creature, Mr. Flashblade. We've tried, but have never successfully created a being like you. Science could acquire so much from studying you...."
WildWing's eyes flared wide, his arms clenching as he yanked on the bonds holding him. The moment of panic passed, and he was once again ice rink cool.
"You know I'll be missed. You won't get away with this."
The scientist's visage changed, twisting into a maniacal grin that set the Duck's feathers on edge, "But Mr. Flashblade, certainly you didn't think we'd be satisfied with just you? We will want to study each of you individually...and with our additional funding, we have the means to do it."
"..Additional...fund..in..g..." WildWing's words stuttered to a stop as realization dawned in his eyes, staring up at the large, red-scaled figure that stepped from the shadows, chuckling evilly.
~~Present Day; Underground Prison~~
A gentle hand settled on the ravaged leader's shoulder, only to be withdrawn hastily as Wing recoiled, his arms tightening around NoseDive's body.
With Unseeing eyes, the white duck jerked around, "Get Back! You stay away from him!"
Mallory and Tanya instantly retreated, Grin lingering indecisively. However, Duke's beak firmed, and he kneeled down determinedly next to his leader, "WildWing..." His hand gestured slowly to the lifeless form held in his arms.
"Don't you Touch him! You'll Hurt him! EVERYONE WAS ALWAYS HURTING HIM!!" Wing's hoarse voice rose steadily in octave, becoming a mindless shriek.
It was then that Grin's solid arms closed around the team captain's figure, firm gentleness asserted as he pulled him from NoseDive.
"NOOO!" The hysterical duck thrashed in Grin's tight hold, the final reserves of his strength quickly exhausting themselves, "..NO...No, Dive, no....n...not Dive..."
His struggling eased, Wing's bulk slumping into Grin, his unrestrained crying muffled into the quiet Duck's shoulder. Grin simply held him, his stoic expression belying the wetness on his cheeks.
Duke looked away from the image of their shattered leader, so often a pillar of strength, and gazed down at the slender body of a duck he was sure could never be held by death.
'How many times had he defied probability by coming out on top?...this can't be-....NO! It Is!' Duke closed his eye, fingers rubbing at it discreetly and adjusting his patch. He then hesitantly reached to slide his arms under the youngest duck's form, lifting him against his chest.
He stepped close to Grin, who continued to support the emaciated figure of WildWing, and they moved as one for the dirt cut steps leading upward from the bowels of the underground facility.
*****
When WildWing opened his eyes, his blurred vision picked out Grin and Duke's worried expressions, Mallory's feigned indifference, and Tanya's determined efficiency.
'A nightmare..' His mind snatched greedily at that explanation, 'It was all a horrible nightmare, and Dive...Dive...'
"Dive?" He sat up, the sudden action making his thoughts swim. When they regained clarity, he witnessed the sad glint in Grin's usually genial visage, and the soft shake of Duke's head...
He felt hollow inside, his head dropping into his hands. '..too good to be true..'
"WildWing.." It was Duke, a question in his voice. The white duck's jaw tightened. He was the leader, wasn't he? 'Then act like it.' ...but it all seemed so pointless.
Slowly lifting his head, Wing was surprised to see a row of bound scientists sitting against the far wall of the lab area.
"...it was easy enough to take them prisoner, once we found you and..." Tanya's explanation trailed off, and WildWing didn't ask. His eyes were riveted on the nondescript Scientist who had spoken to him a day ago.
~~One Day Ago; Underground Prison~~
"You're a -Fool,- Human! Dragonaus doesn't play fair. He'll use you until you're no longer of any value to him and then he'll -dispose- of you!" Wing watched the scientist move blithely about the lab, seething, "Don't you get it??"
Completely unconcerned, the nameless man glanced to the Duck and smiled thinly, "Would you like an example of how we have sought to create those like you, Mr. Flashblade? I'm sure you'll find it most enlightening."
The Mighty Ducks leader issued a sound of frustrated anxiety, glaring after the man, who was going about setting up a strange looking machine. He flipped several toggles, the soft hum of energy awakening filling the small below ground space.
"If you'll observe, Mr. Flashblade...." The scientist shot WildWing a look, then returned to his work. "In this tank we have the most lethal recorded scorpion on the planet. Certainly not a character you would wish to meet anywhere other than here."
As WildWing watched, the scientist poured a small amount of acid on the animal, its legs writhing for a long moment before stilling for good. He then daintily reached in and plucked the scorpion up by its tail and walked the short distance to the cylindrical dome of the machine, setting the lifeless predator inside.
"You see, Mr. Flashblade," The stranger continued genially, "..everything is made up of stem cells... they are the universal cell that can reproduce into anything."
He then opened a cooler and lifted out a severed bull's head, its eyes rolled back in its head. Wing's beak tightened, disgusted by the display thus far. The bovine he, too, set within the cylinder.
"It really is a miracle, Duck. Things can be regrown. What was done may be undone...or altered." At this, he beckoned an assistant to him, "...all it takes is the proper stimuli..."
With sudden dexterity, the scientist pulled a gun from his pocket, lifting it and pausing to witness the assistant's look of confusion before blowing a hole in the man's forehead.
WildWing bellowed, lunging at the lunatic scientist, only to be brought short by his restraints, "YOU MANIAC!"
The unruffled man watched WildWing's display dispassionately before leaning down and hooking his arms under the dead man's shoulders, slowly dragging him to the machine. "Calm yourself, Duck. I'm proving a point."
Once he had loaded the body into the cylinder with the rest of the items, the scientist sealed the encasement and turned to the console. He typed out a series of complicated commands for the machinery, its quiet humming gradually growing louder.
"What are you -doing?!-" WildWing had to shout over the machine's noise now, squinting to try to see what was happening on the inside of the cylinder.
"Patience." It was all the reply he received. A minute later, blinding light burst from within the cylinder, its force throwing him back against the wall.
Just as abruptly as it began, the process was over, and the cylinder's cover was lifting, a monstrous form slipping from inside to fall with a heavy thump on the dirt floor. WildWing strained to see through the smoke rolling off the shape's surface, attempting to discern what it was. It stirred, a lolling growl escaping the silhouette.
"Mr. Flashblade, welcome to the new era in genetic engineering..." The scientist locked a chain onto the figure, assuring its integrity before yanking on its end harshly. The creature staggered to its feet, issuing a nervous snort, and WildWing's jaw dropped.
Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn't human anymore.
~~Present Day; Underground Prison~~
Caught unaware, Grin couldn't hold the figure of his leader when he lunged himself at the insane scientist. WildWing grabbed the man by his lab coat lapels and yanked him forward, "YOU!!"
Duke shot the largest team member an alarmed look, and Grin nodded curtly, stepping forward.
WildWing cocked a fist back, then buried it into the scientists face, it's center exploding into a nosebleed. As the duck drew back a second time, the scientist recoiled as far as his lab coat, now stained red, would let him. However, a burly palm closed around the fisted hand, halting its course. WildWing jerked his gaze over his shoulder, to Grin's sad expression, "Let -go- Grin."
The gray duck simply shook his head, grabbing the resisting form of the Wing back into his grip and dragging him from the scientist, who cowered against the wall.
"No, Grin, you don't understand! Stop! He created them...He Killed Dive!" WildWing's fighting abruptly came to a halt, a hiccupping gasp drawn inward in the expectant silence...
"And he can bring him back again..."
The staggered gasp echoed in the eerie quiet of the underground prison, oddly muted by the packed-dirt walls.
It didn't last.
"...You bring him -Back!!-" Tears falling from eyes that leapt fire, the raging leader broke past Grin's restraining hold, again leaping forward and seizing the bloodied human by his throat.
He threw the small scientist into the wall, holding him up by his neck alone..
"...Or by the stars, I'll make you -SUFFER!-"
***Ooook, so ya'll figured out what's gonna happen? Well don't tell the others! Tell me! ...Cause I'm not really too sure. no no, I am, don't listen to me. I've just got voices. R&R!***