Echoes of the Past
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Hey everyone. Sorry if the story is getting a little boring, but it will get better soon. Promise! Thanks to Akima who looked this part over for me and listened to my little rants about it too. Thanks to my roommate and my sister who helped out as well. And thanks to the Great King that I can even get it to look pretty on paper.^-^ Hope you all enjoy. Thanks for the reviews :) And don't worry, I will finish all stories… in time.;)
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Mighty Ducks belong to Disney.
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Disaray. Destruction. In the words of Mookie and Thrash… Totally trashed. The insides of the raptor were torn apart, as if a massive battle had taken place. Fire burned on the motherboard of a computer, Siege and Dragaunus standing near it in a face off with each other. Eyes filled with primal rage, smoke coming from Dragaunus' nostrils and both of them growling at each other in fury.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!" Dragaunus roared, shaking what was left of his ship.
"MY FAULT?! YOU WERE THE ONE JUST STANDING THERE!!" Siege bellowed. Simultaniously the two roared, snapping at each other as their ancestors had several hundred years before, as they had at one time been a barbaric race.
A book lay in the center of the room as the two fought each other, lightning leaping off their bodies, their eyes turning black from the power they had taken on. The book was open on the floor, being the only thing not yet destroyed and the only thing Wraith had left behind besides a staff that held a duck skull on the top. This book, though seemingly unimportant, was feared by many races and held sacred by only one. The saurian race for centuries had studied this book almost religously, never having the courage to actually do all the incantations and actions it contained in its old frayed pages. Dragaunus and Siege were not afraid, and very power hungry.
Siege roared as he took a swipe at Dragaunus with a fisted hand, covered in yellow flame. Dragaunus merely stepped back, the punch missing him by mere inches. He snarled, snapping with his teeth and lashing out with a clawed and flaming hand. The two saurians reared back and slammed into each other, lashing out with teeth and claws, reverting back to the barbaric ways of their ancestors. Roars, snarls and yelps were heard as they tried to beat each other to a pulp. It was when Dragaunus threw Siege to the ground and blasted him with a weak toss of his new power, did it actually end.
"You will obey me and not question me." the taller saurian growled, Siege staring at him with a silent and hateful glare.
"Only for a little while Dragaunus." The larger saurian growled as his 'leader' turned away. "I will beat you, and I will rule over this pathetic planet! Then _you_ will serve _me_." he let out a roar of pain as Dragaunus suddenly turned and raked his claws through the larger saurians face.
"If I didn't need you to be a decoy, I would finish you off here and now!" Dragaunus roared, once again turning away and lifting up the book, closing it and causing dust to rise from its frayed pages. He snorted and threw the book into Siege's chest. "However, till the day I can be rid of you, you shall continue in your 'training'." He purred. Then he turned away. "I give you till sunrise to learn something new. If you can. Seeing as you are the lesser creature here…" A gutteral growl came from behind him.
"And where are you going?" Siege snapped, sitting up. Dragaunus merely walked away.
"I have work to be done." The taller saurian stated darkly. Whatever work there was to be done apparently required solitude.
O.O
Wildwing was standing in front of Drake One, eyeing the computer screen as he watched for teleportation energy. After making sure that his brother was alright, he'd come here, leaving the teen to Mallory. Sadly, Duke hadn't changed, for better or for worse and it bothered the mallard.
"You know you get this funny look and stance when you get seriously thoughtful." Came a familiar voice. Wildwing turned and frowned. Mallory gave him a sheepish look, Nosedive leaning on her wearily. "Hey bro."
"You know, you should be in bed." Wildwing chastised. Nosedive waved him off and came over to his older brother with Mallory's help.
"Nah. Too boring." He grinned.
"Thanks Mallory." Wildwing said sarcastically. She shrugged.
"It was either this, or listen to him whine." She told him. Wildwing shook his head.
"Couch." He ordered.
"Fine." Nosedive muttered, allowing Mallory to drag him down the stairs to the living room. Once there he plopped down on the cusions of the couch and lay back with a flourish. "Ah. My throne." He said sarcastically. He let out a cry as Mallory whacked him with a pillow. "Man, first day back in the living world and Mal's already abusing me!" the teen cried out pitifully, then grinning evilly and attacking the red headed duck with the same pillow she'd hit him with. Wildwing merely shook his head as he watched, then turned and looked back up at Drake One. The side door swished open and the fighting behind him stopped. He turned and started. Canard and Tanya walked in, followed by two scaled, human-like creatures. One had green scales and purple eyes, hair tied at the nape of his neck cut a little past his shoulders. The other had blue scales and gold eyes, hair also tied back at the nape of his neck, cut off right at the shoulders. Both wore black suits, and while the blue one looked serious, the green one was grinning.
"Drake!" the green one said. The blue one rolled his golden eyes as Canard shook his head.
"Wildwing." He corrected as he brought the two creatures over to his team leader, Tanya frowning when she saw Nosedive and Mallory and walking towards them after giving Wildwing a quick kiss on the cheek. The green scaled creature grinned cheekily and opened his mouth. Only an 'oof' came out as the blue creature jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow and then looked around the room innocently. "They've been like this since we picked them up." Canard said softly to Wildwing. "Allow me to introduce, two of the three guardians of Dimensional Limbo." He said in a louder tone, motioning at the two. Wildwing blinked in surprise as the two merely waved.
"Hi." Said the blue one. The green one was too busy frowning at his partner and rubbing his rib cage to say anything.
"Uh… hi…" Wildwing said slowly, unsure of the two before them.
"The blue one is Orian and the green one is Calivan." Canard stated.
"Ah." Wildwing replied with a nod, unsure now of what to say. Calivan snickered suddenly.
"You're Terry's son aren't you." He grinned. Wildwing looked at him in surprise.
"You knew my dad?" he asked. At that Nosedive started, staring at the two guardians in surprise.
"Seriously?" he asked. "You knew our dad?"
"Yeah." Calivan nodded.
"It's a really long story." Orian stated.
"Yeah, one I'm sure you folks… wouldn't want to hear." Calivan said seriously. Wildwing gave him an odd look.
"Why wouldn't we?" he asked. Canard frowned, then looked at Wildwing.
"Maybe we should sit down. Then you guys could start from the beginning." He offered. Wildwing nodded.
"Sounds like a plan to me." He stated.
"Hey! You can tell us how you met Drake DuCaine himself!" Nosedive called cheerfully. Calivan suddenly grinned as he followed Canard and Wildwing down the stairs to the Living room.
"Drake was an awesome guy. He gave me my name!" he exclaimed.
"He gave us all our names." Orian stated calmly. He and Calivan stood as the others sat down, looked at each other, then sat on the floor crossed legged before them.
"Um, you could sit in a chair." Wildwing offered, sitting next to Tanya.
"No thanks. Drake offered once, and we spent the whole time jumping on his furniture." Orian told him.
"But that's only because the padding was so soft and bouncy… it was fun!" Calivan grinned. Nosedive snickered, Mallory on his right and Canard between her and Wildwing.
"Yeah. I'd do that too but Tanya would shoot me." He admitted.
"Ouch. With a puck launcher thing? That would hurt!" Calivan made a face, then grew serious and looked at Wildwing. "So… where would you like for us to start?" he asked.
"How about the beginning? How you met Drake DuCaine." He said.
"Yeah. Hey, how many of your kind are there?" Mallory asked.
"Just us and Jasmine." Orian told her.
"Two guys and one girl?" Nosedive asked. At the nods he shook his head. "You guys must fight a lot."
"Fight?" Calivan asked. He and Orian shared a confused look, then looked back at Nosedive. "Why would we fight?"
"For her affection?"
"Oh wait. Drake asked that once, remember?" Orian said suddenly as Calivan gave Nosedive an odd look. "Before he named us."
"Oh yeah…" Calivan breathed. He shook his head. "We never fight over Jasmine. We were never meant to have any relationships. We're basically family. Orian and I are brothers, Jasmine is our sister." He explained.
"Don't you get lonely for someone?" Mallory asked.
"No. We're not meant to have the same kinds of relationships you do. We have no drive for it." Orian stated.
"In other words, we were never meant to reproduce." Calivan stated quickly.
"Oh."
"Getting back to Drake…" Calivan said as the ducks shared a look. He looked at Orian. "Why don't you tell them?" he asked suddenly. "You and Jasmine were the only ones there."
"Where were you?"
"Fixing the B.R.A.W.N. robot remember?"
"Oh yeah. Okay." He took a deep breath. "Drake DuCaine was your normal hockey player on the planet called Puckworld when the saurians invaded. The saurians in those days were a barbaric race, relying on 'black magic' as some liked to call it. They followed a being called The Ancient Dragon. Otherwise known as Apollyon. He is the enemy of the Great King and commands armies of darkness and chaos. It is from he that the saurians got their powers, and it was he who gave them their drive to take over Puckworld." Orian told them calmly, a glint of deep hatred in his eyes. Hatred of the one called Apollyon. "So, being the 'loyal' little lackeys they were they went. When they came it was a nightmare on Puckworld. One minute the people were going around, minding their own businesses and dealing with their own problems and the next moment they were dodging blasts of golden lightning, fire balls… basically anything those lizards were trained to toss. They could lift buildings, throw them, could cause people's bodies to freeze with a simple spell… thousands died that day. The people didn't know what to do, and those that could ran and hid deep underneath the mountains. Drake DuCaine was with them, and just as terrified as the rest. They had no way to fight those creatures, and were losing hope. Drake was among the ones losing hope, yet he did something the others did not. A scared as they were of going up to the top side, Drake left the safety of the caverns they'd been in for several months and walked right out into the open. Fortunately for him, the saurians were all lying low in what used to be the city. After the attack it was merely a pile of rubble… a dragon's den. The saurians had destroyed basically everything and everyone. There were no bodies, not any whole ones anyway…" he paused for a moment as a shudder went through the ducks before him. Calivan merely shook his head and Orian continued. "Drake didn't go too far, but from where he was he could see enough. From what he told me, he fell on his face in the dirt, sobbing and asking why this had happened to his people. He kept asking over and over what his people had done to deserve this and begged the Great King to help him. Next thing we all knew, he was standing up in Dimensional Limbo. We're not really sure how, but the Great King had brought him to our Realm. We were all told that he was there, but we were also told not to come find him."
"Why?" Tanya asked.
"The Great King wanted to speak with him alone." Calivan said. "And He knew that Drake wouldn't listen if He'd kept the poor guy on Puckworld, so He took him to our home." Orian nodded.
"Drake was terribly distressed and he and the Great King spoke for several hours. When we were finally granted permission to see him, he had been given the powers that Wildwing and Nosedive have inherited." Orian nodded at the two who merely looked at him. "We trained with Drake for a few days till he'd perfected this gift the Great King had granted him, then Jasmine and I escorted him back to Puckworld, and Calivan stayed behind to fix the B.R.A.W.N."
"What had happened to it?" Nosedive asked.
"It fell down and went kaboom." Calivan said calmly. Orian gave him a look and he grinned sheepishly, shrugging.
"It came into Dimensional Limbo by means of the dimensional gateway at a bad time and Drake accidently blasted it." Orian told them. "Nothing too big."
"Nothing too big? I was scrapping that thing up out of Limbo for hours!!" Calivan exclaimed.
"Hey. You were the one who offered to pick up the pieces and rebuild it."
"Don't remind me." Nosedive snickered at the two and Orian calmly got back to his story.
"Anyway, like I said, Jasmine and I escorted Drake back to Puckworld, but we had to protect him the moment we arrived. The saurians knew from their 'Master' the Ancient Dragon, what we were and they were furious that we had come to Puckworld. It was then that they actually started using technology. They'd gotten bored and had taken guns and remade them so that they fired lasers, made ships that could fly… most of it didn't work for too long though. They would fight each other, and the strongest would be the leader. Everything around them would be destroyed, and sometimes inoccent saurians would die."
"Yeah. Some of the saurians were pacifists. It was a saurian that saved them." Calivan stated. Orain regarded him coolly.
"Who's telling this story? You, or me?"
"You."
"Okay then. He's right though. A saurian did save us. His name was Damagar and he was really, really big. Didn't really mean anything except that the other saurians ran in fear of him because they thought he'd tear them in half. He was actually a gentle spirit, very soft spoken as well. He was a good friend, and later very protective of DuCaine. From what Drake told us a few days after the battle was won, Damagar gave his life for him."
"That wasn't in the books." Canard muttered.
"Of course not. It was an embaressment to the Saurians and too hard for the Puckworlders to believe." Orian nodded at the tan mallard. "You know, it was Damagar who helped us forge the mask. It was his idea. The saurians had cloaking sheilds and extremely advanced technology compared to what the Puckworlders had, and it was next to impossible for a newly gathered resistance to fight back, even with Drake's new abilities. So when Drake decided to use hockey techniques to catch the saurians off guard and pound them into the dirt at the same time, Damagar decided that making a goalie mask with certain capabilities might be a good idea. Capabilities like sensing energy readings, and seeing things for what they really were. He also made it so that only a duck could wear it.
"He tossed this idea up in the air to Drake, who thought it was a great idea and ran with it. So, Jasmine and I found ourselves helping forge it. We came back from Dimensional Limbo just to do so, Calivan came with us this time as well. He knew more about electronics, and knew all the specifics that we would need. I knew how to work with the right metals, and Jasmine knew how to sculpt it. Drake was the one who the mask was made to fit, and Damagar was the one who basically over saw the entire thing so we would get it right. After that, we went back home and left the fight up to him. He used both the mask and the powers he'd been granted, the Puckworlders following him without much question, and with a more renewed hope. It took several months, but they defeated the saurians. What was left of the race Drake brought to Dimensional Limbo where we were keeping them till Dragaunus found a way to get free." Orian shook his head. "I regret that we knew nothing of his plans." He said softly. Then he shook his head. "But, on the day that the saurians were dropped off in Dimensional Limbo, Drake gave us all names as thanks for helping him. Then he left. He continued to visit us on many occasions. One occasion he told of us of duck called Ruben, who'd been in the service of the saurians and had sold his soul to the Ancient Dragon. When we asked if he wanted us to take care of him in Limbo he shook his head, for his son had killed the duck after finding him trying to kill Drake while he slept one night. Drake's son Logan was upset about what he'd done, having just come of age. He'd used the 'Powers of DuCaine', as you call it, to kill one of his own kind. On behalf of Logan, Drake asked us if there was any way the power could be taken from them. We didn't know and told him so, so he finally turned to the Great King again. The Great King told him that when the power is not in need it will die down. It will not leave and always be passed to the first born. As long as Logan didn't train this power in order to grow stronger, the gift would not be easy to use. Like in hockey. If you don't practice, you kind of forget how to play." Orian explained to them.
"Drake's son killed Ruben?" Wildwing asked, surprised.
"Out of self defense really." Calivan told him. "He couldn't sleep that night and thought he heard something coming from his father's room. His mother had died giving birth to him, so he was curious as to what it could be seeing as how Drake had never bothered to remarry. When he entered his fathers room, he saw his Ruben standing over his father with a dagger in hand and he cried out. Drake had woken up and them blasted the duck back and leapt out of bed, telling Logan to run. Logan had tried, but Ruben was faster. Using the power that the Ancient Dragon had given him, he blasted DuCaine and tackled Logan, flipping him over in order to watch the young mans face when he stabbed him. Logan had merely flung him back with his own power and then fought with him. It ended when Logan lost his temper after Ruben actually got a hit in on his father. Logan… snapped the crazed ducks neck."
"Man. That's gotta be bad when one guy does it to you, and then his ancestor does it again." Nosedive breathed. Wildwing gave him a look and he quieted.
"Well, it was really hard for Drake when Ruben died." Calivan stated, gaining attention.
"What do you mean?" Wildwing asked.
"Drake and Ruben had been really close friends. Almost brothers." Calivan explained. "No one really knows what drove him to become a traitor. But more than anything, it is agreed that he was jealous of Drake."
"Jealous? Of what?" Mallory asked him.
"Of the power he'd been given. No one else was granted this power, just Drake." Orian explained. "It drove Ruben crazy, so he offered his services to the Saurians in hopes that they would give him some control over some of Puckworld to get back at DuCaine, or so we suspect. Whatever the cause, he didn't stop there. He went insane and found pleasure in torturing those of the saurian race and those of his own kind. Then one day, he sold his soul to the Ancient Dragon, and we know he did that for power. It was his only reason and he told Drake this on the night he tried to kill him."
"Good grief." Canard breathed. Wildwing merely shook his head.
"It's sad." He muttered.
"I guess he was the Lucretia DeCoy of his time." Tanya said softly.
"Only more on the loony side." Nosedive added.
"You'd have to be nuts to side with the saurians in the first place." Mallory pointed out. Nosedive shrugged.
"That's true." He agreed.
"I have a question. Why did our people forget about all of this?" Wildwing asked. "Why and when did it all turn into a myth?" Calivan and Orian shrugged.
"Good question. But honestly we don't really know. People just began making up tales of Drake's greatness and stuff like that, and after a while you couldn't tell what was truth or fiction I guess. It happens." Calivan told him. "But it was never a myth for us. More like an ongoing nightmare."
"What do you mean?" Nosedive asked.
"Anytime a person is granted power they have one of two decisions they could make. In times of war they can use it for good, or in times of peace the DuCaine's could let it die out. Or, they could twist it for their own causes." Orian told him. "There was more than one occasion a DuCaine was brought to Dimensional Limbo by the Great King as punishment, and more than several died there. The power was stripped of them and the second borns firstborn was the next to inherit the power of DuCaine.
"You see, the power of DuCaine basically works like this. It is passed from first born to first born, and if another child is born to the family (Which was rare) the two would share the power and it would be much stronger than if there were just one DuCaine. Now, if the first born were to be killed before he or she came of age, the younger would not gain any powers, but his or her first born child would when they came of age." He explained to them.
"Well, that clears up a lot." Mallory muttered, but her words were missed as Orian continued.
"There were several who decided that they would use the power of DuCaine to their own will and instead of letting it just 'hibernate', I guess that's what you could call it, they practiced it and tried to grow stronger. When they felt they were strong enough, they would start attacking innocent ducks with this power. But it was not meant to be used this way. The Great King would drag them to Dimensional Limbo and as I said before, imprison them there.
"However, there was one the was not imprisoned. Her name was Ellie, and she had a younger brother by the name of Collin. Collin was but six years of age when he started gaining powers of DuCaine thanks to his sister. She could call him, could basically use him if she couldn't do something herself, making the two of them stronger than she was by herself when they were together. She grew jealous that he was gaining this power at a younger age, and thirsted for more of it. She figured that if she killed him that the power he had inherited would automatically go to her."
"Oh no. She didn't…" Wildwing stopped at Calivan and Orian's nods.
"She did." Orian told him. "Her parents had left for the evening, asking her to watch over her younger brother and keep him safe. She promised that she would, and while her brother slept, she smothered him to death. Her mother, being a decendent of Drake DuCaine, knew what had happened when she was suddenly cut off from her youngest child." Orian looked at Wildwing. "If anything were to happen to your brother…"
"I know. I would know. I would find him." Wildwing interrupted. "I've been able to do so for years." He admitted. Calivan smiled.
"Because you two were chosen. Chosen to fight a battle to end all battles." He said softly. Wildwing and Nosedive looked at each other in confusion, then looked back at the guardians.
"I'll explain in a moment." Orian said softly. "But getting back to my tale, Christa, mother of Ellie and Collin, rushed home to find only the body of her son. Ellie had fled. The Great King was displeased with her and she knew it, but was unwilling to face punishment. Sadly, she was not to go to Dimensional Limbo, her crime was too great. Never before had anyone actually been murdered out of cold blood. Hurt maybe, but the DuCaine's were always stopped before they could go too far. Ellie was the first to kill, and her punishment was no less than what she had dished out. Calivan and I were the ones to give her her punishment. The Great King gave us swords, and sent us to Puckworld. We can fly," he told them quickly. "So in order to find her, we flew over the cities and the countryside after seeing to her mother. Christa was in no shape to do what had to be done; this was her daughter… So we searched alone. We found her, running through a deep forest. I'll never forget the look of terror on her face. I hated what we had to do." He shook his head and quieted, Calivan looking down at the floor with dull interest.
"You killed her, didn't you?" Canard asked. The two nodded.
"It was the punishment for murder. Murder for more power. It doesn't work like that." Calivan told them.
"What… what would happen if Nosedive died?" Mallory asked softly.
"What do you think?" Orian asked. "There is a bond that is nearly unbreakable that DuCaine siblings share. Wildwing may live, he may not. Depends on how determind he is to stay alive. He'd have to have a really good reason. Like how much he loves his friends maybe and if there were still a threat around. If there were not threat to fight, and Nosedive were killed, I doubt Wildwing would live for long." He gave Wildwing an unreadable look. "And he wouldn't gain anymore power. In all truth, he would loose some of it. Half of his power is sitting right there." He nodded at Nosedive. "The two share, and feed off of each other. If anything were to happen to Wildwing now, Nosedive would loose most of his power to where he could probably only sense things." He told them.
"Wait. Time out! Okay, I understand all of that." Nosedive said, holding his hands up in the sign of a 'T'. "But I just don't understand how the power of DuCaine was passed on to us if both Ellie and Collin were killed. Was there another sibling you didn't tell us about?" he asked.
"Not for some time no." Calivan told him. "But yes, Christa did have another child. His name was Joseph. Even on this planet the name has the same meaning; 'God shall add'."
"Yes, and his first born son gained the powers of DuCaine next." Orian told them. "But he refused to even try to use them, for he was afraid he'd become like Ellie, even though he was an only child. Even so, it was a few years before another DuCaine came to Limbo. He was the great-grandson of Jeremy, Joseph's son. And his name was Terry." He looked at Wildwing. "Your father. That's how we knew him." Wildwing sat forward.
"What do you mean? Did he visit?"
"You could say that." Calivan said grimly. "But when he first came he was placed in the cell that Lucretia DeCoy now occupies." Eyes widened.
"No way." Nosedive breathed.
"What? Why?" Wildwing asked in disbelief. "Dad wasn't a bad guy, he was a great guy! He used to never do anything wrong!"
"He also used to be power hungry." Orian told him. "He let it go to his head and tried to take over Dimensional Limbo itself. How he got it in his head to try that is beyond me. But once he got there, his power was stripped of him and we imprisoned him. He was only there for maybe a week before he came to his senses and repented."
"Then he went home, with no powers of DuCaine." Calivan finished. Then he smirked, a glint in his eye. "Well, that he knew of anyway."
"What do you mean?" Nosedive asked. "I mean, why did he go home and not anyone else?"
"Oh he wasn't the first." Calivan explained as Orian sighed and leaned back against the wall. "If any of the DuCaine's that went nuts repented, they were sent home, just with no power… That they knew of… But there were many who refused to repent and died in Dimensional Limbo. It's sad that they died the way they did." He told them. "But about the power, they were given the gift to sense if anyone they loved was in danger of being hurt, so that they could find a way to keep it from happening." Nosedive looked at Wildwing, who nodded.
"Yeah. He always did have a knack for showing up before something bad happened. Like the time Dive fell out of a tree and nearly broke his neck. He would have if Dad hadn't run up and caught him." He said.
"When was that?" Canard asked.
"A week before they were killed. Dive and I were playing in the backyard, and I helped Dive climb a tree, but he slipped and I couldn't catch him. Dad ran from the house and caught him before he hit the ground. He'd just been watching the news and suddenly took off for the backyard." Wildwing told him. Orian and Calivan nodded.
"Yep. That's how it worked." Orian stated. Nosedive shook his head.
"Man. This is all messed up!" he exclaimed.
"But why didn't Dad ever tell me that he was a DuCaine?" Wildwing asked, ignoring his brother for a moment, Nosedive stretching wearily.
"Who knows?" Calivan shrugged. "Maybe he didn't think you would inherit it since it had been taken from him."
"None of the DuCaine's that went back home, or stayed behind, spoke of the crimes that had been commited by family members using the power of DuCaine." Orian told him. "I think they were too ashamed to. I know Terry was. When we told him he could go home, he didn't move for an hour. He was heart broken that he'd done what he did. I'd never seen any of the DuCaine's before him act like he did. When the others that had repented and found they could go home, they jumped up and out of that cell faster than anything I've ever seen." He stated. Calivan nodded.
"I asked him about that." He said softly. "I think he was upset over some girl he liked. Said she probably wouldn't want anything to do with him after what he'd done." He grinned suddenly. "But if I remember correctly, the Great King told me that she'd married him not soon after he left Limbo." He told them.
"That is so sweet!" Mallory exclaimed.
"Yeah. Mom was an awesome woman." Wildwing said softly. Canard snickered.
"My mom would talk about her every so often." He said. "Said that Nosedive favored your mother and that the woman had to be crazy to marry a man that liked to prank people." He told them. He shook his head. "Either that or just very strong in nature." Wildwing chuckled.
"Where do you think I learned half the stuff I pulled?" he asked, a look of mischief in his eyes. "Dive wasn't even a month before Dad dyed Mom's hair bright pink. She was furious!" he snickered. Nosedive snickered quietly and shrugged.
"I don't remember much of her, except that for when Wing and Dad were gone, she'd turn on some music and dance with me." He said quietly, staring dully at the far wall. "It's the only memories I have of her." Silence overtook them all, and they sat there, not knowing what to say. It ended though when Orian cleared his throat.
"So… we heard that another teammate of yours was injured. Is he alright?" he asked. Again silence, then Tanya stood.
"He's in a coma." She told them softly. "And I'd better go and check on him. Sorry, I'll be back later." With that she left, hurrying towards the infirmary.
"What happened to him?" Orian asked. Calivan looked at him.
"Siege blasted him with a laser gun a point blank. Duke was trying to protect Nosedive." Wildwing told them. Mallory merely lay her head on Nosedive's shoulder, a pained look on her face.
"Neither of them would have been hurt if I'd been faster." She muttered. Nosedive put an arm around her and held her close and Canard shook his head.
"That's not true. If it were, I'm just as much at fault as you are. Heck, I even promised to protect the sons of DuCaine. Lot of good I've done, keeping my word." He said the last part sarcastically gaining a snort from both Wildwing and Nosedive.
"Don't even go there man." Nosedive said, looking at the tan mallard. "Seriously, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead and Ruben would probably still be in Wildwing's body." Orian and Calivan gave him a shocked look as Mallory jabbed Nosedive in the side.
"Don't forget Duke, he did a lot too. Kazar too." She said quietly.
"Yeah they did." Wildwing admitted. "You all did."
"Hang on a minute. We're lost. Ruben? As in Ruben McCoy?" Calivan asked. The four ducks nodded, then proceeded to explain everything that had been going on over the past year.
o.o
Dragaunus frowned as he entered what had been the main deck of the Raptor, but was now a mess of wire and shrapnel.
"Siege!" he roared angrily, looking around for the fat saurian. "Where are you?"
"Over here." Came the dark growl. Siege stepped out from behind a pile of broken Hunter drones and glared at his leader. "What do you want?" he spat.
"It is time. Have you prepared yourself?" Dragaunus asked tempermentally.
"What? Did you think I was just sitting here this whole time? Of course I'm ready. I want to finish those ducks off once and for all." Siege answered, tossing the frail paged book to Dragaunus. The taller saurian caught it easily and regarded his only lackey coolly.
"For once, we agree." He purred, turning away. "I have found the place where the last battle shall be fought. We will use the powers of old to get us there." He stated.
"Where are we going?" Siege asked, following. Dragaunus turned to grin evilly at him.
"There is a place on this planet that will be of great use to us. The stupid humans never tore it down." He said. Siege glared at him angrily.
"Where?" he nearly roared.
"In Germany. Years ago they had camps not much unlike our own that we kept on Puckworld. Save, whoever was behind it had a more ingenious way of dealing with their prisoners." There was a sickening gleam in Dragaunus' eyes. "We shall fight them there. The Ancient Dragon has told me that the youngest DuCaine will not be able to handle it." Siege snorted.
"We'd be better off in the mines. He gets claustrophobic down there. Remember?" Dragaunus glared.
"No mine will ever strike as much terror as this camp will. Now come. We must prepare our battle ground." With that, he opened the book and recited a few incantations. A wind swirled around the two saurians and they disappeared, leaving behind a destroyed ship.
To Be Continued…
