Here we Stand. We will finish this…
He could feel his brothers fury rising, could 'hear' the one thought screaming in his brothers mind. Find Dragaunus, get rid of him no matter what the cost may be. Don't send him to Dimensional Limbo… Kill that sorry excuse for a walking suitcase.
Nosedive looked at his brother uneasily, the rest of the team busying themselves for the upcoming battle. Orian and Calivan were now brandishing some very sharp looking swords, Duke inspecting one at the moment. The eldest mallard commenting on the craftsmanship. Orian and Calivan could only grin. Their swords were given to them by the Great King Himself. Of course the swords would be perfect.
Bro? thank goodness for telepathy, something the guardians had failed to mention about DuCaine siblings. Or maybe they hadn't known about it…
I'm busy Nosedive… was the dark reply. Nosedive merely sat back in his chair and stared out the window in front of him.
I'm not gonna' help you kill anybody. I'm not going to become like the saurians.
Tension left his brothers arms, the white mallards fingers loosening from the tight grip they'd held on the controls.
But he deserves it Nosedive. Nosedive continued to look forward.
I don't think its our job to kill him though bro. I mean, why else would Orian and Calivan be here?
To help us. I prayed for help…
Then maybe you should pray for wisdom too. the answer surprised them both, Nosedive looked down at the controls in front of him, trying to figure out just where the sentence had just come from. Yes he'd just said it, but… I mean…
I know what you mean Nosedive. I understand.
You do? Well explain, I just confused myself. Nosedive looked at his brother, the white mallard snickering.
"You would." Wildwing told him aloud.
"So I've got mental problems, so sue me!" Nosedive exclaimed with a grin, tossing his hands into the air.
"You don't have to prove it though!"
"Let it be known that I can feel the love." Nosedive stated sarcastically, folding his arms over his chest and slouching down in his chair. "So you gonna tell me what you figured out?" he asked.
"I need a long talk with the Great King." Wildwing stated quietly, his eyes staring forwards. Nosedive quieted.
Don't we all… he replied. Behind them the others watched quietly. What an odd conversation that was…
O.o
Concentration Camp. Munich, Germany.
At one time in history it had been a place of nightmares. After the war however it was turned into a museum where people went to learn about the crimes committed so that it would never happen again. Yes, knowledge is power, and the knowledge of what happened and how horrible it actually was could keep people from repeating history. However, when you're from an entirely different planet where nightmares are still fresh and your enemy is the cause of these nightmares, knowledge could be terrorizing. Especially when your worst nightmare is standing before you in the form of an old camp, now shaped like a huge ghostly building, whose insides had been change by powerful and evil magic.
Walking inside had been gut wrenching. Kazar, Orian, and Calivan had all been disgusted by Dragaunus' twisted love of this place… however none of them realized the turmoil it put the ducks through as they continued down damp halls with scorch marks on many of the walls. For Duke it was the memory of watching starving ducks move around like zombies back on Puckworld. Watching many fight each other for food, others passing out or dying from the need of food or medical treatment. Watching his people suffer… wanting to do something, anything…
For Mallory, who'd never been in a camp, it was bone chilling. People had been tortured here, had actually survived this place! But then… so many hadn't. So many had died… just like back home…
For Tanya it was basically the same as Mallory, as well as Grin. They had never been to the camps. She and Grin had made it to the resistance early fortunately. Still tales of what had happened in the camps had reached them, and it was those nightmarish tales that had kept them all awake at night and resurfaced now.
Canard was one that kept his emotions to himself, but they could tell he was disgusted. He'd been in a camp once, not for long though. His father had been in the military for as long as Canard could remember, and it was a good thing too. Because of that he had been rescued early, but memories of his few days there were not good. They were something he wished he could forget, but never would. No one ever would…
Wildwing and Nosedive. For the two who'd spent nearly two years in the camps, this was Hell brought back at full force. Wildwing's memories of helping his classmates die, of watching others kill themselves while they worked in mines or on buildings for the saurians, resurfaced as clear as if it had all happened yesterday. Fear tried to eat away at him, but he'd learned to deal with these images. His brother was still with him, and as far he was concerned, Nosedive always would be.
Nosedive on the other hand was starting to become claustrophobic, and the fact that they were all walking in a line wasn't helping any. Nightmarish memories resurfaced at full force, and suddenly he wasn't walking with the team. He was in between two ducks he didn't know, headed for the mines. The mines… Oh stars not the mines! No, no they weren't headed towards the mines… The teen closed his eyes and stopped moving, his body shaking violently as he tried to start breathing again. When had he stopped? No, he didn't want to go back to the bunks… those ducks… Donovan wasn't there anymore… Couldn't help him…
Hands grabbed his arms and he cried out, tearing out of the grasp and slamming into the wall, falling to the floor and sitting there. His eyes were opened, but he couldn't see. Where was he? The camps… no, not the camps… WILDWING!!!
o.o
"Nosedive, why are you stopping?" Canard's voice made him turn, and give his younger brother an odd look when he saw the teen standing in the middle of the hall with his eyes shut tight.
"Nosedive?" Wildwing asked. No answer. Nosedive was starting to hyperventilate and the others were becoming worried.
"Snap out of it Nosedive!" Mallory cried.
"Nosedive!" Wildwing cried as Canard grabbed the teens arms to shake him out of it. Suddenly Nosedive cried out, tearing away from the tan mallard and falling backwards, slamming into the wall and then sliding down to where he was sitting on the floor, staring out at nothing as he seemed to try and catch his breath. Wildwing suddenly cried out and grabbed his head, falling to his knees causing Tanya and Duke to rush to his side.
"What's happening?" Duke asked.
"He's panicked." Wildwing hissed, rubbing his temples. "He just called for me…"
"I didn't hear anything! What are you talking… WHOA!!" Calivan had to dodge a well-aimed blast coming from the teen on the floor. Nosedive took aim again.
"Holy cripes! He thinks we're saurians!!" Orian yelped as he took to the air dodging another blast, the white flames dancing off of Nosedive's body as he began to stand, his breathing still erratic.
"NOSEDIVE STOP!!" Wildwing yelled. Nosedive gave no indication of hearing his brother and aimed his hand for Kazar, silver light shining from his eyes. Canard did the only thing he could think of and checked Nosedive into the wall, causing the blast to hit the opposite wall and disappear. Now Nosedive was screaming in panic for Canard to get off of him.
"CALM DOWN NOSEDIVE!! IT'S JUST…" Canard didn't get to finish, a grunt coming from him as he was flung backwards, the flames from Nosedive pushing outwards and flinging the others back as well.
"NOSEDIVE STOP!!" Wildwing yelled again as he tried to stand against his brother. After nearly being pushed down and hearing his teammates cries of pain he stopped, calling upon his own power to protect them from his brother. Nosedive was staring right at him, his blonde hair flying and the flames flying from his body. His face was impassive and his eyes nightmarish. Silver was all Wildwing could see, and yet… and yet he could sense the panic and fear. Flames exploded from Wildwing's body, allowing the others to stand with groans. For a moment it was a stand still between the two. NOSEDIVE STOP!! IT'S JUST US!!
"Wing…" both attacks stopped at once, the silver leaving Nosedive's eyes as he blinked in bewilderment. He was panting as he looked around, and then it stopped. As Nosedive fell into unconsciousness Wildwing ran over and caught him. They hadn't even met up with the Saurians and already they were fighting battles…
O.O
Dragaunus chuckled, watching the screen in front of him that showed Wildwing holding his brother, the others coming over with worry and caution. So the Great Dragon had been right. The youngest DuCaine could *not* handle the camp. He grinned and turned to Siege.
"If this keeps up, Nosedive will finish off his teammates for us!" he exclaimed gleefully.
"Well where's the fun in that?" Siege spat, miffed as he sharpened a dagger. The four humans watched the two in fear, the youngest sobbing quietly as the teen tried to comfort her, his English thick with a German accent. "I'd rather hunt them down myself." The larger saurian muttered.
"You may get that chance. If not, I'll release the humans into the maze and you can hunt them through that. How does that sound?" Dragaunus asked with a wave of his clawed hand. The humans paled and the teen glared at him.
"You won't get away with this!" he shouted defiantly. Dragaunus smirked at him.
"Really?" he asked. He looked at the screen. "I think I will." He purred, looking down at newly sharpened claws. "Those foul feathered weaklings have no idea what I have in store for them."
O.O
Wildwing turned to look at Grin, the gentle giant keeping a hand on Kazar's shoulder blade as Nosedive lay on the dragons back. The teen was still unconscious, laying on his stomach with his head turned facing the group so that he would see them when he awoke, instead of the walls.
"What do you think happened?" Canard asked softly, gaining Wildwing's attention.
"He panicked." Wildwing answered softly, looking back at the rest of his team. Calivan and Orian were guarding the rear, Calivan draping his sword across his shoulders and allowing one hand to fall at his side. How he kept the sword from cutting himself was a mystery. Maybe it was those scales of his, who knew? "Nosedive probably had it worse than any of us in the camps. That and the mines…" he shook his head. "I remember when they brought him to my camp, he wouldn't sleep at first. Kept saying he was afraid of the others. Afraid they'd…" he didn't continue and Canard frowned.
"Maybe we should send him back outside." He commented softly. "What if he…"
"No, I don't think he will." Wildwing sighed. "I hope he won't. But we need him. Remember what Orian and Calivan said. When it comes down to the final battle between us and Dragaunus, Nosedive will have to be there." He said. Canard nodded and looked back at the teen worriedly.
"Do you think Dragaunus planned this?" he asked. Wildwing nodded, a dark look on his face and showing through the mask, its red eyes glowing angrily.
"He would." He growled. Kazar suddenly stopped, snorting and suddenly growling in disgust.
"What is it?" Duke asked as the whole group halted and looked at the dragon.
"I smell Dragaunus." The dragon growled.
"Yeah, he does stink pretty bad doesn't he?" Calivan asked, a grin on his face.
"His stench is all over this place Kazar." Orian stated darkly. "We'll probably be stuck with his smell even after we get out of here."
"Ugh. I'm going to shower for a week after this." Mallory muttered, gaining a chuckle from Calivan.
"I'm getting seriously bad vibes about all of this." Grin reported, Tanya shuddering.
"I have to agree with him." She told them softly. "I don't like this place one bit."
"Shouldn't we have come to a turn somewhere by now?" Canard asked. Wildwing frowned, then looked at the walls, the eyes of the mask changing. Suddenly they widened in surprise.
"A maze! He's made this place into a huge maze!" he exclaimed.
"Is that possible?" Mallory asked, the others starting with surprise, Calivan and Orian looking at each other in confusion.
"Why would he turn this place into a maze?" Kazar muttered.
"How did he do this though?" Canard repeated Mallory's question.
"The Enemy." Said Orian.
"He's returned to 'The Ancient Ways'. At least that's what the saurians called it." Calivan said, his expression changing immediately to a dark one. "They call The Enemy the 'Great Dragon'." He looked at Wildwing. "You must watch yourself. The rules of battle have changed drastically." Canard frowned and looked to his friend.
"Still, how do we get through this thing?" he asked.
"I don't know." Wildwing admitted. "This hallway just seems to go on forever." He admitted. "It doesn't lead into the maze at all."
"How about explosive pucks?" Mallory offered.
"Do we really want to go in there though?" Duke asked. Wildwing nodded.
"It's like any other maze Duke. The prize is at the center." He told them. "We've got to get there and free those people and take out Dragaunus and Siege."
"Explosive pucks." Mallory grinned. Wildwing nodded and motioned for the group to back away from the wall and to pull out their puck launchers, which they did.
"Ready? FIRE!" they let loose a barrage of pucks, then stopped after a moment to let the dust clear… only to find that nothing had happened. The ducks stared in surprise as Calivan cocked his head to one side.
"That went well." He muttered.
"Quite." Kazar purred darkly. Wildwing frowned at them gaining quick silence as white flames began dancing off his body. He pointed the palm of his hands at the wall and with a cry, he let loose a large blast of bright light. He stopped after a moment and frowned. A large burn mark was now on the wall, a squealing noise coming from somewhere in the distance as if a machine or something were screaming in pain. Canard frowned.
"Guess we're meant to follow this path to the end of it." Orian said, tapping the hilt of his sword.
"No. It just circles the whole maze. There's not even an ex…it…" Wildwing paused and turned, looking back the way they came. "Stars…" he mummered, the others looking and giving startled cries.
"What the puck!" Mallory cried. Right behind Kazar there was a wall that hadn't been there before, as if they were now at a dead end.
"But that's impossible!" Canard cried as Calivan frowned.
"No, it's chaotic." Orian stated as Grin pressed against the wall, grunting as he did so. It wasn't a hologram.
"It's the way of the Enemy. Chaos is the dark ones favorite pastime." Calivan told them. "We'll be dealing with this as we continue on." He told them.
"You mean the maze will change?" Mallory asked, panic in her eyes. Calivan nodded darkly.
"Yes. And it will continue to change until we find Dragaunus and put an end to him. He is the one doing this. The Enemy is controlling it. When we stop Dragaunus, all of this will go back to normal."
"So, this place wasn't a camp to begin with?" Tanya asked. Calivan shook his head.
"No. It was. Hundreds of innocent people died in this place. The only reason it still exists is so that the public may be shown the horrors and learn from them, stop it from ever happening again. No one wants this part of history to ever be repeated again."
"You seem to know a lot about this place." Wildwing said. Calivan shook his head.
"The Great King wept when this happened." Was all the guardian said, Orian glaring at the far wall.
"We should stay close together." The blue scaled guardian told them. "We wouldn't want to get separated in here, especially with everything changing." Wildwing nodded.
"I agree. Come on everyone. Let's keep moving. Otherwise we might get boxed in." he said. With that the group began moving again, a sinking feeling settling in on them all.
O.O
"HELP ME!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!"
He was screaming these words as he sat in the darkness, curled in a ball. The hands that had been touching him were gone now, yet the fear remained. It was the fear that kept him from looking up, and it was the fear that caused him to sob and cry out for help. Once again arms wrapped around him, and he cried out, finally calling for his brother to help him. He was startled when the one holding him began rocking him back and forth, quietly shushing him and whispering soothing words to him. As he began to calm, he dared to look up and found himself staring at a mallard that looked like Wildwing, but was not his brother. He pulled away fearfully.
"Who… who are you? Where's Wildwing? Where am I?" he asked, beginning to look around. He was wearing a white robe, much like the one the duck before him was wearing. Darkness surrounded him, yet somewhere there was a light, keeping the darkness at bay.
"Nosedive, calm down. You're safe." The strange mallard said soothingly. Nosedive started, then stared at him.
"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" he asked backing away till he suddenly felt a type of wall. "And where the heck am I?" he cried out fearfully. The mallard stood and came over to him, then kneeled beside him and brushed back a few loose strands of blonde hair.
"Stars…" the mallard whispered softly. "You favor your mother so much Nosedive." Nosedive stared at him, startled.
"My… my mom?" he asked quietly. The mallard before him smiled almost wishfully.
"You probably don't remember her do you?" he asked. "You were so young when it happened."
"No, I remember her… a-a little…" Nosedive trailed off as a smile that was as familiar as the one he got from Wildwing everyday came from the mallard. "Dad?" he whispered breathlessly. The mallard nodded, then grunted as Nosedive dived into his arms, sobbing. It was a long while till Terry managed to calm his youngest son, still, neither of them really wanted to end the embrace. They sat in silence, holding each other till Terry cleared his throat and pulled away, causing Nosedive to look up at him questioningly.
"Nosedive…" Terry stopped and shook his head as the younger blonde mallard watched him. "I'm so sorry for all the things that have gone wrong in your life. I really wish I could have been there for you and your brother. But… the Great King does not do anything without reason." His eyes grew serious and he regarded Nosedive calmly but with a sense of great importance. "These fears of yours, they are work of the enemy to keep you from accomplishing any goals. You're older now, and you're stronger." He smiled suddenly. "And you are never alone. Remember that. You don't need Donovan to protect you anymore, you've got someone much more powerful watching over you. And I don't mean your brother." He stated. Nosedive gave him a confused look.
"Dad?" he asked. Terry shook his head, then smiled wistfully and placed a hand on top of his youngest sons head.
"Remember promises made in the past, and never forget that the Great King keeps His promises always. You are His, now and forever. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Fight in His name, and none can stand in your way." He said softly, lovingly. "Your mother and I are watching son." He added quietly before kissing Nosedive on the forehead lovingly. "And when your time comes, we'll be waiting for you and Wildwing on the other side." He stood, then offered a hand to help the blonde mallard up. Nosedive took the hand gratefully, then looked at his father longingly.
"I wish… so hard…" his voice was shaky, his throat becoming tight. He swallowed and tried to calm himself. "I wish I could remember what you were like." He whispered, tears forming in his eyes. A chuckle from his father made him look up questioningly.
"You know what I'm like!" Terry grinned, ruffling the younger mallards hair lovingly. "You see me in your brother, and he sees me in you!" he exclaimed. "Where do you think you guys got all those pranks from, eh?" he asked mischievously with a wink. He calmed and pulled Nosedive into an embrace that the younger wished wouldn't end. "Aw Nosedive. Don't worry, you know me! Just remember, I love you. You're my son and you will always be my son." He pushed Nosedive away, his hands staying on the blondes shoulders as he looked into his sons eyes. "Remember Nosedive. I'm proud of you. Both of you. The Great King blessed me and your mother with two wonderfully talented boys, and even though I was only with you for a little while, it was one of the happiest times in my life. I wish things had been different, we both do. No parent wishes to watch their children grow up from afar." He smiled softly. "But you two turned out real good, and I know you're going to give that saurian a run for his money." He grinned, the mischief returning once more as he mussed up Nosedive's hair. "Don't ever loose that joy of yours Nosedive." He said suddenly, moving away. Nosedive reached for him, his legs unwilling to move.
"DAD! NO! Please…"
"I gotta' go big guy." Terry said, a sad smile on his face as he backed into the light. "I love you son. And be brave, everything will be alright as long as you remember the Great King." He promised. Then, with a wave goodbye, he was gone. Nosedive stood, staring into the now complete darkness for a long while. Then he fell to his knees fighting back tears. It took a while for him to calm, but when he did he looked upwards.
"I'm ready now." He called quietly. "And thanks… Dad." With that he closed his eyes and knew no more.
^-^
"Unnnh…" the group stopped when the groan came from the duck on Kazar's back.
"Dive?" Wildwing asked worriedly, walking over to Kazar and placing a hand on the dragons head as he looked at his brother in concern. Nosedive opened his eyes slowly, then put a hand to his head.
"Whoa. Man, I feel weird." He muttered.
"You feel weird? You slammed us into the floor!" Mallory exclaimed heatedly as the blonde sat up and looked around. He gave her a confused look.
"What?" he asked. "What are you talking about… and uh, where are we?" he asked.
"You freaked out." Canard said as the group came together. Nosedive looked at him for a moment, then sighed and looked down.
"Oh yeah…" he muttered.
"You okay baby bro?" Wildwing asked in concern. Nosedive nodded slowly and rubbed the back of Kazar's head lovingly.
"Thanks for the ride buddy." He grinned, then he looked at Wildwing. "Can I get down?" he asked. Wildwing nodded and moved back a little so Kazar could kneel. Nosedive slid off the dragons back and looked around, the others watching him quietly and worriedly. He rubbed his arms as if chilled and looked back at Wildwing. "I hate this place." He muttered suddenly. He quieted as Wildwing wrapped his arms around him in a hug.
"It's going to be okay Dive. We just have to get to the center of this maze, stop Dragaunus and go home. Simple as that." Wildwing said softly. Nosedive snorted and snickered a little.
"Simple. Right. Like cleaning silly string out of the little pieces of Drake One."
"Yep." The brothers backed away and grinned at each other before both sighing and looking down the hall before them. It seemed to go only straight, with no turns at all, yet Wildwing knew better. Things would change, just as they had been. This he explained to Nosedive via their telepathic link. Serious looks were on their faces and they stood in silence as the rest of the team watched them curiously.
"Plan of action?" Duke asked after a long quiet moment. Nosedive turned and looked at him.
"You guys sure you couldn't blast the walls?" he asked suddenly. The group blinked at him in surprise.
"How… did you know about that?" Orian asked, startled. Wildwing turned as Nosedive thumbed at him.
"He told me." was his short reply. The group blinked at the two for a moment till Calivan cleared his throat.
"Um… yes." He said softly. "We are sure we can't blast the walls."
"Did you try climbing?" Nosedive asked. "What about flying?" at the shaking of the heads he looked back at Wildwing. "How about we try that? Otherwise we're just letting ol' Draggy lead us wherever he wants us to go."
"I dunno baby bro." Wildwing muttered, crossing an arm over his chest and rubbing his chin with the other hand in deep thought. Then he looked up and frowned. "Those walls do go pretty high." He muttered. He looked at Kazar, Orian and Calivan. "What do you guys think?" he asked. Calivan and Orian shared a look, shrugged, then looked at Kazar who merely shrugged back at them,
"Well, I'm game." Calivan said. "I don't know about those two." He grinned, thumbing at Orian and Kazar. Orian frowned.
"Whatever." He muttered at his friend. "I just think this stinks."
"The whole place stinks!"
"Yeah…" Mallory's voice cut the two bickering guardians short. "What is that smell?" she asked. The group sniffed the air and Duke shook his head, stiffening and putting a hand on the red heads shoulder.
"Trust me. You don't want to know." He told her. Nosedive fell back on his brother, the elder mallard putting a comforting hand on the blondes shoulder.
"What the heck is going on here?" he asked. "Duke… that smell…"
"Is from the past." Orian growled suddenly. "The enemy is toying with us." He said angrily, Calivan snorting and shaking his head.
"We must be near the ovens." He told them.
"Ovens?" Tanya asked.
"When the prisoners died, their bodies were burned in ovens. It left a horrible stench." Orian explained darkly. Nosedive opened his beak as if to ask something, then shut it quickly.
"Let's keep moving team." Wildwing said calmly, swallowing his growing fear.
"Want us to try flying then?" Kazar asked. Wildwing nodded, then frowned.
"Guess we'll wait here for you. " he muttered. Calivan merely grinned and gave him a mock salute before he and Orian took to the air, Kazar following with the sound of his wings forcibly beating in the air. The ducks watched them ascend quietly till Mallory shuddered and rubbed her arms as if cold.
"This place gives me the creeps." She muttered.
"You and me both kid." Duke agreed darkly.
O.O
Calivan looked down at the ducks, then back at the wall in front of him.
"I don't believe this. The ceiling keeps going and the walls never stop!" Orian complained. Kazar growled unhappily.
"We should rejoin the others and tell them of what we've found." He informed them.
"I agree. It's dangerous to stay separated for long." Calivan told them. Slowly they started to descend, only to cry out as their feet touched ground.
"What in blazes?!" Orian cried, banging on what seemed to be glass as the ducks stared up at them, startled.
"CALIVAN! WHAT'S WRONG??" came Wildwing's call.
"THERE'S SOME KIND OF GLASS OR SOMETHING! WE CAN'T GET DOWN TO YOU!!" Calivan called back, pounding forcibly on the barrier keeping him from the team. With a roar, Kazar lashed out with his claws causing a shriek to sound throughout the building and causing everyone to cover their ears. When the shrieking stopped, Kazar shook his head and frowned. He hadn't made a single scratch mark. Suddenly the glass tilted and the three cried out as they lost their footing. They heard the ducks cry out for them as they slid down to the floor that was far below and far away from the team. They hit the floor with a thud, dust rising and causing them to cough.
"Well… That was fun…" Calivan muttered dazedly as Orian stood and dusted himself off. Kazar murred and stretched himself out as he stood, shaking his large body and flinging more dust into the already disturbed air. He then looked around as Orian kneeled next to Calivan, the green scaled guardian laying on the ground with one hand on his head and unmoving.
"We're in another part of the maze." Kazar stated, snorting.
"Great. Just when Calivan says something about it being a bad idea, what happens? We get separated." Orian exclaimed, miffed. Then he looked at his friend worriedly. "Are you okay?" he asked. Calivan merely groaned in reply.
"Give me a minute, I was at the bottom of our little heap." He muttered unhappily.
"Are you going to be all right?" Kazar asked in concern. "I may be the smallest of my clan, but I'm still bigger than you are."
"Yeah. I realized that when you fell on top of me. You weigh more than you look like you should." Calivan grunted, sitting up with Orian's help. He took a deep breath, then coughed at the disturbed dust. "So… where are we now?" he asked, looking around.
"Another part of the maze apparently." Kazar said calmly, sitting and looking up at the walls. "I'd say flying at this point is out of the question."
"And climbing wouldn't be any better." Orian muttered.
"Looks like we have to get to the center if we want to meet back up with the others." Calivan stated, grunting as Orian helped him stand. He looked around and frowned at the straight hall that seemed to go on forever. "This is getting ridicules. The whole place can't look like this can it?" he asked unhappily.
"Apparently so." Kazar rumbled. Then he stiffened and stood, nostrils flaring and teeth bared. "Something is coming." He growled. Calivan and Orian looked around, then frowned, taking their swords in hand.
"Get ready…" Orian said quietly as the sound of angry and hateful voices came from a darker end of the hall.
"Here they come." Calivan growled, his teeth bared. Then the Darkness was upon them.
O.O
Siege snickered as smoke flowed from Dragaunus' nostrils.
"Looks like you're going to have to resort to another way of killing off the ducks." He grinned. He quieted when Dragaunus roared and turned on him, grabbing him by the neck and flinging him up against the wall, causing the small human child to cry out fearfully. Dragaunus merely growled angrily, tightening his grip for a moment, then dropping his lackey and returning to the screen showing the now separated group. The guardians and the dragon were busy with warriors of the Great Dragon, so they were of no consequence, but the ducks…
"This is getting boring…" Dragaunus growled, waving his clawed hand in the air. Suddenly there came a great shaking. When it stopped he turned to Siege. "You wanted a chance to go after the ducks? Well, here's your chance." He growled, motioning to the screen to show that the ducks were now looking around, startled. The walls had changed and moved showing ways into the maze. "I'm going to split them up and we can take them out one by one." He purred. Siege grinned, standing up.
"Now you're talking!" he exclaimed. Dragaunus grinned toothily at him.
"And once we're done with the ducks, we'll have at these humans." He stated, laughing coldly. Siege's grin darkened and together they laughed before leaving on their 'hunt'.
The humans looked at each other, then at the screen and prayed for help. Right now however, their future was looking very bleak.
o.o
"This is insane." Canard muttered, staring at the newly made entrance.
"Looks like Draggy's changed his mind about keeping us in the dark." Duke muttered. Nosedive turned to Wildwing worriedly.
"You think Kazar and the guardians are alright?" he asked. Wildwing smiled at him, putting a hand on his brothers shoulder.
"They should be." He said. "Kazar can kick some serious butt when he wants to… I should know." He gave a crooked grin causing his brother to snicker. "Besides, the guardians know how to fight, they have to otherwise the Great King wouldn't have sent them." Wildwing stated. Nosedive nodded, then turned to look at the rest of the team.
"Looks like I got us in another mess, huh?" he asked. Duke shook his head.
"Nah. We would have thought of the flying thing sooner or later. It was only a matter of time." He said. Then he looked at the entrance. "So… are we going in, or what?" he asked.
"I say we go in. Standing around here won't help anyone." Mallory said, puck bazooka in hand and a dangerous look in her eyes. Wildwing frowned, then nodded.
"I agree. Come on team, stick close together so we don't get separated any more." He told them. The group entered the maze, making their way through slowly till a rumbling caused them to stop and try to keep their balance.
"NOW WHAT?!?!" Canard exclaimed as the ground beneath him dipped.
"Feels like an earth quake!" Tanya called to them.
"I think it's worse than that Tauny!" Nosedive called, then cried out as he was slammed to the ground.
"The walls are comin' out of the floor!" Duke cried out. Then he yelped as he was tossed backwards into a wall, only to go *through* it.
"DUKE!!" Mallory cried. She yelped as a wall came up between her and Nosedive, Nosedive grabbing her hands to try and pull her over to him, only to lose his grip as the wall climbed higher to the ceiling.
"MALLORY!!" he cried, then turned as he heard his brother calling for him, Grin and Tanya crying out as they tried to stay together and not succeeding anymore than he had with Mallory. "WING?" he yelled as the rumbling grew even louder, the walls and floor changing.
"DIVE!" he heard his brother cry, then silence fell as the rumbling ceased. Nosedive looked around, panicked. He was alone.
"WING!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Nosedive!!" the call was muffled, but it wasn't Wildwing. It was Canard, and Nosedive went to the sound of the tan mallards voice. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Nosedive yelled back.
"We're all fine!" Mallory's muffled voice came.
"Speak for yourself!" Duke coughed.
"Grin? Tanya?" came Wildwing's voice.
"Wing!" Nosedive cried, relief washing over him.
"I'm okay!" Tanya coughed.
"Fine!" came Grin's voice. Their voices were all muffled from the concrete walls, but they were there and alive.
"I'm in a dead end." Came Canard's voice.
"Me too!" Nosedive called back. Muffled replies voiced the same.
"Looks like we'll be splitting up either way." Wildwing called back. "And the mask is distorted, I can't get any images. Nosedive, can you tell where I am?" he asked. Nosedive took a deep breath, calming himself and quickly praying for help. He closed his eyes, then nodded.
"Yeah. I can see the whole maze too!" he exclaimed.
"Good!" Wildwing exclaimed. "Can you sense the others?"
"Can you?"
"Yes, but I want to make sure you can too. I know Tanya's to my right, I'm going to try and get to her first since she seems to be the closest." Wildwing called back. Nosedive nodded slowly, trying to find the others.
"Canard's closer to me." He called. "Mallory, Duke's just on the other side of you, Grin's the furthest apart from all of us." He told them.
"I'll be fine." Grin called to them.
"Well, what should we do?" Mallory asked, fear coming through in her voice.
"Try to get back together." Wildwing called. "Tanya, I'm going to…" he cut off with a cry of pain, causing Nosedive to start.
"WING!" he cried fearfully.
"CRAP! GET MOVING!" there was the muffled sound of a scuffle, then a thud.
"WILDWING!" Canard cried out. Nosedive immediately took off through the maze.
"GET MOVING! THE SAURIANS ARE IN THE MAZE!!" came Wildwing's warning cry, then silence. Nosedive ran as fast as his legs could carry him, feeling his brothers 'call'. Then he saw silver and knew nothing more.
O.O
"WILDWING! NOSEDIVE!" Canard cried out, hearing the sounds of Wildwing fighting and the sounds of Nosedive running.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Mallory cried.
"YOU HEARD THE DUCK! GET MOVING MALLORY!" came Duke's voice.
"WE HAVE TO FIND WILDWING AND HELP HIM!" Tanya called. Canard looked around, turning full circle and cursing. There were three paths for him to take and he wasn't sure which way to go. He frowned and started down the one on his left. Hopefully it would lead him to someone…
O.O
Grin frowned as he continued down the path he'd chosen. He could no longer hear the sounds of Wildwing's fight, and it was beginning to bother him. He took a deep breath as he came around a turn, his frown deepening as he found himself in another dead end.
"Great." He rumbled, his shoulders slumping. He turned and started with surprise. Before him now stood a group of Hunter Drones. "This is not my day." He muttered before leaping aside to avoid laser fire, then jumping into battle with a loud cry and fists flying.
O.O
Duke cursed as he turned another corner, only to find himself at a three-way fork. He stopped for a moment, looking around with his throat tight in indecision. Finally he made up his mind and took a deep breath, raising his hands to his beak.
"MALLORY!" he yelled. He waited a few moments, then…
"DUKE! WHERE ARE YOU?" the sound of her voice made him sigh with relief.
"OVER HERE!" he called back to her. After a moment of waiting in painful silence he heard the sound of running feet. Mallory then appeared at the opening of one of the hallways, a look of relief on her face.
"Duke!" she cried happily, running over and throwing her arms around him. They hugged for a moment, then stepped back with a sigh and a nod as they got back to business. "So… which way?" she asked. Duke smirked.
"Well, we can flip a coin for that one." He said, looking at the two hallways before them. "I came out of the one behind me." He told her. Mallory nodded then sighed.
"This place is freaking me out." She admitted softly. Duke nodded in agreement.
"I hear ya." He muttered gruffly. "So, left or right?" he asked. The sound of a painful cry made them look up to their left and their minds were made up.
"Left." They said as one before they took off quickly.
O.O
"Not good, this is not good…" Tanya muttered as she made her way through the maze. Her instincts told her that she was moving further away from her teammates, and it nearly brought tears to her eyes. At the moment she was fighting the urge to sit down and just cry. The team needed her. Wildwing needed her. And she wouldn't fail them. She turned a corner and sighed unhappily. A dead-end. "This is *not* my day." She muttered. She turned and headed back the way she came, only to run into something leathery that made her fall onto her backside. She looked up and gasped in surprise and fear. Siege grinned down at her.
"Hello ducky. You're the first one I've met! Lucky you…" he purred as he stepped forward. Tanya pushed herself back and away, standing and turning to run. Quickly she realized that she had no where to go, and she turned. No, she wouldn't give into her fear. Not this time. Maybe she didn't have the fighting skills of her fellow teammates but she was pretty darn good, and she wasn't going to run anymore. She got in a fighting stance and glared at Siege as he laughed at her.
'Great King, help me.' She prayed fervently. Then Siege attacked.
o.o
"HOLY ****!" were the first words out of his mouth when he found the path he'd chosen was blocked by more than a couple dozen Hunter Drones. Canard flipped backwards as the machines began firing at him and starting forward. A laser hit him in his left arm and he cried out in pain. "Man… why does everything have to happen to my left arm?" he hissed as he drew his puck launcher and began firing. He took down maybe eight or nine, getting hit and barely missing many shots, before he realized that he was going to need help if he was going to get out of this alive. Another shot from a Hunter drone hit him and he cried out painfully as a searing pain ran through his chest. Black haze lapped at the corners of his vision as he crumbled down against a wall when he heard two battle cries and an angry yell that could only be Grin. The other two he couldn't place. The sound of metal ripping through metal reached his ears as did the sound of someone using exploding pucks. A dark feathered mallard leaned over him as darkness began to over come him.
"Canard, are you alright kid?" came a voice thick with a Bronx accent. A groan was all he could manage before he finally passed out.
O.O
After warning his teammates, Wildwing had lost any communications he'd had with his teammates as he faced Dragaunus and tried to stay alive. Dragaunus was livid, his eyes wide and lit with what could only be called insanity as he lashed out with claws as sharp as daggers, Wildwing dodging the swipes and throwing blasts when he could, which wasn't often. Hatred fueled Dragaunus' attacks. Insanity helped, as did the powers the Enemy had given him. Maybe that was what had driven the saurian over the edge, but Wildwing couldn't tell. He couldn't even ponder the fact as he and Dragaunus fought, the fighting almost looking like a sickening dance to any onlooker.
'Nosedive… I need you!' Wildwing thought frantically. He gave a startled cry as he ran into a wall and then realized that Dragaunus had worked him into a corner. With determination setting in, Wildwing fired a blast of his power at Dragaunus. The next attack happened too quickly to be realized until *after* it had happened. Dragaunus dodged the blast, then with his scaled hand open, he racked his claws over Wildwing's unprotected midsection, the other hand swiping the side of Wildwing's face. Wildwing cried out, his hands immediately going to his stomach wound as he blinked. The wounds on his face were pretty deep, even going through the mask, but he could still see out of both eyes fortunately. For a second he nearly laughed. If he got out of this alive, at least he wouldn't have to wear an eye patch like Duke…
A chuckle from Dragaunus got his wavering attention as he slid down to the floor, weakness overcoming him due to pain.
"And so it ends." Dragaunus purred, standing over his enemy with his hands at his side. His expression changed from pleased to disgusted and he kicked Wildwing in his already wounded stomach, causing the mallard to cry out painfully. "This was all too easy." He growled. "You disappoint me… DuCaine…" he spat the last word and then went for the kill.
…
Nosedive stopped running, the silver leaving his vision and clarity coming to his mind. Determination was set on his face as he felt his brother's present danger. Remembering his father's words, he left it all to the Great King, then turned. This wall was all that separated him from his brother, and since there was no way over or around it, he'd just have to go through. Spreading his legs he steadied himself before raising his right arm and firing.
…
Dragaunus stopped where he was, looking to his left, startled. With one hand he held Wildwing by the neck, inches above the ground. The other hand was balled into a fist, glowing with dark flames tinged with gold. What was happening? He stared at the wall as it shook violently, dust flying from it. All around there came a pained scream of servants to the Great Dragon. His enemy/meal forgotten, he stared at the wall in startled confusion, Wildwing squinting at the wall as well as he tried to loosen the grip Dragaunus had around his neck.
…
The wall shuddered but did not give in. Nosedive merely fired again, ignoring the wails of demons as he did so. He was aware of the Darkness closing in on him but he paid it no heed. His job was to get to his brother. The Great King would take care of the Darkness, he had nothing to fear. The wall shuddered again as he fired, the Darkness surrounding him, then flying back as the flames that surrounded Nosedive suddenly lashed out with a bright Light that seemed to engulf the blonde duck at the center and make him disappear. The screams turned from painful to fearful and suddenly the Darkness was fleeing. Not from Nosedive, but from the Light. Nosedive merely fired and smirked as the wall came tumbling.
…
"Nosedive…" Wildwing hissed hoarsely as the screams turned fearful and then died out completely. Dragaunus was shaking with rage.
"NO!" he yelled as the wall fell. He dropped Wildwing and backed away as Nosedive calmly walked over the crumbling stones which quickly turned to dust and disappeared, for the walls were merely things of the Darkness and the Darkness held no power over the Light. Dragaunus backed away from the young duck, then smirked evilly. "Fine then…" he growled. "You want your brother? You can have him… for as long as he lives." He purred. "I have his scent. I will give you time to try and get to the center of my maze… but only a little. And then I shall hunt you down!" He growled, before turning and fleeing into the darkness. Nosedive would have gone after him had not his brother been injured. Instead the flames dancing off his body died and he ran to his brother, kneeling beside the white mallard. His hands hovered over Wildwing, unsure of what to do as he looked over his brother painfully, tears coming to his eyes.
"Wing…" he croaked. Wildwing merely grunted in reply, then smiled, his breaths coming in quick short gasps.
"Good… job on… the wall…" he managed. Nosedive shushed him, fighting back tears.
"Y-you…" Nosedive whispered. He shook his head and gave his brother a weak, wet smile. "You're gonna be alright bro." He claimed softly. Wildwing snickered, then grunted.
"Help me up…" he hissed. "We've got to… get out of… here…" Nosedive didn't know what to do, yet did as he was told, his heart nearly beating out of his chest as he helped his brother stand. Was this a good idea? He wasn't sure, but he knew that neither of them were going to die without a fight. Dragaunus was going to regret this day. With their faces set, and stubbornness guiding them, the two limped down the now lit passage before them. They had to find the others, and then the center of the maze.
o.o
Tanya cried out as Siege slashed her in the back with his new dagger, the large burly saurian laughing gleefully as she turned her back away from him and held her pucklauncher in front of her, her hands shaking with fright.
"This is too much fun." The saurian laughed. "There's no way out for you duck. Prepare to be flambeid!" With that he held out a hand and blasted her back with his new power, golden flames dancing across his body. Tanya cried out as she was slammed into the wall behind her, then groaned as she slid down to the ground. She was a mess, her right arm cut up badly, her left leg sliced as well and her hair in disarray. Her clothing was torn and she wished for some escape, pleading for help from the Great King. But none seemed to be coming. She looked up as Siege stomped over to her and she pulled the trigger. Nothing happened and she let her arm fall. Looked like she would be the first to die.
A loud whistle caused Siege to stop and Tanya to look up, only to see Orian standing before them with a look of pure fury on his face.
"You sorry creature." The blue scaled guardian growled, his gold eyes livid with anger. "How dare you…" he hissed, Kazar stepping out from the darkness, Calivan lying on his back, his sword gone. He looked to be unconscious, his left arm tucked underneath him as blood trickled down Kazar's side. Apparently it came from the green scaled guardian. Kazar had his helping of wounds as well, yet they didn't seem to bother him as his muscles were taunt, his teeth bared as he growled at the saurian. His teeth were blackened, almost as if he'd been eating tar. Something inside told Tanya otherwise.
Here is your help my beloved child. Tanya gasped at the warm words washing through her, nearly bringing tears to her eyes as she watched Siege face Orian and Kazar laughingly. Be not afraid, for I am with you always. Peace be with you. the calm that came to her, cleared her mind and she took a deep breath as the feeling of warmth stayed with her. She was safe now.
Siege on the other hand, was a whole 'nother story. Orian attacked with a battle cry that bounced off the walls, his sword drawn and raised as he came down upon the large saurian. Siege's eyes were wide with surprise and he merely dodged, not really knowing what else to do. He wasn't supposed to be dealing with this creature! The Great Dragon was to have defeated him and his friend long ago! What was he still doing here? Orian turned as Kazar let out a roar to be proud of, shaking the area to its foundation and causing Siege to fall over backwards in fright.
"Take Calivan." The dragon purred, Orian looking at him oddly. "I want to be the one to take out Siege. Wildwing's going to get Dragaunus so why can't I have a little fun?" he asked, a dangerous look in his eyes. Orian nodded, calming and hurrying over as Siege stared at them wide-eyed and unsure of what to do. He wasn't supposed to have to deal with these creatures! Orian pulled Calivan off Kazar's back, then carried his friend over to Tanya, the green scaled guardian waking up when he was set down next to the blonde duck in time to see Kazar pounce on Siege. The large saurian cried out in fear as he was beat around, almost like Kazar was a cat playing with a mouse.
"Wha… What's goin' on?" Calivan asked drowsily, Tanya immediately taking a look at the wound on his side. Orian kneeled next to his friend worriedly.
"Kazar's dealing with Siege. Are you alright?" he asked. Calivan merely closed his eyes, his head falling to the side as he slipped into unconsciousness once more.
"Oh stars…" Tanya gasped, staring at the guardians wound. "This is really deep." Orian nodded.
"Yeah. The Enemies little creatures managed to… get the best of us for a moment or two." He muttered softly. "He lost his sword, and then took that wound for me." He explained. "I guess I wasn't paying enough attention." He sighed and shook his head. "It's healing though, which is good. It was a lot deeper."
"What?!" Tanya asked in surprise, looking over at the blue scaled guardian in surprise. He merely grinned at her weakly.
"Work of the Great King Himself." He told her. Then he winced at the scream of pain coming from Siege and the deep guttural growl from Kazar. "Man am I glad I'm on Kazar's side…" he muttered. Tanya could only nod in agreement.
O.O
"I think now would be one of those times when you sing some cheesy little song and get everyone to look at you like you're crazy." Duke stated as he, Mallory and Grin continued through the maze, Grin carrying an unconscious Canard. Mallory merely rolled her eyes.
"Can we look at you like you've lost your mind anyway?" she asked Duke. He merely snickered and grinned at her, causing her to shake her head and look behind them. "Well, all's well in the rear." She informed them.
"Good. I'm hoping that we'll meet up with someone soon." Duke stated.
"As long as it isn't saurian you mean." Grin rumbled calmly.
"Amen to that." Mallory muttered, patting her puck launcher to insure that it was still there. "I don't have that many pucks left." She admitted to them.
"Yeah, and it'd be loads of fun trying to protect Canard." Duke said sarcastically. He looked over at Grin. "How's he doin' there big guy?" he asked. Grin shook his head.
"I can't tell. This is Tanya's area of expertise." He told them.
"Well, let's hope that the next person we meet is Tanya then." Duke muttered. A gasp made him look up, then start in surprise as Mallory ran forward to Nosedive, carrying a bloody Wildwing. "WILDWING!" was his cry as he ran forward, Grin following. Nosedive helped his brother sit down in enough time to turn and take Mallory in his arms.
"Are you two okay?" she asked as Duke kneeled next to his team leader.
"Wing's hurt pretty bad, but…" Nosedive couldn't finish and he shook his head, then looked at Grin. "You guys okay? What happened to Canard?"
"Hunter drones. And a lot of them." Duke answered. He shook his head then looked at Wildwing worriedly. "Wing? You still with us?" he asked. Wildwing nodded slowly, then shook his head.
"The mask… get it… off…" he muttered wearily. Duke nodded and reached up, taking the mask off of his leaders face and then holding it while running his fingers over the gashes in it that were sparking.
"Stars Wing. What did this to you?" he asked softly.
"Dragaunus." Nosedive answered bitterly. "I… I tried to heal him, like he did me when we were at the beach a while back remember? But I couldn't… it's like the wounds are too deep… or something… I dunno!" He fell to his knees by his brother, Mallory kneeling beside him and wrapping her arms around him in comfort. "Wildwing don't you dare die on me bro." He hissed, fighting back tears.
"I won't…" was Wildwing's soft reply. His eyes were closed, his hands on his stomach wound. "And… it's not… that deep…" he muttered, lifting a bloody hand and smearing it on the wall.
"What are you doing?!" Duke asked, his eye widening.
"Wing! Are you crazy!? Dragaunus is hunting us, remember!" Nosedive exclaimed, grabbing his brothers wrist. "You're making it easy for him!"
"What do you mean he's hunting you?" Mallory asked, sitting back from the blonde teen.
"Dragaunus left when I reached Wing." Nosedive told them. "He said he'd give us a few minutes to try and find the center of the maze before he came after us."
"Dive… I have a… a plan…" Wildwing hissed in pain as he tried to sit up, Duke helping him. "Help me… out bro…"
"I'm going to regret this aren't I?" Nosedive asked unhappily.
"Wildwing, what's this plan of yours?" Duke asked darkly. Wildwing actually opened his eyes to show that they were glowing silver, then lifted a bloodied hand.
"Smear it… on the walls… It will… throw him off…"
"Wildwing…" Grin stared at his team captain worriedly. "You'll die…"
"Do it." Was the hissed reply. Nosedive looked at his teammates and then his brother before he sighed dejectedly.
"I'll do it bro." He muttered softly, taking his brothers hand in his. Then he stood, and with tears in his eyes he moved down the hallway forcibly, his body shaking. Wildwing watched him for a moment before closing his eyes.
"Wildwing?" Duke asked worriedly. Wildwing looked at him quietly, the silver in his eyes unnerving the older mallard.
"We better… hurry. Dragaunus… is coming…"
"Then let's get you up so that we can move as soon as Nosedive gets back." Duke said, reaching over and starting to lift Wildwing up, Mallory helping him with tears in her eyes. Grin shook his head and looked down the hall to see Nosedive on his knees by a wall, his head bowed as his back shook. This was killing him… more than he dared to realize.
o.o
With one final toss, Siege was sent to Dimensional Limbo by Kazar and Orian. The large burly saurian was unconscious and from the looks of him, he would be for several days. Now Kazar turned and looked at Tanya as she kneeled by Calivan.
"Are you alright?" he asked her. She looked up at him and smiled as she nodded.
"Yes, thanks to you guys. You saved my tail feathers." She told them. Orian merely nodded as he came over and lifted up his friend.
"Anytime Tanya." He said quietly. "Now, we'd better get moving and find the others. I have a gut feeling that there's something wrong." He explained as Kazar kneeled to allow the three onto his back.
"We're trapped in a maze from the Abyss. What do you mean you 'feel' something's wrong?" Kazar asked in exasperation.
"Let's just find the DuCaine's." Orian growled tightly. "I have the knawing feeling that they need our help." Kazar nodded and stood after Tanya had climbed on and wrapped her arms around Orian's waist to steady herself. She bit back a cry of fear as Kazar took off at a full gallop, and prayed that Wildwing and the others were alright.
O.O
There were too many twists and turns to count and he was tiring. Canard had woken up long ago and was now helping him walk while Nosedive did whatever he asked him to do, albeit unhappily. Every now and then everything would start spinning, and then suddenly right itself as if it knew spinning would make him sick. He could sense that Tanya was safe and on her way to them, in fact she and the guardians weren't too far off. Dragaunus on the other hand, was busy trying to find them. Wildwing had to smirk. With his scent everywhere in this stupid maze, Dragaunus would be running around crazy for hours.
With a sigh he tried to focus in on the humans, try to find them in order to get to them, and found that he wasn't able to concentrate any longer. He shook his head and looked over at his brother.
Dive… Nosedive looked at him and he smiled wearily. Find the humans… he wanted to say more but weariness was taking over and causing his thoughts to drift. There were hundreds of things he should have done before they came on this mission, things he shouldn't have put off for as long as he had. Tanya…
Bro. the clear voice ripped through the thoughts and he blinked and looked to see Nosedive taking off the top part of his armor. When had they stopped walking? Nosedive took off his teal shirt and ripped it, wrapping a part of it around Wildwing's midsection. We're not far from the center. Just stay with me, everything's going to be all right. Nosedive said calmly, lovingly. Seems their places had been reversed. For years, Wildwing had been the one to tend to Nosedive, keep him calm, and now Nosedive was doing it for him. With a smile and a nod he allowed Nosedive to put an arm around him and start forward again, Grin, Duke and Mallory keeping with them.
"How far to the center?" Duke asked. Hadn't Nosedive just said something about that?
"Not far. Just a few more turns." Nosedive answered.
"I hope Tanya's doing alright." Mallory muttered, rubbing her arms uncomfortably.
"She's fine. Kazar and the guardians are with her. We should meet up with them before too long." Nosedive said, then grunted as he tried to keep Wildwing upright.
"Wildwing… stay with us!" Canard said, his voice worried. Wildwing merely nodded slowly and tried to help get his own legs beneath him. He wasn't successful and finally dragged Nosedive and Canard down as his strength gave out. They both cried out in alarm, Duke, Mallory and Grin running over in worry.
"Wildwing!" was the cry of alarm from the group. A thudding noise made them look up to see Kazar coming around the bend, a startled look on his face as Tanya leapt off his back and ran to them.
"Tanya!" Nosedive cried in relief.
"What happened?" Tanya asked as she hurried to them, kneeling by Wildwing's side as he blinked at her dully, his eyes glowing a dull silver. The glow was starting to fade, and Nosedive was beginning to pale.
"Wing…" he moaned, putting his hands on his brothers shoulders, pleading for his older brother to stay with him.
"Dragaunus did this to him." Duke said darkly, then explaining quickly what Nosedive had told them when they'd first met back up.
"Oh stars…" Tanya muttered. She shook her head and held Wildwing's head in her lap as he looked at the group wearily. He then looked at her and smiled softly.
"Tanya…" he whispered. Tears came to her eyes and she smiled down at him lovingly.
"Don't die on me." she whispered softly. He nodded, closing his eyes.
"I won't…" he muttered. Then he sighed and lay still. Nosedive stiffened as time seemed to stop for the team. Tanya started crying, her vocal cords not seeming to want to work as Nosedive started to shake.
"Wing?" he croaked weakly, tears in his eyes. His hands were still on his brothers shoulders. The silence was deafening, Kazar moaning unhappily.
"Oh stars…" Canard's voice was cracking, as he sat back and fought tears. Mallory and Grin both put a hand on Nosedive's shoulders, Duke bowing his head and closing his eyes. They were startled out of their mourning when Nosedive suddenly released his brother and stood, his eyes glowing silver brightly, the flames dancing off his body.
"Kazar." He called strongly, his voice unwavering and startling the group into looking up at him. "I need you to carry Wildwing. We have got to get to the center of this maze now." he ordered.
"Nosedive…" Duke started as Nosedive looked at him, then he shook his head. "Wildwing… he just…"
"He wanted to get to the center, we have to go. There are still people in this maze besides us. We have to get them out of here!" he looked at Tanya and nodded at her. "Wing will be alright." He promised softly. The team looked at each other, then up at Nosedive, startled. Had he lost his mind? Wildwing was… No, they couldn't think about it…
Mallory was the first to stand, her puck launcher in hand.
"Then let's go." She told him heatedly. "It's payback time." She exclaimed. Nosedive nodded at her, then looked at the others.
"Well?" he asked. "Are you going to wait for Dragaunus to come find us or give him a big surprise at the center?" Tanya nodded at him, her eyes dark with anger as she held Wildwing's unmoving form.
"Dragaunus is going to regret this." She promised. Canard merely nodded, too angry to speak as Duke stood and drew his saber, the blade forming and glowing. Ready to be used at any moment. Grin merely balled his hands into fists, his eyes angry.
"My inner peace has been tossed out the window. The saurian shall regret the pain we have suffered today." He promised darkly. Nosedive nodded, then looked over at Kazar and Orian, the blue scaled guardian climbing off of the dragons back and walking over.
"I'll take Wildwing." Orian said softly. Then he kneeled and lifted Wildwing into his arms, then walked back to Kazar, placing the limp form on the dragons back. It was at this time that Calivan came to for a second time.
"Wing?" he muttered wearily, blinking drowsily as Orian sat behind him, holding onto Wildwing tightly. When Calivan turned to him, Orian shook his head sadly. Calivan then turned and looked at Nosedive, then teen regarding him calmly as the flames danced off of his body. The green scaled guardian said nothing for a moment, then rubbed his face as if he'd been asleep, and leapt off Kazar's back, shiny pale green scales covering the place on his midsection where he'd been wounded before as it had now healed.
"What's the plan DuCaine?" he asked calmly.
"We're going to the center." Nosedive answered. "We have to get the humans out of here."
"What about Dragaunus?" Calivan asked. Nosedive smirked.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him right now. I'd say he's a little busy chasing his own tail at the moment." Calivan blinked at him, then watched as Nosedive walked past him saying something about the center of the maze. Calivan watched as Nosedive's teammates followed him, then grabbed Canard's arm before he could pass him by.
"Something isn't right." He whispered harshly. "What happened to Wildwing?" Canard looked at him for a moment, then looked down.
"Dragaunus. Wildwing's… he's gone Calivan." He said quietly, painfully. Calivan stared at him, then stepped back, shaking his head.
"No. That's not possible." He whispered hoarsely.
"He is Calivan." Orian said softly as Kazar stepped up, tears brimming in his large black eyes. "Nosedive is now the only DuCaine left."
"But… it cannot be!" Calivan stressed. He turned to his fellow guardian, his purple eyes wide.
"Calivan…" Canard started in exasperation, only to be interrupted.
"Wildwing cannot be dead!" Calivan exclaimed. "Nosedive is showing power! How can that be if Wildwing is no longer with us?" he asked. Silence reigned between the four.
"But…" Orian started. He looked down at the form in his arms, then at Calivan. "The breath of Life is no longer with him." He whispered.
"HEY! COME ON!!" Duke called from down the path, as he was standing at a curve. Canard looked at the guardians, then shook his head.
"Come on. We don't have much time. Maybe the power will just stay with him till this is over with." He guessed. Kazar nodded and followed the tan mallard as he hurried after his teammates. Calivan followed in disbelief, Orian merely placing a hand on Wildwing's neck, then looking over at his fellow guardian. The two shared a look for a moment, then nodded. There was more to this than met the eye.
O.O
The oldest human of the group was busy trying to pick the lock on his shackles, as the child sniffled in fear. Her face had a long scratch going down from her left eye to her chin from when Siege had attacked her home and captured her. The blood had stopped flowing long ago and now she was merely wanting to go home. The German boy beside her was still trying to comfort her, promising that she would be free soon. He was the only reason she wasn't crying aloud now, her large gray eyes staring up at the teen hopefully as he spoke.
He grunted as his wrists reminded him that they were raw, and he stopped trying. Allowing himself to go limp, he looked at the young woman next to him.
"So." He said, his voice thick with a British accent. "What's your name?" he asked. She looked at him in surprise, then sighed and shook her head.
"Taniya. You?" she asked.
"William, but you can call me Bill. How'd these things get you?" She shook her head, her curly black hair falling into her brown face as her onyx colored eyes closed.
"I was just walking out of my house when the fat one grabbed me, and suddenly we were here." She told him. She looked down at her jogging clothing and then up at Bill sheepishly. "I know it looks like I was going running, but actually I was going to work."
"Work?" he asked, surprised. "Where do you work?"
"I'm a gym teacher at a high school. I get to dress out everyday. It's actually really nice and the kids are great." She told him. "What about you?" she asked him, referring to the jeans and T-shirt he wore.
"I was just lounging in my backyard, watching my ten-year old son and his six-year old sister play." He looked away with a frown, staring at the screen and not seeing it. "I hope they're all right." He muttered.
"I'm sure they are. They still have their mother don't they?"
"She died of Cancer, three months ago."
"I'm sorry." Was the quiet reply. The two stayed in silence for a moment till Bill looked over at the other two captives.
"What about you two?" he asked, gaining their attention. "What's your names?" The German boy smiled at them, a spark in his green eyes that told them he wasn't one to give up easily.
"Robert" he told them. He looked down at the little girl as she sniffled loudly and looked at Bill with tears.
"Elizabeth." She said, the Australian accent coming out. "I wanna go home!" she cried, nearly wailed.
"We'll all be going home soon Beth." Bill told her, shortening her name. "I promise."
"Yeah, I bet the Mighty Ducks are on their way here right now." Taniya told her, smiling comfortingly.
"Why are those beasts after these ducks anyway? Where did they all come from?" Bill asked her. Taniya shook her head with a shrug.
"Don't know why." She admitted. "The ducks actually play hockey in Anaheim. My husband always roots for them. We do know that they're from another planet. Apparently they came here to stop some enemy of theirs from taking over everything." She explained.
"Well, they're not doing a very good job." Bill muttered unhappily, once again trying to pick the lock on his shackles.
"They've been here for about three years." Robert said suddenly, gaining the twos attention. "I have a friend over the Internet who does nothing but talk about them during hockey season." He explained. "If they've been here for this long and no one's taken over the world yet, I'd say they're doing a pretty good job, don't you think?" he asked. Bill frowned, then sighed.
"Well, we're relying on them to get us out of here. Let's hope they win." He said gruffly, then quieting as he concentrated on his work, Taniya turning to help Robert comfort Beth. Silently he prayed for help, then froze as a noise came from the doorway. Silence reigned the room and the four looked at the opening to their room expectantly, rebellion showing in Robert's features. A moment later one of the ducks stepped into the doorway and looked around, then smiled. The humans just stared at him. He had blonde shoulder length hair, white flames dancing off his body as his eyes glowed silver. Several more of the ducks came up behind him, one with blonde hair and glasses sighing in relief.
"They're still alive." She said, pushing past the other blonde and hurrying over to them. A dark feathered duck with one eye hurried over to them, his saber shrinking to the hilt as he went to place it on his left arm. He smirked when he saw Bill and held up a lock pick of his own.
"Doin' pretty good. Need some help?" he asked with a wink. Bill smiled and nodded, relief running through him as the rest of the team hurried in, a large dragon coming in with one duck on his back while a blue scaled creature held him, a green scaled creature hurrying over to Beth and putting a hand on her wounded face. The shackles opened and Bill let his arms lower and began rubbing his wrists as the blonde female hovered over him.
"We'll have to get you some medical attention as soon as we're out of here." She told him.
"We can go home now?" Beth asked hopefully as Duke picked Taniya's lock and then headed for her, Robert nodding to something a large tan mallard had said to him.
"Yes little one. We'll get you home as quickly as possible." The green scaled creature told her comfortingly.
"What are you doing to her?" the red haired duck asked him as Duke moved on to Robert's shackles, the scaled creature lifting the child in his arms, one hand still on her face.
"Healing her." He said calmly.
"Calivan…" the blue scaled creature said in a warning tone. Calivan merely frowned, his purple eyes glowing brightly.
"There is nothing wrong with helping her Orian." He said calmly. "Besides, it's infected." His hand moved away as Beth lay her head on his shoulder, sleep coming over her suddenly as Robert and Taniya stared at him. Beth's face was completely healed.
"How…" Bill started.
"Thank the Great King." Calivan said, handing the child to Taniya. He looked over at the glowing duck in the doorway. "We must get them out of here now Nosedive." The duck nodded.
"I know." He said calmly. "But it's going to be kind of hard. I've been tracking Dragaunus. He knows we're here and he's coming."
"Oh great. Now what?" the red head exclaimed.
"Looks like we'll just have to be more careful Mallory." The tan duck explained. Nosedive looked at the one called Kazar.
"Orian, is there any way we can get them out of here?" he asked, the flames starting to die down.
"The only thing I can think of would be to take them to Dimensional Limbo, and then take them somewhere else." Orian answered.
"Yes but it could be dangerous." Calivan told him. "If it's your first time in Limbo, you'll get Dimensional sickness. The only one in your group that won't would be Canard." With that he nodded at the tan mallard.
"Dimensional Limbo? Dimensional sickness? What are you guys talking about?" Taniya asked.
"What if they were only there for a moment or two?" Canard asked.
"Yeah, how long does it take for this Dimensional sickness to kick in?" the one eyed duck asked.
"About five minutes or so." Calivan answered.
"Okay, so we just get there and then you open another portal and we get out. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me Duke." Nosedive told them. "You guys go on and get out of here."
"DUCAINE!!!!" the bellow caused everything around them to shake and the group looked up startled.
"Go! Get them out of here!" Nosedive exclaimed. Then the monster who called himself Dragaunus was in the doorway, black flames dancing off his body as he glared at Nosedive, smoke flaring from his nostrils.
"DuCaine…" he hissed. Then, his teeth bared and claws swiping, he attacked.
O.O
Nosedive nearly cried out as Dragaunus lunged at him, an insane look in the saurians eyes.
"Open a portal!" the teen cried as he ducked another swiped, then tried to take Dragaunus in the opposite direction of his teammates and the humans.
"It will pull everyone in! Including Dragaunus!" Orian warned.
"Not good!" Canard's voice cut through a bellow from Dragaunus, Nosedive turning and blasting the saurian right in the face and dodging an angry swipe.
"No! It is good! OPEN A PORTAL!!"
"But Dragaunus…" Calivan started. Nosedive ducked another swipe and glared at him, his eyes glowing silver angrily.
"That's an order!" he called. Calivan started, wonder written on his face as the tone of voice Nosedive was using. Slowly he nodded, then turned and faced a wall with his palm up. The wall began swirling, changing to show a world of color. Then the air began being sucked into this colorful realm as if someone had turned on a huge vacuum. With a cry, they were sucked in, Dragaunus screaming with rage.
"NO! I WON'T GO BACK! I WON'T!" he shouted, digging his claws into the floor. Nosedive watched him, his eyes flashing quickly as he too was dragged into the portal.
"I don't think so Dragaunus." He growled, sounding unmistakingly like his brother. "You're going back to where you came from." As he was pulled through the portal, he threw a blast at the saurian, catching Dragaunus in the back and making him scream as his clothes and scales were burned away. Caught off guard, the saurian released his hold on the ground and was dragged tumbling and cursing into Dimensional Limbo. Then the portal closed and the world was silent, till everything suddenly began wavering like a hologram on bad reception.
To the outside world it was strange. One minute they were staring at miles of wall that never seemed to end, and oppressing darkness. Now however, it was wavering in and out of focus, till a gust of wind blew through, causing it all to be blown away like mere sand. The old concentration camp, now museum, stood before them untouched. But there was no sign of the ducks, the saurians, or the hostages.
O.O
Swirling colors everywhere… it was dizzying. Nosedive shook his head and looked away from his surroundings and at Dragaunus, only to cry out as he was slammed and sent flying backwards. The large saurian laughed maniacally as Nosedive tried desperately to right himself, his teammates and the humans clinging to each other as Orian flew away quickly saying something about firm ground. Calivan was staring at Nosedive, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide as he clung to Duke and Kazar, keeping the group from getting separated. Canard was helping him.
"You little fool." Dragaunus purred as Nosedive shook his head to clear it. "I've grown up in this realm. You are now, once again, at a disadvantage!" he exclaimed, glowing with the dark flames tinged with gold. He drew back a hand, then fired at Nosedive. The teen dodged, then glared at Dragaunus as his eyes glowed silver brightly.
"You will be stopped Dragaunus!" he claimed, trying to keep the world from spinning. It was strange, this realm almost seemed chaotic, but then… there was just so much order to it… and the swirling colors were making him sick. Dragaunus laughed at him, coming closer with smoke flaring from his nostrils.
"And who will stop me? You?" he asked. Laughing he lifted his hand and slapped Nosedive, causing the teen to cry out as he was sent flying again. "You're pathetic! You stand no chance against me!"
"Haven't you tried that ploy before Dragaunus? It didn't work last time, it won't work now!" with a cry, Nosedive put his wrists together, his hands open, and fired a powerful blast at his enemy. Dragaunus dodged it and came up at Nosedive, his clawed hand open and going for the teen midsection. He cried out as something slammed into his side, knocking him off course. He cursed as he righted himself, Nosedive ending his blast and turning to the saurian angrily. Dragaunus' eyes widened in fear at the sight before him, feeling solid ground suddenly come beneath his feet. Nosedive was standing before him, a look of fury on his face. But that wasn't what frightened the evil dictator, for next to Nosedive stood…
"We will finish this now Dragaunus. Your people will never threaten our world or any other world ever again!" Wildwing was standing beside Nosedive, his eyes glowing silver with the power of DuCaine as he stood tall. The wounds he'd had before were now gone leaving only a couple of scars on his face that were now being covered with fresh feathering and ripped clothing over his stomach, which was also scared and being covered with fresh feathering. The brothers stood together, both of them covered with silver flames that danced across their bodies. For a moment the flames covered them both, together, and then with a flash of bright light the flames disconnected and the two were separated, flames covering them separately and not joining them together.
"Should we take him out now bro? Or save him for the guardians?" Nosedive asked almost coldly as Dragaunus began to rise. Wildwing glared at the saurian darkly and shook his head as his enemy stood and stared at him.
"This is impossible… You should be dead!" Dragaunus exclaimed.
"He's mine Nosedive. Thanks." Wildwing answered almost cryptically.
"No prob." Nosedive answered. Then he turned and walked away. "Have fun!" he called cheerfully over his shoulder. "I'm gonna' make sure no stray shots hit the others." He stated, his teammates staring at them both wide eyed. Wildwing merely nodded.
"Sounds good." He said darkly. Then he smirked at Dragaunus. "I believe you and I had a fight to finish?" he asked. Dragaunus looked at him for a moment till his face contorted with rage and he ran at the duck, fists flying. Wildwing either blocked the punches or dodged. A few hits hit their marks, but when they did Wildwing would turn and hit him with a flying kick, usually to the head. The two fought, Dragaunus trying to draw blood, Wildwing merely watching him calmly and coolly, taking in all of the saurians moves and then fighting back.
The others watched, shocked at what was happening as Nosedive stood before them, the flames on his body flaring out to cover them all as Orian came back and stood beside him.
"Thanks for the floor." Nosedive told him, watching the fight calmly.
"Thank the Great King." Orian told him as Calivan joined them. "Jasmine wanted me to inform you two that she doesn't think any of our cells will hold Dragaunus, but the technology his people held has already been taken care of. The Great King sent her out right before Siege was sent so…" he shrugged and Nosedive merely nodded.
"That's good." He said. Then he looked away from the battle, Wildwing basically leap froging over Dragaunus and then turning and laughing as Dragaunus fell over. "Can we send everyone home now?" he asked.
"We can send the humans back to Germany, but we'd have to open a whole 'nother portal for you guys to go back to Anaheim." Calivan told him.
"We could go with them." Canard answered. "The Aerowing is in Germany, we still have to reclaim it."
"We're staying till this is over." Duke said suddenly. "In case Wildwing needs help. We're a team, we stick together." Nosedive looked back at his teammate and smiled in thanks as the others nodded in agreement, then looked at Calivan.
"Send the humans home Cal." He said softly. Calivan nodded then walked over to the four humans with a smile.
"All right folks. Show's over. Let's get you back to Earth." He said cheerfully.
"But… what's going to happen?" Robert asked worriedly. Calivan smiled comfortingly.
"Worry about that later okay? I want to get you out of here before you start getting sick." He informed them. "Come on." With that he directed them away, Elizabeth still in Taniya's arms and waving at the ducks as they were led away.
"BYE!!" she called loudly, hoping Wildwing would hear her. Then she quieted and looked around at the others humans as they left the scene. The ducks, Orian and Kazar watched as Wildwing fought, a blast from Dragaunus making it their way every now and then. Fortunately Nosedive managed to deflect them, watching his brother worriedly. The fight was beginning to slow down now, Dragaunus wearing out. Finally the saurian fell to his knees, unable to rise. Wildwing watched him quietly, Dragaunus' temper flaring.
"GREAT DRAGON!! YOU SAID I WOULD WIN! I DID EVERYTHING YOU ASKED!" the saurian bellowed, throwing his head back in rage. He started as everything around him shook, Wildwing even starting with surprise and putting his arms out in order to try and keep his balance.
Your Master has no power here saurian Dragaunus! the voice came from all around, and while it struck fear into Dragaunus, it caused the others to feel calm and in awe.
"Great King…" Orian muttered. He fell to his knees, the others doing the same, as did Kazar, for they were in the presence of the Creator. A pillar of perfect white light exploded everywhere, nearly blinding them and causing them to cover their faces. The Light then began to cover them, sending both comfort and… shame. As the others looked up, Duke hid his face, Canard staring down at the ground, and Nosedive and Wildwing looking completely at peace as they sat up with their eyes closed.
My precious children. I am proud of you, for you have done well.
No words could be formed from the two and they stayed where they were, opening their eyes and looking up, smiling with tears in their eyes. The Light then moved away from them, surrounding Dragaunus.
You shall be punished for what you have done Dragaunus. the saurian was cowering fearfully, wanting to get away and pleading for his master to rescue him. But no rescue was to come. Death is your penalty. Your 'power' is stripped of you. The light left him and he looked up, sobbing and nearly screaming when he realized that Wildwing was standing above him, glaring down at him. Only this time he was not covered with silver flames. His eyes and the flames were pure white and staring down at him angrily.
"We finish this now Dragaunus." He growled. Then he pointed his hand at the saurian, palm up, and the last thing Dragaunus saw was pure light that blinded him and he screamed as he was sent to oblivion.
…
Duke. Why do you hide yourself from me?
Duke shook his head, finding the question ridicules, but looked up and was startled to find that he was alone.
You're not alone. We're just talking privately. Why were you hiding? Come, follow me.
Again Duke shook his head.
"I can't." he choked on his words, then held his head in his hands as he shook violently, refusing to let the tears fall. "LEAVE ME! I CAN'T!" He opened his eyes and found himself back with the others, Wildwing and Nosedive walking over to him.
"Duke?" Nosedive asked softly as the others watched them, wiping their faces. He shook his head, mentally creating a box around himself to keep them all out. He grunted as suddenly he was embraced, and he found himself in the arms of Wildwing and Nosedive, the two hugging him tightly.
"Don't push Him away." Wildwing whispered.
"I'm too tainted Wing." Duke answered gruffly. "Please, he wouldn't want me. Don't… please don't Wildwing." The brothers backed away from him, regarding him with silence, then nodded in respect of his wishes. There was nothing they could do right now, and pressing the matter wouldn't help.
"Is it all really over?" Mallory's voice gained attention and the two looked at her and smiled wearily.
"Yeah." Wildwing said, looking past them at the still swirling area behind them. "Dragaunus is gone now."
"Where's the Great King?" Kazar asked curiously, looking around.
"He's still here." Orian told him. "Just because you cannot see does not mean He doesn't exist." He explained. "It's time for you all to return to your world…" he paused as Calivan returned.
"Hey! Good job!" the green scaled guardian grinned. "I'm to return you to Earth, but first…" he looked at Nosedive and Wildwing, the grin disappearing. "The Great King wishes to see you both. Alone." Nosedive and Wildwing gave him an odd look, then gasped as they were engulfed in bright light and disappeared.
"Where'd they go?" Tanya cried worriedly.
"The Great King took them. He'll bring them back." Orian said calmly. "He's done this before. Don't worry." He then looked over at Calivan.
"Should we wait?" he asked. Calivan nodded.
"I was told that the two would be asleep when He returned them." He said quietly. The rest of the team shared a look as Kazar murred, ready to go home. For some reason, they weren't really worried…
O.O
Wildwing and Nosedive looked around, kneeling in the presence of the Great King. Together they looked at him questioningly.
"Why have you brought us here?" Wildwing asked.
Your power is no longer needed.
"Are you taking it back then?" Nosedive asked hopefully.
You are going to need a way home little one. there was a smile in the reply and Wildwing snickered at his brother, Nosedive growing sheepish. But you will not be able to do anything more than create a portal to go home. The rest of your power will lie dormant, for you will need it again in the future.
"What?! Why?" Wildwing asked unhappily. "Why can't you just take this from us?"
Because I have chosen you. Do not fear this power my child, for I have found you worthy. I will promise you this however. It ends with you. The two of you have power of your own and no longer share. However, this power you both now posses will NOT be passed to your children. After you, it will no longer be needed.
"That's a relief." Nosedive muttered. "Hey, quick question… is this going to put a damper on our social lives?" he asked with a grin. A chuckle was the only reply he got before weariness overcame him.
Sleep now. I am pleased with you both, my children. was the last thing they both heard before unconsciousness claimed them.
^-^
Phil was pacing in front of Drake One, Chameleon following him and mimicking him playfully. It was only when Phil turned and nearly ran into the child that he realized what the small saurian was doing. Smiling wearily, he bent down and lifted the child up into his arms.
"Hey squirt. Bored?" he asked. Chameleon nodded violently.
"When's Nosedive coming back? I wanna play!" Chameleon exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air and giggling. Phil gave a weak smile and tickled the child's sides, gaining a fit of giggles.
"I don't know kid. I really don't know." Phil answered softly. He looked up when the doors to the Ready Room opened, then grinned as Chameleon began squirming in his grasp to be let down. "BOOBELAS!!" he exclaimed happily, Chameleon cheering as Kazar walked in with a now waking Wildwing and Nosedive. The two looked worn, the rest of the team tired as well. "You guys okay?" Phil asked as he and Chameleon hurried over to them. "The press went crazy over the hostages appearing out of nowhere. I was worried!"
"That's a first." Duke teased weakly.
"We're fine Phil." Wildwing said, fighting a yawn and losing. "Just, really tired."
"And Dragaunus?"
"He's gone for good man." Nosedive grinned. Then he too yawned.
"Well… what happened?" Phil asked. "Nobody said anything, and the hostages were so ready to go home they refused to speak to the press." He explained.
"It's a long story Phil." Canard said. "If you'll sit down, those of us awake will tell you. Nosedive and Wildwing though…"
"We know, we know. We're going." Wildwing muttered as he and Nosedive climbed off of Kazar's back.
"Bed, here I come!" Nosedive said happily, Chameleon jumping up and down as he ran around the two's legs happily. When they reached down and tickled him he ran off with a squeal and clung to Kazar's front left leg, as Mallory was already headed down the stairs. She merely laughed at him softly, then turned suddenly.
"Hey, wait a second." She called, causing Wildwing and Nosedive to turn and look at her. "Wildwing, you were hurt pretty badly… how did you manage to heal so fast and fight? We thought you were dead!" she exclaimed.
"You were hurt?" Phil asked surprised.
"Not now Phil…" Canard growled softly, quieting the human.
"I wasn't dead. I was just… sleeping." Wildwing told her, almost sheepishly. Nosedive rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"He passed out." He told her, thumbing at his brother.
"You scared us!" Tanya exclaimed, almost angrily, looking hurt as she came over to the two. Wildwing looked at her apologetically.
"I was still with you all. Remember what Calivan and Orian told us about the older DuCaine using the younger?" he asked. "I worked through Nosedive, made him keep going. I was the one fighting Dragaunus the whole time till Orian had enough time to heal me." He explained. "Then I released Dive and…" he shrugged. "You guys saw the rest." Canard grinned.
"Smart move!" he stated. Nosedive shook his head.
"He could have given me a better warning." He muttered, starting to turn away. He stopped when Tanya grabbed Wildwing's arm and glared at him for a moment before kissing him full on the beak. Everyone stopped and stared with their jaws dropped, Mallory almost laughing and Duke grinning as they recovered. The two parted, Tanya turning red as Wildwing looked at her in surprise.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again." She muttered. He blinked at her for a moment, then smiled and hugged her, giving her a kiss back and gaining a loud whistle from his brother.
"I won't." he promised as they parted. Then, the two blushing beet red, Nosedive grabbed his brother and pulled him away.
"Come on lover boy. We have strict orders to go and crash in our rooms. *Sigh* What are you two going to be like on your wedding day?" The team heard him saying as he left. They didn't hear Wildwing's reaction, but Tanya's blush deepened and Mallory and Duke laughed as Chameleon ew'ed from his place behind Kazar's leg.
"Kissing's gross!" he exclaimed, his tongue hanging out in disgust. Tanya just shook her head.
"You'll think differently one day kid." Duke called as Tanya joined them in the living room.
"Nuh-uh!" was Chameleon's reply. Phil merely looked at his team and shook his head.
"Okay. You guys are telling me everything." He ordered. Canard nodded and the team sat down, Kazar laying down where he was and allowing Chameleon to climb all over him happily, glad that they were all finally home and safe.
Well… almost home anyways…
End?
Nope! To be continued in the sixth and final chapter…
***
Wow! This took a LONG time! I am so sorry! But writer's block is seriously evil! Hope you all enjoyed this, and guess what? It took Fanfic.net messing up for me to actually get the very end of this thing done! Sad, isn't it? Well, I promised I would finish this series, and I will. ^-^ I wouldn't lie to ya'll. I love ya too much. I hope none of you feel that I am trying to force my religion upon you, because I'm not. Sorry.
Anywho, the next chapter will be put up with this one. It's just, this thing is like, twenty-eight pages in doc. form. Probably double that in HTML. O.O *Gag!* Sorry, but I was NOT going to give you only five pages on this chapter. I felt it needed to be this long, especially since I've been working on it since like what, March? Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed this! Tootles till the next chapter!
***
The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. Kazar and the Guardians belong to me. I belong to the Great King. There, I think that's copyright enough. ^-^
