Ch.6
Wrapping it all up
(In a nice big bright pink bow ^-^)
He sighed, running his shaky hands through his hair for the fifth time in the past sixty seconds. His stomach was in knots, and a cold feeling was settling all around him. Odd, he'd always thought that this type of fear or nervousness should come when he was thinking about Dragaunus… not a girl.
"Wow Wing. I've never seen you so uptight about a game before." He looked up when he heard Duke's voice and saw the ex-thief standing in the doorway of his room. It had been two weeks since the battle with Dragaunus, and now they were preparing for the final game of the season.
"Duke…" he started, but the elder mallard chuckled and shook his head, walking in, the door closing behind him.
"Wildwing, you've got four hours before the game kid." Wildwing smirked, closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Kid. I thought you saved that title for Nosedive." He muttered, opening his eyes and looking up at Duke. Duke merely shrugged and sighed, moving and sitting down next to Wildwing.
"Well, you both have your moments." He stated. Wildwing snorted, turning a black velvet box over in his sweaty hands.
"Like you don't?" he asked. Duke grinned and shook his head again.
"Wildwing, don't worry about this." He said suddenly. "Just… do what we talked about, okay? Nosedive and I will be right there to help you, and I know Mallory will catch on real quick and help too… If Nosedive hasn't already told her." He muttered. Wildwing looked at him and shook his head.
"Nah. I made him swear not to and threatened his comic collection and his life if he said anything to anyone. Period." Duke about fell off the bed laughing, causing Wildwing to grin at him. After a moment, Duke calmed and took a deep breath. He quieted as he looked at the collage on Wildwing's wall, smiling at the few pictures that had made their way up there. Two of them were of Wildwing and Nosedive, two of the entire team, and about three were just of Wildwing and Tanya. Pictures of secret dates that no one but Duke and Nosedive really knew about.
"I guess the only thing you should really be worried about Wildwing would be, are you ready for this?" he asked, turning his head to look at the younger mallard. Wildwing quieted, looking down at the box, then up at the collage. Then he smiled, his look becoming almost wistful.
"Yeah." He said softly. Duke chuckled, causing Wildwing to look at him as he stood. "What?"
"You." Duke grinned at him, putting a hand on the white mallards shoulder. "Come on Wing. Let's get something to eat. If you're going to do this, you might as well do it at a winning game right?" Wildwing looked at him quietly for a moment, then frowned.
"I'm not sure I can."
"Am I gonna' have to get Nosedive in here to drag you out? Or…" Duke's eye lit up mischievously. "I could get Kazar to come and get you out of here." Wildwing shook his head and stood, pocketing the small box.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." He grinned, looking downward nervously.
"Better compose yourself good fearless leader. Or she's gonna' catch on." Duke warned. Wildwing nodded, and took a deep breath and stood tall, then started laughing, causing Duke to give him an odd look.
"I feel so stupid." Wildwing suddenly admitted. "It's like I'm ten-years-old again, about to ask some girl to go to some dance with me." He exclaimed. Duke grinned at him, chuckling again.
"You'll do fine. Now can we eat? Nosedive's about to pitch a fit." He stated. Wildwing gave him a surprised look.
"Dive?" he asked, the two of them finally starting out of the room and walking down the hall towards the kitchen. Duke nodded.
"Yeah. Your tension is flooding over into him and he can't eat. Mallory's been teasing him since he walked into the kitchen, shaking like a leaf." He explained. Wildwing blushed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh… sorry about that…" he muttered. "Guess we could blame it on it being the last game of the season, couldn't we?" he asked.
"We've been doing that… but she's enjoying it too much to leave him alone." Duke grinned. Wildwing snickered.
"Guess turnabouts fair play, right?" he asked, looking at the older mallard as he finally began to calm. Duke snickered.
"Does that mean we can toilet paper his room?" he asked. Wildwing laughed, then calmed.
"No." Duke's laughter was the only answer he got as they walked on, heading for the kitchen in the pursuit of food.
^-^
The last game of the season, and the opposing team wasn't making it easy for them. Tanya sighed as she skated behind the net, looking at Wildwing whose face was, as always, set in determination.
"Think there's any chance they'll give us a break?" she asked him as she skated past slowly, watching as Duke and Nosedive chased an opposing player who was heading for their net with the puck and a cocky grin on his face.
"We would be so lucky." Wildwing told her, concentrating on the players moves. "Get ready Tanya, you may be able to steal the puck from him." He told her. She nodded, and as the player neared them, she moved to hit the puck out from underneath. However, he predicted her move and shot it around her, and then past Wildwing. The white mallard looked ready to curse as the offending player cheered his goal, circling the net as Tanya rolled her eyes and shook her head unhappily. Duke cursed openly, Nosedive shaking his head angrily and moving over to his brother. They were now tied 4-4.
"Hey bro…" he started, then stopped when the human made a kissing motion at Tanya, winked at her and skated off laughing. The anger coming off Wildwing was overwhelming and he had to catch himself before he went after the human with his brother. Instead he was there to stop the older mallard and shake his head as Tanya made a disgusted face and Mallory rolled her eyes and skated over to the blonde.
"Bro." Nosedive tried again as Wildwing sighed, calming himself and began fishing the puck out of the net. "We're wearing out. Got any plans?" he asked. Wildwing looked at him, then shook his head.
"None. They've got the luxury of being able to switch out their players. We don't." he admitted as Canard and the others skated over. He sighed wearily. "I'm whooped too baby bro." He muttered, rubbing the part of his forehead that wasn't covered by the mask.
"Think we could just try what we used to back home?" Canard asked. Both Wildwing and Nosedive snorted.
"Yeah, and get kicked out of the league." Nosedive muttered.
"We're about to go home anyway, right?"
"No way Canard. Last time you sticked somebody, you about broke their leg." Wildwing told him darkly. "That and we don't give power plays. Got that?" he asked. Canard shrugged, then nodded.
"You're the team captain." He stated. Nosedive looked at him, then looked at Grin and grinned.
"Hey… I got an idea!" he exclaimed, causing everyone to look at him. His grin widened and he looked over at the opposing team who was cheering with their fans, their team scorer raising his arms in the air to get them to cheer louder, and putting on a show for both them and his ego. "That guy doesn't go anywhere near you and Grin Canard. If I can get the puck away from him and to you guys, maybe we'll have a better chance at winning this game." Canard snorted.
"Yeah right. Last quarter that goalie was reading me like a book. I can't get anything past him!"
"I cannot do so either." Grin added unhappily.
"I can." Mallory said with a wicked grin. "I think he's too busy getting it through his head that I'm a girl to remember that there's a puck." She told them. Nosedive's face darkened considerably and she laughed at him, punching him playfully in the arm. "Are you getting jealous?" she asked him. At this Nosedive turned red beneath his feathers and ducked his head. Wildwing shook his head, trying to hide a grin and failing.
"Then it's settled." He said. "Nosedive will pass the puck to Canard, Grin, you'll cover Canard as soon as he gets the puck and he'll pass it to Mallory when you two get close enough to the net." He nodded at them, determination setting in. "If this messes up, do everything you can to get the puck back, and I'll do everything I can to keep the puck out of the net… if they even get this far down." He added. Nosedive grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up.
"They won't big bro. Get ready to be bored." He said with a wink. Wildwing shook his head.
"Me? Bored? Never." He grinned. Duke grinned wickedly.
"Yeah. And we know why." He snickered, causing Wildwing to give him and look and Nosedive to laugh aloud. Canard shook his head, the others giving them odd looks.
"Go on, get out of here." Wildwing muttered, trying desperately to cling to his dignity. "We've got a game to win." He told them. The team nodded, then as one they threw their sticks into the air shouting together 'Ducks Rock!' With that they parted and got in place for the final play, Tanya looking up at the score board and sighing as she saw the time limit. If this worked, the only thing they'd have to do would be to hold off the opposing team from scoring again.
The puck was dropped and Nosedive quickly hit the puck to Duke, the dark feathered mallard taking off as Nosedive streaked away from the offending player and then checking another player into the boards so Canard could get into place. The teen then moved beside Duke and regained the puck, Canard and Grin moving up beside him as Tanya and Duke came to help Mallory get away from another player and get into place. The red head quickly skated near the offending goalie, and winked at him mischievously. He looked away from her, concentrating on Canard and Grin, ignoring her completely. He watched as Nosedive passed the puck to Canard, then yelp as he was tackled by another player and knocked down, the two falling into a heap. Canard and Grin skated onward, dodging the other players and then… hitting the puck to Mallory who hit the puck right past the goalie. He blinked at her, surprised as she grinned cheekily at him, waved, and skated away to cheer with her teammates and help Nosedive up. The blonde shook his head and stumbled a bit, but was all right after a moment and congratulated her with a smile and a pat on the back.
Wildwing sighed in relief and cheered on his teammates, then looked up at the scoreboard. For a moment, his mind left the game and he quickly shook his head. The moment would come, but right now he was in a game. Nothing else really mattered. Except maybe that they had two minutes left in the game… and a lot could happen in two minutes. They were now only ahead by one point, and he was determined to keep it that way. And by the way the opposing team was acting, they were determined to change it all and take the game into overtime if they had to. He frowned as a player skated by before heading to his spot, shooting a bird at him and he shook his head. What was that man thinking he would achieve by doing something so childish? He again shook his head and watched as his brother once again gained the puck. This time however, the rush for the puck had become violent and Nosedive was sticked before he made it even two feet. A whistle was blown by the ref and they were given a power play, Nosedive wincing as Canard helped him stand. His skates had cut his left leg, but he kept on, the opposing team gaining the puck and heading straight to Wildwing. Grin tried to cut them off, only to check a player a second after the puck had been passed from him. The head scorer was headed straight for him, ten seconds on the clock and Wildwing could see the sweat beading off the humans face and onto the ice. He was nervous and pressed for time. Not a good combination. Wildwing smirked and began watching the humans moves, moving instantly when the puck was shot. The time buzzer went off and Wildwing stood as the crowd went silent in apprehension. He opened his right glove and dropped the puck onto the ice, causing the entire dome to rumble with loud cheers and foghorns being blown. The opposing teams energy died as they realized they'd lost, his own teammates rushing up to him and hugging him as they cheered happily. Then they calmed and thrust their sticks in the air once more.
"DUCKS ROCK!!" the cheer was echoed around them as several die hard fans yelled it with them, Phil even leaping up and down and shouting it as well. The team then hugged each other, happy they'd won. Maybe they wouldn't get the Stanley Cup, due to circumstances beyond their control (unconsciousness), but they'd finished the season, and won the games they'd played… including the last game of the season.
Tanya wrapped her arms around him causing him to lift her up and spin her around, only to plant a kiss on her and cause hoots to come from the crowd and the team. Wildwing could care less. He was happy they'd won. When they released each other, Tanya turned and gave Mallory a high five, Wildwing pulling off his gloves and looking at Duke and Nosedive. Nosedive took the gloves from him, Duke grabbing Tanya by the arm and gaining a hug. He snickered as Wildwing pulled a small velvet box from somewhere on his person.
"Hey Tanya, look at this." Was all he said, turning her back to Wing, people in the stands quieting as Wildwing got down on one knee. Nosedive and Duke pushed the others back, Mallory grinning widely in pure joy when she realized what was happening as Tanya stared at Wildwing in shock. Everyone was watching them, Duke waving a ref over. The human grinned cheekily and held out a microphone. Wildwing gave Duke an odd look and the older mallard ginned. Nosedive gave an evil laugh and Wildwing rolled his eyes, then took hold of Tanya's hands, pulling off the gloves and tossing them on the ice as she stared at him with her jaw dropped.
"What are you doing?" she asked, startled. He smiled at her, and settled himself a little better on his knee and opened the box, showing her a diamond ring and shocking her into total silence.
"Tanya. Will you marry me?" he asked her, his voice echoing throughout the dome. Silence fell around them, a few shouts coming from the crowd, only to be silenced quickly. Tanya nearly laughed aloud, and shook her head, her eyes wide as she was at a loss for words. She looked upwards for a moment, then back at Wildwing and smiled brightly.
"Yes!" She managed to say, nodding. Again the hockey rink was shaken with a loud roar from the crowd of humans, Wildwing slipping the ring on her finger and then standing and kissing her.
"GO WING!!" Nosedive's shout was heard above the people… somehow. Canard was laughing aloud and clapping for his friend in almost disbelief. Mallory was cheering, throwing her arms around Nosedive, the two then jumping up and down just for the heck of it and laughing at themselves. Grin was standing to the side, cheering with the others as Duke looked at his watch almost comically, grinning when Tanya and Wildwing parted. Phil was going nuts, talking on his cell phone a mile a minute. As the cheers continued, Tanya hugged Wildwing, holding him close and moved closer to his ear.
"I'm going to kill you." She muttered through a forced grin, a blush rising from her neck. Wildwing chuckled.
"Gonna' have to catch me first." He told her cheerfully. She chuckled, rolling her eyes.
"Now I know where Nosedive gets it from." She muttered.
"He learned from the best." Wildwing told her with a wink. She would have said something to him indignantly, but he'd cut her off with another kiss that caused her to forget about everything else for the moment. This, was bliss.
^-^
Wildwing laughed as he dodged another couch pillow thrown in his direction and ran off with Tanya hot on his heels, a pillow in hand. Nosedive snickered as he watched them hurry off, Kazar shaking his large head.
"Now we know where you get it from Nosedive." The dragon purred. Nosedive looked at him and draped an arm around his large neck.
"I learned from the best." He gushed. Kazar shook his head, smiling. They were sitting in the living room, Kazar lying on the floor while Nosedive leaned on him and Chameleon slept in his folded large arms. Mallory was on the opposite side of Nosedive, leaning her head on the dragons flank as she slept. It was late at night after the game, the ducks finally wearing out from the celebration held in honor of both the winning game and Wildwing and Tanya's engagement. Kazar sighed, causing Mallory to awaken and Nosedive to lean his head sadly against Kazar's large head.
"Tomorrow, we part ways." Kazar rumbled softly. Nosedive said nothing for a moment as Mallory blinked dully, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach.
"We'll see each other again." Nosedive whispered. "We have to Kazar. You're my friend… and Chameleon's my 'little buddy'." He nuzzled the dragon affectionately. "I'm glad we got the chance to be friends though." He said softly. Kazar smiled, tears coming to his eyes too quickly to be fought off.
"I'm glad too Nosedive." He said quietly. "I have been truly blessed… to have been able to get to know you…" Nosedive tightened the strange hug he was giving the dragon, burying his head into Kazar's neck to keep his emotions in check. "Is there any way we can try to keep in touch?" he was grasping for straws, but he had to try. Nosedive shook his head.
"I don't know." He muttered wetly, honestly. He sniffled. "We can ask Wing." He quieted when he felt someone sit next to him and wrap their arms around him. From the feel of it, the person was Mallory.
"You can try." Was the whispered offer, proving that it was Mallory.
"Yes. We can try." Kazar whispered, turning and nuzzling the two ducks, his favorites of the group. "We can try."
^-^
Phil was silent as the new 'Anaheim Mighty Ducks' team members stood on the ice before him, the original Mighty Ducks team standing with him.
"Well Wildwing… what do you think?" he asked. Wildwing nodded in approval, Kazar padding up behind them and causing the humans to look a little uncomfortable.
"From what I've seen, they'll do fine." He smiled and looked at Phil. "They're all really good players. You did a good job of picking." He said calmly. A chattering noise made him turn to see Chameleon crawling into Nosedive's arms and bury himself into the young mallards embrace.
"I'm c-c-cold!" the child saurian complained. Kazar smiled down at the child lovingly.
"My planet is nice and warm Chameleon. Just wait a moment. We shall be there soon." He said comfortingly. Chameleon nodded, teeth still chattering, and then clung to Nosedive with tears in his eyes. Wildwing watched the scene quietly, Tanya taking his arm. He looked at her and she smiled weakly. He nodded and looked at Phil, the new team moving aside almost curiously. There was a camera crew standing in the stands, filming everything faithfully.
"Thanks for everything Phil." Wildwing said softly, holding out his hand. The two shook hands and Wildwing smiled. "Hope you don't mind if we come back by every now and then to check up on you." He grinned. Phil smiled at him and nodded.
"I'm going to hold you to that Wildwing. Or I'll sue you." He added with a grin. Duke snorted, laughing.
"I'd love to see that Philly-boy." He grinned. Wildwing chuckled, then stopped for a moment.
"Oh yeah… I almost forgot. Phil, you called a press conference before we left for Germany, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"What was all that about?" Phil shrugged and smiled knowingly.
"I just wanted to chew out our happy poperatzzi about you guys. I know you'd kill me for it, but I told 'em about Dragaunus and all about Puckworld and how hard you guys had been working to keep that from happening here. Even had some help from Klegghorn and Chameleon." He grinned. Chameleon nodded, teeth still chattering.
"I was on TV!" he cheered. Then he buried himself deeper into Nosedive's chest, causing the young mallard to snicker and rub the child's head lovingly.
"Thanks Phil. That was really cool of you!" Nosedive exclaimed.
"Yeah, and where is Klegghorn?" Canard asked as Wildwing motioned for Kazar to move out onto the ice. In a single bound, Kazar leapt over them and slipped on the ice, moving his clawed feet rapidly to keep from falling over. He stood with his feet spread and his body taunt. Phil looked at the dragon for a moment, then shrugged at Canard.
"Dunno." He said. "He told me he wanted to be here, but…"
"I'm here, I'm here." He was cut off by Klegghorn's snappy shout, the smaller human walking up with his hands shoved into his trench coat and a frown on his face. Nosedive grinned at him as he moved out onto the ice, placing Chameleon on Kazar's neck, giving the two a hug before giving the human his full attention.
"You're late Cappy!" he exclaimed. Klegghorn glared at him.
"I was up late last night canceling some keg parties brought on by your happy occasion." He growled. He then walked up to Wildwing and stuck out his hand, surprising the white mallard. Shaking hands Klegghorn nodded at he and Tanya. "Congratulations on the engagement. I'm real happy for you birds."
"Well thanks Klegghorn." Wildwing smirked. Klegghorn shrugged and moved away.
"Yeah well… as long as I get you bags of feathers off my planet." He muttered. He cried out in surprise as Nosedive gave him a hug that lifted him off the ground.
"Aw Kleggy! We luv you too!" the young mallard exclaimed, gaining laughter from everyone and cries of protest from Klegghorn till he was set back on the ground. The short man glared at the blonde mallard, then smirked.
"You guys take care of yourselves." He told them. "And don't forget to visit sometime!" Wildwing smiled.
"We'll try to Klegghorn." He promised. Then he looked at Nosedive, his brother smiling and joining him. "Ready to go home Kazar, Chameleon?" he called. Kazar let out a loud yawn, Chameleon giggling happily.
"YEAH!" the child cheered as Kazar nodded. Wildwing smiled and raised his hands, Nosedive mimicking the motion.
"We'll miss you guys." He called.
"We will miss you all as well." Kazar answered as the brothers began to open a portal.
"I LOVE YOU!!" Chameleon shouted, throwing kisses, as goodbye hugs had been given earlier. Mallory smiled, fighting tears and throwing a few kisses of her own back and gaining a large smile from the child. Then Kazar leapt through the portal into a world of vast wilderness, a volcano smoking in the distance. As the portal closed, they heard a loud roar echoing through the land that let all know that Kazar was finally home.
The group then stilled themselves and Wildwing looked at Nosedive. Nosedive looked at him calmly, then smiled.
"Let's go home big bro." He said softly. Wildwing nodded and took Tanya's hand in his as he lifted a hand, Mallory placing a hand on Nosedive's shoulder as the others came closer.
"Let's go home." Wildwing repeated. The portal opened and the group walked through. The portal closed and Phil sighed.
"I'm gonna miss those guys." He muttered. Klegghorn nodded.
"I feel sorry for Thrash and Mookie." He said. Phil looked at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"They wanted to be here, but their boss wouldn't let them off." Klegghorn told him.
"Ah… so that's why Nosedive ran off late last night. I was wondering." Phil stated. Then he took a deep breath and slapped his hands together. "Well! It's time to introduce the new Anaheim Mighty Ducks to the world!" he exclaimed. Klegghorn shook his head with a smirk.
"Have fun!" he called, turning with a wave. Phil watched him go, then turned back to the team as the reporters hurried down for interviews. Silently he wished his friends well, and for a moment he swore he could hear them cheer about being home… even though they were universes away.
^-^
The End
***
^-^ Well, that's it! I'm done… sorta. ^-^ Hope you've enjoyed it all, and I know that I should probably have written something about the ducks getting home, but… I'm leaving that to your imagination for now. I'm still going to keep writing though. Because it's fun! ^-^ Hope you enjoyed it all, and I'm sorry it's taken so long for the story to be finished. I get it done, and fanfic.net won't let me sign in. *Fumes* I am not a happy author. Ah well… I have survived. Well, happy summer to all! Love ya!
***
Mighty Ducks belong to Disney, Kazar belongs to me. I belong to the Great King. ^-^ 'Nuff said. ^-^
**Thanks To Akima for all the help and for reading a newly finished product and giving me an honest opinion, and to Kaeera for info on Germany. 'Cus I've never been there ^-^'
