Mallory excitedly jumped into her uniform, ready to see what Ebony was
planning for before game. Ebony had taken a suit with a bag drawn over it
from Jack, who had arrived well before the game. When Mallory had asked
what was in it, Ebony had winked and told her it was a secret.
Wildwing glanced around to see both Duke and Dive excited as well. The little jump in his own chest warned him that he was beginning to understand where they were coming from.
"Can we watch it? Please?" Dive begged, almost halfway out the door to the ice.
"Alright Dive, just… whoa!" He stumbled as Mallory and Duke pushed passed him. Grin helped him up and then walked into the waiting area. Nosedive could hear Thrash talking excitedly from the team box while Mookie whistled. Duke suddenly pointed.
"Look!"
The lights had dimmed and a fog came on over the ice. A heavy guitar sounded and Pond quieted for a moment before it started up in a roar of recognition.
From a trapeze, EbonyAmber, dressed in a black leather suit and white tank was sitting calmly while they slowly lowered her down.
The suit had patterned flames on the sleeves and flares of the suit. Her hair was as though she had heavily hair sprayed it while riding a roller coaster going backwards and front. It hung in her face while bright red streaks were visible.
When she lifted up her face, she had silvery eye shadow and kissable pink lips that drove Duke and Dive bonkers. Mallory made a note to herself to get tips.
The trapeze touched bottom to a red carpet and EbonyAmber stepped off and onto it in a second before she raised a microphone to her lips and sang
"On the road to Glory, ain't no turnin' back! It's got to be the Mighty Ducks, on the quack attack! Look out, clear the way, the Ducks are here to play! DUCK'S ROCK!"
"It's our theme song!" Duke yelled to Dive.
"What do you expect? It's Disney!" Dive yelled over the crowds echo,
"Ducks Rock!" Amber continued.
"Here come the Mighty Ducks, burnin' up the ice! Just try to stop the Mighty Ducks, and you're gonna pay the price. Here come the Mighty Ducks, fightin' for the goal! Let's hear it for The Mighty Ducks-
The crowd joined into a tumultuous,
"Time to Rock n' Roll, let's go!" Amber's voice soared high, strong and wild while the crowed cheered, adding in the
"Ducks Rock!" Amber grinned into the mic.
"Mighty Ducks!" she sang while the crowd added
"Ducks Rock!"
"Let's hear it for The Mighty Ducks!" EbonyAmber finished, holding up the Mic to the crowd as they yelled their enthusiasm.
"Hello Anaheim!" She yelled. They yelled back. "Introducing your Mighty Ducks! Starting with Number 01, playing Right Defense, Grin Hardwing!" Grin skated out to great applause. He could practically feel the energy of the crowd. He stopped before his side's goal to wait for his team.
"Number 13, playing Center, Duke L'Orange!" Duke took his lap, grinning widely at Ebony. She grinned back before announcing,
"Number 15, playing Right Wing, Mallory McMallard!" Mallory darted onto the ice, while the crowd was beside themselves with excitement.
"Number 23, playing Left Defense, Tanya Vanderflock!" The crowd roared. Both Tanya and Ebony avoided each other's eyes.
"Number 33, playing Left Wing, Nosedive Flashblade!" Lots of girls screamed out Nosedive's name as he took his circle. He flashed a thumb's up to her before Amber yelled into the mic,
"Last but not least, Number 00, Playing Goaltender and Team Captain, Wildwing Flashblade!" The crowd was a thunder as Wildwing, white goalie mask shining in the light stepped onto the ice. He had never seen the crowd so worked up before. Either they were truly excited or Ebony just rubbed it in. Either way, he was excited and ready for action. The team regrouped as the announcer took over for Ebony, who stood silent on her red carpet.
They were playing The Sharks, a decent team. The team Captains shook hands, before they separated, standing in lines. Taking a deep breath, Ebony asked the audience to stand for the National Anthem before she sang sweetly into the mic, inviting the crowd to join in. Soon, the crowd was clapping a job well done before Ebony handed the mic to a stagehand, and followed the carpet to the team box. Quickly it was rolled up behind her, and Nosedive walked forward to take starting.
Ebony shook hands with Thrash and Mookie before sitting down, eyes on the game. The Sharks seemed to be very upset that Ebony was on the Duck's side, for they looked ready and willing to make them fish food. Play ensued, with the Ducks taking quite a good number of hits. When the ref called one on the Shark Left Defense for sticking, Dive skated by, saying,
"Mighty Ducks! We take a knockin' and keep Rockin'!" He then swung around, accepting the puck from the ref and starting in a torrent as he noted the clock… ten seconds. He needed a goal to score one on The Sharks, and as they had a power play it could be achieved. He started off with Duke right behind him.
"I'm goin' right kid!" He yelled… Dive heard and watched him. Mallory was coming up behind too.
"Duke!" He yelled. "Fake him!" he passed it to Duke. Duke skated up as fast as he could before at the last moment passed it to Dive.
"ONE!" The crowd yelled just as he sent it sailing into the net. The buzzer rang just a split second before the end-period buzzer rang.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Dive celebrated. He raised his stick and high-fived Duke. He skated to the team box, high-fiving Ebony, Mookie and Thrash. Ebony was practically dancing.
"Way to go Dive and Duke!" She yelled, along with probably a gazillion other voices. 'This is going to be a good two weeks,' she thought.
*~
The first week went by, with Ebony getting into a few scrapes ever since Dive had invited her on an early morning escapade. The date that Duke had gone with her on was, in fact lovely. She had to admit that Duke certainly was a gentleman, a very cute one at that. He was sophisticated company, whereas Dive was a great guy to clown around with. She wasn't growing involved but sought pleasure in each duck's company.
She was often found in the rec. room, with headphones pressed over her ears, facing a mirror, though, not necessarily paying attention to the reflection. She would generally put in CDs by other artists and would rock out, belting out their tunes. It was quite amusing to sneak up on her. Duke and Nosedive did it many times to catch Ebony at her best… when she wasn't aware of them at all, and was putting her whole heart into it.
Despite the contrary, she didn't dance like normal performers did, but more like a teenager at a dance- swaying. Here, she would rock out until she was completely worn out. After a particularly fast paced song, she clicked off and jumped a foot when she saw Grin watching her.
"Sorry," she panted. "Did I disturb you?"
"A beautiful song carries like the wind," he said. "You lack strength?"
"Oh, no, I just get tired," she grinned.
"Channel your energy just as the river would its currents," Grin advised. Ebony blushed.
"Er… well, I don't quite know how to do that."
"I will teach you the ways of enlightenment," Grin said, sitting down. "And conservation of strength."
"How are you going to do that?" Ebony asked, laughing as she sat down. Wordlessly, he handed her a dumbbell.
A day went by, and Ebony found she liked weight training with Grin, who proved to be an excellent trainer as well as a wonderful mentor. She would often go out shopping with Grin, to Enlight O'Rama, where he would explain the significance of each crystal, even though she wasn't supposed to be out. Wildwing was merciless in his reprimands, and even dared to scold Grin.
Mallory and she had become good friends, with Mal treating her to Six Flags. Ebony had come back slightly pink and as she slightly peeled the next day, she joked to Mallory and Tanya about being "part reptilian". Instead of laughs, she got wary stares.
"It was a joke guys," she said quickly. Mallory then chuckled, but Tanya still glared at her. She got the lip for frightening Tanya.
Games progressed as well as days. Before she knew it, she was to the third game, break between first and second period, while Thrash and Mookie accompanied her, bribing Dive with comic books for tickets, of course. They had just finished up the first period, with the Ducks and Gorillas (a VERY competitive team) tied at 0,0.
Break ensued, and a good number of fans pressed up against the glass to ask for her autograph, which was becoming a gamely routine. Phil always yelled that she'd do autographs after. This time, however, the mascot, a Wild Wing with a large head and clumsy body walked into the bench, shaking Ebony's hand.
The rest of the ducks skated out early on the period break, only to see a large Wild Wing, number 93 antagonizing Ebony. Enrique Iglasias came onto the radio, and the guy in the Wing suit pulled Ebony up to dance.
"This is new," Mallory said lightly to Duke, gesturing for him to watch. Wing also turned his head to see his makeshift double, number 93 tangoing in the team box with Ebony, who was red in the face, but laughing.
"You'd think they'd get a better model if they'd have to use me," Wildwing laughed. Number 93 was tangoing with long strides, legs exaggerating the tango step. Ebony obliged, following his lead. They walked three paces, turned, and as Wild Wing was going to dip her, he ended up missing, so that she plunked down on bench. He stumbled, then made wild gestured for her to get back up, almost like he was promising he wouldn't miss the next time.
They got up and tried again, this time, Ebony successfully went into the dip. He then patted her head and slapped her a high-five before rushing out into the audience, eager to see who would tango next.
"You tango beautifully sweetheart!" Duke teased. Ebony laughed and stuck her tongue out at him, but before anyone could blink (and much to the amusement of the crowd), Nosedive skated up and tangoed… while Ebony remained on the team box, and he remained on the ice.
"Come on, you get those legs up, girly or I'll have to become Captain Can- Can!" he teased.
"Dive! They got us on camera!" She laughed. Nosedive paused and waved energetically before returning to tangoing.
"Yo! Dive! We're supposed to be resting!" Wing said, laughing.
"I AM resting!" Dive yelled back, turning around and doing the tango step.
"The dip may be a little tricky," Ebony replied, grinning.
"Just follow my lead," Dive whispered. As they reached the third stepped, he suddenly threw himself back, and Ebony, startled, tried to catch him, only to result tipping him head first into the box. The crowd howled. Wing skated over.
"You okay, twinkle toes?" He asked. Ebony was blushing furiously. Nosedive jumped up, raising his hands in the air. A bit of applause answered him. He bowed energetically.
"He ain't hurt," Duke said, watching him. "He didn't even dent."
"Come on you guys, we still have two other periods to play," Wing said, starting to the net while the crowds started assembling.
*~
By the time third period came around, Ebony had practically earned herself time in the penalty box for being an over-excited viewer. She moaned, yelled, screamed, gasped and argued at all the right times, which encouraged the crowds to get into the game as much as she was. The funny thing was, although it was her third game, she was still just as into it as she was the first.
She had rocked with her in-between period show, leaving the energy status soaring by the time the ducks were supposed to finish off third period. After that, she had promised another evening to Duke. The Ducks led the game, 1 to 0 over The Gorillas, so they would need to hold on to the lead until the end. The team was tiring, as the Gorillas were rough on the other players, while Wildwing, although feeling useless didn't let his guard down.
Time ticked down while he watched carefully, always taking a census of the players' faces and keeping his eyes on the puck. It was a good thing he did, for at the last thirty seconds, one of the Gorillas finally managed to get the puck away from the offence, and started skating madly down the center of the ring, while his team mates held off the other players.
Ebony was already on the frantic side. It was down to Wildwing, and time was fading fast. It was down to ten seconds by the time the Gorilla finally got into firing range, as he had some maneuvering to do around Tanya and Grin. He wound up, looking for Wildwing's weakness.
Wildwing watched him closely, anticipating, telling himself to remain cool and to concentrate. He saw the stick rise. He could probably swipe at it with his stick… that wouldn't be a good choice. He could leave the left side up to his stick, but there wasn't any fail-safe guarantee.
The puck then hurtled towards his right side. His Glove! Sliding he raised his glove, his body sliding to the right as fast as he could. He felt impact on his thumb and watched it bounce off, hurtling towards the left. Fast as he could he raised his stick and sent it on its way, falling just short of the waiting hockey stick of the gorilla.
'NOW WILDWING!' He yelled at himself and dived on it, his glove closing in on top of it while the hockey stick furiously bat at him, trying to slide it from his grasp. The whistle sounded, but the sticking didn't discontinue. It kept badgering while Wildwing heard angry cursing. Everything seemed to come at him at once… and the pain the stick was meeting him with made him bewildered. Wildwing lowered his face to protect himself from getting it further in the face as the stick roughly collided with his neck. Picking up the puck, he got up, twisting his shoulder slightly on the stick. He faced the angry offence player, before roughly pushing him away, only to get him to back off. His neck hurt. His shoulder hurt. And where the heck was the ref?
He then registered a loud and angry roar, while Nosedive skated furiously up. He glanced over and saw his team coming forward, while Ebony, alongside Thrash and Mookie looked as though she could have clobbered the offense player herself, and he dwarfed her several times. Thrash and Mookie even had restraining hands on her. He looked as Grin held the offense player off with one hand, while Nosedive helped him, asking him repeatedly if he was all right.
He THEN registered the ref blowing his whistle repeatedly while dragging off the furious Gorilla himself. The ref ordered him to leave the game, with only a tenth of a second left to go. Wildwing sighed.
"I'm okay, Dive. Go out and hit that puck will you, so I can go lie down for awhile," he said wearily. Dive skated off, while Ebony remained standing. Wildwing looked at her. She looked worried, to say the least. Thrash was lightly tugging on her sleeve to get her to sit down, but she didn't seem to even notice him.
Wildwing flashed her a thumbs up and crouched once more, forcing himself to watch the puck… not very well as his head hurt terribly. The whistle sounded and Dive won the face-off, passing the puck to Tanya as the game announced the ending. Wildwing skated forward to the team box, the rest of his team crowding around him.
"You okay bro?" Dive asked, reaching him first. Mallory, Duke, Tanya and Grin then reached him, each patting him on the back, preventing him from sitting down.
"You alright, 00?" The ref asked, blowing his whistle.
"Yeah," Wildwing replied uncertainly.
"Okay guys, clear the way," the ref said. Wildwing looked over to see Ebony standing on the ice, very pale, gripping the team box edge, holding the door open. Wildwing wearily skated towards that with Dive holding his arm to support him. He climbed passed Ebony and sat down heavily. A paramedic climbed into the box, saying,
"Okay Wildwing, let's check you out. You were beaned pretty hard with that hockey stick. How do you feel?"
"A bit out of it, and my head's killing me," he replied. "My shoulder hurts as well."
"Hmm," the paramedic said. "Yeah, I think you were hit hard enough to see stars. Can you hold your hockey stick like this?" He asked holding it out at shoulder level.
"Yeah, I can move it all right, it just… hurts," he said. "Bad bruise. I'm more concerned about my head."
"Put some ice on it and don't go to sleep for four hours," he instructed. Wildwing nodded, while Dive asked,
"What's wrong with him?"
"Eh, it might be a minor concussion. As long as he stays awake and takes it easy for a few days, he'll be all right. We just want to keep him from blacking out. He might go into a coma if it was a bit more serious. Keep him awake for four hours, just in case." Nosedive followed, prattling with the paramedic, while the rest of the team took their victory lap on behalf of Wildwing.
"Dude, you got hit pretty hard," Thrash said.
"Like, yeah. That Gorilla was like, a major jerk," Mookie agreed.
"Come on Wing, let's get you to the locker room," Ebony said, and Wing nodded his agreement: Anything to lie down. He felt Ebony pull his arm around her shoulders. They then stood and Wildwing allowed her to lead him to the locker room.
"Okay Wing," she said, "there's a step." She stepped down first and he followed. She then took him to the locker room and had him sit while she hurried over to the sink. Grabbing a towel, she held it under the faucet, until it was full of icy water. Ringing it out, she returned to his side, and took off his mask. She then held the cool rag to his face.
"O-O-O-h, that's cold," he moaned, the temperature soothingly stinging, closing his eyes.
"I know, but it'll help," Ebony gently replied, tending to him. She held the towel to his forehead for a few moments, then lightly skimming the towel over his beak, before the rest of the team flocked in.
"Hey-hey," Tanya objected. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."
"It helps keep him awake," Ebony snapped back fiercely. He felt the cool towel leave his forehead in a moment.
"Oh, put that back," Wildwing said, opening his eyes hazily. Mallory sat on the bench and pressed a fresh cool one to his face.
"Where's…?" He asked, the cold once again soothing his pounding head.
"She went out to perform," Duke replied from the entry to the rink. "We did win, ya know." He listened a moment. "Her song doesn't sound very happy. Sounds Richard Marx-ish."
"Oh," Wildwing replied, not really caring about the win or the song at the moment.
"Yeah…" Dive said, sitting beside his brother. "And that supremeo jerko really got a talking to." He patted Wildwing's back comfortingly.
"You'll have to tell me when this headache goes away," Wildwing replied. A few minutes later, Ebony returned, but wouldn't go near him, as every time she tried, Tanya would glare. She sighed and stormed out of the locker room, with Duke at her heels.
"Hey sweetheart, about the date tonight," he said catching her arm. "I don't think either of us are in a mood to have some fun. How about we set it back a few days, eh? You okay?" He asked, beginning casually, then growing concerned.
"Yeah, I think so," she replied, but the glowering look on her face didn't prove it. "I just… I'm rather frustrated, that's all." She slumped against the wall of the hallway.
"Hey," Duke said, patting her shoulder. "If ya wanna talk about it…"
"Maybe later," she said briskly. Duke raised his hands, as if in defense.
"Okay, okay, whatever you want," he said, backing off. She sighed and reached over, giving him a hug.
"Sorry Duke, recent events have just set me off, that's all," she muttered. Duke enfolded her into his arms, patting her back comfortingly.
"Hey, it's okay," he replied. "I know how you feel."
"Thanks," she said, drawing away after a moment and smiling shortly. "I'll see you later." Without another word, she walked down the hall. Duke watched after her, before turning around and walking back into the locker room to change.
*~
Siege thudded dully along the corridors of The Raptor, humming to the best of his ability one of the songs on Chameleon's CD. The shape-shifting lizard was far from please about Dragaunus listening to his CD, but couldn't truly complain.
Siege had been summoned again to the Throne room, to see of the progress.
"Well?" Dragaunus's powerful voice demanded. Siege, used to his Lord's temper didn't flinch.
"Good news and bad news, My Lord," he said respectfully. "We've found the artist, however, she's living with them." Dragaunus practically roared at that.
"We'll soon see to that," he said, once he had calmed down. "I'll start devising some way for you to collect her." Dragaunus thought for a few moments, considering all he had, and the most likely way he could lure a musical, human, artist into the open without Duck supervision.
"Watch the Pond," he growled. "See EbonyAmber's usual habits and who she goes with."
"Yes, my liege," Siege said, bowing. "Lord Dragaunus," he said presently. A growl erupted from the red Saurion's throat, and his eyes flashed, while steam erupted from his snout. "The Chameleon asks for his disc back."
"So?" Dragaunus asked curtly.
"Shall I inform him you wish to keep it?"
"I'm not finished with it," Dragaunus snapped back. "There are some heavy, mystical clues in here that I'm not finished with."
"As you wish," Siege said, and waddled out of the room, hearing the CD going off on track one.
*~
Wildwing glanced around to see both Duke and Dive excited as well. The little jump in his own chest warned him that he was beginning to understand where they were coming from.
"Can we watch it? Please?" Dive begged, almost halfway out the door to the ice.
"Alright Dive, just… whoa!" He stumbled as Mallory and Duke pushed passed him. Grin helped him up and then walked into the waiting area. Nosedive could hear Thrash talking excitedly from the team box while Mookie whistled. Duke suddenly pointed.
"Look!"
The lights had dimmed and a fog came on over the ice. A heavy guitar sounded and Pond quieted for a moment before it started up in a roar of recognition.
From a trapeze, EbonyAmber, dressed in a black leather suit and white tank was sitting calmly while they slowly lowered her down.
The suit had patterned flames on the sleeves and flares of the suit. Her hair was as though she had heavily hair sprayed it while riding a roller coaster going backwards and front. It hung in her face while bright red streaks were visible.
When she lifted up her face, she had silvery eye shadow and kissable pink lips that drove Duke and Dive bonkers. Mallory made a note to herself to get tips.
The trapeze touched bottom to a red carpet and EbonyAmber stepped off and onto it in a second before she raised a microphone to her lips and sang
"On the road to Glory, ain't no turnin' back! It's got to be the Mighty Ducks, on the quack attack! Look out, clear the way, the Ducks are here to play! DUCK'S ROCK!"
"It's our theme song!" Duke yelled to Dive.
"What do you expect? It's Disney!" Dive yelled over the crowds echo,
"Ducks Rock!" Amber continued.
"Here come the Mighty Ducks, burnin' up the ice! Just try to stop the Mighty Ducks, and you're gonna pay the price. Here come the Mighty Ducks, fightin' for the goal! Let's hear it for The Mighty Ducks-
The crowd joined into a tumultuous,
"Time to Rock n' Roll, let's go!" Amber's voice soared high, strong and wild while the crowed cheered, adding in the
"Ducks Rock!" Amber grinned into the mic.
"Mighty Ducks!" she sang while the crowd added
"Ducks Rock!"
"Let's hear it for The Mighty Ducks!" EbonyAmber finished, holding up the Mic to the crowd as they yelled their enthusiasm.
"Hello Anaheim!" She yelled. They yelled back. "Introducing your Mighty Ducks! Starting with Number 01, playing Right Defense, Grin Hardwing!" Grin skated out to great applause. He could practically feel the energy of the crowd. He stopped before his side's goal to wait for his team.
"Number 13, playing Center, Duke L'Orange!" Duke took his lap, grinning widely at Ebony. She grinned back before announcing,
"Number 15, playing Right Wing, Mallory McMallard!" Mallory darted onto the ice, while the crowd was beside themselves with excitement.
"Number 23, playing Left Defense, Tanya Vanderflock!" The crowd roared. Both Tanya and Ebony avoided each other's eyes.
"Number 33, playing Left Wing, Nosedive Flashblade!" Lots of girls screamed out Nosedive's name as he took his circle. He flashed a thumb's up to her before Amber yelled into the mic,
"Last but not least, Number 00, Playing Goaltender and Team Captain, Wildwing Flashblade!" The crowd was a thunder as Wildwing, white goalie mask shining in the light stepped onto the ice. He had never seen the crowd so worked up before. Either they were truly excited or Ebony just rubbed it in. Either way, he was excited and ready for action. The team regrouped as the announcer took over for Ebony, who stood silent on her red carpet.
They were playing The Sharks, a decent team. The team Captains shook hands, before they separated, standing in lines. Taking a deep breath, Ebony asked the audience to stand for the National Anthem before she sang sweetly into the mic, inviting the crowd to join in. Soon, the crowd was clapping a job well done before Ebony handed the mic to a stagehand, and followed the carpet to the team box. Quickly it was rolled up behind her, and Nosedive walked forward to take starting.
Ebony shook hands with Thrash and Mookie before sitting down, eyes on the game. The Sharks seemed to be very upset that Ebony was on the Duck's side, for they looked ready and willing to make them fish food. Play ensued, with the Ducks taking quite a good number of hits. When the ref called one on the Shark Left Defense for sticking, Dive skated by, saying,
"Mighty Ducks! We take a knockin' and keep Rockin'!" He then swung around, accepting the puck from the ref and starting in a torrent as he noted the clock… ten seconds. He needed a goal to score one on The Sharks, and as they had a power play it could be achieved. He started off with Duke right behind him.
"I'm goin' right kid!" He yelled… Dive heard and watched him. Mallory was coming up behind too.
"Duke!" He yelled. "Fake him!" he passed it to Duke. Duke skated up as fast as he could before at the last moment passed it to Dive.
"ONE!" The crowd yelled just as he sent it sailing into the net. The buzzer rang just a split second before the end-period buzzer rang.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Dive celebrated. He raised his stick and high-fived Duke. He skated to the team box, high-fiving Ebony, Mookie and Thrash. Ebony was practically dancing.
"Way to go Dive and Duke!" She yelled, along with probably a gazillion other voices. 'This is going to be a good two weeks,' she thought.
*~
The first week went by, with Ebony getting into a few scrapes ever since Dive had invited her on an early morning escapade. The date that Duke had gone with her on was, in fact lovely. She had to admit that Duke certainly was a gentleman, a very cute one at that. He was sophisticated company, whereas Dive was a great guy to clown around with. She wasn't growing involved but sought pleasure in each duck's company.
She was often found in the rec. room, with headphones pressed over her ears, facing a mirror, though, not necessarily paying attention to the reflection. She would generally put in CDs by other artists and would rock out, belting out their tunes. It was quite amusing to sneak up on her. Duke and Nosedive did it many times to catch Ebony at her best… when she wasn't aware of them at all, and was putting her whole heart into it.
Despite the contrary, she didn't dance like normal performers did, but more like a teenager at a dance- swaying. Here, she would rock out until she was completely worn out. After a particularly fast paced song, she clicked off and jumped a foot when she saw Grin watching her.
"Sorry," she panted. "Did I disturb you?"
"A beautiful song carries like the wind," he said. "You lack strength?"
"Oh, no, I just get tired," she grinned.
"Channel your energy just as the river would its currents," Grin advised. Ebony blushed.
"Er… well, I don't quite know how to do that."
"I will teach you the ways of enlightenment," Grin said, sitting down. "And conservation of strength."
"How are you going to do that?" Ebony asked, laughing as she sat down. Wordlessly, he handed her a dumbbell.
A day went by, and Ebony found she liked weight training with Grin, who proved to be an excellent trainer as well as a wonderful mentor. She would often go out shopping with Grin, to Enlight O'Rama, where he would explain the significance of each crystal, even though she wasn't supposed to be out. Wildwing was merciless in his reprimands, and even dared to scold Grin.
Mallory and she had become good friends, with Mal treating her to Six Flags. Ebony had come back slightly pink and as she slightly peeled the next day, she joked to Mallory and Tanya about being "part reptilian". Instead of laughs, she got wary stares.
"It was a joke guys," she said quickly. Mallory then chuckled, but Tanya still glared at her. She got the lip for frightening Tanya.
Games progressed as well as days. Before she knew it, she was to the third game, break between first and second period, while Thrash and Mookie accompanied her, bribing Dive with comic books for tickets, of course. They had just finished up the first period, with the Ducks and Gorillas (a VERY competitive team) tied at 0,0.
Break ensued, and a good number of fans pressed up against the glass to ask for her autograph, which was becoming a gamely routine. Phil always yelled that she'd do autographs after. This time, however, the mascot, a Wild Wing with a large head and clumsy body walked into the bench, shaking Ebony's hand.
The rest of the ducks skated out early on the period break, only to see a large Wild Wing, number 93 antagonizing Ebony. Enrique Iglasias came onto the radio, and the guy in the Wing suit pulled Ebony up to dance.
"This is new," Mallory said lightly to Duke, gesturing for him to watch. Wing also turned his head to see his makeshift double, number 93 tangoing in the team box with Ebony, who was red in the face, but laughing.
"You'd think they'd get a better model if they'd have to use me," Wildwing laughed. Number 93 was tangoing with long strides, legs exaggerating the tango step. Ebony obliged, following his lead. They walked three paces, turned, and as Wild Wing was going to dip her, he ended up missing, so that she plunked down on bench. He stumbled, then made wild gestured for her to get back up, almost like he was promising he wouldn't miss the next time.
They got up and tried again, this time, Ebony successfully went into the dip. He then patted her head and slapped her a high-five before rushing out into the audience, eager to see who would tango next.
"You tango beautifully sweetheart!" Duke teased. Ebony laughed and stuck her tongue out at him, but before anyone could blink (and much to the amusement of the crowd), Nosedive skated up and tangoed… while Ebony remained on the team box, and he remained on the ice.
"Come on, you get those legs up, girly or I'll have to become Captain Can- Can!" he teased.
"Dive! They got us on camera!" She laughed. Nosedive paused and waved energetically before returning to tangoing.
"Yo! Dive! We're supposed to be resting!" Wing said, laughing.
"I AM resting!" Dive yelled back, turning around and doing the tango step.
"The dip may be a little tricky," Ebony replied, grinning.
"Just follow my lead," Dive whispered. As they reached the third stepped, he suddenly threw himself back, and Ebony, startled, tried to catch him, only to result tipping him head first into the box. The crowd howled. Wing skated over.
"You okay, twinkle toes?" He asked. Ebony was blushing furiously. Nosedive jumped up, raising his hands in the air. A bit of applause answered him. He bowed energetically.
"He ain't hurt," Duke said, watching him. "He didn't even dent."
"Come on you guys, we still have two other periods to play," Wing said, starting to the net while the crowds started assembling.
*~
By the time third period came around, Ebony had practically earned herself time in the penalty box for being an over-excited viewer. She moaned, yelled, screamed, gasped and argued at all the right times, which encouraged the crowds to get into the game as much as she was. The funny thing was, although it was her third game, she was still just as into it as she was the first.
She had rocked with her in-between period show, leaving the energy status soaring by the time the ducks were supposed to finish off third period. After that, she had promised another evening to Duke. The Ducks led the game, 1 to 0 over The Gorillas, so they would need to hold on to the lead until the end. The team was tiring, as the Gorillas were rough on the other players, while Wildwing, although feeling useless didn't let his guard down.
Time ticked down while he watched carefully, always taking a census of the players' faces and keeping his eyes on the puck. It was a good thing he did, for at the last thirty seconds, one of the Gorillas finally managed to get the puck away from the offence, and started skating madly down the center of the ring, while his team mates held off the other players.
Ebony was already on the frantic side. It was down to Wildwing, and time was fading fast. It was down to ten seconds by the time the Gorilla finally got into firing range, as he had some maneuvering to do around Tanya and Grin. He wound up, looking for Wildwing's weakness.
Wildwing watched him closely, anticipating, telling himself to remain cool and to concentrate. He saw the stick rise. He could probably swipe at it with his stick… that wouldn't be a good choice. He could leave the left side up to his stick, but there wasn't any fail-safe guarantee.
The puck then hurtled towards his right side. His Glove! Sliding he raised his glove, his body sliding to the right as fast as he could. He felt impact on his thumb and watched it bounce off, hurtling towards the left. Fast as he could he raised his stick and sent it on its way, falling just short of the waiting hockey stick of the gorilla.
'NOW WILDWING!' He yelled at himself and dived on it, his glove closing in on top of it while the hockey stick furiously bat at him, trying to slide it from his grasp. The whistle sounded, but the sticking didn't discontinue. It kept badgering while Wildwing heard angry cursing. Everything seemed to come at him at once… and the pain the stick was meeting him with made him bewildered. Wildwing lowered his face to protect himself from getting it further in the face as the stick roughly collided with his neck. Picking up the puck, he got up, twisting his shoulder slightly on the stick. He faced the angry offence player, before roughly pushing him away, only to get him to back off. His neck hurt. His shoulder hurt. And where the heck was the ref?
He then registered a loud and angry roar, while Nosedive skated furiously up. He glanced over and saw his team coming forward, while Ebony, alongside Thrash and Mookie looked as though she could have clobbered the offense player herself, and he dwarfed her several times. Thrash and Mookie even had restraining hands on her. He looked as Grin held the offense player off with one hand, while Nosedive helped him, asking him repeatedly if he was all right.
He THEN registered the ref blowing his whistle repeatedly while dragging off the furious Gorilla himself. The ref ordered him to leave the game, with only a tenth of a second left to go. Wildwing sighed.
"I'm okay, Dive. Go out and hit that puck will you, so I can go lie down for awhile," he said wearily. Dive skated off, while Ebony remained standing. Wildwing looked at her. She looked worried, to say the least. Thrash was lightly tugging on her sleeve to get her to sit down, but she didn't seem to even notice him.
Wildwing flashed her a thumbs up and crouched once more, forcing himself to watch the puck… not very well as his head hurt terribly. The whistle sounded and Dive won the face-off, passing the puck to Tanya as the game announced the ending. Wildwing skated forward to the team box, the rest of his team crowding around him.
"You okay bro?" Dive asked, reaching him first. Mallory, Duke, Tanya and Grin then reached him, each patting him on the back, preventing him from sitting down.
"You alright, 00?" The ref asked, blowing his whistle.
"Yeah," Wildwing replied uncertainly.
"Okay guys, clear the way," the ref said. Wildwing looked over to see Ebony standing on the ice, very pale, gripping the team box edge, holding the door open. Wildwing wearily skated towards that with Dive holding his arm to support him. He climbed passed Ebony and sat down heavily. A paramedic climbed into the box, saying,
"Okay Wildwing, let's check you out. You were beaned pretty hard with that hockey stick. How do you feel?"
"A bit out of it, and my head's killing me," he replied. "My shoulder hurts as well."
"Hmm," the paramedic said. "Yeah, I think you were hit hard enough to see stars. Can you hold your hockey stick like this?" He asked holding it out at shoulder level.
"Yeah, I can move it all right, it just… hurts," he said. "Bad bruise. I'm more concerned about my head."
"Put some ice on it and don't go to sleep for four hours," he instructed. Wildwing nodded, while Dive asked,
"What's wrong with him?"
"Eh, it might be a minor concussion. As long as he stays awake and takes it easy for a few days, he'll be all right. We just want to keep him from blacking out. He might go into a coma if it was a bit more serious. Keep him awake for four hours, just in case." Nosedive followed, prattling with the paramedic, while the rest of the team took their victory lap on behalf of Wildwing.
"Dude, you got hit pretty hard," Thrash said.
"Like, yeah. That Gorilla was like, a major jerk," Mookie agreed.
"Come on Wing, let's get you to the locker room," Ebony said, and Wing nodded his agreement: Anything to lie down. He felt Ebony pull his arm around her shoulders. They then stood and Wildwing allowed her to lead him to the locker room.
"Okay Wing," she said, "there's a step." She stepped down first and he followed. She then took him to the locker room and had him sit while she hurried over to the sink. Grabbing a towel, she held it under the faucet, until it was full of icy water. Ringing it out, she returned to his side, and took off his mask. She then held the cool rag to his face.
"O-O-O-h, that's cold," he moaned, the temperature soothingly stinging, closing his eyes.
"I know, but it'll help," Ebony gently replied, tending to him. She held the towel to his forehead for a few moments, then lightly skimming the towel over his beak, before the rest of the team flocked in.
"Hey-hey," Tanya objected. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."
"It helps keep him awake," Ebony snapped back fiercely. He felt the cool towel leave his forehead in a moment.
"Oh, put that back," Wildwing said, opening his eyes hazily. Mallory sat on the bench and pressed a fresh cool one to his face.
"Where's…?" He asked, the cold once again soothing his pounding head.
"She went out to perform," Duke replied from the entry to the rink. "We did win, ya know." He listened a moment. "Her song doesn't sound very happy. Sounds Richard Marx-ish."
"Oh," Wildwing replied, not really caring about the win or the song at the moment.
"Yeah…" Dive said, sitting beside his brother. "And that supremeo jerko really got a talking to." He patted Wildwing's back comfortingly.
"You'll have to tell me when this headache goes away," Wildwing replied. A few minutes later, Ebony returned, but wouldn't go near him, as every time she tried, Tanya would glare. She sighed and stormed out of the locker room, with Duke at her heels.
"Hey sweetheart, about the date tonight," he said catching her arm. "I don't think either of us are in a mood to have some fun. How about we set it back a few days, eh? You okay?" He asked, beginning casually, then growing concerned.
"Yeah, I think so," she replied, but the glowering look on her face didn't prove it. "I just… I'm rather frustrated, that's all." She slumped against the wall of the hallway.
"Hey," Duke said, patting her shoulder. "If ya wanna talk about it…"
"Maybe later," she said briskly. Duke raised his hands, as if in defense.
"Okay, okay, whatever you want," he said, backing off. She sighed and reached over, giving him a hug.
"Sorry Duke, recent events have just set me off, that's all," she muttered. Duke enfolded her into his arms, patting her back comfortingly.
"Hey, it's okay," he replied. "I know how you feel."
"Thanks," she said, drawing away after a moment and smiling shortly. "I'll see you later." Without another word, she walked down the hall. Duke watched after her, before turning around and walking back into the locker room to change.
*~
Siege thudded dully along the corridors of The Raptor, humming to the best of his ability one of the songs on Chameleon's CD. The shape-shifting lizard was far from please about Dragaunus listening to his CD, but couldn't truly complain.
Siege had been summoned again to the Throne room, to see of the progress.
"Well?" Dragaunus's powerful voice demanded. Siege, used to his Lord's temper didn't flinch.
"Good news and bad news, My Lord," he said respectfully. "We've found the artist, however, she's living with them." Dragaunus practically roared at that.
"We'll soon see to that," he said, once he had calmed down. "I'll start devising some way for you to collect her." Dragaunus thought for a few moments, considering all he had, and the most likely way he could lure a musical, human, artist into the open without Duck supervision.
"Watch the Pond," he growled. "See EbonyAmber's usual habits and who she goes with."
"Yes, my liege," Siege said, bowing. "Lord Dragaunus," he said presently. A growl erupted from the red Saurion's throat, and his eyes flashed, while steam erupted from his snout. "The Chameleon asks for his disc back."
"So?" Dragaunus asked curtly.
"Shall I inform him you wish to keep it?"
"I'm not finished with it," Dragaunus snapped back. "There are some heavy, mystical clues in here that I'm not finished with."
"As you wish," Siege said, and waddled out of the room, hearing the CD going off on track one.
*~