A New beginning.

Chapter 2:

The saurians had been in charge for a little over two years the ducks that had been caught were forced to carry out hard manual labor, anyone who was unable to carry out the labor was killed or dumped depending on their condition. Wildwing looked like a skeleton and Nosedive was no different, Dive had grown a little over the last two years, but not by much and he was seriously depressed. Once or twice he had fallen ill with minor viruses, like he used to do when he was little but Wildwing had always hidden him from view and nursed him back to health so that he would still have his baby brother. They had been placed in mines where they worked in hazardous conditions often running for their lives from cave ins and the like. A lot of the workers developed coughs from the dust, anyone with breathing problems like asthma would never last long and would be shot if they had an attack. At present the brothers were being taken to another mine, they and about thirty other ducks of varying ages had been walking for three days to get wherever it was that the saurians wanted them to go. Dive looked nervously over at Wing who had a glazed look in his eyes, Dive had seen that look before just before one of Canard's friends had collapsed from exhaustion on the first day and had been left to die on the side of the road, he whispered to the final remaining friend, Jerome, that had helped save him that first day that they should keep an eye on him. His eyes widened in fear though when he heard a body drop to the ground. He turned to see his much loved older brother lying on the ground unconscious, he started to go to his aid but Jerome grabbed him from behind.

"Nosedive," he whispered in a pleading voice, "If you make a fuss they'll kill him outright, besides you really want your brother to suffer any more?" Nosedive closed his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek, Jerome was right, he didn't want Wildwing to suffer anymore. The saurians had always been quick to punish and he knew that Wing had often taken any punishment meant for him. A few months before the drones had dragged him back to one of the large bunkers they slept in, Dive hadn't done as much work as the others simply because he was smaller and Wildwing had claimed it was him, the saurians knew otherwise but thought it great fun to torture the seventeen year old if only to teach his sibling a lesson, so they flogged him until he bled Dive was sure they had done other things but Wing wouldn't tell him what. It was because of him that Wing was tired, because of him that Wing was left on the side of the road like unwanted rubbish. Jerome did his best to comfort the thirteen year old but Dive just regressed into his own little shell, never speaking and never complaining.

* * *

Mallory Mc Mallard hated the resistance, it showed no discipline as the special forces had once shown. She sighed and looked back at the civilian group of fighters, armed with all manner of weaponry. She turned back towards the road and saw yet another body on the side of the road, "what does this one make it. . . five today and counting," she thought grimly. But something about this one made her go a little closer, she recognized the build from somewhere. She had grown up in the forces and she had been the apple of not only her fathers eye but of his friends General Flashblade. She thought back and remembered that General Max Flashblade had had two sons and a daughter, one took after him in looks and the younger looked more like his wife, his daughter had run away and become a famous singer before the invasion but was now presumed dead. The body was painfully thin when she put her hand on it's shoulder she grimaced slightly at the feeling, but was surprised at the warmth. She gently pulled the body around so it was on his back and she closed her eyes when she saw who it was, but then something made her jump, Wildwing Flashblade's rib cage rose up and down ever so slightly and he let out a small groan. He had felt the clawless hand and had done the only thing he could do the tell who ever it was he was still alive and not to leave him here all alone. Mallory shouted for the medic who rushed up and was just as surprised as she was that the young slave was still alive. They called back to base and got some transport for Wildwing and took him to the main headquarters near the old Ducaine metropolis. General Flashblade had been missing since the beginning of the invasion, as had his wife Melissa, and with their only other relative phoenix dead the only other person she knew that would want to know and was not a captive was Canard Thunderbeak and as much as she hated to go and see the hot headed rebel she thought it right to inform him of his best friends predicament.

"Canard?" she walked into the men's rec. room and looked around scoffing at one guy who was fast asleep in a corner. Canard looked up and grinned at the red head evilly. "What are you up to?" She asked suspiciously, he was on the couch and the back was on her side so Mallory couldn't see what he'd been doing but the small laugh gave it away, "Silver L'Orange you know you're not supposed to be in here!" The silver haired teen sat up and stuck her tongue out at her and she made a face back.

"Whatever you say miss straight and narrow, or should I say miss PMS and boring!" she laughed and Canard shook his head, he was always telling his beautiful girlfriend not to annoy Mallory but she never listened, although he had to admit he did it enough himself. Silver stood up and Canard did the same, putting his arms around her waist and resting his beak on her shoulder, Mallory rolled her eyes at the two rebels. They weren't like the majority of the resistance, Silver was insane and only survived her high octane, highly explosive battles because of that insanity but it seemed nothing would phase the silver haired girl. Canard was just as bad, but he tended to be more serious about it, however his battles were often just as fast and explosive as his girlfriend's.

"What do you want me for anyway Mal?" He asked, still with his arms around Silver's waist.

"We found Wildwing," Mallory said simply. Canard let go of Silver and walked towards her a little, not believing what he was hearing, he had thought Wildwing was dead.

"Wing, where? Where is he? Is he all right? Who. . . " he said in quick succession.

"Whoa there, hold on and slow down, he was found on the side of a road," Canard's had a terrible sinking feeling that his friend may now be safe but far from all right, "he's in the infirmary, he's suffering from two years of malnutrition and exhaustion and I found him along with my team, we thought he was dead at first but. . . " she trailed off as she thought of the days events, she hadn't known Wing all that well but she knew he had been a good guy, he didn't deserve what he'd been through.

"What about his little brother, was he there?" Mallory looked at Canard an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry, but it was just him."

Canard looked down at the floor for a moment clenching his fists, then suddenly he bolted off towards the infirmary to see his old friend. Inside what he saw shocked him more than any of the horrors he had seen as a resistance fighter, Wildwing lay in an infirmary bed and looked awful. He was unconscious, a tube ran from his beak to a machine to help him breath, he had a drip in each arm and his torso had fresh bandages wrapped around it. But it wasn't just that, he'd remembered Wing as the well built goalie of St. Ducaine's private school. He was always fit and was always being asked to play on professional teams. It broke his heart to see him nothing but skin and bones, Canard could see the outline of every rib, every bone, Wildwing's feather's were no longer their usually shiny white color but a dull almost gray color, his hair hung in mats down past his shoulders, instead of being neatly cropped and gelled back. Canard bit back the tears threatening to fall and jumped when a hand touched his shoulder, he turned and smiled when he saw who it was.

"Hey, Silver."

"Hey handsome," she put her arms around his waist and gave him a reassuring hug, "I just spoke to Tanya, she thinks he should be okay, but it'll take a while before he's back to normal, if ever," Canard sighed and looked back at his unmoving friend, "Canard, he may not be the same person you remember, we don't know what he's seen let alone what he's been through."

"Nosedive." He said quietly.

"What was that?" She said looking confused.

"If Wing's alive then his baby brother might be too," he paused and looked at his girlfriend and she bit back a gasp when she saw he was close to tears, "we have to make sure, if anyone can bring him back it's his little brother."

"But we don't even know if he's still alive."

"Look I've know Wildwing for years, he's not good at being totally alone, if he didn't have his brother then he wouldn't be alive now. We have to find him!" He rushed off to his room with Silver at his heels and grabbed a tatty old photograph of him and the two brothers. He gave it to Silver and told her to copy it and pass it around all of the patrols that operated near where Wildwing was found, if they saw the younger brother they were to contact him, her or Mallory. She simply nodded not believing for an instant that the small boy in the picture could possibly be alive, but she was often proven wrong so she shrugged and did as she was told.

Canard often went and sat at his best friend's bedside talking to him trying to assure him that he wouldn't have to put up with any more torturous work or beating's. Gradually there were improvements, Tanya was able to take the tube out of his throat that helped him breath and after two agonizingly long weeks Canard noticed a twitch. He looked again, not really sure that he had actually seen it and then he noticed Wildwing's brow move, and slowly his eyes opened. Canard smiled, relieved that his friend was awake and leaned over to show his friend he was there. Wildwing didn't know where he was the room had no windows and he had to squint at first at the bright lights, he stared at the ceiling for a few moments wondering first why he wasn't dead and then where he was, then he saw a ghost.

"Am I dead?" He asked in a croaky almost nonexistent voice, the ghost laughed and shook his head. "Where am I?"

"Wildwing old buddy, welcome to the resistance." Canard saw his friend relax a little, but frowned as he started to look around for someone.

"Dive?"

"We're doing everything we can to find him," Canard stood up and put a reassuring hand on Wildwing's shoulder, "I'm sure he'll be with us soon.

Nobody spotted Nosedive for months, until one patrol spotted him exiting a mine. They radioed it in only to find that Canard had been sent off on some secret mission. So as instructed, they told Mallory and Silver instead. Both women were highly shocked at first but they knew Canard and their new friend Wildwing would want them to act on the information as soon as possible. They decided that they only needed two other people to complete the rescue team. Silver was insistent on her father an ex thief named Duke who Mallory wouldn't trust as far as she could throw him, and the other Tanya suggested, his name was Grin, he had been some sort of priest before the invasion but now used his gigantic strength and size to aid the resistance against the suarians. They set out to the mine the boy had been spotted at and waited until they were familiar enough about their surroundings to get him out safely without disturbing the guards. They saw him twice, once as he was coming out of the mine in an evening and the other when he was being beaten for some reason, Mallory and Silver had to restrain Grin and Duke from blowing their hiding place at that point as both men wanted to show the drones why it wasn't nice to pick on innocent kids. Duke watched in anger as the small blonde boy was beaten and he clenched his fists at the scene, the kid was half their size and so emaciated it looked painful, but what struck him most was the fact that through it all he never made a sound, the poor kid looked like he wanted to die there and then and didn't care how much it hurt.

That night the small team seized their chance, Silver and Mallory were to set explosives on the other side of the mine in the trees, then Grin and Duke would sneak down and grab Nosedive who had been left out in the open broken and bleeding on the cold ground. When the two men heard the explosions they watched the guards and drones rush to see what the commotion was and then they sped down to where Nosedive lay waiting and praying to die so that he wouldn't have to suffer any more. He opened his eyes a little when he sensed someone at his side and a distant soft male voice told him he was going to be okay they were going to take him to his brother. The last thing he remembered was feeling someone strong lift him up and carry him away from the nightmarish place.

* * *

Nosedive woke up and looked around his heart did a somersault when he saw who was in the room with him, but his big brother was fast asleep on a chair in the corner of the room so he thought it best to just lie there, after all when you think for six months that your brother is dead wouldn't you savor the moment when he realizes that your okay too. After a time Wildwing stirred and sat up properly, he rubbed his eyes a little and looked over to his brother and jumped when he saw the boy's blue eyes looking back, causing the teenager to chuckle. The elder brother approached his sibling's bed and smiled the worry still etched in his features.

"Hey baby bro, how you feeling?" he knelt down by the bed and smoothed the boy's hair like their mother and sister used to. Nosedive moved towards the loving action relishing it, a tear slipped down his cheek.

"I thought I was all alone, even Jerome was killed," the tears fell freely now, and Wildwing's heart broke seeing his once happy brother in such a way, "I couldn't get the picture of you lying on the roadside out of my head and . . . and. . " he couldn't finish what he was saying it was too much, the last two and a half years would break even the strongest of soldiers let alone a young teenage boy. Nosedive cried until he fell back to sleep and Wildwing never left his side.

* * *

Canard Thuderbeak was down right fed up, he had found what he'd been after, but his duck cycle had been wasted by a patrol of hunter drones and so he had to trek the whole way back to head quarters. He remembered Mallory's dad asking him to find Ducaine's legendary mask and taking him to an old dying man who had given him a moldy old map that he was suppose to decipher and use it to find the mask. Of course that was the hard part, at least now he knew where he was going and how to get there, the only trouble was, it was the middle of winter, he was freezing his tail feathers off and he had to keep stopping to avoid the worst of the blizzards. The whole way he would think of weird and wonderful ways of killing general Mc Mallard, as well as what he was going to do to the elusive Draganus if he ever got his hands on him. It took him two weeks to walk a three day cycle ride and when he got back all he wanted to do was to have a good soak in a tub, preferably with his girlfriend, check on Wing and go to sleep! Imagine his excitement to find that his girlfriend had been sent to another continent to find some people who may be able to help the resistance, not only that but the water system was playing up and Tanya hadn't had time to fix it so there was no hot waster. So he just skipped those parts of his plans and went to see Wildwing. He didn't stay long as Wing was helping Dive regain is wasted muscles and they were actually smiling so he didn't want to intrude. He had to talk to then in the morning anyway about the next part of his mission. He'd been asked to choose a select team to go on a suicide mission to stop Draganus once and for all, he wanted to take Wildwing, and to do that he would have to offer a place on the team for Nosedive as well but he could live with that, the kid didn't have to take part in any actual fighting he could watch the ship. The only problem he foresaw was that he wanted to take Silver with him too but there was no way she would be back in time to be part of it, which meant if anything went wrong he wouldn't get to say goodbye to her.

* * *

Two months later:

Silver lay on her bunk crying softly she held a letter from her boyfriend that told her how much he loved her and how he had wanted her to be with him but there wasn't enough time. She hated herself for not finding her targets sooner, if she had then maybe they all could have helped and Canard, her dad and the rest of the team would still be there with them, not that she believed them dead but it was unlikely she would see any of them soon. She cursed General Mc Mallard, if he had let her tell Wildwing and Nosedive and Tanya who she was after then they would have made them wait. After all the brothers hadn't seen their sister Phoenix in almost seven years, didn't even know she was married or even that she had a four year old child called Millie. The other target was a duck called Kurt Vanderflock, Tanya's husband, whom Tanya had believed was tortured to death by the saurians because of his knowledge of dimensional limbo, he had been a threat to them.

A year later a service was held in memorial for the heroes of Puckworld, children pretended to be them on the rubbled street and books were written about them and their brave actions that saved Puckworld from the slavery of Draganus. There were four duck however who did not join in at these festivities in their opinion they were still alive and Kurt was going to create a dimensional gateway all of their own to follow the strike team using information found at various computers at the saurian camps. Somehow, someway they would find the lost heroes of Puckworld and bring them home.