A/N : O.o I'm alive. Wow. I can summarize the reason why this hasn't been
updated in three words: writer's block, and college. It's a lame excuse,
but it's true. It's not that I wanted to give this up, I swear.
In response to DevLeigh's review: I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I never got your email. I wouldn't have ignored you if I had. Thanks, though. You kind of gave me an incentive to keep going with this like I wanted to.
Lost But Not Broken
By Orenda
Chapter 2 – Getting in Deeper
A young girl, around twelve years of age, had decided that it would be the perfect day to go out and explore in the snow. The sun had come out, making the snow glisten and the cold wind more tolerable. So she had put on her outdoor garments as soon as she had finished with breakfast, wondering what she might see this time. Perhaps she could find that rabbit again, or see the bird she had heard singing in the distance the other day.
Of course, her younger brother just had to come with her... Not that she didn't like him or anything, but he had just recently turned ten, and was at an age where he was hardly interested in the same things she was. But she would put up with it for now. He seemed to be content following her at the moment, but stayed enough paces behind her to do his own things, and would pretend to ignore her if she turned around to face him.
A little while after she had started out, trudging through the snow with her boots, she paused for a moment, blinking. Bringing her hand up to cover her eyes, the girl squinted and tried to look out against the sun. Was there something out there in the snow? It was still too far away to tell.
Not thinking about how it might be dangerous, the girl started to walk towards it, wondering what it could be. It certainly hadn't been there the last time she was outside...
As she approached the giant lump out in the middle of the snow, she was really starting to wonder what it was. If it was an animal, it looked like a really big one.
Wait... Was it a person? Someone way out here? No... It was two people! She kneeled down next to one of them, who had his face turned away. He was smaller than the other one, even more noticeable without a jacket on. He must be freezing! And it looked like he'd been dragging the other with him, judging by the path in the snow.
She was just about to call out to her brother, who had stopped following her a ways back, when she noticed that the smaller form was moving.
"Hello..? Are you alright?" she asked timidly.
She found herself looking into the pair of eyes of... A duck?
He was barely conscious, looking extremely pale as he mumbled, "H-Help my b- bro'..." Before she could respond, he had closed his eyes, falling limp against the snow.
The girl stared for a moment in shock before yelling, "J-Jason! Go get dad... Now!"
*****
A man with dark brown hair, with eyes almost to match it, sighed as he bent over his desk looking through papers. As much as he'd been trying to avoid it, it was about time for him to start cleaning some old junk out. He'd spent the last two days going through boxes that hadn't been touched in years, throwing away things that really had no purpose anymore other than to collect dust. It was somewhat boring work, but he'd done worse things.
But he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of thudding footsteps, and soon his son came running into the room, almost out of breath.
He frowned, "Jason... Are you okay? Is Kimi okay?"
As soon as he was able to, the blond boy managed to nod and said, "K-Kimi found them... in the snow... They're both breathing, b-but they won't wake up! We don't know who they are..."
The father frowned deeper. Strangers, lost in the snow? There usually weren't many people around other than the few who chose to live in the surrounding area, but his two children would know them, even if they hadn't seen them in a while.
"Alright, I'm coming," he promised as he stood up. This could be serious...
Hopefully not.
*****
Tanya sighed as she stood up, wiping her hands on a rag as she admired her work on the repaired and upgraded Migrator. It had taken her a while, but the upgrade to the vehicle would now be useful when it came to dealing with Saurians, or whatever else they might come across.
Putting her tools away, she gave the Migrator one last look before leaving. That was one less thing to take care of. She knew that the others would have helped her with the repairs one way or another, but this time she had insisted on working on it herself, using the time to try and figure out everything that had happened.
But mostly, she was thinking of what she might be able to do should they come across Canard again, wanting to avoid a repeat of the previous experience. Wildwing said that he had gained control of himself again in the very end, but that didn't mean that all of this was over. She honestly hoped that they would never have to be under those circumstances again.
Walking into the kitchen, she was slightly surprised to see Duke sitting at the table. It was starting to get late in the morning, and the gray mallard was usually gone doing his own activities around that time of day. He seemed to be thinking about something, so he didn't notice her entrance until she sat down next to him, causing him to look up at her.
"Hey, sweetheart..." he attempted to smile warmly.
"What are you doing still here?" she replied, not in an unfriendly way.
Glancing over at a clock, Duke blinked. "Guess I didn't realize it was so late. I was just thinkin' that Wing and Dive should be comin' back soon."
Tanya nodded, "That's right, they are."
She smiled, remembering the look on Nosedive's face when he first heard that they were going somewhere for a trip that wasn't just a hockey game. He hadn't been that excited about something in a long time, and it was a nice change after all the after-effects of Dragaunus's last scheme.
"Worried?" she asked him.
"Maybe for Mal's sake," Duke smirked, stretching his now somewhat stiff muscles, "'Cause Dive'll probably come back in a good mood and want ta prank her."
Tanya smiled at that, "And you'll only encourage him."
"Hey, I never said anything about encouraging the kid," he commented with a look of innocence.
Tanya didn't fall for it for a minute, "Just don't say I didn't warn you if that happens, and Mallory takes it out on you when Wildwing protects Nosedive."
Duke lost his look rather quickly, his face becoming blank as he stood up. "We'll just see when it happens, sweetheart," he said with a hint of charm as he made his way to the door.
Tanya tried not to laugh as Duke left, just glad that a bit of normalcy was returning after the tension they'd been under for a while.
*****
For a long time, all he could feel was darkness. It had settled over him, numbing his senses so that he could feel nothing. But after a while, the total darkness began to fade, and he was left with a faint light, continuing to slowly grow stronger as time went on. How much time, he did not know, nor was he even able to guess.
It seemed to feel like an eternity later when he started to her a soft voice talking to another one. The light had become terribly bright, and he found himself squinting as he tried to open his eyes. The voice stopped talking, and he realized that he was in some new surroundings as he managed to focus his vision a little. That was when he realized that there was a dull pain in his head. He slowly raised his hand up to touch his head, finding a bandage there.
"Good, you're awake."
Now he was sure that he'd never heard this voice before, and he realized that he was laying in a bed. What was going on?
"W-Wha.. Where..?" he managed to say as he tried to sit up, causing his head to hurt more.
He was quickly pushed back down onto the bed, "Just relax... You're safe now."
That was when he felt a light movement next to him. Looking in the direction of the movement, he noticed there was a smaller figure against his side, apparently asleep. He blinked, confused.
Nothing around him looked familiar.
The man who had pushed him back down spoke again, "My children found you outside in the snow. Your brother woke up a little while ago and told us a little bit of what happened, but he wasn't completely coherent." The man gave him a concerned look, "You were attacked by someone?"
Rubbing his head, he looked at the figure next to him, who stirred again, and then back up at the man in front of him.
"..M-My brother?" he asked weakly.
*****
Nosedive still felt really tired, but something in the back of his mind was nagging at him, insisting that he should be waking up for some reason. He wasn't entirely sure why, but it seemed rather important, so he figured that maybe he should just go along with it for now.
As he slowly opened his eyes once more, he realized that it wasn't quite as bright as the last time. He also noticed that he didn't feel as cold, either. It was an improvement.
He quickly realized that the figure next to him was no longer completely lifeless. With this knowledge, he sat up fast, grinning even as a wave of dizziness hit him from the sudden movement.
"Wing! You're okay!" he smiled with a slight excitement in his voice. He had been so worried...
But when he didn't get a response, he blinked in confusion. Wildwing was usually eager to reassure him that nothing was wrong.
So why wasn't he saying anything? And why was he staring at Nosedive with that strange look in his eyes..?
"Wing..?" he questioned softly, a little less sure of himself this time, "Bro', what is it?"
It was the coldness in Wildwing's eyes that got to him. They weren't exactly unfriendly, just... They had a look of unfamiliarity to them, as if he didn't recognize...
Wildwing replied back almost as softly, "I'm sorry, but... Y-You're my brother?"
That was just too much for Nosedive to handle. His own brother had no clue who he was? Didn't he... remember?
The dizziness that Nosedive had felt when he first sat up suddenly came back even stronger, causing him to lie back down against his will, his vision growing fuzzy. He thought he heard a voice talking to him, but he couldn't quite figure out what was being said.
After a few seconds, seeing became easier, and he recognized the other person in the room as the man he had seen before.
"Calm down, you're alright..." the man insisted, and Nosedive felt a cold cloth being pressed against his forehead.
"It's me, it's Nosedive," he said with a hint of desperation in his voice, but he no longer resisted or tried to sit up. "We escaped from the camps together with Canard on Puckworld... And you always scold me when I stay up too late reading comic books, and..." he knew that they were trying to make him stay calm and relax, but it took him some time to fully give in again. "...And we came on vacation for a surprise, after Canard..."
Just thinking about what Canard had done to them because of Dragaunus's influence, what Nosedive had felt, not even able to trust his own brother for a while was enough to make his head spin worse than ever, and he probably would've lost it had he not closed his eyes and stopped talking when he did.
Wildwing had to remember who he was... He just had to...
*****
Wildwing watched as the smaller figure next to him was tucked in under the blankets, the teen's breathing finally relaxed as he ceased movement. Wildwing was told it would be for the best, since sleep would be the only way for his fever to go down.
Nosedive... That was his name. The look on Nosedive's face had been heartbreaking, but it wasn't enough to bring any recognition to his mind. None of the things that Nosedive had previously mentioned seemed to hold any significance to him.
But if he wasn't this Wildwing person, than who was he? He couldn't remember being someone named Wildwing, but he couldn't remember being anyone else, either. And then there was the fact that he and this Nosedive that was now asleep next to him looked differently than the one who said they had been found. Were they of a different species then? It all made his head spin.
He'd been told not to worry about it for now. The man had seemed very nice, had called himself Chris, and said that they could stay as long as they needed to. He wouldn't worry so much, except that he didn't know where they were from or which to go back to. Apparently Nosedive knew where they had came from, but his fever was worse than when they first found him, according to Chris, and it might be best to wait until he was a bit better before dragging him off somewhere.
Chris had suggested to him that he should probably try and rest some more while he could, and that there would be some food ready for them later. But Wildwing – he decided to call himself that, knowing that he didn't have any better ideas – didn't find sleep that easily the second time, and found himself staring across the room towards an empty space on the wall trying to figure out what he was going to do now.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Slightly shorter than I'd really like, but it's done! Go me! And my homework is pretty much done too, so now I can work on this other idea of mine. Don't hate me for my pace; I try as hard as I can. And it will be done someday. ^^
In response to DevLeigh's review: I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I never got your email. I wouldn't have ignored you if I had. Thanks, though. You kind of gave me an incentive to keep going with this like I wanted to.
Lost But Not Broken
By Orenda
Chapter 2 – Getting in Deeper
A young girl, around twelve years of age, had decided that it would be the perfect day to go out and explore in the snow. The sun had come out, making the snow glisten and the cold wind more tolerable. So she had put on her outdoor garments as soon as she had finished with breakfast, wondering what she might see this time. Perhaps she could find that rabbit again, or see the bird she had heard singing in the distance the other day.
Of course, her younger brother just had to come with her... Not that she didn't like him or anything, but he had just recently turned ten, and was at an age where he was hardly interested in the same things she was. But she would put up with it for now. He seemed to be content following her at the moment, but stayed enough paces behind her to do his own things, and would pretend to ignore her if she turned around to face him.
A little while after she had started out, trudging through the snow with her boots, she paused for a moment, blinking. Bringing her hand up to cover her eyes, the girl squinted and tried to look out against the sun. Was there something out there in the snow? It was still too far away to tell.
Not thinking about how it might be dangerous, the girl started to walk towards it, wondering what it could be. It certainly hadn't been there the last time she was outside...
As she approached the giant lump out in the middle of the snow, she was really starting to wonder what it was. If it was an animal, it looked like a really big one.
Wait... Was it a person? Someone way out here? No... It was two people! She kneeled down next to one of them, who had his face turned away. He was smaller than the other one, even more noticeable without a jacket on. He must be freezing! And it looked like he'd been dragging the other with him, judging by the path in the snow.
She was just about to call out to her brother, who had stopped following her a ways back, when she noticed that the smaller form was moving.
"Hello..? Are you alright?" she asked timidly.
She found herself looking into the pair of eyes of... A duck?
He was barely conscious, looking extremely pale as he mumbled, "H-Help my b- bro'..." Before she could respond, he had closed his eyes, falling limp against the snow.
The girl stared for a moment in shock before yelling, "J-Jason! Go get dad... Now!"
*****
A man with dark brown hair, with eyes almost to match it, sighed as he bent over his desk looking through papers. As much as he'd been trying to avoid it, it was about time for him to start cleaning some old junk out. He'd spent the last two days going through boxes that hadn't been touched in years, throwing away things that really had no purpose anymore other than to collect dust. It was somewhat boring work, but he'd done worse things.
But he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of thudding footsteps, and soon his son came running into the room, almost out of breath.
He frowned, "Jason... Are you okay? Is Kimi okay?"
As soon as he was able to, the blond boy managed to nod and said, "K-Kimi found them... in the snow... They're both breathing, b-but they won't wake up! We don't know who they are..."
The father frowned deeper. Strangers, lost in the snow? There usually weren't many people around other than the few who chose to live in the surrounding area, but his two children would know them, even if they hadn't seen them in a while.
"Alright, I'm coming," he promised as he stood up. This could be serious...
Hopefully not.
*****
Tanya sighed as she stood up, wiping her hands on a rag as she admired her work on the repaired and upgraded Migrator. It had taken her a while, but the upgrade to the vehicle would now be useful when it came to dealing with Saurians, or whatever else they might come across.
Putting her tools away, she gave the Migrator one last look before leaving. That was one less thing to take care of. She knew that the others would have helped her with the repairs one way or another, but this time she had insisted on working on it herself, using the time to try and figure out everything that had happened.
But mostly, she was thinking of what she might be able to do should they come across Canard again, wanting to avoid a repeat of the previous experience. Wildwing said that he had gained control of himself again in the very end, but that didn't mean that all of this was over. She honestly hoped that they would never have to be under those circumstances again.
Walking into the kitchen, she was slightly surprised to see Duke sitting at the table. It was starting to get late in the morning, and the gray mallard was usually gone doing his own activities around that time of day. He seemed to be thinking about something, so he didn't notice her entrance until she sat down next to him, causing him to look up at her.
"Hey, sweetheart..." he attempted to smile warmly.
"What are you doing still here?" she replied, not in an unfriendly way.
Glancing over at a clock, Duke blinked. "Guess I didn't realize it was so late. I was just thinkin' that Wing and Dive should be comin' back soon."
Tanya nodded, "That's right, they are."
She smiled, remembering the look on Nosedive's face when he first heard that they were going somewhere for a trip that wasn't just a hockey game. He hadn't been that excited about something in a long time, and it was a nice change after all the after-effects of Dragaunus's last scheme.
"Worried?" she asked him.
"Maybe for Mal's sake," Duke smirked, stretching his now somewhat stiff muscles, "'Cause Dive'll probably come back in a good mood and want ta prank her."
Tanya smiled at that, "And you'll only encourage him."
"Hey, I never said anything about encouraging the kid," he commented with a look of innocence.
Tanya didn't fall for it for a minute, "Just don't say I didn't warn you if that happens, and Mallory takes it out on you when Wildwing protects Nosedive."
Duke lost his look rather quickly, his face becoming blank as he stood up. "We'll just see when it happens, sweetheart," he said with a hint of charm as he made his way to the door.
Tanya tried not to laugh as Duke left, just glad that a bit of normalcy was returning after the tension they'd been under for a while.
*****
For a long time, all he could feel was darkness. It had settled over him, numbing his senses so that he could feel nothing. But after a while, the total darkness began to fade, and he was left with a faint light, continuing to slowly grow stronger as time went on. How much time, he did not know, nor was he even able to guess.
It seemed to feel like an eternity later when he started to her a soft voice talking to another one. The light had become terribly bright, and he found himself squinting as he tried to open his eyes. The voice stopped talking, and he realized that he was in some new surroundings as he managed to focus his vision a little. That was when he realized that there was a dull pain in his head. He slowly raised his hand up to touch his head, finding a bandage there.
"Good, you're awake."
Now he was sure that he'd never heard this voice before, and he realized that he was laying in a bed. What was going on?
"W-Wha.. Where..?" he managed to say as he tried to sit up, causing his head to hurt more.
He was quickly pushed back down onto the bed, "Just relax... You're safe now."
That was when he felt a light movement next to him. Looking in the direction of the movement, he noticed there was a smaller figure against his side, apparently asleep. He blinked, confused.
Nothing around him looked familiar.
The man who had pushed him back down spoke again, "My children found you outside in the snow. Your brother woke up a little while ago and told us a little bit of what happened, but he wasn't completely coherent." The man gave him a concerned look, "You were attacked by someone?"
Rubbing his head, he looked at the figure next to him, who stirred again, and then back up at the man in front of him.
"..M-My brother?" he asked weakly.
*****
Nosedive still felt really tired, but something in the back of his mind was nagging at him, insisting that he should be waking up for some reason. He wasn't entirely sure why, but it seemed rather important, so he figured that maybe he should just go along with it for now.
As he slowly opened his eyes once more, he realized that it wasn't quite as bright as the last time. He also noticed that he didn't feel as cold, either. It was an improvement.
He quickly realized that the figure next to him was no longer completely lifeless. With this knowledge, he sat up fast, grinning even as a wave of dizziness hit him from the sudden movement.
"Wing! You're okay!" he smiled with a slight excitement in his voice. He had been so worried...
But when he didn't get a response, he blinked in confusion. Wildwing was usually eager to reassure him that nothing was wrong.
So why wasn't he saying anything? And why was he staring at Nosedive with that strange look in his eyes..?
"Wing..?" he questioned softly, a little less sure of himself this time, "Bro', what is it?"
It was the coldness in Wildwing's eyes that got to him. They weren't exactly unfriendly, just... They had a look of unfamiliarity to them, as if he didn't recognize...
Wildwing replied back almost as softly, "I'm sorry, but... Y-You're my brother?"
That was just too much for Nosedive to handle. His own brother had no clue who he was? Didn't he... remember?
The dizziness that Nosedive had felt when he first sat up suddenly came back even stronger, causing him to lie back down against his will, his vision growing fuzzy. He thought he heard a voice talking to him, but he couldn't quite figure out what was being said.
After a few seconds, seeing became easier, and he recognized the other person in the room as the man he had seen before.
"Calm down, you're alright..." the man insisted, and Nosedive felt a cold cloth being pressed against his forehead.
"It's me, it's Nosedive," he said with a hint of desperation in his voice, but he no longer resisted or tried to sit up. "We escaped from the camps together with Canard on Puckworld... And you always scold me when I stay up too late reading comic books, and..." he knew that they were trying to make him stay calm and relax, but it took him some time to fully give in again. "...And we came on vacation for a surprise, after Canard..."
Just thinking about what Canard had done to them because of Dragaunus's influence, what Nosedive had felt, not even able to trust his own brother for a while was enough to make his head spin worse than ever, and he probably would've lost it had he not closed his eyes and stopped talking when he did.
Wildwing had to remember who he was... He just had to...
*****
Wildwing watched as the smaller figure next to him was tucked in under the blankets, the teen's breathing finally relaxed as he ceased movement. Wildwing was told it would be for the best, since sleep would be the only way for his fever to go down.
Nosedive... That was his name. The look on Nosedive's face had been heartbreaking, but it wasn't enough to bring any recognition to his mind. None of the things that Nosedive had previously mentioned seemed to hold any significance to him.
But if he wasn't this Wildwing person, than who was he? He couldn't remember being someone named Wildwing, but he couldn't remember being anyone else, either. And then there was the fact that he and this Nosedive that was now asleep next to him looked differently than the one who said they had been found. Were they of a different species then? It all made his head spin.
He'd been told not to worry about it for now. The man had seemed very nice, had called himself Chris, and said that they could stay as long as they needed to. He wouldn't worry so much, except that he didn't know where they were from or which to go back to. Apparently Nosedive knew where they had came from, but his fever was worse than when they first found him, according to Chris, and it might be best to wait until he was a bit better before dragging him off somewhere.
Chris had suggested to him that he should probably try and rest some more while he could, and that there would be some food ready for them later. But Wildwing – he decided to call himself that, knowing that he didn't have any better ideas – didn't find sleep that easily the second time, and found himself staring across the room towards an empty space on the wall trying to figure out what he was going to do now.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Slightly shorter than I'd really like, but it's done! Go me! And my homework is pretty much done too, so now I can work on this other idea of mine. Don't hate me for my pace; I try as hard as I can. And it will be done someday. ^^
