Unusual Allies.

Hey guys back again, Enjoy!

Chapter Four: Lady Alicia.

She had long dusty pink hair, blue grey skin and ebony eyes, a pair of bat like wings draping over her shoulders like a cape. To the outside world she was a delicate creature who was to be guarded and protected; to her closest friends she was a courageous warrior who did what she could for the victims of her parents and family. Her parents of course being Draganus and Maleficent, neither of which really had anything to do with her upbringing, that had been the priestess Saria's job, her body guard Garret one of the last of the dragon race from their home world. They were the reason for who she was and she would always be grateful, even though Saria had always told her that she had been born with a good heart. Right now her beloved parents were in the process of sacking another planet and she was wondering around the halls of the Raptor her father had inhabited for so long. She had tried to sabotage the dimensional gateway to stop her mother from joining Draganus but she had failed and she now had to watch as more terrified people were forced to work until they collapsed, to see the dead expressions she had seen so many times before. She stopped. She could have sworn she heard gentle sobbing coming from one of the cells. She started to make her way towards the sound thinking it odd that although her father had all but deserted the ship he wouldn't normally ever forget he had prisoners held somewhere on his own personal raptor. She peered into each gloomy cell until she got half way down where she found a Puckworlder with grey feathers and a huge body mass for his species, but he was not the one sobbing so she noted the cell and carried on. Three more cells down on the left she saw what she thought at first to be a pile of rags but after a few moments the rags shifted slightly and the sobbing continued, quieter than before but whoever it was, was still crying. She pulled out a small device that could deactivate any saurian lock that was created by an old friend of hers and went into the cell.

"Please don't be afraid I don't want to hurt you," Alicia walked slowly up to the rags, "I want to help you." She arrived at them and received no response so she knelt down and gently pulled the rags off what she found was not pretty by a long shot. A young puckworlder no more than twenty five at most was curled up in a ball with no clothes on, her body was covered in what looked like claw marks and she was far too pale even for a duck. Alicia fumbled a small amulet around her neck and recited a few words.

"What is it my lady?" An elderly woman's voice replied.

"Saria you and Garret must come to my father's ship immediately," she replied placing the rag back over the girl to protect her modesty, "my father has two prisoners here who need our help."

"We must be careful my lady I fear your brother suspects." Saria replied in a hushed tone.

"Right now these prisoners need our help," She began to stroke the girl's hair in hopes of calming her down or something, "I will deal with my brother if need be."

"Yes of course my lady." Alicia didn't have to wait long for Saria and Garret to arrive. Saria wasted no time in casting a healing spell on the girl as Garret checked on the grey duck. After about thirty minutes they were back on her mother's ship in her own personal quarters.

"My lady the girl seems quite distressed around us perhaps it would be best if we find others like her that are safe and take her to them." Saria said as she walked over to her charge. Saria was an albino saurian she was very old and was one of the saurians closely related to the dragon race.

"I agree," Garret walked into the room and closed the large doors behind him, "the large one seems to trust us but the red headed girl is too afraid to even listen to her friend." Garret although of the dragon race chose to take a human like form, which was tall with long blonde hair and yellow eyes. Being able to transform was a trick done by dragons in ancient times and it was difficult to master, it was now a virtually lost art as it was safer for most dragons to live high up in the mountains where it would be treacherous for anyone without the means to walk. "We have not been here long but I have already heard that the rumoured strike force that followed Draganus from Puckworld also made it here, they may be members and if we can find out where they reside we can take these two to them."

"Good idea Garret," Alicia nodded her head, "we'll all have to look into it, but we'll have to be careful if my dear brother really does suspect then I can't risk him finding out."

Angel walked into the infirmary to see that Nosedive was still unconscious; Wildwing was sleeping in the next bed to be there when his little brother woke up. She'd managed to use an ancient spell she was taught once to protect them but due to lack of practise it was very weak and they'd all come out of their little accident with various cuts and bruises, Nosedive however had hit his head badly, which was now stitched up and dressed in a crisp white bandage. Angel walked over to the bed and felt a little guilty, she hadn't had many friends before, most people didn't trust her but Nosedive didn't care what she was or how old she was, he had treated her as an equal from when they had first met. She turned to leave and heard a murmur; looking over her shoulder she thought she had imagined it until she saw Dive's head shift and his expression change from peaceful to a mixture of pain and fear.

"Dive?" She said softly as she moved back over to the bed.

"No please," she heard him say as she got closer, "please stop."

"Dive what's wrong?" She placed her hand on his shoulder and he screamed causing her to jump back in shock, "Nosedive!" Angel yelled over him feeling a little scared and confused.

"Dive!" Wildwing called and pulled himself out of bed ignoring the pain to pull his baby brother into a bear hug, "it's okay baby bro, no one's going to hurt you now you're safe." Angel stood quietly and watched as Dive slowly calmed down, Wildwing talking to him the whole time.

"What'd ya do pirate?" Duke spat as he came across the scene, "try ta murder him in his sleep?"

"No! I . . . he. . ." Angel stuttered.

"Lost for words kid?" Duke smirked.

"Shut up Duke he had a nightmare." Wildwing said.

"Is he okay?" Angel asked Wildwing in a quiet voice.

"He will be Angel, why don't you go get some sleep or something I'll take care of him." Wildwing smiled at Angel who nodded and slipped past Duke. "You don't have to be so mean to her you know."

"The kid's a pirate," Duke justified himself; "I don't trust her."

"And you're an ex-thief Duke," Wildwing replied as he settle Dive back into bed and sat down on his next to him, "what difference does it make."

"They ain't got no honour, that's what," Duke said as loudly as he could without shouting so he wouldn't wake Nosedive, "at least in the brotherhood we wouldn't stab each other in the back."

"How do you know she will?" Wildwing asked in a level voice.

"She's a pirate Wing that's what they do!"

"Whatever, just don't get on her case too much according to Thrash and Mookie she's the reason they survived the elevator crash," Wildwing looked back at his brother who was sleeping soundly again, "so I think she deserves the benefit of the doubt don't you?" He looked up and Duke was gone, sighing he laid back down on the bed he was occupying for the moment and dozed off again.

"You think you're so special don't ya?" Duke yelled when he found Angel in the ready room, Tanya and Roxy were there too.

"Duke how old are you?" Roxy said from Drake one.

"Just like a pirate ta think they're above everyone else." Duke walked right up to her and gave her an icy glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Angel said finding her voice.

"Yeah right." Duke scoffed.

"Duke stop it she's just a k . . . k . . . child!" Tanya stuttered.

"Oh yeah a child who no doubt is responsible fer bringin this Maleficent here." Duke yelled.

"How could you say that!" Angel yelled and ran off leaving the three ducks to stare after her. She ran towards the hanger where on the way she bumped into Canard.

"Hey what's the rush?" he asked cheerfully.

"I need to go." Angel said not looking at him and pushed past.

"What?" he said confused, "go where?"

"Anywhere but here!" She yelled back. Canard twigged as to what she meant and ran after her. He caught up just as she was starting up a duck cycle and stood in front of it putting his hands on the front.

"You are not going out there!" Canard said in a tone that didn't invite argument.

"Watch me!" Angel ignored the tone.

"You'll get killed!"

"So long as I blow a few things up on the way there's no great loss is there!" Angel yelled.

"I won't let you leave the pond Angel!" Canard yelled back. Angel sighed in what he thought was defeat, she got off the cycle and put her hand in a pouch around her belt, before he knew what she was doing she'd thrown something on the floor and he felt himself falling into blackness. Angel dragged him over to the side of the hanger and made sure he was comfortable then went back to the cycle.

"Sorry Canard but if I don't blow something up soon I'm going to get cranky." Angel apologised to the sleeping mallard.

Angel sped up along the tunnel and exited the pond she headed in the direction of the city where she knew there would be drones and saurian soldiers just waiting to get their tails kicked. As she sped along the streets she could see that Draganus and Maleficent had really gone to town trying to get rid of the pond, there was a giant crater in place of the stadium now and Captain Comics was nowhere to be seen. She grinned when she saw her first victims, a group of about twenty hunter drones were up ahead, she sped up and pulled out a small silver ball from the top of her right boot and threw it at the drones who blew up accordingly. Not long after that she came across a bunch of soldiers, this time though she pulled up and pulled out her sword and whistled to them.

"Hey boys?" She shouted to them, "Which one of you lovely lizards would like to participate in my daily work out huh?" The group took out their weapons and charged at her. Still grinning, she activated her blade and charged as well. She sliced through the first saurian's gun, jumped over him, wrapped her legs around his neck, did a hand stand and used the momentum to throw him at the guys behind him. That took out three, then she sliced through another saurian followed by another then blocked a shot. What she hadn't noticed was that reinforcements were closing in fast.

Angel slipped silently into the pond favouring her right side and arm. She really didn't want Canard to find her like this, at least not before she could clean herself up and make it look a little less serious. She crept along the silent corridors, past the ready room door which she noticed was occupied and into the infirmary where she made a bee line for the cabinet that contained the dressings. She grabbed some ointment from another cabinet and sat down with her back to Nosedive's bed.

"What are you doing?" Dive asked after he had heard her hiss twice. He sat up slowly and closed his eyes for a moment to stop the room spinning before he swung his legs over the side of the bed, he noticed Angel's back was tense, "Angel?" He slowly got up after no answer and made his way over to her side, "Oh man you're bleeding! What happened girl?" Dive grabbed the ointment and started to help her. The wound in her side was the worst, it was pretty deep and he thought it looked like it would need stitches. The one in her arm was just a graze but it would still need dressing, further up her arm he noticed a few old scratches but he ignored them.

"Please don't tell the others." Angel whispered keeping her eyes to the floor.

"I think they'll notice your side wound girl," Dive said wrapping a bandage around her arm and gently tying a knot in it, "and I think it needs stitches."

"No!" She said louder than she had meant to, "no it'll heal fine I've had worse, please just don't tell anyone."

"Don't tell us what Angel?" Wildwing said from the doorway, he was accompanied by the rest of the ducks.

"Angel where have you been?" Roxy asked, "You had us worried." At that Angel blushed.

"Kid was probably telling the enemy how ta get inta the pond." Duke said just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I was not!" Angel stood up to defend herself and regretted it, her wounds weren't life threatening but she had lost a quite a bit of blood and any sudden movement at that current time was a bad idea. She held her head with one hand and before she knew what was happening Nosedive was holding her and she could barely stand.

"How many did you go up against?" Canard asked arms folded and a thoroughly unamused expression on his face.

"There were only twenty," she replied, "but more showed up and more quickly than I thought they would." Canard rolled his eyes then looked at Tanya.

"Why don't you fix her up that way she can be confined to her quarters until she stops running off." Canard turned and walked away followed by all but Nosedive, Wildwing and Tanya.

"I'm sorry." Angel said to the remaining ducks.

"Ah don't worry about him," Tanya smiled, "he's just got some bruised pride. Now let's get you fixed up huh?"

"Angel why do you fight?" Wildwing asked watching Dive help her back onto the bed and Tanya get to work.

"Because I have to." Was her simple reply.

"That's not a reason," he said sighing, "So what's the real reason?" Angel looked at Wildwing expecting him to be angry but he just looked concerned.

"I fight because that's what I was born to do," she said still watching Wildwing for the sign that he was about to throw her out of the pond, "it's in my blood and. . ."

"And What Girl?" Asked Nosedive.

"And because of a promise." Angel shifted her gaze to the floor.

"What sort of promise?" Tanya asked as she started to attend to Angel's side wound. Angel looked up and was reassured by the looks on her new friend's faces but she was still a little uncomfortable about it, she'd never told anyone.

"When the saurians attacked my planet they hit my . . . home city first." Angel, as smart as she was couldn't think of a way to explain to the three ducks without telling them exactly what she was, she sighed, "actually they hit my home first."

"As in your actual house home?" Dive asked.

"Well not a house exactly," Angel blushed, "more of a palace actually."

"Did you work there?" Tanya asked.

"Not exactly no. . ."

"You were the princess." Wildwing said calmly in a questioning manner. Angel's blush reddened.

"A princess!" Dive's eyes bulged.

"Which is why Draganus and his armies would have hit her palace first," Wildwing deducted, "your family were there and if they took out the royal family then. . ."

"Families." Angel corrected, "There was more than one royal family, any who didn't welcome the saurians with open arms were destroyed and their people enslaved." Angel paused and inwardly cursed as she felt a tear roll down her cheek, "My kind were different though. My kind was massacred until there was only a handful left, now there's just me."

"Where were you when your family were attacked?" Wildwing asked.

"Oh I was with them, my nurse maid," Angel felt a hand stroking her back, "she found me hiding in a closet in my parent's room and took me away."

"Where were your parents Angel?" Wildwing hated asking all these questions but by the looks of things he realised that she had to get this out, he remembered how Nosedive was after the camps and how he was when he thought Roxy was dead, he knew talking helped and if he stopped now she'd probably clam up again and never tell anyone.

"In the room." Angel felt more tears fall as she envisioned the scene in her mind as she had done most nights since it had happened, "they were hurt and wouldn't move, my mom had told me to stay in the closet and not come out unless it was someone I knew, all a could do was stare at them. I don't think I could have done anything even if I'd wanted to." She felt like a flood gate had opened and she kept going, "I think she knew as the day before she told me to never give up fighting no matter what happened, so now I fight." She put her hands over her face and sobbed hating herself more every minute she cried but was unable to stop. Angel felt herself being pulled into someone's arms and being rocked gently, it felt comforting so she responded and cried into their chest. Wildwing watched his little brother try to comfort Angel for a few minutes then got up to find the rest of the team who seemed to be discussing something in the ready room.

"The kid confessed yet?" Duke spat.

"Put a sock in it Duke." Wildwing replied irritably.

"The kid knocked Canard out cold," Duke yelled, "you really think she's trust worthy?"

"Well I trust her." Roxy said from her perch on the computer chair, her arms fold across her chest.

"I trust her too but she's a danger to herself," Canard said leaning against drake one with his own arms folded, "she could get herself killed and she doesn't seem to care."

"O course not, the kids in league with the enemy," Duke slammed his fist against the closest wall, "I say we lock her up in one o the holding cell on the lower levels."

"That's not happening," Wildwing said frankly, "I don't think Angel's a pirate at all, at least not one like you think Duke."

"Oh really and why is that?" Wildwing rolled his eyes.

"Because she's just told me about the invasion on her own planet," Wildwing said, "and the saurians murdered her family in cold blood. She promised her mom she would keep fighting and I think she's used it as a way of venting some frustration ever since she could fight." Wildwing wasn't going to tell them details, that was for Angel alone to do but he had to make sure Duke stopped making her miserable, "Roxy, Canard, have you ever seen her steal anything from anyone other than saurians or their allies?"

"Now that you mention, it no." Canard replied.

"Why do you ask?" Roxy unfolded her arms and leant her elbows on her knees.

"I think it was the saurians that gave her the name space pirate and that she simply adopted it," Wildwing stated, "she's no more a real pirate than any of us, she's only fifteen for pucks sake!"

"They really murdered the kid's parents?" Duke asked suspiciously.

"Whilst she watched." Wildwing told him then turned to see Tanya entering the room, "how is she."

"Still upset but Nosedive seems to be handling it." Tanya answered. It was at that moment that the drake one alarm went off. Tanya checked the monitor and found that their land vehicle entrance had been breached.

"I told ya the brat set us up!" Duke yelled over the noise.

"Oh shut up Duke Draganus has known where the base is for over a year," Wildwing yelled, "it was only a matter of time before. . ." The lights went dead.

"Switching to aux . . . aux . . . alternative power." Tanya stuttered.

"Tanya, is everything ready to go?" Wildwing asked.

"It'll have to be." Canard said.

Ba ba baaaaaaa. Sorry but I have to go to my sisters 11th b-day party so I'll finish it here, besides this one's reaaaaaaaaally long. I hope you enjoyed it, please review! Toodles Angel xxx.