Heart: "Wait up Dive!" I called to my twin as he ran down the street towards the mall.

"Hurry up, my new comics are in!" Nosedive yelled back over his shoulder, pausing a moment so I could catch up.

We stood at the gate of the shopping mall. The comic shop was in sight. I shook my head as I caught my breath, "We've been rushed less in battles!"

"Sorry Sis!" Nosedive said patting her shoulder playfully.

After a moment I found myself quickly following my twin again until e reached his favorite shop. Once inside Nosedive found Thrash immediately and started talking up a storm about their new favorite super hero. Meanwhile I explored the shelves trying to find something new to read as I waited.

After about an hour we left with several comics in Nosedive's hands, "This is gonna be awesome! We've won the championship, those lizards are deep underwater, and we have so much more freetime now!"

I smiled cheerfully at my brother. It had been such a long time since we had had time like this together as siblings. Our last few weeks since the championship had given the entire team a chance to relax. That very night they were going out all together for the first time in what felt like ages to me. No publicity stunts, no journalists, no enemies. Just us all together.

"Let's get back home!" I said still smiling.

"You're in a good mood sis," Nosedive noted as he looked through one of his new comics.

"Dive we haven't been able to live like this since before the invasion back on Puck World," I realized aloud, "We still fight crime, but it isn't a war anymore!"

"It is kinda nice to not have to worry about those lizards popping up whenever I want to try and chill," Nosedive agreed.

Not to long after we had returned home to the pond. It's parking lot seemed strangely empty after the last few games causing it to be packed full. Wildwing's statue guarded the doors of our home here on the surface. It felt so strange even now seeing it stand so proudly. Every so often I noticed kids sitting on top of the stone block at the statue's feet, happily taking photos with their families and friends. Once in a while Buzz brought his new friends to visit and he always loved telling his story in front of the statue of how he first met us. I guess it felt strange now because we rarely used the front doors to leave or return before. We normally left by Migrator or the Aerowing.

Once within the walls of our headquarters we found our teammates a few at a time. Wildwing and Tanya were talking together about something while she tinkered with something in her lab. I noted that the two had been spending more time together recently, and I had teased my big brother with Dive. Grin was meditating while Mallory was making good use of a kick boxing bag in the gym. Lastly Duke, I found reading one of his books in the rec room. I could barely keep myself from running over to him as I threw my arms around his shoulders, hugging him from behind as he was still sitting in his chair. I would then feel his hand grasp my arm, returning the hug. When I pulled away he turned around and pulled me right back into him to where I was sitting in his lap.

Refusing to let go once he had me, Duke would give a playful smirk. Evetually I gave in and rested against him as he picked up his book and continued reading.

That afternoon the others still had their practice, but afterwards we were free to get ready for our evening out. Mallory and Tanya had taken me out a few days prior for a ladies day out. While we were shopping I had found myself picking out things like skirts and dresses for once.

I recalled our first days on Earth and how clothing such as these hadn't ever come to mind before. Being with the others had changed how I felt about myself. I felt so much more confident than I had been before. Over a year later so much had changed in my life. I had a stable home, a team of friends that were my family, someone who loved me and looked to me for unwaivering trust, and I had grown stronger for all of this. Though my past was still lost to me, I didn't question where I was meant to be now.

"Ravishin'," he said as I stepped out from the changing screen we had in our room.

Duke:

She stood before me in a flowing, short skirted, burgundy dress. The dress had one over shoulder piece that was fastened with a crescent moon clasp. On her feet were short velvet black flat boots with a single straps fastened with silver buckles. Her hair was tied with a black, silk ribbon. Around her neck was the sapphire heart I had given her.

"So you like it?" She asked me while blushing a bit.

I walked up to her, taking her hand and kissing it gently. Her blushing nearly matched the deep burgundy red of her hair. Giving her my most charming smile I assured, "Of course love."

I myself was wearing a burgundy long sleeved shirt with a light black gillet vest and dark shaded slacks.

Soon we were headed out with the others. Though I offered Heart a ride for just the two of us on one of the duckcycles. She seemed to like the idea. We then told the others we would meet them at the that we headed out together.

Yet as we drove along, for a few moments I thought the rode beneath us was beginning to shake. I pulled to the side to see if it continued, and so had others.

"An earthquake?" Heart asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure sweetheart," I told her as I looked around.

It felt as though the shaking were emerging from somewhere, somewhere off the coast. The coast, where there crashed ship was. I felt Heart grip my shoulders as she must have feared the same thing I had just then. Were they back? In moments we took off again, heading for the coast. It was as though we needed to prove to ourselves that we were wrong. They had crashed badly, there was no way they could resurface now!

Yet as we drew closer, the rumbling we felt grew harsher with every mile. The ocean roared with anger as something pierced it from beneath it's surface.

"No!" Heart gasped from behind me, clutching the fabric of my shirt.

Just as we feared, the raptor emerged from beneath the waves, escaping the depths of their watery prison they had made for themselves. Somehow they had survived, and had gotten enough power to make the raptor fly for a brief time as it landed in the mountains outside the city.

The others had joined us at this point They too must have noticed the quaking caused by the rising airship. They had met us out at the cliff now as they watched the raptor go invisible as it reached the sky briefly, then we heard it head off to the mountains.

"What do we do guys?" Tanya asked worriedly.

"We don't know where they landed, nor can we tell what they're up to until they make their first move. They probably only had enough power to relocate for now. All we can do is be ready for the fight as we always have been," Wildwing said with a tinge of dispair in his voice.

It seemed that we all had hoped the same thing. That we could finally be finished with this fight and move forward together from it. We had already been fighting this battle for over a year now.

"Let's try to go have some fun for now, if those lizards show their sorry scales we'll kick their tails just like before! There's nothing to worry about!" Nosedive assured with full confidence.

We all agreed to go to dinner still. There we tried to enjoy what we feared would be our last normal night for a while again.

"Guys there's nothing to worry about!" Nosedive insisted, "Yeah it's more work, but we had so many adventures before. We just need to try and enjoy the time we have when we can."

"You're right little brother," Wildwing agreed as he looked to Tanya, blushing as she gestured for him to try dancing with her.

I decided to follow their que and ask Heart to dance with me as well, leaving Dive, Grin and Mallory talking together at the table.

"It's gonna be okay sweetheart," I told Heart as we danced.

As she spun into me, she looked up at me with concern deep in her sapphire eyes, "I had hoped this was all over with. We've been fighting for so long."

I spun her carefully under my hand and her skirt twirled a bit from the motion, "I know angel. I've been enjoyin' the peace with you an' the others too."

She pulled away from the spin, her hair growing loose from the ribbon as she danced, "I just want everyone to be happy. I don't want anyone to have to fight like they had to before. I know we've enjoyed many happy times here too, but I just-"

I pulled her into me, looping my arm around her back now as the dance came to an end. Again I looked into her eyes as she looked up into mine. In the moment I saw her smile, as though a spark of passion rushed over her expression.

"We'll be as we always have been Heart, I promise ya that. We will all be together through everythin' that comes our way. No matter what it takes."

Her smile strengthened again while hearing what had become our team's montra. From that moment, the rest of the night went on as we all had hoped. We laughed, we danced, we celebrated our recent championship win, and our morale was boosted again.

Heart:

A few nights later however, a restless feeling washed over me. It was as though I were waiting for the call to action to spur us into battle again. We all knew Dragonus was out there again, biding his time and planning something. Something deep in my core was causing a pit to form.

One night it got the better of me, and I found myself unable to sleep. I sat up quietly in our bed, watching him as he slept. Yet as I went to step out of bed I felt his smooth hand brush over mine. I looked to see him watching me.

"You're a light sleeper," I said to him softly.

"Kinda had ta be in my previous line of work," he smirked as he sat up, "What's the matter sweetheart?"

I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. We had been over it several times since that night. All of us had.

Duke then got up and went to retrieve something tucked away in our closet. He returned with the mended suits that we had worn when we battled Falcone a few months ago. I looked to him curiously.

"Let's see if you an' I can find anythin'," he suggested, and I realized that he had been feeling the same way.

"Won't the others be worried?" I mentioned as I held my stealthsuit in my hands.

"We'll be careful, but I want to know what they're plannin' before they spring it on us, we've waited long enough," Duke said.

He didn't need much to convince me. The stealthsuit felt comforting against my skin, as though it were calming my nerves just to wear it again. Something about wearing this again made me feel excited. I remembered seeing Duke in his for the first time, and I felt my knees growing weak when I saw him wearing it again. He seemed to notice as he smiled at me, swiftly stepping towards me and kissing my cheek. There was a certain thrill knowing it would just be he and I again on a mission. When the group split up on missions he and I were nearly always together, but this was more than that. It was as though I got to see a side to him that rarely got to come out. A part of Duke that made him the drake that I knew now, and pulled my attention to him even more so.

"Ready sweetheart?" He asked me softly before we slipped into the hallway.

I nodded as I quietly walked along with him.

The pond was silent and calm as we walked it's halls. The lights were lowered for the night to emit a tranquil feeling. This provided a nice cover for us as we found our way to the hanger and prepped a duckcycle to drive out on. With the night air cloaking us, we were off; heading towards the mountains where we had seen the ship before it vanished as it landed.

Duke asked me to check for energy readings as we got closer to the mountain peak. Sure enough a signal began to beep on my com. Duke and I pulled to the side to examine the map on our comms. We then set them to silent so they wouldn't give us away if our teammates tried to contact us.

We hid our bike and started to look around for any signs of the saurians. At first everything seemed rather normal, but as we grew closer to what appeared to be a radio tower, we began to notice tracks leading to it. Lizardmen steps left by Seige and Chameleon. Duke and I decided to stay among the trees for cover as we searched the area for any other clues we could find.

After a few minutes of creeping forward cautiously we heard voices bickering nearby. Duke and I crept through the thick cover of the trees, blending with the shadows, until we found them. We couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but we had a feeling they were at the entrance of the Raptor, arguing just outside it's doors. Duke smiled at me, then he crouched down to try and get closer. I followed along in the same manner.

"We need more energy to power the raptor or it won't fly!" We heard Dragonus snarl over their communicator.

"Where do you want us to get energy Lord Dragonus?" Siege asked in growling unease.

"Scout around and see what sources you can find, anything to get us in the air enough to move the ship until we find a better power source. Until then we don't have what we need to conquer this wretched world, or give payback to those acursed ducks!" Dragonus snapped in an increasingly loud roar.

Duke looked to me as he gestured for me to follow him back into the forest. That's when Wraith appeared beside his comrades clutching his staff, "I've found one of the ducks' vehicles outside the mountain peak! They must have sent someone to try and locate us!"

"Find them before they can escape the mountain! We don't need them messing with our plans any further than they have already!" Dragonus ordered.

The three then split off to try and find us, while Duke pulled me close to him to try and hide us both in the thick bushes we had slipped behind. Trees around our thin frames shielded us, providing further cover. Yet the concern was getting to our bike to try and get away.

"They may only think it's one of us here," Duke whispered, "I can distract them while you get away and tell the others, it's too risky to try an' call them from here."

"I'm not leaving you here Duke," I protested in a hushed tone, "We can get out of this together."

"Dark powers of our saurian ancestors, seek out our intruders so that we may cease their attempt to escape!" Wraith called with his staff held up.

With that a strange light rushed towards us, following our trail.

"Heart run!" Duke insisted.

Before either of us could move, Wraith appeared behind Duke. The light from before wrapped around him and ensnared him in it's grip. While the Chameleon appeared behind me, grabbing my arms as he shifted into his musclebound form.

"Let her go ya creep!" Duke growled as his arms were pulled behind him with magic based binds.

"Why should we do that? We thought you wanted to be our guests," Wraith laughed wickedly.

Their communicator picked up Dragonus's voice, "Bring them to me, I'll deal with the two of them personally!"

Duke tried to break free, but found the binds growing tighter with every movement he made. While Chameleon clamped his bulky hands around my thin wrists to keep me from slipping away. Though as he pulled my hands together, I slipped a finger against my com and pressed a button to signal distress to our teammates. A breath of hopeful relief escaped through my gritted teeth before I was shoved into the main entrance behind Duke and Wraith. After being marched along the crimson halls of the raptor, we were then both pushed down to our knees before Dragonus himself in his command chamber.

"Look at what we have here," Dragonus snickered cruely as he looked over us with contempt and disgust, "You two thought you could find us and run back to the others with our plans did you?"

Dragonus then looked at me and chuckled, "And you brought what I needed for my plans."

"What do ya want her for?" Duke demanded, glancing at me for a moment.

"As I recall this girl isn't a mere human is she? When she was under thr influencec of that charm we gave her, she released her own power, did she not?"

Duke:

Heart looked to me confused by this. She had blacked out during that fight, and thus had forgotten about the powers she had shown that day. For the time being we had decided not to tell her unless we were sure. Tanya had also mentioned to me a similar occurrance when Protorious had us in his lab. There was also her home realm to consider in all of this. Still, I remembered the raw energry that pushed me back that day when her emotions were in such termoil. It hadn't matched the magic the gem had given off.

"That wasn't her power, that thing you put on her head caused that, not her!" I assured.

"Duke?" Heart asked bewildered by this.

"It wasn't from her, so jus' let her go!" I insisted.

Dragonus threw back his head and gave out a deep laugh "Let her go? So she can run to your pathetic friends and bring them here to rescue you? Besides, I have a feeling you're trying to protect her, but it won't convince me!"

Dragonus wrapped his claws around the nape of Heart's neck, scratching her skin and tugging at her hair as he held her up. Heart winced in pain a bit, but gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. I struggled to break my binds to try and get him away from her, but they grew restrictive around my wrists.

"Duke!" Heart called to me, noticing the binds tightening as I fought, "Please stop!"

"She doesn't have any powers! If she did she'd have used them to help us kick your sorry tails back to limbo!" Duke insisted.

"You're quite insistant to prove she isn't useful to me. If she isn't, then I suppose I could simply dispose of her if you'd prefer," the crimson scaled overlord mentioned with amusement curling his jagged maw as he held her up with the device on his wrist aimed for her throat.

Then he would notice my remaining eye widening, my arms nearly pulling the binds just enough before the Siege grabbed my shoulders to set me down firmly on my knees again.

Dragonus looked to Heart curiously as he held her up, then he looked to me and chuckled, "You two are in love aren't you?"

Heart and I looked to each other, giving him the answer we knew he already had. They had found out when they had captured her that day and used her against us. Yet a pit of fear tossed in my stomach as Dragonus was reminded of this undeinable fact. He looked to Heart still laughing, "I think we'll be able to find out if she has powers or not after all!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Heart spat, "Even if I did I would never let you use them!"

Dragonus threw her down to the ground as he strolled over to me confidentally. I had been forced to kneel still, and I glared up at him as I did. He stepped over her, but Wraith hovered by Heart to keep her from moving. The Saurian Warlord then grabbed the front of my suit, tearing the cloth at my throat as he forced me up.

"Even if it meant his life?" Dragonus asked Heart menacingly as he held up his other clawed hand, revealing the blaster attached to his bulky wrist.

"Please! Don't kill him!" Heart begged fearfully.

"So you do care for this drake?" Dragonus smirked.

"It's not really a secret!" Heart spat.

"Then you'll give me what I want won't you?"

"I don't have any powers!" She insisted, her composure starting to crumble as Dragonus held the blaster trained to my chest.

"Then I guess I have no use for either of you!" Dragonus told her as he started up the weapon fastened to his wrist, "I'll start with him."

"Please!" Heart begged, finding no other words to try and persuade him.

"I'll give you 10 seconds to convince me why I shouldn't kill him!" He offered, "And I don't mean with your pathetic words!"

Heart's eyes grew wide with panic as he began to count down. Genuine fear gripped her and I couldn't stand to see her breaking down in front of him. I knew she didn't want to give into him; but as she looked at me trying to find an answer, I couldn't blame her for what happened. As Dragonus neared to 1 I noticed it again as sparks of energy began to dance around her trembling form defensively. Something had triggered in her core, summoning up whatever she needed to give him what he wanted.

"Let him go!" Her voice waivered in and out as the energy rushed from her.

Dragonus laughed as the blaster still gave off it's threatening glow, about to pierce my heart. He was pushing her, but she had already broken down at this point. Just as Heart threw her hand towards me begging him to stop, Wraith ensnared her with binds around her wrists that harnessed the energy that suddenly erupted from her. Dragonus braced himself to keep from being pushed back while dropping me to be knocked back a bit as I fell to my knees. He then let out a wicked laugh as he approached the restrained young woman before him. He looked to the device she was now attached to and then back to her.

"It seems you will give me the power I need to take over this miserable world after all!" Dragonus laughed.

Heart pulled at her restraints, but they only tightened around her as mine had. Wraith raised his staff, commanding the binds to pull her back and force her to her knees. Siege had stepped behind me to keep me from moving as well. The energy still sparked around her like lightning finding a place to settle, but was then drained from her and ciphened into the device she was connected to.

"She's not your battery!" I snapped angrily at seeing her used this way.

The raw magic that emerged from her began to lessen now as Heart tried to calm down, seeing my life wasm't in immediate danger. She looked to me with shame washing over her for giving in to him. Yet I shook my head in an attempt to assure her I wasn't upset with her. Of course we knew what our mission was, and we knew the stakes when we first joined the resistance. However, as I looked at her shaking form and she looked away from me, we knew that without the other...we'd be lost.

"That's a good start for now," Dragonus snickered, "We'll bring him back here when we're ready to gather more from you. You should be happy though, you've saved his life. Any time that we need that power you posses, we'll let you see him!"

Siege then grabbed me and began pulling me out of the room.

"Heart!" I called to her as we both struggled to get free in vain, "Heart you're not his power source! I know you're scared, but savin' me won't help keep the world safe! Don't let this become your life!"

Dragonus looked to me, knowing the answer as he asked, "So then, would you have let her die if the roles were reversed? Would you have sacrificed her for the greater good of the world?"

I lowered my head in silence, unable to imagine the thought.

"Love is such a complication isn't it? All your training, all your determination to defeat me, all of it dwindles away in an instant because of your attachment to one another!" Dragonus mocked.

Before I was pulled away I looked to Heart again and noticed fear in her eyes as she watched me get dragged away.

Heart:

All I could think to do was hope that the others had seen my distress signal.

Yet I also couldn't help but feel ashamed for what had just happened. Though I knew in my heart that I would have done anything I could to save him.

However, through all of this, confusion began to run through my mind. Where had this energy come from? Why was it surfacing now? Did the others know about it? Duke seemed to be trying to hide it from Dragous? Had this happened before and I couldn't remember it? I thought back to when they had captured me before, trying to recall what had happened before I blacked out. The energy had seemed to erupt from my core, my very soul. Now as I knelt on my knees still I could feel an odd tingling running through my very veins, almost as though a power switch had been turned on inside of me and wouldn't shut down now. What was it exactly? I wasn't sure how to summon it in the same way again. What if I couldn't save him the next time?

Dragonus turned to me, "So a human girl and a drake? Love is certainly puzzling. However I guess it worked in my favor didn't it?"

"That display of magic gave us a quarter of the ship's power back," Wraith reported.

Wraith then raised his staff again, commanding the binds to pull me up and back as they secured me to a seat. I was locked in place at my wrists, ankles, waist, and neck to keep me from moving. The connectors to the device were placed nearby for when they needed them again.

"Rest up and restore your energy girl, his life depends on it," Dragonus chortled in a low voice that he made sure I heard clearly before he left the room.

Wraith and Chameleon took turns guarding me, while Siege must have been put in charge of watching Duke. I tried to calm down and think of what to do. I needed to get out and find him somehow. Though they had not missed a step in locking me in place. The binds were made of unyielding steel that bit into my flesh as I tried to wriggle free.

I had hoped that the others would be close by now, but I may have misjudged how deep in the mountains we were. The raptor was disguised as always, making it harder to locate as well. Still I held onto the faith I always put in them...despite failing theirs in me at the moment, "I'm sorry guys...but I couldn't lose him..."

Duke:

I had been thrown in a cell deep within the raptor. My wrists were binded to energy cuffs in the wall, as were my ankles. If I moved they tightened. Yet I couldn't give up. I couldn't let her become their energy source for the rest of her life. I looked around for a way out. Siege was still waiting outside the prison door with a blaster ready, though he had been given strict orders not to kill me or there plan wouldn't work.

I looked up at the energy bands that held me. I realized that they were fastened against the gloves I wore, if I could try and slip a hand out I could break the rest of the bindings with my saber. I breathed out slowly as I tried to move my wrist as slowly as possible so not to cause the straps to grow any tighter than they were. At last I slipped my hand out from beneath my glove and the band feeling the difference only tightened around the it instead. Then I began to pull my other wrist free. The gloves were soon shredded by the bands, having nothing to resist them. Then I pulled at the restraints at my ankles, ripping them from the wall.

Once I was free I crouched down and crept towards the door, using the dark lighting of the ship to my advantage. They were conserving energy until they could use Heart again for another ciphen of magic I guessed. I knelt down beside the cell door and waited for Siege to look and notice I was no longer restrained. I heard a startled gasp outside the door mere moments later as he quickly rushed in to try and find me. As he looked at the broken binds and torn remains of my gloves I slipped out the cell door and closed it behind me, then I used the heat from my saber to meld the lock shut.

"Let me out of here!" Siege roared angrily as he pounded on the door with his bulky fists.

I stepped back as he tried to use his club tail to try and break down the door. It left a decent dent, but it did not give way. Yet. I didn't wait for him to get through.

Quickly I hurried down the hall, pausing only when I came across some hunter drones making their rounds. I crouched down again to try and remain unnoticed. After some time I found myself outside Dragonus's meeting room and heard him laughing calmly in triumph with his elderly advisor.

"That girl's untapped power is just what we needed to get the raptor started again!" he laughed, "Lucky for us we were able to grab her and that drake!"

"That's just a start though! That kind of magic can power weapons, warships, anything I need to conquer this planet!" He added.

"Have you thought of making her one of the weapons again my lord? We controlled her mind once before, we can do it again. Use that boy to keep her in line and we can use her power to finish off the ducks!" Wraith stated.

"That's not a bad idea, but we need her to power the ship first. Then we'll begin the preperations to make her one of our own. Those feathered fools were wasting her power all this time! As long as he keeps her in line we'll keep the drake alive for now!" Dragonus agreed, "Once we don't need to resort to him staying alive we'll get rid of him."

Wraith laughed wickedly in response to his lord's plan, and I took the chance to slip by the room while they remained distracted. With a bit of ease I crept carefully down the hall to where Heart was being held. The Chameleon stood at his post outside the entrance. Beyond the open doorway I saw her held down by the restraints they had fastened her to the chair with.

Behind me I could hear a commotion stirring as Siege had escaped and could be heard shouting his Lord and Wraith for help. I couldn't wait even a moment for Chameleon to be distracted. I drew my saber and slipped beside him, holding it against his throat as I stood up, warning him it was let me by or his life. He gave a slimey grin and said, "Try it! It's this blade or Dragonus's wrath I'd face!"

With that he reached a hand over and pushed an alarm. Not having time to deal with him I shoved him forward and darted into the room. I threw caution to the wind as I slammed the door shut behind me and rushed over to Heart to try and get her out.

"Duke!" Heart exclaimed as she looked up at me.

"Let's get ya out sweetheart!" I told her as I started to quickly look over her bindings.

"Why didn't you escape? You could have gotten the others and come back, or-"

"An' risk them disappearin' with you on the ship?" I shook my head as I looked into her eyes, "You an' I both know we couldn't take that kinda risk with each other."

Behind the seat she was fastened to I found a control panel and started trying to release her from the locks that were in place.

"Duke, you have to get out of here!" She insisted.

"I'm not leavin' ya here!" I told her firmly as I tried to find the right controls.

Outside the door we heard Dragonus and his men trying to unlock the sealed door. In the commotion I finally found one of the switches to unlock the restraints. I flipped it to hear it release her neck, then again with her waist.

"Jus' two more," I breathed as I found the switch for her wrists.

Yet before I could flip that one Dragonus and his men broke down the iron door and walked in. The saurian overlord wasted no time in blasting me with his stun blaster, sending me flying back against the wall. My back buckled at the impact as I let out a painful yell.

"Duke!" I heard Heart cry out as I crumbled to the floor.

"I didn't realize you were ready for another ciphen! Let me assist," Dragonus laughed as Wraith used his magic to place the cords for the device around Heart's wrists.

I tried to get to my feet, scrambling to stand up shakily. Pain raced through my body from the sudden blast. Yet seeing Heart in trouble pushed me to try.

"Don't give in to him Heart!" I told her quickly as I was abruptly pulled to my feet by a musclebound Chameleon.

"I can't let you die!" She replied fearfully.

"Heart they're goin' to try an' use you as a weapon! They're goin' ta try an' control you again if you give them what they want! Ya can't give in this time! If ya do they'll use you to destroy our friends an' everyone else!" I explained as I was forced to stand.

"It's not polite to give away surprises," Wraith scolded with a wicked chortle in his throat.

"It wouldn't work anyway!" I spat boldly.

I looked to Heart, knowing she was still tired from before, as well as frightened to the point of shaking. She was terrified of what would happen if she could not provide the energy Dragonus wanted. Yet until just a bit ago she hadn't even known she'd had such magic at her disposal.

"The others will come an' save ya, don't give him what he wants!" I stated.

"Then who will save you boy?" Dragonus snickered as he stepped towards me, towering over me by a good few feet.

Heart:

As I watched the Saurian overlord loom over him, I saw nothing but bravery in Duke's expression as he faced them. Just as he'd faced everything else we'd gone against, and probably well before as well. Yet no matter how much I knew he was right, I knew...I couldn't bare to lose him. Just as times before when we had risked our lives in battle, the idea of returning home without him threatened to shatter all that I knew. My vow to protect others, the expectations given to me by my teammates and brothers as we fought together, this world. Selfish as it was, the thought of him being taken from me...

Dragnous held Duke up again as he had before, though he wasn't restrained by binds this time, the blast from before had him shaken still. This made it hard for him to fight back as Dragonus grabbed his throat. His grip grew tighter as he laughed, "Well girl, I would summon up some energy right about now!"

I pulled at my restraints, trying to get free. Yet the steel only bit into my ankles and wrists as before, refusing to give in the slightest.

"Heart, don't give in to them! I know you're scared, but I can't see ya end up like this-!"

Dragonus's grip prevented Duke from saying anything more as his windpipe tightened.

"Let's try counting down again!"

"Please! I don't know if I have enough energy yet! I need more time!"

"I warned you girl, deliver the energy I need or I deliver him to an early grave! If you love him so much you'll give me what I require won't you?" he taunted.

I looked to Duke as he tried to grab at Dragonus's claws to get free, finding his strength returning as he fought against his grip.

"5, 4, 3, 2-"

"No!" I begged with panic rushing through me as Dragonus's claws dug into Duke's throat.

My body suddenly felt hot as energy burst from my core again. Sparks of electrcity flew towards them, as well as into the device I was attached to. The energy ciphened filled most of the battery, but then the power in the ship began flickering as though it were overcharged.

"She's gonna overload the ship!" Siege yelled.

"Get the connectors off of her!" Dragonus ordered hastily, "Hurry!"

Duke:

In the blast Dragonus had released me from surprise. Lights flickered in and out rapidly as the magic from Heart rushed out. When I looked to Heart I felt my nerves jump to find her eyes had not only darkened at first, but now began to glow and shift in nature until those of a feral serpent stared back at me. Fear gripped the heart in my chest as I wondered if she had been pushed too far. Yet I had to push through it as I used the distraction to reach the control panel and flip the remaining switches that held her down. Heart pulled at her restraints as I tried find the switches. With two clicks I was able to free her of the binds and connectors just as the ship powered down. Once she was able she quickly got up. Though as she stood she waivered from the fatigue her body felt, clashing with the desire to run it seemed.

I quickly grabbed her hand and said with barely a voice, "Come on sweetheart!"

With the lights still powered down from the burst of energy, Heart and I took the sign to run. Dragonus and his men searched for us in the dark, but we evaded their claws with our well practiced skills in stealth and made our way outside of the raptor.

Once outside exhaustion began to take it's toll on Heart as she began to crumble to her knees.

"Heart, hang on just a bit more! We need to get ya away from here!" I told her, but was then taken a back by the wild look remaining in her darkened eyes.

Shaking this off, I pulled her quickly to her feet as we heard Dragonus following after us with his men behind him. We ran as fast and as far as our legs would carry us. Though our bareings were off, and we wound up on the edge of a cliffside of the mountains. In our panic we had gone in the wrong direction, now overlooking the city and far from our duck cycle.

"You miserable thief!" Dragonus growled as he appeared behind us and knocked us down with a powerful wave of his arm.

Heart and I skidded along the ground, barely keeping from falling off the edge of the cliff behind us. Dragonus stepped closer, looming over us in a seething rage. Fire glowed in his eyes. He snarled with steam emerging from his flaring nostrils and through his clenched jagged maw. I forced myself up from my prone position, pushing up and then bracing a hand behind me to stay steady to shield Heart's still form.

"You think you can protect her now?" Dragonus demanded, "If I didn't need her energy, I'd have already torn her apart!"

"Ya don't scare me!" I spat while glaring up at him, remaining steady with Heart stirring behind me.

"Duke?" I heard her ask shakily.

"It's gonna be okay sweetheart," I promised her with certainty remaining in my voice.

"Well I will commend you for rescuing your love from my ship, but your triumph ends here you wretched drake!" Dragonus assured as he knocked us to the side with the force from his blaster, causing Heart to be thrown off the cliffside. Before he could stop me I managed scramble to the edge and threw my hand out just in time to grab for her.

Heart:

"I've got ya!" Duke called to me as he grabbed my hand quickly, "Give me your other hand sweetheart!"

I reached up to him just as the looming form of the saurian overlord behind Duke reminded us of his presence.

"Please! Leave him alone!" I begged as his clawed hand was raised over Duke's back.

"Why should I do that girl? If I let him live, will you provide the power I require? Will you give yourself up for his sake?"

"I-"

"No ya won't! I won't let him take ya from me!" Duke stated as I looked up at him.

He in turn looked at me and smirked. Before Dragonus could slash his claws over him for his outburst, Duke slid just out of reach and rolled off the cliffside. As we both fell Duke pulled me against him, and then threw his saber in it's grappling hook form towards the wall of the cliff. It stabbed into the steady rocks. With sheer skill or luck, I wasn't sure which, Duke swung us to safety below the cliff as we landed roughly on the ground in a pile. Now I found myself lying atop of my thief, clinging to him as he held onto me, both of us steadying our heartbeats and breaths. Once he realized his plan had worked Duke let out a laugh that was mixed with excitement and diminishing fear. Relief washed over us both as I pushed myself up a little from atop of him. I shook my head while stabilizing myself by grasping his shoulders, "You do know what you just did danced with the edge of insanity don't you?"

He then sat up, still laughing softly as he hugged me. His hand ran through my hair, brushing the claw marks Dragonus had left on the back of my neck from earlier. He chuckled with lingering unease, "Whatever it takes to get ya out of his claws love."

Above we heard Dragonus starting to give orders to his men, bellowing for them to follow after us, when a sudden force of wind knocked them sliding back on their clawed feet. Duke and I looked up to see the Aerowing in the sky above as a rope was lowered down to us. Duke kept a secure hold around me as he reached for our lifeline and we were pulled up carefully.

"If you lizards are ready for another match so are we!" Wildwing assured over the intercom, "Though I suggest you retreat for now while I'm in a forgiving mood!"

Wildwing glanced over his shoulder at us, and made quick note of the claw marks and other injuries we had. He then stated over the intercom in a souring tone, "That forgiveness is growing thin Dragonus!"

Dragonus and his men teleported away and after a few minutes they got their ship running just enough to relocate with the power left in it. In mere moments it vanished from sight again.

Duke and I shared a brief moment of relief before being confronted by our teammates, all of whom were standing around us with a variety of worried and stern expressions. It had been a long time since I had seen Wildwing so frustrated I realized, "What were you two trying to do?!"

"We wanted to see if we could find out what they were up to," Duke tried to explain, "For now we can confirm that they don't really have a plan yet outside of gaining resources."

"What happened to my sister?!" Nosedive demanded as Mallory took the controls for him.

Duke seemed a bit lost for words at this questioning. He and I shared a look of unease as we tried to explain what I barely understood. Before I could fully answer, I was locked in a hug of sorts from my twin as Wildwing patted my head carefully. For a moment I thought I saw regret in Duke's expression as the night's events ran through our minds.

Duke:

As I looked at Heart being protectively hugged by her two brothers, I wondered if bringing her along had been the right idea? We had faced foes together with little problems before, but tonight had been quite different. Now they knew what Heart wielded due to my recklessness. Good intentions or no, it had nearly cost us everything.

Not only that, but now with her magic surfacing and her past on the possible brink of emerging she could have been lost to us entirely somehow. Dragonus now knew what power she possessed. Would other enemies look at her the same way as he did? As something to try to harness and control?

"There is somethin' else we uncovered," I finally mentioned as we made our way home, "It's somethin' we all need to be aware of goin' forward."

"What's that?" Mallory asked as she followed my gaze to Heart looking at her own hands in confusion.

"They now know what we've been suspectin' with Heart over the last few months..." I admitted.

At this Wildwing and Nosedive shared widened, weary expressions that they then directed to their sister. Heart in turn looked up at them with her own unease. This, somehow, almost bothered me as much as what had happened to her earlier...almost. I looked to Heart and asked her carefully, "How does it feel Heart?"

She looked to me as though unsure of how to answer at first. Then she looked at her hands, or rather the veins running from them and along her arms. I'd noticed her eyes had returned to the deep sapphires I knew, but the serpentine spheres I'd seen were not forgotten.

"It's like there's an odd current surging through my veins. Since it started, I can't seem to shut it off," she told us.

She looked up at us, and we all felt the wave of regret wash over us when she asked, "How long have you known about this?"

"It's not that we really knew Heart," Wildwing attempted, "The instances you hinted at this made it difficult to be sure."

"We were afraid of triggering something too fast," Tanya mentioned, "When ever you hinted at having this you would black out from it."

"We wanted to be sure before we risked hurting you somehow," Mallory added.

"When did this happen?" Heart asked, "Has it been throughout the whole year we've been here?"

I shook my head while thinking back, "No Heart. The moments were few and far between. That's why we weren't exactly sure."

"The first instance was when Dragonus sent us to that weird space between dimensions, when you passed out a weird energy wrapped around us and brought us back to Anaheim," Nosedive explained, "But we thought it was that place rather than you."

"Then there was the time they put that circlet on ya," I told her carefully, "At first we thought it was that gem, but I noticed there was a difference between it's magic...an' the other energy you were puttin' out."

"The only other time was in Protorious's lab, when the power surged and went out," Tanya added, "Though no one else had seen it, so we weren't sure until I did some scans on you afterwards and saw how low your levels were. You were merging back to your human body at the time, so I chalked it up to that at first."

"Then...after we found out about you and Asteroth, we started piecing things together," Grin said.

"And none of you told me?" Heart asked.

"We wanted to be sure, so we wouldn't hurt you somehow," Wildwing told her.

By now we had reached the pond and were standing in front of Drake One. Tanya and Mallory had taken their seats. Nosedive was leaning against the control panel beside Wildwing and our team tech. Grin had taken a spot on the floor, crossing his legs. While I stood and watched as Heart took all of this in.

"If I'd known though...no...I don't blame you for not telling me..." she attempted before withdrawing a bit, and I knew why before she said it.

"Heart, what happened tonight wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have gone out there with ya like that," I said quickly to keep her from blaming herself as she was about to.

"What happened?" Wildwing questioned.

Heart couldn't look her brother in the eye as she answered, "I...I gave in...Dragonus recalled the instance with that gem, and I guess took his own gamble to see if I had magic in me...he...he was going to kill him, when I saw Duke's life in danger...I snapped...I gave him the energy he wanted...I don't even remember deciding to do it, it just happened-!."

"Easy Heart," I attempted while resting a hand on her shoulder.

This wasn't enough, and she still refused to look up at us. Her voice shook, "I...I'm sorry everyone."

"Heart...?" Wildwing ventured gently while stepping over to face his sister.

"Heart, my main priority has always been the safety of everyone in this team. Yes, our mission is to stop him, and we still will...but we certainly can't do that together if one of us is taken down. While it may be easy for us to make a sacrifice on our own, as...as Canard did," Wildwing paused briefly, "It's another thing entirely to ask another to be sacrificed. Dragonus knew that, and he used this to his advantage once he figured out you two were together didn't he?"

I nodded for Heart, who refused to look away from the ground still.

Then, looking back on it a bit, I mentioned, "Heart, you were tryin' to attack, back when they had me?"

"I don't know what I was trying to do...I didn't know I could do any of this. I just knew...that I couldn't lose you..." she said softly, "You were so brave back there, and I-"

"It doesn't mean I wasn't scared Heart," I told her.

She looked up at me a bit surprised by this. Our teammates were still around us, trying to figure out how to approach all of this with her.

"Heart, don't ya think I was afraid you'd end up as their personal battery or their next monster to sick onto us when they were ready? When he grabbed ya Heart...I thought I might lose ya...an'...I would never be able to forgive myself if I did..."

"You both should have told us, we could have gotten to you sooner," Wildwing said in a stern tone.

"You're right Wing, I am sorry for that. I never imagined all o' this would happen. I figured we could get information an' get back unnoticed," I explained, "We had no intention of goin' in without everyone ready."

"None the less, we do all have to deal with this again don't we?" Mallory sighed.

"It seems so," Wildwing said, "but we'll tackle this as a team."

"We also need to help you figure this out, as we should have in the first place," Wildwing added while turning back to his sister.

"I understand why you were worried," Heart said, "but now that I know, maybe there's somethng I can do to learn how to use this."

I couldn't help but give a bit of a smile, "It is excitin' isn't it? Havin' magic to wield at your fingertips like that?"

Though I could tell she wasn't sure just how to feel about it yet. She closed her fingers over her palms as though trying to control a current. As she did this I slid behind her and slipped my arms along hers until I was holding her hands in mine. With little effort I laced my fingers with hers as I assured her, "We'll figure this out together sweetheart, don't ya worry."

Her quiet response was pulling my hands up against her chest so I'd be hugging her.

"We'll all help you sis," Wildwing assured her as well.

While we talked about this my worries soon faded away. As Heart glanced over her shoulder at me, I felt our memories surfacing in my mind. I remembered when I had first found her that night so long ago now. Moments since meeting her again raced through my thoughts as though reminding me of something critical about who she was. Heart wasn't going to stay hidden away, she was always going to fight. As much as a part of me wanted to keep her safe, I knew holding her back behind me wouldn't be trusting her to continue to grow stronger with us.

For a moment I thought about what we had been put through tonight. I heard Dragonus mocking us for giving in if it meant the other's safety. I knew how harsh it must have sounded for me to tell Heart to not give in for me.

Yet as I had already determined, now as I held her while standing with the others, seeing her smiling again as herself; I knew that I would have given up anything to keep her safe.

"So is this going to be a thing with you two now? Heading out into the night like this?" Wildwing asked sternly.

Heart shrugged sheepishly and I couldn't help but smile at her.

"Please give us a head's up next time," Wildwing gave up, "And be careful, for your brother's sake!"

Heart pulled away to give Wildwing a hug, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Heart:

I then turned back to Duke, recalling the night's events as well. Though as everything rushed through my mind fatigue began to take it's toll. My knees grew weak and I began to falter from using whatever magic this was. Duke quickly caught me, now holding me close to him. His hand gently caressed the base of my neck and hair to try and brush away my wounds. I in turn held onto him, brushing my fingers against his chest and throat where his suit was torn.

"We're going to get through this fight as a team," Wildwing reminded us taking in our injured forms, "Whenever Dragonus and his men rear their heads we'll be ready for them!"

Duke and I nodded understandingly before excusing ourselves to head for our room after a long night.

"Shouldn't they go to the infirmary?" I overheard Tanya question, almost laughing a little.

"I think they'll be just fine," Mallory assured her, rolling her eyes I noticed while glancing over Duke's shoulder.

"I guess things can't ever go back to normal entirely can they?" Nosedive asked regretably.

"I suppose not, but then again, not having a normal life is what lead us down the path we walk now as a team," Grin reminded my twin as we turned the corner down the hall.

I smiled when I heard this. While I had enjoyed our brief time of peace with everyone, being heroes is what had driven us all to live together as we did now. With every battle we grew closer.

"When I lived with Nosedive and Wildwing, I was happy," I started softly.

Duke looked at me curiously, "Still, I always felt like something other than my memories was missing."

"You've got a fire in ya like the rest of us," he chuckled before offering instead, "Or rather a storm instead?"

"I guess so," I said while clutching the front of his stealthsuit, brushing the familiar fabric with my gloved fingers, "And with it, I will do what I can to stay with everyone...and you."

As I looked up at him, as he held me in our room now, we both knew, that no matter what battles were thrown at us, that giving up the other would never be an option. Neither of us could bare facing things the way they were before, when we were apart and incomplete. He needed my trust in him, and I needed him to be my thief.

I would learn to control this storm for his sake and for our teammates. Together, though we were just starting to understand it, we would face everything coming our way. Facing off against whatever came our way once again, no matter what it took...to stay together.