HAI. Here's Duke's 2nd part. I hope I can live up to the mystery that is Duke as I write any stories of him; this chapter certainly tested me a bit. At least it's helping me for a future one.

P.S. I never thought about it before, but something started bugging me, so I took a couple of glances at "To Catch a Duck." Notes for this at the bottom =3

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS. If I did, I'd be rich

"So…you don't even know your real name?" Mallory asked curiously.

Duke shrugged. "What's it matt'ah?" he asked. "Everyone's been callin' me that since I was twelve. Even before that, my Ma would just scream obscenities at me and never call me by…well, whatev'ah my name was before the Brotherhood. And I can't rememb'ah what my life was like before my dad left."

"Sometimes the past is best left in the past," Grin piped up from his seat next to their youngest member.

"Amen to that, O High-and-Mighty-Mast'ah," Duke just said, smiling.

"Wait, is it better to leave the past where it is or make peace with it?" Nosedive asked Grin, as he looked up at the much larger drake.

The other shrugged. "Sometimes both," he answered.

A few moments of silence passed.

Then, the proverbial light bulb cast its light over Tanya. "I think I get it," she finally said. "Some parts like the -uh - past Duke and Falcone had in the Brotherhood should be dealt with, right? While others don't need to be brought up again because - y'know - it's already been dealt with or doesn't need to be repeated."

Grin nodded.

Duke was about to take another drink of coffee when he realized that he was out. "I'm gonna go get some more," he said, waving his mug as he got up. The others didn't need to know what that meant; every time Duke wanted more coffee, he'd wave his mug a bit before pouring more for himself (and anyone else who might've wanted it).

"I think I'll go with you," Wildwing suddenly said, rising as well. "I should've made more popcorn before sitting down."

"Bring soda!" Nosedive called to his brother as the team leader and ex-thief left the room. Wing just gave the mildest of nods, a smile on his face before the doors closed.

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"Something you wanted to talk to me about Wing?" Duke asked as they arrived to the kitchen, well beyond the hearing range of the other ducks.

Wildwing started looking through the cabinets for bags of popcorn. "Actually yeah," he answered. "Just if you don't mind me asking."

Duke looked at the coffee pot on the counter, noticing it was empty. He sighed, knowing he'd have to wait for a whole new pot to brew and whatnot. "Depends on what'cha askin'," the ex-bandit replied, going through the process to make a new round of his favorite caffeinated drink.

"What was Baron like?"

Duke was silent for a few minutes, just working with the coffee maker. Finally, when he was done and had taken a seat at the table to wait, he answered.

"A noble drake I'd say," Duke started, a thoughtful yet distant look on his face. "He was my mentor. Taught me how to fight and uphold hon'ah in our guild, somethin' that was rare among a lot of 'em."

"So it's true about there being 'honor among thieves'?" Wildwing asked, taking a seat at the table with Duke as he waited for the popcorn.

"Do you really wanna he'ah about all this?" Duke asked.

"Well, including me, there are five ducks watching a movie in the Rec Room, one of them being a near-bottomless pit when it comes to eating. I've gotta make a lot of popcorn."

Duke chuckled when Wing noted his own brother's appetite. The kid could down triple spicy tacos faster than one could say "Drake DuCaine".

"Alright," the elder one finally said. He thought for a moment, then finally remembered something that he thought Wildwing could hear.

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"-just needs to stay down until his leg is able to hold his own weight enough for him to walk."

"But he will be able to, right?"

He heard the voices talking, but he couldn't really rouse himself into full awareness just yet.

"He'll be up to it again in no time Baron. Your kid's tough. Now the only question is-"

"-Whether or not the elders will do anything to reprimand him."

Would they really do that to me-

"-Baron…?"

"Kid? You awake in there?"

Duke managed to open his eyes a little. It was oddly bright, wherever he was.

"Well, he's finally awake."

The seventeen-year old Duke just opened his eyes a little more and saw not only the black-feathered Baron, who was sitting in a chair at his left side, but one of the Brotherhood's Infirmary doctors standing on the right side. "What's goin' on?" he asked. The younger guild member tried to sit up, but Baron just eased him back down as he tried. "Whoa there kid, you got hurt pretty bad," his mentor said. "You've got a few bruised ribs and might not want to sit up for awhile."

So Duke laid back down on the Infirmary bed as the head doctor began.

"Your partner for the mission gave us a full account of what happened," the physician answered. "Seems Falcone was able to rescue you."

Completely confused by this (since that wasn't what had happened), Duke only managed to utter a "what?" in response.

Both Baron and Duke stared at the doc as he answered, who didn't notice the puzzled look on Duke's face or the distrust in Baron's eyes.

"Well, when you and Falcone were sent on that mission to the Museum of National DuCaine History to steal the artifact almost four nights ago, Falcone told us that he managed to get the item from the case. However, there were guards on duty that night and one of them got you. Falcone saved you and made it back here. His details were a little sketchy though when he tried to explain about your leg or the chip in your bill."

Baron noticed the surprised look in Duke's eyes after the story was told. "That's enough doc," the older member said. "I think I need to have a chat with my apprentice here."

"…I think that's a good idea," the physician agreed. "I have to go check on other patients anyway. But make sure he gets rest."

With that he left Baron and Duke in the small room that helped make up the Infirmary.

Duke turned his head to look at his mentor. "Baron, Falcone didn't do squat to help," he started, trying to get his side out. "He's-"

"A traitorous, over-stuffed parakeet," Baron finished, running one hand through his short, graying hair.

Duke wasn't expecting this. "Huh?"

"Something happened while you were on that mission kid, and I know you didn't get a gash on your leg that's so deep I can see bone from someone who'd be so low-level," Baron answered. "Only a sharp blade can do that, and I know that no guard on Puckworld has something like that, even when they're heavily armed. I dunno why the doc or anyone in this whole damn guild believes Falcone. So what really happened?"

"He…he surprised me," Duke said. "We'd just gotten that stupid thing outta its case when he pulled out one of the blades like what the eld'ahs have."

His mentor's eyes widened. "You're kidding me."

"Baron, he just sta'hted to fight me for no reason. I asked him why when we just got the dumb thing out without any problems. Somethin' about how I was stoppin' him from 'bein' the best' or whateva."

Duke paused, not sure how to continue.

"I am proud of you for one thing kid," Baron finally said, after a few moments of silence. "You wore gloves like I taught ya and didn't leave fingerprints." Then his face slumped into a further frown than it already was. "The problem with that though is that it can confirm and deny the load of feathers story that Falcone's spouting off."

"Really?"

"Puck yes!" Baron exclaimed. "You've seen the other masters, elders, and their apprentices. How many of them have you seen wearing gloves when they go out on a heist?"

The teenager thought about it for a moment. "Actually, not many," he finally answered.

"Exactly Duke," Baron said. "Many of the elders and masters in the Brotherhood don't teach their apprentices or the new recruits that wearing gloves is crucial; even if you got the damn artifact, you might still leave fingerprints everywhere else."

"Or feath'ahs," Duke pointed out.

"This is true, but that's why a duck - or in Falcone's case, falcon - shouldn't go on a heist when they're molting," Baron pointed out.

Duke sighed. "So what now?" he asked his appointed master.

"Let me deal with the council and the leader," Baron said, rising from his seat. "I wanted to get the story from you as soon as you woke up, but you've been out for three days, so I don't know if your story will work against the one Falcone's spouting."

He was about to leave if Duke hadn't of asked one question.

"How bad is my bill?"

Baron sighed. "It's not that bad, but…" He went over to a counter in the room, picked up a mirror the doctor kept in there, and brought it back to his apprentice. "You might want to see for yourself."

Duke just looked into the mirror and sighed.

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"…From that day on, when I looked in a mirr'ah, I saw Falcone, laughing at me because he managed to leave a scar."

Wildwing was reeling in a bunch of emotions: surprise (because he hadn't known the facts about Duke's scar on his bill or the fact that he had a teacher), regret (he had wanted Falcone too, though at a different time when the scoundrel was stealing on Earth), and a whole bunch of other things he couldn't name.

One though that did come to mind was sadness; mainly because (judging from the look on Duke's face) it seemed to Wildwing that Duke felt he had let his mentor down…that and the fact that he had a permanent scar. Which Wildwing could relate to, seeing that when the ducks had first arrived on Earth, he had felt that he had let Canard down.

"I…I'm sorry Duke, I didn't-"

"-know," the other finished. "S'alright Wing. You wanted a story, so I gave you one." He paused. "Y'know, Baron really did his best to help me aft'ah that happened, but the council of elders and lead'ah at the time believed Falcone's story over mine. All my mentor could do was help me get back on my feet…literally."

Things were silent for a few minutes. Then, Wildwing gathered up the courage to ask something he though important.

"What happened to him when the Invasion started?"

Duke sighed. "I dunno," he answered. "We both had switched sides to help Puckworld. I sta'hted first, then Baron followed, sayin' somethin' like 'can't let ya go at it alone'. So we both sta'hted stealin', but for a great'ah good. Then…"

Wing waited, ignoring the beeping of the microwave in the background, indicating that the fifth bag of popcorn he had made was done.

"…then we got separated. Just before I joined Canard and the Resistance. I dunno what happened to him."

Okay, concerning my note at the top. In "To Catch a Duck" when Duke comes out in what he called "hunting tools", he was wearing gloves. Oddly enough though, Falcone doesn't wear any as we watch him attempt to steal the fake diamond, key to the clocktower, or the sapphire at the end. Now, whether that's because of his cockiness or whatever, I'll leave for the fans and/or Disney to figure out. My outlook is that Duke wears gloves when he steals as to not leave any fingerprints (which is probably a good idea if you think about it).