Silver haired street fighter of war
I do not own The Mighty Ducks or any of the other characters within this story, only the characters that I come up within my mind.
A young teenage/adult girl, who has been abandoned by her mother and ran away from a terrible orphanage, struggles to survive within the streets of New York City but that soon changes when she is suddenly transported to a different world. She now fights to survive a war that is taking place on a planet that isn't inhabited by humans, but by ducks. Can she survive?
The beginning and the first face off: Part 2
Riko, Kathryn and Tate have been traveling for about three days and they were no where near Twin Beaks yet. The trio was having a quick lunch break as they ate their ham sandwiches while they sat underneath a few over hanging rocks that protected them from the wind that whipped across the desert. The trio chatted between themselves while they rested up a little before continued on with their journey to Twin Beaks.
"So what can you tell me about these Saurian creeps that we might be facing in the future?" asked Riko before she bit into her sandwich.
"Well," started Tate as he scratched the bottom of his lower bill after he finished eating his sandwich. "I've heard that there were four Saurians who had landed on our planet. One of them is named Siege, he's a large lizard that's big on muscles, but he's not too smart on brains. The second lizard is Chameleon; he's a shape shifter so he can take on anyone's form in an instant. He's a skinny little creep with green skin. The third is an old Saurian called Wraith; he knows a lot of dark magic so he's really dangerous to go up against if you don't know how to defend yourself against him.
"As for the last one…well, let's just say that he's one of the most dangerous Saurians that you'll ever meet, but no one has ever seen the leader of the Saurian Empire. The lizard's name is Dragaunus and he's the head honcho of this whole invasion, he's also very cunning."
"Then we'd better watch ourselves if we're to ever face off against those lizards," stated Riko after she finished eating her sandwich before taking a swig of water from her canteen.
Kathryn had also finished her sandwich and was now drinking some water out of her canteen before she screwed the lid back on again: "I don't think we'll be seeing those Dino creeps for a while; for they never real show their ugly faces in public very much and rumor has it that they are hiding somewhere within the eastern section of the desert. But no one has ever seen the Saurian's headquarters for they say that it is hidden by an invisible shield that the lizards call their 'Cloak of Darkness', so it won't be easy to find them."
"No one said that it was going to be easy," said Riko as she stood up from the ground. "But we'll worry about those lizards later; right now we have other things that we should be thinking about."
"Yeah," piped in Tate as he and Kathryn stood up from the ground before they followed Riko to their hover bikes. "We'd gotta find Drake DuCaine's mask and we already know where that is."
"That's right, so we need get to Twin Beaks as fast as we can before something pops up to stop us." Kathryn stated as she and her traveling companions stashed their belongings into their secret compartments.
"Then let's kick it into high gear!" shouted Riko as she jumped on to her Wind Chaser after she strapped on her helmet and goggles.
Kathryn and Tate mimicked the street fighter as they strapped on their helmets and goggles before they too leapt onto their cycles. The trio started up their engines before they tore off through the desert once again with Tate in the lead.
"Tate, how far are we to Twin Beaks?" yelled Riko to the one that was leading them to their destination.
"Only two more hours away at this speed!" replied Tate over the roar of his engine. "But if we go into hypersonic then we'll be able to make it there before dark!"
"Alright, then lets not waste any time!" yelled Riko before pressing one of the buttons on her bike to go faster. "Let's charge it up to hypersonic!"
Kathryn and Tate quickly followed Riko's lead as they too charged their engines to go into hypersonic. In seconds, the three bikes and their riders became a blur.
Two hours later
The trio soon made it to Twin Beaks and Riko had to say the view of the mountains were a breath taking sight so see. The Twin Beaks were true to their name as two mountains stood close together with clouds floating past and across the peaks of the mountains. Like every other part of Puckworld, the mountains were bathed in a blood red glow. The trio drove their bikes towards the base of the mountains before shutting off their engines. The trio had parked their bikes between two huge boulders so that they could hide them from any wondering soul that might stumble upon them in the open. The street fighter and the two ducks dismounted from their bikes as they unclasped their helmets and slipped off their goggles before placing them both in the secret compartments of their bikes.
"So these are the Twin Beaks," muttered Riko as she stared up at the mountains before she lifted the bag, that held the saber Duke gave to her, out of the compartment and hung the strap over her right shoulder.
"Yeah," chimed Tate as he and Kathryn came to stand beside the street fighter and her bike with their own bags on their shoulders. "But their not as beautiful as I remember them."
"Well after Dragaunus and his fleet landed on our planet unannounced a few months ago, the first thing they did was change Puckworld into a land that best suited their cold blood." Kathryn reminded Tate as she looked over at the black duck that stood on Riko's left side.
"I know," growled Tate as he clenched his right hand into a fist. "And I swear on my last breath that I'm going to make those lizards pay for what they did to our home planet."
"And you will," reassured Riko as she placed her left hand on top of the 22 year old duck's shoulder to calm him. "But right now we need to focus on what we came here to do."
The two ducks nodded their heads at the silver haired street fighter before Tate took point once again: "Come on, when I last came here there was a path that led halfway up the mountain, that's where we'll find the entrance that will lead us into Drake DuCaine's tomb."
"But once we get inside we'll be facing off against many traps that had been set up within the tomb right?" questioned Riko as she and Kathryn walked behind the male duck.
"Yep," replied Tate bluntly as he looked over his shoulder to look at his two comrades. "That's why we have to tread carefully if we want to get out alive."
The two girls nodded their heads in agreement before the three of them found the path that will lead them up the mountain. The group walked on in silence as they treaded their way up the mountain with caution for the path was uneven beneath their feet, but they soon made it to the flat part of the mountain. The flat was so wide that it could hold a large aircraft and that was the first thing that Riko, Tate and Kathryn saw in front of them. The trio quickly hid behind a few boulders as they squatted down to hide from the aircraft that they spotted when they had arrived to their destination.
The aircraft looked like a large white fighter plane with a few green and golden stripes painted on its metal body. The front part of the aircraft was shaped like a duck mask with a black windshield running sideways across the front face of it.
"Kathryn, do you know what that aircraft is?" whispered Riko to the female duck beside her.
"Yeah," replied Kathryn as she stared at the aircraft in front of her. "That's one of the military's Aerowings, but what the heck is it doing here?"
"Probably for the same reason that we are," voiced Tate to his companions.
Suddenly, the trio saw a ramp dropping down from underneath the front part of the Aerowing. Riko, Tate and Kathryn quietly watched as a male duck came walking out of the space craft.
He had tan feathers and a tuff of hair/bangs that hung over his forehead and dark brown eyes that scanned the area around him. On the top part of his bill was a dark brown battle patch.
He was wearing a black short sleeve shirt, dark blue jeans and combat boots. He was wearing brown armor on his chest and shoulders with a white armored shoulder pad on his left shoulder. On the lower part of the duck's left arm was a tattoo of an up-side-down green triangle with two hockey sticks crisscrossing with each other at the bottom and on his right arm was a golden vambrace with a watch on top of it. The duck was muscular and stood to be about six feet tall, he also looked to be around 23 years old.
Riko narrowed her golden/amber eyes at the drake before she and her two traveling companions ducked back down behind the boulders.
"Looks like this guy is part of the military," whispered Riko to the two ducks.
"There's no doubt about that," voiced Tate in agreement with a nod of his head.
"Now what do we do?" questioned Kathryn.
"Okay, just let me think," said Riko as she began to think about the position they are in right now. "We all know that this guy is part of the military and that he is probably here looking for the mask just like we are."
"What do you suggest we do then?" questioned Tate as he crossed his arms impatiently.
"I think we should split up," answered Riko bluntly.
"Are you crazy!" hissed Tate in disbelief. "If we split up then we'll totally be out of contact with each other."
"Not if we have communication devices," stepped in Kathryn as she dug into her shoulder bag and pulled out three black earpiece devices. "These three earpiece devices are communicators that I had invented ten weeks ago. They can let people talk to each other from a long distance and will even work through 100 feet of rock; I should know for I've tested them out myself."
"Whoa," voiced Riko in amazement.
"Yet another unexpected twist," muttered Tate as he scratched the back of his head.
Kathryn only smiled as she handed the other two earpieces to Riko and Tate as all three of them inserted the devices into their ears.
"Okay, we're set," voiced Riko before she looked over the boulders again.
She spotted the tan duck walking towards the entrance that led into the tomb of Drake DuCaine. Riko looked back at the two ducks before her.
"Okay, here's the plan." Riko began. "Tate, you stay here and keep look out. Radio me if anything suspicious comes around here. Kathryn, you head back to the bikes and see if you can bring them up here."
"That won't be a problem," reassured Kathryn with a smile. "The bikes can be set on autopilot; as long as someone drives one of the bikes up here then the other two hover cycles will follow right behind the lead bike."
"Then you better get to it," said Riko.
"Hey, wait a minute here," interrupted Tate. "If I'm staying here and Kathryn is running back to the bikes then what are you going to be doing?"
"I'm going to be following that military hot-shot," answered Riko. "I'm going to see if I can get ahead of him before he reaches Drake DuCaine's mask first."
"You think you'll be okay?" questioned Kathryn in concern.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," reassured Riko to the female mallard. "Besides, I've been living on my own for a long time when I was a kid so I know how to take care of myself when I find myself in a jam."
"Just be careful, okay?" warned Tate with caution.
Riko nodded her head at Tate before she got up and ran out from behind the boulders. Kathryn was the next to go as she ran back down the path that had led the team up to Drake DuCaine's tomb and that only one left was Tate. The black duck leaned up against one of the boulders as he made himself comfortable as he took up watching for anything that might be suspicious to him.
In Drake DuCaine's tomb
Riko quietly walked through the corridor as she followed behind the tan duck. She was about 14 feet away from the mallard as she walked through the tomb without the drake knowing of her existence, but Riko knew that the duck was a lot smarter than he looked. The mallard came up to a corner before he disappeared around it. Riko calmly walked on but kept her guard up for the street fighter sensed that the drake was waiting for her around the corner. Riko slowly dug into her shoulder bag before she pulled out a silver and gold hilt of a saber with a red ruby sitting between the handle and hilt of the sword. She activated the saber as a golden blade appeared in a flash of light. Riko soon came to the corner before she quickly raised her blade up as she blocked a sliver blade of a saber that came down on her. The street fighter glared into the brown eyes of the duck that she had been following. Riko pushed back on the duck's saber before she stood in a defense position along with the tan mallard as they circled around each other.
"I had a feeling that someone was following me," growled the drake as he glared into Riko's golden eyes. "I thought it would be one of Dragaunus's drones, but I guess he sent one of his spies to follow me instead, huh?"
"Sorry to burst your bubble Hot-shot, but I'm not working for that Dino creep," stated Riko in a cold tone of voice.
"Oh really," retorted the duck with a smirk. "Then who are you working for."
"I work for no body," replied Riko coolly. "I only work for myself and I'm going to be the one who'll find the mask of Drake DuCaine."
"Then you'll have to get through me first!" exclaimed the duck before he shot towards Riko.
He did an upward slash, but Riko quickly dodged by back springing away from the mallard before charging at him with her own blade. The mallard quickly blocked Riko's saber with his own before he pushed the street fighter back. Riko made a quick recovery before she did another strike as she brought her saber down into a downwards slash, but the mallard quickly blocked again. The two fighters kept exchanging blows on each other before Riko was suddenly pushed against the corridor wall as she locked blades with the mallard. The street fighter glared into the mallard's brown eyes as her cold golden eyes pierced into the duck's soul.
"Not bad," panted Riko before she smirked. "But I'm better."
The street fighter's right hand let go of the hilt of the saber before she punched the mallard in the gut. The tan duck let out a grunt as he stumbled backwards while holding his stomach in pain. The mallard glared at Riko with a smirk.
"Ha!" scoffed the mallard. "You call that a punch?"
"Just wanted to go easy on you," retorted Riko as she got into a defense position. "After all, it wouldn't be much of a challenge if you suddenly dropped to the floor too soon."
"It sounds to me like you know how to fight from experience!" grunted the mallard as he slashed his saber down on Riko's once more as the silver haired human blocked his attack.
"That's because I've been living on the streets my whole life, and that's all you need to know!" exclaimed Riko as she pushed against the duck and his blade before she shoved the duck away from her again.
The force that she put into pushing the duck away from her made the mallard slam into the other wall of the corridor with a grunt. Suddenly, the wall that the duck had slammed into gave weigh as a small panel was pressed inwards by the mallard's back. The duck's and the human's eyes widened when they suddenly felt the ground under their feet starting to shift. Riko knew that shifting ground was never a good sign and so did the mallard. The two of them quickly shared a look with each other before they took off running. The floor that the duck and street fighter had been standing on a few moments ago began to fall apart as the bricks fell in a dark endless pit underneath. Riko and the duck were running as fast as their legs could carry them as they tried to get to safer ground. Their sabers had been sheathed and stashed back into their bags before they had started to run for their lives. Riko and the duck ran side by side together before they finally made it to safer ground, but the piece of the floor that the duck had just been standing on suddenly fell underneath his weight and before the mallard knew it he was falling into the endless abyss.
Riko quickly saw what was happening and on impulse she grabbed the mallard's right arm as she laid over the edge on the solid part of the floor. Riko kept a tight grip on the mallard's arm as the drake looked up at the silver haired human with a confused look on his face before he felt himself being lifted up to the solid edge of the floor. Riko kept pulling the mallard up with all her strength until he was in reach of the edge of the pit. The mallard quickly grabbed on to the edge as he began to pull himself up while Riko kept pulling him up by his right arm. After a few moments, the tan duck was on solid ground with the street fighter as the two panted for breath as the silver haired human let go of the mallard's arm.
"Man, that was too close," panted Riko as she leaned back on her hands while she sat on the floor before she looked at the kneeling form of the tan duck in front of her. "Are you okay Hot-shot?"
The duck looked over at Riko with an eyebrow raised up in confused matter before he began to talk: "I don't understand…why did-?"
"Let's just say that I'm the type of person that doesn't hesitate to help people," replied Riko with a shrug of her shoulders. "No matter how different they look."
The duck frowned at Riko before he stood up from the ground: "Well I guess I should say 'thank you' and I guess I owe you one."
"The only thing you owe me is an explanation," stated Riko as she stood up and began to dust her self off. "What exactly are you doing here?"
"I'm here looking for Drake DuCaine's mask," answered the tan duck. "And what exactly are you doing here anyways kid?"
"For your information tough guy; I happen to be 18 years old," retorted Riko as she poked the mallard in the chest. "And I'm here looking for the mask too because I promised someone that I would find it for him."
"Oh, and who exactly is this person?" countered the duck as he glared down at Riko.
Riko had just noticed that she only came up to the ducks chin, but she wasn't fazed one bit about the size of this duck for she had faced bigger opponents than him on the streets of New York.
"Joseph Stonefeather." Riko bluntly replied as she crossed her arms over her chest.
The street fighter wasn't surprised when she saw the duck's angry stare change into a shock of surprise.
"Stonefeather, alive?" voiced the duck in disbelief before he shook his head. "No, that can't be possible. The general of the resistance said that Joseph died before the invasion started."
"Hate to prove you wrong Hot-shot, but I just met up with Joseph when I first appeared on your planet," stated Riko. "And he strictly told me to come here to Twin Beaks to find the mask of Drake DuCaine. He also told me to find a duck that has the right qualities of being a leader. Although I'm kind of surprised that you seem to know this guy like three other ducks I just met on my journey so far."
"Joseph Stonefeather was a professor at my school." The tan duck said as he explained to Riko on how he knew the 40 year old duck. "He always talked about the legends of Drake DuCaine and about the Saurian overlords that invaded Puckworld, but how exactly did you meet up with Mr. Stonefeather?"
"I'll explain as we go along," replied Riko as she began to walk. "Right now I think we should start looking for the mask."
"Listen kid, don't order me around," growled the duck in anger. "I'm a high ranked solider in the military."
"And I'm the best street fighter of New York City," countered Riko as she began to walk down the corridor again. "Which so happens to be on a planet called earth."
The duck surprise grew as he stared at the silver haired street fighter walking away from him before he ran up to walk up beside Riko.
"You mean to tell me that you're one of the humans that my teacher keeps talking about within our class?" questioned the duck with a frown.
"You could say that," replied Riko before she glared at the duck beside her. "And don't even think of calling me human, because I have a name like everyone else on this planet."
"Oh, and what is your name?" questioned the duck suspiciously.
"Can't tell you," countered Riko with a smirk.
"Why not?" asked the duck angrily.
"Because a kid shouldn't reveal their names to strangers without knowing the person's name first," retorted Riko with a raised eyebrow.
The duck growled at Riko before letting out a huff: "You're one stubborn human, but fine. My name is Canard Thunderbeak, high ranked general within the military and you are?"
"Riko Hikari, number one street fighter of planet earth." replied the street fighter proudly.
The duck, Canard, frowned at Riko: "You sure like to boast about yourself, don't you?"
"Same goes for you," countered Riko with a smirk.
Canard glowered at the human before turning his head away from her and that's when he stopped Riko by throwing his left arm out in front of her.
"Wait a minute," halted Canard as he looked down at the panels on the floor.
Riko glared at the tan mallard for a moment before she looked down at the ground and saw a few bricks sticking up out of the floor. Riko glared at the bricks suspiciously before she looked down at the ground and found a rock, the size of her fist, sitting next to her left foot. Riko picked up the rock before glancing at one of the taller bricks that stuck out of the floor. She threw the rock at it before it made contact with the upturned brick. What happened next made Canard and Riko step back in surprise. A jet of white hot fire suddenly shot up from the ground, ten feet in front of them.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Riko as she watched the column of flame slowly die down in front of her. "Now that's what I call 'Playing with fire'."
"If we so much as step on one of those upturned bricks then we'll be burned to a crisp by those flames." Canard stated as he stared down at the bricks that stood between them and the mask.
"Hmm…" Riko hummed as she scratched her chin in thought before looking up at the roof above her. "I think I might have an idea on how we can get across."
Canard looked at the street fighter for a moment before turning his gaze upwards to the roof as well. He quickly caught on to Riko's idea as he grabbed something from inside his shoulder bag.
What he pulled out was a wristband with a flat circular black object on top of it. Three buttons dotted the top of the black circle. Each of the buttons had a different color that resided from red, green, to yellow. Canard suddenly attached the wristband to Riko's right wrist with the street fighter frowning at it in curiosity.
"What's this thing?" questioned Riko as she raised the wristband up to have a better look at it.
"That is a puck grappling hook," explained Canard as he told the street fighter what the strange gear was. "The red button will shoot the grappling hook; the yellow button will reel and release the rope that is attached to the grappling hook and the green button will detach you from the rope. You got that?"
"Yeah, I got it," replied Riko before she looked back up at the roof again.
Riko pointed her arm up towards the roof at a slight angel while making sure to lower the back of her hand downwards so that it wouldn't get hit by…whatever it was that might come shooting out of the circler object that was on her wrist. Riko made sure to carefully aim her puck grappling hook before he pressed the red button. Riko got a kickback motion from the wristband that was attached to her arm as a black blur shot out from the launcher and sailed towards the roof of the tomb as a thick cord of rope followed behind it. The blur quickly snagged the ceiling with a loud clang before Riko gave the cord a firm tug to make sure that it was secured.
"Okay, it's attached," confirmed Riko as she looked over at Canard.
"Alright," started Canard. "Now, release a little more rope before detaching it."
Riko rolled her eyes at the duck before doing what he instructed her to do. Once she got the right length of the rope she instantly cut the cord from her grappling hook launcher after she grabbed onto the rope. Riko gave the rope another firm tug before looking at the tan duck.
"I'll swing over first to see if it's safe and once I get over to the other side I'll send the rope back to you."
Canard frowned at the girl in distrust, but decided to let Riko go first as he nodded his head at the silver haired girl. Riko nodded back before taking a few steps back then jumped onto the rope as she let it carry her across the other side. The street fighter swung over the upturned bricks before she landed safely on the other side of the room where the panels on the floor were even with each other. Riko tapped her left foot on the ground to make sure that it was safe before grabbing another fist size stone off the ground and quickly tied it to the end of the rope.
"Heads up!" shouted Riko as she threw the rope back to Canard.
Canard easily grabbed the rope as it was passed over to him before he swung over to the other side and landed beside Riko.
"Not bad kid," complemented Canard with a smirk as he let the rope go where it hung in the middle of the trap that he and Riko had safely avoided. "You seem to be a natural at avoiding traps."
"Comes with avoiding gang members that want to beat you to a pulp," said Riko before she and Canard continued on down the corridor.
"So who else knows about Joseph Stonefeather?" asked Riko suddenly with interest.
"Other than me, my best friend, his brother and everyone else on Puckworld all knew Stonefeather for his wisdom on the history and legends of our planet." Canard explained as he began to tell Riko about Joseph. "Stonefeather was once a thief until he changed his ways and became one of the best soldiers in the military, but he soon retired after he became hooked on to the legends of Drake DuCaine. But how he knew about humans was a mystery to me and the people of Puckworld. Most of us thought he was crazy, but after seeing you…well, I'm starting to think that maybe Stonefeather wasn't crazy after all."
Riko looked at the tan mallard for a moment before asking another question: "So…who's this friend of yours?"
"My friend's name is Wildwing Flashblade," replied Canard softly. "He was the best goalie in my school. He's the same age as me, but the most interesting part of him is that he is the only duck that has white feathers."
"A white feathered duck?" said Riko with a raised eyebrow before looking ahead of her. "Well if he is a white duck then I'm a pink loving girly-girl."
Canard chuckled while he rolled his eyes in amusement: "You remind me of Wildwing's brother, Nosedive. For that kid would always be the one to crack the first joke whenever he gets the chance, but he was also pretty annoying at times."
"And how old is this Nosedive?" asked Riko curiously.
"I would say…17 years old," replied Canard as he thought over how old Wildwing's brother was. "That means he's at least one year younger than you."
Riko smirked before she suddenly saw light up ahead of her. Canard also noticed and the two of them quickly started running before they entered a large room. The roof was at least ten feet tall and the room was seven feet wide in length, but what stood in the middle of the room was what really got the two searchers attention. Sitting on a five foot pedestal was the very thing that the silver haired human and tan duck have been looking for. A white duck shaped mask sat on the pedestal with a small shaft of light pouring down from the roof above the searcher's heads.
"The mask," voiced Canard as he began to take a step forward.
"No wait!" exclaimed Riko as she suddenly grabbed Canard's arm and pulled him back.
Canard turned to glare at the human before Riko pointed at the ground before them. The duck looked down and saw 5 foot square panels on the floor, but was surprised to see that some of the panels were in a different color. A few of the panels were a light blue marble while the rest were dark grey marble. Riko dug into her bag before pulling out her saber. She quickly activated it before touching the tip of her blade down on one of the blue marble panels before she lightly pressed down on it. There was little resistance as the panel slowly moved underneath Riko's weight.
A sound caught Riko's and Canard's ears as they quickly turned their heads to the source of the sound and saw a giant ax blade come sweeping towards them.
"Look out!" shouted Canard as he and Riko quickly jumped back from the blade that nearly sliced them in half.
The giant ax kept going before its blade lodged itself into the left side wall of the room.
"That was too close," stated Canard as he looked at the giant ax that was stuck in the wall.
Riko only nodded before walking up to the panels once again. She placed the tip of her saber down on the grey marble before putting her weight on it. The grey marble didn't move or budge an inch after the street fighter pushed all of her weight down on her sword. Riko lifted her saber up before deactivating the blade. She placed the hilt of her saber back into her bag before looking at the scene before her.
The panels were all spread out like a checkerboard with the blue panels touching the grey panels and so on. Riko rubbed her chin before stepping on to the grey panel that she had just touched with her saber. Canard watched from behind as tension started to rise up within his muscles. Riko carefully touched her right foot to the next grey panel before she lightly pressed down on it. Like the first grey panel, the second one didn't move. Riko turned to look over her shoulder at Canard.
"The grey panels are safe to walk on," informed Riko to the tan duck behind her. "Make sure you tread carefully and whatever you do, don't touch the blue panels."
"That I pretty much figured out myself," stated Canard in sarcasm as he stepped on an opposite grey panel behind Riko.
Riko and Canard quickly made their way across the room by jumping on the grey panels while trying to avoid stepping on the blue panels along the way. They finally made it to the other side before they walked over to the pedestal to where the mask of Drake DuCaine sat upon it.
"So this is the mask of Drake DuCaine?" asked Riko out of curiosity as she stared at the white mask in fascination.
Canard only nodded his head before he slowly moved to grab the mask off from the pedestal. The drake's fingers slowly wrapped around the mask before he lifted it up from the pedestal that it sat on. He and Riko stood still as they waited for another trap to jump them, but everything was quiet around them. The two explores let out a sigh of relief before Canard placed the mask in his shoulder bag.
"Okay, we got the mask," stated the tan mallard as he looked at Riko. "Now let's get out of here while we're still in once piece."
Riko nodded her head in agreement as she began to follow the mallard, but stopped when she heard the shifting of stone behind her. The street fight quickly turned around to see a small brick on the wall slowly shifting as it sunk into the wall before slid sideways to reveal a deep hole behind it. Riko blinked at the hole that had now reviled itself to her before she walked towards it. Canard noticed that Riko wasn't behind him and quickly turned around to see the silver haired human walking towards the wall of the tomb.
"Kid?" started Canard as he looked at the human confusingly, "What are you doing?"
Riko didn't answer him as she only walked towards the wall before slowly reaching into the hole. The street fight slowly pulled out an old leather book with a picture of a wolf on the front of it. The edges of the book were worn and tattered, but still in good condition. Canard came up to Riko to see what she had found and raised an eyebrow when he saw the book.
"That's weird," he muttered as he gently took the book out of Riko's hands while examining it. "Why would a journal be in Drake DuCaine's tomb?"
"Who knows," spoke Riko with a shrug before taking the journal back into her hands again. "But we might as well take it along with us."
Just then, a familiar voice rang in Riko's ear: "Riko! Riko are you there?"
Riko quickly raised her hand to the ear that held her communicator: "I'm here Tate, what's going on?"
"We have a major problem out here girl!" exclaimed Tate on the communicator. "There are three Saurian warships heading over here!"
"Not good," muttered Riko before she quickly stuffed the book that she was holding into her shoulder bag. "I'll meet you out there as soon as I can, until then just keep a low profile!"
"You got it chief!" replied Tate before he signed off.
"We've got trouble coming our way," stated Riko as she turned to face Canard. "It seems like that we have some unwelcome guests approaching our coordinates."
"The Saurians?" guessed Canard.
Riko nodded her head as Canard let out a sigh: "That's just great!"
"Well let's get out of here before we're toast!" exclaimed Riko as she quickly made her way back to the panels.
Riko stopped as she slowly placed her foot on the grey panel, but quickly leapt back when the panel suddenly shifted underneath her weight. Riko quickly ducked when an arrow suddenly shot over her head before she straightened up again.
"Great," grumbled Riko as Canard quickly ran up to her. "Were back to where we've started."
"Now what do we do?" asked Canard as he glared at the human girl for answers.
Riko began to think before she thought of something: "Canard, why don't you give that mask a test drive."
Canard looked at Riko for a moment before he pulled out the white mask and placed it on his face. Once the mask was firmly placed on Canard's face it changed its form into a golden mask with red eyes glaring at Riko. The eyes flashed as they began to scan the panels in front of them. An image showed up in front of Canard's vision as he analyzed which of the panels were safe to walk on.
"Okay, it seems like the panels have a mechanism that switches when the person attempts to take the mask out of the tomb." Canard explained to Riko the situation before them. "So the only way across is to step on the blue panels."
"I was kind of thinking that too," muttered Riko as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But I wasn't sure that we should cross the blue panels for I thought that it might have been a double trap if we'd stepped on them."
"Who ever built this tomb wanted to make sure that who ever stole the mask wouldn't get out alive," stated Canard as he stepped on to one of the blue panels with Riko stepping on to the other panel right beside him.
"Or it could be that they designed this place to test the one who found the mask to see if he was worthy to have it or not." Riko suggested as she and Canard hopped across the checkerboard floor before they finally made it to the other side.
"We'll have to think about it later," said Canard as he changed the subject. "Right now we've got to get out of here before those Saurian slime-balls catch us here."
Riko only nodded her head before she and Canard started to run down the corridors, their footsteps echoing against the walls of the tomb. Riko quickly undid the puck grabbling hook from her wrist before tossing it over to Canard who caught it.
"Get ready to use that gadget!" exclaimed Riko.
"What about you?" questioned Canard as his red eyes glared at Riko as he ran beside her "How will you get across?"
"That cord is still hanging over the trap so I'll be able to grab it by using a little trick that I've taught myself during my fright with a weak gang member that had me cornered in an alley." Riko replied with a smirk as she glanced at the duck for a moment before looking a head of her again.
Though the mask didn't show it, Canard had his doubt that this simple human can jump all the way to the middle of the room and grab the rope that was hanging above the trap that they were coming up to. The fire trap came into their view and before Canard knew it, Riko had raced ahead of him at an incredible speed. Canard was taken by surprise as he witnessed the incredible speed that this ordinary human possessed.
Riko never faltered as she kept increasing her speed until she suddenly leapt towards the left wall of the corridor before bouncing off of it to the next wall. She kept bouncing off the walls before she came to the center of the trap where the rope was hanging. Riko bounded off the right wall before grabbing onto the rope as she swung her self over to the other end of the room. Canard was impressed by this girl's performance, but he didn't falter within his steps as he attached the puck grappling hook to his left wrist before firing of the cord.
The teeth of the grappling hook bit down on the ceiling as Canard quickly swung himself over to the other side where Riko was waiting for him. He landed on the ground before he and Riko quickly started to run down the corridor again. Riko quickly touched her ear piece as she connected with the Tate again.
"Tate, are you there?" asked Riko over the communicator.
"Yeah, I'm here," replied Tate over the line. "And Kathryn's here with me too, along with the hover cycles."
"Good," said Riko. "I want you two to keep out of sight from the Saurian warships before I exit the tomb."
"You got it!" replied Tate.
"Your comrades won't be able to hide themselves for long," stated Canard as he glanced at the human running beside him.
"Riko, who's that talking with you," asked Tate on the communicator.
"You remember the duck that I was suppose to follow?" asked Riko to the black duck on her earpiece.
"Yeah," replied Tate in a confused tone.
"Well…let's just say I had a run in with him and now I'm working with him as we're trying to make our way out of Drake DuCaine's tomb."
There was silence on the other end of the communicator for a moment before Tate spoke again: "Yet another unexpected twist in our journey, bummer."
A rare smile appeared on Riko's face when she heard what Tate had said. Boy, this guy sure likes to make a silly comment on things. Her smile quickly disappeared as it was replaced with a frown before she turned to look at Canard.
"So what do you think that my teammates should do?" asked Riko to the tan duck.
"Tell your teammates to get to the Aerowing," answered Canard in a commanding tone. "Get it ready to fly at a moment's notice."
"Right," said Riko before she talked into her earpiece. "Did you get all that Tate?"
"Yep!" replied Tate on the other end. "I'll get the ship up and running in no time, just make sure that you two get out of the tomb as fast as you can."
"I'm counting on you," spoke Riko before she cut off her communication.
"The pit is coming up," warned Canard.
"Then I'm guessing that you will be swing us across?" asked Riko as she looked at the tan duck beside her.
Canard's only response was grabbing Riko around the waist with his free arm and lifting her off the ground before pointing the puck grappling hook up towards the ceiling once again. The mallard fired off the grappling hook as the teeth once again bit into the hard stone of the ceiling. Riko placed one arm around Canard's neck as the mallard swung the two of them across the pit. Both of them landed on the other side of the pit with Canard letting go of Riko in mid-flight. The two of them continued to run towards the exit where they would meet up with Tate and Kathryn.
It seemed like hours for the two as they ran down the corridor but they soon saw the exit up ahead of them.
"We're almost there!" exclaimed Canard.
But as soon as the words left his beak, the tomb around Riko and Canard began to shake.
"Just our luck," muttered Riko as she looked up at the ceiling with a frown before looking straight ahead again.
The two of them quickly picked up their speed as they headed towards the exit and that was when they noticed the ceiling over the entrance beginning to fall apart.
"JUMP!" shouted Canard as he and Riko quickly dived towards the entrance when they came within three feet of it.
Riko and Canard cleared the exit before the ceiling collapse over the entrance as they rolled across the ground before stopping to look back at the entrance that had been sealed behind them.
"That was too close," panted Canard as he and Riko knelt on the ground for a few minutes before standing up.
"At least we'd got out," stated Riko to the tan mallard.
"Riko!" called a voice from behind the two.
Riko and Canard quickly turned to see Kathryn standing near the open hatch of the Aerowing as the engines began to roar to life.
"Hurry up or those Saurian warships will catch us!" shouted Kathryn over the roar of the engines.
Riko quickly ran towards the Aerowing with Canard standing back as he looked at Kathryn in surprise. Why was a 16 year old here?
"Canard, don't slack!" shouted Riko as she turned to glare back at the tan duck.
Canard quickly broke out of his gaze before he quickly ran to catch up with Riko. Kathryn and Riko quickly ran up the ramp with Canard following behind them. The ramp quickly closed behind the trio once they had boarded the Aerowing as they quickly came to the cockpit where Tate was waiting for them. Tate was sitting in the copilot seat as he started up the engines of the Aerowing before he turned in his seat to look at Riko, Kathryn and Canard.
"What took you guys?" asked Tate in a joking tone of voice.
"You don't want to know," replied Riko as she came up to stand behind Tate.
Canard quickly took the pilot seat as he grabbed onto the wheel before easing back on it. Riko quickly grabbed onto the Tate's seat so that she could balance herself as the Aerowing began to take off from the ground. Kathryn was seated in one of the seats that stood near one of the control panels with her seatbelt keeping her in place. Riko managed to regain her balance before she looked at the radar to see if she could spot any of the Saurian warships and caught three blips on the screen.
"Those Saurian warships are coming up pretty fast on the screen," informed Riko to Canard.
"Yeah," replied Canard calmly as he looked down at the radar screen. "But something is bothering me here, how did those Saurian slime-balls find us?"
"Who knows," replied Riko as she looked at the tan mallard. "But our main priority is to get…"
Riko suddenly paused when she suddenly sensed something up ahead of them: "Canard!"
"On it!" exclaimed Canard as he quickly made a right turn that nearly sent Riko falling to the ground.
A laser was fired at them from the front of Aerowing as it flew towards one of the other Saurian warships where the laser made contact with it. The Saurian warship exploded in a ball of fire.
"What on Puckworld was that?" questioned Tate in surprise as he turned to look over his shoulder at what had happened behind them.
"Me thinks that there are more Saurian warships beyond the horizon," replied Kathryn in a Shakespearian voice.
"That's pointing out the obvious Sherlock," muttered Riko in sarcasm as she glanced at Kathryn with a frown.
Canard pressed the sides of the mask as the red eyes glowed for a moment as he glared out the front window of the Aerowing. An image appeared before Canard's vision as he spotted 11 Saurian warships flying in front the Aerowing.
"We have 11 Saurian warships ahead of us," warned Canard to his three passengers.
"Well that's just dandy!" exclaimed Tate in anger. "Now what do we do?"
"Canard, does the Aerowing have hyper boost installed in its system?" questioned Riko to the tan mallard.
"Yes it does," replied Canard as he turned to look at Riko. "Why, do you have a plan?"
"I do," said Riko. "But it might come down to blasting our way through some of the Saurian warships."
"Well if it comes down to that, then I say lets go for it!" exclaimed Tate as he punched his right fist into the air.
Canard blinked in surprise as he was startled by the black duck's enthusiasm and his surprised grew when Kathryn suddenly popped in.
"I'm willing to fight beside you Riko until my last breath."
Riko was a little surprised by her two traveling companion's words but soon smirked at them before looking over at Canard.
"Well Hot-Shot, what do you say?" started Riko. "Are you in, or out?"
Canard stared at Riko for a moment before turning his head to the front window again: "If you're willing to jump head first into battle that much, then who am I to argue."
Riko smirked at Canard before looking down at Tate: "Hey Tate, how good are you at handling weapons?"
"Pretty good, why?"
"Have you ever shot a, laser cannon, before?"
Tate suddenly got the idea on what Riko wanted him to do: "I can try, but I don't know much about this Aerowing or what buttons I should press to activate the cannons."
"I can help you with that," stepped in Canard. "But I don't know how you're going to fire at the Saurian warships since they're invisible and we can't pick them up on radar."
"Just leave that to Kathryn," said Riko with a wink. "After what I heard from her brother, she's the best computer hacker on this planet."
Canard looked doubtful at first but decided to follow along with Riko's plan…for now. Riko quickly ran over to Kathryn's seat before standing beside the female duck.
"Kathryn, do you think you can create an electric impulse to mess up the Saurian's cloaking system?" asked Riko to the young duck.
"Does a duck need a beak?" Kathryn joked with a smirk as she began to press a few buttons on the console. "Just give me a few seconds to set up."
Riko nodded her head at Kathryn before turning to look at Canard who looked back at her. Canard only nodded at Riko in understanding before he turned the wheel to the right as he made a 'U' turn. He headed towards the last two remaining Saurian warships that were chasing them. Kathryn typed madly on the console as she tried to fine-tune the right frequency that will shut down the Saurian warships cloaking system temporarily.
Riko quickly made her way back up to the front of the Aerowing before she held on tight to the back of Tate's seat when Canard started dodging around the lasers that were being fired at the Aerowing.
"Boy, these lizards sure are trigger happy!" exclaimed Riko to the two male ducks in front of her.
"Mostly the warships are piloted by hunter drones," said Canard before he dodged around another laser that was fired at them.
"Then that just makes it easy for us," stated Riko as she looked over at the tan duck. "Because I have no problem, what so ever, in killing the Suarian's machines that don't have minds to think for them selves."
"Ditto," said Tate in agreement before he turned to look over at Kathryn. "Are you almost done back there Kat, because we can't keep dodging the warship's laser fire for very much longer!"
"Just a few more clicks and…done!" shouted Kathryn as she pressed the last key on the console.
In a few seconds, the warships that were invisible suddenly appeared on the radar screen.
"Now to take down them Saurian toys!" exclaimed Riko. "Fire the laser cannons!"
"You got it Riko," said Tate before he pressed the blue button on the left side of the console.
Two blue beams shot out from the front of the Aerowing as they headed straight towards the two Saurian warships before they exploded into smithereens.
"Bull's eye!" shouted Tate with a snap of his fingers.
"Don't get too cocky just yet," warned Canard as he glared at Tate. "We still have 11 more warships on our hands."
"That doesn't mean we have to defeat all of them," stepped in Riko as she looked over at the tan duck. "All we have to do it take down 4 or 5 of those ships and then make a brake for it."
"Why can't we just take out all of them?" questioned Tate as he looked up at the silver haired street fighter. "I bet we could take them on no problem."
"True, but we also have to think about this possibility. What if we hang around here for too long and more warships show up to ambush us?"
"Good point."
"Besides, we've already completed our mission," continued Riko. "There's no point in hanging around this area any more and I promised Duke that I get you and Kathryn back in one piece."
Canard's red eyes widened in surprise as he turned to look at Riko: "Did you just say, Duke, as in Duke L'Orange?"
"What's it to ya?" questioned Riko as she glared at the tan duck suspiciously.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'," said Canard in annoyance as he glared at the silver haired human before him.
"Just focus on the warships Hot-shot!" barked Riko at the tan duck.
"Scary," muttered Tate with an amused look on his face.
Canard glared at Riko in displeasure for he didn't like some human teenager ordering him around, but he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Canard quickly pulled back on the wheel as he dodged around another laser that was shot at the Aerowing. Tate quickly pressed the same button as two lasers quickly shot two more Saurian warships out of the sky. They continued on like this until only 7 warships were left standing.
"Now's our chance," said Riko before she turned to look at Canard. "Let's get out of here while we still have a chance Hot-shot!"
"Then you better take up a chair Quicksilver," stated Canard as he made a 'U' turn to face away from the Saurian warships. "The hyper boost has a real kick to it."
Riko raised an eyebrow at Canard but decided to let it go as she quickly turned and ran towards one of the seats of the Aerowing. The street fight quickly buckled her self in before Canard placed his hand on a leaver and pushed it forward. The Aerowing suddenly lurched forward as the thrusters exploded with energy as it shot across the sky at a breakneck speed. If it were for their seatbelts, Riko and Kathryn would have been thrown out of their seats from the sudden burst of speed. The Aerowing continued on at a high speed for about an hour before it finally returned to its normal speed.
"Whoa, you weren't kidding when you said that the hyper boost had a real kick to it," voiced Tate as he looked over at Canard in amazement.
"I did warn you," stated Canard before he turned to look at Riko and Kathryn. "How are you two back there?"
"Peachy," replied Kathryn as she looked over at Riko, who was shaking her head to clear it.
"Just give me a few minutes to catch my bearings," said Riko as she placed her right hand on the side of her head before she unbuckled her seat belt. "Any sign of the Saurian warships on radar Tate?"
Tate looked down and saw nothing on the radar: "Nope, it looks like we've lost them."
"Thank Drake," sighed Kathryn as she leaned against the back of her seat.
Canard took off the mask as it changed back to its normal state before he placed it in his shoulder bag that sat near his feet before putting the Aerowing on autopilot.
"Now that we are out of danger, you mind telling me who you two are?" questioned Canard as he looked at Tate and Kathryn with a firm glare within his eyes. "And why a kid, like you, is doing with an older duck and human in the first place."
"My name is Tate Jetwing," said the black duck as he pointed himself before he pointed at Kathryn. "And that's Kathryn L'Orange, my Master's little sister."
"And the reason why she came with us is because she knows a lot about technology," finished Riko as she sat in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Still a battle field is no place for a kid," said Canard as he glared over at Riko.
"Hey, if we didn't bring her along then we would have been in deep trouble if one of our hover cycles broke down in the middle of the desert!" countered Riko as her cold golden eyes glared at Canard, but the mallard wasn't fazed by the street fighter's eyes as he returned it with a glare of his own.
"Hey, hey, can we not get into a fight here," cut in Tate as he looked between the older drake and silver haired human in worry. "I mean, we did get away from the Saurian war fleet after all."
"He's right," stepped in Kathryn. "We've got the mask and we'd just barely escaped with our lives, so shouldn't we just be thankful that we're alive."
Riko let out a sigh before she turned her chair around so that the back was facing Canard: "I guess you two are right, but there's still the dilemma on who should have the mask."
"Well…who was the first one to touch the mask?" asked Kathryn as she looked at Riko for an answer.
Riko simply jabbed her thumb over her shoulder towards Canard as she answered the female duckling's question.
"Then that means…the mask belongs to him right?" stepped in Tate as he scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.
Riko turned her seat around to face Tate with a frown before sighing in defeat when she knew that Canard had the right to hold the mask, for he was the one who touched it first before she did.
"Fine," said Riko as she stood up from her seat and walked away from the three ducks. "Hot-shot can have the mask, and I'm not about to fight over some ancient relic. Besides, Joseph told me to give it to a duck that's supposed to be a leader who would free the ducks of Puckworld from those over grown lizard throw rugs."
Tate snickered when he heard what Riko said: "Ha-ha, 'Lizard throw rugs' that's a good one."
Riko didn't turn around to face Tate, but she did let a smile spread out across her face as she laughed inside to herself. She opened the back door that led to the back hanger of the Aerowing where the hover cycles were sitting in.
"Tell me when we're near the boundaries of the city," said Riko before the door closed behind her.
Canard, Kathryn and Tate stared at the door for a moment before they turned to look at each other.
"She's a real mystery…that human," voiced Tate as he pointed towards the door that Riko had disappeared behind.
"More like annoying if you ask me," grumbled Canard as he turned around to pilot the Aerowing again.
"She's not so bad," reasoned Kathryn as she stood up from her chair. "I'm just thinking that Riko isn't really used to having people surrounding her."
"Like one of those solitary kind of people?" guessed Tate as he looked over at his friend.
Kathryn nodded her head before she turned towards the door: "I'm just going to check up on the hover cycles and see if they're in good condition to travel back to the city again."
"I think I'll come with you," stated Tate as he stood up from his seat.
Canard didn't say anything as he only listened to the footsteps of the two ducks walking out of the cockpit. Once he heard the door close behind them he turned the Aerowing back onto autopilot before he picked up his shoulder bag again. The mallard slowly opened the flap of his shoulder bag before pulling out the mask. Canard traced his fingers over the mask for a moment before he stood up from his seat and made his way over to Riko's shoulder bag. He opened the flap of the shoulder pack and slipped the mask inside it.
"Look after this mask Quicksilver," muttered Canard in a low voice. "And protect it from those lizards, because I might need your assistance again."
The hanger
Riko was leaning against her hover cycle, Wind Chaser, as she watched Kathryn check up on her bike, Doom Star, while Tate stood beside Riko with his arms crossed over his chest.
"So how does it look?" asked Riko to the female duck, "Any problems?"
"Nope," replied Kathryn as she turned to look at the silver haired human. "Everything seems to be in top working condition."
"That's good," said Tate with a smile. "That means we won't be having any technical difficulties when we get back to the hideout."
"Let's just hope that those drones don't find the secret entrance before we do," warned Riko before a frown came on to her face. "There's one thing that I don't get, why are you two mallards hanging around me when you should be hanging around with your own kind?"
"You mean hang around with that military drake?" questioned Tate before he snorted as he let out a laugh. "No thanks, besides you seem way more interesting to hang around with."
"Yeah," stepped in Kathryn with a smile. "Besides, my brother always keeps telling me to hang around ducks that are around my age and you're the closest one that I can hang out with, even though you're two years older than me."
Riko looked at the two ducks in surprise before a smirk spread out across her face.
"Well let's just hope that sticking our necks into danger doesn't become a habit in this relationship," muttered Riko before Tate playfully punched the street fighter in the shoulder.
Riko playfully returned the punch while making sure that she didn't punch the 22 year old duck to hard. Kathryn let out a giggle as she smiled at the two before she turned her head towards the door when she heard it open. Riko and Tate also turned as they saw Canard walking into the hanger with Riko's shoulder bag in his hand. The tan duck threw the pack towards Riko as the street fighter caught it without complaint while she stared at Canard with her hard cold eyes.
"We're nearing the borders of the city, so you three better prepare to drop out of the Aerowing." Canard warned before he turned his back on Riko and the two ducks as he walked out of the room with the door closing behind him.
"Looks like we're going sky diving kids," stated Tate to his companions.
Riko frowned at Tate before she grasped the edge of his top beak between her thumb and forefinger: "Don't call me a kid."
"Sorry" said Tate apologetically as he shrugged his shoulders helplessly at Riko.
Riko gently let go of Tate's bill before she opened the back of her seat and placed her shoulder bag in the secret compartment before pulling out her helmet and goggles.
"It's time to rock and roll you guys!" exclaimed Riko as she placed the seat back down in its original spot before leaping on to her bike.
"We're with ya all the way Riko!" exclaimed Tate as he finished putting on his helmet before jumping onto his hover cycle.
Kathryn was the last one to hop onto her hover cycle with her helmet firmly attached to her head before pumping her fist up in the air.
"Let's rock ducks!" shouted Kathryn at the top of her lungs.
Riko and her two traveling companions started their bikes as the hover cycles lifted up off the ground before the back hatch of the Aerowing opened in front of them. The trio gunned their bikes as they shot out of the hanger and into the air before gravity took over. The hover cycles and their riders began to fall towards the ground with a rock ramp jutting out towards them.
Riko was the first one to land on the ramp as she rode down it with Tate and Kathryn following right behind her. The trio stopped their bikes as Riko stared up at the Aerowing that flew across the sky towards the ruin city that had once been proud and full of life.
"Do you think that guy will be okay?" asked Tate as he watched the Aerowing disappear from his sight.
"I hope so," voiced Kathryn as she looked at Tate. "Even though I don't really like the guy he's still a Puckworldian like you and me."
"He'll be fine," said Riko as she looked over at her two companions. "After all, he is part of the military and a soldier can take on almost anything."
Tate and Kathryn looked at Riko for a moment before they gently nodded their heads in agreement. Riko smile at the two ducks as she gave them some reassurance before she started up her bike again.
"Let's get going," she said. "I promised Duke that I get you guys back home in one piece and I don't want to face off against any more drones today."
"Ditto that," replied Tate in agreement as he and Kathryn started up their bikes.
The two ducks followed after Riko as the street fighter led them back to the hideout where Duke was waiting for them.
To be continued