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 3
All was quiet out on the desert as two drones scouted for any free wondering bystanders that might have evaded from being captured during the invasion. They were walking near the outer borders of the city's cliffs as the two of them scanned for any wondering life forms. They soon came to a rock wall that did not look like the other rock formations that sat around the area. But the hunter drones never got the chance to scan the rock face to see what it was for they were instantly sliced in two by a golden blade of a sword. The one who had attacked them from behind was none other than Riko as she glared down at the robots that had been active a few seconds ago.
Riko quickly turned her head towards a few rock formations that stood behind her as Tate and Kathryn drove out from behind their hiding place on their hover cycles with Riko's hover cycle, Wind Chaser, in toll.
"You know what to do Kathryn," said Riko as the female duck nodded her head in understanding.
Kathryn quickly pressed the same button on her hover cycle to open the secret door that will lead the three travelers back into the hideout where Duke was waiting for them. Riko placed her deactivated saber back into her shoulder bag that hung over her shoulder before she mounted her hover cycle and led her team through the open entrance. The secret door of the entrance quickly closed behind the trio as Riko, Tate and Kathryn rode through the tunnel in silence until they came to the familiar work shop that they had left from after starting out on their adventure. The door to the work shop closed behind the trio when they were all in Kathryn's workshop.
Tate was the first one to break the silence after he dismounted from his bike before taking off his helmet and goggles: "Whoa…That was a close shave for us if I do say so myself."
"You said it," spoke Kathryn in agreement as she and Riko dismounted from their bikes before they took off their goggles and helmets. "I almost had a heart attack when we saw those robots standing in front of the secret entrance that lead to the Brotherhood of the Blades secret hideout."
"But those tin-heads never had a chance against Riko and her quick moving reflexes," stated Tate as he praised the silver haired street fighter for her actions. "I don't think that I've ever seen anyone move that fast in my whole life if I hadn't witnessed it myself."
Riko threw a strand of hair away from her face as a light blush graced her cheeks: "It was nothing that I couldn't handle."
Just then, the door to the workshop opened and there standing in the entranced was Duke with a relieved look on his face when he saw Kathryn, Tate and Riko standing before him.
"Thank Drake," sighed the thief as he walked towards the trio.
Kathryn placed her helmet and goggles down on the seat of her hover cycle before she ran towards her brother in excitement. Duke caught his sister in a hug as Kathryn threw her arms around his neck before he lowered her to the ground.
"We're home," said Kathryn as she looked up into Duke's face.
"That I can see," Duke chuckled with a smile on his face as Tate walked up to him and his sister. "And I'm so glad to see that you two are back in one piece."
Riko stood off to the side as she watched the scene in front of her while a pain of jealously stabbed the street fighter in the heart. Kathryn and Tate were lucky to have someone to worry about them all the time while she was always alone when she was little. She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts when someone suddenly placed their hand on top of her left shoulder. Riko looked up and saw Duke standing in front of her with a smile on his face.
"And I'm also glad that you're safe too Riko," said Duke.
Riko blinked in surprise before a small smile appeared on her face: "Thanks Duke, I'm glad that I was able to keep my promise to you and bring your sister back in one piece along with your student."
Duke chuckled before he didn't something that Riko wasn't expecting. The older duck suddenly started to ruffle the young street fighter's hair as if she were his second little sister. Riko had been taken off guard for a moment before she quickly composed herself again after Duke lifted his hand off of her head.
"Ahem…" coughed Riko before she became serious again, "On to business, Kathryn, Tate and I had found the tomb of Drake DuCaine but we had hit a little snag along the way."
"A snag?" echoed Duke as he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Yeah, we've just met up with this military agent from the Puckworld Special Forces," stepped in Tate as he answered Duke's question. "He was looking for the mask too."
"His name was Canard Thunderbeak," added Riko as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I had to work with him so that I could get the mask and make it out of the tomb alive, but we also had a run in with the Saurian air forces."
"Are you guy's okay?" asked Duke in worry.
"Don't worry bro, none of us got hurt," reassured Kathryn with a smile.
"Yeah, but we had to leave the mask in the hands of that Hot-shot, Canard," grumbled Riko in a low voice before she started to dig through her shoulder bag. "At least we've got something else out of…the deal."
"Riko, what's wrong?" asked Kathryn when she saw the shocked look on Riko's face.
"Uh…did you or Tate by any chance decide to steal the mask from Canard?" asked Riko as she turned to look at Kathryn and Tate.
"No," replied Tate with a shake of his head, "Why?"
Riko's only answer to Tate's questioned was pulling out the item that she found in her shoulder bag. Kathryn and Tate gasped when they saw the mask of Drake DuCaine in the hands of the street fighter.
"No way," breathed Tate while his eyes widened in surprise and shock as he stared down at the mask in astonishment. "How did the mask of Drake DuCaine get into your bag?"
"I don't know," said Riko with a frown on her face. "I could have sworn that I saw Canard slip the mask into his shoulder bag while we were on the Aerowing …unless."
"You don't think that Canard slipped the mask into your bag on purpose, do you?" asked Kathryn as she looked up at Riko in surprise.
"Maybe," replied Riko as she rubbed her chin in thought after she had placed the mask of Drake DuCaine back into her shoulder bag. "And if he did then I have a feeling that we'll be meeting that Hot-Shot again."
"Well hopefully not too soon," stepped in Tate with a frown before a yawn erupted from his beak.
"Looks like somebody is tired," stated Duke with a smirk.
"Well who wouldn't be tired after what we had to go through today," said Kathryn before she let out a yawn of her own.
"And it is getting late," added Riko as she placed her hands on her hips.
"You got that right kid," Duke agreed with a nod of his head before he wrapped an arm around his little sister's shoulders. "Come on Kathryn, let's get you to bed."
"Okay," muttered Kathryn as she let her brother lead her out of the work shop.
Riko and Tate were the only ones left within the workshop as they watched the two siblings leave before the 22 year old turned to look at the sliver haired human: "So…what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know," replied Riko with a shrug of her shoulders. "But I'll probably start my search in finding the chosen leader tomorrow and maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll find Joseph."
"That's going to be hard," said Tate as he crossed his arms over his chest. "There are a lot of Hunter Drones out there and looking for Master Joseph will not be easy."
"Well I'm not giving up," stated Riko as she raised her right fist up in determination. "I'm going to find Joseph and rescue him, no matter what it takes."
"Then you're going to need help," said Tate as he looked into the street fighter's eyes. "You don't know your way around this ruin city, so you're going to need someone who knows how to navigate you around this old city."
"I don't know," muttered Riko in hesitation as she lowered her fist down to her side. "You and Kathryn have already been put into enough danger as it is and I don't want to lead Duke's student into another life threatening situation again."
"Come on Riko, I can help," pleaded Tate as his eyes became determined.
"Might as well take him with you Riko," spoke Duke as he came walking back into the workshop. "And I better come along as well, just so you can have an extra someone to watch your back when you're fighting Dragaunus's robots."
Riko looked at the two ducks for a moment before she finally let out a sigh of defeat: "Fine, you two can come, even Kathryn if she also decides to come along for the ride.Just make sure that you ducks don't slow me down, okay?"
"Sweetheart, you should know as to never judge a book by its cover," stated Duke with a smirk as he rephrased Riko's words back at her.
Riko looked at Duke for a moment before a smirk appeared on her face. She held a hand out towards the older duck with the grey mallard taking it into his own as they shake on it.
"Now, seeing that you don't have a place to stay for tonight you can share my sister's room for a while," said Duke as he let go of the street fighter's hand before leading her out of the room with Tate following right behind them.
"Uh…thanks," Riko started as she rubbed her left arm nervously. "But I don't want to intrude or anything."
"Don't worry," reassured Duke. "I'm sure that my sister wouldn't mind having you share her bedroom for a while."
Kathryn's bedroom
When the street fighter first came into Kathryn's room she had to admit that the female duck's room wasn't all that impressive to look at.
The young duckling's room was like everything else within the hideout. The walls were cracked and sitting on the hard stone floor were two mattresses that were moldy with age. Overhead was one light bulb that hung on to a thin wire that looked like it would break at any time.
Riko was sitting on one of the mattresses as Kathryn entered the room with a few blankets' in her arms. Kathryn didn't seem to mind in having Riko stay within her room for a while.
"Sorry for the lack of luxury," Kathryn apologized as she handed Riko a blanket. "But I'm afraid that it's all we have here within this rundown old hideout."
"I've slept in dumps that were much worse than this place," reassured Riko as she began to spread out her blanket on the mattress that she will be sleeping on tonight.
Kathryn smiled as she spread out her own blanket on her mattress before crawling underneath the covers.
Kathryn looked over at Riko as she sat down on her mattress: "So…you're going out tomorrow to look for Master Joseph?"
"Yeah," replied Riko with a nod of her head. "And coming along with me on this little expedition are your brother Duke and Tate."
"Then I'm coming along too," stated Kathryn in determination.
"I thought you might say that," muttered Riko as she lay down on her mattress with her blanket coming halfway up to her shoulders. "We're going to start the search early tomorrow morning, so I suggest that we'd get some sleep."
Kathryn nodded before she settled down on her mattress and closed her eyes. In a moment the 16 year old was a sleep. Riko watched the young duckling for a moment before lying down onto her back as she stared up at the ceiling above her. Her first day on this new planet had been an interesting one so far for the young street fighter.
'But why was I brought here in the first place?' thought Riko as a distant look came over her face.
Many questions began to spin around within the 18 year old girl's head before she began to feel tired and the street fighter soon let sleep come over her.
Dream world
Riko was standing in a dark hallway with many prison cells standing on both sides of her with every type of civilian duck sitting on the ground unmoving. The only proof of them being alive is the rising and falling of their breathing. All of the ducks were wearing torn up clothes that looked as if they had seen better days. Over the doors of the prison cells sat numbers that ranged from one to a thousand. Riko began to walk down the hall as she looked through all of the jail cells before coming to one that held the very duck that she had been thinking of for the last few hours.
Joseph was lying on the floor with scars harboring his arms legs and face. A larger scar ran down the 40 year old duck's right eye and Riko can only guess that it had been made by a whip. Joseph looked a lot older than when Riko first met him after she first arrived on Puckworld. His body was a lot thinner and his bone structure began to show through his feathers.
Riko felt her heart leap into her throat as she stared down at the old duck in front of her before she slowly walked up to the cell's bars: "Oh man…Joseph, what did those Saurian slime balls do to you?"
Riko quickly raised her head up towards the number of Joseph's cell and saw the number 31 on it. The street fighter turned her eyes back on Joseph again as a look of determination came over her face.
"Don't worry," Riko whispered as she clenched her right hand into a fist. "I'll find a way to get you out of here once I find out where you are."
Riko turned away from the cell and that was when her vision suddenly changed from the prison cells to the air vent ducts. She watched them swerve and bend around corners so fast that she didn't know which way was left of right. Her vision shifted again as she saw a large building that was half submerged into the ground with the entrance of the air vent being located at the top of the building. The street fighter's vision soon flashed again and for a moment she saw a white feathered male duck turning towards her in shock as his ice blue eyes locked onto her golden orbs. That was when a jolt past through Riko's body as the street fighter quickly woke up.
Real world
Riko quickly sat up on her mattress as she gasped for breath while she felt her heart beating hard against the insides of her ribcage. Riko's eyes were wide in shock after what she had just seen within her dream, but she finally calmed down as her breathing returned to normal.
"Whoa, now that was epic," voiced Riko as she ran her left hand through her hair.
Riko heard a moan as Kathryn began to awaken from her sleep. The young duckling opened her tired eyes as she looked up at Riko in confusion.
"Riko," muttered Kathryn as she slowly sat up on her mattress while rubbing her left eye sleepily. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing Kathryn," said Riko as she looked over at the young 16 year old sleeping beside her. "I just had a strange dream that's all."
"If you say so," yawned Kathryn before she settled back down on her mattress again.
Riko watched the young duckling for a moment before lying back down herself: "Man, what a weird dream."
The silver haired street fighter closed her eyes again as she tried to get back to sleep, but the dream that she had still lingered within her mind along with the white male avian with the blue eyes.
Next morning: In the secret tunnels
Riko, Duke, Kathryn and Tate were walking down one of the underground tunnels with Duke leading the team. The group was on its way to the Saurian prison camp where Duke had guessed that Joseph might have been sent to when the drones had captured him. It was a long shot for the team, but they knew that they had to save Joseph no matter what.
Riko had been given a belt that held the hilt of her saber so that she can draw it out whenever she needed it and attached to the right side of her belt was a hip pouch that held the mask of Drake DuCaine along with the journal inside it. Riko had brought them along with her because she didn't want to leave the mask and journal at the hideout with a bunch of thieves roaming around and stealing anything that they could get their hands on.
Kathryn and Tate had also brought along their own pouches that held their gear inside of them. Kathryn's pouch held a wireless laptop and communication devices while Tate's pouch held a night scope/inferred binocular and some food supplies. As the grouped walked along the halls of the secret passageway Riko mind kept wondering to the dream that she had the other night.
'Man that was one crazy dream that I had last night,' thought Riko as she walked behind Duke. 'And just who was that white mallard that I saw at the end of my dream?'
"Riko?" a voice spoke from behind the street fighter as it brought the silver haired human back into reality.
"Huh, what?" said Riko as she looked behind her see the worried face of Kathryn looking at her.
"Are you alright?" asked Kathryn to the street fighter in front of her.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," replied Riko at she looked at the female duck behind her. "I'm just thinking about something that's all."
"Well you better snap out of it kid," spoke Duke as he turned to look over his shoulder at the street fighter that was walking behind him. "We need you to stay focus on this little mission of ours."
"I am focus," growled Riko irritably as she glared at the older duck in front of her. "I just have a lot on my mind, but I know when to be focus in the most serious situations like the one that we're going into right now."
"Somebody's grumpy," stated Tate with a chuckle. "What's the matter, got up on the wrong side of the nest this morning?"
"I just didn't have a good sleep last night, okay!" exclaimed Riko as she looked over her shoulder to glare at the black duck that was walking behind Kathryn. "So just drop it!"
"Easy there Tiger," soothed Duke as he turned his head to face forward again. "Save your anger in fighting the Hunter Drones and those Saurian slime-balls."
"Don't worry, I will," said Riko as she made her point across by punching her right fist into the palm of her left hand. "For I'm feeling really edgy in punching the daylights out of one of those bolt-for-brains once we'd get up to the surface."
"Riko can really be scary when she's grumpy like this," whispered Tate to Kathryn so that Riko wouldn't hear him. "And I've only met her just yesterday."
"I know," voiced Kathryn with a giggle. "And I hate to see the guy who tries to mess with her when she's on a bad day."
Unknown to the two ducks Riko had overheard the conversation and couldn't help but smirk at what they had just said. It was true that she had many bad days back on the streets of New York City and the first unlucky guy who decided to cross paths with her found out the hard way on not to mess with a girl who has a bad temper.
"How much farther is it to the place where those Saurian sleaze-buckets are holding Master Joseph?" Riko asked Duke.
"Not too far," answered Duke as he turned to look at Riko again.
"Yeah, it's just a minute walk from the hideout to the building that holds all of the captured ducks that the drones managed to get their grubby metal hands on." Tate said as he clenched his hands into fists.
"Yeah, but let's not forget the rumors that are going around." Kathryn stepped in. "There's been talk that a group called the resistance is wondering around the ruin city while trying to take down Dragaunus's forces."
"But how can we be sure?" questioned Tate as he looked at the young 16 year old in front of him. "I mean, so far we haven't seen a single duck whose part of the resistance that we keep hearing about."
"Joseph said that there wasn't any resistance, and he didn't believe that they existed" said Riko as she entered the conversation. "But you guys also didn't believe that mask of Drake DuCaine existed either, right?"
"Well…there were arguments among us ducks in the past," responded Tate as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was one of the few who believed that the legend of Drake DuCaine and his mask were real."
"And I was one of the few that didn't believe in the legend of Drake DuCaine." Kathryn admitted as she looked down at the ground that she was walking upon in shame. "Now I really wish that I've listened to Master Joseph's stories more closely instead of fiddling with mechanical electronics all the time."
"Well that sometimes happens to people on my home planet," reassured Riko as she looked over her shoulder to talk to Kathryn again. "Sometimes they have their minds set on other things and they don't pay attention to anything else around them, but that's all in the past now Kathryn. So let's focus on the here and the now, okay?"
Kathryn looked up at Riko as a small smile appeared on her beak. Riko only nodded her head at the 16 year old before facing forward again. The group soon came to a staircase that led up towards the surface. Duke was the first one to go up first as he pushed the trapdoor up a little. The thief took a quick look around before he lifted the trapdoor all the way up and climb out. He did a quick search for any dangers that might be lurking around the place he came into. Riko and the two ducks waited for a few minutes for Duke to give them the all clear. Duke quickly walked back towards the secret entrance as he peaked in to face the street fighter, his sister and his student.
"Okay, it's clear," whispered Duke to the three within the passageway.
Riko nodded her head at Duck before she came up first. The street fighter saw that the secret passage had led the group into an old abandoned building that was almost similar to the one that she and Duke had hidden in when she first met the thief. Kathryn was the next one to step out of the passage with Tate following right behind her. Riko slowly crept towards the door of the building before pressing herself up against the wall. She slowly poked her head out from around the corner to see if there were any Hunter Drones walking about and saw two walking past the building that she and the three ducks were hiding in.
"Looks like getting into the building of the holding cells won't be an easy cake walk as I thought it would be," muttered Riko as she looked over at Duke, Kathryn and Tate with a frown.
"Well those Saurian slime-balls aren't taking any chances," voiced Tate as he went over to one of the side windows and glared out at something that caught his eyes. "They want to have every single duck at their disposal so that they can force them to mine for the very component that can power their ships."
"And what kind of component is that?" asked Riko as she walked away from the door and came to stand beside Duke and Kathryn.
"Bulerium power crystals," replied Kathryn as she answered Riko's question. "They're known to be the most powerful source of energy for the Saurian warships. The crystals are also very rare and hard to find on any planet that might have them."
"Then that could cause a really big problem for us," Riko muttered as she rubbed the underside of her chin in thought. "With all those warships, those lizards have the advantage when it comes to an air strike attack."
"Not to mention that they have those Hunter Drones and Saurian Titans stomping around the city on the lookout for any free wondering duck that might have escaped the invasion." Duke added as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Riko nodded her head in agreement before she walked over to the window that Tate was crouching in front of. Riko pressed close to the wall again before looking out the window and saw the building she had seen in her dream last night.
"Is that the place where those over grown lizards are holding Joseph?" asked Riko to the black duck that was crouched on the floor.
"It sure is," replied Tate with a nod of his head. "And it's also one of the hardest places to get in or out of, because of its high-tech security system."
"Yeah and those who have tried to sneak into that place are never seen again," added Kathryn in a quiet voice.
Riko thought over the information that Tate and Kathryn had given her. Finding a way into that building wasn't going to be easy, but then she thought of the air vents that she had seen in her dream last night. Riko quickly turned to Duke.
"Duke, is there any way into the building that can let us slip past the lizard's security system?"
The thief thought about Riko's question for a moment before he answered the 18 year old human girl.
"There are the air vents that are dotted around the building, but most of them are near ground level and they are pretty well guarded with Hunter Drones who are patrolling around the building all the time." Duke replied as he crossed his arms in thought.
"What about the roof of the building? Do they have a security system stationed there as well?"
"I don't think so," replied Duke with a shake of his head, "Because no one has even gotten that close to the building to find out if they do or not."
"Then how about we use your thieving skills to good use," said Riko as a plan began to form within her head. "After all, you are the notorious jewel thief of Puckworld right? So sneaking in and out of a well secured building shouldn't be a problem for you."
The thief scratched his bottom beak in thought for a moment before he looked back at the human that stood in front of him.
"Kid…I like the way you think," praised Duke with a smirk on his face.
Riko smirked back at the thief before turning to look at Tate again: "Tate, what's the layout of the situation."
Tate looked at Riko for a moment before digging into his pouch and bringing out his binoculars. He quickly turned to look out at the building again through his trusty scopes.
"Okay, the drones are moving in a clockwise patter every six hours around the building so that estimates that it will take them a few hours to appear on the other side of the building again."
"What about the security cameras?" Riko pressed on.
"There are 2 security cameras on each side of the building," Tate stated before he turned to look at Riko. "So it won't be easy in getting into that building without those drones knowing that we're here."
"Not unless we create a disturbance," said Riko before she turned to Kathryn. "Kat, can you create the same electrical pulse like you did back on the Aerowing?"
"I can try," replied Kathryn as she pulled out her laptop before she sat down on the ground while placing her computer on top of her lap. "But it won't be easy because I have to do it at a faraway distance and it would be totally impossible for me to make an electrical pulse when getting too close to that building with the risk of being detected."
"That's why only two of us are going to be sneaking into that building," stated Riko. "We can't risk all four of us going into that building together."
"So what you're suggesting is that two of us should stay behind to monitor the situation while two of us sneak into that building, right?" stated Tate as he looked at Riko while he tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"That's right," answered Riko with a nod of his head. "And the two that are sneaking into the building is Duke and I while you two stay here."
"What?" exclaimed Tate in disbelief as he started at Riko in shock, "You can't be serious?"
"No way," stepped in Kathryn with a defiant look on her face, "We want to come too and help you find Master Joseph."
"No," said Riko she told the two ducks firmly. "You two have to stay here and make sure that the drones don't spot us and we don't need four people going in at the same time. Besides…it was my fault that I got Joseph into this mess so I'm the one who needs to get him out of there."
"Riko," Duke started as he looked at the human in front of him. "It wasn't your fault, I told you; Master Joseph had willing given himself up to those Hunter Drones so that you could have a chance in escaping to find the mask of Drake DuCaine for him."
"And now I'm repaying the debt," stated Riko before she moved away from the window and turned to look at the Duke's student and little sister. "I'm counting on you two to watch our backs, got it?"
Tate and Kathryn nodded their heads in understanding before Kathryn quickly dug into her pouch and pulled out the same communication devices that Riko had used on her adventure in her search for Drake DuCaine's mask. Riko and Duke quickly placed the communicators in their ears before they started out the door.
Riko stopped near the entrance of the door before turning to look at Tate and Kathryn once again: "We'll be back as soon as we can with Joseph."
"Good luck," said Kathryn quietly.
"And be careful," added Tate with caution.
Riko nodded her head at the two ducks before she disappeared out the door and met up with Duke, who was waiting for her near the corner of an old broken down building. The two soon started their trek towards the prison building while making sure that they kept to the shadows so that the Hunter Drones wouldn't catch them sneaking around. Duke and Riko had a few close calls when the Hunter Drones nearly stumbled upon them while they snuck towards the building, but in the end the two made it to their destination.
The street fighter and jewel thief were now sanding near the base of the building as they hid behind a large bolder as they watched two drones walking past their hiding place. Once the robots had disappeared around the corner of the building Riko quickly raised her hand up to her left ear to activate her communication device.
"Okay, we're near the west wall of the building," Riko told Kathryn.
"Then get ready to move at 3…2…1, now!"
Riko and Duke quickly ran towards the wall as they saw the security cameras freeze in place with their lens facing away from them. Duke quickly brought his left arm up as he fired a grappling hook up towards the roof where it firmly attached itself to the ledge.
"Next stop, top floor," Duke announced as he grabbed Riko around the waist before he reeled the both of them up towards the roof.
The journey up didn't take to long for the two to reach the top as Riko and Duke grabbed onto the edge of the roof. Riko was the first one to quickly pull her-self up before she helped Duke onto the flat part of the roof.
"Not bad One-eye," said Riko with a smirk. "We'd certainly made quick time in getting up here."
"Yeah, but let's hope that there aren't any security cameras up 'ere," voiced Duke in warning.
Riko nodded as Duke quickly reeled in his grappling hook again. The two of them quickly ran across the roof before spotting a security camera that was sitting near the ventilation shaft that Riko and Duke needed to get into the building. Like the first two security cameras it was sitting as still as stone with its lens facing away from them.
"That could be a nuisance," Duke pointed out with a frown.
"Not unless we rewire the thing," Riko suggested with a smirk. "How good are you in vandalizing cameras and making them repeated the same image over and over again?"
Duke smirked as he pulled out a few tools from one of his belt pouch before walking over to the frozen camera: "Do you really have to ask?"
Riko only smirked as she watched the thief crouch down beside the security camera before he began to cross wire the machine. He soon stood back up again while placing his tools back into his belt pouch.
"There, that should do it," said Duke as he dusted the invisible dirt off of his hands.
"Alright, let's get going," said Riko as she walked towards the ventilation shaft before she detached her sword from her belt.
Riko quickly activated it as she began to cut along the outsides of the ventilation shaft before pulling off the lid. Riko quickly deactivated her saber before placing it back onto her belt. She and Duke looked down the ventilation shaft for a moment before climbing inside it with Duke going in first and Riko coming in after him. The ventilation shaft was wide enough for the two of them to crawl side by side together as they made their way towards the holding cells. The duo slowly made their way through the ventilation shaft before they came to a fork in the road.
"Oh, great," muttered Duke with a frown. "Now which way do we go?"
Riko frown as she thought over the question that Duke had asked to nobody in particular before the street fighter got the surprise of her life. Her vision suddenly flashed for a moment as she saw a ball of light flying in front of her. The ball of light quickly turned into a streak as it shot towards the left ventilation shaft before Riko's vision quickly returned to normal as the street fighter shook her head to clear it.
"Hey, you okay kid?" asked Duke when he noticed the silver haired human spacing out beside him.
"Y-yeah I'm fine," replied Riko as she held the side of her head for a moment before looking at Duke. "Listen, I think we should take the ventilation shaft on our left."
Duke blinked at Riko in bemusement before turning his head to the left: "You sure kid?"
"Yeah," replied Riko with a nod of her head. "Now come on, we can't waste any more time."
Riko soon pulled up in front of Duke as she started taking the lead with the older duck following behind her. The duck watched the human in front of him as he began to grow suspicious of Riko's actions while she led them through the ventilation shaft. Duke soon broke the silence that had come over both of them as they quietly crawled their way towards the prison cells.
"How exactly do you know where we're going kid?" questioned Duke in a rough voice.
Riko stopped for a moment with Duke coming up alongside her as he waited for an answer from the human. Riko was looking down at the metal floor of the ventilation shaft for a second before she let out a sigh.
"Last night I had a dream about this place," answered Riko truthfully without looking up at the duck beside her. "I was standing in the prison cells where the civilians were being held. I walked along the corridors for a while until I came to Joseph's holding cell. I looked inside his cell and saw him lying on the floor with many cuts on his body along with a few bruises as well. Joseph wasn't looking to good Duke. His body is only skin and bones now. I don't think that he's going to last much longer within this place."
Duke stared at Riko in disbelief after he had heard what she said, but he somehow knew that the street fighter was telling the truth otherwise she would be this serious in front of him. The 26 year old duck let out a sigh before he placed a hand on the human's shoulder.
"So where is his cell kid?" asked Duke to the street fighter beside him.
Riko raised her golden eyes up to look at Duke for a moment before she turned her head forward again: "Joseph's cell should be up ahead of us and his cell number is 31, but we have to be careful when we enter the holding chambers for there might be guards patrolling the corridors once we get there."
Duke nodded his head as he lowered his hand from the human's shoulder as he let the silver haired street fighter take the lead again with him following behind her. Duke had trusted Riko with his little sister and now it was time for him to trust this human as she led them through the ventilation shaft. They continued on for a while until they came to an air vent grill that sat below them as the two crawled over to it before stopping near the edge of it. They looked down through the holes of the grill and duo saw two Hunter Drones pass underneath them as they walked down the hall with the sound of their metal footsteps bouncing off the walls. Duke and Riko began to hear the drones talk as they walked through the corridors of the prison cell.
"What are the orders for prisoner number 31?" asked the first drone.
"We are to dispose of him once his life force gives out," answered the second drone.
Riko clenched her jaw in anger as she held back a growl that threatened to emerge from her throat. Duke clenched his hands into fists as worry came over his face. Were they already too late to save Master Joseph?
"When do you think that we should dispose the worthless life form?" asked the first drone again.
"In a few weeks," replied the second drone. "The life form still breaths, so we will have to wait until he breaths in his last breath."
Riko and Duke looked at each other in relief when they heard that Joseph was still alive, but barely. The two quietly waited for the drones to leave the hall before they brought their plan into action. Duke quickly detached his saber from his shoulder as he activated it to cut around the sides of the grill vent. Riko quickly grabbed onto it before it fell through and placed it over to the side. Duke deactivated his saber before he reattached to his shoulder again. Duke stuck his head out of the vent to see if the coast was clear and saw no sign of the two drones. The thief quickly flipped out of the air vent before landing on the ground within the hall of the prison cells. Riko quickly followed as she landed silently on the floor without making a sound.
"Okay, now where's Joseph's cell?" asked Duke as he looked down the corridor with the prison cells holding all of the civilians of Puckworld behind their thick bars.
Riko began to walk down the corridor as she looked up at the numbers that sat above the prison cells: "It should be right around…here!"
Riko quickly came to the prison that held Joseph with Duke running up beside her. The two looked between the bars of the cell and saw the still figure of the 40 year old duck lying on the ground.
"Oh man," voiced Duke when he saw the injured form of his use to be master in front of him.
Riko tore her eyes away from the figure as her right hand clenched into a fist. It was even worse to see the injured Joseph in real life than it was within her dreams. Duke quickly got to work at picking the lock. It didn't take too long for the thief to finally open the door to the cell as Riko slowly moved the door of the prison aside before the two of them ran into the room. Duke was the first one to Joseph's side as the thief gently lifted the 40 year old duck's head up off the ground with Riko kneeling down on the left side of Joseph.
"Master Joseph!" hissed Duke as he gently shook the older duck. "Master Joseph, wake up, please!"
Joseph let out a groan before he slowly opened his eyes and saw two familiar faces staring down at him in worry.
The older duck opened his beak to speak to Riko and Duke. His voice was dry and the two could barely hear what he had to said, but they were relieved to see that the old duck was still alive.
"Duke…I thought that I would never see you again, my student."
"Me neither Master Joseph," said Duke as a smile spread out on his beak. "I also have someone else here with me as you can see."
Joseph turned his eyes on Riko as he slowly raised his left hand up towards the silver haired human. The 18 year old took the duck's hand into her own as her golden orbs stared into the older duck's tired eyes.
"I see that you are still well…young Riko," voiced Joseph with a tired smile.
"Yes," replied Riko with a nod of her head. "I'm sorry for getting you into this mess, this is my fault…I should have been the one to get captured not you."
"Don't blame yourself young one," said Joseph in reassurance. "I chose to be captured, remember?"
"But still…" Riko started before she bowed her head in shame.
Riko had only felt anger and hurt throughout her life when she was a little girl and now she was experiencing new emotions that she was not use to yet. It frustrated her to the point where she felt like her life didn't make sense to her anymore and she didn't know what to do in a situation like this as she looked down at the duck that was lying before her. Riko quickly cast her feelings aside as she dug into her hip pouch with her free hand and pulled out the mask of Drake DuCaine.
"I got the mask just like you've asked me to Joseph," said Riko as she held the mask out before the 40 year old duck.
Joseph's eyes widened in wonder and amazement as he saw the mask of Drake DuCaine before a weak smile appeared on his beak: "Thank the stars that you found it young one."
"It wasn't just me who found it," voice Riko as she placed the mask back into her hip pouch. "I had a little help from a student of yours; you'd probably know him as Canard Thunderbeak."
"Canard," echoed Joseph in surprise as his eyes widened a little in surprise. "You mean he's still free from the Saurian Overlord's grasp?"
"Yeah," replied Riko with a nod of her head. "He's still running free along with a few others that mighty be part of the military and I have to say that he's a bit of a Hot-shot."
Joseph began to laugh at what Riko had said before he started to go into a cough fit.
"Master Joseph?" asked Duke in a worry as he looked down at the older duck in his arms.
"I'm alright Duke," whispered Joseph in reassurance. "I'm still kind of tired after digging all day within the mines and I'm not as young as I once was, you know."
"We gotta get you out of 'ere," stated Duke as he began to gather Joseph up in his arms.
"No, Duke," voiced Joseph as he let go of Riko's hand. "I'm afraid that it is already too late for me."
"What are you talking about?" questioned Riko as she began to fell dread come over her heart. "We can't just leave you here."
"I'm afraid that you have to Riko," said Joseph as he turned to look at the silver haired street fighter again. "For my time is just about up. I just wish that I had time to talk with Tate and Kathryn just to hear their voices again."
"I think that can be arranged," said Duke as he lifted up his left hand up to his ear and pressed the earpiece communicator to activate it. "Tate, Kathryn…you there?"
"Yeah, we're here Duke," Tate replied over the communicator. "What's taking you guys so long? Is everything alright?"
"Well…yes and no," replied Duke as he shared a look with Riko as the silver haired human nodded her head solemnly at him to continue. "We didn't get caught by the drones, but…I'm afraid that we might already be…"
"You mean Master Joseph is already…" Kathryn started before trailing away from her sentence.
"No, he's still alive," Duke reassured his sister. "But he wants to talk to you guys."
"Put him on" said Tate.
Duke took the earpiece out of his ear before transferring it to Joseph's ear: "Here, you can talk to Tate and Kathryn by using this communication device."
Duke activated the device for Joseph as the older duck began to hear the voices of the two younger ducks talking to him.
"Master Joseph, it's Tate" said the 22 year old on the earpiece. "I also have Kathryn with me as well."
"Tate…" breathed Joseph as a tired smiled spread out across the older duck's beak. "It's so good to hear your voice again, and by the sound of it you have grown."
"Yeah, I have," voiced Tate on the communicator. "It's good to hear your voice again too."
"Ditto that," Kathryn stepped in as Riko heard her voice breaking on the other end over her own communicator.
Riko quickly turned off her communicator as she let Joseph talk to Tate and Kathryn in private. Riko slowly stood up from the ground as she turned away from the scene in front of her. She walked towards the door of the prison as she kept look out for any of the Hunter Drones that might come walking back down the halls again. Riko clenched her hands into fists as soft growl erupted from her throat. This rescue mission had been all for nothing. They were already too late to save the duck that Riko had first met when she arrived here on Puckworld. Riko felt rage as she thought of the Saurian Overlords and vowed to stop them until her last breath left her body.
"Riko…" the street fighter came out of her thoughts when she heard Joseph calling her name.
Riko quickly turned towards the elder duck before she walked over to him. She knelt down on the ground again as Joseph held his hand out towards her.
"Yes?" asked Riko as she gently took the elder duck's hand into her own again.
"I'm counting on you to find the hero that will save Puckworld from the Saurian Overlords." Joseph told Riko as he stared up into the street fighter's eyes with his tired ones.
"I will," promised Riko as she looked down at the elderly duck in front of her.
Joseph nodded his head before he slipped his hand out of Riko's grasp. He began dig into his left pocket before he pulled out a white one foot rod with two golden rings circling around both ends of it.
"What is that thing?" asked Riko curiously as she looked at the rod that Joseph held within his left hand.
"This is my staff," replied Joseph. "I've had it for a long time and it had aided me when I was about your age. I want you to have it now. The only way to activate it is by gently squeezing it within the palm of your hand and it will grow into a six foot staff. If you want it to return to its normal size then you just squeeze it again and it will shrink down to a one foot rod."
Riko looked at the rod for a moment before she slowly grasped it within her right hand as Joseph's left hand slowly fell to the ground. Riko's heart jumped a beat for she knew that Joseph was nearing his life's end.
"May it protect you within your fight against Dragaunus," voice Joseph as he took the last few breaths of his life. "I'm counting on both of you, along with Tate and Kathryn, to save our world."
Riko and Duke nodded their heads at Joseph as the elder said his last words to them: "Farewell you two…and may you be protected within your fight for freedom."
The street fighter and thief became quiet as they looked down at Joseph. The elder's eyes slowly began to close and in that moment his chest stopped moving. Joseph's spirit had left his body and was now free to join the rest of the spirits that had departed from the world of the living.
Duke gently placed Joseph back down on the ground before taking the earpiece out of the elder's ear. Riko bowed her head as she felt her heart break within her chest before she placed the staff that Joseph had gave her into her hip pouch. The two knelt on the ground for what felt like hours to them before Duke gently touched Riko's right shoulder to gain her attention.
"Come on kid," said Duke in a gentle voice. "We have to get out of 'ere before we get caught by those Hunter Drones."
Riko only nodded her head as she stood up from the ground with Duke following after her. The two of them quickly exited the prison cell before looking back at the dead body of Joseph once again.
"Good bye…Master Joseph, may you rest in peace," whispered Duke as he gently closed the prison door again.
Riko looked away from Joseph's body as she began to feel rage flooding her senses and it took everything she had to control her anger just for the sake of not running off blindly in search for Dragaunus. Duke quickly shot his grappling hook up towards the open entrance of the air vent before he turned to look at Riko. Riko looked over at Duke as her golden eyes became cold with determination before she walked over the thief and wrapped her arms around his neck. Duke wrapped his arm around Riko's waist before he activated the grappling hook to reel them up in to the vent again. They quickly crawled into the vent and placed the grill back into place by welding the metal together.
Outside of the building
Riko and Duke quickly scaled down the side wall of the prison camp building before running towards the hiding place where Kathryn and Tate were waiting for them. When the two of them came through the door they saw Kathryn sitting in the corner of the room. She had her knees tucked up close to her chest as her laptop sat on the floor beside her with the top lid still open on it. Tate was sitting beside her as the 22 year old had a far off look in his eyes. Duke walked towards his student and sister as he knelt in front of them. Tate was the first one to raise his head up to look at Duke before he opened his beak to speak.
"I can't believe that he's gone," muttered the black duck sadly.
Tears began to form within Kathryn's eyes before the 16 year old threw herself onto her brother and began to cry into Duke's shoulders while the thief tried to comfort his younger sister. Riko looked down at the ground in shame as she began to blame herself for what had happened within the prison cell. If only they had gotten to Joseph in time than none of this wouldn't be happening to them. She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts when she sensed someone behind her.
Riko quickly grabbed the hilt of her saber and activated it before turning around to slash at the intruder that was behind her. Her saber clashed against the familiar sword that she had encountered back when she first traveled to Drake DuCaine's tomb in search of the mask. Duke, Kathryn and Tate quickly jumped up from the floor as they turned to see what the commotion was about and were surprise to see Riko facing off against another avian.
"Canard!" exclaimed Riko in surprise as she backed away from the duck before she lowered her blade while standing in a relaxed position. "What the heck are you doing here?"
"Just came to find a few other wondering ducks that might have escaped Dragaunus's grasp," replied Canard as he also lowered his blade before deactivating it and placing the hilt back onto the side of his belt, "But so far…no luck."
Riko raised an eyebrow at Canard as she also deactivated her saber and attached it to its original place on her belt: "Is that so."
"Hey kid," Duke stepped in as he, Tate and Kathryn walked up to Riko's side. "Is this the guy who helped you find the mask?"
"The one and only," replied Riko as she looked up at the thief beside her before she turned to look at Canard. "Duke, I like you to meet Canard Thunderbeak, the duck that I had encountered within Drake DuCaine's tomb."
"Nice ta meet cha," said Duke as he held his hand out towards the tan duck.
"Likewise," replied Canard as he shook hands with the thief before turning to look at Riko again. "Now as for my question, what in Drake DuCaine are you and your companions doing here near the prison camp?"
"We came to rescue Joseph," replied Tate as he answered Canard's question.
"What?" said Canard in surprise as he turned his attention onto Tate, "Where is he, is he alright?"
Riko cast her eyes downwards as she avoided the soldier's gaze: "I'm afraid not, for we were…too late to save him. And it's my fault that he's dead now."
Canard turned his eyes on Riko as he glared down at the sliver haired human and was about to say something, but Duke quickly intervened.
"Let me explain," said the thief as he defended the human. "When Riko and I first got to him, Joseph had these slash and whip marks all over his body and was on his last leg when we got there."
"Please, don't blame Riko," stepped in Kathryn. "She didn't everything that she could."
Canard crossed his arms over his chest in distrust as he glared down at Riko for a moment, but soon let out a sigh and decided to let the matter drop.
"Okay, I'll let Quicksilver off the hook for now," said Canard with a light frown, "And I do need all the help that I can get when it comes to gathering troops to fight within the resistance."
"What'd you say?" said Tate as his eyes widened in surprise.
"You mean…the resistance really exists?" asked Kathryn with a smile as she turned to look at Duke who had the same smile on his face.
"Looks like the rumors were true after all," said Duke to his little sister.
Riko walked off to the side as she let Canard talk to Duke, Kathryn and Tate about the resistance while she still thought about Joseph and the promise that she had made to him. She needed to find Dragaunus and his Master Tower, and she already knew where he was hiding.
'I just need to get there,' thought Riko as she leaned up against the wall in thought. 'And the only way to get across the desert is with the hover cycles, but uncovering his base won't be easy because that lizard has his base hidden by his cloak of darkness. So the only way to find the Master Tower is by using the mask, but I can't use it because I'm not a duck.'
Riko let out a growl of frustration as she thought about the problem that she was standing on. How was she supposed to stop Dragaunus if she can't see him?
"Hey, Quicksilver," Riko quickly looked up as she saw Canard standing in front of her.
"What do you want Hot-shot?" muttered Riko in a monotone voice.
"I just want to talk and that's all," replied Canard as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Talk…about what?" questioned Riko as she grew suspicious.
"About you," answered Canard bluntly. "How would you like to join the resistance?"
Riko's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the duck in front of her, but her surprise soon turned into a frown.
"Why would you want me?" asked Riko with a raised eyebrow. "You don't even know me."
"True," said Canard with a nod of his head. "But I do need strong fighters on the team, and you've already proven that you can fight when we first met each other in Drake DuCaine's tomb. I need somebody like you on my team that can fight and have the guts in facing off against Dragaunus."
"And what about Duke and his student?" voiced Riko as she nodded her head over to where the thief was conversing with Tate and Kathryn.
"They'll also be joining the team as well," replied Canard as he too turned to look at the group behind him.
"What about Kathryn?" Riko pressed on. "You aren't going to leave her behind are you?"
"That thought did cross my mind for a while," Canard admitted as he turned to look at Riko again. "I'm not too fond of having kids within the resistance, but after seeing what she did in uncloaking the Saurian warships, well…I guess she's earned her part in being a member of the team. And I do need an extra mechanic to help Tanya with some of the machinery that might break down within our underground base."
Riko raised a questioning eyebrow at the tan duck but soon shrugged it off. She'll ask who this Tanya person was later. The street fighter pushed herself off against the wall before she dug into her hip pouch and brought out Drake DuCaine's mask.
"Here," said Riko as she handed Canard the mask. "You're the leader of the group right? So a leader needs to have the mask of Drake DuCaine to guide him and his team to victory over the Saurian Overlords."
Canard took the mask from Riko as he looked down at it: "Thanks Riko, but I'm not the only one that should be leader of the team that I'm forming."
"What do you mean by 'Not the only one'?" questioned Riko as she placed her hands on her hips.
"You'll just have to wait and see," answered Canard as he placed the mask into his shoulder bag before he walked back over to Duke and the two younger ducklings.
Riko glared after Canard in suspicion before she walked after the soldier. They soon came up to Duke, Tate and Kathryn as the three ducks turned to face them.
"We've talked, and we've decided to join the resistance," said Duke as he gave Canard the answer on whether they would like to join the resistance or not.
"Then that makes three of you," said Canard as he looked over at Riko. "Silver here has also decided to join the resistance as well."
Riko only shrugged her shoulders before she was suddenly hugged by Kathryn. The street fighter blinked in surprise before she looked down at the 16 year old as the young duckling pulled away from the street fighter with a smile spreading out on her beak.
"What was that for?" questioned Riko in confusion.
"Sorry," Kathryn apologized with a shrug of her shoulders. "I was just glad that you were going to joining us within the resistance."
"Hey, if I want to find Dragaunus and shut him down for good then what have I got to lose in joining the resistance," said Riko as she placed her right hand on her hip. "But before we start this journey, we need supplies."
"I'm feeling a splitting up strategy coming on," whispered Tate to Duke with a smirk.
"That's right," replied Riko when she overheard what Tate had said to Duke. "We'll be splitting up into two groups. Duke, I want you and Kathryn to go back to the hideout and gather up anything that might be valuable to us within our fight against Dragaunus, and that also includes the hover cycles. Make sure you keep in constant contact with me and Tate at all times while we help Canard out in searching for anymore survivors that might still be wondering around the city."
"Alright, but you two just be careful out there okay kid?" warned Duke as he looked at the human in front of him.
"We will," replied Riko before Canard walked up to Duke and Kathryn.
Canard handed Kathryn a small black oval device that he had dug out from his shoulder bag: "Take this; it's a map of the secret underground passageways that will lead you to the secret underground military base. Do you think you can handle it kid?"
"Sure I can," boasted Kathryn with a proud smile. "After all, I am the technician within the Brotherhood of the Blade."
"And sometimes the annoying little duckling that everyone knows and loves," Tate chuckled as he ruffled the young female duck's hair.
Kathryn teasingly stuck her tongue out at Tate while Duke only rolled his eyes up in amusement.
"Kids," muttered the thief with a shrug of his shoulders.
Riko smirked before looking at Canard: "Well, let's get going."
"Right," said Canard before he began to lead Riko and Tate through the ruins of the city.
"See you guys later Master Duke!" exclaimed Tate as he began to follow behind Riko and Canard with the tan mallard leading the way.
With that, the groups went their separate ways, hoping to meet up with each other again as soon as they can. Riko's adventure was starting to become more complicated for her, but one thing was set on her mind. She was going to take down Dragaunus and take revenge on what he had done to Joseph, but what Riko didn't know was that she was going to encounter more than just fighting on Puckworld.
To be continued