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 5
Riko let out a groan when she heard the sound of her alarm clock going off beside her bunk bed before she opened her eyes to glare at the stupid machine. She raised her right hand up and slammed it down on the button that would shut off the noisy device. Riko looked at the clock's time and saw the digital numbers of 5:30 flashing in front of her eyes. The street fighter slowly sat up in her bed before crawling out from under the blankets.
Riko was wearing a black short sleeve t-shirt and light blue pants for sleeping wear. She had gotten these new set of clothes from Mallory last night and the street fighter had to admit that the clothes she was wearing were much more comfortable than her old ones.
Riko's bare feet gently touched the cold metal floor as she stood up from her bed. She walked towards the bathroom to get ready for the day while taking her cat-suite and a pair of white socks in with her as well. Riko started up the shower and waited for the water to warm up. Riko turned to look at the mirror that hung over the bathroom sink as she stared at her own reflection.
Her silver hair was a mess while her golden eyes blazed with anger and hatred. The reason for her unruly look was because she had a nightmare about her past last night. Riko had dreamt that she was back at the orphanage again and she was back to being a helpless 12 year old girl. The adults who were running the orphanage had cornered her in a dark room. They began to beat her with broom sticks and whips while also kicking her in the ribs. But the worst part within Riko's dream was seeing her mother standing over her. Her mother was smirking down at her as she gave Riko a sharp kick in the gut while the child lay on the ground in pain. Riko's hatred for her mother only fueled her to the point where she wanted to punch the next Hunter Drone that she'll meet on the streets of the Ice City.
The water was soon at the right temperature and Riko began to strip out of her night clothing before entering the shower as she let the water droplets fall against her body.
'It's been a long time since I felt this good,' thought Riko as she closed her eyes while she stood underneath the falling water of the shower. 'I can't even remember the last time I had a shower like this one.'
Riko's thoughts started to wonder back to the dream that she had as the street fighter began to remember what had happen next near the end of her nightmare.
Flashback
The people that had been tormenting her were suddenly scared away by a bright light that flashed high above their heads. They had all quickly disappeared in a wisp of black smoke as they left the battered up 12 year old Riko lying on the ground. The 12 year old girl slowly curled herself up into a tight ball as she tried to lessen the pain that she felt throughout her body. For a long while, Riko felt the cold grip of loneliness surround her heart as she stayed curled up on the ground, but that soon changed when the young twelve year old suddenly felt someone touching her right shoulder. Riko quickly shot up as she turned to face the person who had touched her and was surprised to see that it was the same duck that she had seen in her last dream.
The white drake was wearing clothing that was torn in a few places. He was wearing a red jacket with the right sleeve torn off at the elbow while around his wrist and lower arm was a golden vambrace. The drake was also wearing black pants and brown boots.
The young 12 year old Riko looked up at white drake in fear and confusion while the duck looked down at her with his calm dark blue eyes. The drake slowly stretched his right hand out towards Riko while the young girl flinched and started to recoil away from the mallard. The drake drew his hand back a little as he looked at Riko for a moment before he began to speak to her in a gentle voice.
"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."
Riko looked at the drake for a moment with suspicion before the drake slowly stretched his hand out towards her again. The mallard's hand softly rested on top of the 12 year old girl's head while also moving away a few strands of hair from her face. Riko felt a little uneasy at first but soon began to feel less tense as the drake continued to stroke her head affectionately. The 12 year old started to feel an unknown emotion rise up within her chest and before Riko knew it she began to cry. This new feeling was strange to Riko so she wasn't sure how to deal with it. The drake only smiled as he looked down at Riko before he slowly pulled her into a hug.
"It's alright," said the drake as he held Riko in his arms. "Nothing is going to hurt you anymore."
End of flashback
That was how Riko's dream ended after she had been rudely awakened by that stupid alarm clock in her room. Riko didn't understand why she was dreaming about that drake but something about the mallard made her…experience unknown feelings that she had never felt in her life before.
'Man, coming through that worm hole must have messed up my brain somehow.' Riko thought to herself as she turned off the water from her shower.
The street fighter stepped out of the shower and began to dry herself off with the towel that had been hanging on a metal rack. It took a while for Riko to get herself ready but she soon came out of the bathroom in her cat-suite and socks on her feet. The street fighter walked towards her bed before sitting down on the edge while grabbing her boots that stood near the side of the bunk. Riko began to slip them on when she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in!" Riko called out to the person outside of her room.
The doors open with a hiss as they reviled Kathryn walking into the room in her usual clothing. Riko gave Kathryn a nod of acknowledgement before she went back to slipping on her boots.
"I heard that you and Canard are going out somewhere today," said Kathryn as she stood beside Riko while she watched the silver haired human slip on her boots.
"Guess word goes around quickly within this here place," muttered Riko as she stood up from her bed before she walked over to where her armor sat within the bedroom closet.
"Well I've heard it from Mallory after Canard told her about the mission that you two will be taking," admitted Kathryn as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.
"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?" questioned Riko as she buckled her belt around her waist while attaching the hilt of her sword on her right hip while attaching Joseph's bo-staff sideways on the back of her belt.
"That's not exactly the only thing I wanted to talk to you about," voiced Kathryn as she looked at Riko who had just put on her chest armor.
The young 16 year old walked up to Riko as she helped the silver haired street fighter attach the chest armor to her body. Riko let out a sigh as she turned to look at Kathryn.
"Kathryn, I can't take you and Tate along with us," said Riko firmly. "Only Canard and I can take on this mission. If more of us go then who knows what will happen. I can't take that risk in losing both Duke's apprentice and sister to the hands of Dragaunus."
"I understand," sighed Kathryn in disappointment.
Riko looked at the young duck for a moment after she had put on her vambraces. The street fighter knew that Kathryn and Tate wanted to come along to help, but Riko just couldn't take the risk of losing more innocent lives to the wrath of Dragaunus. Riko frowned in thought for a moment before turning to the leather hip pouch that sat on the end of her bed.
"There is one thing you can do for me while I'm away," said Riko as she walked over to her bunk bed again.
The street fighter opened up the flap of her pouch before reaching inside of it. Riko slowly pulled out the journal that she had found in Drake DuCaine's tomb. She handed the journal to Kathryn who looked at it in question.
"I want you and Tanya to decipher some of the words within this here journal for me," Riko explained to Kathryn after she saw the confused look on the young duck's face. "I've been looking at it last night and I can't seem to understand the words that are on the pages. They seem to be written in some sort of language that I'm not familiar with."
Kathryn looked at Riko for a second before opening the journal. The 16 year old gasped when she saw the words on the page.
"No…way," breathed Kathryn in amazement. "These words are hand written in the old dialect of Puckworld."
"You mean…the words that are written on the pages of this journal, is the ancient language of your people?" asked Riko as she pointed at the journal that Kathryn held in her hands.
"That's right," replied Kathryn with a nod of her head. "Master Joseph taught me how to read a little bit of the ancient language, though I might be a little rusty at it by now."
"Well…just do your best in translating those words," Riko encouraged as she gave Kathryn a small smile of reassurance.
Kathryn nodded her head at Riko before the two of them started making their way out of Riko's quarters and into the hallway of the base as they made their way to the hanger. Their walk was a silent one as Kathryn held the journal tightly against her chest with a sad frown forming on her face. Riko looked over at the young 16 year old for a moment before turning to look straight ahead again. The street fighter had to keep her mind focused on the task at hand for she could not afford to mess this mission up with petty feelings getting in the way. The two of them soon came to the hanger where Canard was waiting for Riko.
"You ready?" asked Canard in an impatient voice.
"Yeah," replied Riko with a nod of her head.
"Good," said Canard as he turned and walked over to the hover cycles. "We'll take the hover cycles since they're the best vehicles to use in getting close to Dragaunus's headquarters. We'll then head straight back to Ice City after we find the location of Dragaunus's base. We'll meet up with Tate, who will be waiting for us near the outer boarders of the city, where he'll take the hover cycles back here to the base. After he does then we'll go look for my friend Wildwing. Is that clear soldier?"
"Yeah, I get it Hotshot," said Riko before she turned to look at Kathryn. "We'll be back as soon as we can."
Kathryn nodded her head at Riko before the street fighter began to make her way towards her own hover cycle. Canard mounted on Kathryn's hover cycle while placing his helmet on his head. Riko also put on her helmet before she turned to look at Kathryn again and was a little surprised to see Duke standing beside his sister with a worried look on his face, but it was soon covered with a an encouraging smile. Riko smiled back at Duke as she gave the older duck nod before she started up her hover cycle along with Canard. The two cycles began to rise up from the floor as the doors of the hanger opened to revile the secret tunnel in front of the duo before Riko and Canard took off like a shot. Duke and Kathryn stood watching Riko and Canard disappear down the tunnel before the doors that led to the secret tunnel closed in front of them.
"I hope she'll be okay," spoke Kathryn in a quiet voice.
Duke wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulder: "Don't worry sis, Riko's pretty tough so she'll be alright."
Kathryn looked up at her older brother before nodding her head at him. Duke soon led his sister out of the hanger while he secretly prayed that Riko will be safe on her journey.
In the desert
Riko and Canard rode the hover cycles across the desert in silence as the wind blew in their faces. Riko focused her attention on looking ahead of her before she noticed Canard slowing down. The street fighter quickly slowed down as well before they both came to a complete stop behind a large sand dune. The cycles slowly landed on the ground before Riko and Canard dismounted from them while taking off their helmets and placing them on the seats of the cycles.
"Let's get moving," said Canard as he adjusted the strap of his shoulder bag on his left shoulder.
"And where exactly should we go?" questioned Riko as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"We walk straight up this sand dune, what do-you think?" replied Canard angrily.
Riko glared at Canard as she watched the drake walk towards the sand dune before she followed behind him.
"I don't see why your girlfriend is so interested in you Hotshot," growled Riko as she followed after the drake. "She might think that you're cool and hard core, but all I see is a stuck up jerk that likes to tell everyone what to do."
Canard glared over his shoulder before he shot back at Riko: "Well then human, if you want to live to see another day then you'd better listen to what I tell you. And just for the record, Luna isn't my girlfriend."
"I didn't say anything about Luna," said Riko as she raised an eyebrow up in bemusement.
"You didn't have to," said Canard before he looked forward again as the duo started walking up the large sand dune. "Lune has always been claiming that I'm her boyfriend ever since she came into the resistance."
"So she clings to you like a tick huh?" muttered Riko in amusement. "That's going a bit far."
"Yeah, and it's a pain sometimes," groaned Canard in exasperation. "Luna should know that having feelings for someone when we're in a middle of a war is dangerous."
"Try telling her that once we get back to base," said Riko to the drake in front of her.
Canard didn't answer Riko as the two of them finally came to the top of the sand dune as the duo stared out at the empty space in front of them. Riko frowned as she glared at the open plane for she had a feeling that there's more than just a desert in front of her.
"Nice view," retorted Riko before she turned to look at Canard.
"Looks can be deceiving," said Canard before he loosened the strap on his shoulder as the bag came to rest near his hip.
The drake opened the flap of his leather bag before pulling out the mask of Drake DuCaine that was in its dormant form. Canard placed the mask on his face before activating it as it changed into the golden mask that can show the user what they want to see. The red eyes of the mask glowed as Canard stared out at the wide open desert before him. Riko watched Canard for a moment before the drake smirked under his mask.
"Looks like we're not that far from Dragaunus's base," said Canard.
"How far away is it?" questioned Riko as she turned to look out at the open desert again.
"Pretty far away if you walked there," replied Canard as he looked at Riko once his red eyes dimmed.
"That far huh?" muttered Riko before she let out a sigh. "Well…at least we found the location of the base, and that's good enough for me."
"Yeah," said Canard in agreement as he took off the mask and put it back in his shoulder pack. "We'd better get going then, otherwise Dragaunus will send his Drone army after us."
Riko nodded her head before the two of them quickly slid down the sand dune as they headed back to their hover cycles. Canard and Riko quickly put on their helmets before they leapt on to their hover cycles and started them up. The hover cycles quickly sprung to life as they lifted up from the ground before they shot off towards Ice City.
Back at Ice City
Tate was leaning against his hover cycle as he tapped the middle finger of his left hand on the seat impatiently. Tate was hiding behind some rubble as he waited for Canard and Riko to meet up with him so that he can lead the hover cycles back to HQ.
"Man…this is so boring," groaned Tate and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I hope those two come soon otherwise I'll die from boredom before being shot at by a Hunter Drone."
Suddenly, Tate began to hear a light humming coming towards him. The drake quickly stood up and slowly made his way to the corner of the rubble before looking out from his hiding spot. Tate smiled as he saw Riko and Canard coming towards him on their hover cycles. The drake quickly waved his arm to get their attention before he stepped back as he let Riko and Canard parked their hover cycles behind the rubble. The duo quickly shut off their hover cycles before they dismounted from their bikes while taking off their helmets.
"What took you two so long?" questioned Tate in good humor.
"Sorry for the long wait Tate," said Riko with a smirk as she and Canard placed their helmets in the secret compartments under the seats of their bikes. "But the traffic stalled us a bit behind schedule."
Tate chuckled for he knew that Riko was only joking around with him, but his laughter was quickly stopped by Canard who glared at him.
"You'd better start getting serious here Tate," lectured Canard. "This is no time to be joking around when it comes to taking down Dragaunus and his empire."
Tate frowned at the older drake in annoyance before he looked at Riko: "Right, I'll be taking the hover cycles back to HQ then."
"Make sure that you keep your wits about you Tate," Riko advised to the black drake. "We don't want any Hunter Drones stumbling upon the base."
"You got it Riko," said Tate with a smile as he gave the street fighter the thumbs up.
Tate quickly leapt onto his hover cycle before putting on his helmet. The drake quickly started up his bike before turning to look at Riko and Canard.
"See you guys back at HQ!" exclaimed Tate before he activated his hover cycle with the two other cycles activating as well.
The cycles began to lift up from the ground before they shot forward as they raced through the city with Tate in the lead. Riko and Canard watched for a moment before the two of them started out on their search for Canard's friend. The duo ran through the city for hours while dodging around Hunter Drones that were roaming around the city. Riko and Canard quickly hid in an abandoned alley as they stopped to catch their breath.
"Those drones are persistent," muttered Riko as she leaned against the wall of the alley.
"Well those machines have a one track mind," said Canard sternly as he straightened himself up. "They were programed to hunt down rebels or anyone else that might be wondering around the ruin city."
"Yeah, I know," voiced Riko before she pushed herself off from the wall of the alley. "So, should we keep going?"
"There's no need," replied Canard, "Because we're at the exact location where we'll be meeting my friend."
"How's that then?"
"I've heard from a reliable source that something had happened at the slave camp that Wildwing was currently in. The Hunter Drones will be moving the slaves to another camp and this will be the spot where the slaves are going to walk passed, right in front of the entrance of this alley."
"Smart thinking," muttered Riko before the street fighter leaned up against the alley wall again. "So I guess the only thing we have to do now is to wait, huh?"
Canard only nodded his head at Riko before he leaned up against the opposite wall of the alley. Silence fell upon the duo as they turned their attention on the entrance of the alley while they waited to see the first sign of slaves passing by their hiding spot. It was almost an hour as the two waited for their targets to appear in front of them and that was when a line of slaves started walking passed Riko's and Canard's hiding spot.
"Right on time," voiced Canard as he pushed off from the alley wall with Riko following suite.
"And about time too," muttered Riko as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I was getting bored just standing here."
Canard shushed her while Riko glared at him in annoyance before they began to hear two male voices talking to each other. Canard signaled for Riko to stand where she was while he walked slowly up to the alley entrance. Riko watched while she listened to the voices that were coming closer to their location.
"Dive, what are we gonna do?"
"I hear ya bro. I mean we keep hearing about the resistance, but where are they?"
'Right under your beak you silly duck,' thought Riko to herself.
"I don't know. Maybe they're just a legend, like Drake DuCaine."
Riko frowned when she heard what the first voice had said: 'This guy sounds like he's completely given up.'
"It's hopeless, we don't stand a chance."
Canard quickly made his move as he snatched a duck, which looked to be about his height, by the shoulders and pulled him into the alley. Riko took a step back in surprise when she saw the drake that Canard had brought into the alley. It was the same duck that she had seen in her dream last night. He was also wearing the same clothing as well.
'So this is the guy that Canard was talking about,' thought Riko as she looked at the white duck in front of her before she noticed a younger drake coming their way.
The young drake had blonde hair that grew down to his shoulders, pale peach colored feathers and blue eyes like the white drake. He was wearing a vest over top of a t-shirt, baggy pants with a hole in the left knee and boots. The young drake was one inch taller than the street fighter and Riko can only guess that this was Nosedive, Wildwing's seventeen year old brother.
"Canard!" exclaimed Wildwing in excitement and surprise as he placed his hands on top Canard's shoulders. "Where have you been all these months?"
'Wouldn't you like to know?' thought Riko as she leaned up against the alley wall again.
"I'm of what's left of the military, in the resistance." Canard replied to his friend's question as Wildwing lowered his hands from his friend's shoulders.
"The resistance?" echoed Wildwing in surprise before he turned to look at his brother. "It really exists?"
"Of course it does duck boy," said Riko as she finally made her presence known to the two drakes.
"Wildwing, I want you to meet Riko Hikari." Canard spoke as he introduced the silver haired human to his friend. "She's a new recruit that just joined the resistance."
Wildwing didn't seem to hear his best friend as he stared at Riko in shocked surprise and was about to open his beak to say something, but Riko spoke before he could even utter a word.
"What's up with you?" questioned Riko with a frown. "Never seen a human before?"
Wildwing quickly caught his bearings as he looked away from Riko in embarrassment. Nosedive was the first one to speak after he heard what the silver haired street fighter had said.
"No way, you're a human?" said Nosedive in amazement. "But…I thought humans were only a myth that our teacher had made up in our school."
"Well you're talking to one right now," said Riko with a proud smirk on her face.
"I like a conversation as much as the next duck, but I should probably get to the point as to why we are here," Canard stepped in as he glared at Riko with a look that said 'Shut-up'.
Riko glared back at Canard before she turned to look away from him as she let the drake continue on his conversation with his best friend.
"Anyways, I'm organizing a team of our best special forces," continued Canard. "And a few civilians that we've had our eyes on like you. We're going to take out Dragaunus."
"How, no one has ever seen him," said Wildwing with a shrug of his shoulders before he stuck his hands into his pockets and began to walk away.
"I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet Flashblade," spoke Riko as she got the white duck's attention again.
"She's right Wildwing," stepped in Canard, "Because we found it."
"Found it?" echoed Wildwing as he turned to look at his friend in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"What he means to say is that we found the one thing that you thought was a legend," replied Riko with a smirk.
"It was in an ancient tomb within the mountains that are called Twin Beaks," Canard continued before he slid off his shoulder bag and opened it up as he pulled out the mask that all of the ducks believed to be a legend.
Wildwing and Nosedive stared wide eyed when they saw the item that Canard held in his hand before Riko spoke.
"Gentlemen, may we introduce The Mask of Drake DuCaine itself," Riko proudly said as she looked at the two awestruck drakes that stood before her.
Nosedive quickly became excited: "Oh, didn't I tell ya man. Was Drake DuCaine the main duck or what?"
The 17 year old reached out to touch the mask, but Canard quickly pulled it away while glaring at the young drake in front of him.
"Beat it kid, before you get us all into trouble," growled Canard as he placed the mask back into his shoulder bag.
Riko glared at Canard in anger when she heard what he had said to Nosedive. How could this duck just abandoned a 17 year old and leave him in the slave camps where-who-knows-what could happen to him. Riko quickly stood beside the blonde teenager while crossing her arms over her chest.
"He's not going back to the slave camp," said Riko as she glared defiantly at the 23 year old drake in front of her.
Wildwing was the next one to step up as he stood on the opposite side of his brother while wrapping an arm around Nosedive's shoulders: "And if you want me then my brother is part of the deal."
Canard look like he was going to argue, but Riko quickly spoke again: "Besides, we need more ducks to help us and who knows. Maybe the kid here has some hidden talent that we don't even know about yet. We also have a young member and she'd proved herself to be useful in our battle against Dragaunus."
Canard frown before he finally relented as he saw the determined looks on the trios' faces.
"Okay," said Canard finally before he pointed at Wildwing. "But you're responsible for the kid's safety."
Riko smirked in satisfaction while the two brothers smiled at Canard before Nosedive turned to Wildwing.
"Alright, big bro!" exclaimed Nosedive before he punched his right fist into his left hand. "This smack of a series is party-t-tight."
"Just don't go losing your head Rookie," warned Riko.
"Hey, I happen to be 17 years old Silver," retorted Nosedive as he pointed a finger at Riko.
"And I'm 18 years old, so there." Riko shot back before she flicked her middle finger against the front edge of Nosedive's beak.
"Hey!" yelped Nosedive in surprise as he rubbed the edge of his bill.
"Alright, that's enough you two," ordered Canard as he glared at both Riko and Nosedive. "We'd got to get moving or else those drones will catch us."
Nosedive, Wildwing and Riko turned to look at Canard as they nodded their heads in agreement. The group waited for a Saurian Titan to pass by them before they all ran out of the alley with Canard leading them. Riko kept to the back as she made sure that no Hunter Drones were following them while they raced through the city, but she was taken by surprise when Wildwing slowed down his pace and started running beside her.
"Hey," he said as he started to make a conversation. "Thanks for helping me in convincing Canard to let Dive come along with us."
"It was no big," said Riko as she smirked at the white drake. "Besides, a kid like your brother shouldn't be in the slave camps that are run by those unforgiving lizards."
"But I still owe you one for your help," said Wildwing with a smile of his own.
"You don't owe me anything," denied Riko with a shake of her head before they finally came to their destination.
The group slowed down as they came to the familiar warehouse that Riko and Tate had come to when Canard lead them to the secret tunnel that took the street fighter to the underground base. The group made their way into the building with Riko walking in slower than the drakes for she had a feeling that something wasn't right. The street fighter looked behind her as she detached the bo-staff from the back of her belt before extending it to its full length as she got it ready for battle. Riko looked around the warehouse as she glanced at every shadow that darkened the corners of the building.
'We're not alone here,' thought Riko as every muscle within her body started to tense.
The drakes were standing near the wall of the warehouse as Canard started to tap against the wall. Wildwing suddenly noticed that Riko wasn't with them. The white mallard turned to look behind him and saw Riko standing in the middle of the room with a staff in her hands as the silver haired human looked around the place. Wildwing frowned for a moment before he started to get the feeling that someone was watching them. The drake started to look around the warehouse as well before he suddenly spotted something hiding within the shadows of the far right corner. The figure slowly raised its arm up and Wildwing quickly spotted a gun within the figure's hand. Wildwing quickly knew what was going to happen next before he turned to Riko.
"Riko, watch out!" shouted Wildwing.
Riko quickly looked at Wildwing in surprise before turning to look to her right. The street fighter saw the shadowy figure pointing a gun at her before she quickly dodged forward to avoid a bullet that was shot at her. Canard quickly turned when he heard the sound of a gun being fired off before he pulled his puck blaster out from its case, which was hanging on the right side of the drake's belt. Canard quickly fired at the person that was hidden within the shadows of the warehouse as the hockey puck bullet separated into two with a black leather rope attached to both of them. The figure was suddenly tangled up as the two pucks encircled his/her body while dropping their gun in the process. Riko saw her chance as she shortened her bo-staff back to its original size before she quickly ran towards the figure. The street fighter jumped towards the figure as she performed an aerial kick to the intruder's head before landing gracefully back down on her feet in a fighting stances. She watched as the figure fell to the floor unconscious. Canard, Wildwing and Nosedive quickly ran over to Riko as the silver haired human slowly walked over the figure before grabbing him/her by the front collar of their shirt as she brought them into the light. Riko's eyes widened in shock before they narrowed in anger, for the person that she was holding by the shirt collar was a 24 year old man that she knew all too well.
The man had short dark brown hair. His eye color could not be identified for his lids were tightly shut. He was wearing a dark long sleeve shirt, black pants and black runners.
Riko's hand, that gripped the man's shirt, began to shake as white hot anger burned within her veins. The three drakes stared down at the man in befuddlement.
"Another human?" voiced Canard in shocked surprise as he stared down at the man before him.
"Talk about a small world," muttered Nosedive in good humor.
Wildwing looked down at the man for a minute before he saw Riko shaking while she glared hard down at the man she held by the front collar of his shirt. Wildwing narrowed his eyes as he looked at both Riko and the man before he started to talk to the street fighter.
"Riko, do you know this guy?" asked the drake curiously.
Riko didn't answer for a moment, but when she did Wildwing was surprise to hear the venom within her voice.
"I know this man alright," muttered Riko as her eyes narrowed in hatred. "This guy is Carlo Jason, a man that I had hoped to never see in my life again."
Riko would have kept going, but she was quickly interrupted by the sound of metal feet walking towards the warehouse.
"We'll have to talk about it later," said Canard. "Right now we've got to get back to the base."
"What about this guy?" asked Nosedive as he pointed to the man on the floor, "What are we going to do about him?"
"We leave him," replied Riko as let go of the man's shirt collar. "Bringing him into the base will only spell trouble for us. Besides, he's probably in league with the Saurian Overlords any way."
"How can you tell?"
"Call it intuition."
Wildwing could tell that Riko didn't trust this man and for some reason or another, neither did he. The group quickly left the man, Carlo Jason, lying on the ground as they made their way to the secret entrance that had opened after Canard finished tapping on the wall of the warehouse. Canard was the first one to go down with Nosedive following right behind him. Riko and Wildwing were about to jump in next when the street fighter suddenly sensed something coming up behind them.
"DUCK!" shouted Riko as she pulled Wildwing down by his shoulder.
The two were soon pinned down by the Hunter Drones shooting their laser guns at them. Riko quickly extended her bo-staff again and started spinning it around in front of her as she blocked the shots of the lasers while standing in front of Wildwing to protect him. Wildwing watched in amazement before he suddenly noticed the secret door closing behind him. The white mallard knew that if they didn't hurry then he and Riko will be stuck out here with these Hunter Drones. Riko was so focused on blocking the lasers that she didn't realize what was happening until she suddenly felt Wildwing wrap his arm around her waist. The street fighter barely had time to shrink her bo-staff back to its smaller form before she and Wildwing jumped into the secret tunnel with the door closing behind them. Riko and Wildwing slid down the tunnel before they came to a stop as they landed on the floor. Wildwing let go of Riko's waist as the two of them stood up from the floor.
"That…was a close one," said Wildwing with a sigh as he turned to look at Riko.
"Yeah," replied Riko with a nod as she attached her bo-staff back onto her belt again. "But give me a warning next time before you try that trick again."
"Deal," said Wildwing with a smile.
Riko smiled back at the white mallard before the two of them quickly turned to see Nosedive running up to them. The 17 year old quickly came to a halt in front of the two.
"What took you two so long?" asked the young drake in a worried voice.
"We'd just had a run in with the Hunter Drones up stairs," replied Riko as she pointed up towards the roof of the secret base.
"Are you okay?"
"Don't worry little bro," said Wildwing as he reassured Nosedive by placing his hand on the young drake's shoulder. "We're fine, thanks to Riko here."
Riko blinked in surprise before turning her eyes downwards while a blush appeared on her cheeks.
"W-well," started Riko as she tried to find some words to say to Wildwing's complement.
But she was quickly interrupted by Kathryn running into the room with a worried look on her face.
"Riko!" shouted Kathryn before she launched herself forward and tackled the street fighter to the ground.
Riko was taken completely by surprise as she found herself being tackled to the ground by the young 16 year old female duck. Riko sat on the ground as she looked at Kathryn, who had wrapped her arms around the street fighter's neck, with an annoyed look on her face.
"Kathryn, will you just calm down," muttered Riko. "I've told you time and again that I'm not that easy to kill."
"I'm just so glad you're safe," whispered Kathryn in happiness.
Riko let out a sigh, not that she didn't like Kathryn, but this 16 year old was a little too clingy for her taste. Riko looked up at Nosedive and Wildwing as the two drakes looked down at her in bemusement.
"Um…Silver," started Nosedive as he scratched the side of his head in confusion. "Who exactly is this duck?"
It was only then that Kathryn realized that there were other ducks within the room. The 16 year old quickly let go of Riko as she turned to look at Wildwing and Nosedive. Riko let out a sigh of relief after Kathryn let go of her neck before she answered Nosedive's question.
"Guys, I would like you to meet Kathryn, Duke's little 16 year old sister."
Kathryn quickly stood up from the ground as she stared at the two strangers in front of her, but her focus was mostly on Nosedive. Kathryn blushed underneath her feathers for a moment before quickly shaking off her daze.
"Um…uh, hi," said Kathryn timidly.
Nosedive looked at Kathryn for a moment before smiling back at her: "Hi, I'm Nosedive and this is my older brother, Wildwing."
"It's nice to meet you," said Kathrin.
"Same," said Wildwing as he held his hand out in front of him and shook Kathryn's hand.
Riko watched from the floor with a smirk on her face. She could tell that Kathryn had just fallen head over heels for Nosedive. Riko soon stood up from the floor and began to dust herself off before she cleared her throat to get the ducks' attention.
"Okay," she started as she looked at the three mallards in front of her. "Now that we have gotten this whole situation sorted out, why don't we show you guys around the base?"
"Sounds like a plan to me girly-girl," said Nosedive with a nod of his head.
Riko frowned at what she had been called but decided to let it go. Wildwing must have noticed Riko's displeasure for he suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," the drake reassured the young human. "Nosedive sometimes calls the girls' within our school that pet name too."
"Well I hope he doesn't make a habit of calling me girly-girl," muttered Riko as she looked up at the white mallard that stood beside her.
Wildwing chuckled before all of them started to walk together, but the four didn't get too far because Canard suddenly came up to them.
"Riko, I need to talk to you for a moment."
Riko let out a sigh when she saw that she was needed again. The street fighter turned to look at Kathryn and the two drakes.
"Kathryn, why don't you show Nosedive and Wildwing around the base?" said Riko as she as the appointed the task to the 16 year old.
"Okay," replied Kathryn with a nod of her head.
Riko soon walked away from the group while not noticing Wildwing watching her leave. The drake was a little disappointed that Riko wasn't going to join them. He wanted to find out more about this strange human and what her home world was like.
'I guess I'll just have to wait for another time,' thought Wildwing before he followed after Kathryn and his little brother.
In a different part of the base
Riko was quickly taken by surprise when Canard suddenly pinned her up against the wall of the hallway. The drake had a serious look on his face as he glared down at Riko.
"Alright Riko, start talking," growled Canard in a low voice. "Just who exactly was that man?"
"Why should I tell you?" questioned Riko as her golden eyes glared into Canard's brown eyes.
"Because it's vitally important to know who this man is and if he's a threat to us," answered Canard in a harsh voice.
"Who's a threat?" asked a voice from out of nowhere.
Riko and Canard turned to see Duke and Tate coming up to them with Duke not looking too happy at what he saw in front of him. The distraction gave Riko the chance to push Canard off of her before she turned to look at Duke and Tate.
Riko let out a sigh before she answered Duke's question: "We were being assaulted by a human man that had somehow gotten here to Puckworld; a man who is known to be called Carlo Jason."
"Yeah," stepped in Canard while he glared at Riko. "And for some reason, Riko seems to know a lot about this guy."
"Really?" said Tate in slight surprise as he and Duke turned to look at Riko.
Riko remained quiet for a moment before she finally answered: "Yeah I know the guy and he's bad news."
"How bad?" questioned Duke as he came up to Riko.
"Let's just say that Carlo is the type of guy who likes to link up with people that he can make a profit with," replied Riko. "He's also the type of guy who holds a major grudge against people that make a fool out of him and he won't stop until he gets his revenge."
"Is he really that dangerous?" asked Tate in a worried voice.
"Yeah," said Riko with a nod of her head. "And he'll be even more dangerous if he's hooked himself up with Dragaunus and his followers."
"You seem to know a lot about this guy, don't you?" said Canard in a suspicious voice.
"Carlo and I have an old history together," replied Riko as she glared at Canard. "And I plan on taking him down once and for all since he's shown himself to me again."
With that said, Riko began to walk down the hall with Duke quickly following after her. Tate stayed behind with Canard as he turned to look at the older drake beside him. Canard looked back at him, but his face remained emotionless before he turned and began to walk the other way. Tate watched Canard for a moment before he quickly ran after Riko and Duke.
The duo walked side by side with each other in silence while Tate finally came up to them and started walking with Riko and Duke. Duke was the first one to break the ice as he began to talk with Riko.
"There's more to your past with guy, isn't there Riko." Duke voiced as he looked at the street fighter walking beside him.
Riko didn't speak for a moment, but she soon did after she came to a stop with Duke and Tate stopping on either side of her.
"I was part of Carlo's gang for a while after I ran away from the orphanage," said Riko in a low voice. "All I can tell you was that being part of his gang was one of the worst mistakes that I had ever done in my life."
Duke could tell that talking about the past was painful for Riko so he decided not to press. The formal thief placed a hand on Riko's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile when the silver haired street fighter turned her head too look at him.
"You don't have to say anything else sweetheart," said Duke.
"Yeah, we totally understand," stepped in Tate. "If you don't want to talk about your past, then you don't have to talk about it."
Riko blinked at Duke and Tate in surprise before smirking back at them: "Thanks you guys."
"No big," said Tate with a wink.
"Now, how about we go find Kathryn," suggested Duke as the trio continued to walk down the hallway.
"I think that she's still with the two new recruits," spoke Riko as they walked. "I told her to give the two a tour around the base. I also think that she might have a crush on the younger brother of the two."
"You don't say," mused Tate with a smirk.
Duke chuckled for a moment before he began to talk again: "Sometimes my sister will have a crush on someone for a short time until she moves off to the next drake that is good looking for her."
"And speak of the devil, there's your sister now," said Riko as she pointed ahead of them.
Walking up towards the trio was Kathryn, Wildwing and Nosedive. Kathryn was talking to them about the base until she spotted Duke, Riko and Tate.
"Hey you guy!" shouted Kathryn as she ran up to them.
Wildwing and Nosedive followed close behind while Kathryn ran in front of them. Riko sensed that Kathryn was about to pounce on her again as she quickly ducked behind Duke with Kathryn stopping in surprise. Riko peeked out from behind Duke with a frown on her face.
"Don't even think about tackling into me again Kathryn," warned Riko. "If you do then you'll find yourself in a headlock."
"That's not very nice of you to say things like that," pouted Kathryn as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well you are the kind of duck who likes to tackle her friends down to the ground little sis," stated Duke with a smile.
Kathryn let out a huff as she turned away from both Riko and Duke. Wildwing let out a chuckle along with his younger brother as they came up to the group.
"It looks like you don't like being hugged very much, huh Riko?" teased Wildwing in a joking matter.
"Not by much," replied Riko as she stepped out from behind Duke. "Anyways, Wildwing and Nosedive I want you to meet Duke and his student, Tate."
"Nice too meet you," said Tate as he held his hand out towards the two ducks.
"Same here," spoke Wildwing as he shook hands with Tate before shaking hands with Duke.
"We're glad to have a few more recruits in our fight against Dragaunus," said Duke with a nod of his head.
Wildwing nodded back at Duke before he turned to look at Riko: "So, are you free to show us around the base?"
Riko smirked at Wildwing before winking at him: "Sure am mate."
Wildwing smiled before they all started up on the tour again with Duke and Tate coming along for the fun. Riko walked beside Wildwing while his brother walked on the other side of him and Riko couldn't help but feel comfortable around this white mallard that stood as tall as Canard.
'Maybe he's not like his Hotshot friend after all,' thought Riko within her head. 'But that doesn't mean I should let my guard down around him, for who knows what he's really like around people.'
With that thought in mind, Riko continued to show Wildwing and Nosedive around the base along with Kathryn, Duke and Tate.
To be continued