Chapter Seven: Fighting Dreamers
I hate feeling like this!
There's got to be a better way!
Show me what it's for!
Tell me it's okay,
to use my heart and not my eyes!
Is there something more,
than what I've been headed?
Will I ever to see,
the ending to my story?
Shadow watched with uncertainity, as Duke began looking through the empty lockers for anything that the little girl behind him could use to skate in. She knew the old duck really wanted to make her feel better, and not be angry towards him for bothering her about herself, and felt relieved at the thought of her all-time favorite hockey player hadn't thought differently about her. She had enough issues with her self-esteem already, she didn't need anymore problems.
Duke straightened his back, and turned to Shadow with a fatherly smile. " 'ey, ya think these skates will fit ya?" He asked in a slightly worried tone. "They ain't no fig-ya skater skates, but they're still broken in."
Shadow looked down at the black skates, and reached out for them. "What size are they?" She asked in an unsure tone. She turned one of the skates over in Duke's hands, and looked at the tongue. It read "8 ½". "They'll fit. What about the blades on them?" She asked, turning the skate, and ran her finger over the metallic blade. She looked up at Duke with a small smile. "They're not figure skater shoes, but they'll do." She told him in a positive tone.
Duke nodded and pushed the skates in her hands. He turned back around, and began looking through the locker one more time. He looked over his shoulder. "What else do ya need, sweet'eart?" He asked in a curious tone; watching her slip the skates over her feet.
"Does Mallory have any wrist guards?" Shadow asked as she tied her laces together; looking over at Duke with a raised brow.
Duke chuckled and held out a pair of tiny wrist guards for the girl sitting on the bench to see. "I think dese are about da only ding dat comes close to the stuff dose fig-ya skatas have." He said in a joking tone; causing Shadow to giggle. "Anythin' else?"
Shadow shook her head and held up her hands for Duke to throw the guards at her. She caught them with ease and wrapped one around her wrist; adjusting it to fit tightly around her wrist. "These are all I need. Thank you very much Duke." She said with a soft smile.
Duke shrugged his shoulders, and grabbed a pair of guards for her skates, and walked over to her. "Put these on, and let's go." He said in a fatherly tone.
Shadow looked up at Duke with a surprised expression shown on her face. "You're not going to come out on the ice with me?" She asked in a shocked tone.
Duke returned her surprised look with one of his own. "But, don'cha want da ice to yourself?"
Shadow laughed and shook her head. "I'm a guest here, Duke. And there's three reasons why you should be out there with me," she told him in a playful tone, "one reason is that since it's been so long since I've been on ice, I might fall and get hurt." She told him as she lifted a single finger up." The second one, is that it'd be more fun to have with two people out there." She added with a thought tone; holding up a second finger. "And the third reason, is that if I have to be out there making a fool of myself, you have to out there making a fool of yourself, too!"
Duke laughed and held up his hands in mock surrender, and walked over to his locker, getting his skates out of it. "The third reason isn't a real reason." He told her in a defeated tone.
"It goes with the first reason." Shadow replied in a teasing tone, as she slipped the guards over her blades and began stretching her legs while she waited for Duke to finish getting ready.
Duke stood up after he had finished tying his laces together, and tucked them into his boots. He looked over to the girl and smiled. "Alright, sweet'eart, show me whatcha got." He said in a readied tone, leading the girl out of the lockeroom...
Scene change
Wildwing was sitting at the large computer with a large image of Klegghorn staring down at him with an angry glare.
"What is it that you want this time, Wildwing?" The dough-nut lover asked in an irritated tone; giving the captian his nastiest glare.
"I'm sorry for bothering you, captian, but I was wondering if you can pull up anything about any unknown orginizations that go by "The Orginization"." The white feathered duck asked in a calm tone; trying be reasonable with the officer, and doing things by the book.
" "The Organization"?" Klegghorn asked in a confused tone, as he scratched his head. "Never heard of 'em." He replied in a lazy tone. "Are you trying to pull my leg or somethin'?" He asked in an unsure tone.
Wildwing shook his head at the man of the law. "I'm not trying to pull your leg, captian." He told him in a firm tone. "I've got a source that says this organization is real, and they're experimenting on children, and not in a good way."
Klegghorn looked down at Wildwing with anger and rage in his eyes. "Hurting children? Not in my town!" He declared in a final tone; holding a fist up to the screen.
Wildwing held up his hands in surrender. "It's not in his town, Klegghorn." He told him in a reasurring tone; trying to calm the fat down. "But it will if they're not stopped." He said in a final warning.
Klegghorn let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, Wildwing. If this organization isn't in Anahiem, then where is it?"
"My source says that it was located in New Orleans, Orlando. She also says that she's from New York. So, it's safe to assume they're spreading or have already spread up towards that way and they're coming this way like a tidal wave." Wildwing replied in a firm tone; doing his best to hold back his own anger while thinking back at what Shadow had told him.
"And your source knows this for a fact? Who is she then?" Klegghorn asked in an authoritive tone; thinking Wildwing knows more than he's telling him.
"I can't reveal any more information until I get all the facts." Wildwing replied with a final tone; telling the captain of the Anahiem Police Force that he's not going to give away his source. "And the part where I said that they're spreading is only a therory."
"For the sake of the kids, let's hope that theroy is only a therory." Klegghorn said in a worried tone; looking away for a second. He looked back down at Wildwing, and nodded. "I'll see what I can find for ya. Just don't get into trouble." He said in a warning as he pointed to the leader to prove his point.
Wildwing chuckled and saluted the human glaring at him. "Deal." And with that, Klegghorn closed the line; making the screen go black before Wildwing.
Wildwing let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and relaxed his shoulders. "I wonder what Duke and Shadow are up to." He said in a thoughtful tone, as he turned on his heel and walked out of the control room; heading towards the Galley to see how she was doing.
He didn't find either of them there and began to get confused. "They're not here? Where are those two?" He said to himself and went back out into the hall, heading towards the medical wing; half hoping he'd find her down there.
Mallory had turned a corner and noticed Wildwing walking towards her. "Hey, Wildwing. What's goin' on?" She asked in a worried tone; she said once he was standing in front of her.
"Have you seen Shadow? I thought she was with Duke in a Galley, but when I got there, niether of them were down there." Wildwing asked in a confused tone; shurgging his shoulders.
Mallory blinked at the taller duck in reply. "They were in the Galley when I was down there, then Duke said they were going up to the rink to talk." She told him in a confirming tone. "Duke is still with here, I'm sure everything is alright."
Wildwing nodded at the shorter duck and turned on his heel; heading for the rink. It must be some kind of weird 'older brother' instincts he felt towards her. He was protective over Nosedive, but there was something about the way she was crying back at the medical wing, and what she had told him that made his heart melt. And besides, she was younger than Nosedive, somebody has to keep an eye on her...
Scene Change (PW: My symbols won't work so I have to use something, eh?)
Duke pushed himself onto the ice and skated towards the center of the rink. He executed a perfect snowplow stop and turned towards the girl with expecting eyes.
"Alright, kid." He said in a playful tone, giving Shadow a smirk. "Show me whatcha got."
Shadow smirked and jumped onto the ice and stroked skated as fast as she could towards the old duck. "Don't move!" She shouted in a demanding tone as she prepelled herself towards the duck.
Duke followed the girl's order, and watched as she skated towards him. He was frozen in fear when he saw she was getting closer. He jumped and watched as Shadow made a sharp move with her hips.
He was stunned beyond belief when she darted away towards the other end of the rink, and skated back towards him, and began skating laps around him.
"How'd ya do dat?" Duke asked in an amazed tone, being impressed with Shadow's preformance.
Shadow stood proudly at the duck before her and smirked playfully at him. "And to think I never paid attention in any of the classes that I had to take for the summer..." She said in a pleased tone. "Now that we're all warmed up, let's play a game, Duke!" She said in a childish tone; giving Duke a happy smile, as she cut Duke off and skated over to his other side.
Duke chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh- I hate ta break to ya, sweet'eart," he started in an unsure tone, looking away from Shadow in embarrassment, "I'm kinda too old to be playing games."
Shadow pushed forward and stopped in front of him. She held her arms crossed over her chest, and gave Duke a firm look. "I'm not talking about anything like what I did. I was talking about a skate off! I mean- to see what we've got on the ice. And who knows? Maybe we could learn a from each other while we're out here." She said in a rational tone, lifting her finger into the air to prove her point.
Duke looked away for a moment and began thinking. "I don' know, sweet'eart." He stated in an unsure tone, pretending to debate his options. "Ya can' teach an old duck new tricks, ya'know?"
Shadow skated circles around Duke, and smirked at him. "Hey, it's always been, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". So I don't know anything about any old ducks not learning any new tricks." She declared in a cocky tone; playing along with Duke's joke.
Duke chuckled at the girl, and gave up his joke. "Alright, kid. Show me what you got. An' dat's witout powas!" He warned, as he pointed a finger at the girl skating around him.
Shadow turned on her opposite direction, and gave him a mock salute. "Yes sir! No powers!" She said as she turned back around and broke the cycle to dart away towards the center of the rink.
She turned around so her back was facing the gray feathered mallard. She looked down and pulled out an ipod from an inner pocket in her jacket, and turned it on. (TPW: I just got one for my b-day! I'm so proud of myself! ;-)) She placed the tiny ear buds in each ear, and began looking through her songs. Once she settled on a song, she stretched out her arms to the North and South directions waiting for the lyrics to begin.
'What is she up to?' Duke thought to himself, as he watched in fascination at the girl's form; wondering what tricks she has up her sleeves.
She rotated her arms quickly, and used the momentum to spin around. She pushed herself forwards and began skating on the edge of the circle in the center of the rink. Once she felt like she skated enough, she pulled one foot backwards and kicked it up; jumping into the air. A nice little toe-jump.
Duke clapped his hands at the jump she made. "Good job, sweet'eart!" He called out in an impressed tone. He could tell that she was remembering her days as the figure-skater she once told them that she was.
Wildwing had made his way up towards the pond, and saw the two out on the ice. Shadow was skating and from what he saw, she was really pumping it up on the ice. He had never seen Shadow skate before. And remembering what she said about being the figure-skater, he didn't really believe her from the way he saw her fighting against bigger boys in the Underground Tournament. But seeing her now was like seeing a whole new side to her. He was going to scold her for being out on the ice, but seeing the happy smile on her face, he just didn't have it in him to make her stop.
He caught the sight of Duke watching her from the wall not too far from him, and walked over to him.
"Hey, Duke." He said in a low tone; hoping not to startle him and Shadow in the process. "What's going on?"
Duke looked behind him, and saw his leader standing behind him, and smiled. "We were talking, and afta a while, I thought it'd be good for Shadow ta... ya'know, cut loose."
"I can see that." Wildwing said with a playful chuckle. "But aren't you afraid she'll fall and get hurt?" He added with a concerned look on his face.
Duke gave Wildwing a disbelieving look. "Ya really dink she's gonna git hurt?" He asked in a a playful smirk.
Wildwing looked back on the ice, and saw Shadow pull a stunning lutz-jump and landed with a perfect spread eagle. "I guess she really was a figure-skater." He said in an impressed tone; staring at the girl dancing out on the ice before them...
Shadow used her toe-pick to stop her momentum and spun around on the ice. She executed a nice little scratch spin with ease; all the old feelings from when she was on the ice before the incident. She crossed her arms towards her knees, and brought them up over her head. Once she lost her momentum again, she brought out from the spin and skated along the wall of the rink. She bent her knees slightly and jumped into the air, pulling off a near-perfect double-axel in the process.
Duke had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. For a moment, he thought that Shadow had looked like a kind of ghost gliding across the ice. He knew she was a talented fighter, but he never guessed that in a million years she would have a stunning dancer side! It was all so new to him! It was almost as if he was looking someone other than Shadow right now!
The song had ended and Shadow took a bow; facing Duke with one hand lowered to her knees, and the other over her head. She heard Duke and Wildwing clapping and skating towards her with an impressed look on his face.
"Dose were sum pretty slick moves back there, kid!" He told her in a pleased tone. "I'm difinately a fan o' yours!"
Shadow blushed and rubbed her nose in an arrogant manner. "I guess I still got it. Even after all those years!" She told him in a cocky tone, skating towards the two and using her hands to stop herself from colliding with the wall.
"You'll have to get in line, Duke." Wildwing said in an joking tone, "Can I have your autograph?"
Duke and Shadow let out a laugh and smiled over at the leader. "You guys are so lucky." She said in a thoughtful tone, looking down at the white ice below her feet. "You can go out on the ice any given time."
Wildwing looked over at Duke, who shurgged his shoulders in wonder. He then looked over at Shadow and raised a brow at her. "And you can't? From what I saw, you are more graceful in this sorta stuff than fighting." He saw a slight glare from Shadow and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't get me wrong, kiddo, you're an excellent fighter, but I think the ice fits you better. I'd hate to have to see you with a puck."
Shadow relaxed her figure and looked down at her boots; deep in thought. "I can't compete anymore because it draws in too many cameras. No one pays attention to the fighter's thing anymore. And besides, with all the new rules and techniques, I just won't be able to keep up." She replied in a sad tone. "15-plus years is a pretty long time to miss out on anything."
"But why fighting? I mean- I get how you can learn how to control your anger and everything, but how did you get into it?" Wildwing asked in a confused tone, as he scratched the side of his head in wonder.
Shadow looked away from the two male ducks, and looked out on the ice. "The last thing Ray told me before he died was, "You're the only proof that I ever existed now, Ally-cat. You're my last chance.". After Mr. Kemo took me away from the organization, he trained me how to be a street fighter. That was the only part about that made him stand out. Just like Figure-Skating was my speciality. So, it's only natural that I keep the best part of him alive." She told them in a distant tone; a faint smile playing across her face.
"You really miss your brother, don'tcha, sweet'eart?" Duke asked in a sympathizing tone; placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Shadow nodded to the oldest duck; not taking her eyes off the ice. "There are days when the bad times out number the good ones." She whispered in a hurt tone, as tears began to form in her eyes. "But I know that Ray wouldn't want me to give up without a fight."
Wildwing smiled weakly at the girl. "That's right, Shadow. If you remember only one thing from all this, remember this," He said as he pressed a button on the his communicator and activated his skates.
He jumped over the wall and landed beside Duke on the other side, and moved over towards the girl. "Stand up straight." He told her as he grabbed her shoulders and gently helped her straighten her back. "Don't look back." He added in a firm tone; pulling her face to level with her shoulders. "Don't turn your back on your enemies." He told her in a demanding tone. "Never cast your eyes down."
He smiled over at her when he saw the determined fire in her eyes being restored. "Do these things and the world will come to you."
Shadow sniffled a bit before she nodded and rubbed her eyes to clear the tears from her duel-colored eyes. "Thanks, Wildwing." She whispered in a grateful tone. "I'll do my best."
Wildwing smiled and nodded to the girl before he began skating around on her. "Okay, not that's all settled," he said, giving her a smug smile. "How's about Duke and I show you a few things?"
Duke chuckled at the leader and folded his arms over his chest. "I don' know, wing." He told him in a worried tone. "I don' dink she can handle a stick, much less a few pointers in hockey."
Shadow laughed at the two so hard she fell on her rear. "I'm more of a hockey spectator, not a player." She said in a nervous tone; getting back up off the ice.
Wildwing gave Shadow a firm-yet playful look. "What did I just tell you? Besides, you never know if you don't try."
TPW: And there you have it! All my ideas in one nifty little chapter! Not quite as perfect as it was in my head, but I'm all tapped out, and I don't want to drag it out.
N: I think you're losin' your touch old girl. I mean- what's ol' lizard lips want with my buddy Shadow, anyway?
TPW: Smacks Nosedive over the head I'd be giving away too much! You'll have to find out when I get to it! And one more thing: Pushes Nosedive down That's for calling me old!
W: Alright, knock it off you two.
D: He does have a point there. Just go take smoke a cigarette and calm down, kid.
TPW: Is everyone after me today? First dive calls me old, and now you're calling me a kid! WTH! Turns to Nosedive And since you called me old, you're doing it!
N: groans Why me? Duke called you a kid!
TPW: I do believe that Duke and your brother had already had their turn! So it's yours!
N: Sighs and turns towards the audience The Paper Wolf owns nothing about MDTAS just the characters that she made up in her story. Turns back to me with an evil glare Happy now?
TPW: You bet! Now, go away before I sick my dogs on you!
N: Meep! Runs away
TPW: And just two more things I'd like to add!
Thanks White Hunter! You're totally awesome! I hope you like this chapter!
Please R&R! All comments are accepted. Except for flames. You can send those to me if you like, but I'll use them to set Nosedive on fire.
N&W: Over my dead body!
TPW: I wouldn't say that too loud if I were you boys! You never know what will happen in the next few chapters... Now scram! I've got lots of work to do!
Let me show you just what I'm made of now!