"Well? Where is it?" Mallory demanded when Duke walked into the rec room a few hours later with nothing in his hands and a displeased look on his face.
"What took you so long?" Nosedive added a second later.
"I imagine it's in that hotel room," Duke replied as he flopped down onto the couch with an air of frustration. "And the reason is it took me so long is because I was trying not to be seen."
"So much for your great lock picking abilities," Mallory teased while the others came closer to the former thief.
"You couldn't get the door unlocked?" Tanya asked in surprise.
"I got the lock open without a problem," Duke grumbled. "I even got the windows unlocked."
"Then what's the problem?" Wildwing questioned.
"The problem is that duck who occupies that room is the same duck that kept a house off of herself and her sister for hours after Dragaunus first attacked Puckworld and then survived several more hours after I knocked out the support beam and brought the rest of the house down on her," Duke nearly growled as he slouched down and crossed his wings over his chest. "I couldn't get into the room because there's some type of force field across the doorway and windows."
"Ruby did tell me that the one thing she's really good at is making shields," Wildwing admitted.
"Then, we should go in and blast our way in," Mallory forcefully stated.
"Yeah, shooting up a hotel in the middle of the day—that sounds like a great plan" Nosedive sarcastically shot back.
"If she could create a shield to keep her from being crushed by a house being dropped on her, I doubt we have anything strong enough to break that shield and not destroy the hotel at the same time," Duke pointed out.
"We have to get into that room," Wildwing stated, continuing before Mallory could make any more destructive suggestions. "Blasting our way in isn't an option. It's bad enough we have to do this in the middle of the day, but we don't need to make things worse by destroying anything."
"You know, I've been, like, studying Ruby's energy signature since she got here," Tanya put in.
"And?" Wildwing prompted.
"Well, it seems to me, you know, magic is just a type of energy," Tanya continued. "I might be able to disrupt the shield or at least temporarily redirect it."
"Tanya, get what you need," Wildwing ordered with new resolve. "Duke and I will go with you. One way or another, we're getting that mask back."
"Hey, Cap?" the lieutenant called from the doorway of his superior's office.
"Yeah?" Klegghorn grumbled, not even bothering to look up from his paperwork.
"You're not going to believe the call that just came into dispatch," the officer said which caused the detective to look up and scowl.
"What did those hockey playing feather heads do this time?" Klegghorn nearly growled.
Duke held the motel room door open as far as he could, ignoring the early evening sun that was catching him in his good eye. The door was only open a small crack, but Tanya was working with it. The small device she was using had a lot of lights and a display showing numbers that meant nothing to the former thief, but it meant something to the tech.
"Uh oh," Wildwing muttered and Duke turned to look at his captain.
"Uh oh what?" Duke asked as a car pulled up beside the Migrator and he turned to look. "Uh oh."
Wildwing stepped between his team mates and the unmarked police car.
"Was hockey not paying enough?" Klegghorn snarkily questioned as he got out of the vehicle. "You now have to resort to breaking and entering?"
"The mask is in that room," Wildwing explained.
"Are you sure?" Klegghorn demanded while he walked up to the tall alien duck. "If you have proof that the mask is in there, I could get a search warrent. Of course, that would require you actually report that the mask was stolen in the first place."
Wildwing opened his beak to reply to the human.
"AHA!" Tanya exclaimed as Duke opened the door the rest of the way and walked into the room.
Wildwing turned and followed his team mates into the hotel room, ignoring the detective. Klegghorn got out his handcuffs and pursued the ducks. Heroes and hockey stars or not, they were breaking the law!
"Search everywhere," Wildwing ordered just as Klegghorn grabbed the goalie's wing.
Before Klegghorn could slap a handcuff onto Wildwing, his world literally turned upside down.
Ruby got out of the truck and waved at Raleigh as he drove away. She was hot, sweaty, smelly and tired. She wanted a shower, dinner and bed in that order. It had been a long day cleaning and she had only gotten the kitchen clean. She had a lot more to do and she'd need to be rested and well fed to do it.
She was wondering where she should get dinner from when a sharp pain in her chest made her gasp. She stopped in her tracks and tried to figure out why she was hurting as tried to catch her breath and clutched her chest. It took her several seconds to realize that the problem was magical, not mundane.
Someone was trying to break through one of her shields! She had a pretty good idea who it was and she stumbled toward her room as fast as she could. It wasn't easy to breathe since the pain was centered in her chest, but she moved as fast as she could.
With a shout of pain, she fell to her hands and knees. She gasped for breath, barely able to see the pavement below her. Luckily, the pain subsided quickly and after a quick shake of her head, she was on her feet and running a few moments later, ignoring the residual pain.
She tore around the corner of the building just as a short human walked into her room. Why would a human break into her room? How did he get past her shield? What had she done to him to deserve this?
She didn't care as she let her anger fuel her power. As soon as she got to her room, she unleashed her spell on the man and hung him upside down. She quickly realized that he wasn't alone and she wasted no time immobilizing the others.
"What the heck!?" the man yelled as he hung in midair.
"Who are you?" Ruby demanded of the human. "Why are you in my room?"
"I'm Detective Klegghorn," the older male snapped back, not caring why the blue beaked duck's eyes were glowing white. "I was about arrest these bird brains for breaking and entering. Now let me down, before I arrest you for interfering with a police officer!"
With a wave of her hand, the man found himself upright and gently returned to his feet. Ruby turned to the other three ducks and glared at them. Duke was on the floor in front of her dresser with a drawer open, Tanya was part way through the bathroom door and Wildwing was lying across the unmade bed.
Without a word, Ruby waved her hand again and the three ducks found themselves floating out of the room. She sent them out the door where they were unceremoniously dumped in the parking lot. Though they struggled, they couldn't get free of their magical bonds. Ruby ignored the stunned human and opened the drawer to the nightstand.
She retrieved the Mask and stalked out of her room with the detective right behind her. As soon as she released the binding spells, the other ducks scrambled to their feet and turned to face her. Ruby marched up to Wildwing and shoved the Mask into his chest which he automatically grabbed. Before he could say a word, she turned her back on him and faced the other hen.
"It's time what I told you finally made it through your thick skull, Wildwing," Ruby snarled, still not looking at the goalie. "Tanya, I want you to watch my eyes."
"O-o-o-ok," the tech nervously replied, staring at the mage's dark eyes.
"When you're ready, Wildwing, put the mask on," Ruby instructed.
Wildwing hesitated. He wanted the mask back, but he wasn't sure what Ruby's game was. Why did she just hand him the mask and turn her back on him? Why did Tanya need to watch Ruby's eyes?
It didn't matter. He had the mask back. His team could concentrate on defeating Dragaunus now.
Wildwing could feel the tension he had been holding onto release and his shoulders relaxed as he put the mask on with practiced ease. With a yell of pain and surprise, he stumbled backwards as he blinked the stars from his eyes. He never saw the mask fly through the air and hit Ruby in the back. He couldn't believe the mask had just shocked him!
"What the heck is going on!?" Klegghorn demanded as Ruby peeled the Mask off of her back.
"As a Guardian of the Mask of Drake DuCaine, I have come to this planet to reclaim it," Ruby told the man. "Once the Mask was reclaimed, it cannot be worn again until another duck passes the Challenge and earns the right."
"And the Challenge is back on Puckworld," Wildwing growled.
"If you had followed me through the portal like you were supposed to instead of blowing it up, we wouldn't be having this issue," Ruby snapped at him.
"If you had just told me," Wildwing started and the mage snorted at him.
"And you would have listened to me?" Ruby retorted while she glared at him.
Wildwing opened his beak and then stopped. He snapped his beak shut and scowled at her. He tried not to notice how filthy she was and he had this insane desire to help her get clean. What was wrong with him?
"You put a spell on the mask, didn't you?" Duke accused as he stepped up to the red feathered duck.
"I just told you why the Mask can't be worn again," Ruby growled at the one eyed drake. "Believe me or not, I don't care."
"Why did you reclaim the mask?" Klegghorn asked, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen.
"Because Canard promised me that he wouldn't give the Mask to anyone else," Ruby answered a bit more calmly. "When he broke his promise, I had to come here and get the Mask back. Promises should never be made to a mage lightly."
"What's a mage?" Klegghorn inquired as he scribbled everything down.
"Mages are magic users," Ruby replied. "And yes, we all have blue beaks."
She kept her back to Wildwing and his team mates, deciding it was easier to face the human than the ticked off goalie behind her. She felt bad about having to show them the hard way that the Mask was now unwearable, but what else could she do? She couldn't even face the handsome drake when he put the Mask on. She hadn't wanted to see him hurt. What was wrong with her?
"So why didn't the mask zap me the first time I put it on?" Wildwing angrily asked.
"If you had been on Puckworld when Canard gave you the Mask, you would have never been able to put it on," Ruby told him with just as much heat as she turned to face him. "It would have returned to Twin Beaks immediately. Since you weren't on Puckworld when he broke his promise, it had nowhere to go. Now that I'm here, you can steal the Mask a thousand times and every time it will come back to me."
"So why not give him this challenge thingy here?" Klegghorn questioned.
Ruby didn't answer but stuffed the Mask into the back of her pants and then held her hands in front of her about a foot apart. Her eyes started to glow and a disc of light appeared between her hands a second later. The disc grew and Ruby moved her hands further apart until they were about a yard apart.
The disc started to change and peaks and valleys started to appear in the light. It took a good minute for the image to settle down until it was recognizable. It appeared to be a small maze made out of stone.
"I've never personally measured it, but from what I understand, the Challenge is about ten miles long and has dozens of traps and puzzles along the way," Ruby explained as a miniature image of Canard entering the maze appeared. "Just getting into the challenge is part of the test. Mages have added to it over the past several centuries and it constantly changes. No one mage can replicate it. I'm not even sure all of the mages on Puckworld could create another one."
Ruby's eyes stopped glowing and the image faded. Wildwing let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He knew it was because he was afraid she was about to attack them and he felt stupid for it. There was a part of him that feared her and another that wanted to take care of the mage. What the heck was wrong with him!?
"Didn't I tell you ducks just to make another mask?" Klegghorn demanded. "How hard can it be?"
"Unless they can find a mage who's powerful enough to be an Elder, it'll be impossible," Ruby told the man.
"What do you mean?" Tanya questioned with a frown on her face. "What's an elder?"
"The Elders are the most powerful of the mages and rule the other mages ," Ruby explained and then looked more closely at the tech. "You've been trying to make another Mask, haven't you?"
"Yeah, well, sort of," Tanya stammered.
"So what if she has?" Wildwing snapped as he stepped between the two hens.
"Wildwing, haven't you ever wondered why the mages protect the Mask?" Ruby countered.
"Well, uh," the goalie stuttered.
"Ok, I'll bite," Duke said and the mage gave him a glare, but that didn't stop the former thief. "Why do the mages protect the mask?"
"Because it's a magical object," the mage shot back, just barely managing not to put the word 'duh' in there. "Drake DuCaine and Elder Rosalind created the Mask together."
"Would you be able to help create another mask?" Tanya asked hopefully.
"Sorry, I can't," Ruby replied.
"Why not?" Wildwing questioned.
"Because I'm not willing to die," the red feathered mage responded.
"Why would you have to die?" Tanya inquired.
"For the Mask to work with its wearer, it has to be partially sentient," Ruby told her. "In order for that to happen, Elder Rosalind drained all of her magic into the mask. To forestall the next question, when a mage gives up his or her powers, they die."
There was stunned silence from the hockey playing ducks and the detective. Ruby pulled the Mask back out and looked at it sadly. It briefly glowed, turning gold and then white again.
"Why did it do that?" Wildwing asked.
"The Mask is partially aware of its surroundings," Ruby explained. "It's the reason I knew that our world had been attacked by the Saurians and that someone had to win the right to wear it. I think if it was given a choice, it would stay with you, Wildwing. But the magic that binds it is stronger than either it or me."
"So, this planet is doomed because some mage cast some spell on the mask?" Duke demanded.
"Mages," Ruby corrected. "I can feel the magic surrounding the Mask and there's more than one mage responsible for this mess."
"Well, could you wear the mask?" Wildwing asked, know there was a snowball's chance in a blast furnace of getting his team to allow her on the team, much less lead it.
"No mage can wear the Mask," Ruby answered. "That's why we make the perfect guardians for it. We couldn't wear it even if we wanted to."
Wildwing looked like he wanted to argue, but Ruby held her hand up in a 'stop' motion.
"I'm sorry, Wildwing, there's nothing more I can do," Ruby stated tiredly. "If you'll excuse me, I'm tired, dirty and hungry. Good night."
With that, Ruby turned and headed back into her room. The door glowed briefly after it was shut and the ducks knew that the force field was back in place. Wildwing was at more of loss on what to do than when Canard had handed the leadership over to him.
"Come on, team," the goalie sighed. "Let's go home."
Klegghorn watched them dejectedly get back into the Migrator and drive away. With a sigh of his own, he got back into his car and returned to the station. A part of him was worried that Duke was right. His planet was doomed.
Ruby came out of the bathroom after scrubbing herself clean. She never thought she'd get all of gunk out of her feathers. If she ever got her hands on the human that made that mess, she'd be tempted to throw him into the dumpster that he emptied.
It irked her how the human had taken all of the garbage from the communal dumpster for the condo complex and used that to make the mess he had. He probably thought it was a great laugh. How could people be so self-serving?
With a snort of disgust, she went in search of something to wear out of the pile of clothes in the corner. She really needed to wash her clothes. The brownies had been doing it for her until a little over a week ago, but she had been so sick that she hadn't noticed that they weren't coming around anymore.
She thought it was because she wasn't leaving out the milk, honey and bread out as a thank you. Even though she had restarted doing that, they still weren't coming by. She had seen the news report, so she knew that they were still in the building, but for whatever reason, they were avoiding her.
She picked up a pair of jeans and noticed a black stain that went from the hip down to mid-thigh on one of the legs. She dug out another pair of pants and found the same stain. By the time she pulled out all of her pants, she found that every single one had that mark.
Even though she was tired and she had used more magic than she cared to dealing with Wildwing and his team, she held her hand over the pants with the worse stain. She used the magic to pull up whatever had left that mark.
She gasped as she realized what it was. She looked around for something to put the tiny glob of black, greasy goo into. With one hand keeping the blob from touching anything, she grabbed a plastic cup that the motel provided. Using her free hand and teeth, she got the plastic cover off and then let the droplet of evil fall into the cup.
A shiver ran up her spine and her feathers nearly stood on end. She didn't want to spend the energy, but there was no way she would get any rest knowing that the poison that nearly killed her was on her clothing.
She went through every piece of clothing she owned and used her magic to remove every trace of the poison. She was exhausted and sweaty. The black stuff barely covered the bottom of the cup she had put it in, but she had no doubt that it was more than enough to kill her a couple times over.
Despite wanting to take another shower, she got dressed in the mini dress. It, somehow, managed to avoid getting any of the poison on it. As soon as she was clothed, she took the cup out to the farthest corner of the parking lot and used the Phoenix's fire to destroy the poison, cup and all.
She felt like she had been put through the wringer and wanted nothing more than to sleep. She knew that she needed to eat, so she returned to her room, got her things and headed out to find food. She was so focused on getting something to eat that she never saw the brownies return to her room.