“Fallen Angel”

Chapter Ten: Living on Barrowed Time

Nosedive’s lungs contracted and expanded frantically as he gasped rushed breathes in between his shouts. He ducked blasts aimed at him, rolled upon the ground, and retaliated a shot, hitting the hunter drone directly in the chest. It fell backwards, its blown-out torso smoldering in the dirt, its frayed wires live with electricity.

            Nosedive didn’t see past the initial shot. He was constantly moving, firing another puck and hitting the hunter drone that aimed at Mallory, then turning swiftly and taking out one that had it out for Duke. He blinked to rid his eyes of the sweat that seeped into them, but couldn’t even take his mind off the battle for a moment to brush his sodden bangs from his face. When he had decided to keep it this length, he should have thought of this moment and decided against it.

            Then again, psychic he wasn’t.

            It was only his fourth battle since the invasion, the first being right after joining Canard and Wildwing. They had just returned from Twin Beaks, and Dragaunus had it out for his brother and Canard. Nosedive, of course, was just caught in the midst of it. It was his “Welcome to War” moment. Great times.

            The second…The second his father had been killed, and he was handed over to Dragaunus by his surrogate mother.

            The last one was in the Master Tower, when Dragaunus had dangled him in front of his brother like a trophy. The lizard wanted Wildwing’s surrender for his life, and when Nosedive screamed to his brother Dragaunus’s plan to kill him, an all-out battle had ensued. 

            Now…He blinked back into reality, twisting to the side and barely avoiding a blast meant to kill him. He ducked behind a tree as a barrage of shots came his way, and thankfully, they either missed him or hit the tree. He took three deep breathes. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, leaning his back against the trunk and looking up to the heavens above. If his father was there, he prayed he wasn’t watching him today, and if he was, he prayed he might grant him some strength. His was seriously waning. Maybe he wasn’t as strong as Wildwing or his parents…

             He gathered all the stupidity he had left in him, gripped his two puck launcher in his hands and with a sharp inhale, dove back into the action.

            He fired at the first hunter drone in front of him before rolling and coming up to shoot another’s head off. He turned and went back-to-back with his brother, picking off the drones attacking the team. One on Duke’s back as the thief sliced through three with his sword; another coming up to Canard as he hip-checked a drone into another, then fired at their CPUs.

            “Nice weather we’re having, huh? It’s raining hunter drone parts.”

            Wildwing would have looked over his shoulder. “You know, kiddo, I never thanked you.”

            Nosedive fired twice; he hit his mark twice. “For what?”

            “For finding me.”

            “Didn’t you find me?” He spread his arms out horizontally, then fired simultaneously. “Remember? At the mine camp?”

            “Maybe, but you were the one who refused to leave my side,” Wildwing said warmly, though huffing heavily.

            Nosedive snorted. “Are you saying I’m annoying?”

            “No, persistent.”

            “Is that a compliment?”

            “Or at least petulant.”

“You love making fun of your widdle brother, don’t you? Comedian.”

            Lifting his shield and blocking a shot, Wildwing retaliated with a puck from his gauntlet. “It’s what I strive to be when I grow up.”

            “Bad one, maybe.” Nosedive laughed, a little breathless and a little too high-pitched. The fight was getting to him as more hunter drones teleported just beyond the initial battle site. “We’re not going to make it out of this one, are we?”

            “Doesn’t look like it.”

            “So, like, anything you want to say?”

            Wildwing chuckled, and Nosedive could feel his brother’s torso rise and fall against his back. “Get your hair cut.”

            “Oh yeah? Why don’t you lighten up? Watch a Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler movie.”

            “Okay, make you a deal,” Wildwing broached, crossing his gauntlets in front of his face as blasts burned toward him. His armor absorbed the blows. “We get out of this, you cut your hair, and I’ll see any and all crummy movies you want me to.”

            Nosedive gasped, cringing as his arms began to burn from strain. “Cut my hair?” He held in a hiss when finally a blast singed his left arm, burning off his feathers and searing the skin. Even though it burned like the sun, he knew if he let out a noise, his brother would be distracted. He couldn’t have that. “Fine,” he grunted through his clenched teeth, and he fought to keep his arms erect and functioning. “Deal.”

            “What happened?” Wildwing demanded, firing another shot.

            “Nothing, you worry wart.” He almost lost his balance. He suddenly became dizzy, and the world shifted off its axis. He leaned heavily against his brother’s back, eyes frantically darting back and forth to keep track of the hunter drones and his teammates. They began to blur and collide into each other.

            “Liar.”

“Crap…” Nosedive blinked frenetically. A tan mallard punched a hunter drone less than ten feet away, grunting in exhaustion and pain. One second a hunter drone attacked the tan blur from behind; the next both were gone! “Wildwing! I lost Canard! I can’t find him!”

Wildwing whirled suddenly with a snap and caught his brother with a muttered curse as he was forced to support Nosedive’s entire weight.  An arm slipped under the teen’s armpit and circled around his back, keeping him somewhat erect, even though his knees were bent and parallel to the ground.

Glancing up with vacant eyes, Nosedive watched as his brother’s mind worked, taking in positions and strategies.  “Grin!” Wildwing yelled, his voice terse and strangled. “Get Canard out of there!”

Nosedive froze. Something happened to Canard… “Wildwing, is he okay! Where is he?”

Wildwing didn’t speak, only secured his brother tightly next to his body with one hand and practically lifted Nosedive out of the fray and into the woods.

Hissing as Wildwing propped him against a tree, Nosedive watched his older through squinted eyes. The leader tore his short sleeve to examine the wound.

“It’s my fault. I thought I could handle it. I didn’t want to distract you. I—”

            Wildwing seemingly ignored his ramblings and stood. A rumbling shook the ground under him, startling Nosedive. The younger mallard watched catatonically as Canard was placed down next to him and could hardly breathe through his clenched chest at the sight of trickling blood running down the older mallard’s head.

            “Nosedive,” his brother called him, but he couldn’t pull his eyes from Canard.

            He stared at the blood. It was his fault. Canard was going to die, and it was his fault. He should have seen it. He should have told Wildwing he was hurt. He should have—

            “NOSEDIVE!”

            Nosedive blinked and shook his head, as Wildwing’s harsh voice rattled his world. He blinked and looked up at his brother through bleary eyes. “It’s my fault.”

            Wildwing crouched down and took Nosedive by the shoulders. “We don’t have time for this! Do you still have your puck launcher?”

            Nosedive winced at the hard grip on his shoulder, but flexed his fingers about the handle of his launcher in his left hand. The right hand—empty. He had lost that one…somewhere. He nodded fast.

            “Can you tell the different between me and a drone?”

            Nosedive squinted and could barely make out Wildwing’s features, but red and metal his brother wasn’t. “Yeah.”

            “Okay. Then protect Canard until I get back.” The leader didn’t wait for an affirmative and ran back into battle, Grin on his heel. 

            Nosedive gulped and ventured another look at Canard. He shivered, knowing that he should have done something more. Oh Stars, why did this have to happen?

            Footsteps, boot-steps…Wildwing was back already? He didn’t raise his launcher, for he knew Wildwing when he heard him and glanced over his shoulder. His brother peered down at him, his eyes hard, his face expressionless.

            “Big bro?” Nosedive asked tentatively, then gasped. It wasn’t Wildwing! It was—

            He raised his launcher, but not nearly fast enough as ‘Wildwing’s’ right fist connected with his face.

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            “Uhh…” He needed to stop waking up like this, simple as that.

            He moved his neck to the side, rotating it a little to get the swelling pain to possibly subside, and to his relief, it did—a smidge. He groaned softly, remembering the merciless claws that dug into his neck prior and realized that probably feeling pain was better than feeling nothing at all. Of course, living without pain would be preferable, but the universe didn’t see it his way.

Buggar.

            A wave of pain infected his head, and he winced, letting out an involuntary groan. His lower back joined in on his torment a moment later, and he tried to move his hand to massage his head but found that impossible. He contorted his wrists behind his back, feeling the familiar sensation of energy bonds against his wrists. He immediately rolled onto his side to alleviate the pain of laying on his wrists. Sighing, he maneuvered into a kneeling position and whined helplessly at the jingle behind his back. He needn’t turn to know what that was—shackles. Oh, crap, not again…Peering over his shoulder—sure enough, less than a foot away was Draganuns’s throne, to which he was attached again. Last time that occurred it was to keep him close incase the ducks found the overlord and henchmen right after landing on Earth. Now, it was simply to demoralize he and his brother.

            He tugged on the electrical bonds and cringed, his arm wound making itself known. He looked down at it, only he couldn’t see it like before. He was no longer wearing his short-sleeved jumpsuit. Instead his normal clothes covered his body as if he had switched back—jeans, tee-shirt, and an over jacket. Glancing over his shoulder at his bonds, he realized his comm. was moved a little to the side to accommodate his constrictions. Someone must had hit the retrieval button by accident.

But that didn’t matter. What mattered were the bonds themselves. They hadn’t budged. He was still firmly shackled to the chair. Taking a deep breath, bracing himself for the pain that would ensue, he yanked on his arms again, this time not letting up and putting his whole weight into his tug. Ever so slightly, blood began to saturate the bonds and cake down his hands.

            “Nosedive, stop that! You’ll hurt yourself!”

            Nosedive immediately stopped at the blunt chastising and glared across the room, finally noticing his teammates’ presence. Despite the fact he was at least twenty feet away, he was actually happier where he was. Hanging over a burning inferno, which could only be described as lava from a volcano, the ducks were bound from their ankles to their shoulders by energy bonds.

            Nosedive met Wildwing’s harsh glower, but was relieved when he saw Canard to his brother’s left, alert, though somewhat perturbed. The only evidence remaining of his injury was the trickled blood that had dried on the side of his head and his cheek.

Ducking his head, Nosedive muttered, “I’m sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t been hit—”

            “It’s not your fault, Dive. It’s my fault for not dictating the battle better,” Wildwing objected.

            Nosedive let out a huff, then shook his head. “It’s not the leader’s fault if the soldier’s stupid.”

            “We can hit the puck back and forth, kiddo, but it doesn’t change the fact that we’re here.”

            Nosedive nodded sadly, lifting his head to survey his surroundings. He recognized it immediately as the Command Room of the Raptor. It was a circular room, blood red—Saurian red—in walls and floors with a large viewer screen across the room. A console was perched underneath the screen, where laid the team’s weapons, while the middle of the space was where the ducks were hanging. Behind him was Dragaunus’s throne, where the overlord lived out his superiority complex.

            Sighing again and not even glancing back at his bonds, he simply sat back on his hunches, waiting for Dragaunus to come back and smack him to his rightful place as slave.

            Something to look forward to.

            From across the room, Wildwing’s voice carried. “Anyone have a plan? I’m game.”

            Mallory rolled her eyes. “I would definitely skate away from any and all strategies that end up with us being scolded to death.”

            “Sounds good to me. Anyone else have something?”

            “Pray for a miracle?” Duke offered dismally.

            Nosedive scowled. It was up to him, wasn’t it? Oh, man, this was gonna hurt.

            One…two…two and a half…two and three quarters…two and five-sixths…aw, hell—He tugged again, this time the pain searing almost immediately up his arms, numbing his shoulders…

            “NOSEDIVE! STOP!”

            “I can’t!” The teen strained, tugging down with all his might. His arms felt like they were going to fall off.

            “Nosedive!” The tone was admonishing, disapproving.

            “It’s better than what Dragaunus has in store for us—for me—if I don’t get out of these!”

            *BLAST!*

            Nosedive recoiled, falling onto his butt and pressing his back into the throne’s side as blasts burned around him. They slammed into the metal about him on all sides, barely missing his slender body. He squeezed his eyes shut. Heat engulfed him on all sides, causing sweat to pore down his forehead. A faint whine escaped his beak as the blasts continued without reprieve, and he scarcely recognized Wildwing’s voice over the noise, shouting for the ambush to end. He sounded so much like that guy did…all those years ago…when he was being…

            Not now. He couldn’t shiver. He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t go there. He had to focus on the here and now.

            A shot burned so close to him that his bangs swung in the momentum. He tried to keep completely still as the noise halted abruptly, and the heat from the blasts no longer swarmed him. He peeked through one eye, seeing the smoke permeate the air from the heated walls. He let out a pent-up sigh, but his breath quickly gagged in his throat at the sight of the Saurian henchmen, standing in the doorway, smirking diabolically—especially Siege, who held a Saurian blaster.

            “Trying to escape?” he asked sinisterly.

            Nosedive met him with a dark scowl. “More like fleeing for my life.”

            “That is far from impossible,” Dragaunus’s voice pervaded the converse of the room. Nosedive’s kidding attitude depreciated immediately at the sight of the Saurian overlord, stalking in from the side entrance, his cape flowing behind him regally.

Dragaunus stopped in front of Wildwing, sizing up his archenemy as if he was an item on a fast food drive up. “I’ll have the number one—Wildwing.”

            Nosedive shook himself, realizing just how morbid that was. Everything was going to be okay, he tried to convince himself. Wildwing promised this wouldn’t happen again, and his brother was good to a fault—except when Nosedive made him break his promises.

            “I see your plan didn’t work out as well as you hoped, Wildwing.”

            Wildwing scowled with a furious growl. “You can kill us, Dragaunus, but there will always be others to stop you.”

            “Others, Wildwing?” Dragaunus echoed maliciously. “Others, like those abhorrent members of P.U.C.k? Drake DuCaine before them? Therein lies a common element. The Saurian Empire always rose from her dying embers to defeat her enemies. Drake DuCaine was killed after leaving Puckworld to free the universe, his rage from losing his younger brother consuming him and driving him to the point of insanity. Those Featheburns ignorantly dove into Dimensional Limbo, our own domain for over a millennia, and foolishly expected to beat us. All they met was their fate.”

            “Maybe, but it took you fifteen years to recover from it, and that was only two people. What would have happened if the entire P.U.C.k force had entered Limbo? Your ass would have been handed to you by a puck, Draggy,” Nosedive snorted flippantly.

            His eyes burning at the younger mallard, Dragaunus stared at the brash teen in silence. In a sharp tone, he spoke diplomatically, “Siege.”

“Yeah, Lord Dragaunus?” A vicious smile, which Nosedive didn’t at all like, curled spitefully onto the lizard’s face.

“The boy is yours; however, I want him kept conscious.”

Siege bowed and stalked toward Nosedive, the teen suddenly retreating on the floor, pressing his back until it was flat against the throne again. Siege didn’t seem to care and only laughed sadistically when Wildwing and Canard began shouting protests and empty threats. There was nothing they could do in their current position.

Abruptly, as Siege came within smacking distance, Nosedive lifted up his boots. His ankle were pressed together, bottom of his boots pointed directly into Siege’s chest. Allied with a dangerous smirk, Nosedive hit a button on his comm. unit, and a flare of blue fire exploded from the bottom of his boots—his jet blades. The thrust blasted Siege backwards, slamming him into the wall on the opposite side of the room. A resounding clamor echoed throughout the small confinement.

Nosedive smiled smugly at the sight of the unconscious Siege and let his legs drop to the floor. Take that, sleaziod!  However, his bravado faltered when a certain overlord glower at him, a deadly and bloodthirsty gaze.

I’m not going to wince. I’m not going to wince. I am not going to wince.

But as Dragaunus sauntered toward him, his claws glistening even the dull overhead light, taunt to strike, Nosedive couldn’t help but recoil. A backhand collided with his cheek, knocking his head against the throne. Slumped, he sucked in ragged breaths to lessen the pain jabbing his skull. He blinked frantically to eradicate the snow that obstructed his vision, then reticently raised his head.

Dragaunus touched Nosedive’s cheek, stroking it almost affectionately. The teen flinched away and averted his eyes. He trembled uncontrollably, the tortures he endured during the last five months dragged back to present.

Maybe if he just ignored the overlord, he would just go away.

Fat chance.

The overlord fisted his hand once more painfully in Nosedive’s hair and ripped the boy’s head upward, so their eyes met. “Tell me, Wildwing. How does it feel to know one of your own has betrayed you?”

            Nosedive cringed, not just from the pain. One of the ducks, a traitor? Impossible.

            “My team’s loyal, Dragaunus,” Wildwing retorted bitterly, distrustfully.

            “Really?” Dragaunus sent a malicious, knowing smirk to Nosedive. Chills ruptured through Nosedive’s spine, and a cold realization seeped into his gut.

            He did something. He betrayed the ducks, his brother. Dragaunus…really did break him.

“What did you do to me?” Nosedive asked, voice hallow and timid.

Dragaunus ignored his diffidence. “Where is the Proteus Chip?”

“How the hell should I know?” Nosedive whispered, pain-stricken.

“But don’t you?” the overlord said tactfully. He released Nosedive’s hair, then brushed the bangs from over the boy’s black eye. A sadistic, pleasurable smirk twisted his mouth when Nosedive shivered. He took pleasure in how easily he extracted fear from the teen. “How, duck? I surmise a puck to the head or perhaps smacking yourself with the bunt of your weapon.”

“What are you talking about?” Nosedive burst. “Do you have dementia or something? Siege did this to me!”

Dragaunus chuckled, a cold and haughty laugh. “Did he now?” He released the teen, leaving Nosedive to support himself. As he turned his back, he uttered only two words. “Roast duck.”

Nosedive tensed instantly, squeezing shut his eyes as a being, a feeling, an undeniable power forced itself inside his mind. He fought a mental tug-a-war with his own thoughts. This was his mind, his thoughts, and whatever the force was, it tried to suppress him in his own head. Images flashed through his mind—hitting the self-destruct mechanism for the safe and plucking the Proteus Chip, untouched, from the remnants; grabbing a launcher from the drawer in Drake One’s console and smacking it against his face—he did it. The Saurians were never there—and in the wake of the horrid realization, he lost the battle.

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            What is that sorry excuse for a pet doing to my brother?

            Wildwing forced himself to watch as Nosedive finally succumbed and relaxed, opening his eyes. Oh, Stars…they were orange…bright, Halloween orange…

            What did they do to you, Dive?

            The teen, on his knees, bowed his head like a puppet, and Dragaunus held the strings. “My liege…” he formally greeted with awe normally saved for people like Drake DuCaine. It sickened Wildwing as he realized what happened. What Dragaunus had said…The overlord and his goons never stepped foot in the Pond. They didn’t have to, and suddenly, Wildwing felt nauseous. Nosedive had injured himself. Siege never laid a hand on him.

            Dragaunus lifted his head in regal poise, smirking viciously down at Nosedive. “Where is the Proteus Chip?”

            Nosedive opened his beak to speak, then suddenly shook his head fitfully, as if having another battle with himself. Wildwing held his breath, letting it go reservedly when he saw the orange fade from his brother’s eyes, and his piercing blue once more reigned.

            Nosedive growled, apparently furious that Dragaunus controlled him. He narrowed his eyes, then spat at the overlord, hitting the Saurian directly in the chest armor. Wildwing grimaced. He wished Nosedive hadn’t done that, but then again, he had encouraged his brother to be defiant to the overlord.

            For a moment, Dragaunus almost seemed amused, then struck out with his left hand. Nosedive’s head snapped back and slammed fiercely into the arm of the throne.

“Siege, search him!”

The burly lizard, his face tense with ferocious determination, pushed away from the wall he had been leaning against and appeared enraged enough to kill Nosedive for the stunt he had pulled earlier.

Dazed and shaking in pain, Nosedive supplied no defense when Siege began to scour through his pockets, and his brother, if he wasn’t in a stupor, would have shuddered, kicked, screamed, did something. Wildwing remembered fleetingly how Nosedive had squirmed at the Resistance base when the guard roughly frisked him, and Siege was definitely doing it more brutally. Wildwing almost couldn’t watch, but he forced himself to. This was his fault.

Finally, in triumph, Siege ripped something out of Nosedive’s back pocket and lifted it over his head.

He held the Proteus Chip.

The Saurians never had it.

This was all a ruse to get Nosedive out of the Pond with the chip.

Dragaunus had played them from the beginning.

Wildwing breathed deeply and slowly as the appalling knowledge sunk into his consciousness. Canard was right. Dragaunus was using Nosedive. He couldn’t believe it, but while that made his anger rage and his teeth grit, he scowled and cursed himself. He handed his brother back to Dragaunus. He was no better than Lucretia.

            Nosedive moaned when he finally came around, his eyes deadlocked upon the chip in Siege’s hands. He shook his head ‘no,’ wordless, beak agape. Mortified, Nosedive didn’t fight the violent quivering that overtook his being. He sunk against the throne, sucking in short, rigid breaths.

            Wildwing closed his eyes. This was his fault. He shouldn’t have allowed Nosedive to be bait.

            “Chameleon,” Dragaunus addressed. The scrawny lizard was at his lord’s side instantaneously. “Install the chip at once. Then, we will finally start our conquest of Earth!”

            Shifting into a plumber, complete with the crack, Chameleon pushed up his dirty baseball cap. “You got it, boss.” He picked up his toolbox and headed out the door, only briefly stopping in front of Siege. “Hey, haven’t I seen you somewhere? Stuck in a pipe or something?”

            Siege growled, and the plumber scrambled out of the room.

            Firing Wildwing a malevolent glare, Dragaunus feigned genial. “Wondering how we managed to get the ray operational without the steel?”

            Wildwing blinked. “Uh…actually, yeah.”

            “When it became apparent that taking the steel would be harder than reconfiguring the gateway generator, I changed plans. The gateway generator, while not as powerful as the ray would have been, still contains the magnitude to fire a beam formidable enough to melt a mile radius.”

“That won’t get you complete sovereignty of Earth,” Mallory declared dubiously.

Dragaunus glowered at the redheaded female. “While a ray with full explosive capability would force the immediate surrender of the planet’s forces, as my army’s power necessitated the submission of your pathetic planet,” his voice dripped with pure malice when he spoke, “I realized you were right, Wildwing. When one steals something, he/she works forever to keep it. However, if one were to stage a coup d'état and restore the government in one’s image, there would be nothing to fight. The citizens would follow the leader unheedingly to their doom if they were instructed so.” He laughed, a demonizing and blood-chilling bray.

Wildwing’s beak dropped, his eyes wide, evident despite the Mask.

            “Army of impressed humans, all under my control—without even realizing it. No, the ray will not be used for force but for extortion. Once the United States’ president surrenders to me, nothing can stop me from taking over this planet!”

            “You’re insane,” Mallory spat fervently. “No one nation has that much power!”

            “Puckworld was actually more ‘advanced’ and militarily proportional. Earth has no aspirations. The humans are simply for themselves, which will only exacerbate their position.”

            Wildwing tensed, sensing the change in Dragaunus’s stance. Rotating on his heel, Dragaunus leveled a vicious and vindictive leer at the trembling and utterly broken teen, crumpled against the throne, knees pulled to his chest. “Do not despair. I’m sure your parents, wherever they are, are dying again, knowing all their work has been forfeited by their own son.”

            Nosedive stared at the overlord, beak still open, eyes tearful, shamed, mystified.   

“Stop!” Wildwing growled, eyes blazing at Dragaunus has if to burn a whole through the lizard. “You don’t have the right to speak of our parents.” His voice was a low and threatening.

Dragaunus let a snarled sigh, smoke licking the sides of his nostrils. His fiery eyes focused directly on Wildwing.

Thank the Stars, the leader thought ardently. Anything to get Dragaunus away from Nosedive.

“I knew your parents better than you,” Dragaunus declared tactfully; his tone feigned pleasant. He stared at Wildwing with mild amusement, his eyes narrowed quizzically. “How much do you remember, Wildwing?”

“Enough to know they would kill you where you stand for what you’ve done to Nosedive,” Wildwing spurted resentfully. Whatever the lizard was up to, the leader didn’t like where the conversation was going.

“That is where you are wrong, Featherburn.”

Wildwing’s couldn’t stop the gasp that forcibly sounded from his beak at his last name.

“Your mother actually had the chance to destroy me not long before I conquered Puckworld.”

His heart skipped a beat. The words fumbled from his beak. “They’re alive?”

“Were,” Dragaunus answered indifferently. “When Chameleon opened the gateway, your parents were actually on my scout ship. Your mother had her launcher pointed directly at my chest, but in the end, because of the attachment of your brother to me, she refused to shoot.” His voice was sinister, yet boasting. “She met her death that day by my hand instead.”

Wildwing couldn’t believe it. His mother, his father…they were alive up until a year ago. But she couldn’t…that didn’t make any sense.

“You hadn’t stained Nosedive by then,” Wildwing said suddenly.

“And that is where your conception ends.” The tone in his voice indicated confirmation, and Wildwing had the feeling Dragaunus remembered something he should. To his chagrin, Dragaunus sauntered over to his throne and sat down. His clawed hand levitated to the teen’s head tilted back against the arm of the chair, and methodically, he stroked Nosedive’s long hair. The teen continued to shudder but didn’t attempt to flee. It was as if he succumbed to Dragaunus’s touch. “Your brother has been my slave longer than you realize. I initially claimed him as my own to afflict your father; however, that abhorrent mage Kendra was able to cover up the Stigma and its affects on your brother, then hide him from me with those mystical boundaries.” His tone was bitter, while his claws fled Nosedive’s head and flickered upward from his palms. His fingers curled into his fists.

Wildwing’s blood froze in his veins. A coldness seeped into the pit of his stomach. Horrid realization flooded his heart.

The hands that Nosedive dreamed about…they were Saurian hands. All those years ago...

Stars…

“What the hell are you talking about?” Canard gushed suddenly. “Magical boundaries, mystical spells! Are you insane? This isn’t the time of Drake DuCaine!”

“Time hasn’t changed as much as you wish it, Bronzeplume,” Dragaunus said fleetingly before gazing back down to Nosedive. “You can imagine my ecstasy when I went to stain your brother to harrow you, Featherburn, only to find the slave who escaped from my command all those years ago. Finally, my personal chattel returned to his rightful place under me!”

“No!” Wildwing protested madly. “He’s not yours. He doesn’t belong to you.”

“As long as the Stigma remains upon him, he will never be free,” the overlord proclaimed, a dark and sinister chuckle reverberating from the depths of his sadistic soul. He lay a hand upon Nosedive’s head, encompassing the boy’s entire crown, and added for no other reason other than to torment the older brother, “Your brother has mine for thirteen years, whether he was at my side or not, and he will remain until the day I die. Nothing you can do will ever change that.”

“You bastard,” Wildwing grated. His heart smoldered in his chest, an unfathomable amount of fury and frustration searing unendingly.

Thirteen years…

He never knew.

Nosedive obviously didn’t know.

And what Dragaunus sneered next, his voice filled with haughty pride and self-aggrandizing confidence, twisted the knife deeper into Wildwing’s soul.

“It is time, Wraith. Release the mental block.”

Mental block? “Don’t you dare harm him, Dragaunus.” Wildwing threatened, powerless. He felt something deep inside his chest fracture as he watched Wraith staggered toward Nosedive.

Dragaunus regarded Wildwing with only a sideways glance. “You are in no position to make demands of me, duck.”

That, Wildwing admitted to himself, was the truth, as scathingly honest as it was.

Nosedive, unresponsive, was even more shattered than prior. His eyes vacant, his expression languid and crushed—whatever will he had for fighting Dragaunus was destroyed by his role in the affair. He didn’t even seem to register the conversation between Wildwing and Dragaunus.

Wildwing grinded his teeth, and his jaw tensed when Wraith lifted the sides of Nosedive’s head and pressed his fingers to the boy’s temples. Nosedive offered no resistance, only submitted to the villainous mage’s words as they spouted in a murmured command from Wraith’s mouth.

*^*^*

            His eyes fluttered open. His lungs suddenly heaved with a burst of oxygen. His chest expanded fully, his heart skipping a beat. Wide-eyed and delirious, Nosedive wanted nothing more than to close his eyes, for somehow, he knew that if he did, everything—his betrayal, his fear, his guilt—would just go away.

            But he couldn’t.

            Macabre images flashed through his mind, distant memories lost by time and mental collapse. Situations and events that somewhere, deep in his soul, he remembered but had somehow locked away. The Saurian tore through his jersey and sunk its claws into his chest. The hands were all over him, Saurian hands. The evil, hellish laugh resounded from Dragaunus’s taut jaw as he enjoyed the boy’s suffering. The words from the white drake now so much audible:

            “It’s me you’re after, not him! He’s just a hatchling! He has no place here! Don’t damn him! Take me instead!”

            Dragaunus returned simply, “To stain you would be to err, for nothing is more torturous than to watch your own blood suffer and be helpless to do anything.”

            Wilder Featherburn scowled at the overlord, his teeth bared in his beak. “Your son’s death was not my fault, Dragaunus! He plummeted by his own hand! I even tried to save Lydronis! If you want to place blame for his death, place it on him and him alone, but do not take an eye-for-an-eye! My son is innocent.”

            “Yes,” Dragaunus leered viciously, “and soon he will be mine!”

            “NO!” Nosedive struck out furiously, but his bonds kept him restrained. A fire burned in him. Anger boiled in his veins as the knowledge tore at his soul. Vehement tears coursed down his cheeks as he tried to regain his footing, only for the shackles to tug him back to the ground. He turned around to best of his ability and focused intensely upon Lord Dragaunus. “Y—You …bastard! Y—You…” He shook furiously. “H—How could you be that evil? I was four!”

            “Yes, and as your father put it, ‘an eye-for-an-eye,’ my slave.” He rose from his throne and replied as an afterthought over his shoulder, “Your father’s sins will be redeemed through you. If there is one thing I learned from Wilder Featherburn, it was, ‘Strike the heart.’” A vile and diabolic expression of seriousness washed over his scornful face. “I will not allow your escape again. This time, it is forever. If you ever leave my side again, you will not leave it alive.”

Lost in the infinite memories swirling in his conscious, Nosedive collapsed onto his haunches.  Head hanging, he squeezed his eyes shut, attaining the veracity of his lord’s statement.

            He was a slave. He had been since he was four, and his liege stained his feathers to hurt his father. Magical spells and mystic boundaries couldn’t save him from his destiny. There was no future, no hope.

He would never escape.

            He would never be free.

            He didn’t even remember being free.

            He was always under the unforgiving claw of his lord, to flinch and tremble until the day his liege died.

Wildwing had lied.

He was a slave—forever. 

“Wraith,” Lord Dragaunus directed, “search Wildwing. Let us see if Kendra’s touch has reached him as well.”

Oh, no…Stars, no…Nosedive rose his head, his tearstained face contorted in horror.

Wraith gawked at the leader of the Mighty Ducks through squinted, abysmal eyes. They were almost pitch black until their pupils suddenly began to dilate red. With his emaciated, frail fingers, he pulled the mask from Wildwing’s face and placed it on the console to the right. Then, he fluttered his fingers in front of Wildwing’s eyes, as if checking his aura. Nosedive wouldn’t had even recognized the motion if Grin hadn’t done it to him once or twice. Pulling back slightly, Wildwing certainly didn’t understand what was happening, what Lord Dragaunus could do if the boundaries were ever removed.

Wraith turned sharply with a snap of head, his face unsettlingly bright. “He has been safeguarded by the witch as well, my lord. His memories are only a fraction of what they should be.”

“More mystical boundaries?”

“The same, my liege. It will take time to dissolve them, but now that we have a blood line to follow with the sanies, it will not be as time spent.”

Lord Dragaunus succumbed to the hellish grin that reveled from his wanton malevolence. “Then begin the dismantling of Wildwing’s boundaries. I want his sins atoned for as well—to the fullest extend.”

            Nosedive’s unwavering eyes burned from under his bedraggled bangs. Wildwing…? They were going to hurt Wildwing…As long as Kendra’s boundaries were erected, they couldn’t harm him magically. But once…

            He breathed deeply, his lungs flooding with resolution. It was timid and apprehensive, but still…As Wraith sauntered after Lizard Lips to obtain the correct mystical potions, Nosedive firmed his resolve. He inhaled deep, consuming breathes, bracing himself.

            “Don’t scream…Don’t scream…Don’t scream…”

*^*^*

            Wildwing’s ears barely caught Nosedive’s mutter, but as his neck craned toward his little brother, he blinked. What was he—?

            *SNAP!*

Wildwing stiffened, his mask-less face revealing his startled expression. “N—Nosedive?”

His brother gritted his teeth, tears slipping down his clenched face as he toppled forward, pressing his forehead against the cold metal floor. Lifeless, Nosedive didn’t move, hair hanging limply in front of his face. He whined softly, painfully, as his suddenly freed left hand clutched his right shoulder.

“He dislocated his shoulder,” Canard breathed, sickened. His face was completely void of color as he met Wildwing’s eyes. “He needed slack to get out of the bonds, so he…he dislocated his shoulder.”

Wildwing turned back to the trembling figure, hunched over on the ground. Slowly, haggardly, reticently, the blonde teen situated his feet under his body and swayed as he stood. His body slumped when a deep breath fled from his beak, and he lifted his head. His face was worn, red and tearstained, but composed. A determined look lingered in his eyes.

Dragging himself across the room, Nosedive neared the lever to the ducks’ bonds on the opposite wall. He was millimeters from it when he thrown to the ground by a sudden gust of air. Gasping sharply, free arm clutching his stomach, he winced and glanced at the edge of the room.

In the doorway, arms grievously raised above his body, Wraith scowled at the hatchling. “You will not aid them,” the lizard claimed as his staff swirled in the air to draw once more on those ancient Saurian powers.

Nosedive looked to his brother, and for a moment, Wildwing didn’t recognize the teen. The piercing blue eyes were deeper than usual, a thick, royal azure, and were unwavering, absolutely resolute. Entranced, Wildwing exhaled and blinked as his brother switched his glare to Wraith.

Jumping to his feet and recovering his puck launcher from the weapons on the console, Nosedive swung, bringing his weapon his bear.

However, with a swish of Wraith’s arms, Nosedive was thrust in the air and knocked back to the ground at Wraith’s feet.

Wildwing struggled in his bonds, but like before, he had no choice other than to watch. He couldn’t help his brother. He couldn’t save his brother. Then he halted, his blood freezing in his veins. That look his brother gave him…

He didn’t need to be saved.

Wraith smirked, lifting Nosedive effortlessly into the air. “You have yet to learn your place, sanies,” he sneered.

The teen regarded his keeper with a harsh glower, then threw the mage his patented disdainful smile. “Haven’t you learned yet, Wraith? I never learn!” With that, he twisted, despite being held eight feet in the air, aimed with the launcher in his left hand, and fired. The puck blazed through the air, blue fire engulfing the rubber at the speed at which it soared.

“NO!” Wraith roared, slamming Nosedive into the nearest wall as he reached out magically for the puck. His hand enclosed, as if trapping something in its clutches, but still the puck knocked the lever downward.

The lava pit under the Mighty Ducks clasped close with a metallic click, then the electrical bonds restraining them faded from the sight. With a collective gasp, the ducks fell to the ground, most of them landing on their feet. Erecting his ice shield, Wildwing blocked his team from Wraith’s fireballs as they regained their weapons. Retaliating with a barrage of pucks, Wraith collapsed to the floor.

Wildwing took the Mask Canard offered him, placing it firmly upon his face before rushing to his brother’s side, the teen huddled in the corner. Seething through clenched teeth, Nosedive pushed himself into a sitting position with help from Wildwing. He tilted his head back against the wall, sweat dribbling down his face.

“You have to put it back,” he demanded in a barely audible whisper.

Wildwing wiped the blood from Nosedive’s forehead. “Put what back?”

“My shoulder. I can’t. You have to.” He grimaced in pain, gripping his shoulder and tensing.

“Tanya?” Wildwing impelled, to which the team medic motioned for him to move.

Taking a reinforced breath, she positioned one hand on the painful shoulder and the other about his collar bone. She looked Nosedive squarely in the eyes.

“Ready?”

He glanced at Wildwing, gaining an encouraging smile. The older brother slipped his hand into Nosedive’s. Reluctantly, looking up at Tanya with glistening eyes, Nosedive nodded.

*SNAP!*

The teen went rigid. His hand scrunched Wildwing’s tightly, and he leaned forward, burying his face in his knees. A faint, shrill whine muffled from the teen’s knees, causing Wildwing to tighten his grip on Nosedive’s hand.

“It’s okay…” he soothed, trailing a hand through the teen’s hair. “It’s okay…Let it out…”

After a few intense moments, Nosedive lifted his head and smiled weakly. “Sorry…”

“What are you apologizing for, kid?” Duke challenged. “You might have just saved our tail feathers.”

Canard put out his hand and helped Nosedive to his feet. “That was brave. Stupid, but brave.”

His slight grin faded, and he shrugged—subsequently cringed. “I just couldn’t let Wraith…” He looked at Wildwing. “Y’know…?”

Wildwing returned a smile. “I’d rather you not get yourself killed.”

“Hey, you heard the man. I’m damned anyway, and while misery loves company, life can’t be that cruel…at least not to you.”

Getting a glimpse of the desolation and demoralization in Nosedive’s eyes, the older brother clasped the teen’s good shoulder. “It will be okay, Dive. I promise.”

“Okay?” the younger brother scoffed, his voice tinged with desperation. “Things haven’t been okay for thirteen years. They ain’t gonna change now.”

“We’re going to stop Dragaunus, little brother,” Wildwing swore.

“A guy with a heat ray powerful enough to fry the world,” Mallory disputed, “how?”

“He only has a heat ray once the chip is installed,” Wildwing replied in a admonishing tone. “If we can get to the ray before Chameleon finishes installing the chip, then we can stop Dragaunus.”

Nosedive ducked his head, abashed.

Sensing his shame, Wildwing clipped his brother on the beak. “Come on, kiddo. It wasn’t your fault.”

“But—”

“No buts. You didn’t know. There was nothing you could do, so…stop the moping. We have an overlord to take down.”

In a glow of green, battle gear replaced Nosedive’s tee-shirt and jeans, and the teen re-holstered his weapon. He saluted Wildwing with derisive stringency. However, the brother saw the fading of his eyes.

The mental block Wraith dismantled…Whatever Nosedive remembered now, it would have a lasting impact upon him. Shadows clouded his blithe eyes, while his demeanor was more reserved, tensed.  

It would have to wait. As much as his brothers came first in his life, Wildwing had pressing manners.

A jarring rumble sounded underneath the ducks, then exploded in a cacophony of blaster power. The force knocked them to the floor, and a thrust yanked their stomachs with weightlessness. Abruptly, the floor began slide out from underneath them, stealing the stable ground.

“Hang on, everyone!” Duke shouted and shot a line into the wall, to which most of the ducks snatched onto for stability.

Too far away to grab the line himself, Wildwing punched the wall with his gauntlet, grabbing hold of the indentation to steady himself. “What is that!” he demanded, catching his little brother by his armor’s collar as he slid down the tilted floor. Nosedive gagged, but as least he didn’t smack into the wall down the room like Wraith—Shit…Wraith was gone.

“Thrusters!” Tanya answered curtly, swaying back and forth in the air as the room gradually became vertical.

Nosedive gagged again, then swiveled around to grip his brother by his waist. Coughing, he answered hoarsely, a remnant of Wildwing’s hold, “It’ll stop in a few—UH!”

The room suddenly shifted back horizontally, smashing the ducks against the wall, stealing the air from their lungs.

“That was so not cool,” Nosedive complained lowly, rubbing his head and sitting up.

“Change in plans,” Wildwing snapped. They didn’t have much time. If the Raptor was in the air… “Wraith must have informed Dragaunus we’re free.”

“So now what?” Canard insisted, regaining his footing.

Wildwing followed suit. “Okay. Tanya, Grin, get out us of the air. Wherever we’re going, it can’t be good.”

“Out that door, left, take the elevator to the third floor, second door on the right,” Nosedive supplied, pointing his forefinger in the directions in which he indicated.

Blank looks greeted him.

“Come on, guys,” the teen let out an aggrieved sigh, rolling his eyes. “I lived here for five months.”

Tanya thanked him with a grin, while Grin sent him a appreciative, calm half-smile he did. They left immediately.

“The rest of us, we’re heading to the cockpit,” Wildwing informed without room for objection.

Mallory punched her fist in her opposite hand, following closely behind her leader. “That will mean engaging Dragaunus and his goons.”

As they began out of the room, Nosedive called hesitantly, “Uh, Wildwing? You forgot about me.”

Wildwing looked back over his shoulder tolerantly. “Dive, you’re coming with us.”

“But if Wraith decides to give me something like—Oh, I don’t know—crippling pain, maybe, I won’t be much help.” He added under his breath, “Not that I would be much to begin with.”

“Nosedive,” Wildwing fumed, not even giving his brother his full attention, “get your ass over here, follow my orders, and if you doubt yourself again, you’re getting grounded.” He left the room.

Slowly, the others trickled after him, leaving the teen alone.

Nosedive blinked, unnerved. His brother just swore at him.

Then, it hit him like the slap of puck.

“Grounded? You can’t ground me.” He trotted out of the room and after his brother. “…Can you?”       

*^*^*

            Tanya rushed into the room and skidded to a stop, Grin directly behind her. Yellow, flashing crystals blazed in the middle of the small room, almost too small to contain the main generator the ship. Jutting from an absorber hub, the crystals radiated their energy into the main couplet unit, which, in turn, powered the thrusters. It was an amazing!

            “Beryllium power crystals. Very rare,” Tanya uttered to herself more than Grin as she surveyed the device. If only she didn’t have to shut it down, maybe she could have  studied the technology.

            However, Wildwing gave her a job, and she would not let her leader down.

            Turning to the control panel, she went to work.

*^*^*

Siege stared at the viewer screen in front of him as he piloted the Raptor. He could have put the ship on auto-pilot to steer; however, he wanted to be the one flying Lord Dragaunus’s ship when the overlord began his conquest of Earth. While yes, they had been deported from Puckworld, Siege knew this time would be the crowning victory. Earth had six billion people, many no more intelligent than salt-water taffy. The humans had no communications with neighboring planets, and the planet wasn’t part of a galaxy alliance. In fact, the humans didn’t even know the Saurians were on their planet.

It would be a cinch to defeat the Earthlings now that they had the Proteus Chip.

And once the Saurians Fleet came, it would be over.

Siege smirked. It was only a matter of time.

His gratifying, wanton thoughts were interrupted suddenly when the door to the cockpit opened. Chameleon, that misfit of a bloodthirsty lizard, was installing the chip, while Lord Dragaunus watched. The overlord wanted to put the ray to use the moment it was operational and contact the U.S. government. Wraith was dismantling Featherburn’s mystical boundaries. That left…no one.

He whirled around—but it was too late.

*^*^*

“Mallory, do you think you can handle the controls?” Wildwing asked pertinently as Duke began to restrain the unconscious Siege.

            Passing the leader, the former captain of the Puckworld Providential Legion hurried to the controls. She surveyed them for only a moment as the ship swayed.

Wildwing’s feet began to slide across the ground, and the room tilted at a forty-five degree angle. Anymore, and the ducks wouldn’t be able to keep their balance.

The leader urged, “Well?”

Mallory then seized the two handles, heaving the ship back onto its center of gravity. She grinned wildly back at him. “Anyone want to go for a joyride?”

“Take us somewhere remote. If we crash, I want to make sure we don’t take anything else with us,” Wildwing reasoned and bent down. Snatching Siege’s teleporter, he thrust it into Canard’s hands. “Teleport back to the forest and get the Aerowing.”

“No way. I’m not leaving you guys in the middle of a battle,” Canard objected angrily.

Wildwing grabbed his brother by the collar and pulled him close. He would explain if there was more time…and if he knew his twin brother wouldn’t hamper what he had to do. “Listen to me. I need you to get the Aerowing. At this rate, the only way off this ship is jumping. I don’t want to take that plunge. Do you?”

“Why don’t I go?” Nosedive’s lighter voice asked from behind. “I know how to pilot the craft, and Canard’s a better fighter anyway. No biggie.”

“And if you get an attack while in the air, we’ll have a bigger problem,” Wildwing retorted, almost bitterly. Releasing Canard, he mouthed. “Trust me.”

Staring at his twin brother incredulously, Canard finally shook his head. “I always do. Sometimes I just wished I understood beforehand.” He fiddled with the teleporter for a few moments, importing the correct coordinates. In a burst of green light, he faded from sight.

Wildwing turned to the remaining members of his team. “Mallory, when Canard gets back, put the Raptor on autopilot, then hightail it out of here. Call Tanya and Grin. Have them postpone the blast until I give the word.”

“What are we going to do?” Nosedive questioned, cocking his head to the side.

Wildwing simply ignored him. “Duke, Wraith is yours. I don’t care what you have to do, but when we get up to the gateway generator, take him out of fray.”

“How about me?” Nosedive interjected.

Duke’s face darkened. “What about Chameleon and Dragaunus? What are you going to do about them?”

“Hello,” Nosedive exasperated. Waving a hand in front of Wildwing’s face, he found himself still invisible. “Can you hear me? Can you see me?”

Duke and Wildwing sparred him each a harsh glower, silencing the younger duck, then regarded each other. “I’ll take care of them.”

“With the kid?”

Looking down himself, Nosedive blinked. “I’m right here. In the room.” He implored to Mallory, “Hey, Mal. Can you hear me?”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she simply released one of the controls, opened her comm. unit, and proceeded to contact Tanya. 

“I have an idea about how to get to the chip,” Wildwing replied curtly, heading toward the exit.

“Well, I figured that, fearless leader.”

As the two left the room, Nosedive glanced at Siege, at Mallory, then at the closing door. “Still here. Still don’t have orders.” He crossed his arms, then watched as the door reopened.

“You coming, kid, or what?” Duke asked, perturbed.

Nosedive glared at him, but saved the majority of his acidity for Wildwing. “Are you completely whacked, or did you have a moment of temporary insanity? I’m no match for Chameleon, even if he doesn’t morph into something huge and Hulk-like.”

“That’s it,” Wildwing resigned, stalking out of the room. “You’re grounded.”

Duke smirked at the younger mallard’s silenced fury and followed Wildwing.

Nosedive growled loudly as he stormed after them. “None of us may survive this, and you’re grounding me!” He disappeared out the doorway. “How lame is that?”

*^*^*

Dragaunus stood at the console of the gateway generator, his amber eyes glowing with the same brightness and devastation of a supernova. The blood gushing through his veins burned with the same magnitude of fury. He scrutinized the panel in front of him, a mixture of triumph and wickedness vying in his eyes. He had been eradicated from Puckworld by a bunch of water fowl. This time, when he took possession of Earth, he would make sure to suppress the people to the point of hopelessness—as he had done with the younger Featherburn. If not for that insufferable brother of his, his personal slave would still under his control. And he would be yet again. He glanced back at Wraith, who had been lingering just out of the overlord’s sight. Yes, the boy might have grown a backbone and become resilient, but he wouldn’t stay that way for long. And yes, he would savor breaking him again. 

On the viewer screen in front of him flickered the night skyline of Anaheim.

“Chameleon! How long until that chip is installed?” he hollered.

            From under the console, Albert Einstein slid out on a creeper. “Well, the quantized physics, along with the relativity of the Fourth Dimension, marks the—”

Dragaunus caught Chameleon by the neck, squeezing air from the shift shaper’s lungs and forcing him back into his usual form. “How long before I ring your neck and wear you as a tie?”

Chameleon laughed nervously and gutturally announced, “It’s all set, Lord Dragaunus. Your personal video game is a go.”

“Finally,” the overlord released his minion and clasped his hands behind his back. “Aim for Anaheim. With the ducks loose, I want their last sight of freedom to be their precious human city burning.”

Chameleon’s fingers blazed across the console of the cockpit, inputting the coordinates. After a few moments, he backed away and pointed to the red button. “Whenever you’re ready, boss.”

Dragaunus sauntered up to the button, observing it malevolently, his eyes glowing in the dark confinement. It was time. His reign of the universe was about to start. With a single push of a button, he could take down Earth, then return to Puckworld before he claimed the rest of the universe as his own. It was in his grasp. He could feel it.

            His finger neared the trigger—

*SWOOSH!*

“Take them, team!”

Lord Dragaunus whirled at the command of Wildwing and struck out as the leader of the Mighty Ducks charged at him. Ducking the attack, Wildwing responded with an uppercut to the jaw, hitting Dragaunus—hard. The overlord recovered quickly and fired with his wrist blaster. Wildwing blocked it with his ice shield, then dove at Dragaunus, shoving the overlord to the ground. 

Wildwing’s glare deepened in contempt as he focused his gauntlet on Dragaunus. His hard expression radiated through the Mask, and Dragaunus realized it was the same expression Wilder wore the night he claimed the drake’s son as his own.

“Go ahead,” Dragaunus urged in a low, sinister command. He grounded out through sharp, clenched teeth, “Do it, Featherburn, where your detestable mother could not.”

Wildwing stared with belligerence at the overlord, then reticently turned his head to the left. Half-way across the room, Nosedive ducked a punch from Chameleon, whose missed swing slammed into the metal wall. The Saurian roared in pain, then shifted from his Rambo form into a bigger, more menacing creature. He resembled Shrek.

Nosedive smirked, shook his head, then body checked the Saurian into the wall.

“That’s Dreamworks, creepage! You’re owned by Disney!”

At the room opening stood Duke, foot upon Wraith’s stomach, sword perilously under the Saurian’s chin. The leader swiveled at the sound of shifting to see Dragaunus regaining his footing.

“Uh-huh,” Wildwing protested, firing a single shot at the Saurian’s foot. “Back up.”

“You have no power, Wildwing,” Dragaunus informed sadistically. “You know it, and I know it. You will not carry out your idle threats for risking your precious brother’s life. Accept it. There is nothing for you to do. You can’t save him or your team. Surrender, and I might spare you.”

Wildwing narrowed his eyes, and the hatred in his glare was so concentrated it was indescribable. “Siege and Wraith are defeated. Nosedive will stop Chameleon. At my command, your ship will explode. You’re not the only one with power.”

Dragaunus’s mouth crooked into a demonized smile. Calmly, the overlord beckoned, “Wraith.”

Realizing Dragaunus’s intent a second too late, Wildwing screamed, “Duke!” His warning was futile as Wraith blasted the former thief with a mystic bolt.

His sword clattering the floor, Duke crumpled to his knees, then his side—unmoving.

The Saurian mage was elevated to his feet by a gray, odious cloud swirling underneath his body. Lifting a single hand, Wraith reached inside his cloak, producing a glass orb held tightly by his shriveled fingers. Inside the orb, a teal midst contorted itself and expanded outward to the glass.

A startled gasp sounded behind them, and Wildwing turned to watch in horror as Noseidive’s face paled. Distracted from his fight, the teen didn’t see the attack until he felt it, an elbow to the back. Stumbling to the ground, Nosedive was sudden jerked off the floor when a pair of strong arms contorted about his waist, pinioning his arms to the side of his trembling, pain-wracked body.

            A baleful laugh reverberated from the depth of Dragaunus’s stomach. “There is no escape. The Earth will finally be mine!”

Wildwing stared at Dragaunus, his contempt unmasked. Still, he leveled the launcher directly at the overlord’s chest.

“Nothing to say, Wildwing? Has the mighty leader been rendered silent?” Dragaunus leered, striding over the console. “You realize, all I would have to do to finish you is press a button. Then, all your parents work, all your work, will be for nothing!” He positioned his finger over the button, poised to depress. “You could shoot me, but you won’t…will you?”

“Wildwing!” Nosedive shouted, struggling against Chameleon’s hold. “Shoot him!”

Wildwing turned his brother, a demoralized look upon his face. “…I can’t.”

“You have to!” Nosedive went limp in Chameleon’s arms. He didn’t have it in him to fight anymore. Huffing, he aimed an unyielding stare at his brother. “It’s not worth it, Wildwing. I’m not worth it. Not the universe.”

A fond, tearful expression engulfed Wildwing’s face. “You are to me.”

            Dragaunus raised his chin assertively and observed the leader of the Mighty Ducks through fiery eyes. “Shed your weapons, Wildwing.”

            Wildwing glowered at Dragaunus, and by his ricocheting eyes, the overlord knew his enemy was calculating his options. Would he be able to hit the overlord’s hand in time? Would that hurt this little brother? Could he contact his teammates in the generator room in time to destroy the ship? In the end, Wildwing sighed, closing his eyes in morbid realization. There was no way he could save his brother or himself…and Anaheim.

Wildwing hit his gauntlet, and in a flash of green light, his armor disintegrated into a vulnerable jeans and tee-shirt.

            “Remove the Mask.”

            Wildwing did as he was told, discarding it upon the floor.

            “Wraith, teleport to the generator room. Take care of the resistance members there,” he derided to Wildwing.

            As Wraith did as he was told, Wildwing heard a gasping moan. Being able to see Nosedive in his peripheral vision, he knew it wasn’t his brother. It must be his other teammate.

            “Duke,” Wildwing started lowly. He didn’t want to send Duke away, but his first priority was his team’s safety. “Help Tanya and Grin.”

            A startled breath of cogitation. “What? You can’t be serious.”

            Wildwing didn’t turn his rapt attention from Dragaunus. “There’s nothing you can do here. Go.”

            “…You’ll be okay?”

            “Peachy keen.” It wasn’t said with any fear or anger. It was just said.

            “You know the kid’s trapped by Chameleon, right?”

             “Yup. He’s my responsibility, Duke. I’ve got this. Go.”

            Hesitant, lithe footsteps hardly sounded on the floor, leading to the door. “Wildwing?”

            Wildwing closed his eyes, his body tense. The knowledge of what would occur once he and Dragaunus were alone was morose. “Yeah, Duke?”

            “Don’t die like your ma, all right?”

            The candid remark reeled through his mind, but he dismissed it as the doors whooshed shut.

            Then, as the overlord sauntered about him, examining his posture and stance, like he had done his mother a little over a year ago, Wildwing waited, neither shuddering or moving…just waiting. By the amount of air he inhaled sharply, he awaited the torture that would ensue…that Dragaunus would administer.

A howling roar reverberated from the depths of Dragaunus’s being

A horrified cry, “WILDWING!”

            And the overlord’s claws sunk into his flesh.

*^*^*

Mallory pulled herself up the ropes, her muscles straining from the effort she put forth. After the firefight in the forest, hanging over lava, then piloting the Raptor, she was definitely in need of some R and R. When she got home, she was taking up residence in the bathtub and wasn’t coming out until the league sanctioned Nosedive, roughly a year away.

“Need a hand?” Canard teased above, reaching down the porthole from the Aerowing.

“I need a lot more than that,” she returned and accepted the hand up. Once lifted into the craft, she glanced about the empty cockpit. “Any word?”

            Canard shrugged. “Tanya and Grin know I’m here, but they’re posted at the generator room until Wildwing gives them the word.”

            “And the others?”

            Canard’s stricken and worn face was an answer in itself. However, he quickly shook his head. “I called Wildwing, then Duke, then Dive, but no answer.”

            Taking a seat at the helm, Mallory sighed. “What do you suppose we do? Wait?”

            “You wait,” Canard said, taking hold of the line and slipping down the porthole. “I prefer action.”

*^*^*

            “STOP!” Nosedive shrieked at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his redden cheeks. He writhed against the muscle-bound Saurian holding him tightly, legs kicking, wings contorting. Yet, the arms around him only constricted more so, squeezing his insides. Wrenching over in soul-ripping agony, he watched as Wildwing shuddered on the ground, his body whacked with unfathomable amounts of pain. Slashes were torn through his tee-shirt and jeans. Blood soaked his back and stomach, while on his face splashed crimson. Wildwing hunched over on the floor, silent except for the lingering groan.

            Standing over his brother, Dragaunus laughed haughtily and put a hand to his ear. “What was that, slave?”

            “STOP IT!” Nosedive shrilled madly. “You’re killing him!”

            “That is the idea, yes.”

            “It’s okay, Dive…” a grunted croak protested.  Wildwing pushed himself onto all fours, though he was weak. He cringed, hissing at the pain that ensued. He warily grabbed onto the console of the ray, pulling himself to his feet. He met Dragaunus squarely, and Nosedive gasped at the sight of blood drenching his brother’s chest.

            No. Stars, no…please…He winced and clamped shut his eyes as Dragaunus swiped again, and the sound of tearing flesh ripped through the air.

A macabre grunt, then a lifeless thud.

“What do you want?” Nosedive bargained, demoralized, as he lifted his head. There was no other choice. Wildwing was wrong; sometimes, there were no other options. And this time, it wouldn’t be a fight. This time, there would be no escape or help from his brother, but to save Wildwing, he would willingly…“I’d stay. I’ll the Saurian Blood Oath. I’d do whatever you want. Please…m—my lord…just don’t kill him.”

Wildwing’s eyes rose from under his limp bangs, and he stared, appalled, at Nosedive. He shook his head. “No…Dive…”

 “This isn’t your decision, Wildwing. If you won’t stop him…then I will.”

Dragaunus strode about Wildwing and closed the distance between he and Nosedive. Stopping in front of the trembling teen, he smirked and touched the boy’s face, stroking his fingernails across his cheek and feathers. Nosedive shunned away, which only amused the overlord more. “You misunderstand, my slave. This is no longer about you. I have you. Whether your brother wishes to disillusion himself by thinking differently, you are mine. This, my slave, is about vengeance. Vengeance for what your brother has caused me; vengeance for ending my reign on Puckworld; vengeance for taking my slave away from me….vengeance for my son.” He turned his back, only focusing upon Wildwing. “What you have not paid with your chattel, your brother now will with his life.”

Nosedive sunk into Chameleon’s arms, utterly broken. There was nothing he could be watch his brother die…

“Hey, cheer up, kid,” Chameleon consoled derisively. “You’re the slave to the ruler of universe.”

Dragaunus stalked back to his prey and stopped in front of Wildwing, the leader bloody and contorting upon the floor. Grimacing, the older brother glanced up at the overlord, too exhausted to even wince.

“Wildwing, you can’t let him win!” Nosedive exploded, arched over from desperation. “It can’t end like this! Get up!”

Wildwing raised his head and met Nosedive’s shaky eyes. “Nosedive…”

            “Get up!” Nosedive yelled unremittingly. “You can’t let him destroy the world! If you give up now, the world is doomed, then Puckworld, then the universe! Wildwing, please!”

            “I can’t stop him…” Wildwing argued, shaking his head. He howled when another slash ripped across his back. “I’m sorry, Dive,” he murmured, resting his head against the floor as a pool of blood oozed from underneath him. His chest rose and fell lethargically. “I’m so sorry I *Gasp!* I—I couldn’t save… you…”    

“Lizard Lips is right! This isn’t about me, Wildwing! This is about the universe!” He looked away, tears glistening in his eyes. “If you let him win now, then Earth will fall because of me…just like Puckworld. Mom spared him, Wing… Do you know how many people died because of me?” His voice waned from emotional strain. “If Mom would have just killed him, Puckworld would never have been enslaved… or… or…Do you know how many people could have been saved?”

            “Bro *Huff!* you know…how valuable *Cough!* that makes… your life?”          Nosedive froze. He stared at his brother, who threw himself onto his back and laid vulnerably on the floor. Unhinged, cast silent, Nosedive smiled wearily at Wildwing. His older brother, despite the inexorable death in front of him, despite the fact that it was Nosedive’s fault, still loved him.

            In the wake of that, he found himself so cold. The knowledge of what was to follow—a life without his brother—was too much to bear. He wanted to end it with him. He had lived without Wildwing and lived a life thinking Wildwing didn’t care. He didn’t want to go back to that. He would have rather die than go back to that.

            As the realization weighed down upon him, the arms about him suddenly secured him more firmly, crushing his body like they done so many years ago—a premonition of what was to come.

            Then, when his brother smiled gently, Nosedive fumed—He won’t go back to that! He wouldn’t! He had found his older brother, and he wouldn’t give him up without a fight.

Bending over, he sunk his teeth into his captor’s hand.

“OW!” Chameleon hissed and reclaimed his arm, dropping Nosedive to his feet. Pivoting on his heel, the teen delivered a crushing kick to Chameleon’s stomach, hitting him directly into the wall. Bringing his puck launcher to bear, he shot Chameleon in the head, rendering him unconscious.

Turning sharply, Nosedive aimed precisely at Dragaunus’s chest. “I’ll shoot,” he said, though not as tersely as he would have liked. He still sounded scared, and as much as he tried to fight the coldness and dread in his stomach, it still sat there—all consuming.  “I’ll shoot, and then neither of us wins.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Dragaunus scoffed, lifting his hand.

A shot rang out, and Dragaunus slammed into the ray’s console. Gripping it, he levered himself to his feet and gripped his shoulder, shocked to see blood seeping through his fingers. He growled at Nosedive. “You fired.” Almost pleased, he sneered, “You’re less predictable than your mother or father.”

“Or brother,” Nosedive said stony as he took a defensive position in front of Wildwing, his launcher still pointed directly at Dragaunus. “I’m not like any of them. I’ve been a s—slave.” His voice faltered slightly, but his launcher never wavered. His tone grew eerily calm, rational, when he was nothing of the sort. “I’m done, Dragaunus. I’m done being scared and tired and in pain and wanting it all to end. I’m tired of waking up screaming. I’m tired of feeling Siege’s hands and being unable to stop them.”

            The overlord eyed the weapon shaking vehemently in Nosedive’s hands and heard the hysteria infiltrating his voice. “You will never escape it,” Dragaunus provoked in a sinister hiss. “As long as you live, you will be mine.”

            “I’m no one’s if I don’t want to be, especially not yours,” Nosedive spat at him, and his hand stopped trembling. He narrowed his eyes and aimed accurately. 

            “Baby bro,” a calm voice worked its way into his haze of insanity. “Step away. I’m okay now.”

            “No. This is no downside to this, Wildwing,” Nosedive coaxed, relieved. “If I kill him, then he’s not a threat to Earth, and then I’m free.” He shook his head. “Then, I’m free…” he repeated again, the realization too good to be true.

            “Nosedive.” Wildwing used his full first name. He hardly ever did that; Wildwing used called him “Dive,” or “baby bro,” even “kiddo,” but never “Nosedive.” “Come on. Drop it. It’s okay now.”

            Nosedive would have closed his eyes if they weren’t focused squarely upon the demon that haunted his phantasms and tormented his life. He wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger and end it, not just for him but for the countless others who had been terrorized by the scaly sadist. Who was stopping him? All he had to do was pull the trigger…pull the trigger…pull the trigger…

            “Nosedive, don’t do this. You’ll die, too.”

Nosedive felt his body tense rigidly—Someone was behind him, shifting. He ignored it. “So what if I die?” Nosedive focused harshly upon Dragaunus, his sight unforgiving. “You’ve lived before without me. You’ll live after I’m gone.”

            Dragaunus brayed. “You won’t shoot, just like your mother couldn’t. You are nothing more than a weakling.”

            A scoffing gasp huffed from behind Nosedive, but it didn’t matter. All he had to pull the trigger, and everything would be over.

            Tears slowly began to seep from his eyes Nosedive kept his arm taut, weapon aimed, his face scrunched, determined with insane rationale. He wanted it all just to end…the burden of his life, the fear of being reclaimed, the fear of losing his brother, the fear of life without hope, the feeling of those hands—those damn hands…

            The macabre image of the Stigma on his back, a perverted mark of loyalty…

            Finally.

            His finger began to depress the trigger.

            Dragaunus rushed him, startling Nosedive from the sudden attack. A rough hand clenched about his throat and slammed his back into an unforgiving wall. Cringing when pain whacked his body, Nosedive kicked out on instinct, shoving Dragaunus away. As Dragaunus staggered backwards, his claws dragged along the boy’s neck until there was no more flesh to clench. Nosedive dropped to his feet and breathed raggedly as stars exploded in front of his eyes. He leaned back against the wall, but he had to recover quickly. Ducking a slash by Dragaunus, he delivered an uppercut to the lizard that hardly gained a grunt. He dove out of the overlord’s reach, rolled, and stood opposite him.

            “You dare to touch me!” Dragaunus howled, his fury palpable in the twitch of his claws, blood drenching them.

            Nosedive laughed in his face. “Trust me. I really don’t want to.” He had flexed his hand to bring his puck launcher to bear, only to feel air. He looked down, then at the lizard’s feet. He’d lost his launcher.

            “Oh, shit.”

            The lizard lunged again, forcing Nosedive to block his attack with his forearm. Dragaunus’s claws tore through his flesh, but he wasn’t dead, so he was successful somewhat. Pivoting on his heel, he delivered a kick to Dragaunus’s stomach. The lizard was pushed back a few feet, just enough room from Nosedive to roll and reclaim his launcher. Despite kneeling on the ground, he aimed directly at the lizard and pulled—

—A force to slammed into Nosedive’s shoulder.

A puck discharged, but went wide, barely missing Dragaunus’s body and ripping through the ray’s console.

Wildwing, bleeding but once more in his armor, grabbed his brother’s arm and lugged his brother off the floor. He dragged the teen protectively behind his body before the lizard could even move. “Release my brother, Dragaunus.”

            “Or what?” the overlord prompted.

“Or I’ll destroy your plan before it even begins.” Wildwing nodded toward the ray. “I switched the chips. You fire your ray, and it’ll destroy your ship.”

Dragaunus laughed, a chilling and raucous howl. He once more directed his malevolence toward Wildwing. “That is the best you can do? A poor attempt at extortion?” He lifted his wrist blaster toward Wildwing and with the opposition hand, furled his fingers back toward him. “Come to me, my slave. I’ll even let you hit the button to destroy the world, right in front of your brother.”

Wildwing reached an arm around his back and grabbed Nosedive’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “No, you don’t get to boss him around. You want to destroy the world, do it yourself. Don’t bring him into this.”

Nosedive stared at his brother, grinning slightly that Wildwing was standing up for him, and leaned a little closer. He rested his shoulder against Wildwing’s back. His brother squeezed his hand in recognition. 

“Slave, come, or I’ll destroy your brother first, then the world.”

Nosedive looked up at Wildwing. Before he was willing to go into slavery, even kill himself, to save Wildwing, and now was no different. He couldn’t let Dragaunus shoot his brother…Wildwing had to save the world and if he had to be sacrificed…He released Wildwing’s hand, though his older brother kept gripping his and, defeated, walked passed Wildwing’s shoulder —

Yelping, Nosedive was tugged backwards by Wildwing’s hand and safely pushed behind his older brother.

Glaring over his shoulder, Wildwing commanded, “Listen to me. You will do as I say, not him. No matter what. Got it?”

“But he’s going to k—kill you!” Nosedive shouted incredulously. The thought was too painful to think, let alone say.

“Got it?” Wildwing pressed.

Nosedive glanced nervously at the blaster aimed at his brother, then back at Wildwing, “But—” 

Wildwing squeezed his hand. “Got it?”

“SLAVE!” Dragaunus roared, his patience waning.

Nosedive looked at Wildwing once more, the resolve in his eyes. Nosedive knew that look. It was same one his brother gave him when he returned to the Pond after leaving. His brother’s words echoed in his ears. I will never leave you.

Nosedive never believed in the promise…until now. “No.” He said to Dragaunus, gripping his brother’s hand again.

“No?” the overlord echoed, unsurely. “NO!” Dragaunus hit the button on the ray’s console, and the teen gasped. “You are nothing but a possession!”

Blue and red lights flashed from the console and flittering across the body of the ray to the nozzle.

“You have no choice but to obey me, slave.”

Its glow washed over Nosedive and Wildwing, soaking the room in its brilliant light.

“You know the universe has always and will always belong to the Saurian Empire and to me…as do you.”

Dragaunus stalked closer toward he and Wildwing, his blaster pointed directly at Wildwing’s head. Nosedive pulled at Wildwing’s hand to move, to run but Wildwing remained firm, as did his grip on Nosedive.

“Your brother cannot even change that—No one can.”

The overlord stopped at pointblank range, the bunt of the blaster millimeters from Wildwing’s forehead.  Still, he addressed Nosedive, even though his entire rapt attention was upon Wildwing.

“And if your pride still looms, then possibly we will have to season you again.”

            Wildwing and Dragaunus glowered at each other, the leader of the resistance, the cause of it.

The overlord spared his attention for a moment to Nosedive. “My condolences on your lost. All in one day, your entire family—gone.” His demonized leer flickered for just an instant. “I know how that feels.”

            “Then, why?” Nosedive asked pointedly, frustrated and demoralized tears seeping from his vacant eyes as he clung to his still living brother’s arm, the light of the powering ray casting an ethereal glow on Wildwing. He already looked like the angel Nosedive knew him to be. “Why do you kill when you know what it feels like to lose?”

Dragaunus didn’t answer, though a flash of something traced about his usually belligerent face.  Longing? Empathy? From the overlord, Nosedive had none. Not after he killed his mother and his father in cold blood and...

Sinking into the arms of his keeper’s back, Nosedive hung his head and closed his eyes. He reveled in the warm of his brother, soon to be lost forever. 

“Relinquish the boy,” Dragaunus commanded, “and I might spare your worthless existance.”

As Nosedive wallowed in the sound of the ray’s humming to life, one petulant thought forced its way into his severed soul.

You searched for me for fifteen years.

 Nosedive sniffled and didn’t attempt to hold back the tears trickling from his face.

You promised me you’d never leave…not again.

The ray’s light intensified, bursting with light even through his closed eyelids.

You promised.

The beams of light gathered power and multiplied in brightness to a hot, luminous white.

YOU PROMISED!

Nosedive didn’t raise his head, no longer caring. An empty void burned in his chest, and all that was left was the terrifying realization that even transcended the now caustic acceptance of his caste.

He was completely alone. Even after his parents had died, Wildwing was there. When no one else in the world gave a shit about him, when Falcone used to beat him, when Lucretia and Blade made him swallow drugs and dyed his hair…

Wildwing had been looking for him.

And now Wildwing had a blaster pointed to his head, and the only reason why he wasn’t dead yet was the fact of Nosedive behind him.

And the Mighty Ducks would fall once Lord Dragaunus’s ray melted Anaheim to nothing.

And all he wanted was it all to end. It wasn’t worth living if this was his future, watching families torn apart like his own, endless evil enslaving good people…killing, massive slaughters…not after his brother...

Wildwing, please…don’t…

Wildwing spat defiantly at the overlord, “He is not yours.”

 “BOSS!” Chameleon’s voice piercing the humming of the ray.

Nosedive’s eyes fluttered open with a rush of flourishing verve. He gasped.

The ray’s light turned a bright crimson, as the cannon panels began to rupture.

Wildwing turned on his heel. “Come on!”

A beasty roar erupted from Dragaunus as he whirled and saw Wildwing pushing his little brother toward the door. A single shot fired from his wrist blaster. Wildwing lifted his ice shield, blocking it instantly. 

Allowing himself to be shoved toward the door, Nosedive briefly turned around, but was startled when Wildwing dove for him, wrapping an arm about his waist and slamming him to the ground. A glimmering shimmered above them as a blast burst from the ray.

Nosedive ducked his head, feeling his brother’s weigh upon him. He blinked numbly, not sure exactly what had happened. His mind reeled endlessly. His brother was going to die, but he was still here…right?

He reaffirmed the feeling of the person on top of him, the heat, the weight, the breath on his neck…

“It’s okay, Dive,” a calm, consoling voice claimed. A hand touched the top of his head as another explosion befall upon the teen’s ears, yet it only took a fraction of his attention. “It’s okay…It’s okay…Just hang in there…"

A blaze of heat engulfed the two brothers from above, pressing down with its inferno miasma. The glimmering of Wildwing’s ice shield strained with an unwelcome crackling as the power flickered, and it began to short out.

 His brother’s voice entrenched him, stealing his rapt attention. “It’s all right, baby bro. It’ll be over in a few seconds.”

Nosedive couldn’t hold back the tears tricking from his eyes. He blinked and raised his eyes to the glimmer in front of him: the Mask. It shimmered from white to gold to white again.

Abruptly, another explosion wracked the room, and another burst of heat flooded the area. Wildwing’s weight disappeared from atop the teen. Wrenched to his feet, Nosedive clasped the Mask in his hands and whirled to his brother, who held back the heat with his shield in one hand and propelled him through the door with the other.

“Move!”

Nosedive blinked at Wildwing’s harsh command and shoving, but still looked about his older brother to see what happened to Dragaunus—

Before his eyes pored over any of the damage beside the raging fire burning from the remnants of the ray, Wildwing wrapped an arm around Nosedive’s neck and clamped the same hand over the teen’s eyes. Dragging the teen from the room, he shut off his shield and tugged his brother down the hall.

Reality slowly began to break through his haze of shock. Nosedive halted suddenly and yanked his wrist from his brother. “W—What the hell just happened?” The end was spurted with vexation.

“What do you think?” Wildwing grinned, turning on his heel and dashing down the corridor. Half-way down, he stumbled, barely avoiding the floor and leaning against the wall to steady himself.

Nosedive tucked an arm about his brother on instinct and helped to sturdy him. “You really switched the chips?” He finally realized the weight in his hands—the Mask.

Wildwing ignored his brother’s question and flipped open his comm. “Tanya! The thrusts now!” he ordered breathlessly.

“Then about me being bait? About you getting slashed? About the team and the melting of Anaheim and everything? That was just ruse?” Nosedive bombarded him with the second after he closed the connection. His head was spinning, and he wanted answers.

Regaining his footing and placing the Mask upon his face, Wildwing headed down the hall with a much slower pace. “Can we finish this later?” he asked breathlessly.

As they rounded a bend and took off down the hall, Nosedive bellowed, “Do you have any idea where we’re going?”

A cacophonic tumult reverberated from under the two ducks.

They halted, the two brothers looking at each other.

“Okay, I’m game. What the hell was that?” Nosedive accused in a low, grating tone.

“You…don’t want to know.” Wildwing paused for a second. “And don’t swear.”

Abruptly, gravity evaded them as the floor underneath them toppled to the side, slamming them into the wall.

Nosedive sucked in ragged breathes from the sudden lack of air in his body, holding a hand over his stomach. He shook his head to clear it and faintly recognized the glimmering green light formed directly in front of him. Before he could even inhale another blessed breath, a harsh hand clasped over his beak. Before him, bleeding from a serious head wound, scales burned off, leaving only brown and red singed nerve endings, his once regal appearance devastated to the point of victim, Dragaunus gasped for air. His darkened, tired eyes leveled Nosedive was a merciless glower. Despite his appalling appearance, the overlord was still lightning fast. As the floor rocked in the opposite direction, he grasped Nosedive by the neck and hurled him face first into the far wall before the teen could even struggle.

A hand slammed into his lower back, pinning him helplessly against the wall. As pain ravaged his body, a shoulder pressed against his torso, allowing no movement whatsoever. Cringing, Nosedive felt the bunt of a Saurian blaster thrust agonizingly into the back of his head. The force made him shun away, pushing his sweaty cheek against the wall.

Dragaunus leaned closely, definitely invading Nosedive’s personal space, and hissed deviously into his ear, “Where is it? What did you do with it?”

            Nosedive resisted as the overlord’s sweltering breath moistened his neck. Even though his body shivered uncontrollably, even though everything within his being called for his submission, even though he wanted nothing more than the Saurian off his neck, he breathed deeply, as the blaster dug deeper into his skull. A silent scream tore in his throat. “…I—I don’t know…”

            “He doesn’t,” Wildwing said caustically.

            Out of the corner of his eye, Nosedive barely saw Wildwing in his double vision, his older brother bearing his gauntlet.

            Dragaunus peered over his smoldering shoulder and leveled a fatigued, barely tolerant glare at the leader. His eyes, the only part of his body not burned, still glowed abysmally with brazen hatred.

            Slowly, the hand on the teen’s lower back moved to his neck, subsequently tightening. Nosedive grunted and closed his eyes to squash the panic rising in his stomach. He didn’t succeed. 

            Dragaunus growled. “Even you aren’t that fast, Wildwing.”

“Maybe not, but if you kill him, we’ll kill you,” an unforgiving voice threatened.

The overlord turned to gaze over his opposite shoulder.

Canard cocked his launcher, his finger poised on the trigger.

“Dare to strike me, Bronzeplume, and he will bear your error in scars. They will so deep the Stigma’s effects will not even be able to extract them.” His honed claws slowly plunged into the teen’s flesh.

Nosedive cringed. A tiny cry escaped his throat.

            With resentment glimmering in his eyes, Canard kept his launcher pointed directly at the overlord.

            Breathing heavily, Dragaunus leaned close to Nosedive. “I can spare you, Featherburn. The sins of your father and brother may have recourse other than you. Tell me where the Proteus Chip is, and your suffering will cease.”

            “I told you, Dragaunus,” Wildwing seethed, his aim firm despite his injures. “He doesn’t know. I switched the chips.”

            A bitter, rancorous growl sounded from Dragaunus as the ship jarred with another explosion. “Where is it?”

            “Free my brother, Dragaunus, and I’ll give you the chip,” Wildwing proffered.

             “The chip for yours and Bronzeplume’s safety, but the boy is mine. He will not leave this ship alive,” the overlord proclaimed venomously.

            “Then you will die, Dragaunus,” Wildwing declared harshly. He lowered his weapon and motioned about the walls. “The gateway generator and thrusters are on fire. If you hurry, you can engage auxiliary power and possibly save your ship. And you’ll have the Proteus Chip. But if you refuse to free Nosedive, then all you’ll have are a dead slave and no chance of ever conquering Earth. Is that the price you’re willing to pay for revenge, Dragaunus?”

            Dragaunus scowled, “You’ll die, too, along with Bronzeplume. Will you risk your lives?”

            “For the kid, yeah,” Canard grated. “We’ll do that.”

            As the ship jarred, sweat poured down Nosedive’s forehead. He observed the intense resentment exuded from Draguanus’s glare at Wildwing. In return, his older brother focused his own burning stare.

            Another explosive erupted through the stagnated air.

            Abruptly, Dragaunus’s claws dug into his neck, searing him with a stabbing pain before letting go all together.

            “Wraith,” Dragaunus beckoned forlornly as he shoved the teen to his brother. Nosedive stumbled into his brother’s arms, his shuddering decreasing when he felt Wildwing’s familiar embrace.

            As the mage emerged from his cloud of swirling smoke, Dragaunus hit his own teleporter.

“Release the boy.”            

*^*^*

            Mallory grasped the controls of the Aerowing, wide-eyed, stomach fluttering. “Twenty thousand feet! We’ve got to detach!”

            “NO!” Duke protested madly, drifting over the porthole. He stared down the shaft. “We’re not leaving without them!”

            “They could be dead for all we know!”

            “Then we’ll die with them, but I’m not losing them again!”

            “We will not die,” Grin asserted resolutely.

            Duke shot a look at him, but then redirected his glare down the porthole. His predetermined fears of his younger teammates’ well-being fled at the sight of Canard and Wildwing, though they were only reaffirmed at second glance. Wildwing looked like he had been through Hell, as he pulled himself up the rope. His eyes were half-lidded, tired evident despite the Mask. His teal jumpsuit was saturated by a deep red substance that formed lines across the leader’s stomach and legs, while his armor was splashed with blood.

However, the kid looked worse.

Arched over Wildwing’s shoulder was an unconscious Nosedive. The teen certainly had seen better days. He was shirtless, while his lifeless arms dangled at his brother’s waist height. His head bobbled with every strained grunt from Wildwing. Smeared across his back—over the taint— was blood. It drenched his jeans and trickled down his upper back as the teen hung in his brother’s grasp. It appeared as if someone had carved through Nosedive’s back and extracted the black color of the taint, leaving only the blood.

            Wildwing gently handed his brother up to Duke, who laid the teen on his side. Turning to his brother, the leader offered his brother a hand up, then ordered, “Mallory! Detach! Now!”

            “Don’t have to tell me twice,” she answered curtly, slamming the button flat on the console of the Aerowing and lifting the ship off of the Raptor.

            As they hovered above the ground, the ducks watched perceivably as the Raptor nosedived toward the sandy ground of the desert—only to shimmer from sight.

            The roaring of lost of pressure and tumult explosions disappeared from silence. The only evidence that the Raptor had been there was the line of smoke that cut through the air like a screech mark on asphalt.

            “What…just happened?” Mallory posed with uncertainty. 

            “They must have switched to auxiliary power,” Tanya replied, amazed.

            Mallory furled an eyebrow at Tanya, Duke, and Grin’s scourged appearance, but said nothing. Instead, her focus turned worriedly to the back.

Tacitly, Wildwing, now maskless, conveyed his anxiety as he cradled his brother on the floor, the unconscious teen seeming so pale, deathly so. Canard huddled next to him, brushing back the boy’s bedraggled bangs out of his eyes.

            “Dive?” Wildwing called tentatively.

As the ducks moved closer, Duke noticed the brownish-pink scars that coursed the teen’s chest. Deep, carved abrasions—claw marks. The same ones that had disappeared when Nosedive first came to the Pond a little over three months ago. On the same part of Nosedive’s back he could see, Duke observed with a morose heart the new additions. It was though someone had whipped Nosedive with barbed wire and just for the hell of it, dragged it down the boy’s back.

“Baby bro?” Wildwing coaxed again, this time a little more emphatically. “Come on, baby bro. Talk to me.”

Mallory closed her eyes and turned her head to Duke’s chest. Though he wrapped his arms around her absentmindedly, his entire attention laid on the boy—the unmoving, lifeless, pallid teen.

Tanya bent down instantly and touched the side of his neck with her two fingers. “Shallow,” she alerted, albeit with a weary smile, “but there.”

“Nosedive! Wake the hell up!” Wildwing bellowed unyieldingly.

 Painstakingly slow, Nosedive’s face scrunched in an anguished cringe, then relaxed with a sigh. Eyes tired, the teen smiled weakly up at his brother. “What’d I do this time?” he kidded, winded.

            An affectionate smile formed on Wildwing’s beak, tears glistening in his eyes. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Laboriously, the teen’s chest rose and fell. “…I—Is it over?”

Drawing his brother into a hug, Wildwing held his little brother tightly. “Yeah, it is.” He reiterated softly, “It’s finally over.”

 

To Be Continued…