“Fallen Angel” Interlude: Sins of the Father

A fair-haired child wobbled on his skates unsurely. One stride with his left skate, his right, left, right…the motion became habitual, as he acquainted himself with the sound and feel. One after another after another…he pointed the tips of his skates toward each other and his momentum slowed to a waning glide until he jolted to a stop uneasily. His arms straight out horizontally, just like his daddy taught him, he limbered back and forth like a punching bag. He gradually gained equilibrium and was still on his skates! Yea!

“Whoo-hoo!” he shouted—but his celebration was drowned out in a blast. A squall of wind struck him in his side, knocking him off his skates and unkindly to the ice.

“Owww…” he moaned, rubbing his butt now on the ice. A shadow crept over him, blocking out the daystar’s bright light.

Hesitantly, the boy, not even five years of age, looked up...and froze.

A big, menacing, red scaly-thing stood before him, eyes tainted with pure hatred, ensnaring the young hatchling with fear. The boy choked back little sobs as the lizard gripped him, painfully, by the front of his jersey. Claws dug into his tiny chest and tore off his feathers, gaining a strained cry from the boy.

“So, this is Featherburn’s son,” the lizard sneered, holding the boy conveniently at eyelevel. “Kinda scrawny, don’t you think?”

The older lizard with a white face and horns touched the boy’s cheek with his long, sharp fingernails. “He will do.”

The red lizard laughed demonically, sinking his claws deeper into the trembling hatching’s frame. “Hey, kid, can you say, ‘Slave’?”

The boy’s face scrunched in frightened melancholy, and he cried, “Mommy! Daddy!”

“Damn duck!” The red lizard smacked the boy across the face, rendering him silent.

The screen door clattered against the house. “NOSEDIVE!”

The boy blinked, then looked over his shoulder. He reached out with his hands. “Daddy!”

“Blasted ducks,” the lizard scowled and in his hand materialized a gun of some sort.

“Leave my son alone!” the light-feathered duck with blonde hair ordered, descending down the stairs rapidly.

A blast sounded from the side of Nosedive, causing the boy to recoil and shove his fingers in his ears. They dropped gradually as his daddy grasped his chest, a painful expression contorting his face, then dropped lifeless to the stairs. A splash of red defaced the side of the house where his father had stood.

“DADDY!”

The door opened, and a woman with light brown hair and the same color feathers gasped. “Sasha!” She looked up at Nosedive before another blast pierced the air.

“MOOOOOMMMMYY!”

The older lizard caught the red lizard’s blaster arm. “Lord Dragaunus was specific on making our presence unknown, Siege.”

“Oh, get off it, Wraith,” the red lizard combated, holstering his weapon and shoving the catatonic and sobbing hatchling under his arm. “It’s not like anyone’s going to know we were here. Those ducks aren’t going to tell anybody, and this kid,” he flicked the boy in the head, “isn’t coming back here until after the invasion. By then, it will to be late to warn anyone.”

With another blast, the lizards, boy in tow, disappeared from existence, once more fading into myth.

*^*^*

Nosedive sniffled as he sat on the metal table, cross-legged and slumping. His parents...His eyes filled once more with tears, but he quickly swallowed them down at the callous glare the burly lizard sent him. He couldn’t cry. They hit when he cried. Hard.

He wiped the red substance that dribbled from his nose holes and blinked through the water in his eyes. Glancing about the room, Nosedive noticed a drake, much older than he, doubled over, unmoving in the corner. His wrists were chained behind him to the wall, keeping his body taut. He knelt against the floor, as if bowing to no one in particular. He looked familiar, Nosedive thought. In fact, if the boy thought hard enough, he could almost make out the drake…somewhere…before…

A thumping sounded from out in the hallway, and the door slid open with a swoosh. An orange light from the hallway seeped into the dark room, its glow shedding over the hatching. An all-encompassing, menacing figure entered the doorway, casting a shadow over the small confinement and over the boy.

Nosedive trembled and let out a whimper when the figure entered the room. A crimson, muscular lizard strode closer to Nosedive, his nostrils flaring with smoke, his face anything but kind. His chest armor glimmered despite the low light, while a purple cape flowed behind him.

His eyes were pure malice. Glowing amber in the darkened room, they construed a myriad of hatred, spite, and sadism. When they focused upon the young hatchling, they deepened in color, a perversion of the light of the daystar—once a comfortable thought. Hypnotized, Nosedive saw nothing but evil in them—unadulterated, untainted evil.

In Nosedive’s phantasms, he never saw something quite as wicked.

“So, this is the duck boy,” the crimson lizard hissed, bending to peer into the boy’s eyes.

Nosedive whimpered and shunned away, pulling his little legs to his chest and burying his face in his knees. Shuddering uncontrollably, he hoped the lizard would just go away. Please, oh, please…

A rough hand clasped his head, and though he squealed when his head was jerked from his knees’ protection, he was helpless to do anything but stare into that malevolent lizard’s devilish eyes. A hand secured about his neck, another pressing painfully down on his shoulder. Nosedive grunted weakly, struggling futilely against the strong hands.

Suddenly, he gasped as the crimson lizard’s hand pulled back. Then, with a swiping blow, it connected with his face.

Dazed, stupefied, pain sweltering in his face, Nosedive only heard the hissed words, “You will learn to obey me, slave.”

Blinking as he once more became cognizant, the hatchling glanced at the lizard, uttering a timid question, “Who are you?”

The lizard smirked, a hellish grin. “You may address me as ‘Lord Dragaunus.’ ”

“Dra-can-gus…?” the boy attempted to pronounce.

*SMACK!*

“That is ‘Lord Dragaunus’ to you, my slave.”

Nosedive wasn’t sure which one he didn’t like more, the hitting or the way Dr-can-gus said “slave.” Even though he didn’t know what “slave” meant, he still was sure he didn’t like the sound of it.

A faint, hissed moan pervaded his thoughts, and the lizard’s head actually perked up. A demonizing smirk curled upon his lips before his focus diverted from the hatchling to the white mallard in the corner.

The older drake gave his head one rigid shake, as if to clear his vision, then blinked, raising his head. His eyes widened at the sight of the Lur Dracangus. A fierce growl ripped from his beak that only hardened in rancor when he tugged unsuccessfully at his constrains.

“Try as you will, Featherburn, it is useless. There is no escape this time.” Lur Dracangus sauntered toward the kneeling mallard, a tinge of pride in his voice.

Featherburn dropped his resistance and instead channeled his piercing gaze toward the lizard. “You never learn, do you, Dragaunus? My life doesn’t matter in the scheme of things. You can kill me, but there will always be others to stop you.”

Dragaunus smirked, a haughty albeit malicious grin. “Once more you are right, Wilder. Your worth is negligible in this war, but tell me. What would be the worth of your blood?”

Skeptical, narrowed eyes scrutinized the lizard’s movements, as Dragaunus cupped his hands behind his back and moved to the side.

“Your own blood.”

Nosedive and Featherburn’s eyes met.

Nosedive squirmed under the intense glare. The drake’s eyes were wide and all-absorbing, and a flicker of horrified recognition flashed through them.

A terrified, muted scream tore at his throat. “Nosedive…”

The hatching fidgeted diffidently.

Wilder stared at the hatchling silently, eyes poring over the boy. Tears welled up in his eyes before he shook his head and whirled to Dragaunus. “What do you want, Dragaunus? He’s just a boy. He has no place in this war. You have me. Let him go.”

Dragaunus once more walked to Nosedive’s side and touched the tremulous hatchling on the beak. Nosedive recoiled, but his back smacked into Siege’s tough scales, keeping him from escaping. “A war doesn’t just affect the soldiers combating, Wilder. It affects everyone’s family involved, your son included.”

Rapt attention focused upon Dragaunus, Nosedive let out a tiny cry when the overlord fisted his hand in his hair and tugged his head up. Dragaunus seized the hatching by the back collar of the shirt and lifted him so that their eyes met.

“Do you think he remembers you, Wilder?” He paused for a moment but didn’t even spare Featherburn a glance. “He has grown from the time we first met, hasn’t he?”

Nosedive struggled against the hand fisting his shirt but without avail.

The lizard dropped him into his strong, muscular arms, cradling Nosedive close to his chest. “Do you think he will look at me as his father?”

An indiscernible fury twisted Wilder’s face and infiltrated his voice. “Dragaunus, I swear to you. If you even—”

“You will do what, Wilder?” Dragaunus stroked the boy’s hair, even though Nosedive flinched. The evil, amber eyes focused upon him, strong arms contorting his little body. “You are powerless to do anything but watch.”

The older drake fumed and seethed through clenched teeth, “Watch what?”

Dragaunus laughed but didn’t reply. Instead, he simply called, “Wraith.”

In a fog of smoke, the older Saurian from before materialized from nothing. If Nosedive wasn’t deathly afraid, he might have been amazed.

The older lizard regarded his lord with a bow, then straightened his back. “You beckoned, my liege?”

Dragaunus placed the hatchling on the table and turned his back as if he couldn’t be bothered. As an afterthought, he added carelessly, “Mark him.”

“NO!” Featherburn shouted, shooting to his feet, only to be yanked back to the floor by his restraints.

A pair of rough hands grabbed Nosedive from behind—the burly lizard. His claws sunk into Nosedive’s chest, causing the boy to wail. Despite Nosedive’s thrashing, the lizard tore through his shirt, his hands coursing over the boy’s chest feathers and down his back. Nosedive shook violently, fighting his way to the end of the table and clawing at its edge, but it was in vain. The lizard mercilessly attacked him until the shirt was mere shreds.

Forehead pressed against the cold table, tears slipping through his eyes, Nosedive succumbed as the lizard reaffirmed his grip and held the hatchling to his body. With nimble fingers, Wraith unbuttoned Nosedive’s pants and pulled them just below his waistline before the blurry Saurian thrust Nosedive forcefully upon the table, chest down. His left arm was twisted behind his back, while Siege pinned his ankles together with one hand. He regarded the hatchling with a devilish grin, which was only accented by the frantic tears trickling down the boy’s face.

Shouts resounded in the background, hardly befalling onto Nosedive’s ears.

Choking back gutted sobs gurgling in his throat, he uttered one broken and desperate plead from his soul. “Wing…”

Panting hard, Nosedive cringed and squeezed shut his eyes as hands touched the indent in his back, ruffling his feathers. He whined softly, sweat dripping from his forehead. The grip upon him tightened, painfully so, wringing his left arm. He shrilled, the pain becoming unbearable. Wide-eyed and frightened, he observed the ancient Saurian as he smeared a red substance onto his feathers, words sputtering from his mouth.

Nosedive wept, as a finger was dragged from his neck to his lower back. A severe trembling overtook his being. He couldn’t get away. He struggled when the hands moved farther down his back, but the hand about his arm just tightened…

He couldn’t hold it in. An agonizing shriek, the only way a child can scream, resounded from his beak when he felt something in his left arm break.

Suddenly, the hands flittered from his back. He breathed hard, taking in anything to soothe his demoralized and mortified body.

Then, he realized he never knew what pain was until his world exploded in a crushing siege of agony.

*^*^*

“It’s okay…” a soft voice claimed, beak lingering just above his head. “It’s okay…I’m going to get you out of here.”

Nosedive blinked drearily, his eyes opening barely a crack. Everything seemed to swirl into itself but cleared after a few, intense moments. Staring at the white feathers in front of his eyes, the hatchling balled his little hand around the person’s chest. He looked down, seeing the teal shirt on him, too big for him by any means, covering him from head to toe, despite his pants underneath. He fought the pain lingering in his back as he felt himself being jarred up and down…up and down…A wave of pain stabbed his back, and Nosedive groaned softly.

“Welcome back to the Land of the Living, kiddo,” a warm voice sounded above him.

Nosedive looked about him, finally realizing the hand curled under his butt, holding him close to the man’s chest. He looked back and eyed the hand wrapped around his back, which protected him from falling. The mallard’s jacket hid him from the rest of the world, though it was obvious the drake was carrying something.

Lifting his eyes, Nosedive looked up at the mallard holding him, the same white mallard from the room. Nosedive squinted, analyzing the duck’s features. He still seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place where. He fought a shiver that inevitably wracked his little frame as the horrid memories replayed in his mind from the room—the scary lizard, the crushing blow, the unfathomable pain…

“It’ll be all right, little one. I promise,” the white mallard soothed, pushing the boy closer to his chest. “I’ll make it okay.”

Nosedive let out a tiny cry when his left hand squished against the mallard’s chest.

The mallard stopped suddenly, and Nosedive watched his eyes peer left, then right down the poorly lit hallway. Heaving a sigh of relief, the mallard took a few steps back, touching his back to the wall, and slid down it until he was in a crouching position. Balancing Nosedive on his legs, the mallard un-zippered his jacket, allowing the hatchling room to breath. He lightly touched Nosedive’s left arm, but the boy quickly jerked it away.

The mallard at first seemed hurt, but he flashed Nosedive a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. I know it hurts, but I can help to stop that.”

Nosedive stared at him in disbelief. “Who are you?” He flinched suddenly, remembering the last time he asked that question. When no hit was administered, the hatchling slowly uncoiled.

The man smiled even more lovingly, yet sadly. “I’m Wilder.” He paused for a moment as if in search of something, but when nothing followed, he added, “Your dad.”

“D—Dad’s dead,” Nosedive choked, closing his eyes. “So’s Mommy.”

“No, not them. Think Nosedive,” the mallard pressed gently. “Do you remember me? Or someone else…”

Nosedive’s eyes perked up. “Why-Wing!”

Wilder laughed. “Yes, Wildwing. Your brother. Is he with you?” he asked the question with earnest.

Nosedive’s jubilance evaporated. “No.”

“So he wasn’t your parents’ son, right?”

“…No.”

“That’s because he had different parents, too. Not better or worse, but different… like you…You have—had two sets of parents. That’s how I’m your dad.” Carefully, gently, the mallard took Nosedive’s arm in his hands and probed the hurt appendage. “It’s broken,” he said sadly, but quickly smiled, “but we can fix that. It’s your back I’m worried about.”

Nosedive caught the smile aimed at him and returned the grin. He suddenly felt so much more comfortable in the mallard’s presence.

“They went that way!”

Wilder’s head snapped in the direction of the shout, down the left corridor. In one fluid motion, he was on his feet and cradling the boy once more close to his chest. As he dashed down the hall, Nosedive recoiled into his father’s chest, the blaster fire stinging in his little ears.

His father seemed to sense his discomfort and bent down close to him. “I’ve got you now, son. Everything’s going to be all right.”

Wilder’s body stiffened. His running slowed to a jog before stopping completely. He pivoted on his heel, only to look back ahead. Taking a deep, bracingly breath, Wilder let his breath flow over his son’s hair.

Nosedive lifted his head. “Daddy, what’s wrong?”

“Release the boy, Featherburn,” a domineering voice commanded unrelentingly.

Wilder ducked his head and smiled at his son. “Daddy’s got to do something now, so cover your ears, okay? Can you do that for Daddy?”

Whimpering, Nosedive pressed the side of his head against his father’s chest, while covering the exposed ear with his good hand. One hand unraveled from his back.

“Do not resist,” the same voice said. “The boy is lost to you. Accept it, and give him to me. I will take care of him.”

Wilder leered, “Just like I took care of Lydronis? I don’t think so!”

Nosedive tensed when blaster fire sounded, followed by screams of pain. Wilder ducked, then dove, once more cradling an arm about Nosedive’s back, safekeeping the boy. Blaster fire erupted about him, causing Nosedive to whine at its explosive cacophony.

“Daddy…”

“I know, kiddo,” Wilder assured, briefly glancing down at him and gracing him with a grin. He was breathless from physical exertion. “It’ll be over in a few minutes. I promise.”

Wilder halted abruptly.

“He’s no longer yours!”

The mallard ducked, then kicked out his leg, connecting with something. “He’s never been yours and will never be!”

Closing his eyes, Nosedive cringed as his dad moved, ducked, and subsequently shot. It was a different noise, not quite as loud or brash as a Saurian blaster.

A new voice entered the fray. “Leave my lifemate alone!”

A moment later, Nosedive shuddered at the lifeless thud that reverberated into his covered ears. He pressed his face into his father’s chest.

“Winter, how did you—” His voice cut off as something pressed against Nosedive’s back, sending a violent shiver through the boy.

The female’s tone turned worried. “Honey, what are you—”

Wilder took a step backwards and slowly un-zippered his denim jacket. Nosedive pulled his face from his father’s chest and blinked numbly when the light filtrated into his eyes.

The female duck blinking at him looked familiar, but this time it was easier to place her in his mind. Now that he knew his father…The boy cocked his head to the side. “Mommy?”

Instantly, Winter Featherburn gasped, her hand cupping over her beak. Her bright blues eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she took the hatchling from Wilder. Wrapping her arms around Nosedive’s body, she cried softly. “Oh, Stars, look at you.”

“Winter—” Wilder urged.

Winter pushed the blonde locks from her son’s face and smiled at him gently. “Look at you. Has it really been that long since Mommy left you? Oh, you’ve grown so much. I wish I could have seen it.” She repeated again, as if she could change the past, “I wish I could have seen it.”

“Honey—” he said a little insistently, his teeth gritted, his puck launcher in his hand.

“Mommy never wants to leave you again,” she said and held him tightly as the hatchling clung to her.

“WINTER!”

Winter’s eyes snapped down the hall, and she muttered a curse under her breath. Sighing, her body losing its tension, she whispered in her son’s ear, “Mommy loves you, Nosedive, but she has to run now. Hold on.”

Swinging, the two Featherburns retreated, blasts burning on their heels.

*^*^*

“Wilder, no. Please say it isn’t so,” Winter pleaded, nuzzling her beak into Nosedive’s cheek. The boy giggled, balancing precariously in her lap. She secured a hand about his back and held him steady.

Sitting in the pilot’s seat, Wilder inhaled a sharp breath. Dismally, he shook his head. “Dragaunus wanted to get back at me for Lydronis’s death.”

“So he marked Nosedive!” Winter fumed. “That’s inexcusable. It wasn’t even your fault. You tried to save that waste of good scales.”

“I know,” Wilder snapped but recoiled instantly. “I know, but he doesn’t see it that way.”

Winter ducked her head, resting her beak upon Nosedive’s head. She squeezed his body tighter. “What are we going to do, Wilder?” she whispered brokenly.

“I doubt Wraith will just take it off.”

“Are you sure it’s even a Stigma?”

Wilder sighed. “Pretty damn sure, honey. I saw it put on—same ritual and everything.”

“Nosedive, sweetie,” Winter said gently and looked into his crystal eyes. By the look on the boy’s face, he anticipated what was to be asked. “Daddy has to look at something, okay?”

“What?”

“Your back.”

Stubbornly, the boy shook his head. “No.”

A hand scrunched his shirt between his shoulders playfully. “Hey, kiddo,” Wilder said, “come on. Just a little peek. Five seconds.”

Nosedive upheld his disapproval with a single shake of his head but seeing the harsh expression on his mother’s face, relented. Whining slightly as the overly large shirt was lifted to reveal his back, Nosedive squirmed when the coldness of the cockpit fluttered against his back feathers. He was soothed, though, when his mother played absently with his bangs. He jumped further in her lap when he felt a prodding finger poke the section of his back which had previously been savaged.

“It’s okay, honey,” his mother consoled, smoothing down his hair. “It’s okay.”

Nosedive shivered uncontrollably. As the fingers continued to probe the area, he squeezed shut his eyes and sunk into Winter’s embrace. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, his shirt was lowered, and his body was once more his own.

“Momma?” Nosedive asked wearily, feeling something wet drip onto his hair. He looked up until his eyes met hers—her tearstained, glistening eyes. “Momma, what’s wrong?”

Holding him tightly, she shook her head. “Nothing, honey. Nothing.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

Wilder’s hand rested on his head. “No, kiddo. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

“Yes,” Winter conceded and pushed the boy’s head to her shoulder, “you’re still perfect, no matter what those lizards did to you.”

*^*^*

The purple-haired female duck hovered a few inches above the floor, as her lithe hands prodded the boy’s lower back. Her royal blue eyes glowed ethereal when she focused intently on the red and black taint. Nosedive didn’t seem to notice, for his entire attention was enthralled his father. Wilder leaned over the table in front of Nosedive, teaching him how to play rock, paper, scissors. So far, the hatchling had won every game, despite only utilizing rock.

“So?” Winter asked, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder nervously. “So?”

The purple-haired female straightened her back and smiled cordially. “He is a beautiful child.”

“Thank you, Kendra,” Winter said hastily, “but the taint. Can you take it off?”

Kendra deflated and floated toward a cluttered bookcase. Books, sparklers, frogs, and other elements known only to the magical world spilled off its shelves. “No, my lady, I cannot. You know the spell as well as I do in this case. Only the mage who puts on the Stigma can take it off. I am truly sorry.” She lifted a book off the shelf and began to flip through it absently.

“Isn’t there anything you can do?” Winter pleaded, following the woman, her heels clicking against the crystalline floor.

“My lady, what I can do would not differ the inexorable. As long as he bears the taint, visible or masked, then he will be lost the moment Dragaunus’s malevolent soul is.”

“Masked?” Winter echoed. “What do you mean by ‘masked’?”

Kendra sighed and clasped the book closed in her trembling hands. “I—I can’t—The power it would take—”

“Kendra, please,” Winter said despairingly, glancing over her shoulder at her husband and younger son. “This is my son. Wilder and I left Puckworld to save him and his brother from the Saurians.” She shook her head, tears trickling over the brim of her eyes. “It’s not fair for Dragaunus to take his life like this. If it were me or Wilder, you know we wouldn’t ask you to use the last of your magic like this, but he is just a hatchling. There must be something you can do. Anything. Please, Kendra.”

The book faded until it was transparent in Kendra’s hands and no longer visible to Winter. The purple-haired mallard looked away, muttering vacantly, “There is one thing.”

“What?”

The mage turned in the air and pored her hard eyes into the jittery mother. “I cannot remove the Stigma. That much is certain. The Laws of Enchantment do not allow it. However, I might be able to mask its effects.”

“So you can break the connection between Dragaunus and Nosedive?” Winter asked, hopeful.

“No,” Kendra answered sadly, “that will remain, but I can stop the pain from being separated from his lord, even mask the taint so Dragaunus will not be able to perceive it. He will be able to be scarred as would any free individual.”

“Thank you, Kendra,” Winter breathed. She reached over and hugged the mage, though Kendra simply tensed. She pulled back slightly. “He cannot remember this. If Nosedive is to live any semblance of a normal life, then this must be nothing more than a night-terror.”

“I—It will take a great deal of power, and I cannot wipe the boy’s complete memory. Feeling—touch—is too strong a sense. It’s inextirpable. Some words, some vision will remain, but the rest will be eradicated.”

“Thank you, Kendra. I cannot express enough gratitude.” Winter’s eyes softened. “All we wish is for him to be safe. Dragaunus has gone too far this time. We wish to take Nosedive home and enjoy the remaining time we have with him…” Winter stared at the boy with melancholy love. “I hear Dragaunus’s dimensional gateway prototype is almost ready. If Wilder can get it working… ” She finally realized she was speaking more to herself than to Kendra. “Anyway, thank you. This is the last thing we will ever ask of you.”

The mage paused for a moment, looking away, abashed. “Do not thank me, my lady. If I mask the taint from your son’s back, Dragaunus may stain another for his own.”

Winter gasped. “You mean…”

Kendra’s face contorted. “Yes. Saurian superstition states perfect, ‘May the Saurian crest, stained for only the mortal eye to see, upon the back of another rest. Lost to the world of the free will the being be.’ If the Stigma is masked to the mortal eye, the superstition will not be. Now that Dragaunus has your lifemate’s blood sample, he will be able to follow the path of his blood, as he did with your younger son. The elder one will be in peril, Winter, and Wraith will know the moment I mask the boy’s Stigma.”

Winter looked back at her younger son. Nosedive put out a fist in front of Wilder, to which the father put a flat hand. Giggling, the hatchling hit his small fist against Wilder’s hand, and Wilder feigned pain.

“I cannot choose, Kendra,” Winter said bitterly, as if resenting not only the magic that cursed her family, but the mage as well. “You must be able to do—”

“You are asking too much…”
“Daddy,” Nosedive said suddenly, owing slightly.

Winter’s eyes softened. She watched Nosedive reach around his back to rub his wounded area. She gulped as she fought the sinking realization in her stomach.

“My back hurts,” Nosedive said, wincing. “Real bad…”

Winter swiveled back to Kendra. “Please, Kendra. Do not make my son endure the torture. He does not deserve it! He’s just a hatchling!”

“It hurts,” the boy started to cry, as Wilder took the boy into the arms and rubbed his back. The father hissed suddenly and reclaimed his hand. “It hurts…”

“What you are asking will drain all the remaining moral magic of Limbo, leaving only the Dark Saurian power,” Kendra relayed, distraught. Strands of her purple-hair worked themselves free from her long ponytail. “That will leave the Saurians alone and in complete control of Limbo. They will escape.”

“Kendra, please!” Winter screamed and grabbed the woman by the shoulders. “He does not deserve this! You pride yourself as the keeper of Limbo, despite the fact of not being able to control the Saurians. You tell me at every whim how you wish you could have stopped them taking Wilder’s father’s life and those of my friends and family. You apologize that you cannot allow us passage to Puckworld without a life force, yet you will allow a four year old and an eleven year old to suffer for our sins? Why?”

A scream of pain pierced the air—Nosedive.

“As long as Dragaunus breathes, the universe will be danger,” Kendra spouted, unhinged.

“And as long as he lives, so does my son.”

“I do not control lives, my lady, but if children must be sacrificed, then that is course of events that must be taken.” She detached herself from Winter, spacing herself from the distraught mother. “I am truly sorry.”

“If Wilder and I stayed,” Winter said slowly through her tears, “and we promised to fight Dragaunus and keep him in Limbo, would you save my sons?” She looked up Kendra, her glare so harsh Kendra actually flinched.

“Kendra!” Wilder shrilled, clutching his weeping hatchling in his arms. He looked down at the boy, his own tears dripping down his redden cheeks. “Please…”

Kendra sighed, resigned to her fate. “I—It will drain the majority of my power, but I can mask your elder son as well,” Kendra interjected solemnly. She glared unkindly at Winter. “If you promise to stay...”

Winter ‘s frightened eyes poring over her son, and brokenly, she conceded, “We will.” As the words fled her beak, she fell to her knees, her head cradled in his hands.

“Then I shall.”

*^*^*

There was an explosion in the space-time continuum, and before he knew it, Nosedive felt the sensation of falling. He whined softly, clinging to his father’s torso. He ducked his head and clamped his eyes shut against the whirling purple about his father’s body.

A crackling noise sounded, followed by his father’s grunting and a hammering jolt. He dug his hands into his dad’s side, causing Wilder to hiss. “Kiddo, could you ease up a little?”

“Is it over?” Nosedive peeped meekly, refusing to open his eyes.

Blaster fire pierced the air.

“Almost,” Wilder said curtly, taking out his puck launcher. “Let them go!”

Cracking one eye, Nosedive looked around. His little eyes fluttered open at the sight of the white mallard kneeling on the ground, blaster against his head. The tan mallard next to him hardly registered in the boy’s mind. Surrounding the two were black-clad lizards, all pointing their weapons at the white and tan mallards. Nosedive recoiled against his father at the sight of the burly red lizard from prior. He hadn’t forgotten his arm, even though it no longer hurt since the purple-haired lady touched it.

“You’ve stolen Lord Dragaunus’s slave,” Siege said, grabbing the white hatchling off the ground and tugging him to his feet. Placing a blaster to the boy’s head, he commanded, “Relinquish the boy or lose a second son.”

“Mom? Dad?” the white mallard murmured in shock, albeit wincing when the lizard thrust the blaster against his head.

Winter took a threatening step forward, her puck launcher aimed acutely at the burly lizard’s head. “Leave him alone, Siege. Dragaunus has no use for Wildwing, not when Nosedive is here.”

Wildwing’s eyes widened at the sight of the boy in his father’s eyes. “NOSEDIVE!”

“Why-WING!” Nosedive dropped from his father’s torso, but Wilder quickly scooped him back in his arms.

“Not yet, kiddo,” Wilder muttered.

Suddenly, Nosedive gasped as the air behind the Saurians seemed to rip out of nowhere. An all-consuming gust blew from the portal, distracting the lizards. Lunging for the lizards, Winter fired a single shot, knocking the blaster from Siege’s hands. Wildwing elbowed the lizard in the stomach, freeing himself.

“Wildwing, duck!” Winter ordered, to which her son obeyed. She delivered a kick to Siege’s midsection. Siege toppled over into the portal and was sucked from the dimension. A lizard dove for her, too fast for her fire, but Wilder kicked the lizard into the void.

Winter tugged the tan mallard to his feet and defensively placed herself between her son and his friend when the lizards attacked. She fired shots at three of them, two of which connected on contact. The gust of wind swept them up instantly and carried them into the void. The last one ducked her shot and lunged for her, but Winter simply connected an undercut to his chin, rending him unconscious.

Wilder, Nosedive in tow, elbowed one lizard in the head, then discarded him in the void. Turning on his heel, he kicked another to his wife, who immediately sent him on his way.

Heaving in a deep breathes, Winter holstered her puck launcher as the violent wind died down. The air was restored to its previous condition.

“Mom?” a tentative voice asked, and Winter turned on her heel. She couldn’t believe her tearing eyes as a warm smile immediately overtook her face at the sight of the slightly disheveled white hatchling. His face was so young and bright, while his blue eyes just twinkled with mirth. His white hair was ruffled as were his blue pants and teal over shirt and jacket. He looked like a miniature version of her husband—except for his eyes. They were hers.

“Wildwing,” she addressed, sinking to her knees and gathering the small white mallard in her arms, “you’ve grown so much.”

Wildwing pulled back briefly, tears glistening in his eyes. “Mom, you’re alive? But—how? The lizard said—”

“Dragaunus is nothing if not a liar.” Even though he wiggled slightly, Winter refused to let her son go from her grip.

“Then…are you back? For good?”

“I wish that were so, kiddo,” Wilder said forlornly, coming to his wife’s side. He grunted softly when Wildwing dove into his welcome arm.

“Why-WING!” Nosedive giggled gleefully, reaching out to his older brother.

“Nosedive! You’re okay!” Wildwing grasped his little brother under his arms and placed the hatchling firmly on his hip. He embraced the boy. “I missed you so much! I didn’t know if you were okay, or—”

A belated and utterly unhinged gasp cut him off, and the younger white mallard turned to his friend. “That’s Nosedive!” the tan mallard exploded. He pointed indecisively at the two adults, befuddled to stuttering. “A—and t—they’re your parents? And what the heck just happened? W—With the lizards and—and—”

The four Featherburns glared back at the stunned boy, but Wildwing quickly intermingled. “Mom, Dad, Dive, this is Canard, my twin brother. Canard, these are my parents and brother.” He looked at Kendra quizzically. “And I really don’t know who that is.”

“Twin brother?” Winter repeated unsurely.

Wildwing shrugged, smiling. “Yeah. Canard’s my age, only two months older, but everyone says we look like twins.”

“Oh,” Wilder said, nodding faintly. He blinked blankly, taking a step back. “Hold on a second. Let me process this.”

“Oh, Stars, Wilder!” Winter chastised. “There isn’t much time!”

Wilder scowled internally, clenching his fists before relaxing them. Abruptly, a hand slid into one of them, squeezing tightly. Wilder looked down at his wife. She smiled sadly, looking torn between what they wanted to do and what would break their hearts.

“She is right, my lord,” Kendra interjected. She lay a comforting hand upon his shoulder. “My power is fading the longer we stay here, and Limbo’s grip is increasing. We must act now.”

“But he has another family! He has a brother besides Nosedive!” Wilder exclaimed, looking fiercely at Winter but gesturing to Canard. “At least I didn’t have to see Nosedive’s other parents!”

“Wilder, I want to be there for our sons, too, but we didn’t win that face-off!” She ran a hand through her Wildwing’s hair, sniffling back her tears. “We have to do what’s right for them, even if it’s the hardest thing.”

“Mom, Dad,” Wildwing asked, looking unsurely between one and the other, “what’s going on?”

Wilder closed his eyes and braced himself mentally. Falling to his knees, he took his son by the shoulders. “Wildwing, you remember the lizard that killed your grandfather, right?” He didn’t wait for Wildwing to nod. “He’s back, and he’s attacked your brother.”

“Is he okay?” Wildwing asked, tone worrisome. He looked visually over his brother. “Are you okay, Nosedive?”

Nosedive nodded but giggled when Wildwing nuzzled his cheek.

“You can’t see the effects,” Winter interrupted, meeting Wildwing’s trembling eyes. She looked so tired and so guilty. “But the scars are there. The lizards who just attacked wished to do the same to you. We have to mask your blood in order to hide you, so Dragaunus cannot find you again.”

“How about you?” Wildwing inquired. “Will you ever find me again?”

“Oh, Stars, son,” Wilder started and gripped both his sons in his arms for the first time in years, “I hope so.”

Winter entered the embraced, also hugging her sons.

“I hope so.”

*^*^*

“You have to what?” Duke L’Orange shouted incredulously.

Winter stared directly at her younger brother, holding her son in her arms. “There isn’t much time, Duke. Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

He blinked and pushed the hair from his eyes nervously. Swallowing, he croaked, “How long this time, Win?”

Winter closed her eyes, and even though Nosedive was only four, he knew his mother was hurting. “I—I don’t know. Until Dragaunus is no longer a threat. Until somehow good magic grows in Dimensional Limbo. I—I just don’t know.”

“Stars, Winter, why you? Why do you have to go?” Duke asked brokenly. “I thought you were finally home.”

“Told you we should have dropped him off at Harper’s,” Wilder muttered under his breath.

“Wilder! Please!” she screamed vehemently. Scowling, she turned back to her brother, only to let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry, Duke. I really am. I wish it could be different.” He started to hand Nosedive over to him, ignoring the tears in her eyes and the glimmer of her brother’s. “Now, come on, there isn’t much time. Wilder and I must return to Limbo, but I need to know you will take care of Nosedive. You are his godfather.”

Duke looked up his sister, cringing. He ruffled the back of hair nervously. “Well, uh, Winter, y—you know how P.U.C.k was destroyed, right?”

“Duke.”

“Well, I’ve kinda used my talents for other reasons, you know?”

“What other reasons?”

“Oh, just regular, routine—”

“Duke.”

“I’m a thief,” he finally declared.

She thrust Nosedive into Wilder’s arms, then grabbed her brother by his bangs, wrenching them upward.

“OW! Winter!”

“Are you insane?” she hollered at him, in her eyes a world of fury. “How could you do something so underhanded?”

“Oh, I dunno. Maybe my guardian sister left me alone at the age of fifteen!” Duke retaliated and tugged his bangs from her grip. At the furious look on his face, he staggered safely out of her reach. “But, I’ll, uh, quit. All right?”

She shook her head, but by the look on her face, she wasn’t angry at her little brother. “You’re right. It is my fault. I—I just didn’t see another way. I should have waited for you…brought you with me…”

“Hey, come on. It wasn’t your fault,” he reassured, hugging her gently. “It’s mine. I—I just didn’t see any other way, y’know? I didn’t know what else to do, and when I was given this opportunity—” He was cut off by an abrupt tug of his hair. “BUT I’LL QUIT!”

She smiled sweetly. “Good, and you’ll take care of Nosedive?”

He saluted her mockingly. “Won’t let him out of my sight, Winter. After all, he is your kid. He’ll have no choice but to follow me…like you.”

“But you have to be the one saving his butt, not the other way around.”

Wilder reluctantly placed Nosedive in Duke’s hands, but the hatchling instantly tensed and reached for his parents.

Duke smirked. “Hey, kid. Don’t you want to stay with your Uncle Duke?”

Nosedive simply shook his head and gripped his momma’s hand.

Winter looked to Wilder, then hugged the boy. Nosedive wrapped his little arms around his mother’s neck, holding on for dear life. He felt her body shiver, and when she kissed him on the cheek, his feathers became saturated. “Now listen to me, Nosedive. You’re going to be fine, okay? Uncle Duke is going to take good care of you.”

“But I want to be with you and Daddy!” the boy squealed. He had already lost his brother. He wouldn’t lost his parents, too!

Wilder clipped the boy on the beak and ruffled the boy’s hair. His father, too, refused to pick him up. “And we would love nothing more than to be here with you, but Daddy and Mommy can’t.”

Nosedive cried into his mother’s shoulder. “But I don’t want you to go!”

Winter held the sobbing child tightly, but Wilder grabbed her shoulder. “Winter…”

“There’s no other way?” she asked suddenly, beseeching to Wilder. “There must be. Why must be leave them again?”

Wilder grasped her shoulder. His face was not any less grim or tearstained since their departure from Wildwing. “You have no choice, Winter. We have to do what’s right for them, even if it’s the hardest thing.”

Winter embraced her sobbing son once more. “Even though I know you won’t remember us, know Mommy and Daddy never wanted to leave you, and they will always love you.”

Wilder trailed his fingers longingly through his son’s hair, bent down, and kissed him on the forehead. Pulling his wife from Nosedive, he drew her into a tight embrace.

Nosedive struggled to get to them, kicked, screamed, but was restricted in his uncle’s tight hold. He watched as his parents looked away, much like they had when Why-Wing had been touched by the purple-haired lady.

This time, she approached him hesitantly, her hair now streaked white in the faded lavender. She smiled tiredly at him. “Do not struggle, young one. In a moment, all will be forgotten, and this will be a faded memory.”

He shunned away when she gently placed her forefingers on his temples. He screamed one last attempt, “Mommy! Daddy!” but it was in vain as his mother buried her face in his father’s chest.

Wilder looked at him, tears coursing his cheeks.

And the boy’s mind was invaded for the first time.

*^*^*

The hands all over him, touching him, tearing his shirt, breaking bones…

Nosedive shot up in bed. Sweat drenched his little frame. He kicked off his blanket, beseeching eyes ricocheting about the room wildly.

“Hey there, little guy,” a kind, female voice called to him.

His widened eyes shot toward her at the end of his bed. He noticed her friendly smile but said nothing. He remembered her from the past few days. She was a nurse, someone who was supposed to help him, but he didn’t trust her. He didn’t know her, really. H—He didn’t know much actually…like how he got there.

She cocked her head to the side, her clean white coat falling across her body. “Well, I have to check you over once more. Your uncle swore you were injured, but besides a few minor bumps and bruises…Anyway, once I’m done, you can go home.”

The nurse moved toward the bed and touched the boy’s head, only for him to wrench away. His entire body writhed with a violent shudder, but nothing was new there. After a few minutes of struggling, the nurse finally checked over Nosedive’s chest and back, despite his crying and shivering. He finally resigned to pressing his forehead against the sheets and simply submitting.

Dropping her gloves into the hazard waste can, the nurse recoiled, stuffing her hands in her jacket’s pockets. “All done,” she said warmly.

Slowly, the boy tugged back on his shirt, for the nurse had no luck trying to do it earlier in the week. “Your Uncle Duke wants you to stay the night until he’s done moving or something, so he wanted me to tell you he’d be here in the morning to pick you up. All right, little guy?”

The boy gave her no indication of recognition. He simply shivered and pulled his legs to his chest.

“Okay, then…”

The nurse left, leaving Nosedive to shudder alone. It had become their daily routine of sorts, but come tomorrow…

His shivering intensified.

He would be going home with his uncle, his uncle he didn’t know, his uncle…who…might have…

When the nurse came in three hours to check on him, the only things she found were empty sheets, an open window, and a wavering curtain.

To Be Concluded…