“Parole”

Nosedive heard the foreign language almost everyday for the last six months but still decided against learning it. He didn’t want to know what they were saying. He wanted to be invisible, and as of yet, he hadn’t been able to achieve that. Thus, he was forced to endure the torture for another day, another month, another year, another eternity. Time seemed to crawl at an almost stand-still pace since he arrived on Sauria, making his life a pure, unadulterated Hell.

Sitting in the darkest corner of the room, which wasn’t at all that dark thanks to the overhead light, he pulled his legs to his chest and held them tightly. He buried his face in his knees and proceeded to stay like that as long as they’d let him. Through the transparent window, onlookers observed attentively, watching and waiting for him to move. They wanted to see him, and if he hazarded correctly, what they really were waiting for was his beak. It was an abnormality to the Saurian race and set him apart from the rest of their population the most. Scales, feathers, same diff. Beak, snout, hey, who knew?

A clamor of disapproval slithered through the crowd. He didn’t look up, but knew by this time of the day, a throng of impatient lizards gathered about the window. They whispered to one another in the foreign tongue, but native to the planet, and he wished they would just go away. He wasn’t a freak show. He wasn’t any different from any person on his planet! Sadly enough, that was what set him apart from the rest of the population on Sauria. The majority of them had never seen a duck before, much like he had never seen a Saurian before the invasion.

He held his legs a little more tightly when the door swished open. The people—Could the bloodthirsty, homicidal race of lizards even be called that?—must have complained. They had paid to see the duck, and as such, they wanted to see him. There were hundreds of life forms in the museum; how could he be so lucky to be the one they wanted to see?

He had to be strong, Nosedive thought fervently as the footsteps neared. Their weight crunched upon the snow-covered ground, and Nosedive retreated as far back as he could against the wall. It didn’t help or give him more protection. He was still vulnerable.

Oh, please, don’t…Oh, please…no…

A rough hand clamped down upon his shoulder, and brutally, he was tossed—a collective gasp sounded from the crowd—into the snow in the middle the room. His shoulder dug into the dirt, while his head slammed against the ground. He rolled until he stopped, stomach down. A cold sensation brushed against his face, snow undoubtedly. At one time, it was a comforting feeling, remembrances of home. Now, it was the boot stamping in his face, telling him he was exposed for the population to see him again. He kept his eyes closed, not able to face the Saurians who gaped at him, even though he could see the looks of bewilderment or hilarity, the pointing fingers, and the disgusting glances through his eyelids. He heard the laughs about his beak. During the first weeks in the cell, in front of thousands of people, he had been unnerved. He had even yelled back at them, told them what really happened, that they weren’t abominable snow ducks, but actually a peaceful race—but after the jokes and the points and the stares, he finally just gave up. Why couldn’t they just do the same and leave him alone?

He rolled over onto his back and pushed himself onto his elbows. Looking down at him were two Saurian soldiers, unfathomably bigger and more muscular than he. One of them pointed down at him with his electric club. Nosedive knew better by now than to charge him. One hit from that bar, and he would be shuddering in pain for the rest of the day. No, as much as he wanted to be in a stupor, it wasn’t worth the pain.

The soldier smirked. “You’re the star of the show. Enjoy it.”

Nosedive glowered. “Well, at least I’m not the star of the freak show around here. I bet you enjoy that.”

With a roaring growl, the solider backhanded him across the beak with his mental gauntlet. Nosedive quickly grabbed his jaw and winced. Blood seeped through his nose holes.

“I hope you enjoyed that!” Laughing, the two soldiers exited his cell, leaving him to his fate.

Wiping the blood with the collar of his shirt, he kept his back to the people, pulled his legs back to his chest, and remained that way. More whispers sounded, but he tried to ignore them. It wasn’t easy, especially when some riotous children banged on his window. He fought the urge to throw up, but in the end, he didn’t have the will for it. He wanted out, and the only way out was not to eat. He involuntary had begun that rebellion. He would have kept eating if not for the horrible, disgusting taste of the food, but eventually his gag reflex had overcome his want to eat. The Saurians eventually realized he wasn’t eating and now force-fed him through a tube at night. If he struggled or didn’t listen, they hit him, then healed him later at night with their advanced technology so he would be all pretty for the show the next day.

To say that entrance into Sauria’s Natural Museum of Exotic Life Forms was a life sentence would be disgustingly accurate, and that was exactly what Dragaunus wanted. Death would have been a lesser punishment, but for the kid brother of the resistance leader, no way that was going to happen. As he blocked out the myriad of languages behind him, Dragaunus’s voice still cut through his conscious.

“The only thing better than knowing you are somewhere watching the world you tried to save bleed and be unable to save stop the blood, would be to keep you alive, so you may die watching it.”

Tears brimmed Nosedive’s eyes as he cowered back into his knees. It had been a routine confrontation at a warehouse—teleportation energy and whatnot. He barely remembered Tanya’s words at Drake One anymore. It was what met them at the warehouse that had been their downall, in retrospect.

Fifty well-trained and over-armed soldiers of the Saurian garrison.

Dragaunus had finally been able to recall his forces from Limbo, and he had no qualms of letting the ducks know that.

“Finally, after almost a year of being on this pathetic planet, I have reached the precipice.”

Nosedive, held roughly by a Saurian official, wasn’t at all fazed. “Don’t fall.”

The overlord turned from taunting Wildwing to peer at Nosedive. The younger mallard returned the hard gaze, then sent Dragaunus a wicked smirk. That seemed only to infuriate the lizard even more than he already was. He stalked toward the teen, who didn’t flinch as he neared. Only when the overlord drew back his left hard, ready to attack, did Nosedive wince.

A braying laughter pierced the air. “Yes, young one, you are different from the rest, aren’t you?”

Nosedive had the nagging feeling that wasn’t a compliment, but before he could even respond, Wildwing grated, “Leave him alone, Dragaunus. You have us now. He is no threat to you.”

“On the contrary, Wildwing,” the overlord spoke with a feral malevolence. He touched Nosedive’s beak, to which the teen jerked away. “He is the symbol of your team’s strength, and I do believe your own. A fitting end would not be his demise by your side, but one rather where your mind can unravel from the unknown tortures your brother will endure. General Helis,” Dragaunus addressed as he turned his back on the teen and focused his rapt attention on Wildwing, “take our young revolutionary to Sauria. I believe our people will be most inviting of our first duck citizen.”

“WHAT?” Nosedive’s eyes widened, and he met Wildwing’s, his brother’s describing the same emotions in his own—terrified, appalled, horrified. He couldn’t even process the thought, the indescribable horrors of the Saurians’ home planet, before he was tugged toward the exit by the general holding him.

“Nosedive!” Wildwing shouted, and the teen didn’t need to see his brother to know he was struggling.

Wrestling the hands that were clasped about his waist, pinioning his hands close to his body, Nosedive finally seized his appendages and slammed his heel into the general’s shin. The hold upon him slackened, and he smashed his elbow into the general’s turned head. The hands about his waist fled. He crumbled to the floor. With an intense vigor, he turned and shoved his heel into the general’s mid-section.

Pushing himself off the floor, he heard Dragaunus shout, but he barely registered it. Instead, he looked at Wildwing, who threw off his own captors. A shot whizzed pass Nosedive’s head, stealing his attention away from his brother. He drew his puck launcher, reciprocating the attack. He kneed another solider in the stomach before ducking an attack of another and hitting the bunt of his launcher into a third soldier’s chin. A warm feeling washed over through him, and on instinct, he turned.

Wildwing approached, and Nosedive smiled hopefully. As his brother put out his hand, Nosedive grasped it. A second later, a foreign arm groped him about the waist. Rough hands wrapped around his torso, yet he kept his eyes locked on his brother, clenching his brother’s hand as Wildwing clamped his. Despite the horde of soldiers gripping them, Wildwing refused to let him go. Nosedive suddenly found the words of Dragaunus holding no truth as his brother stared at him, Wildwing’s eyes leaving no room for the Saurians to separate them.

The soldiers tugged and pulled, but they held tightly. Nosedive cringed, as a solider twisted his free arm behind his back, searing fire through his shoulder, but he refused let go. He wouldn’t.

A slash. Claws ripped through his communicator and wrist—Dragaunus’s sharp daggers hitting their intension.

The pain was too intense.

Nosedive’s hand unclamped.

Nosedive shuddered, his probing fingers absently running over his bare wrist. He needn’t look to know the scars were still there. He wished dismally that the Saurians would have given him a long-sleeved shirt to cover the marks, but they were content to leave him with his “authentic” Puckworldian clothes—a dark blue vest and pants and a teal undershirt.

As he felt the deep ridges on his wrist, his mind refused to relinquish the look on Wildwing’s face. It still haunted him at night and lingered every time he thought of his brother. Where Wildwing was now and if he was still alive were mysteries to Nosedive, but he vaguely thought that if Wildwing had died, Dragaunus would have made a special visit out to taunt him. It was a small glimmer of hope that he held onto when the darkest night crept into his cell.

“Nosedive Featherburn?”

English…Common…sure, it had a thick and unrecognizable accent, but it was a language he understood. Unlike anyone had been able to do, the visitor drew Nosedive’s attention. He twisted to look over his shoulder, seeing the male humanoid. His skin was a deep charcoal, though his eyes burned a deep red—crimson, blood. His disheveled black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and Nosedive eyed the long fingers with deep, grazing nails.

The humanoid nodded decisively, a knowing smirk upon his lips. Nosedive stared at him, unsure actually what was going on, but a moment later, the humanoid hitched the collar of his trench coat up to cover his face. He left in a hurry as more Saurians came to cell.

Nosedive’s shoulders slumped. He turned back around and buried his beak into knees once more. He stayed that way until the light flickered off above him some five hours later.

!!!

*Smack!*

Nosedive flew in the air, time slowing in a fury of colors and darkness, before it sped up again just in time for his body to collide with the ground. He hissed as pain seared through his shoulder and back, but he had no time to rest—not if he wanted to live. He rolled with the momentum and shifted onto his feet to meet his captors. The twin Saurians, one green, one red, smirked down at him with venomous pleasure.

He didn’t dare move to wipe the blood trickling from the edge of his beak, and he was forced to swallow the coppery taste polluting his beak. He spared a moment to realize his forehead was warmer than it was a few minutes ago. More blood. Wonderful.

“Here, ducky, ducky, ducky,” the red Saurian coaxed with feigned kindness. He inched closer, while the green one crept about Nosedive to trap him. “Don’t you want to play more?”

Nosedive scoffed. “How old do you think I am? Five?” He kept a wary guard of the green Saurian as he sauntered about him.

The red lizard bared his thick, scathing teeth in a vicious, devious smirk. “ It doesn’t matter how old you are. Your blood will taste the same.”

Wow, Nosedive thought, his body tense, unhinged, there’s a chipper thought.

He watched the red lizard stop about five feet from him, and though Nosedive couldn’t see the lizard behind him, he felt him, heard him. The moment his feet crunched in the snow, Nosedive ducked and dove out of the way. The green lizard flew over him, smacking directly into the red lizard, sending both crashing into to the snow.

And he saw his chance.

Pushing to his feet, Nosedive dashed toward the open door at the opposite end of the cell. Even though he was bleeding, tired, and partially emaciated, he knew he could still beat the Saurians to the door. He smiled to himself as he heard the Saurians growl, and he lunged for the door. He gasped—another lizard stepped in front of the open entrance. Nosedive’s heart sank as the Saurian smirked vilely, then simply pressed a button out of Nosedive’s vision.

“NO!”

The door slammed shut, whishing as it locked. Nosedive halted sharply in the snow, his feet slipping slightly on the cold substance. He pressed his hands against the closed door, pleading, willing it to open. Please…oh, please…I can’t stay in here! Please! Don’t make me!

A snorted chortle sounded, and Nosedive felt the desperation seeping into his being. He slammed his fists against the door in despondent exasperation, then turned slowly to see the two lizards already on their feet.

The red lizard wore a rather diabolical, vexed frown. “You thought you could escape, duck?”

Nosedive sighed, but shifted into a fighting position. “Well, I figured, ‘ah, what the heck?’ I’m kinda getting bored of this dump.”

“I’m sure we can keep your attention,” the green lizard hissed, a threat laced in the words.

No doubt about it.

Nosedive eyed them as they neared, one on each side, attempting to box him in. He felt his body flush rigid, and he trembled slightly. He closed his eyes for only a second.

Stars, Wing! Where are you?

Despite the overwhelming fear, despite the knowledge of what the Saurians would do if they actual restrained him, despite everything in his being wanting to free, he chastised himself. It wasn’t his brother’s fault. It wasn’t Wildwing’s fault that Canard had plunged into Limbo and left the leadership to him, and even if his brother had been the leader under different circumstances, it wouldn’t have been his fault. Wildwing always protected him, sometimes to the point of coddling him, not that Nosedive minded, but Nosedive would rather have been related to Wildwing and in a Saurian zoo than never have known his brother.

*Clamp!*

Nosedive’s eyes fluttered open at their own accord, and he turned sharply to see something stuck on the window of his cell. He cocked his eyes to the side, studying it. Who would…and what could it possibly…

The Saurians, who stood only a foot away from him, looked equally bemused, but Nosedive recognized what it was a second before they did.

“Ye-ha!” He dove to the farthest corner of the room, but he didn’t make it. The explosion ripped through the small cell a moment later, the force tossing him coldheartedly against the wall. Pain wracked his back and shoulder blades. He lost orientation. His ears rang, and heat engulfed him from all sides. He blinked, his back leaning against the wall, his limp arms giving poor protection from the flames.

He blinked drearily through the haze and sweat that had consumed him, unable to focus his eyes or his thoughts. His chest jerked involuntarily as he coughed dryly when the smoke infiltrated him from his lungs. Moaning, he tried to collect his thoughts and his bearings. The Saurians…they were in his cell! Were they still there? Were they still alive?

He closed his eyes for moment as vertigo swirled the world about him. If they were still conscious, there was nothing he could do to protect himself. He could hardly focus, let alone stand or fight.

Static, in his ear. A feeling…a person over him.

His eyes slowly opened, combating the exhaustion threatening unconsciousness. He squinted and through the blurriness was able to make out the outline of a figure, coming toward him. As the person came into the view, the same humanoid from the afternoon, so, too, did his blaster.

Before Nosedive could even react, a light flickered from the end of the weapon, and everything was lost to him.

!!!

*Smack!*

Nosedive groaned softly, his cheek stinging. He barely felt it until another slap connected. His eyes shot open, but the rush into consciousness was so sudden that everything and anything seemed foreign. Then, he realized disdainfully, everything and anything was foreign. He inhaled a few, calming breathes, his eyes ricocheting about the room. He couldn’t tell how big it was or what it looked like. A black curtain of shadows draped over the room just outside his immediate sights, but it wasn’t his cell. For that much he was grateful, no matter who that guy was. In fact, if they spoke the same language, he might offer marriage.

He heard someone approaching and struggled to move, only to find it more difficult than initially thought. His hands were bound behind his back, which was actually something of a shock. In that last six months, he had been able to move about freely—in his cell, that was. Leaning his back against the wall, despite his wrists, Nosedive noticed the same man from earlier that day—or what he surmised was that day.

The gray man crouched down and reached out for Nosedive. The young mallard flinched away but really didn’t have any escape route. The man was directly in front of him, blocking his break. He felt a soft hand slip something onto his ear. He cringed as long, sharp nail scrapped lightly against his feathers. A rather low-toned voice followed less than a second later. “Can you understand me?”

Nosedive looked back at him, realizing a small, black device on the man’s ear. He nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

The man smiled slightly. “Good. The process goes smoother if we both understand the protocol.”

For some reason, Nosedive didn’t like the sound of that. “Process” and “protocol” were words Mallory used far too often, and though to a lesser extent, so did Duke. Even though Duke seemed to loathe the military protocol Mallory tried, unsuccessfully, to instill in the group, the Brotherhood seemed to have enough of its own. “What process?”

A wistful smile graced the man’s face. “A bounty has been put out for you, and the amount of money was too much to pass up, even though the package was on Sauria.”

Okay, he was game. “Package?”

The man pointed to Nosedive.

“Package!” Nosedive screeched wearily, as if he couldn’t believe the man before him. “Thanks for the ego booster, FedEx.”

“The protocol of these sort of transfers are different from usual bounties, which is the reason we are conversing,” the man continued, his crimson eyes glowing in the darken light. In fact, Nosedive could hardly see anything else but the man’s orbs. “We need a sample of your blood and possibly your hair in order to confirm the transfer. It would be much easier if you do not resist. If you do so, we might have result to other methods.”

Now that, Nosedive admitted to himself, sounded worse than Dragaunus’s acceptance of his citizenship on Sauria. Of course, a persistent, obvious question pierced Nosedive’s curiosity. “ ‘We?’ ”

He blinked and looked beyond the man, realizing for the first time the figures cloaked in the darkness. They were slightly bigger than the man before him, and when they came into the light, he saw they were the same species. They inched closer, ready to restrain him while they took what they wished.

“Who’s after me?” Nosedive asked bluntly.

The man before him started. “Huh?”

“Who’s after me?” Nosedive repeated with a little more conviction. “Who put the bounty out on me?” He couldn’t think of anyone who would want him dead. Dragaunus had him where he wanted before, and Nosedive really didn’t have any enemies beside the overlord, or at least ones who could get a space bounty hunter to capture him.

“Our client wishes anonymity.”

“Wonderful,” Nosedive commented darkly. “I got a stalker on the loose, even in space.”

“Will you resist?” the man asked, his voice callous.

The teen snorted. “I’m not UPS, dude.”

The man furled an eyebrow, and Nosedive scowled, “ ‘What can Brown do for you?’ I’m not that kind of person. I’m not going to help you sell me!”

“Then we must do as need.”

!!!

Slipping in and out of conscious was not as much fun as one would think. Exhausted, head hanging, Nosedive still felt the hands crushing him to the floor, the sharp nails drawing blood from his arms, and didn’t doubt in the slightest there were marks to match the feeling. Whoever these humanoids were, they certainly weren’t the nicest or the gentlest. They reminded him of Grin if the giant didn’t believe in karma.

For Nosedive, who did, he knew he must have done something in his life to be in this predicament. He looked down at the hair brushing his shoulders—or at where a chunk of it used to be, which just seemed to exacerbate his ton of bad karma.

Finally coherent enough to think, he hazarded he’d been on the ship not too long, a few days at the most. His room had no windows to the outside, and even if it did, space wasn’t like Puckworld or Earth. There was no daystar or Sun to tell him the changing days. Even if there was one, it would be hard to tell exactly what day it was if he slipped back into Slumber Land.

He sighed deeply. He just sat there, waiting to be sold. It was a bizarre, demoralizing feeling, to know that eventually, someone was going to buy him like an item on E-Bay.

A pang of longing hit him, and he wondered where Wildwing was. Was he still alive? Was he still in Dragaunus’s clutches? The thought was purged from his mind when he felt a jolting of the ship. Undeniably docking.

A shiver writhed through his body. Was that for him? Was the “client” here to claim him? The package? He still couldn’t believe how degrading that was.

He didn’t have long to worry, for within a few minutes, the door to his cell opened, spreading shards of light into the small, dark room. He clamped his eyes closed involuntarily. The light was just short of blinding, but a little bit better than completely disorientating him.

Thunderous footsteps stomped against the metal floor, and he flinched when a hard hand landed on his shoulder, its nails digging into his flesh. Albeit wincing, he opened his fluttering eyes, and in the backdrop of light, he saw one of the Grin-like men from earlier. There was no sympathy in the man’s eyes or even regret. He simply stuffed a gag into Nosedive’s beak, tying it tightly behind the young mallard’s head. With a similar cloth, he blindfolded Nosedive. The teen knew the deal by now. They didn’t want him making a mental map of potential exits and escapes of the ship.

The hard hand gripped his shoulder even more painfully and lugged him to his feet. “Move,” was the one word command, to which Nosedive obeyed. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice. With the hand once more on his shoulder, the man guided Nosedive through the ship. A left, a right, another left, he tried to remember the path which he traveled. He didn’t know if it would help, but what the heck? He turned a corner, scraping his shoulder against the wall and hissing. The man simply gave him a hard shove forward.

“Keep moving.”

“Three-word sentence next, buddy, or is that beyond your capabilities?” Nosedive thought fervently. Now, if only his beak wasn’t constricted…

He heard the sound of an automatic door, then the roar of hyper engines along with a cold gust of wind. His bangs swayed across his forehead, and he knew his surroundings instantly. A hanger. So, this was where the transfer would go down. He made a mental note to himself. Every time he heard the word “package,” he would have to chug later on.

Nosedive stopped when the hand jerked him backwards. Subsequently, it applied pressure, scrunching the boy’s shoulder in its entire palm. The daggers known as fingers dug into his shoulder blade, making him crumble to his knees with a strained whine. He felt the probing fingers undo the blindfold, and he blinked from the sudden ambush of light. After a few painful moments, his eyes adjusted to the world about him, and he laid eyes on his owner for the first time.

Duke L’Orange.

He let out a mumbled squeal at the slight of him, almost getting to his feet. The large goon from behind him didn’t permit that, though, and clasped him on the shoulder, keeping him in place. As a reminder, he squeezed Nosedive’s shoulder again, sending a stab of pain through the teen’s body. Nosedive winced. He fell back on his haunches and like the past six months, had no choice but watch the events unfold as fate intended.

Dressed as Nosedive had always known him, in battlegear, the former thief stood next to the man from earlier. He stared at Nosedive through cold, emotionless eyes, then regarded the man next to him. What was he so ticked about? It wasn’t like he was in a Saurian Zoo for the last six months. Content to ignore Duke, Nosedive looked past him as Duke and the man conversed briefly. His heart fluttered out of sync.

Wildwing stood just behind Duke, his arms crossed, the Mask not upon his face. A bag hung on his side—doubtlessly where the ancient artifact was kept. He seemed stiff and trying his best not to look directly at Nosedive. However, the teen didn’t miss the slight grin that formed on his older brother’s beak, as he glimpsed his way. Nosedive returned it briefly. Subsequently ducking his head, he blinked away the tears of relief. His brother was alive, and that was all that mattered.

His placement, however, spoke volumes. Wildwing let Duke take the point on this, since the former thief had more experience in this sort of activity.

A cocking sounded from the general direction of Wildwing, and Nosedive knew that was from Mallory. The redhead held her launcher in front of her, hands gripping the handle tightly. She sent a skeptical glare about the room, looking pointedly at the man behind Nosedive, the man to whom Duke was speaking, and a few miscellaneous guards lingering just out of earshot of Nosedive at the edge of the doorway and porthole to the duck’s ship. While Nosedive loved flying the Aerowing and helping Tanya work on it, never did he think it would be so happy to see the inside.

Through the device hanging from his ear, Nosedive heard Duke’s voice. “I want to examine the package for myself.”

The man shook his head. “It is in mint condition. There is no need.”

It? IT! Oh, OH! He so wanted Wildwing to kick that guy’s ass. He’d do it himself, but Wildwing was so much better at it.

Wildwing seemed to notice his despair and opened his fist at the side of his leg. Nosedive understood the command. “Calm down.” Easy for him to say. He wasn’t an “It” now.

Sinking back, he slumped and growled. Well, he’d calm down if they would just get on with it.

“Deal’s off,” Duke said disgustedly, retreating toward the porthole. “Come on, guys. They can deal with the package.”

WHAT! Nosedive sat up suddenly, cringing at the punishment delivered by the guard behind him. His eyes darted from Duke to Mallory and finally to Wildwing, who glanced worriedly and torn his way. Still, his older brother turned a second later, silent, and retreated reluctantly toward the porthole.

Nosedive let out a muffled shriek. Wildwing! You can’t leave me here!

His brother stiffened and would have turned if Duke didn’t force him toward the porthole.

“Wait!” the man called after Duke.

The three ducks stopped just before the porthole. Slowly, Duke swiveled. “Yes?”

The man grumbled begrudgingly. “Fine. You may examine the package.”

Duke smirked at him, then absently slapped Wildwing on the shoulder. He walked hastily toward Nosedive and stopped a few feet away. He narrowed his good eye at the man holding Nosedive firmly on the floor and said, “Give us some room here, eh?”

Nosedive just kept his eyes on Duke, too afraid that if he looked away, the older man might just disappear. Sure enough, though, the hand left his shoulder, and he felt the jarring footsteps of the retreating monster.

Duke first sauntered completely around Nosedive, regarding him as nothing more than a misbehaving pet. The boy returned the glower and hoped Duke perceived the glare as he intended.

When Duke stopped directly behind him, the teen felt the former thief’s lithe fingers, perfect for picking pockets and locks, brush against his forearms. Duke’s hand didn’t go as far as his wrist marks thankfully.

Standing once more in front of the teen, Duke crouched down and whispered, “We have to do this real quiet, okay, kid?”

Nosedive nodded his understanding, and Duke untied the gag, though the teen remained silent.

“What, kid? It’s been six months, and you have nothing to say?” Duke teased.

Nosedive snorted. “Would you pluh-zee stop calling me ‘Package’? As if being in a Saurian zoo wasn’t degrading enough.”

Duke glared. “No, ‘Thanks for coming to get me’? Sarcastic comment right off the face-off.”

“Well, it was either that, or ‘What the hell took you so long?’ ”

“I should have expected that,” Duke admonished himself, shaking his head. Albeit, he still smiled his crooked grin. “Tell me, kid. Those marks on your arms from them or the Saurians?” He motioned toward the humanoids.

“Does it matter?” Nosedive retorted bitterly.

“For this, yeah. I need to know.”

Nosedive blew up his bangs. “It came from them when they were taking the blood sample and cutting my hair.”

“And the black eye?”

Nosedive gagged. “I have a black eye?”

“All right.” Duke took a reinforced breath, seeming to dread what he had to do next. “I’m going to have to put the gag back, kid. I promise it won’t be for much longer.”

“Can’t I just sit here and be quiet?” Nosedive asked innocently. If there was one thing that ticked him off more than being restrained, it was not being able to retort to being restrained.

“You think you can be quiet for five minutes?”

At that moment, Nosedive loathed Duke more than even Dragaunus. “You suck.”

“Because you know I’m right.”

“Doesn’t matter. You still suck.”

“So they didn’t break your spirit, eh, kid?”

Nosedive smirked darkly and particularly wickedly toward Duke. “Wait to see what I’m going to break when—mphm!”

Replacing the gag, Duke clasped Nosedive on the shoulder and stood. “Maybe I’ll tell Wildwing it’s better to let you calm down first before we untie you.”

A myriad of muffled swears erupted from Nosedive’s beak as Duke headed back over to the charcoal male. Though the older man couldn’t exactly understand what was said, by the look on his face, he understood the basic meaning. Nosedive rolled his eyes when Duke failed to pay attention to him anymore and felt the security man behind him. The firm, rough hand was reinstated on his shoulder.

“I specifically told you it was to be unharmed,” Duke said harshly, his tone the complete opposite of the one he had used with Nosedive. His hand unconsciously levitated toward his sword, but he stopped himself when he reached the man. “There are lacerations and contusion on its arms, and it has a black eye. I want compensation.”

Nosedive growled. They were fighting over money? Was Duke serious? Nosedive shifted his gaze to Wildwing, whose face seemed to pale instantly. His older brother shot a look toward him, and he shrugged in return. He wasn’t too bad that a few days of healing wouldn’t help.

Still, Duke was unrelenting. “It is beaten. Its worth has been diminished, and so has your compensation. I will not pay the full price for it.”

“It is still usable. There is no permanent damage,” the man argued, the verbal battle becoming heated.

“Our agreement clearly states it will be unharmed.”

“It is. It has full mobilization of his facilities, but…” The man marched over to Nosedive, fisted his hand in the teen’s hair, and wrenched his head upward. “We can change that fact.”

Nosedive’s breathing increased when he watched the man tear a knife from his belt. He felt the coldness of the blade under his neck, felt its sharpness piercing his skin. He squeezed shut his eyes, trembling noticeably. As much as he hated being on Sauria, they didn’t want him dead. Just the opposite, actually.

“Go ahead,” Duke said calmly.

Nosedive’s eyes snapped open and focused incredulously on the former thief.

“Go ahead,” Duke reiterated, looking away disinterested. “Maim it. Kill it. See if I care.”

I CARE! Nosedive shouted in his mind. He pleaded toward Wildwing. His older brother certainly cared, as he met Nosedive’s gaze, looking incensed and scared. Even Mallory cared, as she pointed her puck launcher directly at the man holding the knife close to his neck.

“Of course,” Duke continued with nonchalance, “if you do kill it, you won’t get any portion of your compensation.”

The man loosened his grip on Nosedive’s hair and stared at Duke with blatant hostility. “Two hundred thousand.”

Duke snorted. “Please, give me a real offer. Fifty thousand.”

“It’s in perfect condition besides the obvious!” the man bartered.

“And it was supposed to be in mint. Seventy-five, and that’s my final offer.”

“I went to Sauria!” the man claimed, shoving Nosedive forward to the floor and storming away. “I deserve at least a hundred fifty thousand for that!”

Nosedive whined softly, as pain infiltrated his dislocated shoulder. He rolled onto his back to alleviate the pressure, but it didn’t help too much.

Duke sighed. “Fine. A hundred twenty-five thousand, if you so deserve it.”

The man looked back at Nosedive, the teenager owing on the floor. He sighed angrily. “Deal.”

Abruptly, Nosedive felt a hand seize his good shoulder and lift him off the floor. The giant secured the teen close to his body despite Nosedive’s thrashing. The teen’s eyes widened at the sight of the needle extracted. He shunned away when he felt a prick in his arm and felt nothing after.

!!!

“Baby bro?” A worried voice called, drawing him from precious sleep.

He barely had the energy to open his eyes, but he forced his way through the crippling exhaustion because a familiar, concerned voice pleaded him to. Seeing a blurry white mallard reaching down for him, Nosedive would have moved, but a fierce pain ravaged his back and legs. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, not the harsh feeling of the humanoid’s, and leaned his head against the soft feathers.

Reveling in his brother’s touch, he allowed himself to be dragged from consciousness.

!!!

A hand held his, its finger rubbing up and down the back of his thumb. The feeling helped to edge his conscious farther into reality, and he moaned suddenly at the lingering exhaustion overtaking him.

“Baby bro?”

His hair was pushed from his forehead, a loving motion done by his big brother when Wildwing wanted to look into his eyes.

“Kiddo?”

Nosedive turned his head toward the sound of the voice. He smiled slightly and with a tremendous effort, opened his eyes. He grunted at the bright light greeting him, but the initial shock subsided a moment later when his eyes became familiar with the brightness. They rested on his brother next to him, who wore his patented concerned look.

“Dive, can you hear me?” his brother asked, squeezing his hand.

Nosedive stifled a yawn and moved to sit up. Vertigo sent the back of the Aerowing spinning, and if not for his brother catching him, he would have collapsed back to the deck.

“Whoa, there, baby brother. Not to fast. The serum’s effects are pretty potent, or that’s what Duke says. Take it easy.”

Nosedive stuck his head between his arched legs to curb the need to throw-up. Wildwing gently rubbed his back in a methodical motion, which really didn’t help his nausea, but it did wonders for his nerves.

“W—What’d I miss?” he managed to gasp, closing his eyes to shield himself from the whirling.

A fond chuckle escaped Wildwing’s beak. “Not much. You passed out. The goon stuffed you in a box, then placed you in here.”

So, he really became a package. “H—How…” He decided against continuing when a wave of nausea almost brought bile in his beak.

Wildwing draped an arm over Nosedive’s shoulders, drawing the boy close. “It wasn’t hard to miss the flyers going around Sauria. The real problem was getting in.” He gave Nosedive’s shoulder a demonstrative squeeze. “We tried—numerous times. It was just…We finally had to put out a bounty in order to get someone to do it for us. W—We couldn’t get to you.” His voice surprisingly cracked, causing Nosedive to raise his head.

Wildwing looked down at him sadly. “Yes, I was worried.”

Nosedive gulped, leaning closer to his brother to feel his warmth, his presence. “Nothing new there.”

His older brother ruffled his hair playfully. “Brat.”

“What about Dragaunus?” Nosedive said suddenly. As soon as the words slipped out, a pang of lightheadedness attacked him. He grabbed Wildwing’s opposite hand and miraculously managed to keep erect.

Wildwing was grinning, but he still shook his head. “He still has Earth, Dive. After he took you away, the team fought back, and we escaped. It took us a little while longer to form an underground resistance. Once we did, we staged a battle as a distraction, so Duke, Mallory, and I could get off planet to find you.” He shivered, releasing only a small part of the anguish that had ravaged him. Nosedive knew the feeling well. It was the same inner demons he had fought for the last six months, wondering what happened to his brother, praying he hadn’t lost Wildwing forever…

Nosedive sought solace that there weren’t any noticeable scars on his brother. “Thanks for coming.”

“I should have been sooner,” Wildwing argued.

Nosedive leaned against his brother’s shoulder. He ducked his head, as the Aerowing hit turbulence. Wildwing wrapped a protect arm about Nosedive’s shoulders, holding him to his chest and shielding him from the bumps.

Heaving in dry breaths, Nosedive muttered, “You came. That’s all that matters.” He rested in his brother’s embrace, like he had so many times in his life. He looked up at Wildwing, grinning slightly even though he knew he must have looked sick. He certainly felt it. “What was with the money thing? Didn’t want to pay top dollar for me?”

Wildwing frowned at his brother’s insecurity. “I would have paid anything for your safety. You know that, but in the short amount of time we had, we weren’t able to get that much together. Still, we had to make the bounty large enough to get attention,” he fumed, his tone disgusted. “I hate to say it, little brother, but if you wouldn’t have been hurt, we wouldn’t have had enough money to pay for your safety.”

A pang of nervousness and apprehension clutched Nosedive, and the harsh realization of how close he was to being killed or left in the zoo flourished in his gut. He snuggled against to Wildwing, seeking his brother’s reassurance and fighting back his exhaustion. He just wanted to be awake to feel his brother’s embrace. It reminded him of the first time he and his brother were reunited in the camps after being separated, believing his brother dead…He left alone…His thoughts waned at another wave of nausea. “How long into the effects of this stuff wear off?”

Wildwing returned the smile, and Nosedive’s thoughts were confirmed. “At least another four hours, but by then we’ll be half-way to Earth.”

Nosedive sunk into his brother’s embrace, knowing he was going to stay there the majority of the way home, maybe even longer, and was content to do so. “Then what?”

“Then, we save the universe.”

Drifting back toward sleep, Nosedive mumbled, “Oh, is that all…”

!!!

Wildwing leaned his back against the Aerowing’s wall. Holding his brother’s sleeping form tightly, he refused to let go. He’d reclaim his brother for the second time since the Saurian invasion. He’d be damned if he’d let them be split again.

Footsteps, approaching…Wildwing looked up at Duke, smiling. “Hey,” he greeted softly when the older man took a seat on the floor across from him.

“How’s the kid?” Duke asked, equally as quiet.

Wildwing shrugged, not resisting the urge to trail his fingers through his little brother’s hair. “He’ll survive. It’s just the serum’s effects.” He looked pointedly Duke. “There was really no other way?”

“It’s protocol, Wing,” Duke affirmed. He rested the majority of his weight on his hands behind him. “Anytime someone is kidnapped or transported, they’re drugged so they’re not coherent and can escape. Trust me. He’ll be fine in a few hours.”

Wildwing nodded absently, his full and rapt attention on his brother, afraid that he might disappear. He suddenly looked up at Duke. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “I might never have approved of your occupation or what you did in your past, but I am grateful that you did it.”

Duke smirked. “Well, you know what they say. ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ ”

“I always wondered what the reason was for taking my little brother away from me.”

“Maybe so you’d know just how special you two have it.”

Wildwing had no qualms of the natural smile that formed on his face. “I already know, Duke.” He added softly, nuzzling his sleeping brother’s cheek with his beak just because he could, “I already know.”

THE END