Nightbloom sat in her chair, eyes closed.
She opened them slightly, her serpentine eyes staring at the ducks before her.
Everyone but Canard and Zane were unnerved by her cold stare.
"I will take charge of this rescue mission," she said.
"But Nightbloom!" protested Zane, stepping forward.
Nightbloom raised a hand. "They will find out sooner or later. We are running out of time. We can not afford to continue this life of untold truths."
"But it's Iron Wing who resides inside those chambers!"
"And those chambers lie beneath the castle," Nightbloom snarled. "This rescue will also be one of our last chances to destroy the castle along with Lord Dragaunus."
Zane crossed his arms in anger.
Nightbloom looked over at Canard. "Duke will lead the actual rescue," she said. "With Mallory, Tanya, and ND as his team."
"But. . . " protested Wildwing.
"No," responded Nightbloom. "With your brother at stake, I cannot afford to have someone at risk of being emotionally unstable. Opportunities for mistakes rises."
"She has a point, Wing," said Duke. "I swear that I will bring your brother back."
"Are we sneaking in?" asked Canard.
Nightbloom looked at him. "It's an all or nothing operation. Please gather all the soldiers with great stealth in one room, all others in an adjacent room."
X
Dive squirmed under the gentle touch of Lady Malice. In the back corner of the same room stood Iron Wing, sharpening some blades.
"For a young mallard, you sure are a cute one. Not as well built as my Canard. . . but lean enough." She ran both hands over Dive's bare chest.
Dive gasped out of fear.
His body was reacting in a way he never felt it react and it scared him. Plus the female in front of him was just plain evil.
Her soft hands suddenly raked down his chest, ripping through his feathers and skin, drawing blood.
Dive cried out.
"So who are you?" she asked. "You aren't my love's slave. You are an impostor. So who are you really?"
"I don't know," Dive growled, trying to come up with a believable lie. "All I know is that there was a mission to accomplish and I failed."
Iron Wing moved forward.
"Mission?"
Dive closed his eyes.
Lady Malice raked her claws along the inside of Dive's thighs.
"Argh! Infiltration!"
"Infiltration?"
"Those were my current orders. I had none afterwards." Dive gasped for air, trying to will the pain away.
Lady Malice stepped back, a victorious smile on her face.
"I just have that touch," she said.
Iron Wing stood before Dive.
"No more," whispered Dive.
Iron Wing back-handed him with his metal arm.
A burst of colors erupted in his sight, and then they were gone, plunging him into darkness.
X
Night provided the cover that the Resistance needed. That and the smoke from all the droid factories hid any bit of moon light.
Four Ducks crept up alongside the castle wall.
As the climbed over the stone, they spotted a figure watching them from the windows.
She raised her arms and tendrils of thick mist began to rise.
The Ducks leapt over the wall and used the cover of the mist to get closer to the castle.
When they reached the wall, they found a rope dangling from the window in which the female had occupied. However, the figure was gone and the room's light was out.
The Ducks began to climb.
X
Nightbloom gave a cold look at Lady Malice.
She had caught a faint smell of blood coming from the female, and she knew that the saurian had just tortured someone.
Standing next to her was General Canard.
She kept her face still, pondering how she could love Canard so much, yet detest the same face that stood before her.
They are two different individuals. Canard is a wonderful being. The General. . . well. . . he is something vile.
X
Duke pressed his body against the wall.
He waited until the guard passed just a bit before he knocked him out with the hilt of his saber.
The guard went down, but his body didn't hit the floor. Mallory and Tanya had caught him, and pulled him into their hiding spot.
ND stood behind them, nervous.
He peeked around the corner then pulled back. "Next left," he said. "And there should be a couple of guards if they deemed Dive as potentially dangerous."
Duke nodded.
He crept through the shadows and then motioned for the others to follow him.
As they crowded behind him, Duke spotted three guards standing outside a dungeon door. He bit back a cry of surprise as he recognized this world's Siege.
"You won't believe who's here," he whispered back to Mallory and Tanya.
Mallory peered around the corner and spotted the red Saurian.
"I was wondering when we'd run into them," she said.
"I think these guys are scarier than ours," admitted Tanya.
Duke nodded.
Siege was leaning against the door, scowling.
"Yo, Siege," said one of the Saurians standing next to him. "Are three of us really necessary to watch the duck? I mean, he's kinda wimpy looking."
Siege growled. "It's to keep General Canard happy. Because he's Lord Dragaunus's favorite." His voice was filled with scorn.
The third guard laughed. "Stupid ducks. . . I don't even know why they have them in our army."
"Are you sure you're not the stupid ones?"
All three Saurians glanced to their left and were stunned to see their prisoner standing there.
"Get him!" yelled Siege, as the blond duck darted around the corner.
As the three guards turned the same corner, they found themselves being knocked out cold by three unidentified Ducks.
Duke nudged the unconscious Siege with his foot. "Scarier, but just as gullible."
Mallory and Tanya nodded, looking grim.
Meanwhile, ND was about ready to have a panic attack. "I thought. . . I was. . . going . . to die," he said, in between breaths.
"You did good," complimented Duke. "You drew them out here, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah. . . but still . . . "
Tanya flashed the scrawny duck a smile. "Don't think about it too much. You did fine and that's all that matters."
ND nodded.
Duke leaned over and pulled a set of rings from Siege's belt.
"Well," he said. "That was easy. I hope the others are doing as well this time around."
ND gulped. "I'm not sure about that," he said.
Duke turned to look at him.
"If we had it easy, it's because Iron Wing isn't down here. He's up there, where they are."
X
Lady Firepassion stood her ground, as elegant as always. Her bodyguard stood behind her, his face expressionless.
"The lord commands for you to be placed under protective custody in his bed chambers," Iron Wing said.
"And I said 'No,'" responded Firepassion. "It is shameful for me to enter his bed chambers without us being legally married. Just because I am betrothed to him does not mean I am allowed to enter such a private sanctuary. And without my bodyguard!!"
Iron Wing gritted his teeth. He wasn't use to anyone defying his or his lord's orders. This female Saurian was irritating. And if it weren't for her high status, he would have incapacitated the body guard and taken her right there to show her place as a female.
Then again, if it weren't for Lord Dragaunus's orders, he'd be downstairs in the torture chambers playing with his latest acquisition.
How he longed for the simpler days when he held no royal title. When he was just an apprentice to another torturer.
"As you wish," said Iron Wing. "But be advised. The Resistance have struck once, they may be tempted to do it again. If you are injured, Lord Dragaunus will not be held responsible since you refused his protection."
"My guard is fine enough," responded Lady Firepassion, haughtily.
The massive duck turned his back on her and stepped away.
Lady Firepassion went into her dark bed chambers.
Zane stepped next to her and closed the door before turning on the lights.
"Good," said Nightbloom, her soft voice hardening. "You're here."
Canard stepped towards her and spoke softly. "Duke and his team made it inside. We have yet to hear from them."
Nightbloom nodded. "And the rest of your team?"
"They came in after the other four. Thanks for the cover, by the way."
"My father always believed in traditions. I am not the only one who knows about the dark and light powers Saurians used before technology."
All of a sudden, the lights went out.
"Oh. . . was that part of the plan?" asked Zane.
"Yes," responded Canard and Nightbloom. "Let's go."
X
Dive tried to hold back a moan as he heard the door creaking open. Didn't they do enough to him for one day?
He shut his eyes as the glare of the light steaming in through the door, casting a shadow of whoever was in the door way.
"Oh, Dive!" he heard a familiar voice cry out.
"Tanya?" Dive called out, hopefully.
"Hang on, kid," responded Duke. "We'll get ya out."
Dive blinked stupidly at the four figures standing before him. Was this really real or just a hopeful figment of his imagination?
He felt the metal clamps around his wrist loosen.
His body slid down as a pair of strong arms caught him.
"Where's Wing?" he said, voice sounding hoarse, even to him.
"He's. . ."
The lights outside the hall went out.
". . . causing a black out," Duke finished.
X
Wildwing and Grin matched each other step for step as they made their way into the energy chambers. The other four that were with them proved themselves rather useful when it came to electrical engineering.
"This is so cool," said the youngest of the four, a little thin Saurian. He was also of the plant-eaters type. His eyes quickly followed the wiring that led to the huge Belirium crystal. "Judging from the way these cross right here. . . and here. . . if you cut these two wires, and this tiny one right here. . . you should be able to cut off all electrical power to the castle without causing the crystal to explode which will surely get the attention of all the guards we managed to slip by, which I'm sure we don't want to do."
Wildwing gave the little Saurian a curious look. "How did 'Silent' become your code name?"
Silent blushed.
"That's cause he gets all shy and quiet among girls his age," snickered a black duck.
Silent pouted. "I do not," he said, sullenly.
Wildwing, Grin, and the tall black duck both set out to cut the wires. Silent and the remaining two Resistance members watched, keeping an eye out for any guards.
A split moment later, the lights surrounding the room faded out.
The crystal remained glowing.
"Now we get out," said another Saurian, his voice gruff and sounding not too pleased.
The crystal's light died.
Nobody said a word.
"Oops," came Silent's voice.
X
Two Saurian guards fumbled in the sudden darkness as they tried to pry the doors to the electrical chambers open.
"Our heads are going to roll for this," one of them said, fear clear in his voice.
"Shut up and pull harder!" said the other, some weapon clattering to the floor as he let it go.
A moment later, a swishing sound was heard as the doors slid open.
The two guards peered in.
A moment later, two fists connected with them as a traitor Saurian and a tan Avian punched them.
Wildwing stared at the unconscious guards. "Come on," he said. "Let's go."
X
Using the black out as their cover, Nightbloom, Canard, and Zane raced down the halls, hugging the walls. Saurian guards were unprepared, falling under their coordinated blows.
"The central computer that oversees the Raptor is up ahead," said Nightbloom.
Canard grunted an affirmative as he pulled out a small round object and hurled it.
It exploded on impact.
The metal doors enclosing the main computer room curled inwards, smoke filling the hall way.
Nightbloom leaped through the hole.
Her feet never made contact with the floor.
"Nightbloom!" cried out Canard, freezing in shock.
Zane froze as well.
"Well, well," drawled a familiar voice. "So my dear Firepassion is more of a black widow."
Lord Dragaunus stood by the main computer, arms crossed. Next to him was General Canard. In front of them was Iron Wing, holding Nightbloom by the throat.
Dragaunus just let out a chilling laugh as Nightbloom clawed at the hand cutting off her air, feet kicking in the air, looking for support.
"Snap her neck," ordered the red Saurian.
To be continued . . .