The explosion rocked through the building, sending everyone nearby flying to the ground. Duke himself, barely making his way to the upper level, crashed into the unforgiving stone walls, forming a gash on the side of his head.
He barely saw through the blood flowing down his face as he forced his way through one more door.
He looked around, mentally checking his coordinates, and realized he wasn't that far off from where Nightbloom was supposed to be. He gathered his wits and proceeded forward.
X
Pain.
That was the first thing Nightbloom was aware of.
Her whole body felt like it were being pierced with pins and needles. She recognized it as a symptom of draining her power. What astounded her was that she was alive.
She wished she were dead.
Her throat hurt when she let out a moan.
She slowly opened her eyes to assess the damage in front of her.
She could smell charred flesh, and saw a body lying on the floor.
Then something moved into her field of vision.
Her mind screamed for her to get up, but her body hurt so much.
She looked up into the eyes of a furious Iron Wing, and the only consolidation was that she would probably not feel a thing. She mustered up enough strength to glare at him, and then blackness closed around her.
X
His master was dead, and this bitch was responsible.
Who did she think she was?
Iron Wing growled when he saw her lose consciousness. Judging by the looks of her appearance, it was quite possible that she wouldn't wake up...at least not on her own.
As he glared at the now helpless female, he noticed how bits of her armor and clothing had chipped or burned away, revealing skin underneath.
His blood began to boil, but not in anger.
Time to show the Saurian whore her place.
He reached down and began to unbuckle her belt.
X
Pucks and lasers flew across the lands as supporters of the Saurian empire and the members of the Resistance fought each other.
Canons thundered in the distance, wrecking havoc to the habitants of Puckworld.
But sides were clearly forming, as those who were indecisive began to choose sides.
The cowards chose the one they believed was the winning side, the frustrated ones chose freedom.
However, the need and desperation for survival made the fighters more daring, and it gave them an edge.
In different cities, as the war progressed across the world, Saurian overlords found themselves losing their hold over their slaves.
The Saurian nobles desperately tried get a hold of their leader, but to their distress, they were unable to get a hold of them.
X
Duke rounded a corner and paused.
There was Nightbloom, slumped down against a wall.
And the Avian he assumed was Iron Wing was about to rape her.
"Stop right there!" he shouted, pulling out his saber.
Iron Wing whirled around, hands moving from Nightbloom's waistband.
Duke was surprised to see Iron Wing take a step back, a flicker of fear on his face.
"Th-this can't be..." he said. "You're dead!"
Duke paused. Dead? He suddenly wondered whether Iron Wing was responsible for his double's demise. If that was the case... maybe he could work this out to his advantage.
"So I am..."
Instead of reacting with more fear, Iron Wing's eyes narrowed. "Then I'll just have to make sure you stay in your grave!"
Duke backed up a bit, brandishing his saber. So much for taking advantage of the situation.
The speed at which Iron Wing charged almost caught him by surprise. Duke whirled around, clanging his saber against Iron Wing's metal arm. Sparks flew at the impact.
Iron Wing threw out a punch, catching Duke near the chest.
Duke flew back, air knocked out of him.
Trying to take in air, he scrambled up, feeling light headed. So this is what it would be like to fight Grin. Only... Grin was a lot more intellectual this guy seemed to be. Maybe there would be a way he could outsmart him.
He heard the thundering foot steps of Iron Wing rushing him a second time. Ignoring the pain that flared up his whole upper chest area, Duke leapt up and grabbed hold of one of the broken metal beams over him.
He swung out, his feet catching Iron Wing in the jaw.
The direct hit was enough to make him flinch and crash into the wall behind Duke.
Duke dropped down and immediately swung his saber out, catching Iron Wing in the back.
The armor he wore deflected the saber from doing any major damage, and Iron Wing whirled around to throw another punch.
This time Duke dodged the blow, and he swung his saber upwards, his saber finally striking flesh.
Iron Wing jerked back as blood flowed from under his arm, eyes flashing.
How dare this little heathen cut him!!!
Duke glanced at Nightbloom and was glad that he had been drawing Iron Wing away from her. However, it was quite clear that he was putting himself more and more in danger.
The look in Iron Wing's eyes was that of a mad duck, and it was common knowledge that those of unsound mind where more violent, more reckless, and feared nothing.
Iron Wing began raining down punches, and Duke only had time to use his saber as a shield, blocking each swing. Blood splattered as flesh was sliced open, but not once did Iron Wing slow down.
The blood pouring from the wounds was getting sticky, and it was harder to grasp the hilt of his saber. A couple of times, Duke felt himself losing grip.
Then he stumbled over a broken piece of concrete.
Duke let out a grunt as he landed on the floor, his saber .
His eye opened wide as Iron Wing loomed over him, giving an evil grin. He picked up a large chunk of stone and held it over his head.
Duke frantically scrambled to get up, but the pieces of dirt and stone made him slip.
A huge shadow moved past him and slammed into Iron Wing.
Both figures crashed to the floor, hard.
Duke pulled himself up and ran for his saber. Turning around, he was able to identify his helper.
"Grin!"
It was odd, watching the two fight.
Grin matched Iron Wing pound for pound, Iron Wing using insanity for energy, Grin going into the mind over matter phase.
Duke rushed his way past the two battling giants, recalling Nightbloom's condition.
Upon reaching her side, he froze. By the looks of her appearance, Duke seriously wondered whether it would be worth it to rescue her. Shaking his head, he picked her up, hoping that he wasn't creating serious harm.
An enraged shout caught his attention and he turned to see Iron Wing lifting Grin over his head.
Grin reached out and grabbed a steel beam with one hand, a wire with another.
As Iron Wing let go of him, Grin held onto the beam and tore the wire loose, sending off sparks of electricity.
Iron Wing looked up in time to see the open end of the wire coming down towards him.
Duke turned away as Iron Wing rose his metal arm.
More sparks flew out as electricity charged through the grey duck's body, and he began to scream in high pitched agony.
Grin raised his legs to keep Iron Wing from grabbing him as the large duck went down.
His body twitched as the scent of burnt flesh filled the room, fire breaking out over his body, melting his shirt off.
Moments later, nothing was left to burn.
"Ugh," said Duke, trying to hold his breath.
Iron Wing's eyes were open, but fluids leaked out of the eye sockets. Cooked flesh hung onto exposed pieces of fur. Small white flames continued to burn, slowly turning the body to ash.
Grin dropped from the ceiling, his eyes looking a bit haunted.
"You didn't have a choice, Grin," said Duke, knowing he was looking at an Avian who had killed his first. "If you hadn't, he would surely have killed us all."
"Logic doesn't always reason with the heart," commented Grin.
Duke nodded.
X
A piece of metal was pushed upward, as battered looking Avian arose from the mess.
Looking around, he spotted Lord Dragaunus, clearly dead from the unusual angle his neck was in.
Fury rose in his chest. "I...will...kill...them," said the General.
X
"Word is that those holding power are falling," reported one of the Resistance members.
Zane nodded as he barked out an order to send reinforcements to the neighboring city.
The sounds of laser fire was lessening, moving further and further away. The Raptor was theirs now, as well as the castle.
Tanya worked alongside Dr. Beakon, patching up the injured.
Dive and ND stood next to each other, watching as Canard and Wildwing tried to get in touch with Grin and Duke.
"Any luck?" asked Mallory, as she helped Break move another injured member into place.
Off to one side, the rest of Wildwing's group hovered over Silent.
The small Saurian, despite numerous wrappings, was talking excitedly to anyone who listened.
Firewall was just shaking his head while Hacker laughed at Silent.
"Someone's coming out," shouted one of their own.
Resistant members froze as they whirled around, aiming their lasers and puck blasters.
"Whoa..." came Duke's placating voice.
Weaponry was lowered as Duke came out, Grin behind him, now carrying Nightbloom.
"Duke, Grin!" said Wildwing, and the rest of the team rushed over to them. Canard took Nightbloom from Grin.
As soon as Zane saw her, he rushed over, as well as others worried about their leader's well being.
"How is she?" asked Zane.
"Barely alive," commented Grin.
"We need some water," said Tanya, as Canard set Nightbloom down. ND moved from Dive's side to grab the nearest bucket.
"Give her room!" shouted Zane, pushing the crowding Resistance team back.
A sharp cry caught their attention as they turned around.
"Dive!!" shouted Wildwing.
General Canard had somehow managed to come up behind him. Bit's of his skin was scorched, but he had enough strength to grab Dive around the neck and hold him close, a laser pointed under the young duck's beak.
Dive had his hands on Canard's arm, but the danger of being shot kept him still.
"Where's the bitch," General Canard growled. His eyes moved downward, and all other Resistant members moved in to hide her from his sight, firearms pointed at him.
"Well, looks like she's not going to survive after all...pity. I would have rather liked to enjoy her." He then turned to glare at his twin. "Well, I'll admit I was a bit stunned seeing that my favorite toy had a twin. I think that prepared me for seeing him." He nodded towards Wildwing. "I didn't think that you'd be here as an ally to them. So this all leads me to believe... you came from another dimension, didn't you?"
Canard and the others exchanged looks, not sure of what to say.
General Canard looked on, his eye narrowing. "How did you get here?" he demanded. "Show me, and I'll let him go." He pushed the laser harder into Dive's neck, and Dive whimpered from the pain.
Tanya stepped forward. "Even if we show you," she said. "We're stuck here because it's broken!"
"Then you better fix it," said General Canard, taking a step back. "And you better fix it fast, otherwise I'll have to find some way to occupy my waiting time," he laughed, his arm around Dive's neck lowering to his chest.
"Don't you even think..." began Wildwing, taking a step forward.
The general gave an evil grin as he nuzzled his beak into Dive's neck.
Dive let out a shocked little cry, his whole body tense.
"I'm sure I'll have more fun breaking this one as I did mine."
A moment later, Dive heard General Canard grunt as something hard slammed into his back. The twisted general's eyes rolled back, and his hold on Dive slipped.
Dive pulled away ran into the arms of his brother, turning around in time to see the general land face first on the ground, ND standing over him.
A rifle blaster was in his arms, slowly being lowered as he trembled from the adrenaline rush. His eyes had a wild look to them, and his chest heaved with the amount of air he was taking in. His eyes looked up at Dive. "I couldn't...l-l-let him," he said.
"Kid," Canard murmured, as Zane and Break moved forward to tie the fallen general.
ND dropped the rifle, and let himself slowly collapse to the floor. His breathing slowed down, but it was clear that he was still in a state of distress.
Tanya and Mallory moved forward and knelt down by his side.
X
Zane stepped up to Canard. "He's been detained in one of our underground prisons, and Nightbloom looks like she's trying to wake up."
"Good," whispered Canard, turning to look at the Avian.
They had made their way to one of the camps, those who were strong enough moving on out to help in other cities.
"Word from the retrievers is that Lord Dragaunus is confirmed dead. The smaller overlords are falling like dominoes. We won..." Zane's voice was filled with disbelief.
Canard gave him a small grin.
X
A couple of weeks had passed, and the fighting was dying down world-wide. The Avians and their supporters were winning, taking into custody or executing Saurian Overlords and their supporters.
Inside the castle that use to be Lord Dragaunus's home, Tanya was messing with her device. "I think I've got it," she said, unsure.
"What do you mean, 'I think?'" asked Canard.
"Well... it's set to take us to another dimension, but with all the, um, factors from our fight with Dragaunus, both here and there, we can't be too sure that it'll send us to our Earth."
"Man, I just realized that we left Earth unguarded for a long time!" exclaimed Dive, worried about his friends, Thrash and Mookie.
"We'll have to take the chance," said Canard.
Tanya nodded. "In that case, it'll be ready to go in three hours."
As the ducks gathered around and talked about the possible outcomes, no one noticed the forlorn look that ND gave them. For a brief moment in time, he had his brother back. And now he was losing him again, only to himself, in a manner of speaking.
A gentle hand landed on his shoulder. Glancing up, he saw Nightbloom smiling at him. She patted his shoulder and then moved forward to the group.
Canard pulled away. "Hey," he said.
"Care to meet me in my room?" she said. "For a final debriefing."
Canard's cheeks colored as some of those present chuckled. "Are you sure you're well enough?" he asked.
Nightbloom gave him a coy grin as she walked into a nearby room.
Wildwing shook his head in exasperation as the two went into the office and hid behind closed doors.
X
Canard ran one hand down Nightbloom's bare arm, holding her close.
"I'm glad I had the chance to know you," she said, softly. "And I'm glad that you showed me how to love."
"Come with us," asked Canard.
Nightbloom looked up at him, a sad smile on her face. "My place is here, Canard. And yours is on your planet Earth. We each have our destinies, and we cannot ignore them." She kissed him under his beak before moving on top of him. "So for now, I say we enjoy each other as a goodbye."
Canard moaned as she moved over him.
X
The Mighty Ducks team, Nightbloom, Zane, ND, Koko, Dr. Beakon, and a small group of the Resistance team gathered just outside the castle.
Tanya stood in the middle, making some final adjustments on her weapon turned dimensional hopper. She was nervous, and the shaking in her hands made that clear.
Nightbloom rested her head against Canard's shoulder.
Canard bit back any words.
They had both agreed that they wouldn't say goodbye.
Meanwhile, ND approached Wildwing and Dive.
"Um, I w-want to thank you f-for, you know, g-giving me the chance to b-be with my family again..." he said, looking at the ground.
Dive looked at Wildwing, pleadingly.
Wildwing looked at Canard.
Canard just looked baffled. Then he understood. At first he looked uncertain, but then he gave them a nod.
Dive broke out into a big grin as Nightbloom asked Canard what that was all about.
Wildwing turned to ND. "We were wondering... would you like to come with us?"
ND froze. "With you? L-l-like in, out there...different worlds?"
"Yeah!" said Dive. "I mean, it can't get much worse than this, can it?"
Tanya snorted as she turned a few more dials. She understood the dangers more than the others...but still... She too felt protective over the weaker version of Nosedive, and if being around them helped develop him to his full potential, than so be it. It would be best to bring him aboard.
"Okay..." replied ND, nervous.
"Are you sure?" asked Nightbloom. It pained her to have helped rescue a team member once lost, only to lose him again.
ND nodded. "It's just that... it's p-painful being here."
Nightbloom nodded. "I understand," she said.
"Well... I guess this is it," said Tanya.
The wind picked up around them as the device let out a small ball of light. It began to cackle and grow, and soon turned itself inside out, turning into a portal.
Canard pulled away from Nightbloom. "Mallory, Grin, go!" he shouted.
Both ducks leapt first.
"Duke, ND, go!"
Duke offered a hand to ND, who looked nervous.
ND took his hand, took a deep breath, and both Avians leapt through the portal.
"Wing, Dive!"
As Dive readied himself to jump through, he was surprised when Koko ran up to him. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and backed away, blushing as others catcalled.
Dive stood stunned, hand on cheek, and had no time to reply as his brother grabbed him by the shoulder and hauled him into the portal. "No, wait! Bye!" was all they heard.
Canard stepped to the portal. He looked at Nightbloom and gave a quick nod.
Nightbloom just smiled as Zane approached her side.
"Take care of her for me," said Canard.
"Always," replied Zane.
"I can take care of my own," growled Nightbloom, tears in her eyes betraying her true emotions.
Tanya picked up her machine. She nodded to Canard, and both ducks leapt in.
A moment later, the portal closed.
X
Eight pairs of eyes opened up.
"So... where are we?"
"I'll let you know as soon as I figure out."
X
Epilogue:
Two months had passed since the Resistance and their supporters had won the battle. Restoration was well underway, and the citizens of the new Puckworld cherished their new found freedom.
In their capitol city, citizens gathered around a castle.
Inside resided their newly elected leader, President Nightbloom. She waved at the Avians and Saurians below her who saw her as the current symbol for restoration.
Zane stepped up behind her.
"Your people are happy," he told her.
Nightbloom smiled at him. "I'm trying. These Avians have tasted extreme oppression for just two years. Their fear of it happening again is what led to this, and I hope not to let them down."
"I can't help but think whether we would have still succeeded or not without the intervention of the outsiders."
Nightbloom stared up into the sky wistfully. "I think we would have failed. They really made their presence felt during their short stay." Her hand moved to her abdomen, which looked just a bit bigger than two months ago. She gave a faint smile. "And they will make their presence be known for generations to come."
Zane coughed. "Nightbloom..." he started. "It's difficult being the world leader and a mother on your own," he said.
Nightbloom raised an eyebrow.
"I, uh, was wondering whether you would consider allowing me to share the responsibilities of taking care of your family."
Nightbloom took a deep breath. "Is that a proposal?"
Zane nodded.
Nightbloom sighed. "Zane..." she started. "I care for you deeply... but Canard . . ."
Zane gave an audible swallow. "Nightbloom, I wish for you to be mine, if only in name," he said. "I know how much you still . . . love him, but I care for you , and he asked that I take care of you."
"I can take..."
"Care of yourself...I know. But your future children?" He stepped forward, gently cupping her chin with one hand. Her expression showed her uncertainty. "I am willing to wait forever, if necessary, for you to love me as much as I do you. But I wish to be part of your family during that time."
Nightbloom's eyes grew bright. "It sounds unfair," she whispered. "For you to wait so long."
"Unfair is not even having the chance. Please, Nightbloom. For your children. . . and Canard's."
"In that case... I accept."
Zane grinned and embraced her, giving her a chaste kiss on her forehead.
His kind was free, Nightbloom was his, and all felt like things would be all right for the world.