Dive slowly opened his eyes, a crick in his neck being the first thing he was aware of. The ache in his back and bottom followed.
He looked around and stifled a gasp as everything came rushing back from his memory.
He was back in Puckworld, but in a different time-line.
In his arms was his double. Or an image of what could have been him had the Saurians chosen a more sly approach than the direct one they had in his time. And if Canard was a sleaze rather than a duck bent on vengeance.
ND stirred in his arms.
Dive took the time to look his other half over. ND's eyes had bags underneath them, and his hair was stringy. And even though he couldn't see them, Dive could feel ND's ribs through his shirt.
The duck was malnourished, and Dive had a feeling that if they stood beside each other, ND would actually be smaller than him.
He was startled when ND suddenly let out a cry and pushed himself away from him. His breathing was erratic and his eyes were wild.
"ND!" shouted Nosedive. "It's just me! Dive!"
ND's breathing slowed down as the scrawny Avian glanced around. "Oh," he whispered. "We're in the sewers."
Dive slowly nodded, not wanting to make any sudden moves.
ND ran a dirty hand through his hair. "Um, well, I guess we should get something to eat."
"From where?" asked Dive. "I got the feeling that not many ducks wander through the streets."
ND shook his head. "It's a mix culture. About a fourth of the Avian populations turned criminal or are too scared to oppose the Saurians. Another fourth are what make up the Resistance. And the remaining half are either imprisoned or enslaved." ND touched the back of his hand. "All slaves are branded with custom made branding irons. That's the only way you can tell the difference between slaves and supposed Saurian supporters."
"How do you keep them from seeing that then?" asked Dive.
ND sighed. "I usually buy food from busy places. It's still a risk. Someone could recognize me. But since they are so busy handling customers, they really don't pay attention to the faces and the hands."
ND looked upwards towards a small grate that let to the streets. "But I bet General Canard is out there, looking for me. Probably has other Saurians joining the search as well."
Dive stared up there.
"Maybe you could go," said ND.
"What?"
"Sure. . . just need to find a hat to cover your head. Won't be as noticeable. And since you don't have a scar. . . "
Dive slowly nodded. "I suppose," he said. "But the only cash I have on me is American dollars."
ND pulled out a small bundle from his back pocket. "Here's some," he said, pulling a few small bills.
Dive narrowed his eyes.
ND looked at him. Then he stared at the floor. "Some Saurians can be very generous when you do favors."
"What kind of favors?" asked Dive, dreading the answer.
ND shrugged his shoulders. "Come on. This sewer grate leads right into a main sidewalk. There's another that leads behind some buildings." ND began to walk away.
Dive sighed, and then followed.
X
Dive pulled the hat low over his head. Over his body was a "borrowed" Saurian trench coat.
ND had almost had a heart attack when he realized that the emblem on his jacket was too close in appearance to the Resistance logo.
That had made Dive raise an eyebrow. He wanted to ask ND what the Resistance logo looked like, but his double was apparently still troubled about revealing his history the night before.
So now Dive was buying lunch for two at one of the Saurian owned fast food joints. True to ND's word, the place was packed. Saurians and ducks were lined up inside.
Dive strolled in as if he owned the place, even though his heart was racing at the though of being surrounded by the enemy.
He waited in line, forcing a devilish smirk on his face.
A few minutes later, he approached the counter.
There was a young Saurian female ringing up the orders. She had a sour expression on her face when she looked up at Dive.
She was one of the gentler species, and despite the scales, Dive was tempted to call her cute. She was a light orange colored Saurian, with a cute little horn on her nose, and two more on her crest. Black hair was pulled up to the front in two braids.
"Koko" was inscribed into her name tag. And her eyes held a certain light in them.
"How may I help you?" she asked, voice dripping with disgust.
"A date?" replied Dive on whim, deciding to play a typical Avian sleaze ball.
Koko frowned. "Sorry pal, you're on your own. Like, make up your mind or get out of the line."
Dive raised his hands. "I know what I want, but I couldn't help but wonder if you'd be willing to be a delicious side order."
Koko let out a growl as she glared up at him.
"I'll have two number fours, sweety," Dive said, flashing a grin.
Koko narrowed her eyes as she punched in the numbers. She turned and grabbed his order from the shelves behind her and shoved them into a bag. As she was placing some napkins in, Dive caught a sight of a ring on her finger. While at first it seemed like a simple band, underneath was a crest or a gem of some sort.
It was as if it had been turned to hide something.
Then he thought back. ND had said something about Saurians siding with the ducks. He wondered. . .
Koko practically dropped his order in front of him. "That will be six credits and eighteen in change.
Dive grabbed her wrist and he placed the money on the palm of her hand, the top of the ring now exposed.
The top side of the ring was indeed a crest. . . with a very familiar looking emblem.
Koko pulled her hand away, closing it into a fist, her rude attitude suddenly becoming alarmed.
Dive leaned towards her and said softly. . . "Nice ring." He grabbed his order and walked out the door, remembering to pull the hat down over his head.
X
Dive chewed on his sandwich, surprised that it didn't taste too bad. He looked at his twin in a thoughtful manner.
ND was nibbling at his food.
It was as if he were trying to make it last. That, or he had eaten so little during his enslavement to Canard that he wasn't use to eating a full meal.
Nosedive glanced at his sandwich, suddenly not hungry anymore. It was a wonder that ND survived this long. ND had said he was afraid to die, but to stay alive. . . that in its own was courageous.
Dive continued to watch ND.
ND stopped halfway and wrapped up the sandwich. He stuffed it into his pocket.
Dive did the same, realizing that living on the streets, throwing away uneaten food was a huge waste.
"Where to?" he asked.
ND shrugged. "I want to keep moving west. I hear the Resistance is stationed somewhere out there. I lost contact with them such a long time ago. . ."
Dive nodded as he moved to stand next to ND.
ND sighed. "I just don't know what to do anymore. Live day by day. . . hoping that. . . I don't know. Something happens. Dragaunus dies, or some other species comes to save us."
Dive looked away, feeling guilty.
He knew he couldn't do anything, but still. . .
ND led such a rotten life while he had led. . . well. . . one that was a heck of a lot better and peaceful.
A scuffling sound to their right caught their attention.
ND froze as a Saurian figure holding a blaster stood in the shadows.
"Run," he whispered.
Both ducks began to run as the figure behind them darted further into the shadows.
Dive grabbed his puck blaster and he turned around to shoot. The Saurian was gone, but he caught a glimpse of fleeting figures above and around him.
"They're surrounding us," he said, grabbing ND's hand.
The frail duck was slowing down, and Dive knew he had to push him to keep going.
Dive turned and fired two shots.
Several lasers fired in return.
ND dropped into a ball, hands over his head.
Dive reached down and yanked him up.
"I can't. . . " ND whispered hoarsely.
"Don't give up now, dude," Dive replied, harshly.
He let out a cry as something hit him in the side. His whole left side went numb as he stumbled, falling on top of ND.
ND pushed him up into a sitting position.
Both young ducks looked up at their attackers.
Two Saurians approached.
One was the female from the fast food joint. The other was a female with dull silvery skin and yellow snake -like eyes. Two long horns protruded from the top of her head. Long black hair flowed down her back. She raised a puck blaster as the second one remained in her shadow.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice promising death if she didn't like the answer.
"Nosedive," Dive said without a second thought.
"You lie," replied the Saurian. She fired.
Everything went black.
X
The first thing he was aware of, his body was intact.
Unfortunately, every inch of him hurt.
The second thing was that he was lying on his back on a flat cold surface.
Dive groaned as he tried to push himself up into a sitting position.
A scuffling sound caught his attention. "Ah, you're awake," said a male voice. "Just wait a few moments and the after effects of the stun blast will fade away."
"Thanks," Dive grunted, letting himself plop back down. He reached up for his eyes and felt cloth.
"I suggest you don't take that off," continued the male, sounding good natured. "The stun blast makes all your nerves sensitive, including eye sight. You wouldn't be able to look at a candle without getting a massive headache. It's all quite interesting. . . um. . . when you are not on the receiving end."
The sound of heels caught his attention.
"Is he awake?" asked a familiar cold voice.
"Yes he is," replied the male.
Dive could almost feel the Saurian move next to him. "Keep your eyes shut unless you want to remain blind," she said.
Dive did as he was told, although his body ached as his muscles tensed.
He felt cool hands remove the cloth from his eyes. A moment later, he felt her placing something that felt like glasses on his face.
"You may open them now," she said, her voice neutral.
Dive carefully opened his eyes to find out that the glasses were sunshades.
The Saurian was standing above him, staring down at him.
The male turned out to be a fellow duck. His hair was a dark blue, pushed back. Judging from the coat he wore, Dive figured him to be a doctor.
"ND has spoken highly of you," the Saurian said.
Dive glared. "Where is he?" he asked, hating his helpless position.
"He is safe," the Saurian said. "My name is Firepassion Nightbloom. Allies call me Nightbloom. I would shake your hand, but my stun blast really knocked your senses out of kilter. Forgive me."
Dive stared at her as if another head had grown from her neck. Then he spotted the logo on the upper left side of her purple armor. It was an upside down triangle with swords crossing in the middle.
"You're from the Resistance," he said, his voice in awe.
Nightbloom gave him a faint smile. "As you are, from your reality. We wish to thank you for helping ND, and bringing him to us."
"Huh?"
"Had Koko not alarmed me to the fact that you saw her ring, I wouldn't have come looking for you with the intent to kill. And we would not have spotted our Nosedive with you."
"Um, no problem." Dive hissed as he felt his skin tingling.
The duck stepped forward. "That will pass in a couple of seconds," he said. "Oh, I'm Dr. Beacon. Forgive me for not introducing myself, but there, you see, it's gone."
Dive sat up, mentally assessing his body. Everything looked fine and everything stopped hurting. He slowly turned to sit on the table he was on.
Then he realized what Nightbloom had said. "Koko?" He mentally winced at the hopefulness that had come out of his beak.
This time Nightbloom smirked. "Yes. Koko. She's dying to find out more about you. These kinds of things interest her."
X
Koko and Dive were sitting side by side in the mess hall. Koko was eating peacefully, her eyebrows twitching giving the only indication that she was listening to Dive. ND was across from them, hunched over, as if trying to make himself small. Dive occasionally shot him a sympathetic look.
From across the hall, Nightbloom and Dr. Beacon stood watch.
Dr. Beacon glanced at Nightbloom.
"Do you think that it's fair to ask him to join our battle?"
Nightbloom looked at him. "No. He strikes me as having a noble heart, always willing to do the right thing. Taking advantage of that is unfair, but necessary. That young male is a blessing that may give us the edge we need to bring down Dragaunus."
"But to set him up against General Canard. . . what if he's not ready to deal with such perversion? And what about Iron Wing?"
"I have faith in the hatchling. Right now, he will be our only advantage to catching Canard off guard. As for Iron Wing. . . I will deal with him."
"But then your involvement with the Resistance will be exposed. You'll be killed!"
"That is a sacrifice we all must make."
To be continued . . .