"Canard, I-I. . ." Wildwing began, still unsure of what he should do.
"You should really save your breath for a good cause, my friend," Canard spat. It was obvious that he was getting annoyed. Or perhaps he was becoming troubled, maybe even a bit confused. . . Wildwing knew he just had to keep going, just for a bit longer.
*****
Canard watched Wildwing carefully, smirking as he noticed that the white mallard's muscles were tensed up.
Heh.. So he was nervous, huh? Canard decided that he could use this to his advantage. All he had to do was make Wildwing lose his concentration. He just had to mention the one thing that would distract him, giving Canard control over the situation.
"Your baby brother is helpless without you, isn't he?" he sneered.
Wildwing blinked at that, but otherwise managed to show no outward reaction.
"He's so weak," Canard continued, "Can't even tell an illusion from reality."
Wildwing didn't speak right away, the Mask hiding his feelings rather well, ". . .What do you have against him? He never did anything to you."
This time it was Canard who didn't answer. The question puzzled him somewhat. What did he have against Nosedive? Nothing that he knew of. It wasn't anything personal. . . He was just following orders, right? Of course. He wasn't personally attached to any of them. That's how it had been, and that's how it would always be.
"Trying to make me feel guilty?" he asked finally, "Because it won't work."
"It must be, because now you're questioning yourself. I can tell," Wildwing smirked, reassured by the tan mallard's reaction. He was getting through now, but he had to make this fast! Nosedive was still counting on him, after Dragaunus had. . .
And as long as it was working, he figured it would be best to press further.
"It matters to you, doesn't it? Don't you remember how it used to be back home?"
Canard seemed to be lost in thought, confusion spreading across his face. Then, it was momentarily replaced by a flash of anger.
"It doesn't matter at all if I remember!" he glared at Wildwing, "I'm just following the plan, and nothing more. And you will not convince me otherwise!"
"It must, because otherwise you wouldn't be arguing. Nosedive has always bothered you, hasn't he? I'm not sure why. . . Are you afraid of him, afraid of what he'll become someday?"
"Just because you've spoiled him all the time and let him go everywhere with you even when he probably shouldn't have doesn't mean that-"
Canard suddenly stopped and in pain, falling down to his knees as he brought his hands to his head. Apparently his memories, his true ones, were coming back all at once, triggered by the conversation.
Blinking in slight surprise, Wildwing cautiously to a step closer to the tan mallard, "Canard?"
"Wildwing. . ?" he asked weakly after a minute. "W-What's going on? Where are we. . ?"
When Canard looked up at him this time, Wildwing couldn't help but brighten as he saw a familiar look in his old friend's eyes.
After a moment, he replied, "We're in another universe, and we're trying to stop Dragaunus."
"He's still alive?" Canard rubbed his head, "I-I thought that we. . ."
Canard stopped abruptly, wincing again in pain. This time, Wildwing kneeled down next to him, knowing that he was no longer in danger of being hurt by his friend.
The tan mallard started to collapse, but Wildwing grabbed him, supporting him so that he wouldn't fall. "Canard, stay with me, now."
At first, he didn't receive a response. But Canard slowly started to snap out of it again, and a look of shock appeared on his face as he started to remember some of the recent events.
"Canard?"
"S-Stars, I. . . Nosedive. . . A-And. ."
Wildwing blinked, realizing that his friend was discovering what he had done. He quickly recovered, and tried to reassure Canard, "It's not your fault. Dragaunus made you do it, and you had no control over it."
"The voices," Canard whispered, sitting up on his own, "They wouldn't stop! I could've. . No!"
"Canard, it wasn't you. I-" Wildwing cut himself off as his communicator beeped once more. Now what was going on? He didn't want the interruption, but he couldn't afford to ignore it, either.
He hesitated before activating it, "Yeah?"
Duke's worried look appeared in front of him once more, and soon he could hear screaming in the background. He paled; Wildwing instantly recognized the sound to be from Nosedive.
"He's startin' ta have nightmares," Duke replied, not needing to say who he was talking about. "Tanya and Mal are tryin' ta calm him down, but it's not workin' too well right now."
Canard winced visibly as he heard Nosedive in the background. This was all his fault, whether he was conscious of it at the time or not.
Wildwing nodded quickly, "Alright, we're coming. We'll be there shortly."
"We?" Duke noted.
"I'm bringing Canard back with me." There was no doubt in the white mallard's voice.
Duke nodded, "Alright, just hurry." He cut off communication, Nosedive screams being abruptly cut off.
After remaining where he was for a moment, Canard shakily stood up, pushing away from Wildwing.
"Canard?" Wildwing's eyes softened, seeing the pain on his face.
"I'm not coming with you," Canard stated, slowly starting to back away. The guilt was just too strong, and going back to the others this soon felt wrong for him. He couldn't face them, not until he sorted out all that he had done and came to terms with it.
Wildwing blinked in surprise, standing up as well, "The others will understand. . . They won't hold it against you, I'm sure." Well, Mallory might for a while. And maybe Nosedive, too, but he wasn't about to say that.
"I-I can't," he insisted, moving away faster. "I have to think through a few things on my own. Maybe someday. . ."
The white mallard took a step in the same direction, "But you don't know anything about this world! It would be dangerous!" Wildwing had just gotten his friend back, for real this time, and he wasn't about to lose him again.
"I'll manage." Apparently, Wildwing wasn't going to get what he wanted, as Canard continued to back out of his reach. "Until next time, Wing."
With that, Canard took off running towards a wooded area, not bothering to look back.
"Canard. . ." Wildwing almost fell to his knees again in defeat. After all of this. .
He started to go after him, but stopped himself. The tan mallard obviously didn't want to be followed, so there was no point in trying. And besides, there was someone else who was waiting for him to come.
After letting out a sigh, Wildwing activated his blades and started in the other direction, back towards Anaheim.
*****
The only sounds that Wildwing could hear as he raced back to where the Migrator had been stopped were his blades sliding across the pavement and his breathing, which was becoming heavier as he continued to push all of his strength into getting there faster. He had to return, and fast from the sound of it. If anything ended up happening to Nosedive. . .
I'm coming baby bro', he thought, I'm coming. . .
After speeding down the unusually empty sidewalks for what seemed like forever, having no clue how long it was actually taking, Wildwing caught a glimpse of the broken down vehicle. Knowing that he was so close to his goal, he pushed himself to his limits to reach it.
*****
Wildwing paused only for a quick moment to catch his breath as he rushed into the Migrator.
"N-Nosedive?" he cried out, quickly scanning around with his eyes until they locked on his brother.
"He's right here," Mallory said softly, "He wore himself out again from screaming. . ."
The others said nothing; there was nothing else that needed to be said. Duke was curious about why the team captain had returned alone after saying he was bringing Canard back, but knew that now wasn't a good time to be asking about it.
Wildwing nodded absently to Mallory as he moved and sat down next to Nosedive's still form, carefully pulling the teen into his arms.
"Nosedive?" he whispered, nuzzling his brother's cheek with his beak, "Come on, Dive, talk to me for a minute."
All that Nosedive felt at that point was an emptiness. There was no longer sadness or grief, just. . . nothing. He knew he was all alone now, but for now it didn't really bother him. It wasn't good, but it wasn't really bad, either. And at the moment, he wouldn't mind staying like this forever. . .
Then suddenly he started to feel his physical self again, as if he was being shaken out of a dream. A voice echoed in the back of his mind, gradually becoming louder.
"Nosedive. . ? Come on, I'm right here, baby bro'. . ."
"W-Wing?" he managed to mumble, stirring a little bit.
He was confused now. What was going on?
Wildwing started running his hand through Nosedive's hair, "That's right, Dive, it's me. . "
Nosedive was still quite a bit out of it, "Oh. . . So I'm dead, then. . ?"
The white mallard quickly shook his head, "No, of course not. . You're fine. We're both fine."
Even hearing his brother's voice, the teen started to panic a little; something wasn't right about this.
"N-No. . I-It can't be. . ."
"Nosedive. . ."
"No!" he cried out, starting to struggle against whoever this person was holding him, "W-Wing is gone! Y-You can't be him!"
Wildwing held the teen closer to him, holding him tightly despite his struggling. He knew that he couldn't let go until Nosedive showed at least some recognition of him.
But Nosedive continued to fight for as long as he could, showing no sign of letting up, and Wildwing was starting to wonder how he would ever prove to his little brother that none of what he thought had happened was real.
"Baby bro', please listen to me," he begged as Nosedive's struggles finally started to cease, but Wildwing could tell that it was from exhaustion rather than giving up or reasoning.
The others looked on in worry, but did not interfere, knowing that there wasn't much that they could do. Tanya gently pushed Duke and Mallory away from the two brothers, quietly telling them to help her get ready to go back to the Pond. Not that there was really anything for them to do, but it certainly wasn't helping the situation for them to be standing around watching, either.
"Wing's gone," Nosedive whispered as he gave in to the arms holding onto him at last, repeating the words over and over again to himself.
"I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere, I promise," Wildwing insisted, inwardly glad that his brother wasn't fighting anymore. Not really paying attention to the others, he started to hum softly, a song that Nosedive had always loved when he was little back on Puckworld. Hopefully it would help. . .
The teen froze as he heard the sound, blinking a few times. It didn't make any sense to him; only Wildwing knew about that song. But then that would mean. . .
Nosedive looked up into his brother's eyes, finally showing a few glints of recognition, ". . .Wing?"
Wildwing stopped humming only long enough to answer, "Right here."
This was too much for Nosedive, as he realized that he wasn't seeing an illusion this time. He rested his head against Wildwing's chest as a few tears fell down his face. Feeling Wildwing wrap his arms around him tighter, his mind started to shut down. Soon he could hear nothing but his brother's soft humming, and even that slowly faded from his mind.
Wildwing couldn't help but smile as he watched Nosedive close his eyes and relax into him. It looked like he was going to be okay. There would be some effort involved for both himself and Nosedive, but Wildwing had a feeling that he would make it through this all right, just like he always did.
After waiting until he was certain that Nosedive had gone back to sleep, his breaths soft and steady, Wildwing looked up at the others.
"Is the Migrator running?" he asked softly, gently running his hand through Nosedive's hair.
Tanya nodded in response as the engine came to life, which was protesting a little from the damage it had obtained.
Duke looked back from the driver's seat after starting up the Migrator, "For now, anyways."
Wildwing nodded slightly, turning his attention back to his little brother. He was starting to feel the effects of what had happened himself, his worry and his energy lost from rushing back becoming noticeable again. The others were probably wondering what had happened to Canard, but he just couldn't say anything about it right now. They'd find out soon enough.
"Good enough. Let's get back, then."
*****
Chameleon winced as Dragaunus's growl of rage echoed throughout the Raptor. The Saurian overlord was definitely not happy about the turn of events. After all, his prized prisoner was gone, and the one who had captured him was also no longer under his command.
"Get out of my sight!" he fumed at the henchmen, who quickly left the room, other than Wraith.
Wraith didn't want to upset Dragaunus any more than he already was, but he felt that he needed to say something, anyways.
"My lord, surely you can use this to your advantage. . Canard may be out of our reach for now, but now Wildwing will be depressed that he could not help him. And besides," he added, "The psychological effects on the teen duck will last longer than Canard's loyalty, and that will keep them all distracted."
Dragaunus thought about his words for a minute, "Of course, that's it! We'll let them lick their wounds for now, and strike again when they least expect it." He grinned evilly, already in a better mood. "Why didn't you think of that, Wraith?"
The mystical Saurian blinked, knowing better than to contradict Dragaunus at this point, ". . Because my wisdom does not match yours, my lord."
"Just you wait, Ducks. . ." Dragaunus growled. The Mighty Ducks would not stop him again; he would make sure of it.
*****
It was a week after all of the events had taken place, and things were just barely starting to return to normal at the Pond.
Everyone had been helping take care of things, more so than usual because most of Wildwing's time was spent helping Nosedive get over the paranoia he had developed, reassuring the teen that they were both fine now. Apparently Wraith's influence had a few long term effects on Nosedive that would take a while to go away completely, such as spacing out for periods of time and jumping at every little sound. He was getting much better, though, which encouraged everyone quite a bit. It was obvious that Nosedive was still scared, but he would eventually be back to normal.
Wildwing chuckled softly as he felt the smaller figure next to him press a little closer into his side. He could tell that Nosedive was only pretending to be asleep, but he figured that wouldn't be the case for too long, so he didn't say anything about it, wrapping his arm around Nosedive's shoulders instead.
Shifting Nosedive to a more comfortable position, Wildwing started thinking about the whole incident again. He sighed softly. What had happened to Canard? Where was he at now? Was he okay? He had too many questions, and no answers to most of them.
He partially understood why Canard hadn't wanted to go back with him. Dragaunus had gotten to his mind, and forced him to hurt his former teammates. Knowing Canard like he did, he knew that he was probably ashamed of himself. And until he could forgive himself, Wildwing probably wouldn't hear from him again. He could only hope that he would hear something soon. . .
Wildwing smiled as he realized that Nosedive had finally gone to sleep after staying with him for well over an hour. At least one thing had gone right.
Now all he could do was wait and see what the future held for him, his brother, and his team. And perhaps someday the team would be complete again, and they would accomplish their mission together.