Dragaunus stood in front of his main computer screen, watching a Mighty Duck's game, claw poised over a power switch. He slowly turned around to face the Saurian that stood behind him.
"I still don't see the logic behind this," he growled.
"That is because you are a Saurian male. In my travels, I've learned that males tend to fail to perceive the whole picture."
Dragaunus's eyes flashed with fury. He really hated this female!
"It's just that I've always been raised to attack the head of the problem," he said, angrily, not wanting to drive away his only chance of victory.
"Have you ever hunted vapscalli, Civilian?" Nightbloom asked, suddenly changing the topic.
"Of course, not," scoffed Dragaunus. "You'd have to be insane for a job like that!"
"Yet it is one of our tests, Civilian. If you had been approached to join the Saurian Code, how would you have defeated a vapscallus? Attacking its head?"
"That would be incredibly stupid. Everyone know that vapscalli regenerate their heads, doubling them."
"Then how would you go about it?"
Dragaunus gritted his teeth. "I don't know," he answered, thinking about the creature that would be twice his height. Three times his weight as well, with large poisonous fangs jutting out of its mouth.
"You aim for the heart, Civilian." Nightbloom turned and walked away, leaving behind a confused Saurian.
"What was that all about?" he hissed to no one in particular.
"Oh, I get it," said Chameleon, who was standing in the shadows of the room. "Cut the head and chances are you'll find two more. Where as cut the heart and the beast goes off to slowly die alone!"
Dragaunus stared at Chameleon, surprised that the imbecile knew what he was talking about for once. Then he looked back at the screen, watching as the cameras focused on Nosedive. He was finally beginning to understand.
X
Nosedive lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It was way past midnight, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. He had this horribly strong urge of running away and never coming back. Of course, that would be impossible here on Earth. How does one of the only seven ducks on this planet hide among a bunch of humans?
He fiddled around with a pendant that hung around his neck. He sat up in his bed and stared at it. He was almost mesmerized by the color. Then he let go of it. Why was he just wasting time staring at some pendant when he could sneak out and do stuff?
The young duck stood up. "Oh, hockey pucks!" he growled. "I just need to get out and think!"
Nosedive stepped out of his room, looking around. There was no duck in sight. Everybody should be sound asleep. Then again, he was about to escape the Pond for the night.
He tip-toed down the hall, pausing at the doorway of one of the rooms. Some sound had caught his attention. Curiosity getting the better of him, he leaned over, placing his ear on the door. He grinned despite himself. "Canard snores!" he chuckled, then hurried away.
X
Nightbloom watched through a glowing orb of light. A cool and calculating smile appeared on her face. "Ah, my young one. Is it time?"
She picked up a small purple bag and tied it to her belt. Then she touched the jewel on her forehead. It glowed brightly for a moment, and when the light returned to normal, she was wearing a long hooded cape that hid her face in the shadow.
X
Nosedive pressed a sequence of buttons on Drake 1. He hurried over to the exit and glanced up at the security panel. It was still red. He began to feel anxious.
The alarm would have sounded if he had punched the wrong code, wouldn't it?
The light switched to green.
Nosedive was out the door and into the stadium. He quickly made his way through the dark, a strange feeling of excitement going through him.
"Man, I'll be in so much trouble if I'm caught," he muttered to himself. But I won't be. I'll be back before they even know it!
X
"Bored, bored, bored," mumbled Chameleon, as he stared at the monitor in front of him. "Bored, bored, bored."
"Would you shut up before I pummel you to smithereens!" shouted Siege, towering over the smaller Saurian.
"I'd like to see you try!" growled Chameleon in return.
"This should be amusing," drawled Wraith.
Chameleon morphed into an ogre of some sort and raised his fists.
"What is going on here?!" roared Dragaunus, upon entering the room.
Chameleon quickly morphed back into himself. "Uh, we were, um, just talking," he stammered.
"Yeah. Nothing else," agreed Siege.
Wraith rolled his eyes.
Dragaunus stormed up to the monitor. "You're suppose to be watching for any move the ducks make."
"There's no need," interrupted Nightbloom, coming up behind Wraith and actually startling him. "We make our attack now."
"But none of them have even left the stadium," protested Dragaunus.
"On the contrary, one is about to make a move." Nightbloom vanished into thin air.
"Ooo, on the contrary, you're an idiot," said Chameleon, morphing into Nightbloom's image. He morphed back. "Stupid female, what does she know?"
A small blip caught their attention. Looking on the screen, they saw a single red dot moving away from the Anaheim stadium.
"Well, I'll be," said Chameleon, imitating a farmer's voice.
"She was right," finished Dragaunus.
X
Nosedive kicked a can across the sidewalk and looked up at the sky. He could see the moon through the lights, shining as dimly as possible. He shook his head and looked back at the floor, slowly walking along feeling sorry for himself.
He felt as if he was slowly losing the connection he had with his brother. It hurt a lot when Wildwing failed time and time again to defend him against Canard. Each time Nosedive tried to convince himself that Wildwing was just trying not to pamper him. But then there was that whole bank robbery incident. Both Canard and Wildwing had yelled at him.
Couldn't they understand that he had done what he firmly believed was right? Couldn't they have at least given him credit for that?
The others weren't helpful either. Nosedive felt betrayed by Grin. He was almost positive that Grin would have said something. But he hadn't. Of course he wasn't expecting much from Tanya, or Mallory for that matter.
"That's what I get for annoying her," he said out loud.
And what about Duke? Wasn't he the last to doubt Duke when everyone thought he had gone bad? Well, with the exception of Wildwing, but then Wildwing was the leader and he had to have faith in his team members.
But now Canard was leader.
The sound of crunching glass behind him interrupted his thoughts. Slowly, he turned around.
No one.
Nosedive shook his head in puzzlement, but remained still, listening. He could hear nothing. Giving one more quick glance around him, Nosedive proceeded to walk.
Crunch.
There! Nosedive whirled around and found himself face to face with something tall and dark. Yellow eyes looked from underneath a hood.
Nosedive gasped and immediately reached for the button on his shirt to change into his battle gear. A gloved hand quickly reached out and tore it away from Nosedive's shirt.
Okay, this is not good, thought Nosedive, as he backed away from the silent figure.
"He who lives and runs away lives to fight another day," he suddenly said to himself, and made a break for it.
He dived into an alley and spotted Siege ahead. "Oh, no!" He turned around and spoke into his comm unit. "Wildwing, bro! Come in!" A static sound answered him. "Can this get any worse?" Nosedive shouted.
"It's always disappointing when technology doesn't work in our favor," a cynical voice said.
Looking up, Nosedive spotted Wraith the fire escape of the building next to him. He held something in his hand. A jamming device, more likely.
He ran out of the alley and was surprised to see that the mysterious figure was gone. In her place, however, was Dragaunus.
Nosedive let out a yelp as he back pedaled.
"What's the matter, ducky? No one to save you?"
Glancing across the street, Nosedive spotted Chameleon. He realized with a sinking heart that they were successfully blocking his way back to the Pond.
Well, in that case, he was going to have to head to the police.
But first. . .
"You've got me," he said in a defeated voice, his shoulders sagging, eyes focusing on the floor.
Dragaunus chuckled as he slowly made his way to the duck. "I suppose you are the smart one, knowing when you've been defeated."
Nosedive bolted, leaving behind four stunned Saurians.
"After him!" roared Dragaunus. "Don't let him out of your sights!"
Wraith, Siege, and Chameleon gave chase, but they were already too late. Nosedive was gone.
X
Nosedive stopped for air as he looked behind him. There was no Saurian in sight. But he could hear them. Nosedive broke into a jog and checked his comm. Still out. He moved down another alley, figuring that he would be able to take that road and head back to the Pond.
"Do you really want to go back?" said a low, hissing voice.
The cloaked figure jumped in front of him.
"Ack!" Nosedive shouted, unable to help himself. "Who are you?"
"My name is not important," said the figure, its face hiding in the shadows of the hood. However, your usefulness to me is, my little spy."
"What?"
Nosedive spotted white teeth in the shape of a smile. He shuddered as a chill ran down his back.
"The pendant you wear was my gift to you."
Nosedive glanced down and saw that the pendant was glowing. He looked back up in horror.
"It let you be my eyes and ears. I saw everything, and heard everything. I know how the team treats you like you are completely worthless. A burden."
"No," whispered Nosedive, taking a step back.
"You act irresponsibly from time to time, causing trouble for your team."
"I'm not worthless," murmured Nosedive, taking another step back.
"You're not? Tell me, young one. . . what have you contributed to the team?"
"I've saved their lives once!"
"Do they see it that way? Did they give you credit? Or do they see it as mere good luck? After all, isn't that what Canard said when you stopped the terrorist at the diner?"
Nosedive took a sharp intake of air.
"What about the bank robber? Did they congratulate you on his capture? On rescuing the hostage? As I recall, they yelled and berated you. Your own brother!"
Nosedive was slowly shaking his head, not wanting to hear this. It was bad enough that he felt like this, but for one of the bad guys to realize this!
"The way they treat you, is as if you mean nothing to them. Their words ring true to your heart because you believe in them."
"No," croaked Nosedive, feeling tears springing in his eyes. "I don't. I refuse to believe this!" His voice got louder, turning into a yell. He slowly backed away, holding his hand out as if he could keep this creature from coming near him.
He backed into something solid, but it wasn't a wall.
Turning around he saw that it was Dragaunus. Behind his stood Siege, Chameleon, and Wraith. He was completely surrounded.
Nosedive turned back to the figure, trying to control his growing fear.
"Do not worry, Nosedive. I do not find you completely useless. With your help, we will be able to bring down the ducks."
"No!" shouted Nosedive. "I won't help you!"
"You don't have a choice."
With those words, a grey claw extended out from underneath the cape, throwing purple dust in his face.
"Dormi pax pato juven," she said.
A small green mist came out of the pendant that Nosedive was wearing as the dust fell on it. The mist circled around the frightened duck, moving up until it reached his eyes. Then it went in.
Nosedive's eyes fluttered as he tried to fight off the spell. But it was too strong and his body began to fall as he fell into a deep sleep. His last conscious thoughts were on Wildwing, and how he wished he were here to help him.
Dragaunus caught him as he fell.
"And now for part two of our plan," said Nightbloom, pushing back the hood.
X
"Time to rise and shine, Baby Bro," called out Wildwing as he knocked on his brother's bedroom door. He didn't get an answer.
With a puzzled frown, Wildwing opened the door and stepped in.
"Dive?"
He turned the room's light on. He saw that the bed was empty. A small seed of fear settled in the bottom of his stomach. Nosedive was never an early riser. If anything, he'd probably sleep till one in the afternoon if it wasn't for Wildwing waking him up.
Feeling completely baffled, Wildwing made his way to the kitchen. That would be the next place to look.
He entered the kitchen and only saw Tanya and Mallory sitting at the table. Mallory and Tanya looked up at Wildwing and smiled.
"Hi. Have either one of you seen Nosedive?"
Both females glanced at each other.
"No."
"Uh-uh."
"Oh. Um, let me know if you do find him."
"Yes, sir," replied Mallory.
Wildwing then headed to the den were Nosedive usually settled down to watch television. He heard some sounds coming from there. He stepped in to find Duke watching Bernie the Bear.
"Wing!" exclaimed Duke, shutting off the television. "Uh, I was just trying to see what the kid finds so amusing about this show."
"Sure," replied Wildwing, raising an eyebrow. He could make out a faint blush growing on Duke's face.
"Speaking of which," Wildwing said, getting back to the task at hand. "Have you seen Nosedive?"
Duke gave a puzzled frown. "No. Wasn't the kid in his room?"
"Checked there a few minutes ago."
Duke shrugged. "I could help you look for him if you like. But why don't you try his comm?"
"Why didn't I think of that?" muttered Wildwing, as he raised his arm. "Dive, do you hear me?"
After a few moments of silence, he tried again. "Dive?" The uneasiness he was feeling increased.
"Something's not right," he said, looking up at Duke. The expression on the older duck's face mirrored his own.
X
"What do you mean he's missing?" cried Phil. "We have a game tonight!"
Canard entered the main room. "Who's missing?" he demanded.
"Nosedive," replied Duke.
"What?"
"I went to check on him this morning and he wasn't in his room." Wildwing walked to where Tanya was pressing a series of buttons on Drake 1. "He wasn't in any of his usual places either, and I can't get a hold of him through the comm unit. Tanya's been trying to trace him."
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well? Anything?"
Tanya shook her head. "He's not showing up anywhere! It's like, I don't know, like he vanished or something."
"Anything doesn't just vanish," said Canard, stepping up to the computer. "What about security cams? Did they pick up anything?"
Tanya punched a few more buttons. The main screen split up into nine sections. She cued up the footage, stopping when they spotted Nosedive coming out of his room.
"12:30 in the morning," muttered Canard. "What was he thinking?"
They watched as Nosedive made his way through the halls, pausing at Canard's door. Canard felt his face warming up. How could he possibly be unaware of someone standing outside his door!
Nosedive headed to the main room, punched a sequence on Drake 1, then left the room.
The cameras followed him as he walked through the stadium. The last one that was fixed over the exit door showed him walking away at 12:45.
"Do you think he ran away?" asked Mallory, incredulous.
"He wouldn't," Wildwing snapped.
"Nosedive would have taken something with him besides the clothes on his back," added Canard, staring at the screens as they rewound to play again. "My best bet is that he just went for a midnight stroll. Something must have happened to him."
Wildwing looked at Canard. "I need to find him," he said, tightly.
X
Dragaunus and Nightbloom stood side by side. In front of them sat Nosedive, strapped to a chair. A helmet of some kind was on his head. Wires extended from the hood and connected to a computer. A black screen covered his eyes and a series of light flashed from underneath. Nosedive shook his head. "No!" he cried. "Wildwing!"
"What does your machine do?" asked Dragaunus, an evil smile on his face.
"It takes his thoughts and feeling and turns them into his worst fears," replied Nightbloom. She knelt in front of Nosedive and laid a hand on the struggling duck.
"What do you see, young one?" she asked in a low and soothing voice.
"Help me, Wing! Please! Duke?"
"Do they leave you alone to suffer?"
"Wildwing, please!" Nosedive sobbed, sagging into the chair. "This can't be real," he whispered. He quit moving and his breathing slowed down.
Nightbloom quietly removed the mask, revealing an unconscious Nosedive.
"Look at him," she said. "Such faith. He is so unwilling to believe that his friends would desert him. He would rather drive himself to unconsciousness, the only means of escape. By all means, he is the strong one."
Dragaunus looked at her skeptically. "You realize that we can just finish him off right here and right now."
"You will only increase Wildwing's need of vengeance. We just want to show him that we can take his brother any time we want. And if attempts to shield his brother, well, that will not go well either. Nosedive is much too active to be locked away. Not to mention that although we may not succeed in breaking young Nosedive, we may at least plant a seed of mistrust in his teammates."
A light went on in Dragaunus's brain. "You're trying to cause a conflict among the ducks!"
"Even a broken clock is right twice a day," Nightbloom muttered.
Dragaunus chose to ignore that comment, as much as it displeased him.
"So what now?"
"We contact the ducks for ransom. Just to throw them off my true intentions."
"Causing unrest among them."
Nightbloom looked at Dragaunus. "Oh, there will be much more than that," she said.
Dragaunus turned and left the room, leaving Nosedive and Nightbloom alone. The female Saurian turned her attention back at the unconscious duck. She pushed back his hair from his face. "I am sorry to use you like this," she said. "But we of the Saurian Code always use whatever means are necessary to get the job done."
X
"As much as I'd like to help you," Klegghorn was saying, "I legally can't do anything until the kid has been missing for twenty-four hours."
"This is so stupid!" growled Wildwing.
"But," interrupted Klegghorn. "I may be able to speed the process since the kid is a celebrity. However, it's best we keep this quiet for as long as possible. If we let this leak out to the public, a whole bunch of lunatics looking for five minutes of fame might call in."
Drake 1 suddenly signalled an incoming call.
"Quick!" said Wildwing. "It might be Nosedive!"
Tanya pressed the respond button.
Everyone was unprepared for who they saw.
"Dragaunus!" cried out Wildwing, upon seeing his face on Drake 1's screen.
The Saurian let out an evil chuckle. "Tell me, Puckworlder. . . Do you know where your brother is?"
X
People were in the stands cheering away. They were excited at the prospect of winning another game. So far the Mighty Ducks had been undefeated.
Down on the ice, a distracted Wildwing skated into Canard.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Canard placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Wing. We'll look for him after the game. We have to believe Dragaunus's word that he hasn't harmed Nosedive yet."
"What if it's a lie?" responded Wildwing. "What good is a Saurian's word?"
"Look, Wing. I don't like having to trust him either, but what can we do? Right now we have to focus on this game and be done with it so that we could search for Nosedive."
"Right," answered Wildwing, looking pained.
The referee motioned for them to get ready for the game. They all got into their positions, but each and everyone of them glanced at the bench. Would Nosedive ever sit there again?
X
"And it's a sad night here in Anaheim as the Mighty Ducks lose their first game. What a disappointment."
"Sure is, Bob. All I can say is that Wildwing seemed pretty distracted."
"He sure did, Rob. My guess is that his brother Nosedive must be pretty sick to have him all worked up like that."
"That's right, Bob. The other Mighty Ducks players don't seem to well either. If it weren't for Canard, I'm sure they would be completely humiliated!"
"Yeah. 6 to 4. That has got to hurt."
X
Mallory closed her eyes as Wildwing repeatedly slammed his fist on his locker door. He had thrown his hockey stick and gloves across the room upon entering it.
Duke, Tanya, and Grin just looked at one another. What could they say to him at a time like this? "Sorry your brother is missing," didn't seem to cut it.
"Well, I doubt we'll ever have a worse game," grumbled Canard, making his way over to Wildwing.
"Hey, hey!" shouted Canard, trying to pull Wildwing away from the locker. "I thought you were beyond hitting inanimate objects. Nosedive would do something like this."
"Yeah, well, Nosedive isn't here!" growled Wildwing. "Someone's got to do it." He kicked the door.
Wildwing took a deep breath and turned around. He slumped against the locker and slid down, knees to his chest and arms wrapped around his head. Canard knelt beside him.
"Wildwing, you need to keep your cool if we're going to find Nosedive. You won't be very helpful like this."
"I know," whispered Wildwing, not looking up.
"Tanya, any messages on Drake 1?"
"I'll go check on that right now," she answered, feeling highly uncomfortable by the whole situation. She scrambled out of the room.
"C'mon, Wildwing," Canard then said softly. "Remember back in Puckworld when Nosedive was seven and had been surrounded by a group of bullies? He beat all but one! You showed up in time to save him from the leader. You have to believe that you'll do the same here."
Wildwing looked up, eyes shining brightly from unshed tears. "So what are we waiting for?" he said in a steady voice.
X
"This is too cliche for my own comfort," muttered Duke, as the Mighty Ducks stood in front of an old warehouse.
Canard scanned the area with the mask. "Well, I can't detect the lizards out here. And there is minute life reading from inside."
"Then I guess we go inside and see what ol' dragon's breath wants," said Duke, pulling out his saber.
"I hate this," muttered Mallory. "You know it's a trap."
"We really don't have a choice," said Canard, as he stepped forward, Wildwing at his side. "Besides, we have Klegghorn bringing in the reinforcements."
"Then, as Nosedive would say," said Grin. "Let's party!"
X
The door creaked as it slowly opened. Dust floated around and rats squeaked as they scattered out of the light.
Canard stepped through first and ran another scan. He detected life reading up ahead behind several boxes. Judging by the shape, he concluded that it was Nosedive. But not getting any readings from the Saurians was making him feel really uneasy.
He motioned the other ducks through. They kept an eye on all areas of the warehouse as they moved over, completely unaware of a security camera that was watching them.
X
Nightbloom watched as the Ducks cautiously approached the area where she had left Nosedive. She raised a hand as Chameleon opened his mouth to ask a question. "Wait," she instructed.
He immediately closed his mouth.
"So why aren't you coming?" asked Dragaunus, bitterly.
Nightbloom continued watching the monitor. Wildwing had broken away from the Ducks as soon as he spotted his brother.
"I will if you want me to. But then it will ruin the element of surprise when the time comes to draw the Ducks into a final battle."
"No, we wouldn't want to do that," growled Dragaunus.
"Now," Nightbloom said, turning around to face all Saurians. They quickly transported out of her sight.
X
"There he is!" exclaimed Wildwing, spotting Nosedive gagged and tied behind some boxes.
He appeared to be unconscious.
"Careful, Wing," said Canard, looking up into the rafters. "I still think this is a trap. It's way too easy."
But Wildwing wasn't paying attention. The thought of having his brother back home and safe was more important to him than watching out for Saurians.
He was almost at his brother's side when a green light blinded him. His vision clearing, he was violently startled at seeing Dragaunus standing in front of him, blocking his brother from his view.
"So nice of you to drop by!" snarled Dragaunus, slamming Wildwing across the chest with his arm. Wildwing flew back and sprawled on the floor.
"Above us!" shouted Mallory.
The Mighty Ducks leapt out of the way as Wraith, Siege, and Chameleon leapt down from the rafters.
Canard grabbed Wildwing and hauled him to safety. He fired a few explosive pucks at the Saurians and they returned fire with their lasers.
Duke watched from behind a stack of crates. Chameleon was firing two lasers, having morphed into an old time gangster.
"It's 'coitens' fer ya," he was shouting.
Mallory and Tanya had been trapped behind another stack of boxes. They tried getting a few shots in, but Chameleon was shooting too fast.
Duke fired his grappler hook onto a rafter over Chameleon. "Incoming!" he shouted, as he swung across the room. Chameleon looked up in time to see Duke heading towards him.
"Oy, vey, this is gonna hurt!"
Chameleon went sailing past Siege who was wrestling with Grin. The Saurian landed on his back as Grin managed to flip him. Siege swung his tail in hopes of knocking Grin down as well. Grin jumped over the tail. Siege let out shout of surprise as a bunch of empty cartons fell on top of him. Rats that had been hiding inside them ran over him.
"Get them off!" he starting screaming.
Meanwhile, Wildwing was trying to figure out a way to get past Wraith and Dragaunus. Canard kept an arm on him.
"Don't you dare try running out," Canard shouted. "You need to stay alive in order to rescue Nosedive!"
"I wasn't going to," growled Wildwing.
"Don't lie, Wing. I know you."
Canard glanced around as Wildwing fired several more pucks in the Saurian's direction. He ducked back behind the crates as Wraith shot several fireballs at him.
The wooden crates caught fire.
"Okay, we have a situation here," said Wildwing.
"Then we'll use it to our advantage," responded Canard, putting away his puck launcher. "When I say three, push!"
Wildwing placed his hands on the crates.
"Ready? One, two, THREE!"
Both ducks pushed against the crates as hard as the could. The crates came toppling down towards Dragaunus and Wraith. The two Saurians jumped out of the way.
Wildwing gasped as Dragaunus landed next to Dive.
Dragaunus looked up, catching Wildwing's eye.
Meanwhile, Duke, Mallory, and Tanya had cornered Chameleon.
"No fair!" he was shouting. "Three against one! I thought you ducks were into fair play!"
Grin had tied Siege up with cables. He then moved to wear Wraith was getting off the floor.
Dragaunus stood up and pointed his laser at Nosedive.
"If I can't get rid of you, at least you'll still be one duck short!" he growled.
"This is Captain Klegghorn! Come out with your hands up!" came a voice from the outside.
"Sounds like the cavalry has arrived," said Duke.
Dragaunus growled and hit his transporter button. Chameleon scrambled to Siege and pressed his. Within a few seconds, all Saurians disappeared.
Wildwing ran to his brother. Nosedive was still unconscious, but otherwise looked unhurt. Wildwing scooped up his brother.
With weary sighs, the Ducks walked out of the warehouse. They had gotten what they came for.
X
Wildwing stood outside the infirmary. He looked up as Canard approached.
"How's the kid?" he asked.
"Tanya's checking over his vital signs," Wildwing replied. "Other than that, he's still sleeping."
"He'll be okay."
"Yeah."