Nothing At All

As darkness slowly descended while the sun slipped down below the horizon, a young Puckworlder scanned his hopeful eyes across the densely populated area around him. Even among all of the other slaves, he looked so alone and helpless. As he slowly moved forward along with the other occupants in his group, he continued to search, hoping to find a sign, anything, that would let him know...

His group was being relocated. The reason was anyone’s guess, since they weren’t told anything. All he knew was that he had been pulled out of the mines by some miracle, and that he and some of the other ducks around his age were being placed in a labor camp quite some distance away. They had walked almost the entire way for two days straight, with the exception of one point where they had been thrown on the back of a vehicle to be carried across one of the larger cities. He had no idea which one; he had been taken so far away from his home that he had lost track of where he was. Not that it mattered to him... nothing really mattered to him anymore.

A few strands of dirt-filled blonde hair fell in his face. He subconsciously pushed them back with his hand as he continued to stare out into the crowd while he walked. He was exhausted, his feet were sore from walking, and his throat was on fire from lack of water, but he continued to move anyway. He knew what the consequences were for stopping, and he wasn’t about to try it right now. He had learned the hard way that it was easier to follow orders, proven by some freshly added slash marks on his back given to him the day before that would without a doubt leave scars behind. They still hurt, but he never cried, not even when he was stricken. It was as if his tears had long since dried up, and along with them the sparkle in his eyes that had always made him so special.

But even now, all alone with a broken spirit, he had managed to hold on to some hope.

The hope that he would get to see his brother again someday.

You’ve been there for me no matter what the cost
My best friend since we believed in Santa Claus

A loud boom of thunder suddenly echoed through the night, drowning out the sound of the pouring rain on the rooftop. Soon after, a four year old Nosedive made an ear-piercing scream. He jumped out of bed, ran to the other side of the room, and crawled under the covers next to the larger form currently occupying the other bed. The nine year old, Wildwing, woke up with a start, and he felt the younger duck curl up next to him, sobbing quietly. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he gently wrapped his arms around his little brother, trying to calm him down.

“Hey Dive, it’s okay... It’s just a storm. It can’t hurt you,” he whispered softly.

“B-But it’s loud and s-scary,” Nosedive replied, trembling a little in fear.

A bolt of lightning flashed outside the window, the bright light coming through the closed curtain and startling both boys a little, the smaller of the two pressing up even tighter against the other.

“Don’t worry,” Wildwing reassured him, “As long as we stay in here, it can’t do anything to us.”

“A-Are you sure?” Nosedive whispered.

“Of course. I’d never let anything happen to you; you know that.”

Another loud crash of thunder was heard, sending Nosedive deeper under the covers, his face buried in Wildwing’s chest. Wildwing hated to see his brother so terrified of something. If only he could come up with some way to make it less frightening…

“Hey Dive, do you know what I do when I’m scared of something?”

Nosedive shook his head, not looking up.

Wildwing started stroking his brother’s hair, just like he remembered watching his mom do it in the past, “I just think about something else, and then it’s not so scary anymore...”

“L-Like what?” Nosedive asked timidly.

“Well... Like the first time I spent the night at Canard’s house. He fell asleep before I did, and I was awake all alone in his creepy old house.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. It was really scary, too. But I just pretended I was on an adventure. Whenever I heard a strange noise, I just thought of it as someone playing hide-and-seek with me. Or if a car’s headlights drove by, I would pretend it was a spotlight of someone looking for me, and I had to stay really still if I didn’t want to get caught. It took me a long time to fall asleep, but at least it kept me from being as scared.”

He paused for a moment, waiting for a response but having none. “And then I just thought about you... I knew I couldn’t be scared, because that might make you scared too. And that helped more than anything...”

By now Nosedive had calmed down quite a bit. The storm was still going on outside, but it was starting to die down, and that in combination with Wildwing’s voice had made him relax considerably. For a moment Wildwing thought he had fallen asleep, but Nosedive suddenly looked up at him with his large eyes.

“Wing..?”

“Yeah?”

“A-Are you ever gonna leave m-me?”

You have always stood beside me
And I want to let you know

Wildwing was caught off guard by the question. What would cause his little brother to think of such things?

“Of course not… I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

“Promise? I-I don’t want you to l-leave me...”

“I’d never leave you. I know how much you need me... Besides, I kind of like it when you follow me around... Makes me feel special that someone likes me so much.”

“Really?”

“You bet, Dive. I don’t care if nobody else likes you following me... They’ll just have to live with it. And you can always come to me for anything, okay? No matter what.”

Satisfied with the answer, Nosedive nodded before pressing up against him once more. He was sound asleep a few minutes later, leaving Wildwing with his thoughts and the now faint tapping of raindrops on the roof.

I’ll be the one who hears your prayer
Don’t have to ask me, I’ll be there
I’ll be the friend you’ll never have to do without

The young Puckworlder sighed, the memory fading from his mind. He had been so little when that had happened, but he still remembered it very clearly. There was a small lump in his throat now from thinking about it, but he still didn’t cry.

That had been so long ago, but his brother had always kept his promise... until now. Stars, how long had it been since they had been separated? He had lost track of the time since the invasion, figuring it didn’t really matter. His brother had promised he would always be there, but he hadn’t been. His brother hadn’t been there through all the pain, all the torture, the screaming... And he wasn’t sure how much more he could endure.

Why do I have to be so alone...?

When you have nothing at all, you’ll still have nothing to worry about
Nothing at all. . .

Another mallard with white feathers, somewhat older than the first, looked up at the sky, staring at the stars with all of their depth. Even with all of the pain and death surrounding him everywhere, something, or someone, was what was on his mind at that moment.

He never spoke a word. In fact, he hadn’t spoken to anybody since he had been brought here over a year ago. The other slaves had questioned him about it at first, but slowly started to leave him alone after he refused to answer them. He really didn’t care... he didn’t want anyone’s sympathy, and he didn’t want to talk with anyone.

The only thing he wanted was to find his brother.

When I was lost inside a forest of dismay
You always knew just how to help me find my way

A twelve year old Wildwing laid flat out on the roof of their house, staring up into the starry sky. The wind was blowing pretty hard, but he barely even felt it. His mind was elsewhere, trying to block out all that had happened that day. Things weren’t looking too good.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he failed to hear the footsteps running up the stairs, and was surprised to find a little seven year old duck clinging to his chest soon after.

As soon as he had gotten over the surprise, he lightly embraced the younger duck in a hug, “Dive, what are you doing up here?”

Nosedive looked up at him with huge eyes, obviously worried, “I wanted to see you... and mom said you’ve been up here for a long time...”

Wildwing couldn’t help but smile a little at his brother’s concern, “Yeah, I’ve been... thinking about things.”

“About what?”

“...Nothing. Don’t worry about it, Dive. Just forget it.”

Nosedive could tell something was bothering him, and he wasn’t about to forget it, “It’s mom and dad, isn’t it? They’re mad at you again, aren’t they?”

Wildwing sighed and pulled his brother closer to him, “Oh, Dive... I really tried this time, I really did! That test was just so hard. . . None of it made any sense. And now they’re not going to let me play goalie in the game on Saturday! I worked so hard to be good enough to play with these guys, and now I can’t even show anyone everything I’ve learned!” By now Wildwing was on the verge of tears, but quickly wiped them away, not wanting to upset his brother.

Nosedive didn’t say anything for a long time. He simply cuddled up next to his older brother, trying to comfort him the best he could. He knew how much that game meant to Wildwing. Maybe he could talk them into letting Wildwing play...

“They have to let you play,” Nosedive finally said softly. “You’re the bestest goalie there is! How can they have a game without you?”

Wildwing was touched by the effort, but it didn’t make him feel much better, “I’m glad you think so Dive, but they’ll just find someone else to replace me, and then who knows if I’ll ever get another chance to play with them again...”

An idea suddenly hit Nosedive. He slipped out of Wildwing’s arms with assurances that he would be right back. After making a quick trip inside he returned, holding something behind his back.

“I know your birthday isn’t ‘til next week, but I wanna give you your present now.”

“Aww, Dive, you don’t have to do that...”

“But I want to! It’ll make you feel better,” Nosedive insisted, presenting a small package to his brother.

Wildwing smiled, slowly reaching out and accepting the package. He carefully unwrapped it, and his eyes widened as he revealed the object inside.

“Hockey cards! And it’s the new series too!”

“Yeah,” Nosedive nodded, “I had to save my allowance for three weeks to get them, but it was worth it.”

“Wow! Thanks baby bro’!” Wildwing hugged his brother tightly, “You have no idea how much this means to me...”

Nosedive returned the hug, smiling as well, “I just like it when you’re happy, Wing. And I bet you’ll still get to play in the game. I’ll force them to let you play!”

In a world that’s so uncertain
I will promise this to you

Wildwing was at a loss for words. Nosedive wasn’t that old yet, but he was still so perspective of things. Nosedive had been able to convince him to admit what was wrong, and he knew his brother wouldn’t have been satisfied until he was happy again. What an amazing kid.

And he hoped that he would always have Nosedive to remind him that there were more important things in life, to have someone to keep busy and to give him something to look forward to every day.

The mallard sighed. If only that were still the case. And after all this time, he had no idea if his little brother was even alive. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew that it was a strong possibility that he had...

He continued to silently stare up into the sky, ignoring the chaos surrounding him.

I’ll be the friend you’ll never have to do without
When you have nothing at all, you’ll still have nothing to worry about

As the younger duck continued on through the new camp, he started to sink deeper into despair. As the days wore on, it was getting harder and harder to hold onto the small thread of hope he’d been carrying around this whole time. Harder to believe that. . .

Wait a minute. His eyes stopped scanning and stopped on another Puckworlder a little ways away from him. Whoever it was had his back turned towards him, looking up at the stars.

“...Wing?” he whispered softly, his voice barely audible even to himself. He blinked. Could it be...?

No longer caring about what might happen to him, the young Puckworlder started to head towards him. There was a large crowd anyway, so it would be rather hard for the Saurians to notice which group he belonged in anyway. He brushed past a few slaves, his eyes remaining on the still figure ahead of him.

“Wildwing?” he asked again, a little louder this time but still not audible over the noise surrounding him.

He started to walk a little faster, determination starting to set in. He just had to know if...

“Wildwing?!” he called out, his voice weak from his throat being so dry, but this time it rang out over the crowd.

The white mallard, who still had his back turned towards him, blinked. Did someone just call out his name? No, it couldn’t be… Still, he slowly spun around in the direction it came from. And when he saw the younger Puckworlder moving towards him, his beak dropped in amazement.

No, this can’t be happening... my little brother is dead... But then how...?

“N-Nosedive?” he said softly. It was the first thing he had said out loud since this whole thing had happened.

The younger duck’s eyes grew wide as he saw the other turn around. It was! It really was him!

“Wildwing!” he called again, using the last of his strength to push himself into a run, weaving around other slaves as he focused only on one final goal.

The older mallard somehow managed to get past his shock, and also started moving towards him.

After what seemed like forever, but was in reality only a few moments later, the two brothers had their arms around each other, the elder falling to his knees as the younger almost collapsed, supporting him. They had both suffered so much, and neither could fully comprehend that this was happening.

“W-Wing,” was all the younger could choke out. Everything was catching up to him suddenly, and for the first time since being separated, he started sobbing. It wasn’t much at first, then he started to cry harder. Everything that he had been holding in was rushing out. So much had happened, some of it so horrible that he couldn’t even speak of it. He didn’t want his brother to know…

“Shh... it’s okay, baby bro’. I-I’m here now...” his brother replied shakily, holding onto him tightly. Stars, what had they done to him? He looked so weak and helpless... “A-And I’m not going to lose you again...”

That was when it began raining. It started as a gentle sprinkle that soon became harder with each passing minute. And still the brothers held onto each other, oblivious to everything around them.

And even after all the suffering and loneliness, none of that mattered at the moment. They had had nothing, but now it seemed like they had everything, and neither of them were planning on letting go anytime soon.

When you have nothing at all, you’ll still have nothing to worry about
Nothing at all...