Broken

Written by Gretchen and Zelda

 

 

                Gretchen lifted her lashes to the top of the towering building, hand planted firmly on the curve of her thigh. A small frown appeared on her features and she glanced back to the Migrator, where her fellow Ducks (plus a dragon) were waiting. "This is it." She sighed, lifting her shoulders partially in a shrug.

                "Then let's get going." Wildwing shouted to the rest of the team, climbing out of the vehicle and starting towards the entrance, where Gretchen stood, head cocked in an impatient manner.

                She had been acting bizarre all day, Zelda had noticed. And it wasn't just her usual cocky mood... no, it wasn't quite that. Ever since they had lost that last game, partially because of Gretchen's stumble and slipping on the ice, she had just been in this depressed mood. She was in no condition to fight Saurians. And regardless of Zelda's pleas to get her to stay planted in front of Drake One, playing computer games endlessly, Gretchen had insisted on driving the Migrator out here.

                Meanwhile, at the top of the building, the Saurians were busy setting up an odd satellite, pointing it to an angle where it almost shone straight upwards.

                "It's all ready Lord Dragaunus."  Siege reported, making a final adjustment to the device. He turned towards the mighty creature behind him, who was leaning over Siege's shoulder to examine the work.

                A small, wicked grin quirked on his mouth. "Good... then let's get started."

                He had no sooner said that before the door was kicked inward and in walked the team. Oddly enough, even though Gretchen had been the first one in, she now trailed behind.

                Zelda stayed close to her as well, looking up as her friend glared at their foes haughtily.

                "Not today, lizard breath!" Duke chuckled, taking a step forward and aiming his wrist towards the Chameleon, who had begun to approach.

                Dragaunus looked back towards Gretchen and Zelda. Those particular two had caused him a  great deal of... irritation lately. And as he watched the Ducks approach, he ground down on his lower lip. His eyes flared a muddy crimson before he pressed a select button on his teleporter. Within

seconds, he was behind Zelda, looming over her and snarling down at her. "You go

first..." he growled, moving a hand down.

                Gretchen blinked, looking over her shoulder at the huge Saurian... she moved once, her leg swinging around to come in contact with the Saurian's muzzle.

                A roar of pain and surprise came from Dragaunus and he lashed forward with his gun. Before Gretchen could even react, the mass of laser energy was headed at her, coming in contact with her left temple. The girl released a shriek, which was soon muffled by a gutteral sound of pain. Her body

bounced twice against the hard concrete of the roof, before stilling.

                Zelda released a high-pitched roar, talons clicking hurriedly against the ground as she came

to the girl.

                Wildwing, who was busy with Siege, turned to look at them, crimson eyes wide with grief and horror, then narrowed into slits of rage. A snarl emitted from his ground teeth and he lunged forward.

                It didn't take to long to frighten the Saurians to surrender, the three of them vanishing in a green mist.

                The Ducks had gathered around Gretchen's sprawled form, looking down at it as Zelda examined her closely.

                The dragon then turned, crying out to her fellow teammates. "Quick! She's dying! Lets get her to the infirmary, NOW!"

 

One year later...

 

                Wildwing entered the infirmary with a slightly solemn look on his face, however tranquil. He had visited Gretchen daily ever since she had gone into the coma... and didn't expect much of a chance.    Zelda was sleeping beside her, on a chair.

                Wildwing quirked a small grin and ran the back of his hand along her neck. "Hey there." He murmured.

                Zelda lifted her head, canting it to one side. "No change yet, Wildwing." She reported, then sighed.

                Even though he had been expecting to hear that, just as he had heard it every day for the past year, it still hit him hard. He could never get used to that feeling of disappointment. Crestfallen, Wildwing looked over at her sleeping body, and sighed as well.

                Quietly gaining her feet, Zelda hopped off of the chair, coming around and butting her head against her leader to get him to sit.

                "Hey, hey, alright girl." he muttered down at her, and relented quickly. Sitting, he reached underneath the blanket that covered her, and took up Gretchen's hand, rubbing it softly, speaking quietly to her. "It's me Gretch..." he greeted her warmly. "Just like it is everyday. Bet you're wondering how the game went last night, hm? I hope Zelda hasn't already told you." He shot the dragon a mock-glare.

                Zelda bowed her head, shrinking from him, but it wasn't all in comedy. She gave him a nod and clipped slowly from the infirmary, head still low. Letting the door hiss closed behind her, the dragon leaned against the wall of the opposite corridor and sighed. A whole year... she could never get used to the fact that her mere lack of attention during that attack, one year ago, had taken that time away from Gretchen's life. She could still never shake the image burned in her mind that night, looking over her shoulder and cringing from the flash of red, hearing Gretchen cry out seconds later, and seeing the sneer on Dragaunus's crooked jawline as he watched her collapse. It was her fault... And yet, nobody had ever said a thing to her. Wildwing had never reprimanded her, even when she brought the issue up with him. It was just "It's alright Zel, she'll wake up soon enough, and this'll all be over with." But she hadn't woken up, and Zelda knew that somewhere, deep in the back of Wildwing's mind, he knew there was a possibility that Gretchen would never wake up again. Shaking her head to try and free herself of such thoughts, Zelda wheeled around and decided to head for the surface, and find something to eat.

 

                "Anyway, it was a great check." Wildwing slicked back his hair. "I gotta give Grin some real credit for that one. If he hadn't been there, the guy woulda had a breakaway." He looked down at her and fell silent for a few moments. She looked so peaceful... like she was just sleeping. Except she wouldn't just wake up. "You... you know Gretch... " he began, his voice losing its cheery tone. "I don't know if you can hear me... but, I wish that you'd wake up, you know? It's been so long... since I've seen you smile back at me..."

                Just then the corner of Gretchen's mouth twitched upward, quirking into a faint, very vague smile.

                Wildwing's eyes widened, his body leaning forward in the chair before he looked down at his hand in astonishment. Gretchen's fingers were squeezing on his own! Wildwing stood, his voice hoarse, but able to carry down the corridors. "G..Guys! Come quick! She's -awake-! Gretchen's awake!" He cried with glee.

                Her eyes clenched slightly, before opening into slits, looking up at the blurred figure of her companion, teammate, and sometimes a little more...

                Zelda, who was walking up towards the surface with Mallory and Nosedive, turned sharply, to look over their shoulder towards the cries of their leader.

                They exchanged confused looks, before Mallory cried. "C'mon!" And they were racing, behind Grin, Duke, and Tanya, towards the infirmary.

                Phil was already beside Wildwing when the others arrived, crying with happiness that his lingerie duck calendar wasn't a total flop idea.

                Zelda leaped onto the bed, and was instantly greeted by Gretchen's broadening smile.        "Wh..Whats going on?" She whispered, glancing around, then towards Zelda once again.

                Zelda purposely kept out of this conversation, her head lowered as Wildwing explained what had happened.

                When he had finished, Gretchen rolled her eyes slightly and leaned forward to lace her arms

around the dragon in a tender hug. "I'm so happy... I'm alive..." She murmured.

                The ducks, dragon, and manager all averted their gaze however, as Wildwing dipped his head to offer Gretchen a kiss.

                After a good two minutes, Nosedive coughed into the back of his hand. "Eh... Bro, heh, I don't mean to sound like a total flake, but save that for the times when your -alone- with her, ok?"

                The others chuckled as they turned back to the two.

                Wildwing pulled the mask from his face, setting it on the bedside table to allow the tears that rolled down the sides of his face to ruffle the feathers there.

                Gretchen remained holding Wildwing for a good while, listening to each individual story with a broadening grin.

                Zelda stayed silent by Gretchen's bed, waiting for her turn to be the last one. As grateful as she was to see her teammate finally awake, to hear her voice after an entire year of its absence in the Pond, she was also at a loss to try and create an apology for what had happened in the first place. She was still at a loss when Grin fell silent, and she was the only one left.

                "So girl." Gretchen rolled over slightly to face her, patting the back of her neck. "What have you been up to, for a whole year?"

                Zelda hesitated, but when she did open her mouth, her reply was violently cut off as alarms blared in the hallway outside.

                "You've GOT to be kidding me." Duke growled. "Talk about horrible timing, eh?"

                Methodically, Wildwing turned over his right wrist to look at the screen under his armor. "Saurians again." he grumbled. "This is crazy. They're breaking in at the zoo!"

                "What the heck would they want at the zoo?" Mallory crossed her arms.

                "Maybe to conveniently step into the open mouths of a few crocodiles." Zelda snarled, shaking her head.

                "They may be after rare animals, some kind of illegal trade." Duke mused.

                "Or more fodder for their DNA accelerator." Tanya suggested.

                "Regardless." Grin spoke. "We must stop them, while there is still time."

                "You're right." Wildwing sighed reluctantly, and stood up. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, our little reunion is going have to wait."

                "Can't I come along?" Gretchen asked, already pulling the sheets away from the bed.

                "Heh, you're staying right here, I'm afraid!" Tanya overruled her with a smile. "Not letting you out until you get a thorough checkup!"

                "Don't worry Gretchen, we'll be back before you can say 'Ducks rock'!" Nosedive smirked. "You just sit tight!"

                Everyone started out of the infirmary, Wildwing being the last to leave Gretchen's side. When he did start off, Gretchen grabbed onto his gloved hand, and pulled him back, whispering to him.

                "Please Wing, I just got to see you again... please be careful..." she pleaded.

                Wildwing bent down and gave her another quick kiss.

                "I promise, I will. We all will. Don't worry." Gently, he eased his hand away, and headed out of the infirmary, looking back as the door hissed closed, and left him alone in the corridor.

 

                The animals were definitely upset about something. Hearing their nervous stirring was enough to make her jumpy, and Zelda was glad for once that she had friends that weren't of her kind, to keep her grounded in situations like this.

                "Creepy..." Dive whispered, peering into the cage of a cackling pack of hyenas. "Don't these guys ever shut up?"

                "They have been disturbed." Grin shook his head. "I have no doubt that we are close."

                Wildwing was crouched with the rest of the team, to the side of the hyenas' cage, scanning the area with his mask. "X-ray isn't working, I can't pick them out with all of these animals. No residual teleportation energy, either."

                "Great." Duke muttered, one hand on the handle of his sheathed sabre. "We're gonna have to find 'em the old fashioned way."

                "All of you guys shut your beaks." Mallory hissed back at them, training a cannon at the bushes surrounding the complex of cages. "You could wake the dead with the noise you're making! How do you expect us to run a covert operation like this?"

                No sooner did she suspend her question, then there was a loud flare of energy, a flash of light, and an explosion rocked the hyena cage. The team ducked and flattened themselves to the ground, bits of debris pattering down, smoke billowing around them.

                "Check in and assemble, team!" Wildwing ordered, snapping his launcher and waving it around in the smoke. Something bumped into him, and he spun around to face it.

                "Jeez, relax bro!" Nosedive's hands flew up. "It's me!"

                "I'm here too!" Mallory backed against the two of them, cannon still out. "Where did that come from?"

                "We need to get this smoke outta here!" Duke called, still lost himself.

                "Hang on!" Zelda chirped from elsewhere, rearing up and flapping her wings, blowing the smoke away, revealing Grin and Tanya.

                "We've got a problem here..." Tanya stammered nervously, backing away. Out of the receding smoke, the laughter of the hyenas was eerily familiar, as one of the animals paced for the two Ducks.

                "Easy..." Grin started, his hands on her shoulders. "A lone member will not attack, he is probably afraid..."

                The dog perked its ears at the two Ducks, shying away from the towering Grin, and pacing, confused, for the others.

                Seeing the animal's disorientation, Zelda dipped her head and let out a reassuring low rumble.

                The dog let out a yelp, clacking its toothy jaws, and suddenly charged for her!

                Taken completely by surprised, Zelda was slammed into, and both of them went rolling away into the smoke.

                "What the--?!" Duke unsheathed his sword, hoping the light from it would help. But there was light coming from somewhere else. A green light permeated the smoke, and the laugh of the hyena faded into something much more recognizable.

                "Chameleon!" Wildwing spun around, as the smoke blew away to reveal the lizard pinning Zelda to the ground, the muzzle of his laser gun jammed into her flank. "It's a trap!"

                Zelda released a low growl, her hind legs kicking at the Chameleon's abdomen harshly.

                Siege, meanwhile, had teleported in just behind Mallory, huge club-like tail swinging to smash against her calves. "It's duck stompin' time!" He snarled, his toothy grin truly wicked as he watched in glee as the duck slammed onto the ground, giving a hoarse cry.

                Nosedive aimed his puck launcher towards the giant lizard, but cried out as Wraith swung his gnarled staff down on his wrists.

                "They're appearing from everywhere! Stay on your toes!" Wildwing yelled to his companions, holding his arm up and aiming at it at the Chameleon.

                The lizard was too distracted with Zelda to notice, trying to regain his control over her as she rolled out from beneath him, spun around, and whipped him aside with her tail. A blast from Wildwing's puck launcher sent the Saurian back in the opposite direction seconds later, and he flattened out on the pavement with an angry squeal.

                Grin left Tanya's side and ran over to challenge Siege, probably the only one of the henchmen that could overpower him one-on-one. But Mallory was unable to get up because of the pain in her legs, and Grin couldn't just leave her alone. Charging in, he pulled back his fist and rammed it forward into the Saurian's leathery shoulder, Siege stumbling aside a few feet.

                "Why you!" he snarled, yanking out his blaster. "The girlie and I were just having a friendly chat!"

                "'Friendly' my tailfeathers..." Mallory seethed, pushing herself up on her arms.

                Grin pulled her gently to her feet. "You okay?"

                "Still okay enough to shoot, if that's what you mean." Mallory pulled out her own launcher and quickly started driving Siege backwards with her accurate shooting.

                Meanwhile, Duke and Tanya were both heading to help Nosedive out in his tussle with Wraith. Every time Dive got a decent chance to get in a punch, the old Saurian would vanish into a vapory cloud, reappearing somewhere safe. Growing reckless with frustration, Dive snarled and bumrushed him. "Hold still!" he ordered.      

                "I think not." Wraith let out a toothy grin, and vanished once more. This time, he didn't come back. Nosedive skidded to a halt and turned, eyes darting about, trying to find out where he had reappeared.

                "Kid, look out!" Duke yelled.

                There was a loud whoosh behind Nosedive's back, and before he could react, a crack and the clang of wood against metal. Dive spun around to see Wraith's staff mere inches from his skull, it's path interrupted by Duke's sabre.

                Wraith shot both Ducks a cold glare before he pulled the staff back and swung it for Duke.

                The agile duck crouched and avoided the swing, bringing his staff up and cracking the blunt of the blade flat against Wraith's wrinkled face. As the Saurian howled in pain and staggered backwards, Duke turned his attention back to Nosedive. "You okay kid?"

                "Don't think anything's broken." Nosedive muttered in annoyance, scooping his launcher off of the ground and spinning it on his fingers. "Man, Wraith is gonna look like Swiss cheese when I'm through with him!"

                "Cool it for a sec." Duke grabbed his shoulder, looking around. "Somethin' ain't right here."

                The both of them looked up and down the path, seeing the other henchmen outnumbered and outmanuvered in the closeness of the zoo's path. It looked like Chameleon had been knocked unconscious somehow.

                "You're complainin'?" Dive snorted with a grin. "We're winning! What's your problem?!"

                There was the flare of a puck launcher firing behind them, and the two turned as Wraith got tied up by a bola.

                "Duke's got a point." Tanya holstered her launcher in her belt and walked up to the two. "Someone's missing here!"

                "Awww..." a dark snarl pierced the air. "And I thought you'd forgotten about me!"

                In a blinding flash, the trio of Ducks lost each other, each succumbing to the wave of light that seemed to rip through their nerves. None of them could stop themselves from falling like stones to the asphalt. As the light receded, a form materialized itself.

                "That'll teach you to forget." Dragaunus rubbed his hands together, eyes darting around with a predatory sneer.

                Having seen everything, Wildwing spun from his watch over Chameleon. "Trouble guys!" he yelled, instantly starting a charge over. "Dragaunus! What were you up to this time?!"

                Keeping his mocking grin trained on Wildwing as he approached, the Overlord swished his tail and gestured around him. "I simply thought that this was a proper environment. After all, for creatures who are soon enough to be in cages..."

                "You open that ugly mouth of yours again, and I'll be glad to blast it off for you!" Mallory yelled at him, kneeling on the ground and training her cannon on him. "Get away from them!"

                "Puh, these weaklings?" Dragaunus kicked Nosedive coldly away. "They didn't even see me coming. Too easy."

                Zelda glanced quickly around, starting to panic. Having three of her teammmates down was a severe blow, and it pretty much evened out the odds they had of winning this fight. Now Siege and Wraith were back on their feet, encircling Wildwing, Mallory, and Grin. She was all too quick to join them and give Dragaunus an angry snarl.

                "Yes, too easy." the Overlord continued, now giving Tanya a boot off to the side.

                Zelda scrambled away to try and revive her as she rolled to a stop by Nosedive, who still hadn't moved. A quick shake of each of them revealed that they were out cold.

                "This is how it ends, wretched Ducks!" Dragaunus let out a triumphant roar. "Now, attack!"

                Attack? That's right, the other henchmen! Zelda had forgotten completely about them in her concern for the others. Rearing back and pivoting, Zelda spun around, bringing her face right into line with the direction of Siege's bone-solid club tail. Seeing stars and feeling pain race up her spine, Zelda flew backwards a good several feet, pain exploding along her side as she landed hard and rolled to a stop. By the time she had, she knew nothing more.

 

                A cage. She found her feet in an electrifying surge of panic, flying through every nerve as her eyes went wide and darted around. Darkness, all around her, and an acrid smell that was unmistakably synonymous with the interior of the Raptor. But she was in a cage. Even though she couldn't see her paw in front of her face at this point, she knew that much. The cold metal of the floor, the roof, and the bars leered at her. Zelda scuttled backwards, her rear bumping into a corner. She let out a dry yelp of panic and spun slightly, backing a few paces into another corner. Trapped. In a cage. Thanks to some bad experiences earlier in the dragoness's life, she had no great love for cages. Even worse, her fear of them was instinctive as well. How many years, she had wondered, how many thousands of years did it take, for the experiences of a few unfortunate individuals to become pure instinct for an entire species? Now, that instinct coursed through her, the fight-or-flight response demanding her to take some sort of action. Letting out an agitated snort, Zelda ducked her head low and charged, slamming violently into the bars, full force. She could barely feel the pain lancing up the shoulder that had taken most of the blow. What she did know was that the bars hadn't moved. Swinging around, she charged and rammed the bars with her other flank. Beginning to realize that she was truly stuck, her panic surging higher, Zelda jammed her snout between the bars until it stuck, unwedging it to try and gnaw at the cold steel with her teeth. Her bite pressure could rival any of the animal world's major predators, but these bars didn't have the will to relent that iron might. The futility of her need to escape mounted further as teeth started to splinter and snap from Zelda's jaws. Backing off again, she was about to try another charge, when a pair of beady yellow eyes blazed at her from the darkness, just before the cage.

                "Well...." Dragaunus let his bone white teeth show through the blackness as well. "Look who's awake..."

                Zelda looked up at Dragaunus, her eyes narrowed into slits of fury. That didn't do much to disguise the look of concern and fright for her comrades. In the back of her mind, she was thinking of Gretchen, sitting in that infirmary bed, waiting  quietly for them to return to her and no one ever came... Zelda shuddered off the thought before looking back up at her captor, her own white teeth contrasting with the darkness. "Where are the others?" she heard herself snarl at him.

                "You mean the ones you believe are your friends?" Dragaunus tilted his head back, laughing horribly, before looking back down at the little lizard. "Three of them are currently in cages much like yours..." Crooking a taloned finger, a robotic drone stepped forward, reaching into the cage. Zelda

snapped at the hand before it closed firmly around her throat, the other hand closing around her back legs. "Allow me to enlighten you, my dear..." He cackled, moving with the robot out of the room, Zelda squirming in the iron grasp.

 

                Wildwing stormed into the Pond, his crimson eyes glowing with rage, his steps haughty, his body quivering with pent up aggression. "That lizard has pushed the wrong buttons today. Kidnapping our friends..." he growled, moving towards the infirmary.

                Mallory and Grin had taken their orders, going instantly to Drake One to try and locate the Raptor.

                Upon entering the infirmary, Wildwing gasped softly at the empty bed, looking in something of panic at the nicely folded sheets. Oh God, had they gotten Gretchen too? How had they found the... his train of thought instantly ended, however, when he felt slender hands twine around his waist and

hold there.

                "I am so happy you came back..." Gretchen had to stand on her tip toes to whisper into his ear.        And as Wildwing spun around his jaw fell open at seeing Gretchen in an innocent white lace teddy. The blow to her head must have been stronger then he thought... and he hated himself as he spat

out the next phrase through ground teeth. "I'm sorry, Gretch, we can't celebrate yet. Nosedive, Zelda, Tanya and Duke have been kidnapped by Dragaunus... we hafta go after him."

                Gretchen looked slightly dumbfounded and she was suddenly thankful that her feathers covered her blush. She took a step back and nodded once. "I'll get dressed and come with you." She said and Wildwing stood outside her door and begged her not to go, as she did. But Gretchen wouldn't hear of it. She was going with them to find the Raptor. She and Dragaunus had some unfinished business anyway...

 

                Duke looked groggily up as the door opened again. He hated being so tired... the aftershock of that blast Dragaunus had given them was slow to wear off. But at least the others were up. Across from him, each in separate cages, Nosedive and Tanya stood and looked over towards whoever would be coming in. And by the weird noises coming from outside, Duke knew this wouldn't be anything good. He could make out the silhouettes of Dragaunus and a hunter drone as they stalked in, but there was something that the drone was holding...

                "Zelda!" Dive yelled out, surprised. "Put her down, Dragaunus!"

                There was a singular light that hung in the center of the room, between Duke and Tanya's cage, and as the trio stepped into it, they could be seen clearly.

                Zelda's eyes widened upon seeing the others, and her struggle to escape found new energy. An angry squeal escaped from her throat, causing it only to be squeezed tighter.

                "You'd like me to put her down, wouldn't you?" Dragaunus sneered over into Nosedive's cage. "It won't happen. You're lucky I brought her in here at all, to say goodbye."

                "What?" Tanya asked.

                "This is the last you'll be seeing of your pet, Ducks, at least as you know her."

                "What are you going to do to her, Dragaunus?" Duke stepped up to the edge of his cage and banged an arm angrily against the bars. "What have you done to her already?"

                "You mean these?" Dragaunus ran a claw along one of the many forming bruises along her flank, causing Zelda to wince. "Why, she was nice enough to do this all by herself." He stooped down to look her in the eye, grinning. "Because the poor little girl can't stand to be without her little friends, can she?"

                Eyes flaring blue in anger, Zelda did her best to try and snap back at the Overlord.

                Laughing back, Dragaunus stood again and went back to the captive Ducks. "Now, I want you all to behave. You're merely here to sweeten the pot, to deepen the trap. So don't make too much noise, and I won't have to send Siege in here to make you pipe down."

                "What are you going to do to her, Dragaunus?" Duke repeated, hissing through his teeth. The Saurian Overlord's eyes flared opportunistically as he glared back at Duke.

                "Trust me." he grinned. "You'll see her again." With a swish of his long tail, Dragaunus started to stalk out of the room again, the hunter drone hissing pneumatically as it turned and followed him.

                Being pulled away from her teammates, Zelda began to struggle again, the growing panic apparent in her eyes.

                Nosedive did his best to stay with her, following her out as far as his cage would allow. "You hang in there girl, you'll see! We'll get outta here, and come get you!"

                Dragaunus turned to face him again as he exited, sneering. "Let's see if you find what you were looking for." And with that, the door hissed closed behind them, sealing the three back in the room, back in their cages.

                There was a confused moment of silence.

                "What did he mean by that?" Tanya finally spoke up.

                "I don't like this." Duke growled. "He's got plans, he's up to something."

                "No duh!" Dive looked over at him. "Doesn't he always? Now let's cut the talk and bust out of these things!"

                "That's another problem." Duke sighed. "I hate to say it but I think those slimy lizards are actually learning a thing or two. They took my lock picks."

                Nosedive slapped his forehead. "Wonderful! So now we're stuck here?!"

                Tanya leaned back against the bars and sighed, frustrated.

                Duke shook his head. "I don't like it any more than you kid... But for now, we are."

 

                Another cage. This one was even smaller, it sat on a sort of pedestal in the center of the room, wires and pipes attached to its roof. The drone let go of Zelda's legs for only a moment as it opened the door, and the dragon was unceremoniously tossed inside, and sealed there with the clicking of a lock as the door was slammed shut. As Zelda gasped, rubbing her throat to help her breathe, Dragaunus stalked to the side of her cage, watching her like a predator would stare at its prey. Staring back, Zelda realized that the cage had purposely been set on his eye level.

                "Let me out of here Dragaunus." she demanded with a raspy growl.

                "Not a chance, Zelda." he growled right back.

                "This is ridiculous." she shook her head, already starting to feel the panic surging in her again. She kept her angry face, wedging her snout between the bars again. "What do you want with me?"

                At this, Dragaunus let out a simple grin. "The humans here have a saying, Zelda. 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.' Well Zelda, we've been fighting for quite a long time, you know." He loomed in closer to the cage, so that she was unable to avoid his glare. "And you haven't beaten me yet."

 

                Gretchen settled into the Aerowing's pilot seat, and regardless of the day's dreadful events, she allowed a small smile to cross her beak. She sighed, running slender fingers along the control panel. She had piloted this mighty craft so many times, taking it upon herself to be the designated

driver, simply because she felt that she was always incredibly good at her driving skills.

                Wildwing slipped into the seat beside her, glancing over his shoulder towards the other two  buckling their seat belts. Then he looked to Gretchen, as the Aerowing lifted from its port. "I don't know how you talked me into letting you go. You can barely walk." Wildwing grumbled, folding his arms in somewhat of a pouting gesture.

                Gretchen looked towards him and grinned slightly, her brows raising partially in amusement. It was hard to picture Wildwing pouting, even though his arms were folde din a childish fashion, his head was held high and proud, and his eyes were analyzing the skies before them.

                "Drake One traced the guys signals back to that old Harbor before they were cut offline." Mallory stated, looking up from her seat.

                "Then that’s where we're headed." Wildwing said, before pausing and looking back at Gretchen. "Erm. Gretchen. The Harbor is, eh, -that- way."

                He gestured towards the opposite direction of her flying course and once again, she was thankful for the feathers upon her cheeks. "Shaddup. I haven't been awake for a freakin' year!" She snapped before

making a sharp turn in the air and firing the thrusters, the Aerowing becoming a blur in Anaheim's blue skies. She found herself thinking about Zelda. She cared about her dear fellow Ducks, but Zelda... Zelda had been her best friend since she had arrived on this planet. And from Wildwing's report, she had been pretty beaten up when Dragaunus took her. Her brows furrowed and she ground her teeth nervously.

Something curled in the pit of her stomach and she knew then... something was happening with Zelda. And it wasn't good.

 

                Zelda had finally gained some rest, her body rising and falling in soft breaths, Dragaunus's eyes narrowed upon her curled form wickedly. He stroked his chin in contemplation of how to break her, his head cocked to one side in thought. As he watched, he noticed the small hind legs kicking softly and

whimpered breaths escaping her nostrils. What was the dragon dreaming of? Just then, something inaudible escaped the creature's mouth, and the Overlord found himself craning forward to hear.

 

                Gretchen was running with Zelda... her laugh soft and her eyes bright with the love for life. Zelda bounded beside her, treasuring the feeling of grass thumping against her body. They were in a huge meadow... secluded and playing their games. Then the meadow was swallowed by a Saurian's gaping

maw, and the two of them plummeting downwards into the fiery pits of darkness, both of them crumpled against the ridged rocks of the sudden canyon they found themselves in. Zelda raised her head to see Gretchen being swooped up by Dragaunus's talons, his laugh wicked. Zelda reached for Gretchen but

it was no use... she was gone into the oblivion, the only thing left was Dragaunus's triumphant cackling. And then it was black.

 

                She awoke with a soft yelp, gasping violently for air as her wings shot out. The gold along their edges clanged against the steel bars of the cage around her, and Zelda started again, not remembering where she was or what had happened to her. The nightmare still fresh in her mind, she lunged for the bars and slammed into them, the pain radiating throughout her already beaten body. And then she spun around, and was halted by the beady yellow eyes of the Saurian Overlord.

                "So..." Dragaunus began quietly. "Gretchen is still alive..."

                Terribly frightened, Zelda backed into the corner of the cage furthest from him. "What?..." she whispered. "How... how did you know?..."

                "You were whimpering in your sleep, stupid animal." he growled, a growing sneer spreading across his face as he bared his teeth and curled his brows. "After all that... she's still alive."

                As Dragaunus became lost in thought again, Zelda had things quickly come back to her. She remembered why she was here now, and it didn't make her happy. She quickly shifted from a frightened captive to an angry one. After all, her bravado was all that she had now. Dragaunus could easily kill her, but she would never show her weak side to an enemy. By the time Dragaunus had completed his plotting and looked back at her, she snapped and returned his glare.

                "Don't play games with me, Zelda." he drew himself up and away from her cage. "You have no idea what I have planned for you."

                "Easier on me if you'd just end the suspense." she shot right back.

                "More fun if I didn't." he snarled. "Besides, I wouldn't want to put any more burdens on your bruised little shoulders."

                The dragon let out a low growl. "What are you talking about, Dragaunus? If you hurt them back there---"

                "Don't worry Zelda." he cut her off, grinning. "What I'll do can't be worse than what you already have, than what you did to Gretchen."

                Her ears flattened in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

                "You remember it well, Zelda, I'm sure." he sneered. "That night, almost a year ago? You should be thanking the stars she's still alive..." he leaned in closer to her cage, rubbing one of the hooks on his chin. "After you failed her."

                A look of hurt flashed in the dragon's eyes, but she didn't lose her angry stare for a moment. "You'd just love for me to think that, wouldn't you?!" she started. "I wasn't the one who fired that shot, remember? Only cowards and weaklings headhunt like that."

                "But being a hunter is my job." he tisked her. "And I succeeded. Being a guardian is your job, and you failed."

                "You're lying." she hissed, still not losing her outward anger.

                "The only one who's lying here is you, and to yourself." he drew backwards again with a disdainful look. "I will leave you to your thoughts though, for a while."

                As he started back towards the door, Zelda started to lose her act. "Where do you think you're going?" she yelled after him.

                "Where I please." he growled. "I'm not the one in the cage. You just don't want to be left alone, do you Zelda? You don't want to think about what I've just said? Well, too bad." He paused in the doorway to flash a grin back at her, before he sealed it shut. And he left her alone.

 

                Grin looked at the entrance of the harbor with a flat, contemplative look. Rather abruptly, the large fist, which was easily the size of Mallory's head, she noticed, came through the steel of the door.

                "Mmm. A harbor with steel doors! How quaint." Gretchen grumbled, being led into the depths of the Raptor's entry hallway, by leaning on Grin's other side. After being asleep for a year, her body felt like JELLO. She looked towards Wildwing, who halted instantly within four feet inwards and was scanning the area.

                "Dragaunus is here alright. And he is using his teleporter for something."

                "Something is not right." Grin muttered as he regained his grasp on Gretchen and kept walking.        Four pairs of eyes darted around cautiously, all four suspicious to what Dragaunus had planned.

                "He would've attacked by now!" Mallory said impatiently, walking beside Wildwing. "Why hasn't he pulled some cowardly shot?"

                Wildwing halted once again, pressing two fingers to the side of the Mask and looking around... "He's up. About two stories up. According to their teleporters, Siege, Wraith and the Chameleon are..."

                "Right behind ya!" Siege snarled, only to stop at seeing Gretchen. "Hey! The Overlord finished you!" He raised a laser. "They just keep coming back..."

                At the sight of the laser, a red alert shot through Gretchen's mind.

                Grin released her, taking a good two feet back. "Do what you must, little friend." He encouraged.      Wildwing held Mallory back, who was reaching for her puck launcher.

                "Stop, Gretchen wigs out with guns." He reminded her.

                Gretchen suddenly felt the strength return to her legs. And the girl did a handspring forward, one leg shooting up to knock the laser away. No sooner had that leg landed, her other was swung up to make contact with the other side of his face.

                Siege howled in pain, rolling away and standing up slowly again.

                While she was busy with Siege, the Chameleon and Wraith had advanced upon the other three and the battle was on.

                Mallory finally removed her puck launcher, seeing as Gretchen's back was turned, and shot it at the little green Adam Sandler approaching.

                He dodged, hands flailing over his head. "Oh! We wanna play the Ducky's way huh? Well

pa-a-a-ardon me!"

                Mallory gritted her teeth and reholstered her puck launcher, moving to kick at the lizard.

                The Chameleon was caught off guard, slamming into a wall.

                Wraith was facing off with Wildwing and Grin, watching the two with narrowed crimson orbs of eyes. He raised his gnarled hand and Grin shoved Wildwing out of the way, just as a fireball hurled past the two of them.

                "In the spiritual words of Tai-Quack-Do... Whatsa madda with the ducks today? Legs slower then sloth reflexes!"

                Wildwing rolled back up quickly, locking his launcher's sights on Wraith's floating body.

                "What have you done with the others?!" he demanded loudly, over the sounds of the fighting.

                To this, the frail Saurian floated up higher, grinning back. "I'm sorry Wildwing." he spoke. "But it's a bit too early for them to be able to leave yet. You'll have to wait, maybe in the holding cells?"

                "We'll see about that--" Wildwing's threat was cut off as a bluish light suddenly started to form around him, and he too floated up into the air, unable to move! Wraith had cast a spell on him!

                Leaping up and catching his leader by an ankle, Grin used his sheer weight to try and pull him back to the ground, and soon found himself in a battle against Wraith's concentration, as the Saurian tried to keep Wildwing willed up. "Little help, friends?" he called over his shoulder.

                "Little help, coming right up!" Mallory pivoted around from near the wall where she was tying up the Chameleon, whipped out her pucklauncher, and fired a bola that wrapped right around the unsuspecting Wraith. She ran up to help as both the Saurian and Wildwing came crashing down.

                "Ooof!" Wildwing landed on Grin's back, springing up quickly. "Whew, thanks for the backup guys."

                "No prob, that's two down." Mallory nodded. "Let's put the power play on Seige and find the others!"

                "Ain't gonna be that easy, Ducks!" the fat, orange lizard announced from across the entryway.

                The three spun to see Siege stomping back towards them, one hand held in a vice grip around Gretchen's neck. She was kicking and struggling as hard as she could, but it did little more than make Siege flinch.

                Wildwing's stomach fell like a stone when he saw her like that. He should have known she wouldn't be as strong as she used to be, not after lying nearly sedentary for a whole year! And it was a rare occasion when a Duck could overpower Siege when they were alone. It took him an agonizing few seconds to snap himself back to, and he instantly locked his pucklauncher on Siege's twisted grin.

                Mallory hadn't waited for the order, but had trained it there the second she had spotted him.

                "Drop her Siege!" Wildwing demanded.

                "Gimme one good reason why I should!" Siege snorted right back. "Cause I got four. See? One... two..." And as he spoke, he began squeezing his fingers tighter around her throat, one by one.

                Furious, Gretchen's struggle quickly weakened as her air supply was cut off.

                "Let her go NOW Siege, or you'll have to try breathing without a head!" his voice rose, eyes flaring.

                Seiege merely stuck his tongue out at Wildwing. "Maybe I'll give her back, maybe she'd make a nice addition to our little peanut gallery!"

                "We went through this with Wraith." Grin started. "What are your plans for the others? And you'd better be smart enough to answer."

                "And you twerps just expect me to give that one away? I'm not as dumb as I look."

                "You sure about that one?" Mallory sneered.

                Siege let out an angry, animal roar in response, his knuckles tightening even further against Gretchen's neck. "You keep runnin' your beak if you want your friend here to have bone dust for a spinal cord!"

                Slight panic showing in her eyes, Mallory backed off a step, looking up to Wildwing.

                And Wildwing's head was spinning as well. It would take negotiation to get Siege to step down, but negotiation took time. Time that Gretchen simply didn't have. What were they going to do now?

 

                Anything but being alone would have suited her fine. She'd battled against him for too many years, she realized. He knew her weaknesses by now, knew how to get to her. So he had left Zelda alone, with her thoughts. And, her mere act of toughness faded away once he had left the room. She had nobody to be tough too, not anymore. There was just herself. And Zelda already knew the truth, she had thought it over millions of times throughout the year.

                "If only I'd paid more attention..." she whispered through locked teeth, staring at the floor of her tiny cage. "If only I'd seen him behind me... Gretchen wouldn't have..." She shook her head sadly. "Poor girl... an entire year of her life, just gone.... And now the others are in trouble, and I can't even get out of here---" Another weak headbutt into the bars, and the dragon stumbled dizzily back. Tears from the  mingled guilt, frustration, and pain started to seep past her eyelids. "I'm--I'm sorry Gretch..." she whispered. "It was all my fault...."

                "That's better." a low growl came from nowhere.

                Zelda snapped back to reality, eyes darting in panic. The room was still dark, and Dragaunus was nowhere to be seen!

                "Pay no attention to the Overlord behind the curtain." his voice grew amused. "I'm just glad you've admitted to your crime, Zelda. And now, it's time for you to be taught a lesson...." As his voice silenced, there were whirring noises all around the room, as it lit up again. Several large screens, hanging all around the cage, snapped to life. Each of them was showing a different set of videos; nature documentaries of lions tearing up a wildebeest, terrible B-movie footage of dinosaurs attacking cities, sharks snapping up helpless fish and seals.

                "What is all of this, Dragaunus?" Zelda yelled out.

                "Your lesson, Zelda." he growled. "You've failed as a protector. Now, you'll return to your true predatory roots. And this time, you'll hunt for me..."

 

                Gretchen was going to pass out. She could see the blackness ebbing away her vision. She looked towards Wildwing, whose arm was beginning to quiver with tension, fear, and frustration.

                He finally lowered his arm with a soft sigh, scowling darkly. "Alright Siege. We'll do what you want." This was all his fault. He shouldn't have let Gretchen come. Especially after the stunt she pulled with the teddy. But it was too late.

                Gretchen went limp in Siege's grasp, and her neck was punctured with the fat fingers.

                Wildwing lunged forward, but the back of his arm was held firmly by Grin's fist. "Gretch!" Wildwing choked before looking back at Grin and forcing himself to regain composure.

                Siege cackled and turned, shaking Gretchen by the neck. "This way, ducks." Siege growled, jerking his head off to one side.

                Wildwing let Grin and Mallory pass before glaring one final time at Siege and walking down the long corridor, only looking over his shoulder once at Gretchen's dangling form.

 

                Zelda had been watching the screens for what seemed to be hours. She had found that closing her eyes only made it worse, her brain contemplating what those splintering, gnawing, gushing sounds were. So she opened her eyes, miserably watching and helpless against the thoughts that entered her mind. If she wasn't thinking about the blood and gore, she was thinking about Gretchen, and if not Gretchen, Dragaunus. She ground her teeth, her eyes narrowing a fraction.

                Dragaunus watched with a growing grin from behind one of the screens, leaning down to press a few buttons on the control panel. Dragaunus's voice was now edited in to the sounds of animals dying and triumphant, grisly roars. "He is the Overlord of your kind. Worship Dragaunus and you will be

rewarded. The Ducks are worthless..." And Zelda never realized she had heard it at all.

 

                Mallory looked to Duke, Tanya, and Nosedive with particular joy as they entered the room, and they responded with the exact same excitement. But it was quickly taken away when all six Ducks at once asked the exact same question. "Where's Zelda?"

                "Hey, what happened to Gretchen?" Duke asked, looking to the unmoving Duck held firmly in Siege's fist.

                Wildwing cast a glare over his shoulder but said nothing more, being led into a separate cage by a drone who had been standing guard.

                Nosedive looked to his brother with concern. "We saw Zelda for maybe, like, five seconds, then she was gone again."

                "Dragaunus was saying, ya know, something like, he was going to, I dunno, brainwash her.... or something like that." Tanya added, stammering slightly, as usual.

                Before Wildwing's cage was fully closed. Siege made sure he would see this. Gretchen was lifted into the air and before any of them could scream for the giant beachball of a Saurian to stop, the Duck was sailing through the air, hitting the bars of her cage harshly, and bouncing back on the ground before coming to a halt, her thin hand limp and hanging partially outside her cage.

                Wildwing gave a choked cry for her name, swiftly leaning over to pick her hand up in his own and touch it to his masked beak, crimson eyes creased with worry about Gretchen.

                "Great mother a Ducks..." Duke was brought to the edge of his own cage to look over. "Is she okay, Wing?"

                Siege interrupted the leader's reply with another laugh, shaking his head. "You stupid Ducks, 'course I didn't kill her. You'll see who gets to have that much fun. Ta-ta!" With a swish of his heavy tail, the Saurian stomped out of the door and shut it behind him, leaving the caged Ducks alone with a few drones as guards.

                Wildwing didn't seem to care, however, as he tried to reach through the bars and turn Gretchen gently over to see her neck. Her injuries didn't look too bad, blood was simply pooling from bruises underneath the skin, through the small cuts Siege's blunt nails had made. If Wraith or Dragaunus had done this, she'd surely be dead by now. But bruises were starting to form elsewhere on her, from being thrown into the cage. "Gretchen... Gretchen, wake up, please..." he whispered to her, shaking her shoulder gently.

                Her eyes faded slowly open, and she reached up to rub her head. "Unnhh... what happened?"

                "Are you okay?" Wildwing asked her.

                "Where are we?" She sat up, ignoring the pain it was causing her, and looked around. "Oh no... This is all my fault.... I thought I had Siege down, and I got distracted just for a moment..."

                "It's alright." Wildwing rubbed the hand he was still holding reassuringly. "We'll find a way out of this mess."

                Gretchen merely shook her head.

                "Yeah, now would be a fine time for ideas, if any of you have them." Duke started. "We've been rackin' our brains in here for way too long."

                Wildwing swung his head around the darkened room slowly to look at each of his teammates, each wearing a frustrated look. This was going to be a tough one, and who knew what was happening to Zelda now.

 

                In any other set of circumstances but these, his plan would have taken much longer to come to fruition. If she had her teammates in sight, he could never have broken her of her bravado and attitude. That was the first thing to go. If she hadn't been in the cage, she would have busied herself with trying to escape from the room. But she had long since given up on the bars, and it was a good thing too. If she had beaten herself up any more in trying to get out, she'd no longer be of use to him. But this was working perfectly. He sat from his perch behind one of the screens, watching her blank and hopeless stare as it shifted around from picture to picture, the booming voice of the Saurian Overlord ringing terribly in her ears. He was curious as to whether or not things really had worked, but if he stopped the process too soon, it could all come apart. Oh well, he thought, there's always time to do things over. And so Dragaunus stepped down and back into the room, silencing his recorded voice and darkening the screens as he entered.

                Zelda didn't move, not as the voices ceased, not as the room fell into blackness again. She kept her position inside the tiny cage, her joints locked and her eyes wide.

                Smiling in a wicked grin, Dragaunus stepped up to her and around, placing himself in her gaze. "You are now what you have been before." he spoke darkly. "An animal, a predator, a hunter. You will do as I tell you and attack the targets I designate, at my command." He brought his face closer to the cage, talons wrapping around the bars. "And I want my orders obeyed without thought or question. Am I understood?"

                As quickly as he shut his jaws, the dragon bowed low, curling her head underneath her body. A sign of submission.

                And Dragaunus knew that he had her.

 

                Gretchen was trying to get herself to stand. Her body was in such poor condition...

                Wildwing stood up with her, holding her hand through the bars.

                She smiled lightly towards him. "Heh. What an... eh, awakening?" She offered, trying to lighten the mood with teasing.

                "Wow. I only thought thrashing like that could happen in Space Goobers." Nosedive murmured, curling his fists around the bars of his cage and leaning into them, peering at his brother and Gretchen from across the room.

                "This is no video game, though." Tanya grumbled, pacing in her own cage. "We hafta figure out how to get Zelda back!"

                Gretchen perked instantly, her attention brought from Wing's own worried

gaze. "Zelda? What about her?" It was only now she noticed her friend wasn't with them. "...If that lizard touched a single scale..." She began, but once again, her train of thought was distracted as her cage door was flung open.

        &nb