Between Chaos and Order

The night was quiet, even within the depths of the city. There was some noise; a cat mewling, a dog barking, the occasional passing car, but all these sounds had a subdued quality. It was as if the quiet was a massive fog that choked out all the noises of the night, leaving behind only the whispers and shadows.

The quiet had even invaded into the ducks’ headquarters, while they slept. They were all deeply dreaming, except for Tanya. She had been unable to sleep and rather than stare at the darkened ceiling, she had decided to work on Drake 1. Her keystrokes exploded into the darkness, but then melted like ice cream into the oppressive quiet. Tanya would pause now and then, her trembling fingers halting in their rapid typing as her mind would wander. Then, the quiet would become too much for her and she would begin typing once more.

She paused again and rubbed her eyes with her hand. She really should be in bed, but she already knew that wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon. Her body was tired, but still she felt restless and uneasy. Sighing aloud, she ran a hand through her unruly blonde hair and found herself thinking of her parents.

Her father had been – no was (she refused to even think of him in the past tense) a genius. He could build or repair any device and had passed on this love of electronics to her, the youngest of his two daughters. Still, her father had been so scatterbrained and forgetful, he lost or misplaced everything. Once the television remote was missing. He had made a new one in no time, which was good because the original was not found until a week later. Her father, while watching television, had gone into the kitchen to get an ice cream sandwich and had accidentally placed the remote in the freezer. Amazingly enough, the remote was still working when it was discovered. They had a good laugh about that one: her father, her sister, herself and her mother.

Tanya loved her mother dearly, although they were nothing alike. Her mother used the devices that helped her around the house, but the idea of building and repair didn’t particularly appeal to her. She never had discouraged Tanya however. In fact, she had encouraged her daughter to follow in her father’s footsteps.

Tanya unconsciously frowned a bit as she remembered. Her mother had been such a beautiful, intelligent woman, but amazingly many people thought her mother was psychic. They were always asking her about every situation, but her mother rarely answered their questions directly. However, even Tanya had to admit that when her mother just said something, out of the blue, it was wise to listen to her.

It was hard for Tanya to believe in something like psychics. Even her mother didn’t believe herself to be one. She would just say that everybody knows sometimes when something is about to happen to someone they love and some people are just more sensitive than others are. She even insisted that Tanya had the same ability.

Her being psychic was just beyond the scope of Tanya’s analytical mind. She needed facts, reasons, etc., but her mother did not. Her mother would just say that before something bad happened to someone she loved, it felt like a great weight had been put upon her and that she could feel a storm just ready to break. Tanya never made fun of her mother, but she just couldn’t believe in such an ability.

Tanya resumed typing, but her mind was still whirling with memories. It wasn’t homesickness that was causing her to think of her mother. It was the strange feeling of an invisible pressure pushing down upon her. It was like being covered with a thick blanket while trying to breathe through water. The other ducks had noticed she was acting peculiar, but she always insisted she was fine. After all, how would they react if she told them she was just psychic and something bad was about to happen. She shook her head. She couldn’t do that.

A tiny ‘bleep’ caught her attention. There had been a small energy disturbance at the edge of town. It was too small to be Dragaunus and his goons, but it had to be something. Tanya tried to isolate a cause, but the ‘bleep’ was so minute and so quick that nothing could be isolated. She waited for it to repeat itself, but after several minutes, it remained quiet. “I’ll wake up Wildwing,” she said aloud, “if it happens again.” She ignored the small voice in the back of her mind that whispered, “It’s only the beginning.”

 

**********

 

The next day arose loud and boisterous, as if the sun had melted away the great fog of quiet. The sky was brilliantly blue, with only a few clouds dotting the vast expanse. Simply put, it was a beautiful day full of activity.

Laughter fell and rose easily inside of Captain Comics where Nosedive stood by the counter simultaneously talking with Thrash while reading the latest issue of a comic. Nosedive turned the page of the comic and pointed to a poorly drawn picture.

“Look at this,” he complained, lightheartedly, “these artists are really getting lazy. This looks terrible. Poor girl looks deformed.”

“I know what you mean,” Thrash agreed, “I could do a better job.”

 “I wouldn’t go that far,” Nosedive countered.

 Thrash started to respond, but instead shook his head and laughed. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. But, you could do better. I saw those sketches you did that time. They were great.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely. You really could do a better job. Oh, that reminds me.” Thrash walked towards the back of the store and returned with a large box that appeared to contain some kind of book. “I have to put these up later.”

Nosedive picked up one of the books. “How to Draw Manga,” he read aloud, and began flipping through the pages.

“They say this series is the best out there,” Thrash explained.

Nosedive looked at the pages and was impressed. “I think I’ll get one,” he said

“But why are you guys selling these?”

“Anime’s getting more and more popular,” Thrash replied, “and so are the mangas and graphic novels. We’re going to be getting a huge shipment over the next few weeks. You ever see Akira?”

Nosedive shook his head, still engrossed in the book.

“You should.”

Nosedive started to say something, but stopped when the bell above the door jingled, indicating that someone was entering the shop. Both Nosedive and Thrash turned around, half-expecting a customer, but only saw Mookie standing there. She had bags from Taco Bell in her arms. “I could use a hand here,” she complained.

Nosedive walked over and helped Mookie with the bags. Thrash meanwhile cleared off the counter and put paper towels down where they would be eating. “You have to be careful,” Thrash explained, “Our boss don’t like us eating in here, so we have to be neat as possible.”

“Do you think it’s okay for us to eat here then?” Nosedive asked, “I don’t want to get you guys fired or anything.”

“It’s fine,” Mookie said, “We eat in here all the time, we’re just really careful about it.” She fished a taco out of the bag. “You know, you should see if you can start working here with us.”

“Yeah,” agreed Thrash.

“I don’t know,” Nosedive began, “I don’t know when exactly I’d be able to work.” He adopted a dramatic pose, “You know, where would I squeeze in working here when I have to save the world.”

The three laughed and continued eating their tacos. Nosedive was just beginning his second when the door opened once more. Nosedive turned around, half-expecting to see Thrash and Mookie’s enraged boss, but saw a woman standing there instead. He looked at her carefully because, for some reason, she appeared out of place.

She was of medium height he estimated, about 5’5” with shoulder length ebony hair that shimmered in the overhead lights. Her small face was partially hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses and her lips were being pushed so tight together they seemed almost non-existent. She was wearing a long, green trench coat that was cinched tightly about her waist and matching green gloves. She walked inside with a quiet grace and seemed only vaguely aware of her surroundings.

She walked past the counter and delicately touched Nosedive on the back with her index finger. Allowing her finger to slide across his back as she went past, she walked silently down the first aisle. When she reached the end of the first aisle, she immediately turned, walked up the second aisle, and out the front door. As she stepped outside, something small and silver fell to the ground.

Nosedive scooped up the fallen object, and hurried after the woman. She casually turned down the next alley and he followed her. Yet, when he turned the corner, she was nowhere to be seen. He looked for her for several minutes, and even asked a few people about her, but none of them recalled seeing a woman that fit his description. He started back towards Captain Comics, feeling totally defeated, when he looked down at the object in his hand, noticing it for the first time.

When he had first scooped it up, he had thought it was some sort of locket, but found it actually to be a medallion of sorts, rather masculine in design. The silver medallion was oval-shaped and had an intricate design that didn’t seem to form an actual picture but more like a collage of images. The more he looked at the medallion, the more he liked it. It almost seemed to be made just for him, as if strange woman had just been delivering it to its rightful owner. Almost without thinking, he slipped the medallion around his neck and put inside of his shirt where it would be virtually out of sight.

 

**********

 

The other ducks were just finishing practice when Nosedive arrived back at the pond. Wildwing looked pointedly at the clock when his younger brother entered. “You should have been here for practice,” he said.

Nosedive shrugged. He started downstairs and it became obvious he had no intention of practicing right now.

“Where are you going?” Wildwing asked, his voice rising slightly. The other ducks tried to ignore the conflict that was building.

“I’m not feeling good,” Nosedive complained, “I think I caught something and I was just going to lie down.”

Wildwing walked over to Nosedive and peered down at his face. “You are looking pale,” he said, “Where have you been?” His voice was softer now.

“I left Captain Comics a long time ago,” Nosedive answered, “but I started feeling really sick. Like I was going to throw up. I sat down on a bench and I think I fell asleep or something because I just sort of woke up a minute ago.  That’s when I realized how long I’d been sitting there.” He was telling the truth, in one sense. After putting on the medallion, he had begun to feel sick and had sat down. After that, what exactly happened had blurred together, so Nosedive assumed he had fallen asleep.

A frown wrinkled Wildwing’s face as he took off one of his gloves to place the back of his hand against Nosedive’s forehead. “You feel like you might be running a fever,” he announced in a concerned tone. “Maybe we should have the medicom scan you.”

“I really just like to go to bed,” Nosedive responded, “I’m sure I’ll feel fine later.”        

Wildwing thought for a moment. “Okay. But if you not feeling better by morning, then you’ll need to be scanned.”

“Fine,” Nosedive replied. His voice seemed to lack its normal vitality. He turned to walk towards his bedroom.

Wildwing watched him walk away as he hit the button on him com to change into his battle gear. With the mask on, he noticed something strange. Across Nosedive’s back, there was a trail of small glowing particles. It almost looked like radioactive dust. He closed his eyes and shook his head, as he tried to figure out what he was seeing. When he opened his eyes, Nosedive was almost out of sight, but there were clearly no glowing particles on his back. He took the mask off his face and handed it to Tanya as she walked past.

“You need a run a full diagnostic on the mask,” Wildwing said, “I think there may be a short in the wiring.”

“That will take awhile,” Tanya said, “Plus I have to finish the new program on Drake 1. I won’t be able to get to it until sometime tomorrow.”

Wildwing turned to look at her, noticing that she looked almost as pale as Nosedive had. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked, “You’re not feeling sick, too, are you?”

Tanya attempted a slight smile, but failed. “I’m okay. I just didn’t sleep too well. I’ll check out the mask and get it back to you as soon as possible.”

“Thanks,” Wildwing responded, distractedly. He worried mind had already turned back to Nosedive. He hoped that it wasn’t anything more serious than a small ‘bug’.

 

**********

 

Wildwing awoke late the next morning.  He had spent most of the night awake, concerned about Nosedive and Tanya; neither looked well.  He had finally fallen asleep sometime around 3:00 a.m., but his troubled mind continued to plague him with a series of bizarre and frightening dreams.  Shaking his head as if trying to shake off the drowsiness that still clung to his brain, he sat up in bed and reached for the mask.  It wasn’t there and for a moment he was confused.  Then he remembered that Tanya still had it.  He yawned loudly and dressed for the day.

Nosedive was already awake, eating a bowl of Fruit Loops and watching an early morning courtroom drama on television.  Wildwing walked up behind his brother, who didn’t notice Wildwing until he was standing directly behind the couch.  Nosedive looked up momentarily. “Mornin’, bro,” he greeted, before turning his attention back to the television.

“How are you feeling, this morning?” Wildwing asked.  He felt some relief. Nosedive’s eyes had looked tired, maybe even a little bloodshot, but at least his smile had regained its usual warmth and energy.

“Better,” Nosedive responded, “I feel asleep almost as soon as I went to bed and didn’t wake up once until about seven.” He ate a few spoonfuls before continuing.  “I’m still kinda tired, but I feel a lot better than I did.”

“And I see you have an appetite,” Wildwing added, smiling.

“You’re telling me! This is my second bowl of cereal!”

Wildwing laughed aloud before becoming serious again.  “I wonder if Tanya was able to scan the mask last night,” he mused.

“Why don’t you ask her? She’s working on Drake 1 already.”

“Already? I really did sleep late. Usually I wake up before she does.”

Nosedive looked up at Wildwing, with an unusually serious expression.  “I don’t think she went to bed last night,” he said, “She looks really tired.  I asked her what time she went to bed and she wouldn’t answer.”

Wildwing shook his head. “She said she’s been having trouble sleeping.  I hope she’s not getting sick too.”  He started to walk away, but another question came to mind.  “Were you sick before you left for Captain Comics yesterday?”

Nosedive thought for a moment.  “No. I felt fine until just after I left to come back here.” He picked up his spoon and brought it towards his beak.  “I guess it was just one of those 12 hour bugs,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Wildwing watched him eat for a moment more before heading towards Drake 1.  Just as Nosedive had said, Tanya was sitting in front of the massive computer, typing rapidly.  Her hair was more unruly than usual and her clothes were wrinkled, as she had slept in them.  She seemed unaware of Wildwing’s presence until he spoke.

“Tanya?” Wildwing began, unconsciously turning her name into a question.

Tanya jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to face him. “Uh, hi Wildwing,” she managed.

“Are you okay?” he asked, skipping the pleasantries.

“Yeah, uh, sure I am.  Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you haven’t been sleeping,” Wildwing answered.

Tanya looked up at him in shock.  “How did you…”

“It’s not hard to tell,” Wildwing interrupted.  He leaned closer to her. “There’s something wrong, isn’t there? Something that’s keeping you from sleeping.”

She looked away from his direct gaze, trying to hide the tiny tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes. “Yes,” she admitted.

“What is it?”

“I…I…I’m not sure how to say this.”

“Take your time.” Wildwing stood straighter.  “I’m just worried about you. You’re not sleeping and besides…” Wildwing’s voice trailed off.

“Besides?” Tanya prodded.

“Besides, I just keep feeling that something is about to happen,” Wildwing finished.  “I know how weird that sounds, but I can’t help it.  I just feel that something really bad has just begun and we’re going to have to see it through.”

Tanya stared at him, her beak wide open with surprise.  Wildwing had echoed her exact thoughts.  “Wildwing, I…” she began, only to be cut off by a sudden alarm from Drake 1. (Saved by the bell inexplicably resounded in her head.) Immediately, Tanya began to isolate the alarm

In minutes, Mallory, Duke, and Grin rushed into the room.  “What is it?” Duke asked.

“Is it Dragaunus?” inquired Mallory.

“I don’t know what it is,” Tanya responded, staring at Drake 1’s screen, “but I don’t think it’s Dragaunus.  This is a massive energy signature, but it’s unlike any I’ve seen.  It’s definitely not caused by teleportation.”

“We need to go check it out,” Wildwing said, “Tanya, you and Nosedive…” He paused as he looked around. “Where is Nosedive?”

He hurried back to the entertainment room, where he had last seen his brother.  Nosedive was nowhere in sight.  The only signs that he had ever even been there were the television blaring and a half-eaten bowl of cereal that was growing soggy.  Wildwing was about to panic, when he heard noises coming from the bathroom, just down the hall.  He hurried to the bathroom and found Nosedive sitting beside the toilet.

Nosedive gave him a morbid half-grin. “I guess I wasn’t feeling as better as I thought,” he said, reaching up to flush the commode where he had vomited.

Wildwing felt momentarily divided.  He wanted to stay with Nosedive until he felt better, but he had to check on the sources of the energy signature.  “Tanya.  I want you to stay here.  Have Drake 1 continue scanning.  Also, get Nosedive checked out by the medicom and see if you can help him.”  He leaned down and placed his hand on Nosedive’s shoulder. “You’ll be okay?” he asked.

Nosedive nodded weakly.

Wildwing turned away, feeling guilty.  “I hope so,” he mumbled.

“It’s probably just a stomach virus,” Tanya said, reassuringly.  “And, before I forget,” she began, handing Wildwing the mask, “Here’s the mask. I couldn’t find anything wrong with it.”

Thanking her distractedly, Wildwing placed the mask on his face. “Come on, team!” he commanded as he hurried towards the Migrator, the other ducks following close behind.

Tanya watched them leave before turning back towards Drake 1. She starting the computer scanning for other energy signatures and hurried to Nosedive, who was still sitting in the bathroom floor.  “Are you okay?” she asked, realizing how silly the question sounded.

“I think so,” Nosedive responded, “My stomach is killing me, but I don’t think I’m going to throw up any more.” He turned to look at her.  “Could you get me a glass of water?”

“Sure,” she said, heading off towards the kitchen.  As she filled a glass for Nosedive, she suddenly realized that she had lied to the others.  She had told them that she had never seen an energy signature like this one before, but she had.  The other night, that tiny ‘blip’ was the same kind of energy, except that it had been too minute to activate the alarm.  A sudden chill ran through her as she walked back and handed the water to Nosedive.

He sipped the water slowly, before Tanya helped him to his feet and down to the medicom.  As soon as he lain back, she begin programming the Medicom, but Nosedive suddenly jumped up.

“I’m going to be…” he began, but his words were cut off when he vomited into the floor.  He looked down at the mess, his face contorting with embarrassment and aggravation.  “I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“There’s no need to be sorry,” Tanya said, gathering some towels to clean the mess, noticing that some of it had wound up on Nosedive’s shirt.  She dabbed most of it away with a wet towel.  “Go ahead and take off your shirt,” she said, cleaning the floor, “and try to lie back.  I’ll scan you in a minute.”

Tanya finished cleaning the floor and took the towels into the next room to discard.  She returned and found that Nosedive had removed his shirt and was lying down, not moving.  Her breath caught in her throat as she looked as Nosedive’s chest.  Just below his collarbone, there was a large knot and, beneath his feathers, she could see the purple discoloration of the skin.  “What’s that?” she cried.

“What?” Nosedive asked, his eyes shining dully with fever.

Tanya didn’t answer as she ran over to the medicom’s controls.  As she began to program the machine, her mind raced.  She had never seen anything like the lump on his upper chest before.  What was it?  Could it be a tumor? Cancer?  Fear rose from within her as she punched the last few buttons on the machine.

Suddenly, the room filled with a brilliant light.  Tanya tried to turn around, but strong hands pushed her, causing her to slam her head on the medicom’s controls.  In the last minutes before unconsciousness clouded her mind, she heard a feminine voice say, “We have finally found you, Lord Saoch.”

 

**********

 

No sooner than the others had arrived at the original location of the energy surge, than Drake 1 had alarmed once more.  “Where’s the surge at this time?” Wildwing asked.

Duke punched a few buttons.  “Our headquarters!” he yelled, looking at the screen ahead of him.

“What?” Wildwing cried.  He thought of Nosedive, virtually helpless with sickness.  “We have to get back there!”  He grabbed the Migrator’s controls and spun the vehicle around.  The others buckled their seat belts as Wildwing continued to race recklessly back towards the Pond.

When they arrived, Wildwing rushed to the infirmary, hoping to see Tanya and his brother.  He ran into the room and felt his heart sink lower than it ever had before.  Nosedive was nowhere to be seen and Tanya was lying in the floor.  He quickly activated his com, trying to get a lock on Nosedive’s own com, but he received no signal, while Duke and Grin attended to Tanya. According to Tanya, no matter where one of them was located, the coms could detect each other, but this seemed to prove her wrong. It was as if Nosedive had completely vanished.

Almost on impulse, he scanned the room with the mask.  Leading from a spot on the far side of the room to the medicom was a series of small glowing particles, just like the ones he had seen on Nosedive’s back.  As he watched, the particles faded from sight.  He cursed slightly, under his breath.

Mallory looked up at him surprised.  She had never heard Wildwing curse before, and she knew how upset he must be.  Shaking her head, she turned her attention to Tanya, who was just regaining consciousness.

“You’re back,” Tanya said, blinking her eyes a few times.

“Tanya, what happened?  Where’s Nosedive?” Wildwing asked.

“I don’t know,” she began hesitantly.  She slowly told him what had happened, not forgetting to mention the strange lump on Nosedive’s chest and the peculiar phrase she heard before losing consciousness.  Wildwing’s face became a myriad of emotions as he listened.

“It was like they were just waiting for us to leave,” Duke said, “Somehow they managed to set off Drake 1’s alarms so that we would be away from the Pond.”

“But who would do that?” Mallory asked.

“I don’t know,” Wildwing answered, nearly growling, “but they are going to be sorry they did.”

“Wildwing?” Mallory inquired looking up at him.

“We are going to get Nosedive back,” Wildwing announced.

“But where do we even start?” Duke asked. He checked for a signal for Nosedive’s com just as Wildwing had earlier.  “I can’t even pick up his com.”

“All paths have starting points,” Grin said.

“Is there anyplace where we couldn’t pick up a signal from our coms?” Wildwing asked Tanya.

She shook her head.  “Not that I know of.  Someone could block the signal, I suppose but we should still be able to detect something.”

“Can you find out the last place we could detect his com’s signal?” Wildwing continued.

“Well, yes,” Tanya replied,  “Drake 1 should be able to do that easily.” The others followed her back to Drake 1’s main controls where she immediately began trying to call up the desired information.

“Well?” Wildwing asked after a few minutes.

Tanya turned to face him slowly.  “According to this,” she said, “the last time we were able to detect his com, he was in the infirmary.”

Wildwing slammed his fist down on the console, visibly shaking.  Mallory walked up beside him, as if to offer some support.  “If only we could figure out how they created those energy surges, then maybe we would have a place to start.”

“But they were unlike anything we had ever seen before,” interjected Duke.

“Actually, I did see an energy surge like that one before this,” Tanya said in a flat tone.

Wildwing whirled to face her. “I thought you said that the energy surge was unlike anything you had seen,” he demanded.

“I know I said that,” Tanya admitted, “and I didn’t mean to lie. But, after you left, I remembered I had seen something like that before.”

“When?” Duke asked.

“The other night,” Tanya replied, “I couldn’t sleep, so I was working on Drake 1. There was a tiny disturbance, so small that it didn’t even set off the alarm.  If I hadn’t been sitting here, I wouldn’t have even known it had ever occurred.  I couldn’t tell much about it, because it was so small and it happened so fast, but I know one thing – it was almost identical to the energy surge we detected today.”

Wildwing advanced, almost menacingly.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I should have,” she began, “but it was so tiny, there was a possibility it was caused by a natural phenomenon.  I had decided to wake you if it occurred again, which it didn’t.”

“You should have told me,” Wildwing said, “if we knew something was wrong then maybe we could have protected Nosedive!”

“Wildwing!” Mallory yelled, “You can’t blame Tanya for what happened!”

“No, he’s right,” Tanya countered, “I should have reported the incident. I’m sorry.”  Tears began welling up in the corners of her eyes.

Guilt rose up thickly in Wildwing’s throat. “No, it’s not your fault, Tanya. I’m just upset.  Besides, we all overlook things from time to time because they don’t seem important.”  Wildwing momentarily thought about mentioning the glowing particles he had seen and dismissed across Nosedive’s back, but decided against it.

“So,” Duke spoke up, “that leads us back to our first question: where do we start?”

“Well,” Wildwing began, regaining his composure, “We need to check out both the infirmary and the location of the other energy surge.  Tanya, do you know where that first surge you detected originated?”

“No,” she responded, softly, “Only that it was close by. Maybe at the mall.”

“Okay. We’ll I’m going to scan the infirmary and Grin I want you to stick with me. Mallory, you and Duke check out the other location and also stop off at Captain Comics. Maybe Thrash or Mookie know something. Tanya, keep scanning. If there are any more surges, contact me immediately.”

“Right!” the others agreed simultaneously and hurried off to their destinations.

With Grin following behind, Wildwing walked into the infirmary to scan but saw nothing.  There was a spot of blood on the floor from Tanya and the smell of vomit was faintly present.  Wildwing took a deep breath, afraid that he would begin to cry.  Right now, he had to focus on finding Nosedive so that he could help him.  Still, he had never felt so helpless.

After searching the room thoroughly, but finding nothing, Wildwing sat down in despair. He only hoped the other ducks had been more successful.

 

**********

 

                Mallory and Duke walked into Captain Comics, listening to the all too familiar ringing of the bell.  Both Thrash and Mookie, looked up from the counter and smiled. “Hey, guys!” Thrash said, “Where’s Dive?”

            The two ducks exchanged a quick glance.  “Why do you ask?” Duke inquired, trying to sound casual.

            Thrash shrugged. “Well, after he left yesterday and didn’t come back we figured you guys had to, you know, save the city or something.”

            “After he left and didn’t come back?” Mallory repeated.

            “Yeah,” Mookie added, “we thought you guys must’ve called him or something.”

            “What happened yesterday?” Duke asked, “Why did Nosedive leave?”

            It was Thrash and Mookie’s turn to exchange glances. “Why? Is something wrong?” Thrash seemed worried.

            “Well…” Duke began, unsure how much he should reveal.

            “Look, we just want to know what happened here yesterday,” Mallory interrupted, “And you’d better start talking.”

            “Calm down, Mal,” Thrash said, “nothing really happened until that weird chick showed up and…”

            “Weird chick?” Duke asked.

            “Yeah, she was wearing a green trench coat and dark glasses, like she was undercover or something,” Thrash replied.

            “Plus, she was barefoot,” added Mookie.

            “She was?” Thrash asked.

            Mookie nodded. “I noticed it when she dropped that necklace or whatever it was.  I thought it was odd because the coat she was wearing looked expensive.”

            “What did this woman do?” questioned Mallory.

            “Nothing,” Thrash answered, “That’s the weird thing. She came in here yesterday and then just walked right back out.  When she was leaving she dropped something. Dive picked it up and when after her to give it back, I guess.  That’s the last we saw of him.”

            “What time was this?” Duke demanded.

            Thrash thought for a moment. “We were eating so I guess it was about twelve.”

            “Twelve?” Duke repeated.  Nosedive hadn’t arrived back at the Pond until almost five p.m.

            Thrash and Mookie nodded.  “But that wasn’t all she did,” added Mookie, “When she walked past Dive, she ran her finger across his back.  Like this.”  She walked from behind the counter and positioned Duke until he was standing the way Nosedive had been.  She then walked past Duke, but allowed her finger to slide across his back as she did.  “It was really weird,” she said, once the demonstration was done.

            “What did this woman look like?” Duke asked.

            “Really sort of average,” Thrash said, “Black hair, just to the shoulder. Average height and build. Nothing really out of the ordinary. Something is wrong with Dive isn’t there?”

            “We aren’t sure yet,” Duke admitted, “Now was that all that happened?”

            “I think so,” Thrash replied.

            “We have to tell Wildwing,” Mallory said, activating her com, “Wildwing, can you hear me?”

            “What is it Mallory?” Wildwing asked as his image appeared on her com.

            “We need to talk. You want to meet back at the Pond?”

            “Okay. Did you find out any information?” Wildwing inquired.

            “You could say that,” Mallory said, “I’ll explain more later.”

                Once all the ducks were back at the Pond, they began to look at the information they had acquired.  Wildwing listened with interest as Mallory and Duke relayed the story that Thrash and Mookie had told them.  “It looks like whoever kidnapped Nosedive,” Duke finished, “had a plan. They chose him for some reason.”

            “I wonder if that necklace could explain the lump on Nosedive’s chest,” Tanya mused, aloud.

            “But we still don’t know who these people are,” Wildwing said, “All we have is a description of an average looking woman.  We need to talk to more people in the area. Surely, if she was dressed the way Thrash and Mookie described, someone else would have noticed her.”

            “We already tried that,” Duke said, “We asked several people who said they were there the day before, but no of them remembered this girl.”

            Wildwing shook his head. “Which still leaves us at square one,” he said, disgustedly.

            Suddenly, a face appeared on Drake 1’s screen.  The individual was an older man, his tanned faced lined and relined with a map of wrinkles, but his dark eyes shone with intelligence.  “The infamous Mighty Ducks, I presume,” he said.

            “Who are you?” Mallory demanded.

            “My name is Erdor. I am the great elder of the Clan of Order.”

            “I don’t care who you are,” Wildwing said, “What do you want? We don’t have time…”

            “Oh my!” Erdor exclaimed, interrupting Wildwing, “They have already kidnapped him, haven’t then? There are supposed to be six of you! We haven’t a moment to spare!”

            “What?!?” Wildwing yelled, “What’s going on here?”

            “There’s no time to explain,” replied Erdor.  A ball of light exploded behind the ducks and formed into a glowing doorway, “Use the gateway I have created,” he commanded, “and I will explain everything.”

            Normally Wildwing would have scanned the gateway, to make sure it was safe but there was no time for formalities.  Almost without thinking, he ran through the doorway of light, the others following close behind.  As soon as they emerged, the ducks found themselves standing before a great white castle that glistened in the sunlight. Erdor stood by the entrance to the castle, his arms folded lightly in front of him. “Welcome to the Sanctity of Order,” he greeted.

 

**********

 

            Far away from the Sanctity of Order, rose a series of mountain peaks that rose jaggedly against the horizon, seemingly watching over the world.  In fact, these peaks were the towers of the Chaotic Realm; the residence of the Servants of Chaos.  The castle had been built from the mountain itself so that the two were now one in the same.

            One of the inhabitants ran from the highest mountain tower to the throne room, and paused for a moment.  He had or course been in this room many times, but still he found himself awed by the spectacular design of the Chaotic Throne Room.  A rushing waterfall ran through, falling through the western side of the room, which was entirely open.  Over the waterfall, a series of steps floated, leading to a platform which hung high in the room.  Although the platform was surrounded by what looked like a bank of fog, it was still possible to see the two figures there, watching him from above. Taking a deep breath, he began to climb the steps up to the platform.

            He stepped through the cloudy mist as easily as a fish passes through water, but once inside the roaring sound of the waterfall was reduced to a distant hum.  He bowed to the seated figure closest to him. “Lord Saoch,” he said, his voice trembling slightly, “I have important news.”

            The seated figure did not stir at first.  In most respects, it looked like Nosedive sitting in the spiked throne, his eyes shut as if deeply in thought.  His outfit was quite peculiar, however.  A crimson cape was draped about his shoulders and nearly covered the purple jacket and blue shirt beneath.  A silver belt was about the waist of the emerald green pants, which disappeared into high black boots.  The garish colors of the ensemble seem to clash with one another even in the dim light.

            The second individual stood up from her chair, positioning herself just behind ‘Lord Saoch’.  She was the woman that Thrash and Mookie had seen the day before, but no longer did the adjective ‘average’ suit her.  Her green and purple suit was not as outrageous as ‘Lord Saoch's' was, but she was no longer wearing the dark sunglasses. Her irises were yellow, and the pupils were elongated slits, much like a cat’s eyes.  She seemed interested in what the newcomer had to say.

            The seated duck opened his eyes and it was clearly obvious that this was no longer the Nosedive that Wildwing and the others was searching for.  His eyes were more gold than his female companion, with spots of both orange and yellow, but his pupils were also elongated.  “What news do you bring me?” he asked. The voice was also not Nosedive’s.  This voice was deeper and had a resonating quality as if was not just one person, but many speaking at once.  This creature was purely Lord Saoch now.

            The Chaos Servant bowed again.  “The Clan of Order has brought the others to our world,” he said, “It seems that they are preparing to move against us.”

            Lord Saoch nodded. “So it would seem. Now, let me ask you a question; why did you come to tell me this?”

            The man seemed surprised. “I thought you would like to know, my Lord,” he replied.

            Saoch smiled a cold and evil smile. “Did you not think I already knew they were here?” he asked, his golden eyes glowing malevolently, “Do you not have faith in my abilities?”

            “No!” cried the man, desperately, “Of course I know you knew, it’s just that, uh, that I…uh…”

            Saoch laughed softly. “Leave,” he commanded, “before I get upset.

            The man wasted no time.  He immediately turned and bolted down the floated steps.  The woman watched as the man fled.

            Saoch glanced up at her. “You disapprove, Veruku?”

            “No,” Veruku answered, “I wouldn’t never disapprove of your methods, my Lord. He was just so frightened, I was concerned that he might fall and injure himself upon leaving.”

            “Do not worry about him,” Saoch said, “He deserved to be frightened, but that was all I was going to do.”

            “So what shall we do about the newcomers?” Veruku asked.

            “Again, there is no need for worry.” Saoch stood and walked towards the steps.  “We shall greet them immediately.”  The moment he stepped through the fog, his outfit changed back to Nosedive’s usual clothes and the eyes were no longer gold.  “Besides,” he continued, his voice sounding like Nosedive's, “my brother will be worried about me, won’t he?”

            Meanwhile, at the Sanctity of Order, the other ducks were unaware of Lord Saoch's upcoming visit.  Erdor was leading them through the castle, allowing them to silently marvel at the glistening white walls, well-polished marble floors, and the beautiful pastel tapestries and paintings.  Erdor would occasionally point out some item of interest, but Wildwing was not in the mood for a tour.

            "What's going on?" he asked, impatiently, "Where's Nosedive?"

            "I will tell you everything," Erdor replied, his tone stiff, "Please follow me."

            He let them to a long room dominated by a massive, rectangular table.  Taking the seat at the head of the table, he sat down and motioned for the ducks to follow suit.  Once they had all been seated, Erdor laced his long bony fingers together and prepared to take on the role of the storyteller.

            "This world," he began, "exists alongside the dimension that you know of.  Although parallel, the barrier between our dimensions is so great, that we can not travel from on to the other.  That is, except for the Period of Proximity, which occurs every 1,000 years.  It is during this time that we sometimes travel and it also during this time we fight another battle in the war between us and the Servants of Chaos."

            "We're not here to listen to stories," Wildwing interrupted, "We're here because I think you know something about Nosedive's disappearance. That's all I care about right now."

            "And that is what I'm trying to tell you," Erdor replied, "You must be patient.  Before you can understand what has happened to Nosedive, you must know our history."

            Wildwing started to say something, but instead exhaled loudly.  Crossing his arms, he nodded to say that he would listen - for now.

            "At our last battle," Erdor continued, as if he had not been interrupted, "We thought that the time had finally come for our victory.  We had created two weapons, which would allow one to become the Golden Warrior when used together.  A brave member of our family chose to be the Golden Warrior to defeat Chaos once and for all.

            "However, the Servants of Chaos also had a new weapon. Through some means of dark magic that had created a creature of great power. This monster, known as Lord Saoch, soon became a god of sorts to the Servants for they so feared his power.  When the time for battle came, our Golden Warrior faced off directly with Saoch.  Our warrior fought valiantly but in the end neither side was victorious. There was a massive explosion.  The two weapons were thrust into a different dimension and landed on some distant planet, along with the essence of the chaotic demon."  Erdor paused, carefully watching the ducks' reactions.

            "What does that have to do with us?" Mallory finally asked.

            "The planet that the weapons and Saoch landed on was your planet - Puckworld.  Saoch was reborn again and again in ducks that didn't even know that this being lived within them – an unseen evil seed.  It seemed harmless because he was so far away from here, but then you came.  Suddenly Lord Saoch was dangerously close."

            "No," Wildwing whispered.

            Erdor nodded.  "The one that now carries the dark soul of Lord Saoch is your brother."

            "No!" Wildwing yelled, standing up and knocking his chair over, "That can't be!  Are you trying to tell me that Nosedive is some sort of dark demon?"

            "No," Erdor replied, "Your brother was merely a vessel for this demon, he wasn't Lord Saoch himself. But now I'm afraid that the Servants of Chaos have revived Lord Saoch."  He looked up at Wildwing. "I hate to say this bluntly, but your brother is dead.  Once Saoch is awakened, the darkness of his soul consumes all, including the life of his of the body that is his vessel.  Two souls can not occupy one body."

            "What?!?" Wildwing yelled, "You're lying. You have to be."  He was visibly shaking now and placed his hands on the table to steady himself."

            "If this is true," Duke said, slowly, "then why did you bring us here? What do you expect us to do."

            "You must kill Lord Saoch," Erdor commanded. He pointed to Duke's saber, "That sword and the mask are the two weapons of the Golden Warrior." He stood up and put his hand on Wildwing's shoulder.  "Fate has chosen you to be the Golden Warrior."

            "But I thought Drake Ducaine created the mask," Tanya spoke up.

            "He must have modified it," Erdor said, "so that it would work for ducks. But he did not invent it."

            "Wait a sec, here," Duke interjected, "I used the mask once and my sword. It was when Wildwing quit for awhile that time.  How come I didn’t become this Gold Warrior then?"

            "You are not the one chosen by fate," Erdor replied. He returned his attention to Wildwing. "He is. Besides, you must be in this dimension."

            "You want me to kill Nosedive?" Wildwing asked, his voice trembling, "You're asking me to kill my own brother?"

            "I've already told you that your brother is dead," Elder answered, "I'm asking you to kill his murderer.  You have to do this.  You see, everything that happens here affects your dimension.  If the Servants of Chaos win, then who knows what the consequences will be.  They wish to flood the universe in total chaos. You are our only hope."

            Before Wildwing could reply, a man ran into the room.  "Great Elder!" he yelled, "there's someone outside the gate."

            Erdor ran off to check on the visitor and other ducks quickly followed behind.  The elder opened the gate, and Wildwing gasped to see Nosedive standing there.  "Dive!" Wildwing yelled, and hurried towards his younger brother.

            "Don’t," Erdor said stopping Wildwing, "that is not your brother."

            "How can you say that?" Wildwing demanded.

            "Scan him with the mask if you don't believe me," Erdor insisted.

            Wildwing hesitantly, but then he did scan the duck before him.  His breath caught in his throat as he looked as what the mask revealed.  Inside of Nosedive’s body was a glowing red mass. Tears came to his eyes.

            Lord Saoch smiled.  "What's the matter, Wing?" he asked, "Aren't you happy to see your brother?" He laughed.

            "Get out of here, demon!" Erdor yelled, "You are not allowed here. There is to be no fighting until the scheduled day."

            "I just came for a family reunion," Saoch said again, his voice returning to normal, "but if I'm not welcome." He turned as if to leave. "I’ll just be going. Don't worry. We'll see each other again," He spun around quickly to reveal his glowing golden eyes and the outfit returned to Lord Saoch’s usual wear. “Isn’t that right,” looking directly at Wildwing, “dear brother.” While still glaring at them, his form disappeared leaving the other ducks to stare at where he had last stood.

            "You see," Erdor said gently, "that is not your brother."

            "Nosedive," Wildwing whispered, allowing a single tear to course down his face.

            "You have to fight him" Erdor continued, "You have to defeat Saoch!"

            "I can't," Wildwing mumbled, "What is Nosedive is still in there?"

            "He's not, but if you refuse to fight…"

            "What will you do?" Mallory asked.

            "Then we will take the weapons by force and kill him ourselves," Erdor responded, "I know that it sounds horrible, but you must understand. The Servants of Chaos must be defeated!  Now, it is time for you to return to your own dimension. We will bring you back here when it is time to fight. If you will not fight with us, then we will consider you our enemies as well. You need to understand, we must win, even if it means we must kill you."

“Wait,” Wildwing said, but it was too late.  Erdor raised his arms and the ducks found themselves enveloped in another ball of light. When the light faded, they were back at their headquarters.

            Phil happened to be sitting there. "How did you do that?" he asked.

            The ducks ignored him entirely for there were more important things at hand.  Wildwing wiped away the lone tear and tried to regain composure.  There had to be some way to save Nosedive and he was going to find it!

 

**********

 

            Just like the night that Tanya had heard the original alarm, pervasive quiet had invaded the Pond once more.  It had been 3 days since they had left the Sanctity of Order and so far there had been no word from Erdor or Nosedive, not that they were expecting to hear from him.  Tanya sat at Drake 1, scanning and re-scanning the city in hopes another energy surge would be detected.  She had tried, at first, to find a way to return to the other dimension, but even if she could have created the device, their was no way of finding the precise location of the other dimension.  There seemed to be nothing they could do but wait.  The other ducks, minus Wildwing, was standing around her watching Drake 1’s screen.

            Mallory sighed aloud before turning away from Drake 1 and started down the hall.  She was impatient by nature the wait was eroding her nerves worse than any of the other ducks, with the obvious exception of Wildwing. Stretching her taunt muscles, she headed towards the bathroom and hoped a hot shower might help her calm down a bit.

            As she walked by, she noticed light spilling from under the door to Nosedive’s bedroom.  There was someone in there.  She knocked lightly, but no one answered.  After a few minutes, she opened the door and was surprised to see Wildwing sitting on Nosedive’s bed.  His back was turned towards her and he made no indication that he knew she was there.

            “Wildwing?” she said, softly.

            He turned towards her. “Oh. Hello, Mallory. How long have you been standing there?” The mask was lying beside him. Since finding out about its origins, Wildwing had been more and more reluctant to wear it.

            “Not long,” she replied, walking over beside him. “What are you doing in here?”

            Wildwing shrugged and looked down at the floor. “Just thinking about Dive,” he said.

            Mallory looked down at him, feeling more helpless than she ever had in her life.  She had always led a military sort of life, as her father had been in Puckworld Special Forces when she had been just a little girl and she joined as soon as she was old enough.  Because of this, she could only respond to Wildwing as her teammate and leader, but now she wanted to reach out to him as a friend. And maybe something more, but she had no idea how to even start.  Hesitantly, she laid her hand upon his shoulder.  “We’ll save him,” she said, softly.

            He raised his eyes to meet hers and tried to smile, before turning away again.  He leaned down and picked up a comic from the floor, examining its glossy cover.  “I was seven when Nosedive was born,” he began, almost as if confessing, “I wasn’t sure what it would be like to be a big brother.  Plus, by the time Nosedive was three years old, it was obvious that we were nothing alike.” He laughed quietly without humor. “I thought he was so annoying, especially as he got older.  He always wanted to hang out with me and I was always trying to find ways to ditch him.”

            “Wildwing,” Mallory interrupted, “It’s not your fault. You don’t need to do this to yourself.”

            “Yes, I do,” Wildwing countered, “I need to talk about this.  I guess I just need to talk. Do you understand?”

            “I guess so.”

            “My feelings changed later,” he continued.

            “What happened?” Mallory asked.

            “Our parents were going to a dinner.  My father had been nominated for a teaching award so he had to go.  They were afraid they wouldn’t be home until late, so they wanted me to come straight home from school so I could keep an eye on Nosedive.” Wildwing paused as the memories consumed him.

 

**********

 

                “But, Mom,” Wildwing whined, “I’m supposed to go over to Canard’s house tonight. Why do I have to watch Nosedive? Can’t you get a baby sitter?”

            “You know I tried,” his mother responded, running a brush though her shoulder length blonde hair, “besides, at the very most it will only be a couple of hours.  How bad could that be?”

            “You have no idea,” Wildwing grumbled.