The Great De-evolution

Written by Zelda

               

                Zelda pounced playfully, leaping back and forth on the soft, blue foam mat that covered the Rec. Room floor. She, in one of her sinisterly playful moods, had challenged Nosedive to a spar, and was having all the fun she could wring out of it.

                "Come on!" she laughed, whipping her tail back and forth like a cat, as Nosedive backed away slowly. "Surely you can do better than that!" Nosedive suddenly whipped out a practice launcher, which contained rubber pucks, and started firing on her. Yelping as the rubbery pucks thwunked off of her purple scales, she ducked and dashed off to the side, then wheeling and charging again. From the corner of the room, Wildwing and Mallory looked on, amused.

                "You guys wanna help?" asked Nosedive, annoyed. "I don't think you could do any better!"

                "Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Mallory laughed, as she came up to him.

 

                Siege leaned back and sighed. Carefully, he relit the blowtorch, and leaned precariously close again, firing the metal to a glowing red. He was almost finished... Slowly, Dragaunus came through the doors, and watched him from over his shoulder.

                "How's the work coming?" he inquired impatiently. Siege paused for a second, allowing the metal to cool, and then picked the device up in his hands, examining it proudly.

                "Finished, Lord Dragaunus!" he smiled.

                "Good work!" Dragaunus laughed, taking the gun up. "This weapon will be called my de-evolution ray! The trick is that it will do the exact opposite of my DNA accelerator. Instead of advancing those Ducks, we'll reduce them into the primordial slime from which they were not fit to emerge!" Dragaunus swung it around idly, thinking viciously of who to use it on first...

 

                Zelda trotted away from the mat, panting and giggling. The three Ducks stood up and relaxed, seeing as playtime had been tired out. Wildwing walked casually back into the Ready Room, where Tanya was doing a little maintenance on Drake One.

                "How's it comin', Tanya?" he asked.

                "Fine so far...I just have to reinstall the CPU...and...there! Finished!" she said happily. As soon as she closed the hatch to the CPU outlet, the huge computer whirred steadily, and then blared out in alarm. The Ducks grouped together in the Ready Room as screen faded into focus. "Looks like I fixed it in time!" Tanya said, surprised.

                "According to this, there's a break in at the Business One Techno-plaza." reported Duke, reading the data feedout.

                "Come on team, let's move!" yelled Wildwing, as they ran for the door.

 

                Wraith stepped back from the doorway, still filled with wispy smoke from the fireball that had blasted the doors open.

                "Okay boss, what now?" asked the Chameleon eagerly.

                "Go on, go rummage around inside. See if you can find anything valuable." responded Dragaunus, holding the de-evolution ray in his claws. "Whatever you do, we're sure to attract those fowlbrains' attention."

 

                The Migrator screeched to halt in the empty parking lot, in the middle of Anaheim's swank and stylish business district. The team marched off, and filed cautiously through the still smoking doors.

                "Keep your eyes open team." advised Wildwing. Suddenly, a blast of laser fire rattled along a wall where Grin stood, forcing him back. He ducked, and glared, raising his puck launcher in the direction of the blasts. Siege loomed up from behind a business desk, while Wraith and the Chameleon circled the Ducks from behind.

                "Wings to the sky, ducks!" commanded Siege.

                "Not a chance!" snarled Wildwing, firing on Wrath. Tanya ducked behind a lab table as Siege's fire snapped several test tubes and beakers away. She reared back up and fired as Nosedive crouched beside her, peering around the corner. Wraith drew a fireball up in his claws, and aimed it carefully at the various chemicals which covered a nearby desk. The desk exploded, sending chemical spray and glass fragments everywhere. Mallory became enveloped in the sulfurous smoke, and screamed, as she felt a hissing acid bathe her in burning droplets. Zelda leapt in, grabbed her by the collar as she fell to the floor, and dragged her underneath a desk. Siege suddenly ran out into the open, and rammed Grin away, as he advanced towards the Chameleon. Duke and Wildwing turned immediately on him, and started firing. Siege swiveled around, using Grin as a shield. Wildwing and Duke stopped firing immediately.         

                "One move, and he's toast!" Siege snarled, jamming his laser gun into Grin's head, as Grin winced and struggled. Suddenly, Zelda flew at him from the side, knocking him to the floor. Siege roared in frustration, and whipped his tail about, smacking Zelda right in the left hind leg. She screamed in pain, and fell backwards, retreating underneath the desk with Mallory, who still lay on the floor. Suddenly, she felt something jabbing her in the back, and leapt out, spinning around to see what it was. Immensely surprised, she found herself starting down the muzzle of a ray gun, held by Dragaunus himself!

                "Not another move, dragon!" he yelled. Zelda roared angrily, as the other Ducks turned to her. "Time to say good night!" Dragaunus snarled, and fired.

 

                Yelping in panic, Zelda was enveloped with an strange green light, which seemed to ooze over her, covering her as it swirled and darted about her.                     

                "Zelda!" cried Tanya. The Ducks backed away as they saw her actually start to grow bigger! She screamed in panic, but it seemed mutated, ringing out at a higher pitch. Through the swirling green, they could see her wings spread and disappear, and her purple color start to fade into a mottled orange-brown. She now had grown to height of around six feet! Her tail became rigid and whiplike, and her front limbs seemed to shrink back. Finally, she disappeared in a blinding flash of green light, and then the light faded as quickly as it had come.

 

                Wildwing looked around in disbelief. The room was suddenly dark, save for the smoky light that shone through the doorway. Dragaunus and his henchmen must have fled in the panic. As for Zelda, where she had once stood, there was a new creature, about six feet tall, a dark brown streaked with lighter hue. She raised her head and blinked, confused. No longer was she a dragon...she had been turned into...

                "A dinosaur!" marveled Nosedive.

                "From the looks of it, a Dienonychus*, to be exact." corrected Tanya. Zelda stood, snorting, appearing very wary and confused. Slowly, Duke approached her.

                "Zelda? You okay?" Zelda jerked her head up, as if agitated, stared through amber eyes at Duke, and then suddenly pounced on him! Duke was slammed against the floor, with Zelda landing on top of him. She poised her claws to strike, and screamed a high pitched warning in his face. "Whoa! Zelda, it's me!" he yelled, trying to calm her down. Zelda stared, as if she recognized him, but still was doubtful. Slowly, she eased back off of him, and he stood up slowly, coughing. Zelda backed up into a corner, still growling.

                "Look, she's limping." said Mallory, pointing to her left leg. Slowly, Grin came towards her.

                "Zelda, calm down...it's just us. I can feel your confusion, because you are not yourself. You have to trust us." he cooed, reaching out a hand to her. Zelda tossed her head and snorted warily, snapping. Eventually, Grin was able to reach out and rub her softly on the side of the snout. Zelda looked on, agitated and still unsure of herself. "There...see?" he said, and slowly pulled away.

                "We have to get her back to the Pond and see what happened to her." said Wildwing.

                "Come on." said Mallory, walking towards the door. "Maybe she'll follow us." As the team filed slowly out, Zelda screamed at them, but in a softer tone. It seemed she didn't want to be left alone, but still wasn't trusting of them. Finally, she limped out of the corner, across the room, and out of the doorway.

                "That's it, come on." urged Nosedive, keeping a safe distance away as the team loaded in. Zelda approached the Migrator slowly, sniffing at the metal ramp. Slowly, she climbed on, and sniffed her way into another corner.

                "Keep an eye on her until we get back to the Pond." cautioned Wildwing. Slowly, the Migrator pulled out of the parking lot, and headed back.

 

                Limping warily, Zelda slid through the glass doors of the Pond, and followed them through the halls, keeping a distance away. Finally, the team loaded up in the elevator tube.

                "Come on, it's safe." assured Duke, as Zelda stood at the door, lashing her tail back and forth in hesitation. Finally, Zelda limped on, and the door closed behind her. Suddenly, the elevator lurched into motion, falling downwards. Zelda threw her head up and screamed in panic, rearing back. She leapt forwards in an attempt to find a way out.

                "Hold her down!" cried Wildwing, as the team tried to maneuver around her. Zelda thrashed and screamed as the scurrying figures around her and loud voices increased her panic. Wildwing, Nosedive, Mallory, and Duke charged together as a force and checked her into a wall. She screamed in anger and then suddenly kicked with her injured leg, slashing deeply into Duke's right shoulder and arm with the six inch long crescent claw on her inner toe. Duke fell backwards, yelling out in pain, as he felt the blood flowing from the fresh wound. Tanya tapped away at her Omnitool, and suddenly a hypodermic needle popped out of the device.

                "Hold still!" she snarled, as she leapt upon Zelda, and jabbed the needle into her neck. Zelda screamed in pain as the elevator doors opened into the Ready Room.

                "Let her out!" yelled Mallory, and they pushed her out of the elevator.

                "What was in that thing Tanya?" panted Wildwing.   

                "An animal tranquilizer. It should calm her down." replied Tanya. Zelda limped drunkenly into a far corner of the Ready Room and collapsed, wheezing, to the floor.

                "Tanya, get Mallory and Duke off to the infirmary." instructed Wildwing. "We'll handle Zelda from here."

 

                Nosedive slowly waved a scanner back and forth over Zelda's bruised snout.

                "Well, according to this, Dragaunus didn't transform Zelda into a dinosaur." said Tanya, reading the data feedout.

                "Oh, then what happened?" asked Grin.

                "Well, to put it your way, she's been de-evolved. Her genetic code has been disintegrated to that of her ancestors...so that's why she looks like a dinosaur. But a part of her is still inside it, and that's why she seems to recognize us."

                "So lemme guess. Now we gotta go and get that ray gun to reverse the effects?" asked Wildwing.

                "Yup." replied Tanya.

                "But that tranquilizer'll wear off in a half-hour. We gotta find somewhere to put her." said Mallory.

 

                Zelda snorted drowsily as she finally lifted her head and opened her eyes. Slowly, she stood up, and stalked up to the bars of her cell in curiosity. Duke, who's arm was heavily bandaged, and Mallory, looked on in observation.

                "Heh, I knew this place would come in handy." said Duke. Zelda stalked, snorting, to and fro in the cell impatiently, angrily, snapping in the direction of the two now and then. The two stared in a weary sort of awe and interest as they watched her. Her leg had recovered, and now she padded silently forth, save for her claws clicking gently on the metal floor. It reminded Mallory of a hawk: stealthy, watchful, ever alert, and dignified. 

                "You think the others are okay?" asked Mallory, worried.

                "Hey, you know what Wing said. We have to keep and eye on Zelda. Who knows if that ray's effects are finished with her yet?" replied Duke, and he leaned back in his chair. For now, they could only wait.

 

                Wildwing stared through the Mask's interface, his brother covering for him as he left the controls of the Aerowing.

                "No sign of that device anywhere!"

                "How are you looking for it?" asked Grin.

                "The laser leaves a chemical component behind, as a result of the blast's reaction on the genetic material. It creates a trail, and once we find it, we got Dragaunus tagged." Suddenly, the Aerowing swooped around. "I think I've found it!" said Wildwing, as he buzzed over a small house at the end of a dirt road.                    

                "That's the Raptor?" asked Tanya.

                "Yup. We'll have to try and draw them out." answered Wildwing, as the Aerowing landed in a patch of brush, a safe distance away. The team marched out, and spread out in a semi-circle position, readying their weapons. Wildwing aimed, and fired a shot at the Raptor, teasingly. "That should bring 'em out." he muttered.

 

                Suddenly, the Duke and Mallory heard the sound of screeching, bending metal behind them. They turned around in alarm to see Zelda, gnawing on the metal bars.                

                "Don't worry, she couldn't possibly get through those." said Duke. But as they watched, Zelda sheared through the metal and put her foot on the bar, shoving it downwards.

                "You were saying?" asked Mallory.

                "Tanya! Zelda's gettin' out!" Duke yelled into his com, as Zelda started chewing on another bar.

                "Yeah, and she's not in such a friendly mood anymore." added Mallory.

                "Jeez, with bite pressure like that, imagine what she could do to us!" responded Tanya.

                "Oh yeah, that creates a pretty picture!" snorted Duke.

                "Hang on guys, I'll be right there." assured Tanya. She ran back to the Aerowing, and blasted out on a Duckcycle. She had to get back....

 

                Wildwing watched Tanya go. Suddenly, he heard a whooshing noise behind him. Turning, he saw that Dragaunus's henchmen, backed steadily by about 10 hunter drones.

                "Well, it worked." muttered Grin.

                "Remember, get that device!" yelled Wildwing, as the hostile fire began to envelop them.

 

                Zelda slid from her cell with a vicious sleekness, and stared angrily at the two Ducks, who had gotten up, and were backing away.

                "You think she blames us for all that elevator mess?" Mallory asked anxiously.

                "I wouldn't be surprised." replied Duke. Zelda snarled loudly, and paced towards the two. She still seemed to be hesitant, but was much less trusting of the Ducks. She stalked towards them slowly, broodingly.

                "Now Zelda..." began Duke. Mallory slowly reached back for her puck launcher. Suddenly, the doors opened behind her.

                "Tanya!" yelled Mallory.

                "Hang on guys!" she yelled. Raising her Omnitool, she shot a dart out, and hit Zelda in the flank. Zelda screamed, and ran off, howling.

                "Tanya? What was that?" asked Duke, coming towards her.

                "It's a DNA stabilizer. It should help Zelda regain more control of herself." she said, watching Zelda carefully. Zelda slowed to a stop, leaning heavily against a wall, far away. Slowly, she lowered her head.          

                "Zelda?" asked Mallory cautiously. Zelda jerked her head up, alarmed.

                "Guys?" she asked hazily.

                "It worked!" yelled Tanya, coming towards her.                    

                "Are you okay?" asked Duke, rubbing Zelda's neck.

                "Yeah, but...Duke!" Zelda suddenly noticed the blood on her foot. She started to walk for him, but fell flat on her face in haste. She staggered up, snorting. "What have I done?" she snarled.

                "Look Zelda, your DNA is at a very unstable level." said Tanya, changing the subject. "If we can't get that ray and reverse it in the next hour, your whole genetic structure could collapse entirely!"

                "Yikes, not good." said Mallory.

                "Okay, my Duckcycle's outside, but one of you guys is gonna need a way over. The others need our help!"

                "No problem." said Zelda, she crouched on the floor. "Mallory, climb onto my back." she said.

                "Zelda, maybe you should stay put." began Duke.      

                "Hey, I'm still in this. Besides." she smiled, examining her claws. "Perhaps this new form could prove a little handy." Mallory saddled herself onto Zelda's back, and wrapped her arms around her neck. Zelda stood up, and started to pace forwards. "I'll follow you Tanya, let's go!" The four ran out of the pond, and Tanya strapped herself into the Duckcycle, Duke leaping up behind her. The two sped off quickly.

                "Think you can keep up, Zelda?" asked Mallory.                  

                "Ha, hang on!" Zelda laughed, and took off like a cheetah.

 

                Grin ducked and squinted, trying to see his comrades in the hail of red light. He crawled across the ground, into the safety of the bushes. He raised his puck cannon, peering through the leaves. Suddenly, a blast of fire threw up clods of grass and dirt before him. He ducked, and then reared back up, shooting at Wraith. Suddenly, Tanya and Duke screeched to a halt on the Duckcycle nearby. Mallory plunked down next to him, while Zelda crouched close behind. Grin stared as another green shadow appeared on the field ahead. Suddenly, Dragaunus himself loomed out of the shadow, with the de-evolution ray in his hands!

                "Come on!" yelled Mallory, and the group leapt out of the bushes. The henchmen and remaining drones regrouped in a line, with Dragaunus in the center. Zelda staked up to him, snarling.

                "So, we meet again." he smiled, raising the gun.           

                "Give us that ray, Dragaunus!" yelled Duke. Wildwing came up and stood in front of Zelda, while she snarled protectively.

                "But Zelda, don't you see?" grinned Dragaunus. "Now you've been transferred back, into who you were so proud to have sprang from. You are a Saurian now, Zelda." Zelda jerked her head up, first in ridicule, then in realization. She looked back, confused, at the team. They stared at her, not knowing what to do. She fixed her gaze on the Saurian front, and smiled.

                "How could I have been so blind?" she grinned. She left Wildwing's side, and took up place right next to Dragaunus.

                "Zelda?" asked Nosedive in amazement.

                "I can see it so clearly now...I am what my kind was once was...restored to my full glory. And with my Saurian brothers, I can once again control the world!" As she cackled, the Ducks backed off, and Zelda turned to Dragaunus. "And." she seethed, grinning. "I can start...with YOU!" she screamed loudly, and leapt at Dragaunus. Kicking out with her feet, she slashed deep into his side. Dragaunus fell back, roaring in pain. Zelda darted forwards once more, and snatched the ray gun out of his claws. Dragaunus, in seething rage, swiped at Zelda powerfully with his claws. Zelda was swatted full across the face, the claws shearing through her flesh, and she was sent sprawling back, as the gun bounced away and landed on the grass. Tanya leapt forwards and snatched the ray gun away, as the fire from the hunter drones snapped across the ground. Zelda still lay, snorting on the ground. Siege stepped up, roaring, and raised his laser cannon. Wildwing raised his shield and leapt in front of Zelda, deflecting the blasts just in time. Tanya pointed the ray gun strait at the Chameleon.

                "Don't move." she growled.

                "Too late, sister!" laughed the Chameleon, as he and the rest of the Saurian advance vanished into thin air. Despite a mild injury, Zelda still lay, snorting and trashing, on the ground. Tanya immediately started prodding at the ray with her Omnitool.

                "Her DNA must be wildly unstable...we have to hurry." she muttered. Tanya finished with the ray, and stepped up to Zelda. Wildwing and Grin lifted her to her feet, and backed away slowly. "Okay buddy, hang on." Tanya cooed, and fired the ray.

 

                Once again, Zelda was enveloped in the green light. She screamed, not in panic, but in pain, as it flowed over her, changing her form as it went. She fell to her knees, and her hind limbs shrunk back, becoming more stocky, and the sickle claw shrinking down. Her front limbs sprang an extra digit, as they too thickened up. Her tail became much more heavy, bendable, and thick, as he color began blending back to it's original purple. Finally, Zelda reared back and screamed, as her wings burst from her flanks, and she fell back to the ground, the light disappearing.

 

                Zelda crouched, panting on the ground. Finally, she opened her eyes slowly. She lifted up a claw, examined it, and then turned to the rest of the team, grinning.

                "You did it!" she laughed, leaping up onto Grin's shoulder, and wrapping her tail warmly around Tanya's neck.

                "Now, can we go home?" asked Nosedive, tired.                   

                "Not yet." said Mallory. She threw the de-evolution ray on the ground, and stepped on it, smashing it into the mud. "Now, we can leave."

 

                "So Zelda, I mean, what did it feel like, to be your old ancestor?" asked Duke, as they relaxed back at the Pond. Zelda rubbed her tail and smiled.

                "Pretty weird...but it almost didn't feel very different. I mean, I was able to walk, and run and stuff, all by instinct. It was pretty strange, though." she admitted.

                "Well, I like ya the way you are." smiled Dive, rubbing her on the snout. Zelda flapped her wings and grinned.

                "So do I, mi amigo. So do I."

The End

 

Mighty Ducks-The Animated Series, including all logos and characters (except mine) are copyright and property of Disney. You may copy, print, or whatever with this document, so long as it is not altered and I (Zelda) am credited. Thanks!