The Duck with the Silver Mask

Written by Zelda (With help from Stivz!)

 

                Stivz was trying to act as normal as possible. He walked across the street, away from the park. All the humans around him! Some acted as if they didn't even notice him, others pointed and went

                "Look, he's one of the Mighty Ducks!" Stivz could only smile and walk away as fast as he could. He kept wishing that he could just be back in the mountains with his ship. But he could see the Pond across the street. The parking lot was empty. Good, no more humans to deal with. It seemed like forever before he finally reached the glass doors. He swung them open and stepped inside. Finally. He smelled a sharpness in the air. Ice. The first he had seen since he had been on Earth. It was a welcome sight. Now all he had to do was find the Ducks. He walked around, through rows of seats, past doors, until he finally entered a long corridor walled with painted gray cinder blocks. He looked around, hesitant and nervous about calling for them. He heard something coming down the hall. Ducking into a doorframe, he watched. A small creature came plodding up the hall. Purple scales, and wings. Sharp teeth, and a tail. Stivz suddenly froze. It was a Saurian. There were MORE on this planet??? Did the Ducks know about this? What if this one was attacking, looking for it's next victim? Stivz watched it come closer. Suddenly, it stopped, and sniffed the air. It smelled him, Stivz realized. Massively uncomfortable, he tensed himself, and drew a puck launcher out of its holster at his side.               

"Who's there?" the creature asked slowly. Stivz suddenly sprang out into the hallway and fired. It hit the creature in the flank. He could hear it scream. Good. The Saurian held its side, gasping for breath, staring at him.

                "Where are the Ducks?" he yelled.

                "Who...who are you?" the Saurian asked, bewildered.

                "An enemy to you, Saurian!" he yelled, leaning closer and shoving his puck launcher beneath her jaw.                          

"The Ducks are my friends!" the lizard choked.            

                "You stupid lizard!" Stivz yelled in frustration. "You're in league with that slimeball Dragaunus, aren't you? Where is he?" The lizard shook her head, still gasping for air.

                "I'm not a Saurian, I'm a dragon! Ask the Ducks!" she pleaded.

                "No tricks lizard!" Stivz warned. The creature roared loudly, and it echoed back down the halls. Suddenly, he heard footsteps down the hall. Stivz panicked. "You better pray those aren't more of your kind, cause they'll run into me if they are!" he snarled. He jabbed his launcher deep into her side, and she screamed out again. Suddenly, something bounced off of a wall, flashing blue. A puck! Those weren't Saurians coming down the hall. Stivz stood up quickly, as he saw the Ducks come charging towards him. One of the big ones, he recognized as Grin, suddenly rammed into him, knocking him clean over.

                "Hey!" Stivz yelled.

                "Hey yourself! What do you think you're doing?" Mallory yelled, bending down over the creature.

                "More to the point, who on earth are you?" Wildwing demanded.

                "I'm Stivz." he stammered back. "And I caught that Saurian....and..."

                "That's not a Saurian!" Duke yelled. Suddenly, the creature darted between Stivz and the team.                         "Please! Please! This was all just a misunderstanding!" she yelped. The team and Stivz eased away from each other.

                "Come on." Said Nosedive. "Let's get Zelda into the infirmary."

 

                He hadn't really hurt the creature. It actually seemed quite relaxed. But why were the Ducks in league with a Saurian??? Stivz was really confused.

                "Your turn first." Tanya said. "Who are you, and how did you get here?"

                "Like I said." The duck replied. "My name is Stivz. When I lived back on Puckworld, Lucretia DeCoy framed me for being a traitor, and they banished me to a stupid moon!"

                "Well, ya won't have to worry about Lucretia anymore." Nosedive grinned.

                "I made my own spaceship outta the stuff that had crashed on the moon, and when I saw you guys chasing Dragaunus down that dimensional portal, I followed you through."

                "Wait a minute, how did you know about Dragaunus?" asked Wildwing.

                "Tapped into Puckworld satellites." Stivz replied rather proudly. It had taken him forever to to that. "Anyway, my ship wasn't as well-built as I thought. It crashed in some mountains when I came through the portal. I've been hiding there ever since, and I've heard about you guys. So I decided to come out and help, when I met up with that Saurian..."

                "You got it all wrong buddy boy, she's no Saurian!" laughed Nosedive. The creature herself stood up on the Medicom table and bowed to Stivz, spreading her wings.

                "My name is Zelda. I'm a leader of my kind, the dragons. I am a descendant of the dinosaurs, and so, the Saurian kind. But I am an ally to anyone who stands for good, make no mistake."

                "Jeez, I'm sorry I...." began the duck.

Zelda waved her claws. "A case of mistaken identity. No harm done." she smiled, and jumped off of the bed.

                "Well, it's nice to have another duck around." Duke said. "Perhaps he can be a member of the team?"

                "Fine by me, we could use another hand in fighting Dragaunus." said Wildwing. "But we have to see just how well you fight." He motioned for the others to follow him, and they all walked down to the Rec. Room.

 

                "Now, who do you wanna spar with?" Wildwing asked. Stivz looked around.

                "Why one?" he said. "I'll take three." The team cocked their heads. Three at once? Well, it was worth a shot. Stivz pointed to Nosedive, Duke, and Zelda. "Come on, let's go." he said, grinning. The others stood back as the four took the mat. Zelda swished her tail. She would direct the others in the attack. The three surrounded Stivz. Slowly, they started to circle him. Stivz took out his puck launcher and held it ready. Slowly, he started to turn, keeping his eyes on Duke, facing him as Duke drew his saber. It was just what Zelda wanted him to do. As soon as he started turning with them, she jerked in reverse and jumped him. It was a trick she had learned while watching the Ducks play hockey. She leapt on top of Stivz, holding his hand and shoulder. As she started to twist his arm around to his back, she saw something suddenly appear on his face. It was a mask that looked exactly like Wildwing's, but it was silver! Zelda jumped back in shock, and Stivz rolled quickly up and shoved her away. The whole team stood still.

                "Okay, time out." Wildwing said. "How and where did you get that?" he asked, pointing to the mask on Stivz's head.

                "I made it. When I heard the Mask had been discovered, I set out to make one like it. It does everything your Mask can, and it disappears when I don't need it." The explaination was met with silence. "Is it okay that I have this?" he asked slowly.

                "Sure, sure." Wildwing replied quickly. "Come on, we should show you around." The team started to walk slowly out of the room.

               

                Wildwing sighed as he sat down. Zelda walked into the Ready Room, and trotted up to him.

                "Wing! Why are you still here? I thought you went with the others to the mall."

                "Tanya and I stayed, in case anything happens." Wildwing replied.

                "Is that the only reason you stayed?" Zelda asked quizzically.

                "No." Wildwing admitted.

                "I thought so. So what's the matter?" Zelda asked.

                "I don't know, Stivz is just making me, well...." 

                "Uncomfortable?" Zelda volunteered.

                "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Stivz has a mask exactly like mine. That was always kind, of, well, a symbol of leadership."

                "I can understand, but I follow you, not some Mask." Zelda assured. "I don't think Stivz would wanna move in on you. Not now anyways."

                "Yeah, I guess you're right." Wildwing sighed, getting up. He was going to take a walk.

 

                The next few days passed quickly. Stivz seemed to fit in perfectly on earth. In a while, he joined the Ducks in practice as a backup for Duke, because Stivz too played center. And he was a great center at that. Duke didn't mind his backup at all. In fact, it even took some of the pressure off of him. Stivz loved to help the others out. He would help coordinate the plays, set up the shots, argue with the refs, and call the loose pucks. Everyone liked him, that is, everyone except Wildwing. He was the team captian. He was the one who always helped out the others. Wildwing fumed and gritted his teeth whenever Stivz was in his sight, and avoided him at all times. Stivz tried to ignore it with the rest of the team, but Zelda simply couldn't let this be. She caught up with Wildwing one afternoon after practice, while he was walking in the park.

                "Sit down Wing, I'd like to talk to ya." she said a little sternly, as she and Wing sat down on the grass in the shade of a tree. "Listen, I'd like to know what's up with you and Stivz." she began. Wildwing snorted and turned away.

                "I THOUGHT that was what this conversation was gonna be about." he retorted.

                "Well, answer my question." Zelda said, with no change in tone.

                "You're not being very sympathetic." Wildwing growled.

                "I have no reason to be as of yet." Zelda said, drawing herself up. "Now tell me what's wrong."

                "Are you kidding? Stivz is ticking me off!" Wildwing nearly yelled. "He's barging in on MY territory on the ice, and the team likes him better!"

                "Because you've been rotten lately Wing." Zelda bit back. "A new member of the team comes along. He can help us not only in hockey but against Dragaunus as well. We're all trying to make him feel welcome here, and you're not helping."

                "What do you mean?" Wildwing asked sarcastically.

                "Stivz has been afraid to talk with you Wildwing. He's been very nervous. He doesn't mean to intrude at all, he just wants to know you're backing him up." Zelda replied calmly, almost pleading with her eyes.

Wildwing turned his back. He'd seen this before. "Theatrics." he grumbled.

Zelda snorted. "Be that way Wildwing." she growled coldly. "When you're ready to act like the team captain you claim to be, you learn to adapt!" Zelda turned tail and flew away without another word. Wildwing turned around and watched her go. He had never really made her mad before. For a moment he felt sorry, but she was just standing up for Stivz. He was even more angry now. He decided to go hang out at the mall for a few hours.

 

                Wildwing sipped his drink. He was starting to forget about Stivz. He tried to let himself be absorbed in his environment. He sat alone at a table in the food court, relaxing. Through a crowd of shoppers, he saw Mallory and Tanya pass by in a near hallway. They didn't even stop to say hi! Wildwing grabbed his soda and chewed on the straw.  Several minutes past by, and Wildwing forgot the time. His com started to ring, but he snapped it down and turned it off abruptly. He didn't need anyone else bothering him right now.

 

                Wildwing slipped quietly through the doors of the Pond, trying not to make any noise. It was about 9 at night. He snarled to himself. He was going strait to bed tonight. The others were probably watching movies. He suddenly realized that this was no way for a leader to be acting, hiding from his own teammates! Canard would be ashamed. Hanging his head, Wildwing tracked down to the Ready Room. Maybe Zelda would forgive him. Opening the door, he found that the room was empty.                           

"Guys?" he called. Only the hum of Drake One replied him. "Maybe they're down in the Rec. Room." he thought to himself. He walked quickly down, but again, nobody was around. Could they have all gone out to dinner? As Wildwing walked towards the sleeping quarters, he activated his autotracker. "What?" he gasped. There were no com signals anywhere! Suddenly, he heard a raspy, deep breathing that whispered off of the walls. He ran into the bunks, but saw nothing. Still hearing the breathing, he peered in the corners. Cramped in the tiny space behind his bunk, Zelda lay shivering with fear. "Zelda?" Wildwing asked incredulously.

Zelda shot up in alarm.

                "Wildwing! Thank goodness your safe!" she cried. She dragged Stivz, who was wounded and unconscious, out from behind her.

                "What happened here?" Wildwing asked.

                "The Saurians attacked! We tried to call you!" she panted.

Wildwing stood in shock. "Whoa, calm down." he said.

                "They took everyone. We tried to help, but I ended up hiding and I thought they hadn't left yet." she shivered.

Slowly, Stivz leaned up and rubbed his head. "Ouch. Are they gone?" he asked.

                "They are now." Wildwing said. "And now we have to go rescue them."

                "Where were you? We were trying to call you and..." Stivz asked, but Wildwing cut in angrily.

                "I was out. Sorry." he snorted. "Come on, let's get to the Aerowing."

 

                As the Aerowing slowly circled the city, Wildwing scanned for the Raptor, with Stivz and Zelda sitting silently behind him. Finally, they landed next to a small warehouse in the suburbs. Creeping out of the ship, they passed through the cloaking field, and saw the Raptor in full form.

                "Wow." Stivz whispered. "I never thought it was this big."

                "Get used to it." Wildwing said, and motioned for everyone to follow him. Zelda snorted and obeyed. Walking in, Wildwing checked his autotracker. "They're down this way." he said. Suddenly, he stopped. "I have an idea." he whispered. "Stivz, I want you to go out and try and distract the Saurians. It'll be easier for us to get the others free that way."

                "Taking on three henchmen and hunter drones alone?" Zelda asked, alarmed. "Shouldn't I go with him?"      

"No, I'll need you to help get the others out if they're injured. Stivz, go and make some noise. Keep them busy for as long as you can, okay?" Stivz nodded.                             

"Sure thing. Just call me if you need me." He shouldered his puck launcher and ran off. Wildwing waited until he was out of sight, and began to run off in the opposite direction.

 

                They were very close. Zelda could smell the rest of the Ducks, but they still had to be careful. After weaving in and out through the long corridors, and carefully evading hunter drone patrols, she and Wildwing finally reached the two cells where the Ducks were being held.

                "Guys?" Wildwing whispered in.

                "Wing! Where have you been?" Duke replied, getting up slowly and rubbing his head.

                "Those crummy lizards knocked us for a loop." Nosedive said, peeking out from the opposite cell.   "Yeah, a big loop." Mallory agreed, holding her bruised side. Suddenly, the walls rocked with explosions.

Zelda yelped loudly. "Stivz! He must be in trouble!"

                "So nearby? I thought I told him to get as far away as possible." Wildwing snorted, looking for a way to get the others out. He yelped in surprise and pain as he felt the sharp, disciplinary sting of the tip of Zelda's tail on the back of his leg.

                "How dare you?" she snarled. "You just sent him off like that to get him out of your feathers! Well you can get the others out by yourself. I'm going to try and help Stivz before it's too late!". Without another word, she turned tail and leapt down the hall. Wildwing watched her go, and then sighed.

 

                Zelda skidded to a frightful halt. In the room before her were about five hunter drones, all shooting in haphazard directions. Zelda ducked away to avoid being hit, until the clamor subsided. She peeked out again, to find Siege parting the drones away, and hoisting up Stivz's body. Horrified and angry, she leapt out, and rammed full on into a hunter drone. It collapsed to the ground, firing in alarm. The other drones leapt with a start, looking for the intruder. Zelda slipped between them and slapped Siege hard in the face. He dropped Stivz quickly and stumbled backwards, fumbling with his laser. He shot out, hitting Zelda in the shoulder. She cried out in pain, grabbing Stivz by the collar and trying desperately to drag him out of danger. But it was too late. The hunter drones had found her, and Siege had recovered his balance. As they aimed their guns at her, she growled in bravado. Too weak to fight, but too strong to give up, she held her ground.

 

                Wildwing banged the wall of his cell in seething fury. Stupid Chameleon! Stupid Wraith! Stivz was supposed to have taken care of them! And who did Zelda think she was running off like that? Now he too was captured! Suddenly, he heard noises in the hallway. Siege and his pack of hunter drones trooped in, and opened the cell bars. Zelda and Stivz, blackened with laser scars, were thrown unceremoniously at Wildwing's feet, and the doors shut again.

                "Caught a few strays in your flock." Siege grinned, and walked away. Wildwing stared down as Zelda groaned, and raised her head. She stood up slowly, and looked over Stivz.

                "Good." she muttered. "At least he's alive, after the beating he took." She glared up at him. "This is all your fault." She growled.

                "MINE?" Wildwing said.

                "You put him in too much danger! He could have been killed!" Wildwing scoffed. Zelda snarled loudly and pulled him down to her eye level. "Yeah? Well picture yourself explaining to the team why HE died!" Zelda said. "On account of your cruelty! We'll see how faithful a leader you are when you were willing to let one of the team die simply becase you didn't like him!" Zelda slowly released him and sighed. "I just don't understand how you could let this happen." Wildwing stared at Stivz. Suddenly, an image flashed through his head.

 

                He remembered the heat, the tension. He remembered himself sinking, sinking slowly into the incineration chamber of the Raptor. Long ago, back when Canard was still with them. He could remember Dragaunus running, and him being left all alone, and sinking. He could remember the electricity making his feathers stand on end. Then he saw the others, and despite the danger present, Duke had swooped down to save his life. The rush of air had been the difference between life and death.

 

                It had all come rushing back to him. Wildwing realized that Zelda had done the same thing Duke had done for him. Wildwing looked down, and saw Stivz to be more like himself, than the Duck he was so hateful to and afraid of. He was just trying to help. Another to help avenge Canard, another to help bring the fighting to an end. Wildwing shook himself, and then kneeled down to help Stivz. Zelda snorted, she realized what had happened. Stivz groaned in pain as Wing tried to move him, and opened his eyes.

                "Relax kiddo, you're okay now." Zelda eased.

                "No thanks to me." Wildwing confessed. "Stivz, I have to apologize to you. I'm sorry if I acted so hostile to you, I was just nervous."

                "Hey, it's okay." Stivz smiled at him. "After all, we're only ducks." Wildwing nodded. Stivz stood up slowly, feeling his back ache from fighting.

                "You sure you're okay?" Zelda asked.

                "Yeah, I'm fine." Stivz said. "Now, we have to get ourselves, and everyone else, outta this mess."

 

                Zelda sniffed cautiously. They were coming. She signaled to the others, and then reared back. The cell and hallways echoed with a loud, low, mournful sob. A death cry. Siege poked his head around the corner opportunistically.

                "Did I miss anything?" he grinned. Zelda and Wildwing stood over Stivz, leaning on each other.

                "He's dead." Wildwing sniffed. "You MURDERER!"

                "I do what I can." Siege grinned. He walked over to a panel on the wall and pressed a few buttons, opening the cell. "Well, I suppose I'd better get this carcass outta here before it starts to smell." he grinned. He walked in and shoved the two away. He looked down and Stivz and rubbed his hands. "It's about time I killed one of yas." He said, looking up.

                "Time is NOT on your side." A voice laughed. Suddenly, Siege's legs were knocked out from beneath him, and he hit his head hard on the floor. Stivz stood up and grinned, dusting himself off.

                "Let's get outta here!" Zelda laughed, and they all ran out. Wildwing punched in the panel on the wall, sealing the bars shut. Siege stumbled up slowly as they ran off. He groaned as he realized what had happened.

                "Great. Dragaunus'll have my hide on a silver platter for this." he snarled, as he activated his com.

 

To be continued......