Mechanical Life

Written by Zelda and Deadeye

 

Before the story, I would first like to give a big thanks to Deadeye, who played a key role in helping me bring this story out of dead-end status. The majority of this story has been written with her ideas and her help. A big thanks!

 

                The forest was sunny and dense. Mallory blinked as she raised herself up slowly. She rubbed her head. Man, inter-dimensional trips weren't exactly first class. She looked around as she heard running water. There a clear, deep blue river next to them. The team sat up slowly on the grassy bank.

                "Ugh, everyone okay?" Wildwing asked.

                "Yeah... but where are we?" Nosedive asked.

                "And more importantly, how did we get here?" Duke asked. The latter was directed at Tanya, who immediately started searching her mind and her Omnitool for an answer.

                "Random rips in the space/time continuum are possible.... but they're rare."

                "Oh great, we just got lucky!" Nosedive said sarcastically.

                "And now we have to find a way to get back..." Wildwing said, looking at the sky.

                "And locating Zelda would help as well." Grin said calmly. Zelda was gone!

                "Just great." Wing sighed. "Come on, let's walk a bit and try to get our bearings." The team started off, following the river as it went. Obviously they were far from Anaheim, in a beautiful forest. Birds flitted in the trees, squirrels ran across the bank. Once and a while a fish jumped out of the water. They walked in silence for a good half hour before they got impatient.

                "Wildwing, we have no idea where we're headed..." Mallory started.

                "You got a better idea?" he asked. Suddenly a voice broke in, up high from the trees.

                "Heh, arguing as usual eh?" The Ducks spun to see a figure perched on the shadow of a leafy branch. The voice sounded familiar... just different. The figure stepped out of the shadow on the branch, and into the sun. It was a purple dragon, but then it wasn't. Its left wing, left eyebrow, right nostril, left front leg, left flank, right hind leg, and tail, were not flesh at all, but actually machine! Wildwing frowned at the creature.

                "Who... who are you?" he asked. The dragon frowned with a pneumonic clicking.

                "What? Is your 'lovable' draconic ex-teammate so soon forgotten Ducks? I would have thought better of you." They stared at the creature.

                "Zelda?" Duke ventured.

                "Oh and you even remember my name!" Zelda replied bitterly. She snorted and leapt down to the ground. She stalked to a few yards away from them, mechanical parts hissing and clicking. "It's been a long time Ducks, but I still can't say I'm glad to see you." she hissed.

                "Zelda... what happened to you?" Mallory managed. The dragon cocked her head and snorted again.

                "What, did Siege hit you too many times on the head or something?" She looked at them angrily. "I can't believe you could have it in you to forget..." she seethed.

                "Zelda look, we don't know what you're talking about... we just came though a portal and--"

                "A portal?" Zelda interrupted. She slowly approached the Ducks and sniffed the air. "I.... I smell the Anaheim of old... myself of old... Then you have no idea what I'm talking about..." she said.

                "Zelda, tell us what happened to you. Why were you so angry at us?" Duke asked. Zelda paced back and sat down.

                "I... I can't believe this." she said lowly. "I never thought I'd see you all again like this... I almost hoped I would, but I thought it was hopeless. I could never look at you the same again after what you did to me." she seethed again. The Ducks looked at her with blank stares. Zelda sighed. "Then lemme spell it out for you Ducks." she said. "The memory is long and sad. For it was the last memory I would ever have, when I actually lived and breathed... not like this..." Wildwing frowned. "You see, there was this day, many, many years back. We went into battle as usual, but it was hard. They were really dealing us a beating that day. We thought we had the day won, when old Red brought out his big bad secret weapon. It was this huge heat laser... and he wanted to shoot you, had all of you right where he wanted you. But nooooo, I couldn't have that. I sacrificed myself and threw it all in front of that gun. And it hit me right here!" She banged angrily on the metal plating of her left side. "Well, it just blew me apart. Even as you were taking me back my flesh was still being seared away by the blast. And I was alive of course, but noooo, of course not, there was another option. Zelda pointed a mechanical claw at Tanya in slow fury. "It was your idea. You could build anything, you could build everything. And you thought it all up, the whole twisted idea." Tanya blinked in frightened incomprehension. Zelda next turned her wrath on Wildwing. "And YOU! You authorized it! Gave the whole plan your mark..." she looked at him with angry and desperate eyes. "I trusted you... all of you... I gave you my alliance, my life. I could have died a decent death in battle, but you went ahead and you did THIS! You gave it your mark, and turned me into a monster!" She rammed her head against the ground. Sparks showered from her mechanical parts. Wildwing started nervously.

                "Zelda..." he started.

                "And when I woke up, you have no idea. I thought it must have all been a nightmare. But I was wrong, I was wrong." Zelda looked ready to break down and cry. "I left all of you right then and there. And I've lived alone for all these years. I can't taste the food or smell the air anymore. I'm not living, just functioning now. And I couldn't go back to the Territory... they'd tear me apart in disgust.... I'm not a dragon, I'm a machine! Years after my flesh rots away this tired machine will just keep running." The anger had bled away to tears. Two rolled in succession down her left cheek and hit metal. The machine let up white sparks. The dragon hissed in pain and slammed her head into the dirt to make it stop. The Ducks looked on in a twinge of shock. How did this ever come to pass in the future?

                "What about us now? And Dragaunus?" Duke asked. Zelda turned on him angrily.

                "Who cares? This malfunctioing scrap heap I call a body wouldn't be fit for a fight anymore, and I would no longer fight for you or my kind, since I am no longer a member of either one of those alliances." Duke backed off quickly. "This stupid scrap is indestructible. You think I haven't tried to rip it all off!? It just falls back into place! You were so proud of it Tanya, smiling and all as I lay there with this stuff on me." she shook her head again and began to plod away.

                "You tried to destroy yourself?" Grin asked. Zelda turned back.

                "Of course I tried. I tried everything..." she turned back and kept walking. "You may follow if you like Ducks. The day is waning, you can find shelter with me." she said in a softer tone, turning her head slightly. The Ducks started to follow her slowly. "I hold no grudges against you Ducks... it's the ones of my time..."

                "And you turned your back on us all?" Duke asked. The dragon hesitated.

                "All but one. She was the only one who really showed any opposition to Tanya's plan at all. Deadeye lives with me now, and she still goes to fight with the Ducks, though I can't approve."

                "Deadeye?" Dive asked. Zelda nodded and reached down, picking a wooden horn up off of the forest floor. She blew a long, low trumpet into it, followed shortly by a similar sound not too far off. The dragon used her right lip to smile, and proceeded on. She approached a small cave in a hillside, and walked in. The Ducks followed, into the alcove. One side was lined with leaves, the other carpeted and housing a modern-looking bedframe and mattress.

                "Hey girl, I got some visitors for ya!" Zelda yelled. A duck came walking out to greet them, and stopped short. "Don't worry, I'll explain." Zelda eased.

She swirled a claw about her head to indicate a dimensional gateway. Deadeye's beak dropped open and she smiled.    

                "You're kidding me, right?" she asked.

                "Nope." Zelda said, and proceeded to sit down on her side of the cave.

                "So Deadeye, what are you doing out here?" Mallory asked. The slightly aged duck cocked her head and smiled.

                "Sit down, all of you needn't be so uncomfortable." Deadeye grinned. "I'll explain everything." The Ducks sat in various places and listened. "Ummm, wouldja mind go getting dinner Zel?"

                "No problem." The dragon clicked out to the cave entrance, unfolded one wing, and then locked open her mechanical one, now flying away. Deadeye sighed as she left.

                "Zelda's right, I did oppose you putting all that mechanical stuff in her. But majority won." she sighed. "I don't live here, I still stay with you Ducks in Anaheim. I come to visit about once a month. But I've been staying a bit longer lately."

                "Why?" Tanya asked.

                "The mechanical body you built for Zelda was pretty great as far as artificial limbs and skin go, but it can't last forever. The machine refuses to let itself degrade and fall apart, so it just malfunctions from time to time. But it's been getting worse. Some days I think that stupid machine is just going to up and kill her."

                "So tell me Deadeye, how have we been getting along in the future?" Wing asked. Deadeye stared at him rather coldly and turned her back, not willing to talk. Deadeye glared at him coldly and turned her back, not willing to talk. Wildwing was surprised.

                "Why won't you speak to me?" he asked curiously. Deadeye looked over her shoulder at him with softer eyes and sighed.

                "I hold no grudge against you Wing.... but with the Wildwing I once loved." Wildwing frowned and opened his bill. "Please don't talk as if I am your friend, you'll only end up with a broken bill and some free-floating limbs." Wing shut up and leaned back. The whole team looked surprised.

                "Why do you speak with such hate?" Grin asked softly. Deadeye turned her stony glare to Grin, and hesitated, choosing her words.

                "Wildwing....hurt me... bad.... a long time ago." she explained in a less harsh tone. Wildwing instantly felt disbelief and he was sorry for the kid... now his age. He couldn't imagine laying a hand on a female... even a Saurian. It was just plain wrong! "He got mad at me for leaving the team without telling him where I was going." Deadeye hung her head and turned, lifting the back of her shirt. Lazer scars slashed across her back, their age doing nothing to hide their severity. The whole team was taken aback. Wildwing was horrified. "I do hate him." she snarled, lowering her shirt. "And with good cause."

                "I did that?" Wildwing was still in shock. He got up and walked out of the cave with a shaky gait.

                "Trash." Deadeye muttered under her breath as he left.

                "But if you hate Wildwing so much, why do you come back to fight with us?" Mallory asked.

                "If I do not return, he'll search the ends of the earth to find me." she sighed. "I wish I could kill him." she slurred, turning her back again and staring at the cave's stone wall.

 

                As Zelda navigated back to the cave in the darkening forest, she saw Wildwing sitting on a large boulder, looking at the sky as the stars came out. It took a while for her to climb up and sit beside him.

                "Did Deadeye throw you out?" she asked, as if it were predictable.

                "No... I chose to leave... I was causing her too much distress." He stared blankly up at the sky, still a look of disbelief on his face. Is this what happened in the future? In some separate dimension? What on earth could have driven him to do something like that? The dragon read his face.

                "Come inside... to eat." she turned around and jumped from the rock, landing with a clash of metal. She slung the leg of a deer over her back and slowly plodded into the glowing light of the cave. Wildwing got up and followed her inside. Not knowing what to do, he sat by grin, hoping to hide himself behind the big brown Duck, and kept his beak shut. "Dinner's here Deadeye." Zelda flipped the leg on the ground. Nosedive cringed at the sight of the raw meat.

                "Ewww.... don't tell me we're going to EAT that thing?"

                "Don't tell me you've never had venison." Zelda replied. Deadeye came out of the back of the cave and picked the leg up with a smile. It quickly faded.

                "Why did you bring that inside?" she snarled, and Wing knew he had been discovered. Zelda stepped between the two and brought a wing up to act as a wall.

                "He's not the one you hate Deadeye, leave him be." she said sternly. Deadeye muttered something and took the leg into the back of the cave, rounding a curve and going out of sight. Zelda sat down and shook her head. "I can't believe I just said that...."

                "Man, she's.... temperamental." Duke commented.

                "She's been hurt, she's alone." Wildwing hung his head. "She just needs some time."

                "No." Zelda frowned at him. "She needs someone to understand. We both left the group because of what happened to us... but I left for good. She's still running, Wing. She's running from you. She needs you." Suddenly, there was a loud clicking noise from the metal plate over her eyebrow. The dragon pawed at it annoyingly, creating a shower of white sparks. The dragon reared up in frustration and slammed her head into the dirt floor, rubbing it until the sparks stopped. Finally, she stood again and resumed her talk with Wildwing. "She needs you to help her heal."

                "Ummm I hate to be the bad egg among the group..." Nosedive started.

                "Too late." Mallory joked.

                "But what if she snaps? She could rip Wingster to shreds! Did you see those things on her arms?"

                "The battle gear?" Zelda asked.

                "No, the muscles!" Dive shuddered.

                "She is strong." Zelda nodded. "But she is very sensitive... very angry, very afraid."

                "Of me." Wildwing shook his head.

                "Yes, of you." Zelda gave him a stony glare.

                "Dinner's ready!" Deadeye peered in. "Come back here, and you can eat." She herself walked out towards the entrance, carrying a small plate of meat.

                "Where are you eating?" Tanya asked.

                "Not with him." Deadeye glared at Wildwing again and left. Zelda sighed and started to walk towards the back of the cave, when sparks flared from her brow plate again.

                "Hold still..." Tanya halted her before the dragon could slam her head into the ground. She took out her Omnitool and knelt beside the dragon, quickly making a few adjustments. "This should stop all that sparking."

                "...Yes..." the dragon said blankly, stepping away. "But it still does not make it go away." The dragon slid away from Tanya with lowered ears. The Duck sat back down and stared at her curiously, thinking hard as the dragon instinctively backed away. Zelda shook her head and trotted up to Wildwing.

                "Go and talk with her... please?" she asked him. Wildwing stood slowly. Finally he walked out, not looking behind him. The dragon smiled hopefully as she watched him go.

 

                Wildwing's heart beat nervously as he walked. It was much colder now in the dark, and hard to see. Wildwing pulled his arms into his chest and shivered as he walked. He was afraid of her... he'd never felt like this before. As he rounded a tree, he saw a small light ahead. There was a fire, and Deadeye sat beside it, eating alone.

                "It's pretty cold out tonight." he revealed himself as he spoke. Illuminated by the fire, Deadeye jumped up as he approached.

                "You'll leave if you know what's good for you." she warned. Wildwing reached out for her arm and she pulled away quickly. She was afraid... trying to mask it in anger. This girl who could easily take him on and win, was afraid of.

                "Come on now... please?" he asked softly.

                "No!" she suddenly cried out. "No don't hurt me!" Wildwing gently but firmly covered her beak.

                "Shhhhh." he patted her on the shoulder. "I'm not the Wildwing you know, remember? I won't hurt you... I promise." Deadeye slowly settled, nodding with frightened eyes.

                "Promise you won't hurt me?" her eyes spilled over with tears.

                "Yes..." he said "I promise." He put his hands over her wrists and slid them down to her elbows. "It's okay, shhhh." he eased.

Deadeye turned away, crying. "Zelda sent you, didn't she." she snorted.

                "Yes." he replied. Wildwing removed his Mask and let his face show, gentle and serious in the glow of the fire. "Look at me." he told her. Deadeye slowly turned, her eyes wet and afraid. "I will not harm you... I promise. You can believe me." Wildwing handed her his Mask and stood back.  "Please give me a chance to help you?"

                "You... you are not my Wildwing." Deadeye felt instinct tighten her muscles under her battle gear. Her body, so broken by the lashings Wildwing had given her, shivered weakly. "How can you help me?" she scoffed at him.

                "I don't know... " he confessed. "But when we're in trouble... when we miss home, the others always say I have a good shoulder to cry on, and a good ear to listen.... just talk to me... tell me about it. What else is there to do?"

                "Nothing!" Deadeye shouted angrily. "You can do nothing!" Deadeye ripped a necklace off from around her neck and threw it in the dirt, running away towards the cave with a stone face and a cold heart. Wildwing's shoulders slumped. He almost understood why the Wildwing of this dimension could love Deadeye and hate her at the same time... her irritability... here today, gone tomorrow, and back again. Wildwing picked up the necklace, and turned it over, recognizing it to be his own Rsistance tags, the dog tags he wore in the Resistance on Puckworld. She couldn't control her emotions... not after what she'd been through. If there were only a way... Wildwing trudged back to the cave slowly. As he walked in, the others were slowly settling in for the night.

                "Looks like we're staying here." Tanya yawned as she pulled a blanket over a spare mattress. Wildwing sat down in a pile of leaves, the only vacant spot. Zelda came trotting from the back of the cave, dragging her mechanical hind leg. Finally it clicked into motion and Zelda walked on it, wincing. Tanya watched her carefully. Deadeye came out as well, with her eyes dried and her normal composure, and settled slowly into her bed, keeping an eye on Wildwing the whole time. Zelda lay down between the two and fell quickly asleep, much like the others. Deadeye slowly sank down and drew the blankets up around her, but somehow... something told Wildwing she wasn't sleeping. On his pile of leaves, Wing wasn't going to sleep anytime soon either. So he stayed up and watched her. Hours passed, and the moon rose high above the trees and cast it's thick white light at the door of the cave. Still Wildwing didn't sleep, but it wasn't that he couldn't, he was thinking about Deadeye. And he knew by the way she was laying that she wasn't sleeping yet either... perhaps she was thinking about him. Perhaps she was afraid of him. Wildwing had felt sorry for Deadeye, and very guilty ever since she had shown him those laser scars. It wasn't that he himself was responsible.... that was a different Wildwing. But he couldn't do anything about it. Deadeye was too afraid to even talk to him. He felt bad about it, just plain bad. As it has a way of doing, heavy thinking tired out the leader, and even with a pile of leaves for a mattress on the cold night, he fell asleep. He didn't know how long he slept, but he slowly became aware of a crunching noise near him, the leaves moving around him. He opened his eyes drowsily to find the twilight creeping into the cave, and was surprised to see Deadeye's eyes meeting his as she lay down beside him! Instantly Deadeye froze up in fear. Wildwing quickly relaxed and tried to calm her.

                "Shhhh... it's okay... you just startled me." he said. "Sorry." Deadeye slowly sank down beside him in the leaves.

                "I thought you looked cold." she said plainly, her eyes still afraid and alert. Wildwing knew she was lying... she was still terrified of him... and yet something had drawn her here to him.

                "Thanks." he said. She lay down but didn't relax, still alert. "Looks like I found a new president for my fan club." he joked. She smiled back at him. Now this was more like it. Wildwing drifted back to sleep.

 

                Morning came quickly for her. Mallory yawned in her bed and stretched before opening her eyes. Slowly, groggily, she sat up and brushed the hair out of her eyes. She was just about to swing her legs out of her bunk... when she realized she wasn't in her bunk! There was a split second of terror in Mallory before the memory came back to her of what had happened the day before. She smiled to herself and looked around the cave. Beams of sunlight were creeping slowly in. One streamed across Duke's face, reluctantly coaxing him out of sleep. She stretched again and smelled something good from the back of the cave, like warm bread. Someone must have been making breakfast. Mallory smiled and got up quietly, looking around her. Everyone was still asleep, including Wildwing on a pile of leaves. Mallory shook her head and headed back to help whoever was cooking. Suddenly she stepped on something soft, eliciting a familiar loud yell! She looked down to see that she had stepped on Nosedive's back, who was sleeping under a pile of leaves.

                "Yow!" he yelped. "Jeez thanks for the wakeup call Malwee, next time why don't you step on me with your skates on?"

                "Shhh!" Mallory hissed, but it was too late. Dive's yell had awakened everyone. They glowered in his general direction, then smelled what was cooking. Wildwing leaned up and looked around him, as if he were missing something. Then he shook his head and sat up fully, rubbing his neck.

                "Who's back there?" Duke called.

                "Up already?" Deadeye came out with a loaf of bread in a towel. "It's just me. I'll have breakfast ready in a minute, someone wanna help?"

                "I will." volunteered Tanya, and she brushed her hair up as she walked back with Deadeye.

                "Zel must be out getting food." Duke stretched as he got up and walked outside. It was a beautiful morning in the forest. The sun was sparkling off of dew droplets on the leaves of the trees and on the ground. It was like walking on diamonds. He took a deep breath and decided that he was hungry. As he reentered the cave, there was a loud, low, trumpeting noise from deep within the forest. Duke turned quickly. It sounded like the signal horn Zelda had used the day before, but decidedly sharper, louder. Deadeye shot past him, oven mitts still on, eyes wide with fear.

                "Did you hear that?" she asked Duke.

                "Yeah... sounded like a horn...."

                "An alarm...." Deadeye gasped and raced back into the cave, causing a flurry of confusion. Duke turned and went in after her. Deadeye was hastily strapping on her battle gear.

                "What's going on?" Wildwing asked. Deadeye jumped upon hearing his voice.

                "They've found me....." she breathed. "They're coming....." she snapped to and cocked a laser gun at her shoulder. The others still looked on, puzzled. Suddenly, there was a loud roar from outside. Zelda came barreling into the cave, mechanical wing still locked open. It hit the wall of the cave and she tripped, rolling to a stop in the leaves. She scrambled up as fast as she could.

                "Time to split Deadeye... all of you." she ordered. "If you get far enough away they won't know you were here."

                "Zelda what's going on?" Mallory asked.

                "No time to explain, you've got to move." Zelda butted them all out. "Deadeye, you know the drill. Fill them in on the way." Deadeye was already out and into the forest. She suddenly stopped and turned as the team caught up to her.

                "You're staying Zel? What if they find you?"

                "I'll deal with them." she snarled back with a cold fire in her eyes. "Like they deserve to be dealt with." She backed into the cave and disappeared in the black.

 

                Tanya caught herself as she nearly tripped over a tree root on the forest floor. Deadeye moved like lighting, darting across the uneven terrain, driven by obvious fear. They must have covered more than a fourth of a mile before Nosedive caught her by the arm and stopped her.

                "Hold up girly girl!" he panted. "We're not going a step further until you tell us what's going on!"

                "Fine then you can stay." she snapped and turned to run, slamming into Wildwing. She tumbled to the ground and looked up, leaping up in fear as she glanced him. Wildwing grabbed her gently.

                "Easy Deadeye it's me!" he tried to calm her. It took her a few seconds to stop struggling.

                "They're coming.... he's coming..." she breathed, panicked.

                "WHO?" the whole team yelled simultaneously.

                "Who do you think?" Deadeye growled. "You guys."

 

                The dragon stared out of the darkness of her cave, listening as the forest began to smell. It smelled like the smell she'd never stop recognizing. It was only a few seconds before she heard the obvious crunch of leaves underfoot... a lot of feet. Zelda growled softly, instinctively. Suddenly, a huge shadow loomed in the cave entrance.

                "Here is where our journey ends." Grin's voice rumbled lowly over the ground. "It looks to be vacant."

                "Vacant my tailfeathers... she's always here..." another voice snarled. It sent shivers down Zelda's back. Suddenly, the blue phosphoresce of a puck snapped through the room, barely missing her. The dragon yelped and leapt out into the open.

                "Well there you are." Nosedive stalked in slowly, his voice blank. The dragon backed away slowly. There was nowhere for her to go... In a snap of fight-or-flight instinct, she spread her wings and barreled out of the cave, over the heads of the team, and into the safety of a tree.

                "You are not welcome here." she roared bluntly.

                "We'll leave then. Where's Deadeye?" Zelda didn't peek through the leaves to address the speaker.

                "What does it matter?"

                "She hasn't reported in to me. Where is she!?" The dragon climbed higher into the tree. She heard the loud click of a puck launcher down below, and closed her eyes.

 

                Deadeye continued tirelessly along, bounding like a rabbit over the forest floor. Now in a dense thicket, the Ducks waded through bushes, their fatigue catching up with them.

                "Deadeye.. hang on a sec..." Wildwing finally stopped and leaned heavily against a tree, gasping for breath. Deadeye paused nervously, eyes wild, on the jump at the snap of a twig.

                "Just where are you running to?" Duke asked her, annoyed.

                "I .... I don't know." she said worriedly. "He's never come looking for me like this before..."

                "Deadeye... you have to relax." Wildwing tried to reassure her. "We're over half a mile away from the cave... there's no way they could follow us this far or this fast." Deadeye slowly nodded. Suddenly, there was a loud cry from overhead as the thick trees split and Zelda came crashing through. She hit the ground with haphazard wings and slid to a stop. Hot white sparks sputtered chaotically out of her mechanical leg, the device kicking wildly as the dragon tried to regain her feet. She reached back and ripped out a smoking rubber puck, throwing it on the ground in a spasm of pain.

                "They're coming!" she gasped, only seconds before there was a thundering of feet behind her, and the Ducks burst into the clearing.

 

                It was an unusual meeting. Mirror images on each side. The Ducks looked at each other, two complete sets, dumbfounded.

                "What the..." Wildwing began. Suddenly, his counterpart laid his eyes on Deadeye as she stood frozen against a tree. He stepped forwards and aimed his launcher right at her.

                "So this is where you've been hiding." he snarled.

                "That's enough." Wildwing slid between himself and Deadeye, spreading his arms wide.

                "Look." his counterpart snarled. "I don't know where you came from, but you lay one hand on her and I'll blast your beak off."

                "An alternate dimension actually... " Tanya began, trying to explain. If she could just make her counterpart understand... maybe they could avoid a confrontation. But Zelda now too stood before Deadeye, trying to keep a strait face with her mechanical leg dangling by a few wires.

                "You don't belong here Ducks." she snarled. "Go home, this place is mine."

                "You're not a part of the team. You left, remember?" Wildwing paid little attention to the dragon. "Come now Deadeye, you're coming back with us." he commanded. Deadeye didn't move. Wildwing frowned. "Did you hear me?" He snarled. "I said come here... now." Deadeye was terrified, but stood her ground. Wildwing raised his puck launcher and clicked it into readiness.

                "Now wait just a second here." Wildwing held a hand  up to his counterpart. "Look... you can't treat her like that... you hurt her."

                "And I will again if she doesn't start listening to me." Wildwing ignored his double, not lowering his launcher.

                "Well then you'll have to go through us." Wildwing gestured to his team.

                "Wing, what are we doing?" Nosedive suddenly called out to his armored brother. "Are we gonna fight these... wherever they came from."

                "I told you, we came from an alternate dimension... " Tanya tried to cut in. It was all getting too confusing. Wildwing kept his back to Deadeye and was thinking hard. He couldn't start a fight with them... not now... they would get mixed up and then what? He shook his head.

                "Look, we know what you did to Zelda and Deadeye. It was wrong and you're wrong. We'll defend them, so just leave them alone. Go fight Dragaunus." he tried to reason coldly.

                "The dragon's not my concern anymore." Wildwing's double didn't flinch. "Deadeye's mine. Go back to your dimension... don't get involved." he ordered. Suddenly, he leaned back and fired, and Wildwing threw his arm around in goalie fashion, defelecting the puck off of his armor and sending into the dirt at his mirror's feet.

                "Too late." he replied. His counterpart leapt back and snarled. Zelda suddenly tugged at Wildwing's leg. She pointed up a rocky ledge nearby to reveal a cave.

                "We'll be safe there."

                "And have a tactical advantage." Mallory was already starting to climb up.

                "Get going then." Wildwing ordered, not moving himself.

                "It doesn't matter... he'll come for me." Deadeye withered against the tree trunk and began to cry.

                "He won't hurt you." Wildwing assured, moving towards her and keeping his eyes on his counterpart below. "I won't let him." Deadeye still trembled. Wildwing slowly, gently picked her up and held her. She was trembling in her arms.

                "I trust you." she finally said.

                "Hand her over!" Wildwing demanded from below. "Or I'll lash you too!" Wildwing glared behind them and handed Deadeye up to Duke, who was the last to be scaling up to the cave. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Wildwing didn't answer, but held his ground as Deadeye climbed up. "You're going to regret this." he turned back to his own team.

                "Take care of those... things. I don't care if they're us from another dimension... they could be Saurians in disguise for all we know! They don't belong here. Just bring Deadeye back alive!"

                "Sorry." Wildwing backed up against the path to the cave. "She's coming with me."

                "Sorry." his counterpart aimed his launcher again. "She's not. You're not going to stop me you pathetic duckling." he hissed. "Nothing will save you now!" The phrase ripped through Wildwing's mind... it was something Draguanus had said to him before he first put on the Mask. Rage boiled up under his feathers.

                "Get up here Wing!" Duke called down to him. Wildwing waved him off. He was standing his ground. He raised his launcher, and fired suddenly. His counterpart ducked, rolled, and fired back. Wildwing dodged. The others from his counterpart's team were already coming forwards, heading towards the cliff. It was going to take a lot to keep the others safe...

 

                "He's crazy!" Mallory yelled. "He won't last ten seconds out there... we have to go back down."

                "You're crazy!" Deadeye cowered in the back of the cave. "They'll kill you all... they don't care!" Zelda was staring back out.

                "We don't have a tactical advantage here..." she started. "Not while we can't take down the others." Mallory had already swung out of the cave and began firing down on her mirror team. It was almost hard to pick out her Wildwing in the clamor below, but she could see he wasn't faring well.

                "What's your idea Zel?" Nosedive asked.

                "There's a river not far off, if we bog them down in the water we can lose them..."

                "Bog them down in the water?" Duke shook his head. "Not likely sweetheart."

                "Perhaps a distraction?" Grin asked. Suddenly, rocks fell from the mouth of the cave, and Mallory withdrew quickly, her launcher smoking.

                "Whatever it is, think fast!" she yelled. Nosedive joined her in holding off thier opponents.

                "That's it!" Zelda snapped her claws. "A distraction! A few of us can draw them off, then the rest attack from behind."

                "Just like old times eh?" Duke joked. Zelda gave him a stony glare.

                "Dive, you're the fastest runner, you're with me." she ordered.

                "Say what?" he turned.

                "The rest of you hold your fire, make sure Wildwing gets up here." Zelda snapped her wings open and soared out of the cave, into the fire.

 

                Nosedive scrambled down the cliff wall after her, suddenly finding a hail of pucks bouncing off his armor. His brother suddenly rolled up beside him.        

                "Dive! What's going on?" he drew his shield over him.

                "Zel and I are gonna distract 'em, get into the cave!" he yelled, and took off behind her. The firing suddenly stopped as the team looked after them.

                "Where do you think you're going you tin-plated lizard?" Wildwing yelled out after her.

                "Run Deadeye! Get to the river!" Zelda roared theatrically ahead of her. Nosedive looked back after him as his opponents turned and began to follow! It was working! In seconds of diving through the thick foliage, they were out of sight of the cave. But the other Ducks, though older, were not a step slower, and they crashed just a few feet behind him. Pucks ricocheted inches from his boots, and he hopped through the woods, trying to look both ahead of him and behind him at the same time. Suddenly, the river opened up before him, wide and blue. Zelda circled slowly, tauntingly over the Ducks as they smashed onto the riverbank.

                "Where is she?" Wildwing bellowed.

                "You'll never catch her now!" Zelda laughed at him. Duke's eyes narrowed.

                "That's because she ain't even here! It's a decoy!" he yelled angrily. Wildwing raised his launcher and shot a hole through the dragon's mechanical wing without a flinch. Zelda howled, lost control of herself, and plunged into the water. Nosedive leapt up from behind a rock and returned the fire, knocking Wildwing clean over with a few shots. By this time, his teammates had caught up with him. Nosedive rubbed his neck in relief, but suddenly felt the sharp jab of a puck launcher against it.

                "Care to try that on me?" a voice hissed slyly.

Nosedive turned to see Mallory's blue eyes glaring at him. "You have no idea how much I'm gonna hate to do this." he said slowly.

               

                Deadeye looked in panic at the clamor about her. Ducks of both teams were tearing the earth with their shots, shoving each other into the water. Tanya grabbed her by the elbow and Deadeye spun around, ready for combat, when she realized it was the friendly one.

                "We've gotta get you somewhere safe." Tanya said.

                "There's a cave a little up the way, behind a waterfall." Deadeye said, not taking her eyes off the fight.

                "Then let's go." The two tried to pull themselves from the grip of the battle and make their way upstream. Finally, they came to the base of the waterfall. "Just stay in here until this is over." Tanya told her. "We'll be back!" She sloshed into the river to head back to the fight, when suddenly something grabbed her leg. Tanya yelled in surprise, and suddenly Zelda surfaced. Her mechanical parts frizzled with electricity, the dragon clung frantically to Tanya. The Duck lifted her quickly out and saw her state. The dragon's mechanical parts had nearly collapsed under the electric shock caused by the water. The dragon suffered obviously. Tanya quickly turned and ran into the cave.

                "What's wrong with her?" Deadeye asked as Tanya lay the shaking dragon down.

                "She's been damaged so badly that the water nearly electrocuted her!" Tanya fretted. "I have to do something quick before the entire system fails!"

 

                Wildwing kept both shield and launcher out and gleaming to his counterpart, whom was sorely beaten and stumbling back to the river.

                "Get out." Wildwing breathed heavily to him. His older mirror looked slowly around him and saw his Ducks slowly buckling under the pressure from their younger aggressors. He turned back to Wildwing and growled. He slowly flipped open his com.

                "Let's get outta here team. They're not worth wasting our pucks over." Quickly, the fights broke off and the Ducks retreated off into the woods, until only Wildwing remained. "Mark my words you... whoever you are. I'll be back." He turned and quickly ran. Wildwing slumped over, exhausted as the team regrouped around him.

                "Everyone okay?" he asked.

                "Yeah... 'cept we can't find Tanya, Deadeye or Zelda!" Dive panicked.

                "Over here!" Tanya yelled from the waterfall. "There's something you need to see."

 

                The dragon writhed slowly on the floor, eyes closed, incomprehensive. Her mechanical parts twitched and sputtered, racing with electricity.

                "What happened to her?" Duke gasped, kneeling by her side.

                "She fell into the river...." Deadeye shivered. "But I don't understand.... those parts were all waterproof! You made them that way Tanya..."

                "But apparently I didn't make them strong enough... the damage she took was enough to let the water in." she shook her head. Slowly, Zelda raised her head, snarling.

Deadeye sat down and took her snout in her hand, petting it gently. "It's okay Zel... you're gonna be fine." she eased, her own face white as eggshell.

                "What... what happened?" the dragon breathed.

                "You fell in the river Zel..." Tanya muttered, looking over the dragon's broken body.

                "Can you fix her?" Nosedive asked worriedly.

                "I think so." Tanya said slowly, looking the damage over. Zelda sighed and whined brokenly. Deadeye looked up at Tanya with deep eyes. Tanya stared back, then down at Zelda. "Or maybe I can do better." she stood up, shaking her head.

The dragon slowly rose up on a forepaw, shaking. "Of course... you built this..." she began.

                "And I could take it apart." the Duck nodded sadly.

                "But you'd kill her!" Mallory argued.

                "There are things worse than death." Tanya said, firmly now. "I'm going to correct the mistake the Tanya of this dimension made years ago. I think I owe it to Zel." The dragon rumbled beneath her warmly, edged with pain. "I want her to have a bit of decency."

                "No..." Deadeye slowly said. "I don't want her to die!"

                "She may anyway." Tanya shook her head. "The damage is severe... I don't know if I could fix it all."

Deadeye leaned over and hugged the dragon. "But she's all I have...."

                "No... I'm not." the dragon said shakily. "Wildwing... I have a favor to ask of you." Wildwing came and knelt by Zelda, leaning down for her to whisper in his ear. "Take her back... please... take her to the place where you arrived here...."

                "I will Zelda... I promise you that."

                "Thank you." she took his hand and squeezed it. "You have saved the both of us." Wildwing stood again. Deadeye stayed at her side.

                "Now Zel, all it's going to take is a few wires and that will be it." Tanya eased.

                "Take it all off Tanya, please..." Zelda squirmed slowly. "I want to be free of this... finally."

                "I will Zel." Tanya promised. She activated her Omnitool and started prodding around. The dragon scanned her eyes across the team and smiled weakly.

                "The Zelda of your dimension is in good hands." she sighed. "I will have no worries." She lay back down and tried to hold herself still.

                "Found it Zel." Tanya hesitated.

The dragon softly squeezed Deadeye's hand and rumbled. "I will always be with you." she whispered. "Goodbye, my friends." With one snip of her Omnitool's scissors, Tanya sheared through a few wires, and suddenly the sparking and clicking of the mechanics stopped. The dragon drew a deep breath in on her own, before her body slowly sank, and her eyes faded, and closed. The cave was left in a hollow silence. Deadeye shivered gently, and slowly bent over Zelda's form, crying silently. She took the dragon's head up and cradled it, sobbing. Wildwing put a hand on her shoulder. A deep feeling welled up in his stomach. It was fear... or possibly a mix of emotions: anger at his dimensional counterpart, sadness for both Zelda and Deadeye, he couldn't tell. But Wildwing felt a knot grow in his stomach, like he was going to be sick. It was a feeling he'd never had before. Maybe it was his wounds... but he knew that was a lie. He patted Deadeye gently and looked down at his feet.

                "I'm... I'm alright..." she said slowly. "Don't fuss over me." she wiped her face of tears. Wildwing sighed.

                "Deadeye, part of me says to leave you alone... and another part says... I don't know." he looked away.

                "I trust you." she said slowly.

                "What?" Wildwing turned to her, his face worn from the fighting.

                "I....I trust you." she repeated, stammering as she sat down on a rock and began to cry again. Wildwing walked over to her and knelt beside her.

                "And?"

                "I love you...." she whispered, beginning to cry harder. She suddenly jumped up, wrapping her arms around Wildwing's neck and holding him tightly. She cried violently into his armor.

                "I know..." was the only response Wildwing could form.... he didn't know whether to say those infamous three words or not.

                "I know." she whispered. Wildwing held her tight and tried to console her, but nothing would ever make up for this life... this so-called life she had lived. He knew that. The leader let out a sigh, leaning his head against hers and closing his eyes. What was left now? What would become of her? Wildwing didn't care. He would let no harm come to her, no one would ever hurt her again. He would make sure of that.

 

                They all left the cave together a few hours later, Tanya with a sad face. She alone had taken off all the mechanical parts, and seen the damage beneath. Zelda could never have survived through the hit she had taken so many years ago. Tanya was always thankful for Zelda's altruism, but she never would have thought that it would kill her. Deadeye walked, still leaning sadly on Wildwing's shoulder. It was a silent time as the team traveled slowly through the forest as the sun was setting. Finally, they stopped as they turned to go back towards the cave.

                "Where to now?" Duke asked.

                "We could go back to the cave." Mallory said, seeing as how it was getting dark.

                "You have anything you want to get?" Wildwing asked Deadeye gently. She shook her head sadly.

                "I've got an idea." he said, and headed off, away from the cave.

 

                The sun had long disappeared from the sky, and now the golden spears it cast between the tree trunks of the forest were fading as well, leaving only a golden glow on the undersides of the clouds in the sky.

                "Wildwing... where are we going?" Nosedive caught up with him as he and Deadeye followed the river along the grassy bank.

                "Something Zelda told me." he said quietly. "I just want to check it out." Grin suddenly held his arm out and stopped the group.

                "What is it Grin?" Tanya asked. "Trouble?"

                "Uneven vibes...." he muttered. "I know why Zelda sent us here." he said, walking slowly forward. The team stood puzzled, until a gateway suddenly exploded open about 20 feet in front of him. The violent whirlwind surprised all of them, but Grin remained planted firmly in his stance. "She sent us here to go home."

 

                The team had arrived back in Anaheim with no further trouble, and returned to the Pond to find Zelda in a frantic search for them with Drake 1. As they walked in, she ran up to them, obviously relieved.

                "Hey, you guys have been gone almost a half an hour!" she said. The others were puzzled, it had nearly been two days! "I was scared sick when that gateway swallowed you up, what on earth happened in there? Are any of you hurt?"

                "A little." Wildwing admitted. "We'll explain everything in the infirmary. Zelda stood sniffing the group quickly.

                "And we've brought a visitor?" Deadeye parted through the crowd, and both she and Zelda were surprised to see each other. "Another Duck?" Zelda smiled bewilderedly.

                "Zelda.... you're... normal!" Deadeye gasped happily. The dragon was surprised she knew her name!

                "Like I said, we'll explain everything." Wildwing drew his arm around Deadeye and led the entire team down a corridor, towards the infirmary.

 

                Zelda sat in bewilderment as she was running a few tests on Deadeye, still digesting the whole story. Wildwing sat by Deadeye's side, watching her like a hawk. Zelda thought to herself slowly. She never knew the team would have it in them to fit her out with mechanical parts to keep her alive... she has never even thought. Perhaps they just couldn't let her go... perhaps they thought she wouldn't mind. Zelda thought the team knew she wasn't really fully comfortable with human technology and machines... maybe they didn't, not when an emergency arose. Maybe it was time for a few changes around here. The dragon shook it off, picking a syringe off of a metal table near her. She turned back to Deadeye and smiled.

                "I'll need some blood, I'm afraid." she said gently. "Do you trust me?" Deadeye looked back at the dragon and rolled up her sleeve. She wasn't any different.

                "Yes, I do." she nodded. Zelda motioned for Tanya's help.

                "This'll be just a little prick..." Tanya warned, taking the needle and inserting it. Deadeye tensed and squeezed Wildwing's hand.

                "Ow." he remarked.

                "What is it?" Zelda looked up at him.

                "She's squeezing my hand..." he smiled with a gingerly flinch. "Tightly." Deadeye blushed and let go as the needle was removed.

                "Alright then, just a few questions." Zelda continued, smoothing a band-aid over the prick point and picking up a clipboard as Tanya walked over to test the blood.

                "Yeah?" Deadeye fussed with the band-aid.

                "Do you play hockey?" Zelda cocked a pen curiously.

                "I haven't for a long time... but yeah."

                "What position?" Wildwing walked around to the other side of the bed.       

                "Left wing." she answered with a smile. "If only I could remember those days..."

                "What was your number?" Zelda put the clipboard down and turned her full attention to Deadeye.

                "Um... 44, yeah." Deadeye cracked her knuckles, then her neck.

                "Well you're in luck." Zelda smiled. "We don't have a 44 on the team right now, but we'll set you up, right Wing?"

                "I don't see why not." he smiled down at Deadeye.

                "Good, then you're free to go." Zelda hopped away to help Tanya. Deadeye looked after her a little wistfully.

                "What?" Wildwing asked her.

                "I'm sorry... my Zelda... didn't look like her. I wish she could see this." Deadeye hung her head. Wildwing put his hand beneath her chin to lift it, gazing into her eyes.

                "Who knows, maybe she can." he said, smiling. Gently, slowly, he leaned over and kissed her. Deadeye at first tensed, then slowly relaxed, and kissed him back, closing her eyes.

                "Awww...." Mallory cooed comically, elbowing Nosedive.

                "Sick dude that's my bro!" he snapped back. "I'm outta here, getting something to eat." The rest of the team filtered out politely, leaving the two to themselves. Wildwing and Deadeye didn't notice. Deadeye pulled

back and took Wildwing's hand.

                "Why did......you?" Deadeye pulled back further.

                "I.... I don't know what my counterpart did to you.... personally I don't care..... you.." His gut sank farther into his stomach. "I promised Zelda......I.....well.." Wildwing couldn't get his words.  "I'm your guardian now...and well I love you." He pulled her close and kissed her.

Deadeye pulled back.  "I.....I never told Wildwing I loved him like I meant it......It's

just that I......" Deadeye began to cry.

                "No." Wildwing held her softly not hurting her. "I'm sorry.....me and my big beak." me murmured softly. 

All Deadeye could say was. "Wildwing I trust you." She slipped from his grasp....

Wildwing lowered his head

"And…"

He perked up, there was an 'and'.

"I love you too."

Wildwing smiled and walked to her taking her hand. This would be the start of a beautiful friendship.

 

                "Man it is good to be home." The next morning found Dive sitting in the galley, sipping a glass of orange juice with his feet up on the table.

                "No kiddin'." Duke agreed. "If I'd had to spend one more night sleepin' on dirt and leaves... I'd freak."

                "One glance at you in the morning and I freak!" Nosedive laughed. Duke feigned looking hurt and swept back his matted hair.

                "Hey now... I just don't look so good in da mornings, I'm not a mornin' kinda guy okay?" he put his hands up in defense. Mallory walked in, not exactly a fashion model herself, but with a smile on her face.

                "Sleep well?" Nosedive yawned.

                "Like a log." Mallory yawned back. "I haven't slept so long in my life." She ran her fingers through her red hair and sat down next to Duke, hanging her head.

                "Mal?" Duke got up and moved closer to Dive. "Is that you or Madame Medusa?" Duke and Dive stared at her and began to laugh uncontrollably.

                "HA! Madame Medusa!" Nosedive keeled over on the floor, holding his gut. Duke leaned on the table for support. He opened his eyes just in time to catch a flash of red as he was beaned by an apple. Duke fell to the floor on top of Dive, where they both lay dazed.

                "My head HURTS!" Duke whimpered, before he collapsed on the floor, Mallory laughing over the table.

 

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! Also, special thanks must be given to Deadeye. Her character is also not copyright Disney, and must be used by her standards. Muchas gracias girl!