A Pond Divided

Written by Zelda

 

 

                "Well I think it's nice that you guys are coming over to watch the game." said Wildwing, folding his arms.

                "Yeah well, we would need a bit of a break, your game against the Foxhounds should suit quite nicely." grinned Zelda. A large number of her clan was in town for a Disneyland parade, and Zelda had invited them to come and watch a game later that evening at the Pond.                           

                "So when does this whole thing start?" asked Tanya.

                "About a half an hour from now." replied Zelda. "Actually, I should be heading out... have to be a little early, you know."         

                "Sure." said Wildwing. "Come on team, we have a practice in ten minutes." Zelda smiled, and trotted down a separate hallway. Finally, she slid out of the Pond's glass entrance doors, and flew up, lighting on the roof. She basked for a few seconds in the sunshine. She loved the outdoors. It was the only place she could ever feel at home. Of course, the Pond was nice, but it felt too technological, too structured, to ever be a home to her. Still, she had come to be more than used to it. Where she once hesitated to operate the Medicom, she now did so instinctively. Technology was indeed a wonderful and fascinating thing, but it she would never feel comfortable with it. It was not of her nature to need to use it. Finally, she lifted her wings and soared away from the Pond, joining a few other dragons as they drifted away.

 

                Practice was over.

                "Nice job you guys." said Wildwing, walking out of the locker room. "We should be more than ready for the Foxhounds. Remember, warm-up starts in 45 minutes." The team separated, Dive and Tanya heading off to the Galley to get a drink, Grin to meditate before the game, Mallory and Wing to the Ready Room, and Duke off just to take a walk. Mallory walked casually by the Pond's doors, when they opened, and Zelda walked through.                          

                "Enjoy the parade?" Wildwing asked casually.                             

                "You guys shoulda been there." Zelda grinned.                           

                "Yeah." snorted another dragon, by the name of Elderberry, coming through the doors after her. "I'm still picking confetti out of my scales." She giggled, and then spread her wings before Mallory and Wildwing. "Greetings, Ducks." she grinned.

                "Hey, you guys wanna hang out here? The game starts in about an hour." asked Wildwing.

                "Sure." said another dragon, coming through the doors.

                "I'll show ya around." Zelda smiled proudly to the group that had now assembled before her. She led them off down the halls, and away from Wing and Mallory.    

"Come on, better get a drink before the warm-ups." said Mallory, walking off.

 

                15 minutes until warm-ups. Duke turned around and started heading for the locker room, thinking about the game. He rounded a corner, and found a dark green dragon sniffing at the panels along the walls.

                "Oh, hello." he smiled. The dragon, whose name was Razorthorn, turned around.

                "Oh, you must be one of the Ducks." he replied.          

                "Duke L'Orange." Duke smiled, introducing himself.

                "You've got quite a place here." Razorthorn started.

                "Oh, so Zelda's shown ya around?" Duke asked.                         

                "Not yet. I've seen enough on my own." Razorthorn replied quickly. "Your Drake One, the Medicom, it's all computerized, isn't it?" he continued.                

                "Yeah." replied Duke. Razorthorn frowned. "We dragons don't like this modern technology." he snorted, sniffing suspiciously.

                "Oh?" asked Duke, almost a little surprised at Razorthorn's harshness. "Zelda doesn't seem to mind it much." Razorthorn's eyes suddenly thinned in rage. He lunged at Duke powerfully, and knocked him flat on his back against the floor. "Hey! What are--" he yelped in protest.

                "You aliens have done something to her, haven't you?" he roared at Duke. "You've changed her. I know Zelda, she HATES machinery!" Before Duke could reply, Razorthorn clamped his claws over his bill. "Well, I'm about to fix you, bird. I'll fix you so good that your own teammates won't recognize you. And Zelda will realize what a monster hides beneath these feathers!"

 

                "Where is he? Warm-ups start in almost ten minutes!" said Tanya, looking about the locker room. "He hasn't even changed into his uniform yet." Zelda suddenly walked in.

                "Well, all my kind's accounted for, except a few. They might have chosen to sit this game out."         "Zelda, have you seen Duke?" asked Wildwing.                          

                "No." replied Zelda, frowning. "I though he would be here by now." Wildwing removed his goalie mitt, and opened his com.

                "Duke? Where are you? Warm-ups begin in ten minutes!" The reply that came though was a muffled snorting, and distorted yelps. Zelda stood up, alert.                 

                "Where is he?" she asked.

                "According to the Autotracker, he's near the Ready Room." replied Wildwing.

                "I'll check it out. Duke might be in trouble." Zelda turned quickly, and leapt into the open elevator, heading down into the Ready Room.

 

                Five minutes passed. Waiting in the locker room, the team was ready to go and see what had happened to Zelda and Duke, when their coms went off.

                "Duke?" asked Wildwing.

                "It's me." replied Zelda, panting heavily into the com. "You'd better get down here."

                "Let's go, team." said Wildwing. The team quickchanged out of their hockey uniforms and into their battle gear, taking the elevator down.

 

                The Ducks entered the hallway to find blood and feathers streaked across the floor. Duke was leaning against the wall, head hanging doggedly down across his chest. Zelda stood over him, pressing hard against a deep gash in his shoulder.

                "Zelda! What happened?" Mallory cried, running to her.

                "It was one of my kind." replied Zelda. "Razorthorn. I chased him off."

                "Let's get him to the infirmary. Now!" yelled Wildwing, helping to hoist the barely conscious Duke off of the floor. They dragged him into the infirmary, and lay him on a Medicom bed. Zelda quickly started to bandage his wounds, finding more as she went.

                "But why?" asked Mallory, staring at Duke as he lay on the bed. "What made this Razorthorn attack?"

                "I don't know." said Zelda, frustrated.

                "Tanya, how's he doing?" asked Wildwing, leaning over to Tanya, who was monitoring the Medicom feedout.                            

                "He's stabilizing out... he should be okay." said Tanya, reading the data carefully. Finally, Zelda stepped back, wiping the feathers off of her claws.                            

                "That should do it." suddenly, Phil came running in.

                "Hey, what's up Boobies, you got a game you're late for!" he yelled angrily.

                "Cancel the game!" snorted Wildwing.

                "Awww, come on Boobies..." started Phil.

                "Stuff it Phil." Dive growled. Finally, he turned around and stormed out of the infirmary. Zelda snarled.

                "I have to find Razorthorn. If he doesn't have a REALLY good reason for ripping Duke up like this I'll tear him in two!" She started to go, but couldn't leave Duke's side. "I'll be back very shortly." she said, finally bounding towards the door. She flew out of the Pond and onto the roof, where a congregation of dragons had now gathered.

                "Hey Zelda, what's up with the game?" asked one as she landed.

                "Scratch it." she snarled. "Where's Razorthorn?" she asked to everyone present.

                "I haven't seen him." replied a few dragons, while others shook their heads.

                "Why?" asked Ginger.

                "Because he nearly killed Duke, that's why." she snarled in reply. "If ANY of you see him, bring him to me. Use force if you have to!"

                "Is Duke okay?" asked Hazel, worried.

                "He'll be okay." Zelda replied.

                "Zelda, we can fly a patrol if you want." volunteered a few dragons.

                "Thanks. He could be anywhere by now." she replied. "Just let me know if anything comes up." She left, leaping off of the roof and diving back down. She had to get back to the others.

 

                That night held little peace for Zelda. Tanya and Wildwing had taken care of the less than courteous press, and the team had settled down. Duke had revived a little, and told her slowly what had happened. She knew Razorthorn, and he had really messed Duke up. Dragons seldom attack with such force unless in the blindness of total rage. But Razorthorn still had yet to be found, and Zelda was still at a loss for what she could do to punish him. If Razorthorn had attacked a dragon without provocation, the punishment could have been one thing.                             

                "If the dragon he attacked was wounded to the death or in the range of it, the attacker would be claimed the clan Scapegoat, and probably killed by the others in their anger after his title was crowned." She told Grin quietly, as they sat in the infirmary. "If the dragon wasn't badly hurt, he would still be named a Scapegoat, and would spend a long amount of time being tormented by the others."

                "Just what is a scapegoat, according to your kind?" asked Grin in reply.

                "A dragon's pride is very important. When one becomes a scapegoat, they are teased, denied the right of way at feeding areas, maybe even battered around a bit." Zelda replied. "It takes a long time for our kind to forgive such a ruthless act, and a long time for a Scapegoat to think his actions over." Grin nodded.

                "But don't you think that's a little harsh? I mean, what if you get a bias judge?" asked Mallory.         "That's what I'm trying not to become." sighed Zelda. "You guys are my comrades. I'd protect you the same way I'd protect my own kind, but more than a few will disagree with me if I judged this as if Duke were a dragon." Mallory nodded. "But seeing Duke like that... I can't turn my back on him."

                "Your laws are unclear on this point." nodded Grin.

                "This has never happened before." said Zelda. "There is no law that is definite. And if there was, I probably wouldn't be too happy about it." The night was a rough one, spent watching for the press, flying back and forth, and checking on Duke. Finally, an elderly dragon named Ebony approached Zelda.

                "It's been a long night, you should really get some sleep." she said gently.

                "At a time like this?" said Zelda, surprised.    "You have to be in your coolest frame of mind for this judgment you have to make. What if we find Razorthorn tomorrow." Zelda sighed.

                "You're right, but I can't leave Duke like this..."

                "Come on." smiled Ebony.

                "Okay, okay." said Zelda, walking away. "I'll see you in the morning."

 

                Zelda awoke early the next morning. She trotted into the infirmary, but didn't want to wake Duke up, and left instead. Flying up, she lighted gently on the roof.        

                "Sleep well?" smiled Ebony. Zelda was about to reply, when Lightning landed next to her.

                "We've found him!" she panted.

                "Excellent work. Get him to the roof, it's time we had a bit of a trial." She dove back down, and into the Pond once again.

 

                Zelda landed with a swoosh in the Ready Room.                          

                "What's up?" asked Tanya.

                "They've found him." replied Zelda darkly. "We've got two choices. We can either bring everyone in here, or bring everyone out there." she continued, gesturing to the roof of the Pond.

                "We can move Duke." said Wildwing. They walked off quickly for the infirmary.

 

                As the rest of the dragons assembled themselves on the roof, the Ducks walked out, Duke limping along with Nosedive's help. The clouds swirled overhead, splotched by a few lightened patches.

                "You okay?" asked Zelda, leaning up against Duke.

                "Hey, I'm fine." Duke smiled back.

                "Good. This shouldn't take long." Zelda smiled, and darted up into the sky. She landed an the top part of the roof, using its raised surface as a podium. She folded her wings and held her self in a dignified and powerful manner. "Is everyone here?" she asked. Without any negative response, she continued. "My friends, it was yesterday afternoon, before the scheduled game with the Foxhounds, that a VERY unfortunate incident occurred." Zelda scanned the crowd. "Duke, is it true that you were attacked by a dragon approximately ten minutes before warm-ups were supposed to begin?"

                "Yes." said Duke, feeling as if he were in some kind of wildly open courtroom.

                "And is it true that the dragon who attacked you is among us here?" Zelda asked.              

                "Yes." replied Duke, leaning up slightly.

                "Duke, could you point to who attacked you?" asked Zelda. Duke shifted his weight, and eyed the crowd, who were all staring either at him or at Razorthorn. He slowly lifted his bandaged hand and pointed to Razorthorn himself. The wind ripped across the roof, causing Zelda's wing's to ruffle a bit. "Thank you Duke." she said coldly. "Razorthorn. On your honor and pride as a dragon..."

                "Yeah, scratch it Zelda." Razorthorn snapped.                              

                "Were you the one who attacked Duke?" she snarled.

                "Yeah." he snapped quickly.

                "Might I ask you to explain why?"

                "Yeah, I'll explain. You've been changed. You used to hate machines. And here come these Ducks from some other universe, and they have all their high-tech gadgets, and what do you do? You up and leave, and move right in with these birds." Zelda snarled. "I mean look at it. Their whole operation is based on machines!" Razorthorn slumped back down.

                "Let me tell you something Razorthorn. You've surprised me. I never though I would hear such benevolent assumptions coming from you." Zelda reared up. "The Ducks are my comrades. I would give my life for them, and it's unfortunate that YOU can't claim the same for anyone. I took up house with them to help in their quest: the destruction of our own evil ancestor. What you did to Duke was out of false rage and blindness. You've proven only your foolishness, Razorthorn."

                "So sue me." he muttered in angry reply. Zelda pulled away from him, and spoke to the group.

                "If anyone has any evidence or reason why Razorthorn should not be held guilty for this charge, speak now." Nobody spoke. "Very well, you see how your own kind falls away from you at your assumptions." Zelda snarled. "Now, as punishment for the wounds you have caused, I name you the clan scapegoat." Immediately, a few dragons started snapping angrily in Razorthorn's direction. Zelda knew what it meant, and intervened quickly. "However, I forbid anyone from purposely killing you. You'll be left good due time to think about what you've done." Zelda pulled away again. "Is there anyone who thinks this punishment is too harsh or too soft?" There was pondering amongst the dragons, but no one spoke. "Very well. Razorthorn, I order you to fly back to our Territory. Go back and explain yourself to the other leaders. Anyone else who wants to go back can fly escort with him." Razorthorn was nudged harshly away, and flew with several others off into the thickening sky. Zelda sighed heavily, and leapt down off of the "podium". She went up to Duke.

                "Well?" he asked.

                "Well, it's done. Razorthorn has received his 'justice'. It's his ideas that still linger."

                "What do you mean?" asked Tanya. Drey, a young hatchling dragon, leapt up on Zelda's snout to reply.      

                "She means the there may be others with the same ideas in their heads." Zelda nodded proudly at the hatchling.

                "Or that this trial was propaganda to help him get his idea across. But I'm not THAT worried. The others were brought to see just how foolish his ideas were, and how he paid for creating them." She turned towards Redback, another dragon who had come up to her.                

                "You going back?" she asked.

                "Yes, I suppose some of us should get back home." Zelda grinned.

                "Give my regards to the other leaders." she said, bowing out, and watched as Redback sailed away the clouds. For a split second, she wished she could go with them. Her old Territory had not been seen in months. She rarely got the time to go back when she was way out here in Anaheim. But she snapped back to herself. What was she thinking? She knew why she was out here, and besides, how could she bring herself to leave her teammates? She turned back to Duke. "Come on, let's get you back inside." As a warm rain began to fall on the roof, the group trooped though the door, and inside the cavernous rink once again.

 

                "So that is how we keep our laws." Zelda grinned, rearing up beside Mallory, as she sat down.        

"It's an impressive system." said Tanya.

                "Well, our laws aren't exactly carved in stone, like other governments. They are based on what is considered right and fitting for the time."

                "Well, I think it fit Razorthorn." said Grin. "He should have many days to reconsider his hasty actions."

                "Indeed." Zelda sat down and pawed at the metal flooring of the Ready Room. This place was like a second home, not because of what it was, but because of the residents within it.

 

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!