The Light

Written by Zelda

 

                What had happened... and where was she? Reality was fleeting before her. Zelda was barely conscious. As she started to regain her senses, the first one that was fully restored was the sense of pain... incredible pain. It felt as if every bone in her body was crushed, every muscle pulled, every nerve on overdrive... but it was slow and dull, a sleepy pain. It pushed her back, fading her into unconsciousness again, and she saw stars behind her eyelids, dancing slowly. Zelda fought it, her questions overcoming her senses. What had happened, and where was she? She lay on some surface, not earth... but cold, clean, and alien. There was warmth somewhere near her. Zelda's eyelids fluttered open to find blackness beyond. Was she blind? Were her eyes open at all? A thought somehow found her attention in the midst of all these questions: Was she dead?

 

                Perhaps on the brink, the fearful possibility came slowly. Zelda struggled to remember what had been happening to her just before... how she could have gotten here. But reality was fleeting before her, the pain was pushing her back. Back towards the warmth? Towards death? She might have panicked if she could, if her thoughts could move that quickly. The pain slowed everything but the pain itself. Her throat wouldn't answer the need for her to cry out. Her body wouldn't obey a call to silence. She must be dying, or dead, or somewhere between. She came to the slow determination that she had to end it... it was unbearable. Her head swam as she channeled all of her strength to lifting an arm, to following the warmth. She had to... ancestors help her. As the arm raised and stretched, it suddenly came back to her, every scale reformed in racing electricity and tensed nerves. Reality dropped from beneath her, her head spun, and Zelda was forced to abandon her effort. Her arm thudded back to the ground, and she was left gasping in the blackness. Her senses came to her through her racing heart, the stars before her eyes, the dampness in the air, the taste of her own blood in her mouth. The pain was pushing her back. She struggled to hold on to reality. Through it, the determination found its way to her again. This had to end...

 

                That thought, that purpose, came to the forefront as Zelda opened her eyes again. Her senses were now hers. There had to be a way out. Zelda focused and slowly, creakingly, lifted her arm again. What had happened to her? As the pain brought her limb back towards the ground, another sense raced back. She had touched something. The warmth. Zelda struggled to comprehend through the pain. What? Her forepaw now rested on the warmth. She fed on it... she had to. But what was it? The pain frustrated her, made her unable to answer her questions. But the warmth beneath her moved. It withdrew from her, almost furtively, slowly. She strained in the darkness to seek it out again. Sound in air being thinner than her thoughts, a soft moan caught her ears before she could react further. Reality snapped back to her as she searched for an identity to that sound. Thousands of names trundled through her head. Her paw stretched across the warmth again... something soft, moving slightly. Her searching eyes met only darkness and stars, but her nose caught something. She struggled to comprehend it all. And she slowly realized who it was.

 

                Nosedive lay in the blackness beside her. Identity brought a flood of relief to her, and she sank back for a moment, but the pain pulled her further than she wanted to go. She had to get closer... he was in pain as well, she could feel it now. What had happened to them? Her throat came back into function as she tried to call his name, the sound barely echoing back in her own ears with its weakness. There was a pause that seemed to last forever in the darkness... had he heard her?

                Then, just as weakly, he responded. "That... you Zel?" he whispered dryly.

                Zelda could only squeak in reply. She had to get closer to him. Slowly, his hand turned under hers, and his fingers wrapped up around her claws. She pushed with her other arm as it lay stretched along her side, trying to get to him. Stars surged up before her eyes again... the pain was pushing her back. But she held on to Dive's hand, her only grip to reality. Thoughts swam up to her... she wasn't dead... not with him here. He was pulling her towards him as well, her snout slowly butted up against his chest armor. It was an immense relief just to have him there.

                His body tensed as he tried to speak again. "What... happened?" he asked weakly.

                "...Don't know..." Zelda managed. Her jaws were almost impossible to move. The blood in her mouth was thick. Why was she bleeding? Her mind reeled as she tried to remember. There was some blow to her jaw... but when, and how?

                Nosedive took a deep breath. "The light..."

 

                The light... he was absolutely correct. Again, there came another flood of thought to her crowded brain. The light was the last thing that she remembered. There was a blinding white flash... and the rest was that pain that lingered with her, even now. Reverting to the thought of it pushed her back again. She was distracted as Nosedive raised his other hand and patted her gently on the snout. His fingers ran across a patch of skin and she suddenly snarled, a new race of pain coming back. What was that? Zelda hissed and tried to get the stars to go away. The hit to her jaw... that was it... Where had it come from?

                "What?..." Nosedive asked gently.

                Zelda snorted and tried her best to settle. "Trying... to remember..." she did her best to explain.         Nosedive winced. "I can't..." he sighed.

                She could almost picture him in the darkness, her mind was coming back to her. He was in just as much pain, trying just as desperately to hold on to conscious thought. But the light... what had happened? Where were they? Where were the others? Zelda gulped down slowly, soaking her dry throat with her own blood. The taste was nauseating. Her tongue wandered over her mouth weakly, finding a gash in her upper lip, from one of her lower teeth, right below the spot that Dive had touched. What had happened to her? Futility and pain ganged up on her again. She felt her senses falling away, and she lost Nosedive. Struggling back, she pulled towards the warmth again. They had to stay together.

                He shuddered as well. "The others..." he breathed.

                Zelda rumbled in worry. Where were they? What had happened to them? Her senses were lost to her, she couldn't find them, just as she couldn't find herself. Where were they?

                Nosedive swallowed hard and tried to speak as loudly as he could. "Guys...?" he stammered out.     There was no response, only blackness and encompassing silence.

                Would they have been able to hear if there was a reply?  Zelda whined dryly. There had to be a way out of here. Zelda struggled to remember what had happened to them. But the light was as far back as she could go. The rest was blackness, oblivion. Zelda wouldn't let herself be pulled back, Dive needed her as much as she needed him. The blood in her mouth was disgusting. The pain was pushing her back. And then, there was a clang of metal, a smell that pervaded the air. Zelda's instinct shot through her entire body, and she barely found the strength to roar out in defense.

                The Saurians were here, too.

 

                Her instinct was all she clung to now, and the warmth at her back, all that kept her to reality. The Saurians were here, she could smell them. The blood in her mouth almost seemed to curdle. But somehow, somehow she was standing. Something had driven her up by Nosedive's side. The pain was intense, every cell of flesh begging to be taken by gravity and let back to the floor. But as she would not let gravity, unconsciousness, coldness take her, she would not let the Saurians take Nosedive. She spun to face the sickening smell, her claws rapping on the smooth, alien floor. She hissed, the blood bubbling through her teeth, and peered keenly into the blackness for a glimpse of her assailant. There was only one. The pain was still pushing her back, but she was distracted, and that helped immensely. Her mind reeled as she once again searched for an identity to the stench.

                A bloodlust growl confirmed it.

                "...Back off Siege." she snarled quietly.

                The hefty Saurian planted an elephantine foot closer, and vibrations rattled her screaming nerves. He chuckled, his voice echoing in the darkness. "It's too easy." he sneered. "Just to kill you, like this." The other foot stamped closer. "But you know what would happen if you were full strength."

                The dragoness struggled to stay standing. "You'd...lose." Zelda snarled.

                Siege let out a booming laugh. "Good try." he slapped a knee with a meaty hand. "Maybe you'd scratch me up a bit, you little gecko." He took another step forwards. "But Dragaunus treats me real nice, he does. This is my bonus for bringing you all down with the Light. He lets me kill the two of you, I'll take you as you come. Wraith and Chameleon? Real jealous."

                Stars surged before Zelda's squinted eyes as she took a step forward to meet him. "Not... gonna... happen..." she stammered.

                Again, Siege laughed.

                The sound numbed her ears.

                "You're in no position to say that, little one." he snarled. In one swift motion, he lunged forward, grabbed her by the neck, and flung her across the room.

                She barely had time to register the feeling of flying helplessly through the air, before she hit the wall with a sickening crack of bone and flesh. She fell with a thud, the pain shoving her backwards, the coldness of the floor stealing her strength. Alone, consumed by the pain, lost in the stars before her eyes, she scrabbled for reality. She failed to find a handhold.

 

                Alone, terrified, blind because of the pain, Nosedive only knew that Siege was before him, and on the warpath. He struggled to get up, just as Zelda did. But he was too big, and his bipedal support too frail. He scrambled back against the wall, drowsy as he could feel Siege coming closer, the air growing warmer with his sickening breath.

                "You don't even have a prayer Duck." Siege growled, bringing his face close. "You are mine."

                He could smell the breath, choking him. A hand was suddenly on his chest, it grabbed his armor by the neck, and he was lifted cleanly into the air. His body sagged beneath him, unable to support its own weight, his nerves racing. Even though he couldn't open his eyes, he could see Siege's, beady and yellow, burning right into his skin with rage. He could see his other fist balling up, drawing back, aiming for his forehead.

                And then Zelda screamed, terribly loud, right behind Siege's back.

                Siege let out a howl of pain, even louder, and Nosedive was abruptly dropped.

                He cried out as he hit the floor sharply, Siege stomping above him. There was a struggle, that was all his ringing ears would register. Siege kept snarling out, lashing around, spinning furiously. Blood spattered across Nosedive's legs as he tried to reach the wall again. Zelda was finally caught and sent to the floor, she skidded to a stop just a few feet away from him. And then, silence retook its hold on the room.

 

                Almost silence. There was nothing except for Siege, snorting dumbly, slowly, gasping for breath. He took another staggering step, and the ground reverberated as he came crashing down. Silence returned completely.

                Nosedive sat up against the wall. What had happened? The silence was smothering his thoughts. His heart was still racing, every pulse sending a wash of pain through his body. But he was distracted. Where was Zelda? What had happened? And what about the others? He could smell blood on the floor... he hoped it was Siege's. Somehow, she had managed to take him down, even if for the moment. Dive forced himself to take a moment to breathe, to let the stars fade. Somewhere, off to his right, he could hear Zelda, still breathing. The blackness and the silence worked together, against him. "You there girl?" he whispered. He waited, trying to calm the noise of his own heartbeat, until he heard her response.

                She scratched her talons across the cold floor, gasping.

                Nosedive had to find her in the darkness. Leaning heavily against the wall, armor scraping against it as he moved, he started to crawl slowly over to her. His elbows buckled, his legs refused to work, his spine channeled all protests right into his skull. Just as the pain was starting to get to him, as his limbs started to revolt, his hand suddenly hit up against Zelda's back. She let out a dry protest, a soft cry, and spasmed in pain beside him. Nosedive straightened against the wall and caught her loosely.

                She was still gasping for breath, reeling.

                Dive slowly realized that she must have attacked Siege, and brought him down. But how? He could barely move himself, and she'd just been thrown against a wall! Her body was slowly going limp in his hands. With all of his strength, he pulled her back to the wall, up into his lap, crushed by her normally featherweight body. Exhausted, he breathed heavily and tried to steady her. He could feel her hands, wrists dug weakly into her eye sockets, purely out of fear. Her chest heaved, muscles struggling to work. Nosedive realized that she couldn't recover. She was in some slow, dumb terror, unable to breathe, unable to get past the racing backlash of her nerves. She was being pulled under, violently and quickly.

                A frightened sob broke from her bleeding jaws.

                Dive tried his best to calm her. "Shhh... easy..." he whispered. He was really starting to get worried, on top of everything. He couldn't let her go... he'd go with her eventually. They had to stay together, there was nothing else... nothing...

 

                And then, the pain was gone.

 

                He didn't believe it for a split second, until he moved, moved without the restraints of his seared nerves. What? Nosedive opened his eyes, still seeing blackness, but nothing hurt him anymore. There came a surprised squeak from Zelda, and he knew that she felt it as well.

                "What?" Nosedive spoke without hesitating, without effort. Staring into the blackness, he felt for the wall, braced himself against it, and stood. Zelda rolled off of his stomach, and he could hear her claws clicking on the cold floor. The lack of pain was unbelievable, like a weight off of his armored shoulders, like a pullback from the brink of death.

                "Incredible..." Zelda whispered. "What happened?"

                "I... I dunno." he looked down. "This is impossible."

                "Not that I enjoyed the pain or anything." she said lowly. "But this is too strange. Something's going on. Where's Siege?"

                "Right where you left him, I hope."

                Zelda paced forward, and Dive followed, his legs brushing up against her tail, until she stopped. "Ick."

                Dive finished out his step, and his shoe squished in something thick. He could smell it too, it was definitely blood. "Yikes... what did you do to him!?" Dive asked.

                "Back of the neck... it's his only good weak spot." she said darkly, and licked her teeth. "He's just unconscious. We should get out of here."

                Nosedive found a wingtip in the palm of his hand, and he took it. "Can you see anything?"

                "Just a little."

                "Are we in the Raptor?"

                "I'm not sure... it doesn't smell like it."

                "Zelda, what happened to us?

                "I don't know Dive."

                "Where are the others?"

                "I don't know Dive."

                "Well we've gotta find them!"

                "Calm down!" Zelda hissed. "I'm working on it." She started walking forward, pulling Nosedive slowly behind. "There are bars here..." she said. "Like a prison."

                "Maybe I can get through the lock..." Dive started.

                But he heard a rusty squeak of metal, and Zelda continued forward. "I guess Siege didn't count on us getting up." she whispered.

                There was a tug on the side of Dive's pant leg, gripped lightly in her jaws. He could feel her nervousness, her need to ratify that he was there with her.

                "We're in some kind of hall." she whispered, and Dive could hear the echo.

                "Can you see anything?"

                "Just a little." Zelda repeated. "Certainly not as much as I'd like. We've gotta be careful." But there was suddenly a flash, a rolling white light, scrawling towards them like a solid wave of lightning.                Zelda cried out as it passed over them, and Nosedive could feel for that moment, just for that moment, his nerves raced, his mind reeled, and his knees gave. He went thundering down to the floor, just able to brace himself on all fours. But by the time he opened his eyes again, the light was gone, and the pain disappeared just as quickly.

                Zelda was panting beside him, panicking, eyes darting to and from the hallway that had just vanished into darkness again.

                "Easy girl." he reached out and picked up a wing again, pulling her closer. He stood up himself, trying to quiet his heartbeat, trying to listen. But silence had returned. "What was that?"

                "The light!" Zelda whispered. "That must have been it!"

                "Yeah... but how come we aren't back in the ICU?"

                "I.. I dunno." Zelda rubbed her chin. "But it came from up there. We've gotta get out of here."

                "What did you manage to see?" Dive could tell that she was spooked.

                "You know how they had those bars?" Zelda whispered. "I said it was like a prison. I was exactly right."

                "Draguanus locked us in some prison?!" he nearly yelled.

                "Shhh!"

                "Sorry."

                "Yes." Zelda sighed. "And for everyone's sake, I hope the others are close by... and away from that light." She paced forward slowly, pulling Nosedive again.

                Soon they were close to the wall, and Dive felt along it, smoothly painted, and cold. Rhythmically, his fingers rattled along a row of bars. How twisted was Dragaunus to lock them in here?

                Zelda stopped slowly, and leaned down to sniff the floor.

                "Anything?"

                "Nothing. Stay with me."

                She turned to the left, and Dive found another hallway before them. Nosedive loosened his hold on Zelda's wing, and walked almost at ease. But she suddenly snapped to, snarling, and he knew exactly what that meant.

                "What is it?"

                Zelda growled, glaring into the blackness ahead. "Wraith."

 

                She could smell him, just like she could smell Siege. It was musty, damp, the stench of death and decay. And it was all over the hall. It surrounded her like a cloud. Zelda closed her eyes and tried to find him, tried to concentrate. He was trying to trick her.

                "You are very perceptive, dragon." he sneered. The sound echoed.

                Zelda growled softly. She had to play this right, and she hoped that Nosedive would help her. In this unfamiliar space, with that strange light, and the others gone, she couldn't blow their cover. "Can't cover up that smell." she whispered back, sneering quietly.

                Dive squeezed on her wing nervously.

                "What's going on here Wraith?" Zelda dared to raise her voice a few decibels. "You'd better tell, or you'll end up like Siege." She could hear Wraith draw his breath in, surprised. "That's right." she growled. "How do you think we got out?"

                "What did  you do to us Wraith?" Nosedive joined in. "And where are the others?"

                "You won't need to know." Wraith grinned back. "When the light hits you again, you won't have the strength to care."

                "What is this light?" Zelda asked coldly. "What new weapon have you cooked up now?"

                "Oh, but the best kind." Wraith sneered. "You were lucky. We didn't want you killed at first, but you know just how close you came. The others, however---"         

                "What did you do to them!?" Nosedive snapped.

                "Like I said, you don't need to know."

                "You're pretty tight-lipped." Zelda growled. "You'll talk when we're through."

                "I'd like to see you try, dragon."

                Zelda gently pulled her wing from Nosedive's hand, accepted Wraith's challenge, and leapt into the darkness.

 

                Nosedive pulled back to the wall, now suddenly terrified, not knowing anything. Where was Wraith? Where was Zelda? He was blind, and could only hear as she snapped upward. He could almost picture her leaping in mid-air, latching onto something. Or did she?

                She growled in frustration as her claws met the ground again, and she sprung up for somewhere else. "Coward!" she hissed. "Fight fair!"

                "Only the good guys fight fair." Wraith sneered, and there was the sharp crack of wood against flesh and bone.

                Zelda cried out, and then desperately tried to muffle her own response. She spun around, claws scraping on the floor, sprung, and finally managed to tackle him.

                "Oomph!" The Saurian crashed to the floor, Zelda snarling as she sank her teeth into some part of his frail body. Being bitten, Wraith panicked and brought up a fireball.

                Big mistake. Nosedive could now see him clearly, Zelda latched onto his arm as he tried to bar her from his face. He leapt for Wraith, and with one tug yanked his staff out of the other hand. He swung it like a golf club, and thwacked the Saurian right in the side of his head.

                "Wait Dive!" Zelda put a paw up.

                Wraith's fireball went crashing uselessly into a wall, but some wires that hung from it caught. The faint light that their flame produced was all that Dive had to see by now.

                "I want him conscious." Zelda explained. "He'll tell us what's going on, won't you?" She grabbed him by the front of the robe, lifting his head.

                Wraith groaned drowsily.

                Nosedive must have really hit him. Zelda shook him violently. "Tell us, you living fossil, before I lose my patience."

                The outline of the gaunt Saurian's face sneered dumbly. "Too late..." he whispered, voice hoarse. "You... can't save them now..."

                "What did you do to them?" Zelda threatened him with another shake.

                "...It is... the light..."

                "Yes, what about it?"

                Wraith let out a soft chuckle, then a cough, and slumped back in Zelda's hands.

                He'd passed out! Disgusted, she dropped him to the floor and walked away. "So much for our answers."

                "Sorry." Nosedive whispered.

                "Can't blame you." Zelda looked up. "Getting your shots in when you could. But if Wraith's right, we've got to hurry. Let's keep going this way." She again placed a wingtip in his hand, and led him off, leaving the unconscious Saurian alone on the ground.

                Thinking about what Zelda had said, a question suddenly popped up in Nosedive's mind. "Hey Zel?"

                "Yeah?"

                "Why didn't we kill them?" Zelda stopped.

                "Kill who, Dive?"

                "The henchmen, Wraith and Siege. I mean, they're just lying there."

                There was a silence in the room.

                "...Or we coulda tied them up or something."

                Zelda sighed heavily, and paused again before she spoke. "Death rarely equates to justice Dive." she said. "And... for all the things they have done, I'd rather see my ancestors reformed than extinct."

                She continued walking, and Nosedive followed her in near shock. After all this time, did she still consider them viable relatives? Did she think they were worth saving!? Those creatures had nearly destroyed Puckworld, twice! And if it weren't for them, and their defense of this planet, Zelda might not even be alive! He was bordering on anger when he felt Zelda turn to look at him.

                "Sorry." she said. "It's hard to explain... I just..." she paused again. "It just won't be me, who kills them, if they are killed at all. Somehow I know that." Without another word, she swung her head back and kept walking.

                This attempt at an apology only left Nosedive confused. He decided to drop it. Finding the others was the most important thing right now. They couldn't fall to arguing here. Man, what he wouldn't do for a good taco right now... Suddenly, there was another flash of light, lightning quick. It wasn't coming towards them this time, it seemed to have bounced off something or other, but he still felt it, pain surging up through every part of his body for a split second. It was excruciating! Again he heard Zelda cry out, again he fell down to the floor, and again the light passed, and he was fine. He scrambled back to his feet, and Zelda's wing slipped out of his hand. "Why does that keep happening?!" he whispered.

                Zelda whined and walked ahead a few paces.

                "Hey, don't leave me here!"

                "The others." she whispered.

                "You felt them?" Dive kneeled down.

                She nuzzled against his arm worriedly. "Just for a second..."

                "Where are they?"

                "I'm not sure..." she breathed. "Stay close, we'll have to move fast before I lose them."

                Nosedive grabbed a hold of her wingtip again, stood, and they were both off running. Her urgency was making him even more nervous. That light was doing something to their bodies, and what if the others were right in the way of those beams? He'd hate to think of his brother in the same position that he was in just about 15 minutes ago... What if they were too late? Dive swallowed hard and continued running after her. She skidded to a stop, and was off down another hallway. How could she tell?! It was all that Nosedive could do to keep up.

                Her claws scraped as she skidded again, this time not starting off in another direction.

                Nosedive nearly trampled her as he continued running, and then he quickly stopped.

                "What?" he asked, kneeling down by her. "Chameleon?"

                "No." she breathed quietly, sniffing the air. "I lost them."

                "All of them?"

                "Yes." Her voice was worried.

                "How is that possible?" he wondered aloud.

                Zelda whined in reply.

                That only made Dive worry more. Something must have happened, something big. And now they had nothing to go on. They were as good as lost.

                Zelda ducked her head slowly, pressing a few claws to it. "Wait..." she muttered.

                "You have them back?" Dive asked.

                "No... just a few... just the recoil." she squinted her eyes in concentration. "Follow me." She started to walk, slowly and very unsure, looking into every cell. She sniffed the ground, ears down, head low.

                Nosedive could tell that she was doubtful of where she was going.

                "The recoil..." she whispered. "It's intense... I can't find a direction... it's from everywhere..."              Nosedive frowned. What was she talking about? Zelda's body language was very evident, as if she had completely lost direction.

                She pressed her paw to the side of her head and sighed. "Drat."

                "Where are they Zel?" Dive whispered.

                "Somewhere up there." she waved a paw in a 180 degree arc. "Everything's bouncing, as if it were reflecting off of something."

                "Well that's real helpful." Nosedive sniffed.

                "Yeah." She replied with the same sarcasm. "Let's keep going." She started off walking again, and he followed.

 

                Whatever it was, it must have been maliciously designed. Slowly and carefully, Zelda was working things out in her head. It was difficult, she was trying to concentrate on finding the others. But her mind kept wandering. A weapon designed solely for the purpose of making its victim feel pain? Purely Saurian, and somehow Zelda wasn't surprised. There were a lot of issues as to how the thing worked at all, it looked like a simple bright light. Tanya would be the one to know... if only she'd wake up. Zelda couldn't sense the others at all, which meant they were unconscious, or---

                "We there yet Zel?"

                She was grateful that Dive had interrupted her. "I still can't find them Dive." she replied with a sigh.

                "Look, this isn't getting us anywhere." he said back. "We've gotta get moving, we don't know what they're doing with the others."

                "You're right." she whispered back. "We know that they're up ahead... but let's be careful. Chameleon and Draguanus, and stars know how many drones, are in here too."

Nosedive snorted a little, irritated. "If it's a fight they want, they'll get it from me." he punched one hand with the other, and they both continued ahead, quickening their pace.

                It wasn't the fight that worried Zelda, but what they would find afterwards.

 

End of Part 1

 

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!