"You have ten seconds to impress the shit outta me before I decide to go back to bed."
"Would you be patient for once in your life?" Flynn muttered, tapping at the computer console. Chase leaned back in his chair, looking around at the rest of the Brotherhood. They were all gathered around Flynn Torve, watching as he typed keystrokes into the machine. Glancing at his watch, Chase groaned. It was three in the morning. What could possibly be important enough to wake the whole group up and drag them to Guild headquarters at this time of the night? Reaching over to the chair next to him, Chase patted Jake on the back.
"You doing okay, Kid?" Jake nodded sleepily.
It had been three months now since Dak found Jake. His recovery was slower than Chase liked, but he was making some progress. Lestat was pleased with the outcomes of his therapy that he gave Jake. Jake's limp was less pronounced, and some of his scars had faded--and the episodes were getting shorter. When he'd first arrived, Jake went into fits nearly every hour, but now he was usually down to once every day or two. Chase shuddered thinking of the sleepless nights he'd spent, strapping the poor, delirious boy down to his bed to keep him from hurting himself... or them. And of course finding out about Duke hadn't helped Jake either.
Chase sighed raggedly. The Saurian invasion had taken it's toll on Puckworld; nothing was left untouched. Baconus had lost dozens of buildings and hundreds of civilians, the Smuggler's Guild had lost precious money and equipment, and the Brotherhood had lost their leader, Duke L'Orange. Such is the price of war. The only thing to do now was to pick up and move on. Chase had never been more grateful to Lestat for sticking around to help Chase with his new duties as leader of the Brotherhood. Lestat's presence was a real comfort to everyone there, especially Jake. He'd even come with them today, but he looked none too pleased about it.
"Ah, here we are." Flynn said triumphantly. They all turned and drew their weapons, hearing a knock on the door. "Relax, all of you! I've never met a bunch of people more high strung than you guys are. Come in, ladies." he called. In walked a small group of women accompanied by two men. Arimus looked at them, shocked.
"Aathos!" Arimus said. Aathos looked at him, equally confused.
"Arimus?" he asked, puzzled. Arimus was a part of a legendary trio of thieves affectionately known by the Guild as the Three Musketeers. Aathos, his lifelong friend, happened to be another member of the group. Of course, as time went on they were separated and divided among the Guild, each one serving as an advisor. Porthos was Flynn's personal advisor, Arimus was allied with the Brotherhood, and Aathos was with the Black Rose Society. Everyone in the room made the connection instantly and drew their weapons.
"Well, I'm glad you have enough sense to recognize each other." Flynn said grimly. "Now put down your guns, we're all on the same team here." They obediently put their weapons down, unsure of what to do. Flynn turned to the boys. "Gentlemen of the Brotherhood of the Blade, I'd like you to meet the Black Rose Society."
"Hey guys!!!" Phil yelled out. "BOOBULAS!!!!" Phil sat down for a moment to catch his breath. "The things I do to make a buck around here," he muttered. As soon as the Mighty Ducks saw him coming, they scattered. Phil should have known better to come in with the contracts in his hand. "Come on guys, it's just one photo shoot!!! There's free food!!!" Phil heard a voice call out, but it was almost immediately muffled. He quickly determined where it had come from and opened the closet door. Nose Dive and Grin fell out. "AH HA!!!" Phil yelled.
"How can one so small have a stomach so damn big?" Grin asked Nose Dive angrily, getting up to dust himself off.
"I can't help it, man." Nose Dive whined, "I have a fast metabolism." Wild Wing poked his head out from under the sofa and crawled out.
"Listen Phil, we can't keep this up. It takes too much time to hide from you every time you come up with another one of these stupid stunts. Why don't you just give up already?"
Phil turned to look at Wild Wing solemnly, "Now how can you say that? Did Superman ever give up in his quest for truth, justice, and the American way? Did Batman ever give up in his fight against crime? Never! I shall never submit! My course is clear and I will continue to battle on in my ultimate quest for-"
"Money." Mara said curtly, cutting him off. Everybody laughed as Duke and Mara walked in.
"Did we miss much?" Duke asked with a grin.
"Not an awful lot." Mallory said, approaching them, "So what have you two been up to?" she asked suggestively.
"Oh, the usual." Mara said, trying to hide her nervousness. Did Mallory suspect something? She glanced at Duke, who made a face back at her. No, she had no clue...Mallory was just teasing them, as always.
"So what's he trying to con us into now?" Duke asked, jerking his head in Phil's direction.
"Me? Con?" Phil asked, looking wounded, "I'm hurt, Duke....genuinely hurt." he sniffled for a moment. "So, how'd you guys like to pose for 'the Hunter's Forum'? Its a very well respected publication! And they'll pay very well."
Amber shook her head, putting an arm around Phil's shoulder, " Oh Phil, Phil, Phil. You don't seem to grasp the situation. We WILL NOT promote an industry whose sole purpose is to hunt down our feathered brethren."
"You're not even really related!! You guys are from a different planet."
"She's right, Phil. And besides," Wild Wing added in purposefully, "We don't advocate blood sports."
Phil shook his head, "Iguanas. I should've had a team of hockey playing iguanas.
After the initial discomfort had passed, not to mention the shock that arose when the gangs discovered that Jake was a mutual acquaintance of theirs (They finally pieced together that Amber, the Lady Smuggler's little sister was dating Jake, The master of the Brotherhood's apprentice) the Black Rose and the Brotherhood actually proved to work very well together. They might have been formidable allies if they'd met before the Saurian Invasion. Within a half hour they had all gotten pretty well acquainted and focused their joint attention on pressing Flynn into explaining himself.
"I ain't got all day, Flynn. Hurry your ass up!"
Flynn smiled at Maxine, "Calm yourself my dear, it's downloading. Believe me, you'll find it's well worth the wait for what I have to show you."
"Spit it out Flynn, I hate surprises." Lestat growled darkly, letting his piercing yellow eyes glare meaningfully at Flynn. Just then, the screen turned green.
"There, it's finished." Flynn Torve stood up and cleared his throat, "The Black Rose and the Brotherhood haven't met in the same room like this for over 25 years. It may have been foolish of me to allow the longstanding rivalry to continue for as long as it did, but you all know me, I'm big on tradition. But times change. Planets realign, cities are destroyed, and leaders disappear." He paused and tapped on the screen, revealing a large star map. "You've got more in common than you think. Before the Saurian Wars began you were the two highest ranking and highest earning gangs in the Guild. Then approximately two years ago your respective leaders, Miss Mara Jade and Mister Duke L'Orange, disappeared."
"Whoa..." Aathos said, "Miss Mara Jade? You mean Mistress Jade... and Master Duke L'Orange."
Flynn stood up, bracing himself, "No, they were masters in the Guild. When they left to join the Resistance specifically against my orders they were stripped of their rank and membership in the Guild, by law." Everyone stared at him.
Jake shook his head, grasping the arm of the chair he was sitting in. "That's impossible, Master Torve... Duke's dead."
Flynn smiled weakly at Jake. "No he's not, Son. But technically according to Guild statutes if he's ever found he'll be executed for treason." Chase sat down, weak-kneed.
"The Resistance?" he put his head in his hands. There was no way. Flynn must have been mistaken, Duke wouldn't do something crazy like that.
"Prove it." Heather said, speaking up for the first time. Master Torve sat back down.
"She told me." he said softly.
"WHAT?!" everyone yelled at him.
"SHE TOLD ME!" Flynn yelled back. "Mara came into my office and told me she was leaving to join the Resistance."
"What'd you do?" Randall asked.
"What'd I do?? What do you think I did? I went crazy. I-I told her if she left I'd hunt her down and bring her back. I told she'd lose her title. I told her she'd be killed in two weeks, she'd never see any of you again, I'd never speak to her again... What could I do? She kissed me on the forehead, said she'd miss me, and left." Flynn hung his head slightly but then lifted it up again with a new air. "However, it has taken time but their specific connection with the Resistance was tracked down and..."
"And what?" Randall asked.
"And I just located them." The room erupted into commotion with yells and arguments from everyone. Silently though, Jake started to shake. Lestat noticed the silent trembling first.
"Jake...?" he asked. "Are you alright?" By this point Jake was standing and pointing at the computer screen repeating the word "Duke" again and again. "Shit, somebody get the restraint!" Lestat yelled before Jake started screaming. The members of the BRS stopped yelling and stood frozen in place, unsure of what was happening as Chase and Randall ran out of the room and Lestat grabbed Jake fiercely. Lestat held Jake's arms behind his back while Jake struggled to get loose, screaming the whole time. Chase and Randall returned to the room with a stretcher and Lestat tried carrying Jake over to it, ignoring the Jake's kicks. After Lestat finally thrust Jake down on the board, Paul started pulling the cinches on the side of it tight over Jake's small body while working around Lestat who was holding Jake down. It was a 10 minute struggle before Jake finally stopped screaming and just lay quivering underneath the cinches. Flynn shook his head sadly.
"Maybe he shouldn't have come along," Flynn sighed. "I wanted all of the members of both the BRS and BOTB to be present and make the journey to find them."
"But what if they get killed from the Guild's rules?" Heather asked nervously. Flynn shook his head.
"We'll worry about that upon return. As of now, you have 4 hours to pack and get ready... we cannot leave too much later," Flynn turned his attention to Lestat. "I want you to come and make sure that Jake is alright... if he had fits from just the mention of his name," Flynn's voice trailed off slightly.
"I'll stay with him, but I wont believe they're alive until I see it," Lestat answered darkly. "Now if you'll excuse me so I can get my last minute tools and sedatives..."
Amber dribbled a basketball across the rec-room and shot with her right hand; perfect as usual. She sighed wishing for once that it wasn't so goddamn perfect although she knew she was thankful for the operation. Hearing a thud of sneakers she turned around. "Hey Wild Wing," she called passing him the ball.
"Hey Amb, what's going on?" He said slowly dribbling towards her.
"I dunno, just thinking about stuff," Amber said defending the net.
"That’s a new one. Fight with Dive?" Wild Wing sidestepped Amber.
"No, just about stuff. It's a strange feeling, like something's about to happen," Amber stole the ball and turned around doing a jump shot with her right hand; perfect shot. Amber smiled and threw the ball back to Wild Wing, "but I'm sure it's nothing... just a feeling you know."
"Hey, I know what it is. A lot of girls on TV say they feel something's gonna happen when they're pregnant! Aww Amber, I'm gonna be an uncle!" Wild Wing yelled jokingly. Amber shrieked and chased Wild Wing across the rec-room. Tackling him, she started punching his back.
"You jackass!" she said trying not to laugh. "Like that'd ever happen, you damn well know that I'm barren. Besides, Nose Dive would no sooner date me than...than...YOU!" Wild Wing rolled his eyes.
"Oh yea, suuuure... He thinks your gorgeousssssssssssss, you want to daaaaaaaaate him…"
"Oh come on, you know damn well that I have no chance in hell," Amber hissed.
"Amber, if I did anything to hurt you before I'm sorry," Wild Wing interrupted abruptly.
"Where'd that come from?" Amber asked surprised before getting to her feel. She extended a hand down. Wild Wing took Amber's hand as she helped him to his feet.
"I dunno... maybe that's keeping you from being with Dive."
"That has nothing to do with it. Come on, let's just drop it."
Sarah rubbed her hands together nervously while she sat in the aircraft. Randall, taking the seat next to her, slowly reached for her hand. "Here, just relax." Sarah smiled feeling comforted slightly. Chase had a hand to his head in the next seat over; well, at least they were all getting along, splendidly, in fact. However comforting it was, Chase couldn't concentrate on it...could it really be possible? Duke, alive? It was just too much to hope for. Of everyone in the Brotherhood, Chase had been closest to Duke. He'd been the little brother Chase never had, the one who had first set him up with Molly, now his wife. Chase was practically beside himself: suppose Flynn was only bringing them all along to drag Duke back and have him executed? The kid had never exactly been happy at the Brotherhood, despite how close they all were. And if he was alive, that brought up a whole new set of questions...Why did he abandon them; his gang, the only family he ever knew? Maybe it would be better if they didn't find him at all... Moaning, he turned his attention to Lestat, who was kneeling by Jake's side. Lestat pressed a hand against Jake's forehead and then brushed his hair out of his face. Chase bit his lip.
"Amazing how affectionate Lestat can be, eh boy?" Aathos said standing beside Chase. Chase immediately jumped to his feet, as a sign of respect to his elder despite how little he knew Aathos. "Please sit," Aathos said, sinking himself into the chair next to Chase. "It's amazing, really," Aathos chuckled, "That with the right incentive even Lestat can be a decent guy."
"Yeah, certainly is... we've never seen him like this before. It's like he feels that Jake is his full responsibility."
"Well, isn't he?" Chase looked up surprised before blushing.
"I guess so..." Chase shook his head and slowly let out a smile, "If it wasn't for Lestat I don't know what we'd all do." Aathos smiled kindly.
"Thanks for making his life worth while... he needs someone like Jake..." Aathos said drifting off into thought.
Flynn sat at the control panels with Porthos by his side. He took in a breath before typing in the final coordinates...
"Shouldn't be too long now..."
Duke stood in the kitchen, whistling as he rummaged through the fridge.
"Un-be-fuckin-lieveable!" he muttered to himself. "My teammates are millionaires and STILL they have no taste in food!" Finally Duke gave up in disgust.
"You say that like you're surprised." Duke turned smoothly and leaned against the refrigerator. "Now me," Mara continued, "I've been on this team for a year and a half now (that's a year less than you) and I've reconciled myself to the fact that they have awful taste."
"I know that doesn't apply to me, does it Mara?" Mara considered for a moment.
"Well, I suppose your taste is alright. At least when it comes to women." Duke grinned.
"I dunno, I wouldn't have said I made the best choices there."
Mara approached him menacingly, "Is that so, Master L'Orange?" When she got close enough, Mara kissed him slowly on the lips. They both immediately pulled apart as Nose Dive entered. Dive looked at them both for a moment before heading to the freezer.
"Dude, I'm the one that knows, remember?" He said nonchalantly. "I dunno how you guys are so good at hiding it from the others...I mean, every time I walk in on you two you look like you've been caught with your hand in the cookie jar. How can they not notice?"
"Pretty easy thing to say when you're on the inside of the secret, isn't it?" Duke muttered, blushing a little. Nose Dive shrugged.
"Besides," Mara added coolly, "you practically drool all over yourself when you see Amber and she hasn't noticed yet, has she?" Dive shook his frozen pizza at Mara accusingly.
"You so much as mention it to Amber and I'll kill you!" he yelled. Nose Dive paused and reconsidered, "Well, I would kill you...if you weren't her sister!" Duke and Mara snickered as Nose Dive ran out, embarrassed, but Mara's smile faded quickly.
"Come on now." Duke accosted her, "Don't tell me you feel bad for the runt, he had it coming!"
Mara looked over at Duke, "No, it's not that..." With a sigh she put a hand on his chest, "Oh, Babe, when are we going to tell the others? I'm tired of all this sneaking around. Don't get me wrong, I know we'll catch shit for it, but...well, I wanna be able to tell everyone that you're my...my, uhm..." She blushed slightly, suddenly finding it hard to say. Duke smiled and kissed her hand.
"Your boyfriend." he said warmly. Mara nodded. "I was actually starting to think of that myself. We'll announce it at the press conference, how about that, Angel?"
"Tonight?" She confirmed eagerly. "Tonight. Oh, thank you Duke...I love you so much." She kissed him again before looking down at her watch.
"I'd better go before Mal wonders where I went...I'll see you tonight."
"Tonight...I love you, Angel."
"Eeeew!" Nose Dive yelled out, now standing in the doorway.
"I'm sorry Nose Dive," Duke said with a sadistic grin, "I didn't mean to leave you out...I love you too!" Dive ran out, panicked.
Later on that evening Nose Dive turned off the water in his shower. He hopped out, slid and landed right on his ass.
"Damn slippery floor..." He muttered, embarrassed. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist, Nose Dive blew kisses to the mirror. "Hey there Sexy, lookin' good." he said in a deep voice. With a cough, he tried again, "So Amber...let's you and I go...go...do shit! Ah, damn it!" He cursed, running a hand through his wet hair. "I'm never gonna be able to do this." With a sigh, Nose Dive straightened up and peered into the mirror again. "Don't talk like that!" he scolded his reflection, "You can do this, damn it! Tonight's the night you're asking Amber out...right after the press conference. Got that? Yeah? Good!" He yelled, slipping and falling flat on his face again. From the floor Nose Dive moaned, "But first, some aspirin, lots of aspirin."
Tanya looked up, startled, as Drake 1's alarms went off. She turned to Wild Wing and smiled.
"Think this means we'll miss the press conference?" she asked eagerly.
"Not likely," Wild Wing murmured, putting his mask on, "We've still got an hour yet. So what's up?"
"Well, it seems that an alien ship just landed...nearby too."
"Can you tell what type?"
"Well, duh, no..." Tanya stammered, "But it's definitely from Puckworld."
"Good, visitors." Wild Wing said gravely, wondering if this was a good or a bad thing.
"Sweet!" Amber exclaimed, "Can I come?!"
"Of course. I think it'll just be us three. I'll keep Grin and Mallory on alert in case anything goes wrong." Tanya and Amber nodded, changing into their gear.
"Night out with the ladies, huh Wing?" Tanya teased, tapping Wild Wing's beak. Wild Wing winked and smiled.
"Alright, let's move!"
After landing, Flynn was the first to leave the ship. "My God, warmth!" he said, mildly surprised. "Come on out, you chickens, it's wonderful out here!!" Slowly but surely the rest of the ducks followed suit, except for Lestat and Jake.
"Wonder if the aliens here are sexy..." Maxine mused out loud. Riff nudged her anxiously. "Oh relax, we're married, remember?" They all chuckled happily.
"Don't look now..." Paul said, "here comes the welcome wagon." Randall whistled at the approaching Migrator.
"Now that's one sweet ride...why the hell isn't Lestat coming out? He'd kill to see this rig!"
"He's busy with Jake." Colleen explained, stepping out of the ship, "Says he'll be out after Jake's blood pressure goes down."
"What now?" Arimus asked Flynn, "do we defend ourselves?"
Shaking his head, Flynn responded slowly, "Not just yet... let's see what they want first." No sooner had the words left his mouth than Wild Wing stepped out. He looked over them all carefully before approaching Flynn, the obvious leader.
"Greetings." Wild Wing said genially. "Welcome to the planet Earth."
"Hello, my name is Flynn Torve. My comrades and I just arrived from the planet, Puckworld. We happen to be looking for a couple of friends of ours."
"Now how did you manage to cross dimensions and come here?" Wild Wing asked.
"That's my little secret. Can you help us find our friends?"
Wild Wing shook his head, "I'm afraid you probably won't find them here... there are only a total of eight ducks on this planet, myself included."
"Now, how did that come to pass?" Flynn asked.
Wild Wing took a deep breath and began, "Well..."
Ten minutes later, the ducks were all sitting down in the grass of the park, listening to Wild Wing's story. "and that's about it, up until now."
"One helluva story." Heather said gleefully.
"I'm glad to hear someone's still giving those lizards hell!" Dak added.
"Thank you, but the point is that I can't be sure how to trust all of you. For all I know you could've been sent by Dragaunus."
"True, that IS a problem, because we have no way of proving to you that we weren't." By now Amber and Tanya were getting pretty anxious about Wild Wing. As a result, at precisely that moment, Amber burst out of the Migrator, weapons drawn, ready to kick ass.
"Alright, hands in the air...damn it!" Amber barked, pointing her gun straight at the group. Everyone stared at her in total shock.
"Oh, uh... I should explain her," Wild Wing stammered, "This is-"
"Amber?" Flynn asked, cutting him off Amber blinked and looked at Flynn, puzzled to hear a familiar voice. She slowly dropped her gun and closed her eyes.
"It...it can't be-it's-" She paused and opened her eyes. "OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!" And with that, Amber ran to the group and started hugging everyone as the two gangs cheered and hugged her back, patting her head, commenting on how pretty she looked, asking her what she was doing here, how she was, every possible question under the sun. Wild Wing looked on, totally baffled, along with Tanya who had followed Amber out of the Migrator earlier. Finally after another five minutes, Wild Wing had to put a stop to it.
"I can't BELIEVE how big you've gotten Dak, you look GORGEOUS!"
"Well look at you Amber, if I didn't know any better I'd think you'd been eating!"
"Honey, you look so grown up!"
"I swear, it's just amazing what a couple of years did for you!"
"Oh, I missed you guys so-"
"HOLD IT!!!" Wild Wing bellowed at the top of his lungs. Everyone turned around and looked at him. "Amber, you KNOW them?!"
"Of course I know them!!!" She smiled jubilantly. "You see, this is Maxine and Colleen and Sarah and Riff and Aathos and Chase and Paul and Randall and Dak and Arimus and Porthos and THIS is Flynn Torve, the leader of the Smuggler's Guild." Wild Wing blinked. Flynn Torve...now there was a name even Wild Wing knew. Wild Wing regarded them for a moment anxiously. They had been looking for friends; obviously that meant Duke and Mara. As far as he could tell from the flurry of discussion Amber hadn't told them that they were here yet, and Wild Wing was just as glad of it. If the Smuggler's Guild had sent a whole coalition to come find them, it could only mean one thing: they wanted to take Duke and Mara back with them, probably Amber too. His mind raced feverishly, considering his options... he couldn't possibly keep Mara and Duke from them, could he? Wild Wing just couldn't bear the thought of losing such good players... such good friends.
"Well, if Amber can vouch for you all, then I suppose we should take you to the Pond." Amber nodded eagerly and as they all walked into the Migrator, Wild Wing pulled her aside. "Amber, are you absolutely certain they're trustworthy? I mean, they ARE thieves... I'm taking an awful chance here."
"Wing, you're talking about people that I've known for years. Mara and Duke grew up with them...oh! Wow, I didn't tell them-"
"Uhh, why don't we leave that as a surprise for a while, okay Amber?"
Amber looked at him, confused and withdrawn. "Well, okay, if you-"
"Wait, can we bring the ship with us?" Flynn asked. Tanya nodded, "Of course. you got a radio on board? Tune in to this frequency and I'll give you instructions as to where to land." Flynn nodded.
"Thank you very much." he kissed her hand gallantly, "Lovely and smart, a wonderful combination." Tanya blushed and stammered incoherently. Wild Wing raised an eyebrow at him.
"Come on, I'm a thief, it's my job to shmooze." Laughing, Wild Wing watched Flynn order Randall and Colleen back to the plane. This man was an accomplished leader for many years, albeit of an illegal organization, but still, he was good at what he did, and Duke always spoke of him in the highest esteem, so maybe Wild Wing could learn something from Master Torve.
"Well Amber, you look wonderful."
Amber giggled, overjoyed at receiving so much praise, "Well, this planet's been really good for me. All the ducks here are really nice; I can trust them with anything."
"So grown up." Maxine mused, shaking her head as she regarded her best friend's little sister.
"Are you part of this hockey team too, Amber? I mean, are you rich and stuff?" Dak joined in. Amber turned to him and held her beak up.
"That's right. I started out subbing in for goal tender, but Wing finally came to his senses that I was too short and didn't have the butt for it, so now I sub in for center with Nose Dive. As for rich, I could buy and sell you a thousand times over, right Tanya?"
"Duh, t-that's right, Amber, and don't let any man forget it!" Sarah slapped her five.
"Right on, sister!"
"Lemme get this right, Amby, you fight crime?" Paul asked, casting a critical eye over Duke's former favorite little vagabond. Amber folded her arms and snorted.
"You'd better believe it, Paul. And I'm damn good at it too."
"It's true, I'll vouch for her." Wild Wing said, never removing his eyes from the road.
"I just can't believe you guys knew Amber!" Heater mused.
"I was just about to say the same to you ladies." Chase smiled.
"Oh Chase!" Amber interrupted excitedly, "How's the restaurant? Still in one piece?"
"Basically, but the kitchen was destroyed. I haven't got nearly enough money to rebuild it, let alone reopen it." Amber suddenly looked very disheartened. She pulled the biker glove on her right hand up a little snugger.
"What did Chase's Place look like, Amber? I always wanted to see the inside of that place," Maxine asked, noticing Amber's discomfort.
"It was wonderful, Max, I wish you could've seen it."
Wild Wing stole a glance back at the group, "That reminds me...what are you all doing together if you're worst enemies?"
"Well," explained Flynn, "For our purposes I decided it might be best to consolidate their efforts for a time."
Paul added in, "Besides, I think we've all just recently discovered that that whole 'worst enemies' thing might be a bit outdated." Wild Wing smiled to himself.
"Must be contagious." he said softly.
Wild Wing had kept the team posted on what was going on, and sure enough when they entered the garage the Mighty Ducks were all there to meet them...save for Duke and Mara, who had gone out earlier and who Wild Wing had opted not to contact at all just yet. Nose Dive in particular was very eager to see these new arrivals. If Amber refused him tonight, then some new faces might be just what he needed. Wild Wing introduced everyone very slowly, getting Amber's help on the thieves names, and everyone seemed very congenial. Mallory was very civil and polite, even nice to them all. Since Mara had come Mallory's prejudice against thieves had practically disappeared, but even she couldn't help being a little disturbed by the presence of Master Flynn Torve himself. Wild Wing had noted during their ride how everyone addressed him so respectfully as 'Master', bowing to him whenever appropriate. Even Amber, during her first initial hugging frenzy, had been very careful not to grab Flynn. Wild Wing had never fully grasped from Duke and Mara's descriptions just how strict the Smuggler's Guild guidelines were. He momentarily thought of how nice it would be if the Mighty Ducks all bowed to him, but Wing quickly banished the thought picturing Nose Dive trying to moon him.
"Alright, that's everyone." Amber said.
"Not quite, Dear..." Flynn said uneasily, "There is another member in the party."
"WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF INTRODUCTION IS THAT, BITCH?!" A medium height, lanky duck layered with tattoos shouted, ambling down the ship's walkway. Wild Wing looked at his teammates, then back at the new arrival. "Where's the smoke, the fireworks? WHERE'S MY FUCKING BRASS BAND?! I want my own National Anthem," Amber looked up at the duck, her face glowing.
"Lestat," she whispered excitedly. Nose Dive watched her face with dismay... he didn't quite like the way she'd said that.
"Wild Wing, members of the Mighty Ducks, I'd like you to meet Lestat Xander Riviero."
"That's Master Lestat Xander Riviero, and don't you forget it," he snapped fiercely at Flynn in a manner that surprised Wild Wing. Lestat was another name Wild Wing knew...and from the look on Mallory's face she knew it too. Duke raved that Lestat had been his best friend on Puckworld, but really, he didn't seem remotely like Duke in any sense. In fact, he seemed to be the nastiest being that could exist. Lestat looked at Wild Wing and ran his fingers through his copper hair.
"Mighty Ducks, huh?" Lestat asked, looking around. "Kinda a shitty name, don't you think?"
"We get that a lot," Wild Wing said shortly. How was it possible that Duke could like this guy? And how did Lestat get away with his treatment toward Master Flynn Torve?
"No surprise to me," he paused and looked at Nose Dive. "How the fuck did you get off the ship?" he asked, puzzled. Nose Dive returned Lestat's puzzled look.
"Sorry?" Nose Dive inquired.
"Oh, no Lestat... this is Nose Dive, Wild Wing introduced him as his younger brother," Chase intervened. Wild Wing stroked his beak slowly--off the ship?--he mused.
"You shittin' me? Just when you thought cloning was illegal..."
"You... you probably thought he looked like Jake, didn't you, Lestat?" Amber piped up for the first time. Lestat turned around and approached Amber.
"I did. And you are...?"
Amber blushed a little, "Don't you recognize me, Lestat?" Lestat shook his head, wishing he did. "Come on, it's me... Amber." Lestat gazed at her, rubbing his hand over his beak.
"Amber? My little Amber?" Lestat murmured, looking her up and down. He walked around her, inspecting her briefly before he pulled her into a tight hug, resting his beak against her neck. "Shit, I didn't recognize you with those whacked out eyes." Amber's smile faded and she pulled away from him, turning the other direction.
"I, uh...it was a chemical spill." Lestat took her shoulder in his hands and turned her around to face him again.
"You and me too." Lestat smiled, pointing at his own yellow eyes. "I like them, they match your name now," he said offhandedly. "Much better than an Amber with silver eyes cuz that was kinda screwy. Hell, I might even go as far as to say you're a little pretty." Nose Dive glared at him, a little pissed at what he thought was an insult, but Amber had obviously never been so delighted. She seized his hand and pulled him behind her as she walked toward the main part of the base.
"Well, come on guys! I wanna show you the base!" Everyone followed.
Wild Wing looked at his watch and let out a deep sigh. By now they only had a half hour until the press conference, which meant that the last two members of the team would be returning any time now. Wing had informed the thieves of the press conference and they were all more than happy to attend and observe it. Chase walked back to the Ready Room, where they were all sitting, hold a tray of glasses.
"Alright, who had the martini?" Mallory, Arimus and Nose Dive looked up eagerly.
"Not you." Wild Wing told Nose Dive sternly.
"Mine was the dry martini with an olive." Mallory said. Chase set it down in front of her and Mallory took a sip as he passed out the rest of the drinks. "It's absolutely perfect...I haven't had a martini this good since I got here!" Mallory raved, "Will you marry me?" Everyone laughed.
"And make you martinis for the rest of your life?" Chase asked, "Well, it'd really be a shocker, me marrying the general's daughter and all, but I'm sorry Mallory, I'm afraid I'm already attached to the old ball and chain."
"Married huh?" Mallory mused, "How does she like her alcohol?" Again, everybody laughed.
"Don't you call my sister 'the old ball and chain'!" Lestat protested, extending a hand to his gun.
"Quite right, you should be grateful. I broke that damned marriage law just for you, Chase." Flynn added.
"Like hell you did!" Chase snorted. "I'm very happy with my wife, rest assured, but don't pretend you let us get married as a favor to me. Duke's the one that made it happen... and without consulting me at all, I might add."
"Come on," Randall smiled, "You liked the surprise." Wild Wing flinched a little at the mention of Duke's name, glancing at the door. Flynn noticed it and watched Wild Wing intently.
"Something wrong, Wild Wing?" he asked.
"Uh, no, not at all, Master Torve. I just, ah-" he was cut off by some noise from his communicator. Everyone looked on with interest.
"WILD WING!" a surly voice yelled. With a sigh, Wing flipped his comm open. 'Great, this was just what he needed...' he thought.
"Hello Captain Klegghorn, how can I help you?"
"You can keep your damn team where they belong, AT THE POND! If I have to baby-sit these two for another minute I SWEAR I'll shut down your entire- OW! Hey! Keep your hands off of that, you don't have a permit! What? What's THAT supposed to mean?! Listen up waterfowl, that safety catch is just for rookies and I-" Klegghorn yelped as a gunshot rang off. "HEY! I have to buy my own bullets, damn it, do you mind?! My favorite coat, too." The ducks listened to this, thoroughly amused.
"Where are you Klegghorn?" Wild Wing asked.
"Right outside. I'm supposed to escort you guys to your little press conference...COME NEAR ME AND I'LL LOCK YOU UP FOR ASSAULTING AN OFFICER!"
Wild Wing laughed, "Okay Captain, come right up...and try not to hurt each other."
"Ooh, more ducks!" Heather clapped, excited.
"These are the last two." Amber explained, practically bursting with anticipation. After another moment, they could clearly hear Klegghorn's voice as he came up through the elevator. The doors opened and out he stumbled, demanding the immediate return of his weapons. From behind Klegghorn Duke and Mara Jade walked out, arms linked, Mara twirling his gun on her finger and Duke holding his badge.
"Honestly," Mara sighed, "you really should be more careful about your gun, otherwise it might fall into the wrong hands."
Klegghorn growled at her, "Yours ARE the wrong hands, you thieving vixen!"
Mara giggled, "Hear that Duke? I'm a vixen."
"Well that's no fair." Duke murmured, "what am I?"
"Nothing but a dumb kid." Chase called out. Duke stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned to look at the gathered assembly.
He stared at them all in silence for a moment before quietly, almost to himself he said, "Damn." With each step he took Duke got a little more excited. "Damn...DAMN!" He ran over and hugged all of the guys and again, another huge group session ensued. Mara watched this totally enthralled, very aware of who these new ducks must be. In fact, she was so amazed she hadn't noticed the Black Rose yet.
"I can't believe this!" Duke exclaimed jubilantly, "What the hell are you guys doing here?!"
"Us?" Dak laughed, "how about you?!"
"Oh..." Duke began softly, "I can't even begin to tell you how much I missed you all."
Paul tussled his hair, "Of course you did! What the hell did you do, Kid, without us there to guide you?"
"Lost an eye, for one thing!" Arimus exclaimed, putting a hand on Duke's shoulder.
"At least our leader doesn't seem to have lost any body parts." Maxine said with a smile, fully aware that Mara hadn't quite seen them yet. Mara registered this voice and, confused, took her eyes away from the scene with Duke and looked around. Her eyes met Maxine's and instantly the both screamed happily, running over to one another. So now there were TWO tearful reunions going on. The Mighty Ducks all looked on, happy, but slightly jealous of the attention Duke and Mara were giving their old teammates. Quickly, the commotion dispersed as Flynn stepped into the turmoil.
"Well, well, what have we here?" Both Mara and Duke approached Flynn and hugged him happily. Smiling, Flynn shook his head, "Hello Children." After a moment of looking them both up and down he chuckled, "About time the two of you showed up."
"Yeah well, we were out," Duke tried to explain before Lestat shoved Flynn out of the way.
"What the hell's gotten into you?!" Lestat hissed at Duke. "You go off and lose an eye and suddenly you think you're some kinda big shot hero and don't have to bother saying "Hello!" to your wonderful, more superior, more sexy best friend?! Well, forget it L'Orange! I'll ALWAYS be a better super hero than you could ever be!" Lestat dramatically thrust his hand in the air. Duke laughed and took his friend's hand in his.
"Oh man, is it good to see you, Lestat."
For the first time since he'd come, Wild Wing detected genuine, heart-felt emotion in Lestat as he replied, "You too Duke, you too."
"Now Lestat, I hope you haven't forgotten me." Lestat turned and looked to Mara earnestly, afraid to touch her for fear she was nothing but a dream.
"Hello Mari," he breathed softly.
"If you hadn't just arrived here, you'd be toast for calling me that!" Mara said as she reached out and gave him a gentle hug, which Lestat returned warmly, gingerly running a hand up and down her back. Mara was oblivious to it, but Duke frowned ever so slightly, suddenly remembering how Lestat had been in love with her for all those years.
"Well, it sure is weird to see you two again!" Porthos said happily. "And together too! It's a wonder you didn't tear each other apart!" Duke and Mara suddenly looked up, both having the same thought. They quickly glanced at one another, a look of pain on both their faces. Wordlessly, Duke and Mara both understood that they wouldn't be announcing anything tonight at the press conference.
"You kidding?!" Amber exclaimed, "They're great friends now, practically inseparable, right guys?"
"We get along just fine." Mara said softly, not even raising her head to look at Duke. He nodded ever so slightly.
"Tolerably." he said blandly. The Mighty Ducks stared at them, totally surprised.
"Well, uh, we should get going." Wild Wing urged them all.
Once in the Migrator (Nose Dive, Tanya and some of the others had been obliged to take a separate vehicle for lack of room) Mallory watched the seating arrangement with interest. Flynn Took his seat beside Wild Wing at the head of the car. Lestat and Dak each took Amber's side--Lestat doing his best to sit by Amber and her sister. The rest of the thieves all sat in back, The Brotherhood and Black Rose intermingling, save for Duke and Mara, who almost seemed to take great care to sit as far from one another as possible. All in all, it was a very odd kind of arrangement. The press conference itself went off without a hitch, and the new arrivals went unnoticed, much to everyone's relief.
Once situated at the base, the ducks sat around the rec-room eating pizza. Nose Dive began to frown more and more as he watched Amber cater around Lestat. "He's really pissin' me off too," Dak said, walking next to Nose Dive. Dak calmly sipped a coke and shook his head. "Talk about backstabbing... I'm sure Flynn'll give him hell later."
"You lost me," Nose Dive said suspiciously.
"Well, you do know about Amber's engagement, don't you?" Dak asked. Nose Dive swallowed slowly--engaged? At that moment, Lestat looked down at his watch and smiled at Amber. He whispered something in her ear and crept nearly unnoticed out of the rec-room. Nose Dive bit his lip; Lestat seemed to be a very powerful person and he didn't know if he should risk spying, but he had to know what was going on. Silently, as well, he followed him through the corridors and into the main garage. Lestat opened up the door to their aircraft and quickly hopped in. Nose Dive crept closer and closer until he was just outside. With a small leap, he pulled himself up to one of the top windows and gazed in.
Lestat was measuring out liquids into injection needles. Nose Dive heard a muffled voice and strained to look around the cabin. Lestat picked up the needle and walked out of eyeshot. Nose Dive bit his lip before he moved to the next window for a better view. As soon as he put his eyes to it, he nearly fell. A boy was strapped down to a large stretcher. He kicked and screamed as Lestat straddled him, needle in his right hand. Once the liquid was injected, Lestat stayed until the boy's thrusts became small quivers. Nose Dive studied the boy with horror: he was small with long blonde hair and brown eyes with a patch on his beak. He wore a varsity jacket and a gold chain was around his neck over a white shirt. The boy looked identical to himself. Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle were being put together. Nose Dive jumped down from the aircraft defeated--the duck couldn't be any other than the infamous Jake DeCharmante he had heard all about: the duck he had been compared to since his time on the team, the perfectionist who was destined to make it to the top if he was able to stay clear from drugs, and there he was lying helpless on a stretcher.
"Good bye, Amber," Nose Dive whispered as he walked back to his room silently.
Chase whistled, awestruck, as he surveyed the sunset. Duke, who stood a little ahead of him, perching one foot on the roof ledge, craned his neck to look back at his friends.
"Like it?" he asked eagerly.
Randall glanced at the others and nodded, "It's real pretty, Kid." Paul approached Duke and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Spend a lot of time up on the roof?" he joked.
Duke shrugged, "I used to, before..." he trailed off, shaking his head, "well, it was kind of hard, not having anyone around who understood, ya know?"
"We know, Kid." Duke looked back off at the sunset.
"You have no idea how much I missed you all." he said with a soft smile. Chase put an arm around him.
"We all missed you too."
"Yeah, it was tough, with no little brother to pick on!" Randall joked, slapping him on the back.
Duke sighed, looking at the ground, "You guys'll always be my family, you know that, right?"
"Of course, Duke."
"I'm sorry I left. I'd meant to say good bye to you all, but I just couldn't."
"It's alright, Duke, we know why you left." Chase said comfortingly.
"Always figured you were too good to keep on stealing anyway." Hector smiled.
"So you're not mad at me for leaving?" Duke asked, looking up at them all.
"Of course not," Paul laughed, "We all knew you were too righteous for your own good. We're just relieved you're not dead."
"Hell, you make a great hero." Randall added in.
"I don't think so..." Duke murmured, wondering just how to breach the topic he was most interested in, "But then again I never thought I'd see you guys working with the Black Rose, so I guess my judgment isn't perfect, is it?"
"Yeah..." Randall sighed, "Man, they're pretty cool, even for chicks." Duke rolled his eyes.
"Hope ya don't call 'em chicks when they're around."
Chase shook his head, "He hasn't got the balls, don't worry." The guys all chuckled.
"So...so you like them all? All of them?" He asked gently, desperate to know what they thought of Mara.
Paul sat down on the ledge, "Oh sure; they're all sweet. Even Mistress Jade."
"That was the biggest shock for me." Randall conceded, "What a sweet girl she is...definitely worthy."
"Worthy?" Duke asked.
"Of being hammered, of course." Randall grinned evilly, "I've already added her to my list." Duke grit his teeth, muttering under his breath, "Yeah, well she's too good for you so keep yer hands off ya lousy sonofa-"
"What's that you said, Duke?" Chase asked, picking up on a change in his mood.
Duke smiled at them, "Oh, nothing...I'm just glad you're all here."
"I'm so glad you're all here." Mara said lying back on her hammock.
Heather jumped on her bed, "A bed AND a hammock? Man, you ARE rich!" The girls all laughed.
"Oh Mara...this place is incredible! And you...I've never seen you so happy."
Mara blushed, "Yeah, well food does that to you, I guess." They all laughed.
"Not to mention boys." Sarah added with a smile.
Mara went a little pale, "Uh...what do you mean?"
"Trapped on a planet for a year with four gorgeous men? Sign me up for some of that!" everyone giggled.
Relieved, Mara said, "Well, they're all very nice."
"Come on, Mara...Nice? Have we taught you nothing?!" Colleen exclaimed.
"Obviously not." Heather shook her head.
"Don't tell me you haven't hooked up with any of them!!" Mara shrugged.
"Well, Wild Wing made the monumental mistake of trying to date me...he kissed me a total of four or five times before calling it off."
"What's wrong with Wild Wing?" Heather winked, " I think he's pretty hot."
Mara rocked a little in her hammock, "I dunno...he's not my type, I suppose." Maxine sat upright, scrutinizing Mara carefully.
"Since when do you have types?" she asked warily.
Mara shrugged nervously, "Well, I dunno...since I decided Wild Wing wasn't it, I guess." Colleen handed Maxine the bowl of grapes she'd been holding.
"I'll tell you who my pick would be out of all of them." she smiled.
Sarah leaned back, "I'll bet I can guess this."
"Master Duke L'Orange." Colleen smiled, "Now THAT is one sexy man."
"You said it, Hun." Sarah joined in. "I'd never imagined he'd be so good looking. Charming too. It'd be just my luck if it turned out he was dating Lestat." The girls all laughed. "But hell, as long as I'm here, maybe I'll take a shot at him." she continued, cracking her knuckles. Mara didn't even break a sweat as she listened to Sarah. She always shamelessly threw herself at men...it generally worked, but Mara had learned over the past year, particularly this past month, that Duke was not the sort of boy who tossed his affection around arbitrarily. It'd certainly taken Mara long enough to trap him. Nothing that Sarah could do in a week would shake that, she was confident.
"You all just think he's cute because he's a thief." Heather said. "Now Nose Dive...he's awfully cute. And funny too." Mara looked slightly more anxious at this.
"You leave that poor boy alone." she scolded gently, "He's confused and vulnerable, so don't you go taking advantage of him." She probably could have mentioned Amber's crush on Nose Dive safely, but decided it would probably be best not to...last time she'd checked they were all fairly loyal to Jake. The Black Rose all thought Amber and Jake had belonged together. After Jake had disappeared, they might not approve of Amber moving on so quickly. And considering how much Nose Dive looked like Jake, they may question the validity of Amber's motives...after all, when Mara first found out Amber liked Nose Dive, even she had wondered if it wasn't just because Amber wanted a replacement. But no...beyond their looks Nose Dive and Jake were completely dissimilar, and Amber had fallen for Dive because of his personality, she was certain.
Heather sighed, "Well alright...for you, Mara. Guess I'll have to stick with the Brotherhood then." Mara smiled genuinely, but proceeded cautiously, a little nervous about touching on this subject too much.
"So, you're all really hitting it off."
"Oh Mara, they're a great bunch of guys." Colleen gushed.
"It's a little weird though...you know, considering the way we've talked about them for all those years..." Maxine coughed a little, embarrassed, "I guess you might have been kinda-sorta-right on that one." Mara smiled triumphantly.
"You mean, all those times I yelled at you all for condemning people you didn't know? Or when I called you childish and immature? Or when I-" Maxine tossed a pillow at her.
"That's enough outta you, little Miss Thing over there!" She laughed, throwing a couple of grapes at her for good measure.
"Well guys, I'm just glad you're all getting along." Mara said happily.
"Lestat." Lestat whirled around on his heel to see who had addressed him.
"Flynn Torve." Lestat said in a matter of fact voice. "'Preciate the visit but it's kind of late and I'm tired so-"
"Just a moment, Master Riviero." Flynn said, approaching him. "Now I let you get away with a lot Lestat, but when I issue an order I expect it to be followed. You're no exception."
Lestat sat down in a nearby chair, visibly agitated, "Fuck! I'm tired, okay? Can't you bitch me out later?"
"Lestat, it's been three days. They need to know about Jake. I came in there the other day and he's was banging his head against the wall..."
Lestat started to talk over him, "Yeah, yeah...they asked me to take care of him, that's what I'm doing. I'm in charge here-"
Flynn's voice cut over his and silenced Lestat, "How can you possibly think this is better for him?" The silence was deafening for a moment before Flynn continued, "Jake wants to see Duke. I'm sure he'll want to see Amber. And I think it's time to let him. I've been talking with Tanya, I've seen their medical facilities...you have to realize they can do Jake a greater amount of good here." Lestat just looked away, clenching his fist so hard he was trembling. Flynn gently put a hand on his shoulder, "Lestat...why don't you want them to see Jake?"
Lestat pulled away from Flynn angrily, "Yeah, what the fuck would you care, your Holiness? Go ahead then, fine. If that's what you want then what can I do to stop you? Fine. But if you wanna tell 'em then tell them yourself, I don't want anything to do with this." Flynn rubbed his temples, perplexed.
"What is your problem?!" he exclaimed, "Are you completely insane, bipolar, what?!" Flynn paced around the room, looking at Lestat, "Alright, Riviero, please tell me, I'm interested...what reason could you possibly have for keeping Jake locked in that plane?" Lestat glared up at him.
"None of your business. Now get the fuck out, I'm tired!" Flynn nodded.
"Alright Lestat. I won't say 'if that's the way you want it' because I know perfectly that you don't have the faintest idea what you want." He shook his head, making his way to the door. "You're just lucky you managed to find a best friend so infinitely patient that he actually doesn't mind putting up with your bullshit. Goodnight." Lestat made a face at the now closed door, flopping down face first onto his bed.
The next morning, Wild Wing walked into the dining room where everyone sat, closely flanked by Duke and Maxine.
"Definitely french toast." Duke concluded, "Wild Wing?"
"If I had to pick my favorite...Coffee cake. But only when Grin makes it." Duke nodded, patting Wild Wing on the back, "Damn, you're right, can I vote again?"
Max laughed, "So ya'll are tellin me that behemoth can cook?" Wild Wing nodded.
"Oh yeah...he's incredible. It's got something to do with his balance, his concentration." Wild Wing explained. Grin emerged from the kitchen.
"Actually it's a Sara Lee frozen cake. All I do is thaw it out." he said calmly. Everyone laughed as Wild Wing sat down.
"Well, then I'm with Duke. Best breakfast in the world is french toast."
"Glad to hear that Wing." Mallory said with a smile, "Happens to be what we're having."
"I knew it." Duke said happily.
"And how did you know it?" Randall asked him.
"I'm omniscient." he grinned.
Nose Dive looked up, "Don't they have shots that can cure that?" he asked. Everyone snickered as Duke made a face at him.
"Is it contagious? Dak asked. More laughter broke out as Duke tossed a muffin at his head. He looked around for a moment, "Now where's Lestat gone off to?" he wondered. The Mighty Ducks all shifted uncomfortably at the mention of his name. They had all decided he was very, very disagreeable and went to great lengths to avoid him. They also, of course, didn't want to hurt Duke and Mara's feelings by letting them know how they felt about Lestat, so at Wild Wing's request the ducks all kept it to themselves. Still, they had no interest in seeing him. Everyone looked up as Flynn entered from the garage.
"Now what were you poking around in there for?" Mara asked good naturedly, "Sit down and have some breakfast." Flynn smiled at her warmly.
"I'm sorry my dear, I'm afraid I have news." He coughed a little, annoyed, but not surprised by Lestat's absence. Flynn put a gentle hand on Duke's shoulder and leaned down towards him comfortingly. "It's about Jake." he said softly. The ducks all knew immediately who Flynn was talking about. Nose Dive stiffened, knowing exactly what was about to happen. He glanced over at Amber, consumed with a burning curiosity, wondering how she would take it. Duke paled visibly, looking up at Flynn. "What about Jake?" he asked gravely.
"Well," Flynn continued, "We found him. He's here with us. Alive." Duke shook his head in disbelief, utterly speechless. He didn't have a chance to make any comment because just then a loud thud brought everyone's attention to the other end of the table.
"Amber!" Mara was out of her chair and by Amber's side in a heart beat, as was Nose Dive. "She's fainted, that's all." Mara murmured to a worried Nose Dive as she gingerly picked Amber up and carried her to a nearby couch in the rec room which was connected to the dining room.
"I probably should have presented this more gradually," Flynn said apologetically, "But I felt it was time you saw him." Duke nodded, walking over to the couch and stroking Amber's hair. Amber woke up abruptly, with a jolt.
Breathlessly she asked, "Is it true? Are you sure it's true?" The two gangs nodded slowly. Amber hopped up, shaking, "I want to see him. Can I see him?" Flynn nodded.
"You coming, Duke?" He asked softly. Duke stared blankly at the far wall of the room.
"Yeah." he choked out, trailing behind everyone else as both gangs and the Mighty Ducks made their way out to the garage.
"Where was he?" Amber asked, bewildered.
"Kidnapped, like Duke had first suspected. He was sold to a circus as a kind of slave after the invasion."
Amber shook her head, "But how? Why didn't he escape? Jake's great at escapes."
"He was." Chase said, "He's not exactly himself anymore. They subjected him to a kind of electro-magnetic brainwave manipulator."
"English, please?" Mallory asked.
"A brainwashing device," Tanya explained, "Very rare, especially on Puckworld."
"That's right Tanya." Flynn continued, "Thing is that Jake didn't weigh enough for them to use it on him safely."
"So?" Grin asked.
"So he went insane." Chase finished softly, looking over at Duke. "We found him three months ago wandering around a flea market...he thought he was Hamlet. It was lucky he recognized Dak at all. Since then Lestat's been doing a lot to facilitate his recovery. Slowly but surely his episodes have been getting shorter."
Tanya came closer, intrigued, "He has episodes? Violent fits?" They all nodded.
"We strap him down when it happens...once he nearly took my arm off. He's still a pretty strong little guy. Used to be every hour or so he got them. Now it's only once a day." Paul explained. Tears welled up in Amber's eyes as she heard this pathetic description of what was once her fiancé. "We were hoping that you could help him...considering the medical facilities you have here."
"I'm confident I can." Tanya said firmly.
Flynn said, "I'll bring him out, but Duke, you should stay back, at least at first. Presenting both you and Amber to him at once may be a bit much...if he had fits just at the mention of your name I shudder to think what'll happen when he sees you." Obediently, Duke silently, numbly stepped back, basically concealed from view. Mara stole a glance back at Duke longingly, desperately wishing she could put her arms around him, comfort him, anything...he looked so tormented. Poor Amber too, seemed more nervous than happy, Mara thought darkly. She inched a little closer to her sister, anxious to be near in case Jake attacked her; not like she would have been less suspicious of the little bastard even if he wasn't mentally ill now. The two of them had been friends on Puckworld but now, after hearing the full horror of his mistreatment of Amber, Mara knew she'd be hard pressed to forgive him...ever. Flynn was quick to open the door and wheel Jake out, completely tied down, in a wheelchair.
"Amber?" he breathed softly, "Is...is that you?" Amber ran over, crying hysterically and hugged him.
"It's okay Jake." she said, burying her face in his chest, making her voice muffled, "it's okay, I'm here." Jake seemed to handle himself fairly well, the Mighty Ducks concluded. His whole face lit up as he spoke with Amber, but it was very clear from his voice, his erratic movements, that this boy was not well. After a few moments Jake wriggled his hand out of the restraint and took hers.
"Amber...do you still...uh-" he blushed, "Do you still love me?" Amber nodded eagerly, diminishing any remaining hopes Nose Dive might have had.
"I still wear your ring Jake, see?"
"And have you been faithful?" he asked. Mara clenched her fists tightly, knowing that she had no real right to interfere. Color rose to Amber's face.
"Yes Jake." she said softly. Wild Wing knew it was a lie, but he figured it was probably best not to bring that to his attention just yet. The two would have plenty of time to work that out on their own. Jake turned his head weakly to Chase.
"I'm being good...can't you let me out?"
Chase looked to Flynn before nodding, "Sure Jake." Chase and the boys loosened the restraints so Jake could put his arms around Amber. They hugged for about a minute silently.
"Jake, these are the Mighty Ducks, the team Amber's been with for a year and a half now." Jake smiled at them all.
"Hello." he said softly. They all nodded their greeting to him. It was then he saw Mara. "Hi Mara." Mara folded her arms.
"Jake." she said coldly. The Black Rose and Brotherhood both turned to look at her, completely surprised, but the Mighty Ducks knew perfectly well what had passed between Amber and Jake. Wild Wing put a hand on Mara's shoulder. Jake paid little if any notice to Mara's incivility.
"Jake...there's someone else here that wants to see you." Flynn said, pulling Amber away from him. Jake looked around, confused.
"Yes?" Duke walked out slowly, watching Jake as he stepped before him. Jake stared at Duke for a moment silently. Slowly Jake began to tremble. Flynn looked around the room, wishing Lestat was present. Chase, picking up on Flynn Torve's change in mood, stood up and motioned for Paul to assist in containing Jake.
"Amber, you might want to come here," Chase said, gingerly taking her arm. In a flash, Jake shoved Chase away from Amber. Instantly, he wriggled his legs out of the restraint and hurled the wheel chair as hard as he could at Paul.
"Jake, calm down!" Randall said as he approached Jake, but Jake had already jumped on top of the aircraft. He stayed in a crouched position, watching the others warily like an animal. Each time a member of the Brotherhood approached him, he'd hiss and attack savagely. Targeting Duke, he leapt off of the aircraft.
"Duke!" he screamed as tears ran down his face. Wild Wing and Grin held onto Duke's shoulders as he tried to comfort his apprentice. As Jake approached Duke, Hector and Dak blocked his path. Jake threw punches and kicks until Dak yelled and pulled Hector away from him.
"He got my knife!" Dak's voice trembled as he panicked. The Brotherhood looked at Flynn Torve, unsure of what to do when Lestat walked into the garage. Jake was in front of him, walking to Duke with his back to Lestat. Lestat reached his hand in his pocket for his syringe and closed his eyes before he ran to Jake and grabbed his right arm, injecting the needle. But, before he could grab the other arm, Jake spun around equally as fast and slashed Lestat's beak. Lestat closed his eyes and winced as he tried to grab the knife but once again Jake was too fast, slashing Lestat across the chest. Now filled with adrenaline and rage, Lestat kneed Jake and wrenched both of his arms behind his back. He pinned Jake to the floor and held him steady until Jake lay still with a quieted temperament from the sedative.
Lestat looked up at Duke then to Flynn Torve. "I told you it was a bad idea," he murmured with a sad and exhausted sigh. Duke watched Jake and felt sick to his stomach.
"Duke," Jake whispered softly. Wild Wing and Grin let go of Duke's arms and he walked to Jake. He kneeled by his side and took his hand. "Duke, I'm so sorry I was such a bad..."
"Shhh, shhh it's alright. I'm here now," Duke said comfortingly.
"What have I become?" Jake asked horrified, closing his eyes to try and stop tears from flowing.
"It's alright. I told you I'm here and I'm not leaving you." Mara bit her lip and strained from screaming when she noticed Lestat. As Duke talked and helped Jake into the wheelchair where he was being strapped down, Lestat stood off to the side. His eyes were downcast and he put a hand to his mouth which was bleeding terribly as Duke and the rest of the Brotherhood rolled Jake out. Tanya shook her head as she walked next to Mara.
"Incredible... that reaction there was unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it."
"Yeah, incredible," Mara said dryly, watching as Lestat left the room... closely followed by Flynn Torve.
Lestat eyed his best friend warily as Duke gingerly helped clean the blood off Lestat's beak. Staring blankly ahead, Duke didn't utter a sound as he dropped the bloodied dish rag in a nearby sink. As he picked up another new damp cloth from a basin of warm water Lestat jumped off the counter.
"That's alright Duke, it's fine now, see?" Duke nodded hollowly, dumped the rag to the floor and sat in a nearby chair. Now Lestat felt a little torn. He was angry about losing his patient, but it was his natural tendency to want to comfort Duke. "Hungry?" he asked. Duke shook his head. "Tired?" Lestat tried again. He was met with another shake of Duke's head. "Completely fucking mute?" Finally, Lestat elicited a small chuckle from him.
"Oh Lestat...thanks, I needed that."
"Yeah, I noticed. Kinda weird, huh?"
Duke looked a little distant, "You could say that, yeah. I'm relieved he's safe, but...look at him." Duke sighed raggedly. "The hell he must have gone through. And you."
Lestat raised an eyebrow, "And me?"
"Musta been tough for you, having to take care of him the way you did. You saved the guy's life." Lestat nodded slowly, wondering how Duke had found out. "I'm just glad he's in such capable hands."
"In?" Lestat echoed.
Duke nodded, "Yeah, I used the present tense. You're not getting bumped out of Jake's life just because our medical facilities are better equipped to handle him. If you're still willing, we'd all like it if you were still basically in charge of his treatment." Lestat suppressed a smile and shrugged listlessly.
"Yeah, whatever." Narrowing his eyes, Duke stood before Lestat.
"Don't gimmie that shit Riviero, you're fucking delighted. Show it for once." Angrily, Lestat got right up into Duke's face.
"Don't pretend you know what I'm feeling, because you don't." he snapped.
With a snort, Duke folded his arms, "Of course not. You're not at all upset about having to share Jake with other people and thus being deprived of any usefulness you felt you had, and that's why you didn't hide him from us for three days, is that right?" Duke withdrew with a sigh, picking up the rag he had dropped on the floor. "I'm not as oblivious as you think I am, Lestat. We're best friends and you're not the only one that makes a habit of knowing more about your friends than they let on." Duke and Lestat looked eye to eye for a moment before Lestat turned away.
"You're crazy, I don't give a shit about Jake." Calmly, Duke patted his shoulder.
"Of course not." After another moment, the expression on Duke's face became pained, "And speaking of not letting on about things...I've got something I need to tell you Lestat."
Lestat looked at him questioningly, "You look like you're scared of me hearing it. C'mon Duke, you know you can tell me anything."
"Yeah, I dunno about this one." Duke muttered under his breath. "It's about Mistress...well," he coughed, "it's about Mara. You see, I'm-" Just then, Wild Wing, Dak, Randall, and Nose Dive all burst into the room.
"So, how's the patient?" Wild Wing asked. Smiling, Duke turned to Lestat.
"Well Doctor?"
After quickly making a face at Duke Lestat said, "He's in stable condition. Tanya's mixing some shit together to pump him full of." Wild Wing nodded.
"And how are you, Lestat?" he asked gently. Suddenly, Lestat regarded Wild Wing with a little more interest. He actually seemed to care about Lestat's state.
"Just fine, Mighty-Duck-leader-whatsis." Wild Wing and the rest of them all laughed, Wild Wing sticking his hand out to shake Lestat's.
"You can call me Wild Wing."
"Right." Lestat murmured, looking him up and down before warily taking his hand, "Wild Wing."
"Well Lestat," Duke said, pushing him towards the door, "Why don't you let Wild Wing show you around? You've scarcely been out of your room the past three days."
"What about you Duke?" Lestat asked quizzically, already subconsciously moving closer to the door.
"I think I'll just...watch him for a little while." he responded, him voice sounding a little preoccupied once again as he moved closer to the bed where Jake lay sleeping. Lestat nodded.
"Yeah, hell...why not? Lead the way, Wild Wing." And out they went.
To be continued...
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