"Where's
the girl?" Dragaunus demanded impatiently.
"The girl?" Chameleon squeaked sarcastically. "Oh,
right, the girl", he said with a nervous chuckle. "Well, you see, she was kind of captured by the ducks", explained
Chamleon, with a tinge of fear.
"WHAT?!" Dragaunus' voice boomed. "You're telling
me you lost the girl?!"
"Well, technically, we didn't lose her.
She sorta lost herself," Chameleon replied, half smiling. Dragaunus turned around and roared.
"You incompetent fools!" Dragaunus fired his lazer
at the Chameleon. Chameleon ducked just as the lazer shot flew over his head and hit a hunter drone behind him.
Then, Dragaunus sat back down in his chair and sighed. "Another last cause."
"Oh, I had a feeling this plan wasn't going to work," Wraith
mumbled from the other side of the room. "Another failure just like Lucretia and Angelwing."
"And I suppose Wildwing is still alive?" Dragaunus
looked at Siege and Chameleon. The two shook their heads nervously. Dragaunus sighed again, then stood up.
"Just as well. Never send minions out to do an overlord's job," he quipped. "I suppose if I want anything done
correctly, I'll have to do it myself," Dragaunus growled while bearing his teeth.
Meanwhile.......................................
The Ducks had returned to their underground headquarters
in the Pond with Ana. Her feet were still bound and now even her hands were tied together as well. Grin carried
her into the Ready Room and placed her gently in a chair, while the others surrounded her. Wildwing stood in front of
her with his arms crossed.
"Alright, explain," Wildwing started. "Why are you
here? Why are you working for Dragaunus?" he questioned Ana.
"Fine!" Ana snapped. "You wanna know? I'll
tell you." Ana began to tell her story. "Dragaunus brought me here, thinking I was an assassin, to kill all of
you, starting with Wildwing. I refused to do so, because I wasn't going to turn my back on my own kind. But, he
threatened my life. He said he would kill me if I didn't, so I agreed."
"Sounds disturbingly familiar," Mallory cut in, as she
shot a glance towards Angelwing.
"Only to you!" Angelwing snapped back.
Grin stepped between the two of them. "Peace.
Let's let her finish." Then he looked at Ana. "You may continue."
"Thank you. So, yes I am a member of the Brotherhood
of the Blade, and yes I am known as an assassin. However, that's not exactly true. I never killed anyone in my
life. It was all coincidence and bad timing. I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I'm not a killer. Really." She looked up apathetically. The team stared back in silence, taking in her story.
Finally, Mallory spoke.
"I don't buy it," she proclaimed.
"Hey, don't be so quick to judge," Duke told her.
"Well, I just don't trust thieves," Mallory explained.
Duke frowned.
"You trust me, don't 'cha?"
"Well," Mallory paused while she searched for the
right words. "Yeah, but that's different."
"Different?!" Duke was appalled. "I was
the leader of the Brotherhood. How is that any different?" Mallory just shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what
to say now. "She's no different than I am," Duke continued.
"Excuse me!" Ana broke in. "If it helps, not
that you'd believe me anyway, but I was forced into the Brotherhood. I never really had a choice. If I did,
I never would have chosen to go down that path." The room was silent for a moment, then Nosedive spoke out randomly,
trying to lighten things up.
"Is it just me, or does this seem like deja vous all over
again?"
Angelwing wasn't sure who to side with. In a way,
like Mallory, she didn't trust Ana. Yet, in another way, she understood her. Just a few months ago, Angelwing
was in the same position, with the Ducks questioning her about her loyalty. Things had become better since then, but
she knew that Mallory still didn't completely trust her. "And who can blame her?" Angelwing said to herself as she glanced
downwards. If she sided with Ana, that would only fuel the fire. Mallory would have even more of a reason not
to trust Angelwing. "But what have I got to lose?" she asked herself, and sighed. She had made her decision.
Angelwing walked over to Ana and started to untie her.
"Hey! Angel, what do you think you're doing?!" Karissa
exclaimed. The rest of the team stared on in shock.
"The Macarena," Angelwing replied sarcastically.
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
"Uh, freeing a criminal?" Nosedive replied with the same
sarcasm.
"Maybe," Angelwing stated. "But this time, she's
innocent," she said boldly as she finished untying Ana. Once she was untied, Ana stood up and thanked Angelwing.
Mallory stepped towards them. "Are you crazy?!" she
yelled at Angelwing. "We still don't know if we can trust her!" She stepped closer with her hands clenched tightly
into fists. Angelwing was furious. She walked right up to Mallory and they were now standing face to face.
"Mallory, you still don't even know if you can trust me
yet," Angelwing growled angrily. Wildwing had had enough of their feuding.
"Enough you two!" Wildwing ordered as he stepped
between them. "Stand down." He looked at Angelwing with a menacing expression. "Tell me why you untied her."
Angelwing quivered a bit. It wasn't Wildwing that
scared her. It was the thought of being kicked off the team, and the fear of losing Wildwing as a friend. She
finally bolstered up enough courage to answer Wildwing.
"I believe her Wing," she replied, gazing into the eyes
of the mask. "Just a few months ago, I was in her shoes. Dragaunus was using her like he used me."
Nosedive rolled his eyes. "Right," he said sarcastically.
"That's the same, lame brain excuse Lucretia Decoy tried to use on us."
"Funny," Jess commented. "That's not what you said
when you first met her," she smirked.
"Yeah, well, I ain't falling for any pretty faces this
time," replied Nosedive, as the everyone rolled their eyes.
"Good," Ana jumped in. "Cause this pretty face ain't
falling for you," she said in a sassy tone. "Nor would I catch you if you fell." No one, not even Mallory, could
resist a chuckle over that.
Angelwing regrouped her thoughts and looked back at Wildwing.
"All I'm asking is that you give her a chance Wildwing." Wildwing galnced over to Ana, who was staring back sympathetically.
"After all," Angelwing continued as Wildwing turned his attention back to her, "you did so for me," she said sincerely.
Wildwing sighed. He didn't know what it was, but
something inside him was telling him to trust her. "Alright," he replied. "But she's not part of the team just
yet. She has to prove her loyalty first. Until then, she stays down here."
Angelwing's eyes widened. "Thank you Wing!"
Ana walked over to Wildwing.
"Thank you," she said, smiling. Wildwing looked back
at her sternly.
"Your first test will be to have no contact, whatsoever,
with Dragaunus or his goons," he told her.
"Not to worry," Ana replied confidently. "If I did, they'd
find me. If they find me, they'll kill me."
So, Wildwing and the rest of the team, except for Mallory,
agreed on letting Ana stay. However, until she proved her loyalty and proved she could be trusted, she
had to stay at the Pond.
Through most of this time, Duke had been pondering, lost deep
in thought. He had been trying to figure out where he had seen Angelwing before. "I know I've met her else where,
back on Puckworld," Duke thought to himself. Then, he smacked his forehead as it came back to him.
"Now I remember where I've met you before," he proclaimed
as he turned to face Angelwing. She was stunned.
"Huh?"
"You, yourself, are a member of the Brotherhood," Duke
announced as he pointed to Angelwing.
Disclaimer: All original characters are owned and copyrighted by Disney,
all others are owned by me.
