She blinked her eyes open slowly and tried to gaze about her
surroundings. Her vision was blurred due to the thick smoke stinging her eyes. The snow felt nice and cool beneath
her back, even though the air felt hot and heavy. She knew there were fires nearby, for she could hear the crackling
of burning debris all around her, and she could just barely make out the orange glow reflected in the smoke above.
The female duck closed her eyes and prayed. She hoped
she would wake up again and remember this as only a nightmare. When she thought she heard voices, she opened her eyes
again and turned her head in the direction they seemed to be coming from.
"Are there any survivors?" one voice asked, sounding squeaky.
"If there are, there won't be once I get through with them,"
another voice chuckled evilly.
All she could see were two figures, sillouetted against the
rising smoke, slowly approaching her. She tried to move, but couldn't. The pain was unbearable. So, instead,
she opted to call out for help. "Somebody help me," she tried to yell, but it merely came out as a weak whisper.
"Hey, I think we have a live one over here," she heard one
of the voices again. It was the squeaky one.
"Well, check to be sure," the other, rougher voice said.
She could see a figure crouch down beside her as it checked
her pulse.
"Yep, just barely, but she is alive," the figure with the squeaky
voice replied.
"Excellent," the other figure chuckled. "I'm going to
enjoy this."
"Please, help me," the duck managed to whisper again.
The second figure laughed meniacally once more.
"No one's gonna help you now," the evil voice replied.
"Oh please don't let me die," she thought, while grimmacing
in pain.
"Heh, heh, now to finish the job," the evil voice spoke, yet
again.
"Wait!" the figure, who was crouching beside the female duck, stood
up. "I've got a better idea," the voice squealed.
"Go on," replied the second voice.
"I say we bring her back to the Boss and let him decide what
to do with her. Who knows, maybe he'll give us a big reward for bringing in one of the Resistance members."
"Hmm, good point," the second voice said. "Let's do that."
"This is it," the duck thought to herself, "this is the end
for me." Feeling helpless and having lost her will to live, she closed her eyes once more and silently awaited her fate.
"Sound the bugle now,
play it just for me.
As the seasons change,
remember how I used to be.
Now I can't go on.
I can't even start.
I've got nothing left.
Just an empty heart.
I'm a soldier, wounded so I
must give up the fight.
There's nothing more for me.
Lead me away,
or leave me lying here."
-"Sound the Bugle", by Bryan Adams
from the movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron"
Back at Dragaunus' headquarters, two Saurian henchmen
were just returning from a mission. A small, skinny, green lizard, known as the Chameleon, entered Dragaunus' lair with
a smile on his face.
"We're back!" he chimed. Then, in a flash
of green light, he morphed into what appeared to be the Terminator. "I told you I'd be back," he added, doing his best
impersonation, before morphing back to his original form.
"It's about time!" a much taller, red lizard yelled.
He was known as Dragaunus, the Overlord of the Saurians. "Now, did you make sure there weren't any survivors?"
"Well.....," the green lizard hesitated in a squeaky
voice. Dragaunus stood up from his throne angrilly.
"WELL, WHAT?!" his voice boomed.
"There was one," a third lizard answered as he entered
the room. He had the limp body of a young, female duck, draped over his right shoulder.
"And she didn't even put up a fight," Chameleon
added comically.
Dragaunus growled. "I thought I told you two
to finish off anyone who survived!"
"Well," Chameleon started, "Siege was going to.
But then I thought she might be more valuable to you, alive." Dragaunus clenched his fists at his sides as his eyes
glowed red, and he growled through his gritted teeth. Then, there was a swirl of smoke
behind Siege, the larger, orange lizard, as yet another lizard appeared.
"Perhaps he is right, my Liege," the third lizard,
a Saurian mage named Wraith, spoke. Dragaunus watched him carefully. "You could keep her alive for now, and question
her on the where abouts of the Resistance."
The Overlord eased his tension and sat back down
in his seat and thought it over. "Hmm, perhaps..." he trailed off. Then he motioned over to the orange lizard.
"Siege, bring her here."
Siege walked forward and layed the duck down on
her back on the floor. Dragaunus took a long hard look at her. She had peachy-tan feathers and long, light-brown
hair.
"We found this with her," Siege spoke while handing
a weapon over to his Lord. It appeared to be a slightly larger version of a puck launcher, designed with a sniper's
scope. Dragaunus looked over the weapon, then looked back at the duck. A broad smile spread across his face as
he realized who she was.
"Ah, this must be the duck that's been giving us
problems. The Commanding Officers have told me of a female duck that's been sniping out our troops. Does
she have any ID on her?" Siege searched her pockets but came up with nothing more
than a few explosive pucks.
"Hey, what's that?" Chameleon pointed to something
around her neck, after catching a glimpse of something shiny. Siege crouched down and removed a chain, containing ID
tags, from the unconscious duck. He handed them to Dragaunus and the Overlord examined them carefully.
"Angelwing Icefeather," he read aloud, then he looked
at the feathered figure on the floor. "So, you thought you could defeat me, Miss Icefeather?" he asked the motionless
duck. "Well, think again duck!" Dragaunus motioned over to his three henchmen. "Take her to the infirmary,"
he ordered. "Tend to her wounds, then lock her up. We'll keep her alive alright, but I've got other plans for
her," the giant lizard chuckled maliciously. "She will find out what happens to those who stand against Lord Dragaunus!"
To be continued..............
Disclaimer: All original characters are owned and copyrighted
by Disney, all others are owned by me.
