Author's Notes: Well, not a single review last chapter. I'm writing this story because it's stuck in my head and I'm hoping that by writing it I will finally be able to finish my other stories, so I will continue to write and post, reviews or not. Helpful criticism is always appreciated.

"Hey! It's the Divester and the Grinster!" Thrash cheerfully announced when Nosedive and Grin entered the shop and then he saw their faces. "Woah, dudes! Why the long beaks?"

"Wing's mask was stolen," Nosedive answered miserably.

"You mean the mask that helps you fight the forces of darkness?" Thrash asked in surprise.

"The same," Grin confirmed, his deep voice reverberating through the shop.

"What a bummer," Mookie added.

"Any idea who would do such a heinous crime?" Thrash questioned.

"A blue beak," Nosedive answered, obviously upset.

"Umm...Like, what's a blue beak?" Mookie inquired, a bit confused about the reference.

Nosedive spent the next several minutes explaining what a blue beak was and what had happened earlier.

"That's such a bummer, dude," Thrash sadly agreed.

"She has a lot of bad karma now," Grin stated.

"Yeah," Nosedive said a bit heatedly. "She has six ducks that are going to deliver some serious bad karma...Just as soon as we can find her."

He stood there, glaring at her. How dare this...creature...this monster...lay there looking so...so...innocent. She had no right to be so peaceful after the chaos she created.

He stopped staring at her face, refusing to admit that she was the least bit attractive. He looked down the bed and turned his frown on all the blankets piled on her. Why were there so many?

He didn't want to touch her, but he was curious about the number of blankets. For that matter, why was her hair down? Heck, why was she brought here and not The Pond?

"Oh, good, you're here," a quiet voice said from the doorway.

Wildwing looked over and saw a man in a white lab coat standing there. If the patient file in his hand wasn't a big enough clue, the stethoscope draped around his neck clenched it. He was a doctor and Wildwing wasn't sure how he wanted to respond to the human. He was here to care for this thing that by all rights shouldn't even exist.

"I'm Dr. Charles," the doctor stated as he held out his hand to Wildwing. "I hope you don't mind me asking you some questions."

"I guess it depends on the questions," Wildwing responded as he shook the man's hand.

"I just need some basic medical information," Charles explained with a smile. "I'm not sure what the vital signs for an alien duck are. We called in a vet, but he wasn't much help."

"I guess I can help with that," Wildwing replied while the doctor waved him into the hall.

The next couple minutes were spent going over the average pulse, temperature and blood pressure of the citizens of Puckworld.

"Now for the $64 question," Charles continued. "Do you know her name?"

"Blue beak?" Wildwing suggested.

"I think I prefer Princess Ducky," Charles grumbled.

"Princess Ducky?" Wildwing asked in disbelief.

"Didn't anyone tell you who found her?" Charles questioned.

"Klegghorn mentioned hikers, but I'm curious why she was brought here and not to us," Wildwing replied.

"No offense, Wildwing, but you're hockey players, not medical professionals and she need us more than a rousing game of hockey," Charles pointed out.

"You got me there," Wildwing said with a slightly forced smile. "So, who found her?"

"One of our doctors was out hiking with her family and her young daughter found Ducky washed up on the river bank," Charles explained. "The daughter decided that because of her long dress, our feathered friend in there was a princess."

"I guess that makes sense," Wildwing managed to reply, despite the nauseating thought of anyone mistaking that thing for a princess. "What's wrong with her?"

"We're not entirely sure," Charles answered. "Physical examination and x-rays don't show any physical trauma other than a cut on the back of her hand. She was soaking wet and partially in the water when she was found. Given the length of the dress, she probably had to struggle to keep her head above water. We think she's just exhausted."

"She was just wearing the dress?" Wildwing asked.

"She has a gold belt on, too," Charles responded. "Normally, we remove clothing to examine unconscious patients, but we couldn't do that with her. The dress is made of some type of material that can't be cut. We broke two pair of scissors and a scalpel trying to make a nick in the material. Heck, we couldn't even figure out how to get that belt off. All we could do was dry her off as best we could and put her in a bed with lots of heated blankets. And if the dress and the belt weren't confounding enough, we couldn't even get an IV in her. Every time the needle touched her it would go shooting across the room. She's one strange duck."

"Yeah, really strange," Wildwing managed to reply as he tried not to show how freaked out he was becoming.

"I guess I better check up on her now that I know what vital signs we're looking for," Charles stated as he headed back into the room.

Wildwing didn't stop the man, but he did follow him. He would have liked to tell the doctor not to touch the thing in the bed. However, what could he say that wouldn't have the human thinking Wildwing had taken one too many pucks to the head?

He kept a safe distance as Charles approached the bed. He was ready to defend the man should the creature suddenly wake up and try anything. His heart was nearly in his throat when he saw the doctor carefully pull back the blankets.

He watched the blue beak's face carefully, doing his level best not to notice her shapely body. She was a monster and she stole the mask. He let his anger keep him focused as the doctor completed his examination.

"I don't suppose you know how to get this belt off, do you?" Charles requested.

"No, I don't," Wildwing quickly replied, desperately keeping the horror off of his face. "I'm just a goalie. Jewelery isn't part of my repertoire."

The mere thought of touching her sent shivers down his spine.

"You wouldn't know what the material of her dress is made from, would you?" Charles asked. "I've never seen anything like it before. There are no seams, so it looks like it was woven right onto her body. And even though she was found laying in the mud, there isn't a speck of dirt on it."

Wildwing thought for a moment and frowned at what he remembered.

"There's a material on my world that only the very, very rich can afford to own and it's very hard to get hold of," Wildwing hesitantly said. "Usually it's just a small piece, nothing as large or as complicated as a dress."

"What is it called?" Charles questioned.

"Spider silk and if the stories are to be believed, it really comes from a certain species of spider," Wildwing informed him. "But that species has been believed to be extinct for a couple centuries now."

"It might not be as extinct as you thought then," Charles replied. "Between her dress and her belt, she just might be a princess."

"We don't have royalty on my planet," Wildwing pointed out.

"Well, whoever she is, she's not hurting for money," Charles stated while he finished straightening the bedding.

"Other than what she's wearing, was anything else found with her?" Wildwing inquired.

"Other than the pins used to hold her hair up, what you see is what you get," Charles answered while he headed for the door. "I know that visiting hours are over, but I'd like it if you could stay. She'll probably be rather disoriented when she wakes up and it'll be helpful if she sees a face that at least looks a bit like hers."

"Of course," Wildwing readily agreed. "I'd be glad to."

"Great!" Charles happily said. "I'll let the nurses know so they don't give you any problems.

With that, the doctor left the room. As soon as the door was shut, he turned his attention back to the monster in the bed. He scowled at her as he folded his wings over his chest.

How did she escape with nothing more than a scratch on her hand? How did she get such extravagant wealth? What happened to her shoes and cloak? Most importantly, where was the mask?

"Hey, Duke!" she called as she hurried down the hall.

"What's up, Mallory?" Duke responded, stopping to wait for her while he wiped the sweat off of his face with the towel draped around his neck.

"I've been thinking," she stated as they started walking down the hallway.

"Want to be careful with that," he teased. "It might become habit forming."

"Haha, very funny," she grumbled.

"So, what were you thinking about?" he asked.

"Maybe I'm imagining things," she started, "but I could have sworn when that blue beak appeared, you dropped back."

"I told you I've run into a couple of them in the past," he reminded her as they reached his room. "They're a nasty bunch and hard to kill. Anyone with an ounce of sense wouldn't intentionally tick one off."

"You were shooting right along with the rest of us," she pointed out.

"Call me an optimist," he replied with a shrug. "I had hoped that six to one odds would have gone in our favor. Still didn't want to be that close to her."

"Guess I can understand that," she mumbled.

"Good," he said as he stepped into his room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a shower and then I'm hitting the hay. We've got an early day tomorrow."

She nodded her understanding before waving and heading to her own room. He closed and locked his door as soon as she was gone. He dodged the puck this time, but how much longer? If the blue beak really was still on Earth, sooner or later, his team would find out his connection to her.

It had been a heck of a long night and still she slept. He hadn't been as lucky. The chair that the hospital provided for visitors really wasn't meant to be slept in by a duck of his size. Of course, the interruptions hadn't helped either.

Nurses had come in every couple hours during the night to roll the blue beak over. One had told him it was to make sure she didn't get bedsores. He wasn't sure what those were, but they didn't sound comfortable. The last nurse had taken several of the blankets away and replaced them with new ones that were pre-warmed.

How he had wanted to warn them not to touch her. But how could he do that and not sound like he was completely nuts? They touched her when she had first came in and nothing bad had happened then. Besides, she was still unconscious, so it's not like she was in any condition to attack them.

He stood up and stretched, hearing his joints pop as he tried to get the kinks out. He looked out the window and could just see the sky starting to lighten up. It was almost morning and his team would soon be wondering where he was.

It finally dawned on him, she was still asleep. He doubted that she'd quietly just come with him back to The Pond. He had to get her out of here before she came to. But how?

There were humans all over the place and they'd surely notice him carrying her out. Chances were that they'd want to know where he was taking her and why. What could he tell them? That she had stolen his hockey mask and he was going to hold her prisoner until she gave it back?

He was sure that would go over well. He'd be lucky if they just kicked him out and not had him arrested for attempted kidnapping. Phil would lay eggs if he had to deal with that media fiasco.

He was going to need back up for this. He knew the others would be up and getting ready to continue searching for the mask. He decided to make sure she was still out cold before he called them in.

He quietly walked over to the bed and stared down at her. He refused to acknowledge that she was in the least bit attractive. He leaned over until their beaks were almost touching. He waved his hand in front of her face and got no reaction. Deciding that if all those humans could handle her and not be harmed, he could too.

He refused to think about all of the warnings he had grown up with concerning blue beaks as he slowly and carefully stretched a finger out toward her. The blankets had only been pulled up to her shoulders by the last nurse, so he gently poked her just above there.

The spark that jumped from where he touched her to the center of his chest moved slow enough for him to see it, but too fast for him to block it. He jumped back with a shout of surprise. He did a quick check of himself and other than the tingling sensation around his heart, he appeared to be unhurt.

He looked over to the bed and froze in place. She was sitting up and staring at him. She was NOT happy.

She gasped as a jolt of energy hit her in the chest. The yell of surprise from nearby drew her attention to the person who made it. She immediately sat up, ignoring the wave of dizziness and got ready to defend herself if necessary.

The startled look on his face when he realized she was awake was only slightly satisfying. She tried to keep an eye on him while also trying to figure out where she was. She didn't want to ask the duck who would sooner shoot her than talk to her where she was.

Fortunately, the door opened and a strange being came bustling in. The person was bipedal and female, but that was where the similarities ended. She couldn't help but stare at the being who had no feathers and no beak.

"Oh good, you're awake," the stranger happily proclaimed. "I'll go tell the doctor. Wildwing, why don't you fill her in on what's going on?"

She left as quickly as she came and the room was once more filled with silence.

"Who...? What...?" she started, still stunned by her strange surroundings.

"Where is it?" he quietly demanded, taking a bold step toward her.

A single glare from her stopped him dead in his tracks.

"It's safe," she answered simply as she started to push the bedding off of her legs.

She was still wet, so she knew she hadn't been out that long. She ached everywhere and she'd rather just go back to sleep, but she was quickly becoming cold. She didn't want to waste the power to magic the blankets off of her, so she did it the slow and hard way.

She finally got free of the blankets and slid out of the bed. Her legs didn't want to hold her at first and she quickly grabbed onto the nightstand. She concentrated on not falling, knowing that there would be no help coming from the only other person in the room.

Ignoring him for a moment, she concentrated on the fire living inside of her. She very carefully released enough of the living flame to dry herself off. She got some satisfaction in hearing him gasp in surprise as he quickly tried to put more distance between them.

With deliberate care, she sat down in the chair next to the bed. The being that had come in had mentioned a doctor, so she was probably in a hospital. She looked out the window as she brushed her loose hair out of her face and watched the sun slowly rising. She needed answers and right at that moment there was only one person who could give them.

"What planet are we on and what is the dominant species called?" she asked.

Wildwing just glared at her and crossed his wings over his chest.

"You can answer me of your own free will or I can force it out of you," she warned him.

It quickly became apparent he had no intention of answering her. So with a great deal of difficulty that she was careful not to show, she called the magic to her. She knew her eyes had started to glow and could see him shift nervously.

"Are you going to answer me?" she questioned.

She could see the muscles in his jaw bunch as he clamped his beak shut.

"Have it your way then," she sighed just before she released the magic at him. "Answer me!"

"We're on Earth and humans are the dominant species," he stiffly answered, fighting the compulsion, but losing the battle.

"I hate doing that," she softly stated as she looked back out the window while her eyes returned to their normal color. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to answer any more questions without me forcing it out of you."

"Maybe if you told me where the mask was," he shot back and that won him a full blown glare that should have singed his feathers.

"The Mask is NOT on the bargaining table," she snapped. "Even if it was, telling you where it is would be pointless. It's safely hidden and only I can retrieve it. Not that you've earned the right to wear it."

Before he could respond, the door opened again and another human came in.

"Hi there, I'm Dr. Paulson," the man said as he entered the room. "Why are you out of bed?"

"The bed is wet," she replied.

Paulson frowned and then opened the file in his hand. He quickly went over the notes the other doctors and nurses put in. As he was finishing up, Wildwing's communicator went off. Paulson frowned at the hockey playing duck.

"Please take that outside," Paulson requested rather forcefully.

Without a word, Wildwing left the room and she could feel herself relax a bit. She wasn't sure where that jolt of energy that had woken her had come from, but it wasn't helping her aches. She felt as if someone had hit her in the middle of her chest and her heart felt weird.

Instead of worrying about it, she turned her attention to the...human Wildwing had called them and answered his questions as best she could. He took her vital signs and then told her that he would send someone in to change the bedding and bring her breakfast. She thanked the doctor and watched him leave.

She turned her gaze back to the window and watched the sun rise over a planet that was much greener than her own. She wondered what would happen now. Without her there, the others wouldn't be able to open another portal. Not that they were interested in rescuing her. It was The Mask they were worried about.

They had never wanted it returned to the people. They had protected it for so long, it seemed like they forgot what it was created for. Maybe they worried that once it was gone, they would become obsolete.

They hadn't seen the damage the Saurians had done while she had. She knew first hand the pain those lizards had caused by returning to Puckworld. When it became apparent that they had no intention of finding a worthy candidate to wear The Mask, she had taken matters into her own wings.

She was the one who cast the spell that would bring the one who would pass the test and win the right to wear The Mask to Twin Beaks. It had taken her weeks to craft the spell and power it. She had to work in secret because she knew the others would have stopped her if they had known. The crafting of that spell was exhausting, but she knew she had only one shot.

The spell had been released and she knew when it had found the best duck for the job. She timed it just right so that she was the one on watch the night Canard had arrived at Twin Beaks. He had gotten into the cavern and accepted the challenge that had been laid out over the centuries since Drake DuCaine's passing.

She hadn't stopped him from starting and once started, nothing but failure or completion would stop the test. The tomb was sealed as soon as the test started and the others were unable to get in to stop Canard. They were furious when he emerged victorious and she had felt vindicated for all that she had lost.

Who could have predicted that the duck who had had the heart, compassion, courage and wisdom to win The Mask would break his promise?