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This story and all original characters are the property of the author.
Explanation, explanation... ummm. Not really. Just Wildwing's turn to sort some things out. Actually, it's fairly pointless and it came to me while I was taking a walk...
This occurs just after the pilot episode.
Mild smarm. Tell me you expected otherwise from me.
Promenade
"What do you miss the most?" It was a barely heard whisper from the boy beside him.
"Going outside," he answered immediately. "I miss the trees, the sun, the sky. When this is over, I'm going to take a walk. A real one. I'll walk till I can't go any further and then I'll stay there until I feel like getting up again."
The younger boy shifted slightly, hitching the thin blanket up over his shoulders, poor shelter against the cold, and burroughed a little closer to his side in search of warmth. "When this is over, I'll go with you."
Obligingly, he wrapped an arm around the boy, pulling him against his chest and holding him close. "I'm counting on it, baby bro."
So this was Earth.
Wildwing surveyed the scene before him with a somewhat skeptical eye. It sure didn't look like much.
He crossed his arms as he stared out the window and down at the cityscape presented there. Cars sped down the streets, the natives - humans, they were called - walking and running about, hurrying on with their daily lives and chores. Occasionally one would stop and glance at the Pond with a hint of curiosity, doubtless wondering about the rumors that Anaheim had found itself a new hockey team, then continue on their way to work or school or errand running. He watched them with a disconnected interest, almost envying them their hustle and haste. Things were too quiet right now. All he had time to do was think.
A ray of sunlight bounced off a passing car window and into his eyes, making him blink for a moment until it faded. He smiled slightly, the warmth of the sun a pleasant feeling against his face.
So this was their new home.
His smile faded as he considered the consequences. They were, for all intents and purposes, trapped here on this strange planet. They had no way to go home, no way to leave. The odds that they would ever see their homeworld again were slim at best, and they each knew it. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. Yet another prison...
And how many of those had he seen? Growing up they had seemed countless; a stream of strangers and strange places and strange rules as one family after another took him and his brother in, then passed them on to the next. As they grew older, he'd thought they'd finally escaped, only to find himself a prisoner of war, trapped inside the walls of a work camp, separated from the only family he had left. He'd spent four months of his life there, in a Saurian created hell that had all but broken him, until he half wished to die and barely had the strength and will to live anymore. Hope was a forgotten memory of childish whims, salvation a pipe dream and he'd given up on both until fate had given him back his brother and sent his best friend on a rescue mission to take him out of there and into the ranks of the rebellion-
-where he'd found himself in another type of prison.
He tapped the window with one finger, feeling it warm against his skin. Oh, the resistance had been heaven compared to the work camps, to be sure. There he and his brother had food and clothing, a place to sleep at night, medical attention. There was no threat of punishment, no fear of death for the slightest transgression. But in it's own way, it had been almost as confining. They were restricted to certain parts of the base, unable to leave, forbidden to contact the outside world in any way. Meals were served at specific times, lights out was at the same time every night and they each had tasks to perform. It was in service of the rebellion, in effort to free their homeworld, but looking back, Wildwing saw those few weeks and recognized how he'd chafed inside there.
"How's that for gratitude, huh, Canard?" he asked softly. "You drag us out of there, give up back our lives and most of our freedom, and I complain about curfew."
Now, here on Earth, he was freer than he'd been in almost five months, yet he could still feel the phantom of chains at his wrists while shadows of Saurian guards danced at the corner of his vision, just out of sight. He still felt trapped. For all intents and purposes they were still in the rebellion, and they still had to defeat Dragaunus. They still had a mission and a duty and...
Wildwing banged his head against the glass.
I'm making this more difficult than it has to be.
"What do you miss the most?"
The whispered voice drifted through his thoughts, reminding him of cold nights and a narrow bunk, the warmth and weight of his brother at his side as they huddled together for warmth and protection, hushed conversations that had lasted longer than they should have, leaving them both tired the next morning. He smiled a little as he remembered that particular conversation. An offhand comment about comic books had led to their listing of the things they missed most. What had they been? Wildwing dug through his memories, trying to remember the lists that had grown ridiculously huge as they talked late into the night. Dive had missed laserblading, camping at Lake Wellis and his friend Tremaine while Wing's list had included their parents, his best friend Canard and long walks in the woods...
How long has it been since I've had one of those? Since before the occupation, definitely. He shook his head. No wonder he felt so restless. He had enjoyed the chance to clear his mind and refresh himself during those walks.
That was it.
His eyes fixed on the people below him for a long moment before he turned away from the window and strode out of the room.
The others were gathered in one of the offices off the main arena, engaged in an argument of where to set up sleeping quarters until something more permanent could be worked out. Dive and Mallory seemed to be in a face-off over one of the larger offices - the one with a couch probably. The arguing stopped as they noticed him standing there. "Hey, bro," Dive greeted him enthusiastically. "S'up?"
"I'm going out. Take a walk. Thought I'd let you guys know first." He cast an amused glance at the minor pandemonium in the room and wondered how they'd managed to make such a mess in the short time he'd been upstairs.
"Sounds cool. You want company?" Dive asked a little hopefully.
He smiled at his little brother. "I was counting on it, baby bro."
Maybe they couldn't go home, maybe they did have a mission and a duty to fulfill. And even if Dragaunus was still loose out there somewhere... Wildwing cast those thoughts away as he playfully tousled his brother's hair.
He wasn't going to let Earth become another prison. It was long past time he walked through the prison gates and into the sun.
"Let's go."
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