HAI

Alright people, here we go! THIS is the origin story of Duke!...or what I hope to be a good one anyway ^^;

P.S. Note that I never mention his name in this prologue. Just for future reference.

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS. If I did, I'd be rich.

The young drake looked down upon what he thought to be the one of the greatest things in all of creation.

His son.

Though he and his wife had only been nineteen when they got married, they still had this beloved duckling nine months later. He knew his wife would be ecstatic when she heard that their egg had hatched, but he'd call her in a little while. She had been exhausted, spending every night in the Incubation Unit for the past week, waiting for their egg to hatch. Not thinking that anything would happen (since it usually took two weeks for a duckling to hatch), he had asked that she go home and get some rest.

He knew she was going to be royally pissed at him for insisting that she go home when she heard that their egg had hatched without her.

But that didn't stop him from staying here and watching over the small gray newborn. It was actually kind of funny in his opinion. The ducks of Puckworld came in many different colors, but gray was a rare one. The more common ones were white, tan, or a yellowish color, so the doctors and nurses were somewhat amazed to see a newborn with gray plumage.

The father chuckled a bit, picking up the small duckling, making sure that the blanket that he had been covered with was wrapped around the child to keep him warm. He went to a nearby rocking chair that the Unit had and sat, rocking slightly with the sleeping duckling.

I didn't think it would happen when I had a kid, but it did, the young father thought, watching his son sleep. Like a thief, he's stolen my heart.

RVRVRVRVRVRVRV

He felt something moving on his chest. Groaning, the twenty-one year old drake opened his eyes and looked to see what was there.

Their year old son was sleeping on his chest.

The duckling's father groaned again and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "How the hell did you get out of your damned crib and up here?" he asked.

His wife moaned. "Don't cuss in front of the baby," she said, still half asleep herself. She started to get up when her husband interfered. "Don't worry, I'll take him back," he said.

Being careful not to wake his young son up (because it was rare when he slept the entire night), the twenty-one year old rose from where he was lying on the bed, taking their son with him back to his own room down the hall.

As he lay his son back down into his own crib, he couldn't help but wonder just how the young duckling had crawled out. It happened a few times a week; he was actually beginning to wonder if this kid was literally flying.

He's got stealth, even though he's only a year old, the drake admitted to himself as he watched his son wriggle a little bit after being placed in his crib before settling back down. Maybe he'll be a ninja someday, he mused, wanting to laugh.

RVRVRVRVRVRVRV

*Ring ring!*

The twenty-four year old drake mentally groaned when he heard the phone ring. He had just gotten his son down for a nap, and now the damned phone had to ring!

*Ring ring!*

"Alright, alright, I'm comin'," he muttered, walking in the direction of the kitchen phone. His wife was at work and he had the day off, so he was in charge of their son's caretaking. So far, everything had been fine, minus trying to get the fussy four year old to take a nap.

He picked up the receiver up and answered with a gruff, "Hello?"

He listened for a few moments, then sagged against the closest wall. "Shit," he merely said in response to what he was being told. "Can't someone else take care of the recruits today? Duchess was supposed to be on the list for today, if I'm not mistaken. Let her go baby-sit them."

A few moments of silence. Then he said, "I can't. At least not now. My wife is working and won't be back until six or so-" Another pause. "-yes, I know that's two hours away, but I can't help it. I've…got stuff to do."

With that he hung up.

RVRVRVRVRVRVRV

He couldn't protect them any longer. This he was sure of.

The twenty-six year old drake didn't want to leave his wife and son behind, but there was no way that he could stay with them. Things were beginning to conflict with one another, making it harder to protect either of the two people he loved.

So he had to leave.

In his own way, he had already said goodbye to his wife; meaning that he had made the day as wonderful as he could with his family before taking his love to bed after their six year old went to sleep.

The young drake brushed away some stray hair from her face as he watched her sleep. He didn't know if she knew about him needing to leave on some level, but at this point in time, he could only guess and hope for the best.

He wandered down to his son's room, quietly opening the door and peering into the room.

The small gray duckling that had stolen his heart like a thief in the night was sleeping in the little bed that he and his wife had gotten for the younger one not too long ago. The father couldn't help but smile as he walked into the room quietly, watching the child sleep.

He kneeled next to his young son's bed and tried to wake the youngster. "Hey, you need to wake up," the father said softly, placing a hand on the kid's shoulder.

The young duckling moaned sleepily. "Izzit time for school?" he asked, his eyes half open after a moment.

"Sorry kid, not yet," his dad answered, smiling sadly. He pulled something out of his pocket as the child sat up, rubbing his eyes. The twenty-six year old then placed something over his son's head, letting it fall around his neck. "This is for you."

His son looked at the pendant that was now around his neck. The item that hung on the gold chain was (what looked like) an old coin with something engraved on it, but it was too dark to see what it was.

"Keep this with you all the time," the father instructed, his hands on his son's shoulders. "It'll protect you. Just know that we'll meet again one day."

The young duckling just looked at him, kind of dazed as his father let go and left the room…