Hey there! Fic number 3! Whoo hoo! Here we go!

Warning: It's PG  for discussions of abuse, but not in detail. Never take your anger out on someone else.

Disclaimer: Ok ok! I don't own the Ducks and I respect those who do. So I'm gonna mimic you! YEA I'M WRITING A STORY ABOUT DUCKS! WHOO HOO!

Surfer-Dude

            It was a warm day at the beach. People were relaxing left and right. It was a nice day to be at the ocean.

            Except for the Mighty Ducks (sans Nosedive. He was having a ball.). This whole thing was a publicity stunt concocted by Phil. Evidently there were a bunch of contests to be held, and the Ducks were going to be judges, much to their delight (sarcasm intended, except of course in Dive's case. He's the Oddball, after all).

            It was two hours until the next event, so the Ducks decided to relax. Duke dragged Grin over to play sand volleyball with some girls, Tanya was absorbed in a book, and Mallory was having an interesting conversation with Wildwing. They were trying to find a way to cause Phil's death and still make it look like an accident. Wing suggested using the Zamboni, but Mallory rejected it, saying it was a little too messy.

            Nosedive was trying his hand at the latest teen-craze: Surfing. And boy was he living up to his name. He was falling off the board so many times he suggested getting a parachute. But of course they didn't offer parachutes at the beach, so he immediately submitted his suggestion to the event organizers. Then he got back on his board and tried the waves again.

            After an hour, Tanya had fallen asleep, Wing and Mallory had agreed on a bomb in Phil's briefcase, and Duke was still gone with Grin. Nosedive dragged his board up to the other ducks, looking quite exhausted.

            "Hey bro. Have fun?" asked Wildwing to his panting brother.

            "Oh sure…a blast…" he gasped as he tossed the board to the side. He plopped down on his stomach between Mallory and Wing. "But now I'm pooped. Wake me when we hafta do something, K?" With that, he was asleep.

            "Well, at least one of us is having fun…" said Mallory.

            Wing chuckled. "Him? You could give him a paper bag and he'd have a blast!" Mallory rolled her eyes.

            "If it wasn't for the large beak, I'd mistake him for one of those human teenagers…" she said.

            "Nosedive, I presume?" asked Tanya, who had just waken up.

            "Who else?"

            Tanya shrugged. "What'd he do to make him so tired? Did surfing take that much out of him?" she asked.

            "Nah, I'd say it was the falling off the board that did it. I don't think he really did surf…" said Wildwing.

            "Nope. But now I know why we call him 'Nosedive'…" said Mallory.

            Wildwing corrected her. "No, that's cause he fell down the stairs head-first as a toddler…and then laughed about it at the bottom. Gave my dad a heart attack…" he said.

            The girls laughed about it for a few moments, then everyone got quiet. They were watching the other kids surf, and actually staying up on their boards.

            "Hey Wildwing…" Mallory asked with seriousness. Wildwing turned around. "What happened to Nosedive?" She gestured down at the sleeping youth's back. It had all sorts of marks on it, and a few scars.

            Wing sighed. "Way too much…" he said sadly. Tanya raised an eyebrow. "I guess you could say he's a victim…Those thin lines are from lashings in the mines. You know Dive's attitude? How he makes wisecracks all the time? Well, that came out a lot more in the mines. He says it made the others feel a lot better about their situation, making it almost bearable…"

            Mallory was shocked. "But there's so many…He was whipped this many times?"

            "Dive's always been stubborn…"

            Neither Mallory nor Tanya said a word. Wing continued. "Then there's the one caretaker we had in a foster home. He had a very bad temper, and he got aggressive when things went wrong. I stayed out of his way, and I knew what made him mad. But Dive didn't understand, cause he was so young at the time…One day, the guy totally went insane. Lost his mind. And he…was armed…" Wing trailed off. He didn't say anything more. Tanya and Mallory paled.

            "Did…he…was Dive…was he…" Wing nodded. Mallory was as white as a sheet.

            "Dive's got a scar on is hip…from it…" Tanya gasped.

            "Poor guy…" she said, glancing down at the sleeping Nosedive.

            Wing sucked in a breath. "Well, I suppose…that shows how incredibly strong Dive is. He's so much stronger than he let's on. And that's why he's such a good hockey player. It lets him vent. He'd never touch another person when he gets mad. He takes it out on the puck…"

            The girls nodded. No one said anything.

Finally Nosedive stirred. "Man I'm hungry…wonder if there's any tacos around here…hey… hey why are you all looking at me like that? What'd I do now?"

            Mallory smiled. "So much…you've just done so much, Nosedive…" she said quietly.

Tanya nodded, pride shining out of her eyes. "Yes, you're truly a hero…" She leaned over and hugged him, and Mallory did too. They were still smiling.

Nosedive looked very afraid. "AHH!!!" he screamed. He jumped back, then scrambled to his feet. "Ok, I sooo don't know what's going on, but I'm like, splitsville. Catch you weirdos later!." With that, he ran away from the other three.

The sun was starting to set, and the Ducks were watching as Nosedive finally got the hang of surfing. The other kids had all gone to get something to eat, but Dive didn't care. He was just so glad that he was finally staying up on the board.

"Y'know," Mallory whispered to Wildwing. "You've got quite a brother. To be seventeen and to have seen what he's seen, to have endured what he's endured, and to still be the chirpy little optimist, well, he's really something…it's almost gonna bring a tear to my eye when I ground him into a pulp for pouring that sand into my Pepsi…"

"Yea, well, that's Nosedive for you…" said Wing.

They turned with the others just in time to see a wave hit Dive and throw him into the air. They watched as he sailed over the water, shouting "DUCKS ROCK!!!", then land face-first into the waves. They all applauded him. His board washed up onto the sand.

Dive peeked out of the water, but only came up to his shoulders. "HEEEEELLLLP!!!" he yelled.

The other Ducks jumped to their feet. "Is he ok?!? Is he drowning?" asked Duke.

"No…I don't think so…" said Mallory.

"Then what's wrong?" asked Tanya.

"HEEELLLLP!!!!!!!" yelled Nosedive again.

"What's wrong?" asked Mallory.

"I think I know," said Wildwing, walking over to the tide about twenty feet away from them. The others watched as he bent down and picked up Dive's swim trunks. They all burst out laughing.

"HEEEELLLLP!!!!!!!" Dive screamed again. The others just laughed.

Wing waved the shorts around in the air. "HEY BRO! LOSE SOMETHING?" he called.

"AAHHHH!!!!!!! GIVE ME THOSE!!!!!" Nosedive shouted. Wing just kept laughing. Duke fell over, and Tanya was tearing up. Mallory suddenly wished for a camera.

Wildwing decided to have a little fun. "You want 'em? Well come get 'em!" he said.

"NOOOOO!!!! GIVE ME THOSE!!!!!!!!" Nosedive hollered.

            Wing picked a stick up off the ground and put the trunks on it, then stuck the little flag into the sand. "Well, we're gonna go now. See ya!" He laughed as he and the other Ducks turned and walked away.

            "NOOOOOO!!!! COME BACK!!!!! SOMEBODY? ANYBODY! HEEEELLLP!" Dive yelled. Too late, the others were gone. "OH FABOO!"

            Five minutes later, Wildwing came back and picked up Dive's swimwear. He tossed them like a Frisbee out to his stranded brother, who waded over to them. Wing laughed as Dive grabbed them and went under water. A minute later he came trudging up onto the beach, looking very upset. Wing just laughed as he smacked Dive playfully on the head and ran towards the parking lot.

            Nosedive continued to walk, glaring at his brother who was far ahead of him by now. "I hope you like shaving cream, Wildwing," he said to himself, "because I see a lot of it in your future…"