Growing Up

The Barbics, Glens and any other Disney characters are copyrighted to Disney and we claim no ownership. However, any new characters are copyrighted to Ulisa, Silver Fox and Cheetah the Furry. This plot is a collaboration of Ulisa, Silver Fox, and Cheetah the Furry.

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Ursa would have started forward but Buddi grasped her by the arm and was practically pleading. She could have forced her way forward but then she would have dragged Buddi with her and she wasn't about to do that. But she gave the cub a stern glare and snarl, nonetheless. He kept his iron clad grip.

Buddi wouldn't release Ursa. He knew she would most likely punish and lecture him for it later but he was used to punishments from her…it wasn't something new.

"Surely you didn't forget me. Zorlock! Greatest of the Old World Wizards!"

Sunni's mind began to throb. She was fighting to remember…that…that was that twisted wizard that had stolen their Great Book! Only Zummi, Gruffi, and Grammi had actually met him but she had heard enough from the three of them. But he-

"Zorlock?" The Barbics turned as the Glen girl stammered, "But you're-"

"Dead?" The form took a step towards the Glen girl. Sunni backed up, grasped Buddi's arm. The touch made her and Buddi slightly light headed but there was no time for such feelings. Odd how their bodies chose the most inappropriate times to feel these things!

Lady Bane spoke again, her voice deep and unfamiliar.

"Foolish bears. You merely killed my body. My magic and will are a separate entity. You didn't kill that. All I needed was a vessel of magical ability to call me."

The magician cracked his knuckles and said, "Now with introductions out of the way…"

The magician thrust a palm forward, creating a blast of wind that hit Sunni head on. Since she was near Buddi, they both went flying backwards, slamming into the wall. Sunni was knocked out on contact. Buddi, however, sat up painfully, rubbing the back of his head. He turned as he heard a low growl. The window had been shattered with Lady Bane's spell. Claw marks were scraped down the wall.

The Kuson-Pi was less than an inch from his throat.

The Gummi knights finally stopped when they saw Lady Bane's drawbridge. Cubbi was all for barging in but Plucki told him that wasn't a bright move. Cubbi knew it too but he was so angry and ready to take it out on somebody that it took a direct order to get him to wait.

Cubbi had never been very good at waiting. But he wasn't a fool. He knew that if need be, Plucki could order him back to Gummadoon. While the cub did not really expect him to do that, he wasn't about to take chances. He could never tell with adults.

Plucki seemed to be thinking. He waited a moment and then said,

"Blastus, Gumlittle, you're with me. The rest of you wait here. We need to scout out possible entrances. And Ramsei, you're good with guards. I need you to keep watch. I don't know what that witch did but I'm willing to bet, it wasn't good."

Ramsei gave a nod and the three key knights were out of sight before Cubbi could even mutter a protest. He knew that it was because he was hurt and he knew that, logically, it made sense. Still, it was infuriating. He wanted to help. He knew that Sunni and the others needed help.

Besides, he'd never been very fond of these knights. They always seemed a bit too high and mighty for his tastes. They were the stuck up types…thought that he was too young to do much. That's why he liked Plucki and the others. They gave no thought to his age, or at least none that they revealed.

"Keep your guard up,"

Ramsei looked at his younger knight with contempt. He still couldn't believe that the Gummadoon council had allowed a child to become a knight. Especially a mischievous one like this. Had a full fledged knight snuck away against the council's orders, he would have been severally reprimanded. This cub was not even trained enough…and here he was telling Ramsei, a fully-fledged knight to keep his guard up?

"I've been doing this for years, Cubbi," the blue knight replied as he looked about. "I don't need your help."

Had Cubbi been having a regular day that would have drawn out a large raspberry. But he had been on a haiana, his leg hurt, he was frightened, and the Glen's loss still cut deep.

This wasn't a normal day.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" he spat, his eyes narrowing. Ramsei's eyes left his guard. The two twins seemed equally upset but they wisely decided to stay out of it. Ramsei spat,

"A knight doesn't take his faults out on others, Sir Cubbi," he hissed, the title used with sarcasm, "Nor does a knight disobey orders of superior knights or councils! You're too young for this! Why don't you grow a bit and then try this?"

"I'm young but that doesn't mean that I'm stupid! I'm not saying that I've seen what you've seen. But I've seen enough!"

Ramsei laughed, in both amusement and disgust, "You have the fire, child. But-"

"What about the Aerials?" Cubbi hissed, not caring anymore who heard him. He was mad. "You trapped them five hundred years ago. That little episode with them was no picnic."

"The Aerials?"

Cubbi turned. Their shouting had brought back Plucki, Blastus, and Gumlittle and the three were staring at Cubbi. The cub turned to face them and said, "Two years ago. You trapped their ancestors. Guess what? They're still up there! They aren't that easy to deal with either."

He whirled to Ramsei, "The Spinster wasn't trapped that well either come to think of it. Oh, that was fun. And Ursalia's paths are terrible! And that little incident with the Doomsday Clock…that was a fun day. Don't give me this crap that I'm just a child. The Spinster? We've met. Carpies? We've met. The Aerials? Met them too!"

Cubbi paused and took a breath. Ramsei was backing up. The cub's eyes were wild, glazed with tears. When he yelled again, his voice broke. He was on the edge of crying.

"Igthorn…Gum strike that monster down! Let him rot in Drekmore for all I care! He's always been a jerk but he's sunk to levels I didn't know a human could go. I had to LIVE through his little schemes. I've got HIM to thank for a lot of my pain. So, don't give me this! I don't need it!"

The cub couldn't go on. He threw his staff down and simply collapsed to his knees, in tears. Ramsei and the twins slowly backed off.

Plucki recovered swiftly. He turned to Gumlittle and Blastus, "Show those three one of the entrances. Cubbi and I will follow."

The two nodded and ran off.

Cubbi was trying to dry his tears. Tears of pain, anger and simply frustration. They would not slow and would not stop. He felt an arm around his shoulder and merely fell into the arms of whatever person cared enough to try and offer comfort.

The tears came still.

Near Past

Grammi swallowed,

"Malachi…"

"I want you to fix this." His eyes were dangerous. He turned to the magician, "I want you to take us back. We're gonna stop all this from happening. You knew! Gum Above, you knew!"

"Malachi," Zummi pleaded, "If we could have sone domething…er, done something, we would have!"

"Liar! What kind of gummies abandon a city to a known disaster like you did?"

Gruffi almost made a reply when he saw that Grammi was unbound. He made wild gestures with his eyes. She backed up. Gruffi made his move,

"Don't blame us for your short comings!"

He didn't mean that but it had the result he wanted. All the three Barbics turned to him and Grammi took her leave. She ran as fast as she could, knowing that the Barbics would pursue her. She had to tear through tree branches and vines, clovers. The forest was beautiful but very hard to make her way through.

She finally passed through a set of clovers.

"Hi! You came back! Are you gonna stay?"

Grammi looked up. Buddi grinned at her, offering her a hand up. The glen took it and was pulled to her feet. She looked Buddi over.

He was covered in mud, from head to toe. But a grin covered his face. He answered her look.

"I'm not allowed to use the fireplace. I cook without the heat." He handed her a 'cookie' with rock and leaf chips. She had to smile. The ingenuity of a cub.

The cub now frowned, "Why'd you leave before? That wasn't nice!"

Grammi heard it now, distinctly. Broken stems, leaves rustling. She turned to Buddi, her heart racing and spoke swiftly,

"Buddi, why don't we take these cookies to Ursa? Then I can explain, okay dear?"

The cub seemed reluctant to trust her but nodded and scooped up the 'cookies' before leading her up the trees. Grammi merely gave a sigh of relief. If she was careful then this would be fine. That was it. She just had to be careful. Besides, she knew she couldn't get the other three away from three Barbics. She'd need time. And they would be fine. Barbics were gummies too…they wouldn't kill in cold blood.

Grammi was about to collapse by the time the cub led her to a hut in the upper branches. It had a wooden balcony. The cub walked through a door and into a pleasant looking room. A fire loomed in the center. The cub squealed,

"Mama Ursa!" he ran for the fire, tracking in muddy footprints as he did so, "Mama Ursa! See? See, told ya I found gummies! I made you some cookies too!"

Grammi walked in, slowly.

The form by the fire stood. Her strawberry blond hair was bound in a low ponytail. She wore a pair of black breeches and a baggy blue shirt, with a black leather belt. Her sword sheath still hung around her waist. She straightened her helmet and then said,

"Oh Buddi! You look like a mud monster."

"Made you cookies," the cub offered. Ursa gave him a small smile and then lifted her eyes and greeted her visitor.

"Ursa Barbic. I have to admit I didn't know what to make of Buddi's story…but now that you're here…what can I do for you?"

Ursa gave Grammi a small smile, revealing a trait Grammi had never noticed, faint dimples in her cheeks. Grammi took a breath,

"You have a very nice smile, dear."

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