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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Buddi did not usually ride the Quickcars but occasionally he found a use for them. They were actually kinda fun. If this had been a less serious situation, he would have laughed at the high speed they jolted by at. But this was not a time for laughing.

However, they soon realized _why_ these tunnels were never used.

"Buddi! The track's broken!"

The Barbic cub looked ahead, in a panic and sure enough, Sunni was right. A whole six yards of track were gone from their path. Buddi turned to see his friend turning white. He swallowed hard, knowing that he could not start to freak out. Almost out of instinct, the cub pulled on the brake. But the cars, despite being in working order, were not well maintained and the brake gave away. Buddi turned to Sunni,

"Uh, you can panic now."

But the Glen girl was already thinking ahead. She undid her seat belt and gestured to Buddi to do that same. The Barbic cub did not bother with questions. He did the same and then followed Sunni as she crawled out to sit on the very tip of the Quickcar. Buddi caught on immediately. The speed would fling them across the break. Then, all they would have to worry about was landing.

Sunni swallowed hard the closer and closer the break became. She reached out and grasped Buddi's hand. Her own hand was drenched in sweat. She sighed deeply. Buddi squeezed her back and closed his eyes. He hated heights, at least heights like this. Had there been trees nearby it would have been different but this was a cavern.

There was a sickening jolt as the car flew off the edge and the two went flying. Buddi, out of instinct which had been pounded into him from training, curled into a tight ball. His shoulder hit the other side, hard, and he let out a yelp as his shoulder dislocated. Sunni was flung onto her belly but aside from some mild bleeding, she seemed okay.

"Buddi, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The cub winced but did the basic first aid that Ursa had taught him a while ago. Grasping his arm by the elbow, he yelped as it slid back into his socket after a slight push. It would hurt a while and there was a nasty bruise but he could move it at least.

"So…now what?" Sunni inquired. Buddi looked around and then started up the side towards an old forgotten passage,

"Well, we can't stay here. Guess up is the only way."

Sunni swallowed, hard, but nodded and followed her best friend upwards. It was agonizing; Sunni was by no means an experienced climber. But she said nothing and mimicked Buddi's movements. It seemed to take forever. But in reality, it only took about ten minutes to make their way up that steep wall.

By the time the two pulled themselves up, they were willing to welcome any rest. Sunni looked around. A fresh stream flowed by them. She practically attacked it, drinking in deep gulps. Then, she looked around. Buddi started to drink and then Sunni screamed. Buddi choked and then said,

"What?"

"Buddi! We're in Fangwood Forest!"

Buddi looked around and then went back to drinking, "so?"

"So? Gruffi told me about this place! The trees-"

Buddi got up and walked over to the small grove of trees. They looked old, rotten, and sick. Not starving and the stream certainly helped. Btu still. The Barbic cub knelt down so he was on his knees and began to dig under the roots with his hands. He found rotted roots and some old leaves. He reached into his sack and removed his canteen. He'd taken a handful of dirt from Barbic woods when they were there. He took that out now and wet it. Pushing the soil around the bruised and cut roots, he applied it, gently. Then gasped. A branch fell to brush his cheek. Like that old tree had done so long ago, when he'd been lost…

Sunni backed up, panicked. But Buddi stared mystified. The tree opened hidden eyes and said in an old voice that cracked with emotion,

"Thank you."

Gummadoon

Cubbi's dreams did not reveal anything about Gummadoon's entrances but it gave his captors a much more serious and dangerous advantage…

"Duck!"

Cubbi did so and then stood up. The training ended. The young cub drank in Sir Plucki's smile and his soft chuckle. The elder knight ruffled the cub's hair. "You've the talent, lad."

"Really?"

"Keep it up and you'll be one of the better knights I have under my command, or maybe my best."

"You're not just saying that, are you?" the cub's eyes turned dangerous. If he dared-

"Of course not. Sir Plucki does not tell white lies."

Cubbi chuckled, "Does Sir Plucki always go that slow, too?"

A playful grin took over the Captain's face, "Oh now that's a challenge."

Grabbing the cub in a headlock, he did the one thing that Cubbi could not stand…started to tickle him.

"No fair! No fair…"

Zorlock snorted, "If this dream gets any sweeter, I'm gonna get cavities."

But Lady Bane smiled, "Perhaps. But it tells us something…if we want to get information from this child, we must lower his defenses. He takes this Gummi Captain's word for Gum's will. So-"

"Destroy that belief."

Near Future

The Glens glanced about. They were in the forest surrounding the Glen, no mistaking that. But it looked older, more grown. And there was a sense of peace about that they never felt in the their time.

"Zummi, where-"

The sound of hooves broke the silence. A hairy unicorn, not unlike those that the Gummadoon knights had, broke through the trees. The unicorn was pulled to a startled stop. Its occupant, a knight of about eighteen, gasped,

"Grammi? Zummi? Gruffi? Tummi? I thought you were at the Glen. With all the gummies now, you never leave!"

"What in Gum's name are you talking about?" Gruffi's voice was cautious. There was something familiar-

The pink knight jumped off, his weapons laid aside.

"No…you're the younger ones; the time travel spell…of course."

"Who are you?" Tummi asked, keeping close to the others.

"Did I really change that much?" the knight chuckled. "Grammi, Tummi, Zummi, Gruffi…you're in the future. It's me; Cubbi."

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