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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Future

"Grand_cubs_?? You mean... twins?" Grammi burst into tears and hugged the grinning Sunni with all her might.

"Easy, Grammi. Even Barbic toughness only goes so far!"

Buddi, soon to be a proud papa bear, chuckled at the little joke.

"Buddi, tell us about this Festival of Three? What's it all about?" a puzzled Zummi asked.

Off the Coast of England

"No, no, no! It'd never work!" Buddi yelled in frustration, throwing his hands up. His temper was coming back again and currently he had no patience

for the ineptitude of the King of France. "There's no way you could make sure your blasting powder wouldn't hurt US if you placed shot it out of the

catapults. You can't aim good. We need a better way!"

"Mon compatriot, I am trying to be reasonable here but you must realize our limitations!"

"Human limitations!"

"Buddi! Please, stop it, both of you."

"Oui. Sunni is right. Do you have a better plan, Buddi?"

Originally set on edge by the ship he and the others were on, it took a bit to calm him down. Sunni by his side helped tremendously. "Look, I may

not be an adult but my clan's always prepared for confrontations and mounting defenses. I'm not the best fighter but I'm great with planning strategies. Now the way I see it..."

Outside Gummadoon's Walls

Tavi almost fell right in front of him in her haste to dismount.

"Get off the field! This is a battle, cub!"

"Plucki! Please, listen to me!"

He did not dismount but signalled his knights to silence. "Speak."

"It's Cubbi. He... He's possessed by Zorlock! He.. He almost..." She started crying, had to fight back the tears. "Sir Plucki, he's still in

there. Cubbi's not dead. I _saw_ him! Please, you gotta help!"

The Gummi Captain turned his steed about, scooping up Tavi. "Show me where he is."

"Plucki, no!" Sir Ramsei pulled his stallion out to block Plucki's path.

"We've a battle _here_. The cub is strong enough to wait it out."

"You're wrong! You didn't see him, Ramsei..." Tavi shuddered and clung to Plucki.

"Ramsus, this has gone beyond Cubbi, as it has gone beyond Gummadoon's walls. Why do you think Zorlock took possession of such a young cub? He

means to keep the way behind open for the onslaught ahead of us."

The mustached Gummadoon warrior hiked his brows at that shocking realization and backed out of Plucki's way. "Do you need any assistance?"

"No. It will be us or no one. Cubbi trusts me of all people. Fight well, Sir Ramsus."

"Fight well, Sir Plucki." With a brief nod of his head, he returned to formation, not looking back at his Captain's flight. He and the others had much bigger concerns as the buzz of the Aerials new contraptions filled the air and the clomp of huge feet shook the ground. A huge army indeed. Time to rally their own.

The humans weren't as brave as his fellow gummies. No one was saying anything, so Ramsei took charge of it. "Hold fast, men and gummi alike! We've fought back these same foes before and beat them all. This should be a small matter, eh?" He grinned, showing them an ease he didn't feel. Battles, war, they never sat well, but single fights. Yes, one could say he was proud of all his fights. Let them come singly then, and he'd show them all a good fight!

Igthorn was first on the scene, backed by a hundred others of various race and design but of similar malign alignments.

"Oh, so you've got yourself some of Gregor's goons, have you?" the Duke scoffed.

The side of evil chuckled.

Sir Ramsei couldn't have hoped for a better reaction. Tired of putting up with this human's infiltrations of Dunwyn Castle, the King's knights bristled visibly and audibly, their fervor rising at Igthorn's remarks and sending out their own slurs.

"ENOUGH! I've had enough blabber in my head and out of it!" From the motley squadron stomped the livid Lady Bane. "You will all die and I will be the only one laughing!" Finally rid of that monstrous Zorlock, Lady Bane was eager to exact some long overdue revenge on anyone in her way. And that meant _everyone_.

There was no question that it was she who fired the first bolt. Along Gummadoon's wall, Plucki tried to shut out the charging cries of Barbic, Knight, human, gummi, ogre, and others. His mission was plain and right before him. Though Tavi's directions were vague, Cubbi/Zorlock was not trying to cover his tracks.

In the deepest, darkest, and most secret part of his mind, Zorlock hid a very keen secret from even Lady Bane. It was possible the busybody bears had

forgotten all about it, too. He didn't have a Doomsday Clock and he'd heard that bullethead Pigthorn say the Ursalian secret weapon was dismantled but Gummadoon had it's own interesting defense. If he could only find the right section of wall! Blast the infernal designers! How could anyone find anything here?? Zorlock continued to press Cubbi's hands against stone, trying to find the precise one to unlock the passage. It was low. He knew that. A crawl space even for a gummi. The downside of this cub's body was his lack of inherent magic. He couldn't just do a summon source spell on the thing. Probably shut up by a locking spell anyway.

"Cubbi!!"

Just great... Zorlock turned the cub slowly, grinning. Oh, they knew all right. That blasted captain wouldn't be approaching so cautiously if he wasn't aware that Zorlock was in charge. Let 'em get close. He and that twerp would just make their ends easier.

"Cubbi?" Plucki held out one hand. "Come to me, son. Please."

Oh... This was too easy. He wanted to play a bit. "Son?? Don't you dare call me that!" Using Cubbi's rage and indignation, Zorlock cackled

internally as he let it out on top of Plucki. "You want me to be a replacement for Aldi, don't you!"

Plucki sagged. "No... No one could replace Aldi, just as no one can replace your father, Cubbi." The gummi Captain turned stern. "Cubbi, come here. Now."

Letting the anguish and tears from the cub's tortured soul bubble up to be felt by the body, crying was easy.

Cubbi rushed to Plucki's outstretched arms.

"It's alright, Cubbi. We'll help you."

Tavi approached meekly. "Plucki? Is Cubbi alright?" Soulswaps were tricky. She didn't think anyone could break one just by willpower, though Cubbi had to be strong to break out just before... before he hurt her.

"Go straight to Wooddale. Tell her the situation." Plucki said quietly, still retaining a hold on Cubbi.

"Plucki?" the pink-furred cub mumbled against his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"You were right... You can't replace my father! ELEKTRUM FILIMAE!"

Cackling, lightning shot out of Cubbi's fingers and right into Plucki's back. The knight jerked spasmodically, even after Zorlock released him to fall on the ground.

"Plucki!!" Tavi screeched, having not moved from her spot. She rushed forward, collapsing on the fallen knight. Was he still breathing? Oh please, Gum, not Plucki!

In a bit of a hurry after that rush of adrenaline, Zorlock smirked as he gave the tattler a sound zapping. Didn't have time to finish her off right now. Soon, though. Turning back to the wall, Zorlock made Cubbi's face a frown.

"Now where is that secret rock..."

On his tenth try, Cubbi's hand pressed a stone that sunk inward. Finally! Hopping in his joy, Zorlock impatiently pressed hard on the scrawny passage

that emerged, willing it to open quicker. "C'mon. Move! Ah! There..." Grinning gleefully, Zorlock ducked into the crawlspace, and found he could stand up in the dark secret passage. Hm... Didn't remember that the last time he was here. Something wasn't right...

"I thought I might find you here."

That voice! "Aren't you dead yet?"

"I could ask the same of you. Come now... Borrowing a cub's body. Isn't that a bit beneath you, Zorlock?"

"Hardly!" Cautious but willing to show his pizzazz hadn't left him in all these centuries, Zorlock decided to light up the scene with a ground-based

fireball. It lit all right, but the ancient gummi didn't back up one bit.

"Should've guessed you'd be here, Destini... Aren't you getting too old for this?"

"Release the cub, Zorlock, and we may not have to destroy you completely, but I can't make any promises."

"Hmph. I'm the one with all the threats and power, not you, you old windbag. Step aside. You're no fun to destroy, old hag."

Destini didn't rise to the taunts and slurs, and neither would she move from blocking Zorlock's progress into the Gummadoon vault, where the evil wizard no doubt wanted to go for one purpose. "You will never gain possession of the Gummadoon Staff."

"That's what they all say." Grinning evilly, Zorlock made Cubbi's body advance.

Currently a cowering body of subconsciousness, Cubbi's soul saw the hurting, the injustices, the pure evil, but wasn't the fact that he couldn't stop Zorlock from hurting Plucki enough to convince him he would never be able to help them again?

Zorlock never gave up the opportunity to do two tortures at once. As he attacked Destini Gummi on the physical plane, he continued his barrage against Cubbi Gummi on the metaphysical plane. And the Great Battle began for all sides.

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