Episode 27: True Magic
Queen Gwenever stopped her horse in front of a cave and she pointed at the darkness. "I wish I could go and fight that heathen, but I have no fight left in me," the queen said to the Ducks, "Please, save Avalon, save my daughter."
The Ducks and Subria nodded and they went inside the dark cave. Tanya lit up a flashlight and they crept over boulders and leapt passed streams of water, not wanting to make a sound.
"The time is almost upon us!" the voice of Louran echoed throughout the cave.
"Tanya, shut off the light. Team, don't make a sound," Wildwing ordered and they crawled on their stomachs to the source.
"Very soon, I'll have this world at my knees!" the dark wizard shouted and laughed.
"You will not get away with this! The Ducks will come and destroy you!" Pearl replied and Wildwing gave a sigh of relief; his beloved was still alive, but for how long?
"Oh don't make me laugh, princess! Your friends are probably long gone by now," Louran said with a grin.
The Ducks and Subria peered over a boulder and saw Louran circling Pearl, who was chained to a boulder.
"Pearl," Wildwing whispered as he held Excalibur tight in his hand.
"Not yet, bud," Canard replied, holding the leader back.
"Now, let's begin," Louran said and he raised his staff. The wind picked up and a fiery spiral appeared in midair and then, a set of steel doors appeared.
"Now I understand," Subria said to the others, "Louran is planning to send Pearl to the underworld, but he will also release the eternal darkness from there."
"I'm not going to let that happen," Wildwing replied and he quickly jumped out of his hiding spot. He quietly crept up to the boulder holding Pearl and she saw him; she smiled, but didn't make a sound.
"I did say that I will make you pay for what your grandfather did to me," Louran said, not turning to Pearl.
Wildwing raised Excalibur and the sword cut the chains, freeing the princess. "But what if I add Wildwing to the mix!" Louran shouted, turning around and launched a dark spell at the mallard. The two jumped out of the way and the others joined in the fight.
Wildwing stood up in stance mode and Louran was surprised to see Excalibur in the mallard's hands.
"So, King Arthur offered you his sword? And I thought he was too dead to do anything!" Louran exclaimed and the dark spells attacked.
"Wait, little friend!" Grin cried out to the 'Power', "Remember who you really are!" Then, the 'Power' punched the giant Duck in the stomach and Grin keeled over in pain.
"It's no use, Grin, Louran has filled them with his dark magic, they work for him now," Pearl informed. The spells, who had dark-colored hues surrounding them, faced their masters, but they were ready to fight.
"I hate to hurt you, but I got to do what I got to do," Tanya said to the 'Wood' and 'Rain'.
The Ducks and the two princesses fought against the spells while Wildwing dueled with Louran. Just then, the mallard pushed the dark wizard to the ground, "I've been wanting to do this for a long time," Wildwing said and raised Excalibur above Louran.
"I don't think so," the dark wizard replied and something flashed from his staff and into the mallard's eyes. Wildwing gave a shout of surprise, taking his mask off, and gently rubbed his eyelids and opened them.
What he saw amazed and shocked him at the same time; there were Duck humanoids and they were celebrating.
"Long live the Mighty Ducks!" they shouted and held up their hockey sticks. Wildwing realized he was home on Puckworld; but this made no sense, wasn't he on Earth, fighting against Louran?
Then, he spotted a woman with a pigtail and he rushed toward her. "Pearl?" he asked, but was disappointed when it really was a female Duck.
"Does this please you?" Louran asked once he came into view.
"This is one of your tricks, where's Pearl?" Wildwing demanded, but the dark wizard gave a sniff.
"Why even bother about her? Isn't this what you wanted?" Louran asked and pointed to something behind Wildwing. The mallard turned to see large statues of him and his team, engraved in bronze.
"Don't you want to come home and be hailed as a hero? You will be immortalized in books, pictures, statues, everything! You will be loved by these people and they will tend to your every need," Louran said and a black fog appeared.
It showed Avalon in its current state, with the people being forced into slavery and being ruled under the darkness.
"I can change Avalon into what I envision it to be," Louran continued, "But I can send you back home, along with your friends and your brother. I can also send the Saurian race into the deepest, darkest pits of the universe, so you won't hear from them ever again."
The fog swirled around and it featured Pearl, smiling as if she is happy.
"Forget about the princess, she can live the life she wants, but perhaps a life without you," Louran said and the fog featured Pearl with a man Wildwing had never seen before. "That's right, she never loved you," Louran added.
"But…I thought…" Wildwing was at loss for words.
"You don't need to suffer anymore, just say the word, and I'll make it happen," the dark wizard said to the mallard.
"Wildwing!" a woman's cry entered the mallard's mind.
Then, Pearl's face changed to that of fear and she cries out, "Wildwing, it's a trick! Louran will kill us all! And I have something to say!" Pearl cried out and adds more, "I love you, Wildwing! I can't imagine a life without having you! I love you! I'll say those words until the day I die!"
Wildwing snapped out of the trance and he knew what to do. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?" the mallard asked. Louran was surprised and Wildwing turns to face him.
"Pearl sang a song one time and she used it to profess that she loved me…no, she loves me! And I refuse to let you take her happiness away, even if it means taking away something me and my team worked hard for, but I will not let you take her away!" Wildwing exclaimed and the illusion began to die.
"I also have something to say," the mallard added and looked for Pearl. Her face stared at him with realization and listened to him.
"I love you, Pearl. I fell in love with you on the night we captured the first spell and I should've told you ever since, but I will keep saying it until I die. I love you, Pearl," Wildwing said to her. The princess' eyes were filled with tears and she ran into his arms.
"FINE!" Louran shouted and he raised his staff, "The two of you can die together!"
Wildwing held Pearl tight with one arm and held up Excalibur with the other as Louran hurled a strong dark energy at them. Just then, a flash of light appeared in front of the spell, protecting them from harm.
"The 'Shield'," Pearl replied as the spell featured itself.
"What?! How is this possible?!" the dark wizard exclaimed. Then, one by one, the darkness surrounding the spells were extinguished and the color returned to their faces. Louran took a step back as the Ducks and the two princesses stared back at him, coldly.
"You have a choice to make, either surrender or fight," Pearl said to the dark wizard.
Then, a grin formed on Louran's face, "I still have one trick up my sleeve," he grimly replied.
Suddenly, the steel doors opened and Subria cries out, "Get behind something!" They hurried behind the boulders as the wind was sucked in through the door.
Pearl held onto a rock, but then spotted Louran, hovering over her and he hurled a dark spell at her. The rock broke to pieces and Pearl was getting sucked into the underworld.
"PEARL!" Wildwing screamed and slid down, grabbing her by her arms.
"We have to shut the doors! It's our only chance!" Subria commanded to the others.
Duke than shot a lasso around Wildwing's foot and tied it around a boulder, "Hang in there, comrade!" Duke shouted to his leader.
"Pearl, can you climb up to the lasso?!" the mallard asked the princess.
"I'll try!" she called back and with all the strength she had, she began to climb over Wildwing.
Louran, still hovering over them, gave a shout, "Try as you might, but you can't escape!"
Then, out of the shadows, a figure took the spell book, as it had returned to its normal state. The woman opened to a page and shouts out something.
Just then, Louran was hit from behind and he fell down and was sucked in through the door. However, he was able to catch hold of Pearl's leg and he struggled to hold on.
"Pearl, hang on! I'm going to pull you in!" Wildwing shouted and began to pull his body back through the door.
"Ducks!" a woman's voice called out. Gwenever stepped out from behind the boulders and shouts out, "Push the doors shut! Hurry!"
The Ducks pushed hard on the doors, but they wouldn't budge, not even Grin could push them. Then, the spells entered out of the spell book and joined in. The doors began to move and Wildwing hurried to pull Pearl out of the way, but Louran still held onto her leg.
"I'm not going back! I refuse to go back!" the dark wizard shouted.
Then, Pearl pulled one leg back and cries out, "I've wanted to do this for a long time!" With whatever strength she had left, she delivered a hard kick at Louran's throat. He gagged for breath, but that was a mistake as he let go of the princess' leg and he was sucked back to the underworld.
Wildwing pulled hard and just as the doors were about to shut, Pearl had made it through and the wind stopped.
The Ducks and Subria gave gasps of surprise and looked around. They spotted Wildwing and Pearl, who was holding on to the mallard's neck.
"Pearl? Pearl, are you okay?" Wildwing asked, but the princess didn't say a word.
He gently shook her, but she still didn't move, "Pearl, Pearl, c'mon say something," the mallard said.
"Say you love me and I'll be okay," the princess whispered.
Wildwing gave a chuckle, hugs her tight, and replies, "I love you, Pearl, and I'll keep saying it till I die."
Pearl gave a smile and leaned her head back and then, gave a gentle kiss to Wildwing's beak. He returned it with a full kiss and Nosedive gave a shout, "All right! It's about time!" The two looked at him and Canard shut the young mallard's beak.
Just then, a bright light appeared above Pearl and Wildwing and slowly descended down to them. It stopped in between the two lovers and they placed their hands on it and the light died down.
"The 'Hope'," Wildwing read the spell page.
"Yes, it's a very powerful spell; it restores the light back in the other spells if they fall under darkness. You must've had it all this time," Pearl explained and gave him another kiss.
Gwenever came down from her hiding spot and Pearl looked at her mother and then ran into her arms.
()()()()()()()
The Ducks and the three royal women exited out of the cave and were shocked to see the surrounding landscape. Grey clouds still lingered over Avalon; fires were still burning especially at the village surrounding the castle and the vegetation simply looked dead.
"You said that the 'Hope' restores light back to the spells, can it also restore Avalon to its former self?" Tanya asked Pearl.
"I'm not sure, but we should give it try," the princess said and opened the book.
"'Hope', please return the light back to this place," she commanded, but nothing happened. She said it, again, but still nothing happened.
"Let us all say it at the same time," Wildwing said, taking Pearl's hands.
The Ducks and Subria formed a circle around the two and they all say, "'Hope', please return the light back to this place." Just then, the book began to fill with light and the 'Hope' spell featured itself as a pretty young girl with bright yellow hair with a crown of wings and a heart-shaped pendent.
The spell then flew high above the sky and bright spheres of light began to fall upon the land. Then suddenly, the grass became green, the fires extinguished themselves, and the grey clouds began to disappear. The sun's rays descended down upon the landscape and the Ducks and the three royal women watched in delight.
()()()()()()()
Awhile later, at the remains of the castle, the Ducks were given a hero's welcome and they were given full honors as saviors of Avalon. "Avalon will honor your names forever," the king said to them, "And I can't thank you enough for saving my daughter."
Then, Gwenever gave the spell book to Pearl and featured the 'Time' and 'Fire', they had been restored to their original state. "There are plenty of empty pages, does that mean there's more spells to capture?" Wildwing asked the queen.
"Yes, Prydwen's mission is not yet complete, and please," Gwenever said to the leader, "Make it your mission to protect her; I sense that there's another evil somewhere that threatens her mission."
"You can count on us," Nosedive said, but Canard nudged him.
Subria stood forward, "Your Majesties, I wish to remain by the princess' side and help her with her mission," she said and both the king and queen nod.
"C'mon guys, we better get home to Anaheim," Mallory informed and Gwenever lead them outside to the courtyard.
"But what about the castle and the village? You will be defenseless," Pearl reminded her mother.
"We can re-build, a much better kingdom," her father said and she smiled. Pearl gave a crusty to her parents, but then, she hugged both of them, and they held her tight. "Be brave, our little princess," the king said to his daughter.
The natives stood back as the Ducks and the two princesses made a circle and Pearl opened to the 'Time' spell. "'Time', take us home to present-day Anaheim," the princess commanded. The 'Time' featured itself and he turned his hourglass and the sand began to drop.
Then, a strange glow surrounded the group and they saw that the landscape was changing at a fast pace. They were lifted off the ground and it appeared that they were sucked into a twister.
After a few minutes, they began to slow down and they descended to the ground. The 'Time's' hourglass ran out of sand and he retreated back into the book.
The Ducks looked around and saw that they were at the mall and the sun was beginning to set. "Wow, what a trip," Nosedive replied and Tanya kneeled to the ground.
"Home sweet home!" she exclaimed and kissed the ground.
"Not much has changed, but what day is it?" Canard asked.
Subria found a newspaper and gave a gasp of surprise, "Do you have a game on the night of the 21st?" she asked.
"Yeah, why?" Duke replied in return and she showed the paper's date.
"Oh crud! We're going to be late!" Nosedive exclaimed, but Wildwing held up a hand.
"Relax everyone, the point is we made it home," he said to them and they gave a sigh.
"Oh no, I'm not going to let you ruin your reputation of not being late to a game!" Pearl demanded and began to tug on Wildwing's arm.
Then, they heard a honking of a car and they saw Phil in his blue Mustang. "Boobies, where were you?! You have a game to attend to!" he shouted, angrily.
"Well, it's a long story, but can you do us a favor?" Subria asked and Phil gave a look, but nodded.
()()()()()()
The Ducks made it to their hockey match against the St. Louis Blues and they introduce their newest member, Canard Thunderbeak to the world. It proved to be a challenging game as the teams had scored 5-4, the Ducks leading and five minutes remained.
"If the Blues score, they'll go into overtime," Subria said and shouts to Duke, "You can do it, Duke! Don't let them score!"
The ex-con listened and was able to steal the puck from the Blues' player, only to be thwarted by another.
Canard took the puck and skated as fast as he could to the Blues' goalie net, but suddenly, he was hit hard by another Blues player. The referee whistled, calling the attack foul, but he allowed the Blues' to take the puck.
"What?! Are you blind?! He attacked one of my players!" Phil shouted, angrily.
The Blues' winger skated back towards the Ducks' goalie net and Pearl watched, waiting to see if Wildwing would be attacked, too. The leader's heart pounded so hard that he felt it against his chest.
"Don't give up, Wildwing!" Pearl called out, "You can do it!"
The words echoed in his mind and he shut his eyes and he remembered his profession of love to Pearl. Just as the Blues' player took a swing, Wildwing sprang into action and caught the flying puck before it went into the net!
The timer buzzed and the announcer shouts, "THE DUCKS WIN!"
The Ducks gave all around high-fives, shouting out, "DUCKS ROCK!" and the crowd gave a loud applause.
Awhile later in the Ducks' locker room, the team was celebrating, but they realized that their leader was missing.
"Dive, have you seen your brother?" Tanya asked, but the young mallard shook his head.
Then, Phil appeared, "You didn't hear this from me, but he took Pearl out to the beach," he said and everyone stared at him.
"So, he's going to do it after all," Duke replied.
"Should we go and watch?" Nosedive asked and they thought about it. In a split-second, they all rushed to the Migrator and headed towards the beach.
The moon was high above the ocean, making it look like it was on fire. On the sandy beach, Pearl and Wildwing walked along and watched the waves.
They stopped; Wildwing looked around to see if anyone was watching, and says, "I hate it when you have that 'someone's watching you' feeling."
"Or you could be nervous, are you nervous?" Pearl asked and the mallard nodded. They heard the Migrator stopped and Wildwing slapped his face with a hand.
"Ignore them, just say what you want to say," the princess encouraged him.
He took a deep breath and begins, "Pearl, when I first saw you, I said to the others that you were cute, but I saw more of you for the past two months. You are beautiful, you are kind, and you are so important to me that I cannot see myself having a life without you."
The others peered over a stone wall and watched as Wildwing pulled out a single red rose to Pearl. "Look closely," he said and Pearl saw a silver spiral brand ring in the middle of the petals.
"Pearl, this may sound weird, but do you think we will get married in the future?" Wildwing asked her and her face lit up.
"What did he say?" Nosedive asked.
"It sounds like he's proposing marriage," Tanya whispered back and everyone gave looks of shock and surprise.
Pearl formed a smile on her face and nodded to Wildwing. "Does it sound weird?" he asked her, again.
"A little, but I love you no matter what species you are," Pearl replied, taking the ring band and slipped it on her finger.
Then, Wildwing threw his arms around and says, "Pearl, I love you!"
Some of the Ducks couldn't hold in the tears and they began to bawl their eyes out. "Men," Mallory said in an annoyed tone.
Wildwing looked up at the boardwalk to see his team, watching them, but Pearl turned his head around and kissed and the moon made a silhouette above them and the two watched the waves together, eager to start a new life.
End of Season 2…Stay tuned for Season 3! Please leave reviews!