Ruby knelt amongst the flowers and grasses panting. She did it! She actually managed to control the Phoenix!
She frowned slightly as she remembered how she did it. Why was Wildwing the key to her control? All she could think about was not letting the Phoenix hurt him.
Before she could think any further on the matter, she heard Mallory yelling.
"GET HER!"
That's when the world exploded.
"No!" Wildwing yelled as his team burst out of the trees, all aimed at Ruby.
Before he could get a step towards them, things of every size, shape and color appeared literally out of nowhere. Wildwing found himself being dragged down into the ground. He fought to break free, but it was like the earth was sucking him in.
"STOP!" Ruby's voice rang through the clearing.
Wildwing stopped sinking and he was able to get a good look around. Grin had the misfortune of being closest to the Forest Lord, who had the large duck pinned to the ground with those impossibly large antlers; Duke was fencing with a unicorn; Nosedive was being held upside down by dozens of fairies; a griffin dodged the pucks Mallory was shooting at it; and something that looked to be part tree, part androgynous human had Tanya hanging by her wrists. This really didn't look good for him or his team.
"When I am safely away," Ruby started and, Wildwing had to admit, she actually did hold herself like a princess, "you will release them and let them leave with no more hurt than has already been caused."
The creatures looked at her, clearly unhappy about her edict.
They wish you harm, the Forest Lord grumbled, his ears flat to his head.
"I will have your word on this!" the mage boldly stated. "My troubles with them are between me and them and do not involve any of you."
The mythical beings eventually gave their consent, though they were clearly not pleased about it.
"How are you planning on getting out of here?" Mallory demanded. "You can't leave us here all day while you casually walk out of here."
"I have my own ride, thank you," Ruby happily stated.
The blue beaked duck held her hand out, palm side down. One second there was empty air, the next the head of a dragon was under it with the rest of the fiery beast circled around her. She briefly caressed the spike covered head before turning and climbing on to the back of a fire Elemental that was much bigger than a draft horse. How she managed to sit sidesaddle with all of those spikes, the others couldn't quite figure out.
"Wildwing, my mother did raise me to be grateful," Ruby said to the team captain as the dragon slithered up to him. "Thank you for all you have done for me today. You have helped me in ways you can't possibly imagine. I am in your debt."
"How about giving him back the mask?" Mallory snapped as she warily kept an eye on the griffin flapping above her.
"Not until he earns the right by completing the Challenge," Ruby replied to the weapon's specialist before turning back to the drake that was up to his waist in dirt. "You might want to explain that bit to them."
Ruby leaned over and stroked the neck of the large fire Elemental she was on.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
Whenever you are, the dragon answered.
Without another word, they were gone, quite literally. They had disappeared into thin air and the remaining ducks looked around worriedly. A few seconds later, most of the Elementals vanished without a trace as well.
The only ones that remained were the Forest Lord, the unicorn and the tree like thing. The fairies that had been holding Nosedive up hadn't bothered lowering him to the ground first. With a yell of surprise, the young drake discovered that gravity still worked.
"DIVE!" Wildwing yelled as he struggled to get free.
Before Nosedive could hit the ground, the unicorn caught him on its back. It happily pranced around the meadow as Nosedive got over the shock of being caught in mid-fall. Never mind that Nosedive was facing the wrong way, the unicorn seemed quite delighted with its passenger.
Wildwing was wondering how an animal that wasn't much bigger than a regularly sized dear was able to carry his brother on its back. Suddenly, he felt something grab him by his waistband and yank him out of the ground, leaving him on his hands and knees. When he turned to see what it was, he found himself nose to beak with another unicorn.
Would you like a ride too? The second unicorn asked in what could only be described as an adoring voice.
"No, uh, that's ok, um, thanks," Wildwing stammered as he quickly got to his feet and moved away from the horned Elemental. "How did you get me out of the ground?"
Unicorns are very strong for their size, the Forest Lord stated as he carefully lifted his head so none of the points of his rack would harm Grin.
Wildwing nodded his understanding and then quickly went to check on his team. He turned to the creature holding Tanya up as it gently set her back on the ground and disappeared into a tree. Duke and Mallory seemed unharmed, while Grin had only a few scratches. Nosedive was still hanging onto the unicorn that was bounding around the clearing.
"What was that?" Mallory asked, nodding toward the tree the creature had disappeared into, while she reluctantly put away her blaster, though her hand remained on the grip.
A dryad, the Forest Lord replied as Wildwing's unicorn sighed as he stared adoringly up at the drake.
"Could someone get me off of this crazy thing?" Nosedive yelled as the first unicorn gleefully ran circles around them.
The other five ducks all tried to rescue Nosedive, but the unicorn easily dodged them. In fact, the only one could get anywhere near the bounding beast was Wildwing. The instant the others started moving toward it, the unicorn would perform some acrobatic feat that shouldn't have even been possible.
"Duke, grappling hook!" Wildwing ordered.
The former thief waited until the unicorn did another pass and then released the hook and line. It clamped onto Nosedive's wing and Duke quickly retracted the line. With a yell of surprise from the young duck and a cry of dismay from the unicorn, Nosedive flew through the air to be caught by Wildwing.
Both unicorns came up to the white feathered brothers and stared adoringly up at them. Wildwing noticed that while the unicorns were crowding him and Nosedive, they were keeping their distance from the other four ducks.
"Ok, what's with the My Little Ponies," Nosedive asked nervously as Wildwing put Nosedive down.
Unicorns are attracted to those who have not had physical relations yet, the Forest Lord told them.
"Not had physical…What?" Nosedive questioned in confusion.
"It means you two haven't…" Tanya started, but couldn't finish because she became too embarrassed.
"It means you two are still…" Mallory tried to explain, but had to stop for the same reasons as Tanya.
"We'll explain when you're older," Duke stated as he deactivated his saber and put the hilt back in its holder.
"I get it," Wildwing grumbled as he turned and headed out of the meadow. "Let's go home."
He nearly tripped over a unicorn, but managed not to kick the horned Elemental. His team followed, Nosedive in confusion and the others trying not to snicker. Wildwing wasn't looking forward to the trip home. His team was going to want answers and he was sure the answers he had they wouldn't want to hear.
Ruby got back to her room in record time. She never realized how fast a dragon could move, even though he was a flightless Elemental. Still, it was a thrill to zip through the streets of Anaheim with no one able to see them.
It was a breathless experience and she was sorry when it ended. When he came to a stop in front of her hotel room door, she leaned down and hugged his neck. It wasn't an easy feat with all those spines in the way, but she did the best she could.
"I've missed you," she whispered.
And I you, the dragon replied. You have done us a great service today. We will not forget it or you.
"Let's hope that the humans won't lose the magic again," she sighed as she carefully climbed down.
They won't, he assured her. The Elementals from before became complacent and by the time they realized that there was a problem, it was too late. This time, we will keep watch and help those who need it more. We need the magic users more than they need us. We will remember that.
"Thank you for bringing me back," she said she scratched him behind the hinge of his jaw.
You're welcome, he sighed as she found just the right spot.
"Visit me?" she requested a few minutes later.
We will meet again, he assured her and then he was gone.
She turned to the door of her room and then remembered she hadn't brought the key with her. It took her a couple minutes to get the door to open. Once back in the room, she had to spend several minutes squirming out of the dress.
Hoping she wouldn't have to wear the blasted thing ever again, she hung it back up and went to take her shower. She gave her hand an extra washing even though the palm wasn't itching any more. Soaps meant for human skin just didn't work as well on duck feathers.
After she was done getting ready, she headed out. She was feeling pretty good about life and decided she needed to go to her favorite place, though she had no idea what she would do once she got there. She had listened to all of the different music styles that the store sold.
She didn't care; she just needed to go there. No sooner did she grab the handle of the door then her hand started to itch again. She looked down at the palm of her hand and frowned at it. Why couldn't humans wash their hands after eating such greasy food? With a sigh of disgust, she wiped her hand on her pants and continued on her way.
Wildwing stood staring at the frowning faces of his team. He was right. They weren't happy with the answers he gave them.
"Wildwing! Boobie! Just the duck I wanted to see," Phil loudly announced as he entered the room and for probably the first time in his life, Wildwing was glad to see the overbearing human.
"What is it, Phil?" Wildwing asked as he turned away from his team.
"Can I talk to you in, uh, my office?" Phil questioned, obviously a bit upset about something.
"Sure," Wildwing answered.
Wildwing hadn't a clue what the team's manager wanted, but he'd rather deal with the rather annoying human than his displeased team. Heck, he hadn't been happy with the answers he gave them, so why should they? He hoped that a little time apart would cool them down so they could figure out what was going on.
Having the Forest Lord compel him to do something he didn't want to do was disquieting enough. His ability to find Ruby was not something he wanted to dwell on. He didn't care to think about what that spark had meant or could mean for him.
"What do you want to talk about?" Wildwing inquired as Phil shut the door to his office behind them.
"I need to go to New York," Phil announced while he sat down at his desk.
"Ok, so?" Wildwing replied as he continued to stand. "Did you want us to fly you there in the Aerowing?"
"What? Oh, no, I've got my tickets," Phil nervously laughed as he fiddled with a pen that had been sitting on his desk.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Wildwing asked.
"Well, you see, the reason I'm going to New York is that the league wants to talk to me," Phil explained.
While the ducks might have issues with Phil and his money making schemes and the endless publicity stunts the human put them through, Wildwing couldn't figure what the National Hockey League would want to see the man for.
"What for?" Wildwing questioned.
"Oh, some silliness about you guys cheating," Phil quietly mumbled, cringing as he gave his answer.
"WHAT!?" Wildwing shouted, glad he hadn't bothered to sit down since he would have shot right out of his seat with Phil's words.
"I know! I know!" Phil quickly assured the angry avian. "There's been some grumbling by the other teams because you guys are alien ducks. I know you guys didn't cheat. Trust me, I know cheating when I see it and I know you guys didn't cheat!"
"But the league thinks we did?" Wildwing nearly growled.
"No, but some of the other teams have complained and I have to go out there and assure them that you and your team played clean games," Phil replied as he slumped in his seat. "I thought you should know. I'm taking a red eye out tonight. Hopefully, I'll be back in a few days."
"Take as long as you need to convince them that we play clean," Wildwing grumbled.
"Are you kidding?" Phil asked, sounding a bit indignant. "Have you seen the prices of hotel rooms in New York?"
"Fine, see you in a few days," Wildwing responded as he turned and headed for the door.
Wildwing went back downstairs to talk to his team. If they didn't like what he had told them about that morning, they really weren't going to like what he had to tell them now. Why did Canard have to hand the leadership over to him?
"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Mallory asked as she dubiously looked at the gaudy clothes she'd been handed.
"Because Phil signed us up to be in the Independence Day parade," Wildwing explained as he cringed at the outfit before him.
"Phil's sense of fashion leaves something to be desired," Nosedive grumbled.
"Phil's sense of fashion leaves a LOT to be desired," Duke corrected.
"This is going to cloud my aura," Grim muttered unhappily.
"Come on, team!" Phil cheerfully said as he walked into the room. "Let's get ready to greet our adoring fans!"
The man was already dressed in a sparkly, red, white and blue, star spangled top that had so much glitter on it it could probably be seen from space. What was even more worrisome is that it matched the tops the ducks were holding.
"Are you, like, riding on the float with us?" Tanya inquired, eying the top she was holding at wing's length.
"Of course I am," Phil gleefully replied. "Now come on! Let's get this show on the road! We're supposed to be at the line up in half an hour."
With that edict given, the human left the room humming the National Anthem. The ducks stared at the empty doorway for a good minute before the silence was broken.
"Has anyone else noticed that ever since Phil came back from New York he's been pushing the patriotism thing?" Duke asked.
"The league hasn't made its decision yet," Wildwing reminded them. "He's probably trying to prove that we're all American."
"But we're ducks from another planet," Mallory pointed out. "We could have landed in China and wouldn't have cared as long as they played hockey."
"Does China play hockey?" Nosedive inquired.
"I have no idea," Wildwing answered as he took another look at the top in his hand. "It doesn't matter. Let's just get this latest hit to our dignity over with."
With a lot of grumbling, the ducks went their separate ways to get changed. They tried not to think about what would happen if the league voted against them.
"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Nosedive grumbled to his brother as they stood together on the float and waved at the crowd.
"I thought you liked the fans," Wildwing pointed out.
"Yeah, when I have my dignity intact and I'm not blinding them with a shirt that has more bling than Las Vegas," Nosedive shot back.
"The cheerleaders in front of us don't sparkle as much as we do," Mallory muttered unhappily from her spot on the other side of Wildwing.
Wildwing looked back at the rest of his team and saw they all had on forced smiles, though Phil obviously loved the attention. Wildwing didn't care if they celebrated Groundhog's Day. As long the public still liked them, he and his team would put up with Phil's shenanigans. If the humans turned against them…Well, Wildwing didn't want to think what would happen if they did.
"How long is this parade supposed to last?" Nosedive asked.
"A couple hours," Wildwing answered and his little brother groaned through his forced grin.
"Can I pray for Dragaunus to attack something?" Mallory questioned as she switched waving wings. "Just so we can get out of this?"
Before Wildwing could answer, their communicators all went off. They checked their wrists as one and found that Mallory's prayers had been answered.
"Let's go!" Wildwing ordered as he changed into his battle gear.
"WAIT!" Phil yelled in a panic. "You can't leave! The parade's only just started!"
"Remind me to send Dragaunus a fruit basket," Mallory said while she changed.
Ignoring their manager's protests, the ducks followed their captain's orders and then happily jumped off the slow moving float. They activated their jet skates and charged towards the front of the parade since that's where teleporter readings were coming from. After dodging and weaving their way up the line, they jumped the barricades and dashed through the crowd who at least had the sense to get out of the way.
They soon found themselves in the very quiet Anaheim Mall, facing the mother of all magical battles they had ever seen.