"Aren't you done yet?" Wraith demanded.
Siege tossed another screaming, crying child down into the pit with the rest of the kids. He turned with a scowl to the wizard, never seeing a couple of the older kids catch the new one. The older ones had the younger ones huddled in the middle of their prison and were trying to comfort the little ones.
"It'd go faster if you helped," Siege snarled.
"I need to finish setting up the spell so I can steal their power," Wraith smugly reminded the club tailed Saurian. "Now get back to work. The Mighty Ducks aren't going to wait all day to come looking for these squalling brats."
"It's not like they're going to find us now that the mask is missing," Siege grumbled just before he disappeared.
A second later a police man appeared with a little boy, holding him by the hand. The boy looked around in confusion. They were in the middle of a clearing in the woods and there was a pit that was deeper than his daddy was tall. There were other kids in there, dirty and bruised. Most were crying, but the older ones looked angry.
Then the child turned and saw Wraith. He screamed and tried to hide behind the police officer, but the cop dragged him to the edge of the pit. With a shove, the boy shrieked as he fell. Fortunately, the older kids were getting to be well practiced in catching the new comers and other than a couple bruises, there was no real damage done.
"You're taking too long," Wraith snapped at the shape changer. "Siege has collected twice as many."
"I prefer the gentler approach," Chameleon retorted. "Besides, the last time I just grabbed a kid, she bit me!"
"Just go and bring me more of the magic humans," Wraith ordered as their lord and master materialized. "If that silly mage knew what she was giving me, she would have never have done this. Too bad she's not around to make me more."
"Actually, the mage…" Chameleon started.
"Why are you still here?" Dragaunus demanded. "Get a move on, you moron!"
"But…" Chameleon tried to start.
"GO!" Dragaunus yelled.
"Fine," Chameleon muttered unhappily just before he vanished.
"How much longer?" Dragaunus asked as he stared down at the frightened children his minions had captured. "And why have you brought them out here?"
"Soon, my lord," Wraith replied. "I felt it best if we were as far away as possible from those miserable ducks. As soon as word gets out that we're taking children, they will be on our tails to get them back. Since we're so far from Anaheim, once they find this place, all that will be left will be the empty husks of these miserable creatures."
"Too bad only children seemed to be effected by the mage's spell," Dragaunus grumbled as he stared down into the pit, not caring that several of the kids were glaring back at him.
"Actually, the younger the magic user, the more potential and the more power that can be taken from them," Wraith responded. "That stupid hen has given us a treasure trove of energy. I only regret that I killed her before she could make more."
"If you harvest enough energy, we can repair the Balerium Crystals those wretched ducks destroyed," Dragaunus stated as he turned his back on the prisoners. "Let me know when you're about to start."
"Of course, Lord Dragaunus," Wraith said with a subservient bow.
Dragaunus teleported back to the Raptor and Wraith scowled at the empty space.
"What are we going to do, Tony?" Tina whispered, fear evident in her voice after hearing the conversation between the giant lizard people.
"I don't know," Tina's twin replied as he watched one of the big reptiles as the creature walked around the edge of the hole the kids were in.
"They're going to kills us, aren't they?" Tina whimpered as tears started to run down her dirty face.
Not if we have anything to say about it, an angry voice stated.
The twelve year old twins looked around and eventually spotted the source of the voice. He looked like a garden gnome, complete with the conical hat. They would have easily believed that he was a statue except that he moved.
Pretend that you don't see me, the gnome instructed. Help has been sent for. We will do everything we can to keep you safe.
Before either of the kids would formulate words, the gnome disappeared into the dirt.
"Am I seeing things?" Tina asked.
"If you are, I am too," Tony replied.
"I saw him too," a little girl of about three or four said. "I'm Gipsy. What's your name?"
"I'm Tina and this is my brother, Tony," Tina told her as she got down on her knees to be closer to the little girl's height.
"I've seen fairies, too," Gipsy stated. "They like to hide in the bushes at the park and watch the kids play. But nobody believes me when I tell them."
"Well, we believe you," Tina replied.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of another screaming child. The twins barely caught the little boy in time as Siege tossed him in. They handed the boy off to one of the other kids and returned to Gipsy who was glaring at Wraith.
"Bad, mean, nasty lizards," Gipsy growled. "Just wait until my daddy gets here. He's gonna kick their butts."
The twins couldn't help but smile at the little girls pluck.
"Come on, let's go tell the others that help's coming," Tony suggested as Tina took Gipsy's hand.
They headed back to the rest of the children; never realizing that many miles away, in an area of desert, not far from Palm Springs, where humans rarely go, a huge spike and flame covered head emerged from the sand. It could smell the power being gathered and raised on the wind. The giant beast emerged from the sand, fully rested from its last meal and hungry for more magic.
"Does the government know about this place?" Raleigh asked with his eyes on the verge of falling out of his head.
"Not really, no," Wildwing replied as he lead his team through the command center with Raleigh following and Ruby taking up the rear. "Kind of like to keep it that way, too."
"That's a computer?" the man questioned when they trotted past Drake One.
"Well, yeah," Tanya responded. "I built it myself."
"It looks like you could launch a rocket to Pluto with that thing," Raleigh muttered.
"Probably, but why would we, you know, want to?" Tanya inquired as they took a corridor towards the garage. "There's nothing out there."
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," Duke pointed out.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Raleigh shot back with a crooked smile.
They stepped into the garage and Raleigh stopped dead in his tracks. He let out an appreciative whistle while Ruby went around him. He was tempted to check his driver's license to make sure his name wasn't really Buck Rogers.
"We'll take the Migrator," Wildwing stated as he headed for the large vehicle.
"It would be more helpful if we could get in the air," Ruby stated. "I know you have something that flies. Can we take that?"
"Yeah, come on," Wildwing replied as he quickly headed toward a door on the other side of the garage.
They entered the hanger a minute later and both Raleigh and Ruby stopped and stared at the airship in front of them.
"You have an Aerowing?" Ruby asked with a quaver in her voice.
"Yeah? So?" Mallory shot back and Ruby got a very sad look on her face.
"My dad used to fly them," Ruby replied as she steeled herself for memories she didn't have time to deal with.
"Are you all right?" Raleigh questioned worriedly as he put a hand on the mage's shoulder. "You seem a bit shaken."
"Just never thought I'd fly in one again," Ruby quietly responded as she resolutely headed for the large flying machine. "We need to get going."
With her beak clamped shut, she stepped onto the Aerowing. Her stomach clenched as she did her best not to think about the times her father had taken her and Amber up. She didn't have time to stroll down memory lane while there were kids in danger.
A few minutes later, they were all strapped in and the pre-flight checks were done. With a loud clang, the ship shuddered and then started to move. Neither Ruby nor Raleigh could help but yell in surprise as the airship turned upside down.
Less than a minute later, the ship was upright and the mage and human could see the roof of the Pond opening up. A moment later, the engines came to life with a deafening roar as the Aerowing's nose was tilted upwards. They were pushed back into their seats and Ruby got the adrenaline rush she hadn't thought she'd ever feel again.
"Ok, my stomach should catch up with me sometime next Tuesday," Raleigh stated as they reached a cruising altitude.
Ruby smiled at the man as she undid her seat belt. She got up and stood just behind Wildwing and Nosedive who was piloting.
"You let him fly this thing?" Ruby asked the team captain.
"He's our best pilot," Wildwing replied defensively.
"Ok, we're in the air, get on with it," Mallory demanded.
Ruby looked back over her shoulder at the red headed duck with her eyes glowing. Mallory glared back, but kept her mouth shut. Ruby turned back to the front and cupped her hand over her heart.
"A promise I have made," the mage started, "and a promise I shall keep. Find me the one that I do seek."
Ruby pulled her hand away from her chest and a small glowing ball of light sat in the palm of her hand. She gave it a little push and it shot out the windscreen and curved to the left.
"Follow it!" Ruby ordered. "It'll lead us to Gipsy."
"How do we know it'll lead us to the other kids?" Nosedive asked as he turned the ship to follow the light as it headed north.
"The Saurians took the children for a reason," Ruby reminded him. "Why would they take all those kids and keep Gipsy separate?"
"Maybe they know you have a connection with the kid," Duke suggested.
"I doubt it," Ruby replied. "Other than that once, I haven't seen Gipsy. There's no reason to believe that they know I know her. If they did, why did they take the other kids?"
"That's weird," Tanya muttered and the others turned toward the tech.
"What's weird?" Wildwing inquired.
"Reports are starting to come in about the kids that were taken," Tanya said as she pulled up a news feed. "The parents of some of the kids are saying that the kids were starting to see things no one else could see. Some were, like, even seeing a shrink because of it."
"What type of things?" Ruby asked.
"One report says that the kid insisted he was seeing the tree in the yard doing, you know, weird things, like moving when there wasn't any wind," Tanya answered as she brought up another story. "This one says the girl was seeing gnome statues coming to life and helping in the garden. Another had a kid claiming little people were helping clean the house."
"Raleigh, has Gipsy told you that she was seeing anything odd?" Ruby questioned and the man looked like he had seen a ghost.
"She said that she's seen fairies at the park," Raleigh finally answered after trying to moisten his suddenly dry mouth.
"And your kitchen got cleaned during the night while you and Mako slept," Ruby stated. "Brownies only visit places where a magic user is staying."
Ruby frowned as she got a faraway look on her face. She started mumbling under her breath. It almost sounded like she was reciting something.
"I am the future," Ruby muttered to herself and the others looked at her strangely. "Children are the future."
"What are you going on about?" Mallory demanded.
"Great Mother of Ducks," Ruby nearly moaned. "The spell I cast to awaken the magic in humans must have targeted kids. They're collecting the children who will become mages."
"What for?" Nosedive inquired as he pushed the Aerowing to a greater speed.
"The potential magic in a child who will become a mage is great," Ruby replied almost in a panic. "If they can strip away the magic of a soon to be mage, the power they would gain would be tremendous. With at least a dozen kids, I don't care to think about how much power they would gain."
"Twenty," Tanya stated worriedly. "Latest reports have at least twenty kids missing."
"What happens to the kids if they succeed at stripping them of their magic?" Wildwing worriedly questioned, afraid he already knew the answer.
"The same thing that happened to Elder Rosalind when she created the Mask," Ruby told him.
"Punch it, baby brother!" Wildwing ordered. "We're not letting those Saurian slime balls hurt those kids."
"Don't have to tell me twice, bro," Nosedive replied as he pushed the ship to its limit.
Ruby grabbed the seats the brothers were sitting in to keep her footing and Mallory smirked.
"Are you telling me my daughter will be like you?" Raleigh inquired, not sounding overly happy about that.
"It appears so," Ruby answered. "I'm sorry, Raleigh. I didn't pick who would become a mage. I only released the magic needed to activate the power in those who had it. If it makes you feel any better, the magic should have picked people who would help heal your planet."
"WOAH!" Nosedive yelled just before he suddenly turned the Aerowing, effectively ending the conversation between the man and the mage.
Ruby let out a shout of her own as she lost her balance. She would have fallen if Duke hadn't reached out and grabbed her. The mage stared at the former thief in surprise.
"What was that about?" Tanya demanded as the ship leveled out again.
"I don't know," Nosedive replied sounding a bit freaked himself. "Something came right at us."
Just then a dark gray object came at them and Nosedive took evasive maneuvers again. Ruby went skidding the other way and nearly landed in Tanya's lap.
"Could you please stop doing that so I can get a look at the thing?" Ruby snapped as she got back on her feet.
"You want to let that thing attack us?" Mallory nearly shouted.
"If it was trying to attack us, it wouldn't have let us see it first," Ruby pointed out irritably.
Nosedive held the Aerowing steady as the creature made another pass. Ruby finally recognized it and quickly headed over to the side door. With a push of a button, the door slid open and the noise from the wind made it nearly impossible to talk.
A few moments later, something crashed through the door and landed on the floor. Ruby immediately shut the door and turned to the creature while the others stared. The reptilian being was bigger than an eagle with a pair of wings for its arms and just two legs. It righted itself and tucked its bat like wings against its body while its spiked tail twitched in irritation.
"What is that th-," Mallory started.
"It's a wyvern," Ruby interrupted before the other hen could insult the magical creature and never taking her eyes off of their scaly guest. "It's an air dragon. Why are you here?"
You must not fly to the little ones, the wyvern told her and it was apparent by its voice it was male. The evil ones are expecting you. They know you will come by air.
"We need to land and now!" Ruby stated as she turned back to Wildwing and Nosedive.
"Where?" Nosedive asked. "We're flying over a forest!"
Ruby went to stand behind the pilot seats and looked out over the expanse of trees.
"There!" the mage said as she pointed to a spot a bit off to their right.
"There isn't enough room for a runway," Wildwing told her and she looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.
"This bird can do vertical take offs and landings," Ruby retorted. "There's more than enough room in that clearing."
"How would you know what the Aerowing can do?" Mallory questioned, her eyes narrowed at the red feathered hen.
"My dad used to take me and Amber up all the time," Ruby replied. "One of his favorite things to do was show us how small a space he could get the ship in and out of."
Ruby turned her back on them and returned to the air Elemental that was getting a bit twitchy.
"Have they hurt the children?" Ruby asked as she kneeled down next to the creature.
No, but they will soon, the creature told her. The one of bad magic is preparing to steal the little one's power.
"How are we supposed to get there quickly if we can't fly?" Mallory asked, obviously upset. "We didn't bring the Duckcycles with us."
"I'll ask for help when we get on the ground," Ruby replied.
You must get there soon, the Elemental instructed. You don't have much time.
The wyvern turned to the door and stared at it. Ruby knew that the air Elemental had reached its limit on being in an enclosed space. Without a word, she got up and went to the door. She waited until Nosedive had the ship in hover mode before pushing the button. As soon as the portal was open, the wyvern launched itself back into the sky.
A few minutes later they were on the ground and Mallory was at the weapons locker getting geared up. Raleigh stepped up to the red head and she looked at the man.
"I didn't bring a weapon," Raleigh told her. "Mind if I borrow one of yours."
Mallory turned to her captain and Wildwing nodded his approval. She handed over a Puck Blaster and gave the man a quick rundown on how to use it. Once she was sure he could use it without shooting himself, her or her team, she grabbed a Puck Launcher for herself.
A minute later they were all on the ground next to the Aerowing. Ruby said nothing as she took a few steps away and then sent out a magical distress call that specifically asked for larger Elementals. She hoped that the others wouldn't raise a fuss over what they would be riding.
"Ok, now what?" Wildwing asked, not sure what Ruby had done and not feeling overly comfortable with the display of power.
"Spread out," Ruby instructed as she moved further away from the air ship. "Whatever comes to you will be your ride."
It took an order from Wildwing to get the other ducks to spread out. Raleigh didn't question Ruby as he moved farther away. His little girl was in danger and he would ride a dragon if he must to get to her.
No sooner had they spread out did the first of the Elementals began to appear.