With the final threat gone, it was simply a matter of time before the girls perfected the magic they were seeking, and it turned out to be much sooner than they expected. Even after testing it several times, going back and forth with the two of them being as careful as ninjas, they were certain of the magic, just not how soon they really felt like using it...

So they kept it to themselves for at least a month, and showered sudden attentions onto Kendra's parents, which of course made them curious, and her guilty. So finally she could bear to hide it no longer, and one night over dinner, she finally confessed. "Mom, Dad... I can send you guys back home now..."

Nosedive swallowed against a thick throat, and Karen tensed up. It was just him and her to start. Cornelius was out on a double date with Franny and Goob's new girlfriend, a cute girl named Billie with a strangely serious train hobby. People laughed at her because they saw trains as outdated compared to cars and planes. But Billie fervently believed that super speedy trains were the way of the future, and Cornelius liked her passion, and was working with her on ways to make it as safe and eco-friendly as possible. One might think that would make their respective boyfriend and girlfriend jealous, but as a secret low-magic witch with frogs as familiars and crazy kung fu abilities, and a secret werewolf baseball superstar and bodyguard of the clumsy Cornelius, who also recently took up a music hobby in both his human and werewolf forms (Hey, howling was an art!), they actually had a lot in common and had plenty to talk about too when their partners went off to yak about science and engineering. Nah - Magic, music, sports and kicking butt were Franny and Goob's kind of thing! They were the jocks, the brawn - Cornelius and Billie were the brains~

So they were all off being a happy couple of couples, and Kendra was here, watching her father try to be happy, but also having very mixed emotions. 'Daddy dear, I can finally send you away forever, just like you've always wanted!', of course he wasn't about to just jump on the opportunity, even though he still longed more than ever to go back.

"...80 days." He suddenly announced.

Kendra smiled knowingly, and ever the book enthusiast, Karen did too. She kissed her husband's cheek. "A trip around the world, yes dear? The whole family, we all see the world, then come back and finally see yours?"

He hugged them both tight.

So they all got together. Nobody really brought it up, but they all knew, both Cornelius and the Ducks, what going on this trip meant. But they didn't say anything about it, they simply enjoyed each other's company. They visited all the states, and most of Europe, of course making a special stop to visit Karen's old friends and teachers at Hogwarts - Then they briefly visited a few other major cities in Africa and Asia, before flying back to Anaheim.

Only then did they finally address it. Wildwing called a meeting for all of them together when they got back, and was the one to ask, "So... Does this mean you've finally found a way to take us back to Puckworld?

Kendra nodded, slow and sad. Even though she was happy for them, she still couldn't help but feel sad... "Yes, Uncle Wildwing. The magic may fluctuate, but I should be able to return you to within ten or possibly fifteen years of your disappearance. Hopefully not much more than that, but I can't guarantee when exactly you may arrive. Every time I tested the portal it was a different year... Still, it's ready to go, whenever you are..."

Wildwing nodded, and thanked her, turning back to his own children and sharing the good news with them, that they would finally be going to their true home. They were a little apprehensive, but mostly excited.

Karen waited for them to finish sharing the good news, before addressing her own upcoming role to play. "I suppose, then, it's finally time..." She murmured, conjuring her bag of endless oddities and procuring from it two vials, one with a red hair, and one dark brown. Slipping these into her pockets, she approached her children, and gave both of them a tight, long hug. She couldn't bring herself to say anything at first. Her throat was thick and her eyes were overflowing with tears.

So Cornelius spoke first for her. "Mom... I love you. Always have, always will..." And he meant that, especially knowing what Kendra had told him once, not meanly, but because he asked it of her... And apparently there were very few timelines in which Karen, or any other woman that could have been his mother, ever decided to keep him...

Knowing that, he continued with utmost sincerity, "I understand why you gotta do what you gotta do. It's okay. I'm so grateful to you for raising me, for being there with me. And I'm so sorry for bugging you like a dumb brat about my father when I was a kid. Now I'm just so grateful to have had the amazing mother I did, and the family you gave me..."

Karen hugged him as tight as she could. "I'm so proud of the man you've become. You have all my blessings."

He nodded, and then, holding her back by the shoulders, he announced, "I've been preparing for this for a few years now. I've built a device that may HOPEFULLY allow us to contact each other after you've gotten to Puckworld... I'm not sure if it will work, and it may be at least a few years before we find the right frequency, and one of our transmissions successfully goes through, if at all... And I say 'few', but I have no idea how many it could be. Five, ten, fifteen..."

"Son, you're a genius." His mother comforted him. "No one else could do what you've done. I have complete faith it will work as you say it will..."

Then she turned to her daughter. "Kendra... Thank you so much for staying with Cornelius, for helping me to protect him... With the kind of power you have, you had so many options and opportunities, so many things you could do... But you chose to do this, so that I would be free to go without worry... Didn't you?"

Kendra smiled back. "Well sure, that's one reason! But you don't need to worry about me not doing plenty of other stuff I want and like to do in life! Also, you don't need to worry about not being worthy of Puckworld. This was an even trade between Puckworld and Earth, Mama. You for me. Puckworld will be getting a fine and powerful new goddess to admire. That is, as soon as you wish to become her..."

Karen's throat went thick, scared even though she was also very excited. Then she nodded, before taking a few steps back. "...Guess it's finally time." She agreed, and with that, she pulled out both her wands. Using them together, she levitated both of the vials of DNA , which then de-materialized and phased into light, along with her body and form. It remolded itself using the DNA given, and in a matter of moments she finally completed her new body.

A tall female, thanks to Grin's genetics. Tall and muscular, but still slender, thanks to Mallory's. Her feathers were grey like Grin's, but her hair was a cascade of red, from Mallory. Her bill was mostly duck-like from Mallory, but with just the tiniest hint of Grin's goose under-bite...

She was a big girl, even almost an inch taller than Nosedive now. She hadn't meant for that to happen, but, oh well. It seems like Nosedive didn't mind one bit, because from how he was looking at her, it was clear that he very much liked what he saw. He was struck dumb by his new gentle giant of a wife, who bashfully stood very still, letting everyone, not just her husband, admire her.

Of course as usual, Mallory ran her bill first and without shame. "Phew! I might almost be jealous you look so good, except -I'm- the reason you look so good~!"

Karen laughed along with her. "Yes! Thank you for the good genes, Mal! But lets not forget that Grin played a part, too~"

Humbly, Grin shakes his head, denying her praise. Not teasing him any more than that, Karen then turned to her husband, who had been staring at her dumbly all along, inquiring shyly of him, "So... Do you like it?"

Nosedive didn't answer her aloud. She already knew the answer anyways. Instead he just went to her, gathering her into his arms, hugging her the way he always wanted to, squeezing her tight, nuzzling his neck and cheek and bill against her neck and shoulder. She tensed up for a moment, though she normally melted into his embrace. But then, their hugs weren't normally this intense, either. It was like all the love in the cosmos was coursing through her body when he hugged her like that, and as soon as she felt his love for her, she knew she'd never regret leaving her old body, or even her old life behind...

Still, easier said than done...

She hugged her children for almost an hour straight. She placed over a hundred kisses all over baby Wilbur's face, and more than a few on his father, too. She knew the others wouldn't fault her for not being in any big hurry. Even still, eventually Kendra spoke up to remind her, "Mom... I think it's time for you guys to finally go home."

She took a deep breath, then nodded slowly. In her newly realized form, she went to stand with the Mighty Ducks and their family, finally truly one of them. Nosedive put his arm around her shoulder, and each of the other Ducks put a hand on her back. It did help, to be surrounded by so much love and support. But all the same, her eyes were full of tears. "I'll miss you forever. I'll pray every day for it until your message finally comes in..."

Her children nodded, and told their mother they loved her again. Then finally, Kendra raised her wand, and Sally began to gather magic into her palms. Swirling their magic together in tandem, they created a great swirling vortex in the short distance behind the Ducks, full of sparkling silver mist, like stardust.

"It'll be dark and cloudy for a while when you're in there..." Kendra informed them. "But I assure you, it will be bright and sunny on the other side."

Her father gave her a big smile, and reached over to ruffle his human children's hair one last time. "Hey, we're used to that! Thanks again, kiddos. For everything. I'm gonna miss you two like crazy. I know we'll see each other again someday, but even still, I just wanna say... I'm so proud of you two. And you..." He reached over and laid a firm pat on Sal's shoulder. "...Take care of my baby girl."

Sal nodded silently, too choked up to say anything in return. It was the same for Kendra and Cornelius, who were both crying and could also say no more.

So finally Nosedive stepped back and rejoined his family and teammates. "...Alright guys. See you on the other side."

They were about to take that last step into the portal, but Nosedive suddenly thought of one more thing. Hanging back just a second, he gave a salute, seemingly to no one in particular. "Oh! And, uh - So long, Planet Earth, and thanks for the chili dogs! It's been fun!"

It was calm at first when they entered the portal. Like stepping into a very cloudy, swirling, shimmering elevator. Then suddenly gravity seemed to drop beneath them, and they were pulled in every conceivable way. It didn't hurt, but it was beyond disorienting, like being on a thousand roller coasters and elevators at once. There was no controlling when they'd stop or where. But finally all the jerking and pulling was abruptly ended when they were spat back out the other side, onto the ground.

Thankfully for them it was relatively soft earth, earth that had been recently tilled. Of course the farmer whose budding crops they'd just been dumped on wasn't quite as thankful at first. But even in the absolute sour mood the old man was in at first, the others were more than glad to see him. Because just by looking at him, they could tell Kendra's magic had been a success. He was a Puckling!

"Now Dagnabbit, do you know how hard I-!" The old man began to rant, but then suddenly, he trailed off. He shifted his glasses, and got a better look at the group, before exclaiming in recognition, "W-Wildwing! I can't believe it! Is it really you? You've been gone so LONG...!"

The Ducks looked at Wildwing, who took a minute to place the old man's face. But once he did, he gasped, "Uncle Quill?"

The old man confirmed that he was indeed his mother's brother, then inquired of them in turn, "Where in the world have you been all these-No, wait, nevermind." He suddenly decided, coming up to the group and patting his nephews on the shoulder. "I'm sure it's a long story, and we haven't a moment to spare. You two should come with me right now. Your mother has been telling everyone for years that you'd return someday. More than anyone else she's kept the faith alive, and more than anyone she deserves to see her boys, now..."

He didn't go into what that meant, but Wildwing and Nosedive both already knew. With the team hurrying after him, the old man led them through the farmlands where several families of ducks were starting over. Only a few of the cities had been rebuilt, but there were many thriving little communities throughout Puckworld to rebuild and repopulate, now that the last of the droids that hunted them had been destroyed. Things people needed were still scarce and hard to grow on their recovering scorched earth, but at least the smoke and ashes of war had been blown away, and the healing process had started to do it's magic...

Leading them to a nearby barn, the old man, blonde like Nosedive but with lots of silver-white, led him to a small room where a puckling female laid in bed. She too was blonde with many streaks of white and grey, and besides just being on the thin side like most of the people they'd passed along they way, she also looked alarmingly sickly and frail, as if her bones were made of glass.

But as soon as she saw who it was who had just come to her bedchamber, she quickly sat up, life already returning to her eyes. "No... Nosedive? Wildwing? My baby birds, is that really you...?"

They fell into her open arms, shamelessly crying onto her breast for several moments before collecting themselves once more, and telling her all about the things that had happened to them over the years. The others waited for them outside, giving them a few moments of privacy. They could have gone on without them, but then at the same time, none of them would ever really think of it. After everything they'd been through over the years they were family, not just teammates.

And some more literally than others, as Wildwing finally informed his mother that she was, in fact, now a grandmother. He brought Tanya in, and their twins, and the elderly puckling female had another good cry over the years she had missed.

Then Nosedive brought Karen in, and his mother blinked owlishly at the sight of her. "My, she's certainly tall... But dear, if you've been stranded on an alien planet for years, how did you ever manage to find her?"

Nosedive and Karen looked at each other then, unsure at first. But Nosedive had never lied to his mother (at least, not about anything serious) and he wasn't about to start now. Pulling a picture from his wallet, Nosedive handed it to his mother. It was of his human family, and him, back when he too was a human. "That's actually what she used to look like... And those are our children, Cornelius and Kendra..."

She worried over the picture for a moment, confused. But she quickly put it aside for the sake of her son, accepting everything almost instantly. Well, almost everything... "Nosedive, alien child or not, what on any world possessed you to name your son 'Cornelius'...?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Eventually Mallory, Duke and Grin separated from the others to go seek out their own kin, but promised to stay in touch. Tanya stayed with her mate at first, though she had received word that both of her parents had mercifully survived the war, and were helping to put together one of the first of Puckworld's new cities. Their technology was keeping people alive, and Tanya wanted to join them soon, but for the time being, she chose to stay with Wildwing and Nosedive and Karen and their mother and mother-in-law, Kelly.

Kelly had apparently been on the brink of death for a couple of weeks now. People thought she would leave the world any day. But when her sons returned to her, miraculously so did her will to live, and in time, if only for a short time, with Tanya's scientific medical prowess and Karen's magical healing, she got much better. She ended up living five days over a year, when the doctors originally thought five days would have been the most. But eventually her age and health problems related to the war for her planet caught up with her, and the noble female finally was laid to rest, joining her mate at last on the other side.

She died with no regrets. Only her sons regretted not having more time with her, but they were grateful beyond words for every second they had gotten to see her...

Thankfully sorrow was soon replaced with joy as Nosedive was blessed with a son a few months later. He had actually almost wished for another girl, to name her after his late mother. But instead, at Wildwing's suggestion and Karen's whole-hearted acceptance, they all decided to name the blonde and white-feathered boy... Canard.

A red-headed, grey-feathered brother, Drake, who loved nothing more than hanging out and making mischief with his older brother, was born just a year after that.

Twin sons were added two years after that, a blonde but grey-skinned boy named Brook, and a white-feathered and red-haired boy dubbed Delta. Though twins they were not alike in any way, and in fact argued and quarreled and competed with each other more than anything, though they did still realized they loved each other at the end of the day, after mom and dad broke up whatever their fight was about that time.

A year after that yet another son, a boy with speckled white and grey feathers and reddish-blonde hair, was named Gloss, for he was indeed the most glossy-coated boy seen in years. He was exceptionally handsome, and unlike the rest of his brothers, either on the taller or broader sides, Gloss was a little shorter (still tall, just not outright huge) and slimmer like his father. In years to come he would quickly gain a reputation for always having some girl or several be love-struck over him and chasing after him...

A full five years after that, and they finally had another. They hadn't even planned this child, but it was finally the girl Nosedive had been hoping for. Of course they named her Kelly, and she grew up to be a very beautiful and very tall red-headed female with white feathers.

Two years after that they decided 'what the hell', and the universe apparently answered in kind, for they were given twins again, this time two girls. One blonde and white-feathered, named Kaia, and one grey feathered and red-haired, named Kora.

After that they were finally too busy with their current and very expansive family (though still nothing compared to the family Cornelius had amassed) to miss the children that had stayed on Earth, as much as they used to... But they still found time, at least a few minutes a day, where their hearts ached for them, and they wondered again and for the many-th time, would that communicator they always carried on them finally go through one day...?

One by one and two by two the children started growing up right before their eyes. The boys were all non-magical, more inclined towards science and sports, although most in the family considered Gloss' otherworldly good-looks and natural charm with the ladies to be a sort of magical power in itself.

Kelly was also an athlete like her brothers, and struggled to keep up with them all. Only Canard went easy on her, but he was exceptionally strong, and he usually had to go easy on everyone. Kora was not athletically inclined, she was always on a computer, and Tanya, her favorite aunt, had promised to tutor her when she was older. Only Kaia inherited her mother's gift for magic, though her powers were nowhere as strong as her mother's, she could do most simple forms of magic with no issue.

But then, Kaia is still young, she'll get stronger yet... That's what Karen was thinking on one particular day in her lifetime. The boys were teenagers now. The girls were still young children. All of them were playing together in their large front lawn, most like a little grassy valley, littered with white and yellow daisies, and close by to a cute little lake, while waiting for Karen to finish making her magic in the kitchen and adorn their picnic with all the tasty new things she'd learned to make over the years.

There's some towns and cities nearby, but with their big family and the demand for Karen's magical services, they like it better out here in the country, now finally more green than not after years of regrowth and magical care, where they can have some peace in between arranging the most pressing of Karen's appointments. She doesn't charge much at all for her magical help, but with how many pucklings have need for a miracle here and there, from a healing to a crop boost, it's soon clear that it's now Karen who is more the breadwinner than Nosedive. He, however, doesn't mind at all. It's nice to play hockey again just for fun, and him and all the old teammates get together here every winter and have a game together on Nosedive's lake when it freezes.

Karen's usually never been much for Winter. It was always always so cold in the Malfoy Manor, so Winter was always the hardest time for her. It wasn't much easier as a single mother who struggled to keep the heater on. But Puckworld Winters are just as far from these realities as the planet is from earth. Winter itself may be cold, but her husband and children are never far enough for her not to scoop one into a big warm hug. And even with their house being as big as it is now, to support all their many children, Karen never feels like it's too big... The house may be big, their surrounding property is fairly big, but... To Karen, it's just her little corner of the world.

However, today is a beautiful and hot Summer day, and the kids are either running around in the grass or swimming in the lake, leaving all the cooking to their parents in the kitchen without care. But their parents don't care either. It gives them more time to sneak romantic embraces to each other while the food cooks~

In fact, Nosedive is in the middle of rubbing his neck against her shoulder and neck, and since there are no children in their large and state of the art home currently, he's rather shamelessly grinding their hips together, too...

But suddenly, to his shock and confusion, a large spot on his wife's thigh is starting to vibrate, and ring...?

Wait. She keeps her puckworld communicator in her back pocket, which means...

They both look into each other's eyes in shock, with hope, with dread that it might not be what they are so dearly praying it is...

They take a step back, and Karen pulls out the old Earth communicator. She presses the button to accept the call, her heart on pins and needles, for there was on time when the communicator went off before, but had only been static when they answered...

"Please don't be static, please don't be static..."

God fucking damn it, it was static...

Wait.

An image flickered.

It flickered a few times, and then, it suddenly appeared clearly. A picture beamed in a holograph. It was... Sal. Still short but all grown up, standing there holding the capybara under one arm, a burned piece of toast sticking out of her mouth, and wearing a pink bathrobe. She blinked as their images came into her view as well, and then she suddenly gasped, letting the toast fall from her fangs without care. "Is that really you guys...?! Can you hear and see me?!"

The puckling couple nodded mutely in wonder at first, then affirmed aloud, "Yes!"

"Hold on!" They were told, and then there was a scurry. Sal was holding the communicator in one hand and her capybara in the other, who often sniffed the screen while her master ran. After dashing around the place, she finally came to a large and highly advanced-looking lab a few minutes later, "GUYS! GUYS! IT WENT THROOOUGH!"

There was a round of gasps, and then ecstatic shouts. "It went through?!" "IT WENT THROUGH, WOOOOO~!" "YES YES YES! IT WENT THROUGH!" "Wait, what went through? What are we all excited about again...?"

"Outta the way!" Sal growled, slipping and shoving past the many people crowding around, until finally she go to who was most important - Kendra and Cornelius, who both soon came into view.

"MOM! DAD!" Both of her first, human children exclaimed, and Karen burst into overjoyed tears. "My babies! Cornelius! Kendra! And oh my stars, is that Wilbur there behind you? Oh my goodness look how much you've grown sweetie~!"

Karen hugged Nosedive in celebration, and they cuddled just for a second in relief before going back to fawning over their babies. "Oh my goodness, sweeties, I'm so happy to see you again!" Their mother cooed after them.

"I'm so happy we found you!" Cornelius returned. "Because finding you was definitely not easy! We had somebody searching for your frequency every day for years, we never gave up hope, but - Aah, nevermind that, I'm just so glad we finally found you again! And now that we finally found your frequency out of the -billions- we had to search, we can finally call you at least semi-regularly from now on!"

Wiping away her tears, Karen nodded gratefully. "My amazing firstborn..." But then she gasped, remembering quickly that they weren't her one and only children anymore. So in great excitement, Karen took Nosedive's hand, and they ran out into the field, carelessly crushing daisies under their webbed feet as they ran as fast as they could to where the children were playing. "Canard, Drake, everyone, come quick!" Nosedive called after them.

Confused at their behavior, the kids stopped and looked at them. Karen was still so happy she couldn't stop crying, but she didn't care anymore. "Children come look! Come meet your oldest brother and sister!"

Life was magical... Life was full of opportunities to gain might and become strong. To become the kind of person who could take charge of a whole army, or be an entire army in one person. But in Karen's opinion, meetings like these, and the meaning it brought to your life... That was the most magical thing of all.

The End

(( AAAAAAH OMG, YES, this IS the end of the story! I can't believe I actually finished this thing! Even though it's pretty clear this is a *puts hands on cheeks and makes a PBBBBT-raspberry sound* kinda version of this story, lmfao. XD Definitely abridged, but, I still hope you guys enjoyed it! It's been a lot of fun and I'm very happy to finally give the story the happy ending Karen and Nosedive deserve~

BUT, I really need to get back to my original stories now. XD;;; So, if you liked my writing and you'd like to see what I have in store for the future, please be on the look out for "The Legend of the Lone Pearl Cowgirl", when I, god willing, finally finish writing that too! XD If you're a fan of the "space-western" genre like Trigun and Outlaw Star, you might like it. Also I may post the first few chapters on fictionpress at least, let me know if that's something any of you guys would care to see. ^^

Again, thank you so much for reading along with the story and for all the encouragement and kind words! It's really awesome to me that you guys are still making and supporting fanworks for a fandom this old, and that's what kept me going and actually got this fic finished, so, GO MIGHTY DUCK FANDOM! :DDDDD

Alright y'all! Love, peace, and duck grease! XDDD ))