Dislaimer - Ori and the Blind Forest belongs to the Moon Studios.
"Ori, please get up!"
Ori barely heard Sein as he stirred. Events of last few minutes were still fresh in his mind. He and Sein restored the Element of Warmth. And it would've been the end of the story – but Kuro smashed into the element, shattering it and starting Mt. Horu's eruption. And worst of all, Ori couldn't do anything about it. As he stirred after the fall, Ori had a single thought.
'Will she really go as far as to burn the forest to have her revenge?'
Yet there was still hope. As Ori approached Sein he could hear his words.
"The Spirit Tree's near, there is one step more to take. The forest of Nibel will live once again!"
Ori nodded and leapt from the tree, aiming to glide as close to the tree as possible. Then heard the wind whistle and felt the talon close around him. Kuro had found them.
"No! Don't-"
Then Ori felt crushing pain. As he began to lose consciousness, he felt remorse. For Kuro's nestlings, who died because he left. For Naru, who withered because of him. For the forest itself, that was doomed to burn because Ori wasn't strong enough to save it.
Naru was afraid, yet fear did little to stop her. Since she woke up, she was beside herself with worry about her child.
'Why must the children fight for our safety, while the adults are powerless? Why did Ori have to fight to restore the forest? Why is this world so unfair to him?'
And yet Naru knew that all of this was her fault. She was supposed to bring Ori back to the Spirit Tree, not to raise him as her child. Yet she didn't. She was supposed to let Ori go back to the Tree during the ceremony, not to hide him. Yet she didn't. She was supposed to protect Ori with her life. Yet she was unable to.
As a burning log nearly fell on top of her, Naru heard a desperate cry. She ran forward and saw her child, broken and unconscious, lying on the ground in front of the giant owl. Naru paid her no mind as she ran towards Ori, cradling the spirit in her arms. Naru then looked straight into the owl's blazing white eyes. She didn't say anything, yet it was as if the words were said by the forest itself.
'Would you really be so cruel as to kill a child in front of his mother?'
Her revenge was so close, yet the spirit managed to slip away any time Kuro confronted him. And now that the spirit restored the third Element, Kuro knew she had to take action. As she flew towards the Element, Kuro planned how to take the spirit down.
But he managed to evade her again. As Kuro flew around the forest, looking for the light of the spirit, she noticed him looking towards the Spirit Tree. And once he jumped, it was easy to grab him.
"No! Don't do this! The forest will burn!"
Yet the owl paid no mind to the words of Sein as she crushed the spirit and threw him towards the ground. Then she saw a creature running towards the spirit. The one that was caretaker of the Swallow's Nest.
"Naru! Run!"
Yet she didn't. Kuro moved threateningly, but Naru paid her no mind. She cradled the spirit in her hands, then looked at Kuro. And in her eyes Kuro saw the same anguish that Kuro herself felt when her nestlings died.
'Would you really be so cruel as to kill a child in front of his mother?'
The question was left unsaid, yet all of a sudden, revenge was no longer so sweet.
'If I did that, I would be no better than the Spirit Tree.'
And then Kuro remembered. Her egg was in danger! And this time it was all Kuro's fault.
'No! What have I done? If I don't do something the egg will burn.'
"You know what to do."
And Kuro did. Without hesitation, she grabbed Sein and sped towards the Spirit Tree. Today she will make things right, for her last child.
'Live, and protect this forest, for I no longer can.'
The skies were once again lit ablaze. The fires stopped, and the forest began to regain its lush. Yet Sein knew that some things will never be the same as before. Ori will forever remember this journey and his ultimate failure. Naru will forever remember that her innocent wish to raise Ori as her own almost brought an end to the entire forest. And Kuro will now watch over the forest from the stars, never to return.
But still, the forest lives. And all is well…
A/N: Well, I decided to write this oneshot on a whim. It's my first story, so let's hope you will enjoy it.