A/N: Ya know what? I lied! Happy reading everybody! :D

Disclaimer: Princess Tutu belongs to whoever owns it- aka NOT ME!

Princess Tutu

Hour of the Swan

Act 7:

"Hope's Wings" Blazing Light

Sylvie had been walking in the city streets. It had yet to grow dark but only an hour ago, the school had let out for the weekend and gossip had filled the streets. Normally, Sylvie never had went among the people of the streets since she hated humanity with all her heart but that hatred was waning. This bothered her. When Sylvie was alone, she felt . . . lonely. It hadn't been like that for a long time. It scared her, being alone know.

Shaking her head, Sylvie continued walking. She passed a group of girl squealing about a prince coming to stay in Kinkan in hopes of choosing a bride. Why am I so needy for being among those I hate? she wondered.

"Sylvie, you are needed," a voice boomed from nowhere but everywhere at once. No one seemed to notice but Sylvie jumped in surprise. The voice cackled. "You are jumpy from your master's voice?"

Sylvie sighed and dashed into the nearest ally way. At the end of the ally was a door that seemed out of place. The brown haired girl opened it shakily, looking back at the street. Her heart began filling with loneliness. Sylvie smacked her head and cursed herself for being weak. She entered the door, appearing on the other side. The door vanished once it shut.

Sylvie found herself in a stone wall where her master stood waiting for her. "Yes?" she asked, kneeling before the giant shadow. The black eyes stared down amusedly at her.

"You are lonely, aren't you?" he asked, but it sounded more like a statement. "Feeling lonely without those rats?"

"N-no!" she shouted but her voice betrayed her. "I want them all to be vanquished!"

"Then why do you hesitate to come to me?" her master asked. "Sylvie, if you truly hate them, I ask one favor of you."

"What is it, Master?" Sylvie asked hastily, wanting to get her job before he decided to poke fun at her confusion. That was the one thing about her master that she couldn't stand: he always knew what she was feeling and always made it worse.

"Repair a machine in the clock tower," the shadow instructed her. "Remember that writer that gave you your pendant that allows you to turn into Silence? He wants to finish this story."

Sylvie's temper flared. "HIM?" she cried. "That crazed old man?! He's the worst kind out there! Besides what good will a repaired machine do any-?"

"SILENCE!" commanded the shadow. Sylvie's unknown master had never acted like so before and she shut her mouth and cowered slightly. Flames burst from the dead torches and illuminated the room. "You may be the protagonist of this story but you'll do as I say, you stupid, pathetic human! You will go and fix the machine in the clock tower and you fill follow what he writes- EVEN IF IT MEANS THAT YOU WILL GIVE YOUR LIFE!"

Sylvie was so scared, she couldn't even cry out of fear. She was just numb. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Well?" her master demanded, his temper still high.

Chalk white, Sylvie nodded and squeaked, "Yes." She stood up shakily and scrambled out of the room. When she left, she finally broke down and began crying. Is my dream really what I wanted? she wondered through tears.

~X~*~X~

Ahiru, Mytho, and Rue finally stopped in a deserted street. They had been searching until dusk illuminated the city in shades of red. They had no luck trying to find Fakir. "Are you sure he went this way?" asked Rue.

"No," admitted Ahiru, looking around. She sighed. "Fakir!" she called. "Where are you?" There was no answer.

The three began searching again. Suddenly, a bright glow from Ahiru's necklace caught their attention. Startled, they followed it into an ally all in high hopes but it fell as they noticed it wasn't who they thought it was. Instead, it was a girl with brown hair and purple eyes. They all got ready for an attack but Mytho saw her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and tear stains ran down her cheeks. Had she been crying?

"You!" she halfheartedly growled. In a flash of light, she turned into the red knight named Silence and took off by jumping over them, her cape billowing behind her.

"Wait!" cried Ahiru. In a second flash of light, Ahiru had turned into Princess Tutu and went after her.

Mytho and Rue ran after them. Rue had an uneasy feeling, as if something inside her wanted out. A flash of the dream she had had flashed through her mind. Her legs froze and she fell to the ground. Mytho came to a stop and turned to look at her. "Rue?" he asked. When everything was falling apart, he could help but be afraid something else was going to go wrong.

"You can't escape us. You are a raven. You can't escape who you are. You are Kraehe, no matter what you do." Rue hugged her body as her mind flashed to the mental image of her reflection in the mirror: Kraehe. Rue held her hand up to her mouth as she shook. Mytho ran to her and hugged her. "Rue? Are you okay? Rue!" His voice was full of worry.

The fear subsided after a few more minutes and she looked up into his concerned eyes. "Rue? What's wrong?"

"Kraehe," was all Rue answered.

Mytho understood her fear. Kraehe was part of her past of being the Raven's daughter. As Kraehe, she had caused so much pain and sorrow to her friends that she had feared her raven blood. She had even often shied away from talking about ravens. Mytho could understand because he too had raven's blood but he accepted it as who he was, even though he felt guilty about everything he had done under its influences. He hugged her tighter.

"Rue, Kraehe is part of you," he said, "just as much as the raven's blood is part of me. We can't do anything about it now. Kraehe is part of you, the Raven Princess. You can't be afraid of what you are."

Rue didn't answer.

Mytho continued. "Kraehe is part of you but not entirely you. You are Rue, the Prince's love and the Raven Princess. You can shun those parts about you, you can run away but only for so long. My dear Rue, you can change the image of them, though. You may have the raven's blood but you aren't evil because of it."

Rue looked up at him with teary eyes. He had a grim smile on his face. I can't freeze up now, she thought to herself. I have to help the people I care about. Rue got up with Mytho's help, wiped away tears and said, "Thank you, Mytho." Mytho nodded and the two ran off in the direction where Silence and Tutu disappeared.

~X~*~X~

Princess Tutu and Silence stopped right in front of the clock tower. "Wait, Sylvie!" cried the prima donna.

Silence rounded on the roof and glared back at her. "Why do you follow me?" she exclaimed.

Princess Tutu didn't answer. "Why . . . why do you wish for humanity to disappear?" she asked. "What happened to you?" Tutu began to slowly approach the knight. In response, she quickly drew her sword.

"Stay away!" she growled, pulling out her sword and jumping off. Tutu followed her despite her protests that followed behind her. Eventually the two came to the clock tower. Silence stopped right in front of it and looked upwards at the tower. This is where I need to be? This is where the machine is? Can . . . can I really do this?

"Lost in despair?" asked a melancholy voice from behind her. Snapping out of her thoughts, Silence spun around and grabbed the boy who had startled her and put her fencing style sword to his throat.

The ballerina had jumped down from the top of the building and landed in a light spin. She gasped, since Fakir had been pulled into her grasp and was being held hostage, poised and ready to be gutted. "Sylvie! Please back away from there! You can't-!" pleaded Tutu, stepping forwards and extending an arm.

Sylvie got the idea that was crossing the girl's mind and decided to use it to her advantage. "Come any closer and I'll cut his throat!" Even though it sounded halfhearted, the threat got the point across.

Fear rolled in her mind. What can I do? How did Fakir appear here? she thought.

Mytho and Rue came into the square before the clock tower. They both stopped short, noticing the boy having a sword held to his throat. Fakir didn't seem to care. "Let him go!" demanded Mytho angrily. "What do you want with the clock tower?"

Rue's blood began to stir again but she ignored it. Silence just stood transfixed on the spot before her. "Don't kill him!" screeched a voice in her head. "Get the machine fixed!" Silence understood the threat from her master. She shoved Fakir away and ran for the clock tower. Tutu ran to catch him.

"Fakir! Are you all right?" she asked.

Angrily, Fakir pushed her away. "Leave me alone? Why don't you get it?" he screamed before running off in a different direction.

"Fakir! Fakir, WAIT!" the redhead ran after him despite the danger of the red knight going towards the clock tower where the writing machine was being held. Without hesitation, Rue looked up. She sped off after the knight and Mytho ran after her. Rue clutched her heart. I have to stop her! This must be way she wanted me dead in the beginning! She was afraid of me getting in the way of her winning but what does that have to do with my Raven's blood running through my veins?

~X~*~X~

Princess Tutu followed after the running teen. A billion thoughts running through her head. The Mirror Shard, it's been there all along! Why didn't I notice it before? Why didn't the necklace pick up on it? Could I have missed it? she thought. Finally, they got to the place where the place where Fakir had been pulled into the oak. Why had he ran to this place?

Princess Tutu jumped towards him, blocking his path. "Fakir," she said, pained. "I-I . . ." She twirled her hands above her head and offered it towards the boy. "Will you dance with me?"

Fakir just backed up. "I know what happens when you dance," he said. "What's the point in fighting the story? You'll only end up turning back into a duck– if you got lucky."

"F-Fakir, there's a possibility that I may not," she pointed out, taking a step forwards. "You have a Mirror Shard in you. You've been acting differently because of it." Ahiru knew he was correct about her not wanting to become a duck again.

The ex-knight didn't respond right away.

"If you dance with me, I can turn everything back to normal," Princess Tutu offered. Walking up to him.

"And you'd turn back into a duck," he said resentfully, as if it pained him. "I've tried to write an ending for you and I, but it never worked. If you turn back into a duck, I have no hope of giving an ending rightfully yours."

"I-it's all right."

"No! It isn't!" he yelled, shoving her away. "I know you hated not being human! You were just holding it all back! You're hopeless Ahiru! This story is hopeless! The ending won't be good."

"We can fight it!"

"NO WE CAN'T!" he screamed. From beneath him, the scenery began to change. The air felt heavier and a mist descended down on them. Tutu found herself standing on an open field covered with snow. Pillars of ice spurted out of the ground, making her jump out of the way so she wouldn't have been skewered. The pillars arched towards a platform of white stone covered by snow. On top of it, the only signs of life were black marigolds and bellwort flowers climbing up the stone where Fakir stood.

"Fakir!" screamed Tutu, running towards him but a pillar of ice popped out of the ground. In the distance, there was a cackling of a voice of a woman. She appeared on top of the pillar of ice, smirking down at Princess Tutu before disappearing. The prima donna jumped onto a low ice pillar before jumping to a higher one. She kept doing this until she could look down at the huge platform of stone. A harsh wind nearly blew her over but she stood strong.

Not even for a second did she notice that it was supposed to be cold. All she cared about was getting through the ice field and getting to Fakir.

Below, she saw the exact same woman that had sneered down at her was dancing around Fakir, who just sat against a stone pillar that was wrapped in dead vines. The woman didn't seem to have a feature on her but from what she could see, the figure had long hair and a flowing dress. Fakir was just staring at the ground. As the woman danced through the snow, she gave off a faint purple glow. The figure danced and the flowers began snaking their way towards the boy.

"You know you can't win," said the woman. "It's hopeless to fight it. You won't be able to save her from her ending. You never could save her from being a duck."

"I could never do that," he repeated as if all the hope was being pulled out of him. The flowers began sneaking up more quickly and began entangling themselves around his feet.

"FAKIR! NO!" Princess Tutu jumped from her perch and landed gracefully, emitting a soft gold light. As she landed, a burst of feathers danced around her before disappearing. She began twirling and dancing around him. "Fakir, you can't have hopelessness drown you. We can fight this, together."

"What's the point?" Fakir asked, remaining unmoving. "I've just been useless. I couldn't save Mytho from the ravens and I couldn't bring you a happy ending like you deserved."

"No, that's not true." Princess Tutu began flapping her arms before spinning around. "You helped me accept that I would return to my true self, just as you had. You helped me survive the ending, if it wasn't because of you, I would have been the ravens' food."

There was a glint of gold in his eye and he looked up for the first time. The dancing woman stopped what she was doing. The roots and flowers had began to recede. The figure gave a loud hiss before a giant vine appeared out of the ground and wrapped itself around the ballerina. The woman danced her way over to Fakir and she wrapped her arms around his neck and began whispering in his ear. "You're just a useless knight," she reminded him. "You can't do anything to save your friends. What can a knight who can't even fill his role correctly do with a pen and paper? It's hopeless."

The gold glint disappeared and was replaced by a purple one. His eyes became hollow. In a flash, the roots shot forwards and wrapped themselves around the boy until they were waist high. The woman smiled and began dancing around him again. "There is nothing you can do." Her dance was one of taunting and cruel ridicule mixed with a bit of despair of its own.

Princess Tutu began to struggle from her suspended wrap. As hard as she struggled, tears began to roll down her eyes. She was so close to saving him, now that she was trapped, she couldn't do anything. The vine's grip was too strong. The flowers of doubt wound their way up the boy's figure as he stared hopelessly down at the ground. The scene from the oak tree flashed through her mind. If Fakir was fully engulfed in the flowers, would he be lost? Would she loose him, this time forever?

No, that can't happen, she thought to herself. But what can I do? I can't even get out of here. She dropped her head and stopped struggling. I can't loose someone I love but what can I do? Snapping her head up, Princess Tutu's eyes widened at her sudden realization. The reason why . . . I have to save him from despair, she reminded herself. With him by my side, I feel like anything could be through our way and I'd still stand tall because of him. That's the hope he had given me. It's time I give it back to him.

The gem around her neck began giving off a faint yellow light. The vine's grip around her loosened and adjusted itself so that it was a level surface for Princess Tutu to stand up on. White petals of flowers began to dance around Tutu as she landed on the stone lightly. She began to spin and dance, hope filling her dance. "Once I didn't have any hope too. I was drowning in a lake, afraid of turning back into my true self. Hopeless and despair were with me while I tried to save Mytho's from Kraehe when she had him and the Heartshard of Love. It was because of your sacrifice and you never giving up."

This didn't seemed to help any but the entanglement of the roots slowed, just before consuming his eyes. He looked up, eyes still hollow.

"You didn't give up in the end. You kept fighting for a happy ending." Princess Tutu kept going. Her dance reminded him about the times when he was with Ahiru. His doubt about being needed anymore. When his role had been finished in the previous story, he wasn't sure that Ahiru could finish it herself. He remembered in the final battle against the Raven that the hope that Ahiru was feeling expanding to him and the pen in his hands. That hope had kept him going through that story, even when it seemed bleak.

The figure gave out a screech as the plants began dying around him. He had gotten up and began heading towards Tutu. The woman stepped into his way and grabbed his hands and began dancing with him, despair had began trying to make its way into his heart but it didn't have as much of an effect. Recoiling, the purple figure backed away as Fakir made his way passed her. Princess Tutu stopped dancing when Fakir was right next to her.

She tried to keep herself from tears of joy as the bleak look on his face began to slowly disappear. She offered a hand to him. He took it and the two began dancing. Hope and happiness began to wash over both of them, cleansing the doubt. They began dancing a pas de deux. Spinning, lifting, dancing. "I can't believe how I could forget myself like I did," he said. "The person who I was and the hope . . . Thank you." The snow and ice melted into a field of irises that scattered in a light breeze.

The figure didn't try to get in their way. She just disappeared in a small glitter with a trace of a smile.

The two finally finished, both sets of hands resting on Fakir's heart. When they removed them, a purple orb came out and floated in the ballerina's hands and turned into a shard of glass. In a flash of light, the shard went into the necklace and Tutu turned back into Ahiru. They stood there in silence.

"Ahiru . . . I'm sorry about how I acted."

Ahiru blinked. "N-no, it's my fault," she denied, bowing her head. "I hadn't noticed the shard there. I'm sure my necklace alerted me to it before but I hadn't noticed. If I had, then we could have adverted this."

Fakir closed his eyes and shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Moron. Don't think about it," he said, placing a hand on her head. "There's nothing we can do to change our past but we can stop whatever ending is coming our way."

Ahiru looked up through her bangs. A sudden bubbly feeling filled her heart and she smiled back. Both wished for something like this forever but once they did, an ominous presence snapped them back into reality. The field disappeared and they were back in the place where the oak tree once had been. Mist rolled across the town and Fakir stood in front of Ahiru protectively.

"Wh-what's going on?" she asked, recognizing the feeling of being hooked up to strings.

"Drosselmeyer," muttered Fakir, glaring up at the sky at something that Ahiru didn't see. The wind began to suddenly howl in every direction. A chortle made them look up at the dark sky. A set of eyes looked down at them. They sparkled gleefully.

"Now, let the ending commence," Drosselmeyer's voice echoed across the town.

"What do you mean?" shouted Fakir. "What do you have planned?!"

Drosselmeyer just glanced down at them, a smile appearing in the sky. "You'll see, my dear descendent," he answered wickedly.

The shadow then disappeared and thundering footsteps alerted the two of them. Looking back, they found soldiers surrounding them. One reached for Ahiru and pulled her towards him. Fakir ran at him demanding, "Get your hands off her!" A second soldier just knocked him aside with the staff of his spear. He fell to the ground but shot right back up and ran towards the soldier, grabbing his spear and jerking it away from him.

Fakir used the staff of the spear to knock the soldier that ran towards him to the ground unconscious as he ran towards the soldier that was pulling Ahiru away. "Let her go!" he demanded again but when he got to the wall of soldiers, they blocked his exit with their spears.

"The prince wants her," said one soldier. "Don't get in his way."

Ahiru tried fighting off the soldier but he was too strong. Dragging her away, she cried, "Fakir! Help!" Fakir tried fighting his way through the crowd but they overpowered him, sending him to the ground, knocked out. They left him as they followed the other one.

~X~*~X~

Rain began falling only minutes after the boy had been knocked out. Drosselmeyer sat comfortably in his rocking chair, glad that he was once again empowered. "My, my," he said to himself. "One part ends and an other begins. Where is Ahiru being taken?" The question was rhetorical; he already knew where the heroine was being taken but did little Fakir know? Drosselmeyer tapped his fingertips together contently. "My master piece will be better than The Prince and the Raven. How will my characters play out their tragic ending? I thank you dear Sylvie for allowing me to finish up my master piece."

From a gear next to him, a growl echoed from a black nothingness. "Don't forget our deal," reminded the set of eyes, who himself chortled.

"I will, my demon," responded the writer with a smile. "In all do time."

Act 7: End.

Well, crap. Drosselmeyer's back in control. What of Rue, Mytho, and Silence? Check in next chapter!