DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: Well... I'd hate to say it, but... this... is... the... last... chapter... for... Pixie Hollow...
Yet, that more-than-likely means this is going to be quite a length-y chapter. After all, I did end Chapter 10 with a tension-building moment!
On the side, I wanted to mention about the fact I have noticed the amount of Views & Reviews alike has significantly DECREASED recently. Therefore, PLEASE try to REVIEW THIS STORY A.S.A.P.! If I do NOT receive around 100 Reviews by the END of this story, I've considered NOT posting my second story - AT ALL! You all would just have to wait until the THIRD story!
Either way, I'm certain you're all extremely anxious to learn WHY Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness appeared inside PIXIE HOLLOW!
IF that's so, then here's your chance! HAVE FUN READING AWAY!
CHAPTER 11
Memorable Visions
It was late at night in Tinker's Nook. The moonlight dribbled through the workshop like a waterfall flowing gracefully through the empty space. The distant sounds of crickets chirping could be heard. A soft wind had picked up outside and seemed to be whistling through the treetops. It was the kind of setting that would have made any fairy's (or sparrow man's) wings glow a nice shade of blue.
In one section of the workshop, Tinker Bell sat at her mushroom-shaped table. Her hammer was lying on the table with a few odd-looking gadgets beside it. Among them was her clearly-broken flower-sprayer. She continued to gaze at the contraptions in silence.
A soft muzzle glazed her side. She jolted for a moment until she saw it was only a small, gray mouse. Well… not exactly "small". The critter was still bigger than her. Yet, he was as friendly as a butterfly on a warm, spring day.
"Oh! Hey, Cheese," she said, smoothly scratching the mouse behind his ears. Cheese chittered with glee.
Tinker Bell sighed. "'Be proud of your talent'," she muttered to herself, still looking at the items at her workstation. "What talent? I couldn't get these silly things to work!"
She gave a deep sigh and calmly placed her head onto the table. A tiny, bright light caught her eye. She looked up; Cheese did the same. They saw a light had been left on — it was coming from a storage room specifically for unused and unneeded materials. She rose from the table and approached the room.
As she drew closer, Tinker Bell saw the light she had seen was coming from a large basket woven from blade of lush, green grass. She peered inside and her face immediately lit up. Inside were a variety of objects she barely recognized. One of them was a bluish diamond. Another was a string of spheres. There was a large, flat circle that seemed to be crafted from either gold or silver. A tiny, metal thing-y with a point was situated next to a flat circle with large, thick spokes (a small, flat-toothed gear), and a coil of metal that appeared to be twisted and bendable.
"'Lost things'," she instantly realized.
She reached into the container and took out the coil of metal and the circle with the spokes. She tried to push the coil through the circle's hollow middle, only it would not go all the way through. She put the circle back and picked up the pointed object. She fidgeted it against the coil. Each time she bent the coil a little, it bounced back. She put the coil away and picked up another item in the basket; a wooden tea kettle that was missing its top.
Her eyes suddenly went from the kettle to the pointed thing-y and back. After this went on and on for a few seconds, she stopped. Her eyes lit up and a smile formed upon her face. It felt as though a lightbulb had just been switched on way up in her mind… or rather, her imagination. Either way, it was still in her head.
"That's it!" she declared.
Riku was beyond mystification. There he was, the one who had previously possessed his body; the Heartless he and Sora should've defeated for good — Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness. One look at the villain and Riku had realized the name had just escaped his lips. Knowing he had been unable to contain it, he decided to seize the opportunity to inquire the main question now drifting through his thoughts.
"Why are you here?!" the silver-haired youth exclaimed. After all, how was it possible for this human-resembling Heartless to have created such a miraculous return? Such a fate for a Heartless having been slain by a Keyblade-type weapon was supposed to have been impossible. On the contrary, Ansem had mysteriously overcome the unreachable and been revived. But… how could that be?
Next to where Ansem was standing, the stranger wearing the black-hooded coat of the late Organization XIII gave an evil smirk.
The younger man explained, "Your best friend is never far!"
"What do you mean by 'friend'?!" Violet unexpectedly barged in. Her query had been entirely ignored by the others.
"You know not where you've arrived," Ansem monotonously specified. "Or… who you have met."
Sora's facial expression swiftly transitioned into a deep, reddish-glowing glare. "Of course we know who we met," the teenage Keyblade-Master-In-Training retaliated. "Tinker Bell is my friend! Nothing else!"
Ansem gave a miniature-sized snort of disapproval at the challenge Sora had posed. Rather than except it, the Seeker of Darkness proceeded to reveal what he desired to say. "Long ago, I sent many groups of Heartless into various worlds," he began in his lengthy story. "Most of those worlds' Keyholes were uncovered, allowing me to consume them in the glorious powers of the Darkness. One such world had a Keyhole clearly located within a large, crooked tree, to which I was able to consume the world as planned. Still, when I ventured about to check each of the remaining worlds, I discovered the world I had thought to be lost was still mostly intact. At first, I assumed I had failed to locate the world's Keyhole, but I knew I had already found it."
Turning to look at the two Keyblade wielders and the Angel of Dreams, Ansem gestured directly to indicate Sora. He continued, "You, Sora, found the Keyhole I had missed. Had I known to inspect that clock-tower more closely, I might've found the secret way to reveal it — just like you had."
Sora was sensing a combination of shock and puzzlement. "The 'clock-tower'," he muttered uneasily. "That world you mentioned. It… was… Never Land?!"
Both Riku and Violet were on the verge of sensing a possible trick up the villain's sleeve. However, all Ansem did in response was simply nod with an evil grin starting to form upon his face.
"Correct," Ansem confirmed. "This now-Sleeping world… the world of fairies — Pixie Hollow — is part of a larger world; Never Land. The reason why I had failed to consume this world initially was because it did not have one, but two hearts — one for the island, and one for the 'Mainland'."
Having heard the full explanation, Sora, Riku, and Violet were all nearly-equally speechless. Yet, Sora was the most-astounded of all. If what Ansem said was true, then Pixie Hollow happened to be a missing piece in the actual world of Never Land itself.
Before hearing about this, Sora had always been told every world had possessed a single Keyhole leading to the heart of each individual world. Ironically, the world in which the Keyblader had met Peter Pan and Tinker Bell alike turned out to have contained two distinct Keyholes. Therefore, when Sora had previously sealed the Keyhole located within the clock-tower, he had actually not officially prevented the world from falling to Darkness, but had only rescued a segment of the world he had visited. If they could unlock the Sleeping Keyhole, the world of Never Land would once again be re-completed. Sora was positive that would be the case.
"As for you, Riku," Ansem spoke up, obviously indicating Riku. "Embrace the Darkness. You have no idea what you are missing out on."
"So what?!" Riku snapped in return. His Keyblade rapidly appeared in his hands as he immediately switched over into his usual fighting stance. "I walk the Road to Dawn!"
"Still afraid of the Darkness," the mysterious stranger in the black-hooded coat commented. "I sense much anxiety in you."
As the strange man in black stepped into a dark portal he had opened a moment before, Ansem turned to Riku — his evil-looking smile deepening. "I'll be waiting for you to reconsider your decision, Riku."
In a state of total silence, Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, vanished through the dark portal the strange man had already journeyed into. In less than a second after the villains had departed, the portal of Darkness disappeared from sight.
After a few minutes of unbearable quiet, he heard Violet ask, "That man was very, very creepy."
"That 'guy' was Xehanort's Heartless," Sora clarified. "Donald, Goofy, and I defeated him over a year ago. I don't get how he could've returned."
"Maybe he is teleporting through the time-stream?" Violet suggested, though the actual concept was too mind-boggling for even the angel to understand what she had spoken.
"That doesn't make any sense," Sora denied. "Time travel is not possible. There's no way he could have jumped through time!"
Violet folded her arms in thought.
Riku was unconvinced. "He thinks I'm still afraid of the dark," he suddenly exclaimed. "Not while I have the Keyblade! It will guide me to the Light!"
Both Sora and Violet nodded in turn. Either way, they were showing signs of bewilderment and perplexity combined. Before any of the trio could speak, the undeniable figure of Queen Clarion was fluttering back into the vicinity of Springtime Square.
"Attention everyone!" Queen Clarion called out into the plaza below. All of the various-talented fairies attempting to organize the mess of debris scattered about the area instantly halted in whatever they were currently in progress with so they could give their undivided attention to the queen.
With a hint of sorrow in her voice, Queen Clarion continued, "I'm afraid I have distressing news. There is no way Spring can come on time."
The crowd of fairies below all gasped in shock upon hearing this newsflash. Even Sora, Riku, and Violet were astonished. Not only had the hawk-shaped Nightmare succeeded in escaping from the clutches of the Keyblade wielders, but it had caused so much devastation to Springtime Square that the fairies would be incapable of bringing the season of Spring to the Mainland.
"Months of work was lost," Queen Clarion explained. "And it will take months to restore it all. So when the Everblossum blooms tomorrow morning… "
With a glance over at the nearly-opened flower, the queen finished, "…I'm afraid we will not be going to the Mainland for Spring."
As the crowd was in the process of sighing in unfortunate defeat, Sora's ears picked up the sound of a familiar-sounding voice.
"Wait!" Less than a minute after, the little fairy Sora knew as Tinker Bell swooped into the vicinity and approached the queen as fast as her wings allowed her to. Though slightly out of breath, Tinker Bell was able to say, "I know how we can fix everything!"
All the same, Sora, Riku, and Violet were equally surprised to spot the young Tinker Fairy trying to offer a suggestion to resolve the impact the hawk-like monster had left.
"Tinker Bell," Queen Clarion calmly said. "I don't think now's the best time."
"Hey!" Sora spoke up, flying up to meet the queen face-to-face. Down below, Riku and Violet watched nervously as their friend had suddenly ventured away without any foreseen warning. Instead of yelling as expected by Riku, Sora had said, "At least hear her out!"
After Queen Clarion had given in to Sora's recommendation, Tinker Bell held up a furled, green leaf in her hands. As she unrolled it, the Tinker Fairy held it up high to show its contents to the eyes of the crowd below. "It's all right here! I can show you how! Planting seeds, gathering nuts… we can do it all in no time! We need to at least try!"
"Yeah! Of course!" Sora acknowledged in agreement. Just as well, both Riku and Violet soared up to join him.
"Together, we can accomplish it!" Violet agreed.
Riku added, "Let's give it a try!"
"Wait!" The group whirled their focus over towards a faintly-familiar fairy speedily-soaring over to Tinker Bell. She came to a brief stop in front of the younger Tinker Fairy. Turning to the crowd, the fairy — Sora and Riku recalled her name was Vidia — turned to the crowd and declared, "Are we really going to listen to them?! Tinker Bell and her friends are the reason we're in this huge mess in the first place!"
"But… I can fix it!" a confused Tinker Bell stated aloud.
"Yippee!" Vidia sarcastically cheered. "Tinker Bell's going to save us with her dopey-little doo-hickeys!"
It wasn't long before Sora took notice of how much of a reddish tint Tinker Bell's face was turning. The instant Vidia had stopped speaking, the Tinker Fairy glowered, "What is your problem, Vidia?! Why do you think you're so much better than me?!"
Vidia swiftly spun to glare at the young Tinker Fairy in turn. "I am better than you, sweetie," Vidia countered. "I'm not the one who ruined Spring!"
"At least she's trying to help fix it!" Sora broke in. "Have you ever helped anyone besides yourself?!"
"Well I did try to help her!" Vidia snapped in retaliation. "Perhaps I should've told her to capture a real hawk instead of the so-called 'Dream Eater'!"
A loud gasp echoed about the crowd, having just comprehended virtually every last bit of detail Sora, Tinker Bell, and Vidia had expressed between one another. For what felt to be somewhere around five minutes, eerie silence had descended upon the plaza.
At long last, Violet's voice broke the stillness. "Where did you learn the identification term, 'Dream Eater'?" the angel interrogated, indicating Vidia. Seconds before Vidia was able to even utter a single hint of reply, a deafening scream filled everyone's ears.
"HAWK!" the voice of a fairy shrieked in fright.
As the entire crowd turned their attention to see whatever had supposedly been spotted, a gigantic, hawk-shaped creature swooped into the square. Due to the urgent need to seek shelter immediately, every fairy of the crowd scattered around to find whatever could be feasible for shelter. Queen Clarion quickly flew into the safety of a nearby tree when the hawk was almost upon the group gathered in the air. As Violet was on the verge of diving into a shelter she had just identified on the ground below, Sora's voice stopped her.
"Wait," the spikey brown-haired teenager called out. "That's no hawk! It's that Nightmare we were chasing!"
Violet whirled around, quickly realizing Sora's claim was accurate. The "hawk" really was the same monster they had been pursuing previously.
Noticing how Tinker Bell was apparently frozen in shock and fear at the mere sight of the hawk-resembling Nightmare, Riku grabbed her arms and began shaking as violently as he could. Fortunately, Tinker Bell snapped back into attention only moments after being shaken. The first thing the young Tinker Fairy did was exclaim, "What's going on?!"
"I don't know," Riku replied. "But I'll try to find out."
All at once, Tinker Bell's face turned white with additional shock and alarm. "VIDIA?!" she blurted out.
Spinning around to where Vidia had been hovering, Riku was horrified to find the other fairy still where she had been, calmly watching while the hawk-like monster was gliding behind her.
"Vidia's controlling the Nightmare?!" Sora exclaimed, quite certain he was unable to believe his own perspective.
Vidia gave her typical smirked smile. "I was given the power to control this creature," she disclosed. "It was a sudden gift from that guy in black."
To say Riku, Violet, and Sora were speechless would be well below an understatement. They had just learned the truth. The strange man in the black-hooded coat — a possible survivor of the former Organization XIII — had secretively made a deal with the [Fast-Flying] fairy who happened to be Tinker Bell's 'rival'. He had granted her the ability to manipulate the Darkness to force a hawk-shaped Nightmare to most-likely prevent the Keyblade wielders from victoriously tracking down the Sleeping Keyhole. Nonetheless, they knew whatever had occurred was simply a random obstacle on their present mission. The only way they were going to have the ability to meet their objective was by striking down that Nightmare.
Without a moment of hesitation, both Sora and Riku summoned their Keyblades into their standard fighting styles. Violet accompanied them as they flew into range of both the hawk-like monster and Vidia.
In a loud voice, Sora shouted, "You're going down, Vidia!"
"Count on it!" Riku agreed in turn.
Acting swiftly, Violet leaped in front of Tinker Bell to prevent the young fairy from being harmed in case the hawk-shaped creature came after them.
Having viewed all this taking place, Vidia's smile grew larger. "If it's a challenge you want," she declared. "I'll show you why Tinker Fairies were never meant to visit the Mainland!"
Instantly, both Riku and Sora charged forwards and sliced their weapons into the hawk-like enemy's wings. The monster hastily regained consciousness and swung its tail after them. Fortunately, the pair of Keybladers were not caught off-guard and successfully were able to dodge the attack. With a series of grunts and the sounds of slashing, the duo struck the Nightmare repeatedly as they swooped up and down around the creature.
Furious at the sight of watching her minion being greatly injured by the two teenagers, Vidia swiftly soared through the area. The result was a miniature whirlwind, causing both Sora and Riku to nearly lose control of their wings. In the nick of time, they successfully had kept their balance before each dealing a final strike against the hawk-like enemy.
Seconds after the last hits, the now-stunned hawk-shaped Nightmare had lost its flying capability and started to fall straight out of the air. As it fell, Vidia watched in horror as the Nightmare suddenly exploded into a flurry of bubbles. Outraged at having her minion eliminated, Vidia glared at Sora, Riku, and Violet. Though without speaking another word, the former swiftly soared off into the distance. In turn, Sora and Riku both put their weapons away and smiled; they had prevailed in destroying the Nightmare.
A few minutes later, Queen Clarion had emerged from her hiding place and the crowd of fairies from the plaza had returned.
In a calm, clear voice, the queen addressed Tinker Bell, "Now Tinker Bell, are you sure you can do this?"
Without a second of hesitation, Tinker Bell answered, "Yes! I'm a Tinker! It's who I am! And Tinkers fix things!"
As she spun to face the crowd alongside Sora and his friends, Tinker Bell added, "But I can't do it alone."
As if on cue, two fairies rose from the crowd at almost-lightning speed. Sora recognized them as the duo of Tinker Fairies he, Riku, and Violet had encountered upon arriving in the world; Bobble and Clank. The latters saluted with a shout of, "Command us, Miss Bell!"
"Show us how, Tink!" another fairy from the crowd said as she rose to join the others beginning to gather around the young Tinker Fairy.
"Just tell us," Sora clarified. "And we'll do it to it!"
Tinker Bell smiled greatly. "Okay," she began instructing. "Gather as many nuts as you can find… and tree sap — we need lots of it. But most importantly, we need to find Lost Things!"
"What are 'Lost Things'," Sora inquired, slightly puzzled.
"They are things that get lost and wash up onto Never Land from time to time," Bobble whispered in return. "They're from the Mainland."
Sora gave a nod in understanding. "Got it!"
After searching for a few, briskly-moving hours, Sora and Riku came across a huge, container sitting upright in a small clearing in the grassy meadow. Yet, neither one of them had seen such a uniquely-shaped object before. It contained a large, squishy ball at the end of a cord leading to a spout at the top of the glass flask.
"What do we have here?" Riku curiously asked, as he peered into the spout.
Grasping the squishy ball in his hands, Sora muttered, "Wonder what this does?"
The very instant Sora gave the ball a squeeze, Riku was blown backwards by a swift-moving blast of released air escaping through the spout. When he noticed his best friend had been thrown back into a shadow-covered rock, Sora hurriedly flew over — hoping his friend hadn't been wounded.
As he reached out his hand for Riku, Sora asked, "You okay?"
Riku accepted Sora's hand with an obvious nod. "Yeah."
After Sora had helped Riku clamber back onto his feet, the former's eyes grew wide in amazement. What the brown, spikey-haired Keyblade wielder had believed was a simply rock turned out to be a small, marble-resembling dancer. He knew this was not just any dancer on top; it was a tiny ballerina.
As Riku whirled his focus around to see what had stolen Sora's total attention, he awed in equal admiration.
"I saw it first!" Sora marveled.
Riku awed, "But I bumped into it!"
By the time the rays of the rising sun had come into view over the realm of Pixie Hollow, the fairies had just finished all the required tasks to restore all of the supplies necessary to bring the season of Spring to the Mainland. As the sun's beautiful, brightly-lit morning rays pierced through the trees into Springtime Square, the well-known Everblossum's petals carefully opened up to collect the warmth and light of the peaceful sunlight.
As Queen Clarion and the Minister of Spring calmly arrived into the plaza, the crowd of fairies who had succeeded in bringing Tinker Bell's plans into practice all gave a lengthy round of applause.
When the queen approached Tinker Bell, Sora, Riku, and Violet, she gave a heart-warming smile. "You did it, Tinker Bell," Queen Clarion commended. "You saved Spring!"
"No," Tinker Bell corrected. She gestured to the crowd of fairies gathered around the vicinity. "We all did it."
Riku smiled at this statement. "Yeah!" he agreed.
"You know it!" Sora added, inserting another "two-cents-worth" comment as Riku normally referred to them as.
"Yes, indeed!" Violet approved. "This proves two important things. First, Teamwork is valuable. Second, many hands working for a common cause do make light work.
All at once, Rosetta, Silvermist, Iridessa, and Fawn all flew over to the group. Turning to Queen Clarion, Silvermist questioned, "Queen Clarion, could Tinker Bell come with us to the Mainland?"
"Yeah," Fawn acknowledged. "She's been helping everyone out so much!"
"But… guys," Tinker Bell spoke up. "I don't really need to go!"
"But Tinker Bell," Sora broke in. "I thought you really wanted to visit the Mainland! Why change your mind?"
"It's okay," Tinker Bell answered. "My work is here. And besides, I have so much more to do."
"Not here you don't!" The sudden voice caused everyone to curiously turn into the direction by which it had come from. The older Tinker Fairy Sora and his friends had only encountered briefly earlier in their adventure within the world was flying up to meet Tinker Bell and the others.
Recognizing the just-arriving fairy woman, Tinker Bell exclaimed, "Fairy Mary? But I thought that—"
Fairy Mary quickly cut off Tinker Bell's claim before gesturing towards a cart carrying a marble-made statue of a ballerina. As they followed the cart along, a pair of Tinker Fairies — Bobble and Clank — smiled with gratitude.
Bobble called out, "Look, Miss Bell!"
"We found your tiny… 'dancer'!" Clank declared in tune.
Tinker Bell's eyes rapidly lit up in surprise upon recognizing the ballerina statue. One look at the recovered trinket and Sora realized it was the exact same one he and Riku had stumbled upon during their search for whatever "Lost Things" they could find.
Still, what Bobble and Clank had told Tinker Bell in regards to the statue got the Keyblade wielder pondering. Why were they referring to the item as though Tinker Bell was its owner? Had she sculpted it out of the marble herself? The very idea of a Tinker Fairy possessing the capability to make such interestingly-appearing pieces of artwork made little to no sense. If Tinker Fairies were mainly inventors, then how did Tinker Bell obtain the statue?
When he was in the process of silently questioning whether or not there were such things as 'Artist Fairies', the symbol on Violet's necklace started glowing. Snapping back into reality, Sora and Riku both stared at the charm as it suddenly drew Violet's focus away from everything else going on around them.
"Must be a flashback, huh?" Sora inquired. He recalled how the last time that necklace had glowed in such a manner, Violet had revealed it meant an event which had previously taken place could be shown visually. The result had been a projection on the outer walls of the castle back in the kingdom of Corona.
When Violet nodded, the necklace let out a beam of light. The light-beam came to a halt at a medium-sized mushroom. As a projected screen appeared a couple centimeters above the red-and-white spotted mushroom, the image of Tinker Bell leaning against the stem of a gigantic three-leaf clover came into focus. It didn't take long for Sora, Riku, and Violet to notice the young Tinker Fairy was throwing small, smooth stones into the air.
"Great," Tinker Bell complained as the last stone she had thrown rolled to a stop on the ground several feet away. "I failed for the third time in a row!"
As she picked up another tiny, ball-shaped stone, the young fairy grumbled, "At this rate, I should get to the Mainland right about… "
With a groan, Tinker Bell hurled the stone with all her might. "…Never!"
After the stone had disappeared out of sight, the sudden — yet unmistakable — sound of a CLANG rapidly seized Tinker Bell's attention. Curious to learn what the stone most-likely had collided into, she leaped to her feet and quickly began searching through the thick foliage of clovers in the same direction the stone had gone.
It wasn't long before Tinker Bell stepped into a decent-sized clearing. To her surprise, a large, marble cylinder was sitting in the middle of the area with a variety of metallic-like objects strewn about. As she carefully lifted the lid of the cylinder, the Tinker Fairy took note of a small, snail gradually making its way through the empty interior of the container.
When it occurred to her that the various slots in the cylinder should have been filled by something or other, Tinker Bell used a small Y-shaped stick to prop the lid of the container open. Turning to inspect the various oddly-designed things lying about in the immediate vicinity, Tinker Bell swiftly picked up each and every one of the strange items and carefully chose where she believed each one would fit inside the cylinder the best.
After a few minutes of attaching every last part to the interior, Tinker Bell proceeded to close the lid. One mere glance at the center of the lid and she realized something else was still unaccounted for. Taking one final sweep of the area, the young fairy identified the missing piece of the puzzle lying beneath the shade of a few much-shorter clovers. It was heavy, but she yanked on the item and pulled it straight out from its hiding place. Tinker Bell gasped the instant she got a better look at it. The object was a miniature statue of a dancing ballerina wearing a crown.
"So beautiful!" Tinker Bell awed at the very sight of such a unique thing. With a few heaves and a couple of grunts, she lifted the ballerina piece, carried it straight to the cylinder and placed its peg-like base into the center of the lid. To actually insert the item completely, Tinker Bell had to fly on top of it and press down from above. As expected, the ballerina snapped into place without any trouble.
As she took a few moments to admire her reconstructed trinket, Tinker Bell took the ballerina's outstretched hand and walked in a perfect circle around it. As she did so, the sound of a few, quick notes of a song could faintly be heard. Stopping after completing her miniature "dance", Tinker Bell gave a nice, comfortable smile. She knew it had been repaired correctly.
After the projection had faded out and vanished, Sora understood what Tinker Bell's friends had meant by the statue was hers. In truth, Tinker Bell had found the trinket in pieces most-likely not long after the bird-related incident had failed in utter disaster. Yet, the young Tinker Fairy had successfully rebuilt the item into what Sora now assumed was more-than-likely not a statue but a ballerina-based music box. How else could the trinket have had the ability to produce the music notes it had?
"Actually, I came across this myself many seasons ago," Fairy Mary spoke up, taking everyone's attention with it. "I didn't have a clue what it was nor how to fix it."
Turning to face Tinker Bell, Fairy Mary continued, "But you did, Tinker Bell. You are quite the rare-talent indeed."
As the words registered within her mind, Tinker Bell gave a deep smile clearly full of undeniable pride.
"And I imagine," Fairy Mary continued. "There's a little girl out there who's missing this."
Tinker Bell was perplexed. "What're you saying?"
Fairy Mary crossed her arms as she stood beside Queen Clarion. "I believe a certain Tinker Fairy will have a job to do after all — on the Mainland!"
"You mean… " Tinker Bell stammered when it occurred to her what Fairy Mary had meant. Her face lit up with pure excitement as she became overjoyed. She cheerfully flittered over to where Rosetta, Silvermist, Iridessa, and Fawn were standing. The four nature-talented fairies were already thrilled about the opportunity Tinker Bell was going to have.
From where he was standing, Sora was speechless. The whole time Tinker Bell had been desperately attempting to become someone she was never meant to be. In the end, her wish to visit the Mainland had been granted, even when she had admitted moments before it wasn't so important to her anymore.
Now certain the young Tinker Fairy had discovered her true purpose, Sora casually leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. He gave his favorite smile as he rocked his arms and head back and forth repeatedly.
Also having comprehended what Fairy Mary had meant, Riku was giving his own smile of acceptance. After all, he had struggled with trying to be someone he wasn't supposed to have become, either. The impact had regretfully left an enormous imprint onto the silver-haired teenager's life story. Hence, he was now taking his Mark of Mastery Exam to decide whether or not he should continue to possess a Keyblade or not. If he were to unsuccessfully become a Keyblade Master, then he would be positive the Darkness in his heart would forever be well beyond his control. If he was victorious, however, then he would be confident enough to proceed onwards as a conquer of the Darkness still residing deep, down within his heart.
Though having heard every word Fairy Mary had spoken, Violet was still slightly puzzled about what the former had been saying. Why would Tinker Bell be allowed to visit the Mainland if she was a Tinker Fairy? Why hadn't Fairy Mary just picked another fairy who was already going to travel there to do the same task? Such explanations had never been answered to the Angel of Dreams' satisfaction or expectations.
"Oh! Oh! We'll help, Miss Bell!" Clank excitedly proclaimed.
"I'm strong!" Bobble declared in turn, flexing the muscles of his thin arms. All Violet did when she saw this was simple shake her head.
While the rest of Tinker Bell's friends marched off to line up with the gathering crowd of other fairies ready to venture forth to the Mainland, Tinker Bell calmly strode up to Queen Clarion and curtseyed.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Tinker Bell said. As she stood back up, the young fairy asked, "But how will I find who it belongs to?"
"You'll know," Queen Clarion reassured. "Now go!"
Tinker Bell nodded before flying off. Seconds later, she froze and whirled around. With a rapid flutter, she leaped into Fairy Mary's arms. Though startled at this unforeseen event, Tinker Bell gave a grateful hug. She said, "Thank you!"
After Fairy Mary returned the hug, Tinker Bell flew off to meet with her friends. Just as well, Sora, Riku, and Violet had marched over to join the fairies for the voyage to the Mainland. As Tinker Bell was almost to them, a voice called out, "Hey, Tink!"
To Sora, Riku, and Violet's wonder, a small fairy boy wearing an acorn cap, brown pants, tan shirt, brown vest, and brown shoes flew up to Tinker Bell. Looking for such a close distance, Sora noticed the boy had blonde hair and blue eyes with the normal set of clear wings situated upon his back. As the boy handed Tinker Bell a small, green bag made up leaves, he said, "Here's something to help you on the Mainland."
Following a short peek inside, Tinker Bell smiled at the boy. "Aw Terence," she calmly said. "That's so sweet!"
Shortly after Tinker Bell flew over to stick with her friends, Terence softly responded, "Good luck, Tink!"
Although he was wondering about what type of relationship Tinker Bell and the fairy boy, Terence, had among each other, Sora shrugged the entire idea aside as he watched the Minister of Spring hop aboard one of the white doves in the crowd. With a loud, leader-sounded voice, the Minister of Spring called out, "To the air, fairies! To the air! The Mainland awaits!"
In a matter of minutes, the whole crowd of fairies had leapt into the sky and were flying as a group on course for one of two stars shining in the sky far above. As the two Keyblade wielders and the angel followed along, Riku noticed Bobble and Clank were carrying the trinket Tinker Bell had repaired. After watching Bobble struggle attempting to handle the base of the item for a few moments, Queen Clarion casually tossed a boost of magical pixie dust onto him. With the extra help, Bobble was able to lift the item without any more difficulty.
Within five minutes of taking to the sky, the fairies were so far up in the air Sora looked down and spotted a large island he thought seemed somewhat familiar. After a brief moment, he exclaimed, "Pixie Hollow is part of Never Land!"
As he swept his eyes across the group of fairies, Sora took notice of the Minister of Spring and Tinker Bell turning to see each other. As the Minister gave a slight bow, Tinker Bell returned with a small curtsey, which was followed by a swift movement as she placed her hands behind her back.
Barely ten minutes had gone by when Sora looked back in the direction the group had journeyed from. To his amazement, the crowd had travelled so far the Keyblader was easily able to detect the star he knew was the famous "Second Star To The Right". As he turned his head around, a faint "Wahoo!" filled his ears. Turning to see what had made the sound, Sora spotted Tinker Bell happily twirling in the air just above a cluster of clouds. All he did was smile.
Seconds later, the cluster of clouds dispersed to reveal a large city located below. As he looked around with the others, Riku was astounded. Even in the middle of the night, the whole city appeared to be restless.
At that moment, a loud DONG echoed into the air. Whirling to see where it had originated from, both Sora and Riku alike recognized the Clock-Tower of the world, Never Land. Noticing all the clocks were showing the exact, same time, neither of them were able to come up with a logical explanation as to why that was the case. They both simply pushed the thought aside and continued to follow everyone else as the fairies speedily circled the tall building a few times.
As the group headed into an empty patch of sky, the Minister of Spring proclaimed, "Fairies to the North! Fairies to the South! To the East and West!"
Not wanting to get lost in such a large city, Sora, Riku, and Violet followed Tinker Bell and her friends as the large crowd of fairies split up into different directions. The group they were now following was now entering a medium-sized city park. Despite how dark the night sky was, Sora and his friends were able to spot snow piled all over the ground with icicles hanging from the nearby trees. The park's pond was covered by a thick layer of ice with some snow having drifted upon it, too.
As they watched from above, Sora, Riku, and Violet saw several Light-talented Fairies leap onto the pond and use their magical powers to melt all the ice and snow in a short amount of time. Other Light-talented Fairies quickly spread outward to remove the piles of snow on the ground. Within twenty seconds, the sun was shining overhead, allowing the rest of the snow to also melt away. At the same time, some Animal-talented Fairies led some rabbits, skunks, and squirrels out of their dens in the nearby trees.
Noticing a line of icicles hanging on a branch, Sora and Riku began taking turns knocking them off. When only one remained between them, the two charged for it. However, Violet instantly sped through and knocked it off before either Keyblade wielder could reach it. This left both Sora and Riku equally startled and bewildered alike.
A few minutes later, Sora, Riku, and Violet were all watching from a wooden bench elsewhere in the park. As they watched, several Water-talented Fairies glided across the pond before rising up into the air. A large amount of water rose with them and sprinkled outwards all across the park's ground. Immediately following, a group of Garden-talented Fairies swooped across the landscape. The outcome was a whole field of various wildflowers.
Sora gave a large smile of enjoyment. The entire park had swiftly been transformed from a true Winter-Wonderland into a sparkling sight of beautiful flowers with a rainbow shining down upon the pond. All around, a variety of butterflies were flying about the seemingly endless flower glade.
It wasn't long before Tinker Bell, Rosetta, Silvermist, Iridessa, and Fawn all joined Sora, Riku, and Violet at the park bench. Before anyone could speak, a loud whistle grabbed their attention. Standing on the seat of the bench were Bobble and Clank, gesturing at the ballerina-trinket they had brought all the way from Pixie Hollow. Understanding what they meant, Tinker Bell slowly hopped down to them. When she was hovering over the trinket, the young Tinker Fairy pulled out the small, leafy bag Terence had given her and reached into it. After pulling out a small handful of pixie dust, Tinker Bell sprinkled it upon the ballerina, causing it to rise into the air.
Knowing they did not want to miss the opportunity to watch Tinker Bell's first delivery, Sora, Riku, and Violet all jumped from the bench and fluttered over to the young Tinker Fairy. The four looked back to see the smiling faces of Rosetta, Silvermist, Iridessa, Fawn, Bobble, and Clank all watching them. In return, Sora, Riku, Violet, and Tinker Bell gave grins of their own.
After hastily flittering between various windows of several houses, Tinker Bell was on the verge of continuing around a corner when she came to a halt. The fairy had stopped so suddenly that first Sora, followed by Riku, and finally Violet — all collided into her from behind. It took a few seconds to separate.
Mystified as to why they had come to such an abrupt halt, Sora inquired, "Why'd you stop, Tinker Bell?"
Tinker Bell looked into the direction of the house they had just passed. "I sensed something," she replied. "At one of those last windows."
As Tinker Bell led the way back to the window, Riku and Violet found themselves having to heave the ballerina-trinket along while Sora had gone ahead with the Tinker Fairy. Riku sighed, knowing such behavior was to be expected from Sora. Usually, the brown-haired teenager was so lazy he would sometimes make up excuses to get out of doing any tasks he was required to accomplish for whatever reason. Nonetheless, whenever it came to anything involving the Keyblade and his closest friends, Sora was daring to do whatever was necessary to succeed.
Finally gently setting down the ballerina-trinket, Riku and Violet each took a few moments to catch their breath; Riku wiped some sweat off his forehead. Rather than pay them any mind, both Sora and Tinker Bell peered through the window.
Peering into the room before his eyes, Sora noticed a large collection of toys piled in a corner. Among them were a few balls, a sailboat, and even a cozy-looking teddy bear. As he continued to look at them, the door to the room opened. Not wanting to be seen, both Sora and Tinker Bell took off away from the window and hid behind a small chimney. Noticing this, Riku and Violet rapidly did the same. They all continued to watch the window from their hiding place.
Before their eyes, the window opened and a young girl with brown hair and wearing a blue dress peered out. To the girl's amazement, on the windowsill stood the trinket. As she picked it up, the girl reached to her necklace. She revealed the last thing Sora, Tinker Bell, and the others would have expected — a tiny key with a heart-shaped handle. The girl inserted the key into the trinket and gave it a few twists.
As the sound of music echoed into the ears of the four spectators, Sora recalled having heard the song the music box was playing long ago. He thought the lyrics to himself.
"Think of all the joy you'll find!"
"When you leave the world behind!"
"And bid your fears goodbye!"
"You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!"
Overjoyed at having her music box back in her possession, the girl ran back inside. With a voice of excitement, she shouted, "Mommy! Guess what!"
From within the house, the girl's mother could be heard. "Yes Wendy?" she called out. "What is it, darling?"
Hearing this, Sora was beyond speechless. The name of the girl he had just seen was… Wendy! He recalled Wendy was also the name of the girl Donald, Goofy, and him had helped Peter Pan rescue from Captain Hook's ship. If what he now assumed was accurate, then that girl was the same Wendy he had met.
Knowing she had helped spread happiness elsewhere, Tinker Bell took off into the air. Away she soared — laughing joyfully. "Woo-Hoo!"
Still at the chimney, Riku commented, "She looks so happy."
"You could state that again!" Violet agreed.
Sora was deep in thought for a few seconds. "I think I get it now," he finally stated, causing Riku and Violet to look at him with confused stares. "That was the Tinker Bell of the past."
"Huh?!" Riku said.
"I thought it was strange how Tinker Bell didn't remember me," Sora explained to the others. "But that was probably because everything we saw must have happened before I knew her. She was just a figment of the dreams."
Riku paused for a moment. "Then that means… this was all recorded in the world's heart. They were memories of an earlier time."
"That would be correct," Violet confirmed. "Dreams are often based on memories or past experiences."
The angel turned to Sora. "Do not be concerned," she said.
"Huh?" a bewildered Sora inquired.
"That is not the real Tinker Bell," Violet explained. "Yet, this world is her home. Once we leave and this land is awakened, you shall know where to locate her."
Both Sora and Riku nodded in agreement. At that precise moment, a bright light stole their attention. Situated high in the sky above was the easily-identifiable shape of a Sleeping Keyhole. Summoning their Keyblades to their hands, both Sora and Riku pointed their weapons straight at the keyhole. As before, a pair of beams of light shone outwards, merged directly in front of the keyhole, and struck it as a single beam. The now-familiar sight of the tunnel of Light formed as the Sleeping Keyhole vanished.
Using their wings for one final flight, both Sora and Riku leapt into the air with Violet following along behind. As they were in mid-air, both Sora and Riku used their wings to venture into the tunnel of Light as Violet caught up with them.
As the tunnel of Light sealed up, Riku recalled his encounter with Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness earlier. He softly told himself, "I know the road my heart walks."
With that, Sora, Riku, and Violet proceeded onward. The Sleeping World of Pixie Hollow was now going to be restored to the much-larger world of Never Land.
As he continued to look around the cylinder-shaped room, Lea gave a shake of his head. This was exactly what he had not expected Ansem The Wise's study to look like. Books had been thrown from their shelves, diagrams had either fallen or been knocked off the walls, shards of bluish-tinted glass was lying in one spot with four pieces of what clearly had once been two containers of something or other, and abandoned cobwebs were hanging in various places. In the middle of the room, a large, curved desk with a tall, crown-like chair was sitting upright.
As Lea took another look around, a voice said, "What a mess!"
Lea turned around to spot both Aeleus and Ienzo standing behind him. Aeleus said, "Must have been the Heartless's doing."
Lea rolled his eyes, not believing the simple-minded Heartless would've been capable of creating such a humungous mess. All he could say was, "Right… "
After taking a few more steps into the room, Lea found himself at the desk which had once belonged to the ruler of the world; Lord Ansem. Now, as he wiped his gloved hand across it, all the fiery-red-haired man collected on it was pure dust. He was amazed. Didn't anyone ever clean this place?
"Both Even and Dilan are currently unstable," Ienzo informed them. "They might be out cold for a while."
Aeleus nodded. "Then that leaves… "
"Braig and Isa," Lea interrupted. "I'll give the castle grounds a thorough sweep. For all we know, there's dust gathered out there, too."
As he took a deep breath of air, Lea felt a twitching in his nose. Unable to control it, he unleashed a violent sneeze. A large cloud of dust filled the air.
With a sigh, Ienzo turned to Aeleus. "Looks like we have some serious cleaning to do."
Aeleus nodded in agreement. "I have a feeling I'll be doing most of it."
A/N: Well, there you have it! Another Sleeping World has been AWAKENED! That's all for PIXIE HOLLOW - Until The Next Time!
Some of you probably noticed how similar Pixie Hollow's story was to that of Pinocchio's world in Kingdom Hearts 3D. Still, I'd like to mention that any such similarity was NOT intentional - JUST MERE COINCIDENCE!
So, here's a HINT for the next world in this story, "DO YOU ALWAYS LET YOUR CONSCIENCE GUIDE YOU?"
IF you believe you know what Disney Movie I am referring to, PLEASE POST your answers in the REVIEWS below!
Without further ado, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!
This is SoraLego278 saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!"