Tang Ri Shan
(Part 2 of the climax. Stay with me! We're almost there!)
Tinkerbell: Curse of the Duskmoth
(I do not own Tinkerbell or any of the Disney Fairies. Enjoy!)
Chapter 20
Kelsier smiled as he flew through the Autumn woods. His white teeth almost seemed to gleam in the light of the full moon as he flew and he ran his tongue over his lips, as if savoring some sweet taste. Glancing behind him, he saw the guardian guild, his guild, fifty-five fairy and sparrow-man warriors from various talents flying in a multi-layered arrowhead formation. Those in the front were flying with steely eyes and determined frowns. They were his elites, utterly loyal to him. Behind the leaders, he occasionally saw the eyes of the fairies further back, saw them glance around nervously, as if expecting an enemy to pour out from every shadowy branch and leaf. Kelsier felt a smile wrap around his face as he took in the fear on their faces.
"Careful" Kelsier glanced to his left, where Elisa was flying next to him, her dark hair waving in the wind. Her eyes were narrowed, but the corners of her mouth were curled up in a smile. "You're supposed to look like a hero, not a villain. Remember that over half your new guild follows you because they fear the Duskmoth"
"Phah!" Kelsier snorted, but he still smiled. "At this point in the game, I don't think it really matters. Queen Clarion basically handed the tree over to me." He replied in a low voice that only Elisa could hear.
"It was an excellent plan" Elisa's smile widened. "The other fairies won't know what hit them"
"I know" Kelsier sighed as the Pixie Dust Tree came into sight in the distance. "This will be a glorious night"
Keslier was the first to clear the crest of the Pixie Dust basin, gazing down at the flowing Pixie Dust with an evil greedy gleam in his eyes. Elisa hovered next to him, smirking like a diva as the other guild members rose around them, gazing around anxiously.
"Wh-where is it?" A nervous voice finally broke the silence. "Where's the Duskmoth?"
"It's around here somewhere! Find it!" Keslier boomed. "This time it will not escape! The guild members began to spread out, muttering among themselves.
"MMMM!" A muffled sound made everyone freeze.
"W-what was that?" A fairy shuddered, glancing at a sparrow-man.
"Beats me" The sparrow-man shrugged.
"MMMMMMM! MMMMM!" A pair of deeper muffled moans made everyone glance around again. Finally a fairy happened to glance up, and her eyes widened in horror.
"Look!" She screamed pointing at the trunk of the tree above them, everyone did, and everyone gasped.
Hanging above them on the trunk were Fairy Mary and Fairy Gary, struggling madly to escape the thick vines that were wrapping around them. Their arms were pinned to their sides and the vines wrapped around their mouths, gagging them. As they watched, Fairy Mary cast a desperate glance at the Guild members below and let out a plaintiff "MMMM!"
Kelsier was as surprised as everyone else, but he quickly recovered. "Well, don't just stand there, help them!" Three guild members who were garden fairies fluttered up towards them, but Fairy Mary gave another muffled cry and began shaking her head, her eyes widening. The fairies came to a halt, confused.
"What's she doing?" One of the fairies turned to her comrade, who narrowed an eye thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure. It's almost like she's trying to... LOOK OUT!" she screamed too late as a swarm of vines suddenly erupted from the shadows and wound themselves around the garden fairies, who struggled to break free. Below them, their comrades screamed as more vines shot out from the dark branches around them, wrapping themselves around the struggling fairies like giant pythons. A hiss-like cry pierced the air as a pair of purple blurs shot through the chaos.
"What's going on?" Elisa screamed widened as Rosetta and Fawn flew around the vines, hissing madly. Kelsier didn't answer, but as he watched Rosetta lasso two fairies at the same time, he felt panic creep into his mind for the first time. He had heard the rumors of his guild that Tinkerbell and her friends had been turned into sprites, he had used those rumors in order to help spread fear among the other fairies, but he had not taken the rumors seriously, he had assumed that the guild members were playing their parts. But now...
ZATTT! A bright flash made Kelsier jump as what looked like a laser beam shot past him. Glancing up, he saw Irridessa descent from behind a branch, glaring at him. As he watched, she raised her hands, and created a ball of eerie white light. Snarling, she hurled the ball at Kelsier, who ducked as the ball exploded and expelled brilliant beams of light in every direction, blinding any fairy that was hit. The cries of these now-sightless fairies further added to the confusion as those fairies that weren't blind or bound took to the air. Some bravely tried to rescue their trapped friends, but most fled back in the direction they came, only to be intercepted by Silvermist, who lashed out with jets of water, those fairies struck fell to the basin below like sodden flies.
"KELSIER LOOK OUT!" Elisa shrieked a second too late as something cold struck Kelsier from behind, knocking him off his feet. As he tumbled, a growl reached his ear. He looked up, and felt the color rush from his face. Terence crouched before him, purple eyes flashing fiercely, his straw-colored hair wild and untamed, his acorn cap gone. He hissed and white fangs gleamed from behind his dirty lips. Keslier felt himself shudder as his memory flashed back to an earlier time. Terence suddenly seemed to vanish, only to be replaced by Erikel, his old friend. Erikel's lips were moving, but all Kelsier heard was a snarl. He blinked rapidly and Erikel faded back to Terence.
"No" he moaned, shuffling away from Terence, who inched closer. "Stay away!" He drew his hatpin sword, but heard a snarl behind him, saw a flash of silver and his sword was tugged out of his hand. Whirling around, he saw Tinkerbell reel in his sword, which was wrapped in floss. She picked it up and pointed it at him, hissing. Kelsier felt Terence grab his hands from behind. He struggled, but Terence forced him to his knees. He heard grunting as Elisa was wrestled to the ground by Fawn but didn't glance around. Instead he glared at Tinkerbell, who glared back at him. For a few moments, they both stared at each other. Then Tinkerbell turned away from him and bowed down, holding Kelsier's sword out like she was presenting it to someone.
"That's my cue" Vidia murmured from her perch in the branches of the pixie dust tree. Taking a deep breath, she jumped off the branch, her costume rustling in the wind as she descended, slamming into the basin in front of Tinkerbell. A collection of gasps echoed around the clearing as Vidia, inside the Duskmoth costume from the play, rose above them. Slowly rotating her masked head, Vidia took in the frightened faces of all the guild members, saw Elisa's face pale as she looked at her, and finally upon Kelsier, who looked surprised, but not alarmed like the others. As she stood there, he slowly cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, then, to Vidia's horror, his eyes narrowed and a smile spread across his face, a smile that made Vidia's mind tense up in panic, a knowing smile, an evil smile.