Dawn threw open the door with so much excitement, that it bounced off the wall as she ran into the living room, where Marco has been for the past couple of days. Normally, the man would lecture her about kicking down the door like the King's Guard but he stayed still as she dropped down to her knees.
"Geppetto! I have some exciting news!" Dawn let out.
Geppetto looked slightly up as he asked, "Have you found my boy?"
Dawn hesitated before she said, "No… I haven't"
"Then there is no good news, not anymore for me" Geppetto shook his head.
"You will like what I have to say, Geppetto" Dawn let out.
"My Dawn" Geppetto cupped her face, "You're the only one I have left in my life, I can't risk losing you too"
"Hello, old friend," Archie said.
Geppetto slowly turned as Pongo picked up his head from the corner.
"Archie?!" Geppetto burst into tears, "Is that you?"
"Of course it is" Archie walked up to his best friend, "I'm alive!"
Pongo ran over and started leaping up and licking his owner's face as he said, "Hello to you too, Pongo, oh how I missed everyone!"
"My dear friend!" Geppetto got up and hugged him, "My best friend!"
Archie laughed as he said, "I don't know who smells worse; me or you?"
The three couldn't help but laugh as Geppetto turned and nodded to Dawn, "She knew you weren't dead, she tried telling everyone but no one would listen… even me"
"I'm sorry for doubting you, Dawn" Geppetto told her.
Dawn couldn't form any words but just waved off the comment as Geppetto and Jiminy hugged once more as a deepening hole ached in her heart. She had often imagined this scene but with her and Pinocchio or maybe Pinocchio and Geppetto but now it just seems like a distant fantasy. The more the days passed, the more she's starting to believe that Pinocchio will never want to be found and is only hoping to never be found again. He was probably just hoping that Dawn will eventually forget about him in order to live his life away from others, like how he used to before he started to turn into wood. Dawn wiped away a tear and cleared her throat as Pongo came up to her and rubbed himself on her leg.
"I don't know about you guys, but I think we should celebrate" Dawn announced, "Let's have pizza!"
"Now?!" Geppetto asked, "It's 9 in the morning, Dawn?"
"All the more reason" Dawn winked, "I'm sure Archie doesn't care what time it is for food, right?"
"Yes, actually, I would go for anything besides a crust of bread and rum" Archie immediately stated before he turned to his friend, "You still have some of my extra clothes here, right?"
"Of course, we do!" Geppetto screamed out, "You didn't think I would immediately throw everything out, would you?"
"Great, then I suggest we both take our showers before the pizza arrives" Archie turned to Dawn, "For her sake, at least"
Dawn nodded, "I've never heard of an even more better plan"
She didn't want to say anything, but it did start to bother her how badly everything was starting to smell with Geppetto refusing to wash. Dawn knew grief came in separate stages but lately, Geppetto refused to get up from the couch or even turn on the TV for that matter. Losing his best friend, was like losing his world, the last shred he had left that his son was refusing to fill. Normally, Dawn would say for them to all go to Granny's but she figured that it would be better to have the two best friends have a moment alone with each other for now.
By the time Archie was presentable, the pizza was already called in as Dawn sat with Pongo, Archie came up to her, "Thank you, for being there for him"
"We couldn't leave Pongo alone" Dawn said, "The Charming's wanted to take him but I knew it would make Geppetto a little bit distracted if he had him here"
"Actually, Dawn" Archie hesitated, "I was talking about Geppetto"
"Oh" Dawn blinked, "Well, of course, I will always be there for him! He's like a father to me"
"Yes, but, we never thought about what you were going through" Archie continued, "I was thinking about Geppetto losing a son, I never thought about you losing a friend. August kept his distance from Marco until the very end but when he first saw you… it was like he couldn't stay away and I feel sorry about that because you are the one that's suffering the most, not Geppetto"
Those words stuck with Dawn as she walked through the woods, magically lifting the leaves and twigs away from her to clear her path to the grove. She left after about an hour to give the friends some time to themselves and to figure out the sympathy behind it. She blinked and felt her eyes cast to the side as she inhaled deeply as she held it in, sensing a power that now seemed to have found its way back to her.
"Hello Pinocchio"
"You can sense me now?" Pinocchio asked in the distance.
"I'm just as surprised" Dawn turned and faced the wooden man, "What are you doing here?"
Pinocchio hesitated as he said, "I just wanted to see how papa was-"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"
"You know I can't do that, Dawn" Pinocchio shook his head.
"Can't?" Dawn asked, "Or won't?"
"What's gotten into you?" Pinocchio asked, "Has something happened? Did Rumplestiltskin come after you?"
Dawn was so surprised at Pinocchio's questions that she let out a hollow laugh and shook her head as her best friend stood there, confused. She stopped and stared at him a moment longer as if it would suddenly dawn on him why she was acting this way.
"No, you want to know why I'm upset?" Dawn asked, "It's because my best friend refuses to see his father. I have to lie to the man who took me in when no one else would just to please my best friend in hopes that he will come back!"
Pinocchio seemed shocked as Dawn went on, "Where the hell were you when Archie died? Why didn't you go to see your father then? I was there for your papa; soothing every cry outs at night, making him food, bringing him to the funeral when you did nothing"
"I never thought of you as a coward, Pinocchio" Dawn finished, "But now, that's all I see"
Pinocchio dropped his wooden blue eyes to the floor as he said, "You don't mean that"
"Oh, but I do" Dawn nodded, "I mean every single word this time"
Dawn turned to leave, making Pinocchio take one step towards her but didn't expect to feel himself fly the opposite way until he came crashing into a nearby tree.
She turned back around, "Don't ever contact me ever again"
Geppetto walked in silence with the Lady Nymph as she held her head up high and led both him and Jiminy to her tree. His heavy heart made it difficult for him to put one foot in one of the other as Jiminy chirped, sensing the sad mood everyone was in. It was the first time that the elderly man felt almost like a murderer and it only made him wonder how many other trees he cut down that actually were home to nymphs. He suddenly stopped as the Lady Nymph walked up to a tree and slowly pet it as if it were a horse to her. She placed her forehead on the bark and sighed as a soft smile appeared on her lips.
"It's been years since I've been able to go back into my tree" The Lady Nymph said, "I haven't been able to because I was a leader, I had to make sure my people were protected at all times"
Jiminy spoke up, "If it means anything to you, my Lady, we will let you rest for a while before we begin"
She turned to the cricket, "Thank you"
"Will it hurt?" Geppetto had asked.
The Lady Nymph only smiled as she lied, "No, my dear Geppetto, you won't hurt me"
He slowly nodded but took the lie in stride as he finally asked, "Is there a message you would want me to give to Dawn?"
"Tell her, I know she will become a great Lady, no matter what her age may be" the Lady smiled, "When I first sensed her power, I knew she was different from the most of us… at a very young age she's displayed such powerful magic that she will be able to change the world we live in now"
The Lady Nymph thought about something before she took off her crown and looked at it within her own hands. She twirled it around and around before she looked up to the man and walked over to Geppetto and gave it to him. When he took the tiara, the Lady Nymph wrapped her arms around him and hugged him gently as Jiminy flew in and hugged the side of her face. The leader couldn't help but smile tearfully at the gesture as she broke the hug.
"I never found the time to have children of my own" she began, "But Dawn was the closest thing I ever had to a daughter, you will take care of her, won't you?"
"I will protect her and love her until my dying day" Geppetto vowed.
She smiled as she said, "Take care, Geppetto and you too, Jiminy"
She turned back to her tree and walked up to the old wood, not wanting to turn back, for she finally understood what Dawn saw in human friendships. The Lady swallowed back her tears as she moved into her tree as Geppetto and Jiminy saw the tree move slightly once the Lady was inside. Geppetto sat down on a nearby stump as he said a silent prayer over the Enchanted Tree before he had to begin his work.