A/N: Happy summer! I'm really happy you all love this story so much! This summer, my goal is to finish a lot of my stories! THAT is going to take a lot of work. Enjoy this chapter! (Btw, I forgot to add that I've modernized the story, because I think it suits the storyline a bit better. Plus I just realized I had Duck mention "anime." -.- poo. So yeah.)

Surprised, Duck blinks at the white space surrounding her. The image her eyes allowed her to see was hazy and fuzzy. Her body felt bare and exposed all of a sudden, and if it hadn't have been for the gentle warmth spreading across her skin, she would have shivered.

But as quickly as the naked feeling came, it went. Heavy clothing and armor appeared and tightened around her small form to fit her. Her eyes get wide as she feels the weight fall over her.

The loud ringing in Duck's ears cease the moment the light stops blinding her. Suddenly, she's back underneath the tunnel with Rue crouched near her, an annoyed expression on her face.

Edel smiles with relief when she sees the successful transformation covering the young girl's small form.

"Huh...?" Duck looks down at her body. Her strawberry peach curls had loosen themselves from the messy bun atop her head and flowed down to her waist in snow white strands. A breeze blew and slid up her legs, letting the girl know she was very much exposed down there.

Duck gasped when she bent down without thinking to look at the short shorts that tightened against her skin from under her silver mini skirt. At her waist, a long, white tail similar to a swan's wing wrapped around her and closed toward her front and back. A silver breastplate wrapped around her chest and tightened over her waist.

Duck reached up to her face to feel the pearl masquerade mask covering her eyes and the bridge of her nose to hide her identity .

It's like I'm a real superhero...

Rue glared at Duck, hatred filling her blood red eyes.

"Damn. I should have taken your heart when I had the chance! My only choice is to now kill you!" Rue tossed a blade in Duck's direction.

Thinking faster than she ever had, Duck swiftly stepped out of the way and dodged the weapon when it came back due to it's boomerang-like shape.

Angered, Rue easily catches the boomerang blade and stands up from her defensive position. Duck gasps at the predatory look in her eyes and turns to immediately run out of the tunnel to find a place to hide.

"What are you doing?!" Edel shouted as she watched the cowardly artist run with difficulty in her heeled boots.

Rue lifted her weapon and followed Duck, thinking about the trouble she would be in if she came home empty handed. She couldn't have that. She would not loose to Mytho once more!

So she desperately chased after her ticket back to her home and possibly her uncle's rare praise.

"Get back here, you cowardly swan! I don't have time to chase you!" Rue shouted. Duck led Rue to the campus, where bodies lay in the schoolyard.

She nearly stopped, feeling her chest clench in fear as she watched the people she went to school with lay limp atop the grounds.

How am I supposed to accomplish this sort of thing? My enemy is skilled and I'm all alone!

"You are wrong, Princess Tutu. You are not alone in this. I will be here, to instruct as lead you through this war."

Duck cried out when a beam of light nearly struck her from behind. She fell forward, tripping over her difficult to move in boots, and missed the other weapon that had flown from over her head.

She almost de-deca...decapita...

"Get to your feet, Princess Tutu! Keep moving!"

Duck gritted her teeth, pushing herself from the ground and putting on a brave face as she scrambled to her feet and continued on running.

As she and Rue headed around the school yard, and eventually the town, the places around them were being destroyed by Rue's attacks.

People cleared the roads, screaming as they struggled to avoid the falling building masses and watched from safe distances at the chase.

Duck looked around her at the frightened people, her heart clenching once more.z

At this rate...the whole city will be destroyed!

"You must get the raven to fall back for today."

How in the world am I supposed to stop her?

"Get within a safe distance away from her and summon your own weapons. Your power is the only thing that can wound her."

Duck searched for something that could possibly get her in a safe place from Rue. The buildings seemed to be too tall for her to jump atop of...

It's impossible in a town like this...

Rue was gaining on her.

"Then, instead, catch her off guard."

The ring on Duck's finger began to glow. Her body seemed to be charging up for something. Power flowed through her and gathered at her fist.

Gritting her teeth, Duck suddenly skidded to a halt and thrust out her hand. Rue was unable to stop in enough time and came crashing into the fist. Duck's knuckles collided with Rue's stomach and dented her armor, effectively stopping her and sending her flying backward.

Shocked, Duck watched the woman as she crashed backward into a brick building far away and tore a hole through the wall.

"Now that she's put down for a moment, summon your weapon!"

How?

"Through your heart."

Duck rolled her bright blue eyes and closed them, thinking hard about what weapon would best suit her. Energy welled up inside of her chest and burst forward from her body.

Duck opened her eyes to see a thick, shimmering silver sword with a diamond hilt floating before her.

"It looks insanely heavy." She reached forward and grabbed hold of it. Gravity seemed to kick In when she made contact with it, and it settled into her hand, surprisingly light.

"You've become strong through this transformation. You can do things that Duck cannot now."

I see...

Duck held the sword out in front of her, waiting for Rue to come. It seemed like she was staring at the black hole in the building for hours.

She slowly let her sword fall back down, looking around at the sky, thinking Rue may have retreated.

"Don't let your guard down."

Okay...

Suddenly, there was a crashing sound that echoed along the empty streets, coming from the building Rue had fallen in, and a figure burst out of the wide hole.

Duck inhaled sharply as she lifted her sword and prepared for impact. Rue's sword slammed into Duck's, the force sending making them both grunt with effort.

Duck shut her eyes tightly as Rue - hovering above her in the air with her sword smashing against her own- glared deeply and out her power and weight into the attack.

"You stupid, foolish swan! I don't have time for this! I'm going to kill you right now!"

"I can't die...!" Duck shouted, "I now have a city entrusted to me to protect! And I'm not...letting you...have my heart!" With the last word, Duck twists her sword and swings her leg up to kick Rue.

Rue dodges this time, launching herself off of Duck's sword to rest atop of a small building.

"Impressive moves! But It will take a whole lot more than that to defeat me!"

Duck glared at Rue and raised her sword in preparation, ready to end the battle.