Duck runs down the halls of Goldencrowne Academy, as fast as her legs can carry her. Which wasn't very fast, honestly— she was in horrible shape. But then again, she'd never really been the athletic type.

I guess I'm going to have to do some training if I want to be a magical girl..

"Where do I need to go?" she says out loud, seemingly to no one in particular. She'd been communicating with the ring on her finger for guidance. It was a good thing everyone at school had gone home, that would have earned her some strange looks for sure.

"Through the forested area just passed the front school courtyard. Your enemy has hidden their victim there."

"Got it!"

Once she was out of the building, Duck hid behind a pillar in the outside corridor and held her ring into her chest, clearing her mind and remembering the strength that had coursed through her the first time she had transformed. A comforting, powerful warmth seeped into her from the jewel on the ring as she took a deep breath and released it with the words that came to mind…

"Princess Tutu, Guardian of Hearts!"

Light consumed Duck's body, piling on itself into her spectacular armor. Duck glanced proudly down at herself as the light vanished, convinced she'd finally started to get the hang of all of this.

"Hey, you said there were others with pure hearts, too, right? So I'll have some help soon if I find them?"

"That's right. You'll have to find them before the ravens. If any one of you are taken by them, it could mean irreversible damage to this world."

"Oh. Whelp. In that case, I'll do my best to find them, then! But first, I'll take care of these ravens, one threat at a time!" Duck glowed with confidence and determination, racing at superhuman speed through the school grounds. She crossed through the campus and the forest just ahead of it, weaving through the trees in a quick blur. Since discovering her newfound powers, she had gotten much more accustomed to the idea of saving the world. Sometimes it was scary having the pressure on her shoulders, but thinking about her friends, Pike and Lillie, her teachers, the innocent people in the world, even the bad, she wanted to give them all a chance to survive with the power she had.

When she thought about all the great things she could do, Duck felt stronger than ever.

"Oh, the shame! I was so sure this heart might have been a pure one, but it's slightly tainted!"

Femio let out a whine as he looked at the murky red crystal in his hand. After attacking his unsuspecting victim and extracting her heart, he'd felt his entire being sink with disappointment at his mistake. His uncle wasn't going to like this, not at all. Not unless he brought him back something to eat, at least to keep his strength up. It would appease him and hopefully take some of the burden of his punishment.

"So sorry, love," Femio closed his hand around the heart crystal and watched unflinchingly as the poor lifeless girl collapsed to the ground, unconscious, "I'll have to take this with me. Don't worry, though, you'll be able to go about life as always. I don't think anyone will notice you without it, though, you seem kind of listless on your own. A walking corpse version of you wouldn't attract too much attention."

Femio's grin vanished as his senses went on high alert. There was a brief rustling somewhere behind him, and then a harsh sound of metal sliding out of a sheath. Femio stepped swiftly out of the way just as a sword flew passed his head and and dug itself through a tree nearby. Jumping into a defensive posture and turning in the direction of the attack, Femio unsheathed the daggers at his waist and smiled at the woman stepping out of the shadows of the trees.

Princess Tutu stood in all her glory, platinum armor and skin glowing wonderfully. Even Femio had to stop and admire his enemy. So this was the one who had defeated Rue!

"I think the one you're looking for is me, raven."

"Indeed. I can smell it. So strong and alluring. I'm so pleased you came all this way just to lose your life! Makes my job so much easier!" Femio ran at Tutu, cutting through the air at her. She dodged every single swing before crouching down and roundhouse kicking Femio in his gut. The force sent him flying through the trees until he collided with one.

"Now that's just rude!"

"Oh, and what, taking someone's heart and coming at me with daggers isn't rude, either?"

"Oh, come on, its normal for me to do that. Don't take it personal!"

Femio gathered himself and attacked again. Princess Tutu held out a gloved hand and her sword returned to her hand in just enough time for her to swing it forward and block both of Femio's daggers with the blade. For a moment, the two of them pushed with all of their might against the other. Impressed by their well matched strength, Femio swung his leg up to kick Tutu in the gut, but she evaded the attack and jumped backward to swing her sword at him again.

"Look, I've got someone I need to meet after this, so I'm going to need to wrap this up."

"Wrap this up?! You've got to be the rudest person I've ever met, Tutu! Am I really such a nuisance! In all my years of training and battles, I've never been so offended in my life!"

"You're such a drama queen. I don' t think anyone cares how offended you are, you're a villain!"

'Villains have feelings, too!"

Tutu rolled her eyes, lifting her sword up high and gathering all of the energy in her body to project through the blade. It glowed, almost blinded the both of them. Femio stood watching in awe for a moment, and the only thing that snapped him out of it was the booming voice that shook the earth coming from his enemy.

"MORNING DANCE!"

When the light vanished from the forest, Femio had gone, leaving nothing but a few feathers surrounding a small crystal where he had stood. After a brief glance at her surroundings, Duck reverted back to her human form.

Duck reached for the heart, examining it closely for any damage before bringing it back over to the girl lying lifelessly on the ground. She placed the heart on the girl's chest, and it slowly joined back into her body. The natural tone of her skin began to shine back as her eyes snapped open. She sat up with a little bit of help from Duck, looking alarmed.

"What happened? What am I doing here?!"

Duck helped her to her feet, "You must have fallen asleep here. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just...I had the strangest dream."

"You should head home. It's going to get dark soon."

"Right. Thank you…" frowning, the girl gathered her things and headed through the forest and back into town. Duck watched her go, beaming. She had just saved someone else's life - and so easily! Maybe this job wouldn't be so hard at all!

"Never underestimate your enemy, Duck."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Don't you have something you need to do?"

Mytho's pouting face came to mind, and Duck gasped when she realized he was waiting to finish rehearsal with her. She hurried out of the forest and back into the school courtyard to get back to the school theatre. To her surprise, she found Mytho outside on her way to the school entrance, leaning against the concrete of the fountain.

The sunset glow in the sky made his scarlet red eyes impossibly more vibrant and alluring. Duck doubled over to catch her breath, feeling a bit dizzy from the strenuous exercise. Tutu had no problem with physical activity, but Duck was a whole other story.

"Mytho! I'm sorry, I'm back!"

"You're late…" Mytho's expression was unreadable. He dropped his arms from where they were folded over his chest and stood up slowly, slipping his hands into his pockets, "Were you in the forest just now?"

"Uh…" Duck felt her heartbeat quicken, and an unsettling silence loomed over the both of them. She had no idea how to even begin explaining what had just happened in the forest, let alone what she was doing there. Mytho's stoic expression made her uneasy - it was the look someone gave you when they were waiting for you to tell the truth, even though they already knew everything.

"Whatever," to her relief, Mytho shook it off and let it be. He closed the distance between the both of them and placed his hands on Duck's waist before lifting her easily into the air. As Mytho lifted her up high, the two of them were able to share a more intimate gaze than before. Duck squeaked in surprise as she gazed down at Mytho, but as their bodies pressed together from the action, she felt delight and warmth spread throughout every inch of her.

"Shall we continue, then, Sleeping Beauty?"