Once upon a time there was a man renowned for his kindness. Every day, the man would assist anyone needing help in any way he knew how, and all praised his wonderful work and personality. The people heralded the man as him a saint and a hero, and remained totally ignorant of the fact that to balance out the man's goodness, his shadow had to be darker than all the other shadows in the land.


Act 41: The Battle (Part 1)

(((Wizards in Winter)))

"I…won't…"

Fakir struggled to stand, looking out of the corner of his squinting eye to search for something at least semi-sharp to fight with.

"I will not become a raven!" he shouted in fury and pain, his eyes full of fire.

'You can't fight me, Fakir,' the raven's voice rang slyly through his head. 'Don't you see? I can help you…'

"You…liar!" Fakir growled, his head bent downward as he clenched his heart.

'Resisting me will get you nothing…I am your fate. Fate can't be resisted.'

"I resisted it before…and I will never…give into a fate of you!"

'Resisted? Oh, you mean resisting The Prince and the Raven's plot…well yes, that is true…but who resisted that? Not you…'

The image of a little yellow duck with a single stray feather sticking up from its head and wide blue eyes dancing passionately while being pushed and hurt by ravens came over Fakir's mind.

"A…Ahiru…" Fakir stammered weakly, his eyes filling with pain.

'That's right,' sneered the raven's voice. 'You have no say over the story. You're a writer…but you need her in order to do anything. Even when you're not a knight, you're still useless!'

Images flooded Fakir's mind: him trying to comfort a crying Mytho after receiving his heart shard of fear…him falling into the underground lake after breaking Mytho's swan sword… Mytho crying out in pain when the raven's blood in his heart first surfaced…him picking up duck-Ahiru after she got hurt in her encounter with the ghost knight…him writing Drosslemeyer's words of Ahiru moving deeper and deeper into the Lake of Despair…

Fakir felt a cold, painful feeling in his chest: a feeling of helplessness. "No…"

'You were helpless all along. You can't save anyone…so why bother trying?'

Fakir straightened up, lifting his head up, as his eyes grew a red glint.

"Yes…why bother…"


Fakir smirked wryly as he journeyed through the dark, raven-conquered palace at Musouka Lake, dragging the limp body of Vulture behind him carelessly.

"You were hard to turn, I admit, Fakir," the writer spoke, but it was the words of the raven on his lips and not his own. "But in the end…ravens always find a heart's weaknesses…"


Princess Tutu landed in front of Vulture's castle, gently folding her white swan wings around her as if it were a feathery cape, as she looked upon it.

Sharp soot-black stones melded together with cracked gray plaster to create a fortress that could terrify children and warriors alike. Raven-like gargoyles perched on the parapets and ledges with their ruby eyes glinting evilly down at outsiders, making it difficult for one to tell if they were truly gargoyles or if they were motionless ravens waiting to strike. The large castle door was the only part of the castle that was not black or gray, but the wood was stained dark and the air around it had the dead scent of blood.

But the castle's visual ferocity was not what held the ballerina's attention so intently.

'There is magic lingering here…but it's not Geier's,' Tutu thought, her wise blue eyes narrowing slightly. 'Is the raven using a different source of magic?'

Prometheus, who had been carrying Mytho on his back as he flew, landed behind Tutu. Krishna carrying Rue, Carmen carrying Demi and Li carrying Helios soon followed his lead and came down to the ground.

"Hime," said Krishna as Rue slid off his back, "are we really going to just barge in like this? Shouldn't we make a plan?"

"We don't need such tactics," Princess Tutu answered, her voice much more confident and wise than Ahiru's normal innocent tone. "Ravens are prone to try to surprise, as to wreck a lot of damage and then leave quickly. We already know this battle will be long and hard, and it should be fought nobly."

Mytho nodded in agreement, unsheathing his swan-adorned sword solemnly. "This is the final battle…either the raven will die, or we will."

Rue and Demi exchanged a slightly worried look, before they nodded determinedly as well. Helios unsheathed his sword, Komadori, in a movement identical to Mytho's, and Li stepped up, extended a hand to grab hold of the dirty black ring on the door serving as a doorknocker and pulled on it.

The heavy door creaked open slowly in a foreboding manner, and then hung open in a malicious attempt of innocent as if to beckon the group inside.

Tutu took the first step inside the cold darkness of the castle, soon followed by Mytho and the others.

The castle, so much like the ruins of Cygnus, held a look of grand heritage and splendor that was soiled by the ravens' presence. The hall the group stepped into upon entering was a grand main hall with floors that held their reflections in the bronze, colorful scraps of tapestries on the walls and a large chandelier with sharp glass feathers shooting out from it.

At the back of the hall was a stone riser with a pair of wooden thrones spattered with blood, and lying inanimate upon the left throne where the king would sit was the dirty-blond-haired, middle-aged wizard Vulture.

Prometheus shot over to the wizard, taking his sword out and pointing it at his throat threateningly.

"Don't move, or you die!" he snarled viciously.

But Vulture didn't move in the slightest in response to Prometheus's movements. His eyes were closed and his mouth was slack.

The others approached Prometheus and the motionless wizard cautiously.

"Is he…dead?" Demi inquired hesitantly.

Li held a hand up to Vulture's mouth. "No, he's breathing…lightly, but he is. He might be unconscious."

"No," Princess Tutu murmured. "Remember, the true Geier isn't controlling his own body. His soul is too much consumed by the raven for his true self to have any say in what he does, even if the raven were to leave his body to die, for he cannot fight through the darkness the raven has created inside him."

"But where is the raven?" asked Mytho. "Why would he leave his host's body if there is still life and magic in it?"

There was a chorus of angry caws, and a flock of raven warriors jumped down from the chandelier and surrounded them, pointing claw-sharp swords at them. The group huddled together in alarm at the abruptness of their entrance, but turned around at the sound of a dark chuckle from behind the right throne.

"So you were actually foolish enough to come," the laugh's owner's voice echoed around the large hall. "I at first had wondered if you would change your mind."

"It's the raven," Rue whispered to Mytho and Tutu, her eyes narrowing in both hatred and fear. "I can hear it in his voice."

Mytho stepped forward, his amber eyes flashing as he pointed his sword at the surrounding raven swordsmen. "Raven, you will pay for what you have done to my sister, my friends and my home…this I swear to you!"

The voice laughed. "Dramatic as always, aren't we, prince?"

"Put it down," Tutu told Mytho quietly.

Mytho, though hesitantly, obeyed. The swan-winged Tutu stepped forward, looking around as she spoke since she didn't know where the raven was hiding.

"Where is Fakir? Tell us!"

There was a pregnant silence. Then, very slowly, a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows, before reaching a hand up and pulling his hood away from his face.

It was Fakir.


'He's all right!' Ahiru thought, so relieved to see her friend.

'Wait, Odette,' Tutu warned her from inside her mind, 'let me make sure-'

Ahiru was too happy to see Fakir was safe that she couldn't make herself listen to her mother's concern.


"Fakir!" Princess Tutu cried, her voice sounding less like the mature prima ballerina and more like Ahiru as she ran over to him.

It was Rue, and not Tutu, that saw Fakir's emerald eyes flash scarlet.

"Ahiru, no!" cried Rue.

But it was too late.

"'The ravens swarmed around the foolish Princess Tutu, cutting her off from the writer,'" Fakir stated as if he were writing such a sentence in a story.

The raven warriors at once surrounded Princess Tutu and seized her arms in their sharp claws, before their claws became thick black chains that bound Tutu to the floor.

Princess Tutu struggled against the chains, but they were so tight she could barely move without the manacles cutting into her forearms.

"Ahiru-san!" Helios shouted, running forward as if to help her.

But Fakir spoke again.

"'Called by the writer's power, flames burst forth from the ancient chandelier and surrounded the princess's companions.'"

Helios was stopped as orange-red fire cut him off from Tutu, before it slithered around the remainder of the party like a malevolent snake.

Fakir, his face deformed by a smirk that made him look more psychotic than triumphant, bent down next to the chain-restrained Princess Tutu.

"Not bad, hmm?" he asked her quietly, flexing his hand as if they were claws preparing to seize hold of someone's neck. "Seems I have powers I didn't know I had…of course, Drosslemeyer could write stories without using his hands to physically write too. I wonder what other things I can do…"

Fakir flourished a hand, and a barrage of raven feathers shot down from the ceiling, cutting Princess Tutu's swan wings like knives.

"Odette!" Mytho screamed from behind the flames.

Her white feathers stained with blood, Princess Tutu struggled to look up at Fakir, her blue eyes shining with an innocent kind of pain that only could belong to Ahiru.

"F-Fakir…"

Fakir seized Tutu's chin, forcing her to look into his red-glinting eyes. "To think you'd be so desperate, you'd even summon Princess Tutu."

He snorted in derisive spite. "Baka…you can't just ask to dance with me and say all sorts of pretty words to 'save' me. I'm not Nezumi…I'm not that pathetic!"

"Fakir…" Tutu implored weakly.

"You think summoning her will solve all your problems like it always does?" Fakir plowed on ruthlessly. "When will you learn? Even if you're dressed up nice, your soul is that of a weak, worthless little girl."

"I…I…"


'Don't listen to him, Odette!' Tutu's voice urged Ahiru from inside her head.

But Fakir's words cut Ahiru deeply. The writer had been mean to her before they came together to save Mytho, but he had never ever said such hurtful things. Before, Fakir always seemed to know just what to say to bring her up…and now it seemed he knew just what to say to hurt her in the worse way.

'Fakir…Fakir, why are you…?'


"Shut up!"

Princess Tutu and the raven-controlled Fakir turned in unison.

Rue had taken out a raven's feather and, holding it between two fingers, twirled in a rapid pirouette. As she shot around faster and faster, the black feather expanded into a black sheet that grabbed the flames off the ground around them, before it exploded in a bunch of light particles, taking the fire with it.

"How dare you use Fakir against Ahiru, you cowardly raven!" Rue snarled, her red eyes flashing very dangerously.

Fakir turned to Rue with condescending hatred. "Well, well, well…Kraehe. So you've decided to ally with the prince against me? How foolish of you…and how foolish of you to dare to use raven magic against real ravens!"

In a single movement, the raven warriors leapt at Rue, but Mytho had jumped in front of her, and slashed at them to fight them off of her.

Fakir looked unfazed. "So you want to fight like that, prince?"

The writer held a hand out in front of him. Black raven magic shot from his hand and circled around in thin spirals to create a black sword that was an almost raven-version of Lohengrin's sword. Black metal feathers adorned the hilt, and the blade was ever so slightly bent as to look like a single raven's claw.

Fakir seized the hilt of the sword and swerved it above his head to point it at Mytho in a threatening sort of manner. "Come on here, prince. I don't have all day to kill you!"

Mytho swung his sword at Fakir, shouting a passionate battle cry, only to have the raven-controlled writer block his attack.

Princess Tutu watched in terror as the two swords met with vicious CLANGS as the two friends fought, Mytho to prevent Fakir from hurting the others and Fakir to kill.

"Have you gotten rusty, prince?" Fakir scorned as he dodged one of Mytho's blows. "Is your heart so loving you can't bear to kill even a raven? Or are you just becoming weak like your father?"

His amber eyes flashing with anger, Mytho slashed his sword in the direction of Fakir's head; Fakir blocked the strike, pushing the blade away from him as the two swords were pressed against each other.

"I'm not a worthless knight anymore, prince!" Fakir snapped both angrily and sinisterly. "I'm sure you were so proud to have at least one person to grovel for you even when you weren't the prince! Well…now you will do the groveling!"

He pushed Mytho back so hard the prince almost lost balance, but fortunately he was able to block Fakir when he thrust his blade once more in his direction.

Tutu's eyes were narrowed both in pain and anger. 'Fakir…Siegfried…'

She struggled again against the black chains, to no avail.

'What do I do? I could possibly reach Geier…but I don't even know Fakir…and I'm chained here…what am I supposed to do?'

Just then a voice rang from her mind. 'Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan, will you listen to me?'

Tutu's eyes widened. 'Odette…?'


Ahiru's mind, to the two souls that were meeting within it, had a look similar to that of the gap in time where Drosslemeyer and his gears had lived. It was black and seemingly endless, with colorful images flashing over it to visualize thoughts, and currently Ahiru and Tutu were facing each other within it.

It was the first time Ahiru had seen her mother. Her white hair was layered and feathery like Mytho's, she was as slim and graceful as a swan and her eyes shone an ocean-like blue just like Ahiru's own.

'Kaa-chan…' Ahiru choked, before she swallowed and said, 'Kaa-chan, we can't let Fakir and nii-chan fight like this!'

An image of raven-Fakir and Mytho fighting appeared behind her, being followed by one of raven-Mytho and Fakir fighting in the past.

Tutu grew a sad look. 'There's nothing I can do…it's as Fakir's story said, Princess Tutu is now chained down by the ravens' magic…and I don't know if I can move the raven from its host now that its host is Fakir.'

Ahiru was silent for a moment. Then a picture of Tutu vanishing in the finale of The Prince and the Raven flashed behind her, and she murmured,

'Then…then I need to do it.'

'What?' Tutu sounded surprised.

Ahiru bit her lip. 'Princess Tutu would be chained down…but I won't be…because I'm not Princess Tutu. And if Tutu can't reach Fakir…then maybe…I can.'

Tutu looked almost speechless. Ahiru took her silence as disapproval.

'I-I know I don't have magic…and I know I can't dance very well…but I…I have to try! I don't want Fakir to be like Vulture! I just want…I just want to save Fakir before…'

She broke off, her eyes overflowing with tears.

'I…I care about Fakir too much…I can't lose him…like I almost lost nii-chan…'

Tutu watched Ahiru cry for a moment, before her face gave way to a small smile. She moved over to her daughter and picked her chin up to make her look at her.

'I understand, Odette,' Tutu whispered. 'You're absolutely right, you're not me…and yes, you might not dance skillfully…but you are wrong about one thing. You do have magic. Not mine, it's true…but you do have magic, magic that did not come from me…magic that could do one thing I could never do…'

An image of duck-Ahiru dancing amongst yellow light to change the raven-consumed citizens of Kinkan Town back to their normal selves appeared behind Tutu. Ahiru watched the image, her cheeks still wet with tears, in confusion.

'Magic to remove a raven's influence from one's heart,' Tutu finished with a smile. 'I have been able to help people face their inner demons and collect Siegfried's heart shards…but you have been the only one who could fight a raven in someone's heart.'

A picture of duck-Ahiru and the raven-controlled Nezumi dancing together flickered on Ahiru's right.

'I believe in you, Odette,' Tutu stated firmly. 'Save Fakir.'

Ahiru stared for a moment, before nodding firmly.


There was a flash of white light around Princess Tutu that made the group as well as the raven-controlled Fakir and Mytho all turn around.

"Odette!" Mytho shouted in worry.

When the white light faded, Ahiru stood in Tutu's place, duck wings, yellow gown and all.

'I promise you, Fakir…' Ahiru thought determinedly as she brought her feet into third position and held her arms above her head, 'I won't let you down.'


I'm afraid that is all for today. Is a fun story awaiting us? A sad story? Or maybe…?


Music Notes:

"Wizards in Winter": Starts with Fakir resisting the raven in the beginning flashback at 0:28. The raven first starts talking at 0:31, and Fakir fights back against him with his statements in tandem to the dramatic beats. Fakir murmurs Ahiru's name before 0:50, and his five, quick flashbacks of Mytho and Ahiru's pains are at 0:57, 0:59, 1:01, 1:04 and1:06 and 1:07 respectively. Ends at 1:38 with the end of the scene with the raven-controlled Fakir.

"The Battle": starts with Tutu landing in front of the palace, with her thoughts at 0:07. Krishna speaks at 0:17 and Li pulling the door open at 0:33. They walk into and look around the ruined castle until 1:08 when they see the unconscious Vulture. Mytho finishes speaking before the music stops at 1:35. Music starts again when Rue yells at the raven for using Fakir against Ahiru, with the black raven magic becoming a sword for Fakir at 1:49 and Mytho and Fakir start fighting at 1:56. Tutu's "What do I do?" chain of thoughts are at 2:12, and she thinks 'Odette…?' at 2:18. Ahiru first sees her mother at 2:31, Tutu starts her "There's nothing I can do," chain of speech at 2:41, and Ahiru says "Then…then I need to do it," right before 3:00. Ahiru starts her "I know I can't do magic…" chain of speech at 3:15, and Tutu replies to her at 3:40, with the flashback of duck-Ahiru dancing amongst yellow light at 3:55. Tutu speaks again at 4:01, the flashback of Nezumi and Ahiru is at 4:14, Tutu tells Ahiru she believes in her at 4:21 and Ahiru nods at 4:28. The flash of white light around Tutu shines at 4:32, Mytho cries "Odette!" at 4:38 and Ahiru thinks her promise to Fakir before the pieces ends at 4:47.

The piece "Wizards in Winter" is by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The piece "The Battle" is from the "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" soundtrack.