Once upon a time there was a woman born with two souls. One soul, a kind and loving soul, usually came to play in times of joy, while the other, a logical and cruel soul, came out in times of anger or sadness. Nonetheless, the woman fell in love with a man and the two married. Yet when the man became a dark wizard, the woman couldn't reach her husband enough in this negative situation to change his mind…for you see, the man only fell in love with the woman's kind soul, and had no emotional reason to listen to the cruel one.


Act 42: The Battle (Part 2)

(((Pas De Deux)))

Fakir's heart was now dark and cold. To the soul of the writer trapped inside of it, it was an empty night with no hint of an end to be found. Shadows of those he cared about flickered into focus around him, before they were enveloped in the raven's darkness inching deeper into Fakir's heart, trying to erase all traces of humanity.

Fakir bent down on one knee, his head down in misery as his arm arched around his chest as if to feebly shield himself from the darkness. The raven's words still echoed in his head, pounding painfully loud in his ears.

'Even when you're not a knight, you're still useless!'

The raven's voice then slowly morphed into Rue's saying a scornful phrase she'd said when Fakir still knew her as the raven princess Kraehe.

"A wandering knight unable to do anything? The part fits you well, Fakir."

Then her voice became Mytho's when his heart had been contaminated with raven's blood.

"You're a knight who couldn't even have the strength to die…what can you do?"

Fakir's emerald eyes were hollow and lifeless as he glanced around at the people flickering in and out of the darkness.

One was a familiar woman with long dark hair like his, and the sound of an echoing cry accompanied her as she ran toward Fakir, her face full of terror.

Fakir held his arm outstretched as if to take her hand, but before Fakir could reach his mother, she had faded away into nothingness amongst angry raven cawing and a loud scream of pain.

Fakir raised his head up as tears trickled from his angrily grieved eyes, falling gracefully down onto his knees as if praying for an end to the painful memories returning to him.

He was dancing, in the darkest despair of his heart, a seemingly endless dance, for the raven had triumphed over his will, and nothing else stood between the raven and victory over him.
"Ahiru-chan!" cried Demi.

Mytho and the raven-controlled Fakir had stopped fighting and both turned to Ahiru as the black raven chains around her arms fell away into ash and she stood up straight with her arms arched upon her head and her blood-stained yellow wings spread.

The red-eyed Fakir looked like he'd been caught off guard. "W-what the-?"

Ahiru looked straight at him, and he couldn't help but flinch slightly.

'She's…she's given up Princess Tutu's magic?' the raven within Fakir's heart realized in shock.

"Fakir, you don't want to do this," Ahiru implored, reaching one hand out to him and holding the other to her heart. "You're ni-chan's knight, Fakir! You don't want to hurt him."

Fakir scoffed, again redeeming his confident demeanor.

"Baka! Talking to me about my role in the story won't get you anywhere. I'm the useless knight…and you're a sorry little wretch masquerading as Princess Tutu. We fit our roles well, don't we?"

"You're wrong," Ahiru dissented, holding her arms out with her hands upturned as to mime "no." "The story doesn't decide what we are…only we do! You taught me that, Fakir! You were fated to die, but you didn't…you chose to not give up trying to protect ni-chan, even with your fate and without your sword!"

"Protect?" Fakir repeated scornfully. "How mindless. I have never been able to protect anyone. You don't know a thing."

"I know you!" Ahiru shouted, turning back in an ungraceful pirouette while still holding a hand out to him. "Your will to protect ni-chan and the others is your real feelings, Fakir! What you're feeling now, this desire to destroy everything…that's the raven talking, Fakir!"

The raven-controlled Fakir's eyes narrowed. He spread his arms, his hands bent into almost claws, and he leapt over to her with a vicious tours en l'air, twirling in mid-air amongst black raven magic that slammed Ahiru like a wind out of a hurricane. The red-haired princess was almost thrust backward from the strength, but fortunately was just barely able to keep balance.

Li and Helios both moved to try and aid Ahiru, but Fakir flourished a hand in their direction.

Thick black diamond spikes shot up through the ground, creating a cage-like wall between the group and Fakir and Ahiru.

"Odette!" yelled Mytho, pounding on the diamond wall desperately.

"Hime!" Prometheus and Krishna cried in unison.

Fakir landed in front of Ahiru, his red-shining eyes almost smirking down at her.

"How pathetic."

With an arrogant plié, he crossed his arms on his chest, his hands bent into claws.

"Dancing as Princess Tutu is one thing…but what can you do? You don't have Princess Tutu's magic, and you're a wretched excuse for a dancer…what in the darkest hell can you do?"

Ahiru slowly got to her feet and looked up, and the raven-controlled Fakir's arrogant expression faltered when he saw that she was…smiling.

The young princess raised her arms above her head and lifted her left leg up shakily en dehors before stepping into a plié and leaping with a short, delicate jeté close to him.

"What can I do? Not very much," she answered quietly, solely in gestures. "After all…I'm just a girl. But…Fakir is just a boy."

The raven-controlled Fakir stiffened, suspicion filling his eyes, as he pirouetted backward, his arms flapping slightly at his sides like menacing raven wings. "What are you going on about?"

"I'm just a girl, and Fakir's just a boy," Ahiru gestured back seriously. "Ni-chan and Helios-kun are just princes, and Rue-chan and Demi-chan are just their princesses. And you're just a raven. We're nothing more than what we are, unless we become more with our actions…so I can't do very much…but, compared to all the other actions in the rest of the world, neither can you."

Abruptly Ahiru felt a shot of pain sear through her cheek, making her take a step back and hold her face. Fakir had slapped her hard enough to make her cheek the likely host of a future bruise.

"Baka," Fakir's movements seemed to sneer. "What did I tell you before? Fancy words and dancing have no effect on me! Face it, princess…the Fakir you know is gone! His story powers are mine, and you will die by them!"

Ahiru again looked up at him, her ocean-like eyes oddly calm. "Maybe I will."

Her lack of fear was almost unnerving to the raven-Fakir. Ahiru almost seemed to have no concept of how dangerous ravens or the power of stories could be…but that was unrealistic, considering everything she'd experienced before and after The Prince and the Raven.

"Do you doubt my abilities?" Fakir snapped through his dance, moving around her like a hawk. "With both raven magic and the power of stories, I am the most powerful being in the world…and you dare mock me!"

"I'm not mocking you," Ahiru danced in return. "Maybe I will die. Maybe I will fail. But I am not giving up…not on fighting against you, and definitely on Fakir!"

"Shut up!" the raven-Fakir's dance seemed to snap.

But Ahiru didn't stop dancing. "Fakir never gave up on me, even when I was helpless and clumsy and stupid. I still have faith in him, and nothing you say or do will make me stop believing in him!"

The red-eyed Fakir roared in anger, raising a claw in a gesture as if to slice the red-haired princess in half…

But his hand was caught in mid-air.

Ahiru held his raven-clawed hand in both of hers with the most tenderness, her eyes focused solely on him in a gentle kind of seriousness.

The red-eyed Fakir stared at her in anger, before trying to pull his hand out of her grip. No matter what he tried, however, he couldn't seem to move his hand.

"L-let go!" he snarled, but the fear in his voice was not entirely masked by anger.

Ahiru did not release him; instead her hands tightened ever so slightly around the claws, even though his sharp nails cut her palms and made them bleed.

And then, suddenly, Ahiru's chest began to glow with a faint light. The light expanded slowly, moving through her arms, legs and neck until the princess's entire body was shining a bright warm yellow.

"W-what the-!"

The raven-Fakir renewed his struggles against Ahiru's grip, further cutting Ahiru's palms, but the princess still would not let go, despite the loss of blood and the pain.

"I can't defeat you, raven," Ahiru said quietly, "and neither can Fakir…just like he or I couldn't defeat the Monster Raven alone."

She lifted one of her shining, bleeding hands from her grip on Fakir's hand and moved it to his chest to gently touch his heart. As she did, the yellow magic around it began to spread over Fakir.

The raven-controlled writer fought against Ahiru's grasp so much he looked like he was having a fit, crying out raven-like caws of anger and terror as he pulled in all directions desperately trying to escape the yellow magic surrounding him.

'Apart, we may be useless,' Ahiru thought, her eyes blazing with emotion as she watched the raven-controlled Fakir struggle against her. 'But together, I know Fakir and I can do anything…even bring the raven down.'

The yellow magic enveloped both of the figures in its embrace, blinding the observers. Ahiru was having problems holding onto the raven-controlled Fakir's claws as they continued to cut her, making her hands slippery with blood, but she was too afraid of losing her chance to reach Fakir to even think of letting go.

'Fakir!' she thought, visualizing the writer in her mind and praying by some miracle her magic would allow her to reach him. 'Fakir!'


"Fakir, please answer me…"

A voice was just barely audible through the screams and crying of the shadows surrounding Fakir.

Fakir looked up, his eyes still wet with tears, to see an odd yellow star blinking through the darkness…a star with an innocent female voice echoing from it.

'That…voice…' Fakir's thoughts were moving very slowly. 'Who is that…?'

"Please, Fakir…I need you…"

Fakir unsteadily struggled to his feet, squinting at the star, as it began to grow, its light shining through the recesses of the raven's darkness.

The light was brilliant and warmed Fakir in a way he couldn't quite explain. Perhaps it was actually physically warming him…or perhaps it was just illuminating the positive feelings of Fakir's heart that had been forced into the darkness of the raven's influence. No matter how it helped him, however, it gave the writer strength.

"Fakir…FAKIR!"

Fakir's emerald eyes became wide in realization.

'Ahiru…'

He ran toward the light frantically, reaching a hand out as if to grab it.

'AHIRU!'


The yellow light shining around Fakir abruptly flashed red; Fakir writhed, shrieking raven-like cries of pain, before the black raven whose claws were sinking into Fakir's back suddenly was revealed.

Fakir shouted out in intense pain and anger, before the red magic around him became enough of a force to blast the raven out of his heart.

The raven cawed in alarm as it was thrust away from the two into the right wooden throne at the back of the hall. The black diamond barrier between Ahiru and Fakir and their friends blew away in the wind as if it had been made of dust.

Fakir's legs weakened and he collapsed; fortunately Ahiru was able to catch him, but his weight was too much for her, so she had to fall to her knees and hold his head on her shoulder as to keep balance.

"Fakir?" she whispered worriedly.

The writer's eyes blinked open and looked up at her. His eyes were once again emerald green.

"Ahiru…" he murmured weakly.

Ahiru's eyes filled up with tears of relief, and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, burying her face into his dark green hair.

"Thank goodness…oh, Fakir!"

Mytho, Helios, Demi, Rue, Prometheus, Li, Krishna and Carmen all rushed over to the two.

"Fakir-san!" shouted Helios as he bent down beside them. "Ahiru-san! Are you both all right?"

"Chibi hime, you're bleeding all over!" Carmen cried in horror.

Li had glanced up to look for the raven, and just as suddenly he shot back up to his feet, his sword out and his eyes panicked.

"Ouji!"

Mytho whirled around as well, and also reacted in horror.

Vulture rose from the wooden throne he'd been lying on and got to his feet, his eyes once again shining raven red, his light brown vulture wings outstretched threateningly and his hand glowing with violent dark purple magic.

"The raven took over Vulture's body again," Demi realized, her violet eyes narrowing in fear.

Vulture chuckled darkly. "Congratulations, princess…so you were able to deliver a pathetic knight from my power. I'm impressed. But what now? Will you kill both Vulture and me?"

Prometheus snarled viciously, taking out his sword and brandishing it at the wizard. "Don't underestimate us, you rat-with-wings!"

"No," Fakir dissented sharply.

The group turned to him as he struggled to his feet, aided by Ahiru. The writer's eyes were filled with fire.

"Trying to kill the raven while it's inside Vulture is a waste of time and energy," he muttered. "Vulture's magic is still strong, even though his body is dying, and the raven has access to every spell and curse…and besides, the raven's memory would eat away at us forever if we killed an innocent person to get to it."

Vulture smirked wryly. Rue looked at Fakir in both anger and concern.

"What are you saying, Fakir?" she demanded. "We can't just let it live!"

Fakir didn't reply; instead he answered the raven princess's question by raising a hand up into the air.

"'With all of his resolve,'" Fakir stated firmly as if he were writing his words into a story, "'the writer called forth the Sword of Lohengrin to help him battle against the raven foe.'"

And to the shock of everyone, including Vulture, a blast of silver light shot around Fakir's hand. A metal blade seemed to flow out of the writer's palm, adding a silver straight-edged hilt and handle until it created Lohengrin's sword in mid-air.

Fakir seized the handle of the sword, pointing it at Vulture.

"Well," he murmured with a slight hint of satisfaction, "looks like I can thank you for one thing at least, raven…showing me a new way to write so I'm not just sitting uselessly on the sidelines!"

Vulture at first stepped back as if intimidated. Then his face morphed into a very ugly smirk, and he laughed scornfully.

"You fool!" he scoffed. "You don't honestly think you can kill me with that little play-sword? I would've thought the reincarnation of Lohengrin would know better! Of course Lohengrin was a fool to the end…I suppose you would know nothing different!"

But Fakir's resolute expression hadn't flickered at all during Vulture's mocking. Instead he turned to Ahiru, his eyes serious.

"Are you with me?" he asked her quietly.

Ahiru blinked in surprise. Then she smiled and nodded firmly.

Fakir returned her smile, before turning back to Vulture and declaring the next words of his story,

"'The writer poured his energy into the blade of his past self and opened up a portal into the heart of the Vulture, so that he and the princess could reach out to the wizard's soul still trapped underneath the raven's darkness!'"

Black magic shot from Fakir's blade and slammed into Vulture's torso like an arrow on a target, and a black, endless-looking hole suddenly began to grow in the middle of his chest at the spot Fakir's magic had hit him.

Vulture shouted out in alarm, trying to rub the black hole off of him as if it were some kind of bug.

"Ready, Ahiru?" asked Fakir.

"Yes!" Ahiru assented firmly, placing her hand on Fakir's still grasping Lohengrin's sword.

Fakir wrapped his arm around his princess, and the two together took a great jeté and leapt into the darkness of the portal.


"What's this?" said Drosslemeyer as he watched the scene in his gears. "Well, it seems the useless knight for once was unusually astute…after all, it's much easier to defeat an enemy from the inside by stealth than the outside by force…"

He then chuckled as he watched Vulture fall to the ground as the portal on his chest vanished.

"But it's not safe to be inside the heart of one who is dying, my dear Princess Odette…get out of there quickly before Vulture's body dies, or else the knight's and your souls will be destroyed along with Vulture's! Heh, heh, heh…"


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


Music Notes:

"Romeo and Juliet": starts at the beginning of the chapter inside Fakir's heart. With the flashbacks, Rue's comment starts just before 0:49. Fakir sees his mother at 1:04, she vanishes at 2:15 and the piece stops at 1:26 as that sequence ends. The music returns at 5:01 for Ahiru's "you're wrong" chain of speech, with Fakir's tours en l'air at 5:26. The music ends at 5:53 after Fakir asks Ahiru, "What in the darkest hell can you do?"

"Pas de Deux": starts as Ahiru struggles to get up after the second part of "Romeo and Juliet" ends. Ahiru's gestures say "What can I do? Not very much," at 0:14. The music pauses for Fakir's slap at 0:46. The piece then moves to 1:50 for Fakir's next statement, and the piece stops at 2:53 when Ahiru catches Fakir's hand mid-slash.

"The Battle": starts after "Pas de Deux" ends with Ahiru catching Fakir's strike in mid-air at 4:35, with Ahiru saying her "I can't defeat you, raven" chain of speech at 4:51 and the yellow magic moving over Fakir at 5:05. Ahiru's cry of "FAKIR!" is heard in Fakir's heart at 5:32, and Fakir shouts back "AHIRU!" at 5:35, yelling out in pain back in the outside world until the music stops at 5:44 after Fakir blasts the raven out of his heart. The music starts up again when Vulture starts his "you fool" chain of speech, and Ahiru and Fakir leap into the portal at 6:24.

The piece "Romeo and Juliet- Overture Fantasy" is by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The piece "Pas De Deux" (otherwise known as "Sugarplum Fairy and a Cavalier") is by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and featured in his ballet "The Nutcracker."

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