"Quaaaaa~~~~" Duck thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest as she tripped on a root and face planted on the forest floor.

"You dance ballet constantly, how are you out of breath?" Fakir frowned, picking her up and placing her back on her feet. "Cmon, let's see if we can find the Sparrow's Inn from the story."

Mount Mitake wasn't a far hike from the city thanks to a rather sizeable plot hole that placed the mountain right at the outskirts of the small town. It was the hike up the mountainside that proved a little more treacherous. The mountain was part of a handful of places to hike, according to Chibiusa's bus map, but in this story, there only seemed to be one.

"According to the tourist guide, the shrines have been here for 2000 years," Chibiusa read over the description. "It fits into this feudal era pretty well. It's known for its birds and trees."

"That sounds like we'll find the Sparrow's Inn here," Helios noted, cradling the sparrow in his hand. The sparrow seemed to chirp in response.

"Once we find it, we may be able to see the rest of this story unfold," Fakir recalled the tale. "According to the story, the old man will be hiking up here first to find the injured sparrow. As we've intervened before the sparrows tongue could be cut, it's possible this ending will change."

"Can you alter the story a bit, Fakir?" Chibiusa wondered. "We're aware of it now, right? Perhaps you can change it so it only seems like the sparrow's been hurt and the story continues like normal."

"Once we find the inn, or at least the shrine, I may be able to alter some details to move the story in the right direction," Fakir considered the idea. "Now that we're becoming more aware of the stories, there might be a way that I can start overpowering the spinner's words. It worked that way last time, when I'd become aware that we were living The Prince and the Raven."

"There was that Autor pressuring you too," Duck recalled the obsessive bookworm.

"I have him looking into stories for me," Fakir informed them. "The spinner doesn't seem aware of him, and we both know he's obsessed with spinning. While we unspin the stories, perhaps he'll be able to pinpoint some information on who's responsible."

"It's good to know we have another on our side," Chibiusa nodded assuredly. "Hey look! It's a torii! We're heading in the right direction!" She indicated the orange-red torii gate stretching over the walkway. Maple trees hung low over the walkway as they approached. Behind the torii was a bridge with a traditional arch stretching across with papers and calligraphy to identify the shrine.

"I can't read that kanji," Chibiusa squinted at the sign.

Helios leaned over, glancing over the painted characters. "'Welcome to the Mitake Shrine. All are welcome, including the sparrows.' This does seem like the best location for a Sparrow's Inn." His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of stomping. He turned, knitting his brow in worry. "Seems the wife is already here."

"Take the sparrow and go, you two," Fakir quickly instructed to the two girls. "We need to get the sparrow to the Inn. We can help delay her until the story unfolds properly.

"But Fakir!" Duck protested.

"You forget I'm still a knight," Fakir reminded her sharply. "I may have traded my sword for a pen, but I can still handle an irate woman. Now, go!"

"We'll handle this, Maiden," Helios reassured her with a smile, handing Chibiusa the sparrow. "I may have been pulled into this world, but so has my magic. If you run into trouble, just ring the bell. I'll be sure to answer." He smiled as the two headed off across the bridge and deeper into the forest. "If I may," he offered Fakir a pleasant look.

Helios was a stark contrast to Fakir, his lighter appearance and his incredibly calm and constantly pleasant demeanor. While Fakir was completely prepared to stop an old woman with a butcher knife in a kimono that needed some mending, Helios seemed to have other plans in mind. Chibiusa had mentioned Helios was a powerful protector of dreams, but Fakir still wasn't sure what that meant. It seemed that he needed Chibiusa to protect him and break the seal on a crystal, but it all seemed like a strange fairy tale that he wanted to read a second time to fully understand the meaning. "Go ahead. Just try not to lose a tongue or something."

"Maiden would be terribly upset if I did," Helios nodded, stepping out. "Please, my lady, there is no need to rush so angrily."

"Isn't there?!" the woman hissed back, brandishing the knife. "That damned sparrow ate all the starch! I'm going to cut its tongue out!"

Fakir noted the event from the original story matched up. While they had visited and the place seemed to serve more sweets, starch was still an important to the story. Even though they had rescued the sparrow, the starch still had gone missing.

"And yet the sparrow has been in our care," Helios countered gently. "There is no reason to be angry at it so. It is simply a sparrow. It did not know that it had done something wrong."

The woman stared at Helios for a moment. It was hard to be angry at such a soft, inviting face.

Helios calmly smiled in return. "Cutting the sparrow's tongue out isn't truly what you desire, is it?"

"I want our restaurant to be successful," the woman stated reasonably. "But my husband has to go feed all the sparrows! He's wasting all our income! We'll never be able to keep the cafe going at this rate!"

Helios admittedly didn't know much about how to run a restaurant. He was a priest of a land nestled in the deepest heart of the Earth Kingdom. But his words seemed to calm the ire of the woman, but only temporarily. Birds chirped from the trees and the woman was back on her hellbent path. She lunged forward with her knife, and likely would've taken part of Helios's face off if Fakir hadn't intervened, catching the woman's wrist with his hand.

"That sort of ire won't help you achieve your dreams," Helios chided gently. "Your dreams are brilliant and pure. Your love for your cafe shines brightly in your eyes. You should embrace that dream instead of your anger."

"I..." the woman fought against the idea for a moment.

"The sparrows aren't a hindrance," Helios continued. "It was the sparrows which attracted us to your cafe."

The woman looked terribly conflicted. "You came... because of the sparrows?"

"We did," Helios nodded with a smile. "And we'd very much like to visit again, sparrows and all."

The knife fell from her fingers as she suddenly loosened her grip on it. Fakir's hand was still wrapped around her wrist but she didn't bother fighting against him anymore. "I just want the cafe to make money."

"Then you should live your dream," Helios encouraged her. "It is a beautiful and bright dream that could blossom into an amazing reality."

He was stalling. Fakir could tell. He glanced discretely towards the bridge. They better hurry up. I'm not sure how long he can drag this out.

...

"There it is, the Sparrow's Inn!" Chibiusa announced excitedly. It was a bit easier to find than she'd thought. It was nestled in the bamboo like it was part of the shrine. It was framed with stone lanterns, looking like mini shrine itself with a small torii gate at the entrance leading up to an ornate birdhouse.

Chibiusa gently set the sparrow down at the entrance. It stood up, limping a bit but managed to limp into the Inn itself with a happy chirp. Chibiusa gingerly picked up the sparrow again, pulling her crystal from her brooch. She knew it wasn't part of the story, but she also didn't want the sparrow to suffer. Reacting to her heart, the crystal lit up, healing the bird's leg. As she set it back down, she tucked the crystal back into her brooch, smiling as the sparrow happily trotted into the Inn. Several birds quickly excited, presenting the two girls with a set of baskets, one large and one small.

"Are we supposed to choose one?" Duck turned to Chibiusa.

Chibiusa nodded. She'd read the legend in a picture book. She knew the right basket to choose. "It's a reward for our kindness. And the one to choose is the smallest one. We don't want to be greedy." That was the moral of the story, and right now they were acting out the role of the old man who visited the Inn.

In the original story, the old man traveled up the mountain to find the injured sparrow who had its tongue slit. He found the Sparrows Inn and was pleased to see the sparrow was okay, despite the slit tongue. The sparrows at the Inn rewarded him with a basket. In the small one was treasure, but the big one was snakes and monsters. The big one was the last thing Chibiusa wanted.

"Thank you," Chibiusa thanked the sparrows warmly as she picked up the small basket. "Now please take care of your friend!" She turned back towards the bridge, worry twisting her features. Since they'd left the scene, Chibiusa had been worried. That woman had a butcher knife. She could easily hurt either of them. Helios wasn't a fighter, but perhaps his words could sway her. Then there was Fakir, who mentioned being a knight. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.

"We should hurry back," Duck suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing," Chibiusa nodded, holding the basket with one hand and her brooch with the other. Still with the basket in her arms, she transformed, travelling down the bridge with Princess Tutu to find the boys still at the end. They'd managed to wrestle the knife from her hands, but she was still trying to fight them. Fakir had managed to restrain her arm, but she'd already managed to strike him a few times. Helios was trying to talk her down.

Tutu landed between the woman and the two boys, winding her hands over her head and offering one to her. "Won't you dance with me?"

Chibi Moon rushed to the other two, ensuring both were still in one piece. "Are you both okay?" She knit her brow in concern seeing that Fakir now sported a cut on his face. "You seem to always get hurt trying to help us out, Fakir."

He rubbed at his face. "It's nothing," he brushed off the concern. "Besides, seems Helios has quite the ability to talk someone down, even when they're being driven by a story."

"I simply wish to speak to their hearts," Helios smiled.

"And in talking her down, I noticed something odd," Fakir added. "There were creatures in the forest that seemed to be watching us, and not just the birds. They kind of looked like a raccoon and a fox, and they left right before you both arrived. They were a bit far, so I couldn't tell exactly."

"That's really strange," Chibi Moon admitted, watching Tutu dance with the woman. Tutu's moves were almost like a bird's, dancing very light on her steps until the woman's shadow appeared. As Tutu reached out to it, it transformed into yet another teapot. "Why is it a teapot?"

Tutu gently held the collapsed woman in one arm while cradling the teapot in the other. "I'm really not sure either." She turned quickly with the rustling in the forest. "Someone is coming."

From the trees emerged the old man, the cafe owner, in quite a hurry. "Please, darling! Be reasonable!" He stopped quickly as he saw her collapsed in Tutu's arms. "My darling!"

"Do not worry, she is just fine," Tutu reassured him. "She simply needs some rest from the ordeal she has been through."

"Here," Chibi Moon offered him the basket. "This is from the sparrows. They want to thank you for your kindness."

The old man smiled, taking the basket but not peeking in it just yet. "I hope they know they are always invited to the cafe. I also hope that my wife will be more accepting of them."

"Hopefully so," Tutu agreed.

"Just make sure to not tell her where the basket came from," Chibi Moon added. Perhaps they could prevent the end of the tale and the woman wouldn't be overcome with avarice, which ultimately lead to her demise in the story.

...

"This is the best parfait I've ever had!" Chibiusa exclaimed, sitting on her knees so she could barely match the height of the giant glass.

"It's certainly good to see that the cafe is thriving," Helios commented. "It seems her ire for sparrows has completely diminished."

"I'm pleased we could save the old woman so she didn't meet the fate of this tale," Chibiusa added.

Fakir nodded, watching the old woman putter about chipperly as she hung up the gems and decorations that were included in the sparrow's basket. "Seems that we have some control over the stories here. This spinner isn't as powerful as he wants to believe he is. That'll give us an advantage."

"Soon perhaps we'll have more clues about who this spinner is," Duck nodded assuredly. "But for now, we should figure out what to do with this extra teapot!"

...

Author's musings

Helios's full abilities are never really featured in the manga. We know he has the power to create magical items with the desire to protect dreams. So what if he really could protect people's dreams in a non-combative way? Helios never really fought battles, never showed any desire to fight magically or physically. So likely he could instead fight with words, appeal to people's hearts as he worked to protect precious dreams.

Helios is certainly not the priest attempting to protect a crystal with his life anymore. That battle is done. Now it's time he battle in his own way.