The sounds of birds chirping loudly flooded the attic room. Wearily a hand holding a pan of birdseed emerged from the bird swarm. "Oh man who knew pointe would be so hard?" Duck rolled out of the birds, laying on the floor on her back.
"But you looked so cool," Chibiusa encouraged her. "You really inspired us! I want to make a clay sculpture of you learning pointe for our evolution of ballet!"
"Me?" Duck peered up at her. "Why me?"
"Because of your dedication!" Chibiusa replied. "Sure, the others were learning just like you were, but we could all see how proud you were when you finally got it, how much you tried despite it being so hard. The others agreed we want you to be in our line of ballet art!"
"I never thought I'd be in art like that," Duck admitted. "I'd figured that you'd want Princess Tutu instead."
"She's more of an end point," Chibiusa pointed out. "And besides, Mr. Cat already suggested Fakir and Illia as a reference for that. We need someone who's learning and is really determined."
"Well I do wanna dance pointe like I do as Tutu," Duck admitted. "I never really got the chance the first time through."
"Well now you can!" Chibiusa exclaimed excitedly. "I wanna see you dance pointe! It looks like so much work but it's so pretty! I know you can do it!"
Duck sat up, rejuvenated. "You're right! When have I actually given up?!" Actually it was a few times, when returning Mytho's heart had been so hard she went back to being an actual duck, but that was another story. Literally. "I want to be a good dancer while I have the chance!" She hadn't quite told Chibiusa yet that she was actually a duck or that she'd likely return to being one once this story was complete. For now, she could have her fun while they tried to find the spinner.
She stood up, nearly tripping over her own two feet. "Well I might have to hobble to the studio today. Everything hurts."
...
"I got them! I got all the sketches for the first sculpture!" Chibiusa excitedly waved her sketchbook as she approached. She stopped before her teammates but immediately leapt backwards as she felt a pinch in her leg. She stumbled sideways, landing hard on the sidewalk and skinning her knee. "Oooowwwwie."
"You should watch where you're going, you giant oaf!" the small voice informed her matter-of-factly.
Chibiusa stared down the sidewalk, immediately clamping a hand over her mouth. It was a crab, the kind she'd see at the beach picking things out of the sand. But this crab was wearing a girl's academy uniform. Talking to her. "I'm terribly sorry! I didn't see you there!"
"Of course not," the crab remarked snidely. "You're too busy focused on your lame concept for the art project. It'd be a shame if something were to happen to that notebook."
Chibiusa stared at the crab. "You wouldn't."
"I'll step on you if you touch that notebook," Sorano threatened.
"Sorano!" Momoko chided him.
The crab scuttled over to the notebook, snipping the side with one claw. "Oops."
"Crabberina!" Momoko gasped.
"Looks like you should be more careful," Crabberina jeered as she walked away sideways down the sidewalk. She eventually joined Daemon and his band of miscreants, laughing with them.
"What a jerk!" Kyusuke fussed, kneeling down to pick up the notebook. "You okay, Chibiusa?"
Chibiusa stared at the notebook. All that hard work, snipped in half. She shook her head, regaining her resolve. "I'm fine. We can fix this. No crab is going to ruin our work!" Dusting herself off, Chibiusa rose to her feet, picking up the notebook carefully as to not lose the cut sheets tucked within. She glanced down the sidewalk at the crab and her cohorts. Part of her wondered if this were another story playing out or if Crabberina was just a jerk in general.
"Right!" Momoko agreed. "I bet Miss Kitter has some tape. We could repair the pages."
"Right!" Sorano agreed. "No stupid crab is getting in our way." He turned, heading towards the building.
Chibiusa stared, trying to recall if Sorano had a tail yesterday. It wasn't quite a dog tail like Kyusuke still had, but instead seemed to be more like a monkey. She shook her head. Maybe she'd just forgotten in the excitement of the project.
She shrugged, following the others into the art studio. Perhaps that was just as jarring. Each team had their own section within the studio, but their assigned section was a mess. Clay had been thrown about, the paintbrushes shoved into it, ruining the bristles. The easels were missing a leg.
Miss Kitter hung over the disaster with concern. "Who could do such a thing? This isn't in the spirit of the competition at all."
Chibiusa knit her brow in concern. This wasn't a competition, this was a war. And these sorts of wars only happened with stories involved. She glanced around the room. Most of the classmates were concerned, even Shobolan and Artis had come over with worry.
"Have some of our clay," Crocodette offered them.
"Hey, we have some extra paint brushes," Malon offered.
"We've got an extra easel!" came a shout from across the room.
Chibiusa brightened up. Even with a war going on, the people here were still friendly except for a small group. Daemon's posse was busy stewing in the corner. There was something about that group beyond that they looked like a group of Oni.
Oni. They only appeared in stories, and were pretty much creatures of legend. Oni weren't exactly known for their friendliness, and were often created to be the villains. So far, they'd only really jeered at Momoko and her group, laughing at their misfortune and stewing when things didn't go their way.
But there was a new factor which had her concerned. Crabberina. She'd been aggressive towards the group since Chibiusa had tripped on her accidentally. And she was busy pinching her claws across the classroom at the moment.
Chibiusa stared at the sketchbook. She had an idea. "Miss Kitter, could we go and get more references from the ballet class?" Momoko had moved to object, but Chibiusa pinched her in the side before she could speak.
"That's a great idea," Miss Kitter agreed. "In the meantime, I can work on replenishing your supplies. Go right ahead."
Chibiusa grabbed for a fresh sketchbook, tucking the sliced one inside the front cover, and dragged the other three out of the studio.
"This is sabotage!" Kyusuke fussed as the reached the courtyard.
"It is," Sorano pushed his glasses up his nose. "And I bet I know who did it."
"Team Oni," Momoko frowned. "We can't let them keep doing this!"
"We could sabotage their art project," Sorano strongly suggested.
Chibiusa stared. This wasn't the Sorano she knew anymore. There was a story going on here. Crab and Monkey. Momoko and the Oni. The first was a very famous tale about revenge. The second was possibly the famous Momotaro tale which sometimes did blend in with the Crab-Monkey battles. "We shouldn't start a war here! We'll be no better than they are if we resort to sabotage!"
"I thought you were part of Team Momo!" Momoko glared at her.
"But I am!" Chibiusa protested.
"Then you should fight with me!" Momoko demanded. "We'll topple Team Oni and emerge victorious!"
Chibiusa was certain Momotaro was playing out, as well as the Crab-Monkey battle tale, but she still wasn't sure the source of the story. Right now, she just wanted to delay the battles long enough. Of both stories, most of the characters died. "We shouldn't be so hasty!"
"If you won't come with us, you're no longer part of Team Momo!" Momoko declared sharply, turning on her heels. The two boys followed her back into the building.
That stung. She knew that Momoko was just following her part in the story, but it still stung. She sniffled, opening her bag and waking up her companion. "Diana, find the others. We have two violent stories playing out right now, and I'll need their help!"
The tiny gray kitten in the school uniform leapt out of her bag. "I'll get them quickly, Small Lady! Stay safe!"
Chibiusa nodded, grabbing her brooch in her hand. She had to stop this before the stories met their violent conclusions. If Chibiusa couldn't stop them, perhaps Chibi Moon could appeal to them. She nodded, mostly to herself before dashing into the building.
The halls were empty, which provided perfect cover for a proper transformation. In a burst of light and ribbons, she transformed, rushing down the hall and into the art studio. She was hoping for the best, but she had gotten the worst. Clay flew across the room. People threw pencils and paint brushes like deadly javelins.
The fighting had been localized around Team Momo and Team Oni while the rest of the classroom had backed away. Miss Kitter had busied herself with trying to dissuade the fight, but it wasn't working. Instead the teacher was covered in bits of clay and paint.
"Stop!" Chibi Moon shouted, her voice echoing in the studio, augmented by her innate super sonic ability. "I am Sailor Chibi Moon, guardian of hopes and dreams! Right now, your fighting is destroying each other's dreams!"
"Sailor Chibi Moon?" Kyusuke repeated with a hint of recognition.
Chibi Moon had almost lost her composure. Even in this story, somehow Kyusuke had recognized her. He was a fan of Sailor V, so perhaps there was part of him that still existed in this story beyond the obsession with athletics. "That's right. I want to protect your beautiful dreams, and with all this fighting, they're going to be destroyed! We need to end this fighting now."
"That's high and mighty coming from some moon rabbit," Ogretta jeered.
Chibi Moon wanted to frown but continued to stand strong. She had to try to stop the fighting before it became worse than paint and clay. "What good will come from harming each other?"
"No more competition!" Sorano shouted.
Chibi Moon did frown. This was going to be harder than she thought.
...
"Stories that devolve into violence?" Fakir frowned sharply. "These stories are getting more and more dangerous. The spinner is playing with people's lives here!" Whoever was controlling this new world certainly had the sadistic tendencies Drosselmeyer did. The spinner must be a big fan or something.
"That's what she said! I'm really worried that something might go wrong!" the tiny kitten worried. "Or that Small Lady may be hurt trying to do this on her own."
Fakir peered around the door into the dance studio. Much of the class had already filtered out, but Duck was still within. "Remedial, again. She must've dozed off in class."
Diana peered up at him before glancing back at Duck in the classroom. "Is this a common thing, Mr. Fakir?"
"Unfortunately," he huffed. "I'll take care of this." He quickly strode into the classroom. "Mr. Cat, if I may suggest."
"What is it, Mr. Fakir?" Mr. Cat turned, pawing at one of his ears in frustration.
Fakir approached unflinchingly. "Chibiusa and her friends requested some more references in our free time, so I think this would be a great opportunity for some more practice for Duck. Since remedial isn't working," he sharply added.
Duck puffed up angrily but didn't shout at him yet. Fakir, you jerk!
"Well, that does sound like a reasonable suggestion," Mr. Cat considered the idea, tapping a finger on his whiskered cheek. "Alright, go ahead. I do hope that you can keep her from spacing out during class."
"I'm not a miracle worker, but I'll do what I can," Fakir offered him some reassurance as he quickly grabbed Duck's wrist and dragged her out of the classroom.
"Fakir, you jerk!" she finally hissed at him.
"I just got you out of remedial, didn't I?" he pointed out. "Besides, I promise we'll actually dance together later. Right now, Chibi Moon needs your help. There's a pair of violent stories playing out in the art studio."
"QUAAAAAAA!" Duck quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. "That sounds scary but we can't let Chibi Moon take the fight on alone. Where's Helios?"
"Already on his way," Fakir replied as they exited the dance building, heading for the art building. He was fearing for the worst. The legends and tales were getting more and more dangerous each time a new one popped up. They were appearing more quickly and now in tandem with each other. He had to find a way to overcome the spinner writing this tale, even if he could only still write about Duck.
But that did give him an idea. He patted his back pocket. His notebook and quill were still there. "If we need to, I'm going to write in some more power for you. But right now, we need to hurry and assess the situation." He opened the door, allowing Duck to quickly grand jete in the door in a flurry of feathers and light as she transformed into Princess Tutu. Fakir quickly followed behind, weaving through the hallways, nearly colliding into Tutu as she suddenly stopped at the art studio door.
He peered around her, his heart suddenly skipping a beat. In the center of the art studio lay Chibi Moon, covered in paint and clay, completely unmoving as Helios leaned over her to protect his maiden. Her eyes were closed, her arms hanging limp at her sides, her Kaleidoscope fallen from her fingers.
Tutu gasped. It couldn't be… her worst fear had come to life. Her roommate now lay lifeless on the art room floor. The story had claimed its first victim. "Chibi Moon!"
...
Author's drabble
The two stories here are both deadly in their original forms. The Crab and the Monkey is a particularly gruesome tale that involves a lot of bodily harm and revenge. Momotaro is pretty much an all out war. The spinner is getting serious.
