All of the fairies -including Chise and myself- all stood before the skeleton of the once-beautiful Mother Tree. Most of the fairies were crying, Chise being among them. The tips of her oak-brown hair was singed as well as bits of her tunic. I held her close as she shed her tears, feeling deep sorrow for the others and the loss of their home. I watched from a distance as Fairy Mary spoke with Queen Clarion.
"What do we do now, Your Majesty?" Mary asked in a soft voice.
Queen Clarion sighed. "I am not sure. Never before have we ever had to deal with such a horrible tragedy as this. Even if we request help from our fellow neighbors, I'm afraid that our attempts to restore the tree will be in vain."
This is all my fault. I should have payed more attention to the growth in Darkness, and I could've saved their home, I thought to myself, clenching my hands into fists.
"This is certainly not your fault, Hikari," Master Aqua said to me sternly. "You were too far away to have sensed them earlier on. Don't put yourself down like that."
I wasn't entirely convinced.
"What are we going to do?" A fairy questioned aloud.
"How can we continue to fly without the Pixie Dust from the tree!?" Another cried.
"We'll have to move far away and find another place to live."
"But I don't want to leave!"
"Neither do I!"
"This is our home. I'm not going anywhere!"
The rest of the fairies quickly joined in, calling out their displeasure. Queen Clarion and Fairy Mary turned towards them and tried to calm the crowd, but their attempts and pleas were wasted on deaf ears.
All of a sudden, Tink was at my side and giving me a concerned look. "I don't know what else to do," she yelled so I could hear her over the noisy clearing.
"If only there were some way to restore the tree, but even Queen Clarion says any attempt will most likely end in failure," Fawn said, her and the others joining us.
"Even us Gardening fairies can't restore something so deeply scarred as that," Rosetta added, her voice filled with that of defeat.
"It's only a matter of time before the balance of the rest of the forest is thrown off due to the death of the Mother Tree," Vidia pointed out.
"And without the power of the tree, we fairies won't be able to perform our duties," Iridessa explained, Silvermist nodding solemnly beside her.
"So you guys are all going to just give up!?" I questioned harshly.
No one brought their eyes up to me.
Frustrated, I let go of Chise and took to the sky. Once I was high enough so I could see all of those gathered, I took a deep breath, then screamed at the top of my lungs, "EVERYONE, LISTEN!"
The clearing instantly fell dead silent as they looked up at me, waiting for me to speak.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I continued. "Now, I understand what it's like to lose your home; Chise and I went through the same thing not very long ago ourselves. However, whining and complaining about it isn't going to change anything. Right now, all this arguing has left you divided, but by working together and coming up with a solution, we can surely find a way to get through this."
"Well said, Hikari," a voice spoke from out of nowhere.
Before I could try to locate the voice's origin, I saw a golden light from the bottom corner of my eye. My eyes fell down to my sash and I gasped when I saw that my grandmother's ocarina was glowing a gorgeous gold. Curious, I untied it and held it in my hands, trying to figure out what was causing it to illuminate in the way that it was.
"What's going on?
"I think your ocarina wants you to play it," Master Aqua offered. "There's no harm in trying."
Seeing as no other ideas seemed to come to me or any outside source, I did as Master Aqua suggested and placed my mouth on the mouthpiece, then began to blow into it softly as my fingers moved on their own over the holes and created a beautiful song that I had never heard before.
At that moment, I was at peace. It had been so long since I had played the ocarina and it sounded even more beautiful than I remembered. The melody reminded me of birds singing just as the sun begins to rise and of crickets in the fields as night takes its hold over the world every time the sun vanishes over the horizon to rest.
Chise simply watched in wonder as her sister began to play a familiar-looking instrument of a glistening midnight-blue. The music that came from the object was also very familiar and soothed her, almost as though it were a lullaby.
"What beautiful music," a fairy nearby said in a hushed voice.
Several others agreed silently by nodding their heads as they continued to listen, intrigued by the unique melody.
Oneesan is so amazing, the child thought to herself as she closed her eyes and held her hands together in prayer.
Suddenly, a golden light similar to that of the one that surrounded the ocarina began to form around Chise, causing those fairies that stood closest to her to gasp and jump back in surprise. Chise seemed unafraid of this light as it continued to grow in brightness.
At the same time, the light from the egg-shaped flute also became brighter and musical notes of the same light rose from out of the holes and started to dance around Hikari. As daybreak quickly approached, the light from Chise began to form a tiny spiral above her, slowly making its way towards Hikari. The musical notes also seemed to make their way towards Chise's light.
The two sources met halfway and caused an explosion of gold and white light, almost like fireworks. The fairies watched in wonder and utter amazement as the sparks showered over the Mother Tree, weaving around the branches and trunk. As it did this, the blackened wood was transformed back into earthy-brown and leaves sprouted back, some growing flowers of soft pink.
"It's a miracle!"
"Our home is saved!"
I found myself ending the song as cheers started to resonate across the clearing. I lowered the ocarina and opened my eyes to find that the sun was beginning to rise and the fairies were calling out in joy. Turning around, I quickly discovered why they were excited. Tears filled my eyes upon seeing the tree beautiful and green once more.
"Use this newfound power to mend the wounds and fix what has been wronged," the mysterious voice explained, then fell silent.
I smiled as more tears continued to stream down my cheeks. Thank you, whoever you were, I silently thanked. I promise I'll use the gift you've given me to make things right.
As I began to descend to the ground, everyone began to surround me, calling out my name and giving hugs and kisses on the cheeks. Chise somehow managed to squeeze between the crowd and stand beside me, hugging me tightly.
"You're so amazing, Oneesan," she stated, looking up at me with her innocent, pine-green eyes.
I smiled and picked her up, placing her on top of my shoulders. "You're not too bad yourself, kiddo," I told her.
Chise laughed cutely as everyone continued to cheer, calling out both our names as well as Tinker Bell's.
"Do you really have to leave?"
I nodded, my heart clenching. As much as I would have loved to stay longer, I still had a mission to get back to and take Chise to a place where I knew she would be safe. "I'm afraid so. My family and friends are still out there and I need to find them."
Queen Clarion smiled. "You're loved ones come first. We will not keep you from you're quest."
I found myself smiling as well and taking Chise's hand. "Thank you, Queen Clarion. I cannot thank you enough for all that you've done for us."
"The same goes for you," Fairy Mary stated. "You brought back the light to our home and saved it from ruin."
"Promise you'll come back and visit?" Silvermist asked.
Chise was the one to answer. "Of course! We'll even bring the rest of our family."
"You better keep your word," Fawn teased.
"Make sure you stay out of trouble," Vidia told her.
"We'll make sure the sun is always shining, wherever fate takes you," Iridessa added.
Rosetta got to her knees and placed a tiara of flowers atop Chise's head. "We'll always be near, little one."
Chise smiled. "Right!"
I took my eyes away from Chise and looked at Tinker Bell, who had remained silent to entire time and was looking at the ground with her shoulders drooping. "Tink."
The young fairy lifted her head to reveal eyes that were on the brink of tears.
My chest tightened once more. I left go of Chise's hand and walked up to the green-attired fairy, then wrapped my arms around her in a warm hug. "No words can tell you how grateful and happy I am to have met such a wonderful person as yourself," I told her in a soft voice. "You are a truly amazing friend and I've come to think of you as a sister. Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart."
Tinker Bell seemed surprised at first, but she eventually accepted the gesture and returned it, allowing her tears to flow. "So have I, Hikari."
After a few more moments, we separated and smiled at one another.
"I believe you have found your successor," a voice suddenly spoke in my mind.
I took in breath of surprise, causing the others to look at me in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Tink asked.
"Who are you?" I questioned. It was not the voice I had heard earlier that had instructed me to use the ocarina, but the presence was similar.
"Do not be afraid, young Keyblade Wielder. I am here to guide you, just as Aqua is. She cannot hear us at this time, but in time she will learn who I am and know I can be trusted.
It all sounded suspicious to me, but the voice almost seemed to comfort me and push aside my doubts. "… Alright; I'll trust you for now. So, what's this 'successor' you spoke of?"
"A Keyblade Wielder has the ability to pass on the power of the Keyblade to whoever they deem to be worthy of wielding it later on."
"O-kay. So you're saying that Tinker Bell should be my successor? How do I pass it on then?"
"Summon your Keyblade and I will walk you through the rest.
I did as I was told and summoned The Angel's Keyblade.
"Is everything alright?" Queen Clarion questioned.
I looked at her and nodded before returning my eyes to Tink.
"Turn the hilt towards her and repeat after me."
I followed the voice's directions and turned to Keyblade upside down so the hilt was facing Tinker Bell, who looked at me with curiosity.
"In your hand, take this Key."
"In your hand, take this Key."
"So long as you the makings-"
"So long as you the makings-"
"-then through this simple act of taking-"
"-then through this simple act of taking-"
"-its wielder you shall one day be."
"-its wielder you shall one day be."
"Now, if the Keyblade does not disappear when she takes it, she will eventually inherit your ability to wield her own Keyblade."
Tink looked at me, then down at the offered Keyblade. She seemed hesitant for a moment, but slowly reached out and eventually grabbed the hilt.
As if in response, The Angel's Keyblade glowed a soft gold.
"The Keyblade has accepted her," were the voice's last words before the presence vanished.
Tink smiled at me and released the Keyblade.
I smiled back. "Use your gift to protect those you care for, and know that I will never be far." I stepped back and looked down at Chise. "Are you ready to go?" I asked her, offering her my hand my free hand.
She took my hand and nodded.
We looked back at the others one final time. "Good-bye everyone. We will always hold you in our hearts."
They all nodded.
"Have a safe journey," Queen Clarion told us.
Chise and I both nodded, then turned around to face away from our friends. I pointed my Keyblade straight in front of us, causing a beam of light to shoot out and create a portal that consisted of colors that reminded me of the sunset. We stepped forward and entered the portal, leaving the world of fairies behind us.