Princess Tutu Fan Fiction ❯ Princess Tutu and the Secret Six ❯ Chapter 6

VI

 

After everyone was calmed and cleaned up, they all went to the Take 5 café in the student union, where Billy would be waiting. Rue saw the anxious look on Mary's face, and said, “Don't worry: I'm sure its nothing.”

“What's bothering me was the look on his face,” said Mary, “He was as pale as a sheet, and sweating profusely.”

“Well, he wants us all there,” responded Rue, “So I think its something he needs some moral support for.”

“Moral support to tell me about a pendant?” asked Mary, with one eyebrow raised.

“Just come. I think it will be okay,” assured Rue. As they went out, they met up with the Terrible Trio, (Ahiru, Mai, and Yuma.) Ahiru was dressed nice, but casual, while Mai, though an up and coming dancer, wore a tee shirt and jeans with sneakers. Yuma, on the other hand, sensed something special, and went the other way. She was wearing a white knee length girl's dress, complete with a few petticoats, light blue sash, short socks with white shoes, a high frilly collar, and half-length puffed sleeves. It looked as if she were going to a preteen dance rather than a friendly get together. Mai just shook her head, as Rue giggled a bit at the sight. They came out and met up with Mytho and Fakir. Billy was already at the Take 5, and he had called in Uncle Dudley, considering the gravity of the situation. The motley crew entered the café, and saw Billy at a discreet back table. Mary was not sure what this was about, but then was thrown into confusion when she saw the rotund, big nosed, balding, and gray haired gentleman sitting there, in a red dress shirt, white sports jacket with leather hunting patches, and blue slacks sitting there. As she approached, she saw something that stopped her dead in her tracks. Billy was wearing, and displaying openly, a half scarab identical to hers, except for the fact that it was on the opposite side. Dudley, ever the jovial man, smiled at her, and warmly welcomed her to sit down. He introduced himself, and explained that what she was about to learn may scare her a bit, but, there would be something wonderful in it. Billy then asked her to produce her half scarab. When she did, Billy then spoke, “Mary, my father was an Egyptologist and Archeologist of some renown at one point in his life. However, he had enemies, and he knew that this man was looking to harm him, and any member of the family he could find. The day I was born, I was born a twin. Because of the threat, I and my sister were separated at birth.”

Billy began to shiver a bit, and was about to continue, when Dudley saw his difficulty, and decided to take it from there. He said, “My brother, in order to retrieve that twin, a fraternal twin—a girl—took an old scarab and broke it in two. He put both halves on a chain, and insured that Billy and his sister each got a half. This was what he…”

Mary caught on to the gist of the situation in sheer surprise and wonderment, and continued the statement, “…what he was going to use to identify the twins.”

“Exactly!” said Dudley, “If things ever became safe, he would be able to identify his daughter. Unfortunately, he was murdered before that could happen. Billy was put into foster care, because I could not mind him at the time. Billy and I are the only two surviving members of the family that we know of.”

“And you want to find out if I am that one?” she asked, now more curious that scared.

“There are a few questions that need to be asked,” said Billy, having now composed himself, “Are you an orphan?”
“Yes.”

“What day were you born?” asked Billy, and it matched his birthday.

“Has anything about your past been revealed to you?” asked Billy.

“Nothing,” answered Mary, “No one would, or could, tell me anything.”

Uncle Dudley then said, “Then, can you please give me the scarab?”

Without hesitation, she handed over her necklace, and Billy did the same. Uncle Dudley then put the two pieces together in a perfect match. Uncle Dudley then said, joyously, “Welcome back, Mary Batson!” and hugged her. Everyone around the table began to applaud. Mary was a ball of emotions: she did not know what to think. Dudley then said, “Now, we have to make it official. I need to take a small lock of your hair, and see if it matches a lock that was taken from Billy's twin on the day of her birth, because there is more than gaining a brother involved. There is the matter of an inheritance that awaits you, and this will be the final touch on all the other evidence that the courts will need to hand over what rightfully belongs to the heirs of the Batson fortune.”

“I have a brother!” she exclaimed, “I have a brother!”

She was beginning to cry tears of joy, and she practically crawled over everyone to get to Billy to kiss him, and give him a great big hug. Billy was also in tears, embracing her just as hard. Billy then stood up on the bench and shouted, “Hey, everyone, I found my long lost sister!”

At this, everyone came over to see what the commotion was all about, and began to ask questions and congratulate the two. Uncle Dudley said, “I will have the results back tomorrow, and then we can officially celebrate. The three of us can have dinner this Saturday.”

Billy then said, “And you six can come with us two for ice cream tomorrow, my treat!”

Upon hearing this, the cook at the café said, “Let's start now! I'm putting out ten extra large pizzas on the house, and free drinks for everyone!”

Everyone shouted, and someone struck up the jukebox. They had until bed check to celebrate, but it would be a fun night.

 

The next say started classes officially. Fakir and Mytho joined Ahiru and Billy for their morning Tai Chi session and limbering up. By the end of that, the normal students all arrived. In this class, all levels worked together in basics warm-ups, and then divided into their groups. Mr. Katt opened with, “Welcome to a new year, and a new year of some hard, but rewarding work. Congratulations to all those that managed to advance, and congratulations to Billy and Mary Batson on their wonderful news!”

Everyone applauded the two who were a bit overtaken at all the attention. Then Mr. Katt said, “Before we start, I also have something for a student I never thought would go forward, thinking that she just wanted to marry me,” he paused, coughed a bit, and then said, “…just wanted to not make an effort. However, she redoubled her efforts, and managed to advance quickly. In honor of this, I have something I denied her last year, because I felt she was not ready for it last year. Miss Arima, would you please step forward.”

She stepped forward, wearing the same outfit she had the day before, not sure as to where this was going. Mr. Katt then turned around and took up a plastic bag, and then said, “This is the year, young lady, that you go en Pointe.”

With that, he handed over the bag, which was essentially a toe shoe kit, complete with the shoes, knot keepers, gel toe sleeves to protect her feet, talc, and tape. Everyone applauded again as Mr. Katt continued, “I took the liberty of breaking in the shoes for you so you could begin to get used to wearing them as soon as possible. Please put them on, and prepare for warm-ups.”

She then sat on the floor as Rue began to help her into the shoes properly. Once in them, they felt a bit awkward, but not quite unfamiliar. She knew what they were like from wearing them as Tutu. However, when it came time to go on the toes, despite knowing what to do, and despite the toe sleeves, it was a slightly painful shock. She also knew that, as Tutu, she already possessed the ankle strength to do this, but that she also would have to develop that strength as Ahiru. It was going to be a long and sore day. After the warm-ups, Mr. Katt took aside the intermediate and advanced classes, and said, “For those who are in the intermediate class for the first time, this will be fun for you. You see, you have learned all you have needed to know about the dance steps. Here, you will now learn variations on those steps, and how to put those steps to good use. This is because the two levels represented here will be the ones with the privilege of doing any shows that are to be done. This is because it is the best way to put all that you have learned to practical application, and have fun doing it. It is in those shows that you will best learn the variations in rehearsals. With this, my first announcement is about the fall variety show in early October. This is one the few times that you, as students will be able to let you hair down, because you can do whatever you want in that show: there is no grade for it. Then, after that, the fall festival will start, and it happens to fall around Halloween this year. Because of that, we shall be doing the ballet “Dracula.” Many of you may not have known that this had been made into a ballet, but it has, and it is quite creepy. It will be fun to do. I have already figured in who the leads should be, and I am going to announce it now. For the role of Lucy, I would like Rue.”

Yuma, who had a love for the classics, and for romance, said, “Considering the character, it fits you, Rue. Just be yourself.”

Everyone chuckled, and Rue put her in a playful headlock, and gave her a noogie, as she said, “Are you sure someone else shouldn't do it?” pointing to Yuma.

Everyone laughed, and Mr. Katt then continued, “For the role of Mina, I want Mary…is it Bumford or Batson now?”

“I'm moving my old last name to my middle name now, so Batson is fine,” she said, smiling at Billy. Then Mr. Katt said, “Billy, I want you to play Van Helsing.”

Billy, familiar with the story, was surprised that he was to play such a prominent supporting role. “As for you three,” continued Mr. Katt, (pointing to the Terrible Trio—Yuma still rubbing her head from the noogie,) “I want to play the three vampyras who live in the castle.”

The three of them looked at each other, and then let out an evil cackle. “I shall be playing Renfield,” said Mr. Katt, imitating the laugh associated with that character, and then said, “Mytho, I want you to play Jonathan Harker. That leaves the title role. I know whom I want, but I want to take a consensus. Who do you think should play Dracula?”

Everyone thought for a moment, and then they all, as if one, pointed to Fakir. Fakir did not seem too flattered at this, considering that he already had a dark and brooding reputation. He just sighed. Yet, Mytho, to “rub in a bit of salt” said, “Mein Bruder, der Nosferatu!”

“Silence Idiot,” he said back, in German. Mytho just let out a giggle. “Okay, what that means is that I want you to either find a copy of the original book, or at least view Braham Stoker's Dracula this weekend. There is a copy in the library for viewing, so that way, you can gain a feel for the story, and for your characters. With that, let's do some drills, and we shall call it a day.”

With that, they continued their class, although, throughout the announcements, Ahiru was rubbing her toes. Rue and the other girls who had already gone en Pointe knew what was going on. They had sympathy for her, but they also knew that she had to go through this just as they did. It was a part of paying the dues. After the class, she went to the shower to clean up, and quickly took off the shoes. She was rubbing her toes, and seeing the first blisters that formed. “Harder than you thought, Ahiru-chan?” asked Rue.

Ahiru whispered, “It's better as Tutu.”

Rue gently laughed, and said, “Well, drain the blisters, but don't take off the skin: it will just hurt more. You need to build up some callous on your toes. It helps keep your toes from hurting in time. Keep powder on them, even after class. You cannot go back to slippers now, because it will only ruin what you are trying to accomplish. So, what do you think?”

Ahiru said, “I think that the boys are getting over.”

Every en Pointe sister laughed in agreement to this, and they all got ready for the classroom half of the class, and the rest of the day.

 

Since it was a Friday, going out for ice cream would be no problem. Rue, Mary, the boys, and the Terrible Trio all went out and had a time. At some point, however, Billy and Mary were left alone to catch each other up on their lives, and make that bond. The results came back as positive, so Billy explained his set up financially, and said that the same thing would be set up for her. Eventually, Mai and Yuma excused themselves, as they said that they had a bit of homework to do, and they wanted to get ahead. That left the six together. Soon, it was time to go, and the six began to go back to the campus. However, at this point, Rue was snuggling with Mytho, and, interestingly enough, Mary began to get conversational with Fakir. Ahiru and Billy were bringing up the rear, and they walked close, but silently. They were both feeling a bit of anxiety, as they felt a bit of the romance in the air. They did not know what they wanted to do. Ahiru broke the ice by taking a chance, and took Billy's hand into hers. She felt Billy stiffen a bit, he being surprised at the gesture. Ahiru whispered, “Billy, are you shy?” smiling a bit. Billy blushed hard, and it was still visible in the twilight. She then said, as tenderly as she could, “There is nothing to be scared of. I don't bite.”

Billy then felt a bit ashamed at his own fears. He had faced down some of the toughest villains the universe has had to offer, and yet he still had a problem with girls—even at 14. He apologized for his cowardice by returning a gentle squeeze to Ahiru's hand. Ahiru still did not know where it was going, but she figured that she should just go with the flow, and let the chips fall where they may. She then moved in closer, intertwined her arm to his, and walked shoulder to shoulder with him. Both of their hearts were racing, but they liked what they were feeling at that moment. However, the night was about to become a bit rough.

 

As they left the village, they had a dark stretch to navigate to get back to the school. When they were in the heart of it, it happened. Before they had a chance to react, Edel's minions came from everywhere. They were anthropomorphs of ravens, and were frightening to look at. They squawked, “We have you now! Now you give hearts,” in a broken English. They had had their mouths covered before they could scream, so no one heard what was going on. The original four knew what the deal was, while Mary was frightened out of their wits. However, Billy was not going down without a fight. He found some flesh on the hand like wing covering his mouth and bit down hard. The raven-man let out a squawk of pain, and then Billy flipped his captor off, following up with a kick to just under and behind the beak that knocked out his opponent. Yet, the others were being dragged off to the woods, none of them able to make the change they needed to. Fakir and Mytho had three on the each of them as they retaliated with all they had. There were 13 there, not counting the unconscious one on the ground. Billy had nowhere to run to make a change, and realized that he had no choice if they were to have a chance to escape. Thus, he shouted, “SHAZAM!”

The area briefly lit up with lightning, and everyone stopped. The other five were flummoxed when they saw Captain Marvel standing where Billy had once stood. Marvel thundered, “LET THEM GO, NOW!”

With that, he flew into the fray, quickly freeing his friends. Mytho and Fakir were quickly dispatching the ones in front of them, as the Swan Sisters made their transformation. Mary ran from the fray to a safer vantage point behind a nearby tree. She was both amazed and confused as she watched. Her friends were superheroes, and her own brother was none other than Captain Marvel. Tutu had about four of them tangled up in the foliage, while Claire was being quite brutal with her antagonists. The boys had already taken care of their problem, and went to help the girls. Captain Marvel made short work out of his foes, and it amazed all of them when a fatal blow was struck. They transformed into common ravens when this happened. Apparently, Edel was making minions out of the local ravens. This could be trouble, depending on how long it took to make these foot soldiers. Either it was magic or twisted science, but one thing was certain: she was creating abominations to execute her vengeance. Marvel was betting on twisted science, considering what Batman had told him about the samples. When things were under control, everyone, including Mary, approached Captain Marvel. Claire said a bit crossly, “So…just when was it that you were going to tell us that you were Captain Marvel?”

Mytho interjected, and said, “And was this what you said you would tell us about in time?”

“Yes,” said Marvel, “And I am sorry it had to be this way. I was waiting for a better time, and it was going to be soon. It would be better this way until I knew you had teamed up. You could have been at risk before this moment.”

The others were still a bit skeptical, but Tutu seemed to understand. She said, “I think I know how you feel. These kinds of things are not what you bring up in mixed conversation, especially with people you have only known for a few days.”

Mary then said, “Will someone please tell me what is going on!”

“C'mon, sis,” said Marvel, “Let's go to the Take 5: we have a lot to discuss.”

 

There was still time before bed check, so they had a long talk over sodas. They all shared their full stories, and then asked Mary to swear to tell no one for her own safety. She was exhausted, considering how she had been at the receiving end of a lot of information that weekend, and said, “This is going to take time to drink in, but I will swear.”

Billy then said, “Looks to me that there is a new super team in town: the Secret Five.”

“That name sounds a bit cheesy,” said Rue.

“It fits, though,” answered Billy, “considering all the secrets each one of us has borne.”

They all put their hands in the middle, officially swearing to be there for the others if there ever was danger afoot to be vanquished. However, as this was happening, trouble walked in the door. An unruly bunch, about ten of them, walked into the café, and immediately started to demand service, and said that they had better not even hear about them paying for it. No one in the café recognized these people as students, and they were getting rough with people, as if they owned the place. When the proprietor tried to stop them, he was quickly pummeled. However, Billy recognized them, and even recognized a few faces, especially the one that looked like he was in charge. “Oh no,” said Billy, “What are they doing here?”

Fakir asked, “You recognize them?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” said Billy, “They're the Fawcett 126: a street gang. They must have gotten bored tonight, and decided this would be some easy pickings.”

“What do we do?” asked Ahiru.

“Mary, slip to the back: there's going to be trouble,” said Billy, “I'll distract them. You guys know what to do.”

Everyone did as they were bidden, and Billy stepped up. “Conrad!” said Billy, “Fawcett too much trouble for you, or has Black Adam been too much of a headache for you?”

“Why do I recognize that voice?” said Conrad, “Wait, is that Batson?”

“What's it to you?” snapped Billy.

“Well, well, well: if it isn't the twinkle toes faggot!” said Conrad, “And just what are you doing here?”

“Going to school,” said Billy.

“To, what, learn how to be more of a homo?” laughed Conrad?

“I suggest you leave before you get hurt,” demanded Billy. At that, people were going under tables, expecting the worst. Conrad thundered, “You, and what army's going to stop me, faggot! Boys, waste `em!”

At this, three of them pulled out pistols. Just as the rap “Jump Around” came up on the jukebox, the gunmen dropped their pistols as a black feather impaled the back of each man's hand. They screamed in pain as all the gangsters looked up and saw four oddly clad individuals looking very determined to put them down. One looked like an angel, and one looked like the ballerina from Hell. Two of them looked like something that walked out of the pages of Ivanhoe, and neither of them looked very friendly, each of them holding mop handles like a stave. In this brief moment of time that passed, the gang suddenly wanted to get out of there, but it was too late. In a flash, they were descended upon before any of them could either retrieve their pistols, or pull out those that had not yet been pulled. The Chess Knights were making quick work of those they engaged, while Claire was snapping ligaments at the elbow of a couple of others. Billy was handling himself well, and was making his way to Conrad. He had tangled with him a couple of years before, and put him in the hospital. This is why he was trying to be insulting of Billy: he knew better than to tangle with him directly. It was only because Conrad thought that the art students would make good targets that he was even willing to go 20 miles out of his way for this. He had no idea who he would encounter, and had no idea that it would be Billy Batson, much less this odd crew out of some renaissance fair. Now he realized what kind of a mistake it was to leave the safety of familiar turf, and wanted to get out of there. He did not care if he abandoned his friends, just as long has he did not have to battle Batson again, or any of what he considered freaks, for that matter. He started to make his way to the back, hoping to slip out that way before the cops got there, and ran right into Tutu. She was not fighting as much as she was using the Tai Chi that she had learned to evade the attacks, and let the evasion cause her attackers to stumble into one another, and take them out. Tutu may not have liked to fight, but that made her no less aggressive. She parried the last attacker into a cooler door, and bumped into Conrad. Conrad quickly put both hands to either side of her, and said, “Well, Hello mama!”

He then figured that it might be good to take a hostage, and maybe get a little in the process. Tutu saw the glint in his eye, and had an idea of what he intended, so she quickly ducked out from under his arms and took the fifth position, looking coquettish. “Oh, you are a tease!” he said, now thinking that this chick may not be so resistant. However, she made the “dance with me” gesture, and verbalized it, considering that he may know nothing about ballet. Conrad bit, and said, “What ever you say,” as he took her hand. However, instead of pulling her towards him forcibly, as he had intended, he locked up, feeling a sensation of warmth and peace that he had never felt before. Now telepathically, she said to him, in a calm and kind voice, “You poor soul, you look so tired from your efforts today. You need some rest. Why not take a nap?”

“Yes, take a nap,” he said dreamily, and collapsed to the floor, fast asleep. By this point, the campus security and police arrived. They were shocked by what they saw. They saw ten gangsters on the floor, screaming in pain, or unconscious, as well as some of the strangest clad people that they had ever seen. They were about to tell them to put their hands up, when they saw Claire, and recognized her from the fire two nights earlier, and as one that worked with Captain Marvel. After asking for an explanation, plenty of witnesses were giving testimony. All this time, news reporters from the local paper and WHIZ were everywhere, snapping pictures, asking questions, and trying to get to know these new heroes a bit better. When asked who they were, Black Knight said in his grim fashion, “The Secret Five.”

“I only see four of you,” said one reporter.

“Do we have to all be here?” asked Black Knight.

“I'm sorry I asked,” said the reporter.

“Just to help you, the fifth is Captain Marvel,” said White Knight.

When the reporters from WHIZ heard that, they were ablaze with a completely new battery of questions. At this, Billy stepped up. The WHIZ reporters all recognized him, and were eager to hear what he had to say. Billy said, “Captain Marvel is a busy man. He may have been elsewhere, handling some other crisis. Remember: he is a member of the Justice League.”

“Do you think he can split his time like that,” asked another reporter.

“Hey,” answered Billy, “He's Captain Marvel. I think he can handle it.”

With that, the gangsters were being hauled off. Conrad was protesting all of this as they dragged him out, and was saying that he would be out in a week, mocking the police. However, the constable said, “I'm sorry, son, but you're not in Fawcett city anymore. The charges we are going to lay on you are enough to where you will not see the light of day for a long time: illegal possession of firearms, use of them, assault, trespassing, attempted murder, and for you, from her testimony, (pointing at Tutu,) attempted rape.”

“What!” screamed Conrad, “Attempted rape? But she… When I get out, I'm gonna kill you, witch! You won't outlive this! You're gonna die! You're gonna die!”

All this was happening as they were trying to drag him off. However, the officers had a much less pleasant way of putting him to sleep, as the tasered him to subdue his struggling. White Knight apologized for any damages to Mr. Johansen, who had come to investigate, but he said that it was okay. It was better that this happened rather than have one of his students get hurt, or worse. With that, the team took their leave, except for Billy, who was restrained by Mr. Johansen. He asked, “I hear you were in the thick of it.”

“Yes, sir, I was,” said Billy, not certain of where it was going. Mr. Johansen then said, “Son, I understand defending yourself, but I hear that you almost got shot.”

“Well, they did pull guns on me,” answered Billy.

“Don't you think that was foolish?”

“I just would rather increase my odds of surviving rather than just sitting there and letting things happen.”

“Well, son, please be careful! We cannot all be Captain Marvel.”

“No, I guess we can't,” said Billy, stifling a laugh.

“Oh, before you go, please tell me: how did it feel to sock one of that riff-raff?”

“Uh, it felt pretty good.”

“Good, you may leave now.”

Billy realized then that the headmaster essentially told him, “Good boy, and good job: don't do it again!”

From that day forward, that incident would forever be known as the Great Take 5 Smack Down.

 

Billy caught up with the crew, and said, “Tomorrow, I have some homework to do, but I think we need to meet tomorrow, because I have a few ideas we need to discuss, and I have to mention something I learned about the fire the other night. So, let's meet at lunch, okay?”

They all agreed on this, and began to break up to the dorms. Ahiru and Billy stood between the two dorms on the mall walkway, briefly chatting. “You were wonderful tonight,” said Ahiru.

“In what way: as Marvel, or as myself?” asked Billy.

“Both,” answered Ahiru, “Besides, aren't you one and the same?”

“I guess you can say that,” said Billy, “I also should apologize for not telling you sooner. I wasn't sure when the right time would be, or who around you I could trust.”

“That's alright, Billy,” said Ahiru, semi-cooing her response.

“Hey, you were pretty awesome yourself,” said Billy.

“That was Tutu, not me,” said Ahiru. Billy could not resist. He responded, “Aren't you…” and then they both said at the same time, “…one and the same?”

They both got a big belly laugh from this. When they stopped, they noticed that they were both holding each other's hands in their own. This brought out suddenly an awkward situation, in that neither of them knew just how to continue with this. They stood there looking at each other, occasionally turning their glances away, but always coming back to each other. Then Billy broke the silence, and said, “Well, I guess its time to go.”

“Yeah,” said Ahiru, “It sure is,” but neither made a move to go away. “Well, good night, and sleep well,” said Billy.

“You too,” said Ahiru, and neither one moved again. “Okay, one of us has to go,” said Billy.

“Okay,” said Ahiru, but there both stood. They chuckled, calmed, and went back to that state where electricity was buzzing between them. “Okay, let's count to three,” said Billy, and they both counted three. There they remained. “You didn't move,” said Billy.

“I was kind of waiting for you to move,” said Ahiru.

All of this did not escape the gaze of Rue, standing on the male dorm stoop with Mytho, where they were saying their own goodbyes, and not so bashfully. Rue nudged Mytho, and said, “Look at that.”

“How long have they been like that?” asked Mytho.

“I'd say for about a good five minutes,” answered Rue, “They keep trying to go their ways, and not moving.”

“Just like we were at that age, eh Liebling?” said Mytho.

“Just the same,” said Rue, who then began to move toward things, saying as she left, “It looks like I'm going to have to nudge them in the right direction.”

With that, she gave Mytho a quick peck, and stroked his face as she walked away. She walked right by the two of them, and pushed her finger into the ribs of Ahiru just enough to get her attention, and said to her out of the corner of the mouth, “Just kiss him, would you?”

After hearing this, Ahiru began to hem and haw a bit, and then quickly gave Billy a peck. Billy was flabbergasted. No girl had ever kissed him before; not even Cissy Sommerly, his first girlfriend. Ahiru then said, “Um…good night,” and turned to leave. Billy suddenly shook himself out of it; pulled her back, saying, “Wait.” At that, he pulled her in, and planted a big kiss on her. It was not anything beyond the lips, but it was done with enough passion to get the point across. Billy then said, “Good night, Baby Duck,” and ran back to the dorm. Rue was impressed by how he was able to get over his bashful side and do what he did. Ahiru stood there staring at the boy's dorm where Billy had gone in for a good minute or two, standing there with her right leg hanging slack, foot turned in on the toe of her shoe. She then pirouetted, exclaiming a gleeful “Whee!” as she half ran, half-floated back to her dorm. A boy had kissed her, and it was more than just a peck, for the first time. She was on cloud nine. Rue was so happy for Ahiru: she was allowed to be Tutu again for as long as she wanted, was able to help people, and found a boy that just might be the one for her. Despite the two fights that night, it had been a grand evening.