Hi everyone!!  SK here.

First off let me apologize for this update being TWO WEEKS LATE.  I had a lot on my plate but I appreciate you all for staying with me. (It's almost midnight when I'm uploading and I have school tomorrow, so that'll be great.)

I can't believe this book is almost finished.  It seems like just yesterday I came up with the idea for it, and now it is almost a completed book.

Wow.

Anyways, I'm going to start the chapter now.  Please enjoy!! :)

Serena

"Serena, wake up."

I hear a calm voice calling me and I slowly blink my eyes open.  For a moment, I do not recognize my surroundings, and then suddenly I realize that I am in the Realm of Lightness.  

In a flash I spy all of the other spirits, Aria being the one that called me.  They all look distressed, but all I feel is confusion.

"How... did I get here?" I ask slowly.

"We brought you here," Aria answers solemnly.  Simultaneously, all the spirits look away.

Slowly my thoughts begin to churn.  I am in the Realm of Lightness... a place where all the dead spirits of former Light Leaders go once they pass away.

Dead spirits...

I feel my hands go cold as the realization hits me.  I try to tell myself that it isn't true, but all the facts point to the obvious.

"I'm dead, aren't I," I choke.

No one objects.  I feel like I want to cry.

I am dead.

Lita slowly comes up to me and reaches out her hand.  "Welcome to the Realm of Lightness, Serena.  I wish that you had more time to live, but alas, that does not seem to be in the cards for you.  Come, and you can finally be at peace."  She smiles at me and holds out her hand, like this is all some cheesy stage act and I'm supposed to play along. 

I don't take her hand.

"I'm not at peace," I protest.  "In fact I'm more stressed than I was before I... anyway.  You know what has been happening.  If I die, then our universe is doomed!  All the Light Fairies will perish!"

"I'm sure they'll find a new Light Leader in no time," Lita says calmly but forcefully, still reaching for my hand.

I slap her hand away from me, earning a few gasps from other fairies.  "Are you kidding me!?" I shout.  "The world is ending, or maybe it already has!  Any potential Light Fairies, let alone a new Leader, are probably already dead or put under an eternal slumber- wait.  The Necklace- my Necklace.  Has it been taken off me?"  I don't give anyone a chance to answer.  "Show me.  Show me my b-body.  Only then will I believe whether I am dead or not."

"You are dead, and that's final.  Drago can do as he pleases, just go with her already!" Aria shouts, something not right.

I stop.

Something's wrong.

Aria would never say that about someone so evil, so destructive... that's just not the type of person she is.

You know who would say something like that?

Drago.

He's done something.  

Heart dropping, I look at each and every one of them and, with horror, see all of their eye colours of changed to a haunting purple.  Purple, the colour of Drago's eyes.  I had no idea it was possible to control other spirits, but apparently it is.

Not wanting to take any chances, I start chanting a spell that destroys all other enchantments.  I feel a searing pain in my chest as I do so- does magic hurt when a spirit tries to conjure it?  I wince, grit my teeth, and forge ahead.  When I can't hold it anymore, I let it go.  It draws all the breath out of me as it sweeps through the crowds of fairies.  

"Serena?" Lita asks, blinking at me with emerald eyes.  She smiles.  "Serena, I'm so proud of you.  You've saved us."  She reaches out for a hug and I hug her back.  The real Lita is here.  

"It was Drago, wasn't it?" I ask.  "And... am I really dead?"

She pulls me away and nods sorrowfully.  "I'm sorry, Serena.  You've actually died.  I am terribly sorry for all your lost years."

"It's... it's okay," I say absently, still trying to process it.  "But how did Drago get to you all?"

"It-" Lita starts to say, but she is interrupted by another fairy.

I recognize her instantly.  Pharah.  The lady that led the Light Fairies through war... and the fairy who created the war in the first place.  Now that I know the truth, I have mixed feelings about her.

She holds up her hands.  "I know you must hate me for what I did.  But... it's finally time for me to speak up.  To tell the truth.  It needs to be known before the end."

No one speaks, not even me. 

"Drago... where do I even begin.  We both became Leaders at the same time.  He was charming, nice, and sweet... naturally I was drawn to him.  We knew about the laws but... we didn't care.  Then one day, I found these letters he wrote.  Papers he conducted... research about fairies.  How people become fairies.  The probability that someone would become a fairy.  I found my name somewhere on those charts, circled in red ink.  I knew it was wrong but I snooped more.  I searched and searched and searched until I found diary entries he had written a while back.  He wrote about how he despised my family, and how he was going to use me as revenge.  I had never met him, so I have no idea why he wanted revenge... and that's when he spotted me.

"He told me that I had to still be in love with him- if I told anyone else about his research, anything, he would tell them that I broke the laws.  I would have been executed, surely.  So, I stayed silent.  I kept my word and stayed as his partner.  Maybe... maybe there's a bit of love that was still left for him, maybe that's why I stayed.  But it boiled down to one night when I couldn't take it anymore.  I'd had enough.  I was about to march out and tell everyone the truth... and that's when he put a spell on me.

"He created a second consciousness in my mind, one that was completely in love with him.  The real me was still in there, pounding on the glass, but no one could hear her.  I was forced to watch as his hatred with me began to spill out into a hatred with Light Fairies in general.  He planned the war from the very beginning.  He knew that we would end up separated- there wouldn't be peace as long as he was in charge.  With that in mind he made Heliux and Layra fall in love... he knew that relationship would cause emotional strain for both of them, and it definitely did.  

"Then one night, when I was asleep, he did something to my Necklace... our Necklace.  He controlled the spirits, but only slightly- nothing like what he did to the Dark Fairy Spirits.  That's why no one could beat him- not only were they not strong enough, but no one had the will to try.  The war was entirely planned out by him too- the last couple thousand years were preparation for this.  The end.  His end."

She takes a breath and looks straight at me.  "Serena, there's still hope for you.  I saw how you died- the Necklace still rests upon you.  You can come back to life.  But, you need all of us to help."

"Wh...What?" is all I say, a small ember of hope beginning to ignite within me.

She smiles, only slightly.  "The further we go into the Realm of Lightness, there is a new area with a shallow pool.  If every single Light Fairy here contributes their magic to its waters, you can come back to life.  If just one fairy thinks you are not worthy of this chance, it won't work."  She comes up to me and holds my hands together and looks around at everyone.  "You need to live," she says.  "You only get this opportunity once, so make it count.  Don't make the same mistake I did and let Drago win."

"I won't," I whisper, awed by this brave fairy.  She begins to lead me to the pool and ushers me to wade to the center.  I do so, the water barely reaching my ankles; it somehow doesn't soak through my tall pink boots.  I see the other fairies gather around the pool, waiting for the ritual to start.

Pharah takes her finger and places it near the water.  "Serena is a worthy fairy who deserves a second chance at life.  She needs to save us all, her friends, and her universe.  To Serena, whose worthiness outlives ours."  She places her finger on the water for a second, then retracts it- but not before a small glow escapes, lighting up the pool ever so slightly.

More fairies step up, uttering similar phrases.  

"To Serena, whose loyalty outlives ours."

"To Serena, whose bravery outlives ours."

"To Serena, whose sereneness outlives ours."

Aria steps up, and smiles at me as she says her line.  "To Serena, whose ability to give hope outlives ours."

More and more fairies say their lines, thousands upon thousands of them.  Many embers of light fill the pool, floating upwards to the infinite sky like tiny sea lanterns.  Last but not least Lita steps up to the pool, smiling at me.

"I am the last," she says.  "All of our magic will flow in you... you will be much, much stronger than you were before.  Also, when I put my magic down you need to do something... something that shows life.  I think you have something in mind, don't you?"  She doesn't give me a chance to reply, only puts her finger down.  "To Serena, who can and will keep the Light in her heart no matter what."

She puts her finger down and I gracefully jump into the air, my skirt swirling around me.  I spin slightly, and when my feet meet the water, a huge burst of light waves around the pool.  Lita said I have to show my life... there's only one way I know how to do that.

Dance.

As I dance the light gets brighter and brighter, and I catch one last glimpse of Lita's reassuring but affirming smile as I am washed away from that place, at least for now.  Suddenly I am in a dark tunnel, but I can see a small bit of light at the end.  

I run towards it, my determination growing.  Ash needs me.  My fairies need me.  The universe needs me.

I see a spark and suddenly Sylveon is running beside me too, bursting with fairy-like aura.  She smiles at me, and I know that I cannot let anyone down.  I run, run, and run, towards a black night that I know will become the brightest of mornings.

I can do this.

Well that's the end of the chapter, everyone!!  I hope you enjoyed it.  Next update will be out... whenever I can write.  Really sorry about that.  Anyways, see you all in the next update everyone :D