Cry woke up with a groan.

The brunet blinked out the black spots in his vision and sat up.

Sup and Ori hopped onto his lap.

'Where...?'

Cry found that there were sticks everywhere, covering the ground completely.

'...A nest?'

Cry stood up and winced as he placed a hand over his chest.

'Hm...looks like Kuro crushed my ribs a bit...'

Sup hopped onto Cry's shoulder; a bright, white light was seen.

When the light faded, Cry smiled softly at pet Sup's head; he felt no more pain.

"Thanks, buddy."

"Fu~!"

Ori hopped onto Cry's other shoulder as they explored the nest.

Cry climbed over a small hill and spotted something.

'...An...egg?'

The brunet whipped his head around, looking for anything dangerous before hopping over the hill, sliding down the pile of sticks.

Cry stopped near the egg and circled around it, staring at it with curiosity--it was taller than Cry!

The brunet then placed a hand on it, feeling a warmth thrumming beneath the shell.

Cry withdrew his hand before bringing a hand to his wrist; he tapped the light-blue tattoo.

The change was instant.

Everything seemed to glow a different color--it was beautiful.

Thump.

Cry looked behind himself and saw that his body had fell at an awkward angle; he sweatdropped.

'I probably should've lied down first...'

Cry glanced down at his hands and saw that they were a light-blue color and see-through.

'Interesting~!'

Cry poked at his body and found that he could still touch it; he moved it into a more comfortable position.

When that was done, Cry looked back at the egg and touched it once more.

This time he could see the baby owl that was in there; the eyes were shut and the heart was beating softly.  Cry smiled slightly at the sight.

'Looks kinda cute...'

Cry removed his hands before glancing around the nest; he saw some broken egg shells wedged in between the sticks.

The brunet frowned before walking over to them; he touched the shards and his mind was immediately attacked by a memory.

Waiting...for Mama.

She's back~!

Mama brought back food!

Yummy!

She left again...hope she returns soon...

...Light...so bright...we need...Mama...

IT'S TOO BRIGHT--HELP US, MAMA!  MAMA, WHERE ARE YOU!?  WHERE ARE Y--!

......Mama.......we....can't.......so.....sleepy......

Cry snapped his head back and retracted his hand quickly as if he were burned by something.

The brunet felt something warm against his cheeks; he lifted his mask slightly to wipe the tears away.

'...'

Cry fixed his mask back into place before walking over to his body; he merged with it.

Cry woke up in his own body and ignored the aching feeling in his back; he heard the flap of wings.

He stood up and looked at the giant bird that was blocking the entrance.

Kuro looked down on them menacingly.

Cry paused before removing his mask, ignoring his discomfort as he looked at the owl in the eye.

Kuro looked into Cry's eyes and saw something in them.

Sympathy.

"Losing something isn't all that great, yeah?"

Slowly, Kuro's eyes softened and returned to its original color--a burning amber instead of the eerie white slits.

Kuro lowered her head as she looked at Cry closely; the brunet hesitantly reached a hand up.

The owl allowed Cry to touch her beak.

'...They are gone...'

The brunet smiled sadly as he pat the other gently.

"...They're still with you; I'm sure.  As long as you don't forget them, they'll still be with you."

Kuro blinked her large eyes before closing them.

'...I see...'

Suddenly, she flew up and grabbed the light that was in the corner of the cave; Cry panicked slightly.  He knew what she was about to do.

"Wait!  If you return the Light, you'll--!"

'I know.'

With that, Kuro flew out of the cave and into the night sky; Cry grit his teeth before turning to Sup and Ori.  He fixed his mask back into place.

"Come on guys!"

~~

Cry panted slightly as he stood near the edge of the Spirit Tree; Kuro just landed in the branches.  Cry had used his wind powers to get there in a rush.

"KURO!"

The owl turned to look at Cry and gave a sad, but happy, look through her eyes.

'Thank you for letting me see, little one.'

Cry tsked before flying up there; Kuro just placed the Light back into the center of the Spirit Tree.

A blinding light filled everyone's eyes; Cry's group just arrived, thanks to Snake's good tracking skills.

~~

Amber eyes slowly opened before flickering to the soft groan of pain.

"D*** it, Kuro.  Don't die like that!  You still have a kid back at your nest, right?"

Cry wobbled to his feet as he rubbed his back.

Kuro blinked her eyes in surprise as she looked around; she was alive.

'How did you...?'

Cry grinned underneath his mask.

"Don't underestimate me."

The brunet had to use Aiden's tattoo and his wind powers to push the giant owl away from the burning light.

Kuro huffed as she ruffled her feathers; she dipped her head so she could stare straight into Cry's eyes as the brunet removed his mask once more.

'...You are an interesting child...'

She softly nuzzled her forehead against Cry's head.

'I thank you.'

Cry blinked in surprise before running a hand through the feathers; he chuckled.

"No problem!"

Kuro tilted her head before tapping her beak against his back; Cry felt something fuzzy and warm after the action.

"What did you do?"

Kuro made a mysterious noise, which sounded like a chuckle.

'Flying with your powers must be exhausting.'

Cry merely blinked dumbly at her as she spread her wings wide.

'So long, child.'

Cry shook off his stupor and waved back at the departing bird.

"Bye, bye!"

~~

"WHAT THE HE**, MAN?!"

Cry sweatdropped as he nearly got dog-piled by his friends.

"WHAT'S WITH YOU GETTING KIDNAPPED, UNCONSCIOUS, OR INJURED!?"

Scott caught Cry in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles mercilessly into the brunet's head.

"Ow, ow, ow!  Geez, Jund!"

Snake smacked Cry in the back of his head.

"You too, Snake!?"

Cry pouted underneath his mask.

"You guys are so mean to me!"

Suddenly, a Tear opened by the group; Sein and Ori blinked in surprise.

Cry looked at it before sighing, he turned to the two.

"...Looks like this is goodbye..."

Ori visibly deflated, chittering softly.

The spirit-animal hopped over to Cry and tugged at his sleeve.

"What up, Ori?"

The creature tapped at Cry's wrist, causing a white tattoo to appear; it was shaped like the silhouette of Ori's head.

"Ori gave you a copy of his powers."

Sein floated near Cry's head.

"Thank you for returning the light to the Forest of Nibel!"

Cry laughed as he told the others to exit through the Tear, which is what they did.

"You should thank Kuro; she did it herself."

With that, Cry gave one last wave to the two before stepping through the Tear.

For a brief moment, Cry saw Naru hug a surprised Ori from behind.

Cry smiled softly as the scene disappeared.

'Good things will come in due time after every bad thing you've experienced.'