Outside of the trees, the other fairies were clamoring, wondering what was going on within the enclosed circle, but she couldn't hear them any longer. It was like this small patch of earth within the trees was somehow disconnected from the rest of the rainforest, sheltered from the distress and suffering that was slowly making its way towards them once more. But Crysta couldn't contemplate any of that right now; all she could do was stare, her mouth open in disbelief, at Magi's spirit-like silhouette hovering in the air before her. It felt like an eternity before she mustered the ability to speak once more.

"Oh Magi...I…I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again…" Crysta said, her voice soft and momentarily unsure. In her dreams, it was as though her mentor had never left them at all, even physically, though when she awoke she could feel only her presence and not her warm smile or reassuring touch.

Magi just smiled in her grandmotherly fashion, outstretching her arms to her. "Oh Crysta…when I departed from this world, I told you that I would never leave you, and I haven't…" she replied, and as she spoke her form seemed to shift and change from a translucent spirit into a physical form. Crysta smiled and embraced her almost immediately, content to know that she was here, if only for the time-being.
But her happiness was short-lived, for she realized that Magi wouldn't have returned without having good reason to do so. After a moment of bliss, she pulled back from her and allowed the apprehension she felt to come to her face. When she did, she saw that Magi's own expression had turned very serious and grave, the same expression she had worn that last day she had seen her, when she had revealed to her the true purpose of the red Xs drawn on the trees.

"Magi…you…you know what's wrong, don't you…what's been going on in the rainforest…" Crysta murmured.

"Yes…I do, and that's why I've come back, so that I can warn all of you of what is coming…"

"It's Hexxus, isn't it?" Crysta said almost immediately, her tone more fearful and stressed than just a second ago. Somewhere, deep down in the midst of her strong suspicions, she had known it was him. His terrible, dark presence was so strong that she could sense it, even though he was still a distance away.

"Yes…and he is more powerful than he was the last time we encountered him. Over these years, even after his first defeat at my hands, he's been gaining power from all across the world. This place was his origin, but he's become strong enough to begin absorbing the corruption and gratuitous waste and pollution of all humans on this planet, far outside of our safe haven in Ferngully…" Magi explained, her tone soft but dark. Crysta listened in fear, but also intently. "His appearance two years ago was a mere warning of what he was capable of doing, and even though you managed to imprison him once again, he has become stronger…stronger than our magic can contain…"

Crysta looked taken aback; Magi had always taught her that their power to harness nature and creation was the only thing that could stop Hexxus and his force of destruction; if he was more powerful than them now, how would they be able to stop him? "But…but Magi, how…how can that be…?"

"In order for nature to exist as it was when it was first formed, creation and destruction have to coexist in an even balance…unfortunately, Hexxus and his lust for devastation and death have always forced myself and the other creators before me to keep the balance shifted in our favor, so that he wouldn't be able to overcome us, as he desired to. But…because of the excess of the humans, across the entire world, Hexxus's power has surpassed our own…"

Crysta looked from Magi down to the ground below, feeling a terrible sense of helplessness. "Then…then there's nothing we can do…?" she asked, softly.

Magi smiled faintly. "Do not despair or give up hope, my young one…" she said, touching the top of Crysta's head affectionately. "I said that he is more powerful than our magic, but…we fairies are not alone on this planet, now, are we…?"

"But humans are the ones who have caused Hexxus to become so powerful…they don't care about the earth and the plants and creatures that live amongst them…even though there are humans like Zak who do care about the Earth just as much as us, there…there may never be enough strength from them to keep Hexxus from destroying this place, and then moving on."

"It will not be as easy as it was last time to defeat him Crysta…" Magi said. "Hexxus has become strong enough to physically spread his corrosion and poison into the minds of humans…" she closed her eyes momentarily, visualizing what she had seen in her metaphysical state, outside of reality. "He has possessed them, turned them into his slaves…the logging company that Zak's kin was working with, they have all been removed of their humanity…all but one…and that is his cousin, the one who stubbornly refused his cousin's advice…" she said. "He is trapped there, with them, within the new leveler that the humans have brought with them…"

"But…but if he has control over the humans, how can we-?"

"You have to free the humans from his grasp…" Magi said, before she could finish her question; her tone was becoming more urgent now. "If he succeeds here in Ferngully and strengthens enough that he can maintain his hold over humans, permanently, all will fall to him…" her voice seemed to grow and escalate as she spoke with such gravity, echoing faintly off the trees around them. "Hexxus may gain sustenance from the faded morality of humans and the destruction of nature across the world, but Ferngully is the pinnacle, the zenith of creation because of the purity that still exists here…if he conquers it, and ravages the land beyond repair, there will be nothing left to stop him. This place holds the last of our kind, and it is through our union with the humans that he can be stopped…that is why he caused our races to separate, to forget one another through violence and fear and forced isolation, and that is why he is so determined to destroy us, to keep that merger from ever happening once more…"

"But the humans don't believe in us anymore, we're just stories, fantasies to them."

"You're right, we aren't real to them anymore, and neither is Hexxus…" Magi replied. "To them, we are just whimsical, fictional creatures, and Hexxus is just the smoke billowing from a factory near their home…what they need to see is that we do exist, once more, even if there is risk involved for us. They need to see that we exist in every seed and grain of soil, and that Hexxus exists in every particle of filth that is cast into the sky. The humans have distanced themselves from the truth, to the point where they live apart from it, completely unaware."

"But…there are billions of humans on the earth, now…how can we convince them in time that Hexxus and we fairies are real before it's too late…?" Crysta said.

"My dear, that is a feat that will never happen in its entirety…there will always be humans who are corrupt, and do not care about the planet…what you must do is reveal yourself to the humans who are under his control, and use your power to free them. He is working through their toiling and through their machine; without humans, Hexxus himself would wither and die. That is where he is dependent…if you manage to remove his presence in the humans here, before he can destroy us here, then he can be stopped. If he manages to destroy Ferngully…then the balance will never be restored. The origin of creation will have been lost, and he will be able to roam free and kill whatever he pleases. It is here, and nowhere else, that the balance must be restored strongly enough that Hexxus will not be able to resurface."

Crysta felt overpowered by her message, though she understood what Magi was trying to convey. If Hexxus was able to keep his hold over these humans, and eliminate the potential alliance that could defeat him, then there would be no way to stop him. If they could halt him here, and manage to save the humans who had been overtaken by him, then they could find a way to imprison him once more, this time strongly enough to keep him from reemerging. The fact that humans around the world would need to embrace nature and creation once more was something that they had to strive for in the future; right now, they needed to make it so that future was possible for them.

"Magi…I know what we need to do…" Crysta said, watching as Magi's form started to become transparent and wispy once more. "But you said that Zak's cousin is trapped within the leveler…how will we rescue him when he is so deep within that machine?"

"Zak is the key to all of this, Crysta, even to rescuing his cousin…" she replied. "He is the first human to ever ally himself to us after the great divide, to realize and accept that we are real, that all this is real…he began this conflict when Hexxus was released, and he will be a crucial part of ending this one as well. Just remember, Crysta, that a part of me lives within him too. Though he may be human, he has gained the same power and perception of our kind, and he also has knowledge of the humans and their own creations, both good and bad. Use what he knows to your advantage; Hexxus uses humans as puppets and slaves, but we must use the one who is our friend as a strong ally in order to defeat him."

Crysta nodded, but looked forlorn as Magi's spirit started to fade. "Oh Magi…I wish you could stay and help us…" She remembered wanting her to stay so strongly before, and the situation hadn't been as dire as it was now.

"I know, Crysta…but I will always be here with you, as I have been since I left…but it was my time to depart this world, physically. You are the new core of our power, the central creator of our race…you hold the power through which all others are able to create and prosper. Never let Hexxus take that from you, though he may try and tempt and corrupt you as he has the humans…" Magi warned. "His promises are all lies with an ounce of truth, and he is poisonous the most to us who know who he is yet still might be seduced by him. When you are weak, remember what it is you love most about Ferngully, and those who live within and without out, so that his lies will never cloud what you truly have and need…"

With those final words, Magi lifted up towards the dim light of the moon and stars that shone up above the trees, filtering down through the gaps towards them, and began to disappear. Though her words had been very serious and foreboding, she still had a smile on her face, brimming with subtle confidence in her protégé and those that aided her. Crysta watched in reverence but also in mourning, seeing Magi pass once more into another realm of being, outside of her reach. She knew it was true, that Magi would always be with them, but seeing her again made her realize once more how much she missed having her there physically, where she could comfort and guide her.

"I promise Magi…I won't let everything you managed to do before be in vain, I won't let Hexxus consume Ferngully, or harm the humans further…" she said softly, just as Magi's image faded away.

Once Magi had vanished into the night and the trees, the circle began to part. The sounds of the fairies waiting anxiously outside, and the movement and churning of the life of the forest started to reach her once more. She turned, and could see Zak sitting amongst the countless points of light that glimmered from each fairy sitting atop or around him. It was then she could see, as Magi had said to her, that Zak himself glowed faintly as well just as the rest of them did, filled with the magic that they had preserved for so many years.

With concern on his face, Zak stood up, carefully, and walked to Crysta. Pips and the Beetle Boys remained on his shoulders, looking equally eager to hear what Crysta had discovered during her commune with Magi's spirit. Zak held out his hand gently and Crysta stood upon it as he brought her close, speaking to her quietly. "So…what did Magi tell you, Crysta?"

Crysta looked at all of them silently a moment, trying to figure out where to start, since Magi had shared so much with her. "It…it's a lot to tell…but I suppose I should start with telling you what it is that's coming this way…"