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Chapter Text

“The results are in!” Varian cheers, “Who will win first prize for best metal?” He does a brief drumroll on the table and his audience of Auto-Mason and Olivia cheer (or do their version of cheering which is more like beeping and wiggling excitedly), “Will it be steel for its durability and thermal conductivity?!”

“Wooo! Go steel!” Hugo cheers from where he’s sitting on top of a nearby table, watching his boyfriends dramatics with a grin, “And, go steal!”

Varian giggles at him before getting back into character, “Or Iron, for its lustrous shine and high melting point?” He does another drumroll just to really get his audience excited before being interrupted as Ruddigar hops over to him from where he was working amongst their vials and chemical solutions, a beaker in his mouth.

“Ah, yes, thank you Ruddigar.” Varian reached down to accept the beaker, “This is perfect!” He cackled like a mad scientist as Ruddigar gave another breaker to Hugo, who was pathetically into Varian's cackling. Staring at him with eyes sparkling with adoration as he practically swooned.

“Warm cocoa will really hit the spot. Thanks, bud!” Varian praised his raccoon, who preened at the complement.

“Hi, Varian!”

Before he got a chance to even try the hot chocolate the princesses voice startled him into dropping his cup, also shaking Hugo out of his lovesick haze.

“Oh! Ah! Hi! Hi.” Hugo ran a hand through his hair, reorganizing himself after being startled.

“We, uh, weren’t, uh, expecting you so soon.” Varian greeted, trying to subtly hide the evidence of their metal tournament.

Hugo hops down off the table and walks over to drape himself over Varian, resting his head on the shorter boy's shoulder.

“We did agree we’d get at least five weeks of solitude to decipher this thing, so I thought we’d have some privacy.” Varian continues, trying really hard to look like the interruption doesn't bother him as much as it does.

“Solitude.” Hugo stresses behind him, before seeing Eugene about to poke something on one of their tables, “Don’t touch that.”

“We’d just thought you like some company. You know, a little check up.” Rapunzel explains cheerfully, unaware that she was wrecking all of Hugo's dreams of a few blissful weeks with just his boyfriend and their lab. Oh, the distractions he had planned to briefly pull Varian away from his work, ruined!

“Hey, goggles, real quick,” Eugene walks back over and grabs Varian by the shoulders, dislodging Hugo who glares at him, “Do you have any anti-aging alchemy? Maybe some skin-tightening serum?”

“Aww Rider, I hate to tell you but if you’re trying to fix your face… Yeah, that’s not because of age.” Hugo remarks cooly and Eugene glares at him, moving on to peruse the room and immediately ignoring Hugo's earlier order and grabbing a bottle that had been sitting on one of their tables.

Immediately it lets out a puff of purple smoke and once it clears Eugene's face has gotten much older with more pronounced wrinkles and grey hair that immediately sends Lance into a laughing fit.

“Or don’t listen to me and touch whatever you want.” Hugo mutters, “Auto-Mason, honey, could you go clean that up real quick? And then why don’t you go back upstairs and find Quirin? He should be out in the forest collecting firewood, uh, check near the Old Moss Tree.”

Auto-Mason beeps and affirms and lumbers towards the shattered remains of the bottle Eugene touched, his large form sending both Eugene and Lance scampering back to where the rest of the group was standing.

“Please, for the love of Maker, be careful.” Varian scolds before passing Eugene the vial that will fix his face, “We have a lot of delicate substances in here.”

Hugo doesn’t trust the look on Eugene’s face, so he drives the point home a little further, “You know those bombs we gave you to fight against the Saporians? Where do you think the stuff to make them is? Don’t touch anything.”

Now that Eugene and Lance look properly chastised, Varian turns his attention back to the princess, “So, what are you here for? Because if it’s actually just a social call I will ban you from the lab.”

Rapunzel laughs nervously, “Just making sure you still have the scroll.”

Varian cocks an eyebrow, “...Yeah? Why wouldn’t we?” He moves over to one of the back walls and Rapunzel suddenly notices it’s absolutely covered in writing, spilling out of the large sheet of paper the scroll was taped to across the actual stone.

Most importantly her attention is drawn to a set of symbols in careful boxes, which has the most writing surrounding it.

“What… is this?” She asks, moving closer to get a better look. To her it just seems like gibberish symbols set equal to other gibberish symbols, but the more she looks the more she feels like it’s a guide.

Eugene and Lance move to follow her, but Hugo holds out an arm to stop them, “Not you. You two are gonna stay right here where you can’t mess anything up. Olivia, watch them.”

“Put in time out by a mouse,” Lance bemoans.

“It took a while, but I managed to compose this key to translate the text in its entirety.” Varian presents proudly.

“I helped with that squiggly one up there,” Hugo points, “But Varian’s far more talented with language stuff than I am. Work like this would have taken anyone else years and he did it in a matter of months” He presses a kiss to his boyfriend's cheek to complete the compliment.

“It would have been faster if you hadn’t kept needing attention.” Varian retorts, winking playfully.

“I do require a lot of attention.” Hugo agrees proudly.

Rapunzel ignores the flirting (something she has gotten a lot of experience with after spending so much time with the two of them), “Varian, you’re a genius! What’s it say?”

Varian pulls his attention back towards her, straightening his collar all self-importantly as he soaks in the praise before pointing at a spot on the scroll, “That’s the healing incantation. This is the decay incantation,“ He moves his finger over to the far right of the scroll, “And this, oh this is a third incantation. It will allow whoever possesses the power of the Moonstone to wield complete control over the black rocks.”

“That’s why Cassandra wants the scroll,” Rapunzel breathes, “Have you tried it yet?”

Varian shakes his head, “We, uh,” He exchanges a look with Hugo, “Wanted to wait till you were here to try it out.”

“But first, there’s another thing you should know.” Hugo adds.

Varian points at a line of text near the bottom of the page, “It says here that there are four incantations, not three.” He runs a hand through his hair, “But I can’t seem to find it anywhere on the scroll.”

“Don’t worry about that right now.” Rapunzel grabs Varian’s hands, “We’re actually here because Cassandra visited demanding the scroll. But if you can harness the power of the black rocks, we’ll definitely be able to hold her back.”

Varian looks into Rapunzel's hopeful eyes and draws his hands back, twisting them together nervously, “Maybe… But there’s a reason we waited for you to be here to test it out. We don’t… uh…” How can he explain this, explain how scared he is?

“Because Varian doesn’t have the full moonstone, but just a sliver, we don’t know how the incantation will react to him.” Hugo explains, and Varian breathes a sigh of relief. How is it that Hugo always knows exactly what he needs?

“I… I understand,” Rapunzel murmurs, voice soft, “But, please, we have to try.” She sounds so desperate and hopeful and pleading and even though every part of Varian is screaming at him to not, that it’s too dangerous, he nods.

That’s what the good guys do, right? Take risks to save people.

“Okay,” Varian nods, “But I’m gonna need everybody to move back.”

They acquiesced, all except Hugo, who cups Varian's face to force his boyfriend to look at him.

“Goggles, are you sure?” Hugo was there when Varian first translated the third incantation, there for when the joy of success was closely followed by uncertainty of whether or not he should test it. There for the fear of what will happen and there to assure him that he didn’t need to do it if he thought it’d be too risky. There for the relief in Varian's eyes when he decided not to.

So it scares him that he’d change his mind so quickly because Rapunzel asked.

He knows Varian isn’t the same kid that he was, the one that would trip over himself trying to impress the princess, the one that would do anything for a bit of recognition.

But still, he can’t help but think that this decision is based less in logic and more in Varian's desire for approval.

But he trusts him, so when Varian nods, he lets go. Moving to stand next to the others.

Once everyone has moved away enough Varian feels better about his likelihood to hurt them if someone goes wrong, he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

His voice starts out low and quiet, unsure, but grows more steady as he continues to chant.

It’s… eerie and haunting and beautiful and for some reason it makes Rapunzel want to sob.

His voice is almost melodic now, wrapping around those in the room like the gentle caress of wind, soft and cold. Eugene shivers, something unsettling creeping up his spine.

A soft blue light emanates from his hairstrip, glowing brighter as the incantation continues. The electric blue spreads throughout his hair, turning it the same shade as Cassandra's as it levitates up, surrounding his head like a halo.

Blue energy crackles along his skin, arching back towards the ground as glowing blue rocks shoot up from the floor around him, pointed towards him as if to protect him.

Rapunzel screams and scrambles out of the way as a rock shoots up where she was standing, “Varian! You need to stop!”

Hugo doesn’t move, still standing transfixed as he stares at Varian. He doesn’t think he could look away if he wanted to even as Eugene and Lance try to pull him away, also shouting at Varian to stop as more and more rocks fill the room.

(On her way through the forest to where she learned Varian and Hugo were living, Cassandra feels a strange surge in the energy of the Moonstone)

Varian's eyes shoot open, glowing bright blue as his feet lift slightly off the ground and an explosion of blinding energy sends a shockwave through the room as the black rocks collapse back into the floor. Hugo, now shaken out of his trance, has just enough time after his eyes refocus to see Varian, hovering in the center of the room, collapse back down the ground, his hair fading back to normal.

“Varian!” Hugo shouts, rushing to his side, but when he tries to touch him he is zapped away by the stray energy still crackling around Varian’s skin.

“Oh no.” Rapunzel breaths, hovering over the two boys as Eugene kneels on Varian’s other side, Lance staring nervously behind him.

“Is he okay?”

This time, Hugo ignores the twinge of pain from the energy (that luckily seems to be fading) as he reaches down to shake Varian by the shoulders. His boyfriend’s head only lolls back and even more panic manages to grip his heart.

“He’s got a pulse,” Eugene assures, holding one of Varian’s wrists, “It’s strong, but erratic.”

Hugo reaches up to pry open one of Varian's eyelids, checking if they’ve rolled back, only to see them still glowing bright blue.

“It… seems like the magic overloaded his body,” Rapunzel guessed, “Maybe because the moonstone has two holders or because he doesn’t have the full moonstone, but whatever the case it caused him to short circuit." She’s experienced things like that, the magic of the Sundrop overwhelming her and pulling her into a trace, but she’s never passed out.

“So how do we help him?” Eugene presses and… Rapunzel doesn’t have an answer.

“I… I don’t know. This has never happened before.”

“What do you mean you don’t know!” Hugo growls, shooting to his feet to glare at Rapunzel, “This is your fault! He told you he was scared of the consequences and you pushed him to do it anyway!”

“Hey!” Eugene also stood up, “Do not blame Rapunzel for this. Varian agreed to try, he wasn’t forced into it!.”

“But he wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t told him to!”

“Hugo… I was just trying to help. I didn’t know this would happen.” Rapunzel tries to explain, taken aback by Hugo’s blame.

“But you knew there was a possibility!” Hugo shouts back, “He is 16 and you made him think that the protection of the kingdom rests on his shoulder and now my boyfriend is unconscious and we don’t know if he’ll ever wake up!” His voice is made of venom, but it’s also cracking, tears welling up in his eyes and slipping down his cheeks.

Rapunzel feels her heart break a little bit more. Because Hugo is right. It’s so easy to forget how young Varian and Hugo are, but they’re both still kids and she never should have asked Varian to risk himself like that. Why did she ask Varian to risk himself like that?

“I… I’m sorry. Hugo, I’m so so sorry.” Tears are threatening to overflow in her eyes as she watches Hugo crumple to his knees next to Varian, shoulders shaking as he cradles Varian’s unconscious body close.

She’s going to fix this. She doesn’t know how, but she has to.

She’s going to fix all of this, she just needs some time.

But sadly, time is something Rapunzel has in very short supply, as Cassandra has finally managed to reach the house.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Cassandra drawls, before actually looking into the room and seeing the voices she heard didn’t seem to be talking about the secrets of the scroll like she had thought.

Because it looked like a mess.

Varian seemed to be passed out with Hugo next to him looking like he’d been sobbing but still glaring at Cassandra with enough fury she had to respect it. Rapunzel was staring at her like Cassandra was the worst thing she’d ever seen, which hurt a little even if she knew that was the reaction she was looking for, and Eugene and Lance were standing closest to her, as if to protect the rest of the group.

“Uh, Cassandra, I know you need the scroll to carry out your evil plan and everything, but this is kinda a really bad time. Can we reschedule or something?” Eugene offers and Cassandra only smirks at him, leaping down to engage him and Lance.

Rapunzel pushes thoughts of what had just happened to focus on the present, ripping the scroll off the wall and pushing it into Hugo’s hands.

“You need to hide this,” She instructs and Hugo only stares at her blankly for a moment before his mind snaps back into focus.

“I need to protect Varian.” He shoots back, just as determinedly and Rapunzel sighs.

“I know, but right now the most important thing is ensuring Cassandra doesn’t get her hands on that incantation.”

Conflict flashes across Hugo’s eyes before he nods resolutely, taking the scroll from Rapunzel and tucking it into one of his many pockets.

He still won’t be able to do much in this fight, his arms occupied by holding Varian as he dodges the black rocks now shooting out of the ground at Cassandra’s command, but he can still help.

Cassandra manages to fling both Lance and Eugene into the wall, advancing menacingly towards Hugo, “Give me that scroll, Hugo.”

Before she could swing her sword, Rapunzel was sliding between them, blocking the blow and redirecting Cassandra’s attention to her.

“Cass, let’s just talk,” she pleaded.

“Oh sure, let’s have another chat about how my mother chose you over me. About how everyone chooses you over me because you’re just so much better than me.” Her voice is mocking and bitter and it stings Rapunzel even more because this is not the Cassandra she knows.

“How people treat me is not my decision, you know that!” Rapunzel pushes back, blocking Cassandra’s next swing with her hair as well, “When have I ever made you feel like you were lesser?”

Cassandra laughs, loud and angry, “You really have no idea, do you? No idea what it feels like to be seen as Rapunzel’s handmaiden. As just Rapunzel’s handmaiden. All my achievements falling into the shadow of yours!”

“I don’t do things just to show you up, Cass. You don’t understand-!”

“Then make me understand!” Cassandra roars back, “Just once it would have been nice for you to acknowledge me, to give me the credit I am due.”

“I have!” Rapunzel insists, trying to further block Hugo from Cassandra’s vision, “Are you so blinded by anger that you do not remember all the times I have?”

“I don’t care for your lies!” Cassandra shouts, sending out a new wave of black rocks that manage to trap Hugo in a corner.

His eyes dart around, he needs a new plan, and fast.

“Ruddigar,” Hugo hisses, getting the raccoon's attention, “I need you to keep this away from Cassandra,” He passes over the rolled up scroll to the raccoon, who salutes and scrambles away.

Sadly, Cassandra had managed to knock Rapunzel off balance, giving her enough time to see Ruddigar run off with the scroll and give chase.

Rapunzel flings her hair after Cassandra, knocking her to the ground just as she reaches Ruddigar and giving Pascal the chance to take the scroll and run off with it after sticking his tongue out at Cassandra.

She runs after the chameleon as he jumps across shelves to try and get away, throwing her sword to knock a shelf down and send both him and the scroll tumbling to the ground. However, just before she can grab the coveted piece of paper, Rapunzel snatches it with her hair, holding it in her hand protectively as he stares at her former best friend.

“Look at me! You know me, Cassandra!” She pleads desperately, “I have always supported you! Whatever this anger is, let’s face it together.”

Cass reaches down and grabs her discarded sword again, but Rapunzel refuses to give up.

“Somewhere inside you know this isn’t right,” She insists and Cassandra’s eyes widen, just a flicker of surprise but it sends hope twisting through Rapunzel’s chest, “Just come back home with us. We can figure this out.”

Cassandra’s grip on her sword relaxes. Rapunzel makes it sound so easy. Like everything she had done could be forgiven just like that.

Her eyes drift over to where Hugo is trying to fight his way through her makeshift cage of black rocks to the rest of the room, carefully trying not to poke Varian.

Maybe it could be?

“Questioning your path, are you?” Zhan Tiri’s voice suddenly rings throughout the room as she appears, hovering next to Rapunzel. She sounds so… disappointed and it makes Cassandra's head ache.

“No, I wasn’t.” She assures quickly and Rapunzel gives her a strange look.

“Who are you talking to?” The princess asks but Cassandra isn’t focused on her anymore.

No, Cass is too distracted by the small smile Zhan Tiri gives her and the wave of pride that rushes through her from it.

“Good.” Zhan Tiri’s voice is steady, reminding Cassandra of her purpose, “You don’t know if Rapunzel is really willing to change and I’d hate to see you disappointed the way I was.”

Zhan Tiri is right, because Zhan Tiri is always right about these things, so Cassandra hardens her heart and returns her glare to Rapunzel.

“Cass… I’m not going to fight you.” Rapunzel promises, still hoping for the chance Cassandra will see reason.

“I think we both know how well your promises can be trusted.” Cassandra replies cooly and she doesn’t relish the hurt on Rapunzel’s face the way she thought she would, but it doesn’t matter. She charges towards Rapunzel, who prepares a battle stance, only to turn away at the last moment, “But if you don’t want to fight, don’t fight.” She swings her sword down at one of the inventions standing near the center of the room, cutting through its base and sending it falling down, right where the dazed bodies of Eugene and Lance are.

Rapunzel makes the choice Cassandra knew she would, swinging her hair out to catch the machine before it could fall and holding it steady, too busy doing that to stop Cassandra plucking the scroll out of her hand and making her way to the other side of the room where Hugo was still trapped.

Having been unable to escape his cage and seeing that things were not going so well for Rapunzel, Hugo had been forced to come up with an alternative plan.

“Oliva.” Hugo calls and a moment later the automaton mouse pokes out from his pocket, “I need you to take this,” After a moment of finagling he manages to produce one of their alchemical bombs, this one filled with acid, from his pocket and hand it to her, “And destroy the Translation Key on the wall. Without it the scroll will be useless to her.” Oliva nods and scampers off, and Hugo breathes a sigh of relief, just in time as Cassandra makes her way over to him.

Hugo gives her the cockiest, most irritating smile he can manage with his eyes still red and his cheeks still wet, “You’re a little too late, Cassie. Now that the translation key is destroyed, you’ll never know what the scroll says.”

“Is that a fact?” Cassandra drawls and Hugo’s smile falters, "Because you two must have been the ones to translate it, and that means you still know what it says.”

Hugo opens his mouth to disagree, only to close it again, “Curse us for being geniuses.” He grumbles and Cassandra laughs darkly.

“So I guess you’re coming with me.”

“Cassandra! Hugo!” Rapunzel called, Eugene and Lance finally having woken up enough to drag themselves out of the way and allow her to drop the machine. She spins around the room but can find no trace of any of the three.

“She took him!” Lance gasps, helping pull a dirty Ruddigar out of a small pile of rubble.

“What are we gonna do?” Eugene asks.

And then, because today is the day of inopportune arrivals apparently, they hear the sound of doors opening upstairs in the main house.

“Princess! I didn’t know you were visiting today! I would have made a larger batch of stew!” They hear Quirin’s cheerful voice call out, having just arrived back from the forest and been informed of their guests by Auto-Mason.

The three friends downstairs exchange an even more concerned look.

How are they going to tell Quirin?

“So this is your plan?” Zhan Tiri asks, floating down to hover next to Cassandra, the passed out form of Hugo having joined Varian draped over Cassandra’s horse, “Running away?”

“No one is running-” Cassandra snaps back but Zhan Tiri just holds out a hand.

“One would think that now that you have the power of the black rocks, you wouldn’t need to hide.”

“I don’t hide from anything!” Cassandra defends, “There was just no need to stay.” But Zhan Tiri catches the waver in her voice.

“I don’t need to remind you that defeat is not an option,” Zhan Tiri’s voice seems gentler now, “And when Rapunzel comes for you, you must be prepared to make sacrifices to protect yourself, and therefore her.”

Cassandra considers the words for a moment, before she realizes what Zhan Tiri is getting at.

“What you need is-”

“A stronghold.” Cassandra finishes, and Zhan Tiri rewards her with one of her rare smiles, “And I know just where to build one.”

Later, Cassandra stood in the ruins of Rapunzel’s tower, though Hugo could only see her back as he slowly woke from the hit to the head Cassandra had given him. The back of his head still throbbed, but he was able to push that away as he spun to face Varian sitting next to him, or at least, spun as much as his bound hands could allow.

His boyfriend was still unconscious, head lolling to the side, but he was also still breathing, so Hugo would count it as a win.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Cassandra greeted, sitting down across from him and Hugo glared at her.

If she thought waking up in an unfamiliar location with his hands bound would be enough to unsettle him, then she had another thing coming.

“What do you want from me?” He hisses, because if they’re going to be stuck here he’s going to make sure her attention stays on him and not Varian.

“I need that third incantation, Hugo.” Cassandra reminds, annoyingly unbothered.

Hugo snorts, “And what makes you think I’m going to tell you. Trust me, Cassie, you don’t have the heart for torture.”

She smiles back, “That’s exactly why I went through your little bag of tricks.” she gestures at the scattered contents of both his and Varian's bags lying across the ground around them, “And I found something in here that might change your mind.” She dangles a recognizable bottle in front of Hugo, one that’s now empty, “Recognize this?”

“No.” Hugo responds contritely, but the sudden pressure building up in his chest forces him to correct himself, “Ah, yes, it’s a truth serum of our own design. It compels the drinker to tell the truth and answer any questions asked.” He glares up at her with a raised eyebrow once he’s regained control of his voice, “Really Cassie, drugging teenagers? I thought you had more class than that.”

“I don’t think you’re in the position to be criticizing my interrogation techniques.” Cassandra reminds heatedly.

“You must not know me that well, then.” Hugo laughs, “I criticize everything at any time no matter how detrimental it could be to my health.” He shrugs nonchalantly, “It’s a bad habit.”

Cassandra glowers at him, “Let’s see if you can keep up that arrogant attitude the whole time.”

“I probably can. I have a lot of experience with it.”

“All right, I’m tired of this-”

“So quickly? New record!”

Cassandra snarls, leaning over him dangerously, “What is the third incantation?”

Again, Hugo feels that pressure bubbling up his throat, compelling him to answer, “The incantation that gives the welder of the moonstone complete control over the black rocks.” He answered, smirking at Cassandra’s unamused glower, “What? You thought you could get a straight answer out of me? I’m gay.”

Cassandra reaches out and grabs the front of Hugo’s shirt, “You think this is funny?”

“Kinda.”

“You won’t be laughing in a moment.”

“I doubt that. I laughed at Hector and he’s way more intimidating than you are.” Hugo brightens, “And I’m under a truth serum so you know that’s just objectively the truth.”

Cassandra drops him with a huff, pacing back and forth until she finds the wording that will give her the answers she’s looking for.

“What does the incantation say?”

“Uh, paraphrased it’s basically just ‘let darkness consume the world’”

“No! What are its words?”

“Some of its words include: crescent, darkness, above, the, a, as, these-”

“Shut up! Do you even know it?”

“Well, Varian was actually the one to translate it, so I wouldn’t say I know it-”

“Aurrggg!”

“But I do remember the words.”

Cassandra huffs, her temper getting shorter and shorter.

“Keep your head, Cassandra,” Zhan Tiri reminds from nearby and Cassadnra takes a deep breath, forcing her mind to clear.

A smile spreads across her face.

“I’ve got it. What is the exact wording of the third incarnation?”

Hugo struggles, trying to hold his tongue for as long as possible, but unlike the others he can’t find any clever wordplay to worm his way out of this one. Just when the pressure seems too much, he gasps, and the words come pouring out of him, “Crescent high above-”

Chapter Text

Cassandra stands in her new throne room, at the top of the tower of black rock, observing the broken remains of Rapunzel’s former home that had been brought up with her.

“You’ve done well, Cassandra.” Zhan Tiri appears beside her, a comforting presence amongst the remains of the life her mother lived without her.

“Hmm,” She’s pulled out of her musings by Zhan Tiri’s comment, focusing on her confidant and advisor.

“Soon, Rapunzel will come for the boy,” Zhan Tiri reminds, “And when she does you must be ready.”

“Ready for what?” Cassandra asks and Zhan Tiri sighs, tired with her pawns recent bout of absent mindedness.

“To face Rapunzel with the full power of the moonstone.” Zhan Tiri’s voice is patient, masking excitement at her goal being so close.

“Right,” Cassandra murmurs, using the word to center herself, bringing her back to the present, so close to her goal, “Right.”

Now that she has the full power of the Moonstone, she’s so close she can taste it.

Once the power of the Moonstone beats the power of the Sundrop, once she destabilizes the Sundrops connection to the world enough, Zhan Tiri will be able to use her magic to extract the Sundrop’s power from Rapunzel.

They’ll be able to unite the two without Rapunzel getting hurt.

She again pulls herself from her thoughts. That’s been happening a lot lately.

Something about this place, about the confusing swarm of emotions it sends through her, just puts her on edge.

Every time she sees Rapunzel’s painted face, it sends a jolt through her, a shock of confusing emotions she just can’t name.

She pushes those thoughts away, and instead turns around, striding farther into the tower to where Hugo and an unconscious Varian are still tied up.

Hugo glares at her when she approaches, body angled to be as much of a shield for Varian as he can muster.

“Look,” Cassandra kneels down to be on eye level with him, using a black rock to sever the ropes holding them bound, “I know none of this is your fault and I don’t want to hurt you.” She can tell from the look in Hugo’s eyes that he doesn’t believe her, but that doesn’t matter. The point is that she does mean it and he’ll understand that eventually, “So when Rapunzel comes for you, don’t try anything foolish.”

“You’d know a lot about that, wouldn’t you.” Hugo spits. All mirth and false assurance is gone from his tone. It has been a long couple of hours and Varian still isn’t awake and he is stressed and cold and tired and most of all, angry. A cold, burning anger that leaves no room for pity for the women before him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cassandra snaps, her compassion quickly fading.

“It’s just pretty foolish to betray your best friend like you're doing. Does she really mean so little to you?”

The barb hits home, right where it hurts Cassandra the most, just like Hugo hoped it would.

“Speaking from experience are you?” Cassandra shoots back, standing to her feet and wiping the dust off her legs, because when she is attacked she will strike back, “You betrayed your friends as well, remember? Or are you so eager to move on from your actions you don’t remember them?”

“I never betrayed Varian.” Hugo reminds, shooting up to match her, a fire burning in his eyes.

“No, because that completely makes up for the attempted murder of the rest of your friends.”

Hugo’s eyes blaze and Cassandra suddenly remembers where she saw that look before. It was the same anger he carried when he was piloting a giant automaton trying to kill them.

She can’t help but think the same thing she did back then, that it was a look of far too much hatred, too deep, too pure, too primal for someone so young.

But unlike back then, she is the one with the power now, and so she refuses to even flinch.

“You don’t know what it’s like,” Hugo’s voice is dark, matching the reflection of the black rocks in his eyes, “To lose someone like we did. You can’t talk about the fury, about the need for revenge, the all consuming anger that comes with it-”

“You think I don’t understand?!” Cassandra laughs, sharp with disbelief, “I was abandoned by my mother!”

“So was I!” Hugo screams back, “At least you were raised by a loving father! But even I don’t use it as an excuse to hurt people!”

“But you did. You did hurt people.”

“Because we were betrayed by a friend-”

“Rapunzel didn’t betray you! Rapunzel would never betray you like that!”

“You’re right.” Hugo’s eyes glimmer suddenly, and Cassandra feels dread creep up her spine, “We know that now, Rapunzel would never. But you betrayed her like that.”

Cassandra reels back suddenly, as if slapped. It almost feels like she was.

She didn’t betray Rapunzel, sure it might seem like that from an outside perspective, but she was doing it to protect her. It didn’t matter if Rapunzel hated her, would always hate her, if she lost everyone she cared about because Rapunzel would be safe-

“Regain control.” Zhan Tiri’s voice rang through her head and suddenly her mind was clear again.

That’s right.

She needed to focus.

And Hugo had just proved himself to be too much of a threat.

Her eyes narrow as she stares at the blond haired boy before her, and with a wave of her hand a cage of black rock erupts from the floor to encase both him and Varian.

“You’ll stay here until this is done,” She hisses, “And if you even try to escape…” The cage shoots out of the tower's opening, suspending the two boys far above the ground.

She can still Hugo shouting, calling her a traitor and a coward and a villain, but she ignores him, turning back towards her throne.

A glimmer of gold catches her eye, and she can see a stone fragment on the ground, painted in Rapunzel’s signature style with her own visage.

And in a moment of clarity she realizes why these paintings have been bothering her so much.

It should be her.

She was the one who should have grown up locked away with Gothel. The one who suffered at her hands, painting herself and wishing for an escape.

That was her birthright as Gothel’s daughter, that was the fate she should have had.

But instead, Rapunzel had suffered in her place.

And now was her chance to make up for it.

For just a moment, Varian had felt the full power of the moonstone. It had been… heavy, crackling, an amount of power he couldn’t have even imagined.

It was like an ocean, and before he had only used a little stream of its power, maybe a small river, and then suddenly he was being swept up in a tidal wave.

For a moment he had felt invincible.

And then it started to burn.

He didn’t have a channel for the power, something to contain it and mitigate its effects the way the Moonstone did.

And he couldn’t withstand it.

He was now in a void. A space beyond the world, impossible to properly define or comprehend or even understand.

It wasn’t dark, as one might expect, but like the very air around him was glowing.

Or… not air.

It was energy, electric and powerful and heavy, wrapping around the space, warping through it, cradling Varian as he floated there like an old friend.

And before him, the energy was concentrated, a pulsing ball of light and power and magic, bright enough that it should hurt his eyes, but doesn’t.

And Varian realizes suddenly, because Varian is a scientist and he will not just simply feel wonder, but question, that this is the Moonstone.

The true Moonstone.

The power of it, the heart of it, the energy that is contained within the stone.

What Varian thought was the Moonstone is only a vessel, a way to harness the Moonstones power, but the power doesn’t come from the stone.

And what Varian had tried to do was become a vessel himself.

And that was the reason he was overwhelmed.

But now?

The moonstone doesn’t seem dangerous, and its power doesn’t feel like the same crackling, burning, taking, destroying power he had felt earlier.

Instead, the moonstone seems gentle. Beckoning him.

He drifts closer to the moonstones pulsing heart, pressing a hand to it.

And he gasps.

Because suddenly he can See.

Two powers, lost in an eternal dance.

Light and dark, healing and decay, creation and destruction, yin and yang, good and evil-

The Moonstone and the Sundrop.

They were opposites. They were equals. They twined around each other until you could not tell where one ended and the other began. They were distinct. They were the same. They were twins. They were enemies. They were lovers. They were one. They were balance.

Perfect balance. Created together, unable to exist without the other.

They were joined in a continuous war, dance, embrace, existence.

They were together.

And then-

They were pulled apart. Shattered into two, separated, ripped away from the other.

Contained within a vessel, trapped in a material form, trapped in two material forms.

And Varian sees the grief, the anger, the desperation, the hate. The crippling sadness at being alone and the fury at the world for making it so.

The crying, the keening, the calling out for its second half, its missing piece.

Reaching out with their power, wreaking destruction across all those in its path, uncaring of it all as it seeks the Sundrop.

But the years pass, and its attempts fade. A kingdom builds up around it, people settle, and the Moonstone is dormant.

Until it feels the Sundrop again.

Someone had found its counterpart, awoken its power to keep themselves young, and the Moonstone feels it.

Its search begins anew, tearing through the kingdom surrounding it as it fights its way through this unfamiliar world towards its other half.

Varian sees his father, sees the blast and the way the Moonstones power settles into him. The moment the Brotherhood became sworn to it in more than just name, for now they have all been touched by its power.

But the Moonstone is too late. For the Sundrop’s vessel is already gone, passed into a new form, one that is taken away, hidden from it where the Moonstone cannot reach.

So it falls back into slumber.

And then Varian sees himself. Just a small baby, cradled in his mothers arms, crying loudly.

He’s heard this story, it was one of his father’s favorites to tell. The way he wailed and wailed when he was born until his mother carried him outside.

“The first time you saw the moon,” Quirin would laugh, “You just went quiet. Couldn’t stop staring at it, it’s like that was the first time you really saw the world, not me or your mother, but the moon.”

And Varian sees it. Sees the energy wrap around him as soon as the moonlight hits his face. Sees the moonstone recognize him, sees the power Quirin had passed to him, tied to his very bones.

He is its.

And he is just what it needs to reunite it with its other half.

The memories recede from Varian until he is once again just staring at the pulsing orb.

But he can understand it more now, feel the loneliness radiating off it just as much as power does.

“I’m sorry,” Varian murmurs, pressing his forehead into the bright light, feeling the warmth of the pure solid magic of the Moonstone, “And I promise, you will be reunited.”

Varian doesn’t do promises. But this one he will insure is kept.

The peaceful moment doesn’t last long.

There is something tugging at Varian, pulling him away from the Moonstone, warping through his dreams and consciousness to bring him somewhere else.

And suddenly the void he is floating in looks very different. It is purple, swirls of lighter and darker painting it in a dizzying way.

He’s standing on an island, the ruins of a wall behind him and an unsettling sensation dripping down his spine as he peers into the void.

“What the… Where am I?” He murmurs.

“Hello.”

Varian whips around and sees a young girl standing before him, glowing with a blue light.

“Who are you?” He asks, backing away warily, but the girl doesn’t move.

“A friend. Or at least I’d like to be.” She introducing, smiling placidly.

“And what do you want?” He doesn’t trust this one bit. Varian knows liars, Maker he’s dating one, and this girl reeks of it.

“There is a way to save Cassandra. And Rapunzel.” The girl's smile widens, “The final incantation. The Sundrop must use it against the Moonstones power.”

“I know about the final incantation,” Varian hisses, “But it’s not on the scroll.”

“Isn’t it?” The girl's expression hasn’t changed at all and Varian is feeling really freaked out, “You just need to know how to look.”

“Enlighten me then,” Varian demands, crossing his arms. He’s pretty sure she doesn’t intend to attack him, but that doesn’t mean he trusts her.

“You need to use the sun to see the sun.”

“‘Use the sun to see the sun?!’ What does that even mean?!” Varian splutters but the girl just smiles at him as the world begins to warp.

“Use the sun to see the sun.”

Varian screams, then gasps and is relieved to find actual air coming into his lungs, “That was just a dream.” He comforts himself.

“I wish this was just a dream.” A voice mutters beside him, and then they both scream. Varian because he had not noticed Hugo there and Hugo because he hadn’t realized Varian was awake.

Hugo throws himself at Varian, pulling him into a hug as he checks him over for injures, “You woke up! Are you okay? What happened?”

Varian glances bewilderedly at the cage of black rock surrounding them, “I feel like I should be asking you that.”

Hugo huffs a laugh, “We got kidnapped by Cassandra.”

“What?!”

“It’s kinda a long story. What happened to you? After saying the incantation you glowed a lot and then suddenly passed out?”

Varian rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, “That’s… also kinda a long story.”

Hugo crosses his arms, unimpressed, “Well, I asked first.

Varian opens his mouth to argue but Hugo doesn’t give him the chance, “And I was the one panicking over you while you didn’t even know what was happening because you were unconscious.”

Varian makes a face at his boyfriend, but is unable to argue with that logic and acquiesces, recounting his strange… dream? Vision?

“Wow…” Hugo breaths once he’s finished, “So the fourth incantation is on the scroll!”

“Sure seems that way,” Varian agrees, eyes scanning over the document, “We just need to find it.” He snaps away from that line of thought to refocus on Hugo, “But after you tell me how the hell we got here.”

Hugo sighs, “It’s not nearly as interesting but basically once you passed out Cassandra showed up to take the scroll, and ended up kidnapping us so we could translate it for her. She drugged me with our truth serum, and I told her the Moonstone incantation and then we had an argument and she trapped us up here.”

Varian gapes at him, “She drugged you?!”

“With our own truth serum, I know! Just rude.” Hugo agrees.

“I just…” Varian runs a hand through his hair, “I can’t imagine Cass doing that.”

Hugo’s expression saddens, “I know. It seems like Rapunzel was right. She really isn’t the Cassandra we remember. …Although,” He looked up, brow furrowed, “She was very insistent that she was doing all this for Rapunzel.”

“Like, to protect her? How does that work?”

“I don’t know. I mean, you know how twisted self-justification can be when doing things like this. Doesn’t make you believe it any less at the moment.”

Varian’s face twists at the reminder, but he nods and they both just stew in their thoughts for a moment before Hugo’s expression suddenly brightens.

“Oh! There’s one other thing I should mention. Cassandra kept talking to someone. I couldn’t see them, but she’s definitely getting some sort of help.” His face splits into a smug grin, “And you know what that means…?”

Varian rolls his eyes, immediately understanding what Hugo was getting at, “You were right.”

“I was right.” Hugo sing-songs proudly.

“Wow Hugo, you’re such a genius.” Varian deadpans and Hugo sticks his tongue out in response.

“You can’t take this away from me.”

Varian rolls his eyes, pushing all thoughts of Cassandra’s plan or intentions from his mind as he refocuses on the scroll in his hands.

“Well if you want to brag to everyone else, we’ve got to get out of this cage. And that means figuring out this last incantation,” He reminds his boyfriend, who scoots over to peer at the scroll as well.

How is he supposed to use the sun to see the sun?

A couple hours later, and after a lot of trial and error and almost giving up, they’ve figured out that the words reveal themselves through a beam of sunlight.

Sadly, neither of their pairs of goggles could concentrate the sun enough to reveal the words without it looking blurry, and they tried.

It’s at that moment that they hear the princess, calling out from Cassandra’s tower, “Don’t worry, Varian. We’re gonna get you out of there.” She and Eugene stood at the little crack leading to the outside. Behind them, Quirin investigated the rest of the room, ensuring they were unlikely to be ambushed.

Once he had found out what had happened to Varian, he had brushed off his old Brotherhood armor and insisted he come with the group. And how glad he was, none of them seem to know the importance of checking a room before announcing their presence by shouting.

“Not now!” Hugo yells back at the princess, “We’ve found the last incantation. It was hidden with photoreactive ink!”

“Obvious, right?” Varian calls back as well.

“Yeah, super obvious.”

Hugo can almost hear the eyeroll in Eugene’s voice as he says it, and snickers.

Varian, far too distracted by his work to notice the sarcasm, continues his explanation, “The problem is, we need a concentrated beam of sunlight to see it. Something like a… prism or a glass.”

They don’t hear a response from the other side, and Hugo’s starting to get a little worried until suddenly there’s a large boom and his worry increases drastically.

“We’ve got a crystal!” Eugene finally shouts over, “I’m going to bring it over to you.”

“That’s a terrible idea!” Hugo calls back, “We’ll figure out some other way to get it over.”

A boom once again shakes the tower.

“No time, I’m coming over.”

Back inside the tower, Rapunzel and Quirin have gone to find Cassandra. Rapunzel because she hopes to make peace, and Quirin because he’s sure that’s not going to happen.

So, though he’d much rather stay and insure his son is safe, he is a knight of the Brotherhood, and it is his responsibility to protect the world from the Moonstone.

And he will not fail. Not when he’s also fighting to protect his kids.

They find Cassandra in her throne room, rising through the door in a pillar of black rock.

“Cass, I’m not leaving this tower until this is resolved.” Rapunzel declares and Cassandra smiles.

“Then I guess you’re not leaving.” With a wave of her hand the entrances to the room close up, trapping them.

Quirin steps in front of the princess, sword drawn, “Surrender, Cassandra.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened. She hadn’t noticed Quirin was there, too distracted by seeing her friend again. But she won’t let him distract her from her mission.

“You do know I have complete control of the black rocks now? And you know what this tower is made of.”

Quirin doesn’t flinch, “And you know what this sword is made of as well.” He swings down in fluid motion, cutting through the black rocks shooting up from the ground around him like butter.

“Deal with him quickly. You need to focus on the princess.” Zhan Tiri whispers in her ear and Cassandra charges.

Black rocks shoot toward the farmer and are cut down as the two engage in a deadly dance. None of her attacks may be landing, but she doesn’t give him space to breathe either.

Quirin is holding up surprisingly well, but he’s out of practice. He is being carried by muscle memory and instinct, so she just has to wait until one of those slips up.

Rapunzel continues to shout for both of them to stop, to calm down, they can talk this out, but Cassandra only spares a glance, sending a pillar of rock under where Rapunzel was standing to smash her into the ceiling. She doesn’t expect the attack to hurt Rapunzel, not with her magic hair, but just to shut her up.

Cassandra cannot risk distractions like wishing to stop and talk things out.

The moment costs her, and Quirin manages to nick her cheek, sending warm blood smearing across her face.

“What are you even doing here?” Cassandra hisses, backing up to send more ranged attacks at Quirin instead, “This fight is between me and Rapunzel.”

“You made it my fight as soon as you touched my son.”

“I didn’t hurt him! I just needed the last incantation!”

You don’t know what you’re dealing with here,” The warrior warns, “The battle between the Moonstone and the Sundrop doesn’t concern you.”

“No, you’re the one this doesn’t concern. This is my destiny. I need to save Rapunzel!” Finally Quirin gives her the opening she’d been waiting for, and black rocks manage to slam him into the opposite wall, where he falls, unconscious.

But it took a lot out of her. She panting, bleeding from her cheek and bruised in a variety of other places.

Still, she doesn’t have a choice as she finally turns to face Rapunzel, golden hair piled on the floor around her.

“Now this is more like it.”

“You can’t beat me Cassandra. My hair will protect me from your attacks. Just give up and we can talk-.”

“I think you’re forgetting, Raps.” Cassandra drawls, “There are some things your hair can’t block.” With a wave of her hand the rocks under Rapunzel’s feet crumble and she falls through the floor, just managing to catch herself with her hair.

After a couple moments, Rapunzel pulls herself through the hole and back into the room, “Sorry, Cass, but you are not gonna get rid of me that easily.”

The two begin to fight, Cassandra attacking with the power of the black rocks while Rapunzel uses her hair to avoid them, still pleading with Cassandra for peace.

But eventually Rapunzel slips up, doesn’t manage to dodge in time, and get’s pinned against the wall.

“I will never stop trying to get through to you.” Rapunzel declares, held against the wall by a small army of black rocks, “I won’t fight you. I won’t justify your hatred. And there is nothing you can do to change that.”

Cassandra freezes.

Hatred?

But she doesn’t hate Rapunzel.

She could never hate Rapunzel.

Why can’t she see that she’s doing this to protect her?

“You need to make her fight you.” Zhan Tiri murmurs, like honey dripping into her ear, “You know what you need to do.”

Of course.

Zhan Tiri is so smart. Such a good friend.

Cassandra knows exactly what will make Rapunzel fight her.

That was her goal right?

Outside, Eugene, Varian, and Hugo are just kinda sitting. They’d used the ring to get the last incantation, but they couldn’t very well leave the cage so they’d just been waiting for Rapunzel to come get them.

Eugene had tried to convince Varian to use his Moonstone powers to make a way out, but Varian had refused. Now that Cassandra has full control of the Moonstone, he’s not sure how his powers would react, and he really didn’t want to risk another bout of unconsciousness.

So waiting it was.

They had played a lot of rock-paper-scissors.

That was until they had begun getting drawn back into the tower.

“Bad. This is bad.” Eugene muttered.

“Very observant.” Hugo remarked, but he was also clutching Varian’s hand tightly, but is about as stressed as Hugo will allow himself to look, so Varian can infer that this situation is in fact, very bad indeed.

“Welcome back, boys.” Cassandra greets, and a wave of black rock encases Eugene. She turns back to Rapunzel, “You won’t fight me, but will you fight… for him?”

“Cass, leave him alone!” Rapunzel shouts, struggling against the rocks pining her to the wall.

“Good. Weaken her.” Zhan Tiri murmurs.

“I just remembered I forgot to give you my present Eugene,” Cassandra hears her own voice say and suddenly the rocks are squeezing Eugen until he’s struggling to breath.

Quirin groans. His head is pounding, his ears are ringing, and the world keeps swaying slightly around him, but he forces himself to his feet anyway.

He has people he needs to protect.

If he got knocked down like that, then Adira and Hector will definitely need his help-

Wait, no. That’s not right.

They haven’t fought together as the Brotherhood in years.

So who-?

A voice cuts through his hazy mind.

“Cassandra, stop!”

It’s familiar. Even as high and desperate and panicked and angry as it sounds now, Qurin knows that voice.

Better than he knows his own.

Memories flood through him suddenly, of a small laughing boy digging in the dirt next to him. Throwing random herbs into their pot of soup that Quirin knows will make it taste terrible and that he’ll eat it all anyway just to see him smile. Covered in soot and looking up at him guilty as he lies through his teeth that he’ll never do that again. Sleeping, safe in his arms and unable to hear how Quirin promises the world to him.

Varian needs him.

He shakes off the remaining fog in his head and stands, uncaring how his body is screaming at him from the bruises and cuts and aching muscles he got from the last fight, grabbing his sword off the ground and running in the direction of Varian’s voice.

Unseen to him, Zhan Tiri scowls.

So it seems the farmer won’t be as easy to influence as her dear Cassandra.

No matter.

Zhan Tiri knows her plans are well laid. There is no chance that she won’t succeed.

Rushing around to the front of the throne, Quirin takes in the scene before him. Rapunzel is pinned to the wall, struggling against the black rocks holding her there, but she looks exhausted from the fight and her movements are becoming sluggish, while Cassandra stands before a trapped Eugene, his face turning purple as he struggles to breathe.

But Quirin’s attention is captured by the cage on the floor, inside of which Varian and Hugo are trapped, straining against the rock bars as Cassandra uses one hand to slowly crush them, shrinking the cage smaller.

They’re both still shouting, angry and afraid and painfully young as they scream at Cassandra. Hugo’s forehead is bleeding from where his head was slammed against the cage when it first started to shrink and Varian’s arm is scratched from where a black rock had grazed him with he stuck it too far outside the cage, but it does nothing to lessen the determination in their eyes.

Quirin’s beautiful, brave, strong boys are hurt, are suffering, are in pain-!

And all Quirin can see is red.

Battle instincts Quirin feared he had forgotten to kick into gear, and he crossed the room in only a couple steps.

All it takes is a single swing of his sword and the top of the cage falls to the ground, leaving Varian blinking up at him.

“Dad…?”

“Come on.” Quirin reaches down to help pull him out of the cage, before helping Hugo do the same, “You two need to get out of here. Lance and the girls should be on the lower level, find them and leave. I’ll take care of things up here.”

Varian nods, but Hugo refuses to move, “No. We can help.”

Quirin swallows down the instinctual “No” crawling up his throat.

He promised that he’d trust them more. And he refuses to let that be just words.

As much as the father in him hates the idea, he is a knight, and the rational part of him knows that his kids are competent and experienced in a fight.

So he nods.

“Alright. Varian, help the princess. Me and Hugo will keep her distracted.”

This time, both his sons nod and as Varian runs off in the direction of the princess, Quirin swings his sword to cut off a spire of black rock and hand it to Hugo.

It’s nothing like the sword Hector gave him, but it’s long and thin and about the right length, and it’s not like he has a lot of options, so it’ll do.

“Well, at least we already know we make a great team!” Hugo jokes and Quirin wishes he could smile.

Cassandra laughs as they turn to face her, releasing her grip on Eugene enough for him to gasp, “Aww, it’s a family affair!”

Hugo snarls, “You’re goddamn lucky it isn’t actually. My son could snap you like a twig.”

That, at least, throws Cassandra off enough for them to charge, forcing her to fight them in more close quarters.

Cassandra is the most technically skilled out of all of them, but being outnumbered makes up for the gap in skill, and she can’t find a chance to regain the upper hand.

Every swing with her own sword is blocked by Hugo, every attempt to strike with black rocks cut down by Quirin and she knew she was running out of time.

She’s tired, this fight having dragged on for far too long now, and every moment that passes the sharp point of Hugo’s makeshift sword gets closer to her before she manages to dodge. But it’s only a matter of time.

She needs to end this, she’s so close but every second the chance for victory slips through her fingers more.

Rapunzel is weakened and exhausted and now is her moment, if only she could find the chance to use it.

But that chance is getting smaller.

Over at the wall, Varian scales the black rocks spearing out of it to reach Rapunzel, shaking her roughly by the shoulder until her attention focuses on him.

She looks… awful.

Besides how her body is bruised and her dress torn, her eyes are puffy and red like she’d been crying.

Because she had been.

This fight has been more than just physically draining, and the emotional toll was finally catching up to her.

But it’s not over yet.

“Rapunzel, I have the final incantation,” Varian tells her, pulling out the piece of paper he had scribbled it down on, “You need to use it.”

“I can’t hurt Cassandra.” Rapunzel argued, shaking her head.

“You don’t have a choice.” Varian pushes the paper into her hands forcefully, making sure she grabs it, “I know you still see the best in Cassandra. But right now I need you to do this, for everyone else here.”

Rapunzel stares at him, determination shining in his eyes, and something in her breaks.

Hope maybe, that bit of hope that this could still be solved by talking it out.

Or maybe it's the guilt welling in her for being so selfish as to put other people in danger because she couldn’t let her best friend go.

Or maybe it’s because this feels like betraying Cassandra back.

She told Cassandra she wouldn’t fight her.

And here she was, breaking another promise to a friend.

Rapunzel begins to read the incantation and the air within the room changes, both Hugo and Quirin backing off as they feel the subtle wave of the Sundrops' power. Rapunzel can handle this now.

Cassandra feels like she should be more worried, but no panic breaks through her sudden calm. Looking over she finds Zhan Tiri still smiling and realizes that must be the reason.

Zhan Tiri still has a plan, and that means everything will be okay.

“Finish her.” Zhan Tiri orders, and without question, Cassandra begins to chant the Moonstone incantation, feeling the wave of power rushing through her.

Rapunzel chants as a golden glow spreads from her eyes throughout her hair and she begins to float upwards.

The paper falls discarded on the floor, but she doesn’t need it anymore, the words coming to her mind unbidden.

Her hair floats around her like a halo as a blinding ball of golden light emanates from where she’s floating, blasting away any black rocks nearby.

An explosion, comparable to the one they had seen when Cassandra first unlocked the full power of the Moonstone blasts out from the tower. For those nearby, it feels a bit like being next to a miniature sun, and Quirin and Hugo flinch at the heat of it.

Varian feels a strange longing well up within him, a grief so out of place surrounded by this healing light.

Somehow he knows it’s not his grief. These emotions are the Moonstones, this overwhelming feeling of love towards this energy, familiar and beloved and need.

And when the blast fades, collapsing back into Rapunzel’s form, he feels more empty than ever.

“Impossible.” Cassandra breaths, staring through the smoke from the wreckage of the room at an ethereally glowing Rapunzel.

She had planned so carefully!

If she lost now, everything would have been for nothing!

Rapunzel finishes, drifting towards Cassandra with her hair flowing behind her like the tail of a comet.

“Let them go, Cassandra.”

“Now.” Zhan Tiri instructs, “Before she gets more tied to the Sundrop and removing it becomes more dangerous.”

Cassandra doesn’t hesitate, her trust so absolute and so sweet.

Blast of gold and blue crash together in the room, sister fighting sister, the balance of the world tearing at each other and Zhan Tiri cackles as a ball of black and purple form where they meet.

Finally. Finally, finally, finally!

Her waiting is over. She can feel the shackles of her prison loosening and she jumps greedily towards the entrance it reveals.

The two women don’t even notice, too distracted with their fight, blast meeting blast in a display of unimaginable power.

Until the Moonstone cracks.

People, rocks, things of this material world are not meant to harness that much power, and the rock cannot take it.

It’s just a small sliver, but it’s enough.

Cassandra, unable to meet Rapunzel attack with one of her own, is swept up in it, and blown off the tower.

She manages to catch herself, but barely.

Still, she’ll take what she can get.

She can’t give up.

If today proved anything, it’s that Zhan Tiri was right.

Holding the power of the Sundrop the way Rapunzel is, is exceptionally dangerous. So Cassandra will save her.

Freedom.

It is the sweetest thing Zhan Tiri has tasted in ages as she steps gracefully out of the portal to meet her ever loyal minion.

Cassandra seems to have worked herself up into quite the state in the couple moments she was gone, the moonstone spluttering erratically above her chest, but Zhan Tiri is in too much of a good mood to even let that bother her.

“Finally,” She breathes, twirling around in her skirt and relishing the feeling of fabric against her skin once again.

Oh, how she missed having a body.

“The clash of sun and moon has freed me from my prison. And it’s all thanks to you Cassandra.” She shoots her pawn a grateful smile.

Cassandra looks more shocked than excited to see her, but that’s to be expected.

No matter. The girl is so boringly easy to manipulate just a couple whispers about destiny, and protecting Rapunzel, and “I’m your friend who trusts you” and she’ll have Cassandra back in the palm of her hand in no time.

For now she just savors the feeling of being able to stretch her arms, feeling the comforting crackle of magic under her skin, “It’s good to be back.”