“Rapunzel,” Cass whispers. She’s on the ground, holding onto Eugene for dear life as spastic magic send shockwaves through the room. Rapunzel - Eugene holds onto Varian, eyes squeezed shut with the effort of making sure the slight boy doesn’t blow away. Where is Rapunzel? Cassandra lifts her head with effort, curls flying and pale eyes stinging as she struggles to see through the light. There. She’s on her knees, head bent low as her hair floats freely all around, stricken with yellow and blue. Gentle waves of gold emerge from her, only to be struck down by waves of lightning, like a reflex of destruction. She won’t make it much longer. “Rapunzel,” Cass rasps. She manages to sit up and helps Eugene. They have to help her. “Rapunzel!” Eugene cries, still holding onto Varian. “Don’t -“ “It’s too much!” Cass yells. “You weren’t supposed to - please stop! I was -“ Rapunzel, though obviously not in control, and in pain, manages to shakily rise. “I know you were supposed to do it,” she mutters, watching her own hair change colors before her eyes. “But you don’t need to protect me anymore, Cass. It’s my turn to protect YOU.” Cass shakily stands as well, staying low so that she can inch towards Raps. “Since leaving the tower, I’ve learned too much,” Raps chokes. “But I haven’t learned if I’m capable enough. Will I ever be?” The sun and moon are a battling hurricane in this girl, blue and gold and blue and gold and Cass can only inch closer, closer to saving her. “How can I trust myself if no one else will?” Raps asks, wincing fiercely as another shockwave pulses and weakens her will to stand. “I - but now it’s my destiny to find out. To - to keep you safe -” “Are you insane?” Cass yells, swallowing her fear and pretending its anger instead. If that’s the case, she’s never been so angry in her life. Both girls fall to their knees with a wave of blue, and Cassandra manages to reach for Rapunzel’s shoulders and hold on. With her hair writhing above like an entity of its own, Cass notes that the gentle yellows, now, even have a feel of electricity to them. She turns to Raps, eyes wide with fear. Rapunzel stares right back, her blue-shot eyes welling up. “I couldn’t let you die,” she whispers, her moving lips almost the only implication of her words in this drowning sound. Cass shakes her head, gripping Rapunzel’s shoulders more tightly and fighting back tears. “But now that you’ve done this,” she chokes, “you…will die.” Rapunzel, the only one who could, does not notice the little ghost girl appear. She doesn’t notice how she’s become clearer than before, watching this scene with amusement. She does notice, however, the wave of power that surges through her, blowing Cass back to the others, giving Rapunzel the strength to stand. Control. “Perfect,” the girl whispers in Rapunzel’s ear. “Doesn’t it feel nice?” Raps looks at her hands and knows instinctively that the combined power of healing and destruction could give her anything she wanted. “Respect?” The girl suggests innocently. “Come now, Rapunzel, you have what we need - you can now follow the dreams YOU want. Run, we’ll regroup, we’ll prove-” “What?” Rapunzel is confused; she grips her head. “We have to do something,” Eugene mutters, helping Cass up. “Varian, stay behind that rock for a second - we’ll go get Blondie.” Varian doesn’t know what to do but oblige - he grips the black rock forcefully as he watches this nightmare unfold. “We have to prove your worth!” the ghost girl is hissing at Rapunzel. “You must run, Rapunzel, leave them behind - we can show them, show the whole Seven Kingdoms-” “Show them what?” Rapunzel whispers. “Show them…what you…can DO!” A tsunami of energy. Raps watches in slow motion as Eugene and Cassandra nearly reach her but are blasted off their feet, blasted back to the walls, the walls that are cracking- “No!” Rapunzel yells. She yanks back control, letting her power settle back into her with a snap. She clenches her fists, her eyes fizzle with light. “I don’t know who you are,” she mutters menacingly. “But if you think you can convince me to hurt my friends just to give you this power…you’re all kinds of wrong.” The demon narrows her eyes. This one might be a little harder to manipulate than Zhan Tiri thought. Raps doesn’t have time to think. She’d gotten distracted, she can’t hold onto control very well - she flickers and gasps as the powers inside her begin battling again. Varian can’t stay behind the rock any longer. He’s at a loss for direction; he only knows that he’s helpless, and he can’t be helpless, his friends need him. Eugene and Cass lying unconscious on the floor, what would they do, he has to do it for them - he has to make them proud. He has to help Rapunzel. He edges forward. He has no idea what he’s doing, but does he ever? Raps needs him. Not just Raps, but the Raps who was always there for him, who has been with him on his journey even when hope seemed lost. The Rapunzel who stuck with him and made sure he was okay.
(Continued) He no longer cares about the moonstone, the sundrop, or destinies - he doesn’t care that he sucks at protecting people. He steps forward and places a hand on Raps’ arm. Luckily, he catches her as the gold is fighting back- her arm is warm and soft. She gasps, opening her eyes. “I’ve got this,” she assures him, hope returning to her face at the sight of his. “You’ve got this,” Varian confirms proudly. “No prob.” “What are u doing?” Zhan Tiri screeches. Varian steps back and Raps raises her arms, eyes burning fiercely. “Changing fate’s design,” she mutters. She’s under her own will once more. The sharp blue of the moonstone, flashing like eyes, and the healing light of the sundrop, glowing like a smile, swoop with her guidance to her two favorite people in the world. She starts to sing. Zhan Tiri glares as the walls begin to mend, as Cass and Eugene breathe a little less shallowly - but can do nothing about it. She calculates her next move. “What will happen now, huh?” She snarls. “Go back to chasing old dreams others have chosen for you?” “No.” Rapunzel’s power shimmers, freckles glowing faintly. She smiles slightly. “I have a new dream.” Her hands hold something precious in each; one blue, one gold. Her hair fades as she extracts them - the gems only glow brighter. “I dream about chasing dreams,” she says confidently. “Following my heart. Being who i am and seeing the people i love do the same.” “Stop!” Zhan Tiri shrieks as Rapunzel’s hands inch closer together. “What are you -“ “I’m going to go,” Rapunzel smirks widely, “and live my dream.” Her hands slam together - sundrop and moonstone reunite into one and Zhan Tiri bellows before glitching midnight and vanishing into the void. Rapunzel gazes at the combined stone as quiet sunlight streams through the gaping gash in the ceiling and wall. It’s quite beautiful; the sun and moon gently marble around each other, complimenting each other, holding each other up in orbit as the gem floats above Rapunzel’s careful hands. “I’m sure the cosmos are waiting for you,” she whispers as she gently lifts it up and sends it to the heavens where it belongs. She falls to her knees, exhausted. “Rapunzel!” Her friends rush to her side. Cass immediately burrows her head into Raps’ shoulder, Eugene is quick to put his arms around the both of them followed by Varian, who has tears in his eyes but is grinning. “I’m sorry,” both Raps and Cass gasp at the same time. They sniffle and snort, Rapunzel gently pushing a dark curl out of Cassandra’s face. “Can we just promise to look after each other with a little less drama?” Eugene jokes weakly. “We might have some issues,” Cass admits, laughing. “I promise I’ll share the load next time, Raps. You’re strong, I know, i just…wanted to keep you safe.” “We all know Rapunzel doesn’t need someone to take care of her,” Varian points out, teasing as Cass tries to rearrange her face into something less sappy. “But we will,” Eugene adds worriedly. “Take care of you, i mean.” Raps smiles tearfully as Eugene tucks her newly brown hair behind her ear. “I know,” she whispers gratefully. “And I’ll always do the same for you.” ~ Well, you can imagine what happened next. The gang went home to Corona, which was rejoicing at the sudden disappearance of the rocks, and they took a long, long nap. Then, dreams started getting chased all over the place. Princess Cassandra announced to her father that she was tired of just being a figurehead, and wanted to go out in the world and help everywhere that she could. The king, a man who cared for his daughter more than anything, granted her request, allowing her to travel to neighboring kingdoms and aid those in need…under the condition that she never shouldered it completely alone. Raps and Eugene were usually the ones to accompany her, of course. Rapunzel was eager to see and do everything, and to do most of it with her girlfriend and Eugene. This gave Eugene, in turn, a perfect opportunity to confess how he felt…to which Raps squealed happily and leaned in to kiss him. Cass tended to smirk from a distance and call them out as the saps they were, ignoring the fact that she helped Eugene plan this. Varian became the most renowned scientist in the kingdom after he and Raps experimented with blending alchemy and magic to set his father free. Quirin and Varian were reunited, never to lose each other again. Speaking of finding things-Edmund and Eugene found that they actually had a lot in common. They rekindled their relationship as Edmund rekindled his hope in the Dark Kingdom, returning to bring it to its former glory. Lance found a home in Corona with two adopted kids; runaways, just like he and Eugene had been. He was the sweetest father the girls could ask for, and often had them playing detective. And so while one couldn’t exactly say that their adventures had come to a close… our gang found themselves happily on the brink of a new ride, and their next stop? Could be anywhere.
