A/N: Ok, change of plans; Rapunzel will be in the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait again, but life just gets in the way. It sucks but we just gotta deal with it. Enjoy!

Dear reviewer,

Tangledsawesome: you never know who I'm gonna kill next ;) and thank you, we do need some drama in life.

Nikkibecket1997: Yes, yes I am.

P.s. I own nothing :( it's sad I know.

Chap 29

Not far from the canyon of his enemies, the Great King William sat at the head of his elaborate throne, waiting impatiently for his scouts to deliver the latest news from the battlefield. The throne was located at the back of an enormous and luxurious tent. Elegant Persian carpets lined the floor while maps of the geography and battlefield positions hung from the walls, and hard wood tables embroiled with gold carried platter after platter of fresh food and fruits fit for a feast. But despite the aesthetic surroundings, the King only felt anger coursing through his veins as he drummed his fingers madly against the armrest.

He had already received news of his most skilled unit's defeat and withdraw. The Slayers, as they like to be called, almost 10,000 men strong had been humiliated by a group of barbarians. He was the unit's Commander-in-chief, they had followed his direct orders to attack under the cover of fog, and they had failed him miserably. The terrible news only exacerbated his already unsettled mood. He had also received word of riots and protests in his own kingdom by slaves from the conquered lands. They were put down of course, ruthlessly. But still, it unnerved the King. Never before had the slaves acted out against his rule, and if this news were to reach his larger army. . .it would compromise their unity within the ranks, specifically the lower ones.

Then suddenly, the curtain doors of the tent blew open and three mysterious figures stepped inside. Two very short men, completely covered from head to toe in black hooded cloaks, moved forward. The way their clothes just barely brushed the floor as they moved soundlessly toward the throne gave them the impression of ghosts. Their reputation reinforced that impression; Tortugan scouts, infamously known to never be seen nor heard unless they themselves want to be. The third man trailing closely behind was a Slayer, decked in golden armor instead of the standard silver, signifying a much higher position of power. His eyes were hid behind the shadow of his plain, faceless mask, and were as dark and hollow as wells.

The two cloaked scouts knelt and bowed their heads before the King. "Speak," he ordered, "what news do you bring from the front-lines?"

The two men exchanged a quick glace from underneath their hooded expressions. "We bring excellent news, Sire." One said, his voice as slow and raspy as a serpent. "Yes, most excellent news, Sire." Agreed the other in a similar tone.

"Then speak already." The King commanded firmly.

"Our spy with the Coronans reports they have discovered tunnels." The scout answered giddily, but with his voice it came out sounding maniacal and evil like. "Tunnels that lead directly to their positions on top the walls." The other explained, "No more having to attack them from the front; they will be defenseless and vulnerable, crumbling against our numbers."

King William pondered over this new information thoughtfully. How very fortunate for this sudden change of events. This is exactly what he needs to finally crush those damned Coronans like the bugs they truly are. He had little expectation that the war was to last this long, and even less so at the cost of it in men and resources. . .not that he had the slightest bit of care for the two.

"This spy," he questioned, "do they suspect him?"

The scouts shook their heads in unison. "No, Sire. They suspect nothing." One answered. "The Coronans are as gullible as they are fierce." Added the other.

The King smiled. "Excellent. Now leave us, the General and I have plans to discuss." He said, his eyes moving to focus on the third man in the room.

They obeyed, as the tall Slayer/General stepped forward and knelt before his superior wordlessly.

"Find those tunnels. Now." He ordered simply. "Search all night if you have to, and once you do, gather the rest of the men. We'll attack and catch them off guard at dawn. Now go."

The General stood and bowed stiffly before turning around to act out his orders.

But before he exited, King William added "And General." The Slayer twisted his head back to the right slightly, just enough to see the corner of one of the empty holes where his eyes should've been. "You've already failed me once, and I'm not in the habit of tolerating more of it. Now make sure it doesn't happen again. . .or else." The King finished.

And with that, the General exited without so much a word. Because this time, he would not fail. Failure is unacceptable for an officer of his rank.

!#$%^&*()

The War: Phase 3 (still), the next day.

No one had gotten a good night's sleep yesterday. Everyone had just laid wide awake under the starry sky tossing, turning, and curling beneath their blankets as they thought and rethought over what they'd just heard moments ago. 'Tunnels' their scouts had reported; the very thing that could be the death of them all. That's not exactly the last piece of info you'd want to hear before bedtime. It'd be like saying 'Oh hey, great news! There are now newer ways for your enemy to sneak past you and kill you! But don't worry about it, just sleep on it till the morning. THEN you'll die!

So it didn't come as a surprise when dawn finally came that the men were acting a bit. . .slow. It was understandable; they've been fighting day in and day out for God knows how long, and it was getting to the point where they wouldn't have much left in 'em to fight with. There was also the stress of thinking that one of these days they'd be joining the 'martyrs' club. The men didn't like to talk about it, but it was always one of those lingering thoughts you could never ignore, like a giant elephant in the room. The thought had always been there from the very beginning, but ever since yesterday. . .it's shown no one is safe from death.

Then there was the whatever and whoever waiting for them back in the kingdom to think about. Everyone had someone to think about. They had to constantly remind themselves that they were fighting this for that person, and for the kingdom. But for Eugene, it wasn't about whom he was fighting for; it was about who he was fighting with; a certain brunette who was mad at him BECAUSE he was fighting. Not a day went by without him thinking of Rapunzel. He had daydreams on a few occasions about when this war was over and they'd win, he'd run back to the palace as fast as his feet could carry him, kick down the door to her bedroom, sweep his love off her feet and then—

"You ready for this boy?" a voice interrupted his thoughts.

He came back to reality and looked up to where the voice came from. It was just the Commander and he was already dressed in his armor. It was hard to read his uncle's expression through his helmet but Eugene could clearly see the man hadn't gotten much sleep either; there was an almost grayish layer bags under his tough brown eyes and he didn't seem to stand as straight as he normally did. 'Had he even changed out of his uniform since yesterday?' he asked himself.

With a sigh the younger man answered, "As ready as I'll ever be."

The Commander managed a small smile at the reply, "Ya know I did warn you before this wasn't going to be easy."

Eugene smiled in return, "Yeah, but if it was, it wouldn't be nearly as fun as it is now."

Commander Thames laughed shortly and nodded, "Very true." He said, offering his hand to him. "Now get up and put your uniform on, it's high time we get this war over with."

A few moments later, all the men were dressed and in their formation at the edge of the canyon, waiting for the Tortugans to show up. The bottom half of the sun was slowly making its way above the horizon, casting large shadows over the canyon walls. Dawn had finally arrived.

Up above the men, the archers were readying their bows as the Captain looked on at the view. On a clear day, you could see a few hills miles away from where he stood, something that came in handy many times because behind the hills was where the Tortugans were stationed; he could know when they were coming and from where. But that wasn't the case today; he saw no men or any other sign of life preparing to attack them. It was strange. . .too strange.

But then, the ground started to shake softly. Tiny little tremors like waves caused the men to stagger a little; all the men then looked to their feet as if something was with them but they quickly realized it wasn't them. 'An earthquake' they thought? No, it was something worse.

The tremors became more violent as the men in the canyon heard shouts and screams coming from above them. "No." the Commander said quietly. The sounds of a battle went on above; men roared, and metal clashed with metal as bodies started falling on top of his men, their comrades screamed as they fell and made the hard landing on the others. "NOOOO!" he then yelled, "FALL BACK! EVERYONE RETREEEEAAT!" but the bodies still kept falling. Most of the men had heard the order and started retreating while others tried to grab as many living men as they could and drag them to safety. The battle ended as the last of the Coronans retreated deeper into the canyon.

A/N: I don't think I've done a chap this long in a while, oh well. Please REVIEW!