AN: Hello! Welcome to chapter thirty-one! I hope y'all are ready for this one, but I really don't think you are... Anyways, I had a lot of fun with this one, lot's of exciting stuff, I hope you guys enjoy it! Also, please keep an eye out on Monday and 31st as I will be premiering the first part of a new mini-series/companion piece for this series called Moments of Magic! Y'all have spoken and in honor of Rise of Wizardry's fifth anniversary, I will be posting the first piece of a collection of one-shots and short stories that are connected to this series/universe! Please check it and let me know what you think! :)
REVIEWERS!:
Acecove: Kind of, Emma's magic will definitely be better explained later on. As for Jack, well, he has his own story to live, but I assure you he'll always do his best to help his family! Get pumped because those one-shots are coming soon!
Adaminaart: Aww, thanks! This one is sure to be pretty exciting, I think! And thank you! :)
Eris: I'm glad it was interesting and mysterious and not downright confusing! Emma's story is far from over though, so don't worry! Plenty of content to come!
Noxi26: So cool! Yeah, the creator of the game is an independent, so I totally recommend checking out his work because he uses really cool art styles and themes and all sorts of stuff! Also, understanding Madness Returns probably does help A LOT with understanding Emma's story, so I'm glad you're enjoying it! And yes! The last chapter is taking place at the same time as the First Half of this chapter. ;)
mintchocolatecoveredstrawberry: HA! I wanted to so bad! But unfortunately I need Frollo to stay alive for other reasons, so he gets some plot armor this time around. Sorry to disappoint though, I do understand it! ;)
Music: "Rise" by Katy Perry
NOTES!: "If you don't think I'm a princess, then you're one hundred percent right. I'm the fucking Queen."
Chapter 31: Rise
The air was thick with the scent of smoke and sweat and blood. Rapunzel blocked a Nightmare as it raced passed her and then shot at another, scattering the sand to the wind. Jim ran passed her, bringing his sword up to meet Bular's who snarled at the human boy. Jim ducked, letting the giant beast stumble forward from the sudden lack of resistance, and Jim slipped under to Bular's back, kicking him so the giant beast fell face first into the dirt. Elsa leaped over Bular, shooting a blast of ice out on either side of her to freeze his hands to the ground and then she met Strickler's dagger with her wand, iced over to make it stronger. Strickler growled at her for blocking his attack on the Trollhunter, but she grinned back and used her free hand to send him flying backwards with an ice blast.
Pitch rolled his eyes, still standing at the top of the bridge, and he broke apart into streams of billowing shadows that tumbled over each other as they flew into the air and then crashed down at the center of the courtyard, creating a shock-wave that caused everyone to be pushed back. Rapunzel braced her feet, her arms covering her face, and when she looked up again, Pitch was standing there.
"Pull yourself together, Butcher." Pitch snapped, blasting the ice traps on the Troll's hands, and Bular stood, shaking himself off. "Get that Trollhunter, and bring me your army!"
Bular snarled at Pitch, but turned to go after Jim who was still trying to shake off the stun from Pitch's blast. The boy pushed himself up into a seated position, rubbing his head, and then his eyes widened in horror as he spotted Bular charging at him.
"Carpe Retractum!" Rapunzel shouted, throwing her wand out in front of her as her body moved on it's own with a speed she didn't know she possessed. Streams of light flew out of the tip of her wand, tangling together, and attached themselves to Bular's arm, yanking him back and stopping him in his tracks.
"Meddling Witch!" Bular growled, trying to pull his arm free after glaring at Rapunzel, but she held on to the seize and pull charm with all the strength she had.
"Stay Away From Him!" Rapunzel barked back, digging her feet into the earth as best she could as she leaned all of her weight backwards.
"Look out!" Elsa's scream reached Rapunzel's ears just as a blast of ice brushed past her ear in what felt like slow motion.
Rapunzel's head snapped around to where the ice blast had gone and spotted Gothel pushing herself off of the ground, clutching her frosted shoulder. Looking back at Elsa, Rapunzel found her cousin surrounded by Nightmares.
"Honestly!" Pitch rolled his eyes and then swung his arm in a huge arc, gathering black sand to create a giant scythe. He swung the blade down, slicing through Rapunzel's spell, and Bular yanked his arm free, stumbling but staying upright. Rapunzel fell backwards and hit the ground hard on her side as Gothel was getting to her feet.
"I'll crush all of your bones!" Bular spat, raising his fists at Rapunzel, but her lurched forward when Jim jumped onto his back, clinging to the giant beast by holding both ends of his sword around Bular's neck as the troll bucked.
"Jim, NO!" Rapunzel cried out, reaching out towards the boy, but a fist grabbed a handful of her short, brown hair and yanked her back, keeping her on her knees in the dirt.
"And where do you think you're going, Rapunzel?" Gothel sneered, grinning down at her and pulling out her wand, holding it to Rapunzel's neck.
Jim yelped as Bular finally grabbed him and threw him down onto the ground. Elsa looked over at him, but was too overwhelmed by the Nightmares to help. Bular loomed over the boy, and Jim's heart pounded in his chest, but then there was a flash of light behind Bular and something landed on the troll's head, causing him to flail about and scream as claws scratched at his eyes.
Jim watched, completely shocked, as a skin-and-bones cat dropped to the ground right in front of him. "Cat?" Jim said, staring at the creature as he recognized it. The cat locked gazes with him, and then darted off in the direction of the Temple of Light, the bright crystals within view even from this far into the maze. "Emma!" Jim whispered to himself, concern rising up in his chest, but before he could move, Bular slammed his fists on the ground and roared in Jim's face.
Acting instinctively, Jim's foot shot up, kicking him in the Gronk-nuks. "Rule Number Three!" Jim declared and then pushed back, rolling onto his feet and standing.
Bular snarled and, with one massive fist, swatted Jim away like a fly. Jim went flying across the clearing, hitting the side of the bridge and slumping down onto the ground. He shook his head and blinked slowly, dazed by the blow, but as Jim managed to come to, Strickler reappeared. Only now the teacher had the appearance of a green troll with a cape draped across his shoulders. Strickler started running at Jim, who hastily summoned his sword, and he and Strickler clashed in a stalemate.
"I'll give you an 'A' for effort, but you're going to fail this exam!" Strickler growled around much larger teeth as Jim shoved him away and scrambled up the bridge, trying to put space between them.
"Enough games! Take the amulet!" Bular yelled, charging at the bridge with thundering steps that seemed to slow as Rapunzel took a breath in.
"I'm going..." She said, answering Gothel's question. "To Protect my friends!" Rapunzel grabbed onto the wrist that was buried in her hair and flipped Gothel over her head, forcing the old hag to scream and drop her hold on Rapunzel's hair and her wand.
Just as Gothel hit the ground, a new figure exploded through one of the hedges, rolling across the ground on a spiked-spine. The blur of blue slammed into Bular, knocking the troll away until he skidded to a stop and roared, but he was met with a headbutt from the ball who turned out to be a blue troll. Their horns locked in a fierce stare down, their hands locked together in a wrestling match.
"I am Draal the Deadly, Son of Kanjigar, and you will suffer for my father's death!" The blue troll threatened, surprisingly calm despite his fiery war-face.
"Draal!" Jim cheered, grinning down at the new arrival.
"Blinky sent me to find you. The Moor has been overrun by Changelings, Goblins, and Nightmares!" Draal reported after he and Bular had pushed away from each other, circling each other, watching for the other to make the first move.
"Our forces are greater than you know, Trollhunter!" Strickler told Jim ominously, lunging at the boy who dodged out of the way over and over, blocking and parrying as he tried to find his footing.
"I'm coming, just hold on!" Elsa called out to him, fighting her way through the Nightmares. Trying to break free of them so she could go aid Jim.
Rapunzel started running towards the bridge, but Gothel stood and shot a fire spell at her feet, causing flames to roar up in between Rapunzel and her friends.
"You're not getting away from me that easy!" Gothel hissed, raising her wand to a dueling stance. Rapunzel did the same as she clenched her teeth together.
"Enough!" Pitch shouted, throwing his arms out to cast another giant wave of dark energy, throwing Rapunzel and Elsa off of their feet and onto the ground. Draal put his arm up to defend himself against the blast, but Bular took the opening to slam his fist into Draal's chin, sending the blue troll sprawling across the earth. Jim hit the back railing of the bridge, and Strickler grabbed the boy's arm, using his own hand to yank the amulet off of his chest.
Strickler dragged Jim over to the center of the bridge where the headstone was, Jim struggled and argued, but Strickler was stronger than him and forced Jim's hand to attach the amulet to the bridge.
"No, No, No!" Jim shouted as the amulet gave a pulse of energy, giving a ding as both clock-like bits pointed upwards.
Light spread out across the bridge with a brilliant flash, and then it began to glow a dark blue. Underneath the bridge, a portal opened, sucking in air and anything else unlucky enough to get pulled into it's trap.
"Not many people are lucky enough to say they were there when history was made!" Strickler grinned down at Jim, keeping him pinned to the bridge railing despite his struggles. "Nothing can stop his return!"
Pitch laughed, finally grinning widely up at the bridge, seemingly unaffected by the pull of the portal. Rapunzel looked back at the portal, noticing that the rush of wind being pulled in had snuffed out the flames behind her. Looking back at Gothel, she realized the witch had lowered her wand, a smug expression lighting her features, as if they'd already won.
Perhaps they had, but Rapunzel wasn't ready to give up just yet.
She whirled around and raced for the portal, darting right past Pitch and taking a jumping up onto Draal's back before throwing herself at the headstone in a giant leap. She clung to the bridge and wrapped her fingertips around the amulet as best she could, pulling and tugging on it. She could hear Strickler laughing, and Jim telling her to let go, but Rapunzel ignored all of them and focused all her energy on getting that amulet out of that rock.
Her arms hummed with energy as she pulled, her fingertips sparking as her magic flowed out into the amulet. The amulet responded. The magic in it compatible with her own, and for a moment her magic mingled with the amulet's, but when she commanded it to release, it paused for a moment and then rejected her. The amulet gave a massive pulse of energy, throwing Rapunzel back through the air and she landed hard on the ground to the point that she bounced.
Rapunzel struggled up onto her elbows to find Pitch cackling, bent over with glee, and then he straightened, turning his eyes onto her in amusement.
"Did you honestly think that would work? Honestly, what can you do to stop me? The weakest of the Guardians! The little healer who can't stomach a war? Don't make me laugh!" Pitch chuckled. "What are you? You're no fighter! You're no warrior! What a disgrace you are. Now, watch as I gather an army that will conquer the whole world with Fear and Darkness!"
Draal screamed, running at the bridge and scaling up the side of it in spite of the heavy pull of the portal. He grabbed on to the amulet and pulled with all of his might. The amulet immediately rejected him and began giving off a massive surge of power and light and Rapunzel could feel pulsing from where she lay halfway across the clearing.
Shocked and distracted, Strickler loosened his hold on Jim as if to stop Draal, but Jim broke free and within the blink of an eye had their positions flipped. Jim pinned Strickler to the bridge, twisting his arm behind his back, but the boy's attention was on his friend.
"NO! Let go, Draal! Let go!" Jim called out to him, half a command and half a plea.
"No! No! Don't let him!" Bular shouted, starting toward the bridge.
Rapunzel watched in horror as Draal screamed, light bursting from the amulet as it fought against his pull. An explosion shook the ground of the clearing and dust billowed out in a giant cloud around all of them.
Rapunzel pressed herself into the ground as the energy wave of the amulet and the following cloud from the explosion passed over her. When everything was quiet, she blinked open her eyes, watching the dust settle as she searched for her friends. She found Elsa lay on her side off to her right, wincing in pain and not getting up from the ground just yet, but breathing.
"Huh? Draal!" Jim's voice crying out seemed to echo in the quiet of the maze. The boy darted out of the rubble of the collapsed bridge and fell to his knees beside Draal who had fallen just to the left and in front of Rapunzel.
The big blue troll wasn't moving at all, and his right arm, having turned to stone, crumbled to pieces where it lay stretched out in front of him. Jim retrieved the amulet from the shattered pieces with trembling hands and tears pooling in his eyes. His shoulders slumped in despair, but a groan from Draal made his head snap up towards the giant creature.
"I'd hand you the amulet, but..." Draal muttered, a small smirk gracing his features.
"You're Alive!" Jim beamed at him.
"Not for long!"
They all looked up to see Pitch standing before them with the most hate-filled expression Rapunzel had ever seen. Gothel was still shaking off the affects of the explosion like them and Strickler was nowhere to be found, but Bular was working himself into a rage over the rubble that was left of his precious bridge.
"Father!" He yelled, roaring angrily.
"Over and Over I find meddling little Children getting in the way! You will pay for this! I will slaughter each and every one of you, and I will take pleasure in hearing all those you hold dear Scream in terror and pain!" Pitch hissed at them, his glare sweeping over them all before leveling on Rapunzel. "Oh, and I have special plans for you! I'll make sure to keep you alive so you can see exactly how you've Failed all of them!"
"I haven't failed them yet. And I won't stop fighting until they're safe!" Rapunzel argued.
"Oh, what Lies you speak! Look around you! Your friends have fallen all around you! The Moor burns! You are powerless to stop any of it! You walk over the corpses of your comrades because you are incapable!" Pitch spat mockingly. "The little Princess locked in her tower. You know very well you have no place in this war. Your Guilt and Fear betray you."
Pitch waved one hand about and his sand meshed together to form the image of Hiccup, and Rapunzel's heart constricted painfully in her chest as she looked away, squeezing her eyes shut.
Pitch was right. She was weak and helpless and maybe if she had been just a little... More then maybe Hiccup would still be there. Maybe if she was stronger, faster, Better, her friends wouldn't be in so much pain all around her now.
There were so many voices from Pitch and Gothel to Daren Fouls and her own father, each of them filling her with doubt. Her heart Ached and her cheeks burned as tears dripped from her eyes. She saw images and memories of all the times people had gotten hurt because of her: Hiccup, Merida and Jack, Eugene, Elsa, Jim, Draal, and so many others. It made her breath rush in and out of her lungs as her blood raced through her veins with white-hot energy.
She could Feel Life all around her. She could sense their Pain and their Joy. Their very Souls.
But then something else broke through her thoughts. Jack and Merida assuring her and encouraging her through the whole tournament, Eugene believing in her and caring for her at the same time, the friendliness of Elsa and Jim despite their competitive relationship, Pascal staying up all night with her to help her pour over the clues she got from each trial. All of her friends and family with the love and warmth that they share filled her mind and overwhelmed the darkness, pushing it away.
A warmth in her hand caused Rapunzel to open her eyes and look down, opening her left fist to find a little yellow light laying in her palm. It gave her that same feeling of Freedom from earlier, and a breath burst out of her as she smiled at it wetly. The light gave off soft mewing sounds and Rapunzel thought she spotted a pair of wings forming in the light, but they quickly disappeared.
"I am the Guardian of Nobility." Rapunzel said to herself, her voice soft as she forced back her tears, and then she raised her head, eyes fixed on Pitch and his subordinates. She forced herself to her knees, pushing herself to plant one foot and then the other, straightening and standing tall in the face of Darkness.
"I know who I am!" Rapunzel shouted at them, raising her head and clenching her fists. "I am the daughter of King Frederic and Queen Arianna, future Queen of Corona. I am a Healer and a Guardian. I may not be a fighter or warrior, but I am a Protector. I am made strong because I have my friends to support me. I stand for Loyalty, Devotion, and Righteousness! Nobility is walking ahead of everyone else to guide them and protect them. The Noble Hearted never walk over their comrades corpses because they go first into battle! They Lead. That is who I am! And so long as I'm breathing, I won't let you take anymore friends from me!"
Rapunzel's blood was rushing with Fire and Light. She paused, her heart skipping a beat in the midst of its relentless pounding, there was noise all around her but she couldn't hear it. All she could hear was the forest. She could Feel the life of the Moor, so vibrant and thriving even in the chaos and death that was fighting to conquer it.
If the Moor was still fighting, Rapunzel would too.
Light burst from Rapunzel chest, throwing her head back and arms out as her feet slowly lifted off of the ground. Streams of light flew out and all around her, a beam of brilliant gold stretching into the sky and breaking through the dark clouds that had blocked out the moon and stars.
Her skin was warm and tingled in a thrilling way. Power surged through her veins and the light carved across her hands and arms in intricate patterns.
The light was blinding, but Rapunzel found comfort in the heat and pure Life there. All of the energy seemed to compress inwards as the light began to retract towards her again, and Rapunzel gathered the strength vibrating through her bones and electrifying her muscles. She threw her arms out and the light rushed out all around her, causing Pitch to throw his arms up in defense as his forces were thrown back.
Rapunzel dropped to the ground on one knee, her long golden hair still glowing and reaching up into the sky. Slowly she stood and looked down. Her hands and forearms were covered in glowing marks of vines, leaves, and flowers. She looked up and around her, Hearing and Seeing everything in a new Light. She could Feel all of the Living Things around her.
It was a little overwhelming.
She stared at her hands, panting as thoughts and memories rushed through her mind and yet her thoughts were quiet and blank at the same time. One thought came to her in the silence, sticking out amongst all the noise, and she grinned.
Rapunzel lifted her chin and her right arm, grabbing a lock of her hair.
She threw her hair at Pitch, whose reaction time was slowed by his shock. Her hair wrapped around his torso, and Pitch looked down in horror before looking back up at Rapunzel again.
"Not again!" He gasped.
Rapunzel ignored him and yanked on her hair. She threw him over her head and slammed him into the ground on her other side, then threw him back to the other side. She dragged him across the earth, and then threw him, releasing her hair so he would go flying into the crumbled pieces of that damn bridge.
"Rapunzel!" Elsa exclaimed, grinning widely.
"She's amazing!" Jim cheered, laughing in disbelief.
"Stand up and get ready to fight!" Rapunzel told them. "This isn't over yet." She turned back to glare at Pitch and his forces who were standing up and gathering themselves. Elsa and Jim ran up to stand on either side of her, each brandishing their weapons. Rapunzel brought up her hands, taking a deep breath in as she gathered as much energy into her hands as possible, her new markings glowing so brightly that her hands were engulfed in light.
"This. Isn't. Possible!" Pitch screamed, flying out of the rubble and landing heavily on the earth across from Rapunzel. Rage had consumed his features as he glowered at her with utter loathing. He growled and then waved his arms, gathering his sand and Nightmares.
Both sides charged, screaming out battle cries.
Rapunzel went for Pitch, meeting his black sand with her light, her hair glowing so bright that it chased the shadows away from the edges of the clearing.
Elsa met Gothel, warding off the hag's curses by throwing up walls of ice before making her own attacks.
Jim and Bular clashed with their swords, the troll snarling and shouting at the boy who stood against him despite the odds.
Everything was a blur happening so fast and yet so slow at the same time. Rapunzel found herself mostly on the defensive, unsure of how this strange yet familiar power worked as Pitch fought with the confidence of a tried and true Sorcerer fueled by rage. Every once and a while she would manage an attack of her own, but the amount of strength behind the attack varied from too little to possibly too much as it would throw her backwards as well. Still, she fought with everything she had, meeting Pitch blow for blow and keeping his attention focused on her rather than on her friends.
Pitch yelled as he gathered dark energy into his palm, throwing his hand at her, but Rapunzel met the blast with one of her own. Gold and Black collided and the explosion caused both of them to go flying back, sliding across the dirt as they planted their feet. Pitch stayed upright, but Rapunzel slid to a stop and then dropped forward slightly, bracing one hand on the ground as she struggled to catch her breath.
Her gaze drifted beyond Pitch to where Bular had caught Jim in one massive fist and had slammed him against one of the pillars framing one of the entryways to the clearing.
"Oh, no -Jim!" Rapunzel called out to him, and Bular's eyes snapped over as he smirked in satisfaction.
"Just in time to see your Trollhunter slain!" Bular rumbled from deep in his throat.
Jim wiggled a bit, his lips moving slightly as he said something Rapunzel couldn't hear, and then his armor disappeared. Smaller now, he slipped from Bular's grasp and then recalled his armor as he threw his fist forward as his blade flashed into existence.
Bular froze, the blinding, flashing light protruding from his chest and back. The light gave a burst, growing bigger, and Bular screamed, dropping his sword as his mouth and eyes were filled with light. Jim walked him back towards the center of the clearing and then pulled away, summoning his sword at his side again as he watched the wound overtake Bular's left side.
"Now that's Daylight for you!" Jim crowed as Bular fell backwards and hit the ground with an echoing thud, crumbling into millions of little pieces.
"Impossible!" Pitch shouted, staring at the scene in disbelief.
His gaze snapped around as Gothel shrieked, having been thrown to the ground by a particularly strong blast from Elsa, who trotted up to stand beside Rapunzel and take up a fighting stance.
"You're alive!" They all turned, finding the path that Draal had reopened when he crashed into the clearing filled with people and Trolls. Toby Domzalski lead the group, running into the clearing, beaming towards his friend.
"Master Jim!" Cheered a Troll with four arms and six eyes who was grinning just as widely.
"Rapunzel!" Merida called out as she, Jack, Eugene, North, and Toothiana armed themselves, aiming their weapons at Pitch and Gothel. Rapunzel turned back to them, but found Pitch backing away with an increasingly angry expression.
"You may have won the battle, but this war has only just begun!" Pitch gave a final yell of frustration before gathering all of his shadows and Nightmares. He swept up Gothel in the swirl of darkness and apparated out of the maze.
"Rapunzel...?" Eugene's quiet voice broke through the silence that Pitch left behind, and Rapunzel looked back to find Merida and Jack staring at her with wide eyes alongside North and Toothiana.
Rapunzel looked down; her long, long, long golden hair had stopped glowing and lay on the ground as if it were back completely to normal, her hands and forearms had also stopped glowing but the markings of vines and leaves remained in darker tones, like the traditional henna tattoos of some tribes. She looked up at her shocked comrades again as North took a few steps forward, muttering something softly in Russian.
"Uh... hi," Rapunzel gave a tiny wave, chuckling nervously. What exactly was one supposed to say in this sort of situation? It's not like anyone had ever even considered such a thing happening. But here they were...
Rapunzel had Changed.
"North!" Toothiana flew forward, touching North's shoulder to bring him out of his shock, and then she continued to Rapunzel, holding both of her hands gently. "Rapunzel, I know this is all probably very overwhelming and frightening and confusing, and I promise we will do everything we can to help you, but right now we need to focus on getting out of here."
"What?" Elsa asked, stepping up beside Rapunzel.
"The shadows have taken the Seasonal Temples. Once they reach the Temple of Light, the Moor will fall and be overrun with darkness. Everyone is being evacuated as we speak." The six-eyed troll explained with a grim tone.
"Help Draal." A very, very large troll with green hair went galloping forward to where Jim was struggling to help Draal onto his feet. He took over supporting Draal, which allowed Jim to finally take a moment to rest, his armor disappearing.
"They're right, we have to go!" Merida nodded.
"And once everyone's out we can talk about how the heck you grew seventy feet of hair in the couple of hours since we last saw you!" Eugene remarked, smiling at Rapunzel with a mix of relief and concern.
Before any of them could make another move, the earth shook and from the very top of the Temple of Light came a giant burst of power, followed by a shock-wave of light that flew out in all directions, flooding the Moor and chasing away the shadows.
Lifting their heads after the wave had passed them, Rapunzel spotted the beacon of light shining even brighter than usual as all of the crystals were set alight by the brilliant source at the top.
"What just happened?" Rapunzel asked, wondering what had caused such a powerful surge.
They all looked at each other in confusion, but Rapunzel turned to look at Jim when she heard a quiet gasp. The boy was staring up at the temple with worry flooding into his eyes.
"Emma," He said, just before he went running towards the Temple of Light.