Here we go again. Thank you all for being so patient every single week, I know this is a long fanfic and I'm thankful that you're sticking with it until the end. Anyway, I hope your ready because we're about to see the reunion of our (or at least my) favorite siblings. I won't say anymore, but enjoy.
Chapter 34: Deciphering the scroll:
About an hour later, Alice, Rapunzel, and Eugene were still waiting for Pascal to return. Alice had given up relaxing, too worried about her brother's safety, and so, had resorted to pacing back and forth, her friends watching her with worried expressions. Eventually Alice gave a little huff, signaling that she had had enough, and Rapunzel decided that she had enough as well.
"This is taking too long, I'm going up there ,"She declared.
"Right behind you ,"Alice replied as both women turned towards the stairs heading to the top of the tower.
"Girls wait !"Eugene cried, catching the attention of both women.
"What is it Eugene ?"Alice asked, noticing the worried tone in the man's voice.
"What if we can't convince her to come back? What if the only way out is too-?"Eugene started to ask.
"This is Cassandra, not some monster. She'll come around, I have to believe that ,"Rapunzel told him, Eugene took a second before responding, certain as ever.
"If you believe it, then so do I ,"he told her, smiling at his girlfriend.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about Cass. I think she'll be considered lucky if I don't break her spine before we leave ,"Alice growled, causing her friends to look at her with wide eyes.
"Mmmmmm, yeah... is that really necessary ?"Rapunzel asked.
"She kidnapped and drugged my little brother with his own truth serum, what do you think ?"Alice asked, crossing her arms.
"I understand that your sibling and motherly instincts are controlling you, but still, our Cass is in there somewhere, just like Ballora. Would you really hurt her ?"Rapunzel asked.
Alice merely sighed and continued up the stairs, choosing not to answer that. Eugene and Rapunzel shared a look before following Alice, their worry only growing.
Meanwhile Varian and Ballora were still trying to find the final incantation. Varian was looking at the scroll through his goggles, but he had yet to find anything of value, other than what he had already deciphered. Eventually, he gave an annoyed scream as he adjusted his goggles.
"Needs the sun, to see the sun, WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN !"he cried in frustration, throwing his goggles and the scroll across the limited space of his cage.
"Okay then... Look Varian, I know this is frustration, but you will find that incantation. I know you will ,"Ballora told him.
"How can you be so sure ?"he asked.
"Because if you can create a truth serum, decipher and find three incantation that are written in a language even me and your sister can't read, then you can do anything. You are the smartest person I know Varian. If anyone can solve this puzzle, it's you ,"Ballora told him, before her eyes caught sight of the scroll.
Varian's goggles were hanging off of the bars by the leather strap, the sunlight reflecting through the lens. The concentrated beams of light were reflected onto the back of the Demanitas scroll, revealing something that surprised the young woman.
"Varian look, the light !"she exclaimed, pointing towards the scroll.
Varian looked, half-heartedly, in the direction Ballora was pointing. His eyes widened as he saw what she was referring to. Words, hidden on the back of the scroll, only showed with the beams of sunlight reflecting through his goggles.
"Sunlight !"he gasped, looking around and spotting the sun start to set behind him.
"The words are hidden and it needs a beam of sunlight to reveal the incantation! Demanitus, you genius !"Varian exclaimed happily, causing Ballora to giggle lightly before reaching through the bars to ruffle the boy's hair.
"Glad to see you got your spark of creativity back ,"she said, smiling at him.
Varian smiled back, liking this version of Ballora much better than the one who wanted revenge on his sister and who wanted to kill him. Who would have thought it would take him going through such a traumatic experience to see the true Ballora. Although, maybe it had to do a little bit with the guilt that this situation is almost exactly like the one she put him through. Despite it all through, Varian knew that he could trust her.
"You know, Al was right, you are a really great friend to have ,"he told her, causing Ballora to look at him in surprise, before her shocked face relaxed into another smile.
"Thank you. Now, let's see what this incantation says ,"Ballora said, grabbing the scroll and handing it to Varian.
She was about to grab Varian's goggles, as well, when Ballora felt a shiver run down her spine. She couldn't help but focus on the feeling, and she was quick to realize what it mean. Ballora gasped as she figure it out, letting go of the goggles. She let out another gasp as she quickly reached forwards and grasped the goggles in both hands, catching them before they fell. Unfortunately, her nails scratched the lens in her haste to grab them.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scratch them ,"Ballora said, handing the goggles back to Varian.
"I-it's fine... I'm sure I can still use them to read the scroll, somehow ,"He told her, holding up the goggles to the light, trying to reflect the sun through them again.
"Right then... Well, can you handle that on your own ?"Ballora asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
"Yeah, I should be able to, why ?"Varian asked, looking over at Ballora and seeing the unmistakable fear in her eyes.
"I'm sorry to leave you like this Varian, but I have to go now. You'll understand soon ,"Ballora told him, opening up a dark portal, just beneath her feet.
"Wait Ballora! What's wrong? Why are you scared ?"he asked, grabbing a hold of her arm, Ballora just looked at him sadly and pushed the hand away.
"I hope we meet again Varian. I really do, and hopefully,... not like this ,"Ballora told him, just before jumping into the portal.
Varian reached out to where Ballora had disappeared, before retracting his hand and looking back towards the scroll. He couldn't worry about Ballora now, he had a job to do, and with the sun setting fast, he needed to work quickly.
It was about this time that Rapunzel, Alice and Eugene finally reached the top of the tower. Cassandra was nowhere in sight, but that didn't mean she was close by. All three of them looked around the room, Rapunzel looking for Pascal, Alice looking for Varian and Eugene investigating the large opening that lead outside the tower.
"Pascal!... Oh, come out buddy !"Rapunzel called softly, while the group searched the room.
"Blondie, Angel ...,"Eugene started, looking through the opening and seeing where it lead.
Both girls looked at him, before walking over. Noticing the worried tone in Eugene's voice, Alive gave the man a skeptical look, and just as she opened her mouth to ask what was going on, he cut her off with his own grim thoughts.
"I think I found Varian ,"he told them, pointing out to a cage hanging at the end of a very thin beam of black rock.
"VARY !"Alice exclaimed, rushing past the princess and her boyfriend.
"ALICE WAIT !"Eugene cried out, trying to grab the woman as she rushed out onto the thin walkway.
Alice didn't pay any attention to Rapunzel or Eugene's words or concern or their cries for her to come back. She simply rushed towards the cage, for there, staring at her with wide eyes, was Varian, and she wasn't going to let something like a thin walkway over a thousand foot drop keep her from him. It would have been expected for Alice to trip and fall at any moment, but she was careful and didn't waiver in her fast pace even once. All of them couldn't help but release sighs of relief as Alice finally made it to her destination, seating herself next to the cage and reaching forward to wrap Varian in her embrace.
"Sis, are you crazy? You could have gotten hurt !"he exclaimed as his sister finally reached him.
"But I didn't! Now, are you alright, are you hurt ?"Alice asked, ignoring her brother's concern as she gently checked his body for any broken bones or bruises.
"No, no sis, I'm fine. No need to worry ,"Varian told her.
"No you're not! Don't think I didn't feel those bruises on your chest, young man. You know what, we'll deal with that later, right now, we need to get you outta here ,"Alice said, searching the cage for any weaknesses that she could use to get her brother out.
"Wait, not now sis !"Varian told her.
"Why not now, Cass could show up any minute now !"Alice told him.
"Sis, I found the last incantation ,"Varian told her, holding up the scroll and his goggles.
"You did! Good for you Vary, but where is it ?"Alice asked.
"It was hidden on the back using a photo-reactive ink, obvious right ?"Varian asked, chuckling and giving a little snort, causing Alice to giggle at her brother's enthusiasm as she heard Eugene groan from the tower behind her.
"Yeah, super obvious !"he exclaimed sarcastically.
"But Vary, can't you work on this later, like when we're back home ?"Alice asked.
"No sis, the problem is, I need a concentrated beam of sunlight to see it! I doubt think I can get a better beam of sunlight than from up here. However, I have nothing to concentrate the light with. I-I tried using my goggles, but they're too scratched up... I would need... something else, like a prism o-or a glass! Al, would you happen to have anything like that ?"Varian asked, looking up at his sister, his eyes desperate.
"I'm sorry Vary, I don't... Wait just a minute... Hey Rapunzel, don't you have something that is similar to a prism, or possibly a diamond ?"Alice asked.
Rapunzel looked at her friend for a moment, before realizing what she meant and looking towards Eugene. She then proceeded to reach into her bag and pull out an engagement ring with a beautiful crystal diamond on it. The very same ring that she had planned to use to propose to Eugene with.
"You mean... like a crystal ?"she asked, holding up the ring.
"Is that a-?"Eugene asked, looking at the ring then back at his girlfriend.
"Yeah ,"Rapunzel replied, smiling as she looked at the ring.
"For me ?"Eugene asked, and Alice rolled her eyes at this.
"YES FOR YOU, WHO ELSE !"She yelled at him, from her place next to her brother.
"You were going to ask me... I mean, I was going to ask you... After all this time, and you still find ways to surprise me ,"Eugene said, holding Rapunzel's hands.
"I don't know sis, that ring is pretty special, I couldn't use it ,"Varian said, having listened to the entire conversation and knowing what that ring was for.
"Vary, I'm sure Rapunzel and Eugene don't-,"Alice started, before the ground started to shake.
Eugene barely avoided dropping his engagement ring, and Alice had to hang onto the bars of the cage to keep herself from falling to her death. It was only than that she noticed how high they were off the ground, and clutch the bars tighter even as the shaking settled.
"Oh no, Cassandra must know we're here !"she exclaimed.
"O-okay, Eugene, get the ring to Varian, I'm going to go find Pascal !"Rapunzel declared, Eugene stopping her for a moment before she left, giving her a smile.
"Be careful ,"he told her, and they both went their separate ways.
"Eugene, please hurry! The sun is setting !"Alice yelled as Eugene started to cautiously make his way towards her and Varian.
"Hey sis, I'm just wondering... how did you all know where to find me? I get the giant tree in the middle of the forest is a dead give away, but really, how did you get here ?"Varian asked.
"Well, Rapunzel knowing the location of this valley really did help a lot ,"Alice pointed out.
"Wait, Rapunzel knew about this place !?"Varian exclaimed.
"Yeah, this was the former sight of her tower ,"Alice told him.
"Well... that explains all that rubble and the pillar I was tied to ,"Varian said, casting his eyes downward.
"I'm serious Vary, are you alright? I can't imagine what it's like to go through all of this again ,"Alice said, cupping his face in her hand.
"I'm... I'm alright, really I am... I just want to figure out what the last incantation says and then I want to get out of here ,"he told her.
"And we will ,"Alice told him, just as the ground started to shake again.
Alice, Eugene and Varian looked back towards the tower, wondering what was going on. Only to see all the windows and doorways closing, locking them all outside of the tower for the time being. Now they had that to deal with, lovely.
"Well, there goes our way back inside ,"Alice sighed.
"So, we're trapped out here ?"Varian asked, once again looking downwards and growing pale at the long drop.
"No, of course not, I'm sure there's another way to get back inside. We'll be okay, I know we will ,"Alice told him, holding her brother's hand tightly.
Varian squeezed her hand, and she squeezed it back giving her brother a tiny smile. She had hoped that this would settled his nerves, but once Varian caught sight of the sun he started to panic again. The sun was almost halfway gone, soon to be completely replace by the moon and the darkness of the night.
"Eugene come on, the sun is setting !"Varian called out, seeing Eugene was halfway to them.
"I'm going as fast as I can kid... without dying ,"Eugene said as he picked up the pace just a little.
As soon as Eugene was less than a few feet away, he started to hold out the ring to the siblings. Alice reached out as well, ready to take it and hand it to her little brother. However, Eugene tripped and dropped the ring as he fell on his knees, luckily not falling off the walkway. Alice swiped her hand towards the ring, trying to catch it. Her hand reached out below the walkway, and it looked as though the ring had fallen off the tower.
"First memory, now balance! AGE, why do we have to age !"Eugene exclaimed, thinking that the ring was gone, however Alice quickly came back up and opened her closed fist, revealing the ring in her palm.
"Nice grab AL !"Eugene exclaimed happily.
"Thanks. Now, I'll concentrate the light while you translate Vary, no offense but I think I'm the most graceful one out of all of us ,"Alice said, sliding the ring onto her middle finger, not a perfect fit, but it would have been looser on her ring finger.
"Fair enough ,"Varian said, holding up the Demanitus scroll, and Alice was quick to concentrate the light through the ring and onto the parchment, revealing the incantation.
"It's working !"Varian exclaimed as he quickly read the incantation, translating it in his head as Alice continued to move the light.
"Way to go you two ,"Eugene told them.
However, their good luck didn't last for long. For about halfway through the process of translating the scroll, the parchment lit on fire because of the light, causing Alice to gasp before quickly removing the ring and placing it in Varian's backpack before the light could do more damage. As the fire spread, Varian quickly riffled through his bag and pulled out a tiny piece of parchment and a pencil, quickly writing the incantation while Eugene blew on the fire, trying to stop it.
"STOP FUELING IT !"Alice exclaimed.
"I'M NOT FUELING IT !"Eugene yelled back, the fire continuing to spread.
Upon seeing the fire getting closer to Varian's hand, Alice scream and knocked the parchment out of his hand, sending the remains of the scroll falling from the tower, turning to ash within a few seconds as the fire consumed the paper.
"Oops ,"Alice said as she watched the ashes fall to the ground below, before looking back at Varian who was looking down at the parchment in his hand with a sigh of relief.
"I got it !"he exclaimed, holding the paper tightly.
"Thank god, because that thing wasn't easy to come by ,"Eugene said, looking at where the scroll had turned to ash.
"Okay, so now that that's done, we need to find Rapunzel and the others and get out of here ,"Alice said.
"Agreed. So, quick question, how do we get Goggles out of that cage and back inside, because I've got nothing ,"Eugene told them.
Varian and Alice shared a look that told each other that they had no ideas either. Alice did a quick survey of the area, and noticed how the walls of the tower were steep and smooth, not a loose stone in sight. She did notice however, that the roof of the tower was just a few feet shorter than her height, about the same length as her keyblade. It was upon seeing this that she got an idea.
"Okay, if I get on the rood, I might be able to find another way in, but I'll have to check first ,"Alice said, standing up, keeping her balance as she stepped around Eugene, placing his between her and Varian.
"So you're just leaving us here ?"Eugene asked.
"Eugene, I need you to help Varian find a way out of that cage. I'll check the roof for another entrance into the tower, and then I'll be right back to get you two, okay ,"Alice said.
"I trust you sis, but please, be careful ,"Varian begged her.
"I will Vary, you two just stay put and try to get out of that cage. I'll be back as soon as I can ,"she told them.
"Angel, wait-,"Eugene started.
"I promise ,"Alice told him, turning back to the boys.
"Okay... Just be careful ,"Eugene told her, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop the keyblade master even if he tried.
Alice nodded and headed towards the tower. She knew she couldn't climb up onto the roof on her own, but with a quick summon of her keyblade, Alice began to put her idea into action. Reaching up as high as she could, Alice found herself right when the key portion of her blade sat on the rooftop. After tugging a bit, to make sure her weapon wouldn't loosen anytime soon, she took a deep breath and place her foot on the hilt of her keyblade. The halo surrounding the hilt of the blade made it easy for her feet to use as a climbing stone. Alice then carefully pulled herself up, and within a few moments her hand was able to grab a hold of the roof. She quickly pulled herself up as she felt her keyblade begin to slip. As Alice sat on top of the roof, she grabbed her keyblade and held it tightly as she began to get to her feet. Looking back at Eugene and Varian, she gave a tiny smile before she began to explore the roof, looking for a way in.
Well, that was fun. I hope you all enjoyed this week's chapter, and I'll see you again next week.
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