Blue Scar Odyssey Chapter 24: Nightmare, a rapunzel's tangled adventure fanfic

Note: Hi, all. Quicker update this time. We don't know why we end every chapter on a cliffhanger, but we've pretty much been doing that for years. Translation: Expect a lot more lovely cliffhangers. Anyway, we want to give a warning that this chapter gets kind of mental and weird. Also, it contains story elements that people might find kind of disturbing. We want to give a heads up just so people are prepared for it. Let us know if you thought it was too much. We never want to make people too uncomfortable, though this story has always had some darker elements to it. Anyway, thank you for reading and all the support. Enjoy.

What Cassandra had been hiding from her…

For a moment, it seemed like the whole world dragged to a standstill. Rapunzel became absorbed in the imposter's dark, soulless ideas, lured in by the promise of the unspeakable. If the fake Cassandra actually couldn't read her mind, then she did a damn good job of pretending. The fake's lips curled up into a sultry smile, teasing just an inch away from Rapunzel's face.

She knew.

She knew everything.

"Sounds good, right?" Cassandra asked smugly. "Aren't you tired of being lied to? Don't you really want to know every dirty little secret she has?"

Rapunzel refused to answer. She sealed her mouth tight and refused to show any signs of the monster's tricks working on her. This all had to be some game, some vicious plan to ultimately destroy her. She knew that giving in would be wrong. But despite the immediate danger, there was something about Cassandra's presence, however fake it may have been, that weakened her resolve. They had fought so much recently, with circumstances having driven their emotions to a fever pitch. Whatever Cassandra was keeping from her was going to slowly rot away at her and leave scars more permanent than any curse ever could. Would it really, truly be all that bad to know what was hurting her friend?

"I mean…not that you don't already know," Cassandra said, watching the fear flicker over Rapunzel's features. "But you want to hear it, right? You need to hear it, just to be sure. Because I can tell you that whatever you think it is, it runs far…far…" Cassandra leaned in and swooped past Rapuznel's face, speaking directly into her ear. "…deeper."

A shudder ran down Rapunzel's spine. Cassandra's breath was hot against her skin, and for just a breath moment, some unknown part of her wanted a little bit more.

Rapunzel's fists tightened in her restraints. She suddenly leaned away from the Cassandra imitator, closing her eyes and shaking her head fervently. "No," she said. "Whatever you want from me, it isn't going to work."

A brief flicker of anger appeared on Cassandra's face, but she quickly resumed the mirage. She scoffed and shrugged and walked back to the center of the room, slipping back into her casual dialect. "Ugh, come on, Raps. You're still really pulling this purity friendship shit? Come on. I'm giving you this on a silver platter. You know you want it."

The clone had a point, as much as Rapunzel hated to admit it. The offer was tantalizing. No matter what she told herself, or how many promises she made to keep out of her friend's business, finally seeing the truth was something she needed. She could tell herself that it was an altruistic need; after all, some of the things Cassandra said to her during her drunken ramblings were terrifying. She needed to protect her friend. But Rapunzel, as good-natured as she was, was still only human. They both knew the real reason why she wanted to know, what suspicions she needed to alleviate.

And yet, she held back. She had to be better than that.

"Even if I did trust you," Rapunzel said sternly, "I would never violate Cassandra's trust like that."

"Is that so?" Cassandra asked slyly.

"You tell me. You can read my thoughts, right?" Rapunzel said daringly. "I'm not interested in whatever you're selling. If Cass doesn't want to tell me something, I don't need you to tell me for her. You can act like you're my friend, but if you really wanted to help me, you would quit the games and take me to the real Cassandra now."

The imposter was still unfazed. Rapunzel could stir and shout all she liked, but the truth was that she had no leverage. If the Void wanted her to know Cass's secrets, it could just spill them without consequence. But maybe it was because it inherited Cassandra's feelings, or maybe it had something even more sinister planned, or hell, maybe it really was kind in some roundabout way—but the fake Cassandra simply nodded and abided by her terms.

"You really are special, you know that? I see why she cares about you much," she stated calmly.

"Where is Cass?" Rapunzel demanded, but the imposter just shrugged and continued on.

"I knew there was something special about you the moment you crossed the boundary," Cassandra explained. "I mean, plenty of idiots have walked through us, but their thoughts are always so boring. Like that Psycho-whatever girl you were working with. Totally a blank slate. But you and Cass? Oh, there was so much within those heads of yours."

Rapunzel growled. "I want to see Cassandra."

"I didn't know humans could be so complicated. Your relationship is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's like every feeling you've ever had toward one another has been twisted and folded back into itself. There's so much love between you two, but it's merged with this jealousy and anguish that's just so…so…"

"Where is she?" Rapunzel shouted. She was no longer in the mood to play along. Every second she was trapped in those disgusting binds was a second that Cass could be in danger. She didn't trust a word out of the imposter's mouth, and her imitation grew more insulting the longer it went on. But that wicked, familiar smile remained on Cassandra's face all the same.

"Oh, Raps. You're really trying, aren't you?" The imposter rolled her eyes. "You want to see the real Cassandra? Fine. I'll show you the real Cassandra."

With deft confidence, the false Cass raised her gloved hand and clenched her fist, and with that simple motion, the entire castle seemed to tremble underneath her power. Rapunzel looked around nervously, and eventually, her attention was diverted upward toward the high ceiling. From the shadows of the rafters, she saw something descend: a massive, bulbous mass that seemed to pulse and writhe and beat like a human heart. Cassandra smirked and stepped back as the thing was gradually lowered into place several feet above her, clear enough that Rapunzel could make out each of the ridges and the veins that made up the massive organ. She could only guess as to what it was supposed to be. If the Void was truly alive, then she assumed it had to be what it appeared like, taking on another form that she was able to understand. Regardless of what the heart truly was, she realized that it wasn't what the fake was interested in. Rather, Rapunzel's attention was soon drawn further in. Within the walls of the heart, she could see the rough outline of a human form struggling to burst out.

It looked like it may have had blue hair.

The imposter granted the prisoner's wish with a snap of her fingers. At once, the heart split in two, and its gooey innards spilled out square onto the floor of the empty dining room. Gallons of pink, putrid slime spilled out everywhere—and amidst the gunk, a woman with blue hair coughed and sputtered as she tried to gain a sense of her surroundings.

"Holy…holy shit…" Cassandra rose up to her hands and knees, her body shaking as she tried to process what had just happened to her. She ran her palm along her face, trying to wipe away whatever slime was still clinging to her. Her stomach felt like it was in her throat. Her dress, once pristine and form-fitting, was tattered and stained with the sludge. Rapunzel pulled on her binds, trying to free herself again as she called to her.

"Cass!"

Cassandra heard Rapunzel's voice, but being bound within the heart had left her disoriented. She tried to look around, but all she saw was blurry, unforgiving darkness.

"Rapunzel? Where are you?" she asked weakly.

"Cass, I'm right here!" It seemed all too easy. Rapunzel didn't doubt the authenticity of the woman in front of her, and thankfully she seemed mostly unharmed, but she also knew it was only a prelude. Rapunzel's words may have tinted with relief, but there was an unquestionable tension lingering over them. Still, they were back together again. That had to count for something. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Cassandra groaned. "Ugh. That was awful. Are you hurt? Where the hell are we?"

Rapunzel has hesitant to answer, mainly because she didn't know herself. In her confusion, however, she noticed that their captor had vanished into thin air. The Cassandra imposter was nowhere to be seen, and though Rapunzel was relieved to be free of her, she only grew more suspicious of her evil intent. The real and only Cassandra finished wiping the muck out of her eyes and managed to look around, gaining a sense of familiarity with her surroundings. When she finally saw Rapunzel in her restraints, her instincts took over and the confusion was replaced with desperation.

"Raps!" Cassandra scrambled to her feet and hurried to Rapunzel's side. She reached out toward her but stopped just short of contact, her face contorting as she examined the tissue-like strands that kept the Princess prisoner. "Oh my God. What is this stuff?"

"I don't know," Rapunzel said fearfully. She checked behind Cassandra for any sign of the imposter, but she truly seemed to be gone…if only it was that easy. "You're really not hurt, right?"

"Aside from almost suffocating? Nah, I'm good," Cass stated, trying to stay positive despite the unbearable circumstances. "Now how the hell do I get you out of here?" She examined Rapunzel all over, trying to find a weak spot. The tendons seemed to latch onto her from head to toe, locking her firmly in place. Of all the times for her not to carry a weapon, it had to be now! She knew she didn't really have time to think about it. She felt some intimidating presence stalking them from afar. They needed to get out of there. Cassandra made a judgment call right there on the spot. If she didn't have a sword, she would just tear Rapunzel out with her bare hands. With a grunt, Cassandra reached forward and grabbed onto one of the tendons on Rapunzel's arm. Their skin briefly touched.

And all at once, Cassandra's arm burst into flame.

The fire died quickly, but the damage was done. Cassandra staggered, a sharp cry emanating from her lips, and Rapunzel cried out to her as she turned and collapsed to her knees. Cassandra screamed into the ground, clutching her hand close to her chest, trying to fight back tears. The skin turned black and dead, and all of the agony that she had experienced in the past—perfect, unspoiled, ripped from time—returned to her at once, scorching through her mind like an inferno.

From above, from everywhere, they heard a voice. "Oh, what's wrong? Déjà vu?"

The voice wasn't Cassandra's. It wasn't Rapunzel's. It wasn't anyone's. It seemed neither male nor female, human or alien. Whatever it was, it was merely cruelty.

Cassandra seethed through her sharp, staggered breaths. "You…you bastard…"

She clenched her dead hand, burnt skin flaking beneath her numb fingertips. The voice laughed at her as she shuddered in pain.

"Don't be mad at us. You're the one who hurts yourself."

Cassandra clenched her teeth, her wide eyes full of rage. She didn't know that the Void could sense her thoughts. She didn't know that her pain and anger were feeding its desires. All she knew was that it was talking shit about her. She wasn't going to let that happen.

"Shut up…and show yourself," Cassandra growled as she pushed herself up to her feet. Her injured arm hung loosely by her side, but she raised her other fist and looked up to the rafters. "You want to fucking fight me? Huh?"

Rapunzel could only watch. Her eyes were fixed to Cassandra's blackened hand—the scars perfectly matching the one she caused so many years ago. It couldn't be…

"Oh, Cassandra. Always acting so tough. You can't fool us. We see right through you."

Cassandra snarled, spinning to try and find the voice's source. "You know nothing about me."

"Cassandra…"

The voices came from everywhere, swirling all around her. Cass struggled to find their source, becoming disoriented within the darkness. They stabbed at her ears, wearing her down, picking at her thoughts—and a nagging pain materialized in the back of her skull. She winced and stumbled, falling to a knee as Rapunzel called to her, desperate to keep her sane.

"Cass? Cass, focus!"

"Cassandra…" The voice seemed to scream directly into her mind. "We know everything about you."

A single drop of water hit the back of Cassandra's hand. Then another. Then another. Cassandra stared at the dead skin in shock, and then slowly turned her gaze upward. The roof of the dining hall was gone. She saw an open sky above her, moonlight shining through heavy clouds. The rain soon turned into a downpour, and a torrent of water came and wiped away the remaining slime that clung to her face. She stared openly at the room as she became drenched under the storm. Damp hair clinging to her forehead. The dress fabric sticking against her chest. Her heart started to beat quickly. Somehow, she had some sense that it was all familiar.

"Stop this…Cass, please…"

Cassandra hesitated, turning back to Rapunzel. "What did you say?"

Rapunzel silently shook her head. She had said nothing at all. Cassandra watched the confusion in her face gradually turn into horror as her eyes fell upon something in the distance. Cassandra was almost in a trance, too concerned to turn around—until she heard another voice, laced with hatred.

"What's wrong, Princess? Afraid?"

It was all so familiar…

Cassandra found the strength to look. The castle walls had blown away, fading into a dark, rocky cliffside. The ground beneath them shimmered underneath the rain, glistening black whenever a burst of thunder lit up the night. She remembered the landscape only faintly, not one from her memories, but something vaguer than that. She could hardly concentrate on trying to remember it. Through the swirling storm, she saw that the cliffside was cluttered with something.

Bodies.

Dozens of them.

Bodies familiar.

Cassandra froze as she saw their forms, disfigured and sprawled out in every direction, punctured and bloody, their lifeless faces permanently cast in pained expressions. An endless row of black rocks spiked out, poking through the rocks and scarring the otherwise smooth surface with their ugliness. The battleground was dead and dark save for two figures in the distance: a lone, blonde Princess dragging her injured body across the ground, and the towering, menacing usurper that stalked her, scraping a dark sword along the stone with each vengeful step. Cassandra trembled as she watched the young, terrified girl scream.

"Cass…Cass, I'm begging you!" Rapunzel could barely keep her voice together. Even in the thickest part of the storm, through howling winds and endless rain, Cassandra could hear her terrified voice clearly—and she could see what she thought was blood pooling through her dress. "Cass…you can stop this. It's not too late…"

The other Cassandra cocked her head, disgusted with the suggestion. "Really, Raps? After all of this, you're still trying to be nice? How many of your friends do I need to kill before you get it through your thick skull? There's no stopping this. You deserve this."

In the castle ruins, the real Rapunzel just watched. She barely understood what she was supposed to be seeing. The only thing she could compare it to was some kind of nightmare. She recognized each and every one of the faces on the corpses. Varian. Lance. Adira. Her mother. Her father. God, the children. Every single citizen of Corona lay dead on the cliff, and the sight was so awful that she could barely stomach it. She wanted to turn and run, but her chains forced her to see all of it. Cassandra, on the other hand? She was held in place by something else. Something invisible.

She was going to watch it. All of it.

"Cassandra, I…I…"

The vision couldn't even finish before the fake Cassandra laughed in her face. "What? You love me? How pathetic can you get?"

Everything seemed to unfold in slow motion. The imposter took her time approaching Rapunzel, a smile growing wider on her lips as the wounded Princess struggled to escape. The sword kissed the stony ground, already steeped with the blood of a hundred Coronans, and though she carried it loosely, she clearly longed for even more. Cassandra felt an urge to reach out, jump on her imitator and pummel her into submission, save the fake Rapunzel before it was too late. And yet, she was as hopeless in the real world as within the memory itself, stranded off to the side, ignored and worthless.

A shadow moved behind the imitator, sprinting through the rain. Eugene, they realized. Still fighting. Still honorable. Still utterly foolish. A dagger in hand, he rushed at the usurper from behind, ready to plunge the blade directly into her back. The Moonstone's owner was all too aware, however, and when he lunged for her, it was so easy for her to merely turn around and snatch him out of the air by his throat. The sick Cassandra imposter held him aloft in one outstretched arm, her powers granting her the strength to manipulate his body as if he were a mere child. She laughed as he struggled and kicked and fought his way to exhaustion.

"Wow, Fitzherbert. Was that really the best you could do?"

Eugene gasped for air, reaching out toward Rapunzel. She called out to him, begging for Cassandra's mercy.

"Cass, please! Please, let him go! Please!"

For a split second, it seemed like she was actually going to listen to her. After everything they had been through together, the adventures, the ups and downs, the betrayals and secrets, it almost seemed like something had broken through to her. Eugene looked at her pleadingly, admiring her power over him for the first time in his life. The real Cassandra watched sullenly, the truth of the events all rushing back to her. Both Rapunzels had to wait, unable to breathe, desperate to see what her former best friend would do to him. The imposter seemed to consider their past for a second…but only for a second.

"You know, Fitzherbert? I guess I can finally tell you the truth. Out of everyone in Corona…" She gave him a careful grin and pulled back her sword. "I always hated you the most."

Cassandra thrust her sword through Eugene's heart, and Rapunzel's horrified scream ripped through the air, louder than thunder.

The captive Princess watched from afar as the life faded from the imposter Eugene's eyes. Cassandra dropped him carelessly onto the ground, just one more body in the pile, and a horrible sickness overcame Rapunzel that forced her to close her eyes and block out the terrible sight. It was the second time in mere minutes she had watched something resembling Eugene die. It was the third time in the week that she had thought about Eugene dying so vividly. It didn't get any easier.

Rapunzel's doppelganger crawled on her stomach toward Eugene's corpse, sobbing, screaming, summoning the last of her strength just to reach his body. The fake Cassandra watched, amused, as Rapunzel hugged him, squeezing him as if trying to will him back to life. There was no remorse in her blue eyes, not even the slightest hint of regret. She openly reveled in Rapunzel's tears, admiring her work in systematically tearing down everyone she ever loved. Rapunzel's tears mixed with Eugene's blood as she cried into his wounds. The usurper stood over her sobbing friend, pulling back her sword once more. She waited for Rapunzel's permission. It was inevitable: The begging for a sweet release. Rapunzel hugged Eugene's body tightly, and through her bitter tears, her choking sobs, and her despair, a few final, seething words escaped her lips.

"You're a monster, Cass."

The fake Cassandra's smile wavered. Just for a second. Somehow, despite everything, Rapunzel still found a way to hurt her.

She drove the sword down toward the Princess—and the real Cassandra closed her eyes and screamed.

"Stop it!"

The mirage vanished before the blade made contact, and the storm settled, and all at once, Cassandra was back in the castle, trying to catch on to her racing heart. She forced herself to take deep, staggered breaths to reclaim her place in reality. All the while, she shivered from the cold.

"What's wrong? It's only you," the voices taunted her.

"N-No," Cass stuttered. "That's not me. That was never me."

"Sure, it was," the voice explained. "You remember that, don't you? It was your dream: to conquer all of Corona and kill everyone who stood in your way."

"Shut up," Cassandra hissed, but the voices continued, growing louder as her headache only grew more intense.

"You wanted them dead."

"You desired it."

"Fantasized about it."

"It was you."

"Always you."

Cassandra shook her head, desperately trying to force them out. "No. I would never…"

"Cassandra…"

"Please."

"Cassandra…"

The voice cut sharp.

"Who are you trying to fool? Yourself…or her?"

She hadn't looked back since the vision began. She hadn't checked once to see the horror on her face. She wasn't able to bear the disgust or the shame. All Cassandra could do was stand there, damp and tattered and shivering in the cold of her own making.

"It was always you, wasn't it?"

The landscape in front of her shifted again. Cassandra saw herself, younger, training in the castle courtyard. Running behind the boys. Lagging. Failing to live up to her father's expectations. Her sneer could frighten lions.

"You were always so desperate to be loved, weren't you? Never quite good enough for anyone. You always wanted more. More. More…"

It shifted again. She saw the long corridor leading up to the Moonstone. Hugging Rapunzel before the Princess tried to approach it. The betrayal, snapping the Opal away before her destiny could be fulfilled. She had never seen the heartbreak so clearly before. It burned itself into her mind forever and twisted what was left.

"You ruined everything. It was all going so well, and then you ruined it because you were selfish."

"I wasn't…no," Cassandra said resistantly. "She tricked me. I didn't know—"

"Liar."

Three new images took the place of the old. She saw herself observing her past under Zhan Tiri's guidance. Plotting to stab Rapunzel in the back. Running away and declaring her freedom. She could see all of it, even her own thoughts. Those memories, crystal clear, rushed back to her and overwhelmed her.

"You knew what you were doing."

"You wanted this."

"Needed this."

"That pain was your fault."

"Not Zhan Tiri's. Not Gothel's. Not your father's."

"Not Rapunzel's."

"Never Rapunzel's."

"Sweet, innocent Rapunzel."

Cassandra fell to her knees, pain shooting through her the back of her skull. She felt those emotions surge back into her all at once. That jealousy and rage and desperation, so powerful and all-consuming, wrapped itself around her chest and pulled her down like an anchor, suffocating her. It was too obvious, too real. That was right. She had to acknowledge it. She had to face it. All of it. Always. Forever.

It was her.

Some small part of her, maybe the only rational part of her that was left, still tried to fight back. "But I…I…"

"What? You changed?" the voice asked. "Do you really buy that?"

"We see right through you."

"Pathetic wretch."

"We see everything."

"You haven't changed at all."

The images changed again, coalescing into one. She didn't recognize the memory as her own, though she soon realized what it was. She saw Rapunzel and Eugene in the town square, singing, dancing, celebrating with the rest of their citizens. There were balloons everywhere and not a cloud in the sky to cover them. She could feel the joy radiating off of them, the sheer love and happiness in Rapunzel's eyes whenever she looked at him. It was right after she betrayed them, she realized. Maybe less than a week. They all seemed so glad. Stronger than ever before.

And in Cassandra's chest, she felt a yearning, coiling jealousy take hold of her, nearly driving her to tears.

"You still feel that, right? Can you see it? She doesn't need you. She never needed you…and that hurts, doesn't it? It hurts seeing how happy she is without you."

Cassandra thought she heard another voice calling to her from behind, but the mirage overwhelmed her senses, blocking out everything the Void didn't want her to see. The image transformed herself into a mob of hateful Coronans. She marched through the streets on her journey to find herself, and their faces were all that she saw. There was so much spite within them. Would any of them ever forgive her for what she did?

"Why would they?" the voice answered for her. "What have you done to deserve it? You tried to have them all killed. You longed for their deaths, and now you get to walk free from your crimes. Where is the justice in that?"

The voice made sense. It made all the sense in the world. The fear continued to eat at her, but there was something else that came with it: a quiet, pained acceptance.

"I'm…I'm trying…" Cassandra's words were weak as she pressed her head to the ground. Even she hardly believed herself anymore. Her resolve was slowly dying with the rest of her.

"Trying to do what? Redeem yourself."

More images. Herself sleeping under an awning. Receiving fowl looks from strangers.

Failures.

Recent ones.

"It isn't working."

"It will never work."

"There is no redeeming you."

"Do you know why?"

"Of course, you do."

"You know exactly why."

More failures appeared. More scowling faces. More judgment cast upon her. Every square foot of the room gradually became replaced with a memory of her miserable past.

"Shut up…"

"There is nothing to redeem in you, Cassandra. There is no good person hiding beneath the surface. There is no hero struggling to break free. That thing you used to be wasn't the fake. It was always the real you."

The images became bent and misshapen, and in their place, she saw herself fighting, killing, destroying, losing, screaming, rejected and defeated, and ruinous. She saw them in the grey through her closed eyes. She covered her ears and heard their voices echoing in her head. She couldn't escape them.

"That's the bitter truth that you can't admit. You will never be free of this. You can never make things right. You can never change. From now until the end of your days, you will always have to hold back, wondering when the worst parts of you come bubbling back to the surface."

"Shut up."

"You are a vicious, heartless thing," the voices screamed at her in unison. "Flailing and jealous, spiteful and cruel. You are a would-be murderer, a violent, unforgiving scourge on this world, unwanted and undeserving to be alive. You are a danger to everyone you've ever known, and every second you continue to be near them, you risk their lives by the demons that still dwell inside of you. And yet you can't resist them, because on top of being evil, more than your rage and your selfishness, more than every sick thought you've ever had and monstrous desire you've ever dared to act on, the one thing that defines you, Cassandra…is that you're pathetic. You are desperate. You cling to her like an abandoned child, desperate for her love and adoration…and she will never give it to you."

"You don't deserve it."

"And you know that."

Cassandra slammed her black fist into the ground, screaming as loud as she could. "Shut up! Shut the hell up! Get out of my head!"

"Pathetic."

Cassandra grabbed at her head. She thought it was going to explode. "Get out!"

"Pathetic."

"Get the hell out!" She cried even harder, but it wouldn't stop. Nothing would. All of her others, the clones, the visions, all seemed to turn and taunt her at once, prying away the careful levels of protection she built for herself and crawling into the deepest parts of her psyche. She was powerless, shaking badly, and unable to think anymore. Every single doubt, every bad dream, every subconscious, wandering thought, and more were laid out in front of her, unable to be denied any longer. And there, shuddering and screaming on the floor of a prison made out of the fragments of her mind, she had to face the truth—and it was too much.

Then, that voice that had been so distant and disparate finally managed to sneak through and shatter the illusion.

"Cassandra, snap out of it!"

Rapunzel's voice was soothing, and for a moment, it provided the tiniest relief from Cassandra's suffering. Yet, she still didn't have the strength to look at her.

"R-Raps, I…"

"Don't listen to it!" Rapunzel called to her, more determined than ever to save her. "It's not real! None of this is real! You need to focus."

None of it was real. She repeated it over and over, but did she honestly believe that? Rapunzel didn't understand…

"I know this isn't you!" Rapunzel said passionately. "Whatever it is saying, it's just trying to mess with you. You have to ignore it, Cass. Cass!"

No matter which Rapunzel it was, her begging always sounded the same.

"Cass! Please, snap out of it!"

She called to her as loud as she could, but Cassandra didn't move aside from her traumatized shudders. Rapunzel tried to remain encouraging. She no choice. Cassandra had completely fallen apart, whittled down to nothing within minutes. Even as she struggled herself to stay strong, she forced herself to fight with everything she had. She wanted to run to Cassandra's side and hold her close to brush those fears and doubts aside, but constrained to the center of the room, she could only pray that her words were enough to inspire her.

Instead, all she heard were the voices of the Void, descending down on her.

"So, she wasn't wrong about you after all."

Rapunzel looked up at the ceiling. "Stop this. Whatever you want, leave her alone."

"You still care about her? Remarkable. Truly remarkable."

"You are hurting her," Rapunzel cursed. "If you want something from us, then take it from me."

"Raps, don't…" Cass muttered, softly stewing in her pain. "Please, don't…"

"Cass, it's okay," Rapunzel told her. She didn't fully understand its intentions, but she refused to let it hurt her friend. "I don't care what it says. Listen to me. You aren't that person anymore, okay. I…I know you aren't. Whatever it wants you to think, it's lying. You're my best friend. Nothing is going to change that. I promise, Cassandra. I will…I'll get us out of this. I promise."

Her speech was only effective at dragging more laughter out of the Void.

"How noble. You really don't get it, do you?"

"What do you want from us?" Rapunzel screamed. "Do you just want to hurt us? Make us feel bad? Is that really it? What is wrong with you?"

"No, no, no. Not hurt, necessarily. We just want to see what happens."

"What are you talking about?"

Cassandra yelled in pain. Another burst ran through her head. The Void was digging again, searching for something specific within her mind.

"Stop it. Please, God, stop it."

"Your resistance, your hatred, your nightmares…it's so delicious."

Rapunzel fought back even harder as she saw Cassandra struggle? Delicious? What the hell was going on? What was it doing to them?

"But we want more. We want all of it. Every spare thought. Every sensation. Every dream and every nightmare."

Rapunzel gasped. A revelation struck her. Her memories from before came flooding back to her. The words they were using, dating all the way back to the feast. Dinner. Delicious. Hunger. It didn't make a lot of sense to her, but it was all she could really piece together. The Void was a living creature unlike anything else in the universe. All living things required sustenance, fuel. It should have been obvious from the very second that their bodies were dragged out on carts and displayed before a craven audience. The Void needed to eat, but it existed in a realm beyond their physical bodies. It couldn't merely bite into their flesh. It needed something more powerful to sustain itself. It made a sort of twisted sense to her. Ever since they entered the Void, their emotions had been heightened, dramatized, and brought out from within. They had revealed drunken secrets and enraged one another and screamed and sobbed together. She had felt relief from seeing Eugene alive and horror from watching him perish. She had been horrified at Cass's suffering and felt hopeless over her regrets. The Void was pushing them to the brink because it craved whatever it would find when they fell off the edge. It wasn't there to feast on their bodies.

Every time they felt something, the Void was eating their emotions—and with all of their baggage and drama, she and Cassandra were practically a buffet.

And it wanted even more.

"But you are right about one thing," the Void said tenderly. "We have been hurtful. We've only shown you the worst of her."

Cassandra knew it was coming. She dug her fingernails into the ground and gasped in pain. "Please…please don't."

"There's so much more to her after all. Especially when it comes to you."

"I'm begging you to stop," Cassandra whispered, barely able to move. She buried her head against the floor. This wasn't happening. They weren't twisting the knife in even deeper.

"It's so much easier to just show you."

Rapunzel remained in silent revelation as the world around her shifted one final time. The castle walls morphed and bent, and suddenly they were somewhere else completely different…though not too different. It was her bedroom. She would recognize the paintings on the walls anywhere. It was silent, empty, and waiting for company. Rapunzel heard the illusions of footsteps coming down the corridor. They drew closer. It would only take a second before they arrived.

It only took a second longer, and then she saw herself hurriedly enter the bedroom—with Cassandra directly behind her, unable to stop herself from pouncing onto the Princess.

"Cass, stop!" Rapunzel giggled. Cassandra didn't really care about what she said. She hugged arms tightly around Rapunzel from behind and tackled her onto the bed. Rapunzel burst into laughter as Cassandra buried her mouth into the crook of her neck. "Cass, it's like—ha! It's like two o'clock! Stop that!"

Cassandra latched onto Rapunzel's neck, planting kiss after kiss up her throat, across her jaw, and to her ear. "It's our anniversary. I don't want to wait anymore." She nibbled on the bottom of Rapunzel's earlobe, and the Princess dug her fingernails into the back of Cass's uniform. "And it's your fault for being so fucking beautiful."

Rapunzel playfully tried to push Cassandra off, but the warrior was having none of it. She looped her fingers through the strings of Rapunzel's dress, undoing the knots one by one. "Cass, come on. I have…Queen things to do."

"Come on," Cassandra growled, running her other hand down Rapunzel's thigh. "Can't the people of Corona live without their Queen for one day?"

Cass's hand disappeared out of view, and Rapunzel was forced to stifle a moan as she threw her head back against the mattress. Cass kissed her along her throat again and hovered over her, working quickly to get Rapunzel out of her clothes while staring into those perfect green eyes.

Rapunzel sighed. "I'm not getting out of this bed today, am I?"

Cassandra leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. Her lips curled just an inch above Rapunzel's, and her whispers sent shivers down the young Queen's spine.

"Not if I can help it."

She couldn't hold herself back any longer, and with a devilish smirk, Cassandra swooped forward and took Rapunzel's lips in a sudden kiss. Rapunzel didn't hesitate to accept her, wrapping her arms around Cassandra's waist and pulling her in closer. The two lost themselves in each other, blocking out the world around them. They didn't know they were being watched by their other selves, and even if they did, they may not have cared.

And Rapunzel did watch. She watched quietly, stunned, disbelieving, eyes unblinking, as the vision gradually unfolded in front of her eyes. It never faded, never cut or shied away. It kept going, on and on, refusing to grant them any relief. The real Cassandra lay on her forearms and knees, closing her eyes but unable to get the sounds out of her head. The lovers progressed without anything holding them back, and neither of the real women could doubt it for any longer. The truth was out.

Rapunzel knew everything.