It was cold. Too cold for Varian's liking and to his dread, it was going to get colder the farther he traveled. He should have borrowed a balloon.

He pulled his cloak closer to himself as Ruddiger snuggled into his side, sound asleep. He knew he should be following the raccoon's example, but he just couldn't. It's been over a month since he was last in Corona, and he was going insane with worry for his father and his friends. Also, the strange dreams he kept having, he knew they meant something...but what?

He rubbed his tired eyes and forced himself to look at the map, lit by the rising sun. "Okay, so if I go here…" he mumbled under his breath, tracing a path with his finger, "I should reach this….ha!" He exclaimed, accidentally startling Ruddiger and Eden awake.

He jumped to his feet and poured the leftover water from the night before onto the dying fire. "Okay, if we leave right now..." he scrambled around, picking up different things and packing them into his bag, "we should reach Cass by noon!"

Eden and Ruddiger shared a look before looking at their human friend. Slowly, they got up and stretched their legs, before walking up to Varian. Their human smiled and tied his baggage to the horse, patting her neck gently in thanks.

Ruddiger jumped onto Varian's shoulders and curled his tail around his neck. He let out a little chirp to let Varian know he was ready to go, nuzzling his head against his cheek.

Varian let out a laugh and petted the raccoon affectionately. "Alright, time to go." He murmured, lifting his hood over his head once more and jumping onto Eden.

He directed her in the right direction, and she started to gallop across the forest floor. Her hooves were beating out a rhythm in time with his heart. He felt a grin slowly grow on his face as the wind pushed his hood back. He closed his eyes. It felt nice to have the wind in his hair.

"There's a journey ahead!" He started to sing as they went faster, "a journey ahead!"

He spotted a creek in front of them, and he lowered himself close to Eden as she went faster. "my determination is fed!"

Ruddiger held on tightly and buried his face in Varian's cloak as Eden jumped over the creek and landed on the other side, still running.

"My heart is aglow!" He slowed her down a little and hugged Ruddiger with a laugh.

"Long have I waited to see where I'm fated to go!" He held his arms out as they left the forest, onto a top of a hill.

Eden stopped as Varian looked around at the beautiful view. He let out a breath before singing, "There's a journey ahead!"

He flicked the reins and Eden started to run once more, "So let's go!" He held the note as they got closer to their destination.

...

"Okay." Varian mumbled as he looked at the map through his goggles, "this is where the map leads me...but…" he lowered the map to look at the empty valley. "Nothing is here." He took off his goggles and rubbed his eyes in frustration. He grabbed Eden's hair and buried his face into it. He felt all hope drain from within him, and he was lost.

Ruddiger nuzzled his face into Varian's back, trying to comfort the young man, before sneaking his way through his arms and snuggling onto his lap. Varian lifted his hand and petted the raccoon and let out a sigh, moving his face away. "What would Rapunzel do at a time like this?" He mumbled to himself.

"Look for a positive when there is none." He answered out loud and let his eyes wander the valley of nothingness. "Okay... it's pretty out here...and maybe she is somewhere hidden! It is Cass, after all!"

He straightened himself up and had Eden continue into the valley. "We have to find a hidden door or something like that." He mumbled out loud, his eyes moving quickly, searching for any clues.

They were almost clear across the valley when hidden behind a hill was a small village. "I knew it!" He pumped his fist.

Jumping off the horse, he pulled his hood up once more. "Stay close," he murmured to the horse and raccoon.

Slowly they entered the village, but something was off. There were no people.

The emptiness gave off an eerie feeling and put him on edge. He had his hand on his Alchemy balls, waiting for someone to jump out of the shadows and attack.

He looked at Eden and gave her a nod, signaling to stay quiet as they walked through the empty buildings and houses.

This village looked like it was just like his once. Now, there were farms left to wither away, dust and cobwebs blooming from the windows, and toys scattered around.

Finally, they stopped at the last house in the village. He felt his blood turn cold, and his hate heat in his heart. There, painted in bright, red paint, was the Saporian Separatist symbol.

Varian clenched his fist in anger and instinctively took one of his bath bombs and threw it at the house. He was hoping to clean the symbol from a home of a once innocent family.

"They will pay for this." He growled, causing Ruddiger to jump on his shoulders and rub his cheek. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm okay." He promised the raccoon, giving him an affectionate scratch.

He turned around, looking at the village once again when a puff of smoke left one of the chimneys. Someone was there.

He looked at Eden and moved Ruddiger to sit on her. "Stay here. If there is any sign of trouble, you're my back up." He ordered, causing them both to nod in agreement.

"Okay." He chuckled nervously, "let's do this."

He approached the door slowly. He didn't want just to go in there, what if someone lived there? But what if they are hostile, he could catch them off guard? But what if they knew where Cass was?

While the debate happened in his head, he lifted his hand and knocked. He looked at his hand, scandalized, but quickly lowered it and waited. He frowned when he didn't hear anything inside, so he placed his hand on the door handle and pushed it open.

He looked around and frowned. It wasn't the cleanest of places, but more decent than the rest of the village. "Hello?" He called before his foot met a pull string, and a rope came flying around his feet, pulling him down to the ground.

"Traps... I should have known." He grunted, before silencing at seeing a shadowy figure by the window.

He swallowed hard when a sword was placed on the back of his neck and cursed the hood for covering his eyes so he couldn't quite see who was above him.

"Who are you, and how did you find me?" The figure growled coldly.

He knew that voice, and he felt his heart leap in his chest from the sound of it. "Cassie!" He gasped happily.

He felt the sword push harder into his neck, and he was scared for a moment she was going to slice the cloak and his neck wide open.

"Andrew." She spat, "I thought I told you to leave me alone!"

"Nonononono!" Varian lifted his hands, "Cass, Cassandra, it's me! It's Varian!"

She quickly moved the sword away and backed away, "Varian?" She whispered. She reached down and moved the hood from his face, and he smiled nervously.

"Hi, Cass."