Shifted Somehow

by RySenkari

When Rapunzel decides to change her destiny, she changes the canon... and runs afoul of the Time Variance Authority, who arrests her to stand trial for her crimes. As she wonders what this means for her future, she encounters someone else who also tried to defy their fate... and who may just be her ticket to freedom.

(Author's Note: The following story is being written as part of Cassunzel Week! This story will reference my fanfic "Somehow Shifted", but also takes place within the main Tangled timeline. We're dealing with all sorts of timeline shenanigans here. It's basically "What if the Time Variance Authority didn't oversee the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the canon of every Disney film and TV show instead?" It also helps if you've seen "Loki" on Disney+, as this fic will make extensive references to it and has some spoilers for that show.)

O-O-O

One decision, one moment, one step can change the course of a person's destiny.

As Cassandra walked the halls of Corona's royal palace, she believed her destiny was set in stone. She'd keep training as hard as she could until she became a member of the royal guard, then, someday, she'd become captain, like her father. Then she'd become a hero... protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.

Her father was stubborn, and refused to allow her to join the royal guard, but she'd break him down eventually, and in the meantime, she'd show him just how capable she was by performing patrols and pointing out others' mistakes. Whenever she saw a guard slouching, she'd correct his posture. Whenever a guard wasn't holding their weapon correctly, she'd teach them proper weapon discipline.

She walked to the end of the hallway, and had to turn a corner. One path led left, to the room where the crown was kept. There were plenty of guards in there, and standing at attention all day made them tired and vulnerable to slouching. One path led right, to the palace kitchen. Cassandra was getting hungry, a quick snack might do her some good.

One step can change the course of a person's destiny.

Cassandra turned left.

And seconds later, a glowing rectangular portal opened up nearby. The young woman stopped in her tracks, and immediately, four people in strange uniforms stepped out. Their armor looked strange and futuristic to Cassandra, who stood agape as the four advanced on her.

"Who are you, and where did you come from?"

The leader of the group, a young woman about the same age as Cassandra, remained back while the other three grabbed her, two holding her by the arms and another grabbing at her legs. She immediately fought back, pulling her arm away from one of them and going for her sword, but it was knocked out of her hands by one of them, while another one hit her in the legs with a baton, bringing to her knees.

"Bastards!" shouted Cassandra, grimacing in pain as her arms were held behind her. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"Cassandra, by the authority of the Time Keepers, I hereby arrest you for crimes against the Sacred Timeline."

"...what?!"

The three armored figures began to drag her toward the portal, as she thrashed violently against them. She managed to rip one of her arms free again, but as she tried to punch her assailant, her blow was easily countered, and she was hit with the baton again, this time sending a stunning jolt through her body. As she felt herself go limp, she took a look around at the halls of the palace, groaning and wondering who these people were and where they could possibly be taking her.

I'm being abducted by magical beings from another dimension... and I have no idea why.

They pulled Cassandra through the portal, giving her one last look at the palace before she disappeared entirely.

"Reset it," said the leader of the group, as one of her subordinates placed a small device on the ground. As it detonated, the two followed Cassandra through the portal, leaving no trace that they had ever been there at all.

O-O-O

Rapunzel stood inside her tower, having captured a strange intruder making his way in. He called himself Flynn Rider, and he'd just absconded from the royal palace with a crown, which Rapunzel had taken from him. She needed him to guide her to the floating lights which showed up in the sky every year on her birthday, but she was still unsure about forcing him to come along with her, and needed to ask him a few more questions first.

"So, what do you want with my hair?" asked Rapunzel, pacing around the chair that Flynn was currently tied to with many, many strands of her blonde locks. "To cut it?"

"What?" Flynn asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Sell it?" she continued, pointing her frying pan at him.

"No! Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it! Literally!"

"Wait..." said Rapunzel, surprised to learn that this mysterious thief didn't want to take the precious gift her mother Gothel had told her was so valuable. "You don't want my hair?"

"Why on Earth would I want your hair? Look, I was being chased, I saw a tower, I climbed it. End of story."

"You're... telling the truth?" Rapunzel asked, cautious but starting to believe this stranger, despite her better judgment.

"Yes!"

Rapunzel still looked skeptical, and Pascal, her faithful chameleon friend, poked his way out of her hair and climbed up onto Rapunzel's frying pan, staring fiercely at him and letting him know that he'd better not be lying. As Rapunzel withdrew her pan, she retreated with Pascal to a corner of the room, and the chameleon let her know in no uncertain terms that trusting this thief was a bad idea.

"I know, but I need someone to take me!" Rapunzel protested.

Pascal continued, and the princess was still determined to go... but doubt was starting to creep into her mind. Pascal agreed with Rapunzel that Flynn wasn't coming after her hair, but that doesn't mean he might still not be dangerous.

"I think he's telling the truth too," said Rapunzel. Pascal protested, and Rapunzel continued. "He doesn't have fangs! But what choice do I have?"

A million thoughts raced through Rapunzel's mind as Eugene struggled behind her. She needed him, and desperately wanted to see the floating lights. She had all the leverage she needed, as she'd hidden his crown where he wouldn't be able to find it. She was ready to make a deal with him...

...but as she started to turn back around, she stopped.

This isn't right... he might have snuck into my tower, but I can't force him to take me to the floating lights. And Pascal's right, what if he's dangerous? If I want to see the lights, maybe I should just... go myself. I know what direction they came from... if I keep walking, maybe I can reach them.

"Okay, Flynn Rider..." said Rapunzel, turning toward the trapped thief and heaving a sigh. "I've decided... to give you back your crown and let you go."

A few short minutes later, Flynn was freed from his bonds, and Rapunzel had handed him his crown. He thanked her, and left out the window, the same way he'd come... and as Rapunzel pulled her hair back up, she still had doubts about her decision... but in her heart, she knew she'd done the right thing.

"I had to let him go, Pascal," said Rapunzel, to which her chameleon nodded in agreement. "I'm sure everything will be-"

Rapunzel was interrupted by the appearance of a strange, rectangular portal. She gasped, and pointed her frying pan at it, only for four armored people to step through. Their leader was a woman with black hair and a distinct spit curl dangling in front of her forehead, though Rapunzel was startled by the intruders, and ready to fight them, she had to admit to herself that their leader looked a little familiar.

The scary one in front looks almost like Mother... thought Rapunzel. Though she looks a lot younger, even younger than when I sing to her...

"Rapunzel," said the leader, as her three subordinates advanced on the blonde. "By the authority of the Time Keepers, I hereby arrest you for crimes against the Sacred Timeline."

"...what?" shouted Rapunzel, who swung her frying pan at one of the men advancing on her. She managed to knock him out, then looped her hair around a wooden beam hanging from the ceiling and tried to pull herself up. She was soon brought down by a shock from one of their batons, and she collapsed to the ground, her hair falling all around her. "Unnnggh..."

The two officers yanked Rapunzel to her feet, disarming her of her frying pan and wrestling her arms behind her back, as the leader tended to her fallen comrade.

"You let her knock you out with a frying pan? Really?"

The officer groaned and rubbed his head, as Rapunzel struggled furiously against her captors.

"Let me go, you... ruffians! You can't have my hair!"

"This isn't about your hair, this is about your crimes," said the leader. "Now come quietly or else."

"Or else what?" Rapunzel said defiantly.

"Or you'll be pruned," said the leader, before placing a charge on the floor. "Reset it!"

As Rapunzel was dragged through the portal, an officer detonated the charge. Pascal leaped after his friend, but the detonation washed over him, restoring him and the timeline to their proper course as Rapunzel was taken away.

O-O-O

Rapunzel didn't know where she was or who these people were who'd taken her. They'd placed a strange collar around her neck, and after she'd been brought in, all of them but one, the leader, had dispersed, leaving her alone with this strange woman. She was somewhat gentle with Rapunzel, no longer dragging her around, but merely guiding her along as the two walked through the halls of a place like nothing she had ever seen before.

"Who are you?" asked Rapunzel, looking at the woman. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

"I go by M55," said the woman, continuing to gently push Rapunzel along. "Now keep walking."

Rapunzel could see other people being guided through this place, some of them coming along more peacefully than others. A few of them were kicking and screaming, and tried to run, but the officers with them merely pressed a button on the devices they were holding, causing the person to snap right back to them as if time had reversed around them. She soon realized it was the collar around their necks causing this to happen, and imagined her own collar had a similar function. She reached up to it.

"Don't even bother trying to take that off," said M55. "Only I can remove the lock, and there's no way I'm doing that."

"What have I done, what crimes have I committed?" asked Rapunzel, looking at M55 as they kept walking together. "I at least have the right to know that!"

"You'll receive a fair trial when we get to the judge," said M55. "Until then, keep still and keep quiet."

M55 then guided Rapunzel to a set of sliding doors resembling an elevator. The doors opened up, and she pushed Rapunzel inside.

"Hey!" Rapunzel shouted, lunging toward the doors only for them to slam shut in front of her. "What in the world is going on...? I wish Mother was here... or Pascal... everything here looks so strange... I wonder if this has anything to do with the thief who crept into my tower?"

Rapunzel began to ponder the thief from before, and if the crimes he'd committed had anything to do with her. Was she being framed for his deeds?

"That's it!" said Rapunzel, her eyes lighting up as a spark of recognition entered her mind. "I'm being framed, they have the wrong person!"

She started to bang on the door with her hands, hoping the mean lady outside would hear her.

"Hey! You've got the wrong person! I know who really committed the crimes you arrested me for! It was a thief named Flynn Rider!"

When she got no response, she let out a frustrated sigh... then she could hear a strange voice behind her. She turned and gasped... a strange robot with four arms was attempting to touch her!

"Aaaaaaahhhh!" shrieked Rapunzel, recoiling until she saw a strange smile light up on its face. "Awww... you're a cute... four armed... metal thingy..."

The robot beeped happily, then ran a scanner across Rapunzel's body. She giggled.

"That tickles!" Rapunzel laughed, smiling at the robot. "You're not such a bad guy after all, are you?"

She felt cold all of a sudden, and looked down... realizing that the "scanner" had actually stripped her of all of her clothing. She shrieked and covered herself, then fell down a trap door.

What is going on here?!

When Rapunzel landed, she realized she was clothed again, her beautiful dress having been replaced with some kind of drab gray uniform. She barely had time to comprehend the strangeness of her situation before she stood up to see a man looking at her from across a desk.

"Can you tell me what's going on here?" asked Rapunzel. "I think you have the wrong person..."

"No," said the man. "We never have the wrong person. Now just sign here to verify that this is everything you've ever said."

The man then pushed a big stack of papers at Rapunzel, who began to flip through them in astonishment. Indeed, every word she'd ever uttered in her entire life was printed on these pages. She lifted her hand up to her forehead and stumbled back, feeling completely bewildered and almost as if she would pass out.

This is... some kind of magic. Or I'm dreaming. That man, Flynn Rider, he did something to me, I think! Maybe he hit me in the head as I was letting him go, and this is a dream and I'm going to wake up shaved bald in my room! But this can't be a dream, everything feels so real, even if I can't believe any of it...

"Just sign the form, please."

Her hand trembling, Rapunzel signed the form, if only to get more information about everything that was going on. The next ordeal she had to endure was another scan, though thankfully, this one didn't strip her, it only scanned something called her "temporal aura", which she recognized had something to do with time from the word "temporal".

Temporal aura... Sacred Timeline... this all has to do with time, but what does it have to do with me? What could I possibly have done to harm time? Is it because I've been in that tower for too long?

Rapunzel staggered into another strange room, where she was instructed to take a ticket. She did so, though another young woman, with strange black and white hair and a very rude attitude, refused to do so.

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? I am the most talented fashion designer in all of London, and I refuse to be treated this way!"

"You're a puppy murderer," said one of the officers.

"Is that true?" Rapunzel gasped, approaching the woman.

"I have done no such thing!" she protested, storming toward the back of the room. "If that's the crime I'm here for-"

"No, you really are a puppy murderer, that's why you're here, Estella, because you're supposed to murder puppies."

"This is absurd!" shouted the woman, as one of the officers blocked her path. "You arrested me because I refuse to murder puppies, is that really what you want me to believe?"

"Where's your ticket?" asked the officer.

"I will not play any of these silly games!"

"Where's your ticket?" he repeated.

"I don't have to stand here and listen to this-"

The officer suddenly jammed his baton into Estella's chest, and she disappeared in a flash of white light. Rapunzel gasped in horror as she watched the light dissolve the woman's body, and finally realized the danger she was in and the strange power of this mysterious place.

"How could you do something like that to her?!" shouted Rapunzel. "You accuse that poor woman of a horrible crime, and then when she refuses to do it, you kill her anyway! This place is twisted, and sick, and I want to go home!"

The officers and bureaucrats nearby looked over at Rapunzel, but having seen far more boisterous displays before, shrugged and went back to their work. Rapunzel's eyes started to quiver with despair, but as she started to cry, she could hear an upbeat voice with a strange twangy accent begin to speak to her.

"Hi there! You're probably sayin', 'this place is twisted and sick, and I want to go home!'"

Rapunzel looked up to a monitor and could see a strange cartoon clock appear, floating in the middle of space with a smile on its animated mouth.

"Welcome to the Time Variance Authority! I'm Miss Minutes, and it's my job to catch you up before you stand trial for your crimes! So let's not waste another minute! Settle in, sharpen your pencils, and check this out!"

As Rapunzel watched, more images began to play out on the screen.

"Long ago, there was a vast, multiversal war. Countless unique timelines battled each other for supremacy, nearly resulting in the total destruction of, well, everything! But then, the all knowin' Time Keepers emerged, bringing peace by reorganizing the multiverse into a single timeline: the Sacred Timeline. Now, the Time Keepers protect and preserve the proper flow of time for everyone and everything. But sometimes, people like you veer off the path the Time Keepers created. We call those variants! Maybe you started an uprising, or were just late for work. Whatever it was, steppin' off your path created a nexus event, which, left unchecked, could branch off into madness, leadin' to another Multiversal War! But don't worry! To make sure that doesn't happen, the Time Keepers created the TVA and all its incredible workers! The TVA has stepped in to fix your mistake and set time back on its predetermined path. Now that your actions have left you without a place on the timeline, you must stand trial for your offenses. So sit tight and we'll get you in front of a judge in no time! Just make sure you have your ticket, and you'll be seen by the next available attendant!"

The revelations that had just been presented were overwhelming for Rapunzel, and she felt herself going faint again. She continued to stare up at the screen, blinking at the appearance of the TVA's logo.

"For all time. Always!"

Rapunzel's legs wobbled underneath her. According to this strange animation, there wasn't just one universe, but an entire multiverse... a world of dreams and destinies that all collided with one another depending on the choices that one makes every single moment of every single day.

Or at least, there would be... if it weren't for these people going all across the universe and ripping people out of their timelines.

As Rapunzel stood staring up at the now blank screen, M55, the scary lady from before, walked back over to her and took her by the arm.

"You've got your ticket, right?" M55 asked, guiding Rapunzel over to the officer who was taking them.

"I... I don't know what's going on..." Rapunzel stammered quietly. "Variants... multiverses... the Sacred Timeline? You mean there's only one thing that can happen to everyone, and if anyone does something different, they get arrested and brought here?"

"Yeah," M55 said. "That about sums it up."

"But that's not fair!" shouted Rapunzel, turning to her. "How is someone supposed to know what they're supposed to do? I made a choice, one little choice to let that thief go, and you guys jumped out through some weird space hole and arrested me! Is that why you brought me here, or is it some other choice I made? Was it because I was going to disobey Mother?!"

"Look, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them, now hand the guy your ticket so I can bring you in front of the judge."

Rapunzel knew her protests were falling on deaf ears, but she'd also just seen someone get vaporized for not handing over a ticket, and didn't want to share the puppy murderer's fate. She handed over her ticket, and after a few forms were filled out and stamped, Rapunzel was then hauled off by M55 to face the judge. As she walked down the hall, she continued to ask questions, and M55 just rolled her eyes and sighed at them, having been through all of this before. She didn't care why any of them were here... she was created by the Time Keepers to protect the Sacred Timeline, and that's what she was going to do.

It was her destiny, and she would follow it to the letter.

People are supposed to follow their destinies, thought M55, as she brought Rapunzel up before the judge. If they don't, we get chaos... and another Multiversal War. The TVA won't let that happen. I won't let that happen.

The judge was a tall man with dark skin and a slightly pointy beard that came down from his chin. He looked at Rapunzel.

"Der Sonne, variant R085, full name Rapunzel der Sonne, charged with sequence violation 615-53... how do you plead?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened... she'd been referred to by her full name, but as far as she knew, she didn't even have a full name, she only went by Rapunzel... how did this judge even know that information? She blinked her eyes and looked over at M55, who didn't take her eyes off the judge and didn't even look Rapunzel's way.

"How can I answer for a crime I didn't know I could commit? Please, just answer me... what was my place on the Sacred Timeline, and when did I go off the path that you've supposedly placed me on?"

The judge looked down at her, and she looked back up at him with confusion in her eyes. So much had happened to her in this one day... the day before her 18th birthday, the day she decided to go see the floating lights, which she thought was her greatest dream, but now it seemed the dream was turning into a nightmare. She'd been abducted by her home, dragged into this strange and terrible place, and now she was being accused of crimes she never intended to commit by people with the power to vaporize her in an instant! She just wanted to go home, but she didn't know where home was anymore... she felt like crying, but she was determined to get out of this one way or the other.

"You know, we don't get a lot of Rapunzels here," said the judge, stroking his beard. "You all are pretty good at staying on your path... but, then again, your free spirit does cause the occasional divergence from the Sacred Timeline."

"And what is my path?" Rapunzel shouted, finally raising her voice and taking a step toward the judge. "What do these Time Keepers have planned for me? I demand to know!"

The judge sighed. He was used to challenges to his authority... after all, he was one of the arbiters of the Sacred Timeline, and his entire job was to deal with people defying that timeline. Rapunzel, though rude, was significantly less rude than so many of the others who'd come through here... the spoiled little boy who'd decided in one of the few unselfish deeds he'd ever done in his life to let an old beggar woman in from the cold, the mouthy green woman who decided to turn over a new leaf so she could date a cute redheaded spy, the young military commander who chose to uphold the law and execute the woman who'd disguised herself to join his army... all of them had strayed from the Sacred Timeline, and all of them had been found guilty of their crimes. The previous Rapunzels had too, and he saw no harm in obliging her request now that she'd been brought here.

"You were supposed to let that thief guide you to the floating lanterns," said the judge, prompting a gasp from Rapunzel.

"Lanterns... I knew they weren't stars!"

"You'd have gone on a journey together, fallen in love, and realized your destiny as the lost princess of Corona."

"Wait... what? I'm the lost princess?"

"And you'd have lived happily ever after," said the judge.

"With... with mother?"

"Oh no," the judge replied. "She tries to hold you hostage when she realizes you were going to leave, so the thief is forced to cut your hair to break her spell over you. She crumbles into dust, you and the thief go meet your real family, and-"

"Oh my gosh... oh my gosh... oh my gosh..."

Rapunzel placed her hands to her head, grasping it tightly, her eyes wide with shock.

"Mother is... she hurts me? And then she dies? And the thief and I... fall in love? Mother... mother DIES?!"

"Hey, she's not even your real mom, don't act so busted up about it," said the judge nonchalantly. "Now how do you plead?"

"You're... you're lying!" shouted Rapunzel, turning toward M55. "And you, you're helping him, somehow! It's all a trick... it's a cruel, cruel trick... you're all lying! I was drugged with something, Flynn Rider did this to trick me into liking him...!"

"I can assure you, it's no trick," said the judge. "I've got a video if you want it..."

The judge pulled out a small object that looked like a smartphone and showed it to Rapunzel, essentially playing for her the climactic scene of Tangled, in which Gothel held Rapunzel in chains, stabbed Flynn Rider, and demanded that Rapunzel go with her in exchange for saving his life. M55 watched as well, her eyes widening as she saw everything play out in shocking detail. Though it was shocking and seemed impossible, Rapunzel couldn't deny the truth in it, as her future, the one she'd strayed from, played out on the screen. It was all real... Gothel wasn't her real mother, but her captor. The man she'd released from the tower had been her true love all along, and she'd never get the chance to be with him now. Gothel was dead... Rapunzel was the lost princess... the Sacred Timeline was right there in front of her... her destiny... who she was supposed to be.

"No... no... NO!" screamed Rapunzel, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around her chest, overtaken with sobs. "I don't believe it... my mother... my dream... I... I..."

"How do you plead?" asked the judge, prompting Rapunzel to immediately look up at him, eyes burning with rage.

"How could you even ask me that, after everything I've seen?"

"Look, I get it... it's a terrible thing to have your life flipped, turned upside down," said the judge, stroking his beard again. "That's why you've been brought here... to protect that life."

"Protect whose life? The one you stole from me?"

"The Sacred Timeline is safe," said the judge. "The timeline where all that stuff happens, that still exists, thanks to what we did. But you no longer have a place in the timeline, because of what you did."

"HOW COULD I HAVE KNOWN?!" screamed Rapunzel, rising to her feet. "Are you trying to tell me that there are millions, billions, TRILLIONS of people out there who chose to chase their dream, only to find out that it wasn't what was supposed to happen? You bring them here, you show them... whatever it is you just showed me, and then you tell them that it's their fault and you what... you vaporize them?"

"Reset them," said the judge.

"You're MURDERERS!"

M55 was watching the whole thing play out, and she slowly began to walk toward Rapunzel, who now had tears streaking down both sides of her face as she continued to berate the judge and the TVA for everything they'd done.

"How... how dare you think that you can just decide for people what they're supposed to do and who they're supposed to be! You destroy people's DREAMS! I don't care what you showed me about Mother, even if it's true, you people are a million times worse than she could EVER be!"

M55 reached up and placed a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder. Though it wasn't like her to show sympathy for those arrested by the TVA, something in the tone of this blonde woman's voice had stirred up something in her mind, and at the very least, she wanted to comfort her before the judge passed his verdict.

"Hey... Raps," said M55, referring to Rapunzel by a nickname rather than just 'variant', though she didn't know quite why she'd done so. As she started to speak again, Rapunzel whipped around and punched her in the face as hard as she could, knocking her to the ground. "Nnnngh!"

M55 fell, splayed out on the ground, her control device falling from her hand. Rapunzel bent down and picked it up, and after quickly scanning through the functions, managed to pick the one that unlocked her collar, which fell to the ground. She then grabbed M55's baton and looked up at the judge with fury in her eyes before making a run for it, taking the baton and the device with her.

"Oh, hell no!" shouted the judge, as M55 clambered to her feet, blood trickling from one of her nostrils. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was just trying to calm her down," said M55, groaning.

The judge then sneezed.

"...I'm sorry," said the judge, wiping his nose. "I'm allergic to bullshit. I think you felt sorry for her."

"She'll be the one who's sorry after I prune her," said M55.

"How are you gonna do that without a baton?"

"I'll get it back," said M55, running in the direction that Rapunzel had escaped.

O-O-O

Rapunzel fled through the halls of the TVA, looking down at the device in her hands as she did so, and wondering if she could use it to get home. She didn't know what she'd do when she got there, but she knew anywhere was better than here.

I have to get home... I have to talk to mother. I know I'm the lost princess now... but maybe I can keep her from getting hurt.

Rapunzel remembered the images she'd seen on the screen of the judge's device... of her in chains, of the thief, Flynn Rider, writhing in pain on the ground... she knew that Gothel wouldn't react favorably once she learned that Rapunzel knew who she really was, but she could only hope that she'd be able to explain things to her... and if Gothel didn't listen, Rapunzel had something she could use to subdue her.

I just hope I can set it to something besides vaporize... thought Rapunzel, looking down at the baton. I don't want to kill her, but if she really did kidnap me, she's got a lot to answer for.

"There's the variant, after her!" came a voice from down the hallway. Rapunzel looked and could see several officers in pursuit, though none of them were the scary woman from before, the one who Rapunzel had punched out back in the courtroom.

I hope I didn't hit her too hard... thought Rapunzel. Wait, what am I thinking? She's working with these people, they're evil, aren't they? She got what she deserved... and if she comes after me, I have to defend myself by any means necessary.

Rapunzel didn't want to vaporize anyone, but she knew these people would do the same, just as they'd probably done to so many others... including, most likely, other versions of her.

I wonder what the other mes were like... when they decided to diverge from their paths? Was it earlier, when they were young? Or later on, after finding their happily ever afters in the palace? ...my full name is Rapunzel der Sonne... Rapunzel of the Sun... of course... the mural, my memories, icons of the sun, I remember everything now!

As Rapunzel's mind continued to race, she realized that several officers had caught up to her, all with their batons set to prune her. She barely managed to duck under the first swing, but didn't dare use her baton unless she knew it wouldn't cause a lethal blow. Instead, she aimed a kick at one of the officers, knocking him back, only for two of them to grab her. She looked and saw the officer she'd just kicked stand up, and as she struggled in the grasp of the men holding her in place, the officer coming toward her raised his baton and prepared to strike.

"No!" Rapunzel screamed, closing her eyes and preparing for the end.

"Wait!" came M55's voice, as she ran toward the other officers. "Orders from Judge Jinn, he doesn't want her pruned until he's passed a verdict."

"She's trying to escape, that says she's guilty to me," said the officer, who still had his baton raised.

"You gonna defy a direct order from a judge?" said M55, staring the officer down. He let out a sigh, and changed the settings on his baton to stun.

As he then began to swing it down, Rapunzel, who'd watched his every move, had managed to set her own baton to stun, and she wriggled out of her captors' grasp before slamming the baton into his chest, knocking him out. She then swung it around to take out the other two, freeing herself and leaving only M55 remaining.

"I'm not going back to him," said Rapunzel, taking a fighting stance. "Besides, now that I know your orders are to leave me alive, I don't have to worry about being punished for resisting..."

"Oh, there were no such orders," M55 replied, before lunging forward and snatching the baton from Rapunzel. "I just couldn't let them take you out after you broke my nose... I'm gonna do it myself."

M55 then turned the baton back to its lethal setting, as Rapunzel stepped back nervously.

"Sorry," Rapunzel replied, looking up at M55's face. "I didn't mean to punch you that hard..."

"Shut up!"

M55 swung her baton down at Rapunzel, who leaped out of the way before lunging forward with her own baton and attempting to disarm the officer. M55 kicked Rapunzel back and swung again, barely missing, as Rapunzel turned and began to run from her.

"Get back here!" screamed M55, pursuing Rapunzel down another crowded hallway.

She is really persistent... thought the princess, fleeing M55 while carrying her hair in her hands to keep from getting tripped up... or to keep from getting snagged by someone yanking on it. I just need to find a way home!

The chase continued through another hallway, before Rapunzel managed to turn a corner and duck into a room. She crouched against the wall with the device she'd swiped, looking for some kind of function she could use to get home.

This thing is incredible... thought Rapunzel, learning its features as quickly as she could. All I have to do is touch it and the images move... I wonder how many pictures would fit inside here?

She swiped past several screens until she found one that looked a bit more special than the others, with numbers and symbols displayed on it and a glowing white button. As she studied the screen, wondering how she could use it to get home, the door opened and M55 made her way into the room, baton at the ready.

"End of the line, variant," said M55, as Rapunzel stood up.

"My name is Rapunzel," she replied, holding up the device.

"You don't know how to use a TemPad," said M55. "Just put it down and maybe I'll set this thing back to stun so you can finish your trial."

"I'm never letting you take me," said Rapunzel, holding up the TemPad. "I'll... I'll use it!"

M55 lunged at Rapunzel, and as she brought the baton down, Rapunzel pressed down on the screen, opening up a portal and causing them both to fall inside.

When they landed, they were in the middle of a strange, dusty landscape, with barbed wire strewn all around. The TemPad was displaying a flashing number that read "1916", and the two women stood up to hear the sounds of cracking and shouting.

"...where is this place?" said Rapunzel, looking around in bewilderment and fear. "I... smell smoke... and..."

More crackling rang out as M55 lunged at Rapunzel again. Rapunzel gasped and lifted the TemPad, and as she pressed the screen a second time, she saw M55 tremble as a small explosion emanated from her body. The two fell back through the portal, and wound up back in the TVA, in another empty room. Rapunzel looked up and could see M55 laying on the ground, blood rapidly pooling around her body. She let out a groan of pain, still tightly gripping her baton. Rapunzel walked over and turned her around.

"Oh no, oh no...!"

"V...variant..." M55 stammered out, coughing up blood. She reached up toward Rapunzel and tried to bring the baton up to her, but barely had the strength to move. Spending just a few seconds in World War I era France had been enough to get her shot in her chest, and now she was rapidly bleeding out. Rapunzel leaned over her. "R...R...Ra..."

"Shhh...it's going to be okay..." said Rapunzel, before starting to wrap her hair around M55's wound. M55 blinked in surprise. "I can heal you."

"What...? You... no... if you heal me..."

"You'll vaporize me? I'll take my chances," said Rapunzel. "Just be still... and let me heal you..."

As M55 looked on, stunned by this 'variant' and her display of selflessness, Rapunzel started to sing.

Flower gleam and glow

Let your powers shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

Heal what has been hurt

Change the fates' design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine...

Golden energy radiated through Rapunzel's hair and around M55, healing her wound immediately. M55 let out a gasp of relief as she felt her wound close, and as she lay there, no longer injured but now shocked and stunned, Rapunzel stepped back away from her, holding the baton in her hands as she watched the officer slowly rise to her feet.

"Now... you're healed... so tell me how to use this thing!"

M55 looked at Rapunzel, and then looked down at her hands... and fell to her knees, gripping her head tightly. Rapunzel gasped, stepping forward and wondering if she'd harmed her in some way.

"Are you all right?!"

M55 trembled, her eyes wide as memories flooded her brain faster than she could process them. She shook her head, trembling, and closed her eyes tight, blinking out tears.

"I... I... I remember everything..."

She then stood up, looking over at Rapunzel, then back down at her hands, then blinking quickly.

"My name... is Cassandra."

"Cassandra?" said Rapunzel, taking another step toward her. "How long have you been here?"

"...for hundreds of years," said Cassandra, taking off her helmet. "But time doesn't mean anything in this place...ugh... now I know where I was the last time I remember not being here... I was in the palace... the Royal Palace of Corona..."

"Corona?" said Rapunzel, blinking her eyes. "The Kingdom of the Sun?"

"Yes... I'm from Corona, and so are you, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel nodded.

"I'm... the lost princess," said Rapunzel.

"I know," Cassandra replied. "I've... seen others come and go... I think one of them might be working for the TVA. Maybe more..."

"Wait a minute... so you're saying that instead of pruning everyone they bring here, the TVA..."

Cassandra shook her head. She too had so many questions... as many as Rapunzel no doubt did, maybe more. Now that she'd learned the truth, she, like Rapunzel, realized that the TVA was nothing but a sham... abducting people from their timelines, bringing them here after they'd done nothing wrong. The Time Keepers were stealing people away from their homes to protect one timeline, but there were so many others out there who'd been denied their dreams.

"Rapunzel, everything you said back there in that courtroom... you're right, about everything. The TVA is evil, and I've been helping them..."

"They brainwashed you... they've been lying to you... just like... just like my mother's been lying to me..."

Rapunzel sighed, falling to the ground once more and placing her head in her hands. Cassandra knelt down beside her, lifting her head and trying to encourage her.

"Do you want to go back?"

"I... I don't know," said Rapunzel.

"The thing is, I don't think we can. The TVA knows whenever there's a variant in the timeline, and they'll come looking for it... if we go anywhere in time, they'll track us down."

"So... I can never go back home?"

Rapunzel looked sad, and Cassandra wanted to comfort her... though she'd need comfort herself, as she too came to terms with what it meant to no longer be connected to the main timeline. She'd never see home again... never see her father again. She'd wanted adventure, and to get out from his stifling protection, but she still loved him, she didn't want to leave him forever... she too was now a refugee from time, and she and Rapunzel found themselves in the exact same situation.

"...we'll find a way back," said Cassandra, looking at the TemPad. "Can I see it? I know how to use it, I might be able to find a place for us to hide... at least for the time being."

Rapunzel, who just moments ago had been fleeing for her life from this scary officer, now was putting her complete trust in her... as she also recognized that the two of them might be the only ones in the multiverse who were in this exact same predicament. She handed the TemPad over to Cassandra, who scanned through its functions until she locked onto a time and place.

"All right... I've locked onto somewhere where we'll be able to lay low. The TVA will come after us eventually, but we'll be able to conceal our movements within the timeline..."

Cassandra sighed, looking over at Rapunzel, who was still blinking tears out of her eyes.

"I want to go home..." sniffled Rapunzel, bowing her head. "I want to see Mother... even if I know she's manipulative and cruel... I want to see Pascal..."

"I know," said Cassandra, reaching over and touching her shoulder. "I'm so sorry for bringing you here... thank you for saving my life. You... you didn't have to do it."

"Of course I did," said Rapunzel, smiling. "I couldn't let you die... no matter who you are or what you've done. Now that I know you're just a victim like me, I... I want to help you get home too."

Cassandra pressed a button on the TemPad, and she and Rapunzel stood up, holding hands as they faced the newly created portal and an uncertain future. They could hear the other TVA officers pounding on the door behind them.

"We need to hurry," said Cassandra.

Rapunzel nodded, and the two stepped forward.

"Are you ready?" Cassandra asked, gripping Rapunzel's hand tightly.

"Ready as I'll ever be," replied Rapunzel.

The two began to enter the portal... and as they did, Cassandra leaned over and placed a quick kiss on Rapunzel's lips. Rapunzel's eyes widened, and she blushed... but before she had any time to think about it, she and Cassandra disappeared through the portal.

Rapunzel had always wanted to know when her life would begin.

Now, she knew it had... and though she didn't know where it would end up next, she knew her dream was still alive, no matter how long it might take to get there.