Connected Constellations

by Crystalmoon101

An entire year has passed since Varian's kidnapping, along with the discovery of the Starshard within him. But when the shadows of a certain old enemy return, Varian and his friends must piece together what they're planning before it's too late. But will Varian be able to handle another adventure he is being roped into, or will this be the final piece that breaks him entirely?

Got the first chapter of the sequel up, woo! I would like to mention this one won't come out as fast as Stars In My Eyes.
One, because things are busy right now, two, I'm got two other fics I'm working on, three, it's summer soon and I'm bad at working in the heat.
But I hope you enjoy this new series.

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Synopsis:

An entire year has passed since Varian's kidnapping, along with the discovery of the Starshard within him. Struggling in his recovery, Varian is unsure of where life will lead him next, stuck while everyone else around him seems to be moving on with their lives.

But when the shadows of a certain old enemy return, Varian and his friends must piece together what they're planning before it's too late. But will Varian be able to handle another adventure he is being roped into, or will this be the final piece that breaks him entirely?

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Characters:

Varian

Quirin

Ruddiger

Eugene

Rapunzel

Adira

Hector

Edmund

Tromus

Sugracha

? OCs

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Warning: Blood, Mentions of past kidnapping/toture/abuse, mentions of death/near death experience, talks about mental health.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled The Series!

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The world around him felt strange, parts of his body feeling light like a feather, while the other half felt heavy like pure stone. In some ways, it felt like he was moving through water, with patches of ice coming and going. His own mind was hazy, memories clouded by an invisible force choking his thoughts. For a few seconds, Varian couldn't breathe, the ability to inhale and exhale lost on him. Everything was dark, so his current location was lost on him. Where was he? Why couldn't he remember anything? Why did the world around him feel so strange?

But then it finally clicked with him that his eyelids were closed. Something so simple, right? Though he couldn't seem to move them for a moment, as if they were glued shut. Then a tingle ran up his entire body, causing him to shiver as his eyes shot open, taking in a deep breath as he gasped, reaching out for the air that had been teasing him. He stared up, finding himself looking at a stone roof, but his vision was off. It wasn't clear no matter how many times he blinked, with some kind of white haze circling the corner of his sight. Everything he was looking at kept shifting ever so slightly, as if reality wasn't settling.

His breathing picked up, knowing something wasn't right, with too many questions fluttering through his head. Energy snapped in him, and so he pressed his hands against the floor, pushing himself up into a sitting position. His entire body still felt off, as if the matter that made up his very being could barely hold itself together. He tried to look around, but his mind swirled, and he quickly closed his eyes and went to brush a hand through his hair.

But then he heard rattling metal, a sound that made his blood turn cold. His breathing hitched, and he snapped his eyes open once again, his pupils shrunken with panic. His gaze went straight to his hands and wrists, and Varian felt his heart stop for a moment.

Cuffs were locked around his wrists, with a short chain connecting them together. But as Varian took in the sight of them, he realised what else was off about his outfit. He only wore a dirty creamy coloured button-up shirt and long dark brown pants, the rest of his usual gear missing. And the parts of his arm peeking out from under his sleeves, oh god, they were wrapped up in blood-soaked bandages, and he didn't need to be told whose blood it was.

Seeing them seemed to spark a sense of pain across his arms, flaring white heat crawling up his skin as he let out a whimper, his stomach twirling around with nausea. Now his breathing was painful, almost as if he was choking himself on air, and the shock of seeing it all caused him to jump to his feet, as if he had a brief instinct to run for some reason.

When he yanked himself up onto his feet, Varian stumbled around for a few seconds, his legs barely having any feeling to them. It didn't help that he couldn't focus any better due to him hyperventilating. He shot his hands out, reaching for anything so that he didn't fall, and he found himself leaning against a stone wall. But something didn't feel right about it, and so he looked up, needing to examine his surroundings for once.

He found that he wasn't resting against a wall, instead two giant, familiar doors, with intricate carvings writing across them. Varian's mouth dried, and he cracked it open as if to say something, but he lost his voice. He knew these doors, he knew this place.

He pulled his hands away, slowly stepping back in horror. How did he get back here? What happened to him? What was going on? Too many questions, not enough answers, and he couldn't find his memories still.

"W-What?" Varian finally sputtered out, a light echo to his voice.

But as he shuffled back further and further away from the door, he didn't notice the presence behind him, not until they placed firm hands on his shoulders, stopping the boy in his movement. Varian tensed up, holding his breath when feeling the sudden contact. He couldn't move, his entire body rigid as a dark feeling trailed up his spine. He couldn't even look over his shoulders to see who this person was, his sights still stuck on the stone doors.

The person behind him chuckled, their voice deep and slightly husky. To most, it would have sounded pleasant and warm if they had never met this person before, but it only made Varian feel sick and scared, his eyes becoming so wide they could match a perfectly round dinner plate. The boy wanted to act out, to run, to scream, but he couldn't, as if he had more than the chains between his wrists keeping him stuck in place.

More questions pounded his mind. Why was he here? When did he get out? How did he find him? What was he going to do to him?

The man behind him leaned down, whispering with a chilling voice. "Did you really think it was over?" He chuckled lightly once more, his fingers digging into Varian's shoulders like claws.

The idea that Andrew was right behind him, it made Varian feel like he was going to throw up. A part of him was almost ready to start begging and crying, wanting to plead with Andrew to not hurt him again, to leave him alone, to do something as not to piss off his former cellmate. But his fight response kicked in, and Varian suddenly regained the ability to move.

He twisted out of Andrew's hold, yanking himself free as he spun around on the spot. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, as he had little faith he could fight off the man like this. But as Varian spun around, almost losing his footing, the world around him shifted as his vision became dizzy for a split second.

When Varian found his footing, arms raised up in a shaky attempt for defence, he found he was no longer in Haco's chambers. He was outside, but it was hardly a breath of fresh air that awaited him. His chains were gone, but the view in front of him was plundered in smoke and fire, the land he looked down at was nothing but a realm of death and destruction. Thankfully he wasn't on the ground, but it didn't take him long to realise that his current location wasn't much better.

He was on the Saporian airship, high in the sky as they loomed over the chaos below. Varian's eyes were wide with horror, pulling himself forward as he rested against the ship's rails, staring down at the raging mythical wildfire. His breathing was even more a struggle, his stress and panic mixed with the heavy smoke rising up to them. Strangely enough he couldn't feel the heat, but that didn't cross his mind as he was lost in thought.

No, this couldn't be true. They stopped the fire, they saved Corona, they got the staff back, Varian knows this, he remembers it. Then what was going on? Had they actually failed? Had Andrew and his people stolen the staff again? He was pleading with any god out there at this point.

Suddenly something struck his side, he hadn't even heard the attack coming. White-hot pain flashed across him, and Varian threw his head back as he gave out an anguished cry. His knees began to buckle, and he found himself desperately clinging to the rails, leaning his body against it as he tightly shut his eyes. Hesitantly, he removed one hand from the railing, reaching it over to his side to somewhat inspect the wound.

Touching it only made it worse, and he yanked his hand away as he loudly hissed. But he felt something warm and wet dripping along his fingers and palm, and he dared to crack an eye open. Again, he nearly found himself vomiting, fighting back the urge to do so when seeing his hand coated with blood, his own blood. As if on cue, he felt it begin to trickle down his mouth too.

He heard movement behind him, heavy footsteps and the sound of something wooden tapping the ground. He was about to look over his shoulder, to run even, but a hand shot forward and latched onto the collar of his shirt, pressing down on his neck to pin him against the railing, meaning Varian couldn't look away at the fire eating away at his own Kingdom. Varian gave a yelp of surprise and pain, struggling weakly. But he tensed up when he saw the top of the staff of Vesuvius rest against the railing with him, one of the sharp metal pieces dripping with his blood.

Then the person keeping him trapped in place spoke, and Varian realised it was Andrew again, something about his voice so demonic now. "Ah, isn't it beautiful?" The man ribbed darkly, surely grinning from ear to ear. "The chaos, destruction, anarchy."

Varian only responded with a pathetic whimper, his entire body trembling as he couldn't find the urge to fight back. His eyes were watering at this point, and he couldn't force himself to look away at the display in front of him. This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be real.

Andrew leaned in, whispering right in Varian's ear. "All that you helped make true."

Varian's gaze snapped away from the sight, barely able to see Andrew in the corner of his eye. He wanted to scream at the man, to say he was lying, that he was just a monster who couldn't leave him alone, but it was hard to find the right words. This couldn't have been his fault, right? Hadn't he stopped them before?

"No!" Varian gasped out, taking sharp breaths as he tried pushing away the doubts that dug into him. "I-I never-"

He had tried to defend himself, to argue against Andrew, but it seemed like the man had other ideas. Not giving the boy the chance to speak further, he removed his hand from Varian's neck, before quickly reaching around and grabbing the alchemist by the front collar of his shirt. Before Varian could blink, he was suddenly flipped around and held up by Andrew with ease. Reacting, Varian's hands flew forward to grip onto Andrew's arm for what little support he could give himself.

Now finally having the chance to see the man, it only made things worse. Something about Andrew looked scarier, more deranged in his expression that felt ghostly, as if a demon was wearing the Saporian's skin. The flaring light from down below was bouncing off of Andrew, causing a dark and orange tint across his entire self, his eyes reflecting with a mirage of fire. His grin was sharp, and it looked inhuman with how wide it was.

With his eyes never leaving Varian's, Andrew shuffled forward, his strength making it easy to suddenly dangle the alchemist over the edge of the ship. This only caused Varian to grip on tighter, not daring to look down, gravity suddenly feeling a lot heavier, as if the fire down below was trying to drag him down with invisible tendrils.

Varian stared at Andrew, unable to form any words with his tight throat and heavy breathing. He gave a pleading look though, silently begging the man not to let go, to just stop whatever was going on. But deep down, he already knows it wasn't going to work, and the demented look in Andrew's eyes was enough to seal his fate.

"Why don't you go join your friends." Andrew hummed, raising a brow as his fingers began to twitch. "Have fun down in hell, Varian."

And with that, he released the boy, letting him drop into the fiery pits below. Varian gave out a scream of horror and panic, the world around him spinning rapidly as he plummeted towards the earth below. As if he could protect himself, Varian curled into a ball as best he could, arms wrapped around his face and head like a shield. He was going to die, this was the end, he was going to…

But as he risked a peek to stare into the doom that awaited him, the fires swarming the place began to shift in colour, becoming white with bluish and purplish hints of shade. It slowly became brighter and brighter, as if the world around him was vanishing, the sense of falling gone as he shut his eyes to protect his sight from the intense light.

Next thing he knew, he was laying on the ground. It felt like he had been placed there gently, rather than falling from the sky, but he was too scared to crack his eyes open, as if fearing he was dead, not wanting to face the afterlife.

However, nothing happened. No godly voice welcoming him, no singing angels ringing in his ears, just silence. Though there was a faint gentle hum nearby, and it sounded familiar. And it was enough for him to finally look after a moment, cautiously opening his eyes to take in his new surroundings. For a second he thought he couldn't open his eyelids again, seeing nothing but darkness, but he quickly came to the realisation of where he was, knowing this place.

Swallowing and taking deep shaky breaths, Varian pressed his hands on the floor, looking over to see his entire body was white as he sat up. Now that he was in a quiet place with nothing that set off his vision, he was finally given the chance to calm his senses. He took deep breaths of air, relaxing his body and easing up the tension that squirmed across himself.

He heard that gentle hum again, and he finally looked over his shoulders, being greeted by a soft, glittering, white light, created by a cluster of crystals, with the Starshard hovering in the centre of it. It was twirling softly, its magic flowing through the air and gently brushing against Varian, seemingly trying to keep him grounded and calm. It did help him, keeping his senses focused on something, clearing his thoughts over the nightmare he just experienced.

Pressing his lips together, Varian wanted to speak, to say something. So he stuttered out. "I-I-..."

He was about to shuffle around to face the Starshard, but he stopped himself when hearing the cling clang of haunting metal echoing in his ears. Faltering, Varian dared to look down at his wrists once more, a pained and sorrowful look in his gaze as he saw the cuffs, the long chains attached to them waving around in the air slowly, leading out into the dark of void of this black and white mental world he shared with the Starshard.

Varian didn't panic like he had in his nightmares, instead feeling a sense of weakness and hopelessness, sighing quietly to himself as he pulled his knees close, hugging them lightly as he rested his chin on them. Unlike the torturous dream he just had, he knew very well why he had these chains this time, and he knew he couldn't fight against them, at least not right now.

Instead, he allowed himself to think over what just happened, to find his memories finally. It has been over a year since his kidnapping, since that entire week that made his life hell. And here Varian was, having just escaped one of the many nightmares he has had this past year, his road to recovery barely feeling like it had changed him in any way. His traumas still felt so fresh, the pain he experienced those days would often possess him like a phantom, reminding him how it all felt.

Nothing much had happened since then, beyond the Kingdom being rebuilt once again, the Saporians being shipped off to a prison island and Varian's friends trying to settle their lives finally. But since his kidnapping, Varian felt like he was stuck in a pitiful loop he couldn't break out of, the ghosts of the past refusing to leave his mind in his everyday life. Some days were much easier, of course, but then there were days where he was too afraid to even go outside, and his father or friends would often have to coax him out. Overall, he was tired, so damn tired

But he was still trying, and he knew he wasn't alone. Like right now, with his little celestial stone friend coming to protect him from another nightmare. Honestly, his relationship with the Starshard was odd, to say the least. Varian wasn't even 100% sure if it was alive, or just a really well-crafted artifact, and talking to something that didn't speak like a human could be tricky at times.

On the other hand, it did make him feel safe, having something that could help him in his own mind, a place that none of his friends or family could reach. After all, that's how it saved his life when he almost died. And over this past year, he's been learning how to communicate with it better, along with understanding his powers more.

So, taking a sharp breath, Varian raised his head, glancing over his shoulder. "T-Thank you…" He said with a quiet voice, his unsure emotions hinted in his unintentional tone.

The Starshard hummed a little louder and flickered a bit brighter for a moment, as if responding back to him. It never pressured him, which he was grateful for, seeming to understand that it could help him with his mental chains unless he wanted help. It just seemed to understand that sometimes Varian has these depressive states, and that neither can stop them from happening.

Varian looked forward again, his eyes following one of the waving chains. The cuffs didn't feel tight, but they did feel heavy, and his body and mind were already so tired that he didn't even want to try and move. And it felt sad to say that he was used to this.

On the days he felt low about himself, the chains would come back, and could get quite painful if he was in a panic, though that thankfully didn't happen often. They would mostly just keep him in place, and he was too drained to fight back most of the time. Right now was one of those days.

Giving a dry laugh, Varian shook his head in defeat. "You'd think after an entire year, I'd finally start to get better." He sighed, opening one of his hands to stare at his palm in deep thought. "But look at me…"

He heard the Starshard hum again, but he didn't turn to face it this time. Instead, he closed his eyes, hugging his knees tighter as he curled further into a ball. He felt his tears pricking at his eyes, holding back a whimper and a sob. He didn't want to cry, he was tired of crying.

But the more he held out on it, the more he began to tremble, sniffling quietly. A warm touch brushed down his back, and he knew it was the Starshard's energy. It seemed this was the closest thing it had to physically comfort him. Varian did appreciate it and what it was trying to do, but it was going to take a lot more than soothing touches to fix what was going on with him.

Voice cracking as he held back a sob, Varian whimpered out. "It still hurts…"

Memory comes with a cost, and the price he had to pay was all the trauma he went through. These past few years had hardly been easy, and if things didn't get better soon, he was afraid to lose himself to it all. But he couldn't have any faith that things would get better, not after what the world's already thrown at him.

But before he could break down into a complete mess, he heard a new voice. But this was different, as it didn't sound like something his mind was making up, but rather someone reaching out to him from the real world.

"Varian…"

---

As Varian shifted from his mental world to reality, his senses began to come alive one by one, taking their time as they felt tired and muffled. But it didn't take him long to realise someone was lightly shaking him, their voice reaching through the fog in an effort to wake him up. As Varian was trying to crack his eyes open, along with keeping them up, he was faintly aware of the soft tears leaking down his cheeks. His throat also felt tight and dry, but he wasn't sobbing.

When he managed to finally see, his vision was found staring at the roof of his bedroom, strands of his hair crisscrossing across his sight. However, he did notice that faint glow coming from the tips of his hair and bluestreak, the ends twirling softly with magic, a reaction from the dream he just left. To most, this would seem unnatural or concerning, but he became rather used to it over the past year.

His mind was still clouded though, and Varian couldn't find it in himself to brush the hair out of his sight. In fact, he realised he was clutching his blanket and a bit of the bed with it. His body felt tense and tight, and he struggled to find the controls to it in his blurry state. But his hearing kept picking up the voice with him, along with light chittering coming from a certain critter.

"Son." The deep voice spoke, so gentle and warm, yet held light traces of concern.

Finally finding the urge to move a bit, Varian rolled his head over, peeking through his hair to finally be able to see his father, whose dark eyes were scanning over Varian with a worried paternal gaze, though at the same time he didn't seem surprised seeing his son like this. Quirin did let out a gentle sigh when Varian finally looked at him, and already shifted to the next part of the routine of calming his child after a nightmare caused by the past.

Gently, Quirin brushed away the hair from his son's face, though he always paused briefly whenever it was glowing and flowing around. After he did so, Quirin would carefully help his son sit up, knowing it would be easier to help him breathe at a proper angle. Varian didn't protest one bit, being moved with ease like a doll, almost sinking into his father's touch.

Varian's eyes did drift down for a moment when he felt movement around his legs, seeing Ruddiger, his ever loyal raccoon, shuffling closer and staring up at Varian with worry, whimpering and chittering softly. Stepping forward, Ruddiger slid onto Varian's lap, nuzzling and rubbing against his human's stomach in an effort to comfort him, purring quietly.

Swallowing, Varian leaned his head back, now finally taking note of how heavy his breathing felt, how shallow it went. It felt like there was a blockage in his throat, denying air proper access to his lungs. It was almost as if a part of him was refusing to come back to reality, still stuck in the nightmare that happened, light fear in the back of his mind. It was his anxiety, of course, but knowing that didn't make it stop.

He heard his father again, sensing Quirin taking a seat on the bed as it dipped with his weight. "Easy, easy." He spoke in a soothing voice. "Breathe…"

Varian didn't reply, but he did give a faint nod. As painful as it felt, he forced himself to take deep breaths, counting in his head to follow a pace of breathing in and out. This process tended to feel longer than it actually was, but he was willing to go through it so as not to fall into an anxiety attack. And he could tell it was working, as his tears began to vanish, along with the glowing of his hair fading, resting back down like normal.

Flexing his fingers, Varian found control over them again, immediately moving his hand to stroke Ruddiger, seeking the comfort from his little friend. Ruddiger cooed softly, his tail swishing gently as he kept talking to Varian.

Seeing that Varian was calm enough now, knowing the signs rather well, Quirin reached an arm around and rested it behind Varian. Wordlessly, Varian slid over, leaning against his father's side as he kept taking deep breaths, his body no longer tense. That being said, Varian still felt extremely tired, and he hadn't had the faintest idea on what time it was. In the corner of his eye he could see his bedroom window, and it appeared to be dark outside, so it was most likely very early morning.

Then he took a moment to survey his room. Of course, he already knew what it looked like, but it was always a good little exercise to keep his mind grounded, keeping his senses focused on something. Everything looked the same as it normally was, untidy with books, pens and papers scattered around the place, especially his desk. By the foot of his bed he saw his sheathed sword, the one given to him by his aunt and uncle. On one of his many bookcases, he saw his mother's hourglass. The only light in the entire room came from his lanturn, sitting on the nightstand to the right of him.

He looked over to it briefly, gazing at the soft warm light it was producing, all created by the singular fiery feather he was gifted by Solana. Despite the nightmares and struggle of sleep, Varian deep down knew that his little nightlight helped him in some ways, and hardly ever liked to sleep without it. It provided a sense of safety in some manners, a way to keep the shadows at bay. But even it couldn't protect him always.

Quirin began rubbing the side of his arm, holding Varian close, but not in a tight side hug. "There we go." He breathed out.

Varian shifted his gaze back to his father, hazily looking up at him. Both father and son looked like a mess, both barely awake with tired eyes, one more so than the other. A part of Varian did feel guilty, hating to drag his father out of bed in such a way. But right now he didn't care, wanting the comfort, needing a distraction.

Letting out a deep sigh, Varian curled up a little, resting the side of his head against his father's chest. In the silence, he listened to Quirin's heartbeat, focusing on the beating rhythm it produced. It was a strange sense of comfort for him, perhaps a habit developed after the amber incident. He also kept petting Ruddiger, who was now curled up on his angled chest, his vibrating purrs another noise of comfort.

The three of them sat in silence for a few more seconds, letting Varian have a moment to himself, before Quirin uttered out. "Another nightmare?" He glanced down at his son.

Varian squinted lightly, staring at nothing as he looked away, not needing to say anything. Quirin already understood what was happening, as this was sadly a normal experience since the boy's kidnapping. Nightmares had been expected, but that didn't make it easy to deal with, and they were something that Quirin couldn't protect Varian from. The realm of the mind was something he could not reach, no matter what he did.

Though that was one of the few things he was sure about with the Starshard. He was hesitant about such a thing still, and while he knew it was good, his past experiences with celestial stones weren't a pleasure to deal with. But he knew that the Starshard was doing its best in saving his son's mind, reaching him in places that no one else can go to. Plus, it was also the reason he knew whenever Varian was having a nightmare.

Every time the Starshard connected with the boy in his dreams, his hair would, of course, begin to glow and sparkle, swirling around lightly. The sight would often catch Ruddiger's attention, he would run off to grab Quirin from his bedroom. It was always a signal of when they should wake Varian up to help him.

However, the aftermaths of Varian waking up were hardly easy, with different reactions each time. Sometimes Varian would be in a full blown panicked state, others he would be deathly silent and refuse to utter a sound. Plus, Varian didn't like talking about it, as his nightmares were always twisted forms of his old memories. And then getting him back to sleep was an effort in and of itself, sometimes having to stay with him for hours to get him back to sleep, even if the sun was going to rise soon.

But Quirin could never fault his son, and was willing to do anything to help him. Afterall, his own child had been kidnapped, tortured, abused and threatened by people who were once his 'friends', so he could never blame Varian for feeling this way ever, and this was going to take time, support and love to move on from.

The thought of the Saporians, of Andrew, always made Quirin's blood boil. He had only ever met them properly once, and that was when him, Adira and Hector went down to the dungeons to fetch Varian. Seeing the man who inflicted all this pain on his son had been hard, the urge to strike him down where he stood had been very tempting. But he held himself together for his boy, and he could only be thankful that the Saporians were no longer in Corona, having been shipped off to some random prison island where he hoped they rot to death.

But right now they didn't matter, so Quirin added on. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He offered, gazing down at Varian.

Varian paused at that, staring forward as he was lost in thought for a moment. He knows he should talk about it, and that he could trust his father and Ruddiger in sharing what lingered in his own head. But to be frank, he was exhausted, knowing he wouldn't exactly be coherent in what he would say. He would rather be awake, somewhat, and stable enough to talk about his problems. Plus, he really didn't feel like crying tonight, and he knows he'll become a mess if he explains his nightmare.

And another part of him didn't want to talk about what happened right now, didn't want to talk about that man that haunts his mind. He just couldn't force himself to speak about it, at least right now. So he pursed his lips, lifting his tired baby blue eyes up to his dad, giving a light shake with his head.

"No...Not right now." Varian rasped out in a whisper.

Quirin nodded at him, knowing he shouldn't pressure his son, especially at this time of night and while they were both drained of energy. But he looked away for a moment, a light expression glinting in his eyes that Varian noticed.

Guilt, and it made Varian falter, biting his cheek as he looked away too. He knows very well that his father wants to help him, to do anything to make Varian feel better, but it was clear that Quirin sometimes felt useless with this situation, that he wasn't doing enough, no matter how much Varian insisted he was helping. He couldn't blame Varian for not wanting to share every part of his problem right away, but it made it hard to see his own son struggle, with Quirin unable to do more unless Varian asked for help or spoke about how he was feeling.

Gripping the blankets lightly, Varian wearily spoke. "I'm sorry, I just…" He paused for a moment, his tired mind struggling to find the right words. "Every time I keep feeling like I'm getting better, my own mind drags me down." He sighed in shame, moving his arms to now hug himself.

Quirin quickly looked back at him, shaking his head right away. "You're only human, Varian. And what you went through, it's understandable why you're not feeling ok." He tried to reassure his son, knowing how hard this all was for him. After all, people don't simply just bounce back from trauma of any kind in a day. He then used his thumb to gently rub circles around Varian's arm. "But you're doing good so far…"

Sadly, Varian didn't look convinced. A part of him knew what his dad was saying was true, and that Varian can't fix himself in a sudden second. But that didn't make it any easier to live with, having to fight these mental demons each day. Even his own physical body betrayed him too, littered with scars from the past, thin from struggling to eat, and light bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. There was no escaping what was going on with him, and it was something he had to live with each day.

Sometimes he wishes he could forget everything for one day, to experience a piece of life that doesn't have his trauma and past flickering in the background. But he knows a reality like that would be one he would never want to leave, and that it would never help in his recovery.

Quirin took note of Varian's expression, knowing that the next few days, perhaps weeks, were going to be rough. They had all taken note of how there were time frames of Varian being fine and happy, with little trip ups here and there, while there were other periods of time where this mental dark cloud would consume him and leave him feeling depressed, lost, hurt and so on, for a while. It seems like one of those clouds was rolling in soon, and the best they could do was be there for Varian, while the alchemist did his best to push through those times.

"Maybe take it easy when you go to the castle later." Quirin suggested, remembering that Varian was gonna be going to Corona to do some work in the early afternoon. But then he paused to think to himself for a second, before speaking again. "I can also come if you want?" He offered, a silent part of him wanting to help Varian more.

But Varian shook his head. "No, I'll be fine…" He replied, somnolently, before reaching a hand up to rub his eyes.

It was clear that his body was already demanding to go back to sleep, but his mind seemed to think otherwise, the two sides of him battling on what to do. Varian was afraid that if he went back to sleep too soon, then his nightmare would start right back up again, even if the Starshard was waiting there, wanting to prevent it.

Looking down, Varian carefully pulled his blanket up himself, covering his chest as he quietly snuggled up against his father. Ruddiger squeaked lightly, crawling around to find a better spot to lay in, curling up in between the boy and man. Quirin looked down at the two, tilting his head.

Varian was quiet for a second, fiddling with the ends of his blanket, before shyly asking. "But can you stay right now?"

Quirin gave a fond fatherly smile, nodding lightly as he knew he couldn't deny his son such a thing. "Of course."

---

Hector was very much a night owl, if he were being honest. He was excellent with stealth, often relying on his surroundings to his advantage, often seen jumping off of things for height, or he'd blanketed himself with the shadows to hide, much like many animals would when stalking their prey. And so the cover of night was when he performed the best.

This was perhaps the reason he often got night duty when protecting the castle grounds, wandering the halls of the Dark Kingdom. Not that he was complaining, though it's not like much has happened around these parts since the Moonstone was gone. It was strange, as the celestial stone had been what his job entirely revolved around originally, so in some ways it felt like there was something missing from his day to day life. Though he was also glad such a thing didn't exist on earth anymore, didn't need to keep dealing with the power crazies who sought out such energy.

Hector also wasn't one who went out of his way looking for a fight, though he was quick to join any he saw or that required him. While people joked about him having a feral side, he knew how to be civil, even if he had been living in the woods for a long time. It was nice to be living in the Dark Kingdom again, especially now that they could make something new out of it.

So here he was, creeping down the dark stoned halls, the click of his heels echoing faintly. His two binturongs, Rōnin and Renshu, were ahead of him, high on alert like normal. Hector wasn't too onguard, as the worst they've ever had to deal with since coming back were some thieves who thought they had a chance. It seemed many figured that this place would be easy looting, but people like Hector, Adira and Edmund were quick to put them in their place.

As they walked around, Hector would occupy himself with his own thoughts, as while he was a man who didn't speak much, he had a lot going on in his head, many thoughts and ideas he would debate over, or rearranged. Right now he was thinking about where to ride around with his rhino, Ivory, tomorrow, as she needed the exercise frequently, though he didn't like taking the same trail over and over again.

But he quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Rōnin and Renshu stopped in their tracks, both perking up and sniffing the air. Hector raised a brow, but stopped walking too when he began hearing them hiss, their fur spiking up in aggression as they seemed to sense something. Frowning lightly, Hector walked up between them, and the two bearcats glanced up at their master.

"What is it?" Hector inquired with a whisper.

He already had the idea that they had another intruder, and his two pets seemed to be having the typical reaction when someone enters their territory, though something about their expressions did seem off, as if a part of them was unsure in what they could be sensing.

But they both gestured with their heads, urging Hector to follow as they rushed ahead, following the scents that caught their attention. Hector pursed his lips, flicking out his hand to extend his wrist blade, knowing it was best to be armed first before running into what they were looking for.

Keeping a steady pace behind them, Hector was light on his feet, making sure that these unknown foes didn't hear him coming. He had no worries, still believing that it was going to be a simple issue, not thinking anything would surprise him. He also didn't think he needed back up, as if this was just a thief or two, then he could kick them out with ease and on his own. After all that he's experienced in life, could anything really surprise him?

But as they edged closer to the location, something felt off, as if whoever was nearby was causing an eerie presence. Hector thought it was just his nerves on end, or whatever reason, but he began to realise that something was also wrong in the physical world, the first thing that he noticed was his own breath and how there was a sudden dip in temperatures. Even with his thick coat on, it felt like an icy wind was latching onto his skin. Now, normally the Dark Kingdom was a rather cold place, given its location and weather, but pure winter wasn't for another couple of months, and why would it only be cold in this specific area?

He was starting to not like this, and that feeling grew stronger when he realised where they were heading. The old Moonstone chambers. The very place that many of them dreaded to come near or look into, mostly for memory reasons than something actually being there. But that made him wonder even further what was going on. Afterall, with the Moonstone gone there was nothing left in that room, wasn't there?

But his trained hearing began to pick up on whispers, so he began to slow down, give a few gestures to his pets, who began to slow in their pace too, stalking low to the ground as they all edged closer and closer to the room. Hector listened in on the voices, not being able to hear what they were saying, but he did narrow down on how many there were. Four of them at least, two men and two women it seemed, but something about their voices did sound ghostly, but that could be an echo effect from the room they were in.

Hector stopped right by the door, pressing his back against the wall as he cautiously peered into the room. He noticed a few things right away, the first being that the temperature drop was indeed coming from this room, somehow, and that something about it felt unnatural. But he quickly locked onto the sight of the four intruders, but it was hard to make them out for two reasons. One, this room barely had any light sources, and second, they appeared to be wearing cloaks, or something similar. Their sizes ranged and he could at least pinpoint who's voice belonged to who, but from this position he couldn't make out any defining details about them.

Two of them were closest to the door, one woman who appeared to be rather tall and lanky, her tone of voice almost bored and barely above a hush of a whisper. The other was also lanky and tall, but instead a male who was ever so slightly shorter than the lady next to him, with broader shoulders too. From the sounds of it, he seemed to be chuckling under his breath, as if amused by everything he was seeing. But with their backs to him, he couldn't see or hear any other features between them, though he did note that the ground right under the woman's feet was growing frost.

Looking past them, Hector spotted the other two, who were walking along the thin rocky bridge, seemingly scanning the room for something. One was a decently tall man, and was incredibly thin, like a walking pole. As he wandered, Hector realised that he had an accent of some kind, his best guess was french. The one pacing along with him was a woman, with the exact opposite body to him, very short and plump. Her voice sounded old, like the tone of a grandmother.

The sight of them only made Hector frown in confusion, not recognizing anything about them. He was starting to doubt the idea of them being simple thieves, as he had a feeling there was something more to them, mostly because of the strange feeling in the air. Looking down at Rōnin and Renshu, they seemed to be expressing the same idea, looking unnerved by something.

Then a faint light caught Hector's attention, and he quickly snapped his gaze back to the unknown cloaked people. The short woman had pulled out something, and it took Hector a moment to realise it looked like some kind of polished, sphere shaped gem. But it was producing a gentle purplish glow, and the woman holding it began tilting it around lightly, before holding it up high.

The gem began to shimmer, its glow flickering for a moment, before something strange began to happen. Hector's eyes widened a little when seeing many strange blue sparkling trails of light begin coming out of the walls, floor and roof of the chambers, seemingly coming from the depowered black rocks that still lingered in this room.

It was about this time that Hector knew he had to step in, not liking what he was seeing, even if he didn't actually know what was going on. So he made a command to his pets, a gesture saying to strike after he did so, and he tensed the hand connected to his wrist blade. Calculating his shot, he decided to strike who was closest to him, which turned out to be the male out of the two near the entrance.

Dashing into the room with well trained speed, Hector kicked off the ground and held his blade high. For a split second, none of them had noticed them, and normally that meant Hector had enough time for his strike. His initial plan was to hit the man, then try and slice at the woman who stood next to him. If they didn't put up a fight, then he would then switch his attention to the other two, along with trying to stop whatever witchcraft or devil worshiping cult magic trick they were trying to pull off.

But that was, unfortunately, not how it went. The one he was going to strike didn't turn, but the other three did, light surprise on their faces. But just as the tip of his blade was about to dig into the man's back, a hand he didn't see coming came out of nowhere, and for some reason caught the blade bare skinned. The grip was surprisingly strong, and was enough to stop Hector in his tracks, along with confusing the hell out of him.

His initial thought was that the lady next to his target intercepted the blade herself, but the reality was not what Hector was expecting. As he trailed his eyes down, Hector stared in horror when he suddenly realised that the mysterious arm was coming out of his target's back. He also quickly noted that one, the skin was pure red, two, it had long claws for nails, three, the blood dripping from the cuts was glowing, like an inhuman red ectoplasm.

Staring in shock, Hector darted his eyes up in time as his target looked over his shoulder, and Hector almost froze at the sight of their face. They looked demonic, with pure white eyes that felt soulless, boring into him. Their hair was pure black and brushed back, the tips flowing around lightly by some kind of invisible force. But the worst of all was the smile, curled up in an unnatural grin, with long fangs that looked like they could cut through any flesh like a rabid animal. Hector, in his entire life, had never seen quite a thing like this, and that made him worried about what the other three were.

The demonic man suddenly rose another arm, one in the proper location, before suddenly swiping at Hector, who thankfully moved back in time, having to slip his blade out of the creature's grip. Jumping back a bit, Hector landed between his two binturongs, who were loudly roaring and hissing at the intruders.

The sight only seemed to make Hector's previous target laugh, something so unsettling with his tone, a deranged glee across his face as he began turning to face Hector properly, along with the others with him. But as he did so, Hector was surprised once again when he noticed the man's arm, the one on his back, begin to shrink, as if growing right back into him. As strange and disgusting as that was, this alluded to Hector that whatever this man was, he must have some kind of shapeshifting ability.

Unable to help himself, Hector growled out. "What is this trickery?!" He demanded the answers, though he already guessed he wasn't getting them.

The red man just laughed again, sick joy across his face as he took in Hector's confusion. He then shifted his cloak, revealing that he had four arms that he had been hiding, and this appeared to be his normal look, at least that's what Hector could guess.

Knowing that asking them anything wouldn't work, Hector used the few seconds he had to scan the other three. The two in the back had a similar theme going on with them, both with skins that glew a sickly green, their hairs and eyes completely white, their expression unamused from being interrupted. Though what caught Hector's attention the most was the fact that neither had legs, just wispy bottom halves like they were ghosts or something.

The woman out of the two had braided hair that stuck out in two different directions. Her outfit was a ragged tunic, a thick fur cloak draping from her shoulders. In one hand was the glowing gem, in the other appeared to be a staff, with the skull of what looked to be a goat attached to it.

The man had long hair that waved around lightly, with a thin handlebar moustache and tiny triangle goatee to go along with it. He wore some kind of black spiked crown atop his head, with a ragged ritual cloak across his body. He also appeared to be holding some kind of bag in one hand, but Hector wasn't sure if that was something worth noting or not.

The final member caught his attention when she quietly stepped in front of the red demonic man, her footsteps somehow lighter than anything Hector could ever accomplish. As she took her steps, he noted very quickly she was leaving a trail of frost behind, and he was starting to realise she must have been the one causing this temperature dip, most certainly with magic, judging by the other three.

This seemed to be confirmed when she turned to face him, showing her icy pale blue skin, patterns of snowflakes and frost printed on her hands and edges of her face. Her eyes were pure white too, a cold glow to them as she stared with no emotion lingering in them. Her hair was white, and rather short, especially at the back, but she did have lightly curled bangs, with two long strands of hair on either side of her face. In one of her hands was a spear, one that looked to be made mostly out of metal, though the pointed tipped looked to either be made out of ice, or crystal. She began raising her free hand slowly, and the last thing Hector noted was a silver ring on one of her fingers.

Bringing her hand up to her face, the lady put one finger to her lips and hushed out. "Shhh…" In an eerie and chilling manner.

Hector opened his mouth to reply, scowling at the audacity these people had. But he had no time to say anything before the woman suddenly flicked out her spear, and a shimmering bolt of magic came his way. Reacting on instinct, Hector and his pets doved to the side, narrowly missing the strike and watching it hit the doors. When it made contact, the magic burst out into a growth of ice, covering a part of the door so suddenly.

Yup, he was dealing with magic, which he knew was not the easiest thing to fight. But he wasn't backing down, and he was already pulling up his blade to fight back, Rōnin and Renshu hissing loudly by his side, ready to join their master's side in battle like always.

Both the blue lady and red man looked behind them, staring at their other two members, who both gave a light nod back, as if allowing something. The woman of ice began twirling her spear, readying it for combat, while the demonic man's four hands each pulled out matching curved hunting knives, a twisted grin of eagerness pulling at his lips.

Then the two rushed forward, each preparing a strike against Hector. He stood his ground for a moment, feet prepared to make his move as he waited for the right moment. When the red man dove forward, Hector narrowly slid to the right, managing to dodge each knife the man used to swipe at him.

As Rōnin and Renshu began trying to bite at the man's ankles, Hector spun around when hearing something, seeing the lady of ice was charging up for magical shots with her spear. Light on his feet, Hector began jumping around, dodging each blast that would become a burst of ice whenever they made contact with anything. Eventually, Hector rolled forward, dodging one more blast, before pressing his hands on the ground, flipping forward so his feet struck the woman.

She stumbled back, growling under her breath as she narrowly caught herself, her spear scraping against the stone ground as she did so, creating a loud and uncomfortable screech for a few seconds. Hector was ready to pounce again, but he stopped himself when sensing his other foe come up behind him.

Flicking around, Hector began dodging side to side to miss the sharp knives trying to slice away at him, the red man's ever pressing grin never leaving him. He didn't even seem to care about Rōnin and Renshu, who were trying to nip at his legs. Hector, for the most part, was doing rather well, not being hit. That was, until his enemy decided to play dirty, suddenly growing an extra arm from out of their stomach area. Before Hector could react, they struck him in the gut, causing him to gasp out and lose his footing for a brief second.

They used this moment to try and slice at him again, this time going for the face. Hector recovered quickly though, and bent his head out of the way. Though he did feel a light white hot line across his cheek, a very small and thin cut they managed to get, with a thin trail of blood trickling down from it. And it looked like they were going in for another strike, that was until they all heard someone else speak up.

"Hector!" Adira roared out, suddenly dashing into the room with her blade drawn out.

The red man had to pull away, diving to the side as Adira sliced down, almost cutting him in two. He rolled over to his fighting partner, looking to her as she raised her spear in defence, watching Adira rush over to Hector's side, though never taking her eyes off of the enemies.

Adira frankly had no clue what was going on, having only just got here, but she knew it was bad, that was obvious. She had actually been searching for Hector to ask him for something, but it had taken a while since he wasn't partoling in his regular route, which typically meant he ran into something. And whatever he ran into, she didn't like it. Plus, it was rather clear that he wouldn't be able to take this fight on his own.

Reaching over, Adira helped Hector steady himself. "Are you alright?" She asked him, light worry in her voice when seeing the faint cut on his face.

Hector quickly waved her off, having dealt with worse injuries before. "I'm fine, sister." He growled under his breath, shifting his gaze back to his enemies. "But we must get rid of these trespassers."

Nodding in agreement, Adira held her blade high as she scanned over them. "I'm hoping to find out what they're doing here in the first place." She glared at each of them, though they seemed unphased by her presence, even in a manner suggesting they expected her to appear. "Takes a lot of guts to start a fight with us."

The two people in green look over at the standoff, frowning and muttering to each other, sometimes glancing at the glowing gem they held. The man of the two suddenly spoke out a bit louder for their other team members to hear them, a slight impatient tone to his voice, as if they had somewhere else to be.

"Do you mind dealing with them a little longer?" He ordered, before going back to the gem without awaiting a proper answer.

Both the icy woman and red man nodded, already moving back into aggressive battle stances. It didn't seem like they had to be told twice to fight, which was somewhat not normal for Adira and Hector. These people already seemed to know who they are, and yet they didn't seem scared in fighting brotherhood members. Though so far, they have been proving to be quite the fighters, their magic especially being a difficult force to combat.

Hector gave a tiny gesture with his head to Adira, pointing over to the red man. With the brief fight he had before, he knew it would be best if she fought him, while he tackled the woman. Adira was tanker than him, and would be able to handle a foe like this, who seemed to be primarily a close-combat fighter. Meanwhile Hector was the fastest out of the two, and so he would have a better chance dodging the ice blast created by her.

Adira seemed to get this in their silent conversation, already rushing over to deal with her target, while Hector began running towards his. Adira could hear the ice blasts going off, but she didn't look back, knowing she had to keep her eyes on her foe at all times. Plus, she had faith that Hector would be fine, and Rōnin and Renshu would be watching his back.

Roaring, Adira swung her blade with no mercy, and the red man jumped to the side, but she expected this. Pulling up a leg, she struck him in the chest, her movements seeming to catch him off guard for a second, and he was knocked back. But he caught himself with ease, his extra arms making it easier for him, before pouncing off of the ground like a wild cat.

She swung her blade down again, but he crossed all his knives together into an X shape, somehow catching her sword. He then pushed back, and Adira pulled her sword away as he stabbed his knives forward, and she parried them all before twirling around and striking with her foot.

He jumped back in time, landing in a crouching position as he grinned at her, getting a rush from the fight. Normally Adira too would enjoy a good fight, but something about this thing was setting her off, like the devil himself was taunting her with the way this guy moved and expressed. All in all, he was rather creepy, and she wanted to get this over and done with.

"Tell me what you're doing here." Adira demanded, pointing her blade towards him.

He raised a brow at her, tilting his head with false innocence. He pretended to think about the question, as if to mock her, before glancing behind her. He noticed that his two comrades were almost done with their job, the last strands of sparkling blue flowing into the gem they held. He then glanced at his other member, seeing her holding off Hector decently, though she too seemed to notice their time was up soon.

So, cracking a smirk, he picked himself off of the ground, standing proudly as he hissed to Adira. "She will rise again…"

Adira frowned at that, not understanding what he was saying. It was clear he was being cryptic just to mess with her, but something about that hidden message didn't sit right with her. They were planning something, something she just knew wouldn't be good. But what? And why come to this room?

However, before she could ask further, he suddenly leapt over her, as if his legs were packed with springs. Adira flicked around, watching him land and catching himself with ease, rushing over to the other two, coming to a stop by their side. The gem they held flickered lightly, shifting to a blue colour instead of purple now, and the short woman on their team tilted it around, examining it, before giving a nod to the two next to her.

The man in green held his arms behind his back, looking over to their last member, who was still fighting against Hector. She seemed rather annoyed that Hector wouldn't let up, not slowing in his assault, but it appears that neither has gotten a strike on each other.

Then, clearing his throat, the man in green called out to her. "Shall we leave?" He said, as if they were merely leaving a dinner party early.

She glanced over at them, before using the side of her spear to shove Hector back, before skillfully jumping back to join her team's side. Hector growled, somewhat offended that she suddenly just ditched their fight, a lack of honour it seems. But before either Adira or Hector could rush in to fight them again, the icy woman swirled her spear, before slamming the end of it on the ground.

Next thing they knew, there was a burst of cloudy white snow, as if a brief winter blizzard dashed through the room. Adira and Hector threw up an arm to shield their faces, holding their weapons close in case someone struck them in these moments. But nothing of the such happened, and as the strange and quick blizzard died down, they peered out to look for their enemies.

They were gone, no longer anywhere to be seen, having no doubt used that moment to run for it. Hector quickly turned to Rōnin and Renshu, ready to give them a command to find them, but he faltered when seeing his pets frantically rubbing their eyes and ears, their senses clearly distorted for the time being. He wasn't going to push the two, sighing in annoyance as he glanced around some more.

Adira frowned to herself, sheathing her sword back into place as she looked around too. Piece of snow and ice scattered the room, and there was a tiny puddle of glowing red blood, but other than that they saw no traces of their unknown intruders. Along with nothing to explain why they were here in the first place, and if they took something or not.

Turning to face Hector, Adira was about to ask him a few things, mostly what happened before she had arrived. But they both heard someone approaching, someone with heavy steps as they rushed to the old Moonstone chambers. For a split second, Adira and Hector tensed, thinking that maybe their enemies were coming back, but they both calmed themselves when the doors opened, Edmund peering into the room, eyes wide when seeing the state of the room.

He walked in, a couple of castle guards following behind, and the king was speechless for a second. But his eyes landed on his two friends, and he already had a faint feeling some kind of fight broke out, so the man quickly walked up to them, light concern in his expression.

"Hector, Adira!" Edmund came up to them, glancing between the two to see if they had any injuries. "Are you both alright?" He asked them.

Hector reached a hand over to rub the back of his shoulder, still feeling a little tense from the battle. It also didn't help that the cut on his cheek was constantly giving a mild heat of pain. "Beyond sore pride, we're good." He dryly responded.

When Edmund looked at Adira, she gave an expression saying she was alright too. But before her king could say more, she quickly turned and spoke to Hector, needing to question him. "Who were those people?"

Hector glanced at her, pursing his lips as he didn't have a clue on what to say. They hadn't even gotten any names out of that fight, and none of them had some kind of symbol to reference what group they could be a part of. The only things he had to go by were their appearances, voices and magic, which didn't clue him in on who they were.

Looking behind himself, Hector's eyes wandered around the chambers. "I don't know." He admitted, squinting his eyes in deep thought. "And I also don't know what they wanted."

---

It had been about half a year after his kidnapping that Varian finally decided to try therapy, which had been a big suggestion from his friends and family. Originally, he was ashamed to say he didn't have a good mindset on therapists, because the first time he ever came in contact with one was during his time in prison. He had refused to talk to any of them sent down by the King, because he was convinced that they couldn't help him, and in some ways they couldn't. Plus, at the time he simply didn't trust anyone sent to him by the King.

So he was initially unsure about this, sceptical of where it could lead and if it would all be worth it in the end, but over time he found that it did actually help him. Something about talking to a stranger about his traumas seemed to help, especially since the stranger could offer needed advice, say certain things that needed to be said, and help him clear his thoughts. It also helped that he and his therapist liked having normal chats too, as Varian was interested in learning about psychology here and there.

And today he was going to see her again, as he had made an appointment a few days ago. In some ways that meant his nightmare had good timing, as he didn't have to wait too long to speak to her about it, along with other things he needed to get off of his chest again. It also helped that she let him keep Ruddiger during their sessions, as she was knowledgeable on the fact that animals were great therapy. Plus, she started keeping an apple with her to give to Ruddiger, so the little critter liked her back.

So the day was spent with Varian heading to Corona, cautious on his walk there, greeting Rapunzel and Eugene, along with any other friends he crossed paths with, and did some things in his lab until his appointment neared. Now he found himself walking down the hall, coming up to the room his therapist would be waiting for him, as she was typically never late.

He did pause for a second at the door, needing a moment to take a deep breath. While these appointments helped, a part of him was still unsure or nervous at times, especially after something stressful like a nightmare, which he hasn't mentioned to anyone other than his dad and Ruddiger so far.

Then, Varian raised a hand and gently knocked on the door. After a few seconds he heard a voice on the other side saying he could enter, and so he opened the door and slipped in, Ruddiger following behind as he stayed by Varian's heels. Making sure the door was closed, Varian turned to face the room, already heading to his normal seating area.

He glanced over to his therapist, who was a middle-aged woman he called Miss Polly. Her outfits tended to be a range of white and light, soft colours, sometimes with flora patterns, and she had round glasses that made her gentle brown eyes stand out. Her blondish brown hair was often tied up in a messy bun, sometimes with a ribbon or cloth, and overall she had a vibe of feeling like the friendly mother next door.

Glancing up from her notepad, Polly gave a warm smile. "Evening, Varian." Her attention was caught by Ruddiger, who skipped over to her as he squeaked, sitting in front of her as he looked at her with big black eyes. She laughed softly under her breath, shaking her head as she already pulled out a fresh apple from her bag, bending down to hold it out to Ruddiger. "And you too Ruddiger."

The raccoon licked his lips, snatching the apple and giving her a nod as a thank you, before holding it in his mouth as he rushed over back to Varian, hopping onto his lap as the boy took a seat. Varian raised a brow at his little gluttonous friend, but merely rolled his eyes and looked to Polly, smiling lightly back at her.

"Morning, Miss Polly." He greeted her, relaxing into his plush seat.

Picking up her notepad and a pencil nearby, she started off with a basic question. "How are you faring today?"

Varian paused, thinking of the right word to say. He wasn't sad, angry or depressed right now, just drained, and that mostly due to the fact that last night had been rough. Subconsciously, he began stroking Ruddiger as he thought to himself, which was normal during these sessions.

"Tired, mostly." He admitted with a sigh, brushing a hand through his hair. "But I feel like one of those negative mental waves is coming in, so that'll be fun." He dryly added on.

Polly gave a soft, understanding look. Varian had been an interesting patient for her so far, his background being well known around Corona. After his heroic act that saved the Kingdom, a lot of therapists had been interested when word got out that the royal engineer was looking for one. But Polly had been chosen by Rapunzel personally, as she had helped the Princess with some of her issues whenever she needed it, and knew Varian would be safe in her hands.

And Polly genuinely wanted to help, especially the more and more she learnt about the alchemist and his mind. It hurt her to see such a brilliant mind and generous person have a lot of issues to deal with. And despite how chaotic his life was, what with his criminal background, being kidnapped by one of Corona's biggest enemies and having anti-magic, Polly never backed away from helping him once.

So she wrote down his reply, before speaking. "Of course, my advice is to find a way to busy yourself. Though, with your kind of work, that might not be too hard." Polly gave him a light smile, hinting to his job.

Varian did smile back too, giving a light chuckle under his breath. His work did have a way of taking his mind off of things, and he never stopped coming up with new projects to work on. Ones that either benefited the Kingdom, or ones he simply wanted to do for fun. Once he even made a board with wheels on it, something you could ride around on, though Eugene couldn't get the hang of it, which was always funny to think about.

Polly glanced through a few of her previous pages concerning Varian, helping her think of certain questions to ask. "Any nightmares again?" She asked him, as this was a common topic spoken between them.

Varian's smile faded when she said that, glancing away as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yes, one last night."

Polly nodded, straightening herself as she spoke. "Can you describe some of the details in it for me?" She inquired, but had a subtle tone to her voice saying Varian didn't have to share if he wasn't comfortable.

Varian paused for a good while, sitting in silence as he relayed the nightmare in his head. It always sent a cold shiver up his spine, making his throat feel tight as he swallowed. They were always a part of his mind he never liked exploring, but he knew he couldn't keep it all in. After all, this was a habit he had to break, and he had to be more often in how he felt.

Fiddling with his fingers, Varian looked to her, his voice a little quiet. "The scene switched at one point. First I was back in Haco's chambers…" He held his breath for a moment, staring at nothing as he was lost in memories. "Then I saw Corona burning, right on the airship."

Ruddiger stopped eating at his apple, slowly looking up at Varian with folded ears and wide eyes. That day would forever be engraved in the little animal's mind, the day he almost lost his boy forever. He had been so close to death when the ship crashed, and Ruddiger could only be so grateful that fate changed its mind and let Varian live.

But Varian's face twisted a little, an uncomfortable look across his face as he took a sharp breath. A certain man's voice was echoing in the back of his head, and he couldn't help but rub his arms, his mind briefly thinking about the scars that littered them, given to him by that man.

"And I saw him again…" Varian breathed, unable to say the name that would leave a bitter taste on his tongue. "Taunting me, hurting me…" He held himself, glancing away as he thought about it.

Ruddiger narrowed his eyes lightly, huffing under his breath as he too looked away. He, of course, hated Andrew with every fibre of his little body, and will forever be angry at the man that dared to hurt his boy in such a way. He still felt light satisfaction at the knowledge of knowing Andrew was missing a part of his ear, thanks to him.

Polly nodded along though, keeping a calm expression. She hadn't met Andrew, but she had definitely heard about him and his crew, along with the things they did. One of the hardest sessions she had with Varian was when he finally opened up to her about some of the things they did to him when he was kidnapped, the worst being when Andrew cut him up with a knife. It was sickening to hear, and she believed it was disgusting and pathetic of a grown man to do such a thing to a young boy. She could only be so glad that he and his people were locked up in the middle of nowhere.

But keeping her professional tone, Polly commented as she wrote down what he said. "A relapse in memories, with your mind twisting the scenes." She tapped her pencil against her notepad for a second, before looking back at Varian. "Did anything happen after that?"

Varian looked to her, nodding lightly as he took a moment to relax himself, needing to remember that the nightmare was over, and that he was in a safe place. "The Starshard cut in like normal, saving me from those thoughts…" He glanced up at his blue streak for a moment, before shifting his gaze back to Polly. "Then dad woke me up, took a while to go back to sleep."

Polly nodded again. "Your brain responding to traumatic memories like this is normal." She glanced at another piece of paper she had, which were a couple of notes she wrote up after their last appointment. "If you're up for it, I'd like to try another exercise for you."

Varian thought about it for a second, speaking. "Sure, I-"

But he cut himself off when he suddenly felt his mind burst with sudden pain, though the surprise of it caught him off guard more. He felt his entire body tense and everything suddenly went white for him, as if he were blacking out. Then his vision was bombarded by mental images that were too fuzzy at first, and it was hard to comprehend what was being shoved in the front of his mind.

Ruddiger and Polly's eyes widened, as they saw Varian's body become stiff, before the boy hunched over, gasping and whining as he began gripping his hair. Before anyone could react further, suddenly Varian's hair began to sparkle, half of his blue streak becoming a glowing white as strands of his hair twirled around with magic. Varian's eyes cracked open, showing that they were also glowing too, his freckles becoming luminous to match everything else.

Ruddiger squealed in surprise, having to hop off of Varian's lap and onto the floor. He didn't know what was happening, as he had never seen something like this happen before, so he merely began squeaking at Varian, trying to find a way to coax him out of whatever was happening to him

Polly was even more confused, as while she was aware of Varian's magic, she had barely seen much of it, beyond the little bits of it Varian had shown her before. And as skilled as she was, she knew this wasn't fit for a task like that.

Still, she tossed her notepad and pencil to the side. "Varian!" She cried out, jumping out of her seat to rush over to him.

He didn't respond to her, as if he didn't notice or hear her. But she came to his side, kneeling down to be level with him. Quickly, she grabbed his arms to pry his hands away from his hair, as she knew she couldn't let Varian hurt himself by mistake in this strange state he was stuck in. He didn't fight back though, and just felt stiff in her grip. His head lifted up a little, and she could see his bright eyes flinching with confusion and pain.

"Varian?" Polly tried, not sure in what to say to help him. "Varian, honey, can you hear me?"

But he still didn't respond, numb to the world around him. Polly wasn't confident she could break him out of this trance, and wasn't even sure how long it would go on for. She had been told the Starshard was a good thing that helped Varian, but right not that didn't seem to be the case.

Then it clicked with her and who could help, and she looked to the door, yelling out as loud as she could. "Guards!"

For a few seconds, it didn't sound like anyone heard her, but then she heard the heavy footsteps and the rustling of armour. One burst the door open, already looking around to see if there was any danger, the other behind him stepped in as well, joining in the search.

"What's wrong?" The first one asked, before his eyes landed on Polly and Varian, looking shocked at what he was seeing.

But Polly didn't give them time to gawk, already yelling out an order. "Get the Princess, now!"

---

If there was one thing Eugene liked about being the captain, was that he was often told things first, often even before the King and Queen. It was just something about him, wanting to know the situation at hand so he either wasn't left in the dark, or so that he could figure out how he was going to handle it.

That being said, he hadn't expected anything beyond the normal today. So when he was talking to Rapunzel and a guard frantically ran up to them, he had been expecting news about a thief or wanted criminal. But to his surprise, and concern, it was news about Varian. Apparently something was happening to him while with his therapist, and with what's happened in the past, Eugene and Rapunzel already found themselves sprinting off to the room where he was.

Ever since the boy's kidnapping, they had all been extra supportive for him, knowing how much he needed it, and while that made them somewhat overprotective, they knew that they would always be there for him. And whatever was happening, they hoped it wouldn't lead into anything more stressful, as Varian needed a break. In fact he needed a lot of things, like a proper sleeping schedule no matter how many times he denied it.

Eugene will admit that maybe he shouldn't have been so frank, but he could barely stop himself from busting the door open with Rapunzel right behind him, already scanning the room for their friend and to see what was going on. They had been briefly told that it appeared to be something to do with his anti-magic, but that was all they got.

"Varian!" Rapunzel cried up, ducking under her husband's arm to slide into the room.

"Kid?" Eugene called out too.

Polly spoke up from one side of the room, catching their attention. "Over here."

The royal couple looked over in her direction, seeing Polly kneeling next to Varian, who she had moved to lay on a long couch in the room. They couldn't see any signs of his magic, but it looks like Varian had passed out, as he made no reactions to the world around him, breathing slowly in his rest. Ruddiger was laying on his stomach, staring at Varian in deep concern.

Not wasting another second, Rapunzel stepped over to them, standing next to Polly as she looked over her friend. He appeared to be fine, but something wasn't sitting right with her. Eugene joined them too, standing on the other end of the couch as he too looked over Varian, pursing his lips in light confusion.

Turning to Polly, Eugene quickly asked her. "What happened? Is he ok?"

Polly blinked lightly, a little frazzled after what happened. But she pulled her gaze over to Eugene. "I…" She licked her lips, not knowing how to describe what just transpired. "I don't know. We had been talking like normal, but then his eyes and hair started glowing out of nowhere, tensing up in pain. I couldn't snap him out of it." She explained, turning her attention back to Varian.

Rapunzel frowned at that. "The Starshard? But why would it?..."

So far all the Starshard has ever done for Varian was for his safety. Teaching him how to use its magic, urging him away from death's door, saving him from nightmares. So why suddenly would it hurt him? If that was what she was understanding about the situation. So she looked to Polly again, but it was clear by the older woman's expression that she was even more confused than they were.

Shaking her head lightly, Polly brushed a hand through her hair. "I don't know, he couldn't tell me anything." She sighed softly, looking over Varian with a worried gaze. "Poor thing's tired himself out."

Though, as if on cue, they all heard a light groan, all their eyes flickering to Varian. His face scrunched up lightly, hissing through his teeth as it seemed he was beginning to sir awake, though it did sound like he wasn't feeling well, most certainly a headache jumping by how his brows were pressing together.

Ruddiger squeaked, crawling forward to get right in Varian's face, cooing to him. Varian gave a mild reaction to hearing Ruddiger, but didn't wake up to it. Pouting, Ruddiger suddenly leaned in and licked Varian's face a few times, as that tended to help wake the boy often. And Varian did react, groaning loudly as his hand shakily tried swatting Ruddiger away.

"He's coming back to the land of the living." Eugene lightly cracked, before resting his hands on his knees to bend down. "Varian?" He quietly reached out to the alchemist.

After a few more seconds of squirming lightly, Varian managed to crack his eyes open, blinking lazily. "Wha?..." He lethargically murmured.

As feeling came back to him, Varian pressed his hands under him, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position, shaking his head as he did so. When he was sat up, he brushed a hand through his hair, before rubbing his forehead, his head pounding like a drum. He remembers what happened, but that didn't make it any less confusing.

After blinking a few times, Varian finally looked over to his friends, squinting at them. "Eugene? Rapunzel?" He said, as if he wasn't sure if they were there or not.

Though Rapunzel seemed to relax when hearing her name, letting out a deep breath she had been holding. "Oh, thank the sun." She shook her head, kneeling down to be level with him. "You scared us there, especially Miss Polly." She gestured to the therapist, who also seemed glad that Varian appeared to be alright.

Varian glanced between them, still trying to piece together what happened. But he began rubbing his forehead and eyes again when the headache just wouldn't go away. Eugene tilted his head, shuffling a little closer as he watched Varian's expression.

"Are you ok?" Eugene asked him, needing to hear it from Varian.

Varian glanced up at him, resisting the urge to be sarcastic with him. "My head hurts." He admitted, taking a sharp breath in and out as he let his head settle. It honestly felt like his brain just went through a twister. Swallowing, Varian shifted his gaze to Polly. "What happened?"

Polly paused, still confused by the situation. "You just started glowing, quite brightly too." She glanced at his hair, staring at the blue streak for a moment.

Varian lightly frowned at that, looking away as he thought to himself. He had been faintly aware about that, but her saying so confirmed that something was going on with the Starshard. This has never happened before, as the Starshard only ever communicated whenever he was sleeping, never awake. He couldn't even process what it was feeling, or why it was so frantic in sharing those mental images. Though, speaking of those images...

"The Starshard, it…" Varian began, but stopped himself as he didn't know exactly what to say.

Eugene and Rapunzel glanced at each other, nervous about what could be going on, but Rapunzel looked back at Varian, gently urging him to keep speaking. "Varian?"

He was silent for a moment, before he straightened himself and looked over to his friends, knowing he had to explain. "It shared these images in my head, flickering flashes." He bit his lip when his head pounded again. "Wasn't pleasant to sit through." He hissed through his teeth.

"Images of what?" Eugene raised a brow, tilting his head with a perplexed expression.

Varian furrowed his brows, not sure how to feel about what he just saw. "The Dark-"

But he was caught off as a guard stepped in, causing everyone to look over to him. They seemed to notice they were interrupting something, but they merely cleared their throat and looked to Rapunzel, standing with a straight posture out of respect.

"Your highness." He greeted her, before adding on. "Urgent letter from the Dark Kingdom."