THE BIG FOUR: Watching The Big Four Unite

by TheTombedSpirit

The Big Four are watching a film, where invisible Winter Spirit Jack Frost meets rebellious Scottish Princess Merida DunBroch and they both run away. They save and meet Rapunzel, who requests their help, and on the way meet Hiccup Haddock and his Night Fury Toothless. Together, they go through a labyrinth of emotions, adventures and are dragged into perilous danger. Isn't it fun?

8. Divide and Conquer

Chapter Seven: Divide and Conquer

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Mor'du's growls echoed in the empty square before the demon bear lunged. Merida barrel rolled away and took out her sword, the Gronckle Iron managing to slice the bear's calf. The bear roared in anger and swiped his massive paw, hitting the princess and tossing her aside. Merida crashed into a stall and moaned in pain.

Elinor flinched, watching her daughter crumble painfully onto the floor. Fergus gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders in comfort, wishing he was there to fight by her side.

"MERIDA!" the redhead looked up as Mor'du stood over her and roared. Merida looked up at him in fear before a blast of ice hit the bear and started pushing him back. Mor'du roared, pushing against the ice as Jack continued to push the demon bear back.

"Rapunzel, get Merida outta here! Hiccup, help that woman in the dungeons. I'll distract him for as long as I can!"

"Are you crazy!" Hiccup cried out, to which the spirit only smiled wildly. "PROBABLY! Don't worry, I can't die, remember!"

"DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T GET SERIOUSLY MAIMED!"

"Something tells me that your mortality as a spirit is gonna have you flying into danger often," Jack smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Probably." Hiccup rolled his eyes and went back to the screen.

Mor'du and Jack joined up to partake in combat while Rapunzel pulled Merida out of the debris. Hiccup rushed into the castle to help Maudy. Mor'du swiped at him, but Jack dodged and whacked him upside the head with his staff. Mor'du shook his head, as though tapped by a pole and continued to fight savagely. Jack pointed his spear at the bear. Mor'du lunged once more, snarling.

The scene changes to Hiccup hurrying down to the dungeons with a lit torch.

"Ma'me? Ma'me? Are you here?"

"AHH!"

Hiccup whirled around to see the woman staring at the younger boy fearfully. Hiccup raised his hand to her.

"C'mon. Let's get outta here."

Maudy then let out a shrill scream and pointed behind him. Spinning around, Hiccup met the black eyes of another ferocious bear. The bear stood on its hind legs and lunged.

"WHAT! There's another one?" Merida shouted in blind anger, while Hiccup was immediately processing this new info. If there were two, that meant there were more.

The scene quickly changes to Mor'du swiping at Jack as he floats about him, freezing the ground as to make the monster lose his footing. Mor'du was steadily getting angrier as he tried to snap his jaws around the winter boy's ankles.

"We gotta go!"

Jack turned around to a couple of feet away. Rapunzel was helping Merida out of the castle, with Hiccup and Maudy just joining them out. "Why?" "There's more than one Mor'du." "What?" Merida slurred, "That's silly, Hiccy. There's only one Mor'du." ("Oh, wow. You are really out of it right now." "I'm aware, Frost.") "Well, he must have called for a family reunion!" Mor'du noticed he was being distracted and began to dig his claws into the ice and make his charge towards them. Jack reached his hand out in horror, knowing that at the speed he was charging that he wouldn't get to his friends in time.

"NO!"

Everyone held there breath.

Mor'du leapt into the air, preparing to crush and maul them just as another black blur shot out of the sky and tackled the bear to the ground.

"Toothless!"

"WHOOOO! YES!" "WELL DONE DRAGON!" "GO NIGHT FURY! GO NIGHT FURY!" the dragon riders cheered as Stoick released the tension on his shoulders.

"Thank you, dragon."

The Night Fury wrestled the bear to the ground before Mor'du swiped his paw and knocked him off. The two powerful animals roared at each other as Mor'du made another attempt to attack the escaping teenagers, only for Toothless to step in his way and bared his teeth and the two fought. Amidst the battle, Toothless turned to Hiccup and roared, his message clear in his eyes, roar and tone of voice as he yelled in clear English.

"GO!"

Hiccup nodded, though reluctant and told Maudy to move as he helps Rapunzel carry Merida, Jack joining them as they took off into the forest. Mor'du and Toothless battle roars could be heard even as they entered the deepest part of the forest.

"Wait, we're really just leaving them behind!" Toothless warbled as he nuzzled Hiccup in comfort. Stoick looked over to his son, "He did the right thing Hiccup. You kids were completely out of your element." "Aye," Gobber chimed in, "And he's a Night Fury! I reckon it'll take more than a few bears to take him out."

Hiccup nodded. He understood what they were trying to do. Didn't mean he had to like what he saw.

Moments passed and they all gasped for air as they gently set Merida down against a tree. Rapunzel got to work un-braiding her hair and blanketing it over the injured redhead and began singing her healing tune.

Hiccup and Jack addressed Maudy.

"Can you tell what happened here, exactly?" the spirit asked.

Maudy didn't answer. She continued to stare at Hiccup with a frightened expression.

Jack sighed, used to the rejection. Rapunzel put a hand on his shoulder.

"One day," she said, "One day the whole world will believe in Jack Frost." Jack smiled and pulled her into a side hug, before turning back to the screen.

Jack sighed. She can't see him. He looked to Hiccup and gestured for him to interrogate, turning back to check on Merida, who was already beginning to look better thanks to Rapunzel's magic.

"Can you tell me what happened at DunBroch? To every single detail?"

Maudy swallowed nervously and nodded.

"It all started with that old woman. She came into the castle with her daughter and offered us all these pastries. After that, she left. Soon after, those who had those pastries got sick. All the sudden it was chaos! Mandrakes and Spirit Wolves attacked the guards and soldiers, Harpies came out of the skies and snatched children up from the ground! And then the Beast himself came out of the forest and marched into the town square."

"Man in the Moon," North uttered in prayer. The villains weren't holding back their punches anymore. The defeat of Furious must have made Pitch Black nervous, so now he's beginning his assault on humanity early, calling Mor'du and the Witch to attack.

"And my parents?"

The two turned around to Merida, fully healed and gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. "Are my parents alive?"

Maudy looked reluctant and Merida felt her heart drop.

"Your father, King Fergus, marched out of the castle himself and challenged Mor'du to battle. He was vigilant, m'lady, and fought bravely, but he was sadly defeated by the Black Bear. The last I saw of him was when Mor'du's legion chased them out of the castle grounds towards those horrid stones. I was the only one to be left behind and have been hiding ever since. Your mother and brothers... I haven't seen them since the siege."

Fergus held his wife and sons closer. That did not mean that they were gone. It just meant they haven't been seen since the siege. They're okay. They have to be okay.

Merida looked even more distraught than before. Her father was fine but her mother and little brothers were missing? Than Merida remembered something.

"You said that they were headed to 'those horrid stones'. Do you mean the Waystones?" Jack perked up.

"You mean the magic rocks you were taking a nap at?" Merida nodded and started marching.

"C'mon! I think I know the way from here!" Merida disappeared amongst the foliage, the remaining three exchanging glances.

Hours later, they were still traversing through the forest, noticeably slower and it was clear what they were all thinking.

"We're defiantly lost."

"Wow. Already?"

"Shut it, Snotnose."

"It's... it's Snotlout."

"And that's better how?" Astrid smirked at Snotlout and Merida's exchange. Maybe they could get along well.

"We're not lost. We just have to wait." "And wait for what, exactly?" "The Wisps." the three stopped.

"The Wisps?"

"Aye. The Will-O-the-Wisps. They're meant to lead you to your fate. And they can lead us to the Waystones too."

"Okay, I'll bite. What do these Whisps look like?" Hiccup asked.

"They basically look like small blue jellyfish, if jellyfish were made of whispy cloud."

"So like that then?" he pointed behind her and Merida turned around to spot just what she was looking for. And there it was, floating in the air, its arms beckoning her to come closer and follow. Just as Merida was close enough to touch it, it vanished and a trail of Wisps showed her where she needed to go.

"Huh," Jack smiled, "Well what do you know." Merida socked him in the shoulder as he giggled.

Merida turned to her friends. "They'll show us the way."

The scene pans above the group as they follow the Wisps through the forest, Maudy fearfully taking up the rear. Hiccup would occasionally look around, hoping to catch a glimpse of his friend and brother, but so far, nothing. Rapunzel noticed and slowed down to walk beside him.

"I'm sure Toothless is okay. Sure, Mor'du may be a demon bear, but Toothless is a dragon! With wings and fire-breath! And moreover, he's a Night Fury! I'm sure he's on his way to find us as we speak."

Hiccup smiled at her attempts to comfort him and nodded, though, as Rapunzel walked away, Hiccup's smile faded. He continues to look around and behind him, hoping to see that toothless smile.

Toothless nudged Hiccup and wrapped his tail tighter around the group. Rapunzel hugged the dragon, who purred in delight. Hiccup smiled, feeling a bit better seeing his dragon be spoiled by the blonde.

Jack looked around for any of Mor'du's followers but kept a careful eye on the Wisp trail. As a spirit, he was very familiar with the Spirits of Fate. And he was also aware of how they lead one to their fate, and that can be either good or bad. So until he can ensure that these particular Wisps mean them no trouble, he'll keep his guard up. Rapunzel heard all about the Wisps, but just stories from her mother of how they would lead innocent people into bogs and swamps to be picked off by the wildlife or to drown in their dark waters. Considering what she has already learned from spending so much time with her friends, she was not as inclined to believe those stories, but since even Jack, their resident comedian, was on edge about the blue sprites, she will be too.

Merida was focused on nothing else. Nothing but following the Wisps and finding her family. She had her bow at the ready, arrow poised to fire should she need to. But at the moment, she was tunnel-visioned. All she could think about was her family. Her father, her brothers, her mother.

Finally, the Wisp trail came to a stop, disappearing to give way to the Waystones. Merida wasn't deterred though. There had to be something here. She immediately began looking around, the secret hunting lessons with her father all catching up to her.

She then trained an eagle's eye on the Waystones, noticing the strange carvings on the stone. Familiar, but strange. She tenderly places her hand in the middle of one particular carving. Two girls, one with incredibly long hair, two boys, one with a hooked staff and a dragon behind them, overshadowing the group as the girl's hair encircles the group together.

They all looked at each other. That described them to a T. They were all still coming to grasps with just how important they are in this prophecy and their hand into defeating the Nightmare King.

Said Nightmare King gritted his teeth in annoyance. These children already defeated Furious. Even with whatever Mor'du and Gothel have planned, what are the chances that they'll succeed.

Immediately, the carving glows a mystifying blue as it spreads to the other pillars of stone. And then, as though it was a mirage, a large tent, surrounded by smaller tents, shimmered into existence.

Jack, Hiccup and Rapunzel looked rather comedic, looking at the scene with bewildered expressions. Before soft smiles of reliefs overtook their faces as they took in the people around them.

It was the Highlanders. Covered in series of cuts and bruises as they tried to keep themselves occupied, either by sharpening weapons, doing laundry or tending to the children.

As the mist started to clear, people began to notice the group's presence.

"Is that princess Merida?"

"The princess is back!"

"Thank the Gods she's alright!"

The Highlanders slowly got up and began surrounding her and her friends. The kitchen maids tended to Maudie whilst everyone looked over the disgruntled princess and studied her friends.

"Is that a Viking? He's awful skinny."

Hiccup blushed and turned away from Stoick and Gobber. He was awful skinny. When was the last time he ate? Like really ate and not just grab a chicken leg and call it a night? That may be something Stoick might need to talk with Gobber about.

"That's a lot of hair. And so luxurious."

Rapunzel blushed and giggled. All this time she thought she'd get too much attention because of her gift, but they were mostly wondering why she kept her hair so long. Gothel sneered as she watched the children on-screen pick up and fondle her hair. She had to get her back. Her power and life depended on her Flower.

"What's going on with the grass? It's frosting over in the summer?"

Jack sighed, sputtering his lips at being, once again, unnoticed by the mortal crowd. The Guardians felt rather bad. Sure, they were believed in, but that's because they were all someone in their past lives before they were chosen. North was a famous toymaker who lost the battle to cancer, and the memory of all the good deeds he did was enough to make him believed in. Tooth made her mark by caring for her people and helping them remember all the good things in life rather than focus on the bad. When she died, her memory lived on in the hearts of her people, and so she was able to be seen.

Jack? Jack, as far as he knew, had no-one to remember him, or keep his memory alive.

While the Guardians saw grief though, Pitch was seeing opportunity. If he could get Jack alone, he may perhaps be able to sway the spirit to his side.

"Merida?"

The girl looked up and her face lit up with tearful joy as she saw who was coming towards her.

"DAD!" Merida rushed over and jumped into her father's arms and held him tightly as he chuckled warmly. He was propped up by a crutch, covered in gauze and scratches. Deep, long scratches, no doubt from Mor'du himself. "Are you alright?" "Oh, I'm fine, Lass. Just got a bit banged up by that devil bear." Merida smiled, happy that he was, relatively, in one piece.

Elinor smiled. At least her husband was okay. But where were her sons?

But then Merida frowned, looking around. Fergus immediately noticed.

"Where's Mum? And the boys?" Fergus sighed, and she feared the worst.

"It started three days after you left. An old woman came into the castle and offered her pastries for supplies and water. A day after she left, people started getting sick. First, it was the townsfolk. Then it was the castle staff. And then, it was the knights and nobles. One by one, they felt sick to their stomachs. They became dizzy and disoriented to the point that they couldn't stand without help. Eventually, your mother and brothers followed suit."

Fergus took him to one of the tents, the candlelight inside illuminating the large mess that was awaiting them, along with the shadows that ran around the space. "At first, the healers thought it was a plague. But I remembered your mother and brothers having a share of those pastries so then they believed that they had been poisoned. But it was a curse." Fergus pulled back the curtains, revealing to the four what was inside.

Or rather, who.

Three black bear cubs ran about the tent, playful and without a care. One was balancing on a ball with two legs, another chewed on a stick and the last one was ripping into one of the decorative pillows.

Merida could only say one word that came to her mind.

"BOYS?!"

"WHAT!" Merida cried out in shock. The boys looked at each other, surprised, but then they began giggling at all the mischief they could cause in their bear forms. Elinor looked like she was about to faint.

The three cubs froze in place and looked up, before they seemed to grin up at her with their sharp, pointy teeth and rush up to her, corraling her legs, causing her to trip and fall into the feathery massacre of cushions. "What the- what happened to you?" Hiccup turned to Fergus, "This is a curse?" Fergus paused but figured the scrawny Viking was nothing to worry about and nodded.

"Aye. One by one, anyone who had those cakes became sick and turned into an army of demon bears. They forgot who they were and who they loved and attacked all that stood in their path." Hiccup frowned before he remembered the bear he ran into in the dungeons. "And, your wife..." he paused, and Fergus' face looked pained.

Eyes went wide as they realized what Hiccup was implementing.

"Yes. She's still there. And one of Mor'du demon horde." Merida looked up, looking like she was about to have a breakdown.

"Are you saying that Mum is a BEaR?" Merida's voice cracked as she stood to her feet, holding one of her brothers in her arms.

Fergus nodded his head somberly, placing a hand on her shoulder delicately.

"We have a lot to talk about."

Time skip to later in the day, where the sun was just about to set, they sit around the fresh campfire with Fergus, his wounds all healed, no doubt in part of Rapunzel's magic. He stretched, sighing happily.

"Ahh! I feel like a new man! Thank you, lass!" Rapunzel blushed.

"Just happy to help."

Rapunzel smiled. If feels good that she'll use her gift for more then just helping her mother with her illness. And if looks could kill, the TV Screen would have burst into flames under Gothel's glare.

Merida stared deep into the fire, as though if she looked hard enough, she will have the answers to all her questions. It was a lot to take in. Her people were in exile, her kingdom taking over by Mor'du, who had an army of demon bears at his side, who were once citizens of her kingdom, along with her mother.

"Oh, you're acting like a child."

"And you're a BEAST! That's what you are!" "I'll never be like you!" "I'd rather DIE than be like you!" their last conversation played in her head, and she flinched as she could hear her sword slice through the tapestry, hearing it echo like she was in a dark cave. She called her a beast. What kind of daughter calls her own mother a beast.

Well, it looks like she got her wish. And she had no idea how she was going to take it back.

Merida actually felt like she was going to cry as she remembered her last words to her mother.

Elinor stood up and regally made her way over to her daughter. When she reached her, she sat down with them and held her daughter in a warm embrace. Merida finally couldn't hold it anymore and burst into tears, apologizing for all the things she said.

"Shh. It is not your fault love. It was mine. I let the sake of tradition blind me to what you wanted." she held her tighter, and the others shuffled closer in comfort.

"Rapunzel, do you think your magic could break the curse." Rapunzel looked startled and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I've only ever used my magic to heal wounds or make people younger. I never had to break a curse." Rapunzel suddenly found her arms full of bear cub.

"Try it with Hamish."

"And how the heck did you know that was Hamish." Merida giggled woefully, tears still staining her cheeks.

"Me and mum are the only ones who can tell them apart."

"But how do you do it as they are-"

"Jack," Hiccup interrupted, "Maybe that's a question for another time." Hiccup then gestured to the mother and daughter, and Jack understood. The subject is still a tender one right now.

"Right. Never mind."

"But-" "Please." Rapunzel looked at Merida, her eyes clouded with desperation. She took a deep breath and gave a thick string of hair to the bear, who held it curiously and carefully.

"Flower, Gleam and Glow. Let your power 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..." the glow faded, but when Rapunzel opened her eyes, Hamish hadn't changed. He was still a cute little bear cub.

"I'm sorry. It's not working." Maybe it needs to be longer. Sing again." "Merida..." "Do it!" "Merida, stop!" Jack jumped in between the two, stopping a shouting match from happening. "Curses can't be healed, Merida. They need to be broken. It's just how magic works. And you can't force Rapunzel to use her magic for something that's obviously not working."

Merida looked at Jack, then at Rapunzel, who looked really hurt, and then Hiccup, who looked just as lost as she felt, worried about his best friend. Merida sighed and apologized to Rapunzel before sitting back down.

"I'm sorry, Punzie. I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's okay. If Cassandra was turned into an animal, I'd probably be desperate too." Hiccup turned to the blonde, an eyebrow arched.

"Who?" Rapunzel seemed to realize that she never mentioned her sister before.

"Oh, my sister. She's the best."

Cassandra overheard her sister say that and couldn't help but flinch as she was sitting not too far from her mother on the ceiling seats, with all the other villains.

She felt her father place a hand on her shoulder as Hubert rubbed up against her leg in comfort.

"War is hard on all parties. Especially on the young." "Dad, I'm sixteen." "Still a child." "Am not," Fergus smirked and pointed at Hiccup, who leaned back in surprise. "You, boy. How old are ya?" "I-... pardon?" "Just answer the question." "Uh... fifteen." The Bear King then looked to Rapunzel. She grabbed a strand of her hand and stroked it nervously.

"Eighteen." he then looked to the Spirit.

"I've kinda lost count, but in human years physically, I'm seventeen."

"Seventeen?" Tooth mumbled in horror. He was so young when he died. He probably had his whole life ahead of him.

Fergus shrugged, accepting the answer before looking back at Merida.

"Exactly. You're children. And you're being task with a war that has lasted seen the dawn of time if what you've told me is true. You're teenagers. Still young with your entire lives ahead of you."

"Because it is foretold!" everyone jumped as a shrivelled voice exclaimed from the shadows. "Who's there?!" "Their destiny has been foretold since the beginning of the Dark Ages, you can't expect to turn the tide after they have already come so far." Finally, from the shadows came a small old woman with a dishevelled crow flapping above her, feathers flying everywhere.

Everyone looked at each other, wondering who this character was.

"Who are you? And why are you here?" Merida demanded, sword out and poised at the strange woman, but she was not at all bothered. "Oh, I've been here the whole time. I just didn't want to be seen." as the camera panned to Jack's expression, the crow landed on his staff, prompting the spirit to look at him. The crow stared right back, his beady little eyes unnerving to both him and his friends.

"Staring is rude."

Jack jumped, swinging his staff to throw the crow off, tripping over the log he was lounging on and landing on his backside. Hiccup helped him up as Rapunzel hid behind him. "The crow is talking!" "That's not all I can do." the crow then proceeded to sing nasally, before the woman clicked her fingers and a broom appeared out of nowhere and whacked the bird on the head. The bird fell to the dirt floor and the broom began to sweep it away before the crow leapt back to his feet and shrieked, scaring the broom into hiding behind Rapunzel.

"You're a WITCH!" Merida exclaimed as she held her sword more at the ready. The witch giggled. "Aye, but not the witch you seek to defeat. Besides, I fancy myself more of a woodcarver then a witch. Only a few potions and such. Oooh! Is that still warm?"

The four and Merida's family watched, bewildered as the witch sauntered over to the cauldron and poured herself a bowl of soup.

The group themselves were rather caught off guard by the zany woman. Toothless, however, was purring. This was the same witch that first hid him away when he was forced to leave his ancestral home. He lived there for the majority of his life before he left and came under the control of the Red Death.

Merida scowled as the witch helped herself to her people's rations. "How can we be so sure that you're not the witch we have to defeat? How do we know you're here just to deter us?" the old witch tsked.

"All that anger and mistrust. That's what's caused this in the first place." Merida bristled, "Excuse me?"

"Aye. The power of the Boogeyman is far deeper then you could ever believe. The Boogeyman's greatest weapon is fear. He sows the seeds of anger, betrayal and fear into the lives of warring nations and feeds off the chaos that stems from it! The Dragons and Vikings, Mor' du and the Highlanders, even Corona has its enemies." the witch explained as images faded in and showed the Nightmare King, standing proud as chaos bloomed around him, before showing the images of said warring nations, from the Berkians and Dragons to Corona, surrounded in a dark cloud.

"But you have already defeated the Dragon, Furious. The tide has already begun to turn. Now you must turn back Mor'du's power as well. There is power, buried somewhere underground. That is where Mor'du's curse began. That is where his strength comes from. You must cleanse the Waystone of Mor'du's blight in order to break his hold over this land and its people. His legion won't fall but they will be severely weakened. They are not children. And they're not even friends!" The four looked shocked at her exclamation. What on Earth did she mean that they were not-

"They are a family!"

That made them froze. What? "A family?" Hiccup whispered, as though it was a foreign word to him.

"Yes! And a family needs all it's members to play their parts! The Rebel," she pointed to Merida, who nudged the broom out of her face, "Fierce and noble. The Spirit," Jack straightened, "Adaptable and faithful. The Maiden, compassionate and determined." Rapunzel smiled bashfully, "And the Rider, who's heart is strong." Hiccup was surprised as the woman walked away.

The others exchanged looks before they smiled. She was right. Though they've technically known each other for a few hours, they felt more closer then they did with most people in their lives.

"You've all come this far, each protecting the other. Why should you stop now when we are this close to a world we've waited so long for?" the four looked at each other and realized that she was right. They have come too far for them to back out now. The witch then waved a dismissive hand.

"Anyway. Food for thought." the witch then got up and began walking away, before looking at Merida, "Fate be changed, look inside. Mend the bond torn by pride." she whispered ominously, before smiling happily and went behind one of the Waystones and disappeared. The crow rose up, cawed and flapped after her, disappearing as well.

The four looked at each other, contemplating. The scene fades out to show everyone now in their own tents. Merida was in her bed, staring at her sword thoughtfully. She kept hearing her sword slice through the tapestry that bounded her's and her mother's hands, now broken apart by her pride and hatred. And now she is a hulking beast, just like Mor'du, as well as her brothers. And who knows what ramifications the spell could have on their young minds. She felt so lost.

"Rough night sleeping?" Merida jumped as Rapunzel poked her head in. The redhead relaxed and gestured for her to come in. Rapunzel smiled and sat down beside her. "Are you okay?" Merida scoffed, but not maliciously.

"I just found out that my mum and my brothers have been turned into demon bears and that I may have to fight her in battle. What happens if I swing my sword too hard and I end up-" she stopped, wanting to forget she even suggested it.

Merida curled back into her mother's arms. She didn't even think of what she might have to do if they are on the battlefield. Would they really have to fight?

"Never mind. You don't need to hear this." "I was told horror stories about the outside world. I think I understand." Merida frowned.

"Your mum. She's never... done anything you felt was wrong, has she?" "Oh, uh..." Rapunzel seemed to really think about it. "Well, now that you mention, it always seemed like she valued what I can do over what I am to her. And she was always rather... neglectful with my sister."

Cassandra shifted, uncomfortable at being mentioned a second time.

Merida looked up, surprised.

"You never mentioned a sister."

"Oh! Yeah, Cassandra. My big sister. When I was younger and Mother would go out, it was always just me and her." Rapunzel smiled whimsically before a flash of white light showed the tower back at Corona. A pretty yellow butterfly fluttered by before a small pair of hands tried to catch it, just as it flapped out of reach.

It was Rapunzel, albeit much younger, at least four years old. She giggled as she ran about the grass, chasing after the butterfly. On a boulder, by a small lake, sat an eight-year-old girl with short black hair and pricing green eyes. She watched Rapunzel like a hawk but had a ghost of a smile on her face.

Rapunzel smiled at the memory, whilst Gothel was seething. Cassandra let her out of the tower. She could have run off. She could have been spotted and taken back to Corona. The stupid little pest.

"Whenever Mother was gone, she would sneak me outside and watched me as I played around in the grass. She was the only one that let me push the limits of Mother's rules, letting me go outside the tower, something I was absolutely not supposed to do."

Rapunzel made another jump for the butterfly but tripped and fell. She looked at her knee, seeing it scrapped and began to cry. Cassandra immediately jumped off the boulder and ran over to her. She checked her knee and smiled tenderly. The scene changed, and they were back inside the tower, Rapunzel sitting on a stool as Cassandra bandaged her wound.

"Whenever I got hurt, she was always there to help me. Even if sometimes she ended up getting the blame." Rapunzel said this just as the scene changed once more to Rapunzel standing by her bedroom door, listening as Gothel yelled at Cassandra. There was a broken plate by their feet, indicate the reason for the scolding. This is the first real look that we got at Gothel. A tall, slender, beautiful women with black frizzy hair and piercing green eyes.

"Cassandra and I were always a bit different from each other. While I was painting the tower walls, she was taking up swords. Though, Mother did insist that Cassandra always be ready to protect me from anyone who might take me away. But when mother found out that Cassandra was taking me outside while she was gone, she started taking Cassandra with her on her travels. I never wondered why, because I always felt safer when Cassandra was around. But, now that I think about it, I think that's why she took Cass with her, because I wasn't brave enough to leave the tower on my own."

The flashback soon ends with an angry Gothel marching out of the cove with a 14-year-old Cassandra in toe, the girl looking back at the tower, where a heartbroken 10-year-old Rapunzel watched from the window, a younger Pascal sitting on the sill. A white flash and it was back to the present time, with Rapunzel looking rather sad.

Cassandra looked surprised. Sure, she would never let anything happen to her, but she was surprised that Rapunzel had such faith in her that she stopped going out of the tower without her around.

"Cass must be so worried."

"You said that your mother would sometimes neglect her?" "Yeah... Whenever I did something wrong, I was told I would get it right. Whenever Cass did something wrong, Mother insisted that she should get it right." Rapunzel took a deep breath, "I always used to think that my mother was so brave, because every day, she would go out into the world, and I would sit at home, trying to distract myself from worry, because I was afraid something would happen to her and she would never come back and leave me and Cass alone. But now that I've actually seen the world and what it's like. I wonder if she was just overprotective or lying to keep me away. And that scares me because it makes me think 'what else has she been hiding from me?'"

Gothel growled. She was getting too close. She had to step in, or otherwise, she'll slip away.

"Calm yourself, Gothel."

"Calm? And why should I be calm? The aging must have started to exhilarate by now, and my powers would have drained as well. I need her back!" she whispered harshly. "And you will. Just be patient."

Merida looked at Rapunzel and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "When this is all over, how about I go with you to your tower, and help smooth things over with your mum? Then maybe you all can move in with us, at the castle." Rapunzel looked surprised before it turned to excitement.

"Really?" "Only if you want to-" "YES!" The blonde screamed as she jumped onto Merida and wrapped her up in a big hug.

"I'm not that much of a hugger." "You are now!" Merida smiled and began to return the affection. After a moment, the hug became a bit awkward as Rapunzel hadn't moved. Merida faked a cough and Rapunzel realized, giggling nervously as she gave her space.

"Anyway, I better leave you to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Rapunzel got up and made to leave before...

"I never had a sister." Rapunzel looked at Merida, who looked at her hopefully. Rapunzel smiled, "Well when this is over, you'll have two." Merida smiled and Rapunzel left. Unbeknownst to Merida, the silhouette of a person was lit up by the campfire, before it rushed off to the side, out of sight.

Everyone frowned at the shadow that seemed to be spying on the girls. Was that the witch?

The scene fades out to show all the corraled tents, though much darker. But one of them opens up as Merida, all armoured up, takes her weapons and slowly sneaks out. She's almost out of the camp when Jack snorts and mumbles, forcing her to freeze as she waits for Jack to get comfortable and fall asleep again. Eventually, Jack rolls back over to his side, his back to Merida as he falls back asleep. Merida sighs and continues to tip-toe out until she was safely out of the camp with no risk of waking anyone.

"Merida..." the redhead looked down shamefully as Jack couldn't help but snicker at how her mother was looking at her with disapproval.

"Oh, shove it, Frost." his snickers intensified.

Merida sighed in relief, before looking back at the camp. She felt awful that she was going off on her own without them, especially after that heartwarming talk with Rapunzel. But she felt this was for the best. Her mother and brothers were bears, and her home was being overrun by demons. She was finishing this, once and for all.

And she was off. She ran through the trees and bushes, hopped over creeks and rivers, as she tried to find anything that could lead her to Mor'du's lair. Eventually, after a few montages, we are shown Merida stopping to take a break.

"Hah! The one time I need Angus and he's nowhere. He's back at North's stables, happy as a clam, probably eating all the oats he can eat!" Merida ranted before a rustle in the bushes alerted her of someone, or something's, presence. Merida carefully took out her sword and slowly made her way to the rustle.

As she was but a foot away, she took one swipe, cutting the voyage away and then holding her sword poised, but dropped it once she saw who it was.

"Toothless!"

"He's okay!" Hiccup cried, relieved that Toothless got out okay. Valka and Stoick were as well. That dragon had a way of worming his way into people's hearts. But there was a problem.

The Night Fury roared and thrashed around, leaping over her and into the clearing as he continued to run about like a rabid dog. All over the Night Fury's body, there were bite marks and scratches. And his auto-fin was torn but thankfully not broken.

That wasn't good. With all the injuries, the stress wouldn't do him any good either.

"Toothless! Toothless! Calm down! It's me! Merida!" Toothless hissed, his pupils' slits as Merida approached him carefully. We go to Toothless' point of view, to see his vision slightly blurred, but slowly became less fuzzy as the red-haired figure of Merida came closer.

"I know, you're tired, you're hurt, you're probably stressed. But we've got to keep our heads. Just calm down. Listen." Toothless shook his head and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, his pupils no longer thin lines as he cooed apologetically, pushing his head gently into her outstretched hands.

Toothless nudged Merida in thanks and licked her cheek.

"Oh, knock it off, you lug." Toothless did his laugh and they all giggled as they turned back to the screen.

"It's okay. You got out of a fight with Mor'du. I think I'd be on edge as well." The dragon lightly lapped at her face, causing her to giggle, before both of their ears perked up when they heard it.

Whispers.

Toothless growled a warning into the shadows, thinking it could be Whispering Deaths. But Merida wasn't raising her weapons. She was calm. She knew these whispers before.

There was a moment of quiet, save for the whispers, before turning around to see what Merida suspected.

A Will-O-the-Wisp.

Sure enough, a trail emerged and starting spanning out into the forest. The Camera pans to Merida as she looked to Toothless.

"They'll show us the way."

Cut scene to the princess and the dragon emerging from the fog as they follow the Wisp trail into a Dead Man's Land. Stones from mighty towers littered the area as they came into view of broken-down buildings.

Merida frowned, "Why did the Whisp bring us here? Was this a fortress?" Toothless warbled/shrugged. Something didn't sit well in his bones about this place. He could feel the lingering effects of a curse here. A hateful curse. A part of him wanted to turn back.

Merida looked around as they stepped into the threshold of what must have been a spectacular palace.

"Whoever they were, they've been gone for a long, long-"

She went quiet. She heard something. It sounded like...

Bears. Bear snorts, bear growls, bear roars. Just... bears.

And they sounded very close.

Everyone tensed up, worried for what could be in store for the princess and the dragon.

Toothless and Merida went back to back, arrow knocked and Toothless' maw open and ready to fire, but they couldn't see anything. No shapes, no shadows. It's like they were invisible.

Or...

Toothless sniffed the air, trying to find where the bears could be congregated. If they found the lair, they could take it out and maybe slow them down. Finally, after hopping over some more debris, they saw a hole in the ground, with a flock of stairs leading down. That's where the noise and that putrid smell was coming from.

Peeking over the side and down into the cave, Merida could see that it was a chamber, carved out of stone. She could see a separate, much smaller staircase lead to a set of thrones, beaten and broken down and on the other end of the room, a clear floor littered with rumble. In the corners of the room, four banners hung on the walls, tattered and torn from years of abandoned upkeep.

But that wasn't the most frightening thing about the room.

It was the hundreds and hundreds of bears, growling, snarling, fighting amongst each other in front of the Black Demon Bear himself, seated in front of the thrones like a king.

It was Mor'du's army.

"That's a lot of bears," Jack uttered as he watched the bears fight brutally.

As she watched them circle around a pair of bears sparring, Elinor's voice began to echo in Merida's mind.

"Once, long ago, there was an ancient kingdom. Its name long forgotten, ruled by a wise and fair king who was much beloved." her mother recited in her ears as she remembered the legend her mother told to her whenever she rebelled.

"I know this place! At least I think. This could be the throneroom to the kingdom my mum used to tell me about." she whispered to the dragon, making sure to not give themselves away. Toothless let out a questioning warble. "The one with the four princes. The story goes the kingdom was divided amongst them when their father died." the princess explained, just as Elinor's disembodied voice spoke once more.

"When the king grew old, he divided the kingdom among his four sons. That they should be the pillars on which the peace of the land rested."

Merida then spotted something. Something thrown in the corner by the thrones near Mor'du. A stone carving and she could see the four regal-looking figures carved on its surface. Except, one of them was cut off from the others.

One scratched by long, deadly claws.

"The Oldest Prince." "But the oldest prince wanted to rule the land for himself. He followed his own path and the kingdom fell into war, and chaos and ruin."

Merida studied it carefully. "Split... like the tapestry."

White light flashes between the moment the sword cut through the tapestry, and to a separate time as an axe cuts clean through the stone portrait. The prince stares evenly at his work, before turning to the camera, his face suddenly in resemblance to a... scarred bear.

Merida jumped back from the vision, ducking back from the edge. Toothless warbled in concern as she shivered, realizing what was happening.

"The Demon Curse... it was born here."

She peeked back in, looking around, finally noticing the scratches and claw marks along the walls of the throne room, far too old and deep to be made from these normal-sized, though demonic bears. And what was the most disturbing site? The massive piles of broken weapons, dented armour, and the bones and skeletons of thousands of creatures in the corner away from the gladiator battle. And men. Soldiers.

"'The Boogeyman's greatest weapon is fear.'" Merida whispered as she studied the remains of a long-dead war. "He sows the seeds of anger, betrayal and fear into the lives of warring nations and feeds off the chaos.'"

The gears in Merida's head clicked as she turned her gaze to the Demon Bear himself, who watched the battle with malicious glee. "The Prince from the story. He became Mor'du."

Everyone was shocked. They all knew the legend, but they never once thought it was connected to the demon bear. They never once could have wondered if Mor'du was once a person that was just driven too far by pride and fear.

Finally, one of the bears in the fight, a she-bear with a bluish-grey hue on her fur, bashed the other bear onto the ground, who slumped submissively in defeat. Mor'du then roared and stood to his paws, marching slowly towards the she-bear as all the other bears moved out of the way of their king, before making another circle around them.

Toothless ears pricked up as he finally realized what was going on. This wasn't a sparring match, it was a battle for the title of Beta. Mor'du is finding a second in command.

"It's not just a battle," Hiccup voiced Toothless' epiphany, "Mor'du's deciding who will lead the army as a beta, a second-in-command."

"Oh." Jack smiled sardonically, "Great. That's great."

The two bears rose to their feet and roared before charging at each other. The sound of them crashing into each other echoed as Mor'du threw the female around, smacking her in the face, but not drawing blood. Though, to the female's credit, that didn't stop her from really throwing her punches. Even when Mor'du pinned her, twice, she pushed him off and got right back into the fight. It was only when Mor'du dug his claws into her back, threw her against the walls and roared his dominance did she surrender.

Suddenly, an eery clap echoed in the chamber, causing all bears to turn to the throne, where a slender, cloaked woman sat on the throne with an air of confidence. The lightening made it difficult to see the woman's features, but Merida could guess who this woman was.

"The witch," Toothless growled lowly at the sight of another adversary that his human wards would have to battle. He could smell the magic seeping from her aura. It was weak, as though running on a charge, but it was none the less powerful. His heightened senses also noticed another figure standing by the woman, another female human, cloaked like her and keeping a hand on her sword handle in its sheath.

"That was a splendid performance Mor'du. I trust this means that you have chosen a champion to be the general of your army?" the bear snorted and jerked his head toward the she-bear, who huffed and puffed from the exhaustion of the battle.

Rapunzel gasped in horror. That voice... it- it couldn't be. It was a trick of the chamber, echoing around. It had to be!

The older woman's lips curled into a cruel smile before sitting up, pulling out a bottle filled with red liquid. Swissing it around a little as she approached the bear, she popped the cork and pulled off her hood to reveal...

Mother Gothel.

Granted, her hair was much greyer than it had been in Rapunzel's flashback, as though she was aging by the day and wrinkles showed in her expression. But it was no doubt that it was her.

"Mother?" Rapunzel whispered, her voice filled with pain as she just realized what this means.

Her mother, the woman who raised her since she was a baby, was the Witch she was destined to fight. The Witch that turned all of DunBroch into monster bears. The Witch who had aligned herself with the Nightmare King. The Witch was her mother. The one who raised her into believing that the world was a dangerous and cruel place that would never change. The woman who warned her of beasts like dragons and of spirits like Jack Frost. The woman that lied to her throughout her entire life.

Merida moved away from her mother and wrapped her arms around the blonde, who burst into tears. Hiccup and Jack crawled closer and joined in the embrace. Toothless warbled, before looking back up at the rafters and growled a warning at the woman, who was seething with uncontrollable fury.

Merida of course, having never met Gothel, had no idea that the woman in front of her was her friend's mother. All she saw was the witch that she and her friends with prophesied to defeat.

Gothel poured the bottle over her hand, the liquid turning into dust the second it touched her palm and then she gave a gentle blow towards the bear.

The change was instantaneous.

The she-bear seemed to grow bigger, bigger than the other bears but not big enough for Mor'du's towering height. Her muscles rippled under her fur, her claws and teeth grew more pointed and her eyes... her eyes seemed to bleed red, leaving trails of red ooze going down her face.

Everyone flinched at the horror that was being written on the poor bear's body. Deep inside, that bear was an innocent woman that was being turned into a monster.

When it was all over, the female breathed in and out deeply, before rasing on her hind legs, the new general of Mor'du's horde.

"Congratulations... Queen Elinor, on your new promotion." Gothel giggled, and Merida gasped in horror at what the woman just said.

"WHAT! That's mum?" Fergus looked dumbstruck at what had become of his wife. The boys couldn't believe it themselves, as could Elinor. She was a demon bear, and now she was a general of Mor'du Horde.

This she-bear was her mother. And she was just made the second-in-command of Mor'du's demon bear army.

"No. No!" Merida cried desperately as Elinor let out a mighty roar, the rest of the herd following suit as Mor'du seemed to stare at his beta in a twisted sense of pride. (Fergus glared at the way the bear was eyeing his wife.) Mor'du turned to Gothel and snorted. Gothel rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Yes, of course, I've found the DunBroch Camp. While they sleep, we'll storm the camp and you'll have more numbers under your command and with your legion of demons, Furious and whatever loyal dragons he's got left, we'll have more than enough to handle whatever army those little brats have prepared. And when I get my magic source back, my magic will be a thousand times more powerful!"

Mor'du growled lowly, and Gothel spun around, leering. Clearly, he said something offensive.

"I am aware of how quickly I'm aging." Gothel spat before sitting down on the throne, looking weary. "The longer that my flower stays out of my grasp, the quicker my aging exhilarates." she stretches her face into a wide smile, before letting go and slumping in irritation. "And I only have her and a bunch of mindless animals for help." The woman beside her throne flinched at the jab whilst Mor'du growled, not taking kindly to the barb either.

"'Flower'? What is she-"

"Parasite Magic." Jack began to explain, "Basically, a magic-user leeches off a magical source in order to cast spells. Its considered dark magic."

Rapunzel thought about how her mother excuse using her gift on her, to help with her 'illness' all throughout her life. "Is that all I was to her? A power source for her magic?" Elinor put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Slobber on me?" Mor'du roared and slammed his paws onto the ground, causing a small tremor. Back at the top of the entry stairs, the tremor caused a medium-sized rock Merida was gripping to slip. The rock bounced and rolled over to Elinor's paws. The bear bent down to sniff and began to growl, catching the scent of apples and freshly cut wood. She looked up at the top of the staircase and spotted the redhead and the dragon spying on them.

"Ah shi-"

Merida was cut off when Elinor rose up and roared at them, signalling to the whole herd that there were intruders amongst them. Gothel looked up and saw the girl and the dragon.

"You!" she pointed up at them, "GET THEM!" Merida cocked an arrow swiftly and fired. Gothel raised her hand and a clear shield with green hues shimmered to protect herself, but at the last second, she slumped, another strain of her black hair turning grey just as the arrow seemed to shatter through the shield and hit her right in the shoulder.

"Mother!" the hooded woman rushed to her, only for Gothel to smack her hand away.

"Don't just stand there gawking! GET HER YOU USELESS- AGH!" Gothel bent back down, the arrow obviously causing great agony, but not fatally.

Rapunzel, now understanding that the woman with Gothel was Cassandra, tried to look around to see if she could find her.

Up the rafters, Cassandra once again shifted uncomfortably at how bluntly Gothel treated her. But she was her mother. That's just what mothers do. Right?

Arianna found the woman before Rapunzel did and couldn't help but look at her with pity in her eyes. A mother should love her children, not what they could do for her.

Toothless pushed past Merida and shot a plasma blast against the ceiling. A second tremor occurred and the hole was successfully sealed up, just as Mor'du made an attempt to snap at them.

Roars of absolute fury could be heard as Merida quickly jumped onto Toothless and took off. They had to warn the camp. She had to tell them what happened.

The camera cuts out to show the camp once more. Merida was sitting in front of a freshly made fire as well as the rest of the group, including her father. Jack was standing with his fist clenched near his lips, thinking over what Merida had told him about how the Witch was weak and apparently need 'her flower' in order to stop her aging and have her magic at full strength. He had heard of Parasite Magic before but never seen it in action, and it was considered a disgrace to the magic world because you were stealing natural magic from living things in order to have power. It's dark magic. Which just means this Witch will have no qualms about killing innocent lives if she wanted something done.

Hiccup was on the ground, fixing up Toothless' auto tail and making sure his best friend was okay. Hiccup was thinking as well. About how Merida told him about how Mor'du was gathering an army and was turning the people of the Four Highland Clans into bears to get that army and combined with Furious' army and the Witch's magic, would mean they would have considerable trouble, even with Berk, the liberated dragons and the Highlanders on their side. Even though most of Furious' dragon left him, he still had a large portion of loyal-to-the-bone followers. And if the Witch did get her 'flower' back, it might be a problem.

Rapunzel was sitting on a log, close by to Merida, watching her with concern. Rapunzel was mostly thinking about all those innocent people, trapped in the bodies of mindless, vicious bears, amongst them being Merida's own mother, turned into the second-in-command of Mor'du's army by the Witch. And the more she thought about the Witch, the more she thought about how quickly she appeared to be aging and how she needed a 'flower' to rejuvenate herself and power her magic. She sounded so familiar, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. But she got wounded by an arrow. She was vulnerable. Mortal. If they can keep her flower, whatever that was, as far away from her as possible, they may have a chance to take her down.

Wow, Rapunzel thought, I'm surprised how ready I am to jump into killing someone. But, it's for the best. It's so other people, good people can walk away from this war with a fair chance of being happy. At being unafraid of the Boogeyman, of the Dragon King, of the Demon Bear and of this wicked old witch. So that me and my family can finally come out of the shadows and into the light.

"This is bad. If they had stormed us while we were asleep, we wouldn't have stood a chance. They're not mindless animals like we initially thought. They're smart. They're organized."

"And they're all working for the King of Nightmares himself. And on top of that, he has a Dragon with brother issues and a Witch that's obsessed with power and beauty products." Jack finished off Hiccup's analysis, to which they all looked at him with tired expression.

Pitch raised an eyebrow at that, pretty in-depth, description of Furious and Gothel. Former and latter with growling in their seats, much to his amusement.

"Sorry. I have a habit of putting my foot in my mouth and make bad jokes in tense situations." Hiccup shook his head, hiding a smile on his face.

"On the plus side, Merida and Toothless sealed off the entrance to their lair, which gives us a chance to prepare for the assault." Rapunzel sat up straighter, "How are we supposed to prepare villagers and wounded soldiers for a demon bear attack?"

"Don't forget the mandrakes and the spirits wolves and the harpies and the golems-" "Yes, Jack. Thank you." "Sorry, Mers. You okay?" the snow spirit asked the princess, who has yet to speak aside from telling them what happened at the Ruins.

"Well, let's see. Majority of my people, including my father and brothers, who have been turned into bears by the way, have been forced into exile in the forest, forced to hide from, as you said, harpies, mandrakes, golems and spirit wolves, all while the rest of my people, along with my mother, have been unwillingly turned into bears, like my brothers. And above it all, my mother has been turned into the general for Mor'du's demon bear army and they are planning an ambush on us as we speak! So, other then that, I'm peachy."

Jack looked away, looking rather shameful. "Right. Stupid question." Merida looked ashamed herself.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped." "It's okay. I understand. I think I'd be pretty pissed if it was my mum." Merida smiled, but it was forced. Rapunzel offered her a flask of water, which Merida took, pouring some into her hand and washing her face.

"So what are we going to do? Rapunzel's right. We can't ask the wounded soldiers or the townsfolk to just take up arms against an army of demons. That's a death sentence." "But we can't ask them to move on either. The Waystones are the safest place right now and those creatures won't enter here." "But will the Waystones stop the demons from marching in?"

"Considering that the Witch was all in for an invasion, I doubt it."

"Well!" Snotlout interrupted, "Looks like you guys are screwed either way." But even as he said that, Jack was getting an idea.

As they discussed every option they could think of, Jack's gears have been clicking ever since Hiccup mentioned the Waystones. Then, a little ding sounded as his eyes seemed to light up with excitement.

"THAT'S IT!" the others jumped as Jack jumped and floated in the air in joy, Toothless grumbling as he was woken from his nap. (A few giggles ensued for that one.) Hiccup sat up and raised an eyebrow.

"What's it, Jack?" "The Waystones!" Jack flew over to one of the Waystones and put his hands against it as though looking for something, "Waystones are Traveler's Magic. When activated and giving a place in mind, you can use them to teleport pretty much anywhere in the world. It's like North's Snow Globes, but, you know, stationary." Hiccup's eyes widened and he immediately went into, as Snotlout would describe, 'Geek Mode'.

"Jack, that's brilliant. But do you know how to activate a Waystone?" Jack shrugged, "I know the basics. Mother Nature told me in case I ever needed to go to her in a hurry. We just need a powerful trigger in order to activate it. Nature Magic would do it, but..." Hiccup frowned at the very drawn out 'but'. A drawn-out 'but' is never a good thing.

"But...?" "But I don't know if I'll be strong enough to preserve the spell and keep it open. I know I can open it, but I don't know how long before it ends up taking over. We would need a pretty powerful magic source in order to counteract the defensive magicks."

"I can do it."

The boys looked over to Rapunzel, who stood with her hands held together in front of her, a nervous look in her eyes. Merida shot up and rushed over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure?"

"You don't have to if you don't need or want to."

"Like I said, Punzie. This is pretty powerful magicks. While, yes your magic could keep it open, you've never actually opened a Waystone portal before. This could have untold consequences on your psyche." Rapunzel nodded, taking a deep breath and holding her head up high. "If it means these innocent people have a chance to escape Mor'du and the Witch, then I'm prepared to take that chance."

The four of them exchanged looks, nervous.

"Alright. I'll get myself ready. But, Punzie, once you start, you can't stop, otherwise, the portal could malfunction and might start spitting us out in random locations. You understand that?" there was a pause before Rapunzel spoke.

"Yes."

"OK. Then let's do this. Hiccup, is Toothless' tail fixed up?" "Yep, he's ready to go." "Good. A dragon around will help incase the Bears attack. Me and Rapunzel will get the Waystones ready. You guys gather the villagers and get them ready." Hiccup and Merida nodded and rushed off to tell the Highlanders. Toothless sat by the Waystones, keeping his eyes on the forest. Jack grabbed his staff and walked together with Rapunzel towards the Waystones.

"Well, looks like you guys have a plan!" Gobber said with praise, making them smile. Their frowns returned though as...

The scene fades out back to the collapsed entrance of the throne room. The pile of rocks sit there for a minute before it begins to bulge and shift before finally Mor'du bursts out of the pile, huffing as he pulls himself out, Gothel, Elinor and the other woman following close behind. Gothel was still gripping her shoulder, but the arrow was pulled out ages ago. Gothel gritted her teeth as she glared at the forest ahead.

"Cassandra, dear." Gothel turned to the younger woman, who's hood was down to finally reveal Rapunzel's elder sister, Cassandra. Her face was that of a hardened assassin, ready to carry out whatever order her mother issued.

"Cass..." Rapunzel whispered, wishing her sister was by her side, rather than up in the rafters with their... with Gothel. How could she not have seen how truly toxic she was? I guess it helped that she hardly ever in the tower unless it was for dinner and singing recitals.

"Yes, Mother." "When we see that redhaired princess again, I want you to make sure she never bothers our family again. Are we clear?" Gothel didn't notice that Elinor's ears and eyes shifted when she heard mention of her daughter. Cassandra stared evenly at her mother, but in the back of her mind, memories of Rapunzel calling Merida a sister gave her pause.

"Yes, Mother. But how are we supposed to storm the Highlander camp now? They probably already know our plans."

"We still have two bears right here. And if one bear could take over an entire kingdom, two can't certainly attack a camp." Gothel looked over to the bears for confirmation. Their growls confirmed all they want to hear. They want blood. Their eyes burned red like embers before the screen faded once more with a bird's eye view of the Waystones. Everyone has gathered around behind the group, anxious and hoping that they could as far away from the demons that mean to indoctrinate them into their infernal army. Jack hopped and flew over to one of the Waystones, landing on top of it and taking out his staff.

Holding it in front of him, he took a deep breath and began the incantation.

"Stones of the weary traveller, guide us for we have gone astray. The stars have dimmed to nothing, so we call to you to light the way." Jack recites this over and over, his staff starting to glow an icy blue in the gaps. He tapped the bottom of his staff on the stone, causing it to light up the same icy color, from the top to the floor, before frost started to ripple from the grass to the other stones, making them light up too.

"Okay, Rapunzel. Your turn. And remember. Concentrate on where you want us to go." Rapunzel nodded. Her hair was out and was loosely wrapped around each of the Waystones. She took a deep breath and sang her own incantation.

"Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power 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." as Rapunzel sang, the spell began to preserve the Waystone Incantation, the lines on the stones now glowing gold. From the centre of the stones, beams of light shot out and made contact in the centre of the circle, creating a portal to the North Pole, where Berk and the liberated dragons have congregated in their alliance.

"When you enter the portal and make it to the other side, do not be alarmed by the creatures you see. They are our allies in the fight against the Nightmare King. When you reach the Workshop, look for a man named Nicholas St. North, or my father, Stoick the Vast of the Hairy Hooligans. They will inform, care and prepare you for whatever we need to do." Hiccup called to them all, Fergus holding his transfigured sons in his arms, the Clan Leaders and their sons, and Maudy with the other castle maids, all prepping themselves to enter the portal. Toothless watched from afar, but still turning back every now and then to see if anyone was trying to sneak upon him.

Stoick and Valka watched their son on-screen with pride. He spoke with the wisdom and strength of a true leader. A leader that cared for his people.

Furious grumbled. So much like his Dreki.

"Alright! Let's go!" Merida ordered, ushering everyone, along with Hiccup and Jack as Rapunzel continued to sing her song, keeping the incantation going and preserving the way to freedom. Merida's father ushered his sons other to Maudy and helped them through, before assisting Merida with leading his people inside. As Merida helped a little girl catch up with her mother, the three sons approached her.

"Hey, uh... Merida?" she turned to them, wondering if they were going to cause trouble, "We know that you wanted nothing to do with this whole... marriage thing, and we agree. And we all just like to say, regardless if you decide to marry any of us or not, we'd think you make a great queen." the three bowed their heads in respect, shocking their fathers, who were watching the whole thing. Merida was surprised too, before straightening up and bowing her head in return. "Thank you." they nodded and continued to help their people through the portal.

Merida looked over her shoulder to the boys, who merely nodded their heads in respect. She smiled and turned back in her seat.

Everyone was almost through before a large paw nearly obscured the view of the camera. They turned to see none other than the Demon Bear himself, backed up by his general.

"Mor'du."

"Elinor."

Mor'du let out a fierce roar and charged at the crowd before Toothless leapt in and attacked from the side, pinning the bear to the floor and going for the throat. But before he could lock his jaws on, Elinor shoved him off. Toothless was being double-teamed.

"King Fergus! Help everyone get through. Merida, protect Rapunzel! If she loses focus-" "The whole portal closes, I know!" "Jack, you're with me." the spirit nodded and leapt into the air for charging beside Hiccup, weapons raised and ready to help the dragon fight the demon bears off.

"C'mon, c'mon! Go, go, go!" Merida urged everyone through while staying by Rapunzel's side, who seemed to be in a trance-like state now as she continuously said the incantation over and over like a prayer. Back with the fight, Jack was handling Elinor, keeping her occupied by flying overhead and freezing the floor to make it slippery. He wasn't trying to hurt her. Deep inside her, Merida's mum was in there, probably fighting to override the curse that changed her body and overtook her mind. All he needs to do is incapacitate her long enough for Toothless and Hiccup to take out Mor'du. But it was proving harder then it looks. Mor'du chose her to be general for nothing. It was like she was possessed, running on nothing but seer drive just to spill his blood. Which she probably was.

"Jack, dear. I appreciate you holding back, but if I do end up hurting someone, I'd like for you to do whatever you can to stop me." "Mum-" Elinor raised her hand politely. "I know I'm asking much, but please, at least consider my request."

Jack looked like he wanted to be sick, but he swallowed and nodded his head, not happy at all with what he just promised.

Meanwhile, Mor'du was showing no mercy. Toothless was getting a whole new set of scars as he fought with the bear. Meanwhile, Hiccup was climbing one of the Waystones to get a better vantage point. Once he was right above him, Hiccup took out his Gronckle Iron sword and jumped, sword point toward the beast back and pierced right through his thick hide. Mor'du roared in pain and anger, before tossing the dragon aside and running towards one of the Waystones. Hiccup jumped off just in time, leaving his sword on the beast's back as he crashed into the stone.

Rapunzel flinched, as though physically hit when the Waystone was struck, but then continued the spell. Only a few people were left.

The four looked concerned now. A fight in the Waystone circle, whilst Rapunzel was trying to preserve the activation spell wasn't good.

Back with Jack, he flew over Elinor's head once again, but his ankle got caught and he was thrown against one of the Waystones. Rapunzel flinched once more as Elinor charged towards him, ready for the kill...

When an arrow embedded itself into her neck. Elinor roared in agony, before whipping her head over to see...

Merida, tears streaming down her face and an arrow knocked onto her bow. They shared a long, profound stare, with Elinor staring at the heartbroken expression on her daughter's face. Something was changing in her eyes. The black of her eyes seemed to shrink back into a normal human pupil with a rich, chocolate brown iris. Elinor growled, confused before standing on her hind legs. Merida carefully lowered her bow as Elinor looked around, as though waking up from a dream that was too close to reality.

Finally, Elinor looked back at Merida and moaned softly, as though asking 'what happened?'.

"Mum?"

Jack looked on in surprise. Elinor was fighting the curse. Jack smiled. She must really love her daughter a whole bunch if she's fighting off a curse for her.

A groan alerted the bear to her previously wounded prey as Jack became conscious and rubbed his head where a goose egg was sure to be. Elinor looked horrified as images flashed in her head. Turning into a bear and attack Fergus from behind as he first fought Mor'du's invasion, appearing before Hiccup and Maudy and chasing them out of the dungeons, being chosen as Mor'du general after defeating all the other competitors, snarling as she discovered Merida, her own daughter, spying on the one who turned her into a beast.

Elinor suddenly felt rage burn through her like never before and turned back to Mor'du, who had Toothless knocked out and pinned, ready to kill.

Elinor let out a mighty roar and charged, knocking over Mor'du and began another duel.

"YES! THAT'S MY WIFE!" Fergus cheered, before noticing how everyone was looking at him for his explosion. He chuckled nervously and sat back down. Elinor smiled, "Thank you for that dear." Fergus tapped his fingers, smiling bashfully, before sitting up to sit with his family. Stoick and Valka soon followed suit, as well as the triplets.

"Mum!" Merida cried out, firing arrow after arrow, which only bounced off as the two bears rolled around the floor, ripping into each other like rabid dogs over a scrap of meat.

Back with Rapunzel, she was trying hard to take deep, relaxing breathes as the last of the Highlanders finally made it through.

"My, my, Rapunzel. Activating Waystones, befriending monsters, running off with strangers." Rapunzel opened her eyes, which were bleeding white, and turned in shock to see her mother, much more aged then we've seen her before and hunched over thanks to the arrow wound received by Merida. "You've certainly kept yourself busy."

"Oh no."

"M-mother? What- how did you get here?" "Oh, I just found the pieces of betrayal and followed that," Gothel told her snidely, while Rapunzel just stared, starting to have trouble focusing.

"B-but."

"Stay away from her, witch!"

Rapunzel spun around to see Merida, the girl she now considers family, pointing an arrow at her mother.

"Merida, wait! She's my... wait... did you say 'witch'?" "Yes. That's the witch that turned my mother and my people into demon bears. I saw her in the lair talking with Mor'du." Rapunzel looked shocked at the information. "Mother. Is this true?" Gothel looked miffed as the blonde stared at the woman who raised her from when she was a baby.

"Please believe her, me."

"Of-of course not, my Flower! Are you really going to believe the girl you've only known for a few days over your own flesh and blood? She shot me, unprovoked, just to get to you and use you for your gift! I'm the only one that you can ever trust."

"Yeah, cause she should trust the one that told her that the entire world is filled with nothing but malevolent spirits, brutish monsters and cruel people." Merida snarked. Gothel scoffed.

"Look around you, monstrous bears, people fleeing to save themselves, that is the root of every human being, Rapunzel. Greed and selfishness." "Oi! One of those 'monstrous bears' is my mum which you helped turn with those enchanted cakes." "'Enchanted cakes'! Ha! Rapunzel do you truly believe this nonsense?"

"I..." Rapunzel didn't know what to believe. Of course, she trusts Merida, she saved her life, without even knowing her powers and even after that, she still treated her like a human being. But she didn't want to believe that her mother could really be the Witch. The Witch that was working for the Nightmare King. The Witch that turned the Highlanders into monstrous bears for Mor'du's army. All her mother ever did was try to protect her. Sure, she did it by telling her lies about the world, about dragons, about spirits, about people. She thought about how all of Berk changed their lifestyle to accommodate the dragons that had been oppressed by their king for 300 years. She thought of the Guardians, a gang of spirits whose sole purpose is to protect mortals from the likes of the Nightmare King from completely dominating the world.

"Why did you lie to me about people? About dragons and spirits?"

"Yeah, Gothel. Why lie unless you were trying to hide something?" Hiccup's mind began ticking.

"Or someone?"

Gothel sputtered, trying to come up with an excuse while trying to not blow her cover. Meanwhile, Cassandra was sneaking up behind Merida and just as Merida felt a presence, Cassandra did a leg sweep, throwing her off balance and then kicked her into the portal. Gothel sneakily cast a spell, turning the portal from gold to green, just as Merida's screams were abruptly cut off as she disappeared.

"MERIDA!"

Jack and Hiccup both turned to Rapunzel's cry, just as Gothel pulled out a small glass vile and threw it on the floor, releasing a blue mist that invaded Rapunzel's senses and knocked her unconscious. Gothel grunted as she caught her before she fell to the floor. "Ooph! Cassandra! Make yourself useful for once and carry her!" Cassandra did as she asked and picked Rapunzel up bridal style.

"PUNZIE!" "LET HER GO!" the boys rushed over to her rescue, while Gothel just groaned before touching Rapunzel's hair, the glow turning from gold to green and she cast a spell that roped Jack up and threw him into the portal, just as it turned to show the image of a desert wasteland.

"Jack!" Hiccup took out his shield and set it to crossbow mode and fired an arrow. Gothel raised her hand and performed a shield like before. Only this time, it held, the arrow making contact and snapping in two. "I know some characters that would REALLY like to play with you." like, with Jack, she tied Hiccup up and threw him into the portal, just as it changed to an arena looking area. Toothless, who had just woken up, roared in panic at the sight of his brother being thrown through the portal and jumped in after him, just as the portal closed.

The group looked ill. The portal malfunctioned and was tampered with dark magicks. They were separated from each other. They were alone. And worst of all, Rapunzel was in the hands of Gothel, the Witch they were supposed to defeat.

Gothel sighed, sounding rather pleased with herself. "Well, that takes care of that little spill." she walked over to Elinor, who was struggling under Mor'du, trying to go through the portal as well to get to her daughter, before Gothel pulled out the bottle from before, and poured some into her palm. She blew and Elinor was once again under the control of the Demon Horde. Mor'du still looked pretty furious, marching off his beta and snorting.

"Oh, quit being such a stiff. Now that I have my Flower back, we don't need more bears for your army. With the creatures of the forest, your army, Furious' hive, and my magic, all combined with the Nightmare King, they won't stand a chance." Gothel began to cackle as the camera shifted over to Rapunzel, who moaned as she was having a bad dream.

It certainly felt like one.

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you lady?" Jack spat at Gothel, "Is that all Rapunzel ever was to you? A flower meant to power your magic and not as a living, breathing human being?"

Gothel sneered and rolled her eyes, "Oh, please. Like a fresh spirit would know anything about magic." "I know enough to know that what you do is Parasite Magic and that without Rapunzel, you'd be a shrivelled old lady."

"Oooo!" Snotlout and Tuffnut jeered, laughing before the woman growled.

"Now, now, Gothel," everyone froze as the suave and collected voice of the Boogeyman finally spoke aloud, "Let's not lose our tempers. Let's just see how far these predictions go."

Everyone was quiet as they reluctantly returned to their seats, the four huddled closer together, worried for what is to come.