Posters are put up for the Challenge of the Brave. A couple of citizens are staring at them while Cass walks by with laundry.
"Challenge of the Brave? Looks like some kind of tournament," The woman comments with a smile.
"Not just any tournament," The mustached man next to her corrects, "I hear the fiercest fighters from all over are coming to compete!"
"Let me tell ya, whoever walks away champ will have earned the respect of every warrior in the seven kingdoms."
A little boy pushes past Cass, causing the material from her headdress to fall over her face. She blows it away and sees the powers, smirking. She could do it, show everyone that she's not just some mere lady-in-waiting!
She jumps onto a log and lands on the grass.
Cass scrubs clothes in the castle, bubbles flying everywhere. Suddenly, the handmaidens give her even more clothes.
She jumps up a sheet, climbing up poles and using a zipline, smirking.
Then she has to carefully put the thread in the needle as she's mending one of Rapunzel's dresses. She glances towards outside as her father is standing in front of a line of guards. She sighs wearily, fixing the hole in the dress.
She pulls back three arrows and they all land in a bullseye.
A woman cries out as her purse is snatched away from her. "Stop! Thief!"
The woman grins at her chance, throwing away her headdress, but Pete stands in front of her. "Stay back." He grabs the thief as he was about to run past him. "We'll handle it."
She walks away dejectedly and then runs, pulling out her sword. Owl catches it and she jumps over a fence gracefully, catching her sword and slicing the head off a scarecrow. She stabs it as a few kids were watching.
"Whoa...it's the princesses!"
She gives a look of confusion, glancing behind her to see that her friends are definitely behind her. The kids run up to the princesses, Rapunzel hugging two of them. Harmony takes one of the boys into her arms, creating a moonlight in the shape of a crescent moon in front of him.
"Whoa..." He murmurs in awe as it turns into a full moon, spinning around them. "Cool!"
Cass frowns a little. She thought they were respecting her...
"Wow, Cass. What is all this?" Rapunzel gestures to the obstacle course.
"Nothing," Cass waves it off. "I'm warming up for the Challenge of the Brave this morning. It's just a competition to find the toughest warrior in all of Corona," She sheathes her sword, shrugging. "No big deal."
"Ooo! Sounds exciting. Where can I sign up?" Rapunzel asks eagerly, but Cass doesn't catch it at first.
"Yeah, like I said, no big—oh, sorry, what?!"
"I wanna sign up!" Rapunzel repeats, gesturing to herself. The boy Harmony was holding grabs her hand, guiding her away so that they can examine the obstacle course.
"You mean compete?!" Cass screeches in shock. The Challenge of the Brave is...not exactly Rapunzel's environment.
"Let's do it together!" Rapunzel smiles at her, the other two kids encouraging the idea.
"You could be princess, and the most 'reverdest' warrior!"
"Aw," Rapunzel chuckles at the second boy.
"That would be fun..." Cass glances away. As much as she respected Rapunzel, she'd get in the way of her true goal for the competition... "But I'm not so sure it's the best idea."
"I'm brave," Rapunzel gestures to herself. There have been plenty of times where she didn't even have to prove she was brave. "And I'm always up for a challenge!"
"But the-but the thing is, the challenge is by invitation only, so you can't do it," Cass lies through her teeth. If Rapunzel ever found out the truth, she hoped that she would understand why she had to do it...she was tired of people walking all over her all the time because of her lady-in-waiting status. "Oh man, ugggh. Rules are rules."
Owl narrows his eyes at her for the lie. "Aw," Rapunzel clicks her teeth in disappointment. "Okay...but you can always count on me, Harmi, and Varian to cheer you on."
Cass smiles weakly while Harmony yelps, lifting her head up.
"V-Varian?" She stammers nervously, twiddling her hands together. She had to say, the Challenge of the Brave did not seem like his thing.
"I convinced him to come!" Rapunzel smiles, clasping her hands. "And you two are getting front row seats! You're welcome!" She grins at Harmony's shocked expression. This was her first attempt at getting them together, and hopefully, with all that time alone, something would spark between them...
"Welcome to the Challenge of the Brave, where you will see skilled combatants from all the lands compete in a series of death-defying challenges that culminate in the main event! The ultimate melee!" The crowd cheers as the announcer continues on. "Only one will walk away with the respect of the seven kingdoms! Today's favorite is the world's most renowned warrior. Some say he's the meanest, most ruthless fighter in the world has ever seen!"
Giant footsteps walk into the warriors' area. "Wreck Marauder!"
The crowd erupts in cheers as another challenger's teeth falls off. The bees from one of the female competitors fly away, everyone running from fright as a giant man stands there. An usher runs into him and gets stared down by a man with sideburns.
"Boo."
The man runs away screaming, going as so far to jump into the bleachers. "Whose house is this? This is Wreck's house!" He throws away the boar that was on his head and it lands on Shorty.
"Whoa, that guy is hardcore," Varian cringes from the front. Both teens are nervous, Harmony tapping her fingers on the slightly empty spot to her left. She moves a bang away from her face. She could do this, she's a princess. It's Varian, why should she be nervous?
"I heard that he's gotten challengers to surrender just by looking at him," She explains and then they hear a yell right next to them. Unfortunately for them, they got stuck with...
"Whoo!" Eugene holds up a foam finger. "Yeah! That's my boy right there! Wreck Maraudeeeer!" He gets a couple of annoyed glares by the people surrounding him. "I have seen that guy fight all over the world. He's undefeated! Challenge of the Brave!" He claps and Pascal starts dancing. "Challenge of the Brave!"
Daisy facepalms with her wing, chirping a little as Harmony shakes her head at him. Varian covers his face with both hands, sighing. "Everybody, come on!" He jumps from his seat, holding out a hand. "Alright, beard of the bees lady!" One of the bees gets eaten by Pascal, which flies around in his mouth before it flies out.
"Oh yeah!" Eugene hugs Varian with one arm, who pushes him away slightly. "How bout these seats, huh guys? If we were any closer to the action, they'd be scraping myself off of Wreck Marauder's knuckles!" He places the foam finger on a kid, blowing a loud horn. The two teens cover their ears in pain as Pascal turns into multiple patterns. Even Shorty covers his ears!
"Uh, sir?" The usher who ran into Wreck walks up to him. "Some of the competitors are requesting we move you to a new seat."
"Oh, you see that?" Eugene brags to everyone around him. "Moving this superfan to the superfan section. Ha! I wish I could say this has been fun, but I respect you all too much to lie to your faces!" He starts walking up the stairs. The usher glances to the teens, wondering if they were with him.
"We've never seen him before in our lives," Varian quickly denies.
"But, princess, don't you-"
"Nope, don't know him," Harmony replies with a straight face and he leaves.
"I wish we got a warning before we sat down," Varian rubs the back of his neck as they're now technically alone.
"Yeah, I've never seen him like...that," Harmony chuckles, leaning back a bit. "I'm surprised you came."
He turns his head to stare at her as she's looking out to the arena. "...I am too, but I don't regret it."
She looks at him as the boy is smiling and she smiles back upon seeing his.
Cass fires three arrows, getting another triple bullseye. She places her bow around her neck with a smug look.
"She's just here cause she's the princess' lady-in-waiting," One of the competitors sneer, the others laughing. She frowns towards them.
"Hey hello, good morning, how are you?" Rapunzel comes into the area, noticing a woman's teeth. "Ooh. Wow, your teeth are so sharp." She gasps sharply upon seeing someone. "Hook Foot! Why so mad? Just do a dance, and give that smile a second chance," She hugs him from behind and he actually smiles at the warm contact.
"Probably not the best place for hugs, Raps," Cass pulls her away, pushing her to a stop. "What are you doing down here? This is for competitors only."
"I came to wish you luck!" Rapunzel smiles at her.
"Thanks, but I don't need luck," The lady-in-waiting smirks, "I need to use this time to get inside the competition's head. You know, psyche 'em out with some trash talk." She crosses her arms, but since Rapunzel was in a tower for most of her life, she's not familiar with the term.
"Trash talk? Like talk about garbage literally?"
"What? No, that's...not even close," Cass shakes her head, sighing. She peeks past the princess and walks past her. "Watch this."
A steak is placed in front of a competitor wearing a bandana, and he swallows it whole. He comes face to face with Cass. "Hey you. You do realize when they put the call up for the strongest warriors, they weren't talking about breath," She waves a hand in front of her face. "Right?"
He breathes his nasty breath in front of her and she recoils back in disgust, almost gagging. "Why don't you go back to the castle, lady-in-waiting?" He laughs as he walks past her.
"That wasn't very nice, Cass," Rapunzel frowns in disapproval.
"Yeah, that's the point," Cass elaborates to her.
"Alright. I'll give it a shot," She shrugs sheepishly, seeing a heavily-tattooed man. "I guess..." She rolls up her sleeves to look tough, awkwardly storming up to the competitor. "Excuse me, you. Yeah, you. Uh huh. Prepare to be talked trash to! Look at you, with those...decorative tattoos. Ah, wow."
She looks towards Cass, only to see that she's not feeling the same way. "Sorry, I'm sorry, but those are amazing! And did you see the lettering on Skull Kicker? Wow."
"What about it?" He towers over her, glaring at the woman and showing his pecs.
"It's lovely," She smiles at it, causing him to raise a brow.
"Yeah, well...it-it was my mother's name..." He ends up telling her, looking a bit sad.
"Your mom is really special to you, isn't she?" She places a hand on his shoulder. He nods silently, Cass facepalming. "Well, I think she'd be really proud of the menacing goon you've become." The competitor smiles a little.
The competitor Cass trash-talked to starts sniffling, wiping his nose. "I'm gonna go see my mom!" He runs off in the other direction. Cass pouts at this. This kind of talk was exactly what she didn't want around her right now...
Wreck walks past her with a growl and Rapunzel turns around, seeing his hairy chest. "Whoa! Look at you! You're a big guy, aren't ya?" He snarls at her and Cass comes over.
"Come on, Rapunzel," She grabs her hand so that the princess can leave.
"What do we have here?" Wreck calls out, causing her to grit her teeth. "No one told me they were letting table scraps compete."
"Scraps?!" She whips around to him, clenching a fist. "You're the one that's gonna walk out of this in pieces." Cass glares up at the man.
"I look forward to makin' everyone who ever loved you cry their eyes out," He points to his eye, laughing.
"Whoa," Rapunzel steps between them. "Listen mister, trash talk is one thing, but that was just mean."
"Rapunzel," Cass hisses for her to stop.
"Cassandra has feelings, you know?" The princess continues, protectively holding her friend.
"Aww," Wreck teases, clasping his hands. "Poor little baby," He snickers while Cass looks away in embarrassment.
"And another thing, you should be-"
"Okay!" Cass grabs her arm. "That'll do, Rapunzel," She pulls her away while the competitors all laugh at her, much to her dismay. She rubs a temple with a sigh once they're far away from their earshot. "Listen. I have to warm up, so..." One look at the other competitors tells her that she needs to bring her tough reputation back. Then she sees the younger princess and Varian in the front seats as both of them are smiling, laughing at their on-going conversation. "Why don't you bring Varian and Harmony some snacks and then join Eugene? You can cheer me on from there...way back there."
"Yeah...yeah, sure. Okay, I got it. I got it. You need to focus. No distractions," She waves as she goes over to the food stands. "Oh! Sorry!" She hugs her friend from behind, who cringes. "I forgot a good luck hug. Oh, right, it's not a place for hugging, I'm sorry..." Rapunzel gives her a pat on the head. "Good luck."
The laughter continues and Cass bites her lip as she watches the crown princess actually leave this time. The competitors walk away and she gives a dejected look. Hopefully, the competition itself would change people's minds...
"I hope Cass wins. She doesn't seem to be comfortable whenever my sister is around lately," Harmony tells Varian.
"Well, Cass and Rapunzel just have different personalities when it comes to this kind of stuff," Varian replies as they watch people getting ready.
"That's true. Rapunzel's always positive and happy, while Cassandra is...Cassandra," She giggles a bit before suddenly, popcorn, meat, and cotton candy is shoved into their arms by Rapunzel herself.
"Just making sure that you don't go hungry!" She smiles at them, leaning in. "So, is everything okay here?"
"Yes," They answer in unison and then she jumps in between them, hugging the two.
"Has anything happened?" She asks eagerly, smiling widely.
"You mean besides us waiting for the Challenge of the Brave to start?" Varian raises a brow, Harmony pinching her nose.
"Well, you two should be getting to know each other! Like, what you like about each other, your interests, your guilty pleasures! Ooh! Stories! This one time, Harmi was playing with a goat, and I didn't know it could do that, but-"
"Rapunzel!" Harmony exclaims in embarrassment, her face slightly red, "Don't talk about what the goat did!"
"Oops!" She smiles sheepishly.
"Um, maybe you should join Flynn. He's up there," Varian points upwards towards Eugene.
"Are you sure? You don't need an-"
"Nope, we are all good," Harmony pushes her away slightly. "Thank you for the food!"
"Alright," Rapunzel shrugs at them, waving as she leaves them. The princess sighs in relief, Varian glancing at her.
"What did that goat do?"
"Don't ask," She deadpans, taking a hard bite out of her cotton candy. Varian looks towards Daisy, who shakes his head.
"Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats!" The announcer booms, "It's time to meet today's contestants! Give it up for Razor Blade McDoom!" He points to the woman with the razor blade teeth, who lets out a roar.
"The Razor's gonna carve ya...like a turkey!"
"Ha! McDoom!" Eugene calls out all the way from the top of the bleachers where no one can hear him. "More like McDone For!" Rapunzel reaches him, panting as he sits down with Pascal on his shoulder. "Am I right?"
She takes a seat next to him, out of breath. "Hey Blondie, you got the deluxe seats too, huh? You know, they put you up here so you can see all the action?"
"Really?" She can barely see anything from her end. "It's kinda far. I can't even see Harmi or Varian."
"Oh no, you're trying to set them up?" Eugene asks knowingly as she digs into his bag, pulling out a pair of binoculars. She uses them and sees the two teens now silent. Harmony is eating food to avoid talking to him since she's still embarrassed. "Blondie, you gotta let them develop their relationship on their own terms."
"I am. I'm just giving them a little...push," She smiles a little. "Harmony was so lonely while I was gone. I just wanna help her out."
"Help her out or find love for her?" Eugene deadpans and she just smiles widely in response. "She's only 14. Isn't she kind of young for that thing? I mean, don't get me wrong, I think they're good for each other, but..."
"Oh, Eugene, they're not even talking to each other anymore," Rapunzel frowns as Varian is tapping his gloved fingers awkwardly. He sighs in defeat and she turns to her best friend. "Pascal?"
He salutes to her and jumps off Eugene, landing and jumping on other people's heads. The chameleon lands between them, camouflaging himself the same color as the bleachers. He glances between the two as they're both feeling awkward. Daisy sees his eyes and he points between the two, bringing his hands together. The duckling jumps off Harmony's shoulder and then hops on Varian's back, reaching his hair to lightly claw at it.
"Ah, Daisy," He tries to remove the duckling, but she's too fast for his hands. "Stop that."
"What are you doing?" Harmony notices his struggle, quickly grabbing her pet. "Daisy, no."
Pascal then knocks the cotton candy with his tongue in Varian's hands upwards so that it sticks to his nose. The two pets high-five each other before Pascal leaves. Harmony sees Varian's nose and giggles, pointing at him. He notices why she's laughing and joins in, Rapunzel pumping a fist in triumph.
"Am I the first friend you've had?" Varian couldn't help but wonder.
"Well, the first one that's my age, so yeah, in a sense," She nods, taking a bite out of popcorn. "...I did have this imaginary friend while I was stuck in the castle, though. I guess I got so lonely that I made her up. She had these buns and she was entirely blue."
"Do you remember much about her?" He asks, wondering just how that might've looked when she was younger.
"I was only 4. She just...appeared out of nowhere. I was told by her about the moonstone opal and that it...chose me. That it was my job to harness these powers I was given...but I was only a kid and I just wanted to play. And so she did. We'd spend hours playing games, and eventually with Daisy too. When I turned 10, she disappeared after my father told me I was getting too old to have imaginary friends. She never came back after that and I grew out of that phase in my life."
"Huh...fascinating," He murmurs under his breath. "She didn't have a name?"
"She did, I just can't remember it right now. It's weird; she kept talking about the opal and how it's a part of my destiny a lot, even though I haven't seen the thing in years. Not that I was old enough to understand what she was talking about. I chose to forget anything to do with it, so that I wouldn't be reminded of what I can do."
"But you chose to remember your imaginary friend," He raises a brow and she smiles weakly.
"I guess there are some things that just can't be forgotten..."
"Next up, the unstoppable Wreck Marauder!" The announcer gestures to the large man, who flexes his muscles, his hair growing wild as he does so. "Wreck has three words for you! You're gonna get wrecked!"
Cass rolls her eyes, not even bothering to correct him.
"Hey..." Eugene eyes her, "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that guy down there looks just like Cassandra...?"
"That is Cassandra!" Rapunzel shakes his arm in excitement. "Wow, I've never seen Cass so nervous."
She doesn't look nervous as she cracks her neck. "Ooh..." Eugene can't really see her expression as her back is facing them.
"I guess I can't blame her. I mean, she worked so hard to get invited to this competition..."
"Invited? No, you don't need an invitation to compete. You just have to be dumb enough to do it. Like Cassandra," Eugene gestures to the woman. "Ha ha! Whoo!"
"Anyone can compete?" Rapunzel asks slowly, smiling. "We can do this together!" She kisses him on the cheek. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She takes off to eagerly join in.
"Oh, uh, hey, Blondie, if you're making a snack run, I'm all about the popcorn!"
She grins up at him, stopping to look at Harmony and Varian, who don't pay any mind to her.
"How's Old Corona? You're still working on that hot water invention?" She asks curiously.
"No!" He immediately waves it off, shaking his head. "No no, not after what happened last time. I'm actually working on a new way to plant seeds."
"Oh really? How's it working out?"
He then remembers all of the dirt patches caused by his invention and the looks the villagers gave him. "Not great..."
"And finally, the Iron Handmaiden, Cass-"
A woman interrupts his announcement, giving him a piece of paper. "Wow. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a last-minute surprise entry! Please welcome the Fearsome Follicle, the Heir with the Hair, the Maid with the Braid, Raaaapunzel!"
Rapunzel runs into the arena, to the shock of all her friends. Harmony spits out her drink. "Yay Rapunzel!" A little girl cheers for her.
She waves to the crowd before hugging Cass. "Cassandra! This is gonna be so much fun!"
"Oh Blondie, what have you done?" Eugene slowly shakes his head, while sitting next to a Viking with long blonde hair.
"Did I not bring enough of the popcorn?" He gestures to his bag of popcorn.
"That's your sister..." Varian starts off slowly, pointing at her.
"Competing in the Challenge of the Brave...with a bunch of tough competitors who will not hesitate at all!" Harmony holds her head in panic.
"Good news, Cassandra. We can compete together! Isn't that great?!" She squeals happily.
"That is...so great," Cassandra smiles widely.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the first event: The Gauntlet!" The announcer gestures to six swinging hammers. Skull Kicker takes one jump and is sent flying, his boots falling off as he screams. The two women cringe at the sound of the crash.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Cass places her hands on Rapunzel's shoulders.
"Sure do!"
"This is not good," Varian places his hands on his cheeks.
"If she could deal with getting her hair back, then this shouldn't be a challenge...right?" Harmony smiles nervously.
"Next up for the gauntlet, Cassandra!" The announcer gestures to the obstacle, Eugene nudging past the people in the crowd.
"Cuse me, coming through, emergency. Naïve princess making horrible life decision. Pardon me."
Cass walks up the steps, only to be blocked by Wreck. He bends a pipe to make it look like a 6.
"What's that supposed to be?" Cass asks in confusion.
"It's a knot, as in you're knot going to win," He laughs at his joke. She pays no mind and walks past him. "It's a thinker."
"Jerk," Harmony narrows her eyes at him.
"Cass could beat him any day," Varian waves it off.
She stands in front of the first hammer. "Whoo! Go Cass!" Rapunzel cheers her on. She ducks, rolls, and jumps on the hammers, landing safely on the other side.
"Way to go, Cassandra!" She opens an eye to see the little girl hollering.
"Yeah!" Varian pumps a fist as Harmony claps.
"Next up, Princess Rapunzel!"
Eugene comes to a stop near Harmony and Varian, covering his face. "Please don't get smashed with a hammer. Please don't get smashed with a hammer," He pleads as the teens wait, gripping their seats with anticipation. Pascal opens his mouth, having the same anxiety.
Rapunzel, with her eyes closed, dances around the hammers, safely reaching the other side.
"Whoa..." Harmony's eyes widen.
"Flynn, look!" Varian tugs his arm and he looks up, cheering.
"Oh yeah! That's my girlfriend right there! And it's Eugene!" He sees the smug looks from all four of them. "What? I wasn't worried. She's got this. Whoo!"
"Sure you weren't worried," Harmony smirks at him knowingly.
"Yay, Rapunzel! Whoo!"
Even the competitors cheer her on, causing Cass to drop her smile. Skull Kicker writes Rapunzel on his arm, smiling.
"Cassandra, did you see that?!" Rapunzel bounces down the steps. "I told you I could handle myself."
"Nice dance, Rapunzel," She scoffs, rolling her eyes.
"Uh, thanks?" The crown princess is confused by the sudden tone.
"Not sure that routine will do much good against Wreck in the Dead Man's Circle." Wreck simply walks through the obstacle, breaking hammers without even touching them. "But hey, maybe you'll get lucky again." She walks past the hammers, Rapunzel even more confused than ever.
"That wasn't luck..."
She takes her place between Cass and Razorblade McDoom. "Challengers! Prepare the next event!"
Both of them stand in determination. Cass fires bullseyes on every single target, pumping a fist. "Yes!"
Rapunzel struggles to use her bow, so she replaces it with a violin and fires. One of the targets break, and the two look up in shock at Wreck. Eugene blows the horn, causing him to be moved again. Harmony facepalms while Varian takes a bite out of his popcorn.
Skull Kicker, Cass, and Rapunzel jump over for the long jump, but Hook Foot gets his hook stuck. Wreck jumps over him, slamming onto the ground. This also frees Hook Foot.
Cass gives Rapunzel a slight glare as the crown princess is waving to the crowd. Eugene and Pascal are waving foam fingers, blowing a horn of his own. They are asked to be moved once again.
Daisy waves a Rapunzel flag with her wing, the two teens cheering their friends on from the crowds.
Wreck simply holds up a bag of rocks with no effort, Cass holding it up above her head. With a pulley, Rapunzel lifts up her heavier bag, giving her third place. The crowd starts a wave, but then have to cover their ears again as Eugene gets too excited for the fourth time.
Cass runs on a log with a short competitor in armor, Skull Kicker, and Rapunzel. The two men slip, leaving only the two friends. Cass grits her teeth until she finally falls, deeming Rapunzel the winner. She cannonballs into the water as she is now second. She laughs as she has a water fight with Skull Kicker, Cass growling a bit and sinking into the water.
"Do you even know the rules?!" Cass exclaims to the announcer out of frustration. "Aren't shoes required for the log roll? Ugh, somebody check the Rulebook of the Brave!"
The announcer snatches his scroll that she had snatched and she turns to the others. "Guys, am I the only one that has a problem with this?! The princess is making a mockery of the competition!"
"Hey, it's okay, kid," Hook Foot places a hand on her shoulder. "When you're mad, do a dance! Give that smile a se-"
"Oh, go eat a turkey leg, Hook!" She snarls and he silently leaves.
"Do you know the reason why Cass signed up?" Varian asks Harmony, as both of them can read lips.
"It might have to do with her status," She gestures to the woman. "Cass wouldn't say it out loud, though. I have a feeling that she doesn't want Rapunzel getting in her way of winning."
Cass storms up to her friend. "Okay, listen Rapunzel. This has gone far enough. Let's call it a day."
She chuckles, hand on her hip, "I will call it a day...the day I won the championship. Boom! Trash talk~"
"Let's see where you land after the Dead Man's Circle," The lady-in-waiting glares at her.
"Yeah, okay, yeah, we'll totally see where we land after the Dead Man's Circle," Rapunzel glares back before realizing that she doesn't know what that is. "And what is the Dead Man's Circle?"
"It's the final event. And believe me, your little dances won't save you this time."
The two glare in anger before storming off in different directions. "This is awkward..." Hook Foot looks away.
"Oh no," Harmony murmurs, a hand on her head. "I hope they can work things out..."
"Me too," Varian frowns a little. "So...tell me something about you."
"Hm," She hums lightly, looking at her sister with a tiny smile. "I like traveling, you know that...but the reason I come to Old Corona a lot is...because the Captain had thought he found my sister in a cottage that no one ever visits...so I guess I just...wanted to know what she might've been experiencing...I've been going for 4 years now."
"How come I didn't see you until that one day, then?" Varian raises a brow at her and she shrugs.
"Dunno. Maybe you weren't looking in the right places," She winks at him, causing him to grin.
Eugene is now outside with Pascal, sitting next to a VIP sign. And it means Very Important Pig. "I'm beginning to question their definition of VIP seating," He places the foam finger on the pig, walking up to the usher. "Hello, my good man. I'd like to forgo my VIP seat and re-enter the arena."
"Your ticket, please?" He holds out his hand.
"Seriously?" Eugene pats himself before his eyes widen. "Oh, oh oh, it's in my wallet. Which I left inside the arena."
"Well, then you have to buy another ticket."
"But because my money is also in my wallet, which is still inside the arena-"
"No money, no ticket, no entry," The man interrupts.
"Mmm...oh! My friends are inside! Varian and Brownie, they can vouch for me!" Eugene gestures to himself smugly.
"They claimed not to know you after I moved you twice from them."
"Oh!" He complains, walking away. Two kids run in front of him and he sees a stand for Wreck merchandise. He rubs his chin as he gets an idea... "Time for the final event! The Dead Man's Circle!"
Cass places her sword down in the cart of weapons. "Each warrior will battle to the finish, using the weapon of their choice!"
Rapunzel notices a frying pan attached to a horse, grabbing it. She places it in the cart.
"Get your princess wigs right here!" Eugene pulls a cart of Rapunzel and Harmony wigs. He stops right in front of Cass. "Wow, Rapunzel's really killin' it in there, huh? These things are selling like hot cakes! You know what, this one's on the house," He places a Rapunzel wig on the woman, who stays silent as she watches him leave.
Once again, Eugene has proven to her that he is of no use...
She takes it off and tosses it onto Shorty's head, who just lets it sit there. The man wheeling the weapons cart walks past her, accidentally dropping Rapunzel's frying pan right by Cass' feet.
"Hey, you dropped the-" Suddenly, she stops. She really wanted to win and gain the respect from everyone…and Rapunzel wasn't taking it seriously. Nothing else mattered than her goal.
Even if it meant risking her friendship with Rapunzel.
Cass slides the frying pan underneath the bench and leaves towards the arena.
"One golden hair wig for you," Eugene gives the last Rapunzel wig to the bee-beard competitor. He walks over to the usher to hand him his hard-earned money. "Okay, one ticket please."
The man simply moves out of the way to show the 'sold out' sign. Pascal throws away his Rapunzel merchandise in dismay.
"I got one ticket," Shorty waves around a ticket. "Anybody need a ticket?"
Eugene whips around to him, holding out the money. "I need a ticket!"
"Then let the bargaining begin."
Eugene cringes towards the chameleon, wondering if this was really the right decision…
All the remaining competitors stand in front of the circle, the weapons in the center. Harmony takes a slow bite out of her popcorn.
"Who do you think is gonna win?" She asks Varian.
"Well, given the size, weight, and durability of each contestant, I'd say…" He rubs his chin and they give each other a knowing look.
"Wreck," The two say in unison. Ruddiger suddenly appears on Varian's shoulder wearing a Harmony wig.
"Where'd he get that?" Harmony couldn't help but wonder.
"I think Flynn was selling them to get back inside," Varian shrugs a little.
"Well, he's gonna miss the Dead Man's Circle. Where everyone battles it out until one remains standing," Harmony gestures to the arena. Cass glances to Rapunzel, looking back towards the circle. Rapunzel looks at her and sags her shoulders. She didn't want them to fight...
Hook Foot moves past her and she approaches her lady-in-waiting. "Hey, uh..." She takes a deep breath, "I know today's been...weird. I just, I wanted to...you know, I guess, I just wanted to say...good luck." The crown princess gives a genuine smile.
Cass sends a brief glance in return, recoiling back when Rapunzel tries to hug her again. She sees the look on the woman's face and backs off.
"Right, right, sorry! Sorry, sorry, no hugging...gotta remember that."
She looks away guilty, remembering what she had done to her friend. "Raps, I just wan-"
"It's now time for the no-holds-barred elimination round! Remember folks, once someone steps outside the ring, they are out! The last one standing is our champion!"
The crowd claps, the same little girl cheering for both women wearing a Rapunzel wig, her mother wearing a Harmony one.
"I just wanna say-"
"Are you ready for this?" They're interrupted again, this time by Wreck. "Cause it's gonna get ugly in here..."
Cass narrows her eyes at him, clenching her fists.
"Ready...set...battle!"
Everyone runs towards the weapons, Wreck grabbing a club and immediately hitting someone out of the ring. Cass grabs a spear and clashes with Skull Kicker. Rapunzel looks around for her frying pan, but doesn't find it.
"Oh! W-Wait! Has anyone seen a frying pan?" She calls out, getting the attention of Varian and Harmony.
"Wait, wasn't she supposed to choose a weapon?" He asks, turning to the princess.
"Yeah...Rapunzel wouldn't just forget to put her frying pan as her choice..." She murmurs, glancing at Cass. She had no idea how, but she had a bad feeling that Cass was behind this. The young brunette really hoped that she was wrong, but Cass' reluctance to allow Rapunzel to compete does raise a few suspicions.
Wreck leaps towards Rapunzel. Harmony gasps, covering her mouth. The crown princess ducks out of the way.
Cass gets knocked onto the sand, but isn't out of the ring yet. "Ha ha!" Skull Kicker laughs at her, "Looks like I got the drop on you."
He's suddenly pushed by Wreck and hits the wall, deeming him out of the competition. The large man turns his attention back to Rapunzel, who grips her hair and runs forward.
Cass disarms a competitor and throws him out of the ring. Three competitors jump on Wreck, but he knocks them away. "Is that all you got!" All three of them land outside the circle. "You fools take on Wreck!"
Cass clears her throat and he turns to her. Growling, he grips his club as they circle each other. The crowd gasps in anticipation as they're about to strike each other...
When they see Rapunzel twirling around. She does a split kick, causing two competitors to bump into each other.
"Wow! What a poetic move by Rapunzel!"
"Yeah! That's my sis!" Harmony pumps a fist, Varian clapping near her. She waves to the crowd as they chant her name. Cass looks up slowly, hearing the name over and over again. She grits her teeth in jealousy.
"That chirpy little hairball is mine!" Wreck declares, clenching his fists.
"Not if I get to her first," Cass fires three arrows, getting Wreck's shirt stuck into the pole. "Hey Wreck, stick around."
An arrow is fired near Rapunzel, who looks up in confusion to see Cass aiming another one right towards her. "Well, that was close."
"Well...looks like it's just you and me..." Cass runs up towards her and jumps into the air. Rapunzel ducks out of the way as Cass slams down her stick.
"That all you got?" Rapunzel smirks as she spins around a weapon of her own. Cass swings at her, but she backflips, landing safely. She spins her staff and tries to knock Cass off her feet, but she attacks back vigorously. "Cass. What's gotten into you?"
Wreck suddenly breaks free from the arrows.
"Oh no," Harmony murmurs as the two teens see it.
"Guys, look out!" Varian shouts, but Cass is too focused on trying to beat Rapunzel.
"Hey!" She shouts as her friend aims for her head. Cass kicks her so hard that she almost slides out of the ring. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Wait, stop! We're supposed to be friends..."
"A friend wouldn't be so oblivious, Rapunzel," Cass starts off, "You have no idea what this contest means to me! I mean, you're a princess, you've got nothing to prove. To you, this was just a fun way to blow off a Saturday, but to me...it was a chance to show everyone that I am more than just the princess' lady-in-waiting. And just when I thought I might get even the slightest bit of respect...never mind." She squeezes her eyes shut.
Wreck hides behind the pole, grinning. Harmony slowly blinks, standing up. Varian looks up at her, wondering what she was gonna do.
"Cass!"
She looks around in the crowd until she sees Harmony. The girl digs into her pocket, holding up a banner with Cass' name on it. The woman blinks in shock. She...didn't even see that she had one of those...
"Respect? Cassandra, my sister and I respect you more than you can possibly imagine. I mean, we-we look up to you."
She opens her mouth in shock. "Why do you think I wanted to enter this thing in the first place? You are my friend, and...as your friend, I should've realized how important this was to you...I'm so...so sorry..." Rapunzel officially drops her weapon.
"...Cassandra, Rapunzel," Harmony starts cheering, gesturing for the crowd to do the same.
"Cassandra, Rapunzel. Cassandra, Rapunzel! Cassandra, Rapunzel!"
The two glance around at the audience, smiling. Suddenly, a growl is heard and they look to see Wreck charging towards them. He raises his club above Rapunzel.
"Look out!" Cass pushes her out of the way. The man snarls at her and she slides underneath him, jumping into the air and kicking him in the head. She then sweeps her leg and manages to throw him over her, and he lands outside the ring and into the seats.
The two teens slowly open their mouths in shock. A butterfly lands on him and he falls down. "Hey Wreck! Looks like I'm not 'knot' going to win," She chuckles a little at the pun. "It's a thinker."
The crowd cheers and she smiles...until another bell is heard. Rapunzel looks towards her left foot...which stepped outside the circle. Everyone gasps and she frowns, walking up towards her friend. Then she grabs Rapunzel's arm and holds it up into the air, gesturing to her with a tiny smile. Rapunzel smiles back as the crowd applauds her.
"Congratulations."
"I didn't mean for this to happen, Cass," Rapunzel rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "I just thought it would be fun to compete..."
Cass sighs lightly. "Doesn't matter."
"I should've realized how important this all was to you..." She's given the trophy. "I don't think I'm the one who deserves this," Then she hands the trophy to Cass, the competitors grinning at her. Skull Kicker writes Cassandra on his left arm, flexing his muscles.
"Yay Cassandra! Woo hoo!" The little girl cheers. Hook Foot places her on his shoulders, walking away, but she jumps off him to hold out her arms to Rapunzel.
"What, no hug?"
Rapunzel gladly gives her one, and the two walk away together.
Eugene gives Shorty the money, who holds up the ticket. "How do you sleep at night, Shorty? Challenge of the Brave, here I come!"
He runs towards the arena...but everything is already starting to be cleaned up, the bleachers empty.
"Everyone left, Eugene," Harmony walks up to him, followed by Varian. "The Challenge of the Brave ended hours ago. I'm surprised it took you that long to figure it out."
"Shorty, I want my money back!" Eugene shouts at the top of his lungs.
"...Well, while he's doing that, I think it's time for you to go home," Harmony smiles wistfully. She knew that she really didn't want him to leave...
"Um...we could stop by Monty's and get some candy, I-if you want to," He rubs the back of his neck.
"That sounds great," She grins and they walk off together, chatting along the way and learning more about each other.