The sequel to this book will be out soon. I really hope you all enjoyed this story.
"I'm sorry."
Those were the last words Eugene had said to them. A noise comes from inside the castle. The familiar swish! of the sword of black rock, and it is slicing through chains, the same chains that are pulling the door open. With the chains broken, the door slams shut before they can enter the castle. Varian begins to shake with frustration and anger, as Rapunzel bangs on the door shouting Eugene's name.
They were stunned by what just happened; Eugene helped Edmund keep Rapunzel out of the castle. Varian was fuming angrily; he shouted in rage and punched the side of the wall. He panted heavily; after everything he had done to forgive Eugene, he pulled a stunt like this. Willow went over to Varian and held his injured hand. "Varian, are you ok?" Willow asked, timidly.
Varian started to calm down a bit, "I… I… I just can't believe him."
Eda came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok kid. We'll find Hunter. And I'm gonna make that pampered ex-con regret crossing the Owl Lady!"
Lilith had to hold Eda back from going Harpy Eda on the door. "I can't believe this," Rapunzel whispers, still in shock.
"Princess, listen to me," Lance says. "I've known Eugene my entire life, and he has never, and I mean never, loved anyone as much as he loves you."
"Yeah Raps," Cassandra adds. "Whatever he thinks he's doing, he must be doing it for you."
Pascal squeaks in agreement as Rapunzel gazes down at the ground sadly.
"You guys are probably right," Rapunzel says. "But... I need to hear it from him."
"We have to hurry," Adira tells them. "The King has my Shadow Blade, which has the power to cut these rocks. I know exactly what he's going to do with it. Destroy the Moonstone."
Rapunzel looked over at Pascal and told him to find a way inside the castle, get to Eugene, and not let him near the stone. Varian, Luz, Lilith, Willow, Eda, Gus, and Amity offered to go with Pascal to find another way inside. Rapunzel was about to ask how they would get in but Eda had stated that she had broken into places before so a castle was easy. As the group of witches left with Varian and Pascal; Rapunzel prayed that they would be ok.
Eugene was Inside the castle with Edmund, feeling guilty about keeping Rapunzel and the others away from the Moonstone. Edmund had tied Hunter to one of the chairs in the dining room to prevent him from stopping him and Eugene from blocking the others. Flapjack shifted out of his staff form and started pecking at the ropes. But Edmund came back and cut the ropes off Hunter. "It's done," Edmund stated.
Hunter looked at Eugene who was still ridden with guilt. "You are really something Eugene." Hunter spat.
Edmund had Eugene, Hunter, and Flapjack follow him through the castle. A sudden rumble came from outside and shook the castle. Hunter and Eugene knew what was causing the quakes: Rapunzel and the black rocks. "If I know Rapunzel, she's gonna find a way in here," Eugene stated.
"Then we must get to the Moonstone first!" Edmund stated.
Hunter watched Edmund and Eugene walk away into another room. Once he was sure they weren't looking; he took off with Flapjack to search for another way inside the castle. The castle walls and ceiling were crumbling all around. Hunter looked around for any weak spots for the others to sneak in through. Luck was on his side; the black rocks made a hole in the roof of the tower Hunter was in. "That's convenient," Hunter commented.
Flapjack flew out of the hole to find the others; thankfully, he saw Eda and her group on the back of their own Palisman. Luz saw Flapjack outside the tower. "Guys, look!" Luz shouted.
Varian made sure everyone had an invisibility glyph in hand, and then, one by one, they held their breath and followed Flapjack inside. The second Varian saw Hunter, alive and well, he made himself visible and tackled Hunter into a hug. "I thought I lost you," Varian tearfully said.
"It'll take more than a man wearing a bear skin to take me out," Hunter confirmed.
Varian handed Hunter an invisibility glyph and they turned invisible. The group wandered through the castle, they came across a grand hall with a circle of towering, intimidating statues. Varian figured that these must be the former rulers of the Dark Kingdom, but he got a creepy feeling from them that he didn't enjoy at all. He tries to hurry past them to catch up with the others. But they all stop when they see an even stranger sight, a pile of old Flynn Rider Wanted posters. They all became visible once they made sure no one was around. "Wow! And I thought I had many wanted posters." Eda muttered.
Gus picked one up and examined it; he chuckled at the sight of Eugene's horrible long nose. "Man, Corona wants have really hated this guy to mess up his nose." Gus chuckled.
"Come on Gus. It's not that funny." Willow stated.
Eda picked up another wanted poster; this time, she had one from when Eugene was a teenager with a lot of acne. Eda snorted with laughter, "Oh it is. I'm keeping this one." Eda said, tucking it away in her hair.
"For blackmail?" Luz asked.
"A little. But I'm keeping this one to frame next to mine." Eda explained.
They all suddenly heard a door open nearby; they all quickly ducked behind the statues. To their surprise, Eugene enters the room. Varian glares at him as he notices the distraught expression on his face. Eugene ambles over to the pile of posters, but before he can reach for one, Varian jumps out of hiding and confronts Eugene. "Gah!" Eugene exclaims, springing back in shock. "Varian! What are you doing here?!"
"Funny, we were gonna ask you the same thing," Amity stated as she came out of hiding.
Gus, Willow, Luz, Eda, Lilith, and Hunter came out of hiding as well. Even Pascal had turned red with rage. Eugene sighs despondently. "Okay, yes... I get that you're mad at me. But I didn't have a choice."
"Didn't have a choice?!" Varian shouts angrily. "What are you talking about?!"
"Look, this is gonna sound crazy, but... this place is where I come from."
Lilith raises an eyebrow. "You're right, that does sound crazy."
"Just bear with me," Eugene says. "Not only was I born here in the Dark Kingdom, but also... King Edmund is my father."
Varian's eyes widen slightly in shock, but his resentment still flares into sarcasm. "Well congratulations, Prince Eugene. Shall I bow to your royal regime of backstabbing?"
"Listen guys, I know we brought Rapunzel here to grab the stone, but everything... everything is different now."
"So you found your father, whoop-de-do!" Eda shouts. "How does that change anything?!"
"It just does!" Eugene shouts back.
"Really?! Because Rapunzel felt betrayed when you and your 'father' stopped her from coming in." Amity argued.
"You don't understand," Eugene stated, looking down at the posters. "When I was younger, I thought of myself as an outcast. I was a rogue, a thief, a joker... I thought I was alone in the world and that no one could love me. But, I found out I was wrong. I met Rapunzel, someone I could share my dream with. I felt so lucky, and I thought I knew what my purpose was. But again, I was wrong…"
Hunter grabbed him by the shoulders which made him stop talking. "Snap out of it, Eugene! I get that you're having an identity crisis, but I still don't see how this changes Rapunzel's destiny!"
"The last time someone tried to destroy the Moon Stone, I lost my mother," Eugene tells him. "I mean, what if we lost Rapunzel?"
Eda and Lilith looked at each other. They both understood Eugene and his fear of losing the woman he loved. Lilith told Eugene that she had cursed Eda with the Owl Beast for years. Her relationship with Eda was strained; the curse drained her magic and with every passing day, Eda was losing control. Eda even added that she had accidentally injured her father when she was the Owl Beast. She hadn't spoken to him in years until he visited her. So both Clawthorn sisters understood what was going on in Eugene's head.
Even Luz, Amity, and Hunter understood Eugene's fear but that still was no excuse for what he did. Before he could protest, Varian reaches into Eugene's bag and pulls out Vigor's fortune. He shoves it into Eugene's hands, who stares at it for a moment. "It's... It's me." The reality hits him like a ton of bricks. "I'm the one who turned against Rapunzel."
"Duh!" Varian says. His face finally softens as he adds, "Y-You broke her heart, Eugene. You have no idea how upset she is..."
Eugene winces at Varian's words. "I should've known better." He gazes at the fortune sadly, but then a look of determination crosses his face. He tears the paper to pieces as he smiles at the witches. "Alright guys, let's go find Rapunzel."
"That's the spirit!" Luz shouted.
Varian returns his smile. "That's the Eugene I know!" The two of them high-five, and then take off through the castle together. "She and the others are finding a way in through the back as we speak."
As he says this, the entire palace quakes violently. "What is that?!" Eugene shouts.
"It's the Moon Stone," Varian explains. "It's been reacting to Rapunzel's close proximity."
As they continue through the castle, they hear a commotion coming from the exact room they vacated. They rush back, and gasp at the scene before them; Rapunzel and the others have made it inside, but King Edmund has intercepted them and is keeping them from getting to the Moon Stone. Cassandra, Lance, and Adira are all knocked out on the floor. Rapunzel's hair is glowing and is pointing in the direction of the chamber that holds the opal.
"The Moon Stone knows I'm close," Rapunzel tells Edmund. "I have to go." She attempts to stride past him, but he stands in her way.
"No!" Edmund shouts at her. "No one may enter that room."
"I'm going in," Rapunzel says determinedly. "And you don't want to get in my way!"
Edmund leans in close to her menacingly. "You're not getting past me."
Eda growled then she went into Harpy Eda mode and tackled Edmund to the ground. "Think again!"
Rapunzel was happy to see Eda and the others, but she was more happy to see Eugene. "Rapunzel, I am so sorry!" Eugene says genuinely, as Varian instinctively rushes to the unconscious Cassandra's side to check on her. "I just thought—"
"There's no time for that," Rapunzel interrupts, stroking Eugene's cheek lovingly. "We have to get to that stone! This place is coming down around us!"
"But the Moon Stone must be destroyed, son!" Edmund shouts.
Rapunzel's face lights up as she looks to Eugene for confirmation. "Son?"
"Son?" Cassandra repeats in shock as Varian helps her up.
"You finally got adopted!" Lance adds.
"Look, I'll fill you all in later," Eugene says. "Thumbnail: I'm a prince... probably."
Varian's hair stripe started glowing again; the moonstone responded with the black rocks pointing Varian to the chamber where the moonstone was. Varian darted for the door and reached out to open it. But before he could enter, the castle rumbles again and a strange, eerie glow emanates from the chamber. Varian shivers as a sinister chill permeates the air. As he glances around, he sees that the others have noticed it too.
"What's going on?" Lance asks fearfully, as the statues of the past rulers begin to quake.
"It can't be..." Edmund says.
"What is it?" Rapunzel asked.
"Do we really want to know?!" Gus shouted.
"For centuries, my ancestors have sworn to protect this threshold," Edmund explains. "And now, their spirits have arisen to uphold that oath!"
Varian doesn't believe a word Edmund says at first, but then the eyes of the statues glow... and from each of them emerge ghosts of Edmund's ancestors, all equipped with illuminated weapons! "Not necessarily how I imagined meeting your family," Rapunzel remarks to Eugene as the ghosts encircle them.
"Ten on the doom scale! Ten on the doom scale!" Varian panics, as they all scatter around the room to escape the ghosts.
As the ghosts of the Dark Kingdom rulers past attack the gang, the group does their best to dodge and avoid them. One of the ghosts swoops down and lifts up Lance, carrying him off as he screams. But Pascal leaps onto the ghost, who catches him in its glowing hand. The chameleon flits his tongue into the ghost's eye, who drops Lance and Pascal.
"Adira! Catch me!" Lance cries out.
Adira ended up catching Pascal while Willow used her vines to create a soft place for Lance to land on. "So, you have a dad?" Rapunzel says to Eugene as the spirits continue to glide around them.
"Yeah, turns out you weren't the only one who had a destiny waiting here," Eugene replies, as a couple of ghosts appear behind them.
"Is now really the time for this conversation?!" Luz shouts, pointing to the ghosts approaching them.
Rapunzel and Eugene smirk at each other, and work together to kick through the ghosts. But when the ghosts are defeated, they only reappear out of their statues.
Still attempting to keep anyone from entering the Moon Stone Chamber, Edmund fights one-on-one with Adira. He shoves her out of the way, and darts after Rapunzel who is headed towards the door. But before he can intercept her, Eugene rushes at him and knocks him down.
"No!" Edmund shouts. "She mustn't be let in!"
"Listen, Your Majesty —Father— I-I don't know what to call you, but you have to stop these spirits!" Eugene says.
"Even if I could, she must never enter that room!" Edmund says again. He takes hold of Eugene and flings him to the ground.
Eda was in her Harpy mode dealing with the biggest ghost here. Hunter and Varian tag teamed up; Flyer Derby style. Lilith mostly stayed out of the way; Gus used his illusions to confuse the ghosts as Willow used her vines. Amity and Luz tag teamed with glyphs of ice and fire, stopping the ghosts. But the ghosts kept coming back from the statues. Nearby, one of the ghosts is chasing after Pascal with a large, glowing axe. Adira races toward the chameleon and scoops him up protectively.
But just before the ghost can slice her with its axe Lance shoves her out of the way. "Are you okay?" He asks her, genuine concern was evident in his expression and tone.
"I had it under control!" Adira shouts. She turns away from him, but her face softens as she sighs. "Lance... Thank you." She actually gives him a caring smile, a soft blush on her cheeks.
But before Lance can respond, the ghost appears behind them again and chases after them.
After repeatedly defeating the ghosts only for them to reappear, Varian becomes exasperated with the whole situation. "Guys, it's no use! They just keep coming back!"
"Then we got here just in time!" They hear King announce.
Everyone turns to see him and Shorty enter through the double doors, riding atop Maximus. Max rears up and whinnies, as Ruddiger scurries in behind them. Ignoring the new additions, Edmund seizes Eugene and holds him up against a black rock. "You know, maybe you're right," Eugene says to him. "Maybe me coming back here is fulfilling my destiny. But what if my destiny is not to join you in this place, but rather it is to rescue you from it!" Edmund's grip begins to relax as he listens to his son. "You don't have to fight anymore. She has come to put an end to all of this. Trust me."
"How?" Edmund asks. "How can you be sure?"
"You said you can tell a lot by looking into somebody's eyes, right?" Eugene says, obviously referring to a previous conversation he and his father had. "Well, look into mine. Because I have faith in Rapunzel."
Finally, Edmund releases Eugene, who immediately rushes to Rapunzel's side. But despite all of their combined fighting tactics, the ghosts had the upper hand. Cass, Adira, and Lance were down for the count. Rapunzel, who was lying on the ground with Eugene and Maximus in a wearied heap. The only ones left standing were Luz, Varian, Hunter, Gus, Lilith, Eda, Willow, and King. Lilith managed to succeeds in procuring the axe weapon from one of the ghosts. She slices through the ghost with the axe, and it dematerializes.
"Varian, don't give up..." Rapunzel tells him, her voice almost a whisper.
Varian looked around for anything to help him and his friends with the ghosts but he couldn't see a way to stop them. Willow suddenly saw Adira's Shadow Blade near the statue of the Dark Queen then she got an idea. She got onto her palismen then used her Flyer Derby skills to dodge the ghost, grabbed the Shadow Blade, and sliced through the nearest statue. As she does this, the ghost that matched the statue screeches and disappears. Only this time, it does not return.
"Now we're talking!" Luz shouted.
"Let's finish this! Boiling Isles style!" Gus announced with flair.
"Eda, King, Lilith, defend Rapunzel and the others. Luz, Amity, cover for us. Varian, Hunter, Gus, all out blitz!" Willow instructed.
The Clawthorne Sisters used their Grugby skills to defend against the ghosts while King used his sonic powers. Like on the Flyer Derby field, Willow passed the Shadow Blade to Gus the Speed Demon. Gus grabbed the blade and dodged the ghosts with ease. He destroyed the next statue and the second ghost disappeared. With horror and rage, the spirits realize what the gang is doing. They begin to swarm around Gus, who pitches the Shadow Blade to Amity. Amity caught it and then used it on the third statue, destroying it and another ghost. Luz took the blade but she was cornered by the fourth ghost. "Hunter heads up!" Luz shouted, throwing the blade.
Hunter used Flapjack's teleportation powers to quickly grab the blade in midair. He zoomed across the room and then sliced the fourth statue into pieces. "All yours Varian!" Hunter shouted.
But before Varian could grab the sword, a ghost attacks him and pins him to the ground. It was just about to strike him with its weapon when it suddenly evaporated with a puff of smoke. Confused, Varian glances back at its statue, the last one, and sees that Edmund has the Shadow Blade, and has sliced the statue's head off. The head crashes into the incomplete statue of Edmund, and it topples over on its side in front of the Moon Stone Chamber door.
"Our family is just awful," Edmund remarks, as everyone heaves a collective sigh of relief.
Rapunzel, Lance, Eugene, Adira, and Cass were speechless by the witches' teamwork. "That was incredible!" Rapunzel exclaimed.
"How did you…? What was that?" Eugene asked.
"Just a little sporting action Lily and I call Grugby. We used to be on the same team back at Hexside." Eda stated.
"And we learned our skills from Flyer Derby. Me, Hunter, Varian, and Gus are on a team together, The Emerald Entrails!" Willow explained.
Rapunzel, Eugene, Cassandra, Hunter, and Varian stand back and watch as Lance, Maximus, Edmund, Eda, and Adira work together to lift the statue just enough to go underneath it. "It's all up to you now," Edmund says to Rapunzel.
"No," the princess says with a smile. "It's up to us."
Her gaze falls upon Eugene, Cass, Hunter, and Varian, who all return her smile. The five of them duck under the statue, and head into the Moon Stone Chamber as the others set the statue back down. With the door shut behind them, the five friends take in their surroundings: The huge, round chamber is completely lined with black rocks. The ceiling towers high above them, and there is a pit below them with no end in view. "We made it, guys," Rapunzel says in awe, as they all spot it at the same time, the Moon Stone.
It was across the pit, shining within its own encasing. The power it possesses is unmistakable, for they all can sense it surrounding them. Rapunzel's hair begins to glow again. It stands straight up above her head, rubbing against the black rocks. Every rock in the room illuminates bright blue, and they point directly at the Moon Stone. Varian's hair stripe also glowed as well. Suddenly, the black rocks seem to almost combine all together; their illumination stops and the room is entirely dark, except for the magical gleam of the opal, Varian's hair stripe, and Rapunzel's hair.
As Rapunzel steps forward, she sees that the bridge between them and the Moon Stone is broken. But this doesn't deter her. She steps forward with faith into the open air of the pit, but instead of falling a path of glowing rocks begins to form underneath her. With each step she takes, the path only grows. The five of them stop just beyond the Moon Stone. They gaze upon it, and Rapunzel turns to look at her friends excitedly. She sees Cassandra standing back and approaches her.
"Look, I know these last few months haven't been easy for us," Rapunzel says, taking Cassandra's hands in hers. "I wanna thank you for everything." She gives Cassandra a tight embrace.
Rapunzel then looked at the Moonstone and then backed at Varian. She knew that this was the right decision. She took Varian's hand and gestured for him to go to the Moonstone. "Me?" Varian asked, "Why?"
Rapunzel gave him a warm smile, "This is your destiny. Go for it."
Varian started walking towards the Moonstone but he stopped next to Hunter. Hunter took Varian's hand in one of his and then placed his hand on Varian's face. "You changed my life, Varian. I'm grateful for it. My Alchemist." Hunter whispered, lovingly.
Varian and Hunter shared a kiss together, "I love you, my Golden Guard." Varian whispered back. Then, taking in a shaky breath, he steps closer to the Moon Stone. As Varian draws nearer, it senses his presence and rises from its casing, shimmering brighter than ever.
Varian finally begins to reach for the Moon Stone; Varian holds his breath nervously. Before Varian could grab the opal, Cassandra rushes up behind him and takes hold of it instead. "Cass! What are you doing?!" Varian shouted.
"I'm fulfilling my destiny!" Cassandra shouts, struggling to contain the power of the Moon Stone in her hand.
But the Moon Stone's power explodes from the opal. The blast knocks the four of them back, and all eyes are on Cassandra as she holds it above her head, power flashing and a blinding light emanating from the stone. She screams out in agony and fear as she pushes the opal to her chest, and black rocks start to jut out all around. She rises from the ground, as an armor of black rocks takes form around her body. Everyone is so in shock, that they are completely speechless.
But Cassandra breaks the silence... by laughing. "I tried to warn you, Rapunzel," Cassandra says, stepping forward menacingly. More black rocks appear where she steps, and her hair has completely turned blue. Even her eyes have transformed into a bright blue that matches the Moon Stone, which is now embedded in her armor. "You have to be careful who you trust."