The journey to find the Moonstone had been a long and bumpy road. Rapunzel and her friends set out on the journey. They had made new friends, traveled to new lands, reunited with old friends, secrets revealed and so much more. But while Rapunzel had been traveling, the young alchemist Varian had escaped from the prison.
"A spy! Hooty, hoot, hoot!" The carving said happily before forcefully dragging Varian inside.
He stumbled a bit forward then he heard someone coming, a woman with long gray hair, one yellow eye, one gray eye, and wearing a red dress. "Hooty what did I say about trapping random people? You alright kid?" The woman asked.
The woman helped him up and introduced herself as Eda, The Owl Lady. Then a familiar girl walked in with another woman with dark hair and mismatched eyes like Eda's. Varian recognized the girl from that castle and the girl recognized Varian from the portal door earlier. "My Name is Luz, nice to meet you!" Luz said, holding out her arm.
"Uh... My name is Varian. Nice to meet you too." Varian shook her hand.
"Light in the darkness, glittering brig of ice, the mightiest trees in the forest! You can make all these and more with glyph magic! Welcome to day three of Luz's Magic Boot Camp." Luz shouts with pride as King is startled by the fire and runs away screaming.
Since Lilith and Eda lost their magic; Luz has been giving them and Varian lessons on glyphs. They had already covered all the glyphs Luz had found since she didn't know where to find more. Eda also got Varian enrolled at Hexside so he can learn more about the Boiling Isles.
She did ask Varian about what he had said about being afraid to get backstabbed by someone again. So, he told them his story, the black rocks, his father, everything. All of them felt sorry for Varian and what he had gone through.
Luz pulled Varian into a tight hug. "Um, what's this for?" he asked.
"Just felt like you could use a hug. And once we find a way back to the Human Realm, the first thing we're gonna do is free your dad." Luz stated.
"What? But I tried everything."
"Maybe not everything. We'll figure this out together. After all, us weirdos stick together."
Gus gestured to Varian to go next. He was nervous but he kneeled and stated his wish, his wish was to become a great alchemist just like Demanitus and to make his father proud. The Bat Queen thought his wish was perfect for Sapphire, a blue bird that became his palismen.
Varian searched the Golden Guard's pocket for anything useful. He didn't find anything, but he did find a piece of paper that had the same markings as the scroll piece he found in his father's things.
He told Sapphire to wake up the guard so he could get answers. Sapphire flew close to the guard's face and then pulled on the hair cowlick which woke up the guard. The guard struggled to get free from the vines until he stared right at Varian with his magenta eyes. Varian got lost in those eyes until he snapped out of it and pointed the Golden Guard's staff at the guard. "Listen, you are a bad person and I do not like you. But Kikimora is trying to have you killed and I need you to help me." Varian stated.
"And why should I help you?" The Golden Guard snipped.
"Unless you want to be food for that creature, you don't have a choice. I'm prepared to offer you a deal. You will join me, free the Palismen and Luz from Kikimora, and you'll let us go. Then, and only then, will I return your staff to you. That is my deal." Varian explained.
"You don't have to do this. You don't have to hand all these innocent little guys to Belos. I know what he does with them. I thought you were a good guy, not just the Golden Guard." Varian said in defeat.
The Golden Guard looked into Varian's eyes, and a ping of guilt washed over him. He took off his mask, "My name is Hunter." he spoke.
Without warning, something fired a blast of magic at Hunter giving him a small cut on his forehead. They all saw Kikimora who was trying to fight off the effects of the mist attacking. Her vision was blurry so she couldn't see who was there. Hunter sprang into action defending both Varian and Luz. He managed to snag Kikimora's whistle off her neck and tossed it to Varian. Hunter told them to go while he dealt with Kikimora. They got away with the creature with the palismen nest.
Without warning, Hunter hugged Varian and told him that he was an amazing and talented human. Varian's face turned bright red then Hunter pulled away with the tips of his ears turning red. Varian handed the vial to Hunter telling him that he needed it more. That was when someone fired a fire blast at them, thankfully Hunter had Flapjack and used him to teleport him and Varian out of the way. They looked up and saw Kikimora looking at them with murder in her eyes. She charged straight at them, but Hunter fired some magic at the wall which made it bounce right at Kikimora.
But she got back up; when she saw Flapjack in Hunter's hand, she smiled wickedly. "So, the Golden Guard was hiding a palismen. I wonder what will happen when Emperor Belos learns of your treason," she spoke.
Hunter gasped and looked worried; he didn't want his uncle to suffer more. Varian looked at Kikimora with rage in his eyes. His hair stripe began to glow again as he gripped Sapphire tight. He then created a large circle with his staff, and it suddenly sent a blast of moonlight right at Kikimora. It sent her flying right into a wall, hard. Hunter stood there speechless; he had never seen a human with powerful magic before. Varian's hair stripe stopped glowing then he snapped out of his rage.
Hunter noticed the portal key around her neck. "Actually, you already have some. The key has blood in it." Hunter explained.
He opened the journal and started flipping through the pages finding different alchemy solutions and even some sketches of machines. He looked at the writing closer and saw the name Demanitus on one of the pages. "This is... This is Lord Demanitus's lost journal! He wrote some of his greatest inventions in here and look at this! There are even some potion recipes in here! He must have been on the Boiling Isle just like that Philip guy!' Varian ranted.
Varian blushed so hard feeling embarrassed, but Hunter just sat down beside him. "What else did this Demanitus guy do?" Hunter asked.
Varian and Hunter spent over two hours talking and looking through the journal. Sometimes Hunter's hand would brush up against Varian's without him knowing and that made the two blush. Luz peaked in to find the boys curled up together and it made her go all fangirl. Hunter looked at the time and that was when he realized he should have been back at the castle by now. He told Varian that he had to go but he would try to see Varian again. Without warning, Hunter gave Varian a peck on the cheek.
Varian's face turned bright red and so did Hunter. "Well, I gotta go. Farewell forever. Bye!" Hunter said then quickly ran out, "Why did I do that?"
Varian walked through the portal and found himself in the same place as Luz had before. He remembered Luz had just spoken her mom's name and she became a reflection to see her.
Varian could hear everything Eugene was saying, they were on a prison barge and there was a mutiny with every bad guy that he and Rapunzel had put away. Max pulled out a sword from the barrel telling Eugene that they should fight. Eugene tried to say something, but he saw Varian's reflection in the sword, and he almost let out a scream. "Please don't freak out!" Varian quickly spoke.
Eugene stifled the scream then he snatched the sword from Max. "Hair Stripe? How is this possible? I thought you were back in Corona. Am I going crazy?" he questioned.
"Eugene, you're not crazy. Listen, I left Corona. And what I'm about to tell you might seem unbelievable but please, I need you to trust me." Varian begged.
"Varian, listen. While all of us were out on the road, we left you alone. I know what you did was wrong but it's not all your fault. Look, either me or Rapunzel should have checked up on you after the storm, but we didn't. It's our fault too. I already forgive you and I also owe you an apology." Eugene said, sincerely, "And just so you know, the king is definitely gonna get an earful from me! Unless your Owl Lady friend beats me to it."
"Varian, I know you and I have a history. But Eugene is right. We should have helped you instead of just sending you away. I'm trying really hard not to cry but I'm so worried about you." Rapunzel broke down.
"I'll be ok, Rapunzel. I have some friends here who are helping me. I'll keep working on the portal door and I'll get home soon. I also found another scroll piece here." Varian explained.
Varian felt the rope tugging at him, he was being pulled back by the others. He tried to pull against the rope, but he was still being pulled back. Eugene and Rapunzel looked so worried about Varian, but he told them that he'd be ok.
Varian, Luz, and Lilith dove into the time pool that led to the Deadwardian Era. Lilith stole a hat and scarf from the woman's basket to hide her hair while Luz took a helmet from a skeleton knight to hide her ears. Varian put his goggles over his face then he pulled up his hoodie from his cloak to cover his ears.
Lilith told them this era was called the Savage Ages which was before Belos came into power and banished wild magic so these witches could be dangerous. But they were anything but dangerous, everyone in Bonesborough was using multiple magic to help each other or enjoying themselves. "This doesn't look dangerous. This looks awesome. Why did Belos want to banish wild magic in the first place?" Luz asked Lilith.
"Well, the Titan supposedly doesn't like it," Lilith answered.
Seconds before they could burn the journal someone tackled the demon to the ground and then snatched the journal from them. The other demon charged at the man but he moved out of the way causing the demon to crash into the other demon. Both of them ran away in embarrassment but gave the men death glares. The stranger helped the injured man up from the ground and then handed them the journal.
"Thank you. I don't think I've met a witch who was willing to help a human like me. I'm Philip Wittebane." The man spoke.
Luz and Varian gasped, they had found Philip which meant that the guy who had saved him was Lord Demanitus. The three of them walked out of hiding and Luz tried to talk to Philip but he snapped at her thinking that Luz was going to make fun of him. Demanitus told Philip to at least hear them out. Philip reluctantly agreed to listen; Luz explained that she and Varian knew what it was like to be far away from home and that maybe they could help each other out. Philip accepted their help, and even Demanitus joined them in finding the Collector.
Demanitus and Philip rushed inside with Varian and Luz only to find a dark creature holding Lilith hostage. The creature looked at Demanitus with a wicked grin. "So, the deceiver came to this realm? Must be my lucky day." the creature spoke in a sinister tone.
Demanitus's face turned pale white; he knew who that monster was. "You know this beast?" Philip asked.
But before Demanitus could say a word, Luz fired a fire glyph at the monster which made it drop Lilith. Lilith and Luz ran for cover as the creature tried to attack them. Demanitus pulled Varian out of the creature's blind rage before he got hurt. The creature pulled something out of the ground, a circular object with a crescent moon symbol. "There you are." the creature hissed.
Philip gasped "That's The Collector! That creature cannot have them!" he shouted.
Varian's powers started coming again but this time, he summoned a black rock that hit the creature straight at the face.
Philip used his glyph to teleport them out of the head and back out into the forest. "Ok. I think we lost the monster. Whatever that monster was." Luz said.
"That was no monster. But an old enemy of mine. I thought I had gotten rid of them but seeing them here. I fear they might try to take over this realm. I never meant to cause you and your aunt harm Luzura." Demanitus apologized.
Philip looked a little confused, he still thought Demanitus was a witch. Demanitus told Philip that he was from Ancient Corona, or the human realm and he had no idea how he had gotten to the Boiling Isles in the first place. Philip asked him if he would want to tag along with him on his quest, not just for the company but so they could work together to get back home. Luz wanted to ask Philip about how The Collector was going to help him build a portal to the Human Realm. But Demanitus told him that if his old enemy wanted the Collector then it might be best if they kept the Collector hidden from people who would abuse their power.
"It is true that Alador and I were a couple back in school. But his parents didn't approve of our relationship. So, we faked breaking up to get Alador's parents off our backs and we continued to date in secret. Alador told me that his parents had arranged for him to marry Odalia, but he didn't want to marry her. So, I asked Alador to marry me." Darius explained.
"But I don't get it. Why would my grandparents disapprove of you being with my dad?" Amity asked.
"You know the Blights care about their social status. And I wasn't from a rich family so according to them, being with anyone below their standards is a crime." Darius answered.
Alador stared at Darius then he marched over towards him. "Did you put my daughter up to this?!" he shouted.
"Hello to you too, Alador. And no, I didn't. She was actually doing great in the Brawl and would have won if you hadn't interfered. From what I understand, you forced her to go to the coven tryouts when she didn't even want to." Darius calmly spoke.
Alador's face turned red from anger. "Don't you start with me! I know what's best for my daughter! And maybe we can get her signed up for the tryouts next year."
Amity tried to speak to her father, but he just pushed her aside and told her to round up Emira and Edric. "You are not the man I fell in love with. Odalia has changed you. You were never this heartless, then again you did leave me for her after our child, Amity was born." Darius stated.
Back at the Owl House, the scouts that Belos ordered had rounded up Eda, Luz, King, Varian, and Ruddiger. They dragged Varian and his friends towards the castle, but they kept Eda, Luz, King, and Varian in the wagon while they cuffed Varian and took him to the throne room.
The scouts forced Varian to his knees in front of Belos as he sat on his throne with a large thumping heart echoing behind Belos. Varian shouted at Belos to release him and his friends, but Belos just scoffed at him. "You may run the Isle, but there are some of us who cannot be bullied. Even some witches." Varian confidently spoke.
"You mean like that Golden Guard? Such a bright and talented boy." Belos said with no remorse.
"I'll tell him you said so," Varian stated.
"Oh, no need. He can hear for himself. Can't you, child?" Belos claimed.
Then out of the shadows, Hunter walked out in his Golden Guard uniform with a painful expression on his face. Varian was too stunned to even speak; he thought that the witch he loved had betrayed him. Hunter tried to walk over to Varian, but Belos stopped him and whispered in his ear to not forget their deal. Hunter kept still like he was made of stone as he fought back tears. "How could you? I trusted you!" Varian shouted.
"Please, Varian, let me explain..."
"Now, now, Hunter. Don't trouble the boy with your problems." Belos interrupted, "I'll make you a deal, human. You leave the Owl Lady and join the Emperor's Coven. You'll have the best equipment, knowledge at your fingertips, and even time with Hunter. Refuse, and I'll have every single one of your friends locked up in the Confermaturium."
Varian got up from the floor, walked closer to Belos then punched Belos right in the face. "There isn't a person in this room that doesn't know you stink. I would never betray the people I love." Varian stated.
When Huter woke up, he found himself in a strange hideout with a bag of his belongings. He suddenly heard someone shouting, then he ran out of the room towards the entrance where Raine, Lilith, Steve, the BATS, his uncle, and Eda were. The person he heard screaming was Luz who was being held back by Darius and Eberwolf. He saw King and Ruddiger playing but he didn't see Varian. Raine introduces themselves to Luz who is fangirling over Raine and Eda's love story.
Raine explained that when Darius and Eberwolf captured them, Darius was protecting them. Darius thought he was the only one who thought the Day of Unity was suspicious. When he heard that Raine was causing trouble he had a feeling that they'd know more. "You would've been locked away if it weren't for me," Darius said to Raine.
Luz took one look at Hunter's uncle, and she couldn't help but think that she had seen him before. His uncle stepped forward and shook Luz's hand. "I thought you would have guessed who I was, Luzura." Hunter's uncle spoke.
Almost all the breath that Luz held escaped her body when she realized who Hunter's uncle really was. "You're... You're Philip Wittebane?! But how? I thought you went back to the human realm. Wait, that means Hunter is a Wittebane?! And you didn't tell us?!" Luz asked in both excitement and shock.
"You never asked," Hunter said with a smirk.
Instead, Hunter grabbed Varian's face then pulled him in for a kiss right on the lips. Luz's jaw dropped, King covered his eyes, Eda and most of the adults looked impressed and Hooty let out an oooooh. Hunter immediately pulled away from Varian as they both gasped for air. Hunter told Varian that he was done with Belos, and he was sorry for not helping him, he was a coward. Varian pulled Hunter close and kissed him again as a way of saying he forgave Hunter.
Soon, Luz and the others were all set to head to the human realm; Philip gave Varian the key and he made him promise to look out for Hunter. He promised then he placed the key inside the lock, he thought about Rapunzel and Eugene then opened the door. The portal door opened to a forest, but Rapunzel's caravan was there too. He looked a little nervous to go through, but Hunter assured him that nothing would go wrong. With that, Luz, Eda, Lilith, Amity, Willow, Gus, King, Hunter, and Varian walked through the portal door. It closed shortly after they walked through, and they walked towards the caravan.
Varian nervously walked up to the door and then knocked on it. They waited a few minutes then Varian knocked on the door again, this time they heard someone coming. The door opened and it was Eugene looking half tired. His face changed to shock when he saw Varian and his friends, he rubbed his eyes to see if he was dreaming but he wasn't. "Hey, Eugene. I'm back." Varian said.
Eugene stammered out Varian's name, and then he fainted. "Well, that was unexpected," Eda stated.
Adira revealed that Hector was a member of the Brotherhood, a group of warriors sworn to keep any and all away from the Dark Kingdom. Rapunzel pulled out the scroll piece she had gotten from Adira with the picture of a castle covered in black rocks, the Dark Kingdom. Varian pulled out the scroll piece he had gotten from Hunter and gave it to Rapunzel. She thanked him before turning to Adira and asked her how many were in the Brotherhood. "Not many." Adira answered, "But you've encountered one before today. Quirin, Varian's father."
Varian was stunned by what Adria had just said. His own father was a knight and he never told him. Hector was more dangerous and sadistic than the other brothers since the Great Tree was his domain. He swore to stay there to make sure that no one crosses the mountains and steals the moon stone. "Ok, but how do you know so much about all this?" Luz asked.
"Let's just say some of us in the Brotherhood disagree on a couple of things," Adira answered.
But when Rapunzel saw Eugene in pain, she made up her mind. She started saying the incantation; her hair and eyes turned pitch black with hints of green. "Wither and decay, end this destiny. Break these earthy chains, and set the spirit free."
The place became unstable, but the vines began dying, releasing her friends. Varian's eyes turned black then he started chanting the incantation which destroyed the vines around the witches. However, he was somehow able to snap out of the trance quicker than Rapunzel who was still using the incantation.
Cass made a grave mistake; she touched Rapunzel's arm and the spell spread to her hand; she screamed in pain as Rapunzel snapped out of it. She let go of Hector and kneeled down to Cass, her hand was now twisted, black, and burnt to a crisp. Hector gave them one last warning that if Rapunzel went to the Dark Kingdom, then she'd be doomed before he fell from the decayed vines.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash coming from outside and the caravan came to a complete stop. Rapunzel went outside to check what was going on, and it turned out a tree had fallen in front of them, and the caravan was stuck in the mud. Cass figured that they'd just have to wait out the storm in the caravan until Rapunzel spotted something from the window. It was an inn that was entirely made up of seashells. Cass told her that the place was creeping her out but as usual, Rapunzel didn't listen and went towards the inn.
"So, Mr. Matthews, what is this place called?" Luz asked.
"It's called, The House of Yesterday's Tomorrow," Matthews answered.
"Yesterday's Tomorrow? So today then." Lilith stated.
As they freed the others who had shown up in the room, they all made a run for the door. They all made it out of the house just as it was disintegrating into sand along with Tromus. A door showed up moments later and Cass walked out of it. She was different, almost like she was hiding something.
"This isn't just any maze, Princess," Varian says with a smirk. "This maze was created by Lord Demanitus! There's no telling what kind of marvels we're going to discover inside!"
"Would have been nice if Demanitus had left a map or something to get through the maze," Hunter commented.
"You require no map..." They hear a deep voice say behind them. They spin around in shock to discover Vigor hanging from a vine, staring at them intensely with fixed eyes. He leaps off of the vine and stands up in front of them with a more human-like posture. "For I... am Lord Demanitus!"
Demanitus began to tell his tale; millennia ago, a mysterious event in the heavens divided an ancient power in two. The Sun Drop and Moon Stone fell to the earth. Demanitus and three of his pupils researched the legend of these two elements that longed to be reunited. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones searching for these elements. Demanitus's pupils betrayed him and summoned Zhan Tiri. He created a device that took all of his power to banish Zhan Tiri from this world. However, the after-effect of the device got Demanitus as well and brought him to the Boiling Isles.
Demanitus spent days in the Boiling Isles hiding from Zhan Tiri and documenting everything he had discovered in the Boiling Isles. Until he came into a town where he met Philip and they secured the Collector. The two of them became allies, and friends, working together to find a way home. They combined their research to recreate a portal home. Demanitus showed Philip things he had learned from the human realm and Philip showed him things that he had learned on the Isles. They hid the Collector somewhere that no one could ever find. The time they spent together had bonded them then they had finally recreated a portal to the human realm.
But before entering the portal, Demanitus gave Philip one of the scroll pieces and his journal to keep safe. Philip stayed in the Boiling Isles, while he missed the human realm but had found a new life on the Isles and was willing to protect his home. When Demanitus returned to the human realm, he hid the other scroll pieces. He hid the final piece within the maze which he created to keep away the unworthy.
With that, Varian took the fourth piece of the scroll from Eugene and then pulled out the rest of the pieces from his satchel. When he placed them all beside each other on a rock, they began to glow and magically merge themselves back into one large piece.
Before the spell wore off, Demanitus pulled out a letter from his turban and handed it to Hunter. "Give this to Philip. And tell him that, I hope to see him again, one day."
Hunter was merely looking at the letter when he saw something taped on the back of it. He pulled it off and it was an old photo. But the photo had a picture of Demanitus when he was human and Philip from when he was younger. There was someone else in the photo as well, a man who looked exactly like Hunter.
"At the end of Rapunzel's journey, one of her party will turn against her."
After a long journey, the group finally reached the Dark Kingdom. The caravan stopped just seconds from a steep drop and beyond that was a cluster of black rocks all pointing to the Dark Kingdom. Everyone files out of the caravan to get a glimpse of the Dark Kingdom in the distance.
Cassandra notices and walks up behind her. "Your destiny awaits, Princess."
"You sure you're ready for this?" Eugene asks, joining them.
"I just wish I knew what this is," Rapunzel replies as Varian and Hunter come up to them and stand next to Cassandra. "I mean, Demanitus said if I don't grab the Moon Stone, the black rocks will destroy everything. But... I have no idea what to expect to happen to me when I do."
"We'll be right here with you, Rapunzel," Varian assured.
Varian reached out to touch the moonstone but suddenly, Cassandra grabbed it. "Cass! What are you doing?!" Varian shouted.
"Fulfilling my destiny!" Cass answered.
The moon stone became a part of her armor, turning it into the same material as the black rocks and her hair became electric blue. Rapunzel watched as her best friend stared back at her with murder in her eyes. "I told you Rapunzel." You have to be careful who you trust."