Varian's POV:

The queen was just waking up when i turned to face her.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. You are merely bait to lure the princess here. Only the magic of her unbreakable hair can shatter the amber and free my father." I explained.

She seemed scared.

"I tried asking for help in a civil manner, but was denied by everyone in Corona. So, unfortunately, this is my only remaining recourse." I said as i removed a tarp that i had put over the amber.

The queen was obviously shocked.

"And after you've freed your father?" She asked.

"After!?" I laughed "oh, well, I'm afraid Corona will pay for turning their backs on me. And that's when you should start worrying....Your Majesty."

Elizabeth's POV:

"Varian must be hiding in Old Corona. I shall launch a full-scale attack." King Fredrick said.

"your majesty, he's 14..." i said.

"and so are you, young lady, stay out of this" he said.

"i can't just stand back and do nothing!" I cried.

"Sir, we got hit pretty hard. Everyone's gonna be okay, but we won't be launching a full-scale anything for some time." One of the guards said.

"Then we'll hit him with whatever we have!" The king yelled.

I was scared.

Varian wasn't himself right now but i didn't want to see him hurt.

"Dad! You can't beat Varian with swords and fists. So far, we've played right into his hands. You know he never meant to capture me! He sent that automaton to make you think that was his plan. And then he used his monster" Rapunzel began to explain.

I covered Ruddiger's ears.

"to pull security away from his real target. Mom. So, whatever you think you're gonna throw at him, he'll be waiting." Rapunzel said.

"Rapunzel's right" i said "i know Varian better than anyone, he'll know if we try anything"

Later

"The rocks are getting closer!" One of the citizens of Corona said.

"Oh! Oh, we're doomed! Doomed!" Another one said.

"Pipe down, Feldspar. No one can hear me. We're doomed, I tell you." A staff member said.

I was just sitting there...i was worried....about the queen...the rocks...the kingdom...varian....

"Citizens, please, listen to me! I will not lie to you any longer. Corona is in grave danger. The queen has been taken. Over half our royal guard lie wounded. And these black rocks draw ever closer." The king said.

"Uh, sir, hi, yeah. If there's a 'but' in this speech, you probably want to cut to it right now." Eugene said.

"But I look at you, and I don't just see subjects, I see friends, family, strong, brave individuals who have stood by each others' side, and have never, ever backed down from a fight. Today, we face a danger like none before. As your king, your friend, and as your brother, I ask you to fight one more time. For Corona!" The king said.

"For Corona! For Corona!" The crowd chanted.

"What do you ask of us, Your Majesty?"

"As was so insightfully pointed out to me, we've been playing straight into Varian's hands, and now, he's expecting a full-out attack on Old Corona." The king explained.

"So, what's the plan, Your Majesty?"

"We launch a full-out attack on Old Corona." Rapunzel said.

"But we'd be giving him the upper hand."

"Yeah, well, we're gonna let Varian think he still has the upper hand. And while we distract him with the assault, I am gonna sneak around the back, using the underground tunnels, and rescue the queen."

"We are going to rescue the queen." The king corrected.

"With all due respect, Princess, Varian only wants you. Once he sees you're nowhere to be found, won't he realize that our attack is just a diversion?"

"Probably. That is what he is for."

Suddenly the door opened and a little bearded guy walked in dressed as Rapunzel.

"Princess, Varian is alot of things but he's not an idiot" i said.

"Anyway, i'm coming with you guys, Varian may be a little insane right now but he's still my boyfriend, maybe i can talk some sense into him" i suggested.

Rapunzel sighed.

"Not a bad idea" she said.

Varian's POV:

"What are you doing?" The queen asked.

"Oh...you'll see" i said "if i know Rapunzel and her friends as well as i think i do, they're probably already on they're way...i need to be ready"

The queen seemed nervous.

I laughed a little.

"Any moment now....Your Highness" i said.

Believe me i know
I've sunk pretty low....
But whatever i've done you've deserved...

"Varian"

"Quiet!" I yelled

I'm the bad guy
That's fine...

It's no fault of mine
And some justice at last will be served...

"Please listen" the queen said.

I ignored her.

Now it's time to step up
Or it's time to back down
And there's only one answer for me And I'll stand up and fight
'Cause I know that I'm right

And I'm ready,
I'm ready,
I'm ready
Ready as I'll ever be....

Elizabeth's POV:

As we were getting ready to leave i stopped by the room where the captain of the guard was laying injured.

"Cap, are you sure you're up for this?" Eugene asked.

"Actually I don't think i am.."

That's not good.

"But... how are you gonna lead the assault?" A guard asked.

"I'm not... she is...."

Cass walked into the room.

Now it's time to rise up
Or it's time to stand down
And the answer is easy to see
And I swear by the sword
If you're in get on board

What!?

Are you ready?

I'm ready

We're ready
We're ready

Ready as I'll ever be

Later

Rapunzel and i were waiting outside for the king.

Suddenly we saw him approaching.

"There you are" Rapunzel said.

"Yes yes i just had to make a stop in the kitchen, i'm told you're pretty handy with one of these." The king held up a frying pan.

Oh boy...

"I sure am" Rapunzel said before dropping it.

Are you quite sure we can do this?

Together we will guarantee!

"Comon! Let's go!" I said pulling them along.

Finally we reached Varian's house.

I froze at the sight.

It was surrounded by the black rocks.

We managed to sneak in just fine and noticed what seemed to be Varian standing at the window.

The king was about to grab it when i realized...

"Your majesty! That's not-" i started to say before he grabbed it "Varian..."

Suddenly we heard something and before we had time to react our feet were covered in a goopy material.

Varian's raccoon trap.

Suddenly we heard laughter and turned around.

Varian came out of the shadows lit by a light from these glowing vials he had tied to a stick.

"Welcome back... Rapunzel" he said.

"Varian what are you-" i started to say before he cut me of.

"Ah ah ah! We'll talk later Ellie." He said.

He grabbed Pascal and put him in a cage.

"Varian, I demand you release us, and tell me where the queen is." The king said.

"Your Majesty, I know it's hard for you, but for the first time in your life you are in no position to demand anything. But in the spirit of compromise, how 'bout I meet ya halfway?" Varian said.

He pulled back a curtain to reveal the queen.

"Mom!" Rapunzel said.

"I'm okay, Rapunzel." The queen said.

"Let her go, Varian! Please!"

"First, you're going to do something for me." Varian said.

"What do you want?" The king asked

"Oh! So now you care about what I want. All it took was threatening the things you love the most." Varian laughed.

He then went to grab something covered by a sheet.

"What are you going to do, Varian?"

"Yeah, I'll- I'll spare you the details about the Sun Drop and darkness, blah, blah, blah, and get to the good stuff." Varian said.

He walked over to the black rocks "Unbreakable." Then picked up Rapunzel's hair "Unbreakable. To put it plainly, with assistance from my drill, Rapunzel's hair should be able to shatter the amber, and free my father." Varian explained.

"What do you mean 'should'?"

"Oh, I suppose it's just as likely the amber shatters Rapunzel. I mean, the properties-"

"Absolutely not."

"It's not your choice, Dad." Rapunzel said.

"She's right, 'Dad'. Oh! And I almost forgot, we're, uh, kinda on a time crunch here, so I'm gonna need to speed things along." Varian explained as he grabbed a solution i've never seen before and poured it next to the queen, causing rocks to appear that looked just like...

The one's trapping Varian's father!

"Varian!" I yelled.

"What!?" He asked.

"Stop" Rapunzel said.

"Well" Varian walked over and let her out.

"Shall we get started?" He asked.

"Varian, if this doesn't work, and something happens to me, please, please, let my mom go." Rapunzel said.

"I can't make any promises, Princess."

Varian started to drill into the amber which seemed to be hurting the princess.

But it wasn't doing anything.

"What?! Why?"

Varian tried again.

"Stop it! She can't take anymore!" The king said.

"Rapunzel!" The queen said.

"I just I-I don't understand! Why won't it- Her hair! It it should've cut through it! Why didn't it work?!" Varian yelled.

He seemed confused.

With Ruddiger's help Pascal and the queen managed to escape.

The royal family all shared a hug while i just looked at Varian.

He seemed so upset.

"No! No! I wasn't wrong! It's not my fault! None of it is!" He cried.

He looked over at Rapunzel.

"It's her fault!" He yelled.

Varian!

I looked away for a second and he disappeared.

Suddenly the ground shook.

An automaton burst through the floor, that Varian seemed to be controlling.

"Sorry, Princess! We were in this together! But if I can't have a happy ending, then neither can you!" He said going to attack them before i pulled them out the door.

When we got outside Varian broke through the wall behind us.

"Sorry, buddy, but there's a line." Eugene said.

Cass ran at him but he caught her before she could attack him.

"Varian!!" I yelled.

He turned to face me.

"Varian listen to me! This isn't you! You know it's not! Please! Don't do this!" I said.

I could see his face in one of the automaton eyes.

A look of regret formed on his face for a minute.

But only for a minute....

"Ellie get out of the way!" He yelled.

"Varian!" I cried.

"I said, get out of the way!" He said as the automaton arm picked me up.

I closed my eyes, scared of what would happen.

But when i opened them again i was....

Standing on the roof of his house?

The battle was still going on though.

I wasn't just gonna sit here, i jumped back down and tried to help Cass and the queen.

That was until one of the automaton arms threw me against the wall.

Varian turned it to face me.

When it got closer i got scared.

I noticed the look on Varian's face.

It was obvious he didn't do that on purpose.

After a minute he turned away.

Then something happened.

Rapunzel summoned a bunch of black rocks.

It was slowly breaking apart Varian's automaton.

Half the guards ran to the automaton and got Varian out of it.

They led him over to a carrier wagon that i guess showed up while we were inside.

I noticed Ruddiger running up and laying on Varian's shoulders.

"I will make you proud of me, Dad if it's the last thing I ever do." He said.

The wagon left before i could reach it and i fell to my knees.

I couldn't believe any of this was real.

"Don't be too hard on him, Dad." Rapunzel said.

"I'll be sure to do everything I can to get him help. As for Quirin, I'll not give up until I find a way to free him."