Rain began to fall thick and fast on the castle rooftops, like an army of horses' hooves stampeding on the men below who were lined in their multitudes, armed with swords and spears far superior to the weaponry they'd been used to. Merida stood up in her saddle, mounted on Angus in front of the troops alongside Fergus and Stoick, dressed head to toe in armour made from the finest leather and steel and seated on the finest warhorses. Hiccup and Toothless hovered overhead, circling them.

"Men!" Fergus cried over the tumult of the rain, then spotting his daughter alongside him, added, "and women -" He coughed to clear his throat. "Drago is unlike any enemy you have faced. He fights with creatures, bound by hatred and enslaves them to do his bidding. We must be vigilant. We must stand strong, or the battle is lost. You have all been taught, you have all been given the best supplies we can give you. 

"Now, we ask that you give us the best service you have ever displayed in combat. Only together can we defeat him. He is out to destroy, to conquer what is not rightfully his. He is tearing apart families, killing your loved ones and tearing down your homes, all for the quest to power. We cannot let him prevail. We are strong, bound together by our love for our homeland and our alliances within bonds formed in times of friendship and trust. That is what he can never take from us. He will never take our love for one another, and that is what we will fight for!"

A great roar of approval and applause rang through the whole army, energising and rousing them like a shot of adrenaline. After a time Drago's army was within easy sight and the order was passed throughout the ranks to attack. No one saw the messenger slip away, back into the castle.

She was a blonde with her hair braided in knots, woven into one plait. Her fringe obscured one side of her face; her armour was minimal and her eyes were a blue that hurt to look at. Quietly she slipped into a side passage; none of the guards saw her. They were out fighting.

The battle was hard and bloody, almost like a thick red mist had settled over the soldiers, blinding them to calm and innocence. All that mattered was the protection of their loved ones, the fight for their families and their kingdoms, their entire livelihoods. Drago's dragon army was rearing on their hind legs, poised to attack until a mysterious force caused them to slump, fall to the earth again, weighed down on their wings and tails by what appeared to be ice. Everyone was at a loss to explain it. Some believed it was God, some believed it was Loki intervening for a bit of fun, but most didn't care, they used the opportunity to kill the men on the ground, run past the downed dragons and fight on.

Merida was in the thick of it all, Angus leaping over the bodies of Drago's dead men and on into the centre of his army. She cut and slashed without mercy, becoming immune to the sound of the screams of the dying and the injured; she merely fought on because that was all she could do. The adrenaline rushing through her kept her sane, in a sense, as she cut, thrust and parried expertly whilst balancing her sword and shield in perfect proportion. Although she knew exactly what she was doing, at that moment she could hardly think.

Hiccup was overhead, circling the army by means of protection. Whenever a great multitude of Drago's men started approaching, Toothless would fire a plasma blast into their midst and instantly kill at least half, making Fergus and Stoick's army's job considerably easier. When he could, however, Hiccup would make a point to glance below him, into the distance, to check if a certain red-haired warrior had fallen.

Once, Jack flew up beside him and hovered in mid-air, a grim expression on his normally cheerful, grinning face.

"What?" Hiccup asked loudly, eyebrow raised.

"I'm worried something's up with Rapunzel," he shouted over the pounding of the rain. "I'm just scared for her. Her parents were the reason this battle's even happening. What if someone's got to her or something?"

Hiccup took a moment to register this and turned back to Jack.

"Go and check on her. The men are doing well right now; we can handle it. You've been such a good help, Jack." Jack nodded, his chest swelling with pride, and he shot off in the direction of the castle. He zoomed in through an open window and down into the castle kitchens.

Then many things happened, very fast.

Jack caught sight of a blonde haired girl whom he partially recognised. She slipped out of a side passage and before he could even cry out, she had plunged a dagger into Rapunzel's chest.

Everything happened in an instant.

Jack screamed, he screamed a noise he didn't know he could make, and on instinct, he fired a sheath of ice through her heart. She was pinned to the wall, blood dripping down her tunic as her final breath died in her throat. He ran forward, not caring about the screaming voices of the servants, the gasps of the dying or of the long, guttural moans of the wounded soldiers who were trying to get a glimpse of what had just happened, catching Rapunzel in his arms. The assassin had done a bad job, not even hitting her in the heart. Rapunzel was gasping, her breath horribly short.

"J-Ja-ck -"

"No, oh my god, no, Christ no," Jack mumbled, his lip wobbling pathetically as a tear ran down his face. "No, Rapunzel, no, you're not gonna, you can't -"

"I - this is it -" she whispered, and Jack howled, an animal's cry when he'd been shot in the leg.

"Rapunzel -"

"I love you - Jack."

Eyes green and glassy, she fell limp in his arms.

"No- Rapunzel, oh god, oh god, no, please no, I love you, I love you so much, please, just - oh my god, Rapunzel ..." 

He clutched her small body to his chest and he broke. A dead weight crushed him as he buried his face in her hair and his tears froze on her cheeks, still warm and rosy, because he loved her so much, and she was gone. But she wasn't, she was in his arms and her hair was still as soft as it always was and the freckles adorning her cheeks were still there alright but the eyes he'd always smiled at were empty. She was here, closer to him than ever before but gone so far he'd never find her again. 

Jack could barely breathe, not that he needed to, but he didn't want to. He didn't want this life, this immortality. He just wanted her back. He couldn't do it without her.

This is not the end, Jack.

A voice was speaking in his head. A voice he'd heard once before. A voice he heard when he'd been brought back. When he knew he was dead and when he knew he was gone.

"Man in the moon," he breathed, icy eyes closed.

If you love her so much, Jack, I can help you. It demands a great price, a life for a life. So -you can sacrifice your immortality for her, then she will live again.

Yes, yes, he thought desperately, anything, anything, for her...

... but you will walk, only a mortal. You will live a mortal life. Grow with her, die with her.

"That's all I ever wanted," Jack whispered, "That's everything I could ever have hoped for. I wish only for her to live, and for me to grow old beside her."

Suddenly, a golden light flew like a dart into Rapunzel's chest. Golden flowers sprouted from her wound and the blood started to disappear. Colour rose to her cheeks, then, miraculously, her wide and unseeing eyes closed, then opened, fluttering gently against her skin. She looked up at Jack, eyes wide.

"Jack?"

A great, beaming smile broke over his face.

"Rapunzel!"

He rose, magnificently, sweeping Rapunzel into his arms and spinning her around whilst laughing almost insanely; he was so elated. She was so shocked at this sudden contact that she squealed and he placed her down immediately.

"I'm sorry, I -"

"It's alright," she said gently, a hand on his cheek. "How did you, how am I -?"

"The Man in the Moon," Jack whispered, a smile stretching over his face and making his eyes shine, "I gave up my immortality. I'm the same age as you! I'm a mortal again! I can live my life with you and I won't have to see you grow old and die, I'll be right next to you!"

"Jack -" she whispered, tears running from both her wide green eyes, "Jack, you didn't, you didn't need -"

"I did," he interrupted, cupping her cheek in his palm. She leant against it a reflex. "I couldn't see you, there, I couldn't see you dead. I'd rather see the world crumble around me. I, oh god, I love you. I love you so much Rapunzel and I think you knew but I needed you to know. I couldn't let you go. I couldn't let that happen to you."

Her eyes were brimming with tears once more as she pulled the boy to her and threw her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear.

"I love you too Jack."