Cassandra has been pacing for a whole minute, with Varian nervously watching her move. He was going to say something but decided to stay quiet due to Cass's anxious and concerned face.

"Okay. Alright. Sure. Mhm. I got it. Perfect." Cassandra mumbled.

"Cass, are you alright?" Varian asked.

"Oh, you know me! I feel phenomenal! Sensational, even!" She replied with a somewhat cheery tune.

"Are you su-"

"It's just- Oh, I don't know! My friend has disappeared for a year! Almost two! Some small ghost and her big demon friend trapped me in this big cave, and I'm thirsty as hell!" She continued to pace.

"Cass..."

"And now my friends are with an identity called the Fraud, not knowing I'm here! Now they're in complete danger because that Fraud's planning to take the moonstone once they all get to the Dark Kingdom!" She continued.

"Cass-"

"And I can't do anything about it because we're here in this big cave, which looks like there's no way out, and I'm starting to lose it! And-"

"CASS!"

"WHAT?!"Varian stood up at some point, his hands slightly raised. "Cass, you're overthinking this. You need to relax." He said.

Cass took a few deep breaths. "Right. Sorry. It's just..." She sighs. "So much has happened between the last few hours."

"I can tell," Varian said, sitting next to her. "Let's start from the top. What exactly happened?"

"Alright... We were at an inn called The House of Yesterday's Tomorrow. We stayed there like three days, including today." She stops for a second, thinking about what to say. "Today morning, Rapunzel disappeared from where we slept, so the others and I went to look for her."

Varian kept listening, interested in the story.

"The boys went one direction, so I went the other. I found a metal door a while later, and my name gets called, so I went in."

"Bad call, Cass," Varian said teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." She playfully rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I came across this ghost girl, and she showed me something unbelievable."

"What'd she show you?"

"Something of my past..." Cass said, sounding nostalgic. "About my mother, Gothel."

"Gothel?! As in Mother Gothel?! The one who kidnapped Rapunzel?!" Varian exclaimed, shocked.

"Yep," Cass said, popping the p. "That Gothel."

"And your dad is the Captain of the Guards..." He mumbled. "So does that mean your dad and Gothel-"

"NO!!! VARIAN, WHAT THE HELL?!" She yelled, blushing in embarrassment and punching his shoulder.

"Ow!" He exclaimed while laughing. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Continue."

'That cheeky little...' Cass thought with a playful contempt smile. "As I was saying, Gothel's my mother, yes. It turns out, Gothel abandoned me for Rapunzel and her hair."

"Oh..." Varian's cheeky smile turned to a look of sympathy. "Cass, I'm so sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about it. To be honest with you. I'm glad. I didn't want to be the maid of my mother. I lived a better life with my dad than I ever could with Gothel."

"Oh. Well, that's nice."

"I do feel bad for Rapunzel, though. She had to put up with Gothel's fake-loving ass for years." Varian giggled at that comment. "After that vision, the ghost gave me some fake pity, then guess what she said?"

"Hmm... I don't know, what did she say?"

"She requested me to steal the moonstone if I didn't want to be outshined by Rapunzel anymore."

"Did you reject that request?"

"Well, yeah. That's why I'm here!" She exclaimed, making Varian chuckle.

"You said something about an entity called a Fraud. What did you mean by that?" Varian asked.

"Well, along with the short ghost, there was this ink-black being with long demon horns and tail, claw-like limbs, and white eyes. Their name was Azriel, and they helped the ghost girl put me to sleep. That's how I woke up here."

"And are they the reason why you have your facial scars? I've never seen them before."

"Ah, yeah. Those. Yeah, it was because of Azriel." She may or may not have forgotten about those scars.

"Ah... I see. Quite the story you had, Cass.

"Thank you." She said, a slight smirk on her face. "But enough about me. What about you, Varian? Why are you here? How are you here?"

"Same as you! I got trapped in here by Zhan Tiri!" He exclaimed.

"Zhan Tiri? Do you mean that ancient warlock? Varian, I think you got mixed up."

"No, I mean it! That ghost girl you saw earlier was Zhan Tiri."

"THAT was Zhan Tiri?!" She yelled out, clearly shocked.

"You didn't know?"

"No!" She took a moment to recollect herself. "How do you know? Did she tell you or something?"

"Yes. That girl told me without hesitation." Varian said, forming a grin in his mouth.

"I- oh. Not going to lie, I expected her to be a few feet taller..."

Varian can't help but laugh at her reaction. "But, to be honest, this place isn't too bad. The crystals change colors depending on the time, and they always look so pretty. I made an invention that can turn these crystals into any food I want."

"You have?! Varian, that's impressive!" She exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise and a tint of pride.

"Heh, well, I had to think of something to survive here. Oh! There's also a lake with clean wa-"

"THERE'S A LAKE HERE?!"

Varian jumped at the exclaim, getting caught off-guard.

"Sorry." Cass apologized sheepishly. "It's just last time I drank something was this morning. I'm dying of thirst here."

"Haha! Don't worry, Cass. I'll lead you there if you want." She places a hand on his shoulder with a look. "Please."

"Alright! Follow me!" Varian exclaimed before running, with Cass following behind.

Later

As Varian promised, they arrived in an area with a lake, water shining due to the crystals. Cass can't help but feel mesmerized at the pretty sight.

"Woah..."

"Right? I've been in this cavern for so long, but I always feel amazed at this view." Varian said, his eyes shining.

"So, the water is clean, right?"

"Not only that! Clean AND purified!"

"Huh..." Cass's eyes shined with wonder. "So, can I...?"

"Help yourself out!"

Cass didn't need to think twice. Almost immediately, she was at the edge of the lake. She picked some water in her hands and sipped it.

"Mm... That's nice." She mumbled, satisfied.

"You know what? I might help myself, too." He said jokingly before approaching the lake and drinking water too.

"Ah... Fresh water always brings out the calm side of me." Cass said, feeling relaxed as she sat cross-legged.

"No kidding. I felt so happy I was able to find this lake here. It's my favorite part of the cave, you know?" Varian replied.

"I can see why. It's so pretty..." Cass had a warm smile on her face.

"Oh! There's also a waterfall near the lake, just in case you need to bathe."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes! It's as if Lord Demanitus blessed me with the stuff I need for survival here! Man, I wish I could've met Demanitus." Varian said with a big smile on his face. Cass chuckled at this.

"You know what, Varian? I missed you." That made Varian's head turn with wide eyes. "I missed you and your inventions. The kingdom isn't the same with you."

"You... you think so?" Varian whispered; eyes filled with hope.

"I know so. The whole kingdom was looking for you. Everyone knew how much you meant to us, so everyone helped us look for you." Cass said, a warm look on her face.

"I... I missed you, too, Cass." He said softly, a small smile on his smile.

The two sat there in silence, enjoying each other's company.

A week later

It's been a week now. Cass thought it wasn't that bad. With a friend like Varian, things were more tolerable. She also had her own dark gray cloak. It was currently lunchtime.

Varian was eating a ham sandwich while Cass ate a salad. Cass wanted to ask Varian something but didn't want to cross boundaries.

"Hey, Cass. You look lost in thought. Is everything okay?" Varian asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, it's nothing too serious. I've wanted to ask you something, but I don't know if I should..." Cass trailed off.

"Oh! Don't worry, Cass. You can ask me anything! What is it?"

"Well... sorry if this sounds weird, but why did you run away?" Cass asked softly.

Varian's smile turned into a grimace. He didn't expect that.

"Too soon? Shit, I didn't mean to make things awkward-" Cass said, trying to take the question back.

"No! No, it's fine. I've been meaning to tell you anyways." Varian said, a sad smile forming on his face. "Besides, you gave me a full story on why you're here. It's only fair I told you my full story." He let out a bitter laugh.

Cass raised an eyebrow.

"You see... on the day of the blizzard, I was trying to make a solution to stop the black rocks from spreading."

"But didn't your dad tell you to stop dealing with rocks? He did say he'll take care of them." Cass said, confused.

"I know. I know, but I couldn't let the rocks spread throughout Corona. I wanted to help. Then came my dad in the lab..."

Cass widened her eyes at that.

"It looked like he wanted to tell me something, but then he saw me dealing with the rocks. Things went downhill from there..." His lips trembled.

"Varian, I can tell this makes you uncomfortable. You don't have to continue if you don't want to." Cass said, shifting closer to him.

"But I do. My dad and I got into an argument. He said some stuff..." Varian was struggling to keep the tears from falling. Cass's face shifted from interest to empathy.

"He called my inventions stupid and dangerous. He said one of the many reasons Old Corona is falling apart is because of me. He. He..." He lets out a small sob.

Cass puts her hands on his shoulders and slowly pulls him into a warm but firm embrace. He gets shocked at first but slowly wraps his arms around her.

"I felt trapped. I couldn't breathe. I needed to get out." He lets out a hiccup. "I wanted to make my dad proud, but all I did was make him think I'm nothing more than inconsiderate! Like I'm not enough..." He continued to sob into Cass's shoulders.

The two remained in the embrace, with Varian still sobbing.

"It's going to be okay, Varian. It's okay to feel hurt and overwhelmed," Cass started gently, her voice soothing. "We all have moments of doubt and insecurity. But let me tell you something important – you can't let your worth get defined by one argument or the mistakes you think you've made. You are so much more than that."

She put a hand on his chin, making him look at her. "You have a brilliant mind and a caring heart. Your inventions may not always work out as planned, but that doesn't mean they're not valuable or important. Every failure is an opportunity to learn and grow. Your past doesn't define you, but by how you choose to move forward from it."

Cass held him closer, providing a comforting presence. "You have friends who care about you deeply. We're here for you, Varian, no matter what. You're not alone in this, and we believe in you. I believe in you. You have the strength to face your fears and the courage to confront your doubts. Trust me." She said, giving him a bright smile.

Varian had his eyes wide with tears falling from them but couldn't keep in his chuckle.

"When did you get so wise, Cass?" He asked.

"Eh, you learn a thing or two when you're out on the road for a year and a half." She replied jokingly, making Varian laugh.

"But for real, though. Thanks, Cass. I needed to hear that." Varian said, breath normalizing again.

"Hey, remember what I allowed you to call me." She replied teasingly.

"Right. Thanks, Cassie."

"Happy to help, Var." She said softly.

"Var?" Varian replied while chuckling.

"Hey, if I allow you to call me Cassie, it's only fair that I can nickname you Var." She retorted playfully.

"Alright, fair enough." Varian raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm going to wash my armor. Are you going to come with me? Or would you rather stay here?" Cass asked, standing up.

"I'll stay here and wait for you. I do have a strong urge for fruit right now." Varian said while giggling. Cass let out a chuckle in return.

"Alright. But if you need my help, you know where to find me." She said softly before walking away.

Later

Cass was at the waterfall, washing every part of her armor.

'Almost done. I only need to clean the chest plate, and I'll call it a day.' She thought.

She grabbed the chest plate before dipping it in the water. She scrubbed it roughly to get the stains out.

She scrubbed for two minutes before looking at her reflection, but it looked different.

Instead of her normal eyes, they were her full eye color with white eye slits. She gasped before yelping in surprise, stepping back and dropping the chest plate.

She took a few deep breaths to recollect herself before rubbing her eyes. She cautiously walked to the lake to look at her reflection again. It was normal.

"Okay, Cass. You're starting to hallucinate. Fantastic!" She grabs her chest plate. "Let me put this on so I can call it a day!"

After putting on her armor and cloak, she walked through the cavern to return to Varian. Her eyes wandered the place. The crystals were a gradient of purple and orange, hinting at the sunset.

She kept walking until she came across some specific crystals that were brighter than the others.

"Well, that's odd..." She mumbled to herself. She placed her hand on the crystals and gave it a push. It felt hollow.

'Wait, could this mean...?' Cass thought, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. She stepped back before slamming her body into the crystal wall. She did this five times. It looked like it did effect since the crystal wall had cracked.

Cass's chest was heaving due to her breaths. "Fine. Do you want me to use my full strength? I'll use my full strength." She said, determined.

She took a few steps back before rushing to the wall and slamming her body with full force. The crystals broke, causing Cass to stumble.

Cass had to close her eyes due to the now brightness. She slowly opened her eyes before they widen at the sight, her gaped mouth becoming a bright smile.