YOOOOO GUYS, WELCOME BACK!

Before you read this, I would like for everyone to watch this fan-made animatic for this story! It's incredible, and I'm really thankful. Credits to the amazing QueenNReader123 for taking her time to make this masterpiece. Give it some love <3

It's from chapter 11. :)

She also made another animation about my The Devil Within book. CAN U BELIEVE THAT-

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Also, be ready, shit's about to go down.

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You had walked for what felt like an eternity, but when the hill you were currently walking on turned incredibly steep, and the trees slowly faded out, you realized you would soon be reaching your goal. You recognized the place immediately, even if this one were in different colors.

You were walking with long, quick steps, your palms sweaty and body slightly shaking. But your mind was very calm. You knew what you were going to do, and you had come at peace with it. There was no turning back now.

It had taken an internal war inside of your head to plan it out. But now you've made up your mind. You were known for being unpredictable, and the stunt you were going to pull in about 5 minutes, was exactly that.

Varian was walking right beside you, humming a melody. He had a very relaxing voice, but it didn't help calm your nerves. You still couldn't believe that he wasn't that upset about you telling him about his mother. He really was an admirable person. You were glad you had gotten to know him.

You didn't just stick by him because of the promise you had made. You genuinely cared for the boy and enjoyed his company. It was just as sweet as it was scary to you.

Eugene and Rapunzel were holding hands, walking behind you. They both seemed nervous as well. They didn't say anything, and neither did you. They knew that everything was about to go down, and they knew what was at stake - the safety of their kingdom.

Luckily there weren't any demons you had to fight on your way up there -which to be fair, worried you a little.

There wasn't any wind at all. The air was thick, cold, and silent. You couldn't hear anything - no animals luring in the forest, no bird-singing, no running water from a nearby river - it was like nature was holding its breath along with you, not daring to make a single sound. Even the sound of your footsteps were non-existent.

You were only walking to the calming sound of Varian's humming voice. But it was beginning to fade out. It cracked here and there, shook even a little. Varian was turning nervous as well.

You were just about to tell Varian to prepare himself when you saw the torches.

The steep hill was coming to an end, ending on a flat area made out of orange stone. A large ring was painted on it, with what you hoped to be only animal blood. Inside of the ring, Satan's sign could be seen, with seven circles surrounding it, each with a crown in the middle - the stolen crowns from the seven kingdoms.

"What the actual-" Eugene mumbled for himself. "Well, this is a nice change of scenery."

"We're at the place, where Argo will try to revive thousands of demons!" Rapunzel quarreled, hitting him on the shoulder.

"I was being sarcastic."

It was here. You've made it. You closed your eyes, letting out a shaky breath. It was only a matter of time before-

"NOW!" A loud voice echoed within the mountain walls, right before three people jumped down from the trees, each capturing one of your friends. They were all clearly very experienced fighters, so even though Varian, Eugene, and Rapunzel struggled and fought as their life depended on it, they couldn't do anything to get out of their grip. They each cursed and let out yells of frustration while their hands were being tied behind their back.

You just stood and watched, a blank look on your face. Your heartbeat was racing up.

The three people were wearing all black clothes. You recognized all of them. The biggest of them, who was the one holding Varian, radiated dickhead energy even from where you stood, and even before he took off his mask, to reveal an evil smile, you knew it was none other than Prince Hans.

So they had been hiding in the treetops, huh? Not exactly what you had expected, but alright.

A dark chuckle was heard from the shadows of the forest, making everyone turn their heads. Argo approached with a victorious smile on his face, and an evil look in his black eyes - which were looking right at you. "Very well done, (Y/n)." His deep and rusty sounded. "I see you've succeeded."

Varian's eyes winded, upon realizing the truth about the situation. He looked at you to see that you were the only one not captured. He froze, feeling rooted to the spot. "(Y/n), what-"

You slowly made your way to stand next to Argo. You didn't know what to do, didn't know what emotions were right to show. Sadness? Madness? Were you supposed to laugh?

"Y-YOU BASTARD, (Y/N)! WE TRUSTED YOU!" Eugene screamed like a mad man, struggling like a crazy magikarp. You understood his frustration - he was the one who had been the most suspicious of you after all.

Rapunzel was just standing still, wide-eyed. The fall of her kingdom flashed before her eyes. "Why?" She faintly spoke, not even recognizing her own voice.

You shrugged. "It was your fault for being stupid. To achieve what you want, to revive those who have been forgotten - you must be on the verge of death yourself. That first part of the riddle, you figured out correctly. It was a very wise decision to eat that chocolate, in order to follow me and stop Argo's plans from the inside. It probably wasn't the smartest decision for the King and Queen to do it though." You chuckled. Each of your friends looked at you in disbelief, tears in their eyes. Especially Varian seemed utterly broken.

You continued. "The kingdom's most valuable objects shall be the key to their downfall. The crowns. Obviously. Remember the day I walked into the castle, offering you my help? I warned you. I told you Rapunzel, that you should keep a close eye on that pretty crown of yours, but of course, you didn't listen. And now, the last part of the riddle is where you completely fucked up." You began laughing uncontrollably. "The funniest thing is, that even after I convinced you that we were playing on the same team, you questioned why I knew that Argo would need the crowns."

Argo was looking at you, almost proudly as you were walking around, your eyes reflecting the flames of the torches. You had a psychotic grin on your face. "One sacrifice and a new world will rise in its ashes. You Varian, immediately assumed that I had been the sacrifice, when in reality the sacrifice hasn't even been made yet."

You were wrong when you thought that Varian couldn't look more terrified. He had a distant and empty stare as he was slowly realizing that this was his fault. He had been the one trusting you blindly and telling everyone else to do so too. He had defended you every single time, insisting on saving you - when everything he had done, was leading his friends right into you and Argo's trap, soon resulting in Corona's downfall. All of the seven kingdom's downfall.

"You really think it was a coincidence that I only wanted you to tag along with me, on that stupid trip? That you weren't meant to find that secret room in Argo's house? Do you really think you weren't meant to find and solve that riddle? Were you really naive enough to think, that I didn't know exactly what had been in that chocolate when I ate it? Didn't you realize, that the whole time, I knew you would come and save me, even bringing your stupid friends with you to this world? You aren't a hero, Varian. You're just naive."

Your harsh words made Varian's world fall apart, and the person holding him from behind tried their hardest to keep him on his feet.

"She's been working for me, all along," Argo explained, placing a hand on your shoulder. "And now, we only need to spill one of your's blood inside of this ring, for the ritual to be completed. The evilest and most powerful demons will finally be revived, leaving the world as we know it in flames and destruction. And in its ashes, a new kingdom will rise. A kingdom which I will be the king of."

Argo was looking at Rapunzel dead in the eye, holding up her chin. "And when the demons get teleported into the real world, all the men who are standing right here, right now in the real world, preparing to fight for their kingdom at your orders, will die."

Rapunzel's red eyes winded. "Lance... All of them." She looked at you with a face filled with agony. "But why, (Y/n)? You said... You promised... I thought you cared about Varian."

"Well, I might have lied a little." You laughed, then turning serious. "But I do care for Varian. That's why Argo has promised not to hurt him when all of this is done."

They looked sick. You could understand why.

You got a funny taste in your mouth. Argo looked at you, smiling widely. "Now, (Y/n). Who do you think the sacrifice should be?"

You hummed in thought. You had waited for this moment. "Hmm... I'm leaning towards Eugene. He's a pain in the ass,"

"NOOO!" Rapunzel screamed at the top of her lungs, as Eugene was brought forward. He was shoved into the middle of the circle. You walked towards him, taking a grip of his hair, pulling his head backward. Argo placed a knife in your hand.

"(Y/N), PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T, I'LL DO ANYTHING! KILL ME INSTEAD, I BEG OF YOU!" Rapunzel kept screaming until a hand got placed for her mouth, drowning out her crying voice. Varian just looked like someone who was on the verge of fainting.

"Why are you doing this?" Eugene spat, his voice seething with rage. "You really want the world to be destroyed? I thought you were better than this. We trusted you."

"Well, that's not my fault, is it? I never asked you to."

Eugene kept cursing at you, and Rapunzel kept crying. You rose your arm, with the knife solid planted in your hand.

Argo prepared for his big plan to succeed. He had even dressed up for the occasion. His long. dark hair sat perfectly in a bun, his clothes black with a red tie. He once again looked at Rapunzel. "Don't blame yourself, Queen Rapunzel. No matter what you would've done, we were always one step ahead."

He said it. The line. The very thing you had always told yourself. The thing you also had believed very strongly at one point - That Argo was always one step ahead.

"But see, that's the thing, Argo." You smiled at the elder man in front of you, loosening your grip on Eugene's hair. Your confident eyes met his mad ones, and you narrowed them. "You indeed were always one step ahead of us. But that's completely irrelevant, when we weren't even on the same path."

You swung the knife, cutting the robes tied around Eugene's hands. The male stood up beside you, smiling widely as you gave each other a fist bump. The dark-clothed people, holding Rapunzel and Varian copied your actions, helping your friends stand up. They then took off their masks to reveal Jack and Willow, who quickly knocked Hans out cold.

"You were walking alone, and you always have been. That's the difference between you and I. And the reason why you're never gonna win."

You took one quick step forward and kicked Argo right in the balls. The man was so shocked that he didn't even try to block it. He fell to his knees, and you ran behind him, pushing him to the ground, your knee pressing his upper body down.

Eugene tied his rope around Argo's hands, as Jack, Willow, Raps, and Varian made their way over to you, surrounding him.

"You-" He hissed, trying to get free from you and Eugene's grip. His voice was fuming, almost poisonous. "Fucking bitch. Do you know who I am!? You're going to regret this, do you hear me!? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU-"

He choked on the tip of Eugene's boot, as he shoved it into Argo's mouth. "Oh shut it, will you? Don't worry though, you can talk all you want from inside your prison cell."

"Don't play games with a girl who can play better, bastard," You grinned, putting more weight on his back.

Varian stood beside you, smiling widely. "We did it."

You let out a sigh of relief. "You're a great actor. For a moment I thought I actually hurt your feelings."

Varian laughed. "Don't worry. I know you didn't mean it."

Of course, you hadn't. You hadn't meant any of those things you said. You had played a double-game since the beginning, convincing both Argo and Rapunzel that you were on their side when really the only side you had ever been on was your own. And since you had begun to genuinely care for Varian and his friends, that meant betraying Argo - which you to be fair, would have done anyway, since you weren't interested in destroying the world. The only reason you had said yes to Argo's offer about joining him all those weeks ago, was because you wanted everything that was going to happen at all times - so if you disagreed with some of it, you could change it.

What could you say, you loved being in charge of things.

You had told Eugene, Varian, and Rapunzel about your plan a few hours before all of this. They had been very shocked, to say the least, but had agreed to perform some badass acting to fool Argo. They hadn't dissapointed.

Rapunzel placed a hand on your shoulder. "Thanks for everything, (Y/n)."

She smiled at you, which you returned. You asked Varian to make Argo breathe in some sleeping chemicals so that he would stop struggling so much. When Argo was fast asleep, you ran over and hugged Jack and Willow. You couldn't have done this without their help.

You were just about to tell everyone how to get back into the real world when you felt a sharp blade pressed against your neck.

You heard Hans' voice behind you. "If you don't let Argo go right now, I'll fucking kill her."

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Ayye, the climax of the story! What did you think? Did I fool you?

Alsoooo, this story is reaching its end soon, and there's one thing I haven't written about yet; How tf you're going to figure out that Varian was once a villain too.

So if you have any suggestions, please let me know! Love you!