Tangled: Stardust and the 12 Zodiacs (Varian Fanfiction)

Chapter 61: Demons

"Shrau'n!" Soul gasped as she pulled her hand away from Varian's possessed body, taking a step back.

"Shrau'n??" Gold echoed in surprise, whipping his head back before quickly running back and stepping in front of his sister, his sword drawn out in a protective stance. "Stay back!"

"Oh?" Shrau'n hummed in amusement. "You gonna fight me? Maybe you should think about that plan first. After all, you hurt me, you hurt your precious little friend." He cooed, stroking his hair, or should they say, Varian's hair.

"No! Don't hurt him. That may be Shrau'n, but he's only possessing Varian's original body. If you hurt him, you hurt Varian too!" Soul warned, placing a hand on her brother's arm where he's holding his sword.

"Yes, don't hurt me. Or you hurt poor little Varian." The demon laughed deeply before turning to look at Gold. "I really have to thank you for this, Goldie. If you didn't stir up his whole thinking earlier, make him question himself, the truth serum wouldn't have been much effective and me separating you all wouldn't have worked."

Gold's eyes widened as he stared at him. "You...you did this?"

"A part of it. I merely did anything but contribute to the setting. The rest was on you, and your royal friends." Shrau'n replied, gesturing to Rapunzel and Eugene who came back with the others. "Who knew he still harbored such anger and wrath inside for such a long time? I have to say, using my magic on that tunnel really took a toll on me, especially with my bodiless state. But I'm glad to know it was all worth it." He chuckled darkly.

"No wonder those tunnels were never mentioned in the journal...they weren't supposed to exist." Soul muttered, gritting her teeth.

"Oh, no. The corridors you were put in earlier do exist. We still use them now, but not that often. Even the tunnel that separated all of you, the one you all fell down in. It was an old trap my grandfather put in before we sealed it off. What Shrau'n meant was the separation. While you were all falling, he used a bit of magic to arrange you all to your respective partners. " Abnus explained with a smile before turning serious. "I don't know what journal you're talking about, but if I should guess correctly, it belongs to Igneous and Wisteria, yes? I mean, they were the only ones who were successful in taking the orb from us." He sighed deeply. "Ah...how I hate those two. Especially Igneous. That man has eyes too clear for a human. His aim with his bow was too precise, piercing most of my men in their hands with his arrows. And don't get me started with his swordsmanship!" He growled, saying the man's name with such venom.

Shrau'n raised a hand. "Don't get too worked up now. We've already won." He smirked before he proceeded to hug himself, or rather, Varian's body. The orb, floating beside him with a green glow. "Ahhh~! It feels so SO good to have a body again. It's nothing like my old body, but maybe when I complete my mission; give Zhan Tiri all the orbs and have her full powers again, she'll give me back my true form!" He laughed loudly, like a madman who just committed slaughter.

Abnus stopped short, looking at the demon with slight confusion. "G-give Zhan Tiri the orbs? I- Surely you don't mean to give her Taurus' orb too?" he asked. A nervous sweat trickling down his temple.

Shrau'n continued to laugh before he stopped and looked at the dark-haired man. "Are you an idiot? How will she summon the stardust if I don't give her ALL of the orbs?"

"But...but you said... our agreement—" He stuttered, not believing his ears.

"And you believed me?" Shrau'n snarkily asked, giving him a demeaning look. "You do know I work for Zhan Tiri, right? As a guardian, you should really know better than to trust one of Zhan Tiri's disciples."