Twisted Destiny

Gothel

"Hello again, old friend."

Zhan Tiri hummed to herself as she walked into the Demanitus Chamber. The place had been abandoned by the boy after the attack, and so she was free to explore the Chamber.

It's true, many of her old allies were still trapped, but a good many more had disappeared. No matter, she had the ones she needed.

She crossed the bridge and walked over to splay her hand on the amber-covered machine. "My dear Demanitus, I wanted you to know," she stroked a finger down the amber, "you've lost." She smiled slyly. "When the eclipse comes, I shall draw the powers of the Sundrop and Moonstone to myself. And as for the human hosts, well..." she chuckled, "I don't think there's much hope for them."

She sighed and picked up a damaged gear, tossing it into the abyss. "Your only hope, at this point, is if your pathetic old partner decides to step in, but I doubt I will have any problems with him. And as for the boy," she trailed her finger down the amber again, "rage and hate can be rather delicious motivations, as he knows well. I wonder if he can hold back this time?"

She stepped back. "I have devised a trap for the Princess and Cassandra, and when it springs...well, I will certainly be enjoying the show. You? Perhaps not so much." She walked out of the Chamber, pausing to look up at the still-sealed Disciples. The boy's amber was stiff, and there was no way she could activate it to free the rest.

"Corona will soon learn very well what happens when someone does not keep their promise." She said, walking out and into the tunnels. "Again."

--

For eighteen years, boys from ages 5 to 13 had been daring each other to go into the creepy old cottage in the woods at night. No one had ever dared to stay longer than a few minutes, though, except for one person – which didn't really help his reputation much.

Two little boys had been dared to go to the cottage by older kids, and they carried with them only a single lantern to light their way.

"Looks like this is the place..." One of the boys said nervously.

"Come on, let's go!" The other insisted. "Or, are you scared?"

"I-I'm not scared!" The young boy insisted.

They approached the door and pushed a vine from in front of a window, then looked in. "Ha, ha, you're scared." His older friend teased.

"Am not!" The younger one insisted.

Glancing away nervously, he opened the door old, creaky door and stared inside.

"Y-You go first." The younger one said, gripping the lantern tightly.

his friend steeled his resolve and walked inside, passing by a broken old music box on his way in.

They heard mice squeaking, but otherwise didn't see or hear anyone. The younger one held up his lantern nervously as he stood next to his friend.

"This place gives me the creeps." The older one said nervously.

"Not me." The younger one lied.

"Oh yeah? Think you could stay the night here, like Varian did, then?" The older one asked with a nudge.

"No way! I'm not a witch. Or crazy. Or whatever he is. He talks to wild raccoons!" The younger one shook his head.

"Yeah, he's always been kind of weird, hasn't he?" The older one nodded.

Their lantern lit up a lot of overturned stuff, dust and cobwebs everywhere. It was clear that no one had been here in many, many years, despite the dare being an annual thing, a rite of passage to being a man.