Tangled After Ever After

High Pressure

As soon as they stepped into Lord Demanitus Sacraium, the Alchemist and the retired guard were overwhelmed by a dreamlike atmosphere. Objects hung from the ceiling in ringlets traveling to the floor. Sometimes, though, as the materials stretched downward into a never-ending abyss of knowledge that left Varian feeling all more gitty about this new venture. This unique atmosphere created this feeling of the beginning of a grand adventure awaiting to be discovered between the pages of Demanitus studies.
The spacious room was an amalgamation of mechanical marvels and natural wonders. As Varian entered, his eyes were immediately drawn to the ceiling where a glider, its wings outstretched, seemed frozen mid-flight. The glider's form was so perfectly crafted that it resembled a bird's graceful flight pattern. From the ceiling, it soared down through numerous translucent tubes, each one holding a drip of bubbly fluid that glistened in the light. The moisture flowed like streams, connecting the different pieces of machinery in a mesmerizing display of symbiosis. As the visitors arrived, the machinery whirred to life, each cog cooing and curling in perfect harmony. Varian was left in awe at this unusual yet stunning exhibition of mutualism.
"Cass, this is incredible! Have you ever seen anything like this? I mean...Ha! Look at this!" Varian's hands pointed excitedly at these string of outlets, leading to fusions of air sputtering and whistling throughout the room, making it feel warm and inviting. "It's just like the boiler I created at home except...well, less bubbly."
Varian's fingers closed around a small, stove-like hand, revealing an array of sharply glowing aurora crystals, each heated at different temperatures. "Wow...he found a way to combine different stone elements into a formula..." His thoughts trailed as his eyes bounced before stretching upward towards the piping outlets of the boiler, leading to a round arch connecting to gently twined wires, leading to two almost unrecognizable stones. Each held a difference; the two appeared darker. However, as Varian neared the crystal, there was a pop of light from the crystals, suddenly gaining a faint flaming heartbeat. "No way...it can't be."
"Varian?" Cassandra's attention suddenly snapped from her busy hands, gliding over a stack of papers that appeared centuries old as some crumbled at the touch of her finger.
"Cass, these are the stones." Her eyes grew wide, drawing closely near her form, crunching down to the level of the stones, "No... they were so bright...what happened to them?"
"I don't know, but something...it feels... they're pulling towards us."
Cassandra grasped onto the single paper she had found that remained intact, her eyes glancing down at the still writing.
Varian's voice broke, glancing back at the machinery connected to the stones leading to the aria of crystals in the chamber, his eyes growing, "Demanitus knew this would happen. This entire system is provoking the stones revival, slowly, yes, but surely. Each design moves the other, creating this constant unit of connections that could go on for centuries."
Varian watched as Cassandra moved away, her disappointment palpable. "So, the stones are useless...we came all this way for nothing?" she muttered. He stepped closer to her, noticing her eyes dimming back into a swirling hue of grey. His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he explained, "The stones require a power source, and each represents a different form of life. So, it's likely that someone would have to make a life exchange to activate them."
"Perhaps someone like me?" A booming voice came from the narrow opening of the cognitive doors as heaves of metal broke around the edges, revealing a detangled version of Hubert, his hair in a curly knot and his eyes bloodshot red as his feet rampaged forward reluctantly and yet full of power. He remained alone, which was surprising as he was always around his group of outcasted pirates.
"Finally, it took you two a lot longer than expected to get this blasted door to open." With a single snap of his fingers, ropes descended from the cavern, and the Saporians quickly gathered around them.
Never mind, there they are.
"You know I don't get you two. You escape only to come back right when I need you? Convenient at best...if you called it that, Cassandra?"
Cassandra's form marched in front of him, "Varian needs his father, and I'm not doing this for-"
"-Zhan Tiri." Hubert finished slyly, smiling. Cassandra's face melted, fear hitting her before a yell burst from her lungs.
"How do you know that?!"
"I've heard it, you know, here and there and everywhere since that sorceress set us free, urging us to prepare for the destruction of Corona that you started." Cassandra's fist crumbled, releasing the paper to the ground. "I'll never help you or Zhan Tiri destroy Corona." Hubert blinked at her, wholly mellow and still.
"Yeah, sure. I'm surprised you haven't driven each other insane with all this unwavering trust. Are you so consumed by guilt from the past, Varian, that you're willing to give her so many chances at redemption? What happened to the boy who created Project Obsidian?"
"How do you know about that?"
"I have many layers, Varian. And Zhan Tiri has many different well-obedient vessels." Hubert's eyes suddenly widened and then stretched into a grinning cat-like smile.
"It is honestly surprising how destiny simply repeats. You've each had connections to the stones in the past, and now you've come to make connections once more."
"What? I've never interacted with the stones before."
"That's not entirely true, Varian." A figure moved before the crowd, and Varian's heart raced as he recognized his father, "Dad!" But before he could reach him, Cassandra stepped in and stopped him. The Alchemist looked up at her, confused, before Cassandra encouraged him to glance back at his father and noticed the amber pieces stuck around his neck and joints, making it difficult for him to walk. Varian was immediately concerned as he saw Quirin's exhaustion, with sunken eyes stuck into a long-forged memory.
"I've never much talked about your mother, Varian, and there was a reason for that...I didn't want you to know how she died." "You told me that she simply disappeared one night." Varian's voice broke, "You told me that she simply disappeared one night." Quirin's eyes squinted as tears shed down his cheeks, "'I don't want to do this."
"You better tell him, or we won't make it sound as pretty." Juniper appeared behind him, her form bruised and her leg wrapped in a homely cast after their last encounter, nudging him in his side and causing him to whimper slightly.
Varian looked deep into his father's eyes, pleading with him to help him understand, "You were precocious as your mother would have called you clever and exceeding even as a young toddler...I know that now. Your mother saw this and praised you for it." A smile sadly came to his lips before it moved into a frown. "However, for years, I blamed you for a mistake that was out of your control."
"What mistake?" Varian asked, fingers digging into Cassandra's shoulder as she reamed stationed in front of him.
"You wandered too far and ended up clinging to the moonstone. It was draining your life force, turning your hair white." Varian reached for his hair, feeling the slight grooves of grey he had assumed he'd been born with. "Your mother was the first to hear your screams, and she didn't hesitate...to save you. When I went there, your mother was gone, and you lay crying, having watched your mother disappear right before your eyes."
Varian's tears fell, feeling this wave of understanding at all the guilt he felt from his father.
"I wish I could have gotten there sooner. You were just a child; you didn't mean to cause your mother's death. It was an accident...I know that now. I should've never-."
"Enough." Juniper elbowed him again, sending him into an awkward kneeling position. His hand doing its best to reach his side.
"No. Stop."
"You see so, tell me, Alchemist," Hubert interrupted, coming close to the couple, his hand coming to the dagger at his waist, causing Cassandra's hand to linger upward in defense, "you were supposed to interpret a small incantation remember that...it was in King Herz Der Sonne's journal." Variain scoffed, pressing against Cassandra's arm, "Why do you want to know...that incantation is only used to bring back the stones-."
"-Exactly, bringing them back to the point of a new birth, a form of resurrection in exchange for the sacrifice of someone willing." Hubert's eyes moved to Cassandra's form, gently sulking over her courageous stance, her head bouncing up and down from consciousness, her mind restless.
Varian moved in front of Cassandra only for Andrew to grab him around his hand, pulling him away into the hands of Juniper, who raised a small knife to his neck, her lips coming to his ear, "I can't wait to make you pay...you little prat." Varian's voice rose as Andrew grabbed Cassandra around her waist, moving her over her shoulder, her body limp and frail, "NO! She won't."
"After some persuading, I'm sure she will in time." Hubert's fingers grazed over the curve of her neck, finding the charring black ash that had begun peeling. Varian's skin boiled., "After all, Zhan Tiri still needs her," he scoffed, "For reasons, she has me, and that's all she really needs," Hubert muttered under his breath. Varian looked deep into his eyes, seeing a dark mist of swirling clouds but a still movement of grey clouding his eyes with no fight behind it, unlike Cassandra, who had fought earnestly to keep her at bay.
"It takes a lot of energy to preserve her. Still, It'll be worth it once we finally destroy Corona together, at least... and take that asinine man's honor down into his long-forgotten legacy. And Corona will BURN!" The Saporians around them moved into a chanting, "BURN CORONA, BURN...BURN FOR CENTURIES!" The crowd fell silent as Andrew stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Varian. "Shall we head upstairs? I have a few surprises in store for you. Well, you get these stones up and running."
"Clementine? Be a dear and grab the stones for me. We won't want to make a worthless mess, would we?"
"Of course not, Your Majesty." She bowed lightly, gravitating the stones from the machinery.
Juniper grabbed Varian by his collar, pulling him back into the dark cavern and bringing his eyes upward towards a waterfall of ropes cascading down below them. She brought him up into her arms as the rope tugged from above, causing them to be pulled upward into a dimly lit hallway lined with crooked black rocks sticking out from the planks of wood. Stretched across the hallway were stilled cages with a set of guards at each end. Juniper motioned him to walk, encouraging him to stare into each cell as they passed. "Please, someone help my Precious. She's wilting. She needs moist soil!" Feldspire yelled as he held his prized cabbage, gently stroking through each leaf.
"It's alright, everything is going to be okay," Pete gently rubbed Faith's back as she cried into a nearby wall, "How are we going to be alright? We're doomed!" Stan's voice broke from behind him, landing into his chest in tight breaths pleading with Pete to hold him close as the three shared their fears. Old Lady Crowley yelled from the other cage beside them, her hands to her hips, "Yeah. Sure, lie to yourselves", before gripping the bars as Varian passed her eyes glaring into his soul, "If this is anything like last time. We'll lose a lot more than just our homes." As more civilians came into his view, Varian's eyes left the grumpy old lady. They consisted of families, friends, neighbors, and work buddies, each expressing fear. As they approached the final end of the hallway, Varian was relieved to not see Lance.
Still, he was heartbroken to see his father being motioned into a holding cell. Quirin's eyes landed on his son as he was being led away, and he said, "I'm proud of you, son... please know that." Varian forced a smile to his lips and gently watched his father disappear from his view. "I know, Dad," he whispered to himself.
"Now, if you'll just follow me, I know the perfect place for our little revival." Andrew regained Varian's attention away from his as they entered a dark chamber layer with rough (though steady) bordered of wood stretched out to make a thin bridge towards a small pedestal cage that bubbled above into a sphere. The stones were moved forward as Hubert shoved Varian forward, urging him to move forward. Clementine rested the rocks inside the cage, positioning them decently between each other, not wanting the elements of life and destruction to collide.
Andrew dropped Cassandra at the feet of the stones, her body remaining limp. However, her eyes managed to gaze up towards the ceiling, widening in horror. "What have you done..." Andrew looked up for an instant, confused, before eyeing the bodies of the royal family tightly surrounded by wild vines, "Oh, yes, I forgot... they're one of the main reasons you came back. To save them."
"Peachy." A voice broke from above as vines moved downward towards the thin boardwalk, with the group coming in contact with Lady Cain, who lay in the hem of a makeshift hammock, a smile piercing over her lips. "Oh, Duchase...my flame." Andrew moved towards for kiss only for Lady Cain's hand to land over his mouth, "Shhh..., my love. I'm finally witnessing my sweet justice right before my eyes. The King has been sentenced to die at dawn. The entire royal family is in chaos and unable to take any action. All because of his straightforward mistake of killing an innocent man."
Andrew moved her hand from his mouth, pulling it to his lips in a more romantic gesture, "That's wonderful, my duchess. We are just about to revive the stones. Are you almost ready?" He asked.
Her smile remained fixed, "Almost; All I require is one more scenario, and then I can sit back and revel in the satisfaction of witnessing Corona meet its demise right before the King's very eyes, just as my father had before him." She made a quick gesture, and the vines immediately lifted her back towards the Royal family. Her fingers tightly gripped the King's chin, ensuring he looked straight into her eyes through the simulation.
Andrew nudged Varian with his shoulder, grabbing Cassandra's hand from the ground and pulling it over the two stones without hesitation, watching as her frame began to lean against the rocks as they began to surround her, making her breath shallow, "Speak the incantation, kid...if you do, you can save your father - if you still wish - and perhaps whatever is left of Cassandra."
The guard shook her head, her eyes blinking back up at the Royal Family,
"Varian...I'd rather die than-."
"-No. It's okay, Cassandra....I'll read the incantation."Hubert's eyes danced with pleasure, his hands intertwining to his middle.
"If you could back up for me."
"Certainly." Hubert bowed, stepping back from the scene. Varian crouched down, his hand finding her shoulder. "Don't worry, Cass...will do this together. Try to repeat after me if you can." She painfully nodded through a yelp of pain as his hand met hers, touching the stones, a wave of energy instantly pulled from him.

"Crescents of the Celestials,
receive thine light to thine.
Restore what has been sought,
Consume thine burning right, ignite within facade.
Let mine spirit free, and flesh become thines.
Give what has been...
and what is destined to be."

The couple sat in the middle of the clearing, their bodies emanating a vibrant beam of light. The energy from their collision with the stones sent the beam spiraling around them, illuminating the entire area. The sight was breathtaking as if witnessing a magical phenomenon beyond human comprehension.