The secret of the Moondrop

Chapter 21: Dust

Varian's POV:

Varian covered his ears, his eyes tightly shut, hoping that the voices in his head would stop if he stayed silent. But they didn't, there was no escape from her. She was trying to turn him insane, that way it would be easier to control him. 
And as much as he hated it, Varian had to admit that it was working.

"FAILURE" One of them said, it's echo making the alchemist wince as a headache begun to appear.

"There's nothing you can do..."

"GIVE UP! You'll just ruin everything again!"

"You, little moon scum!!"

Then came the laughter, they were laughing at him. Everyone: Rapunzel, Cassandra, Eugene, his father... and he couldn't do anything. Anything except stay still and wait until it finished.
This isn't real, he tried to convince himself, they wouldn't do this to me.

"YOU KILLED YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!" A woman's voice barked angrily.
Varian flinched, something in her voice was so familiar... "WHY VARIAN, WHY? I WAS YOUR MOTHER!"

Varian swallowed the lump in his throat, his eyes prickling with tears.
"Mum? I...I'm sorry please, it...it was an accident I didn't meant to..."

"You destroyed Corona..." said Rapunzel, disappointment clear in her voice.
Varian bit his lip, that hadn't been an accident.

"HE ALSO CRUSHED ME!" Cassandra yelled in his ear.

That's not true, he thought, I didn't kill her.
Right? It was hard to tell, what was truth and what was fake. In Gothel's mindscape reality depended on what she wanted it to be.
Varian whimpered, rubbing his temples furiously while being curl up in a ball. The pain was unbearable, it was as if and ax had just split his skull in two. He didn't think he'd keep it together much longer.

"Why don't just give up?" Gothel's smooth voice said" "Wouldn't it be easier? Wouldn't it ease your pain?"

The alchemist shook his head, his teeth gritted and fists clenched. This was the woman that had ruined his life, Gothel, who had cursed him with powers that killed his mother and destroyed the kingdom he used to care about, why would he trust her?
Yeah, his head ached and hearing those voices was the worst torture he had ever endured. But he would never give up, not if that would please Gothel or hurt Rapunzel.
"No!" he shouted, standing up slowly "I won't give up!"
Wind roared in his ears, carrying the voices that had been insulting him, making them speak at the same time. Their echo rattled Varian's brain, but he didn't scream, he wouldn't give Gothel the satisfaction to know she had hurt him.
Several tears fell down his cheeks, but he remained silent, holding his glowing hair and letting his tears gravitate around him. His eyes remained closed.

"Stop resisting, Varian, you know what you want" she touched his shoulders, the cold sending shivers through his spine "You are destruction, you have power! Now, USE IT"

"NEVER! Get away from me!" he shouted.
Varian heard Gothel snort. "Pitiful"
The dust kept swirling around him, making scratches in his clothes and skin, the voices growing louder and louder. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, still pulling at his aching head and wishing the voices would just shut up.
Wishing that Rapunzel were there....

Rapunzel's POV:

Rapunzel's eyes fluttered open, only to find herself surrounded by black rocks, her golden hair glowing and gravitating, the only source of light in the dark dome she had made out of the strange rocks.
She gawped at it during a moment, letting herself get caught in the beauty of the sundrop. Then, a thought assaulted her, making Rapunzel snap out of her trance.
What just happened? she asked herself...
There had been an explosion, right after she healed Varian and made sure he was okay. Everything had fallen apart, rocks started to sprout from everywhere. She had reacted out of instinct, pulling at the boy's wrists and controlling those rocks...
"Varian!"
It wasn't that difficult to find him, though, with his glowing blue hair and all.
He was crouched against one black rock, staring blankly at the space in front of him, holding his knees against his chest.
Something was off.
Rapunzel crawled to reach him (the dome wasn't big enough for her to stand up) and touched his shoulder hesitantly.
"Varian? Is everything okay?" She asked, shaking him slightly.
But the boy didn't respond, it was as if he couldn't see her or anything around him. He was completely out of it.
Rapunzel frowned, waving a hand in front of his face without the slightest response.
His hair was also shining, gravity abandoning it the same way that occurred with Rapunzel's.
Gothel must have done something to him, she thought fearfully. But what?
Now that she had her 'body' back there was no telling what the limits of her powers where. She could already make illusions and manipulate her mind at a considerable distance, and judging by the intel her mother had told her about Varian's sudden injury, it also seemed life she could hurt without anybody noticing it.
Rapunzel looked at the young alchemists glassy eyes, which were reflecting the blue light like a mirror. Was it possible that he was somehow trapped in his own mind?
And if that was the case, how could she connect with Varian and pull him out of the trance?
Connect.
She had an idea.
It might actually work, the princess thought.
Rapunzel reached for his small hands tentatively, tangling her fingers with Varian's.
She concentrated hard, humming the melody of the healing song during some seconds, her eyes closed.
It was then, that a white light begun to form between them as a combination of the moon and sundrops powers.
Rapunzel remained her eyes closed, thinking about entering Varian's mind, wanting to know what was going on there...
The light blinded her. Rapunzel set her jaw tight, waiting.
And then, she woke up inside Varian's mindscape.
The princess was in a dark desert-looking place, the sky was red, sending chills down Rapunzel's spine 'cause she remembered how red used o be Gothel's favorite color.
Then she noticed it.
She squinted her eyes, looking at a small humanoid figure standing in the middle of what seemed a sand hurricane, a strange glow being emitted from the persons head.
Varian.
She called his name, hoping that her screams would reach him through the loud sounds and voices of the tornado that was surrounding him, but there wasn't any sign that he had heard her at all.
Suddenly, he collapsed.
"No!" she screamed.
Rapunzel pushed through the hurricane, trying to get to the boy.
Talking 'bout feeling the wind in her hair, she thought somberly.
"You aren't supposed to be here!" She heard a voice yell.
Rapunzel flinched, still not used to having a voice speaking inside her head (not that she ever wanted to get used to it).
The princess ignored it, putting her hands in front of her face to avoid the scratches the strange sand was making in her skin and clothes.
"DON'T GET ANY CLOSER TO HIM, MISSY!" Gothel shouted in Rapunzel's ear.
She was tempted to snort, now she wanted to play the mother card?
Rapunzel kneeled next to Varian, who was semi conscious and clutching at his head. She bit her lip.
"Varian, it's me! I'm here!" she yelled through the noise.
Varian's eyes shot opened, focusing on her and then been flooded with relief. Tears from his eyes floated in the air, making Rapunzel wonder if she could also do that.
"How can you be here?" he asked.
"THATS WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, YOU STUPID BOY" Gothel suddenly said.
Varian winced, Rapunzel somehow knowing how badly his head was hurting in that moment.
The princess didn't waste time, she immediately took Varian's hands without asking and started humming the song.
Gothel kept yelling 'colourful' insults to them while they begun vanishing.
Some seconds later, they were free from Gothel's illusion.

Varian and Rapunzel both took a deep breath at the same time.
They remained silent for a moment, staring at each other and trying to assimilate what had just happened.
"Uh, Rapunzel?" Varian asked while tracing his hand down a glowing black rock.
Rapunzel blinked at the mention of her name.
"Yes?"
He gulped. "Was it real, where you really... there?"
Rapunzel nodded, she was also very surprised. To think that they could enter each other's minds... it was kind of creepy.
Varian looked around in confusion. "Where are we?" he asked.
"The tunnel was going to collapse so I made a black rock protective barrier" she answered.
The boy eyed her with disbelief.
"But I thought you said you couldn't control the black rocks anymore!" he exclaimed.
Rapunzel shook her head, she couldn't believe it herself.
"I couldn't heal either but, hey, you're alive" the princess responded.
Varian nodded, fidgeting with his fingers while thinking.
"Were you touching me when you made the black rocks appear?"
Rapunzel's eyes widened.
Her hair had also been activated when she touched the black rocks for the first time, only for her ability to manipulate them to be taken from her once they had found her. But then she'd healed Varian, awaking his powers but also her own. They had a strange connection, they were able to sense each other's feeling and enter their minds capes whenever they...
"We can control our powers when we are touching each other, that's it!" Rapunzel said.
Varian nodded his agreement.
"That makes sense"
Rapunzel touched his hand startling him, she laughed. He didn't think it made sense at all! It was frustrating and couldn't be represented as an equation.
"This is incredible!" she said "You know what this means, right?"
Varian grinned.
"It means we can kick some serious dust-butt"

Chapter end.
It isn't very good but it's the best I could manage.
Also, I just found out that vowed (as in 'promised') goes with 'v' and not with a 'b'. I'll try to correct it when I can but right now (aka most of the time) I'm too lazy.
Ugh, I've used that damn word a LOT.