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Pocahontas watched as the former slaves filed onto several large ships in the slave camp's harbor, while the still miniature Willow sat on her shoulder and surveyed the escape operation. As the last man boarded the final ship meant to leave, the twosome heard a sharp whisper of, "Psst. Pocahontas. Aunt Willow." Pocahontas nodded toward the ship as the anchor lifted from under the water, and then headed for the shadows, where Rapunzel hid behind a tree, still holding the Oracle's crystal ball, with Nakoma at her side. "So, I take it everything's OK?" Willow asked from Pocahontas's shoulder. "Everything's fine," Nakoma replied. "I told Zhan Tiri that she had a choice: Go to prison for her crimes, or live out the rest of her days in her underground bomb shelter. Guess what she chose." "Wait—she has an underground bomb shelter?" Rapunzel realized. "Doesn't every slave owner have one?" Nakoma challenged with a knowing wink. "And since you're back with us, I'm thinking you gave

Forced to lead the way for Rapunzel, the Oracle walked down the path toward what looked like a coliseum. And from the warm glow within, the blonde thought to herself, Zhan Tiri's soldiers are working overtime. I'll bet Nakoma's trying to tire them out. "You'll never make it out of here alive," the Oracle suddenly taunted her captor. "Zhan Tiri probably has some surprises waiting for you. You'd better be ready for them." "Shut up, Oracle," Rapunzel replied. "And keep walking." "If anyone hears me, we're heading toward the dungeons!" the Oracle called, only to be slammed in the back by Rapunzel and pushed further forward. "I said, shut up," Rapunzel ordered ominously as they came to a fork in the road. "We're in your world now, so no one can hear us." "What?" the Oracle demanded. "How did you—?" "I learned that you just have to be near this crystal ball for it to work, so it doesn't matter who's holding it," Rapunzel explained. "And, from what Pocahontas told me, Zhan

Nakoma eyed the beacon on her hooded cape as a shackled Pocahontas stood beside her, her head bowed in defeat. It won't be long now before Zhan Tiri shows up, the former told herself as she cast a backward glance at Rapunzel's sleeping form. Everything depends on her taking us back to that compound. And then, as if in answer to her silent thoughts, the sky grew dark. Nakoma looked upward as storm clouds hovered overhead. And then, a thunderbolt flashed and struck the ground in front of the two friends, creating a small explosion and causing them to shield their eyes. A moment passed, and the being in gray and black appeared before them, from behind a puff of purple smoke. Blast it, Zhan Tiri! Nakoma complained to herself. Do you have to make a big production number out of everything?! But she didn't dare say that out loud, for fear of exposure. And then, on cue, she genuflected before her former Mistress, while Pocahontas copied her gesture. "Hail Zhan Tiri," Nakoma greeted

With Nakoma supervising and helping, she and Willow painted gold colors on a large coffin with a glass lid, with the latter asking, "Are you sure this is gonna fool this Zhan Tiri character?" "Positive," Nakoma replied as she used a smaller paintbrush to paint gold coloring on the name "Rapunzel", which was written in flowing script on the front and the back. "Besides bringing back Pocahontas as a captive, the other way we can get back into the slave camp while remaining under the radar is by faking Rapunzel's death." Willow opened her mouth to form a protest, but Nakoma cut her off with, "I don't like the idea either, but it'll be worth it if we can free the slave camp's prisoners." "And how will faking Rapunzel's death and bringing Pocahontas back as a captive help us free those slaves?" Willow challenged. "To answer the first part of your question, I've seen a room with many closed coffins at the slave camp, all with glass lids," Nakoma explained. "My guess is, Zhan Tiri keeps

Still reeling from all the information given to her by her aunt, Rapunzel stood by the built woodpile as she tried to focus on helping Pocahontas complete the ritual of Fire. However, no matter how much she tried to focus on the scene before her, her mind kept wandering toward the questions she now had. What would be in store for her now that she knew the real truth? What would become of her once she returned to Corona? And would her parents be able to accept her choice of a significant other? The blonde shook her head to clear it as she nodded toward Pocahontas while Willow tied her seventy feet of hair into an elaborate braid and remarked, "How can you be so casual about seventy feet of hair?" Rapunzel cast a backward glance at her aunt and told her, "You know, Poca wondered the same thing." Then she sighed as she stared off into space. "You thinking about the future, darlin'?" Willow asked. "Yes," Rapunzel answered. "For eighteen years, I've been told lie after lie about

Thanks to Pocahontas's new hydrokinetic powers, the two travelers and Meeko were able to reach the village at the end of the dried-up marsh. "Not much to look at, is there?" Rapunzel remarked as she looked around. It seemed that there were various huts marking different locations and surrounding what looked like a small fire pit, over which an equally small kettle dangled. "I suggest you look harder," Pocahontas told her, as it was the larger woodpile that got her attention. "Look over there." "They're building a bonfire," Rapunzel noted. "But... why?" But at that point, one of the figures standing near the large woodpile turned to see the three of them, and she called in a singsong, "Visitors!" As the word rang out, many women stepped out of the huts and approached Rapunzel, Pocahontas, and Meeko. The first woman to reach them was the one who called out that there were visitors. She was a brunette with her hair styled in pigtails tied in ribbons, and she wore a multicolored

The rocky terrain changed to muddy and grassy as Pocahontas and Rapunzel continued their journey, and the tan-skinned girl remarked, "This is the meadow I remember dreaming about. But... why is it so muddy?" On this note, it struck Rapunzel as she responded, "Um, this isn't a meadow. It's a marsh—a swampy area." Then she snapped her fingers as she asked Pocahontas, "This wouldn't be where you'd have to undergo the Earth Ritual, by any chance?" "Perhaps," Pocahontas replied. "The voice in my dream told me, 'Find the area here with the most mud. Absorb its moisture, and you will be one with the Earth.'" "But this whole place is nothing but mud and grass," Rapunzel protested. "Where are we going to find a pure mud hole in a marsh this big?" "We sniff it out," Pocahontas told her. She stepped ahead of Rapunzel and sniffed the air, suddenly pointing with, "This way." She was about to break into a run when the blonde grabbed her shoulder. "Wait," Rapunzel cautioned. "Running

Zhan Tiri gasped when she felt a shift in the elements, a shift in the balance of the world. Pocahontas, she realized. She rose from her throne and called, "Oracle—be seen!" At her command, the Oracle appeared, taking corporeal form and holding her crystal ball protectively. "You summoned me, Mistress?" "There has been a shift in the elements," Zhan Tiri told her. "Look into your crystal ball and tell me of Pocahontas's condition." The Oracle did as she was told, only to respond, "The Guardian with the Golden Hair... she is blocking me from reading Pocahontas's heart. And Pocahontas is doing the same. Her heart is preventing me from seeing through the Guardian's eyes." Zhan Tiri shuddered as she muttered, "True Love blocks our abilities." "I am afraid so, Mistress," the Oracle confirmed. "But there is still a slave who might know what is happening." "Bring that slave to me," Zhan Tiri ordered. "He will be tortured until he talks." "I have a better way, Mistress," the

The wind whistled calmly through the trees as Pocahontas and Rapunzel walked side by side through the forest. Pocahontas cast sidelong glances at the blonde and the extremely long hair that trailed behind them as they walked, wondering to herself, How can she be so calm and casual about seventy feet of hair? "Penny for your thoughts?" Rapunzel suddenly prompted, breaking into her new lover's reverie. "Huh?" Pocahontas murmured. "Oh—it's nothing." "Let me guess," Rapunzel mused. "It's my hair, isn't it?" She chuckled. "You're wondering how I can walk with this seventy-foot trail and not trip myself up?" "What? No!" Pocahontas protested. "Of course not." But then, she sighed resignedly when she received a glare from the blonde. "OK, yes," she admitted. "Don't you think you'll get it dirty or trashed with leaves while we're in here?" Rapunzel smiled. "Honestly, no," she replied. "I've lived in a tower in this forest for the first eighteen years of my life. As I was

As dawn came, Rapunzel moaned in effort as she squirmed around in the grass, rustling the leaves she'd made for a bed. As she got to her feet and stretched her arms over her head, she thought to herself, What an odd dream I've been having these past few days. Who was that angel that I kept seeing? But then, as she brushed the dirt off her strapless dress consisting of a brown velvet bodice and a long gold skirt, she decided, I can't worry about a "Dream Girl" at this point. I need to continue on to that city and see those lanterns. But just then, she heard the sound of rustling leaves from all around, causing her to gasp. What was that? she wondered with a start. She turned around, only to see nothing, and told herself, Must have been my imagination. But then the noise came again, causing the blonde to shudder, and then duck behind a nearby tree. I know I didn't imagine that. Someone else is here. And then, she heard another moaning sound. It sounded like another female, and she