You're smart enough to stake the place out before pulling any heroics, so you're at the base of the tower, behind some shrubbery, watching the comings and goings of its occupants. Nothing's happening yet, but within moments, you see a hag approach the tower and stand below its single window.

"Rapunzel!" she shouts above, her voice an unbearable screech, like fingernails on chalkboard. "Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

Half a minute passes, then a long, thick braid of roped hair the color of amber is lowered from the window, spanning the entire length of the tower. You realize--oh, my goodness!--that it's Rapunzel's hair, the same one in the picture the old man gave to you. Your heart beats faster, and you wonder what it would be like to run your fingers through those amber waves.

Meanwhile, the witch has reached the top, and from your hiding place, you hear her scold and nag Rapunzel about various things--about what, you can't really tell. If Rapunzel has any response to the lecture, you don't hear it. You only watch the long braid of hair make its way up the tower again, to disappear inside the window.

An hour later, the braid makes its way back down again, and the witch climbs down it, to run whatever errands she needs to run is your guess. When she has disappeared, you make your way close to the base of the tower and call out in your most hag-like voice.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

Amazingly enough, it works. A long braid of hair is lowered down from the window, and when the end of it reaches you, you bury your fingers in the amber locks and breathe in the clean, flowery scent. Then, with the pair of scissors tucked safely in your pack, you climb up the tower.

When you reach the window, you peer over the sill to find Rapunzel grasping the base of the braid and holding it stable, wrapped around a bedpost. Her eyes are closed tightly as she braces herself against your weight, and there's a quizzical slant to her eyebrows, as though she can't figure out why her burden's much heavier than usual. After all, with all your muscle and bone, you weigh a lot more than the witch does. Not wanting to strain her, you get over the window sill as quickly as you can to relieve her...

...and nearly jump out of your skin at the sound of a loud siren wailing.

You quickly realize that it's a metal detector alarm, and you know that any time soon, the witch will arrive. You look at Rapunzel and try to figure out a plan to get her out of there, but she seems to have different plans.

Fear is etched clearly on her face,... and maybe a slight bit of anger. It takes you a while to realize that she's afraid of you, not the inevitable arrival of the witch. She's watching the gun warily, and she's stepping to the side, trying to steer clear of its aim.

You barely notice.

"Rapunzel," you tell her. "We have to get out of here, quick. Do you have something you can climb down with? Rapunzel?"

She doesn't answer you, just continues watching you.

Suddenly, the witch's voice rises up from the foot of the tower. "Rapunzel! The alarm!"

Swiftly, you turn to look out the window and towards the ground. Drat! It's the witch, and it looks like she's ready to hurt someone.

"Mother Gothel!" Rapunzel cries from behind you. "You were right about the monster men!"

The monster men?!

You turn to face Rapunzel again, but it's too late; she has made it to your side while you were busy looking down at the witch, and by the time you've managed to face her again, you see only her determined brown eyes. The look in them is one of self-preservation, and it's the last thing you note before you feel her hands on your chest...

...heavy, as though she is pushing you.

And then you realize that she is. Pushing you hard. And the final thought in your head before everything turns black is that you are falling.

You don't even feel the pain.