A/N: I finally wrote something that I'm proud of. This basically my take on an extended version of the cave scene, turning it into about an hour instead of a minute. Except this time, there's no way out. My goal is to make people cry, although I have no idea whether or not that will happen… I was originally going to show both Flynn and Rapunzel's thoughts, but somehow when I started writing it I became focused on Flynn, so I decided to keep it way. He's more fun to write about anyway. Now, read and enjoy.
Flynn followed Rapunzel into the cave, grabbing the frying pan as he ran. They made it just in time, just before the huge boulder fell down, blocking their entrance. It seemed to land extremely close to the cave opening. In fact, there was really no space between the rock and the walls of the cave. Aside from the small trickle of water coming from it, you never would have guessed that it wasn't part of the cave itself.
Immediately, he and Blondie ran to the other side of the cave, but they found that it didn't go on very far. It couldn't have been more than fifteen feet deep. They felt against the wall, cold and rough, but there seemed to be no opening. Not giving up, they felt around some more. Rapunzel even grabbed her frying pan and started banging at the walls while Flynn circled the whole cave to make sure they hadn't missed anything. But their first impression was right; there were absolutely no openings and definitely no way out of here.
But that was impossible. There had to be some way out. He was in panic mood now, starting to push against the walls. Once, his hand slipped and slid across a sharp part of the rock. He was greeted with a sharp pain, and looking down, he could make out in the low light that his hand was bleeding. But a cut was the least of his worries right now.
Balling his hand into a fist, he sat down on the floor, breathing heavily. He didn't want to give up yet – he couldn't. Surely if they kept looking they would find something. But in the back of his mind he knew that this wasn't true…
"Are you okay?" It was the first sentence spoken in that cave, uttered by Rapunzel. He glanced up at her, trying to make out her face. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness, and he could see the way her green eyes were shining. But they were different from the green eyes he had grown accustomed to – now, they were sad and worried, not filled with joy and excitement.
"Yeah, I'm…fine. Just great." His voice sounded weird in the cave. Everything echoed. Everything was so quiet and so loud at the same time. He could hear more water pouring in and he wondered just how long it would take for the cave to fill. The ground they were on was the highest part of the cavern, and already the water had spread to it, coating the floor. It wasn't exactly freezing, but it wasn't comfortable either.
Rapunzel sat down next to him. She sighed, and it made him sad – it was a sigh of defeat, of hopelessness. "Do you have any ideas?"
"No, I don't…I'm sorry…" he said. He was so used to having ideas. He had been in near death experiences so many times and he always found a way out of it. Why should this time be any different? And oh god, why did he have to have someone with him this time? If he could have gotten out, if he could have come up with a brilliant plan and turned the whole thing into a showcase of his skills – that would have been different. He would have been able to impress her. But now – now he was stuck here with a completely innocent girl who didn't even know what she had gotten herself into, and he had no way out. They were both going to die.
The thought kept invading his brain, never leaving him alone. He needed to do something, god dammit. Anything to get them out of here. But he couldn't. He kept feeling around for gaps in the walls, places he could push the rocks apart, but he found nothing every time.
He couldn't just let them die.
The water was rising – it was a good foot off the ground now. The truth was blatantly clear; that the water would keep rising until there was no room left, and he and Rapunzel were going to drown.
Flynn swallowed, not liking this idea. Just then, he heard Rapunzel sigh again, and cry softly. He hated seeing her cry, but he was glad that her talking gave him something to think about other than his death.
"I'm so…I'm so sorry, Flynn," she said, her words coming out between her sobs. He couldn't blame her for crying. He probably would be right now too, if he weren't concerned with staying strong for her. It broke his heart to see her like this, knowing it was something he had caused. This never should have happened. It wasn't fair to her. She was only seventeen, almost eighteen, for God's sake – she didn't deserve to die now. "This is all my fault."
Flynn looked over at her, seeing the pain on her face. She was always so real with her emotions, it seemed. She never tried to hide anything. "It wasn't your fault," he said plainly. That was the last thing he wanted her to think. Unfortunately, he was so worried right now that he couldn't really put together the right words to explain how it wasn't her fault. He hoped just saying it would be enough.
"I…shouldn't have made you make that deal with me. Mother was right, I never should have done this…" she said. If she hadn't, then they wouldn't be in this situation.
"Rapunzel," he said, realizing it was the first name he used her real name. And she wasn't even using his real name…go figure. He put his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. "This is not your fault. If anything, it's mine. It just happened. It has nothing to do with anything you've done."
Rapunzel nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. Flynn leaned against the back of the cave, feeling completely worthless, knowing that there was nothing he could do to save her. They were silent for a few minutes. His thoughts were empty, almost. There was an unwavering, constant fear, knowing that he would die soon, but besides that, there was nothing. It was like a dull panic, that made his whole body feel hot and funny, giving him a desire to scream and search for any possible way out of this fate.
"How much longer do we have?" Rapunzel asked finally. So she had accepted that they were going to die too.
Flynn looked at the water, trying to judge how fast it was raising and how much space was left in the cave. "Maybe…maybe an hour," he said. If they were lucky.
Rapunzel nodded, sniveling. Seeing her like that, scared and alone, he couldn't help but put one of his arms around her, hoping that he gave her at least some small bit of comfort before it was too late. She responded with thankfulness, one of her small hands latching onto his vest as she cried a little more. "I'm sorry, Flynn. I'm so, so sorry."
That was what made him do it. Being called that name while she was pouring her heart out to him, being more candid than anyone ever was with him… He had just had to tell her the truth. He owed her that, at least. "Eugene," he said, wincing a bit. It had been such a long time since he had even said that name out loud.
Rapunzel paused and took her hand off of him, sitting up again. "What?" She was confused and hysterical and upset, and he was sure that his word had meant nothing to her.
"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert," he explained, shrugging ever so slightly. It was a hard confession to make. He had been running away from that identity for years, and to reveal to someone he barely knew, yet felt undeniably close to…it was a big deal for him. Maybe he was just doing it because he was dying, but there was more to it than yet. Rapunzel was something special, and he wanted her to know the real him. "Someone might as well know."
He saw Rapunzel smile a bit. People probably didn't tell her secrets like that too often. "I have…magic hair that glows when I sing," she said, smiling cutely and shrugging herself, as if this was her big confession.
"What?" For the first time, his thoughts were taken away from death, focused on what she had just said. He wasn't surprised that there was something magical about her hair – he had never seen anything as long as it, so it only made sense, but…magic and glowing? Was she being serious about this?
Rapunzel realized what she had just said and her face lit up. "I have magic hair that glows when I sing!" she repeated excitedly. Before Flynn even question this, and why she hadn't remembered before, she started to sing some insane song. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine…" And with that, she took a deep breath and dived under the shallow water.
He joined her, not surprised that it was impossible to see anything underwater either.
And then her hair started to glow.
But that was impossible! A lot of weird things had happened today, but this was just impossible. Maybe he had already died and this was some weird dream of his. But no, it felt real, it was definitely real, and it was incredible. To be honest, he was so desperate right now that he was ready to believe anything without questioning it.
The light from her hair illuminated the cave a bit, and he knew they were both looking for the same thing: to find the place where the water was attracted to, the place where they could get out.
He watched her hair carefully, looking for any sign of an escape. But it wasn't swaying to any particular direction. Once or twice he thought it did, and he quickly swam over to where he imagined it was, pulling furiously at the rocks that lined the bottom of the cave. He came up for air a few times, Rapunzel helping him out. "Why isn't it working?" she asked.
"I'm trying, Rapunzel!" he shouted in frustration. Why didn't she understand that he was doing the best he could?
They kept trying until her hair faded out, but there was nothing, absolutely nothing. For a minute or two his hope had been renewed, and it had vanished just as quickly. He felt even worse now, after that.
They were in the darkness again, and Rapunzel took a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just thought it might work."
"I thought so too," he replied, sitting back down on the spot they were at before. The water was halfway up his torso now. Their time was well over halfway up. It was getting the point where the amount of space left was actually frightening him.
"So. Magic hair?" he asked, an attempt to make conversation.
"Y-yeah. It does more than just glow, actually…" Rapunzel said. Her voice was shaky and she was scared. "That's…why I live in the tower. So people won't try to steal me for my power, or…" Her voice faded away. It was probably hard to talk about. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter…"
But it did matter. It was what made her unique. And besides, she was the only thing he had right now, and her story was just as important as anything else. Even now, when he knew he couldn't do anything about it, he was heartbroken by what she had said. Being held captive just because you have unusual hair? He felt so bad for her. Had it been like that her whole life? There were so many questions he had about her, and now he would never get any answers. It was weird. He usually wasn't the type who wanted to get to know people. He was usually absorbed in himself, but with her – he would have liked to learn everything about her. Even though they had only known each other a few hours, he felt like he already knew her better than almost anyone else in his life. He couldn't exactly describe the connection between them, but it was there.
"So…" She started talking again, and he had almost forgotten that she was there (which was silly, honestly, because she was right next to him and the only one there). "Eugene Fitzherbert?"
Of course the conversation would come back to him. Flynn sighed. How long had it been since he had discussed his backstory with anyone? But if there was anyone he would tell it to, it would be her. "Yes," he said, thinking about how to describe this. "The name Flynn Rider, it comes from a book I read when I was a kid. I spent my entire childhood at an orphanage, and I always dreamed of being free to do what I wanted…" What was the point of even explaining this to her? He sighed again. "So, when I got out, I started going by this new name, so I could try to forget about my past, and just…start over."
Rapunzel was silent, sympathetic. That was another thing he liked about her – she listened. She listened to what he had to say, and she thought about it. "Did it work?" she asked.
"Not really," he admitted. His life as a thief hadn't been a very good one. Until now, he hadn't really realized how much he disliked what he did. He thought back. Had he accomplished anything good in his life? The first nice thing he had done in years was making that deal with Rapunzel, and even that had started out as something completely selfish. He regretted now that he hadn't taken the time to talk to her and get to know her earlier in the day. He was too preoccupied with his stupid satchel, but when it came down to it, none of that mattered – she mattered, not the crown or whether or not he would get rich. What good would riches do him in a few hours?
Rapunzel took his hand in hers, reaching under the water. He looked down, but he couldn't even see her hand; it was too dark. It was weird, almost, thinking that he would never be able to hold her hand above water. Would he have? He had a feeling that if they were to survive, he would hold her hand quite often. God help him, this lack of oxygen must have been getting to him, because there was no other excuse for him to be thinking about romance at a time like this.
Rapunzel smiled sweetly at him and said, almost in a whisper, "Thank you for sharing that with me, Eugene."
So, she was already calling him by that name? "No problem," he muttered. He realized how nice it was that she wasn't making fun of him or pitying him or having any of the reactions that he had expected. In fact, she was accepting him just the way he was.
He squeezed her hand, wanting to let her know that he supported her too. It was something he couldn't bring to words, but he wanted her to know that he cared about her and appreciated her. Yes, Flynn Rider cared about her – a girl who he had met only a few short hours ago.
It was hard to come to terms with sudden change in attitude. He was sure that he cared about her more than he cared for himself. His head was spinning, thinking about Rapunzel and wondering whether or not these were real emotions or just some wild result of his frenzied state of mind. Either way, they were going to be his last impressions of her.
And then it hit him like a train. He known since they had gotten trapped that they were going to die, but only now did he realize that she was going to die. The insane, sweet, naïve, unpredictable Rapunzel was going to be dead in a matter of minutes because of him. Suddenly, he couldn't care less about his own demise.
Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to steady himself. He had let go of her hand somewhere in the mist of it all, but he didn't want to take it again. It was just a reminder of what could have been. After a little bit he felt better, and he hoped that she couldn't sense his panic. She was being unusually silent. He was sure she had just as troubled thoughts of her own.
"Happy birthday," he said, smiling softly.
She laughed a little bit, one of those shaky laughs that were more the cause of nerves rather than amusement. "It's not my birthday."
"I know." And now it never will be, he thought. Why did this have to happen now, on the day before her birthday, before they had gotten time to know each other, before she had gotten to fulfill her dream? "I'm sorry you never got to see the lanterns."
"It's okay. I've seen them plenty of times from my window." Flynn knew she was just trying to make him feel better.
"I would have taken you, though. I promise I would have." He knew that when he had first agreed to the deal, it had been very begrudgingly. But after what happened at the Snuggly Duckling, seeing the way she was so kind with the thugs and how badly she wanted to see the lanterns – he would have never tried to get out of the deal. He was no longer annoyed with the fact that he had to spend the whole day with her. In fact, he was very glad that he did.
"What do they look like?" she asked softly. "In person, I mean. Because you've seen them, right? You grew up in this kingdom…"
He couldn't help but notice that they were subconsciously scooting around and lifting their heads, trying to get to higher ground. The water was already reaching their shoulders. There really wasn't much air left. What if they suffocated before they drowned? No, no, the drowning would come first, he thought… "Um. It's beautiful, really. Everyone in the whole kingdom gets a lantern that they release into the sky, and soon there's thousands of them up there, and they look stars, almost, but there's so many and they're completely surrounding you. And everyone just watches in complete amazement."
Describing something as beautiful as the lantern ceremony really helped take his mind off other things, and he knew she felt the same. She rested her head against his shoulder, sighing contently. "I'm sorry that you never got to live your dream, either. The one about the private island." She giggled, remembering what he had said back at the pub.
"Oh, that? That was never much of a realistic dream anyway," he said, chuckling. The whole thing seemed so silly to him now. What good was being alone, anyway?
"Still," Rapunzel muttered. She moved her head, her breathing becoming faster. How much longer? Flynn didn't want to think about it. The waiting was terrifying.
He glanced at her. Surely she knew it was going to be soon. He was shaking involuntarily. Why was his body doing that?
"Maybe," Rapunzel said, looking down at the frying pan in her hand, "maybe we should hit ourselves with the frying pan. To get it over with…"
"You really don't want to do that, Rapunzel," Flynn said. He doubted that would even work.
"It will be quicker," she said.
"No. I would hit you on the head, which would hurt, by the way, and then you would pass out. You would still be drowning." He was talking about it so calmly, like this was a normal conversation. He had just lost all hope, he guessed.
"Okay, you're right, yeah, we'll just…wait…" Rapunzel muttered, glancing at him. "And once again…I'm so sorry. Thank you for everything."
He wanted to say so much to her. He was sorry. He wanted to thank her for everything. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't know what it was like to care for someone more than himself. She had changed him in only a matter of hours. But it was all in vain, anyway, because in a few minutes he wouldn't be here anymore and whether or not he was a good person when he died literally meant nothing. "No, I'm sorry. Thank you too, Rapunzel. You've…given me most one of the most amazing experiences of my life." And that was saying something, considering he had had a lot.
Rapunzel smiled and nodded, looking at him. "Me too. There's no contest."
He felt like they were saying goodbye, and he didn't like that. He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave her or life in general. He didn't want to die…
There wasn't much room left. He tilted his head up, closing his eyes, desperate for air. He felt Rapunzel grab his arm, and he looked over at her quickly, seeing her panicked face, wet with a combination of water and tears. "Eugene, I'm…I'm scared," she said, holding his hand very tightly.
There was no point in asking what she was scared of. She was scared of dying. There was no way of knowing what to expect after death, if there was anything there at all. Anyone in their right mind would be scared, even if they were pretending not to be.
"Me too," Flynn said, pushing some of her hair out of her face. "But I'll be here with you."
"Until the end?" she asked. It was getting hard to talk, since was barely any air left and barely any room for their mouths.
"Until the end," he said, squeezing her hand. This was it. This was what the past hour had been leading up to. As a matter of fact, what his entire life had been leading up to.
He kept fighting. He took in as many breaths as he could as the water rose higher and higher, getting close to filling the cave entirely. It was human instinct – just stay alive. But he couldn't breathe anymore and there was nothing he could do about and – was that singing he heard from Rapunzel? He couldn't put together anything. His mouth was practically touching the roof of the cave when the water submersed him completely.
And then there was the holding of breath, the need for oxygen, the trying to breathe, the sputtering, his lungs filling with water, every inch of his body screaming in protest as everything seemed to shut down, his brain becoming clouded, so confused – where was the air? Where was Rapunzel's hand? He had just had it a second ago, and now… He tried to reach out for it, but he found nothing. Oh, his eyes were closed…open your eyes, Eugene… But it was so hard to even do that. He was sinking, falling, fading away…to the bottom of the cave, or somewhere else?
The last thing he saw was the glow of her hair.