Hey, everyone! Oh, my gosh. I just got two great ideas for some Tangled one-shots but I'm gonna hold off best I can until this one is finished (which it just about is-two more chapters to go). But anyway, Chapter 10 is up!

I got so many great reviews about Chapter 9! Wow, just thank you all! I love reviews, and every single one of you guys' reviews is looked at and appreciated. Wow...just, wow. I had no idea this would turn out this well. Thanks a bunch!

So, anyway, on with Chapter 10, for all you suspense-gripped people that are earnestly waiting for me to stop yapping. Well, I won't ever stop...ever...ever...ever...ok, I'm done.

Happy Valentine's Day!

No matter how many Mickey Mouse shaped chocolates I send Disney, they still won't let me buy Tangled from them! So, I still don't own it. Maybe I should try flowers shaped like Donald Duck...

Before Flynn could react, the Captain shoved him back and he slid across the floor, and all Flynn could do was watch as the Captain emerged from the trapdoor like something from some kind of nightmare.

"Well, well, well…" he grinned, running his finger up the side of his sword. "Isn't this getting a little tiresome, Rider?"

"Yes, seeing you is getting very tiresome," Flynn said, not missing a beat.

The Captain scowled at Flynn's sarcastic remark. "Scoff all you want, Rider," he held the sword close to Flynn's neck. "You won't be laughing for long."

"No!"

The Captain's head flew in the direction of the terrified gasp, and Flynn shut his eyes tight. No…she was supposed to stay quiet…He wasn't supposed to find her! This was all wrong!

The Captain stared at Rapunzel as if he was seeing a ghost. Maybe he thought that he was.

"Princess?" he said, breathless, "But—But you're—You—"

"—are very much alive." Rapunzel announced firmly. "Now, get away from him!"

The Captain looked down at Flynn, who glared up at the Captain furiously. After a tense moment of silence, the Captain finally chuckled and moved his sword away from Flynn, his eyes now locked on Rapunzel.

"Of course," he did a small bow, "your highness." He spat out the word sarcastically.

As Flynn rose to his feet, he watched uneasily as the Captain moved towards Rapunzel. No way he could have just changed his mind that fast. Something was up, and Flynn didn't like it.

"But, if I may," the Captain continued, nearing the princess. "I have a request for you as well, Princess…"

Suddenly, the Captain grabbed Rapunzel's arm and whirled her around, positioning his sword up against her throat. Pascal flew off her shoulder and on to the floor, where he could only watch helplessly as his loving owner was held hostage by that villainous man.

"…Stand still so we can get this over with."

"Take your hands off her!" Flynn ordered, rushing over to save his beloved princess.

"Hold it, Rider!" the Captain barked, gripping the sword even tighter. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

Flynn immediately froze, his heart pounding. Only a few feet away, his beloved Rapunzel was an inch away from death. It was his dream all over again—

—except this was reality.

Flynn's memory flashed back to his horrible nightmare, but this time, the Captain was in place of Gothel. He was just as bad—if not worse—and Flynn knew he had to do something, quick.

"Let her go," he commanded. "Forget about her! I'm the one you want!"

"True," the Captain mused, not taking his evil glare off of Flynn. "But still, what guarantee do I have that Little Miss Chatterbox here won't spill the truth about you once she gets back to the palace?"

"I'll make her promise not to tell," Flynn answered, looking into his love's frightened eyes. "And she never, ever, breaks a promise."

"I've got a better idea," the Captain grinned maliciously. "How about I get rid of her now, and make sure you have a front row seat? Then after I finish her off, you'll be next. That way, everyone wins…" he gripped the sword tighter, staring evilly at the terrified girl he was threatening. "…Or, at least I do…"

"No!" Flynn yelled, throwing himself forward and knocking Rapunzel to the ground, just as the Captain viciously swiped the air where the princess would have been. The two tumbled to the ground, and Flynn slammed against the wall, Rapunzel in his arms. The Captain looked around furiously, and then spotted Flynn helping Rapunzel to her feet.

"Go, now!" Flynn yelled, but before he could see if Rapunzel got away safely, a harsh thud came against him, knocking him to the ground once again. Before he could respond, a huge boot slammed against his chest, and he looked up to see the Captain glaring down at him, fire in his eyes.

"It's over, Rider," he growled. "There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You lost."

Flynn struggled and tried to get away, but the Captain's hold was strong, and all he could do was watch helplessly as the villainous official raised his sword, ready to plunge it into his captured hero.

"And don't worry…" he sneered, "…I'll take good care of the princess…"

"Over my dead body!" Flynn yelled out, glaring at the Captain with such ferocity that even Flynn himself was surprised of the surging anger flooding through his body.

"That can be arranged," the Captain rumbled, raising the sword even higher.

Then, in an instant, Flynn saw the blade flying down, and he shut his eyes, waiting for the pain—waiting for the end…

CLANG!

Flynn opened his eyes at the unexpected noise and saw the Captain's face in a twisted, frozen look. Flynn watched, surprised, as the Captain tumbled to the side, unconscious, the sword clattering out of his hand onto the ground. Behind him stood Rapunzel, breathing heavily, Flynn's frying pan in hand.

Both Flynn and Rapunzel stared, astonished, at the fallen Captain on the ground, until finally, Flynn broke the silence.

"When this is over," Flynn said, breathless, "I have got to get myself one of those."

Rapunzel chuckled nervously and then helped Flynn to his feet, as Pascal scurried over to the Captain, poking his closed eyelid to make sure he was down for the count.

"Thanks, Blondie," Flynn said, embracing her in a hug. "Without you, I'd be a human shish-kebob for sure."

"You scared me to death," Rapunzel hugged him tighter. "I couldn't let him take you."

"Same with you," Flynn sighed. "Did you think I was gonna just stand there and do nothing?"

Rapunzel shook her head. "No. Of course not."

"Good."

Rapunzel looked down uneasily at the Captain, and then back up to Flynn.

"Now, let's get out of here before he wakes up."

"Works for me," Flynn said, leaning down so Pascal could scurry up his arm.

But as Flynn stepped foot on the trapdoor, a shout from below gave him a jolt. From there came more shouts, until he could hear whole clamor of men from below. Their voices were getting louder—it was the rest of the guards, and they were coming right up the staircase.

Right for them.

"Rapunzel, the bookcase!" Flynn commanded, and immediately, Rapunzel obeyed, sliding the heavy bookcase over to where Flynn was standing. In an instant, Flynn had it turned over so it blocked the opening, and just in the nick of time, too, as a bang came from the trapdoor and the shouting commenced right below their feet.

"Max must not have been able to fight them all off," Flynn observed, "and that bookcase won't hold them for long. We have to get out of here, now."

"But how?" Rapunzel asked, frying pan gripped in her hand anxiously.

"We can't fight them all off ourselves…" Flynn said, his thoughts racing. "We're going to have to escape from the tower."

"But how?" Rapunzel asked again.

Flynn's eyes scanned the perimeter, urgently searching for any means of escape. Then, he spotted the open window, and immediately rushed over to it.

Rapunzel could tell exactly what he was thinking. "Eugene, we can't—"

"It's the only way," Flynn pointed out, though the towering drop down even made his stomach lurch. The perilous way down seemed never-ending, but Flynn knew that there was a safe way to get back to earth.

There had to be.

Suddenly, Flynn caught sight of the pulley, in which Rapunzel had used in her days in the tower to pull up Gothel with her seventy feet of hair. However, Rapunzel now possessed hair that was about ten inches long, which would get them nowhere. What the heck were they going to do?

As Flynn stepped backwards to try to look for another way out, his foot snagged on something, and he looked down to see what it was.

It was the answer to their problem.

For there, strung over Flynn's boot, was the results of Flynn's freeing of Rapunzel months ago. There, strewn on the ground, was seventy feet of brown hair, which had once adorned Rapunzel's head, as a golden blonde, but now, would be their ticket out of that tower.

He immediately picked up the hair and began stringing it through the pulley, watching as it traveled down…down…stories below them. Rapunzel, seeing what he was doing, immediately began to help, grouping together all of the brown locks of hair and carrying them over to where they would be accessible to Flynn. Even Pascal helped, by hopping off of Flynn's shoulder and closely guarding the Captain, who still lay on the ground, unconscious.

The banging and shouting grew even more violent, and Flynn thought he saw the bookcase shift out of the corner of his eye. They were running out of time.

Finally, Flynn roped through enough hair to touch the ground, just enough for them to descend down safely. But would it be safe, really? Of course the method had worked with Rapunzel because there was someone on the other end. But now…

Flynn tied the hair tightly to the pulley with a firm yank and hoped for the best. That's all he could do.

Ever since Flynn had become a thief, he had to learn to take risks. There'd be a risk that the person whose house he was robbing would return home during his heist. There was a risk that he'd slip up during his escape and end up with two broken legs and a noose around his neck. Heck, there'd been a risk when they hid there in the tower, and even though they took it, it proved to have dire consequences. But never had Flynn weighed his chances like this. They could either jump, and have a fifty/fifty chance of surviving the plunge, seeing that Flynn's plan worked as it should. Or they could stay, and face the guards, which outnumbered them so much that the chances of both Rapunzel and Flynn escaping looked grim.

They had to jump.

Flynn climbed up onto the edge of the window, his boots peeking over the windowsill. For one of the first times in his life, he was scared to death about an escape. But not just for him…

…for Rapunzel, too.

If anything went wrong, not only would it spell the end for him, but his love as well. But they had just an equal—no, scratch that—much less of a chance of survival if they stayed. They were just going to have to take the plunge.

"Come on, Blondie," Flynn held out his hand to the anxious Rapunzel. "We have to go, now."

Rapunzel nervously walked over to the window and peered out, her face going pale.

"Eugene, I—"

"Don't look down," Flynn told her, gazing reassuringly into her eyes. "Just trust me."

Rapunzel bit her lip and looked away.

"Rapunzel…" Flynn said, as loving as ever. "Do you trust me?"

As Rapunzel looked back at Flynn, he realized how stupid the nature of his question had been. Anyone else would have their mind stuck in the past, views fixed on Flynn's days of deception and lies, and immediately, they would say no. But this girl…this beautiful, beautiful girl…saw something different in him. She saw who he really was, and what he really meant in his heart. She saw the new side of him, which sincerely pledged every word that he spoke.

And she trusted him.

She nodded and grabbed his hand, lowering her other one so Pascal could scurry up to her shoulder. When the little chameleon saw the huge drop, he let out a little squeak of terror, but then he shook his head and puffed out his chest to look unafraid.

Flynn wrapped one arm around Rapunzel's waist as she climbed up, and she clutched onto him with both hands, her eyes wide and face burrowed in his vest. There, she felt safe. There, she felt comforted. There, she felt perfectly fine.

And Flynn loved that.

Taking one more deep breath, Flynn heard the bookcase shove away and the trapdoor fly open, as he held Rapunzel tightly, grasped the rope of hair, and jumped.

More soon!