By the time Hiccup got to Rapunzel's house, the girls had gotten cleaned up. Blood stained clothing (including Jack's sweatshirt that he was horribly reluctant to give up) were stuffed into trash bags and thrown into the outside trash, hidden from sight. What Rapunzel's parents didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Merida now donned Rapunzel's clothing, but to her disdain. Merida was fine with the white sweatpants offered (since she would never fit into Rapunzel's jeans with her wider hips) but the simple, yet bead-embellished tee shirt was not quite her taste. Nor was the, name-brand pink sweatshirt offered. It was too… girly, she complained. It looked so weird on Merida. Jack was holding back snickers. She promptly punched him rather hard in the back.

When Jack was offered a new shirt to wear, he politely declined. He wore a black shirt that day, luckily, and simply rinsed it out. Yeah, there was still a stain. It wasn't horribly noticeable, was it? Either way, he wasn't going to wear Rapunzel's clothing. Or her father's much larger clothing.

When Hiccup was let in, he made a bee-line for Merida. He checked her shoulder and held her face and asked a million questions. Was she alright? Dizzy? Maybe she should sit down. Merida snorted, promising she was going to live because of Rapunzel. Hiccup thanked the blonde who replied by asking if he was injured. Just a few bumped and scraps. Merida let Hiccup make a fuss over her until Toothless made himself known. In the spacious entrance hall, he struggled not to knock over things to get to Hiccup. Toothless wanted to see for himself that his best friend was safe.

When all had settled down, they moved to the living room where the three of them turned to Merida, looking for answers. Merida knew it was time to finally tell them. She was reluctant, Jack understood, to bring up such a horrifying part of her past. She explained her and her mother had gotten into it the previous week. It was bad. But it was the same argument they've had several time. Elinor wanted Merida to go to a elite school for business (Brown, MIT, Stanford, ect.) to learn the proper trade. So she could take over the business. Of course, Merida did go to school for business. Just not to where Elinor wanted her to go. Rather, she attended the local university with Hiccup.

She was tired of it. She just wanted to stay in the school she was content with along with one of her best friends that her mother didn't seem to wholly aprove of for some reason. She asked for something to change her fate and her mother. So, in her anger and frustration, she played the flute.

Nothing happened. Nothing changed. after a few days, she came to the conclusion the magic might have worn off or it never worked in the first place or maybe she just played it wrong. Either way, after a few days she figured nothing happen. But that very day, when they got to the campsite… Merida felt something was wrong. She didn't say anything. Her and Hiccup set up camp and went for a hike. Of course she brought her bow and arrow for target practice (her targets were still hung throughout the forest and trails). After walking for about an hour, that was when they heard it. The great roar of a mighty bear. Of course, that could be possible. The forest was cleared out specifically for camping. There weren't any dangerous animals, the rangers made sure of that during the open seasons. During winter, they left it. Spring, before they opened, they would go through the forest and clear out any bears (tranq and animal control—they were moved safely and harmlessly).

So, of course it came as a surprise for Hiccup. But it was Merida's horror. Merida instantly recognized the haunting roar of Mor'du. He was a bear that roamed their area of Scotland for centuries. The legend was that he used to be a prince. He was vicious and cruel and wanted nothing more than to become king. but he was the second born out of his four brothers. His wife had heard him conspiring to kill his brother and went to a witch for help, asking for help to make sure her husband would not become king in such a way. She was given a cake to feed him and when he ate it, he became a bear. This was not what the princess had intended. In his fit of rage and confusion, he tried to kill her. His younger brother stepped in and saved her by luring the bear deep into the forest. Attempts to slay the beast we futile. He remained strong, alive, and furious with his wife for what she had done to him.

Merida wasn't quite sure about the last part. That was part of the legend, but she was certain he had lost himself through the years and was nothing more than a steroid-fueled beast. Now, this animal, whenever it caught the scent of the DunBroch family, seemed to go after them. Their first encounter with this beast they thought was nothing but a legend was when Merida was three. She had wandered just a little ways away from her family while they were out at the park and found herself in the surrounding forest. That was when he attacked. That attack took Fergus's leg. Merida could hardly remember it. She was much too young. The family took it as a freak bear attack, not quite realizing it was Mor'du at the time.

Then it attacked again when she was four. And again when she was seven. When she was ten. Thirteen—twice in three months. Finally, the last was at sixteen and her family decided it was time to move across the ocean to escape it. Spending summers in Ireland and going to boarding school in England did not do much to keep the bear away. It would find them. One, he even found them while they were in Glasgow.

And now Merida summoned it to America.

When Merida finished her story, she had finished her mug of tea that Rapunzel offered. Hiccup sat with his arms crossed, a worried frown on his face. Jack noticed the boy seemed to be waiting for something. Merida had already told Hiccup all of this. When? And why him? Yet, Jack wasn't surprised that if she shared it with anyone, she shared it with this engineer-slash-dragon trainer.

Rapunzel went to get another mug of tea for Merida when the doorbell rang. Hiccup offered to get it. When he stood up to answer the door, Jack rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I think I know what you're dealing with here," he said. "I mean, if the legends are true."

"One of your kind?" Merida offered.

Jack shook his head. "No, it's not a Legend Immortal. It's a cursed man. Other campers saw him, right? And your family didn't believe in him when you first saw him, right? I mean, I'm sure when you were four you haven't heard of this legend. So, you're dealing with a man."

Merida blinked, not quiet understanding him. "A… man. Jack, I'm pretty certain it's a bear."

"Well, he used to me human, right? He was cursed." Jack explained, looking up. He stopped. A tall woman stood behind the couch Merida made herself comfortable on. Hiccup shifted uneasily behind her, looking anywhere but at Merida or Jack.

Merida noticed Jack's gaze and followed it. She stood up hastily, stumbling back. "Mum?! What are you doing here?"

"Your friend Harald called me and told me what happened. Are you alright? I rushed over as soon as I got the call." Elinor was not like Jack had ever seen her. She rushed around the couch to hold Merida's face, searching for any hint of an injury.

"Mum, I'm fine!" Merida pulled away from her, rounding on Hiccup. "You called her?!"

"I called your house and the office." Hiccup explained, if only a little hesitantly. "I figured they should know what's going on. I mean, it does involve all of your family. I… I dunno, I wanted them to be prepared. Mrs. DunBroch was the one that answered."

"I appreciate your concern, Harald." Elinor said sincerely. "Come on, Merida, we're going home."

"No, Mum!" Merida pulled away before Elinor could grab for her. "I want to end this one and for all! I know where he is and I want to stop this for good! We're not running anymore!"

"And what are you going to do, Merida? We've tried everything." Elinor urged.

Merida rolled her eyes, pacing herself away from Elinor, towards Hiccup. She glared at him. "What did you call her for? We could have handled this."

"Because what if we tried?" Hiccup crossed his arms. "What if we tried and you ended up worse?" He pinched his nose. "I called her before I got here. I called her when I was terrified that Jack didn't get you to Rapunzel on time. I called her when I was scared it was too late for her to save you."

"Merida, what is he talking about?" Elinor asked.

At that moment, Rapunzel entered the room. She looked between Merida and Elinor, both fuming and stubborn. The blonde pressed her lips together and held out the mug meant for Merida. "Tea, Mrs. DunBroch?"

"No thank you, dear, we're just leaving."

Merida made a noise of frustration. She wrenched herself away from Elinor, scrambling to stand behind Jack's chair. The red-head glared at Hiccup who only scowled back, his lips pressed tight.

"Merida, stop acting like a child!"

"No, Mum!" Merida clutched the back of the chair. "It's time to be brave! Jack knows what we're up against. He can tell us how to beat him! We can finally live without worrying about the next Mor'du attack."

"What would he know?" Elinor gave a vague gesture of exasperation. "And why would you tell them?"

Merida snorted. "You think we're the only ones that deal with this stuff?" Merida laughed humorlessly. "You think the world is so tiny. Mum, what you don't know… what you'll never see could fill tomes. And we've only just touched the surface. Dragons and magic flowers and winter spirits… Mum, we need help. Jack can help us."

Jack rubbed his temples. He had been in the middle of mother-daughter fights. Susan and Sophie had a few, yes. But never quite to the extent of Elinor and Merida. Both were thick-headed and thought their way was the only way. And here was was, dragged into this. He didn't want to come between them.

"What you're up against is just a man who's been cursed." Jack said loudly. That quieted any raise in voices. He didn't look at either of them. "It explains why you guys could see him and why those campers could. He's not magical on his own. The best way to get him off your back is to break the curse."

"Don't tell me true love's kiss." Merida snorted.

"No." Jack replied, unamused. "Curses never have anything to do with love. Actually, sometimes they require sacrifice of innocence to break them. You know, like blood of a child and the like." Jack winced. He never liked the idea of having to deal with a curse. He hoped he never would have had to deal with one. Curses were dark magic, nothing like the magic he was used to handling. "The best way to find out how to break this curse is to talk to a witch or wizard. I'm no expert at magic."

"You're speaking non-sense." Elinor frowned.

"You have a bear that magically never dies, even when your husband and daughter shot it with guns and arrows, and was transported across an ocean via a magic flute." Jack said flatly. "But you can't believe that there's such thing as witches and wizards or curses?"

"It's just—it's—"

Jack spoke over her. "I know two who we can go to." he lowered his voice when he was certain nobody was going to interrupt him. "A wizard called Ombric in Siberia. And…" Jack raised his eyebrow at Merida. "Auntie Julie. Who is much closer, though in the same forest as a crazed bear. I'm thinking you and your mom go home. Hiccup and I can go ask her, since it's not after us. It's after you guys."

"No," Merida rounded the couch, turning her glare to Jack. "No, you and me are going. Hiccup stays out of this. I'd say you, too, Frosty, but I need your information. This is your realm and I need in."

Jack couldn't help but chortle, rubbing the back of his head. "And you know, just a year ago, I thought being human was going to be beautifully boring." He stood up. "You three just keep dragging me in, don't you?" He grinned playfully at Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel. Rapunzel giggled. "What are you laughing about, Princess? Next, I'm going to be saving you from a tower."

Hiccup was clearly trying not to smile. He was too mad to smile. The fact Merida wanted to keep him out of this was not okay with him. Jack understood.

"So," Jack turned to Merida. "Hawkeye, we have one of two choices. Hiccup and I go see Auntie Julie. Or, you can try and convince Hiccup to let us borrow Toothless to fly to Russia. Good luck. I've got to call Jamie and/or Sophie about this so they don't freak out."

"Jack, we can just drive—"

"I'm not going anywhere near that forest with you." Jack said with finality. "You're my friend and we're not trekking through that place what with a bear that wants to kill you. No, that might be considered murder, right? You two—" Jack motioned between Merida and Hiccup, then made eye contact with Elinor. "—three," he corrected himself, "deck it out. Punzel, let's leave them to it."

Jack linked arms with Rapunzel, walking with her to the kitchen. She still held a mug of tea in her hands. Her expression was pensive as the two of them sat at the bar. Jack pulled out his phone and dialed Jamie first. He didn't pick up. Sophie didn't either, but she called back after just a few minutes.

"Jack, I'm in class." she said with a hint of urgency. "Don't tell me about the triplets' prank right now."

"Hi, Sophie!" Rapunzel chimed in when Jack handed the phone to her, asking her to put it on speaker phone. The blonde set the phone on the marble. "Sorry I missed class."

"… Oh god, who's dying?"

The two raised eyebrows at each other. Of course that would be the first assumption the girl made. And somehow, Jack and Rapunzel lost the heart to tell her what was going on. Jack summoned the courage and explained to her what happened and where he was going. Voices were raising in the next room. Jack was beginning to regret leaving them to their own devices.

This wasn't how he planned his new life going. But even before the whole Thor incident, Jack promised to protect his friends. He just hoped this time there would be no lost limbs and no angry gods. Hopefully, breaking this curse would not involve a heavy sacrifice.

When he finished telling Sophie what was happening, the fighting in the next room became dangerously quiet. Rapunzel and Jack looked over their shoulders, uncertain of what was happening. Sophie hummed thoughtfully.

"Well… you guys know me. I'm a lazy procrastinator," she said, her voice shaking. It was clear she was scared and trying to act brave. "But… from the sound of it, it looks like you have a lot of time before Mor'du comes back for Merida."

"Yeah, but," Jack frowned. Oh, god, she was right. There really wasn't any urgency. Of course, that didn't mean they could put it behind them and call it a day. But that didn't mean they had to find a solution right now. They could think all this over. Come up with a plan. Strategize. "But… Aunt Julie. What she said still bothers me. She said Merida already escaped her fate. What the hell does that mean? Is Merida really fated to get mauled by this thing? Sophie… I don't…"

"I know, Jack," Sophie assured him. "I don't want her to get hurt either. You know I love her. And I love you and Hiccup. And you, too, Rapunzel." she added. "But I don't think this is an immediate concern. We can plan this all out and do this properly. You didn't have to be an ass and set the wolves on each other. You all are in a panic, I get it. But… go in there. Calm them all down. Remind them there's time. If Aunt Julie moved bases in that time, you know there's always your wizard friend in Siberia that can help."

Jack rubbed his forehead and smiled. "You know, for a girl that always go to Jamie for help or advice, you do have your brilliant moments, Sophie."

She paused a beat. "I think my psychology class is working."

"Since when did you become the voice of reason?" Rapunzel asked with a smirk.

"Since Jack sometimes needs telling what an ass he's being." Sophie stated smoothly. "Go clean up your mess, jerkface."

"You're so nice." Jack chuckled.

"Besides, if you guys want to do it the easy way, couldn't you take Toothless and…—? You know what forget I said anything because it's a bad idea and just ignore me. My moment of clarity is gone. HEY! You know what's a good idea? Bringing everyone over for dinner! On your way home, pick up some more pork chops, will you? Laura was going to make some tonight and you know how good they are! Heck, invite Mrs. DunBroch, too! Invite the DunBroch clan! We can all talk this over during a nice meal. And Jamie might have some good ideas! I'll see you here, right, Punzel?"

"Of course!"

"Good. Bye! Oh, and Jack?" He stopped to listen to her. "I don't think Cupid would like that you threw a wrench in the gears, if you know what I mean. Wait. I don't even know what I mean. Bad metaphor."

"I'm sure he's dealt with worse than a spat." Jack snorted. "And why are you even bringing this up? This is the least of our worries. The DunBrochs have a bear after them and you're thinking of Cupid's games. We'll talk about it later. Get back to class."

"Well, class is already over, jerk." She sighed. "I missed most of it thanks to you." Her voice became faint. "Oh, hey Adrian. … Jack and Rapunzel. … Pfft! That's funny." She came back to them. "Guys, I gotta go. Make sure they come over, alright? Don't forget the pork chops!" She hung up.

Rapunzel furrowed her brows. "Cupid?"

"I'll explain later." Jack waved it off as he pocketed his phone.

The two apprehensively entered the living room. There was glares all around and Jack realized just how bad an idea it was to let them fight. But, he supposed they all let out their steam. So, maybe they would listen to reason (Sophie's reason).

Hiccup sat on the back of a chair, back turned to the room as he stroked Toothless's snout. He neverminded that Elinor would not be able to see the dragon. Jack could see how rigid he was. He had it. The dragon trainer had left the argument first.

Merida and Elinor were glaring at each other. Merida turned to Jack; if looks could kill, Jack would be a pile of ashes.

"So, um, Sophie invited everyone to diner." Jack said uncertainly, not exactly knowing where to start. He felt as if all the urgency had left him after talking with the girl.

"More like demanded." Rapunzel added helpfully.

"Of course you'd bring Sophie into this," Merida huffed.

"Jamie didn't pick up." Jack shot back. "And, if you forgot, they're actually normal, unlike us. Perspective, Merida."

"Fine, whatever. But we don't have time for 'diner.' We have to—"

"We have a ton of time." Jack reminded her. "You said so yourself. Mor'du attacks every couple of years, so… why don't we take some time and figure this out the smart way."

"But—" Elinor tried to interject.

"I want your family to be safe," Jack promised her. "We need to think of the best way to do that."

And that was how they all landed in a tiny apartment, eating with mismatched plates and silverware at whatever surface was available. The triplets were left with a babysitter and Fergus was possibly the most confused out of everyone there. Hiccup was angry with Merida and Merida was just angry. Jamie seemed amused at the whole situation and Sophie sat, rubbing her temples, and telling herself that it was okay to be in a crowd. She needed to calm down.

But, it was during this dinner that everyone came to understand the situation from every angle. Each person having a chance to tell their side of the story. Each given a chance to offer their services to a family in danger. When Jack offered a few solutions, Fergus and Elinor became very skeptical. They didn't believe him when he said he had been around for a long time and knew what hew as talking about. They couldn't believe that Mor'du was just a cursed man. Jack cursed the dumb adult logic that clouded them from really seeing the truth. Even with so much proof before them, they had trouble believing anything.

But, at the end of the night, they had come up with a plan. They could put it into effect, even if Fergus and Elinor didn't agree to it completely. It seemed crazy, it seemed illogical, and how could it possible ever work?

And, by the end of the night, Merida and Hiccup were back on good terms.

A/N: Whoo that's a lot of dialogue. ._.