Chapter 41

"Well I have to say, I didn't know you had that in you back there.", said Flynn as the group walked down the dark passage.

"I know!", Rapunzel excitingly said. "I know."

"Yes. You should never judge a book by it's cover.", said Erza.

"I got my moment on stage in a different world!", said Gajeel.

"You guys are weird.", said Gray.

"I wonder if those guys will be okay?", question Happy.

"I'm sure they're fine, they're tough dreamers.", said Natsu.

"So, Flynn. Where are you from?"

"Whoa, whoa! Sorry, Blondie. I don't do back stories.", said Flynn. "However, I am becoming very interested in yours. Now, I know I'm not supposed to mention the hair"

"Nope."

"Or the mother."

"Uh-uh."

"Franckly, I'm too scared to asked about the frog."

"Chameleon."

"No ons. Here's my question: If you wanted to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you gone before?"

"That's a question I would like to know too.", said Erza.

"Well…"

Before she could answer, the passageway started to rumble and several rocks started shaking from the vibration.

"Uh, Flynn?"

Everyone turned and saw the guards running towards them.

"Oh, crap!', said Natsu.

"Rider!", shouted the captain.

"Run, now!", shouted Erza and the two of them started to run.

"Ice-Make: Floor!"

Gray covered the area in front of him with ice, making the guards slip and fall on their backs while Gray ran after the group.

"What the hell was that?", asked one of the guards.

They saw some light and finally made it outside. It was a very large canyon area with a water wheel next to the entrance and a damn behind them.

"There's a ladder here!", said Lily "Come on!"

But Flynn stop when he saw from a distance the two men from the bar exiting a cave at the bottom.

"Who's that?", asked Rapunzel.

"They don't like me.", Flynn responded nervously.

The guards from before then exited the cave that the group came out of.

"They passed the ice, huh?", said Gray.

"Who's that?"

"They don't like me either."

The horse, Maximus, also exited the cave.

"Who's that?"

"Let's just assume for the moment that everyone here doesn't like me!"

"Here!" Rapunzel handed her frying pan to Flynn, threw her hair at a piece of wood that was sticking out from the water current system, and swung to the otherside.

The Captain chuckled. "I waited a long time for this." He then pulled out his sword from his scabbard and swung his sword at Flynn.

Flynn blocked the attack with the frying pan and hit him while Natsu punched him in the gut, sending him towards a wall and knocking him out. The guards charged at the group but were easily knocked out by the Fairy Tail members. The mages then jumped from the edge and landed where Rapunzel was.

"Oh, mother. I have got to get me one of theses!", said Flynn as he examine the frying pan.

"Hurry up, man!", shouted Natsu.

Maximus then pointed one of the guard's sword at Flynn. He responded to the threat by pointing the frying pan at the horse with confidence.

"Who do you think will win?", asked Gray.

"My money's on that horse.", said Natsu.

"Aye.", said Happy. "Look at his eyes and he knows how to use a sword."

"How could you guys be such jerks!", shouted Flynn.

Maximus then started attacking him with his sword but Flynn blocked the attacks with the frying pan. They continued to fight while the others watched.

"You should know that this is the strangest thing I have ever done!"

Maximas then knocked the frying pan out of Flynn's hand and it fall to the bottom of the cliff.

"How about two out of three?"

Maximus responded by pointed his sword at him.

"Flynn!", shouted Rapunzel as she threw her hair and wrapped it around Flynn's right hand. She then pulled him off the edge while Flynn saluted to Maximus, making him drop his sword out of shock.

As he swung in the air, the two mean then approached Flynn and they were about to strike him down. Behind them, Heartlesses appeared and began to go after Flynn.

"Heartless!", shouted the Fairy Tail members.

"Let's get them!", shouted Natsu.

"Will you two be alright?", asked Erza.

"Yes.", Rapunzel responded. Erza then went after the Heartless. "Flynn, look out!"

Flynn saw the two men coming towards him and began to panic. Rapunzel then lifted her hair up, making Flynn move up just before they could hit him.

Looking at them, Flynn said, "Ha! You should see your faces because you look-" He was then hit in the stomach by a large piece of wood, making him stop from swinging. "Ridiculos.", he said in a painful tone.

"Oh, that hurt!", said Happy.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"Ice-Make: Lance!"

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

The boys combined their attacks and destroyed dozen of Heartlesses.

"Holy crap! What the hell was that?", asked one of the guards in shock while the other guards got up.

"They're monsters!", said another.

"It doesn't matter who they are, those who assist criminals must be punished!", said the captain.

Rapunzel then saw Maximus kicking a piece of wood that hold a punch of water in a wooden container while guards got up from the ground. Maximus finally kicked it down, making a narrow bridge towards Rapunzel while water leaked out.

"Come on, Blondie!", shouted Flynn, who was standing on the wooden pipe river while holding the end of Rapunzel's hair. "Jump!"

Right before Maximus could catch her hair, Rapunzel jumped into the air and swung towards the ground. She then ran after see the two men from before chasing after her. Flynn then slide down the pipe river and jumped down from it to reach Rapunzel, destroying it and making water fall down from it. Suddenly, the dam immediately burst and water that the dam was holding back came pouring down, covering the entire with water and consuming everyone in it. Rapunzel and Flynn ran as fast as they could and entered a cave. A giant rock then started to fall when the strong current cause it to move and landed in front of the cave's entrance.

"Rapunzel! Flynn!", shouted Erza in a worried tone as she and the other mages were pushed alongside the current of the rushing water.

"Erza, grab on!', shouted Gray as he reached out to her.

She grab Gray's hand and hold onto him.

"Ice-Make: Grappling Hook!"

Gray summon two ice grappling hooks and threw them at a nearby cliff. Gray then pulled them and he and Erza came out of the rushing water and landed on the edge of the cliff. Both of them turn and saw Happy and Lily carrying Natsu and Gajeel out of the water.

"Holy crap that was awesome!", said Natsu.

"Now is not the time!", said Gray.

"We need to find Rapunzel and Flynn.", said Gajeel.

"Hold on, I'm picking up their scents.", said Natsu as he started sniffing the air. He then pointed north. "This way!"

After traveling for a while, the mages were still following Natsu alongside a river bank.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?", asked Gray.

"Yes I know, shut up!", Natsu responded angrily.

"He's not wrong.", said Gajeel. "I can smell them too. And they're here."

"Where?", asked Erza.

Suddenly, water burst out of the rocks from the cliff. They then saw Rapunzel and Flynn coming out of the river, coughing really hard.

"Rapunzel! Flynn!", said Erza with relief as she and the other mages ran up to them.

"You alright?", asked Gray.

"We made it.", said Rapunzel.

"Her hair glows.", said Flynn with shock.

"What?", asked Gajeel.

"We're alive. I alive!", said Rapunzel with excitement.

"I didn't see that coming. You're hair actually glows.", said Flynn, still in shock.

"Flynn, what are you talking about?", asked Lily.

"Why does her hair glow?"

"What do you mean 'glow'?", asked Natsu.

"Her hair glows!"

They all looked at Rapunzel, who was pulling her hair out of the water.

"It doesn't just glow.", she said.

On the ground, her pet Chameleon looked at Flynn with a smile.

When he notice this, Flynn asked nervously, "Why is he smiling at me?"

"Now I'm confused.", said Happy.

It was getting dark out. In the dark forest, the maroon woman was hiding behind a rock, holding her knife. She looked passed the rock and saw a tree with a large hole in it. At the bottom of the hole was a small door with a duck symbol on it. She then heard someone coughing and started to walk slowly towards the tree, holding her knife. But when it open, the two men that chased Flynn and Rapunzel came out, coughing really hard. The woman then went behind the rock and observed the men.

"I'll kill him.", said one of them. "I'll kill that Rider!"

"Those people with the strange clothing are strange.", said the man with the eye patch. "Especially the way they fight. They're pretty scary."

"Yeah. Anyway, cut him off at the Kingdom. Get back the crown."

Before they could walk away, the maroon woman approached the two men and said, "Or…" The two men turned and faced the woman. "Perhaps you want to stop acting like wild dogs chasing their tails and think for a moment."

She then showed them Flynn's bag that had the crown. The two men responded by grabbing their swords and faced her with a dark expression on their faces.

The woman chuckled. "Oh, please. There's no need for that." She then tossed the bag at the men. One of them catched it, open the bag, and grabbed the crown that was inside. Both of them smiled with relief.

"Well, if that's all you desire then be on your way. I was going to offer you something worth one thousand crowns woulda made you rich beyond belief and that wasn't even the best part. O well, selavie. Enjoy your crown!"

As she was about to leave, one of them asked, "What's the best part?"

"It comes with revenge on Flynn Rider.", she said while showing Flynn's wanted poster. Both men smirked upon hearing this.

"Hey!", someone shouted.

"Hide!", said the woman and both men hide why she went to check who's out there.

"Gray-sama!", shouted a worried Juvia. "Where are you?"

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the other members of Fairy Tail

"We've been searching for them for hours.", said Donald. "Are you sure they went this way?"

"Well, they haven't been in this area, but I can smell their scents from somewhere else.", said Wendy.

"We still believe you.", said Lucy. "You and Laxus are the only ones with enhance sense of smell."

"I wonder where they went.", said Sora.

"Don't worry. They couldn't have gotten too far.", said Goofy.

"Juvia is still worried.", said a crying Juvia.

"There, there. We' find them.", said Wendy.

"You just had to stop and talk.", said Donald.

"Hey! Blame the has-been, not me.", Sora responded.

"We need to know who the enemy is anyway.", said Charle.

"I think you mean Marluxia. I bet that's the name the has-been would prefer.", said Goofy.

"Whatever he is, he's part of the Organization. Therefore, our enemy.", said Laxus.

"Hellooo?", shouted Sora. "Rapunzel? Flynn?"

"Excuse me, good travelers."

The group turned and saw a woman wearing a maroon dress approach them.

"Do you know Rapunzel?", she asked worriedly.

They all looked at each other, then Sora said, "Uh, yeah… Sort of."

"Why?", asked Donald.

"My apologies. I'm Rapunzel's mother, Gothal.", said the woman, Gothel. "The poor child left home without a word, and I've just been worried sick. Please tell me: where is my dear, sweet girl?"

"We'd tell ya, but we lost her.", said a guilty Goofy.

"By accident.", said Donald.

"We're really sorry.", said Wendy.

"We could look together.", Sora suggested.

Gothel then looked annoyed. "Lost her? You're of no use to me." She then started to walk away from the group with a dark expression on her face. "I'll find her myself."

"She ran away from home?", question Donald.

"What if Marluxia was onto something back there?", question Sora.

"You trust the Organization XIII?"

"What? No! Of course not. But...what if?"

"I agree.", said Goofy. "Why is Rapunzel in danger and what darkness is after her?"

"Well, guys, the first step is to find her.", said Sora.

"Didn't that woman seem off to you?", asked Laxus.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I think there's something more about Rapunzel's past."

It was now dark out and Rapunzel, Flynn, and the rest of the Fairy Tail members set up a fire and places to sleep. Flynn explain his situation with the Fairy Tail Mages about why the guards were chasing him. They asked him to return the crown once this is over, making him grimace.

At the fire, Rapunzel wrapped her hair around Flynn's hand.

"So, you're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand.", said Flynn. He then grunted in pain.

"Sorry.", said Rapunzel. "Just don't… don't freak out."

Rapunzel then started to sing and her hair started to glow brightly.

"Whoa, how is she doing that?", asked Natsu.

"I don't know. Don't ask me.", said Gajeel.

When she stop singing, her hair stopped glowing. Flynn then removed the hair off his hand and saw the wound that he had before was now gone.

He started breathing heavily and then he was about to scream until Rapunzel quickly said, "Please don't freak out!"

He held in his scream and then he said nervously, "I'm not freaking out. Are you freaking out? No, I'm just very interested in your hair and the magical qualities it possesses, how long has it been doing that exactly?"

"Forever, I guess.", she answered.

"Whoa.", said a amazed Natsu.

"This is like Wendy's Sky Healing Magic.", said Gray.

"Sky Healing Magic?", question Rapunzel.

"Wendy doesn't only use the power of winds, she can also heal wounds, fevers, and diseases.", Erza explain.

"Oh. Well, Mother said when I was a baby, people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves." She then revealed her back neck, showing a brown short curly hair. "Once it's cut, it turns brown and loses its power. A gift like that, it has to be protected. That's why mother never let me… That's why, I never left…"

"You never left that tower.", said Flynn. She then looked at him with a sad look. "And your still gonna go back?"

"No! Yes…" She then put her hands on her face and sighed. "It's complicated."

"I think you guys need some alone time.", said Erza. "Come one. Let's get some more firewood."

The other mages nodded and went after Erza, leaving Flynn and Rapunzel alone at the campsite.

"It makes sense that her mother refused her idea to leave home.", said Gray while he gathered some wood. "But she should at least give her some fresh air once in a while."

"Aye.", said Happy. "The only entrance to that tower is the hidden trail in the woods and I don't think anyone has seen that trail before."

"Not only that, nobody knows if she does have healing powers.", said Gajeel.

"She'll just be known as a girl with long golden hair.", said Lily.

"Though if she wanted to protect Rapunzel, why doesn't her mother cut her hair so no one gets it.", said Natsu.

"That's actually a fair point.", said Gray. "What do you think Erza?"

Erza stood there, quietly holding some wood in her arms. She then said, "The reason we came to this world. Do you why?"

All of them shook their heads.

"I think we came here to protect her because of her powers. I originally thought we were here to make her dream come true by taking her to see the lanterns. But after fighting the Heartless and seeing her powers, it made me thought that the Heartless are after her healing powers."

"That makes some sense.", said Gajeel. "Those guys are always down to power."

"Are you enjoying your adventure?", someone said.
"Who's there!?", Natsu shouted commandingly as everyone else became cautious.

A dark corridor then appeared in front of them, and a man wearing a black coat with long pink hair appeared before them.

"You're an Organization XIII member!", said Gray.

"Yes. My name is Marluxia."

"Are you after Rapunzel?", asked Erza in a threatening tone.

"You could say that. I am merely watching over her so she doesn't fall into any danger."

"Why would you of all people would try to protect her?", asked Gajeel.

"You should realize why you came to this world, as you have explain to them.", said Marluxia as he faced Erza. "Mrs...?"

"Erza Scarlet.", Erza responded cautiously.

"Well, Mrs. Scarlet. Despite what happen earlier today at the canyon, all of you have done a tremendous job of protecting her. I would like you to keep protecting her."

"That means we have to fight you?", asked Lily.

"I'll roast this guy up!", said Natsu. "The guy with the pink hair is going down!"

"Hold on, buddy!", said Happy as he pulled Natsu back while Erza walked towards Marluxia.

"Why do you want us to protect her?", asked Erza as she came close to him. "What is your goal?"

"All the Organization seeks is balance. In the meantime, use your powers to keep Rapunzel safe.", said Marluxia as he summon a dark corridor behind him and started to walk away.

"Wait!", shouted Erza as she charged after him with her sword in hand and attempted to strike him. But it was too late and Marluxia disappeared.

"These guys just get weirder and weirder by the minute.", said Gray.

"Its really late out.", said Lily. "We should return and get some rest."

"Yeah.", said Gajeel.

"Erza?", said Natsu while Erza just stood there. "You all right?"

"Yes.", she responded calmly. "Just thinking on what he said."

Sorry it took so long. I just saw Avengers: Endgame and it was awesome. Go see it if you haven't!