Pascal and Daisy are running around the halls, looking around. They quickly hide as Rapunzel and Harmony chase after them. They walk past several statues, with Pascal disguising himself on top of a bronze horse statue. Daisy is hiding in the bowl next to him. The girls suddenly appear out of nowhere.
"Boo!"
The two pets fall onto the ground comically, causing the two sisters to laugh. They look up at their owners in annoyance.
It has been one week since Rapunzel was declared Crown Princess, and Harmony was named Princess Harmony in their coronation ceremony. They had been adjusting well...for the most part. Daisy and Pascal blow raspberries up at them, crawling underneath the two to hide again. The sisters smirk at each other and follow after them. They run past their parents and Eugene. The king and queen look at each other knowingly before their daughters come back for a hug. Rapunzel kisses Eugene on the cheek and Harmony hugs him. He just chuckles as they run off and Rapunzel ends up in her room.
She gasps at the sight in front of her because someone is in her room...they're clothed in a black cloak, so she can't tell who it is just by looking at them.
"Hello Rapunzel."
They lift off the hood to reveal Gothel. "Did you think I was gone forever?" She smirks as she has wrinkles on her face. She saunters up to Rapunzel, stroking her face. "What's the matter, dear?" She lightly touches Rapunzel's hair bunched up in a ponytail. "Aren't you happy to see your mummy?" She then holds up her hands and the black rocks appear in front of her.
Rapunzel gasps sharply as they surround her. She tries to run away, but she gets cornered. Panting, the girl looks up, her hair glowing. It unravels, to her horror.
"And look, your hair has returned!" Reflections of Gothel is on the rocks. "Isn't it wonderful? Come now, dear, let's get you back to your tower, where you will be safe and secure. I think I'll take Harmony too. RAPUNZEL!"
She gasps as her hair is flying around loose and Pascal sits up in shock. Her hair falls and she pants slowly.
Harmony sits up in bed, holding her hair. The darkness is above her like a cloud, and she looks up in horror. It was happening again…the cloud goes away after a few seconds. She takes short breaths, sweating a bit. What was that all about? Why did that dream show only Rapunzel...? These nightmares started right after she and her sister touched those black rocks...which indirectly caused her sister's hair to grow back, and for Harmony to regain the evil magic of the Moonstone Opal...which is something she'd never use at any time. She had lost them when Rapunzel had her hair cut at that tower (which she didn't know about until her sister had returned) and because her sister didn't have the powers of the flower in her, she thought it was over...
She looks out towards the window to the town and sits up, letting her hair loose. It's not as long as Rapunzel's, but she made do. She needed to get away...meaning she'd have to sneak out, but she needed alone time.
Arianna and Frederic are eating breakfast, the king being silent. "Fred?" She speaks up and he looks up in confusion. "You haven't touched your food," She glances at his full plate of oranges, toast, and a pile of eggs.
"No, no, I-I've touched it. I moved my eggs here to here, you see?" He chuckles a bit, but she could notice that something was wrong.
"Oh, sweetheart, it's been nearly a week. Just talk to them," She places her hand on top of his. He sighs slowly.
"You do recall my last conversation with my daughters didn't go quite as I had hoped?"
"Aw, Fred, you can find them to the walls of Corona under Marshall law. If that's a daddy-daughter conversation, I would hate to see what a talking to is," She chuckles a bit.
"Just because it was a difficult choice doesn't mean it was the right one," He looks down towards his food.
A slender teen with fair skin, shaggy black hair with brown and blue highlights, freckles, two front buck teeth, and light blue eyes walks past some houses in his village. He's wearing a blue-gray shirt with a teal patch sewn onto it, brown pants, a dark maroon apron, black gloves, dark brown shoes, and black-and-gold goggles on his head. He's walking with a box of vial sets, walking past the fence of a farm with a small grin on his face. He stops short when he hears a beautiful sound. He looks around for the source, seeing a clearing with a well made of stone. When he sees the source of the sound, his heart stops beating and he drops his crate. Sitting on the well is a teenage girl his age, with a beautiful blue dress and long brown hair, barefoot. Part of it is tied into a braid at the back as the rest of it is down, with white roses decorating the braid. He stares at her in a trance. She's so beautiful...
A family of geese walk by and the baby one at the end of the line stumbles. The girl stops singing and bends down, helping her back on her feet. The baby geese chirps at her and waddles after her family. The girl smiles, giggling.
"Sweet alchemy..." He murmurs in awe. She's the most amazing thing he's ever seen, and that's saying a lot. Not only is she gorgeous, but she's kind and generous. He lets out a goofy smile as his heart is beating fast. When she's not looking in his direction, he slowly walks over to her, so as not to startle her. He lets out a dreamy sigh as he gets closer...
SNAP!
And then he steps on a tree branch.
The girl turns around and screams at the sudden intrusion, stumbling into the well.
"Oh no!" He rushes over, pulling out some pink balls from his apron. Looking down, he throws them and they fall right past her. The balls explode, turning into a bouncy substance, covering the water that she was approaching. She lands on the make-shift trampoline, flying up to the top. When she reaches the open air, she grips at the stone, glancing down behind her in awe. She had no idea how he did that, but it was amazing...
"Take my hand," He holds out his gloved hand and she immediately grabs it. With all of his strength, he pulls her up and they tumble onto the ground. The girl pants slowly, eyes closed. He lets out a sigh of relief and she opens her eyes, staring into his. The boy who saved her stays silent as he's still holding onto her waist with one arm, slightly on top of her due to the fall. Her chest falls up and down as they stare at each other, hearts fluttering.
He couldn't help but think that he's seen her before...
After a moment, he realizes their position and lets go of her. "A-Ah! Sorry!" He stammers, getting onto his feet. She dusts herself off as the baby duckling chirps at her in worry. She holds out her hands and the duckling jumps into them. The girl stands up and speaks up.
"Thank you."
He turns to her in surprise to see her smiling softly. It's a beautiful sight. "Y-Y-You're welcome," He smiles bashfully, hands behind his back.
"I'm actually grateful that you were spying on me," She raises a brow, a smug smirk on her face.
"N-no!" He stammers immediately, even though he was already caught red-handed. "I-I wasn't...spying, I was w-watching you c-c-cause you're tal...cause you're gorgeo-I-I mean beautiful, I-I-I mean-"
She can't help but giggle at his stammering. The girl then notices something behind him and walks past the boy. He turns to see her bending down to his dropped crate.
"These chemicals...you do alchemy?" She turns around curiously.
"Y-Yes! W-Well, I-I'm no expert..." He joins her side and together, they pack up the crate. When they're done, it's as if he never dropped it. "T-Thanks for-for the help..."
"I had to," She smiles softly at him and he blushes. "You helped me, so I returned the favor..."
"I-I-I-" He stutters, unsure of how to respond to that. She chuckles at his lack of communication.
"Oh!" Her eyes widen as she stands up. "I have to go. Thank you!" The girl scoops up the baby duckling and runs off. He gets onto his feet, holding out a hand.
"W-Wait!" He calls out, but then she's gone. He has a smitten look on his face. Truly a thing of beauty...but he got a tiny feeling that he knows her from somewhere.
"Come on, Cass!" Rapunzel insists as Cass is in her lady-in-waiting outfit, re-tying the girl's hair. "Those dreams are trying to tell me something. Ever since that night-"
"Shh!" Cass shushes her in case someone was listening in. Ever since Rapunzel's hair had magically grown back, they hadn't mentioned the black rocks since. And Cass wanted to keep it that way. "Raps, I told you, we can't tell anyone about that night."
"Um," Rapunzel chuckles slightly, "I think the secret's pretty much out."
"Yeah yeah, everyone knows the hair's back, but if anyone knew I was the one who snuck you and Harmony out when it happened, I would be sent to a convent! Literally a convent," Cass stresses to her.
"Well, I...have to tell Eugene." After everything they had been through, it was wrong to keep something like that a secret from the man she loves.
"No no no no no!" The woman stands up, waving her hands, "As far as he knows, you...just woke up that morning with long hair."
"But Eugene is my boyfriend! We tell each other everything," Rapunzel frowns at her.
"I know it's a lot to ask...but I can't risk it. Please," Cass takes her hands pleadingly. "Don't tell Eugene."
"Tell Eugene what?"
Rapunzel cringes as the man is standing right there in her doorway. "Oh come on, you guys keeping secrets?"
"It's not really a secret, Eugene," Rapunzel crosses her arms nervously as he approaches her. "More like a...sensitive situation."
"Sensitive-" He starts laughing, "Sensitive?! And you think Cassandra's gonna help? Blondie," He places a hand on her shoulder. "I've met glaciers with more warmth and compassion! And move faster, she's slow." He takes her hands gently, on his knees. "Rapunzel, it's me, Eugene. Whatever is going on, you can tell me."
"I know I can, it's-"
"I don't trust you," Cass interrupts to Eugene's annoyance. He'd prefer it if she wasn't in the room right now. "You have a big mouth."
He gasps in hurt. "I do not! Name one time I blew a secret." Cass glances away as she remembers a few instances.
Rapunzel and Harmony gave their mother a present, smiling. "It's a scarf and hair comb!" Eugene exclaimed from behind, shocking the sisters. The point of a present was that you don't tell the person about it before they open it...
Two high-class guests were leaving the gazebo. "Thanks, this was fun. And to think we were dreading it, right?" He was so loud that they had heard him.
"Surprise!" Eugene stood in front of Cass, who was holding a stack of plates. She yelped and dropped all of them onto the ground, and they broke. "Oh, your surprise party is next week."
She growled in annoyance for the mess.
"I said one time," Eugene repeats pointedly. "Rapunzel, you're really not gonna tell me?"
She glances up at him. As much as she wanted to, she didn't want to take the risk of getting Cass into trouble... "I'm sorry," She drags her hands down her face.
"Fine," He holds his head up high. "But you should know that I have things I don't tell you. Lots of things."
"Name one," Cass challenges and his face lights up as he remembers something.
"Pete the Guard is terrified of mines."
Pete just happens to be walking by when Eugene reveals this. "Hey! They see things that aren't there!" He cringes in fear, backing away from the man. Ulf pretends to drag a rope over to Pete, stopping to wave at the others. He continues what he's doing and Eugene realizes what direction he's going in.
"Pete, wait! No, it was a different Pete the Guard! You don't even know him!" He chases after the guard.
Cass gestures to Eugene with a look that says 'I told you so.' "Hey, where is your sister, anyway?" Cass looks around for her.
"She's probably on her way back from Old Corona at this point," Rapunzel rubs her chin.
"What? By herself?" Cass' eyes widen in alarm. "Rapunzel, won't your dad, I don't know, send the guards after her?"
"Relax, she does this all the time, Cass," Rapunzel waves it off with a laugh. "She loves visiting there. In a way...it reminds her of where I was all that time." She gives a wistful look at the memory.
Eugene and Max walk into the Snuggly Duckling, the former thief busting the door open. "Ah, there they are! A veritable cornucopia of confidants who trust me implicitly and would gladly divulge innermost secrets!" He stops in front of a man he doesn't recognize. "Wait, who is this guy?!"
"That's Hook Hand's brother," Attila explains while cleaning a cup.
"Oh yeah, what's your name? Hook Foot?" Eugene asks sarcastically, but is surprised when the man puts a hook foot on the table. "I gotta admit, I did not see that coming. So where is Hook Hand, anyway?"
Attila points to a poster, which says Hook Hand on World Tour. "Hook Hand went on a world tour?! Does no one share anything with me? Feelings? No secrets? No news? Why won't anyone open up to me?!"
Big Nose suddenly opens the door, sniffing a bouquet of yellow flowers and leaves. "Big Nose! Now there's a guy who knows how to share what's on his nose-mind," Eugene corrects himself.
"Here comes the lover boy with more of his romantic escapades..." Attila mutters under his breath. Every single day, he'd say or do romantic stuff that they didn't wanna deal with, but they have to, because no one else will listen.
"Are those flowers for Assunta? Am I pronouncing that correctly? How is your lady friend, anyway?"
"Oh, I'm glad you asked!" Big Nose throws away the flowers to pull out a notepad. "Perhaps this latest poem I wrote will tell you."
Hook Foot groans, facepalming as Attila looks up to the sky, as if asking why him.
"I call it: Can You Keep a Secret? I Love You. Our love is like a timeless truth, it knows no tick nor tock, our love is a big toe of honesty poking through your favorite sock," Hook Foot places his hook against Eugene in anger of having to hear this.
"I was thinking about your hair and Harmony's moon opal powers," Cass walks up to Rapunzel, who was writing in her journal. "Maybe we can discreetly try to get some answers, just the three of us. I know someone who can help."
"I still think you're being unfair about Eugene," Rapunzel closes her journal. "But um, who's this friend of yours?" She crosses her arms with a smirk.
"His name...is Varian. And he's some kind of wizard."
Rapunzel gasps in awe, covering her mouth. "Wow! A real wizard?! Do you think he'll have one of those pointy hats, and like a robe, and a staff, and spells?"
"No, I do not," Cass answers, Pascal sagging in disappointment. "Little is known about Varian. What is isn't good. Some say he's dangerous."
"But if we want answers, he's our best bet, right?" Rapunzel asks knowingly. Cass nods with a human and she sighs, getting onto her feet. "Well, sounds like we have a wizard to visit."
"What wizard?"
The two women turn around to see Harmony arriving with Daisy on her shoulder. "Finally!" Rapunzel runs down the steps of the gazebo. "Cass says there's a wizard who could help us with...these whole situations," She gestures to her hair and Harmony's hands. "You went to Old Corona again, didn't you?"
Harmony clears her throat, rubbing the back of her neck at the memory of a certain event that happened there. "...Well...yeah..."
They glance at each other, noticing her nervous stance. "Did something happen?" Cass crosses her arms.
"N-no," She stammers, looking away with a dusty blush on her face. She couldn't help but think of the boy who saved her...his eyes were something she never saw before...
"We keep no secrets, me and you," Big Nose continues his length poem. Max has an annoyed look near the entrance. "Our love stays fresh like the morning...dew. You see, what I really tried to do is capture oneness of our relationship." Max suddenly notices something outside, bringing Eugene to the window.
"Yep, oneness, got it," He says quickly before looking outside to see Cass, Rapunzel and Harmony riding Fidella past the pub. Harmony has a red cloak draped over her back.
"Cause if you can't share everything with that someone special, then maybe that someone isn't so...special." Eugene turns to Big Nose. He knew exactly what he was talking about. Where were they going? He had to follow them before he lost sight of them.
"Ha ha, I gotta go, this has been great," Eugene opens the door. "You keep writing those words down, because one of these days...you'll have more of them! Bye everybody!" He closes the door, alarming Shorty.
"Good morning!" He greets his friends. "Hey Big Nose. What's going on with that lady friend that you have?"
Big Nose flips a page from his notepad, clearing his throat. The others groan at this. They thought they had escaped from the torture...
Fidella stops near a tree and past a bridge is Varian's home, a cottage. The three walk up the stairs. "So this is where Varian lives? It seems cozy...in a 'I wish I had said goodbye to my loved ones before I left' kind of way."
"I don't remember ever seeing this part of Old Corona..." Harmony murmurs in confusion and when Cass is about to knock, the ground shakes. Green smoke comes out from the door, which creaks open. The three glance at each other, deciding to carefully walk in. In front of them is a door with purple smoke emanating from it.
"Just watch your step, Raps and Harmi," Cass warns the two. "Come on, this way," She leads the group, opening the door.
"This is creeping me out," Harmony murmurs, moving her hoodie over her head so that she wouldn't have to look.
"It's just fog," Rapunzel glances around nervously. "I'm sure it's okay." She was trying to assure Cass more than herself. Suddenly Cass steps on something and a tiny little car moves to a vial, causing the liquid to move to a little orb. The orb bounces off and explodes, turning into smoke. The golden-haired woman pushes her sister out of the way on instinct. The three cough, Rapunzel and Cass' feet trapped in a purple sticky substance. "Fine. A booby trap."
"Oh no!" Harmony bends down to the glue, touching it lightly. This material is very fascinating…even she couldn't do this type of work.
"Raps, everything's gonna be-oh!" Cass stops talking as a man with a black and grey coat, and a gray bauta, his eyes glowing a sinister yellow-green color.
"What do you want?" He asks in a hostile tone.
Max and Eugene arrive, hiding behind a tree. "What are they doing?" He asks curiously. This was Old Corona; why would they come here?
"Um...hi," Rapunzel waves anxiously, hoping that he'll go easy on them if she acts polite. "So sorry to bother you, sir. My sister and I...wanted to ask you about my hair and her moonlight powers," She holds her hair, gesturing to Harmony. She holds out a hand and a blue orb comes out of it. However, it quickly fizzled out. The man gasps at this. He couldn't believe what he was seeing...when could anyone do that? "Because you're such a magic expert-"
"Magic?!" He interrupts in defense, "I do not work with magic." He lifts up the mask to reveal himself as the boy who saved Harmony earlier that morning. "I mean, technically, it's not magic, it's alchemy, but yeah, do-don't sweat it." Pascal and Daisy look at him skeptically. "So, uh, who's your friend?" He points to the disguised Harmony.
"Oh, well-" She steps forward but trips.
"Whoa!" He springs into action and grabs her before she could fall. When she looks up, her hood drops to reveal her face. His eyes widen as he stares at the girl he was admiring at that well. "I-It's y-you!"
"You're..." She stares at him in astonishment. "You're the wizard my sister was talking about?"
His mouth goes agape. How could he not notice that she was the sister of Rapunzel earlier?! Not to mention...
He's had a crush on the princess for as long as he could remember.
Varian had never disclosed this, but when he heard about the princess and her moon powers...he was immediately attracted to her. At first, it was just for scientific reasons, but over time, he realized that there's more to her...more than other people know about. He's seen her photos around the castle whenever his father visits the king, and thought she looked absolutely beautiful in them. And he has other sources that say she helped saved the kingdom...a girl like that couldn't have been absorbed by the moonstone's evil power.
"Wait, I think you lost us." They turn around to Cass, who points at them. "You two know each other?"
Varian looks between her and Harmony, noticing that he's still holding onto her. He quickly lets go of her, blushing as he rubs his neck. "W-We had just m-met this morning..." Which was true. It was the first time they met face-to-face. Up until today, Varian had never seen her in person, just like how she had never seen him.
"I didn't know that he was the same..." Harmony tries to remember his name, but can't. It was on the tip of her tongue, though. "What was your name again?"
"Oh! V-Varian...my name is Varian," He smiles sheepishly at her.
"Varian..." She smiles softly. "I like that. I'm-"
"Got it," Rapunzel interrupts before Harmony could tell him her name. Varian stops staring at Harmony in favor of being polite to his other guests. "So...what is this?" She lifts up her foot to mean the goo.
"Oh, it's a chemical compound of, uh, my own design," He takes off the coat. "Thank you. In fact, we have a bit of a critter problem out here," He walks up to a raccoon that also got captured. "And through the power of modern alchemy, I have found a humane way to solve the problem," He takes the raccoon outside.
"This is riveting, but could you get us out of here?" Cass calls out. He chuckles nervously, moving his hands around his pockets.
"Where is that neutralizing parti-oh!" He picks up the raccoon who had tried to get back in. "Get out of here." He slams the door and shakes white flakes on the goo, setting them free. "I am so sorry, your highnesses."
"Your highnesses?" Rapunzel questions as the sisters turn to each other in surprise. "You know who we are?"
"Uh, how could I not?" Varian chuckles a little before glancing at Harmony. "Y-You know...the second time around."
Harmony chuckles in embarrassment and Varian gestures to them. "Look at your hair and powers! Your highnesses," He clears his throat, smiling sheepishly. "Y-You're not gonna give me the death penalty for what I did to your sister, are you?" He looks up at Harmony.
"Oh no. No, no," Harmony giggles a little. "No punishment needed."
"And please," Rapunzel waves off the formalities. "Just Rapunzel."
"Harmony," The girl smiles at him kindly. "It's nice to finally meet you, Varian."
"W-Wow, really?" He stammers, clearing his throat. Of course he heard the stories about the youngest princess and how she could destroy others with no sweat. And the fact that she wasn't too friendly with anyone at first meeting. But…the girl that he heard about and the one standing here were nowhere near the same. In fact…she seems quite the opposite. Harmony is…actually nicer…
"Well, it's, uh...nice to properly meet the girl I saved...Harmony," He returns the smile and the two women stare at the two teenagers. Harmony couldn't tell, but they could...there's love in the air!
"Okay," Varian says after a few seconds, hiding a tiny blush. "So fantastical stories of your hair returning and you gaining your moon powers back have spread throughout Corona," He walks around the two sisters, examining Rapunzel's hair. He then holds out his hand towards the princess. "M-May I?"
"You may," She holds out her left palm and he examines it, seeing the moon symbol on it.
"People say they're magic," He lightly touches Rapunzel's hair. "Personally, I don't really believe that. As you have probably guessed, I'm a man of science. Specifically-"
"Alchemy, we know," Cass interrupts him, "Listen kid, we need your help, but let me make something clear. What happens here stays here," She points at his chest, pulling him up slightly by the shirt. "Got it?"
"Cass, let him go," Harmony steps in and she drops him. Varian dusts himself off. "He did save me after all."
"Save you from what?" Rapunzel asks in confusion.
"I was at the well, singing. Daisy was dancing with me, and he approached me. I might have...slipped," She cringes at Rapunzel's semi-stern look. "But luckily Varian here stepped in and saved me with his amazing alchemy."
"He did?" Cass questions, hands on his hips. Rapunzel smiles at Varian gratefully. The boy smiles back bashfully. It wasn't that big of a deal, he just…saved a princess from danger, that's all.
"Thank you for helping her, Varian. She can be a little clumsy."
"If being clumsy and a princess is wrong, I don't want to be right," Harmony waves it off.
"You're welcome," Varian says quickly, turning to the girl in surprise. "You think my alchemy...is a-amazing?" His heart flutters and she nods.
"If you can, I'd like to see it. I'm a budding inventor myself," She gestures to herself. Rapunzel nods in confirmation. Ever since they've had that about her interests, Harmony's sketches of new inventions have been strewn around everywhere. No one really minded, it was actually kind of cool to see her intricate drawings of new possibilities.
"R-Really?!" Varian asks in amazement. This girl was getting more and more addictive by the minute. He never thought he'd meet someone else in the same field as him! He thought he was the only one. "Well, you've come to the right guy!"
He examines the hair and palm with mirrors. "Oh yes. This...this..." He chuckles a bit, "It's very...long. And cool," He glances to Harmony. "Oh no, don't worry, your hi-" He stops himself, remembering what they said. "Rapunzel and Mona. I am sure that I, Varian, can unlock the mysteries of your hair and your powers with the power of science!" He flings his mirror out of the way, but gets hit with one from behind. "Ow! Yeah, no sweat, it's just a little..." He faints onto the ground after seeing the blood on his glove.
Harmony gasps, bending over to him. "Are you okay?"
He opens his eyes weakly to see her enchanting eyes. "Y-Yeah..." He was definitely okay after the sight of her.
"Ugh!" Eugene looks at his pocket watch impatiently. "What is taking 'em so long?" He closes it. "I'm going in," He marches forward to confront the three. An apple hits Max's head and he looks up to see that the two horses are standing underneath an apple tree. He looks at the tree in delight, Fidella just watching him. He steps on a trip wire, causing a chain reaction that shoots another sticky ball at their feet. The two horses attempt to get free, but it's no use. The raccoon from before crawls up Max and snatches an apple. The white horse glares at him and an apple core is thrown at his head. He snorts in defeat.
Varian sits in front of Rapunzel, who has her hair around the back of his head. "Bring back what once was mine...what once was mine," She stops singing and nothing happens. "Better?"
"Oh yeah, no!" He recoils back after seeing the blood still on his hand.
"Huh," She stares at her hair in confusion. "They used to work..."
"Well, silver lining, we, uh, acquired some critical data about your hair. It...no longer possesses its legendary healing power. Progress!" He grins up at Cass and Harmony. "Now, let's figure out exactly what this hair is made of..." He moves away a curtain to reveal a large machine with surgical tools. "This machine can analyze any substance for chemical make-up, bitopic composition, and urgu-structural integrity. I built it myself."
"Nice!" Rapunzel comments with a smile.
"Amazing," Harmony steps up closer.
"T-Thanks," He smiles bashfully at her. "If I'm right, this should tell us all there is to know about your hair. And, when we're done, your moon powers," He gestures to Harmony.
"Raps, are you sure-" Cass sees that the princess is no longer next to her. "Rapunzel?!"
Rapunzel is already in the machine, her hair loose. "Let's do it."
"Someone's eager," Harmony smirks, crossing her arms.
"Okay...Rapunzel...um," He rubs the back of his neck. "This may get a little..."
"Exciting?!" She exclaims in anticipation, not noticing the glowing, deadly tools above her head. Harmony and Varian glance at each other. It was better just to go along with it than to possibly freak her out.
"Um, sure, yeah! That's a good word for it," He pulls the levers and Rapunzel starts to shake. Pascal jumps off and he crawls onto Harmony's shoulder. The woman starts spinning around rapidly, the girls staring as she's placed in all kinds of directions.
"Okay." She spins around again, this time being covered in hair like a mummy. The next time, the arms are pulling at it. "Oh..." A bell goes off.
"And there we are. Done."
"Alright. Not super fun, but it's over," Rapunzel chuckles in relief.
"Ha! Oh, sorry," Varian rubs his neck again. "Yeah, I-I meant done with the first test. But, don't worry, only 86 more to go." He pushes another lever and Rapunzel lays down, a saw coming towards her. "So, Mona-" He covers his mouth as Harmony stares at him curiously. Come to think of it, he said that earlier as well. "I-I mean, H-Harmony. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Oh no," Harmony waves a hand. "It's okay, really. I prefer it. It's nice," She smiles gently.
"I-It is? I mean, yes, it is! Since we're friends now!" He chuckles awkwardly. Why was it so hard for him to talk to this beautiful girl! He only gave that nickname after the most beautiful woman in art. "A-And you can call me anything you want! I won't mind!" Normally, he didn't have a nickname, but for Harmony...he could make an exception. Eugene peeks in through the brick window.
"Ah! Blondie!"
"Okay then...Vari," She grins at his new nickname. His face turns beet red at that. "Vari, why do people think you're dangerous?"
"Oh…you heard the rumors," He coughs awkwardly. "It's just that my creations usually tend to go wrong…but I can assure you, your sister is in good hands…I hope."
"I don't think you're dangerous," Harmony murmurs softly. "If anything, you should stay away from me," She hugs herself. "After all...my powers came from the Moonstone. The power of destruction."
His eyes soften as she looks away, so he wouldn't have to see her sad look. Everyone knew the story of the Moonstone. It had descended to Earth along with the Sundrop Flower. Its destructive powers can cause death, destruction, and chaos to everyone around it, potentially rendering any kingdom inhabitable and devastated. So when Harmony was born with the powers of the Moonstone Opal, most had feared her. Over the recent past months, however, and especially after her sister's return, quite an amount of people had warmed up to Harmony. The ones who did could see that she didn't want to harm them, and despite her dark power, she still maintained her kind personality. He couldn't imagine feeling so isolated from the kingdom that he loved, even if he was royalty.
"Mona…I-"
He then sees that the saw isn't cutting Rapunzel's hair. "Amazing!" His eyes widen and he pulls Harmony out of the way as the saw goes flying off. "You were right, it's absolutely unbreakable!"
Eugene suddenly bursts through the door. "But I'm betting you're not! Let her go!"
Rapunzel is brought up to face him. "Eugene! Hey!" She smiles nervously. Varian beams at the sight of him.
"Blondie, you're okay," He chuckles in relief before his look turns stern. "You wanna tell me what's going on here?"
She cringes, remembering what Cass had told her earlier. Taking a glance at the woman, she sees Cass' unhappy look. Rapunzel laughs at him, saying nothing.
"You know what?! I don't care! I'm getting you out of there," He rushes towards the machine.
"Hey!" Varian suddenly exclaims, "You're Flynn Rider!"
"No, you don't know what you're taking about," Eugene crosses his arms. "I've never seen you before in my life. You can't prove anything!"
Harmony suppresses a chuckle while Varian just giggles. "I am your biggest fan!" He runs over to a dark green curtain and pulls the tassel to reveal the books and wanted posters about 'Flynn Rider.' "See?" He smiles happily.
"Hey now. Flynn Rider, nice that we met," Eugene grins at him. He had stopped going by that name when he stopped being a thief.
"I used to see your wanted posters all the time, you're my hero!" Varian bounces up and down, putting his hands on his face. He couldn't even express how he felt right now.
"Oh, well," Eugene chuckles, "Hero is a bit much."
"I've read every single book about you," Varian brings over a stack of books, which end up on the floor when he bumps into Eugene.
"Well," He takes the book off his head. "You see, that's not actually me. I just took the name from the book-"
"Hey, hey," Varian points a miniature weapon that has green and blue coils around it. "Remember the time you dueled that evil knight blindfolded!" He slices the book into pages.
"No, no, not me," Eugene ducks from the weapon, hiding behind a table. Hero to this kid or not, that thing would surely chop his head off in an instant. "Uh, do you wanna put that down?"
A stone is banging against Rapunzel's hair as Cass just looks on with a smirk on her face. "This isn't right, Cassandra, I have to tell him what's going on," Rapunzel whispers to her. She hated keeping secrets from him, especially about this. If it continued, he'll surely follow her again and might catch on.
"No!" Cass turns around to her. "Rapunzel, I want to trust you and your sister," She places a hand on Harmony's shoulder. "And I trust that you two trust Eugene, but I don't trust Eugene, and if I don't trust Eugene, I can't trust you two and you're just going to have to trust me!" She glances away from them for a second as she thinks about what she just said. "Trust me, that logic tracks."
"Cass, it's not that we don't trust you, it's just that this is Eugene. We've been through a lot with him," Harmony looks up at her with a disapproved frown. "Okay, I'll admit that he doesn't keep secrets well, but how long do you really expect him to be clueless about this? It's not fair for Eugene to be kept in the dark about an important secret. But it's also impossible for him to understand what Rapunzel is going through if she doesn't tell him."
"It's Eugene. He's clueless about everything," Cass retorts back. "And as long as he doesn't know, no one, ie me, will be in trouble. And if people find out that you told him, that trust you've been trying to earn from them will disappear."
Harmony sighs, hugging herself. She looks back to Eugene. "Tell me about how you took on the Earl of Camembert!" Varian exclaims in excitement, still swinging. The girl couldn't help but giggle at how adorable he looked...
"Hm?" Harmony hums to herself, shaking her head. Where did that thought come from? She and Varian barely know each other, and she already thinks he's adorable...
"Also not me," Eugene holds up a finger. "Would someone please explain to me who this child is?"
"I'm Varian!" He accidentally tips over a chemical, which touches another, causing an explosion. His table ends up being split open and the other vials fall. Varian struggles to let go of the sword without harming himself and it ends up flying across the room. The weapon hits one of the Flynn Rider posters, and it explodes into nothing.
"Oh come on!" Eugene complains and the ground starts to shake, alarming everyone. Harmony steps back as a piece of debris lands in front of her. "What was that trembling?"
"Trembling? I didn't notice any trembling," Varian says quickly, hiding his hands behind his back. Harmony stares at him. Everyone felt that, why was he so quick to deny it? "Oh! Ah, almost forgot to get the spectrometric press! It's the only way I can read the results of the test. Flynn Rider! Mona! Wanna come with?"
"Ooo, no," Eugene denies immediately.
"Hey, if you-if you come, I could show you something really special. But, um, you've got to keep it a secret."
That gains his attention. "You want to tell me a secret? Do you hear that, everyone?" He calls out to Rapunzel and Cass. "Varitas-Var-"
"Varian!" He corrects with a smile.
He walks away to join Harmony, only to realize that she's no longer where she was standing. "Huh?"
"A complete stranger wants to tell me a secret!" He brags, following after the alchemist. Rapunzel raises a brow towards Cass. Neither of them were sure if it was really the best idea, but Varian practically looks up to the former thief.
"Mona, wait," Varian calls out as he rushes out the door. He immediately sees her on the ground, kneeling as her skirt is spread out underneath her. She's hugging herself and he could hear her crying. "Mona," He walks up to her, sitting down right in front of her. "What's wrong?" He places a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"You know what," She murmurs as she pushes his hand away. "You don't have to take pity on me and be my friend just because you know what I'm capable of."
"Mona," He says in disbelief. "You mean the Moonstone Opal's powers?"
"Yes," She looks up at him. "And it's all true. I can make people die with a song like my sister could heal with her own. No matter how much you can deny it, I'm a beast!"
"No, you're not," He places his hands on her shoulders. "You're a compassionate, smart, and sweet princess of our kingdom."
She shakes her head. "I might be a princess, but I'm impure, damaged, and dangerous. Why would you even want to save me twice, let alone be near me?"
"Because," He takes her hand and intertwines it with his gloved fingers. "I see the girl behind the beast. You might have these powers, but what matters is you want what's best for Corona. Your powers don't define you." He holds her other hand. "Because your power isn't who you are."
She smiles a little as a few tears drip down her face. "Why?"
"Why what?" He asks in confusion, giving her a tissue.
"Why don't you see anything bad in me?"
"There's nothing bad to see," Varian smiles softly at her. He helps her get onto her feet. "Because you're a great princess, Mona. And even if you didn't have the Moonstone's powers, anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend."
She returns the smile. "Thank you, Vari."
Eugene clears his throat and they look at him, realizing that he was standing right there. "Listen buddy, I need to tell me everything that Princess Rapunzel told you, because I already know that Brownie here isn't going to talk," He crosses his arms at Harmony.
"Oh yeah. Well okay, first she said, 'We're looking for Varian,' " He starts acting it out, Harmony chuckling at him. "And then I said 'I am Varian.' Heh, and then she said, 'Uh, hi, sorry to bother you sir, but we wanna ask you about my hair and my sister's moonlight powers.' Wait, oh, sorry, let me back up. Uh, I forgot to mention the raccoon trap. So-"
"Yes, that's great, but what I meant to say is tell me the important stuff she said," Eugene interrupts. He didn't need to know the whole story, just the parts where the parts that she refused to tell him. If Rapunzel was in possible danger, he needed to know.
"Mr. Ryder, when the Crown Princess of Corona, or her sister for that matter," He gestures to Harmony with a small smile, "speak to you directly, every word is important."
The princess chuckles, looking up at Flynn. "Hey, you did ask for everything she told him." She follows after Varian and Eugene facepalms at this logic.
They end up in a small workshop. Varian looks around the shelves. "I know that press is somewhere, Flynn!"
"Again, it's Eugene," He looks towards Harmony who stands by to simply watch him. "Brownie, you asked this kid for help on this?" Grabbing her wrist gently, he holds up her palm with the moon symbol.
"Varian, and I happen to trust him with it, yes," She grabs her arm back. Varian pulls back a curtain.
"Here it is!" He bends down to a small printing press. "And once the tests are done, it'll print the results on parchment paper-"
"That's muy interesante, but getting back to what the crown princess said-" The shaking happens again and it stops after a few seconds. "Why does that keep happening?"
"Flynn Rider! Mona! I believe I promised you..." He opens up a trap door. "A secret." He grabs Harmony's hands and pulls her forward, allowing her to climb down first. Eugene follows soon after, stopping in an underground tunnel. "Now, if my dad knew I was down here, he'd kill me," He laughs as he leads the way, holding a lantern. Harmony walks next to him. "Of course, if he knew what I was actually doing down here, he'd probably be impressed, or at least, I hope he'd be impressed."
"Quirin, right?" Harmony asks curiously. Over the many days she spent inside the castle, due to her father's fear of losing her as well, she got to know everyone's name...well, mostly everyone. "You must care a lot about him."
Varian glances at her with a smile. "I do." For some reason, he had stopped stuttering around her today. Maybe because he's talking about something amazing, which it is. "These tunnels run through my entire village, which make them perfect for my project."
"What project?" Eugene can't help but ask.
They stop in front of a large machine. "This project."
"Wow..." Harmony murmurs in awe.
"...I don't get it."
"Through the miracle of alchemy, not magic, I have found a way to heat this entire tank of water with a single drop of my new yet to be named compound which I'll call Flynnoelum!" Varian declares, Harmony stepping up closer to the machine to examine it.
"A way to give the people of Old Corona hot water with a single drop of your chemical?" She turns to him in surprise. "Varian, that's amazing!"
He chuckles bashfully, trying not to blush so she wouldn't see it. "I-It's nothing."
"I still don't get it," Eugene repeats in confusion. Harmony facepalms at him.
"I'm gonna surprise my village by bringing the people hot, running water!" Varian gestures to the machine, which lets out some steam. "Ha ha, I've constructed five of these babies all throughout the caverns."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Eugene waves his hands, realizing the connection. "These-these tremors, your machines are causing them?"
"Really?" Harmony looks up at the machine in concern now. If they overheat, they could explode, and that'll affect the land of Old Corona greatly.
"No, no, no," Varian says quickly, "My machines are not causing them. The chemical reactions they trigger do." He holds up an eye dropper in front of a red-liquid vat, and puts in a drop. Some fire emanates from it.
"And no one else knows you're doing this? Okay, listen, kiddo, I'm no expert in...whatever this is, but anything that can cause earthquakes can't be safe. We've gotta warn people about this!"
"No, we can't!" Varian denies. If he could just pull this off, his father would be proud of him. "Okay? You gave me your word you'd keep this a secret, and besides, I am an expert, and this is all perfectly safe." Another earthquake happens, causing a bolt from the machine to fly past them and hit rock. "Yeah, it does-does that all the time."
"Brownie, you're okay with this?" Eugene asks Harmony, gesturing to the machine.
"Whether I approve or not, I promised Varian that I'd keep it a secret," She gestures to the boy. "And he saved my life when I was in his village this morning. I'm sure he's got this under control." She could see his good intentions for his home, and he genuinely wanted to help...
Rapunzel is still going through tests as the table shakes. "Only 12 more tests to go!" She looks towards the birdhouse counter. The table stops and she shivers from the whole ordeal she's been through. "Yaaaaaay..."
"Team Awesome is baaaack!" Varian announces, arriving with the printing press in his arms. Harmony and Eugene follow soon after. "Now, Rapunzel, I know my tests have been a pain in the..." He nods at her knowingly, but she just laughs, waving it off.
"Aw, I wouldn't say pain." Electricity suddenly comes from the top, shocking her hair, leaving it a mess. "Now I would."
"I'd make you hazelnut soup if I could, but uh..." Harmony leans in to whisper. "That's gonna be me after you're done."
They both can't help but giggle. "Inside sister joke, nice. In a moment, this little guy," He pats the press. "He'll give us all the answers we want."
"Woohoo!" Rapunzel cheers at finally getting to know some answers to her questions. "Answers!"
"So, Eugene," Cass grins a little, walking up to him. Pascal and Daisy just watch, wondering if Eugene was really gonna spill. "Got yourself a secret, huh?"
"If you wanna call it that. The kid ha—uh uh, nice try, Cass!"
Another earthquake occurs, causing some debris from the ceiling to fall. Harmony bends down to the press, examining it. "Look, Raps, I think it's time to go, now."
"Now?" Rapunzel asks her boyfriend. "You're kidding, right? This is almost finished." They hear a ding, turning to the countdown to see that there's only 8 left. Eugene walks up to the kids. He couldn't stop thinking about how many people could be in danger because of those...things. Varian could do a lot, but this was too big of a job to maintain.
"Can we talk?"
Varian gets onto his feet, chuckling. "Of course. That's what Team Awesome does." He turns around to Harmony, remembering how clumsy she could be. "H-Here, let me help you, princess."
"None of that princess stuff," She chuckles as she places her hands on his shoulders. He gently grabs her waist and pulls her safely onto the ground. They stare at each other as they're still touching, silent as their hearts were the only thing they could hear. Before they knew it, Eugene was pulling them away from the cottage.
"Those things down there are dangerous!" Eugene insists to the teenagers.
"Dangerous? No, they're not dangerous. I-I have adjusted my calculations for every possible outcome. The margin of error is less than point 56 percent. No wait, or was it point 57?"
He bends down in front of Varian. "I don't know! Look, Varian, I think you're a good kid, a-a smart kid, and you got great intentions like Brownie said, but I'm asking you, pleading with you. For the love of my life, and your entire village, to please shut off those machines until a seisma-quake-atologist can come inspect 'em! Please!" He grabs the boy's arms. "Do it for Team Awesome."
"...Mona?" He glances to her, wondering if she was gonna ask him the same thing.
"Maybe we could meet each other halfway and just lower the intensity of the pressure so that it's not affecting your village that badly," She suggests, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And then when they're inspected, we'll figure it out from there."
He stares at her, noticing her genuine concern...not just for him, a boy she barely knows, but for Old Corona.
The ground shakes again. "Ohhh! I suppose I can turn 'em down a bit," He runs off to the first one, because he has to do the same thing to all of them. Eugene stares after him, glancing back at Harmony before running back into the cottage.
"Varian, wait!" Harmony chases after him. He turns around at her voice and she comes to a stop in front of him. "This is your home, and I wanna help."
"R-Really?" He smiles at her. "Alright! Uh, I have a map of the machines I built. We can go get it."
Eugene bursts into the workshop, seeing that there's 6 tests left. "Alright! 6 more tests, then we can leave, right? Go someplace far away? Really, really far away?"
"Why do you want us to leave so bad?" Cass crosses her arms with a grin.
"Oh no, you can stay. That way, when these things blow up-oh," He realizes that he just gave it away. "Boy, nevermind."
"Wait, what did you just say?" Cass demands and at the moment, the teenagers reach the machine.
"Okay Varian, I-I guess it was point 57," He taps the glass, chuckling nervously.
"This is bad," Harmony looks at him.
"Eugene, what is wrong with you?" Rapunzel asks gently as he's pacing around.
"Okay, you wanna know why we have to go?" Something explodes and Varian accidentally elbows a beaker. Harmony steps back as the chemical narrowly hit her feet.
"Ohhh no. The Flynnoleum!"
There are only 3 tests left. "Look, I tried to show you I could keep a secret, but I can't! This kid-" More earthquakes occur and Varian scrubs at the chemical. The ceiling breaks off and he grabs Harmony, running off.
3 turns into 2 as the others brace themselves. Eugene catches Pascal and Daisy in his hands. "Varian's got five of these huge highly-pressurized underground machines, and they are clearly unstable. I think they could blow up at any minute!"
Pieces of rock crumble, causing the window behind them to crack. "And that minute is now."
"Get me out of this machine!" Rapunzel tries to wiggle out of it, but it won't release her until the tests are done. Only one test left and the machine starts spinning out of control. "Um, guys? Hurry!" Eugene pulls at the levers, cringing towards his girlfriend. Cass pulls out her sword, leaping into action, but it flies out of her hands. Eugene runs over to the weapon Varian was waving around earlier, stabbing it into the machine.
"Give me your arm!" Cass says as she, Eugene, Daisy, and Pascal pull with all their might.
"Eugene!" Rapunzel shouts and he sees the two teenagers running past the window.
"Varian! Harmony! They're gonna get themselves killed!"
"Get her out of here, I'll get the kids," Cass tells him, running out the door just before a wood plank could hit her head.
The last test is finally done. "It's over!" The cuckoo bird sounds off the finished tests, but a piece of debris crushes it. She looks towards the press. "I need those results!"
They look up to see the ceiling very close to caving them in, and the press is destroyed. "No!"
Houses start to be affected as Cass runs past a cottage. She jumps over a fence, an earthquake occurring right near her. Fidella stares after her, whinnying to get her attention as the two horses are still stuck. A black rock flies past Cass as she has the two teenagers in sight. She jumps over a pipe and grabs their arms, causing Harmony to drop the map.
"Listen, kid, we gotta get out of here. Princess, you can't risk yourself like this."
"No, no!" Varian protests, trying to make her let go. "No, we've got three pumps to shut off, and I can't let this happen again!"
"Please, Cass! I have to help Old Corona! This is home to his people," Harmony gestures to Varian. Another explosion occurs, causing a large pipe to fly above them. It goes spiraling over their heads, but Harmony hugs Varian and Cass grabs them.
"Look out!" Eugene looks up at the ceiling, attempting to pull Rapunzel out.
"No, there's no time! Get out of here!" If someone was going to get hurt, she'd prefer it to be her than him. He had already died for her.
"No, I am not going anywhere without you. I love you, Rapunzel," He clasps her hand, staring into her eyes.
"I love you too...more than you will ever know."
The two pets hide in her hair as the ceiling completely breaks, but the couple hold each other tight. After a few moments, everything stops, and there appears to be no sign of them...
But a yellow light bursts out of the pile of debris, which falls to reveal a ball made of golden hair. It falls and Rapunzel is free, with Eugene next to her.
"What the hair?!" Eugene exclaims in surprise. He never remembered Rapunzel being able to do that...
Cass crawls out of the pipe, pulling out the teenagers. "Thank you, milady," Varian smiles at Harmony, who giggles.
"I had to finally return the favor."
"Ugh," Cass rolls her eyes at the romance. It just wasn't her.
"Varian." They turn around to a middle-aged man with brown eyes wearing dark red and brown village clothing. He lifts up a door, looking around for the boy in a panic. "Varian!"
"Quirin, thank goodness you're here," A villager walks up to them, but he ignores him once he sees his son.
"Oh no. It's my dad," He tells the girls. They crawl out of the pipe, with Varian helping out Harmony.
"Are you okay?" Quirin bends down, holding his son's shoulders. He glances behind him to see the princess. "P-Princess Harmony. What are you doing here?"
Luckily he didn't fear her, so she takes a deep breath, stepping up to address everyone.
"Everything will be okay. No one is hurt."
"What happened?" Quirin asks Varian.
"Dad, I'm sorry," He looks away sadly and the man realizes what happened.
"Not again, Varian..." He turns away.
"But, Dad-"
"Is everybody okay?" The man asks the villagers. Varian looks down in disappointment, Cass placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Quirin, what do we do?"
"It was terrible."
Harmony looks to the boy, sighing slowly. "Hey." She steps up to him, giving Varian a hug. He stares at the top of her head in surprise before he returns the embrace. She pulls back to look at him. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I need to go check on my sister and Eugene."
"Oh no, go on. I understand," He gestures to himself. "Thank you for everything...Mona."
She smiles a bit, looking up at Cass, who leads her away. The girl turns around one last time to stare at Varian. She hoped that everything would be alright the next time she visited.
Rapunzel shakes the antidote to the goo for Max, setting him free. He whinnies happily. "I'm sorry you didn't get those test results, Blondie," Eugene walks up to her. Those results had meant a lot to her, but now who knows when she'll get answers again? Or Harmony for that matter?
"I should never have kept a secret from you," She puts her hair behind her back. "From now on, no more secrets! Ever."
"Oh yeah? Well what about Cassandra?" Eugene asks in disdain, looking towards the woman, who's petting Fidella.
"That's between her and me. Okay, the truth? You know how I said I just woke up with my hair long? Well, I didn't. And Harmony didn't wake up with moonlight powers either. The night before, Cass kind of helped us break out of Corona."
"Oh, I knew it!" Eugene exclaims happily. "Oh, she's gonna get in so much trouble!"
Rapunzel recoils back in surprise, staring at him pleadingly to not say a word. Harmony stares as Max growls at him as a threat. "That is, of course, if anyone where to find out, which they won't, because this guy is a vault." He puts Rapunzel on top of the horse. Harmony shakes her head with an amused smile, walking over to Fidella with Daisy.
Max hits Flynn with his tail and Eugene climbs on behind the love of his life. Rapunzel leans up, kissing him on the cheek as thanks.
"You should've seen it! It was a crazy night! She showed us these black rocks, and I know it sounds so weird, but I think they're what made my hair grow back and for little sis to get her moon powers back." As she's talking, Max sees the same raccoon who taunted him earlier. He kicks a fence pole, causing the same trap to fire at the animal. It traps him inside and he reaches his tongue towards the apple core, but he's not close enough. Max snorts at him and keeps on walking.
"Hey, after today, nothing sounds weird," Eugene can't help but comment.
"And then when we touched the rocks, they started chasing us, and Harmi was creating them," Rapunzel continues as they walk past a damaged house.
"Rocks chasing you made by Brownie? Now we're back to weird."
Cass and Harmony ride behind them, with Cass unable to hear. The princess smiles to herself. She got saved by a budding alchemist, and he turned out to be the same 'wizard' they were looking for…fate works in strange ways.
"Well, Max was there, and once we got far enough away from them, they stopped growing."
Or at least, so she thought, as behind Corona walls, another black rock grows...