Angel: Well...season 3 got shortened to 19 episodes, so now we'll only have 61 instead of 78.

…WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!

As you can tell, I'm very disappointed...

Eight years ago, in the winter, two carriages are being pulled on top of the snow. A deer looks up as the air is quiet, with no one in sight...until a man appears to be lying down in the cold substance. The two riders run up to him.

"Oh my!"

However, this was all part of the plan as an arrow is pierced into the tree above them. Two men slide down the makeshift zipline, landing on the carriages. The first one makes bird sounds, the two riders turning around. The man in the snow stands up with a grin, punching them and laughing. The man who gave the signal pulls out his sword, stabbing it into the roof. He cuts it open and peeks his head in.

"Hands up! This is a hold-up," He eyes a cracker decorated with caviar in the woman's hand. "Ohh, what's that on the cracker? Caviar?"

Weasel unhooks the horses and they run away out of fear. He jumps onto the last one as the man eats the cracker.

"Come on! Throw it here!"

He throws the sack to him and Weasel takes off.

Meanwhile, Eugene is actually one of the thieves as he opens the door. He sees that the other woman in the green dress is wearing a golden ring with a purple gem on top. "Ooo. May I?" He takes her hand and slips the ring off. "Enchante."

She stands up and hits him in the head, knocking him into the snow. Weasel rides by with the horse and snatches the ring.

"Ha! Sorry, fellas, Baron's orders!"

"Aw, come on!" Eugene's friend pulls off his mask. "That double-crossing Baron! Nobody takes other people's stuff from us and gets away with it! Nobody!"

"Forget it, we'll get him later," Eugene takes off his mask. "We've got bigger problems at the moment," He jerks his thumb behind him as the guards are arriving, crossbows aimed at the two. They start firing and the men duck, seeing the arrows disappear. Eugene grabs his friend and hides behind a snowy rock. The guards just ride past them.

"Check to see if the coast is clear," His friend whimpers to him. Eugene looks up, only to see one of the guards growling at him. He sits back down.

"Not really."

They take off into a run, jumping off the cliff.

Two little boys jump on a puddle in the present day. Eugene, Varian, and the two princesses are gathering toys and other items for the orphans.

"Help support Corona's orphans! Because every donation brings a smile to the face of a child in need," Rapunzel calls out to the people. An old woman brings a rocking horse toy. "Right guys?"

"That's right, Blondie," Eugene puts a sack over his shoulder. "This cause is dear to my heart. Many orphans go hungry, while others..." He comes to a stop as he sees a shadow in the crowd. "Resort to a life of crime..."

He watches the man move around as Shorty gets into one of the bags unnoticed. Eugene picks up another sack, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Something was off about this man...he appears in the crowd again.

"Eugene? Is everything okay?" Rapunzel asks, the teens staring in the same direction as Eugene, but they don't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Huh? Yeah..." The mysterious stranger then disappears. "Yeah, sure..."

"It was such a great idea to do this, Harmi," Rapunzel smiles softly at her sister.

"Oh, it's no big deal," The younger princess smiles with a light shrug. "When I used to sneak out of the castle during the daytime, I'd notice some kids walking around without parents...since I was still bound to being in castle walls, I couldn't do anything, but now that I'm allowed out, I figured why not do something about it for a change."

"That's very noble of you," Varian smiles softly at her and she blushes at the compliment.

"T-Thank you."

The four stop at the orphanage to drop off everything, the princesses jumping out of the caravan. Eugene and Varian step out to help, the former thief looking around for any followers. If he was watching them earlier, he might've followed them...

"Everyone was so generous," Rapunzel smiles happily at a teddy bear inside a sack. "Look at all these clothes and toys and...a beard?" She grips it and Shorty's hand takes it back. "Oh!"

"Thank you! Just what I was looking for."

"Shorty, what have we said about stowing away?" Harmony rolls her eyes at him.

Eugene picks him up and takes him out, just as a shadow runs past them in the alley. "Uh oh...okay, guys, let's get you back to the castle," He starts ushering them away as the same man in the crowd is staring after them.

"Who is that?" Rapunzel glances over her shoulder.

"Why is he following us?" Varian raises a brow.

"You know, I don't know, and something tells me we shouldn't stop to ask."

They stop short as the man is standing right in front of them, blocking their way. Turning around, they see him at the other end, walking down another path. Eugene looks up to see him running along a rooftop.

"What the...?" Harmony murmurs until they reach a dead end.

"Ugh, dead end."

"Rapunzel, that vase, now!" Eugene tells her, putting an arm in front of Varian and Harmony. "Kids, you get behind me."

The man lands in front of them, stepping forward. Varian backs up a little, Harmony staring at him as he clenches his fists. Then he starts laughing, to their confusion.

"Got ya, Rider."

He raises a confused brow until the man reveals himself to be the same man who escaped with Eugene 8 years ago. A tall, muscular, stocky man stands in front of the shocked thief. He has dark complexed skin, is bald, and has black facial hair on his chin.

"Man, you should've seen your-"

He's suddenly hit from behind, falling onto the ground. Rapunzel is standing behind him with a smirk, holding the vase she knocked him out with. "Bam! Ha ha! Follow that, buddy! Hmph."

"You know I meant hide in the vase, right?" Eugene asks and they stare at the man.

"Eugene, how do you know him?" Varian looks up at him.

"And why was he tracking our every move?" Harmony questions curiously and he sighs slowly.

"Princess Rapunzel, Princess Harmony, and Varian, meet Lance Strongbow," He gestures to his friend.

"How you doin'?" Lance replies, still in pain.

After they managed to get him back to the castle, Lance woke up within a few hours, and was now telling them stories about his adventures.

"So there I was, guys, angry warlord to my left, ferocious dire wolves to my right." Varian and Harmony sit in front of Rapunzel, all three of them listening in excitement. Varian is internally squealing at hearing some of Flynn Rider's stories. Cass is not, as she's crossing her arms with a look of disapproval. "Gold coins in my hand, and where's my faithful partner, Flynn Rider? Turns out this warlord had these twin daughters who were-"

"Who were on vacation far, far away," Eugene finishes for him, too embarrassed to let Lance finish that.

"Oh come on, Eugene. I may have grown up in a tower, but give me a little credit," Rapunzel chuckles a little.

"And I might've grown up in a castle with supervision my whole life, but this is me," Harmony gestures to herself. "I've read all the books in the library. And I mean all of them. Nothing phases me anymore."

"Pray tell, how did two fine, upstanding citizens such as yourselves, manage to find each other?" Cass steps up to Lance, who backs away. While doing that, he's swiping things from the top of the fireplace. He had to admit, this lady-in-waiting was intimidating.

"Oh, we go way back, all the way to the orphanage," Eugene pushes Lance forward, putting all of the stolen things back.

"Yeah. We looked out for each other, when no one else would," Lance chuckles at his old friend. "In fact, you can say we're the closest thing either of us ever had to a family."

"Aww, you guys," Rapunzel looks on fondly.

"That's really wholesome," Harmony smiles a little.

"As wholesome as it could be growing up as orphans," Varian chuckles slightly.

"So, Lance Strongbow," Cass says his name subtly, "If you guys are so tight, where have you been all these years?" She eyes him just like her father would with Eugene, who sees something gold behind Lance's back. He quickly puts it back.

"Cass," Harmony warns her. "Don't do this."

"Where have I been? More like, where haven't I been?" He smiles cockily, Cass rolling her eyes.

"You were in prison, weren't you?" The woman asks knowingly.

"Mostly yes," He points to her, "But you know, right now, I'm not thinkin' about where I've been. I'm thinking about where I'm headed."

"That's one way of putting it," Varian gives a small smile, Rapunzel laughing.

"Yes! That's the attitude!" Rapunzel encourages, Pascal squeaking happily. Daisy chirps in agreement.

"And right now, I'm headed to the bathroom," Lance walks past Pete and Stan, who had been standing there the whole time.

"Oh. Still, the attitude," Rapunzel smiles after him, Cass looking very skeptical about the whole thing. She clears her throat at Pete, who nods and follows after him.

"Oh come on! Lance is my friend," Eugene places his hands on his hips.

"You're right...Stan, go with Pete."

Stan follows after the two. "Hey, hey, Lance might not be the straightest arrow in the quiver, but he's our guest. He's a good guy, and we don't need to shadow him."

"Yeah, I agree," Rapunzel speaks up, "Lance is Eugene's oldest friend. He wouldn't take advantage of that."

"Why would he need to?" Varian shrugs up at them. "He doesn't seem like a bad guy to me."

"Well, I don't trust the guy. I don't know what he's up to, but whatever it is, I don't like it," Cass slightly grits her teeth that they're not on the same page.

"Cass, what are you gonna do, have the guards trail him 24/7?" Harmony gestures to where the three left.

"Well, I could..."

"No!" Harmony sighs, standing up. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be careful, but I honestly think you're doing it to the wrong person. That's prejudiced, and I trust Eugene when he says that Lance isn't a bad person. Yes, he had a shady past, but if he can change, then his friend could too if you just give him a chance."

"Wow...thanks, Brownie," Eugene blinks at her in surprise that she's coming to his defense with Cass, her lady-in-waiting.

"Once a thief, always a thief," Cass recites to the princess, much to her annoyance.

"Look, Cassandra, I know you'd love nothing more than to see one of my old friends embarrass me, and I hate to disappoint you, but my friend Lance is not 'up to' anything."

He was only lying as he grabbed Lance by the collar, planting him at the wall. "Okay Lance, what are you up to?" Eugene whispers to him so that no one could overhear.

"Up to? Me?" Lance asks innocently. "You think I would come all the way down to uh see, it w...okay, I need help with a job." He smiles at his friend.

"You want my help with a job?" Eugene asks in disbelief.

"Well, not a 'job.' A job. It's simple, victimless, like taking candy from a baby~ And as previously established, I just spent a little time in the clink. While there, I shared a cell with this guy. His name was Calvin. Or was it Clarence? Something like that, but I called him Oldie. See, on account of-"

"He's old," The former thief interrupts knowingly. "I got it."

"Yeah! So old Oldie tells me about this job he pulled way back when. He hid the loot in this cave system beneath Corona and was gonna get it back when the heat cooled off. But it never did. So it just sat there, forgotten, for years. Now Oldie's gonna be in jail for the rest of his natural life. So he tells me you should get it for yourself."

Eugene claps as Lance is holding a map that Oldie gave to him while he was still doing prison time. "Great story. Could've used a bit more conflict, but the use of props added a nice touch." He then gives a look of doubt.

"I'm serious," Lance insists as he starts walking away. "It's just sitting there! And I need your help to go get it."

"I'm sorry, but you can count me out," Eugene crosses his arms. "My days as a thief are behind me."

"I don't need a thief," Lance places a hand on his shoulder. "I need a friend. Come on, Flynn!"

"Eugene," He corrects him. When he gave up stealing, his old name went along with it.

"Eugene?" Lance recoils back in surprise before laughing. "Talk about your throwback. You got your break, a huge break. All I'm asking is for a little help getting my own. Please? Come on, buddy."

He takes a minute to think about it. Lance was still his friend...and he did want to help him. Who knows, maybe Lance could really turn his life around like he did.

Eugene lets out a long sigh, "Well, I guess it is a victimless crime..."

"It don't come less victimless," Lance leans in towards him, smiling.

"...Fine. I'll help you, but you have to promise not a word to anyone, especially Cassandra! And honestly, put those back."

Lance sags and puts down all of the valuables he stole, smirking a little at Eugene.

Cass makes the bed for Rapunzel. "Lance is gonna be just down the hall from Eugene, right?" The crown princess asks as she steps in with pillows. Harmony steps up to the doorway with extra blankets in her hands. "Unless...do you think they should be closer? That's what I wanted when I came here since I'm next door to Harmi." She gasps enthusiastically. "Oh, you know what would be perfect? Bunk beds!"

"Yeah, and why don't you make them some milk and cookies?" Cass asks sarcastically. "Did Varian leave already?"

"Yeah, I just came back from Old Corona. Had to make sure the guards weren't watching when we left," She replies, walking up to them.

"Um, alright. Yeah," Rapunzel helps her with the sheet. "I get it," She takes a comforter from her sister. "You're making fun of me for being excited Eugene's friend is here. But a midnight snack is actually a perfect idea, so thank you."

"And you're both okay with all of this?" Cass questions skeptically. The sisters glance at each other briefly.

"All of what?"

"Oh, I don't know..." She chuckles lightly, "You don't think that maybe a lifetime criminal who just got out of prison and happens to show up on our front door could possibly have ulterior motives that involves his long-lost pal and partner in crime?!"

"Um...no, I don't think so," Rapunzel replies as Cass takes a laundry basket.

"Newsflash Cass, Lance and Eugene were basically the same person. And besides, that was years ago," Harmony shrugs at the lady-in-waiting. "That's a lot of time for someone to change his ways. His own friend did it, and so did I."

They watch her walk away, but Rapunzel is a bit concerned. She really hoped that Cass wasn't right...Eugene had changed, he was over that part of his life now.

Eugene places down his bag, pacing around in his room. Doing this with Lance was obviously bad, but it was one last heist for him. He couldn't just turn an old friend down, no matter how much he didn't like lying to his girlfriend.

Rapunzel and Harmony peek in. "Hi Eugene."

He quickly hides his bag. "Oh, hey, blondie, brownie! Hey, hello, what's up?" He puts it on the bannister, standing in front of it.

"Oh, nothing. We just thought we'd see what you were up to," Rapunzel smiles up at him.

"Nothing!" He smiles innocently, sitting on his bed. "I am up to nothing!"

"Oh, okay. Well, what's Lance up to?" Rapunzel lightly flicks the bag.

"I'm surprised you two aren't using this time to catch up," Harmony raises a brow.

"Lance? Oh Lance! Nothing. I mean, I'm sure he's doing something. But he did seem tired. Didn't he seem tired? In fact, he's probably asleep already. So in answer to your questions about what Lance is up to, I will answer, Lance is up to sleeping. Why do you ask?"

"Jeez, we get it. No need to be all weird," Harmony stares at him.

"I'm not being weird...you're being weird!"

"Okay, uh..." Rapunzel glances at her sister, who sighs lightly. Neither of them wanted to ask, but Cass wouldn't ease up on this until they were sure. "Ugh. You're gonna think this is funny. I think it's funny, but Cass is concerned that Lance and you are...up to no good. Crazy, right?"

"I keep telling her that she should lighten up, but you know her," Harmony shrugs, biting her lip a bit awkwardly for them to even bring this up.

"Whaaaat? You what?" He starts laughing, but only to feign innocence. "That's crazy talk!"

"I know," Rapunzel sighs a little. "It's just, obviously, we both trust you in our own way, Eugene, but... I would really hate it if she was right about Lance."

"We'd never hear the end of it from her, and neither would you," Harmony rolls her eyes at the thought of the lady-in-waiting subtly bragging about it. Eugene smiles at his girlfriend.

"I know," He puts a bang behind her ear and they kiss briefly. They leave him be, but not before Harmony comes to a stop, glancing at him.

"You're like a big brother to me, Eugene. Thanks for everything you do for my sister," She smiles, closing the door behind her. He then looks away once they're gone. Obviously he feels bad, but he couldn't let anyone know...

Lance appears in the window. "Psst!"

Eugene turns around to see him. "I said psst!"

"I heard your psst!" He retorts back in slight annoyance. "Now let's get on with it." He takes his satchel, sighing reluctantly and leaving with his friend.

They head into the caverns, Lance lighting the way with a lantern. He notices a spider web and screams. "Are you still afraid of spiders?" Eugene asks knowingly. For as long as he's known his friend, spiders were his absolute fear.

"Yes, I have acute arachnophobia."

"Yeah, real cute," Eugene deadpans as Lance pulls out the map.

"The treasure's this way!"

A few rats squeak as they watch the two men walk away. They come to a stop in front of the same wall of stone that Oldie hid the treasure, with no way to get it open.

"Well, looks like the end of the line."

"Nah," Lance blows away the fire from the lantern. "You're just getting rusty," He holds up a candlestick.

"Hey, I thought I told you to put that back!" Eugene hisses at him.

Lance ignores him and uses it to bust open the wall. He chuckles and hands his friend the busted stick. "Viola."

He throws it away, hoping that no one will notice that it's missing. He crawls in and stops in shock. "What the?" The room is filled with a bunch of treasure, but it's not a cave since there are paintings and royal crowns, which no one would leave behind. "This isn't a cave. It's a basement! We broke into someone's house. Lance!" He whips towards his friend, glaring. "You lied to me!"

"Now wait a minute," Lance says while holding a crown. "Lying is a strong word. Accurate, but strong. Besides, the only reason I lied to you is because you wouldn't have agreed to do this otherwise," He plants gauntlets into his bag. "So really...we're both to blame." He winks, cupping his arms and taking the whole pile of gauntlets.

"So, was any of your story true?" Eugene couldn't help but wonder.

"Well, there was an old inmate named Jesse, and I did call him-"

"Yeah, Oldie, I remember," Eugene interrupts, Lance turning his head towards him.

"No! Mr. Kilpatrick. Oldie?" He tsks at his friend, "That's just insensitive, Flynn."

"What?!" Eugene screeches, frustrated now. Actually, beyond frustrated. "You-"

"Look," Lance walks up to him, holding the sack over his shoulder. "We can spend all day trying to figure out who's in the wrong here, but I don't see what the big deal is. Lying is what we grew up on! It's what we do."

"Did, Lance," Eugene elaborates, slightly panicked now. They're in someone's house, and anyone could stumble upon them at any minute. "I don't do that anymore!"

"Well, good for you. Want a medal?" The thief retorts back, holding up some. "No really, want one? There are like 25 of these things."

"Let's just get out of here, Arnwaldo," Eugene spits out.

"Hey! Don't. Call me. Arnwaldo!" Lance warns him, taking a bejeweled egg. "Besides, don't you at least wanna know whose basement this is?"

"No! No I don't!" Eugene whisper/shouts at him.

"It's the Baron's," Lance sings, ignoring the protest.

"The..." His eyes widen, "The Baron? The 'Baron' Baron?!"

"You said we'd get him later," Lance points out while still stealing.

"That was 8 years ago!" The former thief hasn't even thought about the Baron betraying them since then.

"Exactly," He puts a smile on his face. "We waited 8 long years for revenge, and I'm not leavin' till I've settled the score," Opening the wardrobe, he sees that it's overrun with spiders. He quickly closes it out of fear. "And now the score is settled. Let's get out of here!"

They're about to run to the entrance when Weasel is standing there, his back turned to them as he's inspecting the wall. "Wait a minute..."

The two quickly hide next to the doorway. "Gotta find another way out." He glances at Weasel, Lance pushing him away. They open a door, being met with darkness. He shushes Lance. "Quiet!"

"Shh!"

"Could you please shh any louder?" Eugene retorts back as Lance loudly shuts the door. "Quiet!"

As they're sneaking past windows, boots squeak. "Shh! Those have got to be the squeakiest boots I've ever heard!"

"How do you know it's not your shoes?" Lance mocks as he carries Eugene on his back.

"I don't think this is any quieter!"

Then he carries Lance on his back. "See? No...squeaks," He says in pain as the man is heavy. They fall onto the ground and continue walking, Eugene rubbing his head. Up ahead is a knight costume standing in front of one of the windows.

"Someone's there! Get him!"

They tackle the costume onto the ground, flailing around. "Oh, that hurt."

"Sorry about that."

"Let's keep moving..." Eugene adjusts his hair. They sneak past a living room, Eugene closing the door. "Hey. Lance! Lance!"

"Eugene?" He calls out, holding something.

"Where are you?!" Eugene runs forward, coming to a stop when he doesn't find his friend. "Lance? Lance!"

"Eugene," Lance whispers, someone standing in front of him...and it's not his friend.

"No, my name is Percival. Guards! Guards!" Lance suddenly knocks him out.

"Sorry," He whispers, bumping into his partner a few seconds later. They run forward and tumble down the stairs, landing in front of the doors. They rush out into the open, racing down the path. All the while, Eugene couldn't believe that he had been roped into this.

Rapunzel opens the door to Lance's room. Pascal is holding a cup of milk on her head while she's holding cheese and crackers. "Lance? I brought you a snack! I thought you might be hungry." She's confused when she finds the room empty.

"Lance? Hm...oh, you know, he's probably just catching up with Eugene in his room. Ah, see? I knew the bunk beds would've been a great idea."

While walking to his room, she notices Harmony knocking at his door, holding apples and bread. Daisy has a cup of water tucked underneath her wing. "Oh, Harmi, he's not in?"

"I literally just got here, but he hasn't answered," Harmony looks up at her with a shrug. They open the door.

"Eugene? Hello? ...Okay, so, maybe they're catching up somewhere else."

"Where would they go at this hour?" The younger princess raises a brow.

They walk down the hall, Rapunzel giving a concerned frown. She had searched the whole castle, but had found no sign of them...

Cass walks up to them, humming. "What do we have here? A plate of cheese and crackers along with apples and bread. I wonder why?" She gives them a smug look.

"Uh, it's because we are very hungry, and very thirsty, thank you very much," Rapunzel takes a bushel of grapes and starts eating them. "So good!"

"Nothing wrong with that," Harmony takes a bite out of bread. She stares at them and the girl sighs.

"Okay, fine. Yes. They're not home! But what is to say that they're not out having fun?" Rapunzel tries to look optimistic. She trusted Eugene, he wouldn't do that...after all, he loved it here in the castle and being with her.

"Oh, I never said anything about them not having fun. I'm just suggesting they're most likely stealing stuff while doing it."

"Cass, you can't just make assumptions like that!" Harmony glares up at her.

"Okay, we have had just about enough, Cassandra," Rapunzel stands in front of her friend. "You know what? Let's go find Eugene, so I can show you that you were wrong!" She takes a sip of milk, leaving her with a milk mustache.

"Okay, but when I'm proven right, you're gonna have egg on your face," Cass decides not to tell her about the mustache. Harmony is about to tell her when the lady-in-waiting covers her mouth, shaking her head.

"Ho ho! I promise you this, I will not have anything on my face tonight." She hands the plate to Pete, storming off. The milk on her head falls in front of Cass.

"Princess, you have a milk mustache-"

"I know what I have, Pete! Thank you," Rapunzel calls out in annoyance. Pete starts eating the food, Harmony smacking Cass' hand off.

"I hope you're happy," She gives her friend a look, following after them.

Lance is laughing at all they stole, while Eugene sits across from him in silence, still peeved about what he did.

"There's more gold coins in here than I can count!"

"So there must be more than seven," Eugene says dryly.

"What's wrong with you?" Lance raises a brow at him.

"You duped me!" He stands up, pointing an accusing finger at his 'friend.' "You took advantage of my loyalty!"

"I wouldn't say I took advantage, I borrowed it. Here," He holds out his hand, "You can have it back."

"Okay, you know what? We are done, friend. I don't want anything to do with you anymore," Eugene turns his back on him, crossing his arms.

"Wow," Lance stares at him, "Money has really changed you...Eugene."

"Yeah, Arnwaldo. I have changed," Eugene doesn't bother to look at him. "I am a different person. A better person, but money...had nothing to do with it."

"Eugene!"

He looks up in shock to see the girls arriving. "Lance?"

He whimpers in fear, taking the gauntlet. He snatches the sack, but not before a ring falls out of it at Lance's feet. He throws the sack of valuables away, cringing when he hears a crash. Keeping on a wide smile, he watches the girls approach them.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Uhh..." Eugene glances around, hands behind his back. "What are we doing...? What were we doing? What-What is anyone doing, really? I mean, that's the question here, isn't it?"

Cass notices the ring and bends down to it. "Hey ladies. Looks like one of you ladies dropped your ladies ring. Your valuable ladies ring." She says ladies as if to implicate them for a crime. Rapunzel turns to her boyfriend in concern.

"Eugene...where did that ring come from?"

"Why would it be near you?" Harmony stares at them in confusion. "That's a one of a kind ring."

"It came from..."

"Our orphanage," Lance interrupts him, taking the ring from the still suspicious Cass. "Eugene and I were bequeathed it from our favorite nanny. A sweet little old woman, whom we affectionally called Oldie," He gives Eugene a one-armed hug. "Oldie was the closest thing we had to a mom...so that ring is very special to us."

"Aww," Rapunzel seems to buy it, but Cass doesn't. Harmony eyes the two of them, not sure what to question.

"When we left the orphanage, we hid it inside a big oak tree in these woods," Lance gestures to the giant tree behind them. "Promising each other that the first one of us to find true love...would be able to give that someone special the ring. Princess..." He holds it out to her, Eugene cringing behind him. "I believe that would be you."

He puts the ring on Rapunzel, who gasps happily. The thief sends a smile to his 'friend' before pushing Rapunzel to him.

"Eugene...this is beautiful."

Cass keeps her glare and Harmony smiles at the moment between them. "Man, mh! I'm good," Lance compliments his lying skills before they all walk back to the castle. A nervous Eugene is rubbing his arm as Rapunzel is smiling happily, looking up at the night sky. She looks at the ring.

"Oh my gosh, Eugene! Oldie must've been from Corona. See?" She shows him the jewelry for him to see. "See? It has our crest."

"Oh, that's quite a coincid..." He stops talking, remembering where exactly that ring came from. During that heist 8 years ago, he had snatched the ring from a caravan with the Corona crest on it...which was the same crest on the ring from the queen, who was the one who hit him with the book.

"Oh no..."

"Okay, that ring we stole belonged to the queen," Eugene informs Lance as he paces around in his room. "The same queen who took me into her home and family, and as soon as she sees Rapunzel wearing it, she will put two and two together, and be furious! Or heartbroken. I'm not sure how she'll react, she's a tough read sometimes. But, however she reacts, it won't be good! Now, on the other hand, if I ask Rapunzel to give me the ring back, she'll realize I lied to her earlier, and I know for a fact that she will be devastated. And no matter how this shakes down, Cassandra is going to have the satisfaction of being RIGHT!"

"That's quite a sticky wicket you got yourself into," Lance smiles lightly.

"We're gonna have to steal that ring back," Eugene declares to him. He didn't want to, but it was probably the only way to get out of this.

"Steal from a crown princess? Let me know how that works out for ya," Lance puts his hands behind his back.

"I'm sorry, what are you saying? You have to help me!"

"And defy the princesses' trust? Why would I do that?"

"Either help me...or I'll turn us both in," The former thief threatens.

Lance lights a candle as they stand in the hallway. They're both wearing black ski masks so that no one would recognize them. He accidentally burns himself and yelps. Eugene shushes him and he blows on his finger.

Cass is peacefully sleeping until she hears commotion from outside. It might be guard's intuition, but something told her she had to check it out.

The two quietly enter Rapunzel's room, seeing the princess sleeping with her legs up. The ring is still on her finger as Pascal is sleeping nearby. They sneak over to her, Eugene putting the candle down. Lance crawls onto the floor, Eugene slowly reaching out his hand. He starts to slip it off her finger, but she turns her hand so that it's on the pillow. He cringes, looking up at Pascal, who just moves around his foot. The candle is placed near him, his tail getting underneath the candle. Lance lifts up the pillow.

Rapunzel doesn't seem to notice it as Lance gets the ring off. Lance puts the pillow back down, candle wax slowly dripping onto Pascal's tail. And since it's hot, he wakes up with a start. He squeaks, running around as smoke comes from his tail. He blows on it, his sounds alerting Rapunzel. The two gasp.

"Run!" Lance shouts as they rush towards the doors.

"HEY!" Rapunzel yells, holding out a hand. "Pascal!"

He throws a frying pan, which she catches. Then she throws it, Lance closing the door and barely missing it. They run towards the window.

"There's our exit."

Cass stands in front of them, sword ready. They slide to a stop, Harmony opening the door, holding a bow and arrow. The two men look between the girls as they're surrounded. "I got this," Lance pats Eugene, walking towards Cass.

"She'll destroy you...actually, go ahead."

He yelps as an arrow is fired at him, but he ducks just in time. Lance is beat up to the point where he's unconscious. Cass approaches Eugene, who turns around and bumps right into Rapunzel's frying pan. Harmony holds up a weird-looking blaster, using it to fire bolos and tying them up on the ground.

"Nice new invention, Harmony!"

"Thanks," She smiles before they both notice the face on the frying pan. "Wait a minute..."

"Eugene?!" They'd recognize that face anywhere.

"So let me see if we have this right," Harmony starts off as she paces in front of the two, Rapunzel following her. They could just feel the frustration coming from the two. "You two stole a ring from our mother 8 years ago, a gift from our father, and then you gave it to Rapunzel, my sister," She gestures to the blonde, "Only to steal it back. Which never would've happened if you had just stayed inside rather than go to the Baron's basement to steal his stash!"

"That sounds about right," Eugene cringes at her.

"Meaning you lied," She narrows her eyes, "Twice actually if we're counting your first lie before you went."

"Can I just say-"

"Cass, do I really look like I wanna hear that next sentence? I'm sure you'll have all the time in the world to say you were right, but now is NOT THE TIME!" Harmony interrupts sharply and Cass clamps her mouth shut. The princess could get a bit scary when she's angry. "I can't believe this! After I stood up for your friend and then called you my brother?"

"I can't believe you would do this!" Rapunzel says angrily to Eugene.

"Rapunzel, I...I'm sorry," He says in guilt.

"Can I just say that you should've known?" Lance points at Harmony, Eugene elbowing him in the arm.

"I was only six and my sister was in a tower," Harmony crosses her arms, keeping that glare directed towards them. "When I heard it was missing, I didn't ever think that one of my friends today was behind it all."

"Princesses?" Lance asks, looking guilty himself for a change. "If I may-"

"You know what, you've said enough, Lance," Eugene warns him. It's all because of his words that they were in this situation in the first place! "Don't listen to him."

"It's all my fault."

His eyes widen and he crosses his arms towards him. "But what do I know?"

"Look...I lied to Eugene. And to you both, princesses. About everything." He sighs lightly at everything he's done. "He was only trying to help a friend...or, someone who used to be his friend, I guess..." He looks up at Eugene, who glares at him. "I'm...I'm truly sorry."

"...I guess the right thing for me to do now is to come clean with your mom," Eugene says after a few seconds. He was surprised by Lance's admittance...but he won't forgive him just yet.

The two sisters look to each other, both of them seeming to think the same thing. "Eugene, what you did was deceitful..."

"Wrong. Hurtful," Harmony adds in, Eugene wincing at her.

"That too. And by every right, yes, you should come clean to our mom, but...we can't let you do that."

"Wait. What?" He recoils back in shock. "Why?"

"Because I love you, Eugene, and I will forgive you, but...I can't be sure they will," She starts off.

"You were like a brother to me regardless of how I treated you in the past," Harmony gestures to herself. "I wasn't exactly friendly to you at first...or anyone, really. The least I could do since you rescued my sister is to make sure you're not blamed."

"So..." Rapunzel sighs, rubbing at her neck slightly. "Okay. Here's what we're gonna do. We are going to sneak the ring back into my mom's room-"

"Rapunzel," Eugene holds her shoulders. "Hey. Stop, look, I-I...love you too, so much, and thank you, but I can't. Cheating, lying, and deception, that may have been how Flynn Rider would handle this...but I'm Eugene Fitzherbert now, and I have to do this the right way. That means accepting the consequences...no matter what they are."

Lance cries a little, hugging him from behind. "It's how Oldie would've wanted it..."

The next day, Eugene goes to the throne room and comes clean about what happened 8 years ago. Arianna holds the ring in her hand, looking towards the ashamed former thief.

"I appreciate your apology and your honesty. Though the robbery was many years ago, Eugene, it was frankly traumatic, and...I'm not sure I can forgive you. When we returned back a few days later than we should have, my daughter was very scared and concerned for us...that she almost hurt us with her moon powers."

Eugene's eyes widen at the revelation. Harmony had never told him that. "Her emotions fueled the power that Frederic is still concerned about...for her and the kingdom. She was destroying everything in her room, but...eventually, we managed to calm her down, even though it did affect us greatly. We realized that...deep down, she is still our daughter, and that if we didn't accept who she is and what she did...we would lose her."

"I understand. I do. And...I'm really sorry that happened to Harmony. I guess now I just hope that the king won't banish me from Corona when he finds out about this..."

"Well, yes. We shall see what the king decides."

Later on, Rapunzel is at the fountain, smiling lightly as Daisy is swimming in the water. Pascal is rowing himself on a lily pad.

"So...he stole your mother's ring 8 years ago..." Varian murmurs as he and Harmony are sitting nearby.

"Yeah...and because of that, they had to delay their return back. I didn't know the truth until last night," She closes her eyes. "I...was really terrified about what could've happened to them, Vari. At the time, they were my only family, and...I didn't want to lose them like I thought I lost Rapunzel. I lost it; the servants didn't know what to do. And when they came back...I believed it to be a dream."

She opens her eyes, taking a deep breath. "So I...attacked them...out of fear."

Varian's eyes go wide, but he wants to listen to the rest before saying anything. "I thought I'd never snap out of it until Papa managed to calm me down...and Mom sang me a song that she'd sing to me when I was little to ease me."

"Wow...I'm so sorry that happened, Mona," Varian whispers softly, placing a hand on her back.

"You know, it's funny..." She sits up slightly, smiling at him. "I haven't talked about that to anyone. I guess you just bring that in me."

He smiles back, blushing. "Are you...mad at Flynn for that?"

"Honestly..." She takes a deep breath. Daisy hops over and she puts the duckling onto her shoulder. "No. Everyone deserves a second chance...especially one who's changed his ways like him. Besides, he's practically my big brother. I can't stay mad at him for too long."

"So, I got you something," Eugene speaks up, causing all five of them to look in his direction. He's hiding something behind his back. "It's not very nice, and there's no story behind it. Well, if you don't count the part about how the guy who sold it to me had something dangling from his nose, but I guess that's not so much a story as an observation. Anyway, the point is, I didn't steal it." He grins a little as he hands Rapunzel a new ring, one that has a flower on top of it. "I am really sorry I hurt you, Rapunzel. That's the last thing I'd ever want to do."

"I know, Eugene."

They share a hug, Varian and Harmony smiling a few feet away. Arianna watches them from a window. Frederic walks in and notices the ring on her hand.

He chuckles in amazement, "I thought that ring was long gone."

"Yes. Can you believe it? Eugene found it this morning..." She walks away, deciding that Eugene had been forgiven. Frederic looks at his daughter and Eugene before leaving the room.

"And as for Lance...who knows when I'll ever see him again?" Eugene looks away, Pascal crawling onto his shoulder.

"Do you think Lance meant it when he said he was sorry?" Rapunzel asks curiously.

"I don't know...Some people never change."

She glances away before remembering something that might cheer him up. "Oh, by the way, do you know a Mr. Schnitz?"

"Arnwaldo Schnitz? Yeah, that's Lance...uh...yes, why?"

She chuckles a little. "Well Mr. Schnitz just made a generous donation to the orphanage charity."

"Really?"

Lance happily places down the bag. "How much?"

"Oh...about a stolen treasure's worth."

Lance walks away from the orphanage, not regretting his decision at all. One item falls from his clothes, however, meaning he hasn't totally changed...but it was a good start.

A golden coin falls out of the bag, followed by Shorty. "Okay..." He touches his beard. "Where did I put that beard?"