The negative attributes of Gothel (she has positive ones) slowly and unknowingly begin to sink inside Rapunzel's being. Throw in the fact that she has to find her former caregiver and it leads to a whole new slew of problems.

And yes, I made Rapnuzel biological parents silent because they were like that in the movie. (Her mom speaking in Tangled: Ever After doesn't count considering that Maximus dreamt that up lol)

Tales of Decorating
Rapunzel was currently at an impasse since she did not know what her mother owned. Sure, Rapunzel was "owned" by her for all of her natural life, but she would not see herself as someone else's property. Besides, what exactly qualifies something as your ownership? The fact you paid for it or the sentimental value you placed on it?

My mother has been turned into a zombie bear, I have a summit to set up, and I'm too busy fussing to myself about the concept of ownership? Rapunzel thought to herself as she painted on the wall.

So she decided to focus on finishing the decorations of The Summit. After all, it was only the biggest shindig on the continent. Royalty and representatives from all over the lands would come together to make trade deals, establish treaties, and hopefully remain civil towards each long enough to ensure so any chance of war is kept minimal. Naturally, because most of these people were self-centered and conceited, Rapunzel had to make sure everything was in order or else someone would complain that they were not getting enough wind.

Some of the dignitaries, her friends included, had already arrived. Merida was here to expand any prospects of her arrow lessons. Elinor was quite impressed with her daughter's natural gift in teaching and King Fergus agreed to remain behind in DunBroch and give the lessons (upsetting Merida's students of the teenage male variety). Hiccup and Astrid arrived early to bring awareness to the dangers of attacking dragons and dwindling down their numbers to the point of extinction in that specific area. Elsa and Anna would arrive by tomorrow.

At least EVERYONE won't be stuffy, Rapunzel thought and imagined having fun with friends at least. Maybe they could be able to help her with Bear Gothel. As Rapunzel finished painting her mural, she looked at it with pride because it was specifically made just for her friends. The mural was a picture of all them together holding hands and smiling. Rapunzel thought it was a bit childish, but her friends made her feel like she was given the chance of having a second childhood and that was what she wanted others to see in the picture. For now, it must not be seen by her friends. After the paint dried, Rapunzel would cover it behind a curtain.

Just when she was going to see that the rest of decorations were set up, the King and Queen of Corona turned the corner. Rapunzel forgot all manners of etiquette and ran up to her loving parents gave them a big hug. The family headed towards the ballroom and Rapunzel babbled on and on about her day. Her parents were not known to be chatty so their conversations was one sided. Which became noticeable once Rapunzel stopped talking and the only noise that could be heard were their own footsteps when they proceeded to head towards ballroom.

When Rapunzel opened the doors, her mother and father could not believe their eyes. In addition to the usual castle staff, there were around ten strange looking gorillas decorating the room as well. The rulers' mouths were agape in confusion.

"Oh remember my and Eugene's imaginary friend, Jack Frost?" Rapunzel asked.

Her parents nodded. As much as they loved their daughter, they were constantly perplexed by Rapunzel's idiosyncrasies. She married a rogue for crying out loud. And the fact that they both share an imaginary friend despite being adults did not help matters in continuing the royal bloodline.

"Well," Rapunzel continued. "He's real, just like I told you. Look, he even allowed Santa Claus…."

Rapunzel's parents were now bewildered. Santa Claus was real? It would explain why Rapunzel received some presents from an unknown sender but still… Santa Claus was real.

"… and he convinced Santa to lend us some yetis," Rapunzel squeed. "Isn't that amazing?"

The King and Queen could only nervously nod since Rapunzel bought in strange animals into their home. Hopefully, they were housebroken.

At least, the yetis were very diligent workers! Rapunzel thought. But she noticed something off about painted glasses that one yeti was working on, and she quickly walked towards the yeti to get its attention.

"Excuse me?" Rapunzel asked. The yeti looked at her so she sweetly continued "Um hi, the glasses are supposed to be colored purple with a yellow sun. Not yellow with a purple sun."

The yeti let out a worried yelped.

Unconsciously using her newfound twisted sweetness, Rapunzel asked, "Can you do them all over again? Thank you!"

There was a tense silence from the yeti after Rapunzel turned her back to walk back to her parents, thinking she gave the creature enough encouragement and kindness to start over. It's not like it would have to start all over or anything.

The yeti, however, had a different response. It let out a loud bellow that sounded like "what the?" looked the glasses it already completed (which was about four hundred or so) and rightfully groaned frustration.

"Well that was eating me from the inside," Rapunzel said to her parents, oblivious to the dilemma she caused. They were not, however and noticed the large animal's annoyance on its face. Her father even pointed back at the ape.

"What?" Rapunzel asked and her eyes following her dad's finger. "Oh, he's fine. What's a little rectification? They're just cups. It's going to bother him."

She noticed the look on her parents' faces which was extreme concern. Rapunzel did not know why though. The yeti just made a mistake and she went out of her way to get him back on the right track.

Her parents saw something entirely different. They saw their usually loving and easy going daughter using passive-aggressiveness to tell that poor yeti to start all over. In reality, neither ruler truly cared that the colors of the cups were inverted. Quite frankly, the variety would have livened the mugs up. Also recalling Rapunzel's random sour attitudes for the past month, the Queen decided that her daughter needed a good talking to and wondered what was bothering her. So she began to open her mouth.

But it went unnoticed by Rapunzel when she began speaking, "Jeez, anyone home?" She chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that I was talking to dolls."

Rapunzel giggled because she thought she made a funny. Her parents were none too pleased and the King almost forgot to breathe. Rapunzel realized that she was late to go outside to check the carnival. She hastily kissed her parents goodbye, not aware of the slight hurt she'd accidentally caused to them, and ran out of the ballroom.

Her mother called Rapunzel some words that all parents call their children behind their backs when they're being irritable.

Rapunzel was now outside and free from the stuffiness of the castle's walls. To think, she still enjoyed the sensation of feeling grass with the soles of her bare feet. Rapunzel overlooked the workers setting up tents, shops, and carnival games. She will spend the majority of the duration of the Summit with the normal common men and women who she greatly loved. In adoration, her subjects all bowed towards her and she smiled and waved in return. Sadly, Rapunzel's wave was repetitive and her smile was pained and bitter. Any longer and she feared her hands and mouth would fall right off.

Can't these people just walk up and talk to me like a normal person? She thought

Easy, self. You're the People's Princess. Don't get snippy at them. Maybe if you show yourself as being approachable.

But I AM approachable!

Remember what Merida said. You CAN'T afford to become like Gothel.

As Rapunzel stopped her inner debate, she checked the size and regulations of each booth or tent. Some of the more opportunistic members of humanity were not playing fair (one guy even tried to bribe Rapunzel with one bronze piece) but they were quickly dispelled and their station taken down.

Other than those yahoos, the inspections went as planned and Rapunzel sighed in joy. Figuring out that she was near Hiccup's and Astrid's booth, she decided to chat with them for a bit. The Viking duo waved at her as she walked towards them.

"Rapunzel, I'm practicing my pitch for 'The Ethical Treatment of Dragons'," Hiccup explained. "I need a body to listen."

"I'll gladly listen," Rapunzel smiled. This is what she was good at: Doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing. Something Gothel was not able to comprehend.

Gothel would probably say she would listen just to shut me up about it. And then she would probably not listen at all when I was talking?

Hiccup dramatically cleared his throat and began reading from a couple sheets of paper, "My friends, my brethren, my countrymen, my name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and I'm here to teach you about the joy that is… next page…"

Hiccup flipped over to the back of the page "… dragons. Dragons are noble and valiant worthy of respect. However, the unethical treatment of dragons has reduced their numbers throughout most of the world. Only on Berk and its surrounding areas are dragons treated with…. Next page…"

As Hiccup went on to the next page, Rapunzel's smile became pained again. Who reads out 'next page'? Not to mention, that his normal, deadpan tone and obvious nervousness were not making him a joy to listen to. As Hiccup droned on, Rapunzel was getting that twisted feeling again. But maybe there was a way to alleviate that. Since lying was obviously wrong, when Hiccup asked what she thought, Rapunzel would use tact and give advice on how to improve. Praise whatever Hiccup did right and point out where Hiccup could improve on. Everyone would be happy, and Rapunzel could prove that she is not Gothel in any manner.

"And in conclusion, that is why people should be nice to their… next page… dragon," Hiccup concluded. "So Rapunzel, what did you think?"

Here was her chance to quell her fears. Tell the truth, be tactful, prove you're not Gothel.

"Well first off…"

But her advice was interrupted when Merida came sprinting towards her friends, "Guys? Rapunzel? You're not going to believe this!"

"Oh fudge!" Rapunzel snapped. "Now?"

She stopped herself short when she realized that everyone looked at her with concern.

"I mean," she started sweetly. "What is it?"

"Two farmers were talking and one of them revealed that they saw a zombie bear in the forest a mile from here."

"A… zombie bear?" Astrid asked. That sounded like something a strange, little man would come up with for some crazy story. "Are you okay, Merida?"

"Yes. And I went up to the area they were talking about and there it was. I even saw an appendage slip out of her. Well, I hope that was an appendage."

"Are you sure it was THAT close?" Rapunzel panicked. The last thing she needed was a walking bear corpse mauling every human being in her vicinity. Or worse, singing Mother Knows Best in bear language.

Merida nodded.

"So you two," Rapunzel turned to the Vikings who were sorta, kinda a couple. "You want to help us stop a zombie bear?"

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other. Surely this was not for real. There had to be some logical explanation.

But Astrid said, "What the hell? We're in."

A few minutes later, our heroes were in the woods. Toothless and Stormfly were with them. They would need the dragonpower. And what better to put down a corpse than fire?

"What if Fishlegs is right?" Hiccup wondered. "What if Rapunzel's singing her healing song actually HURTS the bear since it's already the undead?"

"You're asking this now?" Merida snipped.

"Besides," Rapunzel added. "I don't want to be singing with that thing near me, my tears, or the remains of my hair. ESPECIALLY my hair."

"I don't think a bear is going to give one way or another about your…" Astrid started.

"ESPECIALLY... MY… HAIR!" Rapunzel gritted through her teeth.

Astrid did a double take at Rapunzel's behavior. What was up with that girl?

"There's something, you're not telling us. Isn't there?"

Rapunzel rubbed the temples of her head. It was as if their dragons were pecking at her skull constantly.

Oh just them the truth, she thought.

No. They're going to judge you. Or even hate you.

Well…. Maybe not ALL of the truth.

So Rapunzel admitted that the necrobear was her adopted mother accidentally brought back to life. She did not tell them that the one who did this dark art was herself. What would they think?

But at least letting some of her problems off her chest calmed Rapunzel down. Merida raised an eyebrow though since she knew damn well that Rapunzel was not being completely honest. Oh well, she was not going to betray confidence.

For a while, the search was uneventful. Especially no one in the group knew how to track a zombie bear that was once human.

It was as good as any other time for Hiccup to wonder how to improve his dragon speech, "Maybe if I make it rhyme, it would capture the audience's interest."

"Relax, Hiccup," Astrid assured. "All you have to do is show your passion for dragons and not be nervous. Besides, it can't be any worse than the twins' idea of dumping dragon blood on random people and calling them monsters."

"Please tell me, it's fake blood," Rapunzel said.

"Well yeah. But they would rather not have people know that."

Suddenly the dragons snapped to attention. With their acute hearing, they heard a large creature snap a twig. The creature was somewhere to the party's left, so the dragons headed that way.

"Toothless? Stormfly?" Hiccup asked. "You two found something?"

The humans followed the winged reptiles. Everything was silent except for the gentle breeze rustling through the woods.

Maybe it wasn't Gothel. Rapunzel nervously thought. It was probably … Maximus. Yes it was Maximus training the new recruits in the forest. He likes ordering human around.

Her thoughts were cut off when she and her friends smelled something rancid.

"Oooh!" Merida gasped. "What on earth is that? It smells like my dad's underwear."

"Umm Merida?" Rapunzel began to ask.

"Don't ask!"

"Whatever this is, it's been dead for quite a while." Hiccup explained. "Astrid? Astrid?"

Astrid was too busy being frozen, overwhelmed by what she saw. She simply pointed to where she was looking. And there it was, the undead bear.

"Well, it doesn't seem sentient, Rapunzel?" Merida pointed out. "We might have a chance."

"Yeah, I don't think we can fight a bear who can actually think," Hiccup agreed. "So anyone have any plans?"

"I've figured the 'keep hacking it until it stops breathing' plan was good enough," Astrid shrugged.

"Astrid, I don't think Gothel has to worry about breathing."

The dragons decided to waste no time firing their shots at the abomination. Gothel roared, but it was not in pain. In fact, Gothel did not have a scratch on her.

"Great, the witch never said about Mother being invincible!" Rapunzel slipped.

"Wait? What witch?" Hiccup asked.

Oopsie! Rapunzel mentally smacked herself.

"We'll worry about that later," Astrid commanded. "Maybe weapons can work!"

"Don't let her touch you," Merida pointed out. "Who knows what kind of plague she's carrying."

Merida, Hiccup, and Astrid charged with their weapons. All Rapunzel could do was watch as she silently curse herself for not bringing her freaking frying pan. One would think when you go zombie hunting, you would ALWAYS bring the skillet.

Gothel swiped a paw at Astrid, who ducked clear out of the way. Hiccup used his shield to shove Gothel back… two inches.

"Sudden testosterone boost made me think I could fight a bear head on," Hiccup deadpanned as he backed away.

Merida gave cover by firing arrows. But even those were ineffective against the bear. And because of this fight and Mor'du, Merida would dedicate much of her time to create the perfect magic bear killing arrow.

The battle was not faring well for our heroes. The dragons tried their luck by biting and clawing the beast, but in the end, they were casually tossed aside.

Rapunzel could not take it anymore. Especially since all of this was her fault.

"MOTHER!" Rapunzel shouted.

Gothel stopped attacking and stared at her former daughter. Looking into Gothel's eyes, Rapunzel could see a gleam of awareness.

But it didn't last long since Gothel grunted in anger and ran away deeper into the forest.

A few minutes later, Rapunzel used her tears and singing to fix up her comrades and they all progressed back to the city.

"Your tears as well?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah I know."

"And the magic spell on Gothel? That was you as well?"

"Well it was a witch who made the potion, but yes."

Hiccup nodded signifying that he was okay with the answers.

"So let me get this straight," Astrid said. "You brought back your mother from the dead all for the selfish reason of wanting to say mean things to her. While also worrying that you might turn into Gothel?"

Rapunzel nodded.

"Rapunzel, you do realize that this plan of yours already sound like something your mother would have done."

"NO!" Rapunzel yelled. "No. I have reasons! Actual reasons that I did this."

She doesn't understand. None of them do. Their parents loved them.

"Don't worry," Rapunzel reassured. "I am NEVER going to become like Gothel. Ever."

Astrid shrugged. No point in continuing the questions.

"Well I have one more question, Rapunzel," Hiccup said.

"Yes?" Rapunzel smiled.

"What did you think of my speech?"

Rapunzel recalled Hiccup's rough draft of his speech. This was her chance. Give heartwarming, tactful advice and prove that she's not her not-so-later mother.

Too bad she blurted out, "Thank God, the bear interrupted us. Or else your presentation would have killed us."

Rapunzel's friends stared at her, slackjawed. Rapunzel gasped and covered her mouth when she saw that Hiccup cast his eyes downward.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. You ditz! Rapunzel lectured herself.

Rapunzel learned another reason to bring a frying pan: To hit yourself over the head when your mouth ran faster than your mind.

Replying time:

hcsp1: It's sadistic for Rapunzel, but that what happens when a mother was a jerk and the daughter ends up messing with something she can't comprehend.

reluctant-persona: You forgot Hiccup and Astrid. Officially, they're sorta kinda a couple as well. (And by HTTYD2, they're engaged). But other than that, there's no shipping as I hate it. As for the language, if you mean vulgarity, it'll depend on the personality. Elsa, Anna, and Hiccup won't swear much, if at all. Merida and Astrid will have a bit of a mouth, though nothing too spicy. Eugene and Jack will be somewhere in the middle. And Rapunzel is a censor bypass as she'll say something like 'fudge' in place of the f-word. But other than that, if it can't be said on television, it won't be said here.