Ok, this is probably WAY too early, but I want to ask you guys now. When Tangled comes out, the focus will shift to Flynn and Rapunzel. It will then be in their point of view, instead of Tiana and Naveen's. There is one thing I'm wondering: should I continue with this same story, simply adding new chapters, or should I make a whole new story, pretty much a sequel? I'm leaning toward the latter.

Ok…I have to say something very random to all my fellow Disney fans. I'm quite glad that my main fandom is Disney. Why? Well, ever since I became a fan of shows like House, dramas and the like, I've realized how mean-spirited and all around obnoxious fans can be. Whether you don't like their ship or don't agree with their complaints (especially the former), they attack you from your social life to your intelligence. I guess I should have gotten a little taste of it with Harry Potter, but damn. I find that people are much more relaxed in fandoms like Disney, which is kind of funny since its probably bigger than any TV show (It being an entire company and all…) I guess it's because, with Disney, there's still a lot of innocence with it, and you pretty much always know from the start who's getting with who. It also doesn't take itself seriously enough to give room for "the intelligent interpretation" or "the intelligent pairing." (Translation: I think this way, so I'm better than you) The only real arguments are ones over CGI and 2D, and those never get too bad.

Sorry for this little tangent, but I have just gotten really tired of all the crap surrounding some of my other fandoms, and wanted to express this to those who love the ol' Dream King. So, toast to Mickey Mouse, Walt, and all the other beloved characters. You are the best fandom ever.

…Ok, here's the actual story.

Arc 1: Saving the Others

Episode 3

Tiana glanced back every so often, her breaths not slowing down.

"How do we know if they're followin' us?" She rasped to Naveen, almost wishing she could be up front with him instead of comforting Snow and Aurora. Still, she didn't want to abandon them before they found their husbands. The poor girls had the right to be terrified, to say the least. Tiana shivered slightly, remembering the gleam of the blade Mulan held, ready to attack.

She still wasn't quite sure what had happened to the girls. Why they had changed like that. It made it even more disturbing; you can't know how to fix something until you know what's actually wrong.

"They're here." Naveen said, stopping the car. The woods were at their thickest here. You couldn't see a sliver of sunlight between them. "I'll get them."

He didn't need to. The princes were already galloping down the road, towards them. They had scratches all over their arms, dripping small trails of blood. Most likely from racing through the thick branches of the trees.

"There are soldiers everywhere, looking for us." Phillip panted, not leaving his horses back. His face brightened up when he saw his wife though, as did the Prince's. "Oh, thank goodness you're all right!" he cried, reaching down to touch her outstretched hand. "Stay in Prince Naveen's auto-mob-ile…" he pondered at the word, but then shook his head, returning to the matter at hand. "It's safer in there."

Snow reached out to her own prince, clasping his fingers. "I feel so much better now." She grinned sweetly. Tiana took this as a sign that she could move to the front seat.

But when she stepped out of the car, as if by karma, things got ten times worse.

Suddenly, the roaring of an army of horse hooves rang through the silence. Tiana spun around, only to see the soldiers emerging from over the hill like an army of ants. Her breath caught in her throat, her hands shaking violently. There were still far away, but not so far that they wouldn't catch them if they didn't get going now.

"Head toward the restaurant!" Tiana told Naveen, diving into the seat beside him.

"No!" Phillip cried, "They'll find us there!"

"What?" Tiana asked, "We have to go! They're gaining on us!"

"Get in and explain it to them!" Phillip told the Prince. "I'll take care of your horse!"

The Prince swung down, replacing Tiana in the back seat. Phillip tied his horse's reigns to his own saddle, urging his horse to run forward. Naveen followed him, doing his best to not speed up too fast. He didn't want him left to fend for himself against the soldiers.

"Phillip and I left the woods…" The Prince gasped, trying to catch his breath. "because we found a few soldiers searching it near the edge of the trees. They were talking, so we hid and listened to them. It turns out," he stroked Snow's hand, sighing; she rested her head on his shoulder, "Cinderella has told them to spread the word that we have been replaced by evil imposters. No kingdoms, not even our own, will trust us. And there are soldiers everywhere."

Tiana exchanged a glance with Naveen. He rubbed his face with one hand, keeping it at his mouth as he stared in front of him. Tiana wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Cry and cry and cry. Cry out of frustration, out of fear, out of sadness for her friends…cry like a nineteen year old should be able to. Could she not be the strong, feminist one for once?

"So where can we go?" Naveen asked, almost in a whisper.

"Where will it be hardest for us to get caught?"

"The woods seem like a pretty safe bet." Tiana said. "If we get deep enough and keep on movin', I reckon they probably won't be able to track us."

"Unless they use magic." Aurora pointed out.

"In that case, it doesn't matter where we go." Tiana shrugged. "The woods are still most likely the safest place."

"I won't be able to take the car." Naveen rubbed his steering wheel affectionately, almost veering it off course. "That will slow us down."

"So will gettin' attacked everywhere we go."

Naveen stuck out his lower lip. "I very much like this car."

Tiana rolled her eyes, glaring at him with her most threatening face. "Naveen, we are in a life and death situation—"

"Fine." Her husband whined.

"You have plenty of cars."

"Not like this."

"Naveen!"

"I said fine!"

"The soldiers are still chasing us, friends." Snow White reminded them, her voice breaking a bit. Tiana was very much aware.

"How close are they?" she asked.

"Farther away, I think." Aurora answered.

"Naveen, we're goin' to have to lose them if we want to run." She looked out to check on Phillip, who was still galloping beside them. He seemed quite scared, and Tiana reminded herself to thank him for being so noble as to stay outside.

"Point taken."

Tiana glanced back out to Phillip. Poor thing. Blood was now mixed with sweat, dripping down his face.

"The forest ends at a field about a mile down." Aurora told Naveen.

"So…I could make a turn there and lose them. It'll take them a lot longer than us to turn. Tia, warn Phillip."

She did, and he nodded, somewhat exasperatedly.

Naveen gained speed as they neared the turnoff, Phillip urging the horses into a sprint. Tiana held her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. She heard the sound of the metal wheels turning. Clasping her hands together, she silently prayed they would not tip over.

Someone was listening, apparently, because they didn't. The car swerved to the side, shaking quite a bit but still staying upright. Tiana gripped her seat, not opening her eyes until the car was going strait again.

Naveen acted as fast as he could. Stopping the car, he grabbed Tiana's arm, pulling her out a little more harshly than she would have liked.

"Oph!" she fell out of the car, tripping onto the grass.

"I'm so sorry, my dear," he picked her up off the ground, holding her close, "I'm a little nervous, to say the least." He waited, quite impatiently, until the Prince got the other girls out and Phillip was decently caught up. With that, he took off into the woods at full speed.

Tiana wished she hadn't worn heals. The branches flicked and bit at her face, and she found it a struggle to keep her eyes open. Her shoes were not kind to her already aching feet, but she didn't dare take them off and find out what sharp rocks and underbrush would do to them.

Naveen kept running, ignoring the pain. He was going to get them safe if it killed him.

"Naveen! Let's get the women on the horses!" Phillip shouted. "That way, if we get caught, they can ride ahead to safety." That's a…good idea. Naveen thought, pausing for a moment.

"I think we can spare a few minutes." he said. "The woods are pretty deep here."

Phillip lifted Snow and Aurora onto his horse, and then Tiana onto the Prince's. It was then that Tiana realized that she had never ridden a horse before…and now her life depended on it. Wonderful...It was made worse by the fact that she had no idea how.

"Um…" She rubbed her hands together, "I don't know how to ride a horse."

The Prince glanced at Naveen. "Do you mind?"

Naveen, knowing what he was asking about, was a little bit wary of the idea. Still, his own horseback riding skills were not top notch, and he wanted Tiana to be as safe as possible. He reluctantly nodded.

The Prince swung his leg over the horse's back, taking the reins. Tiana held onto his shoulders as the horses began to walk forward.

"No one dares to go into these woods." Snow White said. "These woods are dark and dangerous at times, and the main thing connecting our kingdoms. They go on for miles"

"Really?" Tiana asked. She didn't know much about the other princess' kingdoms, especially the ones who weren't from a particular country like France or the United States.

Snow White continued. "It's a magical place, and it's always changing."

"Snow White and I lived in them." Aurora continued. "We know our way through them. Those soldiers, however, don't. And the woods are not kind to those who don't. We'll be safe here."

"This is very good news." Tiana said, feeling just a tad relieved.

Phillip squinted through the trees, towards the sky, or what little you could see of it. "I think it's getting dark, but it's not entirely clear."

"We should probably rest for the night." Naveen said. He helped Tiana slide off the horse, the other princes helping their own wives. She sighed in relief, thankful to be back on the solid ground.

As Phillip tied the horses to a nearby tree, the rest did their best creating makeshift beds on the ground. Tiana flicked off her shoes, rejoicing as she stretched her toes. They cracked and bent, pain still creeping through them. She had done way, way too much running today.

"I need to sleep." She moaned, curling up on the ground.

"What if the soldiers find us while we're sleeping?" Naveen stroked his tired wife's now extremely messy hair, the wild curls barely contained by the bun she had put them in.

"I'd be very surprised if they managed to track us down this deep in the woods." Aurora smiled softly, "They aren't magical, so they only have their own wits."

"We men should probably take turns keeping watch." Phillip said, sitting down.

Tiana perked right up, her "strong, feminist one" instinct kicking in. "Wait, why just the men?"

"Because it's chivalrous." Naveen answered, slightly confused. He leaned down close to her, so only she could hear. "Why would you oppose something that makes life safer for you?"

Tiana shrugged. "It makes me feel like…like I'm some little female you need to protect."

"My dear, I only need to protect you when you cannot protect yourself and need someone to help, just as a spouse should. You have been through a lot today, more than me. Let yourself rest." He gave her a smile; not his usual, terribly handsome one, but a sweet, gentle one only Tiana ever saw.

"I love you." Tiana whispered.

"I love you too." Naveen kissed her forehead. She laid the back of her head on his thigh, looking up at the others. His fingers continued to thumb through her hair.

"Somethin' still bothers me, though." Tiana crossed her arms. "When Mulan was about to attack us, she said we 'know too much.' Why would she say that?"

"We know that they're getting infected?" The Prince suggested.

"But…it more seemed like they had something to hide. Somethin' we weren't supposed to realize or find out. What motivation would they have to fool us if they were just gettin' infected?"

"Maybe they weren't actually infected." Phillip's eyes lit up with an epiphany. "Maybe…maybe they were replaced!"

Everyone turned to look at him, wide eyed.

"If they were replaced," Aurora's eyes lit up with fear, "then what happened to our real friends?"

"I'm not sure." Tiana looked back up at the sky. "But we have to find them. We have to save the others."