Author Note: I've seen Tangled 3 times in theaters—though I've been looking up clips on Youtube to get the sequences and dialogue right. Plus, it's just kind-of fun but anyway, I was rather impressed with how they portrayed the action scenes in the quarry! it's very cool and very much makes me want a frying pan and my own Flynn Rider… but then again who doesn't want that? :D haha! Thanks again for the reviews, you guys are great! hope you enjoy it!

Solo Deo Gloria

Disclaimer: Disney owns Tangled, its story, and its characters... unfortunately that includes Flynn Rider and that awesome frying pan of doom! :)

"The Captain of the Palace Guard glared at the blank faces of the local riff-raff that hung around the Snuggly Duckling. He had dealt with such louts before. There would be no getting any information out of them. Groaning, the man turned to his lieutenant, 'Any luck?' The lieutenant shook his head, responding, 'No sir. We've searched everywhere. I think we have just been led on a wild goose chase.' An outraged voice called out from the corner: 'I'm telling you, he was right—oof!' Hook-hand looked up innocently from where he had just knocked out the thug that had fetched the guards. He shrugged at the questioning looks from the soldiers, muttering sadly, 'Poor guy—we've been trying to find his medicine for weeks.'

"Turning back to his superior, the lieutenant asked, 'Um, sir, can we bring the Stabbington brothers inside? Charlie says he thinks they might make a break for it if we don't.' The captain nodded, 'Sure, sure. Go ahead… I can't believe we were this close!' As the lieutenant started to head outside, a white horse suddenly galloped into the tavern. The captain straightened, his eyes alight. 'Maximus!' He whispered, watching as the horse immediately set about sniffing the dusty floorboards. His lieutenant frowned, 'What's he doing?' 'Shhh!' The captain clapped a hand over the man's mouth, gazing intently at Maximus's movement."

Eugene got onto his hands and knees, crawling around while making rather obnoxious snuffling noises. Sitting up, he said, "Maximus, after several seconds' worth of sniffing, caught the trail of that vagrant thief and his lavender-scented companion. With a swift jab of his hoof, Maximus indicated the place behind the bar. The Captain of the Palace Guard shook his head, not understanding. With an irritated snort, Maximus flipped a secret, duckling-shaped switch, and the trapdoor slowly creaked open. The soldier smiled, 'Ah-ha!' he said, turning to face the ruffians, 'you didn't tell us about your secret passage!'

"Hook-hand rolled his eyes, 'Well, naturally.' The captain opened his mouth, shut it, and instead turned to his lieutenant. 'Lieutenant,' he said imperiously, 'you may have Charlie bring in the Stabbington Brothers. Then we must hurry to catch that foul vermin, Flynn Rider!' The lieutenant threw a salute, barked out an order to the rookie guard, Charlie. Then he joined the other troops and Maximus, their yelling forms disappearing into the darkness of the tunnel. Charlie frowned firmly up at Bush-face and Eye-patch guy, daring them to escape. Eye-patch guy promptly head-butted the soldier, making him drop to the ground and let go of his spear. His brother used its point to cut through the shackles binding their hands. Then Bush-face muttered, 'First, we'll get the crown, and then we'll settle our score with that traitorous Rider.'"

"Oh no!" Ginger exclaimed fearfully.

Eugene sat down next to her, replying: "Oh yes! But that's not the worst of it, Ginger-snap. See, just outside the Snuggly Duckling, Gothel heard all about the trapdoor and where the thief had gone. As she was listening, a fairly tipsy ruffian tripped out of the door. He stared blearily up at Gothel, hiccupping out something about dreams. Gothel was not amused. She withdrew a slender, sharp dagger from below her cloak and pointed it directly at the man's red nose. 'Tell me,' she said slowly, 'where does that passage lead out?'"

"Did he tell her?"

"Well—yes, in a way. So Gothel headed off to the place where the passage's exit lay. The palace guard and one very angry horse sprinted down the tunnel. And the Stabbington brothers took a short-cut through the forest. Unaware of all the danger they would soon be in, Flynn and Rapunzel continued walking through the dark passage. Flynn glanced at the large ale kegs they were passing, his lantern light flickering upon the worn wood. After a few seconds he said, 'You know, Blondie, you were pretty good back there.'

"Rapunzel smiled and exclaimed excitedly, 'I know, right?' Then realizing she probably shouldn't sound so surprised, she repeated, 'Yeah, I know.' Flynn smiled slightly at the girl's hasty cover-up. Despite his original feelings to the contrary, the thief found himself liking the girl more and more. In fact, he had started to think she was rather adorable."

"Adorable?" Thomas narrowed his eyes at this insult to his hero.

His father nodded, "Yes, Thomas, adorable. Men can use that word. I use it for your mother and sisters all the time."

Ginger snuggled closer to her father, "Really Daddy?"

Eugene smiled, "Yes, Ginger-snap. I think you and Annie and your mother and even Thomas are completely and utterly adorable."

His son moaned, "Tell me when it starts getting exciting again."

"Well," Eugene said, "as his curiosity about Rapunzel began to build, Flynn decided to ask a few questions. He said, glancing over his shoulder at the girl following him, 'Okay, I'm know I'm not supposed to mention the hair-.' 'Nope.' Rapunzel said. Flynn continued, 'Or the mother-.' 'Uh-uh.' She replied. 'Frankly, I'm too scared to ask about the frog-.' Rapunzel touched Pascal's foot on her shoulder, correcting, 'Chameleon.' 'Nuance.' The thief replied, smirking. Then, gazing at the stretch of dark tunnel ahead of them, Flynn asked, 'So, if you've always wanted to see the lanterns, why haven't you left your tower before?' Rapunzel sighed, 'Um…' See, she still wasn't sure she could trust Flynn with her secret. But before she could say much else, the sound of running and shouting began to fill the tunnel behind them. Rapunzel looked at the thief, 'Flynn?' They both glanced behind them, and what they saw filled them with fear and dread."

Eugene rose to his feet and stepped away from his children. Then he quickly stamped his feet on the floor and raised his fist as if holding something, "The palace guard was charging towards them, their yells echoing against the rocky walls and their flaming torches lighting the passage with a ruddy glow. Her eyes widening, Rapunzel cried, 'Flynn!' The thief took one look at the oncoming soldiers and set his hands on Rapunzel's shoulders, shoving her forward. 'Run!' he shouted urgently, 'RUN!'

"They both pelted down the hard floor of the tunnel, focusing their attention on the light ahead. Suddenly, they had left the tunnel and were now running out into the blinding afternoon sunlight. They stopped at the edge of a cliff some distance from the cave entrance. Flynn grabbed Rapunzel to keep her from falling off the side. She had cleverly gathered up her hair in her arms during their run out of the cave, and it now hung about her in long, golden coils.

"A brief glance around told them that they had come out onto the edge of a quarry. Below their overhang lay a large gully cut into the rock, with mine shafts opening out from the opposite cliff face. There was also a dam to their right—a big, wide wall holding back gallons and gallons of water. One part of the dam wall had a long, rickety water trough that led down into the quarry so that the miners could sift for gold, jewels, or whatever else they wanted. Water ran through the trough, but it was quite obvious that the quarry had been abandoned for some time. Then, suddenly, there was a loud crunching sound and two figures burst out of one of the barred mine shafts. Flynn looked down in horror at the red-haired brothers—Bush-face and Eye-patch man had apparently escaped justice, and were now looking for revenge."

"Beat 'em Flynn!" Thomas shouted, grinning happily.

"Thomas, shhh! Don't be so annoying!" Annabelle said edgily.

Her brother frowned, "What does 'annoying' mean?"

"It means shhh!" Ginger replied, turning to watch as their father retook up his story.

"Rapunzel stared at the two, gorilla-looking men. 'Who's that?' She asked nervously. Flynn winced, 'They don't like me.' Behind them, the palace guards emerged from the tunnel, flinging down their torches. 'Who's that?' Rapunzel asked. The thief winced again, replying, 'They don't like me either.' Then Maximus the horse stormed into view behind the soldiers, neighing angrily. Astonished, Rapunzel asked, 'Who's that?' Flynn, tired of all the questions and racking his brain to find an escape route, said hurriedly: 'Let's just assume for the moment that everyone in here doesn't like me.' For a second, Rapunzel gazed down at the gully below. Then she whacked Flynn in the stomach with her frying pan, 'Here.'"

Eugene reached down and retrieved the frying pan from the floor, holding it pan-end up.

"Flynn clutched at the cooking utensil, watching as Rapunzel slung back her hair and whipped it around a broken beam of the dam. Before he could move a muscle, the girl had leapt off the cliff and was now practically flying towards the other side, using her hair as a giant rope. As she landed neatly on the opposite ledge, Flynn gazed on in amazement. She could be very resourceful with that hair of hers. There she went again—changing his opinion of her in a blink of an eye. It was really something."

"Dad—what about the guards?" Thomas asked, rocking back and forth.

Eugene smiled, "Well, at that moment, a rather grim but oddly pompous voice rang in Flynn's ears. He turned around to see the Captain of the Palace Guard walking forward, three men accompanying him. 'I've waited a long time for this.' That mustachioed defender of the crown muttered, unsheathing his military-issued cutlass. Flynn glanced fearfully at the weapon he had in his own hand—Rapunzel's non-sharp, non-lethal frying pan. He gulped and looked up just in time to see the captain lunging at him with his sword."

Eugene dropped down, "Flynn ducked the blade, hearing it sing maliciously close to his wavy hair. He closed his eyes and rose up, swinging the frying pan with all his might. To his utter relief and incredulity, Flynn heard a 'clang' and felt the solid body of the captain collapsing beneath the strike. Then another soldier darted in, throwing a stab at Flynn's unprotected stomach. With a quick," Eugene flicked his wrist, wielding the frying pan expertly in his hand, "the thief parried the blow and instead struck down upon the man's helmeted head. Another 'clang' echoed about the quarry. Another soldier ran towards Flynn, but he blocked the swipe at his head and quickly knocked his opponent to the ground. Finally, the last man made to bring his sword against Flynn's neck, but with another duck and a metallic 'wham!' Flynn sent him rolling in the dust to rest upon his fallen comrades."

Thomas cheered victoriously, "YES! GO FLYNN!"

Eugene grinned, "See, I told you to wait for the action."

"Yeah! Whoo-hoo!" Thomas gave his father a high-five, jumping up in down in extreme happiness.

Eugene smirked, "That's not all, though, Thomas. There's still another enemy left."

His son stopped jumping, "What?"

He gripped the frying pan with both hands, gazing at it intently, "Flynn held the frying pan at arm's length, gaping at it. How could a mere cooking tool cause so much damage? He grinned broadly, proclaiming, 'Wooh—Mama! I have got to get me one of these!' The noise of a sword swipe through the air alerted Flynn to another soldier. He laughed confidently and tossed the frying pan to his left hand, facing this new challenger. Then the confidence drained from his face when he realized that he was facing the point of a sword clamped in Maximus's teeth. This was the horse that had tried to kill him just this morning—but that meant…" Eugene suddenly parried an invisible blow, slipping on the floor as he tried to back-peddle. "Maximus swung his weapon, and Flynn barely defended it as he tripped over the unconscious soldiers. He danced around the overhang, dodging and knocking aside the furious blows of the horse. For all their training and years of service—the palace guard was nothing compared to this horse when it came to swordplay."

Eugene stepped quickly around the floor, swinging and thrusting with the frying pan as he fought the horse of his story. "Back and forth they battled, exchanging hits but never quite striking each other. Flynn struck back two swings and then leapt away as Maximus jabbed forward. In between swings, Flynn called out over the wide gap to Rapunzel: 'You-should-know-that-this-is-the-strangest-thing-I've-ever-done!' He ducked another swing and made to hit the horse between the eyes, but Maximus whipped up his sword and disarmed the thief. They both watched as the frying pan went spiraling into the gully below. Flynn glanced at the horse, suggesting, 'How 'bout two out of three?' Maximus immediately brought his sword to the thief's throat. Yet, in a split-second, Rapunzel cried 'Flynn!' and swung up her hair, wrapping it around the thief's outstretched arm. With a lazy salute, Flynn allowed himself to drop into the canyon. Maximus dropped his sword in amazement."

"Yay Rapunzel!" Ginger exclaimed, smiling at her brother.

Thomas shook his head, "Flynn would've found a way out of there—he didn't need some sissy-."

"Tom, be quiet!" Annabelle insisted, watching her father attentively.

Eugene continued speaking, engrossed in his own story—his own memories. "Flynn swung forward, hardly hearing Rapunzel's 'Flynn—look out!' He quickly evaded the swords of Bush-face and Eye-patch man, who gazed up at their flying victim in complete astonishment. Wind whistling through his hair and triumph in his heart, Flynn called down to the Stabbington brothers: 'Ha! You should see the looks on your faces! You look completely-,' he suddenly felt his chest cave in as he struck the edge of the water trough, 'ridiculous.'

"Rapunzel winced and began to haul back her hair as Flynn weakly clambered onto the trough. A hard 'bam' turned her attention to Maximus. The horse, still determined to catch Flynn Rider, used his powerful hind legs to kick at one of the beams supporting the dam wall. He succeeded and watched in satisfaction as the long plank fell across his cliff and Rapunzel's, effectively spanning the gap. The horse got onto the make-shift bridge and started to make his way across, not knowing that he had just begun the rupturing of the dam. Rapunzel watched as Maximus neared closer and quickly turned to Flynn, shouting his name. The thief straddled the water trough, holding the girl's hair tightly as she prepared to jump again. Maximus extended his mouth and made to chomp upon her trailing locks, but Rapunzel soared gracefully down, skidding through a puddle on the quarry floor. Then a faintly ominous creaking could be heard throughout the area. The dam was breaking."

Thomas bellowed, "No! Run Flynn!"

"Run Rapunzel!" Ginger wailed.

Pascal let out a thrumming squeak.

"Quiet, all of you!" Annabelle snapped.

Eugene made an unfortunate ripping noise with his mouth, "Creaaaghqcck! The dam slowly began to topple, and a tremendous wave started to show itself over the edge of the wall. Flynn quickly skated down the water trough, his boots clicking against the sides as it, too, started to fall. He landed next to Rapunzel and helped gather up her trailing hair as the towering wave began to pour into the quarry. They both ran forward, not speaking, just trying their absolute hardest to make it to the mineshaft ahead. The growling roar of the river filled their ears and its great form draped a humongous shadow over the land. Above them, part of the cliff began to fall from the weight of the water rushing upon it. All Flynn could hear was his own heartbeat and the terrifyingly crushing flow of the river as he and Rapunzel entered the mine shaft and-."

Eugene glanced at a clock on the wall and smiled, "Would you look at that? It's time for lunch!"

"Wha—no! Dad, no, please finish!" Thomas stared at his father, unable to believe that he was just leaving the story hanging like that.

Ginger pouted, "Daddy! Nooo!"

"But—but, Dad-." His older daughter pleaded.

Eugene shook his head, "No buts. I'm hungry and from the way your stomachs have been growling, I'd say you guys are starving too."

"I can wait." Thomas said, even as his stomach let out a particularly loud grumble.

"Yeah right. Okay, Annie, would you be so kind as to help me in the kitchen, please?"

Annabelle sighed and rose to her feet, "Sure, Dad."

"Now you two," Eugene kneeled down to look at his younger children, "I expect to come back and still find this part of the palace still here, got it?"

"Yes sir." They said resentfully.

He smiled and patted each on the head, "Good. Now don't break anything while I'm gone. It should only take about ten minutes."

"Then you'll finish the story?" Ginger asked.

Eugene nodded, "Yes, Ginger-snap, then I'll finish the story."

So it was, to the extreme agitation of his audience, that the Prince Consort of Corona walked with his eldest child towards the palace kitchens.