In the light of the moon, Mother Gothel wrung the sea water out of her hair, waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
She sighed, "Oh, that idiot son of mine had better not-!"
Hans sputtered to the surface, coughing.
"Wha-wha-uuuh what was that!?" He sputtered. The prince had to bear the long-suffering sigh of his mother.
"I told you to be careful!"
"You told me to push my limits!" He barked in a high-pitched voice.
"Now, really, Hans, what did you expect?" She said, bored already with the situation, "I give you a shiny new toy, and, just like a three year old, you broke it!"
"I was three last time that happened!" He choked out indignantly, "That was not my fault!"
"It wasn't my fault you were three. Besides, your brothers handled their swords just fine," She said smoothly, pushing at the wrinkles on her dress. The two floated for a moment, Mother Gothel in the boat, and Hans in the water. He was the one to break the silence and ask her the question that had been bothering him for years.
"...what happened to you?" He asked in a small voice, "You would disappear for days on end, then weeks... and then... One day you just..."
"It doesn't matter now, Hans. Now, come give your mother a hug," She gently pulled him into the boat and into her arms, "There, there..."
Hans sunk into her embrace, feeling her soft dress again and the tickling of her curly hair. He'd liked her hair, even though he had not inherited it. It made her different from most people, like she was from a different part of the world. Different was better.
"I missed you so much," He admitted, "I just... wanted to make you proud..." She patted his back. He relaxed into her, letting his smile grow as his heart began to feel again.
Mother Gothel rolled her eyes. Of all the children she had to rely on, Hans was officially the last one she would have expected to be chosen. Then again, if circumstances in Arrendelle were what she'd been told, this was, perhaps, the best the world had to offer evil. Finally, she tired of babying him, and pushed him back.
"Let's hurry along, Hans. You have a destiny to fulfill, and I," She smirked, "Have vengeance...!"
"Vengeance?"
"Don't worry Hans, I swear you'll have yours," She smiled broadly, "Someday soon."
He smiled in return and started rowing. Behind them, the ship lay in taters from the damage Hans had done with the Blade. Inside herself, Mother Gothel was afraid- Hans was much more powerful than she had anticipated. She had to keep him under control.
But how?
"Oh, and one more thing," She said. He looked at her inquiringly. She pushed him out of the boat. He splashed back to the surface in surprise, "It's time you learned to take care of yourself. You're acting like a three-year-old crying out for mummy."
She then turned and sailed away leaving her son to drown.
...
Flynn looked at the metal in his hand with incredulity.
"So, it's a, uh," He started.
"Frying pan, apparently so," said the troll.
"Um, great!" Flynn replied, "So you sought me out to give me the Frying Pan of Magic?"
"It's a shield," corrected the rock being immediately, "I have no idea why it's a frying pan."
"Hmmm... oh well," It didn't seem to bother the troll all that much. Then again, what does bother a troll? Flynn decided to ignore the thing, and put his 'Shield' to work.
...
"We do not use the only defense for love and hope in the world to fry eggs..." Grumbled Turok.
"Sh... just wait 'til you try these!"
Flynn kept flipping them. There was no such thing as magic, he'd learned that a long time ago. Sure, people would claim something was magical in order to make it seem more valuable, or them seem somewhat more important but there was no such thing as...
The ex-thief looked at the troll. Okay, maybe there was some magic.
"Do you believe in magic?" Flynn asked, getting bored.
"We are taught from a young age that there is much magic in the world. But it can all be defined in one way."
"Love," Said Flynn.
"Love," agreed Turok, "Your love for her will save the world from destruction."
"Yeah, hey, you didn't exactly..." Flynn bobbed his head unsure, "explain what kind of destruction we were talking about here. Are we talkin' 'left the stove on' bad, or...?"
"If you fail, the Boogeyman himself will inherit the rights to human fate. He will bring despair upon all humankind, plunging the world as you know it from a hopeful state into complete desolation."
"OH!" Squeaked Flynn, "That kind of destruction. Cool. Ookay, yeah, I can totally, do that... world-savin'... maybe you've got the wrong guy?" He chuckled.
"No," Answered his stony companion.
"...really? 'Cause, I don't know if you got the message or not, but... I'm kind of a bad person!"
Turok put one stony hand over Flynn's free one, "One with a good heart, who has learned what true love is. And your assistance is needed again."
Flynn nodded, "Great!"
Rocky smiled, "So, you're ready?!"
"No!" Answered Flynn, "But the eggs are! Hacha!"
He was correct though; the eggs were amazing. Maybe the pan was magic after all...