Hans stood stoically, watching the sun set. It had been a long day already. His mother was in her 'quiet zone' ignoring any and all distractions.
Apparently, part of her resurrection returned her body, but when she lost emotional control, she aged. Therefore she secluded herself in order to make sure no one upset her enough to age her.
"Oh, Hansy!" She called, "I need to have a talk with my big boy!"
Hans sighed wearily. His mother was still a mom, after all, and had a habit of making him still feel like a small child. He descended into the basement, allowing his eyes to adjust to the lack of light.
"Mother?" She didn't respond. Immediately, the Blade reformed into a sword, reading his tension. A blood-red glow emanated from the weapon, casting its ominous light far into the reaches of the enclosed area. It was far too quiet for his liking. His training kicked in. The prince slowly made his way into the area.
Like the rest of the tower, the mid-level was tiered. Even as the stairs kept descending, they ended in a hole to the basement, which was accessable by way of footholds. The mid-level itself was a crowded room, with reinforced stones set wherever needed to keep the tower aloft.
Hans slowed his breathing, and strained his ears for the noise, crouching low; he just made out the soft crush of silk behind him in time to spin. Gothel's blade struck his, sending her son spinning back. The Blade lost its form, tried reforming, and then got stuck as a sword. One smack of her enhanced strength and it spiraled out of his hands.
Hans stopped struggling when her claws wrapped around his throat. An angry snarl erupted from her throat. This was the height of power from the champion of evil?!
She was squeezing hard enough to kill Hans when a figure stepped out of the shadows and into the red light. A tall, thin man with jet black hair, and pale skin smoothly stepped up to the pair.
"Release him," He said.
Hans gasped for breath, even as he got back onto his knees. The figure looked down not entirely like a new owner might look at their pet.
"…do you remember me, Hans?"
The prince's eyes lit up, "But… you're not real!" His mother cackled at this. The mysterious man smirked.
"No…" He walked up the wall onto the ceiling, defying gravity, "But then again, fear isn't ever real. It's all just in your mind…!"
He disappeared into the pitch black shadows, only to reappear out of the black silk Mother Gothel wore, "I need you to snuff out the light of Corona, and then… then I will help you take out Elsa."
"She's too powerful," Hans growled, forming the Blade into his belt buckle, "I've been over it before. Nothing can contain her."
"Nothing," Said his childhood's boogeyman, "But fear." The being smiled darkly, "Now, Hans, surely you understand that. Fear is an excellent motivator."
Hans nodded slowly.
"Good. Now, go kill Flynn Rider."
...
Flynn took a crew of six guards back to the tower. He wasn't expecting trouble, but then again…
Once they reached the tunnel, Flynn stopped the whole group. Checking the soul he saw over twenty pairs of boots in the dirt. He swallowed hard. There was no evidence of female footprints, but that meant almost nothing.
"You two, come with me, you two, stay here," He turned to the two that looked like they were about to pass out in fear, "And you two… get reinforcements. As many as you can. Okay, go."
Usually the guards liked to give him grief about following orders. Besides not actually being their boss, he was also a thief. But seeing that he was the only one keeping a level head, they listened without complaint.
Flynn crept into the clearing with his companions. Circling the tower were people the ex-thief recognized. Ivan, Vlad, and the rest of the crew from the Duckling were there guarding an abandoned building. Something wasn't quite right here.
"Give me a boost," He went up into one of the trees in the field. Staying as quiet as possible, Flynn shot a bolt into the tower itself, over the heads of the goons. Tying down the rope, the sneak tip-toed up the line and into the side of the obelisk. From there, he climbed up into the window.
Before entering, he took a breath.
This was where he'd almost died. This was where he'd put it all on the line and then some. This was where he'd truly felt fear for the first time. And love. Where he'd first met Rapunzel. Where they first- he stopped himself. There was no reason he should reminisce this much. Thinking twice about stepping throough the doorway he'd been stabbed at previously, Flynn crawled up the outside of the shingles and burst in through the skylight, catching himself on the chandelier.
He crouched low. The glowing pendant in his hand immediately raised that weird blue-glowing shield again. It fit perfectly in his hand; light as a feather and strong as iron.
Flynn expected a rush of guards. At least three, probably a dozen total. And someone must have heard the commotion. Where was the response?
"Hello, thief," A voice whispered in his ear. Flynn yelped, startled, and flipped down. He landed on his feet, whirling around to face his opponent. Poached impossibly on the chandelier was an impossible vision.
"You…" He whispered.
Mother Gothel laughed, jumping down and landing beside him. She was quite spritely for someone over five hundred years old. She examined the fingernails of her right hand idly, "Well, well… I suppose this means you don't have a welcome back gift for me."
He shook his head, drawing the shield over his chest to protect himself.
"Ooooo… that looks nice, mind if I take it?"
Flynn charged, and so did Mother Gothel. She was surprising fast, and strong, like the woman had been hollowed out and filled by a much more dangerous animal. Flynn felt her light body bang off the side of his shield, rebounding off the wall of the tower and coming to a roll behind him.
Turning, he saw her fingernails growing longer. They ground together like blades, emitting black and blue sparks, "I'm going to claw your face off… my pretty."
She dragged those fingers across the ground, gouging the stone. Flynn leapt up onto the table, flipped across it and onto a chair. Upon his landing, the Shield transformed into an umbrella-like device. An assault banged off it.
Flynn took a second to breath.
"You won't win," He said, as the Shield reformed onto his forearm like a gauntlet, "And wow, do I not love this thing!"
"Yessss…" She hissed, blowing on the burn marks that criss-crossed her hands, "The Shield is… quite powerful."
The fact that his device had harmed her, albeit without his conscious choice, was missed by the thief, but not the queen. This fight had the potential to destroy her; resurrection or no.
"The guards will be here within the hour," He said, "I timed it perfectly."
She smiled darkly, "So did I."
It took him a second to figure it out, "….Rapunzel. This is still about Rapunzel, isn't it," The Shield retracted into its emblem form, "This whole time, I thought you were trying to confront me, but this is all about her isn't it?"
Mother Gothel smiled, "Yes!"
Flynn's eyes dashed back and forth, thinking, "This is a trap…" He turned, leapt out of the tower, the emblem flashing blue as it turned into a device that would keep him alive.
He hit the ground with a thud, rolling as he went. The thugs, eyes glazed over, attacked. He knocked two down using the Shield. Immediately, they flashed back to normal. Their eyes focused as the blue beat out the red.
Ivan shook his head clear.
"Stop her!" Yelled Flynn.
"Who?!"
A loud screeching sound emitted from the top of the tower as Mother Gothel glided down like a gargoyle.
"HER!" Flynn pursued. She landed just outside the tunnel. He took after her in hot pursuit. She was just so fast. Faster than any human.
The second she got to the end of the hole, reinforcements arrived. She truly had timed this perfectly.
Flynn leapt onto the wall, bouncing from horseman to horseman as he finally landed on the tail end of the assault.
He knocked the rider off, apologizing, and turned the horse back.
"You won't escape me like this!"
Back at the castle, Rapunzel had locked the door to her room, and the door beyond that, and the door beyond that. There was a blockade barring the way between two of the openings. It would take a small army to get to her.
She went over to the window over-looking bay. It was dusk now. Flynn should have been back by now. Clearly he had run into something, or someone.
It was impossible, though. No one had ever done what Mother Gothel had done, so systematically lied about and manipulated her situation.
The princess found no rest reflecting on the past. Instead, she took a look through the papers Elsa had sent. The prisoner was… an interesting read. Hans Westerguard, Prince of the Southern Isles, talented admiral, skilled swordsman, brilliant strategist.
Reading through the file was not as nearly as interesting as the personal note included by the platinum-haired queen. Rapunzel teared up a bit as she read what had happened. Was it possible this had something to do with Gothel?
There was some evidence that she had been on board. But the report by this… Kristoff fellow, was, at best, confusing.
Rapunzel kept reading, trying to glean bits of information. It occurred to her that, since she had not been able to take him into custody, there was a chance that he may be able to infiltrate the castle.
"Well," She laughed nervously, "At least the door is barred, right?"
Of course, the men in her life didn't use doors. The high ring of metal met her ears as the Blade pierced the window. Hans swung in, crashing through the glass.
Rpaunzel, startled, backed away.
"Who… are you?"
The prince opened his mouth, then shut it, "Well…" He said finally, "Who are you?"
"Rapunzel," She answered as simply as possible.
"Hans," He answered. The sharp intake of breath indicated that she knew who he was.
"Are you… in league with her," The princess was too afraid to say the name out-loud. Hans shifted uncomfortably. Technically, he was, but, that didn't answer the question he needed answered, "do you know where she comes from?"
"…yes."
"Where?" She whispered. The darkest parts of her mind kept her from defending herself, the fear grew and grew until she couldn't bear it any more.
"The Southern Isles…" He whispered in shame.
"She's…?"
"My mother," Hans looked deep into Rapunzel's eyes, "Our mother."
The princess returned his gaze, then slowly, as if dealing with a startled animal, reached out and touched his face.
"We're family," She whispered.
Alarm bells rang outside of the room. The sound of nails across stone grew louder and louder. Hans drew away.
"I'm so sorry."
The Blade took on a liquid form as he could not decide whether or not to pierce her or not. His mother arrived, looking like a bat out of, well, you know.
"Do it!"
The Blade formed in his hand. Rapunzel started glowing, as the magic in his sword sought out the powerful magic in her.
"No!" Flynn, seconds beyond the old woman, leapt through the window. Hans thrust his sword as his mother tackled the hero.
"Do you love her?"
"Do you love her?"
"Do you love her?"
"Do you love her?"
The question had made no sense at the time. But now, tumbling down the castle, it finally made sense. The Blade, and the Shield- an unstoppable force, and an immovable object- the only way one could triumph over the other was not mere power. They were equal. It was how they were wielded that made the difference.
The Shield protected Rapunzel, reflecting the assault back on everyone else in the room. The area exploded from the force of the blow. But Hans' reluctance to strike, coupled with Flynn's desire to protect Rapunzel above all else, combined.
Rapunzel went to the edge of the room. Looking out below, she saw nothing.
"FLYNN!"
He was gone.