This chapter about killed me to write. It really did, in more ways that one. First off, it was a little hard to channel the emotions I wanted into the urgency this scene allots, and that was pretty painstaking. But I think I did a pretty good job, considering how fast paced this chapter is! :D Second, it was emotional. We'll just leave it at that, shall we? ;) ;)

Enjoy, and Happy March everyone! :D

Also, WANTED: Anyone interested in participating in yet another one of my art commissions, please let me know in a review, or a PM! I'm pathetically bad at drawing. :/

CHAPTER SONG: "Only You're the One" by Lifehouse. (Believe me, you'll know the scene when you read it!)

Disclaimer: I don't even own a single right. -le sigh-

Smoke & Mirrors

A "Tangled" fanfiction

by doodlegirll

...oOo...

Rapunzel saw the smoke before she smelled it.

She looked up and saw it billowing above the treetops, thick and black as night. Maximus continued to lead them through the woods towards it, and Rapunzel felt a sickening knot grow in her gut. Somehow, she knew this was not going to end well.

Max made a left turn, and with a single leap through the brush, she and the others emerged into a clearing in front of a large building that appeared to have been some sort of mill at one point in time, with a large chimney and a waterwheel beside a dried creek bed. It was in considerable amounts of disrepair, and it seemed to sag just a little, as thought slumping its shoulders in defeat.

Smoke poured from every structural orifice, fire licking the sky and blackening the wood as it burned, and it was spreading fast. Outside, about twenty feet from the building, stood three men: two tall, and one short.

Max reared back, stopping short. Rapunzel quickly climbed down from the saddle and grabbed his reigns, trying to calm him. Max's eyes narrowed as he stared at the building in front of him, and then he bolted forward, yanking the reigns from Rapunzel's grasp as he did so. He raced towards the three men, and before any of them had any time to do anything, he stepped in front of them, baring his teeth. The three men jumped back, surprised, and backed away from the snarling horse. Pascal emerged from his mane, and he took his place atop Maximus' head, glaring.

Vlad, Hook Hand, and Big Nose each hurried to join Max, and grabbed the three men from behind, dragging them back. Vlad held the two taller men, their heads under each arm, and Hook Hand had the smaller man suspended in the air by his shoulders, and his feet flailed as he dangled.

They dragged the man back to where Rapunzel and the others waited at the forest line, and Rapunzel gasped as she recognized them.

"You!" She said, pointing to the two men Vlad held. "You're the ones that took Eugene!"

"You're too late!" The short man laughed cruelly. "Flynn Rider is as good as dead!"

Rapunzel reeled around to face the man, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Mr. Johansson?!" She said. "From the royal council? But...I don't understand..."

Virgil Johansson smirked.

"I should have known you would come for him." He said shortly. "You just can't seem to let fate take control, can you, you meddling girl?"

Hook Hand held fast to the man's arms, and pointed the sharp end of his hook at Johansson's throat.

"Watch it, pal." He growled. "That's the Princess you're talking to!"

"I know very well who she is!" Johansson snapped.

"What did you do to Eugene?!" Rapunzel demanded, bringing her face so close to Johansson's their noses almost touched. "What do you mean I'm too late? Where is he?"

"If the fire hasn't gotten to him yet, it will soon enough!" Johansson said as Hook Hand's hook dug deeper into his chin. "There isn't a chance in the world he'll be able to escape this one!"

The sudden realization hit Rapunzel like a ton of bricks.

Eugene was inside the burning building.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried, turning her attention to the fire-engulfed mill. "Eugene, no!"

She bolted towards the building, setting her eyes on the open doorway. And just as her friends realized what she was doing, she ran through it into the blaze.

"Princess, NO!" Big Nose yelled, running after her. But just as he was about to follow her inside, the doorway collapsed, taking with it the only way in…and the only way out.

...oOo...

Rapunzel could barely breathe as she was immediately engulfed by the smoke and flames of the mill. Above her, the ceiling had begun to catch fire, and she knew it wouldn't be long before it took over completely. It was unbearably hot, the smoke choking, and she coughed, holding her arm up to her mouth for protection.

"Eugene!" She called. "Eugene, where are you?!"

She ran forward, desperately trying to see through the thick haze. As she did, she felt her cloak catch on something, and turning around, she found it had snagged on a fallen timber, and was beginning to melt away as fire reached its edges. She quickly untied the strings and dropped it, dashing towards what appeared to be another doorway ahead.

"Eugene!" She coughed. "Eugene, answer me!"

Sweat poured down her face, and she felt desperate tears begin to well up in her stinging eyes, making it even harder for her to see. It was growing hotter and hotter by the second, and she heard the wood of the structure creak as it began to break down.

She was running out of time.

"Eugene! Eugene, answer me!"

And then she heard it.

Coughing.

She looked to her left, and saw another doorway through the flames. Without a second thought, she hurried through it, hoping and praying that Eugene would be on the other side.

...oOo...

Eugene pulled desperately at the chains on his wrists, trying to pull them apart. The straw had caught fire immediately, and had spread quickly to the walls and ceiling of the storage room. The fire licked at his boots, and he fought back panic as he saw that it was nearly at the pole he was tied fast to. The metal of the manacles was growing increasingly hot, singeing the skin and hair of his wrists.

Come on, Fitzherbert, THINK! He thought, frantically trying to formulate a course of action.

His head swam, and he was finding it harder and harder to stay focused as the situation grew more and more bleak. He couldn't breathe; the smoke was suffocating, and he hacked as he took an intake of breath as he felt a burning ember strike the bare skin of his hands.

Eugene tried one last time to pull himself free of the shackles, putting every ounce of strength he had left into it, only to fall back in defeat as another coughing fit pvertook him. Waves of nausea made their way through his body, and he felt himself growing more and more lightheaded.

So this is how it ends. He thought blurrily. I'm so sorry, Rapunzel. I guess I broke my promise...

"Eugene!" A voice called through the crackling flames. "Eugene, answer me!"

Great. Now I'm hallucinating.

And then, there she was.

Rapunzel.

"Eugene!" She cried as she saw him, and she rushed to his side, falling to her knees and taking his head in her hands. His amber eyes were slightly unfocused, his breathing labored. Blood ran down the side of chin from his mouth, and a dark bruise was rapidly forming on his jawline. "Eugene, look at me!"

Eugene blinked, and opened his mouth to say her name, but found that he didn't have the strength, and his body racked with another coughing fit. The smoke was getting to him, and if he didn't get out of here fast, he was going to pass out completely, and then that would be the end.

"Rapunzel." He said. "Rapunzel, you have to get out of here!"

Rapunzel shook her head. Her face was streaked with dirt and soot, but she was still just as beautiful as she had ever been. He was thankful that if he had to die, for real this time, at least he got to see her face one more time.

"No!" She said. "It's going to be okay! We're going to get out of this!"

She looked towards the shackles, grabbing at them. She pulled her hands back when she realized that they were scorching hot. The skin around them had turned bright red and tiny blisters were beginning to form, and she could see where the edges of the cuffs had cut into the tops of his wrists, and the blood had already dried from the heat.

"I've got to find a way to get these off!" She said, frantically looking around the room for anything she could use as a tool. "Just stay with me!"

"Rapunzel, it's no use!" Eugene insisted. "I've already tried everything! You've got to get out of here before the building collapses!"

"No! Not without you!" She dropped back to her knees. "I won't leave without you!"

"Rapunzel—"

"No!"

"Rapunzel, listen to me!" Eugene said as he fought against another episode of coughing. "You can't stay here! You have to leave! Get out now! Leave me!"

"No!" She said. "I won't leave without you, Eugene! Please!"

"Rapunzel, this whole place is about to fall! I can't let you do this!" Why doesn't she get it?!

"And I can't let you die!" Her voice was growing frantic.

"Blondie, please, get out!" He rested his forehead to hers, making sure her eyes met his. "Please, Rapunzel, don't stay here. Get out of here while you still can. Do it for me. Get out of here!"

Tears welled in her big green eyes, running down her sooty cheeks, mingling with the sweat and grime. She knew this was not a battle she could win.

"Eugene." She sobbed. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Rapunzel. Please, please get out." He pressed a kiss to her hair, tears beginning to well in his own eyes. "I love you more than anything in this world, but I can't let you do this. Not for me. Not this time."

Rapunzel hugged him tightly, shaking in trepidation as she held on to him as though he were a buoy on a stormy sea. The fire was at the support pole now, making its way downward towards the couple huddled there. Eugene could feel the back of his neck growing warm as it crept ever closer, the sweat plastering his hair to his head and forehead, rolling down his face like rivers and dripping from the tip of his nose.

If this is what a sauna was like, he decided he would pass.

"Rapunzel." He whispered. "Go."

She shook her head, refusing to allow herself to believe that this truly was the end. They had come so far only to have it end here, and it wasn't fair. She had saved him not once, but twice, and yet here she was, unable to do it a third time, and it was killing her, taking hold of her heart and twisting her into immobilization. She nestled closer to him, allowing herself these final, agonizingly short moments. She couldn't breathe; the smoke and grief mingled together in a toxic, vile lump at the back of her throat.

The creaking of the wood around them began to grow louder, and Eugene knew time was running out.

"Rapunzel, you have to go, now." He said. "Now."

Rapunzel pulled herself away, and their eyes met. He tried to look brave, for her, tried to make it seem as though it would all be okay. But he knew it wasn't, and he knew that she knew it as well.

This was it.

He could hear the sound of wood breaking somewhere outside the storage room, and he swallowed panic. Rapunzel had to get out.

And then, a voice.

"Princess! Princess, where are you?"

Rapunzel felt a glimmer of hope begin to rise within her chest, and she looked at Eugene excitedly.

"That's Vlad!" She said. She let go of Eugene and cupped her hands to her mouth. "Vlad! In here!"

Moments later, the large shape of Vlad appeared in the smoke filled room. Rapunzel quickly moved behind Eugene, taking note for the first time of the fire that was engulfing the pole, and pointed to the shackles.

"Vlad, help me!" She cried. "I can't get the chains loose!"

"Stand back!" Vlad said as he came over to where the Princess stood, shoving her behind him. He bent down and took the links connecting the manacles in one of his huge hands and yanked his arm backwards in one swift motion.

The chains snapped.

Eugene, still struggling to breathe and see, quickly stood to his feet. Vlad waved his arm towards the doorway from which he had come.

"We've gotta get outta here, quick!" He said. "Follow me! Stay close!"

Rapunzel grabbed Eugene's hand, squeezing it tightly, and she tried to smile at him as she brought her arm up to cover her mouth. He offered her a small smile back, entwining their fingers further as they quickly followed Vlad from the room.

Together they ran, led by Vlad, through the burning, crumbling building around them. Beams had fallen to the ground, and they made their way around them as if navigating through a labyrinth, carefully minding the flames that reached out toward them, trying to bite them.

Rapunzel hacked violently as a gush of smoke slapped her face, and she hesitated for just a moment. It was so hot…

"We're almost there, Blondie, come on!" Eugene urged her. "You can do this!"

He was just about to call to Vlad to help him when he felt something hot and scalding hit the exposed skin of his arm, and he cried out in pain. He let go of Rapunzel's hand and grasped at his arm, hissing in pain and squeezing his eyes closed, gritting his teeth.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried. "Are you alright?!"

She stepped forward, and in her haste, she failed to notice the pile of the glowing red hot embers on the floor in front of her.

She screamed in pain as they came in contact with both of her stockinged feet and burned away at the fabric, reaching the soles of her feet within seconds.

She couldn't move. The pain was searing, absolutely agonizing, and so intense she felt dizzy. She stumbled backwards, away from the source of the pain, and fell. Tears coursed down her cheeks, and she grabbed her feet in her hands, trying desperately to make the pain go away.

"Rapunzel!" Eugene, forgetting his own pain, rushed forward and bent down, scooping Rapunzel into his arms. She coughed, still whimpering in pain, and he ran forward, dodging falling timbers as he did so. He could see Vlad ahead of them, and he locked eyes on his friend's back, following him through the smoke.

"Eugene, my feet!" She cried. "My feet are burned!"

"It's going to be okay, Rapunzel." Eugene assured her as he ran, holding her closer to his body to protect her. "We're going to get out of here. Just hold on."

"It hurts." She said. "It hurts, Eugene!"

"I know, Blondie, but we're almost there, and then we can get you some help, okay?" He coughed, stumbling just a little as he did so. "Just a little bit further."

He could see it. The opening in the wall that Vlad had come in through, jagged at the sides indicating a forced entry. On the other side lay safety.

With a sudden burst of energy he sprinted forward and dove through the breach into the fresh, open air. He sprinted towards the line of trees at the edge of the mill's clearing, where Maximus and the other pub thugs waited.

Just as he reached them, the mill's final support gave way, and the entire building collapsed. He looked back at it, gasping for breath, and watched as the smoldering remains turned black as the fire consumed them. Ashes rained down on everything around them like black snow, clinging to their wet hair, skin, and clothes.

That was almost me. He thought. That was almost Rapunzel.

He looked down at the girl in his arms. She had pressed her face into his shoulder, shaking in pain and fear, his shirt balled into her tight little fists, and she, too, turned to look up at him. She, too, was struggling for air, and he could see the agony written across her face with perfect clarity. And yet, through it all, she still managed to smile up at him and loop her arms around his neck, hugging him close.

"We made it." She said, almost in disbelief. "We made it!"

Despite the biting pain in his arm and the aches in his body, and the knowledge that they had almost not made it out of this one alive, he couldn't help it: he laughed, and then lent down and kissed her.

"We made it."

I like this chapter. I actually really do.

Your thoughts?