Welcome back everyone! Here we are with the second chapter of the Tangled world! And yes, this story will be getting a sequel but it'll be set twenty years later. So to those of you who were wondering, we will be saving the BBS trio after the Disney worlds are done. Hope you guys enjoy this new chapter! I still own nothing other than the plot and my OCs.
Chapter 68: Flower Gleam And Glow
The secret passage from the snuggly duckling lead the team lead them down a secret passage lined with torches. Flynn took one off the wall as they started walking towards the exit Hook Hand told them would lead them to the other end of the forest near the kingdom.
Flynn took a deep breath as he turned to Rapunzel. "Well, I didn't think you had that in you back there. That was, uh... Impressive."
"I know!" Rapunzel exclaimed excitedly. "Who knew we'd make friends with ruffians and thugs?! They were so sweet too!"
"Believe it or not, that's not the craziest way we've made friends." Laughed Sora.
Goofy nodded in agreement. "That's right; we're friends with a lion king, a beast and a puppet among lots of others!"
"Actually, Pinnochio's not a puppet anymore." Mickey said. "Jiminy sent me a letter not too long after he made it back to his own word; he turned into a real boy!"
"He did?" Sora asked with a smile. "That's great!"
"Sounds like you guys know a lot of colourful people." Said Rapunzel as she turned to Flynn. "What about you, Flynn? Where are you from?"
"Woah! Woah! Woah! Sorry, Blondie I don't do back stories." Flynn said defensively. "But, I am getting very interested in yours. So, here's my question; if you wanted to see the lanterns your whole life, then why didn't you ever go before?"
"Yeah, I've been wondering that too." Said Kairi.
Donald spoke up in agreement. "Yeah, all you had to do to get out was use your hair so why'd you wait until now?"
"Oh... Uh... Well..." Rapunzel stammered nervously as she looked down at Pascal. Unfortunately, Rapunzel never answered as she noticed a light at the end of the cave. "Hey! Look! There's the exit!" Without any hesitation, she bolted towards the exit at high speed, leaving the others behind.
"Wow... That was fast." Remarked Lea.
West raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, what's got her so worked up?"
Just then, Rapunzel's loud scream reached their ears from the end of the tunnel.
"Oh no!" Exclaimed Mickey as he summoned Star Seeker. "Sounds like Rapunzel's found some trouble!"
"Right! Time to kick some heartless tail!" Riku said as he summoned Way to Dawn and ran towards the sound of Rapunzel's scream. The others followed closely behind him. The team rushed out of the tunnel, finding another forest clearing and Rapunzel once again surrounded by heartless. She was trying to fight them off with her frying pan but it wasn't going very well with only her fighting. The heartless surrounding her included Darkballs, Creeper Plants and three giant Darksides.
Her new friends didn't waste a second in jumping to her aid. Sora ran in first and slashed at one of the Darksides, only to be knocked back to the ground. Kairi gasped at the sight and rushed to heal him. But before she got the chance, she was attacked by a group of Creeper Plants, Knocking her down to her knees. Lea moved to help her up and then used his chackrams to attack and destroy the heartless. Rapunzel used her frying pan to to hit a few Darkballs alongside Mickey and together they defeated it.
West rushed to toss her stolen potions and ethers to her friends but it wasn't enough. The moment her friends were healed, the Darksides attacked with full force. Goofy and Max were pinned against one of the Darksides as it sent a small army of Shadows after them. Luckily Riku jumped in just in time to help the father-son duo fight them off. Donald stood near Flynn and used his magic to protect them both from the heartless. However, one of the Darksides attacked Flynn, giving him a deep, bleeding cut across his hand.
Eventually, the team managed to defeat all the heartless but not without more than a few scrapes. And unfortunately, they were all out of potions and ethers and everyone was dangerously low on Magic.
"Woah." Sora breathed heavily. "Those were some tough heartless."
"No kidding." Said Max. "West, are you sure we don't have any potions left? I'm aching all over."
West shook her head as she dug through her pouch. "Sorry, I'm all out." She sighed. "And I'm hurting too."
"Same here." Said Flynn. "My hand really hurts."
"Sorry, Flynn but with no potions or ethers it's going to take a while for our magic to heal." Sighed Kairi.
"Actually, I think I can help with that." Rapunzel said as she started untying her braid.
Lea raised an eyebrow. "You? What are you going to do?"
"Did I not mention I have magic hair that glows when I sing?" Rapunzel said shyly.
Everyone's jaws dropped. "Wait. What?!" Riku exclaimed.
"Okay, now that's one of the craziest things I've ever heard." West said.
Donald scoffed. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"Wait, so your hair glows?" Flynn asked. "Why does your hair glow?!"
Rapunzel shook her head as her hair was finally unbranded. "Well, it doesn't just glow."
Pascal smirked up at the team of heroes, causing Flynn, Donald and Lea to feel very uncomfortable. "Why is he smiling at us?" Flynn cringed.
The group found a small clearing and rested on a few logs while Rapunzel stated placing her long strands of golden hair on their injuries, granting her unusual looks. This included Flynn's bleeding hand, some sprained shoulders, wrists and ankles, a few cuts and bruises and some broken wrists and ankles. They had no idea what she was up to but she looked determined.
"So, why exactly are you wrapping your hair around our injuries, Rapunzel?" Sora asked.
"You'll see." Rapunzel said as she took a seat on the log in between Flynn and Kairi. "Just please try not to freak out."
"We won't." Reassured Kairi.
Lea shook his head. "Speak for yourself." He laughed, earning him a glare from Mickey.
Rapunzel ignored Lea and took a deep breath as she started to sing. "Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine." As Rapunzel sang, her hair started to glow gold and shimmer, coating all their wounds with a warm, soothing sensation. "Make the click reverse. Bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt. Change the fate's design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine." As Rapunzel finished her song, her hair lost its glow and the healing sensation stopped.
The entire group was frozen with surprise at what they'd witnessed. It was definitely a sight to see.
Flynn was the first to move, unwrapping her hair from his hand. He gasped I'm shock at what he saw; his hand had been completely healed. There was no longer any sign that his cut had ever been there. The others quickly removed Rapunzel's hair from their own injuries finding the same result. Their wounds had all been completely healed with no sign of them anywhere.
Flynn's jaw dropped as he started at his healed hand. Then, he started breathing heavily, starting to freak out.
"Please don't freak out!" Rapunzel suddenly exclaimed, causing Flynn to freeze then cringe in nervousness.
"Uh, I'm not freaking out. I'm just very interested in your hair and the magical qualities it posesses." Flynn spoke very nervously, almost running all his words together.
"Wow." Said Donald. "Way to keep your cool."
"Seriously, though Rapunzel. That was amazing!" Said Kairi.
Mickey nodded in agreement. "It really was! I've never seen healing magic this strong before!"
"Wow, thank you." Rapunzel smiled.
"So... How long has your hair been doing that exactly?" Flynn asked, still really nervous.
Rapunzel gave a small laugh. "Uh, forever I guess. Mother says that when I was a baby people tried to cut it; they wanted to keep it for themselves. The problem is, once it's cut, it turns brown and looses its power." Rapunzel moved her hair out of the way to reveal a short brown piece of hair. "A gift like that, it has to be protected. That's why-"
"That's why you never left the tower?" Lea realized as Rapunzel nodded.
"And you still want to go back?" Asked Riku.
Rapunzel sighed. "It's complicated." She then turned to Flynn as an attempt to get the attention of the group off her. "So, I shared my story, Flynn. Are you willing to tell us yours?"
"Actually it's Eugene." Flynn said, causing the entire group's jaws to drop in surprise.
"Wait, what?" Asked Max.
"My real name is Eugene Fitzhurbert." Flynn replied. "My friends might as well know."
Donald couldn't help but laugh, so he tried to cover his bill with his hands. "Eugene Fitzhurbert?! Really?!"
"Wow, and after I called you guys my friends." Flynn sweat dropped.
Sora rolled his eyes. "Ignore him. So, why do you call yourself 'Flynn Rider' if your real name's Eugene Fitzhurbert?"
Flynn shrugged. "I'll spare you the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzhurbert, that's kind of a downer." But, the group gathered closely around him with interested looks in their eyes. They looked like a group of school kids eagerly awaiting a story. "Well, there was this book that I used to read every night to all the younger kids; 'The Tales Of Flynnigan Rider'. He was a swashbuckling rogue, adventurer and wasn't too bad with the ladies either."
"Was he a thief too?" West asked excitedly.
"Uh, well actually no. He had enough money to do whatever he wanted; he could go anywhere he wanted to go. And, for a kid with nothing, I dunno it just seemed like the better option." Flynn sighed. "Look, you guys can't tell anyone about this; it could ruin my whole reputation."
"Of course, we wouldn't want that." Riku mumbled sarcastically.
West, on the other hand saluted Flynn. "You got it! We thieves gotta stick together!" She giggled. The group couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, we should get going." Said Rapunzel as soon as she finished laughing. "I don't want to miss the lanterns."
"I want to see them too, you make them sound so beautiful." Kairi replied. "Come on, let's get your hair braided again."
"Right. I think I'll go look ahead for heartless." Said Lea. "And get away from all the girliness."
Max snickered. "I know you wouldn't mind if Lydia was here."
"You're never going to let that go are you?"
"Not a chance." Smirked Max.
Flynn laughed as he got in between Max and Lea. "Okay, okay." He said. "Come on, you guys can we keep moving already?!"
With that, Lea, Max, Donald, Goofy, Mickey and Flynn started leaving the clearing to scout ahead for the heartless while Sora and Riku stayed behind with Rapunzel while West and Kairi started braiding her long hair again. Flynn was just about to leave too when Rapunzel's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"For the record," She called out to him as he turned to look at her. "I like Eugene Fitzhurbert much better than Flynn Rider."
Flynn couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart as he smiled at the girl with the magic hair. "Well you would be the first. But thank you." With that smile still resting on his lips, he left to join the others leaving Sora, Riku, Rapunzel, West and Kairi behind in the clearing.
In these last few moments, everything seemed peaceful. But, the moment Kairi and West finished braiding Rapunzel's hair, the peace shattered.
"Well, I thought he'd never leave!" A dark, sinister voice cackled behind them. The group immediately spun around coming face-to-face with an older woman with black curly hair. She was dressed in a long, elegant red dress and a black hooded cape. At the sight of the woman, Pascal hid inside Rapunzel's hair as she recognized her immediately.
"Mother?! What are you doing here?! How did you find me?!" Rapunzel questioned the woman, Mother Gothel nervously.
"Oh it was easy. I just followed the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that." Gothel laughed, causing Rapunzel to cringe in guilt.
"Wait, this is your mother?" Riku asked as Rapunzel nodded. "Wow nice lady." He mumbled sarcastically.
"I see no family resemblance at all." Kairi said. "You guys look nothing alike."
"Plus your personalities are completely different." Observed West.
Gothel released another dark chuckle. "Yes, well out of the two of us I am the one with the better looks and everything."
"Oh, wow." Sora said, completely appalled at how Gothel spoke to her own daughter. "Someone needs parenting classes."
"Oh, what do you know?" Gothel glared at him as she grabbed Rapunzel's wrist and started pulling her away from her new friends. "Come on, Rapunzel, let's get you back in your tower where you belong."
"Mother, wait you don't understand!" Rapunzel protested. "I've been on this amazing adventure and I met so many ingesting people! I even made some new friends!"
Gothel rolled her eyes. "Yes, a tiny mouse king, a duck with anger issues, a brainless dog and his son, a pyromaniac, three wannabe keyblade heroes and two thieves. I'm so proud." She grumbled sarcastically, causing Sora, Riku, Kairi and West to glare at her.
"How do you know so much about us?" Riku demanded.
Gothel released another chuckle. "Oh Maelficent told me a lot about you all."
"Maleficent?!" Sora exclaimed. "Okay, now I know for sure you're bad news."
Rapunzel looked at her new friends in confusion. "What? Who's Maleficent?"
"She's an evil witch." Riku growled, remembering all they went through with her. "She wants to take over all the worlds."
"What?!" Rapunzel gasped. "Mother, why would you know someone like that?!"
"That's none of your concern. Come now, Rapunzel. We're going home." Gothel said as she started dragging Rapunzel away from her new friends.
"Mother, no wait!" Rapunzel protested, pulling her arm out of Gothel's grip. "I made some real friends here and I think Flynn, no Eugene, likes me." She blushed.
"Likes you?! Please, Rapunzel that's demented." Gothel laughed. "This is why you never should have left the tower. You really think he's impressed? Now why don't you come with mommy-"
"No!" Rapunzel suddenly shouted, catching Gothel and her friends off guard.
"No?" Gothel questioned. "Oh? So now little Rapunzel thinks she's so smart, does she? Well, if you're sooo sure this Flynn Rider likes you then why don't you give him this?!" She laughed evily as she pulled a brown leather satchel out of her cape.
Rapunzel gasped. "How did you find that?!"
"You hid it under one of the stairs, dear; really not the best hiding place." Said Gothel as she pulled a beautiful expensive-looking tiara. "This is the only reason he's helping you. Why don't you give it to him and see if he'll leave you or not." Gothel snarled as she tossed the satchel and tiara at Rapunzel, who caught it.
"Well maybe she will!" Kairi said.
"Yes!" Rapunzel agreed, gaining more confidence. "Maybe Eugene's not as bad as you think, Mother!"
Gothel released another chuckle. "Oh, please. He'll leave the second you give him that satchel. And when he does don't come crying to mommy!" With that, Gothel dissapeared into the forest, leaving Rapunzel, Sora, West, Riku and Kairi alone in the clearing.
"Wow." Said West. "That lady's a real piece of work."
"You said it." Agreed Riku.
Rapunzel released a sigh as she gazed down at the satchel and tiara. "What am I going to do? Should I really give this back to Eugene?"
"What's there to think about?" Sora asked. "He's our friend, right?"
"Yeah, don't you trust him Rapunzel?" Questioned Kairi.
Rapunzel sighed again. "I want to trust him, I really do. But, what if Mother's right? I'm scared."
But, before any of them could say anything, Flynn's scream echoed throughout the forest.
"Uh oh! Looks like the others found some trouble." Sora said worriedly.
"Come on, we have to help Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed as she shoved the tiara back into the satchel and hid it on her person. Then, she rushed off to the sound of Flynn's screams with the others following closely behind.
Before long, they found Mickey, Lea, Goofy, Max and Donald. They were watching with worry as Flynn was being dragged away by his boot by a regal-looking white, golden-haired horse.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Exclaimed Rapunzel as she grabbed Flynn's arms and tried to pull him away from the horse with all her strength. "Give him back!"
"Woah! Ruffians, thugs and now a horse that just jumped out of nowhere." Said Max. "Looks like everyone wants that reward money."
"Actually, I think that horse might belong to royal guards." Said Mickey. "He's wearing royal harnesses."
Just then, Rapunzel managed to free Flynn, but the horse still held on to his boot. The palace horse released a grunt as he spat the boot out of his mouth, then rushed straight towards Flynn. But Rapunzel, Sora, Lea, Donald, Goofy and Kairi stood protectively in front of him. The horse growled at them and moved towards them with his hooves.
Thinking quickly, Sora blocked the oncoming attack from the horse, then counter attacked with his keyblade. Lea threw his chackrams at the horse, but he managed to use his back legs to knock the chackrams back at him, causing a great deal of damage. Luckily, Rapunzel used her own form of powerful cure magic to heal Lea. The horse released another angry grunt as he charged at the heroes, dealing damage that couldn't be avoided.
After dodging out of the way, Kairi tossed her own keyblade at the horse, dealing a bit of damage, and causing him to stop his charging attack. Donald moved to attack the horse with thunder magic, Goofy followed his lead by throwing his shield at the horse, but he used his back legs to knock the shield back at Goofy and Donald.
Done fooling around, the horse angrily rushed towards Flynn but Rapunzel moved in front of the horse. "Woah! Woah! Easy there boy! Calm down! Easy!" The sound of Rapunzel's voice seemed to calm him down as Pascal climbed on top of her head and made a "calm down" motion with his hands. "That's it. Now sit. Sit..." She smiled.
The horse couldn't help but listen to her and sat down on the forest floor.
"Oh, you are such a good boy!" Rapunzel cooed as she pet him, causing him to wag his tail like a dog. "Are you tired of chasing the bad man all over the place? No one appreciates you do they? Do they?"
The others were completely stunned by the scene before them. Even Flynn's jaw dropped.
"Wow." West said with a sparkle in her eye. "Rapunzel you're amazing!"
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone tame a crazy horse before." Sora added. "Gotta add that to the list of awesome stuff I've seen across the worlds!"
"Rapunzel, come on, quit coddling him! He's a bad horse!" Flynn complained.
"Oh, he's nothing but a big sweetheart! Isn't that right... Maximus." Rapunzel laughed as she found his name plate and continued to pet him.
Flynn rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me." Maximus growled at him.
"Wow, that horse really doesn't like you." Riku snickered.
Rapunzel turned to Maximus with a pleading look in her eyes. "Well, maybe you could put your gate aside and not get him arrested." She asked while Maximus shook his head and snorted. "Just for twenty-four hours, then you can chase each other to your heart's content. Okay?"
"Come on, Maximus. That's reasonable, right?" Kairi pleaded as she moved beside the Royal horse and petted him.
"Yeah, plus this means so much to Rapunzel!" Added Max.
Flynn sighed as he approached Maximus and held out his hand, offering a handshake. But Maximus simply glared at Flynn, snorted and shook his head grumpily.
"And, it's also my birthday." Rapunzel whispered to Maximus. "Just so you know."
At that, Maximus sighed and held out his hoof, allowing Flynn to shake it. With that, they had called a truce. But then, the sound of bells from the kingdom rang. The group stepped out of the forest to find a long bridge leading to the kingdom of Corona itself; they had reached their destination. And it was time to commence Rapunzel's birthday celebration with her new friends.
Thanks for reading you guys! See you all next time! Don't forget to review! It always makes me happy! And be sure to check out my original story on my FictionPress account; Servant of Shadows.