As promised, here's the next chapter for Moonlight Phantom. This will be the last part of The Return of Strongbow.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Tangled. I only own this story idea.

Now, let's get started.

Cass was in Rapunzel's room, making up her bed. "Lance is going to be just down the hall from Eugene, right?" The Princess asked as she came in with pillows. "Unless… do you think they should be closer?" She gasped enthusiastically. "Oh, you know what would be perfect? Bunk beds?"

"Yeah, and why don't you make them some milk and cookies?" Cass suggested sarcastically.

"Um, alright. Yeah," Rapunzel helped her with the sheets. "I get it. You're making fun of me for being excited Eugene's friend is here. But a midnight snack is actually a perfect idea, so thank you."

"And you're okay with all of this?" Cass questioned skeptically.

"All of what?"

"Oh, I don't know…" She chuckled lightly. "You don't think that maybe a lifetime criminal who just got out of prison and happens to show up on our front door could possibly have ulterior motives that involves his long-lost pal and partner in crime?!" She asked pointedly.

"Um… no, I don't think so," Rapunzel replied as Cass took the laundry basket.

"Hey, girls?" Varian popped into the doorway, trying to hide his concerns over what he just heard.

"What's up, kid?" Cass asked, thinking something was wrong.

"Is everything okay, Varian?" Rapunzel walked over to him.

"Oh, yeah," Varian nodded. "Everything's fine. I was just walking by and… overheard a pointed discussion."

"Oh, that," The Princess realized he was talking about them. "We're fine. We're just… disagreeing about Eugene's old friend showing up."

"Is that the guy I saw earlier talking with Eugene?"

"Muscled guy with no hair, dark skin, and an earring?" Cass asked, to which Varian nodded. "That's him. Lance Strongbow, Eugene's old friend and literal partner in crime."

"Cass thinks he and Eugene are up to no good," Rapunzel explained. "Crazy, right?"

"I can't speak for Lance since I haven't even met the guy formally, but Cass, I would think Eugene has earned some level of trust around here," Varian said to the lady-in-waiting as she walked by.

"Some, but not total." She replied without stopping.

They watched her leave, but Rapunzel was a bit concerned. Varian saw her expression and suggested, "If you're worried, you could go check on him."

"Good idea, Varian," She said absently before leaving, most likely to Eugene's room.

With the information Varian had just received, he was sure now that something wasn't right. He didn't know what Lance's game was, but he wouldn't let him get Eugene into trouble. Looking both ways to ensure no one was watching him, Varian quickly made his way to the exit.

Once outside, Varian transformed into his Moonlight Phantom disguise. He then sunk into the ground through his rocks and reappeared in the woods. Positioning himself in the shadows, the Phantom closed his eyes and focused, the moon's rays showing him everything they touched as he watched the castle.

It was unknown how much time passed, but soon, he opened his eyes and stood up. Lance and Eugene had just left the castle, sneaking out for Lance's 'job.' Tracking them with the moon, the young hero ran into the woods.

(With Lance and Eugene)

After sneaking out, Lance led Eugene into some caverns, lighting the way with a lantern. He saw a spider on a web and screamed in fright. "Are you still afraid of spiders?" Eugene asked knowingly.

"Yes, I have acute arachnophobia."

"Yeah, real cute," Eugene deadpanned as Lance pulled out the map.

"The treasure's this way!"

A few rats squeaked as they walked by. They soon stopped in front of the same wall of stone Oldie hid his treasure behind, with no way to open it.

"Well, looks like the end of the line."

"Nah," Lance blew out the lantern, revealing a soft light coming through a crack in the wall. "You're just getting rusty," He pulled out a golden candlestick.

"Hey, I thought I told you to put that back?!" Eugene hissed, pointing at it.

Spinning it around, Lance ignored him as he used it to bust open the wall, causing the other man to flinch back. Once done, he chuckled and handed the busted stick to his friend. "Viola." He said simply before crawling through the opening.

Eugene threw it away before crawling in after him, only to be shocked by what he saw. "What the?!" The room was full of treasure, but it wasn't inside a cave… "This isn't a cave. It's a basement! We broke into someone's house! Lance!" He glared at his friend as he walked over to him. "You lied to me!"

"Now, wait a minute," Lance said while holding a crown. "Lying is a strong word. Accurate but strong." He defended, putting the crown in his bag before moving to a table of goblets. "Besides, the only reason I lied to you is because you wouldn't have agreed to do this otherwise," He started putting cups into his sack. "So, really… we're both to blame." He grinned, cupping his arm and swiping a pile of goblets off the table.

"So, was any of your story true?" Eugene couldn't help but ask.

"Well," He considered as he opened a chest of gold coins. "There was an old inmate named Jesse, and I did can him–"

"Yeah, Oldie, I remember," Eugene interrupted.

"No!" Lance whipped around toward him as he slammed the chest closed. "Mr. Kilpatrick. Oldie?" He tsked before taking the box of coins. "That's just insensitive, Flynn."

"What?!" Eugene screeched, beyond frustrated with his old friend. "You–"

"Look," Lance walked up to him, holding the sack over his shoulder. "We can spend all day trying to figure out who's in the wrong here, but I don't see what the big deal is," He argued as he took another crown Eugene was leaning on. "Lying is what we grew up on! It's what we do." He then moved along for more loot.

"Did, Lance," Eugene elaborated, slightly panicked now. "I don't do that anymore!"

"Well, good for you. Want a medal?" The thief retorted before holding up some. "No, really, want one? There are like twenty-five of these things."

"Let's just get out of here, Arnwaldo," Eugene spat.

"Hey! Don't. Call me. Arnwaldo!" Lance warned him, taking the medals before grabbing a bejeweled egg. "Besides, don't you at least wanna know whose basement this is?" He asked as he walked past him again.

"No! No, I don't!" Eugene whisper-shouted at him.

"It's the Baron's." Lance sang, ignoring his protests.

"The–" His eyes widened when the name registered. The Baron was a ruthless crime lord that Eugene used to work for with Lance. Eight years ago, they had done a job for the Baron and robbed some nobles, but the man doubled-crossed them and stole what they had taken. The man also would not take kindly to someone stealing from them, like Lance was doing now.

"The Baron? The 'Baron' Baron?!" Eugene repeated, hoping he heard wrong.

"You said we'd get him later," Lance pointed out while still stealing.

"That was eight years ago!"

"Exactly," He put a smile on his face. "We waited eight long years for revenge, and I'm not leavin' till I've settled the score," Lance declared as he opened an armoire, unaware it was overrun with spiders. When he finally noticed, he slammed it closed out of fear. "And now the score is settled," He said, picking up the sack and fleeing. "Let's get out of here!"

However, he was forced to stop when they realized people were inspecting the exit with their backs to them. One wore a hat they recognized as Anthony the Weasel, the Baron's right-hand man. "Wait a minute…"

The duo quickly hid behind the doorway. "We've gotta find another way out," Eugene said.

"Agh!"

"Ngah!"

Surprised by the sounds of what they believed was pain, they looked around the corner as a familiar vigilante stood in the now slightly larger hole. His hands glowed as he stood over the two men on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Time to go," He said simply, looking down the corridor where the others were. Not needing to be told twice, Lance and Eugene ran in his direction, the younger male moving aside to allow them through.

Phantom looked back at the men as they started to get up. He held up his hand and made a green ball appear out of the rocks his outfit was made of (Something he had recently discovered). The hero tossed it at the men, causing it to break and release a green gas into the space. The thugs coughed several times before collapsing again, this time unconscious. He turned and walked out of the hole, slightly surprised to find the other two waiting.

"Let's go. I'll meet you in the woods once I seal off the entrance." Moonlight instructed.

"Right," Eugene said. He led Lance away from the hole so Moonlight could seal it without him seeing. Once they were gone, he turned to the hole and slowly raised his hands, black rocks growing out of the ground, walls, and even the ceiling, ensuring nothing could get through that hole.

Meanwhile, Eugene and Lance got a few miles away from the tunnel. They stopped and waited for the Moonlight Phantom to meet up with them. Both were quiet, Eugene with apprehension and Lance with confusion, before they jumped slightly in surprise as the vigilante rose from the ground. His rocks receded before he addressed one of the men. "You must be Lance."

"And you are…?" Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Never gave myself a name," Phantom said. "But the public calls me the Moonlight Phantom."

"Oh. Ohhh, wait, you're that guy! Some guys in prison talked about a kid wizard, but I didn't think they meant an actual kid!" Lance said, trying to discern his age. "You're, what, ten?"

"Fourteen, thank you!" Moonlight snapped defensively.

"What are you doing here? I mean, thanks for the save, but how did you know we were out here?" Eugene asked.

"I overheard you two talking in the hallway, and I had a bad feeling. And I was right." He glared at Lance. "This 'job' put you both in danger. The only good thing that came out of this was that I'm now aware of The Baron being in my neighborhood."

Eugene sighed. "… I'm sorry, kid. Lance asked for my help getting some abandoned treasure, but he lied." He looked at Lance accusingly.

"We used to work for The Baron and said we'd get him back for double-crossing us on a job. I thought now would be the perfect opportunity." Lance said, setting the sack on the ground.

"I should've made you leave that in the vault," Phantom muttered.

"Heeey." The older man looked at the teen hero crossly.

"Seriously, Lance, what was the point of me even being there?!" Eugene questioned his old 'friend.' "You didn't even need my help!"

"No… but I wanted you there," Lance said simply.

Eugene was about to say something else to him but was cut off when a familiar called his name. "Eugene?" He and the Phantom looked up in shock to see Rapunzel and Cassandra looking for them. "Lance?" The Princess called. "Varian?"

Eugene whimpered in fear as he and Phantom shared a look. Thinking fast, the older man snatched the sack from Lance, not noticing a ring fall at the other man's feet. The vigilante turned back into Varian, making Lance look at him in surprise. Eugene threw the sack of valuables away, cringing when he heard it crash. Keeping a broad smile while Varian summoned a calm facade, they watched as the girls approached them.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Uhh…" Eugene glanced around, hands behind his back.

"Treasure hunting," Varian said suddenly, making the former thief look at him in shock.

"Treasure hunting?" Cassandra repeated.

"Yeah. Lance mentioned a rumor to Eugene he heard in prison about a hidden treasure in Corona. Right, Lance?" The teen glanced at the man, who quickly caught on.

"That's right, little man," He grinned. Eugene looked dumbfounded as Lance stood up and walked over to him. "Now, you can't believe everything you hear in the rumor mill, but I thought, why not?" He swung his arm around Eugene's shoulders. "One last adventure with my old friend, and if we find it, we find it."

"I saw them sneaking out and tagged along with them." Varian finished.

"See, Cass?" Rapunzel turned to her friend with a smug grin before asking the boys, "So, did you find any treasure?"

"We did, actually," Varian confirmed.

"We just wanted to surprise you, so we hid it," Lance explained.

Cass noticed the ring and bent down to it. "Not all of it," She said, holding up what she found.

"Must've fallen out of the bag…"

"May I?" Varian asked, holding out his hand. Cass gave it to him, and he looked it over. "Looks royal… it has the Crest of Corona on it."

"Ohh, maybe my parents know where it came from!" Rapunzel said, coming over to look at it, and Varian handed it to her. "It's very beautiful." She held it out.

Eugene blinked as he stared at it before paling in realization. "Oh no…"

"What?" Cassandra looked at him.

Eugene took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "Eight years ago… Lance and I did a job for a guy called The Baron. We robbed a group of carriages and took all the valuables we could find before The Baron's right-hand man, Weasel, stole the stuff from us on The Baron's orders," He took another breath before getting to the point. "That ring belonged to the Queen. Weasel snatched it right out of my fingers after she hit me with her book."

"You kinda deserved that," Cass remarked.

"I guess… the right thing to do now would be to give it back to her and come clean about it," Eugene said, holding out his hand. "Blondie, if you'll let me have it?"

"Are you sure?" She asked, concerned.

"Honestly, no, I'm terrified about how this will go, but… I have to face the consequences of my actions, no matter what they are."

Rapunzel looked thoughtful, then nodded and handed it over. "Okay." She smiled. "I support you, Eugene."

Eugene smiled softly.

Varian walked over to Lance. "This should go without saying, Lance," he whispered. "But no one can know about what you just saw me do."

"Got it." He nodded. "So, how did you do that?"

"We'll explain later," The younger said before addressing the rest of the group. "Okay, let's grab the treasure, get back to the castle, and not tell any of our dads about me sneaking out to go treasure hunting."

"Agreed." Rapunzel and Cassandra nodded.

"Then, let's get going," Eugene said, slipping the ring into his pocket. "Now, where's the sack?"

"I got it," Varian smiled as he went to grab it.

"Let's go," Cassandra said as she and Rapunzel walked away. "We'll give the treasure to my dad in the morning and see what can be returned."

"Man, that kid's good," Lance whispered to Eugene as the kid returned with their treasure.

"He's had a lot of experience," Eugene responded before the boys followed the girls out of the woods.

(Back at the castle)

Once they returned, the girls split off from the guys, and Cass took the loot sack to her room for safekeeping. Varian needed to get back to his dad so that just left the two old friends. Knowing they needed to talk about things, Eugene took Lance back to his room and explained the 'Moonlight Phantom is Varian' thing to him.

"Dang, I gotta give the kid props," Lance said as he lounged on the bed. "He's a lot braver than we were at fourteen."

"I'll say," Eugene agreed from where he leaned on the wall. "Bottom line, Lance, no one can know about this. The kid would get in serious trouble, and his dad's friendship with the King wouldn't be enough to protect him."

"What about the Princess?"

Eugene looked away with slight guilt. "She… doesn't know about this. Varian doesn't want her to put her in the middle…" he sighed before continuing. "And, as much as I love her, I'm not sure if she'd be able to stand up to her father to protect Varian."

"What do you mean?"

"Just… things I've started noticing now. Things that… reminded me of us when we were under The Baron's thumb."

Lance grew quiet, knowing what he meant. "… Scared to stand up to him?"

"The moment he raises his voice or gives her a look, she shuts down."

"Sounds like the tower did more damage to her than people realize."

"And I feel like my hands are tied because the man doing it could easily turn around and have me thrown in jail on my old charges, and then I'd never see her again!" Eugene explained, growing more distressed with each word. He turned away with a sigh, not seeing the concerned look on Lance's face. Seconds later, Eugene felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to his old friend.

"Looks like the Princess isn't the only one who changed you," Lance smiled softly.

"Yeah," Eugene agreed, glancing to the side.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this," He promised. "Let it be known, Lance Strongbow can keep a secret."

"… Thanks, buddy."

"We can keep the treasure, right?" Lance asked, ruining the moment.

"Lance," Eugene rolled his eyes, but there was a fondness in them.

(The following day)

Getting to work, the group turned the treasure sack into the Captain and started going through it to see what could be returned. They agreed Lance could keep whatever was left over, which made the man very happy, to the amusement of his old friend.

The first chance Eugene got, he went to the throne room and returned the ring to the Queen, confessing what he had done eight years ago. Arianna looked at the ring in her hand before looking at the ashamed former thief. "I appreciate your apology and your honesty. Though the robbery was many years ago, Eugene, it was frankly traumatic, and… I'm not sure I can forgive you."

"I understand," Eugene looked at the floor. "I do. I guess now I just hope the King won't banish me from Corona when he finds out about this…"

"Well, yes. We shall see what the King decides."

(Later)

Once they were done sorting, Rapunzel went outside by the fountain, smiling lightly as Pascal rowed himself along the water on a lily pad.

"Hey, Blondie," Eugene spoke up, causing the duo to look in his direction. "So… it's done." He said simply before sitting beside Rapunzel. "How did it go?"

"Some of the treasure had… what was it Cass said again?" Rapunzel struggled with the words.

"Identifying markers?" Eugene answered.

"Yes, those. They had markers on them that could help us return them to their owners. Everything else was gold coins or things we couldn't identify, so Lance was allowed to keep it."

"Oh, I bet that made him happy," Eugene rolled his eyes fondly, causing Rapunzel to giggle. "Speaking of, where is he?"

"I'm not sure. I had some things to do, same with Cass, and Varian needed to talk to his father."

"He'll turn up at some point. He always does."

Rapunzel smiled before kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked, confused.

"For doing the right thing." The couple shared a hug, not knowing Arianna was watching them from the window.

As she watched them, Frederic walked up behind her. He went to kiss his wife's hand when he noticed a familiar ring on his hand. "Wha?" He chuckled in amazement. "I thought that ring was long gone."

"Yes. Can you believe it?" Arianna responded, looking at her ring again. "Eugene found it this morning…" She walked away, deciding Eugene had been forgiven. Frederic looked at her, then at his daughter and Eugene out the window before leaving the room.

"By the way, do you happen to know a 'Mr. Schnitz?'" Rapunzel asked Eugene.

"Arnwaldo Schnitz?" Eugene asked with surprise. "Yeah, that's Lance… uh…" He paused to collect his thoughts. "Yes, why?"

She chuckled a little. "Well, Mr. Schnitz just made a generous donation to the orphanage charity."

"Really? How much?"

"Oh… about a stolen treasure's worth."

"Like I said, he is a good guy. He just needs the right nudge every once in a while."

"Eugene."

He turned to see Varian walking past them. He nodded towards the gates, and Eugene got the message before getting up. "Okay, then. See you later, Blondie."

"Bye!" She waved cheerfully as they walked off together.

"I'm never going to be able to thank you enough for your help, kid," Eugene said as they walked to the docks.

"One way is not to do it again, but you're welcome," Varian said as they sat on the pier together. "So, Lance told me he planned to stick around. I told him if he was going to stay in Corona, he needed to give up stealing and get clean. I wasn't going to cover for him again."

"From you, he may just get the message," Eugene remarked. "Anyway, he agreed to keep your secret, even sounded impressed by what you do."

"I'm flattered," Varian smirked in amusement before frowning. "I'm just worried, I guess. The best way to keep a secret is not to tell anyone. Two people now know my secret, and that's two people too many!"

"Hey, don't worry, Varian," Eugene put an arm around his shoulders. "That may be true, but no one can take on the world's problems alone. You've got a team in your corner, or at least the start of one. I've got your back, and Lance may just surprise you.

Varian was quiet for a minute before nodding. "If you think so…"

"I know so," Eugene replied as the boys leaned into each other, enjoying a moment to themselves. "You're not alone in this fight anymore."

"… Thanks, Eugene."

And we are done with this chapter. I'll be back soon with the next chapter.