The fantastical artwork above belongs to @wallywestfest on Tumblr!
Trigger warnings: non-consensual memory erasure, scars, panic attack, attempted murder
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Someone was yelling. Actually, several someones. He blinked in confusion and looked up at the mid-afternoon sky, squinting in the bright light. Where was he? Hadn't he been inside just a few minutes ago?
A shadow crossed his eyes, and he caught sight of a fuzzy face an inch from his own. He gasped and pushed himself to a seated position, looking around in confusion. The creature fell from his chest with a startled squeak.
"Varian!"
He yelped in surprise and jumped back from the figure at his side. Others stood nearby, watching him with varied looks of concern. He whipped his head around, trying to understand the situation. Why were they all staring at him?
And who were they?
"Little guy! Speak to us! Don't go into the light!" a bald man exclaimed in distress.
"Lance, he's not dying," a pale woman grumbled.
"Varian, talk to me. You okay?" The man next to him hovered anxiously.
"Umm..." He stumbled to his feet. The man reached out a hand to steady him. "What's going on? Who are you people?"
"What?" A tall woman, her long hair twisted up into an elaborate braid with gold bands, asked. "Varian, it's us."
"He can't remember," another woman said. She, too, had long hair, though hers was golden and in a simpler braid adorned with flowers. "The wand. He literally doesn't remember."
"I'm sorry, have we met?" His eyes widened. Long, golden hair in a braid, trailing down to her ankles... he knew her! "Forgive my bad manners, your highness!" He knelt politely.
Her mouth dropped in a surprised O. "Varian, that's... you don't have to do that. You recognize me?"
"Uh, how could I not? I mean, look at your hair!" He couldn't believe it! The actual Princess Rapunzel of Corona was here! Talking to him! And she knew his name?! He jumped up and bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly.
"You know, didn't you say that's what he said the first time you two met?" a brunet man noted. Varian gasped as a name sprang up to match the face.
"Hey! You're Flynn Rider!" He darted in a circle around the man. "I recognize you from your wanted posters! You know, they really don't do your nose justice."
"I've been saying that for years!" Flynn Rider threw his hands up in frustration. "I mean, how hard is it—wait a minute, off topic. That's just a pseudonym."
"I've read every book about you!"
"Again. Not my name. It's Eugene."
"Eugene?" He looked the man over curiously. "Okay. Eugene. Nice to meet you! I'm Varian!" He started walking again, not seeing the broken board by his feet until he tripped over it. The man who had been next to him when he woke up reached out and snagged him as he fell. 'Oh, thanks! You're quick. Wh—wait..." His hand came up to his face. "My—my eye! I can't see! What—"
"Easy, kid," the man said, kneeling down to be on eye level. "Stay calm."
"STAY CALM I CAN'T SEE OUT OF MY EYE!" His breathing quickened. "What—why?" He pawed at his face as if he could remove whatever was blocking it. "No!"
"Varian." The man gently grabbed his wrists with one hand, pulling them down away from his face, taking his face in his other hand and turning him to look at him. His eyes were a piercing yellow. "Stay. Calm. You'll be okay. We can explain." He turned back to the others. "One of you explain. What the crap happened?"
The pale woman who had fussed at the man named Lance held up a stick.
The man's breathing deepened. Without warning, he released Varian and sprang at the woman. He was intercepted by the tall lady with white hair. She grabbed his arms. "Stop, brother!"
"She did this!" He tried to wrestle away from her, but she held on.
"This isn't the time. We have more important things to worry about." She nodded her head back at Varian. The man sighed and stopped struggling.
Varian ran his hands through his hair in panicked confusion, noting then a particular absence. "Hey, whe-where are—Where are my goggles? And what am I wearing?" He looked down at his outfit in confusion. Thin gloves took the place of the thick leather he was accustomed to. A long-sleeved gray tunic, a leather belt with a dagger at his hip, black pants, black leather boots, and arm guards gave him the appearance of a fighter rather than an alchemist. A maroon cloak completed the ensemble, the hood trimmed with gray fur and clasped with a strange circular symbol with three slash marks. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the material had been ripped and repaired in several places. "Could someone please tell me what's going on? Where are we? Who are you people? I mean, I recognize a few of you, but how do you know me? And why am I blind in one eye?"
"Umm... it was—it was the boilers!" The princess nodded, while the yellow-eyed man stared at her in disbelief. "Yep. Your boilers in the tunnels under Old Corona. They blew up."
"Oh. Oh, no, that—that's bad. How? The margin of error was less than .56 percent! Or—or wait, was it .57? Oh, my dad's probably worried sick!" Dad always worried when his projects messed up. If the boilers exploded... And he'd also have to deal with what that meant for Old Corona! The place was probably a wreck now! And the villagers would be furious... "Where is he, anyway? Where are we? So was I too close to the explosion or something? Is that what happened to my eye? And what am I wearing? Why can't I remember anything?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "You were too close. And you can't remember anything because... you hit your head! But! We're going to help you get your memories back!"
"How?"
The pale woman held up a book. "There's a cure in here. It can fix you." She glanced nervously at the two tall warrior-looking people as if trying to convince them instead of him.
"Okay. So like an alchemical solution or something?" He grinned. "I can do that! What's it say?" He took the book and flipped through the pages. "Oh—oh, wow, that's a lot of ingredients. We can do this, though! To the lab! Wait, where's my lab? Where are we?"
"Not Old Corona," the pale woman scoffed. Then she flinched under the gaze of the warriors. "I mean, we... had to leave. It's been a while since the explosion. We're not in Corona right now. That's why you're wearing new clothes, too! You need good adventure clothes, right?"
"I suppose. So who are you people again? And why did we leave? And if I didn't hit my head in the explosion, what happened?"
The yellow-eyed man knelt down next to him again. He was taller than even Quirin, Varian noticed. Keeling down, he was still on eye level with the alchemist. "Name's Hector. And this is Adira." He pointed to the white-haired woman. "We're your dad's siblings."
"Really? He never said anything about family. Why wouldn't he have told me about you guys?"
"Yeah, he wasn't one for talking a lot. Not about us." By his feet, the creature chittered angrily. Varian recognized it as a raccoon, probably the same one who had been trying to sneak into his lab for months. "Right. And this is Ruddiger."
The princess stepped forward. "Well, you already know me. This is Eugene, Cassandra, and Lance. And I think Shorty's back at the caravan. We... we're on an adventure! That's fun, right?"
"I guess?"
"Yeah! And you came with us because you're a scientist. We needed someone with your intelligence."
"So where's my dad?"
The warriors shared a strained look and glared back at the princess. The tall woman started to answer, "He's not—"
"He's back in Corona," the princess interrupted. "Waiting on us! That's where we're going!"
"He let me come by myself?" Varian grinned. He wished he could remember! His dad trusted him enough to let him go off with the princess and her friends! He must have made him proud somehow. And he had more family?
Unless he didn't, and Hector was lying.
His eyes widened. His dad would have told him if he had family, wouldn't he? He was secretive, yes, but why would Quirin hide this from him? Especially if he trusted the two of them to take him on an adventure? It didn't make sense.
His blood ran cold. For all he knew, they were all lying!
Only one way to find out. He needed that memory cure.
O‴O‴O‴
"What the crap were you thinking?" Hector fought the urge to rip the princess's little blonde head right off her shoulders. Varian was chatting excitedly with "Flynn Rider," who looked rather perplexed. His nephew's smile was as big as he'd ever seen it, untainted by memories of being abandoned by a man he looked up to. "You couldn't just tell him the truth?"
She held up her hands defensively. "I panicked! What was I supposed to say? That he's blind because apparently my dad tortured him, and also he hates our guts?"
"You should have told him the truth." He fought to bring his temper under control. "There is no way this ends well. When he gets his memories back, he's going to realize you lied to him. And how do you think he's going to react?"
Her face blanched.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. You know, he came out here specifically to try to talk to you and work things out. And you just betrayed his trust for the second time. So you'd better figure out how to fix this before I have to pick up the pieces again!" He turned and stalked off.
Adira came up behind him. "I think Varian suspects something."
"What makes you say so?" He looked over at his nephew, who was petting Ruddiger. The raccoon had reclaimed his place on his boy's shoulders. Varian still looked confused about the fact that he had a pet raccoon, but he seemed to be happy with it. As Hector watched, he skipped up to Cassandra and started asking her about her owl. Hector had to fight the urge to stomp over there and separate the two. Varian didn't know to be wary of her, and he didn't know she hated him.
"He looks at us like he doesn't trust us."
"He doesn't know us." But he watched Varian closely. The child glanced back their way, and a flicker of doubt crossed his features before being replaced by a controlled smile. "Crap, I think you're right."
"I always am." She frowned. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'll be better once he's back to normal." He gasped and darted over to Varian, who had fallen into a coughing spell. He caught him right as he started to drop listlessly to the ground, scooping him up into his arms. Ruddiger leaped onto Hector's shoulders, staring down at his boy in concern. "Right, back to the caravan with you."
"I'm fine," Varian rasped, looking mildly startled to be held by the warrior. Hector remembered with a start that Varian was once again unused to this kind of behavior. At least it wasn't as bad as his touch aversion. Just unfamiliarity.
"Too bad. You need to rest. You're sick." He stalked back to the caravan with his unwilling passenger. The bearcats, Artemis, and Kubwa looked up in surprise as they came over. Artemis, ever the protective one, screeched unhappily at the sight of her boy lying there weakly.
As soon as he saw the animals, Varian scrambled out of Hector's arms. "Whoa! Are those binturongs? And where did you get a rhinoceros? Rhinos are herbivores, right? I can't remember. Omnivores? Oh, wow, is that a hawk? Is it yours?"
"Inside." He opened the door and motioned for Varian to enter. This was just like the Great Tree all over again. If Varian hadn't had his memory erased, this might have almost been adorable. "Straight to bed, mister. I'm heading out to collect the ingredients for the cure."
"I'm not tired! Can't I help?"
"Bed." He nudged the boy towards his bunk, unfastening his cloak and draping it over a chair. "I'll do the collecting. You can do the making later."
"Yes sir." He kicked his boots off, hopped into the bed, and pulled the blankets up. Hector caught Ruddiger as the raccoon jumped off his shoulder towards the bed.
"Nope. He needs space tonight, rat. He doesn't remember you."
"Does he usually stay with me?" Varian asked.
"Yeah. You two are basically attached at the hip."
"Oh, he can stay, then. I don't mind!" He grinned as Hector let go of the rodent—sorry, mammal; Varian corrected him on that all the time—and he hopped onto the bed, curling up next to his boy. "He's so cute!" He scratched the raccoon behind the ears, and Ruddiger let out a contented purr.
"He's a spoiled pig. Word to the wise, watch your food around that thing. He will take it." Without thinking, he reached over to pull Varian's blanket further up and ruffle his hair. "Get some sleep."
Varian's eyes widened in surprise, and he smiled gently. "Good night. Well, it's not night, but—"
"Yeah, I get it. Go to bed already." He turned to go.
"Mr. Hector?"
He tried not to flinch at that. Varian hadn't called him that in months. "Yeah, kid?"
"How long have we known each other?"
"'Bout six months. Why?"
"What were they like? Those months?"
"They were..." He sighed. "Interesting. Weird. But good."
"How did we meet?"
Aaaand that was a whole story he didn't want to recount. Especially not while the princess was filling his nephew's head with lies. "I could tell you, or you could wait until we get that cure."
"Yes sir." He curled up with Ruddiger and closed his eyes. Hector pulled the curtains over the windows and stepped outside.
When Varian got the cure, he was going to be devastated. Again. And Hector would have to be there for him, just like he always was. And neither the princess nor her handmaiden would get anywhere near him ever again if the warrior had his way.
O‴O‴O‴
Varian waited for a few minutes after Hector left then tossed back the covers and stood. The raccoon—Ruddiger—chittered unhappily. "Sorry, little guy. I have to know what's going on." He opened the door and came face to face with one of the bearcats. The creature nudged him back inside gently and shut the door. "Oookay, and I've got a bodyguard."
Why would Hector have left the bearcat to guard the door? Did he not trust Varian? Was this a part of his lie, and he didn't want him snooping around and figuring things out?
Varian didn't like feeling cooped up. He never had. The only place he was okay staying for long periods of time was his lab. He checked the back door and found the second bearcat sitting right outside it. Thinking quickly, he turned to the window and found it blocked by the tough hide of the rhino.
Panic flooded his mind. He was being held prisoner! Why? What did Hector want from him? Did the princess know? Was she involved? Or had she believed Hector about him being Quirin's brother?
Too many questions, no answers. Trying to calm the beating of his heart and ignoring the anxious screeches from the raccoon, he tore through the caravan, trying to find paper. He found it in the form of a Flynn Rider book. His name was inside the front cover. This was one from home, then.
"Hey, buddy, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find a pencil, would you?" he asked the raccoon. Ruddiger's eyes lit up, and he darted over to a chest and started scrabbling at the lid. Varian opened it, and the creature slipped inside, emerging with a pencil. "Great! Thanks."
In the back of the book, he started writing his questions. Who were Hector and Adira, and what did they want with him? Why were they holding him prisoner? Why was he out here with the princess and her friends? Where was his dad, and why had Quirin let him come by himself? Was he okay? Where were Varian's alchemy clothes, and why was he dressed like a fighter? What was the strange symbol on his clothes that matched the one on Hector's cloak and Adira's belt?
Who could he trust?
A thorough search of the caravan revealed few answers. His alchemy supplies were nowhere to be seen. Why would the princess have brough him if not to do alchemy? Why would he have left it behind? His goggles and normal gloves were absent, as well as any notes he might have made on... what were they out here for? No one had said. He had forgotten to ask, too overwhelmed with whatever was going on here.
In frustration, he wrapped his arms around himself tightly. Something was very wrong here. Nothing was adding up. Someone was lying, probably everyone. But why? Why weren't they being honest with him about what their nefarious purposes were? Why lie to him if he was already doing what they wanted, as evidenced by his outfit change?
His fingers, clenched tightly on his upper arms, brushed up against something through the material of his sleeves. In confusion, he pulled off one glove to feel better. There, under his shirt, it felt like...
He hissed in shock and pulled the shirt off, staring in shock at what was revealed underneath. Nausea set his head spinning chaotically, and the remains of whatever the last thing he had eaten was threatened to resurface. His vision danced hypnotically, blurring and wavering. Maybe that was affecting him, right? Because there was no way he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.
A tug on his pant leg. A soft chittering. A furry body pressing against him, nudging him back to the bed. He collapsed on it numbly laying on his back. Holding his arms above his head, he pulled the other glove off, staring at the lines that crossed both hands.
Ruddiger hopped onto the bed beside him, pressing into his side. He dropped his (scarred) hand down to the creature, stroking his soft fur. Ruddiger purred comfortingly, the sensation tickling Varian's (scarred) abdomen. The boy turned over, wrapping (scarred) arms around him.
Had this all happened in the boiler explosion? Was it shrapnel wounds? Did his dad know? If he did, there was no way he'd have let Varian out of his sight! His eyes dropped down to one of his arms, where several parallel lines stood out against his skin. Too uniform. Too even.
Too planned.
Someone had done this.
Fighting back the bile in his throat, he examined the scars carefully. Some of them were obviously chemical. From the flynnoleum, maybe, when the machines blew up. The rest... they looked like either shrapnel injuries or... or weapons. Maybe something to do with why he was dressed the way he was? Had he been in a fight? Had someone attacked him?
Had Hector or Adira? Maybe the tough-looking woman with the princess? He didn't like the way she looked at him. But Hector wouldn't have hurt him, right? He was nice! He worried when Varian got a cough and made him go to sleep and messed with his hair. Or was that all part of his act?
He couldn't afford to feel safe around these people, not until he got his memories back. The only person who could offer safety was his dad. As soon as they got back to Old Corona, everything would be okay. He was sure of it.
O‴O‴O‴
"I think that's everything." Hector placed the last of the ingredients in a pile. Even with the others helping, it had taken most of the afternoon to collect everything, and the sun was starting to dip below the horizon. He avoided the princess and her group, convinced he'd end them if given half a chance. Adira stayed by his side, helping him find what they needed and keep a reign on his temper.
"We can start making it now," Her Royal Snake-tongue stated cheerily. Hector hadn't asked who was responsible for the situation in the first place, and he didn't really care. Until now, he hadn't said one word to them since giving them their list of ingredients. When Varian was cured, he'd talk to him. Until then, the only thing on his mind was getting the cure made.
He thought of Varian, lying there asleep in the caravan, and smiled despite himself. His wide-eyed nephew, who stood next to an uncomfortable Cassandra bravely and talked to her like he'd talk to anyone, who grinned and excitedly declared his intentions to perform alchemy again, who chatted eagerly about the Flynn Rider books without any bitterness about or towards the man who had stolen the name. He was an explosion, a spitfire with no hesitation, an innocent child unmarred by memories of his criminal past or the people who had hurt him so badly.
And Hector was about to take all that away.
In place of those wide eyes, Varian would return to the cautiously watchful gaze he typically held, eyes darting around at the princess's group as if preparing for an attack. His confidence that allowed him to speak to the handmaid easily would crumble under her stare, and he'd tense up and snap at her when she got close. His love of alchemy would fade, and he would be forced to live with the knowledge that his passion had become an instrument of his torture. Flynn Rider would once again be the name of a man who had let him down. He would be the shadow Hector had been protecting all this time, flickering dimly in the harsh, beaming light of the Sundrop.
"I was thinking," the princess began.
"You were?" Adira raised an eyebrow sharply. "I'm impressed."
She blinked in surprise, apparently not expecting that from Adira, of all people. "Okay. That wasn't necessary. But anyway, I was thinking about Varian."
"Heh. It's a double miracle," Hector shot back.
"Could you just let her finish?" Fitzherbert snapped, crossing his arms in a way that was probably meant to look intimidating but failed.
"I was wondering," the princess continued, "Is giving this to him for the best?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hector's lips tightened in a scowl. Sure, he wanted Varian to be his normal cheerful self, but he wasn't going to sacrifice the last year of his nephew's life and everything that had happened since then. Varian was hurt, but Hector wasn't going to be the one to lie to him and manipulate him. No, it was best if his nephew knew the truth, as painful as it was.
"I mean, he's happy, right? If we give him this cure, he'll be... back to the way he was. So what if we didn't? What if we let him stay this way? And maybe use this opportunity to help redeem him?"
Hector's eyes narrowed, and his breathing quickened. "'Redeem' him?"
She nodded cheerily. "We can tell him the truth a little at a time as he's ready so he'll stay good this time! He won't turn on us because he'll see we're trying to do the right thing."
"You mean you're going to tell him about all the things he did wrong and why he needs to see the error of his ways and be on your side again? I think the crap not."
"I kind of agree with Hector," Cassandra added. He turned to look in surprise, but she continued, "We can't just tell him what he did and expect him to get it. He needs to remember."
A metallic schink pierced the night as Hector's blade slid from concealment. He launched himself through the air at the two women with a snarl, only to be intercepted and tacked to the ground by Adira. She twisted his arm behind his back and kneeled on top of him. "Use your words, brother."
"They don't listen to words!"
"They can't listen to words if you cut their heads off."
He growled but stopped fighting. She stood and pulled him to his feet. He brushed himself off and glared at the women. "Varian doesn't need you to redeem him. He's not the same person he was. You had nothing to do with that. It was all him." He shook his head and retracted his sword. "He doesn't need you or anyone else to tell him what he already knows. Or knew. Or will know. Whatever."
"Does he know it?" Cassandra gave him a side-glare. "He still seems pretty antagonistic to me."
"And you're a little antagonistic to him," Adira responded. "I'd've thought since my brother explained Varian's situation to you that you'd be a bit less hasty to jump to conclusions. Varian's not like he was then. He's learned to be better. Just because he hasn't fallen down at her highness's feet and begged for her forgiveness doesn't mean he's a villain still."
"Whose side are you on? If you're trying to convince us to trust you, defending Varian's not the way to do it."
"I don't need you to trust me. I only need the princess to trust me."
Cassandra looked at the princess in frustration. The blonde drew back and wrapped her arms around herself. "I trust you, Adira," she answered. "But I can't forget what Varian did."
"That's fair. He hasn't forgotten what you did either. The difference is that Varian's willing to admit to what he did. He's determined not to be like that anymore. Have you changed your ways?"
Hector watched in shock as his sister vehemently defended their nephew. He knew she cared for Varian, but he never expected her to call out the princess like that! Not when her entire plan relied on the Sundrop's help.
The princess held up her hands. "I don't know what you expect me to say! No, I didn't help Varian after the storm. And maybe that was wrong of me. But that doesn't give him a right to try to kill my family! I have good reason to be mad at him!"
"And he has good reason to be mad at you," Hector retorted. "No one's saying he did the right thing. We're just saying he's not that kid anymore. I've had him for six months. I don't see the kid you see. I see the kid who wants to do better, who takes opportunity to keep anyone else from being hurt by the rocks. He's a good kid. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not true. So no. We're curing him, and you ain't gonna say one more word about him needing to be 'redeemed.' Clear?"
None of them answered.
"I'll go get Varian," he grumbled, trying to keep his rage from showing on his face. "I said he could help." Turning back to the caravan, he petted Riki and cracked the door open. "Varian? You awake?"
The boy mumbled something and sat up. His hair fell in front of his eye, and he shook his head in confusion for a moment. Pushing up his bangs with his hands, his expression changed to one of panic for a brief moment upon seeing Hector before switching to that careful smile again. "Hi," he yawned.
Hector plastered a smile on his face. "Time to make the cure. Want to help?"
That got his attention. He shot out of bed, throwing his shoes on and racing for the door. Hector snatched up the cloak and draped it around the boy's shoulders. "Get that around you. You need to stay warm."
"What am I sick with?"
"You're coming off a fever, and you got a bad cough. Don't need you passing out." He picked up the raccoon and dropped him into Varian's arms. "Come on. Let's get you cured, huh?"
Varian darted out the door like his tail was on fire. Hector sighed, knowing that enthusiasm was about to be curved. That light in his eyes was about to be snuffed out. He hated it, but this was for the best. It wasn't fair to steal away a year of life and replace it with false happiness and promises of friendship. If Varian got close to the princess again, he'd get hurt. And Hector wasn't going to let the Sundrop burn him again.
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As always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Thank you and God bless!