/alone, at the edge of a universe, humming a tune/ for merely dreaming we were snow/ a siren sounds like the goddess who promises/ endless apologies of paradise/ and only she can make it right/ so things are different tonight/
-dream sweet in sea major, miracle musical
Varian and Y/n were out of ideas.
Currently, they were in the lab, exhausted from a several-hour-long brainstorming session.
They were both laying on their backs on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. They were facing different directions, but the tops of their heads lightly touched each other. Ruddiger was curled on Varian's stomach, and Y/n was repeatedly tossing a wrench into the air and catching it, the metal flashing every time it caught the light from her glowing hair streak.
"What about sending an automaton to get her?"
Varian asked absentmindedly.
Y/n sighed, tossing her wrench again and catching it by the handle. "They're not smart enough for tasks like that. It'd be too complicated."
Varian groaned. "...and we haven't even tried building one yet."
They'd been planning all day. The two had decided they would need Rapunzel- that was a given- but she wouldn't help them willingly.
"Her birthday's in two days." Y/n commented, throwing her wrench and catching it. "It'll be difficult to get her out of the palace."
She sighed again. "But what would get her to leave?"
Varian paused and let out a small hmm sound. "An attack won't be enough to draw her out. If we do send automatons, we'll need something else to get her out here." He groaned. "And we don't even have a way to get an automaton in the palace."
Y/n was silent, before an idea occurred to her. "If we could get the parts of an automaton in, do you think it could assemble itself?"
"Yes... but why would we do that? What's the point of sending the automaton?"
"Because," Y/n began with a glimmer in her eye, "while my father doesn't care about me, he certainly cares about Rapunzel. If the castle was attacked, and he believed that she was in danger, he might take... drastic measures."
She sat up, looking down at Varian, who gazed up at her curiously.
"He'll probably confine her to either the palace or her room, and she'll get desperate, meaning that she'll try to sneak out- and that will give us a chance to hit again."
Varian sat up too, Ruddiger jumping off of his with a startled yelp as Varian shot up, changing to a criss-cross position. "And if we attack a second time, then they'll know we're dangerous." He smiled. "And they'll come to us."
Y/n was about to agree with him, but she paused. That feeling was stirring again, that tiny voice inside her telling her to punish them all for what they had done. It made her feel elated, and she was suddenly struck with the perfect way to bring Rapunzel to them- while taking sweet revenge herself.
"What if..." she began in a whisper, before her voice grew stronger, "what if we lured Rapunzel here?"
"What do you mean?" Varian asked curiously.
"I mean," she continued with a small smile, "that Rapunzel cares about very certain people. And if, by chance, one of those people were to get taken..."
"She'd come right to us." said Varian, catching on with a smirk.
"And we'd be able to ensure that she'd do what we want." Y/n finished.
"But who..." Varian trailed off, the wheels spinning in his head.
"We've got to think." Y/n mused, spinning the wrench around her hand. "Who's the most vulnerable?" Who do I want to hurt the most?
Varian looked at Y/n with a smirk, and she met his eyes as he spoke. "The queen."
Y/n smiled in shock, and Varian gave a small laugh. "And not just for Rapunzel. I'm assuming this is for you, too."
She gazed at Varian, touched. Yes, she was the one who had suggested taking someone as bait, but Varian cared enough to know that she wanted revenge too. He really had listened to her.
"Thank you." she whispered, and she meant it.
Varian smiled, before leaning down and petting Ruddiger.
Y/n tossed her wrench again, verbalizing her thoughts. "What should we use when Rapunzel inevitably sneaks out? We need something to keep her and the guards out of the palace while we get to the queen."
Varian tapped his fingers on the ground and stared into space for a moment, before looking back up at the princess across from him. "What about that enhancing serum? The one for Ruddiger? It's unfinished, but I could have it ready in a day or two."
"That's perfect!" Y/n exclaimed.
Varian grinned at her, and Y/n pushed herself to her feet, extending a hand to Varian once she was standing.
He took her hand gratefully, and she pulled him up, but she let go too late and wound up standing very close to him- nearly as close as they were in the tunnels.
They stared at each other for a moment, their faces barely a few inches away. Close enough to kiss him- pardon, what?!?!
Wow. Y/n... really needed some sleep.
She decided to chalk that completely unprecedented thought up to her sleep-deprived state, and backed away, pink blooming on her cheeks.
"Well," she said confidently, though a hint of embarrassment crept into her voice, "let's get to work, shall we?"
"We've got a lot to do."
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Ruddiger's serum was done. The raccoon seemed slightly nervous for the role he was to play, but Y/n was sure that he'd pull through.
Y/n was preparing a very specific compound- something like a smoke bomb, but to a much larger scale. This was supposed to flood the entire courtyard with fog, and make it last for up to an hour. They'd release this when Ruddiger was ready, so that no one could see them entering the palace.
On the other side of the room, Varian was trying to determine how the automatons were going to function. The timing cylinder was the important part, and they already had it, but the specifics were... complex.
"Y/n?" Varian asked, exhausted. "Could you... could you help with this?"
Y/n set down the beakers she was holding with a sigh and walked over to Varian, who was standing over several tables covered in metal pieces, which he had constructed based on the automaton that the two had seen.
"Yeah?" she asked, stopping next to Varian and peering over his shoulder at the metal littering the table, the timing cylinder they had recovered front and center.
"So," began Varian, "when wound, the timing cylinder spins and plays the melody. That will trigger a chemical reaction of some kind to power the automaton, and the reaction will stay stable as long as it keeps spinning."
He sighed. "But none of my chemicals produce the heat necessary to power the mechanisms."
Y/n raised a hand to her chin, thinking. "What about Flynnoleum? Doesn't that generate enough heat?"
"That'd work..." he mused, before sighing again. "But I don't have any left, and my notes on how to recreate it were destroyed."
A small smile crept across Y/n's face. "Are you sure that all of it's gone?"
Varian looked at her and nodded. "Yes, it was all destroyed when the reactions were triggered."
Y/n's smile widened. "All of it?"
"Y/n, what are you-"
With a grin, Y/n reached into her jacket pocket and fished out her vial of Flynnoleum- the one she had kept since that first day in Old Corona.
She held it out to Varian, and she saw both its green light and her gold reflected in his wide blue eyes as he gasped.
"Is that-"
Y/n nodded.
Varian let out a shout of delight, and grabbed Y/n by her shoulders, spinning her around. "Yes!" he cried excitedly. "I thought it wasn't going to work! I-I thought the compound was all gone! I could kiss you right now!"
Y/n froze, her smile still stuck on her face. She was suddenly very aware of their proximity- of Varian's hands on her shoulders, of her arms that had unconsciously gravitated towards him, holding onto him as he had spun her.
Both of them awkwardly stopped moving, matching shades of red blooming on their faces as they stared at each other.
Varian let go of Y/n's shoulders with a flustered cough, and she looked away as well. She knew how she felt for Varian- and she suspected that she knew how he felt for her- but they had far more important matters to take care of.
"Well, um..." Varian took the vial from Y/n gratefully. "Thanks. Right."
As he began to walk away, Y/n's smile, her hand unconsciously moving to the now-empty pocket of her jacket where the Flynnoleum vial used to fit.
She wasn't upset, per se, that it was gone. She was willing to give it- and so much more- up if it meant that those who wronged her would get what they deserved. Still, that awful, crawling feeling was back. The feeling she had in the tunnels, when they were being attacked by the automaton. The feeling of being powerless.
She loathed it.
"Varian?" she asked, and he turned back to face her, a hint of pink remaining on his freckled cheeks.
"I was... thinking." she began hesitantly. "Rapunzel's not going to come alone. When we go through with this... things might get messy, and I don't think that we have efficient ways to defend ourselves."
Varian smiled, although he looked a bit confused. "What are you proposing?"
Y/n paused. Could she really bring herself to ask this of him, after what he'd been through? This idea had been lingering in her head for days, and she knew that it' be effective, but... now she was unsure.
She blurted it out before she could change her mind. "Do you still have the amber compound?"
Varian's expression quickly went dark, but he still looked willing to consider what she had to say. "Yes... why?"
"Look, we've spoken about you building a larger automaton- something you can control, can protect yourself with if things go awry." Y/n frowned. "But I don't have anything like that. I don't have any weapons, any alchemy."
"Just..." she sighed. "Varian, I need a way to defend myself. When all of this goes down, I can't be sitting on the sidelines. I can't be doing nothing. I could adapt it, make it work faster. We could use the spheres, like the ones you used for the smoke bombs and the raccoon trap. It could be weaponized."
He gave a small, slightly sad smile. "It'd be poetic, wouldn't it? If it worked?"
Y/n returned the gesture. "An eye for an eye."
Varian nodded and turned away. "It's the yellow-green beaker on the shelf. Left side. It's labeled."
As Varian returned to the automaton, Y/n found the beaker in question and held it up to the light. The liquid captured and refracted the light from her hair streak, bathing her face a sickly yellow green.
She stared at the compound for a long moment, seeing her face reflected in the beaker's glass. She couldn't help but wonder what she might use it for, once it was weaponized. Would she see her mother imprisoned in that bronze surface she knew so well? Cassandra? Eugene?
Rapunzel?
Y/n managed to tear her eyes away from its vibrant glow, and walked over to one of Varian's alchemy sets with a smile.
Let's see what this can do, shall we?
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
The sun had set outside, and the two had nearly finished their preparations.
The fog serum was done, and Y/n's improved amber compound was finished as well. It was designed to have the same effect, but it was far faster, and it could trigger at a moment's notice. The chemicals she had added made the compound a glowing (f/c), and a dozen glass spheres filled with it were neatly lined on a table, ready for Y/n to conceal them in her coat when it was time.
The automaton pieces were almost completely primed. Varian had set up the supply of Flynnoleum, and he'd outfitted each individual piece with magnets, so that they could easily attract each other in a certain order, and the automaton could assemble itself.
The only piece missing was the timing cylinder, which was sitting on a table in the center of the room, as opposed to the rest, which were individually wrapped like birthday presents.
Varian was leaning on the table by the cylinder, his eyes downcast. He was lost in thought, and Y/n wondered if he was questioning this. If, this night, before they began their final plan, he still wondered whether it was worth what they were about to do.
She walked over to where Varian rested on the table, and placed her hands on the wooden surface behind her, leaning next to him. He didn't look up at her, but one of his gloved hands reached out and took hers. He didn't seem to notice that he had done it, but for once, Y/n didn't feel flustered. This felt... natural. It felt right.
Y/n looked up at the alchemist beside her. He looked troubled, angry... broken. It filled her with fury to know that Rapunzel had made him like this, but at the same time... it didn't overwhelm her. She could manage it, because she knew that in a few short days, everyone who had hurt them was going to pay their dues.
A small tinge of regret hit Y/n as she observed Varian, who still hadn't looked at her. What if something goes wrong? What if one of you gets hurt?
What if you never see him again?
What would you regret not doing?
Taking a deep breath, Y/n reached behind her with her free hand to the crank on the table behind them. She spun it, once, twice, three times, until an unsettling melody began to fill the space.
This seemed to snap Varian out of whatever trance he was in, and he looked over at Y/n in confusion. He noticed her hand in his, and dropped it quickly, his face turning red.
Varian seemed like he was trying to work up the courage to say something, and Y/n tilted her head at him curiously. He coughed once, before extending his left hand to Y/n.
Y/n was confused for a moment, until he clarified nervously. "May I have this dance, milady?"
She blinked at him, before holding out her left hand. Varian looked confused. "Wait, but isn't the right hand supposed to be the lady-"
Y/n smirked and reached out, taking his right anyway, pulling him over to her as if to begin a waltz. Varian placed his hand on Y/n's shoulder with a grin, and she placed hers on his waist, the two beginning to sway as the eerie melody from the timing cylinder echoed throughout the laboratory.
The two of them moved in graceful circles throughout the laboratory, moving at a slower speed than the ghostly tune, but still managing to stay in pace, Y/n's hair casting a circle of golden light like a spotlight around the two of them.
Y/n raised her right hand and extended her other arm, and Varian looked confused for a moment. Stifling a laugh, Y/n spun him around. His face turned bright red, and he gave a flustered cough as they returned to the original position.
"Where did you learn to dance?" Varian asked softly, face still pink as he and Y/n spun to the unnatural melody, and Y/n looked into his blue eyes, his face outlined gold in the dim lantern light.
"I took lessons." she replied. "Of course, the tutors only intended for me to learn one position, but I caught on rather quickly."
The two swayed to the side, spinning around the drill, the tables, the amber itself.
"What about you, Goggles?" asked Y/n as she led them in slow circles, the eerie tune accompanying their steps. "Where'd you learn to dance?"
"Self-taught." Varian said, a slight blush on his face. "I found some books on it. Figured the rest out myself."
"Well," Y/n said with a smile, "you're a wonderful dancer."
They sped up as the melody reached its climax, and Varian grinned at Y/n, before beginning to lean back.
She realized what he was doing and wrapped her arm around his back, and she held him above the ground as he dipped, his hair almost touching the floor.
Y/n pulled him up, smiling, and the music came to a stop.
The two finished in the position they had begun in. They stood close with their arms around each other, like kings and queens with chemicals for jewels and a laboratory for a ballroom.
Y/n looked into Varian's sky-blue eyes, illuminated with a golden light. He stared into hers. No words were spoken, but the silence still said everything that they didn't.
She didn't miss the brief moment that Varian's eyes flicked from hers to her lips. It was short, almost imperceptible, and in any other circumstance Y/n would have thought she was imagining things.
Y/n felt awful as she pulled away. She wanted this. She did, and she knew that Varian did too- but she couldn't let her judgment be clouded. She needed to be level-headed in the fight that was to come, not flustered like some ditzy character in a novel.
"Oh." Varian muttered sadly as she pulled away, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
"What?" Y/n asked.
Varian blushed. "Well, um, I thought we were going to- um, well- never mind." he stuttered, looking away at Ruddiger, who was watching this with an amused expression.
"Hey." Y/n said softly. "If we win this? Maybe I'll owe you."
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
(what's up, it's leviathan!
so, when we asked that question and said it was completely unrelated... that may have been a lie. still, though, i was on the side of "Varian being spun", so thanks for the win, readers!
this is definitely one of my favorite chapters that i've written. hope it gives at least one of you a fangirl moment :D)
thanks for reading! we're glad that you're enjoying the story :]
-leviathan and yuki