Stardrop- A Tangled Adventure ( Hiatus/Slow)

"Black" Rocks?

When Varian stepped forward, he expected to fall. I mean, he had  just stepped off the ledge onto nothing. He expected himself to fall, and quite honestly he hadn't thought through this decision. He had just acted. 

But when he didn't start falling, Varian was confused, and quite shocked. Instead of plummeting into the seemingly bottomless pit, he was standing on something. At first glance it looked like...black rocks. 

"Wha~" Varian began, as he opened his eyes to see what he was standing on. B-black rocks?!?! But I thought that was the power of the moonstone!  What in the world?  Varian thought.

"Varian!" Rapunzel yelled, worried for the boy's safety. What was he thinking, stepping into the pit like that? (cough, accidentally made a FNAF book reference) He could be seriously injured! What if he hurt himself?! Then Rapunzel stopped to look at what was happening. Varian wasn't falling, although he had clearly left the ledge. He was standing on something. He was standing on... Black Rocks! Can Varian control the black rocks?  Rapunzel thought, taken aback. 

"Varian, are those...black rocks?" Rapunzel asked the alchemist, although she noticed that he seemed as shocked as she was. 

"I'm not sure..." Varian responded. 

"No. They are not black rocks. Similar, yes, in many ways, but not black rocks. They are technically a blue-purple, even if appearing black. They were all over the place when we discovered the Stardrop." Quirin butted in, his voice calm and collected. 

"So, they're blue, black rocks. Right?" Eugene asked, as he walked over to the ledge where Varian had stepped off. 

"I guess so, but I am honestly not sure what their relationship is." Quirin stated. 

"Well, they seem like the black rocks, in shape and size range, although their color is indeed different. They could be related, like an extension of the black rocks, or a different version, like the red rocks, or entirely different, or-" Varian rambled. 

"Well we can figure it out after we get back to Corona." Eugene said, carefully reaching out and grabbing Varian's arm, pulling the boy towards him. "And next time, which there won't  be a next time, DON'T just walk off a ledge over a bottomless pit! It's reckless, and dangerous, and I didn't expect that of you." 

"Sorry..." Varian mumbled. "I didn't really think though that action, I kinda just...experimented..." 

Eugene sighed, scooping the kid up in a hug before setting him on Max's back. Rapunzel also took the chance to hug him, and Quirin looked on with worry for his son. 

"Well, now you know." Quirin said, finally deciding to speak up. "I'm sorry I never told you Varian, I was just...well, I was scared. Scared to lose you." 

Quirin's head was hung low as he apologized to his son and walked over to Max. 

"Dad, I forgive you. I understand." Varian reached out to hug his father, finding comfort in his arms and they embraced. 

"Well, once we're back in the city, we can take a closer look at that scroll and such!" Rapunzel said excitedly, happy that the father-son pair had officially made up. "Don't worry Varian, we'll figure this out!" 

Varian smiled slightly at the princess as she hopped on Max with him. Eugene began to lead the soldier-horse in the direction of Corona, with Quirin following behind him. Pascal cuddled on Rapunzel's shoulder, and Ruddiger moved from Varian's shoulder to his head, perching himself in the boy's hair. Then, they headed back towards the capitol. 

***TIME SKIPIPIPIPIPIP BACK TO CORONA***

As they entered under the grand arch that marked Corona's town, Quirin stopped and turned towards his son. 

"Varian, now that you know the truth,  what is your plan?" He asked, and a sort of tension filled the air. 

"I, um, I'm gonna research it. The power, I mean, The Stardrop, the scroll, the rocks, and...me." Varian responded, his voice quieting as he finished. He stared at the ground for a moment, before looking back up at his dad with newfound confidence. "I'm going to learn about it, understanding, and control it." 

"Control it? The power?" Eugene asked. 

"Yes. Just like Cass learned to, uh, "control" the Moonstone's powers, only I won't become obsessed with destiny and power, heheh." Varian replied, nervously laughing as he thought back to when he was kidnapped by Cassandra. 

Eugene eyed Varian slightly suspicious, but got past the though when he realized that Rapunzel also had power like this and never turned evil. Sighing, he nodded in agreement, and continued forwards. 

Varian looked back at his dad as Max began to move once again. 

"Dad, don't worry. I've got this!" He said excitedly. 

Quirin looked up, smiling softly at his genius son. "I know you do." 

Then, Quirin walked off in what seemed to be the direction of Xavier's shop, though no one questioned it. He had been really worked up, maybe he just wanted to relax with an old friend. Varian thought about chasing after him, inviting him to experiment with him, but decided against it when he realized it may be painful for his dad to work on something his deceased mother had. So, he turned back, face-front, as Eugene led Max towards the castle, with Rapunzel holding the reigns of the horse. 

~~~

Once they reached the castle, Varian hopped off Maximus, Ruddiger resuming his previous position on his shoulder. Rapunzel hopped off after him, nuzzling Max as she did. Then she turned to the castle, and headed towards the main gate. Eugene threw an apple to Max, who happily caught it and sat down. Then he followed Rapunzel, motioning to Varian to also follow. So, he did. 

It seemed like forever since he was last at the castle, when it'd only been like a day. I was quite early in the morning, they had left Janus Point around 1 am and returned around 5 (I'm making the journey longer for timing purposes) so not many people were up yet. The group silently made their way inside the palace. Rapunzel yawned, stretching her arms up in the air as she walked into her room. Eugene followed suite. Then both turned to Varian. 

"Hey buddy, you might as well go to sleep. You had a long night." Eugene said to him. 

"Yeah Varian, go ahead and make yourself at home in here, or you can head back to your room if you'd like." Rapunzel smiled. 

Varian looked around for a sec, then nodded in agreement to Rapunzel's statement. He was exhausted, yet, fully energized. It was a weird sensation. He was tired from the events, and emotion stress, but also energized with a purpose of exploring his powers. Ultimately though, he decided it would be good to get a least a bit of sleep before beginning his studies. So, he walked over to Rapunzel's bean-bag (yes she has one, I mean why not), set Ruddiger down on the side, and plopped down himself, instantly feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him. He pulled his knees to his chest, curled up in a ball, and then felt his consciousness slip, and he fell asleep. 

"Man, he's out like a light! Must've been tired after the events of the day. I mean,  I don't blame him. Even I'm tired! And it's only 5 in the morning!" Eugene laughed softly. 

"It makes sense though Eugene. He went through a lot of emotional distress today, learning all he did. And to top it off, he used his newfound powers! Even on accident, I remember how tired I was after singing to...Gothel when I was younger." Rapunzel said matter-of-factly. Eugene nodded in sympathetic agreement, then kissed her. 

"You might as well get some sleep too Sunshine. I'll be sure to let your parents know why you're sleeping late. I might head to bed as well." Eugene assured her. Rapunzel nodded, before grabbing a blanket and placing it over the young alchemist on her bean bag. She hugged Eugene once more, then went to change. Eugene left the room, heading to check on Max and then sleep. 

Rapunzel changed, placed Pascal on his pillow, and layed in her bed. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, and the world became silent once again. 

~~~

"Varian~"  

...

"You must find the source~" 

Varian shifted in his sleep, trying to ignore the voice in the back of his head. He slept soundly, unaware of the chain of events his discovery of power had triggered. Unaware of the danger, that he just stepped into. 

(A/N) Thanks for readddding! I appreciate the support. Sorry for a bit of a cliffhanger, but next chapter will be Varian starting his experiments and studies. 

I hope you liked it! I'll be putting a piece of my artwork on most of my chapters from here on. 

As always, if you enjoyed, consider voting. If you have any constructive criticism, feel free to comment! 

Thanks~