paixaorpg | Have I Died and Gone To...? [Active/Open}

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Have I Died and Gone To...? [Active/Open}

Character(s): Flynn Rider
Content: After his death in Gothel's tower, Flynn awakens in a place not quite heavenly.
Setting: Joutenheim Gate
Time: Night
Warnings: Dying and awakening again tends to make even the most level of heads panic a bit.

“Ah!”

Flynn awoke with a sickening jolt, a hand falling to his side as he stared up at the dark skies. Breathing heavily, he laid there disoriented for a long moment, eyes darting around. Stars twinkled overhead through the clouds, a chill breeze blew over him, rustling the grass and snow that he was laying on…He was laying on grass? It wasn’t like…any grass he’d ever felt or see before…And there was snow, which would explain the cold...Snow?

This…was not the tower. This was not the tower.

This single thought began to repeat itself like a mantra in his mind, a fact that he could cling to as he tried to make some sort of rational sense out of his situation. He recalled distinctly laying there in the floor of Gothel’s tower, shards of the shattered mirror scattered around him. He remembered Rapunzel trying to heal him, he recalled refusing…the moment he cut those long blonde locks. It was strange, being able to remember dying, but he did, mostly because it was impossible to forget the look in her eyes. Rapunzel’s eyes.

And now, as he forced himself to sit up, Flynn realized the wound where Gothel had stabbed him had mysteriously vanished, though the leather and linen was torn where the dagger had pierced his doublet and blood stained the fabrics freely. Baffled, he looked down at the mark, then at his unstained hands…

A sound near him caused him to look up, and it was then that he saw the long line of people outside a strange structure…it almost seemed like a city, but…different from the ones he’d seen, and he’d seen many in his travels. Two great giants loomed over what appeared to the city gates, imposing and not at all welcoming..

What were these people waiting for…where WAS this place? He had to get back; if there was a way, he had to find it. As long as he was aware, he knew he had to find her. Gothel couldn’t win this; she couldn’t, not after all of this.

He was on his feet and running towards the large gates before he even realized what he was doing, breathing still ragged, but his expression intent. He’d never been much for sitting around waiting for problems to solve themselves, after all…though, in general, he was usually the cause of them.

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Snow. And more snow. It had been coming down nonstop, but that didn't keep Rapunzel from enjoying herself and playing in it. It was tough for her, living by herself and not having Flynn here with her anymore, but she knew she had to make the best of it. Getting depressed just wasn't her style, and besides.... she still at least had Pascal to keep her company.

Bundled up in a coat, boots, scarf, and mittens, Rapunzel fell down into the snow to make yet another snow angel. She was probably up to about 137 by this point, if she stopped to count them. Her trek through the city had led her somewhere near Joutenheim gate, but at the moment she didn't even notice where she was. She was just having fun.

Pascal squirmed his way from her pocket and left an imprint in the snow as he watched her. Despite being cold blooded, he could hang out in the snow for just a little while.

It didn't take him long to reach the large gates, but when he did, Flynn came to a stop. Despite his contained panic and his urgent business, there was something about local law enforcement of any sort that just...

He didn't really care for them at all; never could tell if they'd seen any (poor) representation of his face before. Even if he knew that they were likely his best source of information, he was not all too keen on getting close enough for them to actually make out his features.

Turning his eyes towards the line of people, he went for his second option and began generally harassing the people there in the only way he knew how.

"Hey," he said to a young woman, a smile on his face that hid his inner turmoil quite well. "So, what can you tell me about this place? Name's Flynn Rider, by the way-"

"You there!"

Flynn froze at the authoritative voice; man! Not even five minutes and already he was a target. Stepping away from the woman, he quickly tried to think of what he might have to say to get himself out of this mess when-

When they thrust a small book-looking thing in his hand and asked him for his name.

...You mean...they didn't know...his name?

"Er. Rider. Flynn Rider." Really, only Rapunzel knew his real name, and he wasn't about to give THAT out to strangers...

A flash of gold just inside caught his eye as the guards took note of his name and ushered him towards the gate.

It had almost looked like...but...

"...Wait! Wait a minute, guys, hang on just a sec-"

Rapunzel sat up carefully, as not to disturb her newest work of art. As she got to her feet, she noticed that there was some sort of commotion off in the distance. Oh, she was near a gate.... was someone new coming in? Were the guards giving them a hard time? That had a habit of happening, she'd seen it on more than one occasion.

It took a minute for her to dust herself off, but then she scooped up Pascal to put him back in her coat pocket. Time to investigate. Snow crunching underfoot, she sent closer, ears perking up at the voice that was filtering in from the doors.

She knew that voice. At least, she thought she did. She'd only heard a snippet of what they were saying.

Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for the person to appear fully through the gates, her hands clasping in front of her. Her hood had fallen completely away from her head now, revealing all of her golden hair as the thick braid spilled out down her back.

The guards were not really hostile; they seemed strangely used to people acting like this. But Flynn had very recently had, shall we say, a nasty run in with the guards in Corona that had nearly landed him with his head in a noose.

Despite his struggling (because he really did not like the idea of being shoved into a place that he might not be able to get out of), the were finally able to get Flynn through the gate, and left him there in the snow.

Staggering, torn between looking for the wisp of gold that had caught his eye and trying to find a way back to what he really felt was freedom, Flynn found his balance and held the strange book device against his chest where it had been shoved.

"...Some welcoming committee," he groused to himself after a moment, taking comfort in a dry bit of humor despite his bleak situation. Running his hand through his dark hair, he looked down at the book thing, then turned to face this new and not very inviting place...

This place...

All thoughts ceased when his eyes fell on the figure standing in the snow. It was impossible to not know her; if not the eyes, then the long plait of gold that ran down her back. But hadn't he...? How was she...?

"...Rapunzel?"

When he finally stepped through the gate and she could see him clearly, it felt like her heart had stopped. Even though it had only been a little while since his initial disappearance, it had felt like forever in her heart. Rapunzel stared for a good minute, her thumb and index finger finding her thigh through the fabric of her skirt and giving herself a tiny pinch.

Nope. Not a dream. He was still there.

Of course, he looked a bit worse for wear. He looked tired, and completely confused. And there was a hole in his doublet and shirt.... was that blood? She could see a dark stain, but from where she was standing she honestly couldn't tell.

Still her mind raced and the more she looked the more her eyes began to brim with tears. He was back. He was really back!

"Eugene!" And now she was scampering through the snow to him, hands outstretched so she could touch his face and confirm his existence all that much sooner.

It seemed like an eternity that they stood there staring at one another; it was the sort of thing that happened in fairy tales and books, not in reality, but here they were.

Suddenly, she was running towards him, and when he heard her cry out his name, there was no questions left. He nearly dropped the device in his hands as she neared him, a hand going to cover her own as they touched his face. Relief washed over him in a single moment; she was safe. Somehow, she had escaped.

"Rapunzel, how are you here...what happened?" If he was confused before, he was even more befuddled now; he'd last seen her there in the tower, her hair had been cut, and he'd...he'd died. He knew that was fact; the blood remained in his clothing where he'd been stabbed after all. His eyes flashed as he recalled Gothel in that instant, and held her hand tightly.

"Mother Gothel; did she bring you here?" Oh no, if he was dead...and he still wasn't sure if this was Heaven or not... He prayed that he wasn't. He'd never been a religious man, but he prayed that Rapunzel could and would live. "What is this place? You and I have been through a lot of crazy things lately, but this is weird, even for us."

When she felt his hand over hers, she smiled even as she cried. Drawing in a deep breath and sniffling gently, she did her best to answer all of his questions, even as she looked him over. Obviously he didn't remember being here before, that was okay... she could explain everything to him. "It's okay, Mother didn't bring me here. I arrived here by myself a few weeks ago, and I've been here ever since."

As she spoke she looked him all over. "It's really confusing, and it's a lot to take in, but this.... is a whole other world from our own. We're nowhere near home." Her eyes finally found the hole in his shirt again, and her free hand immediately went to it. That was definitely blood. All thoughts of explaining Paixao flew out of her head.

"Eugene, what happened? You're injured!"

Oh, she was crying. It was hard to see her cry like that, but at least he was comforted in the fact that they were not unhappy tears. A bit of tension left his shoulders, but only a bit; he was still on edge about this strange place, and old habits died hard.

Flynn was relieved to hear that Gothel had not brought her here, but she'd arrived on her own? "Did you manage to escape her then?" he asked, looking a bit impressed. "Gotta admit, that takes a lot of guts, but then again, I wouldn't put it past you-" He stopped mid-sentence.

"Whoa whoa wait a minute hang on just a second. Let me get this straight. You're trying to tell me that we're in a completely different world? How is that even possible?" Magic hair and singing thugs he could handle. Even dying he was taking in stride. But...

Then she noticed the blood.

"Hey, take it easy, Rapunzel, it's okay," he said, tucking the device under one arm and resting a hand on her shoulder. Did she really not remember? This was...very strange.

"...I'm getting a headache. You're telling me you don't remember when Gothel stabbed me when I came to save you?" He reached down and parted the fabric to reveal the unblemished skin beneath. "Apparently this place doesn't either, heh. See? Nothing to worry about." Even though...there was actually a whole LOT to worry about.

"Escape?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she really didn't know what he was talking about. She'd heard time and time again about people coming here form the same world, but being from different times when they arrived here. So there was something missing here between the two of them, they'd just have to piece it together.

The thought of Gothel stabbing Flynn made the young girl's blood run cold. Rapunzel's mittened hand touched the unmarred skin of Flynn's torso as she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Of course she could heal him if he was hurt, but she'd never want him to be hurt in the first place. "I don't... remember any of that. The last thing that happened before I blacked out and woke up here was Mother chaining me up in the tower. I was hoping you would come and find me again, but I never saw you arrive."

Now she glanced up at him, her large eyes apologetic. "Honestly, since getting here, the word impossible has gone out the window. I'm not entirely sure of all the details as to why we're here or how we got here, but there's plenty of other guests here that could explain things. It's a lot to take in.... I'm really sorry I'm so bad at explaining."

When her emotions got in the way, Rapunzel couldn't help but find herself just babbling instead of getting to the point.

So...she hadn't escaped on her own? The tone in her voice seemed to suggest as such. Frowning slightly, he took her hand as he realized slowly that she did not remember quite as much as he did. How was that possible? He'd seen her; he'd begged her to not make that devil's bargain with Gothel to save him, he'd told her so much...What sort of sick joke was being played on them? Perhaps she just...didn't remember because she blacked out?

"No, hey, it's okay, don't apologize. Uh." Glancing around at the strange place, he could hardly believe what he was looking at. A harsh wind blew against him, and he suddenly realized how very cold it was. Drawing his one arm around him, he gave a suppressed shiver.

"...I've got an idea," he said after a moment. "...How about we...take this indoors?" Snow was starting to gather on his shoulders a little. "...There's a bunch we have to figure out, and then we have to figure out how we're going to get back home."

"Indoors?" Rapunzel blinked in surprise then, realizing that he wasn't at all dressed for this weather. "Oh! Oh gosh, Eugene, I'm sorry!" She quickly unwrapped her scarf and threw it around his neck in some poor attempt to keep him warm. "Follow me, I know where we can go." She knew a small little cafe not far from here, and she had plenty of shiny leaves in her coat pocket to pay if they wanted something to drink.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her, towards a warm little shop just a little ways down the road. Once they were close enough, she ushered him inside first.

Well. At least she noticed. Not ten minutes ago it was spring as he recalled, and suddenly...wait.

As Rapunzel began to pull him down the street, Flynn actually took a moment to look around and realized, to his utter amazement, that it was snowing...and yet...there was a roof over his head. It was, ostensibly, snowing indoors. And the buildings, the architecture, were unlike anything he'd ever seen anywhere. And he'd seen a lot of places.

"Hey, uh, correct me if I'm wrong here," he began slowly, bringing his gaze back to Rapunzel as she guided him towards a small shop, "...But did you notice that it's snowing inside? I mean, you know, you'd think after everything I'd seen in the past three days, I'd stop asking questions, but...WHY is it snowing inside, exactly?"

Suddenly, he was indoors, and he blinked a little. It WAS rather cozy, and still, there were more people that looked...well, like all the other people around here. Suddenly, he felt out of place, and not because his face was plastered all over a Wanted poster.

At his question, Rapunzel glanced and gave a sheepish little grin. "Eh heh, I know, it's weird isn't it? I don't really know how it happens, but it's just another thing I've gotten used to in this city." And another thing she couldn't explain to him.

Way to go, Rapunzel. "Just go with it, okay?"

And then they were inside. Rapunzel waved to the woman behind the counter and led Flynn over to a little table nestled in the corner. This way they could talk without the locals watching too closely. Not that they had a habit of doing so.

"Is this better? Are you feeling warmer now?"

Flynn blinked for a moment, chancing a glance back out at the lightly falling snow that...came from nowhere.

"Sure, why not! Totally normal to snow indoors; why not?" The dry sarcasm in his voice was just barely audible, because he knew that Rapunzel was trying at least, and he couldn't fault her for that. It was the city he blamed. This weird place...Well, it was weird! Couldn't a single thing make sense in this place?

But he had to admit, as he settled down in his seat, he was feeling a bit warmer. The way everyone looked the same unnerved him a bit, though.

"Yeah, it's better...What is this place? It's like the people here aren't even real. Tried to ask one where this place was and got totally ignored. And, let's face it, it's hard to ignore me." Flynn grinned a bit, but it was rather half-hearted. Sighing, his shoulders slumped and he looked at Rapunzel intently.

"And this...You really don't remember anything after your mother chained you up?"

The sarcasm was noted by Rapunzel, but all she did was role her eyes in amusement. If he wasn't cracking statements like that, it just wasn't him, right? And she couldn't expect him to just automatically adjust to all the strangeness that ran rampant in Paixao.

Once they were settled, the girl removed her coat and gloves, leaving her in just her purple dress and shoes. "All I know is that this whole city is inside a giant castle with a lot of floors. And everything in here feels like a big illusion, almost no matter where you go. It's creepy. And the residents won't really talk to any of us outsiders.... trust me, I've tried." She remembered introducing herself to everyone in her first days here and being completely ignored.

It wasn't any fun at all.

Her hands found a stray lock of her hair and began to tug at it. "I really don't remember. I'm sorry." She knew she was missing something important, she could see it in his eyes, and it bothered her to no end. "I just remember being tied up, and then waiting. I wanted to see you again so badly, but Mother was waiting for you...she... she...

She'd seen that knife in Gothel's hands. It still sent chills up her spine thinking about it.

A castle? This wasn't even a real city? What was even up with this place? Flynn looked around for a moment again, considering what she'd said about illusions. But a castle was something he could understand; he'd broken into and out of castles plenty in his life. If this was just a big castle with...well, magic or something like that, that simplified things in a way.

But he was jarred from his reverie by her second statement, and saw her guilt easily. Breathing out, Flynn's shoulders slumped a little.

"Hey. Don't worry about her and what she did right now, it's fine. We'll...we'll talk about it later. Hey; let's get a drink while we're here! At least it doesn't smell like the color brown, right?" He gave another not entirely confident chuckle and glanced around.

"Rapunzel, you've been here...for weeks?" That didn't add up to his recollection, but a lot wasn't adding up, so he just let that go for now. "...Haven't you tried to escape?"

"A-All right." For now, she was more than happy to think of just about anything else other than Gothel. "Getting something to drink would be really nice." Rapunzel dug into her coat pocket and produced a handful of shiny leaves. "The best part is, you can pay with these. And there's plenty all around the city."

At his last question, she frowned slightly and traced some of the carvings on the table. "Well, no one has found a way out of here. People have been looking and looking, but there's nothing so far. If I could have gone home, I would have." She really hated the idea of being trapped, but what could she do with absolutely no exit?

At that moment, one of the cafe waitresses stepped up and asked what they would like to drink.

Well, it wasn't the usual currency he'd seen around; shiny leaves were not exactly gold bouillon, but if it paid the bills...

Flynn quickly ordered a drink; the first thing that came to his admittedly scattered mind, and focused his attention back on Rapunzel's last statement. He hated seeing a frown on that face; it made him even more determined to find a way for them both to get back home. Sitting back, he looked thoughtful.

"Don't worry, Rapunzel. I'll find us a way out of this mess. It's just another tower to escape. Just another hurdle, right? Lucky for you, I know a thing or two about breaking out of castles..." He grinned at her a bit, hoping that the confidence would restore a bit of the joy in her eyes.

Putting in an order for apple cider for herself, Rapunzel gave the waitress a gentle smile and a thank you as she wandered off. Then she returned her attention to Flynn.

And the grin on his face got her to laugh softly, bringing a certain warmth back to her freckled cheeks. Rapunzel nodded, sweeping back a stray lock of hair from her face. "Mm, I think if anyone can do it, it'll be you."

"Don't worry, I plan on taking you with me, Rapunzel. I'm not leaving here without you." Flynn looked at her firmly, though the crooked smile was still in place lightly.

"You think I'd risk life and limb and not bring you home with me?" He sounded a bit smug, but there was fondness in his voice. "And just so we're clear, home is not the tower. Home is...well.." Flynn put a hand behind his neck and looked aside, a bit sheepish. "Well, wherever you want it to be, really."

He had no way of knowing that she was the lost princess that had been gone for eighteen years, or he might have reworded his response a little different.

Even though she knew now that Flynn's previous disappearing act back in the kingdom had not been of his own accord, it was still incredibly reassuring to hear him say he wasn't going to leave her behind. The posture of her shoulders relaxed, and she nodded. "I know, I didn't think you'd leave here." But still, pink crept into her cheeks.

Even as he mentioned it, the thought that she in fact had a home outside the tower finally popped back into her head. All her weeks here had left feeling a bit dreamy, like everything she remembered was pushed to the back of her mind.

She lifted her hands to her face, looking flustered with herself. "If we find out way back there's someplace I absolutely have to go!" If he didn't know her past now, he was about to.

"Whoa whoa, calm down," Flynn said, raising his hands as she exclaimed abruptly, right in the middle of the shop. He looked around, noticing that not a single person paid her any heed, and looked back at her with a bit of concern.

"We'll go where you need to go; when we get out of here, we'll be free as a bird. No more towers, no more nothing that we don't want...just..." Flynn hesitated; she didn't remember the talk of new dreams or what he felt...things might have changed, after all.

"...So where is this place?"

Rapunzel could literally run around this shop in circles and bang pots together, and the clientele would hardly pay her any attention. Which she'd gotten used to by now.

"We have to go back to the kingdom. I need to get to the castle." The blonde began to wring her hands a bit in a nervous way. If her hair had been free from its braid she'd have played with that instead. "Eugene, there's something really important that I figured out."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Hang on a second," Flynn said, raising his hands a bit. It's not that he was completely discounting her desires or her urgency, but..

"I just...I was nearly hanged. Seriously, ten feet from the gallows when I was rescued in a pinch by your pals from the Snuggly Duckling. And now you want to go back?" Granted, it was better than the tower for her, but he wanted as little to do with the palace as possible. He was rather attached to his life, especially after having losing it once...Oh. Right. He'd not told her about that bit yet.

"...What could possibly be so important as that? I mean, I'm sure you wouldn't go there unless there was a reason, but you gotta understand my standpoint too."

The look on Rapunzel's face at the mention of him facing his death sentence was just about as frightened, upset, and concerned as it could possibly get. Gothel had, of course, told her he would be hanged for his crime when he snatched the tiara, but seeing him alive had almost made her forgotten about it.

Her lower lip quivered just slightly as she reached across the table for his hands. Rapunzel knew she was asking a lot of him. "I do, I do understand. I would never ask you to go back there unless I knew I could protect you!"

Which, given her status, she more than likely could. She hesitated for a minute, trying to stabilize her voice and make sure she could speak without it cracking. When she finally managed it, her words came out so softly that it was hard to hear, "I'm... the lost princess."

Flynn looked down at their hands for a moment as she rested hers upon his, his heart speeding up just a bit. Something was unsettling about the way she was approaching all this; he knew that it had to be something big for her to be so concerned. Turning his hand, he laced his fingers into her reassuringly.

And then...she spoke.

Flynn stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. It was...for a moment, it was beyond comprehension. Rapunzel. The girl with the magic glowing hair. The girl who had knocked him out cold with a frying pan. The same girl who had sang with thugs and danced barefoot in the streets of Corona...His Rapunzel...was the lost princess?

"...What...but...What??"

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Have I Died and Gone To...? [Active/Open}

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