Heads up, this be my first Tangled fanfic that was just tangled and not mixed with ROTBTD.

Yeah so this was made because like, Varian seemed ready to put his life on the line in that episode and I was like "oh? Are there stories of this potential hurt and comfort? No? Kinda?" Well not enough for my liking so I decided to write one.

Now, boy doesn't die in this, because Varian is my child and I refuse to kill him without bringing him back. However, because he is my child he shall be hurt.

Alot.

Anywho, I took some liberties. Obviously a ship with chemicals enough to decimate a kingdom would typically kill someone without magical hair, but I tried to adjust it in a way so he could live, especially since people can survive from explosions. Also looking at all the one's he's experienced and will experience, such as the rooster where he was right next to it and only got away with Blast Ear, I'm like...ok...I can work with that. So he gonna be close to death but not die.

I did look up what can happen from an explosion but I'm also no doctor so when those come more into play, I apologize for any inaccuracies.

Also, warning for Varian's thoughts when he's on the ship. He doesn't exactly want to die, but his thoughts aren't really happy.

Now, onto the chapter!

"You have to get off this ship. Rapunzel, I need to clean up my own mess."

No, Rapunzel wouldn't let him do that. She understood why, could see the regret and guilt in his eyes when he turned to look at her, but she also knew that she had a responsibility to her kingdom and her citizens. She needed to keep them safe, and Varian was just as much as one of her citizens as any other. She needed to keep him safe. She wasn't going to lose another friend.

'Besides,' She thought, leaving behind the last trail of thought as she knew where it would take her. 'He does not have a shield of magic hair to protect him from the explosion.'

However, before she could convey any of this to the misguided teen before her, she felt Varian's hand slip something into her own.

"I'm sorry." Varian whispered, all his pain displayed in his tone.

Then she was falling. Rapunzel could hear Pascal in her ear, crying out in fear and shock, but her eyes could only focus on Varian's figure growing smaller and smaller as she fell to the kingdom below. She didn't process the softly falling blue orb until it hit her ever so slightly, shattering.

Then she was floating ever so gently to the ground, hair flowing outside of the bubble she had been caught in.

The shattering had snapped her out of her shock, and Rapunzel let out a cry, pressing her hands against the transparent barrier.

"No! Varian!" She cried, fits now pounding on the bubble. A pressure in her hand made her blink and open the fist. Pascal let out a small croak when the two of them spotted the bubble's neutralizing agent in her palm. Her gaze shot back up to the airship, no longer able to see Varian due to the ship now rising higher into the sky. Her heart beat sped up at the thought of the teen left alone on the ship, death at his back. Despite everything he had done, she never wanted this, she doesn't want Varian to die, especially not when she just got him back.

Steeling herself, Rapunzel looked down at the rooftops of her kingdom before turning to Pascal.

"I'm abandoning him, not again." She stated determination in every word. She uncorked the neutralizing chemical. "Come on, Pascal, we have some work to do."

The chameleon let out a squeak in agreement.

Varian knew the princess. He knew she would find some way to stop him from helping with getting the airship high above the kingdom and, even worse, stay on the ship to deal with the problem herself despite the very real threat of not only being blown up, but also falling to death very soon after assuming the explosion did not kill them. And sure, he knew that her hair was strong, hell he had been the one to help show the results of her indestructible hair and the protection the golden locks granted her. But at the same time, they were on a broken airship with gallons of a highly reactive and explosive chemical that he explained was enough to destroy the entire kingdom! He had do idea if her hair could stand the blast of such a reaction.

And he wasn't going to risk her life, not when it was his mess to clean up in the first place.

So he acted quickly, placing a vial of one of his chemicals in her hand before pushing her over the edge of the airship. Even though he knew this was to protect her, he still couldn't help the twinge in his chest at the fact he was endangering her all over again. He didn't want to, not anymore at least.

Shaking off the feeling, Varian thrust one of his bubble-creating orbs at the princess's falling form, catching her in the floating sphere so that she could safely make it to the ground. After making sure that she was safe, Varian turned his attention back to the most pressing danger of the moment. He looked up at the remaining balloon on the front of the airship before his gaze dropped back down to the barrels of quirinium at were at the bottom part of the tipped over airship.

'No backing out now.' He thought swallowing thickly before he allowed his mind to trace over the collapsed ship. His eyes fell on one of the ropes from the now destroyed secondary balloon. His eyes returned to the upper portion of the ship, looking at the hook-like design of the now tilted bow. Good, he could use that as a pulley. He knew he wouldn't be able to lift the barrels to the top of the ship without something such as this. The slope was too great and Varian himself wasn't the strongest boy around. However, with all his large scale experiments and after months of building the automatons all by himself in his desolate home, he knew a thing about moving large objects with gravity acting as an asset to him.

Acting quickly, Varian grasped the rope off the ground and hooked it over the bow. For the moment, he tied the end closest to him to the railing he was clinging to before he grasped the other end for dear life before dropping down to the barrels at the bottom of the ship. He jolted to a stop, heart pounding and chest heaving, before moving to tie the barrels to the rope. Then, with a grunt, he moved himself back to the railing and began climbing his way up as quickly as he could.

Once he was up at the top, he began pulling the barrels up to him and the flame heating the air for the balloon. He had also added a few large pieces of broken wood to the other side of the pulley to help as a counter balance for the heavy barrels as he hoisted them up. His muscles in his arms screamed at him from the strain but he didn't stop. He would not allow anything to get in the way of him sparing Corona from his mistake once more.

He was sweating by the time the barrels made their way up but he did not take a moment to breathe. Soon, he was whipping off the tops of the containers and holding the flame to the green chemical within. Quickly, the quirinium began heating up, boiling and splashing as the chemical reacted to the heat.

Varian turned his gaze to the kingdom below him. To think here he was again, causing problems to those around him. All he wanted to do was take the chance to get close to everyone again, to erase his problems, but he only made an even bigger mess of things. In the past, people had to clean up after him, after already causing them stress and danger. Honestly, he's not that surprised his dad was never proud of him, and probably never will be. Really, this is the least he could do after everything. If he could do one thing right in his whole life, it might as well be done cleaning up after his own mistakes, especially before anything worse could happen.

And if it cost him his life? Well, then that was how it was going to be.

He wasn't looking to die, not really, but if anyone was going to be sacrificed for the kingdom's survival, it may as well be the kid who caused the problem in the first place. Besides, it's not like there will be much mourning for him anyway. Everyone in Corona hated him, and his chance of forgiveness is all but gone now. They might appreciate the fact that it was him rather than their princess that saved their country, if nothing else then because they wouldn't have to lose her a second time. Sure, Rapunzel may be sad, but that would most likely be because they had just kinda-sorta made up and she cared for everyone. But, at least someone would care to some extent. Afterall, outside of Rapunzel, who else was there? His father was still trapped and, if he was being honest, there probably wasn't any hope for him. Varian would love to be able to save his father before, but if it came down to his death, then at least he could do one thing that would (hopefully) make Quirin proud. As for Ruddiger, Varian did not know where his friend (former friend?) was. The raccoon left when he joined the Saporians, not wanting to take part in the scheme. Really, Varian couldn't blame him. He's shocked and thankful that his little friend had been able to escape and not deal with any of Varian's messes. He hoped he was happy and wasn't too sad if the alchemist didn't make it out of this.

Shaking his head from his thoughts, Varian returned his focus to the raising airship. He could tell from the glow coming from the barrels that there wouldn't be much time until it combusted. He looked over the ledge and let out a soft sigh when he noticed that the airship was getting close to being high enough above the kingdom. It was just reaching over the point of the highest tower of the castle when a quick boom sounded from besides him. Varian gasped as the barrel's ignited into green flames that quickly spread across the wooden ship. He moved out of the way of the flames, climbing over the wooden rails and ropes to escape the green blaze. He knew now there would only be a few moments until the entire ship exploded. He looked down at the kingdom once more, eyes glinting when he realized the added heat had risen the ship even higher into the sky. At this altitude, the only thing Corona would have to worry about was the remaining debris that rained from the wreckage, and even that should be relatively small with how quickly the fire was eating away at the wood.

However, Varian couldn't help the small shutter that went through him at the sight of the height. This was it, wasn't it? If he survives this explosion, there was no way he would be able to survive the following fall. He had no more chemicals to help as he had done with Rapunzel, many of them being lost in the scuffle with the Saporians. The height in itself would most likely do him in and that's not counting whatever injuries he gains from the initial explosion.

Still, burning alive doesn't seem all that pleasant so Varian tried to move as far as he could from the main point of the chemical explosion to hopefully minimize the damage. Besides, there was always a small chance he could survive this, right? That small glimmer of hope in the back of his head was saying that maybe Rapunzel would come up with something to save him. She cared for him, to some degree at least, so maybe she was working on a way to help him now? Varian's eyes tried to scan the dark streets for any sign of bright, golden hair, hope blooming in his chest for just a few seconds. Maybe she-!

Varian flinched when he felt fire lick at his gloved hands. Despite the layers of clothing, the flames were hot enough that Varian knew if they touched his clothing, he would have a burn beneath very quickly. That said, he quickly scrambled away from the flames, his search for Rapunzel having taken his attention. He used the railings once more to scramble down, away from most of the fire. As he did, his eyes took in the distance between him and the rooftops. Could he somehow fall onto one of the taller roofs without dying? Maybe if he got far enough down the ship he could-

Crack!

The alchemist flinched at the sound of snapping wood.

'I'm going to die.' He thought, eyes watering at the thought. He did not want to die, not really but at least if someone had to sacrifice themselves, it was someone people wouldn't miss. At least he could do one good thing before everything was done.

Swallowing thickly and trying to ignore the smoke now permeating the air, Varian allowed himself to take one last look at Corona. He couldn't help but start sending out silent apologies to everyone in the kingdom. He sent them out to all those he hurt and terrified. He sent it to the King and Queen who even now were hurt by his actions. He apologized to the princess and her friends, knowing that at least for a while, he had people he could call friends. He apologized to his father for all the wrongs and mistakes he made. He apologized to Ruddiger who had stood by him all that time only to be pushed aside and hurt. Hopefully, his little buddy was somewhere safe and sound.

And as he sent out these apologies, tears slipped down his cheeks for the sorrow building in his chest. He really wished he could do more. He did not want to die like this, hated by all and never even having the chance to personally say goodbye. He wasn't looking for forgiveness, not because he didn't want it but he still doubts (despite the princess's words while they were locked up together) that he could ever be granted it. No, he's just sad he couldn't do more for the kingdom he hurt so much, for the innocent people he hurt in his darkest moments. He would like to try to redeem himself, but if the only way that was possible now was through his death, then he hoped it was enough. He hoped the one good thing he could do in his life was enough to help the people.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and wait for death, Varian caught sight of something blonde flashing down in the streets far below him. Leaning a little down to get a better look at the streak of yellow, Varian was almost afraid to get his hopes up when he realized who it was.

"Rapunzel?" He questioned in shock, eyes widening. Maybe, there was a chance? Maye-!

There was a large blast and then all Varian knew was darkness.

Eugene was moving as quickly as he could back to the city. He had seen the ship collapse from where he and Lance had been rescuing the King and Queen, and once he knew they were safe, he began to race back as quickly as he could to the city. The entire way back, he allowed his eyes to keep sight of the airship, heart stopping when he thought he saw Rapunzel's hair glinting in the moonlight while the ship was tilted, but the distance not allowing him an accurate glance of the situation.

Once his feet actually carried him into the city of Corona, he focused on finding the love of his life as he couldn't see her flowing hair from the quickly rising airship.

"Rapunzel!?" He called, eyes flitting around as he looked for any sign of the princess. His heart was racing in his chest but he also knew, at the back of his mind, that she would be fine. Rapunzel always turned out ok in the end, but that didn't make the worrying part any better. However, as he continued to get further underneath the area of the airship, a flash of blonde and purple caught his eyes and Eugene was rushing to pull Rapunzel into his arms.

"You're ok!" He cried, pulling away from the embrace to smile at her. "I mean, I knew you'd be ok but still! Also, how are you down here and the airship is still in the air? I mean, I assume you have a plan or something, you usually have a plan, especially since you took hair-stripe with you and...hey where is that kid?" Eugene looked around the area for the alchemist only to come up empty. When he looked back at Rapunzel, he saw the dire look on her face and the way it was directed up at the airship. "Blondie? Don't tell me…"

Rapunzel shook her head, pushing past Eugene to continue following the now brightly burning airship. "We don't have any time, Eugene. We need to get to Varian before that ship explodes."

"Rapunzel...I don't know if-"

"No!" Rapunzel cut him off, turning to flash him a water glare. "We are not abandoning him, not again." She took a deep breath before whispering. "I'm not losing another friend."

"No, no, you're right." Eugene tried to appease. "How can I help?"

"I-" This time Rapunzel was cut off, but it wasn't by her boyfriend. High above them, a large boom sounded through the air and a harsh wind came from the point. Both of them whipped their heads up to the blazing fire that was once the airship, horror in their eyes.

"No…" Rapunzel whispered in disbelief, hands clenching before shouting in denial. "No! No, Varian!"

"Rapunzel, there!" Eugene suddenly shouted, though his voice was not much calmer. Following the direction of his finger, Rapunzel could just make out a figure falling through the air. Without hesitation, Rapunzel let her instincts take over, sprinting to the rapidly descending figure. Eyes flashing around, Rapunzel found a building she was able to pull herself up onto with a quick snap of her hair, allowing herself to climb higher and higher as the other came closer to the ground. Below, Eugene was keeping an eye out himself, hoping that at the very least he could be there to catch the kid, even if he wouldn't be able to buffer much of the landing. Sure, the kid was skinny and would be easy to carry for Eugene but catching him with gravity at play and his own momentum from running to be beneath the kid would definitely impact the catch.

Up on the rooftops, Rapunzel continued to run and snap her hair, pushing herself as hard as she could to reach Varian. When she felt she was in reach, Rapunzel whipped her hair once more through the air to latch onto a building across the street and leapt off the roof just as Varian was right above her. With one hand clutching her hair, her other snapped out and caught the dead weight of the boy with a grunt. Pulling him in close, she allowed momentum to carry her to the end point of her hair before quickly lowering herself and Varian to the ground. Not wasting a second, not even to untangle her hair from the building, Rapunzel shifted Varian in her arms and gasped at the sight of the unconscious boy.

Soot covered most of his body, and what wasn't were clearly burns or lacerations. With how torn, bloody, and dirty he was all together, Rapunzel could not pinpoint all of his exact injuries, especially not in the small amount of light the night time was granting her. However, she also noted blood was sluggishly dripping from his ears and his breath seemed to be rattling in his chest, as well as a noticeable cut across one of his cheeks, near his eye.

"Varian?" Rapunzel called, tapping his cheek in hopes of getting a response, tears building in her eyes. "Varian? Please, please be ok!"

"Oh, kid." Eugene whispered, breath catching in his chest at the sight of the young teen. No matter what Varian had done, he didn't deserve this. Steeling himself, Eugene quickly knelt next to Rapunzel from where she was still trying to wake the still form of Varian. After making note of the soft, rattling breaths of the alchemist, Eugene placed a hand on the princess's shoulder.

"Rapunzel, we need to get him to the castle. He needs help."

Rapunzel couldn't take her eyes away from her hurt friend, and with the shock coursing through her body, could hardly process anything outside of what her eyes were focused on.

"Rapunzel."

His firmer tone reached her, and with a sharp gasp, Rapunzel's eyes shot up to meet Eugene's.

"Rapunzel, we need to get help."

"R….R-Right, yes...yes of course!" She stuttered, mind still whirling from everything that had happened recently. She quickly gathered Varian into her arms and moved to rush to the castle only to yelp when her hair kept her from moving forward. Eugene, having kept close to her side, quickly shot out a hand to steady her. Looking back, Rapunzel remembered she hadn't untangled her hair from the post of the building. "Oh...I-"

"Hey, it's alright." Eugene soothed, moving to shift Varian into his arms so Rapunzel could undo her hair. Though she seemed reluctant, Rapunzel allowed the change and scrambled to take her hair down, emotions messing with the familiar action. Once it was free, the two were racing to the castle, hearts racing with worry in their chests.

They weren't going to let Varian down again.

They weren't going to lose another friend.

So yeah, that was that. Hope it was ok. This is my first Tangled fic. Let me know if I need to adjust anything. There will be more chapters but like, this is mostly a healing fic, but depending on how it goes it might tie into season 3 episodes more. I shall see how it goes. Main focus, healing our little chemical cinnamon boy.

Anywho, feel free to comment and stuff!

Until next time! :D