"Thank you, have a nice day!" The bell over the door to the apothecary jingled, as they opened and closed, letting the client out of the shop.

He was carrying a lot of bags, packages, bottles and vials full of strange-coloured materials. He turned around and almost fell, his shoppings swaying dangerously in his arms. He stumbled, trying to both stop his fall and not let any of the things he carried leave his arms. There was a chitter, and a racoon quickly climbed up his body and stabilized the tower of ingredients. Varian let out the sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Ruddiger. You're a lifesaver" He smiled at his friend. He tried to pet it, but the packages swayed dangerously again, and they barely managed to save all of them again. "Phew, I don't want to think what would happen if any of those fell. Some are really unstable and need to be handled with utmost caution."

The racoon chittered and nodded its head in agreement. He positioned himself on the boy's shoulders, ready to stabilize the tower, if needed.

"I can't wait until we're back home. I have so many ideas I can use them for." Varian babbled as he continued down the road. "I could finally finish that recipe I am working on, the one used for laundry. Or create more of my goo-bombs, never know when I'll be needing those. Or-"

He stopped abruptly, as he fell into someone in front of him. The ingredients swayed dangerously again. Varian and Ruddiger rushed to make stop them from falling. They both released a sigh of relief when they were stabilized again.

"I- I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." Varian apologized to whoever he fell into. "I actually don't see much, with all that stuff and everything." He chuckled nervously.

"Don't worry about that." The voice that answered sent a chill down the alchemist's spine. It was familiar, and not in a good way. He gulped and took a few steps back.

"O-Okay, then. If nothing happened then I'll be on my way. I have lots of work, my dad's waiting for me to come back, and-" He babbled, continuing to move away. Suddenly, his back hit something and two strong hands grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Oh, you should stay, Varian. It's been so long since we've seen each other." The items he was holding lifted from his hands and levitated away, uncovering a man standing in front of him.

He had dark-tanned skin, black hair and black beard. He stood confidently, his arms crossed on his chest and a sword hanging by his side.

"A-Andrew. Long time, no-" The alchemist tried to play it cool, but stopped abruptly when faced with a tip of the sword just barely inches from his nose.

"Long time, in deed " Andrew agreed, smirking at the younger boy. "How long was it? Five months?"

"It was actually six months, three weeks and five days, but who's counting." Varian chuckled nervously and tried to move away, only to be stopped by the strong hands keeping him in place. "We-Weren't you supposed to be in jail?"

"Yes, but thanks to you, we're free as birds." Andrew took back his sword and brushed it with his finger.

"Thanks to me? I don't remember-" Varian protested but Andrew shushed him quickly. He reached to his pocket and produced a vial with very familiar green-luminescent liquid.

"Your fast-melting acid sure comes in handy in situations like this. Especially, as a clue to the guards searching the cell." The Saporian explained with an evil smile.

Varian felt his blood draining from his face. If the guards find HIS potion in the empty cell with a melted lock and the prisoners gone…

"W-Well, it COULD have worked, if you didn't tell me about it " He said, trying to sound tough but his voice cracking somewhere in the middle. "Now all I need is to tell Rapunzel and-"

"Oh, but who said you can tell anyone?" Andrew cut him in again and came closer. "After you helped us escape, you couldn't have stayed behind, right? This would be unwise. You could be caught, or worse…"

The pressure on Varian's shoulders strengthened and he swallowed nervously.

"Rapunzel will never fall for it!" He exclaimed confidently.

"Oh, yes. Princess Rapunzel. The protector of weak and unrightfully accused citizens of Corona." Andrew laughed, followed by three other voices. "Too bad she's more focused on other problems. Like a traitor friend."

"Cass is not a traitor!" Varian shouted in anger.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." The Saporian shrugged his arms and turned around." Well, enough chit-chat, we need to move. Kai, grab him. Clemetine, get his things. We don't want to leave any UNNECESSARY evidence." He ordered.

Varian tried to fight, but the large Saporian was much stronger than he was. With no problem he grabbed the alchemist and threw him over his shoulder.

"Hel-!" He tried calling out, but a sword to his throat proved to be enough to stop him.

"One sound, and I won't be so nice." Andrew threatened. "We need you alive, but we can skip the undamaged part."

They moved fast through the back streets, emerging at the empty square somewhere in the outskirts of the town. In the middle, ready to go, stood a hot-air balloon with one more Saporian inside it.

"Took you long enough!" The Saporian woman scoffed, eyeing Varian.

"Relax, we're just in time for-" Andrew started but an angry shout from behind cut him in.

"There they are! Don't let them escape!" Captain of the Royal Guard cried, pointing his sword at the group.

"Get in!" The leader ordered and took out one more potion from his pocket, this time a pink one. "Varian says hi!" He laughed as he threw the potion at the incoming guards.

There was a large cloud of pink smoke, and the guards were glued to the ground with a large dose of pink goo. Andrew laughed and caught the rope from the balloon, which was already several feet in the air.

Varian looked with a growing fear as the guards on the ground became smaller and smaller with each passing second. He didn't have time to think about it too much, though, as he was forcefully grabbed and thrown to the floor of the balloon. Ruddiger scrambled to his side and he hugged him defensively.

"Wh-What do you want from me?" He asked, his voice trembling in fear.

"Oh, you'll learn soon enough..." Andrew replied, playing with the blade of his sword.

He crouched in front of the terrified boy and leaned in so close, Varian felt his back pushing the wall of the basket outside. The Saporian smirked and smacked the boy's cheek in a playful manner.

"Don't open your eyes so much or they'll fall out, kid." He laughed and the others quickly joined in.

"My-My dad will notice I'm missing." The alchemist tried again, his stuttering making him sound like a scared five-year-old. "I was supposed to be back home soon."

"I am sure the Royal Guards will be more than happy to enlighten him how his son helped one of the most dangerous criminals escape from the dungeons." Andrew smirked as he stood up and walked to the other side of the basket. "What do you think will be his reaction?"

Varian opened his mouth but no words came out. He looked down and hugged Ruddiger, still sitting on his laps. He imagined his father's face, painted with sadness. It was a face he'd seen so many times already, everytime one of his inventions blew up or didn't act like he designed it to. Disappointed.

He felt Ruddiger reaching out its paw and touching his cheek. He felt his eyes watering but managed to stop it. He didn't want to cry, not in front of these people. But it didn't stop him from feeling he'd failed his father once more.

'It would have probably been better if I wasn't born', he thought with a heavy heart, as the balloon moved further and further away from the capital of Corona.