So this was just screaming to be written! It was actually suggested to my by my bestie, Lacey, when I was telling her about how while writing "Hangman's Noose" I came to that fork in the road where I had to decide whether I wanted Flynn to live or not. And she said I should write an alternate ending for "Hangman's Noose" that follows the other path.

I'm pretty sure you can figure out the rest. :)

So the next chapter of "Smoke & Mirrors" is currently in production, but with me being back in school (thirteen credit hours) I'm having a hard time finding the time to write it right now. -le sigh- But I hope to have it up shortly, considering NaNoWriMo is just a few weeks away! I'm getting pumped. :)

Anywho, here's the story. I'd like to dedicate it to Lacey, who gave me the idea, and to Danielle (welcometoasgard on tumblr), who recently sent me an encouraging message about the writing of "Smoke & Mirrors" when I needed a confidence boost. :) Also, SUPER KUDOS to SakiRee over on tumblr and deviantART for her AMAZING "Hangman's Noose" comic she's drawing! This is for you as well.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Tangled isn't mine. "Hangman's Noose" and "Short Stop, Final Drop" are my ideas, however. TAKE THAT DISNEY!

Short Stop, Final Drop
Alternate Ending to "Hangman's Noose"

A "Tangled" fanfiction

By doodlegirll

...oOo...

He was terrified.

The guards held him tightly as they marched him forward, away from the peaceful corridors of the castle towards the courtyard, where his fate awaited him in the form of a rope around his neck, jauntily sneering at him as they did so. The day had finally come for him to face his past, for him to face his final judgment, for him to finally be granted his just deserts.

And he deserved to die.

Flynn could feel it, deep within his bones, that this truly was the end of every wrong path he had ever chosen, and truly, the end of every road he had taken period, be it good or bad. All roads led to a fork in the road, and unfortunately, he had not chosen the correct bend. He had chosen the path of least resistance, and for a while, he had thought that perhaps he could actually make something more out of it than a couple thousand wanted posters with his name and mug printed on them. But a decade of thievery and deception had only led him to ruin.

There was no pushing or shoving involved in the process of his walk of shame. Instead, the guards simply held him in place, allowing that there would be no chance to escape, their fingers digging into the bruised flesh of his arms and shoulders. His body, battered and sore from four days worth of sleeping only on a mound of hay and a four-on-one encounter with the Captain of the Guard and some of his men a few nights before, was oddly numb and cooperative. His will to fight had died with Rapunzel's departure the previous evening. Somehow he couldn't shake the feeling that nothing else mattered anymore.

The guards led him through a door at the end of the hallway, and they came upon a flight of stairs that would take them down to the courtyard. One of the guards placed his hand between Flynn's shoulder blades, and firmly pushed.

Flynn, unable to even attempt to catch himself with his wrists securely chained behind his back, tumbled down the brick stairs and hit the cobblestones below. Intense pain coursed through his body like fire, and he let out a strangled cry as the guards laughed and roughly pulled him back to his feet, and pushed him forward. The bitter tang of blood weighed down on his tongue, almost as though he were chewing rust, and he could that his lower lip had split open. He rammed his shoulder into the wall, and the guards, their fun with the stairs over, and continued to lead him towards the door at the end of the hall.

Out that door were the gallows, as well as the king and queen, and the entire royal council.

Out that door was the destiny he had made for himself. He had no one to blame but himself, and he knew it. He had chosen this.

Flynn knew he deserved the noose. He knew he deserved whatever judgment awaited him after his death. But what he knew he didn't deserve was her, and now she, too, was gone.

At least he hoped she was gone.

Flynn didn't want Rapunzel to see him this way. He didn't want her last image of him to be his body hanging from the end of a rope. Not that their last encounter was much better; after all, he had been in prison, and she had been crying. But he reasoned that that was better than the former. At least he was alive in that memory.

The guards pushed him through the doorframe, and he emerged outside. The light from the late summer sunset hit him directly, as though illuminating his failure. He squinted against it, blinking furiously as he was led to the foot of the gallows.

He turned his head and looked up at the noose hanging from the sturdy lentil of the scaffolds, and he swallowed the lump that had formed quite suddenly at the back of his throat, fighting back the panic that threatened to force him to his knees. If he was going to die, he wanted to die with dignity.

The guards gave him another push, and he began to ascend the few stairs that led to the platform of the gallows. His back now against the sunset, he began to scan the crowd.

He spotted the King and Queen first. They gazed at him remorsefully, and Flynn could clearly see the Queen trying not to cry. It felt odd, having someone cry over him. That's not something he had honestly ever imagined.

And yet Rapunzel had cried over him. When he had bled to death on the floor of her tower. Each and every time she had come to visit him in the castle dungeons, each and every time she had had to leave him behind iron bars.

He definitely did not deserve someone as wonderful as her. Not in a million years.

But he had held her, nonetheless, if only for a short while. She had seen him fit, somehow deemed him worthy of her love, and for the life of him – maybe that wasn't best way to put it in this situation – he did not know why. He had never done anything to deserve anything more than a short stop and final drop.

His amber eyes darted around Rapunzel's parents into the crowd of council members, and he was relieved to see that Rapunzel was not among them. She had done as he had asked and fled. She had done him a favor, allowing him to breathe his last with the peace that she would not have to witness it.

One of the guards held him still as the other grabbed the noose and looped it over his head, tightening it around his neck. The Captain, a smug look at having finally brought Flynn Rider to justice, held up a roll of parchment.

"Flynn Rider, you have been accused and found guilty of thievery and evading arrest over the course of the past ten years, including the heist involving the crown of the Lost Princess, Princess Rapunzel. By decree of the Royal Court of Corona, you are hereby sentenced to hang by the neck until dead on the date of July the third, in the 286th year of the Sun's Reign. Today you – "

Flynn didn't hear the rest of what the Captain had to say. A few soldiers that lined the walls began to tap, tap, tah-tap on their drums, and Flynn felt his blood grow cold as sweat began to form on his forehead. He could feel the panic rising in his chest, gripping his heart in a viselike fist. His wide eyes met those of the Queen, and she smiled sorrowfully at him. He glanced at the King, who gave him an apologetic gaze.

Flynn knew he was a coward. Flynn Rider was afraid of dying for his crimes, of paying for his sins, of dying for Rapunzel. He had brought her back, and it had only gotten him closer to his demise. Eugene Fitzherbert was willing to die to save his love, but Flynn Rider was not willing to die for anything.

The Captain, finished reading from the parchment, rolled it up, and clenched it firmly in his hand. He looked at Flynn and smirked in triumph.

"Any last words, Rider?" He sneered.

Flynn swallowed, and again his eyes met those of Rapunzel's parents.

Of course he had a few last words. In fact, he had enough last words to write a lengthy novel. There were so many things he had left to say, but his time had come to an end. There was no chance for a second chance, no chance to right the wrongs he had committed against the innocent people he walked on.

In the end, the only words that came to mind were, Forgive me, Rapunzel.

He shook his head, and lowered his gaze to the trapdoor beneath his feet.

Forgive me, Rapunzel.

The Captain turned to face the King and Queen, and he quickly stood to attention, his hand raised above his brow in salute. The King gave him a stiff nod, and he put his arm securely around his wife's shoulders. Neither of them wanted this. Neither of them wanted to watch the man their daughter loved so much die, the man they had both come to love as a son.

Flynn felt his knees begin to shake as he heard the drums pick up tempo. He turned his gaze towards heavens, towards the sunset painted with his blood across the sky.

Forgive me, Rapunzel. I love you.

Out of the corner of his eye, Flynn saw the Captain nod at a guard standing next to the lever on the other side of him. The guard took hold of the lever, and pulled.

Flynn Rider fell.

Forgive me, Rapunzel…

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW HARD THAT WAS FOR ME TO WRITE?

I'm going to cry in a corner now.

Hope you enjoyed. :)