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Adventure time: Out for a swim!

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"Yes, Rapunzel, I understand. And don't worry, I'll be fine." Varian assured the queen for the 75'th time this morning. It was the day where the big mission took place, and he was currently surrounded by all of his friends, telling him to be careful, giving him advice on what he should do if something went wrong, and so on.

"If you're not back in two days, we'll look for you, okay?" Eugene placed his hands on Varian's shoulders. Varian nodded. He really appreciated everyone's concern. Even the tough Kiera seemed to be a little nervous on his behalf. 

"I'm going to miss you so much!" Lance cried, wrapping his big arms around Varian, who couldn't help but laugh. Lance had helped him all morning, with packing a bag that contained food, robe, two water-bottles, some alchemy gear, some extra gloves, and the chocolate that Monty had given him. He was pretty ready to go. 

He currently found himself right in front of the castle, surrounded by all of his friends. They were all waiting for you to come down, which they had done for a couple of minutes now. Something told him, that you weren't exactly punctual. 

But Rapunzel sure didn't waste her time. The past 15 minutes, she has rambled about that she was sorry it had to be this way, that she believed in him, giving him tips for what to do if something went wrong if someone tried to hurt him... If you tried to hurt him. 

Varian was just talking to Eugene and Lance when he heard running steps behind him. Everyone turned around, to see you running down the halls, towards them. Your hair was piled up in a high, (h/c) ponytail, and you wore  your usual brown boots, and (Imagine a really cool outfit right here)

"Hi!" You greeted, stopping up right in front of Varian. You sent him a smile. He couldn't really remember if he returned it. "Are you ready to kick some ass?" 

Varian never knew what to say, when you spoke to him, and he hated it. "Well, eh, yeah-" 

"(Y/n)!" Rapunzel smiled, giving you a hug, which you returned rather stiffly. Varian could tell from a great distance that you found it awkward. "You made it. Tell me, how has your day been so far?" 

You shrugged. "Well, nobody died." 

Eugene rose his brows. "Those are your standards?" 

You laughed, and Varian couldn't help but stare at you. This night he had heard you scream in your sleep once again. His room was right beside yours after all. How could you stand there, as if nothing ever happened? 

Varian was pretty experienced with nightmares himself. He still had them from time to time, and when he had, he would look like crap the following morning. His eyes red and swollen, marks on his face, husky voice. 

He snapped back into reality when Rapunzel once again gave her speech on how she believed you would succeed, and how she and the others would do some work here at home, themselves. Varian was pretty sure this meant warning the other kingdoms. 

You nodded. "We got it. And so, Varian and I will be going now. We want to make it before Argo comes back, now don't we?" You smiled, especially at Eugene and some of the guards who looked suspiciously at you. 

You began walking towards the castle gates, that lead out to Corona. Varian had to run after you, after giving Kiera and Cataline one last hug. He ran up beside you, keeping up with your pace. 

"(Y/n)?" Rapunzel yelled after you. Varian watched you turn around. "We trust you... Okay?" 

You rose your arm and made a thumbs-up, grinning. Then you turned to look at Varian. Your (E/c) eyes were just as intimidating and mysterious as always, but he also managed to see some excitement in them. Was that good? That was a good sign, right? 

"Shall we get going, pretty boy?" You spoke, holding out your arm for him to take. Varian made a weird face at the nickname. "Our very own little adventure together. Exciting, isn't it?"

Varian managed to smile, as he hesitantly took your out-stretched arm. This actually was exciting. His very own adventure. And it was with a girl. 

And so, the royal engineer of Corona, and the second most wanted criminal, began making your way down to Corona. 

*-*-*-*-*

"I hope we have a deal?" Eugene spoke, watching you and Varian's figures disappearing in the distance. 

"Of course, sir!" Stan spoke, making a salute with his one hand. Pete however, seemed a little unsure. "B-But are you sure it'll be a good idea? Without even telling Rapunzel? (Y/n) made it pretty clear that-"

"You'll do as told!" Eugene commanded, narrowing his eyes. You and Varian's figures had completely disappeared now. "I don't trust her."  

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You looked at the map in your hands, considering which route to take. Varian and you had walked through Corona and were now already at the end of the bridge. The walk hadn't been awkward at all. Varian turned out to be a very talkative guy.  

You looked up at the landscape, and then down at the map again. "Okay, Varian, so we're at the Corona hills. But guess you already know that, since you practically live in old Corona." You smiled to yourself, and you could see Varian nod in the corner of your eye. 

"Y-yeah. So, which way are we going to take?" He asked, leaning towards you to get a look at the map. He even placed his hand on your shoulder, and without meaning to, you flinched. He quickly noticed, and pulled away, mumbling an "Oh, sorry." 

"Uh, there are actually two paths we can follow." You changed the subject. "The one at the river, and the one through the forest. They should take the same amount of time." 

"The river sounds nice," Varian spoke, taking a sip of his water bottle, before putting it back inside his bag. 

"River it is then." You clarified and began walking. Varian followed right up. 

It was a warm day. You had tied your jacket around your waist. Your dagger was hanging safely in its sheath, and your lighter was still in your pocket. As a criminal, you must always be prepared for the worst. Even on wonderful days like this one. 

For a moment, the only sound filling the air, was the sound of you and Varian walking. Truth be told, you felt rather comfortably. Then Varian decided to break the silence once again. 

"(Y/n)?" He asked carefully. He kicked to a rock, that was on his way, watching it roll away. 

"Hmm?" 

"Uh, you said Argo's plan was... World-revolution and all of that stuff. So, when we do find Argo's layer... What exactly do you expect us to find?" 

"I don't know." You answered truthfully. "But I guess it's some kind of ritual he's gonna make. And I fear it has something to do with the summoning of demons."

Varian nearly stopped dead in his tracks. Summoning demons? demons like Zhan Tiri? 

He gulped, looking down. Last year,  his friends had just barely defeated Zhan Tiri. Half of the city had been destroyed. If they would be facing something like that again, now without the power of the moon-and sun drop to help them, he didn't know what would happen. 

"I know what you're thinking." You spoke up. "And yes, I fear that he might bring Zhan Tiri back too. But something tells me, that's not what his plans are about. Argo is known for his unpredictability in the criminal-branché. It would just... Be unlikely." 

"What are you know for?"

You blinked. "What?" 

"In the criminal branch. What are you known for?" 

"Oh." You furrowed your brows and laughed. "It's stupid. Many say it's my ability to predict how a situation will turn out. Or my fire." 

"That's kind of awesome." He grinned. "You know, I had expected criminals to be way more... criminal-like. But, eh, you're pretty cool." 

He smiled for himself,  but when you didn't say anything his eyes winded, and he panicked. "I mean, not that it's a bad thing to be a criminal!! Or, well, it is a bad thing, but I'm just saying you're kind of different and-"

"You don't know me." You interrupted, sounding more angrily than you had meant it to. "Don't get fooled by my age, my looks or the fact that I'm a girl. I've killed people, Varian. You should be scared of me." 

For a moment the two of you walked in complete silence. Then Varian mumbled: "That didn't sound like something a cold-blooded criminal would say." He looked at you. "Maybe you're not as bad as you and everyone else think you are." 

You didn't look at him. "No. I'm much worse."

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-With Varian-

The two of you had wandered through the forest, beside the river for at least an hour now. The two of you hadn't really talked since you had kind of shut Varian off. He was quite embarrassed about it. Why was he even so interested in you? You were a criminal, you were dangerous, and still, he had thought it was a good idea to basically say "You're not like other criminals."

What was he thinking? Who was he to tell you, that you didn't seem so bad after all? He had only known you for like, two days. 

Varian fiddled frustrated with his gloves as he walked, so he constantly walked into trees, or stumble upon stones. He scrunched his nose, cringing just by thinking of how the conversation with you had turned out. Right now, you walked a couple of steps in front of him, walking determined. Varian couldn't help but look at you every so often. 

He guessed, that the reason he found it so important to get along with you and talk with you, was because he knew how it was to be considered as a bad guy. And in his opinion, you tried your best to get on the right track again (Why else would you offer your help to the kingdom?), and to do the right thing. But for you, it might seem too far away. It might seem too unachievable. And he knew everything about how that felt. After all, he was once very close to erasing all of the people in Corona's memory, just because he wanted a second chance. 

And so, if you wanted a second chance too, he would be the first to help you.

Varian was just about to say something about the weather, when you stopped up, nearly making him bump into you.

You pointed to the opposite side of the river. "There!" You exclaimed. Varian looked at the other side, but he couldn't see anything unusual. 

"The bridge should be around here somewhere." You mumbled, beginning running around. Varian could do nothing but follow. He followed you in between some bushes, and saw two large trees, with robe tied around them. There were planks all over the ground, some of them still bound to the robe. It didn't take Varian much time, to figure out that this had once been a bridge. He looked over at the opposite side of the river and saw two very similar trees, also with cut robes around them.  

Varian watched you, as you bowed down, taking some of the rope in your hands. You examined one of its ends. "It was been cut. The bridge has been sabotaged." You stated, cursing under your breath. 

"Then, what are we going to do?" Varian asked, looking at the river. It was very wide, and judging from the dark water, also quite deep. The stream didn't look to be that strong, but he could not speak for the underset. 

You sighed. "Well, we can't turn back now." You cast a side-long glance at Varian's bag and frowned. "I guess you don't have some kind of potion, that can turn water into ice or something?"

Varians eyes winded. "That could actually be a great idea for a future experiment! Hold up, let me write that down-"

You chuckled, as you took your knife out from your pocket. You saw Varian freeze, staring at it with wide eyes. 

"Relax, pretty boy" You rolled your eyes. "I have a plan."

You took some loose rope, and tied one of its end around your daggers handle. When you made sure it was secure, you threw the knife towards one of the big trees, on the other side. It hit the trunk perfectly in the middle. You pulled the robe carefully, assuring it was immovable. 

Varian watched in awe as you took the other end from the robe, and tied it around your wrist. You held out your hand to him, and he stared at you like an idiot, before realizing you meant for him to take it. 

"I hope you're not afraid of water." You grinned. "And that your bag is water-proof."

(Yes, somehow Varian's bag is waterproof, so his stuff is not gonna get wet, y'all.)

Varian took your hand, as a warm feeling spread in his body. "Are you sure this is the only way? Isn't there another bridge further down or something?"

You shook your head. "Nope." You took you lighter up, and placed it under your collar. "The water shouldn't be that deep. And make sure to hold onto me the whole way, okay?"

Varian nodded, gulping. His hands were sweaty, and his heartbeat rapidly in his chest.  Just like many others, he hadn't really learned how to swim. 

He followed you into the cold water, step by step. As further, he got out, the higher the water rose around him. He could feel his clothes getting soaked, and while his pants clung to his legs, his shirt was being lifted up. He could tell yours was too, but he forced himself not to look.

 The water had reached his shoulder when he first felt the strong underset in the water. If it hadn't been for you, he would've lost foothold long ago. 

Varian squeaked when he felt something slimed touch his other hand. He made such a movement with his head, looking down into the dark-blue water, that his goggles fell off, disappearing into the debt. 

Without thinking, Varian let go of your hand, in order to search for his goggles. But just as he did so, a strong steam wiped him off his feet, and he got buried under piles of water.  

He heard your voice calling his name, but it seemed so far away. The underset grabbed him like a fist and pulled him down. It was no use to struggle. Varian squeezed his mouth shut and forced himself to hold his breath, but it was almost impossible not to panic. He could see nothing but bubbled to all sides. The only thing he could hear was himself gesticulating with arms and legs, and your distant voice. 

The water was in his mouth, his ears, his eyes, his nose, and just as he thought it was over, he felt a hand grab him, and pulled him up - or was it down? Sideways, maybe? he had completely lost track. 

Then finally, he broke through the surface, gasping for air, filling his lungs with air. He could once again feel the ground below him, and he lunged for the shore with your support. 

Both of you panted heavily, as you laid down on the ground, soaking wet. Varian coughed aggressively, his whole body shaking.

"What part-" You breathed, wiping away drops of water from your face. "-of 'hold onto me' didn't you understand?"