#jackunzelweek16

The two young men pressed themselves up against the tree as best as they could while the light flashed around the yard. The younger one, Jack, had a mischievous grin tugging at his lips. Black might prefer the dark, but he still needed a light to thwart the Norths in their race to the treasure. The older one, Hiccup, was focused on two figures pressed up against another tree not far from them, visible to the boys, but completely out of the limelight. Merida and Rapunzel had insisted on going with them, but Hiccup only agreed to it as long as the two stayed far away from the mansion and would go for help at the first sign of danger. He let out a little huff, he would have to rely on Rapunzel’s sense, Merida would dash right into the mess. That is, if Merida would actually listen to Rapunzel. He glanced at his younger brother, he’d probably end up dying from a heart attack because of those two.

“Hiccup, Black’s moving,” whispered Jack. Hiccup glanced over Jack’s shoulder at the house, the light was definitely moving, and to the other side of the house.

Jack crouched before glancing over his shoulder at Hiccup, “Well?” Hiccup rolled his eyes and sighed before waving over the girls.

“Alright, listen, Jack and I are going to scout out the place, see if Black really is by himself. And don’t do anything stupid, like trying to rush in to stop him or take him on by yourself,” stated Hiccup, eyeing Jack.

“What? Is it wrong to try and stop the bad guys?”

Hiccup groaned, “No, but it would be best if you could do it smartly so you won’t get caught or hurt by an obviously bigger man.”

Jack scoffed, “I’m more slippery than that.”

Hiccup sighed, rolling his eyes, “Whatever. OK, I need you girls to act as lookout . . .”

“Seriously?” mumbled Merida as she crossed her arms.

“Will you please let me finish? You’ll get a piece of the action, don’t worry. I just want to make sure Black is by himself before we proceed any further, we will need your help to catch him, especially if Kristoff doesn’t get here with Chief Terrebonne soon.”

“Especially since there’s still something you wanted to check out before Chief Terrebonne got here, right?” The Norths grinned sheepishly and nodded slowly. Merida sighed, “What did you want to check out?”

Jack spoke, “The final clue to the treasure.”

Rapunzel blinked, “What clue? I thought you had it all figured out!”

Hiccup nodded, “So did we, but we took a closer look at the rhyme, and at the pirate Pilbin Black. He wouldn’t have made the clues to the treasure that obvious, all of the previous clues were hard to crack, so it didn’t make sense that this final one, the rhyme, was easy. Or, at least at first glance, at second glance, things start to get complicated as there’s too much to consider.”

“Basically, we need to come at this from a whole new angle,” blurted Jack.

“But, doesn’t that mean Pierce Black is on the wrong trail?” asked Rapunzel.

“Yes, but he’s still a criminal, Punz, and he’ll still track our search for the treasure if we don’t send him to jail for for his crimes,” Jack promptly replied. He turned to Hiccup, “We’d better get going, Captain.” Hiccup glanced at the house, the light a dim beam in the distance.

He nodded, “Let’s go.” He turned to the girls, “We’ll be back in a sec.” The two dashed off, splitting up and heading around the sides of the house, Hiccup going right, Jack going left. Jack kept as close to the house as possible and he skirted along it, peeking into each window as carefully as possible. Sure, he would just enjoy dashing in and being the hero of the day by capturing Black, but Hiccup was right, they had to be smart about it. It was no use getting caught when they were so close to not only finding the treasure, but also putting another criminal behind bars. Jack quickly peeked in one window, and just as quickly ducked. He slowly went back for another peek, there was Pierce Black, rummaging through the room. Jack watched in amazement, what was he looking for? The treasure was clearly in a tower! Unless, there was another reason, Black was a criminal after all, trying to con and steal his way through life, his records one of the dirtiest Jack had ever seen, and he had seen quite a few. One of the worst things Black could have ever done was kidnap children and sell them, and that was just not something Jack was going to let him get away with. Jack gritted his teeth as he watched Black rummage around some more in the room, he was going to make sure this guy went down, one way or another. Jack finally broke from the scene in the window to continue on. Keeping as low as he could, he crawled as quietly as he could to the back of the house. He didn’t see Hiccup, but something else caught his eye. The wind had picked up, and Jack could smell the rain in the air when a lightning bolt flashed across the sky, and Jack noticed something glittering in the trees behind the house. Jack took a quick look around before dashing towards the spot he had seen the sparkle. When Jack burst through the trees, his excitement died down real quick, it was just the old two-story tower that Pilbin Black built for his daughter’s enjoyment. Jack sighed and turned to leave before he paused, an idea sprang to mind. He turned back to glance at the tower, what if this was the tower? He glanced back at the house, he didn’t see Hiccup, or anyone else before turning and dashing into the play tower. The ground floor was made to look like a great room, with the kitchenette against the north wall, a table and chairs set in front of it, with a sitting room set up at the southwest wall, and the stairs spiralling up at the east wall, with a picture of Pilbin’s daughter Emily just to the left of them and a mini grand posing in front of it. Jack walked up to the painting, could she be the answer, was she the flower mentioned in Pilbin’s rhyme? Jack went over it in his head: To find my treasure, you must go; Over the mighty moat you must row. Check that one off. Once there, head straight to the tower; And search for my precious flower. Well, if Emily was his precious flower, here she was. The final key is not far behind; Only push it soft and kind. Jack grinned, the piano! But which key? He glanced at the picture.

“Mind telling me which key?” he muttered as he brushed his fingers over the white keys. He blinked as he glanced between the picture and the piano, what if it was E, for Emily, and maybe even a B for Black? But then his face went blank, he didn’t even know which key was which! He heaved a sigh, well, he had gotten this far, maybe Rapunzel could help with the rest, she was really the only one who had had any piano lessons, the few that she did have. But Jack was by now nearly bursting with excitement, he had figured out the rhyme for sure! He just had to look at it figuratively rather than literally, which they had been doing. He turned to walk out the door, but had to stop, a large figure loomed in the doorway.

“Now, what would compel you to come out this way, Jack North?” Black asked cooly.

“None of your business,” Jack replied as he crossed his arms.

“Is it now? Are you sure? This is by right my property, you know, I could get you arrested for trespassing.”

“I’d probably would only get a slap on my hand compared to what’s waiting for you for your crimes,” retorted Jack.

Black smiled with amusement, “Yes, I’ve committed quite a few crimes, some I’m sure my ancestor, Pilbin Black, would have been proud of, compared to my weak cousins.”

“Are you trying to relive Pilbin’s glory days, or something?”

“Come, come, now, you know bad blood runs in the family, why should I not embrace it?”

“Uh, because it’s wrong to lie, steal, kidnap children, and cheat,” blurted Jack.

“Oh, it’s wrong to lie, now, is it? Then why are you lying to me?”

“I didn’t lie, I only said that it’s none of your business, and that is the truth.”

“So, you won’t tell me, despite the fact that this is technically my property?”

“Technically, this property belongs to Emily Jane Black, and the only reason why you’re acting now is because, once she’s married to Flynn, all bets are off for you.”

“Oh no, Jack, I was just giving you a chance to tell me of your own free will, but I guess I have no choice now.” Black stepped out for a minute and returned, pushing a bound and gagged Rapunzel in front of him, a gun to her head. “Oh come on, Jack, don’t give me that look, it’s pretty obvious that you like her. Now tell me what you know, or murder’s going to be added to my list of crimes.” Rapunzel’s muffled cries just about cut Jack’s heart in two, but he only snarled and clenched his fists.

“Fine, push the E on the piano, gently.”

“No, you do it.”

“I don’t know which one it is!” Black cocked the gun. Jack put up his hands, “OK, OK, I’ll try.” He walked over to the piano, Black not far behind with Rapunzel. He took a quick look at the keys, how was anyone supposed to distinguish between them? He let out a sigh through clenched teeth and proceeded to push a key. A noise from Rapunzel made him pause and look at her, she shook her head.

“Oh, so you know which one is the E. Continue on to the next key Jack, we’re wasting time.” Jack moved his finger over the next key, Rapunzel shook her head again. She shook her head no for three more keys before nodding. Jack had his finger over the right key. He pushed it, as soft and as kind as he could. Nothing happened at first, until a large crack opened in the floor on the other side of the stairs, and opened wider until another set of stairs could be seen. “Jack, you first, be a good fellow and find us a light.” Jack growled before walking down the stairs, pulling out a lighter from his pocket to look around. He found a few torches which he lighted before he saw the treasure.

“Whoa,” he breathed, there were chests filled with gold, jewels, and coins, some spilling out onto the floor.

“Jack, don’t you get any funny ideas!”

“I’m lighting up some torches! It’s not exactly an easy job, unless you want to come and do it!” snapped Jack.

“Alright, but make it quick!”

“You bet I will,” muttered Jack. He set about lighting the rest of the torches, glancing around quickly each time he moved on to another torch, looking for a way out or some way to distract Black. He glanced at the treasure every now and then, it was the best distraction for now, but for how long? He paused, something that wasn’t glittering caught his eye. He stooped to pick it up, and grinned, it was a pocket knife! It was smaller than his own, to be sure, but if Black was going to search him for his pocket knife, this little baby might just go unnoticed. To be on the safe side, Jack thrust it in his left back pocket, his own pocket knife being in his right. For extra measure, Jack placed a couple of coins in each back pocket before heading back up the stairs. Black and Rapunzel were standing at the very top, waiting.

“Well?”

“Alright, the whole thing’s lit up, if you want to come see your treasure.”

“Good, I will, but first, bring down two chairs.” Jack stared at him in surprise. “Come on, do it.” Jack gritted his teeth as Black placed the gun against Rapunzel’s temple before going to get the chairs. It was technically what he wanted, but he was still surprised by Black’s order, and furious at him threatening Rapunzel. Once Jack brought down the two chairs, Black told him to have them back to back and to sit in one. Jack did as he was told, and Black tied them together. “There, that’s better. Ah, finally, the long-lost treasure of Pilbin Black, and I have you to thank.” Jack growled as Black merely grinned back and walked towards the chests. But the instant the gun was put away, Jack put his plan into action.

“Punz, see if you can get my pocketknife. It’s in my right back pocket,” he whispered. She nodded, and managed to fish it out after a couple of minutes, without letting a single coin fall. Jack took it from her and quickly set to work cutting the rope. “Keep an eye on Black for me, will you?” Rapunzel nodded again, her eyes going back and forth between Jack’s work, and Black’s overjoyed play with the treasure, laughing and whooping as he threw coins in the air. “I’ve almost got it. When we’re free, you head straight up to the piano, and hit either the E or the B, one of those two has got to close the door. I’ll make sure Black stays as far back as possible.” The next second, the rope was off, and Jack motioned her towards the stairs, his eyes flitting between it and Black. Rapunzel took off the gag before heading for the stairs, Jack not too far behind. Black let out a yell and a few shots when he noticed their escape. Rapunzel shrieked as the bullets ricocheted off the walls. “Go, go, go!” Jack shouted, throwing the chairs in front of the stairway before climbing up. Rapunzel rushed towards the piano. “Push the B, just push the B!” Rapunzel pushed it, and the hidden panel slammed shut behind Jack. A muffled yell from Black came, followed by a few bullets through the floor. Jack grabbed Rapunzel’s hand and raced towards the door, throwing it open only to stop and yelp.

“Jack! Rapunzel! Thank goodness, you’re alright!” Hiccup engulfed his brother in a tight squeeze, Merida doing the same to Rapunzel.

“Did I just hear gunfire?” asked Kristoff worriedly.

“Yeah, we got Black trapped in the treasure room,” replied Jack.

“You, you two found Pilbin Black’s treasure?” exclaimed Merida.

Rapunzel grinned, “Yup, it was more Jack though.”

“Hey, you helped with the piano.”

“Well, come on, show us!” exclaimed Hiccup as everyone moved into the play tower.

“First, why don’t you tell me where you two were. I didn’t see you when I made it to the back, and Black was able to capture Rapunzel!”

“Wait, how come you didn’t see me? I waited for a good ten minutes before I started to worry. I went back to Rapunzel and Merida, they hadn’t seen you either, so I went off to hail the police car in case Black had captured you!”

“Well . . .”

“And not long after Hiccup left us, we saw the light moving in the back yard. I went to find Hiccup, I thought Black was leaving the place, either taking you as a hostage with him, or leaving you trussed up in the house.”

Rapunzel looked down, somewhat flushed, “I-I went to the house, hoping that he had left you. I was thinking I would free you, but, that’s when, when he caught me and tied me up.”

“So, where exactly where you if you were still free before Rapunzel got caught?”

“Uh, I was, uh, watching Black rummage through a few things in the study. Did you really wait ten minutes?”

“Yes Jack, I timed it.” Jack shot him a glare. “Now, would you be so kind as to show us the treasure room?”

“OK, as long as the Chief is ready to arrest Black.”

Chief Terrebonne scoffed, “Boy, am I ever.”

“Alright, have your officers ready right here,” Jack said, pointing out the edge of the secret door. “Ready, Punz?” Rapunzel nodded, and pushed the E key. The door slid open more easily, revealing a rather defeated-looking Pierce Black.

“Pierce Black, you’re under arrest for theft, embezzlement, attempted murder, and kidnapping. Officer Gordon, take him away.”

“Right away, sir.” Gordon placed the cuffs on him, and with another police officer, escorted him out. As soon as they exited, a young man and a young woman entered the premises.

“My goodness, is everyone alright?”

“Yes Miss Black, we’re all fine. And perfect timing, if I do say so myself.”

“Why’s that?”

Hiccup grinned and placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, “Because Jack here just found Pilbin Black’s treasure.”

Emily gasped, “Really? Where?”

Jack grinned, “Wanna come see?”

“Of course!” Jack led the way down the stairs and into the room. Everyone gasped as they saw the sight of so much wealth.

“Wow, Emily, now you’re rich! We can do whatever we want with all of this!”

“But I could never keep this much, I don’t need all of it!”

“Then we’ll give some to charities, orphanages, put some aside for our children’s future, help out the poor, that’s all easily taken care of,” grinned Flynn. Emily hugged him and gave him a big kiss.

“That’s a wonderful idea! I love you!”

“I love you too. Oh, and, um . . .” he quickly whispered something in her ear.

“Oh, yes, we should!” She grabbed a small bag and filled it with jewels and coins, before handing it to the Norths. “Thank you so much for everything.”

“Wh-what? Oh no, we couldn’t accept this,” began Hiccup.

“What? Are you nuts? Yes we can, I’ve already got big plans for this money!” blurted Jack.

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Like, taking Punz out to the fanciest restaurant, maybe even buying her a new dress for the occasion.”

Rapunzel gasped, “You mean . . .”

“Yes, let’s make it official, Punz, let’s go out on a date.” Rapunzel squealed before giving him a big hug.

“Yes, let’s!”

Hiccup sighed, “Oh, alright, I guess we will be accepting this.” He took the bag from Emily and placed it in his pocket. “Come on Jack, we’d better get home, Mom and Dad are no doubt worried about us.”

“Yup, no doubt our parents are too,” quipped Merida, glancing at Rapunzel.

“Oh, alright,” sighed Jack. But he winked at Rapunzel as they walked out, his arm still around her waist.

“And while you’re at it, why don’t you take a break from mystery-solving? Heaven knows you need it.”

The school bell rang, and teens rushed out of classrooms to get ready to head home. Locker doors were opened and slammed shut while some teens were talking, creating the usual end-of-school noise. Rapunzel was taking care of books in her locker slowly, glancing every now and then at the teens passing by. But she needn’t have worried, his laugh resounded above the crowd as several girls called out to him.

“Hi Jack!

“How are you Jack?”

“Oh Jackie-pooh!” Rapunzel winced at the voice of the girl, one Lara Furst, as she ran up to Jack and grabbed his arm as if they were the real deal. “Where are we off to?”

“We? I’m heading home to change for a photo shoot, what were you expecting to do?”

“Join you, of course!” she smiled, batting her eyelashes at him.

“You’re not going to be in the shoot,” began Jack.

“I know, so I’ll watch and take some notes. You know I want to be a model like you, and once we’re married, we’ll model together.”

“What? You can come watch the shoot, but that’s it.”

“Yes!” Lara grinned, before shooting a sly glance at Rapunzel. That look simply made Rapunzel’s blood boil, and she turned to her locker, right as Jack noticed the look Lara gave her and glanced at Rapunzel. A mischievous grin appeared on his face.

“You know what, as a matter of fact, why don’t everyone come to the shoot? And then spaghettieis afterwards on me!” A cheer went up from his classmates, Rapunzel blushing furiously. Jack laughed, “Alright then, alright, meet me at Mauerpark at three o’clock!” He turned and walked away with a smug grin on his face, stuffing his hands into his pockets. His best friend Hiccup walked up to him, winked, and gave him a thumbs up.

“Wha . . . Jackie! Why did you invite everyone else?” whined Lara.

Jack turned, crossed his arms, and replied, “I saw that look you were giving Rapunzel. That wasn’t very nice of you.”

“What? But . . .”

“I expect all my friends to be treated nicely, not just the very few you select.”

“Oh really, huh? You prefer hanging out with her rather than with me?”

“Keep this up, Lara, and I’ll consider it,” snapped Jack before walking off with Hiccup, leaving behind a stunned Lara. A locker door slammed, causing Rapunzel to give a little squeak as she jumped. She turned and glanced at the redhead, her hand still on her locker door.

“So, there’s a chance Jack might like you back,” teased Merida.

“Merida! Didn’t you hear him, he obviously only thinks of me as a friend,” replied Rapunzel as she turned back to fixing up her locker.

“That’s right, Rapunzel, only a friend, a lousy one, if I do say so myself,” sneered Lara as she got in Rapunzel’s face. Merida put a protective arm between her friend and the bully.

“And didn’t you hear Jack? He’ll consider going out with her if you keep doing stuff, just like this. I mean, who’s he going to believe, Rapunzel, or you?” Lara gave a soft growl before walking away.

“Thanks Merida,” smiled Rapunzel.

“No problem, except, next time, stand up to her yourself. You’re getting better at it, but you still need some practice. Now hurry it up, you don’t want to miss the shoot!” Rapunzel blushed as she quickly finished up with her locker and walked out of the school with Merida. The two got a quick bite to eat before heading over to Mauerpark, getting there at 2:30. Jack wasn’t there yet, but Rapunzel and Merida kept busy with watching the shoot get setup. By three o’clock sharp, the rest of the class had assembled, and the cameras were ready and waiting for Jack. Rapunzel noticed that Anna, Elsa, Moana, Talia, Mavis, and Ella had joined her and Merida, which could only mean one thing. Merida nudged her and pointed to the left, there was Lara, waltzing in, flanked by Ella’s stepsisters, Kassandra and Regina, along with Hans and Justin.

“Ugh, I don’t know what he sees in her,” grumbled Talia.

Merida scoffed, “You’re no better than Rapunzel, really.”

“Merida!” whispered Rapunzel. Hiccup and Kristoff had joined the girls.

Talia placed her hands on her hips, “And what are you two doing here?”

“Jack’s on his way.” Hiccup pointed to the other side of the park, Jack and the photographer was approaching the set.

“Oh man, Jack Weiss and Vlad Dresdner, how will you ever cope?” Merida asked playfully. Rapunzel merely let out a little squeak, making the group laugh.

“Mavis!”

“Daddy!” Vlad embraced his daughter.

“Are these your friends Mavis?”

Mavis smiled, “Yes!” She introduced each one, finishing with, “And Rapunzel’s a big fan of yours, Daddy, she wants to become a photographer like you!”

“Mavis!”

“What? I have a fan? Why didn’t you say so! Come, Miss Grunewald, you shall be my assistant for this shoot!”

“Really?” squeaked Rapunzel.

“Yes, come, we are on a tight schedule. Places everybody!” Mavis quickly set about helping Jack with his wardrobe while Rapunzel followed Vlad around and helped with whatever he told her to do. He would ask her questions about lighting, backdrops, and camera angles, patiently teaching her the best routes to take to make a great photo. Finally, the shoot was going to begin. “Would you like to take the first picture?”

“What? Oh no, I couldn’t, I’d probably mess it up.”

“That is why I always make my first two photos practice photos. It is OK to mess up every now and then, but you should always strive for perfection. Go on, give it a try.”

“U-um, O-OK,” muttered Rapunzel as she approached the camera. She took a deep breath and glanced through the lens. Her heart was fluttering like crazy as the camera focused on Jack. She could see why Vlad liked working with him, he was so perfect. Her hands began to tremble as she stared into those brown eyes. Despite having brown hair and eyes, he was often nicknamed Jack Frost because of his cold and mysterious demeanor. Rapunzel took a step back from the camera, her hands were trembling even more. “I-I’m sorry, I-I don’t think I can do it.”

“Why not?” Then he noticed the look Rapunzel shot at Jack. “Oh, I see, well . . .” He leaned in and whispered, “I usually delete the first photos, but, if you’d like, I’ll keep this one for you. Consider it payment for being such a good helper today.” He winked as Rapunzel blushed furiously.

“Y-you will, for me?” Vlad nodded. “O-OK, I-I’ll try it.” Taking a really deep breath, she marched back up to the camera, and focused it. Taking another deep breath, she shot the picture, Jack striking a perfect pose right before she did so.

Vlad looked at the picture, “Ah-ha, perfect! You are a natural, Miss Grunewald!”

“Y-you think so?”

“Think so? Ha! I know so! I am, after all, the professional.”

“What? Her, a natural? Oh, please, she couldn’t do anything right to save her life, or her hair,” sneered Lara. Rapunzel took a step back as she fingered her brown pixie cut, slightly hurt about the comment on her hair.

“Lara,” warned Jack. Lara humphed and walked towards the camera.

“Here, let me show you how it’s really done.”

“What? Lara, don’t! You don’t even know the first thing about cameras!” blurted Rapunzel as she reached out to stop Lara from pressing a button.

“Well, obviously you don’t know the first thing about me,” retorted Lara as she shoved Rapunzel to the ground.

“Hey!” shouted Merida, though Vlad was already helping Rapunzel up.

“Lara, no!” Lara quickly pushed the button, but nothing happened, at least, according to her. Vlad and Rapunzel saw with horror the button that she pressed.

“No! No, no, no! All my photos, months of work!” He turned to her with a glare, “And, you, you stupid girl, you’ve deleted them all!”

“How dare you call me stupid! Do you even know who I am, who my father is?”

“Can he give me back all my photos?”

“Uh no . . .”

“Then he is of little importance to me! But you, you I will remember as being the stupid girl who deleted all my photos!”

Lara gasped, “Wha . . . Jack!” Jack had walked over to the scene, his face as hard and as cold as stone.

“Go, Lara, leave, now,” he ordered, his voice just as cold and hard as his face.

“But . . .”

“No! You need to stop ruining everything with this stupid rivalry you have with Rapunzel! All it’s doing is showing how stupid and immature you really are! Now, go!” Rapunzel just about stayed as still as a statue, she had never seen Jack so angry before, and made a mental note to never make him angry.

Lara took a step back as she gasped, “Would you do this to any of your other friends?”

Jack pointed behind her, indicating he wanted her to go, “If they were as stupid and immature as you, yes I would.” Hans stepped up as Lara began to tear up.

“You wouldn’t know a good thing even if it hit you in the face,” he mocked.

“You obviously wouldn’t know a bad thing even if it hit you in the face,” snapped Jack. Hans’ eyes widened before he growled and glared at Jack. He said nothing else, just led Lara away from the scene.

“I was afraid of this,” muttered Vlad. “Oh, why did I think that doing this shoot with this memory card was a good idea?”

Mavis tried to comfort her father, “You didn’t know someone was going to do something stupid like this.”

Vlad sighed, “Yes, but, I do know there are people who do stupid things. I should have been more careful.” He turned to Rapunzel, “Thank you, though, for trying to save my photos.”

“Oh no, don’t thank me, please, I failed.”

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, his voice much calmer now, “But you did try to stop her, that’s better than not trying at all.” Rapunzel smiled sadly at him. He turned to Vlad, “What do you need us to do? I’ll help you get those photos back.”

Vlad smiled, “Thank you, Jack, but it is no use. Not even with your help could I possibly get all those photos in time.”

“If, if you don’t mind my asking, Mr. Dresdner, what were those photos for?”

Vlad sighed, “A book about Germany. Whenever Jack had a shoot in different parts of Germany, I always took the opportunity to take some pictures for it. But now, they’re all gone, and the editors need them by next week.”

“Oh no,” gasped Rapunzel.

“You know what, let’s hurry up and get this shoot done, then you can start by taking pictures of Berlin. We’ll figure out how to get the rest later,” suggested Jack.

“Thank you Jack, but I really don’t see how we could get them in time.”

“Just focus on one thing at a time, Mr. Dresdner, one thing at a time.”

Vlad nodded before turning to Rapunzel, “Could you take the first couple of pictures? I feel the need to take a quick breather.”

“Oh, um, o-of course, Mr. Dresdner.”

“Thank you, I shall be just a minute.” Vlad walked off, leaving the others to quickly set up again. Rapunzel had to take several deep breaths, especially once she realized Jack had left his hand on her shoulder that entire time until he walked away to get ready.

“Alright, we’re ready!” called out one of the crew members.

Rapunzel took a deep breath, “Alright, here we go. Uh, Jack, just uh . . .”

“Look perfect?” Jack grinned.

“Oh but you always do! I mean uh . . .”

Jack chuckled, “Just take the picture, Punz. I can call you Punz, right?”

“U-uh, yeah, sure, just, um, let me take a couple of pictures.” Rapunzel was never more glad to be able to hide behind a camera, her face was no doubt a bright red. But knowing that this was for Vlad’s sake, she never once trembled nor misshot. She had taken six shots in total before Vlad returned.

“Ah, good, good, very good. Thank you, Miss Grunewald, I feel well enough to take it from here.”

“Oh no problem, just let me know if you need any help.” Vlad smiled sadly as he nodded. He went to the camera and adjusted it a bit before waving to Jack to continue. Jack nodded and got into his next pose, when his eyes widened.

“Eh, Jack, you are not supposed to be surprised.”

“Uh, Mr. Dresdner . . .”

“Come Jack, there is not much time!” Vlad put his eye back to the camera.

“But Mr. Dresdner . . . no wait!” Vlad hit the button, as a shadow from the camera enveloped him. Rapunzel gasped as she recognized it at once.

“A nightmare!” People left and right began screaming and running away as Vlad turned into a taller version of himself, dressed in a black cloak, and had red eyes. When the transformation was complete, a shock wave was emitted through the park, and Rapunzel, having been the closest, was sent sprawling on the ground.

“Rapunzel, look out!” shouted Merida. Rapunzel turned around and gasped, Vlad’s foot was going to come down on her! Somebody jumped in and rolled with her out of the way. When they stopped rolling, she was back on the bottom, her rescuer on top.

“Jack!” she gasped.

“Hey there, didn’t think you’d try to be the damsel in distress so soon,” winked Jack.

“What?” Jack didn’t get answer as he was lifted off the ground, kicking and shouting at the nightmarish Vlad to put him down. “Jack!” Vlad stepped over Rapunzel and picked up Lara before walking off.

“No more perfect pictures!” He glanced at his two captives menacingly, “No more perfect models!”

“Oh no, I’ve got to change before he does something to Jack!” whispered Rapunzel.

“Rapunzel! Go find a place to hide!”

“What? Merida! Where are you going?”

“Sunflower watches my vlog, if I can keep track of the nightmare, she can save Jack!” Merida winked before dashing off after Vlad.

“Thanks, Merida,” whispered Rapunzel.

Hiccup sighed, “I’ll go with her to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.”

Rapunzel smiled, “Thanks, you be careful too.” Hiccup nodded before dashing after Merida. Rapunzel rushed to find a place to hide, but for a completely different reason. When she was finally alone, she opened her purse. A little lioness flew out.

“Alright, we need to do this quick.”

“Right!”

“Chloe, grow out!” Rapunzel brushed her hand across the barrette in her hair before Chloe disappeared into it. The changes began with Rapunzel’s hair growing long and golden, the barrette moving from the right of her head to holding back her now golden hair behind her. The barrette too had changed, formerly a pale purple flower, now all six petals were golden. A golden mask with pale lilac accents appeared on her face, covering from her nose to her forehead. Her clothes changed to a pale pink top complete with gloves, pale lilac leggings and boots, and a golden mini skirt shaped to look like the golden flower of her barrette. Once she was finished, she grabbed her hair and threw it at the closest lamp post, her hair quickly growing until it wrapped around the post. She pulled on it, and swung to the top. She unwrapped her hair and threw it again, swinging like that from building to building, until she got ahead of Vlad and his captives.

“Put me down! Help! Sunflower, come save me! I swear it wasn’t my fault!”

“Yeah, sure, like that will help,” scoffed Jack.

“What do you mean? Sunflower always saves me!”

“What about Snowflake?”

Lara scoffed, “Oh,who needs him?”

“I do, Snowflake and I are a team,” came Sunflower’s strong voice.

“Yay! Sunflower, quick, save us!”

“Maybe I won’t.”

“What, why not?”

“You don’t talk bad about my friends.” Jack shot Lara a I-told-you-so grin.

“Oh, fine, Snowflake is equally important as you.” Sunflower’s mask went up as she raised her eyebrow. “Alright, fine, I’m sorry I spoke bad about your friend! You happy!”

“That’s more like it.” With a grunt, Rapunzel jumped from the building and landed with her feet in Vlad’s face, making him fall. With her hair, she quickly freed Jack and Lara. “Get out of here, quick!” She jumped back to the building, Vlad getting up. “Hey perfect, over here!” Vlad gave a yell and began to follow her away from the teens. Jack immediately turned and ran off, but Lara caught up and grabbed his arm.

“Jack! Don’t leave me, please! Take me home.”

“Go home with Hans or Justin, Lara, you’re getting on my nerves. Now leave me alone!”

Merida scoffed from behind a tree, “She gets on everyone’s nerves.” Jack turned and gave her a hard glare before making a dash for it. This time, he managed to lose Lara. Once he was well hidden, he opened his jacket to reveal a six-pointed snowflake brooch and a little polar bear.

“We’d better hurry, Sunflower no doubt needs our help.”

“Yeah, no doubt. Labran, freeze up!” Jack’s hand brushed the snowflake before Labran disappeared into it. The changes happened quick, Jack’s hair turned white, his eyes turned blue, he had a silver mask with ice blue accents, ice blue pants and boots, and a snow-white shirt. The brooch had moved from his shirt to his blue cloak, each point now sparkling silver instead of white. A staff shot out of the brooch, landing in Jack’s hands, before he flew off after Sunflower and the nightmarish Vlad. He found them pretty quickly, the two were fighting pretty hard, Sunflower trying to get to the camera under his arm. Vlad finally got the surprise on Sunflower and hit her, sending her over the Brandenburg Gate. Jack raced forward, turning around just in time to catch her.

“Snowflake!”

“Hi princess, ready to take that nightmare out?”

“Of course. You’ll distract?”

Snowflake grinned, “With pleasure.”  

“Good, the nightmare is in that camera. If at any time you see a chance to get it, take it. The sooner we can get this over, the better. Sounds to me like he wants to destroy everything that might seem perfect.”

“Like me?”

Sunflower scoffed as she pushed him back, “As if.”

Vlad took a step towards them, “Destroy all perfection! No more perfect!” Snowflake and Sunflower got ready.

“Alright, try to get the camera, and try not to get caught.”  

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” muttered Snowflake, wincing a bit in remembrance at how tight he was held.

“Ready? Now!” The two jumped from the ground as Vlad’s foot came down in front of them. The two quickly climbed him, keeping as far away from his big hands as possible. Snowflake froze Vlad’s right hand to his shoulder, and slid down to his feet.

“Frost and snow! Here we go!” Snowflake brought the staff down hard, tendrils of ice crawled around Vlad’s feet as it encased his feet in ice. Vlad let out a roar and broke his hand free of the ice trapping it to his shoulder. “Hey! That was a great piece of art!” blurted Snowflake as he jumped out of the way of the giant’s hand.

“Snowflake! More snow, less flake!” exclaimed Sunflower as she worked her way around Vlad’s left arm to get to the camera.

“What? Oh fine, as long as you do more sun, less flower!”

“You know that doesn’t quite work!”

Snowflake grinned as he rushed up to Vlad’s left hand and froze it to his shoulder, “Hey, I’ve got to have a comeback.” Sunflower groaned as she gave the camera a hard pull, but it wouldn’t budge. “Sunflower, the ice isn’t going to hold for very long!” shouted Snowflake as he leapt from the shoulder to keep Vlad’s other hand occupied. “Neither am I! Think of something quick!”

“Hair and flower, show me your power!” Sunflower’s hair began to glow at the tips, and a giant pair of scissors appeared. “OK, Snowflake, I need a minute!” She began cutting the straps of the camera.

“Good, because one minute is all I’m giving you!” Rapunzel huffed as she cut through the straps as quickly as possible. The camera fell, right as Vlad’s hand broke from the ice. “Sunflower!” Snowflake raced towards her, catching her, and flew her and the camera a fairly safe distance away from Vlad. “Alright, do your thing.”

“Right,” Sunflower nodded as she broke the camera. The little nightmare tried to flee, but she quickly wrapped it in her hair, and sang, “Flower, gleam and glow, Let your power shine, Make the clock reverse, Bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, Change the fates’ design, Save what has been lost, Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine.” As she sang, her hair glowed, and golden, sand-like tendrils flew around, making everything look like nothing had happened. Even Vlad was returned to normal. When the song was finished, Sunflower opened her hair, and a golden pony emerged. “Bye bye, little pony.” She smiled as it flew off into the sky, soon disappearing from sight.

“Um, where am I? What happened?”

Sunflower approached him, “Don’t worry, everything’s alright now.” She glanced at Snowflake, “We’ll take you back.” A few minutes later, Vlad was back with his daughter,  sharing a tender embrace. “Oh, look, your brooch! We’d better get out of here!” The two took off, but after a bit, Sunflower turned on Snowflake. “What are you doing? We’re going to change back!”

“I know, but, shouldn’t we know who we are under our masks?”

“What? Snowflake, I don’t . . .”

“Listen, without my mask, I . . . there’s not very many people who know me pretty well. You, you’re really the only one who really knows me.”

“But that’s with the mask,” whispered Sunflower.

“I know, but, I won’t change for you.”

“I don’t know, a little change might be good for you,” smirked Sunflower.

Snowflake grinned as he pulled her in, “You flirting with me, Princess?”

Sunflower let out a little squeak, “What? No!”

“But don’t you want to know who I am?”

“I, uh, I don’t think this is the place.”

“Why not?”

“Prying eyes . . .” Sunflower glanced over, as did Snowflake, there was Merida and  Hiccup, recording the whole thing. Sunflower took the opportunity, broke away from Snowflake, and quickly swung away. Snowflake let out a sigh, he had lost this chance, maybe there’d be another one. He turned and shot a hard glare at Merida and Hiccup, they just had to ruin it. If he had been able to hold on to her for just a bit longer, they would have changed back, and he would have found out who the love of his life was. But no, this had to happen. Letting out another sigh, he flew off, landing in a secluded spot just in time to change.

“Don’t worry Jack, I’m sure you’ll get your chance. Just give her some more time to warm up to the idea, OK?”

“But how much more time? I know she likes me, whenever she sees me as Jack, she just about flips! I just want her to know that Jack and Snowflake are one and the same person. Maybe, maybe she’ll finally understand everything.”

“And once you find out who she is under the mask, maybe you’ll understand everything too,” quipped Labran.

Jack smiled, “Yeah, I guess so. Come on, you’d better hide. I have to get back to the group.” Labran ducked back inside his jacket before Jack took off for the park, getting there not much sooner than Rapunzel.

“Jack! You’re alright, thank goodness! Where have you been?” Rapunzel asked as she rushed up to him. Jack gave her a soft smile, at least Rapunzel truly cared about him, more so than Lara ever did. Perhaps he’d ask her out just to annoy Lara, but that might have to wait.

Instead he replied with, “I took the long way around. It felt good to be without Lara for a while.” He nodded in the direction of the five retreating teens.

Rapunzel glanced back at him, “I’m sure. Come on, you still have a shoot to finish. Are you up for it?”

“Yeah, the only thing big Vlad did was squeeze me, I don’t think he was intentionally going to hurt me. I think there was still something of the guy in there, the guy I know who’s been more like a dad to me than . . .”

“Jack, over here! Pronto!” Jack seemed to completely relax, Lara and her gang were gone, and Vlad was back.

He smiled and waved, “Coming, Mr. Dresdner! Hey Punz, think you could stay around for a bit? I’ve got an idea to get back all of his photos, and I might need your help.”

“Really? Of course! Anything for  yo-Mr. Dresdner!”