Tangled: Stardust and the 12 Zodiacs (Varian Fanfiction)

Chapter 49: Gene

Waiting patiently, yet boredly. The remaining people in the caravan indulged themselves in a fun, but meaningless conversation about fruits. Which was the best fruit? The juiciest? The healthiest? The conversation was rather interesting and funny, especially how Varian would slip in some facts about the fruits.

"Bananas are the best-known fruit, hands down. You can both eat it and use it as a way to slip and distract your enemies." Kiera said with a smirk.

"That's true. But did you know that a banana peel that can actually harm a person is when it's rotten? Banana peels are slippery, but the more rotten the peel is, the more-"

"Banana's might be great, and all, but grapes take the lead for the juiciest fruit." Lance countered, tossing a grape in his mouth from the fruit bowl, cutting off Varian.

"- Actually, the juiciest fruit would be the watermelon, since it's 90%-"

"Strawberries are the best!"

"-but-"

"Nope, oranges!"

"Bananas!"

"Grapes!"

"Guys-"

"Strawberries!"

"Oranges!"

"Grapes!"

"GUYS!!!" Varian shouted.

"WHAT?!" They all yelled, turning towards the alchemist with irritated expressions on their faces.

"Hasn't it been too long since Rapunzel and Soul entered Gene's house?" Varian asked, changing the topic. Hoping that it would distract everyone from shouting at each other about which fruit was the top of the bunch.

"Relax, V. Maybe Soul and Gene are just having a heart-to-heart talk." Kiera reassured, leaning back on the bed, using her arm as a support.

"You really can't live without her, huh? I mean, it has only been a few minutes since Soul's gone, and you're acting as if your world's crumbling down." Eugene teased, draping an arm over the alchemist's shoulders.

"What? No! It's just worrying, you know." Varian replied, blushing as he removed Eugene's arm. "I just have a bad feeling."

"What's there to worry about? It's not like something would go wrong in there." Catalina rhetorically asked when a booming sound, followed by a bright orange light flashing, diverting everyone's attention to the window to see Gene's house lit up in flames. "I spoke too soon."

"HOLY COW!!" Eugene frantically shouted, dashing outside with everyone tailing behind him. "Lance, drive the caravan a few feet away from here and guard it!" He ordered as Lance wasted no time to do what he said and drove the caravan away from the fire.

"It's a good thing that there are no leaves on the trees anymore for the fire to spread." Kiera quietly said as she glanced at the leafless trees around them.

Suddenly, the fire seemed to rage even more, growing larger by the second, flaring up into the sky.

"Get back!" Varian yelled as he shielded both Catalina and Kiera from the fire, distancing themselves from it. "Eugene!"

"Rapunzel! Soul!" Eugene called, coughing as he inhaled some of the smoke when walking closer to the burning building, hoping to see his beloved and friend.

"T-they're gone." A weak voice behind them spoke, startling the group. "They made me go out quickly, but...I couldn't save them.."

W-what?

At that, Varian's vision got a bit blurry, and the world seemed to be spinning as he struggled to keep himself from fainting then and there. No...NOT AGAIN!