Tangled: Stardust and the 12 Zodiacs (Varian Fanfiction)

Chapter 51: Gold

"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to NEVER leave the house?" The man shouted, glaring at Soul. "I can't believe this! I can't believe that the moment I disappear, you go and break the rules." He added, flailing his hands around as he talked.

"You...You're.." Soul stammered, taking a step back. Her back hitting Eugene's hard chest. "You're not..."

"Hmm? What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost or something- WOAH! WHAT THE?" He yelped, barely dodging a blast of fire.

"MORE LIKE A DEMON!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? IT'S ME, YOUR BROTHER!"

"ACCENDERET!" Soul shouted, flinging fire towards the man. "YOU. ARE. NOT. MY. BROTHER! HOW DARE YOU USE A DEAD MAN'S BODY, YOU FIEND!"

"WHAT? NO! SOUL, IT'S ME, I'M NOT DEAD! EEPPP!!!" He screamed, ducking as he grabbed his head, evading a large blast. "You know, as much as I miss this. WILL YOU PLEASE STOP SHOOTING ME AND LET ME EXPLAIN!"

"THERE IS NOTHING TO EXPLAIN!"

"UH, YES THERE IS!"

"Soul! Enough, you could cause another avalanche!" Eugene reminded, picking the angry astrologer up and dragging her away. "Do you know this man?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. Ahem, my name's Gold. Goldie Rivers actually, heh, but just call me Gold." Gold stated, bowing.

"No, you're not! Gold died two years ago. You're just a shapeshifting shadow henchman!" Soul yelled as she tried to wriggle out of Eugene's hold. "So if I were you, I'd change back and disperse now before things get messy."

"Died?" He echoed, tilting his head.

"When we were going to deliver the items to the mountain retreat. An avalanche knocked your wagon off the cliff with you inside it. There's no way that someone would be able to survive that kind of fall." She said, glaring at the blond. "I saw my brother die with my very own eyes! So I don't believe that you're him."

"I...I don't think he's lying. Shrau'n said it himself that they can't shapeshift into someone who's dead." Varian spoke up, walking forward. "But I do agree that we can't take any chances. Even if you really are who you say you were, we won't believe you so fast."

"Oh, come on. If I were a shadow henchman, I would have summoned my shadow beasts and killed you all right now since you're pretty much vulnerable at the moment. You know, trapped inside a small cave with no exit and all." Gold scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Well, my date almost ended up killing me. Turns out he was a shadow henchman." Soul retorted, crossing her arms over Eugene's arms.

"Date? You had a date? Know what? I'll ask that later!" Gold shook his head. "Is there any way for you to believe me? Cast a truth spell or something?"

Soul shook her head while Varian's face lit up. "But I can!"

"Are you magic too- wait, Varian?"

"I don't know you and how you knew me, but yes. I'm Varian. And no. I'm not magic, but I know a way for you to confirm that you're telling the truth." The alchemist exclaimed, running back towards the caravan. A few seconds later, he came back out with a vial in hand. "We were supposed to try and use this to distinguish if we really were ourselves back in Aradia, but then we got caught up with more stuff and pushed this away."

"Oh, yeah. I remember that plan. We sort of forgot about that, huh?" Rapunzel chuckled, looking at Catalina and Kiera, who shrugged in return.

"This, as the name suggests, is a truth serum. Which, of course, compels you to tell the truth until the effects wear off. Speaking of that, the duration varies depending on how much you intake." Varian explained as he held up the vial for Gold to see before adding, "And, yes. I made it myself."