A New Dream...?

Chapter 10

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to honor the memory of our-"

"Cut that out Eugene! Look, he's waking up."

"Girls, come here. V's coming around."

"...Son?"

Varian groans, squinting at the bright light that contrasts so much with the darkness he's been floating in for what seems like an eternity at this point. He instinctively lifts an arm to shield his eyes, but is cut off abruptly when the action draws a pained hiss from his lips.

"Hold on there, kid," a gentle voice soothes as a warm hand eases his arm back onto the soft surface he lays on. "You'll pull open your stitches."

Varian's eyes finally adjust to the brightness, and he blinks a couple times, looking towards the source of the voice.

"Eugene?" he confirms slowly, voice hoarse from disuse. He quickly realizes Eugene is not the only one staring down at him. Rapunzel holds onto her husband's shoulder on one side, Lance stands behind Catalina on the other while Angry sits on the edge of his bed, and his father shuffles slightly at the end.

"Oh," he says simply, taking in each of their expressions. "Where...where are we?"

Rapunzel smiles softly, seeming to already have an explanation ready. "The infirmary. You've only been asleep since yesterday."

Varian nods slowly, ignoring the way it makes his body light up with a just bearable throb. But the pain and the statement suddenly bring something to mind.

"The boiler!" he exclaims, tensing in panic. He scans each face for a reaction as he continues. "Andrew - he overloaded it with the Flynnolium, he pulled the lever -"

"It's ok, V," Catalina soothes, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone got out. We all got checked for injuries, and no one was hurt."

"Except for you," Angry points out bluntly.

Varian barely acknowledges her comment. "And Andrew?"

No one initially answers. An awkward silence ensues, and no one meets his eye.

Quirin is the one to break it.

"He's gone, son. The explosion killed him on impact," he states coldly.

Any response Varian can think of catches immediately at his father's words. Andrew's...dead. Just like that. Yesterday morning, the man had been nothing more than another one of his nightmares that constantly resides in the back of his head, a dark fear that stayed locked up both mentally and physically. Then he had escaped, emerged to torment Varian one last time, and then disappeared again. For good this time, though. Andrew had killed himself to kill Varian, and had failed.

Huh.

"What about the others," Varian finally gets out, gaze glued to a specific spot on his blanket as he tries to push the image of the man's wild eyes in his last moments out of his mind. The Saporian was threatening lives, innocent lives. Varian wouldn't have been able to talk him out of his final decision anyways. It's better this way.

To move forward, you need to let go of everything holding you back, including your past.

The sooner he accepts that, the sooner he can do what he's meant to.

"They got away," Lance admits quietly.

"Not for long, though," Eugene adds, his grip on his wife tightening almost unnoticeably.

Varian shakes his head. "They won't do anything without a leader. They'll fall apart now that Andrew's gone." It's true. His time with the Saporian's had shown him at least that much. "I'd suggest focusing more on...whatever damage my machine caused."