(A short fanfic I wrote as a part of the Disney Crossover What If game)

The sun was bright and the sky was blue with only a few swirly white clouds dotting the heavens. On the back of Pegasus, Hercules and Phil were out on another mission. Another day, another call. Quite frankly Hercules was beginning to get a little bored with it, not that he would mention it to his coach. He sighed and leaned back on Pegasus, staring at the sky.

"So what is the mission this time?" he asked, not really caring.

"Hmmm, just your standard D.i.D. Damsel in Distress," said Phil as he scanned the scroll report. "Seems this girl has been in this tower for practically all her life. There's also a princess missing. So there might be a connection." He shrugged his shoulders.

Hercules sighed. "So what do I have to defeat this time?"

Phil scanned the report. "Well, nothing. There's no monster mentioned here."

Hercules continued to watch the clouds. 'Great' he thought 'Now I'm not even to get a work-out out of it." The hero closed his eyes, looking asleep.

A few minutes later Phil said, "We're here."
Pegasus swooped down and landed at the base of the tower. Hercules dismounted and sized up the climb. 'Not that tall' he thought to himself. He approached the tower and, using some equipment they brought, began climbing up the tower. After a few short minutes he reached the top, not even out of breath. Regardless of this not being a challenging mission, he was still a guy and wanted to make a good impression. Straightening his shoulders, he took a breath and climbed in the window. Standing up straight and trying to look heroic, he looked around. For a prison, the tower had a nice little setup. It looked more like the inside of a cozy little house than anything. Hercules furrowed his brow and turned back to the window, ready to ask Phil if he was sure this was the right place. Not even 2 seconds after turning, something hard and metal smacked violently across the back of his head. The hero's vision went black and he collapsed.

*outside* Phil and Pegasus, figuring the kid could handle this one on his own, went for a flight to gather information about a lost princess, having no idea about their friend's unconscious state.

*back at the tower* Hercules awoke to find himself tied to a chair by 'Wait, is this hair?' Something moved in the shadows and then he heard a voice. "Struggling, struggling is pointless. I know why you're here and I'm not afraid of you." Hercules was confused, Phil didn't mention anything about a hair monster. Then the shape moved toward him. Coming out of the shadows was a young woman with brilliant blonde hair. Hercules quickly noted that the hair on the girl and the hair "restraining" him matched. "Who are you?" the girl asked, almost accusingly. "Uh, I um," Hercules' mind suddenly went blank except for the thought that this girl's hair shined like Heaven's light. "Who are you?" the girl repeated.

Herc cleared his throat, "My name is Hercules." He smiled at her, trying to show her he meant no harm.

The girl scoffed, and pointed a frying pan, of all things, at his face. "Who else knows my location Hercules?"

He stared at her. 'Was she seriously threatening him with a frying pan?' He glanced at the "weapon" again and realized 'That's What Knocked Me Out! This little delicate flower-like girl managed to knock him out, him who defeated countless monsters, with a Frying Pan?!?!' He could just see Phil dying of laughter.

He sighed, "I don't know. I got a call and was told to come here."

She looked at him again, and he felt like a bug under a microscope. He slightly cringed back. Frail or not, this girl was intimidating. She leaned back and began circling him, "So..What do you want with my hair? To cut it? Sell it?"

Hercules looked at her incredulously. "What? No. Heh, honestly," he laughed, "I'd be happy just to get out of it."

The maiden looked surprised. "Wait, you don't want my hair?"

"No, I got a distress call, was told it was from a tower, I saw a tower, I climbed it. That's all. Really," he said.
The girl examined his face and seemed to believe him. It was just then Hercules noticed a small green chameleon on the her shoulder. The chameleon was giving him a death glare that scarier than the Hydra. The girl turned around and seemed to be consulting with the chameleon. What nut house had he stumbled into?

"Okay, Hercules, I'm prepared to offer you a deal. Look this way." She turned his chair, which thankfully due to his muscle weight didn't tip over. The girl continued, "Do you know what these are?" Indicating a painting of what looking like floating lights.

Herc squinted at the painting before answering "You mean the lanterns they release for the princess?"

The young woman's eyes seem to light up at his answer, before she turned serious again."Well tomorrow evening they will light the night sky with these lanterns. You will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns and return me home safely."
Hercules glanced at her. Clearly this girl didn't know the definition of a deal because he wasn't getting anything from it. But..it might prove interesting. This girl was different from the crying helpless damsels he had rescued in the past. He smiled.

"Okay, I'll take you see the lanterns."

"Really?!"the girl jumped in excitement, surprised he said yes.

"Sure, just 2 things" he said smiling.

The girl tilted her head slightly in an unasked question.

"One, I can't get much of anywhere tied up like this."

The girl blushed embarrassed as she moved to untie him.

"And two . . I've told you my name. Might I know yours?"

The maiden smiled. "It's Rapunzel."