This might be one of my quickest update time to date, because I was SO thankful for the response the first chapter got I felt I owed that to my lovely readers.

This chapter is dedicated to kjay15, HufflepuffGleek, immahater123, Mythluver, Guest, Romantic Dreamer 13, Chibistella, neko skyress, Chocochino11, BenlosAllTheWay, JL4030, Chibi-Twan, TokioJapon, Zakuya Kanbara, animestorylover1621, Utopia Avius, latinagirl-reader2010, kleoloppa, soul wolf 112, TrisJacksonEvans, Couragexoxo, Darkmaster of the arts, Neko249,art-is-a-bang-yeah, Shadow315 and stonegirl.

If I missed anyone, please let me know. I'm hoping the number of reviews lines up more with the number of readers this time around, but that's just this storyteller's wishful thinking.) Enjoy!

I do not own Descendants

The rain pelted the windows so hard that Lonnie was worried she would see the glass crack. She only had a few minutes to spare before she had to get back to her own dorm.

Jay wondered why she hadn't left sooner. The others went soon after Ben, barely knowing what to say. The word 'Goodnight' seemed mocking, so they bit their tongues to stop it from slipping.

Lonnie was known for being vocal, but her wish went unspoken. She placed Dude down in his usual spot on Carlos' empty bed. Thinking that the dog was a lot heavier than he looked. Of course, that only became apparent after holding him for so long.

"Take him." Jay insisted, startling her. Not because of the tone of his voice. There was nothing threatening about it. It's just that these were the first words Jay had spoken in hours.

She tried to turn her argument into a joke. "But he's your roommate."

Jay shut that down immediately. There was no room for malice in his flat tone. "He's my roommate's dog." The look on Lonnie's face was one of regret mixed with relief. She was sorry that her effort to cheer Jay up had backfired, but knew his response could've been much worse. "I'm not the most gentle-" He went on, trying to say that she was the better caretaker.

Lonnie didn't see how he could think that. "...You know him better."

By her tone, Jay couldn't tell if she meant Dude or Carlos. He based his answer on the assumption that she was talking about the dog. "He hasn't left your side since we got here. He's made his choice."

In submission, Lonnie hid a sigh and picked Dude back up. Leaving the other bed empty again. It was then that Jay noticed the dog's paws. At first, he held his tongue about it. Until she reached the door.

"Lonnie?" She turned around, expecting for Jay to say that he'd reconsidered. Instead, he asked: "Why's he missing a nail?"

The sad eyes that met his then had seen the dog scratching wildly outside the hospital doors. "They wouldn't let him in."


"Your presence has been requested, sire." Ben didn't have to guess who called for him. He walked with Lumiere, down to the castle dungeon. Which had been out of use for decades. "Shall I stay?" Lumiere offered, opting to give Ben the moral support he was deprived of before.

At first, all Ben managed to do was shake his head. Lumiere took that as his cue to leave, so the king's sudden utterance of "Thank you" was said to his back.

The man turned to look at Ben before continuing on. "Of course."

A tunnel stood between the king and his prisoner. He began his march down that tunnel with the grace he'd had at his coronation, but along the way he lost the rhythm and was practically charging at the cell.

The tunnel was lit by lanterns. Some flickered like a cheap imitation of the lightning outside.

Chad's hands came into view before his face did. They had a firm grip on the bars in front of him. His knuckles were white. His fingers were bare, the ring he wore gone. Dirt was under his nails.

Dirt he carelessly let fall into the small cup of water on the tray by his feet. He'd left the cup untouched. Along with the apple next to it.

Ben wasn't known for speaking harshly to anyone, but he was filled with anger. Knowing what those hands had done. "Whatever you have to say, say it quickly. We have to get to bed." The king said 'bed' because he wasn't sure how much sleep anyone in the castle would get. If any.

Chad moved forward, knocking the cup of water over in the process. The tray clattered, and the apple rolled off to a corner of his cell.

His eyes set on Ben. Both bloodshot, and one obviously blackened. His mouth quivered slightly before forming words, all coming out in short spurts. "I get that you… think you're doing what's right… for the kingdom." He scoffed softly at the idea, then said: "But I'm no good in here."

"The evidence says you're no good anywhere." The response was so blunt, Chad felt as if he'd been physically hit by the force. His black eye twitched.

"They found my ring. All that proves is that I was with him." Chad closed his lips to hide his gritted teeth. They wouldn't help his argument.

Neither would what he just said. "The doctor told me everything." Ben told him. The look on Chad's face suggested he knew where this was going. He suddenly remembered his mistake. The mistake that gave him away. With a sigh, Ben went on: "She said… the imprint of your ring…" He held up the back of his hand, as if his own ring was still there. Before balling his hands into fists and making Chad flinch. Ben didn't sound like he was ready to throw punches. His voice broke again as he finished his thought. "it ended up… on the side of Carlos' face." Not only had that been proof enough for the doctor, it was the best lead in the investigation so far.

The look the king sent his prisoner then suggested he couldn't understand why he would do that, much less leave his friend in such bad condition. "So don't try to tell me you're innocent. I wish it were different," He admitted. "but some people just... don't wanna change."

There was disappointment behind Chad's dark stare. "That's not what I'm trying to say. I'm not innocent, but…" He trailed off, feeling like he wasn't being heard anyway. Ben watched as he took his hands off the bars and stepped back into the darkness.

"Hiding now?" It sure seemed that way. For Chad, the only thing he was hiding was the realization that this dark, dank dungeon was the only place in Auradon where he was safe. Everything else was written on his bruised face.

"How come they got a chance, and I don't? You don't know what they've done." To Ben, what Carlos and his friends had done before they got to Auradon didn't matter. That scared Chad. That meant his king was convinced he already knew everything he needed to.

"I've heard what you've done. You could've killed him." Chad didn't answer. Even when Ben revised his statement. Eyes crying, spit flying. "YOU ALMOST KILLED HIM!"

A pause was filled with one shuddering breath from Chad, then he said: "I'm not getting a chance to state my case." Like he accepted it. "Am I?"

"You will." Ben countered. Though many would say that was more than he deserved. "Once Carlos wakes up." With that, he turned his back and started walking away.

Chad stifled a gasp, so it came out like a wince. "When Carlos wakes up, he won't be the same."

If Ben turned his head, he would've sent a death glare into the darkness. Except he wouldn't show Chad the decency of facing him again.

All Ben had left in him then was a rhetorical question. "That's your fault, isn't it?"


Rain had a reputation for lulling people to sleep, but this storm was keeping Auradon wide awake. There was still much work to be done. The kind of work that wore the doctor and her team out. She didn't complain, though. She never complained about her job. She knew how important it was.

Aside from the victim and his friends, she felt bad for the authorities. Their clues would get washed away. Once the rain let up, they would have a waterlogged crime scene on their hands. Though, knowing where Carlos had been found, she imagined they'd been somewhat prepared for that.

What she couldn't imagine was that anyone in the kingdom felt the slightest bit of sympathy for Chad Charming.


Cinderella stood at the doors leading to her balcony, her husband by her side. He was eying her worriedly, hoping she wouldn't step out into the storm.

They'd been together long enough that she knew what he was thinking. She didn't want to add to the stress they were feeling, so she explained herself. "I was just remebering the crowds that used to gather down there."

She'd been looking for a distraction, but she hadn't found one.

He knew why. "The largest crowd we ever drew was when Chad was born."

In agreement, she said: "If he was here now, it wouldn't be called a crowd."

Her husband knew what she meant. "It would be a mob." They spoke calmly, and that scared them. It was like they were hardly affected by something that had rocked the kingdom.

"Ben is wise beyond his years. He wouldn't have ordered our son to be locked away unless he saw the need for it." She peeled her eyes away from the balcony and aimed her focus on the man beside her. Speaking the darkest thought on her mind at the moment. "When this is all sorted, I hope we can still see Chad that way." From the little the couple had heard about the incident, their son seemed like a stranger.

Charming went to take his wife's hand, just as she went to cross her arms. So, instead of holding her hand, he ended up placing his on top of it.

"I should've talked to him sooner." Cinderella said regretfully. "When Carlos and the others first arrived in Auradon. I didn't have to tell him the horror stories of my life before we met." She phrased it that way because that was the sort of thing other people said about her when they thought she wasn't listening. "Everyone knows those stories. Like I'm some legend."

There were legends all over the land. Since the heroes had the privilege of telling the stories, Chad had only known the villain kids by their parents' reputations. "He must've felt like his life was being invaded." Not that that was an excuse.

"He acted on one of my worst fears." There were times Cinderella had been tempted by the darkness that surrounded her. "He became the kind of monster he was running from." Instead of slowing down to see that Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos weren't monsters.

"He hurt them before they could hurt him." It was tough to follow logic like that, but it took distance for Chad's parents to see the truth. Even though it pained him to say so, Charming added: "I think that's been going on for longer than we realized."


The weekend dragged by. The silence that had surrounded the kingdom let up with the rain. Rumors spread through the halls of Auradon Prep, but only around the dorms. Students stayed clear of classes because they had yet to hear word on whether or not they would resume.

There was a knock at Fairy Godmother's office door. So early in the day, she knew it could only be one person. "Come in, dear one."

Jane complied. She didn't stop in the doorway. In fact, she didn't stop until she was in her mother's arms. She knew she was guaranteed a hug, and was more comfortable silently asking for that then answers her mother couldn't give. "What's happening today, Mom?" That was easier than asking what had happened days ago, since no one knew all the details. Most only had their speculation.

"I'm going to leave that up to you." Her mother told her. "I was debating whether or not to cancel classes." Jane may have known that her mother was no more well-informed about Carlos' current condition than almost everyone else at the school, but that didn't mean all the students were aware of that.

Besides, canceling class might only intensify their curiosity. "No, you can't!" She was remembering what Ben said, and she agreed with him. A break from routine was not what her classmates needed.

"Okay," With that one small word, Jane could tell her mother wasn't expecting her to react so strongly. She had to admit, if only to herself, that she could say the same. "but we'll all need to take it slow with this weather we've been having. Plus, some people haven't gotten much sleep since."

"You said that last part like you have someone in mind." Jane's eyes shifted, as she wondered whether or not her mother had heard the late-night conversations she'd been having the past few days.

Fairy Godmother nodded, and that only made Jane more nervous. If she did get in trouble, she hoped part of her punishment wouldn't mean she was barred from making hospital visits.

Though her mother knew full-well how attached Jane had been to her phone these past few days, she wasn't looking to punish her for it. So, she didn't even bother to bring it up. "Jay's been wandering around campus… after curfew."

"Oh." Jane felt somewhat relieved, but there was worry in her voice. For her friend.

That last part of what her mother told her would've been the worst thing about it under different circumstances. Fairy Godmother didn't care about the curfew violation. "So far, he hasn't left the grounds..." She didn't have to finish her sentence.

With that, Jane understood that this wasn't about rules. Her mother was now concerned for the well-being of two of her students.

"He can't be the only one who's hurting." Jane was surprised she came up with a response so quickly. She didn't think she knew what to say, but she knew it was important to say it. "Other kids need to know that… it's okay not to have all the answers. We're gonna figure this out."


The conversation Jane had with her mother led to a school assembly before classes. The headmistress told her students that didn't have many answers for them. There was no doubt that the Auradon News Network would put their own spin on things. No matter what information was leaked, she hoped they would all keep their heads high and keep working hard. And if they had moments where either of those things seemed impossible, she would understand. She would be there to help.

In the front row, she saw her daughter sitting with her friends. She wondered if any of her words were making an impact. They hardly moved, holding their gazes straight ahead. She hoped that some of her encouragement broke through.

Especially because, in her mind, she had the easy job. This couldn't compare to the way the day started out over at the Golden Flower Hospital.

With no speech prepared, the doctor knew her colleagues and her charge needed some urging. Even though the latter was unable to answer her back. "Okay, team. We're going on day four. Stay with us, Carlos."


Classwork had distracted Mal and her friends from the conversations going on around them. They'd kept their heads down half of the day. Lunch had them looking up, but not in the good sense. It was hard not to notice the criticism being thrown their way. They were blameless, but others were tired of bouncing theories off each other, when someone who knew the facts was sitting feet away.

Mal's eyes seemed to be set in a permanent glare, in response to looks being sent her boyfriend's direction.

"It's alright." He insisted, after a short time. He'd been expecting this treatment.

"No, it's not." Evie answered for Mal, since she just continued to stare. Pretending not to hear.

Doug backed Evie up. "We're all dealing with this."

"They don't get to take it out on you." Jay said. Ben said nothing, but he didn't seem to agree.

Lonnie saw Jay's side of things. What she said next was more of a hope than a fact. "You'll tell us when you're ready." Her eyes were aimed underneath the table instead of at Ben. She was checking up on Dude.

Ben was still silent, and wouldn't speak again until everyone at the table looked at him. Evie gave Mal a gentle tap to get her attention, and she finally broke her glowering gaze. When her eyes settled on Ben, they were much softer.

A knot formed in his stomach when he realized that did nothing to help. Though they weren't trying to, the people who understood him most were putting pressure on him. It was hard enough for him to listen to what happened to Carlos, and soon he'd have to repeat it.

"This might not be something you wanna hear." He told them, sad and slow. Then he looked down at his tray. Empty aside from an apple. That brought his mind to the rotten one in Chad's cell. He remembered that the storm hadn't done enough to stifle the sounds of the boy slamming himself against the bars in a fruitless effort to break free.

"We know," Audrey agreed. "but we have to."


The weekend weather left the Tourney field untouchable for awhile. No one went near it. Even once it dried, the team wasn't sure they'd have the strength to step onto it. It would still feel empty.

In the gym, the cheerleaders-who were by no means in a cheery mode-were getting ready to practice. Friday's game had been postponed, but it would have to happen sometime. And they needed to be their to show their support. All of them.

Audrey had gone off sometime earlier, and none of the others knew where to find her.

Jane offered to go look, keeping in mind Ben's mission. He wanted everyone to stay who they were. That was proving challenging for everyone.

Skipping practice wouldn't help the effort.

"You're not gonna yell at me, are you?" Audrey asked, when she heard Jane walking toward her.

She was standing where no one else had dared to go that day. Smack dab in the middle of the kill zone, to be exact.

Jane almost laughed, figuring Audrey had no clue who was behind her and just didn't want to get in trouble. Either for skipping practice, or being out on the wet field, "Have you ever heard me yell?"

Audrey nodded. Though it was hard to tell, because her head was bowed. Her arms were folded across her chest like she was trying to warm herself. "At the coronation. That counts, right?"

The memory filled Jane with shame, but she couldn't focus on that. She needed to get Audrey back inside.

Jane stepped onto the field, talking as she walked to be in line with where the other girl was standing. "Yeah, but why would I yell at you?"

When Audrey spoke next, her own shame filled every word. "I used to give people a lot of reasons to wanna yell at me."

"Used to." Jane echoed, feeling like it wasn't much of an argument.

Audrey still wouldn't meet her eyes. "Ben's right. We can't put our lives on hold," Carlos didn't have a choice in the matter. "but it's so much easier to say that than it is to keep it from happening." With that, she turned around, looking right at Jane. "Unless it's only happening to me."

"We all feel it," Jane countered calmly. "but we're all trying. "Look at you. You put on your uniform."

She brushed that off with: "Well, my feet hurt."

"If you can get through practice. If you can even just… come back with me and watch-"

"I can't go in there." Audrey interrupted. "The sooner we get through practice, the sooner we're out here gearing up for the game we had to postpone." She pointed to the wet ground beneath her.

"That's gonna happen with or without you." Jane wasn't trying to be harsh about it. She was saying the cheerleaders could really use the support of their captain.

Audrey knew that, but something didn't seem fair about it. "It shouldn't happen without Carlos. Didn't Jay say he was like the brain of the team?"

"Technically, I think he said he was like his-"

"How many things do you know of that can function without a brain?" Audrey was hardly yelling, but Jane wouldn't shut down even if she had been. She couldn't do that.

So, she answered the question, which was meant to be rhetorical. "Starfish, jellyfish... and sponges, I think."

There was a pause, and then Audrey added to the list. She still had a point to make. "Also anemones, sea urchins and coral." The slightest smile formed on her face at the word 'coral'. She liked the dusty rose coloring of some. "You know how I know that?" Despite how upset she was, her tone was almost playful at that point.

"Carlos taught you."

"Yeah." Both girls had seen the proof that he had a lot more to teach. "I didn't even know coral was an animal. I thought it was just some type of rock."

Jane raised her eyebrows in response. "I get it it. He's not here, and nothing feels right."

Audrey appreciated that Jane came to check on her. She appreciated that she tried to see inside her mind, but she hadn't exactly hit the nail on the head. "That's not just it." Her voice got lower, like the energy was draining out of her.

That had Jane scared, along with the instinct that Audrey was holding something back. She looked hurt from not having heard what that was, but remembered why she'd been sent out there. "You're allowed to be upset," She reached to place her hands on Audrey's shoulders, and only did so when she saw the girl step forward in acceptance of the touch. "but you don't have to be alone in all this."

"Carlos is." That's why it felt so unfair.

Jane wouldn't let that make her falter. As true as it felt. "Soon he won't be. They can't keep us away from that hospital room forever. They're up against a king, a princess…" She said that word as if she understood the weight of the responsibility that came with the status. The more she spoke, the less Audrey could keep from smiling. "a magical prodigy, a master of stealth, a glamour goddess…" Jane meant that in both senses of the word. Evie was armed with her magic mirror, which could arguably be outmatched by her charm. Jane went on with: "A girl who's itching for a fight," Even if Lonnie didn't look it. Jane was looking to finish strong, but suddenly realized she forgot to include herself. "the Fairy Goddaughter…" The label was one kids used to tease her with, but when she said it then, she was owning it. "...and Doug."

Oddly enough, that last part was what lead to them hugging. Audrey couldn't help it. She had to laugh. "If Jay's the master of stealth, I'm pretty sure Doug is the apprentice, because he can get in close without people noticing."

"Not to mention he's probably the smartest guy at this school, next to Carlos."

As the girls broke apart from their hug, Audrey nodded in agreement, adding: "And if all else fails, he can distract them with stories about his uncles."

"Exactly." Jane said, giving Audrey a direct look and mirroring her smile. "Together we're unstoppable."


"Maybe you don't have to tell everyone." Mal said to Ben, as they stood by her locker. The schoolday had ended some time ago, but she was just getting around to putting the books she didn't need for homework back in there. "Maybe you can just tell me, and I'll relay the message."

To Ben, that was taking the easy way out. "I can't put that on you, Mal. You're one of his best friends, and… I'm supposed to be leading this kingdom. He didn't feel like he was doing a very good job in this time of crisis.

She couldn't accept that. "Nothing's a one-person job. Everyone needs support from somewhere. Telling me can be… practice." She knew where he stood on that when he answered with a question.

"Here?"

Mal watched as other students walked by, barely paying the two of them any attention. The halls were virtually empty by this time, and it seemed that they had stopped pestering Ben. "It'll keep me in check." That meant she had a feeling this would make her cry, and she wouldn't let other people see that.

Ben didn't want to make her more upset than she already was, but he felt it was worse for her to keep her feelings in. "Are you sure?"

Mal misinterpreted the question. "It can't be worse than what I'm imagining."

Hearing that, Ben didn't want to keep her guessing any longer. He had to come right out and say it.

He reminded himself to breathe, and thought of how to list the afflictions. He decided to go through what was easiest to swallow first. "He has a few bruises and cuts. Two broken ribs," He saw her breathe in then, looking like she could feel the pain Carlos would if he were conscious. "the tests hadn't come back yet, but they think he might have a concussion." Mal's focus was dead set on Ben, but her mind's eye was imagining Chad doing all this damage. "He…" Ben didn't expect to pause, but he remembered that what he was about to say was something Mal had experience with. And that wasn't the worst of it. "He almost drowned."

"Stop." It wasn't a scream, more like a squeak. Mal knew there was more, but she no longer wanted to hear it in the middle of the hallway. Ben was almost glad for the interruption, even if her suddenly small voice was heartbreaking to hear.

Some things were still ambiguous, even to the hospital staff.


"Had enough?" Jay asked when Lonnie showed up at his dorm room door, Dude in her arms.

She shook her head. "He's good company, so I thought we'd pay you a visit." She wouldn't say it out loud, but she tasked herself with taking care of him as well as the dog.

He stepped away from the door and let Lonnie come in.

She passed Dude over to Jay, and he tried to look as sour as possible over the immediate shower of dog kisses he received. Lonnie could see that Dude wanted to take care of Jay, too. Licking wounds that couldn't be seen.

She looked to the window and asked: "Find anything good out there, yet?"

Jay's sour expression suddenly turned suspicious, but that was his way of fighting off the wave of paranoia that hit him then. "What're you gettin' at?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

She saw that as teasing rather than threatening. "You've been out there every night since it happened. I figured you were looking for something."

He answered that with a question. "You know?"

"Lots of people do." She could see he didn't want to talk about that, so she went to change the subject. First, she felt the need to say: "Nobody blames you."

He knew she was talking about his late-night walks, but that made his eyes flare up. "Just Ben, right? They can't get an answer out of him, so they look at him like he's the one who beat Carlos unconscious."

Lonnie shuddered at the same time Dude whined. No one had said it so plainly up until then. "They've let up." She said in the other students' defense. Then she switched gears while he simmered down, putting Dude on the floor so he was free to walk around the room. "So, the game's this Friday?"

"Won't be much of a game. Work we can handle. Fun just seems wrong."

A little out of place, sure, but not off limits. Lonnie put her head in her hand, trying to look at this logically. "He's an overachiever, right? Youngest in your class. Seems like he doesn't even have to try for it?"

"Yeah, so?"

That hand that had been under her chin was now outstretched along with the other. "So, let's make the whole thing a game." Lonnie told Jay, managing an enthusiastic smile. She was glad to have something to strive for. "Give Carlos a challenge for when he comes back." Jay said nothing, but he seemed the slightest bit curious. "Now you really wanna know what I'm gettin' at, huh?"

That was true, but it wasn't what he said. "What I really want is to do is pay a visit to the dungeon in Ben's castle and-"

"Jay." Lonnie interrupted, scared to hear the rest. He looked at her, sensing that. Her fear was wiped away by a hope. "Chad will get what he deserves."


All the rain had left the bleachers covered in tiny puddles rather than droplets. Doug and Evie brought blankets to sit on, his green and hers blue. They sat together facing away from the field. Since there was nothing on there worth seeing anyway.

They'd been talking about the day they'd had. The things they learned, and what they missed while their minds were elsewhere. Halfway through the conversation, her eyes wandered to the concrete beneath the bleachers.

Following her gaze, Doug immediately regretted making the decision to sit where they were. He knew he had to tear her focus away from there before it started to tear her apart at the seams. "Evie."

She snapped out of it quicker than expected, looking back at Doug. "It's okay," She insisted. "I wanted to face it."

"Why?" To him, it was like she was torturing herself.

"It's the worst part of all this…" She said with a shake of her head. "for me." She made sure to clarify, knowing each one of her friends was suffering through something in the aftermath of the attack. Some more secretly than others. "That I could ever be interested… in someone who'd do that..." She was going to end her sentence there, but decided against it. "To one of my best friends." Her voice broke as she added: "To my first friend." The pain in her voice was reflected on Doug's face in that moment.

He hadn't known that much.

What he knew was that he wouldn't let her mistake be a fatal one. For anyone. "You weren't really interested in Chad. You thought you were interested in fitting into a life that… wasn't yours." The kind of life her mother had to leave behind. He said it like it was the most logical thing in the world to him, and that brought her comfort. "You didn't know what you could be. I didn't know what I could be. We taught each other."

She agreed. "We're still learning."


Over at the Golden Flower Hospital, the team was discussing what they'd learned about the mysterious scar Carlos came in with. Which was next to nothing. They'd never seen anything like it. "It looks like a burn mark, but contributed to his hypothermia. What sense does that make?"

"None." The doctor said bluntly. It was the injury that bothered her, not her colleague's analysis of it. "Any connection to the old scars on his leg?"

"Doesn't seem to be. Those were cuts. Deep, too." The group collectively shivered.

"I'm glad he got off that island." The doctor said, seeing members of her team nod.

"He's too fragile for a place like that."

"It's not like comin' here made it any better." Another argued.

"At least here we can save him." The doctor pointed out. "He's a sweet kid," She could tell that by the turnout the day he arrived. "That doesn't mean he's not strong." She looked over at her patient. If it weren't for all the bandages, tubes, wires, and machines, it would seem like he snuck in there to get a restful sleep. "I hope he made some good memories while here." She said, ready to crack open every medical book in the kingdom to find a clue about this mark that had burned on the outside and froze on the inside. "Something to keep his mind occupied."

Of course, they were monitoring his brain activity. It got higher at nighttime.


The blue comforter kept out the cold. The matching pillow had found its way to the floor sometime during the night. The empty house creaked like ghosts were trying to sneak their way into the fur closet.

Bare feet made their way to the floor-to-ceiling window.

In it, a small boy caught a glimpse of his reflection. Which seemed different than he remembered. He shrugged that off.

He never looked at himself too long.

Outside, something else had changed. A ray of red sunshine slipped through a crack in the permanently overcast sky above the Isle of the Lost.

The closest thing to home Carlos had ever known.

Somehow, everything about it seemed brighter...

Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! Carlos is my absolute favorite, so the coma dreams give him a bigger part in the story. I didn't want anybody to be too confused about that, so I put it in the title.

I decided the doctor should be related to a Disney character in some way, so I figured I'd poll you guys on who she should be related to.

Let me know if you have any ideas/theories/questions/corrections, and if there's anything you want me to elaborate on. I'll update ASAP! =]