{A/N: After many chapters of long wait, I am pleased to inform you all that this chapter finally opens up with a little bit of raunchiness. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to classify it as actual smut, but if such steaminess isn't your cup of tea, here's your warning. (Also, you should get another drink. Because tea as a rule is steamy. Unless you like iced tea. In which case, gross.) Anyway, I digress. Enjoy!}

Chapter Twenty

She was, by far, the most beautiful girl I had ever kissed in my entire life.

When our lips touched, my whole body felt like it had melted into a delirious, aching puddle, and simultaneously ignited into flames of throbbing passion. My heart was pounding and my lungs were working in overdrive, but our mouths were pressed so tightly against each other that the only meager air I was getting was through my nostrils, and even they were distracted by how intoxicating she smelled.

I had gone into the kiss intending to be gentle, but it was like the second our lips made contact, all self-control was immediately lost. Breathing became the last thing on my mind. All I wanted was to feel her skin against mine, its softness, its incredible warmth. The kiss almost became violent, and in my weakened state, she was the aggressor, easily dominating me down onto my back. I fell back onto the pillow, her leaning down over me, hungrily moving her lips over and against mine as she took my hand in hers, intertwining our fingers. I don't think I had even initially intended to go straight to making out, but we lasted maybe two seconds before our tongues began exploring each other's mouths as though we could find something invaluable hidden within.

I could feel her voice behind her tongue, rolling up out of her throat and into my mouth like a whispered invitation of yearning, and it only fueled the fire burning inside of my chest.

She had let go of my hand and pressed hers tightly against my cheek, her face moving as she kissed me, pushing her lips firmly against mine, then placing little kisses against my top lip before ceding to hungrier, fuller ones that enveloped our whole mouths. I began to feel as though I was suffocating in her sweet, smoldering exhale. It was the most pleasant drowning sensation I've ever felt, and though my lungs were searing and yearning for air, all I could feel was the fire on my fingertips as they explored her body.

One of my hands was behind her head, my fingers tangled in her thick black hair, clenching a handful as it fell down around my face, further enveloping me in her scent. It smelled like wild-berries, sweet and deep and inebriating.

My other hand was on the back of her thigh, holding and caressing it, trying to goad her up so that her whole body would be on top of me, and not just her torso. She had been sitting next to me and when we kissed, she had turned her body so that now, her chest was pressed down onto mine, but her lower body was not.

My hand traveled up from the back of her thigh up over her ass, and I squeezed once before going up to the small of her back, and holding her tightly against me. She pushed herself up and moved forward slightly, never allowing her lips to leave mine. One of her legs went between my legs, but mine were trapped under the sheets, and hers were not. I wanted to push her off for a millisecond so that I could free myself from their confines, or bring her under them as well, but I couldn't force myself to part from her for even that long.

Then it was her lips that finally left mine and she started to kiss the side of my neck, softly and sweetly, before lightly sucking on my skin like the world's gentlest vampire. I let out an involuntary sigh of feel-goodiness, breathing in the scent of her hair as I took in much needed inhales of oxygen, my chest heaving up and down under the weight of hers.

Both of my hands went onto her back, and then her ribs, while she kissed my neck, until one of my hands tried to wedge between our chests, where her breasts were flattened down against my sternum. I nestled my hand between and squeezed one of them, causing her to whimper and suck harder on my neck for a moment, and try to curl her foot under my leg, but the blankets were in the way.

I fondled her again, trying to be gentle, but giving in to the hungry desire that was starting to overtake me. I pressed and squeezed hard enough that she stopped kissing my neck and let out a moan, grabbing my shoulders with her hands to hold me down as she finally pressed her hips fully over mine, her groin pressing down and thrusting against me with an agonizing firmness.

Her blouse was hanging low from her breasts and I tried to slip my hand under, halfway succeeding, when she suddenly grabbed my wrist and sat up, straddling my waist and breathing hard. Her hair was wild and her eyes were only half open as though she were in a half-dream state.

"Wait," Esmeralda said, her chest rising up and down as she tried to catch her breath.

"What?" I asked, breathing hard myself.

"I just…" She paused and then started to breathe again. "I can't do this."

I hated when girls did this kind of thing but they were famous for it. Right when things start to get hot and heavy, they stop you and say that it's moving too fast, or they're not that type of girl or blah-blah-blah. And unless you're some kind of date-raping frat boy asshole, you have no choice but to acquiesce to their inhibition. At that point, the question is whether they really want to stop or whether they just don't want you to think they're slutty. It's a fine line you have to walk figuring out whether they want you to keep going or whether it's a full on no-go, at least for the night in question, but you're pretty powerless in that kind of scenario. You just have to hope that she's still game and see what happens.

"Why not?" I asked, already feeling the sick feelings of defeat creeping up into my stomach. (Defeat felt a lot like blue balls.)

"I'm not that kind of girl," she said.

Ah, the old reliable.

I had no choice but to play along.

"I know you're not," I said slowly, my free hand stroking her waist. "But I just can't keep myself from wanting to touch you. You're so beautiful, it's ridiculous…"

"Stop," she said, shaking her head in an almost amused fashion, as though she didn't buy a word of it. But that was the one thing I didn't have to lie about. She was ridiculously hot, way hotter than any girl I had ever gone to school with in my world, and it took every ounce of my self-control not to just flip and pounce on her until she was forced to push me away again.

She hadn't climbed off of me yet, however, and as long as she was still straddling me, there was still hope to reignite the mood as far as I was concerned.

I laid there under her and tried to look both as pitiful and sincere as possible (a common strategy taken by us gentlemen in situations like these).

"I'm serious," I said as pitifully sincere as I could muster.

She wasn't having any of it though.

"No, seriously, don't."

"What?" I asked without trying to sound overly whiny. "You don't want me to tell you that I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen?"

"I don't want you to think I'm easy, because I'm not."

"That is the last thing I think."

Her green eyes flashed as she stared at me with an intensity I had not been expecting.

"No it's not. You said as much yesterday."

"What are you talking about?"

"In personal finance yesterday. You said something like, 'Oh, I'm the one who's easy?' You know, like you were saying that I was."

I stared back at her in stunned disbelief. Was she really holding onto that right now? My dumb little crack had stayed in her mind enough to the point that it would pop up and interrupt this incredibly steamy moment between us, just as our lips and hands were traveling unexplored terrains and we were about to take it to the next kick-ass level of awesomeness?

Girls never ceased to amaze me.

"Esmeralda, that wasn't-I mean, that was a joke. Just a stupid joke. You're the one who jumped on my lap and tried to, like, bewitch me with your eyes and your body and everything. I didn't even know you yet. It's not like I just randomly yelled at you from across the hall that you were a slut or anything."

"I'm not a slut," she said (from still atop my lap, it's worth noting.)

"I know you're not!"

"No you don't, that's the problem. You don't know me. I mean, holy shit, I just met you, this is only the second day I've even…and you're in my bed…and I'm on you…"

She trailed off, too upset to continue, and suddenly climbed off of me. In a fluid motion, Esmeralda hopped off of the bed completely and turned away with one hand up to her head as though she had just come out of some kind of hallucination. I was fast enough to grab her wrist before she could run off, but she tried to tug it away.

"Hold on," I said. "Don't freak out on me right now."

"Let go."

"Just, relax for a second, will you?" I asked, frustrated. "I'm not gonna try to make you do anything, I just want to talk, okay?"

She looked down into my eyes and, seeing the sincerity, relaxed a little.

"Will you just…sit down?" I asked.

That just earned me a look of suspicion.

I let out an irritated growl and scooted over, so that there would be more space between us if she sat. It was enough to get her to tentatively take a seat on the edge of the bed, but her body was rigid, as though the slightest movement from me would cause her to jump right up and sprint the hell out of there.

"Esmeralda," I said. "I think it's safe to say that today was a pretty crazy day for the both of us, right?"

She just looked at me. "…Yeah. Obviously."

"There's a lot of passion and crazy mixed-up feelings going around after something like that, I think," I said. "I mean, from my side, I know that the second I saw you, I thought you were the most ridiculously attractive creature I've ever seen in my entire life-"

"Cut it out."

"I'm serious!" I snapped, silencing her. "I'm just saying, I thought you were beautiful right from the start, so being here with you now isn't any surprise to me. I mean, I can't believe I'm here with you at all but I'm not, like, questioning my motivations. If I had the opportunity to kiss you anywhere, under any circumstance, I would take it. So I'm not tripping over that."

"I just…" She looked frustrated herself as she tried to search for the words. "…this isn't who I am, at all. I know I'm flirtatious and everything, that's my personality, and Meg's my best friend and she makes her jokes, but you have to understand, that's not at all what I'm about. I know that I have this reputation at school, but it's all bullshit. None of them know me. None of them actually know me."

Esmeralda looked really worked up, almost to the point of tears, and I wanted to reach for her to comfort or relax her, but I knew if I so much as tried she would probably pull away and run.

"You can ask anyone at our school," she said after a moment to gather her bearings. "Ask any guy at our whole stupid school if they've actually been with me, and not one will be able to say they have without lying. People make stuff up because they have nothing better to do, and they're jealous that their boyfriends are always trying to hit on me. All those idiots think they'll have a chance to take me into the back of their cars one night when their girlfriends aren't around, and that I'll be all ready and willing. But that's never happened before, because I don't do that."

"Okay," I said, sighing. "I believe you. I do."

"But how can you?" she asked in a distressed voice. "How can you believe I'm telling the truth when you're lying here practically naked in my fucking bed and I was just up all on top of you? You probably think this is a weekly thing for me, don't you? That I just rotate guys through here like a revolving door, like a service that I provide for everyone?"

"I do NOT think that," I said as firmly as I possibly could. "I think that you may have just acted a little out of character because of how crazy today was. I can't judge you for that…we're only human. And if you like me even the tiniest percentage that I like you, that makes me feel like a million bucks. But I don't think you're a slut. And I don't think you're easy. And you just have to trust me on that. If you want me to believe that you're not a whore, then you need to trust that I'll believe it. Okay?"

Esmeralda gazed into my eyes and for a second I was worried that she was going to lash out at me or start crying or something, but then they softened and I saw her shoulders relax wearily.

"Okay. I believe you."

I leaned back, relieved. "Good. Thank God. You totally stressed me out right now."

"It's just important to me that you don't think I'm something I'm not. I stuck up for you today because I saw something different in you than I've seen in almost anybody else."

"And what's that?"

"Something genuine. And brave. You knew that it was unfair what Frollo was doing to you, but you didn't try to run away, or grovel or beg for mercy. You had pride. You sucked it up and went through with it, even though he never would have done that to anyone who had money or status. And seeing that…seeing you show such courage even in the face of such unfairness and cruelty, I just couldn't let you fail. Not if I had the chance to help you."

"I never really thanked you," I said quietly. "So let me take that opportunity now."

"You don't have to thank me," Esmeralda said, looking away. "All I did was the right thing, what anybody should have done. It's not like…it shouldn't be a big deal."

"No, fuck that!" I spat. "Just doing the right thing is more than most of the world can ever bring themselves to do. It was like that where I was from, and it's like that here. That's one thing that hasn't fucking changed. Most people are too afraid to stand up for what's right when the world gets tough and scary. They'd rather duck their heads and hope it all goes away." I paused. "But you're not like that."

Now, Esmeralda was looking at me and smiling shyly, which was a first for her. I knew that that meant I was getting through to her, maybe not to get her back into bed, but getting her to believe that I respected and appreciated her.

And damn it, I did respect and appreciate her. Fictional character or not, she had saved my hide from even worse pain and potentially lasting damage, damage which could have messed me up enough that I would never have the power to make it back home. That wasn't something I could just let slide, even if I knew that I had to try and nail her before long, or risk being trapped in this topsy-turvy world of hers forever.

That danger was looming constant in the back of my mind, even outweighing the cravings of my flesh, which was weak and animalistic. But I couldn't afford to be an animal.

I had to remain strategic.

"So, let me thank you for saving me and putting you and your friends at risk," I said, the clinical thoughts in my head clashing with the genuine gratitude and feelings of desire that were welling up inside me. "I probably can't ever repay you, but that just shows what kind of a person you are. To help a person you barely know just because it's the right thing to do, and you know that nobody else will. That says more about your character than how much money you do or don't have, or what car you drive, or whether you live in Atlantica or the hood. And now letting me stay in your home, and looking after me…I don't know what I did to get so lucky, but I'm glad I did it."

Esmeralda scooted forward again and took my hands, smiling at me. This time, she leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips, but I knew not to try and do anything more than gently return it.

"There's something about you," she said quietly after pulling back only a few inches from my face. "I don't know how to explain it, but it excites something in my soul…the adventurous part that's always trying to come out. It's something about your aura or…I don't know. But there's this mysterious sense about it…like you're different than everyone else in a way that I can't quite figure out." She gazed into my eyes for such a long time that I actually began to feel nervous, and then she whispered, "Who are you?"

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Where are you from?"

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," I said softly.

"Try me."

"I can't," I said. "But it's nothing bad or anything. I'm not, like, a cop or any shit like that, so you can tell Al and your uncle not to worry."

"I know you're not," she said, smiling and touching her forehead with mine. "You seem more like an alien."

I laughed. "That's probably more accurate than anything else."

"So what, are you from another planet or something? Are you from Mars?"

"No, I'm definitely from Earth. I just think I'm from a very different Earth than you."

Esmeralda shook her head. "I don't understand."

"I don't think I can really explain it," I said. "At least not yet. But when I figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know. If you still want to find out, that is."

"I want to find out," she said firmly. "I want to know why nobody knew you before yesterday and suddenly you're in the middle of all this craziness." She hesitated and then added, "And why you're forcing your way into all of my thoughts."

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. "Have you ever heard of a 'Mary-Sue'?"

"A what?"

No surprise there.

"Never mind," I said with a long sigh. I reached up to caress her cheek, kissing her softly but briefly before saying, "I guess if nothing else is gonna happen between us tonight, we should probably go to sleep."

She smiled to herself, looking down. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We have to wake up early for that meeting with Ms. Maleficent and Frollo."

"Well I know I'm not looking forward to that."

"Do you have parents that can go?"

I shook my head. "I don't have any parents."

She stared at me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that my parents are gone."

She squinted a little bit at me, as though trying to find a hidden meaning behind my words, before saying, "My parents are gone too, I guess you could say."

I smiled. "I guess we have that in common then."

"Yeah, I guess we do."

Much to my regret, she climbed off of her bed again.

"The couch, huh?" I asked.

"It's calling my name."

"You don't have to," I said. "I can sleep in it. Or we can both stay here. I promise I won't do anything."

Esmeralda grinned at me. "You might be able to make that promise, but I'm not so sure that I can."

I groaned. "Now you're really torturing me."

"I'll wake you up in the morning," she said, blowing a kiss before turning off the light. "Sweet dreams."

I got to lay there in darkness and silence for maybe six seconds before I heard the voice I knew was coming.

"Oh my sweet catnip…you SUCK."

"So, do you, like, just creep around the room invisible and watch us?" I asked. "Are you the kind of weirdo who watches girls go to the bathroom and stuff like that?"

"Stop trying to put this on me," said the Cheshire Cat. "After last night's disappointing performance with Ariel, you were actually in position to cross off the first name on your list. And you fumbled at the goal line. You tripped running the bases. You air balled at the free throw line."

"Shut up with the sports analogies! They're not even accurate! That was not an air-ball! That was, what, first or second base? It's been a while since junior high taught me what those were…"

"You whiffed. She was literally on top of you, and you still managed to find a way to not get laid. I don't even know what to say to you. You're like the Babe Ruth of not hitting home runs."

"Why are you so invested in this?!" I demanded.

"Because I sent you here! The people I represent are expecting some gratification!"

"Tell them to go gratify their BALLS."

"Maybe they COULD if you had any degree of sexual competence whatsoever!"

"It's not my fault the girl has feelings!" I snapped. "She didn't want to go through with it. Nothing I could do. Unless you're telling me I should have raped her."

"What would it matter?"

"Are you serious?"

"She's not real, right?"

"Oh, shut up."

"Isn't that what you believe?"

"I don't care! One, even if she's not real, acting that out would be like entertaining some sick rapist fantasy that I for sure do not have and two, I don't think I could even pull it off. She'd kick my ass eight ways to Sunday right now. I'm all broken down from that whole pepper spray incident that you caused to happen, in case you've forgotten."

"All this whining," said the Cat. "It's getting really boring. You better not be getting soft on me or you're going to be stuck here for a very long time."

"It might take some time," I responded, "but I'm gonna get it in, all right? Everything is on schedule. I can't rush it. Because whenever I don't think something through, it usually ends up working out pretty terribly for me, in case you haven't noticed. Exhibit A, this morning in the bushes."

"When are you going to let that go?"

"When my vision comes back!"

"Hmm, that must be pretty rough actually. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"The lights are off."

"Oh no, you poor thing, you're further gone than I thought! You think the lights are off? Bad news! You're blind!"

I wasn't fooled by his jackassery, so I responded by saying, "Okay, let's test out your sight then. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"That is a very rude gesture," said the Cat. "Didn't your mother teach you better manners than that?"

"She also taught me that animals couldn't talk and that cartoons weren't real so I'm kinda starting to question the wisdom of Mommy Dearest, to be perfectly honest."

"Well, you won't have to worry about getting any more bad advice from her, now will you?" asked the Cat. "Because from what I've seen, to be perfectly honest, you're never going to see any of your family again."

I didn't bother replying because, even though it was dark, I knew he had disappeared.

Still, the words hit home.

Mercifully, sleep came quickly to me, but I was woken up far too early.

Esmeralda was standing over me, looking positively angelic in the soft morning light. She appeared to be already dressed and ready for whatever the day might hold. Meanwhile, I felt like I had been hit by a truck and probably looked like it too.

"You," she said to me, "are a very deep sleeper."

"Part of it is your kickass bed," I mumbled, "and part of it is from the brain damage I'm sure I've suffered. I was probably teetering on the verge of a full-on coma all night."

"Well I'm happy you survived," she said, helping me sit up. "I don't have an extra toothbrush, but I guess you can just use your finger."

"You're sure I can't just use yours?" I asked, taking her hand in mine.

"Ew, gross. I'd never share my toothbrush."

I grinned and squeezed her palm. "I meant your finger."

"I should have known."

Unsurprisingly, I ended up brushing my teeth with my own finger and had to just use some water to style my hair. Looking in the mirror, I knew I could use a shave, but Esmeralda didn't really want me to use her razor, which made me wonder about all the things she might use it for, which was kinda gross and kinda not when I thought about how insanely hot she was.

I'm not saying I'd drink her bath water, but…

Okay. Maybe that's exactly what I'm saying.

Anyway, Jim was kind enough to come up and lend me some more of his clothes, which fit me pretty well. We were around the same height and he was a little skinnier than me, but not by enough to matter much.

He was mostly mad that he had to wake up with the rest of us, since Aladdin was always his ride to school.

"I'm not even involved in your delinquent behaviors," he grumbled to Esmeralda and me as we stepped out of her apartment. "I should be sleeping! Sleeping like a cute little baby!"

"You were never a cute baby," said Esmeralda.

"Don't act like you know me," said Jim. "I was adorable, for your information. Aladdin told me that you were born with a tail."

"Yeah," said Esmeralda sarcastically. "And wings and cute little devil horns. All Romani are."

He yawned as we headed to the stairs. "Hey, I believe it."

It was my first chance to really take in my surroundings. We were on the third floor of a rundown apartment complex, which was shaped like a "U", with the top extending out to the sidewalk and street (though a large tough fence separated us from the outside world.) Esmeralda's apartment was somewhere in the middle curve of the "U," allowing us to look out and see both sides equally.

We took the stairs down to the courtyard, which already had a lot of people walking around the inside of it, carrying baskets of laundry or other belongings around. I noticed that a lot of them were dark-skinned with long hair, gold jewelry, and bright-colored clothes and bandannas. Most of the men had some type of facial hair. Looking at them, it seemed reasonable to guess that they were all gypsies, and some of them were probably related to Esmeralda, Aladdin, Mowgli, and Clopin (though I still wasn't sure exactly how those four were related to each other yet.)

It was easy to find Al's beat-up old van. I recognized it because it bore the same kind of designs painted onto the sides of it as his flying carpet had possessed in the movie.

Aladdin was leaning against the side of his "magic carpet" with Meg and Quasi, restlessly smoking a cigarette. His hair was disheveled and he had bags under his eyes, as though he hadn't slept a wink all night.

"Hey, are you feeling all right, man?" Jim asked him when we walked up to them.

"I'm fine," said Aladdin, dropping his cigarette and grinding it under his shoe. He turned and walked away from us to the front of the van, where he started pacing around with his hands shoved into his jacket pockets.

Jim arched an eyebrow and looked at Meg, who just shook her head wearily at us.

"He's in a bad mood," she said. "He has been since he woke up."

"Did you see him wake up?" asked Esmeralda, watching her cousin pace around in his own little world.

"Huh?"

"Did you actually see him wake up?"

Meg thought about it. "Well I guess he woke up before me so…"

"He probably stayed up all night again," said Esmeralda with a sigh. "What time did he get back last night?"

Meg looked irritated. "I don't know…I couldn't just sit there waiting up for him when he had to wake up early this morning. He never tells me when he's coming back."

Esmeralda didn't say anything.

"Don't look at me like that!" Meg said, sounding a little defensive. "What am I supposed to do? It's not like any of you waited up for him either." She glanced at me for a millisecond before looking back at Esmeralda. "You all were preoccupied with other things…"

That last quip got Quasimodo to look up sharply.

"All right," Esmeralda relented, looking embarrassed. "I get it."

We heard footsteps approaching and I saw Clopin with Mowgli and Tarzan walk up. I was surprised to see Tarzan; I didn't even know he lived here with the rest of them.

Like Jim, he looked vaguely annoyed to be awake, but he was a quiet guy, so he didn't complain out loud.

Clopin, for his part, also looked as though he had woken up to better days.

"Are you all ready to try and look innocent and responsible?" he asked, his eyes traveling over to Meg, who was smoking a cigarette of her own. "Put that out, Megara! We don't need you all smelling like cigarette smoke in front of Ms. Maleficent and Frollo."

Meg sheepishly obeyed as Clopin looked over at me.

"You don't have any parents or guardians that will be attending?" he asked me.

I shook my head. "No. I'm by myself."

"No you're not," Esmeralda said quietly, giving me a small smile.

Something in Quasimodo's eyes flickered ever so slightly.

"You may need to tell them where you're staying," Clopin continued. "If you are not old enough to declare independence, you can tell them you're staying here with us if you need to."

"Thanks," I said.

"Maybe it'd be a better idea not to associate him with us," said Aladdin, who had drifted back into our midst. "If Frollo's there, maybe we should distance ourselves as much as we can from him, since he's the one in the middle of all this."

"It's as much about me now as it is about Shane," said Esmeralda. "Like it or not, Al, we're all in this together."

"She's right," said Clopin. "You all need to stand together against something you felt was unjust and dangerous. You acted out of concern for a fellow student's health, not merely the desire to rebel, and you ultimately didn't harm anyone. This will be your defense."

"Whatever," muttered Aladdin, heading over to the driver's side door.

"I'll meet you all there," said Clopin to the rest of us. "Make sure he doesn't fall asleep at the wheel."

Tarzan got into the passenger seat and the rest of us piled in the back, there being just enough seats to fit all of us (though we were pretty squished.)

I managed to procure a window seat in the back and was able to get a glimpse of Neverland in daytime hours. It didn't look so bad in daylight, but it reminded me of some parts of inner city Los Angeles, like in South Central and on Crenshaw Boulevard, except there were a lot less black and Hispanic people walking around.

I had never been to a ghetto full of white people before so it was a curious sight for me to behold. Now, don't get me wrong…there were other ethnicities sprinkled in throughout, but it just wasn't much like the diverse California that I was used to at home.

I wondered if they listened to rap music or if there was some type of urban bluegrass that only existed in this weird little world. That'd be pretty funny (and would also likely make my ears bleed.)

There were less trees but plenty of shops and businesses, it seemed like, including a disproportionate amount of bail bonds offices and liquor stores. That much at least was something I was used to back in the hoods of my world, as well as the larger amount of homeless people walking the streets, pushing shopping carts or tweaking out.

As we came to a stop light at the intersection of Codfish and 2nd Street, I saw something that disturbed me quite a bit.

On the street corner, two police officers had what looked to be an older and unarmed homeless man lying on the ground as they inexplicably clubbed him with their nightsticks. He didn't appear to be violently resisting or to resemble any kind of physical threat at all. Rather, he was on the ground, helpless and crying out as they struck him relentlessly, again and again and again. Not far from where this was happening, two more police officers had another homeless person, this one a woman, pushed up against the back of a patrol car as they brutally slammed her face down onto the trunk.

Needless to say, this unexpected display of violence caught me completely off guard.

"Oh no," said Quasimodo in a hushed voice. He looked out the window with huge eyes, watching the brutality play out with unmistakable sadness and horror written all over his face.

"What the hell are they doing?" I asked, shocked.

"What they always do out here," muttered Jim.

"Mowgli, don't look," said Esmeralda.

"Why not?" Mowgli protested. "I've seen it before."

"That doesn't mean you need to see it again!"

Before they could argue further, the light turned green and Aladdin wasted no time in driving forward, leaving the scene behind us. I could still hear the sounds of broken wails echoing through the city air.

"How can they just get away with that?" I asked, still unable to come to grips with that kind of scene taking place in a happy, so-called "Disney" world.

"Because they're in positions of authority," answered Aladdin. "Now you see why it's so important to stay under the radar. If you live in Neverland, the only attention you can ever get is negative attention, so it's best to not get noticed at all."

"Fucking bastards," Meg muttered to herself, curling up in her seat and chewing furiously on one of her nails.

"That's also why it's so important not to be homeless," Jim added. "The police out here don't like homeless people or junkies. If you're not from one of the nicer districts, you gotta be as afraid of the police as you do gangs like the Pirates."

"The police are worse," Tarzan commented in a low voice. "At least the Pirates usually stick to their own turf. The police don't have a territory."

Quasimodo slumped in his seat and put his face in his hands, causing Esmeralda to put her hand on his misshapen shoulders to comfort him. This made me assume that Quasi himself had suffered through some period of homelessness, and seeing the people outside getting beaten down by the police had triggered an emotional response in him.

I was also reminded of when Belle's dad Maurice had been driving us home on my first night here, and how he had been more afraid of the police catching him running a red light than he was of the Pirates who were looming around the car we were in.

I hadn't paid too much attention to it at the time, but now it made more sense. Belle and her father weren't wealthy by any means but they seemed to be law-abiding people, so Maurice seemed to have a disproportionate amount of fear for law enforcement. Now I knew it wasn't so disproportionate after all.

And it made me all the more nervous that I had drawn the ire of a man like Frollo, who had all those damn connections to the judicial system.

Just my stupid luck.

For the rest of the ten minutes or so it took us to get to the school (it wasn't much longer before our surroundings started to look much nicer), it was mostly quiet in the van. Nobody had been really talkative to start with, the upcoming meeting looming in most of our minds, and that scene had especially taken whatever wind we may have had out of our sails.

Aladdin parked the van, climbed out, and shut his door with a slam. The rest of us fell in line with him as Clopin approached us, having parked his own vehicle in a guest parking spot nearby.

"You ready?" Clopin asked us grimly.

None of us really had a response.

Jim, Tarzan, and Mowgli, however, were more than ready to take their leave and amuse themselves safely away from wherever we were headed for the hour before school started.

"Good luck, guys," said Jim, clapping me on the shoulder. "I'll take care of the van if they execute you."

"Not even funny," said Esmeralda.

"Look them in the eye," Tarzan instructed us. "Don't show fear. They can smell fear."

Meg rolled her eyes. "They're not stray dogs, Tarzan."

"Frollo looks kinda like a greyhound," said Mowgli.

"Shut up, Mowgli."

We walked to the main office, where we found Phoebus waiting for us. He gave us all a curt nod, though I noticed his eyes discretely lingered on Esmeralda for perhaps half a second longer than it did the rest of us. She reacted with one of those infamous 'I'm not noticing but I'm actually totally noticing' faces girls love to put forth when you look at them.

It made me wonder if they had already started some type of physical relationship, and if they had, how long it had been going on for. And how old was Phoebus anyway? He definitely wasn't in his twenties.

"This way," said Phoebus, sounding very professional and police-y, a far cry from when I had heard him arguing with Aladdin the day before.

Clopin made a face that seemed to indicate that he didn't seem to like old 'Sun God' very much, which secretly pleased me, but he followed anyway.

We entered inside the building, where Mrs. Potts was sitting and typing busily away at her desk.

"Are they ready?" Phoebus asked her.

"Oh yes," she responded. "Ms. Maleficent, Mr. Jafar, and Mr. Frollo are all waiting inside the Chamber Room for you."

"No fuckin way," said Meg suddenly.

We all looked at her in surprise, thinking that she had been reacting to the news about Maleficent, Jafar, and Frollo. (Clopin looked particularly agitated by her use of profanity.)

But she wasn't reacting to that unpleasant and yet totally expected bit of news. She was reacting to the skinny woman in the jean jacket sitting in one of the waiting chairs who none of us had initially noticed upon entering the building.

It didn't take much brain power for me to figure out that the woman was Meg's mom. Meg was a spitting image of her. They both had very thin, somewhat angular frames with huge manes of thick brown hair and long eyelashes, though Meg's mom seemed to be showing her years more than she perhaps should have been for her age. Her face had a slightly worn look to it under her heavy makeup, which I attributed to the likelihood that she was a chain smoker and probably a heavy drinker to boot.

"What are you doing here?" Meg demanded, her stance rigid.

Her mom stood up with a sarcastic grin. "I couldn't miss the big day, could I? Nobody was surprised when I got that call yesterday. After all, I know I'm not ever going to get to attend your graduation, so I figure being here for your expulsion is the next best thing, right?"

Meg looked like she wasn't sure whether she wanted to cry or scream.

"Janet, please," said Clopin. "She is not going to get expelled-"

Meg's mom reared on him angrily.

"Oh why don't you shove it up your ass, Gypsy? Take my daughter away from me, have her live at your little crime cave. Your little brothel. Your little slut palace. You got her screwing for money yet or are you the only one getting lucky every night?"

"Oh my," said Mrs. Potts from behind her desk.

"Ahem!" said Phoebus, irritated.

"What's your problem, Dudley Do-Right?" asked Meg's mom.

"If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you saved the domestic drama for after the meeting," said Phoebus, "preferably when you're off school grounds."

Meg's mom put a cigarette in her lips, starting to light it. "Whatever."

Phoebus snatched the cigarette out of her lips and tossed it in the trash. "Not a chance."

Janet looked furious. "You gonna reimburse me for that smoke? They're not cheap, you know!"

Phoebus ignored her. "If you all would be so kind as to follow me. This way."

He turned with a dark expression on his face and started walking down the hall. We followed a few paces behind, nobody really wanting to get too near Meg's mom, who was scowling and muttering to herself in resentment towards Phoebus.

Esmeralda had an arm around Meg's shoulder, trying to comfort her while Meg struggled to keep it together. Already I could see that her relationship with her mom was about as healthy as a mosquito and a dragonfly.

Curiously, Aladdin didn't seem to be giving much comfort to his girlfriend. All he did was lean close to her once and whisper, "Don't let her see you sweat, Meg." Then he went back to walking ahead of her, never looking back.

I couldn't really tell whether Meg was strengthened or underwhelmed by his words, but I didn't have much time to pay attention to her attitude because we had arrived to the so-called "Chamber Room."

Phoebus opened the doors and we all stepped inside.

The color scheme was mostly mahogany-the walls, the ceiling, the table. The table itself was polished oak, sitting in the middle of the room and resembling one of those long conference tables they always have in movies during important meeting scenes. You know, the kind where some poor sap is giving some flip chart representation at the front while the executives sit there being all old and rich and crotchety, and we're wondering just how many different chemicals are in the butter substitute sludge coating our popcorn.

Except this time it was going to be us on full display, and not some lame flow chart documenting how successful Big Tobacco has been selling cigarettes to the pre-teen market in the last five years. (I feel like that's been in a movie somewhere. Or, maybe it's just what I imagine is going on in Marlboro headquarters right now. Either way, you get the picture.)

Getting back to the story at hand, I was most displeased to see both Frollo and Jafar sitting opposite each other at the far end of the table. It was hard to tell who looked fuller of poison and spite, but there was no question about how much mercy we would be (not) receiving if either of them was in charge.

At the head of the table was a tall woman dressed in a form-fitting all-black pantsuit. She had short cropped black hair, a very thin frame, and sharp features, but she wasn't very conservative about the way she wore her makeup. Heavy eye shadow of a deep purple shade was painted on beneath her pencil thin eyebrows, and dark red lipstick coated her lips. The combination along with the rest of her makeup came together in a way that made her look rather regal, accentuating her pronounced cheekbones and deep-set eyes…eyes that immediately captured your attention because the irises were almost more yellow than they were green.

She may not have been wearing a flowing cape and a horned headdress atop green skin, but it wasn't difficult identifying Maleficent in this real-world professional setting. And she didn't much resemble Angelina Jolie either (unfortunately), what with that pointy chin of hers, though I guess she was somewhat attractive in a semi-terrifying way.

Unlike the other two villains, Maleficent didn't seem to have any malice towards us, at least not visibly. (This was almost worse, in a way.) She held her arms out grandly to us and smiled before speaking in her commanding voice.

"I am glad you all could make it. If you would each please take a seat."

Everyone promptly did so, except for Phoebus, who remained hovering by the door.

Maleficent took her seat at the head of the table and said, "Now, I don't see any reason why this meeting should go on any longer than it needs to. The issue at hand is complicated on the surface, but we believe it is simple at its core. Would you agree?"

She was talking to Clopin and Meg's mom, it seemed.

Meg's mom shrugged and said, "I don't have any real stake in the matter. I'm just here to see how bad Meg screwed up and what her punishment is."

Meg almost started to say something but I saw Aladdin grab her wrist under the table and fiercely whisper, "Don't."

Clopin sighed. "I suppose," he said slowly, "that it really all depends on what you think the issue actually is. Whether it was mere disobedience or a justified-"

"The issue," Frollo cut in, his deep voice full of righteous conviction, "is that these children directly undermined my authority as an instructor and administrator, and furthermore proceeded to threaten me before leaving the school grounds without permission!"

"You almost killed a student!" Esmeralda couldn't help but protest.

"It is not your place to question my judgment!" Frollo snarled at her.

"She was within her rights to protect herself and her fellow students if she felt threatened," Clopin countered. "She is an American, is she not?"

"I will not be lectured about legal rights from a common gypsy," Frollo spat. "Your kind make a mockery of the words law and order!"

"Everyone, please!" Maleficent said, her voice rising above the others. "Control your tone! We are going to discuss the matter fairly and civilly. We will not be losing our tempers or making personal attacks. That is not what Disney High School stands for, and it is not the way we will conduct ourselves."

Again, Esmeralda was the first (and possibly only willing) one to respond.

"I'm sorry, but is pepper spraying a helpless student multiple times in front of the class to humiliate him something that Disney High stands for?"

"Esmeralda…" Clopin warned under his breath.

"Insolent little brat," Jafar hissed.

Maleficent actually smiled at Esmeralda and sat back in her seat, regarding her silently in a way that made all of us uneasy.

"You certainly seem to be recalling the demonstration in a most scathing light," she finally said, her tone cool and her expression placid.

"I don't see how else to describe it. Shane was up there suffocating right before our very eyes." Esmeralda's eyes flashed over to me, invoking me to speak. "Weren't you?"

I swallowed and said, "I thought I was going to die up there. I couldn't breathe or see anything. If Esmeralda, Meg, Aladdin, and Quasi hadn't come up to help me…I don't know what would have happened."

"And yet despite all these dramatic claims, you still managed to go up and snatch the bag like you were supposed to," Frollo sneered. "If you were suffering so very much, I don't think you would have been able to succeed. Not if the strain of capsicum was as potent as you are implying."

"It took me the entire rest of the day and the night to recover," I said. "My vision only fully came back this morning."

"How convenient," Frollo continued, "that here you are…without any ill effects to show for the abuse you claim you suffered."

Maleficent gazed at me. "It's true that you don't appear to be any worse for the wear."

"Esmeralda's a good nurse," I said.

"If I may be permitted to speak," Jafar said, "I would like to state for the record that Mr. Barrera here has displayed an astounding degree of disrespect and apathy for both our school and our faculty, myself included, on multiple occasions."

I slapped my open palm down onto the table. "That's not true at all!"

"Control yourself," said Maleficent.

I took a deep breath and then said to her, "I haven't consciously done anything wrong since I arrived. I've gone to every class on time and I even obeyed the task set before me in Ethics class with the pepper spray. Which of course I didn't want to do, but I didn't want to cause problems, so I did it."

"On the very first day in my classroom, I witnessed you in a verbal altercation with another student," said Frollo.

"Who, Gaston?" I demanded. "He was targeting us!"

"It's true," Meg said. "We, um, we can testify for that."

"I wouldn't take her word for anything," Meg's mom said flatly. "She's been a liar since she could talk."

"Mom, you weren't there!" Meg shouted at her. "You didn't see what happened!"

"If the two of you cannot remain civil," said Maleficent, "I will have Officer Phoebus escort you both off the school grounds immediately. Is that understood?"

Both Meg and her mom slouched in their seats and muttered their agreements.

"If I'm allowed to speak," Aladdin said, "I would just like to say that none of us-"

"You most certainly are not allowed to speak," Jafar sneered. "You more than anyone at this table have a long list of offences. I don't think any of us are surprised that you're in the middle of this incident as well, Ababwa."

"That's a load of crap!" Aladdin shouted.

"Mister Ababwa!" Maleficent declared. "Your language is completely inappropriate and absolutely unacceptable for this table. Control yourself or face the consequences."

Aladdin looked like he regretted his outburst.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to say that none of us did anything wrong. We tried to help Shane because we thought he needed immediate medical attention, and it looked like he wasn't going to get it from Fro-from Mr. Frollo. We weren't trying to be disobedient or disrespectful, we were just trying to look out for the health of a fellow student."

Meg and Esmeralda voiced their agreement. Quasi looked too sick and nervous to say anything.

Maleficent cleared her throat. "Here is the issue at hand. We have documentation that Shane Barrera agreed to volunteer for an experimental demonstration in front of the class."

"Which isn't true!" Esmeralda interjected. "He didn't sign anything!"

"I didn't," I said. "Why would I sign something like that?"

"Are you implying that I, a former provincially appointed judge for more than twenty years, am a liar?" Frollo asked in a dangerous voice.

"I'm not implying anything," Esmeralda said, glaring directly into his eyes. "I'm saying exactly that. You made it up!"

"Esmeralda, that's enough!" Clopin said urgently, but it was too late.

Frollo rose to his feet. "Miss Guybertaut, your impertinence has gone too far. Never have I, in all of my long and decorated years in the judicial or educational fields, been accused of dishonesty. Until now. By you."

"I just want justice," she said.

"You don't know the meaning of the word."

"This is out of control," said Clopin. "A student was harmed in class and none of the five sitting here were involved in harming anyone else. How are we supposed to respond when we hear that our children are at risk of being pepper sprayed?"

"Nobody was at risk," said Frollo, "except for the volunteer. I made sure of that."

"But I didn't volunteer for anything," I said weakly.

"Mr. Barrera, our records state that you are eighteen years old," said Maleficent. "You are not required to have legal guardians with you but I can't help but think that most students in your situation would bring someone with them. Do you have any comments to make on this subject?"

I couldn't think of anything to say but simply, "No."

Maleficent's brow creased slightly, as though this information fascinated her, but she continued speaking as normal. "Now, the last thing we want to happen is for this unpleasantness to extend out beyond the school. None of us want this to become a legal matter if we can avoid it, not because we believe that we are culpable in any way, but because we don't want to cause a distraction for our current students or the faculty."

"Or damage your reputation," said Clopin.

Maleficent smiled. "Of course we don't like to see internal issues being brought out to a court system to make judgment upon. No school does. But make no mistake, sir, that if any of you try to take us to court, we will win. This I promise you."

The weight of her words hung heavily in the air above us all. We knew she was right. None of us had the financial or political pull to duke it out with Disney High School's legacy, especially when the teacher in question had the courts in his back pocket.

Maleficent knew she had us by the balls.

But her next words surprised me.

"With that being said, before you try and make any rash decisions, I implore you to listen to what I am prepared to offer the five of you who were directly involved. Now, we have documentation that Shane Barrera signed up to volunteer for the demonstration. If you wish to contest that, we can address the route that will take in a moment, but it would benefit you much more if you get onboard with my preference, which is that we do everything we can to put this matter behind us entirely."

"And what would that entail?" Clopin asked.

"The five students-Shane, Aladdin, Meg, Esmeralda, and Quasimodo-will be allowed to return to their classes without any kind of suspension," said Maleficent. "As far as I'm concerned, the worst thing that could happen out of this is for you young men and women to miss valuable class time. None of us want your educations to suffer. I am choosing to give you all the benefit of the doubt in that you were concerned over the safety of a fellow student, and acted somewhat rashly and emotionally in trying to ensure his well-being. Of course, safety is of the utmost importance for us here at Disney High and we take the subject very seriously."

Esmeralda and Meg both almost started to say something but Aladdin and I grabbed their arms to shut them up.

"It is important to take into account," Maleficent continued, "that Mr. Frollo has been with us for many years. He has had a long, illustrious career both as an educator and as a judge, and never once have any of our students died on campus, let alone at the hands of a teacher. We are going to overlook the gross insubordination that was displayed by you all in his classroom, but we cannot fully overlook the fact that you all left campus without permission during third period."

"We had to get him help," said Esmeralda.

"There is a school nurse on grounds," Maleficent responded.

"And he's on school grounds too!" Esmeralda said, pointing at the seething Frollo.

"I think we are not being too harsh," Maleficent said, her voice rising to a frightening octave, "in penalizing you by assigning you each a Saturday school detention beginning at 9:00 AM for prematurely leaving campus without permission. But that is up for you all to decide, whether you are willing to accept our offer, or try to turn this into something that it doesn't need to be."

We all stared. I didn't know exactly what a Saturday school detention entailed, but it seemed to me like we were getting off pretty damn easy. Frollo and Jafar, for their parts, looked pretty irate about Maleficent's decision, but they kept their mouths shut for once.

None of us said anything at first.

Finally, Aladdin hesitantly asked, "That's…that's all?"

Maleficent smiled coldly. "That's all. If you accept the terms, we will be glad to put this matter behind us for good and let you all get back to your classes as normal."

"Will they be safe from further discipline and/or cruel and unusual punishments in Mr. Frollo's classroom?" Clopin asked, glancing at the sinister old man.

"My class will proceed as normal," Frollo replied, "without any particular students receiving special attention. Despite my misgivings with the incredibly merciful and lenient ruling Ms. Maleficent has made, I am willing to stand by her decision."

"We accept!" Quasimodo blurted out, speaking for the first time.

We all looked at him and he shrunk down into his seat.

"I just…it sounds like a good offer…"

"I don't see any issues with it," Aladdin said. He looked at Meg and Esmeralda (but not me, I noticed). "You guys cool with it?"

"Yeah it's fine," Meg said quickly. "Let's just move on."

Esmeralda didn't say anything.

"Esme…" Aladdin said in an agitated tone. "You're onboard, right?"

Esmeralda glanced at Frollo, who stared spitefully back at her.

"I guess. But I think they're the ones being let off the hook too easy."

"Ungrateful little wench!" I heard Jafar hiss from where he was sitting.

"Calm yourself, Mr. Jafar," said Maleficent. "The students do not have to see eye to eye with us to agree to our offer."

Curiously, Frollo of all people did not respond with anger. Rather, he merely looked at Esmeralda and said, "I must say I appreciate your concern for justice, Miss Guybertaut. In fact, I am most fascinated by it, when considering the history of you and your family."

This seemed to hit Aladdin harder than it did Esmeralda for some reason but he didn't say anything. He just gripped the table extra hard, turning his knuckles white.

"I don't believe those who are less fortunate should be bullied by the powerful and corrupt," Esmeralda said evenly.

"Esmeralda," Clopin warned again.

"Strong words coming from a gypsy," said Frollo, his eyes narrowing.

"I may be a gypsy but you claim to stand for justice as well," said Esmeralda. "So you should agree with me."

Frollo's whispered reply was both fervent and terrifying.

"I am justice."

Maleficent stood up. "I think this meeting has gone on long enough. Do we have an agreement with both the students and the guardians?"

"You do from the students," Aladdin said, releasing his hold on the table and glaring at Esmeralda to make sure she didn't object to anything.

"And from me as well," said Clopin.

Meg's mom shrugged and stood up. "Doesn't matter to me. I'm sure I'll be back in here before long."

Gritting her teeth, Meg shook her head but managed to refrain from retorting.

"Very good then," Maleficent said. "You all have twenty minutes before the first bell rings. I am glad that something could be worked out. Phoebus, please show our guests to the door."

"Yes, ma'am," said Phoebus. His face was stoic but I thought I could detect a hint of relief on it also.

"Behave, children," Clopin said sternly to us.

Meg's mom snorted. "That's a laugh. Meg, make sure to let me know if you're gonna grace us with your presence again."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that, Mom," Meg muttered.

As I got up from the table to follow everyone out, I didn't notice a sheet of paper slip out of my pocket and flutter to the ground.

"Mr. Barrera, you dropped something."

I turned around to see Maleficent reach down and pick up the crumpled piece of paper. Unfolding it, she looked down upon it and in a flash, I saw something surge through her body up into her face, like a burst of electricity.

I hurried back nervously over to her, not knowing what was on the paper that had fallen out of Jim's old pair of jeans. I couldn't remember putting any kind of note or sheet in them before leaving that morning.

Maleficent slowly looked up at me, and I could see how large her eyes had become, the irises looking increasingly yellow instead of green.

They almost looked like the eyes of a dragon.

"Where did you say you were from again, Mr. Barrera?" she whispered to me in a most unsettling tone.

I blinked rapidly. "I…California? I mean, California Adventure…"

She just stared at me and slowly nodded. "Ah, yes. I see…"

I just stood there, not sure what to do, while Frollo and Jafar watched us with confusion.

"Your paper," Maleficent said suddenly, thrusting it out at me. "You dropped it."

I slowly took it, not breaking her frightening gaze.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you," Maleficent said, which threw me off even further. "It's not every day we get a new student here at Disney High, and I hope that after these initial struggles fade away, you'll be able to settle in comfortably here with the rest of your peers. I expect to see great things from you this year. Very great things."

"What in the…?" Jafar trailed off, looking extremely perplexed.

The only movement I could muster was a tense nodding.

"I-thank you, ma'am. I definitely hope to get the most that I can out of the school year too."

Maleficent grinned for the first time since I had met her, a wide and disturbing smile that showed all of her even white teeth.

"I hope that you do too, Mr. Barrera. And I have a strong suspicion that you will."

I frowned and took a step back.

"Run along to class now," she said, still smiling.

I quickly turned and hurried to the door, anxious to catch up to the others and leave whatever that was behind me.

Glancing down at the paper as I went, I read what it said.

'SHANE'S DISNEY PRINCESS HIT LIST:'

And below that, it said: 'ESM' but the letters seemed to be unfinished.

The rest of the page was blank.

Dread filled my stomach. Though there weren't any names written on the paper yet (I hadn't managed to get further than making out and heavy petting with Esmeralda, which I figured accounted for the first three letters of her name showing up), the fact that it said the words "Disney Princess" on it worried me.

Deep down on some primal level, I had seen a faint degree of recognizance in some of the characters like Belle or Ariel to their connections to their respective films. When I had quoted lyrics to their songs, they had responded in kind without realizing what they were doing.

Was it possible that, somehow, Maleficent also had a faint awareness of her other existence, and of the existences of the characters who populated the classic animated Disney films? Did seeing the words 'Disney' and 'Princess' in conjunction with each other somehow recall in her mind a buried down knowledge of a reality other than this one she was now in?

And if it did, what did that mean in terms of me?

I didn't know what it was exactly that had caused Maleficent to react as she did, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the way she had stared at me with that terrible fire in her eyes was very, very bad.

Not for the first time, I began to suspect that there was something bigger going on here in this anti-magical world of Disney than the inane mission I had been tasked with. There had been little hints all along, little pieces of feelings and instincts popping up inside of me, telling me that everything was not as it seemed.

It was becoming clear that I was slowly becoming part of something that was much greater than I was either equipped or prepared to handle.

And I really began to question now if I would ever have the chance to make it home alive or in one piece.

Something seemed to tell me that every day I spent here in this backwards world made that more and more unlikely.

But there was no end in sight.

I was trapped.

{Wowza, so a lot happened this chapter! Where to begin? I guess, first off, we have to acknowledge that after 20 long chapters, Shane finally got a little bit of action! *unenthusiastic clapping* Yes, I know he didn't manage to seal the deal, but he laid some groundwork, I think. He may end up scoring with one or two of these gals sooner than later after all. (Patience, Mr. Shackleford…)

We also got to see more of the Neverland district and the harsh realities of this happy-on-the-surface world he's been transported to, which helped us to pick up a couple more hints as to what the bigger picture really is.

Which brings me to the reviews. BlackAdder, Kurklefuss, and IHateMarySue's, I'm super impressed by all your foresight and I almost want to tell you all to shut up before you ruin the plot! Haha just kidding, but seriously, you're definitely onto something. There's a lot more going on than smashing on princesses, as will slowly be revealed…hopefully I can keep you people guessing along the way. ;)

'If all the Disney movies gang banged the first American Pie movie, this would be the result.' I gotta say, I love that description hahaha and I think it's pretty accurate so far. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story and there will be plenty more classic and more obscure characters (like Sykes! He gets no love!) popping up as we progress along.

We've got some glimpses into Frollo's twisted mind coming up shortly, as well as a Meg diary entry, so make sure you guys continue to let me know what you think and what you want/hope to see. I appreciate all the reviews that have been given and try to take them into account as much as I can. Thanks again, and see you soon!}