Chapter 7:
Carlos glanced down at his cell phone that kept buzzing every few seconds with messages from Mal and Evie. To say it was getting distracting was putting it mildly and Jane kept casting him strange looks.
"Sorry, guess the others had some questions during Ben's get together. Though I'm not really sure what they're asking, it's just names with question marks," Carlos explained, seeing the name Maggie pop up.
"Do you know them?" Jane asked curiously.
"Maybe, I mean the only Maggie I knew was back on the isle. She was a few years younger than me, I used to slip her some gems and jewels I found when I'd go pick-pocketing with Jay. Her mother, Madam Medusa, had an obsession with them but Maggie was too scared and shy to steal anything," Carlos said.
"It's so strange how we all assumed that your parents had raised you just like them, that you'd all be miniature versions of them. I have to admit I hadn't even given any thought to the fact that the villains would have even have had children," Jane admitted, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Ya, they weren't exactly the best role models, and I guess some of them had children expecting that they'd take over for their parents, do what they couldn't; but people like my mother just wanted a servant they knew would be loyal and never leave their side," Carlos said.
Jane placed a hand on Carlos' shoulder, knowing his mother was still a very sore subject. She wished she could help him more, take the pain away for him but she didn't think there was enough power even in her mother's magic wand to do that.
Carlos grimaced as another text came through, this one asking for Jane. "Um, this one's for you."
Jane took the cell phone, looking at it in confusion before reading the text from Evie.
E For Jane-Ben wants to know if there is any way to destroy the magical artifacts in the museum?
"Destroy them? Why in the world would we want to do that?" Jane muttered.
Carlos glanced over at the screen, "Oh! That was my idea! So the villains don't get their hands on them if the barrier comes down."
Jane's confusion morphed into horror at the thought, "That would be terrible, but I don't know. My mother always said we kept the artifacts so we'd never forget our past and how tools can be used for good or evil and it's our hearts that decide."
"Can you call and ask your mom?" Carlos asked.
Jane nodded and quickly dialed her mother's number, it was a fairly short conversation and by the time the limo stopped she had hung up. The driver let them out and started pulling things from the truck and piling them in Carlos' arms.
"So what did she say?" Carlos asked, trying to see around the oversized wicker basket, blanket and various other things the driver had given him, in order to follow Jane.
Jane sighed heavily, "She said their physical selves could be broken, like Jafar's staff, but if the magic stored in them was released then it would go looking for another vessel. It's why it's so important that they stay dormant, otherwise you have to find a way to neutralize the magic and that can be very difficult."
"Oh," Carlos replied, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
Jane leaped forward, quickly taking the basket from Carlos' hands. "It was a really good idea though Carlos, and if things don't go well tomorrow then maybe we can destroy them anyway and figure out a way to trap the magic so the villains can't use it."
Carlos' head snapped up, "What might not go well tomorrow?"
Jane hesitated, her smile wavering, she pointed towards the blanket she'd laid out on the soft grass and settled down on it across from Carlos, who hadn't taken his eyes off her. "Tomorrow my mother is going to pass her Fairy Godmother magic to me. It'll be up to me to keep things like the barrier and the magic protecting the artifacts stable from now on."
"Boy, and I thought having to brush and clean all of my mother's fur coats was a lot of responsibility," Carlos said, looking shocked.
Jane nodded, her eyes downcast as the sheer weight of the task once again threatened to overwhelm her. Her eyes watered and she quickly picked up a napkin to keep her makeup from running.
Carlos noticed the silence and the way Jane was biting her trembling lower lip. "It'll be okay Jane, your mother wouldn't be doing this unless she trusted you. And just think now with a quick Bibbidy-bobbity-boo you can make your hair and outfits better than Audrey and you won't need Mal or Evie's help."
Jane gave a watery laugh, "Thank you, Carlos, I'm really going to try my best tomorrow. I don't want to let anyone down and I need to help protect Auradon."
Suddenly Carlos' phone began to ring and the boy let out a frustrated huff. Glancing down he sees Jay's name on the screen and he quickly snatched back his hand as he was about to answer it. After so long he was finally getting his much-anticipated date with Jane and everything else was just going to have to wait. Putting the cell phone away in the wicker basket, Carlos picked up a delicate white porcelain cup. "Would my lady care for a cup of tea?"
Jane giggled as Carlos bent for a low bow at the waist, poured the tea with a flourish and handed it over to her. She was very glad she'd taken Ben's suggestion to get away from all her worries for a night, and Carlos was being the most wonderful companion that she ever could have asked for.
Jay scowled down at his phone as his call to Carlos went to voicemail and he quickly sent off a text.
J What did Jane say about the artifacts?
Jay waited, staring down at the screen but after five minutes he still hadn't gotten a reply.
J Did you get Evie's text?
Once again after a few minutes, the screen was still blank so Jay hit the redial button but again was sent to voicemail. It was frustrating not being able to get a hold of Carlos when Jay needed to, usually, the smaller boy was always within arm's reach but the longer they were in Auradon the further they seemed to be drifting from each other.
Flopping back on his bed, Jay conceded to having to wait until Carlos got back from his date to discuss the multitude of new things that Ben had told them tonight. His cell phone beeping distracted him slightly and he eagerly grabbed it up.
M Any word from Carlos?
Jay rolled his eyes, this was the third text from Mal with the same question. She may have mellowed out since coming to Auradon and dating Ben but she was still as impatient as ever.
J No
M Did you call him?
J Yep, voicemail
M Try again
J He's on a date, he's probably turned his phone off
M But this is important! Call him again!
J No, you call him!
A few minutes passed before his own phone rang, Mal's number on the screen.
"He didn't answer," Mal gripped.
"I told you, he's on a date with Jane. I'm sure he asked her about the artifacts, Ben said she was going to fill Carlos in on what was happening with the Fairy Godmother ceremony thing tomorrow," Jay replied.
"He hasn't replied to any of Evie's or my texts so far. Evie was hoping he could help add some names to the list of Isle kids for Ben. And I'd really like to know if Jane thinks she can keep the barrier up or not," Mal said, the sound of her heels striking the floor of her bedroom echoing through the phone as she paced restlessly.
"I told you Mal, the names we have are fine for now, it'll take Ben awhile to get them all here even if he sends for them tonight. Let Carlos enjoy his date, poor Jane hasn't left her mother's side in days and this may be the last time they can have some fun for awhile," Evie said, her voice coming from further away in the girl's room.
"We do not have time for dates right now, there is way too much riding on this. Do I need to remind you both whose idea it was to destroy the artifacts in the first place? We all agreed we aren't going to be using them against our parents, which means we only have one other option. My mother may still be a lizard but if the villains get their magic back, how long do you think it'll take before they figure out how to change her back?" Mal asked, her voice stern and agitated.
Jay felt like his stomach had just dropped to his toes. Evie was silent on the other end of the phone as well, the implications of Maleficent coming back to full strength once again was just too horrifying to contemplate. Suddenly all Jay wanted to do was run, the barrier was going to fall, the villains, their sidekicks, and children would be free, they'd have their powers back and be hell-bent on destroying Auradon and the only thing standing in their way were a few powerless teenagers.
"What if we hide?" Jay whispered desperately.
"What?" Mal asked.
"When the barrier falls, everyone is going to be coming here, what if we packed our stuff, grabbed your mom, the artifacts and hid back on the isle? There won't be anyone left there to look for us," Jay explained.
"So we'd just sacrifice Auradon without even trying to save it?" Mal asked, her voice rising.
"Mal they're going to destroy everything, we don't stand a chance against an army of villains. All we've got is a Fairy Godmother in training and a few swords and shields. At least if we hide we might stand a chance at staying alive," Jay said.
"Jay, we don't even know if the barrier is going to fall yet. Nobody except Uma knows it's even weakening and it nearly killed her. We shouldn't panic, Ben and all of Auradon are counting on us," Evie added, softly.
Jay wanted to chuck his phone across the room in anger, Evie's words only managing to agitate him further. They were no match against what was coming, Carlos had it right, but if they were smart they might be able to get away without anyone even bothering to look for them. That was the problem with being noble, no self-preservation instinct, and even Jay knew sometimes it was better to run and hide then foolishly stick your head into the hungry dragon's mouth.
It was several hours later that Carlos finally strolled through the door to the dorm room, shooting Jay a small smile.
"So, it was good? What'd you two do?" Jay asked, raising a brow and smirking at his friend.
"Nothing much, Jane took me for a picnic, apparently it's all she's thought of doing since she found out about Mal and Ben's first date. Mostly we talked, she told me about the ceremony tomorrow and, before you ask, yes she called her mom about the artifacts. Apparently, they can be broken, but the magic will still be active unless it's neutralized. So, maybe Doug's idea of hiding them is the best way to go," Carlos replied.
Jay hesitated for a moment, "What if they weren't the only things we hid?"
Carlos glanced over looking confused and waited for Jay to elaborate.
"What if we were to hide too, right after all the villains start flooding Auradon we slip away before anyone sees us; we can take the artifacts with us too," Jay said.
Carlos looked surprised, "You don't think Jane can keep the barrier up, do you?"
"Seriously man? That's the biggest spell Fairy Godmother has ever cast, and the last time Jane got ahold of her wand at the Coronation it went completely berserk. We'd have better luck letting Dude control it," Jay scoffed, crossing his arms stubbornly.
"What happened to wanting to fight? Lonnie was going to have the entire Chinese army backing us, not to mention all the other kings, queens and fairies that the kingdoms have," Carlos replied.
"We're no match for the entire isle, fully powered and seeking revenge homing in on Auradon. Our best bet if everything goes wrong is to run, at least that way we might survive," Jay muttered, the terrifying image causing his stomach to twist painfully.
Carlos sat heavily on his bed, he'd never seen Jay look so defeated before, it was causing his own anxiety to rise. If Jay thought they were already in trouble then they might as well start packing now because their parents would raze the entire world until they were found and everything they loved was destroyed.
"Where would we go?" Carlos asked quietly.
"Back to the isle, it's literally the last place anyone would look for us and nobody would stay so it would be safe," Jay said
Carlos winced at the idea, there wasn't a single thing he ever wanted to go back there for, and although he understood Jay's reasoning, it was actually pretty brilliant, there was no way he could go live in Hell Hall for the rest of his life, alone except for the haunting images of his mother around every turn. "What about everyone else? They can't all come with us, it would draw way too much attention and take huge boats to ferry everyone there."
Jay looked away, "Obviously they wouldn't all get to come. Ben and Doug and a handful of other sure but most of them are probably going to want to stay with their families anyway."
"Jay, they're our friends! They don't even know what they're really up against. You'd seriously just sneak back to the isle and let everyone else die?" Carlos yelled.
Jay burst up from his bed, pacing irritably, "What do you want me to do Carlos, fight? You've heard the stories about our parents when they were at their strongest, most of the heroes in those stories didn't exactly do so great, Aurora pricked her finger and the entire kingdom was put to sleep, Belle nearly lost both her father and the beast, Snow White was in a coffin after she ate that apple and Aladdin first was trapped in the Cave of Souls, then sent to the end of the world, and finally had to fight Jafar when he turned into a giant snake and trapped Jasmine in a giant hourglass nearly suffocating her to death! There are more ways we could be killed then I can even think of right now and what do we have to fight back with, some swords and shields?"
Carlos was speechless, usually, he was the pessimistic one, along with Mal, but now Jay was laying out Carlos' worst fears and he had no idea how to diffuse the tension. "We have to at least try Jay, otherwise our parents will never stop coming after us. Maybe there's a way to neutralize the artifacts, that would take away a lot of their power."
C Mal, any idea how to neutralize magical items?
M I've heard of potions that can be made, but usually, it's for small-time stuff. We have a lot of very large, very powerful things that would need it.
C Can we do it?
M I'll ask Evie and we'll start rounding up ingredients.
"Mal and Evie are going to start brewing some potions," Carlos said, his wide grin firmly back in place.
Jay just rolled his eyes and flopped back down on his bed, "Total waste of time."
Carlos' smile dropped, "I'm gonna take Dude for a walk, be back in a bit."
Jay just grunted, rolling away towards the other side of his bed, his back to Carlos.
Carlos quickly made his way down to the girl's dorm room instead of out towards the gardens for Dude's usual evening walk, knocking rapidly on the door.
"Carlos, is everything okay?" Mal asked, opening the door.
"Not even close, I think Jay's having a complete meltdown; he wants us to sneak back to the isle and hide there if the barrier fails," Carlos explained.
The girls exchanged a knowing look.
"Wait, he told you?" Carlos asked, glancing between the two.
"Yeah, I'm afraid he didn't exactly take Ben's news well," Mal said, glad Carlos had missed the Jane insults.
"To be fair, Jay has been handling all this chaos very well up until now. He was the first to stand up and reassure us we'd all be fine," Evie added, putting down the skirt she was hemming.
Carlos hung his head, he'd done the exact opposite after the announcement and had taken his fear out on Jay. "So, does this mean we're really not going to have a chance of saving Auradon?"
"Well, I can't say Ben's news has made anything easier, but things are definitely going to get interesting around here with all the new students coming over," Mal replied, tossing a smirk at Evie who grinned back.
"Ben's bringing more kids over, isn't it kind of dangerous right now?" Carlos asked.
"E, I thought you texted Carlos earlier?" Mal asked.
Evie shook her head, "No, I thought you did."
Mal gave Carlos a quick rundown of their meeting with Uma and Harry that evening and the resultant plan to recruit as many isle kids as possible to help against the villains if need be.
Carlos looked a bit shell-shocked by the end and Evie wrapped an arm around his waist as they sat side by side on her bed.
"We were thinking of asking Maggie to join us," Evie said, breaking her friend out of his silent stupor.
"Mags? I haven't seen her in a while; her mom locked her in her room after she caught her trying to run away. Madam Medusa had the whole place crawling with crocodiles, I couldn't get close enough to help her," Carlos said, shoulders slumping.
"Well cheer up Carlos, 'cause Ben's not going to let a few walking handbags deter him; after all he tried to take on my mom and Uma. Mags will be here before the month is over," Mal said confidently.
"That was why we were texting you those names, Ben was asking for a list of any kids we could think of who'd want to come live in Auradon," Evie said, handing Carlos a copy of the list.
Looking it over Carlos scowled at a few of the names. "I don't know if some of these kids are such a good idea, but I can think of a few to add."
Evie nodded and grabbed a pen off her nightstand.
"Man, I can't believe Jay agreed to having Aliya come over," Carlos chuckled. "You guys forgot Diego and the rest of the Bad Apples, and Harold and Jace would probably be willing to come; although they're pretty useless in a fight. Le Fou Deux and Little Sammy Smee would jump at the chance to get away from their dads and they're good to have around for grunt work."
Evie quickly jotted down the names, grinning as the list doubled.
"I feel like we're forgetting some people, who did you cross off the list?" Carlos asked.
"The Gaston twins, Claudine Frollo, CJ Hook and Zevon," Evie replied.
"Don't Gil and CJ have another sister? And what about Jay's cousin Jade?" Carlos asked.
Evie and Mal exchanged a glance.
"I wonder why Gil didn't mention her?" Evie said.
"And why did Jay forget about his cousin?" Mal wondered. "Carlos, head back over and ask Jay, Evie and I will run down to the infirmary and check with Uma and Harry."
Carlos hesitated, he really wasn't ready to face Jay's panic attack just yet.
"Carlos don't worry, Jay just needs to know that we have his back like he always has ours. We're going to stick together no matter what. This is the first time we've ever really had something worth losing," Evie consoled.
Mal stepped forward, crouched down and laid a hand on Carlos' knee.
"When my mother threatened Ben's coronation and told me love was weak, I was suddenly terrified of losing him. I'd never cared about anything or anyone that much, present company excluded of course," Mal added.
"And now the stakes are that much higher," Evie interrupted. "It's not just a boyfriend we could lose, it's all the other friends we've made, Jane, Lonnie, Doug, our classmates. This is the first time Jay's probably ever had anything he's cared about and it's scaring him to think about it being taken away. He's the star athlete in Tourney, he's got an entire team who depend on him, he's got hordes of rabid fangirls, one's he's not flirting with just so he can steal their jewelry and a life here in Auradon that makes him happy."
Carlos sighed, he completely understood, it was the same reason he was so freaked out about the villains getting loose. "You're right, Jay's dad never let him keep anything if he could make even a penny off it. I guess I just didn't think Jay cared that much."
"We all do, as much as our past selves would hate it, Auradon has really grown on all of us, and it's something worth fighting for," Mal said with a small smile.
Carlos nodded, said good-night to both girls and headed back to his dorm room. It was quiet as he walked inside, Dude scampered past his ankles and scrambled onto his bed. Jay was standing at the window looking outside. Squaring his shoulders and taking a deep breath, Carlos tried to prepare himself if Jay started yelling again.
"Jay listen, I'm really sorry about before. I didn't give you a chance to really talk, and you've always been there for me whenever I start to freak out," Carlos said, walking across the room towards his friend.
Jay shook his head, still staring out the window. "You were right Carlos, we can't just run away and hide. We'd be leaving everyone else here to face our parents alone, that's so cowardly it makes me sick to my stomach; but I don't know another way to keep you and the others safe. We're no match against our parents, and sure they've grounded us, threatened us, insulted us and been pretty horrible but they've never come after us for revenge. They've wanted to use us and humiliate us but this time they're coming to kill us."
Carlos' hand shook as he placed it on Jay's shoulder. His throat was closed up so tightly he couldn't even speak, Jay's words cut through him, stripping away the thin layer of hope Mal and Evie had given him.
The tear sliding down Jay's cheek shattered something in Carlos, and his hand fisted the material it held. "We can't give up. We have to fight for Auradon, for everything we've got here, otherwise, we might as well give up and go back to the isle right now. Mal's willing to fight for Ben, for her love of Auradon Prep, Evie's willing to fight for Doug, for her fashion business she could never have had on the isle, so what do you love enough to fight for Jay?"
Jay took a shaky breath and scrubbed his arm across his face, turning to look at Carlos. The words he was about to blurt out died on his tongue so he quickly glanced around the room. "I guess having a nice, comfy bed to sleep on every night, instead of under a shelf on a rug is pretty good, and being able to get food whenever I'm hungry."
Carlos smirked, "Not to mention winning Tourney games and all your adoring fans screaming your name?"
Jay turned away again, his fist banging against the window sill. "I don't want to lose any of it."
"It was easier before, wasn't it? I didn't have a big comfy bed, being smart in school never made teachers proud of me and I would never have had a girlfriend. I didn't have anything worth losing, I would never have imagined I could care about anything," Carlos said. "But caring doesn't make us weak, it gives us something to fight for. We have things worth protecting now."
"Who are we kidding Carlos, we can't beat them," Jay sighed, letting his forehead rest against the window glass.
Carlos bit back a scream of frustration. "Do our parents have magic?"
"Not yet," Jay replied.
"Do our parents have weapons?" Carlos asked.
"Not unless they get their hands on the ones here," Jay said.
"And we have a plan to take care of those, don't we?" Carlos pressed.
"Yeah, some plan," Jay scoffed.
"Jay, I'm scared too. I don't want to have to face off against my mother or any of the others, but I also can't go hide back on the island. So, I'm going to stay here and fight with Mal, Evie and everyone else, but I'd really feel a lot better if I knew my best friend was going to be there too. Afterall, you can't leave your brain behind," Carlos smirked, relieved when a similar smile showed on Jay's reflection in the window.
Jay reached an arm out and pulled Carlos into a side hug, resting his chin on the shorter boy's head. He'd never backed down from a fight before, and usually, those were simply about pride, now it was about family and home. Both of which had certainly changed in the last year, they were no longer his father or the isle. Now his family was Mal, Evie, and Carlos, and Auradon was his home.
"You're going to stay, right Jay?" Carlos asked, a few quiet minutes later.
Jay glanced down, Carlos' eyes wide, the anxiety and fear clear, and he tightened his arm around the thin shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere buddy, I promise."
Carlos relaxed, his shoulders dropping. He knew Jay wouldn't go back on his word, he'd never outright lied to Carlos about anything that mattered before. Carlos looked at Jay's reflection in the window, it was pensive, a faraway look in the other's eyes'. So many things had changed between them in such a short period of time, just a few years ago Jay would have tripped him in passing and then mocked and laughed at him and now they stood, arms wrapped securely around each other, afraid but determined to protect all of Auradon together. He'd never felt this safe and secure before, it was certainly not something his mother ever instilled with her presence but standing next to Jay, Carlos felt stronger and more steady then he had all week. Jay may not believe it yet, but they were going to make it through this, even if Carlos had to drag him kicking and screaming in protest; he wasn't going to let his best friend run and hide.
Jay wasn't sure why he was giving in to Carlos' request so easily, he'd almost expected the smaller boy to jump at the chance to avoid fighting their parents. Cruella's cruelty was well known, and it was one thing to stand up to her when she was just a picture on a tv screen, but face to face was another thing entirely. Jay wasn't completely sure if Carlos would freeze or fight, but either way, he'd never forgive himself for abandoning his friend. He'd never felt this close to anyone in his entire life before, his own father never felt any affection for him, Mal had piqued his interest as Maleficent's daughter and they'd formed an uneasy truce that had turned into a solid friendship; although he still sometimes wondered about her motives. When Evie and Carlos had come along, Jay had been extremely skeptical. He hadn't figured either one would last, Carlos being a small scaredy cat and Evie being a stuck up wannabe princess. Both had surprised him however, Carlos was extremely smart and a quick tactician, while Evie had a good heart and a calm, down to earth demeanor. Somehow, before Jay had even realized it, the four of them had become a team, they had started relying on each other and had started to care.