Ch 1:
"Bro, you need to calm down." Jay ordered from where he sat next to Carlos in the limo. Mal was sat a few seats over, her back to the driver's seat and her eyes fixed firmly out the side window.
Carlos was sweating, his breathing was shaky, and his leg was bouncing as the limo crossed over the magical bridge toward the Isle of the Lost.
"I know." Carlos breathed. "I know, but I-" he cut himself off.
Jay patted his shoulder. "I get it, man, but we're not going to be there long. We'll get in, grab Chloe, and get out again. It'll all be fine."
Carlos took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, but it did little good. "What if we run into…" he trailed off, unable to continue.
"Cruella won't touch you, Carlos." Mal finally spoke up, though her eyes were still fixed out on the ocean. "We won't let her."
Jay nodded once firmly in agreement.
Carlos gave them both a shaky smile in thanks. Honestly, part of him wished he'd stayed in Auradon like Evie and left this up to his friends and the royal guard that was with them. But this was his little sister. Well, his twin sister, but that was beside the point. He had to help her.
They passed through the barrier, and Carlos practically shivered at the feeling. It was hard to describe, but it almost felt colder inside the barrier. Maybe they were just used to the feeling of the sunlight now?
Mal turned around in her seat and directed the driver through some of the back roads and alleys toward where Hell Hall was. Eventually Mal told them to stop in a more abandoned alley about half a mile from Hell Hall.
"Alright, wait for us here." Mal told the guards. "We'll go look for Chloe and meet you back here. If we're not back in two hours, call me, and if I don't answer contact Ben."
The two men in the front seat nodded, and the three VKs climbed out of the limo and started the trek toward Carlos' childhood home. Carlos had his hands shoved deep into his shorts pockets, trying and honestly failing to calm down.
As they followed the long, winding path toward the mansion they ran into someone heading the opposite direction.
"Diego." Carlos spoke in surprise, the three stopping as they came face-to-face with Carlos' cousin.
"Hey, cuz. Didn't expect to see you lot back here." Diego greeted them, smirking. "Couldn't handle being good guys?"
Mal narrowed her eyes at him slightly.
"We're here for Chloe." Carlos answered, and Diego's smirk fell from his face. "Have you seen her?"
Diego tilted his head, leaning his shoulder casually on a tree next to the path with his hands in his pockets. After a few moments, he sighed.
"I haven't seen her since school on Wednesday." he finally admitted. "I even went to Hell Hall on Friday, bit of a watch party with Harry and Jace to watch the coronation. But I never really saw a sign of Chloe the whole time I was there. Granted, she could have just been hanging out in the tree house, or your room."
Carlos frowned, his worry for his sister growing. He'd gone to Ben on Saturday, the day after the coronation. Approval hadn't been given until late Saturday night, and the rescue attempt had been planned out Sunday morning, and they were finally allowed to come over Sunday afternoon. Carlos, himself, had last caught a glimpse of his sister during the disaster that was the video chat with their parents that Fairy Godmother set up. That was over a week ago. And Diego was saying he hadn't seen Chloe in four days?
"What about Harry and Jace?" Carlos asked worriedly. "Or my mother, or anyone. Has anyone said anything about seeing her?"
Diego frown and actually seemed to think it over before shaking his head. "Not that I've heard, man. Sorry."
Jay rested his hand on Carlos' shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. "That's fine. Thanks for letting us know, dude."
Diego nodded. "So, you're taking Chloe to Auradon with you?"
Carlos glanced at Mal and Jay, who returned the glances.
"Yeah, we are." Mal finally answered.
Diego nodded once. "Good." At their surprised looks, he rolled his eyes. "Honestly, she doesn't belong here. Neither of you do," he added to Carlos, "but Chloe especially. Her life's been hell since you four ran off to Auradon."
"How bad?" Carlos asked as they all resumed their walk toward Hell Hall.
"You remember what it was like for the pair of you before joining Mal's gang?" Carlos nodded in answer. "Imagine that times, like, ten. Without you and Mal around, no one's been holding back. She's gotten the crap kicked out of her more in the past few weeks than she has in the past year."
Carlos winced, staring down at his feet as he walked. Guilt was burning a hole in his stomach.
"Hey," Jay threw an arm over Carlos' shoulders as they walked, "none of this was your fault, Carlos. We didn't have a choice, going to Auradon. Between being chosen by the future King, and our parents with their stupid plan, you had no choice but to go to Auradon. As soon as you had a chance, you approached Ben about bringing her over here. There was nothing more you could have done."
Carlos nodded, trying to believe his best friend but finding it difficult.
They passed Evie's childhood home the Castle-Across-the-Way as Hell Hall came into view. Carlos tried not to tremble as the familiar Victorian-style mansion came into view. But he had to suck it up. His friends had his back, and he needed to help his sister. They approached the wrought iron gates out front and Jay carefully pushed them open, not letting them squeak too loudly. He held them open just enough for the others to slip through.
"Where should we check first?" Jay asked, carefully closing the gate as they turned to face the large mansion covered in tangled vines.
Carlos let his eyes scan the area and sighed in relief for the first time since he stepped into the limo. "Mom's car's gone. She must have gone to the spa or something. Let's check the tree house first." Carlos decided, heading to the side of the mansion so they could go around to the back. "That's Chloe's favorite hideout. Partially because Mom can't get up the rope ladder."
Diego snorted. "Man, I'd pay to see Cruella try to climb a rope ladder!"
Jay laughed. "Same."
They crossed the weedy backyard until they came to a stop at the base of a huge, gnarled tree.
"Chloe?" Carlos called hesitantly, his eyes fixed on the tree house above. There was no response, so Carlos glanced around at the others. "I'll go up and check it out."
Jay nodded. "I'll follow you up. I'm assuming you've got some stuff up there you'll want to bring back to Auradon?"
Carlos thought for a moment before nodding. "Actually, yeah. Thanks."
Carlos started up the rope ladder, Jay following him up. Carlos came out onto the balcony and approached door of the tree house, his eyes almost fondly taking in the mini turrets and view of the forest below. He knocked on the door once before pushing it open and looking around. His shoulders dropped slightly in disappointment when he saw his sister wasn't there.
"She not here?" Jay guessed as Carlos approached the small wooden chest against the far wall next to the old TV set. He opened it and peaked inside, seeing Chloe's journals and small knickknacks she'd collected over the years.
"No." Carlos answered unnecessarily. He looked around the tree house to decide what he wanted to bring with him. He grabbed an old pillow that was covered in black and white fur, Beelzebub's bed, and stuffed into the trunk on it's side. He then grabbed several glass beakers, vials, and jars of some of his chemicals, putting them in the chest, too, but the pillow separated them from Chloe's journals. She would kill him if anything ever happened to her journals. Confident nothing would break, he closed the lid.
"So, we check your room next?" Jay guessed as Carlos stood up.
"Yeah, and if she's not there, the hideout." Carlos suggested. If Chloe wasn't in one of those places, Carlos wasn't sure where else to check.
Carlos passed the chest to Jay as the older boy started climbing down the rope ladder. Before following him, Carlos took one last look around at the tree house, which had been a safe haven for him and his sister for as long as he could remember. His eyes traveled up to the plywood ceiling above, taking in the somewhat crude painting of the night sky his sister had created a few years back. Thanks to the barrier around the Isle, they never had a glimpse of the sunlight, and they'd never seen real stars. But his sister had found images in books and glimpses on TV. She found some constellations that she added into the painting, like Ursa Minor. Carlos chuckled slightly as he remembered Chloe grumbling and complaining every time the paint dripped from the ceiling onto her face while painting. She'd looked almost like a blue-spotted Dalmatian by the time she was done, which both amused and terrified Carlos at the time.
Turning away from the painting and the memories, Carlos clambered down the rope ladder to join the others on the ground. They silently crossed the backyard to the backdoor of the mansion. Carlos barely hesitated before entering the house and going straight to the entrance to his bedroom, aka the dressing room behind Cruella's fur coat closet.
Carlos turned the door knob and opened the door. What he found inside made his jaw drop in horror.
AN: Sorry this is so short! But this seemed like a good place to leave a cliff hanger. Don't worry, you'll meet Chloe soon.
What do you think Carlos found that was so horrible? Leave your guesses in the reviews. I might be convinced to update the next chapter a bit early.