Lori Disney? Not Likely!

by disneylover3212008

Lori Fitzgerald desperately wanted a normal, boring even college experience. But a certain magic Disney Encyclopedia had other plans when it dropped into her life. Join her and her loyal Companions in their mad-cap adventures on Trinity College campus as they learn from some very familiar Disney faces what's truly important. Currently in Season 5- Junior Fall *Updates Sundays*

86. Slave in the Magic Mirror

Thursday morning finds Lori Fitzgerald dead to the world as she lies asleep in her bed, covers pulled up tight around her and peaceful smile on her face. Her cheek is planted in a Psychology book and the light still shines from the desk next to her. Hannah Frost, her roommate, comes into the bedroom with her pajamas on drying her hair before tossing the towel in her laundry bin.

"You know, I've been thinking about Ben and what we can-"She cuts off as she turns and sees her roommate is out. She gets a fond smile on her face and walks up to her, gently removing the book out from under her and setting it on the floor. "I've been thinking that you'd be completely lost without me and I deserve a raise." She looks at her for another moment. "And that this is the only time you actually look your age. Sleep tight, Lori. At least until Charlie comes in here and climbs up there." She turns off the light and starts for her own bed across the room.

She passes the full length mirror she has provided and pauses, chill running up her spine as she notices something out of the corner of her eye. She pauses before taking a couple of steps back, her face coming into view of the mirror. Everything looks normal, but something about what she sees causes Hannah's hands to fly to her mouth. A shuddering gasp is released as she steps forward, white with horror, so she fills the mirror. Tears start running down her cheeks as she touches her face in various places, hands running through her hair as her breathing becomes more ragged as if trying to keep from panicking. She then notices her hand and holds it up, letting out a high-pitched scream despite herself.

Lori shoots awake in her bed, nearly hitting the ceiling of the room, toy bow-and-arrow instantly in her hands and pointed at Hannah. Her roommate puts her hands out, desperate. "No! No! Lori, it's me! I swear to God it's me! It's Hannah!" She's crying now. "Please!"

Lori blinks at her a few times before putting it away. "Of course it's you," she shrugs, confused at her roommate's panic. "Who else would it be?" She hops out of bed, noticing Hannah reel back from her. "Plus it's a toy. There's no need to freak out." She walks right up to her, leaning on the dresser just out of sight of the mirror.

"I-I didn't want you to think- you don't see it?" Hannah questions, eyes glancing to her hand. She holds it up. "You don't see this?"

"Okay, I think the stress of being President has gone to your head and you need to get some sleep. We don't want you going gray before you truly start your first term after all." She closes the gap between them, eyes instantly going to the mirror as well. Again it looks completely normal but what Lori sees sends her falling back to the ground, scooting back as far as she can diagonally so she's out of its view. "What the hell was that?!"

"I know," Hannah tries to calm her though obviously not calm herself. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's happening to me. I just know it's kind of freaking me out. The book must have gone off while I was in the shower and you were asleep and someone-"

"Wait… you?" Lori gently sticks her head back so she can see herself in the mirror. "Hannah, you're fine." She shudders and pulls away again, curling up on herself. "I don't know what you're seeing because it's me who looks like… who looks…"She can't even finish.

Hannah is now officially lost. "Excuse me?" Before Lori can answer, the door is open and Jess Timmermans comes storming in. A silently crying Kaity Klingbeil is right behind her.

"What the hell did you freaks and your freaking book do to me?!" Jess rages, pointing a finger right at Lori. She glances at the mirror and flinches. "Seriously?! What the hell?!"

Kaity starts crying and Hannah rushes over to comfort her, hesitant to even touch her which causes her to cry more. Jess just keeps shouting up and down the place like a lunatic while Lori sits up on her desk, clearly somewhere else by how unfocused her eyes are. It is this scene that Charlie Prescott walks into, everyone silent as he stares at them.

"Um, is there some sort of secret girl's meeting I should be aware of… because I can come back." Everyone just keeps glancing at the mirror. He walks right up to it and stares at it. "What?" he asks uncomfortable before looking through them to his best friend. "Lori?"

She takes a beat before rising, Charlie having snapped her back into her leader mode. She takes a deep breath and pulls the book from the filing cabinet, looking everyone over. "Text the others. Tell them to get over here if they can spare some time." She takes a deep breath, clearly avoiding looking at the mirror. "Tell them we've got a villain."

XXX

So follow me down

Lori stands with the glowing Disney Encyclopedia. She sighs and pulls out her phone.
Where to?
Outta this town

Charlie examines his map and grabs his flashlight.
With you
Girl, you're movin way

Hannah is typing away at her computer.
Too slow

So follow me down

Michael grabs his first aid backpack and throws it on his shoulders.
Which way?

Rachel is performing on stage when her phone rumbles in her boot.
Down, down, down

Jess walks out of the Arts Building, swinging her backpack over her shoulders, clearly annoyed.
I'll show you around

Kaity is drawing pictures of the group absently in her dorm room.
Okay

Andrew runs out the door, nearly tripping, removing his magician's cap from his head.
There's a place we gotta go

Finch puts the two fingers to her temple and her eyes glaze over.

Follow me, follow me

Lori, Charlie, Hannah, Michael, Ben, Kaity, Finch, Rachel, Andrew, and Jess are running through the preserve, freezing once on each of their faces.
Fa la la la la

Follow me, follow me

Fa la la la la

Lori comes to a halt and the others crash into her, sending them all to the ground.

Lori Disney? (Not Likely!)

Episode Six: Slave in the Magic Mirror

XXX

There is silence a few minutes later as Michael Harms and Andrew Parker inspect the mirror with Finch Hale on the other side- two fingers to her temple. The girls sit on the fringes of the room, all of them clearly shaken except Jess who looks pissed. Rachel Ellis has draped and arm around Kaity while Charlie has his head on Lori's shoulder while holding her white hand.

Finch steps away from the mirror, arms folded. "I can sense no properties different about this mirror." She stares into it.

Michael nods, stepping away. "So, if I got this straight, everyone looks normal to one another. But you all looked in the mirror and saw something… and now you keep seeing yourself as that something." He takes a long look in the mirror. "But it's not affecting me."

"Or me," Charlie adds. Andrew shakes his head.

"I would say it translates to the female Companion population," Finch concludes. "Rachel Ellis is immune because of her inability to view herself."

"Score one for the blind girl," Rachel smirks, trying to lighten the mood. It doesn't work.

"And I myself am not affected either," Finch continues. "Perhaps it is due to the inability of this situation to make sense of my position as a projection with humanlike qualities and thus makes me invulnerable to it as well." She can see everyone giving her a look. "It only works on those who are fully human."

"What do you see?" Andrew asks. No one speaks and he looks them all over clearly concerned. "It's okay. We just… we need to figure this out and it clearly has the group of you up shaken pretty bad. Shaken up I mean."

There is a long stretch of silence before Jess folds her arms. "A zombie," she speaks up, earning everyone's attention. "I looked and my face was half muscle with the skin peeled away. You can even see an empty eye socket. My arms are the same, torn and bloody. And I'm smiling about it, this awful twisted grin." She buries a shiver with her anger. "And now it feels that way when I don't look at it. It feels like my skin is falling off." She glances at an arm. "Like I'm falling apart right before my eyes."

"I'm bones," Hannah speaks up next. "Literally just bones, except for my face which is bruised and bloodied beyond recognition. I only have like four strands of hair. And same thing… since I looked at myself I feel like I am that. I hear creaks every time I move as my bones move against one another."

"I'm ugly. I'm so, so ugly," Kaity offers, leaving it there. Lori says nothing and Charlie hugs her tighter.

"It has to be some sort of spell," Andrew paces as he thinks. "A villain came through the book and put a spell on the group of you using mirrors. I think that makes the candidate quite obvious."

Jess clearly agrees. "The Evil Queen from Snow White. Targeting girls, mirrors, and her obsession with being fairest in the land. It has to be."

"Which means she has a plan," Andrew continues. "She did this for a reason. But why?"

Lori stands, earning the immediate attention of the whole room. "It's going to come true. Right now we're the only ones who see ourselves the way we're going to be. But we can feel it… and soon it's going to start showing on the outside until it really happens."

"What makes you say that?" Rachel questions, hugging Kaity closer to her.

Lori stands a bit taller, squaring her shoulders. "Because I saw myself as dead." Everyone reels a bit at this. "Like staring at my own dead body as if I was no longer in it. Eyes closed… throat slashed and bloody." She clenches her hands. "And we all know that's the endgame isn't it? A dead Lori?"

"We need to find her now," Michael decides after staring at her a moment. "We will find her before this happens and get her to change it. We're down a guy but Andrew and I will spend the night looking through every corner of campus to find this witch."

"With my help," Finch adds. "She might not see me coming if she can't cause her spell to affect me."

Lori shakes her head. "Doctor, you have your rotation in the ICU in-"

"Madam Mim," is his response. Everyone looks confused except Lori, Hannah, and Charlie. "The two of you didn't stop for a second until you saved our lives. You barely even slept. Now it's our turn to repay the favor even if it means staying out all night, okay? Plus, maybe she'll come out to us to gloat. We might be exactly who she wants to right now."

"I'll stay with them while you three go out," Charlie steps up. "I'll let you know if something happens." Michael nods and takes Lori's hand.

"What about me?" Rachel asks. There is a tense silence before she sighs. "Go ahead. I'll stay here too. You guys are obviously in a hurry… and hurry isn't my thing anymore I suppose."

Michael turns to a still very uncomfortable Lori. "We're going to break this spell, Lores." She pulls him in for a hug. "You are not dying, you hear me."

"I hear you," she repeats, pulling away as Michael, Finch, and Andrew head out.

"What do we do if they can't find her?" Kaity finally speaks up, voice trembling. "We have class tomorrow. We can't go looking like this."

"Sure you can," Rachel encourages. "No one sees anything when they look at you. You guys can go about as if everything is normal."

"But it won't feel that way to us!" Kaity screams at her before rising and running out of the room. Hannah goes to follow her but Lori holds a hand out. Hannah reluctantly agrees and sits back down, wincing.

"I don't think I can sleep tonight like this," Hannah admits. "I don't… I just don't. I can't."

"They'll find her," Charlie promises. "You'll all be okay."

Jess rolls her eyes. "Listen, I'm not going to sit around a circle all night and just hope this situation gets fixed. If you'll excuse me, I have a life to go lead away from the lot of you because I really find it hard to be in the room with this many people. Plus I am not getting wrapped up in your drama. So excuse me."

Rachel pulls out her phone. "I'm calling Ben. I know he's not a Companion anymore, but she needs him. Not me." She starts dialing and goes to exit into the living area. "It seems like no one ever needs me."

"We still need to figure out what we're doing about that," Hannah reminds Lori after she's left. Lori just lets out a sigh and falls back on her bed- completely drained of energy.

XXX

A few minutes later, Ben comes wheeling up to the dorm door of Kaity and Rachel, clearly concerned. He tries to open it but it's locked.

"Go away!" Kaity shouts from where she's leaning against the door, head buried in her knees with her hair all about her. He tries again and she leans her head against the wood. "I said go away Ben! I didn't ask her to call you!"

"Kaity, just… I can help you. Just-"

"I'm not letting you see me like this, okay?! So get out of here!"

Ben puts a hand on the door. "Rachel told me I can't even see it. You'll just be Kaity to me. Soon this will all be over and everything will be-"

"If you want to help me then go join Andrew and Michael out in the preserve where they're fighting for all of us!" she says with venom. "And they're not even dating any of us!"

Ben sighs, knowing where this anger is coming from. "Kaity, we talked about why I had to-"

"After the fact!" she cuts him off. "You never even told me how you were feeling, Ben. We didn't get to make the choice together like we should have and it pisses me off." She takes a breath to calm herself down. "And I get it- what happened to you was awful and you're tired of this whole production. I may have hurt my hand but you… your life is completely different now. You're ready to move on like the rest of us aren't. And maybe you would have been out sooner if I didn't hold you back. You would have won the election if I wasn't going postal. You wouldn't have been in that building if it wasn't for me. It's… it's all my fault really. It's all making me feel so ugly. And now I see it too."

"Kaity, this has nothing to do with you. This is between Lori and myself. I'm done and that's all there is to it. I'm tired of being an outlier in a group I helped found in a lot of ways. Of being ignored and marginalized. I will never be able to walk again because of something I got dragged into by a book who decided I was meant to play a part. But not anymore." There is no response so he leans his head on the door. "None of this is on you. It's just… nothing good had happened to me since I became a Companion."

There is the longest of pauses before he hears the stillest of remarks. "If you weren't a Companion we never would have met."

He realizes his mistake too late. "Kaity-"

"Like I said, I just make your life ugly. And now I'm paying the price for it. Now I can't stop seeing it or feeling it. My skin is crawling and I can't make it stop. I can't make it stop."

"Kaity-"

"You're not coming in. I'm not going to let anyone see me like this until the spell is broken. I'm not going to let you see how it's my fault too. Besides, you quit. This situation doesn't pertain to you anyway anymore." Her coldness sends a chill through him.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay out here all night." No answer. "You hear me? All night." She still doesn't answer, merely staring from the door at the mirror she has set up across from her at the sight of herself. She just keeps staring, almost unable to look away.

XXX

The next afternoon, an exhausted looking Michael is making his way through the Art Building by himself, gently pushing past students as he investigates. It must be about his third time doing this, but he shows no sign of giving up or slowing despite his exhaustion. He turns down a hallway when something coming from one of the doors gives him pause.

"The stairs creak as I sleep It's keeping me awake" a voice sings accompanied by a singular strumming guitar. He opens the door to reveal the dance studio with a wall lined with mirrors. Inside facing away from them is Jess playing the guitar and singing to herself. "It's the house…shoot."

"It's the house telling you to close your eyes," he speaks up, causing her to nearly jump from the floor. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean- I never would have taken you for a Monsters and Men fan… or frankly a musician in general." He steps into the room while she scowls at him. "You're pretty good though."

"What are you doing here?" she questions harshly, putting the guitar back in its case.

"I was just looking through here for… you don't have to run away on my account. I can leave."

"She's not here," Jess answers him as she keeps packing up. "She wouldn't be dumb enough to be here when all the students are around. If you guys used your brains half the time you blindly panic or sit around on your hands, then maybe this campus wouldn't be in the condition it is."

"Low blow," he winces. "We don't have all the answers. We just do the best we can with what we have. But, why don't you tell me what you have gleaned with your infinite wisdom?" he questions, crossing his arms smugly. "What solutions have you found to our current dilemma?"

She swings the guitar case over her shoulder and starts for the door. "I broke the spell."

"Just like I thought- What?!" He turns to see she is almost out the door. "No! Stop!" She looks back at him. "You-you what?"

"I broke the spell," she shrugs, gesturing towards the line of mirrors. "Why else do you think I was here? The acoustics of the room?" She goes to leave again.

"Wait! What- how did you do it? Did you tell the others?"

"Of course not," she answers, clearly annoyed at his keeping her. "Let them figure it out like I did."

Michael comes up to her. "Excuse you, but we're a team. When something's going on that's hurting everyone… and possibly might end up killing one of us, we all buckle down and help each other. I know you're a limited Companion or whatever you told Lores and you don't care about any of us because you feel forced into this situation to begin with, but you need to work with us. You need to tell me what you did."

"You're wrong," she disagrees, nonplussed by his personal attacks. "I don't care about any of you because I don't care about anyone. I'm not a team player and I don't intend to be one. I'm just here to get the characters sorted out that are mine. Now I have to go meet some-"

He grabs her hand and drops to his knees. "Lores is my sister and right now she feels like she's dying. You can see if when you look at her. She's already getting pale. I don't know how much time she has."

"She's taken out a dragon," Jess tries to shake him off to no success. "Trust me. She'll be just fine."

"Jessica Timmermans, I am begging you." She looks down at him staring right up at her, tears in his eyes. "I am begging you to help me save one of my first and best friends because I can't do it on my own. Please."

"Fine," she pulls her hand free and walks right up to the mirror. "You can't do it on your own, but she has to. I wasn't content sitting around and letting the boys solve my problems for me, and I got the feeling the Evil Queen wouldn't be expecting that mentality. So I did it myself and they probably all have to as well."

"Okay," he nods, trying to keep up. "But what exactly did you do to break it?"

She sighs, putting a hand to the mirror. "I came in here and went right up to the mirror. I saw all the horrors I could become and I realized… I made them first." She turns to Michael who looks confused. "Everything I saw came from my head, not the witch's. It was all things I had seen in myself before and perhaps was the only one who saw it. Something not human and reacting in a completely inappropriate manner- how I see myself on my worst days when I let my guard down a bit."

Michael can see she's sharing something very personal and clearly wants to help her. "Jess-"

She turns back to the mirror. "So I just faced it. I recognized it and… I decided I wasn't going to let some witch make me feel that way. I wasn't going to let myself feel that way. I wasn't going to let others see me that way because that wasn't who I was. It wasn't immediate- it was hours- and I won't kid myself into thinking I solved the problem forever, but it was enough it seemed. I believed in myself enough to see myself in the mirror and get rid of that monster she had replaced me with. I wasn't her and she wasn't me. So then it was gone and I was there instead." She goes to head out the door, walking right by him.

Michael can't help but look amazed by her. "Jess, you are-"

"And that's it," Jess cuts him off. "So you can't save her no matter how much you want to. She has to save herself and that's that. You don't get to be the hero. Sorry it isn't what you wanted to hear but there it is. Now I have some friends to meet." She leaves him with that.

"I can still find the witch so she can kick her ass when she's ready to," he disagrees. "I won't stop helping them in any way I can. That's what family does. You'll see soon enough!" There is no answer so he think she's long gone and sighs, pulling out his phone to begin texting. He nearly jumps when Jess sticks her head back in.

"Tell anyone about this and you will find yourself expelled from this campus before you can say Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious. Got it?" He nods slowly and she's gone again.

"She sure is something," Michael mutters to himself before finishing his text. "Now let's see if we can find a witch for her to stick a sword into before she pisses her off more."

XXX

Rachel is walking through the hallway of the school by herself after exiting class, cane clicking as she navigates now familiar territory. She comes to a halt though, ears listening every which way only to be met by silence. "Where… where is everyone?" She senses something is very wrong and moves towards the wall, one hand grazing it while the other reaches slowly for her phone.

She has made a mistake she can't have realized however. She is now standing directly in front of a glass, picture frame and is unable to see the face of a hag smiling at her from it. One moment she is typing away and with a cackle the next she has been grabbed a hand reaches out from the glass and grabs her mouth. Her phone drops to the floor and she is pulled through the glass somehow, completely caught off guard. It is only once she is gone that people emerge from their classes and the hallway becomes a bustle of activity, someone stepping on her phone before they realize it.

Rachel fights against whoever holds her, only to be thrown forcefully against a pillar and knocked unconscious. The Evil Queen in her hag form the stands above her, chuckling gleefully as she clicks a manacle to her wrist and trapping her to the pillar.

She is in a circular room surrounded by pillars, sparkling from the marble. In one corner rests a large ornate mirror while in the center is a smoking potion cauldron. "I didn't want to have to do this, but you came blame your nasty little friends. Yes. Yes." She goes back over to the cauldron and grabs a book. "The oldest book from the library," she giggles as she throws it in. "They were solving it way too fast and now I need some other way to do the job. I need a new potion, yes I do." The potion becomes yellow and she checks her spell book. "Now I need two more things… and you're going to be getting me the both of them." She looks over her, clucking and shaking her head. "So beautiful and yet unable to see it. Perhaps the greatest shame of all."

She goes back to the cauldron, stirring it. "I still will have to kill you when all of this is over. Can't have anyone fairer than I in this new world, can we? No. All of you will have to die, but her first. She needs to go first before she pulls that nasty trick of hers with the book."

XXX

Meanwhile, Lori is sitting in her chair at her desk, staring at the mirror but not within sight of it. She seems to be deep in thought as she considers it, backpack abandoned at her feet and book on the desk next to her. She fails to notice Andrew peek his head in after knocking on the wood of the door frame.

"Knock knock," he tries again, causing her to look his way. He steps into the room, running a hand through the shaggy mop on his head. "Hey. I just thought I'd see how you were holding up." He steps in, glancing at the mirror. "I heard you only went to a few of your classes today. I ran into Charlie while he and Michael were heading off to check the gym again."

Lori nods. "I just… didn't have the energy for it I guess. I don't have the energy for much of anything, but that may stem from the whole dead thing with the spell." She rubs a hand over her face, completely drained. "I got the text from Michael about what it seems like I need to do… but I just… I don't think I can."

He crouches on the ground next to her, looking at the mirror as well. "You don't need my help," he tells her bluntly. "I know you don't, because you are the most spectacular person I have ever met. I know you could do this. It would take time, but will break this spell and save yourself. I've seen you take down a dragon, Fitz. You don't need my help or for me to save you… but maybe you need a boarding sound… sounding board I mean. There's a lot of thoughts rattling around that head of yours and I think it might help to get some out."

"He said for Jess it was personal, what she looked like," Lori begins. "So before I go stare at it again… I need to figure out why I'm seeing it. Otherwise I won't stand a chance other than making things worse."

Andrew nods, facing her. "Okay. So Lori… why do you see yourself dying? What's your relationship with death like these days?"

"Other than he kicked my ass and threw me off a balcony years ago…"

"Fitz," he stops her. "Why are you dead?"

"I don't know," she looks away. He shakes his head.

"You do. Fitz, why-"

"I said I don't know!"

He doesn't even flinch. "Lori, why are you-"

"Because I should be okay!" she launches from the chair. "Because I'm going to be! Because I have hurt so many people at this point I deserve to be," she admits, pacing and rubbing her arms up and down her arm.

"Fitz, you can't think like that."

"I know I can't," she snaps. "Because I have a group of people to lead into a battle I started. I opened a book freshman year and destruction has just followed in my wake. I've become someone nobody from my old life recognizes anymore and I sure as hell can't start explaining why. And I don't understand why Caleb is dead or Ben can't walk or Hannah gets her heart broken when I'm the one who should be paying the price. I'm the one with darkness. I'm the one who's slowly been poisoning others to be by my side while convincing myself they should stay if they want to. I know I'm not a horrible person, but on my worst days my very core screams the opposite to me. And right now it's all I can feel." She grabs her neck, close to hyperventilating. "I've seen things and I've done things, Andy. I left Dumbo up a tree in the rain."

"You sat all night with the Beast in the rain," he counters, rising so he is right across from her. "You have a guest room in your dorm room so characters have a place to stay. You will drop anything to someone help in need. Oh, you get the picture"

She looks up at him, taking a step back. "What-what are you doing?"

He closes the gap between them, unusually serious. "Giving you the push to beat this thing. This spell has you only seeing the negative so I'm going to remind you of the positives. The positives that you need to see if you're going to beat this thing."

She shakes her head. "This spell is right. I make others hurt and convince myself that's okay. I break them. Maybe I should-"

"No, Fitz. You fix them. Charlie is the kid he is because of how much care and love you give him. He is becoming a leader and I wish you could have seen him when you were kidnapped. He was the bravest guy in the room. Hannah, she believes in herself. She's told me she once thought she needed a man and popularity to be happy, but you showed her that wasn't true."

"She kept me as her roommate," Lori agrees. "And Ben and Charlie have each other because of the book. And Michael is going to be a doctor and has friends. He is such a great friend he deserves to have friends. Finch wouldn't even exist and that would be such a shame because she is so smart and has so much to offer." She starts to release he hand from her neck. "And… that happened because of me. Because I opened the book."

"That's it, Fitz," Andrew cheers her on. "Keep going. What about everything you've done for this school? Sure the villains came from the book, but you could have run."

She shakes her head. "I couldn't. I couldn't let others get hurt. I had to face them and fix things. And if I could do it without hurting someone- that was the option I always took. I've taken bullets, broken limbs, and third degree burns for the people on this campus. And I would do it again." A little color is starting to return to her and Andrew beams. She then grabs her neck again. "I let Caleb die. I'm the reason he's dead. Ben even said so."

Andrew is instantly disheartened. "Fitz-"

"It should be me instead of him. I should have died. Finch said I'm more important and I'm so scared that I might actually think that. That I excuse people putting themselves in danger because deep down I think they don't matter."

"If you're beating yourself up after all this time I'd say it's pretty clear that's not true," he tells her gently. "And I'm sure he doesn't think so either."

She nods, fighting once again. "He would be proud of me is what I like to think. He would be proud that I kept everyone together after it happened. He would be proud that I still gave Jess the chance to be a Companion. He was my friend so he wouldn't blame me. I can't blame myself either then because that would be disrespecting the friend he was to me." Andrew nods as her hands go to her sides. "And one day I'll meet him, but I'm not planning on it being for a while. Because I have a lot I need to do."

Andrew seizes the moment and grabs her sleeves, pulling right in view of the mirror. She turns back to look at him. "Like you, Andy. I'm going to help you get through whatever it is that haunts you."

"You're going to be the one saving me, huh?"

She nods before turning and staring straight in the mirror. "I am, because that's what I do. I help people become better like they do for me."

With that, she is thrown off her feet by a pulse of light. Andrew rushes to her as she sits up, laughing to herself as she looks in the mirror- even making a funny face. "I did it. I don't… I feel alive. I broke the spell." She turns to him, clearly overjoyed. "We broke my spell!"

"I didn't doubt you for a second, Fitz." They both turn to stare at the mirror and he crouches down right beside her. "I'm glad you can see what I do again, because it's amazing and deserve to be seen. And I don't know if you could ever help me, but I think I believe you can do it more than anyone. I just hope you don't up give… give up before that happens."

She turns, looking straight into his eyes. "I don't think I know how to give up. And I don't plan on learning any time soon." He becomes aware of how close the two of them are and pulls back, breaking the moment purposefully. "Thank you so much, Andy."

"Anything for you, Fitz." She rises and dusts her pants off beaming. "Now… I should get back to the hunt for this witch."

"I'll be joining you guys soon," Lori vows. "But first, I need to make sure everyone gets through this. And that means helping my roommate when she comes through that door. Because even though we need to save ourselves, you just showed me that we don't have to be alone."

He nods a few times, clearly a little embarrassed. "Text me when you're coming… or if you need anything. I'll be there."

She beams at him. "I will." And with that he heads out, leaving a determined Lori staring straight into the mirror without fear. "Looks like you lost, you old hag."

XXX

Meanwhile, Ben wheels himself back to the closed door. He parks his chair in front of it and takes a deep breath. "Kaity, I know you're still there. And I know what I said yesterday… Kaity you are not ugly inside or out. You are an incredibly strong and generous person who is not afraid to tell me when I'm being an ass. Really, all of you guys aren't. And I could go on and on about all the ways I am a better man because of that book now that I've stopped moping."

He waits for an answer, but there isn't one. "Kaitlyn Klingbeil, you are one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. And you are right about how that wouldn't happen if not for this whole crazy adventure. And I quit… I quit because I thought I was done with adventures. I was done with bad things happening to me. I was done with not being able to get what I want. But I need you, because I'm the one who's ugly without you."

"I'm done with these adventures. You need them and I know you do. I won't let you go through them alone though. I will not just ignore the trials you face because of them. I will be by your side every step of the way. We make each other the best versions of ourselves. So… as soon as this is all over I will go to Lori and apologize. I will ask her to take me back, and I think she's nice enough that she just might do it. So open this door and let me help you, okay?"

There is a pause before she speaks. "I appreciate everything you said, but I know I need to do this myself. I have to break the spell that's been put on me. And I'm still not letting you see me like this, because I am still ugly in every way." He sadly gets ready to wheel away. "But you can stay here… for moral support."

"I'm not moving an inch," he answers, putting his hand against the wood. "I love you, Kaity."

"I love you too, Ben." She keeps staring at that mirror, wheels turning in her head as she tries to figure out what to do.

XXX

Lori is reading on her bed while continually glancing at the door. The moment Hannah Frost enters and goes to her desk with her laptop, Lori is approaching her with a speech ready. "You don't need to do that," Hannah interrupts before she can begin, typing wildly and scanning cameras. "I got the message from Michael and went right to the nearest mirror to say what needed to be said." She looks at her roommate. "I stared that mirror right in the face and said exactly what you would in my head. I went through everything that I had learned about myself and how I didn't need to worry about what the future holds. Here in the present is where I can make things what I want them to be. And I told that nasty old reflection that 'President Hannah Frost is one day going to love someone again. But for now she's quite happy right where she's at.' And then there I was."

She goes back to her laptop and Lori waits a beat before speaking up. "You know… I had a whole speech prepared."

"I figured."

"You didn't even let me get started. Usually you at least let me say a few nice things before you interrupt."

"I figured we'd all had a long day and could be spared some time and effort. You can still say the nice things if you want though."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that." She starts back for her bed.

"Aren't you at least going to say you're proud of me?" Hannah questions.

"I might get interrupted."

"Because I'm proud of you."

Lori shrugs. "Well, you shouldn't be. Andy had to come and basically snap me out of it. I was in a pretty bad place and I don't think I could have done it alone."

"That's why I'm proud of you. It's pretty big of Lori Fitzgerald to admit she needs any sort of assistance. Even to Charlie."

Lori just looks down, embarrassed. "Well, stop trying to be sentimental. It's gross." She heads back over to her bed and hops up. "So that just leaves Kaity, right?"

"Oh, but what about poor Rachel?" a voice questions. Both Hannah and Lori look at one another in shock. "Over here ladies." They both turn to the mirror where the Evil Queen is waving to them. "You see, while you all ran about trying to solve your problems I noticed someone was left unattended." Lori and Hannah both come to stand before the mirror. She steps aside to reveal Rachel still slumped over, chained to one of the pillars.

"You're going down," Lori tells her point blank, making the sword appear in her hand. "I'm coming to get her now that I've erased all traces of your silly spell."

"I didn't you expect you to be so strong, I admit. But it served another purpose quite well while I get my next potion ready."

"I'm also going to tip over that cauldron and send you packing," Lori threatens, Hannah nodding next to her. She points a finger at the mirror. "So you'd best start packing your bags, because-"She jolts back as her finger goes into the mirror.

"Curses!" the witch cries. "Curses! Why did you discover that now?!" She starts to move over to Rachel, causing the two girls to panic a bit. Lori turns to Hannah and the two of them take off at a run to jump through the mirror, landing on the tile floor. Lori whirls about to swing her sword at the Queen, but the smoke from the potion curls around it and pulls it out of her hands and into the pot.

The witch starts cackling madly at her brief confusion, which is more than enough time for the shackles to grab the two of them and tie them to an individual pillar themselves. "An act of bravery! Just what I needed! Only one ingredient to go!" She goes back to the potion which is now smoking pink and tastes it. "It looks like Merlin's magic puts a little extra kick into it." She laughs at Lori's look of pure horror. "Oh don't worry. The sword will emerge just fine. Too bad you won't be around to enjoy it. Now we just need the finishing touch." She moves about the cauldron, revealing Kaity and Jess chained to pillars directly across from them.

"Well, now we're doomed," Kaity sighs as everyone meets eyes and tries to figure something out. "We are officially doomed."

"How did you guys get here?" Hannah asks.

"We got more snatched than charged in blindly," Kaity admits. "Though kudos to you on the effort. Too bad you couldn't save us from dying horribly by this old hag."

"Oh, keep calling me a hag," the witch teases. "You're just like this because you haven't been able to break my spell yet. You're the only one… who isn't strong enough." She then laughs as Kaity goes red in the face. Lori notices Jess is stock still next to her.

"President's Daughter!" Nothing. "Hey! Jess! It's going to be okay," she assures her as she struggles against the chains. "We're going to figure a way out of this. You just keep you big brain in the game, okay? You've been such an amazing asset so far as a Companion." Jess just keeps staring, almost petrified. Lori turns to Hannah. "She's out. Plan?"

Hannah thinks for a moment. "Get a message to the boys? Maybe they can get in here and at least help us overwhelm her. But I don't know how we'd signal to them when we're trapped in a mirror."

Lori puzzles over this before lighting up. "I think I might know just what to do."

Their attention is stolen by Kaity as she cries out. The witch is holding a mirror up to her and she desperately tries to kick out of her. While this is going on, Rachel starts to stir from her pillar. "Make it fast," Hannah tells her roommate.

"Trust me. I planned on doing that," she can't help but quip. She lines herself up with the mirror and starts swinging her foot.

"I don't think this is the time for dance moves," Hannah hisses.

Lori rolls her eyes. "Trust me." She swings her foot again.

XXX

Meanwhile, Finch, Charlie, Ben, Michael, and Andrew are all gathered in the girls' room. Ben hangs up his phone with frustration while Andrew does the same thing a moment later. "She's not answering." He turns to Finch. "Are you sure?"

Finch nods at her first friend. "Affirmative, Ben Prescott. My sensors cannot pick up the signal of any of our fellow Companions on campus. But the last transmitted location of Lori Fitzgerald and Hannah Frost was right here before they suddenly vanished. And it was then I noticed I had lost the signals on the others as well."

"Where could they have gone?" Andrew questions, looking around. He sees Charlie is clearly frantic and goes over by him. "It's going to be okay. We're going to find her. She already broke the spell so she's safe in that respect."

"This is the second time someone's taken her and I wasn't there," he says sadly before pulling it together. "I know we're going to find her, but when we do I'm not leaving her side ever again," he vows. Andrew laughs and Michael goes to say something when something comes shooting out of the mirror and just misses hitting him in the head.

Ben's eyes go wide. "What the-where did that-?" A beat later another comes sailing through, this one just missing Charlie as Michael shoves him down. "What is going-?"

"Her shoes!" Charlie exclaims, looking at the objects that have just been shot at them- a pair of pink sneakers. "It's her shoes!" He runs up to the mirror. "She's telling us where she is guys!" He sticks a hand in and watches it vanish before pulling it back out. "She's telling us where they all are!"

"She took them through the mirror," Michael realizes as well. "That's why the signal ends here, Finch. She took them off campus from right here."

"Then what are we waiting for," Ben starts wheeling towards the mirror with determination, only for Andrew to get in the way. "Move out of my way, Parker."

"No," Andrew defies him. "Because what you're about to do is get all of us killed. We can't just go rushing into there. Clearly there's something that has them all trapped even with the sword."

"My girlfriend is in there. My sister too."

"You're not even part of this anymore. You don't get to decide-"

"I am part of this. Kaity makes me part of this! Now, let's go!"

Finch steps in. "Ben, Andrew Parker is right. We do not know what danger lurks through there and we must think before we-"

"And what? Go to DIZ? I learned my lesson last time about beating around the bush. It only gets them more hurt. She already spelled them once."

"Even more reason we should-"

"Hey!" Michael silences the both of them. "I'm defecting this situation over to our leader in these times of crisis." He turns to Charlie, who looks surprised. "What do you say, buddy? It's time to save our girls."

"We'll listen to whatever you say," Andrew agrees as Ben crosses his arms.

Charlie accepts this burden and stands a bit straighter as everyone gives him the floor. "Time is crucial because we don't know what she needs to accomplish her goal in there. The Evil Witch only deals in spell magic, so surprise is crucial. We will have that if we just rush in. But we need to make sure we have the upper hand whatever situation awaits us in there." He thinks on this for a minute. "And I think I know how we can do that. We're going to need to take a quick detour to the cafeteria. Then, Finch will lead the charge just in case she has an attack ready and we'll follow." He goes to the door at a run, everyone watching him.

"And what do we do once we're in?" Finch asks.

"I'm guessing with Charlie it's going to involve some bluffing," Michael guesses. "So everyone get their best acting face on." He then follows with Finch and Andrew behind him. Ben meanwhile buckles down to wait for them to return, staring at the mirror in concern.

"You'd better be alright." He then notices the book on the desk and makes sure to grab it. "You're not taking her away from me or I will quit for real. You hear- now I'm doing it too. Great. I become more like her every day."

XXX

The girls are all trapped against their respective pillars as the Evil Queen stirs, muttering to herself in delight. Lori and Hannah keep trying to work themselves free, but seem to be having no luck. "God, my feet are cold," Lori sighs, looking down at her socked feet on the marble floor.

"We're trapped by enchanted chains and you're worried about your feet?" Hannah questions harshly. Lori shrugs. "You are impossible sometimes."

"I'm so sorry guy," Rachel apologizes. "It's my fault we're in this mess. If I had known she was there before she grabbed me or if I could have warned you then we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Rachel, this isn't your fault," Lori assures her. "We probably would have ended up here somehow, someway. I just would have preferred it to be us as the winning team as opposed to her." The hag just continues to cackle. "We're going to get out of this without a scratch. I can feel it this time." Jess is just shaking on her pillar, staring blankly ahead.

"Hey, ugly!" Kaity shouts from where she's restrained, needing to do something. The witch turns to her. "Yeah, you! Just wanted to let you know that you're so outdated that I can't wait to show you how the modern woman handles a handful of crazy like you!"

"Kaity, don't provoke her," Rachel warns.

"No, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind while we've got her here. Because she has put me through hell today and I want to leave a review. Because I think I figured it out." The witch comes up to her. "I may think I'm ugly inside and out but at least I'm not you. I'm not willing to kill a girl because she's a bit prettier than me. I'm not shallow. And it may not be much, but that is just the start of a list of great things about me. Item number two is I have a boyfriend who is going to run over your foot so many times just for my amusement."

The witch smiles. "You like to run your mouth, don't you?"

"Kaity," Hannah warns, fearful for her.

Kaity just glares at her, defiant. "Yeah, well the last time I faced a villain I hid in the tub while my friend got hurt. I like to think I've learned something since then. I might as well get the mental mind games in to have some fun before we win, because you seem to have forgotten that you are dealing with Lori Fitzgerald and her Companions."

At those last words, the witch throws her arm forward and cups something. "And there it is! The final ingredient!" She walks back over to the cauldron as Kaity pales. "The name spoken by someone who idolizes her. It will now be complete… and Lori will die."

"No," Kaity shouts, backtracking. "I didn't- I didn't know…"

"Well, now you will see you friend die and know it is your doing that caused it!" The witch turns to Lori, who just stares her down. "It looks like you are the one who will be packing your bags. And then the book will be mine and I the fairest lady in this land and that!" She goes to drop what's in her hand when commotion sounds from the mirror.

Finch comes charging in, followed by the others- Charlie holding a glass bottle full of a brown liquid. "Freeze," Finch orders coldly, taking the bottle from Charlie.

"Well, look who decided to be the hero. You say times have changed but it still appears the princes are here to try and save the day after all."

Charlie smiles at Lori. "We got your message." She smiles right back.

Finch raises the bottle grandly. "What I have here is a potion I concocted. For you see I myself am an expert in magic and sorcery myself. That is why your spell was unable to claim me."

"She really is a good actress," Lori compliments. Hannah just glares at her. "I'm enjoying the performance."

"And what does your potion do?" the hag questions, put off by this new development as her hand hovers over the potion.

"This potion will make it so that you can never wield the book as you desire. It will instead destroy her," Finch gestures to Charlie who produces the book. "And thusly it will destroy you. So I would release them."

"There is no such spell," the witch challenges.

"I wouldn't test me." Finch shakes the bottle, foam sprouting up the top in a sudden fountain. The witch looks taken aback at this clear sorcery while Hannah and Lori raise an eyebrow.

"They're going to save us with soda and Mentos?" Hannah says in disbelief. Lori just looks amazed.

"Fine," the witch agrees the shackles falling away from everyone. Lori shakes her free hands out with a smile as the rest do, stepping forward to claim the book from a smiling Charlie and Michael to end this. Hannah goes to comfort Jess while Kaity has eyes only for Ben.

It all happens in a second. Ben rolls forward, eyes only on Kaity, and bumps into Finch. It is enough for her hand to phase and the bottle to pass through. It crashes to the floor before anyone can react and shatters. The witch cackles madly and releases her hand, the glowing words falling into the cauldron and red smoke bursting forth. "No!" Kaity screams.

Lori falls forward, Michael catching her easily and sliding to the floor with her. Her hands go to her neck to try and stop the blood that is starting to flow. She starts gasping as the witch cackles her victory, everyone rushing to her except Jess who goes white at the sight of blood and falls to the floor. "No," Michael mutters, trying to figure out what he can do. "No, no, no, no, no. Lores." Finch rushes towards the witch and hits her so hard she is sent flying into one of the pillars.

Finch then turns to Lori, crumpling to her knees. "Protect Lori Fitzgerald," she curls within herself. "Protect Lori Fitzgerald."

Hannah kneels beside her, frantically grabbing her arm. "Lori, stay with us. Stay with us."

Andrew looks around frantically. "We-we need to do something. We have to…"Lori locks eyes with Charlie, a thousand silent words passing between them.

Charlie throws the book open and holds the glowing poem up to her. She nods thankfully at him, knowing he understand the priority of the moment. She opens her mouth.

"No," Hannah disagrees. "That's not what's important right now. We need to save you. Doctor, you need to do something to stop this bleeding. She needs to stop bleeding."

Charlie keeps holding the book up and Lori opens her now very red mouth. It comes out more like gurgling, the witch doesn't even notice amidst her victory celebration. "One song I have but one song" She starts coughing up blood, but forces herself to continue. "One song Only… for… you…"

The cackling becomes panic at the hag vanishes in a burst of darkness with her cauldron, but hardly anyone notices as Lori stops breathing and becomes limp in Michael's arms- hands falling to her sides. Hannah's hands go to her mouth and she starts sobbing heavily and deeply. Kaity clutches Ben tightly as he stares in shock. Michael can barely keep from hyperventilating as Finch turns away, unable to see her greatest failure. Andrew looks frantically for something, anything that can turn back time and save her- frantic in a way he has never been before.

Charlie is the only one who isn't crying, hugging the book to his chest. "Please work. Please work. You can't die Lori. You wouldn't leave me. You won't ever leave me. Come back. Come back. Come back. You have to. You're my best friend." He starts to tear up himself as the moments tick by, but then something catches his attention.

The slit in Lori's throat starts to fade, the blood around it doing the same. Charlie runs up to her, grabbing one of her hands tight as she starts breathing again. Everyone looks at her in shock. "The spell didn't finish," Charlie explains. "She sent her back before she could finish. She's going to be okay."

Lori shoots up, coughing up a violent storm as everyone crowds closer to her. Her hands go to her neck as she tries to get the breathing under control- opening her eyes to see just a blur as Charlie tackles her in the biggest hug she has ever experienced.

"I knew you'd understand," she whispers in a scratched voice, holding him tight.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," he answers. "I'm never leaving your sight again."

"No arguments here." She pulls away and stares up at Michael. "Thanks for keeping me off this cold floor." He pulls her tight against him and Charlie can't help but join, the others watching as the trio embrace one another. When they pull away Hannah helps her to her feet.

"Let's get you out of here." Everyone starts out back through the mirror, Michael turning back to make sure Jess is coming. She does so after shaking and straightening herself out to resume her mask of indifference.

Lori turns back to the mirror once they're through, noticing a very visible red scar across her throat. She takes it in with a frown that everyone notices, but Charlie is quick to break her gaze and turn her attention back to him. "It's over," he promises. "You saved yourself and you're still here." She glances at Andrew, who gives her a large warm smile.

"I did. But I did with some very necessary help which maybe makes it even better," she ruffles his hair fondly.

Kaity watches the two of them as Rachel comes up next to her. "She's going to say I don't need to feel guilty," Kaity guesses. Rachel nods. "I do though. I almost killed her with my words."

"I got us into that mess no matter what she says," Rachel reminds her. "It seems all I do for this group is drag it down. What part does a blind girl have to play after all?" She is surprised when Kaity takes her hand.

"The same one as a bipolar girl I suppose. But we persist in spite of that so it isn't even worth mentioning, especially in essays for Art Scholarships."

"I'm glad we can agree on that," Rachel gives just a hint of a smile. Kaity watches as Ben comes up to Lori. He doesn't even open his mouth before she just nods, hugging him. She looks relieved at the exchange, completely ignoring the mirror next to her in favor of watching them.

XXX

Lori is getting ready the next morning, trying to his the scar on her neck under an ugly turtleneck that is clearly not for her. She looks at the matching one on her cheek with exasperation. "Another battle wound I suppose." She glances down at the book. "I suppose I have you to thank for this. Though I suppose I could be dead, so there's that."

Hannah suddenly comes into the room beaming with Jess, who is carrying a box. "Someone has something for you," she announces. Jess merely thrusts the box into Lori's hands.

"It's nothing," she declares as Lori opens it curiously. She pulls out a long scarf made of various patches in different colors and fabrics. She looks at it for a long moment in disbelief. "I figured it was the least I could do to make sure your day today wasn't completely awful. My mom insisted I learn at least one trade skill."

"It's… wow. What are these- is this one of Ben's ties? Did you take this from him after I explicitly said we're not going to punish him for his slip? It's happened to all of us, so we're not going to torture the guy after everything he's been-."

"He gave it me. It's the one he wore when you crashed into him the first day," Hannah explains, giddy. "And the headband I wore when I found out about the book. A piece of Charlie's backpack from when he sat next to you. A piece of Michael's uniform you wore, Kaity's painted covered sweatpants, Andrew's flannel from the day you met, and even Jess gave a piece. I collected them all last night when Charlie had the idea."

"That sounds like him," Lori smiles, fingering it. "This is absolutely amazing. I can't thank you all enough for it."

"Hug Hannah, not me," Jess makes clear. "I do not desire to be hugged."

Lori does hug Hannah. "We can't thank you enough. A small scrap of fabric to make this easier for you… it's the least we can do. Now let's go seize the day."

Lori nods and wraps the scarf around her neck, positioning it just so with a teary smile. She then grabs her backpacks and starts out of the dorm, Charlie and Michael waiting for her in the hallway. She links her arms with theirs, ruffling Charlie's hair with a thank-you as she does, before they start off to a new day together.

XXX

Tune in next week as DIZ returns to rope Lori into some of their plans that may leave unexpected and lasting consequences for a character. Meanwhile, things become increasingly trickier for Finch with Robert and Jolene faces the people most responsible for her cousin's passing.