Hey there everyone! Back again with another chapter! SOO SORRY ABOUT THE LONG WAIT! I had some serious writer's block after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays came to an end. But I'm glad you guys have been enjoying so far, I've really wanted to make a story worthy of Disney sequel lol. Anyways, I'm sure you guys are surprised as to the plot twist about Bruno accepting the offer to leave the Encanto. How will the family take the news? And what will happen with Mateo and Luisa now that the Maravillas have decided to leave soon? Well let's find out!

Also, while I don't have a song for this chapter, I'll have a song included in the next chapter. However, this isn't a song I made specifically, but rather I took this song and edited to fit in with the story. The song is called 'Turn it Down.' For anyone not aware, this song was produced by Youtuber OR3O, with the voice actress and singer for Dolores, Adassa, taking part in the song. When I heard the song, I felt that it deserved to be featured in the Encanto 2 sequel, but since the miracle candle was no longer around and since Bruno was leaving the Encanto for real this time, I needed to make edits to the lyrics so that it would fit. But rest assured, I hold no claim to this song, it is all the work of OR3O and those who took part in the song. So look forward to it in the next chapter!

Anyways, enjoy!

Back with Mateo and Luisa, the two were still chatting with one another. Luisa was making gestures as she was retelling a story. Mateo smiled and took a sip from his drink, then set it back down as he was listening to her, though he was slightly distracted.

"And thanks to my gift's new skill, I was able to fight off the jaguar long enough for Tio Felix to bring Antonio and help calm it down." Luisa stated proudly as she displayed her arm to show her invulnerable skill

"Increíble. I wish I could have been there to see it myself!" Mateo replied with enthusiasm and giving a clap of his hands before giving a small, almost melancholy smile, holding his head up with his hand as he glanced towards the Encanto and said "I really am going to miss this"

"What do you mean?" Luisa questioned with an eyebrow raise

"…I suppose I should be honest with you. My family plans to leave the Encanto in the next few days." Mateo replied, straightening himself up to look at her face to face

"You're leaving?" Luisa questioned, her face slowly turning to shock at the revelation

"We've stayed longer than had we planned." Mateo looked down at the table with solemn look as he confessed the truth

"But…but I don't understand. Why ask me on date if you were going to leave right after?!" Luisa questioned, her pitch slightly elevating from her rising emotions

"Because I knew that if I didn't now, I'd regret it." Mateo admitted with downcast eyes

"Then stay!" Luisa replied quickly

"What?" Mateo looked up surprised

"Stay with us! We can find room for you somewhere in Casita! Or maybe we can make you a house here!" Luisa continued, the panic in her voice noticeable.

"Luisa" Mateo muttered with surprise still masking his face

"Look, I was really nervous about today. I kept worrying if I would say the wrong thing or even do something stupid. You're the first person whose ever made me feel this way." Luisa said, her face full of emotion as she said all of this, then finally saying "I…I don't want you to leave!"

Mateo was quiet for a moment as he took in everything she said, but gave a small sigh as he looked at her with regretful eyes and a resigned smile.

"…I also wanted to you come with me…so that I wouldn't have to say goodbye. But now I know how similar we are."

"Similar?" Luisa, still emotional but unsure of what he meant, questioned with an eyebrow raise

"We love our families. And we couldn't leave them behind, not for anyone." Mateo admitted with a regretful smile

With that, Luisa gave a small gulp as she steeled herself, saying "You're right… I couldn't. I'm sorry, just forget what I said."

"Luisa, wait!" Mateo exclaimed

As he did this, Luisa had started to get up from her seat. At that point, Mateo quickly reached across the table, his arm knocking over his glass in the process and spill the half glass of juice, taking his hand into hers.

"I promise we'll come back. Please don't be angry" Mateo begged her with sorrow in his expression, still holding her hand in his

"I'm not angry, I just…I'm sorry!" Luisa replied

With that, she freed herself from his hand and raced away, running with the same saddened stance she had back when the miracle was dying and her gift was fading away.

"Luisa!" Mateo yelled to her

He stood at the table for a moment before plopping himself into his chair and putting his head into his hands in frustration and sadness. Up in the tree, Camilo, who had been watching in his hawk form throughout the whole date, gave a look of urgency as he quickly took off towards the Casa Madrigal.

Back at the ship of the Maravillas, Catalina and Bruno stood near the railing, with Bruno turning to look at her with the slightly awkward expression that he wears out of habit.

"Well…I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes you will. Till then" Catalina warmly smiled at him with a nod

Bruno then turned and looked to where Casa Madrigal stood, giving an apprehensive look at the thought of returning to the family with the news of his upcoming travels. Catalina saw this and took his hands into hers, making him look back at her in slight surprise.

"It will be alright. We are here for you." Catalina assured him, shaking both his hands in encouragement.

Bruno simply nodded with new found resolve, and then was suddenly glowing silver thanks to Catalina's magic. As she still held his hands, he began to float into the air and then started to descend over the railing towards the ground. The two finally let go when they could no longer reach anymore. Catalina smiled to him as he landed on the ground, and the two waved to one another before she moved away from the railing and disappeared from his view.

As Bruno made his way towards Casita, he was humming to himself with a small smile, kicking a rock like a ball as he did so. However, when he kicked the rock a little too far, he finally looked up and saw the rest of the Madrigal family, minus Luisa and Camilo, standing outside the front entrance with looks that ranged from concern and uncertainty. The only one who didn't share this look was Pepa, who instead looked to be rather annoyed.

"What-what's going on? Did something happen?" Bruno questioned

"Why don't you tell us?" Pepa said with slight irritation and her hands on her hips

"I…I don't know what you're-" Bruno started to say, but before he could finish Dolores stepped closer to him

"They know, Tío Bruno" Dolores quietly admitted with slight guilt on her face

Bruno looked at his elder niece for a moment with confusion before coming to the realization that she meant she told them about what happened during his dinner with the Maravillas. He gave a small sigh and a slight gulp before looking to the rest of the Madrigals with a look that resembled a slight bit of guilt and uncertainty.

"Oh…well I guess you heard. I mean you did. I mean-anyway" Bruno started, speaking broadly towards the family before quickly specifying Dolores at having 'heard', but then shook his head and continued with "So…the Maravillas are going to be leaving the Encanto soon…and they asked me to come with them."

As Bruno said this, a thin crack formed in Casita's wall nearby, though nobody noticed this as there attention was focused elsewhere.

"And you said yes?" Julieta questioned, looking somewhat hurt but trying to understand why

"Yeah…I mean, would it really be so bad? This would be my chance to go somewhere new, meet people who don't…" Bruno meekly admitted, glancing towards the village as he explained his reasoning

"Oh not this again. Bruno, you are not the only one in this family whose gift gives them a headache. Do you know how hard it was for me growing up trying to be happy all the time so I wouldn't make a hurricane wherever I go?" Pepa gave an exasperated sigh as she scolded him on his comment

"But they don't fear you!" Bruno suddenly snapped back with both obvious desperation and slight annoyance, his back straightening as his did so, making him almost eye level with his taller triplet

This caused Pepa look surprised by his sudden rise in emotion, not used to him speaking with so much clarity and volume, but then became more annoyed, with a dark, rumbling cloud forming over her head. At the same moment, several more cracks began to appear in Casita's walls, which by now Abuela noticed. She came up between the two of them, looking concerned with this argument.

"Pepa, Bruno, lets calm down and talk about this inside" Abuela held a hand to each of her children in an effort to separate them and have them cool off

"No mama, I think we should settle this right here." Bruno stated, looking at his mother with a determined, almost angry look in his eyes before looking back at Pepa with the same expression

As everything was happening, a crowd of the villagers had begun to swarm around to watch what was happening in front of the Madrigal household. Back at the Maravillas ship, Chea was seen walking on the deck of the ship, carrying a box with her. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the Madrigals and Encanto villagers all standing outside the house

"Uh oh"

With that, she turned and quickly ran to the inner part of the ship. At the same moment, Luisa could be heard sobbing and was seen running back towards the Casita, covering her face in her hands in her typical saddened, yet almost comical way of tearing up. She tore through the crowd of people, still sobbing as she made her way over to her family, making everyone quickly jump out of the way in order to not be run over. This caused the Madrigals to be distracted for a moment as Augustin ran up to his daughter.

"Luisa, what happened?!" Augustin panicked as he stopped her from running inside

"He-he…they're going…I can't…we can't…ah!" Luisa said in between sobs, trying to explain what happened at the dinner but failing due to her emotional state

"I knew it! I knew you shouldn't have gone on this date! I'm going to go give that 'Don Juan' a piece of my-" Augustin stated with a vindicated tone before beginning to roll up his sleeve as he started to make his way towards where Luisa came from

"No! No, don't! He didn't-I just…ah!" Luisa grabbed his arm and continued to try to speak but her sobs were making it difficult to understand what she was trying to say

"Mija, you have to tell us what's wrong. Did he hurt you?" Julieta asked after making her way over to them

Camilo, who had been following her in bird form, flew down and shifted back to his human form, making his way over to his Tío and Tía.

"I was there, he told her they were leaving the Encanto." Camilo explained to Augustin and Julieta

This only made Luisa sob some more as she tried to speak, with Mirabel and Isabella coming over to either side of her and trying to comfort her. Suddenly, a whooshing of air and a zipping sound brought everyone's attention to Mateo, who was looking upset as he scanned around trying to find Luisa. When he spotted her, the quickly sped over to her.

"Luisa!" Mateo hastily called to her

"You stay away, I knew it was a mistake letting her go out with you!" Augustin said as he fiercely approached his middle daughter's suitor.

"Augustin!" Julieta exclaimed, rushing to Augustin's side and holding his arm back to keep him from approaching Mateo

Suddenly, Miguel Maravillas quickly stretched himself in between his son and Augustin, returning to his regular shape before holding up his hands in a defensive position in front of Augustin.

"Whoa there señor." Miguel tried calming Augustin, saying "I don't know what happened but-"

"Your son has a lot of explaining to do" Augustin said with a point towards Mateo, who was looking regretfully towards Luisa

At that same moment, Dolores heard the sound of footsteps approaching, turning to see the Maravillas quickly making their way over to them with Catalina leading them, a worried expression painting her face. Felix and Antonio notice her looking at them, and soon enough everyone minus the still upset Luisa notices them.

"Bruno!" Catalina called out to him with her worried expression still intact

"Catalina" Bruno replied somewhat quietly, surprised that she and the others were coming over

"Ah! And here they are! Care to explain why you are trying to tear our family apart?!" Pepa exclaimed in a somewhat snarky tone as she gestured to them, more cracks appearing in Casita

"We only wished to help him" Miguel explained to the annoyed Pepa.

"He doesn't need help." Pepa snapped angrily at him

Doing this, the dark cloud about her head shot out a bolt of lightning, causing black scorch marks on a patch of dirt nearby, to which Catalina quickly summoned her silver magic to make the cloud disperse.

"Clearly." Sanyu dryly stated as he stepped closer, arms folded over his chest

"Sanyu, it's alright, I can handle this." Catalina said with a small wave of her hand to him

Abuela stepped up towards Catalina and the other Maravillas, looking very concerned with a hand to her chest.

"Bruno said you are leaving the Encanto. Is this true?" Abuela questioned

"Yes, we plan to leave in the next few days." Chea nodded from behind Catalina

This revelation caused many of the villagers watching the scene unfold to mutter to one another in surprise at the news of the Maravillas leaving the Encanto. Mateo stepped around his father towards Augustin with a regretful face.

"I didn't want to hurt her…but I didn't want to lie to her either. I just feel stupid for not having the courage to ask sooner." Mateo admitted with downcast eyes

This confession made Augustin look at him with both surprise and slight understanding, relaxing from his tightened stance that was ready to fight the speedster. Felix took this moment of calm to step forward.

"Why do you need to leave?" Felix questioned

"The star has brought this family good fortune…but we realized long ago that those who desire its power will do anything to have it." Celeste began to explain, then said "We must leave before that greed can consume those who live here"

"But it's different here, magic has been part of this Encanto for years. Here, we're accepted for our differences, magical or not. " Mirabel protested, indicating herself and her family

"Not everyone" Sanyu stated with emphasis as he looked directly at Bruno with his arms crossed

"When we learned of how this village viewed his gift, I wanted him to come with us." Catalina replied, waving her hand to silence Sanyu, then looked towards Pepa and said "If you want to be mad at anyone, be mad with me."

"It's true we once feared Bruno's gift, but all of that is behind us now, yes?" Abuela replied with a somewhat uncomfortable look as she glanced to her son for confirmation

However, Bruno remained silent as he rubbed his arm, not looking back at her.

"Bruno?" Abuela questioned

"…We both know the fear is still there, mama" Bruno quietly responded

"But it's gotten better, hasn't it?" Julieta replied with slight uncertainty in her tone

"It might have for the rest of you…but not for me. I-I know that I'm supposed to be over it…that I should just leave the past behind…but I can't. I just…"

"Dios Mío, we have already apologized for what happened back then, I'm sick of you holding it over our heads like this cloud." Pepa interrupted him with irritation, the thunder cloud she spoke of reappearing above her

"Mi amor, that's enough" Felix tried to intervene to calm his wife as he always does

"Actually, you haven't" Sanyu stated with slight irritation of his own, stating "From what I've heard, none of you have"

"Weren't you told to stay out of our heads?" Isabella questioned with an eyebrow arch

"Only if someone is a danger to others" Sanyu stated as he stared directly at Pepa

"What did you say?!" Pepa snapped with more irritation, the dark thunder cloud giving a large crashing sound

"ENOUGH!" Bruno exclaimed with a voice louder than anyone has ever heard him give

This caused a massive drop in sound as everyone quieted down, with all but the Maravillas shocked at Bruno's sudden outburst. Strangely, a few of the cracks within Casita disappeared, but others remained. Catalina quickly used her power to disperse Pepa's cloud. Bruno took a few breaths to calm himself enough to better straighten himself up before looking to Pepa and the others.

"You're right Pepa…your gift was something you couldn't control." Bruno stated before saying "And when you made a hurricane because you were angry, everyone here would just clean up the mess and move on. But if I gave a bad vision that someone would end up losing their hair, suddenly I'm a bad guy who brings doom wherever he goes. Even though it's been months since I came back, nothing has changed that fact."

From the crowd, the priest unconsciously put a hand to his head where the toupee was resting as he watched the scene unfold with the rest of the villagers, who all looked somewhat guilty in their expressions.

"And he's right, none of you have apologized, it's been only me." Bruno stated with a more matter-of-fact tone before saying "Tell the truth Pepa, you're not mad at me for leaving with them, are you? You're mad because I came back."

"What are you saying?" Pepa questioned, this time a bit more quietly and with a more confused look

"I heard many things when I was behind the walls. But the one thing I remember most was what you said after I left. You said 'Good riddance.'" Bruno stated with intensity in his tone

"…You're lying." Pepa replied, then said "We may not have always been close, but I would never say something like that"

"…Fine then, guess you won't believe me unless I show you."

"Tío Bruno-" Mirabel tried to stop him, but he shook off her hand

"No more hiding. Not from me." Bruno stated intently

Bruno then picked up a medium sized rock and walked over to Chea and Kosal, who stood there watching everything, looking concerned at what was to come of this argument. He then gave the rock to Chea, who looked slightly confused at this unexpected gift.

"Help me show the truth" He said with seriousness in his expression

The two looked to one another for a moment before looking back at him and nodding. As Bruno went back to where he was standing with Pepa, Kosal passed Arohi's hand that he had been holding to Dulani before he and Chea made their way over to them. Chea, with the rock in hand, used her magic to have the rock slowly change into sand, walking around Pepa and Bruno and leaving a trail of sand behind her, creating a large circle of sand around the two-third triplets. Once this was done, Bruno closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath, the sand beginning to swirl around them and creating it's usual vision dome. Pepa held a hand to her eyes as the winds and swirling sand made it hard to keep focus, while everyone outside the dome had to steady themselves from the sudden strength of the winds that formed the sand dome. When Bruno opened his now bright green eyes, the sand broke away from the dome and molded itself into three life-size figures, which were revealed to be Pepa, Julieta, and Abuela.

Bruno looked at Kosal and nodded to him, which he took as he que to use his magic, and waved his hand in the air, which made the area everyone stood in turn dark for a moment before morphing into Casa Madrigal courtyard. There, the vision of Pepa, Julieta and Abuela where standing, now in full color thanks to Kosal's illusions. The real Pepa, Bruno and everyone else watched the vision unfold.

"Have you found him?" Abuela questioned Julieta and Pepa

"No mama, we can't find him anywhere." Pepa said with a small cloud above her head

From the front door, a village man appeared and called out to Abuela.

"Señora Alma, there is no sign of Señor Bruno anywhere in the village!"

"I don't understand, where could he have gone?" Julieta questioned her sister and mother with a worried expression

"…It would seem that your brother has abandoned this family." Abuela stated with her previous neutral face of disappointment

"No mama, that can't be-." Julieta began to argue, but was cut off by Abuela holding up a hand

"Because Mirabel was not given a gift, I asked him to look into the future to see what it meant for the family. And now he has disappeared. It's clear now that whatever Bruno saw, he has left us to our fate."

Abuela walked a few steps towards the door where the village man was still standing, then looked back at her daughters for a moment, then glanced back to him. As she did this, she made a decree.

"From now on, we, this family and this Encanto, do not talk about Bruno. Understand? Let the people know. Tomorrow we shall figure out what to do with Mirabel and her gift."

Abuela, as she stated this, waved a hand to the village man, who nodded and left towards the village with the new decree. Abuela made her way up the stairs towards her room, leaving Julieta and Pepa watching her leave.

"What do we do Pepa? We can't just forget about Bruno" Julieta questioned her younger triplet with worry

"…Why not? He's chosen to forget about us." Pepa stated after a moment of consideration

"You can't be serious, he's our brother!" Julieta exclaimed at her sister's response

"Mama is right, he abandoned us! Well I say good riddance! Maybe now we can be free from the trouble his visions brings us!"

With that, Pepa turned from her elder triplet and walked off, leaving Julieta to give a look of sadness at her mother and sister's decision to disown Bruno. At that same moment, in a crack in the wall next to a picture frame, Bruno, who had been watching everything unfold, stepped back from the wall with a look similar to his sister, but tinged with more shock at their choice to cast him out of the family. He lowered down to the ground onto his knees, putting his head into his hands with a look of shame, his rat friends skittering around him.

Once the memory finished playing out, the sand dropped down into a pile on the ground and the scenery changed back to the front of the Casa Madrigal where everyone was standing. Everyone in attendance had mixed faces of shock, surprise, worry, sadness, and even guilt. Pepa, who had been in the middle of all of it, had a face that was of pure shock that slowly formed into a look of recognition at the memory. Bruno lowered his hands to his side as the green magical energy left his eyes, staring at his older triplet with a somber expression that almost said 'I told you so'

"…You tried to forget me, Pepa. You may have forgotten that moment, but I didn't. And with my gift, I never will. So who's the one whose lying, Mrs. We-Don't-Talk-About-Bruno?" Bruno said, giving a slight bit of saddened sass in his response as he quoted Pepa's previously favorite saying

Pepa didn't say anything, her face trying to come up with something to respond but no words left her mouth. Sanyu looked at her face while it was in serious contemplation, his eyes crinkling in disapproval.

"She remembers" He stated quietly

"…I thought so." Bruno replied to this as he looked directly at Pepa

Abuela put a hand on Bruno's arm and held a hand to her chest in worry, saying "Bruno, please think this through. I know we have not treated you well before, but if you leave then we'll never have the chance to make it right."

Bruno was quiet for a moment, before then looking at his mother and putting his hand on top of her hand that rest on his arm in comfort to her. He then glanced back at Catalina and the other Madrigals, who looked at him as they waited for his decision on the matter. Then he glanced around at everyone who had been watching the whole scene unfold. He gave a grimaced look before looking back at his mother with a conclusive expression.

"The Maravillas leave in the next couple of days. I'll give you my answer then." He turned to the Maravillas, saying "Sorry, but I need time to think about this."

"It's okay. Whatever you decide, we will be happy for you either way." Chea stated with a nod, her twin mirroring her.

Bruno then looked at Catalina, who gave a somewhat disappointed but still somewhat hopeful expression. She looked at him and gave a small smile.

"Yeah, its okay. I hope you choose the path that makes you happy" Catalina said, then looked to her family and said "We should head back, we've got a lot to do before we leave."

With that, the Maravillas turned and made their way back to their ship. Kosal picked up Arohi and put her on his shoulders, walking next to his twin and her husband, who had linked arms with her. Miguel put an arm over Mateo's shoulder and pulled him away from Augustin, Julieta and the now calm but still sniffling Luisa, with Celeste following next to them. Before Sanyu left, he got next to Abuela and quietly whispered to her.

"You should ask him about the vision"

This made Abuela's eyes rise in surprise as she looked to him, who had begun to walk away with Dulani next to him and holding her hand to his back as they made their way back to the ship. The only one left was Catalina, who gave a somewhat reluctant look to him before turning and using her magic to make her fly towards the ship. At that point, it was now just the Madrigals and the villagers. Bruno then gave a look to Pepa before giving a sigh.

"I'll be in my tower. I'm sorry."

With that Bruno made his way into the Casita. While there were still cracks in the walls, they were thankfully only small ones and didn't get any bigger. As he walked through the main doors, everyone else watched him depart and gave looks that, for once, truly did not know what the future would bring them. And this made them very worried.

Alrighty, hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! I finally was able to get my thoughts in a cohesive line that I can look back on and think, 'Yeah, this was written the way I think it would play out perfectly." If anyone has any tips or corrections on my Spanish or cultural knowledge, let me know! I'll see you all in the next chapter!