Chapter Seventeen

Sometimes, in the face of great adversity, people can defy all odds and overcome incredible obstacles. Everything can be going against them and, somehow, they dig deep inside of themselves for a strength they didn't know they had before rising triumphant like a phoenix above the ashes.

And sometimes they trip and fall flat on their face like an ill-fated moron in a bush getting attacked by a hungry raccoon.

In my life, I had always been the second type.

And now I was embroiled in a moment where I needed to be more.

My Ethics classmates were gathered safely out of harm's way in front of the cluster of desks that they had moved back away from where I was at the front. On one side of the front of the classroom was Belle, anxiously grasping the black satin bag containing the two-hundred dollars. On the other side, Gaston and I stood with about ten feet of open space separating us. In the middle was Frollo, looming over the scene like some dark, grinning monument to ancient blood sacrifice.

He had made it clear that I wasn't going to have a chance to avoid getting sprayed. I couldn't just sprint forward, grab the money and the bag from Belle, and run out…not unless I wasn't planning on ever coming back to this school. And if I had any hope of making sweet, sweet love to as many of these Disney lasses as I could, I was going to need to be seeing them every weekday on campus.

So disobeying wasn't an option.

"Miss Delacroix shall remain standing exactly in the position she is now," said Frollo. "All you have to do, Mr. Barrera, is make it to her and take the bag. She will not resist. But first-"

My entire body tensed up.

This was it.

"Your collar must attempt to dissuade you. Mr. Gaston, if you would be so kind?"

I wish I could say something noble or poetic, like my whole life flashed before my eyes in that moment, or that I envisioned my future firstborn child, beautiful and pure and bright-eyed, being born within a gorgeously ornate bedchamber bathed in glorious white light, and that I drew upon the strength of that inspirational vision to-

OH HOLY JESUS SHIT FUCK AAARRGHUIGHOHGRHAOIAIOJFOAJOAJAOJOOE!

It was on me! It was everywhere! It was ON ME EVERYWHERE!

I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe! Torment! Pain! Agony! Overwhelming agonizing painful torment!

Gaston had shot a jet of liquid out at me which pretty quickly expanded into a cloud of searing death. His aim was true, and the pain was immediate. It was also incredibly potent, unlike anything I had ever felt before.

Imagine being given a million paper cuts all over your body and then dipped into a vat of lemon juice. And then lit on fire. That's kind of what it felt like.

Almost immediately, I started coughing. Violent, hacking, grating coughs. Like I was one of those terrifying mummified-looking smokers they show in anti-smoking commercials with half their esophagus removed. And I would still bet that they probably have more lung capacity and access to oxygen then I did right then.

The stuff was all around me. I could hear the voices of my classmates as they reacted with shrieks and gasps and curses, but they sounded about a thousand miles away. All my mind could process was that every exposed part of my skin felt ON FIRE-

itching scratching burning cutting searing stinging tearing biting bleeding slicing dicing-

Get it off get it off get it off get it off GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT-

aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAARRGHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhh!

Suddenly, somewhere in my head, I heard a voice.

'Shane. Focus.'

It was a man's voice, calm, certain, steady. Definitely not the Cheshire Cat's, that much was certain. But whose then?

I didn't really have the clarity or peace of mind to dwell on the question. Mostly all I could think about was that MY SKIN WAS ON FIRE.

'No it's not, it only feels that way.'

What in the holy fuck?!

'Focus.'

Focus?! BUT I'M DYING!

'No you're not. FOCUS. You can do this.'

Fuck YOU. I can't BREATHE!

'Move forward then, or else suffocate there in front of everyone and die in this world along with your own without ever making your mark.'

Making my mark? What the hell was this guy TALKING about?

I realized I was on the ground, writhing and scratching at my skin. My eyes were burning, streaming with tears from their devastated mucus membranes, eyes that already gotten an indirect taste of pepper spray merely hours before.

I forced myself to lunge forward, which drew some gasps from my audience, but I didn't get very far. I was on my hands and knees, coughing a storm and just trying to get some air in my lungs. But my lungs felt like a raging inferno. With trembling fingers, I managed to grab my shirt and pull it over my nose and mouth, but that barely helped. Though the cloud seemed to have already mostly dissipated, the chemicals were still on my skin, stinging in my lips and nostrils. My tongue felt like a dry wad of old gym socks, flopping uselessly in my mouth.

I tried to look up and see forward, looking for where Belle was standing across from me. Through my blurred vision, I could barely make out her shape. She was leaning over, hands on her knees, the bag hanging from one wrist, nearly touching the floor.

Then I heard her voice.

"I'm right here! I'm right here! Just follow my voice!"

I heard Frollo snarl, "Silence! The old woman cannot encourage her attacker!"

"But-"

"Stay in character, Miss Delacroix, or he forfeits!"

Still coughing, I started to crawl, slipping once but not catching myself. I lunged forward a few feet and then stopped when I felt a rancid gagging sensation ascending up my throat. I choked and started to retch, the nerves on my arms and hands feeling like they were being worked on by a blow torch the entire time.

I can't do this.

'Yes, you can.'

That fucking voice again.

'Keep going!'

I managed not to vomit, glanced up and realized I couldn't see much but blurry shapes and dimming colors at this point.

But even though I could barely see or breathe, I started to scramble forward like some unholy cross between a drunken spider and an inebriated crab. Or a monkey. A shitfaced spider crab monkey.

Somewhere far away, I could hear loud, enthusiastic voices. Amazingly, my fellow students were cheering me on. I could hear the voices of Wendy, Tiana, Aladdin, Meg, and Esmeralda, all of them encouraging me to keep going.

"Don't stop, Shane!"

"You're almost there!"

"Go! Go, you beautiful idiot, go!"

(I think that one was Meg.)

"She's right over there, Shane, keep going!"

"Don't give up!"

"You can make it, come on!"

One deep, terrible voice rose above the rest.

Frollo.

"Give it to him again."

At least three female voices instinctively cried out, "No!"

But some sense that was neither fully sight nor sound felt Gaston step forward and reach out the canister once again to-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H!

WHAT THE FUCK NO NO WHY WHY WHY OWWWRARARIFHRAFHGHOGJAOIJAOIJOIAJ!

What I had been feeling before couldn't even compare to what I was feeling now. I didn't think I could possibly be in any more agony, but I was wrong.

This was what death had to feel like. Every inch of me felt like it was on fire now, the searing pain shooting through my nerves and making all the parts that were covered by clothing feel like they had been dowsed in acid just as much as my exposed skin.

Now I was actually almost 100% blind. And I couldn't breathe, which created the wonderful sensation of absolute panic.

I was consumed by so much of it that it completely obliterated every other sense and sensation. I wanted to be anywhere else, I wanted to be dead just so I couldn't feel this agony anymore, but more than anything I wanted, needed, desperately yearned for some AIR.

My mind became cloudy.

Air, air, air, air, air, oxygen, breath, air, air, air, oxygen, oxygen, breathing, breath, air-

I realized I was actually going to die. I was going to suffocate to death, right here in this stupid piece of shit created hell of a world. Would I even be transported back home? Was there an afterlife that transcended dimensions, or would I end up in some version of this reality's heaven or hell?

Please, just make it stop.

'Don't give up, Shane! This isn't the end.'

I can't do it.

'Yes you can. You have to keep moving.'

I can't see, I can't breathe-

'Go!'

I'm going to die.

'No you're not.'

I'm going to die here on this floor.

'Not if you keep moving! Now GO!'

I can't, I can't, I ca-

'YOU CAN.'

So I did.

Somehow, I did.

I felt my muscles propelling myself forward. And even though everything felt on fire, like my face was roasting in a crackling furnace, like my limbs and torso were being flayed by a thousand tiny hooks, a part of my delirious consciousness was lifted aloft from my breaking body. It was like I was floating above myself somehow, and I could see me crawling, even though I simultaneously could feel and see nothing and everything and nothing at all.

I could see Frollo's enraged face, his eyes white with fury, his entire body quaking with rage like a volcano about to erupt.

Gaston was watching me in angry shock, clutching the canister in his big stupid hand as though he wanted to crush it for not having instantly dissolved me.

Wendy's face was white as a sheet. She looked ready to faint. Tiana's hair was wild as she shouted for me to keep going. Jasmine looked silently horrified, Quasimodo the same. Aladdin was fervently shouting for me, holding Meg's hand as she screamed encouraging (in her mind) profanities at me to not give up. Esmeralda was next to them, leaning over as if she could will me forward by getting closer to my level, reaching out as she called me. All of them joined her in crouching and yelling as I crawled obliviously past them, rasping for breath.

And at the far end, across from me, was Belle, unable to speak lest she condemn me, her eyes wide with fear for my well-being.

I was more than halfway to her now, lunging forward, slipping, crawling, lunging forward again, not able to really see in the traditional sense, but still doing everything I could to propel myself towards her. To stop was to collapse, and maybe suffocate and die.

Frollo was livid. With a manic sweep of his arm, he gestured to Gaston to hit me with another dose. A third time from this super-spray would surely make me black out, and possibly get lasting damage from the lack of oxygen to my brain.

Out of everyone, Esmeralda decided enough was enough. She ran forward, coming up behind Gaston as he hesitated to shoot me again. I think even his feeble brain had grasped how dangerous this was, and though he didn't want me to succeed, the thought of potentially killing me gave him enough pause for Esmeralda to snatch the canister out of his hand.

Gaston started to reach for her. "Hey, you dumb bitch, what the hell do you think you're-"

"Step off, asshole!" she snapped at him, pointing the nozzle right at his face.

Gaston's eyes widened and he quickly backpedaled away with his hands held up, instantly transformed into a coward. Everybody gasped as Frollo stepped forward.

"DROP IT."

Esmeralda glared at him defiantly, still holding it.

"Miss Guybertaut, if you do not release the canister RIGHT THIS VERY INSTANT-"

"Holy shit, look!" yelled Meg.

Everyone turned to see me only a few feet away from Belle as she bent down as much as she could with the bag, her feet still rooted to where she stood, but her hand beckoning me to make my last staggering efforts to get to her.

"No fucking way!" LeFou exclaimed.

"You're RIGHT there, Shane, GO!" cried Tiana.

Aladdin started clapping his hands together and hollering like a madman. "Reach! Reach, dude, fucking reach!"

"Come on, Shane, you can do it!" Wendy shrieked.

From my perspective, I could see the shadows closing in on my sight from every direction. But I could hear Belle whispering, "Reach!" and with my last vestige of strength, I threw my body forward and stretched my hand out.

My fingers grasped satin.

Wrapping them around the bag, I yanked it out of Belle's hand and then flopped down onto my stomach, clutching it triumphantly.

I heard a collective roar of cheers and applause.

Aaaaand…then I started to vomit. Vomit uncontrollably. Whatever meager amounts of food I had eaten that morning. It was miserable.

After my body violently expelled every trace of my breakfast, my muscles gave out completely and I collapsed, unable to move on my own. My skin still felt like it was on fire, and now my throat felt even worse than it had a moment ago. I was still in terrible pain, like a slug dropped into a carton of salt, but I couldn't move or do anything. I was past that point.

But I had done it. Gotten blasted by some ultimate mace on devil steroids, and still accomplished the impossible task set before me. Somehow, I had done it.

Everything after that was a blur.

Apparently, Esmeralda ran to me, and Aladdin and Meg proceeded to follow her. Taking care not to touch as much as my skin as possible, Aladdin yanked me up and Meg helped him hold me.

"Quasi, help us!" Aladdin grunted.

The very strong Quasimodo managed to take one step forward before Frollo swooped down upon them, preventing any other movements from anyway.

"Put him down at once!"

"What, are you serious?" Aladdin asked in disbelief, his grip on me slackening.

"NOW!"

"No!" Meg shouted at him. "He needs help!"

"You dare openly defy me?" Frollo hissed.

He took an ominous step toward her, like he was about to rip her head off with his teeth, when Esmeralda suddenly whipped her arm up.

The canister was pointed at Frollo's face.

Frollo froze as the whole class gasped.

And just like that, the tables had turned. Everybody watched with an electric sense of tension, nobody knowing what was going to happen next.

"You are making a grave mistake, Miss Guybertaut…" Frollo finally whispered. "I am an instructor and an administrator at this institution, and you dare-"

Esmeralda's eyes flashed as she corrected him. "No, you're a fucking psychopath."

In Frollo's eyes, there was nothing but a simmering blackness.

"Proceed very carefully now…" he purred softly as he took another step. It was almost like, for some bizarre, perverse reason, he was actually getting off on the confrontation. "…Before you cross the point of no return, my dear…"

Esmeralda's face became confused as she tried to process his strange demeanor. For a second there, it probably looked like Esmeralda was going to let him have it, like she was going to just press down and blast him full-bore right in his ugly face.

But she didn't.

Instead, she turned and threw the canister as hard as she could away from where everyone was standing, causing some people to duck anyway. It bounced off the wall and clattered out of view.

"Come on!" she said to her companions.

"Fuck!" Aladdin muttered, but, reluctantly, he snapped his fingers at Quasimodo, who darted forward and hoisted me over his shoulder. They both followed Meg and Esmeralda in running across the room for the door in a highly dramatic exit, one I'm not sure I really even deserved, as the rest of the class practically exploded with their reaction.

Frollo stood alone, rigid as a statue, watching us escape, his chin tucking down into his chest as his nose wrinkled and drew his lips up in a snarling expression reminiscent of a wolf. His eyes seemed to glow with a white hot rage, contrasting with the empty blackness of his pupils. His fists clenched.

Though nobody left in the classroom was close enough to hear him, he uttered one single inaudible word.

"Esmeralda…"

Meanwhile, Quasimodo had carted me up the stairs, following his three rebellious friends. I couldn't see anything, but I could sense the brightness of the sunlight and I groaned, starting to cough again. We ended up in the shade somewhere and Quasimodo began to lower me down.

As he placed me down into a sitting position, crouching next to me so that he could hold my weight up, I could hear the others' voices arguing.

"We have to get him to the nurse!" said Meg.

Esmeralda quickly tried to take control of the situation.

"Are you crazy?! This school's a fuckin insane asylum! We need to rinse his face and get him out of here!"

Aladdin sounded skeptical. "Well shit, Esme, where are we gonna-"

"You and Meg go get some things of milk from the cafeteria!" Esmeralda said urgently. "Get at least two, and a water bottle! Go! Hurry!"

I heard them hesitate maybe a second before they took off.

"Quasi, wait here with him while I go get someone."

Quasimodo had a soft voice. "Okay, Esmeralda."

Then she was gone, and it was just me and the hunchback. I felt him try to gently pat my chest, attempting to comfort me as he held me up.

His tone was as gentle as his touch. "It's okay. You're going to be all right. Esmeralda always knows what she's doing in situations like this. She'll take care of you."

I think I just moaned something unintelligible in response and he patted my chest again.

At some point, Aladdin and Meg returned with the milk, and Esmeralda showed up with somebody else in tow.

I heard Aladdin react to the other person's presence with displeasure.

"Oh, what the hell, Esmeralda? Why is he here?"

"Shut up, Al. Give me the milk."

It took me a second to place the next voice, but I realized that it was Phoebus, head of the campus police.

"Frollo did this to him? In class?"

Esmeralda was opening up the milk carton. "He's a fucking maniac. He nearly killed him."

"There's not really anything I can do," Phoebus said. "I have no real power over him. His connections to the court systems and his position at this school…my hands are tied."

"I just want you to cover our asses when we leave. Frollo's gonna tell you guys to stop us from leaving campus right now and obviously that can't happen."

"Oh, for the love of Disney, Esmeralda, did you get into some kind of altercation with him?!"

"She pointed the pepper spray at his face!" Aladdin butted in. "Directly threatening him like some kind of idiot! We're gonna have so much heat coming down on us now, they're gonna skin us alive."

"He almost killed him!" Esmeralda protested. "I'm not gonna sit back while that monster tortures an innocent person!" She tilted my head up and said, "Quasi, open his eyes. We have to rinse them out with milk, it works better than water. Shane, can you hear me? We're going to rinse your eyes out, okay?"

I groaned and then felt the cool liquid pouring over my face. In any other scenario, getting my face doused in milk would have grossed me out, but at the moment it felt like a baptism of cool relief.

"That was not a good idea," Phoebus muttered. "This could be very bad for you."

"What else could I have done?" Esmeralda demanded. "I couldn't just stand there!"

"Nobody deserves to get tortured like that," Meg agreed softly.

"We don't even know him!" Aladdin snapped. "We don't know anything about him! You're right about one thing, Frollo is a raging psychopath, and now he's gonna be gunning for all of us!"

"He already knows about us!"

"I've worked so hard to keep him or anyone else from having any shit on us-"

"I don't want to hear this," said Phoebus, who obviously was in an extreme conflict of interest. "Save this conversation for later, when I'm not around."

"Okay, fuck you, man, you know how I feel about you!"

"You think I couldn't take you down if I didn't want to, Slick? If it wasn't for her-"

"Both of you, just shut up!" Esmeralda said. "Meg, hand me the water!"

I felt cold water splashing my eyes and face now, washing off the milk. My face and shirt were both soaked in liquids but I was too delirious to care.

"Okay, Shane, you need to drink this now for your throat," Esmeralda said, putting the milk up to my lips. "Just swallow, okay?"

I obeyed, trying to swallow the cool liquid as best I could before coughing and sputtering. Again, Esmeralda splashed my chin with water, then put that up to my lips.

"Drink one more time."

I did.

"Okay, that'll have to do for now," she said, pulling the water away and standing. "Quasi, get him up."

"Where do you think we're taking him exactly, Esmeralda?" demanded Aladdin. "Not to our place?"

"Quit being an asshole, Aladdin! You know there's room!"

"No! You think you can just make these decisions that affect all the rest of us, well I'm telling you I'm not okay with sticking my neck out for a person we barely even know!"

"You know that the Court of Miracles is open to whoever needs-"

"Bullshit! We can't just risk-"

The ringing of a cell phone interrupted them.

It was Phoebus's.

"That's gonna be the call," he said to everyone. "Whatever you guys are going to do, you need to figure it out fast and do it or else I'm gonna have to detain you."

"We need to go to the van!" Esmeralda said.

"Oh, my van?" Aladdin asked. "You mean my van? The one that I drove us here in?"

"Damn it, Aladdin!"

"Babe, we don't have any time!" Meg said to her boyfriend. "We have to at least get off campus or we're screwed."

"We're screwed either way!" he snapped.

"We don't have a choice!"

"Fuck!" Aladdin shouted, punching something. But he knew they were right. "Let's go!"

I felt myself being lifted up again as I heard Phoebus answer the phone.

"This is Captain Phoebus. What's that, sir? She did what?"

The next thing I knew, I was being hustled and jostled around until I heard a van door sliding open and then I got placed inside the roomy interior of a vehicle. If I had been less focused on the pain and more on my surroundings, I probably would have felt a lot more disturbed than I was. It was kind of like getting snatched up off the street, blindfolded, and carried off in some creepy rape van to be sold into human trafficking.

I heard Aladdin going around and get into the driver's seat. Meg got into the passenger seat next to him while Esmeralda and Quasimodo were in the back with me.

"Has anyone thought about Jim?" Aladdin questioned, his extreme irritation palpable. "And what he's gonna do when none of us are on campus when the bell rings?"

"Jim's a big boy," said Meg. "He'll be fine."

"He can catch a ride with someone," said Esmeralda. "Cindy or Tiana or someone."

"Well I'm glad you two have it all figured it out," Aladdin muttered, starting the engine with a rumble and then a roar. He put it into gear and we started moving forward. "You can explain it all to Clopin when we get there. I'm sure he'll be fuckin thrilled."

I could feel the car in motion, and I could feel Esmeralda's soothing fingertips stroking my forehead and my hair as the pain started to subside into a welcoming numbness.

And then I felt nothing at all as my consciousness left me completely.

{Whew! Things are heating up! More surprises and changes are on the way, including some characters we haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting. But questions abound! Where is Shane being taken? How will Frollo and the school react to this open act of defiance? Who was the mysterious voice in Shane's head, and why he was talking to him? (Answer: He's schizophrenic, OBVIOUSLY. Haha just kidding…or am I o.O)

I just take a quick moment to shout out and thank all of my readers, especially the ones who have been consistently reviewing: (BlackAdder, IhateMarySue's, FloraIrmaTylee, Kamokazi, Princesskammy, Ashlovzu, and everyone else…even you, Kurklefuss, you creepy bastard.) I appreciate all the feedback. (Ashlovzu, I'm extremely honored to have "inspired" someone, in whatever capacity, to write. That's what this website is all about! You should definitely put your story up. Don't worry about how "good" you think it is or isn't. There's nothing on this site, my story included (ESPECIALLY my story), that is so incredible that you should worry about uploading your own creative works for lack of confidence. Go for it!)

As for the Dreamworks question from starksre, though I do like most of those Dreamworks films and there are some great characters there, unfortunately they won't be appearing in this story. They have to be traditionally animated and they have to be Disney (which does not include Pixar) to fit with the rules I've set up. So sorry to any Brave fans out there but Merida won't be in this because she's a CGI Pixar creation, and also I haven't seen Brave (lol). I haven't seen most of the recent Disney films, actually, including Princess and the Frog and Tangled (because I'm a boy and not a kid anymore so I don't really ever hear the homies saying "Yo dawg let's go catch that princess movie" haha), but I've watched clips of the former. As for the latter, I'm still debating whether to include Rapunzel and Flynn…I'm leaning towards no right now because they're CGI and I haven't seen the movie, but I don't know. I might change my mind if the masses demand their inclusion.

One final thing: chime in and let me know whose perspective you guys would like to see next for the upcoming "Diary" chapters if you have any opinion. (I'd like to alternate around much as I can in between the main storyline from Shane's POV.) It would be optimal if it's a character who would make sense from the story so far, but if a bunch of people clamor for a specific character, I will do my best to accommodate it. Otherwise, I'll just go with what fits, so if you just want to wait for what I do, cool, but if there's someone you really want to hear from, holla back at me and let me know.

Anyway, thanks again! I'm already working on the next chapter and will try to keep this updating streak going as long as my creative juices keep flowing and the real world doesn't squash me with responsibilities. Hope you guys still like it so far! See you soon!}