(Author's Note: Hello everybody and welcome to the next chapter!

There's not TOO much to say this time…so I hope you guys enjoy:)

Chapter Nineteen: Inner Beast

Concept: Antonio has had conflicting feelings about his Gift Ceremony for a while now, wanting to make the family around but also worried about how his relationship with Mirabel would be affected. He could only hope that everything went well…

Antonio Madrigal gulped as he reached toward (what's supposed to become) his door. He had been nervous for the entire day, but that was NOTHING compared to what he'd felt in these last few minutes. He was always the Madrigal who would hide behind his family in public and hated having everyone's eyes on him. That's why he froze when the curtains opened.

Having the eyes of his entire family on him? He could handle that. Having the eyes of the entire town on him? It was like a nightmare come true.

That's why he was so happy that Mirabel walked with him to his door. He loved his mama and papa, and his hermana and hermano too…but none of them were Mirabel. Whenever he felt sad, scared, or just "uncertain", Mirabel was the one who would always make him feel better. Whether it'd be tickling him so hard that he couldn't stop laughing or holding him gently and singing to him sweetly to put him at ease (always topping it all off with a kiss on his forehead), Mirabel was always there for him.

That's why he asked for her to come with him on the walk to his door. When the lights shone on him and everyone looked his way, he froze. He was breathing heavier and his heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. When Mirabel said that she couldn't walk with him, Antonio felt like he was going to cry. He NEEDED his Mirabel. He couldn't do this without her!

He latched onto her arm as quickly, and as tightly, as he could. Even though he still felt nervous, having Mirabel with him helped to calm his nerves. He didn't think he could have made it up those stairs if it weren't for his favorite prima (sorry Luisa…not sorry Isabela). (1)

Antonio covered his eyes with his arm as the door glowed brightly. Although the light became less intense, it was still a bright color with no image. Now that he could look at the door without issue, Antonio couldn't help but…stare.

It was weird, and he couldn't explain why, but there was just something about the door that drew him in. Not even really what the door represented, but, rather, the door itself. There was just something about it that-.

CRACK!

-and then pain blasted through his universe.


Mirabel (like everyone else) watched with nervous anticipation as Antonio reached for the doorknob. She was pretty confident in saying that she's been the most concerned about tonight. On the one hand, she was terrified of the idea that Antonio getting a Gift would begin the process of him being pulled away from her. He was the only member of the family who didn't treat her with pity or barely restrained contempt. The WORST thing that could come from this is losing her precious little primo.

On the OTHER hand, however…she knew better than anyone what it was like to be the "Defect Madrigal". The looks of pity and disappointment, the mocking and hurtful comments, the mistreatment from those who can't even pretend to care…she was terrified to think of someone as kind and sweet as Antonio having to deal with any of that.

Mirabel made herself a promise as the door began to glow: if something went wrong with this ceremony, she was NOT going to let Antonio have to go through what she did. She WILL protect him. No matter what she had to do…or who she had to face.

Despite her thoughts, Mirabel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as she watched Antonio scratch his face and neck. That's weird. She always helped to make sure that he put on plenty of lotion every day (no one in the family wanted dry skin), and made sure he had plenty on after his shower and before putting on his fancy clothes. She wondered what was-.

CRACK!

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Antonio HOWLED in pain as he clutched his stomach and fell to his knees. Everyone flinched back, completely unprepared for hearing something so…painful coming from the youngest Madrigal (both the scream and the "cracking" sound).

Mirabel was the first to recover, "ANTONIO!" She ran to his side, going to her knees and placing her hands on his cheeks (her heart breaking at the expression on his face), "Hombrecito, what happened?! Are you okay?!" When Antonio's eyes shot open, Mirabel couldn't help but gasp.

The whites in his eyes had turned pitch black, while his pupils were now a glowing magenta color.

"M-Mira," he had barely gotten those words out (in a voice that sounded deeper than it had prior) before he grabbed his throat in pain, "It hurts." Mirabel "sensed" two people (likely Antonio's parents) kneeling next to her, but she couldn't be bothered right now. Not when her little primo was hurting so much.

"What hurts, Tonito?! What's wrong?!" But Antonio didn't answer. Just when Mirabel was about to speak again, she noticed…something.

It almost looked like his skin was…moving?

To the shock of everyone present, Antonio's suit was torn apart as his body suddenly increased in size (the skin shifting as if it was a living creature). Two giant wings sprouted from his back: a blue feathered one belonging to a bird and a black-skinned one that resembled a bat's. A dark blue fin shot up between the wings as a green-scaled tail emerged from his bottom. One of his hands began to twitch horrifically (everyone able to hear the bones cracking) as his fingers began to fuse, the skin itself beginning to turn a dark shade of red. His other hand began growing larger as black hair began sprouting rapidly. Antonio's body twitched as he grew larger and larger, his face contorted in an expression of pain (yet no sound came out). Spots began appearing on his torso (which began growing tawny fur) as his teeth elongated into fangs and his feet condensed into hooves. As Antonio's face began taking on a more...feline appearance, he threw his head back and let out a scream that turned into a roar.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"


It hurts. It hurts. IthurtsIthurtsIthurtsIthurtsITHUUUUUURTS!

Antonio thought that he had experienced pain before. Scrapped knees, hitting his elbow on the wall, falling on his face when he was running down the stairs (like his parents had told him not to on more than one occasion), etc.

But he was wrong. He didn't know pain. He would take having scrapped skin and bruises everywhere on his body every single day for the rest of his life just to not feel what he was currently feeling. He knew that he was crying like a baby, but he didn't care. Everything hurt. Just sitting there breathing hurt.

After what felt like forever…the pain was gone. Antonio began to slowly open his eyes, wiping away the tears as he struggled to pick himself up.

"T-Tonito?" Antonio opened his eyes fully at the sound of Mirabel's voice…only to be confused when he saw no one in his immediate line of sight. "Are you…okay?" Hearing his prima's voice again, Antonio looked down and tilted his head in confusion.

"Why are you so small, Mira?" Antonio flinched at the sound of his voice, holding a hand to his throat. As he did so, however...he nearly screamed when he saw his arm coated in hair. Looking toward his other hand, Antonio's confusion continued to grow when he saw a strange claw-like appendage. As he looked down at his body, Antonio's confusion and fear only grew when he saw hooves where his feet should be and something green attached to him. As he patted his face, he noticed how it felt…different. Longer. And when he moved his tongue…his teeth felt sharper.

"M-Monster!" Antonio flinched when he heard someone yell, kneeling and looking around rapidly as he held his arms above his head.

But, he couldn't see any "monster". As he looked around, he saw one of the villagers separated from the crowd and pointing up at the second…floor…

Does he mean…me? That couldn't be true. Antonio was POSITIVE that he was wrong about what he felt…until he saw that he wasn't.

"What the hell just happened?!"

"The candle, how could it turn him into…that demon?!"

"It's horrifying!"

"Ugly!"

"Disgusting!"

"FREAK!"

Antonio flinched at each word as if he had been stuck. It was bad enough having everyone's eyes on him, but hearing those words and knowing that they were about him?

The sounds around him suddenly "blended" as the lights around him began to flicker between bright and dull. He could feel his skin trembling as his heart began to beat faster and faster in his chest.

He couldn't breathe! He couldn't breathe!

Antonio ran. He practically leaped down Casita's stairs as he ran (not noticing how most jumped back from his movement). He didn't know where he was running, but he couldn't be here.

On some level, Antonio could feel the tears running down his cheeks...but he couldn't bring it out of him to care.


Mirabel was so caught off-guard by Antonio's "Gift" and the people's sudden yelling that she was left unable to stop her primo from running out of Casita as quickly as his legs could carry him. Just as Antonio ran, Mirabel was barely able to notice the shine in her primo's eyes.

She had felt fear when Antonio screamed in pain, and she felt confusion at the fact that her family's Miracle would turn her primo in…THAT. But now? She felt something different. Something that she doesn't think she had ever felt before (at least, not to this degree).

Anger.

Not annoyance or even frustration…but a pure, unadulterated fury that she would have thought impossible from someone like her.

"How…dare you," Mirabel hissed, her hands clenched into fists. It was only due to the sudden silence of Casita that she was heard (by people other than Dolores, that is). Before anyone could make any sort of response, however-, "How DARE YOU!" Everyone present flinched at Mirabel's sudden shout. And if THAT didn't leave cause for concern, then the downright murderous glare on her face certainly did, "That's it! Ceremony's OVER! I want everyone whose last name isn't "Madrigal" to get out of this house NOW!" Mirabel Madrigal. The "Madrigal Butterfly" who always wore a smile and could never be put down for long. Seeing her like this, fire in her eyes and screaming her lungs out… was perhaps the only thing that could have shocked (and even frightened) everyone more than tonight's ceremony.

Despite the shock, some were able to recover quicker than others.

"You can't do that!" Mirabel didn't bother to look for the source of the voice, but she recognized it as belonging to one of the girls who always hung around Manuel Rodriguez (aka "The Bane of Mirabel's Existence").

"Watch me!" Mirabel snarled back before snapping her fingers, "CASITA!" The magic house was quick to respond to Mirabel's command, nudging her tiles underneath everyone's feet to gently (but firmly) nudge them outside. At least, that's what she did for the children and those who remained silent during the ceremony.

As for those who said such hurtful things to the family's pequeño cachorro? She all but THREW them out onto the ground without concern for their pain (and, perhaps, even getting some amusement out of it).

Although everyone was confused, they all eventually began walking away to head back to their own homes (sensing that this was a moment for the Madrigals alone).

In under a minute, Casita and her surroundings were rendered nearly silent (all except for the sound of Mirabel's heavy breathing).

Although she was as shocked as the rest of her family, Alma was the first to recover…turning to her youngest nieta with a glare, "Mirabel Madrigal! Who do you think you ARE?! You do NOT have the right to speak to anyone like that! You were raised to show respect, and I expect you to act like it! I don't know where this is coming from, but you do not get to humiliate this family in front of the entire Encanto!" Mirabel couldn't help but flinch at the sudden yelling of Abuela, and there was a part of her that wanted to curl into a ball or trip over herself in a string of apologies. But that part was QUICKLY extinguished, and she soon felt that fury bubbling back up to the surface.

"Excuse ME?!" Mirabel all but snarled back at the old woman, who took a step back in shock as if she had been physically struck. "Are you KIDDING me right now?! Your grandson is called a "monster" and a "freak" and is driven out of his own home, in tears no less, and you're getting on ME?! After EVERYTHING we just saw, I'M the problem tonight?! Are you SO persistent on blaming me for everything, or are you just that STUPID?!"

The insult re-ignited Alma's anger, "I don't know WHO you think you're talking to-!"

"I'm APPARENTLY talking to a heartless old woman who cares more about "respect" and "reputation" than her own family!"

Julieta stepped forward and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, wanting to stop this conflict before it got worse (and someone said something that they couldn't take back), "Mija-."

But Mirabel suddenly pulled away (shocking everyone present, as Julieta was the one person whom Mirabel would NEVER turn from), "No! Don't "Mija" me, mama! And don't you DARE defend her!" Mirabel pointed to the front door, "Antonio ran out because of how everyone reacted! He was crying and screaming in pain because of…WHATEVER the Miracle did to him! I have put up with…SO much from Abuela! We ALL know that I'm not her favorite! We ALL know how she goes out of her way to find SOMETHING wrong with me every day!" So consumed was Mirabel by her rage that she was left ignorant to the shocked look on Alma's face, "But NOT now! NOT after what we just saw!" Julieta was left stunned by the true feelings of her youngest daughter, who then ran a hand down her face, "What am I even doing right now?" Then…she spun away from her (shocked) family, practically stomping toward the door.

Isabela, the quickest to recover, grabbed her sister by the wrist, "Where are you going?"

Mirabel slapped Isabela's hand away before turning the most FURIOUS glare on her eldest hermana (who actually took a step back in fear), "I'M going to find Antonio, who's somewhere in the Encanto…afraid, hurting, and alone!" She stepped towards Isabela until the eldest's back was pushed against the nearest wall (feeling more terrified, in that moment, than she could remember), "And, if you're not going to help, stay OUT of my way!" With those final words, Mirabel stomped out of Casita (leaving behind a worried house and a family stunned into silence).


Mirabel ran through the woods as fast as her legs could carry her. Antonio had left large foot (hoof?) prints in the dirt, allowing the young girl an "easy path" to follow.

Well…somewhat, anyway.

Mirabel didn't know how long she had been out here, and frankly, she didn't care. She was NOT going back without Antonio. And she WAS going to find him. No matter how far she had to run or how many bruises she got (not even a time like this canceled out her natural clumsiness).

Just as Mirabel was on the verge of screaming her lungs out in frustration…she heard something in the dead of the forest.

A sniffle.

Mirabel latched onto that sound like a starving jaguar would its prey, bolting through the woods without a single thought to anything else. After what felt like an eternity (but, in reality, couldn't have been more than a few seconds), Mirabel finally reached her destination. A small lake (barely bigger than the area Casita takes up), water as blue as the clear sky.

Its only inhabitant? A familiar large figure sitting by the lake's edge, head in his hands as he cried.

As much as Mirabel wanted to race over and pull her (not so) little primo into the biggest and tightest hug imaginable, she understood how sensitive and confusing this situation was. She had to approach this carefully, as the LAST thing she wanted was to cause Antonio to run again.

"Tonito," Mirabel spoke in barely more than a whisper, taking a few steps forward…but immediately stopping once she saw how he flinched. "Are you okay?" But he was silent. With a look of determination on her face, Mirabel took another step forward, "Tonito-."

"Stay away!" Antonio's "roar" was so sudden, and shocking, that Mirabel actually tripped over her feet, falling onto her butt. "Stay away, Mira." By this point, Antonio sounded like he was only BARELY able to keep himself from crying.

"Well….that's definitely not going to happen," Mirabel replied as she picked herself up and began walking forward…only to stop moving as Antonio began crawling away from her until his forehead was pressed against the trunk of a nearby tree. "Tonito…it's okay." When Mirabel took another step forward, she saw how Antonio curled in further on himself (his tail wrapping around his chest and his wings covering most of his body). "Okay…okay." Mirabel sat on the ground, crossing her legs and placing her hands on her knees.

The forest was nearly silent from that point forward, excluding the wind and Antonio's heavy breathing. It broke Mirabel's heart to see her younger primo so scared and she wanted NOTHING more than to pull him into the tightest hug possible.

But she didn't. Antonio was obviously still scared about everything, and she was concerned that she'd make it worse if she just grabbed him in this state.

Endless seconds ticked by, which soon turned into minutes. It took every last ounce of Mirabel's self-control to keep from fidgeting or thumping her fingers against her knees (she was never good at staying still).

But she did. Simply keeping her eyes on her primo.

"Why are you still here, Mira?" Antonio, eventually, asked, peeking out from behind his wing.

Mirabel raised an eyebrow, "Because I'm not going to leave my hombrecito alone in the woods in the dead of night?" Instead of making Antonio feel better (as she hoped it would), Mirabel frowned as she saw her primo pull in further against himself. "Antonio, are you…afraid of me?" Although the mere idea broke her heart, she had to know.

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

Mirabel looked like someone had just told her that the sun was made out of candy.

"W-What?! Antonio…of COURSE not! Why would you even think that?!"

"Because…b-because I'm big and scary. Because I'm a monster." If Antonio's last words broke her heart, these outright shattered it.

Mirabel suddenly raced forward and grabbed Antonio by his face before he had a chance to pull away. Antonio struggled for a second at the sudden movement…but Mirabel's firm but loving look calmed him down.

"Antonio Madrigal, you listen to me and you listen good: you are NOT a monster."

"But-."

"No buts!" She put a hand over his mouth (keeping her face calm even as the feelings of her primo's newfound fangs sent a shiver down her spine), "You forget that I've known you since the day you were born. I held you on the day that you were born. Every day since then, I watched over and cared for you. Monsters are big and scary? Well…they're also mean and nasty, and you're anything BUT! I've seen you become the sweetest, kindest little boy in the whole world. You've got a heart bigger than any of us…which I guess got even bigger," Mirabel teased with a small smile, tapping on Antonio's chest.

After a few moments of silence (where Mirabel was terrified that she only hurt him further), Antonio snickered a little bit.

"B-But the villagers-."

"To HELL with the villagers!" Mirabel yelled out in response before her eyes widened at what she said, "Sorry! Don't repeat that!" She pointed with slightly red cheeks, to which Antonio quickly nodded. Normally, Mirabel demonstrated FAR more self-control around Antonio (especially with her language) but, frankly, her patience with the villagers was paper thin after how they made her primo cry, "But DON'T worry about them. The villagers…they just don't understand. The magic's changed you more than anyone before, and I think that your transformation was a bit too much all at once. It does NOT justify how they reacted but don't take it to heart. Anyone who knows about you and has even half a brain knows how you really are." Antonio rubbed his head against Mirabel's palms, feeling a sense of peace that he hadn't since he touched that doorknob.

"What…w-what about the family?" Despite his large size (standing so tall that even Luisa's eyes could only meet his chest) and deep voice (sounding like thunder), Antonio never seemed as small to Mirabel as when he asked that question.

"The family's going to right behind you…just like me," Mirabel nodded. "We all love you and we all know that your…Gift doesn't change who you are. Whatever the future holds, you won't be facing it without your family." Truth be told, Mirabel wasn't as honest as she wished she were. She knew how protective her tia and tio were of their youngest, and didn't doubt how much Camilo and Dolores loved their little brother. Her parents, Luisa, and even Isabela…she knew how they all cared for Antonio.

But it all came down to Abuela.

Mirabel didn't doubt that the old woman loved Antonio but she of all people knew how much emphasis Abuela put on the town and the family's "reputation". Any time a Madrigal stepped out of line, she would always get on them about "thinking about the family" and asking "What would the villagers say?". This was at the most obvious just earlier that night when Abuela demonstrated more concern about Mirabel (rightfully) yelling at the villagers than about her youngest grandchild's pain and sadness as he ran away from Casita. And everyone knew that Alma Madrigal's word was law in Casita and that everyone would follow her orders even if they didn't agree with them.

Would Abuela show the kind of care and loyalty that Mirabel claimed? The young girl didn't know…but she wasn't going to let herself be pushed aside this time.

Mirabel pulled Antonio's head against her chest, gently running her fingers through his fur and she began to hum. A tune that her mother had sung to her, which she learned from Abuela (who sung it to the triplets in their youth) (2). Antonio wrapped his arms around Mirabel's body once she began singing, pressing his face as far into Mirabel's chest as he could (as if trying to hide from the world). As Mirabel continued to sing, she reaffirmed the promise she made so long ago.

She was going to keep her primo safe and happy, and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her.


Mirabel and Antonio weren't alone in these woods. As a matter of fact, they were all but surrounded. Everything from the smaller birds and insects to the larger carnivorous animals, the creatures of nature kept their distance from the youngest Madrigals…but kept their senses on them.

They all knew what had happened. Throughout the previous week, all of the creatures of the forest could feel it. A pull on their very souls that they couldn't quite explain until earlier that very day (3).

The Eternal Flame had blessed another human with its power…but this time wasn't like those that had come before. The youngest Madrigal had been blessed with a connection to all of them, from those who flew in the sky to those who crawled beneath the surface. His very form had changed, turning into an amalgamation of many of them. A physical manifestation of their place in the Earth's ecosystem.

A champion of Mother Nature herself.

As the two youngest Madrigals wrapped their limbs tighter around one another, their watchers all came to an unspoken agreement to keep their eyes on them to ensure their safety.

No harm would befall the champion and his protector…they would make sure of it.

(Author's Note: Annnnnnnnd scene!

(1): This was actually confirmed by Jared Bush himself on Twitter. When someone asked if Antonio would have been able to walk to his door without Mirabel, Bush replied that he believed that Antonio NEVER would have made it without her. Which I think, we can all agree, is quite beautiful.

(2): Yes, I'm referring to "Dos Oruguitas":/

(3): This HAD to have been what happened in canon. There's just NO WAY that all of those animals could have shown up in those brief moments unless they knew what was going to happen before Antonio's ceremony.

-So…what did we think? Entertaining? Heartbreaking? Stupid? Let me know.

Where did I get an idea like this? That's a bit of a story: this was inspired by Kevin Levin from "Ben 10", an Osmosian with the ability to absorb both matter (giving him a "second skin-like armor" that improves his strength and durability, as well as added shape-shifting) and energy. Depending on who you ask and what you take as "canon", Kevin being an Osmosian means that he's either a mutated human or a human/alien hybrid.

Anyway, one of the largest aspects of Kevin's character is how dangerous it is to absorb energy. To him, energy is basically a drug. Once he's gotten a taste, it's VERY difficult to stop. He grows stronger but becomes more insane. In the original "Ben 10" series, Kevin gained the ability to shapeshift into Ben's alien forms after absorbing Omnitrix energy. After changing form too often, however, Kevin's very DNA was changed and he was transformed into an amalgamation of Ben's (first) ten aliens.

This has happened four other times throughout the franchises (at least five, if you count the reboot), but Kevin's first "Amalgam Form" was DEFINITELY my favorite of them all. Part of it is nostalgia and part of it is because I like how (to me) "primal" it looks compared to the others. However, a large reason is because of the transformation scene. The others either happen too quickly to enjoy or are completely hidden by a bright flash of light. Kevin's transformation in the original series happens slowly enough to appreciate each second, not unlike a werewolf transformation (that, and the scream Kevin gives, also gives the scene an emotional moment when you remember that this is an eleven-year-old kid going through all of this. Seriously, watch Kevin's transformation into his first Amalgam Form on YouTube. It. Is. Haunting).

So, that's where this came from. I've always loved amalgam animals (anything involving amalgamations, chimeras, and hybrids really) and thought it would connect well with Antonio.

For anyone who thinks that Mirabel's reaction was a bit…"intense", I don't think it was. Here's my train of thought: Antonio's Gift Ceremony would cause a LOT of emotions. Because she has first-hand experience with being the "Giftless Madrigal", she knows how negatively this would affect someone (even though she would definitely try to deny it). Given how much she cares about Antonio (who is DEFINITELY her favorite relative, and y'all can fight me on that), I truly believe that she would defend him from similar treatment if something went wrong with his ceremony. Yes, even against Alma (for many, it can be easier to stand up for others than for ourselves).

Truth be told, I actually cut a good amount from this chapter. I had plans for Mirabel to get into verbal fights with both Pepa and Isabela (with the latter being so intense that Mirabel would actually have ended up slapping Isabela and knocking her to the ground)…but I couldn't think of a logical way for those fights to happen with everyone being so concerned about Antonio. The only reason Alma got into it with Mirabel is because A) She puts a lot of emphasis on the villagers and the Madrigals' reputation and B) I figured that she'd be irritated with her granddaughter after she "implanted herself" into the ceremony.

There will be at least one more chapter in this timeline, which will explore the family's reactions to the ceremony (who did get a bit shafted in this one, but I wanted to focus on Mirabel and Antonio) and go more in-depth about Antonio's magic.

Constructive criticism ONLY….no flames, please.

Review, Favorite, Follow, and I'll see you guys next time:)