The next morning came, and all the former circus performers were still fast asleep. Everyone else, however, was soon awake.

Mirabel was the first to wake up and she looked at the warriors as they were all still sleeping peacefully. She went to check on the boys in Camilo's room and saw they were all sleeping too. In her mind, she thought of how Mila said they were all homeless, and she couldn't help wondering what life was like for them outside the Encanto. Did they even have enough food everyday? She'd noticed quite a few of them seemed rather thin, mostly the grownups. It seemed they might have starved themselves in order to feed the children, but even they looked half-starved. If she remembered correctly, all of the girl performers forgot to eat during the sleepovers, and they just went to bed without a meal. Were they used to it by now? If so, Mirabel couldn't let them continue on that way. So, she decided to wake her sisters and cousins and get them into the kitchen to help Princess Julieta with cooking breakfast.

"Wait a minute," said Camilo. "Some of those guys aren't even humans. What do you think they eat?"

That was a good point, Mirabel and the others thought. They'd never really looked at Ahsoka, Plo Koon, Ki-Adi, or any other non-human or non-equine eating anything. So, they couldn't be sure what their dietary needs were, especially since Mila had known them longest, and no one had any clue where she was at the moment. But even for the ones who were human, they didn't know if any of them had dietary restrictions of any kind.

"Let's just make a bunch of different foods and see what they like when they wake up." Mirabel said. "Then maybe we can just ask them what kind of food they usually eat."

So, everyone got to work making all kinds of dishes, from their kingdom's traditional breakfast dishes, to alterations of different breakfast foods in case anyone preferred their food spicy, sweet, a little bland, or if any of them were a vegetarian or carnivore.

Eventually, all the warriors woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking.

"Mmm… Something smells yummy!" Gabby said, getting up.

Everyone started to get up so they could brush up and go downstairs for breakfast, and they were surprised with how much food was set out. They'd never seen so much food in their lives even with all the concessions they'd seen circus goers carrying, which made them hungry every show.

"I've heard of eating like kings," said Anakin. "But this…."

"Buenos dias, everyone." Queen Alma greeted. "I hope you all had a good night's rest."

"We did, very much, Your Majesty." Qui-Gon said. "And on behalf of the others, we all appreciate your hospitality."

But Qui-Gon quickly got embarrassed when his stomach growled.

"My apologies," blushed the warriors' leader

"What's for breakfast?" Boba asked, equally starved.

"Whatever you like," said Julieta. "Each as much as you want, all of you."

"We actually get to pick what we wanna eat?!" Carmine said excitedly. Then he saw poached eggs and cheesy toast. "Poached eggs and cheesy toast! Yes!"

Carmine was quick to start downing his favorite breakfast. He'd only tasted such a good food one other time, when someone abandoned perfectly good food, but this time it was so much better that it was warm and he didn't have to be inconspicuous about it.

"Someone was ready for breakfast," Luisa commented.

Everyone seemed excited for breakfast, but the kids seemed to wrestle each other for the sweeter stuff. There were so many kinds of great foods to choose from. Arepas con queso, huevos rancheros, pancakes, fruit, and all kinds of other great looking dishes.

"It's my waffle!" Boba argued, currently playing Tug of war with a plate with his sister.

Both kids wanted the last waffle on that plate, and instead of sharing it, like kids, they decided to fight over it.

"Ladies first, Boba!" Omega said.

"Kids, don't fight over your food." Padme said.

"Whoa!" Boba fell back as Omega managed to snag the little plate. "I'm okay."

"No need to fight, niños. There's plenty." Julieta said.

Anakin, however, was getting more food on his face and his clothes than in his mouth.

"Ani!" Shmi said. "Smaller bites."

"Sorry, I'm just hungry." Anakin said, getting more blueberry muffin crumbs on himself.

Wrecker basically inhaled three plates of food in less than ten minutes.

"My stomach's never been so happy!" Wrecker sighed happily.

"Just be sure you save some for the rest of us." Ahsoka said, feeding her little brother a bite of oatmeal to make sure he didn't eat too quickly.

While the Madrigals enjoyed their breakfast as usual, they couldn't believe how quickly the warriors were wolfing down theirs, or how much some of them were eating.

"Geez, you guys act like you haven't eaten in days." Camilo said.

"Camilo!" Pepa scolded. "Don't offend our guests."

"How is everything?" Mirabel asked.

"Delicious!" Kit said.

Mirabel took a good look and saw how everyone was enjoying it.

"So, those of you who aren't humans…? Do you usually eat the same things as humans?" Mirabel said. "Just outta curiosity, and so we know what your dietary needs are."

"Well, yes. We actually do eat most of the same things humans eat," said Kit. "And we do have special diets of our own."

"Except," said Shaak. "Most of us haven't been able to follow those in years, and we've had to go longer without eating just to ensure the children would be fed."

Just as the royal family suspected. But they also noticed that their new friends were wearing the same clothes as the day before. Literally the only other clothing the other had seen any of them wearing were their pajamas last night, but it looked like they'd changed back into what they were wearing yesterday, many of which were being held together with safety pins and whatever thread they could find. And it looked like some of the children were starting to outgrow their clothes too, which looked old, and at least a couple of the girls looked like they were wearing boys' clothes too.

"How long have all of you been wearing those same clothes?" Bruno said.

"Many years, most of us." Obi-Wan said. "And the children have had to wear hand-me-downs since each of them were babies."

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Julieta said. "Mirabel, didn't you say the tailors were making your designs for their shops?"

"You design clothes?" Mariposa said.

"I dabble in embroidery. It's no big deal."

"She's being modest." Luisa said, messing with Mirabel's hair, which crooked the latter's tiara until she fixed it. "She's the best embroiderer in the kingdom! If she weren't gonna be queen, she'd probably be a fashion designer instead. Who do you think embroidered what we're wearing now?"

The others were impressed when they took another glance at the Madrigals' outfits. They were all embroidered so beautifully with lots of colors, and it was all done so perfectly.

"I thought they were beautiful before," said Gabby. "But knowing those are hand stitched, that just makes them even more amazing!"

"Well, I'm glad you like them," said Mirabel. "Since you're out guests, what do you say we fix up your wardrobes too?"

"Really?!"

"Princess Mirabel, that's much too generous." Padme said.

"Hey, it was my mom's idea." Mirabel said. "And just 'cause you're helping us with a bug problem doesn't mean you can't look nice. Speaking of ideas… has anyone seen Mila anywhere?"

"Maybe she wasn't hungry." Goldie shrugged.

A little bit later, Mila finally came out of her room.

"Everyone, guess what, I-" Mila stopped when she saw the table being cleaned up. "Where is everyone?"

"Breakfast ended half an hour ago," said one of the servants. "Princess Julieta left a plate for you."

But Mila wasn't worried about breakfast.

"Where are the warriors?"

"They went to Vestidos de Valeria."

"Gracias!"

Mila grabbed a quick arepa and rushed out to go and find her friends.

Valeria, the owner of the ship, and her two daughters who worked there were taking measurements of the warriors as they each took turns trying on different outfits so they could get a whole new wardrobe. New dresses, pants, jackets, shoes. It felt so good to finally be wearing clothes that weren't circus attire and that didn't smell like old nachos and hay.

"These are so comfortable." Plo said, liking the orange and brown clothes he was wearing now.

"Look at mine! Look at mine!" Lamenta happily spun around in the new purple dress she picked. It was decorated with little stars and moons.

Turha, however, was looking at blankets, and he was cuddling one that was red with yellow stars on it.

"I see your little boy likes those blankets." said Valeria.

Shaak saw and felt a tinge of sadness, but also joy to see Turha happy when he hugged the blanket.

"Yes. Turha used to have a blanket just like that particular one when he was smaller. Except…"

A few years back…

Shaak remembered it all too well. Turha loved his blankie. It was the one thing he had of his biological father. Shaak Tii had a very tragic origin story of how she arrived at the circus.

Shaak Tii had been a very happy woman. She was married to a wonderful man, and they'd just found out they were going to have a baby. But one night, Palpatine's men came after them, and they shot Shaak's husband, and took the pregnant Togruta into their custody. That was when she met two other kidnapped victims in the form of Plo Koon and his adopted daughter Ahsoka. What had started out as a father-daughter day at the park quickly turned deadly as they were snatched out of the blue and thrown in the back of a trailer. But, throughout the ordeal, Plo was there for Shaak, and helped her through the stages of her pregnancy.

It could've been her hormones talking, but Shaak found herself falling in love with Plo, and he fell right back in love with her. And by the time Turha was born, Plo and Shaak married, and they named the little Togruta after his late father. Shaak did have one thing to remember her first husband by, though. It was a red blanket with yellow stars on it. The blanket was very soft, and Plo wrapped Turha in it when he helped his wife deliver her baby. And as Turha got bigger, he grew attached to his blankie. He would cuddle with it every night and before a performance when he was trained enough to perform. But then one day, Turha said he didn't want to keep rehearsing because he wanted to just be a kid and have fun.

Palpatine had said, "You want to be a child? Fine. You can be a child."

And then, Palpatine had his men take Turha's blankie, and then burn it right in front of him!

Turha screamed and tried to stop them and so did his family, but Palpatine shocked them with their collars and forced Turha to watch as his blankie was destroyed.

Turha was only four years old, and he was traumatized. He cried himself to sleep every night for six months, and was never able to rest the same since. Every night since then, Ahsoka or her parents would let Turha cuddle beside them so he could sleep peacefully. Turha was never able to get a new blankie, and he missed that treasure so much.

Present Day…

"Except what?" Valeria asked.

"Some horrible men attacked us, then took the blanket from him and destroyed it." Shaak had tears in her eyes as she thought back to that horrible day her baby suffered.

Valeria looked at Shaak with sympathy.

"Pobresito." Valeria said. "Señora, since your Turha likes that blanket, he can have the one he likes, on the house."

"Oh, we couldn't."

"I insist. After the things you've been through, and what you're doing for our kingdom, it's the least I can do."

"Turha, Ms. Valeria says you can keep that blanket." Shaak called to her son. "What do we say?"

"Really?!" Turha said happily. "Thank you, Ms. Valeria."

Valeria's daughters, Rosa and Carla, continued to measure the grownups who hadn't been done yet.

Hunter couldn't seem to hold still though because he was so ticklish.

"Hold still, por favor, Hunter." Rosa said.

"Sorry, I'm ticklish." Hunter giggled.

"How do some of you get dressed every day?" Carla asked. "I mean, with some of these things, on your heads, or some being very tall in the head?"

"We get dressed like everyone else." Ki-Adi said. "Though, I do admit, button up shirts tend to be a little easier for me."

All the circus folks picked an outfit they liked for today, and all of them felt so comfortable once they were able to wash up and put on fresh, clean clothes for the first time in forever.

"I love this dress!" Gabby said, twirling in a pink and blue tie-dye dress.

"I can't remember the last time I've felt this clean." Ahsoka said, adoring the feel of a clean outfit.

Soon after, Mila rushed by and exclaimed, "Warriors! Emergency meeting! My workshop! Now!"

Mila breathed heavily because she was exhausted, but she also looked a bit of a mess. Her hair was all askew, she hadn't realized her goggles were still over her eyes,

"Mila, were you up all night inventing again?" Valeria said having seen the princess like this before.

"Yes! Anyway! Warriors! Workshop! Now!" Mila grabbed Tech's arm since he was closest and practically dragged him out of there.

"Guess that means we go." Qui-Gon said, quickly following Mila and Tech, prompting the others to follow too.

"Mariverde's afraid of birds!" Mila exclaimed.

When everyone gathered in Mila's workshop, they were not expecting her to say that, but they had to admit her workshop was impressive. She had so many schematics drawn up and some prototype inventions already made.

"What's this thing?" Goldie asked, looking at what looked like a little ferris wheel attached to a string with a bunch of buckets on it..

"Oh, that's a little model for a bigger invention of mine," said Mila. "A water delivery system for the crops. See, Tia Pepa can make rain, but what if she's sick or something? So, this invention picks water up simultaneously from the river just outside the kingdom, and delivers it to crops all over. The only problem is that, even with my telekinesis, this would take more than one person to build. That, and because the people think my inventions are too weird. Maybe they're right. That invention is kinda crazy."

"What are you talking about?" Padme said. "This looks amazing!"

"What's with the perfume?" Wrecker picked up a bottle and…

"Wrecker, don't-"

Wrecker spritzed it and it made him sneeze like crazy!

"That's sneezing gas."

"Why would you make gas that makes people sneeze?" Obi-Wan asked.

"It was by accident at first, but then I analyzed it and calibrated the formula to make more, and now it makes good for a security system or weapon of defense. Have you ever tried to fight someone while sneezing a lot?"

"Can't say that I have."

"It's helped me keep intruders out of my workshop too."

"Sounds perfect for pranks." Comedia said, sniffing the stuff, only to sneeze herself.

"Before it becomes a snotty storm in here…" Mila said, spraying some disinfectant. "I brought you all here because I have an idea how we can defeat Mariverde and not put all of you in so much danger."

Mila got out her blackboard and started to draw on it. To everyone's confusion, she drew a picture that looked like the roc they'd faced yesterday, but she also opened her notebook and seemed to be copying something else to draw within the outline of the roc.

"So, I just told you Mariverde's afraid of birds, right?" Mila began. "Well, according to Mirabel, Mariverde is even afraid of regular-sized birds. But what if a roc attacked her like the one from yesterday?"

"You're suggesting we bring the roc here?" Anakin said. "That's not only dangerous, but-"

"No! We build our own roc. One we can operate from the inside."

Mila showed her finished schematic, and it showed that this roc would have gears, pulleys, and switches inside that would be operated by a group of people, and with Mila's telekinesis, they could give it the illusion of a real flying bird.

"You mean like a marionette?" Gabby asked.

"Yes, except the strings are inside and it's much larger. Except, we'll need lots of help to build it. Now, when I present inventions, everyone rejects it and says it's improper for a lady to engage in things such as engineering. But if you guys present it, we can get this project approved."

Using a little model bird, the warriors created a demonstration of Mila's plan, which they showed to the entire royal family. The approval they really needed to win though, was Queen Alma's.

"So, we build this roc bird," Garrett explained. "Which we will have cleverly hidden up in the mountains, then when Mariverde and her gang arrive, we launch the roc, and scare off the Puss Moths!"

The royal family was impressed with this presentation.

"But we'll a lot of help to make this plan possible." Mariposa said.

And that was when Tech and Anakin pulled up Mila's schematics.

"Technically, we will also require vast amounts of material, seeing the inside of this project consists of a large series of pulleys, gears, levers, as well as a few theatrical elements to make it believable."

"But," said Anakin. "If everyone in the Encanto helps us, we can get it done."

Queen Alma especially was impressed by this.

"You are sure this will work?"

"Ninety-nine percent." Anakin said. "That's a pretty good chance."

"Technically, it could go one of two ways. If it is approved, we can ensure the Puss Moth gang leaves you alone for good, or we can fight them and risk losing many lives, including those of children and/or their parents."

"Tech! Don't scare our hosts!" Hunter scolded. "Excuse my brother, he just has to be technical about everything."

"Well, this is all very impressive, and it does seem like it would protect more people and our home. You are all very creative young men."

"Technically, we didn't create it." Tech said. "We merely presented it. But if you do approve, we can introduce you to the person who did."

Alma thought about it, and she asked the others to take a vote if they liked this idea. The grownups raised their hands to vote 'yes'. The younger members had to think first and then soon they voted 'yes' too. Now that the project was officially approved, the royal family wanted to know one thing.

"So, who's the real genius behind this?" Mirabel asked.

"Come in, Creator." Qui-Gon said.

And into the room came Mila.

"Hola, familia." Mila said.

"Your Majesties," said Anakin. "Meet the genius behind the giant roc."

"Mila?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Is that really a surprise by now?" Mila said. "What did all of you think I was up all night doing?"

"Reading?" Camilo said. "Remember last time you got a new book?"

"That you remember?" Mila said. "You know, I may be a woman, but I'm more than a beautiful face. How do you think I predicted you wouldn't listen unless the guys presented my invention and you thought it was theirs?"

"It's true." Anakin said. "We've seen some of her other inventions, and they're impressive too."

"That would be an understatement." Garrett said. "She has so many inventions that could really revolutionize your land, and make gathering food and taking care of your kingdom so much easier."

"So Mila has claimed." Alma said.

"Have you seen how many times her inventions caused problems?" Luisa said.

"Like what?" Anakin said.

The royal family named a lot of problems they'd faced with Mila's inventions before. Goopy substances exploding all over the place, a flood of sudsy bubbles in the castle, packages flung into people's roofs… the list went on.

"And then there was the Kite Incident." Dolores said.

"What's the kite incident?" Wrecker said.

"Well, you see," said Mila. "I had this invention with a kite and then Camilo-"

"Don't talk about the Kite Incident!" Camilo exclaimed embarrassed.

"How do you know it wasn't made to teach you a lesson?" Mila smirked.

Camilo hid behind his sister then. Sometimes, his cousin scared him.

"You know, I'm ashamed of all of you!" Mila said. "You're so set in doing things the same way all the time. Well, guess what? People change as they grow, and societies change around the world. The Encanto isn't getting any younger or smaller. More people are born into it every year, which means more mouths to feed, more homes to build, and the work that had to be done when you first became queen took months, and that was just for a population of two hundred. What happens when we learn a natural storm is coming that Tia Pepa can't stop with her gift, and we need to prepare quickly? Or if an earthquake strikes and more than half the Encanto needs to be rebuilt?"

The royals started to look down as Mila said those things.

"Mila has a point." Teatra said. "Women can do a lot more than cook, clean, have babies, and look pretty. Many of us girls in this troop, we had different jobs before we wound up homeless."

"It's true." Mariposa said. "I was actually a doctor. Not a nurse."

"I used to run an accounting firm." Brenda said. "And Padme was in politics."

"And I was a director and actress in theater." Teatra said.

"And I was a champion rodeo horse." Maybelle said. "Beat both my brothers in nearly every competition."

"So she keeps rubbing in our faces." Banjo rolled his eyes.

"But you all were in the streets before you came here." Isabela pointed out.

"So were us guys." Echo said. "Most of us had jobs too, but we were forced out. And we've seen the girls do amazing things."

"Why should my gender determine my abilities?" Mila said. "You remember when I was found to be extremely advanced for my age when I was only four? That's no accident. I can do a lot for this kingdom if you'd just let me. And need I remind you, Abuela… you've ruled this kingdom without a man at your side for fifty years and raised your three children as a single mother, and the leader of the clan threatening this kingdom is also a woman. And what's more important here? The fact that this invention was created by a woman? Or finding a way to protect our kingdom from a power-hungry sorceress willing to have us all starve to death to get her way?"

The royals were quiet for a bit after that. It seemed they needed a little more convincing.

"Your Majesty," said Tech. "I understand your kingdom's customs are different from those of where we came from, but your granddaughter Mila is a highly intelligent and capable woman. I believe you should trust her judgment and try her ideas before deciding they are ridiculous."

"It's like our mom used to say," said Boba. "The proven way isn't always the better way."

"Yeah. You think scientists and great inventors made discoveries by just doing stuff that was already proven to work? No! They took chances, made mistakes, and learned from them." Mila said. "And lots of great things were made by accident. Camilo, you love popsicles, right?"

"Well, yeah, but what does that have to do with-" Camilo began before he was interrupted.

"Before it was born, it was just a bucket of sugary soda powder left out in the freezing cold with a stick in it, and when it turned out delicious, popsicles were born. Not to mention there have been moments my inventions didn't explode."

"Like when?" said Isabela.

"Like that Super Sap I invented." Mila said. "Remember when your favorite cup, the one sitting right there in front of you, was broken, but I fixed it with what you thought was ordinary glue?"

"That cup was broken?" Omega said. "It looks brand new."

"See? It's just that good, if I do say so myself." Mila said. "And how do you think Mirabel's sewing machine was fixed so quickly when it broke down a few weeks back?"

"That was you?" Mirabel said.

"Si. It just needed a few new parts, of which I had stronger upgraded versions in my workshop. Not to mention the rat-powered mixers I made for Tia Julieta so she could make twice as many meals in half the time. This decoy roc can and will work, but only if we work together on it, male and female alike. Mirabel, you're going to be the next ruler, and you're a girl too. All the other girls and the men will be looking up to you. And I'm not the only one who believes women should be empowered and encouraged to do different things. How you handle this problem now may very well determine how you do as a queen, and how people will look at you. So, let me ask you this… what kind of queen do you want to be?"

"It's going to take everyone's cooperation to make this plan a reality," said Mirabel into a megaphone. "That includes all the men and the women of this kingdom."

The entire kingdom was gathered as Mirabel told them all about Mila's plan to build a giant bird. Naturally, a lot were surprised that Mila came up with the idea and that the royals wanted women to work on it.

"I know it hasn't been in our traditions to do things differently," said Mirabel. "But if my abuela could lead your grandparents to freedom and they could all work together to build this kingdom, we can definitely rally together to build this bird!"

The people cheered in response to Mirabel's speech. Mila was especially happy that for once, one of her inventions would be made to help the entire kingdom and not just one person in her house.

Plans began right away. First, everyone had to study the blueprints Mila made, and gather the materials. Teatra was an expert on theater props, costumes, and stagework, so she knew a lot about what materials to use. For this invention, they needed lots of rope, metal gears, pulleys, a loud sound system, levers, flexible rods paint, giant fake feathers, as well as specially made metal claws for its talons. And Mila needed to strengthen her telekinesis, having never moved an object so large before.

First step to officially construct it, build the frame.

Mirabel cut out an outline into a large piece of paper, and Mariposa, Banjo, Harmony. and Emeraldi flew up high, each of them holding a corner to make sure the frame would be just the right size.

"Perfect!" Bruno shouted into the loudspeaker.

"Alright! Everyone mark it!" Mirabel shouted.

And everyone who held a stake to mark the spot ran to a spot and placed their marks.

The entire Encanto, including the royal family, and the warriors then got to work constructing the actual roc. Tech worked with Mila to help make sure the gears and such were sorted correctly, while Teatra helped the tailors gather as much organza and acetate as they could to make fake feathers. Everyone else followed the schematics and put the bird together piece by piece. The frame and foundation of the roc had to be built first.

Qui-Gon and Wrecker's strength came in handy with lifting heavier objects, and making Luisa's job faster and easier. Brenda also knew a lot when it came to numbers to help determine the amount of each material needed for different parts, and her skills in geometry helped a lot with choosing an angle. Comedia was helpful with that too; she wouldn't be so good at pranks without knowing a little math. Crosshair's keen eyesight helped with sewing and attaching some of the pieces together with small screws and such. And Omega knew a lot about lots of different kinds of tools. The younger kids mostly helped by pulling more materials in their wagons or by crawling into spaces the grownups couldn't reach. A few magic spells here and there were helpful too, as well as a few warriors' ability to move objects similar to Mila and sense danger to prevent anyone from getting severely injured or killed during construction.

Throughout construction though, Mila and Tech kept running into one another.

Picking up boxes of parts, Tech and Mila caught a glimpse of each other.

"Oh! Hi, Tech." Mila smiled.

"Uh… hi?" Tech said nervously. Wrecker laughed and playfully punched his brother's shoulder.

"Don't stop on my account." Wrecker laughed.

Tech just chuckled nervously and left, only to trip and end up with a bucket on his head.

"A little help here?" Tech struggled.

"Hold on, Tech!"

Mila rushed in and started to yank the bucket, but it was stuck pretty good. MIla needed something slippery to get him out. Luckily for her, she spotted some bubble soap, which she poured into the bucket, and out came Tech. But, he was missing a little something.

"Uh… where are my glasses?" Tech said, unable to see clearly without his glasses.

Mila looked into the bucket and… "Found them. On the bright side, they're very clean now."

Mila rinsed Tech's glasses off and wiped them clean, and then she put them onto his face, hers being the first clear sight Tech saw. For a moment, Tech couldn't move, but he thanked her for her help and got back to work.

Before long, the gears and pulley systems were all put into place, and so was the sound system to make the bird sounds. They just had to test it.

Carmine took care of that by doing what sounded like an impression of an eagle screech. It actually scared a few people.

"Wow, Carmine. That was pretty good." said Mila. "Where'd you learn to make bird noises like that?"

"Actually that was a vocal warmup of mine. You wouldn't believe the crazy sounds singers make to keep their voices strong." Carmine responded.

Then, Mace and Obi-Wan coached a group of people to make sure the wings flapped properly, while Plo, Ki-Adi, Shaak, and Ahsoka made sure the talons opened and closed correctly too.

Kara was extra helpful with her super speed to sew more of the materials for the feather together.

And with the inside working perfectly, they could build the outside of the bird.

There were lots and lots of red and brown feathers made to make the bird resemble the real roc the warriors faced before. And the beak looked so real too.

Before long, construction was complete. Now all that was left to do was to hide the bird high in the mountaintop. An enormous pulley system with many ropes was built to lift the fake roc to its destination.

Luisa checked the supports and rope attached to the roc to make sure it was sturdy, then she signaled Mirabel with a thumbs up before going to join the others with the ropes.

Everyone lined up and prepared to pull the ropes on Mirabel's signal.

"Comenzar! Start!" Mirabel shouted.

And so, everyone young and old began pulling the ropes, which helped lift the giant bird up high to the mountaintop where there was a space just the right size to hide it, and the flying horses, as well as Mariposa and Mona helped place branches and leaves over it to keep it hidden from sight until Mariverde arrived.

Everyone cheered as the work was finally done. Men and women, even children all felt so amazing to have been part of such a big and ambitious project. Mila and her friends were all glad to see they got the work done, and not a moment too soon. Mariverde would be coming soon, and they were going to be prepared for her this time.

Mariverde intimidated the people of Encanto for years, but not this time. This time, they were fighting back!