As the sun started rising above the mountain line, Caleb cracked an eye open. The inside of his tent was basked in an orange glow which didn't seem to disturb his fellow tent mates, so with a yawn and a stretch the boy sat up. Looking to his right then down, he saw a still sleeping Gladius snuggled in his sheath.

The boy smiled then stretched again, carefully leaving the tent without waking anyone else. Stepping out into the early morning Encanto air, he took a deep breath, a beaming smile growing on his face. He opened his eyes, and watched as X-5 looked over the ship.

The robot glanced over, and waved. "Good morning, Caleb. I presume you rested well?"

The boy nodded as he walked towards him. "Yep. It was a bit weird because Zig kept kicking me, but otherwise it was fine."He glanced at the ship. "What's the status on the ship, by the way?"

"Repairs are moving along as I predicted." X-5 looked over some papers he had in his claws. "Most systems are back online, the only issues are the engines. As we focused on getting the electrical fixed, new issues with the fuel connections to the engines were discovered. So we'll need a day or two to fully fix it."

"Hey, as long as you guys work together and get this done as soon as possible, then we're good." Caleb walked off towards where they had the logs set up around their fire pit. He sat down, and leaned back a bit, his smile aimed right up at the sky.

As he remained there and relaxed, he felt a presence beside him. Glancing over, he saw Betty, who was covered in some oil and looked a bit frazzled.

"Whew!" She sighed as she leaned forward. "Okay, I knew this would be tricky, but I need this ship fixed now so I can get a break…"

"Well, you can take a break today if you need to…" Caleb said.

"Yeah, I'll make sure to get ready for the ceremony later." She looked towards where the town was. "I just hope we don't drag in attention."

"Unless Zig's semi-bad luck kicks in while we're out and about, then we'll be fine."

The duo fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. Over the next two hours, the others all started to wake up and come out of their tents, and began to get ready for the day. Because it was the big ceremony Mirabel had been dreading, the whole party who went out on the first day decided they'll go to support their friend.

Caleb headed into the ship to get washed up after X-5 gave the okay. He quickly entered the ship's shower, and let out a relaxed hum as the water beat against his body. Just outside, he caught a glimpse of Gladius' silhouette.

"So, are you ready for the ceremony?" The sword asked.

"After this shower I will be…" The boy trailed off. "But I'm still worried. Seeing this whole thing from a new perspective, actually having met Mirabel before it… It makes me feel like we should just try and kidnap her."

"You know that won't solve anything, Caleb", the blade chided. "We need to show her what is truly wrong. Show her the bigger picture."

"I know, I know…" The boy sighed and shook his head, splashing water around. "I'm just worried how she'll react…"

"To what exactly?"

"I… I honestly don't know…" Caleb turned the shower off and stepped out, getting dried off. Out of respect, Gladius turned around. "But there's this gut feeling in me that's telling me something, but won't specify what. It sucks."

"Just focus on helping her", the sword said in a reassuring tone. "She'll make her own choices, but we know she'll do what to make her happy."

"Yeah…" When he was fully dried off and dressed, Caleb left the bathroom and headed back outside. Everyone else was already ready, and chatting while in their disguises. Zig glanced over, and smiled as the boy walked over, the sword hiding under his poncho.

"You guys ready to get going?" Caleb asked with a beaming smile.

"You know it,CC!" Kat said in a jovial tone. "I want to see this Madrigal hospitality first hand!"

Marina wanted to see what the hubbub was about the inside of the magic house, while Zig was set on trying the buffet. Bernie just sighed, then said and wanted to see the rest of Mirabel's family in action.

"I'm with Zig", Sparky said in excitement, making the pilot and hyena share a high five.

Betty rolled her eyes, then gave Caleb a smile. "I want to get a pure taste of Colombian culture. Could be useful back home, you never know."

"Yeah, a Disney-ified version of it…" Caleb mumbled much too quietly for anyone to hear, then shook his head and beamed. "Yeah! But remember the biggest reason why we're doing this: To help Mirabel through this trying and difficult time. So don't make a scene."

Everyone nodded, and after saying goodbye to those staying at the camp, they were off. There was this sense of music and excitement in the air, which only grew as the group neared the town. Marina and Sparky found themselves bopping along to the beat, and Caleb fought back a laugh.

Upon entering the town proper, that feeling was only multiplied tenfold. People were out and about, talking excitedly about the upcoming gift ceremony; banners and lights were being hung up across the street and from houses; and the flowers bloomed brighter as a very regal Isabela walked by.

Finally being this close to her, Caleb got a good look at her appearance. She was wearing a very elegant lavender dress, and her hair was straight and proper. Her expression was calm, with her acting like a princess with how she walked and waved at people.

"I can see what Mirabel means…" Sparky whispered as they walked away from her. "She's weird! I've never seen anyone look that… Happy before…"

"She seemed more demanding", Betty whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "I could see that look in her eyes. It reminds me of Penelope…" She shivered.

Marina hummed sadly, but then gasped in delight as she saw some amazing dresses being sold in a store. Taking Katania and Betty by the hands, smile wide and eyes literally sparkling, she dragged them inside.

Caleb snorted, opening his mouth to talk to the other guys… Only to look around when he noticed they had vanished. At the sound of a familiar hyena laugh, he looked over to see the two guys licking their lips as they snagged some confections from a nearby food stand.

The boy rolled his eyes with a smile, and continued along his way. as he walked and took in the sights of the celebratory town, he caught sight of Mirabel. She was leading a group of kids around, singing about her family in such a warm and gentle way.

She was singing about Bruno before everyone in the town, simultaneously, said "We don't talk about Bruno!" Caleb jumped at the sudden exclamation, but Mirabel only briefly paused in surprise before continuing along like nothing was wrong.

The boy smiled and followed along, joining the group as the kids adorably listened with all their attention. One kid looked a bit… jittery… so Caleb made note to keep his distance from him. But otherwise, the song was going smoothly, with the bespectacled girl starting to sing about her mom at that point.

Out of the corner of his eye, Caleb caught sight of Zig, so looked over just the slightest bit at him. The hyena was licking some ice cream, sniffing a lovely looking bed of flowers. But he snipped in pain when a bee stung him on the nose. Bernie squished it and ate it, making the two island brothers giggle. But the mood shifted when, suddenly, a massive swarm of bees emerged from the flowers.

Zig looked up at it in terror, dropped his ice cream, then booked it. The swarm gave chase, buzzing like a race car engine.

Caleb jumped up in terror, and chased after his friends, hoping to run into the others soon.

Mirabel was none the wiser to this, so sucked into her song she didn't know her friends were sucked into World War Bee. But when she watered to sing about her sisters, getting a bit of a reprieve from praising Isabela (with some slight bitterness in her tone", Zig ran past behind her, screaming his lungs out as the swarm, now shaped like a cartoony hammer, kept chasing him. The others were close behind, which made Mirabel look over in worry.

But she didn't break her song, simply trying to lead the kids away. There was a crash, and her friends came barreling out from an alleyway, crying out as the swarm chased them all, now shaped like a massive hawk.

Many of the residents were watching the bizarre scene in complete confusion, never knowing bees could be this coordinated. But they didn't see it as that bad, despite the fact the group of friends were terrified out of their mind.

As Mirabel tried to shake the kids off by finishing her song, but failing as they kept asking her what her gift was, she watched as her friends kept getting chased by the bees. Her whole song brought her up to the front of her home, where Alma yelled out her name.

"What are you doing?" The matriarch asked, a dumbfounded look on her face.

Mirabel's expression became a bit tense. "They were just asking about the family…"

"She was about to tell us about her super awesome gift!" One of the kids shouted, pointing at her.

"Oh…" Dolores said, suddenly appearing from around the doorframe. "Mirabel didn't get one." She let out an innocent squeak and darted off, with Alma walking off on her own shortly after.

All of the kids looked at Mirabel, but before anything could be said Caleb and the others came barreling up the hill. The swarm was not giving up, and only seemed to be getting madder by the second.

As Caleb's eyes locked with Mirabel's for a second, he got an idea. "DUCK!" He barked out.

All of his friends ducked and the swarm flew right over them. Except Zig, who didn't catch the memo. He looked behind him at his friends, and was about to copy them…

If he hadn't immediately slammed into a tree, painfully.

Everyone present winced as the disguised hyena fell to the ground. He sat up, nursing his sore head, only for a durian to crash on his head. Again everyone winced as he collapsed onto his back.

When he opened his eyes, Zig saw the swarm swirling above him. He and Bernie then watched as the swarm turned into a massive fist, and they braced.

The following punch shook the whole earth.

Everyone was closing their eyes, and when they dared open them, they all balked at how the hyena and disguised mollusk was stuffed into a crater. He let out a strained, pained noise, arms twitching, looking like a crushed bug.

Caleb stood up, watching as Marina and Sparky ran over to help him with wide eyes. Mirabel and Kat walked up next to him, watching the scene silently.

"Is he going to be okay?" The Madrigal whispered. "Because based on what happens to my Papa… I wouldn't be surprised he's dead…"

"Zig will be fine…" Kat droned out as she watched the squished Zig limp over to them looking like a bunched up blanket, Bernie somehow still in his place on the hat, just as flat as his brother. "They both will be…"

The kids dispersed as Mirabel watched Zig shake himself, correcting everything and not offsetting his disguise at all. Bernie followed suit, and the bespectacled girl was left gobsmacked.

"You'll get used to it…" Caleb said in exhaustion, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Mirabel was still in her shocked state as Zig walked up to the others, not a scratch on him, until some older man walked up carrying a basket with him.

"Delivery just for you, Mirabel!" The man said. She took it with ease, although did struggle for a bit when she was the only one holding it. "I got you the special, since you're the only Madrigal kid without a gift. I call it…" He hesitated for a moment. "The 'Not Special Special'! Since, uh, you have no gift."

Mirabel gave him a strained smile, while the rest of the group gave him a glare he either didn't notice or chose to ignore. "Thanks", was all Mirabel got out.

The man started to walk off, before coming back. "Oh! And tell Antonio good luck. The last gift ceremony was a bummer. The last one being yours-"

"Thank you sir", Katania said, a very aggressive smile on her face. "You should go and help with setting up. I'm sure Alma needs it."

"Oh, yes, thank you for reminding me!" The man walked off back to his nearby cart, leaving the group to their own devices.

When he was out of ear shot, Marina huffed in anger. "The nerve of him!" Gladius hissed.

"That's just Osvaldo…" Mirabel said in a calm tone, which did little to hide her hurt. "He can be… oblivious with what he says…"

"Makes him worse, in my eyes", Betty said, shooting the man a glare as he headed inside Casita. "He needs to be more aware…"

"Guys, it's fine! I'm fine!" The Madrigal said in a persistent tone. "Now c'mon, I could use some help." She started to head inside, unaware of the others sharing a look before they followed, all of them giving their new friend a careful look.

~X~

The inside Casita was a sight to behold. It was a small courtyard, with a second balcony floor showing all the glowing golden doors that depicted the family. Zig and Betty jumped back then the tiled floor of Casita parted a bit, a curved staircase forming that led right to a door with no defined look to it.

"That's Antonio's door", Mirabel whispered, Kat pulling her out of the way of some people carrying a bench by. "He'll walk up those stairs, touch the door's knob, and get his gift!"

"What, while the whole town watches?" Sparky asked, eyeing all the people around with suspicion.

"Yeah. It;s called a gift CEREMONY for a reason." Mirabel continued walking till she came up next to Luisa. Her older sister was wearing a similar blouse, only with a dark blue skirt. Her hair was done up in a bun, and her dense muscular build showed her strength.

When Alma asked Luisa to get the piano upstairs, the rock of the Madrigals dropped the three barrels she was carrying and ran off, nearly hitting Marina and ZIg in the process. The mermaid growled and the hyena simply looked nervous, both of them watching Luisa leave.

As the group entered the centre of the courtyard, a harsh gust of wind hit them head on. Squinting, they watched as Pepa came out, a literal tornado swirling around her, wrecking the decorations.

"My baby's night has to be perfect", she rambled frantically. "And it's not perfect. And people are going to be coming! And nothing's ready!"

"Your tornado-ing the flowers!" Her husband Felix said, trying to calm, her down. The flowers!"

"Did someone say flowers?" From the balcony above, the group as a whole watched as Isabela came down, using vines as a makeshift swing. Mirabel's expression read complete contempt as everyone started to clap, with the rest of the group all sharing confused and mildly annoyed looks.

With a flick of her wrist, the flowers all came back brighter than ever, making the warm colour couple to give her a grateful smile. As they thanked her, Caleb huffed and rolled his eyes.

"I see what you mean", he whispered to Mirabel. "Your sister is a stuck up bitch." The whole group heard that, and tried not to laugh. Mirabel was torn between laughing and not reacting at all, so she settled on a few snorts before calming down.

Sadly, this meant she was unable to react when Isabela flipped her hair into her face, causing flowers to appear. Mira started coughing up petals, while the others all looked at the scene in shock.

"A little sisterly advice", Isabela started. "If you weren't always trying too hard you wouldn't be in the way."

"Well excuse you…" Katania whispered, shooting the older girl a harsh glare.

"Actually, Isa, this is called helping", the bespectacled girl said, following her sister. Isabela just rolled her eyes and walked off. "And I'm not in the way. You are-" She was stopped when she crashed into one of Casita's pillars.

Zig let out a laugh, pointing at the girl, only to eat a swift kick to the shin courtesy of Marina. The hyena crashed onto the ground in a heap, making Caleb, Katania and Betty all let out disappointed sighs. The boy then went and helped his friend, brushing off all the flower petals that were stuck to it now.

"Just ignore her, Mira", he said with a head shake. "You are so much better than her because you don't do that… So just keep your chin up."

"Okay, okay…" The girl walked off towards the kitchen, leaving the group to wander and explore. Caleb and Kat followed their newest friend, and stood by the doorway as she walked over.

Julieta was hard at work over the stove, seemingly set on making a very special dinner for all the guests. The older woman paused as her daughter swung the basket of goodies around, and then planted it on the floor.

"Mi visa, you okay?" The cook asked. "You don't have to overdue it."

Mirabel started to unload all the basket's contents onto the counter, Casita moving the tiles so they'd be put away properly. "I'm fine, Mamie. Just… Playing my part!" The girl's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! And I'd like you to meet my new friends. Caleb, Kat!" She looked over at the duo at the doorway. "This is mi Mamá. Mama, this is Caleb and Kat."

The duo walked up with warm smiles, which was returned by the older woman. "Mirabel told me about you two. You're travellers?"

"Yes we are, ma'am", Caleb said with a nod and slight bow. "Our cart is almost repaired, so we'll be out of your hair soon."

Mirabel's smile faltered a bit, but Julieta just laughed at the boy's jab. "No worries, sir. You've help mi vida out a lot this past week, and I have a soft spot for travellers thanks to my husband…"

"Guilty as charged!" The well dressed man spoke up as he Came up alongside the group, his face swelling from bee stings. Caleb and Kat flinched back with wide-eyes, while Mirabel cringed.

"Bee stings!" She called out, making Julieta look at him.

"Ay Agustin…" She said with an eye roll. She walked over and grabbed a pastry that was in a bowl nearby, and forced it into Augustin's mouth.

When he swallowed, he gave his daughter a more warm and genuine look. "Just know that you don't need to try so hard, Miraboo. I know today is hard for you, but remember that your amazing Papa and Tio Felix are just as… un-special as you."

Mirabel snorted, Julieta smiled at the kinda goofy sentiment, and the Capital duo held in their laughter.

"I know, Papa", the bespectacled girl said. "But I'm fine, really!" She picked up a little basket of art supplies, and flashed her parents a smile. "Well, I should get going and help. Caleb and Kat, you two want to help me?"

Katania nodded. "Yeah, of course!"

Caleb nodded with a smile, but as the trio moved to leave, Augustin spoke up. "Well… We'd like to talk to you for a moment, sir."

The boy blinked and nodded, waving to his friends, that he'll catch up. They gave him reassuring smiles, and headed off elsewhere into the house. When it was just him and the cool colour parents, Caleb faced them.

"So what's up?" He asked.

"We just wanted to make sure you aren't untrustworthy", Julieta said with pursed lips. "Dolores never told us when you and your friends entered our Encanto."

"We arrived at night", the boy explained. "Our carriage was damaged and we set up camp out of the town limits. We just wanted to be in and out, so we didn't want to make a scene. After Mirabel gave us the rundown on her family, I found Dolores and told her not to make our arrival a big deal."

"Not much of a people person, huh?" Gus said, walking over to the boy and pulling him into a one armed hug. "I get that. When I first came to the Encanto, I was nervous to talk to anyone, especially Juli and her family. But, after a while, I warmed up and here we are!"

Julieta giggled. "Which was good, because if not, you would've burned down the Encanto."

Augustin gave his wife a betrayed look, while Caleb burst out laughing. "Well, we aren't sticking around regardless. Me and Kat have to get home, and while the Encanto is wonderful, we can't stick around."

"Just… Promise us you won't tell anyone when you do leave", the cook said in worry.

"Trust me, where we live, the Encanto isn't something they'd want to look for." The boy bid the couple farewell, and left the kitchen. The cool coloured couple watched him with different glances, with Julieta giving him a worried look, and Augustin giving him a somewhat silly suspicious look.

The boy weaved past the people helping set up for the ceremony, passing under Betty and Sparky in the process. The Galactic Guardians were on the upper balcony, looking over the courtyard with curious expressions.

"So they're just going to fill up this whole courtyard with everyone in town…" Sparky began. "And they watch a five year old get some magical power?"

"From what Mirabel said", Betty said offhandedly. "Exactly that."

Sparky cringed. "That sounds awful. I'm not a fan of my mamuska sharing my baby photos with anyone, but hearing that makes me realise I got it lucky."

"I can't imagine how scared Antonio is…" Betty jumped off the railing, a contemplative and worried look on her face. "I know we shouldn't do anything that could make the Madrigals mad, but I'm honestly thinking we need to crash the ceremony."

"We shouldn't, Betty. Besides!" Sparky pulled out a traditional Colombian dish from hammerspace. "These entrees are delicious!" And anyone who can make good food stays on my good side!"

Betty sighed and grabbed her friend by his shirt collar, dragging him away elsewhere. Marina, who was on the bottom floor, watched them leave. She was hanging out in a corner, silently watching all the work being done to make this ceremony the best possible.

Despite only knowing Mirabel for a week, though, the mermaid was already very protective of Mirabel. Maybe it was seeing herself in the younger girl, maybe it was her motherly instinct kicking in again after so long, maybe it was a combo of the two. But every time the mermaid heard a jab at the previous ceremony, at Mirabel's giftlessness, or blaming things on her clumsiness, she bristled. Had to hold herself back from screaming like the siren she was and knocking everyone flat on their asses.

She was pulled out of her musings when someone tapped her hip, and she looked down to see a concerned looking Zig gazing up at her. Marina sighed and waved him off, a pout on her face as she mumbled about her issues. The hyena gave her a reassuring smile, and took her hand to hopefully distract her. Unfortunately, the hyena was instead dragged off when the mermaid decided to get away from the noise.

About an hour later, Mirabel and Caleb were on the second floor. The Madrigal decided to set up some elegant fabrics styled after flowers in front of all the doors of her family members, each inscribed with their name and with a candle on them. Katania was busy cleaning up the mess they left in the living room, which left the other two to finish getting everything set up.

As the duo worked, they were completely unaware of an approaching Alma. When Mirabel stood up after finishing, she found herself looking st the framed photos on the wall. Caleb stood up with her, and looked them over with her. But they both jumped back when Alma suddenly shouted "One hour!" right beside them.

Caleb stumbled back, and Mira accidentally knocked over the candle before Alma's door. She panicked as the fabric was lit, trying to stamp out the flame.

"Maybe…" Alma began, now before the duo. "You should leave the decorating to someone else?"

Caleb bristled a bit, and his gaze became cold as he stared at the older woman. Mira stood up, trying to keep her smile strong.

"Actually, I made these as a surprise for you-" Mirabel held up the still burning fabric, so Caleb quickly took it and licked his fingers to extinguish the flames.

"Mirabel", Alma continued. "I know you want to help. But tonight must go perfectly." Caleb's ears started to ring after hearing that. "The whole town relies on our family, on our gifts. So the best way for some of us to help…

"Is to step aside."

Mirabel's smile twisted a bit as her heart clenched, but behind her Caleb was furious. Hearing that again, in person, just made all his rage boil immediately. He kept glaring at Alma, his eyes glinting with the promise for murder, but the matriarch either didn't notice or just blatantly ignored him.

"Let the rest of the family do what they do best." She looked at Mirabel with an expectant look, but there was demand in under the surface.

Mirabel made a sound of confirmation, and started to walk off. Caleb dropped his expression and followed her, but the two of them stopped when a cold wind suddenly rushed passed.

"Pepa!" Alma said in distaste. "You have a cloud!"

The two friends looked across the way to see the storm bringing stomping past, looking frustrated as a small cloud hovered just above her.

"I know, Mama!" The warm coloured mother fumed. "But now I can't find Antonio! What do you want from me?!" Pepa continued to storm off, her cloud rumbling ominously. Alma sighed and walked down to the curved staircase, running to Julieta on the way down.

"I'll be fine, Caleb…" Mirabel said, walking off to her room, the nursery, with a dower mood.

"But, Mira-" The boy paused when he heard the older two women on the stairs talking, and decided to listen in.

"Mama, be nice to Mirabel, okay?" Julieta said in a disappointed tone. "You know tonight will be hard for her."

"If the gift ceremony doesn't go well this time", Alma countered. "Tonight will be hard for us all."

Caleb's rage peaked, and he found himself gripping the balcony railing fiercely. When Casita tapped a tile on his foot to try and calm him down, he simply let go and stormed off, oblivious to the very obvious damage he left behind, and the tiles he ever so slightly cracked under his feet.

~X~

Come night in the Encanto, the town becomes the embodiment of an endless party. Lights were hung from every building, children were running around and playing, people were chatting about their excitement of the event.

And inside Casita's kitchen, away from the arriving guests, were a group of peeved off friends. Earlier, Caleb had told them what Alma had said to Mirabel, and it made them all furious. Marina needed to be held back before slapping the older woman, while Sparky and Zig looked to be plotting some sort of devious comeback.

Caleb, meanwhile, had his face buried in his hands, looking exhausted. "I want to get her out of here so badly. I seriously do…"

"Have you told her yet?" Katania asked as she rubbed his back reassuringly.

"No! I've been super nervous too because she still loves her family. And I don't want her to feel like we're kidnapping her…" The boy leaned back in his chair, letting out a very pained groan. "I hate how things can't just be easy…"

"If it was, then we wouldn't have met the others", Gladius said, the sounds of the party being enough so he didn't need to whisper. "But I do get what you mean."

"We need to do something", Betty said sadly. "Regardless of what happens, we know it'll end badly for her. So what do we do?"

Caleb sighed and sat up, then looked towards the back door. "I'm going to go and check up on her." With determination flowing through him, he walked out the back door and around to the front of Casita. Heading into the front door, he passed by the warm coloured family (who simply ignored him), and around the left corner to catch Mirabel.

The girl jumped a bit and turned around, wiping her somewhat damp eyes. "Caleb! What… what are you doing here?"

"I came to check up on you, and I had a feeling you'd be here." He gave her a sad look. "Mira, I know you're not-"

"Shush! Look, I know you're worried, but the last thing we need is for some bout of bad luck to make this so much harder for Antonio."

"But what about you?" Caleb gave her massive concerned eyes.

Before she could speak, there was a quiet but happy exclamation towards the front, and the duo looked around the corner to see Pepa, Felix, Dolores and Camilo all praising the youngest for reaching such a critical milestone of his life. Despite his nervous look, the quick glance he shot at Mirabel did visibly relax him a bit.

Caleb watched Mirabel carefully as she leaned against the wall, a smile that didn't reach her eyes gracing her face.

"You raised that kid, didn't you?" He asked quietly.

"I did", Mirabel responded sadly, her smile not leaving her face. "I was forced to stay in the nursery because I didn't get a room, so when Antonio was born, I basically became his Mama when Pepa could watch him. When Felix was busy, I was there. When Dolores or Camilo were busy, when Abuela or mama or papa… I was there…"

"And so this is basically the rest of the family taking him back?"

"Yeah…" Mirabel sniffled a bit and took a deep breath.

"This is insane…" Gladius hissed. "Your family is a shame, a disgrace. They are not a family at all, they can't dump a baby onto a ten year old and expect her to watch him…"

"Gladius!" Caleb hissed back. He then calmed down and gave Mirabel a reassuring look as the warm family left Antonio behind the curtain on his own. "Look, I know this is all awful, but there are ways to make things better, I promise."

The girl looked at her friend. "Like what?"

Before Caleb could speak, some percussive music started to play beyond the curtain, making the duo fall silent. Caleb barely peeked through the curtain, seeing as Alma, wearing a shawl and holding the candle, turned to the town with a calm expression.

"Fifty years ago", she began. "In our darkest moment, this candle blessed us with a miracle. And the greatest honor of our family has been to use our blessings to serve this beloved community."

"It shouldn't through…" Caleb and Gladius growled simultaneously. Mirabel gave them a look, her clouded expression just barely catching what they meant. But she didn't press as Alma continued.

"Tonight, we come together once more as another steps into the light to make us proud."

Mirabel deflated a bit hearing that, but found some reassurance when Caleb put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a concerned look. She blinked a bit, lifted her glasses to wipe her eyes, and sighed, just nodding back.

The music picked back up again as the curtains were suddenly drawn open, revealing a very nervous and shy Antonio to the whole town. Mirabel and Caleb both looked at him, and after a moment, he looked at Mirabel. Silently, as the spotlight shined down on him, he held out his hand to her.

There was a moment of hesitation, but Caleb leaned close to her ear. "He needs you, Mira. Don't do it for them. Do it for yourself, and him."

The girl glanced at her friend, before silently walking over and taking the young boy's hand. As Caleb slipped back more as to not be seen, he heard most of the townspeople gasping or whispering in slight confusion. But he didn't care. Slipping around, he could catch a few glimpses of his friend holding her head high and doing the right thing, making him even more happy.

Soon, around the back end of the curved stairs, he ran into the rest of his friends, who all greeted him quietly and then went back to watching Mirabel. She looked over for a moment before going up the stairs, and they all smiled and nodded at her. She smiled, and took Antonio up the stairs. They couldn't see what was happening, but based on how animals came out from everywhere and headed towards where the door was, and Alma's exclamation of "We have a new gift!" told them enough.

Caleb sighed, a mix of both sadness and relief, as his group followed the crowd into Anontio's room. It was a section of jungle, with his bed and everything being on top of the canopy of a massive tree. Animals of all kinds swarmed the foliage and open space, making guests step aside and duck.

All of them watched from afar, occasionally glancing at Mirabel in worry as the rest of the family praised the newest gift holder. There was a subtle sadness in her expression and motions.

It all smashed open when Alma said "A gift as special as you."

Caleb had to reign himself in from lunging at the matriarch in that moment, while Kat held onto Marina's arm. The group's hearts stung even more when the matriarch called for a picture, and in almost an unreadable moment they took it… without Mirabel.

The group all gasped in shock and anger, but watched as time seemingly slowed to a crawl. Then, looking over at the one Madrigal that mattered to them, they watched as she started to sing a song. A song about how… she didn't feel like a part of this family. As her song took her out of the room, the others all followed her, watching her in heartbreak as Mirabel ran onto Casita's rooftop to cry out in agony. Fireworks erupted in the sky, and Caleb had to stop himself from running back in and lashing his tongue and choice words at the family.

As Mirabel's song ended, the group all headed down the curved staircase to the centre of the courtyard. There was a moment of silence before Caleb took a step forward.

"Mirabel?"

The girl jumped and turned around quickly, tears pooling in her eyes as she stared back. "You… You guys heard that?"

"Of course we did!" Kat cried out, rushing over and hugging her. "You're our friend, we always look out for each other, and especially you!"

The Madrigal was still, silence as can be, before she choked out a sob and hugged Kat back. Gladius revealed himself from his hiding spot, and hovered over to the girl, gently holding her cheek with a wing.

"Mirabel", he began. "You are more than any gift can give. Yes, your family has those silly little powers, but their priorities are in the wrong place." The bespectacled girl gained a somewhat thoughtful look despite the emotional pain. "They need to be a family, but here they are forgetting you. Disgusting."

"Which is why… I wanna ask you something." The group all looked at Caleb, who was eyeing Mirabel carefully. "I hate how your family treats you, how the town treats you. So, I was thinking… You could come with us."

Everything fell silent as the group all looked. At Mira, whose face was now painted in shock. "You… You want me to come with you?"

"I just feel like you need it. Get away from the pain to heal on your own. Because trust me…" Caleb's voice became quieter. "I know what it's like to be stuck with a shitty family…"

Katania and Gladius shared a look as Mirabel wiggled out of the hug, looking at her friend. "You… Really mean it? But… Tio Bruno ran away, and it crushed Tia Pepa and Mama… and Abuela…"

"It won't be forever!" Caleb continued at full volume. "Just until you feel you can face your family again. When you've healed. Basically… Until you ARE fine."

Mirabel looked off to the side, the thoughts bouncing in her head. But as she opened her mouth to answer, there was a crash behind her. The group all looked on the ground, and saw a tile from Casita's roof on the floor, having cracked one of the tiles on the floor.

"Is that bad?" Sparky asked. "Or is that Casita shedding?"

To answer his question, the crack on the ground started to splinter forwards, heading towards the stairs. The groups all shared nervous looks as they followed, watching as the crack climbed the stairs, transferred to the wall, and started making the whole house shake.

"Is casita going to collapse?!" Betty cried. Mirabel just kept following the crack, the others all reluctantly following her. As they all made it to the balcony, they watched as cracks formed on the roof above, and more cracks on the walls snaked through the bedroom doors, making the brilliant golden light they all gave off flicker and falter.

From where they were, they watched as the cracks all snaked throughout the house before stopping right before the open window to Alma's bedroom, the candle's flame weakening for a moment.

Mirabel was dead silent as she stared at the scene in shock, with the others not much better.

"What… What was that?" Sparky asked.

"I need to tell Abuela…" Mira whispered.

But before she could go, the sword spoke up. "Hang on, Mirabel" . The group all watched in curiosity and confusion as he hovered over to the candle, and in even more confusion as he and the candle flicked and flashed in a way that seemed like…

"That's Morse code!" Katania cried.

After a moment, the blade came back down. "This is just a vision, Mirabel. The house isn't in danger… yet. Something is happening to the miracle, and it's killing the magic."

"Which means I need to tell Abuela!" She tried to rush off, but Mira was stopped when Caleb grabbed her arm.

"Mira, when you get back, the cracks will be gone. Alma will shame and ridicule you, because you're messing with what she wants. Just… stop, okay?" Caleb gave her a pleading look, and the girl partially relented.

"But then… What do we do? What do I do?"

Gladius hummed in thought, then turned around. "I can hear the magic, and she's in pain. So much pain she wants to die. Something is happening that's breaking this miracle, and I have a theory as to why… but I'll need more evidence to support it. Which means…" He spun around swiftly and looked right at the Madrigal. "I will accompany you till we solve this."

Caleb blinked and shook his head, looking at the blade in shock. "WHAT?! HOW?!"

"With that selective invisibility I can do. I'll make sure only Mirabel can see and hear me, so I can help her find out what's wrong."

"You'd really do that, Gladius?" The girl asked.

"Yes. I am a being of magic, and thus I can see h and feel how magic is alive as any other human being. Plus, you'll need another perspective with some situations."

Mirabel shook her head, then looked at Caleb. "Are you okay with this?"

The boy looked up at his companion, then nodded. "I trust him. Plus, we'll get in the way, and make things too suspicious. We'll be at camp getting everything ready to go, so no matter what we'll have your back. But when you do make a decision on joining us, have Gladius know so he can tell us, okay?"

Mirabel looked down slightly, then gave her friends a look of determination. "Okay, I will."

"Cool. Gladdy, keep an eye on her. Gang, let's go."

The group all headed towards the stairs, waving Mirabel goodbye. She and Gladius waved back, and when they were gone, the girl headed into the nursery. Almost as soon as her door closed, she let out a pained groan and flopped onto her bed.

"How am I supposed to do this…" She asked, voice muffled by her pillow. She then rolled over and looked at Claudius and, in turn, Casita. "How do I even save a miracle, or even find out what's wrong?"

Gladius hummed as the windowsill made a motion akin to a shrug. "Well, there has to be some sort of clue." The blade said. "You couldn't have been the only one who noticed. Perhaps that's why Bruno left, because he saw something in a vision or just in the house that made him decide it was dangerous."

"Maybe…" Mirabel looked up at the ceiling, but then glanced at her dresser when Castia played with the floorboards under it, making a family photo on top dance about.

"Actually, if there's one way to find out what's wrong… I do know someone", she stood up and held up the family photo, pointing out someone in particular.

Dolores.

Thus with a target set, Mirabel got ready for an early sleep, so she got tucked into her pyjamas. All the time, Gladius told her more about himself, and how he was connected to all forms of magic. At points it entranced Mira enough that she had to stop what she was doing and listen. But, eventually, she was tucked into bed and fast asleep, with Gladius resting on her desk as a watchful guardian.

Come the next morning, Mirabel was already dressed and ready for the day. Gladius was there by her side, the two of them spending a bit of time before the family breakfast to practice telepathy.

"So this way we can talk and not seem suspicious?" The girl asked as she adjusted the bottom of her blouse, stuffing it into her skirt.

"Correct", the sword said with a nod. "Plus, that way if I have a jab at your family, you don't need to speak out loud in response. Because trust me, I've seen people react to others in this exact boat, and it's always embarrassing to whoever I talk to."

"I bet…" She put on her bag and walked out of the nursery, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. Then, with a determined look, she headed towards the stairs. Gladius stayed close to her side, and his trickery work led like a charm. As the duo passed by Julieta, who was working in the kitchen, she smiled at her daughter warmly, not acknowledging the blade at all.

Mirabel breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she walked outside, immediately spotting Dolores at the breakfast table.

"Dolores, hey!" The bespectacled girl said in a casual tone. "You know, out of all my older cousins, you're like, my favourite cousin, so I feel like I can talk to you about anything." Gladius sighed and smacked a wing on his jewel. "Ergo, you caN talk to me about anything, right?"

Dolores simply stayed silent, her eyes wide.

"Camilo!" Felix said suddenly as he walked up behind Mirabel, looking at Dolores. Gladius looked to see the actual Dolores behind her dad. "Stop pretending you're Dolores so you can have seconds!"

The second Dolores shifted back into Camilo, who flashed a smug grin. "Worth a shot", she said with a shrug. Casita clapped back by swatting the boy with a window door, shooting him away from the food.

Felix rolled his eyes and walked off, while Dolores leaned to the side a bit. "The only one worried about the magic is you…" the doe whispered.

Mirabel jumped and looked at her in surprise. "How did you…"

"I heard you talking to yourself last night. You aren't subtle. Only you… And the rats talking in the walls." She walked off, only to come back immediately. "Oh, and Luisa. I heard her eye twitching all night." Dolores let out a cute squeak and made her way to the table to eat, leaving the sword and giftless girl to ponder what she said.

"We need to talk to Luisa", Gladius' voice said, echoing in Mira's mind. "But be discreet about it, don't make it obvious."

"How so?" Mira asked back in her head.

"Make it so you're checking up on her, don't mention the cracks till we're alone with her."

Mirabel blinked, then nodded, staking up her breakfast before heading over to the table. She swiftly took an empty seat next to Luisa, with Gladius hovering beside her for a moment before making way as Pepa sat down in the seat next to the girl.

After a moment, Alma came over to her seat at the end of the table.

As Alma talked with the rest of the family, Mirabel looked at her sister in concern. "Luisa, Dolores told me you had a rough sleep. Is… everything okay?"

The rock of the Madrigals hesitated for a moment, her eye briefly twitching. "I… I don't know what you're talking about Mira. I'm fine, just doing what I always do."

"Well, I saw something last night… And I was hoping I could talk to you about it." Mira glanced over at Gladius, who was on the other side of the table, gesturing for her to keep it up. "Maybe if you want, I can help you?"

"I'm busy today sis, I'm sorry."

The bespectacled girl sighed through her nose, eating her breakfast in a bit of frustration. Glancing at Gladius she did a very subtle shrug.

The sword looked thoughtful for a moment, then snapped one of his wings as an idea flashed in his mind. Hovering over beside Luisa, he looked her over. She was none the wiser, and when the blade flashed Mirabel a nod, the giftless girl smiled.

As Alma called for the day to begin, Luisa rushed off to go and move the church. Mirabel excused herself and ran after her, Gladius close behind. They kept their distance as the strongwoman picked up the whole church and moved it into town, silently spying as she took on job after job.

"So… she just does this all, on loop, every day?" The sword asked Mirabel as the two of them peeked around a corner.

"Yeah, from what Mama told me as soon as she got her gift…" She trailed off. "I'm now realising how messed up that sounds."

"Exactly. The other kids are allowed to play, but your family has to work."

Mirabel pursed her lips, only to shake her head when Luisa walked past carrying a ton of donkeys on her shoulders. Sharing a look with Gladius, he nodded, and they followed after the rock, hoping to get some answers.

~X~

Phew, another long one! But, yep, now we're in actual movie rewrite territory, and this time it's a solo Gladius venture! I had planned this since I wanted to include Encanto in this fic. I just feel with the lore bubbling around him, he made the most sense, especially since he is over thousands of years old and magical himself.

So expect Mirabel's perspective on things to change a lot, especially since she has a reasonable companion to join up with her. There will be a lot of moments between the two of them that not only strengthens their friendship, but changes the course of the movie.

Fun fact, I originally wanted to end this chapter after Luisa's song, but I felt here was a good point because I want to add more to Luisa than what was in the movie. So look forward to that!

Also, with this chapter this series as a whole has broken 950k words. That is a crazy milestone, and I fully expect the coveted 1 million hit by chapter 28 at least. So I'm pumped!

As always, thank you all for your support, and be sure to join my art collab!

Up next: Mirabel and Gladius start to see more and more why the miracle is breaking, and it results in a choice no one saw coming…

~Kat~