My Strange Addiction➳ Carlos De Vil

Ben The Beast

"Screw Audrey, screw Audrey, screw Audrey..."

"Madison, you've been saying that for the past hour and a half."

"No. For the first hour, I said much worse."

I grab Jane's arms and help her up a large rock. We've been trekking through the forest for nearly two hours. And with every step we take, the angrier I get at Audrey. Not for ruining my birthday, but for forcing me to have to hike through these endless woods.

"Fair enough." Jane looks around, "Are you sure this is the way back to the palace?"

I vigorously shake my dry, stringy hair out with my right hand, "I spent hours in this forest when we first came to Auradon. I'm sure."

"Why did you spend so much time in the woods?" Jane asks. She hops down the boulder and helps steady me when I jump down.

"Back on the Isle, we didn't have woods. But you know Auradon's history. My father, the Mad Hatter, used to live in Auradon. He loved the woods. He told me about these woods in particular and how he'd spend hours here. He said it made him feel like he was on top of the world. Plus, he said he found a lot of mushrooms. Anyway, the woods made him happy, and I wanted to see the root of his incredible stories."

"You really miss him, huh?"

"Yeah," I say quietly. Then, I add louder, "But I miss my bed nearly as much!"

Jane laughs then abruptly stops, "Shh! You hear that?"

I start to say no, but then I hear it. A low, beastly growl. I grab Jane's arm at the same time she grabs mine and we duck behind the boulder. Cautiously, we poke our heads around the rock.

Ben- or at least it used to be Ben- stumbles through the leaves and twigs. But it's not our human Ben.

"Holy sparkles, Audrey turned him into Ben the Beast!" I hiss a little too loudly.

Jane slaps her hand over my mouth and pulls me back behind the boulder. Ben the Beast turns in our general direction, growling a little louder. My heart drums violently in my chest. How much of a beast did Audrey make him?

He roars once and Jane and I flinch, shaking like a leaf. After a couple of seconds, I hear the crunch of leaves and twigs to our right as he stalks off. Even so, Jane and I stay behind the boulder for another minute or two before I turn to her, "Check on the count of three?"

She nods, "One."

"Two..."

We say at the same time, "Three!"

We peer over the boulder. It's still now, not even a breeze whistling through. It's like he was never there. We let out a collective sigh.

"That was close," Jane exhales.

"Yeah. Sorry, but I can't believe she did that!"

"Do you think... she did that to the VKs?"

I didn't consider that. We don't have enough Enchanted water to cure them all if she did. I shake my head, "I'm just gonna hope she didn't."

"Well, we should go after him. We have the Enchanted Lake water. Even if we can't cure everyone, it's a start."

"You're right. C'mon." I point to his footprint, "He went right."

We creep along, following his footsteps. We hear him roar again and I grab Jane and duck behind a bush.

But this time, it isn't just Ben the Beast we hear.

"Watch out!" I hear Jay say.

And the last person I expected to hear, "You need some serious nose adjustments."

Why the Auradon is Harry Hook here?!

I nearly go weak in relief when I hear Carlos, "I'm not so sure."

Ben the Beast roars and Carlos asks, "Ben? Did Audrey do that?"

Jay says, "Ah. I thought I recognized those pants."

It takes me a second to place the next voice, "Aw, he's got a boo-boo, that's why he's so cranky. You know, my dad said that his dad did not handle pain well at all."

Gil.

I put my finger to my lips and point over the bush. Jane understands and we quietly peek through the leaves of the bush.

Sure enough- Jay, Harry, Gil, and Carlos are grouped together in front of Ben the Beast. And he's holding his left hand close to himself.

Jay tells Carlos, "You're good with animals. Do something."

"But... okay. Alright." Carlos approaches Ben the Beast, "Okay, Ben. It's me. Carlos. Alright?"

Ben roars at him and I flinch at how close he is, "Whoa! Ben, Ben, it's Carlos. Alright? You know me. You helped me once. Remember with Dude? Right? Let me help you. Come on, let me see your hand."

Ben the Beast hesitates before holding out his hand. I turn to Jane, "Once that splinter's out and he's subdued, we'll spray him."

She nods determinedly.

Carlos grins, "There you go. Alright. Atta boy-uh, beast, king- whatever. Oh, yeah, it's a big one. I'm gonna count, alright?"

While he counts down, I also countdown to Jane on my fingers, "One... two..."

He yanks the splinter out and Jane and I quietly sprint out from behind the bush. Ben roars once in pained surprise and Carlos cheers, "There it is! You did it!"

Jane and I hold the water gun and spray Ben with the Enchanted water until he changes back to just Ben.

I exhale, my shoulders slumping with the effort. Jane laughs and gives me a hug, "We did it!"

I laugh and hug her back.

"Hey!"

Carlos hops down and rushes over to me. In true form, we immediately start talking over each other but we end up saying simultaneously, "I'm so glad you're alright!"

I hug him tightly and he hugs me back.

Jay helps Ben sit down on a tree trunk. Ben chuckles, Oh, that was... funky."

Jay claps his shoulder, "Was? Is." He indicates Ben's beard and fangs and Ben laughs, "Oh, wow."

Jane nods, "You need another blast."

"Uh, please-"

Jane sprays him in the face but nothing changes. Ben mumbles, "Please. Stop."

She shrugs, "Huh. It's Enchanted Lake water, but I guess it can only do so much."

"At least he's human," I shrug, "It would be way worse."

Harry saunters over to Carlos and me, "Well, well, well. It's been a while, Maddy. Happy birthday, my dear. You look... ravishing."

I glare wordlessly at my ex. Carlos chuckles once humorlessly, "Okay, uh, ravishing and taken. Just in case anyone was confused."
I notice Harry's gaze then slide over to Jane and I snap my fingers to get his attention, "Hey, hey!"

When his head snaps in my direction, I shake my finger at him, "She's spoken for, too, you sea weasel."

Ben seems to remember our extra company, "Hold on. Whose side are they on?"

Jay explains, "They escaped and joined us. Mal has the ember, which is our only hope to stop Audrey. Details to follow."

"Hades' ember? Has Mal gone back to the Isle?"

"I said 'Details to follow.' We're meeting up with Mal, Evie, and Uma. Let's go."

"Uma?!"

Carlos, Jane, and I repeat, "Details to follow!"

Jay pushes Ben forward. As we walk after him, Harry stops Jay, "Hey, Jay, um... yeah, thanks for saving me gorgeous face."

I roll my eyes and shake my head.

A/N - Just a reminder about this version of the Mad Hatter, it is based on the "Once Upon a Time" Mad Hatter, hence the reason I mentioned mushrooms (in the series, he was a mushroom picker).