3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you all for the lovely responses and great ideas last chapter! I'm still sorting through my plan, but I've got a much better idea of where to go from where I was stuck. All of your ideas did wonders to help me start thinking again, and I will be sure to credit anyone whose ideas I use (You'll see that starting in chapter 4, since I've had chapter 3 written since before I posted Chapter 2).

Anyone who still has ideas they want to share are still welcome to do so! Most times I post finished stories and that isn't an option, but this one is truly and WIP.

This story has gotten a tremendous response, thank you all so much for your support! It's definitely great motivation!

Also, this chapter follows the movie pretty heavily, so if you recognize it, I don't own it.

The next morning, tensions were high. Dolores had not heard any confrontations between Mama, Tía Julieta, and Abuela, but all of the adults carried an air of anger and frustration. Dolores was sure that her Mama and Tía would have shared about what had happened with her Papa and Tío, so it was no surprise that they were all upset.

Abuela ignored it, discussing plans for the wedding with Isabela. Antonio was occupied by his animals. Mira sat across from Dolores, quiet, but not sad. Camilo kept trying to sneak seconds, drawing the attention of the adults and gaining a laugh periodically, which Dolores expected was his goal. Ever the class clown, her hermano. Luisa was especially quiet, not participating in any conversation.

Abuela asked like she did every morning what everyone had planned. She skipped over Mirabel, as usual. When it was Dolores' turn, she was vague.

"Mirabel is going to help me with a project I'm working on." was all she said, continuing to eat her breakfast.

"Oh? What kind of project would Mirabel be able to help you with?" Abuela didn't sound pleased.

"It's a surprise." Dolores said with a shrug, trying to ignore the boiling blood from that unnecessary comment. "We'll be busy all day."

"That sounds wonderful, mija." Pepa interjected, shooting her own mother a look, and Abuela moved on quickly to the other family members.

Everyone scattered after breakfast, and Dolores and Mirabel made their way up to the nursery until Dolores determined that the coast was clear, and they headed straight for Bruno's room.

Both were surprised to enter to find the room ridiculously high up and full of sand and stairs.

"Have you ever been in here before?" Mirabel asked her.

"Once." Dolores mused. "I don't remember it looking like this."

"I guess… we go up?" Mirabel looked at her with concern.

"I guess we do."

They started the long, long trek up the stairs, and by the time they were at the top, both were well out of breath and energy.

Dolores was not happy to discover that at the top of the thousands of stairs they had climbed, was a gaping pit that they had to cross.

It was Mirabel's idea to do the rope swing, but Dolores was determined to go first. She was not letting her youngest prima plummet to her death on her watch.

Luckily, Dolores made it safely across and flung the rope back to Mirabel.

"It's not as bad as it seems." She promised, though her heart was still racing.

Mirabel made it across, and landed hard, breathless herself.

Dolores only had a second's notice, but it was all she needed. She yanked Mirabel by the arm away from the edge as the rock beneath her cracked and crumbled and fell.

They barely made it away from the edge in time.

"You saved me." Mirabel gasped. "Gracias." She was breathing hard, and so was Dolores.

"Come on, let's see what we can find." They made their way into the cave.

"This whole place is creepy," Mirabel murmured as they took in the cave.

Dolores had to agree. It was dark and enclosed, and she hated enclosed spaces.

Her anxiety was only made worse when the door slammed closed behind them.

The darkness made it possible for them to see the scattered pieces of glowing green glass that was buried beneath the sand.

"What's hurting the magic?" Mirabel murmured as she pulled some pieces out, trying to fit them together.

"Mira, I don't know-" Dolores was cut off as the rocks around them started to splinter, but Mirabel was oblivious.

Mirabel fitted a third piece in place, gasping as she moved it around. "Me?"

Dolores moved to see it as well, but the room continued to splinter, drawing Mirabel's attention this time.

"Grab the pieces." Mirabel instructed, hurriedly grabbing every green piece she could reach, and Dolores did as well.

"Mirabel, come on," Dolores called, panicking as the sand started filling the room up, quickly.

She thought her prima was behind her, but when she reached the door and looked back, her prima was pulling one last piece of glowing green glass from the sand.

"Mirabel!" Dolores shrieked. "We have to get out of here!"

Besides the fear of being trapped in the room, the falling sand was wreaking havoc on her hearing.

Mirabel threw herself over the sand, and both used their whole body weight against the door, until it finally flew open, depositing them on the other side and almost at the edge of the pit.

The way out was faster. They used their rope swing again, and scurried down the stairs as fast as they feasibly could, not stopping until they collapsed in Dolores' bedroom, hearts still racing and out of breath.

After they laid there for a moment, the cousins looked at each other. "Prima, we are never going into his tower again." Dolores instructed, her voice shaky.

"Agreed." Mirabel said faintly, not sure she would ever breathe normally again. She sat up, anxiety flitting across her face. "We need to put the pieces of the vision together." She said.

Dolores pulled the pieces she had in her pocket out, and Mirabel pulled out the pieces from her bag, and the two quickly fitted it together to reveal… Mirabel standing in front of Casita. Depending on how you looked at it, sometimes it looked cracked, and sometimes it was whole.

"What does it mean?" Mirabel asked, her voice shaky.

"I… I don't know." Dolores admitted. "I was older than you, but I was still young when he left. I don't know much about his visions."

"If only there was a way to ask him." Mirabel mused quietly, continuing to move the vision back and forth so she could see both sides.

Dolores froze. If only. She knew about the doorway behind the painting… she had left food for her Tío time and time again. She knew that that was the way to wherever he had made himself at home within the walls. But… he had left for a reason.

Dolores stared at her prima. She had often heard whispers comparing Mirabel and Bruno - both outcasts, both treated poorly by both the family and the community.

They weren't allowed to talk about her Tío - not since her Mama had broken down so badly that it stormed for a week the last time he was mentioned.

It became a rule - we don't talk about Bruno.

He had gained an air of darkness and villainy, but that wasn't how Dolores remembered him. He was a doting uncle, who loved all of the kids, though he had never had any of his own. He was quiet and calm and rational most of the time, if a little withdrawn and strange.

"Dolores? Why are you staring at me?" Mirabel broke her out of her thoughts with a question.

Dolores shook her head. "I… I have an idea. Do you trust me?" She asked, not really sure what her prima's answer would be. Dolores had taken her under her wing barely a day ago - Mirabel had no reason to trust her.

"Of course," Her always forgiving prima responded, frowning. "What's going on?"

"Come on," She said, taking Mirabel by the hand, gathering the pieces to the vision and stuffing them in Mirabel's bag.

Dolores led Mirabel to the painting, pulling it open. "Go." she hissed, and quickly followed Mirabel into the walls.

It was dark.

"Dolores, what are we doing?" Mirabel sounded nervous, and Dolores didn't blame her. There wasn't much light, and it was tight, but there was only one direction they could go.

"Just walk," She murmured. "I'm right behind you."

They did, but Mirabel tripped in the dark, sending a few of the pieces of the vision scattering on the floor in front of them.

Before they could grab them, rats scurried through, each one grabbing a piece and darting off, stopping when they reached a man in front of them that Dolores could barely make out, but knew must be Bruno.

Mirabel stood up, yelling, "Hey!" and chased after the rats - and the man. There was a hole in the ground that Bruno traversed with ease, and Mirabel didn't hesitate to follow. Dolores was about to start hopping around it when Mirabel fell, grabbing onto a piece of debris to keep from falling.

"Help!" She called out. "Dolores! Casita! Help!"

"Hold on, Mira," Dolores was panicking. She couldn't jump without risking Mirabel's tenuous hold on the stick that was keeping her from plummeting to her death.

She tried to reach for her from the side she on, but the hole was just too large.

"Tío!" Dolores yelled out, desperate as Mirabel started to slip. "Help!"

And then he was there, reaching down and grabbing Mirabel's arm. "You're very sweaty," He remarked, before falling himself.

Dolores squeaked, unable to believe what she was seeing. Mirabel managed to grab something else, and her and Bruno were still grabbing each other, but Mirabel reacted on instinct when a rat appeared on Bruno's arm, and she yanked her hand away, startled.

Luckily, Bruno only had about a foot to fall before he reached the ground, and there was no damage done to either. He helped Mirabel up and Dolores hopped over to join the two.

Bruno looked between them both for a moment before stating, "Bye," pushing past them, and walking away.

"Wait!" Mirabel and Dolores exclaimed at the same time, both following him.

"Is that-" Mirabel didn't finish her whispered sentence, but Dolores could figure it out regardless.

"Sí." She sighed.

"Tío Bruno," Mirabel called after him, causing him to falter for a moment before continuing to move away from them. "Why did you take the vision?" She asked.

"Knock knock knock knock knock, knock on wood." Bruno rattled off, rapping his knuckles against the walls and then on his head. He held his breath and crossed his fingers as he walked through the walls. He repeated his knocking on wood mantra before remarking, "You were never supposed to see that vision. No one was."

He then proceeded to throw both salt and sugar over his shoulder as he continued.

"Have you been patching the walls?" Dolores asked, looking up at the walls as the walked.

Bruno looked at the walls before explaining that the walls were patched by Hernando, causing Mirabel to ask him how long he had been back here.

"Since he left." Dolores answered for him with a sigh.

He looked her up and down, leading them into his room. "I figured it was you." He sighed. "You could hear me?"

"I can hear the whole town," Dolores grumbled. "Of course I could hear you."

Mirabel looked between them. "You've known he's been here? All this time? And you just left him?" She sounded confused.

"It wasn't my place, Mira." She said gently, though she was looking at Bruno while she spoke. "I learned young that it's not my place to share every secret. And I struggle at times with that, but Tío Bruno had a reason for leaving. It wasn't my place to share where he was, no matter how much everyone was upset."

"Why did you leave, Tío?" Mirabel asked him. "Why did you leave… but not actually leave?"

He wouldn't meet their eyes, trying to play it off talking about how difficult it would be to leave the Encanto, and how he was close to the kitchen here, so free food for him and the rats.

Mirabel wandered over to the table and chair he kept, beckoning Dolores over while he was distracted with the rats. There was a painted spot with a plate and his name on the table, and Dolores could make out the table they all ate at through the crack in the wall right near it.

Finally, he answered their question. "My gift… my gift wasn't helping the family. But, I love my family. You know?"

"I do." Mirabel mused quietly, not meeting either of their eyes.

"Don't you dare start thinking about it again." Dolores hissed.

"Thinking about what?" Bruno asked, concern lacing his voice.

Mirabel didn't answer, so Dolores didn't. "She was thinking of leaving."

"Leaving?" Bruno asked, as if he hadn't done exactly that. "And going where?"

Mirabel sighed. "Like you said… I'm not helping the family."

"That's not true." Dolores and Bruno spoke at the same time.

"Sobrina, I see a lot." Bruno told her gently. "I have the unique perspective of just observing, and you are so very helpful to everyone in the family, whether they actively notice it or not. And you try so hard. You are important. Please don't follow my example and leave." The pain in his voice was hard to mask.

"But why was I in your vision? What if me leaving protects the family? I've always wanted to make the family proud of me. But if what I'm doing is hurting the family…" Mirabel trailed off, not able to finish her thought.

"I don't know." Bruno admitted. He pulled out the pieces of the vision that he had gotten from the rats, and Mirabel wordlessly handed over the pieces she still had in her bag. He put them together, and told them his story. About how Abuela had demanded he have a vision after Mirabel hadn't gotten her gift, and how the vision wasn't clear. "I have a bad reputation for having visions that are negative in nature, that have disastrous outcomes. So even though I knew this vision could go either way, I couldn't take that chance. I knew what everyone would think. I'm Bruno and everyone always assumes the worst, so…" He trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

"You left… to protect me?" Mirabel asked.

Dolores felt her heart break at the utter shock and awe in her prima's voice. Was it that outrageous to her that someone in their family would look out for her?

"I don't know which way it'll go…" Tío Bruno started, but he was cut off by Mirabel who had thrown her arms around his neck in a hug.

Bruno froze, not expecting that, before gently patting her on the back. "It's alright, sobrina." He said gently. "I have no doubt that you can save the magic."

Mirabel pulled back, "No, that's not- of course I'm going to try and save the magic. But I just… I can't believe anyone would do that for me. You shouldn't have done that, I'm not worth you suffering like that."

Bruno exchanged a glance with Dolores. "It apparently didn't work as well I wanted since you have so much doubt that you deserve to be protected." He said to her quietly. He reached out hesitantly and cupped her face. "You deserve to be protected and cared for just as much as your primas and primos. Gift or no gift."

Dolores was nodding with him. "You are so worth it, prima." She whispered.

Tears welled in Mirabel's eyes. "Okay. If you say so." She murmured.

"We do." Tío Bruno said quietly, holding her gaze. "I told you, I love my family. And you're part of that. If leaving would protect you more than my staying, even a little bit, I had to try."

Bruno confirmed that he couldn't tell them how the vision would go, and gently but insistently led them out of his room.

"Once you've saved the magic… come visit, yeah?" He asked them.

"Once we save the magic-" Dolores started.

"We're bringing you home." Mirabel finished.

Bruno smiled slightly at them, before turning and retreating back into the walls.

Outside, Dolores and Mirabel looked at each other.

"We still don't know how to save the miracle." Dolores murmured.

"No. But we will figure it out." Mirabel stated, determined, and sounding much more optimistic than Dolores felt.

AN: Okay, so I have this headcannon that the main reason they don't talk about Bruno is because of Pepa's reaction - I mean, we saw her start thundering just at the mention of him after he's been gone 10 years. And I think she obviously loves her brother. And he brings out a lot of emotions in her - anger from her wedding, yes, but I am sure there is a host of other emotions from his disappearance. And that's why they don't talk about Bruno. We see Julieta bring him up, and she's outwardly fine and willing to talk about him, at least briefly. But Pepa's gift is affected by her emotions. And Alma didn't like when Pepa couldn't control her emotions so - we don't talk about Bruno. I didn't get into that much depth in the chapter, but I did reference it and I just wanted to explain why I think that.

I hope everyone enjoyed this new chapter!