3Hello again,
This story is a special request one-shot.
Initially, I never even had the thought to include Carlos's perception of the events in The Dog until a certain reviewer suggested it.
As a "thank you" for sending me a very thought out comment on one of my other stories, I thought I could burn a few midnight oils and honor her simple request.
Unfortunately, it did not fit in with the original story the way I wanted it to be told, so I made it into its own one-shot. (This is actually one of the reasons why I chose to write all my stories in this format: multiple one-shots/short stories instead of one long story. It gives me more flexibility for change and allows me to honor fan requests more easily. Like this, all the stories are still linked, but I can still go back and add in a new part when and wherever I want, without altering the flow of the original story.)
As a side note, ANY story with the SAME cover image means they are linked and from the same story universe. And therefore, should be read together in order to understand things more clearly.
So without delay, I hope you enjo-
OH YEAH, disclaimer!
The idea behind this story is not my own. Blah blah blah. It comes from the movie Descendants, that I do not own. Blah blah blah. I also have no claim on these amazing villains or their friends and anyone else. Only the idea to expand the story in more detail was my own. Blah blah blah
DONE!
so let's try this again:
Without delay, I hope you enjoy finding out what was going through Carlos ahead when Dude was chasing him around the field.
The Chase
Honestly, how do I get myself into these situations, Carlos thought to himself the moment he stepped onto the field. But interestingly enough, the day wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Ben had ended up being a really great coach, as well as a pretty decent guy, ...for a prince that is.
This really all just started, because Carlos and Jay had, yet again, another disagreement with each other. But unlike previous times, they chose to physically resolve their argument in a disruptingly loud way, on top of the desk they shared, in Fairy Godmother's class. To say she was unhappy would be an understatement.
According to Carlos, it was actually Jay's fault. He had started it. Carlos had obviously raised his hand first to answer the teacher's question, but it was Jay that answered it before he got the chance, getting it correct and thwarting Carlos's chance to impress the headmistress. Then, he was the one that started the physical onslaught. So if it wasn't for Jay, Carlos would have never tried out for the team and therefore would have never ended up in his very own private torture session with Ben, right before the worst moment of his whole entire life.
Carlos had no interest in playing their silly little prep school games, and at the beginning, neither did Jay, but as it turns out, Jay's pretty good. So it was a no-brainer, he got on the team. Eventhough Carlos tried his best, the coach wasn't very impressed. Apparently, athleticism and effort are mutually exclusive, to Carlos's disappointment. He just wasn't very sporty; that's a kind way of saying he basically sucked.
What started out as a forced "positive behavior modification exercise" (AKA Auradon speak for "punishment") to improve the boys classroom conduct and self-esteem, ended up being another demonstation of Carlos's failure. Tourney try-out was yet another item on a long list of things Carlos couldn't do right. It shouldn't have surprised him though, his mother had basically informed him of his loser status since the moment he could walk, and now the educators of his new school were basically telling him the same thing: not with beatings or mean words like he was used to, but the effect was the same. It was like Cruella's ghost had followed him onto the mainland.
Carlos was going to do what he always did when the world decided to be unfairly hard on him: hide in his room with his inventions, though this time he had something better: video games. Giving up was easy when there's nothing to fight for, but apparently the king-to-be had found enough motivation to fight in his stead. Ben insisted that the coach give him another chance, if Carlos trained hard enough. Evidently, the other boy hadn't figured out yet that talent and hard work are not the same thing.
Carlos sighed; he really wasn't looking forward to another disaster like today, but deep down... deep, deep down, he felt graditutde towards Ben. Never had anyone stood up for him like that, had believed in him so much that said person would waste their time training him. This made Carlos surprisingly happy, and this, alone, was the only reason the ruthless teen even agreed to the torturously useless training session. If he was honest with himself, Carlos wasn't expecting much; his mother had already explained to him that there was no hope in teaching an old dog new tricks. That's why she never bothered explaining anything to him with words and always turned to her hands as her teaching instruments.
All these years, Carlos had believed her, had believed everything she told him...
...That is until his training session with Ben.
It was initially as horrible as he expected, but when Carlos was about to give up, Ben somehow got through to him. He convinced the villain to stay and try again. That was a novelty: trying again after failure was unheard of on the isle. They were taught that trying the same thing again and expecting a different result was the definition of insanity** and therefore should never be attempted. So this went against everything he was taught, but Ben had such an honest deminor that Carlos couldn't help trusting him. Ben was the type of person you don't want to disappoint, because he was so open and encouraging. He also had a talent with people and for giving them something they desperately needed but never thought was possible: hope.
And that was how the white-haired teen ended up in a runner's lunge for the second time, on the Tourney Field with his very first encouraging teacher. Ben really did make a very good coach.
Right when he was determined and ready to push his weak, scrawny body forward, Carlos heard it: barking.
At first, it started with soft paw-steps coming from behind him which quickly picked up their pace as the monstrosity came closer. Then, came the second wave of barking. Carlos slowly turned around, too scared to believe what his mind was telling him. After all, Auradon is a peaceful place with heros and princesses. Why would they have the vilest of villains in their mist? But his eyes spotted the little devil instantly, along with its long, poisonous tongue out of its big, ferocious mouth surrounded by razor sharp teeth. Its tale wagging with such speed, Carlos was sure one hit would send him flying into a near by tree. Then there were his legs; they moved so quickly towards him. Worst of all, at the end of those very furry limbs were sharp claws that dug into the ground the closer that beast came and that was when he knew he was being chased.
Auradon Prep must have hated him so much that they sent their attack dog to get rid of him. He knew it was too good to be true. There was no way anyone would accept him. He wasn't useful like the others, and now he was going to be turned into a chew toy.
Carlos let out a sob as he stood there frozen, looking at the very incarnation of death.
He was about to meet his end, and that's when it hit him, he didn't want to die. Not just yet. He hadn't even finished paying all the new video games in his room, and he had yet to get back at Jay for putting applesause in his shoes and steeling his dessert yesterday. Without his mind even registering what he was doing, Carlos started to run. His body started to move at its own volition, and it was going faster than it had ever gone before. Carlos could tell by the force of the wind hitting his face, but that was not what he was focusing on at the moment. He had only one thought on his mind: Why me?!
He couldn't hold it in any longer, "AHHHHHHH!" Carlos screamed in terror as he ran as fast as he could.
Carlos squeezed his eyes shut and started bargaining to whichever God was listening, I'm so sorry for being a very bad boy. I swear I will change. But honestly, I'm not that evil. I'm good, practically a fairly tale hero myself.
Carlos looked back, and to his horror, he still saw the vicious, rabid pack animal behind him. Okay okay, so maybe that wasn't entirely true. I do have villain blood in me after all. And maybe I was the one that stole Evies necklace last year and made it looked like Jay did it. I just wanted to mess with him for messing with me-
"Bark!"
AHHH and ...aand maybe it was me who put hot sauce in Jay's Shampoo last week-
"BARK BARK!"
*Whimper* Okay, okay! It was me. It was all me. I did it: I ate all the strawberry chocolate cake yesterday, not Mal. And I didn't have a history of Woodsmen paper to write yesterday. It was a lie. I just wanted to be left alone to play the new "Hero's Battle Cry 5: Invation of the Mountain Trolls." And I'm also to blame for what happened in Fairy Godmother's class, not Jay. SOOO please, don't eat me. I swear I'm not pure evil. I don't even taste all that good.
"Rrruff"
Carlos gave a small shriek as the rant in his head came to a halt. It was clear now that he was not getting out of this alive. So just like any scared, little boy would have done in a moments of panic, Carlos took another look at the carnivorous canine behind him and pleaded in his head for his mother's help: Mommy! Helpe me!
At that last statement, Carlos nearly stumbled and fell from shock. After all, his brain should know better by now. Why one earth would his mother ever come and help him? She'd much rather sit on the bleachers with a bowl of stale toad-skin coated popcorn and laugh at his failure as he was eaten alive than lift a pink finger in assistance. That vile woman would never willingly help him, even though he was her only son. Carlos had a better chance with the dog then waiting on his mother's help.
As his sides roared with pain and his legs burned, Carlos continued to run, despite protesting from his lungs. He could barely breathe now, but still he refused to stop. At his moment, it felt like an eternity had gone by, but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. Carlos stubbornly pushed his legs faster than it had ever gone before. He was heading towards Ben, and in a flash, he passed him.
"Sweet!" He heard the other teen say triumphantly for some unknown reason that Carlos could not bother to think about at this moment.
I've been a very bad boy, and now and now I'm going to be dog chow, Carlos dramatically thought to himself in a self-deprecating manner. I knew Ben should have never wasted his time with m-
The idea hit Carlos out of nowhere: BEN! He could help me. He's my only hope.
So Carlos took a deep breath, or as deep as his lungs would allow at this moment, and screamed as loudly as he could: "BEEEENNNNNN!"
A very soft and, confused "Carlos?" was his only reply.
"AHHH," Carlos's mind was being suffocated by his fear. He could feel it in his bones, as it spread through his veins. Why wasn't Ben doing something? Why is he just standing there? Can't he see the danger I am in!?
When Cruella DeVil had first shared her knowledge about these wild beats, Carlos had never really believed his mother's fanciful stories. Dogs that would viciously attack any bad little boy sounded like something parents would tell their kids so they would behave.
"Bark! Bark!"
Ah! Ah, okay, I do, I do. I believed every last word, Carlos's thought to himself desperately, as if speaking the truth now would make any universe had clearly aligned itself to prove to him that his mother was right. If he had known just how right she was, he would have never left the safety of the island. For as bad as it was there, at least, they didn't have crazy pack animals that devoured bad little villain boys.
"AHH! BEN! HELP ME!" Carlos was whimpering at this point, as he ran closer towards the woods.
He managed to take one last look back at Ben, and to his surprise, Carlos saw the other boy's boggled expression quickly turn into a smile. Was he laughing at me? Carlos was both shocked and confused at this. I thought he was suppose to be the good guy here. Great, now even the heroes of Auradon think it's funny to pick on the little guy.
He wanted to yell back that this was serious, but he was too busy screaming for his life. What was Carlos going to do now when even his last hope for survival saw his suffering as entertainment?
In a surge of panic, Carlos saw a tree in front of him and decided to start climbing. His brain, somehow, thought it would be a great idea to strand himself up a thirty foot stick in an effort to get away from the little demon.
"BARK! BARK! BARK!"
Oh, how wrong he was. The dog had managed to follow him all the way into the woods, and now it was trying to climb its way up the tree that Carlos had chosen as a safety zone. Apparently, it was yet another useless effort on his part. Carlos held on tightly to the tree, squeezing his eyes shut, hoping somebody would take pity on him and rescue the poor villain boy from a very gruesome death, as he pleaded one last time to anyone who was listening: "I'll be good. I promise!" *Whimper* "So please, please, pretty please, don't let this raging wild animal eat me alive. I'm too young to be chewed up and digested."
As fear over took him, yet again, he could no longer hold back his scream of terror, "AHHHHHHHHH!"
Oh, why do bad things always happen to villains, Carlos thought to himself, pestimistically. In the only act of self-preservation that he could muster under the circumstances, Carlos hugged the tree more tightly to his chest.
"I'm so skrewed."
**Can anyone guess where I got the idea for this precept? It comes from a very famous scientist. I had an opportunity and couldn't resist sneaking it in there.
This is a side story from chapter one of the Dog. It didn't really fit well with the original story so I thought I'd just post it on it's own for anyone who was interested. Hope you enjoyed being inside Carlos's head.
Till my next post :)