Seeing Double

AN: This is an experiment! I've been crossing over both Zorro worlds (NWZ/WDZ). I was thinking... what would happen if WDZorro would find himself in NWZ world. Let me know if it works and if I must continue.

Chapter 1

Tornado was cutting through the night like a fish through water. It seemed darker than usual, due to the thundershower that caused a downpour just as Sergeant García and his lancers started giving chase to the masked outlaw. Leaning down low onto his stallion's neck Zorro let the horse pick the way through the brush, mud and puddles. Tornado seemed to guess the safest path as if he were able to smell it. Soon, no sign of the soldiers was left behind them as the military succumbed to the black stallion's speed and treacherous weather.

Slowing his coal black friend by collecting the reins, Zorro sat up tall in the saddle once again. He was drenched to the bone but nothing could dent his good mood. It had been a perfect night for Zorro. The masked man grinned happily. Just then the sky opened right in front of the pair as a deafening thunder roared, accompanied by a blinding flash of lightning that split open the ground in front of them. Vaguely, Zorro heard Tornado scream as he reared in fright. He felt Tornado overbalancing, falling down backwards, but the impact on the ground never came as with another massive thunder everything went black.

***ZzZ***

"That doesn't look good, Felipe," Diego de la Vega said, pointing out the black wall of clouds on the horizon, seemingly appearing out of nothing. The young caballero and his mute, teenage friend had been on a round trip to Santa Paula and were now approaching de la Vega lands. "I think we better look for cover. There are some caves up ahead where we can find shelter," Diego proceeded. Felipe nodded in agreement and the friends spurred on their horses.

No sooner had they found shelter for themselves and their horses, when the skies burst open with a violent thundershower. Lightning skittered across the sky, underlining the menacing claps of thunder. Even if Diego had wanted to talk to Felipe, the noise of the heavy rain combined with the thunder drowned out all other sounds. Both men had to use all their skill to calm their frightened steads.

About twenty minutes later it was over. The sky brightened up and the sun tried its best to dry up the rain saturated ground. "I think it's best if we walk the horses, Felipe. The ground here isn't used to absorbing such an amount of water. It's very slippery." Nodding, the boy guided his horse next to Diego's and smiled. Signing one handed, he conveyed to his friend that he had never witnessed such an unusual heavy thundershower before.

"I know, it's very rare in California. I remember one as bad as this when I was in Spain. Nearly washed a couple of streets away in Madrid. The university had considerable damage to the gym as the roof turned out unable to cope with the rain," Diego said, never taking his eyes off the treacherous ground. They had been walking a few minutes when suddenly, Diego's attention was drawn off the ground by a sharp tug on his sleeve. Looking up at Felipe he saw the younger man gaping at something ahead, as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Felipe?" Diego started, worried. He followed the direction of Felipe's outstretched arm as he was pointing to something about a stonethrow away from them. Diego squinted his eyes and then gasped. He blinked and quickly looked at Felipe. The boy's expression told him he didn't suffer from a hallucination. Up ahead on the path lay a coal black stallion and next to him a man dressed all in black, a mask covering the upper part of his face.

After a moment of disbelief, Diego shook of his frozen state and moved towards the pair on the ground. The black stallion's ribcage was lifting easily with each breath and the mighty horse started blinking his eyes. Crouching down next to the masked rider, Diego could see he was breathing as well, but otherwise he showed no signs of waking up. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Diego looked up at Felipe and watched the boy's hands as he signed.

"I have no idea who he is or why he is dressed like... Zorro," Diego shrugged. "He doesn't look familiar at all, but I don't have the feeling he's an impostor, either. It's surreal, for lack of another word." Felipe nodded and added a few signs. "No, I won't take off the mask, Felipe. Not here anyway," Diego replied. Felipe started signing again but aborted, when a shudder ran through the black horse's body and the stallion lifted his head. Then, with a mighty push, he was back on his legs, shuddering briefly from head to toe, like a dog shaking water off its fur.

The stallion eyed them curiously and then snorted upon seeing his master motionless on the ground. Slowly, Diego rose from his crouch and softly started talking to the wary horse. It was neccessary to have the beast trust him so they could transport the stranger to safety. Eventually, Tornado's ear play became more friendly and he stopped prancing his right front hoof. He had decided there was no danger coming from the strange humans.

Diego patted the black horse's neck. Then he turned to Felipe. "I need your help getting him on his horse." Felipe nodded and signed a question. "No, we can't bring him to the hacienda. There will be too many questions, and if de Soto hears of Zorro being at my father's hacienda, he'll want to arrest him. We have to bring him to the cave." Pondering Diego's words for a moment, Felipe then nodded his agreement. Then he frowned while signing again.

"I don't know what happened to them. All I can think of now is that possibly they got struck by lightning. The stallion's body is bigger, that's why he was affected less. But that's just a guess, Felipe. Let's move him." Diego and Felipe soon had the inert body securely on the man's steed. At a slow pace they made their way to Zorro's lair.

***ZzZ***

Felipe had brought the other Zorro's mount into a separate corner of the cave. Greedily, the stallion accepted the bucket of water and the hay and grains. The boy looked over to the pallet that Diego had put the stranger on. Curiosity got the better of him and he joined his friend, who had removed the masked man's hat and bandana. Slightly curly dark hair framed the masked face. A thin, precisely clipped caballero's moustache accentuated his upper lip and as far as Felipe could tell, the man sported no facial scars.

Looking down he watched Diego remove the rapier from it's sheath and inspecting it with interest. A soft, appreciative whistle resounded and Diego nodded slightly to himself. Catching Felipe's questioning gaze he smiled. "Genuine Toledo steel, Felipe. This weapon has been bought in Spain and it wasn't cheap." Running his fingers softly across the blade he added: "And it has had its share of fighting."

A soft moan from the pallet drew the men's attention. As they watched the newcomer stir, realization hit Diego like a brick wall. "Felipe," he gasped, pulling his friend away from the cot. "He can't see either of us in here. Suppose, he means harm. He'd be able to place us in Zorro's hideout. Quickly, bring the flask with the ether."

Complying as fast as he could, Felipe handed the mentioned bottle to Diego, who used a handkerchief to pour a small amount onto and then pressed it for a couple of breaths over the other Zorro's nose and mouth. The man's hand, which had been fidgeting, lay still once again.

"Felipe, we must return to the hacienda. We're expected back sooner rather than later. I will feign fatigue and retire to my room. You will have to distract my father so I can sneak in the library to get into the cave. Then Zorro can find out what this... other Zorro... is up to."

***ZzZ***

With a groan, Diego forced his eyes to open. What, by the santos, had Bernardo mixed into his wine last night? As the last cobwebs cleared his mind, his eyes focussed on his surroundings. On unfamiliar surroundings. Where was he? How did he get here?

Lifting his head, Diego's eyes grew wide as he found himself looking at a man in black, standing at his feet, blue eyes staring at him from behind a mask. "What...," he started,but a parched throat and lack of words due to surprise, stopped him. Taking in the figure in front of him, Diego remembered he was supposed to be riding as Zorro. Quickly, his hand shot up and he sighed in relief as he felt the mask in place.

"What do you want with me?" he croaked hoarsely and cleared his throat. "Why are you dressed like me of sorts?"

The masked man came to his side and Diego realized that the sword the man was holding was his. He swallowed.

"I could ask the same of you, Señor," the masked man said evenly. "Our costumes are much alike, but there are obvious differences. Are you trying to discredit the name of Zorro?"

Diego squinted his eyes and sat up, a move that his opponent tolerated warily. "You are not Zorro, I am," he replied calmly.

"I'm afraid we have to agree to disagree. Everyone in Los Angeles knows Zorro's hat looks like mine, not like yours," Diego's captor stated. Diego frowned and studied the man's hat.

"Too fancy, too remarkable," he shrugged, looking around the cave he had decided he was being kept in. Diego knew many caves, but this one didn't seem familiar. "What happened to me?"

The masked man took a deep breath. "I'm not sure. There was a thunderstorm. You and your horse might have been too close to a lightning strike. What is the last thing you remember?"

"Tornado," Diego whispered, looking around. "Is he alright?"

Zorro pointed into a corner and Diego noted with relief that his faithful horse was happily munching on some hay. "I remember being chased by Sergeant García and his lancers..."

"There is no Sergeant García in Los Angeles," Zorro interrupted him. "The sergeant's name is Mendoza, Jaime Mendoza."

Diego froze, trying to digest the words. "Who is the comandante of the pueblo?" he then asked, unsure whether he really wanted to hear the answer.

"There is no comandante. Our alcalde, Ignacio de Soto, is officiating the military and he's the main reason I have to ride in mask to right his wrong," Zorro informed him.

"That's impossible," Diego murmured, shaking his head. He was thinking furiously in order to figure out what had happened. Was he dreaming? Did he get a blow to the head and was hallucinating? "Can you pinch me?" At Zorro's frown he shrugged. "I need to know if I'm dreaming."

Smiling, Zorro stepped closer and obliged. Grimacing, Diego realized he wasn't dreaming. "What's your name?" he asked out of the blue.

"Nice try," Zorro replied, frowning.

"Look, I don't know any more than you do what is going on here. You claim you're the real Zorro. I claim the same. You talk about a Sergeant Mendoza, I talk about Sergeant García. We both are riding to right the wrong. We obviously have the same mission. What are the odds that both of us had the same idea with almost the same outfit and the same name in two different Los Angeles? I don't think there is more than one Los Angeles in California, yet our memories are different. I'd like to think we are alike. So I will take a leap of faith and trust you." Diego stood up as Zorro stepped back, eyeing him curiously.

"My name is Diego de la Vega," Diego continued, noticing Zorro's eyes widening in surprise or shock at his revelation. "My father is Alejandro de la Vega. My mother died when I was 10 years old. When I was 18 my father sent me to Spain to study but summoned me back before I could finish due to trouble. When I arrived here and saw what was happening, I created Zorro to help without repercussions for my family. Hence the mask."

Zorro had been listening intently, stepping back until he reached the edge of his desk where he sat on the corner to steady his reeling mind. When it didn't look like Zorro would reply anytime soon, Diego went over to Tornado and stroked his back. The black stallion interrupted his meal and nuzzled his master's chest. Then he snorted softly.

A matching snort resounded from the other side of the cave and Diego turned to see another big black stallion gazing at him from across the cave. With a pat on Tornado's neck Diego turned and slowly approched the other horse. Suddenly he felt a presence next to him and noticed Zorro had joined him.

"His name is Toronado," Zorro said, his gloved hands stroking the horse's nose. Then he turned to the other man and looked into his eyes. "My name is Diego de la Vega, son of Alejandro de la Vega. My mother died when I was eleven. I studied in Madrid but returned before completing my studies and created Zorro to save my father and Señorita Escalante just after my return."

They stood in silence a few minutes. Then they looked at each other, hazel eyes exploring blue ones. Finally Diego grinned. "What do you say, Diego de la Vega. You went to university in Madrid. Care to show off your fencing skills?"

TBC

AN: What do you think? Must I continue? Reviews pls