Biking in the middle of the night was dangerous. Plain and simple. Not only this activity will drain your energy in the morning, but the chances of crashing blindly into traffic or an illumination pole are high.
Of course, you try telling these kids that.
Sanjay ventured deeper and deeper into the city, following the familiar circular glow of street lamps. With a sturdy helmet and a determined smile worn, he neared the building he had visited earlier this morning. His heart began to swell as he approached its radius. For the first time in his life so far, he desired to actually come back to the one place most kids in the 21st century would consider old and boring. However, what was a relic of the past to them was a memento of the present to him. Oh, and them as well. Them being the rest of the kids he met in the detention; one of them in particular caught his brown eyes. With her short dark blue-green hair, two different colored heart barrettes in said hair, pink roller skates, and brown/reddish eyes, Jane Lin was truly the stand-out character of the bunch.
Speaking of which... A flashlight flickered in a type of Morse code, which Sanjay took as his signal to pedal faster. Approaching the front stairs of the museum, he skid to a stop in front of his aforementioned friend (Wow, I never thought I would hear myself say that...), his brown/reddish eyes meeting his own simply brown.
"I almost thought you wouldn't come," Jane commented as Sanjay mentally chuckled upon seeing her trying trying her best to fight off any fatigue that came her way.
"Almost." The Indian-American hopped off his bike and unbuckled his helmet, securing them both in one of the many handlebars before walking over to the Chinese-American. "Honestly, so did I. Sasha staying with you again?"
"Her parents are on a business trip," Jane shrugged as she explained, "Honestly though, I don't mind."
Upon hearing her reason for being in detention (she took the blame for an incident for which her friend was responsible for), Jane developed something of a big sister instinct toward Sasha. With her being an only child of her family and her being the only child of the group, the Chinese-American took it upon herself to provide the Russian-American with a reliable role model whom she could look up to. Needless to say, a side of the raven-haired girl she never expressed toward anyone (besides her family and her new friends) was revealed.
Sanjay turned to the museum and tilted his head in contemplation. Then turning to Jane: "Do you remember where the door is, Jane?"
Jane herself chuckled in response. "Well, it should be obvious, Sanjay. We find the secret passage."
Both kids strolled up the steps and down the platform, approaching the familiar wall. Pressing their hands and rubbing them against the cemented bricks, a moment passed until Sanjay called out to Jane.
"I found it!"
She skated over to him and turned on her flashlight as they both entered inside. They kept their guard up, suspecting the old security guard from earlier would ambush them out of nowhere just for a really good scare. At last, they found the room they were looking for. It consisted of the common objects introduced to them earlier that morning, the props that served a purpose throughout the story, and of course...
"The Book of Life."
The eyes of Sanjay and Jane eventually landed of the titular composition, laying atop a podium for display. Both exchanged nervous and uncertain glances before both proceeded towards it. Slowing to a stop mere feet away, a moment of silence followed...until it was broken by Sanjay.
"All the world is made of stories..."
Then Jane.
"...and all of those stories are right here."
And finally...a third voice.
"This books holds many truths... Some are actually true."
The two children jumped out of fright, Sanjay in particular holding on to Jane for dear life. Their chests pressed together in the ensuing grasp, the lights in the room (sans their own) began to considerably dim out before being replaced with a dark red glow. It looked like...lava. Boiling lava. Suddenly, a figure began to form out of thin air. The figure in question was indeed made out of boiling lava with black hair (beard and moustache included), orange eyes, blue skulls for pupils, and a huge pair of membranous wings [3]. He wore black bulky armor decorated with multiple small skulls and red stars, matching gloves with red flames, and a metal winged crown that was crowned with striped candles lit with blue flames and small red and black skulls (which have goat horns and small silver crowns). This presumable demon bore a strong resemblance to a much more recognizable someone, although he gave the impression that he was much more...muscular.
"Who dare disturbs me at this hour? And it better be a good reason why..."
Sanjay and Jane were too busy shaking in their quite literal boots to answer the question presented to them by the demon because...well, the person who presented the question that had yet to be answered was a demon. So, naturally, they began to backtrack slowly away from him, who in turn glanced down at the intruders before him.
"Hmm. And who might you be? Not the intruders I plan to incinerate, I hope..."
A deep gulp swallowed by the both of them, it was Sanjay who approached first. "We're...we're sorry. We didn't mean to intrude."
"Yeah, we just wanted to...see The Book of Life again," Jane rolled up beside him.
The demon frowned at the sight of the children before a sinister smirk replaced it. "Ah. The Book of Life. The bee in my bonnet, the thorn in my side... The bane of my existence. What's your business with it? You're attempting to enter the Land of the Remembered, I suppose?"
"Well, actually – "
"Because if that's what you desire...I will gladly grant it."
"What?"
With a snap of his fingers, the three of them were transported outside under a tree that stood in front of the museum. Confusion crossed the faces of the kids while it was bluntness for the demon.
"Well, don't just stand there. Walk."
Sanjay and Jane exchanged uncertain glances again before the former turned to the tree and walked towards it first. Repeating his action performed on the walls earlier, his hand phased through this time, signifying the presence of a portal. The latter skated besides him and examined the portal herself. Exchanging glances for the last time, they held each other by the hand and leapt through, leaving the demon as he watched on.
. . .
"Should I go after them?"
. . .
"No."
He snapped his fingers again, and like that...he was gone.
Jane was the first to awake. Her eyes groggily blinked open as she struggled to stand up, but only managed to sit. Rubbing her forehead while groaning in weariness, she noticed something was off the moment her hand made contact with her head. The fingers from which her hand stemmed felt...thinner than usual. Untangling them from her hair and bringing them in full view of her red-brown eyes, she gasped in shock.
My fingers... They're skeletal!
Twisting them around to find the flesh of her hand had completely vanished, Jane glanced down to find the same treatment had been applied to her arms and legs (and, by extension, her concealed feet). Raising her hands up to her face and caressing it, she found that it too had taken the appearance of a skeleton. Her eyes focusing on a nearby puddle, she skated over to it and took a glimpse at her reflection. She was no longer a member of the world of the living; she was now a member of the world of the dead. She was now a white calavera skeleton with black scleras and golden pupils. Amazingly enough, she wasn't terrified as she was entranced by her outward image, but the thought occurred to her that she had entered the portal with a friend as well.
"Sanjay? Where are you? Sanjay!"
"Jane? Where are you? Jane!"
Jane's head swiveled around to see a familiar-looking shape skating his way. She began to skate towards Sanjay but skidded to a stop (as did himself), nearly tripping over her skates in the process. What appeared before her was not her friend, but rather a shell of her friend: a white calavera skeleton with black scleras and golden pupils...much like herself.
"Sanjay...?"
"Jane...?"
Again, another silence passed before it was broken.
"What...what happened?"
"That demon. It had something to him. He led us here."
"Maybe. But Jane...where exactly is "here"?"
"..."
The both of them turned to find a blinding barrage of bright colors shining their way – especially those of orange, yellow, and gold. The white architecture consisted of various animal and skull-shaped buildings, unlike anything the city of New York (or any city in general) had ever constructed. and the black sky was full of falling/floating flowers, flower petals, and skull-shaped hot air balloons. The occupants seemed unaware of their presence and content with their ongoing fiesta, complete with joy, laughter, fun, and music. A city of endless celebration that no one dared sleep or rest, the citizens danced their hearts as if they had nothing left to fear or despise. The children could only carefully climb down the hill and gaze on in wonder, intrigue, and amazement. The city before them was beautiful as it was breathtaking. Meeting face-to-face once more, the realization hit them both at once.
"The Land of the Remembered..."
"Correct, you are!"
They stumbled back as one balloon decorated with candy skulls lifted into their view. A skeleton horse rode out and his rider, an uniformed male who was boney just as it was, greeted the two children.
"Welcome to the Land of the Remembered! May I have your name please?"
They exchanged glances once more...before exchanging smiles and turning to him.
From afar, a woman watched as the two children gave their identification to the Captain. Mysterious as she was, she was also strikingly alluring. A being composed of rain, she had light blue skin, white foot-length hair in two long braids, and a pair of eyes with different shades of purple and gold. Her regalia was a purple Mayan dress embellished with golden jewelry and a large Aztec headdress with blue-and-purple feathers, lighted candles draped around said headdress. Though it may surprise you, this woman was not La Muerte, the ruler of the Land of the Remembered.
But you were incredibly close.
"La Luna."
The woman turned to find her husband approaching her with his hands behind his back. Again, this man was not Xibalba, the ruler of the Land of the Forgotten.
Then again...you were extremely close.
"Diablito."
The couple embraced each other in a fiery yet wet kiss. They were El Chamuco and La Noche, the rulers of the Land of the Unknown...and the older brother/twin sister of Xibalba and La Muerte, respectively.
"What took you so long, my darling?"
"... Well..."
"What's wrong?"
"... I may have committed a minor mistake."
"How minor?"
"... You see, there are two kids in the Land of the Remembered. And..."
"And...?"
"... They may or may not be still alive."
"Half-dead?"
"Half-dead."
"... I suppose this is a major mistake of yours?"
"Major."
A tense moment passed between the both of them...until La Noche broke into a grin, completely bewildering El Chamuco.
"I know."
She then turned tail and walked back to the balcony. He followed her there after recovering from his stunned silence.
"You know?"
"I knew."
"... Oh. Then what shall we do?"
"Nothing."
"... Nothing?"
"For the time being, anyway. Besides, our son is already keeping an eye on the two lovebirds as we speak."
"Our son? Wait...lovebirds?"
"You'll see, mi Diablito. You'll see..."
Indeed, their son was watching the two new natives of the Land of the Remembered as they hopped aboard the skeletal horse, the girl clutching on the hands of the boy as they rode deep into the city. For some reason, he couldn't help but frown at the sight of that. A feeling began to swirl in his stomach, one that was akin to...jealousy. Oh, who am I kidding? This girl clearly loves this boy and not his rival...just as Maria did toward Manolo and not Joaquin.
. . .
Then again, there's no harm in trying, right?
The boy leapt down from the rooftop and landed atop a hot air balloon, from where he saw a number of them forming a pathway to the castle. How convenient. And so, he began to bounce. He bounced as if his life depended on it...
...except it didn't.
A/N: As you can tell (if you haven't already), this story can draw some parallels to "This is Our Chapter" by cartuneslover17. However, while there are some similarities, there are mostly quite a few crucial differences. Mainly:
• Only Sanjay and Jane enter the Land of the Remembered. Joao, Goth Kid, and Sasha don't until much later. Also, they take the form of skeleton much like the rest of the citizens.
• There is a greater emphasis on La Noche and El Chamuco, also known as the twin sister of La Muerte and the older brother of Xibalba. Little-to-no stories about them are published, and if there are stories with them in it, they're most likely reduced to side characters and/or cameo appearances.
• Following up from the second bullet, both of them have a son. Jorge said "they do not have any children...but they might."