Hey, look. *nervously points at this* It's another Lucha Underground fic from me. *nervous laughs* ...Okk. I feel the need to say this now in case anyone that's reading this follows my other stuff. No, I haven't given up on any of those stories. I just...I got the idea for this fic from the most recent episode of Lucha Underground and...I just had to roll with it.
*coughs* Anywho! The basic premise for this fic comes from the start of the newest Lucha Underground in an exchange between Mil Muertes and Catrina. Catrina made mention of having known Mil since he was a scared little boy, and that got me thinking about their relationship pre-Temple (going by the LU mythos). And this is the result of that thinking. Read on, and, to those that read this, I hope you all enjoy. =)
Pasqual Mendoza. His name had been feared among the people in the town he lived in. Ever since he was a boy, Pasqual had driven fear and terror into any that dared cross his path. It just didn't seem to make any sense to the 12-year-old boy as all he wanted was love, affection, companionship...anything but the crushing feeling of loneliness and isolation that seemed to plague him. Pasqual didn't even know why this was...it's just how things were. Every time he'd try to play with any of the other kids in town, they would run away. Most adults that he would try to talk to, they would all give him the cold shoulder, in a way. It just didn't seem to make any sense to the boy, but...he had learned to get used to it. And, as a result of this, his heart seemed to harden and darken.
The town elders seemed to take notice of this threatening boy as his mere presence drove endless fear into the other townspeople. Even Pasqual's own parents were terrified of him. After doing a large amount of research on Pasqual, the elders found out something dangerously alarming about Pasqual: Pasqual Mendoza was no mere child; he was the earthly vessel of a thousand souls, many of these souls being dark and demonic in nature. So, one day, after a town meeting, the elders decided that the best course of action to take with Pasqual would be to lock him away in a tomb until either the souls left his body...or Pasqual died a human death.
"For the sake of the town and its denizens, we must do this," one of the elders told Pasqual's parents. "It is for the greater good."
It was with heavy hearts that Pasqual's parents agreed with what the elders said; they wanted what was best for their son, but, at the same time, they couldn't deal with being the parents of the boy that drove fear into pretty much everyone he met. A few days after this meeting, the plan of the elders was put into action. One day, one of the elders had found Pasqual as he was walking around the town alone. Saying a spell under his breath as he kept his gaze on the boy, the elder was surprised to see Pasqual fall over. Walking over to check on the boy, the elder was surprised to see that his spell worked as Pasqual was in a slumber of sorts. Picking the boy up from the ground, the elder made his way through the town to the outskirts and to where the tomb, which would serve as Pasqual's prison, was located. Looking down at the sleeping boy in his arms, the elder thought 'I'm sorry, my child. It is for the good of everyone that we do this.' Upon reaching the tomb where the other elders were already assembled, the elder carrying with Pasqual presented the boy to his brethren.
"Good. Now, bring the boy forward and set his body inside. Once that's done, we can seal him away," one of the other elders, a man with hair that was almost white in color, said.
"Isn't there anything we can do to help the boy? Surely, sealing him away is a bit much," said the elder holding Pasqual, who was a man with jet black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.
"We must do this. Even if we were to ever help the boy learn to control and tame the darkness that lives within him, who's to say that the darkness won't find a way to escape him and harm us?" said another of the elders, a woman with long greying hair that was pulled behind her in a braided ponytail. Seeing the other ponytailed elder open his mouth to voice objection to this, the elder woman said "Unless you can think of a better way to handle the boy."
Thinking for a bit and ultimately coming up with nothing, the ponytailed elder man let out a sigh and stepped into the tomb. Once he was inside the tomb, the man laid Pasqual down on the cold concrete floor of the tomb. Casting one last look at the sleeping boy, the elder said "I'm sorry, my child" before turning on his heel and walking out of the tomb.
As soon as the last elder was out of the tomb, the almost white-haired elder said "Now. Let us seal this tomb. That way, no one will ever have to know the true terror this boy is capable of." Holding his hands out with his fellow elders doing the same, the trio began to chant a spell, one that would lock Pasqual away forever, never to have the chance to hurt anyone. Little did the elders know, they were being watched from afar by someone. Someone who had her own designs for the boy and his latent dark powers.
...
The voices... They just won't stay quiet. They tell me many things. Bad things. They want me to hurt. They want me to wound. They want me to mutilate. ...They want me to kill. Why? Why?! WHY?! Why are they telling me to do this?! ...Wait! There's someone else here. A woman? Why would a woman be here? She's...saying something to me. But what is it?
The woman Pasqual was seeing opened her mouth and said "Now, Pasqual. Wake up!"
Waking up from this nightmare, Pasqual worked to get his breathing under control. It was no surprise that he had had another nightmare while he was out, as his sleep was usually plagued with them. ...But, this nightmare. It seemed...different from the others. He wanted to know why, but Pasqual would figure that out later. ...Now, he had to figure out just where exactly he was. Pasqual sat up and looked around saw that he was somewhere...strange. For all he could see, he was in a big, dark, and cold room. This didn't make any sense to the boy as one thing he knew, he was walking around town. And the next...nothing. Just...darkness. Wherever he was, he didn't like it and he wanted to go home. Rising from the floor, Pasqual walked over to the entrance of the strange place...only to find himself pushed back inside the room. Blinking in surprise, Pasqual tried to walk outside again only to be met with the same result. This was beginning to alarm the small boy as he didn't quite understand what was going on. There wasn't a door to block his way, so...why couldn't he leave? He tried again...and again...and again to get out, but nothing seemed to work. He was still met with that same resistance, and it was starting to scare the small boy even more than he already was. Again he tried to get out and again he failed. This wasn't right. This just didn't seem right. After his last attempt to try to get out, Pasqual dropped to his knees as tears started to form in the corners of his eyes and roll down his cheeks and sobs actually spilled from his mouth. This crippling sense of not being able to leave...it just didn't make sense. After failing to come up with an explanation as to why this was happening, all Pasqual could do was ask, in a horribly broken voice, "Why?! Why is this happening to me?!"
"It is because you are feared by those you once lived amongst. It is because they don't understand you," said a woman's voice from within the stone room.
Rising from his knees, Pasqual looked around only to see that there was no one else there. Hearing this voice only served to frighten the boy even more than he already was. Trying to put on a brave face and voice, Pasqual said "Wh-who's there? Show yourself!"
"Look behind you. Pasqual Mendoza," said the female voice again.
Doing as the voice said, Pasqual turned around to find himself looking up at a woman. From the light of the moonlight, Pasqual could make out that this woman was fairly young. She had long raven black hair that fell down past her shoulders in big, loose curls, lightly tanned skin, and was dressed in a long black dress. Jumping in shock over seeing this woman, Pasqual backed further into the room. He wasn't sure why, but he could just feel that there was something...wrong with this woman, something dangerous...and something oddly familiar about her.
Stepping forward into the room, and greatly surprising Pasqual in the process, the woman said "Do not fear me, Pasqual. I am only here to help you. I am here to rescue you from your imprisonment."
"Im...pri...son...ment?" Pasqual asked, sounding out each syllable of the word.
"It means you are trapped in here, dear boy," the woman said. "Trapped by those that live in fear of you."
"Those that...live in fear of me?" Pasqual asked, clearly confused. "Who are you talking about, lady?"
"The people that live in the place that you had to call home for so many years," the woman said. "They were growing to be terrified of just who you are. So, they all conspired together to cast you out of town. To leave you out here for the rest of your days. Until you die."
Hearing this woman say this didn't register at all with Pasqual. Sure, he wasn't widely liked among the townspeople, but...being left in some concrete place to die? That just didn't sound right. Shaking this off, Pasqual looked up at the woman and said "You're wrong. They wouldn't do this to me. I know I'm not the most liked person by everyone, but...they wouldn't bring me somewhere and leave me to die."
"Are you sure of that, Pasqual?" the woman asked, an eyebrow quirked in amused curiosity. "Tell me. Haven't you ever taken notice of how people in your town are around you? How they ignore you? How they run from you?"
Hearing the woman mention all of this stirred up some negative memories in Pasqual. All of the years of resentment from his fellow townspeople, all of the times he would get ignored by other children his age, all of the times his attempts at social interactions would just be all forgotten about...it came back to the boy in spades. Looking down at his shoes, Pasqual said "Yes. I've...I've noticed that. But, that still doesn't mean that I was sent here by the people in town. ...Does it?"
"I am not at liberty to say. What I will say...is that if you feel so strongly and hopefully about the people in your town coming to get you out of here, by all means. Stay here," the woman said. Continuing on, with a bit of an angry bite to her voice, the woman said "Stay here and wait for the help that will never arrive. Stay here with your nightmares. Stay here with your loneliness. Stay here to die and to rot! But, just know...that I tried to offer you a way out."
Watching as the woman turned and headed for the entrance, Pasqual let her words sink in. While he didn't want to believe that the people in town were responsible for him being trapped in this strange room, he didn't want to be left alone to find out for sure. Holding out a hand, Pasqual said "Wait, Miss!" Seeing the woman stop and turn around, Pasqual said "OK. OK, I'll go with you. Just...please get me out of here. I don't want to be stranded in this place."
Smiling a knowing smile, the woman held her hand out and said "Take my hand, Pasqual. And I will free you from this prison."
Hesitantly reaching out, Pasqual then took hold of the woman's hand, which felt smooth and cool to the touch. Looking up to see the woman smiling down at him, Pasqual asked "Just who are you? And...why do you care so much about one kid?"
"I care because I've been watching you for a long time, dear boy. And I know that you are and will be capable of great things in the future," the woman said. "And my name? My name is Catrina."
"Catrina," Pasqual said, in wonder. He then watched as Catrina held up a dark rock that seemed to give off a dark red, almost purple glow in the light of the moon. Listening on as Catrina said some strange-sounding words, Pasqual couldn't help the smile that seemed to cross his face. For once in his short life, he had finally found someone that seemed to actually desire his company and want to be around him. It all still felt greatly weird, but in that moment...he didn't care at all. Because he had finally met his saving angel. Catrina. This woman who seemed to know who he was and what he was apparently capable of...and the only person that seemed to see Pasqual as more than someone that should be veered away from, the only person that actually saw Pasqual as someone.
Wow! This'll actually make my third Lucha Underground fic I've posted here. But, to my fellow Believers, can you guys blame me? With all of the mythos and segments and other awesomely and insanely crazy stuff that happens, how could you not get inspired by it all? Now, is this the best possible backstory(ish) fic for how Mil and Catrina came together? ...Mmm, probably not. But, hey. It's something, right? At any rate, I hope you guys that gave this a chance liked this. And...who knows? Maybe I'll expand on this on a future fic. Not sure yet. Once again, thanks for reading and don't forget to R&R please. =) This is shiki94 and I wish you guys peace, love, and good reading. *waves* Later, guys! See you in some of my other fics!