First off can I just say AHHHHH thanks for the feedback already you guys you're all great ;w; I ended up loving María and Carlos' dynamic even more while writing this and it came back to bite me in the ass (you'll see why) anyway hope you guys enjoy! (as much as you can ahaha)

The ride to the tower had been a long one. She wasn't sure how long since the sky didn't work the same as it did back home, and the horses never grew tired. For a while it was a silent ride as well. The music from the town eventually faded into nothing and all that could be heard was the sound of the horses' hooves against the sand.

She didn't bring up the fight with her father. A part of her was afraid to.

But finally he did speak up. "So you love Manolo."

María didn't look at him. "Yes, why?"

"I just wonder if that was the case, why didn't you accept his proposal right away?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I had been away from home for ten years. I just wanted spend time with my friends again, catch up. I wasn't angry at either of them for loving me, but it would have been nice if they could have put it on hold for a little while."

"Hmph, women."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing, but if I had known you were this much like Carmen I would have given my son much better advice."

María snorted and snapped the reigns out of habit.

Any talk after that was idle chatter. She asked a few questions about Manolo when he was younger but stopped as Carlos' tone got quieter and quieter. He asked her about Spain, especially the bull fights. María didn't hesitate to tell him what she really thought about them but he just laughed.

Finally the tower came into view. It rose up much faster than María expected and the horses almost threw them off when they stopped at the cliff.

"Well, I guess we have to climb our way up." She slid off the saddle and stepped over to the edge. "And I have a bad feeling that's not going to be the worst part."

Carlos put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "No retreat?" He offered.

She beamed at him. "No surrender."

The pair of them moved far away from the cliff before the bolted back toward it. They both screamed as they flew toward the edge and jumped toward the tower. María's limbs scrambled for something to grab as the tower got closer and closer. Her body slammed into the stone and she almost missed her chance to find a niche. Thankfully one hand caught and she dangled before finding somewhere to put her feet.

She quickly glanced around to see Carlos not far away from her. They both nodded at each other before they made their way up.

It was a long and exhausting climb. She was impressed with how well her bony fingers gripped the stone, only slipping a few times. When they reached the top of the monument she had to take a moment to breathe. She eyed the large skull shaped structure on the other side of the field of rock. That must be the gate.

But she doubted getting to it would be simple.

Carlos didn't move from his spot next to her. He seemed anxious but kept glancing at her, waiting.

"You think it's a straight shot over there?" María asked.

"Not at all."

"I suppose there's only one way to know for sure." She gave her skirt a quick dusting as she stepped forward. Her boots clicked against the stone and for a moment is was quiet.

Then the whole tower jerked under her feet. Carlos aimed to help her but a wall erupted from the ground between them.

"María!" He screamed as more walls erupted around her. Was the ground sinking?

"Face the labyrinth," a voice boomed and echoed through the walls. "And earn the right to be judged."

When the wall settled everything was silent. Nothing moved.

"Señor?" She called out.

"I'm up here. I think you have to travel through- oh no."

"What? What is it?"

"María you have to move. There's a bull in there."

A bull? As she held her breath she could hear it now. It's snorts and stomps bounced around the walls making it hard to place where it was.

"Go right." The bull fighter shouted.

She didn't even think before taking off. The sound of her own footsteps echoed through the maze potentially alerting the beast of her location but she couldn't stop moving. She rounded every turn as it came although she had no clue where she was going. To the center? To the other side? It's not so much that she had no faith to defend herself but she'd rather not fight an animal if she could help it.

One path she ran down had many turns and she wasn't sure which one to take. She glanced left and right trying to think of a path.

Then Carlos screamed her name.

Glancing to her left she saw it. The bull was far larger than she had expected and it stormed down the hall as fast as it could.

Running would do her no good now. Her instincts kicked in as she leapt at the opposite wall. Kicking off it she launched herself over the charging animal. It's horns slammed into the stone and she took off running as soon as she landed.

But it regained itself too fast. She could hear it turning and charging at her again.

If only she had something to redirect it's attention, but this was no bull ring. Waving something red around could only work so well in these enclosed walls.

Something red.

María looked down at the skirt that flew around her legs as she ran. Well it was an idea at least.

The bull snorted only a few feet behind her. She dug her heel into the stone the best she could as she rounded the corner and then another soon after.

When the hooves had died down enough she stopped. In the middle of catching her breath she drew her sword and dug the cloth into her skirt at about mid-thigh. It tore through the material and she frantically ripped it all the way around until it sprang free.

She swung the cloth around a few times before putting her sword back. Now she was on the move again, still with no plan on where to go.

"There's some kind of clearing on you left." Carlos shouted. "Try facing it there."

At first she had no intention to face the beast, but perhaps that wasn't an option. Defeating it may have something to with passing the test. If anything keeping it down would make finding the exit much simpler.

So to her left she went, aiming for the clearing Carlos mentioned. Only a few feet later however she was interrupted. The bull smashed through the wall behind her. A stone slammed into her shoulder and she lost her footing.

The beast roared as she scrambled to get back to her feet. Carlos was shouting something but she didn't have time to listen. The animal was practically on top of her. She could feel it's breath on her neck.

The second she entered the clearing she dove to her right. She rolled across the ground as the bull stormed past. It's hooves skidded across the stone before it came to a stop.

The animal turned as María stood. Her fingers tightened around the cloth in her hands as she watched it carefully. She had no idea what she was doing but she prayed her martial art skills would be enough to keep her alive.

She snapped open the remains of her skirt and waved it to her right.

The bull roared and charged at it immediately.

Her instincts told her to run but she kept herself grounded. She had burned the images of Manolo's bull fight into her mind and kept it playing in her head. He had stood his ground until the last moment.

As it drew close she realized that it was big enough to keep her in the range of it's horns. Still she didn't budge. Not until the right moment.

The horns were only inches away from her now and she leapt off the ground. Her foot tapped against them only for a moment as she jumped again. Her toes tapped against it's boney back as she ran off it.

The bull slammed into the corner, actually losing it's footing.

"Your stance needs work." Carlos shouted.

"This is not the time." She countered. "Is there any way to take this thing down without stabbing it?"

"Perhaps you can wear it out, but it's not the same as the ones back home."

The animal had turned around again. It snorted and pawed the ground with a roar.

María snapped the skirt out again.

"Still needs work." She heard him say.

"I'm trying to focus!"

She almost missed when the bull charged toward her. Her fingers curled into the cloth as it drew closer and closer. The plan she had was simple but who knew how the animal would respond to it.

This time when the horns swung close she aimed her jump onto the beast's head. Her landing was clumsy and she almost dropped her skirt while trying to grab on properly.

The bull snorted and kicked trying to throw her off. She tossed the cloth over it's eyes as fast as she could which only made it more frantic. One hand wrapped around the bones in it's neck to keep herself from being tossed off. A scream escaped her throat a few times when she felt her body soar up.

Her fingers hurt, her shoulder hurt, but she didn't dare let go. There wasn't any time to spare on this fight.

The animal suddenly halted. Air flew out of her lungs as her chest slammed into it's back. She coughed a few times to catch her breath but it was gone again when the bull vanished and her stomach hit the floor.

Slowly the ground rose back up as the walls vanished. María glanced around only to see the skull move and rise up into the air along with a sword.

The booming voice returned. "You have passed the test, and earned your right to be judged." The sword moved higher into the sky before it swung down towards her.

Carlos screamed her name but the sound was fading out. She just sat there on the ground, staring. There was no sense in running, what did she have to lose now?

She could only move forward.

The stone blade was inches from her face before it exploded. The debris spilled around her as the sword crumbled to pieces.

"María Posada, you have been deemed worthy. You and yours may enter."

Carlos took her by the arm then and helped her up as the statue rested it's head back on the stone. She just kept staring at it, exhaustion finally catching up with her.

"You would have made quite a Sanchez." He said as he picked up the remains of her skirt and handed it to her.

She looked at it for a moment, debating if she should leave it behind. Then again she may need it later. There was no telling what was in the Land of the Forgotten. She pulled it around her waist and tied it letting it drape over her left leg.

"But my stance still needs work?" María managed a smile as she headed to the gate.

"Of course, but then again you haven't had any proper training."

"If we can make it out of this okay maybe I'll take a few lessons."

Carlos didn't reply.

The cave of souls was dark, dismal and... like any other cave she had seen before. She wondered if it was wrong to expect something more out of it. As neither of them spoke only their footsteps could be heard along the walls.

"I shoulda known you'd be here sooner or later." A new voice echoed around them.

María put her hand on her sword. A golden light darted past the corner of her eye and soon swept under her fit before rising up.

"Hey María, Carlos." The waxy being waved.

"Candlemaker." The bull fighter's voice was low and flat.

"I take it you're both headed for the Land of the Forgotten?"

"Will you allow us?" She let go of her sword and stood up straight.

"I really shouldn't be, but I feel awful for how things turned out." The stone under them shifted and rose into the sky. "It's odd, you know, I didn't think it would have turned out that way."

"Even if he won what could he have done?" María pondered as she stared at all the candles. "Chakal and his men were ruthless."

"It's up in the air now." The candlemaker said as the book floated around him. "I suppose there's an endless list of ways it could have ended."

She took a deep breath. "There isn't much sense in dwelling on it. We have to move on."

The candlemaker lifted his arms and the stone beneath them moved towards one of the waterfalls. She watched it, listening to the water roar around her.

"Now before either of you go jumping in can I list a few warnings?"

Carlos, who looked ready to bolt, glanced back. "Like what?"

"First there's a lot of spikes at the bottom, watch where you jump. Second I don't know where Manolo is exactly. He could be somewhere deep. Now most of the forgotten stand around idly in a trance but... there are a few who don't."

"Meaning?" Carlos asked.

María was still staring at the water.

"Some get desperate to stick around and they become monsters. Just keep an eye out will you?"

"More obstacles," she muttered.

"Are you ready?" Carlos said.

For a moment she didn't reply and kept watching the water.

"María?"

"Sorry, yes." She rubbed her fingers together. "Sailing across the ocean just gives you a new respect for this sort of thing." Then she shook her head and took a deep breath. "But there's no time for that. No retreat."

"No surrender." Carlos shouted.

They both burst forward and dove into the raging water.

How long?

How long had they been traveling through here. Time was even more impossible to grasp in this realm than in the Land of the Remembered. The cold, grey atmosphere didn't change no matter which direction they took. People surrounded them, bones black and glowing green, but no one they recognized. Occasionally one of them would groan or whisper.

María kept her arms wrapped around herself as they trekked through the snow, or was it ash? Either way it was still cold under her feet and the harsh breeze that blew by didn't help.

Eventually Carlos took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

"Thank you," she whispered and clung to it.

They didn't speak much. Many times she tried to think of something to discuss but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. The atmosphere was heavy. She felt tired, but she couldn't stop moving.

Where was Manolo?

A few times she felt like crying but pressed it back. There wasn't any time for that. Not right now.

The sound of Carlos drawing his swords broke her out of her trance.

"What is it?" She whispered and looked around. The area they were in was surrounded with jagged rocks that rose higher and higher.

"You don't hear that?"

María listened now and picked up the sound of something scraping along the rocks. Soon there was a hiss and a low growl and she shivered again.

"Do we keep moving?" She kept her voice low.

"Go on ahead."

"Not a chance. I've lost enough as it is." She fitted her arms through the jacket sleeves before drawing her own sword.

"We may not even be able to defeat it."

"There's one way to find out."

"This isn't the time to be stubborn. Go on ahead and find Manolo."

"And tell him what? That his father foolishly rushed into danger a second time? He'll want to see you."

"María-" He stopped when there was another growl, much louder now.

She searched for the source among the rocks and finally saw it. There was some kind of creature there with sharp teeth jutting out of it's skull. It's body was all black bones with jagged green marks and glowing eyes to match. It crawled on all fours, the ends of it's fingers digging into the snow.

It spotted María before it roared and charged.

She stumbled for a moment but managed to get her footing in time to dart out of it's way. The thing was wild, a bit like the bull earlier. However it had a much easier time stopping and turning back toward her.

María tried to dive out of the way again but it leapt through the air this time. She screamed and raised her sword before it cried out in pain and slammed into the ground next to her. A sword stuck out of it's back leg.

"You need to go on ahead." Carlos shouted.

"I'm not leaving you alone with-" She screamed with something pulled her hair with enough force to knock her off her feet. Glancing back she saw the beast had her pony tail clamped between it's teeth.

Carlos was rushing over but the beast was lifting one of it's clawed hands.

María wasted no time gripping her sword and sliding it behind her. With a swift movement the blade cut through her hair and she rolled away from the attack.

She felt her hair come lose from it's tie and fall around her shoulders. It was an odd feeling but she ignored it for now.

Carlos managed to get close enough to steal his sword back. The beast roared at him now, dropping the remains of her hair as it turned.

They needed a plan.

"Get that cape of yours back out." He said, side stepping the monster's attacks with ease. "See if you can keep it distract-" He had to raise his swords to block one of it's claws.

She undid the knot on her skirt and put her sword away again.

"Hey! Um... monster!" She wasn't at all sure what to call it as she waved the cloth around.

"That's not how you hold a cape."

"Shut-up and let me distract it, would you?"

The monster, thankfully, turned and watched the "cape" for a moment. It's eyes seemed to flash before it charged again. María leapt out of the way and decided to try guiding it toward one of the rocks. Maybe enough of a headache would slow it down.

Jump after jump she guided it towards the rocks. After each miss it became more angry and violent. The roaring was giving her a headache now. Not much farther, just a little more and-

The beast screamed in agony as it's head smashed into the ash covered ground. Carlos stood on it's back, sword driven through it's neck.

María froze and stared at them both. When the creature didn't move the bull fighter stepped away, leaving his sword in place.

"Did... did you kill it?" Her mouth felt incredibly dry.

But no, it's eyes flew open and it snapped it's jaws. It thrashed around in the powder and tried to stand but the sword kept it in place. The noises it made were nothing but pure agony.

"Come on, we have to go." Carlos put his remaining sword away before he grabbed her hand.

She stumbled for a moment but the second she found her feet she pulled out of Carlos' grip. The skirt was soon tied back onto her waist and they fell back into their earlier rhythm. The beast fell farther and father behind them. The jagged rocks just grew taller.

But the whole time she was shaking, the cries echoing in her head.

"That was a person once," she muttered.

"Once." Carlos repeated.

"So? is it really right for us to leave it suffering like that?"

"That's not the reason we came here. How do you know there's anything we could for for it anyways?"

"There could have been something. It's not right to-"

"It doesn't matter if it's right or not." He turned and glared at her. "I'm glad you're kind enough to want to help these things, María, but it's out of our hands. Even if we did have the power we don't have the time to waste on monsters."

"They're not just monsters Carlos they were people, are people. I know we don't have the time right now but that's no reason to-"

"You can't save everyone." His tone gave her chills. "It can't be done, María. It's a wonderful dream but it's impossible to live up to." His gaze softened as he looked at the ground. "Come on, we need to move."

She didn't budge as his words sank in. Of course she wanted to argue but she couldn't, he was right. Everyone around her probably knew what he meant by now.

When Carlos grabbed her arm to pull her along she didn't protest. She just followed and even moved a bit closer when the wind returned. It felt even colder without all of her hair covering her neck.

María hesitated before she lifted a hand and ran it through her light curls. She could feel the jagged ends on the bottom and sighed.

"It doesn't look that bad." Carlos said.

"Oh really?" She drew her sword out and tilted it to get a look at her reflection. It looked even messier than it felt. With all the weight suddenly gone a lot of it curled up even more than usual. It also seemed she cut it at a slant with the left side longer than the right.

"It could look worse." He offered instead.

"Hm, you're right. It could look like yours."

"Excuse me? There is nothing wrong with my hair." He squared out his shoulders and tilted his head back.

María laughed for the first time in a while. His glare eventually fell into a smile.

The endless walk continued, but this time it was much less silent.

"You got those kinds of injuries and you still went back?" María had a hand on her hip now.

"My grandmother had worse and she went back."

"That tiny woman?"

"Hah, you should have seen her in her bull fighting days. She put most of us to shame, and she's one of the few who left that ring alive."

She tried to picture the tiny woman knitting on her wheel chair fighting a bull but couldn't manage it.

"It's no wonder you have a higher opinion of women than my father did."

He gave her a worried glance. "I sometimes wondered if I should have said something when he planned to send you away. But so much had already happened between us, it didn't seem right to drag you kids into it."

"Yeah, what was that about making my mother leave my father?"

"When Carmen and your mom became friends I think she inspired her. Eventually she couldn't deal with your father anymore and wanted a divorce. Of course he put all the blame for it on Carmen and I wasn't about to take that sitting down."

"I should hope not. I wish I could change my father's mind about all this but..." She blew some tattered hair out of her face.

"It's not your responsibility to do so. You, Joaquín, Manolo, you should all be free to live your own lives. It was too late when I finally figured that out."

"Maybe not for Joaquín, but I don't know what he's doing." A breeze had her folding her arms together. "I hope he's safe at least."

If he still had the medal, was he trying to hide from Chakal? Surely the bandit king was still hunting for it. In the back of her mind she kept praying for him to stay safe.

But then a small part of her wondered if him staying alive was a worse fate. She couldn't imagine what was going through his mind right now.

Her chest ached and she barely noticed the area changing around them. Ahead of them a jagged stone rose out of the ground like a cliff side. She couldn't tell how far it was, but was a daunting image all the same.

"Are we climbing over that?" She asked.

"I can't see a short way around."

"All right then, let's see if there's a good spot to-" She paused as she noticed the crowd of forgotten around them. While there had been many on the walk they had been sparse and dotted the landscape rather than crowded it.

And there was something familiar about them.

"Pepe?" She breathed when she recognized the musician. "Sisters? What are they all doing down here?" She darted into the crowd and looked at all their empty faces. No one was moving or even looked in her direction.

"It looks like the entire town is here." Carlos wandered among them as well. "Perhaps Manolo and the rest of my family are ahead."

"But why are they here? Did... did Joaquín die?"

She glanced at Carlos who still had all his colors. No, that couldn't be right, wouldn't Carlos have gone missing as well?

But what other explanation was there.

"María." The bull fighter's voice was low.

She dashed over to where he stood but almost fell to her knees.

"Papá." Her scream echoed in the empty air.

Her father stood there in the same haze as everyone else, unmoving, unresponsive. She touched his face with shaking hands but he still didn't move.

"Papá? Wake up, please. Say something. Papá?" Her voice became frantic. "Why are all of you here? Why... wake up. Wake-"

Carlos jerked her back into his arms. His grip was tight and it would have been so easy to cry into his shoulder again but she didn't. If this was happening that was only more reason for them to go faster.

Then the tight feeling in her chest rose up to her throat when she realized that his hands were cold.

"Señor?" She leaned back.

His hands were turning black.

The scream got lodged in her throat this time as she snatched one of them in her grip. Her fingers trailed over the carvings that were starting to glow.

"We-we have to go. We have to hurry." María didn't let go of his hand and pulled him toward the cliff.

"María."

"I'm sure Manolo isn't much farther."

"María."

She gritted her teeth together to stop her jaw from trembling. "We just have to move faster-"

"María!"

She flinched and turned around.

"It's all right." His gaze was gentle as he took off his sword and held it out to her. "Go."

"No. I'm not going there without you."

"You have to. I doubt I have much longer." The discoloration was already climbing up his arms.

"No..." Her voice fell to a whisper. "Please no, I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Find Manolo, perhaps the two of you can do something about all this." He took her hand and forced the sword into her palm. "Keep going, and stay safe."

She so desperately wanted to argue but the green marks were at his shoulders now. Her fingers curled around the sword, tighter and tighter as she forced back any tears.

"Thank you, Señor."

No response.

She glanced back at his face to see his eyes had turned green.

"Señor? Carlos?" As if shouting his name would do any good now. The bull fighter didn't move, he just stared ahead and sighed.

The air around her became so much colder.

Her limbs felt numb as she hiked toward the cliff. The new sword around her waist only felt like it was weighing her down. Her ankles sunk into the cold ash and it was a miracle she hadn't fallen over yet.

The silence was almost ringing in her ears now. Or perhaps they were making up a sound just deal with it.

Now up against the cliff it seemed to go on forever. Her head spun staring at all the jagged stones but she reached out anyways. Thankfully the rugged nature of the rock made it easy to find places to grab onto. She scaled the cliff swiftly but carefully. A few times she almost fell and the stone cut into her bony palm. It stung but she ignored it.

How long had she been climbing now? How long had it been since she left the Land of the Remembered even? She couldn't sleep, no matter how tired she felt, so she had no idea how much time had passed. What felt like a day could have been months.

Finally her hand gripped the top ledge. María scrambled to get to the top. She had to hurry.

But even now on solid ground when she tried to stand her legs refused to work. Her knees hit the ash sending chills all over her legs. She dared to glance back and looked down. The townspeople were so small now, but she could still recognize them, standing there.

I need to move. She told herself and pushed against the ground. I have to hurry. I have to go.

But her legs refused to work. Her arms shook and it quickly spread to the rest of her.

I can't stop. I have to find Manolo.

The words didn't help. All the tears she had been holding back finally escaped and poured from her eyes. One hand covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

The air felt like it was crushing her. Breathing became harder and harder between her sobs, but she knew it wouldn't last.

She would keep moving. No matter how bad it got she had to keep moving.

"No retreat." She whispered between tears.

But there was no one to continue the phrase.