Chapter 4

"Hey! That's not very nice!" Tinoco reprimanded in an adult tone, no doubt repeating a phrase her mother had taught her.

After slapping him, the woman bore down on Tien, her teeth clenched and hands balled in fists. "You're nothing but a sperm donor, you son of a bitch," she hissed in strained undertones. "Don't you dare presume to be anything else!"

Still stunned stupid by the fact that he had a daughter, Tien just gawked silently at the angry female. She straightened, but her scowl didn't. After a tense moment of fuming, she flung a finger at the mountain range.

"There's an old arena about a half mile up that canyon." She paused while Tien glanced obediently to where she was pointing. He saw the "V" of the canyon, and imagined the place.

"Meet me there at sunset," she grated.

He frowned up at her. "Lady, I told you-"

"Are you afraid?"

He looked at her rigid frame, making out a thin aura of energy swelling around the woman. Truth was, she intimidated the hell out of him. He almost nodded his head.

"Are you going to meet me there, or not?" she barked, permitting him no other conversation than an affirmative. For lack of a better response, he nodded mutely.

She pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes and nodded once. "Till sunset, then."

"Mother, he's a nice man-"

"Quiet, Tinoco."

"But he IS."

She stormed by him and lifted the disapproving girl back onto the large cat's back. "Let's go." Then she marched off, with the massive, feline predator en tow.

Tien watched them, dumbfounded, until they disappeared behind a street corner. He imagined he would have fled, rather than face that Caída's wrath. After losing Chaotzu to his own destiny, and then what happened with Lunch - he certainly didn't need any more drama. And this woman seemed to promise plenty of it.

But the little three-eyed girl… The way she had looked at him with hope, and then acceptance… The way she had put her tiny arms around his neck, sharing her friendship without condition or expectation… She needed him. Someone finally needed him.

And he was going to be there for her, dammit. And if it meant that he had to put up with that belligerent vixen, then so be it.

After all, he had a right to raise his own daughter, didn't he?

He both dreaded the encounter, but was anxious to get it over with, so Tien arrived early. He'd played out the conversation they'd have in his head, trying to find the best way to phrase that he hadn't beguiled her on that day, years ago.

She showed up all too soon, a little more composed, but no less indignant. Her hair was braided back in typical Caído fashion, and her attire was black, and loose fitting. She crossed the arena and stopped, only a few feet in front of him with her arms crossed angrily across her chest. The woman was ready for a fight.

And Tien was ready for a conversation. He held out his hands in a placating gesture as he frowned at her. "Listen, we were both victims of an evil brainwash, lady - "

"Isabel."

He paused and then corrected himself. " - Isabel. It affected the entire planet. I didn't - "

"I believe you," she said.

He hesitated. "Huh?"

"I said I believe you."

The unexpected words should have diluted the situation, he thought crazily. But then why was she still radiating rage like a chained pit bull? He frowned at her, his pitch rising. "Then what do you have against me?"

She seemed to study him for a moment, and then relaxed her arms, placing them on her hips. "You honestly don't remember, do you?"

Bewildered, he shrugged and shook his head. Her eyes narrowed, and the words fell from her mouth like lead slugs.

"You killed my father."

Tien froze as his earlier confusion gave way to morbid anticipation. He didn't want to know the answer to his next question anymore than he wanted to face Nappa again, but it had to be asked. "Who was your father…?"

Her lips pursed, and eyes fluttered. "Domingo."

Oh…shit… He suddenly felt sick.

"You murdered his spirit when you paralyzed him, and he finished the job, himself."

Flashes of the young girl who'd charged him after he'd snapped the Caído's spine flitted across his mind. He remembered the white patch of hair now, fritzing about her head as she'd hissed and spat at him. Tien's stomach dropped out. All the tension left his shoulders. Domingo… Of course…

He bit back a shuddering breath and hung his head, unable to look at her. "I…I'm sorry," he whispered. "I was a different person, then."

"I don't care."

He stiffened, and then nodded his head. "I understand." Perhaps his penance was to finally be met by dying at this girl's hands. He thought that if it meant an end to the chasm of guilt that swallowed him every time those old memories surfaced, then death might not be so bad.

He cringed inwardly. No wonder fate had chosen a different destiny for his best friend, and a different man for his girl. A lump formed in his throat. Goodbye Chaotzu… Lunch…

Resigned, Tien sank to his hands and knees before her, bowing his head. He suddenly had the macabre sensation of crucifying himself.

"Avenge your father," his words dripped like blood in the dirt. "I won't stop you."