El Tigre: Redemption
"There a problem, Goggles?"
-Ulrich "Blitz" von Krieger
Chapter 8
"Oh my god…"
Contreras, Josef, Rodriguez, and the soldier wandered through the object-wielders' camp. It was abandoned; all that remained were empty tents and the bodies that littered the ground.
"Espadas did this?" the soldier wondered aloud. Contreras nodded. Rodriguez squeaked in fear. Josef looked around in horror. As he scanned the area, he spotted something and rushed over. Contreras followed.
"We got a survivor here!" the general shouted.
The four of them crowded around the survivor.
It was Black Cuervo.
"He…he…" she gasped.
"She's fading, fast! We need to get her to a hospital!" the soldier said.
Josef shook his head. "Too late."
"What's she trying to say?" Contreras asked the others.
Cuervo smiled.
"He…he kissed me back…"
Then she was gone.
One by one, each man lowered his head in respect.
After a moment of silence, the soldier asked, "What now?"
Contreras clenched his jaw. "We find that son of a bitch Espadas, and take him down."
Frida stopped dead in her tracks. Blitz glanced back at her.
"There a problem, Goggles?"
"I felt something." she explained. "It felt like death."
Blitz would have rolled his eyes, if he had had any. "Yeah, I suppose that would happen…in the Land of the Dead."
"No," said Frida. "This is different. Someone topside died."
"People die all the time." Blitz huffed. "Now get a move on, I can see the Shrine in the distance."
El Tigre and the other five survivors stood in the desert outside Miracle City.
"Zoë…" El Tigre whispered as he turned back into Manny Rivera.
"Everyone all right?" Meredith asked.
"We're still alive," Mer groaned, accounting for Trina and himself.
"I'm good," John stated, rubbing the back of his head.
Manny turned back to the group. "Mom?"
"I'm right here, mijo," Maria called out. Manny rushed into his mother's arms.
Where's Grandpapi?" Manny asked.
Maria frowned. "He wasn't with us, Manny."
The young Rivera's eyes widened. "He's still back there?"
"You're Gramps can take care of himself, Manny." Mer assured him.
Trina nodded. "The question now is, what do we do now?"
They all looked to Manny.
Manny started tearing up. "After all that's happened, you still see me as the leader?"
Everyone nodded.
"You've earned it, kid." Mer stated. "So what's the plan?"
Manny grinned. "Same as before. We find the three remaining Cardinal Objects before Espadas does."
Josef carried Black Cuervo's body cradled in his arms as he and the others navigated through the wreckage of the encampment.
"I'm going to kill Espadas with my bare hands," Contreras growled as he further surveyed the damage.
"Look! There's someone down there!" The group looked up to see Vultura and Lady Gobbler soaring through the sky. The villainesses landed near them, approaching quickly.
"Wow, we didn't think we'd find anyone!" Lady Gobbler declared.
"Yes," Vultura started, "This madman hijacked the villains' conference, and did…all this! Now we're just looking for our…"
Both Vultura and Lady Gobbler stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Josef, and what he was carrying.
"Oh god…" Lady Gobbler gasped.
"No…no…" Vultura sobbed, rushing over. Josef gently handed the distraught mother her deceased daughter. Carmelita Aves sank to the ground, crying over her daughter, Zoe.
Lady Gobbler turned to General Contreras and the soldier with tears in her eyes.
"You did this! You…you soldier types! And that horrible Espadas man!"
"I'm so sorry," Contrera said sincerely. "But you have to trust me, we're not with…wait, did you say Espadas?"
Lady Gobbler sniffed. "Si. The army man who came and forced all the villains into servitude."
The soldier gaped. "He's got the villains of Miracle City working for him now? Damn…"
Rodriguez fumed. "We need to stop this madman!"
"Agreed," Contreras nodded. Then Josef, who was seeing to Carmelita, caught his eye. Understanding the look, he nodded again.
"But before we do anything else, we need to have a proper burial. We owe them that much…"
"Okay," Mer started, "I talked to the Indian before the attack. He gave me a picture of the locations of where the Objects are, or well, are supposed to be.
"The Cup is located in Florida, a temple beneath Disney World to be precise. Trina and I will go there." Mer finished.
"You just want to go to Disney World!" Manny chided.
"So sue me," Mer shrugged. "The next Object, the Wand, is in Australia.
"John and I will go for that," Meredith piped up. John shrugged and nodded his assent.
Mer went on, "The Pentacle is in an ancient castle in Germany."
Maria stepped forward. "I'll take the Pentacle."
"Then that leaves-"
"-The Sword," Manny finished for Mer.
"Yes, which rests in Japan."
"I guess that one's mine." Manny grinned. "But seriously, we know that Espadas already has one of the Cardinal Objects, so one group is either walking into an empty room, or…"
It was Mer's turn to finish for Manny. "…or a trap."
"Are you still sure you want to go on your own?" Maria asked Manny.
"I'll be fine, mom." Manny waved it off.
"Everyone ready?" Mer asked. "We're about to be a world apart."
"Wait," John asked, "How will we contact each other?"
"We don't," Manny said simply. "We all have to find our own way back to Miracle City. Unless Mer and Trina finish first and pick us up…"
Mer laughed. "Yeah, just keep hoping that things will go our way. Okay, again, everyone ready?"
Once everyone expressed their readiness, bit by bit, Mer teleported the motley crew to their respective destination.
The journey had begun.
