Baby I'm back! :D
Sorry for the long hiatus everyone! I'd just been having so much going on, and with me getting sick and everything. Anyway, finally after long last, here is the conclusion of the bull fighting section. Hope you enjoy!
. . .
Becca sidled along the edge of the barrier and peaked around the corner. Toni had the bull on the other side of the arena. So she dashed out from hiding and into the open. She began making faces at him and the bull, to the crowd's great amusement.
It didn't take him long before he figured out what was going on. Toni turned and glared at her. Then began dashing as quickly as he could back in her direction, bringing the monster with him. He zoomed past her, and Becca saw that the bull had zeroed in on a new target, her! She waited until the last possible moment, that she was comfortable with, and dove out of the way. The crowd cheered.
During this time is when Toni spotted Héctor. He had come out from behind the barrier and was staring at Becca and her antics in astonishment. Toni froze and levied a finger at him.
"You!" he shouted in an accusatory manner. "I order you to get me outta here!" he demanded.
Becca rounded on him with a scowl. "You can't talk to him like that! Just who do you think you are?!" she snapped. All the while trying to keep the bull in view. He was currently shaking off his last swing-and-miss.
"I'm a Domínguez, which means I can talk however I want!" he taunted back.
"Fine, talk all you want! But if you don't want my help, you don't get his help either!" Becca told him in a haughty tone. Toni narrowed his eyes at her.
Meanwhile, Héctor was busy trying to keep the bull away from the kids. Becca watched as he scrambled out of the way before the bull rammed hard into the wall, causing a vibration that shook the people in that area of the stands. Like a miniature earthquake! As he was recovering from his latest head-blow, Becca was forming another idea in her head.
"Hey Héctor!" she called out to him from across the arena. She saw him flash her a concerned look. "What do you call a Domínguez with half a brain?" She watched as his expression changed into a knowing grin as he was figuring out what she was doing.
"I don't know. What?" he asked.
"Gifted!" she shouted cheekily. The crowd roared with laughter. Even Héctor let out a chuckle at that one. This was starting to get kind of fun.
Toni, on the other hand didn't think so. "You'll pay for that peasant!" he shouted at her, but then was distracted by bull once again coming towards them. "Ahh! The bull!" he exclaimed, both of them dodging.
"Really? Is that what that was? For a second I thought it was your mother!" Becca added to her onslaught of insults.
"That's it!" Toni shouted.
He then ran behind one of the barriers, pulling out a familiar looking red cape. He yanked the hidden sword out of its scabbard and then began to charge at her with it. Becca looked slightly concerned before taking off in the opposite direction.
"Becca!" she heard Héctor call to her.
She looked up to see that he'd also found a spare sword behind the other barrier. Boy, these matador guys sure liked to be prepared. He tossed it to her as she ran past. She expertly caught it and turned around to face Toni. He was running at her with the intention of bringing the sword down on her head.
Now, Becca knew practically nothing about sword-play. In fact, her only experience was playing with foam swords with her little brother. Even so, she'd figured out enough to know that she could block his attack by holding up the sword sideways. The blades clanged off each other, and the crowd cheered at the sudden combat. Becca then brandished her sword at Toni while he was trying to recover. She began swinging it around haphazardly, but feeling really cool, in spite of herself.
"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father! Prepare to die!" she quoted in a Spanish accent with a big grin on her face.
That didn't seem to generate any response besides a glare from Toni as he continued swinging his sword at her as well. There were more sounds of clinking mental as the swords brushed against each other.
Meanwhile, Mr. Domínguez was frantically running around and shouting at people. None of whom seemed super willing to do anything to help him or his kid.
"Rivera! You better get my son out of there, or so help me. . . !" he finally shouted at Héctor.
"Help you?! No gracias!" Héctor casually yelled back in passing, the bull hot on his heels.
"Now Rivera!" He was going red in the face.
"Why don't you come down here and make me?!" Héctor began gesturing in a 'bring it on' fashion. The crowd laughed at the exchange.
"Ooooo! Them's fightin' words!" Becca called out with a grin, but then had to re-double her efforts to keep from getting sliced by Toni's sword.
Apparently that was the last straw for Mr. Domínguez. He looked absolutely livid as he scrambled over the edge and into the ring himself. He immediately made a bee-line for Héctor, probably planning to take out his aggression on him. However, he soon found that it wouldn't be that easy, not with the killer demon bull trying to destroy anything that moved.
While they were sloppily swinging the swords at each other, Becca noticed that they were inching closer to the large hay bale that was still sitting in the center of the ring, and she got an idea. She suddenly retreated behind the bale before quickly scrambling to the top of it. Once there, she brandished her sword down at Toni with a theatrical air.
"You can't win, Antonio! I have the high ground!" she yelled down at him. There was no reaction from the crowd. She looked up at the thousands of faces in confusion. "These aren't the droids you're looking for?" she tried. Still nothing! Becca was shocked. "Oh, come on!" she protested loudly, stamping a foot in frustration.
"Star Wars is stupid!" Toni snapped from below her.
Becca gasped in a very insulted fashion. "You take that back!" she demanded.
"Make me!" he sneered at her.
"You little ingrate!" she yelled and dove at him. He stumbled backwards to try and avoid her attack. "Despite your valiant efforts, it is all in vain! My blade will taste blood tonight!" she shouted at him.
"What are you doing?" he finally asked, getting annoyed with the random banter.
"I'm being entertaining," she reasoned with a grin. "Are you not entertained?!" she shouted around at the crowd in the most epic voice she could muster. That actually got a cheer from everyone. However, Toni just continued to look frustrated.
"Will you stop quoting movie lines!?" he barked at her.
"Fine! Then what do you suggest we do? I'm running out of ideas!" Becca snapped at him.
"We need to stop the bull, stupid!" he sneered.
"Oh yeah? If you're so great, then go for it!" Becca offered as the bull began charging their way. Toni just screamed and ran from it. "Yeah, that's what I thought!"
He was right about one thing, though. Stopping the bull was the only way they were going to get out of here. Becca looked down at the sword in her hand, another idea forming in her head. She scrambled back onto the bale, and then waited until the bull came running her way.
As the bull came barreling closer, Becca grit her teeth and mentally psyched herself up. Okay, this is just like the trollies. No big deal. She knew she couldn't hesitate, so once it was right next to the hay bale, she pushed off and leapt toward the monster. She landed hard on its back and immediately dug her fingers in between the interlocking bones. It reared once at the sudden, unexpected weight before continuing his rampage, Becca hanging on with everything she had. The crowd went nuts, cheering wildly for her.
"Becca!" she heard Héctor call in surprise.
She whipped around to glance at him. Unfortunately, the bull heard him too, and began charging in the direction of the sound. It was so split second that Héctor couldn't get out of the way in time. Becca let out a scream as the bull plowed it's way straight through the middle of him! Bones went flying everywhere, followed by a chorus of cries and gasps from the crowd. The bull, now having finally connected with a target, seemed to calm a bit, trotting around the ring and shaking its head.
Becca was almost too afraid to look, but when she finally turned around, she was surprised to see that all of Héctor's bones seemed to be magically coming back together. He quickly rebuilt himself, finishing with popping his head back on the top of his spine. He waved his arms at the crowd and they cheered again. Becca flashed him a sort of confused, half-grin. That was sure a handy trick. It made her feel a bit silly for being worried.
Becca's attention was then brought back to her current situation when the colossal beast under her snorted and shook. It wasn't over yet. She took the sword she'd managed to hang on to in both hands and raise it up, ready to plunge it into its head. But before she could, the bull suddenly seemed to stumble to a stop. She could feel its massive sides heaving as it panted for breath as its shaking increased, and she felt a pang of sympathy for it. The poor thing was exhausted! She felt the sword getting heavy in her hands.
"What are you waiting for?! Do it!" Toni demanded, popping out from behind a barrier.
Becca shook her head. "No," she said flatly and slid down off the bull's back.
"Are you crazy?!" he shouted. "You want that thing to pulverize us?!"
"It has nothing to do with that!" she yelled back.
Meanwhile, when Mr. Domínguez saw that they were out of immediate danger, he decided to take this opportunity to get back at Héctor.
"Rivera!" he hollered angerly and lunged himself at him, and they both went down. "You're going to pay for your impudence," he grunted as he struggled to get at him. Héctor was doing his best to fend him off.
"What about all the people?" he reminded him, his voice straining.
"They're too busy watching the bull to notice me break you in half!" he threatened darkly, increasing the pressure to try to get his hands around Héctor's neck.
It was true that every eye in the stands was glued to Becca as she approached the front of the nervous creature. As Héctor and Mr. Domínguez were fighting, she kept her focus on the bull. It was starting to act pretty squirrelly. It seemed to be much more confused than angry at this point. Perhaps it was because so many random things had been going on in the ring the past few minutes? Things that the poor bull was not used to at all!
It spotted Héctor and Mr. Domínguez, and looked as if it might try to charge again. Becca knew she had to create a distraction! Héctor didn't look like he was paying enough attention to dodge another rampage.
She ran around in front and yelled at the bull, lifting her arms to make herself look bigger. He looked at bit startled and scared at first, which seemed strange considering the monster was about the same size as a small house! However, he quickly spotted the sword she still had clutched in her hand, and his eyes narrowed. He snorted, green billows of smoke wafting around him, and began to paw at the ground again. Becca glanced over at the weapon as understanding began to dawn on her. Considering what that sword was normally used for, it was no wondered he hated the sight of it.
Becca began to feel really bad for the bulls. It wasn't their fault they were constantly getting attacked by matadors. And it wasn't their choice to even be here in the first place. It made her wonder what their existence was like before they were brought here. Did they like to run around in open fields like normal cattle?
The bull was still glaring at the sword and kicking up dust. So, Becca decided to do something that many people would probably have found very foolish. She chucked the sword out towards the arena, as far away from her as she could. She wanted to show this bull that she wasn't like the people who would always hurt it. And surprisingly, it seemed to realize that she was no longer armed, and calmed down.
That was it! That was their ticket out of here! She remembered Héctor mentioning something about a calming goat, was it? If she could get the bull to calm down, and back in it's pen, then maybe the arena staff would feel it was safe enough to let them out.
She held out one of her hands in a non-threatening manner, like when you wanted a dog to sniff you that you weren't sure about, and took a step towards the bull. An audible gasp came from the seats near her, but she didn't take her eyes off her goal. The bull looked anxious, but not angry, so she tried another step.
A sudden growl from behind her caused Becca to jump in surprise, which made the bull start stamping his hooves nervously. She cast a quick glance back to see the men still engaged in their ridiculous wrestling.
"Shut up!" she yelled at them with a glare. Couldn't they see that she was in the middle of something?
Both men stopped and looked up at her in surprise. They didn't seem to know how to respond to the sudden outburst, but at least they were finally quiet. A hush slowly fell over the crowd as well as Becca continued her experiment.
Becca reached out her hand once again, the bull looking increasingly agitated as she slowly approached. She realized with dismay that this wasn't going to work. If she was going to calm him down, she needed to do more. She glanced around at the crowd, feeling unsure. But then she took a deep breath and did the only thing she could think of.
(And so, by popular demand.)
Toro, I am humble, for tonight I understand
Your royal blood was never meant to decorate this sand
You've suffered great injustice, so have thousands before you
I offer an apology, and one long overdue
She sang out, soft and clear. The bull began to visibly relax.
I am sorry
Toro, I am sorry,
Hear my song, and know I sing the truth
Although we were bred to fight,
I reach for kindness in your heart tonight
She closed the distance between them, until she was right next to his snout. Then the bull finally let her rest her hand on him. He breathed out a sigh as she continued to sing.
And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive, love can truly live
And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive, love can truly live
Becca put a light pressure on his nose, trying to encourage him to move. He slowly complied, and let her turn him towards where his pen was. She then began to move away, and he followed, trying to keep her hand pressed against him. He allowed her to lead him across the arena, drawn by the music.
Toro, I am frightened, but I'll use my final breath
To tell you that I'm sorry, let us end this dance of death
Two centuries of agony, that to your heart we sent
Here and now with my amends, the senseless killing ends
I am sorry,
Toro, I am sorry,
Hear my song, and know I sing the truth
Although we were bred to fight,
I reach for kindness in your heart tonight
Once she'd gotten him inside the pen, he laid down and closed his eyes. Presumably to take a nap. Becca wildly waved her hands at the two men in the ring, trying to motion her intentions. They seemed to pick up on it, and were able to temporarily put their differences aside in light of the more pressing matter. They both dashed over to the nearest barrier to the pen, and began heaving it towards the entrance. Becca slowly backed away, singing the last chorus a little louder.
And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive, love can truly live
And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive, love can truly live
And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive, love...
Love will truly live
She hopped out of the pen, and they were able to slide the barrier into place just as she finished the last note. Once it was done, the doors on the opposite side of the arena burst open and about half a dozen guys that Becca assumed were employees, filed into the ring and dashed towards them. Meanwhile, the audience erupted into massive amounts of cheering and screaming, as if they'd just witnessed the greatest score in football history. Or the greatest score in futbol history, as the case may be.
"Becca!" Héctor called, getting her attention.
She turned to see him hurry over to her side, and he threw his arms around her. "I'm so glad you're okay." He pulled her back a bit so he could look at her. "That was increíble! I'm so proud of you," he told her happily. He didn't realize that she'd been paying that close of attention to him, but after hearing her song. . .
Becca grinned back, but the moment was short-lived, as she saw Toni's dad tromping over towards them. Héctor quickly grabbed her and pulled her around behind him.
"Don't even think about it, Domínguez," Héctor warned.
"I should have you both destroyed!" he hissed angerly, getting right up in Héctor's face.
"You really gonna try something now, in front of this crowd?" Héctor reminded him, gesturing around. "Besides, she just saved us all!"
Mr. Domínguez glanced around, as if just now realizing that they were surrounding by thousands of people. "Alright Rivera, you lucked out this time, but this isn't over," he threaten before turning and stalking away. "Vamos, Antonio!" he barked at his son. He immediately snapped to attention and chased after his father, but not before casting one last glare at Becca.
Once they had safely made their way out of the arena, Becca and Héctor met up with Chuy and Perla. There was still quite a bit of excitement going on around them after what had just happened. Perla began frantically fussing over Becca, while Chuy chatted enthusiastically.
"Never seen anything like that before. In all the years I've been coming here, that was something else. You're a ballsy Lloronita, aren't cha?" he was saying.
"Not like she had much choice after Toni pushed her in! I swear, if I ever get my hands on that little mocoso. . .!" she trailed off angerly.
"I'm fine though. It was actually kinda fun," Becca assured her, patiently sitting through all of her poking and prodding.
Héctor wasn't really listening though. His mind was preoccupied with Becca, and the events that they just experienced. He hadn't really thought about it at the time, due to everything happening so fast, but now – he was really surprised that she'd decided to stay with him. Was it just because she was still feeling like she had nothing to lose, or was there something more?
They headed out of the stadium for home. However, the group didn't make it far before they were suddenly stopped by a band of rag-tag, young adults. Becca recognized them immediately.
"Ranger!" she said excitedly.
"Hey there chulita! Caught your performance today. You were pretty impressive," he praised.
"Well, believe me, it wasn't intentional," she told him sheepishly.
Perla cast a nervous glance over at Héctor. He gave her a wave and a look that told her that she didn't need to worry.
"So, you mean it wasn't just part of the show?" Luis asked.
"What? Of course not! I was pushed into the bull pen by a bully," she explained.
"Looked to me like you took the bully with you," Ranger said with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, well, wouldn't you?" she reasoned.
"That was a nice song you sang to calm the bull down. What happened to not preforming?" he wondered.
"I – it was the only think I could think of to do," she defended. "I was just, trying not to get trampled."
"Ah, ese es un buen punto. So I got something for you," he told her and pulled a small, acoustic guitar out of a bag he had. He handed it to Becca, who took it gingerly.
"Uh – really? I can have this?" she asked, sounding shocked.
"Yeah, it's my old practice guitar. Been packing it around with our other equipment, just in case we ran into you again. I don't use it anymore, so thought you might want it," he explained.
"Yeah, definitely! Thank you! Er, muchas gracias!" she told him excitedly, holding the instrument tightly against herself.
"De nada. Practice hard now," he encouraged her, before giving Héctor and wink and ushering his band mates along.
Héctor narrowed his eyes at him as they left. He knew what he was trying to do, but it wasn't going to work. Not on him.
"Who were those guys?" Chuy asked curiously.
"Just some punks Becca met that day she ran away," Héctor explained casually.
"Hey! They're my friends, and they're really nice to me," Becca defended, strapping the instrument onto her back.
"I don't know, pequeña. They looked, un poco – ásperos," Perla said with concern.
"Well, the guy did just give her a guitar. How bad could they be?" Chuy reasoned.
. . .
References: The Apology Song, by Gustavo Santaolalla
So, I wasn't originally planning on using this song for the story. However, I just had so many people requesting it, and expressing their opinions that they would like to see it, that I hated to disappoint. Hope everyone is happy with the result. Let me know what you think! ;)