Disclaimer: I don't own El Tigre; The Adventures Of Manny Rivera

Title: The Tiger And The Bear

Summary: A series of drabbles about the relationship between a teenage El Tigre and the villainous El Oso.

Drabble: Fair Warning

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Guest (Oct 28)- (Grandpapi steals jetpack before Manny can find it to sell it for some extra cash to add to his stash) Thanks!

spotty-bee- I'd love to hear chapter ideas! Seriously, as long as they're polite, I love getting ideas! everyone, anyone, if you have an idea or something that you'd like to review/pm me about, please do! [I'd still like to get plenty of normal reviews, though. =)]

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The first thing that came to Manny's mind as he trekked through the gold-littered hallway was that he was an idiot. The second thing that occurred to him was that he was, well, a super idiot.

A skeleton guard snarled at him as he went by. Manny pointedly unsheathed his metal claws. The guard squealed and ran down the hall from whence he came.

"Ah, Manuel." Sartana gestured to the metal seat across from her with a bony claw. "Please, sit down. I'm glad you could make it here on such short notice."

"Okay, now I'm really worried." The table was a simple metal garden table, with simple metal chairs. It was dark outside, but lanterns were hung around the area to give them the proper lighting they needed. Had it been two other people there, with two other histories, the scene could almost (almost) be mistaken for romantic. But this wasn't two different people, and Manny had no doubt that she was trying to both comfort (to be able to make a surprise attack) and unsettle him (to make him paranoid). And it was working. "No one calls me Manuel. Not unless I'm in trouble."

"My mistake." She shrugged, watching him sit down with a critical eye. "I've always wondered about that, actually. Is Manny a personal preference, or..."

Manny shrugged. "It's just what people call me. It's not really a preference or anything."

"Ah, I see." She set her claws on the table, ringing them together casually. "Now, I've called you here on an important matter."

"So I gathered." He leaned back in his chair in a show of nonchalance, green eyes never leaving hers. "Is this 'matter' of yours gonna end up killing me?"

"Of course not." She raised a bony hand in her defense, then, reconsidering, brought it to her chin. "Well, not directly, anyway."

"Alright then. Shoot."

Sartana's claw twitched towards her guitar, but Manny kept up his charade. She sighed. "Did you know that I've never been outside Miracle City before?"

Manny blinked, lowering the two front legs of the chair in surprise. "You haven't?"

"No, I haven't." She shook her head. "Imagine, over three hundred years old and I haven't even been far enough beyond the city limits to get the volcano dust out of my bones. I've had the odd vacation, sure, but its just not enough for this villain."

"Okay then." He answered slowly, leaning back once again. "And what's this got to do with me?"

"Not much, honestly, but I thought it would be proper to inform my enemies of my departure. Give them fair warning, per say."

"Fair warning?"

"Yes! What kind of world do we live in when a villain can't even do the honorable thing and tell her enemies when she's leaving the scene for awhile?" She shook her head in disgust. "Since you are my most persistent foe, as well as the one I have the most... history with," She glanced pointedly at the scar over his eye, which Manny felt the sudden urge to cover. Stupid Sartana with her stupid sharp claws... "I thought you would be the best to tell and have spread the news to the rest of your... kin."

"So... you're going out of town? That's it? That's what all this fuss was about?" Manny stood and prepared to leave, but Sartana held up a claw.

"Not quite everything, I'm afraid." Manny slumped back into the chair and crossed his arms. "You see, while I am leaving to travel, I couldn't bear for my empire to freeze, or, worse, fall, in my absence. And so, as I have no one else to rely on that is properly trained and loyal only to me, Django is going to take over for me while I am away."

"Django?" He leaned further back in his seat. "Dang. Haven't seen him in years. Is he... still mad about...?"

"You rejecting his offer and tossing him into lava to perish?" Sartana supplied with a grimace.

"Er, something like that, yes."

"Yes. Very. He mentioned something about planning to kill you, but that's nothing out of the ordinary for you Rivera's, so..."

"Ah." He tugged at his collar. "Alright, if that's everything..."

"It is."

"Then, uh, I wish you good luck and all that."

"And plenty of bad luck to you." She nodded.

No one moved.

"Sartana?"

"Yes, El Tigre?"

"This isn't just about you going traveling, is it?"

"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow.

"This is a test, isn't it?" Manny hesitated. "For Django. To see what he'll do when you aren't watching over him."

"I honestly do wish to travel the world, don't doubt that for a second. It has been a dream of mine for hundreds of years, along with taking it over and ending the Rivera bloodline forever." Sartana examined her claws as she spoke, standing up as she did so. "But, yes, this is a sort of test. I want to see what will become of my empire once Django takes it over completely, and being away is the perfect way to get a taste of what is to come. That, and I want to see how he'll attempt to destroy the great El Tigre. It should be a great show, don't you agree?"

Manny swallowed. "Yeah, I guess."

A pointed claw prodded his chest as Sartana's voice lowered to a growl. "Tell anyone that little bit of information and i'll kill you myself, got it?"

Manny leaned back and attempted nonchalance once again. "Please, Sartana. Who would believe me?"

"... You have a point." She leaned back. "Fine then. I trust your pride will be more than enough to render you incapable of tattling to your father or grandfather anyway."

"You can trust me to keep quiet, Sartana." He nodded seriously. Messing up here, in the heart of Sartana's lair, wasn't an action he recommended for himself. If she wanted him to keep quiet, then he would.

Until he needed to tell, that is.

"Bah! I trust no one but myself." She turned around and waved a dismissive claw. "Get out of my sight, El Tigre. You're stinking up the place with that horrible cologne El Oso wears when he's trying to be fancy."

Manny froze. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you just proved all those little rumors to be true." Sartana grinned smugly. "A tiger and a bear, huh? Interesting matchup, I guess, but really? El Oso is the best you can do, Tigre? I thought you'd have better taste than that."

"I..." Manny swallowed his anger without a second thought. It was all instinct, by now, after all. "I don't have to stand here and listen to this. I'm out." He turned and stalked out the door.

"I thought you'd say that." The skeleton chuckled with a shake of her head. "Django's going to love this."

Author's Note: And so, Manny's anger builds up even more, and the secret is out to his mortal enemies. (for those wondering about the cologne bit, El Oso took Manny to a semi-good restaurant (like two stars) a day or two earlier and wore his favorite cologne (The cheap kind. Y'know, the kind of stuff that hangs around for awhile.) to try and pull off a gentlemanly image while shoveling food into his mouth like a pig. Needless to say, Manny didn't buy it, and laughed his butt off.)

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