DISCLAIMER: If you recognize it, I don't own it.
Skritch. Skritch. Skritch.
"Come on…"
Skritch. Skritch. Skritch.
Maria groaned as another twinge of pain ran through her. She sighed as she slumped into a sitting position and leaned against the cold wall, a hand resting on her belly. "You're gonna have to cooperate with me on this, you know."
She couldn't say how long she had been trapped. It might have been hours by that point, or it might have been days. Her sense of time had blurred into a dull haze of nothingness, on the verge of stopping altogether. She just prayed it hadn't been as long as it felt.
The bricks that made up the walls were held together by a dusty, tightly packed grey mortar. It had cracked and crumbled when Maria had scratched at it with a finger. So she had slipped off one of her boots, knelt down and begun to jab the heel into the crevice. The mortar was tougher than it had looked, but it fell away chip by tiny chip. Eventually she had removed enough to take one brick and wrench it out of place. She pulled it forward, exposing a gust of musty air and a dark space behind the wall. Perhaps not large enough to stand in, but judging from how deep into it her arm went, it was large enough to crawl through. Maybe it leads outside, she had thought with a glimmer of hope.
Sliding the bricks she had already removed back into place, Maria staggered back to the bed and collapsed. She shouldn't be doing such work when she was so far along, and her aching muscles made sure that she knew it.
I don't have a choice, she thought. I need to get us out of here.
She closed her eyes and thought of Manolo - her Manolo, not the thing that was off lurking who knew where. She thought of his arms wrapped around her, his face full of love and concern. Of him taking her home, lying beside her and chasing away her nightmares. Of how he would look as he held their baby for the first time -
"Have you slept?"
Maria recoiled at the sound of his voice. He hadn't made any noise coming in. Slowly opening her eyes, she glared at him with all the steel and venom she could muster.
The other Manolo approached the bed slowly, his arms folded behind his back and his head slightly bowed. His idea of looking gentle, she supposed. "You look tired," he said.
She sat up, not taking her eyes off him. "I don't want to."
He sat on the bed a few feet away from her, his eyes darting towards the ground as though thinking of something to say. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he finally answered. It was an attempt to sound reassuring, but it came out too quick, too commanding.
Maria was about to speak when the baby squirmed again. She placed her hands over it, wincing at the sensation. The other Manolo started and glowered at the bulge, as though wishing he could get rid of it then and there.
"It's not hurting me," Maria said quickly. "That just means it's growing."
The sound of his voice was what caused it. You're not my papa, the baby seemed to be saying. I want to go home.
Inching towards her until they were nearly touching, the other Manolo lifted a hand. He stroked Maria's face, tracing the shape of her lips and brushing back her curls. She froze as she felt his pointed fingers glide across her skin, not daring to move in case it made him angry.
"I do love you, you know," he whispered. "I always have."
She looked away and said nothing.
His hand traveled down, avoiding her stomach, and laced his fingers with hers. "I'll give you anything you want, Maria," he said. "You don't even have to ask. Just tell me."
"You won't give me the only thing I want."
He sighed, a mixture of sorrow and frustration. "I know how you feel about all this."
"Do you?"
"I know you don't love me. I don't expect you to right away." His grip on her hand slowly tightened. "But I think you can learn. That's why I want to do something for you. A favor."
She inched away until he was holding her at arm's length. "And what's that?"
"No more secrets," he answered. "I'll tell you everything you want to know, I swear! Just ask!" He smiled and nodded eagerly, as though he considered this a major accomplishment.
Maria looked back up at him, her eyes cold. "Fine. First off, where are we?"
"My castle," he answered with a smirk. "Xibalba left it to gather dust, along with everything in it. That was his mistake, you see." He pulled a vial from his bandolier. "I used his books to learn about making these."
Lovely.
"And how long have you been down here?"
He shrugged. "Years, probably. It can't really be told."
"Is there anyone else here? From San Angel?"
His smile faded. "Just me these days."
"…What happened?"
"I was tricked," he said, old anger simmering in his voice. "I had Xibalba's task all figured out, and he still said I failed. He trapped me here. And then Chakal…you remember him? He must have destroyed the town. Everyone ended up down here. And you…" He suddenly stopped, tensing up and looking away.
"What about me?"
"…Nothing." He tried to pull away, but Maria's grip on him tightened.
"What happened to me?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
"It doesn't matter."
"I think I deserve to know."
"It doesn't matter!" he snapped. "Not anymore. You're here now."
Maria stared at him another moment, then pulled her hand away and stood up. "I get it now."
"What do you mean?"
"You lost one version of me, so you think you can just replace her with another one. Doesn't matter what we want, right?"
He stood. "You don't understand - "
"Did you care about her at all?"
"Of course I did - "
"No. You just think you did, because you just think you're Manolo. You're not. You never will be." She raised her voice as she went on, getting in his face. "And when I get out of here and find the real Manolo, we're going to make you pay for what you've done to us!"
The other Manolo shrank back, startled. Then his wide eyes narrowed, and his mouth morphed into a thin, determined line. When he spoke again, his voice was low and threatening. "So you want to know where he is."
Reaching into a pocket of his bandolier, he pulled out a small, rolled piece of black cloth and pressed it into her hands.
Maria unrolled it, and when she saw the patches of blood staining the familiar skulls and winged hearts, her own blood ran cold. "Where did you get this?"
"It's all that was left of him. He didn't make it past the cave guardian."
Maria stared down at the cloth and slowly crumpled it in her hands. She held it to her chest and bowed her head as she slumped against the wall, tears brimming in her eyes.
The other Manolo reached forward and cupped her face. "There's no need to cry - "
"Get away from me!" she screamed, shoving him back with both hands.
"What?"
"I said get away from me," she snarled as the tears began to stream down her face.
But you have me, he thought. Why should you be sad when things can still be the same? "I…I don't…"
Then he gasped and grabbed his head. The image of something impossible had flashed in his mind. "How did he get down here…?"
"Who?" Maria demanded.
"None of your business," he snapped. "Stay here." He turned and left the room, locking the door behind him. He won't escape this time.
Inside, Maria cried outright as she clutched the piece of Manolo's jacket. The baby twitched again, as though sensing that something was very, very wrong.
She forced her sobs to die away and held the cloth up to her face, breathing in the scent of him. It only made her sob harder. No, she thought to herself. Not yet.
She stroked her belly, then looked at the loose bricks in the wall. "For both of you."
He had taken her world, planned to take her child and now he had taken her husband. About time I took something of yours.