Disclaimer: Zorro belongs to ZPI and "The Discovery" was written by Robert L. McCullough and Philip John Taylor. Anything you recognize from the episode isn't mine.
Summary: The final confrontation and revelations between Risendo and the de la Vegas. And the conclusion of this epic series rewrite.
Author's Notes: Here it is the final episode of this overly long series rewrite. When I first started this so many years ago, I had no idea the twists and turns this tale would make nor how long it would end up being. Perhaps its appropriate that it would take until past the 100th anniversary of Zorro, but still it is hard to say goodbye.
One slight warning, in dealing with the events in Spain in the time decades before the story opens back when Ynez was a midwife, there may be some sensitive issues brought up in relation to babies and mothers lost in child birth. I generally avoid this particular touch of realism, but unfortunately, it ended up being key to parts of the plot.
The Final Revelation
(The Discovery)
Part 1
Gilberto Risendo's Journal
My mother sleeps now, after looking after me all night. Once again she has saved me; this time from a fool who would have buried me alive. This act of stupidity will be his last as well as that of his even more stupid sergeant. And oh, it will be a most exquisitely shaped punishment. Either he accepts an easy death or runs like a coward and makes both himself and his sergeant suffer even more in the end. I can hardly wait to confront him with it, but I prefer to wait for the optimum time, as the fool has spent all night at the tavern—celebrating. Well, it will be his last celebration.
I asked Mother again to tell me the story of my birth. I have heard it so many times, and yet it is still so hard to understand. And yet, after what he did to my aunt, the widow of his supposed best friend, I should not be surprised that he could be equally cruel to his legitimate offspring. Because of a misshapen leg, one that I grew out of so quickly, because of something so minor, within minutes of our births, to choose his younger twin over me, his true and proper heir, it's unbelievable. No, what is unbelievable is to think that he's managed to hide his dark and twisted soul from the world, so that no one sees him for what he truly is.
How could the woman who gave birth to me countenance such a man? Yes, I know my mother said that she was unconscious and unaware of what was happening around her, that it was a miracle she survived the birth, so she could have been lied to, just as everyone else in his life. Or perhaps she was aware yet trapped by those bonds of matrimony. Or— perhaps she was as cold as her husband and would not or did not care if she ever learned the truth.
Perhaps no one, save me and my mother either know or care about the truth. And now it is time that the de la Vegas both suffer. The father for denying me, the son for usurping my place. But in order to accomplish that, I must rid myself of that masked plague, Zorro.
~Z~Z~Z~
Victoria insisted on taking the reins of the carriage as they drove to town. Diego understood why, but he still hated having to give in to the weakness, even though he knew the best way to continue to hide his wound was to do nothing that would aggravate it. Perhaps, living a dual life was finally starting to get to him. He was usually more patient than this. He had years of practice. Perhaps it was the mystery of why the Emissary had been causing such trouble in Los Angeles. Risendo had clearly had some kind of specific agenda that related to either Diego's father or the de la Vega family, but now that the man was dead, they might not ever find out why or what his ultimate purpose had been. However, if the man had not been alone in the schemes, there yet might be more repercussions to deal with.
As they entered the pueblo, Diego's eyes searched for signs of the current state of affairs. It seemed quiet, but that was only until the gig stopped in front of the tavern. He and Victoria had barely left the carriage, when he heard a commotion from the direction of the alcalde's office. Turning he saw, De Soto and Mendoza being shoved out the door by two royal guardsmen.
He could hear De Soto saying, "All right, all right. There's no need for this. I'm the alcalde here. Take your hands off me! Do you understand?"
Once released, De Soto shook himself off and straightened his jacket in an attempt to reassert some dignity (a gesture that Diego had seen many times before). Mendoza just looked stupefied as the guards left them, stumbling out into the street next to the alcalde.
"What's going on, alcalde?" Diego called out.
De Soto glared at him, while Mendoza blurted out, "Don Diego, the Emissary's alive."
"Alive?" Victoria exclaimed. "How?" She shot a hard look at the alcalde. "You said he was dead."
"He certainly seemed dead," De Soto muttered, a stunned look still on his face.
"Seemed?" Victoria sounded incredulous. "You didn't bother to actually make sure?"
"Well, now I wish I had," De Soto gritted out, his tone hinting at a double meaning. "Excuse me, Señora. What I need now is a drink." He marched past them towards the tavern.
"Me too," Sergeant Mendoza said, misery on his face.
Diego stopped him with a gentle touch on the arm. "What has happened, Sergeant?"
Mendoza gulped, raising a hand to his throat. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "The Emissary has condemned us to death— tomorrow at sunset. And if one or both of us try to run, he's going to make it as bad as he can."
"That's horrible," Victoria said.
"Sí, it is," Mendoza said. "Please excuse me. I really need something now."
"Of course, whatever you want," Victoria said. "Free."
"Thank you," Mendoza said with only a hint of a smile before hurrying to the tavern.
Diego looked over at the alcalde's office where the guardsmen were now standing outside. For one moment, he contemplated trying to see Risendo, just for proof he was alive, but he had no plan and no desire to turn the man's attention towards him without one if it could be helped.
Victoria seemed to understand his impulse as she took his arm and gently pulled him in the direction of the tavern. "This is unbelievable," Victoria whispered. "I can't believe the alcalde made such a mistake."
"Well, he's always tended to believe what he wants to think is true rather than what actually is," Diego said.
"And he really wished the Emissary was dead or gone," Victoria said. "But even still you'd think he'd have made absolutely certain about the matter. Permanently, if need be."
Diego closed his eyes a moment, imagining De Soto holding a pillow over the Emissary's head just to be sure he wasn't breathing. Then he shook his head. De Soto tended to prefer the pistol or the sword, not that he expected that the Royal Guardsmen would stand by and let De Soto do either to the apparently dead body of their leader.
Entering the tavern, Diego looked around. De Soto was already sitting in a corner of the room with a bottle of wine and a glass in front of him. Mendoza was at the bar with Señor Calvillo, who caught Victoria's eye. Diego watched the silent communication between the two, as Señor Calvillo jerked his head slightly at Mendoza, and then made a subtle hand gesture that Diego knew was a question about payment or lack thereof, and Victoria nodded. Then he tilted his head in the direction of the alcalde, and Victoria sighed and then nodded with another gesture that Diego knew to mean there was a limit.
Looking around the overly quiet tavern, Diego could see among the civilians, several of the lancers looking the worse for wear, but none of the royal guardsman were present. Of course, they had not been mixing with the local populace at all since their arrival, even to taking their meals in the cuartel rather than the tavern. It was frustrating because it meant it was difficult to get a feel for them as individuals rather than simple extensions of their superior's will, and thus, hard to know how they would behave without his orders to follow.
Not that that concern mattered now, as the Emissary was alive to give them. But it might have helped to have an idea of what the men thought about their superior and his behavior. Especially since it appeared that the only confidante that Risendo had had was the now dead Lt. Hidalgo. Unfortunately, he felt that it was most likely they would continue to follow their superior's orders until or unless someone or something superseded them.
And speak of the devil, he thought as one of the guardsmen came through the tavern door and headed to the bar. "Señor," he said to Señor Calvillo, "the Emissary wants you to send over your best breakfast as soon as possible."
"Of course," Señor Calvillo said.
The guardsman nodded and then turned to leave, but not before giving a suspicious look around the tavern, hand on the hilt of his sword.
Diego watched the man go. His curiosity was getting the better of him again. He wanted to see Risendo and get a feel for what more he might have planned beyond two executions. Walking to the bar, he said, "Why don't you allow me to take the tray to the Emissary?"
Victoria looked up at him. "Diego, is that really such a good idea?" she asked, her eyes flicking towards his injured arm. "I mean, the Emissary hardly has any warm feelings towards us at the moment."
"True," he conceded. "However, his return from the dead complicates an already difficult situation. I need to see if I can get some insight into what he is thinking or planning to do next."
Victoria looked unconvinced.
Diego took hold of the tray. "What better way to get on the inside than with a peace offering?"
"Very well," she relented. "But I'll carry the tray," Victoria said, with a lift of her chin. "You can open the doors for me."
~Z~Z~Z~
Risendo looked up with a contemptuous smirk as Victoria and Diego entered the office. "To what do I owe the honor of having the two of you deliver food here. Or is this a common occurrence?"
Diego clenched his jar for a moment, as Victoria put the full tray on the desk. What was it about the emissary that made him able to annoy him with little more than a look? He'd faced worse villains, yet this one...
"It's common enough," Victoria said. "I've done it for the alcaldes on occasion, just to be sure everything is in order. Now if you'll excuse me, I should return to the tavern." She looked back at Diego, with warning in her eyes before briskly heading to the door.
Risendo's condescending smile made Diego wish to punch him.
"I see that your lady has yet to truly give up tavern duties for housewifely concerns as yet."
"I think she combines them well enough," Diego said.
"If you say so, Don Diego," Risendo said with a shrug. "Is there anything else you want?"
"I merely wished to see how you were doing..." Diego began.
"After my having mistakenly or, to be more accurate, wishfully been declared dead?" Risendo interrupted.
"More like a near tragic mistake."
"Oh, there will be tragedy," Risendo said. "Just not mine, and I hope you are not intending to plead for the lives of those two incompetents. You are lucky I do not punish the whole of the pueblo."
"I wouldn't dream of trying, Emissary," Diego said, nor mentioning that your men were just as much to blame in believing you dead. "You clearly have your mind made up, but I would ask you to consider the matter most carefully before acting."
"I always consider matters carefully," Risendo said. "It is not my fault if others do not consider them... or fail in the responsibilities they have assumed."
"And what of your responsibility to see that the king receives his war tax?" Diego asked in as neutral a tone as he could manage. He had no wish at the moment to aggravate the situation.
"Oh, he will receive his money," Risendo said. "My work is almost complete here."
"I am glad to hear of it," Diego said, "as well as seeing you are in health."
"I have survived worse," Risendo said, staring up at him.
"I'm sure you have," Diego said. There was a clear undercurrent to this conversation that he was missing, but he had no idea what Risendo was really thinking or planning, and he was unlikely to learn any more at the moment. Best to move on. "Please excuse me for taking up your time."
"Not at all," Risendo said with a crocodile's smile. "I always have time for the de la Vegas. You can tell your father as much."
Diego frowned. What was the man's meaning? He was indeed a conundrum. "I will."
He started to turn, but Risendo's voice stopped him.
"Don Diego, would you permit me an impertinent question?" the man asked.
"I can hardly stop you, Emissary," Diego replied.
"In that event, can you tell me what kind of lady your mother was?" Risendo asked abruptly.
Diego stared at him dumbly. Of all questions, this one seemed to come from nowhere. "I beg your pardon?"
Risendo leaned back. "While I have heard much of Don Alejandro de la Vega, I know very little of Doña Elena and am naturally a bit curious about the lady he made his wife." He shrugged slightly. "But then do you remember much of her at all?" Risendo pressed.
Gritting his teeth, wondering why the man would be asking such a question, Diego said, "I remember her quite well as she died when I was fifteen." And not being willing to prolong this conversation much further, he went on, "She was honest yet kind, determined yet compassionate, strong in spirit even when weak in body."
"Weak?" Risendo murmured as if to himself. "Perhaps that explains why you are her lone child."
Diego took a moment to be sure his temper was still under control. "I really couldn't say. And it doesn't make any difference. Now, I really must go."
"Of course," Risendo replied with false geniality. "Far be it from me to keep you from your business."
Diego left, suspicion sharp, yet no idea what it was that he needed to watch out for. While he knew little of Risendo, he had learned enough to know that if he was asking about his mother, it was for a specific reason. This would require a bit more reconnaissance, and he winced slightly as his arm twinged. His agility was not going to be up to par at the moment. Looking across the plaza, he saw Felipe standing at the edge of the tavern porch. Once he caught his eye, Felipe nodded toward the alcalde's office with a question gesture. Diego nodded slightly. There was a chance that Felipe would be better able to pick up some information. Risendo had overlooked him very much as he had Victoria, with the exception of his using her to try to trap Zorro and even there she was only considered a pawn not an opponent. No, his focus had always seemed to be on his father and to a lesser extent himself, and he still didn't know why.
Victoria was waiting for him when he reached the tavern porch, and they walked over to the corner where they could talk with greater privacy.
"Well?" she asked.
"I don't know," Diego said. "Obviously, we didn't speak long. And it seems as if he's planning to depart soon, though unclear if it's simply to carry out the execution of the alcalde and Mendoza himself or for some other reason. And..." He frowned.
"What?"
"He asked about my mother," Diego said.
"Doña Elena?" Victoria seemed as taken aback as he had been. "But why?"
"I don't know," Diego said. "Unless it had something to do with his interest in my family, but then I don't understand what that can be."
"I've been trying to figure this out as well. Maybe he's the relative of some old enemy of your father's?"
"It could be, but it's clear that my father has no idea of any such thing, and even then we still don't know exactly what he wants."
"Perhaps even he doesn't know," Victoria said.
Diego looked over at the alcalde's office, where he could see Felipe disappearing around the corner. "You could be right. He's hardly been consistent in his behavior."
"Which may bring a little hope to Mendoza," Victoria said.
"I doubt it," Diego said. "If nothing else, his bloodthirstiness seems to be increasing."
Victoria glanced at his arm. "I don't think we'll learn much more here. We should go home. You look like... your headache is returning."
Diego sighed. It was true that the longer he stayed in the pueblo, the more likely that something would happen to show that his arm was injured. He'd managed the night before mainly because everyone was too busy celebrating to pay much attention. And he might need to be ready to fight soon. If for no other reason than to save the alcalde and Mendoza.
~Z~Z~Z~
Letter to Ynez Risendo from Graciela del Castillo
7 May 17-
Dear Ynez,
I hardly know how to write you. It has been hard since my beloved Rafael passed away as he did in the King's service, yet though I miss him with every breath, God has been merciful to me and granted me a boon to fill my empty life.
I am expecting a child and wish so much for you to be with me in my time, to help me through. I know of no one better to help me. You will come, will you not? I do not think I can do this without you.
Your loving sister,
Graciela.
~Z~Z~Z~
Down in the cave, Diego winced slightly as he poured the powder into the small funnel, for the last of the smoke bombs. It was unfortunate that he'd let his stores get low, but he was going to need to be prepared for whatever tomorrow might bring. As he set down the container, he saw Victoria placing a small tray on the table. She lifted up a small glass.
"It's time for your medicine," she said. "Also, I have some more beef broth. My mother always said it was the best thing after blood loss."
"I'm fine, really, Victoria," Diego said.
"And you'll be even better once you've drunk these," she said.
Diego took the willow bark tincture and swallowed it in one gulp, grimacing at the bitter taste. Setting the glass down, he said, "You know, I used to fear that you would prefer the myth to the man. Now I almost wish you still saw the myth at times."
Victoria leaned over to kiss his forehead, running one hand through his hair. "No, you don't. Besides, I still see Zorro the myth—in public. It's only in private that I see him as the man he is. The man I love."
Diego took her other hand in his and kissed the palm. "And I am grateful for that," he said. "Very. It's just that..."
"You hate it when an injury gets in your way."
Diego closed his eyes for a moment. "And even more I wish I understood why I'm feeling such anger. I've faced evil men before, and never has my judgment been so distorted by emotion. His malice or my own."
"Oh, Diego," Victoria said, "you are anything but malicious. Angry, yes. And anger I certainly understand."
"With your gentle temper?" Diego teased with a slight smile.
"And my soft voice," Victoria responded. She leaned in to give him a brief kiss, which might have been longer if they hadn't heard footsteps on the stairs.
Looking up, Diego saw Felipe as he came in. "Have you learned anything?" he asked.
Felipe nodded then raised his hands as if he were puzzled.
"What is it?" Diego asked.
Carefully, Felipe signed out that it was a woman who'd revived the Emissary. He'd read the lips of a couple of guardsmen talking about her. One of the guards called her a witch while another told him to be more respectful of the Emissary's mother.
"His mother?" Victoria exclaimed.
Felipe nodded but then signed that she was keeping to the alcalde's quarters, so no one outside the cuartel had seen her or heard about her.
"Well, that tells us a little more about what happened," Diego said. "But you're right that it doesn't really help us much."
"Not unless the Emissary's mother has had something to do with all this," Victoria said spreading her arms out.
Felipe looked to Diego curiously. "We've thought that perhaps Risendo has a particular reason to go after the de la Vegas. Vengeance for some perceived wrong, possibly."
Felipe pointed to Diego and signed Z. Diego shook his head. "I hardly think it's either that he suspects I'm Zorro or is trying to get to Zorro through the family. It's clear he wants Zorro, but that didn't seem to get personal until after his lieutenant was killed. No, I suspect it's more to do with my father, but what? He certainly doesn't recognize Risendo's name or his appearance."
"Perhaps he would recognize Risendo's mother," Victoria said.
Felipe mimed someone hiding behind a curtain.
"That could be why," Diego said. "Or, she could just be tired from her journey and finding out that her son had been mistakenly declared dead." He looked back at his work table. "I think for now what we need to do is finish our preparations."
"What do you think is going to happen?" Victoria asked.
"I don't know what tomorrow holds," Diego said flatly. "But I'm not going to let Mendoza or the alcalde die," Diego turned his focus back to preparing the last of the smoke bombs, "least of all at the hands of madman."
~Z~Z~Z~
They continued to work in the cave for hours, not sure what it was for which they were preparing, only that they had to be as ready as they could foe anything. If nothing else, Risendo had certainly been consistent in being unpredictable.
At length, Victoria persuaded Diego that they should go upstairs in anticipation of dinner. He resisted but she assured him had really done all he could and that he it was in everyone's best interest for him to be fed and rested. "Besides," she said, "you'll want to be ready to ready to greet your father right away when he gets back, if he isn't home already."
Together, they went upstairs and had no sooner taken a seat on the sofa when Diego's father entered the hacienda.
"Diego, do you know what's been happening?" Alejandro asked.
"Do you mean about the Emissary not being dead and his plans for the alcalde and Mendoza?" Diego said. "Then yes, we've heard."
"What is wrong with that man?" Don Alejandro said. "You'd think he'd be grateful enough to be alive."
"It seems he is more resentful of the mistake than grateful for his survival," Diego said. "And there's something that's been troubling me about him."
"What, Son?"
"I've been wondering if his... interest in our family is something more than taking a dislike to us when he arrived."
As his father furrowed his brow, Victoria added, "Yes, I had wondered too. There was something in the way he watched you. And that letter... well, it seemed like it was meant to wound you specifically."
Don Alejandro inclined his head thoughtfully. "I have thought of the possibility. However, after the way he targeted De Soto the moment he arrived, it could merely be his way of dealing with potential resistance. First take out the leader, then the family that was the first to stand up to him. Although... at times it almost seemed as if there were something familiar about him..." He paused and then shook his head. "No, I doubt he's related to any old enemy of mine. It's more likely a case of meeting one too many men like him, ones who once they taste power, use it to try to crush others. Just a mad beast out for what harm he can cause, and we're going to have to be willing to deal with him by whatever methods we can."
"Don't worry, Father," Victoria said. "We are not going to sit idly by while Sgt. Mendoza is in danger."
"Or even the alcalde," Don Alejandro said. "However, richly he may deserve it."
"No, we must save the alcalde as well. He may be a tyrant himself but he's our tyrant," Diego said with an amused grin, "and at least he's one we know."
"I wish we knew what the Emissary is planning," Don Alejandro said frustratedly.
"But we don't," Diego replied. "That's the way this has all been from the start. We may not know what to expect or what exactly is going to happen but we do know what we can't let happen. The only thing we can do now is get some dinner and think through all the possibilities."
"Indeed," Victoria said as she took Diego's arm and followed him to the dining room. "Tomorrow is going to be a big day."
~Z~Z~Z~
Having nothing better to do at the moment, Victoria was wiping down the glasses at the bar, while listening to De Soto talk about his potential escape plans. Not the brightest thing he'd ever done, Victoria thought.
"But with a good horse," he said, "I could be out of California in two days. There's a territory east of here that no civilized man has ever set foot in."
"And maybe with good reason," Don Alejandro said. "Be careful, Alcalde."
Mendoza spoke up, his voice slightly squeaking. "Alcalde, if you escape, then I am left here alone. Who knows what the emissary might do to me? We're responsible for each other."
"Then come with me, Sergeant," De Soto said. "It's not like you have any kind of life here." De Soto stared down at his drink for a moment. "There was never any kind of life here," he said grimly. "It's better to take our chances east."
"Risendo will not rest until he found us," Mendoza insisted. "I prefer a quick bullet through the heart than to boil in oil like a... beef empanada."
"More like a chicken empanada, eh, Sergeant?" De Soto retorted contemptuously.
Don Alejandro was quick to speak, though his voice was quiet. "That's not nice, Alcalde. I like the way Sergeant Mendoza is philosophizing about this whole thing."
De Soto shook his head. "Risendo... What a diabolical fiend. Imagine, allowing us to wander around free on our last day. Letting us savor everything we're about to lose forever." He turned to Mendoza. "Come with me, stay here, do whatever you want, Sergeant but I have no intention of not seeing the sunrise tomorrow," he growled.
There really was nothing to say to that. And even still, Victoria was distracted when the tavern door opened, and two royal guardsmen walked in. They went directly to one of the tavern posts and nailed up a piece of paper.
"What now?" Victoria asked. As if they needed anything more from Risendo. She moved around the bar to go look at the sign, followed by Don Alejandro, who read the notice aloud.
"'Zorro... a truce. Meet at Diablo Canyon.'" He glanced over at her. "Do you believe him, Victoria?"
Of course, she didn't believe him, and she would certainly hope that Di— Zorro wouldn't believe him either. She watched as Don Alejandro left the tavern. They had already decided that if anything important happened that Don Alejandro would be the one to inform Diego, unless it looked like there was any immediate danger to Victoria. She wasn't overly fond of the plan, but she agreed. Sometimes caution was really justified.
~Z~Z~Z~
Even though it had been his plan, Diego had not been entirely happy with sending his father and Victoria into the pueblo while he stayed behind. However, the one advantage it had was that it would give him an opportunity to test out his arm while the two people who'd be most likely to protest his practicing were away. If he had to fight, he needed to know how weak his arm would be. It was fortunate that he had become an ambidextrous fighter, if worse came to worst.
The hacienda was empty at the moment, so he and Felipe were practicing in the courtyard, as they would have greater space. As he fenced with Felipe, Diego found it impossible to wield his sword in his right hand. He used his left to support his wrist as he blocked Felipe's strikes, only to have to drop the sword in the end.
In frustration, Diego sliced the top off a nearby plant before throwing his sword to the ground. Grabbing his sore arm, he said, "This arm is practically useless. It's nowhere near healed." Sighing, he looked back at his friend. "I'm sorry, Felipe. My anger distorts my judgement. Why do I harbor such animosity toward Risendo?"
Felipe reached out to Diego. Then stabbed the air before touching his forehead with his other hand.
Reading Felipe's signs, Diego said, "Well, the man is evil, no question. So poisoned by malice there's none of the true man left." Or was that just his own anger speaking?
Felipe touched his arm, pointing outward. Diego could hear hoof beats coming towards the hacienda.
"Hide the swords," Diego commanded.
As Felipe hid the weapons behind one of the trees, Diego, noticing a stain on his sleeve, pulled on his jacket. A moment later, Don Alejandro rode Dulcinea into the courtyard.
"Diego! The strangest thing has happened," he said as he dismounted. "Risendo has offered Zorro a truce. He wants to meet him in Diablo Canyon at noon."
"Strange indeed," Diego said. "I wonder what Zorro would find if he went."
"A trap, obviously," Don Alejandro said. "And why should he go to that?"
"To find out what it is that Risendo is truly after," Diego said. "The man has been a mystery from the beginning."
"A mystery not worth the solving," Don Alejandro said. "Y—he should not bother with it."
"I think that's for Zorro himself to decide," Diego said with a wry smile.
Don Alejandro shook his head in resignation. "I suppose so. But Zorro would do well to be very cautious as Risendo's already fooled him once."
Diego grimaced. "Yes, I recall. Don't worry. Zorro has no intention of being fooled again."
"Good," Don Alejandro said. "Now, I'll get out of your way for the moment. I have some things to do before this afternoon." He smiled as he walked past them to enter the house.
Diego and Felipe wasted no time disappearing down into the cave. Diego hung up his jacket and removed his shirt. "We're going to need to rebandage this arm before I go out."
Once the bandage was undone and the wound cleaned again, Diego saw Felipe's expression as he began to rewrap his arm.
"I know," Diego said. "It's very bad. I'll do my very best to avoid a sword fight." Felipe rolled his eyes skeptically. Diego ignored him. "Risendo is like..." Diego searched for the right words. "Is like... a Gordian knot. An impenetrable riddle. You remember how Alexander the Great solved its mystery?"
Felipe made a downward slicing motion.
"Yes," Diego said, "and let us hope that it is Zorro that manages to make the slice."
~Z~Z~Z~
Bandage in place, Diego quickly finished changing and was riding out in barely enough time to head to the canyon. He approached it cautiously, looking for signs of Risendo's men. There seemed to be only a single set of tracks heading through the canyon. He looked carefully around. No, no sign of anyone else. So this time it seemed that Risendo was on his own for whatever it was he had planned.
Now where was the man? He turned Toronado around, meaning to go around and make his way up to the top of the canyon.
"Not so fast, Zorro." Risendo's voice came from above him.
He looked up quickly, annoyance at his failure to spot the man rising quickly. He was at a disadvantage here.
Risendo was smiling smugly. "I find it amusing you're so prompt for your own death," he said.
"Your message promised a truce," Zorro called out angrily, while looking around. He'd need to get out of here.
Risendo pulled a pistol from his waistband. "I lied."
"I somehow had a feeling you would."
Just when it seemed Risendo was going to fire at Zorro, he moved the pistol to the right and shot at the ground not far from where Toronado stood. Horrified, Zorro saw the shot ignite a trail of gunpowder. Now, he absolutely had to get out of here. Leaning over Toronado, he urged him forward, hoping to get clear before that flame reached its destination.
Swift as they were, they didn't make it. An explosion knocked him off Toronado's back and threw him into the side of the canyon. He bounced hard off the rock wall and fell to the ground. Dazed and choking against the smoke and dust, Zorro struggled to get to his feet. He was coherent enough to know that even though he had survived the explosion, the danger was far from over. As re regained his footing, he felt a number of small rocks raining down on him but before he could find Toronado again, it felt as if the entire canyon wall came crashing down, burying him in a pile of rocks.
~to be continued~
End Notes:
One reason for the long delay in posting aside from real life issues was that I had a hard time figuring out what to do with this episode. I mean I didn't want to just write a slightly altered recap, and yet there didn't seem to be a lot to do with it either. The time frame like the other episodes was pretty short, and yet the events were actually pretty simple at the beginning: the recap of Ynez's lies about Alejandro's reaction to his birth, and Gilberto's condemnation of De Soto and Mendoza. Then we time skip to the next day where all the action takes place, and while I could mostly handle things once we hit the action part of the episode, I had a hard time figuring out what to do with the beginning quieter section. Initially I planned for Victoria and Diego to remain at the hacienda, and Don Alejandro and Felipe to find out about Gilberto's survival and the impending executions and for Felipe to tell Diego. But that didn't feel right. And then once I sent the pair to town, there was a question of what they should do there.
I did want an additional meeting with Gilberto but then had to consider what should it encompass. I reflected that there had been no mention of their mother throughout the series. And while Gilberto had Ynez as his surrogate mother, I thought he might wonder about the one he didn't have, so I decided to work in some curiosity about her. And my personal head canon to resolve the contradiction of Diego's mother being called "Felicidad" in "The Unhappy Medium" and "Elena" in "Arrival" is that her name was actually Elena Felicidad and that Alejandro called her Felicidad while her father (and others) called her Elena.
And I also had to go back and check my personal timeline for when I had Diego's mother dying (and then I caught several critical omissions and one large contradiction that I made in regards to Don Alejandro's military service in an earlier story), and for some reason I set it when Diego was 15, though I can't remember the reason now. Perhaps so that he does have very definite memories of his mother, perhaps for some other reason. Also I do remember deciding against her dying in childbirth because it's been done so often, so instead chose for her to die of a cancer (which I think has also been done, though I think that may be something I've seen in Disney Zorro stories rather than New World ones, but at the moment I can't remember any particular example).
And I deliberately cut the line between Felipe and Diego in the courtyard where after telling Felipe to hide the swords he says, "I don't think anyone saw Zorro get hit but there's no point in testing our luck" because honestly that one didn't make sense as he's not dressed as Zorro, and any suspicions would be focused on Diego's practicing sword fighting rather than anything else.