Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor the rights for Vivo, those rights are owned by Sony and Netflix and a few others. I DO own a few characters in this fic, though.
A song of the heart
"….Vivo! Is everything okay? Why did you run away?" Gabi asked the Kinkajou panickedly as she held him out in front of her so she could stare him in the eye.
She kept a tight hold on the musical Kinkajou, wrapping her arms tightly around his upper chest to cuddle him close to her. She inhaled a shuddering breath as if a slither of an arctic cold breeze brushed passed her and she was practically doubled over as she attempted to calm herself.
It made little difference, though…
It was crystal clear that she was fearful and it wasn't hard to imagine why after having learned of how her late father, Carlos, had been caught up in a horrific car accident and subsequently passed away as a result of his catastrophic injuries. The twelve-year-old was apparently around six or seven years of age when it happened so she had a lot of fond memories of him so it hurt a lot more as a result.
She might have put her fears regarding whether or not her dad was aware of how much she loved her to rest two years ago but that didn't erase the pain and trauma entirely.
Vivo couldn't answer her question (even if she could understand him) and that amplified his guilt.
"I didn't mean to worry you, Gabi…" He mumbled sadly.
He hung his head but he just kept staring at the dropped flower in his hands, his mind also still reeling from the shock at what he had just saw. As a matter of fact, if he wasn't holding actual physical evidence in his hands, than he wouldn't have believed that he saw that female Kinkajou.
Vivo felt riddled with guilt and felt a great shame rise in him.
He felt really bad because of how he had scared Gabi half to death by jumping out of the open window of the limousine to retrieve the flower worn by the mysterious female Kinkajou, he knew that he didn't imagine her and that flower he had grabbed proved it. He slipped the flower under his hat for safe keeping, making a mental note to begin his search later on.
He didn't think it would be wise to try and search for the female right now since she had probably gotten scared off for the moment and he worried that he'd scare the female mammal off more if he tried searching for her immediately, especially given how those citizens didn't seem to like her much.
He needed to think all of this through before doing something else that could worry Gabi to death because the less he hurt her feelings and give her the wrong idea, the better.
He needed to think about Gabi's well-being first and foremost.
Gabi didn't seem angry but she most definitely felt negative feelings as an aftershock of the car screeching to that abrupt halt (after apparently almost running over something) as well as her best friend and partner jumping out of the window of said car. She was shaking and shivering as she stared non-blinkingly at the shamed Kinkajou she held in her outstretched arms, her glare more effective than any lecture could possibly be.
Vivo had even forgotten about the fact that he was still holding the flower that the female Kinkajou had dropped and it didn't take Gabi long to notice it. Her eyes widened as the emotion that resembled anger melted away and was replaced with perplexity as she stared at the plant and frowned.
"Hey, what're you holding there?" She asked while looking pointedly at the flower.
Vivo hesitated in showing it to her for a moment, he honestly wanted to do this by himself…but Gabi did help him that first time two years ago not to mention he felt like he kind of owed it to her for making her worry so much —he knew he could trust her, even if a huge majority of her plans were pretty much bad impulses.
He exhaled as he gingerly held the flower out to show her.
Gabi stared at the flower and tilted her head to one side, clearly unfamiliar with the species of the plant.
"What's that? Some kind of flower? Is this what you dove out of the car window to get?"
Vivo nodded bashfully, after hearing her say it like that then he supposed that it did sound like a really dumb thing to do.
Gabi kept holding the Kinkajou at arms length and her expression dropped into an imploring plea for understanding. Her brows had knitted together to help add some helplessness to her facial expression and her lips pursed into a tight frown, her eyes overflowing with cognisant concert. She mulled over the info and replayed the incident in her mind to recheck whether any clues could be figured out there.
"….Why?" Was all she could ask.
Vivo glanced down for a brief few moments to consider how best to explain himself and his actions.
He knew that he couldn't explain everything since Gabi (or any human for that matter) would have been able to understand a single word of what he said. There was also the fact that he had no idea how to even begin miming out about there possibly being a female Kinkajou hanging around these parts that he was intrigued with meeting, it was difficult to think on how to communicate that right now, but he was determined to try and explain later.
He opened his mouth as if to speak but, instead the sound of a distant car horn honked loud and long, interrupting them.
Clearly everything in the limo had been fixed and they had been waiting for Gabi and Vivo to return so they could finally reach their destination and the two felt embarrassed to have been keeping the others waiting for them.
Gabi sighed.
"We better go in…I bet they'd leave without us if we didn't go now."
Vivo grabbed a flower from her hand and tucked it beneath his hat before he tried and remedy the situation between himself and Gabi was squirm out of her clasp before he clambered up one of her arms and perched himself upon her shoulder, leaning his own face in to affectionately nuzzle her cheek. He purred softly (or made a sound that could be easily interpreted as a purr) whilst he rubbed his cheek against hers.
Gabi giggled when she felt his bright orange fur tickle her face.
"Alright, alright! I forgive you…but please gimme a warning or something first next time."
Vivo nodded in agreement.
Gabi and Vivo then went back to the limo and climbed inside to reunite with Rosa and Esteban —Rosa didn't hesitate in telling Gabi off for running out of the car without any adult supervision and she gave her a scowl so harsh that it could have curdled the milk of an entire herd of cattle, her eyes were dark and her expression was fixed into a glare that would have terrified even the hardiest of people.
The group recollected their thoughts, still a bit shaken over the whole ordeal.
Vivo would have gone back in his carrier but, due to his carrier door latch being broken, it was decided that he would be strapped into the seat right next to Gabi who gripped his tiny hand in her fingertips. She was still trying to sort out her feelings but she seemed to have cheered up somewhat when the topic of where they were staying popped up.
The chauffeur proceeded to slam his foot on the pedal and the drive to wherever they were staying had resumed.
During a conversation, it was discovered that they were being offered free boarding at a very popular hotel that housed celebrities on a regular basis and it was after hearing that that Gabi started to get excited —obviously her enthusiastic delight over the whole trip in its entirety had been reignited, she couldn't wait to see what her hotel room looked like!
"Ohhhh, I wonder what our rooms are gonna look like!" the twelve-year-old gushed "I hope mine has a flat screen TV, a jacuzzi, some cool stuff and maybe we can practice some of our musical instruments!"
Gabi looked down at her musical partner.
"I bet you're excited about this too, right Vivo?"
Vivo smiled and nodded in agreement.
He would have been fibbing if he had said that he wasn't the slightest hint of excitement and he started to imagine what the rooms would look like —would there be any music instruments? Maybe a grand piano? What instruments would be be permitted to play? What sort of music would he be allowed to play? The thought made his fingertips buzz with anticipation and his own heart skip a beat, his first stand on end as if he had been zapped with electricity and he suddenly found himself become fidgety on his seat.
He couldn't help but begin beaming with excitement.
The driver kept on chattering but Vivo started to block it out since it no longer intrigued him plus the thoughts and questions about that mysterious female Kinkajou started to seep into his mind again.
He didn't see much of her due to her running so fast, but what he did know was that not only was she pretty but (for some reason he couldn't understand) the people here didn't care much for her, in fact, it appeared that they downright hated her. He couldn't understand why anyone would dislike her and not tolerate her presence and he just wanted to see if he could find her and talk to her.
"Everyone!" The driver suddenly called out, simultaneously snapping Vivo from his thoughtful state and gaining the attention of Gabi and Rosa and Esteban.
He pointed outside the window opposite to the drivers seat to a huge yet tall terrace building that was painted in pure white and was so tall that it was very possible that it brushed the sky, not to mention the palm trees on the outside of the building and a huge pool that had small geysers of water shooting out of said pool and raising high into the air on what appeared to a permanent basis.
"That's the Mirage resort and casino, it's where you guys will be staying until the event is over."
Everyone proceeded to make "oooooh" sounds as they stared wide-eyed in awe of the magnificence of their temporary residency.
THIS was where they were staying!?
Wow, everyone was clearly being spoilt!
The driver had more to say on the matter, though.
"Not to mention, that is where the other invitees will be staying too so you can interact with them more."
He continued to speak in spite of the Hernández family staring out the window in awe of the hotel that they were to be staying in; of course Rosa had looked at this place during her research the night before but this looked much more grand when it wasn't being displayed on a computer screen.
"A-And this is all being paid for by whoever is setting all this up, right?" Asked Esteban, rather anxious.
The driver glanced over his shoulder momentarily to look at the anxious man before returning his gaze to the road in front of him.
"Y'mean Mr. Rico Avaro? Yeah. He paid for everything, including the hotel bills, and he's arranging the practice hall with some hired staff. He's a nice guy with a lot of money so he could afford to buy the country if he wanted to."
Everyone was incredulous when they heard that.
This "Rico Avaro" person had that much money!? That would probably be more money than any of them had ever seen in their entire lives, probably enough to fill a swimming pool —or maybe even a rocket! They each briefly started to imagine what they would even do with that kind of money, except Vivo since his mind was still focused on the mystery that was that strange female Kinkajou.
All of their individual trains of thoughts derailed and crashed when the driver cleared his throat aloud and announced "We're here!"
Rosa, Vivo, Esteban and Gabi all looked around and realised that not only had the limo come to a (proper this time) stop but they had arrived to a smaller building that looked somewhat rundown —especially with the windows boarded up and the how battered and broken the building itself appeared to be. This place looked like it hadn't been catered for or even used in years so why were they expected to perform and practice here of all places!?
The group all glanced at one another and were suddenly unsure about this entire thing.
Vivo glanced from the building to his family and then back to the building again.
"Huh. So this is where we're going to be performing? How much money did that Rico guy have again?"
Gabi saw the reluctance etched upon her mother's face and nonchalantly shrugged whilst giving a sheepish grin, it was clear that she was just as uncertain as everyone else but was trying to be her cheerfully optimistic self.
"C'mon, guys…" she chuckled somewhat awkwardly "…it might look b-better on the inside?"
Nobody was buying that but there was no turning back, they had passed that point of no return hours ago.
That was when an uncomfortable silence had settled in and made things even worse as far as atmospheric quagmire was concerned —everyone was rather reluctant and the air had turned rather rigid and it grew increasingly discomforting.
"E-Erm," Esteban decided to break the icy silence "Thanks for getting us here."
The man dug into a pocket, producing his leather wallet, and proceeded to hand the man a few dollar bills but the driver/chauffeur/guide's eyes widened when he saw the money and put a hand up to refuse it.
"No, no, no, sir, there's no need for you to pay me, I'm just doing my job!"
Esteban shook his head and kept trying to hand him the money.
"I insist. You've driven us all the way here and I want to express my gratitude."
The man in the front seat seemed very reluctant to take the money but when he heard the other man say that he insisted on it, then his tight-faced expression melted slightly as he then took the money and mumbled a quiet "thanks" while Rosa, Gabi, Esteban and Vivo all climbed out of the car and stood in front of the rundown building.
"Hey!" The driver called out to the small family "I'm going to drop off your luggage in the hotel so they will be there when you guys arrive!"
Rosa nodded to the man.
"Adiós."
With that, the man drove off towards the hotel and left the Hernández group to continue standing right in front of the building that looked close to collapsing at any time; the air around this place was unsettling and was painted a grungy dingy deep jungle green colouration with darkened black splotches that looked somewhat like sooty bruises (even though buildings can't bruise) and there were even the odd dents misshaping the building itself.
Everyone finally started to get a move on after a few moments (which were probably being used to gather their courage).
As the group of four entered through the door, they took a visual survey of their surroundings.
Admittedly the inside looked much better than the outside.
There was a huge (but slightly rickety) stage, flickering spotlights, black carpet, torn and ripped red velvet curtains, a big retro stereo, a strange random desk and there were some props and outfits hanging in a nearby corner.
But then their attention all fell upon a large group of people with two animals, a dog and a bird.
There was 15-year-old Tyrone Fawkes from Manhattan, 19-year-old Bea Calloway from Texas, 5-year-old Ella Trotterson from London England with her golden retriever dog, Rufus (whom Vivo already met on the plane ride here), 25-year-old Louie Taylor from New York, 60-year-old Nigel Walkerson from California and16-year-old Nico Peréz with his pet Blue jay, Nick, whom were both from sunny Spain!
Just like who was on the roster Gabi found back on the plane.
Vivo's gaze immediately landed on the golden retriever sat down on his haunches right next to his five-year-old owner and he smiled as he, with his family following close behind him, rushed up to meet the other contestants/performers whom were obviously here for the very same reasons they, themselves, were:
The Neon lights contest/concert.
Gabi, Rosa and Esteban conversed with the adults while Vivo got acquainted with the other animals, Rufus especially. Rufus was sat down and Nick was perched atop the dog's head —the latter was plump and adorable but he also had this slight narcissistic yet selfish aura about him that kind of annoyed Vivo already.
He was literally looking down on him and everything!
"Rufus!" Vivo exclaimed happily, skidding to a stop in front of him.
The golden retriever smiled (or at least the closest to a smile a dog could physically do) down at the Kinkajou. He apparently hadn't expected the Kinkajou to just charge right towards him the instant he laid his eyes on him and almost rose to his paws to take a few steps backwards but Vivo stopped just in time before he even had a nanosecond to even do that.
"Glad to see you are feeling better, little one! It's good to finally meet you when you aren't vomiting your head off." Rufus remarked half playfully.
If it were possible, Vivo blushed bright red then and there.
Nick the blue jay, on the other hand, just laughed in hysterical amusement as he swept a wing across his own chest and fell back on the dog's shaggy head. He was laughing so hard that he found it hard to speak or even breathe —he sounded illegible at some point where nobody could make out what he was saying in between his bursts of laughter.
"Oh….Dios mío, esto….es….muy….gracioso!" The small blue bird said in between breathlessness. "I've heard of scared rookie reactions but this truly takes the biscuit!"
Vivo's face eventually turned into a a red that could rival a ripe tomato.
He felt enough shame for vomiting on the plane due to travel sickness, he didn't need to hear this.
Finally Nick recovered his breath as he righted his own position and stood up whilst staring down leeringly at Vivo from atop the dog's head. He had this smug self-confidence about him as he gestured to himself with a tiny blue, black and white-tipped wing.
"My name is Nicolas Plumas Azules Alexander the fifth, but everyone calls me Nick."
Vivo already disliked this bird and his "I'm better than you" attitude and he gave a deadpan scowl. Seriously, with all the self-preening he was doing, he may as well have been born as a peacock.
The Kinkajou opened his mouth to retort but he was prevented from doing so when a long black shadow descended the three animals; Vivo didn't notice at first due to whoever was casting the shadow being right behind him but Nick immediately stopped boasting and instantly gave a frightened look above before taking to the air and zipping right back to his owner and Rufus didn't have much of a reaction for reasons that would become clear in a few seconds.
Vivo felt the room grow a bit cold as he noticed the shadow fall over him and, a bit scared himself, he tried to turn around, only to not have a proper chance before he heard a cute and high-pitched voice cry out something that made the musical Kinkajou shudder before he was scooped up and held quite close:
"KITTY CAAAAAAT!"
Vivo felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his midsection, making it impossible for him to escape and then he was lifted off the ground.
"Woah! Woah, woah, woah, woah!" He yelped in alarm after being hoisted upwards and still feeling that tightness around his upper chest.
Due to her short stature and how high-pitched her voice was, whomever had picked Vivo up was a most likely child. She was dressed in bright pink with matching shiny shoes. He surmised that Rufus' six-year-old owner had confused him for a different kind of animal and decided to hug him against his will. He felt the strain as he kept trying to break free and he even looked down and stared down at the golden retriever in a silent plea for help.
"Sorry," Rufus offered a helpless shrug of whatever could pass for shoulders on a dog "Ella can be a bit…clingy."
Vivo kept struggling in the girl's arms as he felt like his ribs were going to break apart and his lungs were about to burst. He tried and tried to free himself but it was no use since he quickly conceded that he was no match for this child's powerful hugs. This girl was squeezing him so hard that his eyes began to try and pop out of his head and he was beginning to find it hard to breathe.
That didn't keep him from struggling, though.
"Hey! Let me go! I didn't give consent to this!" Vivo cried out in desperation "Gabi, help!"
It seemed that Vivo's cries (or squeaks and chitters for their ears) drew the attention of everyone in the room and everyone had looked at the sight. A tiny flame of hope lit inside of Vivo's mind for a moment…only for it to be extinguished when everyone gave a chorus of "awww" and even Gabi
"Awww! Vivo seems to really like you, Ella!"
Vivo choked on his words as he continued to struggle breathing due to how tight the hug was.
"NO! Gabi, why have you forsaken me…?" He whimpered, actual tears welling up in his eyes.
Ella murmured, somehow holding him even tighter "Kitty!"
Rufus sighed and shook as his head and decided to try and lend a paw to the Kinkajou. He cantered over to Vivo, whom had given up by this point, and used his nose to nudge his owner's leg whilst also enlarging his own eyes and raising a paw up and pressing it against where his nose just touched.
Ella noticed this and smiled at Rufus in her adorable way.
"Aw, Ruffie!" The 5-year-old girl dressed in pink exclaimed joyfully and promptly dropped Vivo on the spot and went to go and pamper her pet dog instead.
Upon being released, Vivo practically fell and went "splat" on the ground and laid there for a few moments as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't know but he thought that a rib may have snapped but he couldn't be certain until he actually stood up —his lungs felt like deflated balloons and it took a minute to let them properly reflate again.
"…Huff…huff…huff…huff…" He breathed raggedly until he finally mustered the strength to get to his feet.
He held his chest and realised that he felt fine now.
He finally stood and went back over to Rufus since Ella had apparently gotten bored and went over to interact with the golden retriever again, especially when he had an idea on how to track down that female Kinkajou. He knew well enough that dogs had a fantastic sense of smell and, perhaps, he could ask Rufus for a bit of help to see if he could lend a helping paw.
"Hey, Rufus?" Vivo called out.
Rufus peered down at the small orange mammal with naught but curiosity, his brows pulled down whilst knitting together to paint a look close enough to resemble mild surprise. His feathery fluffy tail whipped about in the air as he wagged it. His big pink nose with speckles of black splotched upon it twitched to life as he inhaled the scent of the Kinkajou.
"Yes?" He answered "Can I help you with something?"
Vivo nodded.
"First I wanted to thank you for your help with that."
Rufus smiled "Your welcome. My apologies about my owner, she's enamoured by anything small and cute and fuzzy…"
Vivo rolled his eyes. He was well aware of this fact by now and had a crushed chest to prove it, nevertheless he decided to get to the actual point of this conversation.
"Actually…I have this flower-" He proceeded to remove his own hat and produce the yellow flower from underneath and then present it to the golden retriever "-that I found earlier and I really want to find the owner and give it back. Do you think you can sniff out the scent?"
The golden retriever seemed to ponder on the proposal for a few seconds before he came to a conclusion and nodded.
"Yeah, okay. While we're on it, I can even show you the ropes about this contest and concert in the meantime."
Vivo nodded and smirked.
"Okay."
"But maybe we should do it later tonight, I've got to stay with my owner for now." The golden retriever advised.
Vivo nodded again.
Since they were all staying at the same hotel apparently, that would probably be the best way to meet up with him. It would also be a good idea to try and do this whilst everyone else was sleeping so he and Rufus could get to work undisturbed and, more importantly, without worrying anybody. He also didn't want to break his promise not to scare Gabi again but he knew he couldn't take a twelve-year-old girl out into the unfamiliar streets of Las Vegas.
He gave Rufus a thumbs up in solid agreement.
Meanwhile….
Not too far from the gathering spot for the performers was a dark room.
The only source of light was a computer screen, which illuminated the room enough so only mild features of the person using said computer could be recognised. He had a rather large and bulbous nose and mean little eyes. He had little to no hair atop his head and his physique was scarily well-toned and muscular, this guy looked like he ate concrete bricks for dinner.
The man with an imposing air around him stared at the computer, his eyes and demeanour as cold as an arctic wind.
His gaze was intense as he stared at the screen which depicted a picture of Vivo with two people on either side of him —one was a tourist girl who had owned the phone on which this selfie was taken, and the other was a familiar old man known as Andrés whom had been Vivo's legal owner up until that point before his untimely death. The Kinkajou was using his tail to raise his hat over the girl's head to make it appear as though she were wearing it for the photo.
The selfie picture was filled with joy and life but the same couldn't have been said for the man staring at the image itself.
The man kept sitting in the dark with his one and only source of light being the light coming off of the computer screen, he had a stack of files sat on the desk right next to the computer and all of them appeared to be about the contestants he'd called from across the US and other nationalities. There was one specific file that was probably about Vivo since a photograph of the Kinkajou was clipped to said file.
The man sat in front of the computer and in silence…until the door opened, spilling a bit more light into the room, and a woman popped her head through the door.
"So we have our talents, sir," The very same woman who had invited Vivo and Gabi in Las Vegas in the first place had entered the room and began speaking in a level and well-tempered tone of voice. "Are we going to go ahead with this years extraction?"
The man shook his head in refusal.
"Not yet. I'd rather wait until later to see which one of these animals or people is the most talented."
The woman nodded, there wasn't an ounce of expression that could be seen on her face —not even in a dark room like this. The man sat in front of the computer abruptly slammed a hand down on the stack of files, causing the woman to jump startled but still didn't show it on her face at all.
After a stiff few moments of uncomfortable silence, the man sighed heavily.
"Just be ready to move when I tell you, okay?"
"Yes, Mr. Avaro."
With that, the woman closed the door, leaving the man alone in the room once more.
The man, known as Rico Avaro, heavy breathing was the only sound occupying in the room as it sounded deep and shuddery…it almost sounded like he was sobbing for whatever reason as his silhouette showed him slouching forwards with his head hung low and the darkness concealing his expression even more than before.
There wasn't another sound made before he spoke again.
"This needs to work, I can't give up now…I will accomplish my goals no matter what the cost."
A/N: Here's chapter 7, everyone!
It seems that a lot of stuff is revealed in this chapter such as Vivo and Gabi meeting up with the other contestants and we see what seems like our villain in this story. Not only that but Vivo and Rufus strike up a friend and partnership so maybe they can hunt down that other kinkajou.
And to eiracloude45:
"I'm very happy you like my work so much! Yes I give you permission to make fan art for my story, just as long as you give me credit for the fanfic it's based off of in the description and it's family friendly. Thank you very much!"
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the story so far, stay tuned for more!
-Chloemcg