AN: This is a Lucifer/ Zorro crossover. You don't have to know the shows to read this. To my sweet Zorro readers, please be aware that I am a writer of happy endings so please give this story a chance.
Chapter 1:
Los Angeles 1820
Diego had been sitting in the tavern all morning. He had been feeling worried since last night. A nightmare about Victoria dying that had prevented him from sleeping. Normally he would be able to calm his nerves after a while, mostly by brushing down his favorite stallion, but not this time. This time was different, his gut feeling was different. Something told him he needed to watch the love of his life today, that something awful was going to happen.
"Do you want another lemonade, Don Diego?" Victoria asked in her friendly voice. She didn't want to admit it, especially to herself but she felt safer somehow when Diego was in the tavern.
"That would be nice, Victoria, thank you," Diego said, thinking maybe he just had overreacted after all. That his feelings were going into overprotective mode. It became more and more difficult to hide his feelings for the beautiful tavern owner.
That moment, the moment Victoria arrived with his lemonade, that was the moment that he saw something shining from behind the curtain that separated the kitchen from the tavern. He never had been so fast to stand up. He jumped between Victoria and the barrel of the gun.
"Diego, what are..." Her words were stopped when a shot rang through the tavern and Diego fell lifelessly on the ground. Victoria couldn't do anything but scream his name out of shock.
He was hit in the back, blood giving away that Diego wasn't playing this time.
"Diego?" Victoria almost yelled again in worry about her friend.
"Someone please get Dr. Hernandez." She yelled in panic while she kneeled down next to an unconscious Diego.
One of the vaqueros nodded and ran outside. Another one jumped on his horse to ride to the De La Vega hacienda.
"Please, help me to move him to one of the rooms," Victoria asked a few Dons who stood beside her.
It took three of them to carry the young De La Vega. He was heavier than he looked at first sight.
The three men placed Diego on the bed while Victoria was watching Diego with tears in her eyes. Why did this hurt so much? Diego was a friend yes but this was like feeling as if she lost a part of herself. She never wanted to admit to herself how much she loved him until now.
Victoria took a chair and sat beside the young Don, holding his hand, "Please, Diego. Don't leave me. Why did you do such a stupid thing?"
She knew he wasn't going to answer anytime soon.
She was deep in thoughts still holding his hand when a knock made her jump up. It was Dr. Hernandez and Don Alejandro with a worried Felipe behind them.
Victoria ran into the old Don's arms. Something she did when she was worried or in panic. The man was like a father to her.
The old man looked worried at his son before he turned towards the young woman in his arms, "What happened to him?"
" I don't really know, Don Alejandro." Victoria sobbed, "One moment Diego jumped up and stood behind me, and then a shot rang, the next thing I knew Diego was on the ground."
"Oh Diego…" Don Alejandro said with a worried sigh before turning to Victoria again, "Come on let's give Dr. Hernandez some room to work." He led Victoria and Felipe out of the room.
"Why would he do such a stupid thing, Don Alejandro." Victoria sobbed, "Why to give his life for mine?"
"I think I have a suspension and I think you do too. I think Diego feels more for you than friendship." Don Alejandro said trying to hide his worries. He sounded calm but you could see in his eyes that he was worried about the life of his only son.
"I wished for years that my son would become more like me but now that he has I regret ever thinking that. Now I wished he would be just his studious self." The old Don added with pain in his voice.
Victoria didn't react to what the old Don had said about Diego's feelings. She did look up to the room where Dr. Hernandez was busy for some time now. The only thing she could do was pray for Diego to survive this. Her heart skipped a beat when Dr. Hernandez finally walked out of Diego's room at the tavern.
"Doctor?" Don Alejandro's voice sounded so small in comparison with other times.
The doctor looked troubled the moment he walked down the stairs, "The bullet is out."
"Will he live?" Victoria asked in a voice full of panic. Was this how Diego had felt when she was shot? What should she do about Zorro? She couldn't love two men at the same time and Diego, if he lived could give her the family she always wanted. After all, it was Diego who saved her this time and not Zorro.
"It's way too early to tell but the bullet was found only a few inches from his heart. That usually means in most cases death. It's better that we start praying for a miracle." The doctor said with a sigh. He had the suspicion that when Diego would lose his battle, they were going to lose more than only a young caballero. He had noticed the many scars on the young man's back. Scars that came very certain from lots of battles. He even suspected when he had fallen off his horse that it wasn't Esperanza who had thrown him but a certain black half-wild stallion.
"Can he be moved?" Don Alejandro asked, he wanted to have his son as close to him as possible.
"Only if you are very careful Don Alejandro." The doctor said in a serious tone of voice, "This is much worse than when you brought Victoria to your hacienda."
The old Don nodded, "Felipe, go and get our best carriage, I will stay here with Diego. We will move him as soon as possible."
The young man nodded and disappeared out of the tavern.
"Don Alejandro, I want to help to take care of him. I owe it to him." Victoria was sure enough to be at Diego's side even if she had to travel to the hacienda every day, "Pilar can manage the tavern for me."
"That would be wonderful Victoria. I will let Maria make the guest room ready for you when we get there." Don Alejandro was relieved that Victoria wanted to help them.
After a few hours, Diego was comfortable in his own room, Felipe sitting at the edge of his bed just watching his father figure, secretly hoping that this was all a dream and that Diego was just sleeping.
Hell around the same time but year unknown.
Lucifer was sitting on his second throne that he had willed into existence inside his castle. He loved the solitude of the throne that had a view over the maze that was called Hell. This throne was more for the groundwork. Easier to punish demons this way.
He was rolling his scotch, or at least the hell version of it, and not so good as the earthly version when Dromos ran inside followed by the guard demons.
"Lord Lucifer, Lord Lucifer," Dromos said before the guards caught him.
"I am sorry, my king, we couldn't stop him," Bugon said with panic in his voice. Bugon was one of the royal guards and Lucifer had ordered not to be disturbed.
"This better be good, Dromos," Lucifer said coldly while he waved the guards away with his hand. The guards bowed their heads and left the throne room.
"My excuses, Lord Lucifer but something went wrong with a soul." Dromos said a bit afraid of the devil, "There is a soul that isn't supposed to be here."
"Dromos, are you really disturbing me for a soul that is here because of his guilt?" Lucifer asked dangerously low. His eyes starting to burn as red as the fire pits of Hell, "How long have you been torturing souls? This isn't the first soul to come down because of his guilt."
Dromos bowed his head and kneeled in front of his king. He swallowed before saying, "I am sorry, my king but this soul is different."
"What is so different about this soul then?" Lucifer asked again.
"You better see it for yourself, my Lord." Dromos was still scared of his king but this was something that had to be said.
"This better be good, Dromos or you are cleaning Cereberus his feces for eons." Lucifer threatened.
"Yes, my Lord." Dromos closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Why the Hell did he need to report this? Why had this happened in his section?
"Now are you going to show me or what?" Lucifer growled.
Dromos nodded and led his king to one of the cells in his section.
Lucifer opened the cell door with Dromos right behind him.
"Dromos, leave me with this one, go back to your job." Lucifer said hiding his shock, "Bloody Hell!" This couldn't be right.
TBC