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's heart felt heavy in his chest as concern for Marie's wellbeing after surgery was playing on his mind like a repetitive melody on stereo.
Marie was going to have surgery on her broken arm while Vivo, himself, was performing in that concert/competition and he'd left her when she was wallowing in a chasm of despair. How could he have done that? He felt like the worst person in the whole wide world, how could he live with himself after all this? Heck, how could she live with him after all this!?
He couldn't help the pang of guilt jabbing him in the heart repeatedly.
Vivo, feeling rather numb as to what was transpiring, climbed into a new pet carrier that awaited him without much of a fight.
It looked similar to the one that was used for him to travel in but the only difference was the colour of the plastic and it was way more plain than his personal stylised one, said plastic being a rather boring and bland pale blue colouration than what he was used to —not to mention that the bars, while sturdy, were in a mesh style which were made up of a bunch of square shapes that he could barely fit his arm through.
He still hated being trapped within a carrier like some sort of cat but he could care less right now.
Gabi seemed a little worried that the Kinkajou didn't put up much of a fight whatsoever but tried not to show her concern too much, she didn't want it to spread to Vivo and make him anymore downhearted than he already was.
The vet closed the carrier door, locking Vivo inside, and he turned to face the three human members of the Hernández family. He wore a false smile on his face as he clearly tried his best to seem upbeat and optimistic and not let the family see how he was apparently a bit unsure of what was going to happen now.
"Don't ya worry 'bout Vivo, he'll be fine, and hopefully the female Kinkajou will be finished with her surgery by the time your performance is finished." He said.
Rosa gave a small and humble nod as she put on the very same smile, not wishing to worry Gabi.
"Thank you, doctor, we'll come right back after our performance is done to see if she's alright."
Then the vet looked at both Rosa and Esteban with a strangely hollow look as neither one of them could help but feel the tension begin to rise to the point of becoming stifling. The atmosphere began to become as uncomfortably hot as being surrounded by a pool of magma whilst somehow also being as cold as the lowest temperature in the arctic.
They could even feel a violent chill ride up and down both of their spines due to the change in atmosphere.
Then the vet finally spoke.
"And…are you planning on taking her back to Florida with you? If not, I'm sure we can find a zoo or animal sanctuary to place her in where she'll get everything she needs to live out the rest of her natural life. I just need to get ready to organise where she's gonna stay to recover from her surgery."
Vivo's ear fluttered and twitched when he heard those words.
He sort of hoped that Rosa would agree with keeping Marie…but then he remembered that Marie had to have a choice in the matter, she didn't want to move to a new place that would make it difficult to acclimate to. But…she couldn't live on the streets forever, and she would probably find it too difficult to be dumped with humans if she were to live in a zoo or sanctuary.
Marie's choice in anything had been snatched away at that instant.
Vivo's train of thought came to a screeching halt when he came to that realisation.
While she might want to live back on the streets out of fear of humans and being caught by them, she could no longer do that. She had been treated badly by humans for so long and being around a multitude of different people would frighten her out of her wits and the whole situation would become chaotic! Not being able to see was enough for her to deal with but being surrounded by something that terrified her beyond rational thought? And with everything she must have been feeling right now? It would probably tear her mind apart.
The musical Kinkajou couldn't help but shudder when he pictured that very scenario.
He felt this sickening gnawing sensation nibble away within his chest and it made him feel wretched.
Then the vet resumed speaking.
"I understand that it's a lot to think about. How 'bout ya come back after the show and it will give you time to come to your decision?"
Esteban and Rosa exchanged a final thoughtful glance to one another before they nodded in simultaneous agreement and then they turned back to look at the vet and nodded once more. Their eyes remained thoughtful as they pondered upon the offer of having a second exotic animal living in their humble little home back in Florida, it would make things a bit harder on a financial viewpoint but they really couldn't let a helpless animal languish all alone either.
This was not a decision that could be made on a whim, they needed to discuss it further before making such a commitment.
Rosa answered on her own and her lover's behalf.
"I think that's what's best."
The veterinarian gave a nod, moving to adjust his glasses to perch on the bridge of his nose better, before he made a spinning turn on his heel with his cape billowing in the nonexistent breeze behind him. He then walked off down the hall to tend to any other animal in desperate need of his care and aid without paying much heed to the humans he had left in his wake.
A couple of awkward moments of silence passed by before Rosa decided it was time to take action.
She looked down at her daughter with a soft motherly smile.
"Come on. We don't want to miss the big show."
Gabi nodded up at her mother in agreement.
The group of four then made their way down the lengthy corridor towards the exit whilst Vivo had slid the zip open and reluctantly squished himself into Gabi's bag which she had hanging on her back, making sure not to dive in there as he didn't want to risk being trapped inside of there —the inside of that bag was nothing but doom and gloom and he didn't want to get stuck in there no matter what.
It was after leaving the vet hospital that Esteban, Rosa, Gabi and Vivo found a limousine awaiting them parked right outside, waiting to take them to the Neon lights concert/contest.
The skies were still dark but with twinkling stars dotting the skies above, however, rain clouds rolled in.
It was an ominous sight…
The group proceeded to pile themselves into the back seats of the vehicle, strap themselves in, and let the limo driver take off —they made sure that this guy didn't work for Rico Avaro, though, so they couldn't be put in danger again. It wouldn't have been a very good thing at all if there were any more obstacles stopping them from performing at tonight's show.
After they made sure nothing bad could happen, they took in their immediate surroundings.
This limos interior looked very similar to the previous one but had that "new car" smell. Like before, the ceiling, walls and floors were all made from that velvet soft ebony carpeting, it looked really soft, with little illuminated specks dotting the backdrop. They changed different colours within instants and they resembled real stars by twinkling away like diamonds in a pitch black night sky. The floor itself had sapphire blue carpeting (instead of the crimson red from before) and it was plain as daylight that this car was completely brand new.
The seats were facing backwards to the drivers window and were made from fine and exquisite leather and upholstery and Gabi, Esteban and Rosa all eased and accommodated into their newly-assigned seats in the car quickly they either started to visually explore the inside of the car and their immediate surroundings, including peering right out the windows to see the empty nighttime pavement, and they could feel their minds all grow heavy.
It didn't take long before the chauffeur stepped on the pedal and the car immediately went from not going anywhere to zooming down the street within the blink of an eye —being careful not to go too fast, though.
Riding in a limousine like this had made Vivo felt great nostalgia as he reminisced on how he first saw Marie. He recalled with vivid detail how just the mere sight of her made him feel such as his heart fluttering in his chest, sweat seeping through every pore of his being, his eyelids refusing to allow him to blink, all the moisture leaving his mouth thus making his tongue feeling like sandpaper…
He never believed in love in first sight, he thought that was a mere plot device to move fairy tales or films along…but he couldn't deny now that there might have been some truth to it after all…Vivo, Esteban, Rosa and Gabi all just sat in silence and let the events of what they had endured earlier sink in properly.
The reality of what transpired had finally and properly struck.
They had been kidnapped…kidnapped when they had no reason to be.
"…Esteban?"
Gabi looked down, unable to meet the gaze of either her mother or Esteban.
"I…I wanted to thank you for protecting me from Rico and his crazy henchman lady."
Esteban smiled warmly.
"I wasn't going to let anyone lay a hand on you."
Gabi felt her heart shudder when she heard that response as guilt proceeded to gnaw at her stomach and nibble at her mind like a mouse with a block of cheese.
She acted like a downright jerk to this guy and he still protected her and her mother in the face of danger…how could she keep those walls up in the face of that fact? How could she…keep closing herself off to this guy when all he did was be nice to her? Sure, it was easier before all of this but it had become harder over time. That guilt was becoming so much that it was beginning to make her saliva thicken in her mouth while nausea hit her with the force of a violent smack to the face.
"….Even if I behaved like a major jerk to you?" She muttered, avoiding eye contact.
Esteban smiled earnestly as he continued to try and make eye contact despite Gabi facing away from him.
"Not even then. I care about you, Gabi, you and your mother."
The guilt worsened after those words were uttered.
Gabi was pondering on her own next words…when she felt a tiny paw place itself upon her hand.
She, confused, snapped her head to look down and saw a tiny purple paw resting within the palm and found herself looking at Vivo and noticed that he was looking back at her imploringly.
The kinkajou stared deep into his twelve-year-old best friend and owner's spectacled-covered eyes and murmured the final truth that Andrés had uttered to him just before he awoke in that cage in the veterinarian not so long before, maybe even half an hour ago he'd guess.
He spoke, his words intertwined with a soft and gentle whisper.
"Its…Its okay to let Esteban into your heart, Gabi."
Gabi only heard a low yet meek squeak out of Vivo and looked into his pleading eyes. She couldn't understand him but the male Kinkajou's chocolate brown eyes said everything he needed to, she felt her heart swell in her chest at the sight and her own eyes softened as she dwelled on what she was being told by Esteban and nonverbally told by Vivo.
The purple-haired twelve-year-old's lips twitched into the subtlest of smiles as she acknowledged her companion by grabbing his paw with two fingers.
She could only stay silent for the rest of the car ride.
It didn't take long before they finally arrived at the concert hall.
It looked much different at night.
The red-bricked-buildings huge neon sign saying "Neon lights concert hall" that hung on the front had lit the building up in a bright crimson glow. The red carpet on the ground in front of said building stretched along the ground towards the doors from before was still stretched out but, unlike last time where nobody stepped upon it, it was clear that some of the special guests had stepped over it already with the telltale signs being the slight wrinkles in the fabric.
The limo skidded to a stop in front of the building and the small group were instantly bombarded by several bright camera flashes.
It was all so bright and chaotic as the crowd immediately burst into a clatter of noise and shouts —everyone tried to get passed the crimson ropes by forcibly shoving through it but they couldn't and just tried to shout in order to be heard whilst bustling about to get to the front of the rope. The people were relentlessly shoving and pushing whilst standing right behind the fine rope crowd control stanchions on either side of the red carpet, apparently taking flash photography thanks to the flashing of their cameras as they murmured and chattered loudly amongst one another.
Quite the scene it was behind those ropes…
It was difficult to differentiate one conversation from another.
Vivo felt the overwhelming urge to break out of his carrier and run and hide behind Gabi as he was not being used to being the recipient of such high-level attention…but he managed to bury that feeling deep down so he could perform as best as he possibly could while he tried to ignore the sensation of ice filling his veins as he kept his eyes forwards and focused on the current objective.
He couldn't afford to let nerves affect him in any way.
Not now.
The Hernández group proceeded to hasten through the front door.
Gabi's steps were sluggish and slow but she, like the Kinkajou riding her back, simply tried to focus on the performance that she, no, they had been preparing for this entire week. Her eyes had hardened like steel behind her glasses and her face twisted into a firm yet sharp-as-a-knives-edge expression.
They somehow managed to bypass the even bigger crowd whom lingered around through the main reception hallway…and it wasn't long before they were finally stood backstage and into the concert hall.
The concert hall looked way more intimidating than it had done before.
There was now a full-on audience that cheered and chanted the names of each contestant they wished to see perform first in a loud, simultaneous roar. The room was practically pitch black save for the large spotlight alighting the stage itself as the judges sat at their front row…just as imposing as before…maybe even more so! The atmosphere was heavy with this air of excitement which buzzed like electricity and a pinch of anxiety which was surprisingly infectious.
Before either Gabi nor Vivo could react, someone seemed to appear out of nowhere before they took Esteban and Rosa aside and then escorted them both to their seats in the audience so they could simply observe the show and it was then that she was guided towards a back stage area where she got to view Ella and Rufus perform their show for the audition section on stage.
As soon as they reached their new destination, Vivo's carrier was placed on top of a box.
The back stage was a small area with (surprisingly) elegant concrete walls and hard wooden floors. This appeared to be a low-maintenance room with not much as far as paraphernalia was concerned —there were some old crates that had been recycled as seats, an old dresser had been jammed into a corner and it added some much-needed light and acted as a mirror to anyone who were trying to add some "pizzazz" to make some last-minute adjustments to themselves, there was even a much cardboard box that had been allocated as a buffet table as a bowl of crisps and small plates containing sausage rolls and tiny sandwiches were perched atop of it.
The musty scent of chalk and dust hung in the air like a damp blanket and Vivo could feel have sworn that he started to feel as dust began filtering through his lungs and plug up his nose.
It was a miracle nobody had condemned this rundown part of this magnificent building yet!
But Vivo's mind was focused on someone more important since a considerable amount of Gabi's confidence faded slightly when it sunk in that her mother was no longer there to give her a boost of confidence.
She was unnaturally quiet as she shrank where she stood as her head ducked between her shoulders and her entire being radiated with timid cautiousness. She grit her teeth a little as air sucked in and out through the gap inbetween her teeth and she let out a visible shudder, sweat glistened as it threatened to drip down her face and hung on her brow. She grabbed her own arms as she hugged herself to keep warm despite there not even being the slightest chill in the air despite where the duo and the other contestants had been relocated.
Gabi and Vivo both surmised that they would be the last performance of the night as they had, thankfully, arrived in time to watch every other performance from the other contestants with keen interest.
The first one on stage was Taylor as he smacked the drums with the titanium-made drumsticks he never failed but to carry with him everywhere he went and he made a very authentic yet creative racket as he created a very rhythmic backbeat that had never before been heard until now. He drummed his heart out and his hands became red and sore as a result of how hard he'd whacked the bongo drums as an aside of his drum kit.
Then Bea Calloway went on stage next to show off her astonishing violin skills to the audience, weaving a lithe yet deft melody that proceeded to balance on a metaphorical tightrope between being so calm and soothing that it near lulled everyone in the audience to sleep and being so abrupt while accompanied with a sharp riff which was unique enough to produce an impressive sound from the normally-graceful instrument.
After Bea was Taylor whom had rapped so much and so fast that his tongue was probably bitten once or twice. His rhymes mesmerised the audience and everyone couldn't help but be impressed with how fast his rap was becoming with each and every passing second —while it was impressive, Gabi had a sneaking feeling that her mother was rolling her eyes at that performance as she wasn't much of a fan of the rap genre.
Nigel came after Taylor and he swing danced the night away…Gabi wasn't much of a fan, though, so she barely paid much attention to his performance.
Gabi's eyes sparkled with excitement when Nick and Nico's time to shine came as they made their way on to the large stage and strutted their stuff on said stage. They did regular magician stuff such as card tricks and illusional stuff together and, while Nico played his acoustic guitar, his pet blue jay flew around the stage in an elegant dance that only a bird could pull off. Nevertheless, that pompous and negative attitude didn't fade even once during this performance and, while Gabi was captivated, Vivo could do nothing but roll his eyes.
The last one on the stage until Gabi and Vivo had their shot was Ella and Rufus.
Ella and Rufus were both shrieking the stage down in an utmost impressive manner.
When Rufus had mentioned that it was a sight to behold, he wasn't even joking…
Vivo, in the meantime, had decided to see if he could ease her potential stage fright quick as it was clear that she hadn't forgotten what had happened last time in too much of a hurry.
They didn't have much time before they had to go on!
The Kinkajou slipped out from his carrier, opening the door of said carrier, and proceeded to then climb up her arm before he perched himself on her shoulder whilst sporting the most tender of smiles on his little honey bear face, his eyes as warm as a fire cackling in the midst of an arctic blizzard; he leaned in and rubbed his little pink nose against the girl's cheek while he spoke gingerly to her, he hoped that his words would cut through her fears like a hot knife through butter.
"It's going to be okay, Gabi, we can do this together." His voice was gentle and soothing. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."
Gabi still couldn't understand him and only heard squeaks and cute chittering sounds from the Kinkajou sporting the hat and bandanna but she knew that he was trying to encourage and support her at the very least and she couldn't be more thankful for it. She pulled her best friend close to her in a hug, eliciting a few soft purring sounds from the honey bear, and gave him an extra squeeze (making sure not to choke or strangle him) in order to both reassure herself and to reassure him too.
The two glanced off towards the side when they heard a familiar voice.
"Okay, everybody!" The announcer, Marta, spoke into a microphone. "Let us put our hands together for our last acts for tonight —Gabriella Hernández and Vivo!"
The twelve-year-old human girl and the Kinkajou exhaled deeply in a simultaneous motion, calming and steeling themselves for the performance they were about to go through.
The tension in the atmosphere soared to new heights by now.
Rufus and Ella had finished wrapping up their performance and they skipped merrily (well, Rufus didn't skip, he more like trotted) and meandered passed the twelve-year-old and the Kinkajou.
As they passed by, Rufus gave the Kinkajou a small smile as if to wish him luck. His eyes were bright and he had this posture of confidence as he puffed his broad yet fluffy chest and his shaggy yet feathery tail was wagging about a mile a minute as he beamed with pride.
It wasn't until his lead was given the lightest of tugs to spur him to keep up with his young owner that he went to go catch up with her.
Vivo's own confidence was bolstered a bit.
He was thrilled that one of his rivals was such a good sport like this and he was happy to have found an alley in the white-furred golden retriever. From the first time they met back on the airplane, they both became good friends —make no mistake, Vivo was still scared witless of most dogs because of how traumatised he was by them chasing him as a baby and he was terrified of Samson back home…but Rufus was a big exception to that.
He flashed an anxious grin back at the pooch before he looked back up at Gabi with an anxious expression and saw how she was still nervous herself —maybe even more than he was at this point in time.
Gabi caught the anxiety on the Kinkajou's face and proceeded to situate him as she cradled him in one arm and used the free hand attached to the other arm to scratch Vivo right behind the ear, making him sigh and then purr in the purest form of contentment imaginable. He closed his eyes and leaned in to further bask in the glorious feeling of that special spot behind his ear being rubbed and scratched, this was just what he needed to calm his nerves.
He hoped that maybe the girl's knotted-mess-of-nerves mind would begin to feel eased by showing his own contentment to her.
It seemed to be working as Gabi's anxious smile shifted into a hint of a genuine one.
The purple-haired girl's expression turned from shy and anxious into one of resolute determination as she steeled herself for what was to lay ahead; she was considerably (and justifiably) worried that she would disappoint the judges a second time and she really wanted to make up for what transpired at the auditions, she couldn't let her emotions run wild like that…not again…
"Ya ready, Vivo?" Gabi asked, smoothing the absolute fear from her own voice.
The response she received was a thumbs up and a chitter of confirmation from the small mammal.
"Lets go, Gabi." Vivo replied, face completely serious.
As the two exited the backstage area, Nick had perched himself on his owner's shoulder and watched on with a strange look of confidence on his little bird face. He would rather be eaten by a cat then admit this but he had gained something resembling respect for the Kinkajou. After all, he did free them and stop them from becoming sold to dubious people so they could probably be used for fame and fortune.
"….Good luck, roedor enfermizo."
The duo didn't waste much time as they both struck out together on stage, a spotlight shining down on the pair of them.
Their entrance was met with a large round of applause coming from the audience, cheering and whooping all the while until they piped down after getting a hand signal from all three judges sat at the desk where their red buzzers/buttons lay.
Gabi kept a tight hold on Vivo as she held him in her arms and close to her heart but was careful not to drop him or anything as she maintained eye-contact with the judges sat in front of the stage —just like before— and they stared at her with a cold stare that could curdle an entire herd of cattle with ease. The twelve-year-old with the purple hair would have been lying to the point of her dress catching fire if she claimed that she wasn't feeling the slightest bit intimidated by them but she made sure to swallow her reluctance and stared them all in the eye.
Vivo did the same.
Gabi put the Kinkajou down on the floor next to her while never breaking eye contact with them.
In the meantime, Vivo glanced to his left in order to make eye contact with Gabi as he was too nervous to look the judges in the eye right now…he knew he wasn't the one that they would be focusing on but he knew that he had to pour every last drop of his concentration into Gabi not only so he could do this performance properly but also so he could use this as a distraction so he could keep Marie's condition out of his mind.
He grabbed his own hat, lifted it up, produced his one maraca from beneath it and held the shaker to his lips like a microphone.
He was ready…but was Gabi?
It was only a couple seconds after this that one of the judges had started to speak.
"Okay, miss Hernández. Given how last time went, are you sure you can pull off some more effort this time?"
Vivo wanted to snap at that judge and point out that they did put effort into that performance —a lot of it— but he ultimately decided against it because of some very important facts being that she wouldn't be able to understand a word he said even if he did tell her off and there's also the need to take into consideration that this approach probably won't be given a warm reception.
Gabi exhaled deeply through her nostrils to try and calm her emotions as they threatened to wreak havoc like last time but she refused to let it. She put on a confident smile and a thumbs up and gave both to the inquiring judge.
"Y-Yeah." She affirmed, rather unconvincingly thanks to the tiny stutter lacing through her voice. "We'll do better this time."
The judges looked at one another questioningly.
Clearly they weren't too convinced.
But what other choice did Gabi or Vivo have?
The woman judge looked back up at the girl on the stage, her brows furrowing.
Then she gave a sigh of defeat.
"…Alright, Gabi and Vivo, the stage is yours."
A short-lived silence brewed between the twelve-year-old girl and the male musical Kinkajou as they momentarily mentally prepared themselves, recollecting everything they had rehearsed (or what little time they could dedicate towards doing so) and making sure with one another for the final time that they were 100 percent ready to do this.
It was after making sure of this that Gabi started to rap.
She was nervously, snapping her fingers and gesturing down to Vivo with both arms.
"…H-H-Hey, everybody!
This is Vivo and Gabi!
We're here to strut out stuff so,
please, don't think we're too shabby."
Vivo, catching on to Gabi's snappy backbeat, also started to snap the fingers of his right paw in order to harmonise with her snapping fingers and tapped his right foot in a rhythmic manner. His heart began to pound in his chest as the musical flowed through his veins like a rushing river flowing through a woodland creek.
With each passing second, the tension left both of their bodies as their confidence grew.
"We're here to blow y'all away as we tell the tale
of our adventure in Las Vegas while sharing our experiences.
We saw the bright lights and felt sensational superstardom
and viewed a world without fences!"
The musical partners and best friends transitioned from rapping to singing now.
As she took over singing, Gabi recalled what the theme of this performance was (with much credit given to Esteban) and she remembered the day out that they had as they explored the city of Las Vegas as much as they could squeeze into a day. She felt a little smile creep on to her face as she recalled the fun that she had with her family, with her mother, with Vivo and…with Esteban. Her brain and heart thumped simultaneously in unison as this also created a new beat with her snapping fingers.
"We saw the bright lights and
locations which shone like gold,
our memories unfold,
my heart felt so cold,
yet I remained bold."
Vivo took over singing from Gabi and shared his experiences through song.
He kept a tight grip on the maraca as he used it as a microphone, even shaking it to add a smidge of percussion to the song they were singing through improvisation. He remembered two years prior when Gabi had taught him that there would be times in life where he would have to improvise and this was one of these moments, he was certain of that. He tapped his feet against the stage floor, creating a resounding "click" sound which reverberated in the surrounding space.
He cast a grin to Gabi, who smiled back.
Vivo began to sing the next set of lyrics with a holler.
"We ventured through city nights
as we saw the city lights,
viewed the coolest of sights,
we didn't think twice,
it was like rolling a dice."
The Kinkajou swept a paw across his fluffy beige/cream-coloured tummy and chest and gave a polite bow before he dropped to stand on all fours and raced around the stage whilst occasionally leaping up high into the air before he somehow managed to stick a perfect landing that involved him landing back on all fours and balancing on Gabi's forearm.
His singing voice was loud and full of pride.
"Those lights took me to a new world,
and my emotions became unfurled…"
Vivo and Gabi both sang in a duet, the former lowering the volume so his singing voice sounded more low and surprisingly soothing.
"They will guide us to the lights of home…"
Vivo seized this moment to climb up Gabi's arm until he reached her shoulder and proceeded to sit himself down upon it while he wrapped the tip of his tail around he neck —but being careful not to make it so tight that she could possibly choke or strangle or hurt herself; Gabi's eyes fluttered closed as she allowed the male Kinkajou to take over from her as he sang gingerly, the latter gestured from himself to the young pre-teen with both paws in a pointed manner.
"We're one of a kind,
that's the way it should be.
But things change and
stay the same,
thats life and
that's how it seems."
Gabi scratched Vivo's ear for the second time as she sang her solo as the nostalgia of all that had occurred in this past week not only washed over her like an ocean wave crashing into a Sandy beach shore or even a sand dune, it even felt like she had a knife plunged into her back as she let the song both she and the Kinkajou sang carry her mind away to drift into a state of thoughtful reminiscence.
All fear gone, Gabi narrowed her eyes whilst grinning in a courageous manner while she raised a leg out in front of herself and stomped one foot hard on the ground.
BANG!
That resounding "bang" sent shock waves so intense that it caused the judges to almost leap out of their seats. It also jostled the audience a little as they were shocked that the girl did that out of nowhere, the noise even resounded and bounced from the walls and ceiling.
The thrill and pleasure she got from seeing the judges looking disgruntled made her heart soar and her voice even carried a firm and unrelenting undertone.
She sounded much braver than earlier.
"Fame and improvement calls
our names like a sirens call.
It's the same with friendship and love
and those two things conquer all.
Las Vegas has taught us and
befriended us while we met new friends
and saw new things and all of 'em priceless,
comparable to a diamond ring!"
Vivo swung back and forth while he kept clinging on to Gabi's shoulder, hanging from her neck by his tail. He raised his voice to harmonise with his best friend and owner as he spread his arms out to the sides while memories of everything that happened this passed week popped into his mind and played flashbacks like a sad movie scene where the main character has random memories pop in there without much rhyme or reason other than to serve the plot.
"Las Vegas has it all with its fun and games
and bottomless fame, pool, sights,
poker and nighttime fun,
accompanied by non-stop scenery which ain't lame,
while we had fun and ran around, untamed!"
Gabi sang the finishing verse, allowing Vivo to pick up where she stopped singing so he could carry on after her. Her eyelids slid open and her voice carried through the air like a bird taking flight and soaring across the air, using the atmosphere itself to further its gliding distance more and more. She sung as loud but as fervently as she possibly could —so much so that she was fairly certain that she'd wind up with a sore throat tomorrow.
"Las Vegas is great but I wanna find my lights of home."
Vivo allowed Marie to not only enter his thoughts but consume them as he sang the next verse purely from the heart. His singing voice was low but full of emotion as he sprang to his feet and proceeded to climb up Gabi's arm and then he perched upon her shoulder, hanging his head and kept his eyes closed as he sang from the deepest and darkest chasm within his heart.
"I finally found her."
The male Kinkajou remembered everything about Marie as he sung.
He remembered her eyes, sightless but beautiful, he remembered her scent which was a unique combination of peaches and the scent of a newly-paved road, he remembered her smile which would practically knock him off of his own two feet it was so pretty…he might have only known her for a week but he had practically fallen for her. He could have spent a whole day with her, showing her the world in which he grew up in and give her a break from her lonesome yet dark world.
"I looked into her eyes,
saw her smile,
heard her heartbeat…"
Vivo didn't know why but he suddenly felt the need to insert a sort of reprise to that song he had sung the night before him and his family left for Las Vegas, albeit shifting the lyrics a little to be more appropriate now that he had met Marie and she had entered his life. It was scary to think how much time had passed by without him even realising —it felt as though it had been one day since they had arrived and now…their time here was coming to an end.
His singing voice was as smooth as butter and cool as ice.
With one hand he reached up and twirled his own little fedora thatch hat despite it still sitting on top of his head and kept singing, his voice raising in volume with each passing moment. He kept snapping his fingers in time with Gabi's own snapping fingers as neither of them even noticed the fact that some back-up performers had added their own instrumental with some random instruments they had dug out from somewhere.
"I found the one who I can share my world with,
the one to understand me.
I found someone to hold and someone to befriend,
depend, defend, interdepend!
I found someone to agree!"
Vivo's heart swelled to an enormous size as he thought of what could be…and what couldn't be.
He wanted to live a life with Marie.
He wanted to get to know her better, he wanted to get to know of her likes and dislikes, he wanted to learn how to make her smile, he wanted to learn how to make her heart soar. He wanted to earn the way into her heart and he wanted to hold her in his arms; he wanted to have Marie be part of his familia.
But he was probably going to have to say goodbye soon…
"I found the one I can share my songs with,
the one to share my heart with,
the one to share my memories with,
the one to share my life with."
The two best friends both sang in unison once more, their voices harmonising perfectly, and they begin to get ready for the final verse and prepare accordingly for it. Vivo leaned his back heavily against the left side of Gabi's neck while Gabi wore the biggest smile she had worn since arriving in Las Vegas and she patted the Kinkajou on the head in a soft and gentle way.
"…Everyone together will find the lights of hoooooome…"
Their eyes drifted closed simultaneously as they came to a finish.
Everyone in the audience remained silent for a terse couple of seconds before the entire room exploded into a massive round of applause as well as screams, whoops, cheers and high-pitched whistles.
Gabi nor Vivo could quite believe it as their eyelids dragged themselves open and exposed their wide-as-dinner-plate-eyeballs with shrunken pinprick pupils full of near disbelief that so many people were shrieking so loud that it was a miracle no windows had shattered yet. The duo couldn't help but begin to soak in all the praise and attention and they both wore their share of smiles as their brains absorbed this reality like a sponge:
They…must not have done too bad…
The applause and cheering was beginning to die down when the judges signalled for the audience to simmer down and it wasn't long before all was so quiet that someone could hear a pin drop; all eyes had fixed upon the three judges and weren't even going to try flickering anywhere else until the judgmental trio gave their consensus.
"Alright!" Marta cheered, walking on to the stage and greeting both Vivo and Gabi. "After that performance, it is time for the judges to give their opinion before the viewers at home vote for who should win the Neon lights competition/contest and the cash bonus to go with it."
Gabi shuffled her foot anxiously as she looked at the judges with a hint of worry etched upon her face.
Her heart shuddered at the mere thought of being told off like she had been the other day. She knew that the woman judge didn't mean any harm and was trying to be candid and realistic with her…but she'd rather avoid that at all costs if she could help it. Even though she was a ball of nerves at the start, said nerves had settled relatively quickly and it heightened her courage.
One of the men judges was the first to speak up.
"Welp. Gabi, Vivo…I honestly wasn't expecting something like that after last time. Sure you were a lil' bit nervous before but it seems now that you've gotten stronger and I'm very impressed!"
Vivo felt a huge weight lift itself off of his shoulders when he heard that and he knew that the girl whose shoulder he sat on felt the same way —he could tell because of the deep breath she instantly exhumed after those words left that judge's mouth and she just seemed to relax in her tense posture as he could feel the tension in her muscles underneath him.
He smiled to himself and to Gabi.
One down, two to go.
The second judge, another man, gave his two cents on the topic.
"Yeah." He gave a nod of his head "I was a little unsure about how well you and that little…errr…is he a possum?"
Gabi shook her head while Vivo looked outright offended and she corrected him while giving an awkward shrug of her shoulders. The shrug of her shoulders almost caused said Kinkajou of the topic to topple off her shoulder and plummet towards the stage floor below.
"He's a Kinkajou, not a possum. I made that mistake once."
The judge resumed what he was saying.
"Right. I wasn't sure whether or not you or your little fuzzy friend would be up to the task after what happened last time but I'm pretty sure that you guys just stole the show and could be top pickings this year, seriously, that was a great performance!"
Vivo took offence to being referred to as a possum or such, it made him feel puny and insignificant. He felt this way when he was being treated like luggage and he felt this way when people treated him like some sort of fuzzy little pet that just loved being cooed over and treated like a baby. It was degrading and it made his own saliva thin inside of his mouth due to nausea.
He huffed through his nostrils.
Now wasn't the time to be thinking of such things.
Two positive responses so far, time for that critical third one!
The woman judge, seated in between her two colleagues, watched the scene unfold before her with the utmost patience.
The woman seemed as though she were a bit lost for words at first until she hung her head a bit with a guilty expression, her long chestnut brown hair hanging over her face to conceal the hurt that flashed across her facial features. She looked really sincere as she fumbled with her fingers and thumbs in an awkward manner while she pondered carefully on her next choice of words.
"I…I owe you an apology." The woman judge uttered "I know that I needed to share my concerns but I know I should have handled it better. I'm sorry that I hurt you, Miss Hernández…you and Vivo too."
Gabi and Vivo exchanged a surprised look.
They hadn't expected such a heartfelt apology come from the young woman and, while they knew that she was just doing her job, that didn't stop them from feeling the sickening sensation of guilt burrowing deeper and deeper into their intestines as they tried to get passed that awful harrowing emotional burrowing that dug through like some sort of drill.
Gabi smiled gently and in a forgiving manner.
"Hey, it's okay. It was something I needed to hear."
It was true.
While the woman judge's words the other day were harsh, it was definitely something that she had to hear. She would not have been able to come to terms with her feelings if she didn't receive that bunch of sort-of-constructive-criticism…actually, it emboldened the twelve-year-old girl to the point where she made her mind about what to do if they did win.
She was way more confident than before.
The lady judge looked to Vivo with a kind smile.
"You both had done much better this time around, you were still a little nervous but it didn't show as much as it did before."
Vivo gave a nod of gratitude while he tipped his hat to her in a gentlemanly manner as he felt really humbled right about now. All this heart-warming fluff made his body heat up on the inside, especially his face, as he knew that animals couldn't really blush like humans could but the fact that there was a bright scarlet tint to him couldn't be helped.
The woman judge returned to her state of professionalism and grinned knowingly at her comrades.
That was the moment when Marta popped up again with the microphone in hand as she gave another announcement that echoed around the dome-shaped concert hall. Like always, she had an energetic look in her elderly but hot-chocolate-warm eyes that could drown you in their loving sugary sweetness.
"Que diga ¡presente!" Cried Marta. "I've received word on the contest results."
The contestants finally reunited for the last time as they all gathered on the stage so they can each hear who won.
Tensions were high.
The electrifying atmosphere threatened to suck all oxygen out of everyone occupying the hall.
It was so stifling that it was hard to breathe.
There was a looming yet ominous air that hung over everything like a ever-growing thick blanket of snow.
The excitement was palpable…
The tension in the air effected everyone and it was doubly so on stage as they found it difficult to grit their teeth and bare what was going on —everyone could hardly breathe, their hearts were racing in their chest so much that everyone could fall to the ground in a literal domino effect due to heart attacks, their trains of thought was screeching wildly off the tracks…
Everyone stood in a line and they hung their heads so low that their expressions were shielded by the shadows cast over their faces.
Marta, too, hung her head as she read the very important card which she'd been handed.
Vivo couldn't stand the suspense!
This was a do or die situation.
He hoped that their stars would align and everything would turn out alright.
"Bien, todos Echemos la precaución al viento…" Marta muttered before looking down at the card and reading the words written within. "And the winner of the Neon Lights Concert/Competition is…."
Without warning, spot lights shone down on each contestant and danced around the stage.
The tension rose higher and higher as the seconds slowed to a torturous crawl.
The elderly woman trailed off for what felt like an eternity before she finally announced the winners.
"…..Vivo and Gabriella!"
Time actually stopped as it took a few painstakingly long seconds for that to properly sink in.
Vivo nor Gabi could believe it at first.
This couldn't be happening.
They…had won…!?
Had the world just turned upside down!?
As the news properly sunk in, Vivo and Gabi both broke into such massive grins that they were sure that their faces would split into several pieces!
This must have been some wild dream that Vivo would awaken from any second, he actually wanted to punch himself to triple-check whether or not he was still awake or had somehow fallen asleep at random. This was incredible and he wanted to squeal like a little girl on helium but he knew that he'd lose any respect he'd just received so decided against it.
Before Gabi could even register what was happening, she was handed a cheque with a ton of money on it and, as she read the price on front of it, her jaw practically hit the floor like a sack of rocks in a pool of water.
Her eyes were so wide they could have easily popped out of their sockets.
But then the twelve-year-old did something nobody expected:
Gabi graciously meandered over to Ella and then handed the prize money over to the young girl and her dog. Ella was beaming with a mixture of prolonged shock and joy as she received the large cheque and the audience was going psychotic as they cooed at the sweet and charitable gesture.
The purple-haired twelve-year-old smiled a bright smile as she, Vivo and everyone else watched in near-astonishment of what had just transpired.
Ella looked as though she couldn't believe it.
Then, when it apparently sunk in, the young girl proceeded to jump up and down before she dropped to her little knees and wrapped both arms around the white-furred golden retriever stood next to her.
Gabi was thrilled beyond belief that the girl was going to have her dad around…unlike her —a small part of her wondered whether or not her dad was looking down on her with pride, whether she was making her dad happy wherever he resides now? The scene made her heart melt into a puddle of mush and goo and her eyes threatened to swell with oncoming tears but she bit her lip to try and prevent it.
She couldn't allow herself to even risk sobbing in public.
Vivo couldn't have been more prouder as he hugged the left side of Gabi's face tight, smooshing her cheek in the process.
This was a dream come true!
….But there was someone missing and without her, this dream come true wouldn't be complete.
The Hernández family went rushing back to the veterinarian office as soon as all of the "congratulations" were exchanged.
Rosa nor Esteban wished to be rude by leaving the party early but they had been thinking on whether or not they wanted to bring home the female Kinkajou and they wanted to see how she was doing after her surgery. They weren't sure whether or not they could handle a blind Kinkajou and the costs of medical care was probably going to be as tight as a spring coil.
They wished to speak to Gabi candidly about how they probably weren't going to be capable of housing another mouth to feed.
They made a mad dash out the door of the concert hall and crammed themselves into the back of another parked limo (it was probably the very same one as the one they arrived in) and asked hurriedly that the chauffeur drive them to the vets office as they were driven by pure anxiety on whether to see if the female Kinkajou was going to be alright.
The rain had started to fall once again.
This felt like some sort of bad omen…
Gabi had lugged her backpack over her back while Vivo had remained in his carrier, despite still loathing it —they were still getting over the rush of discovering that they had won but there was some news lurking in the shadows and whether it was good or bad, nobody knew.
…Things definitely looked to be off to a bad start when they arrived at the vet and found that the vet was waiting outside the vet door. He looked disheveled and disorganised as he looked as though he'd been forced to chase a chicken all day with a dishevelled appearance.
The doctor came up to the group with a frazzled and rather grim expression on his face.
"I'm sorry but the female Kinkajou is gone." He said, downcast.
Everyone froze when the veterinarian had said those words and looked at him in pure horror, especially Vivo.
He felt as though his entire body had been wrapped up in snow and his feet plunged in ice cold water. His heart skipped a beat. Marie…had gone? She couldn't have gone, she was too strong! But…could it maybe also be the case that she also ran off before they could check up on her after the surgery she went through?
The male Kinkajou wanted to demand what the vet meant but someone else had already beat him to it.
"Gone?" Gabi repeated, her voice shaking. "What do you mean gone?"
The vet seemed to realise his error and amended his statement, but it did little to lessen anyone's worries or concern.
"What I mean to say is that she escaped."
A/N: Dun, dun duuuuuuuuuun!
So the contest has been won…but at what cost?
What can happen now?
Where did Marie go?
How did she even escape?
So many questions and they will be answered.
I hope you guys liked not only this chapter which is my longest chapter ever so far with a whopping 9,272 words in total! This story is beginning to come to an end but will it be a happy ending or will things go downhill?
Find out in the next chapter!
-Chloemcg