"I'm so sorry, Don Diego!" The Sergeant said as he opened the jail door to the cell where Felipe and several of the De la Vega servants and vaqueros were being held.

"I know you're just doing your duty, Sergeant!" The caballero answered as he entered, seemingly resigned to his fate, before embracing his adoptive son. "Are you alright, Felipe?" He asked.

The young man nodded and signed he was doing well but was worried about him.

"Have any of you been hurt?" Diego then asked the other prisoners as Mendoza exited, leaving two of his men to guard the imprisoned people.

"We have not been harmed, Patron. But the Alcalde said he'd hang us for being your accomplices." One of the vaqueros, a tall, well-built man called Manolo answered.

"I'm very sorry about all this!" Diego sighed.

"Why is he doing this, Patron?" Maria questioned. "Is it true you joined the rebels?"

"It's not for that why he's doing all this," Diego replied. "I had been arrested with a group of rebels, but I only ended up in their camp because they had caused my horse to rear, and I hit my head. I spent almost two weeks unable to even remember who I was. But the Governor already gave me a pardon for that incident, and Ignacio just ripped it up and accused me of being Zorro. I think he believes I spent the last decade living a double life and you all helped me." He explained while subtly winking at Felipe.

"But you can't be Zorro, Patron! You can't fight, and you're not even that good a horseman! I saw you fall from Esperanza several times. And your father himself told me on more than one occasion how bad a tracker you are." Another of the vaqueros uttered. "Besides, everyone knows Zorro is dead!"

"Yes… But I don't believe Ignacio is willing to listen to reason, Pablo." Diego replied. "Don't worry, though. He plans to hang me first, and before he does, I'll make sure to tell everyone you are all innocent!"

"He can't hang you, Don Diego!" Maria muttered, tears in her eyes.

"I can't do much to stop him. He ignored an official pardon from the Governor because he's convinced it can't apply to Zorro." The caballero answered. "All we can do right now is… pray."

As he said that, he sighed and kneeled before the window, looking at the sky. Felipe rapidly followed his lead, and the others did the same after glancing in confusion at one another.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Diego muttered and all those present followed his example, except for Felipe, who just stood there in silence. "Our heavenly Father, we pray that you deliver us from the Alcalde's hands and find a way to prove our innocence. You know better than anyone else what is in our hearts, and that none of us deserves to die at the end of a noose. But if it's your will that our lives end today, please make our deaths quick and painless." The caballero continued to pray. "Amen!"

The people were even more baffled after that prayer than they were before it, and, if there was even a small doubt in any of their minds that Diego wasn't Zorro, it had vanished before he said "Amen."

As they stood up, only Felipe noticed his adoptive father had taken the chance to extract a knife from his boots and place it inside his right-hand sleeve in such a way that it was almost impossible to notice unless somebody knew what to look for.

ZZZ

It was late afternoon when the gallows were ready and, as the daylight began to fade, after a short visit from the monk who was replacing Padre Benitez for the day and who was only allowed to give him the last rites, Diego was escorted to the scaffold. The padre walked behind him, followed him up the stairs, said a prayer and made the sign of the cross just before taking a step back and nodding to the Alcalde that they could proceed.

The plaza was packed with people having come to protest the execution, especially since rumors about the reason for it had spread through the territory as wildfire. Among those shouting, most were asking that Zorro would be released, while others, especially the caballeros, unable to believe that Diego could be the masked outlaw, simply requested for him to be given a fair trial so that he'd have the chance to prove he wasn't Zorro.

The Alcalde ignored them all, and inwardly smiled at imagining the praises he'd get when, at returning to Madrid, he'd be able to inform the King that he had managed to finally capture and execute the man who had been a pain in his side for years and had become a true symbol of opposition to the Crown.

"People of Los Angeles," De Soto started as Diego silently begun cutting the ropes tying his hands at his back, "we are all here to witness the end of an era. An era during which a bandit hiding behind the mask of a caballero has terrorized this pueblo. Make no mistake, my fellow Los Angelinos, the man you see before you, the one we all know as Don Diego de la Vega is no other than that heinous fiend calling himself Zorro. He has deceived us all, but I, Ignacio de Soto, have always seen right through him. This is why, on this monumental occasion, I gathered you here–"

"May I say something?" Diego interrupted him.

"Not now, Diego!" The Alcalde answered. "As I was saying –"

"When can I speak? Shouldn't all condemned men be given the chance to utter some last words?" The caballero inquired, interrupting him again.

The Alcalde frowned before replying. "You can say whatever you have to say when I'm done making my speech." He answered. "As I was saying –"

"I'm sorry, Ignacio, I only interrupted because I thought you were done," Diego muttered just loud enough for most people there to hear him and smile at his unique form of defiance.

Again De Soto frowned as he turned towards the caballero. "Very well, Senor! If you're in such a hurry to die, please say what you have to say, and let's get this over with!" He uttered in a threatening tone, some glee in his voice, despite the frustration he was barely able to hide.

"I want to tell everyone here that none of the De la Vega employees or my family members was in any way my accomplice. It is true that I have been arrested for being found with the rebels after leaving Monterey. But I was only with them because I was thrown off my horse and lost my memory, and Correna's men tried to help me. I was unconscious when I was taken to prison, and only know I had been arrested because I was told about it later." Diego said and most people could not suppress a smile at his words, despite the circumstances. "Even the Governor eventually understood that, and offered me a pardon…"

"That's very well, Diego, but you are to be hanged for being Zorro, not for being a rebel."

"How can you believe I am Zorro, Ignacio? And even if I was Zorro, which everyone will tell you is absurd, why would you execute the De la Vega employees and a deaf-mute young man just for living and working in the same house with me? They aren't guilty of anything!" He argued, trying to make it seem like he was doing his best to convince De Soto to let the others go.

"Well… After you die, I might reconsider what to do about them. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." De Soto informed him, then chuckled. "What would be the point anyways? It's not like you'll be able to breathe with a broken neck." He continued maliciously "Sergeant, proceed with the execution!"

"But, Alcalde…" Mendoza muttered, unwilling to obey that particular command.

"Now, Sergeant!" De Soto again ordered.