Felipe was waiting for his father, just as he had promised, and was relieved to see him uninjured, especially considering he had dreamt the previous night that Zorro would be shot, and he was desperately worried. Diego took off his hat and his gloves, then started untying his mask as soon as he arrived.
"De Soto didn't even call the lancers." He recounted as he revealed his face. "Thank you for waiting for me, Felipe… We are overdue for a conversation. I've been meaning to talk to you about Mya." He said. "I know you are meeting her in secret at night so, before you go any further with this relationship, I believe there are a few things about her you might need to know."
His son signaled that he knew already all he needed to know and there was no need for such talk.
"No, I don't think you do. I think she might be lying about who she is, and I don't believe it would be wise for you to continue your courtship."
Felipe knew Diego didn't approve of his relationship with Mya at first, but learning he was still opposed to him marrying the woman he loved was more than he could handle. Suddenly, he became so enraged with his adopted parent when he said expressed his suspicions that he instantly headed towards the spyhole to check the library, so that he could escape the conversation.
Realizing the library was not a safe escape route, since Don Alejandro was reading there, he made his way towards the back of the cave, decided to exit the other way.
Diego realized by Felipe's reaction that he had made a mistake and followed him, but dared not exit the cave dressed as Zorro without his mask. Returning, he considered changing his clothes but opted for putting his mask back on, since it was faster, and exiting the cave still dressed in black.
Felipe was about to turn right between some big boulders, which led to a ravine ending in a meadow behind the hacienda, when he saw Mya pointing a gun at something behind him. He instinctively turned to see what that was and gasped as he realized that the gun was pointed at his father. Looking back at her, he saw her pressing on the trigger, so he lunged towards the man who had raised him.
Seconds later, the black-clad man was holding his dying son in his arms, glancing in consternation between him and the person who had shot him.
Mya suddenly came out from her hiding place, pointing her re-loaded pistol at him.
"You? Why?" Was all the grief-struck Zorro could ask.
"Step away from him, Outlaw!" She commanded, getting closer.
Felipe looked at her and he tried to mutter something, but no sound left his throat. Glancing at his father once more, he gave his last breath.
Trembling, tears pouring from his eyes, Zorro carefully arranged his son's body on the ground and stood up, looking at Mya with a mixture of disgust and rage nobody had ever before seen on his face.
She neared him, indicating that he should distance himself from Felipe. He took a step back, slowly reaching for the whip still attached to his belt.
Betraying neither remorse nor pain about her lover's passing, she lowered herself to check his pulse. At that moment, as she was distracted, Zorro, who disarmed her with one quick thrash of his whip. She raised to her feet as he drew his sword and met his challenge by drawing hers.
"You will pay for this, Senora!" He uttered in an icy voice as he saluted and attacked, for the first time in his life completely ignoring both the fact that she was a woman and his decision to never take another's life.
She was an able contender despite his skills, and her fighting style was different from anything he had seen before. He remained calm and composed as he attacked viciously. They were a match, however, his skills just as good as hers and vice-versa, so the duel took them to the meadow and back, only luck and the siesta making so that they were not heard and nobody hurried to see what was happening. Determined to put an end to it, Mya guided him back towards the boulders and thrusted viciously. Realizing the stakes, Zorro left his left side open as she trusted once more, sacrificing himself as her move impaled her in his sword just moments before she thrusted hers through his heart.
He expected to die soon, preparing himself to feel the taste of blood in his mouth and see the sky for the last time as he did the one thing he had promised himself never to do: kill another. When death did not come, nor the pain of the sword entering through his chest and exiting through his back, he realized he had just been saved, at the last moment, by Duncan, who had deflected her attack.
"This does not concern you, MacLeod!" She shouted at him, her right hand pressing on her bleeding wound, her right reaching down for her sword.
"Yes, it does!" He replied. Zorro noticed with stupor that his hands, which he was certain to have been badly injured in the fire, looked perfectly fine and had no one scar or wound on them. "You need to stop this before doing something you'll regret!"
"Step out of the way, Senor Duncan!" Zorro asked as he realized he had not caused Mya a mortal wound, as he had first thought. "She killed Felipe, and she will pay for it!"
"She did what?" Duncan asked. "I thought you said you wanted him to grow old!" He addressed Mya.
"I did. It was him I was trying to shoot!" She pointed at Zorro. "He was following Felipe. God knows why he jumped in front of the bullet!"
"He did it to protect his father!" Duncan pointed out. The black-clad man looked confusedly towards him, and Mya gasped at looking towards the man she had been fighting.
"Diego?" She asked dumbfounded, as she retreated. "But… Zorro is supposed to be a dangerous outlaw!"
"Perhaps you should have paid more attention." Duncan pointed out. "The people of Los Angeles consider him a hero. He's saved most of them one way or another. If you try to harm him, you'll have to fight me first!"
"I can take care of myself, Senor!" Zorro pointed out, heading towards Mya. "You killed my son, and I will make sure you hang for this, even if I hang right next to you!" He proceeded to tell her.
Realizing she wasn't inclined to fight him anymore, he headed for his son, intended on picking him up and take him back to the hacienda, not even carrying that two other people had found out his secret.
As he reached to lift him, Felipe took a deep breath and suddenly opened his eyes. The two men stared at each-other open-mouthed as Mya and Duncan headed towards them.
"There's an explanation for this," Duncan uttered as Zorro was checking Felipe's wound, realizing it had disappeared, the blood on his shirt and back only remaining indicator he had been shot.
He swallowed hard, then glanced between his son and the other two people who had witnessed his resurrection. He noticed then that Mya had stopped holding her wound, and realizing she was no longer bleeding. At that moment all he had read in the notebooks flooded his mind as he came to the impossible conclusion which was also the only one to make sense.
"He's an Immortal." He stated as he looked at his son, confusing everyone. "Just like the two of you."
"What makes you think we are Immortals?" Duncan questioned hesitantly.
Zorro took his time answering as he was still doing his best to come to terms with his newly-found knowledge.
Felipe stared at him wide-eyed and clearly terrified.
"I know that you are Duncan MacLeod of the Clan Macleod, and I'm guessing you are about two hundred years old. And you are Myrina of the Amazons, which makes you over two thousand years old. Ancient, as you said yourself. Senor Luna is also one of you, isn't he? Murad Osman by his true name." The black-clad man eventually answered.
"How can you possibly know all that?" Mya wondered.
"You'll find I prefer to keep my secrets, Your Majesty!" Zorro answered.
"I can take care of him from now on. You can say he left…" Duncan suggested.
"Say he left?"
"Considering what just happened, I assume you no longer want him around. I can help him…"
"No longer want him? What are you talking about? He's my son!"
"But… he just came back to life."
"Thank God!" Zorro stated, looking lovingly towards the younger man.
Mya and Duncan stared at each other.
"You're not going to kick him out?" Mya asked.
"Of course, not! Why would I do that?"
"That's what most parents do, from my experience."
"My father claimed I was a demon when I first came back. Chased me out of my village." Duncan told him.
"Forgive me, Senor, but your father was undeserving to be one, in that case!" Zorro simply stated. "You saved my life, Felipe, and I am grateful for that. But you shouldn't have done it. I never wanted you to sacrifice yourself to save me!"
*I've always been willing to die for you, Father!* His son signaled, just before the older man embraced him, holding him tight to his chest.
"Since you're like him, I'd appreciate you telling us everything. The whole truth!" Zorro demanded of the two Immortals a few minutes later, as he finally let go of the younger man. "Should you help Felipe and myself understand better his… condition, I might consider telling you how and what I know about the two of you."
ZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZHZ
After arresting Senor Luna, De Soto asked Doctor Hernandez about the knife and his discoveries at studying the bodies, the doctor innocently disclosing that Diego had also investigated the case – "for The Guardian," he added -, explaining that the don was the one who had recognized the metal piece he had found under the carbonized body to be an ottoman dagger.
That was when the most outrageous idea started taking shape in the Alcalde's mind.
Returning to his office, De Soto proceeded to confront both the accounts of the mischievous deeds performed by Zorro during the years, and his other registers, noticing with increasing amazement a strange pattern which only served to cement the conclusion his mind still struggled to accept.
The entire night he remained there, deep in thought, ignoring the dinner Mendoza had brought and left for him on the table, and not even noticing when the morning came.
He was startled out of his thoughts when Mendoza came again, this time to bring him his breakfast and retrieve the tray with the previous evening's intact meal in it.
"Sergeant," De Soto asked pensively, not returning his man's salute, but accepting the cup of coffee he had brought him "tell me… Do you remember a certain Englishman called Sir Edmund Kendall?"
He had found a reference to the man in one of the registers regarding the travelers tax, as well as a report informing of his death.
"Si, Alcalde. I remember he was a good friend of Don Alejandro. But he had a price on his head. A bounty hunter followed him from Spain, and the former Alcalde, Luis Ramon, set a trap for him and he was shot. Don Diego took him to the church and claimed sanctuary. Zorro brought Doctor Hernandez to help him, but it was too late… Don Diego was very upset about his death."
"I see. So Diego also knew Sir Kendall?"
"Si, Alcalde. He had been his professor at the university. Sir Kendall said Don Diego had been his best student."
"Kendall's best student? Are you sure?"
"Si… That's what he said. Was he also one of your professors?"
"No, Sergeant. He only accepted ten new students per year. I didn't make the cut." De Soto answered in a clear state of controlled rage.
"What subject…"
"You are dismissed, Sergeant!" De Soto informed his man and Mendoza hurriedly left the office. "You are quite the actor, Senor!" The Alcalde uttered just for himself after he left. "I should have remembered that sooner. But I will have the last laugh after all!"
De Soto stood up and returned to his room where he proceeded in putting on his last good military tunic, then primed his pistol and sharpened his sword. He finally had his answer. He finally knew the face and the name of his nemesis.
Cursing Mendoza for never having mentioned Sir Kendall's claims about Diego de la Vega, he eventually excused his man's ignorance, realizing he was unaware that Sir Edmund Kendall had been the best swordsman in Europe; for decades undefeated in competition.
Ignacio also admitted it was all his fault, really. That he should have recognized Zorro's swords since he had faced it before, when he had tried to prove himself worthy to be trained by the Englishman.
He should have remembered a great many things, he realized.
Like how good an actor Diego had proven himself to be when they had first met at the University of Madrid, and acted together in a Passion play.
Then there were those devices the fiend had used against him and his men. Diego had been the best chemist in university. Even if he was a senior and De la Vega just a freshman, he had heard his fellow student commenting on the Californian's propensity to correct their chemistry professor and prove to be right every time.
He had not given those issues much importance then, just as he had not even cared to find out why the young don always carried a sword while in the Spanish capital, which was a much less dangerous place than Los Angeles, yet never wore one in public since his return to California.
Assumptions. Those had been his main mistakes. Making assumptions about the caballero. Accepting the façade he presented to the others, unwilling to dwell too much on the change in his character he himself had noticed upon arriving in that God-forsaken pueblo.
Doing his best to rein on his anger, De Soto properly armed himself, put on his white gloves, and, after a quick look towards the plaza, which was enough to assure him that Diego was at the tavern, he headed towards the cuartel's internal courtyard. Once there, he assembled his men, instructing them to surround Victoria Escalante's establishment and allow for no one to exit it. Hoping to take Diego by surprise, he avoided providing his men with more information.
Fifteen of his lancers were prepared to follow him outside, just as they heard the commotion in the plaza. He ordered for the cuartel's gates to be opened and, as they exited, they found themselves face-to-face with a military contingent, three times larger than the Los Angeles' own garrison, all men mounted, bearing the flag and the uniforms of the Rebel Mexican Army.
Suddenly, arresting his arch-nemesis was no longer De Soto's top priority.
"Are you Alcalde Ignacio de Soto?" The man leading the small army asked.
"Who wants to know and why?" He inquired.
"I am Lieutenant Alfonso Chavez. I'm here to assume command of this pueblo and to place you under arrest." Came the reply.
The lancers pointed their muskets towards the newcomers, ready to defend their leader.
"Put down your weapons and you will be spared." The Mexican lieutenant informed them. "My men have orders to execute all those who raise arms against the authorities of the free Mexican Empire, and you will achieve nothing but sign your death warrant should you decide to protect this man. Put your muskets down and you will be allowed to continue on your positions if you declare your loyalty to the Empire."
"My men are loyal to me!" De Soto informed Chavez. "You, Senor, and your rebel army will be made an example of!"
"You are the rebel, De Soto! This territory now belongs to Mexico. It had belonged to Mexico for months. The Governor has already surrendered Monterey and left for Spain, just like most of the other Alcaldes in the territory. You, however, in light of your criminal behavior, will be facing the gallows. Take him!" He ordered.
The lancers, unwilling to die for a man they didn't even respect, put down their muskets and raised their hands in surrender. A few minutes later, despite his protests, De Soto was locked in one of the cells, Senor Luna, who proved to be an undercover Mexican soldier, was released, and the lancers were informed about their options: swear allegiance to the new Empire or leave on the first ship to Spain. Being all born in the territory now claimed by Mexico, unable to imagine living somewhere else, they all took the oath of allegiance.