"… And this is my offerings room!" Ernesto gestured at the large piles of food, guitars and other bits and bobs, "All of this has been given to me by my fans in the Land of the Living!"
Miguel resisted the urge to groan…. He'd been on his feet for ages and there was no sign of his great great grandfather anywhere. Meeting his musical hero was nice, and the other famous people were really friendly… but he was tired, and he wanted to go home now.
And he was really fed up of the little dogs running around trying to trip him up.
"They leave me more offerings than I know what to do with." Ernesto continued, seemingly unaware that Miguel had stopped enjoying the tour long ago, "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate each and every one of them but- "
Suddenly, he stopped, clearly having only just noticed that Miguel was looking a little fed-up, "I'm sorry, this can all get a little overwhelming. Just tell me if you need a little break."
"Actually…" Miguel nervously rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish grin on his face, "… I wanted to ask you something."
"Of course! Of course, anything I can do to- "
"- You knew my great great grandfather."
Ernesto stopped in his tracks, shock written all over his face as the scanned Miguel from head to toe. "I-I did?"
"Yeah, I think you used to play together!" Miguel started to bounce up and down on the spot, the excitement started to bubble up, "I found an old photo and he had your guitar!"
Immediately, the atmosphere seemed to change in the room, as Ernesto straightened up. The friendly, welcoming smile had completely disappeared from his face, and he looked…. Terrifying.
Unwillingly, Miguel found himself shrinking back, his instincts screaming at him to submit to the larger, more powerful Alpha. It was then that he noticed they seemed to be at the back of the tower…. Where there were no crowds to be seen.
"What was your name again?" Ernesto asked, the words almost coming through as a hiss.
"I-I…. Miguel Rivera." The teenager stammered, the feeling of nausea building up as a wicked smirk flashed across Ernesto's face.
"Rivera… of course you are."
Before Miguel could question the strange statement, a side door opened and two large, suited betas (dressed very similar to the bodyguards scattered around the tower) strode up, a familiar figure struggling between them.
"We found him boss!" one of the men announced, clearly not having noticed that Miguel was in the room, "He wasn't quite at the competition, but he was fairly close."
Miguel growled at the sight of the struggling omega, stepping forwards as his fists clenched up, a surge of protectiveness rising up quickly.
"What are you doing with him?!" he yelled, an Alpha growl in his voice, "Put him down!"
The omega seemed relieved to see him, a beam appearing on his face… only for it to be replaced by fear when he spotted who was standing beside Miguel.
"He's scared of you…" Miguel whispered, turning to Ernesto and taking several steps back at the look on the other Alpha's face, "… Why is he scared of you?"
Ernesto didn't answer him, a wicked smirk appearing on his face as he made his way over to the struggling omega.
"I thought I'd never find you again…" he muttered, barely audible of the omega's panicked whines, "… when you ran away all those years ago, I thought about getting the police involved. Aren't you grateful that I didn't Hector?"
Hector… Miguel frowned, stepping closer as the omega met his eyes, a pleading look in them.
Ernesto was quick to notice that.
"You won't remember him will you Hector…" Ernesto reached back and grabbed Miguel's arm, pulling him closer, "… Judging by those bones, they still won't put your picture on the ofrenda. Do you even know who you are to one another?"
"What are you talking about?!" Miguel exclaimed, trying to get free, "Let me go! Let him go!"
"Miguel Rivera… great great grandson of Hector Rivera."
The words caused Miguel to stop what he was doing, the shock sinking into his bones as he stared at the trapped omega.
Of course.
It explained everything.
"It was you…" he whispered, slowly, turning to Ernesto, "… he went with you and never came back… because you killed him."
"Clever, clever boy." Ernesto hissed, tightening his grip.
"B-But, why?!"
"… He should have been mine."
The omega instantly whimpered at the words and shook his head, struggling a little more.
"He doesn't really know who I am…" Ernesto mused, "… amazing what a missing piece can do to someone's mind." Slowly, he pulled a small box from his pocket, and when Miguel listened closely, he could hear something rattling about inside it.
"I think I prefer you like this Hector…" the older Alpha continued, "… you weren't a very well-behaved omega before. This is much better."
Miguel snapped.
With a feral growl, sounding a lot braver than he felt, he wrenched his arm free and lunged at De La Cruz, pushing the Alpha's betrayal to the back of his mind and focusing on the omega… on his great, great grandpa.
They needed to get out of here, they needed to find Mama Imelda.
Ernesto barely stumbled back at his challenge, raising an eyebrow arch in amusement as his bodyguards dropped Hector to the ground and rushed to grab Miguel instead.
"Get rid him." He ordered one of them, "On no account, is he allowed anywhere near this building again."
"And the omega boss?"
Ernesto glanced over at the shaking figure on the floor, "Throw him in the pit…" he ordered the other bodyguard, "… I'll deal with him after the show."
With Miguel being dragged one way and the omega the other way, the younger Alpha started to struggle violently.
"Why are you doing this?!" he screamed at the Alpha he'd once idolised, "WHY?!"
Just before he could be fully dragged from the room, Ernesto turned to him and smirked. "Isn't it obvious… I seized my moment."
…..
"And Pepita just flew off?" Julio frowned, "Without you?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Imelda threw her hands up into the air in exasperation, "How many times do I have to say it?!"
Julio just nodded frantically, shorter legs speeding up as they all headed to De La Cruz's tower. As Imelda continued to rant and rave about that 'thrice-damned spirit animal' and Miguel, he turned to the other members of the family, shrugging as they gave him concerned looks.
Something had happened with Imelda, but no-one knew what.
"Ugh…" Imelda didn't seem to notice the concern behind her, "… just as garish as I thought it would be. Ernesto never was one for simple things… most omegas loved it, just not the one that he wanted."
This was another thing that had changed… Imelda never really mentioned her omega, not without anger in her voice.
This soft remembrance was new.
As they got closer and closer to the tower, with it being very obvious that Imelda was just planning to storm in and drag Miguel out of there, the group suddenly heard a sniffling noise coming from a nearby alleyway.
A child crying.
Imelda immediately grew tense, rushing over and quickly finding a huddled figure.
"Miguel!" she exclaimed, before quickly softening her tone, "Miguel… what happened? Did you see- "
Before she could finish, Miguel suddenly darted forwards and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face into her bony middle as he started to sob.
"Miguel…" Imelda softened her tone further, "… Miguel, what happened?"
All that could be heard, was a muffled mumbling.
"Oh, do speak up Miguel, I can't understand you when you- "
"- He killed him!"
Silence…. Imelda even looked a little stunned as Miguel continued.
"De la Cruz killed Papa Hector!"
…..
He didn't like it down here.
It was cold.
Wringing out his jacket, trying to get rid of the last remnants of water, he huddled up as tightly as he could.
"Alpha…" he whimpered, fingers brushing over the bond mark, "… Alpha!"
…
"So…" Imelda felt like she was going to pass out, "… let me get this straight. Ernesto and H-Hector went on their tour… and you think Ernesto killed him?" She shook her head, "Ernesto adored Hector, he wouldn't- "
"- He did!" Miguel instantly protested, his frustration bubbling up once again, "I don't know how or when, but he did! And he hurt Papa Hector in the Land of the Dead, so he wouldn't remember or try and find you!"
With Mama Imelda and the rest of the family still not looking overly sure (someone would have noticed, surely?), Miguel shook his head in desperation. "I-I can prove it!"
"How?"
Silence.
De La Cruz would never admit to killing Papa Hector outright…. But maybe… there might be a way to see what happened for real.
"I have an idea."