The crowd was silent as the screen went dark.
Even the interviewer didn't seem to know what to do, his mouth gaping open slightly as Ernesto leapt to his feet, the chair he was sitting on falling backwards to the floor.
"Lies!" he hissed, "All lies!"
"You-you-you…" The interviewer pushed himself to his feet, "… you killed him!"
The crowd all started to jeer in agreement.
"No! It was… a missing scene from a movie I was going to do!" Ernesto knew the excuse was weak… he know that no-one was really going to believe it.
Especially not as the screen started to blur again, revealing brief but clear images of Ernesto grabbing Hector again in the Land of the Dead, trying to keep him as a prisoner, before Hector managed to get away, never to be seen again by Ernesto.
Until this evening of course.
"HIJO DE PUTA!" Came a scream from the side of the stage, and before anyone could react, a flash of purple darted forwards and soon Ernesto was on the ground, clutching at his face as Imelda stood over him, her boot clutched in her hand and her face twisted in grief.
"BASTARDO! VETE AL DEMONIO!" She screamed in anger, striking him again and again with her boot, "I LOVED HIM! HE WAS MY EVERYTHING, AND YOU-YOU- "
The rest of the Rivera family rushed over, pulling Mama Imelda off of Ernesto, all turning their own glares on the musician. Miguel himself, was struggling to hold Chicharrón back, as the other Alpha used curse words that would make a sailor blush.
This couldn't be happening.
…
Pepita found the pit easily.
The soft whimpering and cold chill of the area caused her to shiver, her fur bristling slightly as she moved to the edge. Peering over the side, she purred loudly.
She'd found him.
Slowly, she flew down into the pit, trying not to shudder at the feeling of cold water lapping over her paws.
The omega didn't look up at her.
Moving forwards, she butted her head gently against him, continuing to purr soothingly until he looked up at her, a wide smile appearing on his face.
"Hi kitty…" he whispered, laughing when she blew hot air all over him, drying him instantly, "… Alpha?"
Lowering herself, it was a silent invitation for the omega to climb onto her back, which he did.
And then they were off.
…
It was chaos on the stage.
The Rivera family were struggling to hold Imelda back as she cursed and snarled at him, as Miguel struggled to do the same with Chicharrón. The crowd was still booing and jeering, but no-one was moving. Not when there was a chance of a fight in the future.
None of Ernesto's bodyguards moved. Over half of them wanted nothing more to do with their boss after the revelation… the others knew that if they did try to intervene, they could never show their faces in the Land of the Dead.
As Ernesto struggled to escape, desperately trying to get away from Imelda, Chicharrón and the persistent interviewer, there was a sudden roar from up above them, as a giant winged cat landed on the stage, a familiar figure on its back.
"HECTOR!"
…
Imelda went limp at the sight of Pepita, Hector riding on her back, glancing around in confusion.
He was still just as handsome as she remembered, even in his skeletal form. His eyes were still just as gorgeous, his hair just as soft-looking… and her mating bite still stood out on his bony shoulder.
She could remember giving him that bite on their wedding day… her long arms wrapping around her as he tried not to cry out.
"HECTOR!" she cried out, her struggles renewing as Pepita gently allowed the omega to get off of her.
She was so consumed in trying to get to him, she didn't hear Rosita's quiet exclamation behind her.
"That's the omega from the gates!"
Pepita moved slightly to the back, a low growl echoing throughout the area as Hector glanced around in confusion, clearly hearing the muttering of the crowd, but not knowing that it was in relation to him.
And then his eyes fell on Imelda.
At first, it didn't look like he even recognised her, his eyes darting over to Miguel and Chicharrón briefly, before his face seemed to light up with a big, beaming smile. "Alpha?"
The Rivera family slowly let go of Imelda, their own eyes wide as Imelda slowly moved forwards, clearly not wanting to spook the omega.
"Yeah…" she whispered, "… yeah, it's me mi amado…. Hector."
Just as she reached out to take his hand, something seemed to pull him back, causing him to yelp in alarm.
"He's mine!" Ernesto growled, pulling Hector to his chest, "MINE!"
…
The feral growl that Mama Imelda let out wasn't a surprise.
Even Chicharrón and Pepita seemed to have been stunned into silence as Imelda prowled forwards. All her good reasoning had disappeared.
She was just focused on the intruding Alpha who had her omega in his grasp.
Ernesto returned the noise with a growl of his own, throwing Hector to one side, not even caring as the omega yelped and stumbled to the side, falling right off the stage.
This was clearly the last straw for Imelda, as she leapt on top of the other Alpha, bony fingers digging into his neck as she pinned him against the ground.
Everyone else knew better than to intervene.
Intervening in an Alpha fight could end up with your arm being ripped off.
Knowing that Chicharrón was unlikely to intervene either, Miguel slowly let go of him and jumped off the stage, rushing over to where Hector was slowly pulling himself together. "Are you alright?"
The omega nodded slowly, trying to shuffle away from the fight as far as he could, before curling up tightly.
"I know, I know…" Miguel whispered, trying to calm the omega down, "… I know it's scary but- "He stopped in his tracks, spotting a small box sitting near the edge of the stage.
Nobody else had spotted it.
It shook violently, almost rocking off the stage.
As Ernesto and Mama Imelda rolled about on the stage, Miguel reached out and grabbed the box, examining it closely as the shaking seemed to increase in intensity.
It must have fallen out of De la Cruz's pocket.
"Sorry…" he whispered to the omega, "... but this needs to end."
The latch clicked open easily, and the lid flew open, causing Miguel to drop the box in shock. Seconds before the box hit the ground, a bright white piece of bone shot out, aiming directly for Hector. When the piece of bone hit him, Hector flew back against the wall, collapsing into lots of little, separate pieces once again, a strange golden glow surrounding them.
….
Imelda had never felt rage like this.
Not even during the times when Ernesto and her would argue over Hector, and who had certain rights to him…. Even then, she retained some sense of control.
No now though.
Ernesto had finally crossed the line.
Growling as he managed to gain the upper hand, Ernesto pinned Imelda to the ground.
He couldn't kill her, not like he could have done, had this happened in the Land of the Living…. But he could make her submit and then Hector would be his… his and his alone!
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
….
It was like a light-bulb went off in his head.
It all came rushing back to him.
Imelda… his Alpha.
Coco… his gorgeous daughter.
Ernesto…. His murderer.
As his bones all pulled themselves back together, his eyes shot open and a familiar face yelped and stumbled back, eyes wide in alarm.
"M-Miguel?" he found himself stammering, shaking his head as the events of the last few hours suddenly came back to him, "What-what- "
"- It worked!" Miguel beamed, "I can't believe it actually worked!"
Before he could reply, the sounds of fighting suddenly hit him, prompting him to look towards the stage.
God, he'd forgotten how gorgeous Imelda was when she was angry.
And then he saw exactly who she was fighting.
If he had blood, it would be boiling.
Ignoring Miguel's concerned cries of "Papa Hector? Papa Hector?", he strode over to the band, snatching the guitar from the musician's hand, before climbing onto the stage, standing over Ernesto… before swinging the guitar with all of his might.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
….
As something hard hit him around the back of the head, Ernesto's felt his grip loosen around Mama Imelda's neck, falling to the ground beside the other Alpha, eyes slowly moving to his assailant.
He knew that voice.
Hector was standing above him, a cracked guitar in his hands, and a look of anger on his face.
"You-You…" The omega took a deep breath, practically trembling in fear, "… You. Killed. Me."
Quickly, Ernesto pushed himself to his feet, backing away from the enraged omega. "Hector, now let's just- "
The heavy breathing on the back of his neck caused him to stop in his tracks, slowly turning around as the giant winged cat almost seemed to smirk down at him.
"Imelda…" he found himself whimpering, "… Imelda, please have mercy."
"Never."
With a sharp whistle, Pepita grabbed Ernesto in her teeth, and flew up into the air, throwing him up and catching him in her claws, as she flew over the crowd and then out of the stadium.
Once out, she then flung him into the distance, watching as he screamed in fear, impacting heavily with a large bell, which then landed right on top of him.
Silence filled the arena, as all eyes turned to Hector, who was gently placing the guitar back on the ground (sort of pointless since it was already cracked).
"Hector…" Imelda gently whispered, taking a step forwards, "… Hector I- "
"- the sunrise!"
Suddenly, everyone's attention turned to the horizon, the sky turning orange, purple and pink
"Miguel!"
And then all eyes turned to the young boy, who was pulling his hoodie open, and staring down at his exposed rib cage.
"Someone get a petal! Now!"