Chapter 3
Manny went into the cave. The darkness was so intense he wasn't able to see his hand in front of his face.
"Death expects me to follow that bird in this darkness?" said Manny trying to activate the sombrero.
"Bonk!" was the first sound he heard, he managed to activate a torch and pointed to where the sound came from. The bird was beat against the wall.
"Whoa! It seems that you see as much as I do" said Manny picking up the bird. "Now let me get more light here so you can see where you go".
The bird flew again and Manny activated the flash light. The cave wasn't very big, but it has many roads and ways. It was going to be difficult.
"Okay bird, witch way?" Manny didn't end his speech and the bird crushed to the same wall. Manny looked to the bird confused.
"What's going on with you stupid bird?" said Manny while shaking the bird. "There are entrance booths sides and you keep going that way"
The bird seemed to ignore Manny, once he stopped splatting against the wall it started to pick it. Suddenly the whole cave started to rumble.
"What da?" was his scream when he saw that all the ways closed and new ones appeared. Even one new appeared in where the bird was picking.
"What did you do?" asked Manny to the bird that now it was proudly cheeping above the hat.
With no time to lose he ran into the cave following the bird. He noticed that despite all the light the sombrero provided the bird crushed against the walls before turning or doing something else. Also the cave changed erratically and even when he was running threw one of the ways, the exit changed its position.
"Well I'm sure of one thing, at least we are going deeper into this place." said Manny trying to recover some breath. He has been running for an hour inside the cave system dodging the changing stones and following the erratically bird.
He decided to pay attention to the area of the cave he was. Now he seemed to be like half a mile down in a big air-bag where many caves got connected with each other. The walls of the cave have gradually changed, now it they were covered with Mesoamerican paints, they represented the early ages of the "conquista" and some years after. Each time he moved the paints seemed to get deeper into the Aztec history, like seeing a movie from the end to the beginning.
"So the deeper I go into the Aztec history, the closest I get to Mikla?" wondered Manny when he realised that almost all the ways now had paints. The bird just singed and crushed against a wall.
"Men, now I've to wait for a change again." complained and sat. He was worried, he had lost too much time running, and now he needed to wait until the caves changed again. Despair hit his heart harder, he didn't know how long he must wait and he was wondering if he could get the skull in time.
The bird cheeped strongly and pushed against different walls beating on them noisily. Soon Manny understood the bird, something was coming.
"Who is there? Show your face!" ordered Manny. Wailings of pain and suffering filled the cave.
"What da!?"
Spirits appeared threw the walls and caves, their hungry wails were intensified the moment the saw Manny.
"Back you undeads!" said Manny pulling out his claws, it started to glow and the spirit started to scream.
"Danger!" "Pain!" "Life!" "Death!" claimed each of the spirits, the only sound chilled Manny to the bone, but he stranded.
"Ha! It's that the best you have?" screamed defiantly, but then he heard something familiar.
"Riveraaaaa..." was the sound that scared his soul.
To be continue...
Manny got frozen, he had listened that voice before.
"Manny Riveraaaaa" claimed the whine for the second time. Manny turned around.
"Che!?" said Manny to the ghost in front of him.
Che stood with his kid body floating and his ghostly eyes staring at him. Manny felt terrified and uncomfortable, there was an enemy of him dead... well more dead than usual
"Che, what are you doing here!? What happened to you!?" asked Manny incapable to understand this twist.
"There is no time to explain, I need your help" wailed the ghost.
Manny stepped back, he raised his claws and pointed to him and the other undeads, and there was something fishy going on.
"What's going on?" asked Manny defensively.
"Please Tigre, I need your help" begged the spirit trying to get closer; Manny shot his claws. The flying projectiles hit multiple spirits, all the targets screamed horrible whines of pain and sorrow when the projectiles went through their incorporeal bodies. All the spirits around flee leaving only Che's ghost in the room with Manny.
"I want answers, NOW!" demanded Manny pointing a new set of claws to the spirit.
"Please Rivera... Ahhhaaaaaaa!" Che's beg turned in pain when Manny shot a claw through the spirit. Despite having no body, a glowing green hole appeared in the place where the claw stroke.
"I said NOW!" repeated Manny, this time with all four fingers covered in a green glow.
"Okay then, you want my story, then have it" said Che giving up. "We came here to find a way to stop your wedding, but all went wrong."
Manny attention was focused after the last words, he almost rush in anger, but he didn't knew if he really succeeded, then a thing did click inside his brain.
"You said we?" asked Manny perplex.
"Yes, me and Black Cuervo" answered Che sad. "She came to me asking for help, that's why I am here and that's why I begging you for help, she has been captured by the monster who rules this hell."
Manny stepped back, he couldn't believe what was going on, this has gone far away for what he expected. He felt that there was more around that Death told him, but he needed information.
"Please Tigre, are you going to help her?" begged the spirit of Che.
"Yes... but I need to know everything, everything!"
"You got it" responded Che. "Now this is what happened..."
To be continue...
"When Cuervo heard about your wedding" began Che gloomily "she got furious, she wanted to stop it at all cost. Multiple times she attempt to take Frida out of the game, but when she saw all the measures you took to protect her, she knew she was unable, not to kill Frida, but to ruin your life. She has a deep crush on you Tigre, did you knew?"
"Long ago I discovered I didn't love Cuervo, so stop the unnecessary blabber and get to the point soon" ordered Manny pointing the spirit with his claws.
"Okay, okay, no need to..." the look of Manny made him return to his point. "Well she was desperate, she knew that she wanted to have you, but even an idiot can notice when someone is under a love spell. Then she heard from someone that she could make you feel in love with her with the powers of this cave."
"A man, who was he?" asked Manny curious-
"She didn't know the man never identified himself to her. Anyway I only knew about this man from Cuervo's story, she told me that he dressed like a bandido, his face was covered by a mask and his voice was irregular; no flesh or bone could be seen under the cloths. The man was a gentleman that pointed to her the existence of this cave and the possibilities for her to change history and told her how to change the line of history in the way she wanted." explained the spirit.
"Did any of that sound suspicious to Cuervo? I mean why a guy would drop to her such a valuable secret?" asked Manny surprised.
"I asked that to her too, she told me that she made the same question to the guy; he really offered the full info if she did a couple of things for him."
"Like..." pushed Manny.
"He wanted something, certain artefact from this cave; he told her that he was too weak to obtain the treasure from this cave so he needed someone who also needed something that only this cave could offer and that was her." said Che impassive.
"What did the man wanted?"
"The object he asked for was the Crystal Skull" declared Che
Manny was surprised by the coincidence. He felt that there was something fishy; Death couldn't have used her, could he, but if it wasn't Death, then who could tell her the presence of the artefact, its location and the promise of her happiness.
"Why did the man wanted the skull? Did Cuervo ask that to him?"
"Yeah, he said that he could perform a spell only with the skull, he told her that the skull was a secret for immortality, but only in the correct hands it would work. Also it was needed for the final step of Cuervo's wish" said the spirit.
All made as little sense as before, but Manny was still short of info; the most vital part was still incomplete.
"Why did Cuervo came after you then?"
"For what the man told her, undeads where abundant here, so she would need help; who other to ask help for than Django and myself, both master of undeads? Luckily for Django he was grounded" responded the spirit bitterly.
"Then what happened to you?" now more intrigued by this turnover.
"Well, let's put it this way: In my professional carer I discovered here the one who barked louder, bite stronger and is eviler than me"