AN: Well… Finally, I managed to finish this! It took me a while…

The following chapters are part of one last OMAL story.

This first one is not yet corrected so you might find errors (sorry, about that) but I didn't feel like waiting to publish it. Anyway, otherwise I am pretty happy with how the characters decided to end this story (I swear I only had a small contribution – they ended up surprising me, as well, at times :P)

Hope you'll enjoy it and don't forget to review if you do!

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The night was falling and the stars had already started glittering in the sky.

On the shore, two men were preparing a large boat, carrying various provisions and stocking them in it, while six others were watching the preparations from some twenty yards away.

"Are you all clear on what you must do?" Fernando de la Cruz asked.

"It seems like an easy enough task." One of them, a tall man with a small scar above his left eye answered. "We have the numbers and, with this fake order of yours, there will be no one in Los Angeles to stop us."

"The caballeros have vaqueros at their command, so don't make the mistake of believing Los Angeles an easy prey! So far, all evidence we have points to the contrary." Fernando corrected his assumption. "Do not act earlier than I have ordered you to. If one of you or some of the men are captured, just make sure nobody speaks. We'll still be left with enough men to succeed, and I'll take care of everything when I become governor.

"Santino, are you clear about your special task?"

"Si, Amo! If something happens and I fail, my friend, Chulo has another vial and knows what to do with it." The man answered.

"And are you certain it is as deadly as they say?"

"Si. The antidote is hard, though not impossible to find this time of year. It's why my former master failed. Because he knew how hard it was for one to find it. But he didn't know the true identity of the man who was his prey, so we have that advantage over him. Besides, he only used it to scratch Zorro with it. When one drinks it, it has very different symptoms. Everything happens much faster. The person who drinks it gets horrible headaches, then starts losing his senses, and, just ten minutes after taking it, he falls unconscious. Two hours later, he dies. It might even look like death from natural causes because the poison leaves no mark."

Fernando nodded at that. "Perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone. After he falls unconscious, promise the Escalante woman to tell her what the cure is in exchange for the information on Zorro's true identity!" He said. "If she knows it, she might just make the deal. As for the rest of you, I have considered all variables and, should you adapt to the circumstances as I have instructed you, I am certain you cannot fail.

"Once the Governor is dead, take Los Angeles, but avoid casualties and treat the people well. Tell them the stories we have also told the lancers who have decided to swear allegiance to our cause: that you have acted as you did because Governor Argüello proved to be corrupt and had plans to confiscate the Missions' lands and herds in order to divide them amongst his friends; that he wanted to legalize slavery in California and condemn to it all the Indians and those unable to pay their taxes. Well… you know what to say. Just make sure you are convincing! The people of Los Angeles are a little more reluctant than others to believe such stories.

"After you do convince them of the righteousness of our cause, enlist all those able to fight and either bribe or, if that doesn't work, blackmail Zorro into organizing and leading the defense of the territory. I want every port and road to the rest of the Mexican provinces secured. Should he become an impediment, though, just kill him and be done with it. He's turning out to be quite a nuisance and, if he won't work with us, I'd rather be rid of him than risk him interfering any further."

"Si, Amo!" Fernando's men all said in unison, then, exchanging a glance, they took their goodbyes from the man they served and headed for the boat.

The Deputy Governor watched them slowly paddle towards the large vessel anchored about a mile from the shore, then turned around and, mounting his horse, he guided him in the direction of Monterey.

ZZZ

The week spent at the De la Vega Hacienda while Don Alejandro, De Soto, and the lancers tried to find the thugs who had attacked Diego and Ignacio was not an easy one for Victoria Escalante. The more she thought about everything that had happened the last couple of months and, especially, about how close she had come to forever loose Diego, the more she realized that, should something happen to him, should man or God take him away from her, part of her very soul might die.

She tried explaining to herself that she had known him for so long that now she could not even imagine how life would be without him. She even tried telling herself that, whatever it was he felt for her, she only saw him as a brother. But, in her heart, she knew those were mere lies.

She only admitted it – truly admitted to herself how she felt when – as they were playing with Marisol and Nacho in the garden one late afternoon, a couple of days before the boy was claimed by his grandfather, Diego grinned at her. There was nothing particular about that smile. She had seen him smile at her before, even more longingly than on that occasion. But never before had she realized that her heart skipped a beat when she saw him grinning. It was only at that moment that she finally found herself forced to stop denying her true feelings for the caballero.

That reality, though, was a horrible complication, for she very well remembered each and every one of the promises she had made Zorro. There was no way to go back on her word, not after everything that she had said and done to assure him of her love.

But how could she keep it if it meant having to give up a future by Diego's side? How could she choose between the two men who had laid claim to her heart?

And, as she was trying to make up her mind, she started to understand what Zorro had tried to tell her the day he had taken her to his cave.

"The man behind this mask is afraid of only one thing in this world: that you love a hero with whom he cannot possibly compete. That, if this mask were removed, you'd still be in love with Zorro and not with the man of flesh and blood."* His words were still fresh in her mind as if he had uttered them only a day, not two years earlier.

Without that mask, the invincible hero known as Zorro was no more. All that remained was a man. One who made mistakes and was as flawed as every other. And, while she was certain that she loved the hero, just like her brother had pointed out a week earlier, Victoria realized that she had no idea if she really loved the man.

In truth, she knew few things about him. She knew he was a Los Angelino, a great rider and an amazing swordsman, brave and passionate about justice; that he was smart and kept himself extremely well-informed. She also knew that he wanted children, was educated, had some medical knowledge, was very ingenious, and always did his best to avoid killing his adversaries, even when they did their best to take his life.

Yet could she truly accept his shortcomings, his past mistakes, his preconceptions, his routines, even his snoring, if he snored?

Victoria intuitively knew that all those little things most people only find out about each other after saying their "I dos" in Church have a strange tendency of driving the wrong person completely mad, yet cause the right person to fall even deeper in love with a man. Did she know enough about Zorro to be certain she was the right one for him?

Furthermore, he most probably had a family, one she'd have to marry into. Would his mother like her, or would she be a nightmare to deal with? How about his father, his brothers, and his sisters, if he had any? How would they behave towards her?

"At least, other women have the chance of knowing the man they agree to marry, and his family, beforehand," Victoria muttered as those ideas came to her mind, one lonely night at the hacienda, as she was diligently studying the shadows the moonlight cast on her room's ceiling.

Here, Zorro certainly had an advantage over her, for he knew everything there was to know about her. Or did he? Did he truly know her, love and accepted her as she was, or did he only love the idea of her? Did he know her own faults, mistakes, regrets, wishes, and dreams? And all those things about herself which she kept hidden from others? Like the fact that she expected her loved ones to perfectly know her tastes and anticipate her wishes, to keep their things in order and not dispersed throughout the room like Ramon; or that she felt honor-bound to respect her promises and commitments, even if that affected their other plans – to state just a few. Would her quirks make Zorro love her more or drive him crazy?

"His cave seemed very organized…" She muttered to herself.

Sighing, Victoria turned on her side.

Diego, on the other hand, she had grown up with and already felt he, his father, and Felipe were her family. Diego was part of her earliest memories. She had been with him when his mother had died and he had been by her side when, within the course of a couple of weeks, she had gone from being part of a happy family of five to being all alone in the world, and responsible for running a tavern.

She had seen him become the man he was now; take responsibility for a deaf and mute boy when he, himself, had barely surpassed his teenage years; and, for the past few months, she had seen him become a true father to the child she thought of as her own.

Even if she didn't know everything about the caballero she considered her best friend, even if he was full of contradictions, she knew him. He was good, honorable, kind, and generous; he got lost in books, even enjoying the boring ones as long as there was something he could learn from them; he loved putting his knowledge to good use, helping others as often as he could; he had a passion for science; enjoyed painting and playing music. While he wasn't very brave, at least not when it came to fighting, and he certainly wasn't gifted with the sword for all she knew, he was intelligent and cunning when he needed to be. He always saw the best in people and usually left room for 'Hello' even when dealing with the ones he seemed to dislike. He loved children and was immensely patient with them; he snored when he slept on his back and when he had a running nose – although it was more of a purr than loud snoring – and he had a wonderful smile.

Again Victoria sighed thinking of Diego's beautiful smile and switched sides before returning to considering all she knew about the caballero.

He had been in love before; he had made mistakes in his youth, some which she didn't yet know, and some he had only recently confessed to her. He liked his coffee black and loved eating her flan. His favorite dish was arroz con pollo, although, for a time, it had been her albondigas soup. When working, he usually forgot to eat and, unless she, Don Alejandro, or Felipe saw to it, he'd only realize he hadn't had lunch at dinner time.

He had been a great rider in his youth, but was no longer one after his return from Spain, seeing how he fell off horses all the time. But rarely had those falls caused him any injury and, for all she knew, his mare might have been at fault. He was a good marksman, surprising as that discovery was for her. Finally, he was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen, certainly the most handsome man in Los Angeles, even though a little too tall from her point of view, a flaw he and Zorro shared.

She didn't know everything about him, but she knew plenty. Enough to make her wonder if she had made the biggest mistake of her life by agreeing to marry her masked hero.

Eventually, Victoria fell asleep that night imagining how her life would have been for the last decade had she encouraged Diego to court her instead of Zorro.

For the next few days her mood remained pensive, her regard for the caballero only growing at witnessing the way he managed to reunite Señor Marineo with his grandsons and how, the very next day, together with Felipe, he had insisted on accompanying them to their hacienda taking some of their men and a wagon full of supplies with them. Victoria also knew, from what she had heard the vaqueros say, that the young De la Vegas had spent the rest of that day at Señor Marineo's house, working side by side with their men to help them make the place livable.

And, seeing how she had missed him that day, she also realized that the true reason why she had yet to return to the tavern had been the fact that she enjoyed his presence. But her stay at the hacienda couldn't be extended forever, no matter how much she enjoyed living there.

Still, she only decided it was finally time to leave because of something so small that, under different circumstances, would have passed unacknowledged.

At joining everyone for breakfast on Wednesday morning, two days after Señor Marineo and his grandsons had left, Diego poured her coffee just as she sat down, adding a few drops of milk and a half spoon of sugar, as she normally liked it, then handed her the cup.

She took it while staring at him, and he offered her that innocent smile of his, the one she knew to say that he had no idea what the reason behind her stare was but he'd immediately apologize for any fault she might find in his actions.

"Thank you, Diego!" She said. "But I'd like some more sugar."

"I'm sorry. I guess I had it wrong." He replied, and offered her the sugar bowl as he continued grinning.

Victoria stared at it and frowned. "Marisol and I will be moving back to the tavern today." She then announced as she took the sugar and left it next to her coffee cup, untouched, before taking a sip of her perfect coffee.

"Today? But we still don't know it's safe!" The elderly De la Vega exclaimed.

She hesitated for a few moments. "Had those men still been out there, by now you would have caught them, Don Alejandro. Besides, they went after Diego and Don Ignacio, not after me. We've been here for long enough. Ramon returned to the tavern yesterday and I should also like to return home."

"If that's what you want…" The tall caballero answered a little surprised, after glancing at his father. "I will arrange for the carriage to be prepared and I will accompany you."

She simply nodded, feeling guilty because of her tone, and avoided looking at him for as long as it took her to finish her coffee. When she finally did, she saw that he was still smiling at her, and she almost burst out crying.

ZZZ

"Victoria, is there something wrong?" Ramon asked when she and Marisol unexpectedly arrived with Diego at the tavern.

"Nothing. I was just missing home." She answered.

"She insisted to return," Diego explained as Victoria headed towards her room with her niece. "I'm not sure what happened. She started acting strange when I put too little sugar in her coffee."

"Too little sugar? She barely takes any..." Ramon remarked, dumbfounded, and Diego reacted with a shrug that was the gestured translation of "women are quite hard to understand at times."

ZZZ

After escorting Victoria and Marisol to the tavern, he had spent most of the day at the newspaper and the medical offices, while his father had, once again, headed out with a small patrol, though he returned far earlier than usual.

"Son," Don Alejandro uttered when Diego arrived home that afternoon. "Is Victoria alright? Did she say anything about why she suddenly decided to leave?"

"You didn't expect her to remain here forever, did you? No matter how much we might enjoy her and Marisol's company, she does have a tavern to run." He answered with a smile as he headed towards the library where his father was sitting, a mostly-empty crystal glass in his hand.

"Well… I'll certainly miss having her and Marisol around. But they'll be back on Saturday, won't they?" The older don muttered as he stood up and poured himself some brandy, then poured a glass of water he offered Diego, not even realizing his son hadn't confirmed his assumption.

Truth be told, at that point, the younger man wasn't very certain if Victoria and her niece would spend the next weekend with them since she had barely addressed him during lunch when he visited the tavern, and refused to sit with him and Marisol saying she had too much work to do, though the tavern wasn't even full.

"Jessie and Ignacio also moved back to their own hacienda." Don Alejandro went on to inform him. "They all seem to think that the danger has passed…"

"You disagree…" His son understood by the older man's tone as he gratefully accepted the glass.

"I couldn't find those thugs! I don't even know who they are or what they look like. Those men tried to kill my only son, and I can't even put a bounty on their heads. What if they are just well-hidden and will return to finish what they've started?"

"I can take care of myself, Father."

"Can you? Frankly, Son, at times I even wonder by what miracle you are still alive. You had some close calls these past couple of years… Gilberto almost shooting you, the health scare at the beginning of last year, that Inez woman trying to poison you, Don Manolo almost killing you with that blow to your head, then the bandits who took you, Felipe, and Victoria hostage… And now, in the last month alone, I could have lost you twice…"

Diego didn't say anything, just took a sip of water, inwardly adding to that list several closer calls than the ones his father knew about.

"You know," the don continued, "I've been finding myself contemplating, these days, what Zorro's family must be going through. How can his loved ones deal with the fact that every time he rides out to help someone might be the last time they see him alive? I'm having trouble dealing – retrospectively, mind you – with the fact that you were almost killed several times… I can't even begin to imagine how they must be feeling…"

"Maybe they don't know…" Diego suggested. "He is quite a secretive man. Perhaps, just like with Victoria, he decided against sharing his secret with those he loves, thus sparing them the worry."

"What sort of parents would not recognize their son under that mask? Live with him without knowing he is Zorro? That is just impossible. He's skilled, no doubt. But skilled enough to fool those closest to him? That is a deed not even Zorro could achieve! No… I'm pretty sure somewhere in the area there's a father, just like me, who lives in constant fear every time his son puts on that black mask…" Don Alejandro muttered, then decided to also contemplate the possibility that his son's suggestion might be right. "But… If Zorro did somehow managed to fool even those closest to him…" he continued, "well... if that's the case, I just hope they find out when he's pardoned, not when they get the news of his death…" He said, finishing his brandy. "But… No, Diego, it's impossible. There are probably no more than ten, fifteen people in Los Angeles who could be Zorro. If that! And, as a father, I can tell you… A parent would know. Trust me, if you had his skills, I'd recognize you immediately, mask or no mask." Saying that and receiving only a shrug as a reply from his son, the don put down his glass and headed for his room. "Oh…" He muttered, turning around halfway. "I forgot to tell you the latest news. The Governor asked me to send the lancers to Monterey for training. I am only allowed to keep the very minimum needed in the pueblo. The rest of the garrison is heading for Monterey tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow? When have you received those orders? Has the mail arrived?"

"No. It was a special courier. He arrived this morning before most of the men were even awake. He must have been in quite a hurry for he left the orders with Cábrera and continued on his way towards San Diego."

"With Cábrera? Really?"

The older don shrugged his shoulders with a defeated expression on his face. "I need to find dangerous bandits and the Governor orders my lancers away. And so far, he hasn't even answered one of my letters, not replied to the reports I've sent him, at least with an apology for not sending more men as I had asked. It's almost like he wants me to fail…" He muttered, then restarted towards his quarters. Diego watched him leave, then hurriedly headed towards the cave, from where Zorro soon exited, heading for the pueblo.

ZZZ

The following morning Diego, Felipe, and Ignacio spent inspecting the remains of Don Alejandro and Doña Maria's cottage and deciding on a reconstruction plan. And, as they did, the youngest of the three men noticed that something had changed in the way they interacted.

For years at that point, every time Diego and Ignacio would meet, should they spend more than 5 minutes together, they'd inevitably argue. Even if they were small quarrels or just an exchange of statements, De Soto always insisted on having the last word. This time, though, the white-haired man had made suggestions, then agreed with Diego's proposals, simply accepting his decisions.

Thinking back, Felipe realized he was wrong, though. It was not something new for De Soto to agree with his father and let him take the lead, but something that had started happening for over a week at that point, since the explosion.

"Why would you find it strange that he went along with my plan?" Diego inquired that early afternoon, as he put on his black clothes while his son pointed out his observations.

"Don't you?" The younger man questioned. "He used to never agree with you, but now he accepts every one of your suggestions, not even bothering to defend his own?"

The older man stared at him for the few moments it took for him to remember how that day and his interactions with his stepbrother had gone, then shrugged. "He probably doesn't care much about the cottage, Felipe, so he didn't bother to argue for something he didn't feel strongly about." He dismissed the issue while tying his mask.

"It's not just about the cottage. He's never contradicted you even once the entire past week!"

"That can't be true! It's Ignacio we're talking about. All he does is contradict people, even if he's wrong… Especially when he's wrong." He muttered as Felipe finished saddling Tornado.

A couple of minutes later Zorro exited the cave, guiding his stallion towards El Camino Real and allowing him to gallop north at full speed.

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*Extract from the NWZ TV episode "An Affair to Remember" written by Gary Stephen Reick.