The cave was dark and kinda misty. It was freaky.

“Uh… Paimon doesn't like it here.” Paimon said.

“This is the Cave of Souls?” Luis asked, a little disappointed. 

“Shh! Grandpa, show some respect.” Manolo whispered, pulling out his swords.

Out of nowhere, a glowing blob of light slithered through the mist, freaking us out a little. A loud voice said, “That… was… awesome, man!”

A large, glowing, wax man with a cloud beard emerged from the ground, praising Manolo about his performance in the maze. While everyone else was confused, I knew exactly who he was. Candle Maker, the one who keeps balance.

Seeing that he was harmless, Manolo put his swords away and waited for Candle Maker to finish talking, “I have to find La Muerte.” 

“La Muerte?” The floating book I didn't realize was with him opened up in front of him. He frowned, “Sorry you missed her, Manolo.”

“Wait, you know me?”

“Yeah, man. We know everybody. We know Luis, Carmen, and Puddle.” Everyone was confused by the puddle, but we went with it. Candle Maker looked at me and Paimon, “But we don't know you two. Who are you, anyway?”

I held my breath. Crap, I completely forgot about Candle Maker. Of course Paimon and I aren't on his radar, we're not a part of this world, “Uh… I'm Fabi and this is Paimon. We're not really… from around here?”

Everyone gave me confused looks, but there are more important things to worry about right now. 

“Alright, then. We'll talk about that later.” Candle Maker said, making me sigh in relief, “Come on in, y'all.”

The spot we were standing on suddenly rose up in the air, “Whoa!” I said.

We kept going up until we entered the real Cave of Souls, “Welcome to the Cave of Souls!” The cave seemed endless with candles as far as the eye can see, “Mi casa es su casa.” There were four waterfalls in between some of the hills of candles.

“Now this is a cave!” Luis marveled. We looked around the realm in awe.

“And I'm your humble, yet strikingly handsome, Candle Maker!” His voice echoed, but no one was really impressed. The only one clapping for him was the book of life.

“I don't get it.” Luis said.

“Yeah, what does that mean?” Paimon asked.

“Oh, wait.” Candle Maker said, “I got to do the thing, I got to do the thing. Watch this.” He clapped his hands together, summoning many candles to circle around us in a large beautiful display.

We looked up at the candles in wonder, “Amazing, huh? This is our work! This is what we do! Look, that group, that's your town.” He grabbed a lit candle from the floating display, “And that's Maria.” He grabbed another unlit candle, “And next to her, Manolo. One aflame with life. The other, kaput.”

Manolo looked down in shame. We all looked at him with sympathy. Talk about kicking a man while he's down. 

“You see, as long as someone alive remembers you, you get to live in the Land of the Remembered.” Candle Maker explained.

This didn't make Manolo feel better, so I said, “Hey, on the plus side, he just said you're next to Maria. That means it's fate, right?” Of course, it's fate. They're soul mates. Literally. 

Manolo looked at me, “You think so?”

“I know so.” I do.

“Santa Gordita!” Candle Maker exclaimed.

“What is it?” Manolo asked. 

“Chakal is on the march.” Candle Maker was looking into the book, “With him comes the end of your town. And there will be no one left to remember you!”

“We would all be forgotten.” Carmen realized. 

Manolo asked Candle Maker to help us go back, but the god said there's nothing he can do. The book nudged him, opening itself to him, “Santa Chihuahua!” Candle Maker exclaimed. 

“What is it?” Paimon asked.

“Alright guys, The Book of Life, it holds everyone's story. But the pages on Manolo’s life, they're blank!” Manolo’s eyes went wide with realization, “You didn't follow the life that's written for you, you are writing your own story!” Candle Maker did a “mind blown” motion.

“That's good?” Luis asked.

“Of course, it's good!” I said, “It's better than good.”

“Does this mean you'll help us find La Muerte?” Manolo asked.

“Well, I'm not supposed to interfere, but I may be able to bend the rules, just a little.” Candle Maker said, “Afterall, it is the Day of the Dead. Right book?” The book and Candle Maker fist bumped.

With a snap of his fingers, Candle Maker moved our platform towards one of the waterfalls, “Come on. I'll take you to La Muerte.”

Manolo said he was going alone, Luis countering that. Candle Maker was trying to get the Sanchezes' attention, but they weren't listening.

“Uh guys, Candle Maker is trying to-” Paimon tried to say.

“We should go.” Carmen said. She ran towards the waterfall as Luis tried to protest this.

“No retreat, no surrender!” Manolo shouted as he dove into the waterfall with Luis.

Candle Maker, book, Paimon and I looked down at the three Sanchez members, “I tried to warn them.” Candle Maker said. 

“We know, man.” I said. I closed my eyes and fell through the waterfall, “I hate this!!!!”

I landed on something hard and I opened my eyes. We all landed on the book who had caught up to us in time. Even though we were safe, Manolo was still screaming. I snickered a little. He's such a dork, it's adorable. 

“Are you sure we're in the right place?” Luis asked. We all climbed off the book.

Candle Maker chuckled as he floated down to us, “Y'all Sanchezes need to look before you go jumping into magic waterfalls. What if you went in the wrong one? You could've ended up in Tijuana.”

“I think I died there.”

“Welcome to the Land of the Forgotten.” It was a gloomy place. It was hot and gray with ashes falling from the sky. It was like the inside of a volcano. “Sad, huh?”

One of the skeletons disappeared in black ash. “Oh, my gosh.” I whispered. It was heartbreaking to watch.

“You poor things.” Carmen said.

“And that's gonna happen to us if we don't hurry.” Manolo said, “Come on.”

We quickly made our way through the realm. “Behold. Xibalba's castle.” Candle Maker said. 

“Ok, that's freaky.” I said. The castle looked like a snake in the middle of a lake of lava.

We ran inside the castle, which took a lot more effort than I thought. “I'm out of shape.” I wheezed. I wasn't used to running this much.

Finally, we saw La Muerte at the top of the castle. “La Muerte!” Manolo called out, “I need a word with you, my lady!”

La Muerte turned around, confused at the sight of us, “Manolo? But how did you get here?”

“I had some help.” Candle Maker waved excitedly.

“Candle Maker, Carmen, and… the head of Luis?” La Muerte snapped her fingers, putting Luis’s body back together. He wasn't too thrilled with arthritis returning.

“But you two, I don't know.” La Muerte said, looking at me and Paimon. 

“I'm Fabi and this is Paimon.” I said, “We're not from here.”

“Hello!” Paimon waved enthusiastically.

Before she could dwell on us too long, Manolo stepped forward, “I know about the wager.” He said, “Xibalba cheated!”

“He did what?!” La Muerte exclaimed. 

“Yeah, w-with a two-headed snake!”

To say La Muerte was furious was an understatement. She was shaking with anger.

“You might want to cover your ears now.” Candle Maker said. We all did so when La Muerte started to scream.

“XIBALBA!!!!!!!!!”

The candles on her dress and hat glowed so bright that she lit up the whole realm. When the light went out, we uncovered our ears. “Ah, I thought I went blind there.” I said, blinking a few times. 

Xibalba appeared with two glasses and a bottle of wine, “Yes, my dear-” He dropped what he was holding when he saw us, “Oh, boy.”

“Now he's gonna get it.” Paimon smirked, crossing her arms.

“You misbegotten son of a lepros donkey!” La Muerte shouted, “You cheated! Again!”

“I did no such thing!” Xibalba said. He was proven wrong when La Muerte pulled out his snake, snapping it back into a staff. Xibalba laughed nervously as he took his staff, “Oh, that. It has a mind of its own… or two.”

“That is unforgivable!” La Muerte fumed. She began to walk away from her husband.

“Oh please. I never sent that snake after Maria. And I never gave that medal to Joaquin.” Xibalba realized his mistake when he said those words.

La Muerte stopped in her tracks, “What medal?”

Xibalba tried to play dumb, “The one I never gave him. Ever. At all. Who is this Joaquin?”

La Muerte grabbed Xibalba by the mouth, “You gave Joaquin the Medal of Everlasting Life?!” Xibalba meekly confessed.

“Medal of Everlasting Life?” Manolo asked. 

La Muerte simply explained that whoever wore the medal became invisible. I could see on Manolo’s face that everything had clicked in place for him.

“Wait, so Joaquin was a fake this whole time?” Paimon asked. 

“Kind of.” I said, “But his heart's in the right place.”

Xibalba got well-deserved slaps from both La Muerte and Carmen. “Can I get a slap too?” Candle Maker asked.

“Dude, what the heck?” 

“My son did not deserve this!” Carmen fumed.

“Come on.” Manolo said, “I have to go back.”

Despite everything, Xibalba was being frustratingly stubborn. Not even La Muerte calling him by his pet name worked.

“Listen, tar man!” Paimon shouted, “You're the reason we're in this mess in the first place. So it's only right you get us out of it!”

“Hey, what about a wager?” Manolo suggested, grabbing the death gods’ attention, “If I win, you give me my life back.”

“You have nothing I want.” Xibalba said. 

“But I do.” La Muerte said, “If you win, Xibalba, you can rule both realms.”

“What?!” Paimon exclaimed, “No! That's a terrible idea!”

“You name the task.” Manolo said, “Anything you want and I will beat you.” Xibalba scoffed. “What? Are you afraid you might lose?”

Manolo. Is this confidence I see in you? Cause it's sexy.

“What you doing, kid?” Candle Maker asked.

Carmen looked at Manolo and gave him an approving nod. “Do we have a deal?”

“We have a deal.” Xibalba finally said. He stalked closer to Manolo, making me uncomfortable, “Tell me, what keeps you up at night? What eats at you from the inside? What, do tell, is your worst fear?” For a second, Manolo looked away from Xibalba, “Got it.”

…

With a snap of his fingers, Xibalba sent us to a large arena in the land of the dead. It kind of reminded me of the Roman coliseum, filled with cheering skeletons.

Manolo was in the center of the arena, looking up at everyone. Paimon and I were with the Sanchez family. 

“What… what's going on?” Paimon asked nervously. 

Xibalba shouted that Manolo’s challenge was to defeat every bull his family killed. If he loses, he'll be forgotten. As if this couldn't get any worse, he had to defeat thousands of bulls.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed, “What is with you people?!”

The challenge began and the many skeletal bulls charged at Manolo, running around with no real direction. He was doing a good job dodging the bulls, but got hit a couple of times. Even his family was getting worried.

“Manolo, get out of there!” Jorge called out.

“Come on, Manolo!” I shouted, “You got this!”

After a while, there was a flash. Carlos was with us. As a skeleton. 

Paimon and I gasped when we saw him. Carmen realized her husband was here and the parted lovers quickly embraced. 

Candle Maker called out to Manolo that his dad was here.

“What… what happened?” Paimon asked.

“Chakal and his men are at the gates of San Angel!” Carlos shouted.

Oh, no. We're all in trouble now. 

The bulls started running to the center of the ring. They somehow combined together to transform into a giant skeletal bull. It roared so loudly that it shook the arena.

“Wha… How is that fair?!” I shouted.

Regardless, the fight continued. At some point, a ring of fire appeared around Manolo and the bull. Manolo was flung into the wall by the bull, making me wince.

“Ouch… that's gotta hurt.” Paimon said.

“Get up and fight like a Sanchez!” Luis shouted. Out of nowhere, Manolo’s great-grandmother appeared, knitting as though nothing was happening, “Mama? What are you doing here?”

“Eh, cholesterol.” Anita nonchalantly said.

I knew this meant that Manolo was most likely one of the last surviving members of his family, but I didn't want to bring that up.

We kept watching the fight. With every passing minute, things got more and more tense. At one point, Manolo dodged the bull, causing it to slam into the wall. The shockwaves were so strong that they sent Manolo backwards.

We all gasped in shock. That was probably the hardest hit Manolo took. 

“The beast is out!” Luis exclaimed. 

“Time to finish this.” Carmelo said, menacingly.

Manolo’s guitar and sword had landed on the ground. He got up, gripping his side with a wince. A part of me wondered if he fractured a rib.

The whole arena was chanting for Manolo to finish the bull as he approached the guitar and sword. For a minute, it looked like he was about to grab the sword, but at the last minute, he chose the guitar, shocking everyone.

“What is he doing?!” Luis asked.

Carlos looked down in disappointment, but we kept watching.

Manolo played a few chords, but the bull knocked him to the side. Did I forget to mention the bull was now on fire for no reason?

Manolo silently got back up. He was looking at the message Maria wrote on his guitar. Even when she wasn't here, she still inspired him to be great. 

He started playing the apology song from the movie. I almost teared up. I've heard this song dozens of times, but hearing it in person is really something else. 

The bull looked like he was going to crush Manolo, but narrowly missed him. The song was getting through to the bull. His fire went out as he slowly laid on the ground. Manolo gently touched the bull, which turned into thousands of marigold petals that ascended out of the arena.

He did it.

The whole arena cheered. 

We all jumped from our spot to congratulate Manolo. I let his family go first in giving praise. Carlos even apologized for how he treated him. Manolo understood, knowing his father only wanted what was best for him. I smiled at their reconciliation. 

“But then what was Manolo’s worst fear?” Paimon asked.

“Being himself.” I explained. 

“Oh! Paimon understands now!”

Once Manolo was set back on the ground by his family, Paimon and I went to hug him, “Oh, Manolo, I knew you could do it!” I said, hugging him tightly.

“Thank you, Fabi.” He said.

“Paimon almost thought you weren't going to make it, but you sure proved her wrong!” Paimon said. 

La Muerte, Xibalba, and Candle Maker approached us, hands held, “In accordance with the ancient rules, we give you life!” They said.

“Yes!” I said.

“Be careful up there, mijo.” Carmen told Manolo.

Manolo, Paimon and I ascended into the air in a beam of golden light. We watched in awe as Manolo got his body back. 

“Uh, where are we going?” Paimon asked, “We're going pretty fast, too.”

“I think we're going back to San Angel.” I said.

Manolo held his fist up, shouting as we kept rising. Next thing we knew, we shot up out of the ground, Manolo punching Chakal in the face. 

I landed hard on my side, while Manolo landed gracefully on his hands and knees, looking like a bull ready to charge. He looked like a badass while I'm on the ground writhing in pain.

We were in front of the church and the whole town. Everyone looked like they had so many questions since the man they all thought was dead this morning had shot up out of the ground.

“What?!” Chakal fumed. I have so many questions on how this man is as big as a house.

“Manolo?” Maria asked. Manolo helped her up before immediately dipping her into a kiss. 

I had to cover my mouth not to fangirl too hard, especially when Manolo held a finger up to Chakal for him to shut up. They earned this kiss, sir. Let them have this. When he broke the kiss, Maria looked disoriented for a second with a smile. They're so cute!

“Hold this for me, amigo.” Manolo said, tossing his guitar to Joaquin. He turned his attention to the giant bandit leader, “So, my father tells me you hate bullfighters.”

“I hate everybody.” Chakal sneered. 

Manolo drew his swords, “Ok, let's do this.”

“You and what army?” Chakal mocked.

As if on cue, the whole Sanchez family appeared to help. The whole town was confused, but they cheered. Is no one confused right now? Is this a regular thing to you guys?

“What are they doing here?” Paimon asked. 

“It's the Day of the Dead, Manolo!” La Muerte said from the church rooftops. Xibalba, La Muerte and Candle Maker explained they were helping us one more time.

“Thank you!” Manolo shouted.

“No retreat.” Maria said. 

“No surrender!” Joaquin and Manolo said. The three amigos raised their swords together. 

The whole town fought the bandit army. Paimon and I didn't know how to fight, so we were pretty much useless. I did manage to throw a few punches and kicks. It was an adrenaline rush.

“This is amazing!” I shouted.

There was a random explosion, scaring the crap out of me, “Oh, my god!” 

The next thing I knew, part of the church had crumbled to the ground. Manolo had thrown Maria off the church roof to his family. He somehow managed to land safely.

Chakal's arm was pinned under the rubble of the church. He lit the explosives strapped to his chest, “I'm taking this whole town with me.” He snarled.

“No!” Paimon exclaimed. 

He's seriously about to destroy the whole town… oh, my god…

As I was processing this, Manolo and Joaquin charged towards Chakal, pinning him to the ground. They were trying to knock the bell over Chakal so the explosion would be trapped with him. 

“No. No!” Maria yelled. She tried to go help them, but was held back by her father and one of Manolo’s friends. 

But then Manolo pushed Joaquin out of the way. 

“Wait, what is he doing?!” Paimon exclaimed, “He's going to die again?!”

“He's willing to sacrifice himself for the town.” I said, “Even if it means dying again.”

Manolo looked at Maria one last time, “Don't forget me.” He kicked the column, trapping himself and Chakal under the bell.

“No!” Maria screamed. 

There was a large explosion under the bell. It felt like a stab in my heart.

Seeing their leader was dead, the bandit army ran out of town. The bell tipped over revealing nothing but black smoke. Maria gasped in horror and fell to her knees, mourning the love she just got back. Paimon and I looked at each other sadly. 

But then Manolo got up from the ground completely unharmed, shocking everyone. 

“What?!” Paimon exclaimed. I pulled her into my arms, hugging her in excitement to repress my fangirling, “Too tight…”

Maria was about to run into his arms, but hesitated. Not that I blame her.

“It's me, mi amor.” Manolo said. This was all she needed for her to embrace her love. 

Maria pulled away and looked him over for injuries, “But how did you survive?”

They looked at the gods, thinking they had something to do with it. “Don't look at me.” La Muerte said, just as confused as they were.

Turns out, it was the medal, which Maria found pinned to Manolo’s back. The couple ran to check on their wounded friend. Joaquin had a rag wrapped around his left eye. Manolo wasn't the only one willing to sacrifice himself for his loved ones. He wanted to be a true hero for once. Like Manolo. 

“Aw, that's actually very selfless of him.” Paimon said.

“Hey, Manolo is like a brother.” I said, “They'd do anything for each other.” I wish I had someone like that. 

Joaquin looked down at the medal, “I've never seen more clearly.” He tossed the medal back to Xibalba and turned to his friends, “It's time to cast our own shadows.”

“And write our… our own stories.” Manolo said. The three amigos shared a heartwarming group hug.

When they broke away, the general walked up to them, “Ah, ah, ah. There's still one more thing we need to do, son.” He lowered Manolo to one knee as he and Maria smiled at each other.

“Ahem, apologize.” I sarcastically coughed, “You're a douche.”

…

The whole town and the dead Sanchez family was gathered at the church for Manolo and Maria's wedding that the priest and Candle Maker officiated. 

This time, it was Maria’s turn to dip Manolo into a kiss. I finally unleashed my fangirl when they did. It was ok for me to jump around and squeal in happiness since everyone else was too.

“Today was a good Day of the Dead.” Candle Maker said, “Ah, yeah, yeah!”

“Yes!” I cheered, “Yes! Whoo-hoo!” 

We all went outside where Manolo and Maria sang an adorable duet and danced as husband and wife. Everyone, including me, joined in the song and danced. It was so much fun to be a part of.

After a while, Paimon and I walked around town. I was starting to feel kind of down.

“What's the matter, Fabi?” Paimon asked.

“I'm worried, Paimon.” I said, “We just lived through my favorite movie of all time. But now what? This is where the story ends in my world. I like to think there's more to the story once it's done, but with everything going on with the stone… I'm scared that we're stuck here.”

“Hm… Paimon can see how that's a problem.”

“Fabi!” I turned around and saw Manolo and Maria running towards me, Maria out of her wedding dress, “Paimon, hey! We’ve been looking for you guys, you just disappeared.”

“Uh, yeah.” It was a little hard for me to hide my emotions, so I could tell they knew something was up.

The newlyweds looked at each other with concern, “Fabi?” Manolo asked, “Are you ok?” 

Everyone was looking at me, waiting for an answer. I sighed, “Should I tell them?” I asked Paimon. She nodded, “When we told you guys we’re not from here, we were telling the truth, but… it's more complicated than that. You’re gonna think I’m crazy but… we’re not from this world.”

“What?” Maria asked.

“I’ve been teleporting to different worlds. First to Paimon’s world, which is a game in my world, and now here, which is a movie, or story, in my world.”

Manolo and Maria looked at me like I had two heads, “You’re… not making any sense.” Manolo said.

“I know. This thing randomly appeared in my home and has been sending me place to place.” I took the Mora Stone out of my pocket to show them.

“This kind of thing has already happened in Paimon’s world.” Paimon explained, “But so much magical stuff happened already. So should this really surprise you?”

The couple shrugged, “When you put it like that, it’s not the strangest thing to happen all day.” Manolo said.

“I promise everything I told you guys was true.” I said, “I don’t know where we’re going next or when, but part of me is afraid I'm stuck here. This is all an adventure, but I’m also scared I can’t go home.”

As if on cue, the Stone started vibrating violently in my hand, “Oh, no…”

“It’s happening again!” Paimon exclaimed.

“What’s happening?” Maria asked, scared and confused.

A portal opened up, almost immediately pulling me and Paimon into its force. These things scare me every time. What really scared me was seeing Manolo and Maria grab me and Paimon’s wrists to try and stop us from getting sucked in.

“No!” I yelled, “Guys, let go!”

They didn’t listen. They kept trying to help us, trying to pull us away from the portal. But it was no use.

“It’s too strong!” Paimon said.

Manolo and Maria were being pulled into the portal too, “No!”. There was nothing we could do as we were all sucked into the vortex. Off to the next world I guess.