A/N: I thought of this soon after watching the episode Mexico á Go-Go. I figured that if Felldrake really wanted to kill Panchito and the other Caballeros, he would have used his magic to accomplish it instead of just hitting people in the head. I just had to write this 'what-if'. I hope you like it.

José clutched so tightly to the wrestling ropes that his feathers had begun to feel numb. He had started to warm up to adventuring, but when they had arrived at Mexico and had gotten the news that Panchito was apparently the Messenger of Life, a twisted feeling had started to build up in José's gut. This feeling had gotten worse and made him feel slightly nauseous when they learned that Panchito, as the Messenger of Life, was supposed to fight with Sheldgoose, the supposed Messenger of Death.

José had known that Panchito was a skilled wrestler, and the rooster himself seemed unconcerned, but José couldn't help but be nervous enough for the both of them. He was confident that Panchito could win, but that didn't stop him from worrying anyways.

Before the beginning of the final round, José learned exactly why he should have been nervous about the wrestling match. It wasn't just a fight. Everybody expected it to be a fight to the death.

At this new revelation, José's concern for his friend got so bad that he felt like he couldn't breath. José knew Panchito well enough to know that he was far too kind and honorable to even consider taking somebody else's life, even without the 'luchador oath'. They had thought of a strategy that might allow all of them, including both Sheldgoose and Panchito, to walk out of there alive. The strategy could work...so why couldn't José shake the feeling that things were about to go horribly wrong?

Their plan had gone well for a few moments. Panchito had been able to get Sheldgoose into a tight hold. All he had to do was keep his opponent in this grip for a few minutes until time ran out, and everything would be fine.

Of course, this was where everything had to take a turn for the worst.

"Leopold, give Mommy to Daddy!" Sheldgoose cried out desperately. It seemed like a meaningless phrase of insanity. José had been ready to push it to the back of his mind, but then the horrible creature, Leopold, had picked up the staff that contained the spirit of Felldrake and thrown it to Sheldgoose.

This in and of itself could be considered cheating, as a staff, whether it was possessed or not, had no place in a wrestling match. But this wasn't just any staff, it was a staff that was possessed by a very powerful, very dangerous sorcerer. A sorcerer who had made it clear that he wanted the three of them dead, and now had the opportunity to accomplish at least a third of that goal.

"Panchito, watch out!" José shouted. He had done his best to watch the match in silence, as he didn't want to distract Panchito from the fight. When José saw the eyes of Felldrake's staff glow purple with magic and power, he couldn't stay silent. Not when his friend was in danger.

Panchito's eyes widened as he looked up just in time to see Sheldgoose catch the staff. Sheldgoose laughed wickedly as he twisted in Panchito's grip enough to swing the staff towards him. For one hopeful moment José thought that Sheldgoose would just whack Panchito in the head with the staff. That hope was shattered when, just before the staff would have hit Panchito, he released the magic that had been built up.

"No!" José watched in horror as Panchito was hit straight on by Felldrake's power. The force sent the scrawny rooster flying. Panchito crash landed on the ground outside of the ring. José wasn't familiar with the rules of wrestling, so he didn't know if this counted as a loss or a penalty, but at that moment he didn't care. The only thing that José cared about was that his friend wasn't moving.

"Panchito!" José ran to his friend, not caring if that was against the rules or not. Sheldgoose had used magic in a wrestling match, so José was pretty sure the rules were moot at that point. José was vaguely aware of Xandra and Donald yelling furiously behind him, though considering Donald had been focused on Daisy all day, he doubted that the duck was upset for the reason that he probably should be. Normally Donald's questionable priorities would irritate José, but he had other things to worry about at the moment.

"Panchito." José knelt at his friend's side. "Come on, amigo, wake up." José gently pulled off Panchito's luchador mask so he could get a proper look at his face. Panchito didn't exactly look extremely hurt, but he had been hit with magic, and José didn't know if there even were physical indications of just how bad a magical attack had been. He didn't know if there was any way to reverse whatever the evil staff had done to Panchito. José didn't know anything, and he hated it.

José did the only thing he could think to do to be helpful and he rolled Panchito over so he was lying on his back instead of his side. José avoided looking at Panchito's face, he just couldn't handle seeing his normally hyperactive and cheerful friend looking so blank. Instead, José kept his gaze locked on Panchito's chest. He was desperate to see whether his friend was even breathing or not, because he just didn't know.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell just by watching him. José was sure that if Panchito was breathing, it would be much more subtle than it should be. José tried to focus on Panchito's chest, to try to catch even the smallest sign of a rise and fall, but his eyes were far too wet for him to be able to see clearly enough to be able to tell. José tried to wipe the tears from his eyes, but it didn't do him any good.

"Is he dead?" José stiffened when he heard Sheldgoose's voice. He sounded far too hopeful and eager, and it was absolutely horrible.

"He should be." José couldn't help but let out a small, wounded cry when he heard the response from the unnatural, evil staff. "But just to be sure…" Even though José's back was to the villains, he could feel the power radiating behind him. He knew exactly what they were planning, and he wouldn't stand for it. They had already hurt Panchito with magic, and José wasn't about to let them do it again.

José quickly got to his feet and put himself between Panchito and the ones who wanted to do him harm. He didn't care that he was potentially putting himself in danger, he had to protect his friend. José's movements didn't deter the villains at all. They apparently didn't care who they hurt, they just wanted to get rid of their enemies.

José saw Sheldgoose raise the staff, which had started to glow purple with magic again. José shut his eyes tight and braced himself for the attack that he knew was bound to happen.

"Enough." A smooth, quiet, and yet also commanding voice said, cutting through all the noise. José stood stiffly for a few moments before he hesitantly opened his eyes a little bit to see what was going on. He was shocked to see that Sheldgoose seemed to be frozen where he stood, and the magic from Felldrake's staff had died down. José didn't know for sure why they hadn't attacked him, but he instinctively knew that it had something to do with the man standing in front of them.

Even from behind, José recognized the man as the one who had caught Xandra's interest. José didn't know anything about this man, but by the way that he carried himself, the way that he showed no concern even though he was standing in front of Sheldgoose and Felldrake, who had already shown how dangerous they could be, and how the man had been sitting in a V.I.P like area to watch the match, José knew that whoever this man was, he wasn't someone to be messed with lightly.

"What do you want?" Xandra said irritably. José looked towards the goddess and was surprised to see how angry at the stranger she seemed to be. José knew that Xandra was just as scared for Panchito, and infuriated by the fight to the death as he was, but what reason did she have to blame the man that she was clearly infatuated with?

The stranger looked towards Xandra in an amused way. "Do not worry, Xandra, it is not you or your companions that I have issue with," The man looked back towards Sheldgoose. "It is them. I expected fair play from my chosen champion."

"Champion?" Xandra looked taken aback. "Wait a second, you're not…" The goddess trailed off, and the stranger chuckled. As José was behind the man, he couldn't see what he did, but in an instant the strange yet charming man had been replaced by a skeletal figure that truly needed no introduction.

José could hear the audience screaming and running for their lives. It made sense that they were terrified of death, as most creatures were, but José found it ironic that all of these roosters and chickens were so terrified of Death when they had been cheerfully calling for it just a few moments ago. José supposed that they didn't find death so entertaining when it was their own lives on the line.

The skeleton introduced himself as the god of death, and José knew from his time with Xandra that all of the gods, even if they might not be worshiped, should still be respected. At that moment though, José couldn't bring himself to hold anything but resentment towards the god.

"How can you dare to request a fair fight when you are the one who is demanding that this fight end with the taking of one's life?" José glared darkly at the god of death, uncaring of what the possible consequences might be.

"Do not be angry with Death, José." A high pitched and seductive voice said. José turned away from the god of death to see the beautiful bird that he had danced with earlier kneeling at Panchito's side. José blinked in surprise. How had he missed her approaching?

"This age old tradition is far more important than a mortal like you can ever understand." She said. "We must have champions and messengers to fight and speak for us."

"We...us?" José looked from his dancing partner to the god of death. "Are you…"

"Life." She smiled at José in the way that made his heart skip a beat. He just couldn't resist a beautiful woman. She took his hand and gently lead him to kneel down next to her. "As gods, me and Death are too powerful to settle our disputes ourselves. The mortal world would be affected if we did, so we choose champions to fight for us."

"But...why Panchito?" José asked. He also didn't understand why it had to be a fight to the death, but perhaps it was too much to expect gods to understand how short and sacred the lives of mortals were.

"He is full of energy, and has a strong desire to preserve life." The goddess said fondly. "He is exactly what I look for in my champions."

José felt his chest tighten. He didn't really have any interest in all of this messenger and god business. The only reason he cared about the battle between life and death was because Panchito had been thrown in the middle of it all.

"If you are the goddess of life, then please, can you tell me," José looked down at Panchito. "My friend, is he…" José didn't dare speak the word. He feared that if he did, that would just make it true.

"He is on the brink." The goddess said with certainty. "On the edge between life and death."

"...Can you bring him completely to the life side?" José was relieved that Panchito was, at the very least, not fully dead, but he wouldn't be able to take it if Panchito fell any further.

"Hmm," The goddess of life considered his request. "Possibly." She looked towards the god of death. "Hey, Death!" José was taken aback by her sudden change in tone. "Your champion cheated, didn't he? Is he disqualified or what?" She sounded so much more casual towards the god of death than she had been towards José. Did gods just feel the need to speak with a formal air of grace when they were addressing mortals?

The god of death looked annoyed. "Yes, he is."

"Does that mean that Panchito won the match?" José felt a small glimmer of hope. He didn't believe that anybody, not even Sheldgoose or Felldrake, deserved death. But if it was between them or Panchito, José would choose his friend's life every time. Besides, it wasn't his or Panchito's fault that they had decided to cheat. They needed to deal with the consequences of their actions.

"My champion won, so the prize of life should be his." The goddess of life said in a tone that left little room open for argument. "Right, Death?"

"Yes, yes, of course." The god of death agreed reluctantly.

"I thought so." The goddess of life grinned triumphantly. She bent down and kissed Panchito's forehead. The moment that her beak came in contact with his feathers, Panchito gasped and José released the breath that he hadn't even realized he was holding. Panchito was breathing again. Panchito was alive.

"Obrigado, deusa." José said weakly. "Thank you."

The goddess of life smiled gently and she gave José a kiss on the forehead as well. "It has been a pleasure to meet you, señor Carioca." She got to her feet and walked towards the god of death, though she did look back. "And tell your friend that he fought honorably. He's possibly one of my favorite champions yet." José still didn't know how he felt about his friend being the champion or messenger for the goddess of life, but he nodded anyways.

The goddess of life winked at him before she joined her companion and the two of them disappeared in a flash of light. When the light dimmed enough for them to be able to see properly again, not only were the two gods gone, but so were Felldrake, Sheldgoose, and Leopold. José didn't know if the three of them were even capable of sneaking out, so they must have been taken away by the god of death.

"...What the heck just happened?" Donald's voice cuts through the silence. José had to bit his tongue to keep himself from saying something he would surely regret later. He had to remind himself that Donald was not the one he was angry with, and it wouldn't be fair to take his frustration out on the duck. Even if José was annoyed that Donald had been more concerned about his date with Daisy than the life and death situation that Panchito had found himself in, that didn't mean that what had happened was his fault.

Besides, José couldn't confidently say that if he were the one who had the chance to have a beautiful woman in his life, that he wouldn't do something similar.

Because José didn't know exactly how much Donald knew, he decided to try to give him all of the information. "Panchito got pulled into a fight to the death against Sheldgoose."

"What?!" Donald's expression was equal parts furious and horrified. He must have been pretty distracted to not even know that much. Donald looked at Panchito, who was still unconscious. "Is he okay?"

"I think so." José brushed Panchito's comb back so it didn't hang in his face. "He's breathing, at least."

Donald looked around and frowned. "Where is Sheldgoose anyways?"

José winced. "I don't know for sure, but I think the god of death took them away for cheating."

"...Good." Donald huffed and crossed his arms, though he still looked a little queasy at the thought. A part of them may be relieved that Sheldgoose and Felldrake were gone, but José was pretty sure that all of them wished that it could have happened some other way.

Their guilty feelings of relief were interrupted when Panchito groaned quietly and moved his head slightly to the side. José, Donald, and Xandra all watched their friend with bated breath as he slowly began to wake up.

"Ugh," Panchito opened his eyes slightly, though it took him a few moments to focus his gaze on José. "Wh-what…"

"Do not talk, my friend." José helped Panchito sit up. "You're hurt." While there was no physical evidence of Panchito being injured, José doubted that one could just walk away from nearly dying unscathed.

Panchito nodded slightly as he looked around. Panchito's eyes widened in shock and alarm when he saw that they were the only ones there. "Where's...did I...win?"

José and Donald shared a concerned glance. They both knew that Panchito would blame himself if he learned that Sheldgoose had presumably died, even though it was in no way his fault. José swallowed and looked back to Panchito as he tried to find the words to say so as to not upset him. "You didn't kill him." It was the only thing José could say. It was the truth, while also keeping hidden what had happened to Sheldgoose. José knew that he couldn't keep this a secret from Panchito forever, but for now he thought it best that the rooster was kept in the dark, at least for a little bit.

Panchito relaxed and José's words. "Good." Panchito sighed, clearly relieved. "I didn't want to be responsible for anybody being dead."

"...You're not." Donald said stiffly. The duck refused to meet any of their gazes. He looked completely drained, and José felt much the same way. It had been a long, confusing, emotionally draining day, and he was more than ready for it to be over.

Xandra cleared her throat and grabbed her book from her back. "Let's go home, Caballeros." None of them had any objections to her suggestion. Donald went to Panchito's other side, and together he and José helped their friend to his feet. José tried to focus on helping Panchito, because he didn't want to think about what else was on his mind.

Sheldgoose was gone, and that was both a relief and something horrible. But José couldn't shake the feeling that they hadn't seen the last of either Sheldgoose or Felldrake. José didn't know how they could possibly come back from the dead, but if anybody could manage it, it was them.

José didn't want to think about that now. At least at the moment, they didn't have to deal with the villains. Sheldgoose and Felldrake were gone, and José wanted to take advantage of that at least for a little bit. He didn't want to worry about whether or not their enemies would be back, or when it would happen. All that José wanted to think about was that he and his friends were alive and well, and at least for the time being, it was going to stay that way.