Coco

Hector?

Miguel hustles down a staircase with Dante and Y/N. Once on the ground floor, they huddle beneath the staircase. Y/N looks to the upper floor. The Dead Riveras are there. Tío Oscar asks a Patrolwoman about a boy of Miguel's height and Y/N. The patrolwoman picks up her walkie-talkie. Miguel scopes the ground floor and spies a revolving door exit. "Vámonos." Miguel puts up his hood, tightening it to a tiny eyehole, and heads out. Y/N and Dante pad after him. The spirit grabs a cloak and covers her face.

"We got a family looking for a living boy and traveling spirit." The Patrolwoman's voice comes through walkies from multiple officers. "If I wanna be a musician, I need a MUSICIAN'S blessing. We gotta find my great-great grandpa." Miguel whispers.

The exit gets closer when they are stopped by a Patrolman, "Hold it, muchacho." Miguel's hoodie loosens to reveal his living face. "Ahh!" The patrolman frantically grabs his walkie-talkie, "I've found that living boy!"

A large family passes between the two and the officer, chatty, arms full of offerings. Y/N grabbed Miguel's arm, and the two quickly hid in another corridor. They hide from the patrolman, but Dante wanders off to inspect a side room. "No, no -- Dante!" Miguel and Y/N chase after the dog. They catch up to Dante and hide in the corner, overhearing an exchange in a nearby cubicle. 

"...disturbing the peace, fleeing an officer, falsifying a unibrow..."

Y/N recognizes it being the skeleton trying to cross the bridge, "That's illegal?" The Corrections Officer glares at him, "VERY illegal. You need to clean up your act, amigo."

"Amigo? Oh, that's so nice to hear you say that because... I've just had a really hard Día de Muertos, and I could really use an amigo right now." He leans gratefully toward the officer, overwhelmed with mock emotion, "And amigos, they help their amigos. Listen, you get me across that bridge tonight, and I'll make it worth your while." He spies a de la Cruz poster at the officer's workstation. 

"Oh, you like de la Cruz? He and I go way back! I can get you front-row seats to his Sunrise Spectacular Show!"

Miguel perks at the mention of de la Cruz. 

"Uh--"

"I'll -- I'll get you backstage; you can meet him! You just gotta let me cross that bridge!" 

The corrections officer pulls away, "I should lock you up for the rest of the holiday... But my shift's almost up, and I wanna visit my living family... so I'm letting you off with a warning." The male snatches the paper and stands up, "Can I at least get my costume back?"

"Uh, no."

In a huff, he marches out of the room, "Some amigo..." Y/N and Miguel follow him. "Hey. Hey! You really know de la Cruz?" Miguel spoke, getting the male's attention. "Who wants to--" He notices Miguel and Y/N, "Ah! You're alive!" Y/N hushes him, "Shhh!" She pulls him into a phone booth to avoid suspicion. 

Miguel looks up as the male skeleton seems to hyperventilate. "Yeah, we're alive. And if I wanna get back to the Land of the Living, I need de la Cruz's blessing." The skeleton frowns, "That's weirdly specific." 

"He's my great-great-grandfather."

"He's your wha-whaat...?" His eyes drop into his mouth. He pops them back up with a punch to his jaw. Miguel is a little grossed out. The man turns to conference with himself, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait..." He gasps, "Wait, no, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait? Yes! You're going back to the Land of the Living?!"

"D'ya know what, maybe this isn't such a g--"

Héctor snaps his fingers rapidly, pistons firing as they exit the phonebooth, "No, niño, niño, niño, I can help you! You can help me. We can help each other! But most importantly, you can help ME." Miguel suddenly spies his family hurrying down a staircase. Mamá Imelda spots Miguel. 

"Miguel!"

"AH!"

The skeleton extends his hand. "I'm Héctor."

Y/N felt her world stop. Hector? She stares at him. I-it can't be him. "That's nice!" Miguel grabs Héctor by the wrist and drags him to the exit, away from his family. Y/N follows Miguel, and Dante, bursting out the door and rushes down the stairs. Héctor's arm snaps to get their attention. Miguel realizes it's no longer attached to Héctor's body. The arm signals backward to Héctor, who is ten paces behind.

"Espérame chamaco!"

Y/N throws the arm back to Héctor, and they disappear into a dense crowd. Moments later, the Dead Riveras burst from the revolving doors. Mamá Imelda scours the crowd for Miguel. He's nowhere to be found. "Ay, he is going to get himself killed... I need my spirit guide, Pepita." Mamá Imelda looks to the night sky, puts two fingers to her mouth, and lets out a piercing whistle.

FWOOOMP! 

A giant winged jaguar lands in front of Mamá Imelda. She turns to the family, "Who has that petal Miguel touched?"

"Here!" Papá Julio steps forward with a marigold petal. He creeps forward, jittery, holding it out for Pepita, "Nice alebrije..." Pepita sniffs the petal's scent. Suddenly Pepita's head darts, narrowing in on the scent. She takes to the air.

Once they managed to get to a safe spot under a bridge, Miguel sat on a wooden crate. Héctor uses his thumb to smudge black and white shoe polish on the boy's face. "Hey, hey, hold still. Look up. Look up. A ver, a ver... look up. Up, UP!... Ta-da!" Héctor opens a small mirror. Miguel's face is painted to look like a skeleton. "Dead as a doorknob." Miguel smiles at the makeup.

Hector glances at Y/N and smiles at her skeletal face. But he couldn't help but think there was something about her. He gets Miguel's attention.

"So listen, Miguel: this place runs on memories. When you're well-remembered, people put up your photo, and you get to cross the bridge and visit the living on Día de Muertos. Unless you're me."

Y/N glances at him, "You don't get to cross over." She stares at him. Is he really her brother? Hector shakes his head, "No one's ever put up my picture... But you can change that!" He unfolds an old picture. In it is a young, living Héctor.

The spirit of both realms looks at the photo, and her eyes widen. It is him! Miguel frowns at the photo, "This is you?" 

"Muy guapo, eh?" 

She wanted to throw her arms around him and cry but wasn't sure if he recognized her. "So you get me to my great-great grandpa, then I put up your photo when I get home?" Miguel asks, slipping the photo into his pocket. 

"Such a smart boy! Yes! Great idea, yes! One hiccup: de la Cruz is a tough guy to get to. And I need to cross that bridge soon. Like TONIGHT. So, you got any other family here, you know? Someone a bit more... accessible?"

"Mmm, nope."

Hector points a finger at the boy, "Don't yank my chain, chamaco. You gotta have SOME other family."

"ONLY de la Cruz. If you can't help me, I'll find him myself." Miguel marches out of the alley, whistling for Dante to follow. Hector glances at Y/N and sighs, "Okay, okay, kid, fine -- fine! I'll get you to your great-great-grandpa...! "