TWO NIGHTS EARLIER...
With the sound of heavy rain outside the tent, Marco was sleeping peacefully in a hammock. Beside him, the shotgun with which he had killed that black feline was still there, even though he had been ordered to return it a few hours earlier. However, his rest was interrupted by the commotion of several men on the outside.
"The prisoners aren't in the tent!", said one of them. "What!? How the hell did that happen!? We must find them! Spread out, they couldn't have gone too far!"
"(The hell...?)", thought the blond boy, still slightly drowsy. He got up and went outside to find out what was going on. "Hey, wait a minute, what happened?", he asked to a man running past.
"Your damn friend escaped along with the native girl! Come on don't just stand there, help us find her!", he ordered.
"Oh shit!", Marco exclaimed. Immediately, the boy went back inside to grab his shotgun. "(Shit, how the fuck did they run away?)," he asked himself as he loaded the weapon. Ready to give chase, he headed for the exit. But at that moment, someone got in his way.
"Where do you think you're going, boy? I thought I ordered you to return that gun to the armory..."
"D-Dr. Faucault? What are you doing here? Didn't you hear? Lucas and the tour guide escaped!"
"I know. And you're going with them..."
"What? What the hell are you saying?"
"Marco... I need to know if I can trust you one hundred percent. So for your own sake, answer correctly... do you have what it takes truly?"
"What?"
"Do you desire wealth and power above everything? Is that really what drives you?"
"Well..."
"ANSWER ME!!"
"Y-yes, I want all that you promised... I want it all! I don't care about anything else!"
"Hee hee hee... good. Then, listen carefully... this is what you're gonna do..."
PRESENT DAY...
Near a high ridge, a man from the expedition group watched over the surroundings of the camp in a small lookout post. From that height, the jungle could be seen like a large map. He was one of the few who risked standing guard to alert the group in case of any threat. To do so, it was necessary to remain completely alone for several hours until the next relay arrived. A vital but dangerous task. However, the man received an unexpected visitor at that time of day.
"Ahhh!! For God's sake, you almost scared me to death, Marco! What are you doing here?", the man asked upon discovering the blond boy's presence.
"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. Dr. Escudero sent me, we need your help! It's an emergency!", said Marco very worried.
"What's wrong?"
"One of our scouts was badly injured out there and we need to locate him! We don't have much time! Do you have your radio with you?" the boy asked.
"Oh crap! Of course, I bring it with me always!", the man replied as he bent down to turn on and calibrate the huge communications device. "Ready, just tell me the frequency and I'll try to locate him..."
"120.85..."
"Alright, let's see...", the man said as he searched for a signal. "Who's the wounded?"
"As matter of fact... it's you..."
"Wait what?"
At that moment, Marco brutally hit the man's head with a rock he was hiding behind his back. The guy fell to the ground completely knocked out as blood began to pour from his forehead. Hesitating for a few moments, Marco quickly dragged the man's body to the edge of the ridge.
"Sorry, it's nothing personal...", the blond boy said before giving him one last shove. The man's body rolled downhill.
He did it. Marco had sent a person to a probable death. And yet... he didn't even consider the atrosity he had done. Instead, the boy picked up the radio horn and began to speak:
"Dr. Faucault, do you read me? This is Marco, I'm already inside. I have the camp's coordinates... over."
He waited for a response for several minutes, trying to communicate again and again.
"Damn it, answer me! I don't have all day!", he shouted. Then, a creepy voice replied.
"Well... Who would have thought you would make it? You really impress me... I'd even say you scare me a little, hee hee hee. Excellent work."
"Save your thanks and get over here at once before something happens!"
"Easy there... we'll be there real soon. You just earned your share, kid..."
/////////////
MEANWHILE...
With every step Uyari took forward, Y'shaati took a step backwards. After arguing for several minutes, the brunette girl's patience was beginning to wear thin.
"What are you waiting for? Stop acting as if you were a tender and innocent child! I command you to reveal your true form this very instant and fight me!", Uyari ordered. Her eyes and body glowed brightly in a golden color.
"No! Y'shaati no hurt friend!", Y'shaati replied.
"Friend? Never! I... I'm not your friend! I-I could never be friends with a devil like you!", Uyari pointed out as she walked to confront the blonde. Then, the brunette grabbed Y'shaati by her shirt and ripped it off her body aggressively, exposing her beautiful breasts. "I won't fall for your tricks so easily, you hear?"
"Ahh!", the blonde gasped.
"You think wearing a few garments makes you human? You will never be like that, you're a beast!", Uyari shouted as she pushed the wild girl, making her fall to the ground. Then, she began to pull off her pants to strip her.
"No! Stop!", Y'shaati begged as she struggled with the native girl.
"You're just a poor soul cursed by fate... just like me. And neither you nor I will be able to change that!", Uyari sentenced as she tossed her pants. The blonde was fully naked again.
"No! Y'shaati different... Y'shaati change!"
"Different? Hmmm... maybe you're right on that. Unlike you, I protect the jungle. I'm a humble servant of the allmother. Your sole purpose is to destroy our home and terrorize its inhabitants. You're a walking chaos!"
"No! Y'shaati protect apes and jungle!", Y'shaati shouted angrily as she rose up.
"It's okay. You won't have to worry about that, I'll do that job after I finish with you!"
"No, no... NO!!", Y'shaati exploded. She was mad now. Uyari's provocations had finally worked. She felt insulted. The Queen of the Monkeys wasn't going to allow someone else to take her place as the guardian of the Amazonia. Without a warning, the blonde savagely pounced on the brunette to attack her. A wild duel had begun.
Using her own weight, Y'shaati tried to pin Uyari down to subdue her with a wrestling maneuver. Surprisingly, the dark-skinned girl kept her balance and carried the blonde's entire body. Pushing herself forward, Uyari countered the attack and threw Y'shaati against the ground. Immediately, she dropped her buttocks on her legs, so that Y'shaati couldn't free herself. The blonde felt a sharp pain in her back and pelvis. However, she didn't waste a second to try to defend herself. Y'shaati quickly raised both legs and kicked Uyari's face with her right foot.
"Argh! I forgot how dexterous you are with your feet...", Uyari said just before Y'shaati attempted to kick her in the face again. The native girl managed to stop her this time, interlocking her toes with her hands. "Got you... I've watched all your skills very closely...", Uyari bragged.
"Ahh!?", Y'shaati gasped surprised. "I know how to use mine too!", the dark-skinned girl said before placing the sole of her right foot on one of the blonde's cheeks. She also nipped her ear with her toes. The girls remained struggling like that for a few seconds. In desperation, Y'shaati moved her head from side to side. Taking extreme measures, she managed to bite Uyari's big toe, which caused her to produce a moan of pain.
"Ahhhh!! Let go of me!!", she cried out. In that brief period of distraction, Y'shaati reincorporated her upper body and delivered a hard headbutt right on Uyari's chin. The brunette was stunned. The wild blonde took advantage of that moment to free her feet and connect a powerful kick right in her stomach. Uyari went flying until she crashed into one of the cave's walls. She fell to her knees and put her hand on her sore belly. Meanwhile, Y'shaati stood up and adopted her gorilla fighting pose.
"Ahhh ahhh ahhh ahhh... Goddesses, I can't deny it, your strength is impressive. I must be careful...", Uyari said while breathing heavily. "But I'm strong too! I'm used to take more than that!"
"Grrrrr! Ook ook ook ahh ahh!!", Y'shaati growled and howled to intimidate her opponent.
"You don't scare me, daughter of apes. Come on, I'm ready...", Uyari said as she slowly adopted a strange battle pose as well. She bent her body and let loose one arm, while she hid the other behind her.
Already determined to fight, Y'shaati launched herself into the attack, throwing several frenzied punches and kicks. However, the dark-skinned girl nimbly dodged each one of the blows. Her speed and reflexes were admirable. Uyari clearly possessed combat discipline, while Y'shaati relied only on brute force and instincts. Unexpectedly for the wild blonde, Uyari blocked one of her attacks, leaving her completely vulnerable. In the blink of an eye, the brunette connected a strong punch to her chest and a brutal knee to her crotch.
"Hnnnggggghhh!!!", Y'shaati gritted her teeth as she felt a deep pain. As if in a dance, Uyari quickly positioned herself behind the monkey queen.
"Right there!", the brunette said just before jumping and delivering a spectacular flying kick to Y'shaati's back. The force was so much, that this time the blonde went flying straight out of the cave. Y'shaati rolled across the wet jungle floor until she collided with a large rock. Feeling dizzy, Y'shaati let out a slight groan. Her body had taken considerable damage, but not enough to give up. Rising slowly from the ground, she surveyed her surroundings. That place was surrounded by a great swamp, tall thick trees, a large amount of vines and a natural rock wall. Despite her great knowledge of Amazonia, she had never been there before. It was definitely an effective hideout for Uyari. But the girls weren't alone there. Just then, a thunderous roar was heard from above. Y'shaati looked up startled.
A huge Onsa, the same black feline that had surprised her hours before her abduction, swiftly descended from the tree branches. The beast approached snarling at her, clearly in a sign of hostility. A new challenger had joined the duel. 2 vs 1. The battle was about to get complicated. The Monkey Queen was now in serious trouble. But still, she wasn't going to run away from the battle. She was ready to face anything. However, before the Onsa could pounce on Y'shaati, Uyari came swinging with a vine and landed just between the feline and the blonde.
"Ikta! Stand back!", the brunette commanded the animal, extending her arms. Y'shaati remained frozen at the surprising situation.
"Forgive me sister... this is my battle, not yours", Uyari said in a soft and calm voice. But apparently, the Onsa didn't take that order very well as the beast made another guttural growl.
"Please sister. I'll be fine, I promise...", she said with a confident smile. In disagreement with his words, the feline reluctantly turned around and took a big leap back to a tree branch. The beast lay down to spectate the fight between the girls. Y'shaati couldn't begin to understand what had happened. It seemed that Uyari knew how to communicate with the Onsas naturally, similar to how she was able to talk with apes. But that wasn't relevant right now. The queen of the monkeys had to prove that she was capable of defeating her rival and demonstrate that she was the true guardian of the jungle.
"Alright, now we can continue with our...", Uyari was interrupted as she was tackled from behind. Y'shaati had seized the chance to regain the advantage. The dark-skinned girl fell face first against the ground. The wild blonde immediately positioned herself behind her and grabbed both her arms, stretching them backwards painfully. She finally had her right where she wanted her, now she would try to smother her with a gorilla wrestling maneuver. If she managed to keep that position on Uyari, she would end up breaking both her limbs, which could mean an assured victory.
"Aaaarrgh! Goddesses, I only turned my back for a second... aaaaaargh!!", Uyari screamed as she felt her bones cracking.
"Ook ook ook ook!!!", Y'shaati howled before giving a little jump to drop her beautiful, perfect buttocks on Uyari's back. Sitting on top of her and still holding her by the arms, she lifted both legs and placed both her feet on her face, covering her mouth and pinching her nose with her toes.
"Hmmhhhhh! Hmmmhhhhh!!", the brunette tried to speak. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't get the feral girl's dirty soles and toes away from her face. Fear began to grip her as she debated between surrendering, pleading, or maintaining her pride in the face of the monkey queen's brutal strength. Just then, Y'shaati's body began to be covered in an emerald glow. Something unexpected was about to happen.
"(Y'shaati not want to hurt friend anymore... if Uyari stop, Y'shaati stop too!)," Uyari heard Y'shaati's voice inside her mind. For some reason, she could now understand her thoughts.
"(What!? But how did you...!?)", the brunette asked in shock. By then, she was starting to run out of air.
"(Why friend want to fight? Y'shaati don't understand... stop please!)," the blonde was pleading in her mind even though she was winning the battle. It was clear that she didn't want any more violence.
"(I... I will not stop! I can see that you have hidden powers, so you leave me no choice. I will show you everything I have! Ek' Balam, bless me with thy strength!", Uyari exclaimed. At that moment, the native girl's body also became enveloped in a glow, but hers was golden in color. The energy that accumulated between them was so incandescent that a great explosion was generated, sending both girls flying in opposite directions. Y'shaati ended up crashing into a tree trunk while Uyari rolled roughly through the ground. Both remained down for a few seconds.
"Ugh... by the allmother... what was that...?", the native girl muttered as she tried to stand up. Her whole body was shaking. On the other side of the stage, Y'shaati was trying to do the same thing. "It can't be... she still has the strength to go on?", Uyari asked to herself as she looked at her opponent. The monkey queen looked quite exhausted as well too, but her azure eyes were shining brighter than ever.
"I must admit that I underestimated you... I never thought you could withstand so much. I've never met anyone like you before. But I won't give up! I will..."
"Halt your speech, cub! This is an urgent matter!", interrupted an incorporeal voice.
"Uh? Ek' Balam!?", asked Uyari in surprise. "What are you doing here!?"
"I perceive a divine essence within that girl. This is something quite unforseen, even for me..."
"Divine? What is it?"
"If I am not mistaken, this human stores the soul of a deity within her. All leads me to believe that she's an A'nya..."
"What!? Are you saying... she's a vessel... like me!?"
"Indeed."
"So... what now then?"
"This bodes ill for us, cub. We should never have come into conflict with her. I don't think you're going to be able to stop her by yourself", said Ek' Balam.
"And you're telling me that NOW!? Goddesses! And what am I supposed to do now?"
"Fret not, I've come up with a solution. Listen closely, the only thing you need to do is look straight at her eyes for a few seconds. Once done, I'll be able to take care of the rest.
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me."
"Alright then. I really hope you know what you're doing..."
"Search for an opening and counterattack. Let my power flow freely through your whole body. Do not doubt yourself, cub."
"Ook ook ook ahh ahh!!!", the monkey queen savagely beat her bare chest to intimidate her rival again. Then, she pounded the ground with her fists, cracking the floor as a show of her enhanced new strength.
"Hssssskkkkk!!!", Uyari responded hissing like a wildcat as she adopted a feline battle stance. Both girls were embracing their wild side, ready to end this duel once and for all.
Y'shaati made the first move and turned around to quickly climb the tree behind her. She disappeared into the foliage of the trees and the myriad of vines up there. Seeing this, Uyari closed her eyes and focused on her hearing to detect any movement. Her strategy was simple. The combat arena remained deeply quiet for almost a full minute. Suddenly, Y'shaati reappeared swinging from a vine to attempt a powerful kick at Uyari. But the brunette managed to skillfully dodge the attack by stepping aside. Inertia allowed the wild girl to swing back to attack Uyari again. The native girl moved gracefully, avoiding harm twice. Surprised and annoyed at the situation, Y'shaati tried the same strategy several times, failing each and every single one. If she wanted to win this battle, she would have to do better than that. With that in mind, Y'shaati once again lost herself in the heights. Uyari kept her eyes closed at all times.
Guided by the soft sound of a vine, Uyari moved again to avoid yet another attack. But she noticed something suspicious immediately. Nothing was hanging from that vine. It was clearly a trap. The next second, Y'shaati dropped right on top of Uyari to crush her with her feet. But the brunette was ready. Incredibly, Uyari quickly did a handstand and stretched her legs into the air. The soles of both girls collided against each other.
"Ahhh!?", Y'shaati gasped. "Caught you!", Uyari exclaimed before propelling herself with her arms and connecting a vertically angled kick right into the monkey queen's belly. Y'shaati fell to the ground, out of breath. As she landed as well, Uyari pounced on her, locking both her arms and legs.
"Ek' Balam, I'm ready!", Uyari said as she held her gaze just millimeters away from Y'shaati's eyes, just as the entity had commanded. As they both looked at each other, a flash of light between their faces caused them both to remain in a trance-like state for a few seconds.
"Well done. Now I shall discover the identity of the spirit that lies before us...", said Ek' Balam before entering Y'shaati's mind.
Subtly, the whole environment became completely sky blue. Pure emptiness. Within an ethereal plane, Ek' Balam manifested himself in a corporeal form. His image was that of a creature with a muscular human body and the head of a black jaguar. The feline god walked slowly on a thin layer of water, hoping to unveil the mysterious entity inhabiting Y'shaati's psyche.
"(Who dwells within the body of this human girl? Come before me now or face my power...)", the god demanded.
In response, a long deafening roar disturbed the place, shattering the fabric of reality itself as if it were a mirror, threatening to traverse into the real world. Even Uyari could hear it. A display of might so immense that Ek' Balam himself had to cover his ears to endure it.
"(Nnngghh! Such wrath... such aggressiveness...)", the jaguar god muttered. "Argh! What was that horrible sound?", the dark-skinned girl asked.
"(Mbaʼéicha javépa ikatu nañakeveʼẽrendúi ñaime jave ñanekohápe?)", said an otherworldly deep voice in a incomprehensible language.
"Is that... the tongue of the Primordials? That cannot possibly be true... who are you?", Ek' Balam asked bewildered.
"Mbaʼépa. Ojopy peteĩ omoakãvape... Yacuruna...", the deity answered. Then, another roar shattered the place even more.
"Y-Yacuruna!?", said Ek' Balam in terror.
"Hyaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!", in the outside, Y'shaati began to scream in pain like never before in her entire life. She could feel hell breaking loose inside her head. An indescriptible ache. Her body began to writhe so violently that she even managed to free herself from Uyari's grip. The feral blonde brought her hands to her hair as she continued to cry desperately. "Hyaaaaaaahhh!!"
"By the allmother, what is happening to her?", Uyari wondered as she saw her rolling on the ground in agony. Her muscles twitched as if she were possessed by evil. Her hair losing its beautiful golden luster. Her iris changing to a crimson red color. "What are you doing to her, Ek' Balam!?"
"I am not doing anything, she is hurting herself. This is worse than I had imagined! This girl stores the soul of one of the Primordials gods...", replied the feline god.
"A primordial? You mean a N'epyru? Who is it?", Uyari asked.
"Yacuruna!"
"WHAT!? The daughter of the sun and the moon!? The very goddess of life!?"
"That is correct. I'm afraid I am no match for her. She's on another level altogether. But we cannot stop here. If she unleashes all her power here, she could liberate an unprecedented calamity throughout the jungle!"
"No way... what do we do!?"
"There is only one thing I can do for the time being..."
Inside the ethereal plane, Ek' Balam placed both hands on the thin layer of water and uttered one last phrase as a final resort to stop Yacuruna's threat. "Ikostádope... return to slumber!". Just before Y'shaati's mind could suffer serious permanent damage, the rage of the goddess stopped in an instant. The emerald glow disappeared as her body returned to normal. She finally stopped screaming, losing consciousness. The pain was over. The duel had come to an end.
Uyari slowly stood up as her entire body trembled from exhaustion. She walked over to observe Y'shaati lying face up on the ground. Ek' Balam's essence left the blonde's mouth and returned to Uyari's. This had been a more complicated and complex battle than they had both thought.
"That will be all for now...", said the jaguar god. "How did you make it? I thought you said you couldn't defeat her?", Uyari asked in confusion.
"I could never. All I did was return it to the dormant state it was in before the fight. But I'm afraid this is not a permanent solution. If Yacuruna's power takes over this girl's mind again, we could be in grave danger. I was wrong about her... there is no malice in her heart. She is not a white devil. In fact, her soul is pure light... perhaps too pure for this world...", Ek' Balam admitted.
"I don't think I'm following...", the native girl said.
"She is unaware of the immense power she possesses. I doubt her status as an A'nya means anything to her. This girl needs guidance...", the jaguar god pointed out.
"Guidance? And who in their right mind would want to serve as a mentor to a monkey girl?"
"Hmmm... logic tells me that perhaps the best guide to an A'nya, is another A'nya..."
"I suppose. Ah? W-wait... are you suggesting that I should...?"
"Unless you know another A'nya living in this era, it doesn't look to me like you have much of a choice..."
"Ah well... I-I guess if it's to protect the jungle, I could..."
"Good decision. This old jaguar is proud of your courage and determination. You have a new mission. You are both guardians of Amazonia. Fulfill the will of the allmother. I leave it in your hands, cub. Farewell for now...", Ek' Balam said before fading away.
"Ah!? Wait, I haven't accepted anything yet!", Uyari exclaimed, but it was too late, the god was gone. Meanwhile, Y'shaati was beginning to wake up. She slowly opened her eyes while holding her head. "Ahhhhh... hurts...", the feral girl murmured.
"Oh, you're awake already?", the brunette said in surprise. She Immediately knelt down near her to aid her. "Where...?", asked Y'shaati.
"It's okay, everything is fine. Uhm listen, I'd like to apologize for everything that happened...", Uyari confessed. Y'shaati bowed her head in confusion. "Happened...?", she asked again.
"Uh? You really don't remember what happened?", Uyari asked skeptically.
"Y'shaati remember... Onsa attack Y'shaati... Y'shaati feel punch from behind... and then, Y'shaati wake up here...", the blonde said.
"(Heavens, I think she really doesn't remember. Maybe she has amnesia due to the strain of the fight...)", Uyari thought.
"(Fight...? Y'shaati fight...?)", the savage girl asked in her thoughts. Uyari gasped when she heard her voice.
"Ah? But how...!? Did you just hear my thoughts!?"
"(What amnesia...? Y'shaati not know meaning of funny word...)"
"Hey, and since when do you know how to speak so fluently?", Uyari was surprised when she noticed that both girls weren't moving their lips to communicate. "(What's the meaning of this...?)"
"(Y'shaati do something bad?)" she asked.
"(No, it's not that, it's just... I can hear you in my mind. Can't you feel it too? I think... you and I formed a sort of bond when we...", Uyari answered. At that moment, the Onsa who had watched the entire battle from above descended to the ground. The beast snarled at the monkey queen. "Ahhhh!!", Y'shaati yelled frightened.
"Ikta! Wait! Easy, she's not our enemy!", Uyari exclaimed, stepping between the two. The huge feline immediately backed away.
"(I'm very sorry Y'shaati. This big girl is Ikta. She is... my sister. She was the one who attacked you from behind, but it was all a big misunderstanding. And sorry about your clothes too. You were just getting used to wearing them. I hope you can forgive us both, she is a beautiful and noble creature... right?)", Uyari said with a smile as she caressed the Onsa's back. Ikta licked the native girl's face.
"Sister? Onsa be family?", asked Y'shaati.
"That's right! It's... a long story. I think I owe you and everyone else an explanation. Goddesses, speaking of which... we should get back to camp! Surely they all have noticed our absence by now", Uyari mentioned before helping to lift Y'shaati off the ground. Then, Uyari mounted Ikta. The wild girl watched still not fully trusting the beast.
"Come on, don't be afraid. I promise she won't hurt you again. We have to go!", Uyari said while extending her a hand. Y'shaati had no choice but to accept and climb on the feline's back. Ikta emitted an uncomfortable growl.
"Ikta... be good. Let's go!", Uyari commanded. Suddenly, Ikta ran at full speed and took a big leap into the branches of the trees, disappearing into the canopy.
