Cuzkaal burst into the hut hoping that he was not too late in stopping the rescue that Shaw had planned to do. But as soon as he entered the worn down room, he realized that he had been beaten. Grumbling under his breath he searched the place hoping to find Jagul and find out how Shaw had gotten away with it.

"Jagul! Show yourself, you better have a good excuse for letting them go," said Cuzkaal.

But Jagul did not show herself, instead Cuzkaal ran right into her, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face. For a moment he was not sure what to make of what had happened until he realized that Shaw had used the stunning maneuver on her. It would work for many days on mortal creatures, sometimes even killing them, but for immortal creatures, it would last only hours. But Cuzkaal did not have time for that and quickly created a reverse maneuver. A few moments later, Jagul stood there stunned and looked up at Cuzkaal worriedly.

"I tried to stop them Cuzkaal, but that Shawlakhaanoytl tricked me, he was a quick one, you taught him well when you had the chance," said Jagul.

"Ah yes I remember how quick he was at certain spells, but we must not let that stop us, we might still have time to catch up to them before they leave the area," said Cuzkaal.

"Of course we can, I am a god aren't I," said Jagul with a satisfied purr.

"But what about me, I know you can get to them quickly, I on the other hand can only sprint and be there as soon as I can," said Cuzkaal.

"Then grab onto my tail and hang on tight," said Jagul as she turned around and brushed her tail from side to side.

Cuzkaal knew what she was going to do, he had done this before with her and it was a very different experience. Knowing that this was going to be a battle sooner or later and hoping that he would win this, he quickly ran over to the wall and grabbed a dagger and bow and arrow set just in case. Finally once he had what he needed, he grabbed Jagul's tail and held on.

Lightning fell in all directions as the rain began to fall harder near the gorge where Shaw had led the group. It was not the deepest gorge in the world, probably about four stories down, a part of the river ran through it but there was also a bank on both sides. Shaw knew that by crossing this area, they would be able to get back to civilization sooner and that they would be out of Cuzkaal's territory quicker. He had crossed this area many times before when he needed special plants for medicine so he knew it was safe to cross, even in bad weather. Of course that had to take some persuasion with the group. He had tried to bring Alex on this expedition once before so she could help carry what he needed back. She did not cross that time because of her fear of what happened last time. Of course this bridge was a bit different, it hung from a gorge much higher than the other and one that would be a long drop if you did fall. She kept a wide distance from the bridge.

"Alex we have to cross, it's the only way back," said Maggie as she tried to talk her hero into crossing.

"But what about Milo, will he know it's safe to cross as well?" asked Alex.

"I bet he does, and it is safe, you have seen me cross this before," said Shaw as he tried to convince Alex to cross as he stepped onto one of the small rickety pieces. It creaked and groaned but it did not break. Alex stared at it nervously, the boards groaned as the wind pushed them and the rain made them look very slippery. Unsure of what to do, Alex backed up a bit, not watching where she was going until she ran smack into Riley. She turned around and stared at him, he only smiled back before taking her hand and moving her forward.

"How about I help you cross, if one of us falls one of us can hang on and get the others to help pull you to safety. Something you didn't have when you were with Milo," said Riley.

Alex stared back at Riley worriedly; he held her hand and stared back at her with a concerned smile on his face. He was such a nice guy, always willing to help and he hadn't let her down once yet in the past few days. She had to trust him. Nervously she followed him as he led her over to the edge of the bridge. He took one step making the board creak and groan under his weight but he did not back down. Alex on the other hand watched nervously as she tried to move forward, she kept stopping as the bridge began to sway from the storm that was about to come at them at full force.

"It's okay Alex, it's a bit slippery but if you don't look down you'll be alright," said Riley.

Alex gulped nervously and finally stepped down onto the first board on the bridge. For a long moment she stood there as if waiting for something to happen, but nothing did, the board was very secure. Alex looked back at Riley for a moment, her face full of shock and wonder while Riley only smiled back encouraging her to keep going. It wasn't long before Alex finally had the courage to move forward again before laughing happily at overcoming her fear. In fact she was so happy that Riley had helped her, she leapt forward and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Riley, I can cross shallow rivers, but not these bridges, thanks to you though, I finally can," she said with a smile.

"Glad to have helped," said Riley as he tried to get her to let go of him.

Alex quickly got the message and sheepishly let go before turning back to the rest of the group who were waiting patiently on the edge of the bridge. Maggie and Celia both looked anxious to get out of there, and even Homer, Jeremy and Bart were too. But none of them looked more worried about crossing to the other side than Shaw. He kept looking behind him, dagger at the ready, not that it would do him any good but he felt safe holding it. Finally Riley told Alex to hold out her hand so Celia and Maggie could cross with them, followed by Jeremy and Bart and then Homer, Shaw took up the rear.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly; the journey seemed to be at an end until lightning struck a nearby tree and thunder cracked out loudly around them. It was such a supernatural sound this time and everyone ducked in fear wondering where that lightning even struck. But the wonder soon changed to horror when all of them heard an angry growl call out through the jungle.

"What in the world was that?" asked Homer. He was shaking as he held onto the rope that held the bridge up.

"Jagul," Shaw said quietly as he turned around and looked to where they had come from.

There was a long moment of silence as Shaw stood there waiting to see what was happening. Riley began to wonder if he should keep moving, hoping that once they crossed they would be safe. And he was about to nudge Alex forward with him when he heard surprised grunt from Homer. He looked toward his friend, and there next to Homer's foot was an arrow. Cuzkaal was somewhere close.

"Can we please keep moving," Homer said nervously as he stared down at the arrow that was lodged deep in the wooden board.

"Yeah, go now!" said Shaw.

"Don't even think about it!" a voice suddenly boomed through the storm. This time everyone was shaking on the bridge as they looked around to see where it came from.

It wasn't long before Jagul appeared; she appeared out of the darkness in front of the other side of the bridge, their only way off to get away from Cuzkaal. Her claws were unsheathed and she crouched low, almost as if she was ready to pounce and attack at any moment. Her eyes shone with intensity and they could hear a low growl emanate in her chest. No one wanted to try and cross her.

"Either Homer comes back to me or you all perish," said Cuzkaal as he stood by the edge of the bridge.

Homer looked at everyone around him, he knew he was needed by Cuzkaal but he did not realize how much Cuzkaal would go to get at him. He had finally found Maggie again, he had wanted to get to know her better as soon as he got home and he wanted to have a heart to heart talk with all three of his kids. Now it seemed that this was out of the question, there was no way he could do any of the things he wanted to do.

"To show I am not bluffing, Jagul show them what you can do," said Cuzkaal.

Everyone stared at Jagul as she made her way closer to the edge of the bridge. She stopped at the first board and stared back at everyone, smiling menacingly. Everyone waited on baited breath to find out what she would do. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Jagul reared up on her hind legs before letting out a roar that was loud enough to cause the whole bridge to shake. She then pounced hard on the first board, breaking it in half.

"Unless you comply, this entire bridge will fall apart and there is no way out," said Cuzkaal.

"Dad!" Maggie cried out in a scared voice.

"I know Maggie I'm scared too," said Homer.

"Are you really going to let Cuzkaal take you?" she asked tears starting to form in her eyes.

Homer turned to Shaw, hoping for a positive answer; Shaw only stared back before letting out a pained sigh.

"There's got to be a way out of this, for my family, please you have to do something," said Homer.

"I wish I could Homer, but he is too powerful, and I hate to say this but if you want to protect your family, sacrifices must be made," said Shaw.

Homer stared back at Shaw, tears now falling from his face, Bart and Maggie were here now and he could say goodbye to them but what about Marge and Lisa? His loving wife of twenty-one years would never have a chance to say goodbye to him, all because of some horrible shaman wanting to return to his former glory. It was breaking his heart, he wanted Marge there, he wanted to be home, he wanted all of this to be over with and that it would only become a funny memory.

Homer turned to Maggie and Bart who were standing there waiting for him to make the decision, they had a pained look in their eyes and he knew that they did not want it to end this way either. They were so young, they had years ahead of them, Maggie would grow up to become someone great someday. Bart would probably become one of the greatest comic book store owners in Springfield, heck he could even do something better. He did not want to see their lives shortened by this. They were his children, ones that could be killed in the hands of Cuzkaal, just like the children that were killed eight years ago by him. A horrible death that would make any parent want to kill the person for his evil deeds. Homer was no exception; Cuzkaal would kill without remorse, without pity, and without shame, all just to bring back his favorite apprentice.

Homer could not believe that anyone could be that selfish, he could not believe anyone was still alive to continue his life like this, no one in the old tribe had even tried to kill him in eight years. Now he was the one suffering for it, the one who would bring back a useless apprentice who would most likely return to be just like his teacher, to kill without remorse and to be filled with the blood of children from eight years ago. Now if he said no to sacrificing himself, his children would die at the paws of some horrible jaguar god, Cuzkaal would get what he wanted and no one would stop him. He could not let that happen, he wanted his children to live. He wanted them to grow up and become something great. He was now middle aged, past his prime, past his glory days. Just the thought of them perishing in the paws of some horrible jaguar god made him angry. He wanted defeat Cuzkaal, to stop him from continuing his legacy. He knew a shaman could not kill another shaman, but what about a mortal killing a shaman.

"You said a shaman could not kill another shaman, but what about me?" Homer asked quietly to Shaw making sure Jagul was not listening.

"It has happened before, but it's very risky, you have to be quick about it," said Shaw in a whisper as well.

"Then I want to try, for you guys. If I can't, I die and Cuzkaal gets what he wants and everyone leaves happily… except for Maggie and Bart, but hey at least they survived and lived to tell the tale to my wife. I can try to stop all this but I can't make any promises," said Homer.

"Then take this, but just in case I would say goodbye to your son and daughter first," said Shaw as he swiftly handed Homer his dagger.

Homer turned to both Bart and Maggie; both had been standing there in shock at his words. He was willing to sacrifice his life just for them, and maybe even for the whole jungle. They had no idea what he had planned but they were going to witness it and cheer their father on, even if it was hopeless. Maggie of course could not believe that her father would do this, but then she remembered the talk he gave her in the tree house, how he would do anything for her, he was being true to his word. Finally Maggie ran forward her hugged her father tightly, tears streaming down her face, worried that her father would never be by her side again.

"Dad, please don't leave me, you can do it, I know you can," said Maggie.

"For you Maggie I will, I promise I will come back to you, but if I don't…t-tell your mother that I l-love her," Homer sobbed as he tried to hold back the tears.

"And me too right," Bart called out as he came forward to hug his dad as well.

"Of course son, I still need to talk to you once this is over," said Homer as he embraced his son for the first time since they finally found him.

"And I will listen to every word you say," said Bart as the tears fell down his face mixing with the rain.

Homer could not take it anymore, just seeing his children like this upset him deeply, he had to get this done before he had a change of heart and wanted to run for it with his kids in tow. No, he had to be brave for their sake. Finally he pushed himself away from Bart and Maggie and made his way off the bridge.

As he did so, he gripped the dagger tightly on his side, keeping it well hidden until the right moment to strike the evil shaman who was waiting for him just a few feet from the bridge. Cuzkaal stood there, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes over the fact that he had won his chance to keep Homer and finish what he started, even if it meant doing it all over again. Jagul was still standing on the other side of the bridge, watching him intently, making sure that he did not try to run; she was prepared to go after him if he did. As he walked over though, she noticed something strange about the way he walked, his one arm stayed on his hip as if he was holding onto something.

She began to notice that his strides were moving quicker and he had the look of anxiousness on his face, not something Homer would show in his moment of defeat. No, something was up and Jagul knew she had to warn Cuzkaal of the approaching danger. It was when Homer was almost on top of Cuzkaal that Jagul cried out.

"Cuzkaal, he has a weapon!"

Homer heard Jagul, and in a moment of panic, he pulled out the dagger and ran as fast as he could toward the shaman, aiming the dagger at Cuzkaal's heart. Cuzkaal heard what Jagul had said though and was prepared for just such an emergency. Homer was almost upon him, ready to strike, but Cuzkaal was quicker and before Homer even knew what hit him, Cuzkaal dug his dagger deep into Homer's side. Homer stopped and stood in front of Cuzkaal, eyes wide from shock. He tried to fight back by thrusting his dagger forward but the pain was too great and the dagger fell at his feet. Cuzkaal only smiled menacingly before he pulled the dagger out and Homer fell to his knees, clutching his side.

From the bridge, everyone saw it happen and Maggie let out a scream. She tried to run forward and help her father but Shaw pulled her back. Maggie stilled tried to keep going though as she kicked and screamed with all her might.

"It won't help Maggie, he'll kill you too," said Shaw.

"But my Dad!" Maggie cried.

"He tried, like he said he would, now we need to leave," said Shaw as he tried to pull Maggie away and get off the bridge. Instead though Jagul let out a roar, making everyone stop in their tracks.

"You think you all can trick me! You tried it twice already, and twice you have failed, don't even try to do it a third time because I will be waiting for it. And because of your foolishness, you all must pay, Jagul, finish them!" Cuzkaal cried.

Jagul let out a menacing roar toward them causing the entire bridge to sway. Everyone held on for dear life, wishing with all their hearts that they could do something. Jagul reared up on her hind legs again, letting out a deafening roar before hitting the boards once more, this time breaking three of them in the process.

At Cuzkaal's feet, Homer could hear everyone screaming and he knew that Cuzkaal did not go on his word; he was going to kill everyone, not just him, just so he could get back his apprentice. Homer knew he had to fight back, he was the only one who could, but he also knew he had to be quick about it. Ignoring his injury and with his adrenaline pumping, he lifted himself up and ran forward, dagger at the ready. Cuzkaal's back was turned and he did not even have a chance to turn around and stop Homer from attacking him. He was still laughing menacingly until Homer drew the dagger into his back, right between the shoulder blades. Cuzkaal let out a gasp and turned around to face Homer. Homer backed away still holding the bloody dagger while Cuzkaal stared back at him, eyes blazing with anger.

"I'm not giving up Cuzkaal, just like you won't!" Homer said with great intensity.

Before Cuzkaal could even reply, Homer ran forward once again, ready to finish the shaman off. Cuzkaal was at the ready, also holding his dagger, only this time he used a different kind of weapon.

"Jagul!" He yelled out.

The next moment, the group on the bridge saw a number of things happen in less than a minute. First was Jagul, she ran toward the group, making everyone duck in fear of being attacked by her. Instead though she leapt over all of them and made her way off the bridge toward Homer and Cuzkaal who were both trying to hold each other off. Jagul stood behind them for a moment watching both of them intently and realizing that even though Homer was badly wounded, he still had the upper hand. Jagul knew that Cuzkaal needed help and she also knew that he was not going to get out of this fight easily. She knew she had to do something drastic, there was another way to help Cuzkaal, and she was going to try it. Finally she stood straight on all four legs and let out the loudest and heaviest roar anyone had ever heard. It shook the bridge, but not enough to do damage like it was about to do to the ledge that both Homer and Cuzkaal were on. Moments later the ledge crumbled and before Homer or Cuzkaal could even find a better footing, both tumbled over the edge. Maggie let out a scream while Shaw stared at Jagul who looked back at him for just a moment. Then before Shaw could move forward and find out what was going on:

Jagul vanished.

A/N: Yeah I think some of this is kind of sappy but hey I finished this in less than a week, I actually finished it on Thursday but I did some tweaking to hopefully make it better and leave you all with a lieral cliffhanger. It might be a little rushed but man did I have fun writing it, lots of action and stuff. I have four more chapters to go after this and if the last four are like how I did this one, hopefully this story will be finally completed. So keep your eyes peeled for updates that are earlier than one week. Please review when you can.