Once again, Homer felt himself in the empty void, covered in darkness, the pain was gone again and he felt like he was floating into nothingness. It was a very strange feeling, he could not see anything, he had no idea if he was moving up or down and he had no idea if he was finally dead or not. But if this was what death was like then he guessed it wasn't too bad, hopefully he would not spend eternity this way, after a long time it would probably get extremely boring. Would light ever come back into his world?

If this was what death was like, then why had so many people talked about the Pearly Gates and heavenly clouds? What about Saint Peter waiting for you at the Pearly Gates? And where were the halos? This was very odd and confusing to Homer, he wished he knew more about what was going on and if he was really dying or not. He wanted to know if Cuzkaal survived because if he did then he would try to find him again and use what was left of him as ingredients for plans, or at least that was what Homer thought. But what if Cuzkaal didn't survive, where would he go and would Homer meet up with him in heaven? Could he beat someone up in heaven? Homer had no idea but hoped that Cuzkaal would never show his face anywhere in that jungle again. He had done too much and it was time for his reign of terror to be over with.

Homer continued to float there, thinking about what was going to happen and if his family could move on without him. He knew Marge would have a hard time, they had been through so much together and now he did not have a chance to say goodbye. He really wished he could, he just wanted to see her one last time, the kids too, he wanted to tell them something important but now it was too late for that and he would now have to watch over them from the sidelines.

Homer let out a heavy sigh, it was very upsetting to think about and tried to move on to something else, of course that was a little hard when you were suspended into nothingness. But that was until Homer realized something; he was starting to see shapes. For a few moments he adjusted his eyes as he tried to figure out where he was now. Before long he realized that he was not in suspended animation but lying on the ground and around him were the silhouettes of trees. There was a bit of light around them but not very bright at all, almost like the feeling of standing in a lonely forest at dusk with no flashlight for the upcoming darkness.

Homer quickly got to his feet and looked around him, the trees slowly swayed with a small breeze that went through the forest, but that was the only sound he heard, no animals or other things showed themselves in the strange place that Homer was now standing in. He turned around to see what might be behind him, and found that there was a trail that led to the end of the trees many feet away, that area was bright and inviting and made Homer wonder if he should go that way. He turned the other way to see if the other direction of the trail lead anywhere, but all he could see was darkness and he was unsure what would happen if he followed that.

For a few seconds, Homer stood there thinking about what to do, apparently this was the place that led you to where you needed to go. The place where you would spend eternity in happiness. But Homer was not sure that he wanted to go there, not yet any way, and he wondered if he could brave the dark trail that led to some other place, but would it lead home or to a place where he would not want to go in a million years?

Homer continued to think until he saw a shape make its way toward him in the lighted part of the path. Homer adjusted his eyes again to see what creature this was. it wasn't long before he realized that it was a cat. It wasn't an ordinary house cat either; this was a large wild cat just like the jaguar in the Amazon. Homer knew though that it was best not to run because it wasn't long before he recognized the face, it was Jagul and she was slowly making her way toward him, almost nonchalantly. Homer stayed where he was until Jagul was in front of him, her eyes staring straight up at him as if studying him. Homer waited for her to say something for he knew that she could get angry if he did anything wrong.

"We have a proposition for you…follow me," she finally replied as she turned around and started walking down the trail.

Homer stood there for a moment, who was this 'we' she was talking about? Was it Cuzkaal? He must be here too, close to death like him, but since Jagul was also here, something must be happening to keep him from dying too soon, and Cuzkaal needed him for it. Great, most likely another way to get back into power. Whatever the reason though, Homer knew he had to follow Jagul and was soon walking beside her in the lone dark woods.

As he did so, he would often look down and stare at her. He was never much of a cat person, more of a dog person and never really cared for Lisa's cats that she owned. She always took care of them any way and they always kept to themselves when he was around. But for some reason he found Jagul to be quite fascinating. Her broad shoulders moved up and down as she walked and the spots on her fur seemed to go along with the rhythm of her movements. Her ears would move back and forth as if she was searching for sound, and her paws stepped lightly on the earth making no noise whatsoever. For such a dangerous animal, she truly was a magnificent sight, a sight that had to be approached with great caution and great respect, especially one that was a god.

At first, Homer thought that Jagul was bringing him to where the light began, instead though she took a turn in another direction, leading him through another trail that was just as dark but somehow inviting. Homer did not feel nervous about this trail at all, it felt almost welcome to him, until he saw the form of Cuzkaal standing in the middle of it once he got further in.

Cuzkaal was standing there waiting, his eyes never leaving Homer's sight. He looked to be studying him as if looking for a new ingredient to create to help him achieve his goal. Homer only glared back at him, waiting for him to say something. He did not want to greet the one who nearly killed his friends in a friendly manner.

"You are probably wondering where you are," Cuzkaal said calmly.

"Sort of, yes," Homer said with annoyance in his voice.

"You are between life and death, heaven and hell, the place where souls go to decide if they should continue their life or pass on into eternity," said Cuzkaal.

"Davenport, Iowa?" Homer asked, eyebrow raised to show confusion.

"…What in the world is in that brain of yours? No Homer I am talking about Limbo," said Cuzkaal.

"Oh yeah that place, I never knew it was real," said Homer.

"As you can see it's very real and we are both stuck in it until a decision is made," Cuzkaal replied as he stroked Jagul between the ears.

"What kind of decision?" Homer asked sounding somewhat curious.

Cuzkaal looked down at Jagul as if he was making sure he was permitted to answer Homer's question. Jagul gave a quick nod as she let Cuzkaal explain what she had come up with while both were fighting for their lives above the river.

"Jagul told me that I can get my life and my apprentice Bahzuul back, but will require your decision making to do so," Cuzkaal began.

"Oh? And will I have to give away any body parts, or my soul?" asked Homer.

"None of that will be an issue because you will also live," Cuzkaal said.

"Oh, well perhaps this should not be too hard then, what do I have to do?" asked Homer who now sounded intrigued by the idea.

"My proposition is this, Jagul here can change the past for us, she can go back into the past and change what has happened to Bahzuul by not letting it happen. I stay in the village and I become a great shaman once again, Bahzuul will be my successor and things will be all fine and dandy. But this cannot be done unless you also alter your past."

"Alter my past? How?"

"Jagul has shown me how you fell in love with Marge, you tried to bring her to a dance but instead she went out with another man while you went alone, but she learned her mistake and picked you up from the side of the road as you walked home alone. Now I know ever since then you have been with Marge, going through some rough patches and often your alone time was broken up by your children. You weren't even going to marry her were you? But then you conceived a son, a child who changed your life dramatically. A lot plans were changed because of that, weren't they? I know you've had dreams Homer, dreams of another life where you had adventures, and you would have had them too if you did not go to that special place one night and changed your life. You could have traveled the world with your friends; you could have lived the great life of a bachelor who would have loved every minute of your life. Marge would be in the past by now and living a different life without you. So my proposition is this, you agree to change the past and we both get what we always wanted; freedom! Power! The feeling of no regret! We would live again and this whole mess would be behind us. What do you say?"

Homer stared at Cuzkaal for a moment; he now had his hand out, ready to shake on it, beside him stood Jagul, waiting for the response with great anticipation in her face. Her ears were pricked up, her eyes wide suspense and wonder. For a moment, Homer rubbed his hand nervously not sure what to do, he already felt pressured. It sounded too good to be true, but also sounded terrible.

"Can you give me a moment to think this over?" Homer asked after a few moments of hesitation.

"Go ahead, but do not take eternity, you don't have that much time," said Jagul.

Homer sighed and walked away from them for a moment. He found a small boulder to sit on and contemplated the idea. Changing the past? It sounded wonderful! He would live a life with no kids, no regrets, and perhaps even keep the weight he had after he got out of high school. He missed being skinny, he never had to worry about weight problems or any side effects to it. It would be great for him, he knew that and it felt like a great idea but then he had to remember his family.

What would Marge do if they never fell in love? Would she have stayed with Artie Ziff, the man who went to Prom with her? He knew he would be broken hearted for a long time without Marge, he loved her from the beginning and he was so upset when Marge left for the evening with him but was so happy when she picked him up from the side of the road. He never left her side since and was always so happy to be with her. But what if she did pick Artie as her love? What would have happened to her then? Would the marriage even last, he remembered how much of a player Artie was and it made him wonder if Artie would even be faithful to her.

He couldn't do that to Marge, she deserved him, that had been planned for both of them since they were born. They were meant for each other, no one else, not even Artie Ziff. And what of the kids? They would not even exist if Homer never fell in love with Marge, they would only be a shadow of things that should have been, almost like in a Christmas Carol or Back to the Future. A life of bachelorhood did sound great, but then again so did the idea of growing old with Marge, watching the kids grow up, well Maggie now any way, and simply shrugging off the regrets he had made over the years. What would he have done if he didn't marry Marge? Would he have fun or would that regret that one for years? One he could not shrug off but wish with all his heart for her to be in his arms.

Homer knew what he wanted now and he was ready to tell Jagul what his option was. He had been staring at the ground when he had done so, so he had not seen Jagul make her way toward him until he looked up and saw her sitting in front of him eyes lowered and her tail twitching with anticipation.

"Have you made your decision?" asked Jagul.

I have," replied Homer.

"Then what is your decision?" asked Jagul as she led Homer back toward Cuzkaal who was waiting patiently.

"It's a great offer and quite intriguing, but I would rather stay where I am," said Homer.

Cuzkaal, who had been waiting since Homer first walked up, went from a smile to a frown in nothing flat. He had been so confident that Homer would say yes to this that he was not expecting Homer to say no. He did not like this one bit either.

"He can't do that, you promised me the proposition would be too good to be true!" Cuzkaal cried out.

"I did, but apparently Homer is a better thinker than we expected," Jagul replied.

Cuzkaal glared at her and then back at Homer who stared back with the look of bewilderment but also a great calm on his face. But it was his decision and his alone. "Sorry Cuzzy, but there is one thing you can never change for me and that is the love of my family. Sure they are whiney, annoying, and hell raisers but you learn to accept that, it's human nature to do all those things, and even though you are mad at first and want to murder them for what they did to you. You still love them either way; they are a part of you. They put a special place in your heart, and you can never stay mad at them forever."

"I've often wondered if I would be better off without Marge, and you know what, the answer is no. In fact she is my life force, my heart and soul, the one who makes me feel like life is worth living. She was meant for me and she will always be the one for me no matter what. And if you tried to take her away from me and used her as one of your horrible ingredients, then I would have fought back with a vengeance to get her back. I would fight to the death to keep her at my side. And if I ever wanted to restart my life, it would be to do it all over again with her, not by myself, but always with her no matter what and of course the kids too, hell I would even go on this adventure with Maggie again as long as you stayed out of the way. And you know why that is Cuzzy?"

"Oh please explain," Cuzkaal said as he rolled his eyes.

"Because I love them and you can never change love. A stupid neighbor once told me that love is patient and kind and that it never ends, and he was right because I have experienced all those things and they were all worth it. It's a wonderful feeling; you should look into it sometime."

Homer stared back at Cuzkaal, a smug look on his face, Cuzkaal stood there, a look of pure annoyance on his face, he could not do anything to harm Homer, only try to negotiate his way back into life. He turned to Jagul who seemed to notice Cuzkaal's outrage but remained calm.

"We don't have time for this! Can't you just make him?" asked Cuzkaal.

"I cannot, it's his own choice and his alone, you cannot force him to change that," Jagul growled.

"But…But you promised me it would work and my life would be great again," said Cuzkaal, who's voice was rising every minute, not of anger though but of fear.

"When did I promise you that?" asked Jagul almost with laughter in her voice now that Cuzkaal was sounding like an angry child wanting his way.

"When we met up in here, you said Homer is also close to death and you said to make sure I lived, Homer would be willing to change the future," said Cuzkaal.

"Well apparently he does not want to and I did not promise, I just said it might work, not everything goes according to plan Cuzkaal, even for the gods," said Jagul.

"Then is there another way?" asked Cuzkaal who was now sounding very desperate. He had been working so hard to get what he wanted, but now had lost his ability to do so.

"I'm afraid there isn't, after what you went through in the river; I doubt anyone can survive that. No Cuzkaal, I think your life is complete, sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted, life can be that way. Oh and for the record, Shawlakhaanoytl was always meant to be your successor, and Homer was right, the life force you needed was not Homer's but Marge, you misunderstood me, but that is probably a good thing after what he just said. You also just listened to the wrong god. Because, after all, I am a trickster and a tester. And you pay a terrible price if you lose. And you know what; us gods have always wanted a pawn that they can torture."

Cuzkaal's look of anger had now turned into that of great fear, he knew there were consequences, he didn't know that they would happen to him, he had become too naïve to even notice and now he was paying for it in the worst way possible. Cuzkaal backed away from Jagul who was slowly advancing toward him, her clawed unsheathed and an angry growl emanating from her chest. He knew he had lost now and knew that there was no way out of this. He had been tricked by one of the most powerful gods in the universe and he paid for it for eight years. He almost won and got what he wanted but others had been more powerful than him. He was now finished and he could do nothing about it, he could not fight back into the world of the living, he had no power over that, not if Jagul had anything to do about it.

Homer watched what happened next with great curiosity in his eyes, he had never seen a god turn their back on a mortal before and it was very interesting. Cuzkaal kept backing up while Jagul inched closer as if she was waiting for the right moment to pounce. They were still on the trail and farther in it was much darker. Homer had no idea where the trail took you but he stayed where he was as Jagul made Cuzkaal go deeper and deeper into the forest until he could neither see nor hear them for quite some time. Homer waited, waited to find out what was about to happen, until finally he heard Jagul let out a roar before he heard Cuzkaal cry out. But Cuzkaal's cries were shortened, almost to a half scream before the forest was silent once again. Cuzkaal was no more.

Homer stayed where he was, wondering if Jagul would return, he wasn't sure if she was controlling him or not so he decided to be careful and wait, he did not want to anger her any further. For a long time he stood there and waited for any sounds or movement coming from the dark forest and for the first time he began to realize how lonely and frightening it was to be there. He wanted to find his way back, he wanted to go home, he wasn't ready to die, but he had no idea where to go.

"Why are you still here?" a voice called from behind him.

Homer turned around and saw Jagul sitting behind him with a curious look on her face while her tail twitched with anticipation. For the first time since Homer saw her, she looked friendly and helpful, almost like a huge burden had been lifted off her back. But Homer knew to be cautious and stayed as far away as he could from her.

"Well I didn't want to leave just in case you also had a plan in mind for me," Homer said nervously as he rubbed his fingers together.

"Well consider yourself lucky, I have no plan for you, you have a different god than Cuzkaal did, so I cannot decide your fate," said Jagul.

"Well I guess that's a relief," Homer sighed as he began to go around Jagul. "But do you know how I can get back to my family; I'm not ready to leave them yet."

"I'm afraid you are on your own with that one, I cannot help you with that. And now since my work here is done, I must leave you here and return to my jungle home," Jagul said.

Homer had no time to reply to her statement, in the blink of an eye, she leapt toward the dark trail. She did not look back, nor did she hesitate, she just kept running until she finally disappeared into view, never to be seen by Homer again.

Homer stood there, alone once again on the semi dark trail. Where was he supposed to go? He did not want to go into the lighted path; he sensed that it would not take him to where he wanted to be. It did look inviting but he knew what awaited him there was not his family. For many moments he stood there trying to figure out what to do, where to go and if it was the right path. He was scared now, he did not want to die, he wanted to be back with his family so he could talk to them and tell them how much he cared about them. But it seemed impossible now as if his hope would never come true.

After many moments of thinking, Homer began to believe that it was hopeless and that there was no more future for him. He turned toward the lighted path ready to face the fact that that was where he was meant to be. He took a step forward ready to face certain death when a familiar sound stopped him in his tracks.

He stood where he was for a moment, trying to figure out if what he was hearing was coming from the lighted path, or the darkened path that he had thought about going toward. It was the sound of a saxophone playing, but was it really his daughter Lisa calling to him? He listened carefully, even though he could not stand her saxophone playing sometimes, he could still recognize it with the different scales. He listened and waited.

Yes! It had to be her calling to him to come back home. Homer knew it had to be her; no one else played the saxophone as beautifully as her. He had to admit that it was the most beautiful sound in the world right now, and he knew he was heading in the right direction. He was going home; he was going to finally be with his family again. He ran toward the darkness without any fear, knowing that this was where he needed to go. It seemed to take forever to get there but he knew it would be worth it.

Finally he reached it, and without any second thoughts or second glances at what was behind him he went right on through and welcomed the oncoming darkness.


A/N: Some of you may recognize the dark forest from my last story; I decided to use it again but in a different way. And also I kind of hinted at what my next story will be about, so yeah yay. And look, this story has at least 100,000 words, I was not expecting that. Man this story was so much longer than I thought. Well two more chapters to go and I am finished, thank God, I am ready for this to be over. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter though so please review when you can, I will see you all in a few days with my penultimate chapter.