El Tigre: Evolution
"No, nothing of the sort. Well, maybe a little. Sort of. The jury's out."
-The Prophet
Chapter 12
The alliance exited Sartana's prison. Sartana refused to go with them, saying she had given them enough help already.
El Tigre was psyched. "Man, I can't wait! An ancient temple!"
"Now Manny," White Pantera said, "First of all, we aren't even sure where this temple is yet-"
"Which is why we're going to the school library to find out!" Maria declared, shaking a set of keys. It was after hours, after all.
"Yes, and second," he continued, "it's getting late. You kids should be heading off to bed."
Awww…" Manny and Frida whined in unison.
"Heads up," Mer warned. "We got company."
They all turned to see a winged figure soaring towards them in the sky.
"It's one of those Alados guys!" said El Tigre.
The group took battle positions, and Maria got ready to put her glove back on with a gulp, but Frida stopped them.
"Wait!" she cried. "It's Antonio!"
She received several puzzled expressions. In this time, the winged figure landed and approached them. It was indeed the imposing bald man with black eyes. The wings added to the overall effect.
"Who's he?" White Pantera asked a blushing Maria.
"Oh…I…it's a long story…"
"El Tigre!" Antonio boomed. "I trust you are well?"
"Uh, yeah?" El Tigre replied.
"Good!" Antonio smiled. "But on to more pressing matters. The Prophet must see you and you alone, El Tigre. It is urgent." Antonio held out his hand.
El Tigre beamed. "Wow, really? Aw, gee Dad. Looks like I can't go to bed right now, bye!" he said quickly as he grabbed Antonio's hand
Frida grumbled until Antonio extended a hand to her as well. "And how could I forget our training?"
"I'm somewhat relieved and terrified at the same time!" Frida exclaimed.
With a mighty burst of strength, Antonio took off with El Tigre and Frida in tow. As the night air rushed by, El Tigre called to him, "So what's with the wings?"
"I was like Frida once, infected…part demon…but I learned to master my power, and hopefully I can teach Frida to do the same."
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. The Prophet must trust us now, El Tigre thought, Or else we'd be blindfolded again.
MEANWHILE…
Sartana sat upon her electric chair/throne, surrounded by her riches, and pondered. She had not recalled her childhood in ages, and it brought up certain…feelings. She was not used to feelings. Suddenly the sound of something disturbing her treasure snapped her out of her reverie. She craned her neck to see her grandson, Django of the Dead, sifting through the gold, trying to look busy.
"How long have you been there, Django?"
"The whole time, Nana."
"Listen, Django-"
"I know the truth."
Sartana was taken aback. "What?"
Django stepped forward. "I know I'm not your real grandson."
Sartana was silent for a moment. "…Yes, it's true. My true body died before I could pass on my genes."
Django went to his "grandmother's" side. "But what I don't know is how…?"
"I became lonely in my later years. I used the combined power of my mystic guitar and my late father's guitar to create an heir. That's you, Django."
"Then the guitar you gave me-"
"-used to be my father's," Sartana finished. Django looked down at his guitar, and back at Sartana with newfound respect.
El Tigre found himself in the dark room where the Prophet sat in front of his bowl of magic water once again. This time the Prophet was fully attentive.
"Welcome, El Tigre," he said. "I wish that someday we could meet under different circumstances."
"Why? What's up?" asked El Tigre.
The Prophet took a deep breath. "The Tome is near completion. Luxe needs only one more page, and then it is finished."
"Oh," said El Tigre. "That's bad, isn't it?"
"Very. We haven't much time. I have brought you here because you are the one."
El Tigre tilted his head, confused. "The one what?"
"You must become the vessel…for El Dios de los Gatos.
Now El Tigre was really confused. "The vessel…for the Cat God?"
The Prophet nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes. It may be our only hope. Last time when El Santo Oscuro rose to power, the gods gifted the object-wielders with the strength to defeat him. Now we must bring them back so history can repeat itself."
"Okay…"
"It must be El Dios de los Gatos, because that is whom your object is tied to."
"My belt?"
"Created by the Cat God himself. Once you fuse with him, you will experience unbelievable power. You will truly become a god."
El Tigre's eyes widened. "Whoa!'
"At the small cost of your humanity…" The Prophet added.
"Wow, wait, what?"
"Technically, the Cat God will consume you completely, and Manny Rivera will be no more. The new and improved El Tigre will still have your memories though, that's a plus."
El Tigre was almost speechless. "It'll…k-kill me?"
"No, nothing of the sort. Well, maybe a little. Sort of. The jury's out."
El Tigre became angry. "NO! I won't do this! There has to be some other way!"
The Prophet was surprised. Apparently he wasn't used to people defying him. "But it's for-"
"I don't care what it's for! You're just some crazy old guy that's stuck in a past where people worshipped animals! I'll find my own way! THIS I SWEAR!" El Tigre stomped out.
As he left, he stomped past Antonio and Frida. Antonio was instructing Frida, who was balancing a rubber ball on her nose.
"Hey Manny!" Frida said. "What's up? I heard shouting!"
"Nothing," El Tigre spat. "Except that the Prophet is totally nuts."
Antonio frowned. "El Tigre, he just has the best interests of the world in his heart."
"What about my interests? He wants to kill me!"
Antonio gasped. "He suggested fusion, didn't he? I'll speak with him." He grabbed the rubber ball from Frida. "Our training is over for now. Go home with El Tigre." Antonio disappeared into the Prophet's room.
Frida turned to Manny. "What happened?"
Manny clenched his fists. "Long story short, he wants to replace me!"
"Replace you? With what?"
"El Dios de los Gatos."
"Wow, it does sound impressive."
The sound of the door slamming against the wall made them jump. Antonio came rushing out of the Prophet's chamber.
"A vision…in the bowl…the library is under attack! The alliance is in danger!"
El Tigre got his game-face on and turned to Frida.
"Let's go, Frida!"