Sorry for the long wait, guys! I've been sick, busy, you name it. But I'm still alive and here with an update!

El Tigre: Evolution

"Um...what were the choices again?"

-Manny

Chapter 19

Manny groaned, rubbing his head as he sat up. How long was he out? How far had he fallen? He looked up and saw a small point of light; the hole he had fallen through.

"Wow," he said to himself. "I'm lucky I landed in this soft, sticky spider goo." A pause as he realized he was in fact surrounded by…

"Spider goo! Yuck!" Manny peeled himself off the floor. Web-like material was all over the ground. Manny raised his feet a few times, making squishing sounds. But then there came another sound, one that made Manny jump. It was a rasping, rattling sound. The sound of something breathing…

"Uh…hello?" Manny questioned the darkness.

"Who goes there?" the rattling voice responded.

"My name's Manny." Manny said nervously. "Um, nice to meet you, Mr…?"

"I am," the voice paused to take a breath, "El Dios de las Arañas."

It was then the owner of the voice hauled itself into view. The Spider God was, not surprisingly, a spider, but it was the biggest spider Manny had ever seen. Manny could see his face reflected in its many eyes.

"Oh, hi there, uh…your majesty?"

The Spider God took another deep shaky breath. "If you were truly sincere, you would kneel…"

"Huh?"

"Yes…mortals should genuflect before gods…" Another rasping breath.

Manny stood there, gazing up at El Dios de las Arañas. "Do you have asthma or something? 'Cause they got inhalers and stuff for that now."

The Spider God hissed. "Insolent peon! You object wielders are all the same. We give you a gift, and you throw it in our faces. You abandon us…"

"How'd you know I was-?"

"I can see the belt…El Tigre…and I can smell the stench of El Dios de los Gatos all over you…and you share his…indecisiveness…"

"What do you mean?" Manny asked, puzzled.

"For centuries the Cat God flip-flopped between good and evil. Tell me boy…which are you?"

Manny rubbed the back of his head. "Um…what were the choices again?"

"Typical," the god muttered. "Why have you come to defile my temple, El Tigre? Do you come seeking my treasure, to sate your mortal greed?"

Manny waved his hand dismissively. "No, of course not! We came here for-wait, you have treasure?" Manny began to drool a little.

"All of the wealth my followers amassed over the years lies at the end of the labyrinth. Does that tempt you, mortal?"

Manny shook his head from side to side, trying to clear his head. "No! We're here for the last page! We need it to stop Luxe!"

The Spider God flinched visibly. "The page? You seek the pages of the Tome?"

"Yeah," said Manny. "And if it's not at the end of the maze, then does that mean…?"

The god laughed. "No, the page you seek is here. You say it is the last? Someone has gathered the others?"

"Yeah! A guy named Diego Luxe is being tricked by Los Alados into summoning El Santo Oscuro! We need to stop them from getting the last page! They probably know it's here!" Manny stopped his ranting, raising an eyebrow. "Where is it, anyway?"

"The page is safe," The Spider said simply.

"But you don't understand…Los Alados are on their way here!"

"The page is safe," El Dios de las Arañas repeated. "I keep it inside of me."

Manny grimaced. "The page is inside of you? Like, in your stomach?"

The Spider God nodded. "Yes."

As Manny was looking up at El Dios de las Arañas, he saw something that made his heart stop. Three pairs of red eyes lit up in the dark above the Spider.

"That's all we needed to hear," said a female voice. "Would you do the honors?"

"Gladly," said one of the males. The darkness lit up in white flame as Alado Tres created a fireball, illuminating Los Alados, who were floating above the Spider God.

The god turned its head upwards. "What are you-?" But it was too late. Alado Tres struck downwards and with a sickening splat, pierced the god's abdomen and vanished inside.

El Dios de las Arañas began to quiver violently, its breaths now gurgling. It began to cough and retch, expelling more spider goo, some of which got on Manny.

"Gross!" Manny cried. He tried to look away from the flailing spider, but couldn't. Eventually, the god collapsed, and Alado Tres emerged, covered in goo, but also clutching…

"The final page!" he declared victoriously, shaking spider blood from his hair. He spread his wings and joined his comrades in the air. "Thanks for the help, kid," he added, giving Manny a small salute.

Manny growled. "I didn't help you. I would never help you!"

Alado Dos giggled. "It doesn't matter now. We win."

The Alados laughed as they flew upwards and burst through the ceiling, leaving Manny with his neck craned, a look of despair on his face.

A large sputtering cough turned his attention back to the fallen Spider God. He rushed over, unsure of what to do.

"I…I am dying…" the god choked out.

Manny scratched his head. "Aren't gods supposed to be…you know…immortal or something?"

El Dios de las Arañas let out a sigh. "A deity is only as strong as those who follow him. No one believes in us anymore, so we have little power…or immortality."

"Wow, tough break."

"It is up to you, El Tigre…you must stop Los Alados before they complete the Tome…"

"But I can't do anything! My powers don't work! I'll never catch them! And my friends are somewhere in the maze!"

"My powers are fading with me…the object barrier is no more…"

Manny nodded and spun his belt. With a tiger roar he became…

"EL TIGRE!" Manny looked over his costumed body. "Now that's more like it!"

"Go…" the Spider God egged. Manny nodded once more, then launched a grappling claw at the hole he fell through and began his ascent, leaving the dying spider.

"The fate of the world…" El Dios de las Arañas gurgled, and then…nothing.