The evening was cooler than expected, but the air was fresh. Lush green foliage grew densely around them. There was so much variety in the kinds of plants and insects all around them, and they couldn't even identify half of them. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Ember had just been transported to the Amazon; the greatest tropical forest in the world!

"Quietly...be on your guard. Brazil is home to the survival trials, and this first part is one of the most dangerous legs of our journey...I unfortunately lost some weilders through this stretch many cycles ago. I thought they were ready, but...well, just be careful and watch out for each other!"

Chat Noir and Ladybug exchanged an apprehensive look, and took out their yoyo and baton. Silently the pushed through fanned out leaves, and waded through chest-high grasses, following their Phoenix guide, Ember.

The burning bird in question, flew under a branch in the undergrowth, and motioned for them to duck down. It was only when they crept up beside him in this hiding spot, that they spotted him; A solitary Jaguar sat by a trickling stream.

"Look at it's teeth!" Chat Noir looked over the moss-covered log at the massive cat.

"Well, they do have the most powerful bite among cats and can even crush the skull of a fully-grown caiman," Ember informed them, and Chat Noir and Ladybug's mouths dropped.

"What?!" Ember asked, when they gave him a look.

"You're just not making it seem any easier to approach him!" Ladybug sighed, taken another peak at the magnificent creature as it lapped water from the stream.

"It is best to be strategic, and not startle him," advised Ember. "Be still!"

After a while lady bug began to rub her foot, it had fallen asleep under her, and now all pins and needles. "Come on, let's just go talk to him! I'm sure he..." Ladybug struck off toward the beautifully spotted Jaguar boldly. Chat Noir's tried to grab her back, but she was too quick.

Suddenly, it turned on her as fast as anything and pinned her against the damp earth.

"You'd be wise to use more caution young creation weilder," the Jaguar spoke lowly. "I am the gatekeeper of the survival trials, and if you fall so easily to me, you should just surrender your miraculous now, rather than lose your life!"

"You want to kill me!" Ladybug gasped.

She struggled against his strength, but he methodically pressed his paw against her neck, and slowly extended his claws till they just barely pricked her exposed skin above her miraculous suit. "If I wanted you dead girl, we wouldn't be talking," the Jaguar reasoned. "On the paths of the Amazon, Life and Death walk hand in hand. If I take your miraculous and let you run along home, I would be sparing you."

"You hurt her, and you will be the one begging me to spare you!" Chat Noir's growled from behind the Jaguar, holding his baton pressed firmly against the Jaguars throat. His other hand was already charged with the buzzing dark power of a cataclysm.

"So you've brought destruction along with you," the Jaguar stepped back, releasing his hold on Ladybug. Then the great cat sat back before them, with a casual lick of his paw, before regarding Chat Noir. "It is not every weilder who could manage to get the jump on me. Maybe together you'll make it afterall," the Jaguar analyzed them thoughtfully. Then he extended an upturned paw toward Ladybug.

She flinched, and Chat Noir tensed, but the jaguar's claws were retracted, leaving only its soft pads. Ladybug put her hand in it, and he helped her back up.

"No disrespect Lady Creation, but you both should consider if you are ready for what lies ahead," the Jaguar wrapped his tail around his feet.

"We've faced plenty of dangers before," Chat Noir said, his cataclysm still sparking in his hand, as he took his place between Ladybug and the Jaguar.

"Trials, training, conditioning, sharpening your claws...or your skills...yes, you have come a long way from where you started. This in itself is a key element to survival. The preparation is the very thing that determines if you will stand a chance when it comes time to be tested."

"We've been training for years together. We are ready!" Ladybug stood confidently before him.

"I guess that will be revealed won't it," the Jaguar nodded solemnly.

Chat Noir's extinguished his cataclysm against a Boulder by the stream, and it dissolved into dust. "Let's get started," he looked forward determinedly.

"We've already begun!" The Jaguar seemed to smile.

Ooooo

The weilders followed the stealthy Jaguar through the dark shadowy forest. Not even the silver slivers of the moon cut through the close clusters of leaves and branches.

"So survival trials huh?!" Chat Noir looked around them after he had recharged Plagg. "So basically we just have to not die on this one huh?!"

The jaguar's curved ear twitched, but he did not slow his pace or turn to look at them. "Isn't that what all living things fight for each day?" he asked quietly. Then without waiting for an answer he jumped up to a moss covered tree. "There is your path weilders," the painted cat twitched It's tail toward a narrow trail of black pebbles, barely visible in the dark. "Stay alive through the night, and make it across the River...then I will know you're ready for the next phase of your journey."

"Any words of advice?" Ladybug crossed her arms in front of herself, looking toward the ominous shadows ahead.

"Stay on the trail and trust your instinct, intellect, and intuition," the Jaguar said thoughtfully. "I truly do hope to see you on the other side," he nodded towards them, with his moonlit golden eyes staring unblinking at them for a moment. Then he bounded off into the darkness like a phantom and was gone.

Chat Noir and Ladybug let out a breath in unison, unaware that they had been holding their breath. The looked over, laughing nervously.

"Well, Ember, you really think we're ready for this one," Chat Noir asked with a smile, but his mouth froze when Ember didn't answer right away.

"Survival...continuing to exist under difficult circumstances...you can never truly know if you're ready until you're actually faced with it..." Ember preened his fiery feathers, and then he looked up at them meaningfully. "...but I'm convinced that you're ready to face this test! Tempered in fire, your metal is proven."

"Come on Kitty," Ladybug put her hand in Chat Noir's. "Let's just take a walk."

"One step at a time," Chat Noir's smile returned, and he brought her gloved hand to his lips, giving her a wink. Then they walked forward once more into the unknown together.