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It was nightime in the African wilderness and most of it's inhabitants were asleep (besides those who were nocturnal species), all exept for one unscrupulous lion who was rolling around and convulsing in his sleep, until he woke up with a jolt, panting and his heart going a mile a minute. He cursed underneath his breath, it was that same nightmare that has been pestering him for weeks, maybe even a month, where that same........creature was haunting him, taunting him, trying to reach him. Looking around he saw Razoul sleeping like a baby, Raja wanted to punch the hyena`s lights out, just to let out some steam but decided to get a drink instead. As he took a walk towards the nearest puddle, he remembered his experience from a few days ago.

He had retreated back into his lair, scared and on edge, there was no sign of his dreaded enemy, no sent, no sound, nothing, was he hallucinating he thought? He was spooked so badly that he had been hidding in his territory for over 3 days. It couldn't have been him, it was impossible. Right then an even more horrified Razoul caught up with him, cowering in the far corner of the cave.Still unnerved Raja asked him if he saw the tiger? The fearful Razoul looked at him funny, asking him what he was talking about? This made the lion boil, he was ready to strike the cowering hyena " Don't play stupid you carrion gobbling worm, you saw him, he was right in front of us, it was him, it was.....Shere Khan!" he spat out that name with pure venom and hatred, Razoul looked at him timidly "But your majesty that tiger wasn't there, it was Kaa who tried to eat me." he spoke fearfully, now it was Raja`s turn to be confused "Kaa? What are you blabbering about! That accursed serpent was nowhere in..." then it hit him, if he and Razoul saw different things then it must have been some illusion brought on by the shaman. Gritting his teeth the lion ordered his one-eyed lackey to follow him back, this time they wouldn't be fooled so easily.However once they came back there was nothing there.

They made a fool out of him, again, they would pay for it and dearly. After a few gulps Raja looked at his reflection getting distorted by the ripples, once they settled they reveled not himself but the vision of the creature from his dreams, a shadowy featureless shape starting at the shocked lion with glowing red eyes. "Not again!" Raja thought closing his eyes, when he heard a deep baritone speaking in an eerily affable manner " Raja, why were you trying to shut me out, don't you know how long and hard I have been trying to reach you, I`m your friend." Raja looked back at the reflection, it was speaking to him! " Shut up, you're not my friend, your some monster!" he lashed back, the figure reacted with mock shock " Monster! No, it's your enemies, they`re the true monsters! Ryan, Cameron, Shere Khan! They're all trying to crush you, humiliate you, keep you from your rightful destiny to rule the land!" Raja`s fear soon turned into burning anger " You're right! That's exactly what they`re doing to me. They will suffer for their crimes!", "Preciely! And that's why you should let me help you." the figure exclaimed, Raja looked at it condescendingly " How? You're just a dream creature?" , the figure chuckled .

" Oh I am real. Not only that but I know you very well and I`m far more involved with your life than you could ever comprehend. I admire your senseof ambition and determination, and I know that you gained an interest in gaining the power of the artifacts, I could make that happen for you, if you're willing to cooperate?." Raja kept eye contact with it, in the back of his mind he was wandering if he had lost it, talking to a imaginary reflection in the water, but his lust of power urged him to cease this apparent opportunity. Seeing the lion contemplating his options the figure decided to kick it up a notch with it's bargain " Not only that, but I also hold the answer to a question that has been haunting you and your striped friend for a while now, regarding the gap in your memories." Raja was stunned, but remained stotic, he looked at the figure with intrigue " I`m listening......"

...........................

From atop of their baobab home Ryan and Cameron were star gazing, Ryan was resting his head on the leopardess torso, after any stressful excursions peaceful moments like this were greatly appreciated. Cameron noticed the Tern statue and asked why the shaman had left it with them, Ryan replayed lazily " To give me a means to transport myself to the island, said he would be preoccupied getting those natives to stay locked in their houses all night long after feeding them some cockamamy story about some human eating demon passing trough the island during the full moon, or some crap like that..." Cameron snickered " You really think they`ll be dumb enough to buy that?" Ryan smirked " Don't underestimate human superstition." They continued admiring the stars, soon enough they would be living out here in peace, without any of the insanity that came with the shaman, now they only had to deal with Raja, Ryan looked at a piece of wood he was carving with his pocket knife, like with any hunter it was carved into the likeness of his quarry, Raja. Then suddenly a star shot trough the sky, Ryan previously told his friend about how you could make a wish after seeing one but never tell it out loud, and so both of them did. For Ryan it was that his next encounter with Raja would end with him wearing the lions hide.

..........

It was the middle of the night on the island, the only time at this point where the supposed sanctuary was quiet compared to usual turmoil that would transpire during the daytime. One lone Cape hunting dog was laboriously pushing a large log towards the beach, but just as he came out of the forest and onto the sandy beach he felt something land on his back. The spooked canine started jumping around, barking and trying to snap his jaws on the attacker, " Relax Skulk it's me Zan!" the colobus shouted, the canine stopped and tried looking up irritably " Zan! Why did ya sneak up on me!" , " What? I thought you predators had great senses?" Zan replayed smugly, Skulk mumbled in annoyance and continued pushing the log as soon as the monkey got of his back, Zan asked him what he was doing, but the wild dog ignored him until he had pushed the log all the way to the shore, he then started panting heavily while resting on the log and gave an irritated glare.

" What duz it look like to ya, ya ninkapoop!" he spoke harshly " I`m preparing dis log so me and my pack can blow this dump in the morning, let all dose suckers kill each of, whada we care?" Zan came after him and asked him where he would be going? Skulk really didn't want to hear that question " No clue, guess we`ll just follow our gut feeling, go where de wind takes us, like Ryan did. Either way it's better den staying in dis deat trap!." "Can we come with you!" Zan asked suddenly, he was referring to his colony and Skulk looked at him like it was the dumbest question ever, he immediately shut the monkey`s request down, saying he no use for a bunch of simians slowing him down, Zan looked at him like a disappointed child, but naively claimed that if they worked together they might be able to find Ryan, upon hearing that Skulk gave an bitter laugh " Are ya out of your gorge? Africa`s a huge, huge place! Dere's no way will run into the kid again in dat endless wilderness!" Skulk shouted, but then his tone turned somber " He might not be alive anymore for all we know...." Zan gasped " Don't say such lies!" the canine looked at him agitatedly " Datz reality pipsqueak! I don't like the idea either, but if you go wandering into some dry ass wasteland with a horde of bloodthirsty lions after, your chances of living are slim! Now stop bothering me and piss of! ", as the dog lied back down to rest, Zan dug his hand into the sand and threw it into Skulk`s eyes, who promptly screamed.

After cleaning his eyes Skulk tried lunging at Zan, but he was already up a tree, " You don't know what you're talking about! And you know what, go! Get lost in that wasteland and become lunch for the vultures, what do I care! Who needs ya!" the upset monkey yelled down before disappearing into the canopy. Skulk cursed before lying back against the log to rest. Zan felt like being alone, and rested in another tree, close to where his colony was sleeping, he had felt down ever since Ryan left, but now the thought of his friend being dead made the colobus tear up " He can`t be dead..." he told himself out loud, " You're right about that." a cheerful voice said above him, Zan jumped and saw a mandrill looming over him, Zan instinctively tried to run, but was picked up by his tail. Zan shook with fear and cowered himself as he was brought up to the mandrills colorful face, who in turn started laughing joyfully " Don't be afraid Zan, I wish you no harm, I wish to help you.", still shivering Zan took a peak and timidly asked the larger simian how he knew his name, the mandrill chuckled and said that he was a friend of Ryan. Zan`s demeanor changed immediately, going wide eyed he grabbed the mandrills shout and started shaking it, frantically asking where Ryan was. Prying him of his face the manrill gently put Zan down " He`s alive and well, but he couldn't come back here, not yet at least, as you know the local humans want his head, but very soon you and all his other friends will be reunited." Zan stood up with a hopeful look " When? Where is?", the mandrill smiled " In a far away valley he and Cameron found, it's quite a beautiful place and he and I wish to bring all of you animals trapped here to this valley as well. And don't worry, this will not include a long journey, as I know a very fast "shortcut"..." the mandrill proclaimed "....I can promise you that by tomorrow night you`ll be reunited with Ryan, but first of we need to assemble and inform all the other animals about my rescue operation, and seeing as you and that wild dog are close companions of the boy I was hoping that you two would assist me with this task."

It didn't take much to convince Zan, now they just needed to find Skulk, but admits his excitement it finally dawned on Zan who the hell this mandrill was? When the monkey asked him the rainbow faced baboon smirked and told him that they had already met. As Zan looked at him with a puzzled look the other simian soon answered him by morphing back into a frail, borderline skeletal man in a vodoo mask, Zan was taken back "You?!" he gasped, "Yes me!" the shaman quipped " It's quite fortunate that Ryan found my handy little Octopus of Metamorphosis, otherwise it would have been much harder to get the animals to cooperate with me as a human." he explained in his usual upbeat attitude before changing back into a mandrill. Now knowing who this was, Zan suddenly had an idea about what the aforementioned "shortcut" was, only to get more confused as the shaman explained to him his plan to open a portal at midnight for the animals to cross over, the shaman also felt obliged to mention another thing " And Zan. For the sake of this mission, let us keep my true identity confidential, okay?" the shaman asked sweetly while flashing a cheesy grin, Zan tilted his head in confusion " Confi....eh..what" he asked dumbly. The shaman groaned " Secret....let`s keep it a secret, okay?" he replied with a hint of annoyance, Zan smiled and agreed " Oh, okay!".

...........

" Take...eghh...dat Raja (snore)....this....is what youu get (snore)...for (snore) abusing me...hehehe (snore)...heh who's de boss now....eghh (snore) ...you dumbcat....(snore)..." Razoul was having the most wonderful dream when all of a sudden " WAKE UP!" Razoul was jolted back awake and stumbled back, hitting the floor. He was meet with Raja looming over him, wide eyed and sporting the most maniacal grin ever, Razoul suppressed his urge to scream, this sight was far worse than any nightmare he could have had. After finally collecting his nerves the one eyed hyena spoke timidly " Ehh...good evening your highness, is something wrong? Ehhh... are you alright? " his question only made the lion grin more " Wrong? On the contrary Razoul, I`ve never felt better!" he put his front leg around the hyenas torso and drew him closer, Razoul felt nervous as the lion grinned down at him while holding him in a a near hug " I`ve just made contact with a new ally, and they're going to be a lot of help to us, but in order to meet them we will need one of Ryan`s artifacts." he spoke in an eerily pleasant tone, Razoul gulped, feeling more and more uncomfortable " But sir...we have no idea where he`s hidding them?", upon hearing that Raja gave a sinister smile " Not anymore...."

.............

" So lemme get this straight...." a groggy Skulk yawned as he was faced with Zan and some strange mandrill on the beach "...dis monkey with the flashy ass claims to be a friend of Ryan and that he`ll poof us all to some paradise using magical statues and he wants me and you to help him?" both nodded like it was a perfectly normal thing to say, Skulk glared down at the colobus " Cuz to me it sounds more like you've meet some delusional baboon who ate too many shrooms." the canine stated condescendingly. The shaman smiled " Oh bealive me my friend I`m not crazy and I'm speaking the truth, not only do I have magical powers, but I`m offering you a chance to participate in a grand act of voluntary altruism towards you're fellow animals, a chance to save hundreds of souls and give them a better life..." he turned around raising his arms up dramatically as continued rambling on with his grand speech, Zan tried to convince the wild dog to play along for Ryans sake, but Skulk was having none of this bullshit " Forget it Zan. Dis monkey is freaking mad..." he whispered before getting a devious smirk ".....but my pack does need a good breakfast, better put him out of his mysery!" Skulk lunged at the mandrill, but his intended prey vanished in thin air causing him to slam his head into a palm tree. Soon coconuts started raining down until they buried and pummeled the poor dog.

A bruised and dizzy Skulk dragged himself out of the pile as the mandrill materialized in front of him, the wild dog looked up, "How`d ya do dat?" he asked utterly dumbfounded " Ancient Swahili magic. Come now don't act so suprised! Your friend`s a half-human half-leopard, how do you think he got that way? Hmmm" the shaman crossed his arms. Skulk got up, revaluating the situation, maybe there was something to the mumbo jumbo the monkey was spewing. The shaman told the 2 to meet him at the highest point on the island in the morning where he would be awaiting them near his secret cave, before leaving, telling them that now he had to make sure that the humans wouldn't interfere with them. Skulk looked on feeling worried " What did I get myself involved into?" he wondered, Zan was more concerned to crack open one of the coconuts, "Want some?" he offered a piece to the still dumbstruck Skulk.

...............

The next day Ryan and Cameron arrived at a secluded area of the forest the shaman told them about, to make sure nobody was following them. However only Ryan was going to teleport, Cameron had no intention of getting involved into any more of the shaman`s business, she only wanted to escort her young friend to make sure he was safe, Ryan gave her a hug before he was ready to depart, " Well be careful and make sure to be back home by tomorrow morning. And tell the shaman not to come back here, I`m not good at heartfelt farewells." Ryan noted the strong sarcasm with her last sentence and nodded " Don't worry I`ll give him your best wishes." Ryan watched her slowly leave while he took hold of the Tern " Well here I go.." "Hands of runt!" both of them turned sharply to see Raja suddenly charging at them, with one swipe he knocked Ryan of his feet and sent the Tern flying in the air before catching it. He looked back to the fallen child and grinned " Aw what's the matter Ryan? Did I bruise your ego or maybe broke some ribs!" Raja erupted with maniacal laughter as Cameron rushed to help Ryan up, while Raja eyed the statute maliciously " Now let's see what this beauty can do." " How about this beauty!" shouted Cameron as she lunged at the lion. As they were fighting Ryan rushed to grab the statue but it was snatched up by Razoul, Ryan however soon blocked his path " Hand it over if you know what's good for you!" he threatened the trembling hyena who was backing away, Cameron had Raja pinned down, but the lion was easily stronger and threw her of causing her to collide with Ryan. As their enemies layed down on the ground the 2 villains made a break for it. " Are you alright." asked Cameron as the 2 got up " I`m fine, but come on, we can't let him get away!".

Raja laughed tauntingly as he was runing trough the forest with Razoul, carrying the statute in his jaws, at his side with Ryan and Cameron chasing after them, struggling to catch up as the lion and hyena repeatedly made sharp turns trough the maze of a jungle. " How did you find us!" Ryan shouted frustratingly as they made another sharp turn " No one but us knew about this place!" "That's for me to know and for you to find out!" Raja mocked them before he and Razoul made another turn and seemingly disappeared from sight. Ryan let out a frustrated yell " That demented piece of shit! He has to ruin everything!" "Ryan you have to stay calm, we have to find him now or he`ll get away for good." Cameron sniffed the air and quickly had Raja`s sent, they followed it until they found the 2 hidding between some buttressed roots, Raja had his front paws on the statute and seemed to be deeply concentrating, the Tern started glowing, the light slowly engulfing the 2 villains, "No,it can't happen." Ryan gasped in horror as he bolted towards the light, Cameron ran after him as the ensuing light blinded them all.

........

Raja and Razoul foun themselves in a familiar alpine tundra filled with giant groundsels and within their view there was the Kibo cone, Raja laughed in delight " It worked like a charm!" only to feel his tail being tugged, they both sharply turned around to see Ryan grabbing onto it. "You thought you'd get rid of me that easily?" Ryan quipped, Raja grinned " Oh I beg to differ." he said gleefully before kicking Ryan with his back legs. As he hit the ground Ryan saw the lion charging at him and swiftly rolled back as Raja made his pounce and stood up. Raja started circling him, smiling maliciously " How misfortunate, looks like your friend failed to catch the ride, no allies, no weapons, looks like you`ll have to face me alone with your bare paws." Ryan stood still, trying to keep a brave face, he asked the lion once again how he found them, but Raja just chuckled " I`m afraid such information is of little use where you`re going. You see you little abomination of nature you`ve been a thorn in my side for a long time, you've pestered me, humiliated me, you've mutilated me." Raja`s tons turned bitter as he pointed at his empty eyes socket, Ryan scowled " I was defending myself, you're the one who wouldn't leave me alone! The shit that happened to you was all your fault! " he pointed at the lion who merely sneered in response " Always pinning the blame on others, you cubs never learn."

Raja pounced with a great roar only to hit the ground as Ryan dodged his attack, Ryan got cornered against some boulders but as the lion lunged at him Ryan grabbed a rigid rock and stabbed him in his damaged eye, using the distraction Ryan climbed up Raja`s back and jumped of it and climbed up a groundsel plant, Raja tried to reach him but couldn't "Come down and fight me you coward!" " Why don't you get up here tuby." Ryan mocked him before blowing a rhaspberry, enraged the lion started shaking the plant violently, loosing his balance Ryan jumped towards one another one which on impact bent fowards before bending backwards, using the momentum Ryan jumped and slammed his feet into Raja`s head. As the lion fell Ryan ran and smacked Razoul away before grabbing the statute and making a dash up the mountain.

Raja got up ready to give chase but then he heard a familiar voice in his " Don't waste your time with him, you accomplished what you set out to do, now it's time to meet up with me face to face." Raja`s scowl turned into a smile " You're right, that miserable brat has no idea that I know where he`s heading. He`ll be in for a nasty suprise." Raja started laughing,Razoul looked at him in confusion, pointing out the obvious that Ryan was getting away, but his boss hardly seemed upset " Oh don't you worry your little head, he won't get far." Razoul tilted his head " Right..." he said carefully ".... so when did you meet this new....eh ally sir? And how do you know they've in a cavern up the mountain?" the lion just smiled " Oh you'll learn soon enough.".

............

When he finally stopped to rest Ryan looked back, only to see that his enemy made no attempt to follow him, much unlike the vengeful lion, Ryan knew something was very wrong. He considered on what to do next, he knew that the damn artifact he had with him would be useless for the ensuing 24 hours, unless it was returned to the shaman, who was likely still on the island. Ryan knew that reaching the island on his own would take a long time, no way would he arrive before the full moon, but looking up he saw he was close to the snow line, the shaman`s cave would be close by, that would be the best place to hide and wait for the shaman to contact him. Ryan wasted no time hiking up, but realized that the shaman`s cave wouldn't offer him much sanctuary. He had no idea how this happened, but somehow Raja got wind of their plans, not only that but Ryan was certain that the lion now knew the location of the shamans main residence, why else would he have beamed himself and Razoul to Kilimanjaro, " I`m sure they weren't just looking for a ski trip." thought Ryan. The only possible reason was that he was plotting to swipe the artifacts Ryan had collected, but Ryan knew that the other 2 were stored on the island by the shaman, so Raja`s efforts would fortunately be in vain, he just needed to keep the Tern away from him, it sounded easy enough.

"Unless?" Ryan started feeling more uneasy " He`s not looking for those artifacts? How did he finds me? Why did he let me get away? I can't help but feel that the old bastard knows something I don't, but what?", something was very wrong indeed. Ryan knew he had to reach the cave first and stop Raja from ever entering it.

...........

Once Ryan had finally reached the snow cowered cavern he found it to be empty, the shaman was still on the island, the stone platforms holding the artifacts were also empty much to his relief. He looked around trying to find a place to hide the Tern, he had to act fast, if he was cornered here by Raja he would be in deep trouble. Then as he searched the walls for any cracks to hide the statue in, he found something odd, as he pressed his hand on the wall, he suddenly noticed a block in the wall falling inwards leaving a square shaped impression. Ryan stepped back as part of the wall started moving revealing a tunnel behind it with lit up torch hanging on it's entrance " A secret passage? Why am I not suprised? I`ve been here twice already and only now am I learning that this loon is hidding something?" Ryan though, he considered entertaining it, but he had seen plenty of comic books and adventure movies, secret passages like this rarely harbored anything good, but he was soon left with no option, as he heard 2 familiar voices just outside the cave " We have found it!" Raja`s baritone echoed from the outside. " They're already here? Damn it!", with no time to think Ryan entered the tunnel and desperately looked for a way to close it, he soon found another block in the wall just beneath the suspended torch, and thankfully it did the job.

Ryan could hear the villains talking behind the stone wall thought he couldn't make out what they were saying. At least there was no way Raja could figure out how to open this passage, or was there? Ryan felt his feeling of safety slowly vanish, he had to hide the Tern, with only one way to go Ryan grabbed the torch and started exploring the tunnel " Too bad I left my fedora back home." he noted. He soon found a crack in the wall to hide the artifact, he could barely squeeze himself trough it, so any ol` fatass lion would definitely be unable to reach it. Now he just had to wait for the shaman to contact him, but then he heard faint, echoing laughter, Ryan was mildly startled but brushed it of as just his imagination, but then he heard it again, louder and more defined, it sounded a lot like the shaman, but it wasn't him, Ryan was growing scared, then he noticed a faint light by the end of the tunnel, reluctantly he followed it until he reached a dead end, there he found another smaller cave within one of the walls and there, setted between 2 giant torches which lit the place up, was a stone platform and on it was a lion skull, though it wasn't a real skull, it looked more like an crafted sculpture. Ryan approached it cautiously when suddenly it's sockets glowed red.

Ryan backed of as a ghostly apparition rose out of the sculpted skull, lacking a lower section the figure appeared to be an anorexic looking man, wrapped in animal skins which included a hood. tied together with bone necklaces, instead of a wooden mask he wore a lion skull,which made it look like he was permanently grinning dementedly , and it also sported buffalo horns, within the skulls sockets his own eyes glowed red. " Ah little Ryan Taylor, I`m so pleased to finally meet you in person, I hardly ever he get visitors." the apparition spoke with the same exuberant tone as the shaman, yet he made Ryan feel even more unnerved than even the shaman, "How do you..... wait let me guess you're an.......associate of the shaman?" Ryan questioned " Yes I was, until he trapped me in this prison." the figure pointed at the skull bellow him, Ryan studied him cautiously, his instincts were already telling him that this being was bad news "And I'm so glad to meet you, you have to help free me!", "Free you?" Ryan looked puzzled " Yes that shaman as you know him, he can't be trusted, I know that he was the one who stole your humanity, just like he stole my freedom! We can get him together!" Ryan remained wary, although this skull faced ghost had a point about the shaman being untrustworthy, on the other hand this being didn't give of the vibe of a trustworthy person either. Ryan crossed his arms immediately asking him why he was trapped by the shaman, he claimed that he was a fellow shaman and an innocent soul who was imprisoned by his supposed friend who stole his powers. Ryan remained suspicious " Riiight? Well excuse me for being skeptical, but you look an awful lot like some evil demon sealed in a prison." "Oh evil is such an ugly word." a deep voice spoke behind him, Ryan turned and to his horror was faced with Raja and Razoul.

.............................................

Cameron was frantically pacing trough the jungle, worried sick, Ryan was out there alone facing Raja, where was that damn shaman you needed him! Right then as if on que she heard his voice calling for her, she followed it until she saw his reflection in a puddle " Where is that boy? He`s late, and we have a tight schedule with our mission!" the shaman demanded, Cameroon grit her teeth " Screw your freaking mission! Raja stole that artifact you left behind and teleported himself and Ryan to who knows where! I have to find him!" she yelled frantically, " What?" the shaman was taken aback by what he heard....

......................................

" That's the ally you were talking about sir?" Razoul looked at the apparition with fear and confusion, but Raja looked at in admiration, " Exactly Razoul...." he confirmed as he moved closer to him and Ryan ".......... it's a pleasure to meet you. I see that you're another shaman with ties to the artifacts, exempt you're one who can see eye to eye with me." Ryan looked at the apparition angrily " So you're the one who's been guiding him here! I knew you were evil!" he accused , " Oh don't be so judgmental boy, evil is just a matter of perspective...." the dark shaman spoke pleasantly before his ghostly form went back into the skull "....now Raja take me out of this gloomy hole, we have plenty more to discuss!" the skull spoke. " Certainly, but first of I need to care of some unfinished business...( he turned towards Ryan).... well runt looks like you have outlived your usefulness, any last words?" , Ryan didn't answer, in one swift motion he grabbed the skull, as Raja charged at him he flipped one of the giant torch at the lion and ran. As he ran back trough the tunnel he could hear the lions enraged roars echoing trough the tunnel.

As he got out of the tunnel Ryan tried to shut it close, but Raja had already caught up. He pounced and pinned Ryan down, causing him to drop the skull which then tumbled towards the lava river, "Nooooo!" Raja jumped and caught it a mere second before it fell in. But before he could get up Ryan jumped on his back and tried to wrestle it out of his grip. Raja tossed the skull towards Razoul who clumsily caught it, before throwing Ryan of. Raja tried to catch him, but Ryan swiftly slipped undeneath the lions legs and made a dash towards Razoul. He grabbed the hyena and threw him into Raja`s face, Ryan took the skull and ran out of the cave. Shoving Razoul of his face Raja saw his enemy escaping and growled in frustration before the 2 chased after him. Mere moments after they left, a flash of light appeared in the cave, as the shaman and Cameron were now there, Cameron instantly picked up the sent of her friend and enemies. Without saying a word she chased after them, the shaman however stayed as he dropped his stick in shock as he saw that his secret entrance was open.....

Ryan climbed up the mountain, trying to evade Raja, he walking on a snowy ridge and looking around he saw no sign of him, when suddenly he heard the skull laughing " Thank you for your assistance boy it was greatly appreciated!" it said in a chipper tune, "What assistance?" Ryan growled making eye contact with glowing red eyes of the skull which chuckled once again " Don't you realize? There was a spell cast over the cave that neutralized my powers of teleportation, but now you have relieved me from it." Ryan went wide eyed before hearing some shrill cries in front of him, he recognized them. Climbing over a large boulder standing in the middle of the ridge he saw Razoul hidding on the other side, calling for his master, Ryan jumped on him and pinned him down, but no sooner did he do that Raja appeared and lunged at the boy. This caused all 4 of them to fall and slide down the snowy slope, Ryan managed to grab hold of a rock, but the villains slid all the way down. Raja got up and found skull, picking it up the dark shaman spoke to him " You 2 had your fun, but time is running out and we have important matters to attend to!"

From above Ryan saw the lion and hyena putting their paws on the skull which started glowing brighter and brighter " Sorry we can't stick around...." Raja shouted up triumphantly "......but we're visiting the Isle of the Dragons!", with that a bright light engulfed them and they were gone. Ryan was loosing his grip on the rock, but as he was about to fall of, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Cameron who pulled him back up. She quickly pulled him in a loving hug "Oh Ryan, thank heavens your aliright." she felt like a huge weight was lifted of her shoulders, Ryan hugged her back " I`m fine, that old fart never posed a threat to me." he reassured before asking where the shaman was, he soon saw him ontop of the boulder looking down at where the villains used to be while being uncharacteristically quiet....

...............

Back in the shamans cave, tension was rising, the shaman was pretty much ordering the duo to go after Raja and retrieve the skull, which didn't sit well with Cameron, Ryan was also asking questions regarding this other shaman, but the masked man was acting uncharacteristically serious and urgent " There's no time for chitta chatter, time`s of the essence. All you need to know for now is that yes this person was a former associate of mine who was imprisoned a long time ago because he tried to misuse the power of the artifacts. He`s also the one who cursed me to be stuck in Tanzania." Ryan was intrigued to hear more about the history between the 2, but the shaman was in no mood for story telling, citing that Ryan and Cameron had to stop Raja right now from potentially releasing a far greater threat on the world than the lion could ever hope to be. Ryan was starting to realize the severity of the situation, and feeling like he was partially at fault for helping release this....evil shaman he felt obliged to undo his mistake. Cameron meanwhile remained unwilling to clean up the shaman`s mess and protested for her and Ryan to be let out of this, Ryan grabbed her paw and looked at her as seriously as he ever did " You don't understand Cammy, if Raja frees this evil shaman the whole world could be in danger, not just our valley. The shaman can`t stop them now, he`s cursed to be stuck in Tanzania, and were the only ones who can follow Raja and stop him from making a grave mistake. This isn't a choice anymore, this is our responsibility. "

The shaman spoke up " The boy speaks the truth, I deeply regret not being able to help you further, but we can't change that now because we have little time on our hands." Upon their puzzled looks he elaborated, he soon dropped a bomb by mentioning how his evil compadre was imprisoned some 4,000 years ago, letting Ryan know that these 2 had some means of imortality, the shaman also didn't elaborate on that, continuing on to say that every 1,000 years when the planets align, the dark shaman was in a position where he could be released if he was at a specific sacrate place at a very precise date, time and position with someone (like Raja) saying a spell that would free him, and that day was tomorrow! Ryan`s face dropped, this situation was that serious, and even Cameron started reluctantly reconsidering as she started to understand what was at stake. Seeing as they were finally able to see eye to eye, the shaman recalled Ryan mentioning an "Isle of the Dragons", "Yes that's what Raja said." Ryan stated.

" Yes I know of this place well, you might know it as Komodo island, it was there where my other had a temple built in his honor several mileniums ago, where he practiced his magic, no doubt that's where he intends to perform the ceremony, but you Ryan and your friend will have to prevent that from happening." Neither of them could back out of this now, they had to act fast, but Ryan only had one question left, regarding the island rescue mission, to which the shaman reassured him that he would handle it personally with the help of Zan and Skulk. Obviously that would involve using the Tern of Travel, which meant that Ryan couldn't use it, despite it's necessity. But the shaman had a solution, he performed a simple spell and extracted a small bit of the artifact energy in his hand, he then sent the glowing orb into Ryan and he absorbed it. As Ryan felt it manifest it's energy in his body, the shaman explained to the boy that now he had a small bit of the Terns power within him. " And since you're familiar with using the Tern itself, you should be able to use it's teleportation powers, but only once, so don't use it until it becomes absolutely necessary." the shaman warned him "Undestood." Ryan replayed listening carefully. " Alright enough lectures, time to kick Raja`s ass!" Cameron snapped impatiently, the shaman opened a bright portal. Ryan assembled his swords, hand bag and fedora as both he and Ryan wished the other the best of luck with their respective missions but the shaman hastened to add " Don't forget, the fate of the world rests on your shoulders!".

" Thanks for the pep talk, you sure put no pressure on us..." Cameron quipped sarcastically as the 2 entered the portal, as they ventured into unknown lands Ryan thought about what they were doing, which involved potentially saving the world, the prospect of it was both exiting and scary to the boy....

.....................

As they teleported into the Sunda island chain the villains didn't hit solid ground, but rather plopped into the warm Indo-Pacific ocean. Raja swam to the surface with the skull in his jaws and a frantic Razoul grabbing on to his head and thrashing around . Wasting no time Raja swam to the nearest island, a pretty small one at that, on the beach he confronted his new ally " What was the meaning of this?" he asked as politely as his suppressed anger would allow " My apologies Raja, my powers of transportation aren't very precise..." the skull spoke with amusement ".... but don't worry our destination is right in front of us!", Raja moved to the beach and saw the real Komodo island in the distance. Razoul came by his side and finally expressed his worries about this situation " Sir are you sure this is a good idea, to release this being, I have a feeling that this will go very wrong." , Razoul was by all accounts trying to convince his master to drop out of this, but his pleads fell on deaf ears, " Everything will go according to plan...." Raja boasted while watching the horizon "..... with the aid of this shaman I will get my paws on those powers of the artifacts, and when I do....." the lion started laughing maniacally, the sound of it echoed omniously trough the island chain.....

　

Ah nothing like a good ol`s villain laughs diabolically ending, classic adventure series stuff, Raja does have a tendency to laugh a lot to show how evil he is. Anyways this 2 parter is an important episode in this series so far as it will be forming the main setup and recurring conflict of good vs evil for the series that I intended for and hopefully bring about a lot of interesting story potencial for the future, this will bring up the history of the shaman and his evil other, as well as bring to light some of Raja`s and Razoul`s past. And it was nice to once again write Zan and Skulk as I'm starting to develop them more. And just so you know Raja`s flashback at the beginning is actually part taken from the original deleted subplot from The Beast of Exmoor II written over a month ago.Till next time......

Description

It was nightime in the African wilderness and most of it's inhabitants were asleep (besides those who were nocturnal species), all exept for one unscrupulous lion who was rolling around and convulsing in his sleep, until he woke up with a jolt, panting and his heart going a mile a minute. He cursed underneath his breath, it was that same nightmare that has been pestering him for weeks, maybe even a month, where that same........creature was haunting him, taunting him, trying to reach him. Looking around he saw Razoul sleeping like a baby, Raja wanted to punch the hyena`s lights out, just to let out some steam but decided to get a drink instead. As he took a walk towards the nearest puddle, he remembered his experience from a few days ago.

He had retreated back into his lair, scared and on edge, there was no sign of his dreaded enemy, no sent, no sound, nothing, was he hallucinating he thought? He was spooked so badly that he had been hidding in his territory for over 3 days. It couldn't have been him, it was impossible. Right then an even more horrified Razoul caught up with him, cowering in the far corner of the cave.Still unnerved Raja asked him if he saw the tiger? The fearful Razoul looked at him funny, asking him what he was talking about? This made the lion boil, he was ready to strike the cowering hyena " Don't play stupid you carrion gobbling worm, you saw him, he was right in front of us, it was him, it was.....Shere Khan!" he spat out that name with pure venom and hatred, Razoul looked at him timidly "But your majesty that tiger wasn't there, it was Kaa who tried to eat me." he spoke fearfully, now it was Raja`s turn to be confused "Kaa? What are you blabbering about! That accursed serpent was nowhere in..." then it hit him, if he and Razoul saw different things then it must have been some illusion brought on by the shaman. Gritting his teeth the lion ordered his one-eyed lackey to follow him back, this time they wouldn't be fooled so easily.However once they came back there was nothing there.

They made a fool out of him, again, they would pay for it and dearly. After a few gulps Raja looked at his reflection getting distorted by the ripples, once they settled they reveled not himself but the vision of the creature from his dreams, a shadowy featureless shape starting at the shocked lion with glowing red eyes. "Not again!" Raja thought closing his eyes, when he heard a deep baritone speaking in an eerily affable manner " Raja, why were you trying to shut me out, don't you know how long and hard I have been trying to reach you, I`m your friend." Raja looked back at the reflection, it was speaking to him! " Shut up, you're not my friend, your some monster!" he lashed back, the figure reacted with mock shock " Monster! No, it's your enemies, they`re the true monsters! Ryan, Cameron, Shere Khan! They're all trying to crush you, humiliate you, keep you from your rightful destiny to rule the land!" Raja`s fear soon turned into burning anger " You're right! That's exactly what they`re doing to me. They will suffer for their crimes!", "Preciely! And that's why you should let me help you." the figure exclaimed, Raja looked at it condescendingly " How? You're just a dream creature?" , the figure chuckled .

" Oh I am real. Not only that but I know you very well and I`m far more involved with your life than you could ever comprehend. I admire your senseof ambition and determination, and I know that you gained an interest in gaining the power of the artifacts, I could make that happen for you, if you're willing to cooperate?." Raja kept eye contact with it, in the back of his mind he was wandering if he had lost it, talking to a imaginary reflection in the water, but his lust of power urged him to cease this apparent opportunity. Seeing the lion contemplating his options the figure decided to kick it up a notch with it's bargain " Not only that, but I also hold the answer to a question that has been haunting you and your striped friend for a while now, regarding the gap in your memories." Raja was stunned, but remained stotic, he looked at the figure with intrigue " I`m listening......"

...........................

From atop of their baobab home Ryan and Cameron were star gazing, Ryan was resting his head on the leopardess torso, after any stressful excursions peaceful moments like this were greatly appreciated. Cameron noticed the Tern statue and asked why the shaman had left it with them, Ryan replayed lazily " To give me a means to transport myself to the island, said he would be preoccupied getting those natives to stay locked in their houses all night long after feeding them some cockamamy story about some human eating demon passing trough the island during the full moon, or some crap like that..." Cameron snickered " You really think they`ll be dumb enough to buy that?" Ryan smirked " Don't underestimate human superstition." They continued admiring the stars, soon enough they would be living out here in peace, without any of the insanity that came with the shaman, now they only had to deal with Raja, Ryan looked at a piece of wood he was carving with his pocket knife, like with any hunter it was carved into the likeness of his quarry, Raja. Then suddenly a star shot trough the sky, Ryan previously told his friend about how you could make a wish after seeing one but never tell it out loud, and so both of them did. For Ryan it was that his next encounter with Raja would end with him wearing the lions hide.

..........

It was the middle of the night on the island, the only time at this point where the supposed sanctuary was quiet compared to usual turmoil that would transpire during the daytime. One lone Cape hunting dog was laboriously pushing a large log towards the beach, but just as he came out of the forest and onto the sandy beach he felt something land on his back. The spooked canine started jumping around, barking and trying to snap his jaws on the attacker, " Relax Skulk it's me Zan!" the colobus shouted, the canine stopped and tried looking up irritably " Zan! Why did ya sneak up on me!" , " What? I thought you predators had great senses?" Zan replayed smugly, Skulk mumbled in annoyance and continued pushing the log as soon as the monkey got of his back, Zan asked him what he was doing, but the wild dog ignored him until he had pushed the log all the way to the shore, he then started panting heavily while resting on the log and gave an irritated glare.

" What duz it look like to ya, ya ninkapoop!" he spoke harshly " I`m preparing dis log so me and my pack can blow this dump in the morning, let all dose suckers kill each of, whada we care?" Zan came after him and asked him where he would be going? Skulk really didn't want to hear that question " No clue, guess we`ll just follow our gut feeling, go where de wind takes us, like Ryan did. Either way it's better den staying in dis deat trap!." "Can we come with you!" Zan asked suddenly, he was referring to his colony and Skulk looked at him like it was the dumbest question ever, he immediately shut the monkey`s request down, saying he no use for a bunch of simians slowing him down, Zan looked at him like a disappointed child, but naively claimed that if they worked together they might be able to find Ryan, upon hearing that Skulk gave an bitter laugh " Are ya out of your gorge? Africa`s a huge, huge place! Dere's no way will run into the kid again in dat endless wilderness!" Skulk shouted, but then his tone turned somber " He might not be alive anymore for all we know...." Zan gasped " Don't say such lies!" the canine looked at him agitatedly " Datz reality pipsqueak! I don't like the idea either, but if you go wandering into some dry ass wasteland with a horde of bloodthirsty lions after, your chances of living are slim! Now stop bothering me and piss of! ", as the dog lied back down to rest, Zan dug his hand into the sand and threw it into Skulk`s eyes, who promptly screamed.

After cleaning his eyes Skulk tried lunging at Zan, but he was already up a tree, " You don't know what you're talking about! And you know what, go! Get lost in that wasteland and become lunch for the vultures, what do I care! Who needs ya!" the upset monkey yelled down before disappearing into the canopy. Skulk cursed before lying back against the log to rest. Zan felt like being alone, and rested in another tree, close to where his colony was sleeping, he had felt down ever since Ryan left, but now the thought of his friend being dead made the colobus tear up " He can`t be dead..." he told himself out loud, " You're right about that." a cheerful voice said above him, Zan jumped and saw a mandrill looming over him, Zan instinctively tried to run, but was picked up by his tail. Zan shook with fear and cowered himself as he was brought up to the mandrills colorful face, who in turn started laughing joyfully " Don't be afraid Zan, I wish you no harm, I wish to help you.", still shivering Zan took a peak and timidly asked the larger simian how he knew his name, the mandrill chuckled and said that he was a friend of Ryan. Zan`s demeanor changed immediately, going wide eyed he grabbed the mandrills shout and started shaking it, frantically asking where Ryan was. Prying him of his face the manrill gently put Zan down " He`s alive and well, but he couldn't come back here, not yet at least, as you know the local humans want his head, but very soon you and all his other friends will be reunited." Zan stood up with a hopeful look " When? Where is?", the mandrill smiled " In a far away valley he and Cameron found, it's quite a beautiful place and he and I wish to bring all of you animals trapped here to this valley as well. And don't worry, this will not include a long journey, as I know a very fast "shortcut"..." the mandrill proclaimed "....I can promise you that by tomorrow night you`ll be reunited with Ryan, but first of we need to assemble and inform all the other animals about my rescue operation, and seeing as you and that wild dog are close companions of the boy I was hoping that you two would assist me with this task."

It didn't take much to convince Zan, now they just needed to find Skulk, but admits his excitement it finally dawned on Zan who the hell this mandrill was? When the monkey asked him the rainbow faced baboon smirked and told him that they had already met. As Zan looked at him with a puzzled look the other simian soon answered him by morphing back into a frail, borderline skeletal man in a vodoo mask, Zan was taken back "You?!" he gasped, "Yes me!" the shaman quipped " It's quite fortunate that Ryan found my handy little Octopus of Metamorphosis, otherwise it would have been much harder to get the animals to cooperate with me as a human." he explained in his usual upbeat attitude before changing back into a mandrill. Now knowing who this was, Zan suddenly had an idea about what the aforementioned "shortcut" was, only to get more confused as the shaman explained to him his plan to open a portal at midnight for the animals to cross over, the shaman also felt obliged to mention another thing " And Zan. For the sake of this mission, let us keep my true identity confidential, okay?" the shaman asked sweetly while flashing a cheesy grin, Zan tilted his head in confusion " Confi....eh..what" he asked dumbly. The shaman groaned " Secret....let`s keep it a secret, okay?" he replied with a hint of annoyance, Zan smiled and agreed " Oh, okay!".

...........

" Take...eghh...dat Raja (snore)....this....is what youu get (snore)...for (snore) abusing me...hehehe (snore)...heh who's de boss now....eghh (snore) ...you dumbcat....(snore)..." Razoul was having the most wonderful dream when all of a sudden " WAKE UP!" Razoul was jolted back awake and stumbled back, hitting the floor. He was meet with Raja looming over him, wide eyed and sporting the most maniacal grin ever, Razoul suppressed his urge to scream, this sight was far worse than any nightmare he could have had. After finally collecting his nerves the one eyed hyena spoke timidly " Ehh...good evening your highness, is something wrong? Ehhh... are you alright? " his question only made the lion grin more " Wrong? On the contrary Razoul, I`ve never felt better!" he put his front leg around the hyenas torso and drew him closer, Razoul felt nervous as the lion grinned down at him while holding him in a a near hug " I`ve just made contact with a new ally, and they're going to be a lot of help to us, but in order to meet them we will need one of Ryan`s artifacts." he spoke in an eerily pleasant tone, Razoul gulped, feeling more and more uncomfortable " But sir...we have no idea where he`s hidding them?", upon hearing that Raja gave a sinister smile " Not anymore...."

.............

" So lemme get this straight...." a groggy Skulk yawned as he was faced with Zan and some strange mandrill on the beach "...dis monkey with the flashy ass claims to be a friend of Ryan and that he`ll poof us all to some paradise using magical statues and he wants me and you to help him?" both nodded like it was a perfectly normal thing to say, Skulk glared down at the colobus " Cuz to me it sounds more like you've meet some delusional baboon who ate too many shrooms." the canine stated condescendingly. The shaman smiled " Oh bealive me my friend I`m not crazy and I'm speaking the truth, not only do I have magical powers, but I`m offering you a chance to participate in a grand act of voluntary altruism towards you're fellow animals, a chance to save hundreds of souls and give them a better life..." he turned around raising his arms up dramatically as continued rambling on with his grand speech, Zan tried to convince the wild dog to play along for Ryans sake, but Skulk was having none of this bullshit " Forget it Zan. Dis monkey is freaking mad..." he whispered before getting a devious smirk ".....but my pack does need a good breakfast, better put him out of his mysery!" Skulk lunged at the mandrill, but his intended prey vanished in thin air causing him to slam his head into a palm tree. Soon coconuts started raining down until they buried and pummeled the poor dog.

A bruised and dizzy Skulk dragged himself out of the pile as the mandrill materialized in front of him, the wild dog looked up, "How`d ya do dat?" he asked utterly dumbfounded " Ancient Swahili magic. Come now don't act so suprised! Your friend`s a half-human half-leopard, how do you think he got that way? Hmmm" the shaman crossed his arms. Skulk got up, revaluating the situation, maybe there was something to the mumbo jumbo the monkey was spewing. The shaman told the 2 to meet him at the highest point on the island in the morning where he would be awaiting them near his secret cave, before leaving, telling them that now he had to make sure that the humans wouldn't interfere with them. Skulk looked on feeling worried " What did I get myself involved into?" he wondered, Zan was more concerned to crack open one of the coconuts, "Want some?" he offered a piece to the still dumbstruck Skulk.

...............

The next day Ryan and Cameron arrived at a secluded area of the forest the shaman told them about, to make sure nobody was following them. However only Ryan was going to teleport, Cameron had no intention of getting involved into any more of the shaman`s business, she only wanted to escort her young friend to make sure he was safe, Ryan gave her a hug before he was ready to depart, " Well be careful and make sure to be back home by tomorrow morning. And tell the shaman not to come back here, I`m not good at heartfelt farewells." Ryan noted the strong sarcasm with her last sentence and nodded " Don't worry I`ll give him your best wishes." Ryan watched her slowly leave while he took hold of the Tern " Well here I go.." "Hands of runt!" both of them turned sharply to see Raja suddenly charging at them, with one swipe he knocked Ryan of his feet and sent the Tern flying in the air before catching it. He looked back to the fallen child and grinned " Aw what's the matter Ryan? Did I bruise your ego or maybe broke some ribs!" Raja erupted with maniacal laughter as Cameron rushed to help Ryan up, while Raja eyed the statute maliciously " Now let's see what this beauty can do." " How about this beauty!" shouted Cameron as she lunged at the lion. As they were fighting Ryan rushed to grab the statue but it was snatched up by Razoul, Ryan however soon blocked his path " Hand it over if you know what's good for you!" he threatened the trembling hyena who was backing away, Cameron had Raja pinned down, but the lion was easily stronger and threw her of causing her to collide with Ryan. As their enemies layed down on the ground the 2 villains made a break for it. " Are you alright." asked Cameron as the 2 got up " I`m fine, but come on, we can't let him get away!".

Raja laughed tauntingly as he was runing trough the forest with Razoul, carrying the statute in his jaws, at his side with Ryan and Cameron chasing after them, struggling to catch up as the lion and hyena repeatedly made sharp turns trough the maze of a jungle. " How did you find us!" Ryan shouted frustratingly as they made another sharp turn " No one but us knew about this place!" "That's for me to know and for you to find out!" Raja mocked them before he and Razoul made another turn and seemingly disappeared from sight. Ryan let out a frustrated yell " That demented piece of shit! He has to ruin everything!" "Ryan you have to stay calm, we have to find him now or he`ll get away for good." Cameron sniffed the air and quickly had Raja`s sent, they followed it until they found the 2 hidding between some buttressed roots, Raja had his front paws on the statute and seemed to be deeply concentrating, the Tern started glowing, the light slowly engulfing the 2 villains, "No,it can't happen." Ryan gasped in horror as he bolted towards the light, Cameron ran after him as the ensuing light blinded them all.

........

Raja and Razoul foun themselves in a familiar alpine tundra filled with giant groundsels and within their view there was the Kibo cone, Raja laughed in delight " It worked like a charm!" only to feel his tail being tugged, they both sharply turned around to see Ryan grabbing onto it. "You thought you'd get rid of me that easily?" Ryan quipped, Raja grinned " Oh I beg to differ." he said gleefully before kicking Ryan with his back legs. As he hit the ground Ryan saw the lion charging at him and swiftly rolled back as Raja made his pounce and stood up. Raja started circling him, smiling maliciously " How misfortunate, looks like your friend failed to catch the ride, no allies, no weapons, looks like you`ll have to face me alone with your bare paws." Ryan stood still, trying to keep a brave face, he asked the lion once again how he found them, but Raja just chuckled " I`m afraid such information is of little use where you`re going. You see you little abomination of nature you`ve been a thorn in my side for a long time, you've pestered me, humiliated me, you've mutilated me." Raja`s tons turned bitter as he pointed at his empty eyes socket, Ryan scowled " I was defending myself, you're the one who wouldn't leave me alone! The shit that happened to you was all your fault! " he pointed at the lion who merely sneered in response " Always pinning the blame on others, you cubs never learn."

Raja pounced with a great roar only to hit the ground as Ryan dodged his attack, Ryan got cornered against some boulders but as the lion lunged at him Ryan grabbed a rigid rock and stabbed him in his damaged eye, using the distraction Ryan climbed up Raja`s back and jumped of it and climbed up a groundsel plant, Raja tried to reach him but couldn't "Come down and fight me you coward!" " Why don't you get up here tuby." Ryan mocked him before blowing a rhaspberry, enraged the lion started shaking the plant violently, loosing his balance Ryan jumped towards one another one which on impact bent fowards before bending backwards, using the momentum Ryan jumped and slammed his feet into Raja`s head. As the lion fell Ryan ran and smacked Razoul away before grabbing the statute and making a dash up the mountain.

Raja got up ready to give chase but then he heard a familiar voice in his " Don't waste your time with him, you accomplished what you set out to do, now it's time to meet up with me face to face." Raja`s scowl turned into a smile " You're right, that miserable brat has no idea that I know where he`s heading. He`ll be in for a nasty suprise." Raja started laughing,Razoul looked at him in confusion, pointing out the obvious that Ryan was getting away, but his boss hardly seemed upset " Oh don't you worry your little head, he won't get far." Razoul tilted his head " Right..." he said carefully ".... so when did you meet this new....eh ally sir? And how do you know they've in a cavern up the mountain?" the lion just smiled " Oh you'll learn soon enough.".

............

When he finally stopped to rest Ryan looked back, only to see that his enemy made no attempt to follow him, much unlike the vengeful lion, Ryan knew something was very wrong. He considered on what to do next, he knew that the damn artifact he had with him would be useless for the ensuing 24 hours, unless it was returned to the shaman, who was likely still on the island. Ryan knew that reaching the island on his own would take a long time, no way would he arrive before the full moon, but looking up he saw he was close to the snow line, the shaman`s cave would be close by, that would be the best place to hide and wait for the shaman to contact him. Ryan wasted no time hiking up, but realized that the shaman`s cave wouldn't offer him much sanctuary. He had no idea how this happened, but somehow Raja got wind of their plans, not only that but Ryan was certain that the lion now knew the location of the shamans main residence, why else would he have beamed himself and Razoul to Kilimanjaro, " I`m sure they weren't just looking for a ski trip." thought Ryan. The only possible reason was that he was plotting to swipe the artifacts Ryan had collected, but Ryan knew that the other 2 were stored on the island by the shaman, so Raja`s efforts would fortunately be in vain, he just needed to keep the Tern away from him, it sounded easy enough.

"Unless?" Ryan started feeling more uneasy " He`s not looking for those artifacts? How did he finds me? Why did he let me get away? I can't help but feel that the old bastard knows something I don't, but what?", something was very wrong indeed. Ryan knew he had to reach the cave first and stop Raja from ever entering it.

...........

Once Ryan had finally reached the snow cowered cavern he found it to be empty, the shaman was still on the island, the stone platforms holding the artifacts were also empty much to his relief. He looked around trying to find a place to hide the Tern, he had to act fast, if he was cornered here by Raja he would be in deep trouble. Then as he searched the walls for any cracks to hide the statue in, he found something odd, as he pressed his hand on the wall, he suddenly noticed a block in the wall falling inwards leaving a square shaped impression. Ryan stepped back as part of the wall started moving revealing a tunnel behind it with lit up torch hanging on it's entrance " A secret passage? Why am I not suprised? I`ve been here twice already and only now am I learning that this loon is hidding something?" Ryan though, he considered entertaining it, but he had seen plenty of comic books and adventure movies, secret passages like this rarely harbored anything good, but he was soon left with no option, as he heard 2 familiar voices just outside the cave " We have found it!" Raja`s baritone echoed from the outside. " They're already here? Damn it!", with no time to think Ryan entered the tunnel and desperately looked for a way to close it, he soon found another block in the wall just beneath the suspended torch, and thankfully it did the job.

Ryan could hear the villains talking behind the stone wall thought he couldn't make out what they were saying. At least there was no way Raja could figure out how to open this passage, or was there? Ryan felt his feeling of safety slowly vanish, he had to hide the Tern, with only one way to go Ryan grabbed the torch and started exploring the tunnel " Too bad I left my fedora back home." he noted. He soon found a crack in the wall to hide the artifact, he could barely squeeze himself trough it, so any ol` fatass lion would definitely be unable to reach it. Now he just had to wait for the shaman to contact him, but then he heard faint, echoing laughter, Ryan was mildly startled but brushed it of as just his imagination, but then he heard it again, louder and more defined, it sounded a lot like the shaman, but it wasn't him, Ryan was growing scared, then he noticed a faint light by the end of the tunnel, reluctantly he followed it until he reached a dead end, there he found another smaller cave within one of the walls and there, setted between 2 giant torches which lit the place up, was a stone platform and on it was a lion skull, though it wasn't a real skull, it looked more like an crafted sculpture. Ryan approached it cautiously when suddenly it's sockets glowed red.

Ryan backed of as a ghostly apparition rose out of the sculpted skull, lacking a lower section the figure appeared to be an anorexic looking man, wrapped in animal skins which included a hood. tied together with bone necklaces, instead of a wooden mask he wore a lion skull,which made it look like he was permanently grinning dementedly , and it also sported buffalo horns, within the skulls sockets his own eyes glowed red. " Ah little Ryan Taylor, I`m so pleased to finally meet you in person, I hardly ever he get visitors." the apparition spoke with the same exuberant tone as the shaman, yet he made Ryan feel even more unnerved than even the shaman, "How do you..... wait let me guess you're an.......associate of the shaman?" Ryan questioned " Yes I was, until he trapped me in this prison." the figure pointed at the skull bellow him, Ryan studied him cautiously, his instincts were already telling him that this being was bad news "And I'm so glad to meet you, you have to help free me!", "Free you?" Ryan looked puzzled " Yes that shaman as you know him, he can't be trusted, I know that he was the one who stole your humanity, just like he stole my freedom! We can get him together!" Ryan remained wary, although this skull faced ghost had a point about the shaman being untrustworthy, on the other hand this being didn't give of the vibe of a trustworthy person either. Ryan crossed his arms immediately asking him why he was trapped by the shaman, he claimed that he was a fellow shaman and an innocent soul who was imprisoned by his supposed friend who stole his powers. Ryan remained suspicious " Riiight? Well excuse me for being skeptical, but you look an awful lot like some evil demon sealed in a prison." "Oh evil is such an ugly word." a deep voice spoke behind him, Ryan turned and to his horror was faced with Raja and Razoul.

.............................................

Cameron was frantically pacing trough the jungle, worried sick, Ryan was out there alone facing Raja, where was that damn shaman you needed him! Right then as if on que she heard his voice calling for her, she followed it until she saw his reflection in a puddle " Where is that boy? He`s late, and we have a tight schedule with our mission!" the shaman demanded, Cameroon grit her teeth " Screw your freaking mission! Raja stole that artifact you left behind and teleported himself and Ryan to who knows where! I have to find him!" she yelled frantically, " What?" the shaman was taken aback by what he heard....

......................................

" That's the ally you were talking about sir?" Razoul looked at the apparition with fear and confusion, but Raja looked at in admiration, " Exactly Razoul...." he confirmed as he moved closer to him and Ryan ".......... it's a pleasure to meet you. I see that you're another shaman with ties to the artifacts, exempt you're one who can see eye to eye with me." Ryan looked at the apparition angrily " So you're the one who's been guiding him here! I knew you were evil!" he accused , " Oh don't be so judgmental boy, evil is just a matter of perspective...." the dark shaman spoke pleasantly before his ghostly form went back into the skull "....now Raja take me out of this gloomy hole, we have plenty more to discuss!" the skull spoke. " Certainly, but first of I need to care of some unfinished business...( he turned towards Ryan).... well runt looks like you have outlived your usefulness, any last words?" , Ryan didn't answer, in one swift motion he grabbed the skull, as Raja charged at him he flipped one of the giant torch at the lion and ran. As he ran back trough the tunnel he could hear the lions enraged roars echoing trough the tunnel.

As he got out of the tunnel Ryan tried to shut it close, but Raja had already caught up. He pounced and pinned Ryan down, causing him to drop the skull which then tumbled towards the lava river, "Nooooo!" Raja jumped and caught it a mere second before it fell in. But before he could get up Ryan jumped on his back and tried to wrestle it out of his grip. Raja tossed the skull towards Razoul who clumsily caught it, before throwing Ryan of. Raja tried to catch him, but Ryan swiftly slipped undeneath the lions legs and made a dash towards Razoul. He grabbed the hyena and threw him into Raja`s face, Ryan took the skull and ran out of the cave. Shoving Razoul of his face Raja saw his enemy escaping and growled in frustration before the 2 chased after him. Mere moments after they left, a flash of light appeared in the cave, as the shaman and Cameron were now there, Cameron instantly picked up the sent of her friend and enemies. Without saying a word she chased after them, the shaman however stayed as he dropped his stick in shock as he saw that his secret entrance was open.....

Ryan climbed up the mountain, trying to evade Raja, he walking on a snowy ridge and looking around he saw no sign of him, when suddenly he heard the skull laughing " Thank you for your assistance boy it was greatly appreciated!" it said in a chipper tune, "What assistance?" Ryan growled making eye contact with glowing red eyes of the skull which chuckled once again " Don't you realize? There was a spell cast over the cave that neutralized my powers of teleportation, but now you have relieved me from it." Ryan went wide eyed before hearing some shrill cries in front of him, he recognized them. Climbing over a large boulder standing in the middle of the ridge he saw Razoul hidding on the other side, calling for his master, Ryan jumped on him and pinned him down, but no sooner did he do that Raja appeared and lunged at the boy. This caused all 4 of them to fall and slide down the snowy slope, Ryan managed to grab hold of a rock, but the villains slid all the way down. Raja got up and found skull, picking it up the dark shaman spoke to him " You 2 had your fun, but time is running out and we have important matters to attend to!"

From above Ryan saw the lion and hyena putting their paws on the skull which started glowing brighter and brighter " Sorry we can't stick around...." Raja shouted up triumphantly "......but we're visiting the Isle of the Dragons!", with that a bright light engulfed them and they were gone. Ryan was loosing his grip on the rock, but as he was about to fall of, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Cameron who pulled him back up. She quickly pulled him in a loving hug "Oh Ryan, thank heavens your aliright." she felt like a huge weight was lifted of her shoulders, Ryan hugged her back " I`m fine, that old fart never posed a threat to me." he reassured before asking where the shaman was, he soon saw him ontop of the boulder looking down at where the villains used to be while being uncharacteristically quiet....

...............

Back in the shamans cave, tension was rising, the shaman was pretty much ordering the duo to go after Raja and retrieve the skull, which didn't sit well with Cameron, Ryan was also asking questions regarding this other shaman, but the masked man was acting uncharacteristically serious and urgent " There's no time for chitta chatter, time`s of the essence. All you need to know for now is that yes this person was a former associate of mine who was imprisoned a long time ago because he tried to misuse the power of the artifacts. He`s also the one who cursed me to be stuck in Tanzania." Ryan was intrigued to hear more about the history between the 2, but the shaman was in no mood for story telling, citing that Ryan and Cameron had to stop Raja right now from potentially releasing a far greater threat on the world than the lion could ever hope to be. Ryan was starting to realize the severity of the situation, and feeling like he was partially at fault for helping release this....evil shaman he felt obliged to undo his mistake. Cameron meanwhile remained unwilling to clean up the shaman`s mess and protested for her and Ryan to be let out of this, Ryan grabbed her paw and looked at her as seriously as he ever did " You don't understand Cammy, if Raja frees this evil shaman the whole world could be in danger, not just our valley. The shaman can`t stop them now, he`s cursed to be stuck in Tanzania, and were the only ones who can follow Raja and stop him from making a grave mistake. This isn't a choice anymore, this is our responsibility. "

The shaman spoke up " The boy speaks the truth, I deeply regret not being able to help you further, but we can't change that now because we have little time on our hands." Upon their puzzled looks he elaborated, he soon dropped a bomb by mentioning how his evil compadre was imprisoned some 4,000 years ago, letting Ryan know that these 2 had some means of imortality, the shaman also didn't elaborate on that, continuing on to say that every 1,000 years when the planets align, the dark shaman was in a position where he could be released if he was at a specific sacrate place at a very precise date, time and position with someone (like Raja) saying a spell that would free him, and that day was tomorrow! Ryan`s face dropped, this situation was that serious, and even Cameron started reluctantly reconsidering as she started to understand what was at stake. Seeing as they were finally able to see eye to eye, the shaman recalled Ryan mentioning an "Isle of the Dragons", "Yes that's what Raja said." Ryan stated.

" Yes I know of this place well, you might know it as Komodo island, it was there where my other had a temple built in his honor several mileniums ago, where he practiced his magic, no doubt that's where he intends to perform the ceremony, but you Ryan and your friend will have to prevent that from happening." Neither of them could back out of this now, they had to act fast, but Ryan only had one question left, regarding the island rescue mission, to which the shaman reassured him that he would handle it personally with the help of Zan and Skulk. Obviously that would involve using the Tern of Travel, which meant that Ryan couldn't use it, despite it's necessity. But the shaman had a solution, he performed a simple spell and extracted a small bit of the artifact energy in his hand, he then sent the glowing orb into Ryan and he absorbed it. As Ryan felt it manifest it's energy in his body, the shaman explained to the boy that now he had a small bit of the Terns power within him. " And since you're familiar with using the Tern itself, you should be able to use it's teleportation powers, but only once, so don't use it until it becomes absolutely necessary." the shaman warned him "Undestood." Ryan replayed listening carefully. " Alright enough lectures, time to kick Raja`s ass!" Cameron snapped impatiently, the shaman opened a bright portal. Ryan assembled his swords, hand bag and fedora as both he and Ryan wished the other the best of luck with their respective missions but the shaman hastened to add " Don't forget, the fate of the world rests on your shoulders!".

" Thanks for the pep talk, you sure put no pressure on us..." Cameron quipped sarcastically as the 2 entered the portal, as they ventured into unknown lands Ryan thought about what they were doing, which involved potentially saving the world, the prospect of it was both exiting and scary to the boy....

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As they teleported into the Sunda island chain the villains didn't hit solid ground, but rather plopped into the warm Indo-Pacific ocean. Raja swam to the surface with the skull in his jaws and a frantic Razoul grabbing on to his head and thrashing around . Wasting no time Raja swam to the nearest island, a pretty small one at that, on the beach he confronted his new ally " What was the meaning of this?" he asked as politely as his suppressed anger would allow " My apologies Raja, my powers of transportation aren't very precise..." the skull spoke with amusement ".... but don't worry our destination is right in front of us!", Raja moved to the beach and saw the real Komodo island in the distance. Razoul came by his side and finally expressed his worries about this situation " Sir are you sure this is a good idea, to release this being, I have a feeling that this will go very wrong." , Razoul was by all accounts trying to convince his master to drop out of this, but his pleads fell on deaf ears, " Everything will go according to plan...." Raja boasted while watching the horizon "..... with the aid of this shaman I will get my paws on those powers of the artifacts, and when I do....." the lion started laughing maniacally, the sound of it echoed omniously trough the island chain.....

　

Ah nothing like a good ol`s villain laughs diabolically ending, classic adventure series stuff, Raja does have a tendency to laugh a lot to show how evil he is. Anyways this 2 parter is an important episode in this series so far as it will be forming the main setup and recurring conflict of good vs evil for the series that I intended for and hopefully bring about a lot of interesting story potencial for the future, this will bring up the history of the shaman and his evil other, as well as bring to light some of Raja`s and Razoul`s past. And it was nice to once again write Zan and Skulk as I'm starting to develop them more. And just so you know Raja`s flashback at the beginning is actually part taken from the original deleted subplot from The Beast of Exmoor II written over a month ago.Till next time......