The Dream

After dinner, I went straight to bed. Tomorrow has got to go well. I can't let anything ruin my time with Kristina. It has got to be perfect. As long as I don't get distracted and my wild cat eyes don't go ballistic and freak her out, I'll be fine. I laid down and closed my eyes.

It didn't take long until something peculiar come into mind. Some sort of voice echoed in my head, "It has begun, Young Cub." It was probably just my brain playing tricks on me. I tried to think of something else, but that voice came back. Louder this time, "It has begun, Young Cub!"

I didn't open my eyes, "Who are you?" The voice became clearer, "I am your ancestor. And you will continue my legacy."

The next thing that happened was so confusing. I couldn't open my eyes. Like I was in some sort of deep meditation. Something was stopping me from waking up. "What's going on?" I asked.

A figure slowly illuminated in the darkness of my mind, "You are in a meditative state. Your body is fast asleep in the real world, but here you are awake. This is in the back of your mind. My name in your English language is Jacob."

He looked like a Native American. His clothes match the description of the Natives during the time of Columbus. He looks like from the Aztec tribes. Well at least that's what I learned in History class. I was still a little confused, "Wait, so if you're my ancestor, then that makes me....Native American?" He smiled, "Just a little bit. You only have a very small percentage of Native American in your blood. Your other ancestors were from Europe."

"So first I get these unique Jaguar powers, and now I'm in a meditative state with my ancestor? Please tell me what's going on. I just want to know what's happening to me!" I yelled. My voice echoed in the darkness.

Jacob gave another soft smile, "Your abilities have always been with you. It is only now that they have truly developed. It takes around 15 years until these skills start to take form. How you have inherited these powers is a long story that goes back during my time. Hundreds of years ago, in the mid-1400s, I was a young child around your age in Central America and a member of the Aztec Empire. My father was a Captain Jaguar Warrior in the Aztec army. Their style and uniform was based on the Jaguar itself, with the warrior being dressed in animals skins, and a helmet or shroud that resembled the head of a jaguar. These warriors were the most elite in the entire army. My father trained me and taught me all that he knew. I was amazed by the Jaguar. It's strength and speed was incredible. Sometimes, my friend, Yogi, and I would go out into the jungle and search all day until we even found a glimpse of a Jaguar's beautiful fur. As we got older, Yogi would start to take more interest in another animal. The crocodile. He'd go off on his own to watch the scaly lizards while I search for it's biggest enemy. Jaguars and crocodiles are both top predators of the food chain which creates much competition."

I nodded as I followed along, "So you and Yogi found your paths through the connection of the animal spirits that called to you?"

Jacob grinned, "Yes, you catch on quick. I see you have also studied our culture. When I was around 17, I was accepted into the army as a Jaguar Warrior like my father. Even then, I would still explore the jungle in search of the majestic creature. Yogi would enter the Aztec army as a Jaguar Warrior himself as well. The main goal is to follow the way of the mysterious wildcat and worship it as our God. We pray to the God to grant us the abilities of the Jaguar before we run into battle. The Jaguar Warriors won the Empire many battles and wars. When I was not at war, I was out gathering as much information as I could about the Jaguar. My interest in the God was incredibly large. I would talk with priests and other warriors in the army. Yogi however, would still continue to admire the crocodile. When we were children it was fine to understand and learn about the river lizard, but never to admire it as he did. Doing so was like siding with the enemy. It got even worse when he started to deny the belief in the Jaguar God. It was not long before he was found out sneaking off to follow the croc. Yogi was accused of treason and banished from the Aztec Empire. I still remember him screaming at me for not standing up for him. How could I? He committed treason for the disapproval of the Jaguar."

"What happened to him?" I asked. I wanted to get to the important part on how I got these powers, but I learned from movies that the story has to start from the beginning.

Jacob took a moment to himself. He sighed before continuing, "Over the next several months there was no sign of him. At least that was according to the Aztecs. I would catch glimpses of him near the river where the crocs where. We would stare at each other for a long time before I continued on with my search for the wildcat. Then one day when I was on my exploration in the ocean of trees, I heard a low growl. I quickly lowered to the ground and held my spear with the obsidian edge tightly. If it was a jaguar I did not want to harm it. Doing so would be spitting in the face of all the Gods. A normal Jaguar Warrior would stay low and let the God pass, but I felt something take over me. I stood up and dropped the spear. My eyes closed and my hands came together. The growling got louder and louder until suddenly, it stopped. I opened my eyes and a jaguar was standing right there. My heart fell to my stomach and I thought I had forgotten how to breath. It's golden eyes stared at me. It opened it's mouth and growled again. The knives in it's mouth were too many to count. I closed my eyes again and knelt onto one knee. I whispered softly, *I surrender to the you, my spirit.* And then what happened next surprised me. The jaguar placed it's forehead onto mine and the growling stopped again. I heard a deep voice echo, *The war has started.* When I opened my eyes, the jaguar was gone. I stood up and looked around, but there was no sign of it anywhere. Then the most peculiar thing happened. I heard a loud roaring in my ears. It hurt like hell and I fell to my knees. Everything then went a blue shade. Everything except for something far off in the distance. It glowed a gold/red. It was a crocodile. But then, the crocodile turned into a man. I was confused at what was happening, but I trusted the power of the Gods and ran towards the glowing figure. My body zoomed lightning quick across the whole jungle. I had no idea how, but I knew exactly the speed I was going, how many trees I've past, and how much further I had to go. All this knowledge in my brain came out of nowhere and shot me all at once. I crossed half way through the jungle in only 6 minutes. I was at the river where Yogi would stay and watch the crocs."

"So, that's how I got these powers. The DNA of the jaguar was bonded into our bloodline." I replied. It all makes sense now. Finally, some answers. "But, what about the war? The jaguar spoke of a war."

"Yes, the war that still goes on to this day." Jacob started, "Yogi and I stood there and looked at each other. I looked into his eyes and saw that they have changed. They took the form of a crocodile. I looked in the water and saw that my eyes took the form of a jaguar. The blue shade was still there. My eyes relaxed and my eyes went back to normal. Yogi grunted at me *So, your God has gifted you their power. As did mine.* I focused my eyes again and the blue shade came back. I looked down back at the water and my eyes turned back to the shape of a jaguar. Then out of nowhere, Yogi hit me in the jaw and I went flying into the grass. *You abandoned me* Yogi yelled. I got up and looked at him with furry, *Because you betrayed the Gods.* It seemed that Yogi bonded his spirit with his own God of the form of the river lizard. His strength and aggressiveness increased exponentially. It was his fault for choosing to side with the God of our enemies. The ones who want to bring chaos and destruction to the world. *We do not have to fight. We are friends.* I pleaded. Yogi gave me an angered glare, *We were friends.* He through hard punches at me, but with the strength of the jaguar I hit back hard. It was clear to me that he was no longer my friend. He has chosen a dark path. We battled for hours, but we were both equal in strength. It was nearly impossible for either of us to win. The only way was to detach his bond with the evil spirit. Eventually, I pushed him back hard enough and he stood above the river bed. I still remember his voice, *I will never forgive you. Goodbye, Jacob.* And with that, he jumped into the water. That was the last time I ever saw him."

I was stunned, "So the war that was spoken of. The war between the jaguar and the crocodile. And because neither of you prevailed, that means the war is still raging?"

Jacob gave a sad nod, "Yes. The jaguar spirit was passed down from generation to generation. Your other ancestors ran into the bloodline of Yogi, but never stopped him. Soon after the World Wars, both spirits faded away because the belief in spirits was almost all gone. The Gods didn't see your great grandparents, or grandparents, or even your own parents truly worthy of the power. This was because they didn't truly see the beauty in nature and didn't look at the jaguar as the spiritual animal it is. But that changed when you were born. You took notice of the majestic creature and its power. You wanted to study more about it. That is why you were obsessed with the history of the Aztecs. Because they were the ones most connected to the jaguar."

"But what about the crocodile? Isn't he still out there?" I asked. This was a lot to take in. I was an average kid in New York city just doing what everyone else is doing and now I'm a super human with the capabilities of the strongest and most agile cat in the world.

"The crocodile is still out there. Until the jaguar or the crocodile spirit is removed, the war between reptile and mammal rages on." Jacob answered, "You must train yourself in the ways of the Jaguar Warriors. Learn to fight like them and learn to use your powers in sync."

I stopped him right there, "Wait, I'm just a kid. I can't all of a sudden just go off and fight in some epic battle to the death against another super human."

He sighed, "If you don't, the crocodile will grow more powerful and will eventually destroy the world as the enemies of the Aztecs once wanted to. Remember, the jaguars hold the answers." He walked away and disappeared into the darkness.

I woke up and looked around in the dark room. I panted hard, "Alright. It's ok. This is just like beating up bullies who want to steal lunch money. Only I'm trying to beat up a crocodile man who wants to explode the world. Easy. Oh who am I kidding? I'm so screwed."