“This is my last chance. The Elders offered me another shot at my dream, to join the Guardians and I must take it and defeat Zoi. She just wants to be a Guardian because there has never been a female Guardian before, and that reason alone is not good enough!”

“I have to approach this fight differently. What did I learn from her fight with Maimut?”

“She is smaller than me and I would say she is also quicker. The way she managed to climb around him when he threw his body from the branch was remarkable.”

“She lost because he got close to her. I will have to do the same. Hit her a few times to make her loose her temper. I felt that she was strong when she was in control of the situation. She grasped for victory too soon and that is why she lost.”

“Yes, that is it! The temper is the key to this fight. She will get desperate and do anything to win.”

The air felt thicker than before. The atmosphere had turned serious and the other challengers felt it straight away.

“I wish you both good fortunes, now fight!” Onob had spoken.

This time, Chim was not going to wait around. He wanted to surprise her just like she did to Maimut. He looked Zoi straight into her eyes and noticed that she was not focused nor present. Her mind was somewhere else and at the moment he knew he had to attack.

He lets out a warning scream.

“I will not hold back against you. I see you as an obstacle for achieving my dream and not as a girl.”

He began rushing towards her, picking up the pace.

“I want this! I will not let her humiliate me and disappoint Zahn, once again!” he said to himself.

His desire grew stronger for each step he took towards her, and the darkness inside of him that had disappeared since the fight with Maimut was slowly taking over again.

Chim was now just a few swings away from her and was ready to pounce but he noticed that her eyes were different from before. She had snapped out of the dream-state and was looking at him with a clever face.

“Why is she looking at me with those eyes? Did she figure something out?”

Chim jumps with all his power from his hind legs with the intention to land on top of her and start hitting her with his fists, but he was not quick enough. Zoi had managed to dodge his attack. She was now climbing upwards in the trees with great haste.

“She wants to fight in the trees? Then I will use the rainforest to my advantage. I have been countless times up in the canopies with Marcus and swinged in the lianas.”

“Where are you going? You cannot get away from me!” He taunts her, thinking that she is climbing away from him, scared to lose.

They are both breaking branches with their jumps and foliage could be seen falling, almost as if it would be snowing. They shouted loudly, offending, and mocking one and other. This is usually the way a normal fight occurs in the canopies, and not as elegant and smooth as the fights with Maimut went.

But nonetheless he was catching up, almost to the point of him being able to grab one of her legs but somehow, she manages to slip away from his grasp. The irritation started to get to him and out of the blue, he stopped.

After a while, so did Zoi.

He looked up towards Zoi. She was now sitting on two branches above him and looking down on him, observing.

“What’s the matter “Guardian”? No wonder you lost to Maimut.” She sneered at him.

He could not let this one slip even though he felt fatigued.

“You talk too much, but I guess that’s all you can do because if I grab you, both of us know will happen.”

That short moment of rest had given him enough energy and he felt that it was now or never. One last push.

He went for it. He jumped upwards to the branch that Zoi was sitting on, but again, she was again quicker than him. She had leaped sideways this time and not upwards. It was nothing that Chim put any thought to. Sideways or upwards it was all the same to him, but it should have triggered something inside of his head. This was the moment she had been waiting for.

When Chim leaped sideways and landed on the branch, it cracked. The branch was strong enough to support Zoi’s small body and her weight but when not strong enough to support Chim. He was heavier than her and when he landed on it, it snapped like a twig.

He began plunging down and his natural reaction was to try and grab onto something, anything. It was far to the ground; but he was not worried about that. All he could think about was Zoi.

“Did she plan this?” he thought while falling.

Small branches and leaves were rustling around him, making it hard to see anything but he saw a big branch that was just below him. He prepared to grab it with both his hands and feet.

The landing was perfect. He had managed to stop the fall. He let go of the branch with his hands and was now standing on his feet. He began looking around. Up, left, right. Where did she go?

Zoi had planned this. She had leaped away when the branch snapped and immediately started climbing down so she could get in position for her next surprise attack.

“I cannot see her. Where is she?! All I need is that one mistake.” The sense of control that Chim had felt from the start of this test, was slowly slipping away from his furry hands.

Then all of a sudden, he felt a kick. It was a hard kick against his lower back and just as he had landed on the branch, he got knocked down from it.

Zoi had used her hands and a tight grip to swing her body underneath the branch that he landed on and had swung up behind him.

He fell down and fortunately there was a large branch right below him. He was now with his chest facing the ground. He could feel the taste of the tree. It was bitter. The fall was shorter than before but this time he did not land on his feet. He had landed on his stomach and the pain was starting to get to him. But there was no time for that. He quickly turned around on his back and to his surprise, there she was, the great fighter Zoi. His last opportunity to stand next to Zahn and his guardians was coming down towards him with full force.

“Here was your mistake!”

Zoi’s landing had missed. The impact forced her to land on her knees and she was now at a disadvantage. He had managed to dodge her and was now standing on his two legs, looking down on her with anger in his eyes.

Marcus takes a big swing with his right hands towards her stomach. This is it!

The blow had landed and it was harder than Zoi had anticipated. She felt out of balance and could barely stand. Chim threw himself over her and began moving his hands towards her throat.

“I will make her pass out and force the elders to stop this fight.”

She tries to scratch him and hit him in any way she can but it seems as if nothing can stop Chim now. His hands are now around her throat and he was sitting on top of her. His heart was pounding faster and faster.

He’s got it. Both of his furry hands are around her neck. He starts pressing with all the energy has left. The fight with Maimut was painful and it had drained him alright and this fight with Zoi had not been as easy as he would have liked.

But Chim felt that he had enough strength to finish this.

“Finally"