Don looked everywhere except at the flirty couple leading him down a poorly defined path towards the lake. They had no compunctions about public displays of affection. Maybe surviving a brush with death had something to do with it. Don could only hope.

If this was the ColoColo's ancestral home, he wasn't sure why they even wanted it back. The ground was nothing but unstable grey scree and there wasn't a healthy tree in sight. The ColoColo might be better off just living in the jungle, so long as Don could convince the Vanara to stop hunting them... and keep the centurions at bay. Maybe that wasn't the best idea.

"What can you tell me about this place?" He asked Kat "Do you think this is the home from grey's stories?"

Kat's face was uncomfortably close to Don's and he kept his voice low as if worried that the Vanara would overhear him.

"There can be no doubt. The great walls, the six sacred hills, the steaming water. Everything is as Grey said it would be. I never thought we would make it so far. It is unfortunate that the bad things have tricked you and will eat us."

Don looked at the flirty couple. It was hard to believe that they were duplicitous at all but Don would be a fool to let his guard down completely. That being said, his curiosity was piqued. He wanted to know more about these Vanara and their situation, and that would only happen by following them to this Aloka person. Pados made it clear that he didn't think he had the wisdom or authority to tell Don anymore himself.

"Why did you come then?" He asked

"I wanted to see my ancestral homeland. Dying would be a small price to pay for the honor of being the first ColoColo to return here in years. It will make for a good story and I will be remembered well."

"Can't you just outrun them if you get into trouble?" Don was counting on this when he invited Kat along.

"Even if I wasn't exhausted, the guardians of the wall would make that a bad idea."

"The what?" Don asked

"Grey told stories about the guardians who live on the cliffs around this place. There are a few stories about foolish ColoColo who tried to climb the walls and meet the guardians. After their crushed bodies were recovered from the base of the cliffs, no one would try and scale the walls for another generation or so."

Don turned and craned his neck to look up the nearest cliff-face. Besides the few rugged plants, Don couldn't' imagine much else surviving up there. It sounded like they were fairly reclusive though so he turned his attention back towards the lake they were approaching.

"Did she say anything about this lake?" Don asked. Sik nodded.

"Long ago the mountain was empty. It grew lonely over the years and asked the forest to give it some of its pretty animals. The jungle denied the mountain's demand. "I will not," It said, "None of my creatures can survive in the barren crater at your peak." The mountain thought the jungle was being petty. It had so many animals and it couldn't spare any? It exploded in anger and flame, burning the jungle. When it was finished, the land was barren for miles around. All the animals it coveted had either fled or perished. It wept in its loneliness and the tears accumulated. Over time, the Atitlan formed and quelled its rage. The jungle recovered, slowly creeping back towards the mountain. When the two were reunited, and the mountain once again saw the myriad creatures filling the jungle, it didn't demand them though it longed for something more vibrant than the dead stone that filled its crater. The longing eventually broke the mountain's heart, opening up the passage into the crater. Seeing this, the jungle pitied the mountain and sent some of our ancestors to fill it with color and life. They brought seeds with them and after a few generations, the banks of the Atitlan grew green and lush. It was no jungle, but where the mountain was nothing but lifeless rock, there was now a slowly growing oasis. This is the story of the steaming water in the mountain."

Don looked at the steaming blue-green water in a new light. Much of Kat's story was ridiculous, but it was revealing as well. Don had inadvertently walked right into a volcano, and one that had been active in the not too distant past. The steaming lake gave don another reason to be nervous about the ColoColo's precarious situation. There was clearly a lot of energy lurking just below the surface. There was no telling when it might erupt again.

"What do you mean by the jungle sent your ancestors?" Don asked. Kat shrugged.

"I don't know all the details, But sometimes a chieftain will receive missions from the jungle. Any time we complete the missions, our lot improves."

Don eyed the vents he mistook as hills on first glance.

"Sure," he said, with only a little disbelief coloring his words.

"Is there anything you know that might help prove that you used to live here?"

"I never lived here" Kat retorted sharply "not when I was old enough to remember any of it."

"You didn't learn anything from all of Grey's stories? Nothing like an underwater entrance to a secret cavern?"

"There is a hidden door, if they have not broken it, we might be able to find it but Nap would know a lot more about this place than me."

Don was about to continue questioning Kat about the volcano when a roar distracted him. The largest of the specks moving around the close shore of the lake had grown suddenly and was quickly moving in their direction. He wasn't too surprised at the turn of events. The Vanaras' story was a little too hard to believe. Before he could get a preemptive strike on Pados and Kilana, they ran forwards shouting in unison.

"Aloka! Calm your anger! These guests have come at our invitation! They carry an important truth which you must hear!"

They ran straight up to the largest Vanara Don had seen yet and wrapped themselves around its massive arms as they continued to repeat their message.

Okay, so Pados was being honest, even if he did leave out an important detail. Don thought as he switched from attack to retreat. He backpedaled away from the giant as it slowly took notice of its hangers-on. When it finally stopped, it huffed in annoyance. It seemed to deflate as the coarse fur retracted, revealing more humanlike features. Her back straightened as her arms returned to a more normal length and her legs stretched to be thinner and longer. Her teeth shrank and her yellow eyes cleared.

A very human-looking, well-muscled Vanara with long black hair and bronze skin glowered at Don but addressed the lovey-dovey couple holding her arms.

"You brought outsiders in here? Have you lost your sense? Outsiders belong outside! They are dangerous! I thought you would have learned this truth after losing three of your children."

Kilana reacted like she was slapped in the face and let go of Aloka's arm. She edged behind Pados who was likewise chastened but more angry than embarrassed.

"This outsider has already defeated all the adults in the tribe!" He retorted, just barely restraining his sudden anger. That was welcome news. Don wasn't sure how many Vanara there were up until this point. He felt good that even if he didn't make it through these negotiations, they had already removed all the Vanaras' means to harass the ColoColo in the jungle. Don felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He wasn't aware of the tension there until it was gone. Don didn't have too long to dwell on his success because Pados continued.

"He holds them captive as we speak and was ready to kill us all until I convinced him not to. Beyond that, he has revealed a terrible truth which you must hear. It would be more dangerous to ignore this outsider. This is true." Pados over-enunciated the last three words.

Aloka clearly wanted to smash Don into a pulp after hearing that he had attacked her people and he could swear that her biceps swelled unnaturally for a moment. But after some consideration, she unfurrowed her brow as her shoulders slumped.

"We are finished then." She muttered in despair. "The last of our protectors have been taken. Now it is only a matter of time before the children starve or are stolen in the night. We can only hope that they will reincarnate in a better place." Despite the sphincter clenching fear she inspired in Don when transformed, he was surprised to feel pity for Aloka.

"Not necessarily," Don said hesitantly. Aloka looked up sharply. She clearly wasn't expecting to understand the demon.

"I don't want to kill any of you, but I also promised to protect the ColoColo and return them to their ancestral home."

Aloka's shock wore off enough for her to speak again.

"Then why did you attack us? We have done nothing to you!"

Pados butted in.

"This is not true." He said. Aloka looked at Pados in shock, like he had just delivered an unforgivable insult.

"The vermin who infested this place before we came, they are people. They have words, they had adults until we killed them. We have committed a great evil in our haste to escape."

"This is true?" Aloka asked, clearly not ready to believe.

"It is." Pados confirmed solemnly "Donovan, the red one, can speak with the ver- with the ColoColo just as easily as he speaks with us."

"Pados speaks truth" confirmed Kilana sheepishly "The jungle is filled with orphans of our own making."

The Vanara fell silent for a time. Don was encouraged by the thoughtful response and didn't interrupt. He quietly filled Kat in on the conversation so far while he waited for Aloka to speak again. She watched the conversation intently while biting her lower lip.

"This is not a good truth, but the Vanara do not hide from truth, we embrace it, no matter how thorny it may be. We cannot undo past mistakes, we can only move forward on the path we find under our feet. The best way to atone for our misdeeds and salvage the least bit of karma from this disaster is to take in these orphans and care for them as if they were our own."

Then she turned to Don "Will you release the Vanara you have captured if I promise to take care of the ColoColo?"

Don was about to leap at the opportunity. This would not only remove the threat of the Vanara, but it would put them on the side of the ColoColo! They would get to live in their ancestral home again and they would be even better protected than before. Best of all, they would no longer be reliant on Don. That put them in a much more stable position, even if that position was over an active volcano, they were already too close to the explosive mountain to avoid repercussions from an eruption as it was.

He ran into an issue when he asked Kat what he thought about the proposal.

"Never" He hissed. "I will never live with the monsters that killed my ancestors and stole their home. I would sooner see the ColoColo disappear than betray the memory of our ancestors."

"I don't think the ColoColo are going to want to accept your protection." Don translated "They revere their ancestors and aren't going to forgive you so easily for murdering them all and forcing them out of their homes."

"Of course," Aloka said "what we did was terrible, but the next step is more important than the last. We must do all we can today and let the past remain where it belongs. The strongest must protect those weaker than herself, and so I am the best suited to protect these lost children."

"Donovan may be stronger than you." Kilana said unhelpfully "He defeated all of our adults after all."

"I only did that with the help of the ColoColo" Don protested

"You brought children into battle?" Exclaimed Aloka "You actually let them fight adults? Your judgment will lead them far from the true path. I can not let someone so careless continue to endanger children, no matter what they may look like. I formally challenge you for the leadership of your tribe! May the strongest clear the way for those weaker than herself!"

Aloka, (Lv9) Matriarch of the Vanara has challenged you to a duel. Stakes: Leadership

Don wanted to scream about how the Vanara were the ones to kill the ColoColo and continue to hunt their children for years but he had no time to make his argument because Aloka grew to an alarming eight and a half feet tall even as her shoulders slumped forward and her legs shortened. A moment later, Kat was leaping out of the way as a furious monster bared down on Don, all rage, teeth, and muscle.