~X:::::::::X~ Change of scene
~:-:~ End of chapter
A/N: Thanks to luv2write and laugh, darkhaseo90, Immortal Fallen Radiance, Starowner, and RazenX for reviewing. ^^ These guys are getting a lot of crap and will get even more.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon in any way. I do own any and all OCs that appears in this story, though, and the plot.
Episode 6: Mourning Star
Nocturmon and Eskimon had an easy time fighting off the small horde of Digimon, because of two things: Eskimon had summoned a mist, aiding Nocturmon in silent stealth attacks and also because a majority of them were Rookie and In-training Digimon. The only ones that caused them any trouble were a silver kyubi and the Fugamon.
Fugamon was the only one left after the battle. He was just as he was before his friend's had arrived, weak and pathetic. In some cases, mercy would have shown through but Minoru wasn't one of those. He and his "friends" had threatened his own; no mercy would be shown here.
"Wait, Minoru!" cried Eskimon, running over to him, making Nocturmon stop and look over at the boy with the sword poised centimeters from the enemy Digimon's throat. "Don't kill him."
"Why?" Nocturmon asked, his tone a little sharper than he normally had it at.
"He…" Eskimon began but cut off weakly. He looked down. "Why would he do such a thing?"
Nocturmon looked at him for a minute. Beneath the Digimon skin and armor, all that really was there was a young boy that was confused. It slightly bewildered Minoru why but he simply answered, "He was using us. This thing didn't really care." For a minute, his mind wandered to Ichiro and the hurt that Shinya had shown. He gritted his teeth, imagining what would happen if Sam had learned about this.
With a swift stroke of his short sword, Nocturmon ended the Digimon's life as frustration coursed through him. The boy's question filled his mind. Why would someone leave behind something so great?
Eskimon's lower lip trembled at what he saw. His eyes were filled with horror and shock and the next thing Nocturmon knew, the small Digimon turned back into his human form and collapsed into the shallow water, breaking down and crying.
Minoru felt bad but now wasn't the time for regret. He walked over to the boy and picking him up in his arms. "Hey," he comforted, though it sounded awkward as it escaped his lips, "Sam, we can't have this now. Tommy, Shinya, and Sayuri are still in trouble. If we don't help them, they're going to get killed."
That didn't help in anyway, only making the boy freeze up and grip the knight Digimon to control his shaking. Minoru drew a blank of what to do next.
"Look, you want to help them? You have to be strong like the warrior you are," Nocturmon finally managed to say. "I know you can be strong."
The boy sniffed. "T-that's right," he stuttered. "I-I want t-to… be s-strong like T-Tommy-nii, Shinya, and everyone e-else." Sam's shaking calmed down but when Nocturmon looked at him, he could see that the boy still was in slight shock about what had happened. The Warrior of Darkness began to doubt that it was a good idea to have the eight-year-old with them.
~X:::::::::X~
"Tommy! Shinya! Wake up!" The cry sounded frightened, shaky, a little hoarse, and right in his ear. Tommy slowly came too, recognizing that the voice belonged to Sayuri. His thoughts began flying, guessing she was in trouble. His eyes flew open and he tried to reach for his Dt2, only to realize that his hands were tied up above his head and thus were immobilized. He would have thought about what he felt but panic over came him quicker than confusion.
Sayuri kept telling him to wake up but Tommy cut her off with a quick, "I'm up! You don't have to keep shouting-! There's no-." One look around cut him off quickly. He found that they were right in the middle of a crowd holding torches and various weapons. He looked up at his tied hands to see that he and the others were tied to a giant slab of rock.
He looked left and right, seeing that Sayuri was on his one side and Shinya on the other, the boy still completely out cold. Since his feet were on solid ground, he launched an awkward sideways kick at his friend.
It did enough to jar the brunet awake, making him groggily come to. It only took a second to register what Tommy had seen. He gasped, eye's bulging as he gave out a cry of, "What the heck?"
"Shinya, Tommy, any idea of what's going on?" Sayuri asked, biting her lip.
"No idea," both answered before Shinya added, "Any idea where Minoru and Sam are?"
"No idea. I just hope that these guys didn't get a hold of them!" Tommy answered, eyeing the crowd. "They look like a bunch of weirdoes."
At set sharp weapons were pointed at them, threatening to skewer them. "Shut up! Sacrifices to the Mourning Star don't speak!" shouted a Porcupamon that the others could only guess was the leader of the positions.
"Sacrifices?" Sayuri asked, her heart sinking. "Like a…"
"Human sacrifices," Shinya answered grimly. "These guys are apart of some kind of cult."
The sticks were shoved even closer to them. "Be quiet!" ordered the Porcupamon angrily before turning to his kinsman. "May the rest of the festival dedicated to the Mourning Star commence!"
Mourning Star? Tommy thought, eyes narrowing.
"Wait! You can't!" shouted Sayuri, struggling against her bondage. "You can't sacrifice us! Whatever happened to basic rights to live? You can't do this!"
Porcupamon growled in annoyance. "Grab the girl first," he ordered. Upon his command, several Fugamon began heading towards her and untying her from her post. She flailed, kicking several in her struggle to escape but it did no good, as they were smart enough to grab her feet as well.
"Leave her alone!" Shinya demanded, struggling against his own. "Take me! Hey, over grown teddy bear!" He wanted to tear himself away from the bondages that bound him to the rock slab and take on the entire cult with just his bear hands.
Tommy began to struggle as well. There would be no way he'd let his comrade die! Sayuri wasn't his most favorite person but no one deserved to be sacrificed to any stupid god. "Let her the hell go, you stupid mother-!" he shouted. Anger seeped from both boys as they failed to help their friend.
"Shinya! Tommy!" she screamed, panic coursing through her. "Let me go, you stupid, God damn-! LET ME GO!"
Her struggle continued but was futile. Their grip was too strong. Finally, they made it over to a stake in the middle of a mountain of firewood. An unintelligible chant began among the gathered Digimon as they roared in pleasure of the girl's coming end.
"SAYURI!"
The shouts escalated before coming to a stop. The puppet Digimon silenced them before he started to talk.
~X:::::::::X~
"What are they going to do with Sayuri?" Eskimon asked, fear trickling in his voice but he could guess that something bad was going to happen.
Nocturmon gritted his teeth and his eyes burned. "They're going to 'sacrifice' her by burning her at the stake, just like those accused witches back in Europe during the Medieval Times," he explained. "We have to stop this before it gets any farther."
Eskimon nodded. Sam knew that this would be no time to freeze up. His friends needed him and that's all he needed to think. These guys were threatening his friends and they needed his help. The penguin Digimon gripped the ice hammer tightly in his flipper-hands.
The three climbed into the trees and commenced their plan. Eskimon, from above, sent a fog below, stopping the chant from continuing as the Digimon looked around bewildered by what was going on. By the time they could gather what was going on, they had been attacked by something within the fog.
Eskimon ran towards the other two as Nocturmon headed towards Sayuri. The penguin bonked a Digimon on the head before taking a small dagger from him and jumping up on the slab of rock. He felt around for the ropes that tied his friends to the rock. He finally felt a rope and began cutting at it.
Below, he heard Tommy's voice saying something to Shinya but it was drowned out by the cries of battle. After cutting Shinya's rope, the Warrior of Ice dropped down from the back of the slab of rock and landed next to the two, scaring them. Since the fog was beginning to lift, he could make out Shinya and Tommy easily.
"Tommy-nii! Shinya! We have to get out of here!" he exclaimed.
"What about Sayuri?" questioned Shinya.
"And where's Minoru?" added Tommy.
"Minoru is going to get Sayuri," Eskimon quickly explained. "Minoru says to be quick or we're all going to get caught!"
The other two nodded, hands flying into their pockets. Despite being captured, their Dt2's were in their pockets. One would have thought about it for a second and they would have realized how stupid these Digimon were but that didn't even grace their minds. The two quickly Spirit Evolved and rushed into combat, following the small Digimon, lashing out at the various Digimon as they made their escape. By the time the fog disappeared, leaving behind a confused mob, the three had caught up with Nocturmon who had Sayuri clutching onto his back as he ran through the village.
They kept running for a good few hours before slowing down to a walk. As the sun rose, they kept moving, despite being tired and hungry but fear overruled this. By daybreak, they succumbed to their hunger and fatigueless. Sam collapsed first, falling to sleep quickly with Tommy and Minoru following. The only two that remained up were Shinya and Sayuri.
The boy looked at her worriedly. Despite being by the fire, she shivered. Sayuri held her knees to her chest as if it was a lifeline. Her eyes were staring at the fire as if in a trance. Shinya rose and walked over to her with his blanket that he had been sitting on trailing behind him. He draped it over her shoulders, jarring her from her shock and making her look up at him.
Shinya froze, staring into her fear stricken eyes. He wanted to reach out and hold on tight to her, comfort her. At the same time, he wanted to get back at those who had tried to hurt her. The two stared at each other for a long time before Sayuri finally broke the connection, reaching out to take his hand. "I…I was…" she began, shaking even worse.
Shinya sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. "I know you were scared. I was too," he said softly. "We all were." A feeling of helplessness washed over him. And he hated it.
She looked into the fire again. "I…I hate being afraid…" she said. "I thought…I was going to die." Sayuri gripped his hand harder before looking at him. "Promise you won't leave me?"
"Wha?" Shinya exclaimed, his face growing hot.
She let go of his hand. "This…I've never been so scared in my life. Even more than when…" Her voice trailed off. "Do you promise to not leave me?"
Shinya looked at her with a firm expression. "Of course," he answered. I'd never leave you anyway, he added as an after thought.
A small smile graced her face before turning back to the fire. Sayuri felt as if her fear seemed more bearable and the world not so cold, as if a fire was warming it. Silent thankful tears fell down her face. She never felt so appreciated before and she wished it had stayed like that forever even though the wish was foolish in itself.
~X:::::::::X~
It was two days before anyone decided to even think about the incident. When they finally made camp, Tommy looked towards the girl. He furrowed his brows. Everything had been so vivid and fresh in his mind: every detail, every sound, every emotion… He shook his head. Everything made sense, except one emotion: relief and helplessness. The emotions did make sense but the magnitude of them was what confused him.
Helplessness was common in such a situation but it felt as if he would have gone nuts. And relief… It felt different than the relief he was use too. Tommy decided that it was way too strong to be just because of the situation. There was a third one that felt even odder… What was it?
"Tommy-nii! You're roasting your meat apple crisp!" exclaimed Sam, snapping Tommy back into reality.
He looked up and gave out a cry, pulling the apple away from the fire only to notice that it itself had caught on fire. He gave out a cry of surprise as he tried to put it out. A chorus of laughter reached his ears as his failed attempts managed to set another fire. That was followed by a cry of Evolution and a douse of water falling down on him and the fire.
A soaked Tommy glared over at the group. Sam was rolling around in laughter and Shinya looked as if he'd fall over from laughing so hard. Minoru shook his head but an amused grin had stretched across his face. Sayuri, who had turned into Angalomon to put out the fire walked over to him, suppressing her laughter.
Tommy flushed from embarrassment. "You could have hit the fire, not me!" he nearly shouted but it faltered, barely sounding angry.
"Sorry," she apologized with a coy grin. "You just happened to be way too close to it."
"Still, you could've aimed!"
"Look, I said sorry."
Before they both knew it, an argument was about to begin. Shinya stood up, coming in between both of them. "Aw, come on guys," he said, lightheartedness gone from his look. "Let's get back to dinner."
"Fine," both related, turning and taking their seats, which were unfortunately right next to each other. Shinya, deciding to keep them from starting another fight from the glares that the two were giving each other, went to sit between them. This appeased the two enough from not ripping each other's heads off.
"Mourning Star," Shinya finally said, breaking the silence. "Do you think that this could be tied to those Covent Bokomon mentioned? Or maybe with the terrorist attacks?"
"Covent?" inquired Minoru.
Shinya nodded. "For a while, I thought that the 'Covent', the terrorist group, the rebellion, and that person who wants the Spirits were all different people but seeing what we saw, the Covent could be the cult we saw. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the terrorists as well. The rebellion might not be too far from being lead by that person who wants our Spirits and the ones that might've caused the terrorist attacks."
Tommy listened, looking at his friend. "Isn't there a chance that they're all somehow connected?" he asked. "Like one causing the other or something?"
"Maybe," answered Minoru after swallowing a mouth full of meat apple. "But maybe not. We don't know enough. We can't go assuming anything though, we don't have enough information."
With that, they fell silent, munching on meat apples of varying tastes. Eventually, the cloud cover covered the moons, blocking out the light, casting the forest into darkness save the campfire. When a new light filled the forest, Tommy nearly dropped his meat apple.
"What is all of this?" asked Sayuri standing up.
"They're TV screens on the trees!" Sam blurted in amazement.
"This is… Television Forest," Tommy said, feeling a vague feeling of déjà vu overcoming him. "This place shows things from our world like this."
"You've been here?" Shinya asked, looking at the screens. Tommy nodded.
Sayuri looked around. "Hey, that's the Shibuya Station," she stated walking over to the screen showing a train station with the Hochiko statue in front of it.
"Hey, that's my house!" Sam shouted, walking over to the trunk with the white house in front of it with a smile on his face. Tommy frowned, hoping that his mother didn't walk out of the house.
Minoru kept his distance as he surveyed the area in confusion. "How can this even work?" he thought out loud.
"Just don't question it," Shinya suggested, looking over at Sayuri. For several seconds, she didn't move, entranced in something on the screen. Suddenly, something must've happened to make her back away from the screen as if she was trying to get away from a rabid animal. She let out a frustrated cry before running off.
Minoru, Sam, and Tommy watched her go all confused. "What was that about?" asked Tommy.
"What's wrong with Sayuri?" asked Sam, looking in the direction of her retreating figure.
Minoru walked over to the screen to look for something that would have made the girl angry. He finally found what he was looking for as a man with dark brown hair just left the screen.
Shinya got up and followed her. First, it wasn't a good idea for her to go off on her own but secondly, he thought it would be a bad idea if she was still slightly shaken up after the incident a few days ago.
Minoru pounded the tree and let out a sigh. The two remaining boys looked at each other. "What was that about?" Tommy asked.
"That man," Minoru sighed. "He's back."
"What man?" asked Sam, looking over at Minoru. The dark haired boy didn't answer, heading back to the fire and sitting down by it. Tommy and Sam followed quietly, both exchanging confused looks as they sat down by the fire.
~X:::::::::X~
Shinya finally came upon the sobbing girl. "Hey, Sayuri, you okay?" he asked before adding, "It really isn't such a good idea to be wandering off alone."
Sayuri looked up and wiped away tears from her red eyes. "I know," she answered, "but I want to be left alone."
Shinya frowned. He knew he couldn't and he also didn't want to. His promise haunted his mind for a few minutes before he sat down.
She looked up at him. "I said go away," she said, contorting her tear stricken face into a half-hearted glare.
Shinya just remained there, shaking his head. "No-can-do," he answered. "You can't be off on your own."
"I'm not a little girl," she retorted, voice falling. Shinya didn't answer, resulting the two to fall into silence. For several minutes, it remained like that.
Finally, Shinya broke the silence. "You know, talking about this helps," he offered. "My brother Takuya kind of taught me that when I was younger when I used to have nightmares. I normally went to him whenever I had one from then on. It does help, trust me."
Sayuri bowed her head, frowning. She hated what she was going to do but she gave in. "That man, he was my father. I saw him coming off the train station."
Shinya cocked his head in confusion. Normally when his father returned from business trips, he would have been happy to see him. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Wouldn't you be happy?"
She gave out a cruel sounding laugh. "Not after what he did," she snorted in disgust. "Let's just say he was a horrible parent."
"What do you mean?" he asked hoping to dig a little deeper but the girl didn't answer. Again, the two sat in silence; this one not seeming to end.
~X:::::::::X~
Sayuri had finally decided that it was time to leave. "Let's go," she said as she rose to her feet. She paused, wanting to say something else but refrained, feeling like she just looked like a giant brat earlier.
Shinya only answered, "Okay." They began heading back to the others but Shinya stopped, crying out in surprise.
Sayuri looked back at him, alarmed. Shinya pulled out his buzzing Dt2. He looked up at her and gave her an embarrassed look. Sayuri simply rolled her eyes and shook her head with a half amused smile. "What is it?" she asked. "The others calling for us?"
Shinya opened the flip part of the phone-like device and a 3-D screen popped up on it, a red blip flashing on it. "No," he said slowly. "I think it's a Beast Spirit…and it's close by."
"How close?" she asked.
"Not sure," he answered, studying it for a second. "Maybe it's within a half mile?"
"Well, let's contact the others and tell them that," she suggested.
Shinya agreed, closing the window and he began to contact the others.
"Don't think you're going to get that far," stated a female voice. The two looked up suddenly to see three figures that were Yuta, Michi, and Kouki.
"Michi," the girl growled, narrowing her eyes at the redhead. Michi returned her glare.
"So a Spirit is nearby," Yuta asked, cracking his knuckles. Kouki remained silent studying his opponents.
"Oh, is that so?" asked Michi, smirking. "Which way, then?"
"Like heck we're telling you!" Sayuri shouted before Shinya could even say the same thing. The Warrior of Water pulled out her Dt2. "You're not even going to get your hands on anything! Spirit Evolution!"
"We'll see about that," Michi answered.
~:-:~
Yeah, this chapter is shorter, I know but I didn't really know what I should have written next. All I can say is that I'm making really good time with this. Okay, maybe not time but my original plan had this chapter happening in chapter 9 and 10. I've cut everything down by three chapters so far. That's a holy crap for me. Maybe I can cut everything down into less than sixty chapters… Then again, maybe not. Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter.
