A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. Thanks to Journey, Tri-Emperor of Twilight, darkhaseo90, and Immortal Fallen Radiance for reviewing. I'm glad you're all enjoying it so far. ^^
Disclaimer: Digimon is owned by other people. I'm not "other people" since I'm only one person, so how can I own Digimon?
A Changed Destiny
Chapter 6: Stand My Ground
It was getting late, so they began making camp. Tommy seemed to have gotten over the episode of homesickness in the Television Forest but even days later, he didn't seem to know what had happened when he was under the Bakumon's spell; for him it was like a dream that if you slept through it, you wouldn't remember it. The other four stayed quiet about it but Koichi's own outburst was eating at the others, mainly Takuya.
Since he couldn't sleep, he had taken the first watch. They had determined a routine for who would watch the camp developed by their own sleeping habits. Takuya would take the first watch since he was a bit of an insomniac. He would be followed by Zoe who often had to always go to the bathroom and thus would be up for a while afterwards. Then JP, Bokomon, and Neemon would have their turn, followed by Strabimon, then Koichi and Tommy until dawn to allow Tommy a chance to not be groggy in the mornings and because Koichi was always the early bird of the group.
Takuya poked the fire with a stick, memorized slightly with the flame. His family hadn't gone on many camping trips since his father was a busy man with work most of the time and his mother wasn't an outdoors kind of person. Whenever they did go with family though, his father had taught him how to build a fire. That was really the only time he thought that his family was together until Shinya had to ruin it all…
Takuya shook his head before pounding the side of his head softly with his fist. He turned to look over at Tommy. The boy did remind him of his little brother but at the same time, he was even different. He was always the little brother he wanted. Tommy listened to him and followed him around. Sure he cried but he was brave… but so was Shinya brave but selfish. The world always revolved around him and if he didn't get his own way, he'd ball his brains out.
At that, Takuya threw a new stick into the fire. It just felt natural that the fire should be the same level as his anger but than again, he wasn't a complete pyromaniac. Deciding to think about another subject, he turned to look over at Koichi.
"Notice me!"
"He must always be lonely."
There must be something more we don't know about… Takuya sighed. Couldn't hurt to ask, I guess but what's more important right now is finding those Beast Spirits. The boy gave out a yawn, hoping to get his turn at a turn to rest.
As if on cue, he saw the movement of Zoe's silhouette as she gave out a stifled yawn and would go to take Takuya's place by the fire so the leader would take his turn sleeping. The two bade each other night before going to exchange tasks.
Sleep had come easily for Takuya, though it wasn't riddled with various dreams, most he wouldn't remember anyway.
X::::::::::X
"Takuya, you're the older brother. I'd thought you'd behave better than this!""But, Mom… You never listen to me! Why do you always take his side? He isn't as innocent as you think he is!"
X::::::::::X
The next morning, they sat around the fire, debating on what to do next. They needed to get to the Forest Terminal immediately but they also still had to collect the Beast Spirits also but the question was whether or not go on a wild goose chase or head towards the Forest Terminal and into God knew what.
"We do need to be prepared just in case," Takuya pointed out. "These Beast Spirits may give us some form of edge."
"Yeah but that lady's voice sounded urgent," Zoe stated, referring to the time when they had gotten the message to head towards the Forest Terminal. "There may be some sort of time limit to it."
"Zoe is right," JP quickly agreed with the blond, "but so is Takuya. We can't really waste time going on a wild goose chase."
"But chasing geese sounds fun!" Neemon cut in but was quickly quieted by Bokomon.
"Can't we get the Beast Spirits as we go?" suggested Tommy. The group looked over at them. "The Spirits were there when we needed them and we had no idea where they were. Can't we maybe run into them on our way to the Forest Terminal?"
Takuya, Zoe, JP, and Koichi exchanged looks. The boy did have a point. "I guess we could do it like that," the four said. Strabimon rolled his eyes. How can they be the Spirit holders with a plan like that?
"Just…what is in the Forest Terminal that's so important?" Koichi piped up curiously. No one answered.
Bokomon pulled out his book and scanned through the article that covered the Forest Terminal. "Well, there isn't much about it," Bokomon stated. "The only thing of importance is maybe the Crystal Castle where the Great Angels ruled until civil war broke out but according to rumor, Seraphimon was killed in battle and Ophanimon disappeared."
Takuya folded his arms. "Well, that a load of help," JP sighed sarcastically. "Is there a way to figure out what we're going to run into?"
"Do we really have to? I mean all we can really do is wing it. That's really all we've done so far," Takuya said.
"JP is right though," Zoe said with a frown. "It just doesn't seem right that we have to do all this work and not know what's going on."
"Problem: How are we supposed to know what we're doing? Go to a fortune teller to get our futures read?" Takuya pointed out, crossing his arms. "Besides, you did mention that we are already running out of time."
"Actually, that could work," Bokomon cut in.
"Huh?" came the chorus of voices.
X::::::::::X
"You're kidding me," JP muttered. "Fortune telling?"
Bokomon looked up at him. "It's actually much more accurate than you think, JP," Bokomon answered. "Why, don't you believe in destiny?"
"Destiny is something we choose through actions in our life," the older boy replied, folding his arms in annoyance.
"Well, that's a rather strange thing to think since you work with street magic," Zoe countered, folding her arms.
JP didn't answer and flushed from embarrassment.
"Well, we might as well get going," suggested Takuya, looking around. Tents of varying colors were set up neatly. The small streets were crowded with Digimon waiting for their fortunes to be told.
As they continued through following Bokomon, several different Digimon called out to them with varying techniques to telling their fortunes. Many didn't even look professional at all, as Zoe noted. Bokomon even stated that several of them were frauds and scam artists.
"Few Digimon posses the power to see the future and give predictions of the future," he stated. "Taomon are able to give fortunes but Shamanmon and a few Sepikmon have been known to see the future. It was even stated that AncientWisemon was once able to predict the future."
Bokomon led them to a temple made out of stone. He pushed open the doors and walked inside with the children following him.
Koichi looked around, the place before him felt… off. Upon looking around, for a second, he saw a tall ghastly figure but before Koichi could even register it as a solid creature, the figure disappeared as if it was never there. The boy shivered slightly.
"You okay?" asked Tommy, looking back at the dark haired boy.
"I'm fine," Koichi said, not even thinking about how pale he looked. Even the boy picked up on it.
"You sure?" he asked, walking over to him. "It looked like you've seen a ghost." With him saying that, Tommy shivered. "N-not like I'm scared of them or anything."
Koichi smiled. "Don't worry. I'm fine," he answered. "I'm sure that they're no ghosts here."
Tommy let out a sigh of relief.
"Who's there?" came a voice from before them. A creature that looked a lot like an orger with a blond Mohawk.
"Wary travelers that are seeking help," answered Bokomon, leading them closer to the Digimon. The Digimon turned towards them, a wooden club in hand and a smirk on his face. Bokomon could sense their instant tensing and insisted nothing was going to happen. "Don't worry, he's a good guy. This is Shamanmon."
"Guidance you'll get then," he grunted before starting to do a strange dance. "Be careful of your future. Destiny has started to spin but what is what? As long as you remember who you are, you shall be fine."
The humans looked at him as if he was crazy. "Yeah, all right then," JP stated.
"He seems crazier than those other fortune tellers," Takuya said to Tommy.
"Fine, then what are you here for?" he asked, folding his arms, annoyed by the accusation.
"We want to know what we're supposed to seek at the Forest Terminal," Zoe piped up. "Do you think you can shed some light on it?"
"And none of that stupid dancing," added Strabimon, glaring at him.
Shamanmon ignored the last comment before he started to dance. "I see much confusion ahead. Within a castle of crystal, a great awakening needs to be achieved but in order to get there, you'll go through strife," he predicted.
This however didn't seem to be enough for them. "Anything about what it is?" asked Koichi.
"That is for you to find out," Shamanmon answered. "The future is a fickle thing and is hazy to even me. This is the path that I see you on. Make a decision that doesn't lead up to it, then the future may change. What it is, though, is all up to you."
"Give us a straight answer, will you?" shouted Strabimon angrily. Riddles… much like his existence…
"The future for you, all… A heavy decision rests on the one of the one of pride; a loose of a foe in a friend and a friend in a foe will lead the destinies to be set right. You should be careful because before you is strife waiting to lunge. Make the wrong decision could lead to even more. Remember who you are and everything shall turn out fine."
"'A friend in a foe and foe in a friend'?" the others echoed, staring at each other.
"More riddles," grumbled Strabimon, throwing a glance at the Digimon.
"Still sounds like he's been smoking crack," Takuya muttered under his breath. "Thanks, I guess." With that, the five began turning away but a sudden rumble of the earth startled them. After a few seconds, the earthquake was over and the group ran outside, expecting the worst and the worst it was.
Meanwhile, Shamanmon watched them go with dread filling his heart. Not too long ago, he had foreseen mass destruction. Was this happening now? I wish I could do more than tell fortunes… Suddenly, the groan of a large rock echoed through the confinements of the temple and a bright light filled the room. The fortuneteller looked behind him, seeing nothing but a figure obscure by the light of flames burning white-hot.
Wish for power? Then take mine…
Shamanmon had no chance to answer.
X::::::::::X
Just at the edge of the village, they could make out a large fissure and from the screams in the distance, they could guess that it was Grumblemon. Takuya, Zoe, JP, and Tommy quickly Spirit Evolved and began running off in the direction of the destruction. Despite Koichi's ordinary meekness, he ran alongside Strabimon, slightly trailing behind everyone else.
As the others continued ahead, a figure suddenly crashed headlong into Strabimon, making them tumble into a nearby tent. Koichi stopped, looking at the fight, completely forgetting about his original destination.
"Strabimon!" he shouted, rushing up to the tent but was forced to stop, someone grabbing him roughly by the arm. He spun around and was forced to the ground. As soon as he hit the ground, Koichi rolled onto his side, only to gaze up at his brother. Shock froze his body and the cold stare from the boy's blue eyes sent shivers down his spin.
The two kept a locked gaze at each other, Koichi out of fear and Koji out of curiosity, though it didn't show on his face. "Who are you?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes. "And how do you know me?"
Koichi didn't answer and he hated it. He hated how scared he always acted, how he always knew he could say something or stop it but was always too nervous to say anything. Even worse, he hated how useless he always felt while the others could fight. And now, he couldn't make himself speak. It was like his voice was nonexistent. All the mental preparation he had done, it had fallen through.
"Well?" Koji pushed, his glare hardening.
"Koichi," the boy answered hesitantly, forcing himself to keep his gaze up. "I'm-." That was as far as he got. Just in time, Koji moved aside, startled by the sudden surprise attack. Strabimon landed right next to Koichi and glared at the boy.
"You stay away from my partner," he snarled. "Litch Nagel!" With claws, Strabimon swiped at the human who ducked and tried sweeping his feet from under the Digimon but didn't have the chance to as the other claw followed him, forcing the boy to roll out of the way and onto his feet.
Gazimon came up to his partner, sliced up decently from his small scuffle with the demon man Digimon. "You weren't able to finish off that boy?" the weasel Digimon commented disdainfully.
Koji didn't answer, glaring at the human boy. He pulled out a small orb that was deep black and gave off an eerie and deadly red aura. A chill was sent down both Digimon and his partner's spines, though the former was able to control it more than the latter.
Gazimon began to unweave into a black fractal code and into a Spirit like form that reeked of negative emotions, sending a wave of fear coursing through Koichi. It felt… wrong in some way. Entirely wrong but he didn't know how or why.
The orb began to shine with dark energies as the Spirit engulfed Koji when he shouted, "Spirit Evolution!" The darkness began to take a shape before fading into a body of a tall and lean man resembling a black devil with tattered wings with arms so long that they reached to his feet. Shining red eyes gazed at the two, as if blood thirsty before it gave out a shriek of pain.
"Koji…" Koichi rose, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and concern. Strabimon felt a pain in his chest.
Within Koji, a voice flew through his head that he could recognize as his master's voice echoing through his head. You still haven't let go of your heart. Let the darkness take your confusion and let it consume you. Let go of your heart…
It was hard. Even as the pain raged in his mind, something in the back of his mind told him something was terribly wrong but he just wanted it to stop. The crushing emotions were almost too much… too much… Then he let it all go, painting his consciousness black and closing his heart, making all the pain disappear for blissful emptiness.
Now, he was more in tune with his Spirit of Darkness than he had ever been.
"Koji?" Koichi asked carefully.
"Koji?" the creature repeated, casting cold red eyes at him before giving him a bloody thirst smile, making Koichi's skin crawl. "That name no longer exists. I am Devimon."
"Whatever," Strabimon simply muttered, flying into battle.
X::::::::::X
Dodging hammer attacks were hard enough but adding the Sulfur Plume attack from the Golemon only made it twice as hard. It only took one attack to get them to get that the rock Digimon wouldn't go down so easily. And it only took one hit for them to get that they wouldn't stand up to too much of his attack.
Deciding that it would be a good idea to split into groups to attack, Kumamon, Kazemon, and Beetlemon all took on Golemon while Agunimon took Grumblemon.
Attacks, one by one, hit Golemon with no seen physical effect. "This isn't going so well," stated Bokomon, his eyes wide as Golemon had unleashed a blast of Sulfur Plume attack, sending the three backwards.
Meanwhile, Agunimon seemed to be having a bit more luck. He had managed to get in a few attacks before being forced to take a farther distance to dodge his hammer attack. Agunimon tried getting closer but was forced to remain at a distance so he could dodge the hammers. Finally, Grumblemon had tried swiping him sideways but Agunimon jumped towards Grumblemon with enough air below him to dodge the hammer. He spun around and unleashed a roundhouse kick, knocking Grumblemon off balance enough to make him stumble for even footing.
Agunimon quickly unleashed a fire dragon from his gauntlets and the blaze engulfed Grumblemon. The Warrior of Earth gave out a cry of pain before it died down. Agunimon gave out a cheer but it was short lived when a blast of Sulfur Plume hit him, sending him into a pillar.
Grumblemon popped out of the ground next to Golemon. He shouted, jabbing a finger at the Flame Warrior, "Stupid Fire. Me angry now! Slide Evolution!"
He was wrapped in a Fractal Code and when it dissolved, a troll looking Digimon stood where Grumblemon had been. "See what humans think of Gigasmon!" he shouted.
"That's a Beast Spirit?" Kazemon shouted, forcing herself up.
"Come on, guys!" Agunimon cried to the others, getting up out of the rubble himself. The others followed suit. The four began running into battle, firing their own elemental attacks. Gigasmon just stood there for a seconds before smirking and extending his arms and spinning around like a top.
"Quagmire Twister!" The attacks were easily muffled by Gigasmon's attack when they collided. Gigasmon then stopped spinning before jumping away and allowing Golemon to unleash a blast of sulfur at Agunimon and Kumamon, sending them flying backwards once again just as Gigasmon launched himself into the air with surprising agility and throwing a punch at the closest airborne Digimon, happening to be Kazemon, who had little time to react.
The attack hit her hard in the gut, knocking the air out of her lungs. She barely had time to catch it when Gigasmon had grabbed her by her ankles and slamming her hard into the ground. Pain washed over her and her vision became hazy, threatening to blacken out. She struggled to remain conscious but ended up loosing and also loosing her Fractal Code, wrapping around the girl and showing her Spirit. Gigasmon simply smirked and made a grab for her Spirit and not even bothering with her Fractal Code.
"Yummy Spirit," he said gleefully, popping the Spirit into his mouth like it was candy.
"Zoe!" shouted Beetlemon. He electrified his horn and began diving in towards the troll Digimon. Gigasmon didn't even see it coming and turned towards Beetlemon, just as he hit him in the chest and driving him away from Zoe.
Even with Gigasmon, Beetlemon didn't let the barrage of punches stop. After a few hits, Gigasmon grabbed his hand and used it to flip the blue beetle Digimon over him. The two began to rise and during this time, Agunimon and Kumamon had raced over to them.
Agunimon jumped in to grab the unconscious blonde and leap away, barely being missed by a Sulfur Plume attack. He flipped away and watched Kumamon come to Beetlemon's rescue, allowing the said Digimon to unleash a well aimed thunderbolt and allowed the to back up enough to fall in line with Agunimon.
"Well now what, genius?" Beetlemon asked.
"Where the hell is Strabimon?" shouted Agunimon. "We're getting pummeled and he's off playing chicken!"
"Maybe he's with Koichi, Bokomon, and Neemon?" suggested Kumamon. "But what are we supposed to do now, Takuya?"
"I-I… I don't know," the Flame Warrior admitted. He glanced down at the sleeping girl in his arms. As hurt as she look, she look tranquil. Agunimon looked up at Gigasmon and Golemon, who were both starting to close in on them. What could he do?
He couldn't just wait for a miracle.
X::::::::::X
Koichi just watched, eyes wide. Devimon was easily beating around Strabimon as if he was a rag doll. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Strabimon was too stubborn to admit defeat, even after getting pretty marred up but that only meant that he was too slow to dodge another blow.
Devimon could easily read this in the panting Digimon and so could Koichi.
"Koji, please stop!" he pleaded, taking a step forwards.
The Digimon turned back to him, red eyes glaring at him blankly. "Refer to me by my right name," he said in a hollow tone. "There's no point for something as weak as you. I don't even understand why this thing is protecting something as worthless as you."
Koichi gritted his teeth and bowed his head as the words cut. "It's true I'm weak," he admitted, frustrated. "I always ran from fights. I never did stand up for myself… I hate it… I want to change…but…"
Strabimon turned his gaze over at the boy. For a second, he could feel the boy's uncertainty and helplessness. The Digimon narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, you are weak!" Strabimon shouted. "But the weak are afraid to change who they are. If you hate being weak, then change it! The weak run and hide from their problems. Do you honestly want to be like that forever? If so, then you don't deserve the power of the Spirits!"
Koichi snapped his gaze up at Devimon, who was now tired of the prattle, raised his claw to swipe the boy out of existence. Fear coursed through him and Strabimon's words rang in his ears. He put on a brave face. "Strabimon is right. I may be weak now but I just might be strong enough to change myself," he said with a solid tone. With each word, his confidence gathered. "I want to help my friends and that means I can't run. I have to start standing my ground… And it starts NOW!"
Devimon simply grunted in annoyance. "Whatever you say," he said simply, starting to bring his claw down.
Koichi threw himself out of the way and rolled to his feet and ran towards Strabimon. The dark haired boy looked at the wolf Digimon with a smile and determination glittering in his eyes. "Thanks," he said quickly before reaching into his pocket to pull out his black and gray D-tector. He threw it into the air as the screen began shinning with the crest of the Spirit of Light. Strabimon himself began glowing the same light.
"Wha…?" he began, completely confused. He looked towards his partner, who didn't even seem to be confused in the slightest. In fact, Koichi looked entirely in control.
He caught the D-tector in his hand and shouted, "Spirit Evolution!"
Strabimon turned into a Fractal Code strip and began engulfing Koichi, having it change into a new form.
Devimon watched without any reaction as the light and Fractal Code faded away to reveal a white Digimon that looked much like an organic gargoyle with white wings and silver restraints all over his body.
It was nothing like Koichi had ever felt. Is this the same kind of power that the others felt? he thought, amazed.
"Don't just sit there idly!" shouted the voice in his head. He automatically recognized it as Strabimon's. "We don NOT have time for this, kid. It's all your show now so prove to me that you aren't weak!"
On it, on it, Koichi answered. Gargoylemon, Koichi's new form, felt awkward to him. He didn't know why but he didn't have enough time to determine what it was when Devimon flew at him, sending a blast of energy from his wing.
Gargoylemon flew out of the way and cried, "Black Statue!" From the ground, a statue looking like a six-winged angel came out of the ground. Its eyes glowed before launching blast of orange energy from its fist.
Devimon flew into the air to dodge the attack and Gargoylemon followed. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, unleashing a freezing wind freezing Devimon's wings. Then Gargoylemon commanded the statue to fly into the air and fire beams of light at Devimon, hitting him right in the chest.
The giant devil Digimon fell to the earth, shattering the ice that coated his wings. Devimon narrowed his eyes before getting to his feet and staring at Gargoylemon as he hovered down until he was just a few feet above the earth, his statue not far behind him.
"Koji, can you please, do we have to fight?" Gargoylemon asked.
"Stop calling me that," Devimon answered, preparing to launch several lasers from his wings but stopped short. A roaring pain filled his head and his body began to shake. Even with the door to his heart closed, it wasn't fully locked.
"Keep it together!" shouted Gazimon's voice in Koji's head.
I can't, Koji answered, emotion starting to fill his hollow voice. I can't…It's too much. Please, I need to make it stop.
"Oh, no you won't! You're the prince of darkness!"
I can't control it. Not now. I… need to escape before…evolution…breaks…
"Koji!" Devimon's vision registered the gargoyle Digimon right in front of him. Devimon swiped him away, a snarl fighting to escape his throat.
The Digimon stood straight up and gazed at Gargoylemon from where he landed. "For now, this battle shall remain a stalemate. Next time… Next time you won't be so lucky." And with that, Devimon began flying off.
Gargoylemon watched him go, the statue hovering forgotten. Conflicting feelings filled Koichi: one of relief that it was over and one of disbelief.
"Hey! NOT now! Even if I don't like your friends, we have to find them," Strabimon's voice filled his head. Koichi nodded. He pushed the feelings away and began racing towards the direction his comrades had raced.
Chapter 6: End.
Hey guys! Ever had one of those chapters that you had planned and went a different way? Well, this is one of those chapters. Let's just say that if I went with how I was going to do it, it would seem a bit too much like one of the chapters from Yang-Yin by Akino Ame while it's bad enough that the beginning chapter highly resembles the first couple of chapters of Fated by Kilarra. I do admit that I was inspired by those two stories to write this one. Sorry about that.
Oh, yes, Devimon. I know that's so original. Well, hey, at least I didn't have Angemon in here. That would have turned out like Adventure all over again but where neither of them die. Ah, well. I know Gargoylemon's attacks don't seem to fit the area but take this into mind: Gargoylemon is the evolution of Veemon with the DigiEgg of Light. This alternate evolution idea is borrowed from the 02 CD drama and how the evolution works is kind of like Biomerging. Ah well. Hope you enjoyed it.
