Disclaimer: Yeah, I'm a dope, forgot one of these. Well I don't own
digimon, or Tai, or Gennai while I'm at it. If I did my life would be a
hell of a lot more entertaining. Thanks for the review so far! They keep
me writing this. Now on with the lunacy.
*****************************************************************
"I think I speak for us all when I say explain." Angela stooped over Gennai impatiently, along with the other three guardians, waiting for his justification as to why they were suddenly freaks of nature.
Gennai pulled at his collar nervously wracking his brain for the right choice of words. He didn't want to further frustrate the children due to their newfound abilities. Then again, he mused, he shouldn't go too easy on them either, for they were, after all, supposed to be able to handle anything. Gennai decided to give it to them strait.
"You freaks aren't human." Gennai smacked himself in the forehead for his poor wording. He avoided their irritated looks and tried to rehabilitate his speech. "What I mean is, well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. Tai, remember how I mentioned there were five original digidestined, before you first came to the digital world?" Tai nodded mutely before Gennai continued, "Well, they were not originally humans. They were each a different mythical specie who made it their duty to protect the digital world."
"Now, everything was going great until one of the five became tainted with evil. The evil soon consumed her and she abandoned the group. The group later came to know her as the 'rogue digidestined'. Making her way across the digital world, she spread terror and chaos, destroying anyone who defied her. Although the rest tried to stand up to her, one by one the other digidestined fell until there was only one left to stop the devastation. In a final battle, the rogue digidestined realized her mistakes and pleaded for forgiveness. However, that one remaining digidestined grew cold out of the loneliness that filled her heart and wouldn't hear of it. They both continued to battle despite the former evil one's desperate attempt to change things. The rogue digidestined had finally had enough of the senseless fighting and used the last of her strength to seal the other to eternal damnation, before dying herself. They fought to the death that day. One died in anger, and the other, remorse."
"That's so sad." Angela grieved, cuddling up to Griff who was also attentive to the story. Shiva grumbled something inaudible which sounded something like 'useless wimps'. Gennai took a moment to clear his throat before proceeding.
"The digital world was then left in ruins, way beyond repair. There was nothing we could do to save it, so we guardians set to work on creating a new digital world. The very one we are in now. After a few thousand years, in digital time that is, evil showed again in the digital world. This time in the shape of devimon, and the rest is history."
"But what happened to the former world?" Tai spoke up.
"Well, think about it. What other world is parallel to the digital world, as well as the real world? I'll give you a hint, your sister has gotten stuck there a few times before."
Tai was still for a moment in contemplation; all the attention in the room focused on him. His eyes widened in realization before murmuring, "The dark ocean?"
"Bingo."
"Touching story, really Gennai it was, but what does it have to do with us?" Shiva rejoined.
"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Now, when the original digidestined died, their duty was not yet fulfilled. Because of this, they used their powers to be reborn in hopes that their reincarnations would continue their protection over the digital world. You are their reincarnations and you are now responsible for protecting this world with your powers as they had."
"But why now? Why not tell me when I first came to the digital world?" Tai asked.
Gennai's face instantly graved, causing Tai to almost regret what he asked.
"Because we didn't need you then. You had Agumon and your villains were digimon themselves. But now I must warn you that a prophesized event is occurring. The original digidestined who had died with hate in her heart has been reborn, which has caused a chain reaction. Because of her rebirth, the rest of you were reborn also. From the moment you were conceived you're purpose was to defeat her and rescue the new digital world from her clutches before another dark ocean was created."
The guardians all nodded understandingly; however, not too thrilled about being used so.
"I'm still confused about this whole.. freaks of nature shit." Shiva declared while unenthusiastically causing a spoon to spin around on the table. It continued to swirl on the wood, making a dull noise as it was dragged in a circular motion before Tai firmly slapped his hand down on it for silence. Shiva stuck out her tongue at him and he retaliated with the finger, along with a small flame at the tip.
"Well, this is the part that I hope you can accept. The powers you're experiencing are just a taste of what to come. From what I've seen, I can already tell which digidestined you're replacing. You also have an uncanny resemblance too them."
"Taro was a demigod; a god of fire to be more precise. Tai I can tell you're his reincarnation from your control over flame. Griff, you are Keon's reincarnation. Keon was a wise druid who protected the earth. He was also a cyborg; part machine incase you don't know. Carissa was reborn as you Angela. She was a spirited nymph who used her control over water for the welfare of others, a naiad if you will. Shiva you're the reincarnation of Amara; a half-demon. She had intense psychic ability, but she often held back her true power for unknown reasons. She was half space- demon actually. A barbaric breed they were, but the human side always kept her secure. Well, to some extent anyway. Erm, anyways, I believe I've covered everything."
"Not quite," proclaimed Griff, who had been the first to recover from the stun each guardian felt from Gennai's words. "Who was the fifth digidestined? The one that we're supposed to defeat?"
Gennai sighed inwardly, "Her name is Moira. I recall she was a cambion. Instead of coming back in a new body, she is the very same person as she was all those eons ago. Any more questions"
"Yea, what the hell is a cambion?" It mattered not who had spoken at the moment for they all shared the same thought.
Gennai grinned, adding more wrinkles to his elderly face, "Well, a cambion is the half human child of a succubus or incubus; an evil being that seduces the opposite sex. However, in this particular case, Moira was not half human. Her mother was a succubus, while her father was an ice spirit. After such a mixture, one can only think of her as a seductress with the power to control snow and ice."
"Watch out boys." Shiva smirked. Angela just scowled and wrapped her arms possessively around Griff.
"Don't worry Shiva; she's probably a lesbian anyways. What luck for you." Tai leered.
"Can't ya hear? They seduce the opposite sex." Shiva shot back, yanking on Tai's ponytail for an extra effect.
"I'll bet you twenty bucks that she's a lesbian."
"Twenty five and we got a deal."
"I bet she's bi." Griff butted in.
"I bet she kicks all your asses." Angela she replied in a subdued manner from her position on Griff's lap.
~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young woman no older that seventeen leaned against the cold stone frame of a fortress' window. Her unnerving gaze pierced the lukewarm, night air; abhorrence was hidden deep the ebony irises. Long, scarlet tresses danced sporadically as the chilling wind swirled around her. Her lithe form was clad in a revealing, frost-white dress, fusing with her pale completion. It flowed past her ankles pooling on the stone floor. Two slits on the sides of her legs started at the hips and allowed her legs to move freely as needed. On the top half of the dress was very little fabric. The dress had neither a back nor straps and two strips of the cloth that ascended from the lower half of the dress covered her breasts. Unknown forces, leaving a path of milky white skin from her naval to her neck visible to any predators, held up these pieces. On her back were two demonic wings that blended in well with the dark scenario. They were medium sized, only stretching from her lower back to the top of her head when folded in.
She sighed as she examined the digital world below her. Lush, life- filled, happy. She hated it with every fiber of her being. Why should they be happy when she could not? What did they do to deserve such joy? She watched covetously as a pair of electmon enjoyed a romantic walk across the valley. Her cold eyes narrowed for a moment before a sadistic and appealing thought came to her. Hiding her delight with unmatched poise, she lifted her arm gracefully, allowing her hand to lift as well and faced her palm towards the couple in a threatening manner.
"Hail of Fervor."
Her whisper was melodic and carried through the air on a fine note. The lovers were unaware of the danger they were in and were deleted within seconds of being pelted with deadly balls of ice. A satisfied smirk played across the villain's full, frigid lips before a voice unsettled the atmosphere, causing the glower to once again claim her lovely face.
"Lady Moira, the army is mobilized and awaits your orders."
"Tell them.. terrorize at will"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shiva didn't know what was worse: the fact that her Idto-board was now out of commission, or the fact that she was dangling about sixty feet above the ground, hanging on the edge of a cliff with a few fingers. The events of the past hour reeled through her mind as her legs swung listlessly from their point in the breeze.
A hoard of digimon, whom Gennai had suggested worked for Moira, had started assaulting villages just north of the coliseum. Naturally the guardians did their duty by taking out the ruffians and setting things back in order. Unfortunately, just when they thought they'd finished the last of them, a SkullGraymon appeared under obvious influence from Moira. Rather than attacking the village, as the other digimon had, it had directed is aggression at the guardians.
The guardians were agile on their Idto-boards in avoiding the ultimate's attempts at landing a blow, showing off many maneuvers they'd practiced while training. The predator swung its massive tail of bones towards Griff. Anticipating the move he sprang from his board, allowing the appendage to pass in between the boy and his mechanism, and landed stylishly after a flip. The momentum of the swing threw the SkullGraymon off balance and it teetered towards Angela. She summoned a spout of water from a nearby river and blasted the virus digimon in the other direction. It roared in anguish. Red eyes seemed to blaze as it prepared for an attack.
"Double Dark Shot" It howled as two missiles were shot from its back. One headed directly towards Angela. She narrowly avoided it with an escape on her Idto-board. She was not safe, however, for her assailant was still tailing her no matter how many tricks and exercises she attempted in order to shake it. Just as she felt a dull cramp materialize in her legs, she noticed the missile had slowed considerably. Looking to her right she spotted Shiva, eyes narrowed and teeth clenched in concentration. Using her psychic abilities, she was holding the missile from further tormenting her colleague. Angela gave a nod of appreciation in Shiva's direction and was sure it would have been returned if the girl had not been so preoccupied.
The second missile headed for the boys, who were slightly closer to the ground than the girls were. Tai took the honors this time and held a palm toward the impending rocket. A stream of fire erupted from his hand and flew directly at its target. Upon contact the missile exploded. Tai smirked as Griff clapped him on the back, and the two boys flew off to finish with the SkullGraymon.
Angela had left the missile in Shiva's hands and went to help the boys. Shiva's psyche was very undeveloped and, despite her attempts, she could fully stop the missile. It slowly inched towards her, vibrating roughly against her unseen force. The tension of being held in one spot began to build along with the energy from Shiva's telepathic power. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized almost too late what were about to happen. She had just enough time to dive from her board before the missile exploded. She was hardly far enough to miss the explosion and felt the back of her clothes rip along with patches of her skin char. She knew her board had not survived the blast since it had been much closer than she. She would worry about that later because right now her top priority was to figure out how she was going to do to stop herself from becoming a semi- human, quality Aunt Jemima pancake. As luck would have it, she was falling in a diagonal angle strait towards the side of a precipice. She hit the hard, rocky edge with great force and it took almost all her strength to not black out right then and there. She continued to roughly descend down the cliff as she tried to dig her fingers and toes into the earth. Her descent slowed to a halt, leaving her dangling halfway up the cliff, bloodied, bruised, and exhausted.
So here she was on the edge of a cliff, loosing her grip, several meters away from safety. Gravity was not on her good side today. Torn fingers were unable to support her weight any further. She fell.
On a lower atmosphere, the remaining guardians continued to battle with the deranged fossil. Angela and Tai were circling it, shooting various jets of fire and water, causing the beast the hiss in pain. Griff finally had enough of toying around and decided to end the conflict once and for all.
"Back up you guys, lemme try something!" The young man shouted as his board lowered him to the ground. The SkullGraymon snapped its head to the grounded boy and glared at him with unblinking crimson eyes. Griff smirked before taking a three-step run and jumped into the air. While airborne, he raised a fist above his head and brought it down upon the earth as he landed. From where his fist held contact with the ground, a crack emerged in the soil. It spread as it traveled towards the SkullGraymon, creating a canyon. The digimon was not fast enough to avoid the attack as it fell helplessly into the endless gorge. Angela sped faster than thought possible on an Idto-board to her boyfriend who had collapsed after using so much energy on an attack. Tai was about to make a comment to Shiva when he realized the girl wasn't present. He made a circle with his Idto-board searching every scene that surrounded him before he spotted her plummeting at towards the ground at an alarming speed.
"SHIVA!" Tai cried as he darted towards her in hopes of catching the girl. Alas, Tai was much to far away and the girl plunged into the river that lay beneath her. Tai thanked the gods that the river had been there, although it may not have mattered with her velocity. Hovering feet above the icy torrent, Tai scanned the water for any sign of survival from the girl, dread filling in the pit of his stomach. His spirits were lifted and hope replaced his doubt as he heard a loud gasp. A few feet ahead of him was Shiva's bobbing head, gasping for air after being held underwater so long by the current. He lowered himself further, enough to grab the girl's outstretched arm, and lifted her to the safety of the riverbank. As soon as she touched the ground she began to cough up water.
"Idiot" Tai murmured as he rubbed her back, "You'll probably be more successful in giving me a heart attack when I'm a little older. Try again in ten years. What the hell were you doing? "
Shiva lifted her head and looked at Tai. Only then did he notice how beat up she was. Scrapes and bruises covered her face as well as her head and arms. She had a large gash on her forehead and on her hip. The skin on her back had many third-degree burned which made Tai feel guilty about rubbing it before. He had a feeling she may have had a few bones broken as well from the impact she hit the water. To add to her grisly appearance, most of her clothes were shredded. Shiva gave a weak grin.
"Cliffs suck."
Tai was about to speak before Angela interrupted him, holding up a well-cooked Idto-board that was broken in half; held together only by a few wires.
"Shives isn't this yours- oh my God!" The girl rushed to her friend's side and began to immediately examine her wounds. Griff stumbled tiredly after her, still worn out from such a powerful attack, but concerned as well. After many demands Shiva finally told them how she and her Idto-board came to the state they were in.
"This is all my fault!" Angela moaned, "I should have helped you with that missile!"
"It's not your fault moron!" Shiva snapped, "It's mine! I should have been strong enough to handle one fucking missile!"
Tai figured Shiva didn't need to waste her energy on arguing and decided to end the conversation there. "Let's just go home you guys."
The rest agreed heartedly. Angela and Griff hopped on their boards and glided evenly close to the ground in the direction of a portal. Tai lifted his best friend into his arms, holding her bridal style, as he too glided on his board towards the gateway. He looked down at the now sleeping girl for a moment. He mentally berated himself for not being there for her, for not protecting her. He may not have been the leader anymore, but he still felt it was his duty to make sure everyone was safe. Looking down once more, Tai realized she was unconsciously cradling the remains of her Idto-board in her arms.
What Tai didn't realize was that he earlier referred to the coliseum as home, with the agreement of the others. Slowly but surely, their priorities were changing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Former third-degree burns, two broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, fractured wrist." Gennai's accounts of Shiva's injuries were drowned by Tai's own thoughts. He tried to focus on the bandage he was applying to one of her gashes on her hip but he couldn't get out the overwhelming feeling of guilt. He also was a little perplexed at the whole situation. Shiva had still been conscious during the entire ordeal despite her injuries and a little afterwards. Enough to argue with them anyways. Of course now she wasn't conscious. As soon as she passed out in Tai's arms she never showed any suggestion of waking again. She now lay on a hospital bed in the infirmary room of the coliseum. Tai put the last finishing touches on the bandage and took a moment to look at the inactive girl.
She had no shirt on with bandaging wound around her ribcage and chest to help her broken ribs. Her back was completely heeled from any burns thanks to Tai. If one good thing came of this, he now learned that he had the ability to heal anything fire-related, which would include burns. She had large bandages on her hip and forehead to stop the bleeding from the deep gashes she managed. Her wrist was bound in an ace-bandage for her sprain. The opposite arm was held in a sling for a dislocated shoulder, most likely received from hitting the cliff on her way down.
Within ten minutes of their arrival, Griff fell fast asleep on the cool sheets of his bed. Angela, refusing to leave his side, eventually fell asleep on the same bed, nestled intimately to his body. Aside from a few scrapes and nicks where the SkullGraymon may have grazed with its claws, they were unharmed.
Gennai shook his head regretfully as she watched the two from the doorframe. The guardians were to see much worse than this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning came and the three able guardians were out doing their routinely, sunup practice. Gennai frowned as he observed, noting that the guardians half-heartedly carried out their procedures. This was in all probability because of the missing fourth.
Griff was making his run more interesting by having various roots and branches lash out at him, forcing him to maneuver in any way to avoid the assaults. Angela was seeing how high she could get a spout of water to carry her before she lost control of it and dove back into the refreshing pool. Gennai was about to turn his attention to Tai when he found a large message burning of flame in the ground of the training vicinity.
SUCK MY MEAT
Tai stood next to it, grinning like a madman and waving excitedly, obviously very proud of himself. He then turned to face the text and blew it out with one breath. Gennai scowled at his insolence. Perhaps they weren't to down about yesterday after all.
~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
Tai came bounding down the hall towards the infirmary. Their schooling had just finished for the day and he couldn't wait to see Shiva after hearing the news that she had woken up. He opened the door with his free hand and saw the girl sitting up in bed, looking particularly healthy.
"I have a question." Shiva's eyes remained on the Amelia Bedelia book she was reading.
"So do I," Tai replied, leaning against the doorframe with a cup of ramen in hand, "why the hell are you reading that?"
Shiva chose to ignore the comment and proceeded with the question while avidly changing the page. "If Amelia is such a dope and can only cook, then why the hell do people hire her as maid instead of a cook?"
"Couldn't tell ya. Brought you lunch."
Shiva dropped the book and greedily snatched the offered food, shoveling it into her mouth. It was almost surprising that someone from such a refined family should possess such disregard for manners. Tai was accustomed to her hypocritical ways; she couldn't stand it when people lacked manners in her own presence. Tai did a double take when he noticed not only was her ace-bandage off her wrist, but her whole sling was missing. In fact, the only sign of medical aid was the one wrapped around her chest for broken ribs, just barely visible behind her green tank top.
"Shiva, where's your bandages?" After saying this he also realized the bandage on her forehead was missing, replaced by a scar. All her scrapes were gone and she lacked most of her bruises. "Then again, where's your everything?"
"Pshh, band aids are for wimps."
"Shiva.."
"Alright, alright, look," Shiva lifted up her wrist, spoon in hand, and twisted it around, "no more sprain. As for the cuts and shit, well.. I think healing is one of my talents."
"What about your arm, I thought you dislocated it?"
"I relocated it."
"That's disgusting."
"What? Am I drooling?"
"No the arm thing."
"Loser."
"Freak."
"Look who's talking."
".. I don't want to play anymore."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday afternoon arrived on a pleasant sunny day in the digital world. Instead of searching for prophesies the guardians were allowed some free time that was spent wisely; i.e. watching T.V., video games, etc. Shiva's ribs just about made a full recovery and she no longer needed any support from bandages. For about two hours Tai couch-potatoed it before he could stand the squandering of such a gorgeous day no more.
"Where are you going?" Shiva's focus was still on the screen as she sensed his presence's departure.
"Going for a walk. I'm gunna see what Griff likes so much about that forest, wanna join?"
".. Uh .." Shiva was already zoned out on the T.V. before she finished the answer. Tai just shrugged and continued his way around the coliseum halls and outside, where the fresh air and high sun cleared his senses and warmed his skin. He set off to the north, passing the training grounds on his way, and headed into the forest.
He followed a single, ample, dirt road until he reached a breaking point. From there the road broke out into several, sinuous and narrow, dirt paths. Tai had to admire Griff for actually coming out of the forest alive every morning as well as wonder how in the hell he could ever remember his way through all those. Waving it off, Tai chose a course that looked the least intricate and began to walk tranquilly through the serene woodland. As he walked, Tai rested his arms behind his head and closed his eyes in comfort. Very relaxed, he noted what a perfect day it was to take a walk.
Tai's eyes abruptly flew open and his breath hitched in his throat as a sharp pain shot between his shoulder blades. He twisted and clawed at his back in a poor effort to stop the ache but the pain just intensified and spread further across his back. In a panic, Tai hastily yanked his shirt from his body and over his head, stumbling blindly off the earthy trail and into a nearby tree in the process. He slammed his back into the trunk, applying pleasure to the source of the hurt. This did nothing to ease it and Tai whimpered piteously. Unbeknown to him, his shoulder blades began to inflame and if one were to witness this event, they would see a barebacked being with two bulging lumps growing out of his back.
Quickly switching positions, Tai twisted to face the tree and gripped its bark, tearing it from its place in hopes to relieve some of the stress. He arched his back and dropped his head in an attempt to stop the pain that was rapidly increasing. Beads of sweat formed on his brow while he bit back a cry from his distress. He felt his skin tear as something shot out of his back; he couldn't hold his voice any longer. He let out a strident, excruciating cry of pain before collapsing to his knees. That seemed to do it. The pain had vanished almost as startlingly as it had appeared and all that was left to remind him of the affair was a dull throbbing lingering across his back. Scraps of bark that he shred from the plant were now littered about trembling frame.
Tai turned so that his back was once again facing the tree and leaned heavily against it for support. His heavy pants slowed as he realized, instead of feeling the rough bark on his bare back, he felt something soft and soothing. Craning his neck to the left, Tai's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What the..?"
*****************************************************************
"I think I speak for us all when I say explain." Angela stooped over Gennai impatiently, along with the other three guardians, waiting for his justification as to why they were suddenly freaks of nature.
Gennai pulled at his collar nervously wracking his brain for the right choice of words. He didn't want to further frustrate the children due to their newfound abilities. Then again, he mused, he shouldn't go too easy on them either, for they were, after all, supposed to be able to handle anything. Gennai decided to give it to them strait.
"You freaks aren't human." Gennai smacked himself in the forehead for his poor wording. He avoided their irritated looks and tried to rehabilitate his speech. "What I mean is, well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. Tai, remember how I mentioned there were five original digidestined, before you first came to the digital world?" Tai nodded mutely before Gennai continued, "Well, they were not originally humans. They were each a different mythical specie who made it their duty to protect the digital world."
"Now, everything was going great until one of the five became tainted with evil. The evil soon consumed her and she abandoned the group. The group later came to know her as the 'rogue digidestined'. Making her way across the digital world, she spread terror and chaos, destroying anyone who defied her. Although the rest tried to stand up to her, one by one the other digidestined fell until there was only one left to stop the devastation. In a final battle, the rogue digidestined realized her mistakes and pleaded for forgiveness. However, that one remaining digidestined grew cold out of the loneliness that filled her heart and wouldn't hear of it. They both continued to battle despite the former evil one's desperate attempt to change things. The rogue digidestined had finally had enough of the senseless fighting and used the last of her strength to seal the other to eternal damnation, before dying herself. They fought to the death that day. One died in anger, and the other, remorse."
"That's so sad." Angela grieved, cuddling up to Griff who was also attentive to the story. Shiva grumbled something inaudible which sounded something like 'useless wimps'. Gennai took a moment to clear his throat before proceeding.
"The digital world was then left in ruins, way beyond repair. There was nothing we could do to save it, so we guardians set to work on creating a new digital world. The very one we are in now. After a few thousand years, in digital time that is, evil showed again in the digital world. This time in the shape of devimon, and the rest is history."
"But what happened to the former world?" Tai spoke up.
"Well, think about it. What other world is parallel to the digital world, as well as the real world? I'll give you a hint, your sister has gotten stuck there a few times before."
Tai was still for a moment in contemplation; all the attention in the room focused on him. His eyes widened in realization before murmuring, "The dark ocean?"
"Bingo."
"Touching story, really Gennai it was, but what does it have to do with us?" Shiva rejoined.
"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Now, when the original digidestined died, their duty was not yet fulfilled. Because of this, they used their powers to be reborn in hopes that their reincarnations would continue their protection over the digital world. You are their reincarnations and you are now responsible for protecting this world with your powers as they had."
"But why now? Why not tell me when I first came to the digital world?" Tai asked.
Gennai's face instantly graved, causing Tai to almost regret what he asked.
"Because we didn't need you then. You had Agumon and your villains were digimon themselves. But now I must warn you that a prophesized event is occurring. The original digidestined who had died with hate in her heart has been reborn, which has caused a chain reaction. Because of her rebirth, the rest of you were reborn also. From the moment you were conceived you're purpose was to defeat her and rescue the new digital world from her clutches before another dark ocean was created."
The guardians all nodded understandingly; however, not too thrilled about being used so.
"I'm still confused about this whole.. freaks of nature shit." Shiva declared while unenthusiastically causing a spoon to spin around on the table. It continued to swirl on the wood, making a dull noise as it was dragged in a circular motion before Tai firmly slapped his hand down on it for silence. Shiva stuck out her tongue at him and he retaliated with the finger, along with a small flame at the tip.
"Well, this is the part that I hope you can accept. The powers you're experiencing are just a taste of what to come. From what I've seen, I can already tell which digidestined you're replacing. You also have an uncanny resemblance too them."
"Taro was a demigod; a god of fire to be more precise. Tai I can tell you're his reincarnation from your control over flame. Griff, you are Keon's reincarnation. Keon was a wise druid who protected the earth. He was also a cyborg; part machine incase you don't know. Carissa was reborn as you Angela. She was a spirited nymph who used her control over water for the welfare of others, a naiad if you will. Shiva you're the reincarnation of Amara; a half-demon. She had intense psychic ability, but she often held back her true power for unknown reasons. She was half space- demon actually. A barbaric breed they were, but the human side always kept her secure. Well, to some extent anyway. Erm, anyways, I believe I've covered everything."
"Not quite," proclaimed Griff, who had been the first to recover from the stun each guardian felt from Gennai's words. "Who was the fifth digidestined? The one that we're supposed to defeat?"
Gennai sighed inwardly, "Her name is Moira. I recall she was a cambion. Instead of coming back in a new body, she is the very same person as she was all those eons ago. Any more questions"
"Yea, what the hell is a cambion?" It mattered not who had spoken at the moment for they all shared the same thought.
Gennai grinned, adding more wrinkles to his elderly face, "Well, a cambion is the half human child of a succubus or incubus; an evil being that seduces the opposite sex. However, in this particular case, Moira was not half human. Her mother was a succubus, while her father was an ice spirit. After such a mixture, one can only think of her as a seductress with the power to control snow and ice."
"Watch out boys." Shiva smirked. Angela just scowled and wrapped her arms possessively around Griff.
"Don't worry Shiva; she's probably a lesbian anyways. What luck for you." Tai leered.
"Can't ya hear? They seduce the opposite sex." Shiva shot back, yanking on Tai's ponytail for an extra effect.
"I'll bet you twenty bucks that she's a lesbian."
"Twenty five and we got a deal."
"I bet she's bi." Griff butted in.
"I bet she kicks all your asses." Angela she replied in a subdued manner from her position on Griff's lap.
~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young woman no older that seventeen leaned against the cold stone frame of a fortress' window. Her unnerving gaze pierced the lukewarm, night air; abhorrence was hidden deep the ebony irises. Long, scarlet tresses danced sporadically as the chilling wind swirled around her. Her lithe form was clad in a revealing, frost-white dress, fusing with her pale completion. It flowed past her ankles pooling on the stone floor. Two slits on the sides of her legs started at the hips and allowed her legs to move freely as needed. On the top half of the dress was very little fabric. The dress had neither a back nor straps and two strips of the cloth that ascended from the lower half of the dress covered her breasts. Unknown forces, leaving a path of milky white skin from her naval to her neck visible to any predators, held up these pieces. On her back were two demonic wings that blended in well with the dark scenario. They were medium sized, only stretching from her lower back to the top of her head when folded in.
She sighed as she examined the digital world below her. Lush, life- filled, happy. She hated it with every fiber of her being. Why should they be happy when she could not? What did they do to deserve such joy? She watched covetously as a pair of electmon enjoyed a romantic walk across the valley. Her cold eyes narrowed for a moment before a sadistic and appealing thought came to her. Hiding her delight with unmatched poise, she lifted her arm gracefully, allowing her hand to lift as well and faced her palm towards the couple in a threatening manner.
"Hail of Fervor."
Her whisper was melodic and carried through the air on a fine note. The lovers were unaware of the danger they were in and were deleted within seconds of being pelted with deadly balls of ice. A satisfied smirk played across the villain's full, frigid lips before a voice unsettled the atmosphere, causing the glower to once again claim her lovely face.
"Lady Moira, the army is mobilized and awaits your orders."
"Tell them.. terrorize at will"
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Shiva didn't know what was worse: the fact that her Idto-board was now out of commission, or the fact that she was dangling about sixty feet above the ground, hanging on the edge of a cliff with a few fingers. The events of the past hour reeled through her mind as her legs swung listlessly from their point in the breeze.
A hoard of digimon, whom Gennai had suggested worked for Moira, had started assaulting villages just north of the coliseum. Naturally the guardians did their duty by taking out the ruffians and setting things back in order. Unfortunately, just when they thought they'd finished the last of them, a SkullGraymon appeared under obvious influence from Moira. Rather than attacking the village, as the other digimon had, it had directed is aggression at the guardians.
The guardians were agile on their Idto-boards in avoiding the ultimate's attempts at landing a blow, showing off many maneuvers they'd practiced while training. The predator swung its massive tail of bones towards Griff. Anticipating the move he sprang from his board, allowing the appendage to pass in between the boy and his mechanism, and landed stylishly after a flip. The momentum of the swing threw the SkullGraymon off balance and it teetered towards Angela. She summoned a spout of water from a nearby river and blasted the virus digimon in the other direction. It roared in anguish. Red eyes seemed to blaze as it prepared for an attack.
"Double Dark Shot" It howled as two missiles were shot from its back. One headed directly towards Angela. She narrowly avoided it with an escape on her Idto-board. She was not safe, however, for her assailant was still tailing her no matter how many tricks and exercises she attempted in order to shake it. Just as she felt a dull cramp materialize in her legs, she noticed the missile had slowed considerably. Looking to her right she spotted Shiva, eyes narrowed and teeth clenched in concentration. Using her psychic abilities, she was holding the missile from further tormenting her colleague. Angela gave a nod of appreciation in Shiva's direction and was sure it would have been returned if the girl had not been so preoccupied.
The second missile headed for the boys, who were slightly closer to the ground than the girls were. Tai took the honors this time and held a palm toward the impending rocket. A stream of fire erupted from his hand and flew directly at its target. Upon contact the missile exploded. Tai smirked as Griff clapped him on the back, and the two boys flew off to finish with the SkullGraymon.
Angela had left the missile in Shiva's hands and went to help the boys. Shiva's psyche was very undeveloped and, despite her attempts, she could fully stop the missile. It slowly inched towards her, vibrating roughly against her unseen force. The tension of being held in one spot began to build along with the energy from Shiva's telepathic power. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized almost too late what were about to happen. She had just enough time to dive from her board before the missile exploded. She was hardly far enough to miss the explosion and felt the back of her clothes rip along with patches of her skin char. She knew her board had not survived the blast since it had been much closer than she. She would worry about that later because right now her top priority was to figure out how she was going to do to stop herself from becoming a semi- human, quality Aunt Jemima pancake. As luck would have it, she was falling in a diagonal angle strait towards the side of a precipice. She hit the hard, rocky edge with great force and it took almost all her strength to not black out right then and there. She continued to roughly descend down the cliff as she tried to dig her fingers and toes into the earth. Her descent slowed to a halt, leaving her dangling halfway up the cliff, bloodied, bruised, and exhausted.
So here she was on the edge of a cliff, loosing her grip, several meters away from safety. Gravity was not on her good side today. Torn fingers were unable to support her weight any further. She fell.
On a lower atmosphere, the remaining guardians continued to battle with the deranged fossil. Angela and Tai were circling it, shooting various jets of fire and water, causing the beast the hiss in pain. Griff finally had enough of toying around and decided to end the conflict once and for all.
"Back up you guys, lemme try something!" The young man shouted as his board lowered him to the ground. The SkullGraymon snapped its head to the grounded boy and glared at him with unblinking crimson eyes. Griff smirked before taking a three-step run and jumped into the air. While airborne, he raised a fist above his head and brought it down upon the earth as he landed. From where his fist held contact with the ground, a crack emerged in the soil. It spread as it traveled towards the SkullGraymon, creating a canyon. The digimon was not fast enough to avoid the attack as it fell helplessly into the endless gorge. Angela sped faster than thought possible on an Idto-board to her boyfriend who had collapsed after using so much energy on an attack. Tai was about to make a comment to Shiva when he realized the girl wasn't present. He made a circle with his Idto-board searching every scene that surrounded him before he spotted her plummeting at towards the ground at an alarming speed.
"SHIVA!" Tai cried as he darted towards her in hopes of catching the girl. Alas, Tai was much to far away and the girl plunged into the river that lay beneath her. Tai thanked the gods that the river had been there, although it may not have mattered with her velocity. Hovering feet above the icy torrent, Tai scanned the water for any sign of survival from the girl, dread filling in the pit of his stomach. His spirits were lifted and hope replaced his doubt as he heard a loud gasp. A few feet ahead of him was Shiva's bobbing head, gasping for air after being held underwater so long by the current. He lowered himself further, enough to grab the girl's outstretched arm, and lifted her to the safety of the riverbank. As soon as she touched the ground she began to cough up water.
"Idiot" Tai murmured as he rubbed her back, "You'll probably be more successful in giving me a heart attack when I'm a little older. Try again in ten years. What the hell were you doing? "
Shiva lifted her head and looked at Tai. Only then did he notice how beat up she was. Scrapes and bruises covered her face as well as her head and arms. She had a large gash on her forehead and on her hip. The skin on her back had many third-degree burned which made Tai feel guilty about rubbing it before. He had a feeling she may have had a few bones broken as well from the impact she hit the water. To add to her grisly appearance, most of her clothes were shredded. Shiva gave a weak grin.
"Cliffs suck."
Tai was about to speak before Angela interrupted him, holding up a well-cooked Idto-board that was broken in half; held together only by a few wires.
"Shives isn't this yours- oh my God!" The girl rushed to her friend's side and began to immediately examine her wounds. Griff stumbled tiredly after her, still worn out from such a powerful attack, but concerned as well. After many demands Shiva finally told them how she and her Idto-board came to the state they were in.
"This is all my fault!" Angela moaned, "I should have helped you with that missile!"
"It's not your fault moron!" Shiva snapped, "It's mine! I should have been strong enough to handle one fucking missile!"
Tai figured Shiva didn't need to waste her energy on arguing and decided to end the conversation there. "Let's just go home you guys."
The rest agreed heartedly. Angela and Griff hopped on their boards and glided evenly close to the ground in the direction of a portal. Tai lifted his best friend into his arms, holding her bridal style, as he too glided on his board towards the gateway. He looked down at the now sleeping girl for a moment. He mentally berated himself for not being there for her, for not protecting her. He may not have been the leader anymore, but he still felt it was his duty to make sure everyone was safe. Looking down once more, Tai realized she was unconsciously cradling the remains of her Idto-board in her arms.
What Tai didn't realize was that he earlier referred to the coliseum as home, with the agreement of the others. Slowly but surely, their priorities were changing.
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"Former third-degree burns, two broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, fractured wrist." Gennai's accounts of Shiva's injuries were drowned by Tai's own thoughts. He tried to focus on the bandage he was applying to one of her gashes on her hip but he couldn't get out the overwhelming feeling of guilt. He also was a little perplexed at the whole situation. Shiva had still been conscious during the entire ordeal despite her injuries and a little afterwards. Enough to argue with them anyways. Of course now she wasn't conscious. As soon as she passed out in Tai's arms she never showed any suggestion of waking again. She now lay on a hospital bed in the infirmary room of the coliseum. Tai put the last finishing touches on the bandage and took a moment to look at the inactive girl.
She had no shirt on with bandaging wound around her ribcage and chest to help her broken ribs. Her back was completely heeled from any burns thanks to Tai. If one good thing came of this, he now learned that he had the ability to heal anything fire-related, which would include burns. She had large bandages on her hip and forehead to stop the bleeding from the deep gashes she managed. Her wrist was bound in an ace-bandage for her sprain. The opposite arm was held in a sling for a dislocated shoulder, most likely received from hitting the cliff on her way down.
Within ten minutes of their arrival, Griff fell fast asleep on the cool sheets of his bed. Angela, refusing to leave his side, eventually fell asleep on the same bed, nestled intimately to his body. Aside from a few scrapes and nicks where the SkullGraymon may have grazed with its claws, they were unharmed.
Gennai shook his head regretfully as she watched the two from the doorframe. The guardians were to see much worse than this.
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The next morning came and the three able guardians were out doing their routinely, sunup practice. Gennai frowned as he observed, noting that the guardians half-heartedly carried out their procedures. This was in all probability because of the missing fourth.
Griff was making his run more interesting by having various roots and branches lash out at him, forcing him to maneuver in any way to avoid the assaults. Angela was seeing how high she could get a spout of water to carry her before she lost control of it and dove back into the refreshing pool. Gennai was about to turn his attention to Tai when he found a large message burning of flame in the ground of the training vicinity.
SUCK MY MEAT
Tai stood next to it, grinning like a madman and waving excitedly, obviously very proud of himself. He then turned to face the text and blew it out with one breath. Gennai scowled at his insolence. Perhaps they weren't to down about yesterday after all.
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Tai came bounding down the hall towards the infirmary. Their schooling had just finished for the day and he couldn't wait to see Shiva after hearing the news that she had woken up. He opened the door with his free hand and saw the girl sitting up in bed, looking particularly healthy.
"I have a question." Shiva's eyes remained on the Amelia Bedelia book she was reading.
"So do I," Tai replied, leaning against the doorframe with a cup of ramen in hand, "why the hell are you reading that?"
Shiva chose to ignore the comment and proceeded with the question while avidly changing the page. "If Amelia is such a dope and can only cook, then why the hell do people hire her as maid instead of a cook?"
"Couldn't tell ya. Brought you lunch."
Shiva dropped the book and greedily snatched the offered food, shoveling it into her mouth. It was almost surprising that someone from such a refined family should possess such disregard for manners. Tai was accustomed to her hypocritical ways; she couldn't stand it when people lacked manners in her own presence. Tai did a double take when he noticed not only was her ace-bandage off her wrist, but her whole sling was missing. In fact, the only sign of medical aid was the one wrapped around her chest for broken ribs, just barely visible behind her green tank top.
"Shiva, where's your bandages?" After saying this he also realized the bandage on her forehead was missing, replaced by a scar. All her scrapes were gone and she lacked most of her bruises. "Then again, where's your everything?"
"Pshh, band aids are for wimps."
"Shiva.."
"Alright, alright, look," Shiva lifted up her wrist, spoon in hand, and twisted it around, "no more sprain. As for the cuts and shit, well.. I think healing is one of my talents."
"What about your arm, I thought you dislocated it?"
"I relocated it."
"That's disgusting."
"What? Am I drooling?"
"No the arm thing."
"Loser."
"Freak."
"Look who's talking."
".. I don't want to play anymore."
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Saturday afternoon arrived on a pleasant sunny day in the digital world. Instead of searching for prophesies the guardians were allowed some free time that was spent wisely; i.e. watching T.V., video games, etc. Shiva's ribs just about made a full recovery and she no longer needed any support from bandages. For about two hours Tai couch-potatoed it before he could stand the squandering of such a gorgeous day no more.
"Where are you going?" Shiva's focus was still on the screen as she sensed his presence's departure.
"Going for a walk. I'm gunna see what Griff likes so much about that forest, wanna join?"
".. Uh .." Shiva was already zoned out on the T.V. before she finished the answer. Tai just shrugged and continued his way around the coliseum halls and outside, where the fresh air and high sun cleared his senses and warmed his skin. He set off to the north, passing the training grounds on his way, and headed into the forest.
He followed a single, ample, dirt road until he reached a breaking point. From there the road broke out into several, sinuous and narrow, dirt paths. Tai had to admire Griff for actually coming out of the forest alive every morning as well as wonder how in the hell he could ever remember his way through all those. Waving it off, Tai chose a course that looked the least intricate and began to walk tranquilly through the serene woodland. As he walked, Tai rested his arms behind his head and closed his eyes in comfort. Very relaxed, he noted what a perfect day it was to take a walk.
Tai's eyes abruptly flew open and his breath hitched in his throat as a sharp pain shot between his shoulder blades. He twisted and clawed at his back in a poor effort to stop the ache but the pain just intensified and spread further across his back. In a panic, Tai hastily yanked his shirt from his body and over his head, stumbling blindly off the earthy trail and into a nearby tree in the process. He slammed his back into the trunk, applying pleasure to the source of the hurt. This did nothing to ease it and Tai whimpered piteously. Unbeknown to him, his shoulder blades began to inflame and if one were to witness this event, they would see a barebacked being with two bulging lumps growing out of his back.
Quickly switching positions, Tai twisted to face the tree and gripped its bark, tearing it from its place in hopes to relieve some of the stress. He arched his back and dropped his head in an attempt to stop the pain that was rapidly increasing. Beads of sweat formed on his brow while he bit back a cry from his distress. He felt his skin tear as something shot out of his back; he couldn't hold his voice any longer. He let out a strident, excruciating cry of pain before collapsing to his knees. That seemed to do it. The pain had vanished almost as startlingly as it had appeared and all that was left to remind him of the affair was a dull throbbing lingering across his back. Scraps of bark that he shred from the plant were now littered about trembling frame.
Tai turned so that his back was once again facing the tree and leaned heavily against it for support. His heavy pants slowed as he realized, instead of feeling the rough bark on his bare back, he felt something soft and soothing. Craning his neck to the left, Tai's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What the..?"
