Chapter Seven

Wizarmon didn't expect a wake-up call the next morning, so it came as a surprise when Tailmon somehow fell and landed right on his head. He sat up and yawned, the white cat tumbling into his lap. He stretched and yawned again, rubbing his eyes. "Tailmon. Come on, time to get up. Tailmon, wake up."

"Two more hours, Mom." Tailmon murmured, but rolled up and yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Okay, okay I'm up."

Wizarmon let out another yawn before looking around. "So, where are we?"

Tailmon rubbed her eyes a bit more before taking a look. Instantly, she was wide awake. She didn't recognize these landmarks; none of the trees nor mountains nor even the grass looked familiar to her. She and her mother traveled around for so long and so far, but they never came here before.

Wizarmon noticed the look on her face. "Well? Which way?"

Tailmon felt a small sense of panic. "Um…..I think it's that way."

"You think or you know?" Wizarmon asked suspiciously.

"Uh, that way?" Tailmon offered weakly.

Wizarmon groaned. "Why wasn't I turned into a homing Hawkmon?" he muttered, jumping off the Mammothmon and walking off. "Well come on!"

Tailmon frowned. "Hey, riding Mammothmon was your idea!" Tailmon snapped. "Thanks for the ride, guys! See ya!" She leaped off and ran after Wizarmon.

Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon snored heavily as they slept on the still-walking Mammothmon. They remained unaware that their "Guardian Majin" left without them.

Gotsumon snorted in his sleep. "P-Pumpkinmon. Remember we have to stay with our big guardian Digimon, okay?"

"Right, right." Pumpkinmon muttered in his sleep. "Whatever you say."

"Lucky for you, I've been lost worse than this before." Tailmon assured as she and Wizarmon kept walking.

"Sure, sure." Wizarmon muttered, his frustration rekindling.

"Last summer," Tailmon started. "I was digging for roots with Pata—"

"No stories! Not now!" Wizarmon snapped. "I don't care about the time you and Puggamon found the world's biggest pine cone ever!" He stomped off, grumbling to himself.

"First of all, his name's Patamon, not Puggamon!" Tailmon snapped. "Second, it wasn't a pine cone. It was a pine nut. And it was huge! Even bigger than your fat head!"

"I'd rather have a big head than a big mouth like yours!" Wizarmon snapped.

"If you have a big head, you have a big mouth!" Tailmon sassed. "That's a given!" Wizarmon growled to himself, still stomping angrily as they kept walking. Tailmon sighed and quickened her pace to keep up with him. They remained silent for several tense moments. "I'm sorry we're lost, okay?" Tailmon offered. She lowered her tone to a mutter. "Even though it's pretty much your fault."

Wizarmon's eye twitched. "My fault?! Ugh, that's it!" He quickened his paced, wanting to get away from the cat Digimon.

"Just remember," Tailmon reminded him, matching his speed. "If it weren't for me, you'd still be hanging upside-down right now."

Wizarmon whirled around to look at her, advancing a few steps and making her back up. "Better than being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a cat who has no attention span and doesn't know when it's time to stop talking! 'I'm lost. I can't find my mommy. Would you take me to the Nomigid Festival?' Why don't you just grow up?"

Tailmon kept the fierce glare in her eyes. "Fine! I'll just go on my own, then."

"Fine! Go ahead! I never wanted you around anyway!" Wizarmon snapped.

"Fine!" Tailmon growled.

"Fine!" Wizarmon shouted.

Tailmon's eyes narrowed. "Fine." She turned and stomped off, blinking back her tears and keeping her back to Wizarmon.

The Majin watched her go for a moment until she disappeared behind the rocks. But once she left, he felt a pang of guilt. What was he thinking? Leaving a little kid like her walking around. In all technicality, he was the oldest and he took it upon himself to watch out for her, even if he was forced to. I can't leave her alone. He decided, moving forward to follow the cat. "Tailmon!"

Tailmon didn't pause until she rounded a corner and a new scent caught her nose. Curious, she kept going and gasped at the sight before her. Wizarmon came around the corner and had a similar reaction, slowly following Tailmon as they passed what looked like an old human cave, paintings drawn all over the rock walls.

"Whoa." Tailmon breathed, staring in awe at all the paintings of the different Digimon native to the area. Wizarmon followed her, staring at the old paintings. He paused at the sight of some black marks, and discovered handprints surrounded by what he assumed was coal dust. Staring at the handprints, he pulled off one of his gloves and stared at his own hand. He never had the chance to really look at his hand, and he realized the lines and fingerprints in his skin didn't look like the ones in human hands. In fact, the lines were mostly jagged, like lightning bolts. Wizarmon pressed his hand against one of the hands already on the wall, his heart heavy. The handprints only reminded him of his greatest dream: to be a man, to get his handprint on the wall back in the village. Sighing sadly, Wizarmon pulled back his hand and put his glove back on, staring at the print he left on the wall. His gaze continued up the trail of pictures, leading further into the cave. Whoever used to live here, they did an excellent job with the drawings. Several circles made up of the Digimon drawings graced the ceiling of the cave. In his mind, Wizarmon could remember all the stories Renamon would tell about the Digimon Sovereign and the spirits and all the legends of their world. As a child, Wizarmon wondered if he could ever be like that. Could he be so great that he would leave a legend behind when he passed?

A painting, almost separate from the others, stood out to Wizarmon, and not just because the late afternoon sun shined on it. Gasping softly, he approached the painting and took in its appearance: a stick figure human, armed with a spear, battling a Holydramon. He stared at the Holydramon picture, his battle with the Beast Digimon still fresh in his mind. At that moment, Wizarmon wondered if him and Tailmon coming to this cave was pure luck or some sort of fate.

Tailmon came up behind Wizarmon, but her eyes widened at the sight of the picture he stared at. She bounded up behind him and cowered a bit behind his legs. She peered out slowly, staring at the human drawing. "Those monsters are really scary. Especially with those sticks."

Wizarmon's eyes widened a bit, realizing Tailmon referred to the human. Now that he thought about it, Takeru sure looked terrifying when he was trying to kill them. But is that what all Digimon felt when Ken and his brother's went hunting? In the village, they were taught to respect the lives of Digimon. Any Digimon they killed for food and supplies was honored and killed painlessly. Hunters prayed for their kill in order to appease the Sovereigns and assure them that the death was necessary for survival. Still, the Digimon probably didn't find it honorable nor necessary.

"Come on." Wizarmon urged in a soft voice. "Let's go." He began walking off, Tailmon close behind.

The two of them remained silent for a while. Then, Tailmon spoke up. "Sorry I got us lost."

Wizarmon looked to her and then shrugged. "No problem. You're right; without you, I wouldn't have made it so far. Sorry I lost my temper."

Tailmon smiled. "It's okay. I still think you're pretty cool. Even if you are a little weird." She bounded ahead, laughing.

"Oh, I'm weird?" Wizarmon laughed, running after her. "You're the one who hangs out with a Digimon that looks like a hamster with wings!" They laughed again, continuing to walk in hopes Tailmon recognized anything. After a while, the cat complained a little about her feet hurting. Wizarmon, chuckling that she could be taken out by sore feet, decided to let her ride on his shoulders.

"So, you recognize anything yet?" Wizarmon asked, chuckling as Tailmon insisted on pulling on his hat and wearing it herself. The headwear kept slipping down over her eyes. "Or maybe you can't see past my fat head." Tailmon giggled, feeling a little guilty at the name calling from before. Wizarmon chuckled. "So, do you really think I have a fat head?"

"Well, if you hunched your shoulders a little, it wouldn't seem so big." Tailmon teased.

Wizarmon smirked. "Oh, you mean like this?" He jerked one of his shoulders, almost knocking Tailmon off. She giggled uncontrollably. "Or like this?" He jerked the other shoulder. "How about this?" He shrugged his shoulders quickly, almost sending Tailmon to the ground. The two of them laughed, only interrupted by the sound of two things hitting each other. Looking up, they saw two Veemon on the ridge ahead of them.

"Hey, maybe they can give us directions." Tailmon suggested.

The two Veemon lunged for each other, crying out "V Head Butt!" before colliding their skulls together.

"Oh, that clears up the sinuses!" the first Veemon laughed.

"Oh it does." His companion agreed.

"Hit me again!" Veemon 1 urged. "I think she's looking! Hello, sweetie!" The two of them turned their attention to a pink-colored, female Veemon standing off to one side with the rest of the pack. She looked up to them curiously, only to roll her eyes and continue on her way.

"Oh yeah, she's checking me out, all right." Veemon 2 chuckled. "Hey baby!"

"What?" Veemon 1 blinked. "No, no, no. Come on, you nitwit. Are you out of your head? She's looking at me. Look at that!"

"Right. Like she's looking at your ugly mug?" Veemon 2 scoffed.

Veemon 1 looked plenty insulted. "My—excuse me, miss, one second—it's go time, baby!"

"Oh, you want to go?" Veemon 2 goaded, the two of them butting heads again.

"Uh, hey!" Wizarmon called as he approached, catching the two Veemon's attention. "Excuse me?"

"What do you want?!" Veemon 2 shouted. He and his companion jumped at the sound of an echo. "What is that? Who is that?"

"Just a minute, Majin." Veemon 1 said before turning out towards the direction of the second voice. "Hey! Shut up!"

The echo called back, "Hey, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No you shut up!"

"No you shut up!"

"Hey, will you shut up?"

"Hey, will you shut up?"

"JUST SHUT UP!"

"JUST SHUT UP!"

Tailmon chuckled. "I think their skulls are screwed on a little too tight." Wizarmon chuckled, agreeing that those two Veemon certainly weren't the sharpest spears in the armory. Tailmon suddenly sniffed the air. "Hey, wait a second." She put Wizarmon's hat back on his head and leaped off his shoulders, bounding forward. "I know this place!"

"You do?" Wizarmon asked hopefully, following the cat.

"Yeah, the Nomigid Festival's not far." Tailmon nodded, bounding up the path with Wizarmon close behind. "We just have to go through here." Wizarmon came to stand beside her, and his jaw dropped at the sight of "here": an old lava field. Bursts of hot geyser mist shot from the ground in random places and random times. Wizarmon stared at Tailmon, hoping she was kidding. But the cat looked to him innocently. "What?"

Reluctantly, Wizarmon followed Tailmon into the field, his skin already beginning to perspire from the heat. After several close calls and about half an hour of wandering, Wizarmon felt his nerves begin to break. "Hey, are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Yeah, yeah! Follow me." Tailmon assured, bounding ahead of him.

Wizarmon jumped as the rock cracked beneath his feet and steam hissed out. "Tailmon! Tailmon!" But he soon discovered the feline Digimon disappeared from sight. "Tailmon? Where are you?" He tried to feel her presence, something he had been trying to master so he could do it on a whim, but he felt nothing until the last second and—

"Boo!"

"AAH!"

Wizarmon fell back, staring at Tailmon as she literally rolled on the ground laughing. "Don't do that!"

"Scared you, didn't I?" Tailmon giggled.

"There's scared, and then there's surprised." Wizarmon corrected.

"And you were both." Tailmon giggled again, but paused as something caught her eye. "Whoa." She breathed, walking up to what looked like a huge skull, carved in the rock. Wizarmon noticed she had her full attention on the rock, and he got a crafty smile on his face. Carefully, he snuck up to be right behind Tailmon, and let out his fiercest and loudest roar. Tailmon turned with an amused smile. "Nice try. But nothing can scare me."

Wizarmon gave a deadpanned look. "Tch, whatever."

Tailmon gasped. "Wizarmon!"

"You're not getting me this time." Wizarmon laughed.

"No, Wizarmon, look out!" Tailmon warned, just as a spear whistled through the air and hit the ground inches from Wizarmon's feet. The two of them jumped, and that's when Wizarmon noticed his totem tied around the spear. Turning, his eyes locked onto Takeru as the boy leaped down towards them, armed with a knife and his murderous glare locked onto his prey.

"No…." Wizarmon breathed.

"Come on!" Tailmon cried, taking off into the mist. Takeru advanced slowly towards Wizarmon, knife raised and ready to strike down the Majin. Wizarmon held his staff ready, wanting nothing more than to somehow show his brother who he was attacking. Suddenly, his foot broke through a weak section of stone and let out the steam underneath. Wizarmon eyed the cracks in the ground, right between him and Takeru. Narrowing his eyes, Wizarmon spun his staff in his hands and waited as Takeru charged for him with an angry shout. Wizarmon, at the last second, slammed his staff down and broke the rock, sending a burst of steam up that caused Takeru to fall back and give the Majin his chance to run. He charged through the lava field, panting a little, but not stopping until he reached a fallen tree that connected the field to the forest across a canyon.

"Wizarmon!" Tailmon's voice called in the air. Wizarmon paused, looking around and weighing the odds that Tailmon already reached the other side of the log.

Tailmon hadn't; she was lost in the lava field and looking all around for her friend. "Wizarmon, where are you?" Suddenly, she spied a shadow coming through the steam, and she turned to make a break for it. Then, Wizarmon scooped her up into an arm and took off running, back towards the log and to safety. Though he was hit with steam along the way, he didn't stop running as he held Tailmon close to his chest. Tailmon's claws dug into his vest, her little body shaking a bit. Finally, they reached the log, and Wizarmon jumped up onto it to run across. His foot slipped on a wet patch, and he fell to his stomach. He almost dropped Tailmon, but kept a firm grip on her fur. Slowly standing and bringing her in close once more. Wizarmon began inching his way across the log. He eyed the river, far below them, and he decided it would be better to focus on the other side of the log.

"Wizarmon!" Tailmon gasped, causing the Majin to turn and see Takeru coming up. But rather than come up on the log, Takeru drove his spear underneath it and began prying it up from the ground. Wizarmon yelped as he slipped again, still keeping a tight grip on Tailmon. But once he was on his feet again, he threw Tailmon to solid ground. She stood up quickly, watching in horror as Takeru broke his spear but resolved to pushing the log off the edge. Wizarmon yelped again as he ran up the wood, jumping and managing to catch the roots still stuck into the rock. He hauled himself to the ground, Tailmon right there with him.

"No!" Takeru shouted in frustration, angry the Majin lived. He began pacing back and forth, muttering and growling under his breath. Wizarmon and Tailmon watched, both with worry but for different reasons. Takeru threw a rock towards them, but then collapsed to his hands and knees and bowed his head, going still.

"What are you doing?!" Tailmon urged, tugging on Wizarmon's cape. "We got to get out of here!"

Wizarmon stared at Takeru for a long moment, wanting to shout to him but knowing Takeru would never understand him. So, accepting the situation, he turned and began walking towards the forest, casting one last sad glance to his brother before continuing with Tailmon by his side.

Takeru glared after his targets, picking up the broken spear head. Ken's totem still remained, and the sight of it reminded Takeru why he had chased this Majin for so long. The sight of his brother's torn clothing still burned fresh in his memory, and he could never forget the look in that Majin's eyes. Like it wasn't even aware or just didn't care about the atrocity it committed. Takeru seethed with rage, and suddenly he pushed himself to his feet and ran forward. With a mighty shout, he leaped off the cliff. Wizarmon screamed, but the sound only came out like a crash of thunder. Takeru hit the log, stabbing the spear head into it to catch himself. Wizarmon hurried to the cliff edge, staring down at his brother with wide, horrified eyes. Takeru struggled to pull himself up, keeping a firm grip on the log. But as he looked up to the Majin, he noticed the horrified look in the Digimon's eyes. Why did it look at him like that, as though concerned for his safety? Why did he care what it thought of him? Why did the Majin's eyes suddenly look lavender instead of green?

Suddenly, the roots began to break from the extra weight, and even though Wizarmon desperately tried to keep it up, the log fell free and down into the river. He kept his eyes on the water until he saw Takeru surface again, grabbing the log as it floated downstream and took him with it. Wizarmon stared sadly after him, his heart breaking.

Tailmon came to stand next to Wizarmon, looking down at the hunter. What was it about this hunter that seemed so different about the others she'd seen? Why was it so intent on killing them?

Why did Wizarmon seem to care about him?