Last time…After suffering a painful defeat to Jaymon and losing the Spirit of Wood in the process, the children set off in search of a Beast Spirit, but were intercepted by Jaymon once more. Just when all hope seemed lost, they found the Beast Spirit of Earth: Latranamon.

Chapter 10: Awakening

Every man has a wild beast within him.
-Frederick the Great

The rocks comprising Latranamon's tail grated together as it swept first one way then the other, but as of yet no one had made any move to attack. They were waiting, Mercurymon supposed, wondering whether the Beast Spirit would be strong enough to defeat Jaymon. Perhaps they were worried, too – Mercurymon certainly was, for Latranamon had yet to say anything since announcing his evolution. He hadn't reassured Taura, or taunted Jaymon, or told Kado to stop gaping and find somewhere to hide.

A new force shall awaken…to divide and destroy as well as to conquer and save.

Mercurymon couldn't get the prophecy out of his head. Was Latranamon going to save them, and the digimon of Forest Vale? Or would this new Spirit prove their undoing?

"Granite Claw!"

Jaymon had drifted too low in the tense silence, and Latranamon took the opportunity to lunge, claws extending until they were nearly two feet long. Jaymon squawked and flapped his wings, lifting out of the way just in time. The Beast Spirit crashed into a building across the street.

"Jomei!" Ranamon cried, dashing forward, but Latranamon paid her no mind, and Mercurymon had to pull her backward so the canine digimon wouldn't trample her as he charged after his opponent.

"Woah, there, fido," Jaymon cackled. "Someone's gonna get hurt if you don't watch it. And it ain't gonna be me."

"Howling Concussion!" Leaping over a half crumbled wall, Latranamon landed with enough force to send up a shockwave that threw chunks of stone fifty feet into the air. Mercurymon and Ranamon were thrown to the ground, pummeled with pebbles and fist-sized stones; Kado and Tapirmon would have been obliterated, had they not managed to duck into an intact house just as the attack reached them. The shockwave was even strong enough to knock Jaymon off balance. Latranamon's jaws latched onto his leg, dragging him to the ground, where the two massive digimon landed with a crash.

"Dousing Torrent!" Jaymon cried, sending Latranamon skidding back. As the canine scrambled to right himself, his hind claws tore into Mercurymon, ripping off his right buckler and eliciting a pained cry.

"Nao!" Kado cried, reappearing in the doorway with Tapirmon.

"Howling Concussion!" Latranamon growled.

"Howling Concussion!" Jaymon mimicked.

The two shockwaves collided, demolishing what remained of the block, but the two digimon wasted no time in charging toward each other, one growling, the other screeching.

"Get up!" Ranamon hissed, yanking on Mercurymon's arm. He staggered to his feet, stumbled as she shoved him away from the battle, then regained his balance and started running. The two darted into the building where Kado and Tapirmon had taken shelter. Mercurymon scooped up the boy, while Ranamon seized the digimon's hoof and dragged him along behind her.

"Wait!" Kado cried, writhing in Mercurymon's arms. "Where are we going?"

Ranamon scowled and leaped over the remains of a sculpture. "As far away as possible!"

"What's wrong with him?" Mercurymon asked, glancing over his shoulder to where the battle raged on. A plume of smoke and dust billowed up from a now demolished building. "It's like he doesn't even know we're here!"

"It's the Beast Spirit," Tapirmon gasped. "Bokomon said they were harder to control."

"What?" Ranamon shrieked, glaring at the Rookie. "And you didn't think to tell us sooner?"

"I thought he meant it would take a few tries until you figured out the most effective use of the power! I didn't think it would actually…"

"A new power…" Mercurymon muttered.

Ranamon frowned at him. "What?"

"The prophecy. You said it made the Beast Spirits sound like they had a will of their own. What if you were right?"

Their running footsteps faltered for a moment as another crash shook the city. Fear settled in their guts as they pressed on. Fear for their own safety…and fear for Jomei.

-.-.-.-

Pain lanced up his spine as Latranamon's fangs sank into his back. The armor there had long since fallen away, complement of a Granite Claw that had simply been too fast to avoid. Jaymon's wings were weak, on the verge of giving out, and he could no longer hover out of range of the Beast Spirit's attacks. But neither was he ready to surrender.

"Cedar Snare!"

Snarling, Latranamon snapped at the roots that entwined his legs, and within seconds he was free, barreling into Jaymon's chest, sending him crashing into a buiding. Yet more rubble fell to the ground.

"Tree Cannon! Steel Alloy! Sandstorm!"

The dual projectiles and luminous shards bounced harmlessly off the stony armor, but the final attack connected, sending the canine flying, landing with a yelp, tumbling into a pile of rubble.

"Hah!" Jaymon cried triumphantly. "Not so tough now, are ya?"

"Howling Concussion!"

Now it was Jaymon's turn to be sent flying, landing in a heap on a rooftop beyond where their battle had taken them so far. Before he could rise, the Legendary Warrior was atop him, growling in his face. Warm saliva dripped onto his beak.

"Granite Claw," Latranamon growled, and his claws extended, slowly this time, until their diamond-hard edges pressed against his throat. A strangled cry made it out, but Jaymon knew better than to struggle.

"Go ahead and kill me," Jaymon taunted. "Just do me a favor and kill your friends, next." His only answer was a snarl as Latranamon drew back his claws to finish him off. In that moment, Jaymon wrapped his wings around the canine and steeled himself for one final attack.

"Acorn Hoarder!"

The acorn bombs materialized inside his wings, and when they detonated, both digimon cried out in agony. Latranamon was thrown back, fractal code wrapping around him, but Jaymon turned and fled, in too much pain to think about taking they child's spirits. In fact, it was all he could do to hobble between the buildings and out of the city, where he collapsed in the forest and prayed the other humans didn't follow him.

-.-.-.-

"I think he's waking up."

Groaning, Jomei flung a hand up over his face to ward off the offensive daylight. Beside him, someone shifted and laid a hand on his arm. He opened his eyes and found Taura's gaze searching his, concern etched on her grimy face.

"How is he?" That was Naoko, and even he sounded worried. What had happened to him?

Somehow, Jomei managed to sit up, though Taura fought him. "I'm fine," he grunted. "What happened?" The last thing he could remember was Jaymon grabbing him, carrying him higher, higher, then dropping him; the mangled building rushing up to meet him, then…

"You got your Beast Spirit," Taura murmured. She sounded…scared?

"I don't remember anything…Jaymon – did I beat him?"

"Kinda," Taura said evasively, looking at the others for a long moment before she continued. "You got closer than we did last time, anyway."

There was more; he could hear it in her voice. "But…something else happened."

"It wasn't your fault," Tapirmon assured him, hovering a few feet away, between Kado and Naoko. "The Beast Spirit's power is on an entirely different level from the Human Spirits."

"Tapirmon!" Taura hissed.

Jomei paled, glancing from Taura to Kado to Naoko, looking for injuries. "What did I do? Oh, no – your spirits!"

"No!" Taura shook her head. "Nothing like that! We're all fine! You just…knocked down a few empty old buildings is all." Her voice became meek and she dropped her eyes. "The city's abandoned anyway. Who's going to notice?"

But Jomei had already climbed to his feet and was surveying the wreckage. A few buildings? Whole neighborhoods were leveled! In some areas, nothing larger than a dime remained, and the whole area swam with dust.

His legs felt weak, whether from shock or exhaustion he couldn't say, and he fell to his knees, gaping at the destruction. He had done this? How much power did his Beast Spirit have? And how could he not remember any of it?

"Jomei?" Taura asked softly, crouching beside him. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he choked out, though in all honesty, he felt completely rotten.

She sighed, obviously not fooled. "If you want to talk…" she started, but Jomei shook his head. "Okay. But you do need to rest. Let's head back to Forest Vale and –"

"No."

"Huh?"

Jomei turned away from her and shook his head. "You can go back if you want, but I'm not coming. I'm not bringing this...thing anywhere near innocent digimon. It's pure luck that New Forest Terminal was abandoned! But digimon live in Forest Vale – what if they get hurt?"

Falling silent, the boy realized he was shaking and folded his arms across his chest. Taura said nothing for a second, but then she shook her head.

"They won't."

"How do you know that?" he snapped, turning to glare at her. She didn't flinch.

"Because I know you would never hurt them, Beast Spirit or no. You're stronger than that. I mean, you know what to expect now; you can fight it off next time! You remember how it was with the Human Spirits – it was like Ranamon was helping me when I first evolved, but the second time, I was doing it alone. The second time won't be nearly as bad! I promise!"

"These aren't Human Spirits we're dealing with, Taura. That thing didn't 'help' me. It completely took over! I…no. I'm not going to risk it."

"I doubt we'd be able to get back anyway," Kado piped up, "unless a Trailmon comes by. Otherwise, it's an awfully long walk."

"Travel of any kind is apt to be a challenge at the moment," Tapirmon agreed. "I propose we find accommodations here for tonight and utilize the time to plan our next move."

"Accommodations?" Taura scoffed. "Please. Nothing around here deserved that big a word. Let's just hope whatever we find isn't going to come crashing down on top of us while we sleep."

There were no arguments, so the weary group set off across the city until they reached a section that had been far enough away from the day's battle to be relatively intact. When they found a suitable building, they gathered inside, everyone watching Jomei warily, until finally Taura sent Naoko, Kado, and Tapirmon to try to find some food.

"You have to try again eventually, you know," Taura said once they were alone.

"I know that," Jomei replied, voice tight and annoyed. "I'm just going to try not to put anyone in danger next time."

Taura sighed. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about?"

They fell silent, saying nothing until the others returned, apparently successful in their search. The food was bland, despite its bright color, but filling, and before long the children set about discussing their plans for the next encounter. Not that there was much to discuss.

"We should have enough time to recover, but Jaymon's wounds seemed to heal pretty quick last time," Taura mused. "He'll probably be back by tomorrow, or the day after that at the latest."

"We should be fine if Jomei can control his Beast Spirit," Kado pointed out.

"What do you mean 'if'?" Jomei snapped. "I'd like to see you try and control your Beast Spirit, since you seem to think it's so easy!"

"I didn't mean –"

Jomei snorted. "Yeah, sure. Well sorry for being such a screw-up, but I didn't exactly plan on losing control!"

"Young man!" Tapirmon reprimanded. "I understand that it has been a stressful day, but that outburst was quite unwarranted, especially coming from a Legendary Warrior."

"No kidding," Naoko muttered, then cringed as Jomei's glare turned to him. "All Kado meant was you're the best chance we have of beating Jaymon."

"Whatever," Jomei grumbled, retreating to the far side of the room. "Just wake me up when my watch comes."

-.-.-.-

"They beat you again?"

"They didn't beat me!" Jaymon insisted. He was tired and sore, and it had taken him most of the day to reach the Nest, injured as he was. The last thing he wanted was for his two comrades to mock him again. "Don't you remember? I got one of their Spirits!"

Raptormon was perched on a rocky outcropping overhead, black eyes gleaming in his white helmet, which covered the top mandible of his beak as well as his entire head. Like Jaymon, he had bird wings in place of arms, and they were jet black with yellow tips. A gray breastplate covered his white chest, and bronze arrowheads dangled from the bottom, reaching almost to his waist. And indeed, he had a waist, and humanoid legs, which were clad in black leather pants. Bronze armor covered his knees and shins, and formed artificial talons that jutted out from his black boots.

"And did you get another spirit this time?" Raptormon teased, cocking his head to the side.

"Well…no."

"Ha! You're so useless, Jaymon! Why do we even keep you around?"

Fuming, Jaymon spread his wings. "Shut up! Acorn –"

"That's enough!"

"Egalamon!" Jaymon cried, recoiling from her angry glower. The acorns that had begun to materialize dropped to the ground, where they dissolved without exploding.

Raptormon stretched his wings nonchalantly. "Hey there, sis. Look who got trounced again."

Rolling her eyes, Egalamon looked over Jaymon's wounds and sighed. A fringe of golden feathers framed her head, looking almost like hair, but the rest of her body was a deep russet. Strips of green cloth criss-crossed her chest and wings. "What am I going to do with you? Herbal Remedy!"

The cloth glowed with a green light that streamed toward Jaymon and surrounded him, healing his wounds. He stretched his wings as the pain eased.

"I'm sorry, Egalamon," he murmured when she had finished. "I didn't expect the Beast Spirit to be so strong. I'll do better next time! I swear!"

"Maybe I should go," Raptormon suggested, hopping off his perch and fluttering to the ground. "Y'know. Make sure they don't get any more Beast Spirits."

"No!" Jaymon cried. "Just give me one more chance!"

"You already had another chance!" Raptormon snapped. "We can't afford to make any mistakes with these humans."

Jaymon cocked his head. "You aren't scared of that old prophecy, are you?"

"Of course not! I'm just saying, the last time humans were in our world, they turned out to be more powerful than any digimon. We have to stop these kids before they get that kind of power."

"Those are just stories! No human is that powerful!"

"Well then I guess you're just pathetically weak!"

"Hey! C'mon, sis!" Jaymon whined. "Make him stop!"

Turning to leave, Egalamon shook her head. "Stop bickering, you two. I swear, you two are a couple of Rookies. Jaymon! You have one more chance. Don't lose again."

-.-.-.-

"Jomei!"

When Jomei opened his eyes, it was dark out, so naturally he figured Taura was waking him for his watch. Then he heard her shushing Kado, who was groaning as she shook him, and Jomei knew something was wrong.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

The three children, now fully awake, stiffened at Jaymon's taunting, exchanging anxious glances in the dark room.

"How is he back already?" Taura asked in a terrified whisper as she scrambled to where Naoko was still asleep; Jomei turned to Tapirmon. "This isn't fair!"

"You expect the Flock to fight fair?" Jomei snorted, hastily covering Tapirmon's mouth as the warthog digimon jolted out of a dream, wide-eyed and confused.

Behind him, Naoko groaned. "What's going on?"

"Jaymon's back," Kado whispered.

"What?" Tapirmon squeaked, shaking off Jomei's hand. "Now?"

"What do we do?" Naoko asked.

Taura stood, and the light from the screen of her D-Tector illuminated her face, which was lined with exhaustion and fear, and still streaked with sweat and dust. Her ponytail, too, was disheveled, but she didn't seem to notice the loose strands that fell into her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? We have to fight him."

Jomei stood as well, ignoring the growing knot of unease as he reached for his own D-Tector. He glanced at Kado and Tapirmon, remembering how Jaymon had nearly killed them earlier that day. How he had probably almost done the same while the Beast Spirit was in control. Without the Spirit of Wood, Kado would be too vulnerable. He turned to Taura. "Let's wait until we're a few blocks away before we evolve. We don't want Jaymon to know where we were sleeping."

They nodded and snuck out the door, glancing around for any sign of Jaymon before dashing down the street. As they left, Jomei could hear Tapirmon urging Kado to come back inside before the bird saw him. Then they passed out of earshot, and Jomei forced himself to stop worrying about the little brat. He would be safe – safer than the three older kids, at any rate.

Once they were far enough away, they stopped, nodded at each other, and raised their digivices.

"Execute: Spirit Evolution!"

"Ranamon!"

"Mercurymon!"

"Grumblemon!"

-.-.-.-

The three stood in silence for a moment, then Ranamon glared at Grumblemon. "Why didn't you use your Beast Spirit?"

He said nothing, his eyes trained on the sky until Jaymon swooped over, at which point the Warrior of Earth created a hammer from the remains of a nearby wall and leaped into the air.

"Bureiku!" he roared, and the hammer began to glow. Jaymon swerved, and Grumblemon managed only a glancing blow.

"Nice aim, dirt face!" the bird cackled, but his mirth soon faltered. "Huh?" Glancing down, he saw that the attack had not been as harmless as he had thought: one of his talons had been turned to stone. "What did you do?"

Grumblemon smirked and slung his hammer over his shoulder. "Next time, it won't just be just a talon. Fertile Fist!" The attack flew over Jaymon's head as he tucked his wings against his sides and dropped twenty feet…

"Aqualine Metamorphosis!"

…and easily within range of Ranamon's attack. Jaymon was sent tumbling through the air, but caught himself just short of Mercurymon's Alchemy Blade and rose into the air, well away from the three Warriors.

"Steel Alloy!" Jaymon shrieked, sending a hailstorm of metal shards down at them. Mercurymon darted in front of Ranamon and began absorbing the attack into both shields while Grumblemon charged forward.

"Sandstorm!"

Grumblemon's attack deflected the shards heading his way. As he directed the twister toward Jaymon, the bird ceased his attack, lashing out with his talons as Grumblemon emerged with a kick of his own. Unfortunately, Jaymon was faster and stronger, and Grumblemon landed hard, taking out a wall before he skidded to a stop.

"Irony Shield!"

Having been in the middle of laughing at Grumblemon's fall, Jaymon didn't have time to avoid the reflected shards, and wound up with a myriad of scratches. Unfortunately, they did little more than irritate him.

"Acorn Hoarder!"

The Warriors scattered, diving behind walls that crumbled as the acorns exploded. Grumblemon scowled and began to scrap together a plan. When the barrage subsided, Mercurymon was the first to venture a counterattack:

"Steel Alloy!"

Ranamon prepared an attack of her own, but Grumblemon grabbed her elbow.

"See if you can get him to fly lower," he muttered, then dashed off down a side street. Frowning, Ranamon stared after him for only a moment before Mercurymon's cry of alarm drew her attention back to the battle.

"Ranamon! Look out!"

"Tree Cannon!"

She only had time to spin around before the projectiles slammed into her, knocking the breath from her lungs and tossing her backward. Her head cracked against the ground, but she managed to flip over as her slide continued, so she wound up in a crouch, rather than flat on her back. Lips twitching into a frown, she summoned a Vapor Trident and rejoined the battle.

Jaymon had managed to pin Mercurymon, knocking aside his Alchemy Blade and cracking the mirror that served as his face. Leaping as high as she could manage, Ranamon descended on the Ultimate, plunging her spear into his neck. He screamed and shook his neck, tossing her aside as he rose above the rooftops, but she wasn't finished yet.

"Aqualine Metamorphosis!" she cried, letting the attack carry her well over Jaymon's head. He looked up as she reformed and twisted as though about to attack, but she merely smirked. "Aqualine Metamorphosis!" The distance was too short for her to bother fully transforming, but her heel connected with his beak faster and more forcefully than if she had just let gravity carry her.

And her momentum hadn't run out; the two continued to fall. Catching movement out of the corner of her eye, Ranamon kicked off, back-flipping away from the bird and landing lightly beside Mercurymon.

"Bureiku!"

As Jaymon crashed to the ground, Grumblemon leaped from a nearby rooftop, hammer held high and aimed for Jaymon's heart. There was no time for him to move, and Ranamon cheered, certain they had won. But her celebration was premature, for just as the hammer was about to connect, Jaymon flared his wings.

"Howling Concussion!"

Now it was Grumblemon who had no time to react, and he took the brunt of the shockwave. He was already limp as he hit the ground, rolling and bouncing over bits of rubble. After thirty feet, fractal code wrapped around him and he devolved, but continued to slide until he slammed into a wall and lay still.

"Jomei!" Ranamon shrieked, sprinting to where he lay.

"Tree Cannon!"

"Ranamon!" Mercurymon tackled her out of the way of the attack, but she ignored him, scrambling to her feet again, wide eyes fixed on Jomei. Jaymon's talons snatched her from behind as she ran, and suddenly she was airborne, crashing headfirst into a wall. When her vision cleared, she had devolved, leaving Mercurymon standing bravely (but in all reality, futilely) against Jaymon.

"Steel Alloy!"

Jaymon dodged easily, but the attack at least gave Taura the opportunity to run to Jomei's side. As she knelt beside him, he stirred, groaning, and Taura let out the breath she had been holding. He sat up, clutching his head, and she searched his face, wordlessly asking in anything was seriously wrong. He shook his head and grimaced.

"Howling Concussion!" Jaymon cried again, close enough to make their hearts skip a beat. Both tried to force the other to get behind them, but in the end, it was Mercurymon who planted himself in the path of the blast. His mirrors rang as the shockwave hit, then shattered with a tremendous crash.

He remained upright for a moment longer – just long enough to turn as if staring at Jomei and laugh dryly. "This is the part where you tell me we can't afford to lose another spirit, remember?" A pallor swept over Jomei's face. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Then Mercurymon was sent tumbling back, over the remains of the wall Jomei had hit. After several long seconds, the Warrior of Steel came to a stop, and he faded to a silhouette and his spirit appeared, pulsing in time with Taura's heartbeat.

When Jomei stood, D-Tector in hand, she balked and grabbed his wrist.

"You can't seriously be thinking of fighting him," she hissed. "Not in your condition!"

He stared at her, eyes hard and mouth tight with determination. "I have to, Taura. You know I do." She did know, but that didn't make it any easier for her to let go of his wrist and watch the egg of fractal code swallow him.

"Execute: Beast Spirit Evolution!"

-.-.-.-

For a moment – one terrifying moment that seemed to drag on forever – Jomei felt the will of the Beast rising to consume him. Visions of destruction and feral, uncontainable power swept through his head, but he thought of Taura, who was so close, who would have no hope of escape if he lost control.

And yes, he even thought of his cousin, who had risked his own life to save Jomei's. Pure adrenaline, no doubt, but reason enough for the old desire that rose. A desire to help him, to protect him, that hadn't surfaced since the thunderstorm four years ago.

Jomei steeled himself against the Beast's uprising, held onto his control with all the strength he could muster.

And then the transformation was complete, the Beast retreating to the depths of his consciousness as the Warrior opened his eyes to see Taura, hands clasped over her mouth, staring at him as he announced his new form.

"Latranamon."

"Jomei?" Taura asked tentatively, taking a step backward. "Are you…Is that you?"

"Acorn Hoarder!"

Whirling, Latranamon growled at the oncoming attack and summoned a wall of earth. "Latrans Aegis!" he cried, and the stone responded, soaring a hundred feet into the air, hardening to hold off the acorns that began to pelt the other side. Seeing that it would hold, he turned back to Taura. "Get Nao and climb on."

A smile split the girl's face as she hurried to comply. Mercurymon's silhouette had faded by this time, leaving the boy bruised but alive. It took a moment, but Taura and Latranamon managed to get him onto the Beast Spirit's back, and Taura followed suit just as Jaymon appeared beside the stone barrier.

"There you are! Cedar Snare!"

Latranamon easily cleared the roots and sprinted across the city, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, and managing to avoid everything Jaymon threw at him. Before long, he caught sight of the building where they had left Kado and Tapirmon. As soon as he slid to a stop, Taura dropped to the ground, turning to catch Nao as the others ran outside.

"Is it over?" Kado asked breathlessly.

"It would seem not!" Tapirmon replied in a panicked yelp, pointing to Jaymon, who was circling overhead.

"Acorn Hoarder!"

"Latrans Aegis!" Latranamon roared, and this time the earth formed a dome over the building and the humans. The acorns exploded, leaving naught but black smudges on the rough brown surface. Only Latranamon and Jaymon remained outside the dome.

The avian screeched in frustration and dove at the dome. "Tree Cannon! Steel Alloy! Dousing Torrent! Sandstorm!"

"Attack it all you want," Latranamon interrupted coolly. "The Aegis is the shield of the gods. Nothing you can do will dent it. It's just you and me now."

"Fine then. Howling Concussion!"

Latranamon braced himself against the shockwave, ignoring the rocks that pummeled his head and back. When it passed, he stared up at Jaymon, judging the distance. A Howling Concussion might reach, but in all likelihood, the Ultimate would simply fly out of range before it did any damage. He had to get him closer to the ground.

"Acorn Hoarder!" Jaymon cried, but the distance worked against him as much as it worked against Latranamon, and the Warrior backed up calmly, the acorns exploding long seconds after he cleared the area. "Steel Alloy! Dousing Torrent!"

Avoiding the metal shards effortlessly, Latranamon pivoted as the disc of water approached. With a flick of his tail, he cut through it, and the water fell to the ground as harmlessly as a spring shower. "I can keep this up all day, you know."

"Oh really? Dodge this! Cedar Snare! Tree Cannon! Dousing Torrent! Steel Alloy! Acorn Hoarder! Fertile Fist!"

Darting behind a building, Latranamon ran, managing to avoid most of the attacks, though he felt something explode on his hind leg. He didn't run for long, though. After taking a few corners, he whirled and leaped onto a building, springing off and using the incoming Fertile Fist as a stepping stone, launching himself upward.

"Granite Claw!"

Jaymon flailed, trying to avoid it, but his onslaught of attacks had taken more out of him than he had expected, and Latranamon's claws pierced his left wing. They landed in a heap, Jaymon lashing out with his talons and leaving a deep gash in Latranamon's side. The Warrior growled and snapped at the bird's wing. With a screech and a growl, they separated.

"Howling Concussion!" Latranamon and Jaymon cried simultaneously. The two shockwaves collided, kicking up a cloud of dust, the ground cracked under their feet, and both attacks fizzled out. But Latranamon had charged forward after releasing his attack, and burst from the dust cloud.

"Granite Claw!" Latrananmon cried. He landed lightly behind Jaymon as the Ultimate gave one final cry before fading to a silhouette. "Slide Evolution: Grumblemon! Fractal code…Digitize!" Not only the code, but also the Human Spirit of Wood entered Grumblemon's D-Tector, and while Jaymon's digiegg floated away, the Warrior turned back toward his dome, grinning. "That wasn't so bad."

-.-.-.-

The only light inside Latranamon's dome was the glow from her D-Tector. In it, Taura could see that Nao was breathing (but then, she could also hear that in the silence they were all reluctant to break), but couldn't say whether he had sustained any serious injuries. Kado crouched nearby, staring at Taura, who shrugged and leaned back against a wall. At least, she thought it was a wall.

"Nothing," Tapirmon said, floating towards them out of the darkness. "This thing's as solid as a Tankmon."

Several minutes had passed since the sounds of battle had ceased, but no one knew what that meant. If Latranamon had won, surely he would have come back to release them by now. And if he had lost – Taura shuddered at the thought, but forced herself to continue – if he had lost, wouldn't Jaymon have come back to try to reach the other humans?

"So we can't get out on our own?" Kado asked weakly. Tapirmon didn't answer, but that in itself told Taura all she needed to know.

I wonder whether we'll run out of air before we starve to death.

She didn't have to wait to find out. With a dampened thud, a small section of the dome crumbled, flooding the area with the pink glow of sunrise. Taura blinked against the sudden light, but she recognized the flash of fractal code and was already on her feet by the time she could make out Jomei's weary frame.

"You're alright!" she cried, tackling him with a hug.

He winced but managed to smile. "What, you didn't think I could do it?"

She pulled away and stuck her tongue out. "No. As a matter of fact, I thought you were going to get yourself killed."

"Did you get my Spirit back?" Kado asked eagerly.

"Yeah. I'm not entirely sure how to get it out, though…" As Jomei held up his D-Tector, it began to glow of its own accord, as did Kado's. They flashed brightly, and Kado started bouncing up and down in glee. Suddenly he flung his arms around Jomei's waist.

"Thank you!"

"H-hey!" Jomei cried, a red tint lighting his cheeks. "What are you doing? Let go of me!" He shoved the younger boy away, but Kado just grinned wider. "What are you smiling at?"

A groan from behind them stopped Kado's reply and he spun around. "Nao!"

As Kado and Tapirmon rushed to help Nao sit up, Taura sidled up to Jomei, nudging his side. "Gee, you're just everyone's hero today," she teased, but Jomei wasn't smiling. "You alright?"

"Why?"

"Huh?" Taura frowned and followed Jomei's gaze to his cousin. "Nao? What about him?"

"Why'd he save us like that? After everything he's…" Hesitating, Jomei shook his head. "I never would have expected him to do that. It doesn't make sense."

Taura nodded. "I know what you mean, but…Jomei, what if we were wrong?"

"For four years? Taura, you know as well as I do that –"

"You beat Jaymon?" Nao asked, joining them while stretching stiffly.

Jomei scowled. "Yes, I did," he snapped. "Is that so hard to believe?" Taura saw him flinch as soon as the words were out, but Nao had already dropped his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Naoko," Jomei began apologetically.

"Don't bother," the Warrior of Steel muttered. "We should get going."

Going where? Taura wondered, but remained silent, glancing only once at Jomei before shuffling out into the city.

-.-.-.-

"What?"

"It's true!" the Weedmon insisted, though he looked wary of making Egalamon and Raptormon angry. And with good reason, given the news he had to relay. "Jaymon was there one minute, then all of a sudden, all that's left is a digiegg!"

Raptormon whirled and kicked the boulder he had been perched on just moments earlier. "That idiot! I told him not to make a mistake!" He kicked the boulder again, and it split down the middle. "Who did this?"

"The Warrior of Earth. Latranamon."

"Latranamon…" Raptormon hissed. "I'm going to make him pay."

"Raptormon, wait," Egalamon ordered, stern voice halting Raptormon before he could take flight.

"Why should I?" he argued. "Those humans killed our brother!"

"You think I don't know that?" Egalamon shook her head, ignoring the aching in her chest. "We'll make them pay. But we're going to do it right."

Raptormon frowned. "You have a plan?"

"Of course. Weedmon!"

"Ma'am?"

"Go tell the Airdramon to keep the humans busy. We'll need a few days to get everything ready."

"Yes, ma'am."

Egalamon ruffled her feathers as she turned to stalk away. "Inoxmon was right about humans. I'm going to make them wish they had never invaded our world."

Next time: "Arkenmon's Fury" – The kids find the next Beast Spirit, but will it prove too powerful to control?

A/N: Bureiku (usually translated as Break or Petrify in Final Fantasy games) is a spell that turns the target into stone. (Too bad Kado wasn't there to geek out. lol) As for Latranamon (and his attack Latrans Aegis), the inspiration was Canis latrans, the scientific name for coyotes. "Canis latrans" literally means "barking dog," so I guess you could say "Latranamon" means, roughly, "barking digimon." lol

As far as the Flock goes, their names come from the birds that inspired their design. Jaymon comes from the lanceolated jay, Egalamon from the golden eagle, and Raptormon from...Well, raptor is the general term for birds of prey including the brown falcon off of which he was based. (Falcomon was already taken, and the Latin name, Falco berigora, didn't make for a good digimon name.) The Wikipedia articles for the golden eagle and brown falcon have the reference shots I used for Egalamon and Raptormon, respectively; if you want to get an idea for Jaymon's design, Google "lanceolated jay lithograph."