The next chapter! Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, though it would be cool if I did. I own only the characters I've made up.
Chapter 10
Zoe walked along the edges of the lake avoiding the different patches of quicksand. Her arms were crossed as she stared out into the lake. "Where is he? It shouldn't have taken him this long. He hasn't even come up for air."
"Maybe he found the cave. He could be checking it out for us," J.P. said. He sat away from the water's edges. "Just give him some more time. I'm sure he's fine."
Kouichi just stared at the huge Digimon once he realized that there was no way that he could get away. {There's no way I can get to the others.}
{Tell me, Human. What are you looking for in this lake?} The Digimon's tail slowly and gently moved back and forth against the water. A small bubble formed from the Digimon's mouth and grew bigger as the seconds passed. It freed the bubble from its mouth and watch as the bubble took Kouichi inside.
"What is this?" Kouichi asked. He stopped when he realized he was able to breath within the bubble. He looked at the Digimon and noticed that it's eyes turned blue. "I'm looking for a cave."
{I would think it easier to search for a cave above water.}
"I need to go to the cave here."
{Why?} The Digimon tilted it's head to the side.
"There's someone that I need to see. I need his help. I don't have a lot of time to waste, so if you want a fight, I won't hesitate in giving you one." Kouichi pulled his D-tector out of his pocket.
The Digimon started to laugh. Its mouth opened for a change and revealed the sharp teeth it owned. {I don't wish to fight unless it is needed. That item in your hand means you're a Digidestined, correct?}
"Y-yes."
{I have no need to see you as a threat. Are the others nearby?}
"They're on shore waiting for me. Where is the cave?" Kouichi asked. He looked around searching for some sign of a cave opening.
The Digimon ignored Kouichi as it twisted its body around. {Take in a deep breath.} It gently touched and popped the bubble with its sharp claws. {Let's go see your friends. Grab on to my arm.}
Kouichi reached out for the Digimon's arm and noticed the sharp curved spikes along its back. He let out a little yell when the Digimon took off suddenly.
The Digimon's slick and scaled body allowed it to quickly swim through the water. Its eyes changed green, and it slowed down its swimming speed as it came up to the surface. It poked its head out of the water and stopped just before it came to the shore. It caught sight of the group and clawed its way on land.
"What is that thing?" Tommy quickly took steps back away from the large Digimon.
Zoe looked to the water and then to the Digimon. "What did you do with Kouichi?"
"He hasn't done anything to me." Kouichi walked out from the other side of the Digimon. "He just won't tell me where the cave is."
"You're never one to make things easy, are you, Cavalrymon?" the battered Digimon questioned.
Cavalrymon stared at the battered Digimon with red eyes. Its eyes quickly turned yellow at the sight of Takuya. {How is that human?}
"Not well. They wish to see Eldermon to get some answers and to help their friend. I believe it is your decision whether they continue or not."
A small growl came from Cavalrymon as it debated with the situation. {Very well. I'll take them. The Digidestined are rumored to be the ones to save our world even though they may have failed once. They have no reason to harm Eldermon. Isn't that correct, Kouichi?}
Kouichi jumped at the sound of his name. He was pulling on his long-sleeved shirt. "Yes, we want to know the location of Lucemon, so we can go and defeat him."
{That's not the only thing you wish to learn.} Cavalrymon took in a deep breath and pushed its body back into the water. {I will take you if you are ready.}
Tommy and J.P. cautiously walked over to the water. The smaller Digimon followed after them.
"Oh, getting wet after being in this rain shouldn't be so bad, right?" Bokomon asked as he stopped just before the water.
"Well, if it's freezing, that'll be a problem," Kneemon stated.
"That is very true." Bokomon slowly put his foot into the water and shivered at it being at a much lower temperature than everything else.
Zoe looked at the battered Digimon and then to Kouichi. "What about Takuya?"
"I will stay with your friend if you would like," the battered Digimon offered.
Kouichi looked up at the battered Digimon and shook his head. "No, I want you to go with them. I'll stay behind and watch him while I wait for you guys to return."
The battered Digimon nodded his head and gently placed Takuya on the ground under the protection of a nearby tree's leaves. He walked over to the edge of the water and waited with the others.
Zoe walked over to Kouichi and said, "I'll stay with Takuya. You need to be the one to go with the others. You're determined to find out where Koji is. I wouldn't want you to wait any longer."
"Ok, we'll be back soon." Kouichi nodded his head and looked down at Takuya before he started walking away.
"Kouichi, our lines are 'Don't get lost' and 'Sentrymon will lead the way.'" Zoe walked over to Takuya and sat down next to him. "We'll be waiting for you guys to return."
{Are all of you finally ready?} Cavalrymon poked its head from the water.
"Yes, we are! Yes, we are!" the three small Digimon cheered.
Cavalrymon's head disappeared under the water. It flipped its tail onto shore. {Grab a hold of my tail and be ready to hold your breath.}
The kids and the Digimon grabbed a hold of the tail. They all took in a deep breath and were surprised when the large Digimon suddenly took off into the water.
"Good luck, guys," Zoe whispered. She pulled her leaf umbrella over her head and watched the rain continue to fall in front of her.
Nightmaramon watched as the majority of the group disappeared into the water. His attention focused on Zoe and Takuya and a smirk formed. "This will be easy."
He took off running along the edge of the forest. The closer he got to the two, the harder it was for him to hold back his laughter.
Akira watched Nightmaramon take off running and staggered to his feet. "I don't care what he says. I'm getting out of here."
He looked down at the young Digimon and reached down snatching an arm. He pulled the other up and wrapped the arm around his neck. "What's the best way out of here?"
"The water," the young Digimon whispered. He weakly turned his head and looked at Akira with his battered left eye. "We'll be…safe there."
Akira let out a small sigh. "First the rain. Now, you want me to go swimming. I just can't get dry, can I?"
He began to walk through the icky plant life and stopped once he made it to the end of it. His eyes looked over in the direction he knew Nightmaramon headed in and spotted Zoe and Takuya. "There are humans over there? Is he aft--"
{Kill them! Kill them!!}
"Ah! N-no," Akira struggled to say. His body began to shake as he fought away the thoughts of murder. He continued to look in the direction of the two Digidestined and took a step out in the open towards them.
"The…water," the young Digimon whispered. He was still far too weak to move on his own.
"I'm sorry. I can't just let Nightmaramon kill them. They're just like me. Maybe they can hel--" Akira froze and fought against the high pitch noise that rang through his mind. "Ah!"
He pushed himself away from the young Digimon and staggered around with his hands pressing against his head. His feet slipped on the mud sending him to the ground. His whole body began to shake.
{Kill them! Cut them to pieces!}
Cavalrymon swam through the water as quickly as it could. The water grew darker in color as it swam away from the sunlight. The kids and Digimon struggled to hold on as they fought with themselves to hold on to their breath.
{How much longer?} Kouichi thought. He forced his eyes closed and tightened his grip on the Digimon's tail.
{Just a little longer.} Cavalrymon came to a stop and began crawling into a tunnel in the ground. Its claws dug into the ground as it quickly pulled its body free from the tunnel and swam to the new surface. It quickly lifted its tail up from the water and began swimming to the dark and damp shore.
The group gasped for air once they got out of the water. They looked around and tried to adjust to the darkness.
"Where are we?" Tommy's voice asked through the darkness.
Kouichi felt the tail stop once it hit the shore and crawled on the rocky surface. "It's the underwater cave."
"I can't see anything," Kneemon's voice said. There was the sound of water splashing and the thud of hitting the ground.
"We all are unable to see. Just sit down, and we'll figure everything out." Bokomon's voice said.
{This is as far as I can take you. Good luck.} Cavalrymon said as it slowly started to disappear back into the water. It's white eyes shined against the darkness.
"W-wait!" Kouichi yelled. He looked around and tried to make out even the smallest speck of light. "How're we supposed to know where we're going?"
{Figure out what you have been told.} Cavalrymon disappeared completely into the water once it closed its eyes. {I'm unable to do everything for you.}
Kouichi heard the water grow still. He sat on the cold stone and looked around. "Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah," the majority of the group responded.
"We have to get moving," Kouichi said as he cautiously stood to his feet. He held out his hands and stepped forward searching for the wall. {This is impossible. There's no way we can find our way around quickly.}
"You hold the spirit of Darkness and can not find your way through the darkness?" the battered Digimon's voice spoke.
Kouichi's hand finally felt the stone wall. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his D-tector. {I should be able to find my way.}
"Hey, I can see something over here!" Tommy's voice rang. "Just come towards my voice, and you'll be able to see it, too."
The sound of the others making their way over to Tommy filled the empty cave. Smiles appeared on their faces at the sight of the speck of light.
Zoe pulled her knees close to her chest. She stared at the water and let out a small sigh. "It's not easy waiting alone. I hope they're okay and they manage to learn some things. We need to get Koji back. There's no telling what those Digimon are doing to him."
"You could always ask."
Zoe's body grew stiff and her grip on the leaf umbrella tightened. She slowly looked in the direction the voice came from and spotted Nightmaramon walking out from the trees. Her eyes quickly looked down at Takuya. {I can't run away. I have to protect Takuya.}
"So, is there anything that you want to say, Digidestined?"
Zoe stood to her feet and dropped the leaf umbrella to the side. She pulled out her D-tector and yelled, "Beast Spirit Evolution!"
**END**
I thought I should end the chapter there. I wanted to finish it sooner, but I just couldn't concentrate on it. I made sure to get it out for the holidays. Sorry it's so short, but I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review, and thank you to those who have done so. Happy Holidays, everyone! Merry Christmas!!
--Noi