Yesterday was a very good day(aced two finals!), which allowed me the chance to complete this chapter.
Thank you my friends for the reviews! crestoflight3, endlessfun, and Fuyu Aki: you inspired a wonderful happy dance!
For your question: I though the crest Willis was able to use was with the DigiEgg of Destiny. He might be mentioned, but at the moment I don't see him in the story (You never know though, I am trying to think of a way to get Mimi involved).
Today we have a bit of action, and a bit of information. But despite that information, I still do no own the names, characters, or have any means of profiting off of Digimon.
"He isn't playing soccer, is he?" Kari asked. "Something's happening, and someone is going to be in trouble."
Ken's eyes did not leave the wall. His hands were locked in a pose.
"Tai's in the Digital World, as are a few of the others. They are destroying a few Control Spires today." He responded. It was not a complete lie.
"Why aren't you?" She asked as her hands dropped.
"Because I thought I would stop by to see how you were feeling, and I wanted to talk about the judo." That was mostly true. Ken turned to the girl and smiled. "That was great for a first day. Let's take a break." He gestured to the couches. "We don't want to put too much pressure on your lungs, and even the simplest postures can add stress to them."
Kari nodded and shook out her hands.
"How are you feeling after the poses? And I want all details, which can be important in later progress." Ken asked.
"My back feels pretty nice, and my legs feel fine. It's just my hands keep falling asleep." She smiled. "Maybe they were held above my head for too long. I just need to get the blood flow back to normal."
"That's not common. Normally the stretches help with blood flow." Ken pursed his lips. "She's been having issues with circulation of he hands all day. Could her health be as simple as constant anemia?" "Does that happen during dance?" The blue-haired boy asked.
"No, actually it's only been happening to this extent since I went to the hospital. They may have just injected me with something." Kari frowned.
Gatomon bounced up from her catnap. "Though it is odd—normally you bruise for weeks after even a simple flu shot."
"I am happy I'm an exoskeleton." Minomon chirped. "I would hate to have to go through all the things you folks do. My health is easy compared to everyone else's."
Kari regained a soft smile.
"I was told by the others how Gabumon suffered from a cold after he let Matt wear his fur when they were lost on Infinity Mountain." Her face turned wistful. "I wonder what would have happened if I had been able to join everyone from the beginning."
"Well, no use worrying about it now. Right guys?" Gatomon turned to the males.
"Right!" Ken nodded assertively. "I wonder if I could have worked with you eight as well, and what could have happened if Wormmon had digivolved into Ultimate with the Crest of Kindness. But you, yourself, told me not to dwell on the past a mere hours ago." Kari laughed.
"You are right, Ken. I believe we have earned another round of that delicious tea your mother gave me after the bit of exercise." She began to rub her left hand. It was starting to sting. "Allow me to serve this time.
"She knows something is going on, TK. She just doesn't want to ask; because she's afraid it will hurt our feelings."
Matt, TK, and Patamon sat comfortably atop Garurumon as he progressed with his rolling gait. They had been running throughout File Island, unsure of where Centarumon might be. He did not have a definite location, unlike the other vaccines. The mighty Champion was known to be elusive.
"Perhaps that's why he was able to stay free from the Dark Masters for so long." TK thought of Centarumon. He had yet to respond to Matt. "What else can we do? I'm getting sick of running around trying to find the answers, fighting off enemies we don't even know we have, and solving one riddle to the next. I just cannot understand exactly what this is for anymore."
"Hey," Garurumon's deep voice snapped the boys to the moment. "Something is not right, guys."
"I agree," Patamon added. "This is spooky."
"Even the air tastes weird: cold and stale," the giant wolf shared. Matt looked up to the sky. His eyes widened as they no longer saw blue, but an odd grey overcast.
"But—there aren't any clouds—" The older boy thought.
"We should turn back." He told the others.
"But—what if Centarumon is out this way? We might miss him!" TK declared. "We should stay on track. He may be the only one who can help us."
"We won't be of any help to her if we get lost or attacked." The brother replied harshly. "Now think for a moment- there are only the two digimon here, so we have to be cautious. If we're heading into corrupt data, we could be in trouble."
"You're sounding like Izzy."
"I'll take that as a compliment. It's better than you sounding like Tai."
TK winced.
"Okay, I get it." The younger brother rubbed at his left hand. "So let's head out of this part. But we will tell the others about it."
"Aww, you mean you two don't like the free ride we would have given you to one of the adjourning worlds? I am crushed." A woman's voice rang out.
"Arukenimon!" The boys shouted. The spider woman was standing against an overhang a few meters up.
"Where are the others? Don't they want to join in this wonderful game?" The humanoid digimon smirked from above. "What a shame."
"Wonderful rhyme, my dear- you should be a poet." Mummymon flocked to his crush's side. "I just know it. Oh- poet, know it! We are truly meant to be together."
"Oh, shut up and get them!" Arukenimon snapped as she plucked a strand of silver hair. "Spirit needle!" The hair flew off to a Control Spire in the north.
"Good luck with that!" TK challenged, tightening both fists in spite of the pain of the left. He turned to his friend. "Ready Patamon?"
"You bet!" The D3 began to glow with its golden light.
"Patamon digivolve to—Angemon!"
"Go get her Garurumon!" Matt encouraged as he and TK hopped onto the ground. "We'll call for back up!"
"Snake Bandage!"
"Howling Blaster!"
The two sides were about to learn that neither the enchanted hair, nor the message, could pass through the encroaching grey mist.
"What is this Crest of Faith, Piximon? And why have we never heard about it before?" Tai slouched down against the wall to Piximon's home. He had been growing impatient; everyone seemed to share the word, but never the definition.
"This is getting so frustrating. All I want is to protect my little sister. Is that really such a big deal everyone needs to be 'hush-hush' on what information they can share?" Tai thought to himself.
"Well Tai, the Crest of Faith is not like any of the other crests. You see, the other crests were designed to help you humans channel energy that could help the digimon evolve in a very specific manner." Piximon began.
"Oh, like how with armor digivolving, each Digi-Egg causes a different digimon to evolve?" Davis interrupted to ask.
"Precisely, yup yup! The crests were made for the eight children who were needed to defeat Apocolymon. When the crests themselves were hidden by the Dark Masters, only the child who could use the power of the crest was able to unlock it. That is because the data had used the collected data from you eight to make those crests, and nothing can forever separate data.
"That is not to say you children are the only things who have the power of Courage, or of Knowledge, but you are the only ones who can use the power of Courage or Knowledge to support Ultimate digimon.
" Now, the reason why the Crest of Faith was never explained to you was because it has nothing to do with you, that it doesn't. It has been around long before you and your friends were chosen. It may even be around long after the next group of children comes to save our world." Piximon had been eyeing Veemon and Agumon. "You two look like you are slacking! I am always willing to let you train, I am!"
"Wait, but then what is the purpose of this Crest of Faith? It's supposed to be in the fight we need to get ready for!" Davis demanded.
"What fight is this?" Piximon's voice rose.
"You see, Piximon, Gennai told us that Centarumon told him a rhyme that has to do with a person who can turn Alight. Faith needs to have a good night. I think that's what it said. Right Davis?" Veemon spoke to his partner. Davis could only groan.
"Not exactly, Vee. It—umm-. Hey Tai, what does it do again?" Davis's hand scratched the back of his head and turned to the older boy.
"I'm the serious one? This is weird. How did Sora and Izzy handle it?" Tai chuckled to himself as he recited the poem.
"What fight was faith in previously, Piximon?" Agumon asked another question. "The poem says it is returning to it."
"Faith is always in a fight, my friends. It always will be."
"That's—not very specific," Tai replied.
"Arg—can't you just explain to us what this all means?" Davis was growing frustrated. "Just tell us the basics: who, what, when, where, and why!"
"The 'who's and 'why's can be the most difficult things to answer, they can. Sometimes, those questions never will be answered."
"Look, you called Kari the "Child of Faith". You even looked shocked, and we know you Piximon. You're never shocked." Agumon spoke up. "Why?"
"A Child of Faith is one of the guardsmen for the Temple where the crest itself is hidden. Unfortunately, that Temple has been gone since before you even knew what the Digital World was. It suffered a terrible RAM crash after constantly defending itself from virus-type digimon." Piximon's tone was desolate. The yearning for the vanished Temple could be heard even by Davis, in spite of knowing the digimon for less than two hours. "It tries constantly to reconfigure itself, but the moment it is ready to turn back on, some force comes to take it out."
"What force took it out last time? Etamon? Or was it the Dark Masters?" Tai hoped the answer would be something to return to the topic of the Crest and how he could find it. But he could not get an answer; the tiny digimon looked distracted suddenly. Tai recognized the expression, it was the one Piximon held when he helped the eight children escape. "What's going on, Piximon?" He could only ask.
"Another phase warp has opened," the Ultimate digimon all but whispered. "We have to help."
"Phase warp? Why does that sound familiar?" Davis pondered.
"Phase warps are when the boundaries between the worlds begin to shift and rupture." Agumon answered.
"Davis, do you remember what happened the summer when Myotismon attacted? A phase warp occurred when digimon could slip through the cracks into our world. The reason for the snow was a Frigimon transitioned over to our campsite. Tidal waves were caused by a Seadramon, and the drought was when a Meramon was sucked through." Tai summarized. "They had the power to affect their environment."
"Okay, so what is this phase warp doing? Is it letting digimon into our world?"
"No—it's locking parts of this world off from itself. We have to get to File Island right away!" Piximon declared.
"File—Island?" Davis looked confused, even more than normally.
"Sora and Yolei are there now! They could be in trouble! Davis, email everyone to check on their status!" Tai turned to the younger boy. "Now!"
"Gotcha Tai!"
"Why isn't there anything coming to attack these idiots?" Arukenimon exclaimed. "Maybe we need another spike to get the action going." A silver hair was plucked. "Spirit needle!" She shouted. The hair glowed and shot out into the air, only to dissolve suddenly. A purple light waved from the spot the strand hit, sending a mild shock wave through a dome-like barrier.
"What the—?" Mummymon yelled out, partially to himself.
"I wish people would stop saying that." TK moaned mentally. "Are we trapped?" He asked aloud.
"I—don't know," Matt's voice trailed off as his blue eyes searched the sky. The purple light rippled back and forth across the sky. "If I did not know better, I would almost think that thing is an aurora."
Garurumon ran to the edge of the circle and struck it with a paw.
"It's like we are walled inside." His low voice growled.
"We need to get out of here. We cannot face those two alone without a DNA digivolve. They will only be distracted for so long-" As if the shockwave had reached him, TK's thoughts ended with a hiss as he sank to his knees while cradling his left hand.
"TK!" Angemon kneeled next to his partner. "What's happening?" The younger boy did not respond.
"TK?" Garurumon asked , sensing Matt's unease at the silence.
"It feels like I was shot through my palm with an arrow." TK's voice sounded strained in his reply.
"We need to contact Joe!" Matt declared.
"No, let's get out of here first. There's no point talking to Joe if we're being attacked." His vision focused on the two virus-type digimon. "Angemon! Attack this barrier!"
"Right!" Angemon rose. "Hand of Fate!" A golden beam of energy burst forth to strike the purple barrier. The energy tore through the dome-like wall.
"Yes!" TK cheered. However, the barrier was able to reconstruct itself almost instantly.
"What the—?" Matt whispered.
"Not you too," the younger brother moaned.
"TK, not now. How will we get out of this?" He looked over to his digimon, who was dodging around to avoid Mummymon, while Arukenimon was trying to break though the barrier herself.
"I have an idea," Angemon's holy voice echoed. "I'll attack it once more, and we can see if a message can be sent through to the others, giving them our coordinates. If Akylomon can arrive, him and I can power together to break barrier. We may need Paildramon too."
"We don't have a choice, TK!" Matt told his brother. "We're up against two Ultimates, and possibly more if they can break through the barrier!" TK nodded.
"Okay! I'll resend it! Unleash another attack, Angemon!" TK called as he typed quickly.
"Hand of Fate!" The blast once again rocketed through the firewall, causing the temporary opening to reappear.
"And—sent!" TK's eyes rose to the others. "Let's just hope the message went through in time."
That's that for this chapter. We'll hear a bit from Andromon about what he knows, and have fun with the battle in the next one. I hope I'll be able to write it within the next two weeks.
Thank you for reading! We should dance the jive this time!