There's some confusion as to why the digidestined aren't staying longer to fight. I hope I gave you a reasonable answer
Enjoy!
(Kari's POV)
"Dude, Seriously! Why aren't we staying in the digital world to fight?" demanded Davis.
"There's too much going on at once, Davis. We need to take this a little slow. Besides, we still have school to worry about, Senior year is the year we need to really work to keep up with. We need to wait until we can stay in the digital world for longer periods of time." Answered Cody.
"Like next Break." Yolie added.
It was Sunday Morning and we were all sitting around at Cody's house discussing the digital world. The digimon sat chewing on the treats that Yolie brought from her store.
"Yeah, but there's too much going on over there to just 'take it slow'!" Davis shouted.
"Davis, we don't know anything yet. All we know is why Shadow's the way he is, not how to defeat him." Said Yolie. Ken nodded.
I looked over and saw T.K and Sonya sitting quietly, not speaking to anyone.
"What's up?" I asked them.
"I'll tell you later." T.K said quietly.
"Look, There are lives at stake there! We can't just sit by and do nothing!" argued Davis
"We're not doing nothing, Davis. We're trying figure out how to help." Said Ken.
"Then let's go to the digital world and do it! I'll bet we'll get much further there!" Davis shouted, standing up.
We looked at him for a moment, then I stood too.
"He's right, guys. We let's just figure out what to do there. We can find out more from Gennai or Hyperion." I said. T.K and Sonya nodded and stood with me.
"Alright then, let's go!" said Davis eagerly. Yolie opened the portal through the computer and we were off.
We landed in a different area this time. The grass was tall and the ground sloped into steep hills. We were on the largest hill overseeing the valley. Lrage walls surrouded us in a canyon and several huts lay scattered in various parts of the plain, some in groups. The valley was a contrast of bright and dark colors, like a manipulated photograph.
"Where are we?" Ken asked Wormon.
"This is Angel Valley. This is where the Plainsmen live." said Wormon.
"Plainsmen? Who are they?" asked Yolie.
"Plainsmen are creatures that came from the other world. They look just like angels and are great fighters." Veemon said.
"Wow, angels huh? Said Yolie in wonder.
"Don't be deceived. They're very brutal if they think they're being threatened. So watch out." Said Gatomon warningly.
"Should we go around?" asked Cody.
"No, they may think we're spying on them." Said Gatomon.
"But who knows? Maybe they'll be willing to help us!" said Patamon brightly.
We made our way through the grass to the huts below.
I saw people in the huts and around the fire rings. The people did indeed have angel-like wings on their backs. They watched us pass by them carefully.
"They look suspicious." Said Cody.
"They usually are. Not a lot of people walk through their territory." Said Hawkmon.
We were stopped by a large, muscular man with long curly black hair and dark eyes. He wore only a pair of faded, torn jeans and his grey wings reached from over his shoulders to his knees. He had his arms crossed.
"Who are you? Why do you trespass here?" He asked in a strong voice.
"Uh, we're hoping you might be able to help us?" inquired Davis.
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Help in which way?"
"Dorian, can't you tell? These are the digidestined we've been told of!" said a woman to our right. Other Plainsmen looked around at us.
Dorian side-glanced at her, then back at us.
"Digidestined, eh? Alright, let me guess… You're Davis, Yolie, Cody, Ken, T.K, and Kari." He said, pointing us out.
We smiled; glad we didn't have to introduce ourselves again.
"And you're the digimon friends?" he directed his question to the digimon. They nodded.
"I see." He said dully. "May I inquire as to what you need our help with?" he asked, raising a brow.
"We're trying to find out more about Shadow." Said Yolie.
Dorian growled at the name.
"That wretched bastard? What do you what to know? Why?"
"We're trying to find out what he's up to so we can stop him." Said Cody.
"So, you're against him, eh? It seems we have an enemy in common." Said Dorian, unfolding his arms.
"Look around you. There used to many of us, armies upon armies that filled the skies! Now, since Shadow has taken over, our numbers have been disintegrated and very few of us remain." Said Dorian angrily, looking around the depressing little village.
He turned to look at us.
"We will assist you with whatever we can. Sadly, though, we have nothing to tell you. If we knew where he was or what he was planning, we would have rallied by now." Said Dorian.
We nodded.
"Where are you from? I've never seen you any place in our world." He asked.
"We're from the real world, uh, Earth." Said Davis.
"Earth, eh? I never heard of it." Said Dorian, folding his arms again.
"Well, I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help to you. Come to us if there is anything else you need though." He said, looking at us with stormy eyes.
"Thanks." We nodded.
Dorian, then sniffed the air, searching for something.
"I smell fish." He said.
We blinked, then Yolie checked her bag. The fish that Adrella had made for us our last visit was still wrapped up and warm.
"Oh! I'd forgotten that was there!" she exclaimed.
"Heh, I know someone you could get some info from with that." Said Dorian with a smirk. "His name is Teramori. He lives in the forest there passed the cliffs. He's real quiet, almost mute, but he's hooked up with many parts of the forests. I'm sure you could trade your fish for answers." Dorian pointed out the direction of the forest.
"Alright! Thanks!" said Davis with a grin.
"Be safe!" Dorian called to us. We trudged up the steep hill toward the forest that Dorian had pointed to us.
"Patamon, who's Teramori?" T.K asked.
"Teramori is a Giant who lives in the forests around here. I don't really think he'd be someone who'd want to help." Said Patamon.
"Why's that?" T.K looked up at his friend.
"Giants are usually mean and greedy. All of the ones I've seen in the digital world are like that, anyway." Patamon answered.
"Why would the Plainsmen tell us to go there if the guy won't help?" asked Davis.
"We don't know that he won't." said Sonya. Everyone looked at her.
"Let's just keep going, we'll find out once we get there." She said. We nodded and continued.
We finally reached the top and made our way Eastward toward the forest. I saw T.K glance at Davis a few times. His brows were creased very slightly each time. I looked on curiously, then I noticed that Davis was watching Sonya now and again with a blush and a little smile.
I immediately understood. Davis like Sonya! Frikkin' A! I tried to keep from laughing, but couldn't hold back the grin. I could have a lot of fun with this, especially since I know how protective T.K can be.
Soon we reached the tree line of the forest and we stopped. It was dark after the first few trees all along the line. We couldn't see pass them.
"Well, the day ain't getting any younger." I Said and walked through the darkness of the trees. The others followed behind.
"It's pretty dark in these woods. Here, Sonya, let me hold your hand so you don't get scared." Said Davis, trying to pull the old trick from years ago. I rolled my eyes.
I saw T.K's eye twitch through the dark, but he didn't do anything.
"No, it's okay Davis. Really." Said Sonya.
"Lay off it Davis." Said T.K.
There was silence for a while. Slowly, the trees started to break up and we were able to see patches of the dark sky. Suddenly, we heard the sound of a flute playing near-by. The sound echoed all around us, so we couldn't quite tell where it was coming from.
Up ahead, we could make out the shapes of moss covered rocks and a brook. Lone trees scattered randomly around the clearing. Through the thicker trees, we could make out similar clearings where smaller streams ran through from the river.
"Where are we now? Asked Davis.
"I'm not sure." Said Veemon.
"I wonder where Teramori could be." Said Yolie, sitting on a large moss covered rock by the brook.
The flute started again and We looked around in silence and in awe for the beautiful sound. It sounded sad, as though the player was putting his own grief into the song.
"Hello?" Davis called. There was no answer, the flute continued to play.
"We're looking for Teramori!" called Ken. "Do you know where we can find him?"
The flute stopped.
"Why do you want to know?" asked a deep, soft voice.
"We need information; we think that he might be able to help us." Said Cody.
There was a short pause.
"Are you the ones conspiring against the Shadow?" as the voice. There was a movement in the trees, then a figure stepped out. It was tall, very tall, and was lean and muscular. his legs were made of twisted roots and his body was an earthy color. The arms were long and his hands were massive, stretching below his knees a little. His face was strong and looked young; the eyes were pure black and had leaves for hair. The giant wore silver chains around his waist, wrists, neck, and on his ears that were all decorated with crosses and small spheres.
He stepped into the light holding a large, heavy, wooden flute.
"I am Teramori. You asked for my help?" he said in his low and gentle voice.
We were speechless at the sight. None of us could move at first, then Sonya tilted her head and blinked up at him.
"Uh, we wanted to know, Can you tell us anything about Shadow?" she asked timidly.
Teramori looked at her, then answered.
"I could, but why do you ask me? What do you want with Shadow?" he asked.
"We want to stop whatever he's up to. Whatever he's planning isn't good for this world or any other world. Please, can you tell us anything at all?" asked Davis.
T.K and I crossed our arms and watched. This felt a little familiar, but I couldn't figure why.
The giant sat on a boulder on the other side of the brook.
"I don't know, I have been scavenging these woods trying to be rid of Megara's men. I have yet to eat or sleep in days. I don't feel I could tell you today." He said. He did indeed look exhausted.
Sonya looked at Yolie and nodded to her bag. Yolie blinked at her, then looked at her bag with realization.
"Well, we have this, if it helps." She said, pulling out the fish.
"The Plainsmen have told you to trade food for information no doubt." He said, then smiled. "I must refuse. I don't take food from Plainsmen, nor from humans." He declined.
Yolie was about to put the fish away, but Sonya took it and walked to the brook's side.
"Mr. Teramori, we need anything you can tell us. If you can't tell us now, then at least take this so you feel better sooner. You can tell us then." Sonya said gently, holding out the fish once more.
T.K smiled at the sight. I looked on curiously, wondering if the method would work. The others looked curious, too.
Teramori just looked at the food for a moment, then back at Sonya and began to laugh.
"I don't know how long it's been since I was shown kindness from another being. Thank you." He took the fish gently from her small hands.
"I suppose I could spare something for you. What do you want to know?" asked Teramori. We grinned with success.
"What's Shadow planning? Do you know anything about it?" asked Davis. Teramori thought for a moment.
"I know very little. Shadow is careful of letting information out. All I know is that it's not as simple as domination. Total rule may be a part of his goal, but it's something much bigger. I'm afraid I know nothing." He apologized.
"Well, is there anything else you can tell us?" I asked him.
Teramori looked over at me and T.K with his black eyes.
"There are whispers in the wind of a series of experiments. Shadow has captured some of the natives of this world for a dark experimentation. He has already turned several into slaves, henchmen, and on-hand men beside Megara. There are two that I know of; Shante and Ven. They work as partners under Shadow." Teramori explained.
"Experimentation? Shadow's turning digimon into bad guys now?" questioned Yolie.
"Yes. In every world, there is a center of darkness. Shadow discovered this world's darkness and is using it to create bodyguards. He grows more and more paranoid as the days pass." Said Teramori.
"Who are Shante and Ven exactly?" asked T.K.
"Shante and Ven were both natives of this world. Shante is a woman, almost as ruthless as Megara and just as deceptive. Ven is her partner. He is a crude and bloodthirsty shapeshifter. He can change his appearance on several levels." Teramori explained.
"Yeah, I think I've heard of them, too. They control the Mountain areas, don't they?" commented Armadillomon.
Teramori nodded. "They were the first to be produced."
"How many others are there?" asked Cody.
"I know that Shadow is experimenting with other captives, but I'm not sure if there are others." Answered Teramori.
"How is he turning good digimon bad?" asked Ken.
"If you fall into a pool of pure darkness, you are almost guaranteed physical and mental enhancement. You may become stronger, faster, smarter, keener, and virtually invincible. Your wounds will heal faster than humanely possible, you will not feel when a bullet pierces your skin. Shadow has discovered that by small doses of this darkness will bring these enhancements without letting the subject overpowering him." Explained Teramori.
"You said 'almost guaranteed', what do you mean?" I asked.
"It's rather rare that one keeps their own sanity after experiencing the true darkness. In the cases you don't, you will either go insane, or die horribly from the inside out. "
The others gulped; T.K. and I looked at each other.
'This won't happen to you.' I heard Karakin say in my head.
'What do you mean?' I asked her with a frown.
She didn't answer.
"Kari? What's wrong? You look upset." asked Gatomon.
"Nothing at all." Karakin answered for me.
She nodded.
I was confused why Gatomon couldn't tell it wasn't me who spoke, but I kept it to myself. I sounded like me when she talked through me… that must be why.
There was a howl in the distance, followed by a series of other howls. We looked around, trying to find where they came from.
Teramori looked down, sighed and stood.
"It seems I must return to my duty. Good luck, digidestined." He said disappeared into the trees.
There was more howling and we backed close to each other. Looking around, T.K was the only one who didn't seem to be afraid.
"All in favor we get out of here, say I." said Davis.
"I!" the others shouted. We ran to the edge of the trees and I turned and looked around. T.K was following slowly, listening to the howling.
"T.K, come on. Let's get moving!" I called. He looked up and ran to catch up with us.
---
(T.K's POV)
I heard the howling from afar. I wasn't afraid though, I knew that howl and it wasn't from someone hostile. The others looked scared, even Kari was spooked by the sound. I couldn't bring myself to even act afraid with them.
'Sheba?' I thought in my head, acknowledging the howl.
"T.K, come on. Let's get moving!" Kari called to me. I looked at her, nodded, and followed.
We ran through the trees, trying to retrace our way back to the village. The howling grew louder and in numbers. I was sure we were being followed by a pack by now.
"Veemon! Hurry up and digivolve so we can get out of here!" Davis shouted.
Veemon nodded.
"Digi-armor energize!" Davis shouted and the little digimon was surrounded by light. He was soon replaced by Raidramon and was carrying Davis on his back and helped Cody on as well. Ken, Yolie, and Kari had their digimon digivolve as well, taking flight and keeping up with Davis.
"Come on Patamon." I said. "Digi-armor energize!" I shouted and Patamon was digivolved into Pegasusmon. I helped Sonya onto Pegasusmon's back and we followed the others.
We flew/ran through the trees and finally to the plateau.
We stopped to see if we were being followed. When we didn't see anyone, we relaxed a little.
"We have you find Shadow fast." Said Davis grimly.
"Where could he be though? We don't have a clue where he is." Said Yolie.
There was a slight breeze that shook the leaves in the trees.
"What do we do now?" asked Kari.
"Start looking." I said.
Everyone looked at me.
"The sooner we get a lead, the sooner we can track him down. Maybe there's someone else around here we can talk to." I said.
"He's right. We need to keep searching." Agreed Ken.
We looked over the plateau to the valley down below.
The valley reached to another plateau a few miles away. There was something strange, though. I couldn't see what was on the plateau, of course, but I noticed a black speck just over it. It seemed to be making its way through the dark sky towards the East. I strained my eyes to see clearer. Kari noticed this and looked, too. She must have spotted it as well, because she narrowed her own eyes and looked harder.
"What's the matter?" asked Pegasusmon.
"What's that? Off in the distance?" I asked.
"What's what?" asked Davis, not seeing what we were looking at.
"That. Moving East." I pointed.
"I see it too." Said Kari.
I looked harder, then noticed that it was riding something long. It flapped in the breeze like a flag.
"Megara." Said Kari.
Sure enough, it was Megara riding East. We couldn't quite tell what she was riding though.
"Where's she going?" asked Yolie.
"Do you think she could going to Shadow?" asked Cody.
"Maybe, let's follow her." Said Davis.
We watched her and followed her as best we could. It was difficult since we were across the valley, but she crossed over to our side a distance ahead of us. She didn't seem to know we were there, so we took advantage of the situation and remained silent.
We followed her a good distance, he direction changed a few times, and I was almost sure that she'd see us, but she never gave the notion.
We got close and saw more detail on what Megara was riding. She was on Sliver and blue wingless dragon. It was long and skinny with long white whiskers that billowed in the wind.
We looked in awe at the dragon.
"I thought they were just a myth!" said Cody.
"Evidently, nothing here is just a myth. Anything is possible." Said Sonya.
"Look! Up ahead!" said Kari. A good distance ahead of us grew a tall building. It was a black castle with multiple towers. The sky seemed to spiral around the tallest center tower ominously. The castle was surrounded by a a dark stone fortress and a moat with black water.
"What's that?" asked Yolie.
"I'm not sure. I've never seen it before." Said Halsemon.
Megara disappeared into the main entrance of the Fortress. We stopped several feet away and looked up at the doors.
"Do you think that it's Shadow's base?" asked Ken.
"It could be. Sure looks like a bad guy's hangout." Said Davis.
"How do we get in?" Asked Kari.
We studied the fortress for a moment, trying to find a hole or a weak spot in the wall, but could find none.
Suddenly Sonya tapped me on the shoulder.
"What is it?" I asked, looking at her. She pointed down the fortress wall to a figure walking toward the gate. We freaked out for a second, then found several boulders to hide behind.
The figure shaped into that of a nightwalker. It was short, compared to the ones that I had seen earlier, and it carried a staff. No, it had a blade at the end, like a spear.
The Nightwalker was in better sight now; it was a she-wolf. She was grey in color and she had long white hair, like a woman's. In one hand she carried the spear like a staff, in the other she carried a ball shaped, narrow mouthed clay jug. Her blue eyes scanned the door warily and she stepped back.
"Megara! Are you in?" She called. Her voice was smooth and motherly, but it carried some distaste for Megara's name. There was no answer. The she-wolf sighed and shook her head.
She shifted to one leg and tapped her foot impatiently.
"Megara, open this door, NOW!" She yelled.
There was another pause, then a figure appeared at the second floor window above the door.
"What do you want Sorano?" Called Megara from the window.
"You cut back to the food rations from my tribe!" the wolf barked.
"All for the good of the Lord." Megara grinned.
Sorano bared her teeth angrily.
"Do you not understand what you're doing? You've already starved my children, now you're going to starve my Pack?!" she shouted.
"They'll get over it." Said Megara, finding an interest in her nails.
"Get over it? We aren't just going to 'get over it'. You're starving us to death! We're dwindling to five pack members!"
"Isn't that how many you should have anyway?" sneered Megara.
Sorano growled in frustration.
"Listen Sorano, I don't have time for petty arguments. I have work to do, so go back to you little cave and cry over your dead pups or something." Megara waved Sorano off and disappeared from view.
Sorano stood there longer, shaking from anger. Tears seemed to threaten her eyes.
"Poor girl. Megara treats them like that?" said Yolie in outrage.
I felt upset at Megara, obviously for her behavior, but mainly for her treatment to the nightwalker.
I stepped out from the rocks into view.
"T.K, what are you doing?" Davis hissed.
"She doesn't seem like a bad guy, does she?" I questioned, referring to Sorano.
Sorano saw my movement and looked over at us.
"Who are you? More of Megara's minions?" she asked bitterly.
"No, we're not." I said.
"What happened?" Asked Sonya with concern. I saw Davis look at her as she spoke.
"Why should I tell you? You're just a bunch of children." She said angrily.
Then her anger subsided and sighed. She looked at us softly and walked closer.
"I'm sorry for my hostility. I am Sorano, I am leader of a northern pack not far from here." She introduced. The others came out, feeling safer now she was calm.
"We're the digidestined. I'm T.K, this is Davis, Ken, Yolie, Kari, Cody, and my sister Sonya." I said, introducing us.
"You're the digidestined? I've heard of you." Said Sorano, looking at the others.
"It seems everyone has." Said Kari with her arms crossed. Sonya smiled at the comment.
"As the digidestined, I assume that you're looking for Shadow." Sorano asked. We nodded.
"This isn't it. This is his Henchmen's' chambers. They gather here after missions to count their money and gorge themselves on fresh meat and wine." She said with a sneer at the castle. "You aren't safe here. Come with me, I'll provide you with shelter until the weather clears."
"What weather?" we asked, then suddenly rain began to pour heavily on us.
"That weather." Laughed Sorano. "Come." She turned to leave. We followed her through the rain to wherever she was leading us. Davis and the others looked nervous about following a nightwalker, but Sonya walked beside me with a smile.
"Why are you so happy?" I asked.
"I thought all Nightwalkers and Blood Harvesters were the same, but I was wrong." She answered.
I smiled back. From the Corner of my eye I could see Davis's face turn red as he looked at her smile.
When I turned my face away, I drew my brows together and narrowed my eyes. I don't know why I felt so protective of Sonya, I felt like a Dog watching out for her warily and barking at any stranger. It was rather weird actually.
We neared a small river with a cascading waterfall at its end. There were a few wolves laying out on the river bank. They looked skinny and shaky.
"What's wrong with them?" asked Yolie, loosing her fear and filling with sadness for the wolves.
"Megara has cut back on our rations once more. We will surely starve now." Said Sorano.
"Why don't you hunt?" asked Cody.
"This area has been restricted, we aren't allowed to hunt. The last one who tried was taken away and executed. He was our last Male." Said Sorano.
"Why can't you hunt?" asked Davis.
"Who knows? Something to do with Shadow's experiments." Said Sorano gruffly.
Our faces went grim. We heard growling from all around us and noticed the wolves were crouched and ready to attack from front to back. We looked around warily, the digimon were ready to fight back.
"It's alright, they're not one of them." Said Sorano, calming the wolves down. They stopped growling and sat panting. They shook a little from hunger. Their legs were bones, their ribs were visible, and their faces were hollow. It was a very sad and sickening sight.
One of the wolves wined at Sorano. She looked at it sadly.
"No, I wasn't able to get our rations back." She shook her head. The other wolves lowered their heads in defeat.
"My, my, my, what depression." Said a voice. We turned to the voice and saw a man standing military style a few yards away on a large rock.
It was Shadow, grinning down at us from his perch on the rock.
"Shadow!" Davis Shouted.
Shadow ignored him.
"Why, it makes me sad to see you this way Sorano. Whatever is the trouble?" he asked.
Sorano frowned.
"We want our food back!" she growled.
"Food is hard to come by, you realize. I need to revitalize my crew."
"Fine, then lift the laws here and let us hunt again!"
"You know I can't do that. If you take all the prey, then what will my 'toys' have to eat?" Shadow smirked.
"I don't care about your 'toys'! I want food for my tribe!" Sorano barked.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you there." Said Shadow, crossing his arms in front of him.
He then turned his attention to us.
"Ah, the children the Megara had spoken so much about." He smiled.
"What are you doing here?" Davis demanded. "Don't you realize that you're upsetting the balance of the worlds?"
Shadow shrugged and raised a brow.
"So? Do you honestly think I care about the balance?" Shadow questioned.
We growled.
"Why are you here, exactly?" asked Shadow.
"That's what we should be asking you." I said angrily.
"I'm here for business reasons. You, however, have nothing to gain, nothing build, Nothing to serve, you have no purpose here." said Shadow skeptically. "Why, again, are you here?"
"We're here to stop you from destroying the worlds. I'm not so sure you realize it, but you're causing more harm to you and everyone around you then anything else."
"Harm?" he began to laugh. "Why, can't you see I'm creating a perfect world?" He asked loudly, gesturing to the empty lands.
"Perfect world? You're destroying it!" Kari shouted angrily.
Shadow looked at her with a craze in his eyes.
"Why, little lady. You have quite a temper there." He smirked as though he were going to make a sarcastic remark, but then stopped. He looked at her strangely for a moment, and then a realization hit his face, like that of Megara's earlier.
"You remind me of a girl I once knew." He started, looking at her hard.
Kari's eyes flared slightly.
"Don't look at me like that." She growled.
"Voice, looks, attitude, you have it all. I wonder if you have the guts." Said Shadow, more to himself than anyone else.
"What are you talking about?" questioned Gatomon.
Shadow shook his head, ridding himself of his recent thoughts.
"My dear children, I must ask you to leave, I have business to attend to." He said, waving us away.
Sorano bared her teeth as he turned to leave.
"Don't you leave here just yet, Shadow! Give back our food, at the very least!" she shouted.
Shadow turned to look at her, then turned back without a word. He snapped his fingers and a pair of Blood Harvester Leopards jumped form the bushes. They attacked the weakened wolves, killing them swiftly and easily.
Sonya covered her eyes from the sight and hid behind me.
The rest of us watched in horror at the blood bath.
"Shadow! What are you doing?" Sorano screamed helplessly.
"Now you don't have to worry about food anymore." He said simply and left. The Blood Harvesters feasted on the carcasses loudly.
Sorano fell to her knees and watched the sight in terror.
She then bared her teeth in a snarl. She rushed after the Leopards with her Spear, attempting to chase them off.
They laughed at her and grabbed the spear as it was swung. This caught her by surprise and she was thrown backward.
The digimon took this as their cue and Raidramon and Stingmon rushed the Leopards.
They saw the two digimon come after them and they darted into the trees.
Raidramon and Stingmon watched after them for a moment, then turned their attention to Sorano.
"Are you alright?" asked stingmon.
Sorano shook.
"They're gone. All of them." She whispered. "I tried so hard to keep them safe, keep them alive. Shadow, you bastard." Sorano cried.
Sonya and I were the first to move toward the nightwalker. I put a hand on her shaking shoulder and Sonya sat beside her.
The other digidestined looked saddened at her shaking form. Davis sat beside Sonya silently, trying to help calm the nightwalker down.
Kari was the only one who didn't move for Sorano.
"Is there somewhere for you to go?" asked Sonya delicately.
Sorano. Looked at her, tears in her eyes, and smiled weakly. She held Sonya's chin lightly.
"You're a sweet thing, you know that? I'll find somewhere to go. Just as long as it's far from here." She said.
"We can help you get away from here." Offered Davis. "It's dangerous out there on your own.
Sonya nodded her head in agreement.
"I mustn't have you children worry so much over me." Said Sorano, standing.
"No worries. We're glad to help." I said.
The others smiled and nodded.
Sorano laughed slightly and wiped her tears away.
"Why not? I'll come with you for now." She said, standing up.
"Now then, where's the safest place here we can take you to?" asked Ken.
"Teramori's forest. He and I have an alliance, I'm sure he will let me stay for a while." Sorano answered.
"Alright, then. Let's get moving." Said Cody with a smile.
"Thank you children." Said Sorano.
We walked through the trees away from the castle and the waterfall. Sorano directed us gently, telling us where checkpoints and good stop points were at.
Sonya held onto Sorano's arm the whole time we walked, supporting her balance and consoling her when her eyes went teary.
Davis made several glances at Sonya at a time as we walked. His face was red and he had a small smile on his face.
I felt my ear twitch like a dogs.
'It's alright, dude. Chill.' Said Tojima in my head.
I was slightly taken aback by this, but continued walking.
"T.K, what's wrong?" asked Sonya, noticing my awkward step.
"Nothing." I said quietly.
We walked in silence until we reached the Edge of Teramori's forest.
"I'll leave you here." Said Sorano. "Thank you again, digidestined. You have my aid when you need me. Good luck with your journey." She turned to leave and disappeared in the dark, shadowy trees.
"It's so sad to watch something like that. Everything was taken away from her so fast." Commented Yolie sadly.
"I thought that nightwalkers were cold, bloodthirsty monsters. Sorano wasn't anything like I had expected." Said Cody, looking into the trees where Sorano had left.
I looked over at Sonya and saw she was looking at the ground with a frown.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Nothing." She said quietly.
I watched her with concern, as did Davis.
"Well, now what?" asked Ken.
"We still need to find Shadow's base." Said Kari with her arms crossed.
"But no one really knows where it is, remember Kari?" asked Nefertimon.
"So we keep looking." She answered back.
Watching Kari speak reminded me of Ken as the digimon emperor; Full of pride, power, and blinded by darkness. I felt a sudden rush of fear for Kari.
The temper had suddenly left her and she smiled.
"We still have some daylight left, so let's start looking, eh?" she said.
The others nodded and we moved away from the forest to the valley.
"Where are we going to look first?" I asked.
"Where could he have his base at?" asked Ken in response to my question.
"No one knows because every area has nearly been engulfed in darkness. He could be anywhere in the digital world." Said Raidramon.
"What about Megara?" asked Kari.
We looked at her. She was looking in the direction of Megara's castle.
"What about her?" asked Armadillomon.
"Animals never settle far from home." She said.
Sonya looked at her and blinked.
"Oh, I understand. You think that Shadow may be close by Megara's base?" she asked.
"Could be. Either in the area or region." Said Kari.
"I get it. What are we waiting for?" said Davis enthusiastically.
"Davis wait." Said Cody, looking at the sky.
"What is it now Cody?" asked Davis in frustration.
"Look at the sky. It's getting darker." Cody pointed.
We looked up as well. Sure enough, the sky was turning from its dark grey to a steady black.
"What's happening?" asked Yolie, holding onto Ken's arm.
"It's about to Rain." Said Halsemon.
"The sky has to turn black for that?" asked Davis.
"Now it does." Said Stingmon. The digimon reared back toward the trees.
"Come on, we have to get out of here." Said Pegasusmon. The blackening sky started to tint into a red-ish color.
"A little rain never hurt anyone." Said Davis, holding his hand out to feel for the raindrops.
"It does when it's red like that." Said Raidramon. He ducked between Davis's legs and lifted him onto his back.
"Whoa! What are you doing Raidramon?!" Davis shouted in surprise. I pulled Sonya onto Pegasusmon's back. The other digimon grabbed their partners as well and took off. Davis pulled Cody onto Raidramon's back, still curious as to what the digimon was talking about.
"What's going on?" asked Yolie in fright.
"We have to hurry." Said Nefertimon and she flew faster.
The rain began to fall lightly. It was cool at first, then it became warmer. I watched the raindrops fall into my hand, but was shocked when I realized the rain was red. It wasn't rain at all, in fact. It was Blood!
"What the-!" I started. The others noticed this too and they clung onto their digimon. Only Kari and I made no sound or look of fear. I watched Kari in flight and she carried the same dominate look again. A crease had formed between her eyes and her hand was clenched into a fist. To me, she looked like a Valkerie, riding into battle and covered in blood. That was close to the current scenario actually. She looked at me and relaxed.
"What is it?" she asked.
I shook my head of my thoughts once more.
"Nothing." I said. It was getting difficult to breath in the thick rain. It came in such numbers, it was like buckets of pig's blood was being poured on us.
"What's happening?" shouted Ken, covering himself from the falling blood.
"It's a Bloodfall! It happens usually happens after a massive slaughter." Answered Halsemon.
"A what!?" Yolie shouted.
"A Massacre must have taken place somewhere near here." Said Stingmon.
"Where do we go?" shouted Davis through the pouring red.
"I don't know, but we have to find a place soon!" spluttered Cody.
Kari was looking around frantically.
"What are you doing?" I called to her.
She seemed to have found what she was looking for. She pointed where she was looking at and I followed her direction. There was a small cave in the wall of the canyon. I called to the others and pointed with Kari to the cave.
We made our way through the Bloodfall to the cave. Raidramon jumped grandly from his spot on the cliff to the cave. He landed gracefully on the other side by the mouth of the cave. We entered and shook ourselves off, thankful for shelter.
"I've never seen anything like this before." Said Ken.
"It started when the Creatures came through the gate." Said Raidramon.
I looked over at Sonya, who was trying to brush her hair out with her fingers.
"Are you alright/" I asked her.
I looked at me and smiled.
"I'm alright. You?" she asked me.
I nodded.
"How long do we stay here?" I asked Pegasusmon.
"That depends on the size of the slaughter. We could wit here for a few minutes to a few hours." He answered.
"Well then, let's get comfortable. We aren't going anywhere in this." I said, sitting down and ringing my clothes out.
Kari sat beside me, trying to ring out her hair.
"How did you know this was here?" I asked her.
"Instinct." She answered back with a bloody grin.
The other digidestined sat as well. The digimon de-digivolved to their original forms. Ken and Yolie sat together, comforting one another. Cody sat beside me and Kari while Davis continuously glanced at Sonya.
"Sonya, are you alright?" He asked meekly. She smiled and nodded.
"I am, thank you. Are you okay?" She asked him. He turned beat red.
"I'm fine." He said, looking away.
"It's so obvious with him." Said Kari, shaking her head.
"I hope we're not stuck here for too long. We still have to get back to our world." Said Cody.
Kari nodded.
"Don't worry so much, you two. We'll get back before long." I assured them.
"I should hope so. I don't know if mom and dad were serious or not." Said Kari, leaning back on her palms.
"Serious about what?" asked Yolie.
"Before summer break, mom and dad said that if I miss much of this year like before, they're sending me to another school. I don't know if they were serious or not, but I don't wanna take that chance." Said Kari.
"What? Seriously?" sai Davis loudly.
Kari nodded.
"You want proof? Ask Tai, he was there." She said.
"Is that why you've been acting weird all summer?" I asked.
"Just about." She answered. "It's been a bad summer for me. I'm just glad it's over."
We looked away from her, remembering what happened to her family.
"Kari, I'm sorry about your dad." Said Yolie quietly. Sonya looked up at her, then at Kari.
"Don't be." Said Kari flatly.
"And you too, T.K. I can't believe how things have turned out for the both of you." Said Ken.
I blinked.
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad Sonya wasn't here for it." I said, leaning back on my palms as well.
Sonya looked down, then back up at us.
"It looks like the rain is letting up." Said Davis.
We looked and saw the blood-soaked valley through the thinning rain.
Soon it stopped completely and we stepped out of the mouth of the cave.
"How horrible." Said Sonya.
"Bloodfalls can be pretty bad. I wonder where this came from?" wondered Gatomon.
"Let's find our way back. It's starting to get dark." Said Hawkmon. It was indeed dark outside.
"How did it get so dark so fast?" asked Ken.
"Time has also been radically messed up since Shadow's appearance. Let's hurry home." Said Gatomon. The digimon digivolved and we flew back to the hill side quickly.
"hey, T.K. What's the matter?" asked Kari.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"There was something bugging you earlier. What was it?"
"Oh. I had a weird dream, I'm not sure if it was even a dream." I said. "I saw the nightwalkers. They asked me to join them in a fight." I said. Pegasusmon's ears twitched. I knew that he was listening, I figured I had to word what I said carefully.
"What did you say?" Kari asked.
"…I said I would. It must've been a dream, though." I answered. We flew in silence the rest of the way. We arrived at the hill and entered the gateway home.
Damn that took forever!
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