CHAPTER 36: The land is
barren. The trees have been knocked down and there is a black
aura seemingly absorbed into the area around the Ark. There are
miscellaneous Nightmare Soldiers doing their various tasks and
ripping down the forest. The area they landed in has been
claimed. Small underground jails have been dug and any
inhabiting digimon have been put in there. All of the resources
have been taken and right now the main project of the Nightmare
Soldiers if completing the half erected tower in the center of the
area. The tower is spiked at the top and made of a black
stone. Ancient runes are being carved all up the tower by
Apemon and meanwhile below a type of control consol is being
assembled. The tower is half finished and about 50 feet tall
currently… Out about 150 yards from the ship stands a
gigantic Deltamon with a human standing upon his shoulder in black
robes. Javel: Deltamon Deltamon… My how things
are progressing… Deltamon roars… Javel looks
out at the Ark. The sleek black ship has all of its cargo doors
open and things are being unloaded. From the center of the ship
he can see the mechanized lift descending with two cloaked figures,
Cyclonemon, and Tuskmon on it. The lift reaches the ground and
the two cloaked figures mount their digimon. Cyclonemon and
Tuskmon immediately head off at a slow pace. Javel: And
where are they going?… Deltamon… follow them from a
distance… ((((((((((Inside The Ark)))))))))) Myotismon
sits in a gothic looking throne with Gatomon standing in front of
him. LadyDevimon stands to Myotismon's left. Gatomon:
I understand… (She bows respectfully.) LadyDevimon:
Myotismon! I savagely object! She is my minion! You
cannot order her around like this!? Myotismon: Sister…
You forget who is in charge… I may order her to do what I
wish when I wish… LadyDevimon: Can she go tomorrow?
::::numesludge… She still has the heart of File Island…
And I suspect she had also retrieved the 2nd relic from File Island…
I cannot lose those in such a dangerous situation.:::: Myotismon:
No… She will depart now with an escort of troops. This
has been planned for a while now sister. LadyDevimon:
BUT BROTHER… Gatomon looks at LadyDevimon like she is
in trouble. She does not know what to do. Myotismon:
SILENCE! (He rises out of his chair and slaps LadyDevimon in
the face.) LadyDevimon: AHHHH! (She collapses to
the ground. The side of her pale face is now red from where he
struck her.) Grrrr… Myotismon: I expect a report
back as soon as you can make contact… Gatomon: I
understand my lord… Myotismon: You are dismissed…
The gate is ready… It is a rare occurrence that we can form
one… so hear me when I say… don't you dare come back if
you fail… (Myotismon throws a white triangular crystal at
Gatomon.) Gatomon: (Catches it in her paw) (Turns
around and walks toward the automatic doors.) ::::Don't worry
LadyDevimon… I will protect them…:::: (The automatic
doors shut behind Gatomon and she slips off her left glove. In
her paw she holds a sand colored pendant with a white crystal in the
center (File Island relic.) and the circular black crystal. (The
Heart of File Island.) She looks at them for a moment and slips
her glove back on.) Gatomon heads down a mechanized lift and
heads down a long black hallway. She gets to a double door with
a mechanized circular lock in the center. In the center of the
lock is a high tech hand scanning system. Gatomon takes off her
right glove and presses her paw against the scanner. Her hand
turns white and slightly glows. The scanner glows green as it
passes over her paw and when it finishes steam shoots out of the lock
and it rotates to the right three times. The doors slowly
open. Gatomon enters a large chamber. The floor is
actually made out of gray stone. The room is circular with four
sand colored stone pillars forming a square around a circle engraved
in the stone floor. There are ancient runes carved into the
circle on the floor and all over the pillars. They seem to be
ancient structures. Gatomon closes her eyes. Gatomon:
::::It is time… come to me…:::: As Gatomon thinks this in
her head about 30 Bakemon appear out of thin air and stare at her
intensely. They show no emotion and seem to be totally obedient
to her. Gatomon: (Walks into the circle and places the
triangular white crystal in a very tiny circle in the center.
As she turns around immediately it stands on its tip and glows white
at first. By the time Gatomon turns back around the white light
is no longer coming from the crystal as red light is now shining.
A black ring (8ftx8ft) appears 3 inches off the ground and
spins. The center fills in and the physical structure of a
black gate appears. The metal doors of this mysterious black
gate with designs carved into it begin to open with a loud screeching
sound. Inside the gate all that can be seen is a funnel of dark
clouds. Wind begins to stir up in the room as if the portal is
sucking them in.) LET'S GO! (Gatomon leaps into the
gateway and freefalls in the funnel of dark clouds.) The
Bakemon immediately enter the portal after her. Before long
they have all entered and the gates close with the same screeching
noise. The gate spins to the left and the edges begin to
dematerialize until there is nothing left but a black triangular
crystal. It falls to the ground and cracks… then
shatters. ((((((((((MEANWHILE)))))))))) Seth:
Well, we still don't know where we should go… (All
of them are sitting on the ground in a circle (Minus Biyomon who is
resting.) around Zane's map laid out in the middle of
them.) Zane: This one… (He points to one of the
X's on the map.) This is the closest relic to our current
location. Only thing is it is under water. The ocean to
be exact. Rachel: Well that's no good. We can't
hold our breath and just swim down there… Tyke:
Maybe we could find an aquatic digimon to help us… Rachel:
Oh yeah Tyke… you just go into the ocean… put your head
under water, and shout really loudly… lets see what comes to "Help"
you… Tyke thinks back to the gigantic ocean creature
they saw under the surface of the water our at sea when they first
got to D.O.S. Tyke: (Gulps.) Okay… Never
mind. Klaire: This one… (She points.) It
is on land and the last of the known three. We should be the
only ones, or close to the only ones who know about the three under
the ocean waters so they are safe for now. The ones on land
will be the ones they will go for seeing as they only know of those
three. We have the advantage. Seth: I hope they
didn't clear out the other relics already. Tyke:
True… they got to this continent before us. They might have
already cleaned them out and the one we got was the last they
needed… GhostAgumon: We still need to check them out!
Maybe we can get all three! (He smiles positively.) Gabumon:
If we are going relic hunting… then we should pick teams. (He
has his arms crossed and always seems serious.) Zane:
Oooo… That's right! Nick: What? Zane:
Well you see… only three humans and three digimon can go after a
relic at a time… (He grabs his chin and thinks.) And I
suppose if one of us died another could enter as backup… (He
sees everyone eyeing him at the thought of them dying.) Heh
heh… but that will never happen… Nick: I wanna
go… Klaire: Nick… it's just not a good
idea… Nick: Hey! Me and Gazimon have helped you
guys out of some bad times… We have earned the right to have
a fair chance just like the rest of you! Seth: Gazimon…
can you digivolve? Gazimon: Me?… er… (He
looks up at Nick and lowers his head.) No… (He seems
sad in his eyes.) Seth: Then the answer is no. Nick
looks down at the ground. Palmon puts her arm on his
shoulder. Palmon: Don't worry Nick… You have
been a big help in the past… Some of us wouldn't be here if
it weren't for you two… we would have died in that fortress
back on File Island and that would have been it… Tyke:
I volunteer… (He raises his hand.) Rachel:
Okay, that's one… Zane: I have been through it…
So I know what to expect, so I guess we're in Kunemon! Kunemon:
We're in! Rachel: Good… I'll take third
position if that is alright with everyone… Seth and Klaire
nod. Seth: Gabumon and I will provide security should
any of those people show up to stop us. Zane rolls up
the map. ((((((((((MEANWHILE)))))))))) Devimon walks
into the bridge of the ship. Myotismon: Yes? Devimon:
Sister is not pleased… She is outside vengefully thrashing
any wild digimon she can find… she is livid. Myotismon:
All cause of that hideous creature I sent to Earth? Devimon:
Yeah, I don't see her attachment. Attached to something so
fake. Myotismon: She has her reasons… I
could really care less what she thinks. This is my ship…
these are my Soldiers. She would still be on File Island if it
weren't for me. Devimon: For us… if it were not for
my power getting us the troops we have not to mention my precious
crystals, you would never have gotten a chance to rise to power on
File Island. Andromon would have opposed you and you would have
lost. Myotismon: Bite your tongue! Devimon:
Heh… He makes you nervous does he? Why? He is
doing the same thing we are… only we have a head start. Myotismon: I am not one to underestimate anyone.
I have communicated my nervousness about the new situation… those
kids… Devimon: The Digi-Destined… yes…
they are an annoyance… Myotismon: They are more than
that… If they were to join Andromon it could mean trouble for
us. Devimon: Yeah right… with you know who
backing us up, we can't be touched. Myotismon: Don't
be so sure brother… I have told them about the 6
Digi-Destined… Devimon: And? Myotismon:
And they will be dealt with. Devimon: I see… Myotismon: I want air troops to scout the
continent. Devimon: For what exactly? Myotismon:
Geographical information. I need a location for our D.O.S.
fortress… This area is merely a stepping stone to
establishing power here. We need a stronghold to gain total
control. Devimon: Understood. So this area
will serve as a gate town? Myotismon: Correct. ((((((((((MEANWHILE)))))))))) Biyomon: Yeah…
I think I can… (Biyomon stands before the others bandaged
around the midsection.) Seth: If you can that would
really help us out. Rachel: So why exactly don't your
digivices give off a signal either? Zane:
Ninjamon's doing. He told us to hand em' over. That a
ninja can never be stealth if he is easily detected. I kept
trying to explain to him that we are not ninja… He was kind
of a crazy little thing, but wise none-the-less. Klaire:
Biyomon, are you sure? Biyomon: (Weak) Yes…
I have enough strength for it. (Seth sets the box on the ground
and Biyomon grabs it with his talons. He then flaps his wings
and rises into the air with great difficulty. Klaire:
(Waves.) BE CAREFUL! Tyke: You think it will
work? Seth: Yeah… Diversionary tactics…
these people seem to be cut throat, and might just go for the
bait. Biyomon flies for ten minutes serenely over the tree
tops. From above the trees he can see mountains and lush
forests. From afar this continent looks beautiful. The
air is much cleaner above the trees, so fresh. Biyomon feels at
home in these skies. File Island was small and there were never
many places to fly. But now there is land before Biyomon as far
as his eyes can see. Biyomon: This should be far
enough. Biyomon starts to descend into the tree tops
and finds a large high branch to perch on. He immediately bowls
over and grabs the box before it falls from the branch. He sits
down and leans against the trunk of the tree. Biyomon: A
ten minute rest should more than be enough… (Biyomon undoes
the two latches on the box and opens it and looks inside.
Inside the box is nothing more than Nick's light/dark gray and
white digivice.) And now we wait… (Deep sigh.) ((((((((((MEANWHILE)))))))))) Beep Beep Beep! ?????
(Male): Halt! Cyclonemon stops. Tuskmon with his
rider passes them. With the momentum of running forward the way
he does he uproots earth with his feet as he suddenly stops and skids
to a halt in the soft soil of the jungle. ????? (Male):
I am picking up a digivice signal. But where the hell are they
headed? They are a fair distance away in a forest region. ???? (Female): Oh and our luck… we were going
tropical… ????? (Male): North West… They seem
to not be moving… (He presses some buttons on his digivice
screen.) The black cloaked figure upon Cyclonemon dismounts
and walks in front of Cyclonemon. He takes his digivice off of
his wrist strap and holds it up to Cyclonemon's eye. ?????
(Male): Get a good look at this Cyclonemon… Memorize it…
this is where the enemy is… You get to kill… Cyclonemon
glares his eyes at the screen. ???? (Female): You're
not kidding around huh? ????? (Male): No. We are
not going to end up like Brian and Erin. Those two are failures
in the eyes of the superiors. ???? (Female): Now
really… when it is just the two of us you do not need to
refer to them as the superiors. Tell the truth… the four of
us are the superior ones… ????? (Male): True…
And as much as I hate to admit this… the fifth is also one of us… ???? (Female): He will never be one of
us... Cyclonemon roars. ???? (Female): Looks like
he's got it… ????? (Male): (Walks over to the right
side of Cyclonemon and reattaches his digivice to his wrist strap.
The signal of the digivice has just vanished from the screen.)
Lost the signal… no matter… we can follow them from there…
(He then mounts Cyclonemon and they turn and head off… Cyclonemon
moving faster than he was before.) Soon…
((((((((((MEANWHILE)))))))))) Biyomon
returns with the box securely shut. He lands and Rachel grabs
the box and puts it back in the bag. Seth: Awsome…
How far did you get? Biyomon: A few miles…
pretty far from our location… I left it open for ten minutes
so there is no telling how long they got our signal if at all… Seth:
That's great. I am sure they noticed it. Being as
we were so close to the temple it would have been easy for them to
scout around and find us… Klaire: Biyomon… you
relax right now. Rachel: Yeah, you earned it. We
are gonna pack up camp and get moving. The campfire is kicked
out and Palmon covers it with soil. Zane and Klaire work
together on packing up the makeshift tent. Nick helps gather up
things. With everyone pitching in doing various tasks they
manage to get camp not only packed up, but the land erased of any
traces that they spent the night. Rachel: Okay…
(She puts her goggles on her head.) Let's go… All
of them set out walking through the jungle. After about 2 hours
of walking they actually reach a dirt path. By now it is
evening and light is becoming scarce. The path is littered with
gigantic footprints. Apparently it is a digimon trail created
by digimon treading through the jungle… Klaire: So
if we hear a loud rumble just tuck and roll? Zane: Heh!
Yeah… Just throw yourself off the road. It looks like
thinks stampede down this path… They continue on down the
road talking when they feel they are safe to. Occasionally they
hear a roar and keep walking in silence as to not attract anything. Rachel and Seth take up the front with Gabumon and
Palmon. Klaire and Nick walk together with Biyomon and Gazimon
by their sides and Zane and Tyke take up the back with GhostAgumon
and Kunemon. Zane: Agumon… can I just say you
are very interesting? GhostAgumon: (Confused by the
remark.) Thanks? Tyke taps Zane on the shoulder and puts a
finger up to his own lip. Zane looks over confused for a
moment and looks at GhostAgumon. He then looks back to Tyke and
nods in understanding. Tyke: (Whispers.) I will
tell you about it later. Up ahead in the path there is a large
puddle in the middle of the road, about 4 feet wide and 6 feet
long. Zane: Kunemon. The word of the day is…
"Attack!" Repeat after me… "Attack!" Kunemon:
At-tock! Zane: At-tack! Kunemon:
At-taaack! Tyke: What is that you are doing with
him? Zane: He kinda has the basics down with the English
and all. He didn't speak a word when I met him, so I have
been teaching him words every day. Given our situation words
like "attack" and "defend" and "help" and such are kind
of crucial. Already taught him "Help" and "Defend".
Other than that he mimics me. Tyke: That is good
though. Rachel and Seth step in the 2 inch deep puddle in the
middle of the road along with Palmon and Gabumon. Rachel:
Oh well… as if these shoes haven't had enough abuse… The
ocean and all… Klaire, Biyomon, Nick, and Gazimon step in
the shallow puddle and move on. Zane: That's strange…
It hasn't rained in a while… Tyke: Huh…
yeah, your right… Zane and Tyke step into the puddle and
walk forward with GhostAgumon flying beside Tyke and Kunemon getting
his underbelly wet. Tyke stops. Zane, Kunemon, and
GhostAgumon move on. Tyke: ::::I can't move!:::: (He
feels a strange sensation in his head. He is almost light
headed with a mix of that feeling felt in your stomach when you
are on a roller coaster.) Zane: Hey… Tyke? (He
turns around to look at Tyke.) AHHHHHHH! Tyke's eyes
roll back in his head. Zane: YOU
GUYS!!!!!!!!!! Kunemon: HELP! There is a small
hand reaching up out of the puddle that has grabbed Tyke's leg.
Tyke breathes heavily and his breath can be seen as if it were
winter… Seth runs back past Zane and stops. Seth:
What the hell is going on? Klaire puts her hand
to her mouth. Seth: TYKE! TYKE I WANT YOU TO MOVE
YOUR RIGHT LEG TOWARD ME! TYKE CAN YOU HEAR ME!? Tyke:
(Can hear Seth and the others faintly… He feels himself
falling back.) Ugh… Tyke falls backward and as his
back hit's the surface of the water he just continues to
fall. Rachel: TYKE! (She runs forward to grab his
arm with GhostAgumon. The others are in shock. Rachel and
GhostAgumon stand around the edges of the puddle and look down but
see nothing.) Tyke opens his eyes and looks up. He is
under water looking up at Rachel calling down to him through some
sort of opening (The puddle.) and GhostAgumon screaming down at him.
Their voices sound distant and distorted. Tyke:
::::What is happening? … How did I… :::: (He
is not sinking nor is he rising… Tyke looks around in this
dark water. There is nothing in sight… including the surface.
In fact the only light is coming from the surface of the
puddle.) Tyke begins to panic as he is running out of breath.
The thoughts of his death rush through his head and the oxygen
begins to run out. Suddenly out of the corners of his eyes he
sees something in the water. A beautiful woman with
short black hair stares at Tyke. She looks to be about 17 years
of age with pale white skin. She wears a type of golden crown
upon her head with two golden pieces that sort of resemble crosses
sticking out of the crown. She wears tight black revealing
clothing revealing her cleavage and her slender figure. Two
giant straps of leather run in across her abdomen and up over her
shoulders. Her sleeves are a royal purple colored cloth that
flows all the way down and past her feet. The purple sleeves
also covered her entire right arm obscuring it from view. Upon
her back she has four wicked black wings. The two upper wings
are shorter than the lower bottom wings which are about twice as
large. From her hair she has what seem to be thin metal cords
that end in arrows. (Lilithmon.)
Tyke looks
at the beautiful Lilithmon in awe. She seems to be totally calm
despite being under water. She slowly walks toward Tyke even
though they are floating in the middle of water. Tyke's lungs
burn with the lack of oxygen but he intensely watches on as she
approaches him. She lifts her left hand and touches his cheek
with her palm and looks into his eyes lovingly. She then closes
her eyes and leans in and presses her lips against his. Tyke
cannot believe what is happening. He feels his mouth open an no
sooner does he feel to his horror all of the air being sucked out of
him. Lilithmon pulls her face away and steps back two steps as
she is walking on the water as if on some invisable platform. Tyke
can move his arms and grabs his neck. He is drowning to
death. Tyke suddenly goes limp and falls back and begins to
sink in the dark murky water. He looks up one last time at
Lilithmon who stares back down at him. Tyke's body falls
down further and further. Suddenly light envelops him and he is
thrust downward and air is rushing all around him. He is now
free falling in a black void full of green 0's and 1's. Tyke's
body flips over so he is belly down and he smashes through barriers
of condensed data squares made up of letters, 0's and 1's…
Tyke's body breaks through the last barrier and he flips
again so he is unconscious falling head first. Tyke hits water
with an impact. He wakes up and flails. His head is
throbbing with intense pain. He feels sick from swallowing
salty water so suddenly. On pure instinct he kicks his feet and
manages to find oxygen. Tyke: Ughhhh… (He sees
the dark shore of land.) How did I… (He swims for the
sandy shore.) After five minutes of struggling and some
help from the waves pulling him in he manages to crawl up on the
sandy beach that is illuminated by the full moon in the sky… He
breathes heavily after his ordeal and forces himself up… Tyke:
(Shouts.) RACHEL! KLAIRE! AGUMON!… (He
looks around desperately for any sign of them.) Where am I!?
(Tears run down his face.) Agumon… Where are you…
(He heads up the beach and climbs up some steep rocks covered
in sand.) Tyke gets to the top of the steep rocks and looks
out over the beach. Tyke: What the… (He looks at the
sand… there are thousands of footprints.) That's impossib…
(He looks to a light coming from the right.) Three black
SUV's pull up on the beach and come to a halt. From each SUV
4 men step out onto the beach entirely dressed in black. They
immediately unload various machines and equipment. A lot of
them have these little handheld EMF (Electro Magnetic Frequency)
detectors and others are taking pictures of the ground and
surrounding area. A fourth SUV pulls up and a single
man gets out. Unlike the others he is dressed in a black trench
coat and none of his features can be distinguished. He walks to
the others and none of them seem to take notice of his presence and
continue their search. Tyke: (In shock.) I'm…
home… Mysterious Man: You got anything? (Cold
voice.) EMF Person: Yes sir… it is an exact
match… Mysterious Man: This is the second one
today… TO BE CONTINUED…