Chapter 6

Three days after their adventure in the Yokomon village, Wolf and Revemon were back at the job of gathering supplies. They were then walking through the tropical jungle part of File Island, heading for the Great Canyon. It had been Revemon's suggestion that for the chimney and fireplace of the house, instead of searching all over for rocks large enough to be used, it would be easier to find a large boulder, take it back to the lake, and then break it apart as needed. Because of how far it was from Dragon Eye Lake to the Great Canyon, the two had set off on the previous night and camped out.

As they walked, Revemon looked up to see a wide smile on his partner's face.

"Wolf, how are you so happy in this heat and humidity?"

"I'm happy absolutely every day I'm here in the digital world. Pal, you really have no idea just how wonderful it is to know I'll never have to deal with any of that old, people crap ever again." Wolf said.

"You keep saying how much you don't like other humans, but you haven't yet told me why." Revemon said.

Wolf's face took on an irresolute quality when he heard that question.

"You can tell me can't you? We're partners, and besides, who am I gonna tell?" Revemon asked.

"I try not to think about it much, because it really makes me angry in a way I don't like, but, I'll tell it to you, but only in part." Wolf said.

Revemon nodded his head.

"I've pretty much always been the smartest guy in the room, even when I was a small kid. To make a long story short, where I was born, that didn't exactly endear me to the locals. For all my life that I was there, everyone detested me for the simple fact that I wasn't like them. Not long after I turned seven, my stupid hick of a father, incredibly made even dumber by inebriation, did something. I... I can't say what it was. The hick didn't do it to me, but it was bad, and he and all the rest of them thought it was real funny afterwards. Seeing the absolute lack of any kind of humanity or care for what had happened made me hate them furiously. After that, I made my choice, and I put all my intelligence towards developing the skills I'd need to survive on my own, and got the hell away from there as quickly as I could. As I got older, I saw that what I had observed was the same with everyone else. All humans care about nothing but their own desires, and take pleasure in the pain and suffering of any and everything. That's why I'm ecstatic to not be around them anymore." Wolf explained.

"Okay." Revemon said. "I won't ask you what it was that happened. And I'm glad you're here too, so it doesn't really matter anyway."

Wolf smiled at his digimon. "Same here, pal."

OOO

Two hours later, the two of them arrived in the rocky, rugged ravine of the Great Canyon. Walking through it, Wolf's mind flashed back to photos he had once seen online of the Grand Canyon of Arizona. With the red and yellowish rocks, the absence of water and wildlife, and the high canyon walls on either side of them, if it weren't for Revemon beside him, Wolf could have thought he was back on Earth.

"Wow, I've never really been to this part of the island before. It's so cool." Revemon said.

"You've never been here before?" Wolf asked.

"No. I mean, I've come past here a couple of times, that's how I knew how to get here, but I've never actually entered the canyon before."

"Hey, want to see something fun?"

"Sure, Wolf."

Wolf inhaled deeply and shouted, "Hello!"

His voice echoed loudly and repeatedly off the rocks.

"Oh, that's so cool!" Revemon said. He then shouted, "Hey!"

His word reverberated back as well.

"What is that?" Revemon asked.

"It's an echo. It happens cause the sound waves bounce off of the rocks and then continue traveling, which is why it fades away."

"It's awesome! Digimon rock!" Revemon yelled.

"Humans suck!"

"Revemon's the best!"

"AAAAHHHH!" Wolf yelled.

They both then stopped and their echoes died out within a few seconds. They then burst out laughing for a few moments.

"Come on, lets look for a rock." Revemon said and they started walking again.

"Revemon, if we find a boulder big enough, you really don't mind digivolving and flying it back to the lake do you? I don't want to just use you, and I'm sure we could figure out some way of moving it without you straining yourself."

"It's alright, Wolf. I don't mind at all. And while I don't doubt your inventiveness, I don't think even you could improvise something to move thousands of pounds of rock around here." Revemon said.

Wolf then looked around their barren surroundings again, and gave a small chuckle.

"You may have a point there."

"Of course I do. Don't you know? Digimon are always RIGHT!" Revemon shouted the last word to do another echo.

"But they wouldn't be any good without DIGIDESTINED!" Wolf yelled.

He had been so focused on their fun, Wolf didn't notice his foot accidentally kick into a rock as he was taking his step. He stumbled and cried out in pain and irritation from it, but he and Revemon kept going. A few moments after they had moved on from the spot, the large rock Wolf had kicked began to move and stir, and then it exploded out of the ground. Wolf and Revemon turned back to look just in time to dodge out of the way of a blitz of soaring rocks and a giant claw swinging at them.

They jumped back out of its reach and saw that the claw was attached to a huge, yellow, reptilian digimon. The digimon was close to seven feet tall, sat on both its hind legs and front arms, and had spiked, metal plating on its tail, one shoulder, and its head. The metal on its head was almost like a mask, but a mask that only had a single eye hole. The most attention grabbing aspect of the digimon was its right arm, which was at least twice the thickness and width of its left arm.

"Revemon?" Wolf asked.

"He's Cyclonemon. He used to be a prideful warrior digimon until he was defeated by Leomon and lost an eye. Now, he does nothing but look for a fight to make himself stronger so he can get revenge on Leomon one day. His right arm is not something you ever want to get hit with." Revemon said.

With no words, Cyclonemon then rushed them again, swinging his enormous right arm at them.

"Arm Bomber!"

"Super kick!" Revemon said, using his own attack to push off against Cyclonemon's arm, and launch himself into Wolf, propelling them both out of danger.

"So, no chance of talking it out. Got it." Wolf said as they landed.

"Better kick it up a notch. Revemon digivolve to... Shradomon!"

Shradomon sat up on his hind legs, facing towards Cyclonemon with his wings spread.

"Slicing Gale!"

He beat his wings frenziedly, making blades of energized air shoot out. The slashes struck Cyclonemon and sent him flying backwards into the canyon wall. Only a few seconds after impacting, Cyclonemon climbed out of the hole his body had made and glowered at his two enemies.

"I'm going to enjoy pulverizing you now." Cyclonemon said. "Hyper Heat!"

A wave of invisible, concentrated heat then blasted forth from Cyclonemon's body. Even though they couldn't see it, Wolf and Shradomon could feel how destructive the attack coming towards them was, and Shradomon grabbed onto Wolf with his hind legs and carried him into the sky just a moment before he would have been charbroiled. Fifty feet up in the air, a sweat broke on Wolf's forehead from the swelter. Shradomon dropped him on the top of the canyon wall.

"Wolf, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Almost learned what the inside of a microwave feels like, though." Wolf said.

"Stay up here. I think Cyclonemon's too dangerous for you to directly help with."

"Okay, but try to keep an eye on me in case I come up with something I can do from up here."

Shradomon nodded, took off again, and dove back into the canyon.

"Black Blazer!"

His attack soared for his adversary, but using his stronger right arm, Cyclonemon was able to leap away. Before Cyclonemon even touched down again, Shradomon collided with him and the two impacted hard into the ground. The two champion digimon brawled and scrambled in close quarters on the ground, punching, biting, and swinging for each other back and forth. Both gave it everything they could, and neither seemed to be able to land a single blow. The spectacle reminded Wolf vaguely of a clip he had once watched online of a mongoose fighting with a cobra. Shradomon clawed across Cyclonemon's chest. Cyclonemon clobbered Shradomon in the head with his large right hand. It was total havoc.

Even though there was no reason at present to believe that Shradomon would not win unassisted, it was not in Wolf's nature to do nothing when he could act. He started to look all around for something he could use to help his digimon. A hundred feet down on his right, right on the edge of the drop was a boulder. Wolf could see that weather wearing had made it so that the rock was perfectly suited to be broken off if it had some persuasion. Wolf ran over, squatted down in front of the rock, and strained against it with all of his strength.

Down in the canyon, Shradomon was knocked away by a backhanded blow from Cyclonemon, sending him off. After coming to a stop, Shradomon looked up to the top of the cliff wall, and, not seeing Wolf, but noticing a boulder starting to shift over the edge, understood. Shradomon then dived at Cyclonemon, wrapped his body around the other's, punched him twice in the head, and then, twisting and unfurling himself, threw Cyclonemon into the path the boulder would take just as Wolf managed to break it loose. The huge rock rolled down the slope and then crushed Cyclonemon against the far canyon wall. After the boulder rolled away a moment later, they could see that Cyclonemon was out cold.

Shradomon then flew up to the top of the wall and landed near to Wolf.

"He wasn't so tough." Wolf said with amusement. "We had a harder time with Woodmon."

"Why do you think he hasn't defeated Leomon yet?" Shradomon asked.

Wolf barked out a hearty laugh.

"That boulder I broke off, I think it's big enough to accommodate us. Think you can pick it up?"

In answer, Shradomon went back down into the canyon, wrapped himself around the rock, and returned with it.

"It's heavy, but not impossible." Shradomon said.

"Alright, that's the one then. After you get it back to the lake, take a long rest, don't push yourself. I'll start back on my own." Wolf said.

"You sure you can find your way back on your own?"

"Are you kidding? I've spent my last seven years in New York. You can't get around there on no money without a good sense of direction. This is no problem."

Shradomon smiled. "Alright. I'll come back to get you after I've rested. Try to take our same route back, and it shouldn't be hard for me to find you."

"Sure, pal. I'll see you in a little while." Wolf said, turned, and began to walk at a relaxed pace.

Shradomon flapped his wings several times and was then airborne again.

OOO

Three hours after leaving the Great Canyon, Wolf was still walking through the tropical jungle at an easy, consistent speed. He had just started to think about maybe taking a break to find something to eat when the trees to his side were violently wrenched out by their roots and sent crashing towards him. Wolf shoulder-rolled to his right just in time to keep himself from being crushed and looked up to see what happened.

"Cyclonemon?!" He shouted in shock.

"I won't let you get away that easily, human. I will have my revenge! First you, then Leomon!" Cyclonemon roared and swung his huge right arm.

Wolf threw himself onto his stomach, and the swing passed over his head, and destroyed another tree. Wolf then got back to his feet, turned, and ran with all the speed he could muster. Cyclonemon was instantly chasing after him.

"Okay, this isn't too good." Wolf thought to himself. "Shradomon's certain not to show up for at least a few more hours, and I can't see anything to help me deal with him myself."

He kept his eyes and powers of perception almost entirely on the path ahead of him, making sure not to trip, and did not dare to look back. He didn't even have to, as he could clearly define from the sounds behind him that the growth of the jungle was all that was allowing him to stay ahead of Cyclonemon.

"Rah! Cyclops' Eye!" Cyclonemon shouted.

A moment later, an explosion only eight feet to Wolf's left resulted from the digimon's laser energy attack. The blast caused a tree and the earth beneath it to erupt into projectile shrapnel, forcing Wolf to cover his head for protection. He pressed on running, and Cyclonemon continued to fire his energy blasts. The explosions kept detonating all around him, both his and Cyclonemon's movement preventing the digimon from getting a decent lock on him. It made the jungle resemble a scene of shells dropping in a war movie.

At one point, one of the blasts exploded close enough to Wolf's back that the kinetic energy expended by it actually thrust him off of his feet and up into a low branch of a nearby tree. Not wasting any time, Wolf climbed up the tree quickly. He had an idea of hiding which he did not really believe to be feasible, but it did not matter, as it was rendered moot moments later when he looked down and saw Cyclonemon grinning up at him evilly.

"Arm Bomber!" Cyclonemon swung his huge right arm straight thew the trunk of the tree.

Before it could lose all of its stability, Wolf jumped, grabbed onto a vine hanging from a higher branch, and swung a good twenty feet away before the leverage was lost and he fell to the ground. Wolf landed on his butt, and upon noticing that Cyclonemon was not already upon him, gave himself a second to think.

"I'm not a light person. Those vines are pretty strong." He thought.

Then, in a brief half-second of quiet, he recognized the sound of the ocean off in the far distance. Wolf then noticed that the vine he had grabbed had fallen and pooled quite near to him. Seeing that there was at least a good seventy-feet of it available, he smiled, and finally had an idea. Wolf forced himself to his feet, dashed over, and grabbed the length of vine up into his arms and took off again just as Cyclonemon found him.

Wolf booked it with his bundle towards the sound of the lapping waves. It was not easy, as Cyclonemon repeated his barrage of laser shots and accompanying explosions as Wolf ran. After nearly five minutes of running and near death, he arrived where he wanted to be. Wolf emerged into a tiny clearing just before the fall of a cliff. It was the edge of the island. A step away from the ledge, Wolf swiftly put down the vine and then sorted it out until the two ends were separated and easily accessible and he took one of the ends in his hands and tied it into an adjustable noose. Cyclonemon then entered the clearing.

"Nowhere left to run." The digimon said in a gloating voice.

Without any further ado, Cyclonemon sprinted at Wolf. He raised his right arm for a final, smashing blow. As it descended towards him, Wolf threw the noose around Cyclonemon's arm, pulled it tight, and rolled under Cyclonemon to avoid the hit. Cyclonemon was then carried forward by his unbroken momentum into an inescapable fall off of the cliff. Wolf, meanwhile, was already running the twenty feet back to the treeline and tied the other end of the vine around a tree, completing the knot a tenth of a second before it was pulled tight.

The coast clear, Wolf breathed a deep sigh of relief before walking back over to the edge of the cliff. Fifty feet down, Cyclonemon was hanging, floundering his limbs, and screaming in fury at his situation. Wolf could see that he was trying to adjust himself so he would be able to cut the vine with the claws of his right hand.

"You might want til high-tide to cut that! You'll have a shorter fall!" Wolf yelled down.

Cyclonemon then gave a grunt which was every bit as expressive as any curse words, and Wolf turned and resumed his relaxed and peaceful walk home. He held both of his arms behind his head as he went and began to chuckle to himself.

"Damn, that was great!" He thought.