Hiya guys~
Before I start I'd just like everyone to know that I have no sense of distance. I don't know how long a few feet is, I don't know what a few inches is and I don't know centimeters or meters. It has nothing to to with not doing my research, I've just never been able to get an accurate feeling for measurements. (Heck, I once had to guess the length of a room and I guessed 6 meters. One. Room. Waaaaaay of.)
So try to keep that in mind when you read 'a few feet' multiple times ^^"
Anyways~ Hope you enjoy~
Disclaimer: Never gonna own digimon, never gonna own it's characters. I own Sophia, Sonamon, her Beast Spirit, any changes to the plot and characters that don't appear on the digimon wiki page.
"Wake up you guys! Koji is gone!"
Zoe's cry was what everyone woke up to. Sure enough, Koji's sleeping spot was empty. The warriors panicked. What if someone took him? Was it another evil digimon? Why only take him? Would it come back?! Everyone scrambled to look for Koji, or for any clues of what happened.
"What if something bad happened to him?" Takuya panicked, running around to look for clues.
"Oh no!" Tommy cried. "Wait, what if something bad happens to us?!"
"Don't say that! You're scaring me- eh, scaring Zoe." No one was convinced by what JP said.
Zoe suddenly stopped when she saw something through the trees. "What's that?" Her voice shook as she asked the question.
The others followed her gaze, only to be blinded by the sun coming up.
"It's called 'the sun', Zoe." Takuya mocked the girl. "Good eye."
Meanwhile Sophia went over to Koji's sleeping spot to look for the note she knew he'd left. It was right on the leafs under a rock. "Guys, look. He left a note."
The others looked away from the imprints of Bokomon and Neemon in the leafs to turn to Sophia. They came over to her while she opened the paper.
"I'm going on alone to find the Beast Spirit." it read.
Sophia raised an eyebrow at it. 'That's different...' She then paled when she noticed it was a page from her notebook, which was in the pocket of her jacket. Innocent sure, but who knew where that shifted to in her sleep?!
There was also a drawing of Bokomon and Neemon's faces under the text, indicating they tagged along.
There were mixed reactions about it. JP was annoyed and angered by the act, while Zoe was disappointed, but understanding about it. This group could be pretty stupid sometimes after all. As to demonstrate her point, JP ripped the note out of Sophia's hands and ripped it to pieces as 'revenge'.
Koichi was visibly heartbroken about it. He'd just gotten comfortable around his other half, and they'd just started to bond after what happened yesterday. Koji also seemed to finally accept he's part of the group, but now he up and left...again.
"Out looking for his Beast Spirit?" Takuya wondered out loud. "Well, no wonder Bokomon and Neemon are with him then."
Zoe, Koichi and Sophia eyed the gogglehead, wondering where this was going. To their surprise, he ran up to a bush and kicked it in frustration. "But you think Koji will bother to worry about protecting them? I doubt it!" He turned to the group with one of his famous smirks. "We're just gonna have to find them."
"But which way do we go?" Koichi asked.
Zoe looked around. "Yeah, he could've gone anywhere."
"Let's split up." Takuya suggested. "Make groups of 2 and go different directions. We're bound to find Koji somewhere."
So they did. Tommy went with Takuya one way, while JP went with Zoe. Zoe begged Sophia to switch partners, but the other girl was long gone with Koichi the remaining way.
Sophia sighed in relief. "Ehehe... Sorry Z. There's no way I'm going with JP." she muttered.
Koichi heard it though. "Do you have something against him?" he wondered.
"Not really... I mean, I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but sometimes he just pisses me off." Sophia thought back to the Tsunomon incident and what he said at the Kokuwamon place before that. "When he does, I just need a break from him."
Koichi nodded, understanding. Sometimes you just had those people. The duo walked in comfortable silence for a long time, looking for any clues someone passed. There was nothing so far.
Another few minutes later, Koichi suddenly remembered something. "Sophia." he called the girl. "Do you think we can use the map to look for Koji?"
"Dunno." the brunette said as she came down from the tree. "But let's try." She pulled out the D-Tector and pressed the left center and golden middle button. Like before, the map showed up.
"Let's see. We're here." Sophia pointed to the violet and grey dots in the middle of the map. "And I'm guessing these are Takuya and Tommy." Her finger went over to the back where a red and light blue dot were barely visible.
Koichi quickly spotted a white dot closer by. Since Zoe and JP were together and in another direction, that could only mean one thing. "Koji..."
Sophia saw it as well. "Well, guess we chose the right way." she said. "Let's go!"
They followed the direction of the white dot. It wasn't too hard luckily. It was moving slow, probably walking speed, while the two of them ran. The dot even stopped at some point, allowing them to catch up with it.
"We should be close." Sophia said, seeing the small gap between the dots.
"Quickly now! Follow him."
That stopped Koichi and Sophia in their tracks. That was Bokomon! They looked at each other in understanding and took off again. When they stopped again, they were at the foot of a clearing. A couple feet ahead of them was a field of grass, taller then them. It was endless from left to right. In front of it was a small puddle of water and a bunch of rocks.
"Where did they go?" Koichi wondered out loud, looking left and right for his brother. There was a small wet spot next to the puddle, but that was their only clue that someone had been there.
Sophia eyed the D-Tector, but the map had disappeared now. Doesn't matter. There was only one way to go. "Maybe they went through the grass?" she suggested.
Koichi stopped looking around and instead went for the grass. Sure enough, upon inspection, it seemed disturbed. There were multiple patches of trampled grass. Footprints.
He turned to the girl. "I think you're right." He said, pointing out the footprints when she came closer.
"Well, let's go then." Sophia smiled.
Koichi quickly grabbed her hand before she stepped into the grass too far. "Is that such a good idea? The grass is pretty thick and tall. We can't see what's at the end or even what's right next to us."
"It'll be fine." Koichi didn't look convinced. "Fiiiine. What if I promise I won't run and we hold hands to not lose each other?"
Koichi still was hesitant. There could be anything out there. And the grass seemed to go on for miles. On the other hand, they needed to catch up with Koji. He was out there alone.
Finally, Koichi reluctantly nodded and let himself be dragged through the tall grass by his female companion. After a while of walking, and a whole bunch of stumbling and tripping, the duo reached the end of the grass. Immediately they backed away.
There was a big, frickin steep hill right at their feet. Oh, and even more tall grass at the bottom. Yay...grass.
"Well then." Koichi said, sounding oddly relieved. "Now we know what's at the end."
Sophia nodded. "Yeah. Really glad we didn't rush through it." She looked down to the bottom. "So now what? Do we jump?"
"No. There has to be an easier way down." Was Koichi's reply.
The dark haired boy began looking around the cliff side for a safer way down. Something like a bunch of sturdy rocks, or vines, or something! Sophia watched him look around for a bit, before deciding that maybe she should help. When their search led to nothing a few minutes later, Sophia made a rash decision.
"Koichi, we're not gonna find anything." she called. "I'm gonna jump." she paused for a second. 'Those were words I never expected to say...'
Koichi stopped looking for a safe way down and turned to the girl. Was she crazy?! A fall like that could seriously injure her! He quickly rushed over to stop her, grabbing her arm.
Before he could say anything about how dangerous that plan was, she's grabbed his arm back and jumped, taking him with her. They landed on the ground below hard, even sliding a few feet down until they hit a boulder. After the tumble, the duo just lay there, staring at the sky for a moment before daring to move again.
"That...was really dangerous." Koichi said, giving Sophia an angry look.
She just chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I know." she breathed. "Not my best idea, but look on the bright side. We're down."
Koichi shook his head. This girl... "Are you okay?" Even if she was nuts and just brought them in harms way, he was still concerned about any injuries.
Sophia stood up, stretching everything to feel for sore spots. "I'm okay. How about you?"
Koichi stood up as well, brushing himself off as he felt for anything that hurt. "Other than the scare you gave me, I'm fine."
After a few sheepish apologies the two warriors were on their way again. The map refused to show up, so that had to mean they were close, right? …Right? With a sigh, Sophia dropped the D-Tector back into her pocket. It was no use now.
It wouldn't be easy to find Koji out here. The grass came to your knees at the lowest and up to your shoulders at the highest point. There were also a ton of boulders and trees all around. The lone-wolf could be hiding behind anything if he really didn't want to be found. And there didn't seem to be any digimon around to ask for directions.
A few moments of fruitless searching passed. On Koichi's request they'd moved towards the mountains in the distance, claiming he had a feeling they should check there.
"I swear... When we find Koji I'm gonna kick his ass Spirit style..." Sophia said, breathless from all the impossible walking through impossibly tall grass.
"Please don't." Koichi pleaded. He was still his brother after all.
Sophia huffed in annoyance. "Fiiiine." she groaned. "I'll just punch him, or kick him, or maybe throw a pebble at his head."
Not long after she said that, there was an explosion that stopped the two in their tracks. It came from the mountains they were headed to. In the lower part of the biggest mountain was a huge chunk of data, the remains of the earth that had been there. It disappeared pretty quickly, allowing the part of the mountain above that to collapse to the ground.
"Koichi. Are you afraid of heights?" Sophia asked out of the blue. When the boy shook no, confused as to why she'd ask that question at a time like this, she took her D-Tector from her pocket. "EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION! …SONAMON!"
Now as Sonamon, she grabbed Koichi by his waist and flew him out of the grass, heading towards the sight of destruction.
Koichi, meanwhile, was too focused on the sight before him to be afraid of falling, knowing Sonamon's flight experience. There was something there. Something...dark. He felt it, and it felt familiar. They would have to fight soon, he knew it.
When they were close to the scene, and the grass finally went down to normal length, Koichi asked Sonamon to let him down. If a fight was gonna be inevitable he might as well be prepared.
"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION! …LOWEMON!"
They were pretty much running/flying blind, until a loud bang was heard, followed by an explosion of blinding light.
"Koji!" Lowemon exclaimed, worried for his brother.
He ran ahead, heading straight for the area the light came from. It was difficult, though. As the light cleared, a wave of smoke and wind, as well as a small earthquake, made it hard to see and walk towards their destination.
Once it died down enough to be able to walk, the two warriors wasted no time finding their missing lone-wolf. Unfortunately the sight of Gigasmon halted that plan. They quickly ducked behind some trees. Luckily, Gigasmon didn't seem to have seen them, and continued jumping around from wreckage to wreckage.
"What do we do now?" Sonamon asked. "We can't look for Koji with Gigasmon there."
Lowemon looked at his fellow warrior. "Do you think you can fly and get a birds-eye view?"
Sonamon bit her lip. Sure, flying had been getting easier, but she wasn't sure if she trusted herself to fly more than she'd done already. What if she exhausts herself? That can happen right? Or if Gigasmon spots her? Or if her wings suddenly stop listening to her and she flies like before again?
Lowemon noticed the nervous glance in Sonamon's eyes. In an attempt to calm her down, he put a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look at him. Once she did, he gave her a reassuring smile behind his mask, hoping it would come through. Sure enough, it did. Sonamon didn't need any words. Lowemon's eyes said it all. 'You can do this. I believe in you.'
"Fine. But if I fall and die, I'm coming back to haunt you."
Lowemon chuckled. "That's fair." He stood up from his hiding spot once Gigsmon left their hiding area. "I'll go look for Bokomon and Neemon."
"Be careful." Sonamon told him.
Lowemon nodded. "You too." And then left.
Taking a deep breath to calm her remaining nerves, Sonamon willed her wings to work and took off into the air. It was quite a bit of multitasking. Flying, keeping an eye out for Koji while also making sure Gigasmon doesn't spot her. But hey, that's what girls are rumored to be good at, right? Multitasking.
"Aha! There you are!"
Sonamon held back a screech upon hearing those words and quickly looked back at Gigasmon. Thankfully, he wasn't talking about her. Instead he looked down at something, completely the opposite way to where she was.
She let out a sigh of relief and quickly flew the way he wasn't looking. Unfortunately, that was he way Gigasmon decided to go a second later. She immediately flew a little higher to avoid getting in his sight. When Gigasmon stopped again to look around, Sonamon stopped as well. Was this the right place? Was Lobomon here?
After Gigasmon (presumably) taunted Lobomon again and left, a pile of rocks changed color and shifted. Gotsumon. And Lobomon was under him! Sonamon made a quick 360, seeing if Lowemon was around. There was no sign of him yet, but she had to get down to help the stubborn warrior.
The moment she landed on the ground she was met with Lobomon's glare.
"What are you doing here?" he growled.
"Finding you." Sonamon replied nonchalantly. "What are you doing here alone?"
"None of your business!" Lobomon growled again.
Sonamon held up her hands in mock-surrender. "Calm down wolfie. Gigasmon might hear you." She jumped up, floating next to Lobomon. "Let's just get out of here."
There was a little bit of arguing between the warriors and Gotsumon, who'd also joined in, before they got the injured warrior of light to move. They got to the part of the forest where Sonamon and Lowemon were hiding earlier. Lowemon was already waiting there with the two rookie digimon. He explained to them that he couldn't come find them. Gigasmon constantly had his hiding spot in his line of sight.
Lobomon couldn't keep his eyes off the dark warrior after what he'd learned last night. He couldn't really be his brother, right? And what if he was? That would mean his father lied to him. Lied to him for lord knows how long! How would you even act like a brother? Sure he had some practice with Tommy, but that wouldn't help him. Koichi was a completely different person from Tommy.
"-bomon. Lobomon... Koji!" On the third name call, the warrior reacted. It was Lowemon who'd called his name. "Koji, are you alright?"
Lobomon quickly looked away from him, scowling. "I'm fine." he snapped. Damn him and his concern. Making him feel...guilty?
Both warriors stared at him, not believing for a second that he was fine. They were proven right when, a second later, Lobomon turned back to Koji with bruises covering his body.
"Oh yeah, totally fine. Just like I've completely mastered flying." Sonamon mocked. "Gimme a break."
With a lot of struggling on Koji's part, Sonamon picked up Koji and put Bokomon on her back, while Lowemon picked up Neemon and Gotsumon. With some hesitation Gotsumon pointed the warriors the way to the Gotsumon safety area. It was a deserted area, and the hiding spot was a cave hidden behind a boulder.
As soon as the boulder was placed back over the entrance, the warriors of darkness and sound turned back to their human forms. They sat own next to Koji, who'd already collapsed on the floor earlier.
"Are you alright?" Bokomon asked Koji. "Is there anything we can do?"
"No." Koji said bluntly.
But Gotsumon would have nothing of it. "This'll make you feel better." he said, throwing the boy a clam shell with some kind of substance in it.
"I don't need anyone's help." Koji told the rock-digimon. While grateful, he wasn't too thrilled he had to be saved by that Gotsumon.
Koichi and Sophia were uncomfortably watching the exchange between Koji and Gotsumon. Should they...do anything?
"Some Legendary warrior." Gotsumon snapped at Koji, which finally got a reaction out of him that wasn't snappie. "And the rest of you are no better!"
That also got a hurt reaction out of the other two warriors. Sophia stood up from her place, heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Koichi asked her.
Sophia turned to him, showing her D-Tector. "I'm just gonna call the others. They should probably know that we found Koji."
"Oh sure. Go ahead and call them." Koji mocked. "I told you, I don't need any help! I don't need their help, and I especially don't need your help!"
"YES YOU DO!" Sophia screamed. "You proved that today! You would've died if Gotsumon hadn't saved you and you would've died multiple times if someone else didn't have your back! Stop acting like a whiny emo bitch and just accept it!"
After her outburst, she stormed out like Gotsumon had earlier, ignoring the other Gotsumon talking behind her back. She didn't stop walking until she had cooled down a little, after which she went to sit on a flat rock. Releasing a sigh, she took a look at her D-Tector. Very nice, saying she was going to contact the others with no idea how to.
Sonamon appeared on her screen, just staring like the image she was. Yet, somehow it felt like Sonamon was actually looking at her, like she could listen...and talk.
"Don't suppose you know how to contact the others." she said out loud.
'Center right, middle.'
There it was again! The same voice from before. The voice who told her how to summon the map. Not questioning it again, she pressed said buttons and hoped to get the right person. She watched the screen. Black... Static... Static... White... White...- with the symbol of flame! Takuya!
"Takuya! Hey, Takuya. Can you hear me?"
"Huh? What the-? My D-Tector?" There was some shuffling on the other side. "Hello? Sophia, is that you?"
Sophia nodded, before realizing he couldn't see that. "Yeah, it's me." she said. "We found Koji. Where are you?"
"We met up with Zoe and JP earlier and are now following your path. At least, I think we are."
Sophia pressed the buttons to make the map appear, hoping her idea would work. It didn't. "Can't say. But if you are, be careful. Grumblemon is in the area.
"Grumblemon?!" Came the shout of all four warriors.
"Yeah." Sophia replied. "He destroyed the mountain home of some digimon and pretty much beat up Koji."
"Takuya, look." Tommy piped up.
"Hn?" There was a moment of silence on the other side of the call. "Hey Soph. Was that mountain in between two other mountains?"
"Yeah, why?"
"In that case, we're on the right path." Takuya said. "I guess we'll meet up with you three in a bit."
That was all Takuya said before the call ended.
"Right, us three..." Sophia sighed.
~Koji and Koichi - After Sophia left- ~
"And there she goes." one of the Gotsumon said, watching the human girl leave. "Must have rocks in her head too."
"Who knows, maybe she's off to find that Spirit too."
That caught both boys' attention, but none more than Koji's. "The Spirit?!"
He quickly stood up, only to collapse from pain a second later. Koichi was there to stop him from doing it again. "Koji, calm down. You're in no condition to move."
"But I've got to find it!" Koji snapped at the other boy. "If Grumblemon gets it I'll never be able to stop him!"
Koichi was unfazed by his outburst, and just pulled him back into a comfortable sitting position. "I understand, but recklessly throwing yourself into a fight when you're still injured will help no one." he said, grabbing the clam shell.
Koji wanted nothing more but throw it out of Koichi's hands when it was presented to him. But...the look in Koichi's eyes convinced him otherwise. Without a word or a glance, he took the shell and started rubbing the substance on every sore spot he could reach, including his stomach, which had him collapse just a second ago.
"We were really concerned when you weren't there when we woke up." Koichi's voice startled Koji a little, not that he'd ever admit that. "We thought you'd been captured."
"I left a note." Koji stated bluntly.
"I know, but..." Koichi hesitated for a moment. This was the first real conversation with his brother. He didn't want to ruin this. "Why didn't you wait? We could've gone out to find your Spirit together. Don't you trust us?"
The words stung, but Koji didn't understand why. "No."
Koichi's breath was caught. How? Why..why didn't he? What did they do? "Why not?"
Koji snorted. "Last time I trusted someone, they ended up lying to me about everything." Why was he telling him this?!
Koichi understood though. Being lied to about being an only child. Not only that, but being a twin? He had a hard time trusting his mother too. "That can be tough."
"How would you know?!" Koji immediately regretted those words. This was his brother, if he himself had been lied to about being an only child, of course Koichi had been too. Otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation. But-wait..did he know they'd been lied to like that?
Koichi took a deep breath. What's the worst that can happen? He already knows, right? Oh man, there is no way this will go well, but he had to. Maybe he wouldn't even notice? Alright, here goes nothing.
"I was lied to about being an only child."
There was complete silence in the room. Even the Gotsumon were quiet. As if reading the mood, the digimon moved away from the boys, leaving them to talk.
Finally Koji broke the silence. "You too, huh?" His voice only softened a little, but still held the harshness to it. Koichi nodded. He seemed on edge, Koji noticed. "Dad told me mom died." He told Koichi, who looked shocked at the information. "But I saw her in TV-Forest, alive and well."
Koichi was speechless. He'd expected the part where he wasn't told about having a brother, but being told your mother is dead while she's not?
"The strangest part is... She was calling for you."
Koichi froze. He knew. He chanced a glance at Koji, but his expression was unreadable. Was he angry? Did he not care? Did he hate him? Koichi dared not ask.
Koji sighed at the lack of answer. "You knew then?" Koichi barely managed to nod.
Without another word, Koji stood up. This time Koichi didn't hold him back, not that it was necessary. The oily substance was apparently fast working, as there were only small aches here and there, but nothing too severe. He went to the entrance, pushing away the rock. He looked behind him, seeing Koichi still in the same position, maybe with his shoulders more sagged.
"Are you coming or what?" he asked.
Koichi's head shot up. He was sure Koji wanted to leave to be away from him, why would he... "You're...not mad at me?"
"You? No." He really wasn't. After all, it couldn't be easy telling someone you don't know and who doesn't know you that you're brothers. "Dad however..."
The Gotsumon had been kind enough to point out where that one Gotsumon claimed the Spirit was located. It was a cliff-side area passed the half-destroyed mountains and a forest. There were three huge stone heads, which were covered in moss, indicating it must be old. The heads were in a triangle all looking away from the middle. Upon closer inspection, Koichi noticed two of the three had a single gem-eye.
Bokomon had already pulled Neemon ahead to look at the one statue without a gem. Apparently he'd noticed it as well.
"They said that there's an inscription, but I don't see anything." the gnome digimon said, touching the indent on the statue.
Koji and Koichi went closer to have a look themselves, when they noticed what was on the stone Bokomon and Neemon were touching. It was the mark of Lobomon.
Bokomon had noticed it as well. "I wonder if that means that Koji's Beast Spirit is here somewhere."
Neither of the twins said anything, still a little uncomfortable now that the truth was out. Koji just silently grabbed his D-Tector and started pressing buttons. Who knows, maybe the D-Tector will sense the Spirit. He ignored the way Bokomon and Neemon talked about what he was doing and focused on the device alone.
"Anything?" Bokomon eventually asked him.
Koji looked up at the gaping hole of the statue. "Not yet." he said.
He grumbled. Last night the lady from the D-Tector told him the Beast Spirit was close, and now it can't even find the thing? What was going on? What was he doing wrong?
~Sophia~
Sophia had Spirit Evolved to Sonamon and took flight to find the others. She took her time though. After that argument with Koji, she wasn't exactly eager to get back. It was quite a way actually, she had only just passed the mountain. You know, the mountain that Gigasmon destroyed and possibly ate the data from.
The warrior grumbled when she passed the invisible border that led to the waaaaay too long grass. While it did mean she was getting closer to her friends, it also meant that once she landed, it would be impossible to walk again.
"Hey, look up there! Sonamon!"
'Huh?'
She had been so lost in annoyance that she'd completely overlooked the others. Takuya, the one who called, was waving her down, which she did.
"Hey, where are the others?" Takuya asked, looking around to see if he could spot Koji, Koichi and the digimon companions anywhere.
Sonamon shrank a little. "I... had an argument with Koji, so I left on my own."
"You left them alone?" Takuya frowned at her.
"Technically not, they have each other, and their Spiri-" She cut herself off. Something was approaching.
"TECTONIC SLAM!"
Gigasmon came down, creating another earthquake when he slammed the ground. A thick cloud of smoke came up as well, creating the perfect hiding spot for the warriors who barely managed to dodge Gigasmon's attack.
"Alright! Who to be first beaten up real good?" Gigasmon asked in his broken English.
Wasting no time, everyone who wasn't digiolved yet took out their D-tectors.
"Me!"
"No, me!"
"Me too!"
"And me!"
"Bring it, big nose!"
"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!…AGUNIMON!"
"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!… KAZEMON!"
"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!… BEETLEMON!"
"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!…KUMAMON!"
"You want me fight? You guys not learn quick, do you?" Gigasmon mocked the warriors.
"PYRO PUNCH!"*
"TEMPEST TWIST!"
"THUNDER FIST!"
"FROZEN TUNDRA!"**
"MICRO ROCKETS!"
The attacks hit. Well... sort off. They did hit the target, but Gigasmon merely brushed them off like it was nothing, which it probably was. The Beast Spirit was stronger than the combined attacks of 5 Human Spirit warriors.
"QUAGMIRE TWISTER!"
Gigasmon's attack send everyone flying away from him before actually going flying. The attack created a tornado which swept everybody up. It proved to be too much for Kumamon as, soon after being hit, his Fractal Code appeared. Gigasmon noticed and took this chance to take his Spirit.
He stopped twisting and jumped up towards Kumamon. He got ready for the finishing blow, when all of a sudden Kazemon appeared. She pushed Kumamon out of the way for the prize of getting hit instead. And since she pretty much flew into the blow, it came even harder.
"Kazemon!" Kumamon cried, drawing everyone's attention to her.
Where Kumamon just had his data showing, Kazemon's figure turned black and had her Spirit showing in front of her. Apparently this was the result Gigasmon was looking for. He jumped towards Kazemon again, this time just in front, and ate her Spirit, turning the warrior back to Zoe. Now no longer supported by her wings, Zoe fell to the ground.
"Zoe!" Beetlemon called out in worry.
"He got her Spirit!" Agunimon exclaimed, equally as worried.
"Zoe! No!" Kumamon called, stretching out his arm to her.
Agunimon and Beetlemon jumped out of the grass, trying to attack Gigasmon as revenge for their friend. Nobody takes their Spirits and gets away with it!
Unfortunately Gigasmon had other ideas. "SLIDE EVOLUTION!" Now once again Grumblemon, he slammed his two hammers into the two approaching warriors.
Unable to stop themselves, they were hit and fell to the ground. The hammers combined with the previous attack caused enough damage to them to have their data show. Not just data, but their Spirits as well.
"More tasty Spirits for me!" Grumblemon looked at the Spirits of Agunimon and Beetlemon hungrily.
Sonamon finally got up off the ground. 'I've gotta help. He's in Human Spirit now, my attacks should have more effect!'
She jumped up behind him, readying an attack, when Lobomon appeared from above. "Why don't you taste this first?" He had one of his lasers pointed to the corrupted warrior. "HOWLING LASER!"
Lowemon jumped up out of the grass as well. "SHADOW METEOR!"
"Nice recipe. But I think it misses one more ingredient." Sonamon released the microphones off her wrists, grabbed them and slammed them together. "SONAR BOOM!" Soundwaves went flying towards Grumblemon.
The attack was blinding, thanks to Lobomon, but the light warrior could see the attacks all hit. He landed in front of Grumblemon, who still seemed completely unharmed, and grabbed him by the... Where did he grab him? The strap? The armor?
"How'd you like that?" He asked the somehow unharmed warrior.
Grumblemon just grinned. "Not too bad." He said, but other than that he wasn't doing anything.
"What's the matter?" Lobomon asked him with an uncaring and sarcastic tone in his voice. "Don't you want my Spirit anymore?"
"Still got couple tricks up sleeve!" Grumblemon said in a sing-along voice.
That's when Lobomon found out his reason for smirking. Grumblemon took his hammers and swung them at Lobomon's head, intending on crushing his skull. Luckily Lobomon was quick to dodge, but not without worrying his brother.
Lobomon lifted his foot as he leaned backwards to avoid the hammer. "Now here's some magic for you." He kicked a confused Grumblemon square in the face, sending him flying backwards.
Immediately after, Lobomon fled the scene. He left Sonamon and Lowemon to look after the other warriors, right now he had to lead Grumblemon, who'd slide evolved into Gigasmon by now, away from the de-Spirit evolved warriors.
"He's gone now." JP said as soon as Gigasmon was out of view. "You okay?" he asked Zoe.
Everyone turned to him, seeing him and Tommy kneeling down in front of Zoe. The girl was staring in defeat at her shoes, holding her D-Tector.
"Yeah, I guess." she answered after a while. She held up the lavender and pink device up to her face, staring at the static on the screen. "It's just... What good am I to you guys now?"
Lowemon, who hadn't been there during their fight with Gigasmon, stared in confusion at the device. The static on the screen unnerved him. Wasn't it supposed to be either black or show your Spirit? Better yet, what did she mean by 'being good to them'?
More explosions farther into the mountains caught everyone's attention. Looks like Lobomon might not be doing too well. Lowemon and Sonamon looked at each other, then at the injured humans.
"Don't look at us." Takuya commented. "We'll be fine, it's Koji who needs help. So just go."
The evolved duo nodded and went to where the explosions were coming from. They caught sight of Lobomon and Gigasmon fighting in a smoke cloud. It would be difficult to help the warrior of light. It was hard to see in there. One wrong move and they could end up hitting the wrong digimon.
Waiting for the cloud to disappear was torture. Luckily they didn't need to wait too long. Soon after arriving at the scene, Lobomon burst out of the smoke cloud, unfortunately with Gigasmon right on his tail.
Even worse, Gigasmon was in the middle of his quagmire twister attack, hitting Lobomon twice, which send him flying towards the stone statues. That's some power. From where Lowemon and Sonamon were, they could clearly see the Fractal Code ring surrounding Lobomon's body, and they knew Gigasmon would go straight for that.
"Oh no, you don't!" Sonamon shouted. "SONAR BOOM!"
"SHADOW LANCE!"
While the attacks did gain Gigasmon's attention for a little bit, he merely threw the lance back at Lowemon and brushed off the soundwaves. Apparently Lobomon was a bigger target to him than they'd expected. They kept following, however, throwing attack after attack at him in hopes of slowing him down even a little. Especially after noticing that Lobomon had turned into a dark silhouette. Finally Gigasmon seemed to have enough of it and threw a punch at Lowemon who, just like Lobomon, went flying.
"Koichi!" Sonamon yelled out in worry.
She flew to him. His Fractal Code was showing, just like Koji's. Wasting no time, she picked up the warrior, although clumsily, and flew him to where Bokomon and Neemon were. She'd flown past Gigasmon, so all there was to do was wait and defend as best she could as Gigasmon got closer and closer.
"Gotsumon." she addressed the rock digimon. "If you're thinking about helping, then please do." When she saw the digimon's confused stare, she continued. "We haven't been the Legendary Warriors for long. We lack the strength they once had, and their fighting experience. Every bit of help is great." she stopped for a minute, processing what she'd just said. 'Those weren't her words! Where did that come from?!'
She was pulled from her thoughts when suddenly Gotsumon was on the move. He'd jumped off the statue and was using Rock Fist to keep Gigasmon from attacking Lobomon. Lobomon finally turned back into Koji, saving him from getting his Fractal Code eaten, and immediately after regaining consciousness had a jewel thrown at him.
"Hey!" Gotsumon called, turning Koji's gaze from the jewel to the digimon. "Put that -ng- in the statue! Hurry!"
"But why?" Is now really a good time to question things, Koji?!
Gotsumon, through grunts and struggles, explained. "When the third eye shines, the Legendary Spirit will awaken. Take it!"
"The Spirit? Why would you do this for me?" Koji didn't understand. But Gotsumon couldn't explain, as immediately following his question, Gigasmon started pounding on the rock-like digimon. "Stop it!" Koji yelled.
"Hurry! Do it!" Gotsumon yelled at Koji, still being pounded on.
Something in Koji's eyes changed as he went from astounded to determined. He was gonna awaken the Spirit! His Spirit! He grabbed onto a stray piece of moss, at least I think it's moss, and swung to the eye of the statue. He took the jewel and placed it in the hole. The effect was immediate.
The ground shook violently, snapping the plant Koji was holding onto and sending him sliding over the nose and onto the ground. The jewels on all three statues glowed and a glowing hole opened on each top. They simultaneously turned around. Everybody was anxious about what was happening, even Gigasmon stopped fighting at that moment.
The heads stopped turning once they all faced the direction of Gigasmon and Gotsumon, who were both in the way of whatever the statues focused on. A beam shot out of the three jewel eyes, missing Gotsumon by a hair (if he had any), and hitting Gigasmon instead. The beams all hit the same spot a little bit away, creating a small field of light.
The other warriors and some Gotsumon arrived just in time to see the ground break apart and reveal the Beast Spirit of light.
"Koji, your D-Tector!"
Huh? Koji looked at the D-Tector in his hand. It was glowing and beeping. It was reacting to the Spirit. It really is his!
"So this is your Beast Spirit?" Koichi asked from behind Koji.
He didn't answer. He didn't react to anyone or anything. Only the Spirit. The more he looked at it, the more he felt it calling him. This Beast Spirit meant more power. Power he could use to beat Gigasmon. He would pay for beating up Gotsumon, and his friends!
"Beast Spiriiiit!" he shouted, completely in trance by the Spirit.
He pointed his D-Tector at it as it began flying over to him. Just like Lobomon, the Beast Spirit was absorbed into the D-Tector and ready for use.
"EXECUTE! BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION! ...KENDOGARURUMON!"
With a mighty howl, the data streams parted to reveal the Beast Spirit of light. While there was talking all around him, the digimon didn't seem effected. In fact, he hardly seemed responsive at all. There was an odd white glaze in his eyes, Koichi noted.
He walked up to KendoGarurumon. "Koji?" he asked carefully.
He was met with another roar. The wheels on his feet dropped, and Koichi could just barely jump out of the way as KendoGarurumon sped past his and against one of the statues.
"Oh no! Koji can't control the Beast Spirit yet." Bokomon said, stepping away as the wolf slammed his body into another statue.
Koichi ran in front of KendoGarurumon, spreading his arms to stop him. "Koji, please, get a hold of yourself." he pleaded, hoping his words would get through. "You might end up hurting someone."
Koji didn't hear him through KendoGarurumon's feral control. He charged at the boy with another growl. Sonamon swooped the short haired twin out of the way just in time.
"Koji! Don't you know who he is?! Don't you remember who we are?!" she yelled at him without thinking.
Something flickered in KendoGarurumon's eyes. The glaze lessened a little, but immediately returned when the beast noticed Gigasmon running at him. The fight mode was activated again as the beasts charged at each other.
"Now this will be big." Bokomon dragged Neemon along as he fled the battle scene. After all, the power of two Beast Spirits, especially one who can't control it yet, is sure to leave some destruction.
Sonamon took the gnome's advice for the first time and also fled, still carrying Koichi.
Sure enough, as soon as the beasts made contact, shit went down. It was unclear to the other warriors due to the light, but presumably they both used a powerful attack of sorts which caused a huge part of the cliff to break and fall into the sea below. This included the stone statues, Gigasmon and almost KendoGarurumon.
Worried cries rang out. Luckily for the human warriors, KendoGarurumon, through some miracle, managed to hold on to the cliff-side and climb back on. Right when he reached the top, the Beast Spirit drained the last bit of his energy, reverting him back to Koji.
"That Spirit...sure takes...a lot out of a guy." was all Koji managed to say before his strength gave away.
He lost his grip on the cliff as he almost fainted, and he fell backwards. He was going to fall into the water! At least he would've, if Gotsumon hadn't grabbed his hand last second. It was a great thing for the warriors to hear them converse about the true meaning of being a hero. About it not being 'doing everything yourself and never have to ask for help' but rather the opposite. Koichi couldn't be happier to hear that. It was about time his brother learned that lesson.
Speaking of... He took a glance at the gang. How were they going to tell them? ...Know what? It can wait. Right now they had to get over the awkwardness of discovering they're brothers.
Everyone watched as Koichi went over to Koji, who'd just gotten back onto safe land, and talk with the guy. It actually seemed to go pretty well. Sonamon also finally de-Spirit evolved, panting from exhaustion. Even so, she couldn't help but smile when she saw the brothers having a decent talk.
'They seem to get along better than when I left. Wonder what happened?'
I got a writers block on SOOO MANY POINTS in this chapter.
So yeah. I actually believe that the reason almost everyone lost control of their Beast Spirit, is because they desired more power, or revenge, or something like that. Anything that makes them feel anger.
Anger and hurt could possibly make an animal more feral and maybe more prone to attack even comrades (DO NOT quote me on this).
*I know he says Pyro Tornado, but the animation clearly shows Pyro Punch. I don't have the Japanese episode to go on, since they don't say their attack names in that scene.
**Again, animation suggests a different attack. That and the fact that he comes in close, when Crystal Freeze is a far range attack does suggest a dub error where it's supposed to be Frozen Tundra, which is a close range attack. :3 (Maybe I'm thinking too much into this...)
Thanks for reading!