Disclaimer: I don't own the Digimon, but the characters belong to the moderators and members of the Digital Connections forum – found here forum/ Digital-Connections/ 22352/ and under the "So you want to be a Digidestined?" topic

A/N: Here is chapter six, I hope you are enjoying the story so far!

Special thank you to Miss Anonymous hp for her amazing notes and background that have really assisted in piecing together this chapter, so thank you

Chapter 06

Heather, Sonja, Charles, Chris and Akiza were shivering their way up the sound of Mount Docu, eager to find out what a large tree was doing growing near the summit.

Ryan was on the hunt for more people like him in the Digital World after tricking the Gazimon to give him his D-Connect back.

Of Marie, Kate and Jake, the two girls had managed to obtain their Digi-Eggs was one of the four fabled DigiCore trees. As for Jake, his egg lay elsewhere, but the hunt was on hold because Datamon had been tracking them. They had lead him straight to Darcmon and the Digital Paradise she was protecting.

-o-

"There it is!" Akiza exclaimed, bounding with each step to get her feet out of the inches of snow. Her feet had gone numb from the snow and cold, but that wasn't going to stop her just yet.

"Grand Cross!" a voice shrieked.

The teens hit the snow as they dived to avoid the fiery cross that was hurtling towards them. They hid down behind a snowy verge, hoping to be protected from any further attacks.

"Who goes there? Are you spies for them?" the voice called out again.

The group of five exchanged various glances and then slowly they peered out over the edge of the verge.

"You! Grand-"

"No!" they all screamed, holding up their D-Connects for the Digimon to see.

The Digimon froze, wide eyes staring at the new Digivices. "You are the children of the legends- the twelve..."

Sonja shook her D-Connect. "Who is that Digimon? He looks just like a kid."

Chris looked across at the younger teen. "Well, so do you though!" he joked, smiling to emphasise the gentle nature of the jibe.

The D-Connect spoke up saying, "Lucemon, the rookie level, vaccine type Digimon. Lucemon seeks redemption by protecting one of the four DigiCore trees."

The Digimon glared at the children, watching them as if he were a bird of prey on the hunt.

Its appearance reminded Heather of the Greek exhibits that she would find herself exploring. The Digimon wore a white cloth, fashioned like a toga and had two precious gold bracelets on his thin wrists. Lucemon had these blue markings on his body, particularly across one side making Heather feel like he was broken.

Charles stepped slowly ahead of the others. "Lucemon, you're protecting the DigiCore... is that the tree behind you?" he asked, looking up at the large tree which had ice blue leaves - no doubt caused by the colder temperatures if anyone desired a logical answer.

Lucemon beckoned the children closer. "If you are who you say you are, then you should be looking for these core trees."

"What's so special about the DigiCores?"

"Aren't you supposed to know all this already?" Lucemon snapped, folding his arms aggressively.

"Sorry mate, but right now- I couldn't tell you what time of day it is..." Charles sighed. "What is the significance of the DigiCore?"

Sonja frowned at the tree, noticing a round circle that seemed out of place on the tree's trunk. What is with that tree?

Is that you? a timid sounding voice whispered in her ear.

Sonja whipped around and gasped at Heather. "Did you say something?"

The older girl shook her head, her dark hair sweeping back and forth. "Not me, I'm afraid. Are you okay?"

"It's probably nothing, but I'm sure I heard a voice." Sonja shrugged quickly, wondering what was going on.

"If it makes you feel any better, I did too- she said to not be afraid..." Heather shivered, before remembering that she had seen a nearly rolled up black scarf in her purse.

Lucemon beckoned the five over to the DigiCore. "The four DigiCores will put a test down for you to prove that you are worthy of what the legends say."

"What kind of a test?" Heather asked, adjusting the scarf slightly.

"Place your hands into the core and you will find out..." Lucemon said mysteriously.

Charles confidently strode up to the tree trunk, hoping that his apparent bravery might spur on his new friends and encourage them to follow suit. "So- you want me to put my hands on this tree?"

Lucemon sighed loudly, "You will find out eventually."

"Cryptic," Charles mumbled, shaking his body to loosen up before going to press his hands against the tree trunk. "Woah!" His hands started to sink into the circle.

It felt wet and slimy inside. The others watch in anticipation as Charles moved his hands around the circle in an attempt to find something. Without knowing what they were looking for, they could only wait until Charles completed the 'test' or gave up.

"There's something in here," Charles said, smiling cheerfully. "Now to bring it out..."

He jolted sharply, feeling a force pulling him towards the tree. Pretty soon, if it continued to pull him in, he would be completely submerged into the tree. So Charles did the natural thing and fought back, tightening his grip on the prize whilst writhing back towards the others.

Something snapped and Charles staggered back with a large egg in his arms. The egg was a bright purple with bold yellow squiggles over it.

Akiza squatted down beside Charles. "Be careful- that looks as though it's cracked."

"It does, but let's go for hatching rather than cracked..."

Chris stepped in front of the circle, but something stopped him from pushing his hands into the core. It felt soul crushing. "I can't do it..."

Lucemon rolled his ice blue eyes in an exaggerated circle. "I cannot believe you're forcing me to explain this to you... there are four different cores and twelve children of the legend. So that means your test lies one of the three remaining cores... duh."

Heather seemed to understand the scenario and with a deep breath she plunged her hands into the fuzzy circle.

-o-

Darcmon looked between Hawkmon and the three teens. "Quickly- you must leave this place before Datamon finds you and your eggs. I will try and hold that cretin off as best I can. Hawkmon, ready the flyers for an aerial attack."

"But what about you? And the DigiCore?" Marie asked, squeezing her egg gently. "We should stay and help."

Darcmon dropped down onto one knee. "Your integrity will aid you well, young one, but this is not your battle. Datamon and I have an unfinished score to settle."

The majestic Digimon turned and ran after Hawkmon, calling out instructions for the avian Digimon to follow.

Jake ushered the girls away, hoping they could find a way out somewhere in Digital Paradise. "Come on, you heard Darcmon, let's go!"

Marie broke away from the other two, cradling her Digi-Egg as she hurtled up the stairs. Darcmon protected us, we should be helping and not running away... she thought to herself, letting her emotions run wild.

What about our friends? The voice in her head was back.

Kate and Jake chased after Marie as she disappeared out of sight - they called for her to stop and wait for them, but she couldn't hear them. With elbows bruised from knocking the walls of the narrow passageway back into the temple, Kate knew she could carry the Digi-Egg forever and stopped to put it into her rucksack.

"What are you doing?" Jake called out, skidding along the dusty ground when he came to a stop.

Kate waved him away. "Just go! I'll catch you up, don't worry!" She pulled the cord on her bag, closing it up before throwing it over her shoulder.

Jake was ahead of her and had Marie in his sights. His feet were aching from running and he felt a sharp pain every time his feet pounded the ground.

Darting out into the temple, Jake and Marie were met by a small flock of Hawkmon Flyers gliding overhead at great speeds. Towards the entrance of the temple, Darcmon was waiting with Hawkmon by her side.

Rather than allow the girl to be spotted, Jake pulled Marie up a sandy staircase that appeared to lead up to the roof. He could immediately feel the sand seeping in to his blue and white trainers.

Up on the roof, Jake and Marie were able to lay low and peer over the edge to see Datamon approach with two Gazimon, one on each side.

"Hawkmon Flyers- take to the sky!" Hawkmon ordered, taking the lead and projecting itself into the air, high above the temple. "Feather Strike!"

The group of Hawkmon all grabbed the feather ornament on theirs hands on complete unison before throwing them at the Gazimon and Datamon. The Gazimon jumped about after being struck by a number of the makeshift boomerangs.

Jake clenched his fists, silently celebrating when he saw the Gazimon running away.

"Come back here, Gazimon!" Datamon shouted angrily. "Well it appears we have a battle on our hands Darcmon. What say you?"

Darcmon flew down the temple steps towards Datamon. "If you want a battle, then you've got one, but listen to me when I say that the children are not here."

Jake squinted, ducking down when he thought Datamon was looking his way. "Geezus Kate! Why did you sneak up on us like that?" He rested a hand on his chest, feeling his heart pumping rhythmically against his rib cage. "Nearly enough to give me a heart attack."

Kate dropped down and crawled alongside Marie. "What's going on?"

"It looks like we're about to see one of our first ever Digimon fights between Datamon and Darcmon. I just hope that Darcmon is strong enough to vanquish Datamon. Datamon seems to know a lot about us and whatever this legend is that were meant to signify..."

"Pich-i-mon!"

Marie jumped as her Digi-Egg was broken apart. "Oh my god- who are you?" she whispered quietly as the others crowded around to look at the Digimon.

In amongst the broken eggshell, sat a white creature that resembled a ghost in the shape of an apostrophe.

The D-Connect voice helped to fill in the missing information. "Pichimon, the baby Digimon. Pichimon was discovered in the Net Ocean and is among one of the smallest known Digimon."

"Well hello Pichimon- my name is Marie. And this is Jake and Kate."

"Dancing Sword!" they heard Darcmon bellow.

Over the edge, Darcmon was thrusting a long sword at Datamon, brandishing the blade with a ferocity and aggression that a Spartan would be pleased with.

"Oh come now, Darcmon..." Datamon batted the sword away with one of its mechanical arms. "Data Crusher!"

Darcmon shot up into the air as the Digimon unleashed its attack. A torrent of dark spikes zigzagged their way towards her.

Wide eyed, Kate felt panic rising up in her as the data crusher attack was gaining on Darcmon.

"No!" Kate screeched, unaware that she had already stood up.

Datamon had seen this and cackled. "Oh this is too easy!"

"La Pucelle!" Darcmon yelled, spinning the sword to deflect the oncoming attack. "No, Kate!"

Datamon held his robotic hands out in front of him, calling out his next attack - Digital Bomb. The last joints in each finger bent off, showing a string of explosive pellets.

"Run!" Jake shouted, pulling Marie up with him.

As if paralysed by fear, Kate stumbled back and squealed at the pellets tearing through the air towards her, until the light was blocked out.

"Darcmon!"

The pellets rained down on the Digimon who cried out with every strike. Darcmon turned her head slowly to look at Kate. "You must find the other DigiCores before it's too late. The fate of this world rests on your shoulders-"

Kate's eyes began to water as the Digimon's form changed into a static filled silhouette that then faded into nothingness.

This is all my fault...

-o-

Having secured his D-Connect, Ryan quickly left the bickering Gazimon and ventured deeper into the forest. Once he was out of sight of the feisty Digimon, Ryan started to fiddle with the D-Connect, inspecting every nook and indentation of the device.

"Where did you get that?" a male voice snapped to he left.

"Who's there?" Ryan called asked, trying to see who was there. He slipped the D-Connect chain onto him and held his hand firmly over the device.

"That doesn't belong to you. You stole it from those Gazimon, I saw you."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Maybe we should talk face to face."

"You're certainly diplomatic... for a Digimon."

"Digimon," Ryan stammered. "I'm not a Digimon, I'm a- I'm a human!"

"Yeah right... you said you were sent by the dark lord. I heard you."

From behind a tree, an older looking boy leaned around to see Ryan. The boy had the appearance of someone who had just stepped out of a medieval film. He was wearing a blue tunic and light beige trousers with a dark cloak around him.

"Oh- hey... I'm Ryan, by the way..."

The boy stepped over a short bush with a deep frown on his face. "Does that D-Connect really belong to you?"

Ryan nodded slowly. "I wouldn't lie about this stuff. I promise you."

The boy still seemed weary. "Name's Longfei Qin- but my friends call me Mike..."

Ryan held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mike."

"Mike is my favourite person!" a bright and bubbly voice squealed from the hood of his mantle.

"Relemon!" Mike sighed, freezing up awkwardly. "Ryan, meet Relemon- my Digimon partner."

A yellow head with a cheerful expression bounced up onto Mike's shoulder, it's bushy tail acting as an anchor. "I'm Relemon- Mike's Digimon partner. He found me in the DigiCore."

DigiCore? Ryan thought, feeling like this whole scenario was getting more and more bizarre by the day.

Mike started to lead Ryan away. "Yeah, I can tell you everything I've learnt so far- if you want?"

"Sure, but does this mean that you've been here alone the whole time?"

"Haven't you been?"

"Well. Yes, but there was another girl here."

"What happened to her?"

Ryan felt a pang of guilt and thought it would be best to ignore the question. "I don't know," he replied quickly. "How did you end up with Relemon?"

"Okay, so it's just like this... In this world, there are four cores that are basically big trees with wacky coloured leaves. They are a life source here. Apparently, there's this legend that speaks of children coming here from another world that are required to pass a test and receive a gift from one of the DigiCores. It's crazy but true- it's how I found my Digimon partner, Relemon."

"That really is insane," Ryan mumbled. "Do you know why we're here?"

Mike shook his head. "Not really, I've just been learning as I've been going along. You're the first- human, I've come across here."

"Hopefully not the last though, right?"

-o-

Akiza hung her head in defeat, "Looks like me and Chris are going to go on an extra adventure..." She turned to look at Heather, Sonja and Charles - all of whom were holding their Digi-Eggs.

Heather held a pale pink egg with purple stripes and Sonja's was a similar colour with a string of brown hearts around the middle.

Lucemon lay back against a large rock. "This DigiCore has served its purpose- didn't you notice how the portal has returned to a normal tree trunk."

Sonja gazed up at the tree with a growing curiousity. "But what happens now?"

"The DigiCore will continue to protect this quadrant of the Digital World. If you want my advice, you three with the eggs should head south to Alphamon's castle. As for you two, try to find another DigiCore..." Lucemon folded his arms and closed his eyes.

The five glanced amongst one another, about to protest to Lucemon. Charles started to walk along the path, following Chris who was ahead of them all.

"I'm going to talk to Chris, he seems a little deflated about the whole 'test' thing," Charles explained to the girls before catching up to Chris. "Hey, are you alright?"

The other guy didn't answer, instead running a hand through his hair. "It's not that, it's just, well... I've never really been special. You know, at school, I wasn't one of the first picked- the other kids picked on me and... oh boy. I feel like me being here is a mistake- that I'm not like you guys."

Charles rested his Digi-Egg in one hand and patted Chris on the shoulder with the other. "Come on mate, I know it's hard, but just because you didn't find your egg here doesn't mean you're not important. Just look at Akiza- you and her have your own journey to go on and find another DigiCore tree. Think positively."

"I know..." Chris replied, continuing to walk in silence before coming to a stop by the train tracks that had left not hours ago.

Heather squeezed her Digi-Egg gently. "So, what do you guys want to do?" she asked the inevitable, wondering what the others might say. "Do we take on board what Lucemon said?"

Akiza put a hand on Chris' shoulder, retracting it quickly. "I think Chris and I should try to find one of these core trees. The quicker we find them and get our Digi-Eggs, the quicker we can actually start to help this world. But only if you guys agree."

Sonja and Charles cautiously added an agreement in, waiting for Chris to pipe up.

"Chris?" Heather tried to check how the other boy was, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Oh, um... Yeah, I kind of agree. If Lucemon thinks you guys should go to that Digimon's castle, then I guess I agree."

"The D-Connect should be able to navigate the way to Alphamon's castle, and then we can meet up later hopefully." Heather paused. "So- I guess this is goodbye?" She wasn't sure how to feel about separating so early, but tried to remind herself that it was with good intentions.

Sonja squeezed in between Heather and Chris. "Maybe we should think of it as see you later, rather than goodbye. Goodbye just seems so... defined?"

"Then we'll see you later."

The five exchanged hugs or handshakes as Chris and Akiza got on board another train Digimon and the three teens started to cross the tracks and head out across the neighbouring field.

-o-

Darcmon's gone. Vanished completely...

Kate gasped, unaware that Jake and Marie were pulling on her arms.

"Kate!" Marie shouted, leaning her weight back to try and move the older girl. "We have to get out of here now!"

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that," they heard Datamon cackle before the Digimon climbed up onto the roof.

Seeing Datamon made Kate react and she was brought back to reality, cursing as the three sped away, throwing themselves down the steps into the temple.

They screamed when a robotic arm slammed into the wall beside them.

"Keep running!" Jake shouted.

Marie crossed her arms over her Digi-Egg for fear of dropping it. "It seems like all we ever do is run!"

Kate grabbed the pair and pulled them into a tiny crevasse, pushing her way into it. "Be quiet..." she hissed.

They could hear Datamon calling out to them and Marie closed her eyes and held her breathe as if it made a difference. Datamon's taunts hit hard, calling the three teens weak.

"We need a way out," Jake whispered slowly, only able to turn his head to look at the other two. "Any ideas?"

"We should wait it out... Datamon is an ultimate level Digimon and that sounds strong to me, clearly stronger than a champion Digimon like Darcmon." Kate squirmed, trying to shrug her rucksack off her shoulders.

"I don't like the idea of being sitting ducks, Kate."

"Neither do I."

Datamon was destroying the temple without a care in the world for the holy building. "Oh do come along. I know you're here somewhere. You can't escape me!"

Jake wrestled with his inner thoughts. "Let me distract him- enough to allow both of you to escape."

Kate reached across Marie to grab Jake's arm tightly. "No chance. We're a mini team- we stick together, okay?"

It was clear that Datamon was growing agitated of waiting for the children to come out of hiding and stopped thrashing about. The Digimon wondered where they could have escaped to- perhaps they had already fled the temple completely? Angered, Datamon made his way out of the temple - completely unaware that one glance to the right would have allowed him to look Jake, Marie and Kate dead in the eyes. Close enough to tell the colour and emotion in n their eyes.

"Come on..." Jake murmured, sliding along the sandy wall.

Marie stayed where she was, hesitant about whether or not Datamon was gone.

"Marie- let's go," Pichimon said, gazing up at the girl and nudging her hand.

"Don't forget me!" a muffled voice squeaked from Kate's backpack.

Kate quickly forced Marie out into the light so that she could get a closer in her rucksack. "Look, it's my Digimon!"

A little pale yellow puff ball climbed out onto Kate's lap. It had little pointy ears that were reminiscent of a kitten's.

"Come on D-Connect. Who is this little one?" Kate held the device up in front of the newly hatched Digimon.

"Bellemon, the baby level Digimon. Bellemon's future digivolutions are not currently known."

That's ominous... Kate thought as she watched Bellemon bounce up to Marie's Pichimon to introduce herself.

Jake observed the interaction closely. "Okay- I'm going to be honest but seeing this makes me so keen to get my own Digi-Egg and partner."

Marie stood up slowly, taking Pichimon in her hands. "Then let's go and find another DigiCore tree!

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = woah! I did not expect to be firing another chapter so quickly (I might have used a lunch hour or two to finish up this one!) don't forget to review!