Disclaimer: Hey, I know I said I wasn't gonna put this up again, but I need
to stick in a few modifications. Okie, first off, Digimon belongs to me.
and pigs are soaring high in the sky, among the fluffy little clouds. *
AHEM * Next, I own the plot of this fic, as well as Miki, Kai, Silvemon,
Karnodramon, Shadowmagemon, Blobbermon, Blavamon, Apteryxmon, Feragmamon,
the Golden Tetrahedron and Darkblossomon. And yes, I make up Digimon a lot.
It's a pain in the neck, but I know virtually nothing about the card game,
and I don't know a lot of Digimon either. This disclaimer is getting way
too long, so I'll end it right. here.
UPDATES: I've gone back to Part III and almost completely changed Jenrya's flashback on how the Tamers defeated the D-Reaper. Now it's slightly more like on the show, except it's a lot more complicated. Go back and read it over!
Names: Matsuda Takato = Takato Matsuki Lee Jenrya = Henry Wong Makino Ruki = Rika Nonaka Katou Juri = Jeri Katou Akiyama Ryou = Ryo Akiyama Shiota Hirokazu = Kazu Shiota Kitagawa Kenta = Kenta Kitagawa (I'm assuming they didn't change his last name, but it hasn't appeared on the show yet, so.) Lee Shuichon = Suzie Wong Matsuda Mie = Mrs. Matsuki Matsuda Takehiro = Mr. Matsuki Katou Tadeshi = Mr. Katou Reika = Riley Megumi = Tally (I think) Makino Rumiko = Mrs. Makino Seiko = Rika's grandmother Lee Janyu = Mr. Wong Wild Bunch = Monster Makers
~GAAH! The Digimon producers are stealing my names!!! WHERE the HELL did Takato's cousin Kai come from?! Davis has returned! Well, on to the more important and positive things... All RIGHT!!! Part VIII is here at last! Won't keep ya waitin', R, E & R!!!~
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The Shadow Realms: Part VIII - Hunted
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"Not again, my little boy's gone again," Matsuda Mie sobbed into her husband's shoulder.
They were standing in the new Hypnos headquarters with the parents and families of the other Tamers, and Yamaki had called all of the Wild Bunch to an urgent meeting as well. They were talking quietly in the corner of the room, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Where's Jen?" Lee Shuichon asked curiously, looking up at her mother, "Okaa-san, why are you crying?"
Jenrya's little sister had grown a lot since her days in the Digital World. She was now eleven years old, and her dark magenta hair, which fell to her shoulders, was kept in two ponytails on either side of her head. Her bangs had been brushed back on the sides. She wore a pretty pink dress and a small red spring coat over it.
"Where's Juri?" Katou Tadeshi asked angrily, with his arm around Juri's stepmother, "Where's my daughter?"
"Calm down," Lee Janyu told him, "That's what we're trying to find out."
"They've gone back, haven't they?" Makino Rumiko said quietly, her deep purple eyes downcast, "To the Digital World."
Janyu nodded grimly, "That's our guess. Now we have to figure out how and why."
"There's something else," Yamaki said suddenly, "Hypnos detected a wild one a few days ago."
Reika spoke up, tossing her long dark red hair over her shoulder, "We've also had eyewitness reports of what's been called a giant black and white sunflower in Shinjuku Park."
Megumi (A/N: Um, is that the blonde Hypnos woman's original name???), who was currently hard at work at the computer, looked up through her thatch of blond hair, now trailing down below her shoulders, "Sir, there was a disturbance in the communications systems and electronic equipment in Shinjuku earlier this week. The center of the disturbance seems to be have been located somewhere in Shinjuku Park. My guess is that it had something to do with the giant sunflower; it may have been caused by the mysterious creature itself."
"But what's it got to do with our children?" Matsuda Takehiro inquired.
"Most likely that sunflower was the Digimon we detected, and it met up with the children," Yamaki told him, fiddling with his sunglasses, which he'd taken off, "What came of that meeting is anyone's guess."
"We'll just have to wait and see," sighed Janyu, "There's nothing we can do for now. We have no way to communicate with the kids."
"Oh, Takato, please be all right," Mie sniffed, burying her face in her hands.
Ruki's grandmother Seiko smiled reassuringly and placed a gentle hand on the unhappy mother's shoulder, "I'm sure he'll be all right. They'll all be fine. They showed that they could already take care of themselves four years ago, after all."
Hirokazu's mother shook her head, "If you knew my son, you wouldn't be saying that."
"We should trust them, Mie," Takehiro told his wife with conviction.
"Yes, of course, but I-I just worry, you know?" Mie smiled and dabbed at her eyes.
Shuichon stood a little apart from the others, fingering one of her ponytails and staring into space thoughtfully, "Lopmon..."
***
The Tamers had crossed the abyss around the late castle and were now trudging through the desert beneath the scorching sun, trying to find a hint of civilization where they could obtain some kind of clue as to where to go next. According to Kai, they would arrive at a MetalKoromon village in about two days' time if they kept heading north, and so that was where they were going.
"Are you sure about this, Kai?" Miki asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead and trying to gather some energy in the crushing heat.
Silvemon was fanning her Tamer with her large wings, but it wasn't doing much good. None of the Digimon seemed remotely affected by the temperature.
"Yeah," the boy replied from her right, looking quite comfortable and not in the least bit tired.
"How do you guys all stay so fresh?" Miki asked, glancing around at Takato and Jenrya, who were in the same condition as Kai.
"Yeah! How?" Hirokazu demanded; he had been limping along and complaining frequently about getting stones into his shoes; Guardromon was now carrying him and Kenta.
"Oh, don't you guys know?" Jenrya looked back at Hirokazu and Kenta in surprise, "Oh, right, you weren't with us when-"
"When what?" Kenta asked immediately.
"Never mind," the blue-haired boy shrugged, "It's not important. It's just that, in the Digital World, things are based on beliefs, in the sense that if you believe you're not going to get wet when you're in the water, then you're not going to get wet."
"Huh?" Hirokazu, Kenta and Miki all threw him confused looks.
Kai smiled, "Let's put it this way. If you pretend you're nice and cool, like when you're sitting next to an air conditioner on a summer day, you're going to feel that way. It's very simple, really."
Hirokazu glared at Jenrya, "Well, Mr. Know-it-all, why didn't you impart this knowledge to us when we were stuck on that mountain being frozen to death, huh?!"
"Momentai!" Terriermon retorted.
Jenrya shrugged, "Well, Takato and I were trying to pretend we were warm, but in conditions that extreme, even Takato's imagination didn't do him much good. Since it wasn't working, what was the point of telling you guys?"
"Oh, okay," Hirokazu didn't look at all abashed.
"Come on, guys, even if we're not all slowly being cooked anymore, we still have to get as much walking done today as possible," Takato urged his friends as Hirokazu, Kenta and Miki tried their best to pretend they were comfortable under the blazing sunlight.
"Takatomon, I'm hungry," Guilmon whined, rubbing his rumbling belly and looking pleadingly at his Tamer.
"Guilmon!"
"Sorry. But I 'am' hungry."
"Brrrr... C-c-cold..." Kenta began to shiver, his teeth chattering as he spoke.
"Don't overdo it," Kai admonished him with an amused expression, "You don't need to pretend you're at the South Pole, you know."
Kenta nodded and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to get it right, "Whew! Thanks, that's better."
"I'll say," Miki was grinning broadly as she basked in her newfound comfort, and Silvemon was looking relieved that she didn't have to exert her wings anymore.
***
"Whaddaya want, ya giant yellow snake?!" Iodramon blinked in surprise at being addressed in such a manner by the small being he was attempting to speak with, a dark purplish creature with pointy crooked ears, large, slanted green eyes, red gloves and a red scarf tied around his neck.
"You should show a little more respect," the great crystal dragon admonished the smaller Digimon, "Someday a mouth like that could get you killed."
"Ah, whatever!" Impmon glared up at the large Digimon who'd awakened him so rudely from a peaceful afternoon nap, "Well, what's yer reason for goin' round scarin' folks outta their teeny tiny wits when they're tryin' ta get some shuteye, eh?!"
Iodramon sighed; there was just no helping some Digimon, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm under orders from the sovereign Zhuqiaomon to find a certain Digimon called Culumon. Have you by any chance encountered him?"
"Culumon?" Impmon looked surprised, then thoughtful, "Let's see, last time I saw him he was in the other world, so bug off!"
As he was stomping off in a huff, the little purple Digimon suddenly turned around, "Why're ya lookin' for 'im anyways?"
Iodramon hesitated for a moment, then divulged part of what he knew, "There is trouble brewing in the Shadow Realms. The sovereigns believe the Digi- Entelechy may be in danger. It appears also that the Chosen Children have returned."
The first two sentences might as well have been Morse code, but upon hearing the last Impmon froze, "Takato, Ruki, the whole gang, they're 'back'?! Are they outta their minds?!"
The yellow dragon sighed heavily, "Yes, they are back. Three of the Chosen, Akiyama Ryou, Makino Ruki and Katou Juri, and two of their Digimon, Renamon and Cyberdramon, are being held captive by the Ruler of the Shadow Realms."
"Juri's been captured?!" Impmon yelped, his green eyes widening at this unexpected news, "Okay, that's it, I've gotta help 'er. I've gotta help 'them'. Aw, buckbones, here I go waddlin' into trouble again. Sheesh, when will I learn not ta mess with stuff bigger'n findin' shelter an' food?!"
He turned back to Iodramon, who was contemplating him with some amusement, "Whaddarya lookin' at?! . Willya take me to 'em? Or at least ta find Culumon? I won't be any trouble, I promise!"
"Well, since you asked so politely." Iodramon pretended to think it over for a moment, enjoying the smaller Digimon's obvious impatience, "I will take you to the Tamers, if you will help me find Culumon."
"Deal!" Impmon snapped his red-gloved fingers, grinning, "Pieca cake!"
***
That night, the Tamers set up camp in a sheltered nook between two particularly large rock formations in the desert. The temperature was plummeting, but with their active imaginations the children had no problems with warmth. They lit a fire almost out of habit rather than out of need and sat around it, enjoying the familiar light and warmth and each other's company.
"I hope we'll get to the village tomorrow," Kai said worriedly, "I want to start looking for that Key as soon as possible. Who knows what Shadowmagemon might do to the prisoners. We'd better move as fast as we can."
"There's no sense in rushing ourselves to death, though," Jenrya said, "We'll need all our strength to break into Shadowmagemon's castle, and if we're too worn out when we get there, it won't be much use going at all. We should take reasonable breaks every day and not turn in too late at night."
"Momentai," Terriermon added, waving his ears around.
"Agreed," Takato nodded, "We'll need all the advantages we can get to fight this guy."
Guilmon whimpered unhappily beside him, "I'm so hungry I could eat the fire."
"You could probably eat anything," Hirokazu laughed.
"Yeah, I could," Guilmon nodded happily, "I ate Takatomon's shoes once. But that was before I knew what bread tasted like."
" 'You' were the one who ate them?" Takato groaned, "So that was what those pieces of colored fabric and shredded rubber under the bed were all about. I was looking for those shoes for 'ages', Guilmon!"
"Gomen nasai, Takato," the red bat-like ears drooped sadly.
"Aw, forget it."
"Don't worry, once we get to the MetalKoromon village, there'll be more than enough food for everyone," Kai informed the red dinosaur Digimon, chuckling, "Not that we need it, but the Digimon sure do."
"Uh-huh!" this was from Terrier-with-a-hole-for-a-stomach-mon.
His blue-haired partner rolled his eyes as everyone else laughed.
Miki yawned, "So why are we going to the MetalKoromon village again? Besides for food, I mean."
"We need to get some information as to where the Key might be hidden," Jenrya told her quietly.
"And we need to find MarineAngemon," Kenta added firmly.
"Uh-huh, we're gonna need all the strength we can get," Takato nodded, "So tomorrow we'll hopefully get to the village, get some clues as to where the Key or MarineAngemon is, and then set out to face the unknown!"
"Tha's nice, chumley," Hirokazu said sleepily.
With that the spiky-haired boy flopped backwards onto a clump of low shrubs and within seconds was snoring peacefully. The others stared at him in disbelief.
"How'd he fall asleep so fast?" Miki wondered aloud.
Soft snores from beside her called her attention to a Kenta in log state. Everyone sweatdropped.
"Well, looks like it's time we all called it a night," Jenrya remarked.
"Yeah, I'm feeling small again, Takatomon..." Guilmon mumbled, staggering over to his Tamer's bedroll and collapsing amid the sheets.
"Guilmon, that's 'my' bed," Takato said, annoyed, running over and trying to extract his partner from his sleeping bag.
Finally he gave up and curled up with his head on Guilmon's back. Within moments he had dropped off to sleep as well. Kai, Jenrya and Terriermon, and Miki all made their way to their sleeping bags after staying up for a while longer in silence, leaving Silvemon and Guardromon to take first watch by the fire.
***
Silvemon, stretched out beside the fire, suddenly tensed as her fur stood on end and her great black ear-wings shot straight up into the air from their limp folded positions along her neck. Guardromon, who was nodding off across from her, snapped awake.
"Huh? What? Enemy? Where?" he leaped to his feet, making a quite a lot of noise, and was about to start firing attacks everywhere when Silvemon's voice, full of undisguised annoyance, stopped him.
"Sit down, you great lump. I thought I heard something, that's all. And whatever it is, you've probably scared it away with all your jabbering and clanking."
"So sorry," Guardromon replied, sitting down once more.
Within moments he was dozing off again. Silvemon's pale eyes scanned the darkness around their small gathering, trying to penetrate the night and detect any malevolent presence beyond the firelight. Finally, however, when she didn't see anything, the four-legged Digimon relaxed once more and laid her head onto her front paws, gazing absently into the fire.
***
At the top of one of the two stone formations flanking the Tamers' campfire, a massive shadow loomed. As the creature shifted in the moonlight, a flash of red could be seen. Its eyes, which were completely black, without any visible whites, were fixed on the tiny flickering glow below.
A low chuckle emerged from beneath the gleaming black and purple helm, "Unsuspecting fools. Soon, I will make my move, and when I do, you will all be nothing more than a memory!"
With a barely detectable flash of red, the creature vanished just as Silvemon raised her head, all her senses on alert once more. After staring at the top of the stone formation for a moment, puzzled, the silver Digimon returned to her open-eyed dreams.
***
Takato was wide-awake, having been startled out of slumber by Guardromon. The brown-haired boy lay quietly against Guilmon, listening to the rhythm of his partner's noisy breathing in sleep. His mind wandered across a million paths, but always it strayed back to the single thing that had preoccupied his mind for quite awhile now. Takato fingered his goggles, which were in his hands, and shifted on the bedroll.
"Katou-san." the brown-haired boy breathed, closing his wide, innocent ruby eyes, 'I promise I'll save you, whatever it takes!'
The thought of Juri trapped in a dark dungeon, scared, cold, and possibly hurt, made Takato's throat tighten and angry adrenaline surge through his system. With an effort, he calmed himself down.
'Getting angry won't resolve anything, Takato,' he told himself, remembering the Megidramon incident, 'You have to stay in control of yourself, or something like that could happen again.'
Shivering, he opened his eyes and looked up into the peaceful red face of his sleeping friend. Guilmon's nostrils let loose a small wisp of warm breath that flowed onto Takato's face, scented with the aroma and familiarity of fresh bread. The boy sighed, and felt his eyes fill with tears as a wave of homesickness washed over him.
'Don't be a baby, Takato,' he admonished himself sternly, wiping his eyes, 'Crying won't help anyone. Okaa-san and Otou-san must be frantic. I wish I'd left them a note or something.'
But then again, there was no way he could have known that a portal would open to them on that day. Takato rolled over and sighed again. He wanted to sleep. To escape from the worries of his life, and fly free in his queer dreams.
***
Miki sat up against the wall of brown rock she had spread her bedroll beneath. Gathering her knees to her chest, the dark-haired girl rocked slowly back and forth, her bandana fluttering in the breeze as she gazed pensively at the shadowy forms of Guardromon and her own partner against the flickering fire.
'This is all so weird,' she thought, 'One minute I'm just a normal kid, getting dragged around the world by her celebrity of an annoying Mom, and the next I get a Digimon partner and I'm off to the Digital World to travel with kids I don't even know and to save some kids I've never even met.'
Miki smiled to herself, digging her index finger into the dirt beside her as her bright eyes landed on Silvemon's shimmering form, 'Well, I can't say it isn't kinda cool, having a Digimon and all. It's like a dream come true. Heck, it is a dream come true. Well, whatever it is, I hope it never, ever ends. Time to sleep!'
And with that she curled up in her bedroll and closed her eyes. However, it was a long time before Miki managed to fall asleep.
***
Hirokazu volunteered to take second watch with Jenrya and Terriermon that night, much to all who were awake's amazement. For some reason, the spiky- haired boy was unable to get back to sleep after having been awoken by Guardromon's clanking. He and Jenrya sat on opposite sides of the fire in silence, listening to the crackling of the fire punctuated by Terriermon's loud snores.
'I wonder how the others are doing,' Hirokazu thought as he stared blankly into the fire, 'Hope we're not gonna be too late when we get there, though we probably will be, at the rate we're crawlin' along. Ah, well, whatever. Leave the worryin' to the others, just tag along and battle, yeah that's it.'
He looked up at Jenrya. The other boy was also deep in thought. Hirokazu returned to staring at the fire.
'Change of subject... Let's see... Well, if Ruki really did have a crush on me, of all people, she's probably forgotten all about it,' he raised one knee and set his chin down upon it, smiling slightly, 'After all, she's reunited with hero Ryou.'
Hirokazu had always looked up to Ryou, and had always cheered him on and basically, well, acted like all the other hardcore fans of the cerulean- eyed boy out there. But, deep inside, sometimes, Ryou just grated on the spiky-haired boy's nerves. Always showing off, stealing the spotlight, doing his heroics in everyone's face. Even though Hirokazu knew that Ryou didn't do all this on purpose, and that he was just the craziest, bravest, most reckless guy he'd ever met, it was still annoying.
'Jeez, I mean, can't he act like a normal kid for a change?! I mean, sure he's famous, he's the master of Digimon cards, and, well, yeah, he's a lot older than any of us, but sheesh, I mean, the guy's so damn perfect it's irritating. Well, one thing's for sure, the girls all like him. Except for Ruki that is. And now, I'm not so sure about that anymore, either. Sheesh, since when did life get so complicated?!' Hirokazu grinned slightly to himself, 'Maybe it's what the adults call 'growing up'. Well, if this is growing up, I don't want to 'grow up', ever. Not if it means I have to turn into what Ryou is.'
Shaking his head, Hirokazu decided that he must've caught brain fever or something since he wasn't exactly used to thinking so much. To take his mind off these matters, he settled for banging Guardromon rhythmically on the arm, making the machine Digimon complain about him denting his armor.
"Hey, you're the one who woke me up with all your clanking," Hirokazu grinned up at his partner, "So I owe you this."
Guardromon couldn't think of anything to answer to that.
***
Jenrya watched Hirokazu discreetly from the other side of the fire. The other boy seemed deep in thought, something that was very rare for him and quite amusing to watch. As Jenrya looked on, the spiky-haired boy's face contorted into a frown, lit up with a slight smile, darkened into a scowl, then was lit up anew by a slight grin.
'Well, who knew watching somebody think could actually be so funny?' Jenrya thought, trying not to laugh, 'Well, since it's Hirokazu, and he probably doesn't think a whole lot.'
After Hirokazu started banging on his partner's arm, much to the Digimon's displeasure, Jenrya returned to his thoughts, which were, for some reason, centered around a certain violet-eyed girl with gold-streaked tawny hair.
'If Shadowmagemon does anything to her, he's going receive a visit from an extremely angry, 10-story-tall green mechanical bunny,' Jenrya thought, repressing a chuckle, 'Well, when it's put that way.'
He looked up into the night sky, quietly contemplating the bright moon reflected in his deep gray eyes, 'Ruki, please be okay.'
***
At that moment, Ruki was seething with frustration and pain as she squirmed in her chains. Hanging by your arms was 'definitely' not the most comfortable position of the century, and Ruki had found that out the hard way.
'Man, if I don't get out of here soon, I'm gonna 'die',' Ruki thought, gritting her teeth against the burning of her shoulders.
She looked over at Ryou, who didn't look uncomfortable at all. Why, he was actually sleeping! Ruki shook her head.
'How the heck can he stand this?!'
***
The next morning, the Tamers set out again for the MetalKoromon village. They went at a faster pace this time, since all of them were now walking in comfort under the scorching desert sun. However, Kai still wasn't satisfied with their efforts, and pushed them harder.
"Aw, man, can't we take a break now?!" Hirokazu whined, falling to his knees in the hot sand, which he found pleasantly cool after a moment's mental effort.
Kenta went down beside him a moment later, pushing his glasses up his nose, "Yeah, we're exhausted."
"Quite complaining, guys, we've still got a ways to go, and we need to go as fast as possible," Kai told them impatiently.
Silvemon agreed quietly, "I sensed something last night, and the feeling hasn't quite gone away."
"You mean something's following us?!" Miki looked up in alarm at Kai's question.
"I'm not sure," Silvemon lowered her head and closed her eyes, exerting her senses as she scanned the dunes around them with her extraordinarily keen hearing, "But I believe so."
"Let's get going, then," Kai said seriously, noting the position of the sun in the sky; it was late afternoon, "We don't want to stay in one spot any longer than we have to. Judging by the kidnappings of Ruki, Katou-san and Renamon, and the attacks earlier, Shadowmagemon is out to get us. I don't even want to think about meeting one of his hunters right now."
"You mean that something's after us?" Takato asked unhappily, looking up from an argument with Guilmon about eating sand.
"Probably," Kai replied, scanning the horizon carefully as he spoke, "Now let's get moving, we can talk on the way."
***
"Too late," came Kenta's voice, tighter and at least two octaves higher than usual.
"Shimatta," Kai muttered as they all spotted what Kenta had; a great red dinosaur-like creature making straight for them, its dangerous jaws parted in an earsplitting roar.
"Oh, great," Hirokazu commented, "We beat two, another one shows up. Figures. Sheesh, what's Shadowmagemon got against us?!"
"We're a threat to him," Kai smiled grimly, "And to his plans. He wants to find something. I'm not sure what it is, but it's something that's been there since before the D-Reaper. And it's very, very powerful. If Shadowmagemon gets his filthy hands on it, the Digital World is doomed."
"Oh, great, what else is new?" Miki asked in an irritated tone, taking out her D-Ark.
"Well, no use in getting psyched out over something like that when we've got a much closer problem at hand," Jenrya muttered as Terriermon leaped down from his head to the sand, "Karnodramon, Perfect level Virus type Digimon. His attacks are Devourer Claw and Crimson Fury."
Kai's eyes narrowed, "That's one of Shadowmagemon's strongest hunters. You guys had better not underestimate his power."
"This doesn't look good," Takato noted as the large Digimon came closer, allowing them to distinguish his features more clearly; he wore red armor that looked about a meter thick, along with a black and purple helm over his head, that only revealed his huge, lightless black eyes, inhabited by a deadly hunger.
***
Terriermon hopped up to the red dragon and called up to him cheerfully, "Hey, Karny me pal, you got time for a game of strip poker?"
"Terriermon!" Jenrya scolded his irrepressible bunny Digimon.
"Devourer Claw!" Terriermon hastened to get out of the way of the purple crescents that emerged from Karnodramon's front claws.
"Guess not."
"You ready?" Jenrya asked his partner.
"Guilmon!" Takato called to the red dinosaur, who was charging Karnodramon with a sort of instinctive fury, "Let's do it, Jen!"
***
"Card Slash!" the two Tamers called out, "Super Evolution Plug-In S!"
EVOLUTION_
"Terriermon, shinka!" the small bunny Digimon glowed green and grew as he ran forward to attack, "Galgomon! Gatling Arm!"
The attack hit Karnodramon's thick armor and bounced off without leaving a scratch.
"Guilmon, shinka!" the small red Digimon leaped into the air, "Growmon! Exhaust Flame!"
Growmon's fiery attack fizzled out as it streamed onto Karnodramon's helm. Karnodramon shook his head, snarled and scratched himself almost casually.
"That almost tickled!" he mocked.
"Takato! This isn't working!" Jenrya cried as Karnodramon wrapped his tail around Galgomon and began squeezing.
***
The bunny Digimon screamed and began blasting his Gatling Arm at Karnodramon's face, but Karnodramon pinned his arms to his sides, leaving him helpless. Growmon tried to free his friend, but was batted away like a rag doll. Suddenly a silver blur streaked out onto the battleground, propelled solely on its great black wings.
"Lightning Scythe!" Silvemon managed to cut a small chip out of Karnodramon's armor, but then the enemy Digimon's jaws snapped shut over the small four-legged Digimon, "AAAAAAH!!!!!"
"Silvemon! NO!" Miki yelled, looking frantically through her cards, "Oh, man, which card should I use?!"
"Destruction Grenade!" Guardromon began pelting Karnodramon's tail with attacks in an attempt to help Galgomon, but so far he was failing.
"That's it, Guardromon, just keep blastin' away!" Hirokazu encouraged his partner, jumping up and down and waving his fist.
Karnodramon opened his jaws wide and points of red light began to assemble at the back of his throat.
"Uh-oh," Guardromon muttered, scrambling to get out of the way.
"Crimson Fury!" the wave of burning red engulfed Guardromon and blasted him far away.
"That went well," the machine Digimon commented weakly as the dust cleared to find him lying on his back against a dune of sand.
"Oh, man, Guardromon, are you okay, buddy?" Hirokazu ran to help his partner.
***
Meanwhile, Galgomon's data was beginning to break apart, "J-Jen! A little help here?!"
"Jen! Hurry! He'll be destroyed!" Takato cried.
"I know! I know!" Jenrya was scattering cards everywhere as he looked frantically for a way to help his friend, "Hang on, Galgomon! Card Slash! Alias!"
Galgomon fell to the sand, leaving an empty shell behind in Karnodramon's grip. Jenrya and Takato looked at each other and nodded.
***
"Card Slash! Matrix Evolution!"
MATRIX EVOLUTION_
"Galgomon, shinka! Rapidmon!"
"Growmon, shinka! Megalo Growmon!"
The two Ultimates both lifted off at the same time and attacked together, both aiming for the small chip in Karnodramon's armor. All of sudden, night fell as though someone had just thrown a switch. The Tamers looked around, startled.
***
"Hey, what just happened?!" Miki asked in confusion.
"That's how it always is," Jenrya informed her with a slight smile, "We're not used to it either."
Karnodramon suddenly gave a blood-chilling roar and began to give off a strange, ghostly purple glow. He seemed suddenly larger and more menacing than ever.
"Why do I have a feeling that's not a good thing?" Takato asked nobody in particular, eyeing the purple glow warily.
Kai, standing beside Miki with a grim expression on his brown face, watched the whole scene in silence.
"Rapid Fire!"
"Atomic Blaster!"
The two attacks merged and hit Karnodramon hard, causing him to drop Silvemon as he disappeared in an enormous red explosion that threw up huge quantities of sand. Guardromon picked Silvemon up and carried her out of harm's way.
"Yeah! You got him!" Takato cheered happily.
"Way to go!" Kenta called, leaping out from his hiding place behind Kai.
***
Kai didn't say anything. Miki, who was checking to see if Silvemon was okay, looked up at him.
"It's not over yet, is it?" she murmured, seeing the expression on the blue- eyed boy's face.
Kai shook his head without a word.
***
As the clouds of sand and smoke dispersed, a dark form appeared, standing in the middle of a large blackened crater. Takato backed up with horror in his face, staring at the creature, which looked up with glowing eyes of deep purple. A flash of red could be seen as it suddenly leaped out of the crater and landed directly in front of the children, causing Megalo Growmon and Rapidmon to move protectively in front of the Tamers.
"No, it can't be," Jenrya said in disbelief.
Karnodramon smiled, revealing rows of gleaming fangs, "And yet it is."
***
~Man, what's with the enemies that just won't stay down?! And are Ruki, Ryou and Juri ever going to escape from Shadowmagemon's castle? Find out in the next chapter of Shadow Realms! Well, this chapter was written pretty fast, but I don't really like it that much, so. yeah. Go on, review and tell me what you think. Part IX got pretty screwed up, I had to rewrite the whole damned thing. Well... Next week. A NEW chapter of Void, and another new chapter here the week after that. But I suppose you guys know the routine by now. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!~
Reviews:
Bakura's Angel - Thanks, I'm glad you like it! Bakura rulz! In Yu-Gi-Oh, that is. ^^
SaLLy - Well, glad you found it again, that happens to me often, and it's really frustrating, I can tell you that. I'm trying to update once every two weeks, for both Shadow Realms and Void, so I won't keep you waiting too long for the next chapter. Well, I dunno if it's going to finish soon, the plot's barely started, so. I dunno. Keep reading and reviewing!
Black-Tide - Thanks for the compliment and the help! I really appreciate it!
UPDATES: I've gone back to Part III and almost completely changed Jenrya's flashback on how the Tamers defeated the D-Reaper. Now it's slightly more like on the show, except it's a lot more complicated. Go back and read it over!
Names: Matsuda Takato = Takato Matsuki Lee Jenrya = Henry Wong Makino Ruki = Rika Nonaka Katou Juri = Jeri Katou Akiyama Ryou = Ryo Akiyama Shiota Hirokazu = Kazu Shiota Kitagawa Kenta = Kenta Kitagawa (I'm assuming they didn't change his last name, but it hasn't appeared on the show yet, so.) Lee Shuichon = Suzie Wong Matsuda Mie = Mrs. Matsuki Matsuda Takehiro = Mr. Matsuki Katou Tadeshi = Mr. Katou Reika = Riley Megumi = Tally (I think) Makino Rumiko = Mrs. Makino Seiko = Rika's grandmother Lee Janyu = Mr. Wong Wild Bunch = Monster Makers
~GAAH! The Digimon producers are stealing my names!!! WHERE the HELL did Takato's cousin Kai come from?! Davis has returned! Well, on to the more important and positive things... All RIGHT!!! Part VIII is here at last! Won't keep ya waitin', R, E & R!!!~
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The Shadow Realms: Part VIII - Hunted
-------------------------------------------------
"Not again, my little boy's gone again," Matsuda Mie sobbed into her husband's shoulder.
They were standing in the new Hypnos headquarters with the parents and families of the other Tamers, and Yamaki had called all of the Wild Bunch to an urgent meeting as well. They were talking quietly in the corner of the room, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Where's Jen?" Lee Shuichon asked curiously, looking up at her mother, "Okaa-san, why are you crying?"
Jenrya's little sister had grown a lot since her days in the Digital World. She was now eleven years old, and her dark magenta hair, which fell to her shoulders, was kept in two ponytails on either side of her head. Her bangs had been brushed back on the sides. She wore a pretty pink dress and a small red spring coat over it.
"Where's Juri?" Katou Tadeshi asked angrily, with his arm around Juri's stepmother, "Where's my daughter?"
"Calm down," Lee Janyu told him, "That's what we're trying to find out."
"They've gone back, haven't they?" Makino Rumiko said quietly, her deep purple eyes downcast, "To the Digital World."
Janyu nodded grimly, "That's our guess. Now we have to figure out how and why."
"There's something else," Yamaki said suddenly, "Hypnos detected a wild one a few days ago."
Reika spoke up, tossing her long dark red hair over her shoulder, "We've also had eyewitness reports of what's been called a giant black and white sunflower in Shinjuku Park."
Megumi (A/N: Um, is that the blonde Hypnos woman's original name???), who was currently hard at work at the computer, looked up through her thatch of blond hair, now trailing down below her shoulders, "Sir, there was a disturbance in the communications systems and electronic equipment in Shinjuku earlier this week. The center of the disturbance seems to be have been located somewhere in Shinjuku Park. My guess is that it had something to do with the giant sunflower; it may have been caused by the mysterious creature itself."
"But what's it got to do with our children?" Matsuda Takehiro inquired.
"Most likely that sunflower was the Digimon we detected, and it met up with the children," Yamaki told him, fiddling with his sunglasses, which he'd taken off, "What came of that meeting is anyone's guess."
"We'll just have to wait and see," sighed Janyu, "There's nothing we can do for now. We have no way to communicate with the kids."
"Oh, Takato, please be all right," Mie sniffed, burying her face in her hands.
Ruki's grandmother Seiko smiled reassuringly and placed a gentle hand on the unhappy mother's shoulder, "I'm sure he'll be all right. They'll all be fine. They showed that they could already take care of themselves four years ago, after all."
Hirokazu's mother shook her head, "If you knew my son, you wouldn't be saying that."
"We should trust them, Mie," Takehiro told his wife with conviction.
"Yes, of course, but I-I just worry, you know?" Mie smiled and dabbed at her eyes.
Shuichon stood a little apart from the others, fingering one of her ponytails and staring into space thoughtfully, "Lopmon..."
***
The Tamers had crossed the abyss around the late castle and were now trudging through the desert beneath the scorching sun, trying to find a hint of civilization where they could obtain some kind of clue as to where to go next. According to Kai, they would arrive at a MetalKoromon village in about two days' time if they kept heading north, and so that was where they were going.
"Are you sure about this, Kai?" Miki asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead and trying to gather some energy in the crushing heat.
Silvemon was fanning her Tamer with her large wings, but it wasn't doing much good. None of the Digimon seemed remotely affected by the temperature.
"Yeah," the boy replied from her right, looking quite comfortable and not in the least bit tired.
"How do you guys all stay so fresh?" Miki asked, glancing around at Takato and Jenrya, who were in the same condition as Kai.
"Yeah! How?" Hirokazu demanded; he had been limping along and complaining frequently about getting stones into his shoes; Guardromon was now carrying him and Kenta.
"Oh, don't you guys know?" Jenrya looked back at Hirokazu and Kenta in surprise, "Oh, right, you weren't with us when-"
"When what?" Kenta asked immediately.
"Never mind," the blue-haired boy shrugged, "It's not important. It's just that, in the Digital World, things are based on beliefs, in the sense that if you believe you're not going to get wet when you're in the water, then you're not going to get wet."
"Huh?" Hirokazu, Kenta and Miki all threw him confused looks.
Kai smiled, "Let's put it this way. If you pretend you're nice and cool, like when you're sitting next to an air conditioner on a summer day, you're going to feel that way. It's very simple, really."
Hirokazu glared at Jenrya, "Well, Mr. Know-it-all, why didn't you impart this knowledge to us when we were stuck on that mountain being frozen to death, huh?!"
"Momentai!" Terriermon retorted.
Jenrya shrugged, "Well, Takato and I were trying to pretend we were warm, but in conditions that extreme, even Takato's imagination didn't do him much good. Since it wasn't working, what was the point of telling you guys?"
"Oh, okay," Hirokazu didn't look at all abashed.
"Come on, guys, even if we're not all slowly being cooked anymore, we still have to get as much walking done today as possible," Takato urged his friends as Hirokazu, Kenta and Miki tried their best to pretend they were comfortable under the blazing sunlight.
"Takatomon, I'm hungry," Guilmon whined, rubbing his rumbling belly and looking pleadingly at his Tamer.
"Guilmon!"
"Sorry. But I 'am' hungry."
"Brrrr... C-c-cold..." Kenta began to shiver, his teeth chattering as he spoke.
"Don't overdo it," Kai admonished him with an amused expression, "You don't need to pretend you're at the South Pole, you know."
Kenta nodded and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to get it right, "Whew! Thanks, that's better."
"I'll say," Miki was grinning broadly as she basked in her newfound comfort, and Silvemon was looking relieved that she didn't have to exert her wings anymore.
***
"Whaddaya want, ya giant yellow snake?!" Iodramon blinked in surprise at being addressed in such a manner by the small being he was attempting to speak with, a dark purplish creature with pointy crooked ears, large, slanted green eyes, red gloves and a red scarf tied around his neck.
"You should show a little more respect," the great crystal dragon admonished the smaller Digimon, "Someday a mouth like that could get you killed."
"Ah, whatever!" Impmon glared up at the large Digimon who'd awakened him so rudely from a peaceful afternoon nap, "Well, what's yer reason for goin' round scarin' folks outta their teeny tiny wits when they're tryin' ta get some shuteye, eh?!"
Iodramon sighed; there was just no helping some Digimon, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm under orders from the sovereign Zhuqiaomon to find a certain Digimon called Culumon. Have you by any chance encountered him?"
"Culumon?" Impmon looked surprised, then thoughtful, "Let's see, last time I saw him he was in the other world, so bug off!"
As he was stomping off in a huff, the little purple Digimon suddenly turned around, "Why're ya lookin' for 'im anyways?"
Iodramon hesitated for a moment, then divulged part of what he knew, "There is trouble brewing in the Shadow Realms. The sovereigns believe the Digi- Entelechy may be in danger. It appears also that the Chosen Children have returned."
The first two sentences might as well have been Morse code, but upon hearing the last Impmon froze, "Takato, Ruki, the whole gang, they're 'back'?! Are they outta their minds?!"
The yellow dragon sighed heavily, "Yes, they are back. Three of the Chosen, Akiyama Ryou, Makino Ruki and Katou Juri, and two of their Digimon, Renamon and Cyberdramon, are being held captive by the Ruler of the Shadow Realms."
"Juri's been captured?!" Impmon yelped, his green eyes widening at this unexpected news, "Okay, that's it, I've gotta help 'er. I've gotta help 'them'. Aw, buckbones, here I go waddlin' into trouble again. Sheesh, when will I learn not ta mess with stuff bigger'n findin' shelter an' food?!"
He turned back to Iodramon, who was contemplating him with some amusement, "Whaddarya lookin' at?! . Willya take me to 'em? Or at least ta find Culumon? I won't be any trouble, I promise!"
"Well, since you asked so politely." Iodramon pretended to think it over for a moment, enjoying the smaller Digimon's obvious impatience, "I will take you to the Tamers, if you will help me find Culumon."
"Deal!" Impmon snapped his red-gloved fingers, grinning, "Pieca cake!"
***
That night, the Tamers set up camp in a sheltered nook between two particularly large rock formations in the desert. The temperature was plummeting, but with their active imaginations the children had no problems with warmth. They lit a fire almost out of habit rather than out of need and sat around it, enjoying the familiar light and warmth and each other's company.
"I hope we'll get to the village tomorrow," Kai said worriedly, "I want to start looking for that Key as soon as possible. Who knows what Shadowmagemon might do to the prisoners. We'd better move as fast as we can."
"There's no sense in rushing ourselves to death, though," Jenrya said, "We'll need all our strength to break into Shadowmagemon's castle, and if we're too worn out when we get there, it won't be much use going at all. We should take reasonable breaks every day and not turn in too late at night."
"Momentai," Terriermon added, waving his ears around.
"Agreed," Takato nodded, "We'll need all the advantages we can get to fight this guy."
Guilmon whimpered unhappily beside him, "I'm so hungry I could eat the fire."
"You could probably eat anything," Hirokazu laughed.
"Yeah, I could," Guilmon nodded happily, "I ate Takatomon's shoes once. But that was before I knew what bread tasted like."
" 'You' were the one who ate them?" Takato groaned, "So that was what those pieces of colored fabric and shredded rubber under the bed were all about. I was looking for those shoes for 'ages', Guilmon!"
"Gomen nasai, Takato," the red bat-like ears drooped sadly.
"Aw, forget it."
"Don't worry, once we get to the MetalKoromon village, there'll be more than enough food for everyone," Kai informed the red dinosaur Digimon, chuckling, "Not that we need it, but the Digimon sure do."
"Uh-huh!" this was from Terrier-with-a-hole-for-a-stomach-mon.
His blue-haired partner rolled his eyes as everyone else laughed.
Miki yawned, "So why are we going to the MetalKoromon village again? Besides for food, I mean."
"We need to get some information as to where the Key might be hidden," Jenrya told her quietly.
"And we need to find MarineAngemon," Kenta added firmly.
"Uh-huh, we're gonna need all the strength we can get," Takato nodded, "So tomorrow we'll hopefully get to the village, get some clues as to where the Key or MarineAngemon is, and then set out to face the unknown!"
"Tha's nice, chumley," Hirokazu said sleepily.
With that the spiky-haired boy flopped backwards onto a clump of low shrubs and within seconds was snoring peacefully. The others stared at him in disbelief.
"How'd he fall asleep so fast?" Miki wondered aloud.
Soft snores from beside her called her attention to a Kenta in log state. Everyone sweatdropped.
"Well, looks like it's time we all called it a night," Jenrya remarked.
"Yeah, I'm feeling small again, Takatomon..." Guilmon mumbled, staggering over to his Tamer's bedroll and collapsing amid the sheets.
"Guilmon, that's 'my' bed," Takato said, annoyed, running over and trying to extract his partner from his sleeping bag.
Finally he gave up and curled up with his head on Guilmon's back. Within moments he had dropped off to sleep as well. Kai, Jenrya and Terriermon, and Miki all made their way to their sleeping bags after staying up for a while longer in silence, leaving Silvemon and Guardromon to take first watch by the fire.
***
Silvemon, stretched out beside the fire, suddenly tensed as her fur stood on end and her great black ear-wings shot straight up into the air from their limp folded positions along her neck. Guardromon, who was nodding off across from her, snapped awake.
"Huh? What? Enemy? Where?" he leaped to his feet, making a quite a lot of noise, and was about to start firing attacks everywhere when Silvemon's voice, full of undisguised annoyance, stopped him.
"Sit down, you great lump. I thought I heard something, that's all. And whatever it is, you've probably scared it away with all your jabbering and clanking."
"So sorry," Guardromon replied, sitting down once more.
Within moments he was dozing off again. Silvemon's pale eyes scanned the darkness around their small gathering, trying to penetrate the night and detect any malevolent presence beyond the firelight. Finally, however, when she didn't see anything, the four-legged Digimon relaxed once more and laid her head onto her front paws, gazing absently into the fire.
***
At the top of one of the two stone formations flanking the Tamers' campfire, a massive shadow loomed. As the creature shifted in the moonlight, a flash of red could be seen. Its eyes, which were completely black, without any visible whites, were fixed on the tiny flickering glow below.
A low chuckle emerged from beneath the gleaming black and purple helm, "Unsuspecting fools. Soon, I will make my move, and when I do, you will all be nothing more than a memory!"
With a barely detectable flash of red, the creature vanished just as Silvemon raised her head, all her senses on alert once more. After staring at the top of the stone formation for a moment, puzzled, the silver Digimon returned to her open-eyed dreams.
***
Takato was wide-awake, having been startled out of slumber by Guardromon. The brown-haired boy lay quietly against Guilmon, listening to the rhythm of his partner's noisy breathing in sleep. His mind wandered across a million paths, but always it strayed back to the single thing that had preoccupied his mind for quite awhile now. Takato fingered his goggles, which were in his hands, and shifted on the bedroll.
"Katou-san." the brown-haired boy breathed, closing his wide, innocent ruby eyes, 'I promise I'll save you, whatever it takes!'
The thought of Juri trapped in a dark dungeon, scared, cold, and possibly hurt, made Takato's throat tighten and angry adrenaline surge through his system. With an effort, he calmed himself down.
'Getting angry won't resolve anything, Takato,' he told himself, remembering the Megidramon incident, 'You have to stay in control of yourself, or something like that could happen again.'
Shivering, he opened his eyes and looked up into the peaceful red face of his sleeping friend. Guilmon's nostrils let loose a small wisp of warm breath that flowed onto Takato's face, scented with the aroma and familiarity of fresh bread. The boy sighed, and felt his eyes fill with tears as a wave of homesickness washed over him.
'Don't be a baby, Takato,' he admonished himself sternly, wiping his eyes, 'Crying won't help anyone. Okaa-san and Otou-san must be frantic. I wish I'd left them a note or something.'
But then again, there was no way he could have known that a portal would open to them on that day. Takato rolled over and sighed again. He wanted to sleep. To escape from the worries of his life, and fly free in his queer dreams.
***
Miki sat up against the wall of brown rock she had spread her bedroll beneath. Gathering her knees to her chest, the dark-haired girl rocked slowly back and forth, her bandana fluttering in the breeze as she gazed pensively at the shadowy forms of Guardromon and her own partner against the flickering fire.
'This is all so weird,' she thought, 'One minute I'm just a normal kid, getting dragged around the world by her celebrity of an annoying Mom, and the next I get a Digimon partner and I'm off to the Digital World to travel with kids I don't even know and to save some kids I've never even met.'
Miki smiled to herself, digging her index finger into the dirt beside her as her bright eyes landed on Silvemon's shimmering form, 'Well, I can't say it isn't kinda cool, having a Digimon and all. It's like a dream come true. Heck, it is a dream come true. Well, whatever it is, I hope it never, ever ends. Time to sleep!'
And with that she curled up in her bedroll and closed her eyes. However, it was a long time before Miki managed to fall asleep.
***
Hirokazu volunteered to take second watch with Jenrya and Terriermon that night, much to all who were awake's amazement. For some reason, the spiky- haired boy was unable to get back to sleep after having been awoken by Guardromon's clanking. He and Jenrya sat on opposite sides of the fire in silence, listening to the crackling of the fire punctuated by Terriermon's loud snores.
'I wonder how the others are doing,' Hirokazu thought as he stared blankly into the fire, 'Hope we're not gonna be too late when we get there, though we probably will be, at the rate we're crawlin' along. Ah, well, whatever. Leave the worryin' to the others, just tag along and battle, yeah that's it.'
He looked up at Jenrya. The other boy was also deep in thought. Hirokazu returned to staring at the fire.
'Change of subject... Let's see... Well, if Ruki really did have a crush on me, of all people, she's probably forgotten all about it,' he raised one knee and set his chin down upon it, smiling slightly, 'After all, she's reunited with hero Ryou.'
Hirokazu had always looked up to Ryou, and had always cheered him on and basically, well, acted like all the other hardcore fans of the cerulean- eyed boy out there. But, deep inside, sometimes, Ryou just grated on the spiky-haired boy's nerves. Always showing off, stealing the spotlight, doing his heroics in everyone's face. Even though Hirokazu knew that Ryou didn't do all this on purpose, and that he was just the craziest, bravest, most reckless guy he'd ever met, it was still annoying.
'Jeez, I mean, can't he act like a normal kid for a change?! I mean, sure he's famous, he's the master of Digimon cards, and, well, yeah, he's a lot older than any of us, but sheesh, I mean, the guy's so damn perfect it's irritating. Well, one thing's for sure, the girls all like him. Except for Ruki that is. And now, I'm not so sure about that anymore, either. Sheesh, since when did life get so complicated?!' Hirokazu grinned slightly to himself, 'Maybe it's what the adults call 'growing up'. Well, if this is growing up, I don't want to 'grow up', ever. Not if it means I have to turn into what Ryou is.'
Shaking his head, Hirokazu decided that he must've caught brain fever or something since he wasn't exactly used to thinking so much. To take his mind off these matters, he settled for banging Guardromon rhythmically on the arm, making the machine Digimon complain about him denting his armor.
"Hey, you're the one who woke me up with all your clanking," Hirokazu grinned up at his partner, "So I owe you this."
Guardromon couldn't think of anything to answer to that.
***
Jenrya watched Hirokazu discreetly from the other side of the fire. The other boy seemed deep in thought, something that was very rare for him and quite amusing to watch. As Jenrya looked on, the spiky-haired boy's face contorted into a frown, lit up with a slight smile, darkened into a scowl, then was lit up anew by a slight grin.
'Well, who knew watching somebody think could actually be so funny?' Jenrya thought, trying not to laugh, 'Well, since it's Hirokazu, and he probably doesn't think a whole lot.'
After Hirokazu started banging on his partner's arm, much to the Digimon's displeasure, Jenrya returned to his thoughts, which were, for some reason, centered around a certain violet-eyed girl with gold-streaked tawny hair.
'If Shadowmagemon does anything to her, he's going receive a visit from an extremely angry, 10-story-tall green mechanical bunny,' Jenrya thought, repressing a chuckle, 'Well, when it's put that way.'
He looked up into the night sky, quietly contemplating the bright moon reflected in his deep gray eyes, 'Ruki, please be okay.'
***
At that moment, Ruki was seething with frustration and pain as she squirmed in her chains. Hanging by your arms was 'definitely' not the most comfortable position of the century, and Ruki had found that out the hard way.
'Man, if I don't get out of here soon, I'm gonna 'die',' Ruki thought, gritting her teeth against the burning of her shoulders.
She looked over at Ryou, who didn't look uncomfortable at all. Why, he was actually sleeping! Ruki shook her head.
'How the heck can he stand this?!'
***
The next morning, the Tamers set out again for the MetalKoromon village. They went at a faster pace this time, since all of them were now walking in comfort under the scorching desert sun. However, Kai still wasn't satisfied with their efforts, and pushed them harder.
"Aw, man, can't we take a break now?!" Hirokazu whined, falling to his knees in the hot sand, which he found pleasantly cool after a moment's mental effort.
Kenta went down beside him a moment later, pushing his glasses up his nose, "Yeah, we're exhausted."
"Quite complaining, guys, we've still got a ways to go, and we need to go as fast as possible," Kai told them impatiently.
Silvemon agreed quietly, "I sensed something last night, and the feeling hasn't quite gone away."
"You mean something's following us?!" Miki looked up in alarm at Kai's question.
"I'm not sure," Silvemon lowered her head and closed her eyes, exerting her senses as she scanned the dunes around them with her extraordinarily keen hearing, "But I believe so."
"Let's get going, then," Kai said seriously, noting the position of the sun in the sky; it was late afternoon, "We don't want to stay in one spot any longer than we have to. Judging by the kidnappings of Ruki, Katou-san and Renamon, and the attacks earlier, Shadowmagemon is out to get us. I don't even want to think about meeting one of his hunters right now."
"You mean that something's after us?" Takato asked unhappily, looking up from an argument with Guilmon about eating sand.
"Probably," Kai replied, scanning the horizon carefully as he spoke, "Now let's get moving, we can talk on the way."
***
"Too late," came Kenta's voice, tighter and at least two octaves higher than usual.
"Shimatta," Kai muttered as they all spotted what Kenta had; a great red dinosaur-like creature making straight for them, its dangerous jaws parted in an earsplitting roar.
"Oh, great," Hirokazu commented, "We beat two, another one shows up. Figures. Sheesh, what's Shadowmagemon got against us?!"
"We're a threat to him," Kai smiled grimly, "And to his plans. He wants to find something. I'm not sure what it is, but it's something that's been there since before the D-Reaper. And it's very, very powerful. If Shadowmagemon gets his filthy hands on it, the Digital World is doomed."
"Oh, great, what else is new?" Miki asked in an irritated tone, taking out her D-Ark.
"Well, no use in getting psyched out over something like that when we've got a much closer problem at hand," Jenrya muttered as Terriermon leaped down from his head to the sand, "Karnodramon, Perfect level Virus type Digimon. His attacks are Devourer Claw and Crimson Fury."
Kai's eyes narrowed, "That's one of Shadowmagemon's strongest hunters. You guys had better not underestimate his power."
"This doesn't look good," Takato noted as the large Digimon came closer, allowing them to distinguish his features more clearly; he wore red armor that looked about a meter thick, along with a black and purple helm over his head, that only revealed his huge, lightless black eyes, inhabited by a deadly hunger.
***
Terriermon hopped up to the red dragon and called up to him cheerfully, "Hey, Karny me pal, you got time for a game of strip poker?"
"Terriermon!" Jenrya scolded his irrepressible bunny Digimon.
"Devourer Claw!" Terriermon hastened to get out of the way of the purple crescents that emerged from Karnodramon's front claws.
"Guess not."
"You ready?" Jenrya asked his partner.
"Guilmon!" Takato called to the red dinosaur, who was charging Karnodramon with a sort of instinctive fury, "Let's do it, Jen!"
***
"Card Slash!" the two Tamers called out, "Super Evolution Plug-In S!"
EVOLUTION_
"Terriermon, shinka!" the small bunny Digimon glowed green and grew as he ran forward to attack, "Galgomon! Gatling Arm!"
The attack hit Karnodramon's thick armor and bounced off without leaving a scratch.
"Guilmon, shinka!" the small red Digimon leaped into the air, "Growmon! Exhaust Flame!"
Growmon's fiery attack fizzled out as it streamed onto Karnodramon's helm. Karnodramon shook his head, snarled and scratched himself almost casually.
"That almost tickled!" he mocked.
"Takato! This isn't working!" Jenrya cried as Karnodramon wrapped his tail around Galgomon and began squeezing.
***
The bunny Digimon screamed and began blasting his Gatling Arm at Karnodramon's face, but Karnodramon pinned his arms to his sides, leaving him helpless. Growmon tried to free his friend, but was batted away like a rag doll. Suddenly a silver blur streaked out onto the battleground, propelled solely on its great black wings.
"Lightning Scythe!" Silvemon managed to cut a small chip out of Karnodramon's armor, but then the enemy Digimon's jaws snapped shut over the small four-legged Digimon, "AAAAAAH!!!!!"
"Silvemon! NO!" Miki yelled, looking frantically through her cards, "Oh, man, which card should I use?!"
"Destruction Grenade!" Guardromon began pelting Karnodramon's tail with attacks in an attempt to help Galgomon, but so far he was failing.
"That's it, Guardromon, just keep blastin' away!" Hirokazu encouraged his partner, jumping up and down and waving his fist.
Karnodramon opened his jaws wide and points of red light began to assemble at the back of his throat.
"Uh-oh," Guardromon muttered, scrambling to get out of the way.
"Crimson Fury!" the wave of burning red engulfed Guardromon and blasted him far away.
"That went well," the machine Digimon commented weakly as the dust cleared to find him lying on his back against a dune of sand.
"Oh, man, Guardromon, are you okay, buddy?" Hirokazu ran to help his partner.
***
Meanwhile, Galgomon's data was beginning to break apart, "J-Jen! A little help here?!"
"Jen! Hurry! He'll be destroyed!" Takato cried.
"I know! I know!" Jenrya was scattering cards everywhere as he looked frantically for a way to help his friend, "Hang on, Galgomon! Card Slash! Alias!"
Galgomon fell to the sand, leaving an empty shell behind in Karnodramon's grip. Jenrya and Takato looked at each other and nodded.
***
"Card Slash! Matrix Evolution!"
MATRIX EVOLUTION_
"Galgomon, shinka! Rapidmon!"
"Growmon, shinka! Megalo Growmon!"
The two Ultimates both lifted off at the same time and attacked together, both aiming for the small chip in Karnodramon's armor. All of sudden, night fell as though someone had just thrown a switch. The Tamers looked around, startled.
***
"Hey, what just happened?!" Miki asked in confusion.
"That's how it always is," Jenrya informed her with a slight smile, "We're not used to it either."
Karnodramon suddenly gave a blood-chilling roar and began to give off a strange, ghostly purple glow. He seemed suddenly larger and more menacing than ever.
"Why do I have a feeling that's not a good thing?" Takato asked nobody in particular, eyeing the purple glow warily.
Kai, standing beside Miki with a grim expression on his brown face, watched the whole scene in silence.
"Rapid Fire!"
"Atomic Blaster!"
The two attacks merged and hit Karnodramon hard, causing him to drop Silvemon as he disappeared in an enormous red explosion that threw up huge quantities of sand. Guardromon picked Silvemon up and carried her out of harm's way.
"Yeah! You got him!" Takato cheered happily.
"Way to go!" Kenta called, leaping out from his hiding place behind Kai.
***
Kai didn't say anything. Miki, who was checking to see if Silvemon was okay, looked up at him.
"It's not over yet, is it?" she murmured, seeing the expression on the blue- eyed boy's face.
Kai shook his head without a word.
***
As the clouds of sand and smoke dispersed, a dark form appeared, standing in the middle of a large blackened crater. Takato backed up with horror in his face, staring at the creature, which looked up with glowing eyes of deep purple. A flash of red could be seen as it suddenly leaped out of the crater and landed directly in front of the children, causing Megalo Growmon and Rapidmon to move protectively in front of the Tamers.
"No, it can't be," Jenrya said in disbelief.
Karnodramon smiled, revealing rows of gleaming fangs, "And yet it is."
***
~Man, what's with the enemies that just won't stay down?! And are Ruki, Ryou and Juri ever going to escape from Shadowmagemon's castle? Find out in the next chapter of Shadow Realms! Well, this chapter was written pretty fast, but I don't really like it that much, so. yeah. Go on, review and tell me what you think. Part IX got pretty screwed up, I had to rewrite the whole damned thing. Well... Next week. A NEW chapter of Void, and another new chapter here the week after that. But I suppose you guys know the routine by now. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!~
Reviews:
Bakura's Angel - Thanks, I'm glad you like it! Bakura rulz! In Yu-Gi-Oh, that is. ^^
SaLLy - Well, glad you found it again, that happens to me often, and it's really frustrating, I can tell you that. I'm trying to update once every two weeks, for both Shadow Realms and Void, so I won't keep you waiting too long for the next chapter. Well, I dunno if it's going to finish soon, the plot's barely started, so. I dunno. Keep reading and reviewing!
Black-Tide - Thanks for the compliment and the help! I really appreciate it!