The Friends of the Stones

by Debbie Dai-chan

Finally, the Stories of the Ten Digidestined and a new enemy that has a role to play . . .

9. 9 The Plot Thickens

The Friends of the Stones:
Part Nine: The Plot Thickens
By Debbie (Dai-chan) and Chicobo, too!


Another cool draft again shivered Hikari from her sleep. Although, the temperature has gone up warmer, there were many chill drafts whisking through the night. Hikari was the only one who often woke during the night; the other kids were too bone-weary to even notice. But Hikari felt that the drafts weren't the only ones to keep her awake. There was something unfortunate, something that will happen soon. Or perhaps it already occurred.

Through the swaying branches, she could see the sky lightening up into misty blue and grey, touched with a tone of orange. She was 'sandwiched' between Frankie and Mimi, comforted by their strong warmth, laying on the driest area possible on the moist, snow-covered marsh.

They were closer to the mountains faster than they expected, persistent to seek the astray friends. Hikari became excited, hoping to finally see her brother and the rest all right. Hikari sat up, stretching her limbs, and took a tired gaze around. Here, she finally realized why there was something wrong. Jyou was gone.

The only evidence of himself was his medicinal bag, left behind with Frankie's black backpack and Mimi's tan pack. Hikari knew Jyou would never leave his bag behind. She hastily roused Frankie and Mimi as her gaze seeped around the area, hoping to see any glimpse of Jyou present. The others drowsily woke, then turned in full awareness to Hikari's attention about Jyou missing. They went alarmed, calling his name in a frantical tone.

"He's gone, isn't he?" Mimi nearly cried after a moment, burying her face in her hands.

Frankie soothed her, "We will find him, Mimi-chan. Joe wouldn't be the one who leaves us so sudden. We will get him back. I promise you." Placing confidence in Frankie's vow, Mimi nodded.

The kids hurriedly took their possessions, Frankie carrying Jyou's medicinal bag along with his backpack. Frankie looked not very thrilled about it, his usual light mischievous face in the expression of frustrated exasperation. It appeared that he wanted this all ended so the kids would get home where they should be. He didn't realize that the very moment, he was the Keeper, chosen out of all the Digidestined to protect them and the Digiworld.

The trio again headed for the mountains, the rocks standing out in a pale orange and yellow color cast by the sunrise. They walked in dull sullenness; the only sounds were animal and bird noises around them. Mimi hugged herself from the chillness, letting her honey hair covering her face so Frankie won't see her tears. She didn't realize how much fondness she has for Jyou until he was gone. She missed him greatly.

Mimi glanced at her left side and caught a glimpse of a humanoid in white stepping from the dimness, walking toward them. She blinked. It seemed that he just appeared out of nowhere, like he was an phantasm.

"Frankie!" Mimi uttered, backing as Hikari also looked alarmed.

Frankie gazed at the humanoid and made an exasperated grumble. "So, Akemimon, you were stalking us, huh? You were the one who ordered the Ninumon to capture us. Where's Joe?"

The Digimon paused just before Frankie, his emerald eyes hooded with rue. "You're better off without the Reconciler. He's corrupted, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Where have you left him?" Frankie said, his voice growing threatening.

"I did nothing with him. He left on his own choice to serve my sister, who is corrupted as well."

His hazel eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched. "Look, I don't know who you really are, and why are you here, but I don't care. I don't give anything worth my time about it. We're going to find Joe and our friends, and I expect you to stay away," he spoke the two last words with bold sternness.

Frankie turned away, then stopped by Akemimon's irritatingly calm voice. "To get your corrupted companions back to goodness, I must have the Saint."

Hikari crept closer to Frankie as he made a bitter chuckle at the Digimon. "You're really pushing my patience. First, you want TK, now you want Kari. Geez, can't you give up? You know what my answer's gonna be." He then turned to head for the mountains, the girls following.

Hikari stared at Akemimon, shivering at the glowing, too aware green eyes. It was like he knew something, know more than what he told them. Akemimon was simply silent, watching back until Hikari turned hurriedly for her friends.

Suddenly, she received a tingling, soft sensation prickled on her right shoulder, giving her the shivers. Alarmed, she twisted around, only to find that Akemimon was gone.

***

Taichi had waken from his fleeting unconsciousness. Yamato has helped him to rest back against a tree for support, and was now bundling what left over with bandages around Taichi's upper arm, which was grazed from the battle. His sides weren't wounded on the outside, but from inside with sensitive pain, Yamato suspected that Taichi was wounded farther than physical.

Yamato risked a glance on Taichi's face. His head was bowed, his thick dusky hair clouding his dour, anguished face, his eyes lowered beneath half-lidded eyelids. He hasn't said a word since, and Yamato wished to find a way, not to cheer him up, but to ease him from the inner pain. After, he was the leader, and all the kids needed him, although two of them just have betrayed him.

Finished with the bandages, Yamato stood, slightly wincing at the faint agony in his stomach. Rubbing his abdomen to ease the pain, he gazed downward on the snow-covered soil. He could see three sets of footsteps leaving the area - the lightning bolt print of Koushiro's shoes, the waved patterns of Kimika's boot sole, and the dark Digimon's barefooted print. Yamato strode past them, hoping to find the tracks of their whereabouts. He no longer could smell their scents, they being too distant. Then he stopped, saw that the three sets have vanished in mid-pace, as if they simply stepped into another place instead of the jungle.

Yamato's heart sank, worrying that they would never find Koushiro and Kimika, not without any clue. He wondered how could they be the betrayers . . . unless they already had the burn marks on their palms from their newfound stones. Yamato clenched his fists. It was likely that all the kids already have the burns, but why? And who would be the third betrayer?

He softly exhaled and turned around, startled to see a pale Taichi standing near, one arm clutching around his side. He didn't hear him coming. Taichi took a brief gaze down to the footsteps before looked up to meet his grey-blue eyes.

"They're gone, right?" Taichi's question sounded more like a statement.

Yamato's dark silence answered him.

Taichi slowly nodded, his eyes going downward. Yamato went to him and putted his arm around Taichi's waist, placing the boy's arm around his neck. He aided him to walk back to the tree. But Taichi seemed to have something on his mind, and he withdrew his arm from around Yamato's neck.

"Matt," he said quietly. "Can you remember anything before? Anything that was just plain weird?"

Yamato wasn't sure how could he tell him the truth. He himself couldn't believe it. "Well, I don't really understand this, Tai. You . . ." he trailed off.

"I changed into a big lizard, right? A dragon, to be frank?"

"Yeah."

Taichi's eyes went unfocused, as though he was recalling his recent memories, his face puzzled. Yamato rested his hand on his arm to get his attention and asked, "Can you remember what happened to you that made you change?"

Taichi seemed reluctant, then lowered his gaze. "The burns on my hands."

Yamato was confused. "You don't have any burns . . ." He quieted down, seeing Taichi pulling off one of his white gloves and exposing the eight-pointed star burn mark on his palm, light red in the lines.

"I do now," Taichi murmured softly, his eyes still lowered. "Back at the cavern when you went outside and found Koushiro. My stone burned on my palms. I kept quiet, not sure about who are the betrayers." He then exhaled bitterly. "Now I know who."

Already? Yamato watched as Taichi furiously pulled on his glove, then quietly said, "You know, I have been through the same thing."

Taichi looked up, surprised. Yamato made a small shrug. "Only one thing different - I don't remember anything. Kim saw everything. All I could remember was that the burns on my palms hurt, then Kim said I changed into a golden wolf. No one else saw it. Silly, wasn't it?"

"I don't know, Yama-kun. My burns did hurt, then I was a dragon." Taichi lowered his gaze to his gloved hands, then fisted them, scowling. "There must be a reason why this's happening. I wish Izzy is here. He would know why."

Yamato's heart again sank at the thought of their missing companions. But he was perplexed about something else. He had eavesdropped Koushiro's words to Taichi just several moments ago.

"Tai-kun," he asked, "What did Izzy mean when he said you won't let him fight Piedmon?"

Taichi looked pale, then averted away.

"You don't have to tell me," Yamato said quickly.

"I think I should, anyway. The words bothered me since." He turned to Yamato, brushing the hair strands away from his weary face. "I didn't hold him back, Matt. I know he is a valuable fighter, but . . . It's not because he is just a kid. We all are kids. We're not supposed to be here , fighting like this. It's . . . not right for us. I don't want him to fight because it's my responsibility to protect him, Kim, Kari, everybody."

Taichi hugged himself, continuing, "When you left on your own journey, I can't bear the idea of losing any more friends. Then Mimi and Joe chose to stay back, wishing not to fight. Then Kari got sick. I was afraid, too afraid to let any more friends go. That's why I didn't want Izzy, Kari, and Kim to fight Piedmon because I don't want to lose them."

Yamato silently watched him, then said, "Well, I would say it's very honorable of you, but to think of this, you would've gotten yourself killed during the battle, Master."

Taichi flinched lightly, and Yamato wondered if it was the reminder of his fated title or the memory of his near death. He said, "I know that. I just wish Izzy is here to hear it so he would understand."

Yamato brushed his hand across his eyes and took Taichi's arm gently. "Come on, Tai-kun, you need rest. I do. Don't protest with me," he added with a half-smile. "I'm the Guardian, and I know what's best for us. We rest for now, then we will try searching for our friends, if someone just let us."

Before they ever made a step, they heard voices - human ones - coming from nearby, appearing to call for someone. Yamato tensed up, preparing to guard the weaker Taichi, then he heard that the voices were growing familiar. He gazed over to Taichi, who stared back, his eyes uncertain, yet touched with feeble hope that it could be their missing friends.

Sure enough, they soon saw two figures stepping around the thick trees, mantled by dark green cloaks, similar to Koushiro's cloak. Yamato abruptly recognized the bright azure eyes gazing out from under the shorter one's hood, and his heart nearly leaped in his throat from the sudden emotions.

"Matt!" The missing brother saw him, beaming his angelic grin, and scampered to him, his arms outspread. Yamato hoisted Takeru in his arms, embracing him protectively, burying his face in the cloak. Takeru also clung on him, still beaming. "I miss you so much, ani!"

"So do I," said Yamato, grinning back with misted grey-blue eyes. "So do I."

He looked over to see Sora trudging closer, a faint but thankful smile on her smudged face. She was wearing a similar cloak as Takeru's and carried a sizable bag on her back.

"Sora-chan, are you all right?" Yamato asked, worried.

Sora nodded reassuringly. "Don't worry about me, Yama-kun. I'm really glad we are finally together. Are you both okay, especially you, Tai? Tai-kun, why are you looking at me like this?"

Taichi was staring at her with cynical puzzlement, his face a grimace. "Why did you attack Izzy before?"

"Nani?" Sora murmured, confused, then she paled. "You saw Izzy?"

"Yeah," he said suspiciously, "He was left behind, sick and hurt, late last night, and we have to take care for him. He told us that he couldn't remember anything before except that you and TK attacked him!"

"He lied!" Takeru said defensively from Yamato's arms. "He attacked us! We did nothing to him!"

"What do you mean, TK?" his brother asked.

Takeru answered, "The lady made him."

Sora added to his words, "Yesterday, we were walking toward here, and a Digimon showed up and talked to TK."

"He is Akemimon," Takeru informed to Taichi, who looked alarmed. "He said that three of us will betray us, the ones who are already marked."

"But we are already marked," Yamato said, perplexed. "So far, I know, Sora, Tai, Kim, Kari, Izzy, and I are already marked. And Izzy and Kim are the two of the three betrayers."

"Kim, too?" Sora was astonished. "Now that explains this."

"Nani?" the boys were testy at not understanding.

Sora said, "The marks aren't the burns on our palms. They are the wounds Izzy, Kim, and Joe have."

"The V-shaped wounds on their shoulders?" Taichi questioned. When Sora solemnly nodded, his face lost the color. "Then Joe is the third betrayer. But why?"

"The lady did it," Takeru said. "She showed up and told Izzy to attack us. He hurt Sora, but Akemimon stopped the lady. She left, and Izzy ran away. We wanted to find him, but Akemimon said to forget him because he's cursed."

Sora continued, "She must have ordered the Medawmons to attack them to cause the curse."

The boys were overwhelmed at this. Yamato knew Sora and Takeru were telling the truth. "But why?" he echoed his and Taichi's thoughts.

Sora shook her head. "I wish I know the answer." She explained about the curse she and Takeru heard from Vesamon, a warmhearted Digimon they and Koushiro resided with. As Sora spoke of Koushiro and the curse, Yamato realized that it was the same to Kimika. Like Koushiro, Kimika looked too pale, although she didn't look sick at all. She has lost most of her strength due to the curse and her battle with the fever. Yamato assured that Jyou must have those symptoms: he feared that whoever Jyou was with will be deeply hurt by him when he chose to betray him.

But why them?

Yamato's ears perked up at the familiar sounds of footsteps, and Yamato turned his head to them, Takeru also looking. Taichi and Sora were engrossed in talking that they didn't see the three lost kids coming from southwest, one looking stern as the two were weary.

"Frankie!" Takeru called out his name, along with Mimi's and Hikari's names, and all roused at his excited voice. They remarked each other and went into a huge, tearful embrace, heavily relieved and thrilled.

However, when Yamato gazed upon Frankie's steely face, Mimi's tear-streaked visage, and Hikari's wounded features, he felt that Jyou was with them and already betrayed them. Frankie was carrying Jyou's medicinal bag, and Yamato grew downcast.

"Joe's gone, isn't he?" Sora said quietly to Mimi.

Mimi looked puzzled. "How did you know?"

The rest again explained everything about the recent events: the curse, Koushiro and Kimika's betrayal, and the mysterious female Digimon. Frankie, Mimi, and Hikari were bewildered, telling about the Ninumon, the discovery of their stones, Akemimon, and Jyou's odd longing for the sea. Jyou didn't betray them, Frankie said, but just left in the middle of the night. The trio was heading for the mountains when they heard a distant roaring from their right and went for it, curious. Yamato quickly glanced at Taichi, but the dusky-haired boy held no expression to react to it.

All were stumped, unable to understand the hidden connection with all the bizarre encounters.

"Well, it's just weird," Frankie growled, annoyed. "Why would that Digimon want them to die? It doesn't make any darn sense. Kim, Izzy, and Joe are soft-hearted. They wouldn't do any harm."

"We have to find a way to get them back," Taichi demanded. "We need to find Akemimon. He knows something he doesn't want us to know. He's hiding something."

Takeru asked, "How can we find him?"

"But what about our Digimon?" Hikari said from her brother's side, her tan eyes misted.

"I'm sure they are all right," Sora reassured her. "As strange as it is, I feel that they are still with us, like they never left us at all." The rest agreed, feeling the same. Sora added, "First, we need to save our friends from the curse somehow."

"How can we find Akemimon?" Mimi echoed Takeru's question. "We don't know very much about him."

A thought appeared in Taichi's mind. "We could use Izzy's Digimon Analyzer to find more about him, only if we have his laptop."

"I have his laptop," Sora said, reaching out the yellow-white PC from her knapsack and handling it to Taichi. "Izzy left it behind when he ran away. It's strange that he would ever leave his precious computer behind."

"Yeah. Kim left her backbag here," Yamato turned to the small red bag laying under a tree's shade, knowing that she would never leave her priceless camera.

Mimi quietly glanced over to Jyou's bag Frankie possessed.

"Why are you carrying a bag full of cloaks?" Frankie murmured in surprise at Sora.

"Vesamon made them for us to keep warm in this cold weather." She then passed them on until there were only two cloaks left, belonging to Kimika and Jyou.

Taichi awkwardly held the laptop, looking sheepish. "Um, does anyone here know how to use it? I am an airhead when it comes to machines."

"Don't look at me," Yamato said as he knotted the dark blue-hemmed cloak's cords around his neck. "I'm not that good."

"I know a thing or two," Frankie suggested. He took the laptop, sat down, and turned it on. After a moment of waiting, the screen on the laptop appeared, displaying a cool-looking animation of colorful, tiny fishes swimming silently, giving out air bubbles. "Where can I find this Digimon Analyzer?"

Hikari knelt beside him. "I've watched Izzy doing this. I think it's in this folder," she pointed at a tiny icon labeled 'Legends'.

Frankie clicked on the icon, and the screen displayed a few binders that contained separate information about each legend of the Digimon - four in total. He saw the bold words among the binders. 'Digimon ANALYZER'.

"Found it!" He then opened it. On the screen, on the left side was a document that contained every name of the Digimon the kids have encountered, ordered alphabetically. There was no 'Akemimon'. "Now what?"

Takeru took out his digivice, handing it to Frankie as Sora established, "You put a digivice on the link on the keyboard. The computer gathers the information from it. At least that's what Izzy said before."

Frankie did what he was told to, and soon, four new names listing on another smaller text at the lower left corner - 'AKEMIMON', 'MEDAWMON', 'UNKNOWN', 'VESAMON'.

"What's this 'Unknown'?" said Taichi, pointing at the screen.

"Let's find out." Frankie clicked on it.

Suddenly, a small white box appeared on the center, exclaiming, 'ERROR! Digimon FOUND EXISTENT BUT UNRECOGNIZABLE'.

"Gee, really helpful." Frankie said dryly

"A new type of Digimon?" Sora wondered.

"Finding information about Akemimon is more important than this 'Unknown'," Yamato said. "Go ahead, Hiso-kun."

After Frankie clicked on the name, a portrait of the male humanoid manifested on the right side of the screen, every detail exactly like the real thing, its eyes of deep green staring at the children, a faint smile on his lips. Frankie read the caption out loud, "'Very little knowledge is found about Akemimon. Known as the Brother of the Twins, Akemimon traverses across the Digital World for his own hidden motives. It's said that he has the power to change destiny. Because of this unusual ability, he avoids himself to be frequently seen in consternation to change the courses of events.'"

"Interesting," Yamato said sarcastically, "But still, it's not enough. It says he avoids to be seen, but he did appear to us before, anyway."

"Frankie!" Taichi startled the boy, realization in his eyes. "Get your journal! Quick!" As soon as Frankie got his hands on his journal, Taichi snatched it out, and hastily flipped the pages. "Hey, this is personal stuff here, watch what you read." Frankie said, rather protective of his own thoughts, but Taichi ignored the comment and continued "Remember when Kim, Izzy, and Joe spoke out a ruse? I just remember something about it. Ok, here it goes. 'Beware of the Twins, for they are your allies and foes. Beware of the Male, for he is the ally, but with a precious price. Beware of the Female, for she is your enemy, but with a hidden heart.'" He looked up. "Well?"

"Is Akemimon really the Male?" Mimi said.

"He wants TK and Kari to help him at a price, I think," Sora said, biting her lower lip.

"Then his sister must be the Female," Yamato said. "But who?"

Hikari's eyes widened and pointed toward the screen. "Hey, look!" Everyone looked, and saw that the word 'UNKNOWN' was flashing frequently in bright red. Frankie clicked on it, and a portrait of a female humanoid appeared beside Akemimon.

"That's her!" Takeru exclaimed. "That's the Digimon who ordered Izzy to attack us!"

"She is the one who took Izzy and Kim away a few hours ago," Taichi agreed. "But the coloring is different." The female Digimon was surely the one in the picture, but the clothes were in the color of white with tiny pale blue stars speckling among her shoulders, glove, and skirt, opposite to Akemimon's flame-lined clothing. Her hair was the same, lavender with red strands, along with gentle green eyes. She was smiling compassionately.

Frankie read the caption out loud, "'Little knowledge is found about Amayamon. She is the Sister of the Twins. She is sociable, in spite of her power to change destiny. She was recently missing since the reign of the Dark Masters, and now assume to be hiding in her isolated temple in Far North.'"

All looked at each other, speechless. Then Sora quietly spoke, "We're supposed to go to a temple in the north to stop the curse. I guess this Amayamon is the one who controls the curse and our friends."

"But," Yamato scowled at the smiling Digimon on the screen, "She doesn't look evil. Something happened to her. It must be."

Mimi's eyes slowly widened. "Frankie . . . Remember when Akemimon said that Joe was corrupted? He said his sister was corrupted, too."

Frankie nodded. "Maybe she is cursed, too, controlled by someone else."

"Perhaps her brother," Taichi said darkly.

Frankie firmly shook his head. "I don't sense any danger from him. He may be cunning if not annoying, but he's harmless."

Taichi grimaced. "No matter. We need to find Akemimon right away. He wants TK and Kari. We want our friends back. We could negotiate."

"You wouldn't," Sora murmured, seeing the familiar passion in the tan eyes. "You wouldn't let him get TK and Kari!"

"I won't do it," Taichi replied with a scowl. "Not until I find out why does Akemimon want them. And why did Amayamon curse our friends. If we don't do anything fast, they will get hurt! We've got to stop her!"

All of a sudden, just as Taichi finished speaking, a ball of dark light burst upon the ground beside them, belching out chunks of dirt and roots, showering downward at the kids. The kids dropped to the ground, burying their heads from the dark dirt chunks banging on their backs. Frankie quickly looked up to see who was the attacker.

He saw a female Digimon, clad in black and blue, stepping from around the trees, her deep emerald eyes glaring at each kid. She must be Amayamon, Frankie remarked. "I must've read the prophecy wrong," she hissed loathsomely. "I should've destroyed you all when I have the chance! You know too much."

Yamato stood up, glaring back, his eyes turning into pure steel. "We demand to know why did you take Kim, Izzy, and Joe! Where are they?!"

Amayamon just glanced down to him with hot scorn.

Yamato heard a shout of anger from behind, and he instinctively turned around, just to see Taichi speeding past. "Tai, no!" he shouted as the fire aura already surrounded the Master. He saw Taichi hurling a large orb of swirling flames toward Amayamon. She moved away in a flash, but wasted no time to pause. Before Yamato could warn, she aimed a swift swipe toward Taichi. He twisted his body around, but her sharp nails scraped on his upper left arm, shredding the sleeve, drawing blood, as her face contorted into sadistic satisfaction. Taichi gasped as he rolled on the ground, clutching on his arm.

"Breath of Wind!"

"Vigor of Spirit!"

Sora targeted a gyrating wild gust, colored deep red as her aura, as Yamato glowed with his aura of the night. The gust reeled toward Amayamon as rays of dark blue emitted from his fingers, aiming for her chest. Amayamon silently spread her arms into a horizontal line, and an orb of transparent white surrounded her. The gust came in contract and eased into a silent, harmless breeze. The night rays shattered into pieces as they struck the orb.

"You fools," Amayamon growled in disgust. "You cannot defeat me. It's not your time to defeat me."

"Think again! Heart of Ice!" Frankie stepped in and faced his palms toward Amayamon, his aura glowing pure white. Long, thin spikes of blue ice fired from his hands and finally struck the orb. The spikes were sharp enough to pierce the orb, but just a bit.

The Digimon appeared aggravated at that. The orb disappeared, and she aimed one hand toward the boy. "Yin!" A ball of dark light soared from her hand toward the alarmed boy. He saw a sudden flash of blue and yellow out of the corners of his eyes, and Sora was at his side, shielding them with her secure dome of red wind, protecting them from the attack. The orb vanished at the moment it struck the dome.

With Hikari standing nearby, Takeru was watching the battle with fear, hoping against hope that the older kids were able to defeat Amayamon, if possible. Then he heard a hum. From his backpack. He peeked over his shoulder and saw a few rays of golden shining from the opening of the backpack. He felt a press against his back, as if something was rolling upward, then he saw an orb coming out from his backpack.

It was the spherical stone he has found on the rubble some time ago. It was glowing with the light of gold, very similar to his own aura. He stared at the stone, which was floating in the air, shifting to hover in front of him. It was humming, too, with some vague words. Takeru couldn't hear them well enough, but he caught a word. No, three words. They were very faint, but he was able to hear them.

Open your hands.

Takeru silently responded to the words, opening his hands, the palms facing each other. The sphere floated in between of the hands, now dimming softly. Takeru closed his hands around the stone, holding it. It was very hot, but Takeru kept on holding it, cringing at the burn sensation on his palms. When he couldn't stand the heat, he gave a pained yelp and opened his hands. He saw that the stone burned its symbol on his palms. The sun symbol, like his own crest symbol, was imprinted on his palms, raw and burning, just like the others.

Suddenly, a blinding glow shone from behind them. The kids and the Digimon turned at the glow, shielding their eyes from the brightness. Takeru was surrounded in an sphere of white with golden rays radiating from his body. His eyes were closed, a soft, innocent smile on his lips. He hovered upward into the air. Then the kids saw something unbelievable. Takeru was growing wings! Angel wings. A pair of large white wings sprouted from his back, spreading heavenly. It wasn't the shadow image like the last time he found his power. It was the real thing. A thin, golden halo appeared above his head, spiked with tiny horns among the circle.

The small child looked every inch as an archangel.

Amayamon hissed with disbelief, also hovering in the air, her eyes ablaze. The Savior opened his eyes, which weren't the normal azure eyes with black pupils, but all pale blue, like fragments of the clear sky were rolled into crystal orbs as his eyes. He held up his hands in front, looking like he was clutching a rod, and sure enough, a staff of pure gold light formed in his hands, twice the height of him.

The Savior spread his wings and soared toward Amayamon, his hands clutching the staff into an attack position. He swung the staff in a horizontal line, but Amayamon shot upward, nearly missing the beam at her feet. Amayamon twisted around and yelled as she emitted the dark light orb at the Savior. The Savior seemed to know what to do; he fluttered his wings faster and flew backward to dodge the ball. He again swung the beam around and sharply struck the ball out of the kids' way. The ball crashed into the darkness behind the trees.

The Savior swiftly flew upward at Amayamon, his eyes like blue fire. She had no time to defend herself as the boy powerfully struck the staff right on Amayamon's chest. The beam shattered into countless fragments. Amayamon clutched her chest, screaming in raged agony. She wrung, glaring up at the Savior.

"Being of Life!" the Savior shouted, and the bright white beam with the golden rays spiraling around it glided from his open hand, soaring through the air. Amayamon made an alarmed gasp, and the beam bit on her chest where it was vulnerable. She twitched in deep pain, but swiftly escaped before the Life Beam could do its full power, flying back in the trees. The Life Beam faded, and a few white feathers floated downward, the results of his power.

The Savior floated back to the ground, the glow gone. The children saw the wings shrinking smaller until they disappeared. The spiked halo flickered, then faded. The lad blinked, and his eyes were back to the normal innocent azure eyes. He tiredly smiled at the kids, then he swayed on his feet, his eyes rolling upward in his head. He collapsed in his brother's arms just before he fell to the ground. His spherical stone, which had been floating beside the boy during the battle, now dropped to the ground beside the brothers, now back to its plain, dull shine of grey.

To be continued . . .