The soft pad of a footprint warned her just as a dark form leapt at her. Before she could scream, the form had covered her mouth. She struggled and managed to work a hand free, which she then used to punch the figure. It let out a startled 'oof' and staggered slightly. Kalai opened her mouth to yell for Ventusmon, but the figure spoke first.
"Kalai, quiet! Nobody can know I'm here!" it hissed in a hoarse voice. Kalai froze, she'd heard the voice before…..
The figure turned glowing grey eyes on her, and she knew who it was.
"Arcanemon! I thought you ran away." Kalai snapped coldly. Arcanemon's head bowed.
"I know you blame me, but it really wasn't my fault!" she protested.
"I know, but…… It just hurts so much!" Kalai exclaimed.
"It hurts me too. I keep thinking, maybe I could have done something. But I know I couldn't have." Arcanemon replied quietly.
"Why did you come back?"
"To talk to you. I heard about Chaosmon, and I'm sure he'll be after me soon. And also to warn you. I have seen the future, and one among you will betray. I don't know who, but it is someone very close to you, or will be very close to you."
"Are you sure? Is it certain, or can we change it?" Before Arcanemon could answer, a voice called Kalai's name.
"Kalai! Kalai, where are you? Kalai!" It was Matt, who came stumbling out of the darkness towards them. He stopped short as two pairs of glowing eyes, two grey and two golden, turned towards him. Gabumon stepped in front of Matt, straining to see in the blackness.
"It's Kalai and a strange Digimon. Who's with you, Kalai?" Gabumon called.
Kalai grabbed Arcanemon's wrist before she could run. "Her name is Arcanemon. She's a….. friend."
"Oh. Well, go get some sleep now. I'll keep watch." Kalai stood up and dragged Arcanemon after her.
"I still need to talk to you, so don't leave." she whispered. Arcanemon settled next to a fast-asleep Ventusmon as Kalai curled up in her sleeping bag and immediately fell asleep.
Kalai woke just as the sun was inching above the horizon. She found Arcanemon still asleep next to her. Seen in daylight, Arcanemon was about four feet tall, slender, with pointed ears and slanted eyes. She had high cheekbones and a pointed face, surrounded by curly red hair.
She suddenly opened her eyes, which were a light grey. Stretching, she stood up and shoved Ventusmon out of the way.
"Ok, Arcanemon, what was last night all about?" Kalai asked.
"Just what I said. You'll be betrayed by one close to you. I don't know who, but I do know that you may be able to prevent it. I don't know how, so don't ask."
"That's helpful." Kalai muttered. "What do we do now?"
"Stay here for today. You're all tired, and this is an enchanted clearing. Nobody can harm you here."
"Sure. I'd better wake the others." Kalai stood up and walked over to shake Leisha awake. Leisha's eyes went wide when she saw Arcanemon and she hurried over to talk to her. Kalai woke the others up and told them about Arcanemon and what she'd said. Gabe went to talk to Leisha and Arcanemon as Sora and Mimi cooked their breakfast. Kalai went to find Matt and found him and Gabumon fast asleep. Grinning, she tiptoed closer and grabbed Matt's shoulder. He jerked upright, yelling, and startled Gabumon who digivolved to Garurumon. Swinging wildly, Matt knocked over Kalai, who couldn't stop laughing. Matt glared down at her, as Garurumon de-digivolved and started laughing too.
"Some protector you are, Matt!" Kalai exclaimed, getting to her feet. Matt blushed slightly.
"Yeah, well." was all he could say. A sudden gleam came into his eyes. "Race you back!" he yelled, shoving her backward and running towards the camp. Kalai yelled and chased after him. They came panting and laughing into the camp. Izzy looked up.
"I have a message from Gennai for you, Kalai." he said, turning the laptop to face her. She quickly opened the e-mail and scanned it's contents.
'Kalai, you've obviously found the other Digi-Destined. I sent Arcanemon after you to tell you of her vision. I'm hoping she reached you. For now, I have some new information on Chaosmon. He used to be the ruler of the Digital World, until he was defeated by other Digi-Destined, about 1000 years ago. Be on the lookout! He can appear in many forms, almost perfect except for one small flaw somewhere. It's the only thing that separates him from the thing he's imitating. Trust nothing strange, and watch your companions carefully. I'm assuming you know why. I researched how he was defeated before, and apparently he was captured in a temple somewhere in the Digital World. You have to hurry to find this temple, but it won't be easy. Legend has it that there is a Guardian there, called Phantasmon. He will set you three challenges. I must go, but hurry! Chaosmon's power grows with every passing day.'
Kalai looked up from the message with a frown on her face.
"Thanks Izzy. Tell the others I need to go somewhere, okay?" she asked.
"Sure." Izzy replied. Tentomon jumped up.
"I'll carry the message for you. Izzy needs to find out about Chaosmon." he said before buzzing off in search of the others. Kalai called for Arcanemon and Ventusmon and they walked into the forest.
Tentomon quickly told the others and headed back to Izzy, who was typing furiously. The rest of the group sat in a circle, finishing their food, their Digimon sprawled around sleeping.
"Hey, Gabe, how did you guys get here?" Kari asked. Gabe shrugged.
"I don't know really. When me and Leisha were four and Kalai was three, we found ourselves here. I don't really remember much about before then, but I remember waking up in a cabin here. Leisha and Kalai were with me. Gennai appeared to us, saying that we were the Digi-Destined. We didn't really understand him at first, but he took care of us. I think we were about ten and nine when he gave us our Crests and Digivices. He then gave us a note from our parents. It said that we were descended from a line of Digi-Destined, and were transported here to fight evil. It was then that we found our Digimon. DarkAngemon just appeared one day in front of me. Kalai came running back to show me Ventusmon and Leisha met Magickmon in the woods. Then, a few days ago, Gennai sent a message to Kalai telling us to meet him. He told us to find you." Gabe concluded.
"Why does Kalai hate magick so much?" Sora asked. Sadness crept into Gabe's and Leisha's eyes. It was Leisha who spoke.
"Originally, there were four of us. I'm Kalai's cousin. She had a little sister, about Izzy's age, who also came to the Digital World. Her Digimon was Arcanemon. We think Arcanemon was supposed to be Kalai's, but Arcanemon immediately bonded with Kalai's sister, Kaede. She had the Body Crest. Kaede worshipped her sister, and they went everywhere together. Kalai felt she had to protect her. One day, Arcanemon had disappeared somewhere. Kaede decided she wanted to explore in the woods and asked Kalai to come with her. They walked deeper into the forest than we'd ever been before. They came to a clearing in the heart of the woods. Kaede sat on a rock to rest, while Kalai looked around. She saw a little building and headed towards it, but she said it seemed to stay exactly the same distance away. A scream brought her out of the trance and she whirled around to find herself some distance into the forest. She started to run back to the clearing, where the scream had come from. She burst through the trees to find a monstrous Digimon floating over Kaede. It was Metalseadramon. He was startled by Kalai's appearance and disappeared. It was too late, though. Metalseadramon had killed Kaede, because he knew she was a Digi-Destined. It's been three years, and Kalai still hasn't forgiven herself." Leisha looked up to see Matt with his arm around T.K and the others looking shocked.
"Since then, she's always hated magick, convinced that magick was what lured her away. She blamed Arcanemon at first, because she wasn't there when she should have been. But now she only blames herself. What's strange, though, is that Kalai said Metalseadramon had been totally black. We thought the shock was causing her to hallucinate, but she still insists that he was black. Another strange thing is that Chaosmon knew exactly how to get to Kalai." Gabe said.
"I don't know what I'd do if I lost T.K." Matt said softly. Tai nodded agreement.
"Even though my brother's a pain, so perfect, I couldn't stand it if he'd died." Joe voiced. Before anyone else could speak, Izzy ran up.
"I've located the approximate locale of the temple! I believe we are only a few days walk from it. Has anyone seen Kalai?" he asked.
"Someone call me?" Kalai asked, walking towards them.
"Izzy says he's found some temple. Know what he's talking about?" Mimi replied.
"Yeah, Gennai told me we had to go there to defeat Chaosmon. You've found it, Izzy?"
"Yes, just a few days walk away." Izzy repeated.
"What are we waiting for?" Tai said. "Let's go!"