I'm baaack! (Thought I died, didn't you? Well... don't get your hopes up...)
Argh! *screams* Okay, this chapter was written with extreme writer's block after a week in the middle of nowhere! Bear with me! This is even worse than all the other chapters... *hears gasps all around* Yeah... scary concept...
*giggles* Don't mind all the made-up words in this... They don't mean anything whatsoever... I was just bored... *grins* And I decided to use all the Japanese names for the digimon just for the heck of it.
Disclaimer ~ Digimon isn't technically mine... I just stole it... *cackles evilly* Um... or not...
REVIEW! I'm getting desperate here...
- Ken - Have you thought that maybe it's not the reviewers, it's just that people aren't reading your story?
*gasps* Really? Y'think? Hmmm... I should start putting up billboard advertisements...
Turn Back Time
Chapter Five
"Um." Taichi glanced over at his red-haired friend Koushiro, who looked just as nervous as he was. He then reverted his gaze to the strange figure standing in front of them, his chocolate eyes fixated on the horns sprouting out of the head of this human-like creature. "Um," he repeated inarticulately. The creature simply stood waiting.
Koushiro examined the landscape with an apathetic expression, his deep black eyes showing none of the emotion he felt. Inside, though, his stomach was executing a very complex gymnastics routine, complete with tumbles and flips, as he wondered just exactly *where* they were.
The... thing bowed courteously. "Konnichiha," he said again. His voice was a silky smooth tenor that hid a sibilant hiss beneath its velvety surface. He extended a tanned arm to the two boys, who stepped warily backwards. "You no be afraid, I no hurt you," he assured them gently.
Taichi was still staring unashamedly at the small, slightly curved horns nestled in the creature's curly hair. The beast noticed the brunette's gaze and grinned, showing a multitude of tiny sharp teeth gathered snugly in his mouth, surrounding a forked tongue. "I am Kyuudai," he told them. "I am head of Council. I bring you back to capital."
Koushiro coughed lightly. "Um... What are you?"
The tall creature appeared surprised. "I am of the Shintol. What you be?"
"We're humans. What world is this? Is it the Digital World? How d'we get out?" Koushiro peppered the being with questions, seeming to have finally grasped his composure.
"Digital? I know no Digital. All I know is this." He swept his arm in a wide arc, gesturing at their exotic surroundings. "This is D'etur."
Takeru's POV
Well, gee. This is lovely. Here we were, on the brink of executing Dai's plan, when a group of fire-breathing dragons surround us and the Kaiser escapes. I *must* remember to thank Dai later for thinking up this ingenious setup.
"Pata!" I screamed again, my voice going hoarse. I scanned the clear blue skies frantically for my digimon partner. This was *no* time for him to be playing around somewhere! All the digimon had said they'd just be out foraging for food, and knowing how hungry they always are, that could take a while, but you'd've seriously thought that they would have seen the Darktyrannomon approaching. They *definitely* should have heard the explosion of the portal.
"Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God..." Next to me, Jyou was practically hyperventilating - not that I could blame him...
A Darktyrannomon raised his large foot, brining it down harshly and sending vibrations through the weakened soil. Daisuke, beside me, tripped as the ground shuddered. He grabbed my shoulder as he fell, and we both crashed to the ground.
"Thanks a lot, Dai," I muttered, struggling to disentangle myself from him. I winced as his flailing appendages whacked into several fresh bruises.
"No prob, Takeru," he replied. I rolled my eyes and stood up, almost falling over again as he grabbed my hand and hauled himself into a standing position.
A nearby dinosaur reared its black head, and I could see the black ring that was controlling him easily amid his blood-red stripes and emerald tufts of hair on the back of his neck. His long tail waved wildly through the air, creating rushes of wind current, as he cried, "Fire Blast!" Opening his mouth wide, a reddish-orange ball of flames grew and hurtled straight towards us.
Daisuke screamed wildly and ran into the foliage surrounding us, followed closely by Miyako, Sora, Jyou, Yamato and Iori. I turned and dove at Hikari, who was standing and staring in shock at the nearing fireball. I rammed into her, hard, and we rolled out of its path just as in slammed into the ground, incinerating all of the underbrush instantly.
"Ow..." Hikari mumbled. I looked down at her.
"You okay?" I asked. She grinned up at me.
"Thanks to you, I am, but I'd be better if you got off of me."
"Oh..." Blushing sheepishly, I rolled off of her, dusting myself off as we both got up.
"Hikari!" Daisuke stormed out of the trees where he and the others had taken cover, his expression concerned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, Dai, I'm fine. Thanks to Takeru here." She smiled up at me. Daisuke chose to ignore her thanks, though, and turned next to me.
"Takeru! Why did you have your hands all over my girl?" I groaned, opening my mouth to make a reply, but Hikari beat me to it.
"Dai, this is *not* the time!" she snapped, gesticulating wildly at the dinosaurs, who were oh-so-conveniently getting ready to attack again, as she reprimanded him. "We have to get out of here! Fast!"
Daisuke cast a helpless look at our opposition. "The only thing I can say is run! Without our digimon..." He trailed off, leaving the inevitable conclusion unspoken but very prevalent in our minds.
As if on cue, I saw a very familiar tan-and-white shape flutter through the trees. "Patamon!" I cried. My digimon flew weakly towards me, collapsing near my feet. I quickly knelt and picked him up. "Patamon, what happened?"
Patamon looked up at me through tearful azure eyes. "They surrounded us," he whispered, "in the clearing over that way. We need your help! We can't digivolve without you. I just managed to get away!"
I looked up, my gaze hard. "Guys, we have to go!"
"I give the orders," Daisuke whined. I glared at him, and he withered. "Yeah, let's go!" he agreed.
We began to run swiftly through the trees to a clearing where more Darktyrannomon gathered, and not a moment too soon. Heat pulsated at our backs, propelling us forward, as another fire blast ripped through the canopy. We staggered breathlessly into the clearing, where our digimon were surrounded by the ruthless virus digimon.
"Digimental up!" we all cried in unison. Bright beams of multi-coloured light shot from our digimentals to envelop our digimon. Soon, the clearing was filled with much larger digimon than the beleaguered ones that had filled it moments before.
Pegasmon, evolved from Patamon, stooped to let me climb on his golden back, as did Hikari's Sphinx-like digimon Nefertimon and Miyako's bird-like digimon Holsmon. The six of us took off, soaring over the heads of the Darktyrannomon and our friends alike.
Pegasmon flapped his platinum wings as we hovered in the air. "Silver Blaze!" he yelled as an aqua blast of power shot out from a gold plate on his forehead, disintegrating a dark ring. Holsmon and Nefertimon also did their respective attacks, successfully destroying the rings.
Far below us, Daisuke and Fladramon were sending hot blasts of fire haphazardly at the opposing digimon, and Iori and Digmon were sending them tumbling into large crevices in the ground. The four were surrounding the older kids protectively, because their digimon hadn't been there to begin with.
I squinted at a figure flying off into the distance, and stared in shock as I recognized an Airdramon. "Hikari," I yelled, pointing at it. "Look! I bet it has the Kaiser!" I scrutinized it a bit more, and wrinkled my brow, perplexed. It looked as if there were two people riding the flying serpent.
"Follow it!" she screamed back over the sounds of the battle, sweating as Nefertimon narrowly dodged an attack. I looked at her, concerned, but she nodded an okay. "We'll be fine, Takeru! We can't lose the Kaiser! Go!"
I nudged Pegasmon on the side, muttering into his cocked ear. "Follow the Kaiser, Pegasmon! Hurry!"
"You sure, Takeru?" he asked, glancing around us at our fighting friends. I nodded. "Okay, then, hold on!" He flew higher still, gracefully evading the fire bombs that were sent up at us.
We had made it out over the trees when a blazing ball of fire came hurtling at us unexpectedly - the Darktyrannomon we had been fighting before we found our digimon had followed us, and successfully set up a barricade by shooting up a wall of fire. The flames hit Pegasmon hard on his side, singing his mane as well as my leg. We plummeted towards the ground as I heard Hikari calling out my name. Pegasmon devolved into Patamon in a blaze of golden light, and we both hit the ground with a crash. I dimly saw the Darktyrannomon closing in on us before my vision darkened and I slumped unconscious on the forest floor.
Hikari's POV
"Takeru!" I screamed frantically as I saw my best friend hurtle towards the ground. I looked for him, panicked, as his body disappeared through the cover of trees, but had no time to think because another fireball came flying towards us from the Darktyrannomon's reinforcements, singing Nefertimon's pearly wing to a dull gray, bending the feathers into a useless position. She flapped her wings hopelessly, slowing us down just enough so that we landed gently next to Daisuke and Fladramon. Daisuke cast me a distracted glance.
"Hikari," he panted, "we can't keep this up much longer." I nodded in agreement as Nefertimon shot off her Rosetta Stone attack beside me. I could see that the attacks of all our digimon were weakening, but due to the multitude of our attackers, the Darktyrannomon didn't seem to be tiring at all.
A fire blast ripped into the ground next to us, tearing up dirt and searing us with the heat. I saw Miyako and Holsmon spiral downward as they, too, were hit by a fireball.
I sank down to my knees next to my brave comrades, fighting back tears. Couldn't they see it was pointless? We had lost...
General POV
A soft white light filled the clearing, illuminating the blood and carnage. As the light touched the dark rings, they shattered and floated up in small particles of data. The Darktyrannomon, freed of the Kaiser's spell, retreated, as the four children stared in shock. A figure, covered in a blinding golden glow, floated down, landing softly beside them.
Daisuke opened his mouth to speak, but the entity lifted its pearly white hand to silence him. Its azure gaze flitted sadly around the clearing, taking in the remnants of the battle.
The children gazed at the being curiously, perplexed and in awe at the same time. "Come. I will explain." The entity's voice echoed through the trees, soft and reassuring, and yet carrying all the might and power of a howling gale.
They submitted to its will easily, closing their eyes as they were swept away into a shining white area, the breeze whipping around them as they were carried off. Their surroundings blurred until nothing could be seen but the pure place where the entity had brought them. They put up no fight, and when they finally opened their eyes, they saw a gleaming angel in front of them.
Osamu's POV
I sat watching the battle in my control room, smiling and reveling in the carnage that was brought upon those foolish children in my name. I glanced over at the unconscious figure of my little brother, strapped to a bed, and frowned. If only the prophecy had said exactly how the power of the Ninth Talisman would be awakened... I knew that the first eight were what the Destined children called the Crests, and they contained enormous power, but the idea that this final one could be turned to my will... This concept was phenomenal. I looked at Ken, his gentle face surrounded by soft blue hair, and his innocent blue eyes closed as he slept peacefully. To think that I'd had the key to the power under my nose this entire time... But it was in my possession now, and nothing could stop me once Ken found the Talisman.
Ken groaned softly and cracked an eye open. "Where am I?" he whispered. His eyes widened in terror as he took in his surroundings and focused on me. He tried to stand, struggling and the ropes that bound him in place. I grinned, walking over to him. Standing over him, I traced a finger along his cheekbone.
"Now, Ken, I need you to do something for me..."
Ken's POV
I closed my eyes tightly as my brother's gloved hand caressed my face. "What do you want?" I whispered harshly. He laughed, and I winced as the sound reverberated wildly in the stone chamber.
"What do I want? Ototo-san, I want your power."
"What?" I asked, incredulous. Maybe it was just me, but I could've sworn he said he wanted my power. As far as I know, I have none.
He grinned. "Ah, Ken, so young and naïve!" he taunted. "You, Ken, are the key to a ninth power, one that will help me conquer this world!"
"What?" I repeated. "Osamu, what are you doing? What are you talking about?"
His bluish-purple gaze, obscured by his glasses, hardened. "I will be asking the questions here, Ken. Remember that." He cracked a long whip and laughed. "Or else."
I cringed at the threat, and somehow I knew that he was being serious. A large, green worm entered the chamber fearfully, and spoke hesitantly in a nasal voice.
"Master..." It trembled as it addressed my brother.
"Agh!" I screamed. "It's... a mutant! It can talk!"
My brother glared. "Shut up, both of you!" He turned to the worm. "What do you want, you sniveling insect?"
"M... master, the children... they have disappeared, and all your Darktyrannomon have been freed from the rings."
"What?" Osamu yelped, hurrying to a many-screened television. He scanned all of the screens frantically, before storming back to us.
I winced as he kicked the worm over. "What happened?" he raged. "Wormmon, what happened?"
"I... I don't know," he stuttered. "The screens all went white, and then when they cleared, everything was gone!"
Suddenly, Osamu smiled frighteningly. "I needn't worry where those stupid Destined are now," he said. "Not now that I've got Ken and the Ninth Talisman on my side."
Taichi's POV
Geez, that thing's tall. Kyuudai, or whatever his name is. And D'etur? Shintol? What the heck? I glanced over at Koushiro, expecting to see my confusion mirrored on his face, but instead his expression was eager and curious. I sighed. Koushiro always had to be learning something.
"So, um," I interrupted, earning a glare from Koushiro as I halted his steady stream of questions. Kyuudai looked relieved. "Like, what do you want?" Koushiro cast me a gaze that obviously said, 'Oh, gee, Taichi, how eloquent.' I glared back.
Kyuudai smiled, again showing his rows of razor-sharp teeth that sent shivers down my spine. "I take you back to Council," he suggested.
"Why?" I asked skeptically. He smiled disarmingly.
"You be hungry, yes? We have food. We talk, find out how to get you home. That is what you want, ja?"
My stomach rumbled, and I flushed as I put my hand over it. "I could use a little food..." I admitted sheepishly.
"Good. We fly."
What? Fly? Koushiro cast me a confused glance, but before we could comment, Kyuudai turned around, and two vines on his tanned back unfurled into leaflike wings. I gaped in amazement as he turned back to face us.
"So, uh..." Koushiro coughed. "Okay, now you can fly, but what about us?"
Without warning, he grabbed our shoulders, and took off into the sky.
-----
And... drumroll, please! *Osamu starts drumming* I've planned a fic about the origin of the Prophecy of the Nine Talismans! It's probably gonna be three books (although I'm not sure...)
-Book one being the original Chosen, as in original original, not from season one... this'll prob'ly be a medieval fic (but all the characters have the same names and attitudes as they do in the series to preserve my sanity...)
-Book two either being how the 01 Chosen found and activated their talismans (of course, with a little twist away from the series *winks*) or something else medieval... I dunno...
-Book three'll probably be this story... I might rename it from 'Turn Back Time' which was a spur-of-the-moment-while-I'm-posting-the-fic title that doesn't really fit well and is kinda stupid... *grins sheepishly*
I dunno if I'm gonna actually finish writing the entire series (although I *will* finish this fic...), and if I do, whether or not I'll post it, 'cos I'm writing it just for the heck of it... Tell me if you want me to post this or not, 'cos it there's no interest, then it'll just rot in my Microsoft Word files! *grins*
- Ken - Oh, yeah, great method, sucker reviews out of innocent readers...
*blushes* Oh, shut up. Osamu, stop the drumming now!
- Osamu - *sticks out tongue* Why? It's fun! *starts to sing Metallica*
*hits self on forehead and steals drum* Argh...
- Osamu - *mutters* Baka...
*glares* You keep that up, and I'll torture you even more in my fic!
- Osamu - *cowers* I'll be good!
*laughs insanely* The power! The power! Um... yeah...
- Ken - *singing* You are my sunshine... my only sunshine...
*sweatdrop* Uh, Ken, that's sweet and all, but...
- Ken - Ew! No! I wasn't singing to you! I wasn't singing to any-
- Miyako/Yolei - *dances in* He was singing it to meeeeeeee!
- Ken - Uh...
- Miyako/Yolei - *sighs dreamily* Yolei Ichijouji. Ken and Yolei Ichijouji!
- Me, Ken, & Osamu - *sweatdrop*
Argh! *screams* Okay, this chapter was written with extreme writer's block after a week in the middle of nowhere! Bear with me! This is even worse than all the other chapters... *hears gasps all around* Yeah... scary concept...
*giggles* Don't mind all the made-up words in this... They don't mean anything whatsoever... I was just bored... *grins* And I decided to use all the Japanese names for the digimon just for the heck of it.
Disclaimer ~ Digimon isn't technically mine... I just stole it... *cackles evilly* Um... or not...
REVIEW! I'm getting desperate here...
- Ken - Have you thought that maybe it's not the reviewers, it's just that people aren't reading your story?
*gasps* Really? Y'think? Hmmm... I should start putting up billboard advertisements...
Turn Back Time
Chapter Five
"Um." Taichi glanced over at his red-haired friend Koushiro, who looked just as nervous as he was. He then reverted his gaze to the strange figure standing in front of them, his chocolate eyes fixated on the horns sprouting out of the head of this human-like creature. "Um," he repeated inarticulately. The creature simply stood waiting.
Koushiro examined the landscape with an apathetic expression, his deep black eyes showing none of the emotion he felt. Inside, though, his stomach was executing a very complex gymnastics routine, complete with tumbles and flips, as he wondered just exactly *where* they were.
The... thing bowed courteously. "Konnichiha," he said again. His voice was a silky smooth tenor that hid a sibilant hiss beneath its velvety surface. He extended a tanned arm to the two boys, who stepped warily backwards. "You no be afraid, I no hurt you," he assured them gently.
Taichi was still staring unashamedly at the small, slightly curved horns nestled in the creature's curly hair. The beast noticed the brunette's gaze and grinned, showing a multitude of tiny sharp teeth gathered snugly in his mouth, surrounding a forked tongue. "I am Kyuudai," he told them. "I am head of Council. I bring you back to capital."
Koushiro coughed lightly. "Um... What are you?"
The tall creature appeared surprised. "I am of the Shintol. What you be?"
"We're humans. What world is this? Is it the Digital World? How d'we get out?" Koushiro peppered the being with questions, seeming to have finally grasped his composure.
"Digital? I know no Digital. All I know is this." He swept his arm in a wide arc, gesturing at their exotic surroundings. "This is D'etur."
Takeru's POV
Well, gee. This is lovely. Here we were, on the brink of executing Dai's plan, when a group of fire-breathing dragons surround us and the Kaiser escapes. I *must* remember to thank Dai later for thinking up this ingenious setup.
"Pata!" I screamed again, my voice going hoarse. I scanned the clear blue skies frantically for my digimon partner. This was *no* time for him to be playing around somewhere! All the digimon had said they'd just be out foraging for food, and knowing how hungry they always are, that could take a while, but you'd've seriously thought that they would have seen the Darktyrannomon approaching. They *definitely* should have heard the explosion of the portal.
"Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God..." Next to me, Jyou was practically hyperventilating - not that I could blame him...
A Darktyrannomon raised his large foot, brining it down harshly and sending vibrations through the weakened soil. Daisuke, beside me, tripped as the ground shuddered. He grabbed my shoulder as he fell, and we both crashed to the ground.
"Thanks a lot, Dai," I muttered, struggling to disentangle myself from him. I winced as his flailing appendages whacked into several fresh bruises.
"No prob, Takeru," he replied. I rolled my eyes and stood up, almost falling over again as he grabbed my hand and hauled himself into a standing position.
A nearby dinosaur reared its black head, and I could see the black ring that was controlling him easily amid his blood-red stripes and emerald tufts of hair on the back of his neck. His long tail waved wildly through the air, creating rushes of wind current, as he cried, "Fire Blast!" Opening his mouth wide, a reddish-orange ball of flames grew and hurtled straight towards us.
Daisuke screamed wildly and ran into the foliage surrounding us, followed closely by Miyako, Sora, Jyou, Yamato and Iori. I turned and dove at Hikari, who was standing and staring in shock at the nearing fireball. I rammed into her, hard, and we rolled out of its path just as in slammed into the ground, incinerating all of the underbrush instantly.
"Ow..." Hikari mumbled. I looked down at her.
"You okay?" I asked. She grinned up at me.
"Thanks to you, I am, but I'd be better if you got off of me."
"Oh..." Blushing sheepishly, I rolled off of her, dusting myself off as we both got up.
"Hikari!" Daisuke stormed out of the trees where he and the others had taken cover, his expression concerned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, Dai, I'm fine. Thanks to Takeru here." She smiled up at me. Daisuke chose to ignore her thanks, though, and turned next to me.
"Takeru! Why did you have your hands all over my girl?" I groaned, opening my mouth to make a reply, but Hikari beat me to it.
"Dai, this is *not* the time!" she snapped, gesticulating wildly at the dinosaurs, who were oh-so-conveniently getting ready to attack again, as she reprimanded him. "We have to get out of here! Fast!"
Daisuke cast a helpless look at our opposition. "The only thing I can say is run! Without our digimon..." He trailed off, leaving the inevitable conclusion unspoken but very prevalent in our minds.
As if on cue, I saw a very familiar tan-and-white shape flutter through the trees. "Patamon!" I cried. My digimon flew weakly towards me, collapsing near my feet. I quickly knelt and picked him up. "Patamon, what happened?"
Patamon looked up at me through tearful azure eyes. "They surrounded us," he whispered, "in the clearing over that way. We need your help! We can't digivolve without you. I just managed to get away!"
I looked up, my gaze hard. "Guys, we have to go!"
"I give the orders," Daisuke whined. I glared at him, and he withered. "Yeah, let's go!" he agreed.
We began to run swiftly through the trees to a clearing where more Darktyrannomon gathered, and not a moment too soon. Heat pulsated at our backs, propelling us forward, as another fire blast ripped through the canopy. We staggered breathlessly into the clearing, where our digimon were surrounded by the ruthless virus digimon.
"Digimental up!" we all cried in unison. Bright beams of multi-coloured light shot from our digimentals to envelop our digimon. Soon, the clearing was filled with much larger digimon than the beleaguered ones that had filled it moments before.
Pegasmon, evolved from Patamon, stooped to let me climb on his golden back, as did Hikari's Sphinx-like digimon Nefertimon and Miyako's bird-like digimon Holsmon. The six of us took off, soaring over the heads of the Darktyrannomon and our friends alike.
Pegasmon flapped his platinum wings as we hovered in the air. "Silver Blaze!" he yelled as an aqua blast of power shot out from a gold plate on his forehead, disintegrating a dark ring. Holsmon and Nefertimon also did their respective attacks, successfully destroying the rings.
Far below us, Daisuke and Fladramon were sending hot blasts of fire haphazardly at the opposing digimon, and Iori and Digmon were sending them tumbling into large crevices in the ground. The four were surrounding the older kids protectively, because their digimon hadn't been there to begin with.
I squinted at a figure flying off into the distance, and stared in shock as I recognized an Airdramon. "Hikari," I yelled, pointing at it. "Look! I bet it has the Kaiser!" I scrutinized it a bit more, and wrinkled my brow, perplexed. It looked as if there were two people riding the flying serpent.
"Follow it!" she screamed back over the sounds of the battle, sweating as Nefertimon narrowly dodged an attack. I looked at her, concerned, but she nodded an okay. "We'll be fine, Takeru! We can't lose the Kaiser! Go!"
I nudged Pegasmon on the side, muttering into his cocked ear. "Follow the Kaiser, Pegasmon! Hurry!"
"You sure, Takeru?" he asked, glancing around us at our fighting friends. I nodded. "Okay, then, hold on!" He flew higher still, gracefully evading the fire bombs that were sent up at us.
We had made it out over the trees when a blazing ball of fire came hurtling at us unexpectedly - the Darktyrannomon we had been fighting before we found our digimon had followed us, and successfully set up a barricade by shooting up a wall of fire. The flames hit Pegasmon hard on his side, singing his mane as well as my leg. We plummeted towards the ground as I heard Hikari calling out my name. Pegasmon devolved into Patamon in a blaze of golden light, and we both hit the ground with a crash. I dimly saw the Darktyrannomon closing in on us before my vision darkened and I slumped unconscious on the forest floor.
Hikari's POV
"Takeru!" I screamed frantically as I saw my best friend hurtle towards the ground. I looked for him, panicked, as his body disappeared through the cover of trees, but had no time to think because another fireball came flying towards us from the Darktyrannomon's reinforcements, singing Nefertimon's pearly wing to a dull gray, bending the feathers into a useless position. She flapped her wings hopelessly, slowing us down just enough so that we landed gently next to Daisuke and Fladramon. Daisuke cast me a distracted glance.
"Hikari," he panted, "we can't keep this up much longer." I nodded in agreement as Nefertimon shot off her Rosetta Stone attack beside me. I could see that the attacks of all our digimon were weakening, but due to the multitude of our attackers, the Darktyrannomon didn't seem to be tiring at all.
A fire blast ripped into the ground next to us, tearing up dirt and searing us with the heat. I saw Miyako and Holsmon spiral downward as they, too, were hit by a fireball.
I sank down to my knees next to my brave comrades, fighting back tears. Couldn't they see it was pointless? We had lost...
General POV
A soft white light filled the clearing, illuminating the blood and carnage. As the light touched the dark rings, they shattered and floated up in small particles of data. The Darktyrannomon, freed of the Kaiser's spell, retreated, as the four children stared in shock. A figure, covered in a blinding golden glow, floated down, landing softly beside them.
Daisuke opened his mouth to speak, but the entity lifted its pearly white hand to silence him. Its azure gaze flitted sadly around the clearing, taking in the remnants of the battle.
The children gazed at the being curiously, perplexed and in awe at the same time. "Come. I will explain." The entity's voice echoed through the trees, soft and reassuring, and yet carrying all the might and power of a howling gale.
They submitted to its will easily, closing their eyes as they were swept away into a shining white area, the breeze whipping around them as they were carried off. Their surroundings blurred until nothing could be seen but the pure place where the entity had brought them. They put up no fight, and when they finally opened their eyes, they saw a gleaming angel in front of them.
Osamu's POV
I sat watching the battle in my control room, smiling and reveling in the carnage that was brought upon those foolish children in my name. I glanced over at the unconscious figure of my little brother, strapped to a bed, and frowned. If only the prophecy had said exactly how the power of the Ninth Talisman would be awakened... I knew that the first eight were what the Destined children called the Crests, and they contained enormous power, but the idea that this final one could be turned to my will... This concept was phenomenal. I looked at Ken, his gentle face surrounded by soft blue hair, and his innocent blue eyes closed as he slept peacefully. To think that I'd had the key to the power under my nose this entire time... But it was in my possession now, and nothing could stop me once Ken found the Talisman.
Ken groaned softly and cracked an eye open. "Where am I?" he whispered. His eyes widened in terror as he took in his surroundings and focused on me. He tried to stand, struggling and the ropes that bound him in place. I grinned, walking over to him. Standing over him, I traced a finger along his cheekbone.
"Now, Ken, I need you to do something for me..."
Ken's POV
I closed my eyes tightly as my brother's gloved hand caressed my face. "What do you want?" I whispered harshly. He laughed, and I winced as the sound reverberated wildly in the stone chamber.
"What do I want? Ototo-san, I want your power."
"What?" I asked, incredulous. Maybe it was just me, but I could've sworn he said he wanted my power. As far as I know, I have none.
He grinned. "Ah, Ken, so young and naïve!" he taunted. "You, Ken, are the key to a ninth power, one that will help me conquer this world!"
"What?" I repeated. "Osamu, what are you doing? What are you talking about?"
His bluish-purple gaze, obscured by his glasses, hardened. "I will be asking the questions here, Ken. Remember that." He cracked a long whip and laughed. "Or else."
I cringed at the threat, and somehow I knew that he was being serious. A large, green worm entered the chamber fearfully, and spoke hesitantly in a nasal voice.
"Master..." It trembled as it addressed my brother.
"Agh!" I screamed. "It's... a mutant! It can talk!"
My brother glared. "Shut up, both of you!" He turned to the worm. "What do you want, you sniveling insect?"
"M... master, the children... they have disappeared, and all your Darktyrannomon have been freed from the rings."
"What?" Osamu yelped, hurrying to a many-screened television. He scanned all of the screens frantically, before storming back to us.
I winced as he kicked the worm over. "What happened?" he raged. "Wormmon, what happened?"
"I... I don't know," he stuttered. "The screens all went white, and then when they cleared, everything was gone!"
Suddenly, Osamu smiled frighteningly. "I needn't worry where those stupid Destined are now," he said. "Not now that I've got Ken and the Ninth Talisman on my side."
Taichi's POV
Geez, that thing's tall. Kyuudai, or whatever his name is. And D'etur? Shintol? What the heck? I glanced over at Koushiro, expecting to see my confusion mirrored on his face, but instead his expression was eager and curious. I sighed. Koushiro always had to be learning something.
"So, um," I interrupted, earning a glare from Koushiro as I halted his steady stream of questions. Kyuudai looked relieved. "Like, what do you want?" Koushiro cast me a gaze that obviously said, 'Oh, gee, Taichi, how eloquent.' I glared back.
Kyuudai smiled, again showing his rows of razor-sharp teeth that sent shivers down my spine. "I take you back to Council," he suggested.
"Why?" I asked skeptically. He smiled disarmingly.
"You be hungry, yes? We have food. We talk, find out how to get you home. That is what you want, ja?"
My stomach rumbled, and I flushed as I put my hand over it. "I could use a little food..." I admitted sheepishly.
"Good. We fly."
What? Fly? Koushiro cast me a confused glance, but before we could comment, Kyuudai turned around, and two vines on his tanned back unfurled into leaflike wings. I gaped in amazement as he turned back to face us.
"So, uh..." Koushiro coughed. "Okay, now you can fly, but what about us?"
Without warning, he grabbed our shoulders, and took off into the sky.
-----
And... drumroll, please! *Osamu starts drumming* I've planned a fic about the origin of the Prophecy of the Nine Talismans! It's probably gonna be three books (although I'm not sure...)
-Book one being the original Chosen, as in original original, not from season one... this'll prob'ly be a medieval fic (but all the characters have the same names and attitudes as they do in the series to preserve my sanity...)
-Book two either being how the 01 Chosen found and activated their talismans (of course, with a little twist away from the series *winks*) or something else medieval... I dunno...
-Book three'll probably be this story... I might rename it from 'Turn Back Time' which was a spur-of-the-moment-while-I'm-posting-the-fic title that doesn't really fit well and is kinda stupid... *grins sheepishly*
I dunno if I'm gonna actually finish writing the entire series (although I *will* finish this fic...), and if I do, whether or not I'll post it, 'cos I'm writing it just for the heck of it... Tell me if you want me to post this or not, 'cos it there's no interest, then it'll just rot in my Microsoft Word files! *grins*
- Ken - Oh, yeah, great method, sucker reviews out of innocent readers...
*blushes* Oh, shut up. Osamu, stop the drumming now!
- Osamu - *sticks out tongue* Why? It's fun! *starts to sing Metallica*
*hits self on forehead and steals drum* Argh...
- Osamu - *mutters* Baka...
*glares* You keep that up, and I'll torture you even more in my fic!
- Osamu - *cowers* I'll be good!
*laughs insanely* The power! The power! Um... yeah...
- Ken - *singing* You are my sunshine... my only sunshine...
*sweatdrop* Uh, Ken, that's sweet and all, but...
- Ken - Ew! No! I wasn't singing to you! I wasn't singing to any-
- Miyako/Yolei - *dances in* He was singing it to meeeeeeee!
- Ken - Uh...
- Miyako/Yolei - *sighs dreamily* Yolei Ichijouji. Ken and Yolei Ichijouji!
- Me, Ken, & Osamu - *sweatdrop*