Warriors of
Destiny 6
The Last Stone
I do not own Digimon.
They were almost through the desert. They were all very tired but pushed themselves on.
"Where is the last stone, Koushiro?" Taichi demanded.
"It's rather far from here," Koushiro replied. "More than thirty miles."
"What?"
"Thirty miles?" Mimi groaned, "I can't walk thirty miles!"
"It's hard for me to tell where it is," Koushiro said. "We just keep heading west, to the ocean."
"The ocean?" Iori asked, "why there?"
"Perhaps the last stone is in the ocean," Miyako suggested.
Iori swallowed hard.
"What's the matter?" Takeru asked Iori.
"I'm afraid of the water," Iori admitted.
"Of drowning?" Jyou questioned.
"More than just that," Iori said, "everything about the ocean frightens me."
"I think water is beautiful," Miyako said.
"I wish Gennai lent us some horses," Daisuke said. "We'd find it quicker."
"Look!" Sora shouted. "I see some wild horses!"
"Excellent," Taichi said.
"How're we supposed to tame them?" Yamato asked. "They won't let us come near them."
"I'll do it," Hikari said, flying to the herd of wild horses. She sprinkled fairy dust over them and they stopped. They neighed and let her pet them. "Charming animals is easy for me!"
"Will you ride with me, Hikari?" Daisuke proposed, gesturing to the white stallion.
"No thank you," she said.
Takeru petted a brown mare. He grinned at Daisuke's turn down and smiled pleasantly to Hikari. "Ride with me?"
She shook her head, "I'd rather fly."
Now it was Daisuke's turn to smirk.
"All the way to the ocean?" Takeru asked, surprised. "It's a long way there."
"I'll fly until my wings get tired," she explained.
"Will you ride with me till then?"
"Yes, of course."
"You are welcome to ride with me, Sora," Taichi said, mounting a black stallion.
"I am capable of riding alone," she stated, mounting an appaloosa. She made the animal trot. Taichi looked on in surprise.
"I'll ride with you, Yamato," Mimi said. "I can't steer very well."
He let her mount first, sitting sidesaddle. He got behind her. "You steer with their hair."
"Won't that hurt them?"
"Oh, no," he said.
Koushiro mounted a horse and he asked Miyako to ride with him. He helped her up behind him and she held tight to his waist.
"Let's try to find the stone before sundown," Taichi said. "Hurry!"
"Yaaaaah!" Daisuke kicked his horse in the ribs to get it to move. It startled the horse and it almost bucked him off. Takeru and Hikari laughed at his moment of embarrassment.
"You're supposed to hold onto their hair," Takeru snuffed and galloped past him.
"Beautiful animals, aren't they?" Ken asked, patting his black stallion on the neck as he passed Daisuke.
*********************
A few hours before sundown, they reached the ocean. Koushiro's crest was glowing brightly. "We must be near."
"Are you sure it's down here, Koushiro?" Yamato questioned, "How are we supposed to get to it?"
"Can't you feel the power?" Miyako asked debatably.
"But how are we supposed to get to it?" Yamato asked again.
"Swim," Taichi answered.
"Swim?" Iori muttered, "But I can't swim."
"Maybe we can make a boat," Takeru suggested.
"I'll need to get to the stone to read the code," Koushiro said.
"Mermaids," Hikari whispered.
"What?" Taichi asked.
"Mermaids," she repeated, "we can get mermaids to help us."
"They will?"
"Yes," she said, "yes. See, look." She pointed into the water. There were three mermaids swimming under the surface. She flew to the ocean and waved to the mermaids to surfaces. They poked their heads out of the water.
"Hello," said the one in the middle. She had black hair, crimson eyes and an orange tail. The mermaid on the left of her had red hair and green tail, with eyes to match. The other mermaid had blond hair, blue eyes and a purple tail.
"Is there a destiny stone in this ocean?" Hikari asked. "A giant rock with a ring around it?"
"Yes, there is," she replied. "Would you like to see it?"
"I need to come down to read the code," Koushiro said. "I'm the only one that can understand it."
"Koushiro, are you sure you need to go?" Miyako asked, "can't we come with you?"
"I'll be all right," he assured. He looked at the mermaid. "How can you help us?"
"We'll put you in a bubble so you can breathe," she explained, "and we will lead you to the stone."
"Be careful, Koushiro," Taichi commanded.
"Wait a moment!" Iori shouted.
"What?" Koushiro asked.
Iori stepped next to Koushiro. "I should come with you. My grandfather told me that fear comes from not knowing if something is bad or good. I need to get over my fear of water. If I don't to it now, I'll always be afraid of the ocean!"
"Don't worry, human," said the black haired mermaid. "There's nothing to be afraid of. The ocean is very beautiful."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"I'll come with you too," Jyou said. He blushed lightly, "I'm also a little afraid of the ocean."
"Now take a deep breath," said the one with red tail and green tail.
Koushiro, Iori and Jyou took a deep breath and stepped into the water. The mermaids took them by their arms and pulled them deeper into the water. A clear giant bubble covered the three youths and the mermaids guided the bubble, with Koushiro, Jyou and Iori in it, deep into the ocean.
"I can't just wait here," complained Miyako.
"He's the only one who can read the code," Mimi told her sister. "He'll be all right."
"What about Iori?" Hikari asked. "He's the youngest of us."
"He'll be all right," Taichi said. "We all have to get over our fears."
"And Jyou is with them in case something happens," Ken said.
The beauty of the sea mesmerized Koushiro and Jyou. They looked around at everything, the coral, stones, and sea life. Iori however, kept his eyes covered.
'I can't look,' he thought, 'I can't look.'
"It's like nothing I could ever dream of," he whispered. "I don't thin any human has come this close to the ocean." He looked at Iori. "Iori, take a look at the sea!"
"I can't," Iori whispered, "I'm afraid."
"It is very beautiful, Iori," Jyou said. He turned and saw a playful seal swim by and tap its snout on the bubble. "Don't do that!" Jyou yelled at the seal and it swam around the bubble. Jyou kept a good eye on it. 'Don't you dare,' he felt like saying.
Iori looked over his eyes and took in a deep gasp. "Oh! It is amazing down here! I never thought the sea was so beautiful."
"Look, there it is!" cried the blond-haired mermaid. "Isn't it beautiful!"
This one seemed to be bigger than all the others.
"We've tried to read the inscriptions on the ring," said the red-haired mermaid, "but know one knows it. How do you know?"
"It must be the power of my crest," Koushiro replied.
"He was able to summon the last three," Iori said.
They set in front of the bubble and held onto it so it wouldn't float to the surface. Koushiro began to read the inscription and slowly, the golden ring changed to blue and to green and back.
"It's working," commented the black-haired mermaid. "It's working!"
Sparks of blue and green floated from the ring and then to the top of the stone. It formed a long scaly blue and green body. The mermaids gasped in surprise. It was a sea dragon. The sea dragon looked at Koushiro with what looked like gratitude. It moved its head under the bubble and began to swim to the surface.
"Whoa," Jyou mumbled, "not too fast, not too fast! It will make our insides burst!"
"Please don't say that!" Iori shouted.
"Relax," Koushiro said. "He's not moving too fast."
They made it to the surface and the bubble popped.
"Look! Koushiro did it!" Taichi shouted, "I knew he could."
"A sea dragon," Daisuke muttered.
"Don't kill it," Takeru said, "it's the guardian of the stone."
"I knew that," Daisuke grumbled.
Koushiro stroked the scales of the sea dragon. The mermaids swam to the surface. "Thank you for summoning the creature," said the black-haired mermaid. "We've waited a long time for this moment."
"And not a moment too soon, I hope," Koushiro said, standing up. "Look!" he pointed to a sea monster that came to the surface. It looked like a giant octopus.
"It's headed right for us!" Jyou shouted.
The sea dragon brought Koushiro, Iori and Jyou to the shore and went to face off with the giant octopus.
"The octopus has eight arms," Hikari said, "How is the sea dragon supposed to win?"
"It's a dragon," Taichi said, "You expect a dragon to lose to a overgrown octopus?"
The dragon growled and swam to the octopus. Every time the octopus tried to grab the dragon with its tentacles, the dragon bit it off with its sharp teeth. Eventually, the octopus had nothing to strike the dragon with. It trapped the octopus with its coils and tore it apart.
"It did it!" Taichi shouted.
"That was rather disgusting," Mimi mumbled, as if she was going to be sick.
"Oh, that was magnificent!" Sora exclaimed.
Hikari squinted and pointed to an island in the distance, "what is that island over there?"
The mermaids looked at it shakily and back at the fairy. "File Island," replied the blond mermaid.
"It's cursed. Nothing but demons and fallen angels over there," commented the red haired one.
"Sometimes at night we can hear strange cries," explained the one with the black hair. "Even in the depths of the ocean. No one has set foot on that island and came back alive."
Miyako shuddered, "that's terrible!"
"Then we'd just have to go there and put an end to it," declared Taichi.
"Taichi, don't be crazy!" Hikari gasped. "You heard what they said! No one has come back from that island alive!"
"My sister," Taichi said softly, "we're not like anyone else. We're the warriors of destiny."
"Can't we just go back to Gennai?" she asked. "He is waiting for us to return. I fear he needs us. What if something happens to him while we are away?"
"Gennai is the best swordsman in the world," Daisuke assured. "Besides, he would want us to investigate the island."
"It's too dangerous," Yamato said.
"But we have to go!" Taichi shouted.
"If you want to go and kill yourself the go right ahead!" Yamato yelled back, and right in Taichi's face, "But I'm not about to risk my life or anyone else's here! We only came to find the destiny stones and we've already done that!"
"Don't be such a coward, you stupid, spineless, bard you!" Taichi roared, shoving Yamato back and Yamato almost punched him in the face.
"Taichi, please!" Hikari floated to his side and put his arms around him. "Please don't fight! We're in this together!"
Takeru grabbed his brother's arm before he hurt Taichi, "Remember your crest of friendship, Yamato!" he muttered.
"We can't go to that island, Takeru," Yamato said. "You heard what they mermaids said. It's too dangerous there and I'd never be able to live with myself I lost you."
"I can take care of myself," Takeru huffed. "I'm not a kid anymore! We can do it if we just try."
"Let's try to work this out without killing each other," Jyou said calmly. "Taichi's right about going to the island. We might find something important there. However, Yamato brought up a good point about the danger. There is evil out there. I can feel it. But if we walk away from this then the demons can still devour us or the innocent."
"Oh, all right," Yamato sighed, "we'll go. But we must be careful."
"But how will we get there?" Mimi asked.
"With the sea serpent, of course," the red haired mermaid said. "We'll accompany you over there."
"I can't believe we're actually going to do this," Iori said nervously.
The sea serpent laid its head on the shore and the eleven warriors stepped upon it. With its head raised high, the serpent swam to the small island, the three mermaids swimming right under the waters' surface.
Jyou shuddered. "That island is pure evil."
"You can tell?" Koushiro asked.
"I'm a priest," Jyou stated. "I can detect evil wherever I go."
"We will wait here for you," the mermaid with red hair said as the sea dragon upon the shore of the island. They stepped off the head and onto to the ground.
"Be careful," said the one with black hair. "This place is dangerous."
"We thank you," Taichi said.
They walked closer into the island. Its climate was desert but it felt so cold.
"It's all around us," Jyou stated. "I don't like this."
Yamato tried to keep everyone calm by playing a lively song, but through his uneasiness it didn't work. He kept looking around and as his fingers plucked the strings, making sour sounds. "The mermaids were right," he said. "No one could survive this place!"
They heard strange and scary noises coming from all sides. Sora pulled her lips back in a low snarl and held her spear ready. "We will leave alive," she said between her teeth.
"We're going to find these things and put them in their place," Taichi said.
"Oh, not to worry," Koushiro said, "I'm sure they'll find us."
They stepped to what looked like a swamp. Mimi screamed and pushed her face into Yamato's chest, "I-I'd like to go home now!" she stammered, "now, please!"
"Now we know why the people who came here never returned," Koushiro said. "Look."
They looked uneasily to skeleton trees where people hung from the branches. Crows picked at the flesh of the ones that still had some and flies crawled all around them. Other corpses were planted on stakes and spears from the ground, mostly heads. It was a very unnerving site indeed.
"I can't move," Miyako said. "I--I am too afraid!"
"This is inhuman," Jyou muttered.
There was a high laugh in the air. A black fog floated around them. Something was talking in an echoic foreign tongue.
"Who's saying that?" Taichi demanded, "Show yourself!"
Koushiro's eyebrow rose in concentration, "Fresh meat
and blood has entered my butchery. Now
that you have set foot in my trap I will not allow you to leave. I will start with the darkest soul…"
"How did you learn demon-language?" Yamato questioned but before Koushiro could explain, Ken who had been standing with his legs bent in a semi-relaxed ninja stance, now stiffened up and arched his back involuntarily. The dark fog clung to Ken and began to enter his body. He stood grimacing in a dark cloud.
"Ken!" Daisuke shouted, "What's the matter?"
Ken acted as if he was fighting an invisible enemy. "Go away," he mumbled, "Go away…it's trying to…"
"Let him go!" Daisuke shouted to whoever was struggling with Ken. He walked to Ken and he pushed Daisuke away with great force. He looked back at him in surprise. "What in the hell?"
"He's wrestling with a demon," Jyou said, "one of those fallen angels! I can see it!"
"You can see it?" Yamato asked in surprise. "How come we can't?"
"It's hiding from you," Jyou said, "Some demons can't be seen but I can see them all…There's dark spirits here…everywhere….they're all around us…"
"Can't…stop it," Ken whispered. "It's too strong." His eyes glowed bright red and his hands reached to the sheaths on his back. Something forced him to remove his katanas to strike his comrades with.
Something inside Ken's body started laughing manically. "Ahhahahahaha! With this strong body I shall kill you all!"
"No Ken, don't do it!" Hikari shouted, placing her hands on his. "You must fight it!"
"Die," Ken's mouth moved but it wasn't his voice. "My lord thirsts for your blood!" He pushed Hikari back, knocking her into a rotting corpse. "Away! Away filthy sprite!" She gasped and scurried away to Takeru's arms.
"I don't want to hurt him but we've got to stop him some way!" Daisuke said, "someone do something!"
"No," Ken's voice spoke, though it sounded like it was miles away. He tried to put his swords back, "I will not do an unkind thing again! You can't make me!"
"You are not kind, ninja!" screamed the other voice. "You are evil! Your soul and heart is as dark as midnight! Obey me! Obey me or you shall die!"
"No, it is not!" Ken spoke weakly, "not dark anymore."
Miyako reached her hand out and it began to glow green. Roots sprang up from the ground and coiled around Ken's legs and arms to restrain him. "Forgive me, Ken!" she cried, "but I don't want anyone to get hurt!"
The roots squeezed his wrists, forcing him to drop his katanas. "It's controlling me," Ken muttered, "I can't make it stop!"
"Can you do an exorcism?" Koushiro asked Jyou in a panic. "If we don't do something now then we will get the same fate as these people here!" he gestured to the corpses hanging and upon the spears in the ground.
"I've never done such a thing," Jyou said pathetically. "I don't know if--"
"You must try!" Yamato hissed, "You're the only one who can do anything! You must've seen it done at least once."
"Yes," Jyou said, "I have but I haven't been taught."
"If you can heal people you can do this!" Takeru shouted. "Look at him! He can't fight it. They must've chosen him because he lived a darker life than us."
Jyou reached to his neck and pulled on two strings to pull out his crest and his cross. "I'll try," he said. Leaving his crest around his neck, he lifted his cross over his head as he walked to Ken. "Now you must believe that you can be saved. Do you believe?"
"You can't save him," growled the demon inside Ken. "He is mine. With this body I can destroy all of you!"
"Yes, I do believe!" Ken cried, trying to keep the demon from using his body to escape the roots Miyako had bounded him with. "Just get this thing out of me!"
"Remember your kindness, Ken," Jyou said, holding the cross just inches from his eyes. "Force the demon out of you! Focus on the cross. Don't let it use your own body against you."
Ken's body struggled in the vines but Miyako made them hold on tighter. 'Just a little longer,' she thought. 'Must save Ken…'
"He is already lost!" the demon made Ken's mouth open wide to scream in Jyou's face, trying to bite it off. "Give up now and I will offer you a quick and painless death!" He again tried to move but the vines held on tight and Ken used whatever strength he had to keep him from moving.
"Let the boy go," Jyou commanded, becoming irritated. "Leave his body!" He placed his hands on Ken's head.
"Is it working?" Hikari asked.
"I think so."
"Get out," Ken muttered, "out of my body! Out! Out! Out! I will not let you use my body to do unkind things! Out!"
The demon inside Ken screamed. But its scream didn't sound like a cry of anger, but rather a scream of pain.
"Yes, Ken, that's it," Jyou said. "That's it. You almost have him out."
"You cannot get rid of me that easily, ninja," chanted the evil spirit.
"There is not enough room in my body for a such a spirit as you!" Ken yelled. His crest of kindness began glowing brightly. His hands clenched into tight fists.
"We need to help him," Hikari said and flew to him as she shrank to the size of a hand. She hovered next to his left ear, whispering softly. "Don't give up, Ken, I'm right here with you. We all are!"
"Have hope, Ken," Takeru said, his hand around Ken's wrist. "You've made it this far."
Jyou stepped back for the rest of the group to come closer to Ken, but held the cross in his path of vision. "You must believe in the power of kindness," Jyou said. "Believe."
"Don't let that thing get the better of you, Ken!" Daisuke couched, putting his arm around his shoulders and his hand on his right shoulder. As Hikari spoke softly in his left ear, Daisuke spoke encouragingly in his right. "There is enough room for kindness. You're the one who taught me that. That ugly thing can't control you if you hold onto your kindness. Use your kindness against him! You can do it!"
"Enough! Enough of this!" screamed the dark spirit.
"Fight, Ken, fight!" Taichi shouted. He looked at Yamato. "Don't just stand there, you fool…play something!"
"Play? At a time like this?" Yamato mumbled.
"Just play something…anything!"
Yamato looked confused but began strumming his mandolin. It sounded like a sad mourning song.
"Anything but that!"
Yamato sneered and began playing a song of struggle, rebellion and war.
"That's it! Much better."
"It's working," Koushiro said. "The dark spirit can't take it."
Ken glowed with a dark light and he was surrounded by the dark cloud again as the dark spirit screamed and escaped his body. Ken glowed violet and then collapsed face down to the ground, luckily Daisuke was next to him and caught him before he tasted the filthy dirt. Miyako released the vines.
"Are you all right?" Daisuke asked, pulling his arm around his neck.
"I--I feel so weak," Ken stammered.
"We can still destroy you without a body," chanted the evil spirit that had possessed Ken.
"Who are you?" Taichi demanded.
"What are you?" Yamato questioned.
More dark fog swarmed around and collected together to form a huge dark figure, just like the many points of light did to form the guardians of the four stones.
"This…is bad," Jyou mumbled.
"What?" Taichi said.
"The evil spirits are joining to become one," he replied. "God save us."
The giant dark figure was completed. He had giant horns prtuding on the side of his head, long arms with red claws, fangs and black wings with horns on the top and a few holes in the middle. "I have waiting for you, warriors of destiny!" he growled. "Prepare to meet your doom!"
Next Chapter: Destiny's Doom.
