Chapter Five: Out of the Forest
Chino collapsed against a tree with a groan. "Hold on, Darmon. I can't walk any further."
From somewhere nearby, there was a scream, a crash, and a loud voice exclaiming, "See, what did I tell you? Rocks and bees /don't/ mix well."
"This has nothing to do with dat, Alexandra!"
Chino leapt up and scrambled over to peer through a bush. On another path he hadn't known was there, someone had apparently fallen into a hole. Sandra's Rainbow Baton laid across the top, bent dangerously. Two hands gripped it frantically, and a strange-colored fern was bending over the hole.
"Sandra!" Chino cried, jumping out of the brush and dragging her onto the road. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she muttered. "Although Teromon here has some strange opinions of rocks."
"It's not /my/ fault some of them are animate objects."
"Well, I really didn't need to hear about Polymerizing or whatever."
Chino scratched his head. "Okay. . ."
Sandra brushed dead leaves off of her jeans. "Let's get going. I'm gonna find whoever gave me this baton and do something mean to them."
~~
Ryukumon scrutinized his new cards. "Perfect," he murmured, setting a card on the table. Reflection. Any attacks directed at Tamara or at his Monsters would simply be reflected, and with his Forest of Illusions in play, hopefully no one would know until it was too late.
Farasimon returned then, pale with fury. "That brat is tracking me!" she hissed, drawing five cards and glaring at them for a moment. Then discovery dawned on her face. With a brilliant smile, she slapped the card onto the table. "I play Lillymon in defensive mode, and I add this card." She flipped it onto the table. "Two can play this Game, 'Naura. Multiply my Lillymon by two!"
"Only two?" Skydramon objected.
"She has a strong defense because of her agility. I hardly need more than two."
Skydramon sighed and stared at his cards. Monsters and Attacks - just perfect, since he was in desperate need of his Magic cards. He set another Attack on the table, face-down, and gazed at his deck. What were the chances of drawing Remove Trap next turn?
Not very good.
And until he drew that card, the Digidestined would never find their way from the Forest of Illusions.
~~
Yoko staggered along through the rapidly thickening forest, carrying Celamon. She raised one hand to rub at her eyes. They had been walking for hours and hours. The path kept twisting and turning, and it was progressively growing harder to walk on. Several times the path had simply ended, and she had been forced to go back and find another way.
There was a very loud thud, and the ground shook.
Yoko gasped and turned as a loud roar caused several birdlike digimon to rise from the trees, screaming their fear. The little girl started to run, her dirty sneakers pounding on the uneven ground. "How did he find us?" she gasped.
"Maybe it's a different Tyrannomon?" Celamon offered. "I can digivolve if we're attacked."
Yoko skidded to a stop as they rounded a corner to face a stone wall. "Oh, no, Celamon! We can't get around it!"
The bellows of the Tyrannomon reached them. "We can't go back," Celamon noted. "We have to get over this wall, Yoko!"
Mimi's sensitive and occasionally eccentric daughter nodded and grabbed some ivy, tugging on it. "I can climb this, but you're a kitty. What will you do?"
Celamon frowned. "I can cling to your T-shirt, I think."
"Then do it!" Yoko winced as Celamon's claws brushed her skin. She waited until the cat was settled, then stuck her foot into a hole and started climbing.
Celamon screamed.
Yoko whirled and saw the enormous head of Tyrannomon, who had bent over to stare at them. She shrieked in terror and kept climbing. Only a few feet to the top. . .
Celamon fell off and plunged, still screaming, to the ground. Yoko clung to the ivy, her eyes squeezed shut. "I don't want to fight!" she screeched. "Please, Mr. Tyrannomon, sir, let us go away peacefully!"
Then she heard a cat's snarl and a familiar voice crying, "Celamon, digivolve to. . . Marasamon! Hydro Cannon!"
Yoko didn't turn to look, but she heard Tyrannomon cry out in pain, and then something crashed through the foliage and another something was nuzzling her.
"Yoko, I found a way to get over the wall."
The girl turned and stared in shock at the large blue-green lioness watching her with worried eyes. More interesting still were the feathery aqua wings brushing the trees on either side of the path. Marasamon grinned sheepishly.
"I thought we could just fly."
Yoko shrieked in delight and jumped to the ground, where she proceeded to scramble onto Marasamon's back. "And Mother said cats don't fly," she said, utterly satisfied. "Let's go, Celamon!"
~~
"Good show," Kemaimon said, grinning brightly. "I knew Celamon was a good choice."
"I hate them both," Farasimon announced.
Kemaimon shook his head and put a card on the table. "Bubble Head."
Farasimon burst out laughing and had to put her cards down, for fear of dropping them. "/Bubble Head/?"
Kemaimon tried very hard to look dignified. "It's an Armor card for Inero. You can't drown someone when their head is inside a plastic bubble."
"That's ridiculous," Ryukumon objected. "Everyone will laugh at him."
"It only activates when he's in the water and an evil Monster is within thirty feet," Kemaimon muttered. "I figure with Marasamon, Yoko doesn't need a Bubble Head."
"Bubble Head!" Farasimon shrieked, dissolving in giggles.
Senauramon grinned, for the first time sincerely. "I think someone made a huge mistake in naming /that/ card."
Now Kemaimon just looked offended. "I named that card!"
And, for the first time /ever/, Senauramon started to laugh helplessly.
~~
Kaishi Izumi was not accustomed to forests. He hadn't been on a hike since a field trip in the second grade, and his general opinion of them was not good. He didn't approve of professional sports or gym class, since he had always been naturally thin. His pale skin burned easily, and he rarely left his beloved computer unless Tamara forced him into it.
This forest was quite different from anything he had ever encountered before.
For one thing, it reminded him of a maze. He liked mazes, the ones done on paper, and he was usually quite good at finding the way out. In this case, however, he kept tripping over things and going down paths that led nowhere.
Another thing that was driving him crazy about this forest was the lack of noises. In an Earth forest, he usually heard birds, small animals, other people. Here, there was nothing except the occasional far-off roar of Tyrannomon and the incessant beeping of his digivice.
Varismon floated along beside the boy, watching his partner with dark eyes. "The girl is still following you."
Kaishi checked the blue device. "Yeah, she won't give up." He noticed another red dot nearby and changed his course to avoid it. "How deep is this forest?"
"Farasimon's castle was on the other side, last time I checked."
Kaishi finally snapped. "Varismon, I'm hot, I'm tired, and I can't walk anymore. Can you digivolve and carry me to the castle?"
"I could, if that is what you wish."
A bush rustled, and a green eye set in a reptilian face peered out. Varismon's voice lowered considerably. "It is one of the Raptormon. Be careful."
Kaishi slowly nodded, not taking his eyes off of the half-hidden digimon.
~~
Senauramon dug her nails into her palm. Stupid, stupid Ryukumon! She was in a horrid predicament. She /really/ wanted to turn over her face-down card, but what would he separate? She /really/ wanted to play an Attack card, but she couldn't!
She had to take a risk.
"I activate this card," she snapped, flipping it over. "Electric Gloves, protect my Digidestined from himself!"
Silence, except for Kemaimon's soft voice. "Isn't that Myzzeramon's favorite card?"
~~
Kaishi yelped as blue and yellow gloves appeared on his hands. He tore one off and tossed it to the ground in horror.
Raptormon screamed and leapt forward, claws extended. Kaishi held up his bare hand to fend it off. . .
And it twisted, trying to call off its attack. It couldn't. It touched his hand and sparked, falling to the ground with a screech, writhing in pain as electricity rippled along its muscular frame.
Kaishi stared at his hand.
"Put the glove back on," Varismon hissed. "Those are Electric Gloves. If you don't wear them, you'll shock anything you touch."
"My hands didn't used to do that," the boy said, his voice shaking.
"They do now. Put the glove back on and we'll get out of here! Varismon, digivolve to. . . Devidramamon!"
Kaishi retrieved his glove and clambered onto the black dragon, staring at the smoking Raptormon in horror. He suddenly noticed that his pocket felt empty.
"Wait, Var. My necklace is gone." He fumbled through his pockets, trying to find it, and scanned the ground desperately. There was no help for it. The mysterious grey necklace was gone.
~~
Ryukumon laughed a little at Kaishi's frantic search. "That's because the Seven Directions of Chaos separated the crests," he said triumphantly, not noticing Senauramon's sigh of relief.
He looked at the hand he had drawn after the Cemetery card. Negate Attack. Perfect for when the forest wore off. He played it face-down and looked at Farasimon.
She drew a card and played it. "Defense Fortification," she announced. "That strengthens my walls and castle by two."
Skydramon sighed and looked at his deck. Everything rested on this card. He had to draw that Remove Trap, or he would never make it through the next turn. He needed Attack power!
He decided to wait. Better to let the children get out of the forest and then turn it back, after all.
Assuming he /could/ turn it back.
~~
Tamara sighed in relief when she saw her brother curled up at the foot of an enormous tree. "Inero," she called softly. "Ranumon. We're here."
The mouse-like digimon bounced over to her and stared. "It /is/ you! He's asleep, though. Should we wait?"
The tree bent over, wind whistling in its branches. "I do not think we can afford for you to wait. The leader of the Raptormon is close. She will kill you before you even know that she is there. . ."
There was a strange hiss and a faint shriek from somewhere nearby. Tamara yelped and turned to Arcamon.
"If you do that digivolving thing, will we get out of here any faster?"
"I really don't know, but I can try. Arcamon, digivolve to. . . Eveimon!"
"Ranumon, digivolve to. . . Terenorimon!"
Eveimon moved to stand in front of Tamara. "I'll hold it off," she murmured. Tamara just stared at the large creature before her. With a mane of fire and cannon-like objects strapped to her sides, Eveimon looked nothing like her previous form of Arcamon.
"Ahh!" Inero screeched. "Ahh! Ranumon is gone!"
Tamara whirled to look and saw Terenorimon, a giant yellow rodent with huge ears that reminded her of wings. His tail was even longer than it had been before, with a sharp red jewel adoring the tip.
There was a soft thump, and Tamara glanced to the side. She screamed on seeing the tall reptilian form of the golden-eyed Raptormon, who hissed and stepped toward her.
The tree tore its roots from the ground and moved slowly to block the Raptormon, who leapt back into the brush. Eveimon and Terenorimon moved together, each warily watching the surrounding forest. Tamara stepped backward, almost falling into the large hole the tree had left behind.
Thud.
Tamara whirled to see the golden-eyed Raptormon standing on the other side of the pit. She screamed as it leapt at her and ducked, tumbling into the pit. She groaned, raising her hand to wipe off the blood on her head.
Thud. She gasped and struggled to open her eyes, but she already knew the truth.
/It had jumped down/.
A cold talon ran down her arm, making her shudder and try to crawl away. The earth she rested on shivered, and she felt the Raptormon pause.
Then there was excruciating pain, and she was falling again, plunged into blackness. . .
~~
Ryukumon closed his eyes against the sight of his chosen Digidestined. "Senauramon. . ."
"I'm sorry," she said without any conviction. "She isn't dead, you know."
He groaned. "Oh, 'Naura, this is horrible. Nothing like this happened /last/ time we played."
Skydramon just couldn't take it. He reached out to his deck, brown eyes closed, and drew a card.
~~
Marasamon landed on the opposite side of the forest. Yoko dismounted and glanced around, noting the forbidding castle on a cliff not too far away.
"Yoko!" someone called. The little girl turned and saw Sandra, Chino, and their respective partners dashing toward her. Chino reached her first and roughly embraced her. "You made it!"
"So did you," she giggled. "Celamon fought Tyrannomon and she /won/."
"Cool," Sandra said. "Teromon here says that's Farasimon's castle."
"Oh, cool."
A black shadow crossed the ground, and Devidramamon landed. Kaishi slid off. "We're here. Where are Tamara and Inero?"
Darmon peered closely at the redhead. "Were you wearing those gloves before?"
"What? Oh, yes. You must not have noticed." He seemed nervous for some reason.
Suddenly a very strange digimon came flying over the treetops - Terenorimon, his ears acting as wings, with Inero dangling from his tail. He deposited the small boy on the ground. Inero sniffled, sat down, and burst into tears.
"What happened?" Sandra asked, moving quickly to his side.
"Tamara!" he sobbed. "She fell in a big hole and. . . and. . ."
A large, fiery canine ran out of the trees, the unconscious Tamara lashed to her back with vines. "We have to get to shelter," Eveimon gasped. "Those Raptormon are /fast/."
"How is she?" Kaishi asked worriedly, walking to Eveimon's side and pulling his friend off of her back. He gagged at the sight of the blood seeping through her shirt. "Jeez, Inero, are you /sure/ she only fell in a hole?"
Terenorimon shifted anxiously from side to side. "Well, y'see, the Raptormon fell in, too. . . and then she fell /again/."
Tamara groaned and stirred in Kaishi's arms. He glanced back at the forest.
"We have to get out of here. There's a cave in that cliff. Arcamon, can you carry her that far?"
"Eveimon, for the time being," the Champion corrected. "Let's go."
~~
Skydramon couldn't help it; he whooped for joy as his newest card was played. "Remove Trap!" he shrieked gleefully. "Remove the Forest of Illusions now!"
The mist around Ryukumon's cards shifted, allowing everyone to see the Reflection card he had played face-up. "Oh, so /that/ was your plan," Farasimon said, smirking deviously. Ryukumon growled.
"How did you manage to get that card, Sky? You hardly have /any/ Magic cards. . ."
Skydramon shrugged as best he could. "Sometimes you have to have a little faith, Ryu."
Kemaimon quietly played a card. "Rest and Healing," he whispered. "This will shield their cave from any attacks for one turn."
"Softie," Farasimon muttered.
"I think it's sweet," Senauramon objected.
"Liiiiar. I'm off. . . call me!" She dashed out of the room, trying to conceal her panic.
One turn. One turn of rest for them and then they would strike at her. She just wasn't /ready/ for this. If only she had been able to play Blossomon!
Well, Roseinamon and Lillymon would have to do. Otherwise. . . she didn't want to think about the consequences.
~~
The raptor with the golden eyes watched from the bushes as the Digidestined hobbled toward a cave. She saw the pearly glimmer around it and /knew/ that she couldn't attack it - not alone. She needed the other Raptormon. . .
Her beautiful but dangerous eyes sparkled with new hatred. She had been /so close/ to killing the dark-haired girl! She had stood next to the child, had slashed at her with talons that even now dripped blood, and then, in a perverse twist of fate, the dirt had given way, and the girl had dropped behind the raptor's reach.
Oh, well. Next time. . . next time she /would/ prevail.
~~~~~~
A/N: Whoo. I /like/ that last segment. I'm starting to like my lovely golden-eyed velociraptor! Did anyone else like it? *looks around* Anyone? Guess not. Oh, well, adios!
Chino collapsed against a tree with a groan. "Hold on, Darmon. I can't walk any further."
From somewhere nearby, there was a scream, a crash, and a loud voice exclaiming, "See, what did I tell you? Rocks and bees /don't/ mix well."
"This has nothing to do with dat, Alexandra!"
Chino leapt up and scrambled over to peer through a bush. On another path he hadn't known was there, someone had apparently fallen into a hole. Sandra's Rainbow Baton laid across the top, bent dangerously. Two hands gripped it frantically, and a strange-colored fern was bending over the hole.
"Sandra!" Chino cried, jumping out of the brush and dragging her onto the road. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she muttered. "Although Teromon here has some strange opinions of rocks."
"It's not /my/ fault some of them are animate objects."
"Well, I really didn't need to hear about Polymerizing or whatever."
Chino scratched his head. "Okay. . ."
Sandra brushed dead leaves off of her jeans. "Let's get going. I'm gonna find whoever gave me this baton and do something mean to them."
~~
Ryukumon scrutinized his new cards. "Perfect," he murmured, setting a card on the table. Reflection. Any attacks directed at Tamara or at his Monsters would simply be reflected, and with his Forest of Illusions in play, hopefully no one would know until it was too late.
Farasimon returned then, pale with fury. "That brat is tracking me!" she hissed, drawing five cards and glaring at them for a moment. Then discovery dawned on her face. With a brilliant smile, she slapped the card onto the table. "I play Lillymon in defensive mode, and I add this card." She flipped it onto the table. "Two can play this Game, 'Naura. Multiply my Lillymon by two!"
"Only two?" Skydramon objected.
"She has a strong defense because of her agility. I hardly need more than two."
Skydramon sighed and stared at his cards. Monsters and Attacks - just perfect, since he was in desperate need of his Magic cards. He set another Attack on the table, face-down, and gazed at his deck. What were the chances of drawing Remove Trap next turn?
Not very good.
And until he drew that card, the Digidestined would never find their way from the Forest of Illusions.
~~
Yoko staggered along through the rapidly thickening forest, carrying Celamon. She raised one hand to rub at her eyes. They had been walking for hours and hours. The path kept twisting and turning, and it was progressively growing harder to walk on. Several times the path had simply ended, and she had been forced to go back and find another way.
There was a very loud thud, and the ground shook.
Yoko gasped and turned as a loud roar caused several birdlike digimon to rise from the trees, screaming their fear. The little girl started to run, her dirty sneakers pounding on the uneven ground. "How did he find us?" she gasped.
"Maybe it's a different Tyrannomon?" Celamon offered. "I can digivolve if we're attacked."
Yoko skidded to a stop as they rounded a corner to face a stone wall. "Oh, no, Celamon! We can't get around it!"
The bellows of the Tyrannomon reached them. "We can't go back," Celamon noted. "We have to get over this wall, Yoko!"
Mimi's sensitive and occasionally eccentric daughter nodded and grabbed some ivy, tugging on it. "I can climb this, but you're a kitty. What will you do?"
Celamon frowned. "I can cling to your T-shirt, I think."
"Then do it!" Yoko winced as Celamon's claws brushed her skin. She waited until the cat was settled, then stuck her foot into a hole and started climbing.
Celamon screamed.
Yoko whirled and saw the enormous head of Tyrannomon, who had bent over to stare at them. She shrieked in terror and kept climbing. Only a few feet to the top. . .
Celamon fell off and plunged, still screaming, to the ground. Yoko clung to the ivy, her eyes squeezed shut. "I don't want to fight!" she screeched. "Please, Mr. Tyrannomon, sir, let us go away peacefully!"
Then she heard a cat's snarl and a familiar voice crying, "Celamon, digivolve to. . . Marasamon! Hydro Cannon!"
Yoko didn't turn to look, but she heard Tyrannomon cry out in pain, and then something crashed through the foliage and another something was nuzzling her.
"Yoko, I found a way to get over the wall."
The girl turned and stared in shock at the large blue-green lioness watching her with worried eyes. More interesting still were the feathery aqua wings brushing the trees on either side of the path. Marasamon grinned sheepishly.
"I thought we could just fly."
Yoko shrieked in delight and jumped to the ground, where she proceeded to scramble onto Marasamon's back. "And Mother said cats don't fly," she said, utterly satisfied. "Let's go, Celamon!"
~~
"Good show," Kemaimon said, grinning brightly. "I knew Celamon was a good choice."
"I hate them both," Farasimon announced.
Kemaimon shook his head and put a card on the table. "Bubble Head."
Farasimon burst out laughing and had to put her cards down, for fear of dropping them. "/Bubble Head/?"
Kemaimon tried very hard to look dignified. "It's an Armor card for Inero. You can't drown someone when their head is inside a plastic bubble."
"That's ridiculous," Ryukumon objected. "Everyone will laugh at him."
"It only activates when he's in the water and an evil Monster is within thirty feet," Kemaimon muttered. "I figure with Marasamon, Yoko doesn't need a Bubble Head."
"Bubble Head!" Farasimon shrieked, dissolving in giggles.
Senauramon grinned, for the first time sincerely. "I think someone made a huge mistake in naming /that/ card."
Now Kemaimon just looked offended. "I named that card!"
And, for the first time /ever/, Senauramon started to laugh helplessly.
~~
Kaishi Izumi was not accustomed to forests. He hadn't been on a hike since a field trip in the second grade, and his general opinion of them was not good. He didn't approve of professional sports or gym class, since he had always been naturally thin. His pale skin burned easily, and he rarely left his beloved computer unless Tamara forced him into it.
This forest was quite different from anything he had ever encountered before.
For one thing, it reminded him of a maze. He liked mazes, the ones done on paper, and he was usually quite good at finding the way out. In this case, however, he kept tripping over things and going down paths that led nowhere.
Another thing that was driving him crazy about this forest was the lack of noises. In an Earth forest, he usually heard birds, small animals, other people. Here, there was nothing except the occasional far-off roar of Tyrannomon and the incessant beeping of his digivice.
Varismon floated along beside the boy, watching his partner with dark eyes. "The girl is still following you."
Kaishi checked the blue device. "Yeah, she won't give up." He noticed another red dot nearby and changed his course to avoid it. "How deep is this forest?"
"Farasimon's castle was on the other side, last time I checked."
Kaishi finally snapped. "Varismon, I'm hot, I'm tired, and I can't walk anymore. Can you digivolve and carry me to the castle?"
"I could, if that is what you wish."
A bush rustled, and a green eye set in a reptilian face peered out. Varismon's voice lowered considerably. "It is one of the Raptormon. Be careful."
Kaishi slowly nodded, not taking his eyes off of the half-hidden digimon.
~~
Senauramon dug her nails into her palm. Stupid, stupid Ryukumon! She was in a horrid predicament. She /really/ wanted to turn over her face-down card, but what would he separate? She /really/ wanted to play an Attack card, but she couldn't!
She had to take a risk.
"I activate this card," she snapped, flipping it over. "Electric Gloves, protect my Digidestined from himself!"
Silence, except for Kemaimon's soft voice. "Isn't that Myzzeramon's favorite card?"
~~
Kaishi yelped as blue and yellow gloves appeared on his hands. He tore one off and tossed it to the ground in horror.
Raptormon screamed and leapt forward, claws extended. Kaishi held up his bare hand to fend it off. . .
And it twisted, trying to call off its attack. It couldn't. It touched his hand and sparked, falling to the ground with a screech, writhing in pain as electricity rippled along its muscular frame.
Kaishi stared at his hand.
"Put the glove back on," Varismon hissed. "Those are Electric Gloves. If you don't wear them, you'll shock anything you touch."
"My hands didn't used to do that," the boy said, his voice shaking.
"They do now. Put the glove back on and we'll get out of here! Varismon, digivolve to. . . Devidramamon!"
Kaishi retrieved his glove and clambered onto the black dragon, staring at the smoking Raptormon in horror. He suddenly noticed that his pocket felt empty.
"Wait, Var. My necklace is gone." He fumbled through his pockets, trying to find it, and scanned the ground desperately. There was no help for it. The mysterious grey necklace was gone.
~~
Ryukumon laughed a little at Kaishi's frantic search. "That's because the Seven Directions of Chaos separated the crests," he said triumphantly, not noticing Senauramon's sigh of relief.
He looked at the hand he had drawn after the Cemetery card. Negate Attack. Perfect for when the forest wore off. He played it face-down and looked at Farasimon.
She drew a card and played it. "Defense Fortification," she announced. "That strengthens my walls and castle by two."
Skydramon sighed and looked at his deck. Everything rested on this card. He had to draw that Remove Trap, or he would never make it through the next turn. He needed Attack power!
He decided to wait. Better to let the children get out of the forest and then turn it back, after all.
Assuming he /could/ turn it back.
~~
Tamara sighed in relief when she saw her brother curled up at the foot of an enormous tree. "Inero," she called softly. "Ranumon. We're here."
The mouse-like digimon bounced over to her and stared. "It /is/ you! He's asleep, though. Should we wait?"
The tree bent over, wind whistling in its branches. "I do not think we can afford for you to wait. The leader of the Raptormon is close. She will kill you before you even know that she is there. . ."
There was a strange hiss and a faint shriek from somewhere nearby. Tamara yelped and turned to Arcamon.
"If you do that digivolving thing, will we get out of here any faster?"
"I really don't know, but I can try. Arcamon, digivolve to. . . Eveimon!"
"Ranumon, digivolve to. . . Terenorimon!"
Eveimon moved to stand in front of Tamara. "I'll hold it off," she murmured. Tamara just stared at the large creature before her. With a mane of fire and cannon-like objects strapped to her sides, Eveimon looked nothing like her previous form of Arcamon.
"Ahh!" Inero screeched. "Ahh! Ranumon is gone!"
Tamara whirled to look and saw Terenorimon, a giant yellow rodent with huge ears that reminded her of wings. His tail was even longer than it had been before, with a sharp red jewel adoring the tip.
There was a soft thump, and Tamara glanced to the side. She screamed on seeing the tall reptilian form of the golden-eyed Raptormon, who hissed and stepped toward her.
The tree tore its roots from the ground and moved slowly to block the Raptormon, who leapt back into the brush. Eveimon and Terenorimon moved together, each warily watching the surrounding forest. Tamara stepped backward, almost falling into the large hole the tree had left behind.
Thud.
Tamara whirled to see the golden-eyed Raptormon standing on the other side of the pit. She screamed as it leapt at her and ducked, tumbling into the pit. She groaned, raising her hand to wipe off the blood on her head.
Thud. She gasped and struggled to open her eyes, but she already knew the truth.
/It had jumped down/.
A cold talon ran down her arm, making her shudder and try to crawl away. The earth she rested on shivered, and she felt the Raptormon pause.
Then there was excruciating pain, and she was falling again, plunged into blackness. . .
~~
Ryukumon closed his eyes against the sight of his chosen Digidestined. "Senauramon. . ."
"I'm sorry," she said without any conviction. "She isn't dead, you know."
He groaned. "Oh, 'Naura, this is horrible. Nothing like this happened /last/ time we played."
Skydramon just couldn't take it. He reached out to his deck, brown eyes closed, and drew a card.
~~
Marasamon landed on the opposite side of the forest. Yoko dismounted and glanced around, noting the forbidding castle on a cliff not too far away.
"Yoko!" someone called. The little girl turned and saw Sandra, Chino, and their respective partners dashing toward her. Chino reached her first and roughly embraced her. "You made it!"
"So did you," she giggled. "Celamon fought Tyrannomon and she /won/."
"Cool," Sandra said. "Teromon here says that's Farasimon's castle."
"Oh, cool."
A black shadow crossed the ground, and Devidramamon landed. Kaishi slid off. "We're here. Where are Tamara and Inero?"
Darmon peered closely at the redhead. "Were you wearing those gloves before?"
"What? Oh, yes. You must not have noticed." He seemed nervous for some reason.
Suddenly a very strange digimon came flying over the treetops - Terenorimon, his ears acting as wings, with Inero dangling from his tail. He deposited the small boy on the ground. Inero sniffled, sat down, and burst into tears.
"What happened?" Sandra asked, moving quickly to his side.
"Tamara!" he sobbed. "She fell in a big hole and. . . and. . ."
A large, fiery canine ran out of the trees, the unconscious Tamara lashed to her back with vines. "We have to get to shelter," Eveimon gasped. "Those Raptormon are /fast/."
"How is she?" Kaishi asked worriedly, walking to Eveimon's side and pulling his friend off of her back. He gagged at the sight of the blood seeping through her shirt. "Jeez, Inero, are you /sure/ she only fell in a hole?"
Terenorimon shifted anxiously from side to side. "Well, y'see, the Raptormon fell in, too. . . and then she fell /again/."
Tamara groaned and stirred in Kaishi's arms. He glanced back at the forest.
"We have to get out of here. There's a cave in that cliff. Arcamon, can you carry her that far?"
"Eveimon, for the time being," the Champion corrected. "Let's go."
~~
Skydramon couldn't help it; he whooped for joy as his newest card was played. "Remove Trap!" he shrieked gleefully. "Remove the Forest of Illusions now!"
The mist around Ryukumon's cards shifted, allowing everyone to see the Reflection card he had played face-up. "Oh, so /that/ was your plan," Farasimon said, smirking deviously. Ryukumon growled.
"How did you manage to get that card, Sky? You hardly have /any/ Magic cards. . ."
Skydramon shrugged as best he could. "Sometimes you have to have a little faith, Ryu."
Kemaimon quietly played a card. "Rest and Healing," he whispered. "This will shield their cave from any attacks for one turn."
"Softie," Farasimon muttered.
"I think it's sweet," Senauramon objected.
"Liiiiar. I'm off. . . call me!" She dashed out of the room, trying to conceal her panic.
One turn. One turn of rest for them and then they would strike at her. She just wasn't /ready/ for this. If only she had been able to play Blossomon!
Well, Roseinamon and Lillymon would have to do. Otherwise. . . she didn't want to think about the consequences.
~~
The raptor with the golden eyes watched from the bushes as the Digidestined hobbled toward a cave. She saw the pearly glimmer around it and /knew/ that she couldn't attack it - not alone. She needed the other Raptormon. . .
Her beautiful but dangerous eyes sparkled with new hatred. She had been /so close/ to killing the dark-haired girl! She had stood next to the child, had slashed at her with talons that even now dripped blood, and then, in a perverse twist of fate, the dirt had given way, and the girl had dropped behind the raptor's reach.
Oh, well. Next time. . . next time she /would/ prevail.
~~~~~~
A/N: Whoo. I /like/ that last segment. I'm starting to like my lovely golden-eyed velociraptor! Did anyone else like it? *looks around* Anyone? Guess not. Oh, well, adios!