Chapter Seven

Water and Metal

"We have to cross…that?" Riley asked incredulously, staring out at the lake before them.

"Sure do," Lina responded. "Well, come on, let's start…making a boat or something…"

"And how do we do that?" Josh piped up.

"Beats me."

Lina, Josh, David, Riley, Mikara, and their Digimon had scaled the cliff. After a day of walking, they had finally reached a huge lake in the center of a lush, green forest. However, there was no way they could cross the lake.

Mikara ran to the others with Nekomon trailing her. "Look what we found!" they cried.

"What is it?" Gabumon asked them.

"It's a pod of Dolphmon!" Nekomon replied. "We told them about our predicament and they've agreed to carry us across."

David was doubtful. "Can Dolphmon do that? A regular dolphin in the Real World doesn't have the strength or the girth to carry a human far distances. Humans don't ride dolphins."

"But we're not dolphins," a squeaky voice said. "We're Digimon, and proud of it!"

The Tamers looked to see eight Dolphmon at the edge of the shallows. They frolicked about in the water, jumping and splashing.

"It's not like we have a choice," Sytamon pointed out.

"You're right," Lina agreed. "Come on, let's go."

The Tamers and their Digimon swam to the Dolphmon, who waited patiently. They climbed onto the backs of the Digimon. Everyone was doing fine, except for Sytamon. She had trouble holding on.

"Relax!" the Dolphmon she was riding squeaked. "We'll get there double-time if you need us to."

"That would be nice," Sytamon admitted.

"Right then! Power those tails!"

The Dolphmon swam faster, heading towards the opposite side of the lake. However, when they were three-quarters of the way across, the Dolphmon slowed down.

"Tired already?" Patamon wondered.

"No," the Dolphmon he was riding answered, swimming cautiously. "We're in Gesomon's territory now. Gesomon doesn't mind us if we stay in our own side of the lake, but he cannot tolerate visitors."

"Then," Wormmon said, "shouldn't we…speed up?"

"Swimming faster would create waves to tell Gesomon that we're here," stated the lead Dolphmon.

"Oh…"

The Dolphmon swam slowly, towards the nearing shore. But Gesomon was already awake. And it was already aware of their presence. It was waiting…waiting for the right moment to strike…

"Yaaaaahhhh!" Josh screamed as a gigantic white limb erupted from below the water's surface.

"It's Gesomon! He knows we're here!" Patamon yelled.

"Swim!" the lead Dolphmon roared. The eight Dolphmon swam hard, their muscled tails pumping up and down for speed.

Suddenly, another white limb threw Josh, Patamon, and the Dolphmon they were riding into the air. The three of them landed in the water. Josh floundered about, making big splashes with his arms. The hood of a giant white squid poked from the water's surface and headed for the boy.

"Help!" he cried. "I…I can't swim! No—honest—I can't!"

"Josh!" Mikara screeched. She turned and dived into the lake, ignoring the danger. From underneath the surface, Mikara could see the disgusting squid.

"Mikara, no!" Nekomon yelped helplessly.

"Mikara!" David roared. He turned in his seat but was pulled back by Wormmon.

"Don't dive in, David!" the Insectoid Digimon pleaded.

David glared in frustration at the floundering ten-year-old boy and the thirteen-year-old girl that was swimming towards him.

"Boom Bubble!" Patamon screamed, letting loose a blast of air. It hit the hood of Gesomon. The squid stopped and glared at the flying yellow Digimon, then continued towards Josh.

"P-Patamon!" Josh sputtered. "Mikara…Mikara! Pata…"—Josh went under for a second, but he broke the surface again—"…Patamon! H-help me!"

Mikara had almost reached her brother, but the Gesomon had reached Josh first. It grabbed the boy in one of its limbs and held him high above the water. Riley, Lina, and Mikara screamed. David sat silently, but his face held anger and fear. The Digimon were trembling, unable to help.

Except Patamon. The little flying Digimon was the only one who saw Josh's D-force start to glow. Josh seemed to notice too, because he looked down at his D-force.

"Josh! I'm going to help you!" Patamon squeaked determinedly. "But first, you must help me."

Josh struggled against Gesomon's grip, but stopped, muttered a little prayer of help, and yelled, "Digi Armor energize!"

The light that shimmered around Patamon's small body blinded everyone watching.

"Patamon Armor digivolve to…Pegasusmon, flying Hope!"

"Whoa!" Lina exclaimed. "It's…an Armor-level Digimon!"

Pegasusmon glared down at Gesomon, his shining golden wings spread wide. "You've caused enough trouble today, and you shall pay for your actions."

The underside of Pegasusmon's wings turned black and twinkled with millions of stars, just like the night sky. Pegasusmon then reared back and flapped his wings, causing dozens of stars to shoot from them. "Star Shower!"

The stars hit Gesomon's head. The giant white squid scowled at Pegasusmon.

"Coral Crusher!" Gesomon yelled, striking Pegasusmon with a limb.

The winged horse flapped to regain his balance before attacking again.

"Equus Beam!" A green triangular beam of energy hit Gesomon square in the head, causing it to drop Josh. The boy landed with a splash next to Mikara. A riderless Dolphmon swam up beside the two and brought them to shore where the others were waiting.

Meanwhile, Pegasusmon was having trouble. The Gesomon had knocked him into the water. Pegasusmon's waterlogged feathers couldn't allow the air to pass through them.

Suddenly a barrage of Pulse Blasts attacked Gesomon. The squid wasn't able to counter attack.

"Do it, Pegasusmon!" Josh ordered.

Pegasusmon's golden wings blackened once again, and the stars hurtled from them towards the enemy. The Gesomon was knocked out, and a quick Equus Beam deleted it.

—————

Later that day…

"Are you guys going to be okay?" Choromon asked the Tamers, its tail blinking.

Riley nodded. "Yes, we're all right, thanks to you guys."

"Yeah," Lina agreed. "It's a good thing this village was near the lake shore."

Choromon smiled. "Well, we thank you for destroying Gesomon. He's been threatening to destroy our village for some time now. Well, we've packed you adequate food. Good luck on your quest, my friends!"

"We'll see you soon!" Josh chirped ecstatically. He was so happy that Patamon had Armor digivolved that he was ready to continue the quest.

"Goodbye!" the village of Digimon, who had gathered to say farewell, called to the Tamers as they walked off through the forest.

"See ya!" Mikara exclaimed, waving her hand.

"Bye! Thank you for the food!" Josh added.

"We hope to see you again!" Riley chimed.

And so the Tamers headed deeper into the forest towards the unknown. But regardless of the danger, they headed west, into the setting sun.