Chapter Thirteen

Friends

 "What!? No way are we going up that mountain now!" Riley screamed at Lina.

 "But if we don't do it now, we won't do it at all!" Lina shot back.

 "We must rest. We can't climb that mountain when we're tired and weary."

 "We just need food, that's all."

 "No! You're wrong!"

David suddenly cut in. "Girls… this is not the time to fight."

 "STAY OUTTA THIS!!!" Lina and Riley yelled in unison.

Josh yawned. "When are they gonna stop, Patamon? I'm tired…"

 "I'm tired too, Josh, but I'm not sure if they'll ever stop," his Digimon replied. "We should wait and see."

 "Good idea."

Nekomon noticed that the two youngest members were dozing off. She said to Mikara, "Look, they're sleeping."

Mikara nodded. "We gotta stop this." She stood up and walked over to the arguing duo. "Listen, guys, I don't care what you decide, but you must stop this. Josh and Patamon are really tired. They look ready to hit the sack any minute." She gestured to her brother and his Digimon with her arm.

David nodded in agreement. "Mikara is right. And I have an idea. Mikara, Josh, and Riley can stay behind, and Lina and I can reconnoiter ahead."

 "'Reconnoiter'?" Lina wondered.

 "Oh, sorry. Scout. Reconnoiter is a synonym for scout."

Riley immediately agreed with David. "That's a good idea. Josh is tired, so he'll stay. I'm tired, so I'll stay. And Mikara will probably stay coz her brother's fast asleep!"

Lina thought about it before saying, "But we'll be separated."

 "It'll only take a few minutes," David replied. "Besides, we're only reconn—sorry, scouting. We'll go to that ledge and come back down." He pointed to a ledge jutting out from the mountainside.

Lina finally nodded. "Oh, all right. Let's go, Sytamon."

Sytamon followed her Tamer up the mountainside. "So, whaddya think we'll find there?" she asked the others.

 "Who knows?" Wormmon replied. "We must wait and see."

A harsh, guttural roar emanated from beyond the ridge David had pointed out. Wormmon and Sytamon were immediately defending their Tamers. From beyond the ledge came a lumbering Rockmon. It eyed the Tamers suspiciously and, without warning, hurled two boulders at them.

Wormmon knocked David aside, and Lina and Sytamon ducked the attack. But, just as the boulders rolled away, another two came crashing down.

 "Wormmon! Digi Armor—" David began.

 "David, look out!" Lina screamed. The boy gasped as a huge boulder rolled towards him and Wormmon.

————

Mikara sat bolt upright, her eyes wide and free of sleep.

 "What?" Riley, who was still awake, asked her.

 "David and Lina are in trouble!" the other girl replied, staring up at the mountain ridge.

Riley stood up. "How do you know this?"

 "I'm… well, I'm kinda psychic… but they're in trouble, Riley! We gotta help 'em!"

Gabumon stood up too. "No. Stay with your brother and Patamon. Riley and I will go."

His Tamer nodded. "Right. We'll be back soon, Mikara!"

Riley and Gabumon headed up the mountain, towards the ridge, with Mikara staring at their retreating backs.

————

 "Sticky Net!"

 "Prism Sun!"

Two voices echoed through the air as their attacks hurtled towards the rolling boulder. It was knocked aside, and the attacks singed through the air once more, but towards Rockmon. The enemy Digimon held his arms over his head, blocking their attacks.

 "Do it again!" Lina ordered, her hands clenched tightly.

Wormmon spat at the Rockmon—"Silk Thread!"—and sticky threads of silk encased the Digimon's arm.

Sytamon's facial markings glowed, and the sun gave her its energy as she roared, "Prism Sun!"

Rockmon growled as the attack hit his other arm. He stooped down and started rolling down the mountain towards Sytamon. The purple dinosaur snarled and charged up for another Prism Sun, but…

 "Rock Ball!"

Sytamon went flying when Rockmon collided with her.

Lina gasped. "Sytamon!" The girl ran to her Digimon and knelt down beside her. "Sytamon, speak to me! Sytamon!"

Rockmon turned on Lina, and the girl screamed.

 "Hey! Leave them alone!" David yelled at the opponent. "Wormmon, Digi Ar—"

Again, he was interrupted.

 "Rock Punch!"

Wormmon pushed David aside, but the Insectoid-type Digimon was thrown back. Wormmon was knocked unconscious against the mountain ridge.

David stared in shock, then rushed to his Digimon. "Wormmon, no!"

Rockmon laughed. It was a harsh, low laugh that sounded more like grunting, but it was laughing nonetheless.

 "Yo! Rock head! Leave my friends alone!" Riley called out as she and Gabumon appeared from behind a boulder.

 "Yeah! Pick on someone your own size!" Gabumon agreed. He stopped. "Except, no one's your size."

 "I don't care! Gabumon, sick 'im!"

Gabumon didn't need a second bidding. He jumped into the air and set his horn for Rockmon's head. But when they collided, Rockmon's stony skull chipped Gabumon's horn, and the Reptile Digimon fell back.

 "Blue Blaster!" Blue fire escaped Gabumon's mouth and hit Rockmon in the eye. The enemy Digimon screamed in agony.

 "Finish him, Gabumon!" Riley's D-Force glowed a brilliant white. "DIGI ARMOR ENERGIZE!!!"

 "Gabumon Armor digivolve to…Lietongmon, dreams of Friendship!"

Lietongmon was an upright wolf with a coat of deep blue, almost black. He sported dark purple armor with the Crest of Friendship on his chest plate. Metal claws—small but razor sharp—rested on his paws, and a pair of dragon wings sprouted from his back.

Riley grinned. "Awesome! Lietongmon!"

Lietongmon turned to face Rockmon. "C'mon, rock head! Let's see what you're really made of!" The winged wolf held up his hand as a pale blue energy ball formed in his palm. He hurled it at Rockmon. "Demonic Dreams!"

The energy ball connected with Rockmon's forehead. The Digimon staggered and fell, fast asleep. After a few moments of silence, the Rockmon flinched violently. It growled and snarled, and it seemed as if an invisible enemy was attacking it.

 "What's happening?" Lina asked, helping Sytamon to stand.

Riley held out her D-Force. "Lietongmon: Armor level. His attacks are Demonic Dreams and Deceptive Illusions. Currently, Rockmon is asleep and having a terrible nightmare. What's going on in his head, Lietongmon?"

 "A Rockmon's greatest fear is drowning," the great wolf replied. "But, currently, this one is being afraid of being flogged by Satanmon."

David winced. "That must hurt."

And, suddenly, the Rockmon clutched his own throat in his sleep. After a few minutes of wriggling, the Rockmon was deleted.

 "And so," Lietongmon said in a philosophical tone, "death is inevitable."

Riley watched as the Digimon's data floated away. "Poor thing." She turned to help Lina support Sytamon. "Listen, Lina, I'm sorry about that fight earlier. You're right—the sooner we climb the mountain, the better."

Lina smiled at Riley. "But you're right, too, Riley. Josh and Patamon were tired. We should've rested."

Lietongmon dedigivolved back to Gabumon. "It seems, though," he said, "that we'll need to rest anyway! Three out of five Digimon are beat!" To add emphasis to his statement, he fell ####### his tail.

David nodded, holding Wormmon in his arms. "We better return to the others. They might be worried."

————

Mikara and a conscious Josh were waiting for their teammates' arrival. Josh had a big grin on his face when he saw them return. Riley and Lina were supported Sytamon, David carried Wormmon, and Gabumon was in the lead.

 "Boy! You guys are brave!" the brown-haired boy chirped.

 "Are we going or staying?" Mikara asked Lina.

Lina let Sytamon sit down. "We're staying. Sytamon, Wormmon, and Gabumon need some R-and-R."

Patamon, who was sitting atop Josh's head, smiled. "Great! I can go back to sleep!"

 "Yeah!" Josh exclaimed. He and Patamon lay down and immediately went back to sleep.

————

Author's Note: I am extremely sorry for the late update! I've had a lot of things on my hands, including swimming, tennis, and my two newest fanfics. I also have an extreme case of writer's block. It's a good thing I'm three chapters ahead of you guys. So, currently, I am writing chapter sixteen, and I have basic chapter layouts for chapters 16-21. But I'm stuck! So, if you want to help me by contributing ideas and will risk the spoiler, email me at renamon_tamer55@msn.com, I'll tell you what happens during 22-26, so that I can get my ideas down without forgeting. I'll post a message like this again when I need more help. Thank you, faithful readers! ~TdA