Chapter Twenty-Two

Challenge 1: Buried Alive

            The dragon Digimon grinned. "They fell for it, and it was all because of that little black-haired punk and his Chagremon."

            The being sitting at the 'throne', however, kept a blank look. "Don't be fooled by that simple act, my friend. They are not dead."

            "But of course, Mistress," said the Digimon hurriedly. "You are always right."

            "But while we're waiting for them to emerge, send a message to that river snake up north. Tell him I wish to speak with him." There was a pause. "You know who I'm talking about. Now, get to it!"

            The dragon-type pressed a button on the wall. "Call the river snake," was the order.

            The huge holo-screen that had shown the cave-in became blank. The master of Chikyuu stood up and waited until the holo-screen was filled with color again. A serpentine Digimon was curled up in front of it.

            "Hello, WaruSeadramon."

            "You! What is it?" the Digimon snapped.

            "There are some children on this island. They're Tamers, or so they say."

            WaruSeadramon sneered. "That is old news. I knew that the moment they entered the Undead Sea, because I command the waters and know all!"

            The dragon Digimon stepped forward angrily. "You know nothing compared to my Mistress!"

            "You know least of all," the huge serpentine Digimon roared back, "for you serve one of their kind, who sought to destroy us many years ago."

            "I am honored to serve a survivor of Chikyuu. Yes, the people slaughtered our kind, but they did it because they felt threatened by our superiority. Don't you feel threatened now that my Mistress has gained more power than you could ever achieve?"

            Then a sudden command: "STOP IT! THE BOTH OF YOU!" And the room was suddenly filled with a blast of radiance, bright and blue like the crystal waters, yet containing a sort of evil that could not be explained. The dragon Digimon and the WaruSeadramon in the holo-screen both cowered by the sudden surge of power.

            The light faded a bit, but it was contained in a bubble in the center of the room. And within the bubble of evil light, a thirteen-year-old human girl stood. She had short black hair and equally black eyes. She wore a three-quarter-length sleeved black shirt, a black skirt, and boots. At her belt was an orange D-Force.

            "WaruSeadramon," she then said, "you have your duty. A duty is a duty, no matter what, and that is to protect the waters and keep them unspoiled."

            The huge Digimon in the holo-screen growled, but he nodded. "As you wish, human." And the screen went blank once more.

            The bubble then vanished, and the girl swayed a little, as if suddenly dizzy. Her dragon Digimon caught her as she fell to her knees.

            "Mistress, you mustn't use your energy like that. You're growing weak," he scolded her.

            The human girl pushed away from her Digimon. "I'm not weak," she grated. "I'm just…I'm just tired. I'm going to get some sleep." She started to walk off, then stopped. "Oh…and Strikemon?"

            "Yes?"

            "…Thank you. For always being there." And she then disappeared into the blackness of the room.

*          *          *

            The forest was silent, but as the minutes dragged on, a whirring sound became evident. And then, in a massive explosion of dirt and rock, Sytamon burst from the ground, her foreclaws having transformed into drills.

            The Tamers and their Digimon scrambled out of the tunnel and breathed a huge sigh of relief. They had survived the cave-in.

            Lina held up a card. "Wow. This Digmon's Drill modify card really came in handy." Thanks, Dad…

            "And we couldn't have endured that cave-in without Wormmon's aid," added David. His Digimon was perched atop his shoulder, half-asleep with exhaustion. "Who knew Sticky Net could hold up so much earth?"

            "Do you think that was the first test?" asked Josh. "Cos I'm scared now. If that's the first test…what if…"

            Patamon patted his Tamer on the head. "Don't worry. Next test, I'll protect you. You won't have to protect me." He grinned. "And by the way, thanks, Josh."

            The ten-year-old boy nodded. "No problem."

            Compass pulled at the hem of her shirt. "Great! We're covered in dirt and stuff…yuck… Is there a river where we can wash off or something?"

            Gabumon sniffed the air. "Yeah!" He pointed northeast. "Thatta way."

            So the Tamers trudged to the river, and when they found it, they were pleased. It was crystal clear, and fish swam freely in its waters.

            "A bath and lunch!" Riku exclaimed thankfully.

            So, laughing and yelling wildly, the Tamers and their Digimon jumped into the water.

            All but one.

            "Hey, Mikara!" yelled Nekomon. "Aren't you going to join us?"

            The girl in question looked uneasy. "I…I don't think washing up in this river is such a good idea…"

            "Why not? Afraid the fish'll bite?" laughed Riki.

            Mikara glared at him. "No. But—"

            "Oh, come on, Mikara," said Josh. "The water's really nice and cool, and the fish don't bite at all." He scrambled out and pushed his sister into the water, then jumped in himself. "See?"

            Mikara coughed and spat water from her mouth. "No! You don't get it! There's something wrong with the water!"

            Everyone stared at her. "What???" they all cried out.

            "What's wrong with it?" asked Jessie.

            There was then a sudden rumbling akin to that of the cave-in, only it sounded…wet. The Tamers turned upstream in time to see a huge wave of water rush at them. Yelling with surprise (and fear, for those who didn't like water that much), the Tamers tried to scramble out of the river, but the wave was too fast for them. It hit them with a sudden force that dazed most of them. Those that could think clearly were in a state of panic as the waters rushed them downstream.

*          *          *

            Mikara…

            Mikara, wake up. Wake up.

            Come on, Mikara. You can do this. Wake up.

            NOW.

            Mikara sat bolt-upright, rigid with the memories of being washed downstream by a violent flood. She had tried to warn them…but they insisted on staying in the river. Josh had pushed her…but everything after that was blurry.

            "Mikara! You're awake!" cried a voice. It was David.

            "David? Where are we?" she asked.

            The boy shrugged. "I don't know."

            "You're supposed to be the genius."

            "I know, but this location puzzles me. It's like we're underwater, only not, and we're in enormous bubbles."

            It was true. The two of them were floating in separate bubbles in a great blue expanse. There were smaller bubbles that floated to the top in groups, and the light from above danced in intricate patterns through the water. And there were other bubbles similar to their own that held the other Tamers. The Digimon were nowhere to be seen.

            A sudden shadow loomed over them, and they turned around to see a WaruSeadramon glaring at them. "Ah, you're awake," he observed. "What a pleasure it is to finally meet the Tamers I've heard so much about."

            "What do want from us?" asked Mikara. "And where have you taken our Digimon?"

            The WaruSeadramon grinned. "Oh…somewhere. Don't worry. They won't be harmed…yet. For the meanwhile, I suggest you wake up your friends there." He gestured with his tail to the other bubbles. "You might need their help." And the huge serpentine Digimon swam off.

            Mikara hit the inside of her bubble in anger. "Damn it! We're stuck here, and our Digimon have been taken away from us!"

            "Wait," said David. "These are bubbles. Perhaps we can burst them. Try striking yours again, Mikara."

            "Uh, okay…" The girl hit her bubble again, but nothing happened.

            David sat cross-legged in his bubble and stared at the wall, absorbed in his thoughts. After a moment of silence, he took out a needle, took a deep breath, and skewered the bubble wall with the tiny instrument. It popped.

            David swam towards Mikara's bubble and popped hers. They both then swam to the others' bubbles and went through the wall material, waking up the others. When everyone but Lina was awake, they swam to her bubble and went through it.

            "Lina! Lina, wake up!" David exclaimed.

            "Huh…?" his sister muttered. She opened her eyes, then sat up. "Where are we!?"

            "Somewhere underwater, and there's a huge WaruSeadramon around here somewhere," Riley replied.

            "So how do you propose we get outta this mess?" asked Riki.

            Daiki piped up. "Well, since the bubbles can't be popped from the inside without a needle's help, we can roll this bubble wherever we need it and still breathe."

            "Good idea," said Lina. "Let's do it!"