Chapter Twenty-Three

Challenge 2: Underwater

            Daiki stopped walking and just sat on the bubble's inside. "We've been rolling this thing for how long?"

            Lina looked down at her watch. "Almost an hour."

            "No wonder I feel exhausted," grumbled Riku, slumping against the bubble material.

            "Come on, guys! We have to do this!" said Riki. "Otherwise, we're stuck here!"

            "Well…" Jessie poked the top of the bubble. "We could go up."

            Everyone looked up at the shimmering yellow and white of the sun's rays through the water.

            "That's a long way up," Compass observed. "And how do you suggest we get up there?"

            "Er…I haven't figured that out yet."

            Suddenly, WaruSeadramon's distinct shadow loomed over them, and his glaring expression stared at them from the other side of the bubble. "Well, well, it seems that the Tamers are smarter than they look. But not smart enough."

            There was another rumbling, and the waters started to churn and flow as if a might hurricane was sweeping over the land. The bubble, strong as it was, got caught in the rush of waves and was sucked into WaruSeadramon's great palace. The huge serpent followed them, unperturbed by the violence above and around, and found them in a tall glass chamber. There were two openings near the top that were currently sealed, and a sliding glass panel was also in the center of the ceiling. Three meters away, a similar glass chamber held ten unconscious Rookies.

            "No! Nekomon!" cried Mikara, noticing the sleek black Digimon.

            "Vipomon! Get up, Vipomon!" Riki yelled fruitlessly.

            Compass banged against the glass wall. "You monster!" she roared at WaruSeadramon. "Let them out! Now!"

            The huge Digimon sneered. "Like I would. Besides, it would be fun watching you drown to death. Of course, I must give you one hour before the water fills these chambers. Too bad. But it's not like you'll get out, anyway. You're too big to fit through the holes, and the panels only unlock from the outside. And all your Digimon are unconscious." He grinned. "Too bad. Well, I must go now. I'll be back in one hour to collect your limp corpses and add them to my collection."

            Eerie laughter hung in the water and WaruSeadramon turned and swam away. The water holes slid open a little and water gushed in, slowly but steadily. The same happened to the Digimon's chamber.

            "Great," Riku grumbled. "Surrounded by water outside and inside. How peachy can it get?"

            Riley tilted her head back to look up. "There's gotta be some way out. Maybe one of us could pick these locks."

            "Even if we could," said Josh, "there's no way me or Daiki could reach that panel."

            "Daiki or I," Mikara corrected.

            Lina shook her head. "I don't believe this. We're stuck in a dangerous situation and we can't get out? Come on! Stop being so dispirited! We'll get out. Daiki, Josh—can either of you swim?"

            Josh shook his head.

            Daiki nodded. "I can dog paddle."

            "That's…not exactly what she meant, Daiki," said Jessie.

            "Riley, can you unlock that panel?" asked Lina.

            The girl shrugged. "Maybe. Why? What's your plan?"

            "We'll wait for the water to rise up enough, and then you can reach up and unlock it.  Of course, all of us will have to tread water, take a big gulp before we push open the panel, swim out, and unlock the Digimon's chamber."

            "That will take longer than it seems," David commented. "How about this idea…" And he told them his plan. Everyone agreed it was better than Lina's, and it provided less dangers.

*          *          *

            Daiki twisted the match so the last peg snapped into place. "All right! I got it!" he called down.

            "Great, Daiki," Riki grated. "Hurry up and open it. You, Josh, and the girls are getting really heavy now…"

            "Hey!" Jessie poked him in the shoulder, balancing easily on just a hand and her two knees. "I'm not weighing you down at all!"

            "Fine…I stand corrected."

            All ten of them were stacked up, in a sense. David, Riki, and Jessie were at the bottom, since they were thought to be the strongest. Next came Lina and Mikara, then Riley and Compass, then Riku and Josh, then Daiki.

            "It's a good thing this box isn't as tall as we thought it was," said the black-haired boy as he carefully started to slide the panel to the left. "Ready guys? On the count of three, take a deep breath. One…" The panel slid over more, and water gushed in, drenching everyone a bit. "Two…" More water came pouring down. "Three!" In one quick motion, Daiki slid the panel off and took a deep breath. Water immediately flooded the chamber, but all of the Tamers were ready.

            As Riki, Jessie, and Lina pulled Daiki to the next chamber, the others brought those who could not swim to the surface. The four below them worked furiously. Daiki swiftly unlocked the panel and squeezed through, quickly closing the panel so the water wouldn't come and drown the still-unconscious Digimon.

            "Tetramon! Sytamon! Vipomon!" Daiki yelled, effectively waking up the Digimon. "Terriermon! Is that you, Petalmon?" He counted the Digimon. "Wait—where's Patamon?"

            The winged pig-like Digimon landed atop his head. "I'm right here," he squeaked.

            Daiki nodded. "Let's go."

            With the Digimon's help, he reached the ceiling again and slid the panel open. The eleven beings rose to the surface, but on their way, a bolt of electricity sliced through the water where Daiki's head way just a split second before. WaruSeadramon floated just a few meters away, visibly angry.

            "You're not getting away!" he hollered, letting off another bolt. Tetramon pushed his Tamer away, only to get electrified.

            At Daiki's silent cry, the waters churned around and around the Tamer and the Digimon. A miniature whirlpool appeared, and Daiki and the Digimon seemingly hovered in the center of it all. WaruSeadramon stared in outrage.

            "What power is this!?" he screamed, ramming the whirlpool. But a sudden brilliance surrounded the eddy, and WaruSeadramon tumbled head over tail away from the vortex.

            "What's happening?" Morglormon asked quietly.

            "Daiki! Go now!" said a voice, though it reverberated in all their minds. "I have opened a path to the surface, but my powers cannot hold it for long. Go now!"

            Nekomon stood confidently by herself, glowing with a sapphire blue light—the same light that surrounded the whirlpool. She opened her almond-shaped eyes and looked right at the boy. "Go. We will hold it until you are safe on Whamon's back."

            Daiki nodded, took Tetramon in his arms, and seemingly floated to the surface with the other Digimon (besides Nekomon). Whamon was waiting there with the other Tamers on his back. Daiki and the Digimon scrambled up and into the others' arms. There was much yelling and crying and hugging.

            But Mikara stood in front of Whamon's blowhole, the massive stream of water spraying her back. "All is well," said the voice. "I'm coming back."

            A pillar of water shot out from the whirlpool, and its violent waters stopped circling and became calm. The water column splashed onto Whamon's back in front of Mikara and coalesced in Nekomon. Mikara knelt down and hugged her Digimon.

            "Nekomon…"

            The cat-like Digimon purred softly. "We are now safe, Mikara. You needn't worry."

*          *          *

            Strikemon stretched out on the broad limb of a gigantic tree on the bank of the Judgment River. He was an orange dragon-type Digimon—one of the last of his near-extinct subtype. A black skull was tattooed on his left shoulder, and the traditional yellow slash mark of his clan was painted on his right shoulder. A red bandana was tied around his right upper arm, half-covering the clan mark. A revolving blaster—similar to the handheld revolver of Earth, only with laser blasts instead of bullets—hung loosely in its holster at his belt. He was an assassin and a loyal partner, though his job had taken a turn to 'personal servant' when he and his Tamer entered the Digital World.

            But even a personal servant has his fun, as Strikemon soon found out. Because of his Mistress' power, he was soon the fastest, strongest, and toughest Digimon in the Known Lands. Of course, there were still others more powerful than he was, but they were beyond his reach in the Forbidden Territory.

            But he still had the pleasures of watching and destroying all who displeased his Mistress.

            And Strikemon was inwardly laughing as WaruSeadramon cowered before the thirteen-year-old human girl.

            "You foolish Digimon!" the Mistress roared. "How could you have been so weak as to let them get away like that? You were in your own realm, yet a whirlpool created by a simple Rookie threw you off-balance. I am disgraced by your presence and your idiocy! One does not charge into battle alone, WaruSeadramon. One seeks aid of those worthy for the cause. But you are as worthy as you are minute in size."

            The serpentine Digimon hid his snout in the water as a sign of surrender. "I promise—I'll do better next time. They were just too crafty. I didn't think they were that smart."

            "You idiot! Never underestimate your opponents, no matter how small or weak they seem to be. What one lacks in strength, he makes up with intellect."

            "I will remember the next time I challenge them."

            The Mistress glared at WaruSeadramon. "There won't be a next time."

            Strikemon felt it coming. He could feel it crawling up his spine—that sudden chill whenever someone was about to die. He'd grown used to it; it was his job to dispose of the pathetic fool, anyway.

            Then came the command that he had been waiting for.

            "Strikemon!"

            The dragon-like Digimon jumped from his tree, his hand reflexively dropping to the loaded blaster at his belt.

            The Mistress turned back at WaruSeadramon. "Tell me, snake—what happens to the fool who displeases me?"

            Red eyes widening, the WaruSeadramon nestled deeper into the Judgment River's water. "I—I promised to do better—"

            "Better is not enough, coming from you." She smiled then, though it looked like an evil, shrewd smirk. "Goodbye, WaruSeadramon."

            That was Strikemon's cue. Faster than the eye could blink, he whipped out his gun and fired once. The laser shot burned a smoking hole in WaruSeadramon's forehead. The huge water snake's eyes glazed over, and he vanished, his data flowing on the water's surface.

            Strikemon blew the smoke from his gun's muzzle, twirled it deftly in his taloned hand, and slid it into its holster. "That was the cleanest shot I've fired. Ever."

            The human girl turned and walked off, her hands folded behind her back. "Come, Strikemon. We must watch the Tamers as they head for the third challenge."