Lashana and Telca own only themselves, Tvashtar, Kadrith, the three dragons and Telca's cat. Every other character belongs to someone that isn't us.




The Elf and The Digimon

Chapter 8 : Stolen Hope

"Oh dear Goddess, I think I ate too much," Lashana groaned as she lay back against the plush chairs cushions, closing her eyes as she rested a hand against her dully aching ribs. A loud belch made her crack an eye open to look at Blackwargreymon as he licked his bowl clean, staring at him until he glanced over at her and blushed.

"Sorry."

"Uh huh."

"It tasted better this time."

"Oh gross!" she cried, chuckling softly when he gave her a sheepish grin. "You're incorrigible."

"I wouldn't talk if I were you," he retorted with a smirk as he dropped the bowl on the floor and sprawled onto his back on the bed, taking up almost the entire space as he stretched, lazily rolling his head to the side in time to see the Elf curl up in the chair, her eyes slowly fluttering closed. "Lashana?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you mean what you said, when you told me you were going to 'get me out of here'?"

"Mmhm."

Frowning at the drowsy mumble, he rose his head a little and smiled. "Are you even fully awake?"

"....no."

"You'd be more comfortable on the couch."

"Mpht."

He chuckled and gingerly pushed himself to his feet, shaking his head as he walked over to her and carefully scooped her into his arms, rumbling when she immediately snuggled closer to him in her sleep. Torn, he glanced from the couch to the bed, then sighed and went to lie her down on the couch, pausing to smooth her hair off of her forehead before draping a blanket over her. I can't risk hurting her if I have another nightmare...

Sighing again, he turned to head back to the bed, only a glimpse of colour out of the corner of his eye stopped him, making him turn to look down at the small square of paper on the table. He knew that these things belonged to Lashana, he had seen her empty her pockets the day before, and he stole a quick glance at her to make sure she was still sleeping before he picked up what had caught his attention, frowning at it curiously. It was a picture. He easily recognised a grinning Lashana as the female on the right, and he figured that the one on the left would have to be the 'Telca' that she talked of.

The woman's long burgundy hair was tied back into an elaborate braid, her purple eyes shining with mirth as she and the Elf posed for whoever was taking the picture, and he smirked when he saw the height difference between the two of them, Lashana being a full foot shorter than her friend. It didn't seem to bother them at all, judging by the picture, and he smiled at the image of the Elf fondly, wondering if he'd get the chance to see her that happy before she left.

Carefully setting the picture down again, he turned his attention to a small slip of folded paper, arching a brow ridge as he unfolded it and read the short note, chuckling when he realised that it was a reminder to herself to call her foster mother before the woman tracked her down and embarrassed her in public.

He had known from the beginning of this odd truce that at one point she'd have to return to her own world, to her home. Truthfully, he didn't fully believe her when she said that she'd rescue him from this world, after all, where could he go? With her, to the Real World? There'd be no place for him there, he'd be just as much of an outcast there as he was here.... though.... he'd have her by his side....

Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he dropped the paper back onto the table and went to lie down on the bed, resting on his side as he gazed over at the sleeping Elf. It surprised him, how close they had become in so short a time, and he found himself admitting that he was becoming rather fond of her.... his first friend. She was the first person that not only treated him like an equal, but was the first person who truly was his equal. Not only had they tied in the battle, but she knew and understood his pain, his loneliness, and on top of that, she had actually answered many of his questions, making him wonder if perhaps, they weren't meant to be tied to one another.

Growling softly, he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, listening to her steady breaths as he mulled over what he now knew. It was clear enough now that he had to find something to give his life meaning, something to look forward to everyday, something that gave him a reason to keep going, but he also knew that he wasn't going to find that in the Digiworld. He had been here too long, too many 'mons knew of him, judged him. He had to find a place where he could start over, a place that he could, maybe, learn to call 'home'.

Sleep was very close to claiming him when a low rumble tugged him back to full consciousness, and he frowned in wary curiosity as he rose and went to the patio doors, looking out and narrowing his eyes when he saw a familiar Jeep drive up to the hotel, a small group of Skullmeramon and a single Skullgreymon following closely. Not here, not now!

Knowing that they had little time, he spun and dropped to one knee next to the couch, reaching out to shake Lashana's shoulder urgently. "Lashana. Lashana, wake up!"

".....wha?"

"I know you're tired, but you have to get up. They're here."

"Huh? What?" The Elf sat up as he surged to his feet and started quickly donning his armour, blinking at him sleepily when he rounded on her afterwards. "Who's here?"

"Arukenimon and Mummymon. And they have other control-spire Digimon with them."

"And this presents an actual problem because? Those two are idiots!"

"I know, trust me, I know. It's not them that pose a threat. Now come on, get your things."

Now fully awake and wondering what had him so worried, she quickly grabbed her stuff off the table and shoved them into her pockets, hopping into her sneakers seconds before the room door exploded inwards, and if Blackwargreymon hadn't yanked her out of the way, the flying door would have taken her head off. "Okay, time to go!"

"Hold on!" he growled at her as he tossed her onto his back and spun to fly out of the closest window, cursing when one chain wrapped itself around his left ankle and another around Lashana's right leg, trying to yank them both back into the room.

"Get off!" Lashana snarled, lobbing a fireball at the form as she tried to free herself from the chain around her leg, raising her gaze at the sound of a low chuckle to glare at the Digimon what was standing on the balcony. A grimace spread over her lips at the sight of the male that had entirely too many muscles, too many chains around himself and a metal facemask that looked like he'd play a good part as a murderous psychopathic stalker.

"Terra Destroyer!"

Well, there goes the hotel, Lashana mused to herself as kicked the remaining piece of chain off of herself and watched the building collapse on itself. Smirking, she turned to study the landscape from where she was clinging to the Mega's back as he flew higher, putting distance between them and the Digimon below. A rather annoyed roar made her wince, and she peered past Blackwargreymon's shoulder armour to stare down at what she could only describe as a walking dinosaur skeleton, it's eerily glowing eye sockets sending a shudder down her spine. "What is that?"

"A Skullgreymon. And those around him are more Skullmeramon's."

"That tells me squat, you do realise this, yes?"

"All you need to know is that they're Ultimates, and I'm a Mega. They won't be around much longer."

"Try to blow up that Jeep while you're at it."

He chuckled and rose his arms, red energy gathering between his palms. "No problem."

Tightening her hold on him so she wouldn't fall off, Lashana took a moment to look down at the others below them, frowning curiously when it seemed that they were waiting for something. They're just standing there. Not attacking at all... why...? Uh oh. Realization struck her, and she twisted to look behind them as a Digimon that looked like a giant grey and black beetle with too many teeth dove at them. "Aw, hell! Blackwargreymon!"

Acting on reflexes honed by dozens of battles, he spun at the yell and quickly rose his Dramon Destroyers, grunting when his opponent slammed into him. Feeling Lashana's arms wrap around his neck from behind, he easily shoved the Okuwamon backwards, giving himself enough space to launch the glowing Terra Destroyer right into it's face and then turning in time to deflect an attack of blue fire from one of the Skullmeramon's below them. I can't fight in the air with Lashana on my back... but there's no where I can land that's safe to leave her...

"Hellfire! More bugs at ten o'clock!"

"What?"

"There!" Lashana pointed east at the ten other grey and black flying bugs that were heading right for them. "Where are they coming from?!"

"Arukenimon must have made them, like she made me."

"But they're not like you! They're.... well, kinda dumb. I mean look, that one just flew into a tree!"

Could it be? That I'm not like the other control spire Digimon? That I'm something.... more?

"Okuwamon! Destroy them!"

Lashana bared her fangs in a silent snarl as she glared down at Arukenimon, who was ordering her Digimon to kill them. "Put me down."

"What? Are you insane?!"

"Only enough to be interesting. Listen, I'm slowing you down up here an I can't weave any spells if I'm hanging on for dear life! Get me on the ground. I'll hold off those morons while you squash those overgrown mosquitoes."

"You can't face all of them on your own!"

"I'll yell if I need help."

"But--" He cut himself off and frowned as he glanced from the flyers in front of him to the others on the ground. No. She's right. I can't fight properly if I'm constantly worried about throwing her off. But we're at a disadvantage. We're both still healing from yesterday, and my armour's not fully mended yet.... "Alright. Hold on."

Grinning, she tightened her hold on him as he dove, slapping him on the shoulder to get his attention moments later. "This is good! Thanks!" Ignoring his shocked protests, she threw herself off of him and fell the last three meters, landing in a crouch admits the tall grasses and chuckling lowly as she straightened and rose her hands. "I'm baaaack! Fireball!"

A smirk spread over Blackwargreymon's lips as he watched her decimate the Skullmeramon's that had been foolish enough to charge her, remembering what it was like to be on the receiving end of that spell. This won't take me long, she'll be alright for a few minutes. Growling softly, he turned his attention back to the Okuwamon that were diving towards him, grinning at their look of fright when he gathered energy into his hands. "Hello."

This is easy! Lashana backflipped to avoid a blaster shot from Mummymon's gun and retaliated with another fireball. She had already dealt with the group of Friday the Thirteenth wannabes, now all that was left were the two wackos and the big skeleton.

"Dark Shot!"

"Eh? Ack! Defence!" She rose her arms and crossed them in front of her face as the Skullgreymon's attack slammed into her shield, buckling it as it sent her skidding backwards, her sneakers leaving shallow trenches in the dirt. Okay. Ow. Shaking her head a little to clear her thoughts, she quickly shot a glance around her before darting into the forest, hearing the skeleton dinosaur's roar of outrage as it followed her.

The roar also caught Blackwargreymon's attention, and he turned as he backhanded one of the Okuwamon aside, leaving it to crash to the ground as he searched for Lashana. Oh no...

"Dynast Brass!"

Relief flooding him at the familiar voice, he darted his gaze over to the forests' edge in time to see her loose the attack from where she was perched in one of the taller trees, and he smiled with pride as he watched the spell trap the Skullgreymon in a glowing red five pointed star before lightning rained down on the Digimon, knocking him out of the fight. Good. She's holding her own. Satisfied that she was alright, he turned back to his remaining opponents, dropping their numbers down to three with a few slashes of his Dramon Destroyers.

"What? No more?" Lashana frowned as she dropped out of the tree and looked around, sighing as she planted her hands on her hips. "Geez, that was hardly a workout."

"Fireball!"

She ducked at the yell and watched as the sphere of fire sailed past her to explode against the ground. Shaking her head sadly, she straightened and looked over at the new Digimon, one that looked like a humanoid made out of pure fire, quirking an eyebrow at him quizzically. "You call that a fireball? That's not a fireball. Now this..." Baring her fangs in a grin, she rose her hands and wove the spell for a full power fireball of her own, seeing the Digimon's eyes widen when he saw the end result of the incantation. "This is a fireball! Here! Catch!"

The Mega that was just finishing off his last attacker glanced towards her as an explosion filled the clearing, chuckling when he saw her standing on the sidelines of it while calmly dusting off her jeans. Unfortunately, she didn't see the danger behind her, and he growled as he knocked the bug aside and grabbed at his shield, throwing it so that it embedded itself into the ground between her and the Digimon that was emerging from the forest. How many control-spire Digimon did Arukenimon make?!

Lashana yelped as something slammed into the ground behind her, spinning around to blink at the black shield in surprise before a blast of fire impacted with it, making her dive down behind it in order to protect herself. I'm pinned.... Frowning, she peeked around the edge of the shield and blinked at the black t-rex look-alike as it coughed up another bought of fire, the light from the flames illuminating the red stripes it had all over it's body. Well, isn't that attractive....not.

"Terra Destroyer!"

"Ack!" She ducked behind the shield as heat and fire washed over it, raising her hands to protect her head as she did so. There was a moment of silence afterward, followed by a soft rumble that made her lower her arms and look up at the familiar form that yanked the shield out of the ground. "Thanks."

"Anytime. Are you--"

Lashana gasped when he cut himself off with a low snarl and scrambled to her feet as he moved to stand beside her, glaring into the forest. Wary, she followed his gaze and paled, shaking as she stared at the huge spider Digimon that emerged into the rapidly fading light, and she staggered backwards as she let out a squeak of fear.

What was that? He turned at the sound and growled softly as he looked at Lashana, eyes widening when he saw that she was staring right at the newly arrived Digimon, a look of sheer terror on her face. Acting on instinct, he dropped into a protective stance in front of her, levelling a glare at the Insect Digimon. "Leave or die."

Nearly in full panic mode, Lashana glanced from the spider to the Mega that was now directly in front of her, Dramon Destroyers raised and glinting dully as he glared at the Digimon in front of them. I hate spiders! Why does it always have to be spiders?!

"Don't worry."

She blinked at those two words, staring at Blackwargreymon in surprise as he lunged forward, barrelling into the other Digimon and attacking it savagely, startling her with the protective ferocity she saw in his eyes. What in the--ack! Her train of thought derailed itself as gnarled, bandaged covered hands grabbed her, hauling her away from the distracted Blackwargreymon before she could regain enough of her senses to scream or attack. Lengths of material curled around her arms, pinning them to her sides as a hand clamped itself over her mouth, muffling her curses as she started to struggle wildly, aiming to at least make it very difficult for Mummymon to carry her anywhere.

"Hold still! Ow! Stop kicking me!" He yelped as her heel connected with his shin again, then grunted, his eyes crossing when she mule-kicked him in the crotch.

Ha! That'll teach ya! Using this to her advantage, she savagely sunk her fangs into his hand, grinning at his cry of pain as he snatched his hand away from her mouth, giving her just the opening she needed. "Get offa me you freak!! Yipe! Hey! Watch where you're grabbing you pervert!!" Now sufficiently annoyed to forget about the spider, she growled and jerked her head back, grimacing as her skull connected with Mummymon's face, not that she complained since it made him release her.

She hit the ground hard and rolled, hopping to her feet only to have them knocked out from under her by the webbing that curled around her ankles. Oh Goddess no....

"You idiot! Can't you handle one stupid human?!" Arukenimon gave Mummymon a scathing glare as the other Digimon sputtered, trying to make excuses. "Shut up and get her into the Jeep before Blackwargreymon realises that we've got her! We can use her to get him to finish destroying those Destiny Stones!"

"Fat chance, bitch!" the Elf snarled defiantly. "He's not your puppet! He won't take orders from you!"

"Oh, but he will." Grinning, Arukenimon reached down and grabbed her by the collar of her tank top, hoisting her off the ground. "You see, you've changed him somehow. He's trying to protect you, and that means that he'll do anything to keep us from killing you.... and that includes doing anything we tell him to do. Mummymon, gag her!"

"Fireb--mfpt!!" Her eyes widened as material covered her lips, muffling the rest of her spell and rendering it useless. Frantically, she kicked at the webbing that was tangled around her ankles, managing to free her legs as she was dragged towards the Jeep, allowing her to lash out with both feet to knock Arukenimon to the ground, the spider's cry of surprise loud in her ears.

"Lashana! Lashana, where are you?!"

The nearby yell spurring her onwards, Arukenimon glared at the human as she pulled herself to her feet, shoving both the girl and Mummymon towards the waiting Jeep. "Hurry up and let's go before he finds us!"

"Too late! Terra Des--"

"Ah, ah, ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you," Mummymon taunted as he held the human in front of himself and nuzzled the barrel of his gun against her throat, ignoring the muffled curses from her as he did so. "My trigger-finger might not like it."

Blackwargreymon's eyes narrowed as he glared at them, a dangerous anger rising in him. "You're both dead."

"I don't think so, not now that you're convinced that you have a heart," Arukenimon drawled, reverting back into her human guise as she did so. "Especially not when your... feelings," she spat the word out tauntingly, "prevent you from attacking while we have the human."

Call me 'Human' one more time psycho-bitch and Blackwargreymon's not going to be the only one who's going to pound you! Lashana snarled into her gag and sent a look of death at Arukenimon, grunting when the gun was pressed harder against her throat.

"....what do you want?"

Mummymon grinned, knowing that they had the Mega right where they wanted him. "The Destiny Stones, all in little pieces. Then, maybe, we'll consider letting her go."

Realising what they were doing, the Elf jerked her gaze over to Blackwargreymon and shook her head frantically, her eyes widening in horror when he ignored her and instead growled an agreement to Arukenimon. No! He's right back where he started! She screamed and fought to get free, ignoring the gun completely as she shot a look of 'are you insane?!' to the Mega, yelping when the butt of the gun slammed into her ribs, dropping her to the ground.

Reeling, she was dimly aware of Blackwargreymon's enraged snarl as a familiar barrel was pressed against her temple, and her breath hissed out between clenched teeth as she glared at the ground in front of her, listening to them warn the Mega to stay back. Hands grabbed the bindings around her torso then, roughly lifting her and tossing her into the back of the Jeep, the treatment knocking the air from her lungs and leaving her dazed and disoriented, her vision swimming before the butt of the gun impacted with her temple.