In the deep, deep blackness, the blackness of the void, 'neath the
parched, thirsting lands where no thing remains free. the Dark Lord glared
suspiciously at a screen. It showed a sandy beach with lapping waves and
sunny skies. Above was a forest on a hill, and it was this he was watching.
Somehow those kids were still free, and still alive. He growled
thoughtfully - they were an annoyance and a puzzle, but they offered no
threat. They were on the wrong side of the ocean. For now, he was attending
the testing of his new Dark Gems, of which he was very proud. One thing
angered him, though - his Evil Emperor had been dispatched on a mission to
at last capture the original Digidestined, and had not yet come back. The
Dark Lord uttered a high-pitched, shrill, painful grow to the ears, like a
cat in pain. Soon, he would have the correct formula. And when that fateful
moment came, he wanted those Digidestined.
Chapter 9 - Lost at sea
"Hey guys, I think I see something up ahead!" said Falmon excitedly. Leviomon broke off his happy babbling to join her. "Hm, yes, I think I see a glimmer up ahead, look KT!" He beckoned to his partner and the others, who approached at their own pace. "Look look, can you see through there, a kind of glitter through the trees? I'm hungry!" In his usual manner, he suddenly switched to something completely different. KT peered through the treetrunks - the digimon were right, there was something sparkling up ahead. As she caught sight of it, she felt a strange energy flow through her briefly, invigorating and refreshing. "Ooooh, I know what it is, feel that!" Leviomon cried. Kittamon trotted up to them, sniffed the air, twitched her whiskers, waved her tails. Aramon walked beside her. "I don't feel anything," she said. Kittamon closed her eyes then opened them again. "Nope, me neither," she said with absolute certainty. Falmon shook her head. "What is it, then, Leviomon?" Asked Paul. "None of us can feel it, and I can't even see it." "It's water! Yay! I can't wait to go swimming for the first time, hunting small fish digimon, watching out for big fish digimon, diving in the waves." Leviomon had scampered ahead, and his voice echoed faintly up to them as he disappeared into the thinning trees. KT laughed and followed - she wasn't so sure about diving, but she was definitely keen to join in any swimming.
KT stopped still, mouth open in a delighted grin. She had reached a low cliff, more of a sand dune, with steep, sandy slopes running down to a golden beach below. The sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze stirred the long dunegrass around her bare legs. She giggled at its tickling touch.
Strains of laughter floated down to her, and she turned around. just in time to see Mossmon, Kittamon and Aramon racing each other down the hill. She laughed at the sight of Jake, Falmon and the others frantically waving their arms and jumping up and down to caution their digimon about the drop. or wait a minute.
Too late, she realised that in fact they were cautioning her about the drop, and about the digimon careering down the hill at top speed towards her! Aramon tried to stop, but Kittamon tripped over her, and they both went flying into Mossmon, who was gliding just above the ground. All three of them tumbled helplessly into KT, and they all went sliding and rolling down the dune.
The world was full of sand! Whirling, getting in mouth, nose, ears, clothes. sliding down, completely out of control! KT tried to fling herself away, but was tangled up with the digimon, and so just keep on falling. Jake and Falmon were the first to reach the clifftop, out of breath and anxious; though Breddy, Ali and Paul were not far behind. Ben toddled along as fast as he could, but could not really keep up with the older kids. There were a few seconds of calling down to the gold heap that was the digimon and KT, then at last their fears were forgotten. A pile of sand was shaking, and it erupted into a sand-caked KT, laughing and coughing alternately, standing like some sort of sand monster. Around her Kittamon, Aramon and Mossmon struggled out the sand, where they had been totally buried, and shook themselves off sheepishly.
Jake smiled, then laughed out loud. He exchanged a sly glance with Falmon, who gasped in alarm, then recovered herself and winked broadly.
With a loud, yodelling yell that echoed for miles (or so KT assumed), he and Falmon took a running leap, soaring over the edge of the cliff, laughed and screaming at the same time. Ben chuckled with amusement, and lowered himself on to his rear to slide down as if on a sledge. Paul looked at Breddy and Ali, raising his eyebrows. They shook their heads and smiled wryly, walking around to a place where it was a little less steep.
KT felt like she couldn't move, she was so covered in sand. All she could do was watch in horror as the screaming, flailing forms grew larger and larger, rolling toward her. Not again, she thought dismally.
Fifteen minutes later, Leviomon had managed to persuade them all to join him in the sea. It was icy cold, but the sun was so warm that they didn't mind. KT and Jake dived in gladly, washing themselves all over to get rid of the sand plastered onto them. Jake even tried gargling with the salt water to clean out his mouth; KT watched him splutter in disgust, and decided to give that particular experience a miss.
Kittamon, Mossmon and Falmon were stretched out in the sun. None of them liked water, indeed Falmon loathed it. But they watched lazily as their friends played in the sea, gaining much amusement from their antics.
The humans were as clumsy in water as they were on land, though KT was a graceful swimmer. They splashed each other and played Shark, diving underwater to creep up on an unsuspecting victim. Aramon was no great swimmer, but she still enjoyed doggy-paddling in the surf. Leviomon, though, simply stole the show, leaping and twirling, diving far down to shoot out of the water and spray them all, using the flat of his tail blade to sent miniature tidal waves over the human's heads. KT would sometimes lunge down trying to catch him by the tail as he glided past; but she never could, and he would then leap onto her from behind to duck her.
Falmon envied him, in a way - she more than just hated water, she was terrified of it. As she was a fire digimon, this made sense. Water had even been known to kill certain fire digimon in the past. Still, she couldn't help but wish, just then, that she was a water digimon too.
She sighed and turned away, squinting over the waves. Predictably enough, far off to her right was a dark cloud, full of swirling shapes and mysterious shadows.
"Ben?" She called, looking around for the toddler. He had been playing in the waves, but even as she said his name he was walking towards her. He gave her an enquiring look, sticking his sandy, salty thumb into his mouth. She grimaced in disgust, then asked him: "Is that where the Dark Lord is?" She pointed to the cloud with a long, black claw. Ben followed her gaze, then shook his head. She frowned; he turned and pointed, in all sincerity, to the left. Falmon sighed in confusion. KT seemed to think this kid had powers of navigation; but where he was indicating was nothing whatsoever, except lapping waves and a bright, hot sun. "Never mind," she said wearily, and lay back down for a doze.
The sky had turned a delicate shade of orange-rose, when Leviomon, KT, Jake and Ali finally emerged from the sea (Aramon, Breddy and Paul had crawled out half an hour ago). They flopped on the sand, panting, beside their friends - all but Leviomon, who slid up to them like a serpent, and curled up comfortably, for once too tired and happy to talk.
"Now wait a minute," Jake said. KT groaned - he was going to be Responsible. He glared at her. "I know we're all pretty pooped, but before we go to sleep we need to figure out our plans for tomorrow. I.e., we need to decide which way to go." As one, they all turned and looked at the bank of dark clouds over the land mass on the right. Falmon kept quiet. Leviomon twitched his tail in agreement, his eyes half-closed. "Big, black clouds, rumbling thunder, gotta be the Dark Lord. I like the sea. It's very wet. I love swimming, do." he yawned, and, unable to stay awake any longer, closed his eyes. Breddy rolled her eyes. "Phewf! Now that's a relief!" She said gladly. KT let out a squeal of outrage, but before she could advance Jake intervened. "Come on, it's too late in the evening to fight. Are we all agreed?" He waved his arm in the direction of the clouds. There was a unanimous: "Yes!" And then, quiet but firm, there was, "No." KT looked down. It was Ben, obstinately facing out to sea, to the left. She sighed - it was a difficult situation. "Look, Ben, I know you have a good sense of direction, but. sometimes, we all make mistakes, yeah?" She followed his stubborn gaze. "There's nothing out there but ocean. I think we should trust our instincts on this one." Even as she said it, she felt it was wrong. Her instincts were screaming otherwise. Ben looked at her with his big, deep blue eyes, and she knew in her heart she believed him. But. at the same time, there was nothing out there. And how were they to travel across water anyway? She shook her head and turned away.
"He'll see sense in the morning," she said to the others, not quite able to look them in the eye. Leviomon was watching her intently from beneath lids that appeared closed, but had really left a slit open. Jake nodded. "Now let's get some rest."
They were woken by Jake and Falmon prodding each of them and yelling, "Come on, you lazy lot! Get up, we have to keep moving!" KT groaned as Jake nudged her. Through blurry eyes, she saw that the sun had not quite risen yet. With an exhausted moan, she fell back on the sand. "Hey, we've got a world to save, here. KT, at this rate, we're all doomed!" She sat up and gave Jake a Look, at which he merely grinned and put his arm around her. "I know, it's tough, playing in water. hey!" KT had elbowed him, and now stood up with a "Humph!".
It was not long, though, before they were all up and whining about the terrible hollowness inside their stomachs. KT felt hers gingerly; it growled. "Ugh." She said. To say any more would cost too much valuable nutrition energy. "So. hungry." Paul croaked. This reminded KT of water, if possible something which she was even more desperate for than food. She licked her parched lips and looked at Jake, who was already beginning to trudge off to the cloud bank. "Wait," she called, turning to Leviomon. "Leviomon, do you think you could feel fresh water?" He nodded. "Of course! Why, there's a stream near here, if you want to go there. I can see white horses." KT looked vaguely around to see what was distracting him - the waves were rougher today, and their crests did indeed resemble leaping, frothing white horses. Her gaze was for some reason caught by these unearthly beasts of imagery, and for a moment her heart stopped. Recognition? Understanding? Longing? She did not know the feelings that flooded her mind in that instant, but in the next second they were gone, and she turned back to Leviomon. "Where? A stream? Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" She exploded, her voice cracking with the dryness of her throat. Leviomon shrugged. "You didn't ask."
The sand was hard to walk through, especially back over the huge dunes. Every step KT took, she seemed to sink back two steps. By the time they reached the other side, she felt like falling onto the grassy ground and kissing it for its firmness. But she didn't, which was just as well, because it was still covered with patches of sand here and there, and anyway it's not a good idea to kiss ground. Leviomon trotted ahead, still chattering merrily to Falmon, who walked beside him. KT noticed that they were actually going only just slightly to the right of the way they had come, and wished again that Leviomon had brought this up previously.
The stream, when they found it, was cool and clear. It tasted disgusting, especially as none of them had had any food for a while; but still KT plunged her head into it and gulped down vast mouthfuls. Leviomon and Aramon splashed about in it briefly, but Jake did not give the gang much time before announcing they were off again, and starting back on the trail. "Um. aren't we going. that way?" Ali said timidly, pointing to the clouds. Jake turned pink. "Oh yes. Ahem. That would be the way." They all laughed, and walked after him. All except for Ben. "No, no! Tha' way!" He cried angrily. KT sighed. "Ben." Breddy turned around in frustration. "KT, this is getting silly. We're going this way. If he doesn't want to, he seems to be able to find his own way back, I'm sure." KT was torn between her friends and. well, and this complete stranger.
At that moment, Mossmon called down to them from where he was gliding. "Guys, I think you ought to take a look at this!" Jake craned his neck. "What is it, Mossmon?" The green digimon flapped back to the beach in answer. Jake ground his teeth - they were moving backwards and forwards, and by the time they walked to where Mossmon was hovering they would have spent nearly the entire morning getting back to where they started. There had better be a good reason for this, he thought bitterly.
There was. KT saw it from the top of the dunes, glinting at the water's edge. With wide eyes, she hurried down the slope sideways like a crab in order to keep her balance. Once at the bottom, she sprinted across the sands, Leviomon beside her, hoping the tide would not carry it away. At last, gasping for breath, she bent down and picked it up. Leviomon sniffed it, and recoiled in disgust. "It's a precious stone of some sort!" She called breathlessly to Jake, who was pounding toward her. He gently took it and weighed it in his hand. "This thing's probably very valuable," he said. KT nodded, lost for words at the sight of it. "It's so pretty." It was a dark, shiny, obsidian black, about the size of an egg but flatter. In shone brightly in the sunlight, gleaming wetly even though it felt dry. Falmon stroked it gingerly. "Indeed, this is no ordinary stone," she said. There was a tone of darkness in her voice that made Jake ask, "What do you mean?" Leviomon answered for her. "This stone has a smell, an air, of darkness and great evil around it," he said gravely. "It can only have come from one being." "The Dark Lord." KT nodded. Leviomon's eyes grew large and his mouth fell open in sudden realisation. "But. that means. Ben!" He trilled, looking around for the boy. Ben appeared from right behind him, though how he got there was anyone's guess. He stared at the blue stone, then looked out to sea. And then he smiled broadly. "Excuse me, but could someone explain what is going on here?" KT said. Leviomon began, eager for an excuse to talk with everybody actually listening. "It's the currents, you see. This gem must have come from wherever the Dark Lord is based. But it could not have got around that peninsula over there - the currents go off to one side. Therefore, it did not come from where we thought the Dark Lord is. In fact."- he dipped his tail in the lapping waves- ".it came from across the sea, where Ben said we should go." KT gaped first at him, then at the small boy now standing with a quietly satisfied smile on his face. "Tol' ya so," he said.
It was agreed that they would go across the sea by raft; KT would ride ahead on Mermon to scout out any trouble. Falmon was not at all keen on the plan, but there was no other way - too many of them could not fly or were not strong-winged enough. So Mossmon digevolved into Wodemon, and soon felled three trees with his powerful fists. He then snapped all the branches off and broke their trunks in half, making six smooth logs that the kids could work with. Zappamon ranged over long distances to find suitable vines, doing so in a notably short time. Amparamon used her metal horns to shape four spare branches for crude paddles; Oramon used flame to liquefy sap and varnish the underside of their raft. The humans used the vines to tie it all together, using half-forgotten skills they had learned years ago at scout clubs.
Finally, KT stood back and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She gazed at their creation in admiration. It was easily big enough to carry all eleven of them (though not with the digimon in Champion forms), and sturdy enough to outlast a storm (though how many people would be left clinging onto it by the end was up to them). It was already beginning to get dark, and Jake had decided to camp there for the night. They were to set off at first light the next morning, fair weather or foul.
"I would suggest taking supplies, but we don't have any," she said, a little downcast. Ali shook her head. "No, but we should still take some spare vine - that's always useful. And we'll have to figure out a way of carrying water from that stream, too." Aramon scratched her head thoughtfully - she had de-digevolved when her task was done. Transporting water without any waterproof material? Now that would be tricky.
As it happened, the next day dawned bright and clear, with barely a breeze skimming the water. The gang took heart in this, and with the help of Mermon launched their raft into the tiny breakers. KT thanked the Digital World for giving her tight clothing, and sat astride Mermon's neck, holding on to his horned helmet. Falmon insisted Jake carry her aboard the raft, but the others - excepting Mossmon - waded out to it. KT helped Ben scramble up onto the thick logs, and then Jake, Ali, Breddy and Paul each grabbed a paddle. They set out with a new determination and hope in their hearts, in the spirit of saving the world.
"Hold on tight," Mermon said to KT. She gripped his horns excitedly. Then they were off, at a speed KT had never been at before, riding the gentle waves with an invigorating, rocking motion. "Normally, I would travel underwater," said Mermon. "But I think you would find that a little hard to breathe. I like swimming this way, anyway - it's fun." KT nodded. She preferred this to the way a motorboat ploughed through waves - here, they were moving with them, leaving barely a trace behind them. KT looked back - the others were far behind, and diminishing rapidly. She waved, nearly falling off as Mermon sailed from the peak of a wave and crashed back down in the trough. They were briefly underwater, but this did not slow down the digimon in the slightest, and they were in the air again on the next wave. The sea was getting rougher. KT spluttered as they came up. "Mermon, why are we going so far ahead?" "I've got a feeling there's more to the story of that stone than we know!" Mermon replied grimly. "It stank of restriction, captivity, control. Also of a water digimon of some sort. I would very much like to find and meet this water digimon - it would, I think, reveal many hidden answers to our questions." KT thought about this, then frowned determinedly. She could not remotely sense any of these things on the stone, but she trusted her partner.
By mid-afternoon, even Jake was beginning to tire. Falmon had taken over from Paul, but the other digimon could not hold an oar properly, and Ben was not strong enough. Jake gazed up at the sun, wiping sweat from his eyes to do so. It was a white-hot fireball, radiating merciless heat, the clouds growing ever thinner.
A lone seabird digimon wheeled high above the water. It cried just once; then sailed away. The heat was too much for it.
Below, the sea was glassy and almost completely still. A log raft floated on the spot. There was no land nor clouds nor other digimon in sight - and the horizon was a long way off.
It was two days since the raft had set out from the shore. Two days with no food and no drink, in the baking heat, surrounded by salt water.
Five kids and four digimon lay sprawled on the raft. They looked almost dead - in fact, had it not been too hot even for scavengers, they would have probably been eaten as carrion. But one of them still had his eyes half-open.
He was Jake, and he was listlessly watching Ben. The child's blue- grey hair lay flat and lifeless on his head - all of their hair had grown longer and stragglier without shampoo or comb, just salty air and water. He didn't know why he was watching Ben, but he was. Perhaps it was his lifeline - if he didn't focus on something, he would become completely out of focus, in a private reverie, like the others. The paddles had been lost the day before, when they passed through a patch of rougher water.
And then, one of Ben's eyes opened. Just halfway at first, but then both eyes opened all the way, revealing the bright, sapphire-blue intensity beneath. Jake felt unable to move his cracked lips to speak, so continued to watch. Ben propped himself up on stubby arms, looking dazed and uncertain. He peered out to sea - Jake followed his gaze. Nothing. or was there?
At first, it was just a dark splodge, a speck growing. larger, but so gradually that Jake wouldn't have noticed if there wasn't nothing else to concentrate on. But grow it did, until it split into three splodges - one big one and two little ones. He continued to watch them, and Ben managed to stand up. There was something moving on top of the biggest one. a person! Someone waving! Then Jake knew what it was. It was KT and Mermon, returned at last, and just in time. Overcome with fatigue but having seen this small miracle, he fell into the same deep dream that the others were in, and knew no more.
He was woken by the most glorious method in any universe - the old cold-water-in-the-face. He gasped and opened his mouth wide, gulping down as much of it as possible. From above him there came a delighted giggle, then to his disappointment the water flow was stopped. Instead, something big, warm and laughing was thrust upon him. It was KT. "Jake, oh, thank goodness you're all right!" She cried into his shoulder, hugging him tightly. "I thought. when I saw you, and the others. the others!" And she rapidly regained her composure, standing up and helping Jake to shakily do the same. Jake looked around - Leviomon was depositing water from a plastic bottle over Falmon, who moaned and pushed it away. Two rugged, dolphin-like digimon were floating in the water nearby, watching with much interest. "Those are Dolphmon," said KT. "The stone came from one of them. I'll tell you in a bit." This made Jake eager to rouse the others - he was curious about the stone. Three more bottles lay on the raft. He and KT each grabbed one and splashed water over everyone else. Breddy tried to drink the remaining bottle, but Ali stopped her. "We don't know how long these have got to last," she pointed out. Breddy agreed miserably, and they shared between them the dregs of KT's bottle to drink. Falmon got them all seated in a circle, and KT explained. "Leviomon and Falmon were right - the stone was evil, and did come from the Dark Lord. So we are definitely going in the right direction. In fact, it was made by him. The Dark Lord wanted to create a new, improved version of Dark Rings - what he ended up with was this. He had made lots of them, and though he has used them on digimon like Dolphmon here, he has yet to try them out for their more ambitious purpose." She paused for breath. "The theory behind them indicates that one is used on digimon and human partner. From then on, they are controlled by the Dark Lord, and can duo-digevolve." "What's that?" Asked Paul. "The human digevolving with the digimon to form a new digimon, a new level, stronger than Ultimate and maybe even Mega. And that digimon is under the Dark Lord's control as long as the Dark Gem is fixed to it. These Dolphmon do not know much more, but they have heard rumours that the Dark Lord already has several human-digimon pairs in captivity, but does not wish to waste Dark Gems on them while they would still not be missed when they went back home. Something about forged authorised absences back in our world. He's looking for kids that made their own way here, that already are missed. Kids like us." There was silence. Then Jake said, "Well then, what we have to do is clear. He must be stopped, and fast! Dolphmon, can you pull us along, d'ythink?" "Yep, easy!" "Use that vine, we can't just use our teeth, you know!" They answered cheerily. Jake nodded. "Breddy, Ali, Paul, figure out how to attach the ropes to the raft. Make it firm! KT, we'll make the harnesses, and you can put them on." They all got straight to work, their thirst driving them if not the threat to their world and this one. Paul unravelled the vine, passing it to Ali, who had already found a way of tying it to the front of the raft, at the left side. On the right, Breddy mirrored the knot she used - they had to be in exactly the same place, or they would create drag. KT and Jake each worked on a simple harness, which was soon ready. It slipped over the Dolphmon's heads with no trouble, and there it stayed, once KT had tied the last knot. Paul threw the ropes to her that were fastened to the raft, and she deftly caught them and secured the Dolphmon. "OK, mush, gee up, a. whoa!" Jake was thrown off his feet in mid-command as the Dolphmon lashed their tails and tore away. He sat up and looked around in amazement - they were travelling as fast as a car on a freeway, ploughing straight through any waves that dared oppose them. KT had scrambled aboard just in time, and came to lean against him, worn out. Leviomon curled up at her feet, and Falmon followed his example - they would need some rest before long. Jake let out an exultant "Woohoo!" at their pace. At this rate, they would get there in no time at all.
It was only two hours later when they reached their final destination. One minute, it was not there. the next, it was all around them. Great, black stone, turrets far above, eerie signs savagely carved into the walls. The sky was clouded over with darkness, like an eternal night. Far above, Airdramon soared, their harsh voices echoing down to the gang. Aramon cowered on the raft. "They'll see us for sure!" She wailed. The Dolphmon shook their heads. "No, they can't. We came in the back way. The Dark Lord probably assumed you died out on the ocean. He won't know we're here until it's too late." They turned back to the channel, swimming slower now. KT gulped. "Too late for him. or for us?" She whispered to Jake.
The Dolphmons found them a cave to shelter in - they all needed to rest, and it was only now that they were here that they realised they had no plan whatsoever for actually defeating the Dark Lord.
The rain fell in squalling sheets, lashing into rock, earth and KT. Her teeth chattered, her skin shivered, her numb fingers barely held on to Mermon. They had volunteered for a reconnoitring mission, to scout out the waters around the Fortress. The weather had, admittedly, been better then; but the main reason she had wanted to go was because of the atmosphere back in the cave. They had debated, talked, argued, thought, and almost fought over what to do now they were here. Clearly, they had not included this in their plans (if they actually had any plans, which KT was beginning to doubt). The Fortress was huge, with no way of getting into it except the front gate, patrolled by digimon evil in their very nature - no Dark Rings could be broken from these. Even once inside, they did not know where the Dark Lord was hiding, and six human kids and their rookie digimon were rather obvious in a place like that. It had made sense, then, to go out and perhaps try and find another way in.
But now, all KT wanted was to get into somewhere warm and dry. And that was why, when Mermon sensed the underwater cave, she absolutely refused to accompany him down there. "Mermon, I'm freezing, I'm wet, I'm gonna get pneumonia if I stay out here much longer. I'm not diving into an even more freezing, wet. arrghglb." Another wave broke over her head, drenching her in yet more icy saltwater. She groaned miserably and leaned over Mermon's neck, wrapping her arms around him and trying to shelter behind his horns. Mermon had been gradually sinking down, and now, grinning broadly, he shot into the air, doing a beautiful arc in the wild waves. KT clung on grimly, barely visible as she flattened herself against him. And then they were beneath the waves, fearsome currents trying to drag her from her partner, water making her brown hair flow behind her like a mermaid's - only mermaids didn't have their eyes tightly shut, and their hand pinching their nose. KT had always had this problem with diving, and it meant that Mermon had to use his own arm to steady her and hold her on; but seawater up one's nose, as you probably know, is not at all pleasant. Gradually, the waves grew less, and the light got virtually non-existent. KT was bursting for breath. Air! She thought. Mermon, have you forgotten I can't breathe underwater like you? I need AIR! Still the water streamed past her body, numbing her all over. and then they were going up, up. and KT exploded out, her lungs filling with glorious air, her hair plastered over her face so she couldn't see. She felt hard stone beneath her back, and sat up, inhaling as much air as possible. When she swept her hair to one side, she saw Leviomon standing before her. "Come on, come on," he said, "we're in now, look! It's the Fortress, a small hole, I don't know why it even exists - but still, very convenient!" KT stared at him. "How on earth are Jake and the others going to get through?" she wheezed, still getting her breath back. Leviomon tutted and chuckled. "They won't have to, we're here to find out about this place! We can explore the area, it's warm and dry look, try to find out where the Dark Lord's located." "Then I suppose we could try flying to wherever he is, or something," KT said. She looked at the deep pool of dark water they had come from. Going back out there was not an appealing thought. She stood up, watching the water fall from her like lots of miniature waterfalls, and trickle down to the pool. They were in a small cave, and there was light. Hmm. It had to be coming from somewhere. there! A hole in the wall, just big enough for her to crawl through if she lay on her belly. She sighed - at least she couldn't get much dirtier.
She had been wrong, she decided. She was sliding along on her belly, and the tunnel seemed to be getting lower and lower. At least the wetness helped her move smoothly. Leviomon was having no trouble, slithering along like a lizard and chattering happily as he went. "Couldn't half do with some food, seafood would be good. Unless it had prawns in it. Hmm, it seems to be getting lighter, don't you think? Hah, I think I see the end of the tunnel! Light at the end of the tunnel, where did that expression come from I wonder? Smells disgusting. Evil, darkness, menace. Dark Lord, he's close. Hey, I reckon - rumph-" KT had managed to slide forward and clamp her hands around his jaws. If the Dark Lord was near, the last thing she wanted was for him to hear Leviomon announcing their entry.
The light was not bright - it came from a burning torch several metres away from the tunnel entrance - but to KT, who had been in utter blackness underwater, it was fine for seeing by. She squeezed out of the tunnel, dusted herself off (rather pointlessly, since she was still dripping wet), and looked around at her surroundings. This did not take long - it was another tunnel, but a proper one this time. Then she noticed Leviomon's voice - it had stopped, and she wasn't holding him any more. "Leviomon?" She said, and looked around. He was not there. "Leviomon!" she called. There was an ominous silence. Then a gnarled claw clamped down on her shoulder. "Whatchu doin' round 'ere?" A gruff voice demanded. She turned around, stifling a scream. It was a tall, lanky, evil-looking digimon - Skullsatamon, a powerful and feared creature.. Her eyes strayed to what he was holding, and she felt sick. He had Leviomon slung over his shoulder, and was carrying the unconscious digimon by the tail. Hurriedly, she turned back to the digimon. "I, uh. orders from, um." "Whass yer name, human?" "KT," she said. There could be no harm in it at least calling her by her true name. "Who d'ye serve?" The digimon grunted, trying to catch her out. "The Dark Lord," she said, thinking fast. It was the wrong answer. He roared in anger and triumph, shouting: "Hurhur! Do y'now? I serve the Master, but. I guess thass just me!" She turned and tried to run, but didn't even get a step before Skullsatamon swung his heavy fist, and the world went black.
Chapter 9 - Lost at sea
"Hey guys, I think I see something up ahead!" said Falmon excitedly. Leviomon broke off his happy babbling to join her. "Hm, yes, I think I see a glimmer up ahead, look KT!" He beckoned to his partner and the others, who approached at their own pace. "Look look, can you see through there, a kind of glitter through the trees? I'm hungry!" In his usual manner, he suddenly switched to something completely different. KT peered through the treetrunks - the digimon were right, there was something sparkling up ahead. As she caught sight of it, she felt a strange energy flow through her briefly, invigorating and refreshing. "Ooooh, I know what it is, feel that!" Leviomon cried. Kittamon trotted up to them, sniffed the air, twitched her whiskers, waved her tails. Aramon walked beside her. "I don't feel anything," she said. Kittamon closed her eyes then opened them again. "Nope, me neither," she said with absolute certainty. Falmon shook her head. "What is it, then, Leviomon?" Asked Paul. "None of us can feel it, and I can't even see it." "It's water! Yay! I can't wait to go swimming for the first time, hunting small fish digimon, watching out for big fish digimon, diving in the waves." Leviomon had scampered ahead, and his voice echoed faintly up to them as he disappeared into the thinning trees. KT laughed and followed - she wasn't so sure about diving, but she was definitely keen to join in any swimming.
KT stopped still, mouth open in a delighted grin. She had reached a low cliff, more of a sand dune, with steep, sandy slopes running down to a golden beach below. The sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze stirred the long dunegrass around her bare legs. She giggled at its tickling touch.
Strains of laughter floated down to her, and she turned around. just in time to see Mossmon, Kittamon and Aramon racing each other down the hill. She laughed at the sight of Jake, Falmon and the others frantically waving their arms and jumping up and down to caution their digimon about the drop. or wait a minute.
Too late, she realised that in fact they were cautioning her about the drop, and about the digimon careering down the hill at top speed towards her! Aramon tried to stop, but Kittamon tripped over her, and they both went flying into Mossmon, who was gliding just above the ground. All three of them tumbled helplessly into KT, and they all went sliding and rolling down the dune.
The world was full of sand! Whirling, getting in mouth, nose, ears, clothes. sliding down, completely out of control! KT tried to fling herself away, but was tangled up with the digimon, and so just keep on falling. Jake and Falmon were the first to reach the clifftop, out of breath and anxious; though Breddy, Ali and Paul were not far behind. Ben toddled along as fast as he could, but could not really keep up with the older kids. There were a few seconds of calling down to the gold heap that was the digimon and KT, then at last their fears were forgotten. A pile of sand was shaking, and it erupted into a sand-caked KT, laughing and coughing alternately, standing like some sort of sand monster. Around her Kittamon, Aramon and Mossmon struggled out the sand, where they had been totally buried, and shook themselves off sheepishly.
Jake smiled, then laughed out loud. He exchanged a sly glance with Falmon, who gasped in alarm, then recovered herself and winked broadly.
With a loud, yodelling yell that echoed for miles (or so KT assumed), he and Falmon took a running leap, soaring over the edge of the cliff, laughed and screaming at the same time. Ben chuckled with amusement, and lowered himself on to his rear to slide down as if on a sledge. Paul looked at Breddy and Ali, raising his eyebrows. They shook their heads and smiled wryly, walking around to a place where it was a little less steep.
KT felt like she couldn't move, she was so covered in sand. All she could do was watch in horror as the screaming, flailing forms grew larger and larger, rolling toward her. Not again, she thought dismally.
Fifteen minutes later, Leviomon had managed to persuade them all to join him in the sea. It was icy cold, but the sun was so warm that they didn't mind. KT and Jake dived in gladly, washing themselves all over to get rid of the sand plastered onto them. Jake even tried gargling with the salt water to clean out his mouth; KT watched him splutter in disgust, and decided to give that particular experience a miss.
Kittamon, Mossmon and Falmon were stretched out in the sun. None of them liked water, indeed Falmon loathed it. But they watched lazily as their friends played in the sea, gaining much amusement from their antics.
The humans were as clumsy in water as they were on land, though KT was a graceful swimmer. They splashed each other and played Shark, diving underwater to creep up on an unsuspecting victim. Aramon was no great swimmer, but she still enjoyed doggy-paddling in the surf. Leviomon, though, simply stole the show, leaping and twirling, diving far down to shoot out of the water and spray them all, using the flat of his tail blade to sent miniature tidal waves over the human's heads. KT would sometimes lunge down trying to catch him by the tail as he glided past; but she never could, and he would then leap onto her from behind to duck her.
Falmon envied him, in a way - she more than just hated water, she was terrified of it. As she was a fire digimon, this made sense. Water had even been known to kill certain fire digimon in the past. Still, she couldn't help but wish, just then, that she was a water digimon too.
She sighed and turned away, squinting over the waves. Predictably enough, far off to her right was a dark cloud, full of swirling shapes and mysterious shadows.
"Ben?" She called, looking around for the toddler. He had been playing in the waves, but even as she said his name he was walking towards her. He gave her an enquiring look, sticking his sandy, salty thumb into his mouth. She grimaced in disgust, then asked him: "Is that where the Dark Lord is?" She pointed to the cloud with a long, black claw. Ben followed her gaze, then shook his head. She frowned; he turned and pointed, in all sincerity, to the left. Falmon sighed in confusion. KT seemed to think this kid had powers of navigation; but where he was indicating was nothing whatsoever, except lapping waves and a bright, hot sun. "Never mind," she said wearily, and lay back down for a doze.
The sky had turned a delicate shade of orange-rose, when Leviomon, KT, Jake and Ali finally emerged from the sea (Aramon, Breddy and Paul had crawled out half an hour ago). They flopped on the sand, panting, beside their friends - all but Leviomon, who slid up to them like a serpent, and curled up comfortably, for once too tired and happy to talk.
"Now wait a minute," Jake said. KT groaned - he was going to be Responsible. He glared at her. "I know we're all pretty pooped, but before we go to sleep we need to figure out our plans for tomorrow. I.e., we need to decide which way to go." As one, they all turned and looked at the bank of dark clouds over the land mass on the right. Falmon kept quiet. Leviomon twitched his tail in agreement, his eyes half-closed. "Big, black clouds, rumbling thunder, gotta be the Dark Lord. I like the sea. It's very wet. I love swimming, do." he yawned, and, unable to stay awake any longer, closed his eyes. Breddy rolled her eyes. "Phewf! Now that's a relief!" She said gladly. KT let out a squeal of outrage, but before she could advance Jake intervened. "Come on, it's too late in the evening to fight. Are we all agreed?" He waved his arm in the direction of the clouds. There was a unanimous: "Yes!" And then, quiet but firm, there was, "No." KT looked down. It was Ben, obstinately facing out to sea, to the left. She sighed - it was a difficult situation. "Look, Ben, I know you have a good sense of direction, but. sometimes, we all make mistakes, yeah?" She followed his stubborn gaze. "There's nothing out there but ocean. I think we should trust our instincts on this one." Even as she said it, she felt it was wrong. Her instincts were screaming otherwise. Ben looked at her with his big, deep blue eyes, and she knew in her heart she believed him. But. at the same time, there was nothing out there. And how were they to travel across water anyway? She shook her head and turned away.
"He'll see sense in the morning," she said to the others, not quite able to look them in the eye. Leviomon was watching her intently from beneath lids that appeared closed, but had really left a slit open. Jake nodded. "Now let's get some rest."
They were woken by Jake and Falmon prodding each of them and yelling, "Come on, you lazy lot! Get up, we have to keep moving!" KT groaned as Jake nudged her. Through blurry eyes, she saw that the sun had not quite risen yet. With an exhausted moan, she fell back on the sand. "Hey, we've got a world to save, here. KT, at this rate, we're all doomed!" She sat up and gave Jake a Look, at which he merely grinned and put his arm around her. "I know, it's tough, playing in water. hey!" KT had elbowed him, and now stood up with a "Humph!".
It was not long, though, before they were all up and whining about the terrible hollowness inside their stomachs. KT felt hers gingerly; it growled. "Ugh." She said. To say any more would cost too much valuable nutrition energy. "So. hungry." Paul croaked. This reminded KT of water, if possible something which she was even more desperate for than food. She licked her parched lips and looked at Jake, who was already beginning to trudge off to the cloud bank. "Wait," she called, turning to Leviomon. "Leviomon, do you think you could feel fresh water?" He nodded. "Of course! Why, there's a stream near here, if you want to go there. I can see white horses." KT looked vaguely around to see what was distracting him - the waves were rougher today, and their crests did indeed resemble leaping, frothing white horses. Her gaze was for some reason caught by these unearthly beasts of imagery, and for a moment her heart stopped. Recognition? Understanding? Longing? She did not know the feelings that flooded her mind in that instant, but in the next second they were gone, and she turned back to Leviomon. "Where? A stream? Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" She exploded, her voice cracking with the dryness of her throat. Leviomon shrugged. "You didn't ask."
The sand was hard to walk through, especially back over the huge dunes. Every step KT took, she seemed to sink back two steps. By the time they reached the other side, she felt like falling onto the grassy ground and kissing it for its firmness. But she didn't, which was just as well, because it was still covered with patches of sand here and there, and anyway it's not a good idea to kiss ground. Leviomon trotted ahead, still chattering merrily to Falmon, who walked beside him. KT noticed that they were actually going only just slightly to the right of the way they had come, and wished again that Leviomon had brought this up previously.
The stream, when they found it, was cool and clear. It tasted disgusting, especially as none of them had had any food for a while; but still KT plunged her head into it and gulped down vast mouthfuls. Leviomon and Aramon splashed about in it briefly, but Jake did not give the gang much time before announcing they were off again, and starting back on the trail. "Um. aren't we going. that way?" Ali said timidly, pointing to the clouds. Jake turned pink. "Oh yes. Ahem. That would be the way." They all laughed, and walked after him. All except for Ben. "No, no! Tha' way!" He cried angrily. KT sighed. "Ben." Breddy turned around in frustration. "KT, this is getting silly. We're going this way. If he doesn't want to, he seems to be able to find his own way back, I'm sure." KT was torn between her friends and. well, and this complete stranger.
At that moment, Mossmon called down to them from where he was gliding. "Guys, I think you ought to take a look at this!" Jake craned his neck. "What is it, Mossmon?" The green digimon flapped back to the beach in answer. Jake ground his teeth - they were moving backwards and forwards, and by the time they walked to where Mossmon was hovering they would have spent nearly the entire morning getting back to where they started. There had better be a good reason for this, he thought bitterly.
There was. KT saw it from the top of the dunes, glinting at the water's edge. With wide eyes, she hurried down the slope sideways like a crab in order to keep her balance. Once at the bottom, she sprinted across the sands, Leviomon beside her, hoping the tide would not carry it away. At last, gasping for breath, she bent down and picked it up. Leviomon sniffed it, and recoiled in disgust. "It's a precious stone of some sort!" She called breathlessly to Jake, who was pounding toward her. He gently took it and weighed it in his hand. "This thing's probably very valuable," he said. KT nodded, lost for words at the sight of it. "It's so pretty." It was a dark, shiny, obsidian black, about the size of an egg but flatter. In shone brightly in the sunlight, gleaming wetly even though it felt dry. Falmon stroked it gingerly. "Indeed, this is no ordinary stone," she said. There was a tone of darkness in her voice that made Jake ask, "What do you mean?" Leviomon answered for her. "This stone has a smell, an air, of darkness and great evil around it," he said gravely. "It can only have come from one being." "The Dark Lord." KT nodded. Leviomon's eyes grew large and his mouth fell open in sudden realisation. "But. that means. Ben!" He trilled, looking around for the boy. Ben appeared from right behind him, though how he got there was anyone's guess. He stared at the blue stone, then looked out to sea. And then he smiled broadly. "Excuse me, but could someone explain what is going on here?" KT said. Leviomon began, eager for an excuse to talk with everybody actually listening. "It's the currents, you see. This gem must have come from wherever the Dark Lord is based. But it could not have got around that peninsula over there - the currents go off to one side. Therefore, it did not come from where we thought the Dark Lord is. In fact."- he dipped his tail in the lapping waves- ".it came from across the sea, where Ben said we should go." KT gaped first at him, then at the small boy now standing with a quietly satisfied smile on his face. "Tol' ya so," he said.
It was agreed that they would go across the sea by raft; KT would ride ahead on Mermon to scout out any trouble. Falmon was not at all keen on the plan, but there was no other way - too many of them could not fly or were not strong-winged enough. So Mossmon digevolved into Wodemon, and soon felled three trees with his powerful fists. He then snapped all the branches off and broke their trunks in half, making six smooth logs that the kids could work with. Zappamon ranged over long distances to find suitable vines, doing so in a notably short time. Amparamon used her metal horns to shape four spare branches for crude paddles; Oramon used flame to liquefy sap and varnish the underside of their raft. The humans used the vines to tie it all together, using half-forgotten skills they had learned years ago at scout clubs.
Finally, KT stood back and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She gazed at their creation in admiration. It was easily big enough to carry all eleven of them (though not with the digimon in Champion forms), and sturdy enough to outlast a storm (though how many people would be left clinging onto it by the end was up to them). It was already beginning to get dark, and Jake had decided to camp there for the night. They were to set off at first light the next morning, fair weather or foul.
"I would suggest taking supplies, but we don't have any," she said, a little downcast. Ali shook her head. "No, but we should still take some spare vine - that's always useful. And we'll have to figure out a way of carrying water from that stream, too." Aramon scratched her head thoughtfully - she had de-digevolved when her task was done. Transporting water without any waterproof material? Now that would be tricky.
As it happened, the next day dawned bright and clear, with barely a breeze skimming the water. The gang took heart in this, and with the help of Mermon launched their raft into the tiny breakers. KT thanked the Digital World for giving her tight clothing, and sat astride Mermon's neck, holding on to his horned helmet. Falmon insisted Jake carry her aboard the raft, but the others - excepting Mossmon - waded out to it. KT helped Ben scramble up onto the thick logs, and then Jake, Ali, Breddy and Paul each grabbed a paddle. They set out with a new determination and hope in their hearts, in the spirit of saving the world.
"Hold on tight," Mermon said to KT. She gripped his horns excitedly. Then they were off, at a speed KT had never been at before, riding the gentle waves with an invigorating, rocking motion. "Normally, I would travel underwater," said Mermon. "But I think you would find that a little hard to breathe. I like swimming this way, anyway - it's fun." KT nodded. She preferred this to the way a motorboat ploughed through waves - here, they were moving with them, leaving barely a trace behind them. KT looked back - the others were far behind, and diminishing rapidly. She waved, nearly falling off as Mermon sailed from the peak of a wave and crashed back down in the trough. They were briefly underwater, but this did not slow down the digimon in the slightest, and they were in the air again on the next wave. The sea was getting rougher. KT spluttered as they came up. "Mermon, why are we going so far ahead?" "I've got a feeling there's more to the story of that stone than we know!" Mermon replied grimly. "It stank of restriction, captivity, control. Also of a water digimon of some sort. I would very much like to find and meet this water digimon - it would, I think, reveal many hidden answers to our questions." KT thought about this, then frowned determinedly. She could not remotely sense any of these things on the stone, but she trusted her partner.
By mid-afternoon, even Jake was beginning to tire. Falmon had taken over from Paul, but the other digimon could not hold an oar properly, and Ben was not strong enough. Jake gazed up at the sun, wiping sweat from his eyes to do so. It was a white-hot fireball, radiating merciless heat, the clouds growing ever thinner.
A lone seabird digimon wheeled high above the water. It cried just once; then sailed away. The heat was too much for it.
Below, the sea was glassy and almost completely still. A log raft floated on the spot. There was no land nor clouds nor other digimon in sight - and the horizon was a long way off.
It was two days since the raft had set out from the shore. Two days with no food and no drink, in the baking heat, surrounded by salt water.
Five kids and four digimon lay sprawled on the raft. They looked almost dead - in fact, had it not been too hot even for scavengers, they would have probably been eaten as carrion. But one of them still had his eyes half-open.
He was Jake, and he was listlessly watching Ben. The child's blue- grey hair lay flat and lifeless on his head - all of their hair had grown longer and stragglier without shampoo or comb, just salty air and water. He didn't know why he was watching Ben, but he was. Perhaps it was his lifeline - if he didn't focus on something, he would become completely out of focus, in a private reverie, like the others. The paddles had been lost the day before, when they passed through a patch of rougher water.
And then, one of Ben's eyes opened. Just halfway at first, but then both eyes opened all the way, revealing the bright, sapphire-blue intensity beneath. Jake felt unable to move his cracked lips to speak, so continued to watch. Ben propped himself up on stubby arms, looking dazed and uncertain. He peered out to sea - Jake followed his gaze. Nothing. or was there?
At first, it was just a dark splodge, a speck growing. larger, but so gradually that Jake wouldn't have noticed if there wasn't nothing else to concentrate on. But grow it did, until it split into three splodges - one big one and two little ones. He continued to watch them, and Ben managed to stand up. There was something moving on top of the biggest one. a person! Someone waving! Then Jake knew what it was. It was KT and Mermon, returned at last, and just in time. Overcome with fatigue but having seen this small miracle, he fell into the same deep dream that the others were in, and knew no more.
He was woken by the most glorious method in any universe - the old cold-water-in-the-face. He gasped and opened his mouth wide, gulping down as much of it as possible. From above him there came a delighted giggle, then to his disappointment the water flow was stopped. Instead, something big, warm and laughing was thrust upon him. It was KT. "Jake, oh, thank goodness you're all right!" She cried into his shoulder, hugging him tightly. "I thought. when I saw you, and the others. the others!" And she rapidly regained her composure, standing up and helping Jake to shakily do the same. Jake looked around - Leviomon was depositing water from a plastic bottle over Falmon, who moaned and pushed it away. Two rugged, dolphin-like digimon were floating in the water nearby, watching with much interest. "Those are Dolphmon," said KT. "The stone came from one of them. I'll tell you in a bit." This made Jake eager to rouse the others - he was curious about the stone. Three more bottles lay on the raft. He and KT each grabbed one and splashed water over everyone else. Breddy tried to drink the remaining bottle, but Ali stopped her. "We don't know how long these have got to last," she pointed out. Breddy agreed miserably, and they shared between them the dregs of KT's bottle to drink. Falmon got them all seated in a circle, and KT explained. "Leviomon and Falmon were right - the stone was evil, and did come from the Dark Lord. So we are definitely going in the right direction. In fact, it was made by him. The Dark Lord wanted to create a new, improved version of Dark Rings - what he ended up with was this. He had made lots of them, and though he has used them on digimon like Dolphmon here, he has yet to try them out for their more ambitious purpose." She paused for breath. "The theory behind them indicates that one is used on digimon and human partner. From then on, they are controlled by the Dark Lord, and can duo-digevolve." "What's that?" Asked Paul. "The human digevolving with the digimon to form a new digimon, a new level, stronger than Ultimate and maybe even Mega. And that digimon is under the Dark Lord's control as long as the Dark Gem is fixed to it. These Dolphmon do not know much more, but they have heard rumours that the Dark Lord already has several human-digimon pairs in captivity, but does not wish to waste Dark Gems on them while they would still not be missed when they went back home. Something about forged authorised absences back in our world. He's looking for kids that made their own way here, that already are missed. Kids like us." There was silence. Then Jake said, "Well then, what we have to do is clear. He must be stopped, and fast! Dolphmon, can you pull us along, d'ythink?" "Yep, easy!" "Use that vine, we can't just use our teeth, you know!" They answered cheerily. Jake nodded. "Breddy, Ali, Paul, figure out how to attach the ropes to the raft. Make it firm! KT, we'll make the harnesses, and you can put them on." They all got straight to work, their thirst driving them if not the threat to their world and this one. Paul unravelled the vine, passing it to Ali, who had already found a way of tying it to the front of the raft, at the left side. On the right, Breddy mirrored the knot she used - they had to be in exactly the same place, or they would create drag. KT and Jake each worked on a simple harness, which was soon ready. It slipped over the Dolphmon's heads with no trouble, and there it stayed, once KT had tied the last knot. Paul threw the ropes to her that were fastened to the raft, and she deftly caught them and secured the Dolphmon. "OK, mush, gee up, a. whoa!" Jake was thrown off his feet in mid-command as the Dolphmon lashed their tails and tore away. He sat up and looked around in amazement - they were travelling as fast as a car on a freeway, ploughing straight through any waves that dared oppose them. KT had scrambled aboard just in time, and came to lean against him, worn out. Leviomon curled up at her feet, and Falmon followed his example - they would need some rest before long. Jake let out an exultant "Woohoo!" at their pace. At this rate, they would get there in no time at all.
It was only two hours later when they reached their final destination. One minute, it was not there. the next, it was all around them. Great, black stone, turrets far above, eerie signs savagely carved into the walls. The sky was clouded over with darkness, like an eternal night. Far above, Airdramon soared, their harsh voices echoing down to the gang. Aramon cowered on the raft. "They'll see us for sure!" She wailed. The Dolphmon shook their heads. "No, they can't. We came in the back way. The Dark Lord probably assumed you died out on the ocean. He won't know we're here until it's too late." They turned back to the channel, swimming slower now. KT gulped. "Too late for him. or for us?" She whispered to Jake.
The Dolphmons found them a cave to shelter in - they all needed to rest, and it was only now that they were here that they realised they had no plan whatsoever for actually defeating the Dark Lord.
The rain fell in squalling sheets, lashing into rock, earth and KT. Her teeth chattered, her skin shivered, her numb fingers barely held on to Mermon. They had volunteered for a reconnoitring mission, to scout out the waters around the Fortress. The weather had, admittedly, been better then; but the main reason she had wanted to go was because of the atmosphere back in the cave. They had debated, talked, argued, thought, and almost fought over what to do now they were here. Clearly, they had not included this in their plans (if they actually had any plans, which KT was beginning to doubt). The Fortress was huge, with no way of getting into it except the front gate, patrolled by digimon evil in their very nature - no Dark Rings could be broken from these. Even once inside, they did not know where the Dark Lord was hiding, and six human kids and their rookie digimon were rather obvious in a place like that. It had made sense, then, to go out and perhaps try and find another way in.
But now, all KT wanted was to get into somewhere warm and dry. And that was why, when Mermon sensed the underwater cave, she absolutely refused to accompany him down there. "Mermon, I'm freezing, I'm wet, I'm gonna get pneumonia if I stay out here much longer. I'm not diving into an even more freezing, wet. arrghglb." Another wave broke over her head, drenching her in yet more icy saltwater. She groaned miserably and leaned over Mermon's neck, wrapping her arms around him and trying to shelter behind his horns. Mermon had been gradually sinking down, and now, grinning broadly, he shot into the air, doing a beautiful arc in the wild waves. KT clung on grimly, barely visible as she flattened herself against him. And then they were beneath the waves, fearsome currents trying to drag her from her partner, water making her brown hair flow behind her like a mermaid's - only mermaids didn't have their eyes tightly shut, and their hand pinching their nose. KT had always had this problem with diving, and it meant that Mermon had to use his own arm to steady her and hold her on; but seawater up one's nose, as you probably know, is not at all pleasant. Gradually, the waves grew less, and the light got virtually non-existent. KT was bursting for breath. Air! She thought. Mermon, have you forgotten I can't breathe underwater like you? I need AIR! Still the water streamed past her body, numbing her all over. and then they were going up, up. and KT exploded out, her lungs filling with glorious air, her hair plastered over her face so she couldn't see. She felt hard stone beneath her back, and sat up, inhaling as much air as possible. When she swept her hair to one side, she saw Leviomon standing before her. "Come on, come on," he said, "we're in now, look! It's the Fortress, a small hole, I don't know why it even exists - but still, very convenient!" KT stared at him. "How on earth are Jake and the others going to get through?" she wheezed, still getting her breath back. Leviomon tutted and chuckled. "They won't have to, we're here to find out about this place! We can explore the area, it's warm and dry look, try to find out where the Dark Lord's located." "Then I suppose we could try flying to wherever he is, or something," KT said. She looked at the deep pool of dark water they had come from. Going back out there was not an appealing thought. She stood up, watching the water fall from her like lots of miniature waterfalls, and trickle down to the pool. They were in a small cave, and there was light. Hmm. It had to be coming from somewhere. there! A hole in the wall, just big enough for her to crawl through if she lay on her belly. She sighed - at least she couldn't get much dirtier.
She had been wrong, she decided. She was sliding along on her belly, and the tunnel seemed to be getting lower and lower. At least the wetness helped her move smoothly. Leviomon was having no trouble, slithering along like a lizard and chattering happily as he went. "Couldn't half do with some food, seafood would be good. Unless it had prawns in it. Hmm, it seems to be getting lighter, don't you think? Hah, I think I see the end of the tunnel! Light at the end of the tunnel, where did that expression come from I wonder? Smells disgusting. Evil, darkness, menace. Dark Lord, he's close. Hey, I reckon - rumph-" KT had managed to slide forward and clamp her hands around his jaws. If the Dark Lord was near, the last thing she wanted was for him to hear Leviomon announcing their entry.
The light was not bright - it came from a burning torch several metres away from the tunnel entrance - but to KT, who had been in utter blackness underwater, it was fine for seeing by. She squeezed out of the tunnel, dusted herself off (rather pointlessly, since she was still dripping wet), and looked around at her surroundings. This did not take long - it was another tunnel, but a proper one this time. Then she noticed Leviomon's voice - it had stopped, and she wasn't holding him any more. "Leviomon?" She said, and looked around. He was not there. "Leviomon!" she called. There was an ominous silence. Then a gnarled claw clamped down on her shoulder. "Whatchu doin' round 'ere?" A gruff voice demanded. She turned around, stifling a scream. It was a tall, lanky, evil-looking digimon - Skullsatamon, a powerful and feared creature.. Her eyes strayed to what he was holding, and she felt sick. He had Leviomon slung over his shoulder, and was carrying the unconscious digimon by the tail. Hurriedly, she turned back to the digimon. "I, uh. orders from, um." "Whass yer name, human?" "KT," she said. There could be no harm in it at least calling her by her true name. "Who d'ye serve?" The digimon grunted, trying to catch her out. "The Dark Lord," she said, thinking fast. It was the wrong answer. He roared in anger and triumph, shouting: "Hurhur! Do y'now? I serve the Master, but. I guess thass just me!" She turned and tried to run, but didn't even get a step before Skullsatamon swung his heavy fist, and the world went black.
