Author's note: Disclaimer: I do not have any tie to Digimon whatsoever.
Becoming the Hunted: Chapter III
The next morning, even before the dawn, Ryo, Rika, Lina and Henry were ready to set out for Piximon's home.
"Where's Kila?" Cheetahmon asked, pacing restlessly.
Rika shrugged.
Lina was talking to Calumon and Ryo replied that he hadn't seen her since the night before.
Henry hadn't seen her come back. He had just given up waiting after awhile and gone to sleep.
The fog was thick around the cave. The partner digimon were waiting.
"There she is," Wolfmon stated.
Indeed, the teenager came out of the heavy fog, Guardian whining at her side.
"She's limping..." Calumon trailed as the girl approached.
Kila walked slowly and it looked like it was painful to make each step. Finally she fell forward, her bow clattered to the ground. It had been used as her crutch.
Wolfmon was at her side in an instant. "She just fainted. No injuries or bruises."
"Well, she'll be okay as we move then. We'll need someone to-" Cyberdramon interrupted Cheetahmon's speech.
"I will take her," Cyberdramon grunted.
Rika climbed up onto Kyubbimon's back.
Ryo looked at Rika for a moment and then looked away.
"C'mon, Ryo!! You can ride behind me an' Rika!" Calumon said cheerfully, grinning widely.
"Do you mind, Rika?" Ryo asked.
"Go ahead." Rika muttered.
"Thanks." Ryo climbed onto Kyubbimon's back, directly behind Rika.
"Let's go. The rest of you are okay to walk?" Cheetahmon asked.
Lina and Henry nodded.
"Well, let's leave then." Vixenmon said, her voice crisp.
"I wonder how the others are dong right now..." Rika said aloud.
***
"Shield of the Just!" A white, knight-like digimon attacked three of the large beasts known as Night Mares.
"Guilmon, this is almost impossible. I thought one of these things was bad..." Takato told his partner as they avoided more acidic blood that seemed to be raining down from nowhere. He and Guilmon had been lucky enough to be able to biomerge and it seemed like that luck had dissipated.
"Give up! There is no chance of your defeating the Twelfth Squadron. Your friends are losing precious energy as we speak." A cloaked figure who had been called Shadowstalker said to Gallantmon.
"Aw, Shadowbaby, he's just another stubborn little human who thinks he's invincible. I doubt Little-Miss-High-and-Mighty could hold a candle to us so, why would you?" This speaker was the digimon who seemed to be in charge of this set of Night Mares. She was female, with an almost pixie-ish look to her. Her hair was bright neon blue and her skin was pale blue. She had a pair of pointy ears and mischievous, neon yellow eyes.
"We'll never give up to the likes of you." Guilmon declared.
"Jeri! NO!" Leomon shouted. He was knocked back by a Night Mare.
A Night Mare had Jeri in one of its' large forepaws. The Night Mare then gave her to Shadowstalker, who hovered over them, and gripped his arm around Jeri's neck, an ice-colored dagger to her throat. He put a bit of pressure on the blade, tiny droplets of red started to slide down the girl's pale skin.
Jeri was trying to keep control over herself. Tears slid down her cheeks but she didn't move.
"Let her go!" Gallantmon exclaimed.
"Take another step and she dies. Surrender immediately! Or face the consequences." The female in command spoke the threat.
"Takato, what should we do?" Guilmon asked hesitantly.
"We have to surrender. If Jeri's life is at risk, we have to give up." Takato replied. He wouldn't let Jeri be hurt.
"That's pretty low. Why don't you fight us without tricks?!" Kazu exclaimed.
"Silence, mortal, or that pretty little redhead you've been protecting will be the Night Mares' next target." The female creature said.
Kazu immediately stopped speaking. He backed up until he was beside Jodie.
Gallantmon de-digivolved and Takato and Guilmon were separate again.
"We give up. We'll come quietly But you must first return Jeri to us." Takato stated.
"Take her." Shadowstalker snapped. He threw her from himself.
Leomon caught her and set her down on the ground gently.
She went and hugged Takato immediately. "I'm sorry, Takato. I didn't want us to have to surrender."
Takato hugged her tightly. "I'd rather have you safe than of had a victory instead and never be able to see you alive again." He wiped any stray tears from her face with a fingertip.
"The Night Mares will be escorting you back. Be careful. They tend to bite when they're hungry." Pixiemon said with a saucy grin.
Takato put an arm around Jeri. He guided her over to Leomon. "Take care of her, Leomon," the teenager said. "Guilmon! Digi-Modify!" Takato slid a bright colored blue card through his D-Ark. "Matrix Digivolution!"
Guilmon began to glow. "Guilmon matrix digivolve to...WarGrowlmon."
"And for your information, Pixiemon, WarGrowlmon will be taking care of us." Takato declared defiantly.
Pixiemon glared at the insolent human. "Do what you will. Shadowstalker, I bid you farewell." Her dark blue cloak enclosed completely around her and she disappeared.
"Out of my sight! Every last one of you!" Shadowstalker bellowed.
Suddenly, everything was encased in a dense, black colored fog.
"Takatomon...we have a problem."
"Guilmon? You de-digivolved? That means this fog's dangerous... the others will be endangered. Jeri!!!" Takato shouted.
As the ground split, all of the tamers felt into the seemingly endless abyss. Shadowstalker as well as all of the Night Mares hovered over the open space.
"That was too easy. Distracting was what I should've done all along..." The black cloaked creature stated.
***
"Are we there yet?"
"I don't know, Calumon." Rika replied.
"....how 'bout now?" The white digimon asked.
"Calumon, I still don't know!" Rika snapped.
"Sorry, Rika-Rika...." Calumon whispered as he quieted completely.
"All clear. I'm going on ahead. Cheetahmon, I'll race you," Kila said. She had regained consciousness a short period of time before.
"Try and keep up." Cheetahmon sped off.
Ryo blinked to find that Kila had disappeared.
"That's cheating. You can't take that form and go from tree to tree." Cheetahmon exclaimed, a distance ahead.
"You never said what terms I had to agree to!" A whispery voice retorted as the arguing drifted farther away.
"You tamers have some kind of Hyperspeed, don't you? You'd best use it if you want to keep up. Kila and Cheetahmon can go on like this for hours." Vixenmon said, sitting in front of Rika.
"Henry, come on. Lina, you go with Rika. Let's get going. Digi-Modify! Lightspeed activate! Rika! Catch!" Ryo threw the card to Rika as Cyberdramon flew off.
"Digi-Modify! Lightspeed activate! Kyubbimon, go!" Rika exclaimed, and Kyubbimon shot forward, her legs looked like blurs.
"Took you long enough. We've been waiting for you!" Kila stood beside Cheetahmon; Wolfmon and Guardian were both by her side.
"The portal! Get through quicker than quick!" A voice said.
The air shimmered for a second and the scenery began to stretch.
"Stop staring. You'd make someone think you'd never seen air rip before," Kila said.
"We never have." Rika responded dryly.
Kila smirked as she led the way through the portal. Cheetahmon was the last to enter before the air sealed.
"Here at last. About time. Kila, you sent word that these tamers would've been here yesterday." A small winged pink digimon was the speaker.
"Piximon, it's hard to get all of these humans here in the first place. And, they got here last night. I couldn't've just brought them as soon as they came." Kila explained calmly.
"Have you heard anything from Tigressmon? Anything at all?" Cheetahmon asked, his eyes pleading.
"Nothing from her nor the tamers she had. I fear they may have been captured. I had spies watching out for them. There was nothing except the scent of ice and Nightmares," Piximon replied.
Kila's eyes narrowed. "Shadowstalker," the girl grunted, her voice flat.
"I'm afraid so." The digimon responded.
"Well, better start teaching these tamers. They're going to need twice the strength with half of our forces captured. Piximon, the four of us will catch up with you tonight. Cheetahmon will probably be sooner. But, go on ahead. Have the tamers pick their weapons and elements." Wolfmon looked at his tamer. She was obviously upset.
Piximon nodded his affirmative as he pointed the tamers in the direction of his home.
As soon as the tamers had disappeared from view, Kila collapsed, sobbing. "Healer...he'll be killed. Or, he'll be forced into slavery. Because I wasn't there. We work off one another... I fight, he heals our side. And, Tigressmon... Cheetahmon, are you worried?" She asked, her voice shaky as tears still trickled down her cheeks.
"She knew the risk. But, I am afraid for her. As well as those tamers. If Shadowstalker overtook them, they will be in danger," Cheetahmon responded.
"Those dungeons aren't so bad. If the tamers are spared, they will be taken care of in the dungeons. The digimon will sympathize with them and aid them as much as they possibly can. You often forget that you've led escapes from those prisons. Let's just hope the Huntress keeps them in the dungeons only." Wolfmon commented.
***
"This really bites." Kazu muttered.
"It could be worse." His android partner reminded him.
"And how could it possibly be worse?!" Kazu snapped, looking glumly around at their surroundings.
"She could've taken away our digimon. And starve us. Let us rot slowly," Kenta commented.
"Shhhh! She hears." Marineangemon hissed.
Kazu threw a pebble at the cell's entrance. It instantly crumbled. "Sure was smart of that Huntress lady to create the cell bars using our digivices and modify cards against us. Our digimon will get zapped for sure. So, Kenta, wanna play Go Fish?"
***
"How can they think of a stupid card game at a time like this?! We're stuck behind bars like common criminals. And, on top of that, I'm sick." Jodie grimaced as she rolled over on the cot connected to the wall.
"Is there anything I can do?" Kitamon looked at her partner.
"No. Jeri, do you have any medicine in your purse by chance?" Jodie looked at her friend hopefully.
"Nope, sorry. This is getting pretty bad, isn't it?" Jeri had directed the question to her sock puppet that was supposed to resemble a dog. "Sure is!"
Jodie groaned. "My cellmate is making conversation with a sock, my boyfriend is playing Go Fish, and I feel like I'm going to vomit. This is insane! What the-"
"Jodie! Put her down now!" Kitamon demanded.
"I will help her, Kitamon. Healing Wind! Now, sleep, young Jodie. You will need your strength for the battle ahead."
A pleasant, drowsy feeling settled over Jodie. She was asleep in moments.
"Healer, I didn't know you could go through walls," Kitamon exclaimed.
"A simple spell. But only parts of me. Not completely may I go through the wall. Now, Jeri, can you have Leomon knock through the wall? I would like some company."
***
"Guilmon, I'm sorry."
"What for, Takato?" His red dinosaur partner queried.
"Because. All of this is my fault. If only I was stronger. I could've protected Jeri and all the others. Now, we can't help save the Digital World. That leaves only four tamers to save everything. It's looking hopeless," Takato said with a heavy sigh. It sounded a lot worse when he said it out loud.
"Don't worry, Takato. The others will think of something. You'll see. I'm sure we can also count on that girl. Kila. She'll help us!" Guilmon voiced cheerfully.
Author's note: I'm done now. Review please. Until next time!
P.S. Sorry, I forgot the Ryuki. I kind of lost inspiration so I'm just posting all I had. I'm really sorry. If I continue writing this, the next part will be solely romance. Mainly between Ryo and Rika and Kila and Henry.