Broken Emerald
Mike sighed as he kicked yet another stone. The group had split up over three hours ago, and he already missed them. Well, except Steve. Or did he miss Steve too? He shook his head. He REALLY didn't know.
Firepentmon glanced up at his digidestined. Mike had been awfully quiet since the whole Switchmon thing. The Digimon would have been worried, but, as he saw it, it wasn't particularly worrying.
It seemed everyone in the group had a particular category, or rank. Steve was the leader, Violet was the fighter, for some reason, Mary was the caring, nurse-like one, John was the computer expert, and Mike was the quiet one. As far as the snake Digimon could tell, Mike was being quiet because he was usually quiet. Still, he hoped the boy would start talking soon. The silence was getting to him.
The digidestined of Protection shut his eyes. In his mind, the break-up was as clear as day...
FLASHBACK
*** "Where's Violet?" Mike heard those words through the deadness that was his sleep, and a shiver went down his spine. Ignoring the flashing lights, the blurred images, and the headache, he opened eyes and sat up.
Mary was standing up, looking around frantically. John was typing on his laptop, and their Digimon were flying overhead, trying to see the missing girl. Firepentmon was next to him, obviously waiting for him before he helped.
Mike stood up, feeling as if he'd slept for a year. His joints were all stiff, and everything seemed a bit brighter, the way it does after a long sleep.
'The group's coming apart,' he thought, 'First Steve, then Violet. John and Mary don't want to, but soon they'll leave, to look for the others.'
Suddenly he felt cold. It was a lovely day-Warm sun, barely any clouds-but he felt as if someone had poured ice-cubes into his clothes. 'I'm meant to keep them together. If they want to split up, I have to stop them. But...' he shivered, 'What if I CAN'T? What if they go anyway? I'd be failing them...failing the group...'
"We could try splitting up to find her," John suggested. They were the words Mike had been dreading. He felt paralysed. It was happening...
"No..." he whispered, his voice barely audible. The others looked at him, surprised.
"Mike?" Mary asked, "Is something wrong?"
His fists were clenched, and he was shaking, "No..." He repeated, louder this time. They COULDN'T split up. But...
Maybe it was HIM who was splitting up the group. In his heart of hearts he knew it was stupid, but what if he WAS...? He shut his eyes, and he could feel tears starting to come.
"Mike?" Mary asked again, worried now. He opened his eyes, and she took a step towards him, trying to comfort him. But he stepped back. She stared at him, "Mike? What is it?"
Without thinking, without realising what he was doing, he turned around and ran.
"NO!!!!!!"
Screaming the word, he fled, tears streaming behind him. He didn't care Firepentmon was trying to catch up with him, didn't care Mary was screaming after him, didn't care John was yelling, "MIKE! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?", didn't care Mythicmon and Jewelmon were flying after him. All he cared about was running as far away from the group as he could.
Blinded with tears, he somehow found a way through the undergrowth. Then a root found his foot, and he fell forwards. Firepentmon crawled frantically up to him, "Mike? Are you OK?"
He looked up at his Digimon, 'Well, someone cares about me. That makes one,' he thought. Then he heard Mythicmon swooping towards him. He leapt to his feet and started running again, but not before Firepentmon grabbed his T-shirt by the right sleeve.
He didn't stop running until he couldn't hear the other two Digimon at all. ***
END FLASHBACK
Firepentmon shivered as he remembered Mike's scream of `NO!!!`. At the time, it had sounded more like a plea. He could sense that at that time that Mike's emotions were churning around inside him. As he looked up, he saw his digidestined's hands curl up into fists. Lately he'd been getting very emotional. What was the matter?
Mike looked up, the sunlight splintering into rainbows as the tears came again. Stubbornly, he wiped them away. He couldn't fall apart again. If he did it again, he might lose Firepentmon. And if he lost his Digimon, he knew he'd lose it completely.
**************************************************************************** *
Steve sighed, "We leave for a day or so, and they split up. Ger-rate."
He was trying to find at least one of the digidestined. Snowmon had no idea, so it was a case of `Walk. Walk. Walk`. Sometimes they turned, but apart from then, they just kept walking.
After half-an-hour or so, Snowmon stopped suddenly, "Hey, can you hear something?"
Steve strained his ears, then he heard it, "Mike! Will you please slow down?"
Steve and Snowmon looked at each other, "Firepentmon."
**************************************************************************** **
The snake-like Digimon sighed. Mike had started walking a lot faster now. He wondered why he was partnered with the fastest digidestined sometimes. Being a snake, he didn't have any legs.
Mike didn't seem to notice the problems his Digimon was having. All he cared about was walking. But then he saw something that made him stop suddenly.
It was some kind of temple. It was almost exactly like the one where they had found their Digimon, but not quite. The triangle on the roof wasn't there, the four other pictures were missing, and there was an emerald on each of the pillars.
Firepentmon crawled up to him, then flopped down, "Can...Can we h...have a b...break?"
Mike let a small smile make its way onto his face, "If you can hang on for just a little bit longer, we can rest there." He pointed at the temple.
**************************************************************************** **
'Move closer, digidestined,' the furred being thought, 'Closer to your doom...' At the thought of fresh meat, its fur became a dark red. The colour of blood.
**************************************************************************** *
Steve stared at the temple, "Well, er... WHAT THE HECK'S THAT DOING HERE?"
Snowmon sighed, "I don't know. Mysterious buildings aren't my area of expertise."
Steve sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, we might as well just go in and SEE what it's doing here."
Together, they ran up to it, and climbed up the steps.
**************************************************************************** **
A carving of a serpent curved around the entire building. Its head was near the back, and its body snaked back, curved to the right, up the wall, across the ceiling, back along the left wall towards the back, curved down diagonally, and finished a few inches away from its head. However, it wasn't entirely a serpent. A helmet covered the top of its head, a flame shape was on the front of its helmet, rings seemed to connect the head to the body, wings sprouted in several places, including on the helmet and just behind the rings, and its tail was more like a rattlesnake's.
"WingSerpentmon," Firepentmon whispered, "He's meant to be a relation of Serpentmon's, but no-one's seen him for... well... centuries. MILLENNIA even."
Mike crouched by its head. An emerald had been used for an eye, and it reflected the sunlight in thousands of directions at once. He blinked several times as it reflected the rays right in his eyes, then he heard a voice behind him, "Mike?"
He spun around, "Steve!"
The blonde smiled, "Yeah. So, where are the others?"
Mike looked at the floor, "I don't know."
"So why aren't you looking for them? From the way you were walking, I thought you were trying to hide from them."
The dark-haired boy stiffened, then turned away, "I'm not running..." His protest was nothing more than a whisper.
"OK then, walking."
Mike squatted down, "What does it matter to you?"
The blonde jerked. From the sound the sound of Mike's voice, he'd struck a nerve.
"Steve, you're the one who just disappeared. Then you waltz back and try to tell me what to do..." Without even realising what he was doing, Mike clenched his hand into a fist, and brought it down on the emerald.
There was a loud shattering noise as it broke. Mike stood up, not noticing that a piece of emerald had dug itself into his hand and he was now bleeding. Without a word, he strode past Steve, out of the temple.
He was about to start running when he was tackled from behind. The force of Steve's leap knocked them both over, and they tumbled into a living ball. When they'd stopped, Steve realised the blood from Mike's hand had managed to get onto his shirt. However, he couldn't think about it for long, because a second later Mike's fist (non-bleeding one) hit him.
Soon, they were punching, kicking (basically, fighting). Snowmon and Firepentmon stared. "Those two have got to stop it," Snowmon muttered.
"Uh huh," Firepentmon agreed.
Then a voice behind them purred, "Why? I think it's quite fun to watch them."
They both swerved around. Lying like a sphinx was what looked like a golden brown lioness. They stared, and she chuckled. As she laughed, her fur became a light pinkish sort of colour.
Steve and Mike, by this time, had noticed the newcomer, and were standing next to each other (LM: AWWWWWWWWWW...). The lioness looked at them, and her fur became an emotionless (?) creamy-white, "What did you stop for?"
Snowmon tensed, "Emotionessmon. She's a hunter Digimon who, quite literally, can be tickled pink or green with envy. Her fur changes colour to show her mood, so you know when to start running. If it's red, she's about to launch her Lioness Flame, and you won't be getting up in a hurry if it hits!"
Steve grabbed his digivice, "Guys, digivolve!"
"Snowmon digivolve to Icemon!"
"Firepentmon digivolve to Serpentmon!"
Emotionessmon smiled. Then her fur seemed to ripple, and became the colour of blood, "Lioness Flame!"
She threw back her head, and her mouth started to glow. Then she brought it down again, mouth open, and flames shot out. They crashed into the two Champions, who only just stopped themselves from devolving.
Icemon cried out, "Steve, she's too strong to be just a Champion! She's got to be an Ultimate!"
Steve nodded, "Right." His crest began to glow, points of light firing towards his Digimon.
"Icemon digivolve to Blizzardmon!"
The ice beast spread his wings and soared into the air, "Blizzard Triangle!"
"Lioness Flame!"
The fire melted the ice easily, and crashed into Blizzardmon, who screamed in pain.
"BLIZZARDMON!" Steve screamed, running towards his friend, who was plummeting down. The falling Ultimate flashed and became Snowmon again. Steve just managed to catch him, and then bent over, seeing if his friend was OK.
Emotionessmon sprang forwards, too fast for Serpentmon to encircle her, "Lioness Flame!"
Everything seemed to slow down for Mike. He saw the flames, heard Steve's scream, but it seemed to be taking forever. The power began to build up in his body, "Mike digimorph to Tigermon!"
He sprang forwards, and crouched in front of Steve and Snowmon. The flames collided with him, sending him back. Emotionessmon growled, then fired again. This time, Tigermon de-digimorphed.
The attacking Digimon smiled at the exhausted Digidestined, batted back a frantic Serpentmon, then focused on Steve and Snowmon. 'The Digidestined cannot function without their leader,' she thought, 'Take him down, and the rest shall follow.'
She sprang, claws outstretched, teeth bared. Steve screamed, not caring if it sounded as if he was scared out of his mind. Mike slowly opened his eyes. He saw Emotionessmon leaping, heard Steve scream once more.
He gritted his teeth. This time he would not let her do anything. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, giving him the strength he needed. He pulled himself to his feet, then ran towards Steve.
Steve stared at the claws that would surely end his life. He willed himself not to shut his eyes. He had to be strong. He didn't want to die a coward.
Then he felt something push him out of the way. He rolled over, and saw Mike crouching down, right in Emotionessmon's path. "MIKE!" he yelled. The raven-haired boy looked at him, and, strangely enough, grinned.
'Huh?' Steve thought, 'What's he grinning about?'
Serpentmon paused too, 'What the... HAS HE GONE MAD?'
Mike bowed his head slightly. The thought of those claws gouging out his eyes wasn't exactly a pleasant one. Still, at least Steve was OK...
Then a bluey-green light began to surround his crest.
Thousands of thin beams of light shot out. About ten joined together and knocked back Emotionessmon. The others, apart from one, streaked into the temple. The one remaining circled round, and hit Mike's still bleeding hand. Or, to be more precise, the emerald shard dug into his hand.
The light spread across the piece, then lifted it out, and floated towards the temple. Well, it ALMOST got to the temple when...
"Lioness Flame!"
The lioness Digimon's attack knocked it out of the air, and the light vanished. Mike felt himself stiffen. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew that the piece had to get to the temple.
Serpentmon flew down, and managed to whack Emotionessmon away from the shard with his tail. Using all the adrenaline that was still flowing inside him, Mike ran forwards and grabbed the shard. Then he turned, and ran into the temple.
The sight that he saw can't be described well enough. The pieces of the broken emerald were all suspended in mid-air, each surrounded with bluey- green light, and the carving was practically throbbing with the colour. Apart from the eyehole. It remained dark.
Somehow, Mike knew what to do. It felt as if a voice had awakened inside him that knew what to do, and was making sure he did it. And, as if it had taken over his body, he did it.
He took off his crest, and opened the hand which was carrying the fragment. Carefully, he laid the crest on top. Then he focused on protection. He thought about protecting Steve from Dozemon, even though it wasn't especially protecting. He thought about the way he had just protected Steve from Emotionessmon. He thought about the way he had protected the group countless times by digimorphing.
'And,' he thought, 'I'll carry on protecting them. Even if it takes me forever to find them, I will. And until then, I'll protect Steve and our Digimon.'
His crest practically exploded with light. The light grew and grew, surrounding the fragment AND the crest. Out of instinct, Mike dropped it, but the crest and the fragment seemed to merge together and soar up. Then it began to encircle the other pieces. One by one, floated down and settled into place in the eyehole of the carving. When the last piece, the piece that had merged with the crest of Protection, swooped down and took its place, the light was so blinding Mike had to shield his eyes.
Then the light seemed to rise up out of the carving. The only thing was, the carving had vanished! Somehow, the light WAS the carving!
Then the light swooped out, and Mike ran to the entrance just in time to see it sinking into Serpentmon's body. Then the light changed from bluey- green to white, and Serpentmon began to lengthen.
"Serpentmon digivolve to WingSerpentmon!"
He grew incredibly in length. His body changed from blood red to fiery- orange, whilst his pink mask became a deeper orange, with a flame drawn on it. His body widened out in some places, and wings the colour of fire grew out of them.
Emotionessmon took a step back, and her fur paled, "Oh no, WingSerpentmon! A fire snake Digimon with a Flame Wing to match. But he was meant to disappear ages ago, so what's going on?"
WingSerpentmon smiled, "I'll tell you what's going on kitty. You're toast." His wings began to glow their flame colours, "Flame Wing!" Fire shot out of them, a few feathers mixed in. Emotionessmon tried to block them with her own flames, but the attack was too fast and too powerful. She screamed, and disintegrated.
WingSerpentmon sighed. Then a bluey-green ball of light emerged from just below the rings of his neck, and he de-digivolved. When the white light faded, a dark red snake with a rattlesnake's tail, Firepentmon's claws, and very long streamer things positioned like ears was lying there.
Snowmon gave a small smile, "Snakemon. Not the cutest thing ever, but a lot cuter than its other forms. Its Rattlesnake Tail can be used for a small distraction, but he's not exactly a fighter."
Mike ran towards his Digimon, then dropped to his knees and picked it up, "Are you OK?"
Then a deep voice seemed to come from above him, "He'll be fine."
Mike head shot up, but all he could see was the light. He pointed at it, "W...What are..."
"You?" the mysterious voice chuckled, "I'm WingSerpentmon. I tried to stop a Digimon named Satanmon taking over the Digiworld, but I was trapped inside that carving. He sealed me in using the power of Protection, as that is the crest that governs my power. I had to get someone who held the power to release me, and in return, I helped your Digimon digivolve to Ultimate."
Mike looked down at his Digimon, trying to take it all in, "But... you needed my crest to completely unseal you?"
"Sorry."
"So. Firepentmon won't become an Ultimate again?"
"Oh, that. Well, I'm free now. Thanks to you. Here, take it."
The crest of Protection, inside its tag, dropped out of it. Mike caught it. He stared at it, then looked up, "But... how are you going to..."
"I should have deleted ages ago. I can't have a body again without being reconstructed and born at the Primary Village. But then I won't be able to help. And I have been sealed for so long, my memories of the Digiworld have faded. My data won't be able to find the way. If I travelled within your crest, I could help and find my way back some day. But the choice is yours."
Mike looked down at the crest in his hand. He considered asking Steve, but then he thought, 'It's my choice. I can't be influenced.
'Well, he said `Some day`, so he's not going to force us to go straight to the Primary Village. And we probably won't find anyone else who can tell us what's happened in the past.'
(LM: You have to remember he doesn't know about V)
He looked up, "Alright. I'll do it."
The light began to increase, then shoot down, forming a ball around the crest. Then it pulsed with the light, as the Digimon's spirit said, "Thanks."
Steve watched, feeling such a wave of emotions they were almost affecting him physically. 'I'd never do that,' he thought, 'I don't like the idea of an ancient spirit bossing us about. Well, I guess V doesn't, but V doesn't want to be born again. WingSerpentmon's helping us because he can't do Orienteering. Bit of a difference.'
He sighed and looked up, 'Maybe I'm just not ready to be a real leader. Until we get back together, I'm dropping the job. I need to talk to V, before I make my decision.'
Mike looked at the crest, then up at Steve. He noticed the boy seemed distant. "Hey," he called, "You OK?"
Steve sighed, "Mike, until we get back to the others, is it OK if you DON'T treat me like a supreme leader?"
The dark-haired boy blinked in surprise, then nodded. Steve smiled then turned away, and started walking. Putting on his crest and scooping up Snakemon, he ran after the former leader, 'Wonder what's wrong with him...?'
WILL STEVE BECOME A LEADER ONCE AGAIN? AND HOW WILL V REACT TO THIS NEW LINK TO THE PAST? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT DIGIMON: DIGITAL MONSTERS!
Author's Note: This ended up nothing like the episode idea I started with. The basic plot's there: Meet Steve, fight, Digimon attacks, crest glows, WingSerpentmon defeats enemy. And the emerald was going to be broken when I started. But the Digimon spirit, Mike getting emotional, Steve dropping the leader spot... Totally unexpected. YAAAAAAAAAGH!!!! I have no control (if I ever did)! Also, this means I have to change some of my plot lines to include my D.S. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Not a plot change!
Anyway, enough of my rambling. This is actually going to be the last episode you get for a bit, because I haven't finished the next episode... Oh well. I'll give you a few snippets though, just to keep you busy. Mary fans, you'll be VERY happy when I post it...
"Sleep Knowledge, sleep..." Those mystical eyes bore into him, and he felt his eyes obeying to the call...
"WHAT? I COME ALL THE WAY HERE, AND YOU ALMOST KILL ME?" She screamed, almost deafening him.
"He is, by all rights, mine."
"The only one who can save him now is you. You have to defeat him..."
"Return to the shadows from which you came..."
"A last weapon against the vampires..."
"You two are connected in ways you cannot even begin to understand..."
EPISODE 22: Hypnotic Links
Lady Moon
Mike sighed as he kicked yet another stone. The group had split up over three hours ago, and he already missed them. Well, except Steve. Or did he miss Steve too? He shook his head. He REALLY didn't know.
Firepentmon glanced up at his digidestined. Mike had been awfully quiet since the whole Switchmon thing. The Digimon would have been worried, but, as he saw it, it wasn't particularly worrying.
It seemed everyone in the group had a particular category, or rank. Steve was the leader, Violet was the fighter, for some reason, Mary was the caring, nurse-like one, John was the computer expert, and Mike was the quiet one. As far as the snake Digimon could tell, Mike was being quiet because he was usually quiet. Still, he hoped the boy would start talking soon. The silence was getting to him.
The digidestined of Protection shut his eyes. In his mind, the break-up was as clear as day...
FLASHBACK
*** "Where's Violet?" Mike heard those words through the deadness that was his sleep, and a shiver went down his spine. Ignoring the flashing lights, the blurred images, and the headache, he opened eyes and sat up.
Mary was standing up, looking around frantically. John was typing on his laptop, and their Digimon were flying overhead, trying to see the missing girl. Firepentmon was next to him, obviously waiting for him before he helped.
Mike stood up, feeling as if he'd slept for a year. His joints were all stiff, and everything seemed a bit brighter, the way it does after a long sleep.
'The group's coming apart,' he thought, 'First Steve, then Violet. John and Mary don't want to, but soon they'll leave, to look for the others.'
Suddenly he felt cold. It was a lovely day-Warm sun, barely any clouds-but he felt as if someone had poured ice-cubes into his clothes. 'I'm meant to keep them together. If they want to split up, I have to stop them. But...' he shivered, 'What if I CAN'T? What if they go anyway? I'd be failing them...failing the group...'
"We could try splitting up to find her," John suggested. They were the words Mike had been dreading. He felt paralysed. It was happening...
"No..." he whispered, his voice barely audible. The others looked at him, surprised.
"Mike?" Mary asked, "Is something wrong?"
His fists were clenched, and he was shaking, "No..." He repeated, louder this time. They COULDN'T split up. But...
Maybe it was HIM who was splitting up the group. In his heart of hearts he knew it was stupid, but what if he WAS...? He shut his eyes, and he could feel tears starting to come.
"Mike?" Mary asked again, worried now. He opened his eyes, and she took a step towards him, trying to comfort him. But he stepped back. She stared at him, "Mike? What is it?"
Without thinking, without realising what he was doing, he turned around and ran.
"NO!!!!!!"
Screaming the word, he fled, tears streaming behind him. He didn't care Firepentmon was trying to catch up with him, didn't care Mary was screaming after him, didn't care John was yelling, "MIKE! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?", didn't care Mythicmon and Jewelmon were flying after him. All he cared about was running as far away from the group as he could.
Blinded with tears, he somehow found a way through the undergrowth. Then a root found his foot, and he fell forwards. Firepentmon crawled frantically up to him, "Mike? Are you OK?"
He looked up at his Digimon, 'Well, someone cares about me. That makes one,' he thought. Then he heard Mythicmon swooping towards him. He leapt to his feet and started running again, but not before Firepentmon grabbed his T-shirt by the right sleeve.
He didn't stop running until he couldn't hear the other two Digimon at all. ***
END FLASHBACK
Firepentmon shivered as he remembered Mike's scream of `NO!!!`. At the time, it had sounded more like a plea. He could sense that at that time that Mike's emotions were churning around inside him. As he looked up, he saw his digidestined's hands curl up into fists. Lately he'd been getting very emotional. What was the matter?
Mike looked up, the sunlight splintering into rainbows as the tears came again. Stubbornly, he wiped them away. He couldn't fall apart again. If he did it again, he might lose Firepentmon. And if he lost his Digimon, he knew he'd lose it completely.
**************************************************************************** *
Steve sighed, "We leave for a day or so, and they split up. Ger-rate."
He was trying to find at least one of the digidestined. Snowmon had no idea, so it was a case of `Walk. Walk. Walk`. Sometimes they turned, but apart from then, they just kept walking.
After half-an-hour or so, Snowmon stopped suddenly, "Hey, can you hear something?"
Steve strained his ears, then he heard it, "Mike! Will you please slow down?"
Steve and Snowmon looked at each other, "Firepentmon."
**************************************************************************** **
The snake-like Digimon sighed. Mike had started walking a lot faster now. He wondered why he was partnered with the fastest digidestined sometimes. Being a snake, he didn't have any legs.
Mike didn't seem to notice the problems his Digimon was having. All he cared about was walking. But then he saw something that made him stop suddenly.
It was some kind of temple. It was almost exactly like the one where they had found their Digimon, but not quite. The triangle on the roof wasn't there, the four other pictures were missing, and there was an emerald on each of the pillars.
Firepentmon crawled up to him, then flopped down, "Can...Can we h...have a b...break?"
Mike let a small smile make its way onto his face, "If you can hang on for just a little bit longer, we can rest there." He pointed at the temple.
**************************************************************************** **
'Move closer, digidestined,' the furred being thought, 'Closer to your doom...' At the thought of fresh meat, its fur became a dark red. The colour of blood.
**************************************************************************** *
Steve stared at the temple, "Well, er... WHAT THE HECK'S THAT DOING HERE?"
Snowmon sighed, "I don't know. Mysterious buildings aren't my area of expertise."
Steve sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, we might as well just go in and SEE what it's doing here."
Together, they ran up to it, and climbed up the steps.
**************************************************************************** **
A carving of a serpent curved around the entire building. Its head was near the back, and its body snaked back, curved to the right, up the wall, across the ceiling, back along the left wall towards the back, curved down diagonally, and finished a few inches away from its head. However, it wasn't entirely a serpent. A helmet covered the top of its head, a flame shape was on the front of its helmet, rings seemed to connect the head to the body, wings sprouted in several places, including on the helmet and just behind the rings, and its tail was more like a rattlesnake's.
"WingSerpentmon," Firepentmon whispered, "He's meant to be a relation of Serpentmon's, but no-one's seen him for... well... centuries. MILLENNIA even."
Mike crouched by its head. An emerald had been used for an eye, and it reflected the sunlight in thousands of directions at once. He blinked several times as it reflected the rays right in his eyes, then he heard a voice behind him, "Mike?"
He spun around, "Steve!"
The blonde smiled, "Yeah. So, where are the others?"
Mike looked at the floor, "I don't know."
"So why aren't you looking for them? From the way you were walking, I thought you were trying to hide from them."
The dark-haired boy stiffened, then turned away, "I'm not running..." His protest was nothing more than a whisper.
"OK then, walking."
Mike squatted down, "What does it matter to you?"
The blonde jerked. From the sound the sound of Mike's voice, he'd struck a nerve.
"Steve, you're the one who just disappeared. Then you waltz back and try to tell me what to do..." Without even realising what he was doing, Mike clenched his hand into a fist, and brought it down on the emerald.
There was a loud shattering noise as it broke. Mike stood up, not noticing that a piece of emerald had dug itself into his hand and he was now bleeding. Without a word, he strode past Steve, out of the temple.
He was about to start running when he was tackled from behind. The force of Steve's leap knocked them both over, and they tumbled into a living ball. When they'd stopped, Steve realised the blood from Mike's hand had managed to get onto his shirt. However, he couldn't think about it for long, because a second later Mike's fist (non-bleeding one) hit him.
Soon, they were punching, kicking (basically, fighting). Snowmon and Firepentmon stared. "Those two have got to stop it," Snowmon muttered.
"Uh huh," Firepentmon agreed.
Then a voice behind them purred, "Why? I think it's quite fun to watch them."
They both swerved around. Lying like a sphinx was what looked like a golden brown lioness. They stared, and she chuckled. As she laughed, her fur became a light pinkish sort of colour.
Steve and Mike, by this time, had noticed the newcomer, and were standing next to each other (LM: AWWWWWWWWWW...). The lioness looked at them, and her fur became an emotionless (?) creamy-white, "What did you stop for?"
Snowmon tensed, "Emotionessmon. She's a hunter Digimon who, quite literally, can be tickled pink or green with envy. Her fur changes colour to show her mood, so you know when to start running. If it's red, she's about to launch her Lioness Flame, and you won't be getting up in a hurry if it hits!"
Steve grabbed his digivice, "Guys, digivolve!"
"Snowmon digivolve to Icemon!"
"Firepentmon digivolve to Serpentmon!"
Emotionessmon smiled. Then her fur seemed to ripple, and became the colour of blood, "Lioness Flame!"
She threw back her head, and her mouth started to glow. Then she brought it down again, mouth open, and flames shot out. They crashed into the two Champions, who only just stopped themselves from devolving.
Icemon cried out, "Steve, she's too strong to be just a Champion! She's got to be an Ultimate!"
Steve nodded, "Right." His crest began to glow, points of light firing towards his Digimon.
"Icemon digivolve to Blizzardmon!"
The ice beast spread his wings and soared into the air, "Blizzard Triangle!"
"Lioness Flame!"
The fire melted the ice easily, and crashed into Blizzardmon, who screamed in pain.
"BLIZZARDMON!" Steve screamed, running towards his friend, who was plummeting down. The falling Ultimate flashed and became Snowmon again. Steve just managed to catch him, and then bent over, seeing if his friend was OK.
Emotionessmon sprang forwards, too fast for Serpentmon to encircle her, "Lioness Flame!"
Everything seemed to slow down for Mike. He saw the flames, heard Steve's scream, but it seemed to be taking forever. The power began to build up in his body, "Mike digimorph to Tigermon!"
He sprang forwards, and crouched in front of Steve and Snowmon. The flames collided with him, sending him back. Emotionessmon growled, then fired again. This time, Tigermon de-digimorphed.
The attacking Digimon smiled at the exhausted Digidestined, batted back a frantic Serpentmon, then focused on Steve and Snowmon. 'The Digidestined cannot function without their leader,' she thought, 'Take him down, and the rest shall follow.'
She sprang, claws outstretched, teeth bared. Steve screamed, not caring if it sounded as if he was scared out of his mind. Mike slowly opened his eyes. He saw Emotionessmon leaping, heard Steve scream once more.
He gritted his teeth. This time he would not let her do anything. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, giving him the strength he needed. He pulled himself to his feet, then ran towards Steve.
Steve stared at the claws that would surely end his life. He willed himself not to shut his eyes. He had to be strong. He didn't want to die a coward.
Then he felt something push him out of the way. He rolled over, and saw Mike crouching down, right in Emotionessmon's path. "MIKE!" he yelled. The raven-haired boy looked at him, and, strangely enough, grinned.
'Huh?' Steve thought, 'What's he grinning about?'
Serpentmon paused too, 'What the... HAS HE GONE MAD?'
Mike bowed his head slightly. The thought of those claws gouging out his eyes wasn't exactly a pleasant one. Still, at least Steve was OK...
Then a bluey-green light began to surround his crest.
Thousands of thin beams of light shot out. About ten joined together and knocked back Emotionessmon. The others, apart from one, streaked into the temple. The one remaining circled round, and hit Mike's still bleeding hand. Or, to be more precise, the emerald shard dug into his hand.
The light spread across the piece, then lifted it out, and floated towards the temple. Well, it ALMOST got to the temple when...
"Lioness Flame!"
The lioness Digimon's attack knocked it out of the air, and the light vanished. Mike felt himself stiffen. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew that the piece had to get to the temple.
Serpentmon flew down, and managed to whack Emotionessmon away from the shard with his tail. Using all the adrenaline that was still flowing inside him, Mike ran forwards and grabbed the shard. Then he turned, and ran into the temple.
The sight that he saw can't be described well enough. The pieces of the broken emerald were all suspended in mid-air, each surrounded with bluey- green light, and the carving was practically throbbing with the colour. Apart from the eyehole. It remained dark.
Somehow, Mike knew what to do. It felt as if a voice had awakened inside him that knew what to do, and was making sure he did it. And, as if it had taken over his body, he did it.
He took off his crest, and opened the hand which was carrying the fragment. Carefully, he laid the crest on top. Then he focused on protection. He thought about protecting Steve from Dozemon, even though it wasn't especially protecting. He thought about the way he had just protected Steve from Emotionessmon. He thought about the way he had protected the group countless times by digimorphing.
'And,' he thought, 'I'll carry on protecting them. Even if it takes me forever to find them, I will. And until then, I'll protect Steve and our Digimon.'
His crest practically exploded with light. The light grew and grew, surrounding the fragment AND the crest. Out of instinct, Mike dropped it, but the crest and the fragment seemed to merge together and soar up. Then it began to encircle the other pieces. One by one, floated down and settled into place in the eyehole of the carving. When the last piece, the piece that had merged with the crest of Protection, swooped down and took its place, the light was so blinding Mike had to shield his eyes.
Then the light seemed to rise up out of the carving. The only thing was, the carving had vanished! Somehow, the light WAS the carving!
Then the light swooped out, and Mike ran to the entrance just in time to see it sinking into Serpentmon's body. Then the light changed from bluey- green to white, and Serpentmon began to lengthen.
"Serpentmon digivolve to WingSerpentmon!"
He grew incredibly in length. His body changed from blood red to fiery- orange, whilst his pink mask became a deeper orange, with a flame drawn on it. His body widened out in some places, and wings the colour of fire grew out of them.
Emotionessmon took a step back, and her fur paled, "Oh no, WingSerpentmon! A fire snake Digimon with a Flame Wing to match. But he was meant to disappear ages ago, so what's going on?"
WingSerpentmon smiled, "I'll tell you what's going on kitty. You're toast." His wings began to glow their flame colours, "Flame Wing!" Fire shot out of them, a few feathers mixed in. Emotionessmon tried to block them with her own flames, but the attack was too fast and too powerful. She screamed, and disintegrated.
WingSerpentmon sighed. Then a bluey-green ball of light emerged from just below the rings of his neck, and he de-digivolved. When the white light faded, a dark red snake with a rattlesnake's tail, Firepentmon's claws, and very long streamer things positioned like ears was lying there.
Snowmon gave a small smile, "Snakemon. Not the cutest thing ever, but a lot cuter than its other forms. Its Rattlesnake Tail can be used for a small distraction, but he's not exactly a fighter."
Mike ran towards his Digimon, then dropped to his knees and picked it up, "Are you OK?"
Then a deep voice seemed to come from above him, "He'll be fine."
Mike head shot up, but all he could see was the light. He pointed at it, "W...What are..."
"You?" the mysterious voice chuckled, "I'm WingSerpentmon. I tried to stop a Digimon named Satanmon taking over the Digiworld, but I was trapped inside that carving. He sealed me in using the power of Protection, as that is the crest that governs my power. I had to get someone who held the power to release me, and in return, I helped your Digimon digivolve to Ultimate."
Mike looked down at his Digimon, trying to take it all in, "But... you needed my crest to completely unseal you?"
"Sorry."
"So. Firepentmon won't become an Ultimate again?"
"Oh, that. Well, I'm free now. Thanks to you. Here, take it."
The crest of Protection, inside its tag, dropped out of it. Mike caught it. He stared at it, then looked up, "But... how are you going to..."
"I should have deleted ages ago. I can't have a body again without being reconstructed and born at the Primary Village. But then I won't be able to help. And I have been sealed for so long, my memories of the Digiworld have faded. My data won't be able to find the way. If I travelled within your crest, I could help and find my way back some day. But the choice is yours."
Mike looked down at the crest in his hand. He considered asking Steve, but then he thought, 'It's my choice. I can't be influenced.
'Well, he said `Some day`, so he's not going to force us to go straight to the Primary Village. And we probably won't find anyone else who can tell us what's happened in the past.'
(LM: You have to remember he doesn't know about V)
He looked up, "Alright. I'll do it."
The light began to increase, then shoot down, forming a ball around the crest. Then it pulsed with the light, as the Digimon's spirit said, "Thanks."
Steve watched, feeling such a wave of emotions they were almost affecting him physically. 'I'd never do that,' he thought, 'I don't like the idea of an ancient spirit bossing us about. Well, I guess V doesn't, but V doesn't want to be born again. WingSerpentmon's helping us because he can't do Orienteering. Bit of a difference.'
He sighed and looked up, 'Maybe I'm just not ready to be a real leader. Until we get back together, I'm dropping the job. I need to talk to V, before I make my decision.'
Mike looked at the crest, then up at Steve. He noticed the boy seemed distant. "Hey," he called, "You OK?"
Steve sighed, "Mike, until we get back to the others, is it OK if you DON'T treat me like a supreme leader?"
The dark-haired boy blinked in surprise, then nodded. Steve smiled then turned away, and started walking. Putting on his crest and scooping up Snakemon, he ran after the former leader, 'Wonder what's wrong with him...?'
WILL STEVE BECOME A LEADER ONCE AGAIN? AND HOW WILL V REACT TO THIS NEW LINK TO THE PAST? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT DIGIMON: DIGITAL MONSTERS!
Author's Note: This ended up nothing like the episode idea I started with. The basic plot's there: Meet Steve, fight, Digimon attacks, crest glows, WingSerpentmon defeats enemy. And the emerald was going to be broken when I started. But the Digimon spirit, Mike getting emotional, Steve dropping the leader spot... Totally unexpected. YAAAAAAAAAGH!!!! I have no control (if I ever did)! Also, this means I have to change some of my plot lines to include my D.S. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Not a plot change!
Anyway, enough of my rambling. This is actually going to be the last episode you get for a bit, because I haven't finished the next episode... Oh well. I'll give you a few snippets though, just to keep you busy. Mary fans, you'll be VERY happy when I post it...
"Sleep Knowledge, sleep..." Those mystical eyes bore into him, and he felt his eyes obeying to the call...
"WHAT? I COME ALL THE WAY HERE, AND YOU ALMOST KILL ME?" She screamed, almost deafening him.
"He is, by all rights, mine."
"The only one who can save him now is you. You have to defeat him..."
"Return to the shadows from which you came..."
"A last weapon against the vampires..."
"You two are connected in ways you cannot even begin to understand..."
EPISODE 22: Hypnotic Links
Lady Moon