The whirring sound of Ravemon's drill sent shivers up Biyomon's spine. She tried to inch backwards, away from the large menacing Digimon, but she was too badly injured, her wings would not support her.
Ravemon's horn was now inches from Biyomon's torso. A little more, and her blood would spill. Just a little more....
"Nova Blast!"
Nonoseconds before Ravemon accomplished his goal, a massive fireball slammed into his left side, knocking him a good twenty feet away from Biyomon. Ravemon shook his mane, trying to clear his head. It soon became clear what had hit him. A large orange dinosaur loomed over him, a gray, horned shell of bone covering his head. Sparks flickered at his lips as he prepared to attack again.
On his shoulder stood a human child, slightly younger than Jareth. He was wearing tan, baggy pants and a blue shirt, with yellow stars on his shoulders. A pair of stylish goggles sat on a blue sweatband atop his head.
"Great shot, Greymon! Hit it again!"
Greymon obliged. "Nova Blast!"
Ravemon quickly leapt to the side, dodging the massive ball of flames. The trees behind him exploded as the gasses within them were instantly superheated.
"Feather Edge!" Ravemon's attack flew rapidly toward Greymon, and he wasn't nearly as agile as his opponent. The black, razor-sharp feathers sliced into the large reptilian Digimon, and he roared in pain.
"Horn Drill!" His drill spinning, Ravemon leapt at Greymon. Greymon sidestepped just in time to avoid being ventilated. He was too slow, however, to avoid the attack altogether. Ravemon's horn tore the flesh of Greymon's left leg, causing him to stumble. Greymon turned backtoward Ravemon, who was preparing for another strike. The large dinosaur reared back for another Nova Blast....only to be brought to his knees by a fresh wave of agony from his injured leg.
Seeing his opportunity, Ravemon rushed at Greymon, knocking him over with a powerful tackle. Greymon fell, dropping the human from his shoulder as he did. Just as Birdramon did before him, Greymon glowed and shrank back to his previous stage--a small, tan-skinned lizard.
"Agumon!" The human who had been sitting on Greymon's shoulder ran over to the Agumon and threw his arms around him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Tai. Where are the others?"
Tai looked around desperately. "They should have been here by now."
"Where are the others. Exactly what I was wondering." Ravemon advanced on the two small creatures...but as he did, he stumbled. The fight had taken more out of him than he'd thought. His fur was blackened on one side from Greymon's fireballs, and singed in several more by Birdramon's meteors. He hoped neither of the Digidestined in front of him had noticed him stumble.
As it happened, neither had. Unfortunately, someone else did. From the forest to Ravemon's left emerged a number of small creatures: three humans, a Tentomon, a Gatomon, and a Patamon. The rest of the Digidestined?
One of the smaller humans, the one with the green helmet, leapt out in front of Tai and Agumon, spreading his arms to defend them.
"You leave them alone!" he said. The Patamon flew over and landed on his helmet, and stood glaring at Ravemon.
"T.K., be careful! This guy's tough!" Tai said.
"Relax, Tai," said one of the other humans, the one with spiky reddish-brown hair and a strange yellow box on it's back. "We've got this covered. Right, Tentomon?"
"That's right!"
The Tentomon flew straight toward Ravemon. Ravemon thought for a moment that it had lost it's mind, attacking something so much larger than itself, but then he heard a familiar high- pitched whine...a whine that seemed to be coming from the spiky-haired human.
"Tentomon, Digivolve to....KABUTERIMON!"
In the small Tentomon's place, there now stood a massive insectoid Digimon. It's skin was a dull gray, and it looked almost skeletal.
Kabuterimon took to the skies, hovering directly above Ravemon. It folded all six of it's limbs in close to it's body, forming a large ball of energy.
"Electro-Shocker!" The large insect released his attack, to quickly for Ravemon to dodge. The large black lion caught the full force of the electricity, and fell to his knees.
"You're beaten, whoever you are," Tai said, getting to his feet. "Now, would you mind telling us why you attacked us?"
Ravemon merely growled.
"You sorry excuse for a feline!" Gatomon yelled. "I should declaw you myself!"
Tai advanced past T.K., taking a few steps towards Ravemon. "Who sent you? Do you work for Piedmon?"
"No," came a voice from behind them. "He works for me."
Tai spun around to meet this new challenge, as did T.K. and the other two Digidestined. Kabuterimon, still buzzing overhead, turned also.
Leaping from an overhead branch, Jareth's black clothed figure appeared in the clearing.
"Jareth Valentine," he said, making a low, elaborate bow, "At your service."
Ravemon breathed a sigh of relief.
"You sent this thing to attack us?" T.K. asked, incredulous.
"Actually, he was only out to get the bird." Jareth gestured to the still injured Biyomon, who was only now regaining consciousness. "The rest of you just sort of showed up."
"Biyomon?" The spiky-haired one asked. "Then where's Sora?"
Jareth looked guilty. "I...already....took care of her."
Tai suddenly looked furious. "If you've hurt Sora, I'll-" Tai took one angry step towards Jareth.
Ravemon roared, shocking everyone. He leapt almost vertically, straight up, hitting Kabuterimon on one side. Kabuterimon was knocked off-balance; the wings on one side of him caught against the trees and he fell to the ground. Before he could react, Ravemon landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Injured, Kabuterimon returned to his Tentomon form, still pinned down by Ravemon's gigantic leonine paw.
"You touch Jareth, and I'll swat this Digimon like the fly he is," Ravemon growled.
Gatomon leapt at Ravemon-- "Lightning Claw!"--only to be struck down by a swipe of his mammoth paw.
"Patamon, it's your turn now!" T.K. said, looking up at the small brown creature sitting on his helmet.
"Right, T.K.!"
Flapping the batlike wings that were his ears, Patamon began to fly at Ravemon, the familiar whine of the Digivice already sounding throughout the clearing.
"Patamon, Digivolve to....ANGEMON!"
In Patamon's place there now stood Angemon, a white-skinned, six-winged angel. His head was covered by a shining silver helmet, and he appeared to have no eyes. In his right hand he held a long golden staff, and he seemed to be covered with leather straps and shining gold relics.
It was remarkable how something with no eyes could glare so evilly at anyone.
* * *
Sora woke up, and immediately wished that she hadn't. Her skull was throbbing...most likely a result of the large knot on her head. She tried to rub the sore spot, but found that she couldn't; her arms seemed to be stuck. A moment later she realized why--she was tied to a tree.
Sora was confused, but she didn't know if it was a result of the concussion or the situation. Why hadn't Jareth killed her? He'd certainly had the chance, and that seemed to be his goal. Or maybe he'd only been out to kill Biyomon.
Biyomon! What had happened to Biyomon? Where was she? Was she okay? Had he hurt her?
Sora struggled to free herself, straining as hard as she could against the vines that held her to the tree. She was astounded when they actually loosened, freeing her. Curious, she examined the vines.
"A slip knot?"
* * *
"Hand of Fate!"
Angemon punched the air, firing a powerful beam of golden light at the already weakened Ravemon. Ravemon took the hit, and went rolling head over heels backwards from the force of the blow. Angemon descended from the sky to Ravemon's level.
"Horn Drill!" Ravemon lunged at Angemon, intending to pierce him with his drill, but Angemon simply rose higher into the air, evading the attack.
"Feather Edge!" Ravemon fired another barrage of sharp-edged feathers, but Angemon simply deflected them with a twirl of his staff.
"Hand of Fate!" Angemon's attack struck home once more, this time blasting Ravemon into the nearest tree.
Ravemon shook his head. He couldn't take much more of this. Angemon's's attacks were much too strong for him, especially afer the beating he'd already taken from th others. But maybe he could still win this somehow. But how?
Angemon flew lower, looming threateningly over Ravemon's head. He swung his staff, preparing to throw it....
Ravemon got an idea. Spreading his wings, Ravemon flew in a beeline at Angemon. As soon as he was close enough, he snatched Angemon's staff in his mouth, wrenched it from his grip, and turned, midair, to face him.
"Give that back!" Angemon said in a threatening tone of voice.
"Well," Ravemon said, his mouth full of metal, "Since you asked so nicely....." The ebony lion tossed his head, hurling the golden staff back at it's owner.
The staff his the side of Angemon's armored head with a resounding CLANG! While Angemon was off-balance, Ravemon dived at him again, horn first.
"Horn Drill!"
This time, the angelic Digimon was unable to dodge in time. Ravemon's drill pierced his left arm and a shower of golden blood splashed down upon the forest below. Angemon screamed in pain, and instinctively counter-attacked--"Hand of Fate!"--before reverting to Patamon, and fluttering like a wounded sparrow back to the forest floor.
For the third time in a row, Hand of Fate struck Ravemon dead on. But this time, Ravemon wasn't able to shake it off. As the blast of holy light hit him, he began to fall.....falling, glowing, shrinking....Venomon once more. And, as Venomon, he fell.
* * *
Jareth caught Venomon this time. While all eyes had been on the airborne battle, Jareth had climbed one of the nearby trees. Running through the branches, Jareth managed to find a spot where he could not only catch Venomon, but could also escape from the Digidestined. And unlike Sora, he managed to land without breaking anything.
"Venomon? You okay, buddy?"
"Sure...I...won, didn't I?"
"Actually...no. We lost."
"We...lost? But we're still alive."
Jareth leapt down from the tree and laid Venomon down on the ground. "Just because we survived, that doesn't mean we won. We retreated."
"We ran away?"
Jareth scowled. "I prefer retreated. And anyway, you didn't run anywhere. I did."
"Either way. We failed. We failed Piedmon."
Jareth grinned. "We haven't failed him yet. We can always try again later. Once you're feeling better."
Venomon struggled to sit up. "That won't be long. Digimon heal fast. But how am I supposed to win against all of them? Especially that Angemon? He's strong, Jareth. Really strong."
"So are you. You took down three Champion-level Digimon, all by yourself. Come on, lighten up. Yesterday you were optimistic to the point of absurdity."
Venomon smiled. "Hey, I know what'll cheer me up. Let's go kill that
Digidestined girl! Did you tie her to the tree, like we planned?"
"Yup. She's right over--" Jareth stopped abruptly.
"What? What is--" Then Venomon saw.No one was there; the vines lay coiled loosely around the tree trunk. "She escaped."
"Apparently so."
"Well, let's go after her! She can't have gotten fa--"
"You're not going anywhere until you can stand on you own feet again."
"But we can't stay here! They'll be looking for us."
Jareth sighed. "So I'll carry you. Here. Have another caramel. You've earned it."
**************************************************
From his vantage point in the treetops, Jareth peered down at the group of children beneath him. Seated on the branch next to him, Venomon followed his gaze.
"What are they up to?" Venomon asked.
"I can't really see them very well. Bad eyes."
Venomon started fuming. "Ooh! That Angemon! If I ever get my claws on him-"
"You'll get your ass kicked, just like before. He's too strong."
Venomon shot Jareth an insulted look. "I was just worn out! I'd already taken down everyone else. Come on, let's go back down there and finish them."
"We need a plan, Venomon. We can't just dive in and attack."
"I don't care! I want to pay Angemon back for shooting me down! I want to--"
"Wait."
Venomon paused. "What?"
"Look at the direction they're heading."
Venomon did a quick double-take. "What? They're just-" The small green Digimon stopped short.
"I love that look of dawning comprehension. Yes, they're headed for Spiral Mountain."
"Where Piedmon is. We've got to stop them!"
"Any ideas?"
"Dive in and attack?"
"Any GOOD ideas?"
There was a pause.
"Must I do EVERYTHING?" The loud voice from behind them made both Jareth and Venomon jump. The spun around, Jareth nearly falling out of the tree and Venomon flapping his wings to balance himself.
There stood Piedmon, floating in midair and sneering at them unpleasantly.
"Lord Piedmon!" Venomon said, trying to sound innocent. "What brings you--"
"Silence!" Venomon stopped mid-sentence. "I chose you, I created you to destroy these meddlesome children, but it seems you are not capable of even that."
"We're outnumbered and outgunned, clown," Jareth said.
Piedmon scowled. Even brainwashed, the human had an attitude. "I don't want to hear any excuses." Piedmon hovered closer to Jareth and his terrified Digimon. "I thought you were supposed to be intelligent. You cannot even destroy a pack of school children."
"Neither could you."
"I said SILENCE! Clown Trick!" Piedmon threw a ball of golden light at Jareth, knocking him off the branch. The Dark Digidestined fell through the branches, tearing skin and clothes before finally hitting the ground with a sickening THUD.
"Jareth!" Venomon spread his wings and flew to the ground, landing beside the fallen teenager. He nudged Jareth with his foot. "Jareth? Jareth! Speak to me!"
Jareth groaned. He tried to sit up and instantly regretted it. The forest was spinning dizzily around him.
Piedmon descended from the canopy, coming to rest a few feet from the ground in front of his injured prodigy.
"You are incompetent. But I will forgive you, this once. I will even help you." The demonic jester reached into his suit and drew forth a small object, and threw it to the ground.
Jareth managed to sit up this time. He picked up the trinket and blinked madly, trying to bring it into focus.
It appeared to be some sort of pendant. It was shaped like an 8-sided crystal, with a small rectangular window set into the front. A small symbol showed through the window. It was shaped like an hourglass, framed on either side by a pair of outward-facing crescent moons.
"What...is it?"
"It is a crest. Each of the Digidestined has a crest, depicting their greatest character trait, such as the Crest of Courage. It enables their Digimon to Digivolve past Champion, to reach the Ultimate level."
Jareth shook his head, still groggy. "So..what's mine? The crest of...?"
"Yours is the Crest of..." Piedmon paused. "...Insanity."
Jareth held the necklace up to the light. "Insanity," he said. He slipped the necklace on and concealed it beneath his sweater. He looked back up at Piedmon, still seeing three of him. "Thank you."
"I'm not finished," Piedmon said. "You complained that you were....outnumbered? I believe we can solve that." Piedmon waved his hand, and the likenesses of two more people appeared next to him. They seemed to be few years younger than Jareth, about the same age as most of the Digidestined. One was a male, one female...but both were only an illusion.
"These are Ann and Hikayo. They will be joining you." Piedmon glanced down at Venomon. "They will have Digimon partners, just as you do." Piedmon pointed to the top of a nearby mountain, smaller than the others, but still tall enough that it's peak was shrouded in mist. "I will summon the girl first. Go to the top of that mountain and wait for her. Once she joins you, I want you to seek out these two." Piedmon threw two more objects to the ground in front of Jareth. This time they were photographs, one of a tall skinny boy with glasses, the other of a blond girl with a goofy hat.
"More Digidestined?"
"I told you there were eight."
"Didn't you notice a few were missing?" Venomon asked.
"Math is not my best subject. I still only count seven."
"The eighth is currently wandering the Digital World, trying to find some meaning to his pathetic existence." Piedmon waved his hand dismissively. "You can deal with him later. For now, venture to the top of the mountain, and wait for the girl."
Jareth managed to get to his feet, rocking unsteadily. "You're the boss, clown." Jareth held out his Digivice.
"Venomon, Digivolve to....Ravemon!" In an eyeblink, Venomon had once again become the great, winged black lion. "Hop on, Jareth!"
Jareth clumsily mounted Ravemon's back, trying to find a place he could hang on without pulling out any feathers.
As soon as Ravemon thought Jareth had a decent hold, he spread his ebony wings and took to the skies, soaring towards the mountaintop where they would finally, hopefully, meet a new ally.
Ravemon's horn was now inches from Biyomon's torso. A little more, and her blood would spill. Just a little more....
"Nova Blast!"
Nonoseconds before Ravemon accomplished his goal, a massive fireball slammed into his left side, knocking him a good twenty feet away from Biyomon. Ravemon shook his mane, trying to clear his head. It soon became clear what had hit him. A large orange dinosaur loomed over him, a gray, horned shell of bone covering his head. Sparks flickered at his lips as he prepared to attack again.
On his shoulder stood a human child, slightly younger than Jareth. He was wearing tan, baggy pants and a blue shirt, with yellow stars on his shoulders. A pair of stylish goggles sat on a blue sweatband atop his head.
"Great shot, Greymon! Hit it again!"
Greymon obliged. "Nova Blast!"
Ravemon quickly leapt to the side, dodging the massive ball of flames. The trees behind him exploded as the gasses within them were instantly superheated.
"Feather Edge!" Ravemon's attack flew rapidly toward Greymon, and he wasn't nearly as agile as his opponent. The black, razor-sharp feathers sliced into the large reptilian Digimon, and he roared in pain.
"Horn Drill!" His drill spinning, Ravemon leapt at Greymon. Greymon sidestepped just in time to avoid being ventilated. He was too slow, however, to avoid the attack altogether. Ravemon's horn tore the flesh of Greymon's left leg, causing him to stumble. Greymon turned backtoward Ravemon, who was preparing for another strike. The large dinosaur reared back for another Nova Blast....only to be brought to his knees by a fresh wave of agony from his injured leg.
Seeing his opportunity, Ravemon rushed at Greymon, knocking him over with a powerful tackle. Greymon fell, dropping the human from his shoulder as he did. Just as Birdramon did before him, Greymon glowed and shrank back to his previous stage--a small, tan-skinned lizard.
"Agumon!" The human who had been sitting on Greymon's shoulder ran over to the Agumon and threw his arms around him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Tai. Where are the others?"
Tai looked around desperately. "They should have been here by now."
"Where are the others. Exactly what I was wondering." Ravemon advanced on the two small creatures...but as he did, he stumbled. The fight had taken more out of him than he'd thought. His fur was blackened on one side from Greymon's fireballs, and singed in several more by Birdramon's meteors. He hoped neither of the Digidestined in front of him had noticed him stumble.
As it happened, neither had. Unfortunately, someone else did. From the forest to Ravemon's left emerged a number of small creatures: three humans, a Tentomon, a Gatomon, and a Patamon. The rest of the Digidestined?
One of the smaller humans, the one with the green helmet, leapt out in front of Tai and Agumon, spreading his arms to defend them.
"You leave them alone!" he said. The Patamon flew over and landed on his helmet, and stood glaring at Ravemon.
"T.K., be careful! This guy's tough!" Tai said.
"Relax, Tai," said one of the other humans, the one with spiky reddish-brown hair and a strange yellow box on it's back. "We've got this covered. Right, Tentomon?"
"That's right!"
The Tentomon flew straight toward Ravemon. Ravemon thought for a moment that it had lost it's mind, attacking something so much larger than itself, but then he heard a familiar high- pitched whine...a whine that seemed to be coming from the spiky-haired human.
"Tentomon, Digivolve to....KABUTERIMON!"
In the small Tentomon's place, there now stood a massive insectoid Digimon. It's skin was a dull gray, and it looked almost skeletal.
Kabuterimon took to the skies, hovering directly above Ravemon. It folded all six of it's limbs in close to it's body, forming a large ball of energy.
"Electro-Shocker!" The large insect released his attack, to quickly for Ravemon to dodge. The large black lion caught the full force of the electricity, and fell to his knees.
"You're beaten, whoever you are," Tai said, getting to his feet. "Now, would you mind telling us why you attacked us?"
Ravemon merely growled.
"You sorry excuse for a feline!" Gatomon yelled. "I should declaw you myself!"
Tai advanced past T.K., taking a few steps towards Ravemon. "Who sent you? Do you work for Piedmon?"
"No," came a voice from behind them. "He works for me."
Tai spun around to meet this new challenge, as did T.K. and the other two Digidestined. Kabuterimon, still buzzing overhead, turned also.
Leaping from an overhead branch, Jareth's black clothed figure appeared in the clearing.
"Jareth Valentine," he said, making a low, elaborate bow, "At your service."
Ravemon breathed a sigh of relief.
"You sent this thing to attack us?" T.K. asked, incredulous.
"Actually, he was only out to get the bird." Jareth gestured to the still injured Biyomon, who was only now regaining consciousness. "The rest of you just sort of showed up."
"Biyomon?" The spiky-haired one asked. "Then where's Sora?"
Jareth looked guilty. "I...already....took care of her."
Tai suddenly looked furious. "If you've hurt Sora, I'll-" Tai took one angry step towards Jareth.
Ravemon roared, shocking everyone. He leapt almost vertically, straight up, hitting Kabuterimon on one side. Kabuterimon was knocked off-balance; the wings on one side of him caught against the trees and he fell to the ground. Before he could react, Ravemon landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Injured, Kabuterimon returned to his Tentomon form, still pinned down by Ravemon's gigantic leonine paw.
"You touch Jareth, and I'll swat this Digimon like the fly he is," Ravemon growled.
Gatomon leapt at Ravemon-- "Lightning Claw!"--only to be struck down by a swipe of his mammoth paw.
"Patamon, it's your turn now!" T.K. said, looking up at the small brown creature sitting on his helmet.
"Right, T.K.!"
Flapping the batlike wings that were his ears, Patamon began to fly at Ravemon, the familiar whine of the Digivice already sounding throughout the clearing.
"Patamon, Digivolve to....ANGEMON!"
In Patamon's place there now stood Angemon, a white-skinned, six-winged angel. His head was covered by a shining silver helmet, and he appeared to have no eyes. In his right hand he held a long golden staff, and he seemed to be covered with leather straps and shining gold relics.
It was remarkable how something with no eyes could glare so evilly at anyone.
* * *
Sora woke up, and immediately wished that she hadn't. Her skull was throbbing...most likely a result of the large knot on her head. She tried to rub the sore spot, but found that she couldn't; her arms seemed to be stuck. A moment later she realized why--she was tied to a tree.
Sora was confused, but she didn't know if it was a result of the concussion or the situation. Why hadn't Jareth killed her? He'd certainly had the chance, and that seemed to be his goal. Or maybe he'd only been out to kill Biyomon.
Biyomon! What had happened to Biyomon? Where was she? Was she okay? Had he hurt her?
Sora struggled to free herself, straining as hard as she could against the vines that held her to the tree. She was astounded when they actually loosened, freeing her. Curious, she examined the vines.
"A slip knot?"
* * *
"Hand of Fate!"
Angemon punched the air, firing a powerful beam of golden light at the already weakened Ravemon. Ravemon took the hit, and went rolling head over heels backwards from the force of the blow. Angemon descended from the sky to Ravemon's level.
"Horn Drill!" Ravemon lunged at Angemon, intending to pierce him with his drill, but Angemon simply rose higher into the air, evading the attack.
"Feather Edge!" Ravemon fired another barrage of sharp-edged feathers, but Angemon simply deflected them with a twirl of his staff.
"Hand of Fate!" Angemon's attack struck home once more, this time blasting Ravemon into the nearest tree.
Ravemon shook his head. He couldn't take much more of this. Angemon's's attacks were much too strong for him, especially afer the beating he'd already taken from th others. But maybe he could still win this somehow. But how?
Angemon flew lower, looming threateningly over Ravemon's head. He swung his staff, preparing to throw it....
Ravemon got an idea. Spreading his wings, Ravemon flew in a beeline at Angemon. As soon as he was close enough, he snatched Angemon's staff in his mouth, wrenched it from his grip, and turned, midair, to face him.
"Give that back!" Angemon said in a threatening tone of voice.
"Well," Ravemon said, his mouth full of metal, "Since you asked so nicely....." The ebony lion tossed his head, hurling the golden staff back at it's owner.
The staff his the side of Angemon's armored head with a resounding CLANG! While Angemon was off-balance, Ravemon dived at him again, horn first.
"Horn Drill!"
This time, the angelic Digimon was unable to dodge in time. Ravemon's drill pierced his left arm and a shower of golden blood splashed down upon the forest below. Angemon screamed in pain, and instinctively counter-attacked--"Hand of Fate!"--before reverting to Patamon, and fluttering like a wounded sparrow back to the forest floor.
For the third time in a row, Hand of Fate struck Ravemon dead on. But this time, Ravemon wasn't able to shake it off. As the blast of holy light hit him, he began to fall.....falling, glowing, shrinking....Venomon once more. And, as Venomon, he fell.
* * *
Jareth caught Venomon this time. While all eyes had been on the airborne battle, Jareth had climbed one of the nearby trees. Running through the branches, Jareth managed to find a spot where he could not only catch Venomon, but could also escape from the Digidestined. And unlike Sora, he managed to land without breaking anything.
"Venomon? You okay, buddy?"
"Sure...I...won, didn't I?"
"Actually...no. We lost."
"We...lost? But we're still alive."
Jareth leapt down from the tree and laid Venomon down on the ground. "Just because we survived, that doesn't mean we won. We retreated."
"We ran away?"
Jareth scowled. "I prefer retreated. And anyway, you didn't run anywhere. I did."
"Either way. We failed. We failed Piedmon."
Jareth grinned. "We haven't failed him yet. We can always try again later. Once you're feeling better."
Venomon struggled to sit up. "That won't be long. Digimon heal fast. But how am I supposed to win against all of them? Especially that Angemon? He's strong, Jareth. Really strong."
"So are you. You took down three Champion-level Digimon, all by yourself. Come on, lighten up. Yesterday you were optimistic to the point of absurdity."
Venomon smiled. "Hey, I know what'll cheer me up. Let's go kill that
Digidestined girl! Did you tie her to the tree, like we planned?"
"Yup. She's right over--" Jareth stopped abruptly.
"What? What is--" Then Venomon saw.No one was there; the vines lay coiled loosely around the tree trunk. "She escaped."
"Apparently so."
"Well, let's go after her! She can't have gotten fa--"
"You're not going anywhere until you can stand on you own feet again."
"But we can't stay here! They'll be looking for us."
Jareth sighed. "So I'll carry you. Here. Have another caramel. You've earned it."
**************************************************
From his vantage point in the treetops, Jareth peered down at the group of children beneath him. Seated on the branch next to him, Venomon followed his gaze.
"What are they up to?" Venomon asked.
"I can't really see them very well. Bad eyes."
Venomon started fuming. "Ooh! That Angemon! If I ever get my claws on him-"
"You'll get your ass kicked, just like before. He's too strong."
Venomon shot Jareth an insulted look. "I was just worn out! I'd already taken down everyone else. Come on, let's go back down there and finish them."
"We need a plan, Venomon. We can't just dive in and attack."
"I don't care! I want to pay Angemon back for shooting me down! I want to--"
"Wait."
Venomon paused. "What?"
"Look at the direction they're heading."
Venomon did a quick double-take. "What? They're just-" The small green Digimon stopped short.
"I love that look of dawning comprehension. Yes, they're headed for Spiral Mountain."
"Where Piedmon is. We've got to stop them!"
"Any ideas?"
"Dive in and attack?"
"Any GOOD ideas?"
There was a pause.
"Must I do EVERYTHING?" The loud voice from behind them made both Jareth and Venomon jump. The spun around, Jareth nearly falling out of the tree and Venomon flapping his wings to balance himself.
There stood Piedmon, floating in midair and sneering at them unpleasantly.
"Lord Piedmon!" Venomon said, trying to sound innocent. "What brings you--"
"Silence!" Venomon stopped mid-sentence. "I chose you, I created you to destroy these meddlesome children, but it seems you are not capable of even that."
"We're outnumbered and outgunned, clown," Jareth said.
Piedmon scowled. Even brainwashed, the human had an attitude. "I don't want to hear any excuses." Piedmon hovered closer to Jareth and his terrified Digimon. "I thought you were supposed to be intelligent. You cannot even destroy a pack of school children."
"Neither could you."
"I said SILENCE! Clown Trick!" Piedmon threw a ball of golden light at Jareth, knocking him off the branch. The Dark Digidestined fell through the branches, tearing skin and clothes before finally hitting the ground with a sickening THUD.
"Jareth!" Venomon spread his wings and flew to the ground, landing beside the fallen teenager. He nudged Jareth with his foot. "Jareth? Jareth! Speak to me!"
Jareth groaned. He tried to sit up and instantly regretted it. The forest was spinning dizzily around him.
Piedmon descended from the canopy, coming to rest a few feet from the ground in front of his injured prodigy.
"You are incompetent. But I will forgive you, this once. I will even help you." The demonic jester reached into his suit and drew forth a small object, and threw it to the ground.
Jareth managed to sit up this time. He picked up the trinket and blinked madly, trying to bring it into focus.
It appeared to be some sort of pendant. It was shaped like an 8-sided crystal, with a small rectangular window set into the front. A small symbol showed through the window. It was shaped like an hourglass, framed on either side by a pair of outward-facing crescent moons.
"What...is it?"
"It is a crest. Each of the Digidestined has a crest, depicting their greatest character trait, such as the Crest of Courage. It enables their Digimon to Digivolve past Champion, to reach the Ultimate level."
Jareth shook his head, still groggy. "So..what's mine? The crest of...?"
"Yours is the Crest of..." Piedmon paused. "...Insanity."
Jareth held the necklace up to the light. "Insanity," he said. He slipped the necklace on and concealed it beneath his sweater. He looked back up at Piedmon, still seeing three of him. "Thank you."
"I'm not finished," Piedmon said. "You complained that you were....outnumbered? I believe we can solve that." Piedmon waved his hand, and the likenesses of two more people appeared next to him. They seemed to be few years younger than Jareth, about the same age as most of the Digidestined. One was a male, one female...but both were only an illusion.
"These are Ann and Hikayo. They will be joining you." Piedmon glanced down at Venomon. "They will have Digimon partners, just as you do." Piedmon pointed to the top of a nearby mountain, smaller than the others, but still tall enough that it's peak was shrouded in mist. "I will summon the girl first. Go to the top of that mountain and wait for her. Once she joins you, I want you to seek out these two." Piedmon threw two more objects to the ground in front of Jareth. This time they were photographs, one of a tall skinny boy with glasses, the other of a blond girl with a goofy hat.
"More Digidestined?"
"I told you there were eight."
"Didn't you notice a few were missing?" Venomon asked.
"Math is not my best subject. I still only count seven."
"The eighth is currently wandering the Digital World, trying to find some meaning to his pathetic existence." Piedmon waved his hand dismissively. "You can deal with him later. For now, venture to the top of the mountain, and wait for the girl."
Jareth managed to get to his feet, rocking unsteadily. "You're the boss, clown." Jareth held out his Digivice.
"Venomon, Digivolve to....Ravemon!" In an eyeblink, Venomon had once again become the great, winged black lion. "Hop on, Jareth!"
Jareth clumsily mounted Ravemon's back, trying to find a place he could hang on without pulling out any feathers.
As soon as Ravemon thought Jareth had a decent hold, he spread his ebony wings and took to the skies, soaring towards the mountaintop where they would finally, hopefully, meet a new ally.