In the Dark

Part Nineteen: …Faith and Safety at last

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingie: All plot is [mostly] mine! All characters are not. They belong to Toei Animation. I'm borrowing them. I'm not giving them back until I'm done with them, which won't be for a long, long time.  So there. Enjoy the story.

***

Takeru groaned and rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. Whatever he'd collided with was hard enough to hurt even after a few moments had passed. He reached out with his hand in the darkness and could feel the moist stones of the wall make contact with his fingertips.

"Is it the wall?" Patamon asked. He'd retreated to a safer spot - hovering in the air - after Takeru collided face-first with the stone.

"That's what I'd guess," Takeru answered, feeling a little grumpy and grouchy after the incident. "Which way now?"

***

The rope was slippery and slimy, the result of having been suspended over water for a very long time - perhaps years. Obtaining a secure handhold was nearly impossible. Daisuke tried to keep hold of the slippery lifeline but found it difficult with only one hand, the other holding tightly to his partner, who hung dangerously close to the murky depths.

"I - can't reach," Daisuke gasped, trying to grope for the wooden planks of the bridge. "Takeru? Are you there?" There was only silence.

V-mon was trying to grab for something else. He'd tried for his partner's leg and his shirt and had so far only succeeded in making their safety all the more jeopardized. "If I could just grab something else."

"I'm trying," his partner responded, pulling his arm upward and bringing the digimon closer to him. "I can't let go with this hand, though." He pulled his hand closer to his chest, and V-mon reached out and grasped hold of the cloth of his partner's shirt.

For a moment, the redistribution of weight made their position ever more tenuous. They swung wildly in mid-air while Daisuke tried frantically to grab the bridge with his other hand. He grabbed on to the rope with both hands and heaved a sigh of relief.

'Takeru, where are you?' he wondered.

***

"Do you feel anything?" Patamon asked. He was keeping alert, listening for sounds, but all he heard in the darkened interior was the sound of his partner's shuffling footsteps on the ground.

"Just the wall," Takeru answered. "It feels slimy and cold and eternal. Maybe I should have gone the other way after all."

"Don't give up now!" Patamon scolded. "If you keep going, the wall has to end somewhere."

"I hope so," he sighed. "It's strange - you'd think that the moonlight would come in through the door. It wasn't this dark outside. Why is it so dark in here?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe there's some sort of magic? What exactly is this building anyway? Why is it in the middle of a lake? Why is there no way out of it except back across the bridge?"

"Takeru?"

"Yes?"

"What's that?"

***

V-mon gathered his strength and pulled himself from his perch on his partner's head on to the wooden planks of the treacherous bridge. He paused, panting for breath, and looked down at his partner.

"You know I'm not strong enough to pull you up, right?"

Daisuke half-shrugged, dismissing this. "Do you see anyone who can?" he asked.

The small blue digimon stepped back a bit and looked back toward the stone island. He shook his head slightly. "I don't see Takeru or Patamon. You don't suppose they were washed into the water?"

"It's possible," he answered with a grim expression. "How about the other direction? Do you see Hikari?"

***

"What's what? I don't see anything." Takeru was confused.

"That odd bright thing over there," Patamon answered. "Turn your head."

Takeru did so, and spotted the thing in question not far off. "Do you think it might be a digimental?" he asked, speaking the first thing that came to mind.

"If it is, why didn't it react earlier?"

"Maybe it isn't mine. If it was, then it would have been activated when I first entered the building. Or even before that," Takeru reasoned. "So maybe it belongs to Hikari or Iori and it's reacting now because they're coming closer?"

***

"Let go of the rope. I can't pull you up if you're still attached to the bridge!"

"Miyako?" Daisuke asked, looking up to see a familiar face peering down at him with some frustration. "How did you - ?"

"Do you want me to save your life before that - thing - comes back or do you want to hang there and have me tell you a story? Let go of the rope."

"If I let go, I'll fall."

"No you won't. I've already got you. Just let go."

"Trust her, Daisuke," Iori's voice piped up. "She knows what she's talking about."

"I'm not inclined to," he responded, but let go of the rope. To his surprise, he didn't immediately plummet into the water, but instead hovered for a moment in midair. The floating sensation startled him and, for a brief second, Daisuke felt a quiver of alarm. Then, he began to slowly rise higher. As his vision grew level with the wooden planks of the bridge, he could see three pairs of shoes awaiting him on the bridge. The three shoes grew into the three people, one of whom was Miyako, whose face was scrunched in concentration as she maneuvered some unseen magical forces. At last, his feet were once again on semi-solid ground and Miyako released the magical bindings.

Before anything could be said, though, a loud noise broke the relative silence of the dark. It sounded like an angry, screeching roar. The waters parted a short distance from the bridge and a massive red serpentine creature rose from the water with another deafening screeching noise and turned to face them. The moonlight glinted off the front of its face, which was elongated as in most serpents and covered with a metal shell, topped with a ferocious, dangerous looking, sharp, blade-like horn.

There was nothing to be said and no time to say it. In an instant, all eight on the bridge took off at top speed for the nearest and safest place, which was the stone island.

"What is that thing?" Miyako demanded between frantic, gasping breaths.

"I believe that would be Mega Seadramon," Hawkmon replied, flapping quickly behind his partner.

"Mega Seadramon?" Daisuke echoed. "Sounds dangerous."

Mega Seadramon chose that moment in time to twist its body sideways and splash into the water, sending a gigantic tidal wave in the direction of the bridge.

"Miyako!" Hikari called the warning.

"I see it, I see it!" Miyako answered. She stopped her tracks, raised her arms and shut her eyes.

A wall of water rose up out of the lake and surrounded the bridge, all on the bridge remained dry. Daisuke stared in astonished relief as the water curved around him, redirected by Miyako's quickly raised shield.

The water abated, Miyako lowered the shield, and everyone darted toward the stone island.

 In the midst of all the confusion, no one noticed the continuos beeping noise that had been sounding throughout the entire ordeal.

***

Takeru stepped toward the light coming from the digimental, keeping his arms spread in front of him in an attempt to avoid further collisions with whatever other furniture might be in the room. Curiously, although the light was rather bright, it failed to illuminate the room enough for him to navigate by. He stepped forward and placed his hands on the glowing object, but the light didn't help him to make out the features of his hands or arms any better. He pulled on the digimental, but nothing happened.

"Not mine," he reported to Patamon, shaking his head slightly. "I guess it must belong to Hikari or Iori."

"Well, we'll be sure to inform them as soon as they find their way here. Or we find our way out of here," Patamon answered with a sigh.

Takeru was about to respond when he suddenly felt something wet against his ankle. He looked down and noticed the light of the digimental reflecting off the stone floor. His feet felt cold even within his boots, and he realized that his toes felt wet. There was water within the stone building. Not only that, it was steadily rising. He wondered how he'd failed to notice it before.

His thoughts were interrupted just then by another light. When Takeru turned, he could see, dimly, the outline of an exit to the room. Framed within the exit were a few figures running quickly toward the entrance, toward him, with every intention of entering. A few carried torches, and because of that, he was able to identify the figure in the front of the crowd as Miyako, who had an expression made partly of fear and partly of urgency as she ran.

Takeru wisely acted upon his first instinct, which was to step aside of the incoming figures, but he didn't move quickly enough, and the light was too dim to see anything very well, and so he just succeeded in moving directly into their path.

Mega Seadramon chose that moment to let loose another massive wave, and so everyone outside the stone building was washed inside. The resulting collision resulted in a massive entanglement of bodies and a lot of confusion.

There was a loud crashing sound from outside, and, despite the confusion, everyone turned toward the sound to find that Mega Seadramon's massive tail had succeeded in splitting the bridge in half.

While the Chosen and their partners watched helplessly from inside the stone building, the battered wood splintered into a thousand tiny pieces and the moldy, slimy rope holding it together was left to droop and dangle uselessly in the swampy lake.

The sound of laughter could be heard distantly.

***

The sun had slowly begun its course into the sky and the cloudy mist that surrounded the stone building in the middle of the lake hindered the light sent to the swamp. Iori awoke after only a short amount of sleep and saw that his companions and his partner were all still resting.  Little sleep was possible with ankle-deep water, but they had all attempted after Mega Seadramon had departed following the destruction of the bridge.

Inside the stone building, the darkness no longer held the power of mystery and confusion it had possessed the night before. It was a simple round, stone building with a few statues in the middle of it. Iori guessed that it was probably very old, probably built as a shrine to a water god of some sort, although he couldn't recall from any history what sort of people had lived in this area. He both regretted and was thankful that he had not brought along his book of notes. It probably would have been soaked or damaged, but he would have liked to gather further information for his map project.

Feeling a bit damp, Iori ventured to the doorway of the building and peered out. He was not surprised to note that the swamp was covered with an early morning mist that made it look very mystical, even in the daylight. He remembered that Miyako had said she'd seen dark magic here the night before, but nothing about the area spoke of evil to Iori. He wondered if there was a dark tower in the area. If there was, it was not visible from the island.

Iori stepped out of the doorway cautiously, encouraged by the early morning silence. He could hear a few insects buzzing and some birds twittering in the distance, but the area was otherwise calm and peaceful. The warm sun felt comforting after he'd spent the night in damp, cold clothes.

He remembered then the events of the night before, and Iori's pleasant, peaceful mood evaporated. His eyes locked on the bridge they'd taken the night before. Through the mist and haze of the water, it was almost possible to see the shoreline, though not quite. He could almost make out the pile of rocks and the two poles the other end of the bridge had once been attached to. But the bridge itself was gone.

The edge of the stone platform that surrounded the building still held the supports of this end of the bridge, but now the rotted wood and the grimy ropes trailed down into the water and offered no escape.

Iori felt the beginnings of despair as he stared across the lake. It wasn't endless, but he certainly had no hope of getting across it without a bridge, or without being attacked. He sat down on the warm stones and let the sun relax his body. The water rippled below him, and Iori glanced down into the murky depths to see a long, serpentine body moving just below the surface. He instinctively scuttled backward, fairly certain that it was Mega Seadramon he had just glimpsed.

 Iori thought to hurry back inside and warn the others, but it was too late. Mega Seadramon had spotted him as well. In a single, terrifying motion, the long, serpentine creature roared up from the depths, mouth opened wide, a ferocious roar escaping. Iori fell backwards into the stone wall behind him, his emotions wavering between fear and awe at the giant Mega Seadramon.

There was now no need for him to alert the others - Mega Seadramon's roar had done that for him. While Iori stared at the giant serpent, momentarily stunned with panic, the others quickly dashed from the building to see what had happened.

It was Takeru who had the presence of mind to grab the youngest of the Chosen by the hand and pull him to safety within the stone edifice while Miyako and Daisuke rushed forward with the sticks that had once burned as torches. They weren't much to offer in defense of their position, but they served to buy enough time for the others to get to safety. Daisuke tried using his stick as a club while Miyako simply threw hers with all her might at the giant serpent. Exhausted, weak, and hungry, neither had much of an effect on the giant digimon.

"Get back inside!" Takeru urged, waving from the doorway. The stone shelter was the only safety in midst of the lake. "Inside!" he shouted again.

Since their attacks had little effect, Miyako saw the wisdom of this advice and, before he could protest (for he hated to retreat from anything), she grabbed Daisuke by the arm and dragged him within the building as well. 

Mega Seadramon let loose a ferocious, shrieking howl, and threw its body forward, unwilling to let its prey escape.

"Get back!" Miyako urged, running toward the back of the building.

A few giant-sized serpent teeth snapped at the air as the end of Mega Seadramon's snout pushed its way through the entranceway. Daisuke tried again to beat his stick against the creature's nose. This only resulted in making the enemy even more angered, however. Mega Seadramon opened its mouth, snapping ferociously, and the end of the stick was caught within its jaws.

Now it was Hikari who grabbed Daisuke and pulled him back towards the far wall, scolding him as she did so: "Are you crazy? You could have been killed!"

After a few moments, Mega Seadramon managed to free its muzzle from the doorway and pulled back from the stone building. The screeches echoed across the lake, so annoyed was it by its inability to reach its prey. The noise quickly abated though.

"Is it giving up?" Miyako wondered.


"It doesn't have to come after us," Takeru concluded dully. "We're doomed if we stay in here and doomed if we leave." He sighed and sat down in a puddle of water.

"If only there was some way we could at least fight him," Daisuke sighed. He placed a hand on his stomach as he spoke, the pangs of hunger choosing just that moment to remind him why they couldn't.

"Um...what's that?" V-mon interrupted, pointing at a pedestal that stood in the center of the round building. In the light of the morning, they were able to see it for the first time.

Takeru laughed slightly and slapped his palm to his head. "Oh! I'd forgotten! I found that digimental last night. It isn't mine, I tried to lift it, so it must be someone else's. I can't believe I forgot to mention it." He shook his head.

"You forgot to mention that you found a digimental?" Miyako questioned, astonished. Takeru shrugged apologetically.

"Well, let's find out whose it is," Daisuke decided. He stepped up to the digimental, but it didn't give when he tried to lift it. Miyako also tried, but it was equally stubborn.

"I doubt that it's mine," Hikari admitted, but she tried nonetheless, and, as predicted, she was unable to lift the digimental.

"I suppose it must be yours then, Iori," Armadimon said then, glancing toward his partner. "Go on."

Iori nodded and stepped up to the stone pedestal. He looked down at the white and blue digimental for a moment, noting the symbol on it without really making sense of it. Without hesitation, he placed both hands around the object and lifted it easily from the pedestal with the accompaniment of a flash of light.

When the brightness had subsided, the others crowded around, congratulating him.

"Digimental Seijitsu," Takeru observed, nodding. "I'd guess that's the last of the digimentals, then."

"I'd guess that a new digimental might give you enough power to fight Mega Seadramon, at least for a little while," Daisuke answered. "And if he's got a dark ring, then he'll be defeated easily that way."

"Or he could use the digimental to go across the lake," Hikari interrupted. "And to go for help."

"That's a good idea," Takeru agreed. "Especially if the digimental turns Armadimon in to something that can fly."

"I sure hope not," Armadimon said, looking at the stones beneath his feet with some relief. "I'd rather stay closer to the ground if you don't mind."

"Flying is not for everyone," Hawkmon agreed with a nod.

"You won't know what Armadimon will become or even if a new digimental has enough power to do anything," Miyako pointed out. "Not until you try."

"It seems best to try to get across the water," Iori finally said, having been carefully considering his different options. "If I can get back to the cabin I should be able to get enough food to come back. If I can bring some of that food back here, then you can all eat. It seems then that we'd have a much better chance of defeating Mega Seadramon or escaping if we all had strength."

Armadimon seemed to accept the plan. "I'm strong, but I'm sure I'm not strong enough to defeat him on my own," he admitted.

***

Jyou ventured from the safety and warmth of the cabin out in to the snow-covered forest for the first time since the latest snow had fallen. He would have liked to remain inside and warm, but, since the wood-carrying job of the night before had been aborted, it was up to him to finish it, or at least make some headway, if he wanted to stay warm inside.

He wasn't a fan of snow. He wasn't very happy about having to treat frostbitten or frozen digimon and people through the cold winter. He preferred to say safely within the stone walls of the castle and leave the wood chopping to others. But Jyou Kido was a long way from the castle, and there was no one else to gather the wood. So he reluctantly hefted the axe over his shoulder and trekked into the forest.

Gomamon was having the time of his life. The wind had blown the snow into small piles and drifts and he was sliding and slipping across the snow, laughing and cheering happily; unaffected by the cold. As Jyou slammed his axe again and again into the tree, he could hear the sounds of his partner's laughter drifting through the woods.

Part of Jyou was frustrated that his partner could have such fun, but he knew that this was Gomamon's way, and anyway, without hands or fingers (or opposable thumbs) Gomamon would be nearly useless at wielding an axe.

The first tree fell with a crash into the snow. In the silence, the sound echoed, startling a few bird digimon that had been huddling near the tops of other trees. Jyou ignored them, instead getting to work on cutting the tree into smaller, more arm-sized pieces.

Although he didn't much like physical activity, Jyou found that the repetitive chopping and the silence of the forest were appealing. He didn't much care for loud noise, either, which was why he was often one to forgo parties and large gatherings. The solitude felt appealing to him even considering his location.

Gomamon's squeals of delight reminded him that he wasn't completely alone, and he felt safer. The axe continued to chop, the steady thud of the tool the only other sound as he removed the upper branches from the trunk and began to cut these into smaller logs. When he paused to move, his boots made crunching noise against the snow.

The chopping was nearly finished. Jyou stopped his work and rubbed his mittened hands together, trying to warm himself. For a moment, he heard no sound, and then was keenly aware of the silence. Anxiously, he looked around at the surrounding trees, and felt a bit fearful.

Gomamon laughed again. "Whee!" he squealed. Jyou sighed, shook his head, and lifted the axe again.

Just as he was about to bring the metal part down upon the wood of the tree, he heard the sound of footsteps crunching quickly through the trees. Something was coming that way - and fast!

"Gomamon!" Jyou called, and he could hear his partner laugh in delight.

"What is it, Jyou?"

"I hear something. Come here."

"Hear what?" Gomamon questioned, but already his voice was coming closer, and Jyou could detect a well-hidden hint of concern in the carefree tone. "Voices in your head?"

"No, footsteps," Jyou answered. Gomamon emerged from somewhere within the cluster of trees. "Do you hear them?" he asked.

His partner didn't respond for a moment, instead cocking his head to one side and listening intently to the silence. In the distance, the crunch, crunch of footsteps in deep snow could be heard. "Yes," he answered. "Coming this way. Should we see what it is?"

The doctor hesitated for a moment before he responded. "I suppose so. It could be one of the others returning. Then again, it could be a dangerous, controlled digimon."

Gomamon had already started off in the direction of the noise. "Coming!" he called cheerfully, leaving his partner to follow nervously.

***

Tentomon, perched in the rafters of the cabin with a book, glanced down at his partner to see if he'd taken a break from studying. He had not. Koushiro was still buried nose-deep in volumes as he had been since the sun had risen.

Tentomon knew what his partner searched for was the origin of the magical barrier. From what Miyako had reported, it had sounded as though the barrier was somehow related to the light magic that Hikari and Taichi had inherited. Koushiro had thus theorized, privately, that perhaps the boundary was created by one of their ancestors, perhaps the ones who had originally founded the kingdom. The magic was, Miyako had reported, quite old and benevolent.

Koushiro had been inclined to take Miyako's observations seriously and had thus begun a search through various large volumes that he had brought with him in hopes of finding some mention of a boundary created in the histories. Unfortunately, because of the limited amount of space, he had brought few books that were of use. He would have to return home, he had decided, if only to do more research. The Kaiser's appearance appeared to have been completely neglected by the prophecies, which was another facet sure to require ever more hours pouring through books.

There was a noise just outside and then the hinges swung open and the door banged inward with such a thud that Koushiro turned away from his books to see Jyou enter, still dressed in his warmer clothes, and helping to support an obviously weakened Iori. The wizard rose from his seat to help.

"What's happened?" he questioned. "Where are the others?"

"Stranded," Iori answered, exhaustion apparent even in his voice. "Mega Seadramon surrounded them. Only with the Digimental Seijitsu was I able to come back for help." He turned to Koushiro with fear in his eyes. "They have no food and no protection. They can't evolve. They're helpless. Tell me you can help."

Koushiro frowned darkly. "Mega Seadramon?" he echoed. "Where is this? Tell me more."

"A water shrine, I'd guess. There was a rope bridge leading to it in the middle of the lake, but it was old and Mega Seadramon destroyed it. It was all a trap. Takeru and Daisuke were forced there by some mysterious attackers and the rest of us followed."

While Iori had been relating his story, Jyou had been heating some broth and meat on the cooking stove. He poured the soup into a bowl and gave it to the exhausted, hungry boy, then placed the meat before Armadimon.  "Is anyone hurt?" he asked.

Iori shook his head and swallowed half the bowl in a gulp. "No. Only hungry and tired," he answered. "Muddy and dirty, too," he added, referring to his own garments, which were caked in mud. A thin layer of the muck covered most of his skin. "I evolved Armadimon and we were able to get across the lake. It took considerable more effort to get back here."

"There's no way out of the lake?" Gomamon questioned. "Can't the others evolve?"

Armadimon answered between bites:  "They're all to weak. Even with the power of the digimental, I wasn't much stronger. None of us had eaten since yesterday afternoon."

"I'd guess Miyako doesn't have the strength for a spell, either," Tentomon stated.

Iori finished his bowl of soup feeling a bit more energized. The pain in his stomach had ceased and the hunger was abated for the moment. "I don't think so," he replied. "She spent enough of that energy shielding us from the tidal waves Mega Seadramon created and lighting torches so we could see to get across the bridge."

Koushiro had been searching frantically through a book, flipping pages quickly until he discovered what he wanted. "Can you tell me how to get to this place, Iori?" he questioned.

"I think so," Iori answered. "Can you help them?"

"I'll try," the wizard promised.

***

Mega Seadramon had quieted down, at least for the moment, but it did little to quell the anxieties of those trapped within the stone building. Miyako peered out of the only entrance, watching the lake and its unnatural stillness.

The area was encased in a blanket of dark magic, which was why Miyako was certain that they were in the Kaiser's territory no matter how far off course they might have strayed.  Last night, the darkness of the magic and the darkness of the night had combined to make her almost without vision in the new environment. Even with the sun shining brightly over the lake, things looked duller and darker than usual, and for the first time Miyako found herself frustrated with her magical vision.

"I don't see a dark tower," Hawkmon reported, seated beside her. He'd been scanning the surrounding area with his own, much better vision, and reported nothing. "This could mean that Mega Seadramon isn't controlled, but acting of his own volition."

"No," Miyako said, shaking her head. "There's dark magic here, and it definitely came from Ken. His has a distinct feel to it, and it's here. The problem is that some of the magic is not."

"Maybe this area just has magic in it," Daisuke suggested. He looked out across the water and remembered the ancient bridge that had hung there, then looked at the walls of the building, which were covered with a thin layer of slime that could only have been caused by contact with the lake water.

"This building seems very old," Hikari said, following his line of vision and noticing also the chips, cracks, and holes within the walls. "Iori said, I think, that this building might have been a shrine to a water god. Do you think, Miyako, that the worshipers might have created the magic you feel here?"

"Maybe they created the magic that caused the weather barrier," V-mon offered, but Miyako shook her head.

"I don't know if any magic came from this building, but it wasn't the same that created the weather barrier," she stated with some conviction. "That magic was ancient magic, not evil. This magic is dark."

"The magic that created the weather barrier was good?" Tailmon questioned, frowning.

Miyako sighed, uncertain of how to explain such a thing without leading the conversation further into the technical aspects of magic. She sensed that the line of questioning might lead into a discussion of the types of magic, and an admittance of the third sort of magic was too close to revealing Hikari's magic.

Miyako had tried for the last few weeks to avoid the subject of magic around anyone but Koushiro, and especially around Hikari. Eventually, she knew that it would come up, and when that happened, she wanted to be near Koushiro, so that she could turn to him for help. Stranded on a stone island was precisely not where she'd wanted to be.

After some amount of thought, Miyako replied simply: "It wasn't evil."

She knew the moment after she'd stated this that the answer wasn't sufficient. Tailmon seemed confused by the response.

"If it wasn't evil, it was good, wasn't it?" Takeru asked. Miyako didn't answer, instead turning her gaze back toward the water.

"Not necessarily," Daisuke answered instead with a thoughtful look on his face.

"It can't be as simple as just good or evil, Takeru," Hikari stated. "There's something in between that's neither. Or that's ambiguous."

Miyako stood and walked closer to the entrance, interrupting unintentionally whatever response Takeru might have stated. Hawkmon watched his partner anxiously. "Miyako?" he questioned.

"I sense something…," Miyako said, slowly, hesitantly.

"Is Mega Seadramon returning?" Daisuke asked.

"You should probably move away from the doorway," Hawkmon pointed out.

"No, no." Miyako waved a hand to silence them. "I sense something else. I sense…."

"Sense what?" Patamon asked.

"I sense Koushiro's magic."

Before anyone could ask what Miyako meant by this odd statement, a sound could be heard that broke the silence of the lake. It came from overhead, and it sounded like a shout. Hurriedly, everyone crowded around the doorway to peer out, ignoring for a moment the danger involved.

"There!" Miyako shouted, and an odd, cloud-shaped object was moving across the water from the direction where the bridge had once stood. "That's it!"

"What is it?" Takeru asked.

Miyako didn't answer, and the cloud was coming closer, whirling in a tornado-like fashion, skipping over the water and splashing as it did so. It came closer and closer to the building, and as it did, more and more water sprayed up towards the entrance, splashing those who stood in the doorway, awaiting.

A final skip in the water and the cloud-like object leapt from lake on to the stone floor outside the shrine. It hovered for a moment and then the spinning, cyclone-like movement halted and six figures were standing on the stones.

"Brilliant!" Miyako cheered enthusiastically, and stepped forward. Koushiro allowed one appreciative grin before schooling his features back into their usually serious expression.

"What is this?"  Hikari questioned, stepping from the doorway with a look of disbelief on her face. "I have never seen such a thing before!"

"Something having to do with the water, or the wind?" Takeru questioned, scratching his head in confusion.

Koushiro shook his head. "There isn't time to explain," he reported, taking in the surroundings. "Mega Seadramon will surely return in a short while. If there is a dark tower in the area, we have to get rid of it, and if there isn't then we have to get out fast."

"How?" Daisuke pointed out. "Do you have strength enough to return us all the way you came?"

"Not a chance," the wizard answered simply.

Jyou, the third of the humans and the only one who hadn't spoken yet, removed the pack he carried on his back. "No, you'll have to get yourselves home," he answered simply. "If this food is enough to regain your strength, then eat. There isn't enough for all of you, so those that can fly, eat hearty."

Patamon, Tailmon, and Hawkmon eagerly took hold of the bread and rolls that Jyou handed out, and their partners also took some of the food to eat.

"If there is a dark tower in the area, we haven't been able to find it," Miyako reported. "The area is filled with so much dark magic it's impossible to tell where it originates from."

Koushiro nodded. "I feel the dark magic, too," he answered. Before he could say more, the loud screech of the angered Mega Seadramon filled the air, and the massive, dragon-like head of the creature towered over the shrine.

"Inside!" Hikari shouted the warning, although that was mostly for Daisuke's benefit. She grabbed hold of his shirtsleeve before he could develop any ideas about charging out to fight defenselessly and pulled him to the stone building. The others followed immediately.

Mega Seadramon through his long, whip-like body into the water, creating a massive wave that soaked the dry spots even in the back of the shrine. Enraged and growing ever more impatient for his meal, the serpent twisted his body and thrashed his massive tail into the side of the stones. The walls buckled and the stone island shook.

"I think we've made him mad," Gomamon noted. "Oh, I wish I could evolve." He frowned and made low growling noises to show his frustration.

"You stay in here!" Jyou scolded, lest his partner develop any sort of ideas. "Is anyone hurt?" he called. When no one answered in the affirmative, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We'll never get off the island this way," Takeru said, looking at the walls. "If we leave the building to fly, he'll grab us."

Patamon agreed. "I'm a fast flier, but he's not too slow himself," he stated.

There was another loud, screeching wail from Mega Seadramon, and the

"Maybe we could get some sort of a distraction," Gomamon suggested. He twitched his flippers. It had been a while since he'd been in the water.

"Sounds great," Armadimon agreed. "Let's do it."

Iori nodded to his partner and lifted his digimental. "Agreed. Digimental up!"

"Armadimon evolve! Submarimon!"

***

I planned to have this chapter out before Thanksgiving. Then, before Christmas. I got it out…before New Year's. Barely. I have to apologize again for the long wait. I'm a full-time student, so naturally that takes priority over most anything else. I'd like to say that the next chapter won't take so long to get out, but I said that last time and look what happened….

Anyway, this getting through chapter means that I can finally move a bit forward in the plot now that all the digimentals have been found. Surprisingly, I've got Ken's defeat (mostly) planned out, I just have to find the time to type it out.  Time. Right.

Thanks to all of you who have stuck with reading this story from the beginning. I'm not abandoning it, I promise, I just have a very busy schedule. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and stay tuned for the next part, coming (hopefully) soon!