CHAPTER 18
"Do you really think you can continue avoiding us?" Another Fangmon snarled as four more lunged simultaneously at FlaDiiamon.
Three of the four Fangmon hit their target. FlaDiiamon was knocked to the ground, carrying a deep slash on her left shoulder and hindquarter.
"Baby Salamander!"
"Light Nail!"
"Pyro Mane!"
Two of the remaining Fangmon were hit and disappeared in a spray of data.
"Well, we get to take her Spirits the hard way . . ."
All of the Fangmon lunged in towards FlaDiiamon. This time, they all got their slashes in. Once they were all back out in the circle, FlaDiiamon dropped to the ground once more, covered in deep, bleeding gouges.
"Blast Coffin!" The Fangmon all yelled, releasing their attacks at the weakened FlaDiiamon, who was in no position to dodge.
The attacks hit FlaDiiamon head-on, and when they cleared, she was lying on her left side with many more scratches.
"Hmm . . ."
FlaDiiamon slowly pulled herself to her feet.
"Once more and she'll be done." A Fangmon announced.
FlaDiiamon looked around the circle, searching for a quick escape.
"Blast Coffin!"
When the attacks cleared, FlaDiiamon was nowhere in the circle. The Fangmon looked around at each other, confused. A soft thud behind them caused them to turn, only to find FlaDiiamon running towards the steep edges of the ravine.
"Get her!"
FlaDiiamon lunged up at the cliff walls, and upon making contact, she dug her claws into the stone, grasping for a hold.
"Blast Coffin!"
The attacks seared up past FlaDiiamon, some hitting her and some just barely scouring her shoulders and hindquarters. FlaDiiamon winced in pain and her grip in the rock slipped.
'No! I MUST do this! I can't let them win!' FlaDiiamon thought to herself, pulling her weight up towards a narrow ledge. Once on the ledge, she stopped to pant, trying to catch her breath.
The Fangmon started up the cliff after her, making quick progress. FlaDiiamon started up towards the very top, no more ledges for her to use to rest.
She finally made it to the top, but realized that the Fangmon were not far behind. She looked down, calculating how long of a head-start she'd have.
'Not long enough.' She thought to herself. "Flaming Diamond Blast!"
The fiery attack broke off large portions of the rock wall, causing it to cave down onto the Fangmon, who were unsuspecting.
FlaDiiamon turned and broke into a weak run towards the jungle-like oasis not too far off.
The last Fangmon was hit and disappeared in a spray of data.
Strabimon and Flamon landed in the sand neatly and Strabimon returned his sabers to their holders behind his back.
"Now, where did FlaDiiamon get off to?" Strabimon asked, scanning the sand dunes around them.
"Let's find her." Flamon said, following the tracks left by FlaDiiamon and the Fangmon who had left.
The Fangmon broke out of their rocky blanket, most scratched badly, but plenty capable of attacking. They congregated near the rock wall and started towards the top once more.
FlaDiiamon stumbled into the clearing by a small, but fast-moving river. She looked around and spotted a shelter across the river. Looking around some more, she saw a thick tree lying over the river, creating a bridge to the other side. She slowly headed for the tree and started across. Her walk was becoming more and more clumsy for many reasons: loss of blood, dehydration, too much heat . . .
Halfway across, she lost her footing and dropped off the edge. She desperately dug her claws into the wood, her hind legs dangling into the speeding water. Her strength was giving out. Try as she might, she was unable to pull herself back up onto the tree.
A final burst of fast-moving water pulled her hind legs with it, causing her to lose her grip on the tree. She was brushed away down the river, smashing against rocks and various other debris on the way.
The roar of water falls ahead could be heard over the raging water. FlaDiiamon struggled against the current, but to no avail.
Another burst of fast water slammed FlaDiiamon into a huge boulder, knocking her unconscious. FlaDiiamon's motionless body drifted down the river and over the falls. It slammed into the water at the base of the falls and remained below the surface for awhile.
When she finally resurfaced further downstream, the current carried her to a rocky outcropping which held a cave beneath it. Another burst of water shoved her up into the cave where she came to a rest on her right side, facing the river. Her fur was soaked and she was lying in a puddle of water and blood, which was still trickling from her wounds.
"Sao?" Folamon asked herself, pricking her ears in what appeared to be a random direction. "Oh no . . . SAO!" She exclaimed, galloping towards the oasis.
"Hey! Lisa! Wait up!" Strabimon called, trying to catch up with her.
"Aw man . . . who are we kidding?! We can't run that fast!" JP whined.
"Folamon! WAIT UP!" Zoe yelled as the Warriors broke into a run after Lisa.
'I REALLY wish I could fly. It'd make things so much easier!' Flamon thought to himself. Then, without warning, Flamon began glowing and transformed into BurningGreymon. He took flight and soon passed the other Warriors and Folamon.
"TAKUYA!" Zoe yelled. "Wait, I bet that means we're out from under the energy field."
Agunimon jumped from boulder to boulder along the swift moving river. He landed neatly on one side and looked around. Strange shapes in the dirt caught his attention.
"Tracks." Agunimon said to himself. "And they look like-" Agunimon cut himself off upon seeing a few pools of red liquid beside the tracks. "It's her . . . but I wonder where she went?" 'She couldn't have gotten far in that condition . . .' "Sao! Where are you?!"
When no answer, but his voice's echoed came, he followed the tracks onto a thick tree. He stopped and examined several gouge marks on the downstream side of the tree.
Agunimon looked frantically downstream when he figured out what the marks were. His gaze fell on the waterfall.
"Oh no."
"Well, if we are out from the dampening field, we should be able to Spirit Evolve." Folamon said.
"Right, let's try it." Strabimon said as he and Folamon returned to their human forms.
"Execute . . . Spirit Evolution!"
"Execute . . . Beast Spirit Evolution!"
"Beetlemon!"
"Kazemon!"
"Kumamon!"
"KendoGarurumon!"
"YiegerLowemon!"
"BurningFolamon!"
The group of H-Hybrids and B-Hybrids took off across the sand, making much better progress than before.
[a/n: GOMEN! I'm sorry this chapter was short, but I kinda wanted to have a semi-cliffy. Oh well. *shrugs* So, what do you think? I have no clue how much longer this story is going to last, but I've still got to come up with a final battle and what not. Ideas are in short supply over here, so if you have any, PLEASE tell me and who knows? They might just find their way in here! That's what I should do next . . . make a totally interactive fic. Hmmm . . .]
"Do you really think you can continue avoiding us?" Another Fangmon snarled as four more lunged simultaneously at FlaDiiamon.
Three of the four Fangmon hit their target. FlaDiiamon was knocked to the ground, carrying a deep slash on her left shoulder and hindquarter.
"Baby Salamander!"
"Light Nail!"
"Pyro Mane!"
Two of the remaining Fangmon were hit and disappeared in a spray of data.
"Well, we get to take her Spirits the hard way . . ."
All of the Fangmon lunged in towards FlaDiiamon. This time, they all got their slashes in. Once they were all back out in the circle, FlaDiiamon dropped to the ground once more, covered in deep, bleeding gouges.
"Blast Coffin!" The Fangmon all yelled, releasing their attacks at the weakened FlaDiiamon, who was in no position to dodge.
The attacks hit FlaDiiamon head-on, and when they cleared, she was lying on her left side with many more scratches.
"Hmm . . ."
FlaDiiamon slowly pulled herself to her feet.
"Once more and she'll be done." A Fangmon announced.
FlaDiiamon looked around the circle, searching for a quick escape.
"Blast Coffin!"
When the attacks cleared, FlaDiiamon was nowhere in the circle. The Fangmon looked around at each other, confused. A soft thud behind them caused them to turn, only to find FlaDiiamon running towards the steep edges of the ravine.
"Get her!"
FlaDiiamon lunged up at the cliff walls, and upon making contact, she dug her claws into the stone, grasping for a hold.
"Blast Coffin!"
The attacks seared up past FlaDiiamon, some hitting her and some just barely scouring her shoulders and hindquarters. FlaDiiamon winced in pain and her grip in the rock slipped.
'No! I MUST do this! I can't let them win!' FlaDiiamon thought to herself, pulling her weight up towards a narrow ledge. Once on the ledge, she stopped to pant, trying to catch her breath.
The Fangmon started up the cliff after her, making quick progress. FlaDiiamon started up towards the very top, no more ledges for her to use to rest.
She finally made it to the top, but realized that the Fangmon were not far behind. She looked down, calculating how long of a head-start she'd have.
'Not long enough.' She thought to herself. "Flaming Diamond Blast!"
The fiery attack broke off large portions of the rock wall, causing it to cave down onto the Fangmon, who were unsuspecting.
FlaDiiamon turned and broke into a weak run towards the jungle-like oasis not too far off.
The last Fangmon was hit and disappeared in a spray of data.
Strabimon and Flamon landed in the sand neatly and Strabimon returned his sabers to their holders behind his back.
"Now, where did FlaDiiamon get off to?" Strabimon asked, scanning the sand dunes around them.
"Let's find her." Flamon said, following the tracks left by FlaDiiamon and the Fangmon who had left.
The Fangmon broke out of their rocky blanket, most scratched badly, but plenty capable of attacking. They congregated near the rock wall and started towards the top once more.
FlaDiiamon stumbled into the clearing by a small, but fast-moving river. She looked around and spotted a shelter across the river. Looking around some more, she saw a thick tree lying over the river, creating a bridge to the other side. She slowly headed for the tree and started across. Her walk was becoming more and more clumsy for many reasons: loss of blood, dehydration, too much heat . . .
Halfway across, she lost her footing and dropped off the edge. She desperately dug her claws into the wood, her hind legs dangling into the speeding water. Her strength was giving out. Try as she might, she was unable to pull herself back up onto the tree.
A final burst of fast-moving water pulled her hind legs with it, causing her to lose her grip on the tree. She was brushed away down the river, smashing against rocks and various other debris on the way.
The roar of water falls ahead could be heard over the raging water. FlaDiiamon struggled against the current, but to no avail.
Another burst of fast water slammed FlaDiiamon into a huge boulder, knocking her unconscious. FlaDiiamon's motionless body drifted down the river and over the falls. It slammed into the water at the base of the falls and remained below the surface for awhile.
When she finally resurfaced further downstream, the current carried her to a rocky outcropping which held a cave beneath it. Another burst of water shoved her up into the cave where she came to a rest on her right side, facing the river. Her fur was soaked and she was lying in a puddle of water and blood, which was still trickling from her wounds.
"Sao?" Folamon asked herself, pricking her ears in what appeared to be a random direction. "Oh no . . . SAO!" She exclaimed, galloping towards the oasis.
"Hey! Lisa! Wait up!" Strabimon called, trying to catch up with her.
"Aw man . . . who are we kidding?! We can't run that fast!" JP whined.
"Folamon! WAIT UP!" Zoe yelled as the Warriors broke into a run after Lisa.
'I REALLY wish I could fly. It'd make things so much easier!' Flamon thought to himself. Then, without warning, Flamon began glowing and transformed into BurningGreymon. He took flight and soon passed the other Warriors and Folamon.
"TAKUYA!" Zoe yelled. "Wait, I bet that means we're out from under the energy field."
Agunimon jumped from boulder to boulder along the swift moving river. He landed neatly on one side and looked around. Strange shapes in the dirt caught his attention.
"Tracks." Agunimon said to himself. "And they look like-" Agunimon cut himself off upon seeing a few pools of red liquid beside the tracks. "It's her . . . but I wonder where she went?" 'She couldn't have gotten far in that condition . . .' "Sao! Where are you?!"
When no answer, but his voice's echoed came, he followed the tracks onto a thick tree. He stopped and examined several gouge marks on the downstream side of the tree.
Agunimon looked frantically downstream when he figured out what the marks were. His gaze fell on the waterfall.
"Oh no."
"Well, if we are out from the dampening field, we should be able to Spirit Evolve." Folamon said.
"Right, let's try it." Strabimon said as he and Folamon returned to their human forms.
"Execute . . . Spirit Evolution!"
"Execute . . . Beast Spirit Evolution!"
"Beetlemon!"
"Kazemon!"
"Kumamon!"
"KendoGarurumon!"
"YiegerLowemon!"
"BurningFolamon!"
The group of H-Hybrids and B-Hybrids took off across the sand, making much better progress than before.
[a/n: GOMEN! I'm sorry this chapter was short, but I kinda wanted to have a semi-cliffy. Oh well. *shrugs* So, what do you think? I have no clue how much longer this story is going to last, but I've still got to come up with a final battle and what not. Ideas are in short supply over here, so if you have any, PLEASE tell me and who knows? They might just find their way in here! That's what I should do next . . . make a totally interactive fic. Hmmm . . .]