The Digital Edda

Book One

The Dark Ocean

Chapter Two

The serpent exploded through the fog bank like a black arrow. Its maw was open, sickle-curved fangs lunging, screeching as it shot towards Davis. Kari had managed to grasp her digivice in her kimono's pocket when the creature reached the middle of the playground. She pulled it out as the creature slammed into the playground's bridge. The chain-link railing went taut, and the equipment groaned against the serpent's momentum, cracking at the base where the bolts moored them to the cement. Its head thrashed against the metal collar. Its long, sinuous body coiled and undulated, whipping the ground so hard Kari could the smoke from the impact. It flapped its leathery wings in frustration.

The digimon pounced. Gatomon punched the serpent square on a nostril. Veemon slammed his head into its gray underbelly, bouncing almost comically away. Hawkmon and Armadillomon flanked it, striking at what they thought was its vulnerable belly. The serpent hissed. It tried jerking its head free, throwing Gatomon away in a single motion. Wormmon crawled forwards and spat his silk over it like a net, pulling the strands closed, gluing the chain-links to its ebony scaled hide.

Davis pulled out his device. "Gatomon wasn't lying. That thing is huge!" He said, craning his neck back.

"Is it a Digimon? Where did it come from?" Yolei shrilled. She watched the serpent contort and attack their digimon partners.

Cody pointed his digivice towards Armadillomon, who rolled under another blind tail swipe. It sheared through another piece of playground equipment and the decapitated remains flew into the woods. "We can't let it escape. It'll kill everyone. Let's go Armadillomon."

Kari nodded. The rookie partners glowed a golden, white light. When the intensity abated, they were in their Champion forms, angling around to put themselves between the humans and the enraged serpent. The creature bellowed and pulled. The bolts mooring the playground equipment gave way, and the it lifted its head to full height, towering over Ex-Veemon. Toxic orange eyes regarded them. A purple, forked tongue scented the air from a mouth scaled in impossible black. Kari was struck by how regal it looked against the fog curtain. Its wings splayed outwards, twice the size of its body.

"Enough!" the Changeling roared. His voice was gravely and deep, like graveyard bells. His eyes settled on Kari. "I had hoped to dispose of you with a bit of subtlety, but your pet-in-ashes forced my hand, All Mother." Gatomon stood in front of her, claws bared, teeth bared, holy ring glowing. "It doesn't matter how many cats you have. You and your Housecarls will draw your last breaths here!"

Before Kari could understand the threat, the serpent lunged again. He had so many teeth. Two fangs, much larger than its counterparts, rushed to greet her as he propelled forwards. Gatomon met the charge head on. The feline darted underneath his head and rocketed upwards, fist in an uppercut, and connected against his jaw. The serpent groaned, banking away into Ex-Veemon's waiting fist into the small of his back. He jerked again. Ankylomon spun in place, swinging his mace tail in a savage arc and colliding it into the snake's jaw. The serpent warbled in pain. He withdrew, flapping its wings once, twice, and shrieking as Aquilamon sheared his left wing clean off.

The serpent plummeted into the cradle of wrecked playground equipment, crushing it utterly.

"Wait," Ken shouted to Stingmon. "maybe it'll listen to reason now. Maybe find out what it is and where it came from."

"Never," The serpent muttered. He rose again, slower and with greater effort. His jaw hung loose from his head, drooling blood down its gray belly. "I'll never follow her again. More will come. Take my place," he wheezed. "The All-Mother can't hide forever." A bitter, disdainful chuckle followed, "At least I killed her thrice-cursed pet."

It lunged again. Angemon uttered his heavenly knuckle. The pillar of light shot from his pointed fist and pierced the serpent's eye, blowing out the back of its head in a blinding flash and, with that, the body crumpled away. The serpent's image, as well as the fog, dissipated, leaving the children along with their digimon standing in front of a demolished playground in the middle of a wood. Cool, August night seeped into Kari's burning lungs. Her eyes blinked away the stinging. She could taste the turnover stuck in her teeth. The other children sagged in place, looking at each other in bewilderment. The digimon returned to their rookie forms.

"What was that?" Takeru asked aloud.

Ken looked over the ruined playground. "I have no idea."

"Oh no," Kari murmured. She ran towards the furred lump on the other side. Gatomon shimmied her claws under Black Gatomon's belly and flipped him over. "Are you okay, little one?" Kari asked.

The Black Gatomon coughed. His eyelids creaked open. He eyes were a brilliant gold, like freshly minted coins. "I hate snakes," he muttered. Looking down, he pulled his paw away from his belly wound. "Auch, that's not good. I've only got a few lives left."

Kari shucked her Kimono's sash from her waist. She gingerly wrapped it around the black feline, careful to cover the scabbing wound multiple times. "You're okay. The bleeding's stopped. I'll take care of you."

"Don't have much of a choice, really," Black Gatomon blubbered. Kari picked him up and cradled him in both arms. Gatomon hopped onto her shoulder. "I've must've lost a lot of data," he said. "There's an angel standing on your shoulder."

Gatomon expression went half-lidded. Kari could see her resist rolling her eyes. "Clearly, you're delirious. Just relax and let us do the rest," Gatomon spoke bluntly. Black Gatomon grinned weakly, closing his eyes. His tail anchored around Kari's arm as she adjusted the bundle in her arms.

The group huddled together and pushed for the pathway. Fireworks thumped above them. The festival's culmination poured through the tree canopy in dazzling shafts of multi-colored light. It danced down the length of the cement, almost dictating where to go; back towards the people and the music and the food. Yolei and Davis murmured in awe, watching the colors strobe like a heartbeat. Takeru steered the group, crimping his Kimono in his left hand while pointing his right, directing the others on where to lookout for more, invasive fog. Kari could barely process anything. Between admitting her feelings for Takeru and the sudden appearance of whatever a Changeling was, her head swam.

The festival continued. People sat on their picnic blankets or sat on the benches too mesmerized by the firework display. It proved a blessing, for none spared a thought for the teenagers shuffling past them or their strange creatures running at their heel. Kari glanced upwards, catching a bedazzling explosion of pink and roman purple staining the night sky. Vendors packed up under the rolling detonations, some spending a second to sky gaze before pulling hoses, hauling propane tanks, or spreading ashes for the plants. Kari spied the Matuki's taking down their stall; the little boy clutched the poster while his parents pried the booth apart by the nails. Takeru led them out of the park and into Shinjuku station a couple blocks away.

Yolei exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "You just had to jinx it, eh Takeru?" she said.

"That's not what I had in mind, trust me," Takeru replied. He produced his wallet and pulled out his train card. "But, I certainly won't forget that."

Ken rubbed his chin. He looked back towards the park and saw the fireworks bursting in the distance. "No one was distracted by the noise?"

Davis shrugged. "Guess we lucked out," he replied.

"So what happens now?" Cody said. He rested against sword pommel, eyeing Armadillomon for cuts or bruises.

"We can crash at my parent's apartment above the store. We've got plenty of bandages and first aid there," Yolei chirped up. "Besides, that thing said there would be more coming, so strength in numbers, I guess?"

Kari adjusted the injured digimon in her other arm. She nodded at the offer. "Thanks, Yolei. I'll call Tai and let him know what's happened."

"I've got to go home and help take care of grandpa," Cody informed. "I'll contact Joe and Izzy and let them know."

Cody and Armadillomon bade them farewell and departed for their platform. The group continued through the warren of Tokyo Station's hallways until riding the escalator up to their platform. The train to Odaiba had departed fifteen minutes earlier and another car would return in the same time, so the teenagers sat and waited. The platform was deserted. Kari could only hear the steady breathing from her friends. Takeru, sitting next to her, leaned back, allowing Patamon to settle in his lap.

"How's our friend doing?" he asked, peering at Black Gatomon.

Kari regarded the cat's closed eyes and shallow breathing. The impromptu bandage around his belly was dry and clean. "I think he'll pull through."

"How about you? You doing alright?"

She nodded. "I'm okay, though I might have whiplash after all of that."

Takeru chuckled. "Tell me about it. We went from saying 'I love you' to fighting a twelve foot serpent. My brother was right, love is a battle." They both laughed. Gatomon and Patamon dipped their heads in agreement. "Can't imagine what's going to pop out if I asked you to marry me."

Kari's laugh wavered. Despite herself, she played it up. "Imagine the honeymoon."

Takeru's laugh stuttered into a giggle at that. He cleared his throat, cheeks highlighted in a blush. "Yea," he began, "Yea."

"If you guys are done over there," Davis interrupted, "we can figure out why that snake-thing called you All-Mother, Kari." Him and Veemon sat on their own bench on Kari's side. "Or what's a Housecarl?"

Ken placed his hand on his chin. "Or how it got in the Real World." He stood, gaze distant, thinking. "Changeling," he muttered, letting the word hang in the air. "Was he a digimon?"

"Nothing I've ever seen," Hawkmon replied. The other digimon offered shrugs or shook their heads. "He might've been. He's not from Japan, that's for sure."

"What are you thinking, Ken?" Wormmon asked from his seat.

"I'm not sure," Ken replied. He rubbed his chin. "That thing was after Kari, but our friend here thwarted his plans," he said, indicating Black Gatomon. "Yet he attacked anyway."

Veemon grunted. "Maybe he thought we were push overs. Serves him right, huh Davish?"

Yolei folded her arms across. "We'll find out sooner or later. Do you think the Digital World is in trouble?"

None answered her. An unsteady quiet followed. Kari mulled over what the Changeling had said. Was it her connection to the Light, she thought. She remembered how his onyx scales and orange eyes looked so pristine and faultless. Could it have been from the Dark Ocean? Kari looked down at the Black Gatomon's wistful smile, feeling him purr against her arms in content. She hoped he could shed some light on the situation. The platform ringing drew her attention. The train to Odaiba was arriving, the led screen announced. The announcement system chimed again, three times instead of two.

"Attention, attention," the female voice intoned. "The Tokyo Metro will be suspending all station operations from eleven pm through six am due to technical and mechanical difficulties. We apologize for any inconveniences. Patrons in our automatic, fast travel program will be reimbursed for any withdrawals during maintenance. We here at Tokyo Metro strive to make your daily commute a special one. Thank you."

"Alert," a more robotic, male voice followed. "Municipal workers report to your transit station hub for assignment. Report any suspicious or anomalous activity to Metropolitan Police. Citizens, interfering with authorized personnel will result in punitive,disciplinary action."

Takeru glanced at his digivice. "Looks like we're the last trip," he said.

The train pulled in and the group boarded a single car, finding their own rows. Kari settled in the closest, still holding the sleeping Black Gatomon in both arms. Gatomon hopped onto the seat beside her. Municipal workers appeared on the platform from the escalators. Two carried large, steel gates and held them in front of the escalators while another two began bolting them down to the floor. One woman, shorter than the rest, noticed the group in the car and waved. They reflected the gesture. The train car chimed twice and its doors slid closed. A policeman climbed half-way up the escalator, seeming to inquire on their progress. As Kari felt the train pull away from the station, she wondered why such gates were needed.

"Housecarl," Davis said. He appeared stuck on the word. "What is that, should I be insulted?"

Veemon stood on the seat and looked outside. "Maybe he mistook you for a maid or butler. You bathed today, after all."

"As if," Yolei harrumphed. She splayed her arms out, showing off her lavender Kimono. "Would a maid wear something this amazing to a festival?"

Hawkmon rolled his eyes. "Your taste in fashion aside, Yolei, I too am rather curious about that word." He smiled, or Kari assumed he smiled with a beak. "It sounds like a title."

"Maid's a title," Veemon quipped.

"A Housecarl is a guard, you scaly idiot," Black Gatomon muttered from Kari's arms. His eyes creaked open again, annoyed. "He thought you were the All-Mother's protector's."

Gatomon planted her claws on her hips. "Well, someone clearly feels better."

Her counterpart's expression crumpled into a frown. "Lass, I got gored by a fang twice my size. Not dead, sure, but I'm not dancing on my tiptoes anytime soon," he retorted. He sighed. Kari felt him slack in her arms. "Though, surviving is a plus."

Kari scratched around his ears much like she would for her other cat, Meeko. "Rest. There will be plenty of time for questions tomorrow."

"Aye," Black Gatomon agreed. He leaned into her scratches. His eyes closed once more. "At least we're together, again," he murmured, falling asleep in her arms.

Gatomon looked less enthused. "Did he just sass me?"

OOC: Felt the urge to write and managed to pop something out. Fanfiction writing has its own hurdles when it comes to pacing and general background information. I was rather surprised this chapter came out a little lighter in terms of exposition, but I like it.

Please feel free to leave a comment. Criticism is the only way to help me improve in my overall writing.