The Crest of Courage
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Kevin gulped. The ball of heat was heading right at them. Suddenly there was a furry, orange blur in front of him and then nothing, nothing at all. Kevin blinked.
"Are we dead, Snow Agumon?" asked Kevin. The boy looked down. He was completely alone in the nothingness. There was white void in all directions. "Hello?" shouted Kevin.
"Sorry," replied Renamon's voice. "I forgot you were here."
"I have only been here a second!" shouted Kevin. The fox appeared in front of him. She looked singed and beaten.
"You only think that…" whispered Renamon. She grabbed the boy and there was a flash and they were back ina cave. It wasn't the same cave; they were in an enclave of the main chamber. The mushrooms weren't as numerous but Kevin could make out the faint facial features of the others.
"Where are we?" asked Kevin loudly.
"SHH!" snapped Janet. The girl looked up at Kevin and narrowed her eyes. "We're hiding," whispered Janet.
"Why?" asked Kevin at the same volume.
"Because while you were gone Salamandermon basically used Renamon, Labramon and Snow Agumon as a fire pit," replied Michelle quietly.
"We're hiding here because Salamandermon evidently can't see very well in the dark…" said Janet. The girl was still frowning. "We figured that out when he ignored Labramon when she ducked into the shadows."
"We're still stuck…" said Kevin. He looked out at the faint light at the entrance of the enclave. "Unless we fight…"
"Were you not listening?" growled Janet. Kevin cowered a little at the dark eyes looking at him. "We tried; Salamandermon whipped us! We have no food, our digimon can't digivolve, and we'll just have to wait…"
Kevin looked down at his chest. The small medallion wasn't glowing any more. He sighed.
"The tags will react to the presence of their crest. It is how you will find the crests." that old man's voice came.
Kevin furrowed his eyebrows. He sniffed the air. A smile cut across his face.
"Do you smell that?" asked Kevin he sniffed again. "It's….smoked fish!"
Snow Agumon looked up. Renamon and Labramon took in a deep breath through their nose. The digimon looked back at Janet.
"I don't know…" Janet looked up at the light.
"Renamon could do her weirdo 'first I'm here then I'm not' thing," said Kevin quietly.
The fox nodded. Renamon turned and looked at Janet.
"Are you that hungry?" growled Janet to Renamon. The fox nodded emphatically.
"I am starving," replied Renamon. The fox looked out at the light. "I am really starving!"
Janet blinked. "Go then…just go see what it is…"
Renamon nodded and disappeared. She reappeared in seconds. The fox looked taxed. Janet ran up to the digimon. She passed straight through the fox.
"J-Janet…Salamandermon's cooking fish…" Renamon whispered. The fox clutched her midriff. "Not enough strength I'm being pulled back…." The fox disappeared.
"Renamon!" Janet snatched at empty air.
"No, if Renamon is being pulled back…" Michelle started slowly.
"She'll be trapped with Salamandermon!" Kevin realized. He ran forward. Snow Agumon was on the boy's heels. Michelle rushed after her brother.
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Brendan and the others were walking along the edge of the lake on the smooth grey rock ledge that seemed to jut from the mud shore. The dim fungal light didn't allow for much in the way of long distance vision. None of them spoke, most of them were too busy trying to force down any number of aches and pains to hold a conversation anyways.
An orange flash filled the cavern and for a second a sun shaped emblem appeared on the walls of the cave. Soon after that there were several small flashes of fiery light that only lasted for brief bursts.
"They have gotten in a fight!" Steven pushed forward. "We have to help them!"
"Wait!" Jason grabbed for the young man. "We don't know how bad it is!"
"It doesn't matter, they could havebeen more badly hurt in the fall!" shouted Steven. He nearly flung Jason into the mud.
"Steven, Jason, please…" Amy, mud smeared and soaked stepped forward, "None of this would have happened if I hadn't been such a dope…please don't fight…"
"It's not your fault…" Mark looked the young girl in the eyes. "It could have happened to any of us…would you have rather we not came…you're outlook is a little hopeless…"
"Come on," Steven walked forward. "We have to go."
"If only to watch them beat the thing into nothing…" said Jason.
"Yes…" replied Steven.
"Then we better go they may need us," said Jason with a coy smile. Steven nodded and with Ryuudamon ran off towards the blasts.
Jason was right behind him and the others were running as fast as they could after Jason. The blasts quickly subsided. An eerie orange glow was shining in the faint blue light.
They ran onwards. All of them feared the worst. The group of digi-destined came up on a clump of rocks that were blocking their path. Jason and Steven climbed up and looked over the ridge. The glow shimmered semi-brightly from over the ledge.
The two boys saw a large fire red digimon curled in a 'C' shape around a pile of fish. It was a large flaming salamander. Behind the digimon was a large fissure in the wall. It looked like a new cave was trying to form from the main chamber. The two of them slid back down to the others.
"He's Salamandermon," said Ryuudamon. "He's a hot salamander digimon…."
"It looks like they may have hid in a small off shoot of the chamber," said Jason quietly. He looked at the group around him. "We have a problem though…"
"Yeah, there is some one guarding the crack," Steven finished, "and the really bad news is…he has steamed fish…"
"That's bad news?" asked Mark. The boy looked over the pile rocks and at the glow with hunger.
"Yes…" said Brendan. He caught the hungry look in the digimons' eyes. "He may be trying to lure the others out…"
"Then we have to get them out of there!" said Amy a little loudly. The others snapped their hands over her mouth. There was a soft grunt and scuffling from behind the rock outcropping. It subsided.
"We need to survey the situation first…" said Jason. He turned to the outcropping and climbed up and waved his hand to the others to invite them up with him. He pointed to a large crack in the chamber wall, "That's where we think they are hiding…"
"Hey…look," Penguinmon pointed to a group of rocks by the entrance of the crack. Before their eyes Renamon flashed into existence and looked around cautiously. The orange fox digimon sighed and seemed to nod. Her body faded slightly. She looked like she was talking to someone and then she gripped her stomach and seemed to be wrenched forward. She collapsed on her side falling out from behind the outcropping.
The she fell on some loose stones which broke free. The large fiery amphibian snapped its head up and looked at the fallen fox. The beast growled and then opened its mouth.
"No!" shouted Amy and she jumped up. "You get away from her you brute!"
The beast's head swung around. The back of its throat was pulsing a bright orange. "Heat Wave!" a burst of orange energy shot past Amy and hit the stone wall behind the digi-destined. The children turned and saw that the blast had liquefied the stone.
"Amy!" yelped Penguinmon. The blue bird leapt next to the girl and an ice dagger was in her hand. "Ice Prism!" She threw it forward sending it spinning blade over hilt. The large salamander growled and its flames flashed out and melted the dagger before it hit the amphibian's soft skin.
"He's too hot for your ice attacks," Amy said with a whisper.
"My magma claw would only make him hotter," said Otamamon. The little tadpole hopped up.
"But your Boiling Bubble may be able to aggravate him," said Brendan. He looked at Tapirmon. "Maybe you can choke off his flames with your Nightmare Syndrome."
"Lucemon we have to help," said Mark. The angel nodded and lifted his hands that glowed brightly.
"Ryuudamon, we got to cut this overgrown newt to size…" Steven looked down at the black lizard. "Our friends are depending on us…"
"Don't worry Steven, I've never been afraid of frogs…I highly doubt I'll be afraid of salamanders," the lizard smiled. He looked at the fiery attacker. The beast had turned away from them and was snuffing loudly, obviously trying to get Renamon's scent.
"Ok…" Brendan crouched down, "Not much time…Otamamon, Ryuudamon, Lucemon and Tapirmon, you head off Salamandermon…try and push him back into the water…"
"What about us!?" growled Amy.
"You go to Renamon and get her out of the way of any fighting some where in the shadows, by his actions it looks like can't see well in the dark," responded Brendan. He looked at the others, "Everyone understand?" They nodded in agreement. "Good..."
"And…" Steven put his hand in the center of their little circle. The others looked at him oddly. "Come on…break?" The others blinked and then smiled and put their hands, claws and wings into the middle and lifted them up.
"Let's try a little wet fun!" shouted Otamamon as he dove into the watery shore line. "Boiling Bubble!" the tadpole unleashed a swarm of bubbles that exploded in Salamandermon's face. The large fiery digimon growled and opened its mouth.
"Hold it big guy!" shouted Tapirmon. "Nightmare Syndrome!" a blast of purple darkness shot forward and enwrapped around Salamandermon's snout. The large, red amphibian growled angrily and shook its head trying to free itself.
"Helmet Return!" Ryuudamon sliced the air with his spinning, bladed helmet as it slapped Salamandermon under its chin.
"Grand Cross!" Lucemon flew up and brought his arms together and then fired a cross of light at the amphibian forcing the large digimon to skid across the ground and slide off the edge of the embankment and into the silty water.
"Got him!" shouted Jason. "Now go Amy!"
The girl nodded and ran out and knelt next to Renamon. She gently lifted the fox and was prepared to run for the shadows when suddenly the salamander blasted out of the water and onto the edge of the rock embankment. Its eyes were glowing ferociously red. It opened its gaping mouth. Its throat was blazing in bright orange.
"Little Blizzard!" shouted the voice of Snow Agumon. A puff of white shot passed soon followed by the white dinosaur. The burst slapped Salamandermon's head to one side. Kevin, covered in mud and dust and filth, clambered after Snow Agumon. Michelle and Labramon were right behind him.
"Cure Liquor!" shouted the retriever as she flung a pink ball of energy at the salamander's face. The beast snuffed angrily releasing a burst of hot steam.
"Renamon!" shouted Janet as she staggered forward. The short haired girl took the fox from Amy. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine…just tired and hungry…" whispered Renamon.
"You're going down Mr. Hot Breath!" shouted Kevin. Suddenly the boy's tag glowed brightly. The light filtered around Salamandermon and revealed a large imprint of a sun on the far wall.
"We have to get you to the other side of the lake…" shouted Brendan loudly.
Kevin looked up at the out cropping. He smiled, "It's about time you got here!"
"We ran into a little amphibian problem!" replied Steven.
"How am I going to get across the lake!?" shouted Kevin at the others.
"This way!" shouted Lucemon and the angel dove down and grabbed the boy by the waist.
Salamandermon roared angrily and his flames rose on his body. "Back Draft!" growled the digimon as he sent a wall of fire after the angel. Lucemon fell backward to avoid the attack.
"Boiling Bubble!" shouted Otamamon. The bubbles evaporated before they could hit the blaze though.
"I got it!" shouted Amy. She looked down at Penguinmon. "Let's show him how we play with water…use that slapping thing you do, only slap the water up on Salamandermon, Penguinmon."
The penguin's eyes shone with stars at the absolute glee of being useful and dove for the water. "Eternal Slapping!" shouted the bird as she hit the water and she spun slapping wave after wave of water on the fire monster.
"Now's our chance!" called Lucemon and he shot upward. Kevin's tag glowed brighter and brighter as they came closer. The emblem shot from the wall and swirled around Kevin and then slid into the medallion around his neck. Kevin looked down. The crest blazed bright orange.
"I feel the power…" whispered Snow Agumon. "Snow Agumon digivolve to…Shima Unimon! Wild Thunder!" a whip of blue lightning slapped Salamandermon. The digimon fell backwards and a sun shaped apparition withdrew from the digimon. Shima Unimon instantly returned to Snow Agumon. The salamander glowed brightly and turned into a red beetle. The sun apparition shrunk down and shot forward and exploded into the wall that would be considered downstream from the digi-destined. Instantly the shore's water swept towards the explosion.
"Thank you…" whispered the beetle. "I was worried no one would ever get that thing fixed…"
"Who are you?" asked Brendan as he leapt down from the rock outcropping he'd been standing on.
"I'm Tentomon!" yelped the digimon. Sounding a little annoyed that the child didn't know him. "When that darn burst of orange hit this mountain it caused an upheaval which blocked the underground stream...I lived down here because of Assaultmon's work details and must have been around that emblem too long and I digivolved..."
"Look!" shouted Kevin as he and Lucemon dropped down. He held up his unioned tag and crest. "Now, Assaultmon…you're in trouble…."
"You're going to fight Assaultmon?" asked Tentomon. The children nodded slowly. "You are fools, no one can beat Assaultmon…if you were wise you'd stay here and hide…"
"Look I don't know who you are, Mr. Ladybug," growled Kevin. He clenched his fist and walked closer to Tentomon, "but we're the digi-destined, and nothing can stop us!"
The digimon looked up at Kevin. Its eyes were shiny with water. "You are the digi-destined? My goodness I thought they were only a story from long ago…only faint dreams in the back of my mind…but no…here you are…then…I better share my stash with you!" The small beetle turned and looked at his fish. The coals they were on were starting to cool. Its antenna twitched and bursts of electricity struck the coals and warmed them. "My yes you must eat, you must be hungry from your ordeal…"
The children and the digimon looked at each other and smiled broadly and nodded. They rushed the beetle and snatched up fish.
"When you finish eating I will lead you from the caves…" smiled Tentomon as he watched the children eat.
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AN: I know what I said but it came to my attention that my Finals load would be less strenuous than I had believed it to be…that and when you have the muse you have to do it or you can't get anything else done!
Kevin has gotten his crest….My original Idea for this part of the story was to have it be much like that of Digimon '01 and have Assaultmon would flounder about like Etemon did…but then I thought what if Assaultmon had a group of generals that unknowingly were in fact part of the crests. As when the crests were created it was through the defeat of the Guardians of the Temple of Calumon. This is the after affects. Digimon have been allowed to evolve through the crests' armor origins. Salamandermon was less a general and more of an incident, but I think I like the way this is going so maybe each sector could have a crest that is unknowingly guarded by a General….I think this is how it will go! Hopefully this is how it's going to go!