Notes: Well, I got the next chapter written! Wasn't easy, either. Someone didn't want me to finish it - kept sending me "HURRY UP!" umpteen times a day, so I'd have to spend an hour deleting them all when I could be writing. I don't know why they don't want me to finish this series, but if you know who they are, tell them to stop it so I can write in peace.
Witchmon was in a tree. Given her choice, she would have been somewhere else - say, with her feet planted firmly on the ground, for example - but this was where she'd lodged when she'd finally crashed her broom and fallen off. Now she was perched precariously in the boughs of a beech tree, while Cat sat on another limb a few feet above her, industriously grooming his disheveled fur. Her broom had landed a little further off, with its twigs caught in the needles of a large and gnarled conifer, and she wasn't entirely sure how she was going to get it down, but that was something to worry about later. At the moment, she had other concerns.
Many feet below her, a group of six teenaged and near-teenaged children were striking camp. Despite the fact that they had been through a difficult night the day before, they seemed to have recovered well and were in a generally good mood. Witchmon couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but she had a good view from her treetop, and she could make a general guess as to what was going on. A brown haired boy and one of the twins - she didn't know them well enough to tell which was which - bantered with each other as they worked to bury the remains of their campfire and the rest of their refuse with sand. The youngest boy prowled around the camp, looking for anything that might have been missed. The other twin and the two little Digimon scampered in and out of the forest, collecting fresh fruits for breakfast. The remaining two, a husky boy and a golden-haired girl, were chatting with each other as they packed their things. Withcmon watched the exchange of his clumsy efforts at flirtation and her gentle deflections with a trace of envy; she doubted anyone would ever dance attendance on her that way.
Down on the beach, the group finished with their cleaning, and the last of their personal possessions were packed away. Kouji surveyed the area with a critical eye and could find no fault with it. There was no trace left of their presence but their footprints in the pebbly ground, and those would in all likelihood disappear before the day was out. By tomorrow, nobody would ever know they had been there.
*That's as it should be,* he thought. *Not only is it good ecology, but it will make it that much harder for anyone to track us.*
"Everything looks good," he said. "Nice job, guys."
"Looks like we got everything," said Takuya, making a last scan of the area. "Time to move out!"
"So, where are we going?" asked Junpei. "I mean, are we still heading for the Fallen Moon Temple, or are we looking for the thing Izumi's necklace found, or both?"
"I vote we follow the necklace," said Izumi. "We know it's found something we're supposed to have, and we were only guessing about the temple."
"There's a girl with good sense!" said Bokomon.
"So, which way is it pointing?" asked Takuya. "That thing didn't exactly come with a compass and map."
Izumi took out the Star. It was harder to see its glow in the light of day, but when she cupped it in her hands, she could still see it shining through her fingers. It looked very pretty, but it was true that its guidance was a little hard to follow.
"Spin in a circle," Tomoki suggested. "Whichever way it glows brightest, that's the way we should go."
"I was going to think of that," said Izumi.
She held the necklace out and pivoted in place, eyes fixed on the pendant. When it pointed in the direction of the fishing village, it flashed brightly.
"There?" Takuya said. "That's just a bunch of old fishing shacks. Who'd hide a Fabled Artifact in a place like that?"
"I hope it isn't sunk at the bottom of the lake," said Junpei.
"Well, we'll just have to go to the village and poke around a little," said Takuya. "They won't mind, will they?"
"You'll have to ask them," Bokomon replied. "After all, I've never been there - I've only read about it."
"I should have known," said Kouji. "Well, we won't know until we ask. Come on, gang, let's hit the road."
"What road?" asked Neemon blankly. "I don't see a road. Why should we hit it? Did it do something wrong?"
Takuya laughed and shook his head.
"You know what?" he said. "That's what I love about this place. Sometimes it's weird, and sometimes it's crazy, and sometimes it's downright dangerous - but it's never boring!"
The group laughed in agreement, and they started off on their journey.
At least the day was pleasant. The sun hadn't risen far beyond the mountains in the east, and there was still a layer of mist on the lake, swirling in mysterious shapes. Kouichi sauntered along, admiring the view. The forest was lovely this time of day, full of mist and shadows... Suddenly, something caught his eye. He stared very hard for a moment, then glanced away.
"Guys," he said softly, "don't look now, but I think we've picked up a mascot."
"Huh?" said Takuya. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean we're being followed," he replied.
"I don't see anybody," said Tomoki, glancing around.
"Don't look! She'll know you've seen her," said Kouichi. "It's that witch again. She's sneaking along in the treetops."
"Really?" Takuya stopped walking. He made a big show of stretching his arms and working the kinks out of his neck. As he did so, he sneaked a look up at the trees. He could just barely make out a hint of red; he never would have spotted it if someone hadn't told him it was there.
"What do you know?" he said. "Looks like she's still following us. Nice spotting, Kouichi."
"Thanks," he said. "I had a funny feeling we were being watched..."
"Well, now that we know she's there, what do we do about her?" asked Junpei.
"I suppose we could fight her off," Takuya mused, "but it would probably be more trouble than it's worth."
"I think you're right," said Kouji. "We don't want a repeat of last night. As long as we know she's there, we can guard ourselves."
"That's true," said Kouichi. He glanced back at the trees. "Besides, she doesn't seem like that bad a sort... as far as people who want to kill us go."
"How far is that?" Neemon wanted to know.
Kouichi shrugged. "It depends, I guess. But I suppose if someone has to be out to get us, it might as well be someone decent."
"I'd say that's the worst case scenario," Junpei said. "If it was someone really rotten, we could just blow them up and not worry about it."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Takuya. "I say, as long as she's not bothering us, we won't bother her."
"I don't like having someone spying on us," Izumi muttered.
"I used to do it," he said. Intercepting a glare, he added, "Not you personally, mind you."
"No, that honor was reserved for me," said Kouji dryly.
They moved on - six humans, two small Digimon, and one reddish shadow moving clumsily through the treetops.
They reached the lakeside village by the time full daylight had fallen over the lake. They arrived to find most of the local Digimon were already wide awake and ready for a day's work. The streets were full of busy Geckomon, Otamamon, Gomamon, Betamon, and other small water-loving Digimon, preparing for a hard day's work. Many of them were scurrying around a collection of piers where small sailboats were moored. Others were rolling barrels in and out of a large warehouse; a few were carrying fishing rods, buckets, or collections of odd-looking implements. When they caught sight of their strange visitors, several of them paused to stare a moment, but it was clear that whatever they were doing was too important to stop just for curiosity's sake. The newcomers stood in the street and watched the tides of workers flow around them, until they were finally addressed by an important- looking Geckomon in a blue cap.
"Welcome, travelers!" he said. "Welcome to our village! Sorry we can't stop and chat, but we're just getting ready to send out our fleet. We don't have much time to socialize."
"That's all right," said Takuya. "We just came to have a look around."
"Look around, huh? Hmm," said the Geckomon. He took off his cap and scratched his head. Finally he said, "Okay, I'll lay it on the line for you. I know you guys are legendary warriors and all, and we really are honored to have you here and all, but... our headman, he doesn't much like people hanging around doing nothing, and I'd hate for you all to get on his bad side. He's pretty touchy, especially first thing in the morning. I tell you what - how 'bout you all pitch in with the work this morning? He won't object to you being here if you're helping out, and he'll be in a better mood after lunch. You can eat with us, and then you can look around all you want."
"We'll think about it," said Takuya.
They went into a huddle.
"What do you think?" Takuya asked. "Do we want to hang around, or what?"
"Depends on how badly we want to search the village, and how worried we are about annoying the headman," Kouichi replied.
"I'm for it," said Kouji. "A little work won't hurt us."
"How hard can it be to go fishing?" Junpei commented. "It's not like we haven't been doing it the whole time we've been here, anyway. And lunch wouldn't be a bad thing, either."
"Let's do it," said Tomoki. "It might be fun!"
"Well, I don't know about that," said Izumi, "but I suppose it's only fair. After all, if we're planning on taking something from them, we ought to pay them back somehow."
"We'll do it," said Takuya to the Geckomon.
"Great!" he said. "We're trying to get all the fish we can before the weather turns cold and the lake freezes. We need every hand on the ships that we can get!"
"Well, point us the way," said Takuya. "We might as well get started."
"Right this way," said the Geckomon, and began to lead them toward the docks. Then he stopped and held out a flippered hand in front of Izumi. "Not you."
"Huh?" she said. "Why not me?"
"Bad luck to have a woman on a sailing vessel," he said matter-of-factly.
"That's a stupid superstition!" she objected.
"Sorry! Still can't let you aboard," he said. "The headman would strip a thread if he saw you out there. You'd better stay on land. You can help the others dig for clams."
"Clams?" she repeated blankly.
"Freshwater clams. We dig them around the edge of the lake," he said. "Nobody will mind if you do that."
"Great," she said unenthusiastically.
"If she has to stay behind, I'm staying, too," said Junpei stubbornly.
"Do you have to?" asked the Geckomon. "We're going to need big strong guys like you to haul the nets."
"Um," he said. It was clear he'd still rather be on shore with Izumi, but he was also susceptible to flattery.
"Don't worry, Junpei," said Kouji. "I'll take care of her for you."
The Geckomon stared very hard at Kouji for a moment, but it was clear he wasn't much of a judge of human strength, because he apparently decided the slender boy would be no great loss.
"All right," he said. "You can stay behind if you want. Just head over there where those guys are going." He waved in the direction of several other Digimon, most of whom were carrying buckets and long, tined tools, like long-handled garden forks. "The rest of you come with me."
"See you later, guys!" said Takuya, waving back at them. "Have fun digging in the mud! I'm off to enjoy some lake breezes."
"Later, Takuya," Kouji replied. "Have fun hauling lines. I'm off to catch some rays."
They heard Takuya laughing as he headed off towards the docks. Kouji and Izumi fell in step with the clam-diggers.
"So, when did you become so gallant?" Izumi asked him. "I know you didn't volunteer to help me just for Junpei's peace of mind." She giggled a little, remembering the expression on her friend's face when he'd heard Kouji's magnanimous offer.
"I thought it was obvious," Kouji replied. "We aren't going to see a thing while we're stuck on a boat in the middle of the lake. I wanted to stay close to town so I can keep an eye on things. Not to mention the fact that you've still got the Star of Guidance with you, and you haven't got a way to evolve. If something decides to attack, you'd be the likely target. You shouldn't be left alone."
"I figured it had to be something like that," she said.
"You don't sound very impressed," he said. "It's probably more than what was going through Junpei's head."
She laughed. "Junpei is an anachronism. He should have been born back when there were knights in armor and damsels in distress. He would have been right at home. I'm never sure if it's cute or ridiculous." She heaved a deep sigh. "I don't know that I like being treated like a damsel in distress, though. I really hope there's a way to learn how to do... whatever Takuya did last night. I don't want to spend the rest of this adventure with someone always hovering behind me trying to protect me from everything."
"You'll never get that from Junpei," said Kouji.
"Hey, you two!" called a Gomamon who was trundling along ahead of them. "Better hurry up! You're going to get left behind!"
The two of them dropped their conversation and quickened their pace.
The clam-digging party led them to a stretch of beach. This place was not as rocky as the other areas they had traveled; it had the look of something that had been carefully groomed - presumably to present the best habitat for clams and the easiest place to dig for them. Everyone took a bucket, picked out a patch of shoreline, and began raking through the sand. The Geckomon used the rakes, while the Gomamon, Otamamon, and Betamon used their flippers and claws. A lone Anomalocarimon threw up great plumes of sand as he dug. Whenever they found a clam, it was tossed into a bucket. Kouji and Izumi watched the process for a while before claiming their tools and joining in.
For a while, they simply dug in silence. Izumi gradually became convinced that Kouji's worries and suspicions were completely groundless; it appeared that everyone in the village had gone out to do some kind of work, and everything was perfectly still and quiet. The sun was rising higher into the sky, turning morning coolness into midday heat, and she worried about her fair skin getting sunburned. The clam digging was muddy work, hardly the kind of job she would have chosen for herself, and the bending over was giving her a backache. It was hard to convince herself that the rest of her friends were probably not having any more fun hauling nets full of slimy, flopping fish; she had a suspicion that it would be cooler on the open lake. All the while, Kouji worked in silence, occasionally straightening to look around, his dark eyes scanning for any danger.
As it happened, no danger appeared, but something else did. A couple of hours into the job, there was a pounding as of something large and heavy coming up the road, and everyone looked up to see a large, orange, frog-like being come tromping up the road. He was carrying an enormous fishing rod, suitable to his stature, which he was waving around like a sword. The diggers, who had until that point been talking and joking, even singing, fell into cringing silence.
"What's all this racket?" the newcomer bellowed. "How's anybody supposed to get any sleep around here, huh?"
"Sorry, Tonosama Geckomon, sir," said one of the Betamon. "We'll work more quietly! Honest!"
The Tonosama Geckomon narrowed his eyes, glaring at Kouji and Izumi.
"What are they doing here? I didn't invite them here," he said.
"We're working," said Izumi. "Have you got a problem with that?"
"They aren't doing any harm," said one of the Geckomon. "They just volunteered to help us, that's all."
"Well, they aren't going to get paid for it," said the Tonosama Geckomon. "I don't like strangers in my village. They'd better watch their step, that's all."
"Yes, sir," said the Geckomon. He turned to Kouji and Izumi. "You hear that? You'd better watch your step!"
"Sure," said Kouji. "We'll keep that in mind."
"Well, I'm going fishing," said Tonosama Geckomon. "Not much else to do, now that you all woke me up."
He stomped peevishly away, brandishing his fishing rod at anyone who didn't clear his path fast enough. The workers dodged him as best they could, while Izumi and Kouji watched with amazement.
"Who was that guy?" asked Izumi.
"That was our headman, Tonosama Geckomon," an Otamamon explained. "He's always cranky when he first wakes up."
"I'll say," Izumi muttered.
"Don't be too hard on him," said one of the Gomamon. "He's a good leader!"
"Is he?" asked Kouji. "What does he do, besides yell at you when he wakes up?"
"Well, mostly he goes fishing during the mornings," said a Geckomon. "And then he has lunch and a nap and goes fishing again, and then he goes back to bed."
"That's it?" asked Kouji. "Doesn't sound like much of a leader, if you ask me. Even Takuya does more work than that."
"He is a good leader!" said a Betamon. "We elected him! He's a great warrior - he defends us when we're in danger. He protects our cargo when we're traveling. He manages our money for us. We couldn't get by without him!"
There were nods and a chorus of agreement; everyone seemed to agree with the Betamon. They looked to the humans like a collection of cartoon bobbleheads, nodding and nodding.
"Well, if you say so," said Izumi with a shrug. "I guess that's worth a little morning grumpiness."
"They might say so," Kouji muttered, "but if you ask me, something around here smells... and it's not just these clams."
"Not that they don't stink," said Izumi, wrinkling her nose. She laughed suddenly. "Do you think Junpei will still be so enthused about me after I've spent an afternoon up to my elbows in clam juice?"
Kouji almost smiled. "Maybe he'll just admire you from a safe distance - and upwind."
She threw a clam at him. Kouji caught it neatly and dropped it in his bucket. Izumi rolled her eyes, but decided there wasn't much else she could do - not to Kouji the Unflappable. With a sigh, she went back to her clam-digging and hoped her friends were having a better time than she was.
"Heave-ho! Let's go! Heave-ho! Let's go!"
The monotonous chant was being boomed out over and over by a deep-voiced Geckomon with a bullhorn. As he called out, the workers on board the little fishing ships hauled in on their nets, easing a load of flopping fish onto the deck. Out on the lake, fleets of Gomamon and Otamamon swam swiftly through the waters, driving fish into the nets. These were hauled in by an assortment of Geckomon, Coelamon, Betamon... and four humans.
"Almost got it!" called a supervising Betamon. "Just give it one more good haul!"
Junpei shifted his grip on the line and hauled with all his strength. The fishermons had been enjoying having him around - and bossing him around. Simply by virtue of being larger and heavier than most of the Digimon there, he could do the work of five or six Geckomon, a fact that the Geckomon had been quick to pick up on. He'd spent most of the day pulling in fishing nets. Now he threw his weight against the line in a final burst of determination, and a wave of silver fish surged onto the deck, along with a certain amount of lake-weed and cold water, all of which lapped around his ankles. He heaved a sigh and sat down heavily on a roll of rope.
"Whew!" he said. "I'm about done in."
"Me too," said Takuya, leaning against the mast of the ship and mopping his brow. He made a face; his hands were smeared with algae and the essence of fish. He wiped them off on his pants, which were already damp from the spray.
"You get used to it after a while," said one of the Betamon encouragingly.
"I don't want to get used to it," said Kouichi. "Thanks just the same."
"I'll tell you one thing," said Junpei. "I'm not going to be eating another fish for a long, long time."
"You guys can talk," said Tomoki. "All you've been doing is pulling nets." As the smallest of the humans, Tomoki had been put to work with the Digimon, packing fish into the holds, and he was wetter and fishier than any of the others.
"Yeah," said Takuya with a grimace. He looked down at the palm of his hand, where the rasping of the ropes had raised a blister.
Kouichi looked towards shore, where he could just barely make out the clam-diggers. "I hope Kouji and Izumi are having more fun than we are. At least they aren't as wet as we are."
"The fish aren't as wet as we are!" said Takuya.
"That's what comes of volunteering," said Bokomon loftily. The local Digimon had decided that he and Neemon were two small to be of much use, and so the two of them were sitting high and dry in the rigging, enjoying watching everyone else work.
Takuya began to make a reply, but his cutting remark was suitably cut off by the sound of a horn being blown on the mainland. It echoed across the lake, filling the air with a single, sustained bass note. As soon as they heard it, the fishermen went into a scramble. The swimmers clambered back into the boats. Those who were already on deck moved quickly to get the last of the fish put away and set about raising the sails. The little boats began drifting swiftly back to shore.
"Finally!" said Takuya. "I was going to pass out if Ididn't get a break soon!"
"Pass out from what?" asked Kouichi. "Exhaustion? Or just lack of oxygen?"
"Both!" said Takuya emphatically.
On the whole, everyone was very grateful to finally reach the shore and see the fishing vessel being moored at the pier. They were met on the beach by Kouji and Izumi, both looking rather muddy and slightly sunburned.
"Looks like you two didn't do much better than we did," said Tomoki, as he jumped ashore.
"We probably don't smell much better, either," Izumi muttered. "I've decided clam-digging is not for me."
"And fishing isn't for me," said Takuya, jumping down to join them. "I'll never look at sushi the same way again."
"Do you want to clean up?" asked one of the Geckomon. "There are bathing pools just beyond those buildings. Just dive in and rinse off."
The group followed his pointing finger. At the fringes of the town, they could see two ponds, looking like crude swimming pools, with supplies of towels and soaps laid out around the edges, with a fence between them to give some semblance of privacy.
"Cool. Kind of like a hot spring," said Kouichi. "I can deal with that."
"I hate those things," Junpei muttered. "I always feel like people are staring at me."
Kouji shrugged. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
"I've been in Rome," said Izumi, "and the Romans didn't make me take my baths outside."
Still, all of them were feeling too grimy to refuse the offer of a bath, no matter where it was or how they were expected to take it. Fortunately, the spring water was pleasantly warm, and with the addition of some soap that was pleasantly scented with herbs and flowers, they all felt better for having had a chance to wash. Once they were all clean and properly dressed, they regrouped and followed the rest of the villagers to a large building in the center of town, where enticing scents were being issued through its wide open doors.
"Come on in and grab a seat!" said one of the Geckomon - the capped one who had first greeted them when they'd entered the town. "We had a record haul, thanks to you all! You've more than earned your stay here, so eat all you want!"
"Thanks," said Takuya gratefully. "Come on, guys. Let's chow down."
After all that work, all of them were starving. They walked through a line and accepted platters of vegetables, piping hot rolls, bowls of some sort of stew, and something else that couldn't be completely identified through a covering of spiced sauce.
"This is pretty good," said Junpei. "Will I regret it if I ask what it is?"
The friendly Geckmon shrugged. "That should be obvious. It's fish."
Junpei prodded the stuff with a chopstick. "Is it really? Wow. I thought it was like roast beef or something."
The Geckomon laughed. "It's the fisherman's creed: if a fish is all you've got, make it taste like what it's not! Otherwise, we'd all be completely sick of it by now."
"I guess that makes sense," said Kouichi. He grinned suddenly. "So, what was it you were saying about not eating fish for a long, long time?"
"How long has it been?" asked Junpei.
Tomoki looked at his watch. "About an hour."
Junpei shrugged. "Long enough!"
A few people laughed. Takuya said, "So, Kouji, were you having fun while we were out getting some work done?"
"Not really," he said. "I was hoping to pick up some hints as to where the Artifact is hidden, but we didn't see or hear much of anything, except for that Tonosama Geckomon."
"Kouji didn't like him," said Izumi, helping herself to another roll.
"What, that big guy over there?" asked Tomoki. He pointed off into a corner, where the headman was sitting at a table to himself, being served platters of fresh fish, presumably the ones he'd caught himself.
"That's the one," Kouji agreed.
"So that's the headman we're not supposed to tick off," Takuya mused. "I guess he doesn't look like the kind of Digimon it would be good to pick a fight with."
"It is generally best not to annoy the established authorities," Bokomon said. "Still, I have to say I've seen more inspiring leaders in my time..."
"You're just biased because you work for the angels," said Izumi. "Nobody in the world could measure up to them."
"Well, I'm not biased, and I still get bad vibes about him," said Kouji. "If there's one thing I hate to see, it's a bad leader."
"I'm doomed," said Takuya melodramatically.
"I wasn't talking about you," Kouji replied. "You're a pretty decent leader, when you need to be."
"I am?" asked Takuya, surprised.
"Well, yeah. I mean, you're not a genius or anything..."
"Gee, thanks!"
"...but at least you care about what happens to us," Kouji continued. "What I hate is someone who puts themselves in charge just for their own benefit."
"Well, the Geckomon and things seem to think the world of him," said Izumi. "He doesn't have to be likeable to do a good job, you know."
"That's right," said Junpei. "If everybody's happy, why rock the boat?"
"I've heard too much about boats today," Takuya muttered. "Let's talk about something else, like Fabled Artifacts. If there's one in this town, where do you think it would be? And which one is it?"
"Well, this is a watery sort of place," said Kouichi. "Maybe it's the Pool of Knowledge."
"I've always heard that Geckomon love music," Bokomon mused. "Perhaps it could be the Pipes of Peace."
"It would be nice if we knew what these things looked like," said Tomoki. "They could be right under our nose and we'd never know!"
"Right," said Takuya. "Anything could be under our noses right now, and we'd never know through all the fish!"
"That's the truth," Kouichi agreed. "Well, I guess we'll just have to have a good look around."
Kouji nodded his agreement. "I think Takuya's right. I have the strangest feeling that what we want is right under our noses..."
Tonosama Geckomon was one of the last people to leave the dining hall that afternoon. Everyone else left as early as they could - the town workers to get back to their jobs; the humans to start looking for the hidden Artifact. The only ones who stayed were a few small Digimon who cleared the tables and washed the dishes, Tonosama Geckomon himself, and a stranger who watched it all from a rooftop.
Once again, Witchmon was trying desperately to make up her mind, not something she was particularly good at. She was hardly used to this spying-on-people business, and she was not sure if she ought to be making a report right now or not. Lilithmon was strict when it came to trivialities: she didn't want to hear anything that was worthless to her, which would distract her from more important matters. On the other hand, she would be angry if Witchmon didn't do her job, which obviously involved telling Lilithmon something eventually. But what could she say? That the humans were looking for an Artifact in the fishing village? Then what? Was that scrap of knowledge really important enough to warrant bothering Lilithmon?
"Okay, okay, let's think about this," said Witchmon. "If I tell Lilithmon that the children are here, she'll want it fixed so they don't find the Artifact. That means she'll probably send someone to stop them from finding it. So the best thing to do would be to tell Lilithmon or Wisemon so they can send somebody, because I know I'm not strong enough to fight them, unless..."
She stopped talking to herself suddenly as she was struck by an idea. It was so seldom that Witchmon had ideas of her own that it completely surprised her, and she had to stop a moment and consider it. The whole idea behind this escapade, as far as she understood, was to keep the children from finding the Artifacts. Why, she didn't precisely understand - she didn't know what harm it would do Lilithmon if they were found - but that wasn't the point right now. The point was that as long as the Artifacts weren't found, her objective was accomplished. Presumably, the Artifact was in this town somewhere, so if she could just get the children out of town, there wouldn't be a problem. She could do that herself, and she wouldn't even need any help. Well, not much...
"Come on, Cat," she told her pet, who was just now prancing with excitement. "We've got work to do!"
Taking a deep breath, she mounted her broom and glided as carefully as she could through the streets. Thankfully, the town was nearly empty now, as everyone had gone off on their assigned missions, leaving the streets free of things for her to crash into. In fact, the only thing there was for her to see was the broad backside of Tonosama Geckomon, who was just now shuffling off to his house for his afternoon nap. Witchmon flew far enough behind that he hopefully wouldn't see her if he happened to look around. He, of course, was much too large to lose no matter where he went. At last, he went into his house and shut the door behind him. Witchmon landed in an alley nearby and tiptoed over to peer into his window. She had to climb up on an abandoned barrel to see inside; the house was built proportionately to its owner's substantial size, and even with the barrel to help her, she still had to stand on her tiptoes to see inside. Through the window, she could see a bed just slightly smaller than a tennis court. As she watched, Tonosama Geckomon came in, flopped into bed, and pulled the blankets up over his head.
"That's right, go to sleep," Witchmon whispered. She added a few arcane words and gestures, one of the few spells she could manage to make work right most of the time. Within seconds, Tonosama Geckomon was snoring soundly. Witchmon pushed the window open and crawled clumsily through the opening. She landed facefirst on the floor with a bump that echoed hollowly through the wooden floor, but the sleeping headman didn't even twitch. She got up, dusted herself off, and went to stand next to him. A particularly loud snore blew her hat off and sent it sailing across the room, and she backed away a few paces.
"Can you hear me?" she asked him.
The snoring quieted. In a sleepy voice, he answered, "Hear... you."
"Good," she said. "Are you going to listen to what I say?"
"Listen... to... what you... say."
"All right. Pay close attention. You are not going to allow any visitors in your town, all right?"
"No... visitors."
"Nobody is allowed to look around in this town," she told him.
"Nobody... look... around," he agreed.
"Right!" she said, pleased by her success. "No strangers are allowed here, especially humans!"
"No... humans."
"You've got it. Now, when I snap my fingers, you're going to wake up, and you're going to go make sure there aren't any strangers in town, okay?"
"Oh... kay."
Witchmon made an attempt to snap her fingers. It didn't work very well. She stared at her gloved hands in consternation before saying, "I changed my mind. When I clap my hands, then you'll wake up!"
Tonosama Geckomon nodded agreeably. Taking heart from that, Witchmon clapped her hands, and watched as he slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times. Then he slowly sat up, yawned, stretched - and then his eyes fell on Witchmon.
"Stranger," he muttered. "Human-type..."
Witchmon paled. "Oh, no."
"Hey, you!" Tonosama Geckomon bellowed. "Strangers aren't allowed in this town! What are you doing poking around in my house, huh? I don't like people putting their noses where they don't belong!"
"Umm... I was just leaving!" she said.
"You better believe it! Samurai Tone!"
Witchmon made a wild scramble to reach the window, when she was hit by a blast of sound that seemed to rattle her bones. She squealed and fell out the window, landing with a crash on the barrel she'd been standing on earlier, smashing it to bits. Cat leaped out the window after her and landed on her head. It would have been less uncomfortable if he'd had his claws sheathed, but fortunately her hat took most of the damage, and she thanked the Programmer she had been designed with built-in headgear.
"When will I learn to be more specific?" she muttered.
Inside the house, she could hear a great deal of bumping around. It sounded as if the Tonosama Geckomon was in a very bad mood, but thankfully, he seemed to have forgotten about Witchmon already.
"If there's one thing I hate," he was muttering, "it's being woken from my nap! Somebody is going to pay for this!"
There were several dull thuds from his footsteps, and then the boom of a slamming door, and Witchmon watched as the annoyed leader stomped out, ranting and raving. She waited until he was gone, and then sat up carefully, straightened her hat, and started picking splinters out of her gown.
"Well, that could have gone better," she said to Cat, "but it did what I wanted... I think. I'm not sure. Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to watch and see."
Very carefully, she mounted her broom and rose up into the sky, looking for a place to sit and watch the action unfold.
Meanwhile, the Chosen Children were busy poking around in a warehouse. It was full of scraps of lumber, the skeletons of partially built boats, coils of rope, spare tools, rolls of canvas, empty barrels, and other odds and ends. It did not, however, appear to contain any Fabled Artifacts.
"Well, this is a real dead end," said Takuya, playing idly with a pulley that was hanging from the wall. "There's nothing in here but junk."
"It's not junk," said Tomoki. "It's just not what we wanted."
"I didn't really expect to find anything here," said Kouichi. "I still think the Artifacts aren't going to be just lying around in a shed somewhere. They're going to be in important places. I think we should be trying to get a look at that Tonosama Geckomon's place."
"I wouldn't be surprised if you were right," said Kouji. "That might even explain why he's in charge around here, if he had a Fabled Artifact to help him get things done..."
"Yeah, but I don't think he's going to just let us walk into his house and start going through his things," said Izumi. "I know I wouldn't, if I were him."
"Why would anybody want to go through your stuff?" Takuya began to ask, but he never finished the question, as everyone's attention was drawn by a commotion going on outside. They all ran to the door of the warehouse in time to find what looked like a small riot going on in the street. Tonosama Geckomon was stomping around, shouting at various other small Digimon, who cringed and cowered before him.
"...no excuses!" the headman was shouting. "I want them found, and I want them thrown out right now!"
"But they aren't hurting anything," an Otamamon protested.
"I don't care! They're outsiders, and they don't belong here! And don't talk back to me! I am in a lousy mood, and I don't want to hear any backtalk from anybody!"
"I don't understand!" someone protested. It was the Geckomon the children had made friends with. "They were helping us! They did us so much good - I thought you were glad they were here!"
"Well, I changed my mind," Tonosama Geckomon snapped. "I want it done, and I don't want any arguing! Run 'em out of town! Better yet, haul 'em in and bring 'em to me, and I'll run 'em out of town! Now bring me my rod - I want to go fishing."
"Coming right up, your greatness!" said a Gizamon on the edge of the crowd, and he hopped off as fast as he could travel.
"Sounds like we've worn out our welcome," said Junpei grimly. "So much for him being in a better mood after lunch!"
"I think we've worn out our welcome," said Bokomon. "Might I suggest we make a strategic retreat?"
"Forget strategy!" said Neemon. "I wanna get out of here!"
"But we still haven't found the Artifact," said Takuya stubbornly.
"I wonder what's gotten him so angry?" Kouichi asked, peering through the door at Tonosama Geckomon. "We never did anything to him."
The same thought seemed to have crossed someone else's mind. The friendly Geckomon was trotting in his leader's footsteps, trying to talk some sense into him.
"Are you really sure you want to do this?" he was asking. "These are the Chosen Children we're talking about - the Legendary Warriors! We can't just throw them out of town for any little thing! What will the Angels say?"
"The Angels aren't here," said Tonosama Geckomon, "and I am. I'm in charge here, and what I say goes! I'm the leader! Or do you think you should be in charge? Huh? Speak up!"
"No, Tonosama Geckomon," said the Geckomon, "but-"
"But nothing! Don't you argue with me!"
Tonosama Geckomon dealt his follower a kick that sent him sailing several yards to land in the hard-packed sand. He twitched feebly, but the wind seemed to have been knocked out of him, and he didn't have the strength to rise.
"He can't do that!" Tomoki gasped, outraged.
"I knew I was right about him!" Kouji growled. There was suddenly something very wolflike in his eyes and voice. "I knew he was no leader..."
"No, but I am," said Takuya, "and I'm not letting this slide. What do you say, guys? Want to teach this fat frog a lesson?"
"What can we do, though?" asked Kouichi. "No Spirits, remember?"
"I don't care," said Kouji. "We can still speak out against this - and I will!"
He ran out of the building. The others simply stared a moment, nonplussed.
"Better be ready to run," said Takuya.
"Do you think that Tonosama Geckomon is going to run us out of town?" asked Junpei.
"No, but if Kouji randomly evolves into something, we'd better be ready to catch him!" Takuya replied. "Come on!"
They hurried out into the street. Kouji was already there, standing between the fallen Geckomon and his leader, who was glaring down at him from his considerable height.
"What do you think you're doing, huh?" he boomed.
"I could ask you the same question," Kouji answered. "You might think you're big and bad, but all you know how to do is push people around and enjoy yourself. I'll bet you've never thought about anybody but yourself your whole life!"
"I can do whatever I want," said Tonosama Geckomon. "I'm the leader, and I'll do what I want!"
"You're no leader," said Tomoki, helping the injured Geckomon to his feet. "You're a bully. You're worse than a bully. You're not just picking on people weaker than you, you're claiming you're helping them!"
"You've got no right to talk to me like that!" Tonosama Geckomon snapped.
"We have every right to say it," said Kouichi, "because it's true, isn't it?"
"That's enough out of you! I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" Tonosama Geckomon boomed. "Samurai Tone!"
There was a blast of sound that threw the Chosen, the Geckomon, and several innocent bystanders off their feet. They thudded into walls or smacked onto the ground, gasping and curling up in pain as the pain hit. Kouji, luckier than the others, landed in a heap of netting that had been piled in a dark alley, and remained reasonably unhurt. He closed his eyes, waiting for his head to stop spinning.
*If only I could evolve,* he thought. Even with his eyes closed, he could see his friends lying bruised and battered in the street. He wasn't even sure they were all conscious. If Tonosama Geckomon came to finish them off, they would be sitting ducks. They could all die just a few feet away from him - his friends, the first real friends he'd ever had. It was because he knew them that he'd learned to care about other people in the first place, and look where it had led them: taking a stupid risk to face down a Perfect Digimon when the best they could have managed was a handful of Child-stages. If only he could fight back somehow... He willed the sunlight above to penetrate the dark alley and fill him, as the flames had filled Takuya, but nothing happened.... or almost nothing. He thought he felt something, the smallest twitch in the fiber of his being, but it was like trying to reach across a chasm a mile wide.
*Well, then, I'll just have to fight back the old-fashioned way!* he thought.
Gathering his strength, Kouji disentangled himself from the heap of netting and staggered to his feet, taking stock of his condition. He was a bit bruised, and one of his knees ached where he had landed badly, but that was all. He could still manage something. Maybe he could still get everyone to safety. Ignoring his aches and pains, he ran out into the street.
Elsewhere, his companions were picking themselves up and dusting themselves off, or rubbing at bruised knees and elbows or wincing at fresh headaches. The Geckomon was not moving, apparently either unconscious or hurt too badly to even try to get up. When Tonosama Geckomon saw Kouji, he glared at him.
"Are you still at it?" the froglike creature asked. "If I were you, I'd get while the getting's good!"
"Not yet," said Kouji. "I can't let you hurt my friends and get away with it!"
Tonosama Geckomon narrowed his eyes as best he could, protuberant as they were. "And what are you going to do about it, huh?"
Kouji said nothing. He knew he would sound stupid if he said something like, "Um, er..." but it was all that would come to mind, because he knew there was really nothing he could do to something that was more than ten times his weight and mass. He settled for giving Tonosama Geckomon a cold look.
Just then, there was a small commotion, in the form of two Otamamon scurrying up the road. They were carrying something.
"Tonosama Geckomon!" they called. "We found your fishing rod, you left it in the cafeteria, and..."
"Gimme that!" Tonosama Geckomon snapped.
They reached out to offer him the rod... but they didn't quite make it. Kouji seized his chance and made a dive for the rod, snatching it out of their flippers. Tonosama Geckomon made a move to stop him, but he was bulky and awkward, and couldn't move nearly as fast as agile Kouji. Kouji took the rod and twirled it expertly, whipping it against the side of a building and shattering the reel, leaving only the solid wooden shaft. He almost smiled. He'd been trained in martial arts for years, and he was handy with several of the classic weapons - nunchucks and even swords - but he had always been best with the staff. With one in his hand, he thought he could easily hold off this clumsy creature long enough for his friends to get away. He spun the staff around in a movement too fast to follow, hearing it whistle through the air, his confidence growing.
*With this, I'm safe,* he thought. *I can stand up to this clown... I feel like I could stand up to anything, with this in my hands...*
Disorientation took him. Suddenly, he was no longer standing in a dusty street on the side of a lake. Instead, he rode on the back of a striped wolf, with his body encased in armor, and the staff in his hand was a lance. At his back was a mighty army, ready to obey his orders... The scene shifted again, showing him standing on the deck of a sailing ship, with a fleet of others arrayed nearby... And then he saw himself enthroned on a golden chair in an alabaster palace, presiding over a court, settling disputes... He shook his head, dispelling the visions, until he was back in a fishing village again. All that was left was a trace of suggestion in his mind: You could have any of this, if you wanted it...
*I don't,* he thought back stubbornly. *I never wanted to rule anyone. I just want to help my friends!*
There was a feeling of protest. He had tapped into a power; it wanted to be used. Trying to hold it back was like trying to plug up a dam once it had been breached. All that power was straining to go somewhere, and the readiest channel was through him. He gritted his teeth, struggling against the force that sought to control him. Somehow, he knew it would do things through him that would make what it had done with the Tonosama Geckomon look like a case of schoolyard bullying...
*Wait! I know what this is!* Kouji suddenly realized. *This is the Staff of Order... the corrupted Staff of Order! Well, I won't let it corrupt me!*
"No!" he shouted. "Listen, you will obey my will, got it?"
He thrust the staff away from him, as if to hold off an enemy. Those watching saw a ripple of something run through the air, making it warp as if from heat. All around him, the Digimon, large and small, who had been watching him suddenly fell facedown in the street, prostrating themselves before him. Kouji planted the staff on the ground and leaned on it, panting for breath, his face damp with sweat. At last he raised his head and looked out at the assembled company.
"Don't do that," he said hoarsely. "Don't ever bow to me. Get up!"
They hastened to obey. They all stood in a half-circle around him, staring at him wonderingly. Kouji sighed deeply.
"All right," he said. "Listen to me, all of you. This is the Staff of Order, one of the Fabled Artifacts. It has the power to make people obey whoever holds it. Tonosama Geckomon has been using it to control you all. He is not your leader, and he never has been. You don't have to obey him anymore, all right?"
"But who can we obey?" asked one of the Otamamon. "We need a leader!"
"So elect one," said Kouji. "Pick someone you think would do a good job and let him lead you. If he doesn't do a good job, kick him out and try someone else. Figure it out among yourselves."
"Would you lead us?" asked a Betamon.
"Absolutely not," said Kouji, and he felt the Staff vibrate under his fingers in protest. He sighed again. "I like being on my own too much to be a good leader. I'm not good at dealing with lots of people... and I don't know the first thing about running a fishing village. You'll do better with someone else. I have only one request from you, and that's to make this guy here-" He pointed at Tonosama Geckomon. "-pull his own weight for a change. I'm not ordering, I'm just asking. Will you do it?"
There was a chorus of agreement. A few Digimon looked at Tonosama Geckomon with new light in their eyes, as if suddenly remembering just what kind of a leader he had made.
"Good," said Kouji. "Now, if you don't mind... I want to sit down."
He walked off to join the rest of his friends, who had been watching the spectacle with interest. Tomoki was tending to the injured Geckomon, who was now awake and sitting up.
"Are you okay?" asked Kouichi, eyeing his brother worriedly. Kouji was looking very pale, and his hands were trembling slightly. Even more, Kouichi always knew what his brother was feeling, and right now he didn't feel right.
"I've been better," Kouji replied. He sat down tiredly on someone's front step.
"Is that really a Fabled Artifact?" asked Neemon, hopping closer to get a better look. "I thought it was a fishing pole."
"Fishing poles don't do what this one did," said Kouji. "Bokomon is right - this thing is corrupted. And it's not taking kindly to finding someone who isn't willing to be corrupted along with it. Don't touch it," he said, and Neemon drew back his paw. "I don't think anyone but me ought to touch it, now that we've got it. It's still got a bad attitude."
"How can it have an attitude?" Junpei wanted to know. "I thought Bokomon said the only Artifact that had a mind of its own was the Star of Guidance."
"A computer doesn't have a mind of its own," said Tomoki. "That doesn't mean it can't do things by itself."
"That almost made sense," said Takuya. "I guess what he means is that this thing was set to do stuff, and it's going to keep on acting that way until someone fixes it... Do you think we can fix it?"
"I don't know," Kouji replied. He glared at the Staff. "I think I can control it, anyway... as long as I don't try to use it for anything... but it's very powerful, and so are we. If we aren't careful, it could make any one of us do terrible things. I think if we get hold of any more corrupted artifacts, we all need to promise never to use them. They're way too strong for a human being to handle... but I'm not going to force you," he added, with a ghost of a smile.
Takuya thought about it. Then he nodded. "You're right. Nobody uses any of the corrupted Artifacts, and nobody touches anything that someone else has claimed. Agreed?"
"Agreed!" said everyone else.
Kouji was quiet. He could still feel the Staff thrumming softly under his fingers, as if an electric current ran through it. He squeezed it hard, and the feeling abated until it felt like nothing but wood. It was learning, he thought. Perhaps it was like a badly-trained dog, that only needed a firm hand on the leash to teach it to behave and even be useful. With time and patience, he might be able to render it harmless. Even so, he would be very glad when he could hand it over to the Great Angels and let them deal with it.
*So we've got a new form of evolution that makes people lose their memories when they use it, and we've got a weapon that wants to use us instead of the other way around,* he thought wryly. *Somehow, I felt safer when we were defenseless.*
Witchmon had hidden herself away in the forest. The trees here were thicker, darker, and wilder as they left the areas inhabited by friendly Digimon and drew nearer to the more mountainous regions. They were a good place for a flying Digimon, especially one who was hoping not to be seen by anyone. As soon as she had realized that her plan had backfired in the most spectacular way imaginable, Witchmon had fled the village and tucked herself into the deepest shadows she could find, beneath a clump of bramble bushes. Feeling sick at the thought of admitting her mistake, she nevertheless took a pouch out of her pocket and opened it. It contained one of her brother's many crystal balls, used for seeing things far away... including, on this occasion, his erring sister.
"Witchmon," he said, as his image appeared in the globe. "What have you to report?"
She hung her head. "I made a goof again."
"I'm not surprised," said Wisemon. "I am, however, curious. How do you manage to make a mistake at spying on someone? I assume you weren't seen, if you're still free and in one piece."
"I tried to do something on my own," she replied.
"Ah," he said. "That explains it. Witchmon, you know better than to try to think for yourself."
"I know," she said. "I was just trying to do something good for a change, and it all blew up in my face."
"Well, tell me what you did wrong this time, and I'll see if I can make it better for you," he said. "We don't want you getting into trouble with Lilithmon, do we?"
"No?" she hazarded.
"That was rhetorical. Explain your mistake, Witchmon."
"Well, it would have been okay if the Fabled Artifact hadn't turned up where I didn't expect it," she said defensively. "How was I supposed to know it was just going to be a stupid fishing rod?"
"If I didn't know what you were talking about, that wouldn't have made any sense at all," said Wisemon. "For your information, all of the Fabled Artifacts were made to resemble commonplace items. It made them harder for thieves to find, and was supposed to remind their holders of their humility. Needless to say, it did not always work, but the fact remains that the Artifacts are distinguishable from their mundane counterparts by their powers alone, and not by their outward appearances."
"Why didn't someone tell me that before I tried something stupid?" Witchmon asked.
"Because," said Wisemon, "you were not to interfere, only watch. If you had done as you were told, it would not have mattered."
"Oh," she said, deflating. "Well, anyway... I put a hypnosis on the Tonosama Geckomon to make him attack the children."
"Let me guess - it didn't work?"
"Oh, no, it worked fine," she said. She decided to overlook the fact that she'd hypnotized Tonosama Geckomon into attacking her, as well.
"Hmm," said Wisemon. For some reason, he sounded bothered by this. Witchmon didn't blame him; she was usually surprised when her spells worked, too. "Go on. What did happen, then?"
"Well, I sent him to attack the children and drive them out of town," she said. "I thought if they weren't in town, they couldn't find the Artifact. But they found the Staff of Order anyway, and they used it to make Tonosama Geckomon back down."
"I see. So they have found a second Artifact, and you didn't even tell us about it in time to prevent it," said Wisemon. "You really have been stupid. For one thing, you made one very vital miscalculation."
"What was that?" Witchmon asked.
"Lilithmon does not want us to prevent the children from finding the Artifacts," he said. "She wants us to prevent them from looking for them. There's a difference."
"Is there?" asked Witchmon blankly. "What is it?"
"The difference is that if the children are searching the Digital World for strongholds where the Artifacts might be found, sooner or later they will wind up in Lilithmon's domain," said Wisemon. "For eons Lilithmon has been doing everything in her power not to be found. She is not going to tolerate them intruding in her space carrying a load of powerful Artifacts."
"Couldn't we just put up a fence or something?" asked Witchmon hopefully.
"No. Listen to me, Witchmon. This is very important. We have to stop these children from looking for the Artifacts. That is the bottom line. Do you understand that?"
"Yes," she said. "I think."
"Close enough. Now, I'm going to let you have one more chance, Witchmon. If you can't convince me that you can do this job correctly, I'm going to have no choice but to report your unsatisfactory work to Lilithmon. None of us will like that. So you will do better in the future, won't you?"
"I'll do my best," said Witchmon.
"You do that. I will try to send along something that will help you."
"Will it be like the last something?" she asked nervously. "I didn't like him."
"What you like is of no importance," said Wisemon. "It is what Lilithmon wants that matters." From the sound of things, he didn't sound any happier about that than she felt. Witchmon was rather touched that he was so sympathetic towards her feelings.
"Well, if you think it will help me, I'll try to deal with it," said Witchmon. "I wish you were here, Wisemon. You're so much better at this than me. I'll bet you wouldn't make all these stupid mistakes."
"Well, Lilithmon needs me right now," he said, "but I'll come join you when I can."
"Thanks, Wisemon. You're the best. I can always count on you," she said.
"I hope someday I can say the same for you," he said. "Until then, just keep trying. Good night, Witchmon."
"Good night, Wisemon," she said.
The image faded. With a sigh, Witchmon looked back the way she had come, towards the village. The lights were on down there; from the sound of it, they were having a party to celebrate the election of their new leader. She had seen him - the cheerful Geckomon in the funny cap. He had invited his human friends to stay for dinner, and they were all there, socializing and having a good time - with the exception of Tonosama Geckomon, who was busy waiting tables and cleaning up messes. It all sounded so bright and cheerful. Witchmon sighed. It was too bad people like her had to spend so much time in the dark and alone. It would have been so nice to go down there and join them...
*They don't like you,* she told herself sternly. *You're their enemy. If you went down there, they wouldn't stop at just running you out of town. The only people who care about you are Wisemon and Lilithmon... and Cat.*
"It's cold out here, isn't it, Cat?" she asked her familiar. "Let's find somewhere warm to sleep, huh?"
Cat nuzzled her cheek. With a sigh, Witchmon curled up under the bushes and settled down to sleep, listening to the faraway party noises.