Digimon: Elemental Mages

By BridgitKiido

Disclaimer: Like I said in the last 10 or so chapters, I don't own Digimon.

Cave Fossam

Bridgit was having trouble focusing as she walked. Why were my powers so weak against Eaglemon? she asked herself over and over again as she walked, slowly lagging behind the others. Why wasn't I able to protect Kima back there…?

"What's with her?" Rhenna asked, looking back toward Bridgit in a confused manner. "She was complaining about me wanting to take a break, and now look."

Bobby replied, skating on a thin sheet of ice he had conjured, "Maybe she doesn't want any of your nasty stink to rub off on her." Tan and Rhenna both sent him a death glare, which he brushed off.

John threw up his hands and, waving them, said, "Enough fighting, you three. After all, we're almost at the castle."

"Thank goodness for that," Jennie said, leaning back happily atop her brother's floating boulder. "I've been getting a headache from all of the bickering."

And thus commenced a long string of chatter between the twins, John's portions consisting mostly of comments expressing concern for his sister's health, and Jennie's lines consisting mostly of assurance that she was indeed fine, it was nothing more than a minor headache, and it was only because of the arguing trio. Bunimon and Canismon sighed.

Spikecornmon lagged behind a bit to let Bridgit catch up to her, and then, walking at the same pace as her human partner, the porcupine-like unicorn asked, "Is something the matter, Bridgit? You normally don't lag behind this much."

Bridgit looked down, almost surprised to hear her partner's voice next to her. After a moment, she smiled weakly and said, "It's nothing. Don't worry about me." She then ran forward a little bit to catch up with the rest of the group.

Now where was Kima in all of this, one might ask? Simple, really. She was currently practicing her powers and protecting Ophanimon's egg all at the same time. Transformed into Crystamon's form, she and her partner were playing tag on the ground, although Kima kept losing because she had volunteered to carry the egg strapped to her back.

But anyway, the group managed to make it out of the thick forest that they had been traveling through, at which time they laid eyes upon a huge, translucent palace. A large prismatic barrier sparkled around it, obviously to protect the palace from intruders. Tan, being the first to get out of the forest, had to put on his goggles just to be able to see in all of the glare. The rest of them (save Bridgit, who still had enough cover from the trees) had to shade their eyes with their hands.

("But are you sure you're okay?" John continued asking his sister.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Anyway, it's gone away already," Jennie assured her brother.)

Tan looked the castle over for a second, and then he said, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go inside." He started off toward the castle, and everyone else began to follow him.

Except, of course, for Bridgit, who lagged behind for a few seconds, looking over the castle again suspiciously. Spikecornmon asked her quietly, "What's wrong? You seem distrustful of this."

"Something just doesn't feel right," Bridgit said, but then she shrugged it off and ran forward to catch up with the rest of them again.

It would be wise to note that Kima and Crystamon were still currently several meters inside the woods, resting quickly because the former was not used to running around in such a small form for such a large amount of time, especially with a relatively giant egg strapped to her back.

Back with the main group, they had almost reached the entrance to the castle – a single doorway in the prismatic barrier. Tan and Raptomon began to walk forward to open the door, while Bridgit pulled out a small mirror from her pocket and began to scry for the simple reason that she still had that bad feeling about the situation. Her fears were confirmed by her vision just as Tan was about to knock on the door.

"Now I understand, it's a trap," she muttered, her eyes widening.

Right on cue, the ground opened up beneath the six of them. And, due to vacuum-like pressures involved, not even John's levitation skills could prevent them from falling down into the deep chasm that opened up.

A loud scream could be heard from outside the chasm, so loud that not even Kima and Crystamon could ignore it. They both ran (Kima still transformed into her partner's form) toward the source of the sound, but when they reached it, it was too late. The ground had swallowed the six children, and had sealed behind itself.

"Sis?" Kima called out, transforming back into her human self. Failing to see Bridgit – or anyone else for that matter – she called louder, "Bridgit!" She received no answer.

"Stop following me."

"No."

"Stop following me!"

"No!"

"For the last time, Rhenna, stop following me!" Bridgit was nearly fed up with the other girl, who was currently walking just a couple meters behind her in the dark cavern they had fallen into. "I need to find my sister, I don't need company while doing so, and you're just getting on my nerves."

Rhenna replied with a slightly squeaky, almost teary tone, "Well, I need to get out of here too! And besides, there are some things about you I don't understand."

"Oh great," Bridgit said sarcastically. "Little Miss Popular wants to know more about me. You were asked to spy on me by Tom, weren't you?"

"His name is Tan," Rhenna replied, "and it was my own idea to ask you. I was worried earlier, okay?"

That statement made Bridgit stop in her tracks. She then began to laugh sardonically, stating, "You, worried about me. Now that's funny. You know, you don't really come off as the type of person who would actually care about others."

"Well, I am worried," Rhenna said. "I'm quite worried about you and everyone else in the group. I care a lot."

Bridgit scoffed. "Yeah, you do a real good job of showing it, too."

"Look," Rhenna said, almost in tears, "I do care. I just can't say anything around Tan. I'm afraid of losing his friendship, okay? He's only known that one side of me, and I'm afraid that if he knows that I actually care, he might not like me any more."

(Dewmon and Spikecornmon, meanwhile, were tailing their partners at a slight distance. Both of them sighed, each thinking that their human partner was being way too stubborn for their liking.)

Not quite believing the other girl's story but fed up with all of the noise, Bridgit sighed, and then sat down against the cavern's wall. "Fine, you win. You can follow me. I need to see if I can figure out the way out though." She then proceeded to pull her diamond from her pocket.

Rhenna smiled, sitting down herself. "And while you're doing that, I'll see if I can grow us some food quickly – I don't know about you, but I'm certainly hungry." She then removed her emerald from her pocket. Upon looking at it, however, she gasped and looked up at Bridgit, whose eyes were also widening.

Both of their gems had cracked in half, revealing themselves to have been hollow. All that remained besides the shells – which were dulling by the second until they became an opaque charcoal grey – was a tiny, glittering stone (or in Rhenna's case, two of them) that looked almost identical to the original except for a shrunken size.

"What's going on?" Rhenna asked, her hand accidentally dropping one of the two tiny emeralds to the ground. At once, from where it landed, a thick vine shot up from floor to ceiling that was covered in large blue fruits. Rhenna backed away slowly, shaking slightly.

"I-I have no clue," Bridgit said, suddenly noticing that the arm that was still holding her mini-diamond had now become completely invisible. Calling over to her partner, she asked, "Spikecornmon, what's going on? There was nothing about this type of thing in the book!"

Spikecornmon and Dewmon looked quietly at their partners. The unicorn then stated, "I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, I'd think your powers are getting stronger."

"You might not want to lose those gem fragments though," Dewmon pointed out, noting the small stone Rhenna had dropped.

Rhenna quietly picked up her fragment, having forced herself to calm down, and looked her pair of stones over, turning them over and over in her hand. "They look almost as if they could be earring stones," she mused to herself as her free hand made its way quietly to remove the small earring from her left ear. She removed first the left earring, then the right earring, and placed an emerald on top of each. A slight glow was emitted from the objects, which died down quickly to reveal her earrings and emeralds bonded together.

Bridgit, meanwhile, took a good look at her mini-diamond (which, along with her arm, was now completely visible).

A young blond boy smiled as he gave a young brown-haired girl a small gift. As she opened it, her mouth opened in awe at the sight of such a beautiful necklace. It was a small chain of silver-colored links – probably not real silver, but pretty nonetheless – from which hung a small, clear, diamond-shaped stone. Looking up at the boy, she said, "Oh, Alex, it's beautiful! Thank you so much!"

"I was hoping you'd like it," the boy replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm just slightly upset I was only able to afford quartz. Diamond is your birthstone, after all."

"No, it's wonderful, Alex," the girl replied, putting the necklace on. "I absolutely love it."

The boy smiled and laughed a nice, happy laugh. "I'm glad you like it, Bridgit."

Bridgit looked at the diamond fragment for another few seconds, a tear forming at the edge of her eye. Quickly removing from around her neck a small chain of silver-colored links with an empty place for a small stone, she thought to herself, well, Alex, you always wanted to give me a diamond. Perhaps this is the next best thing to that. She placed her small fragment into the empty area on the necklace, and after a moment of softly glowing, the two bonded.

Rhenna looked over at Bridgit quickly, and then asked, "Okay, what's wrong now? Why are you crying about this?"

Bridgit started for a moment, and then she put her necklace back on, muttering, "I wasn't crying."

"So why did I see a tear?"

"I wasn't crying!" Bridgit then changed the subject. "Now, come on. I'm sensing an exit that way." She pointed toward where the cavern lead.

"How can you sense it without scrying?" Rhenna asked, confused as she quickly approached the vine and examined the fruits on it. She pulled a few fruits off the vine, placing them in a bag she made quickly out of one of the large, drooping leaves hanging from the vine.

"You know what, I'm not sure. I guess I just can now," Bridgit stated, starting down the path. Rhenna paused for a second, but then she began to follow right behind her.

Spikecornmon and Dewmon both rolled their eyes before quickly hurrying off to follow their partners.

After a few minutes time, the two girls and their digimon found themselves to be in the middle of a larger room of the cavern. A small bit of light peeked through from the ceiling, indicating a possible exit – by air, anyway. Rhenna observed, "We might be able to get out of here if we can get up there."

"Agreed," Bridgit stated, examining the walls nearby the hole to see if there was anything that she could use to create a ladder or other type of exit.

"Not so fast," came a voice from the other side of the chamber. When Bridgit and Rhenna looked, they saw that they were not alone. The creature that stood on the other side of the room looked like it could have been a royal elf; its long white hair glittered with glowing stars. Its clothing was of animal skins and looked Native American, and strapped to its back was a beautiful bow of cherry wood.

Hoshimon

Level: Ultimate

Attacks: Blossom Arrow, Cloak of Stars

"Okay, now what?" Rhenna stated, thoroughly confused.

"You cannot leave this place," Hoshimon stated, pulling its bow from its back, "until you face me. All you must do is strike me once together."

"Of course," Bridgit said sarcastically. "Why would it be any other way?"

"Don't worry, we'll handle this," Spikecornmon and Dewmon stated, running forward. The gems sparkled brightly, and the two digimon glowed.

"Spikecornmon, digivolve to… Pegacornmon!"

"Dewmon, digivolve to… WildFloramon!"

"Rainbow Horn!"

"Corn Silk Petal Blast!"

The two attacks aimed directly for Hoshimon, but before they could connect, Hoshimon covered itself in its cloak while stating, "Cloak of Stars!" It then disappeared, leaving the attacks to connect only with thin air.

Their opponent reappeared a few seconds later, laughing amusedly. "Nice try, but not good enough. After all, you can't defeat me at your current level."

"What does that mean?" Rhenna asked rhetorically. No one had a chance to answer, however, as Hoshimon drew its bow string back at that time and, shouting, "Blossom Arrow!" let loose a pair of magenta-colored bolts that aimed straight for the other digimon. Both tried to leap out of the way, but Pegacornmon's leg got bruised a little bit.

Argh, Bridgit thought, attempting to concentrate as best she could. Think, Bridgit, think. There's got to be some way…

Finally, Chatmon leapt into action by leaping (sorry for the pun) into the air, surprisingly seeming to stay afloat. She removed her pearls from her neck and, while holding them in front of her, spread them out in a circle. They began to glow brightly, forming a pattern with three small circles within the big circle, and as the warrior cried "Ages Charm!" small circular lights flew from the pearls and surrounded the traitorous one in the same pattern. He screeched, but it was no use – he was frozen in place.

"I've got it!" Bridgit exclaimed, making Rhenna jump. "Only Kima could affect Eaglemon before because he was of a higher level. Hoshimon must be of that same level, so in order to be able to strike, our digimon need to get to the next level. (Like in chapter 6, when the protagonistic Legendary Warriors could not affect Gigasmon because he had a beast spirit compared to them only having human ones.)" She then called out, "Pegacornmon!"

"I hear you, Bridgit," the fairy unicorn replied as she landed and took battle stance once again. "And I think that's an excellent idea. Shall we try it?"

Rhenna then called, "WildFloramon, did you hear that?"

WildFloramon nodded as she took her own battle stance. "Let's try it then."

Rhenna and Bridgit then concentrated hard, and their gems glowed brightly in their respective colors. A few seconds later, the digimon also began to glow.

U L T I M A T E . D I G I V O L U T I O N

"Pegacornmon, digivolve to…" the unicorn cried as her wings folded in back of her and transformed into long, feathered versions. Her fur bleached and her horn sharpened, gaining a swirling screw-like pattern around it. Her hooves hardened to be just as hard as diamonds… "Elliosumon!"

"WildFloramon, digivolve to…" the flower fairy cried as the petals on her head grew to a much larger size and began to cover her hair. The petals eventually closed together to form a sort of helmet. Her wings, which had been relatively leaf-like, grew in size and became more like those of a butterfly, although retaining their bright green color. Her arms and legs were each covered by a pink glove or boot, respectively, and the leaves covering her body merged together into a brilliant scarlet dress… "Lotusmon!"

E N D . U L T I M A T E . D I G I V O L U T I O N

Where Pegacornmon had stood was now a pure white horse with wings like those of a dove. The fur almost seemed to radiate its own glow in the cavern, although that may just have been a trick of the little light that there was. Her horn now shimmered just like a pearl, although its sheer sharpness made it clear that it was more dangerous than it looked.

Elliosumon

Level: Ultimate

Attacks: Needle Mane, Shimmering Horn

Where WildFloramon had stood, meanwhile, was now a warrior maiden in a crimson dress. She now had a golden helmet that pointed forward, sort of like a bird's beak except flatter. She now had what appeared to be an actual sword attached to her waist, and although her limbs appeared to be as formal as that of a noble lady, it was apparent that the sword was capable of use. She also sported a pair of brilliant jade butterfly-like wings that just added to the surreal nature of her being.

Lotusmon

Level: Ultimate

Attacks: Petal Blade, Rain of Pollen

Hoshimon smiled. "So, you have grown sufficiently. That is good. But you still must strike me once together if you are to pass."

Elliosumon and Lotusmon nodded to each other. Elliosumon gathered energy in her mane, causing it to stand on end, and then released the energy in thousands upon thousands of flying needles with the single mention of the phrase "Needle Mane!" At the same time, Lotusmon extended her arms and, saying "Rain of Pollen!" brought forth a large cloud of power-numbing dust. The needles pinned Hoshimon to the back wall, and the pollen prevented it from using its Cloak of Stars ability.

Elliosumon then began gathering energy in her horn, after a few seconds causing it to glow so brightly as to almost light up the cavern completely. (Even Bridgit had to shield her eyes as she watched.) Upon the statement of the phrase "Shimmering Horn!" by the unicorn, the collected energy shot forth in several long, skinny ribbons of light that flew toward the trapped Hoshimon.

At the same time, Lotusmon unsheathed her sword slowly; gathering energy as it was revealed until it became fully unveiled, glowing a bright grassy green. She held it upright for a moment, but then with the single yell of "Petal Blade!" she slashed the sword, sending a bright wave of energy flying toward Hoshimon. (Think of what happens when Inuyasha, from the anime Inuyasha, uses his sword. Now imagine a bright green version of that coming from the attack of a warrior maiden-like fairy. It's sort of like that.)

The abilities met somewhere in the middle, and they combined rather well. Hoshimon, pinned to the wall and unable to escape, took the full force of the blast.

Bridgit and Rhenna had to shield their eyes in order to keep from going blind until the light died down, and when it did, Spikecornmon and Dewmon were sitting on the ground, back to their usual forms and exhausted. Hoshimon stood in front of the wall, apparently unscratched. But that didn't concern the girls at this moment, as they were too busy asking their partners if they were all right and if they needed assistance.

Hoshimon then walked up to them and stated, "You did well, children. Your abilities have grown marvelously. You may pass through." The digimon then smiled, turned around, and vanished.

"…What just happened?" Rhenna asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," Bridgit replied.

"So this is the exit?" Rhenna asked, looking up at the ceiling of the cavern and seeing a hole that allowed some light through.

"I suppose so," Bridgit stated. "That looks pretty high to climb up."

"I'll take care of this," Rhenna stated, placing her hands on her earrings for a second and then touching the ground. A large vine, reminiscent of Jack and the Beanstalk, grew up to the ceiling, with leaves (supposedly) strong enough to hold a human.

Kima mused, "I wonder if they've found a way inside already, Crystamon."

Her cat-like partner then replied, "Well, since we're inside now, right by the entrance, don't you think we would have noticed them if they had come in?"

Then, of course, the two of them heard angry voices from just below the floor. One of them, sounding an awful lot like Rhenna, yelled, "What do you MEAN you can't break through?"

Another voice, this one sounding suspiciously like Bridgit, countered, "How was I supposed to know I've become unable to use those lasers?"

The first voice shouted, "AAAARGH, you're so annoying and USELESS!"

The second voice returned, "Ah, of course. Blame the strange girl when she can't do something. Maybe it would be of benefit to you if I just disappeared."

A small screech then issued forth from the first girl, and the floor was broken through (thankfully not where Kima and Crystamon had been standing, although they were intrigued so much as to sneak closer as this happened), revealing a sighing Dewmon, a somewhat annoyed Spikecornmon, and a very flustered Rhenna standing on a leaf. Several seconds later, Bridgit popped into existence on said leaf, saying, "Actually, you know what, I don't think I want to benefit you. So I'll stay visible for now."

"Wow, sis," Kima interrupted, "you can turn invisible now? That's so cool! I wish I could do that!"

And then, completely by accident, Kima transformed into something so small that it can't easily be seen by the naked eye – a tiny clone of Yanmamon from when it performs Insect Ohm. (Yeah, it would appear that said clones were somewhat abundant in the forest where she had found herself in the Digital World.)

Bridgit, Rhenna, and the three digimon couldn't help giggling at this, while Kima merely transformed back into herself and stated in an annoyed manner, "Ha ha, very funny."

What happened to the other four children? Who is the mysterious 'Alex' in Bridgit's memory? Will the authoress ever update this story? Find out next chapter!

Author's Note: Hoshimon's name comes from the Japanese word "hoshi", which means "star". (Hence its cloak of stars.) The title of this chapter, "Cave Fossam," is Latin for "Beware of Ditch." Special thanks to my sister for coming up with that one – Personally, I take French. Elliosumon's name is derived from Ellios, the human form of Pegasus from Sailor Moon SuperS, which I claim no ownership of.

I've rewritten this chapter because I didn't like what I did with it. In the original version, I revealed too much about Rhenna and Bridgit, and both of them were actually out of character. Rhenna was too kind, while Bridgit was too trusting. Plus, I wanted to end it at a better spot. However, I don't know if anyone actually cares, seeing as I didn't get a single review for the original chapter anyway. I had to actually get help from my dad (who rocks, by the way, but that's not the point) to help me come up with the back stories for Tan and Bobby which I specifically asked my reviewers to help me with (and I may end up not bringing up ANYWAY).

I won't be like some other authors and threaten to not continue the story if I don't get any reviews because, frankly, I want to finish this story. However, reviews certainly give me more motivation to write more of this more quickly, and the quicker I get this done, the quicker I can start some other fics that may or may not be more interesting. So, please tell me what you think of this story. Even a quick "good job" or "this story stinks" suffices. (You know I'm desperate when I actually decide to welcome flames with open arms.)