Disclaimer: I own no Pokemon, Digimon, or of the like. I own Stellath and her world.

A/N: This installment is a little short, but it should tie up everything that happened in the last chapter. This chapter was originally very short anyway. Major changes from the original... well, Nicole was stuck in the forest with Matt, but they got separated and she got out and Matt passed out. And a certain pokemon never showed himself to the rest of the group. Plus the usual special powers thing, and the identities of all the people from the prophecy, which was revealed in the original by the end of this chapter (but trust me, the rewrite is much, much better). I'm also trying to add a little more bonding, and some info about Nicole's journey. I've decided that at some point, I'll post up another fic basically detailing what happened on her journey - I did come up with an entire backstory for her, anyway (very important for OCs!)

Regarding the NG, I'll just say this: Charizard IS in character. It's just a side of him we haven't seen yet. The other pokemon just got riled up by him.

Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Guardian of Fire

Bright orange flames crackled around him, the black smoke blowing about and filling the precious air. He covered his mouth in hopes of filtering out some of the smoke, and continued to jump over fallen branches and burnt foliage in his attempts to escape.

Matt himself was shocked at how he had managed to survive. He had been falling... and apparently, his latent psychic powers had decided to flare up out of the stressful situation he was in, and had ended up saving his life, as they made him slow down and float to the ground instead of falling to his death.

And now, here he was, in the middle of the flaming forest, and with no idea of how to get out.

It was hard to breathe, what with the oxygen being used up by the fire and leaving him with smoke filled air that he had to filter with the hands over his mouth. Not to mention the sweltering heat; he could feel sweat pouring down his back and soaking his shirt, and his entire location was unbearable to be in.

It was a survival test, and somehow he had to escape.

Matt narrowed his eyes as he looked around for any paths that might be clear and might lead out of the forest. Okay, latent psychic powers, work! ...Please?

A flaming tree cracked and began to tumble down. Shouting out in terror, Matt fell and rolled forward out of the way, hearing a loud boom behind him. He covered himself as bits of flaming embers flew in the air from the impact, wincing as he felt burning spots across his back.

For a moment, despair filled his mind. So far he had succeeded against the odds and survived, but how much longer would it last? He knew, as he crawled away from the downed tree, that it would not be long before the flames did consume absolutely everything.

Breathing in smoke, Matt began coughing, feeling his throat constricted. Pushing himself to his hands and knees, he tried to calm himself out of the fit and ignore the burning air.

At once, a thought came to mind. Moltres... found in a forest fire... needs the song...

The song Nicole had hummed earlier suddenly began playing in his head, and not quite knowing what to do, he tried imagining it amplified by many times, the sounds spreading out through the forest. To his surprise, he physically heard the tune, in a haunting, inhuman voice without words singing it.

Everything seemed to stop in the time it took for the song to play. The flames held back, the sounds of burning were drowned out, and the world seemed surprisingly peaceful, despite the obvious destruction. The voice sang out mournfully, echoing through the forest in waves of psychic energy, while Matt sat in place, unable to do anything but listen in awe.

Even after the last sounds had died away, the area stood peaceful and calm, as though the rage of the fire had been quelled into a serene submission. It took a few moments for Matt to recover, as inwardly he continue to think to himself that he still had to stay alive and find a way out of the forest. Yet he felt strangely weak and tired at the same time, almost compelled to lie down and fall into a deep rest.

His mind was clouded, but he jumped and recognized why he was feeling that way. There's no more air down here... I'm not going to burn to death, I'm going to suffocate, he thought wryly. He forced himself up on his feet, trying to breathe and expand his chest in an effort to survive, and only a shallow burst of air sped in.

Squinting his blue eyes that were dry and hurting, Matt tried to walk away through the burning area as the flames slowly began to pick up back to the previous ferociousness. He choked again as the air that entered his lungs did nothing for him, only increased the fatigue and tiredness within him and made his body ache.

No... Damnit... this is... not how it's... going to end...

Finally, Matt fell, unable to breathe and unable to move any further. All his energy was gone, and he could do nothing but lie there and wait for the flames to consume him. He closed his eyes in anticipation of the inevitable.

But wait... flames weren't supposed to tickle gently... they certainly weren't supposed to make him feel better if they were going to burn him to ashes. And... the heat had died down into something bearable, and somehow he found his body feeling more energized as the air came rushing back into his lungs, filling him with life and hope once more...

Taking a chance, Matt opened his eyes.

He gaped at the sight.

A huge, great bird stood over him, shielding his body from the surrounding fire. Yet the bird itself seemed to be a source of flames, with orange tongues and flickers rising off of its wings. It was yellow, though the fire from it gave off a red glow that seemed heartening. Somehow, it radiated a feeling of strength, courage, and protectiveness, as it guarded the boy beneath it. And from it came a field of energy directed mostly towards saving the life of the boy, helping him regain his vitality and strength while pushing away what threatened him.

The bird gave off a loud cry, as the flames around it fell back. It glanced down at Matt, intelligent eyes gazing into his as he looked up. Matt suddenly found himself lost in the strong-willed soul that showed through the bird's eyes, and he could only stare at the one who had saved him.

"Hello Chosen One."

Matt jumped and fell back to the ground. "I... you... uh..." he stammered, completely unable to talk any more. Then he gathered his thoughts together and tried to give the bird the most gratifying look he could possibly give. "Thank you for saving me..."

The bird cocked its head in amusement. "You can pay me back by rescuing my son," he answered, nodding with a responsible glint in its eyes. "For now though... rest for a few moments. I will protect you and let you know what you must."

It was something with more grandeur and power than anything Matt had seen before, and it acted as a guardian watching over him. Matt just looked up and continued to stare in awe as he caught his breath, feeling his strength begin to return.

After a few moments, the bird looked back down at him, looking slightly curious. "You've never seen one of my kind before, have you?"

Matt shook his head honestly.

"What world are you from?"

That question surprised him. Matt blinked. "Well, we don't have a name for it..."

He suddenly heard a cackling laugh, which he realized had come from the bird. "You're from the Human world then. The one rather closely connected to the Digiworld, that is." At Matt's puzzled stare, the bird sighed. "Not many from that world know much outside of it. You're a fortunate one."

"I... I guess so..."

Glancing back at him the bird tilted his head. "Chosen One, I hope you are ready for what is to come. I assume you have had some experience with destiny, but for now I should let you know who I am." With a slight pause, he continued. "I am called Moltres. And you are?"

"Ishida Yamato," Matt answered. "Or Matt."

"It is nice to meet you, Matt. Unfortunately we have little time, as I must control the fire and you must continue your quest.

"I know that either you or one of the other Chosen Ones has met with Lugia, because you played the song earlier. I also know that you have awoken your inner gift, as you used that to amplify it. So, to set you to continue your quest... please show me the stone."

Matt blinked for a moment, sitting on the ground in surprise. Then he remembered, earlier that morning, receiving something from Nicole as she told him to carry it with him...

Quickly, he retrieved a stone from his pocket, realizing to his personal annoyance that he had forgotten to give the other one to Gabumon. With a sigh, he felt the weight of the stone in his hand, and he could not help but stare again at the clear crystalline object with the teardrop symbol floating within.

Then he held it out for Moltres to see.

The bird nodded. "I add my power to yours. You have my sign."

The stone in Matt's hand glowed a brilliant red, bright like the light of the fire around him and Moltres. Glancing back, he noticed something from his pocket glowing as well; it took him a moment to realize that the other stone had been affected. Looking to the stone in his hand once more, he saw a symbol forming inside, into the shape of a little flame that seemed to jump weightlessly from side to side of the hollow chamber.

As the glow dissipated, Moltres spoke again. "Now, I must give you my song as well. Listen well, Matt."

An upbeat, march-like tune sprang through the air, though mystical and filled with power. It seemed to resonate throughout the area, bringing the images of both playfulness and fiery rage to Matt's mind. He concentrated hard, thinking about the song and making sure to remember it. He knew he had to, because it was of utmost importance that he did.

Soon, the song had ended and Matt was busy playing it over and over in his mind. He barely registered when Moltres nudged him with his claw. "Working on trying to remember, young one?" he chuckled, gently pushing Matt forward and to his feet. "You have cause to do so – Mewtwo will want to hear it."

Matt blinked in surprise. "Mewtwo?" he asked, placing the stone back into his pocket and turning to look up at Moltres again. "He's another one of guardians, right?"

"Yes, he is. You will need to seek him out from the Desert Colossus. It is... a building rather like both a temple and a laboratory in the desert beyond these woods," Moltres instructed, holding out the claw and glancing about the clearing with a wary eye. "Hurry onto my claw; I will carry you to the edge of the forest. I only have so much time to stop this fire from becoming a death blaze."

Matt quickly obeyed Moltres, climbing on just like he would have with Birdramon and holding on tightly. With a loud victorious cry, Moltres sprang into the air, rushing up past the burning trees and flying into the dusk sky. Matt felt the wind brush past his face, and watched as the place where he thought he would die move away into a sea of red below.

"This is an unnatural rebirth. The fire comes when it is needed, and never for unnecessary destruction."

It took Matt a moment to realize that Moltres was speaking about the forest. He looked down at the still blazing fire. "We were attacked... the lightning started the fire," he answered quietly.

Moltres drew his head sharply. "The lightning... you were attacked by one with lightning... who was this being?"

"I don't know. But he was... controlling the lightning and riding on the back of a Pidgeot. I didn't see him from close up," Matt answered truthfully. "I don't know who he was... I think some of the pokémon and Nicole did..."

As he spoke, something hit him. Nicole was the one who had taught him the song, who had told everyone what was going on, and even given him the stones in the first place.

"She's a Chosen One!" Matt suddenly shouted. "Nicole's a Chosen One! Why didn't she tell us? She met with Lugia and told us what was happening! Why..."

"Perhaps she still did not accept her destiny," Moltres replied, calmly. "I will have to ask her about that man when we reach your group. Because, the lightning..."

The bird trailed off. Matt was unsure why, but he knew soon he might. He could see the dark area past the flaming forest, and inwardly he could feel his heart still pumping from his near death encounter. Now that he was safe, he remembered the dream he had had, the one that started the entire adventure, the one that had the scene of him in the forest fire.

It was a prophetic dream. His experience was over... and what about everyone else?

Everyone stared silently into the blazing fire, not bothering to cover their faces to shield themselves from the heat. They only could think of someone who had been lost, gone and consumed by the flames.

The battle had not been a victory. They had only repelled Jelisvan, and in return one of their number had disappeared.

Somehow, everyone was still numbed by the idea, unable to believe that Matt was gone. No tear had been shed – there was only denial that it had happened.

They did not have much to grieve.

A great flaming bird shot out of the sky, landing rather forcefully on the ground right before the group (though seeming to favor one leg). The heat and force of air, as well as the sudden appearance of the creature shocked everyone stiff.

"Hello."

"AAAAAAAAAHH!"

Moltres tilted his fire plumed head to the side and glanced at the group of rather stunned humans, digimon, and pokémon. "I do not believe I am that intimidating, am I?"

"Uh... I don't know if I can answer that question."

"AAAAAAAAAHH!"

This time, almost the whole of everyone ran forward to hug a figure they had thought dead.

"Matt, you're alive!"

"You're all right, I couldn't believe you could be gone..."

"MATT!"

Matt only laughed and hugged back, relieved to be safe and unhurt. He felt himself be pulled down by the giant mass of humans and monsters, and could only feel gratitude that he was still alive and with all of his friends.

Moltres chuckled again, watching the scene. Then he noticed one pokémon, with wings and a flaming tail, turn towards him and bow down low. "It's an honor, Moltres," the pokémon said solemnly.

The group grew quiet as Moltres moved forward slightly, nodding at Charizard's figure. "I am proud to do you all the service you need. What comes ahead is important and dangerous, for which you will need each person and every source of help. Thank you, fire pokémon. I only have one favor to ask... I wish to speak with the other human Chosen One."

The entire group stopped, looking at each other and unsure of whom Moltres was speaking of. The Digidestined kept glancing about, wondering who it was Moltres wanted to speak to...

Then Matt moved forward towards Charizard and gazed at the pitiful bundle the fire pokémon was still carrying protectively.

Charizard lifted his head and looked down at Nicole, still unconscious and weak. She seemed unresponsive to anything as she lay limp in his arms, and he hugged her closely.

Moltres took a step forward and bowed his head down to Nicole. He glowed slightly red for a moment, before stepping back once more and gazing intently at the girl.

Nicole fidgeted, then opened her eyes.

As everyone stared at Moltres and Nicole, the bird opened his beak again. "Chosen One, are you well now?"

Nicole blinked, then nodded weakly. "Somewhat... I should recover. Thank you, Moltres," she answered gratifyingly.

"I hope you return to your normal state soon. I heard that this group was attacked by a man who wielded lightning. Who was this man?"

"Jelisvan. Pokémon Master. Holder of Lightning and Destruction, Seeker of Power," she said softly. With a wry grin, she added, "He gave himself the last two titles."

"A rather conceited man, but a threat nonetheless. Thank you, Chosen One. I will be sure to remember this Dark Lord," Moltres practically spat out the last two words, anger flashing in his eyes. "Beware him, but be prepared... he will have to be defeated eventually."

Turning back towards the forest, Moltres looked over his shoulder. "I am sorry for my manner, but I must tend to the forest. Remember the Desert Colossus. And..." Moltres suddenly looked a little apprehensive and apologetic. "Watch out around Mewtwo... he can be moody sometimes..."

"Farewell, and good luck."

With that, Moltres sprang back into the air, disappearing into a fiery blur in the sky above the forest.

The entire group sat still for a few moments as the events of what had just happened sunk in. Then...

Everyone (minus Nicole and Charizard, who had missed out on everything that had happened earlier) resumed the rejoicing in that Matt was alive.

A few moments later, everyone turned and glared at Nicole.

She laughed nervously. "Um... eh heh heh... I take it I missed a lot?"

Many minutes, outbursts, and gasps of shock later, everyone had come to a general consensus that they had just gone through a rather taxing day. They had been met with many realizations, and as a group, had voted on moving out towards the desert and going straight to bed.

Izzy, who was on watch with Tentomon and Haunter, sighed as he thought about everything that had happened. It had been decided that the group needed more than Haunter to watch, especially after what had happened that day, so Izzy and Tentomon were helping that night for a few hours. Then it would be Tai and Agumon's turn.

Watching the large mass of huddled bodies sprawled out on the sand, Izzy wanted nothing more than to collapse into a restful sleep. But something else seemed to puzzle him, something he had noticed during the battle earlier with Jelisvan. Of course, it had been a stressful experience which was why he had not paid it much attention at first, but now as he looked around at the sleeping figures of his friends, he could not help but think about it.

Quietly, he looked over at Biyomon, focusing slightly on her. Within a few moments, he knew that she was tired and slightly hungry, but warm and otherwise content (albeit sleeping). She was also, in her subconscious, craving ice cream. And she would be very much hurt if she ever stuck her claws into an electrical outlet... moreso than most others, anyway.

The sudden influx of information astounded Izzy.

Wondering quite how that happened, he decided to look at Sora and focus on her.

What he got was that Sora was actually physically stronger than at this state, Biyomon, only Biyomon had special abilities. Also, Sora was completely exhausted and was sleeping off all tiredness and the emotional upheaval of having seen a friend of hers fall to his death (though he survived). Just like Biyomon weirdly enough, she was also craving ice cream in her subconscious.

That was probably a mental connection between the two of them. Izzy had to wonder where that had started though.

As one more trial, he decided to look at Haunter, who seemed to be aimlessly wandering around not paying much attention to anything (but Izzy knew better). Quietly, he focused on the pokémon...

Haunter was quite well off, though feeling a slight need for rest and desperately in need of entertainment. He was also very strong, and tensed in case another attack came. He was also thinking of pranking both Izzy and Tentomon.

The only thing Izzy could think of was, 'I have this weird power what is going on I must find out why... wait I already know why. I get it.'

Well, he certainly knew what his inner ability was now.

Sighing, he sat back and thought about what had happened after Moltres' departure.

"I should have known," he said aloud to himself, remembering the revelation of Nicole's status as a Chosen One.

"Nicole," everyone had been saying, listening to it via the strange translating magical stream in the world. What had come up was the phrase base of "Victory" in Greek. Needless to say, everyone understood the connection with the prophecy after that.

"Okay okay, sorry I didn't tell you, I just didn't believe it!" she yelled in annoyance at everyone after the entire group had confirmed her status and scolded her for not telling them.

At that, Charizard gave her a friendly slap on the back, knocking her over.

"Oof!"

Charizard only grinned toothily. "Oh c'mon, what happened to that streak of confidence you used to have back during the journeying days?" he chided at her.

She scowled as she stood back up, dusting some sand off. "I was battling other pokémon trainers and defending various towns with them, not saving the world," she shot back. "Plus with Shor as my rival, it was hard not to at least try to be confident."

"Oh... yeah, good point there..."

"Who's Shor?" Gatomon asked, curiously.

"A good friend and rival." Nicole fingered her necklace as she said it, looking somewhat reminiscent and sad. The other pokémon all sighed as though they remembered as well.

Izzy remembered some other things as well, like the reactions of Nicole and Charizard to everything they had missed earlier. They had been incredulous, shocked, and horrified when they heard about what had happened to Matt, so much that their comments had oscillated from "Oh dear Mew, I can't believe that happened, thank you Moltres, we are not worthy," to "THAT JELISVAN BASTARD NEEDS TO DIE DIE DIE!"

Everyone stared blinking for a few moments at Nicole and Charizard's outbursts, before after some moments of awkward silence, TK smiled, agreeing. "Exactly." He was apparently rather bitter about the fact that Jelisvan had almost succeeded in killing his older brother. It also showed a side to him the others had not quite seen before.

Besides that, there were the important points made in the main discussion later, such as the dream correlation Matt had noted after his rescue from the forest fire.

"So, what happened in the latter part of your prophecy dream actually happened," Tai had stated, looking incredulous and worried at the same time.

Matt nodded. "Yeah... obviously I'm still alive, but yeah it happened."

"Meaning..." Stellath began, trailing off. She had long since returned to a smaller size, though she was now Scyther's height as opposed to the length of one of the human's arms.

Joe looked around, and sighed. "We're all screwed."

"That was a very nice way of putting it, Joe," Gomamon replied.

Finally, there was the very important note of the next destination, which Matt had told everyone of. He had played a song for everyone to hear, deeming it important especially for Nicole and Gabumon to remember.

"Yeah, so we don't know who the last Chosen One is, so everyone should know this too," he continued, glancing about the circle.

Kari sighed and speculated a bit. "It is important. Our only clue is the word 'queen'..."

Sora looked from Kari to Mimi a bit. "Well, I think right now our closest bets are either Kari or Mimi, based off of some Digiworld stuff that happened..."

While Kari and Mimi blinked for a few moments, Agumon jumped up. "Oh yeah, I remember that! All those Numemon calling Kari Queen and then Mimi being Princess... wait, that was princess..."

"I don't know about the 'princess' part," Mimi replied humbly to Tai's comment, looking down at the ground. "I wasn't really much of one..."

Palmon patted Mimi's shoulder. "It's okay Mimi, actually the Gekomon and Otamamon still think of you as a princess."

"Really?"

Matt shrugged. "Well, we don't know about the last person yet, so..." he took one stone out of his pocket and glanced at Gabumon and Nicole. "I should probably give this to one of you..."

Gabumon stepped back slightly. "Why don't you give it to Nicole? I don't have pockets," the digimon offered.

Nicole smiled sincerely at Gabumon. "Thanks, Gabumon."

"Not a problem."

Matt carefully walked over and gave Nicole the stone. She nodded in thanks, before examining it, seeing the new symbol inside of it.

Then she paused, remembering what something that Matt had spoken of earlier. "Hey Matt, you said that Mewtwo was the next one?"

At his nod, she turned slightly pale. As did all of the pokémon and Stellath.

The others stared. "What's wrong?" Tai asked.

Scyther grimaced, looking yellow. "Well, Moltres really meant it when he said to watch out around Mewtwo..."

Izzy could remember that that had really been the end of the conversation. The Poké group seemed very nervous concerning the next Guardian, and noting Moltres from earlier, he could assume why.

Quietly, he stoked the makeshift fire that Tai, Agumon, and Charizard had been very helpful in making. As he stared into it, it still reminded him of the events of that day, how the group had been attacked by someone so powerful, and they had nearly lost someone.

Tentomon nudged him. "Hey Izzy, are you okay?"

"... I'm just thinking about today."

"Oh. It was... really very scary."

A cold, strange presence right behind him made Izzy suddenly whirl around. Haunter was floating there, looking a little serious... and from Izzy's new quick perceptive abilities, he could tell that the pokémon had dropped the idea of pranking them. For now at least.

"Jelisvan is powerful... I'm not sure how we'll defeat him, actually," he said, staring at the fire.

Izzy could at least tell that Haunter was worried. Curious, since it seemed the Poké group knew the man, he decided to ask. "Haunter, how does your group know Jelisvan?"

Haunter was silent for a moment, before answering. "He once attacked us during Nicole's journey. We never defeated him... it was Nicole and Shor's abilities flaring up that got us away in time. You know, Shor, our other pokémon trainer friend," he added, at Tentomon and Izzy's slightly confused look. "Anyway, after that we never heard from him again... we heard he'd disappeared, actually."

He paused. "Well, actually it was towards the end of Nicole's journey when that happened, at which point we ended up at Nicole's home, so we never did find out what happened to him."

"I see," Tentomon answered.

They were silent again for a little while, only looking around as they made sure that no enemies were coming. After some time, Haunter sighed. "This is depressing."

When Izzy and Tentomon turned to the ghost-type, Haunter bounced in the air. "I don't like being depressed! I'm being too nostalgic too! And I'm bored!"

Izzy crossed his arms and smiled. "Okay then, how about we tell some stories until it's Tai's shift? Some things that we wouldn't expect about our respective groups."

Haunter began grinning manically. "Ooh, I can tell you plenty. Like the donut obsessed Gyrados, or Charizard's first flight, or when we accidentally got Venusaur drunk... well, he was an Ivysaur back then, but it was so funny..."

Izzy smiled. In some ways, the day had been one of much stress and excitement, with so much happening... but he had learned quite a good deal from it. And now, he was bonding with Haunter in the middle of the night over stories of adventures the respective groups had once gone through. He had to admit, he missed times like this back from the earlier adventure.

This week's NG:

What Might have Happened if Moltres Stayed Longer

Moltres chuckled again, watching the scene. Then he noticed one pokémon, with wings and a flaming tail, turn towards him and bow down low. "It's an honor, Moltres," the pokémon said solemnly.

Then Charizard stood up. "Excuse me for one moment," he apologized, before running over to Venusaur, who had been released from his pokeball the moment Charizard had reached the edge of the forest. "Hold her please," he quickly proffered up Nicole, still unconscious, to the plant pokémon.

Venusaur blinked, but raising a nonexistent eyebrow, he unfurled his vines and carefully took Nicole from Charizard's arms and held her gently.

Then Charizard dashed back to Moltres before throwing himself on the ground before the bird pokémon's feet. "Oh Great Moltres, I am not worthy of standing in your presence!" he shouted, looking as though he was worshipping Moltres.

"…there is no need to do that."

"You are most venerable and gracious, Great Moltres! I prostrate myself before you, one of Fire!"

"…"

"You, magnanimous Guardian, I am not worthy! I am not worthy! I am not worthy!" Charizard began repeating while bowing down continuously.

"…thank you?"

"I am not worthy! I am not worthy! I am not worthy! Oh, and Jelisvan needs to DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIIIIEEEEE!"

Moltres' eyes narrowed. "Is this Jelisvan the one who attacked you?"

Charizard bowed once again. "Yes, venerable Guardian, Lord of Fire, Great Legendary - "

"Forgive me for interrupting your worship of me, but indeed..." Moltres paused for a moment, before continuing. "Jelisvan must die."

"Yes! A most horrible, gruesome death befitting of the vilest men alive! He shall burn in the hellfires! KIIILL HIM! KIIIIILL!" Charizard then proceeded to stand up and begin what looked like a war dance.

As the others stared at Charizard, Moltres sighed to himself and sweatdropped. "I must indeed be very intimidating..."

Without warning, all of the other pokémon plus Stellath jumped in with Charizard, rage burning in their eyes as they shouted in a war chant.

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"

"... they're so violent," Kari commented.

"... or very, very inspiring."