Hello everyone. A very lengthly delay for this chapter. Lately my free time has been almost non-exsistant. I think that's why the ending to "Twist of Fate" was a little rushed. But for now my free time is back so I'm gonna try and work on this as much as possible!
Warrior-of-water: I haven't really thought about it actually, but I don't think I'll be doing anything with Sam.
Sync The Dragon Tempest: It's weird on Digimon wiki it's Pteramon but his X form is spelled Puteranomon. I didn't realise until afterwards the difference XD
WhiteWolfPrincess95: hehe it would be boring though wouldn't it if the DigiDestined got all the Spirit Stones.
RazenX: Yep, you've got it spot on there ^^
Sweet Cari: That'll be revealed soon :)
Keyblade King 12: Thanks! There will be the noteable ones returning in the Stones the children have. That's all I'm saying for now ;)
FFnetfanHANNAH: They don't really belong to anyone. The children have just been given the job on protecting them XD Yep Stacey's Mom will be appearing soon.
Mattxmimi01: Aww thank you :) I'll private message you and explain how to post a story if you like?
MageRilyn: The adult DigiDestined will b involved in the fighting too ^^
Owwebernd: The Undead King does have plans for the Spirit Stones but I'm keeping them under wraps at the moment hehe
KaoruUzu: Thanks, I'm glad you like the story :) I'll try and fix those little errors.
Digi Yo:Aww thanks! ^^ I think it was Sukamon and Chuumon who wanted to kiss Mimi or something lol
Thanks to everyone else who reviewed this chapter and other ones!
Digimon 2.5 "Digimon Adventure 03"
Episode 33: "A Midnight Mission"
.:Thunder Mountain, File Island, Digital World:.
The main doors to the Undead King's base swung open as Buraimon X strode in, the two Orgemon X stepping aside as he almost barged past them. His footsteps echoed through the empty hallway as he made his way over to the main stairwell.
Upstairs, The Undead King was stood by his window watching the battle training commencing below in the courtyard. He watched as a Triceramon X body slammed an Allomon X. He sighed disapprovingly as the Allomon X remained on the ground motionless.
Just then, there was a quick tap on the door before it swiftly opened up and Buraimon X stepped inside. "My lord." He greeted the Undead King, bowing down on one knee.
The Undead King turned his attention away from the window and to the X Digimon. "What are you doing here? I thought I ordered you not to return here until you found the emeralds!"
"Indeed sir and that is why I have returned." Buraimon X said as he stood up straight and swiftly took out the green spirit stone from his small side bag that was strapped to his belt.
The Undead King's eyes narrowed and a sly smile slowly appeared on his hidden face. He walked across the room towards Buraimon X and took the spirit stone from him, holding it lightly in his hand.
"We stole it right from underneath the children's noses." Buraimon X added proudly.
As the Undead King continued to stare at it, he turned away from Buraimon X and made his way over to the table in the corner. Holding it up to his eye level he chuckled to himself before placing it in the second tripod next to the spirit stone of love.
He observed the two stones in his possession, his chuckle growing louder before it turned into a laugh, which then echoed throughout the castle…..
.:Kamiya Apartment, Odaiba, Tokyo:.
Sora awoke suddenly with a gasp, sitting upright in bed and the evil but familiar laugh from her nightmare still echoing through her head. She sighed loudly as she calmed herself once she realised it was only a dream.
She glanced to her left and looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was two thirty in the morning, the time illuminated in red. She then turned to her right, seeing Tai was fast asleep with his back to her, snoring slightly. She smiled a little before quietly getting out of bed, being careful not to wake him.
Sora wandered over towards the window, hugging her body as it was a little cold. The blinds were open so the moonlight was shining through into the bedroom. She sighed and gazed up at the night sky.
She'd had this worrying feeling that something terrible was going to happen and she couldn't shake it off. It had gotten worse since the children had left for the Digital World yesterday, and now that nightmare hadn't helped settled her mind either.
"Maybe I'm just over worrying myself." She whispered to herself.
She turned away from the window, but as she did, something flew past which caught her eye. "Huh?" she stepped a little closer to the window and as she did, something small and black fluttered in view of the window before disappearing above. It looked like a bat.
Feeling a little uneasy, Sora took a few steps back, keeping her eyes glued on the window.
Just then, Tai turned over in his sleep and went to drape his arm around her. But when his arm hit the mattress, he stirred opening his eyes a little. "Sor'?"
"Hmm?"
"What're you doing?" he asked sleepily.
Sora continued to stare out of the window, almost squinting. "I thought I saw…. Oh, never mind… I... I'm just having a little trouble sleeping." She said before she slowly made her way back over to the bed.
As she lay down, she kept her eyes fixed on the window. Something about that bat didn't seem right….
Her attention from the window was broken when she felt her husband's arm wrap around her waist from behind as he snuggled up to her. Sora smiled slightly and draped her arm over his, placing her hand over his squeezing it a little.
She just hoped this feeling would pass soon, and that nightmare would only turn out to just be a nightmare….
.:Terabyte Jungle, Folder Continent, Digital World:.
There was a loud splash that shattered the calmness of the night as a stone hit the water.
Dawn huffed and sat back down on the rock at the edge of the pond. She had hoped venting out her anger on those stones she had just thrown in the water would make her feel better, but it hadn't. She was still livid from losing that spirit stone to the Undead King.
The group had left Dragon's Valley and found a small cave just on the outskirts and next to a large jungle. The others were currently all asleep inside as it was almost three o'clock.
But Dawn was unable to sleep. She had tossed and turned for what felt like hours before deciding to take a short walk to the pond that was about a hundred feet away from the cave. She had wanted to chase after the Undead King's army, but after an argument with Stacey, the others had agreed to find somewhere to spend the night as it was starting to get late.
Dawn picked up another stone and threw it forcefully, which was then followed by the splash a few seconds later.
"Dawn?"
Dawn jumped a little and spun round before sighing once she realised who it was. "Agumon don't creep up on me like that." She said before turning back around facing the pond.
"Sorry. I woke up for a second and saw you weren't there. What're you doing out here?" Agumon asked as he walked over and stood beside her.
"I couldn't sleep." His human partner replied in a mutter as she tossed another stone in to the pond.
"Is it because of what happened today?"
"Of course it is." Dawn almost snapped as she bent down and picked up another stone, grasping it tightly. "We only have one and now the Undead King has two. That's not good. We had that spirit stone in the palm of our hands and we let it go!" she took a running start to the edge of the pond and threw the stone as far away as she could possible throw it watching it land in the water.
Agumon sighed a little. "Come back to the cave Dawn. You'll feel better once you get some sleep. Thing's will look brighter in the morning." He said before he turned to walk back. He glanced behind him to see she hadn't moved. "Dawn?"
Dawn slowly turned her body around so she was facing him and he saw she was now looking at her D-Watch. "My crest is reacting to something." She said, looking up. "I bet it's another spirit stone."
"Are you sure?" the rookie Digimon asked.
The Kamiya girl nodded. "What else could it be reacting to? C'mon, let's go!" she exclaimed before walking off around the edge of the pond.
"Hey Dawn wait up, what about the others?" Agumon asked as he ran to catch her up.
"They're fine. They're all asleep so there's no point in waking them up. We'll go find the spirit stone and be back before morning. It'll be a perfect opportunity to peg the score back to 2-2."
"Well, I guess you're right. I just hope it's easy to find." Agumon replied.
As the two friends left the area and disappeared into the depths of the jungle, two sets of eyes appeared in the darkness of the cave, watching them.
.:Kido Apartment, Odaiba, Tokyo:.
Even though it was almost three o'clock in the morning, Mimi was awake, sat at the kitchen table with a mug of coco between her hands. She had been sat there for almost half an hour in the darkness just staring at whatever was in front of her, which happened to be the refrigerator.
She sighed loudly and took a small sip from her mug.
"Mimi?"
Mimi snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see her husband walk into the kitchen wearing his dressing gown over his pyjamas.
"What're you doing up? It's three o'clock in the morning." Joe commented as he walked over and sat down opposite his wife at the table.
"I couldn't sleep." Mimi replied, looking down at her mug. "I'm worried about Tricia. She's never spent a night away from home alone before. "
"But she's not alone. She has Palmon X with her, and the others. She'll be fine."
"I know that. But since Sora told me Tricia is in Dawn's group I just can't help but worry. You know Tricia doesn't get along with Dawn. Without any adults there to watch over them I'm just concerned something will happen."
Joe stood up out of the chair. "I know Dawn can often speak without thinking what's coming out of her mouth but she would never deliberately put Tricia or any of the others in danger. Besides, Tricia is a smart girl. She would never do anything stupid. You'll be surprised how well she could probably take care of herself, although she rarely shows it at home." He added a little jokingly.
Mimi sighed but smiled a little. "Yeah… I guess you're right."
.:Terabyte Jungle, Folder Continent, Digital World:.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Agumon asked. "That signal hasn't gotten any stronger and we've been walking for almost a mile now."
Dawn pushed back a low hanging tree branch as they made their way through the thicker parts of Terabyte Jungle. "I'm sure. It's not that hard to follow a simple signal. The signal hasn't grown any weaker so we must be going the right way." She replied before ducking under some vines. "Man this jungle seems to go on forever."
"It definitely looks like we're heading deeper and deeper into it…" Agumon commented as he glanced around their limited surroundings. As he looked to his left, he came face to face with a huge black spider. "Yahh!" he screeched in fright and leapt forward towards his partner.
Dawn sprung round only to be met with her Digimon partner leaping into her arms. "Agumon!" she exclaimed as she staggered backwards and lost her footing on a tree root that was sticking out of the soil, causing them both to fall into a muddy puddle on the ground.
Agumon pushed himself up, his face covered in mud to see Dawn scowling at him. "Heh… sorry." He said meekly.
Dawn stood up and tried to wipe most of the mud off her clothes and face. "Thanks a lot Agumon."
"Hey I said I was sorry. You know I hate spiders." The reptile Digimon protested.
"You've fought scary looking Digimon and you're scared of a tiny little spider?" Dawn questioned as they continued their trek.
"It was huge!"
Just then, Dawn's ears pricked up as the sound of a twig snapping behind them caught her attention. As quick as a flash, she spun round, swiping her D-Power off her belt and pressing the bottom button releasing her digital ring, which she swiftly caught in her right hand defensively.
Tricia and Palmon X both gasped and stepped back a little in fright.
"Tricia…" Dawn groaned, clipping her digivice back on her belt. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't you know not to sneak up on people like that?" Agumon added, holding his chest and breathing a little heavily.
"We saw you leave…." Tricia replied quietly as she stepped back out of the darkness she had been trying to hide in. "Where are you going?"
Dawn sighed. "I thought you were asleep."
"I was, but the constant splashing of rocks hitting the water woke me up…" Tricia paused and raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to find another Spirit Stone by yourself are you?"
"Hey I'm not by myself. I've got Agumon with me." Dawn responded as she turned and continued on her way.
Tricia followed the Kamiya girl, trying to keep up with her fast pace walking and dodging the low hanging vines and branches that swung back in her direction. "Me and Palmon X could come with you."
Dawn stopped for a moment and looked back. "What? Forget it. Besides, it might be dangerous. You could break a nail or something."
Tricia frowned. "I know it's going to be dangerous. But we're supposed to look for the Spirit Stones as a team. Where ever it is, you'll need some help. That's why we've all come to the Digital World to look for them together. So whether you like it or not, we're coming along." She said with a smile as she skipped past her.
Dawn stood there, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists in frustration as she watched Tricia and Palmon X walk off ahead.
Agumon walked up and stood beside her. "I wonder what's changed her attitude. At the start she didn't want anything to do with the Digital World."
"Come on slowpokes!" Palmon X called back, which was then followed by her and Tricia giggling to themselves.
"This is going to be one. Long. Night." Dawn muttered before her and Agumon slowly set off.
.:Terabyte Jungle, Folder Continent, Digital World:.
A few miles away, almost at the other end of Terabyte Jungle, Kuwagamon X and Puteranomon X were flying over the tops of the trees. Kuwagamon X dipped down a little and his claws brushed against the tops of the leaves, scaring a few birds that were nesting in the branches.
The insectoid Digimon took a quick swipe at the leaves of another tree before flying back up to join Puteranomon X. "Either those kids are extremely lucky or they've got some way of tracking those emeralds down." He muttered.
Puteranomon X glanced at him. "You may be right. How they were able to just arrive here and go straight to the emerald has baffled me…." He paused for a moment. "Alright, change of plan. We'll scan the continent for those brats. If they are still here then there must be another emerald located somewhere. And hopefully then they'll lead us straight to it once more."
"Let's head back to Dragon's Valley. They could be camping some where around there for the night." Kuwagamon X suggested.
Puteranomon X nodded before the two X Digimon rose higher into the air, both turning around in unison before flying away in the opposite direction towards Dragon's Valley in the distance…..
.:Lava Pools, Folder Continent, Digital World:.
"Okay, answer me this." Dawn began as all four of them headed up a slow ascending slope. They had left Terabyte Jungle nearly an hour ago and had now been making their way across a vast deserted wasteland of rocks and dead trees. "Why the sudden change in attitude?"
Tricia stopped for a second before she quickly skipped over a large crack in the dry ground. "What do you mean?"
"Well you hated the Digital World at first. Now you want to come on dangerous quests with me. Did you hit your head in Terabyte Jungle or something?"
"I didn't hate the Digital World. I just didn't like all the fighting." Tricia said as she stared down at the ground. "I guess the stories my Mom told me just scared me a little. I didn't want to lose Palmon X. Do you know how many good friends our parents lost when they were here?"
"Sure my parents have told me those stories too."
"But Digimon don't die." Agumon spoke up. "They all start their lives again in Primary Village."
Tricia sighed, kicking a small pebble. "I know but they still have to go through all the pain of fighting…. And it didn't exactly help when Palmon X got turned into an X Digimon either… but I guess when you complimented me in your own weird way that I did a good job against Monochromon X it sort of got me thinking."
"What? You didn't tell me that!" Dawn exclaimed. "You said it was my fault and smacked me in the face with a branch."
Tricia couldn't help but let a little giggle escape her mouth. "I know… I was upset at the time. After that my Daddy sat me down and explained everything to me. He said some will get hurt. It's a part of life and something you can never avoid. But if I join the team I could help so much more people and Digimon. I think that's when I sort of realised I was being a little selfish." She said. "My parents went through some tough times here and I thought if they could get through it all then so could I."
Dawn stared at the younger girl for a moment. For only being nine years old Tricia certainly could act older, something Dawn hadn't seen from her before. "You're pretty mature… for a little girl." she said, flashing her Kamiya grin a little before she turned and continued on.
Tricia couldn't help but smile slightly. "Hey, I'm only one year younger than you!" she exclaimed. She hurried along to catch up. "So, is the Undead King's army still here?" she asked as they got closer to the top of the small hill.
"I doubt it. I doubt those losers even know there is a second Spirit Stone on this island. They've probably flown back to File Island to give their lousy king that one they stole off us."
Tricia's expression fell a little. "Yeah... sorry about that."
"It wasn't your fault Tricia." Palmon X piped up.
"Yes it was. If I had just grabbed the Spirit Stone sooner then maybe we wouldn't have lost it." The young girl said sadly.
"Don't sweat it." Dawn spoke. "It was you against big bird who's four times your size. There was no way you could stand up against him. It's happened now so we're just gonna have to deal with it and concentrate on find the re-" she suddenly came to a halt. "Whoa….."
The group came to a sudden stop at the top of the slope, their mouths open in awe. In front of them was now a vast stretch of lava pools, bubbling and spitting out hot magma. Some were small, like the size of a paddling pool or a small pond but most were huge, the biggest being the one in the centre that was raised up a little higher like the mouth of a volcano. It was so big it could fit two full sized soccer fields in at least.
Tricia gulped as she looked ahead. The atmosphere had now changed. Gone was the silent and cool night breeze. Now they could feel the heat from the lava. "Ummm… you sure this is right?" she finally spoke, her voice cracking a little.
Dawn lifted her arm up to look at her D-Watch. The glow around her crest had gotten brighter. "Positive." She said. "C'mon, let's go."
The small group began their trek, with Dawn and Agumon leading the way. They headed in a straight line, except for when they had to walk around the odd lava pool that was in their way.
"Is this a volcano?" Palmon X asked quietly as she kept close to her human partner.
"I don't know… and I don't want to hang around long enough to find out either." Tricia replied. She held her arms up close to her chest, her hands gently trembling. She kept looking slowly from each side, keeping an eye on each lava pool they past. But as they passed one of the smaller ones, it suddenly rumbled and bubbled more before exploding and spitting out a large amount of lava.
Tricia and Palmon X both jumped and hurried to catch up with Dawn and Agumon as some of the lava hit the ground, inches from their feet.
Dawn kept a cautious eye around their surroundings. They weren't alone. There were three Meramon stood round one of the pools, who stopped and watched as they walked past.
"What're they staring at?" Agumon asked in a mutter, leaning in towards her.
"They've probably not seen humans before." Dawn replied, keeping a cautious eye on the Meramon until they were safely past. She then glanced up above her. They could no longer see the stars as the sky was now filled with dark black clouds and the air was starting clog up with the ash floating around.
Agumon trudged forward slightly and wandered away from the line and stepped up to one of the pools, peering over. "I wonder how hot that stuff really is." He commented.
"Agumon you wouldn't live long enough to find out. You'd die instantly." Dawn commented as she walked past.
"Hotter than my Pepper Breath?" he asked, quickly spitting out his fireball attack, which struck the ground inches away from Dawn's feet.
"Agumon!" Dawn jumped to the side, almost losing her balance a little. She spun round glaring at her partner. "Why don't I throw you in there and then you can tell me once your egg hatches in Primary Village!" she snapped, lunging forward at him.
"Stop it you two, this isn't the place is to messing around." Palmon X warned as the two friends began to tussle. Just then, a small bubble in one of the pools popped and a tiny drop of lava spurted out and landed on her tail. "Yah!" she yelped in pain, jumping up and down before smothering the burn with her vines.
Suddenly, the ground shuddered a little. It was a low rumble like distant thunder. It caused Dawn and Agumon, who were both on the ground with Dawn on top of her partner about to strangle him to stop what they were doing. The rumble lasted for a few moments before subsiding.
"W-what was that?" Tricia gulped scared.
"It sounded like it came from underground." Agumon commented as Dawn climbed up off him.
The two children and Digimon looked around. Everything fell silent again, except for the bubbling and spitting of the lava pools.
Dawn turned around and looked back. The three Meramon were now making their way away from the lava pools….
"Can we just hurry up and get back to the others?" Tricia asked, clutching Palmon X.
Dawn snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh yeah, lets go."
Further back, at the start of the lava pools, a large red claw appeared at the top of the hill before a pair of yellow eyes could be seen through the ash cloud. As soon as the eyes spotted the children in the distance, they soon disappeared back down the slope…..
The children and Digimon soon reached the largest lava pool. There was a small incline to the edge and only took a few moments to walk up. Once they reached the top, they stopped.
The lava pool was even more monstrous up close. In fact it was more of a pit than a pool. There was a 30ft drop before hitting the lava and in the middle was a large rocky platform. The only way to reach the platform was to climb down the side of the pit, hop across a few small rocks, before walking across a crumbling rock bridge.
"Is it… down there?" Palmon X gulped pointing in to the middle of the pit.
"Why put a Spirit Stone in there?" Tricia almost shrieked her eyes wide with shock.
"It's gotta be somewhere well hidden so no one can find it." Dawn replied as she stepped towards the ledge and prepared to climb down.
"Wait-what're you doing?!" Tricia exclaimed quickly, stepping forward.
Dawn slowly climbed down a little, using the small ledges as steps. "Going to check it out. The Spirit Stone's gotta be somewhere on that platform."
"But you could fall." Palmon X protested.
"I'll be fine. Look if it's too scary for you just wait up here. Me and Agumon won't be long." Dawn said before she carefully climbed down the side of the pit, closely followed by Agumon.
Tricia knelt down by the edge with Palmon X stood next to her. They both watched as Dawn and Agumon made it to the bottom.
Dawn jumped down onto the ledge, pressing her back up against the side of the pit before stretching her neck out forward and peering down at the molten lava below. She gulped a little before standing up straight and taking a quick leap onto the first rock. As she landed on it, a few chunks broke away and fell into the lava below. She jumped again, and again, until she landed on the rock bridge. As she landed, her crest began to shine even brighter.
Agumon quickly followed suit, mimicking Dawn's actions and landing safely beside her on the bridge. He stood up and looked ahead to the platform. "What's that up there?"
Dawn looked on, squinting a little. "Looks like a large rock, or boulder or something… hey, maybe the Spirit Stone's in there!" she exclaimed.
Just then, the same shuddering motion from before started up once more. This time it was stronger than the first time and the rumble was louder. Dawn and Agumon both glanced at each other worriedly before setting off across the bridge, jogging slowly.
As they approached the end of the bridge, her crest continued to glow brighter. Dawn slowed her jog down as they stepped off the bridge and onto the platform. It was an oddly circular shaped platform with chunks of rock missing from some parts of the edges and at the end was a large almost egg shaped rock.
Looking up from her crest, Dawn grinned slightly. "This must be it." She said stepping forward.
"Wait..." Agumon spoke up. "If the Spirit Stone is really inside there, how are we going to get it out?"
Dawn pause for a moment, thinking. "Hmm… maybe if I get closer my crest will somehow link up with the Spirit Stone and open it up?"
"Worth a try." Her Digimon partner replied.
Dawn slowly walked forward towards the rock. But as she was merely a few steps away from it, the platform suddenly began to shudder. There was a low rumbling sound as the tremors began to strengthen slightly.
Agumon looked to his left and right and saw chunks of rock, big and small, were crumbling away from the platform and bridge. "This can't be good…. The tremors are getting more frequent…"
"I don't think this is the same Agumon…" Dawn said as she looked around as she slowly stepped back a few steps from the rock. As she did, there was a loud explosion and lava shot up out from the pit like a geyser.
A bulky built Digimon emerged from the spurts of molten rock and leaped over towards them. He landed in between Dawn and the rock and as his large feet made contact with the platform, the whole thing shook with more chunks of rock breaking loose and falling into the lava pit below.
"Step away this instant." The Digimon commanded forcefully.
Tricia and Palmon X both gasped from their spot at the top of the pit. "Who's that?!" The young girl exclaimed.
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I am Flaremon. Guardian of this post… and you two are trespassing."
"We didn't mean to. We just came here to look for a Spirit Stone that's all." Agumon explained. "Is it inside that rock?" he asked taking a step forward and pointing behind the large Digimon.
"No one gets the Spirit Stone! I have been given the job to guard it from evil hands!" Flaremon spat, causing Agumon to retract his hand.
"But we need it. Don't you know who we are? We're the DigiDestined. We've been given the job of finding all the Spirit Stones and releasing their powers before the Undead King finds them." Dawn explained confidently.
"That's exactly who I am protecting it from. How do I know you're not spies of the Undead King?"
Agumon huffed, a little insulted. "Do we look like spies?"
"I told you. I'm a DigiDestined." Dawn added, showing him her digivice. "We're here to fight against the Undead King."
Flaremon just stared down at the human and rookie Digimon in front of him, his expression not changing. "I'm not convinced. Now leave! You have twenty seconds to leave this bridge before I destroy you!" he roared, his voice getting louder.
Dawn stepped back, scowling and clenching her fists.
"What's going on down there Palmon X?" Tricia gasped.
"It looks like he's guarding the Spirit Stone…." Palmon X spoke. "This is going to be tougher than we thought…"
Tricia watched, wide eyed as Flaremon began to approach Dawn…..
Dawn continued to back up, still scowling as she reached Agumon's side. "Fine." She muttered, pressing the bottom button of her D-Power and catching the Digital Ring in her hand once it was released. "We're just gonna have to settle this the easy way…" she declared, placing the ring inside her crest….
"AGUMON DOUBLE DIGIVOLVE TO… BURNINGGREYMON!"
Flaremon grunted then snarled as he caught sight of BurningGreymon standing where Agumon had been moments ago. "I gave you your chance to walk away, but now your time is up." He lunged forward towards the human and ultimate Digimon….
Dawn bolted forward straight towards the on-coming Flaremon. She then crouched down, skidding straight underneath his legs and out the other side, coming to a sudden halt in front of the rock.
Flaremon slid across the gravely platform, coming to a stop and spinning round once he realised what she had done. "What?" he grunted. He was about to charge once again, when BurningGreymon grabbed him from behind, holding him back.
Dawn knelt down in front of the rock and as she did, a dim orange light began to escape through the small cracks. She grasped the rock with both hands and tried to lift it up. But it wouldn't budge. "Damnit…" she muttered, slouching back.
Just then the glowing from her crest burst into a dazzling orange light. The light from inside the rock began to intensify as well and the sound of cracking was heard. Large cracks appeared all over the rock before it suddenly exploded sending pieces flying in all directions.
Dawn shielded her eyes with her hand. Once the light had faded, she lowered her arm and looked down in front of her. There, lying amongst the left over rubble was the Spirit Stone of Courage.
Flaremon gasped. He roughly shoved BurningGreymon away from him before turning to face Dawn. "How did you do that?" he demanded. "No one can penetrate that rock except me!"
Dawn picked up the Spirit Stone before she stood up straight. She turned around, tossing it up and down in her hand a couple of times. "No one except the DigiDestined."
BurningGreymon was about to charge again, but Flaremon held his hand up causing him to stop.
"There is no need to hold me back. You can have it. I guess I was wrong. You can't be spies of the Undead King" Flaremon admitted in a mutter.
"We tried to tell you." BurningGreymon sniped.
"Sorry to make you unemployed now but we gotta get this baby somewhere safe." Dawn smiled, shoving the Spirit Stone of Courage in her shorts pocket.
Suddenly out of nowhere from the ash cloud there was a flash of lightning before a laser beam hurtled down from above them. Without warning it struck Flaremon. He had no time to scream as once the laser beam hit, his body exploded into a shower of data leaving Dawn and BurningGreymon shell-shocked.
Tricia and Palmon X both gasped and spun round, looking up to the sky where the attack had come from.
At that point Puteranomon X and Kuwagamon X emerged from the ash cloud as they descended down towards the lava pit.
Tricia let out a scream and ducked down against the ground as Kuwagamon X soared over her and Palmon X.
The two members of the X Army circled around the pit in different directions before meeting in the middle, hovering just above Dawn and BurningGreymon.
"Well, well." Puteranomon X chuckled. "Isn't it past your bedtime kiddies?" he mocked.
Dawn scowled, clenching her fists. "Quit following us!" she shouted up.
"Give us the Spirit Stone!" Kuwagamon X demanded.
BurningGreymon stood protectively in front of his human partner. "What makes you think there's one here?"
"Why else would you be out here at this time of night? Hardly sightseeing I doubt." Kuwagamon X snarled back.
Puteranomon X began to circle slowly around the platform. "I must say you DigiDestined have an extreme knack of finding these Spirit Stones… makes it all the more easier for us to collect them."
BurningGreymon snarled before he leapt up into the air lunging at them. He swiped his claws at Puteranomon X first and then at Kuwagamon X but they both swooped out of the way causing him to hit air.
Puteranomon X smirked. "A little slow aren't we?"
BurningGreymon grunted, spinning around to face Puteranomon X. "I'm just warming up….. Pyro Barrage!" he fired countless energy bullets from the two guns on his arms. Most of them missed their targets, blasting into the sides of the pit but the final two struck Kuwagamon X in the face and right arm.
Puteranomon X snuck up behind BurningGreymon. "Wild Thunder!" he released two shots of energy from his two guns underneath his wings.
They struck BurningGreymon in the back. He cried out in pain as he was thrown to the ground, sliding along the rock bridge before coming to a stop.
Tricia gasped as she peered over the ledge of the pit. "We've got to do something Palmon X, we've got to help!" she exclaimed.
BurningGreymon rolled over onto his back and looked up to see another energy beam hurtling down towards him. He gasped and quickly rolled to his left, barely missing the attack, which struck the rock bridge damaging it.
Palmon X sighed sadly, watching the on-going battle. "I'm afraid I'm not suited for this sort of battlefield. Without the ability to fly it'll be far too dangerous for me down there."
Tricia glanced at her Digimon partner. She knew she was right. Not being able to fly if Togemon X fell she would surely fall to her death...the platform was just too small….. Her thoughts were soon interrupted when she witnessed BurningGreymon take another blow to the chest. "B-but… we have to do something…" she mumbled.
Suddenly, Tricia's digivice began to glow a bright green. The young girl gasped and looked down. "My digivice… what's it doing…?" she wondered.
Behind them, one of the small lava pools at the bottom of the incline to the pit began to bubble and boil over. Both Tricia and Palmon X turned around to watch as a small burst of lava shot up like a fountain, spitting out what looked like a small rock.
The rock hit the ground, bouncing a couple of times before it came to a stop and cracked open in two pieces, revealing something glowing inside.
Tricia gasped her mouth wide open as she stared down at the green glowing object. "Is that… my crest?"
Another tremor occurred, again stronger than the last one and causing Tricia to break away from her thoughts. It shook the platform and the rocks underneath that were holding it up. One of the rocks became loose and broke away falling into the lava. The platform wobbled before tilting to one side, causing Dawn to loose her balance and fall backwards.
"W-hoa… Yah!" Dawn cried out as she fell backwards, over the edge of the platform. She quickly stretched her arm out and managed to grab hold of the edge, grasping onto a small chunk that was sticking out.
She hung there, holding on by her right hand. She glanced down at the boiling lava below before swinging her body around so she could grasp the ledge with both hands.
"Dawn!" Tricia screamed from the top of the pit as she witnessed the Kamiya girl fall.
Dawn heaved herself up, struggling a little. But before she could climb back up, another tremor started up causing her to fall back down again. "Great…" she muttered. "BurningGreymon!" she then hollered.
BurningGreymon tried to break away to reach his human partner but both X Digimon attacked him in unison from either side…
Palmon X turned to Tricia. "Quick the crest!"
Tricia hesitated for a second as she watched Dawn and BurningGreymon, before scrambling up and running down the small slope to where her crest lay. She bent down and scooped it up in both hands. Like the others, it was a gold colour with a green rim and the crest of Sincerity engraved in the middle. She smiled as she stood up straight. But as she did, the crest shone brightly, almost engulfing her in the light. Tricia yelped squinting and turned around to look up at Palmon X.
Her partner was also surrounded in the same light. "W-what's going on…?" It was almost blinding but Tricia could just make out Palmon X's silhouette starting to change…The most notable change was the flower on top of her head began to shrink down….. after that, the light then gradually faded away.
"Palmon!" Tricia exclaimed happily.
Palmon, still stood at the top of the pit, looked at her arms and body before looking up and smiling at her human partner.
Suddenly Kuwagamon X appeared behind the rookie Digimon from inside the pit. "Surprise!" he roared and without warning he brought one of his claws back and slapped Palmon in the back.
The little plant Digimon cried out as she was thrown into the air, hitting the ground and skidding along the surface before coming to a stop inches from Tricia.
"Palmon!" Tricia exclaimed, kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay?!"
Palmon pushed herself up, cringing a little. "Tricia… give me the ring. It's time for a little pay back."
Kuwagamon X roared and soared down towards them as Tricia released her ring and placed it in Palmon's hand…..
"PALMON DIGIVOLVE TO… SUNFLOWMON!"
Sunflowmon quickly scooped her human partner up in her arms and leapt out of the way, causing Kuwagamon X to crash into the ground in a cloud of dust.
As Sunflowmon placed Tricia back on the ground, the young girl gazed up amazed at Palmon's new champion form. She was a big plant like Digimon, representing a sunflower. She had bright yellow petals sprouting from her face and two large green leaves on her back that she uses to fly.
Kuwagamon X regained his composer and spun round so he was facing them. "You think a pretty flower is going to stop me? You're not an X Digimon anymore. You've lost half your power." He growled before charging.
Tricia backed up timidly as Sunflowmon stepped forward. She stood there and as Kuwagamon X grew closer, a small smile began to appear on her face. "See how you like it…. Smiley Slap!" she swiped her left hand slapping Kuwagamon X square in the face and knocking him out cold.
Meanwhile in the pit another tremor occurred as BurningGreymon used all his strength to charge straight into Puteranomon X and pin him against the wall. As the two Digimon struggled against each others strengths, Puteranomon X caught a glimpse of the bulge in Dawn's pocket.
"So that's where it is…" he thought. He smiled before firing up the two guns underneath his wings. "Wild Thunder!" he blasted BurningGreymon off him from point blank range before he headed straight down towards Dawn…
Dawn, who had just pushed herself up and was now resting her elbows on the ledge, turned her head to look behind her. "Ahh!" she shut her eyes and cringed, waiting for the impact.
Puteranomon X was about to strike when Sunflowmon appeared and tackled him from the side. She carried the X Digimon away and slammed him against the side of the pit before jumping back. "Sunshine Beam!" her whole face began to glow before she released a ray of golden energy.
Puteranomon X, a little dazed, looked up to see the on-coming attack. He quickly soared up into the air barely missing it before it exploded into the rocks.
Sunflowmon floated backwards towards Tricia who had just appeared at the edge of the pit now holding another Digital Ring in her right hand and her crest safely locked inside her D-Watch.
"Ready Sunflowmon?" the young Kido girl smiled before she placed the ring inside her crest….
"SUNFLOWMON DIGIVOLVE TO… LILAMON!"
"Huh? Is that Palmon?" Dawn thought aloud to herself once the light faded revealing Sunflowmon's ultimate form. She then, with all her strength, pushed herself up and safely back onto the platform. She stood up, swaying a little as the platform was still on a tilt. After regaining her balance, Dawn pulled her goggles up onto her head. "Right, enough messin' around." She muttered. "You ready BurningGreymon?!" she shouted over to her partner.
BurningGreymon nodded. He grunted as he rose to his feet, still recovering from that point blank attack from Puteranomon X. "Get to the top with Tricia where it's safer."
Dawn nodded and jumped off the tilted platform and ran across the rock bridge towards the three stepping stones.
"The emerald!" Puteranomon X exclaimed lunging forward.
BurningGreymon leapt up into the air and tackled the X Digimon. "Pyro Barrage!" he pressed one of his guns up against Puteranomon X's left wing and fired a single energy bullet.
The bullet pierced straight through his wing, damaging it badly. "Argh!" Puteranomon X cringed as part of his wing fell limp, causing him to lose his control.
As Dawn reached the top of the ledge, another huge tremor started up lasting for five seconds. The Kamiya girl lost her footing and slipped down a little.
"What are those?" Tricia asked as she grabbed Dawn's hand and helped her up.
"I have no idea." Dawn replied as she stood up. She then turned around and glanced down at the boiling lava, which at this point was starting to bubble over. "But I don't think we've got much time left…" she added. "Hey, where's Kuwagamon X?"
Tricia smiled, pointing behind her to one of the small lava pools. "Sunflowmon took care of him."
Lilamon impaled Puteranomon X with an energy based blade she had generated in her right hand. After ramming it straight through his thick armour, she pulled it out just as quick before floating back to join BurningGreymon.
"I think this lava pit is going to erupt any minute now. We need to hurry." BurningGreymon said gruffly, motioning to the lava below, which was starting to rise up slowly.
"No worries. Leave this to me." Lilamon replied. She floated gracefully towards Puteranomon X who was barely staying afloat in the air. "Hello." She said with a giggle as she flew around him.
Puteranomon X snarled. "Wild Thunder!" he fired a lightning bolt from his good wing, but Lilamon simply fluttered to the right avoiding it.
She flew up directly above him. "One Two Pollen." She began to dance elegantly, humming as she did, and scattering pollen over the X Digimon's body.
As the pollen made contact, Puteranomon felt his entire body slowly go numb. "N-no..!" he grunted as he felt himself descending gradually down. He landed on the tilting platform where he remained motionless, his eyes the only part of his body that could move. He looked up at the two ultimate Digimon, scowling at them with his eyes.
"That won't hold him for long." Lilamon said before she and BurningGreymon turned around and flew out of the pit.
They both scooped their human partners up in their arms before soaring high up into the air, away from the lava pools.
Puteranomon X could hear the lava bubbling louder as it continued to slowly rise up… He grunted and huffed and puffed as he tried to move his body. He finally got sensation back in his wings and managed to jump up off the platform…..
The lava pit then erupted, causing the children and their Digimon to jump and look back. The lava spurted up high into the sky before falling back down to the ground, splashing everywhere and flooding the surrounding pools as it consumed over half of the lava pools area. After the eruption lava still continued to spill over the top of the pit running down the sides like a gigantic fountain.
"That was scary…" Tricia mumbled, clutching onto Lilamon's arm.
Dawn tore her attention away from the erupting pit and glanced to her right. "Hey, at least we got this." She said grinning as she held up the Spirit Stone of Courage.
Tricia smiled slightly. "Yeah… and I got my crest." She added, looking down at her D-Watch. She tilted it a little allowing her crest to shimmer in the moonlight.
Dawn continued to smile. "You know…... You're not such a lousy DigiDestined after all... Good job."
Tricia looked up, a little shocked. She saw the Kamiya girl grinning at her and couldn't help but grin herself. "Thanks."
BurningGreymon and Lilamon turned a little to the left as they changed direction and soared over Terabyte Jungle heading back to the cave just as the sun began to rise in the distance….
To be continued…