Chapter 6: Pond Panic

"Cacomon Digivolved too?" Chelsie stared at Christina,
"of course it did, because of our bond as partners." Christina replied, proudly smiling. The Protomon in question was sitting on Christina's head, its tail hanging off of her left shoulder, its six arms clinging to the back of her head.
So everyone's Protomon has Digivolved into one of their next stages! Chelsie thought, we'll be able to get out of this world in no time.
"You girls realise that Digivolving doesn't really matter to some of us." Alrhinomon, shook its head, "and we can't even Digivolve without a partner anyways."
"Then how come Pardusmon Digivolved without a partner?" Jake finally spoke, "that doesn't make sense."
"Well, there are three Digimon who can grant us the ability to Digivolve, but I doubt Pardusmon knows them."
"Who are those Digimon?"
"The great-kings." Alrhinomon looked into the trees above, "they are some of the most powerful Digimon to exist, their power incomprehensible. None have ever seen them in-person, and if they have, they've never told the tale."
"So these Great-Kings, are they going to help us, or…?"
"Most likely. They help when they're need by others, most of the time that is. They protect our world from the most dangerous of enemies and give us shelters and homes. One of them even gives us sweet, digital dreams when we rest. Its name is Cogelusmon, the Great-King of the Mind, it is the most kind of all the Great-Kings."

Chelsie looked up, where these Great-Kings really going to help them escape the Digital World? It felt too good to be true, especially if they only knew them just by name, and nothing else.
Alrhinomon did say that Cogelusmon is the kindest of the Great-Kings, maybe we can go find it.
"Alrhinomon?" Chelsie looked down at the rhinoceros-like Protomon,
"what is it?"
"Where exactly will we find Cogelusmon?"
Alrhinomon looked at its hooves, "in the Mighty Mountains, of course." It nodded to a small, dark triangle in the distance, "Cogelusmon lives up there. I'd be careful though, the mountains there are extremely dangerous, and you'll be stuck in blizzards and storms all the way up."
"I bet I could climb that mountain, no sweat!" Jake chimed in, "I've climbed peaks like that before."
"Just to a smaller scale, of course." Christina added, shaking her head, "you still don't even know how to do an overhang."
"Of course I do, I'll even show you when we get to that mountain." He told her, before quickening his pace, "come on you guys, we'll never make it at this rate."

"The Mighty Mountains… I'd never believe someone would willingly go there." A blue, goat-like Digimon spoke, shaking its head. Beside it, a pale-yellow goat-like Digimon with leaves on its head sat, staring at its partner,
"what should we do? They'll die before they even get halfway up that thing." The pale-yellow Digimon spoke, before staring down at the children below them.

The two goat Digimon were sitting on a tree branch hanging over the path, watching as the children went along it, chatting and enjoying each other's company.

"We could try to warn them." The blue Digimon nodded,
"but Fierimon said we shouldn't do that-"
"Who cares about what that lizard-brain thinks. LeafYagimon, are you that persuaded by his meaningless, thoughtless words?"
"Of course not! I would never believe such a fool." LeafYagimon responded, "you are the true Digimon to follow anyway, great Yagimon." It bowed, looking up at its partner,
"come on, we shall warn those children of their impending doom, before it's too late." Yagimon leapt out of the tree, with LeafYagimon behind it.

"Can't catch us!" Axomon cheerfully ran alongside Jake, as the rest of the group dashed after the duo.
"Wait up! The rest of us can't run that fast!" Christina whined, waving her arms frantically, "and you'll be sorry for leaving us behind too."
"That just gives me more incentive to run away." Jake called back, before skidding to a halt. As Chelsie came towards him, she saw what he was staring at.

Surrounding the trees was a jagged, white, picket fence, with a small, metal fence. On the other side of the fence, a vast, pale green field spread, dotted with green bushes, covered in flowers and berries. Flowers littered the field, ranging from soft pinks to deep blues. Beyond the fields sat a crystal-clear lake, white speckles on the surface of the water, were the sunlight hit the liquid. A few tall, dark trees sat around the lake, colourful fruits hanging from the branches. Beyond the lake sat the Mighty Mountains. From here, Chelsie could now see the dull, grey stones that made up the peaks, the caves and winding path that led towards the summit, and, a top of highest mountain, where the snow was delicately placed at the peak, a golden palace sat.

"Woah…" Christina stammered, "it's beautiful."
"Are we really going out there? Into that wonderful world?" Chelsie looked at Alrhinomon, who nodded,
"of course. But be careful, less Protomon live out there, and dangerous Digimon lurk all over those fields."
"Who cares about that?" Jake walked over to the fence, "let's get going, and get out of here faster." He grabbed the latch on the gate, pulling it up, before swinging the gate open, "come on!" He ran out into the open, Axomon by his side.
"You children go on without me," Alrhinomon bowed its head, "you've proven you're capable by yourselves, and you don't need me bossing you around anymore."
"Will we see you again?" Mentamon finally spoke, tilting its head,
"you might, but I doubt it." Alrhinomon turned away,
"we thank you for what you did for us." Cacomon nodded to the rhinoceros Protomon,
well, you think that, but I doubt Christina and Jake would thank Alrhinomon.
Without another word, Alrhinomon ran off, back into the cluttered, messy park. Suddenly something grabbed Chelsie's hand, she looked up, just to see Christina smiling at her,
"come on." Christina began to drag Chelsie towards the gate, while Mentamon walked behind them, pushing her as well.

After a bit, Chelsie began to walk on her own, still with her hand locked in Christina's grip. Ahead of them, the sunlight caused the fields to become even brighter, the pale blue sky clear, with no cloud in sight. They were finally going to make it. They were going to get out of the Digital World. All they had to do, was scale a mountain.

"Everything should be ready, and perfectly normal looking when they get here!" Fierimon paraded around, shouting at the poor Digimon around it. "Make sure no other Protomon come here, keep them out for good!"
"Sir, you don't need to keep shouting-" Lovimon stammered,
"of course I do! You lot can barely understand anything I say to begin with."

The group of Digimon, which included Fierimon, Lovimon, Pardusmon, PurpleMentamon and a Crocodilimon, a small, black, crocodile-like Digimon with red eyes and plumes of smoking rising from the holes on its back.

"Crocodilimon, you know what you're doing, yes?" Fierimon turned to Crocodilimon, who was sitting beside the lake, tenderly touching the water.
"Oh Great-King Cogelusmon, of course I do!" Crocodilimon looked at the red dragon, "I'm supposed to swim out and attack them, then Digivolve and destroy the Protomon."
"Good, you know what you're doing." It then paused, "wait a second, did you just say Cogelusmon?" It snapped, "you know he's the weakest of the Great-Kings! Why not say 'Oh Great-King Calirrumon'? He's superior!"
"Calm down sir." Lovimon slithered over to Fierimon, "let him say what he wants."
"I personally find Daemexmon to be the better of the three." Pardusmon butted in.
"Shut it, the lot of you!" Fierimon yelled, before pointing its claw at Crocodilimon accusingly, "do what you're told, before I do it for you!"
"Alright, don't have to shout." Crocodilimon leapt into the water, its scales shifting to be the colour of the water, a few seconds later, it was gone.

"Perfect." Fierimon smiled, before running into the trees with Lovimon and Pardusmon.

The group of tamers and Protomon were quickly making there way to the lake, each step felt like they cleared another yard of distance.

I can already feel the water from back here! Chelsie thought, we're nearly there!

It hadn't been that long of a walk, and they all knew that. Even Cacomon seemed to be cheering for the sweet embrace of water. Before long, they were there, standing in the clearing of tall trees. Before them, reeds scattered the water's edge, lily pads assembled neatly on the crystal-clear water. A few Digimon were already in the area, none that Chelsie could recognise. One looked like Guilmon, one of the Digimon she had the card of, but it was pale orange, with a sun on its chest instead of the usual digital hazard symbol. Beside it was an Agumon, but with a weird, green antenna on its head.

"We should take a short break before we continue-"
"Geronimo!" Jake leapt into the water. Miraculously, in the few seconds they had been there, he had already managed to get into a swimming outfit. Beside him, Axomon leapt in as well. As the two splashed into the water, droplets rained down on Chelsie, Christina, Cacomon and Mentamon.
"Are you serious Jake? Did you have to splash us!" Christina snapped, trying to dry her hair already.
"Why can't you stop being such a worry wart?" He laughed, "come in, it's not that bad."

Strangely, Jake was correct. As Chelsie tested the water with her foot, it felt cold, but soothing. But that's when a small patch of water began to bubble, steam rising from the surface. Suddenly, out of the blue, what seemed to be a coal-coloured Crocodile leapt from the water, smoke billowing around its neck, its red eyes glowing with fury. It smashed into Axomon, shoving the pink Protomon into the water.

"Hey, let him go!" Jake yelled, grabbing his Digivice out of thin air. "Axomon, Digivolve!"

The Digivice flared to life, its screen turning red, as Axomon was engulfed in a white light. "Axomon Digivolve to…" Its body began to shift rapidly. Its legs grew longer and thicker, and its crests grew larger, falling behind its head, while its tail became bushier. A pair of horns grew on the sides of its head, and its fangs grew longer and sharper. "Aperamon!" The light dispersed, leaving a large, pinkish-brown, boar-like Protomon. Something was clearly off, very off. The look on the crocodile Digimon's face didn't help either. It began to swim away, fear filling its red eyes.

"Boar Bash!" Aperamon charged into the crocodile Digimon, sending it flying, roughly landing on dry ground.
"Coal Fire!" The crocodile Digimon spat burning pieces of coal at Aperamon, who simply ducked under the water. As the coals sank into the pond, their fires extinguished, leaving puffy, patches of steam to rise into the air.
"Moon Shot!"
"Pinning Ferns!"
From a nearby tree, a bright, pale yellow light shot out, smashing into Aperamon, along with thousands of tiny, sharp, fern leaves.

"They've come!" The crocodile Digimon, ran over to the tree, "the kind soldiers of nightmares!"
"Fumusmon, what are you doing here?" A blue, goat-like Digimon leapt down from the tree, landing neatly on the grass. Another goat-like Digimon still sat in the tree, its body nearly camouflaged in the green leaves.
"Doing as I was told; keep the pond safe." Fumusmon replied.
"Told by who-"
"Muddy Spit!" Before Fumusmon could reply, Aperamon spat a strange, brown substance at it, which, once touching Fumusmon's scales, began to fizzle and burn. The Digimon began to screech in pain, trying to stop the acid from spread across its body.
"Boar Bash!" Aperamon rammed into it, sending it across the pond. The strange looking Guilmon and Agumon were watching in horror, especially when Fumusmon slid towards them.

"Jake, stop Aperamon!" Christina glared at him, before looking at Cacomon.
"Fine." Jake grumbled, "Aperamon, you can stop now!" He called to his partner. It seemed to be useless however, as Aperamon was continuing its rampage, running towards Fumusmon, it's head titled down.
"Sun Sphere!" The Guilmon shot a golden fireball out of its mouth. As the fireball made contact with Aperamon, however, it fizzled out, dispersing into golden flecks of light.
"Chili Breathe!" The Agumon spat a red-hot fireball at Aperamon, but just like the Guilmon's attack, it dispersed when it touched the Champion Protomon.

If they can't attack it, and we can't get it to listen, what will we do it stop Aperamon? Chelsie thought with a shudder, we need to stop it!