24

Approaching Flames

"'Blind your eyes, mystic serpent… Blind your eyes to the moonlight and open them on darker gulfs! What do you see, oh serpent of Set? Whom do you call from the gulfs of the Night? Whose shadow falls on the waning Light? Call him to me, oh serpent of Set!'" – Robert E. Howard, "The Phoenix on the Sword"

Burning winds swept outwards, firing the trees of the forest below, and leaving the two combatants revealed once more. Holsmon felt somewhat drained, but his opponent would never have known it from looking at him. Setmon, on the other hand, was openly panting, with murder in his red eyes. The agent of Hate pulled himself together, and prepared for another charge. Holsmon, however, still had long range attacks in reserve.

"Red Sun!" The beams found their mark, blasting into Setmon's stomach. He was blown backwards as raw energy continued to pour from Holsmon's eyes. He struck the side of the stone structure, then rolled down the wall's angle and landed heavily on one of the outcroppings as Holsmon ceased his attack.

Holsmon took the opportunity to look around for his comrades and Coatlmon, but they were gone. The flames from Setmon's attack were leaping quickly from tree to tree. He realized that before long the fire would develop into an impressive conflagration, and that meant Miyako was in trouble. Without a second glance at Setmon, Holsmon dove down towards the forest.

Coatlmon hovered forward. Miyako crouched in indecision by the downed Nefertimon, knowing she should run, but also knowing that she would never forgive herself for it.

"Out of the way, girl. The Chosen Children are wanted alive."

Miyako didn't move. She wondered if this decision would be the end of her, but her face remained defiant. As Coatlmon paused, considering her, she felt Nefertimon shift again under her hands. The Digimon turned her head, looked at Coatlmon.

"Curse of Queen." The attack caught the winged serpent wholly by surprise. Coatlmon had been worried about Fossil Wave's efficacy at first, but after it had surpassed his expectations he had not been expecting it to wear off. The beams of light struck him on the chin, whipping his head back and drawing a hissing screech of pain from him.

Nefertimon struggled to regain her feet, but was still sluggish from the paralysis. Before she was able to stand Coatlmon had turned back to face her. Nefertimon's attack had cracked his integument. His only facial features were his eyes, but they were enough to convey his rage. His wings flapped once, violently.

"No! Fossil Wave!"

Nefertimon's head dropped again to the ground, her neck muscles suddenly unresponsive. Miyako also felt a strange, not painful but not at all pleasant sensation pass through her. Her limbs grew heavy, unresponsive, hard to move. And Coatlmon wasn't done.

"Fossil Wave!"

There was another flap of the wings, another strange feeling, and Miyako was completely immobile.

"Fossil Wave!"

Now there was an almost painful tightness throughout her body. The edges of her vision began to darken. Nefertimon lay perfectly still.

"Resist now…" Coatlmon hissed, and then paused. He was panting now. A great shudder ran the length of his body. What is wrong? he thought. I should not be out of energy so quickly. I was only hit once. He stretched, trying to regain his composure.

Then came the crash of snapping branches above, and Coatlmon, startled, twisted his head around to see the cause. In doing so he noticed, in a sort of subconscious way, that the forest was burning in the direction the sound had come from. Consciously, all of his focus was on the red and silver shape that was barreling towards him.

"Mach Impulse!"

Coatlmon spent the last second of his life debating in no coherent terms between fight and flight. Then the blade of crimson energy sheared through his sinuous body a ways below the head. For a few moments more there was a blind thrashing in the underbrush before the two halves of the serpent disintegrated.

"Miyako-san?" Holsmon hovered in midair. He could see that something was wrong with his partner. She didn't respond to him, or even move. Nefertimon too was motionless, and he wondered for a moment if she might be unconscious. Looking around, he spotted Hikari some distance away, lying on the forest floor. She seemed to be starting to recover from her paralysis; her limbs moving slowly as she tried to pull herself off the ground.

Holsmon felt the heat of the approaching fire at his back. They would have to get out of here quickly, but he didn't see how he could move them all to safety. He searched his mind frantically for a solution. But he was interrupted.

"Tusk Driver!"

There was a flash of brilliant pain as Setmon's tusks buried themselves in Holsmon's flank. Setmon may have been worn out from the stress of the battle, and the attack may not have hit with the full force that a fresh, unharmed Digimon might have given it, but that pain was still the worst that Holsmon could recall ever having felt.

"There…" Setmon managed to get the words out between each heaving pant. "You…can't…counter…that."

Holsmon remained silent after his initial hoarse scream. All of his focus was on retaining his form. He could feel the familiar drain of energy that usually preceded reversion to a lower evolutionary level. As Hawkmon he wouldn't have any chance against Setmon, even if the evil Digimon was as bad off as he sounded, and Miyako would not be able to help him evolve again.

A pained grunt was drawn from Holsmon as Setmon's tusks shifted and were removed from his side. With them seemed to go the last of his power, and soon Hawkmon, like his three friends, lay prostrate. Setmon lowered his feet to the ground. By now the spicy scent of burning lumber filled the air, and smoke was beginning to drift among the five beings. Setmon laughed – a low, throaty sound.

"I…won't even need…to finish you at…this rate… Between my tusks…and Coatlmon's…Fossil Wave…neither of you are getting up… And you'll burn." He glanced at Miyako, who lay motionless half across Nefertimon's side, and realized that he would have to transport the humans himself, before they were also consumed. Sato had been very clear about how upset he would be if they were killed. But Setmon knew that moving them on his own would be tricky. He would need the Bakemon's help. Without time to hesitate, he ascended again, passing above the trees' canopy.

Once he had gone, Hikari got shakily to her feet. The paralysis had worn off some time ago, but she hadn't wanted to attract Setmon's attention by making a move. Now she picked her way over to the place where her three friends lay. She reached Hawkmon first, and put a tentative hand on him, at which he stirred weakly and rolled half over to look at her.

"Hikari-san… Is Miyako-san…?"

Hikari gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, then approached Nefertimon and Miyako.

"Nefertimon? Miyako?"

Neither moved nor responded. Hikari turned Miyako over to face her. Hawkmon's partner was still alive, but had no control over her muscular system. She did still have full use of her senses, and was glad to know that the others were still living as well, though her body still ached and her eyes were being tortured by her inability to blink.

Hikari racked her brains, trying to think of a way to restore them. Inevitably she kept returning to one conclusion: she would just have to wait until the paralysis wore off. But by then, Setmon may have returned, or the fire may have already consumed them. But like Miyako before her, Hikari determined that she would stay regardless. She would not abandon her friends here, when they had never abandoned her.

She knelt beside her partner, opposite Miyako, and buried her face in Nefertimon's fur.

"Please… Nefertimon. Please." She willed her partner to move. "Please, Tailmon." That was when it came to her. Their final chance. Nefertimon was paralyzed – but would Tailmon be? "Nefertimon!" Hikari said. "If you can hear me, please go back to being Tailmon!"

Nefertimon could hear, and knew that though her body was frozen, she could, if she chose, release the power of the Digimental.

A yellow glow surrounded them all for an instant, and when it subsided Tailmon had taken Nefertimon's place. And – joy welled up in Hikari as her partner began to move. Groggily at first, yes, but within a short amount of time the feline Digimon had regained complete control of her muscles. Tailmon looked up at her partner and smiled warmly. Warmly – that was a good way to describe it after Coatlmon's ice and Setmon's flames.

There was a heavy thud several yards away from them, as Setmon dropped to the ground. A group of Bakemon emerged from the treetops and took up positions around him. His body was almost black against the flames of the burning forest, an illustration for Dante's Inferno.

"That's enough," he growled. "You won't…get up…after this."

As he spoke, Hawkmon dragged himself to his feet and whispered to Tailmon.

"I got a solid hit in his stomach… That may be why he's struggling."

Tailmon nodded in response, her expression now blank, inscrutable. With a roar, the emissary of Hate shot forward, clawed forepaws extended, ready to crush the life out of them. It was at that moment that Tailmon raced ahead, almost too quick for the eye to follow, and slid directly beneath him.

"Neko Punch!" Tailmon's claws ripped upwards into Setmon's gut, and sliced deep. He let out a scream and lost forward momentum, crashing ungracefully into the earth, coming to a stop at Hawkmon's feet. The meaningless Crest of Love burned on his helmet.

"It can't be," he choked, then went limp, and dissolved into nothingness. Hikari looked about, and saw that the Bakemon had fled the area. She ran over to Miyako. The older girl was finally beginning to overcome Coatlmon's paralysis, but still needed Hikari's support in getting to her feet.

Tailmon scampered over to the other three, unspeakably thankful that the return of her Holy Ring meant the full return of her former offensive powers.

"I'll Armor Evolve again," she said to Hikari. "We need to get out before the fire grows any more than it already has."