Sorcerymon grunted as they flew towards the direction of a thick, verdant jungle. He squinted, trying to block out the sunlight and the winds that were blowing against him. It was a breezy, sunny day. Every now and then, his emerald eyes were fixed towards his staff, which was currently eliciting a soft glow.
"Out of all the generals, I wonder why the Master would want to release the Dryad General. She's nowhere as strong as Karatenmon was. She was the first of all Generals to be imprisoned by Grademon."
The sorcerer in white took a glance towards the lithe feminine figure that was flying by his side, and was momentarily awed by the way she flew; Shutumon's aquamarine hair was flapping gently against her face, and Sorcerymon particularly admired just how the sunlight was reflected from her shiny hair. He however blinked twice and tried to look neutral when the bird-woman cocked her head towards him.
"Don't talk in that chauvinistic manner about her!" Shutumon snapped, oblivious to the fact that she was just being stared upon. Her eyes sparkled with admiration. "The Dryad General was awesome! Did you know that she'd brought down many masculine Digimon just by slapping them? I once saw her deleting a massive Okuwamon, and she, as you know, was only slightly taller than me. Many Digimon had been defeated by her just because they had underestimated her, due to her stature and prettiness. She might look fragile, but her attacks aren't. So shut your big mouth when you're in her presence."
"Sounds to me like you adore her," Sorcerymon pointed out.
"So what if I do?" Shutumon huffed. "There's not many feminine Digimon around. We girls have to stick together. I'd be content if I could digivolve into her one day."
Sorcerymon made a face. "Really, Shutumon, you could do better."
Shutumon was about to snap towards her companion, when she saw the underlying meaning of what Sorcerymon had just said. Underneath the mask that covered the lower half of her face, she was smiling. "Why Sorcerymon, was that a compliment I heard?"
Sorcerymon didn't answer; his attention was distracted when his staff vibrated wildly. The Champion had to hold the staff with both hands as the staff suddenly seemed to develop a mind of its own. The snowflake-shaped upper end of the staff was pulled down by an invisible force, pointing towards a thick light-purple canopied jungle underneath.
Shutumon clicked her tongue. "The Whispering Woods. Of course. So that's where the Dryad General, her two trusted henchmen and her foot soldiers were imprisoned." She then eagerly shifted her body so that her head and torso would point down towards the purple forest below.
"Shutumon, wait…"
The bird-woman halted, and looked at Sorcerymon with an annoyed gaze, but that gaze softened immediately. "Hey, what's with the long face?"
"What if she attempts the same thing that Karatenmon did to us before?" Sorcerymon asked steadily. "After that stunt, I don't trust generals that much."
"Will you relax? This time around, we're just gonna free her and her troops, and that's it. We're not gonna hang around much." Shutumon placed her hands on her hips. "Besides, Sorcerymon, you're my best friend, and best friends stick to each other. If she's the same like Karatenmon, then we'll kill her. Simple as that. No one used us like that and get away with it." Shutumon said that lightly, as if she was commenting on the weather, but there was no mistaking the underlying iciness in her tone.
Sorcerymon still looked skeptical. "Not even the Dryad General?"
"Not even her."
Sorcerymon visibly relaxed. "You think the Master knows that we're the one who wiped out Karatenmon, instead of Satriamon?"
"Not unless you've failed to cast that cloaking spell which Karatenmon taught the ShadoWira." Shutumon gazed at her friend steely. "I don't want to hear that you failed."
Sorcerymon shook his head. "I mastered the spell alright."
"So there's nothing to worry about. With Karatenmon gone, the crystal ball he left for the Master vanished as well. The Master now has to rely back on us for any news. Now let's go."
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"Josh…we're at the Dark Ocean!" Koromon exclaimed waveringly.
JD looked around him with distaste. Everything was void of color, save for himself and Koromon. Despite that, their colors were considerably dulled as well. Koromon looked almost light gray instead of faint pink; his eyes looked brown instead of crimson. JD's dark red shirt too looked brownish. His dishwater-blonde hair appeared almost gray.
The tall teen gave an inquiring look at his partner before asking, "Ok, so we're at a colorless part of the Digital World. It's dark, it's dingy, but I don't see any reason that we're supposed to be so scared unless you're afraid of the dark. "
The ribbon-like ears of Koromon twitched madly, indicating that he was very nervous. "The Dark Ocean isn't part of the Digital World. It's an alternate digital dimension altogether, a place where the data of deleted evil Digimon are sent to be reconfigured…if they're lucky." The little In-Training gulped, and shuddered. "Sometimes, however, the evil Digimon's data become so corrupted that it's almost impossible for them to be reborn. Should that happen, their digital spirit will linger in the Dark Ocean, and fall prey under the control of the Master of the Dark Ocean."
There was a foreboding tone in his partner's voice which sent a chill down JD's spine. He could see that Koromon was dead serious. What Koromon had said however was practically news to him; Karatenmon had neglected to mention that when he appointed JD and Manny as ShadoWira. He however took the information by stride, deciding to ask about it later. But something pertaining about this Dark Ocean intrigued him. He decided to ask his partner.
"You mentioned the Master of the Dark Ocean just now. Who is he, or she, or it? Whatever."
"I don't know," Koromon replied. "No one knows. He remains in the shadows and darkness. Nobody knows his agenda."
"You think he could give SkullSatamon a severe beating?" JD snickered, imagining the eluded Master of the Dark Ocean fighting 'the Master'. His voice had adapted a joking manner, for Koromon's sake – the Digimon looked too tensed to his liking.
"Perhaps," Koromon said, but he didn't sound too sure. He was also oblivious to his partner's attempt to lighten up the mood of their otherwise dreary situation. "But it's better if we don't think about that. We should get out of here while we still can."
JD grinned. "Why didn't you say so? One DigiPort, coming right up!" The teen reached in his trousers pocket, looking for his cell phone, when suddenly his face paled. He tried searching the other side's pocket. "Oh, crap! Where the hell is my phone? It's supposed to be right here, in my pocket!"
"You LOST it?" Koromon's eyes widened with panic. "Josh…!"
"Hey, relax! Lemme' think for a while where exactly I've placed it…we were escaping those caped demons…usually the phone would end up right in my pocket but now it's not here, so…"
"The only explanation I could think of is that the phone is destroyed before the DigiPort closed," Koromon said breathlessly. The little In-Training began to blink rapidly as his ears twitched with anxiety. "And…and…out of all places, we're at the Dark Ocean…and, and…we're trapped…and, with no way out…" His voice broke into sobs. "And…and…"
"Uh, oh, Koromon, now…" JD sweatdropped upon seeing tears beginning to form from the corners of Koromon's wide eyes. 'He's not gonna cry now, is he? After being Flarelizamon and Satriamon, surely he's not gonna cry? It's just not…not macho!'
Of course, Koromon was not Agumon, Flarelizamon or Satriamon. He was now just a helpless In-Training Digimon. Crying was not beneath him. So…
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! We're doomed!!"
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 22 – Dryad Day Afternoon
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Manny pressed the doorbell at the front gate of the Nadarajah household nervously. Hearing the sound of the bell, he took a deep breath and a step back. Sweat trickled down the sides of his faces, and his dark maroon hair was wet…due to the fact that he'd just taken a shower. On his hand, clasped against the side of his navy blue jersey-clad body, were a couple of textbooks, three exercise books, and a pencil case.
Right after school was over; both Adam and Liu Ying had cornered him before he managed to reach the stairs. Before he could ask, Adam immediately briefed him of his class's homework assignments and Liu Ying nudged him to take note, saying that the homework assignment was for Gayathri. Seeing as Manny and Gayathri were neighbors, it would be up to Manny to ensure that Gayathri wouldn't be left behind with her school work, never mind the fact that they were not classmates. Their homework assignments shouldn't differ that much.
The metal grill door opened, the slight creaking sound it made snapped Manny back to reality. He saw Gayathri stepping out, and gripped the books he brought tighter. She looked at Manny inquiringly, but pressed something at the interior side of the entrance. Instantly the gate was opened partially to let Manny in.
Gayathri smiled, but there was anxiety in her smile. "Hi, Manny. What brings you here?"
"Hey." Manny nodded shyly, and indicated the books he brought along. "Your homework assignments for today, actually. Adam told me that you wanted to be kept up to date… so here I am."
"Oh. You could've just called me, you know. You don't have to trouble yourself coming all the way here. Besides…" Gayathri looked at her watch, and inside the house, where her driver Anding was reading the newspaper. "We're just about to go to KLIA…my parents will be arriving from London in two hours."
Now that Gayathri have mentioned it, Manny noticed that Gayathri was dressed nicely. She was wearing a long-sleeved light purple top and a denim skirt. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail, the bandage that Manny saw her wear the previous day was no more. All in all, Manny thought that she looked stunning, but his face fell; he was looking forward for their homework session.
"Oh. I didn't know."
"Would you like to come in anyway? Thanks for taking the trouble to come. How about a glass of orange juice while you brief me of what had happened at school today? We're not in a rush."
"Oh, thanks." Manny removed his sandals and followed Gayathri in, glad of the sudden change of atmosphere. It was cool inside Gayathri's house, compared to the late afternoon heat outside.
Gayathri's house maid Mak Mah arrived with two glasses of mango juices a couple of minutes later as they sat at the household's mahogany dinner table. Manny was explaining about what homework Gayathri needed to do, based on what Adam had told him earlier. Then he relayed the regards sent by Dina and Belinda; the former was also a classmate of his.
"So…how's your head?" Manny asked with a voice that could barely pass as a whisper. He still felt guilty of the accident which had befallen Gayathri, feeling that it was somehow his fault.
"It's healing just…fine." Gayathri grew stiff. She seemed to be debating something to herself, before finally relenting. Sighing, she continued, "The doctor had to shave some hair out in order to let the wound heal, so I need to wear my hair like this. I don't like it, though; it'll be like showing off a bald wounded patch of my head to the world. Hopefully by next Monday I can wear my hair down, at least the bald patch will be covered by hair…"
"I'm sorry," Manny squeaked out, effectively cutting out Gayathri's trails of words. "The accident, I mean."
"I told you, it's not your fault." Gayathri shifted uncomfortably.
"I just feel that I need to say it…again."
Gayathri looked at the boy in front of her, puzzled. "What do you mean? One time back at the hospital was enough an apology. Besides, you have no control of it."
"I noticed some…awkwardness, yesterday…" Manny's voice trailed away, unsure of what to say any more. He wasn't sure if he should say it at all; after all Gayathri merely acted naturally, given their circumstances. Uneasiness was a natural reaction.
"Oh…that." Gayathri remembered; she'd been paying everybody else extra attentions in order to avoid talking to Manny. It was somewhat unintentional on her part, and Gayathri had to agree about the awkwardness. "I just…need some time to think about…things. How we were, and how we're gonna be."
Moments of silence passed by; the only sound that could be heard was the oven at the kitchen – Mak Mah must be baking something to celebrate the Nadarajah couple's return from overseas. The ticking sound of the grandfather clock placed at the far corner of the living room could also be heard, as well as the sounds of the air-conditioner. But no conversation was heard.
"Oh yeah, Adam mentioned that a classmate of yours, Hakim, is moving to Saudi Arabia soon," Manny added, after taking a sip of his mango juice. The awkwardness was still there when the topic about their budding friendship was mentioned, so Manny decided it was best to change the topic to break the uncomfortable silence. Compared between him and Gayathri, the girl was the more vibrant while he was the quiet one, but Manny knew that in order for him to fix his friendship with Gayathri, to quell out all the awkwardness, he needed to be the one to take the initiative.
Gayathri's eyes widened. "Hakim moving?" She sighed and put down her glass. "That must be tough for Adam. They've been best friends since last year."
"I know how Hakim must be feeling right now," Manny murmured, secretly glad of the change of Gayathri's demeanor. "I felt the same way when Dad told me that we're moving here."
Silence. Gayathri nodded and started to look at the list of homework assignment, while not actually having interest on it. Manny awkwardly looked around the house before something else crossed his mind.
'Think, Manny.. what else do you need to tell her. Aha, almost forgot…'
"Oh, Adam also mentioned that there'll be a small get-together at Hakim's house this Friday, for your class. A small dinner and 'doa selamat', from what I gather," Manny informed.
"Oh…right. Tell Adam I'll be there. Oh wait, scratch that. I'll SMS Hakim myself tonight saying that I'll be there. When exactly Hakim is moving?" Gayathri inquired.
Manny shrugged. "Adam didn't mention that."
Gayathri nodded. "So I'll ask Hakim that tonight too."
Minutes of silence passed by idly, with no conversations passed between the two of them. They could sense that Anding and Mak Mah were watching them, but paid no attention to them. Manny however grew uncomfortable and quickly finished his drink before standing up and gathered his books.
"Umm…I guess I better get going, since you're going out too," Manny said slowly.
"Oh…ok." Gayathri followed Manny to the door, and pressed the gate button. This time around, the whole gate opened as they were about to leave as well. Before Manny could walk out from the gate however, Gayathri called him back. 'He's trying to fix our friendship. I should give him a chance….' "Manny! Will you come tomorrow as well, for homework?"
Manny was visibly stunned by the inquiry, but a smile then crossed his balanced facial feature as he nodded. "Ok. I'll be here tomorrow. Three o'clock?"
"Three is fine." Gayathri returned the smile as she observed Manny exiting the gate. Then, she sighed and closed the door. 'I don't know, however, whether it's going to be easy on me…'
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"So the DigiWira have beaten the Mage General yesterday?" a sweet feminine voice inquired. The owner of the voice didn't seem to sound any older than fifteen.
"Yes, General," Shutumon said. "More specifically, the Mage General's plan backfired. He attempted to become stronger by harnessing the power of the digital solar eclipse, which actually made him weaker as he practiced black magic. He was left vulnerable, and was severely injured by Sagittarimon – the partner of the DigiWira with the White DigiSphere – before finally being deleted wholly by Satriamon, the fused form of the kid with the Red DigiSphere and his partner Digimon."
Sorcerymon shifted nervously as he held his staff up high. The snowflake part was displaying the battle that took place the previous day, as well as illuminating the dark clearing where they were standing at right now. The light gave off silhouettes of various creatures, which were circling the clearing. The three of them – Sorcerymon, Shutumon, and the Dryad General – stood in the middle of the clearing.
The Dryad General's profile was barely highlighted from the scanty amount of light. From what could be seen from the light, she was a humanoid Digimon who stood at no more than seven feet and half inches high. She had an enviable curve, but that was all that could be seen as she stood within the shadows cast by the thick canopies of the jungle.
She adjusted the dark fuchsia tulip flower which was fastened at the center of her chest as a smile appeared on her face. "My, what a handsome Digimon he is," she commented lightly as she observed Samudramon with interest. "I could use a minion like him. He shall fall prey of my Beauty Slap, no doubt. I want to keep him. The one in red armor is hot as well. He's the one who deleted Karatenmon, you say? He'll be useful too. Strong men are hard to find, especially one as good-looking as he is. Hmmm….that child with that white horse however…hasn't he merged yet with his Digimon? Judging from the other two fine-looking fused guys there, I can expect that he'll turn out to be quite an Adonis as well."
She licked her lips in excitation. Her voice was light; it was difficult to ascertain her true character just by hearing her voice. Unsuspecting Digimon could be lulled to a false security by the sweetness exuded from every syllable she had spoken, which disguised the venom that was truly her nature.
"General, let us challenge the DigiWira!" a muffled womanly voice called out. It came from a large shadow which hovered in midair, with the shape of a flower.
"Yeah, let us! We won't disappoint you!" a gruff manly growl followed by. This was a Digimon, shrouded by the shadows and appeared to be quadrupled, and even more massive than the first.
"Us, too!" several scratchy voices chorused, from all around the clearing. They came from Digimon of various shapes and sizes, all hidden within the darkness of the Whispering Woods as well.
The Dryad General chuckled. "We shall ALL attack at once. It will be an all out strike! The DigiWira are still weak from their previous fight. Now is our chance to have revenge on what Grademon had inflicted on us three hundred years ago. Grademon might be gone, but his heirs remain. If we wipe them out today, the Master will be pleased, and we shall be in his good books."
A glint was produced from her eyes, and it was a menacing one. Sorcerymon and Shutumon had no doubt that the Dryad General meant serious business.
Their work, for now, was done.
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In the meantime, JD – with a sniffing Koromon – was walking along a barren path, lined with trees. He hadn't known what to do with Koromon when the little In-Training started crying, so he'd let the 'mon cry while he figured out a way to escape. From Koromon's story, JD assumed that it was best if they went as far from the seaside as possible, but something kept nagging him that it was hopeless. No matter where he attempted to go, they would never find a way out. It was why Koromon was crying; there was no method known to escape the Dark Ocean.
But JD wasn't one who would give up willingly. The idea to use his D-Terminal to relay the message to the DigiWira had crossed his mind, but he'd brushed it off as quickly as it came. He had harmed the DigiWira the previous day – he had neither the face nor the audacity to ask for their help now. So, he decided to follow the path in front of him, hoping that it would at least lead them somewhere. The ocean – the Dark Ocean – gave out an eerie aura, and every now and then JD would get a forbidding vibe coming from the distance. The ocean looked empty, but JD felt danger.
They had been walking for two hours, with no luck. Everything appeared to be the same around them. A straight path, which was sloping slightly – JD assumed that they were now walking down the tall clearing. But for the last couple of hours they didn't see anything other than the dry path and the trees that lined the pathway.
Faint sounds suddenly attracted their attentions. They came from the sky, somewhere in a distance. JD looked up, gazing at the black sky intently, studying the clouds, anticipating that something would suddenly come out from there. The stillness of the Dark Ocean dimension unnerved him.
"Koromon, shhh. Listen. Do you hear what I hear?" JD asked, placing his index finger in front of his lips.
Koromon abided his partner, and this time around his ribbon-like ears twitched madly. "I hear. The presence was…familiar, too."
"Oh, shit! Look!" JD pointed towards something on the sky. "It's them!"
From the distance, two floating figures could be seen. They wore capes that were black on the outside, but scarlet on the insides. The ghastly duo had metallic spine and ribcage as their bodies, affixed on a glowing purple orb. Streams of electricity formed their arms, joining their spines to a pair of metallic hands, which were holding scythes. The scythes were as their wielders – their sticks were solid but the blades were made out of purple energy. Their eyes were menacing red, illuminating the hideous metal skulls that were their heads.
"Crap, crap, crap," JD muttered, as he watched the MetalPhantomon's shadows drifted past them. He had jumped behind a tree to avoid detection when he first saw them. And luckily, just in time too; the MetalPhantomon didn't appear to have noticed him.
But judging from the way those demonic Digimon were looking at their left and right, there was no doubt that they were looking for someone.
That someone was obviously, JD and Koromon.
"How the hell did they get here as well?" JD wondered out loud, when the MetalPhantomon were no longer in sight. "Koromon, can't you digivolve?"
"No…I'm still weak…sorry JD." The little Digimon began to sniff again.
JD was annoyed to see that his Digimon was about to cry once again, and resisted the urge to snap at Koromon, knowing that the Digimon couldn't help himself. He took a deep breath, trying to analyze his situation. But without his cell phone JD couldn't generate a DigiPort. And without a DigiPort there was no way for them to get out of the dark world. JD had his Digivice still, but doubted that it would be much use without a computer.
"We're doomed," he whispered; the possibility of them being trapped there for eternity began to sink in his mind.
Unbeknownst to him, an uncanny dark shadow was slowly creeping behind him. The shadow had no definite form, and came from within the dark forest. It began to surround JD's body before slithering down to his arms and feet before finally moving up to his head. JD's hazel eyes turned lifeless and he dropped Koromon on the ground.
"OWW! Josh!!" the little In-Training cried indignantly. "Josh…?" Koromon looked up, wondering why his partner would drop him so suddenly. His eyes widened in shock when he saw that JD was coated with a black aura. "Josh!"
"We're doomed…" JD whispered; this time around his voice lacked the luster that Koromon had grown to be familiar with. There was no hint of the usual calm confidence, or the cockiness. The blonde teen plopped on the ground, and drew his legs close to his body before burying his head into them. "We're not going to get out of here. We're doomed."
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"This is odd," Manny commented, as he looked down at his D3 Digivice. He was frowning.
"What's odd?" Adam asked, peering at the other boy's hands.
Manny sighed. "I've been trying to locate JD's Digivice signal just now. Nothing came up."
"Have you tried the wide-range scanning?" Liu Ying recommended, not missing Adam's darkened look, but chose to ignore it.
"Yes. No such luck, either," Manny said. "Yesterday we could still locate him; he'd been somewhere near the Megalith Coliseum I think, but today he doesn't seem to be at the Digital World."
"Well, maybe he's back in our world," Adam pointed out, his face reassumed its usual look already.
Manny shook his head. Worry was evident on his face. "Unless he'd taken a plane to Siberia, no…he wasn't back in our world as well. I've used the widest range of scan possible."
The DigiWira had been called to the Digital World earlier, but TobuCatmon had stated that there was no need to rush as there were no immediate dangers. When they arrived – Gayathri excluded – TobuCatmon had shown them odd sighting of the Cave of Solitude set ablaze. He also had told them the rumors that were circulating all around the Digital World now.
"But if Satriamon has deleted Karatenmon, shouldn't the spell Karatenmon place on him be gone as well?" Patamon asked.
"So he should be good again," Manny said. "Yes. I think Karatenmon's spell worked like that."
"Manny is correct," TobuCatmon agreed. "Joshua's sudden disappearance is very odd indeed. According to Manny, he was not at your home world, but he's not in the Digital World as well. At least, not until late this morning. If he is the one responsible for the Cave of Solitude burning, then his disappearance from both worlds occurred merely several hours before. The cave was set ablaze around the time you would have your school break."
"So how do you propose we find him?" Manny asked.
"We don't," Adam replied coolly. There was neither malice nor hatred in his voice, just indifference. Manny and Liu Ying looked at him oddly. "Well, think about it. If he's already good, then he should be coming to us. Wasn't that what you did when you broke the spell?" Adam directed his question to Manny.
Manny nodded. Then he gazed at Adam meaningfully. "Maybe he's just too…ashamed to meet us."
Adam shifted uneasily upon the other boy's gaze. "Maybe, but then why disappear? His parents are looking for him – they thought that he's been kidnapped. We thought we knew better, but now even we don't know where JD is right now." He sighed as he stood up from the chair; the three DigiWira had been sitting around the wooden table. "What's he thinking?"
"Well, I think JD and Agumon have become good," Penguinmon quipped. Instantly everyone's gazes fell upon him. "Well, if I'm placed on their shoes, I'd have done a lot worse than just burn the whole Cave of Solitude…I'd demolish the whole mountain myself! Me and Manny of course, we'd bring down that stinking mountain before drowning all the remains."
"That's…an interesting way to put it, actually," TobuCatmon commented.
Penguinmon mock-bowed. "Thank you, PussyCatmon."
TobuCatmon ignored the nickname. "Penguinmon's suggestion makes sense. The burning of the cave might be an act of retaliation on Joshua's behalf. I myself believe that Joshua and Agumon have returned to the side of good."
"How about we take a vote for it?" Liu Ying suggested. "All those who think that JD's now good, raise their hands…" Her dark eyes fell on the Digimon, who looked at her expectantly. "…or, do whatever to indicate that you're in favor of the vote."
One by one, everyone showed their support of the vote, except for two.
"Adam? Patamon? Do you have any reason of not agreeing?" TobuCatmon inquired.
"I only seconded Adam's vote," Patamon said.
"Thanks, Patamon." Adam looked disgruntled as his gray irises met the other eyes inside the sanctum. "After Karatenmon disappeared, I was there. And JD leapt up on me and tried to…to…"
"Kill you?" Penguinmon suggested helpfully.
"Penguinmon!" Manny admonished.
"What? The boy was stuttering; obviously he was still so shaken by the kill attempt that he was unable to say it. I was merely helping him spit it out." The Rookie avian shrugged, as if he'd done nothing that would merit the repulsed reactions from the others.
"You could do it a little bit more discreetly," Labramon pointed out, shooting dagger-looks towards the blue-feathered Penguinmon.
"I was being discreet; I could've said in a lot worse way."
Patamon huffed indignantly. "You call that discreet? That was downright insensitive!"
"But I was correct, wasn't I, Adam?" Penguinmon looked up at Adam inquiringly, and beamed when Adam nodded weakly. "HA! See! I told you!"
"Ok, so what's your reason to vote for JD being good now?" Liu Ying asked Penguinmon coolly.
"Well, if Patamon seconded Adam's vote, I seconded Manny's. What's your reason?"
"Actually, I've been thinking…" Liu Ying paused, making sure that everyone was paying attention to her before continuing, "Satriamon was only a minion, while Karatenmon was a General. It doesn't sound fitting that a minion could be stronger that his master. Satriamon might be strong, I can attest to that myself, having fought him yesterday as Xianamon. But Karatenmon was supposed to be fearsomely powerful. TobuCatmon, remember how you first reacted when you learned that Karatenmon had been set free. You were scared, right? You said that a great evil had been released." Her dark eyes glinted as she drew her conclusion to an end. "So, I think there's some foul play in here."
"What's on your mind?" Adam asked.
"Maybe Karatenmon was not deleted yet when you last saw JD. But sometime last night, he had been."
Patamon nodded. "Well, I, as Sagittarimon, did injure him quite easily; somehow Karatenmon didn't appear to be as strong as we thought he would be. He was still a formidable villain; that I can confirm. But he wasn't super-powerful either. He could be as strong as you guys when you fuse with your partners…"
"Adam," Liu Ying gazed at her fellow DigiWira. "What do you remember before you teleported away from JD yesterday? You said that you were unconscious. We were outside the Stone Valley for a good twenty minutes after you told us to escape. The explosion, which was the result of Karatenmon and Satriamon's attacks collided with each other, happened not too long after we made our escape. I'd give it to happen less than ten minutes after we escaped. So, there was still a ten-minute gap. JD attacked you after the first ten minutes. Then you were unconscious, and woke up several minutes after that. I'd say you were unconscious for around five minutes. Within that five minutes, Karatenmon's deletion must have happened. Adam, did you get a good look at JD before you teleported away?"
The dark-haired boy shook his head. "What do you expect?" Adam said softly. "What was on my mind that time was to get away as quickly as possible – this would be the third, or fourth times that JD attempted to kill me. See…I even lost count of how many attempts he'd tried."
"Did JD say anything, then…anything that could indicate his allegiance?" Liu Ying pressed on.
"He was definitely evil when he became my friend," Adam pointed out. "What he said, how he looked… I won't trust him anymore."
Liu Ying saw how adamant Adam was and decided that there was no changing their leader's mindset. "I don't like JD that much either…and that started way before I became a DigiWira. But still I'm willing to give him a benefit of a doubt," she said gently. "If he's still evil, then we'll have to fight or convince him. If he's good….then he'll better stay in hiding, because when I find him, I'll murder him for all the stunts he'd pulled on all of us." Liu Ying however didn't sound as serious as her statement was, judging by the way she had her face set.
That earned a flicker of smile from Adam, but the boy didn't mention anything.
He didn't need to, as suddenly the sun-staff flickered to life. Adam was relieved of the distraction and was the first to dart towards the staff, as he'd been the only one standing. The other two DigiWira followed him soon after. They saw a band of Digimon herding towards the Green Meadow. A troop of weird, bulbous plant-type Digimon with arms – four of them were hopping and yellow in color, led by a similar vegetation figure in red. Flanked on their sides were wood trunk-shaped Digimon, there were four of them in total. Behind them, the weirdest two Digimon formed the rear – them being the biggest amongst all the Digimon there.
Both had the similarities of being a weird mutation between a reptile and a sunflower. The floating mutant had a docile look; with its long green body, tail, leaves-shaped wings, and a seemingly kind face on the head that resembled a sunflower. The one crawling on all four had a rougher edge, and was twice the size of its gentler counterpart. It looked like a successful mix between a dying flower and an alligator. It had dark green gator body, and the sunflower head on it was a withered one, dark brown with ugly red petals, unlike the first creature's healthy-looking one.
"Woah. Nature Digimon freak show!" Penguinmon exclaimed.
"You can say that again," Patamon muttered.
Penguinmon brightened. "OK! Nature Digimon freak show!"
"Penguinmon, it's just an expression!!" Labramon snapped.
"Who are they, TobuCatmon?" Liu Ying asked, frowning.
"Veggiemon. RedVeggiemon. Woodmon. Sunflowmon. Petaldramon." TobuCatmon indicated the names of the nature Digimon. "And they're heading…to the Forest Sanctum."
The sun-staff displayed the band of nature Digimon assembling at the Green Meadow, right in front of the forests that protected the Forest Sanctum. They seemed to be awaiting an order, seemingly from a leader. But the said leader was nowhere to be found.
All of a sudden, the sky darkened. Clouds materialized, obscuring the sun instantly. The temperature dropped several degrees. Winds appeared. The suddenness of the changes was completely unnatural, given the fact that it had been a warm, clear day. It had also been breezy, but now the winds were forceful, swaying the trees all around the marbled, roofless sanctum.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Manny muttered.
"It looks like we're under attack," Adam noted, observing as one of the Veggiemon attempted to enter the Forest Sanctum's jungle. A barrier flickered into life and the Veggiemon was thrown away, its body sailed all the way towards the lake which was in the middle of the wide paddock. "And they're definitely evil; the barrier only reacted like that with evil Digimon."
"We better go out there and see what the problem is," Liu Ying decided. "If they want a battle…"
"Adam and Manny will deal with them for the time being," TobuCatmon quickly said. "I've just thought of something, but I need Xianamon to check it out for me. Liu Ying, Labramon, remain here for a while. Samudramon and Sagittarimon can handle a band of Champion Digimon. The Digital Access Digivolution gives you the power similar to an Ultimate Digimon, and the same is true for Sagittarimon's new mode."
"That's good to hear," Adam said. He looked at his present companies, noticing that they were one member short. "What about Gayathri, Manny? You saw her today; is she ok?"
"Yeah, she seems to be ok now," Manny answered and looked at the clock. "She should be on her way back from the airport by now."
TobuCatmon nodded. "I shall contact Gayathri to provide assistance. Go now, DigiWira. Stay safe."
"C'mon. Let's do it. Patamon, digivolve!"
Adam held out his Digivice. At the same time, his D-Terminal flickered into life and the Ivory Gem de-digitized from the device. It spun around Patamon slowly as it grew twice its original size. The arrowhead-shaped contraption then let out a bright gold and white light as it initiated the special form of Armor Digivolution.
"Patamon…Golden Armor Digivolve to… Sagittarimon, Radiant Mode!!"
Patamon metamorphosed into the regular Sagittarimon, before the Ivory Gem melted into data particles and coated the armor with white and gold. The armor gained sharper edges and radiated with pure light amidst the darkening sky. Adam vanished in swirls of white light, and reappeared on top of Sagittarimon before both partners teleported out of the Forest Sanctum.
"Fancy light show," Penguinmon muttered. "But we can do better. Manny, c'mon!"
"Right," Manny grinned. He took out his Blue DigiSphere and Digivice.
Liu Ying followed suit. Together, they called out: "DIGITAL ACCESS DIGIVOLUTION, HAA!!"
Bright flashes of golden and sapphire light ensued before Samudramon and Xianamon materialized on the spot where Manny, Penguinmon, Liu Ying and Labramon were at. Samudramon then quickly bid Xianamon and TobuCatmon goodbye before moving out of the sanctum to join Adam and Sagittarimon.
Xianamon looked at TobuCatmon with puzzlement etched on her ethereally beautiful features. "TobuCatmon? Why do you want me to remain here?"
"Simple." TobuCatmon however looked grim. "If Joshua and Agumon are not here in the Digital World, and they are also not in your home world, I have a theory of where they would be. And I need you to check it out for me. I hope however, that I would be proved wrong."
xxx
xxx
"What are you all doing here?" Sagittarimon demanded, unsheathing an arrow from its holster. He wanted to be ready for any attack, as well as intimidating his potential enemies. Given the fact that his stature alone was intimidating enough, the Golden Armored Champion wanted to further deter the bad intentions that the band of nature Digimon that were assembled in front of him would have in mind.
The Veggiemon whispered amongst each other, while the Woodmon looked at the pair stoically. Their hollow eyes, carved out from the trunks, observed the duo of Light with seeming interest. Behind them, the sole Sunflowmon hovered lazily in midair, its face expressionless. Underneath the Sunflowmon, the single Petaldramon emitted guttural groans as it adjusted its massive body around. Amongst all the assembled Digimon, Petaldramon and Sunflowmon looked to be the strongest. But it was not either of them who led the whole band of vegetations.
"We're here under the order of our General!" RedVeggiemon, seemingly the leader of the troops, spoke up with a deep, groveled voice.
"Another General?" Adam inquired. He was on his customary position aboard his partner. "We've just got rid of one yesterday and now there's another one?"
"Shut your trap, you measly human!" RedVeggiemon roared. "The Dryad General, our General, is the one who commanded us here."
Adam huffed indignantly, but ignored the comment made by the cantankerous RedVeggiemon. He looked around, but didn't notice anybody who'd remotely be a possibility to be a General.
"I don't see any General."
"Do you think we can handle them by ourselves?" Samudramon inquired breathlessly; he'd just appeared out from the Forest Sanctum.
"Neither any of them are higher than Champion level, but I won't count out Petaldramon. He looks too big to be just a Champion," Sagittarimon noted. "It looks like the odds are in our favor."
Samudramon grasped his metallic trident. "That's comforting to hear."
Adam teleported to a safe distance in order to allow Sagittarimon to fight more freely – without Adam to look out for, Sagittarimon wouldn't be distracted. He crept towards the lake, where he saw a stray Veggiemon coming out from the lake. It was the Veggiemon who had attempted to infiltrate the barrier set around the sanctum's forests. Adam watched it warily, but the Veggiemon was more fixated to join its mates. In fact, it seemed to be oblivious to Adam's presence.
Suddenly, the boy noticed a shadow passing him from above. It wasn't a large shadow, and looked humanoid. Intrigued, he looked up, and gasped at the sight.
The one who'd just flown past him was definitely a female Digimon. She was beautiful as a fairy. Her overall features were a delicate mix between a regular human and a flower. She was dressed in tight yellow-colored bodice that left her arms and legs bare. Her outfit was lined with green, with leaves-like decorations over the shoulders and along the bikini lines. Her extremities appeared to have the characteristics of flowers – they started out as long appendages in light lavender shades and ended as flowers, which were elegantly patterned to serve as hands and feet.
The Digimon seemed to realize that she had just flown past a human, and gracefully halted. She turned around to face Adam, allowing the DigiWira to study her features more attentively. This Digimon had deep green eyes that sparkled with mirth, and an expression which reflected the innocence to that of a young girl. She was wearing a hat patterned to look like an upside-down pink lilac, with vine-like hair framing her soft facial features. On her back a large pink four-petal flower jutted out in four directions, serving as wings.
All in all, Adam thought that she seemed to be in the same league as Lilymon. 'Could this be the Dryad General?'
The feminine Digimon smirked. "Like what you see, boy?" Her voice exuded sweetness and youth.
Adam sweatdropped; this Digimon had the flirtatious attitude which reminded him of Fairymon. He didn't know how to reply.
"Not the one to talk, eh? Fine with me. I'll deal with you later; right now I have my eyes on a bigger fish." The female Digimon turned round, facing the vegetation army and their much more impressive-looking opponents. She eyed Sagittarimon before her gaze stalled at Samudramon. She smirked again before tearing her gaze away, looking for somebody from the vegetation crowd. Her eyes spotted RedVeggiemon. "Well, what are you waiting for? Introduce me."
It was an order which RedVeggiemon gladly complied. "Behold; the Dryad General LILAMON!"
The Digimon that was now known as Lilamon smiled. Her green eyes returned to gaze towards Samudramon. "So this is the famed DigiWira that have defeated the Mage General?" She giggled like a schoolgirl, seemingly unimpressed. "Not very threatening, I must say. I thought there are more of you?"
Sagittarimon snorted. "The two of us are all that's needed to counter the likes of you."
"Confident, aren't we? It won't do you any good, judging me by the way I look. I'm not that weak." Lilamon pointed both her arms towards Samudramon and Sagittarimon. Her movement was executed gracefully, as if she was merely stretching her arms out. Neither Samudramon nor Sagittarimon saw what she was up to. She smirked. "Taste this. Marvel Shot!!"
Several energy balls were instantly launched from her extended arms at rapid rate. It was totally unexpected. Those orbs of green energy sailed with the speed of lightning and reached their targets within a couple of blinks. Both Samudramon and Sagittarimon were hit squarely on their chests, and were thrown off their feet before landing on their backs.
Lilamon giggled. "Well, maybe I'm not weak at all. Appearance can be deceiving."
Both Sagittarimon and Samudramon quickly got back on their feet. "Wow, she got us good," Samudramon commented, coughing once as he rubbed his chest where a blackened spot was evident against his pale torso. The attack had affected him more than Sagittarimon, as the centaur was heavily armored while his torso was bare, only protected by an X-shaped armor.
"She just took us by surprise," Sagittarimon grunted. He pointed an arrow towards Lilamon. "At least we now know what we're up against. Celestial Judgment Arrow!!"
Lilamon smirked again, not the least bothered by the electrical-charged arrow that soared towards her. She didn't even make any attempt to move as the arrow approached her with lightning speed. Instead she calmly waved her right arm, and it morphed into a pink blade. "Lilac Dagger!!" Then she slashed towards the arrow, interrupting its course. The arrow, having lost its momentum, fell onto the ground harmlessly before dissolving into data particles.
"She's actually quite good," Samudramon realized. He decided not to wait any more and pointed his trident towards the floating dryad. "Cosmic Thunderstrike!!"
A bolt of azure lightning blasted out from the three tips of the trident with a thunderous roar and streaked towards Lilamon malevolently. This had elicited the result Samudramon had hoped his thunder attack would produce to the confident fairy Digimon; Lilamon yelped as she fleeted out of the thunderbolts' way. Her face looked startled, before turning to harbor what seemed to be fury kept in check. She was frowning, and Samudramon had to smile.
"You didn't have to do that," Lilamon muttered. She cocked her head sideways towards the crowd of vegetations that were anticipating her call. "What are you all waiting for? Attack them!"
With the order given, Lilamon flew up towards the sky and watched gleefully as her underlings charged towards Samudramon and Sagittarimon, all the way only fixing her eyes towards the merman Digimon with apparent interest. Petaldramon trampled the ground ferociously, and roared with a cry of a beast as it stood on its hind legs. It then generated a column of wind and leaves towards Sagittarimon.
"Leaf Cyclone!!"
Sagittarimon was unfazed; his higher evolved form was able to withstand Petaldramon's attack. He mimicked Petaldramon's move by standing on his hind legs, before trampling the ground. Three massive energy orbs materialized from out of nowhere and streaked past the horde of Veggiemon and Woodmon, deleting two that came across the orbs' path. The supercharged forms of his Meteor Gallop technique was powerful, and its prowess was proven when all three meteorites nailed Petaldramon squarely, causing the mutant Digimon to howl with rage. Sagittarimon noted with satisfaction that Petaldramon was injured, but not down from the count.
Petaldramon then resumed its four-legged position and buried its thorny tail underground. Its attention was set towards Sagittarimon hatefully.
"Thousand Spikes!!"
Instantly, from underneath Sagittarimon, the thorny tail of Petaldramon burst out, impaling Sagittarimon from bottom. It was a totally unexpected move from Petaldramon's behalf, and Sagittarimon was lucky that his upgraded armor was able to protect his body from being harmed by Petaldramon's tale. Nevertheless, the force that was delivered with the attack was enough to send Sagittarimon flying, and tumbling down against the waiting Woodmon, RedVeggiemon and Veggiemon.
"Altogether now!" RedVeggiemon commanded. He inhaled sharply; and his actions were mimicked by the other Veggiemon. "Stinky Jet!!"
"UGH!! Oh YUCK!!" Sagittarimon yelled in disgust, consumed by dark vapors of nauseatingly bad smell. He crashed onto the ground, which opened the way for the Veggiemon and RedVeggiemon to proceed with another attack which was even more disgusting than the previous one – now they were throwing sludge onto Sagittarimon. The attack was generally harmless for the Golden Armor Digimon, but it irritated him to no end and soiled his pristine white armor.
Before he could think of anything, he felt a familiar warm sensation emanating from within. Smirking, he saw swirls of white orbs coming from out of nowhere, engulfing him. The lights soon vanished and Sagittarimon was standing once again; all the soils on his armor were wiped clean. There was no trace of the armor being dirty at all. Then above the astounded Veggiemon, clouds of white orbs appeared and the bits of excrements that once soiled Sagittarimon's armor now rained upon the vegetation Digimon, ironically causing them to scamper around.
"Thanks, Adam." Sagittarimon eyed his partner, who was safely hidden behind the large rock near the lake. Adam flashed a thumbs-up back. Sagittarimon nodded and returned his gaze towards the Veggiemon and RedVeggiemon, who were now retreating now that Sagittarimon was back on his feet. Their expressions turned into fear as Sagittarimon smoothly unsheathed an arrow from the holster. He smirked confidently, and flashed a dangerous look towards his enemies. "Now, where were we?"
In the meantime, Samudramon was fighting against Sunflowmon and the Woodmon. Granted, the Woodmon merely stood at the sidelines while Sunflowmon glided over the air, firing blasts of solar energy from her flower-shaped head, one after another. The beams were powerful, but not enough to injure Samudramon, who blocked all beams with his Cosmic Thunderstrike technique. It just made Samudramon wonder of Sunflowmon's relentlessness in attacking him; surely it wouldn't take long for her to realize that she was severely outmatched?
Samudramon had about enough, however, and attempted to release a wave of his Deep Ocean Submerge, before his knees wobbled. It surprised him; he didn't exert that much of energy. The Cosmic Thunderstrike was one of his basic techniques – they shouldn't weaken him that quickly.
"Samudramon, those wood creatures! Look!" The merman heard the urgent cry of Adam. The boy was pointing towards the Woodmon frantically.
Samudramon saw the Woodmon; all four were glowing with green aura as they extended their arms towards Samudramon. They were sucking out his powers, Samudramon realized. His knees wobbled again, and suddenly Samudramon felt a strong energy beam blasted against his unguarded body. He was thrown off his feet, and with a blue glow his feet transformed back into his long, elegant aquamarine fishtail. A shadow loomed on him; Sunflowmon had positioned herself perfectly over him, readying her attack.
The merman however was not weakened enough to attack back. He waved his arm and summoned a pillar of water, and wielded the water to take him to the skies. It placed him out of the Woodmon's range, and he took the briefest time he had to recover.
Sunflowmon on the other hand, had no such intention to let Samudramon recover. She flew quickly towards Samudramon, and bore her teeth as her flowery head shone with yellow aura. She was in perfect position to strike. "Sunshine Beam!!"
"Cosmic Thunderstrike!!" Samudramon quickly countered. The two attacks collided with each other; Samudramon was pushed off his pillar of water, while Sunflowmon was electrocuted.
As he fell towards the ground, where the Woodmon were waiting at him gleefully with arms raised, preparing to leech out his energy, an idea crossed Samudramon's head. "So, you wanna play that way…two can play the same game! Divine Rain!!"
A heavy downpour was elicited right after the attack was summoned. Samudramon was precise in pinpointing his target and focused the rains towards them only. He instantly felt invigorated; the Divine Rain technique had done its purpose. While it had no effect should it was sent towards his allies, the Divine Rain was able to weaken his enemies by leeching out their powers, channeling them to Samudramon instead. So in a way, Samudramon had given the Woodmon a taste of their own medicine.
Now, with the powers returning to him, Samudramon decided it was best to end the battle with the Woodmon so that he could focus his attention towards Sunflowmon. His trident crackled fiercely with blue electricity while he was still falling, and Samudramon spun it quickly. The forked upper end of the trident crackled with thunderbolts, while a blue energy blade appeared from the dull-pointed lower end of the trident below. It gave the trident the appearance of a double-edged blade, or more precisely…
"Double-Edged Thunderblades!!"
Instantly, in one go, all four Woodmon were severely impaled by the sharp energy blades, and combusted into data particles. Samudramon heaved his breath slowly as his spinning trident halted; the Double-Edged Thunderblades technique was energy-consuming and his last remaining energy was then used to retransform his tail into legs. He watched as Sunflowmon descended on the ground, and successfully grounded the electricity to the earth. He saw Sunflowmon fixing him a death glare and was about to attack, before a sweet voice stopped her.
"Sunflowmon, that's enough." It was more of a statement than an order, but Sunflowmon obeyed immediately. Lilamon descended slowly, an amused smile was played on her face. She shot a fleeting look towards the lake. "Get the boy. I'll deal with handsome over there my way."
As Sunflowmon slinked away towards Adam, Samudramon watched warily as Lilamon walked towards him. She was walking slowly, taking her own time, walking in catwalks. At times like this he'd hoped that Gayathri and Fairymon would show up. Certainly they would have a quip to throw towards the Dryad General.
"Excellent. Simply marvelous. I expect nothing less from you, of course," Lilamon purred seductively. Her eyes narrowed all of a sudden as she raised an arm. "Lila Shower!!"
Five pink energy ribbons shot out from her leaf-like fingers, but were semi-effectively blocked by Samudramon's trident. Only two stray energy ribbons managed to slash Samudramon over both sides of his body, on the unprotected skin. Lilamon didn't seem to be bothered much by this. Instead, she flicked her arm and sent a strong gale which sent Samudramon flying, with a sound similar to a severely-conducted slapping sound. Lilamon used the same attack again and struck Samudramon twice before the merman crashed on his back onto the ground.
"That ought to do it," Lilamon deduced, and approached the fallen Samudramon. She knelt down beside Samudramon and ran her flowery hand on Samudramon's body before placing it right underneath the fused Digimon's chin. She lifted it up, and smiled. "Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty…or should I say, sleeping handsome? The Beauty Slaps shouldn't knock you out just yet, but rather…" she chuckled. "Or maybe you just want to get a free kiss, hmm? Naughty, naughty." She nudged Samudramon's right cheek, and that elicited a groan from the merman. She withdrew her arm and allowed Samudramon to sit up.
Samudramon looked at Lilamon with wonder. Something felt strange. Then…
"Mistress Lilamon," he said with a dazed tone. "How may I be of service?"
xxx
xxx
Xianamon focused inwardly, and within seconds she felt the sensation of weightlessness, of being irresistibly pulled up by an invisible force. She soared up towards the sky, marveling inwardly of the power of astral projection which came from her Digimon half. It was fantastic, she thought, as she flew past the layers of clouds, from the thinnest to the thickest before a magnificent sight of the digital cosmos greeted her. For the first time, she saw the three moons of the Digital World up close, as well as stars and constellations which were spattered all around the multicolored universe. Then, everything went dark as she slowly descended down. Xianamon had to resist the urge to flinch as she entered a world of darkness, void of colors and radiating despair and hopelessness. It looked like the Digital World, but something told her that it wasn't.
Sailing past the dark sea, Xianamon aimed for the rocky hill that lined the coastline. She touched down safely, and waited for the feeling of disorientation that came with the astral projection power to wear off. For Liu Ying, it was her first time astral projecting, but even Labramon hadn't attempted projecting her digital spirit out of her body further than an eye's distance. TobuCatmon had assured them that with the added power from Xianamon, they, or she, could do it now.
"So this is the Dark Ocean," Xianamon said to herself, before setting forth towards the straight path in front of her.
TobuCatmon had thought that JD and Agumon might somehow end up at the Dark Ocean dimension, following his mysterious disappearance from both the human and the Digital World. He was not sure, though, so he'd asked Xianamon to check it out. Labramon had shuddered upon the mention of the Dark Ocean, and had been reluctant to see the plan through. Liu Ying however, couldn't understand the apprehension, and TobuCatmon had insisted that they should at least check it out. Xianamon would be safe as she could return to the digital physical plane easily should she encounter dangers that she could not handle.
Utilizing Liu Ying's telekinetic, Xianamon was able to fly. It was useful for her to scout the area quickly. But then, she halted upon noticing two identical figures floating towards her. Quickly, she descended towards the ground and made towards the woods. She had no doubt of her powers, but didn't want to get involved in a fight unnecessarily. The faster she could find JD and Agumon, the better. Adam and Manny would need her help with the current threat, and TobuCatmon had contacted Gayathri.
'What are those?' Xianamon wondered quietly, using the shadows cast by the trees to her advantage. The caped demons wielding energy scythes didn't seem to notice her, but it was apparent that they were looking for someone. 'Maybe they are looking for JD and Agumon. I better be quick and look for them first. That is, if they are here in the first place.'
Xianamon however, didn't need to look far as her sharp hearing then caught a whimpering sound. It didn't sound too far from where she was at. She streaked past the trees, careful not to make any sound as she pushed bushes aside and watched out for dead branches that could alert her arrival.
"Josh…snap out of it, please…" The whimpering was familiar. The name too, was somewhat familiar.
'Josh? Joshua…JD!' Xianamon was now sure of it; JD and Agumon were there. The whimpering sounded like Agumon's, but with a difference.
True enough, Xianamon soon found a bouncing pink puffball, recognizing it as Koromon, Agumon's diminutive form. The In-Training Digimon was looking at his partner despairingly. JD was sitting with his legs pulled close to his body, face buried in his thighs.
"Koromon? JD?" Xianamon called out tentatively. Her grip on her feather duster tightened; although she had been sure that JD and Agumon were no any longer spellbound, Adam's words rang in her eyes. It was best to be cautious. Her wariness however instantly melted upon meeting the sorrowful gaze of Koromon.
The In-Training looked surprised, eyes widened with shock, as if he hadn't expected her arrival. But then those eyes looked profoundly relieved as they registered her presence. Those eyes didn't reflect evil, nor were they seem to be under an influence. They were just normal-looking, and forlorn.
"Xianamon! Liu Ying, Labramon…thank goodness you're here!"
"What is going on here?" Xianamon looked at JD, noticing the black aura emanating from his whole body. "What is happening to JD?"
"I…I don't know." Koromon hopped towards Xianamon. "He's been like this for hours. I don't know what to do. How…how did you know we're here?"
"TobuCatmon had a theory, and it looks like he is right. How did you get here anyway?"
Koromon explained quickly about their misadventures earlier this morning. All the while Xianamon kept her gaze onto JD. The dark aura was bothering her. Her sharp hearing could catch some words being mumbled by the blonde teen, but they were muffled because JD had his face buried in his thighs. Looking at the teen's condition, Xianamon couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Sure, her human half didn't like JD that much, but as Xianamon, her compassion was elevated to a certain degree. She could sense JD's emotions…and frowned upon realizing that those emotions were like a wild turbulent inside his mind. JD and Liu Ying were not friends, but Xianamon pushed the thought aside. Now was not the time to think about that. She focused on thinking about JD, as a victim of Karatenmon's dark spell. His situation had been the same as Manny's, and if she could forgive Manny, then why not JD?
"JD?" She called, walking slowly past Koromon and stood beside the teen. She knelt beside him, and attempted to touch his shoulder before her hand went through JD's body. She flinched, but it wasn't due to the fact that she couldn't touch JD – that was merely something that she was not yet accustomed with her astral projection power. No, the flinch was generated due to an entirely different cause. 'Such darkness…' "JD, can you hear me?"
JD stirred, and looked up at Xianamon. The sorceress cringed upon seeing the haggard, pale look on JD's face, but what attracted her attention the most was JD's eyes. Her human half remembered how those eyes would twinkle with mirth and mischief every time their paths crossed. They were not there any more, replaced by a lifeless look of despair and hopelessness.
"All my fault…all my fault…" JD whispered out eerily. Even his voice sounded lackluster; the brashness and cockiness which Xianamon's human half was familiar with were not there as well. "Not gonna…get out of here…all my fault…"
'What has gotten into him? Koromon seems fine, but why is JD enveloped by this dark aura?' Xianamon pointed her palm towards JD, and whispered softly, "Diamond World Mandala!"
Small, reduced form of the spectacular magical attack was sent towards JD in forms of yellow and navy brilliances. The Diamond World Mandala was a potent healing attack to her allies, and with JD no longer under the spell, it would make him her ally. It however lacked the evil spell eradication power that Lilymon's Flower Wreath had, but Xianamon hoped that in JD's case, it would qualify for healing as well as exorcism.
JD yelped, and fell on his back onto the ground as his body shook horribly. He writhed, his body jerked upwards and his groan became a loud pained yell as the Diamond World Mandala worked its magic on him. The yellow and blue energy waves became vapors, but so were the dark aura around her body. JD's eyes snapped open – the void was now gone, replaced by the familiar glint that usually sparked from the blue-green irises. He heaved his breath slowly; his chest rose and fell in regular rhythms.
"Woah…" JD clasped his head with both hands, his voice hoarse. Nevertheless, he sounded fine.
Xianamon stood up. "Are you alright?" she asked stiffly.
"If alright means I feel like a truck had just run over me…I'm fine," JD muttered, shaking his head to get rid of the pain. "I feel awful!"
Xianamon barely could contain her smile; the snappish reply indicated that JD was himself once again. Koromon yelped happily and hopped towards JD – directly plunging onto his chest, pushing JD who was attempting to get up, back onto the ground.
"Koromon!" JD coughed.
"Sorry, Josh…" Koromon hopped down his partner's body. "I'm just so happy that you're alright!"
"Why wouldn't I be?" JD inquired. He then looked up, and his mouth hung open momentarily before he spoke up. He looked stunned, which was strange considering he already was well-aware of the elegant sorceress's presence. He wasn't blinking, and it was only after half a minute later before he croaked out, "Hey…you came for me."
"You wish," Xianamon said tartly – that was obviously her human half talking. She stiffened as JD stared at her. A sudden tingling sensation crept up her cheeks, which she brushed off with a huff. "What are you staring at?" she snapped.
JD blinked. "Nothing. Who says I'm staring?" The teen attempted to smile, but looked too weak to attempt to do so. "So…you're here to save us?"
"Unfortunately, no," Xianamon said gently, hating to crush their hopes; JD had sounded hopeful and Koromon was plain ecstatic. "I astral projected here; what you are seeing now is only my digital spirit. Technically, I was still at the Forest Sanctum."
The hope that was shown on JD's face was gone. "Oh…I knew it was too good to be true," he muttered.
"Not really," Xianamon said steadily. "I am going back now, but help will be on the way soon. TobuCatmon sent me here to check whether you two are really here. Now that I know you are here, I can go back and tell him so that he will be able to arrange a real rescue mission to get you out from this place."
"Rescue mission?" JD inquired.
Xianamon looked at JD steadily. "Out of all of us, only one of us has the ability to teleport. TobuCatmon wanted to be sure first, as a great amount of energy would be required to teleport here." A worried look shot past JD's face, but Xianamon chose to ignore it. The sorceress's body glowed and she staggered a little. She knew immediately that her time was almost up. "I must go now. Do not worry. Just try to stay inconspicuous for the time being until Adam and Patamon are here."
With that said, Xianamon blinked out, not missing JD's apprehensive look before her surroundings shifted quickly. She soared towards the sky again, but her heart nearly stopped upon noticing a massive dark shadow lurking from the depth of the ocean. Two red eyes flashed at her menacingly, but Xianamon was at a safe distance at the dark heavens. The universe fazed a little, and the darkness was replaced by the familiar universe – the three moons were instantly recognizable. Within a fraction of a minute later, her whole body staggered and she saw that she was back in the Forest Sanctum. She saw TobuCatmon looking at her expectantly, and Gayathri and Floramon kneeling beside her.
She attempted to say something, but her whole body glimmered as she separated back into her composite selves. Labramon looked fine, but Liu Ying appeared to be strained.
"They're there," Liu Ying confirmed. "We need to get them out of there, fast."
"That we will," TobuCatmon assured. "Call Adam and Patamon back in, and have your partners DNA digivolve into Lilymon, girls."
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Adam saw Sunflowmon coming to him, and quickly teleported a distance away from the lake. He reappeared in the middle of the meadow, watching nervously as Lilamon somehow had gotten Samudramon to obey her command. She was telling Samudramon to fight Sagittarimon, who had been winning against the Veggiemon and Petaldramon.
"Don't worry about your friends!" Sunflowmon boomed as she glided towards Adam. "Worry about this. Sunshine Beam!!"
Adam snorted. He was tired of running. "Go Sunshine-Beam yourself," he muttered, and pointed his arm towards the incoming attack. The yellow energy beam vanished in swirls of light, rematerializing above Sunflowmon, and blasted towards the vegetation Digimon. It was an unexpected move from the unassuming DigiWira, and Sunflowmon shrieked in pain as her own attack injured her. The Champion Digimon fell onto the ground with a crash, and Adam teleported away from her.
Lilamon saw what Adam had done towards Sunflowmon, and frowned. "So, the little boy can outsmart a Champion Digimon, huh?" A smirk flashed on Lilamon's beautiful face as she approached the boy. "Maybe I should take care of you myself…"
"Not so fast! Flower Cannon!!"
Lilamon yelped as a green orb of energy streaked towards her. She could have countered it, but in her moment of panic she acted on instinct and evaded the attack instead. She huffed in a dignified annoyance and narrowed her eyes towards her attacker…and her face reddened with fury as she took in the appearance of the elegant flower woman who hovered in front of her. They appeared to be similar in many ways, but the differences were also notable.
Lilymon however, paid no attention to Lilamon. She looked down at Adam. "The girls and I will handle this from here. Adam, you and Sagittarimon go back to the sanctum. TobuCatmon wants to see you two. It is very important."
Adam wanted to ask more, but his eyes then darted back at forth between the two flower women. A fleeting image of the catfight he had witnessed between Fairymon and Shutumon suddenly came back in mind. He sweatdropped, nodded and teleported himself towards Sagittarimon, before both of them vanished just as Sagittarimon released a Celestial Judgment Arrow towards the Veggiemon and Petaldramon.
They rematerialized inside the sanctum, with Sagittarimon devolved back into Patamon. TobuCatmon looked at them urgently; he was pulling away the rattan mat which was covering the sanctum's marbled floor. Adam's eyes widened upon seeing the drawing etched onto the floor. But he was just about to open his mouth, when TobuCatmon cut him off.
"No time to explain, Adam. JD and Agumon are in danger, and you're the only one who can get them back here with your teleportation power."
Adam tried to hide his displeasure. "Me?" He asked, as TobuCatmon pulled his arm towards the center of the depiction, having him stand on the white-colored circle. Then, the boy watched as TobuCatmon placed a small pile of glistening ruby powder on the red-colored circle. "What are you doing?"
"This magical diagram will enhance your teleportation power momentarily," TobuCatmon explained. "It will enable you to teleport all the way to the Dark Ocean dimension to rescue Joshua and Agumon; they are good again – Xianamon confirmed that just now. And they are in grave peril. Only you can help him."
Adam inhaled his breath deeply. He knew next to nothing about the Dark Ocean, but from TobuCatmon's panicky demeanor he could guess that it wasn't a place that he'd want himself to be. Looking up at Patamon, he noticed that Patamon was looking apprehensive.
"Dark Ocean? Are you sure?" he asked Patamon.
"Yes. Xianamon had just astral-projected there and she met them," TobuCatmon said. "Please, ask no question. I can't sit still knowing that Joshua and Agumon are trapped in that horrible place. Their very fates now depend solely on you now, Adam. Can you put aside your difference towards him – Liu Ying had done just that – and get them out of there?"
Adam scowled, before nodding wordlessly. TobuCatmon chanted something, and Adam felt warmness radiating from the white circle on which he was standing. Patamon quickly landed on his head, grabbing it tight, as if worried that he would fall. The red circle glimmered as well. Then, Adam's Digivice flickered as swirls of white light drowned both of them.
TobuCatmon watched Adam and Patamon teleporting away, and heaved a relieved breath. Then, all of a sudden, something crossed his mind and he let out a panicked gasp.
"I've got them there…but how am I going to get them back?"
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Author's Notes:
The inclusion of the Dark Ocean seems to have garnered positive responses from reviewers. With that in mind, I have tweaked in the plot a little, somewhat merging two subplots in one. It works in favor of the story, even better than the previous plot. That way I can move on to the next, darker, arc quickly. Hence, you can see a slight hint given somewhere in the chapter, of a familiar character…whether he will play a role or not, you will have to stay tuned.
I'm taking my own stab in the whole Lilymon VS Lilamon battle. I adore Lilamon a lot, actually, after watching her in Savers. I thought; she'd make a perfect General. Thus, she becomes the Dryad General. Tell me what you think about this. And Sunflowmon's here as well. I didn't like her at first, but she sorts of grew in me.
Petaldramon would be the third Frontier's Digimon appearing in Wira Digital – first being Fairymon, then Shutumon. Similar to the latter two, Petaldramon stands as a Champion Digimon.
Sagittarimon Radiant Mode is the result of a Golden Armor Digivolution… I know that technically Golden Armor Digivolution can only be achieved with the Golden Digi-Eggs of Miracles and Destiny, but work with me here. I'm having the Ivory Gem to act as a Golden Digi-Egg.
With the ShadoWira joining the DigiWira, they will simply be referred as DigiWira from here onward, now that they're good. The fusion Digivolution will be called the Digital Access Digivolution.
Also, while watching Savers I noticed that Thunderbirdmon, or Bio-Thunderbirdmon, has the attack called Thunder Storm. One reviewer has pointed that out to me as well. I of course, have no idea about that while introducing Samudramon in chapter 16. I decided to change his Thunder Storm attack name into the Cosmic Thunderstrike. Sounds more menacing, eh? Also, Satriamon has four attacks, so in this chapter Samudramon receives his fourth attack as well, called the Double-Edged Thunderblades.
Glossary:
Doa Selamat: an event conducted for Muslim special occasions. The special occasions can be a lot of things, from engagement, marriage, having passed major exams or done before the examinations, when a baby is safely born, a new job, moving away, and lots more. It usually includes prayers and making supplements for the intended occasion to be blessed by Allah, and traditionally it is followed by a dinner for the guests. (N.B: I'm explaining this based on my own experience…but I'm not sure of its proper definition, so anyone, feel free to correct me on this one if I'm way off the true definition)