"Is that actual rain?" gasped Joe as he looked out of the window into the darkening digital world. Large drops of water were falling from the sky and collecting on puddles on the ground outside.
"Well there was nothing in the file suggesting otherwise." Remarked Izzy as he sipped the warm Tea Manzeamon had prepared.
"But how many times have we come here? We've never seen it rain." He continued.
"Oh come sit dwon Joe." Complained Gomomon you're making me look bad."
The digidestined erupted into laughter. As Manzaemon had suggested, after their last battle with the V2 they had eaten and rested enjoying the warmth and shelter the toy houses were providing.
"I'm so glad we don't have to camp outside tonight." Sighed Mimi as she blew on her tea.
"Hey Izzy, do you mind explaining what happened out there? " asked Tai moving closer to his friend.
This cought everyones attention.
Izzy took a calm sip of his tea.
"Oh C'mon Izzy even I'm curious!" exclaimed Tentomon.
"Well." He said loking at his friends from over his mug. " The V2s actually revealed their own plan. They had deliberately initiated a battle yet none of them digivolved or attacked. That's when something the V2 Mimi had said; 'The crest has two Mimi's to pick from' well that got me thinking. If the v2 are identical to us and are trying to achieve the crests like us that means they must show that particular trait the crest represents... or… corrupt us to make them the preferred choice. It was all pretty simple after I made that conclusion."
Matt sighed. "Piedmon really wasn't kidding when he said we had to fight ourselves."
"At least we won this round." Said Gabumon rather cheerfully.
"Plus they won't be able to trick as many digimon into helping them now." added Sora.
"That menas next time they'll be itching for a fight." Said Biyomon.
"But we'll be ready for them." Added Agumon.
"As long as it's after this rain I'm fine…" Joe didn't even get to finish his sentence didn't a beep ominously echo around the room.
"The digivices found another crest!" exclaimed Hikari pulling out her D3. Its screen was blank.
Half dreading, half anticipating their findings each digidestined pulled out their digivices.
"I guess it's your turn." Said Patamon flying onto Takeru's head.
He looked down at his beeping D3 and sighed. "And I have a horrid feeling I know where we have to go."
They couldn't have taken more then 10 minutes to get ready but in those 10 minutes the rain outside had shifted to hail and back again.
"Couldn't the crest of hope have waited 'till the rain stopped to appear?" whined mimi looking out the pounding rain.
"we are so going to get sick after this." Admitted Sora looking down at her dirty tights where an stubborn hole was froming on one knee.
"Good think we have a doctor with us." Joked Tai slapping said digidestiend on the back.
"Treating 7 people with pneumonia in the digital world? Not my cup of tea."
"guys we better get going." Said Takeru, looking down at his digivice. "We can't let the V2s get the crest."
"Chill Takeru don't forget what izzy said, if our crests stay uncorrupted we should be ok." Scolded Matt.
"I know." Takeru sighed. "It's just…"
"The forces of Darkness."
"Yeah."
"Don't worry they won't get your crest."
Takeru didn't look so certain.
"We better get going." He said taking the first steady step outside. The rain was cold, it fell on him, seeping trough his school uniform, and streamed down his cheeks. He momentarily looked up at the dark sky.
They were not going to take his crest.
The other digidestined quickly thanked manzeamon and followed the young digidestined outside.
Hikari followed closely behind Takeru, gatomon walking beside her. She pulled the now soaked blazer over her head, trying to block out some of the rain. She looked towards Takeru as he mercilessly walked torugh the cold rain. In the dark of night it was hard to tell but no matter how much she narrowed her eyes and tilted her head she couldn't see any dark light surrounding him. She did notice that he rarely ever checked his digivice to see were they were meant to go. She knew he had said he knew where they had to go but he hadn't shared that information with anyone, not even her.
They all walked in silenece, the woods around them became ever thinner while the rain continued to increase in force. At some point a monsterous crash erupted around them, closely followed by a giant flash of lightning. Mimi squealed in surprise. But they continued to hike trough the mud. Takeru only stopped when he reached the base of the highest mountain on file island.
"Infinity mountain?!" exclaimed gabumon.
"Thought so." Murmured Takeru.
"We better get going, we have a long climb ahead of us." Said Tai.
And so they started to climb. Th higher they climbed, the stronger the wind became. They fought againsit it, struggling, trying not to to fall over the narrow ledge the walked on.
"Takeru is it far?" Called Hikari, holding gatomon in one hand to stop her from being carried by the wind.
Holding patamon in one hand for similar reasons and his digivice in the other Takeru carefully balanced on the narrow ledge. "It shouldn't be too far!" he yelled looking down at his digivice. The beeping light was pulsing much faster now.
"I don't like this Takeru."
"I kow Hikari, just try not to look down."
There was a moment of silence.
"I'm sorry I got everyone stuck out in this weather."
"we'll complain to azulongmon later, okay?"
Takeru was tempted to lough, he was cold and wet and standing hundreds of feet off the ground, but he wanted to lough. Hikari could always make him lough. Then lightening flashed, Hikari involuntarily screamed, stumbling forword, gatomon half flying out of her hands.
"Hiakri!" Takeru yelled trying to stop her fall but only succeding in being dragged down with her.
"Takeru!"
"Hikari!"
Their brothers voices were carried by the wind.
"Patamon Digivolve!" yelled Takeru as he pulled Hikari and Gatomon towords him.
There was a blinding flash. Takeru could feel two strond arms surround him, Hikari and Gatomon.
"Watch out!" warned Angemon as the wind pushed him against the mountain.
"Angemon!" yelled Takeru as they crashed into the mountain side, still holding on to Hikari, who had her face nestled in his chest.
"I can't fly against it!" yelled Angemon. "Not with all of you!"
Takeru silently cursed. He tried to look up, he saw numerous other flashes, proabably birdramon and Kabuterimon but this was accompanied by crashes so loud it could have been mistaken for thunder and rocks began to rain upon them.
"We've got to find a way out of this wind!" yelled Hikari looking up at Takeru, her large brown eyes slightly fearful.
Takeru looked left and right, but he couldn't see or hear anything.
"Angemon!" yelled Gatomon. "Don't fight the wind. Go with it!"
"Will that work?" Shouted Angemon over the gales.
"Only one way to find out." Yelled Takeru.
Grudgingly angemon forcefully kicked of the mountain side and opened his wings. There was a wretching sound and a painful groan from the digimon but to the children's surprise they were forcefully soaring upwards imitating the hurricane like wind currents.
"Matt!" He called as they rapidly flew past his brother .
Takeru wasn't sure if his brother heard him.
"How do we stop this thing!" yelled Hikari as they rose ever closer to the mountain's peak.
"We crash land!" yelled Gatomon.
The word hadn't even left her lips when a flash of dark blue light erupted from the clouded sky and crashed into Angemon. Angemon gasped in pain and crashed, on his back, on the narrow peak. The two digidestined and gatomon staggered to their feet.
"Angemon!" yelled Takeru.
"I'll be fine." Said the Angel digimon, using is holy staff for support, " I'm more worried about them."
Hikari and Takeru turned round to find themselves surrounded by a collection of dark digimon.
"oh look who decided to drop by." said an all too familiar voice.
"Matt!" called Takeru frantically looking around for the source of the voice.
"Sorry, but you were so close tough." Out of the surorudning shadows 8 children emereged, the v2s.
They stood smugly before him, a dark digimon hovering defensively over their heads or beind them.
"looks like the angel has finally fallen." Loughed V2 Hikari giving a creepily eveil smile for such a small girl.
"And without the other didigdestined these two will be easy to dispose of."
"Now Tai, remember what peidmon said , he doesn't want the boy dead, he wants to do it himself."
"Oh Sora you little spoil sport."
"Anyway, it is Takeru who must face this one. He is the only one who can claim this crest.
Takeru's eyes fell on the youngest V2, standing there, slightly shivering, his blond hair sticking to his small round face. He took a shaking step towards them, a devimon hovering above him, as if unaffected by the wind.
"It had to be a devimon didn't it." said Takeru crossing his arms. He wasn't sure if the V2 could have heard him but, at that point the little boy looked up, fearfully, at his dark digimon which, to Takeru, seemed rather strange.
Hikari was to consumed by her own toughts to pay any attention to the v2. She stared at Takeru, forcing herself to see what was not there. She was certain this time, no dark light was surrounding her friend. Could what she had seen surrounding Mimi really have been a trick of the light?
"I'm not fighting you." yelled Takeru as Angemon took several painful steps towords him. He had to buy his brother and the others some time, with all these dark digivovled digimon there was no way Angemon and gatomon could win…
No, that's what they wanted him to think. He had to have hope.
The v2, shakily turned his attention back towords him. Takeru almost took a step back in surprise. The v2 actually looked frightened, like an actual little kid. He could have sworn he saw tears melding with the rain running down the young boys cheeks.
"I don't want to fight either." The boy whispered, barely audible.
Had takeru heard right?
At that point Devimon attacked, forcing angemon to be pushed to the very edge of the small plataue.
No, he must have heard wrongly.
"Angemon!"
"Stay back Takeru!"
The two old enemies staggered in the wind, devimon delivering one red tinged attack after the other while all Angemon could do was block.
"This fight is boring!" complained v2 Hikari.
"I don't think Peidmon would mind if we helped quicken things along…"
"I've been itching for a fight all day."
That was all it took. Black garurumon, woodmon, mojyamon and dark tyranomon charged towards aNGEMON, Karatenmon and kuwagamon, uneffect by the gale, flew above them.
"Angemon!" yelled Hikari as Gatomon charged towords the champion digimon, vaguly aware that her counterpart was nowhere to be seen.
Takeru would have yelled too, not sure how much help that would have been but it was better then standing in the rain doing nothing. But he had his eyes focused on the V2 Takeru. The v2 digimon had charged past him, pushing the small boy from side to side oblivious to the protests only Takeru seemed to hear.
"Don't fight him!"
The v2 Takeru, was staggering to the point that he was almost over the edge.
One shaking step.
Another step.
Another.
"Watch out!" yelled Takeru running against the wind and rain as he saw the small v2 adruptly take a final fatal step leaped after him, grabbing the small boys hand in his own as he clung to the ege of the ledge with his free hand. They were instantly battered left and right by the wind but he refused to let the V2 go. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't
"Takeru!"
He wasn't sure who was calling him, it sounded as if it came from both below and above him.
"Don't let go!" He yelled to the V2, not sure if he could hear him or not. He could see them now, the tears of a child running down the V2's face. That's why he couldn't let him fall. He had to find away out of this. He would find a way out of this.
All at once, from some unkown source, a light erupted engulfing the two Takeru's. straining against the sudden brightness, Takeru forced himself to look up. He could see it , the crest of hope hovering above him. He had to accept it, to grasp it with his hand, but with both preoccupied he wasn't sure how he was going to do it.
He never had the chance.
A small hand grasped the the crest, blocking out its light. Hikari- v2 Hikari, looked down smugly from where she knelt leaning over the edge.
"Thank you for the crest Takeru." She loughed.
It all happened so fast. In a gust of black devimon appeared below him retching the v2 takeru out of his grip while the v2 Hikari melded with the shadows.
"No!" he yelled both with his voice and in his mind.
"Takeru!"
This time he was certain the voice came from below. He could just make them out, his brother and friends not too far below him. They had finally made it.
They were too late.
His arm was aching from dangling in the harsh wind. He could feel his grip loosenig he tried to pull himself up with his other hand but it just slipped in the muddy ground.
He was going to fall.
Then a cold hand grabbed his.
"Hang in there Takeru!"
It was Hikari, the real Hikari this time. She grabbed his wrist with both her hands, stopping him from slipping into the darkness. Besides her he could see a battle weary gatomon cradling an unconscious patamon in her arms.
"do I have any other choice?" he called back.
There was a blinding light below him and a shriek as birdramon struggled against the strong wind. She clasped the dangling digidestiend in her talons and forced herself up towords the peak, dropping an unsteady Takeru on the ground before turning back to biyomon.
"Takeru!" yelled Hikari running towards him, received to have him back safe.
But he just fell to his knees and punched the muddy ground.
The darkness had captured hope.
And there's another chapter! Hehe didn't really make it easy for Takeru poor guy. Like always i hope you enjoyed the chapter and continue to enjoy the ones yet to come although i am going to warn you all from now i might have to give the spotlight to the other digidestined as they struggle to reclaim their crests so i hope that doesn't spoil the story. I can now understand that the story designers in the series did not have it easy, writing different subplots for 8 different characters? I applaud them. so enough of my idle chatter haha i'll try to update soon :D please tell me what you think and stay tuned :D -LunaPendragon