Back again, are we? SOOOO sorry this took so long to get out, but my family's moving, so I've beenbusy packing and waiting for someone or other to call so I can get online (stupid dailup!) Anyway, the next chapter won't come for at least another three weeks. I'll be out of the country for two weeks (leaving Monday) and when I get back I have to unpack in the new house. Sorry! On the bright side...I have massive inspiration for two more Frontier stories (not counting ATTWT) and 2 Adventure quartets (8 stories!) plus vague ideas for two more much later down the road.. Yay!
Disclaimer: Hmmm… Just look at the word: Dis. Claim. Er. It's the thing that does the opposite of claim Digimon as my own. That's all there is to it.
Old DemonsChapter 10: Souls of Darkness
Lowemon, tired and sore after his battle with Duskmon, approached Kouichi. The boy was sitting hunched over, head in his hands. Lowemon placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up.
"Why?" Kouichi cleared his throat and began again. "Why is this happening? I thought Duskmon was dead. How can both of you be alive?"
"Duskmon was never really dead," Lowemon said gently. "I don't know that I can answer 'why'… Both forms of the Warrior of Darkness should not exist together, but they will as long as both forms of darkness exist in you."
"What are you saying?"
"I know you side with your brother and the DigiDestined, but a part of you sides with Duskmon. It was created when Duskmon was born, and it has slept within you since he was banished. Duskmon hopes to wake this side of you and to make it stronger than you. If your other side wins, Duskmon will destroy you, and me in the process."
"You?" Kouichi shook his head. "I don't understand."
"The spirits of the Legendary Warriors are connected to their humans. If the human dies, so does the spirit. This is true for all the Warriors, even Duskmon."
"But they don't all have humans. Ranamon, Grumblemon, Arbormon, Mercurymon… How are they alive then?"
Lowemon's eyes glinted with some secret amusement. "They do have humans; make no mistake. Those four simply have yet to be called upon."
"So now you can see the future?" Kouichi asked sarcastically. Lowemon made no reply. "Who? Who are the other four?"
"That is not for you to know. Not yet, anyway. But when the time comes, the ten human Warriors will meet."
Kouichi hesitated, taking it all in. "How do you know all this? About Duskmon, I mean."
"Duskmon and I are technically the same spirit. I know what he's planning and doing, and he know the same for me. He'll catch up with us eventually. I know he will. All we can do at this point is prepare for the confrontation."
"Like we can prepare for something like this," Kouichi scoffed. "I'll be lucky if I even survive in this stupid place."
Lowemon laughed. "You're just in one of the less hospitable sectors. But then, Agunimon shaped it; what do you expect?"
Kouichi smiled faintly. "Sounds just like Takuya," he muttered. "So what are the other sectors? I think Sulamon mentioned them."
"Well, there are three central sectors – Water, where the Gatehouse is, Wood, and Thunder, in the grasslands. These three are surrounded by four more. We're in the northwest, Fire; northeast is Ice; Earth – the canyons – is the southwest; and Wind is the southeast. The Steel mountains border this land from the unshaped area beyond.
"The Fire, Ice, and Steel sectors are mostly inhospitable. Earth is good for hiding, but hiding at this point is basically pointless, and the canyons make for hard traveling. Our best bet is to travel over the Icefield while Duskmon is recovering so we can make our stand in the Wind sector. Water is more hospitable, but it puts too many people in danger."
"So…" Kouichi stood up, groaning. "East it is."
"The good new is you won't have to worry much about transportation." Fractal code surrounded Lowemon. "Lowemon: Slide Evolution…JagerLowemon."
Kouichi climbed onto the Beast Spirit's back, and they took off back past the line of pines and palms. The ground leveled out to the unbroken tundra Kouichi had glimpsed earlier. In a matter of minutes, the boy was freezing. He pulled the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt down over his hands and leaned in closer to JagerLowemon's back. The feline Spirit, realizing how cold his counterpart was, started talking:
"Duskmon will no doubt try everything in his power to bring out your worse side. There are very few things in this world right now that you can trust. Almost anything could be one of Duskmon's illusions."
"Like Kouji," Kouichi whispered.
JagerLowemon nodded grimly. "Duskmon knows you have a weak spot for your brother. He will try to use that to break your spirit and awaken your other side. Whatever happens, you can't let his illusions upset you."
"But what if it's not an illusion?"
"Illusions are purely in your mind," JagerLowemon explained. "They don't physically exist. So as soon as you touch one or something passes through it, it will disappear."
Kouichi seemed satisfied with that answer, but something else crossed his mind. "JagerLowemon, back there, Duskmon was about to kill me…Why? I thought he needed me alive."
"He does." The Warrior paused. "Duskmon wouldn't dare kill you yet. At this point, both he and I would die along with you. The name ofthat attack was Soul Assimilation. I believe he was trying to absorb your soul. With you merged with him, it would be easier for him to control you and eventually destroy you. With your good side out of the way, your corrupt side would take control of your body, he and Duskmon would combine, and together they would be unstoppable…With that plan ruined for now, he needs a strong display of negative emotion from you to give him any hold over you. Anger would be best, but many other things would work. Envy, for instance; greed, fear… Guilt."
Kouichi smiled sadly. "Is there really any hope, then? I already feel guilty for the things I've done."
"You can't give up hope," JagerLowemon growled. "It may be all we have in our favor."
With JagerLowemon's speed, it didn't take them long to cross the Ice sector. The sun was coming up as the horizon to the south changed. As they approached, they could make out hills. The temperature rose significantly once the crossed the border, a line of pine trees half stripped by the wind. They stopped well beyond the border. As JagerLowemon Slide Evolved into Lowemon, Kouichi hopped off and looked around.
"Duskmon is coming," Lowemon said.
"He heals fast," the human observed. "So what now?"
"We wait. We conserve our energy. We can't run away from him anymore, but we can be ready." Kouichi nodded.
A purple cloud, seemingly impervious to the wind, appeared minutes later. It solidified, turning red, and became Duskmon. The two Warriors stood facing each other, neither one making a move. Lowemon could sense Duskmon's thoughts. They were currently consumed by a hunger for power and a cold determination to get to Kouichi. Lowemon quelled his own fear. He didn't like his fate resting in the hands of a thirteen-year-old human, but he trusted Kouichi. The boy had a pure heart. If anyone could stand up to Duskmon, it was him.
>->
From his position on the crest of a hill just behind Lowemon, Kouichi watched the two Digimon face off. For another few seconds, all was silent. Kouichi shivered in the warm wind. Then the Warriors of Darkness drew their weapons in tandem.
Duskmon began, drawing a circle in the air with his sword. "Lunar Plasma." The red energy sphere flew at Lowemon, who raised his shield to block the attack. Simultaneously, Kouichi threw his hands up to shield his eyes from the light of the ensuing explosion.
"Shadow Lance!" Lowemon charged from the cloud of debris. His lance, glowing with purple energy, was aimed at Duskmon's chest. When the weapon hit, the sheer momentum behind the attack sent the corrupt Warrior sliding back.
"This is getting us nowhere," Duskmon said, getting up. "Let's end this now. Duskmon: Slide Evolution…Velgemon." The monstrous bird-like creature rose into the sky and flew large, slow circles. Lowemon silently Slide Evolved to his own Beast form. The cat and the bird started at each other, calculating their next moves. Velgemon dove down at JagerLowemon, who leaped up to meet him. They collided, and Velgemon drove JagerLowemon to the ground.
JagerLowemon, struggling to his feet, charged his energy for an attack. "Dark Master!" He released the energy at Velgemon. It formed into a set of jaws and closed around the evil Digimon before he could fly away.
When the attack ended, Velgemon glared at JagerLowemon, hate-filled eyes burning red. He spread his wings and took to the air, circling like a vulture. With each pass, his circle got larger and higher. Finally he stopped, glanced back at the other Warrior, and entered a steep dive. His wingtip touched down, and he began to draw an enormous circle in the ground.
JagerLowemon glanced once at Velgemon, who had already completed one quarter of the circle, then turned to Kouichi. The boy climbed onto the Digimon's back as he approached. They turned and ran for the edge of the circle. Velgemon was nearly three-quarters of the way around.
Kouichi knew there was no way they could make it out of the circle in time. JagerLowemon, apparently reaching the same conclusion, Slide Evolved into Lowemon.
"What are you doing?" Kouichi screamed as Lowemon picked him up. The Digimon didn't answer, but continued running. As Velgemon completed the circle and called out the name of the attack – Dark Obliteration – Lowemon threw Kouichi as hard as he could.
Landing just outside the closing sphere, Kouichi scrambled to his feet to look back at Lowemon. He caught one glimpse of the Legendary Warrior before the orb closed. It disappeared, taking Lowemon and a chunk of land with it.
"Lowemon!" Kouichi cried. This is all my fault, he thought desperately. Lowemon is gone and it's all because Duskmon is after me. Velgemon landed quietly nearby. Kouichi turned on him in a blind rage. "You! You did this!"
Velgemon Slide Evolved. "And to think, part of you is just like me."
"I'm nothing like you!" Kouichi spat.
Yes, I am.
Kouichi gagged. It had been his voice, his thoughts, but he had not thought it. He began shaking as he remembered Lowemon's words from earlier: He needs a strong display of negative emotions…anger would be best…
A sharp pain exploded behind the boy's eyes. He fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands. Darkness gathered around him, seemingly from nowhere. It was thick and black, even for Dusk. The darkness faded a few minutes later, revealing Kouichi, face down on the ground. He was unconscious.
Duskmon approached. He stared at the boy for a moment, as if testing something in the air around him. Finally, he smiled wickedly. "It has begun," he said aloud, to no one in particular. "The darkling has awakened."
Mwahaha! And to think, we'll be with Kouji and the gang for the next two and a half chapters. I'm so evil!
ATTWT: I have the pic done! His name is Jomei. He's…I don't know. I like him in some ways, but…he's kind of a jerk. Go see it at under the username childofhealing ! (It might not be up today... I'm having a little trouble... it should be up soon!)
Review, please!
-Child of Healing
Word count: 1738 (Okaaaay…Well, it is longer. A little. I don't know why I can't write longer chapters! Must be the dialogue…hmmm. Oh, well!)