A/N: Hey there guys! I know I haven't updated this story in a while, it's just because I didn't really know what to do past the point I was originally at so I took a breather and started working on other stories! So now, I'm back to this one and I'm super excited because as soon as this story is over I'm planning a sequel that will follow along with a different Digimon series. Anyway, that'll be explained later on, and just fyi this story is going to be like ten chapters long max probably. It might change up, but this really isn't gonna be a long one. Anyway, this chapter the gang gets back into the Digital World!
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, only my OC's.
Let Your Spirit Evolve
Chapter 4: The Five Feudal Lords
"What's the Digital World?" Lia asked, moving closer to the group of Legendary Warriors, raising an eyebrow at the group. "And what are you all doing here anyway?"
The warriors looked to Lia in shock before sharing a look and looking back at the red-head. "We got a text message?" Tommy said not sure whether or not he should be answering Lia's question.
Lia's eyes widened. "You got sent that text message too? No way, I thought that was from my uncles messing around with me again!" Lia exclaimed. The others stared at her in confusion. Lia grinned sheepishly. "They normally send me texts like that so that they could kidnap me and drive me home faster or take me out to eat. They like messing with me sometimes. But if you guys got it too then it can't be them. So who sent it out?"
Takuya scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's kind of hard to explain…"
"Let me see your phone," Kouji demanded. Lia rummaged through her pocket and tossed Kouji her phone. The boy quickly scanned through the girls' inbox and saw the two text messages that the others had received—he also saw one from Uncle T that said 'Get to your place for pizza and TV ASAP! And bring the pizza! :)' but he chose to ignore that message. Lia was telling the truth, but why would she have been sent a text? She wasn't a Legendary Warrior. She hadn't been with them when they came to the Digital World. It didn't make sense. "She's got it too," Kouji announced.
JP shrugged. "Think it was an accident?"
"No, Ophanimon wouldn't send it accidentally, this must mean something," Zoe pointed out.
"But what does it mean? Does it mean there are more Legendary Warriors?" Kouichi inquired.
Kouji frowned. "You think that may be it?"
Takuya shook his head. "Ophanimon would've told us if—"
"What the hell are you guys talking about?"
The group all turned to look back at Lia who looked as if she was horribly confused and shocked by the people in front of her. That was probably due to the fact that she was horribly shocked and confused. Takuya winced. "We forgot you don't know what's happening. I'm sorry, let me explain. Right now we're headed to the Digital World and it's exactly what it sounds like. A Digital World separate from our own and it has Digital Monsters called Digimon. Well, there not like monster monsters. They're really cool actually! Well, the nice ones… Anyway, we're humans that can use these devices called D-Tectors that can transform us into Digimon and because of this we're Legendary Warriors put in charge of maintaining balance between the two worlds."
Lia absorbed all the information being presented to her and nodded in understanding.
"I get it… you got hit in the head during the football game. We're on our way to the hospital to get you checked out and the others are going on with the delusion until we get there. That actually is pretty smart. You know if he actually knew that he was injured he'd probably start to freak out and—"
"Lia, he didn't get injured," Zoe interrupted her friend.
Lia smiled and winked at her friend. "No I know he's definitely not injured."
Tommy shook his head. "No, Lia we're not kidding. We're all serious."
Lia looked ready to laugh before she looked over at the serious expressions on everyone's face. Her smile soon melted away and her eyes narrowed. "Are you all hearing yourselves right now? A Digital World? Legendary Warriors? This isn't a fantasy, this is the real world! There's no such thing as—why are the lights flickering?" Lia asked as she looked up and at the ceiling where the lights were flickering.
The warriors immediately tensed. Zoe and Kouichi latched onto the rail closest to them, Takuya went for the handle near the door, JP and Tommy grabbed onto a rail on the bottom of the Trailmon, and Kouji moved forward and quickly grabbed Lia with one arm—seeing as she was just standing there in confusion—and grabbed onto the pole in the center of the Trailmon with the other. Their reactions were done right in time seeing as the lights completely turned off and the Trailmon started to incline, turning completely vertical so the teens were all hanging. Lia started screaming in surprise and caused Kouji to roll his eyes and try to calm her down as he hung onto the pole with one arm as if it was completely normal. Tommy was laughing while JP looked like he was going to be sick. Takuya seemed to be okay with the situation as did Kouichi. Zoe, however, was losing her grip.
"Kouichi, I'm slipping!" Zoe shouted. Kouichi looked over and noticed that Zoe was only holding on with one hand seeing as her other was in a sling. "Kouichi!" Zoe screamed as she got down to her fingers on the rail. He adjusted his grip to hang on by one hand and reached out to grab her hand with his other one, but he was too late.
Zoe screamed as she lost her grip and started falling.
"Zoe!"
Zoe closed her eyes and braced for the pain but was shocked when she felt someone catch her and hold her to them protectively. She opened her eyes and looked directly at Takuya who was holding onto her with one hand effortlessly as his arm was hanging onto the handle above his head. "You okay?" Takuya asked in worry. Zoe felt her face heat up as she nodded.
Suddenly their phones began to glow in their pockets—well two phones glowed in Kouji's pocket seeing as he still had Lia's phone—as their phones changed from cells to streamline rectangular D-Tectors. The spirits of all off the warriors flashed upon their bodies. "What the hell is going on?!" Lia screamed. Everyone turned their heads and saw an image of a white skinned human looking Digimon flash in Lia's place. The Digimon had snow white skin, golden hair flowing down freely, and a silver dress spilling to the floor with slits up the sides up to mid-thigh. The dress had long sleeves that flowed past her fingertips and a scoop neckline with a gold star pin just at the waist connecting to a black sash. The eyes were as vibrant gold as her hair and there were black swirl markings starting from the corner of her eyes and swirling down the sides of her face, ending at her chin.
The image soon disappeared however as the lights come on again and the Trailmon righted itself and stopped. And everyone fell on top of one another.
"Kouichi, did you really have to let go and fall on me?!"
"I slipped!"
"At least you're not on the bottom, Takuya!"
"Kouichi off, you're crushing Zoe!"
"You're BOTH crushing me!"
"JP, get your foot out of my ribs!"
"Sorry Tommy!"
"Minamoto get your fat ass off of me!"
"If this wasn't such an awkward position I'd just ignore you and lay here because of that comment."
"Just get OFF!"
Everyone quickly scrambled to their feet and Lia moved as far away from the others as possible. "The hell is going on here?!" Everyone stared at Lia in shock. Lia frowned, looking around the group. "Why are you looking at me like that…?"
"Your leg…" JP muttered, pointing to Lia's leg.
Lia looked down and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She moved both her legs and found that there was nothing wrong with—
"How did me knee get fixed…?" Lia asked, looking up in shock, seeming to get more and more freaked out as the moments ticked on.
"I don't know but whatever it is got my shoulder and wrist back to normal too," Zoe spoke up, removing the sling and moving her hand around without problems. "It must be because we're back in the Digital World."
Lia looked at Zoe in sheer confusion before the doors opened on the Trailmon. She looked at the door and smiled. "Finally you guys will get some sense knocked into you," Lia spoke triumphantly, running towards the door. Kouji winced.
"Lia, wait!"
Lia ignored him and continued running out of the Trailmon. As soon as she was out and the light stopped blinding her eyes she looked around and screamed, skidding to a stop and falling backwards. Kouji, who had taken off behind her, reacted quick enough to catch her before she fell completely and slowly lowered her to the ground keeping an arm wrapped around her the front of her shoulders, seeing as Lia had gotten a death grip on his forearm soon after stepping off of the Trailmon. "T-They're…"
"Take your time; it's a lot to take in I know."
Takuya and the others ran out of the Trailmon about to ask why Lia screamed before they looked in front of them. "What—oh… so does she believe us now?" Takuya asked. The group was standing in the middle of one of the forest sections of the Digital World, but what was most shocking was the amount of Digimon around them. There were Digimon in In-Training form and in their Rookie forms. The Digimon were all chattering excitedly jumping up and down. Lia opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to come up with something to say as she tried to comprehend what was happening.
"Lia…?" Zoe spoke up, hoping her friend wasn't having a mental break down.
"T-They… a-are real?"
Kouji nodded and patted her back slightly. "Yes they are."
"A-And everything you guys were saying…"
"That's real too, yes."
"A-And t-they are D-Digimon?"
"Yes."
Lia looked at the Digimon and stood up from her feet, Kouji standing up soon after her to make sure that she wouldn't spontaneously fall over again. Lia stared at the Digimon in front of her. "They're… They're…" Lia trailed off as she moved forward to grab a pink colored Digimon with tiny hands and big eyes. All of the Warriors tensed, ready for the worst—half expecting Lia to start hitting the small Digimon to see if it were real or not—but sweatdropped at what they saw.
"SO CUTE!" Lia cooed, rubbing her cheek against the small Digimon's face, laughing along with the other little creatures. "Aw these little guys are just adorable! If the rest of the Digital World is like this I'm so okay with this!"
"Well, she's taking this better than expected," Kouichi deadpanned.
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, I thought she might freak out about all this and think she went insane."
"She's already abnormal as it is," Zoe spoke up with a shrug.
"Shoo! Shoo! Everyone back to the fortress! You know we are not supposed to be out, even if it is to see the Legendary Warriors!"
The teens all turned to look at the small Digimon walking forward with a pink band around his waist and a slightly taller yellow Digimon with red pants and large ears following behind him. They warriors grinned. "Bokomon! Neemon! Man it's great to see you guys!" JP exclaimed, looking down at the Digimon who had been with them since their first trip into the Digital World.
"You guys got tall!" Neemon spoke up, getting his waistband snapped by Bokomon.
"That's what happens when human children age, Neemon! And bring the rest of these Digimon back to the fortress!" Bokomon ordered. Neemon complained before he started ushering the younger Digimon—taking the one out of Lia's hands—into the forest. Bokomon then turned to the teenagers.
"It is very good to see you all again, but we must get out of this area quickly!" Bokomon said seriously, waving for them to follow him. The teens all shared confused looks before following behind the tiny Digimon. They headed into the forest and started walking before Bokomon turned his head slightly to look at Lia.
"Hello, I do not believe we've had the pleasure of meeting."
Lia blinked. "Me? I'm Lia. It's nice to meet you… Bokomon?"
"Yes, dear that is my name. And do not fret about finding your spirits; they're in the fortress so you do not have to go to all the trouble of finding them, which will be extremely helpful in our current situation."
"Whoa, wait, she's got spirits? I thought that she got sent here accidentally?" Takuya spoke up.
"And why are we going to a fortress? What's going on?" Kouji added on.
Bokomon sighed. "Answering Takuya first, yes she does have spirits and no she was not sent here by accident. There was something that was not written in the book about the Legendary Warriors that was in my possession. I learned from Ophanimon that there were not just ten Legendary Warriors, but twelve. Your friend Lia is one of the other two Legendary Warriors, but this wasn't known because these warriors were thought to be long gone."
"Hold the phone there; you're saying I'm a Legendary Warrior like them?" Lia asked, jerking a thumb over to the group of teens beside her. At Bokomon's nod she smiled. "That's so cool."
Kouji rolled his eyes and looked to Bokomon. "So that leaves the question of what's going on. Why were we called back?"
"Unfortunately the Digital World is in peril again. A few months ago five monsters appeared, claiming to be the 'Five Feudal Lords' and declaring themselves rulers of all Digimon. And as expected many Digimon did not take the proclamation lightly and tried to get rid of the Feudal Lords, but to no avail. These creatures… they're neither human nor Digimon but some combination of the two. Not like you all, you understand? They're far more terrifying. They have taken over nearly all of the Digital World excluding the Infinite Ice Ridge. We need your help to stop them from taking over the world and riding the Digital World of all Digimon."
Takuya raised an eyebrow before smirking. "Overthrowing and taking down these so called 'Five Feudal Lords' and saving the Digital World, huh? Sounds like fun!"
"Yeah, we can do this no problem!" Tommy cheered along with their leader.
JP shook his head. "Sounds like it could be pretty dangerous."
"Like anything in the Digital World isn't dangerous?" Kouichi pointed out.
"Come, the entrance to the fortress is just up ahead," Bokomon announced, leading the group to an old looking tree. Bokomon pushed the front of the tree in, revealing a secret door that slid out of the way and leaded to a hole directly in the ground. "Follow my lead!" Bokomon instructed as he jumped down the hole and seemed to disappear into the darkness. The Legendary Warriors all looked down the small opening.
"Uh… who's going first?" JP asked when no one else moved or spoke.
Takuya and Kouji shared a look…
…and pushed JP in.
"AHHH I HATE YOU GUYSSSSS!" JP's voice echoed as he fell into the darkness.
Kouichi raised an eyebrow. "Huh, sounds like a long way down."
"Maybe we shouldn't have pushed JP in like that?" Tommy suggested looking to Takuya and Kouji. The two boys merely smirked. "Uh guys… I don't like the way you're—"
And then Tommy got pushed in.
"JERKS!"
Kouichi noticed the looks he was receiving from Takuya and Kouji and held up his hand. "I'll save you the trouble," Kouichi muttered before jumping in.
And then there were four.
Takuya and Kouji shared a look at the same time Zoe and Lia shared glances. Simultaneously Takuya had lunged for Zoe just as Zoe tried doing the same. Kouji had tried to get a grip on Lia, but Lia had somehow managed to get around him and jump on his back, trying vainly to move him over to the edge. Takuya and Zoe paused seeing this before smirking. Lia and Kouji caught the gesture. "Run Minamoto run!" Lia shouted, too late. Takuya had tripped Kouji while Zoe pushed him from behind, causing Kouji and Lia to both fall into the darkness, screaming about how they'd get revenge all the way down. Takuya and Zoe had a stare down before Zoe held her hands up.
"Truce; wanna go together?" Zoe offered, holding out her hand.
Takuya blushed a bit before nodding and grabbing her hand, jumping in with Zoe. The two screamed as they fell for a few seconds before they hit something hard and metallic at an angle and began sliding down through twists and turn. "Whoa this is fun!" Takuya whooped as they continued on the slide, pulling Zoe closer to himself so they would have enough room in the slide. A light appeared at the end of the slide and before they knew it they were out of the slide and being sent into the air, only to land on their group of friends below them.
"Okay… not so much fun anymore," Takuya complained as he landed on top of Kouji, and Zoe landed on top of Takuya. Kouji had his elbow out and essentially had elbowed the boy in the stomach. Underneath Kouji was Lia who was sandwiched in between the Kou-twins awkwardly. Kouichi was on top of Tommy who looked like he was not at all content with his position on the bottom getting crushed, while JP was at the very bottom, groaning in pain.
It took a bit of shuffling and curses, but soon the teens were on their feet and looking around the underground compound they were in. There were hundreds of Digimon in the large room and a hallway leading to a back room. Bokomon waved at them from over by the hallway and the group quickly made their way over to the small Digimon and followed him down the hallway. The hallway led to a pair of large double doors which Bokomon pushed open to reveal Ophanimon, Cherubimon, and Seraphimon all standing around a table with maps opened up and a large treasure chest in a corner of the room.
The three Celestial Digimon looked up and looked at the Warriors in relief. "Thank goodness you three have come. I hope you had no trouble in getting here?" Ophanimon asked, straightening up from her previous position, hunched over the table.
"No problems whatsoever, but I hear you need our help?" Takuya spoke up.
Seraphimon nodded. "I take it Bokomon took the liberty to explain everything to you?"
"Yup."
"Marvelous, now we can explain our plan," Cherubimon spoke up. "Come gather around so that we can explain." The group walked over to the table and circled around to get a look at the map. All of the areas on the map were red except for two areas that were blue.
Zoe's eyes widened. "Please tell me the blue represents where the Feudal Lords are."
"Unfortunately it's quite the opposite," Ophanimon spoke up. "The blue areas are what Digimon have control of. The Feudal Lords have taken over nearly all of the Digital World, even the seas. We need your help to take down the Feudal Lords in the five regions that they are residing in. From our scouts we've learned that the Feudal Lord of Sorrow resides in the Dragon's Eye Lake, the Feudal Lord of Malice resides in the Gear Savannah, the Feudal Lord of Greed resides in the KaratsukiNumemon Mountains, the Feudal Lord of Lust resides in the Sneyato Forests, and the Feudal Lord of Hate resides in the Dark Continent forest."
Seraphimon took over speaking. "Our plan is to create a force of older Digimon who are willing to fight against the Feudal Lords, to defend the underground fortress here and the Infinite Ice Ridge from the Feudal Lords, while the Feudal Lords are being dealt with. And that's where we want you to come in. If you can take on the Feudal Lords we can divide our groups in two and defend the remaining two areas and keep them from falling into their hands."
Kouji nodded. "Alright, we understand that but there's something I'm curious about. You said that there were twelve Legendary Warriors, but including Lia now that only makes eleven. Where is the last one? He or she didn't arrive with us."
Cherubimon nodded. "The last Warrior did not arrive with you because they are already in the Digital World. Word has gone around that the Warrior has been the defender of the Infinite Ice Ridge which is why they have yet to fall. We have tried to recruit the Warrior to our cause but they refuse unless Digimon go to protect the Ice Ridge. We have already sent half of our Digimon guards over to the Ice Ridge to protect them, so we can get the Warriors' assistance; we are waiting to receive word that the guards have made it to the Ice Ridge."
"So do we wait for this person to show up?" JP asked.
"And how were they already in the Digital World?" Kouichi asked.
"We are unsure as to why they were in the Digital World already. The only one who knows who the Warrior is and where they're from is Merukimon. The Warrior has been said to reside within the perimeter of the Ice Ridge with Merukimon. As for waiting, I believe that we must move without the final Warrior. When the guards reach the Ice Ridge the Warrior will come directly here to receive orders then go to join you," Seraphimon explained.
"I will inform you all whenever the Warrior is headed to join you using your D-Tectors," Ophanimon started before heading over to the chest. "But first, Miss Lia must get her spirits." With that Ophanimon opened the chest and two lights shot out heading for Kouji's right pocket. The Warrior of Light fumbled to grab Lia's D-Tector and tossed it to the girl before the lights disappeared into the device. The screen glowed a bit before remaining dormant once again. "Uh… what are spirits?"
"The spirits of the Legendary Digimon for which your represent."
"Okay… and I use these spirits how?"
Tommy smiled. "Just watch us when we digivolve and it'll be explained!" Lia nodded.
"When do you want us to head out?" Takuya asked.
"As soon as possible," Cherubimon said. "The closest area is the Dragon's Eye Lake. It is a two day journey form here. Bokomon and Neemon will be sent to assist you and guide you to some of the more difficult to get to areas."
Takuya nodded and smiled. "Alright, so we've got two days to get to this lake, might as well make tracks now! Let's get ready to move out you guys!"
"Thank you so much for your help."
Takuya waved it off. "No thanks necessary! Don't you three worry; we'll save the Digital World! You can count on us!"