Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.
-------------------------------------
Fights: Internal, External
-------------------------------------
Kumamon and Kazemon held their breath, watching the gray dorsal fin that was peeking just above the water. Kazemon let out a gasp and settled her feet on the ice. "Where do you think it's heading?" she asked.
Kumamon merely shrugged. "I could freeze it," he offered. He involuntarily took a step back.
His companion digimon noticed this. "Nervous?"
"You?"
"You're freezing pretty much everything in a five foot radius, Kumamon."
Startled, the ice warrior looked up to find Kazemon hovering above the ice she had stood on seconds ago, staring at it warily. "Sorry," he mumbled, trying to calm his frazzled nerves.
"Don't worry about it," she replied, keeping to the air. Her eyes scanned the area. A frustrated noise escaped her. "Where is she?"
"Ranamon?"
"Yeah!"
"I...don't know," Kumamon admitted, growing worried as well. "Kazemon, you don't think the shark-"
"No, don't be silly. Sharks are attracted to blood and fish-like things. So unless Ranamon looks like a fish-" The digimon paused here, tensing as she saw the fin slowly drift towards them. "But...Ranamon's a digimon. She has a head. She can attack the shark if it decides to attack her first."
"I heard...there are territorial sharks," Kumamon said slowly. His eyes were glued to the gray amidst the blue water.
Kazemon shook her head furiously and muttered, "Unless she doesn't want to hurt the shark...but that would be stupid. She doesn't have to hurt it, just discourage it."
For several more seconds, they both stood there, breathing harsh and rapid, gazing at the shark and awaiting its move. The fin disappeared, and both relaxed, but awaited the reappearance of Ranamon. After a minute or so, Kumamon realized he was drifting forward. Startled, he began flailing around on his floating mini iceberg, screaming for help and attempting to grasp the nearest thing to stabilize himself. This happened to be Kazemon's leg.
With a shriek, Kazemon was dragged into the icy depths, Kumamon below her. What is all of this? I don't see what's going on! She, too, began to flail, trying to reach for the ice again, until she noticed the blurry figure near the long trail of ice Kumamon had been separated from. That little...
Kumamon felt his hand getting kicked thoroughly, then grabbed. The pain he felt was intense, and the pressure from the deep didn't seem to help. I don't want to drown, he thought, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt the last of his breath go out unceremoniously through his mouth and then...
"Hurricane wave!" Kazemon shouted furiously, aiming her attack towards the end of the long stretch of ice. A column of water rose to negate it. "Ranamon, get out here!"
A groggy Kumamon rose to his feet and froze the water off his form. "What-" he started. When Ranamon's head rose out of the water, gazing defiantly up at Kazemon, Kumamon clamped his mouth shut. I was put with girls, and I don't know a THING about them. Where's the justice in that? For all I know, they could be angry with each other over boys! Wait...I don't know! Kumamon shook the thoughts from his head and looked from one group mate to another. Both were locked in a fierce glaring competition.
"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Kazemon. She lowered herself beside Kumamon and placed her hands on her hips.
Ranamon rose out of the water and pulled herself up on the nearby ice. She muttered something, and a sharp, thin wave sliced through the ice behind her, allowing it to dislodge. "Don't be stupid," she said, voice quiet. "Don't you realize what's happening?"
Kazemon continued to glare.
"You didn't feel it, then? I suppose it makes sense. You haven't been exposed to Lucemon. We have to lay low for a while. The Area..." She broke off. Her voice dropped to a harsh whisper. "The Area...the points are being activated." Ranamon held up a hand, revealing a black wristband with a blue stone embedded in it, backed by a silver design. "We were all given one of these. They allow us to access our digital forms, and we also have connection to Lucemon. He can call me at anytime," she explained quickly.
Kumamon allowed a grim smile to line his face. "So we've got to act in case..."
It wasn't hard to see where she was going. With a relieved sigh, Kazemon lowered her head. A second later, she looked up and gave a curt nod. "Right. We've got to act in case. But that shark-"
Ranamon just smiled thinly. "My act. But for now, I suggest Mr. Freeze here raises us higher in the air. It'll be a bit rough, but we don't want to be embedded in sand."
Quickly, Kumamon complied, making a tower of ice a good deal higher. He made sure the top was wide enough for all of them to stand on. They stood on the top, observing as a sudden gush of wind blew towards them, and in it, Kumamon could have sworn he felt a bit of sand.
-------------------------------------
"Kanaye's house," Fujitaka repeated again. "It has to be."
Ritsuo scowled openly, but Junpei tried to contain his anger. Through gritted teeth, he inquired in a steely voice, "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
Scowling in turn, the boy replied, "Because I didn't remember."
"I'm so sure!" Ritsuo suddenly shouted, stepping towards Fujitaka in a position to punch.
Junpei blocked this by stepping in front of the boy. He cringed from the impact of catching both of the other boy's hands in his own, and took a step back, muttering a string of curses under his breath. "You're letting this get to you," he said, "and that's not what we want. Keep your calm, Ritsuo. Save this for the bad guys."
With a growl Ritsuo pulled away, however roughly. This resulted in Junpei falling onto the cool cement and being helped up by Fujitaka. A wordless thanks was exchanged when they met eyes, but that was hardly what Junpei was trying to get through. He could see the troubled look in the youngest boy's eyes, and he suspected there was something being held back.
This is better than working with Takuya, Junpei thought, smiling inwardly. That is, if you subtract Ritsuo. Aloud: "We'll go to Kanaye's house then."
The other two nodded. Junpei soon found himself walking behind the other two boys, not even sure if they were taking him to the right place. Part of him wanted to walk ahead, but another part of him decided it wouldn't hurt.
Fujitaka slowed down to Junpei's pace and whispered in a low voice, "We have to be careful. You understand that, right?" He was met with a confused look. "Listen...uh...Lucemon has his sources. In a way, you're our prisoner. Got it?" he said.
Slowly, Junpei nodded. It began to sink into his head. Shaking his head in disbelief, he said, "Amazing..." and everything lapsed into a silence.
Seconds turned into minutes that seemed like hours. To Junpei, they seemed to be making no progress whatsoever. Several times, he unconsciously opened his mouth to point this fact out, but caught himself quickly and fell silent.
"I want candy," Ritsuo moaned out of the blue, stopping in his tracks and clutching his head in his hands. "This is ridiculous! I'm hungry, I can't think, and we aren't going anywhere." He continued to mutter to himself incomprehensibly about food and being lost.
The other two boys scowled. Junpei was about to step forward and hit Ritsuo on the head, but thought better of this when Fujitaka sent him a warning glance.
"Hurry up," the youngest boy said. "We have to get the idiot to Kanaye's house now." He sent Ritsuo a meaningful glance that went overlooked, and was misunderstood.
Junpei drew a breath. As much as he hated to do this, it was necessary. Calmly, he stepped in front of Ritsuo and turned around, shaking his head sadly. "Face it, you two," he said in a tired voice. If he hadn't wearing a watch, he would have sworn they had been out for hours. "We're lost."
He watched as the other two exchanged glances and nodded in grim agreement.
"So let's figure out what is doing this," Junpei added, slowly allowing his eyes to sweep through his surroundings.
Ritsuo gaped at him. "What do you mean?" he sputtered, taking a few steps back until he hit the wall of a nearby building. He jumped away from that, looking around himself, as if they were being watched.
A grim smile formed on Junpei's lips. "I think the Area...well, I think the Area formed by now..." He hesitated.
"And...?" Fujitaka pressed him for details.
Junpei swallowed and continued, "There's a digimon behind this. I know it."
-------------------------------------
The feeling was interesting, to say at the least. It was strange to feel the adrenaline running through him, the wind brushing past him in sharp strokes, and the familiar feel of his companions. The only strange thing was the last part, as he was reminded again and again that Shinya was Grumblemon.
"How much longer do you think this will take?" he could hear BurningGreymon shout above the loud sounds that seemed to come from KaiserLeomon's running.
From atop KaiserLeomon, Shinya doubled over. "Can we...stop...? I think I feel sick again," he muttered, covering his mouth with a hand while the other rushed to his stomach.
KaiserLeomon screeched to a stop. "Get off get off get off!" he shouted, resisting the urge to throw Shinya off. But the thought of vomit all over him was a bit unsettling.
"Give me a break." The fire warrior quickly swept his brother off the other digimon, and flew him towards the waterside.
Kouichi took the time to de-digivolve and collapse backwards, staring up half-lidded at the sickeningly pale blue sky. At the sound of gagging, he winced, shut his eyes, and rolled over onto his side, with his back to both Kanbara brothers, Takuya who had reverted to human form just seconds ago.
If anything was unbearable at the moment, it was the heat, something strange, considering Lucemon had brought back the Dark Area. It doesn't even look dark, Kouichi thought, rolling onto his other side. Feeling compelled, he asked aloud, "Shinya okay?"
Takuya walked over, supporting the staggering Shinya. "He's good," said the older boy. With a sigh, he collapsed on his knees, then bending forward to support himself with his palms. "Why is this place so hot?" he groaned, scrunching his face up before relaxing it, gasping as he did.
Weakly, Shinya sat down on the burning ground, cross-legged. He drew a breath and said, "I guess we're lucky we decided to travel beside the water, huh?"
"We're lucky there's any water," Takuya corrected with a scowl. His gaze quickly shifted to Kouichi, who sat up with a start. "Anything wrong?" the goggle boy asked.
The other boy lowered himself to the ground slowly, all the while keeping his eyes on what was ahead of him. "No," he said slowly, "Nothing wrong..." With a dull thud, his head met the ground.
"Liar."
Two pairs of eyes turned to Shinya.
The youngest of the three rose to his feet, swallowing and shifting from one foot to another. He bit his lip out of annoyance, pondering whether he should say anything more or not. When he reached a conclusion, his mouth opened and the words came out louder than either Kouichi or Takuya expected.
"Duskmon's gone, right? What happened? Where's Kouji? I bet everything I've got that Kouichi wouldn't be with us if Kouji were here. He'd want to go with Kouji, right?" Shinya looked at Kouichi pointedly.
Wincing, Kouichi tried to deny this. "That's not-" he managed, before Shinya continued.
"And if Duskmon were here, he'd be making all these rude jokes and stuff. Lowemon would be yelling at him. Lowemon's not even talking right now. I know I'm supposed to be the stupid little kid who's Takuya's brother, but I'd appreciate being informed, you know." He paused before adding, "After all, Grumblemon put me through this whole mess with Kanaye's help. At least I should know what I did." Shinya swallowed and looked at his feet. "Please?" he tried in a small voice.
"I think we better get a move on it!" Takuya exclaimed, jumping to his feet and laughing nervously. Turning away from his brother, he sent Kouichi an apologetic look.
Kouichi waved at it with a dismissive hand. "He's right," he said simply, gazing approvingly at Shinya. "I see where you get your method from, Shinya. I would say you're a total copy of Kouji or Takuya, but that's just demeaning. How about we walk right now? I'll tell you everything on the way." It was Kouichi's turn to stand up. "We could use the time to cool off," he added quietly, before he fell silent and began walking towards the water.
With a sigh, Takuya followed, grabbing Shinya's arm when the boy just stood there dumbly, staring after Kouichi. "Come on," Takuya said in a low voice. He hid an amused smile as Shinya scowled and brushed his hand away. The goggle boy then turned to Kouichi, staring at the other boy intensely as they walked.
"So tell me," said Takuya, "are you hiding something, then? If Shinya said you're a liar, you're a liar, and that means something's wrong. If something were wrong, it wouldn't just concern you, Kouichi. Keep in mind, we're your friends..." After glancing distastefully at the younger Kanbara, he added, "Well, I'm your friend. Shinya's my stupid, little, kid brother."
Kouichi smiled thinly at this. His gaze was kept glued onto the water, a dark and menacing blue. "Funny thing is, I'm not sure if anything's wrong or not. Let's start at the beginning. Shinya opened the point in Japan, but someone else opened the other two points. Who?" he said softly. "We could be facing more than just Lucemon, something larger. Somehow, last night, or maybe even before, Kouji was possessed. But how, Takuya? Nothing makes sense..." Kouichi shook his head. "And then there's..."
"Duskmon?" Shinya guessed, looking up with a bright expression on his face.
Swallowing, Kouichi nodded. "After fighting Kouji...no...while fighting Kouji, I realized the moves were familiar. They weren't Kouji's. Kouji has a more cautious style. This one was full out, like he knew he wasn't going to lose...just like..."
"Duskmon?" Shinya guessed again.
With a scowl, Takuya punched his brother's shoulder. "Shaddup!"
Another smile was suppressed, and Kouichi nodded. He turned his gaze to look behind him, where Shinya had stopped to rub his injured arm. Absentmindedly, he continued, "I saw a shadow of Duskmon behind Kouji after you all ran towards me. Out of all the digimon, I would have thought Lobomon, but not Duskmon. It's kind of strange. Why Kouji?" Softer, he added, "Why Duskmon?"
"And the egg?" Shinya asked. His hand still rested on his other shoulder.
Kouichi shrugged. "Somehow, it just...went into Kouji..."
"COOL!" the boy exclaimed, clearly amused.
"NOT cool," Takuya growled.
The two brothers exchanged a glare before they realized Kouichi had left them behind. Shinya yanked on his brother's sleeve before he could catch up to Kouichi. "Don't you think he seems a bit depressed? You know, more than usual? I mean, sure, Kouji possessed by Duskmon is bad, but I think there's more," he said in a harsh whisper.
"You're right!" Takuya added in a low voice. "Shall we tickle him and find out?" Shinya nodded eagerly in his agreement.
Just as they turned back to run up to Kouichi, the said boy called back, "I heard that. Don't think tickling me will work. I'll just digivolve and beat you up. And anyway, it's not like-" Kouichi stopped where he was, dead silent.
"It's not like what, huh? Not like we can't fight back? I'll show you-"
"Shut up, Takuya," Shinya hissed, elbowing his older brother.
"What?" Takuya exclaimed, reddening. He began to sulk, muttering incomprehensibly to himself.
Irritated, Kouichi snapped, "Takuya, be quiet. Do you hear that?"
All thought of an idiotic act escaped Takuya, and was replaced by a grave look. Quietly, he scanned their surroundings, trying not to move or make a sound. Beside him, Shinya did the same, but instead kept his eyes glued on Kouichi.
Something moved.
With a warning shout from Kouichi, Takuya digivolved quickly into Agunimon, just in time to block the assault of the spying digimon. Cursing under his breath, Agunimon threw his hands outward, sending the assaulter backwards, sliding to break his fall on the dirt ground.
Silence befell them, as Agunimon glared at the digimon in front of him.
Shinya was the first to break the silence. "Is this a joke?" he asked, scratching his head and staring confused at the little digimon.
The purple penguin glared. He jumped off the ground and landed on Agunimon's face. "Eternal slapping!" he yelled, but was immediately thrown off by a panicking Agunimon.
"Get off!" Agunimon snapped, hitting the penguin aside with a hand. Growling, he aimed his hand at the Penguinmon. "PYRO DARTS!"
Yelping, the digimon began jumping up and down, throwing up its wings and trying to blow the fire darts away. When the darts came no more, the Penguinmon stuck its tongue out at Agunimon, then turned around to leave, gulping as it did.
In front of the purple digimon stood a silent Lowemon, lance pointing at the smaller digimon's neck. "Surrender?" was all Lowemon said.
"Okay, okay!" the penguin squawked.
"Who sent you?" Agunimon growled, walking towards it so it was sandwiched between himself and Lowemon. Shinya ran up to one side, and they cornered it against small rock.
"No can say, buddy. It's part of the contract!" Solemnly, it pulled a rolled up piece of paper and held it up to Lowemon's outstretched hand.
"'I will sper you and your fiends if you give me your obsetions and go attack the kids. In change, you can't tell them who I am, and hafta beat them. If you don't do this, I get to keep your obsetions and fiends.' Signed, a really bad speller. I don't suppose he didn't go to school like he was supposed to?" Lowemon handed the contract to Shinya, who scanned it, stifling his laughter, and then handed it to Agunimon.
Angrily, Agunimon set the contract on fire at contact. "There. No contract." He lifted the Penguinmon up by the neck. "Now who is it?" His grip tightened around the penguin's neck.
"Agunimon, let him go. Our priority is to get to Hawaii first," Lowemon reminded him.
"...right..." Agunimon dropped the penguin unceremoniously on the ground. "You're coming with us, pipsqueak," he added as the Penguinmon crawled to his feet. "That okay, Lowemon?" He looked at his companion, who had fallen silent again.
Finally, Lowemon said, "We need to get a move on it. There are more coming. At the very least, we need to outrun them."
"Outrun them it is!" Shinya exclaimed, then began chanting, "Digivolve! Digivolve! Digivolve!"
Lowemon digivolved into KaiserLeomon and stared expectantly at Shinya. Scowling, Agunimon demanded, "And why can't you digivolve?"
Shinya just shrugged as he scrambled onto KaiserLeomon's back. "I'm just cool like that?" he suggested. "Can that penguin thing ride, too?"
"It's Penguinmon!" The purple digimon jumped up into Shinya's arms. "I like you kid," he commented. "Mon like you and me ought to stick together. Hey, is Mr. Bad-Temper riding, too?"
"SLIDE EVOLUTION," Agunimon yelled, getting Penguinmon's attention as he intended, digivolving into BurningGreymon. "I'm still here, buddy, more fiery than ever. Don't get your guard down."
Shinya laughed. "That's my-"
"Shush."
Surprised, Shinya gazed up at BurningGreymon, than nodded in understanding. "That's my tutor," he said, more solemnly than before.
Penguinmon snickered. "You've got one lousy tutor."
KaiserLeomon and BurningGreymon exchanged hidden grins. "Ready? Too bad. Let's go!" BurningGreymon shouted, pushing himself against a sharp breeze and keeping pace with KaiserLeomon. And on the other digimon's back, he could see two very flustered beings.
"By the way," KaiserLeomon yelled, "I think I know who our purple feathered friend's employer is."
BurningGreymon just grinned. He had a slight idea, too.
-------------------------------------
He stood at the doorway, eyes as two dark orbs that resembled black holes. One could become so immersed in them, it was impossible to get out. Thoughtfully, the boy scratched his chin. The conversation at hand wouldn't bode well for the one against him.
"What do you mean?" asked the man in a bored tone.
"You know very well what I mean, Lucemon." The last word was practically spat out. The visitor continued angrily, "We had an agreement-"
He could imagine Lucemon smiling thinly, leaning back in the chair and hiding his laughter. Fools, he thought. He can think what he wants. Both of them. So long as I get what I want...
A hand rose to touch his chest, in the general vicinity of his heart as pain coursed through his body. He did not bend under the pressure. Stay dormant, he thought with a slow exhale, and you will awaken soon. The throbbing faded, and he returned his attention to the two men.
"Agreement?" scoffed Lucemon. "You're dealing with a devil here, Taishi. What made you think I'd hold to an agreement? It's all words." The man rose to his feet. "Now, I do believe I have another guest at the door. "Can you show yourself out?"
That tone usually went with a smirk. The boy frowned. The smirk is usually followed by a fight...
"You will regret this," Taishi hissed, rising out of his chair in a dignified manner. With a low growl, he turned around and marched out the door, not even bothering to acknowledge the boy.
The boy watched the fading figure of the old man. Mr. Aizawa. Cherubimon. A fool, he thought, trying to keep a hold of himself as the pain radiated through his body, twice as painful as before.
A soft voice startled him. "Kouji, come in," Lucemon commanded from the doorway. The man smirked, leading the boy in and shutting the door behind them.
The smirk is usually followed by a fight...
"So, Kouji...or should I say Duskmon...?" The man in front of him, Lucemon's shadow, rose an eyebrow mockingly.
"Kouji is fine," the boy replied. Stupid. It's Duskmon, of course.
He chuckled and settled back down in his seat. "Duskmon it is. About our agreement-"
Time to catch him off guard. He smiled inwardly. "I thought you thought an agreement is all words? Well?" Considering what happened to Crusadermon and Dynasmon...well, I'm not going down. Dull eyes looked up at human ones.
Lucemon seemed taken aback. He quickly recomposed himself and stared back in a calm, serene manner. He cleared his throat. "Surely you didn't believe what I said for Aizawa applies to you...?" Noticing the blank, but at the same time, accusing look that Kouji was shooting towards him, Lucemon let out a nervous laugh. "It isn't the same! Aizawa is my enemy. I had fine print in my agreement, and he just didn't take the time to hear it."
"Nevertheless..." With a sweep of his right arm, Kouji sent a pile of papers to scatter on the floor, ignoring the annoyed growl that escaped Lucemon. Quietly, he picked up one. "Kouichi. You realize I could have told him...no...anyone else who you were? It wasn't that hard to figure out, especially when it's someone as obvious as you. You owe me to a certain degree...Lucemon."
"Of course, of course..."
"But what's the catch?"
A thin smile graced Lucemon's lips. "Kill Kouichi, of course."
Kouji suppressed a smile. "You think he's the real threat?" he asked.
At this, Lucemon seemed puzzled. The smile turned into a frown as he tried searching Kouji's face for an answer. At this point, Duskmon made the boy's face as stolid as possible. The frown deepened. "Are you insinuating that he isn't...?"
"The others are equally as powerful."
Scowling, Lucemon snapped, "Then destroy them all!"
"I don't owe you anything, Lucemon."
Tight-lipped, Lucemon rose to his feet. "Well...you want your own body, don't you?"
"What do you think?" snapped the boy. "My other one deteriorated spying for you."
"I don't think not giving me away is good enough. Destroy Kouichi, and we'll talk."
"Destroy Kouichi and I'll get my body," he corrected.
A scowl appeared on Lucemon's face.
A scowl marks the end of the conversation, Duskmon recited in his head. "Then it's a done deal," he said quickly, rising to his feet. "I destroy Kouichi, I get my body, you get the world, and you leave me alone. Think of it this way: I'll be destroying not only Kouichi, but Kouji too. Twins like them...especially them...don't really take each other's deaths real well, especially if they were the one to do the killing," he commented, then turned around to leave.
Lucemon's eyes glittered as he watched the fading form of Kouji. "It seems," he mused, "I'll have to watch you, too, Duskmon."
-------------------------------------
"HELLO?" Kouji yelled, kicking the wall to his right. He was stuck, and he wasn't even sure where he was stuck. "HEY, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, DUSKMON."
Quiet. You're hurting my ears.
"You mean my ears," the boy corrected, gazing up at the gray sky.
Gray.
Everything around him was gray.
I really hate this color, Kouji thought, sniffing in disapproval. "Couldn't you have at least made everything blue?"
I'll make it black if you don't shut up.
Scowling, the boy suggested, "Just let me out, and you won't hear anything else."
But then I won't have a body.
"A body...why can't you just take Kouichi's body?" snapped the bandana boy. After all, I don't think Kouichi would mind being a power hungry digimon coming after me again. Who knows? He might even prefer working for Lucemon over living with me.
"Don't be stupid."
Kouji jumped back at the sound of Duskmon's voice, which, up until now, had been merely thoughts. He turned around to see the form of Duskmon behind him. "H-hey...don't do that," he mumbled weakly.
Staring coldly down at the boy, Duskmon said, "Do you think Kouichi doesn't care about you? I suppose you didn't see him after I fought him as you..."
"How could I?" Kouji snapped, glaring angrily.
Duskmon waved a hand towards Kouji. "Think you want to see it. No, you can't think that you can get out and get out like that," he said in an exasperated tone, noticing Kouji jumping up and down and muttering curses with his eyes shut tight.
Cursing once more and kicking the wall to his right again, Kouji snapped, "Just let me out! You're ruining my life!"
"You think you didn't ruin mine? Or Kako's? What about Takuya and the rest of the group? Did you forget about your own brother?" Duskmon let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "You deserve this more than anything, Kouji. If you hadn't been poking around and accepting the clues Lucemon gave you, you wouldn't be in this mess."
Angrily, Kouji clenched his fists by his side. "If I had Lobomon-" he started, but stopped. Again, he tried, "If I had my D-Tector-" and stopped. Swallowing, he leaned against the wall to his right, the same wall he had been kicking his entire time there. "But...I don't have either," he said weakly. "And why is that...?" A tired expression on his face, he looked up at Duskmon.
Duskmon just smirked. "Lobomon you might have a chance to get..." If you can find him, the digimon thought, but kept it to himself.
"HOW?"
"Find out yourself." Duskmon turned around and walked away.
Kouji stared wide-eyed and pushed himself off the wall. "Get back here!" he yelled, frantic. He didn't even think to run after the digimon.
Duskmon didn't look back. "I have a body to occupy."
"No, get back here!" Kouji yelled again, but by then, Duskmon had faded. "Get...back here..." he whispered to himself weakly. "I don't...want...to be alone anymore..."
Sapped of all his strength, Kouji sank down to his knees and let his back lean against the wall. "I don't...not...alone..."
Here he was, back at square one.
Alone.
-------------------------------------
Izumi, Naoko and Tomoki sat under a tree, welcoming the shade it offered with extended arms. Just a few yards away was the water of the sea, and if that wasn't enough for them, the ice hill Kumamon had created was melted into slush in front of them.
"Now if only we had flavorings," Naoko sighed, hanging her head.
"Snow cones," Tomoki groaned. The growl of his stomach and the saliva forming in his mouth didn't help.
Izumi shook her head. "Please," she said matter-of-factly, "it takes more energy to warm the ice in your mouth than it does to...I don't know. But just don't stuff it in your mouth, please. Jump in it, try to drink the water where it exists, but don't eat the ice."
Naoko just shook her head and Tomoki mumbled, "Yes, Mother..."
"Besides," the girl added, patting the small bag at her side, "I've got food and water for all of us."
"Food!" Tomoki yelled.
"Water?" Naoko said, staring at Izumi in askance.
Smiling, Izumi just patted her bag again.
As Tomoki jumped to his feet and began dancing around yelling about food and water, both girls shared a small smile. Izumi wasn't sure how Naoko felt about everything, but it was strange to her that she was sitting under the same tree as her enemy, fighting alongside her enemy, smiling with her enemy.
But is she my enemy? Izumi frowned to herself, and looked away from Naoko. "Tomoki..." she murmured.
The boy stopped and stared at Izumi in embarrassment. "Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, and took a seat in front of the two girls, gazing up at the tree. Smiling happily, he sighed and said, "The breeze feels good..."
"Breeze...?" Izumi repeated. One eyebrow rose delicately.
Naoko sat straight, looking around for a sign. Letting out a curse, she pushed up the sleeve of her shirt, revealing the wristband. Izumi and Tomoki followed, pulling out their D-Tectors and digivolving.
Kazemon lifted herself off the ground and gazed at the rustling leaves of the tree. "Show yourself," she shouted, making sure to keep her guard up. From her peripheral vision, she could see Ranamon dive into the water and Kumamon run towards the slush and turn around, aiming his gaze at the tree.
"Fine!" Kazemon calculated where she thought the enemy would be and aimed her fingertips at the direction. "Hurricane wave!"
"Crystal freeze!"
"Whipping waves!"
The three attacks hit their mark on the tree, blasting of a few branches and leaves. The target they had intended to hit, however, leapt out of the tree and into its shade. Kazemon gaped.
"A...a monkey?" she shrieked, pointing at it in disbelief.
"Makuramon. Don't you have any manners?" the digimon sneered, seeming to enjoy every minute of this. "No? How about I teach you some? Primal orb!"
The attack hit Kazemon straight on, knocking her out of the air and into the upper portion of the slush.
Makuramon, delighted, jumped onto the lower branches of the tree. "Ooh, what's wrong?" he asked Kumamon. "Bear got your tongue?"
"You're...really, really lame, you know that?" Kumamon spat through gritted teeth. "Slide evolution!" Seconds later, Korikakumon stood on the battlefield, examining his opponent quietly. Something distracted him, grabbing his attention from the corner of his eye. Korikakumon made sure not to act too surprised. Instead, he pretended to be intimidated by Makuramon, taking a step back.
From the water, Ranamon nodded silently before disappearing beneath the waves. Korikakumon concentrated on distracting Makuramon. "'Primal orb,' you say? Yeah, primal definitely fits you!" he snorted. "Frozen arrowheads!"
Growling angrily, Makuramon dodged with ease. "Am I primal?" he demanded. "What about you? PRIMAL ORB!"
Korikakumon cringed as he saw the attack coming. With all his might, he jumped to the side. "Yeah, you're primal," he shouted, voice weaker than before. I'm not so sure I want to continue with this. He pulled out his axes. "Avalanche axes!"
"Primal orb!"
Behind him, Korikakumon heard Zephyrmon shout, "Hurricane gale!"
Resisting the urge to turn around and hug Zephyrmon, Korikakumon concentrated all his energy into the attack, making sure to finish it and not turn around.
"Plasma pods!" Zephyrmon continued.
"Slide Evolution!" Korikakumon shouted. As Kumamon, he then sent out his next attack: "Crystal freeze!" Instead of aiming for Makuramon, he hit the tree, freezing it along with a good portion of the ground below it.
Seeing the sudden change in tactics, Makuramon laughed from behind the tree trunk. "Stupid...are you going to destroy it, next? Thing that will stop my dodging your attacks?" he sneered as Zephyrmon sent another attack in his direction. "Destroying the tree will collapse the Area. Collapsing the Area improperly might result in...consequences."
"Whoever said we were destroying the tree?" Kumamon snorted.
A glint of humor appeared in Zephyrmon's eyes. "Too slippery?"
Makuramon's eyes widened in understanding. Letting out a monkey shriek, he began scratching at the trunk, trying to climb the tree, but he only slid back down. "Titanic tempest!" came a yell from behind him, and Calmaramon's twisting body came towards him.
In a last attempt to hold his ground, Makuramon shouted something, and Calmaramon was sent flying back. He then aimed at Kumamon, shouting the same thing. Zephyrmon, knowing full well she was next, flew up into the sky at a decent height. Then, pointing her arms down towards Makuramon, she yelled, "Hurricane gale!"
"Raurava!" she heard Makuramon shout before she, too, was sent flying back into the sea of slush once more.
Breathing ragged and harsh, Makuramon stepped towards Tomoki's limp body. "Fools," he muttered, kicking the boy.
"WHAT? NOOO! ETERNAL SLAPPING!" someone yelled from the distance. Curious at this disturbance, Makuramon looked up. Something purple was heading straight for him. Still confused, he tilted his head to the side.
"ETERNAL SLAPPING!" the purple thing yelled, attaching itself to Makuramon's face and hitting him continuously with its wings. "Eternal slapping, eternal slapping, eternal slapping!"
Letting out another shriek, Makuramon batted the bird aside. "Stupid bird brain," he spat, kicking the purple bird.
"Takuya! Look what you did!" he heard a boy whimper.
"If he's going to talk trash about me, he's going to get the first hit! And whoever gives him the first hit is going to die if they aren't me!" someone else declared.
Makuramon squinted to see what was ahead in the distance. He could make up a black dot, but that was about it. As it came closer, he saw two boys standing on the back of a digimon. "What...?" he muttered under his breath.
At his feet, Penguinmon stood up and brushed himself off. Quietly, he made off towards the tree to hide until the battle was finished.
When KaiserLeomon came to a stop, Shinya let out a strangled cry. "Where's Penguinmon?" he demanded of his brother, glaring angrily.
Takuya just shrugged. His eyes then glued themselves onto Makuramon. "But that guy'll pay the price if he did away with my punching bag," he growled, yanking out a D-Tector.
"Shinya, go check on Izumi and the others. We'll keep this guy busy," KaiserLeomon muttered, digivolving back into Lowemon. His spear was pointed towards Makuramon. "Ready?" Lowemon asked the newly digivolved Aldamon.
Grinning, Aldamon replied, "More than I'll ever be."
In a flash they had Makuramon in between them. Lowemon yelled, "Shadow meteor!" and sent his attack flying into Makuramon.
The monkey jumped out of the way, and turned his head to glare at Lowemon. "Primal-"
By that time, Lowemon had charged up another attack. "Shadow meteor," he growled again.
From behind Makuramon, who was still in the air, Aldamon yelled, "Atomic Inferno!"
Caught between a fireball and the shadow attack, Makuramon could think of nothing to do. Negating one would result in getting hit by the other; there was no hope of dodging, as both had been cleverly aimed to where he would land. Realizing there was nothing he could do, he let an empty threat fly out of his throat. "You won't get away with this! Just wait!" he shrieked and thrashed violently as the fire consumed him.
"That was quick," Takuya muttered, whipping out his D-Tector and scanning the data. "Did we really lose the penguin?" he asked in disappointment.
Kouichi was slow to de-digivolve. Once he did, he looked towards the tree. "Your punch bag is there," he said quietly, and then moved to check on Izumi and Tomoki, who had regained consciousness and were sitting just in front of the slush, looking very cold as they talked to a chipper Shinya.
Takuya walked over to the tree, frowning down upon the nervous penguin. "Hey...scaredy cat," he muttered grabbing Penguinmon by one wing and holding the digimon outstretched in front of him as he marched over to his brother. "Shinya, here you go," muttered the older Kanbara. He let the penguin fall into the ice.
"Where's Naoko?" Kouichi asked suddenly, looking around with alarm.
Worried, Izumi bit her lower lip. "Makuramon sent her flying back that way," she murmured, pointing towards the water. "She was Calmaramon when it happened, so I don't know..." The girl broke off and rose to her feet, accepting Takuya's arm for support.
"Wow, you were worried about me?"
Everyone turned to the waterside, gaping in surprise at Naoko, who rested halfway in the water, one hand grabbing the dorsal fin of a shark. "I'm still alive and well," the girl laughed, pulling herself out of the water. The shark departed, and Naoko dug into her pocket, pulling out a dirt brown wristband. She tossed this to Shinya.
Surprised, Shinya caught it and stared at her. "What-"
"It was supposed to be given to you by Kanaye when Grumblemon was to possess you, but that never happened. Hey, things change, right? I think Grumblemon preferred the old plan, but it's expected. He's pretty stubborn."
"He says he heard that."
"No duh, Sherlock?" Naoko retorted with a snort. "Use that to digivolve. It also acts as a communication between us, meaning myself, Fujita, Ritsuo, Ai, and Kanaye. Unfortunately, Lucemon, too. Do your best to block Ai and Lucemon from your mind; I'm not sure if you've met either, but you'll know. Ai's the only other girl, and Lucemon's the only adult. Other than that, you're on your own. Well? What are you waiting for? Go secure your point!" the girl snapped, waving an impatient hand towards Kouichi.
Kouichi just shook his head. "I think we're working overtime today, Takuya," he muttered to his companion.
Grumpily, Takuya nodded in agreement, helping Izumi sit down in the shade of the frozen tree. "Yeah, maybe we should charge them," he suggested with a glare towards Naoko.
"Oh please. Just get going!"
With a half smile lighting his face, Kouichi murmured, "She's right. We should be going." Wordlessly, he whipped out his D-Tector and digivolved into KaiserLeomon. Without bothering to wait for the other two Kanbaras, or Penguinmon, he dashed off.
Scowling, Takuya gave Izumi a quick, courteous kiss on the back of her hand before he digivolved as well, and picked up both Shinya and Penguinmon before dashing off to catch up with Kouichi.
Tomoki hesitated before breaking the silence. "Is it just me, or did Kouichi seem a bit...off?" he asked.
Once more, the two girls exchanged full-fledged smiles with laughter sparking around them, leaving the poor, confused Tomoki in the dark.
-------------------------------------
"We should be hurrying, not lagging," KaiserLeomon said when BurningGreymon caught up to him to dump Shinya and Penguinmon on the lion's back. Needless to say, the two would have fallen off if KaiserLeomon hadn't slowed down. "Shinya, can you digivolve?"
The boy swallowed back the bile that threatened to escape him. "Uh...ulgh...w-well, I could try," he started.
KaiserLeomon skidded to a halt. "Then try." He patiently waited as Shinya clambered off and stared at the wristband he had put on.
On the other hand, BurningGreymon flew straight past the others, and took a quick U-turn to come back and crash into the ground beside KaiserLeomon. He went completely unnoticed.
"Uh...Kouichi, I don't think I can do this," Shinya mumbled, staring hopelessly at the wristband. He prodded the polished dirt colored marble with a finger. "She never said..." The boy trailed off and hung his head in shame. "I don't..."
Cursing fluently, BurningGreymon rose to his feet and dusted himself off. Shooting a rude look towards the younger Kanbara, he snorted. "Give me a break! You're good with fixing a computer, but you can't activate some stupid wristband?" scowled the digimon.
This resulted in Shinya glaring at him. "Hey, at least I can fix the computer! You don't understand a single word that comes out of Tomoki's mouth! Even Izumi says I'm smarter than you!" he retorted hotly.
"WHAT?"
"Shut up, both of you. Shinya, get back on. Penguinmon, I don't care if you have something to say. Save it, or I'll throw you off. You'll figure out how to activate it later, I'm sure," KaiserLeomon growled, turning his head to look over at Shinya.
Obediently, Shinya climbed (with help from BurningGreymon and Penguinmon) onto KaiserLeomon once more, and the four were off, silent as they had started.
It was Shinya who broke the silence, staring at Penguinmon in curiosity. "Hey, who's the guy who made you sign the contract?" he asked the digimon, hoping to distract himself from his 'riding sickness,' as he had come to term it.
"Sign? I didn't sign," Penguinmon said with indignation. "I was forced to read and agree to the terms on the sheet!"
"YOU DIDN'T SIGN?" BurningGreymon shrieked angrily.
Shinya plugged his ears and sent a disgusted look towards his brother, muttering, "I never knew you could scream like a girl, Takuya."
Angrily, BurningGreymon yelled, "I DO NOT."
"Do too."
"DO NOT."
"I'll kill whoever talks next," KaiserLeomon threatened, and with that, all thoughts of conversation were left behind with the ground behind them.
It took several more very long minutes until they saw any sign of green ahead of them. When they did, and KaiserLeomon decided they were close enough, he stopped and de-digivolved, making sure Shinya and Penguinmon were off his back before he did. "I feel like a pack mule," Kouichi muttered, pocketing his D-Tector.
Takuya snorted as he fell to the ground from the air unceremoniously. "I feel like a pigeon," he returned.
"At least you don't feel like a carrier pigeon."
"No, just a dead one."
The other boy rolled his eyes. Peering ahead, Kouichi murmured, "Right. So we'll be heading to the tree..."
Penguinmon cackled in delight. "The Tree! Haha...what an original name...the Tree," he laughed, falling on his back and rolling from one side to another.
"I'll give you a reason to roll around," Takuya growled at the same time Kouichi snapped, "Get up, stupid penguin."
Letting out a small noise of discontent, the purple digimon rose to his feet and jumped onto Shinya's back to clamber onto the boy's shoulder. There, he promptly fell down, only to be caught by Shinya's hands.
"What now?" Shinya inquired, gazing up at his brother and Kouichi eagerly. The excitement shone clear in his eyes, challenged only by the confusion of seeing the grave features of the older boys.
"Now...we walk," Kouichi said. He took a step forward and stopped. "A-...actually, why don't you two go ahead? I have a headache," he said in a quiet voice, turning to his right to examine the clarity of the seawater so close to the shore.
Puzzled, both Kanbaras exchanged glances and shrugged. "Sure," Takuya said, ushering Shinya forward and shooting several glances back at Kouichi. But the boy remained the same, sulking figure, even as they were towards the docks.
Kouichi squatted down, leaning forward slightly and dipping his hand into the teal water. First his fingertips, then half his hand, then up to the wrist; he cupped the water and sighed. Kouichi yanked his hand out of the water and brought it up to his forehead. Standing up, the boy murmured, "Maybe if life was this clear..."
Shaking his head in dismay, he began to run to catch up to the others.
-------------------------------------
"This place is..." Takuya was at a loss for words.
"Beautiful? Amazing? Familiar? Enchanting?" Penguinmon babbled, hopping out of Shinya's hands and wobbling ahead of them all, cackling delightedly to himself.
"AWESOME..." the two Kanbaras chorused, grinning at their surroundings.
Behind them, Kouichi stared glumly at the ground. The same ground. The same ground where...I wonder if Piximon is still there, he thought, feeling a sharp pain course through him, starting at his heart and spreading outward. He staggered to a stop, a short one that went unnoticed, much to his relief. What's wrong with me...? I'm so ridiculous, Kouichi told himself, placing a hand on a nearby tree to regain his balance. Maybe Duskmon was right...
The familiar presence of Lowemon startled him. What do you mean? asked the digimon.
Maybe...feelings just get in the way. Look at me, Lowemon...I'm a mess. Kouichi pushed himself forward and winced as the pain coursed through him again.
Don't be stupid, was his reply.
Kouichi looked up and around for any sign of the Warrior of Darkness.
Don't be stupid, Lowemon told Kouichi again, because Duskmon would never want you to think that, not even for a minute.
How...? Kouichi bit his lip and decided not to ask. Instead, he concentrated on catching up to the Kanbara brothers. "It's up ahead," he told them softly, staring ahead with a stolid expression, his usual poker face on.
They pushed on, despite the wonders around them, and managed not to get caught up in one single place. It was splendor after splendor, not ceasing to amaze them even as they approached the center tree.
"Awesome," Shinya breathed, walking up to the gigantic trunk and placing a hand on it in reverence. "Do all trees grow like this in the Digital World?" Bright-eyed, he turned back to look at Kouichi and Takuya in askance. Confusion flashed through his face at the sight of Kouichi, but quickly disappeared.
At Shinya's feet, Penguinmon snorted. "Not all," the digimon stated matter-of-factly. "Just this one. And yes, this tree is part of the Digital World and the real one!" With a smug look on his face, the penguin continued on, spouting out impromptu fabrications.
Chuckling, Takuya shook his head. Casting a glance to Kouichi, he murmured, "They look like they're having fun."
"Yeah..." Kouichi muttered in reply, looking at the ground with searching eyes.
An exasperated look appeared on the goggle boy's face. "Kouichi, just tell me what's wrong. You look like there are traps out to get you everywhere," Takuya said.
At once, Kouichi looked up and stared straight at Shinya. "I think..."
There was a rustle of the leaves, and a gentle breeze blew past them. Kouichi paled and looked around hesitantly. Finally, he took a step forward. "Shinya, move!"
The yell echoed in the air, startling and immobilizing Shinya for several seconds before what the older boy meant sank in. In a panicked manner, he made a dash towards his brother, falling to his knees, scrambling back up and picking Penguinmon up as he did. "What is that?" he shouted, fear evident in his voice.
Takuya winced and whipped out his D-Tector. "Another one. I guess it's now or never, huh, Kouichi?" He sent a grim smile to his companion as he said this with a dry chuckle.
Solemnly, Kouichi nodded in agreement and pulled out his own D-Tector.
-------------------------------------
A/N-
Chapter was supposed to be longer, but if I worked on it any more, it would be a story itself. XP Sorry for taking so long. Thanks to those patient waiters and to everyone who caught up. I don't like the chapter title.
I have a few projects for Mother's Day that I need to get done before updating ch. 39. One, a story (it's half way done) and the other is a pillow! But I need to figure out inconspicuously which cloth my mom likes, how to embroider neatly, then sew the pillow together in less than a week! Boy am I screwed! Then there are all those other stories I'm neglecting. I'm so mean. Poor stories.
What makes a good leader? GOGGLES. Savers needs GOGGLES. XP Ah, the jokes I can make off that.
Thanks for the reviews-GemmaniGirl, The Light's Refrain, x.XWeirdxnxWiseX.x
Review or PM or Flame.