Chapter 25: Aftershock
"A tiny ripple in the pond,
A prick in the web of life;
All the strands come unraveled,
As the quake spreads from one to another."
Year: August 5, 2308
Location: Heart of Feline Territory, Africaus Pack
The circular table that served as the meeting place for the lower ranking feline alphas was crowded with all manner of felines, though the panthera family was the loudest as always. At their head sat the great lion, his fists pounding the rough wood enough to splinter the edge as he raged. "I won't stand for this, that mutt the wolves let loose is toying with us! Bringing up that old legend as a direct attack-"
"It was not a direct attack on us Raion, she is merely taunting us at this point. She has done her research well…" The silky black panther to his right interrupted as her bright amber eyes trailed over the gathering, her claws curled around the carrier pigeon that had delivered the warning to the normally distant alphas.
"Let the pigeon go Onyx, we can't afford to lose another one right now…" a lithe cheetah slipped between the larger cats and freed the terrified bird before turning her attention to the distraught lion, "Calm yourself Raion, did the child not disown you when he chose to aid the runaways?"
"It is not so simple Kasi, blood is not something so easily discarded…" The jaguar on Raion's other side spoke up as the cheetah approached, his eyes narrowed at this intruder to the panthera area.
"Relax Sage, I do not blame Raion for caring but there is an attack here…only a foolish feline would forget the legend, and its unfortunate ending…" Kasi turned then and resumed her seat just shy of the panthera area, bridging the gap between the larger pantheras and the smaller felines along with the cougar alpha Skok.
"The ending…I never did like that old story…" Onyx twirled a claw through the scattered feathers the pigeon had left, her tail twitching playfully as she speared the largest feather, "How did this mutt come by it anyway?"
"I don't think that's the problem here Onyx, now could you please stop playing and pay attention…" Sage sighed as he turned back to Raion, "Regardless of our feelings on this matter we cannot needlessly send warriors after the mutt, she is currently beyond our reach…"
"Back to the topic, Johnathon is not the cruel tyrant of that old story…he has friends with him…" A woman standing behind the gathering spoke up, her voice quiet as she watched the nekos bristle at her presence.
"I don't care if you are an alpha's mate, stinkin' humans don't belong here…" The tiger alpha growled low as he regarded the human, his claws digging furrows in the table as he turned his glare to the lion. "Why did you bring her again? You disgrace the nekos with that polluted blood…"
"Gris!" Sage sighed as the lion alpha stood suddenly and stalked off, his shape changing as he went until the beast was free to rage away from them. The woman watched them for a moment longer before following her mate. Sage sighed again and turned back to the remaining alphas, "Can we please drop that hostility, the mutt is the problem right now…"
"They won't listen…" Onyx was still playing with the pigeon feathers, her claws covered in the soft bristles as she speared more onto her fingers, "But I still worry…what if the child breaks?"
Heavy silence followed the panther's words as the felines glanced warily at each other, they all knew what would happen if the story played out to its grisly end.
Year: August 6, 2308
Location: Nature's Wind, Americanus North Tri-Border
"So, what are we planning to do now? That gypsy wasn't exactly the most helpful…"
Crystal glanced up from the map she was studying, holding back a yawn as she regarded the ocean-dweller, "Right now we keep the team together, not much else we can do at this point…at least the attacks have settled down again…"
"I don't like this, that mutt is toying with us…" Ariel cocked her head to where Strike was currently resting on a low sofa they had dragged into the strategy room, he had been up little in the previous days and hadn't spoken a word since the ambush, "How can the crest help here if he can't even use it?"
Crystal sighed as she turned back to the map, her eyes occasionally straying to their wounded leader as he tossed and turned, "I don't like it any more than you do but he has to beat it himself… He's done it before…"
"Done what?" Ariel turned back to her but both were interrupted by Strike's sudden scream as the boy began thrashing more violently, "Not this again…"
"The door's locked right?" Crystal didn't wait for an answer, abandoning her work as she rushed to Strike's side and pinned his arms down before he hurt himself.
"Yes, we locked it when we came in…" Ariel was beside her as they struggled to hold him down, grunting as claws flashed from the beast trying to repel whatever had scared him, "Sometimes I wish the lion wasn't so strong…"
Crystal sighed again as he finally calmed down, slipping into a quieter and deeper sleep as she dropped down to lean against the edge of the sofa. "I know what you mean but right now he needs that spirit…" she winced as she rubbed her thumb along a fresh nick in her palm, turning back to the neko as Ariel settled on the floor beside her, "I was talking about his crest anyway, he doesn't remember it but he has activated it before…"
"He has? I didn't think any of the crests had been activated…"
"It was right after the fall…without our tokens there wasn't anything we could do…" Crystal curled her legs to her chest as she focused her tired gaze on the carpeted floor, "But Greed decided to follow us home and continue the attack…he was far from done with us…"
"I guess it's hard to imagine the full power of the crests…but we'll have to master it eventually…" Ariel rose and slowly padded back to the table, Crystal following after a moment, "So what is the current plan?"
"I'm not sure yet but we can't stay here for much longer…we have other bases, I need to get it in touch with them again…" Crystal glanced over the map again as she returned to her seat, "After the fall we setup a lot of runaway havens but most of them have collapsed because of Pride…"
"Then we need to find one that is still standing…perhaps another continent with more stable villages?" Ariel leaned over the younger girl's shoulder as she traced a finger along their current position on the map, "Finding more allies can't hurt either…how many crests still remain?"
"I don't know for sure but we can't wait any longer…we need to figure out how to use the ones we have…" Crystal picked up a green pin she had set to the side earlier and began marking x's for each base she knew was still standing, her thoughts tracing back to the early days of this long digital war.
Location: Coyote Lake, Asiana Pack-Neutral Border
"Zev…was that his name?"
The voice was quiet as Zev scanned the thick forest that now surrounded them, Growl slowing as they found the edge of the Great Coyote Lake. The lake itself was well maintained pack-land despite its cross into neutral territory though most of it remained in the red wolf lands not the home of their smaller cousins. The far side of the lake skirted the meeting borders of the greys, reds, and coyotes but much the greys former land currently remained empty.
"Zev…" the voice was quieter now as the speaker alighted on a branch a few paces before them, the young DarkDestined Envy watching them with wary eyes, "She has done something again…"
"What does that mean, speak sense lost child…" Kudamon uncurled from his neck and crawled across the wolf digimon's head to regard their strange visitor, Growl letting out a soft grumble as he stopped below her tree.
"It doesn't matter Rep, we know she is always doing something… What brings you here Envy?" Zev climbed off the garurumon's back and shifted his gaze up to watch her as his partner laid down.
"I'm also curious…so this is the child that stands on the line?" A new voice joined them as a dark russet hawk neko dropped onto a branch near them, her partner Darcmon settling to the ground below her.
"Holly, were you following me?" Zev growled low as he regarded the intruder, her dark tag clearly visible as she settled on the branch.
Envy hissed, scooting back along her own branch as she hugged her partner Mikemon closer. Her eyes remained warily on the hawk as her claws dug into the tree bark beneath her.
"Hardly, I don't need to follow you to know what you're up to…I came here to make sure you understood the scattering of the pigeons, the packs are finally beginning to move…" Holly glanced at the skittish DarkDestined a moment before shifting her gaze back down to the wolf.
Zev sighed and sat down beside Growl as he let Kudamon curl around his neck again, "Is that what this is about then? The packs still aren't going to do anything about her, they're more terrified of the digital world than any threat she poses…"
"Fair enough, Fang's 'miracles' might not be enough here…but what's your connection to the lion?" Holly dropped down beside her partner as she watched the wolf bristle at the question, "Okay fine, I actually came to get a count from our little friend…the gypsies are certain that 'hope' is the last one…"
"The crests then? You're not even a DigiDestined…" Zev turned back to Envy as she slowly dropped down beside them, her gaze trailing over the former DarkDestined, "How many 'lights' does Pride control?"
"Besides me…Wrath and Hatred both have a crest…" Envy shivered as she scanned the trees around them, suddenly wary of being caught out here, "But the lion isn't the only one she's attacking…she…she's created a monster for that crest…"
"A monster for which crest?" Holly glanced over at the younger girl but a sudden growl from Zev dragged her attention back to the wolf-boy, "Crap, you didn't even steal the crest from her? You know what she does with them… No, no…there's a spirit-barrier nearby, you need to get under cover…"
Zev growled again, his whole body trembling now as he tried to control the beast. The shadow symbol flashed on the back of his right hand, signifying that somewhere the dark crest was active and causing trouble.
Envy shot into the air, hugging Mikemon again as she stared down at this new trouble. After hovering there for a moment she flew off, darting over the treetops as she put distance between herself and the sudden spirit pressure.
"Griffo follow her, we need to find this new monster…" Holly cast a glance back at her partner as the angel digimon shot into the air after the fleeing DarkDestined before returning to Zev, "Hey, stay with me wolf-boy… Growl can you still move?"
The garurumon growled an affirmative as he rose to his paws, his movements slow as he shared his partner's pain, "Which way is the barrier?"
"It's not far south of us, it's an abandoned camp so you can rest there for a while…" Holly helped Zev onto the wolf digimon's back before taking to the sky herself, "Get him behind the barrier quickly, you know what she's capable of…"