Steph looked around at the forest, noting the lopsided signs that meant nothing amid their brethren, and felt her initial shock fade.
Normally level-headed, or as much as one could be among her group of friends, she hadn't the chance to really think through the situation at hand.
After a whole day of sensory overload, it seemed some sleep and time had set her thoughts turning.
The knowledge that they were no longer home, no longer on the planet they'd known, had her nerves jumping nervously.
They had no idea where they were, and there were apparently plenty of monsters that wanted to rip them limb from limb for sport or dinner.
What sometimes perturbed her were the moments when all her worries would fly away like feathers on a breeze, leaving her in a bright mood.
Then she'd realize what had happened, and the weight would return to her shoulders like sudden iron.
Looking up at the sky, Steph sighed, feeling something pull in her chest before Biyomon rubbed against her hip.
The bond they shared was sensitive, probably more so than the others, but the brunette felt like she'd known the pink Digimon forever.
The bright blue eyes looked up curiously, seeming to sense her partner's anxiety, and Biyomon nuzzled her stomach.
"Stephie?"
Blinking back her problems to deal with later, she smiled at Biyomon.
"Yeah, Biyo?"
"…Nothing…"
Feeling worry creep into her own heart, Steph knew that the bond must be more pronounced than she'd thought.
The others had shown no signs of having their partner's feelings magnifying into them, so she supposed this was the only case.
It seemed, besides feeling the other's fatigue and strength, you could feel their emotions like they were your own.
'Is she worried about me?'
Figuring that, if she felt BIYOMON'S emotions, it wasn't that far of a leap that the connection might go both ways.
"Don't you worry, Biyo."
She smiled brightly, putting a hand on the bird Digimon's head.
"I won't let anything happen. I promise."
Blue eyes lit up, and she smiled, rubbing against her like a happy cat.
"I know, Stephie. You'd never let anything bad happen."
Not feeling nearly as certain, she brushed back her fiery red bangs, picking up the pace so they didn't lose the group.
They'd been walking in this strange forest for a while now, entertaining each other with the lopsided, nonsense signs pinned to the bark.
TJ seemed to be having fun with the riddle games Lizzy made with the signs, and Mel enjoyed joining in with Palmon.
Jenny often came in with jokes that sent them all into fits of laughter, and it was amusing when Gomamon tried to top her prowess.
They'd end up in a fighting, giggling mess, and it never ceased to cause the rest of the group to laugh.
Meg seemed more interested in the colors the light made among the plants, and talking with Gabumon, while keeping an eye on TJ.
Tonya was talking with Agumon about their evolution together, something that clearly still intrigued her, and Steph wondered what it felt like…
Sure, Tonya and Meg had explained how they'd felt strength and that their charms seemed to have inspired the changes, but…
To feel it herself, would it be as powerful as they said?
Would she feel the meld, somehow become more intertwined with Biyomon?
Or would she even be able to make that final leap into the danger she knew, instinctively, was needed?
In a way, Tonya and Meg had Spirit Evolved to protect their partners, as their Digimon had Digivolved to protect them.
Steph wasn't sure if her defensive instincts went that far…
A shout to her right, and the brunette moved with the reflexes of a seasoned athlete, grabbing TJ's arm and pulling her into a shielding embrace.
Dirt rolled down the steep slope the young girl had nearly slipped down, and only Steph's sharp movements had saved her from serious injury.
"TAMMY!"
Meg rushed forward to check her sister's health, but the little gold-eyed girl seemed alright.
"You should be more careful, Tammy. If Steph hadn't been there…"
Meg trailed off, not wanting to go into detail all of the things she knew would have happened, and instead turned to her friend.
"Thanks, Steph."
"No problem…"
Smiling, she crouched down to TJ's level.
"Just watch where you put your feet, alright?"
The girl nodded, holding out her arms so Patamon, who had taken wing like a startled bird at the sudden jolt, would land and cuddle.
Still a bit shaken, and probably overwhelmed with adrenaline, the group continued, slowly returning to their previous conversations.
Steph stared into space, mind wandering…
'Maybe it won't be as bad as I thought…But will it be so strong with Biyo?'
Before she could ponder that thought, a strange whirring caught her hearing, and dark eyes raised skyward.
Something flew the wide expanse of blue, and her eyes followed its course in a sweep until foliage blocked her view.
'What was that?'
It seemed the rest of the group were wondering the same thing, having heard and seen the strange craft streak across the sky.
"It looked like a UFO…" Mel suggested.
"Yeah, and Digimon with big heads and laser guns are going to abduct us to ANOTHER world." Jen replied, rolling her eyes.
"Aliens are a stupid idea, I think…"
"Most of YOUR ideas are stupid, but you call them genius." Meg stated, rolling her eyes.
"So how should YOU know when an idea is ridiculous?"
"First off, it's REDONCULOUS."
The other girls sweat-dropped, asking themselves again how they knew Jenny…
"And SECOND, any idea that says there is life on planets that can't even create life is completely retarded!"
"It's possible they are past their prime in the ability."
"Are you telling me YOU believe in aliens?"
"I believe in what I see. After coming HERE…Well, I see that nothing is impossible."
Jenny paused, seeming to think it over before looking up at Gomamon.
"What do you think?"
"I say we keep moving. The sooner you get walking, the sooner lunch comes!"
"Yeah, yeah…You little piggy…"
Steph stared at the sky a moment longer as the others began to move, feeling a strange sense of foreboding…
'It looked like a huge black…gear…'
"Come on, Stephie! They'll leave us behind!"
Blinking, she turned to see Biyomon, and smiled before jogging to catch up.
Slowing once she caught up, the brunette sighed, the ominous aura that hung in the air following her like a dark cloud.
Biyomon nuzzled her palm, seeming concerned at the distracted pat.
TJ noticed the grass thinning first, the dirt changing to shifting sand, and everyone paused as the trees abruptly parted to show a desert beyond.
The powerful rays of a high sun beat down on the white sand, and they could feel it from the comforting shade of the tall trees.
"So…We have two choices. Go through the blistering desert or walk back through the forest full of road signs."
The group looked at Tonya a moment before glancing at each other, clearly weighing the options.
They could either go forward and make some headway through the heat, or backtrack back through the forest and retrace their steps…
"I say we go forward." Meg decided.
Eventually, the group abandoned their fear of the sunlight and headed out across the white landscape, the forest soon disappearing behind them.
As they walked for what felt like an hour, the humidity started reaching them through their clothes.
TJ started to breathe heavily as Patamon climbed onto her head, spreading his wings to shade her.
Lizzy shook out her dark shirt, trying to allow in fresh air so that her hot skin would cool down, before putting a hand on Tentomon's shell so she wouldn't veer off course.
Jenny was equally as warm beneath her dark shades of clothes, but didn't fidget as Gomamon lay atop her head.
Starting to feel the heat sufficiently, the group began to sweat, dragging their feet through the sand.
"I've taken a soil sample, measured the barometric pressure, and analyzed the relative humidity."
"And what did you find out?" Mel wondered.
"…I-It's really, REALLY hot…"
"…Did you notice all these telephone poles?" Steph questioned, studying the tall wood forms surrounding them and stretching off into the distance.
"They're not connected." Meg noted.
"What's the point of telephone poles if their wires aren't connected?" Tonya asked, looking around in confusion.
"Th-There isn't one."
Silence befell them once more, and TJ looked nervous as she pressed against her sister's side.
"Is it gonna be like at the phone booths, Meggie?"
"I doubt that."
Steph wasn't as sure, but tried to force the thoughts from her mind so they wouldn't try to escape her mouth.
"It's a bit unnerving…" Jenny admitted.
"Guess I'm getting paranoid and all, considering GIANT MONSTERS have been attacking us!"
"Don't worry, Jen. I'm sure we'll be fine. I mean, we've got Tonya and Meg to protect us, right?"
Mel looked hopeful, and Tonya shrugged.
"Probably…I think I'm up for it. What about you, Meg?"
"Maybe. Me and Gabumon are still pretty drained."
"That's comforting…" Jenny muttered.
Patamon perked, craning to look towards the horizon as if he'd caught sight of something…
"I see…WATER!"
Thirteen heads snapped up, eyes wide in hope.
"Really?"
"Where?"
"I'll have lemonade and ice cubes and iced tea-!"
"I-Is it this way?"
"I say we go before it evaporates!"
"I hope it's not a mirage!"
"Come on, Pat!"
Dust practically flew up behind them as the group raced towards the horizon, and Patamon tried to get another good look at the water.
"There's a village, too!"
The thought of water AND food had them going supersonic, and they skidded to a halt once they got to the edge of said village.
Of course, nothing in the Digital World is what it SOUNDS like…
The buildings were only up to their hips, with rounded roofs, and the inhabitants were…
Familiar…
"They're Yokomon." Steph remembered, crouching down to be closer.
"We'll NEVER fit in here…" Mel whined.
"Not unless we want to feel like giants…" Jenny agreed.
"We can at least eat and drink here…" Lizzy suggested.
Biyomon became their ambassador of sorts, talking with the Yokomon about them resting for a while.
Steph settled on the floor, leaning slightly on a hut, and looked up at the sky as the conversation filtered through her senses.
"What made you Digivolve? What is it about being with them that makes it happen?"
"Steph was in danger. I needed to protect her."
Dark eyes flickered, catching sight of Biyomon, and the brunette relaxed.
"What about her made you Digivolve?"
"Steph is a very kind person, and I'd do anything to protect her."
Heart warming at the sentiment, the brunette smiled.
'She's such a sweetheart…'
"Stephie?"
Blinking as she returned to reality, she looked up at the pink Digimon.
"Yeah, Biyo?"
"The Yoko's have offered for us to stay for dinner."
"Really?"
Offering the little blue-flowered Digimon smiles, she stood up.
"Thank you."
Tonya looked around in curiosity, putting a hand on Agumon's head.
"Where are your Spirit Evolutions?"
"We don't bond until we Digivolve." One Yokomon explained.
"But…we bonded when they were as small as you guys are." Lizzy noted.
"It doesn't matter! Where's the water?" Mel wondered, looking excited.
"Over here!" Jenny called, catching everyone's attention so they ran towards her.
Skidding to a halt before the fountain, even Meg couldn't hide her joy at the fresh water spurting from it.
"This is water pumped directly from Miharashi Mountain. It's the best water in the whole world!" A Yokomon stated.
"Forget that! Mount Miharashi water is the best in the entire galaxy!" Tentomon stated.
"I can't wait for some!" TJ admitted, running towards it before the water gurgled and died.
"What happened?"
Meg grabbed her sister's shoulder, pulling her away as a sense of danger came to life.
"I don't like this…"
Suddenly, fire burst forth in a mighty column, and Lizzy yelped in fright as she pulled Tentomon to safety.
"What the-?!"
Steph looked around in bewilderment, crouching in surprise as a well also burst upwards with flames and steam rose from the lake.
"What's going on?" Mel shouted, hugging Palmon close.
"Something must have happened to Miharashi Mountain!"
"Didn't that strange craft fly towards that huge mountain?" Jenny wondered, turning to look at the large green mountain in the distance.
The forest was right at its feet, but it was the flames spouting from the top that concerned them.
"Isn't that a volcano?" Lizzy questioned worriedly.
"The heat boils away all the germs. A fiery Digimon called Meramon and his Spirit Evolution Silverwing guard the lake at the top."
"Though something hitting the mountain COULD affect our water supply."
"…I think we have something else to worry about…"
All eyes turned to Steph, and she couldn't keep her anxiety off her features…
"You said this Meramon was a fiery Digimon, right?"
The Yokomon nodded, and dark eyes turned back to the green mountain…
"Well, I think he's coming to say hi…"
A blazing line of red was traveling from its peak, and the group watched in wide-eyed awe.
"UH OH…" TJ voiced.
"He burns everything he touches!"
"But he never comes off the mountain, though! This is VERY strange behavior for him!"
"Oh, THIS is strange?" Jenny joked weakly.
"Where is he going?" Meg wondered, tense.
"I think…"
Tonya climbed onto a boulder in the sand, standing as high as she could, and her eyes narrowed as she shielded them from the light.
"He's coming this way!"
"CRAP!" Mel voiced, looking terrified.
"We need to get the Yokomon out of here." Tonya decided.
"There was a huge freighter in the ship that should hold all of us. GO!"
The group jumped into action, herding the small Digimon towards the dry lake in a rush.
Sliding down the rather steep wall, the girls led the Yokomon towards the large ship, still wondering how exactly they were going to stand up against Meramon…
Steph skidded to a halt halfway there, shouting at the little Digimon to hurry up, that there wasn't much more time…
The throng was thinning out as the majority bustled amid the metal interior with the rest of her group at the door, and she looked around as if making a mental count.
'Twelve…Wait, where's…?'
Her heart stopped, and the brunette whirled around, crimson highlights flashing sharply in the sun.
"BIYO!"
The pink bird Digimon was on the lip of the lake, guiding the remaining Yokomon over the edge, determined to stay where she was.
"Biyo, you get down here!!" She shouted, panic and adrenaline coursing through her like thunder.
"Not until all my friends are safe!!"
Steph's eyes narrowed in decision, and her hands clenched into fists.
"Then I'm coming up after you!!!"
Running as fast as she could, Steph ignored the screams rising up at her back as one thought pulsed up from her very heart.
'Don't be hurt-Don't be hurt-Don't be hurt-!'
Something fell over her, a dark feeling, and her legs pumped more forcefully.
'Biyo…'
A shadow flew up into the sky, a flash of pure black, with the wings and legs and talons of a crow.
It seemed the Yokomon had stopped rushing past her, but Steph refused to leave Biyomon behind.
Meramon appeared at the bird Digimon's back, and her partner's heart clenched.
"BIYO!!!"
The bolt of onyx came back, knocking her straight off her feet.
Grabbing hold thanks to reflexes honed in karate classes, Steph rolled with her mystery assailant, wrestling for the upper hand.
It looked like a normal girl, with completely black eyes and the harsh feathery appendages of an angry crow.
Adrenaline was making her surprise very faint, and she struck the crow-girl in the abdomen, rolling away.
Her partner's cry of pain had Steph moving towards the source, seeing Biyomon rolling head-over-heels down the side of the lake.
"STEPHIE!!!"
"I'M COMING, BIYO!!!"
Leaping forward, she caught the Digimon before she hit the ground, using the sudden weight to roll over and land soundly on her back.
Wincing at the ache spreading across the muscles there, Steph tightened her hold on Biyomon, who lifted her head from the brunette's chest to look at her in worry.
"Stephie? Are you alright?"
"Yeah…"
Sitting up, Steph shook her head free of faint cobwebs, starting to stand.
"Are you, Biyo? You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm okay…I never want to do that again, though…It wasn't very fun…"
Smiling a bit at that, Steph nodded.
"I wouldn't think so…"
Biyomon hugged her tight, and it warmed the teen's heart as she returned the embrace.
"Thanks for coming to rescue me, Stephie…"
"What are friends for?"
The Digimon nodded, absorbing the fact that the bond she shared with her partner was not hated after all…
A screech of rage, and Biyomon's head shot up.
"Stephie, WATCH OUT!!"
On instinct, she whirled around, taking Silverwing's tackle in the back.
Falling on her knees, one hand hit the ground with surprising force, cutting open the palm as Steph cradled Biyomon to her chest.
"Fly." She muttered, releasing the Digimon and whipping around to face her opponent once more.
As they fell to the ground once more, the winged one of the pair cawing or snarling inhumanly, Biyomon fell on her back.
'I have to stop Meramon…If I stop him, then Silverwing will stop hurting Stephie!'
With that thought fueling her, the pink bird took to the air towards Meramon as Tonya and Lizzy ran towards them, their partners, along with Patamon and Gabumon, at their heels.
"STEPH!"
Tackling Silverwing, Tonya snarled like a tiger before she was thrown into the lake wall.
With the wind knocked out of her, the redhead couldn't seem to think straight as Lizzy helped up her elder friend.
"TONYA!"
Steph, ignoring the cuts on her legs and hips, leapt onto the crow-girl's back, wrestling a wing into submission as a screech tore through the air.
The Digimon turned to help Biyomon against Meramon, and Steph was nearly bucked off when she saw her partner struck by a fireball.
Feeling a faint pain in her own torso, she grit her teeth, pressing the heels of her sneakers into her opponent's back.
"Tell him to leave Biyo alone!"
A caw, and Steph was thrown away, hitting the ground on her back as Biyomon fell from the sky…
"Biyo…" She whispered, trying to stand and wincing as her shoulder protested.
Silverwing flew up before Tonya could get a hold of her, and Meramon seemed to grow as the four Digimon attacked.
'No…'
She closed her eyes, hands fisted in the dirt…
'Biyo needs me…And I won't break my promise to her!'
Red light filled the blackness behind her eyelids, and a warmth filled her in a cocoon...
"Eagle…"
It started to crystallize around her in a cocoon, lifting Steph into the air and off the ground…
"Stephanie, Spirit Evolve into…"
The light must have swept over her shoulders a moment too long, giving the hot caress of faint enjoyment…
"TALON!"
The red light shattered around her, and the large, brown eagle's wings flapped powerfully from her shoulder blades to keep Talon airborne.
Her nails were talons, her wings tipped red, and a short red dress down to mid-thigh fluttered in a breeze.
White and pink striped stockings were pulled up under the flowing strapless dress, and white rounded shoes seemed to defy gravity.
A white leather, quarter-sleeve jacket hung off her shoulders, and the Spirit Evolution twirled in the air, amazed.
The red device now clipped to her front jacket pocket began to glow, as did Biyomon.
"Biyomon, Digivolve to…BIRDRAMON!!"
As the phoenix-like Digimon took to the air, Talon felt strength fill her veins, and she spread her large wings out wide before shooting up higher.
Silverwing seemed to sense the danger, and shot towards her opponent like a bullet.
Zooming by her, and nicking her enough to force a hover, the crow-girl stunned Talon in midair.
Trying to regain her balance, Talon was surprised another tackle, tumbling a bit and gritting her teeth as she heard Birdramon cry out in pain.
Grabbing Silverwing with her sharp talons, the brunette spun sharply enough to throw her opponent into the lake side.
Flying lower as Silverwing pulled herself from a crater, Talon landed on the ground.
Legs tensing as fireballs struck Birdramon's wings and the fire threatened to scorch her physically, she waited for Silverwing to fly over in the air.
"NOW!" She shouted along with Birdramon, pushing up with her legs as her wings flapped powerfully.
Birdramon flew higher into the air at the same moment, opening her wings for her attack the moment before Talon's shoulder met Silverwing's chest.
"Meteor Wing!"
CRACK!!!
That split second of victory, of adrenaline, almost made the joy of flight seem only second best.
A Black Gear escaped Meramon's back as he shrunk to normal size.
From her place on the floor, Silverwing's feathery appendages turned silver and smaller, like a swallow's, and her legs returned to a human form.
Landing on the edge of the lake with Birdramon at her side, Talon looked up blearily as her wings drooped.
"Thanks…"
"What are friends for?"
Smiling as the light returned them to normal, Steph leaned a bit on her partner as the others managed to get out of the slowly-filling lake.
At that moment, she didn't care about anyone else around her except for Biyomon…
'Maybe this will really be worth it…'