A Digimon Frontier Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez
Author's Notes:
Well, it's Friday once again (well, at least it's already Friday over here) which means update time. Anyways, Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you had a wonderful celebration with your loved ones, I know I did.
Well, I wouldn't want to keep you guys waiting. So here is the next chapter of RotM. Happy Reading!
Just a quick note, please read the Post Author's Notes. There's a small favor I'm asking everyone's help for. ^_^
End of Author's Notes
The Rabbit on the Moon
A Firefly's Light
The sun was burning bright in the horizon. It was such a clear morning, no clouds lingered in the heavens. Noon was nearing and on days such as these farmers would busy themselves making sure that their crops would not wilt, not that it would, for despite the heat of the sun, the wind made sure that it would be a fair day – not too hot, not too cold.
On such a day as this, masters of the art of fighting and masters of the use of magic would drive their students to work harder. Anyone caught napping would certainly hear no end of it and whatever group that person belonged to would also be punished along with him. It had always been like that, after all, the people of Harim believed that the unit they belonged to is like a family – one for all, all for one.
The merchants from the day before were still in their usual places making a living for themselves while trying to help Harim get back on its feet.
Yes, everything was pretty much how Harim usually is. Everything that is, except for one thing...
Takuya had drawn out his weapon, his eyes affixed to the person sharing the same face as his. There was nothing in his eyes except for anger and the determination that he would protect Izumi at all cost.
The people who were in the plaza where Takuya and Izumi were making their stand against Shinya and Katsuharu, were all wondering what was to happen now. Some were surprised to see two Takuyas. Some were surprised to see the Empire's Prince. Some were merely there to watch the fight unfold. Others took one look and immediately saw trouble and so, these few others ran to the Chieftain's House to let Chief Anizer know about the situation. No matter what the reason for these people to be there was, everyone was sure of one thing, they were not about to get in the way of this battle.
"I'd expect a warmer welcome from you, little brother." Shinya said, his eyes were as cold as ever, staring straight at Takuya.
Takuya stared right back at him in the same way. His sword in hand and pointing directly at Shinya while Izumi looked from Takuya to Shinya then to Katsuharu and back to Takuya once again. She could hear whispers of questions asking what was going to happen, honestly, she herself do not know the answer to it.
"If we weren't in a place where a lot of people could get hurt I would have made sure you'd be in for a welcome of your life." Takuya retorted. "What are you doing here? How did you manage to figure out where we are."
"Believe me, I was just as surprise to find out that you and Izumi were here." Shinya replied, "If you don't believe me, ask Katsuharu."
"As if we'd believe whatever he has to say." Izumi blurted out.
"Ouch, I'm hurt Izumi, after all that we've been through." Katsuharu said, acting hurt at what Izumi had just said. "I would have thought you'd be more moderate about it."
"I'll show you moderation." Izumi said as she remembered Katsuharu's treachery and without thinking, conjured a ball of wind in her hands and aimed it at the prince.
Katsuharu dodged the attack that created a small, yet powerful, explossion. He, as well as Shinya, were both surprised at the power that small ball of wind had.
"That was quite a surprise, Izumi." Katsuharu said. "If that would have hit me, I don't know what could have happened."
"Then why don't we find out." Izumi said, ready to conjure another one of her attacks.
Takuya however stopped her saying, "We still need to know what these two are doing here."
"That's another surprise." Shinya said, his expression remaining the same. "I would have thought you'd charged up to me like before, and like before, end up being defeated."
"You can be surprised at how we've changed." Takuya said. "Like I've said, we can't risk the lives of the innocent bystanders. I know how dirty you both can fight." He then turned to Katsuharu and said, "You won't be able to use your illusions here as well, Katsuharu... unless you don't know, this place is protected from that."
"Protected? Really now?" Katsuharu said as he opened the palm of his hands and small glittering lights appeared along with a smoke of the same color and a sweet fragrance.
Just before it spread however, a powerful gust of wind blew all the particles and the smell away.
"Didn't Takuya just said that that won't work?" Izumi said, it was quite evident that she caused the gust.
"My, my, well prepared are we?" Shinya said. Then, with a speed that is yet to be matched he suddenly disappeared then reappeared behind Izumi, one of his hands on her waist while the other was holding a knife on her throat. "Tsk, but you are both still weak."
As he said those words, Izumi stiffened, unsure of what she should do. Just then, Takuya spoke.
"I would think twice about what my next step would be if I were you, brother." He said as Shinya found himself on the other end of Takuya's sword. "I swear, hurt her and you will die."
"What makes you think I'll hurt her?" Shinya asked, a smile playing on his lips as he breathe on her neck.
"I dont. But you won't be able to hurt her either way." Takuya said.
Izumi then knew what the only way out of her predicament was as she said, "Let go of me!" and with that Izumi let out a powerful whirlwind that blew Shinya away, knocking him towards a pillar.
"Don't you dare touch me ever again!" She added as she prepared herself to attack once again should the situation call for it. She then turned towards Takuya and said, "You could have stopped him from getting to me, you know."
"I know." Takuya replied, smiling. "But I still wanted to see the look on his face when you did that. Besides, you should know that if he did try anything funny, I would make sure to chop his head of... whether he is my brother or not."
Shinya groaned as he was helped up by Katsuharu who was as amazed at the improvement of both Izumi and Takuya.
"Well, I hate to admit this, Shinya, but they both have become stronger than before." Katsuharu whispered. "Of course, you were going easy on them, right?"
Shinya grunted then said, "Not anymore."
The villagers scrambled as they made their way to Chief Anizer's house. The commotion that they were causing was enough to catch the Chieftain's attention as well as that of Queen Ophania's.
"What's all this ruckus about?" Anizer demanded to know.
Seeing the look of panic in the faces of those around him, he knew at once that there was trouble.
"Chief..." Said one of the villagers. He was a masculine man with tanned skin and an army haircut, "Takuya and Izumi... they're fighting against someone who looks like Takuya and the Emperor's son."
"What?" Exclaimed Anizer, surprised. "Where?"
"At the plaza." the man huffed.
The Chief of Harim was quick to his feet as he made his way towards the door. The other villagers who ran with the buffed man made way for him. Just before he went out he turned around towards the Queen and said, "Your majesty, I think it would be best if you would come along with me to clear things up with them."
"Y-yes, Yes of course." The Queen said as she too stood up and followed the Chief to the plaza.
If there had been a lot of bystanders before, there were none now as Shinya had began to attack at our two heroes with full force. Katsuharu, on the other hand, decided to sit this one out.
Takuya was doing his best to fight against his older brother while Izumi was giving him support.
"You challenged me and this is all you can do, little brother?" Shinya shouted, his hand ablaze. "Surely you can do better than dousing my fire with that small amount of power you have. Did you honestly believe that you can beat me with that measly fire of yours? A cloned fire?"
Takuya look back at Izumi who nodded. She then conjured a beam made purely of wind, at that, Takuya added his own touch as he fired a small fireball in the middle of Izumi's attack. The wind then fanned his small fire and the beam of wind was transformed into that of fire which was then directed at Shinya.
Shinya quickly whipped up his own attack to match up with theirs. And the two forces battled together.
As the two beams collided and both Takuya and Izumi fought with Shinya's attack, Shinya said, "How pathetic, you need the help of another just so you can match up with me."
Takuya's brows furrowed and he shouted back, "Guess you have never really heard of the word 'teamwork'!"
Katsuharu could not believe that Shinya had actually went on and fought with Takuya. Of all the places and times that he would revert back to his 'hunt my brother and prove I'm stronger' self, he could not believe it would be now.
"How exactly are we supposed to ask for their help now?" Katsuharu mumbled to himself, exasperated.
It was then that he noticed something was up with Shinya. A dark aura had begun to surround him, and his eyes were beginning to get cloudy.
"This is bad." Katsuharu said. "If this keeps up Luca will..."
Izumi seemed to have noticed this as well as their attack was beginning to be pushed back. She was uncertain if her eyes were merely playing with her or if what she was seeing is true, but in the end she decided to keep it to herself thinking that it might be another one of Shinya's traps.
In the end, another explosion occurred from both Takuya's flame and Shinya's flame. The power that the two flames were producing was so much that it just exploded right then and there. If one were to look at the plaza before and during the fight, one would find it hard to see that it was one and the same place.
"Well, well... I guess there's more to your flame than just a firefly's light." Shinya said, his voice was beginning to change. A sign that darkness had once again began to take hold of him. "But, you see, there's one thing your flame is missing, little brother... a guardian."
Takuya gritted his teeth. He had a bad feeling about this.
Shinya seemed to have seen the faltering in Takuya's eyes as he smirked. Raising his hands in the air he summoned a dog-like creature with sharp fangs and claws. The creature had a fiery mane and its eyes was glowing, golden in color but filled with nothing but the desire to kill. The force coming out of the beast was enough to push Izumi and Takuya back.
Izumi had a scared expression on her face while Takuya had a look of pain in his face.
"What's wrong, Takuya?" Shinya asked, as he walked forwards while Takuya and Izumi both backed down. "What's that look on your face. Don't you remember your old friend, Flayhme?"
Takuya hands were balled up, his nails digging into the palm of his hands. He was angry and he didn't care if blood was already dripping from his hands.
"What...what did you do to him?" Takuya asked, his voice more of a growl.
"Stop it, Shinya!" Katsuharu found that it was the best time to stop the fight. "Enough with the games. We didn't come here to fight with your brother, remember?"
"Do you really want to know?" Shinya asked, not minding whatever it was that Katsuharu was saying. "Ah, you can say that father allowed me to twist him into his more powerful self. Of course, it wasn't a pleasant experience... at least, not for him. But I could care less. He was, after all, created to serve me."
"Shinya, ENOUGH!" Katsuharu shouted as he moved towards Shinya. "If you don't... Luca may end up using you again!"
"Luca?" Izumi and Takuya asked in unison.
"And why would I care about that, Katsuharu?" Shinya asked, the dark cloud was becoming more visible around him. "This power... I can use it to complete the task that you have asked of me."
"Don't make me use my power against you, Shinya." Katsuharu said. "You're better than this. You said it yourself before, you don't want the darkness to eat you up again. What good would that do to you after having gone so far... all of our sacrifices would be in vain if you let him control you again now."
"What exactly is going on here, Katsuharu!?" Takuya demanded to know.
"This isn't exactly the best time and place to discuss that, Takuya." Katsuharu replied, his eyes still focused on Shinya. "Help me bring Shinya back and I'll tell you everything... including the reason why we're here."
"If this is one of your stupid traps, I swear..." Izumi was saying but Katsuharu cut her off.
"It's not!" He said. "This time, I'm not lying. He needs our help, Takuya!"
Takuya looked at Katsuharu. His eyes were measuring him. A second passed which seemed like an eternity as the sky began to darken.
"We don't have much time, Takuya." Katsuharu said as a powerful wind began to blow. It was unnatural but it wasn't something that Izumi had conjured. "You have to help!"
Takuya closed his eyes. He could see the sincerity in Katsuharu's eyes. As much as he hated helping them, he knew that things would not go so well should the entire region be covered by those dark clouds.
"Fine." Takuya said. "But once this is over, you're going to tell me everything."
The Queen, Ophania, looked above to the sky and saw the dark clouds circling over at the direction that they were heading for.
"This is bad, Chief Anizer." She said as she continued to ran beside the Chieftain. "That cloud..."
"I know what that cloud brings, your majesty." Anizer said. "And it isn't good. We have to hurry and stop Shinya before it's too late."
Queen Ophania nodded and they forced themselves to run faster than before.
Yes. Chief Anizer did indeed know what the dark clouds bring. Shinya had already told him everything the night before when both the Queen and Katsuharu were already sleeping. He had told him of how he had been controlled by Luca, using the darkness in his heart – all the negative emotions he had inside as strings to control him.
"The Dark Clouds Lingers When the Emperor of Darkness Arrives." Shinya had told him.
He didn't need to hear those phrases however, for there was a prophecy stating those very words at Aria's Temple. It was one of the lines found in the prophecy pertaining to the end of the era of the gods.
"What will you choose now, Shinya?" Anizer found himself asking. "Are you really ready now to discard that darkness... or is it already a part of yourself."
"What exactly should I be doing?" Takuya shouted over the roar of the wind as a whirlwind of fire appeared from where Shinya stood.
"Just... distract him." Katsuharu replied. "Have Izumi help you with that."
"How exactly?" Izumi asked.
"I don't know, just distract him. Be a bait or something like that." Katsuharu replied. "I'll start conjuring up the seal. It would take a while..."
"I really hope what your explanation on all of this is, is worth all of this." Takuya said before he took a step forward, sword in hand, ready for another round of battle. "Just sit this one out, Izumi. I wouldn't forgive myself if something were to happen to you. Besides, you can watch this guy. If he tries anything funny..."
"I'll make sure he doesn't." Izumi said.
Takuya nodded. And without further ado, he rushed forward. He knew what would await him...
"Flayhme..." Takuya said as he saw the dog-like monster coming for him. "I'm sorry my old friend, but I don't have time to play around with you."
Flayhme lounged at him, and Takuya dodged. He didn't look back for he had only one target in mind... Shinya. Shinya seemed to have taken notice of his advances as he began to direct fiery attacks towards him, all of which he managed to dodge thanks to what Valthoria had taught him.
"Be mindful of your surroundings." He could hear Valthoria telling him. "Take everything in and let your mind work with it at the same time. Don't wait for his movements, anticipate."
Takuya felt Valthoria guiding him, sure enough, he eventually was already just a couple of arms length away from his older brother. And sure enough, he had caught Shinya's full attention.
Izumi, however, was watching Katsuharu who was, true to his word, doing his best to conjure up the seal. She could hear him mumbling things in the ancient tongue. She was surprised, after all, she had heard that only a few people are able to use the ancient language.
"Still believe you're up to the challenge, little brother?" Shinya asked. "You would die before your power can be comparable to mine."
Takuya took a look back at Izumi who looked at Katsuharu, who in turn nodded. Izumi gave Takuya the signal.
At this, Takuya said, "Sorry, brother. But I won't be dying just yet."
Katsuharu then raised his hands up in the air, from where golden light streamed and made its way to Takuya's sword as he shouted, "Come forth, power of the gods of old!"
The sword in Takuya's hand shone with golden colors. It then felt heavy in his hands, as if a dozen metals were placed in them. The glow did not vanish however. Katsuharu saw that Takuya was wondering what he should be doing, and so he told him to strike Shinya with the sword and make sure it hits him.
"That won't be a problem with me." Takuya muttered to himself.
Of course, Shinya heard this and he did his best to dodge Takuya's attacks while counterattacking. Soon, Chief Anizer and Queen Ophania arrived.
"Chief Anizer!" Shouted Izumi as she saw the Chieftain.
"What's going on? Takuya is... fighting?" Anizer answered his own question. "He won't be able to last against Shinya who is using Luca's power."
"Don't worry." Panted Katsuharu. "I've already imbued his sword with sorcery... a sorcery that would allow him to seal Luca away... albeit temporarily."
"Are you alright, son?" Queen Ophania asked as she moved towards her son, a worried look couldl be seen on the mother's face.
"Son?" Izumi asked.
Anizer nodded and said, "Yes. Izumi, meet Queen Ophania, Queen of Frontiria and mother to Katsuharu, born Prince of Frontiria."
"What?" Izumi was shocked to hear that what Shinya was saying before was true. "Prince of Frontiria? You have to be kidding me."
"I'm afraid that that's no joke, Izumi." Katsuharu said. "And what's more, Takuya would have to strike Shinya soon, or the power of the sorcery will vanish."
Sure enough, the glow on the sword was becoming less and less brighter. Takuya could also feel the weight of the sword lifting and so he knew that he would have to act soon. He had made up his mind that the first opening he finds, he will strike.
However, it seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he could not find any openings to Shinya's defense, and soon the sword was almost out of power.
Everyone who was watching, especially those who really do know what's happening could not take their eyes off of the battle. They could feel that what was about to happen, or what won't happen, would have an impact on them in the long run.
Takuya's brow was filled with sweat, his heart was thumping heavily. He felt nervous and his mind was suddenly filled with anxiety and doubt. Questions of what would happen should he fail and if he could make it before the sorcery in the sword ends filled his mind. He could almost hear the laughter, that icy cold and evil laughter of some dark being resonating in the air. Laughing at his demise – at his failure. He could hear his brother saying how weak he was.
"Don't lose focus, Takuya. Clear your mind of doubts. When you strike do not hold back." The voice of Valthoria suddenly echoed in his ear, surprising him in the process. "Don't tell me you're giving up right in the heat of things. It's not too late just yet Takuya. This is not where your destiny ends... and this is not the highlight of it either. Just let go, and strike..."
Suddenly, Takuya could not believe what was happening. His body seemed to be moving on its own based on what Valthoria's voice was saying. He was moving swiftly but at the same time he felt that he was not moving at all.
Soon, Takuya found himself with both of his hands on the hilt of his sword, which had pierced Shinya in the heart. He could not understand what had happened nor how he managed to do it. The shock in his eyes and in his facial expression was not an act.
The moment that the sword plunged Shinya's heart, the dark cloud began to dissipate and the roaring flames vanished. The strong, cold wind that was blowing subsided and the sun once again showed itself along with the clear sky.
"What... just happened?" Izumi found herself asking. "Did that have something to do with that sorcery of yours?"
Katsuharu shooked his head. "N-no. My sorcery is just a branch of my power with illusions and with the power that I have as a Chosen One. I have nothing to do with what just happened..."
"Is he...?" Queen Ophania asked as they all walked towards Takuya was standing, still in shock, sword in hand.
Chief Anizer knelt down to where Shinya lay and when he saw him breathing he said, "No, he is merely knocked out. I suppose that's what the seal does as well?"
Katsuharu nodded. "It's not permanent, but that should hold Luca and the Dragon God of Darkness back for a while... at least, until we find a more permanent solution to Shinya's problem."
Izumi then went towards Takuya, "Takuya, are you alright?"
Takuya looked at her then at the sword in his hands. "What just happened, Izumi? I just blanked out for a second and then I find him lying unconscious. What did I do?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Izumi asked, this caught everyone's attention, especially when Takuya shook his head and replied, 'No'. "You won't believe what I'm about to tell you."
"I think I would be willing to believe everything just about now." Takuya replied.
To be continued...
Post Author's Notes:
Once again, a happy new year to everyone!
Yeah, yeah, I know, this chapter isn't as long as my previous ones but it was meant to be a short chapter. Anyways, thoughts of this chapter and of how the story is going so far is, of course, always welcomed. Especially now that I only need ten more reviews to hit a 200 mark on this fanfic. Lol
Anyways, I would be needing help from everyone and a small favor. You see, I joined a contest, a blogging contest, entering my blog/website. However, the place is pretty much deserted with just me posting stuff. Anyways, I need people to visit the site and post comments on my posted topics there. And I mean all of the topics there since the number of comments is part of the contest criteria. (and I really, really, really want to win that contest so badly... so please) So, can you guys take some time and go to my website (the link could be found on my profile) and just leave comments (about the topics there) and help this poor girl out? Like I've said, I really need this favor from you guys.
Anyways, the next update would be on next friday, at eight in the evening GMT+8:00 (Hongkong time). So until then, this is Sakura Martinez reminding everyone to review and to please visit the website and comment there and saying "PEACE". Until next time. Take care, everyone! Ja ne!
End of Post Author's Notes