Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do not own Heroes of Olympus. I'm sorry, Mother!
Author's Note: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenges found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "eyes".
I've been in a huge writing mood lately. But not much in an editing mood. That's why this chapter took so long to get out. I'm currently finishing up Chapter 41, so you all should be seeing a lot of updates over the next few days. Also, July's Camp Nano starts on the first. I will be participating! My goal is 40k words, which is just 10k under double my last goal. It's a bit of a stretch, but... fingers crossed. I'm excited. I hope I can read that goal! Annnd... two more bits of exciting news: I'm over 400 reviews (holy crap!), and this story is now officially the longest chaptered story I've ever written. Isn't that exciting? Gah! Anyway, I hope you all...
Enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Six
"That sounds like wolves," Yolei squeaked.
"And they sounds awfully close," Cody said as he slowly rose to his feet.
"I guess it's too much to hope that it might just be Garurumon, huh?" Davis asked.
"Not unless Garurumon went and had a litter of puppies," Gatomon said dryly.
The others slowly got to their feet too. Yolei tried, but black spots danced before her eyes.
"Stay there," Ken told her. "We'll protect you. Davis, you too."
Davis sent his best friend a glaring look, but DemiVeemon in his arms was already starting to look tuckered out. That was the problem with In-Training digimon; all they did was eat and sleep. Yolei wasn't feeling much better. She hated feeling helpless. She didn't want anyone to have to protect her. She was strong, dangit! She could do just fine on her own! She was a digidestined! She didn't need protecting! But then she had to go and break a stupid ankle. And now she had stupid hypothermia. She wanted to be standing with her team, ready to help Hawkmon fight!
Then, just outside the firelight at the entrance of the cave, she saw a pair of yellow eyes glowing in the dark.
Okay, she thought. Maybe a little protection is fine.
The first wolf edged into the firelight – a red emaciated figure, so skinny that Yolei could count the number of ribs they had if they stood still long enough. Snow caked in its fur, and their fangs gleamed from its elongated snout; its glowing yellow eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. Black body armor strapped around its back and protected its impossibly skinny legs from harm. Purple claws scratched against the stone and dirt ground as the first led at least a dozen more of its kin into the firelight.
Yolei clutched her D-3 in her hands.
Takato held up his D-Power. "Fangmon," he told them. "Champion level. Not someone you want to meet in a dark alley in the middle of the night."
"Or in an enclosed cave in the middle of a blizzard," Yolei added.
Izzy gave the D-Power an interested look. "How'd you do that?"
Takato blinked. "It's a feature of the D-Power."
"D-Power?"
"Yeah, that's what Baihumon called it," Takato said.
"That is fascinating. Can I—?"
"Izzy," Tentomon interrupted, "maybe we can do this another time?"
"Oh. Right."
"We're outnumbered two to one," Kari pointed out.
"We'll be okay," Takato said. "Just stay close. Everybody."
Davis stood close to Yolei while the rest of their friends created a protective barrier in front of them. Yolei expected the wolf-like digimon to attack the second they were close enough, but they didn't. They waited – all dozen of them, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit.
"Great, now we're trapped!" she bemoaned.
"These guys are bad, bad news," Elecmon muttered.
Then Yolei saw the silhouette of a larger dog-like creature coming through the storm, wading through the Fangmon pack.
"Stick together and stay close," Elecmon said. "Wolf-type digimon respect packs."
Everybody shifted a bit closer to one another, and Yolei got a lump in her throat. She was the weak link in their "pack" right now. She really hoped that these Fangmon couldn't smell fear, because if they could, she was sure that she'd be lighting up like a Christmas tree. She might as well be wearing a sign that said free lunch.
The Fangmon parted, and the larger dog-creature stepped into the firelight. Bigger than any Great Dane that Yolei had ever seen and easily towering over the digidestined, even on all fours, the dog-creature's fur was the color of fireplace soot, greasy and ragged as it poked out from the black armor that covered almost his entire body. He had three snarling heads and razor-sharp iron claw extensions – better for slicing up his enemies, Yolei figured. Exposed muscle, as if the very flesh had been ripped away, ran along the backs of his legs and along his ribcage. His tail was long and scaled, like a scorpion.
But the most terrible thing about him was the smell: Death.
All six of his eyes glowed yellow, just like the Fangmon – and they fixed on Takato with absolute hatred.
"See here," he said, "a filthy Tamer."
"Hey, take that back!" Guilmon growled.
The black armored dog snarled. "Tell your digi-pet to mind his tongue, Tamer of the Digital Hazard, or he'll be my first snack."
Yolei recognized the title this guy had just called Takato from the very first prophecy they'd heard three days ago. It wasn't exactly useful information. She wished she knew who this guy was; that was something that she could actually use. Her eyes flickered toward Takato. He looked tense and on edge, but his D-Power was still in his hand. Whether he realized it or not wasn't clear, but Yolei could see that the screen had changed again to show the dark-armored dog instead. She could barely make out the words: Cerberumon. Ultimate Level.
Great.
Cerberumon studied their little group. His nostrils twitched. "So it's true," he mused. "Six digidestined and a Digimon Tamer, all together. And the world isn't collapsing in on itself. How interesting."
"You were told about us?" Takato asked. "By whom?"
The dog snorted – perhaps a laugh, perhaps a challenge. "Oh, we've been patrolling for you all across Folder, little tamer, hoping we'd be the first to find you. The Demon Lord of Sloth will reward me well when he wakes. I am Cerberumon, the Watchdog of the Dark World. And my servants are very hungry."
The Fangmon snarled in the darkness.
Cerberumon glared at them over the fire pit. He moved to each side as if looking for an opening, but the digimon created a pretty solid barrier in front of their partners.
"Leave," Ken ordered. "There's no food for you or your servants here."
"Not unless you like vegetable stir fry," Davis offered.
Ceberumon bared his fangs. Apparently he wasn't a veggie fan.
"If I had my way," Ceberumon said with regret, "I'd kill all of you in one go, get it over with. Give my pack a real dinner tonight…"
"What's stopping you?" Cody asked.
"Sadly, this one is spoken for." He pointed his sharpened claws at Kari. "Since she has failed to get all of you killed, her usefulness has dried up. She is to be delivered alive to our Lord and Master of the Earth. Her blood is required to help him wake."
"Oh," Kari squeaked.
Ken and Takato immediately stepped in front of Kari. Takato clutched his D-Power tightly in his hands. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."
"You're not going to touch a hair on her head!" Gatomon snapped.
Cerberumon snickered. "It's amusing that you think you have a say in the matter. Whether it's today or another day, the Child of Light's blood will be spilled in honor of our Master. She and the other sacrifice will help him wake. It's only a matter of time."
Yolei's heart tried to jump out of her chest. She didn't understand everything that Ceberumon was saying – something about sacrifices and waking the Master of the Earth (Huang, maybe?) – but she understood enough to know that someone was threatening her best friend. They wanted to spill her blood. That could never end well.
Yolei struggled to her feet. Spots danced before her eyes again. The cave seemed to spin.
"Oi, buster," she said. "That's my best friend you're talking about, and if you want to get to her, you're going to have to go through me first!"
She tried to sound confident and like a threat, but she was too weak. Shivering in her blankets, pale and sweaty and barely managing to keep her D-3 in her shaking hand, she knew she looked about as terrifying as a kitten.
Cerberumon's yellow eyes crinkled with humor. "A brave try, girl. I admire that. Perhaps I'll make your end quick. Only the Child of Light is needed alive. The rest of you, I'm afraid, are dinner."
At that moment, Yolei knew she was going to die. But at least she'd die on her feet, fighting next to Ken and the others.
Guilmon took a step forward. "You're not killing anyone, Mr Puppy Sir. Not without going through us!"
The other digimon stepped forward to back him up. Cerberumon howled and extended his artificial claws. Guilmon let out a "Pyro Sphere!" but the fireball bounced harmlessly off of the watchdog's armor as if it were nothing.
Cerberumon cackled. "Is that all you've got, rookie? At least present me with a challenge!"
"Now might be a good time to digivolve," Elecmon suggested.
"That would be a great if I could actually fit in this cave," Tentomon said.
"I won't fit either," Guilmon whined.
"I'd digivolve, but my attacks could cause a cave-in," Armadillomon said.
Wormmon looked back at his partner. "Ken?"
Ken clutched his D-3 tightly in his fist and nodded. "Okay… We're extremely outnumbered, but we don't exactly have a choice. Get ready to digivolve, Wormmon!"
But Gatomon struck first. "Cat's Eye Hypnotism!" Her eyes glowed an eerie pink color and several of the Fangmon took an uncertain step back. They wavered where they stood before suddenly starting to snarl and turning toward their fellow pack members. An all-out brawl started right before their very eyes.
Fangmon yelped and screeched with pain. Those that were mind controlled refused to let up on their assault, and those that weren't were forced to run back out into the snow. Even Cerberumon looked uneasy anytime a hypnotized Fangmon got too close.
"Nice job, Gatomon!" Hawkmon said.
"Remind me not to steal your catnip," Elecmon said.
Every time a non-controlled Fangmon tried to get close, Gatomon would leap over their heads and reward them with a, "Lightning Paw!" right to the top of their skull. She was doing a pretty good job holding the line all on her own, but every stray Fangmon was making her a little more tired. Some of the Fangmon were starting to shake off the mind control effects.
"I can't do this all day!" Gatomon warned. "We need an escape plan!"
"What about Digmon—?" Izzy started to say.
"My Digiegg of Knowledge is gone," Cody reminded him. "We can't become Digmon anymore."
Izzy winced. "I forgot."
"Stingmon and Aquilamon might be our best option," Takato suggested.
"Best option for what?" Yolei said. "They're going to run out of energy just like Gatomon is before we manage to fight our way out of here!"
"Yolei's right," Ken said. "Wormmon and Hawkmon can digivolve, but to what end? What's the plan?"
Cerberumon laughed. "I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, digidestined. Pray all you want. You shall get no mercy from me."
Gatomon miscalculated a jump, and a Fangmon reared back its head and launched a ball of dark energy at her. "Blast Coffin!" The ball of energy caught Gatomon in the stomach, and she went flying through the cave. Ken and Kari had to duck to avoid getting hit by her. Rock siding cracked upon impact. Davis cursed and handed DemiVeemon over to Yolei before pushing his way to the front of the group. He crouched like he was ready to go hand-to-hand. Ken stepped to the front with him, and Wormmon leapt out of his arms, getting ready to digivolve. Yolei raised her D-3 – she didn't want to send Hawkmon in there, knowing that he would be at a disadvantage on the ground, but what choice did they have?
Then, an echo from the blizzard—
"Meteor Wing!"
"Howling Blaster!"
"Harpoon Torpedo!"
"Needle Spray!"
A large spray of fire hit the nearest Fangmon. The wolf digimon writhed and fell, melting into shadowy data.
More attacks appeared from outside. More Fangmon fell. The pack broke in confusion. Garurumon leapt out of the darkness toward Cerberumon, but the three-headed dog digimon evaded at the last second. Garurumon landed on his feet and didn't waste a moment. "Howling Blaster!" Cerberumon took it straight to his side. He yelped in pain. Garurumon head-butted him in the side, and the Dark World's watchdog staggered.
"Curse you!" Cerberumon yelled. He growled at the remaining Fangmon, and they turned hide and ran. Cerberumon fixed the digidestined with those glowing yellow eyes. "This isn't over, digidestined."
Then he disappeared into the night.
Seconds later, Yolei heard more shouts amongst the snow, but these sounded different – less from pain and more like someone trying to locate the rest of their party. A humanoid figure in a large gray winter coat burst into the cave, followed by three more, in green, pink, and blue coats of their own. Their faces were covered by parka hoods, but Yolei immediately knew who they were. She just about collapsed in relief. Finally something was going right.
The tallest figure in the gray coat stepped forward. "Is everybody alright? Izzy?"
Izzy let out a long relieved sigh. "Yeah, we're okay. Did you find anything?"
The figure in the green coat reached up and pulled her hood off, revealing Sora's concerned face. She gave a shake of her head. "Nothing. The closest we got were those Fangmon. We tracked them back here. We didn't even realize they were coming for you until it was almost too late."
Matt pulled off his blue hood. "First TK… now Tai… how much more of this can we take?"
Mimi lowered her pink fuzzy hood. "Hopefully they're somewhere a lot warmer than us. I can't feel my toes."
Joe pulled off his hood and walked further into the cave. "We'll get you warmed up, Mimi." His eyes finally landed on the rest of them still standing behind Izzy in shock. "Oh, hey, guys. What are you all doing here?"
Kari let out a long breath. "It's a long story."
Matt stared at them. "Did you all find anything? Anything at all?"
"That's… also a long story," Davis said uncertainly, sharing a look with Kari.
"Maybe we should all sit down," Sora suggested.
Yolei decided to do one better than that; she collapsed.