Meredith's own episode. Amelia belongs to Jeabird, Kyle belongs to Heisei255, and I thank them, and Black Cat Angel for helping me with this story. The Corealmon belong to TheArtsyDigimon of Deviantart.
After crashing their raft about a million times, the gang finally made it to the Autumn Leaf Fair. But they still couldn't find the Digimon thieves. Tommy and Kyle found out that Datamon had the D-Tectors, but they needed something to trade for them. Tommy went out looking, found the Falcomon, and even saved their lives, but those jerks just ran off again. Then a big fight broke out between Datamon and Beelzemon. But when Datamon gave the guy's D-Tectors back and Tommy's Beast Spirit, they all sent Beelzemon packing. Now that they had their D-Tectors again, everything seems great, but something tells me that won't last long.
The Trailmon that the group was on was chugging along at a quick rate. The Trailmon made sounds that every train made – though they sounded more alive than other train. Granted the train was alive. The eye that Trailmon had acted as a light as well – lighting the way. The Rose Morning Star was getting closer and closer as well.
Takuya approached a window, "Boy, this train is really moving." He stared out the window, "Of course, the scenery is kind of boring."
Takuya stared outwards with a blank face, 'Not like the scenery back home.'
As the Trailmon continued with its 'whoos' it snorted – messing itself up. Though that didn't stop the Trailmon and it picked itself right back up and continued on after recovering. Meanwhile, inside of the Trailmon, Tommy was staring at his D-Tector. On the screen of Tommy's D-Tector was Korikakumon.
"Korikakumon, my very own Beast Spirit." Tommy sounded proud as he spoke and grinned, "Together, there's nothing you and I can't do." He finally had his own Beast Spirit. He was proud of himself.
Bokomon walked down the aisle of the train compartment, patting the egg that was in his waistband, "A good little baby. Yes, you are." Just like a mother to her young.
Bokomon continued until he stopped in front of Zoe. She was looking to her D-Tector that reflected Zephyrmon on screen.
"Zephyrmon, you're becoming more a part of me every day and I couldn't be happier." Zoe's voice gave away a sort of fondness.
Bokomon nodded at Zoe's words before glancing at Koji. Koji was sitting down and looking to his own D-Tector.
"KendoGarurumon, what awaits for us at the Rose Morning Star?" He stared hard at his D-Tector – hoping for an answer.
Bokomon continued on forwards, "Who's a bouncy wouncy," the rest devolved into noises.
JP looked to the others, "Have you guys gone nuts? What are you talking to your Digivices for?"
Bokomon turned his head to J.P., "Don't knock it till you've tried it, my friend."
J.P. gave an annoyed look to Bokomon, "Oh excuse me, Mr. Bouncy-Wouncy."
Bokomon just smiled, "He likes when we bounce."
"Uh-huh." J.P. sounded unimpressed.
A Pink Burgermon rolled into the car, "Goodly Morning!" Pink Burgermon stopped, "Now, would anyone like a little snacky?"
Zoe stood up, "Me! I would."
Takuya looked to Zoe, "It costs money, you know."
Zoe scoffed and shoved her hands into her pockets to search for money, "I know."
As Zoe stood there searching her pockets, Pink Burgermon started push its cart once again. As it passed her, it started to announce candy bars and fresh chocolate cupcakes. She gave up her search and turned towards the Pink Burgermon.
"Wait, can't I just owe you for one?" Zoe sounded desperate.
Bokomon approached Zoe, "We're almost there."
"But-" Zoe blushed when she was cut off by her own stomach. What she wouldn't kill to have a huge bowl of spaghetti and meatballs with extra sauce.
Bokomon laughed at Zoe's response but then his eyes lit up. He started to dance and sing some song about the egg kicking. There was even a dance that went along with the song. Everyone stared at him. Even Neemon was bothered by Bokomon's reaction.
Takuya stared at Bokomon, 'Ok, this 'baby' thing is really starting to freak me out.' Seriously, Bokomon wasn't even a real mother. Guess having a baby could change anyone. He thought about the little family DemiVeemon viewed him and Meredith as.
"You're a freak, you know that?" The moment the words slipped out of Meredith everyone looked at her. Whoa, that was something… kinda harsh, too.
Everyone stared at her surprised and taken off guard. Even if everyone had kind of been thinking it, they were surprised that someone voiced it – let alone said it so harshly.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that, I swear Bokomon." Meredith quickly gushed the words out, "There's just so much on my mind and-"
"It's fine." Bokomon's voice was clipped – it was easy to tell that it wasn't fine despite his words.
When light suddenly shined through the window Takuya looked out the window, "Huh?"
The sun was coming up and the Trailmon was riding in front of the sunrise. It was a brilliant sight to see. Amelia turned around on her seat so she could look out at the sunrise. Kyaromon peeked out as well.
"Corealmon Village coming up. Everyone get out that's getting." Trailmon gave a snorting laugh after his words.
Takuya and Tommy looked out the window to try and see the village as they pulled into the station – DemiVeemon as well. From what they could see was a lake and it was hard to make out the actual village from the train. Seeing as that was the case, there was no wasted time disembarking the Trailmon once the doors were open. Being able to get a bit closer they were able to get a far better view of the town – not to mention they weren't moving anymore so it was easier to focus on what they were looking at.
Sitting in the middle of the lake was the village – granted it took a moment to realize it was the town since it looked different than what the word 'village' brings to mind. There seemed to be no walls present and there were posts holding up the roofs. Vines that had a few small flowers poking out held the large leaves together that made up the roofs. Wooden walkways connected the various buildings together but the town center seemed empty from where they stood. The foundation of the village was a large vibrantly colored coral.
"Whoa, it's so pretty!" Zoe exclaimed it – her face was one of awe.
"I'd say!" Tommy grinned as he agreed with Zoe.
"I take it that they're the Corealmon." Kyle made the statement.
The Digimon that were approaching them were aquatic Digimon – upon their heads were seashells and they were shades of green – their eyes were a bright green that held nothing but calm within.
Bokomon nodded, "Yes, they are the Corealmon. They're peaceful Digimon who aren't for fighting and are really gentle."
The biggest Corealmon stepped forwards, "Welcome."
"We would like to ask a favor of you." Bokomon spoke up first, stepping forwards.
"Ah, how may we help you?" The Corealmon smiled.
"We were told you may be able to help me with my Beast Spirit." Meredith's words drew attention to her.
"Beast Spirit? May I ask what that is?" Corealmon's question caused Meredith to slump. How could she get help from the Corealmon if they didn't know what a Beast Spirit is? Maybe Ophanimon's guidance was a bit misleading.
The disappointed look that overtook the goggle girl's face caused the Corealmon to frown. They looked at each other, conversing with their eyes.
"Well, it allows them to Spirit Evolve into a powerful form." Bokomon gave the short explanation.
The spokesmon turned back to the group, "While we don't know what a Beast Spirit is exactly, we are willing to help."
Meredith looked back to the Corealmon, "Really?" Okay, she could go with that! Any help was better than no help at all.
The Corealmon nodded, "Yes, come with me, please. There's food that the rest of your group can eat and there are beds as well if anyone needs any rest."
"Alright." Meredith jumped at it – she wanted to get help.
Meredith's quick answer to being separated from the group made them a bit uneasy. Tommy didn't say anything but he looked at the redhead worriedly while J.P. eyed the Corealmon a bit suspiciously. Zoe and Kyle didn't really think much of the request at all. Amelia eyed the Corealmon wearily, but she didn't distrust them. Koji looked between Meredith and the Corealmon while Takuya just stared at his neighbor.
"What do you plan on having her do?" Takuya asked the question – cutting the Corealmon off and causing Meredith to pause in her approach towards them.
Corealmon gave a smile to Takuya, "We're going to talk and try to find the reason behind her problem – we need to understand that before help can be given."
"I'll be fine, Takuya." Meredith gave a smile to Takuya as she handed him DemiVeemon.
"You sure?" Takuya was worried about her.
"Yeah – I'll be even better once I get help." With that Meredith followed the Corealmon away – the two that had been with the one who went off with the girl remained though.
"Let's head to the village – food is on us." While that cheered up and grabbed attention of the group, the thought of Meredith going off alone did remain in the back of their minds.
The group followed the two Corealmon back to the village – ready for some food. They've fought and done a lot of traveling so food was welcomed. Free food was even better. While they headed to the town, Meredith was lead to a small path of trees that was around the side of the lake. There was spring of water that was connected to the lake within the small patch of trees. The trees acted as a barrier of sorts – no one could see them and the others were all far enough away that the words would be heard by no one else.
"Have a seat." The Corealmon's voice was gentle and Meredith did sit.
Meredith sat in front of the spring and she stared into the water. She knew questions were bound to come and she tried to prepare herself for that.
"Your Beast Spirit caused you to seek us out for help, right?" Meredith nodded at Corealmon's question.
"I'm worried about what will happen if I use my Beast Spirit." She clasped her hands together in her lap. Thoughts of Takuya's Beast Rage remained implanted in her mind.
"Why do you worry about that, if you don't mind me asking?" Meredith gulped at the question. Heart pounding against her rib cage, or was her chest getting tighter and her heart pounded repeatedly hoping to break free.
She closed her eyes, 'To get help, I'll have to explain it all.'
"The Beast Spirits seem to go out of control. They can overpower our minds – they can take control from us and hurt our friends. J.P. nearly buried us at the bottom of sea because of the Beast Spirit while Zoe lost control even though she seemed to have control. Even Tommy had to fight against the Beast Spirit." Meredith paused – remembering back to what happened with Koji and Takuya.
"There's more." Corealmon spoke softly as he pointed that out but she nodded.
"Koji nearly attacked Amelia – who knows what would've happened if he hadn't ran out of strength and reverted from KendoGarurumon. Takuya. He, he lost complete control and he attacked us. He hurt the others. Even though Takuya would never hurt any of us, his Beast Spirit made him attack and harm us." Meredith stopped when her voice started to quiver. She touched her arm where BurningGreymon burned her though the wound was gone now.
"I see, the Beast Spirits hold power, but they have quite a lot of side effects." Corealmon's tone shone with understanding.
"It drove him to insanity." Meredith muttered the words lowly.
Corealmon didn't know what to say so it stayed silent. The silence remained and it allowed Meredith to gather herself. Seeing how troubled she was, the leader rested a flipper on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"Take your time." Corealmon didn't want her to rush.
"Before we came here, things were simple and made sense. Despite how things were, life was good. We're fighting the Demon Lords now and everything is complicated – we need the power of the Beast Spirits, but they're strong enough to overpower us. I'm afraid that she'll be able to overpower me." Meredith paused.
"As long as I don't use my Beast Spirit, there's no chance of losing control and I'll be in control of myself. With what's going on though, we need the Beast Spirits – especially to move forward, but I wish we didn't need them. I'm afraid that my friends will get hurt by them – especially by my own Beast Spirit. I'm afraid of the beast in me." Meredith muttered the last bit.
She stared into the water but suddenly the reflection in the water morphed. The reflection wasn't her anymore. Marks of blue reached from her cheeks towards her nose while her eyes seemed to change colors. Wings sprouted from her back while the crown upon the reflection's head was mocking in a way – she was the one in power. The expression was far from kind as well – it was smug and confident.
Meredith reached out swiped at her reflection with her hand. The disturbance of the water caused ripples to tear apart her reflection – ridding the sight of the beastly version of her. She stared at the water while her hand hovered over the water's surface, shaking slightly.
"I can't lose control to her – she can't be in power. I have to be the one in control – my friends can't suffer because of me." Despite Meredith's voice shaking it was firm.
"Your greatest is fear is that she'll harm your friends." Corealmon's observation received a nod from Meredith.
"Is there any reason to believe that she actually would harm them?" Meredith looked at Corealmon at the question.
Meredith's eyes were firm, "Yes – the other Beast Spirits have all gone out of control. KendoGarurumon nearly injured Amelia and BurningGreymon did hurt us."
"Have you actually met your Beast Spirit?" Meredith was taken back by the question.
"No, but the Beast Spirits are the same." Corealmon shook his head.
"No two Digimon are alike just like you humans are not the same. Is it fair to judge your Beast Spirit on the action of others?" Corealmon's question was hard hitting, but his tone was gentle.
"No." Meredith begrudgingly admitted it. He does have a point.
"Two of the five Beast Spirits you mentioned was violent to your friends – one almost hurt another and the other did. That means three of the five didn't harm anyone. The odds of one being gentle to your friends are higher than it being violent." Meredith quickly shook her head.
"There is the possibility that it will make violent and peaceful even." Meredith spoke the words quickly.
Corealmon remained silent as it watched her. Meredith didn't break the silence when it went on for a moment. She pulled out her D-Tector and looked at it.
'Can I really learn to use my Beast Spirit?' Meredith questioned herself sadly.
"Have you voiced your concerns and fear?" Corealmon asked the question after a few moments.
"Yes, the others know. They agreed to come here because we were told the Corealmon could help me." Meredith smiled slightly – at least her friends supported her.
"While it is great your friends know, that was not what I meant." Meredith looked to Corealmon – confused now. What did he meant? Did she answered wrong?
"What did you mean?" Meredith was at a loss – who else would she have told her concerns to?
"Your Beast Spirit – have you talked to her about your fears?" Corealmon's words hung in the air.
"Why would I?" Meredith asked the question after Corealmon's question fully processed. Talking to her Beast Spirit like they were at a psychologist office? Yeah, like she'd even want to listen to her. Beast Spirits have a willpower far stronger than a human; hence why the vast uncontrollable power.
"Misunderstandings can be avoided by talking and misunderstandings can cause fear. Perhaps your fear is caused by a misunderstanding of Beast Spirits. Perhaps talking to her could help your fear." Corealmon's words echoed a tone of wisdom. He made it sound so easy!
"I, I don't know." Meredith voiced her uncertainty.
"It is fine not to know now. How about you take some time to think? No need to make the choice right now." Corealmon turned from Meredith and looked in the direction of the village.
"Thank you." Meredith was happy that the Corealmon would give her time to think. Corealmon had given her some helpful advice; one that require a lot of thought.
"How about we go to the village? You can grab something to eat – feel free to take the night to think as well. There is no pressure to decide tonight." At Corealmon's suggestion, they began to head to the village.
As they headed to the town, Meredith's head swam with Corealmon's words.
'Talk to the Beast Spirit? Would that even work?' She gulped at the thought, 'What is she even like? Was she cruel or peaceful? Was it possible for the Beast Spirits to be peaceful and kind?' All this thinking was giving her a migraine and she didn't even achieve it yet!
"While you think about it, I'll offer the advice not to overthink it. Overthinking can sometimes cause fears to only grow." Meredith paused at Corealmon's words. Great, Corealmon can read minds. Was she that readable?
'How did he?' She stared at the aquatic Digimon's back as he met up with his some of his friends.
"Meredith!" Takuya's shout jolted Meredith out of her mind.
"Told you I'd be fine." She fired the words out quickly and smiled at her friend.
Takuya smiled at her, "Yeah, you did."
"I still think I was right at the beach, gogglehead." Kyle's words made Takuya turned around – a bit of red on his cheeks. Meredith blinked. What was Kyle right about? Did the two place a bet about her? If so, then they were idiots.
"I told you that you weren't!" Takuya shouted at Kyle but he merely grinned at him.
"How'd it go Meredith?" Tommy questioned as she walked to table that was made of coral – leaving Takuya and Kyle to squabble over whatever was brought up.
Meredith paused, "Corealmon helped a bit."
'Corealmon gave me something to consider – there's still a lot to think about before I decide.' She bit her lip as she sat down.
Meredith happily took the plate that Zoe offered her. The food consisted of some fruit and somethings that she didn't recognize, but it smelled good. The fact that the others ate it without complaint meant that it probably tasted just as a good as it smelt.
DemiVeemon bounced over to Meredith, "Mama, how do you feel now?"
"I'm still a bit unsure." Meredith gave the brightest smile she could muster to DemiVeemon – feeling a bit bad that she had caused him to worry about her.
"Why is it so hard for you to just use your Beast Spirit?" Kyle cut into the conversation. To him, Meredith was just complaining. It'll be a lot easier if she just used the Beast Spirit now rather than use it at a most drastic of situations (which to them, it might come sooner).
"You weren't with us the whole time so you never saw, but they can go out of control." Kyle rolled his eyes at Tommy's input. Seriously, hearing about Beast Spirits was like untrained dogs; you just show them who's boss and put your foot down.
"Yeah, but you and Zoe managed the Beast Spirits, even J.P. did. I get you're a bit afraid but you never know what'll happen until you try." Kyle sat down but he did receive a look from Takuya – a disapproving look that also told him to back off.
Meredith nearly slammed her plate onto the table, "Says the one who hasn't used his Beast Spirit either!"
The sudden outburst drew everyone's attention. DemiVeemon retreated from Meredith and ran to Takuya, hiding behind his leg. Tommy gave a nervous laugh as he inched slightly away from the angry girl. Zoe stared at the scene while J.P. watched as he continued to eat. Koji and Amelia came out from their own conversation to focus on what was going on. Kyaromon glanced between Kyle and Meredith before retreating to Amelia's lap to watch what would happen.
"I'm not afraid, nor am I holding us all back – wasting the others time either." Kyle's statement caused a tense silence to form and Meredith to narrow her eyes at him. He… didn't… just… say… that!
Amelia gulped, 'This does not look good! Gotta do something to keep this from getting worse!'
"Maybe we should calm down? We've all had a tough day." Amelia spoke up hesitantly. The air felt more tense than before coming into the village.
"Mind your own business Amelia." The headphone girl flinched at Meredith's angry words. She never heard the Warrior of Water used that stern tone of hers. She always thought Meredith was a chilled, laid back girl. Truth be told, she getting a bit scared of seeing more of this angry side of hers.
Amelia's head dropped, 'Too late.'
"Don't take it out on Amelia." Koji spoke up – he didn't flinch when Meredith gave an annoyed look to him.
"You know what, I'll go. Just watch me." Kyle stood up and drew out his D-Tector. The gang became petrified. Was he serious? He was intending to use his Beast Spirit here - in the village, mind you! - where there's 100% possibility that he'll destroy everything around him!
"What are you doing?!" Zoe was alarmed now.
"I'm going to show that the Beast Spirits aren't monsters to be feared." Kyle's words were accompanied by Fractal Code surrounding his hand.
Meredith stood, "Are you insane?! You're going to wreck Corealmon's village if you Beast Spirit evolve here!"
"I think you're just overthinking things," Kyle stepped back from Meredith, "Execute!"
Kyle scanned the Fractal Code around his head and that kicked everyone into action. Zoe and Meredith backed away from him. Tommy retreated backwards while J.P. stopped eating and stared. Koji stood up while Amelia also got up – holding Kyaromon to her chest.
"Beast Spirit Evolution!"
Kyle was swallowed by the Fractal Code as his Beast Spirit Evolution began. Kyle held his arms out to his side and tilted his head back as he let out a scream. Pieces of earth materialized within the sphere of Fractal Code around Kyle. At his shoulders to cannons started to form that were attached to shoulder plates. The armor descended as there was a swirl of dirt that consumed Kyle's figure.
Emerging from the dirt was a bull that bore golden horns – the face of the bull was crimson. Auburn fur covered his body while at his shoulders it was revealed to be two short bazookas that had formed. The black colored bazookas had red designs on upon them.
The bull ran down to the plate that formed and once on the plate he slammed his black hooves onto it and let out a roar, "Terramon!"
Everyone stood still – watching Terramon. There was no sign yet if he had remained in control or if he lost control. Terramon stood there, pawing at the ground with his hoof. The Corealmon that had seen the scene unfold were interested now – staring at the human turned Digimon.
"So cool!" One of the youngest Corealmon around exclaimed it – breaking the silence that had settled over the area. They stared at Terramon with wonder and bewilderment. Humans having the power to transform into digimon! How awesome was that!
"Only if he's still in control is it cool." Tommy spoke as he took a step backwards. With their experience so far, Beast Spirits charged first after being released. Let's hope Kyle can back up his bark… rather not bite them, either.
Terramon's head turned towards Tommy – who froze the moment that Terramon looked at him. Terramon stared at the little boy, watching him. Tommy didn't dare move since he wasn't sure what was going on.
"I don't think Kyle's in control guys." Amelia spoke up – not one seemed surprised though.
"How do you guys like food?" The words were spoken by a Corealmon that entered the area – not realizing the tense atmosphere.
Terramon looked to the Corealmon that had approached the group – it was approaching the group still. Terramon snorted as he lowered his head and harshly dragged it's hoof across the wood below it.
The Corealmon took note of Terramon, "Ah, who might you be?"
Despite the kind tone that the Corealmon had Terramon's nose flared as he let out another, harsher snort. As the Corealmon approached Terramon, the Beast of Earth charged forwards. The horns were aimed at the Corealmon and it gave a startled shriek as it turned and began to run from Terramon. Like a bull charging at a matador.
"Not good!" J.P.'s scream kicked everyone into action.
Terramon stopped charging when the Corealmon abandoned the floating floor and dived into the water. It gave an angry snort as it turned around the Corealmon that were trying flee became targets in the bull's eyes. It chose the closest one to charge at – crying out, the Corealmon managed to jump to the side. Terramon tore past the space that it had been.
"Execute!" While Amelia was the first to call it out, the others quickly joined in. It's time to stop this raging bull!
Terramon looked to them as they scanned the Fractal Code. Terramon readied himself to charge at them by putting his head down, locking his eyes on his target.
"Spirit Evolution,"
"Legnamon!"
"Kumamon!"
"Agunimon!"
"Lobomon!"
"Kazemon!"
"Sakanamon!"
"Beetlemon!"
"We need to get him out of the village, now!" Agunimon shouted the words. He ordered the others. The less civilians out of the way the better.
Kazemon was quick to take to the sky as Terramon charged her. He didn't stop his charge though – Kazemon's movement revealed a Corealmon that had been running away.
"Crystal Freeze!" Terramon's hoofs were frozen to the wood by Kumamon – which caused him to stop his charge. That was close call. If Kumamon hadn't stop Terramon's reckless attack, the poor Corealmon would've been roadkill.
Terramon let out an angry growl as he yanked his legs – easily breaking the ice. He turned to face Kumamon and charged, horns first. The Warrior of Ice let out a shout as he started to run.
"Good job Kumamon!" Beetlemon called it out as he started to follow the two via air. The sarcasm wasn't appreciated at a time like this!
"Lead him out!" Lobomon called it out. It's best to lead the Earth Beast out of civilian's way; otherwise, the possessed Warrior of Earth would cause more destruction in his path.
Terramon though lost Kumamon when he took a corner too fast for Terramon to slow down. Beetlemon had missed the corner because there were low hanging vines that he would've gotten caught up in. Beetlemon got noticed by Terramon and became the new object of the chase. Fortunately, he had the advantage of being in the air so it wasn't too hard to avoid Terramon.
"Na, na, na, bet you can't catch me!" Beetlemon taunted Terramon and the Earth Beast responded by running faster. Add a cape to Beetlemon and Terramon wouldn't think twice about charging head on.
Beetlemon broke out of the twists and turns of the insides only to reach the open area that lead to the bridge that lead towards the train station. There were Corealmon still there since they hadn't gotten word of what had happened just yet. Beetlemon froze seeing the group of innocent Corealmon – this allowed Terramon to catch up. He rammed into Beetlemon – his horns hitting his back and sending him flying through the air. Beetlemon managed to catch himself in the air, but Terramon had caught sight of the Corealmon that were approaching him.
"What's wrong?
"Can we help you?
"What do you need?"
The Corealmon were interested in helping Terramon instead of running away. They weren't aware of what exactly was going on, but they figured that perhaps the two had gotten into a fight.
"Get away from him!" Sakanamon, who had just emerged into the area, called out.
Sakanamon screamed when Terramon charged right at the Corealmon that had only been wanting to help him. Terramon wheeled back and stood on two legs as his horns were yanked back – stopping him from getting any of the Corealmon that were in front of him. Wood had wrapped around his horns and yanked him backwards – Legnamon struggled to hold Terramon as well. Agunimon and Lobomon managed to help the Corealmon to quickly get away from the Earth Beast.
Terramon managed to win the tug-of-war and slammed his hooves onto the ground. Legnamon was flung forwards and the wood snapped. She flailed her arms in the air as she screamed – the weightlessness didn't work when she was flung. As she slammed into the water, Terramon turned his attention to Agunimon. A water ball was flung at Terramon.
"Over here!" Sakanamon drew attention to herself with the words and yet another water ball.
"Sakanamon!" Agunimon shouted at her, but Sakanamon had already turned and took off down the bridge that headed out of the village.
Terramon charged after Sakanamon, following her out of the Corealmon village. Sakanamon managed to trip from how fast she was running and Terramon caught up to her. Agunimon managed to also catch up though since he had raced after them. He was going to jump in, but Terramon stopped before ramming into Sakanamon. He stood there before retreating slightly.
"What's going on?" Kazemon asked as she slowly descended to the ground.
Kazemon's question was answered by Fractal Code swirling around Terramon. When the Fractal Code vanished it revealed Kyle. Kyle sunk to his knees, shaking slightly. His shoulders were hung and his arms hung at his sides. Kazemon, Sakanamon and Agunimon stared at Kyle while Beetlemon came from wherever he had hid after getting hit. Kumamon had just crossed the bridge in time to see Terramon revert to Kyle. Legnamon though – well she emerged from the water with help of two Corealmon.
"You ok, Legnamon?" Lobomon asked the question as he helped the Corealmon to get Legnamon out of the water. Concern became visible on his features.
Legnamon shook slightly as wet hair clung to her. The Fractal Code appeared as the Spirit Evolution dropped and vanished to reveal Amelia. She looked shaken, but ok.
"The shock of getting flung in surprised her, I think." The Corealmon answered since Amelia wasn't answering.
"W-what happened?" Kyle asked it as he looked over everyone.
Seeing that he was back to being himself everyone dropped their Spirit Evolution. None of them looked happy, but Kyle was sort of focusing on Amelia and Koji – Amelia was the most obvious one to have had something happen to her.
"Like a crazy person, you Beast Spirit evolved-"
"What were you thinking?!" Meredith cut J.P. off.
"You endangered everyone! You went after the Corealmon who had been nothing but kind to us! You even charged at us with intent to hurt us! J.P. got hit while Amelia got flung to the lake by you when she stopped you from hurting any of the Corealmon!" Meredith was angry enough that she shook as she yelled at Kyle.
Kyle hung his head and stared at the ground, "I, didn't mean to do that. Any of that." How could he be so naive? He acted so rashly that he nearly pummeled his friends to a pulp, including the hospitable Corealmon. He was so ashamed that he didn't want to face anyone right now. He hoped the world would swallow him whole for the insolence he'd done.
"Terramon did that, your Beast Spirit did that." Zoe spoke up, eyeing Meredith cautiously even though she spoke to Kyle. She understood what Meredith was upset about, but she wouldn't push anymore further. If they hadn't argued, Kyle wouldn't of been so determined on to "properly" gain the Beast Spirit power.
"That's why." Kyle muttered the words before raising head, "That's why you're afraid of your Beast Spirit."
Meredith nodded and crossed her arms. Kyle had an understanding look on his face now. He looked worn out as well – Beast Spirits though did seem to wear them out. Any kind of Spirit Evolution for the first time wore them out actually. Kyle stood despite being tired – Amelia and Koji approached the group as well, a Corealmon following them.
"Well, after such a workout, you guys must be tired. There's some beds that you guys can use." The Corealmon spoke with a bright tone – trying to break the heavy atmosphere that had settled.
Kyle turned to Amelia, "Are you ok?"
Amelia gave a nervous laugh at Kyle's question. The others had also looked to her. She reached up and swiped more hair out of her face. Amelia seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention.
"Yeah, I'm just not the best swimmer. Thankfully the Corealmon helped me though." Amelia's words caused Kyle to grimace.
A silence fell over the group as they headed to the village, once again. To the surprise of Kyle he wasn't told to leave by the Corealmon. In fact, they were questioning if he was ok. Kyle was surprised by the fact that the Corealmon were worried about even after what he had done as Terramon.
When lead to the beds that had been spoken of, the group was partially let down when they saw that they were just piles of leaves. Laying besides each bed was a large leaf – presumably a leaf that would act as covers.
J.P. approached one of the beds, "You know, I'm just glad it isn't the ground." He settled into the leaf bed, but he found himself surprised, "These leaves are surprisingly comfortable."
"Really?" Tommy asked it and claimed one of the beds as his own, "Oh yeah, they are!" It's like a giant pillow.
Zoe chose a bed that was away of the boys while Kyle claimed one that was with the boys. They were both pleasantly surprised by the softness of the leaf beds. Kyle dozed off by the time that Amelia claimed a bed that was close to the outside so she would be able to look out at the stars. Koji chose the bed that was sort of away from the others.
"Not surprised Kyle's the first asleep." Bokomon spoke as he claimed one of the smaller beds – to his dismay though, Neemon's bed was right beside his. Who could blame him? He went through a rampage as a raging Beast Warrior; correction, as a raging Beast Warrior of Earth.
"Spirit Evolving does take it out of you." J.P. yawned after his words.
Tommy took his hat off, "There's been a lot going on, too."
"Well, we should get our rest while we can." Zoe snuggled in after her words.
There was little more said after that. Everyone settled in and started to try to get comfortable so they could sleep for that night. Tommy and J.P. were the next to doze off after Kyle while Zoe followed shortly afterwards. Amelia was in and out since Kyaromon kept squirming beside her and Meredith was having a hard time getting her mind to stop so she could rest – DemiVeemon though was already fast asleep. Takuya and Koji were a bit to use to night watch so they were having a few issues dozing off.
"Will you stop squirming?" Amelia kept her voice soft as she asked Kyaromon.
Kyaromon gave her a guilty look, "Sorry, I just can't sleep."
Amelia sighed, "Will a story help you?"
Kyaromon snuggled into Amelia's side, "Yes."
Amelia yawned as she thought, thinking about a story to tell. She smiled sleepily when she thought of one. Amelia started a story of a cat that worked with her best friend to try and find someone that her boss wanted her to find only to stumble upon a girl who took the cat in and treated her right. By the time Amelia got to that part though, Kyaromon had fallen asleep and Meredith had focused on the story enough to try and distract herself that she dozed off somewhere during the story. Koji had even dozed off. Amelia turned over and she was out in a second.
"Aw, I wanted to know after the cat's boss found out." DemiVeemon's question caused Takuya to jump. Guess he didn't realized DemiVeemon was resting beside him.
Takuya had been feigning sleep so no one would worry about him – his jump though drew DemiVeemon's attention.
"Daddy?" DemiVeemon carefully got out of Meredith's bed after that. That's odd… why was Daddy up all of a sudden?
"Shh." Takuya shushed him because he didn't want anyone to get woken up.
DemiVeemon covered his mouth before laughing and uncovering his mouth. He was careful as he navigated over to Takuya. Takuya sat up and looked at DemiVeemon who now sat on his lap. The blue in-training Digimon stared up at the gogglehead.
"What's wrong, Daddy?" Takuya sighed at DemiVeemon's question.
"Nothing's wrong, you should go to sleep." Takuya's words got him rewarded with DemiVeemon crossing his arms.
"Daddy." Takuya sighed but laid back. Guess he couldn't lie to the In-Training digimon. The little dragon could tell when something's amiss.
"Fine, I'm thinking about Meredith." Takuya's words were low as he glanced around to make sure everyone else was still asleep.
DemiVeemon approached his head, "Mama?"
"Why is she still uneasy about Beast Spirits? I get that they can go out of control, but we know that after the first time we get control of them. I mean, I was able to control mine when I fought Daemon." DemiVeemon frowned at Takuya's question.
"I don't think it's the Beast Spirits, Daddy." Takuya looked to DemiVeemon. He became confused. If it wasn't about Meredith's Beast Spirit, then what was she afraid of?
"What do you mean?" DemiVeemon rocked on his feet at Takuya's question.
"Well, maybe it's because Mama blames herself for what happened to you." Takuya was surprised by DemiVeemon's question.
Takuya sat up, "Why do you think that?"
"Well, Mama thinks she forced you to Beast Spirit evolve when Tommy got his Spirit stolen." DemiVeemon's words were like a punch to Takuya's gut. How could Meredith blame herself for that? That wasn't her fault; she shouldn't blame herself for something she didn't do!
Takuya looked towards Meredith, "But it wasn't her fault."
"But Mama feels guilty." DemiVeemon glanced to his Mama as well.
"Why did she never tell me? Why didn't she tell me she felt that way?" Takuya couldn't understand why Meredith had kept such a thing from him. He thought she would tell him everything. They're best friends and neighbors for Pete's sake!
"Papa was crying." DemiVeemon's yanked Takuya's attention.
"What?" He was confused.
"When you turned back, you were crying. Mama didn't want to burden you with anything more. She didn't want to add more onto your mind." DemiVeemon spoke the words slowly and sadly.
Takuya sat there taking in what DemiVeemon said. He remembered what day DemiVeemon was talking about – he remembered breaking down. Takuya bit his lip and looked to Meredith – who was sound asleep. Memories of the incident plagued his mind. He was afraid to turn into BurningGreymon after that, but after the second transformation use he managed to grasp the Beast Spirit.
"She should know that she's able to talk to me about anything – no matter what's going on." Takuya's words were sorrowful, "No matter what's going on."
Takuya stood slowly and found himself quietly approaching Meredith. DemiVeemon stayed on Takuya's make-shift bed though, watching as he approached the girl. The gogglehead came to a stop beside Meredith and looked down at her.
'Why didn't you tell me, Meredith?' Takuya gulped when he felt a lump form in his throat. His chest tightened as he watched her sleeping form. His heart beated rapidly. It thumped so fast, Takuya clenched his shirt hoping to stop its pace. He thought his heart might burst any second now.
He watched as Meredith's face slowly started to contort – a look of discomfort and even fear took over her face. She moved in her sleep.
'Has she had other nightmares?' Takuya couldn't stop himself from wondering that seeing as it looked like Meredith was suffering from one at the moment.
Takuya found himself losing the battle that he had been fighting since he approached Meredith, a tear rolled down his face. He didn't bother to wipe the tears away since no one was awake to see them – besides DemiVeemon. He looked down though when something began to glow softly on the ground. One of the marbles that DemiVeemon and Kyaromon had won was glowing. A few others laid around the glowing marble, the bag having opened and laying on its side which caused some of the marbles to spill out.
Takuya looked back to Meredith when she whimpered slightly. He wanted to wake her up but he didn't know what to say to her. He didn't know what to say or even do at the moment. That was what caused him to flee back to his bed as quickly as possible without waking anyone up when he noticed that Meredith was waking up. Takuya managed to get into a sleeping position as the girl sat bolt up – awaken by the nightmare that she had been suffering.
Meredith tried to catch her breath since having been awakened by the nightmare hadn't been a kind way to wake. She placed a hand on her head and stared at her lap – the nightmare replayed in her head, tormenting her still even though she was awake. Closing her eyes, the redhead took a deep breath to try and calm herself. There was no way she was going to sleep after that.
'I'm not getting back to sleep anytime soon.' Meredith sadly knew how true her thought was.
Meredith opened her eyes and looked around – worried she might've woken someone. She didn't want to explain her nightmare so she was grateful that everyone seemed to still be asleep. She noticed something when she looked in Takuya's direction though, something glowing at her side. Looking down she found one of DemiVeemon's marbles were glowing. She reached out and picked it up.
She wiped away the small trail of water that was on it, 'Why is this glowing?'
Meredith inspected the marble – besides the glowing it seemed like a normal marble. It was a pale blue color with a raindrop symbol within that was a dark blue. Something about the marble seemed comforting though – it felt familiar. Meredith closed her hand around the marble and she felt herself calming down – the nightmare that lingered in the edges of her mind left her as well. She shook her head when the thoughts that had kept her from falling asleep came back.
Meredith stood slowly, 'Maybe a walk will help to clear my mind.' the silent night and the cool air might be enough to calm her nerves.
With that in mind, Meredith began to make her way out from under the shelter – trying hard not to wake anyone up.
"Meredith?" Takuya calling her name made her stop.
"Where are you going?" He questioned, but Meredith didn't turn around.
"I'm going to take a walk – I just can't seem to sleep." She didn't want to tell Takuya about her nightmare. She didn't want to be much more of a bother to her friends, especially her best friend. He should just let himself worry about what's in front of him instead of being distracted. This was her problem and her problem alone.
"Want me to come with you?" While Takuya's offer did make Meredith smile, she shook her head.
"Thanks for the offer but, I think I need some alone time to think about some things." her response made Takuya grow even more concerned.
"Ok." The gogglehead didn't press it even though he wanted to.
Takuya watched as Meredith left. He watched as she walked out of his sight as well. He looked to DemiVeemon when the blue Digimon curled into his side. He was giving him a worried look. Sighing Takuya turned over and placed a hand on DemiVeemon's head before closing his eyes and tried to go to sleep even though he knew he wouldn't sleep. He knew he was too worried about Meredith to sleep.
Meredith walked along the wooden bridges that connected the village together under the moonlight. The nightmare she had suffered made her think more about her Beast Spirit. It was clear that control of the Beast Spirits were fifty-fifty. Tommy, J.P. and Zoe managed to sort of control their Beast Spirits while Takuya, Koji, and Kyle had all lost control of their Beast Spirits.
Meredith chewed on her lip, 'Kyle even thought that he would be able to control it so it's not a question of confidence about control.'
Meredith came to a stop when she reached the edge of the village. She stared down at the lake and stared at her reflection. A part of her was sort of afraid that her reflection would morph once again. Meredith jumped slightly when something started to shine in the water below her reflection. She took a step back since she didn't know what was going to happen, however, the light was gone from the water when she moved. She saw light cast on the wood below her feet now. Looking down, she noticed that the light came from her pocket where her D-Tector was.
Meredith pulled out her D-Tector and the light faded to a soft glow, 'Why?'
Meredith watched as the screen came to reflect something – something that made her freeze. There upon the screen, her Beast Spirit was shown. She took a deep breath and a part of her was afraid because she didn't know what to expect from her Beast Spirit. Meredith She looked to her other hand though when she felt a warm pulse shoot up her arm. In between her closed fingers soft blue light poured out. She opened that hand to find that the marble was now shining brilliantly.
"What is going on?" The words tumbled out of Meredith's mouth in confusion.
Meredith pulled her hand away from the marble when it began to float out of her hand. She brought both of hands to her chest and a panic rippled through her. She looked to her D-Tector when a transparent wisp of Fractal Code came from the scanner part on top of it. The wisp of Fractal Code surrounded the marble and the glow shifted so it formed the outline of something.
"Do not fear, I mean you no harm." The voice that came from the light was soothing.
The words also seemed to be the last thing needed for the light to morph and take on features of the one that spoke. Floating in the air in front of Meredith was a woman with celestial blue hair – a crown upon her head and gentle blue-green eyes. There were green earrings in her ears and a heart pendent the same color as her earrings that was wrapped snuggly around her neck. A brown wrap that went to a little above her stomach revealed that she had blue markings on her sides like the one that the woman bore on her cheeks. Transparent wings with veins sprouted from her back and instead of legs, the woman had a sparkling tail that was light blue before shifting to a dark blue at the fin at the bottom.
"Are you?" Meredith didn't finish her question out of shock.
Meredith had a pretty good idea of who was in front of her. The dark blue symbol of Water that was on the sparkling light blue gloves the woman wore were a giveaway. Fins came through the gloves on the underside of the gloves as well.
"The Beast Spirit you fear?" Meredith nodded at the woman's words.
"Yes, my name is Sirenamon." With the confirmation, the girl gulped.
Meredith was afraid. Her Beast Spirit was in front of her and knew that she feared her. She didn't know what her Beast Spirit would do. Even if Sirenamon had told her not to fear, it was easier said than done – especially since she saw what Beast Spirits could do.
"W-why are you here?" Meredith couldn't help the fact that her voice shook.
"Why do you think I'm here?" Sirenamon asked as she drew closer to Meredith – moving as if she was swimming through the air.
"Possess me? Release yourself from me? I don't know." Meredith's words received a chuckle from Sirenamon.
The laughter unnerved the goggle girl. She was also put on edge by it. Was laughter a good or bad sigh? Was it a sign of having hit the bullseye? Was it the sign of being far from the bullseye? Why was she laughing; why was her Beast Spirit laughing at her, anyway? The Warrior of Water was right, isn't she?
"You truly have an overactive imagination." Due to the shock that Sirenamon's words caused, Meredith didn't flinch away when the Water Beast placed a hand on the girl's cheek.
Sirenamon gave a kind smile to Meredith, "I'm not here to hurt you. I tried to get your attention early to convey that I am no threat to you or your friends."
"Earlier?" Meredith was confused but her mind wondered back when she was talking to Corealmon.
"Your fear made you misunderstand my appearance – I tried to get across the fact that I was reassuring of you and that you were strong enough to handle Beast Spirit Evolving." Sirenamon removed her hand from Meredith's cheek and gave her some space.
"But, you looked..." Meredith was having a tough time finding her words.
"Yes, yes I know. It's like the Corealmon said though – misunderstanding causes fear." Sirenamon made the motions of sitting on something even though she still floated in the air.
"Why did the other Beast Spirits attack us?" Meredith asked the question she's been wanting answered for a long time.
"Some are more beast like than others – some have stronger personalities than others. Some may not realize that this isn't the time where it was war and everyone had a potential to be an enemy. Who knows, maybe they were just cranky after such a long sleep." Sirenamon watched Meredith for her reaction to the words.
"Is that why BurningGreymon freaked out? KendoGarurumon? Terramon?" Meredith wanted to know – had to know why control had been lost. All the frenzy, the rage, was the cause of crankiness?! That was ludicrous!
"I cannot answer that question because I don't know – it all depends upon the Spirit. All I can say is that with time, connections will be better forged and control will be the Spirit wielder's." Meredith didn't particularly like the answer, but she did accept it – how would Sirenamon know what others think.
"If I were to Beast Spirit evolve, what would happen?" Meredith asked the question – even though she was slightly afraid of the answer.
"Well let's see, you would get my hair – ooh you'd get this awesome tail," Sirenamon moved her tail and pointed to her head, "You'd also get this awesome crown."
Meredith stared at Sirenamon before laughing. Sirenamon smiled seeing the fear break and give way to laughter. The girl found herself at ease suddenly – the panic ebbed away. The kind aura that Sirenamon gave off reached her now that the fear was gone.
"In all seriousness though, you'd become better able to protect your friends." Sirenamon's words soothed Meredith.
"Thank you, Sirenamon." Meredith didn't need to tell Sirenamon why she was thanking her for Sirenamon to know.
"No problem at all. You need to be going to sleep though – take advantage of this peace while it lasts." Meredith nodded at Sirenamon's words.
Meredith watched as Sirenamon went back to the outline of light before the light died down. The transparent wisp of Fractal Code retreated to her D-Tector once more while the marble stopped glowing entirely. Meredith caught the marble when it fell and stared at it with a smile on her face.
"Thank you." Meredith whispered the words as she closed her hand around the marble. Wow, that wasn't as bad as she thought it was. That was the best chat she ever had. She wished she could talk with Sirenamon again. The Beast Spirit was more calm and collected than the other Spirits.
Meredith stood there for a couple of moments to let herself process everything. After her brain fully processed things, she felt sleepy suddenly. She yawned and headed back to the sleeping area. Once back she laid down on her bed and fell asleep within moments.
The group slept peacefully through the night after that. An uneventful night gave way to morning and soon after the village started to come alive, the sun reached a position that reached the one unlucky bed that was right in the path the sun's rays. The owner of that unlucky bed was Amelia. After a couple of moments she got and figured she'd go to see if breakfast was ready.
Others started to follow suit soon after. Koji was the next out of the group to wake up – he headed out as well. Those two had to wait for breakfast but it was done by the time Zoe got up and wondered out – J.P. seemed to have woken up the moment food was put down since he managed to come at the perfect time to get fresh food. Tommy was woken up by J.P. since he ungracefully left the sleeping area so those two ended up going together actually.
DemiVeemon woke up next and he made sure no one else was asleep – he woke up Takuya before making his way over to Meredith to wake her up as well. As DemiVeemon was waking them up though, Bokomon and Neemon were awakened – they fled the loud voice of DemiVeemon quickly. Takuya's grumbling about being woke up managed to wake up Kyle who wanted to do anything but wake up. Kyaromon gave a glare to them before leaving to go to where the others went.
Breakfast had mostly been quietly since everyone was still waking up. It was a tad awkward after the scene with Kyle and Terramon the night before though. Granted it wasn't brought up but it was still there in their minds.
"So, how did everyone sleep?" Kyle spoke to break the silence since it had started to unnerve him.
"Well besides Neemon snoring it was great." Tommy's words were echoed by Bokomon – granted Bokomon gave a look to Neemon.
Amelia swallowed, "Once everyone finally went to sleep it was perfect."
DemiVeemon's head shot up, "That's right! What happened to the cat!"
Amelia blinked and stared at DemiVeemon. It took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about.
"Oh, the story," Amelia laughed slightly, "How about I save that part for another night?"
DemiVeemon pouted, "Tonight?"
Amelia nodded before turning back to the food. The chatter that came was light hearted and a few questions regarding what DemiVeemon had been talking about since some had nodded off before Amelia had started the story.
"Where's the little fluff ball?" The question came from a Corealmon who had come to see how everyone was doing.
"Fluff ball?" Bokomon, who was the only who hadn't been in the middle of chewing, questioned.
"The furry In-Training, the one that was with Amelia yesterday." The words made the group freeze.
Amelia swallowed harshly, "Kyaromon? He was still sleeping when I left and I figured he could sleep in."
"He headed this way before us." Bokomon's words caused Amelia to drop her utensil.
"We have a problem!" When Corealmon came shouting that it only made the situation worse.
"What's wrong?" The Corealmon that originally asked about Kyaromon questioned the newly arrive Corealmon.
"We've found the tracks of BlackWereGarurumon again! He's taken more things from our village!" The word of trouble made a heavy silence fall over the warriors.
Amelia stood up, "Oh, this isn't happening." Just fantastic, another problem to add to their list.
"Now, there's no need to panic. Kyaromon is probably safe – he probably just got lost in town, Amelia." Amelia gave a look to J.P. that made him flinch. That's the kind of look his mother would give him. He should probably not mention anything.
"Well, there were smaller tracks present and we didn't know where they came from." Amelia's heart sank hearing that.
"Do you know where BlackWereGarurumon stays?" Meredith asked it as she stood up.
"I don't think you need to worry about finding him." Takuya made the comment as there was a loud crash towards the front of the village.
"Amelia!" Various people shouted after her since she had taken off towards the sound.
To the surprise of some of the group the first person to take off after Amelia was actually Koji. Another crash kicked the who group into action and they took off towards the crashes. Sure enough Takuya had been right, BlackWereGarurumon had come to them. Though Kyaromon was also present – a bag tied around him as if it was a backpack. Kyaromon was barely dodging BlackWereGarurumon who was trying to catch him.
"Give it back you runt!" BlackWereGarurumon yelled out as he missed Kyaromon due to Kyaromon darting to the side – his small size allowing him to dodge BlackWereGarurumon.
"It's not yours!" Kyaromon cried out – fear tinging his voice.
"Execute, Spirit Evolution!" The words were called out in unison.
"Agunimon!"
"Sakanamon!"
"Legnamon!"
"Lobomon!"
"Kazemon!"
"Kumamon!"
"Beetlemon!"
"Gorumon!"
BlackWereGarurumon turned his attention to the freshly Spirit Evolved warriors and snarled at them. Kyaromon took the chance and made a break to the Warriors.
"Full Moon Kick!" BlackWereGarurumon had kicked in a circle, but there was an energy blade that was spawned from the kick.
"Tempest Whirlpool!" Sakanamon's attack managed to block most of the attack, but something was a bit different with BlackWereGarurumon's attack.
His attack didn't fizzle out by got rebounded by Sakanamon's attack and ended up breaking up into pieces. Corealmon that had been watching from the shadows cried out as they dodged pieces of the energy blade. Legnamon ended up diving to get Kyaromon out of the way of the fragments while the other Warriors had to dodge as well.
BlackWereGarurumon laughed, "Don't think just 'cause you're Digimon now means that you humans are strong enough to beat me!"
"Lobo Kendo!" Lobomon swung at BlackWereGarurumon.
BlackWereGarurumon ducked to side but punched Lobomon in the chest using the brass knuckles it had, "Baldy Blow."
Lobomon was knocked back and BlackWereGarurumon laughed once more and the other Warriors went at him. Seeing as they were charging him, the werewolf Digimon smirked and jumped up. The Warriors were clumped together nicely and BlackWereGarurumon gave a snarl as he pooled the blue fire into his mouth before releasing it.
"Foxfire!" The blue flames descended upon the Warriors.
Beetlemon, Kazemon, Gorumon and Lobomon were hit head on since they had all prepared a close quarters attack. The flames though spread out upon the ground and got Kumamon, Sakanamon, and Legnamon. The fire harmed Kazemon, Sakanamon and Legnamon, the worse out of the Warriors due to them not being as armored as the others – Legnamon especially since she was the Spirit of Wood. The Corealmon were quick to help, throwing water onto the flames to try and put them out – to help the Warriors and save their town.
"Pyro Darts!" Agunimon's attack stopped BlackWereGarurumon from attacking.
"You guys alright?!" Agunimon kept his eyes on BlackWereGarurumon as he stood in front of the others – the flames hadn't really affected him.
There were various calls to Agunimon's question. Among the chaos, Legnamon reverted back to Amelia due to the damage that the fire had done. She was carefully trying to back away without drawing attention to herself.
"Full Moon Kick!" BlackWereGarurumon used the attack once more and seeing what had happened last everyone made moves to dodge the attack.
The attack though had a clear target – Amelia. Amelia froze when she saw the attack coming at her because of the fear that slammed into her like a tidal wave. Seconds before the attack actually hit her though she was saved by Lobomon. The rescue made BlackWereGarurumon snarl in anger.
"Full Moon Kick!" In that moment when those words were called out it was chaos.
Chaos came from the fact that there wasn't one but two calls of that attack. One swept across the ground while one cut through the air. The calls had a few seconds delay between them so Beetlemon and Kazemon who dodged the ground one by taking to the sky was knocked out by the one that tore through the air. Kumamon, Agunimon, and Sakanamon got hit by the ground one since they weren't able to jump out of the width of the attack. Lobomon had braced himself for the attack and took it since Amelia was in range of the attack if he moved.
The newly arrived BlackWereGarurumon laughed, "And the tales we heard painted them as so strong – seems like they weren't strong after all."
"Turquoise Rain!" Sakanamon summoned forth the rain and after a few drops, the BlackWereGarurumon grew wise of what it did.
They were going to move until their feet were frozen. Kumamon smiled victoriously but they both snarled – the cold air that the Warrior of Ice had blown at them had managed to freeze Sakanamon's attack which caused it to lose its effect. Which they learned the hard way.
"Foxfire!" Kumamon jumped away from them.
"Tempest Whirlpool!" Sakanamon tried to spread it out so it would protect everyone who was clambering away from the attacks.
While Sakanamon managed to protect everyone the Spirit Evolution dropped for some reason. Kumamon also reverted which wasn't good. The two BlackWereGarurumon showed off their claws as they began to walk towards the Warriors with evil grins on their faces.
Meredith stared the scene and something bubbled up inside of her. As she tightened her grip on her D-Tector, the scene from last night came back. She took a deep breath and raised her hand – Fractal Code swallowed it. Knowing what would come there was a kind of determination in her movements of scanning the Fractal Code. As she scanned the Fractal Code, it left from surrounding her hand and came to wrap around her – waves of water coming from nowhere to follow it and wrap around the girl.
"Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!" As Meredith called out the words the Spirit Totem of her Beast Spirit appeared around.
Everyone looked to Meredith at her exclamation. Her friends were stunned because she was actually Beast Spirit Evolving. She was using her Beast Spirit despite the hesitance she had showed off – especially after the scene from yesterday with Terramon. Those two factors stunned her friends. BlackWereGarurumon laughed though.
Water burst forwards and formed a sphere around Meredith. She held her hands out to the side as the Fractal Code came closer – screaming. Once close enough pieces of armor began to form. At her head a crown and at her neck a necklace. At her chest a wrap that didn't reach completely to her waist. Upon her arms gloves were fitted to her. As the armor descended from the Fractal Code and to her body water sprayed outwards. While water consumed Meredith's legs, forming a mermaid's tail.
Meredith spun around causing her hair to flow around her, water following the trail of her spin as well. She turned and appeared to swim down to the platform below her. Upon reaching it, she did a gentle flip once more so her fin was slightly brushing against the platform. Water traces around it below her while her hair flowed behind her – as if she was underwater.
"Sirenamon!" Sirenamon's voice flowed gently like water.
"Whoa." Takuya was the only one able to find words upon seeing Sirenamon.
Tommy stared at Sirenamon, "Meredith Beast Spirit Evolved!"
"Looks like we got a fish out of water." The BlackWereGarurumon laughed the joke that they had cracked.
Sirenamon thrust her hands towards the two werewolves, "Aurora Waves!"
Waves that had multiple colors within them were spawned and swallowed the two BlackWereGarurumon. They howled out in surprise when they were swept away by the waves and forced into the water of the lake. Sirenamon followed the two into the water – which was not good for the BlackWereGarurumon. The movements for their Full Moon Kick were back, but they were slowed by the water which allowed for Sirenamon to interrupt them – the two were forced away from each and sent spiraling through the water when she cut through the water between them. The water having forced them apart.
Sirenamon grinned, "You're in my playground."
The two BlackWereGarurumon knew how true her words were so it was no surprise when they made a beeline to the surface. And they hated to be outplayed.
Sirenamon laughed slightly and water began to swirl and circle her wings, "Tsunami Wing!"
Sirenamon charged at them, the water growing a bit angry in her wake. Sirenamon charged right towards the two fleeing BlackWereGarurumon. They were cut by the force of the water while they were flung from the water from the pressure of the water that was left in Sirenamon's wake. Sirenamon flew out of the lake only to be followed by them seconds later. The now drenched wolves slammed into the ground – coughing up water and hurt. Sirenamon held her hands to her sides and the water began to ripple. The ripples caught the BlackWereGarurumon's attention and there was the slightest shake to them as they stared at her.
"We'll never bother this village again!" The BlackWereGarurumon yelled it out as they turned to flee. They ran like the dogs they are with their tails between their legs.
Sirenamon laughed at their reaction before returning to the wooden platforms. Once above the platforms, the Beast Spirit Evolution dropped, but Meredith landed easily. She was tired, but she felt relieved – Sirenamon had kept her word. Meredith was able to Beast Spirit Evolve without harming anyone and she had control of herself.
Before comments could be made about Meredith managing to Beast Spirit Evolve and remain in control, she swayed on her feet. Her eyes slipped closed and she collapsed.
"Meredith!" Takuya raced to her side.
"Meredith!? What's wrong?" The gogglehead was flipping out.
"I think she just passed out Takuya." Zoe sounded concerned even though she tried to be reassuring.
"Even if she passed out, it's not fine!" Zoe took a hesitant step backwards when Takuya shouted at her – she didn't take it personally though.
"Using her Beast Spirit probably took a lot out of her." The Corealmon that spoke as he approached them was the one who had gone off with Meredith the day before.
"But none of us have passed out before. What if something's wrong with her?" Takuya questioned the Corealmon in front of him.
The others remained quiet as the exchange was going on. Well, besides Amelia but she was talking softly to a group of Corealmon as she helped Kyaromon return what he had taken back from the BlackWereGarurumon. He was also softly getting chewed out for running off on his own even if it was to help others, he put himself in danger.
"From what I gathered, none of you had perfect control of the Beast Spirit as well – I think it's a tradeoff. For imperfect control, the stress that is put on your bodies are partially diverted to the Beast Spirit itself, but since she had perfect control – seemingly – she took on the full amount of stress that the Beast Spirit Evolution causes." It took a couple of moments but Takuya nodded – see the sense behind the Corealmon's words.
Corealmon looked to Meredith, "How about you take her back to where your group slept less night? We'll tend to her and make sure she's fine. Your group can stay until she awakens – your group is even welcome to stay another night if the need or desire rises."
"Yeah, alright." Takuya muttered the words not really thinking about.
Takuya was careful as he picked Meredith up – DemiVeemon had approached and he was staring at the girl in worry. The Corealmon led the way back to the place the group had slept – Takuya following behind him while DemiVeemon was close behind him.
A Beast Spirit for each day. Man, do they know how to relax. See what happens in their adventure next on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!