Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Chosen Warriors ❯ Chapter IX: Bewitching Hope ( Chapter 9 )

We had managed to get all five pieces necessary to summon Qinglongmon. It was like a dream to me, almost surreal. It seemed like we had won. I was actually going to do it; Qinglongmon would be summoned, and my wish would be granted. Every person on Earth would have a digimon partner, and then maybe the Digital Hunters would understand what it meant to be a Chosen Child. At least, that was what I hoped. Life has a strange way of crushing your dreams.

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The Chosen Warriors

Chapter IX:

Bewitching Hope

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“You realize, of course, that the Qinglongmon Chosen have managed to make it to the Temple of the Center with the Digital Codex and the Four Keys? They are going to succeed! What are we going to do about it?”

Lord Sentry turned to stare at the younger blond man with a smile. “Calm yourself, my younger brother. We will be victorious in the end.”

“How?”

“Orion and Recorder are completing the final phases of Operation Sleeper. And as for the Chosen Children, Nimrod is currently assembling a force to take them out.”

“Nimrod is self-serving and a lose cannon,” the younger man said.

“True, but he is powerful and an excellent fighter. According to the Digital Codex, which we scanned before giving it up, Priestess Yagami must recite an incantation in order to call the god Qinglongmon. Once she begins, Nimrod will strike, and finally finish them off.”

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The Temple of the Center was a gorgeous structure, with elegantly carved statues attached to the top, one for each of the four Holy Beasts, in the direction that guarded over. The Qinglongmon Warriors stepped up to the large double doors. There were four key holes, with a carving of the Holy Beasts over top.

“I guess we need to put each of the keys right Key holes, Ken said.

Hikari held up the Qinglongmon Key, while Taichi had the Zhuqioamon one, Daisuke held the Baihumon and Takeru held Xuwanamon. They put each one into the proper slots and turned. The giant door clanged, then slowly opened. They walked inside, but Noriko remembered to grab the Keys before closing the door. However, she failed to notice that the door did not click shut.

The Qinglongmon Warriors were standing in a long hallway, bare except for a few carvings on the ceiling. They walked for another few seconds before arriving in a giant rotunda, with a pointed ceiling. There were four tunnels in each compass direction.

Ken read from the Digital Codex, “According to this, Hikari needs to be cleansed before performing the ritual.”

“Cleansed?” she asked.

He nodded. “The Summoning is a diving act. You need to be…uh…’purified’ of mind and body. To remove any, uh, impurities….”

She stared at him.

He quickly added. “Not that you have any…”

She smiled. “Don’t feel embarrassed.”

Ken nodded and continued to recite from the Digital Codex, and mentioned down the Xuwanamon hall. “There is a bath down there.”

Sora smiled and patted Noriko on the shoulder. “I guess we’ll be helping.”

“I’ll help too,” Daisuke exclaimed. He flinched when he noticed Taichi staring daggers at him. “Uh, just kidding.”

Takeru looked over Ken’s shoulder at the book. “Is that a prayer?”

“Sort of. She’ll need to say that when she’s ready.” He handed her the book. “You’ll need to know it.”

Sora placed one of her hands on each of the younger girls’ shoulders. “Come on you two.” She lead Hikari and Noriko down the Xuwanamon hall.

“All right,” Yamato said, “What do we do? Wait?”

“What’s this?” Taichi asked.

“That’s the alter,” Ken said, stepping onto the raised octagon platform. There was a smaller, octagon-shaped-heath in the center. “Hikari needs to lit that fire, then qe each need to stand in one corner, then we’ll need to gather our energy to her and she’ll summon Qinglongmon.”

“And everyone will have a digimon partner,” Taichi said, “I just hope it works.”

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Hikari stood before the large pool of clear water, filled by a stream entering through a statue of a turtle on the far wall. “Wow, this is beautiful.”

“Look over here,” Noriko said, mentioning to a large square carved into the wall. Inside were a collection of clothes, clearly designed for a female. “I wonder if you’re supposed to wear these?”

Sora checked the water by placing her hand inside. “It’s perfect. Okay,” she turned to Hikari, “All right, get undressed.”

She blushed. “What?”

The red-head mentioned to Noriko. “You’re the Priestess, we’re your attendants. We’ll help you bathe.”

Hikari reluctantly agreed and removed her clothes before stepping into the water. The other two girls helped her wash herself, cleaning the ‘impurities’ from her body. After she was dry, she dressed in her under garments, then dressed in the white garb. It was more of a dress actually, with flowing robes attached to the shoulders.

“You look every bit as prestigious as a Priestess,” Sora smiled.

“You really think so?”

She nodded, but her smile soon faded. She gently grabbed Noriko. “Come on.”

The younger girl looked at her. “What?”

“Let’s just go.” She looked at Hikari.” Don’t get messy again.”

They walked to the entrance of the bathing room. “It’s okay Daisuke, we’re leaving.”

The younger goggle-wearer slowly stepped out of the shadows of the tunnel, slightly red. Sora smiled slightly at him, then pushed Noriko out of the room.

Daisuke stared at Hikari. “Wow, you look so…so beautiful.”

She shrugged slightly and smiled. “Thank you. We just found it in that, uh, closet.”

Daisuke nodded. He fidgeted. “So, this is it, huh?”

She nodded in return. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“I was just thinking, after all is said and done, what do we do?”

“What?”

“I mean, about…us…”

“I…I don’t know. I don’t want to rush into anything. Let’s take it slow, start dating, you know.”

“But, we’re the Qinglongmon Warriors, our job is to protect you now. What other threats could come after you? Once you call Qinglongmon, shouldn’t you job be over? But, what if it isn’t?”

She stared at him. “Daisuke, this isn’t like you at all.”

He sighed deeply. “I…It’s just that…”

“What?”

“I don’t think I can lose you.”

She smiled warmly and placed her arms around his shoulder. “You won’t. You’ll always be there to protect me, right? Just like everyone else will be. I’ll never leave you.”

He smiled. He hesitated for a few seconds before kissing her on the lips. They broke apart and Hikari hugged him tightly.

“I love you Daisuke.”

“I love you Hikari-chan.”

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Ta keru stared out through the large stain-glass windows at the landscape around the temple.

“What are you looking at?”

He turned around and smiled as his older brother joined him. “Just amazed at how this temple is surrounded by every land-type you could think of. Well, almost.”

“That’s why its called the Temple of the Center, right?”

The two brothers continued to stare out the window. “There’s something I need to tell you,” Yamato said, “Sora and I may soon be getting married.”

“Really?” he gasped.

“Yeah. Sora wants to do it, you know, just in case.”

“That’s great!” he grinned.

“And I want you to be my leading man, you know, the best man.”

“Really? But, what about Taichi?”

“We’re gonna ask him to give the bride away, since Sora’s father is…”

Takeru nodded. “Yeah. Well, good for you.”

The two brother continued to stare out the windows. “Are you upset that Hikari didn’t like you back?”

Takeru shrugged. “I was never really in love with her, you know, we were just close friends.”

“Anyone I know?” Taichi asked, walking into the room.

Takeru smiled at Yamato, then excused himself from the room.

“I guess this means you want to talk to me alone?” Taichi asked.

Yamato nodded. “Actually, Sora and I want to talk to you, so I think we need to find her first.”

“Uh, okay.”

The two older teenagers walked back to the main rotunda and saw Sora and Noriko waiting inside. “Hey, Noriko, do you mind if Sora and I talk to Taichi alone?”

“Um, sure.” She bowed and exited the room.

Taichi stared at his two friends. “Okay, what’s going on?”

Yamato took a deep breath. “Sora and I are going to get married.”

“What? Really?” he exclaimed, “That’s great!”

Sora miled. “Really? You’re okay with this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he shouted, “This is great news!”

“There’s something else we want to ask you,” she said.

Yamato nodded. “Yeah, I asked Takeru to be my best man…”

Sora continued, “Since you’re my oldest friend, um, would you...give the bride away?”

“W..what? I…I’d be honored.”

She hugged him. “Thanks Taichi, you’re the best. I’ve got to tell Hikari.” She ran off, followed by Yamato. Taichi watched them, and his smile slowly faded. He walked down the Zhuqioamon hallway and arrived in a room filled with small cots. He found Noriko inside.

“Is something wrong, Taichi-san?” she asked.

“Yamato and Sora are getting married,” he said.

She smiled. “Oh, that’s great, isn’t it?”

He nodded again. “Yeah.”

“But what’s wrong?” She walked over to him and hesitated before speaking again. “Hikari told me that you once had feelings for Sora…”

He shook his head. “Yeah, I did, but if you’re thinking that I’m jealous of them, well, I was, but I’m not anymore. I was just thinking about how I don’t have anyone to be close with, like they do.”

Noriko smiled. “Taichi-san, you’re a great person, and everyone looks up to you so much. I’m sure that the right person will come along for you.”

He smiled. “Wow, you’re so much like Hikari.”

She shook her head. “No I’m not, she’s great, and all I do is get in the way.”

This time he shook his head. “Don’t sell yourself short. You saved us in the Sleeping Valley, remember?”

“I…I just lucky, that’s all.”

“You’re really like Hikari,” he smiled.

Ken entered the room. “Oh, here you two are. I’m sorry if I interrupted anything.”

“No, what is it?”

“Hikari is ready to start the ceremony.”

Taichi turned to Noriko. “This is it, ready?”

She took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

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Un beknownst to the Qinglongmon Warriors, their enemies, the Digital Hunters, were slowly making their way towards the Temple of the Center. They were lead by Lord Sentry himself, and they were comprised of every hunter the Chosen had yet faced.

“This is gonna be it,” Nimrod grinned, “Those Chosen brats are finally gonna get what’s coming to them.”

“Calm yourself, now,” Sentry warned, “I will not tolerate any mistakes because you’re too eager to claim your kill. A true predator waits in silence, then strikes.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind,” he mumbled.

“Sir,” Tracker said, “We’re approaching the Temple.”

Lord Sentry grinned. “Excellent.”

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Inside of the Temple, the seven warriors and their priestess stood in a corner of the giant octagon in the center of the main hallway, Hikari stood on the point directly across from the stairs used to step onto the platform, while Taichi stood in the corner near the stairs, with his back facing the hall that lead to the entrance to the temple. The Priestess of Qinglongmon lit the heath in the center of the platform, creating a bright fire.

“Did you memorize the incantation?” Ken asked, “You have to say it correctly, or…”

She nodded. “Yes, I..I know. I think I’ve got it, at least, I hope I do.”

“You’ll do fine,” Daisuke said, “I know you will.”

Hikari nodded. She approached the alter, but then stopped. “Wait a second. We get three wishes, right?”

Ken nodded. “That’s what the scroll said.”

“Well, I’m only going to use one wish, what about the other two?”

“I guess we didn’t think about that, huh?” Taichi said.

“I have a suggestion,” Sora smiled, “How about you use one to wish for everlasting peace in the Digital World?”

“That’s a good one, thank you,” Hikari smiled, “But what about the last one?”

“How about you wish for you and Daisuke to be together forever,” Takeru suggested.

“Oh, I couldn’t do that,” Hikari said, “That’s so selfish.”

“It’s fine with me,” Takeru said.

“Me too,” Taichi nodded.

The rest soon added their agreement. Hikari hesitated. “Are you sure.”

“Yes,” Takeru said, “I think you of all people deserve to be happy, after everything that you had to go through, especially at such a young age.”

“Go for it,” Taichi said, “You do deserve it.”

Hikari looked to Daisuke, who nodded. She smiled. “Okay, thank you all for caring about us.”

She looked to each one of her warriors, then took a deep breath. “Okay everyone, gather your energy, I’m ready.” Each one of the warriors concentrated as hard as they could and focused their energy into their Priestess.

Hikari looked to the pointed ceiling. She took a deep breath and began to speak, “Lords of the Stars, Gods of the Digital World, I call to you. Descend from the heavens and grant me my wishes. Appear to me as I call your name, Qinglo…!” She was abruptly cut off when she heard Taichi scream.

Outside of the Temple of the Center, the Digital Hunters slowly opened the main double doors. Lord Sentry peered inside and could see the gathered Qinglongmon Warriors on the raised platform.

“Let’s do this,” Nimrod exclaimed, “We can take them out all right now.”

“No!” Lord Sentry shouted, “Your…unpredictable, attacks have caused you to lose again and again. This time, we do it my way.” He removed a gun from a holster and pointed it at Taichi’s back. “And we take out their leader first.” He pulled the trigger and fired a blast of white energy directly at the Qinglongmon Warrior.

Hikari looked to the pointed ceiling. She took a deep breath and began to speak, “Lords of the Stars, Gods of the Digital World, I call to you. Descend from the heavens and grant me my wishes. Appear to me as I call your name, Qinglo….”

Taichi suddenly screamed as the white energy from Lord Sentry’s attack struck his back with such force that he was propelled across the room, his feet knocking into the heath, shattering the age-old metal before smashing into the far wall.

“Oniichan!” she screamed.

Ken leapt over to Taichi’s side. “Taichi?”

“Oh man, what the hell hit me?”

“He’s okay, Hikari,” Ken said.

“But what hit him?” Daisuke asked.

“It came from down the hall,” Yamato said, “Ken, Noriko, Hikari, stay with Taichi, the rest of you, let’s go!”

They quickly transformed into their armor, then evolved: Daisuke into Serge from ChronoCross, Yamato into Seiji from Samurai Troopers, Sora into Sailor Venus, and Takeru into Squall from Final Fantasy VIII.

They ran out of the Temple and right into the waiting arms of the Digital Hunters. Lord Sentry grinned. “Greetings. We meet again.”

Daisuke jutted his “You hurt Taichi-sempai, and now I’m gonna hurt you!”

“Daisuke, no!” Yamato shouted, but it was too late. The younger swordsman was blocked by Nimrod before he could reach the Digital Hunter’s leader.

“Sorry, brat, you’ll have to get past me first.”

Yamato shot around him and kicked Nimrod as hard as he could. “Sorry, punk, you’re facing me, understand?”

Nimrod grinned and swung his own sword. “Your funeral.”

They began to fight, as Sora and Tracker faced each other, along with, Takeru and Ahab, which left Daisuke to face the dreaded Lord Sentry alone.

“You’re not too good at physical combat, are you sweetie?” Tracker asked.

Sora growled and swung her fists at her. “Take this, ‘sweetie.” She aimed for the Digital Hunter’s nose, but her attack fell short. Tracker grabbed the redhead by the ankle and swung her into the ground. The Qinglongmon Warrior pointed her hand at Tracker’s face, “Crescent Beam!”

Tracker was hit in the face, but she grabbed two of her daggers and was about to attack Sora with them, but she rolled out of the way in time. Sora attacked again, but the Digital Hunter blocked with her daggers. Tracker charged forward and shoved her foot into the Qinglongmon Warrior’s stomach with all of her might. The redhead grabbed her abdomen and staggered backwards.

Takeru swung his gun-shaped sword at Ahab, but the massive Digital Hunter swung his hammer into the Qinglongmon Warrior’s chest, sending him flying onto his back. “Damn it!” he swore, “That felt like getting hit…getting hit by a semi truck!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Ahab grinned. He pounded his foot into Takeru’s stomach while the Qinglongmon Warrior was on the ground. He grabbed Takeru by the ankle and began spinning him around above his head at a fantastic rate before releasing his grip; the momentum sent the blond warrior flying into the wall of the Temple of the Center.

Nimrod and Yamato were engaged in a fierce battle, the clashing of their swords ringing throughout the entire landscape. The Qinglongmon Warrior punched his fist into Nimrod’s face. The Digital Hunter growled and executed a roundhouse kick, slamming his foot into the side of Yamato’s face. The world suddenly became very blurry, and he fell onto his back.

By far, the most important battle was being fought by Lord Sentry and Daisuke. The Qingongmon Warrior’s blade was a fierce weapon, but was still not enough to injure the Digital Hunter leader, that is, if he could even touch him.

Daisuke leapt to the side to avoid a laser blast from the Hunter’s arm-based gun, then charged forward spinning his weapon above his head. He shifted it to his right hand and swung it forward, intending to slice a hole in Lord Sentry’s armor, but the Digital Hunter fired another energy blast that knocked the weapon out of Daisuke’s hand. However, the Warrior executed a perfect gymnastic feat by leaping to the side, grabbing his weapon, and propelling himself back. Lord Sentry smirked and flung his arm into Daisuke, using his own momentum against him. The Qinglongmon Warrior flipped over on the point of impact and landed in the ground.

“Is that the best the Qinglongmon Warriors have to offer?” Lord Sentry laughed, “You are pathetic!”

Daisuke struggled to lift himself up, but the Digital Hunter used to his foot to firmly keep him on the ground. “No…” he moaned, “H..Hikari-chan! I..I’ve got to get up…H…Hikari-chan!”

Suddenly, his body began to glow brightly. The other Qinglongmon Warriors stared at him. “Daisuke?” Takeru asked, even as his own body was starting to glow. Sora and Yamato soon began to glow as well. The light intensified until their bodies exploded, revealing new outfits that had formed beneath the glow.

Takeru was now dressed in a blue jumpsuit and carried a broad sword with a massive blade. “I’m…Cloud Stryfe? Cool.”

Sora looked almost the same, except her skirt was now blue instead of orange. She also carried an elegantly designed scepter. “Sailor Moon?”

Yamato’s armor was now dark red and he carried two swords instead of one. “Ryo of Blazing Fire!”

Daisuke now had brown armor, a long sword and a shield on the other arm. “I think I’m Glenn from Chrono Cross.”

“We evolved again!” Takeru gasped, “Just like Taichi did.”

Daisuke grinned and pointed his sword at Lord Sentry. “Let’s take these guys out.”

Yamato connected his sword hilts together, then jumped into the air, as his weapon became covered with fire. He shot it forward, sending a beam of fire towards his enemies.

“Double Fire Cut!”

Sora leapt into the air and swung her scepter in front of her, sending a beam of energy that merged with Yamato’s attack, augmenting its power.

“Moon Princess Halation!”

Daisuke and Takeru then jumped into the air, each one on one side of the Double Fire Cut/Moon Princess Halation energy beam. The swung their swords into the energy beam, propelling it forward with all of their might. The energy beam smashed into the four Digital Hunters, creating a massive explosion of light and sound. Lord Sentry had used his arm to shield his eyes, which he threw down once the aftershocks of the attack had died down. He looked to his other Hunters, and saw them all lying on the ground.

“Damn it!” he swore, “Digital Hunters, retreat!” He glared at Daisuke before he joined the other Digital Hunters in fleeing.

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When Daisuke, Yamato, Sora and Takeru arrived back in the main alter area, they saw that Taichi was back on his feet. “Are you okay?” Sora asked.

“Yeah,” he grinned, “It’s going to take more then that to stop me. What happened out there?”

“We evolved again!” Daisuke grinned, punching the air, “And I kicked some serious butt!”

“You looked more like you were getting your butt kicked,” Takeru smirked.

“You didn’t do so great yourself!” he snapped back.

“Wait a second,” Yamato said, glancing at the alter, “Are will still able to summon Qinglongmon?”

Hikari hesitated but glanced at Ken. The other boy looked to the ground and slowly shook his head. He mentioned to the heath, which had been completely destroyed from when Taichi smacked into it. “We only had one chance, while the fire was still it. We…we can’t summon Qinglongmon this way.”

The Priestess looked as though her heart had been torn in half. “You mean…I failed?”

“You didn’t fail,” Daisuke said, “It wasn’t you fault.”

“Yeah, it was mine,” Taichi sighed, “I’m the one that broke it.”

“You couldn’t help it,” Noriko protested, “The Digital Hunters did it.”

Ken smiled. “Now wait a second. I didn’t say it was over.”

“You mean there’s another way?” Taichi asked.

The other Qinglong Warrior opened the Digital Codex and flipped to a section in the book. “Here. This section says that the fire helps connect the Priestess to the Holy Beast she is attempting to call. If we can find four Shinzahos, then we can use their energy in place of the heath.”

“What’s a Shinzaho?” Sora asked.

“According to the Codex, when a Priestess summons a Holy Beast, an object on her body absorbs the holy energy, making it a divine artifact. If we can find the four Shinzahoes from the previous Priestesses…”

“I get it,” Taichi said, “We need to find those things, and then we can summon Qinglongmon.”

“Right,” Ken nodded, “They should be in the Temples of the Four Beasts, like the one Hikari got her scroll in and we got our powers, but, this is our last chance. If we don’t do it this way…”

Hikari nodded. “Yes, I understand.” She took a deep breath, “We can’t fail now.”

Unbeknownst to the Qinglongmon Warriors, Sam, of the Baihumon Warriors had been listing from the open doors of the Temple of the Center.

“Shinzaho,” he said to himself. He turned and ran into the distance.

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I had failed in my mission. I needed to summon Qinglongmon, and I could not do it. Daisuke told me that it wasn’t my fault, but that did not help to alleviate the guilt. They all depended on me to call Qinglongmon, and I couldn’t do it.

But now, there is another path to take. If we could find all the Shinzahos, then maybe I could still do it. I had to, everyone is depending on me, not to mention hundreds of Chosen Children that have yet to be affected by the discrimination of the Digital Hunters. For them, and everyone else that has been hurt by them, I will make my wishes, I will succeed.

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Author’s note: Please be sure to check out “Destiny,” it will be my final digimon fic.

Please don’t forget to review.