Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Nights We Felt Alive ❯ Creatures of the Night ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: In a way... we all own digimon. It grows in our hearts and
souls, we love the characters... we cry when they do, and laugh along
with them. Digimon is a part of all of us, and no company owns our
souls. But when it comes to the profits made from little toys and
lunch boxes sold, I'm afraid that I don't receive a penny. Those anime
tycoons get all of it... scrooges.

Author's Note: Academics are a pain. I would love to just write
everyday, but alas, I am unable to do so. I'm trying to get these out
ASAP. Hope you're enjoying this fic so far. This should be a little
more exciting than the last chapter. I would like thank Silver for his
help with the plot line, and reminding me that the Dark Ocean is
rather bleak. I keep making it colorful and pretty, heheh... but go
check out his stuff, its great!

The Nights We Felt Alive

By DaisukeFire

Chapter Nie: Creatures of the Night

Email: [1]daisukefire@yahoo.com I'm dying to know what you think!!

... The dark, greasy waves of passion,

Engulf the world and all its pain,

In a single, time-stopping moment,

Of bliss and unity,

Radiating from the hidden depths of the soul,

Have you ever felt the seas of love...

Kari stopped calling; it was no use in this empty world. If there was
anyone to hear her, it was probably someone or something she wouldn't
want to find her. The depressing downpour was beginning to lighten
now, but the dark clouds showed no sign of fading.

Her sticky, water logged clothes clung to her damp skin and she tried
to peal them away, but they were too stubborn and would not let go.
Shivering. Her muscles twitched rapidly, trying to warm her body.
Gradually she became aware that water that had leaked into her socks
was now squishing between her toes. The strap-on sandals that
protected her feet were coated in a thick cake of black, stinking mud.
It was then that the idea to wade in the shallow waters of the murky
sea crossed her mind; she had to get the sludge off somehow.

Her legs seemed torpid and tenacious as she warily moved down the
hill. Sitting so long had caused the muscles in her calves and thighs
to cramp and then constrict. The tenderness in her knees from the
pressure of her body's weight was almost unbearable. Staggering and
unbalanced, she began to make her way down the relatively steep hill.
Several times she almost tripped, which would have been disastrous.
She could imagine herself tumbling at a rapid rate toward the beach,
and hitting her head on the various rocks embedded in the slope. Kari
let out a light grunt as she stubbed her toe on one of these sleeping
stones.

After what seemed like an eternity of stumbling, she managed to make
it to the beach. When she surveyed her surroundings from a less
elevated level she noticed a variety of tracks marked in the soft,
sandy ground. One of the tracks seemed nauseatingly familiar. It was
larger than the imprint of her own foot and had three long phalanges
unified at the sole of the creature's pedal. She perceived what
appeared to be an amphibian webbing jetting from the edge of each toe
and coupled to the next. The tracks appeared to be the residue of some
giant frogs' feet. Her guess was that the prints belonged to one of
those creepy Scubamon who had brought her here a few years back. She
hoped against hope that she wouldn't run into any at the moment, she
didn't think that she could handle that kind of stress. The other
tracks were not recognizable at all. They were much smaller in
juxtaposing than the amphibian feet, and were not webbed at all. Their
morphology resembled that of a reptile's. Each of the toes wielded a
small claw at its most distal tip. What creature possessed these feet,
she didn't know, and she didn't much care. What did fascinate her,
however, was that the two sets of prints were melded in the pattern of
a cacophonous struggle; a battle for survival must have taken place.

Kari pushed the mysterious tracks to the back of her mind as she made
her way to the edge of the apathetic surf. Wearily, she place her feet
into the cool water, and watched as the muck from her feet diffused
further away with each gentle impulse from the tide. The shaven hair
on her legs prickled from the new awareness of cold that swallowed her
ankles. It felt relaxing, and she felt the swelling in her knees
disappear as she sat down in the shallow irrigate. She was already
awash, so she cared little about sitting in the water now. Closing her
eyes and leaning back her head, she sighed. For such a dismal world,
it sure was peaceful here.

She opened her ears and listened to her surroundings. The wind quietly
howled as it rushed from sea to land, furling her hair into tangles as
it went. Rather than the relentless crash of wave against rock, like
she'd heard on the cliff, here it was a gentle slapping sound as the
water hugged the shore. Then, somewhere from the woods beyond the
beach she heard a sheer reptilian cry, and what seemed like malicious
laughing. At first she thought it was just her imagination, but the
ruckus continued. The waves crashed with a splash to her sides as she
shot to her feet and her eyelids burst open. The throbbing in her
knees disappeared as adrenaline instinct kicked in. Someone was in
trouble, and needed her help.

All thoughts of self-pity vanished from her mind as it became flooded
with urgency. Kari crashed out of the water and onto the beach. The
powdery sand coated her wet feet like sugar as she careened into the
mass of forest. It then struck her that the forest was like a hybrid
between modern pine forests and some forest out of prehistoric ages.
Low hanging branches scratched her cheeks and bare arms as she ran;
she felt no pain. She had to remain aware of low-lying flora so as not
to get any caught in her sandals, and avoid tripping.

Around thirty yards into the forest she saw them. They looked just as
she remembered. Like thick, tangible gray shadows. Their sea-bound
anatomy caused them to look less dangerous than they truly were. They
stood a quarter taller than Kari herself. She could still remember the
damp, clammy texture of their flesh from when they had tried to drag
her away to the depths of the ocean. Their bright, conspicuous eyes
stared innocuously from their black heads down upon another creature
with a starving hatred. There were two of them. Scubamon.

The other creature, the one playing defense, was not so formidable in
appearance. It appeared to be a miniscule reptile, just a little
smaller than Agumon. It was an insult to dragon-hood. Its two forelegs
did not exist. It stood on its hind two legs and thrashed about as it
tried to escape the monsters. In their place loomed two spiny wings
with claws at the tips. The wings were more like those of a bat than
those of a bird. Sail-like, white ears sprouted from the top of its
head. A row of black spines traveled down it's back and the length of
its tail. It had large, round eyes with gray linings surrounding dark
pupils. Its jaw and glimmering white teeth snapped desperately as it
yelped like a poor beast for help. Aside from the white ears and
claws, gray eyes and a few scattered gray stripes, the entire creature
was pitch black. It lunged and hissed at its attackers in a savage
dance of despair.

Though the creature hardly looked cute, and was anything but tame,
Kari was not about to let the Scubamon inflict some terrible exploit
on it. "Hey!" she yelled at the three as the Scubamon began to swipe
at the creature. All three stopped their activity and turned to face
the young girl. Kari put on the most demanding and powerful face she
could muster, though she doubted it looked intimidating.

"Yes, our queen," moaned the two ghostly creatures in watery gurgles
as they forgot about their captive and approached their monarch.
"Please... come with us."

Kari held her hands to her face and closed her eyes, as she shouted,
"No! Just leave me alone!" Terrified, she awaited the onset of the
monsters, there was no way she could fight them alone. She needed
Gatomon, but Gatomon wasn't there. Half expecting them to grab her
with their slimy hands she opened her eyes. To Kari's surprise they
were doing as she ordered, and leaving.

"As you wish, my Queen," one of the two said as they began to
disappear from the forest and into the swirling waves of the ocean.
Kari was aghast; they still remembered her, and she wasn't sure as to
whether this was good or bad. They had called her their `queen,' when
she had plainly rejected their offer on her last visit. This deeply
worried her.

When she turned to greet the creature she'd saved she gasped only to
see it flying jaws wide, fangs bared and claws flexing straight toward
her. Her reflexes snapped into action as she managed to dodge the
determined attack by side stepping to her left. The creature crashed
into a pile of dead leaves and branches a few feet behind her. As Kari
cautiously approached to make sure it hadn't been hurt by the fall it
leapt from the earth at her again. Whatever it was, it was quite
persistent. She ducked as it flew over her head. She turned in
preparation to parry the next attack only to see the creature running
away from her.

"Wait!" she cried, "I won't hurt you!" She gave chase after the
fleeing dragon. She wasn't sure why she decided to chase it, and she
doubted she could catch it, but she decided that she would rather be
stuck closer to one of these rather than those Scubamon. "Sure aren't
a very friendly to someone who just saved your life, are you little
guy?" she muttered in gasps under her breath as she leapt over a
fallen tree, trying not to lose site of the creature.

... Even with the fissures of my broken heart,

I must provide the strength to endure,

Not just for myself,

But for those I love,

And for those who need me,

Let the cool breath of the evening wind,

Carry me onward...

Dry beds of fallen needles and leaves crackled under the feet of the
wandering stranger. He perceived the odor of sweet pines and fresh dew
diffused evenly throughout the cool air. Vibrations emitted from the
raging waves nearby prickled his skin and ears as the masses crashed
desperately against the unyielding rocky coast. A haunting, old
persona emitted from the ageless trees and filled the forest of
darkness with a lingering sense of nostalgia... and emptiness. The air
was thick, as though it hadn't been shifted in ages. Though the hours
of light had not yet faded into the past, not a single ray passed
through the adamant filtering clouds, if there was even a sun to
produce any form of light in this world.

The hurried rustling of branches above the stranger's head produced a
shower of broken wood chips as well as various insects. Trying its
best to keep pace with its friend, the unusual orange creature dove
from tree limb to the next in an exasperated condition. A thin smile
formed on the stranger's lips, but it was one shadowed by doubt. He
had given up calling her name for the moment; his throat was beginning
to ache from the abuse. His best chance of finding her was to make his
way through the tangles of brush and vegetation to the beach. By the
increasing amplitude of the waves, he could tell he was getting close.
At times he almost thought he saw the oceanic black peeking through
the overpopulated colony of foliage.

To his right was a steep incline where the density of trees dispersed
toward the top. To his left was an infinite amount of forest blocking
long-range view. Behind him was not much different in view, and to his
front came the reverberation of the ocean. He paused for a moment,
considering as to whether he should climb the hill and see if he could
get a better view of the surrounding area from above.

He began to make his way up the rising mound, and further into the
sky. His sticky tongue smacked against his drying lips in an attempt
to remove the gummy feeling from his mouth, but to no success.
Stopping his feet halfway up the hill he placed his hands in a cup
formation around his mouth cried out the girl's name again. No
response. Frustrated, he let his head fall to his chest and sway
there.

Then he heard the echo of his call come crawling back toward him, but
in a different voice. Raising his head, he looked in all side
directions only to find nothing. It was then that he noticed something
rushing through the mass of leaves above, coming straight in his
direction. The stranger was unsure how he should react. This oncoming
creature could be a hungry predator, or some fleeing victim. Both
assumptions were wrong, the boy realized, as the creature dove from a
tree branch and collided with the orange flying creature; who let out
a grunt of surprise as the two of them tumbled with a dull thud to the
needle padded ground.

"Ouch," moaned the stranger's partner.

"Why don't you watch where you're going!" growled the purple striped,
irritated newcomer as it rubbed its clawed hand in a soothing motion
on its furry head.

"Gatomon!" cried the boy. With tears of joy flooding from her
lemon-shaped eyes, the purring feline turned and leapt into TK's
outstretched arms. "Why were you in such a hurry?"

A downcast expression molded on the cat's face, "I've been searching
for Kari for hours, and I just can't find her. I hope that she's not
in any danger!" Bewilderment replaced the cat's face of angst, "Hey,
what are you two doing here?"

"We jumped through a strange pink mist, and now we're here," replied a
smiling Patamon. "How'd you and Kari get here?"

"I'm not sure," answered Gatomon, "Kari was really depressed, and then
she just faded into a pink glow. We have to find her!"

TK agreed, "Yeah, we can figure out what happened later. But now we
need to get back to searching for Kari. We were heading up this hill
before you dropped in, so do you want to come with us?"

"I don't think I have much choice."

Kari was not at the top of the hill, but a fascinating view was. The
hill ended in a sharp, jetting cliff with jagged rocks worn smooth by
the perpetual touch of the tide below. A thin, ethereal mist loomed
over the area below. TK's eyes distinguished the faint silhouettes of
buildings and a bordering fence in the distance. Sand covered the
beach like a large patch of snow, and was sifted into petite dunes by
the conquering wind. Blended shades of bleak green and brown marched
into the distance as the forest blanketed endless miles of land. The
bleak gray sky gave TK a feeling like a sharp jab in his chest. This
world was far too depressing for him.

"Hey, look at this!" cried Gatomon. TK and Patamon rushed to see what
her claws were pointing at. The faded imprint of footsteps left in the
mud from the preceding storm were headed away from the cliff, and down
the opposite side of the slope TK and the others had climbed.

"Kari!" cried the three simultaneously as they followed her descending
path down the hill and toward the ocean's grainy shore.

... I know you're here,

Trapped somewhere in this desperate place,

Crying, maybe, but I hope not too hard,

Because you are the only light in a dying world,

Because you're so important to everyone,

And your tears enrage the fires deep within my heart...

Odd, for being a dragon the creature didn't seem to use it's wings
much. It hopped and ran, at times using its wings to further the
length of its jump. But it never used its wings to fly. A series of
yips and cries escaped the creature's mouth as it fled. Kari was
running out of breath, and her body begged for a rest, but something
deep inside her forced her on. It felt like this creature still needed
help, even though she had already saved it.

At long last the forest seemed to thin and the humid air seemed to
grow dryer. It was when the pursuer and her prey reached a large river
that Kari considered giving up. She had expected the dragon to just
hop and fly over the raging waters, but, to her shock and surprise, it
didn't. Rather, in one of the most graceful motions she had ever seen,
it leapt into the air and then dived like a bird into the water. She
could see its streaking body writhing like that of a snake's as it
swam powerfully against the current. When it reached the other side it
shot out and landed gracefully on the land. The other side of the
river proved how erratic this world was. While the sky remained in
perpetual night, the land had changed from Cenozoic forest to a barren
desert.

As much as she wanted to continue her pursuit of the creature, there
was no way she was about to brave those ravishing currents. Defeated,
Kari turned and prepared to begin the journey back toward the ocean.
It wouldn't be too long of a walk, but it was more trouble than she
wanted right now. Besides, if anyone were searching for her, which she
doubted, that would be the place they would look. She was aching from
the exhausting run and the cuts and scrapes she had received were now
making her all the more miserable.

That was when she heard something fall from the leaves and a sharp
pressure plunge into her neck. She let out a startled cry as she
batted the creature from her shoulder. Putting her hand to her neck
she felt the warm pang of blood trickling into her palm. The prick
wasn't a major wound, but it did hurt. Crossly, she looked down to see
if the little creature had swum back across only to start attacking
her again. But she knew it had been too short of a time for that feat.
Looking toward the ground she saw another creature of the same make,
only a little bigger and owning a different stripe pattern. It snarled
and growled at her in a high-pitched fury.

Then she noticed the others out of the corner of her eye. And that was
when she began to feel dizzy, and the world seemed to shake. There
were lots of them. They had her surrounded. She looked across the
river only to see the original creature staring back at her
menacingly. That was when she realized what had happened. The
creatures had set up some kind of trap, and she had foolishly fallen
into it. The poison from the creature had entered her blood stream,
and was now rendering her deep into incapacity. She felt herself fall
to her knees, and as much as she knew she had to run, to escape, she
was completely disabled. The last thoughts that passed through Kari's
mind were wondering if the creatures planned to eat her, and if anyone
would ever know she was gone. Then everything went pitch-black...

...Somewhere in the deep mists of night,

Evil strikes the innocent,

I cannot stand by,

I will not let the dark hearted thrive!

The chorus of twilight must survive!

The fresh tracks led to the edge of the rising tide. TK had found
Kari's prints, as well as some other ones. At first he was worried
that the Scubamon had abducted Kari, but as he looked closer at the
tracks he was sure that she had gone to do some investigating of the
other ones as well. From there, TK deducted that she had gone to wade
in the edge of the Dark Ocean. Then he was confused by her next
tracks, which appeared that she had run into the forest for some
unexplainable reason.

It was there that he had lost her trail, and his attempt to have
Gatomon and Patamon track her scent seemed futile. The human and two
Digimon were now gathered in a circle sitting in the cushy sand,
saying nothing. TK was determined to find Kari before he would even
think about going back to Earth, but at the moment that seemed an
impossible task. Yet he refused to lose hope. The rumbling growl
emitting from his empty stomach reminded him of how badly he needed
food. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he entered the pink
mist, but he was sure it had been quite a few hours. The business of
searching for Kari had robbed him of much of his energy, and despite
his excellent shape, he could not ignore his metabolism. By the looks
on the two Digimons' faces, he was sure that they were not much better
off.

The blonde haired boy stood to his feet and journeyed over to a
cluster of trees. He was sure he had noticed fruit grasping the dense
branches when he passed by there earlier. Without a word being spoken,
his two companions began to follow slightly behind. His suspicions
were correct; the tree had produced round, slightly red balls, which
were suspended amidst various clusters of shaggy gray-green leaves.
After reaching to the lowest hanging branch and plucking one of the
balls from its leafy nest, he inspected it for quality. The skin was
smooth with a faint waxy texture, and it felt ripe when he squeezed
it. There were only two questions left: did it taste good, which
didn't really matter, as long as it was edible. The other question, TK
feared, was that it might contain a poison chemical, since everything
in this world seemed dark. But there was no choice, if he didn't eat
something he would be unable to continue his pursuit of Kari.
Reluctant, but determined, he took a tiny bite of the fruit. Better he
be the tester than one of the Digimon, he could not bear the guilt of
causing one of them to become sick... or die. The juices mingled with
the saliva in his mouth, and the flesh of the fruit tasted pleasant.
He was certain that if it were poisonous, the taste would have been
bitter. He felt a number of hard, tiny objects in his mouth, which he
assumed to be seeds. He spit them into his free hand; the fruit
contained hundreds of them imbedded in the tissue. Well, nothing's
perfect.

After waiting a few minutes, and feeling no adverse affects, TK
confirmed that the fruit would suffice for their meal. He plucked
another low-hanging ball and presented it to Gatomon, whom he was sure
was the most hungry out of the group. The cat accepted the gift
gratefully and gulped it down in the matter of a few bites, seeds and
all. TK chuckled, "You must be hungry, Gatomon." Gatomon nodded and
gently rubbed her belly, indicating she wanted more. TK smiled and
reached up to grab some more of the fruit, but the rest of the balls
were just out of his reach.

"I'll get some more for us," volunteered Patamon. TK nodded in
confirmation and the orange creature flapped the wings on its head and
piloted into the upper branches of the tree. A few seconds later
numerous red balls began raining from above, and TK did his best to
catch them, though he wasn't about to go hungry because the fruit had
a little bruise on it from hitting the ground.

Patamon dropped from the tree, and the three strangers gorged
themselves on the fallen fruit. Though TK could have used something a
little more filling than fruit, as well as something with less seeds,
it would gladly suffice for the moment being. When they had all eaten
their fill, all three let out a satisfied sigh.

"Maybe we should get some more fruit for Kari, just in case she's
hungry when we find her," Gatomon suggested. TK and Patamon agreed
that this would be a good idea, and Patamon flew into the upper
branches once again.

After a few pieces of fruit fell, Patamon yelped excitedly, "There she
is!" Hybrid expressions of shock and joy filled the faces of the
blonde haired boy and the cat as Patamon lowered his hover to TK's
face. "I saw her over there," Patamon cried pointing deeper into the
forest with his one of his tiny front paws. At once all three made
their way in the direction Patamon had indicated.

As the three entered a patch in the forest bare of trees, and still
close to the ocean's edge, they saw her. She stood motionless with her
back toward her friends. She seemed to be staring at something, but as
hard as he looked, TK was unable to focus on anything of interest.

"Kari, are you ok?" TK called to her. No reply.

Gatomon shot from TK's side and rushed toward her partner. "I'm so
glad we found you!" cried the feline.

"Stay back," warned Kari with an eerie edge to her voice, "I'm fine."

Gatomon stopped dead in her tracks, Kari had never yelled at her
before. The cat stared at her friend, her eyes filled with confusion
and worry.

"What's the matter Kari?" asked TK as he stepped toward her, his voice
filled with concern.

"You're here, that's what's wrong," she replied gallingly. Kari's mood
deeply disturbed TK. Whatever had caused her to come to this world had
crushed her so much that she refused to greet her friends humanely.

"I'm sorry," answered TK as he nervously rubbed his foot in the
decaying matter of the forest, "I thought you were in trouble. If you
don't want me here, I can leave. I just don't think it's very safe for
you in this place."

"Good! Leave and don't come back, all you want to do is take me away
from here. I love it here, and no one is going to take me away!" TK
could see her fists and shoulders clenching in frustration and
irritation.

"Alright, I understand... but what about the Scubamon? What if they
find you here?" TK queried.

"I am their Queen!" cried Kari as she spun around to face her friends.
Her face was twisted in utter contempt for the group. She glared at
them menacingly. "And you," she pointed at Gatomon, "I don't ever want
to see your annoying little face again!"

Gatomon recoiled in terror and cringed from a broken heart as she
stared wide-eyed at the brown-haired girl. "B-but Kari..." The feline
was cut off by a feral growl coming from the girl's throat.

As TK stared at his friend in disbelief he noticed something. There
was something odd about Kari, other than the way she was acting. He
couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it had to do with her eyes.
Somehow they looked... dead. That was when the feeling hit his gut. It
was the feeling one gets when they have a premonition of being
watched. Though he couldn't see any eyes, he could feel them piercing
him from all angles. He glanced at Patamon and Gatomon, who were
staring at Kari in disbelief. Then he glanced back to the girl whose
chest was quickly rising and falling in an almost nervous manner. Then
he saw them. They were a few feet behind Kari, hiding in a black knoll
of some large tree. They were glowing yellow, and monitoring the
scene. Suddenly it all made sense... eyes.

"It's a trap!" TK cried as he reached for his D3. Instantly he heard
the rushing of sticky feet coming from all directions through the
trees. The eyes that occupied the knoll behind were hurtling toward
the three companions.

"What?" cried Gatomon in horror as she watched as Kari transformed.
She became a tall, ghost-like creature with amphibian traits. It was a
Scubamon.

"Kari will be our queen! We will not let you three demons take her
from us again!" cried the Scubamon clone of Kari in a watery voice.

TK paid little attention to the Scubamon's threat because he had
already raised the green D3 over his head and was now crying,
"Digiarmor energize!"

As he did this a yellow light shot from the mystic device in his hand
into the orange creature, who began to glow fiercely. "Patamon," it
cried in its high-pitched voice, "armor digivolve to... Pegasusmon,
flying hope!" When the light faded, a stallion based creature wearing
golden armor had taken Patamon's place. Bright, feathery wings of
white sprouted from its back, and a metal faceplate disclosed the
creature's facial expressions. Without hesitation TK leapt onto the
back of the horse-like creature, and swiped his arm down the other
side of the unicorn to grab the battle ready, hissing feline by the
fur of its neck.

The winged horse lifted through the thick branches of trees, which
scrapped all three companions, and out into the bleak sky. There was
no way TK was about to face creatures with the strength of ultimate
Digimon by himself. He still wasn't sure as to whether they were
Digimon, or some completely other species. As he glanced down into the
clearing below he saw about ten Scubamon staring up at him menacingly.
He almost expected to see them change into flying creatures and give
chase, but they did not. TK sighed; they were safe for the moment. Off
in the distance before them he saw what looked like a desert island.
He figured it was a good distance away from the Scubamon, and might be
a good place to rest, and asked Pegasusmon to take them there.

...I saw you in a spring meadow,

A youthful flower pressed to your nose,

The glimmer in your eyes was so peaceful and

Full of life,

But why do they lie?

When in truth,

Sorrow sieges your life...

The voices passed in and out of her dreams as they echoed across her
mind. Whatever creatures the group that was speaking were; they seemed
frightened. One of the voices, one that sounded raspy and aged with a
reptilian accent, said, "Why don't we just kill it?"

A high-pitched child-like voice added, "They said she was their
queen."

"She doesn't look like one of them!" cried another voice.

Another replied, "But they can change shape, remember?"

"I've never seen something quite as weird as her before... and ugly."
Replied another voice. The crowd's ranting seemed to have the
mentality bees do when their hive is under attack.

"But if we kill her," interjected what seemed to be a female's voice,
"Then those `Scubas' will be after us full force. Why don't we keep
her as a hostage instead?"

"Grande idea!" the raspy voiced one praised, "they won't be attacking
our youth anymore if we've got their `queen!'" The mention of the word
`queen' began to rouse Kari from her toxic slumber. She wanted to sit
up and tell the creatures that she wasn't the queen of those monsters,
and that she had meant no harm to them. But her head felt like it had
been used as a punching bag. Her mouth was sticky and her lips dry as
she tried to rise from the fetal position in which she lay. The
unpleasant odor of sweat dripped from her overheated body. She was
certain that it was because of a fever, one aftereffect of the vile
venom.

Jadedly, she cracked open her eyes and tried to peer through the
darkness at her captors. It was pointless though; her eyelashes were
caught in the way and obscured most of her visual field. The warm
grains of sand stuck to her cheeks as she tried to lift her head.
Somehow those creatures must have carried her across the water and to
their desert. She was annoyed by the fact that she was unable to raise
her arm to brush the grains from her face and hair. "Look!" one of the
creatures cried. The voices no longer echoed dreamily as she forced
her way into complete consciousness. Sounds of movement about her,
scurrying in the sand, and disturbed whispers filled the air. The
sound of wings gently beating the air followed. She could feel the
circle of creatures backing away vigilantly.

With exhausted arms she forced her palms into the sand and strained as
she tried to lift her torso into a sitting position. To her surprise
she felt what appeared to be stringy vines tied around her body. The
creatures had not used strong enough ones, nor tied them prudently,
and she easily broke her bonds. Her gaze was hazy, she felt unbearably
dizzy and she was almost overwhelmed by the feeling of nausea tickling
her stomach. Gazing at the crowd of strange dragons gathered nervously
around her she realized how ironic the situation was. This was what
she got for trying to help someone in need.

Kari coughed, trying to remove the slimy mucus from her throat; the
dragons recoiled in distrust. She tried her best to paint a benevolent
smile on her face, but probably succeeded only in reflecting her
sickly condition all the more. Their eyes were locked on her as if
they expected her to begin attacking at any second. One of the smaller
dragons hissed at her.

"Uh," Kari's voice sounded much weaker than she had hoped it would, "I
think there's been a..." she choked and the dragons flinched,
"misunderstanding." The dragons then did not respond. She felt as if
she were giving a speech to her high school class, who probably would
have responded in a similar manner. Reluctantly, she tried again. "I
don't want to hurt you." One of the dragons gave what seemed to be a
sarcastic grunt.

"Evil," she heard another one of them mutter, and a number of
supportive hisses followed.

"I'm not evil, really. I just wanted to help," Kari replied, worry
dominant in her voice.

With a venomous snarl the little one she had tried to help, at least
it looked like that one, leapt heatedly at her, its jaws wide open,
its teeth bared. Kari put her arms to her face, a primitive reaction
that would not stop another venomous strike from one of these
creatures. But she felt no jaws clamp around her arm, and peeking at
the ground in front of her revealed the creature fuming at her feet.
She carefully lowered her arms from her face, and then tried to smile
at the creature, which seemed to be a child compared to the others.

"Why don't you change back into your real form, demon! Were not going
to be tricked by you and your minions!" it growled at her in a
childish demeanor.

"But I'm telling the truth, I don't know how to convince you?" Kari
moaned in despair.

The rest of the creatures tightened their circle around her,
determined to reveal their enemy's identity. They were hopping and
hissing like a flock of chickens around her. An occasional one snapped
at her, one even tore a patch of fabric from her shirt. "Evil, evil,
evil..." they chanted in an aggressive chorus. Kari wanted to say
something, something that would appease their violence, but she was
not about to tell them that she was queen of the Scubas. Temptation
entered her mind to begin swatting at the pests, but that would only
infuriate the tempest.

A mild voice came to her aid with the solitary statement, "Maybe she's
telling the truth." Instantly the crowd of creatures stopped their
ranting and jumping, and looked back up the sandy plane toward a
single dragon standing alone. It looked no different than the others
in appearance except for a distinct, scaly scare where its right arm
had once flapped. It stood sternly, but there was the slight tinge of
nervousness in its voice that one gets when one defies the majority.
But still, it stood strong.

"What!" cried one standing next to Kari's feet, angrily flapping its
wings. "Isn't it obvious that she's here to destroy what's left of our
dwindling clan?"

"She doesn't look very harmful," the defiant one argued.

A few of the creatures cried in protest, "But she will be when she
changes shape!"

"Then why hasn't she done it yet?" The others were speechless as they
tried to think of a rebuttal. Reluctantly the crowd began to disperse
from round Kari, who had never been so thankful.

The dragon that had spoken in her defense made its way across the sand
to her. Kari noticed that it did not have trouble keeping its balance
even with the loss of a wing, suggesting that it might have been
removed a while ago.

The creature stopped in front of her, and looked up into her face with
curious eyes. "I'm sorry that we've been so rude to you. I know I
can't excuse our behavior, but I will say that you are great cause for
fear among us."

"I'm not queen of the Scubas, please believe me," Kari pleaded.

"You don't act like one of them, so I'll give you the benefit of the
doubt. But it is said that a few years ago the Scubas chose a queen
for their lord, and that when she returns their lord will come into
his full power and rule this land completely. You wouldn't happen to
know anything about that, would you?" The dragon looked at her
suspiciously.

"Actually," said Kari hesitantly, "they called me here to help them a
few years ago and then tried to force me to be their queen, but I
refused."

"You refused?" There was a gasp among those standing by.

"Yes, I refuse to help anyone who tries to force me to do something."

"That's interesting. I think you may be the one prophecies tell of,
but you don't seem like you want to join Dragomon and rule this
world."

"I could never do something like that," answered Kari strongly, "my
dream is for all worlds to live in peace. I could never oppress
people."

"Isn't that everyone's dream?" The dragon chuckled solemnly, "I must
admit, I've never met a creature that looks as strange as you. What
are you?"

"I'm a human," Kari answered, and just in case it might help she
added, "and one of the Digidestined."

"She's lying! She's the demon queen!" cried a voice from the crowd of
creatures watching the conversation.

Before more riots could break out, the one-winged creature hushed them
with what seemed more like a plea than an order. "I'm sorry, I've
never heard of those names before." Kari's face became downcast. The
creature continued, "My name's Ater, what's your name?"

"Kari!" cried the familiar male voice of TK from high in the vapid
air. Kari looked up and cried with joy, waiving to her friends who
were riding on the back of Pegasusmon. Maybe now they could get out of
here. When she looked toward the crowd of creatures to explain the
coming of her friends, she saw that they were scrambling in all
directions as if some new predator had invaded their camp. Only Ater
remained as Kari vainly called out to the other dragons not to be
afraid.

Kari looked at Ater in dismay, "Why are they running?"

The dragon replied, "People fear that which they do not understand."

...What strange creature are you,

That you run from my sight,

And snap at my fingers,

Learn of my mind,

Then judge...

Pegasusmon landed with a dull crunch on the blanket of sand, sending
some of it in a spray through the air, and then sinking a few inches
in it. TK and Gatomon leapt off the back of the unicorn, which then,
in a bright flash of light, reverted back to Patamon.

"Are you all right Kari?" TK asked with concern as Kari immediately
embraced him with a hug. "How did you get here?"

Kari did not remove her arms from around his body, it seemed almost
like she was crying. "I'm not sure," she replied, the strain to keep
from whimpering evident in her voice.

"Well, it's alright. We can go home now." TK said, somewhat unsure how
to comfort his friend. TK glanced to Patamon for reassurance; the
other just returned the uncertain look.

Out of the corner of his eye TK noticed the familiar pink mist
beginning to form. Kari too noticed the mist, and TK looked at her
face and saw that her eyes seemed to water with something, fear maybe.
She seemed to shiver, and then she clenched her eyes shut and placed
her face on his shoulder. "I can't," she gasped, her breathing
becoming rapid and forming and abnormal rhythm.

TK bit his lower lip, Kari's embrace was becoming somewhat awkward,
and he was tempted to push her away. But he was determined to help his
friend overcome whatever she feared, and continued to return the grip.
Gatomon was staring up at him, as if to say, `do something!' TK moved
his lips as compassionately as possible, "Why can't you?"

Kari was silent, indicating to TK that she wasn't going to tell him of
her crisis. "Y-you go," she stuttered, "I-I'll be fine here."

Hoping to cheer her up, TK put a dumb grin on his face and replied as
if she were speaking gibberish, "No way, I can't just leave you here.
What could possibly be wrong with going back?"

Wrong move, Kari released him and backed away, her head hanging toward
the ground. TK mentally punched himself, of course something was wrong
at home, why else would she be here?

"I'll stay with her," Gatomon suggested, "you and Patamon go ahead and
head back. We need to give an excuse to Kari's parents as it is,
they're going to be wondering what happened to her."

Gatomon had a good point, and TK felt like he couldn't stand another
minute of being stuck in the dark. The pink mist was beginning to thin
as these thoughts passed through his brain, and he knew that his time
to make a choice was limited. He thought of the rays of the sun
warming his face back home, and yearned for them. And how long was he
going to be stuck here at any rate? If he didn't go now, there might
be a chance that he could never get home. But he couldn't just abandon
Kari for such petty reasons.

"You'd better hurry, if you want to go, TK." Kari reminded her friend,
a tinge of urgency in her voice.

The mist was now fading rapidly, and TK made his choice. He watched as
the mist was absorbed by the dry sand, and wondered if that would be
the last time he would ever see it. He looked back to the others, who
had their eyes glued on his act, the sacrifice of escaping from the
darkness. He smiled, "I can't believe the thought of abandoning my
friends even crossed my mind," he said somewhat sheepishly. "But I
realized that if I wouldn't be a very good friend if I left. We're
going to get through this together, Kari."

She smiled weakly; then turned back to Ater, who had watched the whole
episode with distinguished interest. "My name is Kari," she informed,
then motioning to each of her friends, "and this is TK. Those are our
Digimon, Gatomon and Patamon."

...When, it comes to

Love, One must make

Sacrifices, and let the little things

Be, enduring the worst torment is

Pleasant, with you by my side...

"We used to be a well functioning society," Ater explained to the four
companions who sat around the hole in the sand that the dragon called
home. Holes made homes for the creatures now. Ater had provided them
with some dried fruit, and the dried flesh of some creature Kari was
hesitant to ask about. The dried fruit helped to sooth the aching in
her stomach, and counteract the after affects of the poison a little.
She didn't touch the meat, but Gatomon eagerly gulped down her share
without a second thought, with Kari's permission of course. The
creatures had begun circulating the desert island in their normal
routine by now, though many kept a wary eye on the strangers, and
still refused to trust the one that many called `The Demon Queen.'
Most avoided Ater's home at all costs.

Nocturnes were what Ater had called himself and his people. He had
explained to the Digidestined that neither they nor the `Scubamon'
were Digimon at all. They could not `evolve' to higher levels, nor did
they contain any truly special powers. The `Scubas' did have the
ability to change their shape, but were limited to that. Nocturnes, on
the other hand, had no truly special abilities at all. The females
were blessed with a toxic serum in their fangs, and the males were
actually the weaker of the two sexes.

"What happened to your civilization?" Patamon asked curiously.

"Did you see that village down by the beach?" Ater inquired. The
others nodded. "That was our city. It was given to the first Daine of
the Nocturnes by the gods of this world at its beginning, or so it is
believed. But around the time of the third Daine, one of the gods
overthrew the others and claimed this world as his own. He is the one
who the Scubas want you to marry, Kari. I'm sure you've heard of the
`Undersea Master,' haven't you?"

"Unfortunately," Kari sighed.

"His true name is Dragomon. This world has always been dark, but not
until he came to power did it become evil." Ater explained as he took
a bite of the meat. "This world had many other creatures inhabiting it
long ago; each of them was given their own territory by the gods. Each
society lived in harmony with the others... except the Scubas. The
Scubas were barbarians; they had no community, only clans that hated
each other. Yet they were no threat because their power was so
unevenly distributed. But then Dragomon appeared. He chose the Scubas
to be his servants, but they are more like his slaves. Once he had
them united, they were unstoppable. One by one, Dragomon destroyed all
those who resisted him. That was most of the civilizations. He
overlooked us for a very long time, but eventually our turn came.

"Around five years ago the Scubas attacked our village," the dragon
began to make motions with his wing as if it would help him explain
better, "and drove us into exile. They would have continued until we
were extinct, like they did with the others, but a few `lucky' breaks
happened that helped the survival of our current clan.

"About a year after the sixth Daine and her children were murdered by
the Scubas, a new threat entered our world... a boy. He looked very
much like you do," Ater pointed to TK with his clawed wing, "except
that he was much more evil. He set up a black tower that seemed to
weaken Dragomon. That didn't bother us, in fact, we were thankful for
it. It was then that he sent a multitude of black rings and spirals
into our world. These spirals would weaken you if one attached itself
to you.

"You are probably wondering, Kari, why I was not afraid of you. It was
because I have seen you before, as well as TK and both of your
`Digimon.'"

"That must have been the first time we came here," Gatomon mentioned.

Ater continued, "I was the only one of my kind to see you. I was sent
to investigate and see if we could return to our home. That was back
when I had both wings," the dragon chuckled. "I saw the entire event.
Your defeating of the guardian of the black tower was impressive. And
even more impressing was when you refused to be the Scubas queen.

"I returned home and told my people that the good gods had returned to
bring peace back to the world, but no one believed a word I said. I
later witnessed you," he pointed to Kari, "with another and the `evil'
boy defeat that monstrous flower that invaded our world. It was then
that I realized you were not gods, but warriors of some kind. Though I
was surprised to see you with the `evil' one.

"You must mean Ken by `evil one,'" TK chuckled, "he's not evil
anymore. Actually, he's on our side."

"I see," Ater nodded, "But after that I was determined to meet you and
ask for your help the next time I saw you, but that never came.
Instead, both a blessing and a curse came to our world. A powerful
creature that you call a `Digimon' entered our world. He declared war
on Dragomon, and since then both he and Dragomon have been at war.
This is good for us because he keeps Dragomon away from us, but I fear
he will be just as cruel as The Undersea Master if he wins."

"Daemon," TK growled under his breath.

"That was our fault," Kari apologized her face downcast, "we sealed
him in this world to save our own. I guess we never considered that
this place might be inhabited. But how does Dragomon stand up against
Daemon? Isn't Daemon far more powerful?"

Ater replied grimly, "Dragmon is on of the gods, he is immortal. The
two appear to be equal in strength. Please don't feel too bad about
sending him here. If you had not sent him here, we Nocturnes might be
extinct by now. We've lived in peaceful exile ever since, but we still
wish we could go home. And now that the royal blood of the Daines is
gone forever, no one is fit to lead us. We are living in a degrading,
chaotic state. What hope do we have?"

Kari looked to TK, "Do you think we could help them?"

"Daemon and Dragomon, I think we would need the others' help." TK
replied strategically.

"But we can't leave to get them, remember?" TK noticed Kari's sadness
creep back to her eyes.

TK nodded, "Then we have to try to defeat them one at a time."

"But all of us together, even with Imperialdramon, couldn't beat
Daemon alone. What if they ganged up on us?" questioned Gatomon.

"We can do it!" cried the Digimon of Hope. "We can't just give up.
There's always a way to help people, even if you can't see it at
first."

TK and Kari glanced to each other, pondering the same question. "Do
you think we can do it?" asked TK.

"I don't know if I have the strength," Kari answered, "but we have to
try..."

...They claim I'm a demon,

Maybe they're right,

But I'll do it anyways,

I'll join the fight...

Author's Note: What did ya think? I hope this chapter was a little
more exciting. I know I haven't gotten much romance going yet, but the
best relationships take time to build. Next chapter will be more
romantic, I promise! But not sappy! Not yet anyways. I'm still kinda
unsure about my poetry, I hope its getting better. As always, please
review or email me, I appreciate your feedback!

References

1. mailto:daisukefire@yahoo.com