FicWad

Digimon: Silver Star Story

(Side note, for identification purposes

Luna One: The feline

Luna Two: The human)

Episode Eleven: The Trial of the Magic Guild

After a short breakfast, and a great deal of questions on Racc and the Katana Tai now had, the group saddled up, yet again, and continued their journey to Vane. They were simply having a pleasant ride down awell worn path, surrounded by the beauty of Nature. And Nash was oblivious to it all.

Of course, he had good reason to be oblivious to it. It was the same path that he had taken for close to three years. He knew it by heart.

“Now, Alex,” he said, completely ignoring everything around him, “to reach the city of Vane, we have to use the Spring of Transmission.”

“Spring of Transmission?” Alex asked, confused. “I've never read or heard of anything like that before.”

Greg chuckled. “It’s kind of the ‘gate’ to Vane. Its more popular name is the Transmission Spring.” He shrugged. “Personally, I call it a magic transporter. Amy and I watched the other Scouts use it to get to Meribia. It’s very impressive.”

“Oh. So how do we get to it?”

Nash pondered for a minute. “We follow this path southward until we reach the Magic City's outpost.” The magician looked proud of his explanation. “Trust me on one thing, though. You will be surprised when you see Vane.” He smiled knowingly, his gaze containing such mirth, that for a moment, Alex thought that Nash was hiding something.

Nall, also realizing this and proving that he wasn’t your average catlike creature, flew over to him. “What are you hiding?” he asked suspiciously, proving that he could be as perceptive as the next person.

“And what do you know that we don’t?” Kari added.

Nash’s smile grew. “You’ll understand soon enough, ladies and gentlemen. Just keep your eyes to the sky.”

‘The sky?’ Kari thought, confused. She finally decided that he meant that literally, so she started searching the sky. She didn’t know why, but it was the only plausible explanation she could come up with.

“Is Vane on top of a mountain?” Joe asked Greg. “Because Ireally don’t want to climb mountains.”

“You’ll see,” was all Greg said. He chuckled as Joe grumbled something about “being left in the dark,” before Reliability reached over and stroked his horse’s mane. He really didn’t want to miss out on their expressions when they finally saw it for the first time.

Garurumon chuckled. “I think the horse is growing on Joe,” he said.

“Why would a horse grow on Joe?” T.K. asked. “He’s paranoid about everything!”

“Good point.” Matt looked over at Joe. “But hey, maybe he’s growing out of it.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Tentomon, that’s not very optimistic.”

“I’ll give him some hope when I see him throw a punch.”

“He’s inspiring to become a doctor,” Izzy reminded them. “He follows the Hippocratic oath, which includes the phrase ‘Do No Harm.’ He abides by it stringently.”

“Actually,” Nash said, entering the conversation, “healers here on Lunar are trained to fight because of all the bad blood between various cities. It’s alright to throw a punch to defend yourself.”

“Joe doesn’t even do that!” Gomamon exclaimed. “Any of us have yet to see him fight back against a house fly! No offense, Joe, but you don't have a violent bone in your body.”

“None taken. Also, I’m not exactly built for combat, either.”

“Good point.”

“We’ll have to do something about that.” Tai turned to stare at Joe.“Matt and I’ll teach you how to fist fight when we stop for some rest. On the off chance that you actually find yourself in asituation that will require you to fight back, and we’re nowhere nearby to back you up. Just a thought.”

“It’s the thought that counts.”

(I agree with Mr. Kido. It is the thought that counts.)

‘Thanks. Nice to know that you’re helping.’

Greg noticed the look on Tai’s face, a distant look on his face. It reminded him of something, though it was just beyond his reach.

Amy, however, had her first vision…

Ami looked up from her book to see Hashiyo come out of a trance, his gaze growing aware of his surroundings in an instant. “What does the sword say?” she asked, correctly interpreting what that meant. She had lost track of the times she had seen various warriors of Courage speak with the sacred weapon throughout the millennium.

“To get your head out of that book, and spend some time with Ryo,” Kamiya replied jokingly. “Actually, he said that the next trial for Dyne is fast approaching. It is not a Dragon Trial, but something else.”

“I’m guessing it has something to do with the Goddess.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Well.” Ami got up, and stretched her arms out. “I guess I shall allow Hikari to play matchmaker, now. If this is all that Althena needs to get out of her depression, I'll go with it.”

Kamiya chuckled. “I’ll go get Mel. They’ll both be happy to hear of this.”

Ami nodded, before turning around, and heading for /Ryo/’s room. After all, Kamiya nailed it on the head. She did spend a great deal of time reading. And despite the fact that they had been together for thousands of years, she still acted like a shy school girl around him half of the time../ /‘I wonder if Urawa would want my company?’

She decided he would, as he was standing right there, a small smile plastered on his face. “So the sword has spoken?” he asked.

Amy fidgeted alittle. “‘Fraid so,” she said, looking down shyly.“And the warrior of Courage also reminded me exactly how much time I spend reading, and how much time I spend with my friends. And I think I should spend some more time with my friends. So, um, do you want to get something to drink?”

Ryo smiled. “I would love to…”

Amy snapped out of it, looking a little disconcerted by what she had just seen. She felt like she had just peered into someone else’s life without their permission, and for some reason, she thought she had seen that scene before. She looked over at Greg, who was currently squinting up to the sky. From that angle, she realized how much like Ryo he was. He was shy around her, nervous about life in general, but also witty, funny, and extremely loyal. And Amy thought he was handsome too.

Greg became aware that he was being stared at, and so turned his head in Amy’s direction. “Enjoying the scenery, Ames?” he asked mischievously.

Amy blushed. “‘Fraid so,” she confessed, looking down shyly. She fidgeted, refusing to meet Greg’s gaze.

Greg stared at his girlfriend with an intent gaze. ‘She’s alot like Ami,’ he thought, with a certain sense of affection. ‘Same thirst for knowledge, same sense of humor, even the same hair color.’ That last thought got him thinking about reincarnation, but he shook that off. ‘Amy is the reincarnated princess of Mercury. Nowhere in either the Moon Kingdom or the Negaverse has there ever been an instance that someone had died, crossed over from one universe to another, and was born in that universe. Then dying again in this universe, and being sent one thousand years into the future to be born again. It’s not possible without some high powered assistance.’ Shrugging, he returned his gaze to Amy for a second, gave her a small smile, and was delighted when she returned that smile. She rode up so she was next to him, and grasped his hand firmly in her own. Then they both started looking at Nash, who was currently chuckling at the others.

For about five minutes, the group searched the skies for the mountain in which Vane would be situated. Not finding it, most of them settled back on their mounts, content on waiting. T.K. continued looking around for a while longer before conceding defeat. Nall, stubborn wad of fur that he was, continued searching.

And through it all, Amy, Greg, and Nash chatted on various aspects of Vane, which included magical history, defenses, and the type of classes that were available. This made the rest of them think that they knew something that the rest of them didn’t. None of them asked, because they had the feeling that those three would not be so forthcoming with information.

Finally, Nash brought his horse to a complete stop. Interpreting correctly that they had come within visual range of Vane, the others stopped as well. All of them looked at the magician anxiously.

“Behold!” Nash exclaimed dramatically, pointing in the general direction of the mountain. “The Magic City of Vane.”

T.K. looked up, down, and everywhere around. “Okay, where is it?” he asked.

“I second that,” Kari threw in.

Greg’s face fell. “Look a little to the right, midgets.”

Both did so…and promptly stared in amazement. “Wow.”

“You said it, T.K.”

What they were staring was a conical landmass about several hundred feet in the sky. That wasn’t surprising in the least to them. How it was doing it was the kicker.

The landmass wasn’t being held up by anything. It was floating those several hundred feet in the air, doing a slow orbit around what Nash called the Goddess Tower, a giant mountain with a small building on top of it. And it was quite possibly the most amazing thing any of them had ever seen.

Mimi was one of two people who wasn’t surprised by this. She was, however, confused. Vane, for some reason, reminded her of stories her mother and father told her. Floating cities, warriors who fought with powers beyond imagination, were the stories that made up young Mimi Tachekawa’s childhood. And now, she found herself thinking about them as she stared at the floating island.

Izzy also remembered similar stories, as well as something his foster parents had told him about. They used to tell him stories that he knew were not real. But for some reason, he found himself thinking about them all the same.

T.K., Kari, their Digimon, Greg, and Amy, all had a very strong sense of deja-vu go through them. However, that was a common occurrence to them now, so they ignored it. But they continued staring.

“Is it just me,” Patamon finally asked after a lengthily pause, “or does that seem rather… normal to the rest of you?”

“It’s not just you.” Gatomon was absolutely spooked. “Okay, Kari, when we get up there, don’t look down.”

Kari nodded, looking up. “Why is it floating?” she asked.

Nash grinned. “The Magic City of Vane circles around the Goddess Tower in an endless protective orbit. It is said to shield the Goddess Althena from harm.”

Gatomon turned sharply. “Why would a goddess of near infinite power require protection?”

At that, the magician shrugged. “No one knows. I personally, believe that a being that rivaled Althena showed at some point, requiring that she be protected. However, I do know that Vane did not start circling the Goddess Tower until around a hundred years ago.

Now Alex looked up sharply. “The start of the heresy wars,” he muttered, “and the death of Dragonmaster Teal.”

“Exactly. With his death, the immortal Guardians of Althena rose to the heavens, and chanted an ancient spell. Vane, quite possibly a piece of the Blue Star itself, rose into the sky, and was given extremely powerful magic defenses.”

“And that’s all.”

“Actually, no. Before that had happened, they had also installed an extremely advanced system of technological weapons, shields, and propulsion system. On the off chance something was able to nullify the magical spells, the Guardians assured us all that Vane could still defeat anything out there.”

Izzy’s gaze turned almost flinty in thought. “Technological?” he asked. Again, it reminded him of those stories he was thinking about.

“And just who are these six Guardians?!” Kari exclaimed.

“How did you know there were six?” Nash asked.

‘Oops. Slipped up there.’ “I took a wild guess,” Kari lied smoothly. “How do you know that there is a technological system?”

“And must we speak in questions from here on out?” Greg asked sarcastically.

Everyone fell silent for a second as that last question registered, then began chuckling. “Do you really have to ask?” T.K. asked teasingly, before turning back to the magician. “But, seriously, how do you know?”

“Because as Ghaleon’s understudy, I am allowed access to every aspect of the underground portion of Vane. The combination of magic and technology makes Vane the strongest and most versatile Guild on Lunar.”

‘Why do they need more than one guild?/'/ /Tai asked himself. ‘Again, that’s rhetorical.’ /

(I am beginning to grasp the concept much better now, thank you.)

Sora, however, did ask that question, genuinely curious. “How come you have more than one magic guild?” she asked.

“What’s the point of being the best if you don’t have someone or something on which to match your might and wit against? The other guilds are always trying to become better than Vane, and that means that we must always stay on our toes.”

“Ah.”

Gomamon stretched. “So, how long is it until we reach the Transmission Spring?” he asked.

Greg consulted the silver map, watching as the dots representing them moved closer to their goal. “We’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” he said. “You have that long to prepare for the next surprise.”

“There’s more?”

Amy chuckled. “You’ll see,” was all she said.

--

“Just how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? I really wanna know!”

Those were the first words spoken at the Transmission Spring. They were spoken by a man who was standing several feet from pad itself, looking rather forlorn. The question itself threw the Digi-Destined into a loop, almost making Mimi fall off her horse. All of them looked at the man in shock.

Nall, however, was a little annoyed by the question. “That’s not me, you idiot!” he shouted. “It’s a dumb owl that does that! Geez!”

Tai turned to look at Alex, confused beyond belief. “You want to tell me why you have Tootsie Pops?”

“You mean your world has them too?” Alex asked in return, not really answering. Tai shook his head in exasperation.

The person switched questions faster than the Road Runner, obviously not getting an answer of his own. “All right…why do M&M’s melt in your mouth, and not in your hand?”

“The thick candy shell, of course!” Nash exclaimed. “Don’t they teach you peasants /anything/?!”

“Nash…” Agumon growled.

“Oh, shut up, lizard!”

Patamon sighed, looking at the two of them. “Those two really don’t like each other. Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t killed each other.”

“I’ll go with that,” Luna said, sighing. “I hope they stop sniping at each other soon.”

“It’ll never happen.” Garurumon noted. “Agumon can be as hot tempered as Tai sometimes, and Nash is…well, Nash.”

“Too true, too true.”

Kari, ignoring the drama that was beginning to unfold all around her, walked over to the cleric that was standing next to the Spring.“Excuse me!” she called up.

The cleric looked down at her for a second, then at the rest of the group. “Who are all of you?” he asked, tensing up slightly. Then his gaze landed on the magician. “Wait…you’re Nash, star pupil of Ghaleon.”

Nash’s entire body stiffened in pride. “I knew I was becoming famous, but this is almost embarrassing. Almost…”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Agumon said sarcastically. “And you may actually start to believe it.”

Nash ignored him as he shook the cleric’s hand. “May I use the Spring of Transmission, sir?”

“Of course.” The cleric held up one hand to stop the upcoming tide of people. “But that doesn’t apply to your friends,” he added.

Nash halted with the rest of them, confused. “Sir, these are my friends. I assure you, they are most worthy to ascend to Vane.”

“I’m sorry, Nash, but no, they’re not.” The cleric pointed to a bulletin board. “Rumors are abound that the Magic Emperor himself roams the land. Therefore, Lemia has placed quite stringent rules into effect.”

Suspicion rooted itself into Luna’s mind. For some reason, that brought avery tight feeling to her gut. “What rules?” she asked warily.

“The only people allowed to use the Spring, other than citizens of Vane, are those who obtain an application for the Magic Guild from Phacia.”

Nash walked over to the bulletin board with Patamon right behind him. Both read the reports that were on it. “‘According to several eyewitness,'” Nash repeated, reading the print, “‘spanning the entire mass of our world, the Magic Emperor has decimated several minor towns at the border nearest to the distant Frontier, and has been spotted in the city of Meryod.’” He looked at the rest of them, his face devoid of arrogance. A rather concerned frown now lived on his face. “I didn’t realize that the rumors were being taken seriously…” He had had no idea how quickly things had changed in his absence.

“I guess you’re not as famous as you thought, Nash!”

Alex groaned, not believing it. That fur ball had no restraint whatsoever!

Nash whipped around to glare at Nall. “Still your tongue, cat!” he roared. “Not even Ghaleon himself would dare defy the order of Lemia Ausa!”

“Oh, really? Why’s that?” Agumon asked.

“Because Lemia is the only one in Vane who is stronger than him in authority!She is the leader of the magic city, and could remove him from his position if she wanted to!”

“Oh, and here I thought it was because he wanted to show you how to follow the rules.”

Nash would have retaliated with a lightning strike, but Gatomon got in between them quickly. She really didn’t want to explain to the local authorities as to why a flying creature was twitching on the ground. “Not now, please. Fry each other later. Now then,” she said, looking at Nash. “You know the area better than we do. Where does Phacia live? Not back in Meribia, I hope.”

Nash shook his head. “Phacia lives in Althena’s Shrine, at the foot of the mountains to the west. It’s about a day’s ride at least, two at most. We can make it by nightfall if we wanted to.”

“Well, all right then. Let’s get going.” Izzy remounted his horse, and stroked the horse’s mane. “Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of this,” he said, looking at Mimi in surprise. “I didn’t think I would so soon.”

Mimi smiled gently, her eyes betraying her absolute joy at this. “You have a gift, Izzy. A gift that I used to think you never had. Now I’m glad I was wrong.”

Izzy returned her smile, his own joy reflecting in his eyes.

“Awwww, how sweet!” Tentomon crooned, wishing he could clap his hands together. He laughed as the two diverted their gazes away from each other, both of them blushing rather red. He then turned to Palmon, who was giggling behind her vines. “Don’t you think so, Palmon?”

Kari smiled for a moment at that, then asked, “Is there anyone else we need to see while we’re there?”

Amy grinned. “A certain odango.”

----

Serena stepped out of the Shrine, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. As always, the freshness of the air, free of any pollutants, caught her by surprise.

Of course, the peace and solitude had a lot to do with her mood. She hadn’t felt so calm in a long time, if ever. She had even found out that she was curious about the religion surrounding their Goddess, and had begun reading about it, as well as trying to discover if there were other religions that were practiced. She didn’t know why, only that she did.

She was having some serious doubts about wanting to go home, if there was such a way to do so. She loved it here.

“Yoo-hoo!Air-and-Meatball-Head!”

Of course, she had a reason to go back, if only to get rid of that annoying brat. But why would Rini be in front of her, when she was in the library, reading some book on? And had she done something to the pitch of her voice? It wasn’t as high as it used to be. “How many times do I have to tell you… Ames!”

Amy chuckled, dismounting from her horse, then going and hugging her best friend. Every once in a while, even she needed to have some fun with her friends, or at her friend’s expense. “I had to do something to get your attention, Serena,” she said, eyes twinkling. “And I seem to recall Rini calling you that at any time she feels like it.”

“Just don’t do it again. Greg, you’re looking fit.”

“Thanks, Serena. Helped in a battle with a giant dragon, and also ran into some more people that came with us through that bright light.”

Serena was about to ask what the hell he meant by that, but a very familiar voice suddenly called out with, “Odango, you never call and you never write! You also said that you would pay me back in two weeks, Igave you three. What happened?”

“You moved!” Serena returned, grinning like an idiot as she lay eyes on the last person she had ever expected to see again. “Mimi Tachekawa, come over here so I can greet you right!”

Laughing, Mimi did so, enveloping the girl in a bear hug. “It’s /so/good to see you,” she said softly. “Quite frankly, Inever thought I would again.”

“That makes two of us.” Serena returned the hug. “So, how have you been?”

“I’ve been doing great. Oh, by the way, nice broach. It's a miracle no one has figured out that you're Sailor Moon.”

“How’d you-?” Serena cut herself off. “Oh, still perceptive as always.”

“Still perceptive.” Amy rolled her eyes. “You mean, this is normal?”

Tai and the others stared at the two of them in shock. Izzy stuttered for a moment before managing, “Serena… is… Sailor Moon?”

Greg sighed. Sometimes, he was amazed by how dense the general population of Earth could be. How else could they have missed the obviousness of the Moon Princess’s identity? Serena didn’t even try to create a separate persona. And her hair style was rather unique, as was her hair color. “Ladies, Gentlemen, please shut your mouths before the bugs decide to make homes in them. If Amy is Sailor Mercury, then of course Serena would be Sailor Moon.”

Alex chuckled. “Let me guess; the legendary Sailor Moon.”

The moon princess in question frowned. “Okay, two things. One; I’m not old enough to be legendary. Two; Are you guys going to introduce yourselves?”

“Oh!Sorry. I’m Alex.”

“My name is Luna.”

“I’m Tai. This is Agumon.”

“Hi.”

“I’m Matt.”

“My name is Gabumon.”

“I’m Sora. This is Biyomon, Palmon, you know Mimi, Tentomon, Izzy, Joe, Gomamon, T.K., Kari, Patamon, Gatomon, and Nall.”

“My name is Nash.”

“Hiya!” Nall said enthusiastically.

Serena stared at him for a second. “You can talk?” A sudden mischievous look entered her eyes. “Oh, Luna! Artemis!” she called out.

“Why are you shouting, Serena? We’re right down here.”

Tai almost fell off his horse. Nall became perfectly still in shock. The rest of them stared dumbly at the somewhat impossible sight of two talking cats.

Mimi looked down and sighed, shaking her head. “Of course she would have two talking cats,” she muttered.

Izzy stared at Luna and Artemis speculatively. “It seems that our own world has a few surprises left. I have to admit, didn’t see this one coming.”

Kari laughed at the quizzical expressions on Izzy’s and Joe’s faces. “Come on, guys. We’ve been to a world where talking creatures are the norm.”

“No talking cats, though.”

Gatomon walked up to them. “How can you talk?” she asked.

“How can you walk on two legs?” Artemis returned.

“I'm a Digimon. Most of us can walk on two legs.”

“Good point.”

Sora laughed. “That must be a problem sometimes, having two cats who can talk.”

“You have no idea. Getting them to shut up takes whole new meaning.” Serena looked Mimi over. “Wow, you’ve grown.”

“So have you.”

“No, I mean /really /grown! What did your mom feed you? Miracle Grow?”

“No, just sugar and spice, and everything nice. And apparently, jacked it up with growth hormones.” Mimi looked around. “Where’s Rei, and the rest of your entourage for that matter?” she asked.

Serena grinned. “Pyro is up in Vane with my other friends, and my boyfriend as well.”

“And that is…?”

“Darien Endyimon.”

“It’s a small world after all,” Izzy muttered.

Serena turned to look at him. “You know him?”

“Yes, and so does Mimi.”

“That’s encouraging.”

Luna looked up at the blue-haired woman. “So, your name is Luna, too?” she asked.

“Yes,” the human replied. “Talk about originality.”

“I agree totally. So how about I’m Luna One when we’re together.”

“Sounds good.”

“It’ll definitely save us some trouble,” Patamon added, landing next to Artemis. “So now that we have all been properly introduced, can we go see Phacia?”

“Let me guess,” Serena said, turning to Amy with a smirk on her face, “Vane.”

Amy returned the smirk. “How’d you guess?”

“We’re going with you this time.”

T.K.’s head turned in surprise. “B-bunny!” he blurted out in surprise.

Kari turned her head to see a little girl, around hers and T.K.’s age group, with pink hair done up in a similar hairstyle as Sailor Moon’s, only with rabbit ears instead meatballs. Red eyes, and a dress of Lunarian design completed the person who they were all staring at. And she was staring at T.K. in surprise.

Her gaze shifted slightly to her best friend. “Classmate?” she asked.

“Classmate,” T.K. replied.

“T.K.!” Rini exclaimed in delight, running forward to hug him… and promptly tripped on a piece of rock.

Mimi turned to Luna Two. “Is there a family resemblance between these two, or is it just me?”

“It’s not just you.”

The Seer chuckled. “Mimi, meet Rini Endyimon, the daughter of Sailor Moon and-”

“Tuxedo Mask, AKA, Darien Endyimon. Busy, haven’t we?”

“Hey, she’s from the future!”
“Yeah. Suuuurrrrreee she is.”

“Oh, fine,” Serena sniffed in mock indignation, “don’t believe me.”

Amy and the others were laughing at this. “Were you two always like this?” Amy asked.

“Oh, yes. And by the way, I do believe you. I mean, no one else could make that fall look like it’s natural.”

Rini looked at Mimi. “I’m nothing like Serena!” she practically shrieked in indignation.

“I’ll go with that – Hey wait a minute. We’ve had this argument before.”

“And I’m going to win this like last time by saying, you’re both crazy.”

Artemis chuckled. “She’s right.”

“You have to be, to do our job,” Serena stated. “So, you’re all the Digi-Destined, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Back away, asshole!” Agumon suddenly roared, claws flashing dangerously. “Don’t try your stupid ‘protect all beautiful women’ speech on her! She’s more than capable of taking care of herself!”

“Perhaps you would like to make me, lizard!”

“Could you two hold off on killing each other until after we get our hands on an application?! Thank you!” Alex wheeled around, rather exasperated. “Welcome to our life as of this minute.”

Serena chuckled nervously, eyeing Nash and Agumon with a very wary glance.“Well, follow me. I'll take you to her.”

--

“This is the great shrine to the Goddess of beauty and love.” The cleric in front of the shrine smiled at the lot of them. “What is your business here?”

Nash stepped forward. “We are here to see Head Priestess Phacia. Can she meet with us?”

“Why, yes she can. She will be in the congregation room, near the back, taking care of clerical matters. Feel free to see her. And welcome to the Shrine of Althena, great warrior of Courage. Will you be staying long?”

“Umm, only as long as the rest of them,” Tai replied, looking rather put off. “How did you know…?”

The cleric smiled. “I knew your father when he was around your age. He was the one who sponsored my application into this Shrine.” He pointed at the Katana. “You also are wearing Courage’s Sacred Weapon.”

Kari looked at Tai. “We’re not even from this-”

“Thank you,” Tai cut in, smiling grimly. “Is there anything about him in your library? I’m kind of curious of what he did. He didn’t actually tell me or my sister, after all.”

“Oh, we do have a few things. Feel free.”

“Thank you.”

Following Nash in, the group began looking around. Mimi and Serena were talking behind them.

T.K. looked around. “Wow,” was all he said.

Serena turned to look too. “Yeah, it’s great. And part of the shrine has actually been constructed in the mountain. Don’t ask me how. I really haven’t been able to find any reason how it’s been done, and frankly, I don’t care.”

Amy turned to her, somewhat surprised by this. “Serena, did you… take the time to learn something about this place?” she asked suspiciously. “All right, who are you, and where is my best friend?”

Serena grinned. “I didn’t have any comic books, so I actually picked up a book. Nothing better to do with my time.”

Amy grinned. “I’ll give you that.”

Tai looked around, catching sight of his objective. “There’s the library,” he said, halting the conversation that was beginning to brew between the two Senshi. “I’ll see you guys later. I have to find out something.” With that, he detached from the group, and jogged to the room in question.

“What was that all about?” Alex asked.

Kari shook her head. “No idea. I think it might have something to do with that sword, though. I think he’s trying to figure out what it’s made out of. What I don’t get is why he stopped me from telling that priest where we’re from.”

“Somehow,” Agumon said, “I don’t think that’s why. The cleric said, 'I knew your father.’ I think he’s trying to figure out why he said that. As for the other reason, maybe he doesn’t want anyone else to know that we’re from another dimension.”

“Oh.”

As the rest of them walked through the shrine, they noted that there were statues of people, all locked in some pose or other. The windows were made of stained glass, and depicting several different images of men and women. The general feel of the room was one of inner peace and tranquility. Priests and students walked through the halls, chatting away about anything and everything they could think of. Guards nodded curtly to them as they passed, eyeing everyone.

“It’s just a little thing,” Serena whispered. “All of the rumors concerning the Magic Emperor have everyone from here to the fishing village of Lann spooked. They want to make sure that he doesn’t sneak his way in.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Mimi replied just as quietly. “Still, it’s kind of freaky.”

Finally, they entered the congregation room, and promptly stared upward in awe. And it was for good reason, too.

In the room, at the other end of the room, was the biggest statue of Althena they had ever seen, in a dress style reminiscent of ancient Greece.

“That’s incredible,” Patamon said.

“I know what you mean,” Gatomon stated.

T.K., Kari, and Rini stared upwards at it. “I’m going to say this again,” T.K. noted. “I want to be a few feet taller, so I won’t have to crane my neck so much.”

“I’ll go with that.” Rini looked at the Digi-Destined of Light. “So, what’s your story?”

“Crest of Light. Yours?”

“Princess of Crystal Tokyo.”

“Cool. One question; what’s Crystal Tokyo?”

“A place that doesn’t exist yet. It’s Tokyo, only made of crystals.”

“Cool.”

Nash finished speaking to the cleric situated near the shrine, and turned around. “Guys, I’ll speak with Phacia. Wait right here.” With that, he went into the back of the temple.

For several minutes, the lot of them milled around the room, making small talk, catching up with each other, or trying to learn more about Rini’s time. What they learned was very impressive.

During this time, Amy noticed something rather interesting; or rather, something that she hadn't seen period. Serena was moving around perfectly, like she had no pain. “Hey, Serena, I just noticed something,” she mused. “How's your back?”

She inquired about her best friend's back because, due to a battle against one of Queen Beryl's youma, the moon Princess's back had almost been completely vaporized. The Silver Crystal had repaired the damage instantly, but it had taken Amy a whole week after the fact to properly realign every single vertebrae. The reason the rest of the Tsukino family never caught on was simple; Serena was had a higher tolerance for pain than she let on. But she still felt it, especially when she stretched too much.

Serena frowned thoughtfully for a second. “Funnily enough, it feels great,” she replied. “/I/feel great, now that you mention it. I don't feel any of the bumps and bruises that I've taken over the last two years. Weird, isn't it?”

Amy brought her computer out, activated her visor, and took a scan of Serena. Her eyes widened appreciatively at the results. “Serena, you have become a medical miracle. You are in perfect health. It's like your body has never been injured at all. How is this possible?”

“Honestly... I don't know. I mean, last night I went to bed with twinges. This morning... I feel like I'm on top of the world. Is that weird?”

“A good kind of weird,” Amy assured. “Maybe Lunar's magic combined with the Silver Crystal's somehow and finished fixing you up. I'm not complaining.”

Mimi was about to ask them what they were talking about, but Nash chose that particular moment to return, grinning from ear to ear. “Ladies, Gentlemen, and sentient creatures, I give you the head of Althena’s Shrine.” With that, he stepped aside, and waited patiently.

Slowly, with a grace that belied the bulky priestess robes, a woman walked forward into their line of vision. Her hair was braid into two pigtails, both going down the front of her robes. The robes in question were truly magnificent, and made of what appeared to be cotton. She seemed to radiate peace and tranquility from every pore of her being.

“Good day to you all,” she said in greeting, her voice with a musical lilt to it. “I am Phacia, Head Priestess of the temple of the Goddess. I have received word that you are on a journey to become the new Dragonmaster, Alex, as well as helping these children find their way back home.” She clasped her hands together. “Oh, Ipray that you choose to stay in Vane, and become the guardians of Althena, for as you know, we haven’t had a Dragonmaster since the days of Dyne came to an end.”

Alex looked in amazement at Phacia, part of his mind cataloging that Phacia was extremely good-looking for a woman of her years. The rest of it was fixing on what she had said. ‘Stay in Vane?’

“Since Dragonmaster Dynes passing,” Phacia continued, “no one has proven worthy of the title. Perhaps you would be better served studying magic at Vane, Alex, alongside your friends. That is a much more certain path than becoming Dragonmaster.”

“But Alex doesn’t want to enter the Guild!” Nall protested, before Alex could even open his mouth, “He’s looking for the other three Dragons! Quark sent him!”

“What he said,” Alex stated. Every once in a while, Nall took the words right out of his mouth.

Gatomon saw Phacia’s eyes widen in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected to hear that. ‘Interesting.’

Phacia composed herself quickly. “Becoming a Dragonmaster is much more difficult than you might imagine,” she said. “Again, why not stay in Vane for a while, and see all that the Guild has to offer? You might find a career in magic much more rewarding…and much less dangerous. And don't forget,” she added, “that two of the Four Heroes call Vane their home.”

Nash perked up. “That’s right, Alex! You’ll never find amore exciting place than Vane. And while you’ll never be as skilled in magic as I am, I’m sure you’d enjoy learning it, nonetheless…”

Nall looked at his friend. “I dunno, Alex…”

“At least think about it, Alex. And please accept this application, and at least visit Vane.” Phacia handed them an application.

“Thank you.” Matt put it in his backpack. “We were planning to visit Vane before we continued, to pick up some friends of Serena’s here. And we seem to be taking these two with us.”

“Feel free. May your journey be without incident, Moon Princess.”

Mimi looked at Luna One. “Moon Princess?” she mouthed.

The feline sighed. “I’ll explain later,” was all she said before she turned her attention back to the Head Priestess.“Thank you for your hospitality.”

“It was my pleasure.” As they turned around, though, Phacia suddenly called out, “Excuse me… Luna, wasn’t it?”

“Yes?” Both called out.

“Well, that was inevitable,” Phacia muttered good naturedly, before pointing at the human. “Luna, I'm told that your singing is absolutely beautiful. You must return and sing for me some day.”

Luna Two stuttered in amazement. “I…I’d be honored, Phacia. But I still need a lot of practice first.”

“I understand. Just remember, there is nothing the Goddess loves more than a beautiful song. I look forward to your return, as well as the sweet sound of your voice. And good luck to you all,” she stated, looking at them all. “It is heartening to know that, even when as the Vile Tribe moves closer to our borders, there are brave heroes such as yourselves willing to protect us. I wish you all success on whichever path you choose to travel. And please, give my regards to the warrior of Courage.”

--

Tai walked into the library, and immediately headed over to the librarian. “Excuse me,” he called out, “but could you tell me where I can find information on the last warrior of Courage?”

The librarian turned around, and stared for a moment. “Second shelve, C-section,” was all she said.

“Thank you.” Grateful that the man hadn’t begun fawning over him, Tai walked over, and skimmed the covers until he found the book he was looking for. Heading over to a table and sitting down, he opened the book, and began to read.

Ten minutes later, Tai closed the book, unable to believe it. He had only read the first few pages, but what he had read had definitely surprised him. How could his father have kept this from him and Kari?/‘Dad, why didn’t you tell me?’/

Of course, he knew the answer. How could you tell your children that you were from an alternate reality filled with magic? How could you make them believe in it?

“Tai, we’re leaving now.”

“Huh?” His head shot around to stare at Kari. In his reading, he hadn’t kept track of his surroundings. “Oh, sorry. I guess I got lost in my thoughts.” He got up, and walked back over to the librarian. “Is it all right if I take this book?” he asked.

The librarian nodded. “Go right ahead. You will of course want to read about everything your father has done. Though I figure he must have told you about his adventures”

“Thank you. Come on, Kari.”

As they walked, Kari looked up at her older brother. She knew something was bugging him, she just didn't know what. “What’s wrong, Tai?”

“It’s about… nothing, Kari. I really don’t want to talk about it right now. I just have a lot on my mind, is all.” Tai looked up into the sky. “When I have finished reading this book, I’ll tell you.”

“Oh, okay. Just remember, you're not alone. You've got me, and Agumon, and everyone else.”

“I know. But I… have a lot on my mind, and my own mystery to solve.” He patted her on the head. “Thanks, though, Kari, for reminding me.”

Smiling, brother and sister walked out of the temple to rejoin the others.

--

Several minutes after they had left, Phacia returned to her chambers, thinking of everything that had just transpired. In fact, she was thinking so much about it, that she was surprised to walk in and find Sere sitting in a chair near her bed, gaze intent. “Must you do that, milady?” she asked after catching herself. “You can walk through the front door like everyone else.”

The silver haired woman didn’t even bat an eye. I’ve noticed that you seem a little more… reluctant than Royce when dealing with them,” she said, forgoing small talk all together. “And you two are constantly in contact with each other.”

Phacia sighed as she sat down. No matter how often she tried to forget, especially within the last few months, it seemed that her fears would follow her for the rest of her life. “The time is fast approaching. Soon, I will have to make a choice.”

“Join us! Fight with us!”

“And turn my back on my family?!”

“No!So you can save them! There need not be any bloodshed! The Goddess will allow you back into the lands!”

“My sister does not think so.”

“Then perhaps it’s time to stop thinking about what your sisters think, and start thinking about what you want. After all, if your sister could make a life for herself, then so can you.”

Phacia was silent as Sere put a hand on her shoulder. “Now, I’m your friend, and ally. So at least think about it. If not for yourself or me, then for your people.” With that, she walked out of the room.

Phacia sat down on her bed, watching the woman walk out of her room, her gaze thoughtful. But she knew what her fellow sisters would do if she backed out now. She knew what they would do if they knew that she was in contact with Sere. ‘I don’t want to, but I must.’

‘I must stand by my people. I am sorry… my friend…’

--

“Hello again, Nash,” the Cleric said in greeting at the Transmission Spring three days later. “Do you have the Application for your friends?”

“Of course. Matt?”

Matt rummaged through his pack for a moment, finally emerging with the Application in hand. “Here you go,” he said, handing it over.

“Thank you. Nash, I assume you’ve told your friends about the Trial?”

Everybody turned to stare at the magician. “Trial?!” They exclaimed all at once.

Nash raised his hands. “Calm down, everybody, and I’ll explain!” Once everybody had finally managed to quiet down, he took a breath. “Now, the first time you travel to Vane, you’ll be tested in the Cave of Trial. It’s basically an entrance exam to keep magic-fearing peasants out of Vane.” He grinned.“Anyway, I have to run.”

“What?” The flying fur ball shot off Alex’s shoulder. “Aren’t you coming with us, Nash?”

Nash chuckled. “I’m an apprentice to Ghaleon, remember? I have things to do! Besides, I can’t go through the Trial again through the Spring! And even if I could, I couldn't help you out. You have to do it yourselves!” He laughed outright at the looks on their faces. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he said, giving Joe a pat on the shoulder. “After all, you’ve taken out Boss level monsters before, and have survived against all odds. I’ll be waiting for you all at the Magic Guild. Good luck!” With that, and one final wave, he stepped onto the teleporter, and vanished.

“Well, that was encouraging,” Joe muttered. “He’s got alot of faith in us.”

“And his faith is well placed. Though I see a problem.” Nall turned in the air. “Alex, you don’t know any magic, and the rest of you are still brushing up in your respective areas of combat… so how are we going to do this?”

“At full power,” Tentomon replied immediately. “Which means that Serena is going to have to transform.”

“And besides,” Luna Two threw in, “Alex is good with a sword, and I can use my songs… we’ll be fine, Nall. Let’s go, Alex, everybody…Vane awaits!”

Sora giggled. “You sound like Tai.”

Serena pulled her broach off. “I just hope there’s nothing icky down there,” she said, holding it up. “Moon Crystal Power!”

Almost fifteen seconds later, Sailor Moon stood where Serena once was. Her uniform was very similar to Mercury’s, though her bows and boots were red instead of blue. She had some sort of decorative jewelry set in her meatballs, and a crescent moon symbol on both of her boots and her choker. The broach with the Silver Crystal in it was once again situated on her bow.

Gabumon gave her one look, then began to clap. “Nice, nice,” he decided. “Hair style’s a bit risqué, though.”

“And personality,” Matt threw in.

“Hey, I heard that!”

Amy and Mimi giggled. “She’s still a ditz,” Mimi whispered theatrically.

“For sure. Though we love her anyway.”

Moon turned to look at them. “Gee, thanks for the show of loyalty, girls,” she muttered good-naturedly. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Be failing in school?”

“Be a complete fashion disaster?”

“Ames!Mimi!”

“Yes?” Both asked at the same time.

Alex chuckled. “Can we go already,” he asked, “before Idie from the hilarity?”

--

The teleportation process was unlike anything Biyomon, or the others for that matter, had ever experienced. It reminded her of something that Sora had once watched, something involving ‘starships’ or other, though without all of the equipment. It was also a lot faster, because one minute, she saw lush green, then several circles of light, then suddenly, they were in a cave. ‘Thank goodness Ididn’t eat,’ she thought, slightly off balance.

Tai whirled around and around. “Who? What? Where?”

Izzy also looked around. “Prodigious,” he muttered. “A form of matter teleportation, capable of transmitting instantaneous movement. I would love to meet the person who came up with that.”

“Yeah. You do that, buddy. Hello,” Tentomon suddenly said in greeting to a large, imposing-looking mage. “Are we where I think we are, or did we take a wrong turn somewhere?”

The mage returned the greeting, no amusement on his face from the joke.“This is the Cave of Trial,” he stated, his voice deep, and booming. “This chamber is a sacred place for testing your magical strength. Thus, the use of healing or other items in the cave is forbidden.” He paused, waiting for an explosion of exclamations. When none became known, he continued. “You must survive using nothing but your own abilities. When you have defeated enough monsters, and have exited the other side, the trial is over.” He bowed. “Good luck to you all.”

Tai unsheathed his new katana. “Let’s go.”

Luna One looked up. “Your friend, Tai reminds me of Sailor Jupiter,” she said.

Biyomon looked down. “You don’t say. Is she hot headed?”

“Yes.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“Just tell me she’s nothing like Nash,” Agumon threw in.“Otherwise, the creep dies.”

“I’m not sure I want to answer that without an appropriate sacrifice. Artemis?”

“Not a chance, fur ball.”

Kari looked at them, then turned to T.K. and Gatomon. “They’re worse than Miko and the alley cats,” she conceded.

Gatomon chuckled. “And I’ve seen Miko and those jackasses fight. Man, did they ever win?”

“Nope.”

T.K. winced. “That’s bad.”

Tai chuckled as well, though he was still a little unnerved by the fact that there were two talking cats amongst them. Lunar, he could understand. After all, he was beginning to think that there was no animal that wasn’t able to talk back. However, the fact the cats were from Earth brought in a whole new headache. ‘Oh well, might as well get used to it,’ he thought.

(That would be most prudent,) the sword put in.

Izzy was itching to get his computer out, but he was under the impression that it would be classified as an item. The he checked his arrow cache. ‘Still plenty of arrows,’ he thought, removing one arrow and notching it. ‘Thank the Goddess Idecided to replenish my supply in Meribia.’

A slice in front of him interrupted his thoughts, and he saw Alex dodge what looked to be a cousin of the Scythe Spore. Only this one seemed to be a lot meaner. He immediately released his arrow. As always, he hit his target dead center. “This place is going to be interesting. Maybe when the trial is over, I’ll be able to use my computer.”

“One can only hope. SUPER SHOCKER!”

----

For more then fifteen minutes, the group fought their way through what seemed to be an endless number of monsters. There were creatures that could shoot laser beams from their eyes, the obligatory insects, and more of those mushrooms, appeared in ever growing numbers. However, the time on Lunar had toughened them up considerably, with even Agumon becoming like a one man wrecking crew, so they emerged relatively unscathed. Because of this, they came to the unspoken decision that Luna would not use her songs for the minor aches, cuts, and scratches they received.

“Sword Dance!” Alex roared, then preformed an Explosion Point on asmall group of enemies, taking them down.

PEPPER BREATH!” Agumon fried another one, then sliced a third one anew smile.

“SPIRAL TWISTER!” Biyomon blasted another one back, then took a look around, checking to see if anyone else needed help. One glance told her that she didn’t need to worry.

Incredibly, one couldn’t tell from Sailor Moon’s appearance that she was a crybaby, and extremely prone to bursts of irrational behavior by the way she was facing off with one of the Cyclops type monsters. She was using it as a punching bag, adopting a pugilistic view to combat. Normally a foolish gesture for a young lady, but the pink bird Digimon noticed that when transformed, Serena could pack a great deal of strength in her punches. She almost flattened the creature with a well placed right hook before whirling around to catch another one by surprise with a backhand.

Rini was also faring rather well. It was easy to underestimate the young, pink haired girl, as she was only as old as T.K. However, she was also apparently capable of firing pink rays of light from her hands, and she used this to great effect, striking monsters left and right. She also almost hit Artemis, but it missed by a fraction of an inch, instead hitting a mushroom’s left root. The mushroom soon learned what it was like to walk with two roots. Not exactly tap dancing in any case.

“Moon… Tiara… Magic!” Sailor moon cried out, throwing her charged tiara through the air, slicing the last creature between them and their goal in half. After she got it back and de-charged it, she turned to the others. “So… anyone up for lunch?”

Tentomon looked at her in disbelief. “Are you always like this after afight?” he asked.

“Yep.”

Amy laughed. “It reminds all of us of the future, and that Serena can eat all of us out of house and home, all in the course of one day.”

Mimi began giggling. “Still the terror of the grocery store, I see.”

“Hey!I’m not that bad!”

“Oh, yes you are!” Mimi and Amy asserted together.

Tentomon chuckled humorlessly. “So, does this mean that we must guard our food stores diligently?”

“Or I can buy my own food!” Moon retorted, gripping her money bag tightly. “Does anyone know why these things fill up with money?”

“Not really.” Biyomon flew ahead for a moment. “We aren’t complaining about it, either.”

They reached the exit of the first section to find a female cleric waiting for them. “Well done,” she said, slightly surprised. “I can heal your wounds once, but that is all. Do you want me too?”

Everyone nodded, all of them grateful that they had held off from having Luna heal them. A few minutes later, feeling significantly better physically, they entered the second section, and looked around.

“This has got to be a rest stop,” Biyomon said thoughtfully. “A place for potential magicians to rest for a bit before pressing on.”

“Well, let’s rest, then.” Tentomon landed, letting wings retract back underneath their thick shell, then went into some sort of trance. The group followed his example in various ways. Matt and the majority just dropped where they stood, letting out small sighs as they relaxed. Mimi found a small rock standing about four feet into the air, and sat down, pulling out her deck of cards and leafing through them.

The Digimon and the two cats formed a small circle, and started talking about the Digital World. Kari, T.K., Amy, Greg, Kari, and the two Digimon of purity formed a small circle of their own, set a little apart from the rest of them, and started to talk in hushed tones.

Tai began to go through a series of movements that everyone noticed was akata, seeing as they all either watched martial artists on television or at demonstrations, or were trained in them themselves.

After several moments of rest, the group got up, and started to head to the exit of the area. Upon leaving, they immediately found themselves under attack once again.

“Geez!” Tentomon electrocuted yet another one in exasperation. “Talk about monsters up the whasoo! Where are they all coming from?”

Mimi put her hand to the wall. “Some kind of replication spell, set in the walls. It’s really powerful.” She turned to see all of them staring at her. “I can feel it,” she explained, before she threw several darts at one particularly gruesome looking beast.

T.K. nodded. “I thought I had felt something. I thought it was something bad.”

“I felt it, too,” Luna Two murmured. “It feels ancient. Real ancient.”

Luna One looked at her. “You could feel that? Impressive. Icertainly didn't feel anything at all.”

“I felt it,” Kari suddenly stated. “It felt… really familiar.”

Greg and Amy looked at her. “You too?” Greg asked, not really surprised.

Kari nodded, catching another monster with her scepter. “Yeah. It’s kinda like when I got this.” She finally stopped, shaking her little hands quickly to get some blood flowing through them again. “I hope we’re near the exit. Otherwise, my hands are going to fall down to my feet.”

“That’ll be interesting to watch,” Gomamon said, slapping one monster in the vines, and then backing up, allowing Tai to turn it into twins.

Biyomon groaned, then released another Spiral Twister. “Gomamon, if Kari’s hands fall to her feet, then she won’t be able to use her scepter!”

“Oh.”

“Gomamon, please move.”

The aquatic Digimon did so, as Matt stabbed another monster, giving awhole new meaning to the term a new navel. “Looks like we’re near the exit to this area,” the Digi-Destined of Friendship said, looking in one direction. “Everybody, start hoping that it’s the way out of here.”

“I hope so.” Moon shivered. “I really hate dark, dank places.”

“You also don’t like thunderstorms,” Mimi stated. “Better get used to them real fast. I throw lightening bolts from my hands.”

Palmon giggled, as Luna One turned to look at her charge. “Oh, Serena. I do wish you would act like a princess once in a while.”

“Not down here!” Gabumon exclaimed. “There’s a time for that type of behavior, and this isn’t it!”

Luna One conceded that point as they headed for the exit. Biyomon noted that the feline was shaking her head slightly in amusement at the fact that Sailor moon, leader of the Sailor Scouts, and apparently goddamn royalty, was afraid of thunderstorms and didn’t really like dark caves. Deciding that staying right there was probably not agood idea, she flew forward to the point.

Upon entering, they realized that it was not the way out, but instead was another rest area. Not that any of them were complaining, but they were really hoping for daylight.

Joe groaned. “I want the sun, because I feel like I’m going to have a rash soon.”

“Oh, Joe! Lighten up already!” Gomamon looked as optimistic as ever.“We may be near the end of the trial!”

“Oh, really?” Biyomon pointed in one particular direction. “Would you like to explain that to them, then?”

Everyone turned to look at what she was talking about. One look was all they needed.

Within the confines of this one room, were the shuffling masses of over three dozen people, most of them wandering about, looking around fearfully.

“He looks like he’s been there since the Stone Age,” Greg mentioned quietly, his gaze crimping in sympathy for the elderly man they were watching.

“Okay, I’m officially spooked,” Moon stated, shivering a little.

“You’re not the only one.” Sora looked like she was ready to cry.“Those poor people. How long have they been down here?”

“I don’t think I want to know.”

Izzy looked around. ‘Probably mentally counting how many people there are here,’ Biyomon thought. It was confirmed when he said, “There is about eighty some people in this area from what I can see. And we’ll come back for them after we’ve finished the Trial. After all, it doesn’t make any sense for us to try and do anything if we don’t the way out ourselves.”

Everyone agreed with him on that, and with a few encouraging words to those all around them, continued on their way. They encountered another mage, who after healing their various cuts and bruises, told them that it was high time those still down there received medical attention. He also warned them that there were stronger obstacles in front of them.

They looked around upon entering the final stretch of the Trial, all rather surprised that they hadn’t immediately been set upon by monsters. “What’s going on?” Gabumon asked, perplexed. “Where are all the monsters?”

“Mimi?” Biyomon asked.

Mimi put her hand on the wall. “There isn’t a replication spell here,” she reported. “I think the stronger monster might be a boss type.”

“You’re probably right.” Alex sheathed his sword. “So now we can put our weapons away, without fear of retribution.”

“A boss monster. Great, just great.” Joe threw his hands into the air. “So does anyone have an inkling as to where to go?!”

“I might know.”

The keeper of Reliability turned his head around, as the voice was not one of his friends. It was also timid, reminding him of himself when he was unaccountably shy. And it was female, too. He found himself staring at two of the bluest eyes he had ever laid eyes on. After amoment of simply staring in surprise, he gave her a once over.

The girl in question was around Joe’s age, with brown hair flecked with white, cut to the just underneath her shoulder blades. What was surprising was the fact that she was almost a total carbon copy of Mimi. And she was quite possibly the most gorgeous thing Joe had ever seen. “Hello,” he said, blushing slightly.

The girl bowed, her bangs covering her eyes for a second. Biyomon noted that the same weird color combo was absent there. “Hello. My name is Lilika. I am also attempting to get to the Magic Guild, but Ihave seemed to run into an obstacle. I can help you guys out, if you can help me.”

“Okay. So what’s your problem?” Biyomon asked.

“The way out is guarded by a very powerful creature, and I don’t know any really powerful magic. I am also a little scared of this place.”

Moon chuckled humorlessly. “Boy, do I know the feeling,” she said.

Gomamon was chuckling as well, but with some humor to him. “So does Joe. He’s scared of just about everything!”

“Including little aquatic digital monsters with big mouths,” Joe growled.

Lilika giggled before becoming serious again. “I can show you the way out… if you want me to.”

Tai, Alex, and Serena considered it for about a half second, reaching an agreement a half second later. “Sure,” Alex said. “The more, the merrier, I always say.”

“Don’t say that!” Nall shouted. “At least, not until we’re out of here!”

“I second that!” Tentomon buzzed around. “So if you know how to get out of here, please show us the way!”

“Those two,” Artemis whispered to Gatomon, “are as bad as Lita is sometimes.”

“I’ll agree with that, if I knew who Lita is.”

“No,” Rini murmured, joining the conversation, “I think she’s worse.”

Tai gestured. “Lead the way,” was all he said.

Lilika bowed again before taking point, the others following behind her at adistance. They kept their eyes open, on the off chance they came across a monster or two on the way.

----

After several minutes of walking, they came across an intersection. “Which way, now?” Biyomon asked.

The new girl thought for a moment. “This way,” she finally decided, pointing to the left. “The monster is there, so you might want to get ready for a fight.”

“Good idea. Thanks for the warning.” Tai’s sword was out immediately. “Alright, guys, here’s the plan. Myself, and the rest of those who have only close range attacks will attempt to get in close, and do our impression of coleslaw. Izzy, you, Luna Two, Sailor Moon, Rini, and Kari attack from afar. Try and keep…whatever this thing is from hitting you. Luna One, Artemis, Nall, and Gomamon you three just stay out of that thing’s way. Understood?”

“A polite way of saying ‘Don’t get underneath out feet,’” Nall said.

“Damn straight. Sorry, Sora. Agumon, Gabumon, digi-volve. I feel a lot better if we have two champion level Digimon out there. Biyomon, you and the others, do…what you do so well.”

“We will all try our best.” Biyomon flew upward. “Go on, you guys.”

“AGUMON DIGI-VOLVE TO…GREYMON!”

“GABUMON DIGI-VOLVE TO…GARURUMON!”

Moon yelped as Agumon and Gabumon went from cute and cuddly to large and ferocious. “Don’t do that so fast!” she exclaimed, clutching her chest in surprise.

“So sorry, ‘your majesty.” Greymon rumbled, putting extra emphasis on the last part of his reply. He was just grateful for the fact that he was able to stand up fully in the cavern. “Let’s go, already.”

The group walked down the intersection, every muscle tense and ready to uncoil. They were prepared for anything. The only thing unsure was what the monster was.

They found out soon enough.

“Alex, do you see that?!” Nall shouted, his red eyes wide.

“Be still, Nall! I’m not blind… or deaf!”

“That… thing is blocking the exit!”

“Really?Hadn’t noticed!”

Lilika looked at it. “It’s called the Mushmare,” she said, her voice deathly quiet. “It is the strongest member of the mushroom breed of monsters, as well as its rarest. It possesses no real poisonous attacks, and the one it does have only hits one out of a hundred people. It can hit multiple targets with the vines it has buried under the ground, though. My suggestion would using fire spells, though I don’t know any.”

Mimi looked at her. “What spells do you know?” she asked.

“The only spell I know is a weak earthquake spell.”

“Good enough,” Biyomon flew up. “Greymon!”

“NOVA BLAST!”

The Mushmare stood there passively for a few moments, seemingly watching the fireball approaching it, then moved its giant head to the side, letting it pass by. The attack broke against the rock face, leaving ascorch mark in its absence.

Tai and Alex were already moving forward, their swords up and ready. Asmall army of vines were already rising out of the ground, heading right at them. Rini, however, had fired a blast of pink energy at the creature. The blast intersected with the vines, blasting a hole right through the middle of them, allowing the two young men to continue, unopposed.

“SPIRAL TWISTER!”

“BOOM BUBBLE!”

“Mercury… Icestorm… Blast!”

“HOWLING BLASTER!”

Biyomon, Patamon, and Garurumon unleashed their signature attacks, all aimed at the monster spore. Mercury conjured up a large number of compact ice balls, which she sent in the same direction with a wave of her hands. Izzy and Luna unleashed their arrows.

Patamon’s attack blasted a hole right through the left portion of the vines, while Garurumon’s attacks froze the right side, creating a hole in its defense. Mercury’s and Biyomon’s attacks struck the Mushmare itself, with the two arrows right behind them, embedding themselves right into the side of it.

Mercury got ready to attack again… and suddenly went into a trance like state. Something hit the back of her mind with the strength of ahundred bolts of lightning. She snapped out of it just in the nick of time, barely dodging one of the surviving vines before it could smack her head off. She rolled to her feet, that vision had given her an idea. Closing her eyes, she began concentrating. Following Ami’s movements precisely, she then held her hands out, collecting the water particles from the very air.

Biyomon turned from the fight to see Sailor Mercury begin forming some type of object into her hands. She stared as Mercury created a set of identical long swords, the symbol of Mercury standing out on the handles. The little bird watched as Mercury nodded in satisfaction, before turning her attention back to the fight. She noted that the two boys had almost reached their objective, but the number of vines seemed to be growing much more numerous, and much faster in their deployment. She also saw Lilika trying to get closer to the action, and flew over to her, a half baked plan forming.

Lilika looked up to see Biyomon approaching. “I thought you needed to help with the long range attacks.”

“I am, but I’m wondering, can your spell cause the ground to shift enough to make something unsteady?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Because it will make the job of beating this thing easier,” Biyomon said. “Can you do it?”

Lilika pondered it for a moment, dodging a vine as it came too near. “I think I can. But I must concentrate. No interruptions.”

“We’ll take care of that.” Biyomon flew back into the fray, firing another attack.

Lilika locked her eyes onto her opponent, bending at the knees. “Let’s rock! Earth Shake!” With that, she slammed her fists down onto the ground.

Immediately, the ground began shaking throughout the immediate area. The Mushmare found itself hard pressed to remain steady. It finally did so by plunging several of its vines into walls, thus anchoring it in place.

However, it also served to distract the creature from its attackers, and gave Mimi a chance to get in range. And she took that chance.

“Fire’s Rage!”

From her hand, a powerful stream of fire erupted from her hand, this time completely under her control. It burned through the vines holding it in the left wall. The Mushmare staggered to the right, its balance disrupted.

Tai and the others gave themselves a few minutes to adjust, then continued moving in the direction of their objective. Greg empathized this by launching a Lightning Blade at the remaining vines that were free, finishing them off.

However, a new series of vines appeared out of nowhere, aiming at the whole lot of them. One stabbed Tai’s leg, another giving Sailor Moon a nasty gash on her arm. The other’s fared better, getting only small cuts.

“Vigor!”Alex roared./ “Sword Dance!” /He succeeded in destroying every last vine in his way, then performed an Explosion Point on the Mushmare and the vines closest to it, allowing the others to get in closer to attack.

The Mushmare had other attacks, though. And it prepared to use them.

As soon as Sora got in range, the boss’s head started glowing. Ahalf second later, a bolt of lighting lashed out at the Digi-Destined of Love. With a yelp of surprise, she dropped to the ground as it sizzled overhead.

Greymon wasn’t so lucky. The attack, having missed Sora, flew through the sir to strike the champion-level Digimon in the chest, knocking him off his feet. Luna One and Artemis barely got out of the way when he hit the ground on his back, causing the tremors to increase in strength for a second before subsiding. Artemis looked up, just in time to see another group of vine appear, aiming at their temporarily incapacitated comrade.

Matt sliced one in half. “Where’s he getting all these things?!” he called out.

“I don’t know!” Lilika answered, not taking her eyes off of the monster. “I think he may be able to regenerate them at amoment’s notice!”

“That sounds sensible. Biyomon, Tentomon, cover me!” Sora shouted.

“You got it, Sora!” Biyomon flew forward. “Tento?”

“Coming!”

As Biyomon and Tentomon covered her, striking any vine that came too close to her or themselves, Sora managed to get in range of the Mushmare, delivering a fighting kick to it. It was effective, too, forcing the creature to break off its attack, and also opened it to acounterattack.

And counterattack they did, with all of their might.

A deluge of physical, magical, and digital attacks fell upon the giant toadstool as it tried to defend itself. The shaking of the ground continued to hinder it, though, thus making its defense somewhat ineffective.

Lilika grunted, a light sheen of sweat appearing on her forehead. She had never cast a spell before, having avoided the monsters by simply sneaking past them. Already, she could feel herself growing faint from the effort. Still, she held on, casting a glance at Joe, who was dodging several vines and shouting warnings to the others. ‘He is reliable in a fight like this,’ she thought, before turning her full attention back to her task.

Sora, the rest of the Digi-Destined, Mercury, Moon, Rini, and Greg continued their attack. Already, Sora saw that the boss had numerous cuts, bruises, and lacerations all over its massive body, and a part of its top had been ripped off by Garurumon. ‘This is going to be over soon,’ she thought in relief.

Then one of the remaining vines struck her without warning.

Biyomon struck another vine with her beak, and was turning around to attack the Mushmare, when a cry of pain sounded off. Turning her head, she felt the blood leave her face. “Sora!”

Mercury was slicing through a group of vines when she heard Biyomon’s strangled cry of shock, and turned around. “Oh no,” she gasped.

Sora still stood, but it wasn’t under her own power. A vine had entered through her back, and exited through her stomach. Her face had a look of shock on it, and she was becoming drenched in her own blood.

The vine exited, and she remained standing for a half-second longer. Then she crumpled into a heap, and lay still.

The vine tried to strike at Mimi, but she burned it to ashes, and made it to her friends side. She felt for a pulse, found it weak. “Luna Two!” she hollered. She could not afford to get them mixed up at this moment. “I need you!”

The blue-haired woman sprinted over to them, Izzy giving her cover as she did so. “Oh, my Goddess,” she gasped upon seeing the wound. “My spells aren’t enough to heal her, and the same spell cast by two different people will cancel each other out!” A sharp gasp of pain brought their attention back to Sora’s prone body. “We’re losing her!”

Mimi’s mind raced. “See what you can do, if anything! /Kari!/”

Kari began fighting her way over, clubbing every vine that came her way.“Yes…I see.” Casting her scepter aside, she rolled up her sleeves, and put her hands over the exit point. Taking a deep breath, she began concentrating.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the exit wound began closing up. Sora’s breathing became slower and deeper, as she began to relax. The wound eventually vanished, leaving a thin scar in its place. Gently, the three girls turned Sora over, and Kari repeated the process. The same thing happened, leaving a scar running perpendicular over her spinal cord.

Kari finally stopped, breathed in for the first time for over five minutes, and immediately whirled around, grabbed a vine that almost happened to turn her into a shish-ka-bob, and ripped it in half. Grabbing up her scepter, she vaporized a whole flurry of them.“Anybody with a long range attack, not to sound like my brother or anything, but…/fire in the hole!/”

While she said that, a thin beam of power emanated from Sora’s Digi-vice, heading in Biyomon’s direction. Biyomon felt a brief surge of energy, and knew what it meant.

Mimi also knew what it meant. Name a Digi-Destined who didn’t.“Biyomon, how’s about giving the Mushmare a piece of your mind?”

“BIYOMON DIGI-VOLVE TO…BIRDRAMON!”

Lilika finally had to quit, her magical energy spent completely. She sat down, exhausted to the extreme. As if in a dream, she saw several of them get in front of her, stopping every vine that was coming in her way. She saw a few of them get through, and head in her direction. And, try as she could, she couldn’t seem to move. ‘It was a pleasure to have met you,’ she thought faintly.

“METEOR WING!”

Spears of flame, seemingly made from the very air itself, came out of nowhere, destroying the vines, even as Joe scooped her up, and got out of the way. “Are you okay?” he asked, the worry evident in his voice.

Lilika nodded faintly. “Thank you,” she whispered. “What destroyed those vines?”

With that, Joe grinned. “Lilika, meet…Birdramon.” Looking up, Lilika’s eyes widened fractionally.

In the place of the little pink form that was Biyomon, a giant, red orange feathered bird was now in her place. Her talons were large, and decidedly sharp. Her beak had a series of teeth sticking out of it. Despite that, there was great beauty in her form.

Sora stirred, her eyes opening. Almost immediately, she sprang to her feet, those same eyes sparkling in anger. “Mushmare!”/she roared. /“Stab me, will you?!”

Mimi and Luna Two backed up rather quickly. “She sounds a little upset,” Mimi noted.

“She ain’t the only one!”

Luna Two looked at Mimi. “I think this is where we say, Oh shit.”

Greymon was back up, and standing tall There was a black mark on his chest where the lightning bolt had struck. But it didn’t seem to be affecting him any.

And he was angry. Smoke was pouring, literally, from his ears. His eyes spoke of death by fire. His three fingered hands clenched into weapons that were terrible to behold. And he roared, shaking the very infrastructure with the vibrations. He released a Nova blast that was, for a time, hotter than the outer surface of the sun. He charged forward, following his own attack. Birdramon stepped forward, as the cavern was nowhere near large enough for her to fly.

The Mushmare responded by releasing another deluge of vines, trying to stop them from reaching it.

“NOVA BLAST!”

This time, it was Tai who unleashed the attack, his sword channeling it through its tip. It struck the vines, allowing Greymon’s attack and the beast himself through safely. The other attack struck the Mushmare, setting it on fire. Two more Nova Blasts, another Meteor Wing flew through the air, causing the fire to turn into an inferno. Sora’s feet slammed into the creature, knocking it off its proverbial feet, and Mercury put both of her swords through it, the blades strangely not melting into puddles of water.

“/Moon…Scepter…Activation!”/

Sailor Moon had pulled out her scepter, did the appropriate movements, and unleashed a beam of power that turned the Mushmare into a pile of dust, like so many monsters before it.

“Way to go, Sailor Moon!” Luna One shouted.

Almost immediately, there was a blinding flash of orange light, and just as quickly disappear. And it left behind a parting gift for the group.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Gatomon shouted, unable to believe it.

The Mushmare was back, whole and unharmed.

“Here we go again,” Kari muttered.

‘No, that will not be necessary. You have beaten me, and are now free to continue on.’

Luna Two blinked. “Did we… just pass the Trial?” she asked.

‘Yes, child. You did.’

Everybody heaved a sigh of relief as hearing this. “I hope you’re the last monster,” Nall said, fluttering over to land on Alex’s shoulder. “I barely have the strength to stay in the air!”

‘There are no monsters after me. You may also get the other’s who are still in these tunnels. Many of them do not have the strength to continue.’

“Thanks.” Birdramon de-digivolved back into Biyomon. “Garurumon, let’s go get them, and lead them out of here.”

“Okay. Matt?”

“Coming,” Matt said, following his partner back to the other area.

Alex sheathed his sword, staggering a bit in exhaustion, finally falling down to rest for a moment. “I am wiped out.”

“We all are.” Tai sat down too, wiping his brow. “Thank God we didn’t run out of magical abilities.” However, Alex could see that he was shaken. He even knew why. Death had been very close, but never before was one of them injured in the manner Sora had been. It had hit them all rather hard, Sora most of all.

A couple of scuffling sounds broke their concentration, and they all looked up to see the three return, a large number of people behind them. “This is everyone,” Biyomon said, letting them know that there would be no return trip. “So, let’s get going.

“Yes. Let’s head for the exit. And...” Luna Two paused. “Let’s hope for daylight.”

(A wise idea.)

‘Oh, shut up,’ Tai thought back.