FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

*Sigh* here we go again.....i am not connected with Bandai in any way yadda,yadda,yadda ok now that that's out of the way lets get on with the show this is part twelve and if you're still with me then thank you.

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Chapter forty eight

Before I could even tell it to my body started moving on sheer instinct as I bolted from our hiding spot holding both the unconscious form of the female sorcerymon and Serinity, unfortunately I was only able to take about six or seven feet before the thing went off throwing me off of my feet and through the air with the force of the blast.

I hit something in front of me hard and fell to the floor stun and in a large amount of pain as something wet seeped from my forehead, I pushed threw the pain and sat up trying to get my bearings and check the situation and saw the humans slowly shuffling towards us with guns leveled so I did the only thing I could think of and summoned some energy and hit the ground sending out a wave of dark spikes to rip through them.

I saw the attack hit but I couldn't hear anything besides the ringing in my ears and the pounding of my pulse as my heart beat out its rhythm, I pushed myself up off the ground and grabbed the two prone forms and got back behind the pillar I had hit just as a bullet flew past my head alerting me of its presence with the vibrations and wind.

*Shit,shit,shit,shit this is not good* I thought as my hearing slowly began returning, i felt something move and looked down to find Serinity shaking her head and looking around then she looked at me questioningly.

I pushed the limp form of the sorcerymon into her arms and spoke slowly as she looked at me, "You need to get out of here Serinity!, I can't fight if I'm protecting you like this!".

"But what about you Chad, surely you can't be thinking of fighting them on your own!" she said as another hail of bullets slammed into the pillar making me put my arms around her to keep the bullets from hitting her.

"Don't argue with me just teleport out of here before something happens to you!" I shot back, she had a look in her eyes that said she wasn't going to leave me here alone and it pissed me off.

"Look this is my job your the one who wanted to help these people now let me work, you get out of here I'll be fine but i can't do this if I'm protecting you!" She seemed to think about this for a second before finally nodding to me.

"Good now take her and get out of here" I told her, she still looked a little worried so I looked her in the eyes and spoke "Serinity I'll be fine but you need to let me do this my way.....please trust me".

Suddenly she got a hard look in her eyes and stared at me, "Don't you dare loose Chad because if you do-" I grabbed her muzzle in my hand and gave her a good hard glare as I spoke "Go now , I'll be fine.....and stay away from here until the fight is over". For one brief second I considered trying to give her a kiss as if it would be my last, but banished that thought as soon as it appeared. I actually heard a groan of disappointment inside my mind.

She seemed conflicted by this last part but finally got a good grip on the unconscious digimon then she was gone, after she vanished i stood up straight and pressed my back against the pillar.

*Good.....now that she's gone we can cut loose and really have some fun* the voice said.

*Yeah.....right.* I thought sourly.

Suddenly the onslaught of bullets stopped and I heard a deep voice resonate through the hall, "What's the matter shifter......all that talk and now your only hiding yourself? Surely you can do better than this?"

I felt a strange rush of energy flood through me as i spoke, "That's funny coming from you Serph, after all I'm not the one who's hiding behind a bunch of meat puppets so I don't have to fight!" I called out to him.

"Hehehehe.......true but who's the real coward here shifter, what are you running from yourself? Why don't you step out from behind that pillar and tell me."

"HA! I may be crazy Serph but I'm not stupid as soon as I step out your puppets are going to kill me." I said as I pulled some cards out of my holder and looked at them.

Suddenly the voice spoke as I saw what the cards were, *Good these should do nicely for taking those underlings out.*

I flinched as another rush of power washed through me just past the point of being painful, I shook it off as it passed but i could feel another one building even as i did.

"Gonna have to end this quick" I said to myself.

I swiped the cards down my reader and activated them, "Necro modify, energy activate, gargomons gatling guns activate".

I watched as a mass of energy suddenly formed around my hands then vanished leaving behind what looked to be a giant multi-chambered chain-gun at the end of each arm and in the middle were small three fingered robotic hands, The barrels spun around in a circle for a second and I heard the unmistakable click as the ammo was loaded into the chambers.

I held the guns up and cocked them as I looked them over for a second, "Well let's get this party started right shall we?"

I took a step away from the pillar and turned around as I leveled the guns and stepped out, as soon as the first figure came into view I cut loose with a barrage of bullets that ripped it apart and each one after that fell just as quickly. In all I took out maybe twelve of them before I got clipped in the shoulder by a stray bullet but the one thing I couldn't find was the object of my focus, unfortunately I didn't have time to think about it because for each one I took out two more took it's place.

The bullet flew and the sound of gunfire roared in the main hall like thunder as one after the other i felled the zombie like puppets as they rose from the floor, several times i felt it as the bullets tore into my thigh or grazed by my head as the source was cut down from the onslaught of my barrage and with each one i felt the darkness take another step closer.

*Yes, yes, yes! More! Give me more!* I heard the voice call out.

I could feel my heart thundering in my chest as I moved through the hall, "Yes shifter......let it out.....show me the darkness that lurks within you" I heard Serph say over the roar of gunfire.

As if in response I felt the building wave rush through me painfully as if it where trying to push through something deep inside me, I also felt a burning sensation in the middle of my forehead as the feeling got stronger.

I could also hear the voice laughing manically as its thirst for death began to fill my mind, I could feel myself beginning to drown in the feeling as it became stronger but I ignored it as I continued to cut down wave after wave of the enemy.

Suddenly pain lanced through my shoulder blade and I was spun off my feet as something slammed into my shoulder, as I spun I caught sight of something ghostly white somewhere in the shadows before it vanished from sight. I pushed myself off the ground just as another wave of enemies came at me and this one had digimon mixed in with humans, I caught sight of the look in one of the digimons eyes and noticed that they where half closed and distant looking like the lights were on but no one was home.

*Focus you fool!* the voice said snapping me out of my daze just in time to slam my forearm into the helmet of a human that had gotten to close cracking his helmet and revealing the same look in his eyes, When the human hit the ground I slammed my foot onto his neck and felt it break from the force as his body jerked then went still then I turned my attention and my guns back to the task at hand.

the firefight seemed to drag on for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes and as the last enemies dropped I felt somewhat drained from the exchange, I looked around the bloody hall as I let the gatling guns evaporate back to the ether from wince they came and searched the darkness for my prey but found nothing.

I could feel the adrenaline pumping and the strange bloodlust filling my mind as i looked and with each passing second my anger rose higher, "Where are you digimon!, come out and show yourself to me you coward!".

I could feel the coldness in the air as it filled the room then I heard a soft chuckle behind me, I turned around just in time to catch the full force of an attack that was sent from the shadows of the room. I was thrown off of my feet by the impact of the attack and as I flew through the air I felt something cold hit me in the side followed by a massive amount of pain as it blossomed in my brain, I hit something behind me and bounced off of it before I finally came to a rest on the stone floor.

I groaned as I pushed myself up and looked down; waiting for me was an icicle about two feet long and three inches across that was lodged in my side. With a grunt of pain I grabbed it and yanked it out letting it drop from my grip as i stood up and looked around again.

"What's the matter Serph?! To scared to show yourself?! Maybe all that talk was just a front!" I called out as I turned to search the darkness by the doors, I heard a soft chuckle behind me again as Serph spoke in a deep and chilling voice.

"You want me shifter? Then come here and face your new master."

I whirled around and saw a figure sitting on the throne with his chin resting on his hand as he grinned back at me, I took my time looking him over and took in every part of the thing i was going to kill. For all intents and purposes he looked like a devimon with one key difference he was entirely white except for the purple crest on his chest and the swirling featureless red eyes that seemed to sneer back at me the one thing I did recognize was that sick grin plastered on his face.

I felt the darkness in my mind jump as we glared at each other and another wave of energy flooded through me and the pain in my forehead got worse and felt like it was spreading out over the left side of my face, "Well,well,well it looks like the master mind finally shows himself......no more tricks? No more tools and fodder to hide behind?"

His smile seemed to grow bigger as he looked back at me and spoke, "No shifter......no more games.......no more fodder to throw at you" he waved his hand and motioned to the decimated body's on the ground and the data that floated through the air, "You saw to that yourself.....the only reason I stopped playing with you is because I want the real you to come out as I fight you not because of some trick".

I let a grin slip over my face as I took a step towards him, "So this is what an Ice Devimon looks like.......funny I thought you'd be taller" I said as I took another step.

Another wave hit making me flinch from the pain as Serph spoke, "And i thought we would be having this conversation sooner shifter but we can't always have what we want can we?" he said as his grin got wider "the world just doesn't work like that".

*Shit, has this bastard been listening in on everything i've been saying?!* i thought.

*Who cares! KILL HIM NOW!!" the darkness yelled.

*Right lets end this* i thought grimly.

"Enough of your chatter Serph, DIE!" as raised my arms into the air and brought them down in a clawing motion as i called out my attack, "Claws of Darkness!" as i brought my arms down long strips of dark energy flew at Serph. I watched as it did this then the attack hit and an explosion of energy was set off as the attack connected sending out a wave of force and a cloud of smoke, i stood watching as the smoke cleared expecting to see a dying if not badly wounded Serph but what looked back at me through the smoke was that same look and smile.

*What?!, he didn't even move! How could he survive that without so much as a scratch?!* I thought to myself.

"Yes, yes, yes! A true opponent!* the darkness shrieked in my head.

"Claws of Darkness!" I sent wave after wave of dark energy at Serph until I couldn't see threw the smoke but I kept hammering away at him, I sent everything i had at the digimon sitting in the chair until I was almost completely drained of energy then I pulled a card from my deck holder and swiped it "Necro modify energy activate".

I felt my energy returning to me as I waited for the smoke to clear, but by this time I was tired and the lose of blood from my wounds was starting to effect me, *Their's no way he could hold off that much power without atleast a some damage* i thought.

"Is that all you've got shifter? Even after you took out those cattle so easily?" he chuckled.

The smoke cleared and staring back at me was Serph who somehow didn't even have a scratch on him, i felt a shiver of panic run down my spine as i looked back at him.

"Really? After all that talk the only thing you were able to do was create a nice breeze? Absolutely PATHETIC!" he yelled as he straightened up and slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair.

"Why do you not let the true you come forth?! Why do you hide what you are?! WHY!!!"

I glared back at serph as he rose from the throne and glare at me, "Well isn't that the million dollar fucking question!" I said as I pulled two more cards out of my holder.

This only seemed to piss him off even more, "Do not toy with me Shifter! Release the darkness now and show me your true power!" he demanded.

"Fuck you and the horse you rode in on you freezer burn reject!" I growled.

I glanced down at the cards to see what I had and smiled, "You want power Serph? Fine let me give you power." I swiped the cards down the reader and called out the activation command.

"Necro modify, power activate, Shine greymon's revolver activate!", again a mass of energy formed around my left arm and formed into a massive cannon before it vanished leaving me holding a support handle and aiming the gun right at Serphs chest.

"Here's your power Serph, trident revolver!" Suddenly the cannon kicked three times as it spit out three glowing bullets headed straight for Serph who only held up his hand.

I watched as all three bullets raced at him then they seemed to impact on something in front of him and stopped, they seemed to be pushing against something unable to reach their target then Serph closed his hand and with a wave of energy destroyed the bullets like they were nothing more then a miner annoyance to him.

"I am Ice Devimon!, scourge of the digital world for countless cycles, I am the master of all I Survey and none can stand before me. I have taken the codes of countless digimon to gain my power and I will have yours shifter now bring it out!!!" he yelled.

I glared back defiantly even as I felt the darkness leap at the challenge, "No......".

I watched as Serph's face twisted into an expression of sheer rage at my defiance, "Fine shifter! If you will not bring it out then I will force it out myself!!!" he yelled.

"Frozen claw!" suddenly Serph jumped at me from the diaz and lashed out with his claws, i had just enough time to bring the giant cannon up into a defensive position before he connected with his attack, he latched onto the barrel of the gun and as I watched it became incased in ice then it shattered into pieces before vanishing completely into nothingness.

"These stupid tricks are worthless to me shifter, bring out your power now!" he demanded as he landed a few feet in front of me.

I felt the darkness inching closer begging to be released even as the edges of my vision started to tint red and a strange bloodlust filled my mind with even greater need, "Your a fool Serph, not even you could control that much power!" I shot back even as I felt the burning spread even further down the left side of my face.

Serph just grinned at me, "Do not think to lecture me on power filth......I have power that you could only dream about!" he growled as he made his way closer to me.

"You don't get it Serph.....I can't bring out the power because I don't control it, ever since it surfaced in me I've never been able to control it no matter how hard I trained or how strong I got!" I shot back at him.

A sneer formed on his lips as he glared down at me, "Then I guess I'll just have to bring it out from you won't I?" he growled as he took another step forward.

*NOW!* I thought as I called out the name of my next attack, "Poison Needle!".

I felt my left arm shift as my hand morphed into the tip of a sharp lance and my fore arm formed into the shaft as the back of my elbow stretched out some two or thee feet behind my arm, I lashed out at Serph as quickly as I could trying to catch him off guard.

Unfortunately he was expecting it and the tip only hit whatever had stopped my previous attempts to kill him which seemed to be nothing at all or some kind of invisible barrier about a foot in front of him, I pushed harder against the barrier trying to push through it but no matter how hard I tried my efforts were in vain.

Suddenly Serph thrust his chest forward and I felt the barrier start pushing back before a wall of force hit me full blast sending me flying back only to be suddenly stopped by the heavy wooden door behind me with a resounding boom as my body struck its surface hard knocking the wind out of me, but before I had a chance to catch my breath or even fall to the ground for that matter I was suddenly hammered back into the door by a fist to the gut then another followed by several more quick and powerful hits that kept me plastered to it's surface.

I could feel the door bowing from the pound my body was taking full on and I could hear the sound of the wood as it groaned under the strain of the onslaught, I could feel the darkness creeping closer and i was starting to lose whatever control i had been give by the voice as it struggled to break free and as it did I felt the burning spreading over the left side of my face until it reached my cheek bone the I felt something start seeping out of the parts that were hurting but I attributed that to blood from the hammering I was taking.

As the onslaught continued I felt the darkness struggle to get free and every time I was hit i felt a pulse of energy as it raced through my body, *I.....I'm.....going.....to.....die.....like.....this?* I thought to myself as my body was hammered by another series of blows to my torso and head.

Even through the massive pounding i was taking I could hear Serph's voice as he spoke to me, "Why won't you give me what I want trash?! Why do you not show me the true power that lurks within you! SHOW IT TO ME!" he yelled.

I could see the tendrils of redness as they slowly claimed my vision spreading out slowly from the edges as the darkness fought to break free and gain control again, I could also hear the voice as it screamed at me from the edges of my slowly fading consciousness.

*LET ME OUT! LET ME FREE SO I CAN RIP HIM APART!* it demanded.

Before I could even reply to it I heard what seemed like growling from some where then the onslaught stopped and I slowly slid out of the fractured door to the ground, but before I could hit I was caught by something furry and warm that held me close and spoke to me.

"Chad get up! You have to get up and help me! I can't take him on my own, please!" I recognized the voice as belonging to Serenity and as I pushed myself up I looked at her grunting slightly as my battered body protested the movement.

My blurred vision registered her face as I sat up and caught my breath and looked at her, "Why...?"

"What do you mean why we have to take him out for the sake of all those he's hurt so he won't do it again?"

My oxygen deprived brain didn't really register what she was saying so i shook my head trying to clear it as I spoke again, "Why did you....come back I....I told you not to....come....back" I stammered as I tried to push myself up off the ground only to fall back down as my legs refused to take my weight.

*Why.....why didn't she listen to me and stay away* I thought to myself as I raised my hand to the left side of my face and attempted to wipe away what I thought was blood as it dripped over my face and clouded my vision but when I pulled my hand back I saw some kind of black slime trailing from my fingers back to where I had tried to wipe the stuff away.

I heard Serinity speak softly and it sounded like she said "You have helped me so much already, now it's my turn to help you....so please trust me"

*Why* I thought.

*WHY* the voice said.

*Why didn't she stay away!?*

*WHY WON'T YOU LET ME OUT!?*

Suddenly I heard another voice drift to me, one I had hoped to end quickly "You BITCH, you'll pay for that sneak attack with you life!" it growled.

*No!* I thought.

*NO!* the voice said

*I can't let him hurt her*

*I HAVE TO KILL HIM!*

"Avalanche Claw!" suddenly what I could see of Serinity vanished then I heard the sound of something shattering so I looked up, Serinity was standing in front of me with her arms crossed and I could see a barrage of icicles hammering the shield made by the modified nullifiers she had but even through her gloves I could see arc's of electricity jumping around where the disks were.

But even as I tried to react a crack appeared in the shield, *No at this rate the shield will---*.

Suddenly with a blinding flash of light from the disk in her right gauntlet the shield burst and the barrage of icicles shot through, what happened next seemed to be in slow motion as I saw one of the icicles pierce through her body and I felt something warm splatter over my face as she twisted from the impact coming to rest before me, her eye's staring blankly into the distance unseeing and dull as I looked into them.

I looked in absolute horror at her prone form as blood seeped across the floor, I felt it as the warm fluid slid around my fingers but all I saw where those dull and lifeless eye's and the badly bleeding wound that was seeping her life onto the stone floor.

"No...."

"Give me what I want shifter!" I heard the voice yell but it seemed distant to me like it was coming from miles away.

"Why....?"

"Give me the power shifter!"

*Pulse*

"Why....did you?"

"I want it shifter!"

*Pulse*

"Why did you come back?" I stammered as I reached out and pulled her body to me and stroked the side of her head.

*Pulse*

"Forget the bitch shifter, give me what I want! Show me the power!"

*Pulse*

I saw a white hand snake out and reach for Serinity and I looked up at the thing connected to it, "LEAVE HER ALONE!" I yelled as I sent a wave of energy directly at the thing that had done this.

As the wave of force hit the digimon before me I watched it fly back and slam into a support pillar then hit the floor, "You....." I said as I glared at the digimon.

"You did this!" I growled.

Suddenly a wave of pain lanced threw my head making me recoil and I felt more of the slime sliding over my face, I felt a large glob of hit drip off my chin as I glared at Serph.

As I leveled my gaze at the digimon now getting up off the floor I felt the slime harden over the left side of my face, "You hurt her........she tried to protect me......and you hurt her because of it......" I said.

I felt a cold hollowness as I looked at Serph who was now glaring back at me, "Yes shifter and now that there are no more distractions, show me your power! GIVE IT TO ME!".

*Pulse*

I gripped Serinity tighter and pushed my face into the crook of her neck as images flashed through my mind, "Kate, Claire, and now......now someone else that has shown me kindness has been hurt because they knew me.....helped me...."

"Am I really so weak that I can't even protect those closest to me?" I asked myself quietly.

"Do not ignore me shifter or I will load the bitches' code here and now!!!" I heard Serph yell at me.

I tightened my grip on her as I shifted my gaze back to him and saw the anger and greed in his eyes, I suddenly felt something strange happen as I felt the darkness break free and the voice in my head shriek in triumph at gaining freedom.

I reached out into my mind and grabbed it and felt pain lance through my head far worse then anything I had ever felt before but I pushed threw it and bent the power to my will for the first time since it had awakened in me.

"No......never again....."

*Pulse*

*What are you...! NO! Don't!* the voice yelled at me but I ignored it and kept working as I looked at Serph feeling the anger rise within me like a volcano about to erupt.

*Pulse*

*If I was stronger.....maybe I could have helped them, if I wasn't so....so much of a scared child......maybe I could have saved them.....* I thought to myself.

"Enough of this babble shifter! I will kill the bitch and you together if you will not give me what I want!" Serph yelled at me as he jumped at us.

I felt the building anger hit the boiling point and summoned the power forcing it into a shield around us, I watched as Serph slashed at the barrier and i started to stand up.

"Never......again....." I said as I looked down at Serinity.

*Wait! What are you doing you fool!?!?!, not like this! You'll kill us both!" the voice yelled at me as I looked back at Serph, I ignored the ratings and focus all of my rage on the one standing before me.

"NEVER AGAAAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNNN!"

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(This is just a little something different for you all, I'm doing this part in Kate's p.o.v so tell me if you like it. The response i get will determine if i do something like this in future chapters)

Chapter forty nine

The roar of the engine was loud as the skiff i was driving skipped along the surface of the water filled with beastial's and the Sorcerymon Serinity had left with me before heading back to the old castle, Suddenly I heard a deafening explosion and stopped the boat turning around as I did to look at the source.

What I saw sent a chill down my spine, the castle that for the past two years had spelled dread and fear for the people of the swamp suddenly seemed like it was being ripped apart from the inside out as pieces of it began to collapse in on itself then a solid beam of (for lack of a better word) pure darkness shot out of the top of the castle sending pieces of stone high into the air.

"Kate!" i was jerked out of my wonder as I looked down at Ka'na who had drifted up to my boat on a jet ski and was looking between me and the pillar of darkness as she spoke.

"Isn't that were the shifter and Serinity are?!" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

I jerked my gaze back to the castle and felt a shiver of panic run down my spine to the tip of my tail as i answered, "Your right Ka'na....." suddenly a thought struck me and I looked at my long time friend.

"Ka'na! Give me that Jet Ski and take this boat back to the village", she looked at me a little confused but finally nodded and climbed into the boat and i got onto the seat of the Jet Ski.

"What are you going to do Kate?" she asked me making me look over from the controls.

"I'm going back to the castle for the shifter and Serinity" I told her.

"But what about Serph's men the ones still on patrol will be heading back to the castle to see what's going on!" she said.

I grimaced at this but shook my head and looked her in the eyes, "I know but I can't leave them there like this, not after everything they've done for us!" I said to her.

"Look just go back to the village with the others and bring back and the Doc incase their injured!" I told her.

She looked a little uncertain but finally nodded, "Right I'll have one of the boats turn around and head back for you in the mean time stay out of sight until whatever that is stops ok?" she said to me pleadingly.

I nodded to her as I gunned the engine and shot forward then I turned the jet ski and headed back to the castle hoping that i wasn't to late.

When I got back within site of the castle I could see that the one's on patrol had already beaten me back and were running up the stairs through the portcullis and to the main door, they looked a little confused but some of them started taking up positions around the door and leveling their guns at it and the others soon followed suit, I on the other hand idled the jet ski behind a copse of trees to hide and watch what happened next.

Just then the beam of darkness vanished with a boom like thunder and everything went silent, it seemed like nothing moved in that stillness, not a birds chirp or the splash of a fish as it broke the water could be heard, nothing even dared move......it was almost like the calm before the storm.

I could feel something strange in the air that seemed to creep out of the castle doors, it felt .......unnatural and it made my fur on end, I watched as one of the goons broke away from the rest of them and made their way up to the massive door that now had a giant crack running through it and pounded on it.

For the first few seconds nothing seemed to happen but the strange feeling in the air seemed to grow stronger, I could see some of the digimon in front of the door shifting around uncomfortably but they stood their ground then another goon moved forward and pulled something from his belt and walked slowly up to the door and the first goon.

He showed the first what he had and walked up to the door as the other one edged back, the second one put something on the wood and messed with it before finally running off to the side of the door, he motioned for the others to take cover and they did taking up positions on either side of the door to get out of the way and covered their faces.

Suddenly the door was blown inward as the thing the second goon put on it exploded, I shielded my eyes from the flash then looked again as I waited for the smoke to clear.

The goons on the other hand didn't wait and as I watched with a sense of growing dread as a few of them moved into the smoking building, Suddenly every hair on my body stood on edge and I felt fear grip my chest and my skin crawled as screams erupted from inside then fell silent, taking a chance I idled my way up to the dock keeping low so no one would see me and got off the jet ski, I then made my way up to the first wall and peeked around the corner to get a better look at what had happened.

The other goons were looking a little hesitant but finally two more pulled away from the wall and went in a little more cautiously this time, I waited with baited breath wondering what would happen but I didn't have to wait long because a few seconds later another scream and some gunfire could be heard then one of the goons shot out of the smoke running like the devil himself was after him but he didn't get far; only about five feet from the smoke before he was ripped into pieces i gasped in horror at this but managed to cover my mouth to stifle the sound as I watched the others pull away from the wall and got into a horse shoe formation around the doorway and wait for what ever had done that to come out.

Suddenly i felt a slight vibration from the ground under me and looked down as it seemed to grow stronger, I saw a pebble laying on the ground next to me start to jump and dance around on the ground as the vibration grew in intensity with each passing second.

I turned my gaze back to the door and saw the smoke get blown away like something massive had taken a great breath and blown it away, what I saw on the other side sent a chill down my spine and set my heart thudding into my mouth.

On the other side of the smoke barrier stood a figure that seemed to be cloaked in darkness holding something ghostly white into the air with one hand, Suddenly the one in the air seemed to shatter or vaporize into pieces before finally vanishing into nothingness but the now lone figure just stood there like it was waiting for something to happen.

The humans and digimon standing outside the door opened up with both gunfire and attacks at the figure and as I watched the attacks hit the figure just stood there looking at something in its arms, it didn't even seem to notice the attacks as it stood there doing nothing.

I watched as it slowly looked out the door and I saw its eyes, they were like glowing pits of fire that seemed to cut through the darkness and i almost thought my heart would stop when i heard a strangely distorted and chilling voice float from it.

"Never......again...."

The figure took a step forward through the oncoming attacks like they weren't even there and as it moved I heard a load cracking like the earth itself was being ripped apart then the strange voice again saying those words like some strange chant.

"Never again......"

The figure moved into the doorway slowly and with each step the ground at its feet split and cracked and the earth shook, the humans and digimon sent attack after attack at it only to have them stopped before they could ever connected.

Before the figure could even make it out the door several of the digimon leapt into the air at it only to be cut down by some unseen force, by this time a couple of the humans and digimon had turned to run but before they could get very far they too were cut down by what looked to me like tendrils of pure blackness that moved at frightening speed.

I looked on in horror as the rest of the humans and digimon split their focus between screaming and running and attacking the figure standing in the door way, suddenly a blast of air hit me in the face and as I watched everything in the courtyard stopped in its tracks like some grotesque sculpture garden before blood and screams erupted everywhere as they seemed to crumble into bloody piles.

After the screams died away the figure took a step into the light and i gasped in horror and shock at who it was, "Chad!" I looked at the bundle in his arms and felt my heart skip as i realized what I was looking at "Serinity!, oh gods what's going on!?!"

Just then I heard the roar of a boat engine as it got closer and looked back to find Ka'na and the Sorcerymon we all called Doc jumping out of the boat and running towards me.

They ran up and stopped as they looked at me and Ka'na said something to me but i was in to much shock to really understand what she said, suddenly she grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me hard shaking me out of my daze as she asked me again "Kate what's going on what happened!?!"

I quickly recollected myself and looked her in the eyes, "The shifter he's gone insane! He cut Serphs goons into pieces without even touching them!" I told her.

"And Serinity is badly wounded too, we need to find a way to calm him down so we can help them!" I said as I looked back around the door at Chad who was just standing there holding Serinity in his arms.

"Maybe I can help with that" Doc said making me look back at him.

He stepped around me and into the door way and started chanting something as a strange blue glow started coming from the staff he was now holding in front of his face.

"Sleep!" Sorcerymon thrust the staff forward and I looked around the corner to find that strange glowing feathers were now falling in the courtyard but it didn't seem to be having any effect on Chad because he just stood there looking at them like they were snowflakes.

I heard Doc grunt with effort and looked over at him, "It's not working....his mind.....it's like its shattered, he's retreated into himself from some kind of shock"

*And I think I know what that shock was* I thought to myself.

Doc gave another grunt of effort before speaking again, "We need to find a way to make him focus before I can put him to sleep otherwise both of them are finished!".

"What?!" I asked in surprise, "What do you mean?" I asked him.

Doc glanced up at me as he spoke "Kate if he keeps on letting his powers free like this the stress will rip his body apart then even I won't be able to help him!" he said to me.

"No...." I said in horror as I looked back at the shifter.

I jumped up off the wall and ran around the corner but was suddenly stopped when someone grabbed my arm and pulled, I looked back to find Ka'na looking at me worriedly.

"Kate what are you doing! If you go in there he could kill you!" she said to me.

I yanked my arm out of her grasp and glared at her in the eyes as i spoke, "Then what do you want to do?! Let him get ripped apart?! Without him we would still be stuck under Serph's heel or worse dead! If I don't go in there and stop him then he'll die and I'm not going to let that happen! Not after everything he's done to help us!"

With that said I turned and ran into the courtyard towards the strange figure of the shifter that seemed to be surrounded by waves of darkness and leaving Ka'na and Doc behind, when I got about halfway across the courtyard I slowed down and began walking toward them.

As I got closer Chad suddenly jerked his head around and glared at me and I almost thought i was going to die just from the look he gave me, I stopped in my tracks and looked at him pleadingly as I spoke.

"Chad....it's Kate"

"K....Kate?...." he shook his head then looked back at Serinity, with that strange vacentness in his eyes like he wasn't really there "No......Kate is.....dead."

I took a step back and looked at him trying to figure out what he meant but I shook it off, "No Chad I'm right here......you met me yesterday don't you remember?" I asked him.

He seemed to think about this for a second before shaking his head, "No she's....dead....their all......dead.......everyone.....because of me, they're all.....dead." he seemed to hug Serinity's body tighter to his own as he continued to speak "I was...to weak....I couldn't save any of them...."

"No Chad! I'm here, I'm not dead just look at me, I'm standing right in front of you so you can see for yourself that I'm alive!"

I took a step closer to him being careful to be as nonthreatening as possible as I continued to speak, "Serinity is alive too Chad but i need you to help me otherwise she's not going to be for much longer just let me he-"

"No! You can't have her! Never again.....no one will every hurt my friends again!"

I jerked back and shielded my face with my arms as bits of stone burst up from the ground around me and I was hit with a blast of energy that nearly knocked me off of my feet, "Chad listen to me! If you don't let me help you then Serinity is going to die!"

The wave of energy let up when I said this so I looked at the shifter to find he was now on his knee's cradling Serinity "No.....I won't..let....her....", I lowered my arms and looked at him as he stared at Serinity, the confusion on his face evident as he tried to figure out what to do to.

"Chad.....listen to me......I know you want to help Serinity right now but if we don't get her to a healer then she's going to die soon and you won't be able to do anything for her" I said to him.

*Please listen* I thought to myself as I looked at the confusion on his face.

I looked down at Serinity hoping in some way that she could help but I knew that in her condition I was hoping for to much, "Please Chad let me help you, if we take her over to the boats we can get her some help and she'll be fine but if you don't then she'll die".

I could see him fighting with himself and I could only imagine what was going through his mind but all I could do was hope because he seemed to be having a hard time listening to me, I let out a silent prayer to Serinity hoping that in some way she could help as I looked on with increasing worry.

I took another step closer to him as he fought with himself and hoped that he was to distracted to notice me, I made my way closer as slowly as possible all the time watching the struggle run across his face.

I was only a few feet from him when I spoke again keeping my voice as low and soothing as possible, "Chad.....I don't want to take Serinity away from you but if you don't let me and my friends help you then she's going to die and leave you alone again" I said to him.

The expression on his face when i said this almost made my heart break as he looked at me; it was like I was looking into the eyes of a lost child who was begging me to help him.

"I don't want her to leave me." he said almost too softly for me to hear.

I searched my mind for anything to say and finally settled on something as i saw a tear slide down his cheek, "She doesn't have to leave Chad.....but if you don't let me help her then she will.....you don't want that do you?" I asked him.

Suddenly he burst into tears and buried his face into Serinity's shoulder and started crying, I could hear him mumbling to her not to leave and I felt bad about what I had said but I knew that if I didn't get him to focus that it would be to late.

I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to the gods asking for their help then I looked back at him and was about to say something when I saw Serinity reach up with her right hand and put her arm around his head like she was hugging him.

I saw his shoulders stiffen and he pulled away and looked at her and again the only way I could describe him was as a child, I watched as Serinity ran her hand over his head to the strange half mask he was wearing and pulled it off of his face.

I noticed that as she did something in her gauntlet began giving off a faint pulsing glow, I watched fascinated as she smiled at him and pulled him close, he didn't even put up a fight as she did.

Just then something happened that caught me off guard; he pitched forward and his eyes closed and before I knew what I was doing I rushed over and grabbed both of them to keep them from hitting the ground.

As gently as I could I let them down and pulled Serinity out from under him to look at her wound, when I did I almost retched right there because looking back at me was a gaping hole that seemed to go all the way through her and sticking out of it was a big icicle.

I heard something behind me and turned away quickly to see what it was only to find that Ka'na and Doc were running up to me, I heard Ka'na gasp and saw her cover her mouth as she looked past me but I didn't even try to turn around to look, I watched as Doc shot past me and heard him drop his things and started going through them.

I suddenly heard a grotesque sucking sound then what sounded like glass cracking and turned around and quickly regretted it, Doc had pulled the icicle out of Serinity's stomach and was doing something but all I could focus on was the blood that was now pouring out of her wound.

I turned around again and retched my stomach contents onto the stone courtyard, this seemed to go on until I had nothing left then i felt someone put their hand on my shoulder and looked up to find Ka'na looking down at me with a worried expression on her face.

I smiled up at her and patted her hand as i spoke, "Sorry K you know I don't do good with stuff like this" I told her trying to be reassuring.

The look on her face soften and she gave a weak smile in understanding, she pulled me up to my feet and helped me dust myself off before looking past me for a second, "Come Kate, we need to get the shifter out of here and onto the boat while Doc does what he can for the digimon" she told me.

I gave a week nod and walked around Serinity trying my best not to look at her wound again, finally the shifter came into view and I stopped to study him for a minute.

*When I said he was nothing more than a scared child I guess I didn't realize how right I was* I thought to myself.

Suddenly I saw the strange mask laying by his head and reached down picking it up and looking it over, most of it was so black that for a second I thought I was going to fall into it, I looked at the rest of it and noticed that it had a strange design on it in white that started at the middle of the mask and branched out in long sweeping lines that ended in little upward turning spirals that stopped by the outer edge of it, it did this about five times starting at the top followed by another then another until it reached the bottom then stopped I also noticed a faint glowing rune on the masks forehead that quickly faded away.

I tried to remember the symbol but I had a hard time of it because I had only caught a glimpse of it before it faded, finally I just shook my head and went back to studying the strange mask.

I noticed the design was strangely beautiful like someone had put their heart and soul into making it and somehow it seemed to calm me as I looked at it, it seemed like the lines where trying to smile at me somehow. I turned the mask and looked at the inner edge of it and noticed that it seemed to be split somehow but how I knew this I don't know, i ran a finger over the edge and felt a smooth surface......I don't know why but when i looked at the mask I suddenly got a sense of pain and lonelyness and a feeling of incompleteness that was so strong that I had to turn away from it lest i be drawn into the mask and made to feel even greater pain.

When i pulled my gaze away it came to rest on the face of the shifter laying before me, I don't know why but at that moment I felt like I knew him just a bit better and I felt somewhat sorry for him.

"How could anyone become like this?" I asked quietly.

"Kate a little help here please this guy isn't exactly a feather pillow!" Ka'na said grabbing my attention, I looked at her and suddenly remembered what I had been about to do.

"Oh, right, sorry Ka'na I just got a little side tracked" I told her as I put the mask back down and grabbed the shifter under the arms, Ka'na had a hold of his legs as she looked over at me "Ok lets get him to the boat then we'll come back for the renamon" Ka'na said as we heaved the shifter into the air and started walking.

I nodded in agreement as we made our way out of the courtyard past the bloody pile that use to be Serph's men and to the docks, we sat the shifter down in the boat and went back to the courtyard for the digimon and when we got closer i raised my hand to block out the site of Serinity's wound as Doc worked on her.

Doc said something to Ka'na who quickly took up a kneeling position by Serinity and started helping him, I stood behind her and watched as they worked on saving her but all the while I silently prayed to the gods that we weren't to late for that.

They must have heard my prayers because several hours later Doc finally said that she was stable enough to move so Ka'na and I picked her up as gently as possible trying not to aggravate her wound and put her in the boat right next to the shifter.

We had to take it slow back to the village because Doc was working on Serinity the whole way back and didn't want the boat to jar anything loose, Ka'na drove the boat back and I was keeping an eye on the shifter the whole way; as I watched him he would groan and grunt like he was having some kind of nightmare I had to restrain him from hurting himself and Doc several times on the trip.

By the time we had made it back to the village it was past midnight and we had to get several others up to help us move the shifter and the renamon into the medical hut and onto a couple of beds, when all was said and done Ka'na and I made our way back to my hut and I started cooking something to eat then I went to the closet and put on my clothes from before this whole ordeal started, when the food was done i pulled out a couple of bowls and we sat down to eat.

For the most part dinner went on in silence but near the end of it Ka'na put her hand on my arm and got my attention, "I know how you feel Kate but there's nothing we can do for them, all we can do is wait and hope that Doc can help them" she said to me.

I looked down at the table sadly and nodded, "Yeah.....I know Ka'na it's just that......I gave him such a hard time before this, and then when that thing in the hall happened I kind of got freaked out" I said to her.

She squeezed my arm gently and I looked back up at her to find her smiling at me, "I know Kate but if it wasn't for you then they both could have died today and as it stands Doc told me that because of what you did the shifter will be fine but it will take a while for the renamon to heal" she told me.

I was about to say something to her but I was interrupted when I heard a pounding at my door, I quickly got up and opened it to find Wes my next door neighbor who was out of breath and looked like he was scared, "Wes what's wrong?" I asked the steel grey wolfman as he panted heavily.

"The...*huff,huff*....the shifter he's....." I got a cold chill down my spine as i looked at him, "What about him Wes? What's wrong?!" I asked quickly.

Wes took a couple of deep breaths before he stood up straight and looked at me, "I was helping the doc by bandaging him up when he suddenly went berserk and attacked us!" he panted.

"The Doc sent me to get anyone who could help us calm him down!" he said.

I looked back at Ka'na who nodded and got out of the chair she had been sitting in, I looked back at Wes as I spoke to him "Go get anyone you can find, Ka'na and I will go to the doc's hut and help the others" I told him.

He gave a quick nod and bolted off down the dock only to stop a few house down to pound on another door as Ka'na and I left and headed to the Doc's hut, when we got there it sounded like all hell was breaking loose inside as we heard something crash followed by a load yell.

Ka'na and I rushed in to find the place in shambles, Herbs and jars of salve were strewn all over the place and several of my friends were standing around the room looking at something around the corner, I quickly made my way into the hut and as I looked around I found the shifter in a corner with a wild look in his eyes as he scanned the room.

I looked around and found Doc in a corner looking over a groaning beastial, "Doc what happened?!" I called to him as I looked back at the shifter.

"I don't know Kate I was working on the Renamon and suddenly he started groaning then he just freaked out!" he told me.

"I won't go back in there you bastards!" the shifter yelled.

"You can't make me go back to that place!" he said as he backed up against the wall.

I looked at Ka'na who seemed just as confused as I was at this strange turn of events.

I looked back at the shifter and saw him looking around the room, "Chad what are you talking about?"

He turned his gaze on me and I almost thought he was going to attack me but he just glared at me, "The humans anthro.....tell the humans to keep away from me.....I won't go back to that place!" he said.

I looked around the room and only saw the medical hut and the other beastials, I looked back at the shifter even more confused now "Chad you're in the swamp region in the ring, this is a medical hut that we brought you to after the fight with Serph and his men" I told him.

He looked at me a little confused and suddenly grabbed his head like he was dizzy, "Swamp region? Serph.....fight....."

I took a cautious step towards him as he stumbled around, "That's right Chad, you helped me and the other villagers escape but after the fight you were injured so we brought you back to the village to treat your wounds"

He seemed even more confused now as he looked around the room then settled his gaze on me again, "Village?....what....",

He never got to finish what he was saying because right then he collapse in a heap on the floor, I looked around the room and saw Doc holding out his wand before he lowered it and went back to tending the battered beastial on the ground.

"What happened to him Kate? What do you think it was?" I heard Ka'na asked me.

I shook my head slightly as i replied, "I don't know K......a nightmare maybe, or a memory?" I muttered.

"What ever it was it will have to wait" I heard Doc say before I turned to look at him, "Just so this doesn't happen again I need you all to take him to an empty hut and restrain him so he doesn't hurt anyone else or himself, I still have a lot of work to do on this renamon before I can even begin to start looking at him" Doc said.

I looked back at the shifter who had helped us break free of the one who had tormented us for two long years now trying to figure out how anyone could become like this, finally i was brought from my thoughts when I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to find Ka'na looking at me.

I nodded to her and we slowly started making our way over to the unconscious form of the shifter.......

To be continued.......

well i hope your enjoyed this different perspective in the story, depending on the reaction i get i'll see about doing it agai with Serinity or even a new character well tune in next time kiddies for another thrilling adventure of A Shifters Tale, same tooth time same tooth channal( t.v. cuts off do to power being cut and children start screaming in the background as you slowly come back to reality) "Ahhh, ain't live grand?"