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Darkness Descends

Riina's eyes widened with shock. Whether my profession pleased or horrified her was a matter most difficult to tel. For a few, awkward seconds she remained absolutely silent and still. I worried that perhaps my timing had been off, but finally, Riina's body relaxed. Her eyes closed to narrow slits as she smiled at me. "You... truly mean that," she said, almost disbelieving. I nodded a little too brusquely. Riina placed her hands on my shoulders. "I love you too," she went on, "I always have."

I released a breath I'd been holding and started to speak, but Riina wasn't finished. She held up a paw and I quickly fell quiet again. "Cheisu, it was always hard for me to be apart from you, but I knew you had your own life, your own family back in your world. I knew I could never ask you to give them up... but when you left that last time... when they forced you to stay away from me for so long, I found I had lost more than a partner. I lost a piece of myself. I lost even the will to fight the darkness... Do you understand now, how important to me you are?"

I nodded. "You're important to me too, Riina," I assured her, "I know I messed up, but from now on, we're a team."

Riina seemed unsure. "No matter what?"

"No matter what."Without conscious thought I cound my hands reaching to take hold of Riina's midriff. Nothing more was said as we leaned toward one another.

Riina broke our embrace without warning. "We have to go."

I stared at her, confused, "Llisten, if we're moving too fast for you-"

Riina cut me off. "No. There is something coming. Can you not sense it?"

"I don't sense..." The objection died before it ever left my mouth.

I did sense something. It started as a subtle thing, like twilight giving way to nightfall, but where the change from day to night usually brought me a feeling of peace, this transition brought with it a feeling far more ominous. The breezes suddenly quieted until all that remained was the trickle and splash of the lake below. It was as if every living part of the Digital World was holding its breath.

What light remained fled the cavern, turning everything black as pitch. I didn't need that light, however, to know that Riina had fixed a questioning gaze on me. When I could not come up with an answer, she turned. We both felt our way to the cave's exit. I kept telling myself that this was not that bad, that despite the darkness everything else was at peace. I refused to entertain the possibility that this might merely be the calm before the storm.

We finally found our way out to the ledge, mindful of the perilous drop ahead of us. The only light came from far, far below. I could barely make out a pair of shadows down there that must have belonged to Shori and Okami. I heard their faint voices, but the echo so distorted them that I could not tell what it was they said. From the way they moved though, I don't think Shori realized yet that anything was amiss.

"No!" Riina's fearful gasp caught me offguard. I looked over at her, but it was difficult to tell where she was looking.

"Riina, wha-"

"Look up!" she urged, her voice strangely hushed.

When I did, I suddenly appreciated her fear. A great mass, more solid than any cloud blocked out the light from the sky above. It was as if a vast, black sea covered the mountain, engulfing it, and all inside of it, in choking shadow.

Suddenly the sinister thing began to undulate like a silt-filled ocean current. It writhed and stretched. Thick, black tendrils oozed out of it, down through the peak. They dangled like great pythons as they made their way toward the lake below. All of Shori's chatter stopped. I suddenly had the sickening feeling that she had only just now realized exactly what was happening.

Riina didn't hestitate. I felt her arms wrapped around me, cradling me like an infant. I barely had enough time to realize her intent, and my breath caught in my throat as she pushed off with her powerful legs and lifted us skyward. The euphoria of weightlessness didn't last long before we descended again. With incredible precision, Riina's feet alighted on the rooftop of the tallest house, only for her to bound off yet again. This time, when she landed, it was on soft earth. Terra Firma at last!

Without wasting any time, Riina and I rushed toward the lake. "Cheisu! Riina!" That was Koneko's voice! The little digimon sat as close to the end of the dock as he dared. Far from the beach, Shori stood completely frozen. Okami's own head barely showed on the surface, but the strained look in his eyes made it obvious he was having difficulties in getting her to move. There was no other choice. Someone had to swim to their aide.

I quickly moved toward the back of the dock. With a running leap, I launched myself as far out over the water as I could, coming down with a splash. The ice-cold water felt like dozens of needles sticking me all at once. Feeling short of breath, I rushed for the surface, following my own oxygen bubbles to make up for my disorientation.

As soon as I reached the surface I realized the air had grown stiflingly hot. I quickly searched around until I spotted Shori. From this distance I could see her body was stiff as stone, but she was shaking, and her skin was pale. "Hang on Shori!" I called.

"Cheisu, hurry!" That was Okami's voice. "I'm not sure how much longer Shori's got!" I heard him grunt as he struggled to hold her above the water.

When I reached them, I finally understood why. Okami had managed to pull Shori in closer to the shoreline. She was standing on a sand bar, but her feet were instinctively digging in: a double-edged sword. It prevented her from downing for now, but at the same time, it was rendering Okami unable to bring her further in. To make matters worse, Shori's eyes blanked, as if she no longer even registered where she was anymore. Her shaking was growing worse, too. "He's coming," she kept whispering in a voice just above a whisper, "The Darkness is coming... He's coming..."

I planted my feet on the ground and placed my hands on Shori's bare shoulders. "Shori, it's Cheisu!" I called, giving her a gentle, but urgent shake, "Shori, can you hear me?!"

"He's coming," the girl droned, "The Darkness is coming..."

"I can't get a response out of her either, Cheisu," Okami worried, "Whatever's going on, Shori's just... gone!"

I bit my lip. There had to be some way to get through to her. "Cheisu!" Riina's alarmed voice called, "Get Shori out of there! Quickly!"

I looked up just in time to see that the tendrils had progressed a full three quarters of the distance to us. Heart pounding in my chest, I turned back to Okami. "Keep her standing just a little longer," I ordered. The gaomon nodded determinedly and took a firmer hold on Shori's body. Sucking in as much air as my lungs would hold, I sank beneath the water. Completely submerged, I felt the temperature rising. Whatever that thing above us was, it was having a sizable impact on the environment... far more than was natural.

Forcing open my eyes, I found myself wincing, but shook it off. After searching through the murk, I finally spotted Shori's legs. Taking hold of her ankles, I pushed and pulled until they came free of the silt in which she'd buried herself. Grit stung my eyes and I was forced to close them again before with relief I stood. "Okay, let's get her to shore, quick!" Okami wrapped one of Shori's arms around his shoulder while I did the same with mine. Together we managed to pull the nearly-unconscious girl back toward the beach.

We couldn't have arrived a moment too soon. Less than a minute after Okami and I followed Shori onto the dock, the appendages impacted the surface of the water. Hot spray flew everywhere. As Okami and Riina dressed Shori, I stared in horror as the lake vanished like a dream, leaving only cracked, dead earth behind. Their work done, the ghastly limbs retracted from whence they came.

If only that was the end of it, but it was not to be. With its life-giving water source gone, the serene environment that had sprung up in this place rapidly deteriorated. The soft light from the crystals died. First, the plants wilted; the crystals turned to black dust. Large droplets of sweat clung to my brow as the air grew hotter and almost too thick to breathe.

"We need to leave this place, now," Riina urged.

Okami grunted as he attempted to get Shori to her feet, but his efforts were futile. She was gone again, just like she'd been the day we arrived. "Very astute Riina," the puppy digimon quipped, "But in case you hadn't noticed, Shori's unconscious again, and there's no way I can digivolve without her."

"Riina, can you carry all of us?" I asked.

At that very moment a massive earthquake shook the cave, throwing us off our feet. Dust and loose stone shook free from the cave walls as the whole thing started to collapse. "I do not think we have much choice," Riina said.

With a nod, I got to my feet, only vaguely aware of the sting in my palms. Okami unfastened the half-empty card case from Shori's hip and tossed it to me, "Use these!"

Nodding I slipped the leather pouch to my own waist and opened the snap. Without much trouble I managed to quickly find the card I needed. "DIGIMODIFY!" I ordered, swiping through my digivice's card reader, "DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"

The blackness of the cavern like water against oil as an incredibly bright light surrounded Riina's body. The scream of the digivice emerged even over the cacophony of the collapsing cavern. "RENAMON, DIGIVOLVE TO KYUBIMON!" When the light faded the darkness returned, only to be repelled yet again by the glowing Red flames at the tips of Riina's silver-and-white tails.

No sooner had her transformation finished than a loud groaning echoed through the cavern, signaling the failure of the entire mountain structure. The ground began to shake yet again as huge chunks of bedrock broke away and fell, impacting with a sound like thunder. Dust and detritus flew everywhere, forming a choking, biting cloud. "We are out of time, Cheisu!" Riina called over the din.

Nodding, I grabbed Koneko first and lifted him up, placing him between Riina's ears. Shori was next. She lay slumped with her head resting against Riina's neck. When it came to Okami's turn, however, he looked hesitant about accepting such help from his longtime rival. "Hurry it up!" I yelled, wincing against the burning in my palms, "I can't keep hold of Shori all by myself!" The wolf puppy grunted, but he reluctantly acquiesced. He climbed up behind Shori and placed his paws just beneath her underarms to hold her steady. I wast the last, sitting just forward of the base of Riina's tail. I leaned forward as best I could to wrap my arms around Shori and Okami. "Okay, let's go!"

Riina turned and dashed toward the cave mouth, with only her flames to light our path. The devastation around us was absolutely immense. Whatever that monster had done to the lake was affecting everything around us. Behind us came the painful shrieking of splintering wood and the cracking, shattering of glass. Larger and larger boulders broke away from the walls and ceiling, burying everything in a tun of immovable rubble.

As if that was not enough, Riina was forced by debris blocking our escape rout to slow her pace. She picked her way over sharp stones and squeezed through narrow gaps between solid slabs. Like ripples in a pond the destruction spread outward, threatening to smother all of us unless we could outrun it.

"We're not going to make it!" Okami whined. "Riina, can't you move any faster?!"

Ahead of us, Riina panted. "Maybe it would help for me to throw off some dead weight," she retorted.

A falling rock barely missed her tail, forcing her to throw her rear haunches to the left and nearly lose Shori in the process. "Save it for when we're outside!" I yelled, "Right now our only concern should be getting out of here with our lives!" Refocused, Riina poured on as much speed as she could with the number of passengers on her back.

It wasn't enough.As we wound our way uphill through meter after meter of twisting passageways, the wave of deadly destruction behind us grew ever closer. First sand, and then pebbles pelted us. Soon I had to let go of Shori and instead use my arms to shield Okami and her from the barrage of rubble. The falling debris grew large enough that it was all Riina could do to dance around it. "If I didn't have to hold on to Shori, I could smash these boulders myself," Okami suggested desperately.

"I doubt your reach would be long enough, Okami," I disagreed, "Just hold on. We can't afford for anyone to-" Right before I finished a rock chunk almost as large as Riina's whole body fell to earth directly in our path. Riina reared back in response and turned, but the unexpected shift sent me flying. "Oof!" Pain raced through me as gravel and sand tore through my clothes. Tucking my body as tightly as I could I managed to roll to a stop.

With a grunt I managed to get to my feet. I felt sore and stiff of limb; I was bleeding from cuts to my hands and knees, but my brow was worse off than the rest of me. Shallow streams of crimson ran down my cheek from a place ust beneath my hairline, where sand and loose pebbles had formed a crust over the wound.

Riina had turned and even now was racing back toward me. "Cheisu!" she cried. I started toward them in return, but I hadn't even gotten a meter when another tremor, larger than those that came before, shook the tunnel and caused a wide crack in the wall. It sliced its way up to the ceiling. As it grew wider it dropped a thick blanket of rubble between us. It was almost as if the world itself was trying to kill us, me especially. Coughs wracked my body and I doubled over in pain.

When the dust settled, I realized to my chagrin that the there was now a thick wall between my team and me. I was trapped, and the shaking had not stopped. Listening to the rumble in the caverns around me, I felt almost like I was standing in the eye of an incredibly violent hurricane. I began to attempt the clearing of the stone.

"Cheisu!" Riina's voice was muffled, but clear, "Cheisu, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine!" I called, "Get the others out of here!"

"No, I am not leaving you!"

"You have to!" I insisted, "This place is still coming down and I won't have you trapped too."

"We are a team, Cheisu!" Riina's voice was breaking. I could almost hear her tears, "You said we are a team no matter what happens!"

"There are some things even I can't help," I soothed as my fingers left bloody streaks on the latest boulder. By now, with the cavern collapsing and the air growing harder to breathe, I had resigned myself to it. I was going to die, but at least it would be for something and someone more than worthwhile. Riina and the others would at least be safe. They could go on and save the Digital World. "This discussion is over Riina. Go, now!"

---

{[_]}DIGIMON{[_]}

---

Riina stood paralyzed by the thought of our separation. Her entire body trembled. On her back, it was all Okami could do to pound rocks into pebbles with his fabulous fists and the entire place caved in around them. For the first time in her life, indecision tugged at her. On the one paw I was telling her to leave, and she knew well that she should, but on the other, her body simply would not listen no matter how much her mind willed it. Neither would her heart. She knew that there had to be some way to save me. On her head, Koneko started bouncing again. Bits of rock crusted her silvery fur and dust flecks stung her eyes. The thunderous tumult grew louder and louder, but Riina didn't notice it. She felt numb and deaf.

Finally my voice broke through it all. "This discussion is over Riina! Go, now!"

Suddenly everything came back into focus, but Riina wished it hadn't. The noise had grown deafening all on its own. Each impact of the rock against earth created a new tremor to add to the growing instability. Riina vaguely heard Koneko and Okami shouting back and forth, but what they said was impossible to decipher. All she knew was that if she did not leave now, they would all be trapped. With tears leaving long, dark streaks down her muzzle and cheeks, she turned, and she ran.

Riina could see light now. Outside the stars and moon shimmered overhead, a welcoming sight after all this darkness, but to Riina, it was only salt in an already-festering wound. To think that we'd made it this close, and yet-Koneko leaped from Riina's head and turned in the opposite direction, startling Riina from her gloom. "Koneko, come back at once!" she demanded.

"I'm not giving up on Cheisu!" was the younger Digimon's reply.

Suddenly Riina found herself forced to close her eyes against a blinding light. "WANYAMON DIGIVOLVE TO..." Koneko' body nearly tripled in size. His ears grew to long, pointed tips as his face flattened. A round, muscled body joined his head which in turn sprouted four sturdy legs, the front ones developing opposable digits. His tail shortened, then split into nine, feathered lengths each of which was nearly as long as his body. Finally, his transformation complete Koneko cried out, "ELECMON!"

Koneko braced himself against the ground. Even now, just having reached the rookie level of digivolution, he could feel power surging through his body. Whether this was a natural byproduct of his evolved species or a result of half-human heritage is, even today, anyone's guess.

What mattered now was that he knew just how to use it. His claws dug into the sandy floor beneath him as he did his best to focus his newfound energies to a single point. His tails glowed as arcs of electricity leaped from one to another. "SPARKLING THUNDER!" Thousands of volts arced over Koneko's head and struck the rock. With the sudden, massive increase in temperature the air around and between the rocks expanded rapidly. The explosive force threw rock everywhere. Now all that remained was for the dust to settle.

---

{[_]}DIGIMON{[_]}

---

Inside my stone prison I leaned back against the wall, totally unaware of what was taking place just a few feet beyond my cage. Only a minute or two had passed, but it felt like hours. Only my digivice's display screen kept me aware of the time, or of any light at all. I allowed myself a sardonic smile. "It's amazing how time slows when you're about to die," I remarked to the empty blackness around me. "Well, at least I know Riina made it out safely."

I found my last thoughts dwelling on her. She'd been there from the very start, even knowing who I was, what I'd done to break her heart. She'd carried on with the duty I all but forgot. She'd fought on for me. She'd nurtured the little ones in my absence. When I'd come, Riina had protected me time and again, all the while covering the still-open wounds of her own heart. I understood in that moment of clarity why things hadn't worked out with Keirei. Riina was my soulmate. She had always been, and would always be. It was only a shame to realize this now, at the end.

"SPARKLING THUNDER!" I raised my arms to protect my face from a sudden barrage of stones and dirt, the thick cloud choking me. My eyes screwed shut as I did my best to clear my lungs.

"You promised, Cheisu," I heard Riina say, "You promised me that no matter what, we are a team."

"Riina, I'm so sorry," I coughed. I opened my eyes, only to find a familiar blue pair staring back at me through the haze of dust. I jumped to my feet with a start, only for a fresh jolt of pain to shoot through my legs.

Riina's expression was a mix of bemusement and feminine anger. "Stop apologizing," she said as tears of joy flowed, "Just start keeping your promises, starting with this one."

I threw my arms around her soft neck. "I promise, my Riina," I whispered. I managed to climb onto RIina's back just as the tremors paused, and then started all over again. Apparently Koneko's attack triggered a whole new reaction. The debris came down faster than ever.

As Koneko leaped into my lap, I barely had enough time to register his digivolution, or the fact that Okami and Shori were no longer present.

Riina whirled around and dashed for the tunnel mouth. "I left Shori and Okami just outside," she explained in response to my unasked question, "They will be safe until we can reach them."

"Look out!" The last of the cavern's integrity was failing. So many boulders were falling now Riina would find it impossible to dodge all of them. Koneko climbed onto her neck and grabbed ahold of her ears to steady himself. "SPARKLING THUNDER!" Arc after arc of electricity streaked over his head from his tail. Some rocks were thrown to the side. Other, weaker ones exploded as Koneko's attacks cracked against them like a whip, but he was tiring. His bolts became smaller and smaller as his voice grew softer. The pauses between attacks grew slightly longer each time.

"Keep at it, Koneko!" Riina urged as the exit neared, "We are almost out!" Koneko panted, but nodded. He braced himself and poured all his energy into one last deadly wave of attacks. Pebbles and dust covered the three of us like nuts on a banana split. His reserves spent, Koneko barely managed to climb back into my lap before he collapsed, completely exhausted.

His effort was just enough. Familiar, tingling, tickling sensations passed through my skin. When they faded, we were outside again. The roar of collapsing rock faded behind us. Shori and Okami waited only a few meters to the west. The puppy digimon was sitting on Shori's lap, whining like Keirei's pet Labrador as Shori massaged his shoulders. To catch a quick glance might make it seem as if Okami was her pet. Riina padded over to them and lay on her belly to make it easier for me to clmb down with Koneko in my arms.

Shori looked up as we approached. Her eyes had returned to their full brightness, and she smiled. "Koneko!" she screamed, "Cheisu! You're okay!"

I let my body slump against the hard, cold rock. "Thanks to Koneko and Riina... I owe them my life."

Riina yawned as light briefly surrounded her, de-digivolving her back to Renamon. She repositioned herself so that she could lean against my shoulder. "The credit is Koneko's alone," she whispered, "He refused to give up on you. He set an example for us both today."

I looked down at the little elecmon, taking note for the first time of the sharp contraste between his dark tan fur and black stripes. He was slumbering peacefully, a grin glued to his face. "Thankyou, little friend," I whispered, "Your parents would be proud of you today." My eyes slowly shut as the adrenaline flowed out of my body.

"Wake up, all of you!" Meiryosa's angered voice broke me out of a dream. I opened my eyes again, blinking back the harsh morning sun. Meiryosa and Raion stood over me, and they were not at all pleased.

Coming Soon: Part 13- Revelations