by: Aeris

Chapter Seventeen


***Matt***

"JACOB!!!!!!!" Jessica's scream split the air like a knife. Tears rolled down her cheeks in torrents, and she sobbed without even knowing it. Her voice was so choked with emotion you could barely make out the words. My heart wrenched at the sight of her, and all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms, maybe she'd feel better. She struggled against Jordan, who was holding her back from plunging into the water herself. But soon she surrendered and just sobbed on her brother, unable to do any more.

Suddenly something in me clicked, I rushed off the side of Ikkakumon and plunged into the water my- self. I knew it was pretty much suicide, 'cause there was no way the Digimon who'd attacked us would let us get anywhere near Jake.

I ducked as the Digimon's long arm swept over the water, his hand barely missing me. But, no, he wasn't going after me! I watched in horror as the hand swept past me and hit Ikkakumon! The Digimon was large, the water in the deepest parts only went up to his knees, and it made me wonder how he even GOT here. But now's not the time.

The Digimon's body and head were a dark blue color, but his arms, legs, and tail were white. He had four black tentacles on his back, along with two gray things that looked slightly like wings, but beaten and broken wings that couldn't be used for flying. His hands had five large black claws instead of fingers. He had two eyes, which were a bright red color. And he had a red jewel in the middle of his forehead.

The others went screaming out of the water and onto the land, but A.J. fell in the water near me. Jacob's unconscious form floating nearby. Ikkakumon hit a tree and De-Digivolved back to Gomamon.

They were safe! Good. Now, turning back to Jake, I watched as the Digimon leaned towards Jacob, two black claws outstretched. A.J. and I got to him at the same time and grabbed Jacob out of the way as WarGreymon, MetalGururumon, MarineAngemon, Lilymon, Garudumon, Angewomon, MegaKabuterimon, and the new kid's Champions attacked the Digimon.

"That's MarineDevimon!" I heard Patamon cry before he Digivolved to Angemon. "He's a strong Ultimate Digimon who's specialty is water! Not many attacks can pierce his thick skin! His attacks are Evil Wind and Darkness water! Watch out for his tentacles, they're poisonous!" After saying that, Patamon Digivolved and joined the battle.


***Katy***

I wasn't goin' to make it!

On and on I ran, in me Guardian Form, trying to get to the place where the Child of the Star was. Me clothes were quite badly torn, me sandals gone long ago, and me hair was comin' out of it's braid quickly as it caught on branches again and again. I had no idea as to where I be, or as to where I be goin'. The same queer feelin' I had felt in me house still held me in it's grip, and it led me through the woods to places I've never been before. I be frightened, but I couldn't resist the feeling and had to follow where it took me, wherever that may be.

Stumbling over a rock, I quickly righted meself and sped on, dodging tree branches whenever they got in me way. Then a sudden pain shot through me, I'd been too late! The Child of the Star had been hurt! I'd been too late! But still, a Guardian must never leave it's child, and therefor I had to continue, hoping I might come soon enough to be of some help.

Suddenly I broke free of the trees I was running through, and appearing in front of me be a river. Around a bend I saw what looked almost like a typhoon, waves crashing against both sides, and screams came from also. I saw many Digimon, among them a MagnaAngemon and Angewoman, two of the most sacred Digimon of the world due to the fact they be Angels and Hope and Light's Digimon, fighting a large blue Digimon. I let out a gasp and shuddered. MarineDevimon! With renewed courage and strength, I rushed towards the fighting, positive that the Child of the Star be there, and he be in trouble.


***Tai***

"LET ME GO!" Jessica sobbed, struggling against her brother's grip. Through her tears, I saw she watched as Matt and, A.J., swam towards the floating form of Jacob. She finally gave up struggling and cried on Jordan, letting him rock her like a helpless child. But she always watched the water, always watched the battle against MarineDevimon.

Monochomon and Gazimon were the only two Digimon who stayed on land since they couldn't swim. Since Tuskmon's attacks were all physical, Gazimon decided it'd be better if he stayed in Rookie form. They attacked the best they could, but MarineDevimon was able to block every attack thrown against him. Even WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon's attacks were shot back at them! "Where the heck does Sara get these Digimon?" I asked myself, watching the gigantic monster continue to fend off our smaller ones.

Suddenly a little pink bird shot through the air, hurtling towards us at breakneck speed. Biyomon! Sora rushed forward and caught Biyomon as she fell, and then lost her balance and tumbled off the rock into the sand. Afriad she might be hurt, I jumped off after her to see if she was alright, landing beside her and helping her up, but the others stayed on the rock.

As we climbed back up the rock, an unconscious Biyomon in Sora's arms, I wondered if we'd be able to beat this one. I had a very apprehensive feeling about this battle, and something told me that things would be a whole lot different after this was over.....

In the water, I saw Matt and A.J. grab hold of Jacob at the same time MarineDevimon caught sight of them. He lifted a large hand, ready to swipe them off the face of the earth.

"Terra Force!" WarGreymon shot a large ball of energy out of his hands, pushing MarineDevimon's hand away from our friends. I cheered my Digimon's attack.

"Evil Wind!" MarineDevimon countered, his voice almost a hiss. A gust of wind shot out of the jewel on his forehead, blasting all the Digimon in the air backwards! The Terra Force attack blew up before it even hit him.

We watched in horror as MangaAngemon, Angewoman, Penguinmon, and Kuwagamon shot through the air and DeDigivolved back to their Rookie forms. Gazimon fell off the side of the rock into the shallow water, and Monochomon tried to hold his ground, but he lost his grip and flew backwards into the woods, knocking down more then a couple trees and turning back to Rookie. Now only the three Mega's were left to fight. MAN! That was one tough Ultimate!

Dovemon, Patamon, and Tentomon righted themselves and caught hold of Palmon, Gatomon, and Kunamon before they hit the water. They knew that hitting the water would mean death by MarineDevimon, so they risked themselves for their friends. I admired their bravery. Then, still hovering over the foaming water, the Digimon struggled to shore with their loads and dropped them into their partners' arms before returning to their own partners.


***A.J.***

I choked on a mouthful of water and quickly spit it out, only to have my mouth filled again by the next wave. What the heck did Jessica see in this stuff? Matt and I clung to Jacob, trying to keep his head above water and, in addition, trying to make it to shore without getting crushed by water-demon dude. What did Patamon call him? MarineDevimon? Sounds like a name you'd call something like him. But I think it'd be more like: KillerPychopathBlueWaterDemonmon. But, of course, that's just my own personal opinion.

While trying in vain to reach shore, Matt and I watched as one after another, all of our Digimon got crushed and sent back to their Rookie forms. But we couldn't think about that now, we just had to survive. Suddenly an idea clicked in my head. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed a tighter hold on Jacob and yelled over to Matt. "Hey!"

Matt turned to me. "What?" He yelled over the pounding of the waves. "What is it?"

"I heard that if you go under the surface of the water, it won't be so rough! The waves are only on the surface!" I yelled back, trying to make myself heard over the roar of the Digimon. "You wanna try it?"

He nodded, to tired to talk anymore. I clamped my hand over Jacob's mouth and nose. Matt and I nodded, and, taking a deep breath, we both dove under the water.

It 'was' calmer under the water! Relieved, Matt grinned at me and we swam towards the shore. But after a few strokes, our lungs started singing for air. We swam further, and our lungs started to screech. After about ten strokes more, the screeching had turned into a highpitched scream and the world went fuzzy. We darted to the surface as fast as we could, and as soon as we broke the top we gulped in sweet breathes of lifegiving oxogen. We gulped in water, too, and had to choke it out.

We heard a yell and looked up to see MarineAngemon speed by. He hit the rock with a sickening crunch and De-Digivolved back to Gomamon. It seemed like MarineDevimon was having fun... Gomamon came up, gasped for air, and then was barely able to swim to shore.

Matt and I weren't so lucky. MarineDevimon ignored the attacks WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon used on him and turned to us. His red eyes gleamed evilly as his hand once again fell towards us.
And this time, Matt and I were too tired to move out of the way.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" We screamed, the hand zooming towards us. We closed our eyes and waited for the blast that would take all the life from our bodies. Maybe after I was gone, Jessica would realize how cruel she'd treated me and repent. And so we waited.....and waited.


***Jessica***

I watched in horror as MarineDevimon's hand swept down towards my friends. Please, I prayed, don't let them die. I was weak and shaking in Jordan's arms, but I couldn't take my eyes off the battle field. Oh please, let someone save them!.

"Ice Wolf Claw!" MetalGarurumon cried, shooting a river of ice out of his mouth and knocking MarineDevimon's hand off to the side. I breathed out the breath I didn't know I was holding when I saw it happen.

But then I saw something that made my blood freeze. They were too tired to carry Jacob anymore! They could barely keep his head above the water anymore! What could we do? Most of the Digimon were too weak to help, and WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon had their hands full with that psycho- maniac MarineDevimon! Dang, that guy was strong!

Suddenly I felt a cold at my back, and I stumbled back as my support left me and I saw Jordan dive off the edge of the rock. With a strangled cry my legs gave way, too weak and horrified to stand. Tai caught me and helped me sink lightly to my knees. Sora and Mimi kneeled beside me, trying to comfort me, Biyomon was still craddled in Sora's arms, just as Penguinmon was in mine. If they spoke, I didn't hear a word they said.

"Please," I whispered, my voice barely auitable even in my own ears. "If anyone can, please save them. All the people in this world that I love are down there."


***Jordan***

I know I shouldn't have left Jess like that, but more then one person needed my help, and Jess could survive. As I leapt off the rock, I saw MarineDevimon's eye catch my movement. As I hit the water and came up again, I saw his eyes glint evilly as he watched me. "Darkness Water!" He cried, shooting blasts of water out of his hands and knocking both WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon back about ten yards. But I couldn't think of that now. With five powerful strokes, I reached Matt and A.J. and helped them with Jacob. But the two of them were so tired that they could barely stay above water themselves, so I had no idea whatsoever as to how we'd get back to shore.

Suddenly, we felt a cold wind. Looking up, we saw MarineDevimon's hand speeding towards us. And now that WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon were too far away to help, we were goners. We all closed our eyes and prepared for the worst.

I'd enjoyed my stay in the Digiworld, it'd changed us all. I hoped Jessica knew that A.J. wasn't as much of a jerk as she thought he was, and that maybe they could've gotten together. I wished I'd told Mimi sooner that I had a crush on her, and thought she was the prettest and sweetest girl I'd ever met. That I'd told Tai how I wanted to make friends with Sara, instead of destroying her. Told Joe that he didn't have to be as scared as he was if he believed in himself, and that he and Sora made great docters. Told T.K. and Kari to be brave and that they were really a great addition to the team, reminding us all the time that we couldn't always be tough and worriors. Maybe Izzy would become a world famous scientist or something. But I guess if I had to go, I was ready.

I waited for the impack, the hand hitting me and knocking all the life from my body. Soon I felt a lightness, like we weren't touched ground anymore. Maybe I was dead. Is this what it feels like to die? It didn't hurt that much. It didn't hurt nearly as much as I'd thought. I hadn't even felt anything!

Suddenly I felt a lurch, and then a voice.

"Hey, check it out!"

Matt? Was Matt dead too?

"Wow! That's so weird!"

A.J.? What was A.J. doing here?

"Jordan, look!"

Slowly I opened my eyes, thinking I'd see us all floating up in the clouds or something. What I saw scared me half to death. We were at least ten, maybe fifteen, feet off the ground and the world had a yellow tint to it. We were in a bubble! Below us, Jessica and the others on the rock stared up at us in amazement, and MarineDevimon had stopped battling to stare at us in awe. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon watched with wide eyes from where they were. Matt, A.J. and I still held on to the unconscious Jacob, who lay peacefully inbetween us on the floor of the bubble, which was as strong as solid glass.

"Good grief!" I cried, staring down at the crowd below us. But then something caught my eye.

"Hey, who's that!" A.J. asked, placing one hand against the bubble to support himself and pointing with the other. He pointed across the river, at a small girl who looked about Jacob's age. Her light blonde hair was braided, and she wore a blue shirt with straps and a darker blue short skirt. But there, on her shirt....A glint of silver, a flash of green, and sparkles of both blue and red. It looked like a Tag and Crest! But of what kind? The Tag was green, and the Crest had three colors!

"Hey, look at her shirt! Is that a Crest?" I asked, pointing at the green spot on her shirt. It stood out like anything.

"Yeah, that is a Crest!" Matt commented, as surprised as the rest of us. "Think she's a Digidestined, too?"

"Could be." A.J. shrugged. "But whever she is, she looks like she's in pain."

A.J. was right. The girl was bending down and over slighting and hand one hand raised up, towards us. In her face, even though we were so high, I could plainly see her face was scrunched up in concentration and pain.

"Hey, we're moving!" Matt exclaimed, as the bubble lurched to the left, towards the rock where our friends were. "What the heck?!"

"It's the girl!" I called. "She's moving us! So whoever she is, she's friendly."


***Sora***

Mimi and I knelt beside Jessica as tears of sorrow streamed down her face. Biyomon was still weak in my arms, though Palmon had recovered enough to stand on her own. Suddenly Jessica opened her mouth to speak, and both Mimi and I leaned forward to hear it.

"Please," Jesica whispered, in a voice so small and weak I could barely hear it. "If anyone can, please save them. All the people in this world that I love are down there. If they die....." She stared numbly down at the water below and her voice caught in a heartbroken sob.

I gasped and fell back, stumbling quickly to my feet. Jessica's words had hit me hard in the heart. Mimi stayed beside Jessica. "What?" She asked. "What'd you say? Oh, Jessica!" She hugged our friend and rocked her back and forth as Jessica broke down in heartwrenching sobs.

I stumbled back a couple steps, still feeling Jessica's words. Those words hurt so much I thought my heart would rip apart. There had been so much passion in those words.......

"Sora?" Tai asked, sidling up to me and snapping me out of my trance. "What'd she say?"

I shook my head slowly, still reeling. "Nothing. Nothing really." Tai shrugged and walked over to Jessica and Mimi, trying to comfort her.

But even though I was out of my trance, I still felt something. Something......Suddenly time froze. A.J., Matt and Jacob froze in the waves, and Jordan in mid stroke. The waves stopped beating and stayed in place. MarineDevimon was stuck in a pose with one hand on MetalGarurumon and the other on WarGreymon. Not a hair moved on the rock, except for me My entire world went red. The same shade of red as my Crest. I stumbled back, frightened and worried as to what had happened. And then a saw it. It was immpossible to miss, actually. In my world of red, a flash of blue/white light appeared, shining out of Jessica's Crest. The light turned into a beam and shot straight into my Crest, making it explode in red light.

And then, as suddenly as it had happened, it all disappeared. The world went back to normal and it's usual colors. The yelling and cheering started up again. MarineDevimon smacked WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon back ten yards. The light I'd seen from Jessica's Crest was gone, as was the one from mine.

Biyomon stirred. "Sora?" She cooed. "Why'd you activate your Crest? I feel a great love somewhere near."

"That's Jessica's love, Biyo." I explained, still just understanding what had just happened myself. "She loves Jordan, Jacob, Matt, and even A.J., I guess. And they're all in trouble since in the water. She feels that she should do something, but she doesn't know what she can do." I was surprised that I knew so much about something that had scared me out of my wits only a couple seconds ago! "Her love reflected off my Crest and gave you strength!"

"Oh." Biyomon said, smiling. "So that's why I feel so strong!"

"Hey, what's that?" T.K. cried, pointing across the river. There stood a girl of Kari's size, and she looked to be about that age. She had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and was dressed in a blue shirt with straps and a navy blue skirt that reached just above her knees. Brown sandles were on her feet, and her waist length blonde hair was tightly braided. Her eyes showed fear, like she hadn't wanted to be discovered. And there, resting on her shirt front, was a green Tag, with a three colored Crest, on a silver chain.

"Who's she?" Izzy asked. "Another Digidestined?"

Suddenly MarineDevimon froze, noticing the girl for the first time. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon stopped too, staring at the timid girl on the river bank.

Without a word, the girl raised one hand and pointed it towards the four boys in the water. A small ball of yellow light appeared at her finger tips. "Magical Game!" She cried, adding the other hand and shooting the ball towards the four kids.


***Kari***

Gatomon gasped from beside me, her eyes widening. "Magical Game?" She asked, watching the ball shoot towards Jordan, Matt, Jacob, and A.J. from their place in the water. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

I shrugged. "I don't know......but it DOES sound familiar. I wonder where we've heard it before?"

We watched as the ball skimmed across the water towards Matt and the others, filled with both awe and fear at the same time. Was that to help them, or to hurt them?

And then it hit them. Or, at least I think it hit them. It looked like it passed right through them, but it stopped when they were in the middle of the bubble, and then it slowly lifted itself out of the water! And the more amazing thing about it was, the boys lifted with it! They were stuck inside the bubble and lifting off the ground!

With gasps of amazement, we watched the girl stumble suddenly and the bubble lurch. Matt and A.J. opened their eyes and I think they said something, but the bubble was sound proof I guess and not a sound came through. Jordan opened his eyes a moment later, but Jacob still hadn't moved.

The girl righted herself and moved her hand a little to the left, making the bubble move towards us. "Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed suddenly. "That's awesome!"


***MarineDevimon***

I had no idea who this young female was, but I knew one thing I was sure of: she was helping my prey to escape. And that was something I couldn't let happen.

I stared at that little bubble with hate burning in my soul. It wasn't the three older boys I wanted, they had just gotten in the way. But it was the little boy, the boy who had discovered me, who I wished to destroy. He had a powerful soul, that one, and I knew he would be of trouble if I couldn't destroy him quickly.

I watched angrily as the girl made the bubble move. "Darkness Water!" I cried, shooting a beam of water at the girl, hoping to knock her into the water and break her concentration, causing the bubble to pop.

Curse the Digidestined! WarGreymon jumped into the way of the water,so he got hit instead of the girl! So, they had decided to protect her, had they? With a swat at the bubble, I tried to pop it. No bubble, no protection. But instead, I sent it towards the shore! I silently cursed myself and swatted it back into the middle of the river.

But then, suddenly, I saw a light from the rock which averted my attention. The girl with the blue (bucket?) on her head was standing there, a red light coming from inside her shirt. She gasped and watched as a string around her neck pulled a Tag out of her shirt. Inside the Tag was a Crest, shining a bright red light!

The Crest was glowing? Dang! The Crest was glowing! And that only meant one thing.....

I stared in horror as the Biyomon in the girl's arms lifted up and shone with the same bright light that came out of the girl's Crest.

"Biyomon! Warp-Digivolve to........Phoenixmon!"

It was just as I had feared. Phoenixmon was one of the strongest Digimon in the Digital world, and only appeared in times of greatest need. This young Digidestined girl was extremely lucky to have gotten such a Digimon. Phoenixmon was huge, and had feathers of gold. It's head was made of Digicromiziod metal, and it's two eyes were of the coldest ice blue. Flame colored feathers stuck out at the base of it's neck and down the middle of it's back, surronded by four gigantic wings. It's taloned feet had golden anklets on them, ingraved with acient writings. It's tail trailed far behind it, made up of many long streams of feathers, both gold and flamed. It's most powerful attacks are Crimson Flame, in which the victim gets burned to a crisp, and Star-Light Explosion, where the sky darkened and streams of stars are hurled down at you.

A good thing for me was, even though Pheonixmon was nearly as long as I was, it was much too large to fit into the little clearing I was in. If we had been in an open battle field I wouldn't have had a chance, but in this small space..... The Biyomon had had to go high above the tops just to have enough room to Digivolve! I sneered, this wasn't going to prove that much of a difficulty.


***Katy***

Apon me word! If I hada known that such things would have occured by me appearence, I wouldna come atall!

But I had a job ta do, and that was get the Child of the Star safe an' sound back to shore. Aye, but it was tryin' to hold up that there bubble and lead it to the solad ground! I didna think I could do it, but knew I had ta, tryin' as it maight be.

MarineDevimon tried mighty hard ta destroy me bubble, but bein' a Gaurdian, the bubbles had ta be mighty hard ta pop. WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, and Phoenixmon tried ta destroy the evil wata demon, but MarineDevimon ain't the easiest Digimon in the world ta destroy.

Finally, tired of fightin', I guess, MarineDevimon sank into the water and disappeared. The Digidestined cheered mighty loud, and in the end, I got that bubble safely to shore, let it pop, and let the Digidestined rush over to their wounded. Soon I it would be me time ta go, but I wanted ta see if the Child was save.


***Mimi***

MarineDevimon gone, WarGreymon, Phoenixmon and MetalGarurumon DeDigivolved back to their InTraining forms. and joined us back on the ground. The strange girl led the bubble over to our side of the shore, where it popped and dropped them safely on solid ground. Jessica had leapt off the rock as soon as the bubble had touched ground, and had hugged all three boys, even kissing them all on the cheek she was so happy. You should have seen Matt and A.J.'s faces! I never knew a face could get that bright! As the rest of us scrambled off the rock to see if they were okay, I noticed that Jacob was still unconscious. He must of gotten a nasty hit to the head to still be out. I ran over to Jordan and hugged him. I'd been so worried!

"Is Jacob alright?" Jessica asked, her eyes wide with fear as she kneeled beside Joe, who was checking Jacob.

Joe looked up from the bloody gash on Jacob's forehead. "I'm not sure." He said. "His pulse and heartbeat are strong and his breathing is good, but I'm not sure....I think...."

"What?" Jordan asked anxiously. "What is it?"

Joe sighed and stood up. "I'm not sure, and I could be wrong, but I think Jacob's in a coma."

We froze. Jessica burst into tears again and sobbed on her brother. A.J. paled and Jordan looked scared out of his wits. The rest of us didn't really know HOW to react.

I don't know who remembered first, but suddenly we were all aware of the strange girl who'd helped us. Jessica even stopped her tears long enough to listen to what Matt said.

"Hey, thanks a lot for helping us!" He called. "We would've all been goners if it hadn't been for you."

The girl blushed and did a quick curtsey. "It be nothing." She called across the water. "But I only wanted ta help the Child of the Star, ye were just extras. Me business isn't with ye, just the Child of the Star be me responsibilty."

I wondered what she meant. Child of the Star? Who was that?"


***Katy***

"Well, thank you anyway." The boy Jordan said.

"Are you a Digidestined?" Another boy, Izzy, asked.

I froze. A Digidestined? What brought him ta think that? I must of shown me surprise, for when Izzy pointed at me Tag and Crest, I realized what he had meant and laughed. How foolish these humans must be! I was about ta speak and tell them I be not a Digidestined, but a Guardian, but then thought better of it and replied instead, "I guess ye could call me a Digidestined.....of sorts." I said with a smile. "But I be more like the Digimon partner when the Digidestined themselves." I finished with a slight blush, just realizing what I'd said and how true it be. I smiled proudly, Mama woulda been proud.

"Do you want to join us?" The leader Tai asked. "You could stay in our camp, and I'm sure Kari would like to spend some time with a girl her own age."

I froze again. Me, ta be in the Digidestined's camp? Never! I'd be sure ta give meself away before the night be out. Though, it would allow me ta be closer ta the Child of the Star.....

I shook me head. May or Nick mighta been able ta stay in their camp, close to the child they were ta protect, but not me. I already knew who beith the "I canna!" I told him. "But I'll be around." Afeared to stay anylonger, lest I lose me nerve, I disappeared in smoke, but appeared again close by, so as ta be close ta the boy.

End of chapte seventeen