Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Old Scars ( Chapter 50 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Digimon / Digital Monsters and all related trademarks belong to Bandai. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

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Old Scars

By nightdragon0

Hot… too hot… Howled the voice in Sekata's mind.

The flames that engulfed his body were not of his own this time, but instead the far more intense fires of the volcano. While the exposed parts of his Dorugoramon hide screamed in fury, it was the metallic plates of armor that were burning the scales beneath.

A roar that escaped his jaws came more out of agony than anything else he was feeling at the moment.

That was stupid! Why did I let him go like that? I should've known he was going to try a stunt like this! Sekata thought.

Folding his wings further back, Sekata inclined his body to hasten his descent. So distracted was he that the dragon didn't notice the ledge until it literally slammed him in the face.

“Rrrrarrrgghhh!” The impact sent him rolling and crashing into the wall.

Sharp fragments of stone were thrown everywhere, and even his scales didn't spare him from taking cuts and bruises. Spitting blood out of his mouth, Sekata quickly shook his head to clear his vision and resumed his plunge, leaping off the ledge.

Ash was getting into his eyes, and even more into his nose, further disorientating him.

BOOM! A nearby explosion sent a shower of rocks in his direction. Sekata reacted by curling into a ball and briefly folding his wings around himself, blocking the worst of the blast.

It was almost immediately followed by a rising wave of lava. The boiling fluid stung as Sekata forced himself through, his body steaming from the ever increasing temperature.

But Sekata kept on course. Although the volcano was on the verge of erupting, there was no other choice but to carry on.

In the midst of the chaos, the armored dragon let his eyes close for a moment. And almost as if in a dream, the events of the past few days flashed by in his mind.

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Flashback…

Day 1

“Nice place.” Steve muttered sarcastically.

“The Akchenedash region is known better for its volcano of the same name, not for the sights.” Aero nodded.

“Well, it's not hard to see why.”

The group continued their trudge along the dirt trail, as they'd been doing for several hours now. These were open plains with few trees scattered in-between, but the volcano's constant eruptions didn't do much for the vegetation.

Ash and smoke hung about in the air, leaving an ominous feeling in general. Most of the ground was either charred or covered by ash, and the grass on the better parts was yellow and wrinkled. The trees too were bare and drying up. It was an odd phenomenon that none of the group had decided to think too much about.

Sekata, Zoe and Janet were walking slightly ahead, leaving Steve and Aero to bring up the rear. The amount of smoke higher in the air made flying too much of a discomfort, and the group had agreed on taking this mission a little more slowly.

Their friends back at base had e-mailed the party a set of maps that they'd been following….or at least had tried to.

“I don't get this one.” Janet scratched her head, glancing down at her D-Dragon's screen. “These maps must be pretty outdated or something.”

She was most definitely frowning, although the metal mask fixed over her dragon head hid her eyes from view. The Strikedramon had an additional black jacket pulled over her upper body, giving her a rugged look that matched that of the wilderness around them.

“But according to those travelers we ran into a while ago, the settlement was in this direction.” Zoe spoke up. She was carrying most of the group's equipment inside of a brown backpack strapped across her blue XV-mon body.

“Let's keep heading this way.” Sekata agreed, his tail involuntarily swishing about. It was a habit Sekata had when he was deep in thought. The Dorugoramon's tail had healed since the last encounter with Chaosdramon, where he'd literally snapped it in half.

“We'd best be careful when dealing with the locals here.” Aero called from behind. “They don't get out much, and there's no telling how they'd react to a group of strangers hanging around one of their volcanoes.”

“We just won't let them find out.” Sekata growled. “Last thing I need is another town waving pitchforks and torches while trying to kill me.”

“Figuratively speaking, I assume.” His Aero V-dramon comrade came up to his side. The memories of the first time they'd met were still vivid images in Aero's mind.

“Hey guys, why's everybody so down?” Steve suddenly dashed in front of the group, waving his gauntlet- covered Flamedramon claws about. “I know we're on another big mission and all, but think, this is one we're quite in control of.”

“As in?” Janet queried.

“We're all here, one organized party, and not randomly running around trying to find each other. Well, get my drift?”

“Just try not to jinx it by opening your big mouth…”

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“And there they are.” Junon lowered her binoculars. “A little late, but they're there.”

“I don't see what's with all this waiting!” Metallix waved his arms about in irritation. “Do we just have to keep watching them? I'm itching for a battle here!”

“Don't forget why we're watching them.” Junon waved a finger. “It's because we want to let them find the last Chaos Shard before moving in.”

The Rhodo Knightmon and her Metal Garurumon companion were standing on top of a steep cliff, crouched behind a set of boulders. Sekata's party of five was walking along the pathway below, unaware of the Royal Knights' presence close by.

“But must we be so high up?” Metallix continued. “The ash's annoying me.”

“You're techno-organic, so what are you complaining about?” Junon snapped. “I have the air filters on inside my helmet and it isn't helping me much.”

“Well the ash's getting into my eyes! And it's annoying!”

“Oh keep your voice down you idiot.” Junon tugged his ear. “And where's that Dynamo? He was supposed to be back with our dinner ages ago.”

“Hey, can it lady, I'm here.” Dynamo grunted. The Black Knight was in his Guilmon form for the moment and struggling up the path carrying a large set of assorted food items, ranging from cans to boxes and fresh fruit.

“Was there really a need to get so much?” Junon queried.

“Blame it on Metallix. The doggie eats too much for his own good!”

“Me?” The Metal Garurumon retorted. “I bet Dynamo just doesn't want to admit that he's the glutton around here.”

“Oh yeah?” Dynamo snapped. “Why don't you… yarrrgghh!”

The Guilmon stumbled on a small stone, sending his cargo flying in all directions. Junon instinctively caught hold of a watermelon that was headed for her face. She stepped back and onto a fallen can that threw the female off balance, sending her crashing into Metallix.

Both hit the ground with Junon's foot accidentally stomping down on Metallix's fingers. The wolf let off a yelp of pain, releasing a slab of meat he'd caught in his jaws. And just in time for Dynamo to slip on it and go over the edge.

“Garrrgghhh!” The Dino latched his claws onto a protruding branch. “Help!”

Down below was the narrow valley that Sekata's group was traveling along. The other Royal Knights quickly reached down and pulled Dynamo up.

“Whew…” He panted. “That was close.”

“Could've been a lot worse.” Metallix agreed.

CRRAAK! A part of the cliff edge broke off and rolled down the side. Although the rocks were small ones, they hit and dislodged a set of much larger ones beneath. The larger rocks fell and did the same, breaking off more pieces and causing a massive chain reaction.

“Oh crap…” Junon cursed.

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The path they'd been traveling on was surrounded by high cliff walls on both sides. It probably wasn't such a good route, but it was the most direct one. The sun had begun to go down and weariness was rapidly setting in too.

“You know, I think I preferred the pains from earlier.” Steve remarked. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this is the perfect place for an ambush.”

“Will you cut it out Steve? You've done nothing but complain for the past hour!” Janet snapped. “I'm sure no one even knows we're here…”

CRRAAK!

Five heads snapped up to the rumbling noise. And entire wave of falling rocks wasn't a pleasant sight to look up to.

“Rockslide!” Aero gasped.

“Damn, I told you not to jinx it, didn't I?” Janet yelled, glaring angrily at Steve.

Sekata spotted several ledges up on the walls that could possibly serve as `shelters' from the falling rocks. The other option was to fly and blast their way through the hail. But in either case, they couldn't afford to stay on the ground. Their path was downhill and that would only send the rocks rolling in their direction.

“Guys, up the walls! Now!” The Dorugoramon ordered. “Get beneath the ledges!”

Everyone immediately complied, leaping and digging their claws into the rocky walls. Sekata, Aero and Janet were on one side while Steve and Zoe ended up on the other. Fortunately, the ledges above their heads held and shielded the group from the worst of the storm.

“That was much too sudden to have been natural.” Zoe panted.

“Up there!” Steve turned his head. “I think I see some of our old friends!”

“Grrr…Dynamo?” Janet growled. “I should've know he'd be the one to come up with a sneaky trick like this! Let me at him! RRaaarrgghhh!”

A flash of blue surrounded the commando dragon as she changed into the sleek, black form of Cyberdramon. Spreading her wings, Janet shot upwards, blasting the falling rocks out of her way.

“Hey are you crazy?” Steve released one claw to shake it at Janet. “You just…yyarrrgghh!”

The Flamedramon's other claw came lose and caused Steve to slip off the wall. Zoe managed to grab a hold of her comrade's tail, but the motion of his fall sent Steve's face into the rocky surface with a loud smack.

“Oohhh…the stars again….” Steve moaned before passing out.

“Gurgh! I can hold him.” Zoe grunted. “Go help Janet you guys.”

“I'm on it!” Aero pushed off his wall, changing into his Mega level Alforce V-dramon form. Activating the energy shield on his left arm, the blue dragon held it up as he ascended.

Sekata was about to follow when a shrill noise caught his sensitive ears.

“Heeellllpppp! Help! Help me!”

The armored dragon glanced towards the source and gasped. A little Betamon was huddled in a small crack further down the path…and in danger of being crushed by the rockslide.

Betamon was a Rookie level Digimon with green skin that resembled a small amphibian. It had four legs and an orange Mohawk on its head.

Oh no, he doesn't stand a chance!

Without any further thought, Sekata released his hold and slid along the ground. Using his massive wings as shields, Sekata blocked out the worst of the hits as he moved into position. It was impossible to keep his balance on the ground itself, so the purple dragon had to settle with clinging onto the wall just above the Betamon.

“Kid! Reach for my claw!” Sekata held an arm out.

However, the terrified child could only curl up and whimper.

“Don't be afraid.” Sekata urged. “I'm gonna get you out of here safely! I promise!”

A fast moving stone was suddenly thrown into his extended left hand, causing Sekata to cry out. A soft `crack' rang out in his ears and the Dorugoramon realized his wrist must've been sprained. Still, he vigilantly kept reaching for the child, even on his injured hand.

“Please! You have to trust me!”

Slowly, the Betamon nodded and reached out with one of his claws. Sekata strained his own arm to its limit and finally grabbed a hold.

Yet another stone shot into his body, this time at the back of his neck. Gritting his fangs in pain, Sekata felt his own blood running down his back. However, he kept his grip firm and pulled the Rookie Digimon closer to his body. Crying, the Betamon buried his head in Sekata's scaly chest.

Folding his wings around them, the dragon braced himself for more hits, desperately trying to wait out the storm.

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“Think they spotted us?” Dynamo panted.

“Oh sure, and you think they wouldn't notice several tons of rock showering down on their heads?” Junon muttered angrily.

“No, I meant about…”

“YOU!” Janet suddenly flipped up onto the cliff. “I should've guessed you'd be behind this!”

“Whoa princess! I…”

WHAM!

“Garrgghh!” Dynamo howled, holding both hands over his groin. “Not…again…owww!”

Janet wasn't about to give him the chance to recover and sent in a second spinning kick that flipped Dynamo head over heels. Junon stepped forward and tossed her yellow, ribbon-like weapons, tying the Cyberdramon's arms and body up.

While Janet tugged and struggled, Aero arrived on the scene and sliced the ribbon in half with his AlForce Saber. The pink armored knight went staggering backwards as Janet furiously ripped the remaining bindings apart and attacked.

Junon went down to her knees, clutching her side in pain.

“I gotcha!” Metallix raised his arm mounted machine guns to fire.

Suddenly, Aero jumped in and swung his fist, knocking Metallix's gun arm downwards. The cyber wolf's eyes went wide as the bullets fired into his own foot.

“Erase Claw!” Janet put both her palms together and shoved them into Metallix's chest. The attack discharged a blue burst of energy that sent Metallix flying.

“Shinning V Force!” Aero fired off a golden beam that blew out the ground around Junon, forcing her to dive for cover.

“Dammit.” Junon hissed. “Retreat!”

A limping Metallix dropped a grenade that exploded into a thick cloud of smoke. Junon grabbed the still dazzled Dynamo by his tail and dragged him across the rocky surface, ignoring the dino's protests and screams.

“Get back here you morons!” Janet roared, firing off several more Erase Claws. Unfortunately, the sound of shattering rocks was all she heard as the footsteps faded. “Crap, they got away.”

“Forget about them.” Aero tugged her shoulder. “Don't you think you were a little hasty there? We had them off guard, but what if they'd been better prepared?”

“Grrr….yeah, sorry.” A pillar of light surrounded Janet as she changed back into her Strikedramon form. “But there's no way I'd pass up a chance to kick Dynamo's ass.”

“At least we're all fine.” Zoe flew up to the cliff, carrying a moaning Steve with her.

“Ow dammit!” The seated Flamedramon rubbed his head. “And I though my head banging days were over.”

“Well, old habits die hard.” Janet smirked.

“Hey, what was that?”

The flapping of wings caused everyone to look towards Sekata as the Dorugoramon arrived on top of the cliff, carrying a Betamon in his arms.

“It's all right now kid.” Sekata told his passenger. “I got you out, just like I promised.”

The Betamon looked up as Sekata smiled, then gave off a shriek and jumped straight into Steve, wrapping his limbs around the Flamedramon's face.

“Whoa, whoa, kid it's OK now.” Sekata waved his arms.

“Muurrmmphh! Can't breath!” Steve gasped, struggling with the Rookie Digimon.

“You probably just frightened him, grinning with all your fangs like that.” Zoe remarked.

“And no offense, you don't exactly have the most comforting face.” Janet added in.

“Don't we all?” Sekata sighed.

“We should take him back home, it'll be pretty dangerous out here after dark.” Aero spoke up. “Well, once we can get him off Steve that is.”

True enough, the Betamon's fear had turned to laughter as he clung on to a very unhappy Steve's snout.

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“I really have to thank you for saving my grandson.” The massive Zudomon embraced the much smaller Betamon in a warm hug.

This aquatic beast was a mix between an upright walrus, with the shell of an ancient turtle on his back. Despite that, Zudomon was perfectly capable of living either on land or in water.

“He's a fighter, I'll definitely have to admit it.” Sekata commented. The dragon taken some time to wrap a bandage around his injured wrist and place another at the back of his neck, where he'd been bleeding earlier.

“A pleasure too, Blappa.” Aero leaned against the counter of the blacksmith's shop. “Although I had no idea that he was your grandson.”

“The Digital World's a smaller place than we think, eh?” Blappa laughed.

“You know him?” Steve asked.

“Yes, he's come down to our town a few times to make some trades.”

“And I'm quite surprised that you'd come all the way out here for another of your treasures.” The Zudomon continued.

“Well, it's a living.” Steve replied with a shrug. The treasure hunt story was one they were using to avoid openly mentioning anything about the Chaos Shard.

The Akchenedash Settlement was where the Betamon had led the group to, coincidently being the same place they'd been searching for. It was well past dark by the time the group had arrived, and the old blacksmith was more than happy to see not only his grandson, but an old friend as well.

Blappa's shop was a simple one, with several shelves of armor in front and the forging table in the rear.

As Steve browsed through the shelves, it reminded him of another friend who'd been into a similar art….Siavon.

“Now that we're all settled down.” Blappa turned the Betamon in his arms. “Would you like to tell me what you were doing all the way out there, Ace?”

“Erm…” Ace the Betamon staggered. “I'm…really sorry. But…”

“But?”

“I knew you were out of these, and…”

Ace produced a shinning blue stone from his hide, holding it up to the light.

“Turquoise!” His grandfather stared. “As much as I appreciate it son, promise me you won't try another stunt like that again.”

“Ok, I promise grandfather.”

“Why don't you all stay the night, and perhaps I can check up on this Crystal Shard you say you're looking for in the morning.” Blappa suggested.

“That'll be great.” Aero nodded, receiving similar gestures from the rest of the group.

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Day 2

Yawning, Sekata stepped out of the house, blinking in the morning light.

“Looks pretty different during the day.” He remarked.

“Sure does.” Zoe walked up to his side.

To the XV-mon, the place seemed like a 15th Century European town. There were no walls surrounding the small city, only the end of the tiled road marked the start of the wilderness beyond.

The blacksmith's shop was located at the edge of town. Behind it was the mountain path they'd traveled on the day before. On the other side were rows of houses made out of grayish stones with wooden roofs. There didn't seem to be any fixed pattern to their arrangement either, making the streets winding around them far more confusing.

Sekata noted that there weren't too many Digimon about, this town being much smaller than the city that their base was close to.

“How about the others?” The armored dragon queried.

“Steve and Janet left earlier, and Aero's talking to his friend.” Zoe told him. “So I guess we're on our own.”

“Well, we should take a look around too.” Sekata began walking.

Following the streets at random, the two passed rows of houses and storage buildings. There was a small marketplace and a few shops, but the town made most of its income from shipping out various goldsmithing materials.

“It'll be nice when this is all over.” Zoe spoke as the pair passed by a large fountain in the town square.

“Hm?” Sekata stopped walking.

“Just to go out like this, live our lives and not have to worry about a big mission or a looming encounter.”

“Yeah…” The Dorugoramon nodded.

“Sekata, what's been up with you lately?” Zoe stepped in front of him.

“With me?”

“You've been acting rather distant since we got back from our…other world.” The XV-mon lowered her voice.

“Well…” Sekata paused to think. “We won't be going back there, so we should be making the best of our lives here from now on.”

“Sekata you're avoiding the quest…”

“Zoe…” Sekata took hold of her claws. “Have you thought about what it would be like if one of us…wasn't around?”

“Don't say things like that. We'll all…”

“You still have to admit that it's a possibility Zoe.”

“Why are you asking me this?” The dragoness' expression fell into a concerned look.

“Just that, I want you to be even stronger even if you're on your own. You've changed a lot since we first met, and I have a lot of respect for that.”

“Sekata…” Zoe leaned closer.

The dragon's leader suddenly held up a claw. Several heads of passing Digimon were occasionally glancing in their direction.

“Erm, let's go inside.” Sekata coughed, guiding Zoe into the nearest building.

It was a mostly empty bar, with a long counter and a shelf of bottles behind it.

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“Greetings stranger.” The bartender leaned forward. “Don't see many of year' kind `round these parts. But anyways, what can I get ya?”

This lion-man was Grappleomon, a humanoid brown lion with an orange mane. Built much like a standard Leomon breed, he stood upright and wore an eye patch over his left eye. His body was clad in a suit of white armor that was more of a tight-fitting set, giving him an odd sci-fi image in the midst of the medieval town.

“Something not too heavy.” Sekata gestured, taking a seat at the counter with Zoe. “And two of it.”

“Got just the thing!” Grappleomon went back to his bottles and soon slid a couple of fizzling mugs across the table. “My personal special, a blend of the famous Lion brand. Might taste a bit of the more common Zirus brews in it, ya?”

“You mean Corinus I believe.” Sekata said, taking a sip. “Zirus is a much rarer brew because it only comes from a few places up north.”

“Ah yes, Corinus it was.” The bartender chuckled. “I must be getting old these days. How'd ya guess?”

“Corinus is pretty common around this western region and Lion is produced primarily in the south, making it a tad more pricy here.”

“Ye must be traders, yeah? I can sniff one out the moment I come across `em.”

“And part time treasure hunter too.” Zoe added in.

“Hmm, ye come about the volcano thing? Not something I'd encourage ya to go for.”

“Could you explain a little more?”

“Ah let's see…” Grappleomon scratched his head. “There was tis big explosion some months back. Some old volcano out at sea blew itself up. Sent tis large rock flying, right into Akchenedash's main crater.”

“Main crater?” Sekata asked.

“The biggest one, ye can't possibly miss it.” The bartender gestured towards a photograph hanging on the wall. “Following the Upper Mountain trail'll get ya there pretty quick.”

All Sekata saw was the top of a mountain, but at least they knew where they needed to go.

“Some folks claim they saw a purple light from the crater the moment the rock hit it.” Grappleomon continued. “But no one really knows for sure.”

“It's really useful information too, thank you.” Sekata nodded.

“Don't mean to startle ya, but seems like the folks at that table have taken interest in ya.” Grappleomon gestured with a quick hand motion before moving off to attend to another patron.

Sekata and Zoe turned in the direction the bartender was pointing, toward a table at the corner. There were a couple of large Digimon seated there. Or rather, a humanoid dragon seated and a centaur-like one standing at the table.

The two didn't try to hide the fact that they'd been spotted and came up to Sekata and Zoe.

One was a black scaled dragon covered almost completely in black armor. He was wingless, but had double-jointed legs and bladed tail. The armor was designed much like a Special Ops taskforce soldier, with the distinctive outline of a Kevlar vest beneath. Various belts with pouches were also strung across his body, along with two knives by his sides and a pair of blades on his back.

His helmet was a matching black too, fitting loosely around his head and snout. On top of it was a pair of night vision goggles, revealing his blue eyes beneath.

The second was a centaur clad in brilliant red armor, accompanied by blue symbols on his sides and silver sections on the arms. The chestplate too was decorated with the pattern of a dragon's head. Instead of a normal head, this Digimon had a lizard-like one with yellow horns at the sides and a purple mane protruding from beneath his red and golden mask.

There was also a pair of scaly golden wings on his upper back and a bushy blue tail on the horse's rear. A large crossbow was also hanging by his side.

Sealsdramon, named after the Navy SEALS, and Sleipmon, from the mount of Odin, Sleipnir.

“You should take his advice stranger, the volcano is not one to be tempered with.” Sealsdramon pulled himself into the chair next to Sekata. “There are lots of stories circulating about, and none of them good.”

“And certainly not for out-towners.” Sleipmon's hooves clattered noisily across the floor. “You'd do well to not be stirring up any trouble around here. Cause we don't want to have to take any, drastic actions should I say.”

“Humph, we'll remember that.” Sekata growled, feeling the aggressive presence but not being intimidated by the two.

“Relax pal, my buddy can be rather over anxious at times.” Sealsdramon slapped him on the shoulder. “Enjoy your stay here.”

Without another word, the two turned and walked out through the door.

“I don't like the looks of those two.” Zoe whispered.

“Neither do I, but it's a guy thing.” Sekata replied.

“Besides that, I didn't know you knew so much about beer brews.”

“Erm, well…”

“Is that why you wake up on some mornings with hangovers?”

“Hey!”

Meanwhile, Sealsdramon and Sleipmon quietly watched Sekata and Zoe growling and shoving each other from outside the window.

“You really think it's him?” Sealsdramon asked.

“The male? He does seem similar in appearance to the purple dragon in the books, but there's no way to be sure.” His centaur companion noted.

“Yeah well the legends were never clear about it. And we don't want to be jumping to conclusions too quickly.”

“We'll see my friend. We'll see.”

“Why? Having one of those hunches of yours?” The commando dragon shrugged.

“Certainly. Perhaps the answer will come to us if we wait enough…”

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“That's the same thing Blappa told me.” Aero nodded as he followed Sekata and Zoe up the mountain path. “Unfortunately he wasn't able to find out much else.”

“It's enough though. At least we know where to look.” Sekata replied.

“By the way, Blappa wanted me to give this to you.” Aero gripped the handheld scanner he was holding under his arm and dug through the equipment bag by his side. “A token of appreciation for saving his grandson.”

Aero brought up a pendant with a silver chain and a beautiful blue gem at the end.

“Isn't that the Turquoise gem he had earlier?” Zoe gasped.

“Yup. Here, try it on.” The Aero V-dramon raised the pendant.

“Why not?” Sekata shrugged, slipping the chain around his neck.

“Looks good on you.” Zoe remarked.

“Well, I'm not one for jewelry…”

“Oh just keep it on. You know that it's worth quite a lot on the market.”

“Yes, I guess I should.” Sekata nodded, slipping the pendant beneath the chest section of his armor.

“I still feel that we should be waiting for Steve and Janet though.” Zoe glanced back down the path. “They're probably still in town.”

“Janet's message said she had some things to take care of, and hopefully Steve will make sure she stays out of trouble.”

“Don't you mean it the other way round?”

“Yeah, that too.” Sekata grinned.

“Hey, the scanner's reading is getting stronger.” Aero said excitedly. “Come on!”

Spurred on by the discovery, the trio partially ran and partially flew the rest of the way. It wasn't long before they arrived on the summit and found themselves staring down into the volcanic crater. One that had both steam and waves of heat rising from it.

The smell of burning ash was much stronger, but it was the sudden rise in temperature that bothered them the most.

“Wow…” Zoe gasped.

“So, where is the Shard?” Sekata turned towards Aero.

“Down there.” The blue dragon pointed.

“Wonderful.” Sekata moaned sarcastically.

The view looking down into the crater was blurred by the heat waves, much like a road on a hot summer's day. However, several ledges and rocky outcroppings could be seen leading down into the depths. Molten lava was definitely down there too, and Sekata knew it.

“The Chaos Shard shouldn't be too far in, otherwise we wouldn't have such a strong signal.” Aero placed their equipment down. “Then again, we're using a scanner that looks for similar energy signals to the Shards we already have. It's more of a wild card, because nothing else I know has an energy signature like this.”

“You have a plan for getting to it?” Sekata asked.

“We have you, or at least your Vritramon self.” Zoe replied.

“Hmm, it's worth a try.” A wave of Digicode surrounded Sekata. “Slide evolution.”

Sekata's features melted and changed into that of yet another armored dragon, although this one was red. An upright dragon with feathery wings of fire and a blaster mounted on either arm. His silver helmet was designed in a Wargreymon style, while the rest of the armor was decorated with gold and silver patterns.

“Haven't seen this side of you in a while.” Zoe joked.

“Yeah.” Sekata agreed, stretching his arms and wings. “But…”

Sekata stomped to the edge, frowning.

“What's wrong?”

“As a fire elemental, I can smell the flames better and guess their intensity.” Sekata explained. “Going down might be too much for me. I'm fire resistant, but like a lot of other fire types, I'm not completely immune to the flames. And dropping into molten lava is definitely not one thing I can take.”

“Is it really that bad?” Zoe muttered.

“According to my research, yes, the volcanoes in this region are about 40 percent hotter than anywhere else.” Aero placed the scanner down and started unzipping the equipment bag. “We suspected that it might be too hot for you, but we had to be certain.”

“Wait a minute, you guys knew…” Sekata stared. Then, an odd scent caught his nose. A familiar, but unpleasant chemical smell. “No…”

“I won't lie to you Sekata.” Aero brought up a canister and placed it on the ground. “I'm sure you remember…what Katsu was forced to do before we met him.”

Sekata's eyes widened. Much earlier in his travels, Sekata had a chance encounter with a crazed sorcerer. Back then, Katsu had been a poor Wormmon forced to do the sorcerer's bidding. And part of that had been to spray the dragon with a fluid that quickly coagulated and literally froze Sekata into a living statue.

Even after he'd been freed, Sekata could still remember tasting traces of the fluid in his mouth for weeks after. The odd smell was one he could never forget either, for it was all his dulled senses could detect for months.

“Besides how it was…used on us.” Aero quickly continued. “This stuff also provides great protection against heat and other adverse environmental conditions. Plus, it's porous and allows one to breath through it.”

“Katsu diluted it so that the fluid won't coagulate unless you stop moving for more than 10 minutes.” Zoe added in. “It was the best he could do without compromising its protective abilities.”

“Zoe, you knew about this too?” Sekata stared.

“We all did.” Zoe admitted, looking down. “We just…”

“And nobody told me anything?” The Vritramon burst out.

“I know how you feel about it, but…”

“The point is, no one told me about it!”

“Look, we all knew that you'd react this way.” Aero tugged his arm. “We didn't want to keep it a secret, but we also didn't want you to start having doubts before we even started!”

“And you think it makes me feel better?” Sekata roared, shaking the blue dragon off. “There's no way I'm letting that stuff get on me again! Never!”

“Sekata!” The Dragon Morph's leader was pulled down by his wing as Zoe faced him. “Aero and I were petrified like that too, if you remember? We know what it felt like as well!”

“I…”

“We really need you Sekata. Between all of us, you're the only one who can take the intense flames with some added protection!”

“Grrr…” Sekata frowned, staring down at the crater.

“We don't have to do this if you don't want to.” Aero spoke up.

“No, we need to get the Chaos Shard and see this whole thing through to the end.” Sekata clenched his fists. “I'm not going to like it, but I'll go for it.”

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“Damn! He was definitely around here somewhere!” Janet leaned against a wall, panting wildly.

“Are you sure you saw him?” Steve gasped as he finally caught up. “And not some other random Guilmon?”

“There's no doubt about it!” The Strikedramon growled. “It's Dynamo, and he was here!”

Steve and Janet had been making their own rounds when Janet's main nemesis had come into view. The Guilmon had instantaneously turned and fled, with Janet quickly giving chase.

Unfortunately, she'd lost him somewhere along the maze of winding streets. And Janet found it surprising because she was sure that in a small town like this, an outsider out stick out like a sore thumb.

Even when Sekata's call had come in, Janet had sent a hurried reply telling him to go on first.

“Is this about the whole love and hate thing?” Steve asked.

All he got in reply was a stern growl and a purple dragon staring him in the face.

“Ok….minus the love bit.” The Flamedramon waved his claws around in protest. “But still, aren't you overreacting, just a little?”

“I definitely saw him. And since his buddies were in the area, I'm pretty certain that they're here too. Those are not good signs.”

“Well, we'll just whip their butts if the Royal Knights try to get in the way.”

“I don't know Steve.” Janet straightened up. “My gut feeling tells me that something just isn't right. You know how they tend to come up with a way to give us a major headache?”

“Now you're making me worry.” Steve sighed.

“Come on then, let's look around this row of buildings again.”

As the duo's footsteps faded away, a small cellar hatch at a nearby building's base shook slightly. With a soft creak, Dynamo lifted it open and carefully peered out.

“Those are the two then?” A deep voice asked from behind him.

“Yep, just like I said.” Dynamo replied with a grin.

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“Right, this cable here has been coated with the same fluid.” Aero pointed to a coil of rope on the floor. “It's made from a fire-resistant metal, but it'll still feel a little warm once you get down there.”

“And I'll need it so…”

“Because you won't be able to use your wings properly. And so that we can pull you up if anything happens.”

“The key pad working?” Zoe asked.

“Yes, seems like it.” Sekata pushed several buttons on the keypad strapped to his right arm and a nearby laptop displayed his text message of `Testing'. “What's it for? I have my D-Dragon if I need it.”

“Because you won't be able to talk, and there might be some interference with your Digivice's signal.”

“Great, I'm getting a big feel of déjà vu already.”

“Are you all right Sekata?” Zoe asked with concern. “Perhaps this might not be such a…”

“I'm going for it.” The morph interrupted, waving her off.

“OK, here. Tie that around your waist.” Aero tossed Sekata the rope, securing the other end to a large rock. “This second canister contains the de-coagulant, and we'll get the stuff off you as soon as you're up.”

“Understood.”

“Remember keep your body moving.” Aero raised the first canister. “You ready?”

“Yeah. I just want to get this over and done with.”

With a soft hiss, the canister released its contents. Aero carefully sprayed the semi-translucent fluid all over Sekata's body. The dragon stood still until the process was completed, then raised his arms to look at them.

“Feeling all right?” Zoe waved a hand in front of his face. “How are your movements?”

Sekata nodded and took several steps forward, lashing his tail about and flapping his wings. Using the keypad, Sekata typed out a message.

“Fine, but anxious.” Aero read the laptop's screen out loud. “Try to relax a little. You're very tensed up in there.”

That was something Zoe could see as much as feel from Sekata's emotions. The Vritramon clenched his claws for a long while and stood by the edge, seemingly glancing down into it.

“Sekata?” Zoe called.

The dragon didn't respond.

“Hey Sekata!” The XV-mon reached out to touch his shoulder.

All of a sudden, Sekata threw her hand off and cocked back his head as if trying to roar. Only that he couldn't because of the fluid covering his body. In blind panic, Sekata threshing about, knocking the laptop away with his tail.

“Calm do…gargh!” For his efforts, Aero received a punch in the stomach that sent him reeling back.

“Sekata! It's Ok!” Zoe grabbed onto his wings this time.

In an attempt to throw her off, Sekata flicked his body to the side and took a wrong step…right over the edge. That sent both Zoe and himself tumbling into the crater.

“NO!” Aero's initial reaction was to run for the edge.

However, the whipping of the rope caught his eye and the blue dragon threw his weight onto it. Grunting, Aero clipped the mechanism shut, preventing more rope from uncoiling. With a loud twang, the rope held firmly.

“Guys!” Aero sprinted to the edge and glanced down, immediately feeling a hot blast of air in his face.

“Help! Gargh!” Zoe's coughing sounded.

The XV-mon wasn't too far in and had one hand grasped tightly around the rope. The other hand was covering her snout as she coughed wildly. Zoe was most likely in shock, having suddenly gotten a blast of heat and ash in her eyes.

Aero could also see the rope going further out of sight, presumably with Sekata at the other end.

“Zoe! Fly up! Reach for my hand!” Aero shouted.

It took Zoe a while to respond, but eventually she gathered the strength to push off the steaming walls and flap her wings. With a yell, Aero reached down and grabbed Zoe's arm.

“Ha gotcha!” He grinned.

However, Aero's smile quickly faded as another whipping sound caught his ears. The knot he'd tied around the rock had come loose, leaving the coil of rope to slide freely towards the edge. Straining his muscles, the Aero V-dramon was able to grab the coil, but not before it knocked the laptop and equipment bag down into the volcano.

“Rarrrgghh!” Aero struggled to keep his position whilst holding both Zoe and the rope up. “Zoe! Zoe answer me! Jump out when I pull you, got it? I need your…arrrgghh….help!”

“On three…” Zoe hacked.

“Three!”

On Aero's call, the male dragon tossed his female counterpart up as hard as he could. Zoe responded by flapping her wings and somersaulting out of the crater.

“The rope!” The Aero V-dramon screamed, struggling against the hidden weight of Sekata. “Tie it to the rock!”

“Got it!” Zoe snatched up the loose end and made a mad dash for the large rock. She didn't get very far however, because the rope abruptly pulled taunt and dragged her to the ground.

“Aw shit!” Aero cursed, fumbling for several moments before managing to find the release switch.

That allowed more rope to be unwound from the coil and gave Zoe the length she needed to run with it. She reached her target in record time and hastily wound the rope around it. Snarling, Zoe pulled the knot tight and jumped back in anticipation.

Much to her relief, the knot held firmly.

“Help me pull Sekata up.” Aero ordered.

Wiping the sweat off her brow, Zoe took hold of the rope and begun pulling in unison with Aero.

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Sekata snapped back to consciousness with a start.

Everything seemed dark, yet there were orange embers of a fire all around. The dragon tried to move and realized he couldn't. He tried to scream and roar, but his jaws refused to budge.

No! No! NO! NNNOOOOOOOO!

Not this…not again! Why was he here? Trapped down in some dark pits as a statue, never to move or see the light of day again. Muscles in every part of his body strained themselves. Wings, tail, arms and legs…but produced not a flicker of movement from them.

And in addition it was getting hot…very hot…

Those minutes seemed like years to him as Sekata's mind screamed in silent terror, playing all sorts of horrific images in his imagination.

But then, something did move. A glimmer of sliver.

The rope…

It was secured to his body…and it was moving, tugging him along.

Zoe…Aero…

Sekata relaxed slightly as his friends above hauled with all their might, dragging his petrified body out of the crater. Immediately, Sekata felt ashamed of himself.

It was all his own fault. He was the one who had panicked and fallen into the crater, knocking himself unconsciousness in the process. Once he'd come to, the fluid coating his body had coagulated, restricting his movements.

I messed up…very badly… The Vritramon sighed inwardly. Some hero I'm supposed to be.

However, as Zoe and Aero continued to pull him back to safely, a faint glitter caught his eye. It was a barely visible purplish glow from somewhere just a little further below.

The Chaos Shard! Sekata realized, feeling even worse about himself. But he quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind.

All he wanted right now was to breathe in some fresh, surface air.