Chapter 14

A/N: Okay guys, here it is, Dahlia's getting her beast spirit! Unfortunetly, this is barely going to be anything like the actual episode because she's going to have to go after it on her own. I'll put it little snippets, but I do really want to focus on her finding it. Hopefully, I can keep it in consistent length with the other chapters.

The new raft they had built was working even better then the last one, though Jp was still a bit upset that it didn't have anything to do with his plans.

"Wow, this is going great, we'll get to that Autumn leaf fair thingy in no time!" Takuya called over the wind. His signature goggles were pulled down over his eyes, allowing him to see the best out of everyone in the group from his position in the front. Next to him was Kouji, Tommy was hiding in a barrel with Zoey next to him, Jp was in the back sleeping and Dahlia was smiling at Neemon who was using her lap as a pillow.

"Let's hope so." Bokomon agreed.

"And let's hope the Toucanmon are there!" Tommy added. He looked down at his right and let out a cry when he noticed (with jealousy) that Neemon was sleeping peacefully. Dahlia waved up at him with a smile.

'What's wrong Tommy?'

"How can anyone sleep at a time like this? Doesn't he know we have important things to do?"

The pinkette winked at him.

'I make a great pillow.'

Kouji, hearing Tommy's complaints, turned and found that Dahlia was actually petting Neemon softly on the head, prompting him to snuggle even closer to her and her to let out a soft laugh. He grit his teeth.

"You're seriously just going to let him sleep?"

'Umm yeah, what else?'

"You could wake him up."

'Why?'

"Never mind, you wouldn't understand." Kouji growled as he faced forward again. Dahlia rolled her eyes at him. It wasn't that big of a deal, she was just letting the digimon rest. Besides, even if he was a bit of an airhead he still deserved his sleep.

The boat reached a more open body of water which allowed for more wind. They sped up even more, Jp easily weaving through the well spread out chunks of ice with his control of the sail.

"Man, we're really cookin' along now!" Takuya exclaimed. However, noticing everyone shivering, he changed the statement. "Maybe cooking isn't really the right word."

Tommy looked to check on Dahlia again only to let out a cry of even more shock then before. Now both Dahlia and Neemon were sleeping and Dahlia was snuggling with the little digimon in order to keep herself warm.

"Seriously! Now Dahlia is asleep! Guys, wake up! You can't sleep in the cold, you'll freeze to death!"

Both of them popped up at Tommy's cry. Dahlia looked around at everyone sleepily who were also looking back at her and Neemon.

'Oh... Zoey's wearing Kouji's jacket...' She noted sadly, then quickly moved her gaze so no one would see. Unfortunetly, Takuya must have because he was looking at her with a grim expression. She shook her head and began to roll down her sleeves.

'It makes sense, I have sleeves and she doesn't really...'

He rolled his eyes and held out a hand to her. She took it gratefully, but squeaked when he suddenly pulled her over to him and wrapped one arm around her shoulders.

"Warmer this way." Takuya explained cheekily, laughing at the giant death glare Kouji was shooting him. Oblivious to it all, Bokomon spoke, eyes facing forward.

"Hey, look at that!"

They all looked ahead, but nothing could be see but the watery horizon.

"Uh, what are we looking at?" Jp called.

"There! Land ahead!"

They let out a scream as the boat suddenly lurched. Takuya and Dahlia held onto each other tightly with one arm while the other was used to secure themselves to the boat which was now speeding down a steep hill of snow. After a moment, it began to move smoothly again.

"Well that was way better then I thought it would be, so where is that autumn fair thing?" Takuya asked Bokomon who pulled his green book out of his pants. Dahlia cringed. How could they not see it until he pulled it out! It was thick, giant book!

"It should be just up ahead."

"Well, there is something ahead, but it doesn't look very fair!" Zoey yelled. Ahead of them was a Giant Crater of Ice.

"EVERYONE HOLD ON TO SOMETHING SO WE DON'T FALL OFF THE RAFT!" Kouji yelled. Dahlia and Takuya nodded to each other, and they both let go of each other at the same time in order to get a tight old on the deck.

There was a large bump as they hit the ground. Dahlia could feel her body lifting in the air before it slammed back down on the raft. Unfortunetly, the sail wasn't so lucky as it was knocked clean off.

Without the sail, Jp had no control of the mini boat. Only the rough terrain could guide them, which was unfortunetly to a giant and conveniently placed snow man. Everyone ducked, bracing for impact.

The raft plowed into the snowman and smashed into pieces, sending the digidestined flying. Dahlia opened her eyes, noticing everyone next her cringing and awaiting impact.

'Okay, come on. You took gymnastics for two years, just flip and land on your feet.'

With a deep breath she titled her body forward, managing to flip through the air and then land in a crouching position on her feet. The force of the landing caused her to skid back a bit away from the group, but other then that she was fine. Smiling, she got up and walked over to help the others.

"You suck." Zoey grinned as Dahlia helped her up. The two girls laughed, though Dahlia couldn't help but let her eyes flicker over to Kouji's jacket that Zoey was still wearing. She sighed and was about to go and help Jp when Kouji's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey, it's warm here."

Zoey tilted her head. "Warm, why is it warm?"

"Maybe that."

As the other kids began to ogle over the fair, Dahlia saw a bright light out of the corner of her eye. Looking down, it was the light of her D-tector glowing. She bit her lip.

Is this one of those messages from Ophanimon that we keep hearing? Why aren't the others glowing?

Deciding not to involve them, she took a few steps away before pressing a button near the screen.

"You're beast spirit awaits you Dahlia, but you must find it with your own power. Connect with your spirit and you will find what you seek."

The pinkette gasped. Ahead of her, the others had already began walking into the fair. That didn't seem very much like nature, so she doubted that was where her spirit would be. However, to the left she could see a giant forest. Maybe it was that way?

"Dahlia are you coming or what?" Kouji called, calmly waiting for her as the others walked a head a bit. Gulping, she shook her head.

'No.'

The boy turned around fully and narrowed his eyes at her, beginning to take a few steps back to where she was. "What do you mean no?"

Deep breaths Dahlia. He'll understand.

Pulling out her D-tector, she showed it to him and then pointed to the forest.

'My D-tector is telling me that I have to go that way.'

He was almost next to her now and now he was positively glaring. "Can't you just do that later, you know, after the rest of us get our D-tectors back?"

She shook her head, then held up one finger and pointed to the D-tector. After that she held up two fingers and pointed to the forest, knowing he would understand what she was trying to say.

'My beast spirit is there.'

He blanked. "You seriously think, after the way that every one of us reacted when we got our beast spirits besides Zoey, that you should go alone to get it."

She pointed to the D-tector again and nodded.

'Yes.'

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

She huffed and crossed her arms.

'I'm still going.'

"No you aren't."

He watched as Dahlia stiffened and her eyes changed to a look of desperation.

'Please.'

"I-" Oh god damnit. How was he supposed to say no when she was looking at him like that? Despite the hight difference, she was staring right into his eyes and pleading with him, letting all of her emotions pile into those gray orbs he'd become so fond of.

"Please." She whispered, her voice cracking with emotion.

Kouji pinched his nose and let out a long breath. "Fine. I'll tell the others what you're doing, and if you aren't back by sundown I'm coming to get you whether you have it or not."

The next thing he knew, arms were wrapped around his neck into a warm embrace.

Dahlia was bubbling with excitement at the knowledge that he trusted her enough to let her go off on her own. Not that she really needed his permission or anything, but it was still important to her that he had given in. She knew it took a lot for him to say yes, she could see it in his eyes.

So, without really thinking of her actions, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him into a hug. It was about five seconds before she realized what she had done.

Oh my god... I'm hugging him. Crap! I'm hugging him! He hates physical contact like this!

Just as she was about to pull away, she felt his arms slowly wrap around her back and her eyes widened. He was... hugging her too?

"Just be careful." He mumbled in her ear.

Her brain must have shut off. Maybe she was sick or delusional, she wasn't sure, but that didn't really justify what she had done next either. Because a moment after he had mumbled that to her, she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

After that, everything happened quickly. She let him go, gave a quick nod to promise she'd be okay and then took off running towards the forest with an extremely red face.

Oh God, what had she done?

Dahlia sighed. This was a bad idea. She'd been walking aimlessly around the forest for about an hour already with no results. Maybe she should have thought this through more...

Sighing again, Dahlia decided to take a break and sat down to rest against a tree. She allowed the bark to support her weight as she closed her eyes to think things through more.

'Find the spirit with your own power.' That's what Ophanimon had told her, right? Her own power? That was a bit useless, what power did she have? She couldn't fight on her own, she'd proved that much when she had tried to take on Grumblemon when Kouji was getting his beast spirit and when she tried to fight Ranamon when Zoey was getting hers. Both times she'd pretty much gotten her ass handed to her.

Kouji had tried to reassure her that she was a good fighter like when she had taken out the Golemon, but if she was honest that had been done in a blind rage. Control and rage were two different things.

'Connect with your spirit' How was she supposed to connect more with her spirit then she already had? She used it to turn into a digimon, what more did the Ophanimon want?

The pinkette took a deep breath. She needed to think outside the box, not in it. Maybe this wasn't about her spirit, maybe this was about the domain of her spirit. She was the spirit of nature. Maybe that was what she had to connect with. It seemed a bit cliche, but it couldn't hurt to try.

"Execute, Spirit evolution."

As the familiar power washed over her, Dahlia smiled to her self. The next time she transformed, she was determined to make sure that it was into her beast spirit.

"Lillymon!"

"Alright, let's get this show on the road! I've got a beast spirit to hunt down and I'm not going back until I find it!"

"Ugh." Lillymon moaned as she whacked her head repeatedly against another tree. She'd been searching for another two hours and at this point she was sure that she had covered every inch of the forest ground. She'd even flown above the treetops for a while and still found nothing. Why was this so difficult?

"I can't give up." She whispered. "I have to find it."

But how? Groaning again, she let herself slump down and rest her head against her knee's. This was getting ridiculous. Suddenly, the bushes next to her rustled. Surprised, she jumped up and began to hover about two feet above the ground.

"Wh-who's there?"

From behind the tree that she'd been leaning against appeared a digimon. He was tall with a lions head, a buff mans chest and legs that were a mix between the two covered by black pants. Long claws ended each of his toes only helping with the look of intimidation he gave off. One of his long, black tipped ears were pieced and he also wore a red necklace and a belt around one of his arms. Lillymon gulped.

"Fear not young warrior, My name is Leomon and I've come to help."

"H-help with what?"

"Your Beast spirit."

At the words 'beast' and 'spirit' Lillymon's defenses dropped and she grinned widely. Probably not her best idea, the digimon certainly looked like he could take her down in a heartbeat, but at this point she was getting desperate.

"Really?! Thank you! How do you know about the Beast spirit?"

The older digimon chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Come and follow me, we'll discuss it as we walk."

"Okay! Umm, where are we going?" Lillymon asked as she flew next to him. Even with her gained two feet in flight, she was still just a bit shorter then him. She frowned at that. She wouldn't be surprised if Tommy's Beast spirit made him taller than her.

"I'm taking you to a place where it will be easiest for you to connect with your spirit."

"How did you know I had to do that?!" She asked wide eyes. Leomon chuckled at her antics once more.

"Long ago, about a year before Ophanimon's disappearance the digimon herself appeared to me. She told me that in time, children chosen by herself from the human world would appear who possess the spirits of the Legendary Warriors. It would be their duty to save the digital world."

"That's my friends and I, right?" Lillymon interrupted. Leomon nodded.

"Yes. It was by fate that you would find your first spirit and trial that you would find the Beast spirit. If the Beast spirit is used before the trial is complete, then it is nearly impossible to control."

"So that's why the guys couldn't control their Beast spirits and Zoey could." The female digimon realized. "Zoey completed her trial by sacrificing herself for us first, but in Kouji's case he couldn't control his beast spirit until he defeated Grumblemon."

"I do not know who Zoey and Kouji are, but your words sound true." Leomon agreed. "I believe that Ophanimon has given you warning of what your trial will be, correct?"

"Yes. She told me 'you're beast spirit awaits you, but you must find it with your own power. Connect with your spirit and you will find what you seek.' The thing is I have no idea what that even means! I mean, I decided to try looking in this forest because it seemed more nature like than the fair but so far I've come up blank."

"You've transformed into your spirit, that is a good start. With my guidance you should be able to complete the trial. Ophanimon gave me the responsibility of helping you when the time was right. She told me that I would one day encounter the legendary warrior of nature and that by helping her understand the connection between herself and the environment around her she would open herself to her Beast spirit."

"Wow, so you can really help me?"

"Of course. Now come this way, we're here." Smiling at her, Leomon grabbed a branch that was blocking their path and pushed it out of the way for Lillymon. Light flooded the area making the forest behind them seem dark in comparison.

Lillymon gasped at the sight.

Kouji was getting extremely frustrated. He'd been searching for the D-tectors for hours without any results and Dahlia still wasn't back yet. He hated to admit it, but he was extremely worried. Several times he kept turning to check behind him, not because he thought he was being followed but to check if Dahlia was there running to catch up with him. He felt a weird tingling sensation in his chest at the thought while he continued to run down an ally way. Spotting something out of the corner of his eye, he was able to stop just in time to avoid running into Takuya. The two boys looked at each other.

"Nobody's seen 'em, you have any luck?" Takuya huffed. Kouji scowled and punched the palm of his hand in frustration.

"Nothing. Dahlia still isn't back yet and those dumb birds probably traded the D-tectors and left."

A digimon flew by, drawing their attention to a crowed that had formed around a tent chanting 'eat, eat, eat!'

"Another plate." A voice groaned. Takuya's eyebrows furrowed.

"Is that Jp?"

"Come on." Kouji whispered, already trying to slip through the crowed. Takuya followed him right on his heels. When they broke through they were greeted by the sight of Jp trying to shovel more food into his mouth surrounded by several stacks of empty plates. Digimon of all shapes and sizes were surrounding him and chanting for him to eat more. Finally, he couldn't take another bite. Burping, Jp leaned back in his chair and declared that he was finished holding his swollen belly that at this point made him look pregnant. Takuya and Kouji rushed to his side.

"Jp what are you doing?" Kouji demanded. Why the hell wasn't he looking for the D-tectors like the rest of them?

"Well I thought that the Toucanmon ate here and it turns out that they did, but then I saw that sign." He mumbled while pointing somewhere behind Takuya. The two boys turned.

There, against the wall was the green sign in all it's glory. Takuya read the words aloud. "Eat thirty plates and win an amazing prize? Oh brother. Listen buddy, you're supposed to be finding the D-tectors not stuffing yourself!"

"Yeah, but finding is hard work and I have to keep my strength up. Plus, I thought that the Toucanmon might have paid with the D-tectors and they're the prize. Well, Zoey thought that."

Kouji faced palmed while Takuya looked around the room for Zoey in confusion. "Zoey's here?"

"More food!" A voice demanded. Now all three boys turned to watch Zoey shovel the last morsels of food from a clean plate down her throat with a spoon. "Come on, can't you see I'm done here? Give me the next plate!"

"Zoey ate all of those? Where does she put it all?!" Takuya asked in shock. Kouji wore a similar expression on his face.

"Well, she is a growing girl." 'Just like Dahlia.' He thought sadly. Looking out to the open area behind the tent, he sighed.

'Dahlia, please come back soon.'

"Wow, this is beautiful Leomon!" Lillymon giggled as she looked around. They were in the center of a small hidden clearing in the forest. Pink, yellow and white flowers covered the ground and at the edge of the small field was a blue pond glittering with clear water. The nature warrior let out a sigh of contentment.

"It is. Please, make yourself comfortable and let us begin." Nodding, Lillymon went and sat down in the middle of the flower patches. Smiling fondly at her, Leomon took a seat as well just a few feet in front of her.

"Tell me, what do you know about nature?"

"Umm, you mean what I think it is?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Lillymon looked up at the sky, contemplating what she was going to say before answering. "I suppose that nature is kind of like plants life and stuff. Sorry, that's sort of vague but I guess that's just the first thing that pops into my mind."

Leomon nodded to her. "You are correct in your assumption that nature is vague, however there is more to it then plant life. In a physical sense, nature is the natural world as it is meant to be without civilization, including humans and digimon alike. It is the untouched water that lay idle in that pond behind us, but it is also the flowers that we sit in now. It's the clean air that we breath and the light of the sun beating down on our faces, keeping us warm.

However nature is also simplicity and reminds us of constant balances. It teaches the cycles of destruction and regeneration that we live in and that we should not be afraid of it. It is the stability of our being and often times the bearer of our destruction.

The place I've brought you now is an untouched portion of nature. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for other places. Even now, Cherubimon continues to capture pieces of the natural world and reduce them to 'mere fragments for his own personal gain. Tell me, what are you going to do about it?"

Lillymon was still shellshocked from Leomon's explanation of nature. She never realized... God she never realizedhow, how huge nature was. However, just the thought of Cherubimon destroying nature, destroying her domain was enough to draw an animalistic growl from her throat. She would not sit by and let it continue to happen.

"I'm going to stop him. I'm going to do whatever it takes to restore nature to the digital world." She answered, clenching her fists. Leomon smirked.

"Good, I would expect nothing less. Now that you understand nature, are you ready to connect with it?"

"I am, just tell me what to do." She answered, seemingly much wiser and mature than she had just a few moments ago. The older digimon nodded.

"Close your eyes and relax your mind young one."

Letting out a breath, Lillymon did as she was instructed and closed her eyes. Her legs crossed into a natural position and as she placed her hands on her knee's she began to flutter in that position just a bit off the ground.

'Relax.' She thought to herself. Taking another deep breath, Lillymon let herself exhale all her worries. In that moment, there was no digital world to save, no D-tectors to look for and no danger to worry about anymore. She was no longer the lonely mute girl Dahlia Summers nor was she the Legendary Warrior Lillymon. She just was. It was the first time ever since entering the Digital world that she felt so at peace with herself.

"Good. Now, use your senses to detect the world around you. Do not rely on sight, rely on your instincts."

Lillymon was hardly listening to what Leomon was saying. Despite this, she was already doing as she was instructed. Her ears twitched as she heard the rustling of the petals below her and the slight movement of the pond water against the earth. She could feel the heat absorbing into her pink tinted skin and the leaves on her back.

But then it was so much more. She could sense the stems of the plants connecting with the ground, she could practically feel the minuscule waves from the water on her skin and she could almost taste the fruit of a nearby tree by its scent alone. It was like she could see everything around her and more without even opening her eyes.

Leomon watched her, captivated by the green aura that was emitting from her body like sound waves. He knew then that she was almost there, her body already becoming one with nature. There was just one last step for her to complete.

"Lillymon. Tell me, what is your mission."

Her response was almost automatic. "My mission is to protect the gifts the universe has given us, no matter what the cost."

"Call upon your Beast Spirit now. You know where it is and it will answer your plea. You're ready."

'Beast spirit.' Lillymon chanted to herself. It was the only word to ring through her mind, echoing over and over again. 'I need my Beast spirit.'

Her heart grew warm then, and a power that she had never felt before swelled within her. It began as a simple tingle in her toes that rapidly spread through her legs, then her torso and up to her chest, growing with each passing second. Then, it enveloped her arms and traveled up her neck and head until finally she felt the petals on the top of her head begin to unravel. They fell slowly, and when the bud was finally opened her Beast spirit floated out and hovered in front of her.

As she opened her eyes, the petals on her head closed once more and she came face to face with her Beast spirit.

Exhausted, Lillymon let herself dedigivolve and Dahlia fell gently onto the ground in her place. She cupped her hands, gently holding her Beast spirit as she did so. She looked to Leomon in shock.

"Congratulations, you've earned it young one."

Dahlia shot him a grateful look as she held her D-tector up. A small beam of light shot out, absorbing the spirit into the device. Locking eyes with Leomon once more, she willed Data into her hand.

This time, rather then one stream their were several. The feeling was intense on the pinkette as she scanned her hand with the D-tector.

"Execute. Beast Spirit Evolution."

A silent scream left her mouth as she transformed. This was different from her transformation to Lillymon. She could feel the raw power emitting from the spirit in every part of her new body. Her arms and legs grew longer and ended in white petals that opened into beautiful flowers with a yellow bud in the middle. She now wore a lime green leotard with a rose that ran up her chest and opened at her chin with a darker green stem belt. The vines that made up her hair were a lighter green then before and styled into a bob. A pink flower cap with petals, practically reverse to Lillymon's covered her head and from her back emerged large pink petals that served as wings.

"Lilamon!"

Lilamon couldn't believe it. She'd finally found her beast spirit, and she'd actually grown taller! Before, she had to hover about two feet in the air to come remotely close to Leomon's hight and now she was eyes level with his chin. Not only that, but like when she was meditating she could feel everything around her. It was, simply put, incredible.

"Leomon, I don't know how to thank you." She whispered, her voice now more mature and silkier then before. Smiling softly, she gave the lion digimon a grateful bow.

"Your thanks is not needed, but if it is necessary then please, all the thanks I need is for you to save the digital world."

"I will." She stated, looking into his eyes with determination. "I promise I will."

"And I believe you. You know, you remind me of two young girls I knew a long time ago."

"You mean there were other humans here before us?"

"Yes. You don't think this is the first time the digital world has been in danger, do you? Unfortunetly, it also won't be the last. There is no peace without chaos, but at times like these when the chaos overpowers the peace we call for help from the human world. It was a long time ago, and rather then transform into digimon like you do these digidestined had partner digimon who they fought with side by side. The two girls I knew were some of the bravest females I've ever known. One of them represented Love and the other Sincerity. These are important qualities to have, remember them."

"Oh Leomon, of course. And again, thank you."

"It was no trouble at all. Go now, find your friends, I have a feeling that they need you."

Lilamon blinked in confusion. "How? The last time I saw them was at the autumn leaf fair and that place is huge."

"You are one with nature now, let it guide you young one."

"Okay."

Lilamon closed her eyes once more and willed for the knowledge of where her friends were. She felt a sudden tug and gasped as she was mentally guided to the place were her friends were. However, her gasp turned to a frown when she watched Arbormon digivolve into his beast spirit and begin to attack.

Her eyes popped open, and when they did she discovered that Leomon was gone. Smiling gently to herself, she kicked off the ground and launched into a flight faster then ever before.

'Thank you Leomon, I'll never forget you.'

It was taking all the courage he possessed for Tommy to keep himself from crying. Datamon was seriously injured and Kouji and Takuya were trying to fight Petaldramon all on their own without their Beast Spirits. The two boys launched forward, each smacking Petaldramon with a branch. The digimon roared but was quick to recover, ready to launch an attack. As his body lunged forward, Kouji and Takuya gulped, getting ready to jump out of the way.

Luckily, they didn't have to.

"Lila Shower!"

Small beams of light began to rapidly smash into Petaldramon's body, causing him to roar and fall back. Lilamon landed in front of Kouji and Takuya. "This ends now Petaldramon. I won't let you hurt them. They're under my protection."

"Who is that?" Takuya whispered in awe. Neither he nor Kouji could look away, but only Kouji knew who it was.

"Dahlia?" He asked. The digimon turned her head slightly and nodded.

"Looks like I got here just in time, huh? Stand back now, it's Tommy's turn to protect us."

"Wha?"

Petaldramon charged towards them again but Lilamon was quick to push him back.

"Marvel Shot" An iridescent ball of energy shot from each of her flower hands, knocking Arbormon back once more. Her glare hardened. She hadn't used her full power, but that was only because this was part of Tommy's trial now, not hers.

'Come on Tommy.'

"Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution!"

In a momentary distraction, Petaldramon was able to raise a swift paw and slap Lilamon out of the way. She let out a cry of pain as her side was scratched and she roughly hit the ground.

"Korikakumon"

"No!" Lilamon cried as she flung herself forward to protect Takuya and Kouji from Petaldramon who was launching himself at them. Just when she thought she wouldn't make it in time, Petaldramon was pulled back. She looked over and smiled when she spotted Korikakumon, Tommy, yanking petaldramon back by the tail. Tommy's trial was in full swing now and the best she could do was stay out of his way. With that in mind, she let all of her raw power go in order to dedigivolve back to Dahlia.

Dahlia swayed on her feet. Okay, yeah, using her Beast Spirit used up a lot more energy then she thought. Before she could fall though, Kouji had grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him and Takuya.

"So, you found your Beast spirit?" He asked as they watched Korikakumon punch Petaldramon in the face. Dahlia smiled to herself.

'Turns out I had it all along. Go figure.'

Rather then voice that, Dahlia just nodded and let her head drop onto his shoulder. She'd never sustained the transformation into a digimon for so long before and it now felt as though all her energy was gone.

Petaldramon jumped onto Korikakumon's back when he was, er, praying, but the digimon was quick to knock him off.

"Avalanche Axes!"

From seemingly nowhere two axes fell from the sky to Korikakumon's feet. The digimon grabbed them, then launched himself into the air. He landed in front of Petaldramon and promptly began hacking. When Petaldramon fell back, he began to stomp his feet and laugh. Kouji and Dahlia exchanged glances.

"Well, uh, there's something you don't see everyday." Kouji offered, speechless.

"Maybe he can't control his spirit. He sure looks silly, doesn't he?"

Dahlia pinched her nose. 'Yeah, no kidding.'

"Not as silly as you looked trying to beat up your friends mister pot calling the kettle black."

What?

Petaldramon stood up on his forelegs. "Boy are you going to regret that!" Then, he thrusted his tail into the ground.

"Thorn Jab!"

Suddenly, a barrage of thorns appeared around Korikakumon jabbing him at all angles. He let out a roar of pain. His friends could only watch helplessly as it happened.

"Here, catch! Help out your friends guys!" Datamon yelled, tossing Kouji and Takuya their D-tectors. Kouji caught it with one hand and reluctantly let go of Dahlia who pushed him forward and smiled.

'Go.'

Exchanging a determined look with Takuya, the two began to transform.

"Execute, Spirit evolution!"

Hey, just because Dahlia couldn't help Tommy with his trial didn't mean Kouji and Takuya couldn't.

"Agunimon!"

"Lobomon!"

"How about we heat things up a little?!" Agunimon yelled as he launched fire towards the vines around Tommy. Lobomon launched his own attack and together the two were able to completely destroy the overgrown thorns. Once he was free, Korikakumon leapt forward. He tackled Petaldramon and pushed him back all the way up and over the crater they were in. Once he had, he threw Petaldramon to the ground.

"And now, Frozen Arrowheads!" The arrows at the tips of his hair lit up an ice blue and flew forward, stabbing the enemy digimon into the stomach and launching him across the ice. As he skidded out of view, the digimon yelled out a promise that he would be back for revenge.

It had become dark by the time they were all gathered together again. After Tommy had ferociously scolded Dahlia for leaving them and not saying anything to anyone but Kouji, (It was really quite adorable) they broached the subjects of the Beast Spirits. Kouji and Takuya had already tried to ask Dahlia about hers but she would just smile and shake her head. Some secrets were best kept secret. Besides, she wouldn't want them to get jealous now, would she?"

"Molto bene!" Zoey complimented. Tommy laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Aww, thanks. I'm just glad I didn't hurt you guys when I got my Beast Spirit."

"Why does everyone have to bring that up." Takuya complained.

"Digidestined."

"Huh? Ophanimon?" Takuya asked while the others gasped and pulled out their detectors. Zoey frowned.

"Seraphimon turned into a digiegg." She informed.

"Yes, I know."

"So what do you expect us to do about it?" Kouji asked.

"Before I tell you, you must know that this is a crucial point. You can stop now or face the dangerous road ahead. Will you accept the risk?"

The six digidestined all looked at each other and nodded while humming their agreement. There was no way they were backing out now, they were in far to deep to pack up and leave.

"You better believe we will." Takuya voiced.

"You must be certain. All of you."

"I don't think I've ever been more certain of anything in my life." Zoey answered.

"Me either."

"Yeah." Tommy and Kouji agreed. Jp nodded hesitantly while Dahlia whispered a simple yes.

"So what do we do now Ophanimon?"

"Head for the Rose Morning Star. And then-" The screen began to static before she could finish her sentence.

"What did you say? Ophanimon!" Kouji yelled, but it was no use. The woman was gone.

"What is a Rose Morning Star?" Neemon asked. Bokomon looked around before pointing behind the small group.

"That right there!"

"That's the Rose Morning Star? How are we supposed to get there?" Jp demanded. They were all now staring at what looked like a maroon nebula in the distant sky. Emphasis on distant.

Bokomon rolled his eyes. "We're not going to the star, we're going to what's beneath it."

"All that way?" The digidestined groaned at the thought of more walking. However, they were pulled out of their slump when Zoey gasped and held up a bunch of green cards.

"What are those?" Takuya asked. The blonde smiled and answered with pride.

"These are Trailmon tickets! Remember that eating contest? Well this is grand prize for scarfing down thirty plates of that horrible food in an hour. Do I rock or what?"

They all cheered for her agreeing with her statement. "Well, then come on guys, lets head for that star!"

"YEAH! They all yelled as they raised their fists into the air.

A while later, as they were walking to the nearest Trailmon station Dahlia frowned. Even though they had all finally got their Beast Spirits, she couldn't help but think that this was only the beginning.

A/N: Okay, there it is! I'm really really nervous for the release of this chapter, so please tell me what you think! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated but I had midterms and stuff for the first time so that got out of hand. Stupid high school. Also, do you prefer when I write in the first person or the third person? Please let me know!