With tamer on his back, the newly evolved Kyubimon sprinted alongside the river. He felt boundless energy. The more accustomed he grew to his new legs, the more confident he became in his ability. They practically soared. Trance experienced much more agility than he had with two legs. He leapt with ease and his paws seemed to barely touch the ground.
The terrain sloped slightly uphill. Being a river valley, it was also very uneven and rocky. Despite this, nothing was an impetus to movement. The excitement inspired Trance to push himself harder. What motivated him most was to see just how fast his limits were now and where he would stand against his enemies. At first, he increased his speed.
To Lloyd, this felt like being in a car. It felt like a dangerously fast speed to travel without the familiar restraint and protection of a motor vehicle. What started as fun and thrilling soon became intolerably nerve-wracking. The user held on for dear life. "Trance," he said while he tugged at his partner's fur.
The Digimon listened, but kept sprinting at full speed. Not only that, he opted to take the paths of most resistance. He jumped over boulders, darted in between trees, and danced across stones protruding from the water's surface.
"Trance, can you--Aah!"
"What is it?"
"Can you slow down a little?"
"Heh. Sorry. I'll slow down. I'm starting to feel a little tired as it is."
Kyubimon trotted up the riverbank for a few more minutes. Fatigue was setting in and his pace slowed to a walk.
"Are you alright? Should I get off? I have no problem walking now."
"I'm fine. We're almost there."
A few steps later, Kyubimon began to shine with a blinding light. Lloyd experienced the odd sensation of being suspended in the air by an absurd law of gravity. It was another change like during the battle. Data was rewritten and Trance's form changed again. When the light dimmed, Lloyd fell on top of the collapsed fox.
"Sorry! I'm sorry," the boy apologized in a concerned tone. "Trance?" He scrambled off to see that his Digimon had reverted to his prior stage. "You got younger? How does that work?"
Wide eyed and astounded, Trance was at a loss for words. He sat up and stared at his own paws. To degenerate to a lower stage of evolution was rare and unusual. The occurrence usually signified poor health or a way of compensating for a grave injury. Trance stood up and brushed off his fur. I feel fine. I'm not sick. What is wrong with me?
Meanwhile, Lloyd checked his device. In the main menu, a new command was listed. "Evolve." It was shaded darker and could not be used. That wasn't there before. Did it happen during the fight? Was this device what caused it? The status menu was different now as well. Renamon had higher health and energy than before. 300 and 500, respectively.
Trance was first to break the silence. "This isn't normal for Digimon. We grow older and become adults. To become a child again would mean something is wrong, but I just remembered something. Anahata mentioned immortality. My theory is that if a Digimon could keep reverting to a child stage, they would never grow old and die. Could this be the power your device wields? I'm not sure I want to be a child forever..."
"From what I'm looking at, you've become stronger than before. More importantly, I think you will be able to evolve when you need to. See?" Lloyd held out the device.
Renamon nodded. "That confirms some of my suspicions, but leaves many questions unanswered. Let's keep moving. The village is just up ahead in that wood. It will be dark soon so we should not waste any time."
Lloyd hustled to catch up to his Digimon. In the distance he saw the edge of another forest. It was immediately recognizable as different from the spacious and ordered landscape of the Kitsune Forest. These trees were twisted and gnarly. They formed a dense, dark canopy in the area. Decayed leaves and brush made the path obstructed and obscured. It would not be easy to navigate or traverse.
"So this village we're visiting... What is it like?"
"I have not been there, but others at the shrine have traded with these Digimon. I am informed they are good hearted ascetics like those at my shrine. It is called Ninja Village."
A Ninja Village. A dark, gloomy forest. We should be prepared. "I don't suppose you know how to navigate there? I can't see it through all the trees."
"We'll have to figure that out as we go. I believe as long as we do not stray far from the river, we will find it. The village is very close to the river from what I'm told. Easy enough."
Lloyd slouched. I have a bad feeling about this. "Wait, who is to say it's not as well hidden as the shrine? We would never find it in that case."
"If we can't find it, then we keep going to the plains on the other side of the forest. However," Trance paused to give a wry smile. "I am confident in my tracking ability."
They continued until the thick foliage provided limited routes to follow. The land close to the water became prominently marshland the further they ventured. As a result, the two were forced to trek deeper into the wood. Diverted by bramble and branch, they lose sense of direction. The river was too far away to see. The sun barely illuminated the sky and was also out of sight.
These shadows are playing tricks on me. Twilight makes this a creepy place. I hope we see a sign of anything soon. This sucks. "Any sign of anything? Tracks or trails?" Lloyd sighed.
"I think I see something over there," Trance replied as he pointed off to the side. "Might be a trail. The path seems to open up. Follow me." Much to his tamer's dismay, the fox hastened the pace. His greater agility allowed him to hop over obstacles and weave between the tangle of wiry vines.
The boy was not nearly as swift. He took a less direct route and was hindered by having to hold claw-like branches from his path. After he ducked under a low limb, Lloyd looked up to find Trance standing still and faced in the opposite direction. "Oh, I thought you were far ahead of me," Lloyd panted. "Wow, I really hope we find it soon."
"Quiet. I found it," Trance whispered. "Look. Candlelight." Indeed, faint orbs of light flickered from relatively nearby. There were a few in a line on posts to shine on the narrow trail. The trail led up to the crest of a ridge and presumably to the river on the other side.
"Good job, Trance. Is there something wrong? Why are we whispering?"
"Someone is watching us. I'm not exactly sure where they are."
"I wonder if it's from the village. Maybe if we just don't act hostile they won't have reason to attack us?" Lloyd tried to take out his device nonchalantly. The scanner tracked the signal of another Digimon and listed its data.
Shurimon
Adult
Data
Wind Guardian
800 HP 750 EP
"Lloyd, watch out!" Trance barked as he shoved the tamer out of the way of a spinning shuriken. "We mean you no harm! Do not quarrel with us!"
It took a few seconds to determine the origin of the projectile. The thrower blended in remarkably well with his surroundings. Before them was a Digimon perched on a high branch. He was veiled in ninja garb. His limbs were spring shaped vines that wrapped around oversized four point shuriken. An even larger star was affixed to his back. Leaves draped over his shoulders like pauldrons.
Shurimon began to speak in a proud, triumphant voice, "I must commend you for noticing me. Your senses are sharp. You will not be so lucky the second time, however. My training has honed my focus and accuracy to unparalleled levels. No outsider has ever felt the cold of my autumn wind and walked away to tell the tale!"
"I told you already, we're not here to fight. We are only looking for information, so please play with your toys elsewhere," Trance rebuked.
"Momiji Oroshi!" The ninja called out as his coiled arm extended the held shuriken like a loaded spring. Shurimon was able to extend his arm from up in the tree all the way to where the two stood on the forest floor, more than fifty feet away. The twirling blade ricocheted off the soil as Trance evaded and was retracted to its owner. Then, he hurled his whole body into a spin and stayed aloft in the air for a few seconds. His many shurikens worked like helicopter rotors to propel him closer to his targets. After he landed softly on the ground by them, he spoke eloquently once more. "Now you see that you are outmatched. Come quietly and no blood need be shed this day. I am but a noble warrior protecting his village, do not force my hand."
Trance was feeling irritated. The unfriendly greeting would have been forgivable, but he did not enjoy being underestimated. "Aren't you quick to make decisions about me? You wouldn't want to make that mistake twice. Besides, we didn't do anything wrong!" Tension increased as the fox entered a combative stance.
"Trance, let's do what he says. It will get us to the village, anyway." Lloyd didn't want to say that he had little chance of winning out of fear that it might push him closer to the edge. "We'll go with you, okay? Just don't hurt us."
"Good. I swear, children these days are so indignant. It's a simple security measure. With the unknown Digimon sightings lately, never can be too careful. Everyone has to be escorted in. On our way, then!" Shurimon commanded. He wound up his limbs and hovered onward using his helicopter blades. They all crossed the ridge and headed down to the cozy hamlet by the river's edge.
