Digimon Frontier: The Warrior's Return

Chapter 53: Itachi! (No, Not Uchiha)

Chapter 53: Itachi! (No, Not Uchiha)

~Izumi POV~

The extensive expanse of the Digital World's Earth territory had a surprising variety of landscapes. There were small pockets of sandy desert, swathes of rocky scrubland, oceans of treeless grassland, and of course craggy mountain ranges. Water bodies were few and far between - some of the smaller rivers and lakes were nothing more than dry beds of cracked mud as we passed by. Heat radiated up from the land as if from an oven and the cloudless sky was nearly white from the sun's intensity. Truly it was a place where the element of earth reigned supreme.

It was some kind of a miracle that we'd even escaped the Dark Continent at all. SkullWyvernmon had continued to fly over the dark land, periodically using attacks to punch holes in its surface which spread corrupted data like an infection. We'd followed her, attacking with increasing effort to try and halt her uproar of annihilation, but she swatted us aside with barely a thought.

It was only with the help of the last of the Celestial Servants that we managed to escape. The decimated remnants of the air and land armies managed to delay SkullWyvernmon long enough for us to get a head start into the Earth region. There we would rest and wait for her to come to us to try again.

We landed near a medium-sized Trailmon station in the heart of the rocky scrub area. It was empty and deserted, just like the rest of the landscape, but the awning overhead at least kept us out of the sun.

As we dedigivolved, Bokomon looked around and threw his arms out wide. "Ah, the Granite Steppes! So vast! So majestic! So dull!"

Silence followed his proclamation and from somewhere I heard a hawk's cry.

"Why do my ears feel hot?" Neemon abruptly asked.

"Because you're standing in the sun, Bakamon!" Bokomon snapped and he pulled Neemon's waistband three times for good measure.

"Let's see if the D-Tectors can point out the location of the next spirit," I suggested. "We need them all to free Ally."

Everyone agreed and Takuya and Kouji brought out their D-Tectors. There was a moment where the devices just beeped rhythmically, like radar trying to sense a target. Then Kouji's D-Tector sounded off loudly and a map was projected above it with an arrow pointing northwest.

"Let's go!" Our group began across the roasting scrubland with Kouji leading the way. It was pretty grueling but we were motivated to say the least.

For the longest time there was nothing to see but dry land and wispy grasses. But then on the horizon I spotted something. It was distorted by the ripples of heat so I couldn't make it out until we got closer. I was surprised - it was an oasis!

Palm trees rose out of the ground and arched over the still pool of water. Around their base were thick woody shrubs with tiny leaves and thorns. In addition, there were huts that looked like stables all around the oasis and a dozen Digimon walking about.

We attracted their attention immediately. They were horse-like Digimon, some pale white with large wings and others that were wingless and striped like zebras. They watched us with obvious curiosity as we made our way into their midst.

"Hooray! Water!" Neemon cheered.

I could understand the sentiment. I felt like a dried-out leaf after that walk. Even if I had to stick my whole head into the water to drink it'd be worth the relief.

"Ah, shade!"

I turned at the sound of Tomoki's voice and saw that he, Kouji, and Kouichi had all scurried over to stand in the shadows cast by the palm trees. They were flushed from the harsh sunlight and looked extremely relieved to be out of it. I quickly changed my course to go and join them in the heavenly shade.