Awake and Alive

Chapter Three: Under the Howling Moon

There were several options about how to go about preparation for the setting sun: go back the way they had come and take a different route to leave the beach, continue walking until the rock wall became smaller and disappear eventually, or simply scale the wall and be done with it. The beach was surrounded by rocky cliffs and except for the path by the river, there was no way to simply walk off it. Of course, by the time this was realized, the children had already walked a fair distance and didn't want to go back.

The Digimon who could fly – Patamon, Biyomon and Tentomon – had no trouble in getting to the top of the cliff. Similarly, Palmon used her Poison Ivy to haul her entire self up to the top, allowing her to skip the tiring climb. Lunamon showcased her rather impressive jumping abilities, easily moving from one rock to the next with a simple push of her small legs. Agumon and Gabumon made use of their claws to scale the cliff side, but Gomamon needed a bit of assistance. So Rikka allowed Gomamon to sit on her shoulders; Joe was having enough trouble climbing by himself and she decided to lighten his load. By the time children were a little more than halfway up, Rikka was sitting patiently at the top with the Digimon, stretching out her arms and legs.

"Wow Rikka." Sora panted, collapsing down onto her rear like a majority of everyone else. "How did you get so good at climbing?"

Her cheeks flared a bit at the compliment. "Back in New York, I used to climb a lot trees and go rock climbing on the weekends. My parents thought I was part monkey or something when I was a kid, I just loved climbing on top of things."

Having recovered a bit faster than the others, over to the side, Tai and Matt were looking off the cliff side with their Digimon.

"Yo, Agumon,"

"What's up, Tai?"

"I like it when you're Greymon. No offense, but why don't you stay that way?"

"I can't..."

"Huh?"

"But even superheroes need a rest!"

That statement seemed to physically rock Tai as it almost sent him into the surf below. But Agumon's quick reflexes snagged him by the back of his shirt, steadying him back onto the cliff top The odd stance he had created provoked another round of laughter out of everybody and even Joe had to cut loose a bit.

But as it was meant to happen, nothing stayed calm and easy for long when a guttural growl broke out from behind the group.

"What's that?"

This one was smaller than Shellmon, but nonetheless as equally intimidating. It held a similar appearance to that of a triceratops with armored plating across his back, down his tail and over his head and knees. Sprouting from his nose was a very prominent horn, along with a spiked crest from the back of his head.

"It's a Monochromon." Tentomon informed. "But don't worry about him. He's a laidback Digimon."

It gave another roar before steadily advancing in the group's direction.

"Although it is wise to be a bit cautious with a Monochromon. They do tend to get a bit miffed when they're hungry."

"Then he must be starving because he looks really mad!" Tai shouted.

Mimi cringed away with a small quail, "And I think he wants to eat us!"

And if the situation couldn't get much worse, another Monochromon entered from behind a rocky outcropping and it looked just as fierce as the first.

"There are two of them!" Joe panicked.

"We're caught between a rock..." Matt looked over his shoulder, "and two sets of teeth." His hands were resting protectively on TK's shoulder, so when Tai gave the order to run, everyone obeyed and no one was left behind.