The field hung in the middle of the park, obscuring
whatever was inside it from view. Suddenly, a thin
line appeared in the middle of the field as it was
suddenly cut in half. The field disappeared, returning
to the digital world.

A ghostly figure hung in the middle of where it had
parted the field. A gleaming scythe was held in one
hand as it glinted in the moonlight.

�I smell fear,� he intoned as he floated off into the
night.

<><><>

�Oow!�

Lee�s grandfather, Tseng Chin, lowered his hand
as Lee rubbed his head in pain. �You are not
focusing, Lee,� his grandfather admonished.

�It�s a hard technique, grandfather,� Lee said in a
pathetic reply.

�The technique is special, handed down throughout 
our family for generations. You MUST learn it.� 
Tseng sighed. �It is not simply a fighting technique.�

�Then what is it?� Sharmamon asked curiously.

Tseng�s glasses seemed to catch in the moonlight
as he straightened up. �The Swallow Dance is a
technique of harmonization between body, mind
and soul. If you do not realize what it�s power is
for, or if one part of your whole being is not in
synchronization with the rest, then how will you
be able to perform the technique?�

�I... see.� Lee said slowly, not understanding the
point of the exercise.

Tseng�s eyes dilated. �Lee!� He suddenly knocked
Lee to the side as a spray of blood erupted from
his grandfather�s chest.

�GRANDPA!� Lee shouted in horror, spinning
around.

�My, that was refreshing.� The Phantomon stood
over his grandfather. �Hmm... still breathing. I�ll
remedy that.�

�Sharmamon evolve!� his skin ripped off and he
reformed into the short ninja digimon. �Ninjamon!�
He leapt up and several stars appeared in his
hands. �Iga Style Shurinken Throw!�

Phantomon deflected the stars with a spin of his
scythe. He raised it and slashed at the pair, the
weapon biting into the ground, creating a huge
trench with the massive slash. �You are more
trouble than it is worth. Prepare to die.�

<><><>

Digital Diaries : Adventures 2003

written by Shaun Garin

everything applies here. I don�t own digimon
but I do own most of the characters in this series.

<><><>

File 15 : Dark Messenger

�Hell Fire!� The shower of fireballs forced the
Phantomon back as Raine and Cerberumon ran
up.

Raine knelt down beside Lee�s grandfather as she 
rolled him over and began to run her Tricorder 
over him. �He needs medical attention or he won�t 
last the night.�

�Too bad. All of you won�t last long enough to
call.� Phantomon raised his scythe and created
a large gash across Cerberumon�s leg.

�Ninjamon! Get him!� Raine shouted as she took
off her shirt to staunch the blood from the large
gash on Mr. Chin�s chest.

�Iga Style Shurinken Throw!� The stars actually
bit into Phantomon�s weapon. The phantom
digimon looked at it and seemed to smirk, despite
the lack of facial characteristics.

�I�ll be back.� With that, he disappeared.

�An ambulance is on its way,� Raine said as she
lowered her cell phone. �Lee? Are you okay?�

Lee was white, trembling as he stared at the
blood pooling around his grandfathers torso.
�No.... grandpa.....�

<><><>

�How is Mr. Chin?� Raine asked, standing up as 
the doctor walked into the room.

�He�s lost a lot of blood, and we had to restart
his heart a couple of times during surgery. He�ll
be in the recovery ward for at least several
months.� The doctor shook his head. �No normal
mugger could have done this to him. The gash
is too clean, too deep to be a simple knife.�

�And Lee?�

The doctor checked his clipboard. �He refused
to leave his grandfather, even during surgery. He�s
in the recovery room. Mr. Chin will be receiving
visitors after an hour or so. Now, if you will
excuse me, I have other patients to take care of.�

As the doctor left, Raine sat down heavily as she
buried her face in her hands. Labramon sat at her
side, pretending to be a stuffed animal, as with
Ninjamon. Labramon was nursing her leg, Raine�s
handkerchief tied around it.

The doors flew open, revealing a worried Mrs.
Chin. �Raine!� she called as Raine looked up.
�Where�s my son and father in law?�

�Mr. Chin is recovering from emergency surgery
and Lee is at his bedside. They�re admitting
family only.� She motioned to Ninjamon who
was sitting at her side. �Take him with you.�

The woman nodded as she picked up Ninjamon,
checked in with the front desk and ran down the
hall as fast as she could.

<><><>

�Lee? Lee! Damnit Lee, look at me!�

Lee kept staring at his grandfather. He was still
dressed in the clothes he had worn for two days
straight. His hair was unwashed and his eyes
wore a dull expression.

Raine sighed. �Lee, I know you can hear me
so don�t play dumb. What happened to your
grandfather was not your fault.�

Silence greeted her as she scowled and sat
down beside him. �Lee, he risked his life for
you. And I know that you would do the same.
Don�t worry, your grandpa will recover.�

Ninjamon and Labramon exchanged glances
as Raine cast a glance at the beeping monitors
and the clock. �I have to go. I�ll bring your 
books from school.�

Lee didn�t reply as Raine picked up Labramon
and left the room.

�That was rude, Lee,� Ninjamon admonished.

As usual, the still silence greeted him. �Damnit
Lee, stop blaming yourself!� Ninjamon snapped.
�Master Chin is strong, he�ll pull through. You
need to focus, there are people out there who
are in trouble because of that Phantomon. You
have to get up and fight!�

�Shut up,� Lee said softly.

�You know I�m right,� Ninjamon said, folding
his arms.

�Shut up. I never wanted to be a digi-destined.
This digivice has given me nothing but trouble
since I got it.� He threw down the digivice,
the wires inert. �Leave me alone.�

Ninjamon slid off the chair and said, �Fine.
I�ll leave you alone for a while.� He left through
the window as Lee resumed his silent vigil.

<><><>

Ninjamon walked along the telephone wire as he
thought to himself. �Lee�s taking this too hard....
way too hard.... I wish he would open up a bit
more when we�re at home.�

Ninjamon hopped to the nearby building as he
looked down on the city. It was growing dark,
a perfect time for Phantomon to strike again.

The phantom digimon had been quiet for most of
the week, almost overdue to strike again.

Ninjamon did a triangle jump off of a building and
hopped to the top of a skyscraper. �I know you�re
out there somewhere,� he said to the air. �I�ll
find you and make you pay.� His fist clenched
as a faint scream split the air. �Speak of the devil...�

<><><>

�... Lee....�

Lee snapped to alertness as he found his 
grandfather looking at him. �Grandpa! Don�t 
move, you�re still injured.�

�Ha, takes more than a minor cut to take down 
your grandpa.� To Lee�s surprise, his grandpa sat
up in the bed. �You seem surprised.�

�How.... no one can heal that fast!� Lee sputtered.

�Au contraire. One CAN.� Lee looked at his
grandfather as he said, �Lee. Our family has a 
technique, passed down through the centuries to 
exploit one�s Chi. With it, one can do many things. 
Chi is the life-force of all creatures, even the
 smallest insects have it. With training, you can do 
what I do.�

�Will I be able to help Sharmamon defeat
Phantomon?� Lee asked.

�Yes, but only with training. You know the first
step already.� his grandfather answered.

�I do?� Lee asked, astounded.

�Yes. You care for people. That is the first step. 
Now go, your partner may need you.� His
grandfather turned over and fell asleep.

Lee nodded and rushed away while pulling out 
his Digi-locator.

<><><>

Ninjamon held a gash on his side with one hand 
as Phantomon hovered before him. The squat 
ninja was guarding a girl and a wounded guy. 
�I smell fear,� the Phantomon intoned. �it is a 
pleasant smell. And tastes delicious.�

�You are not going to kill anyone tonight. I will
take you down.� Ninjamon�s eyes narrowed.
�And I will do that.�

�You?� Phantomon mocked. �You don�t even
have your pathetic partner with you. Will you
even be able to stop me?�

�We will,� Lee said, skidding into view.

�Lee?� Ninjamon asked. �What happened? Why
aren�t you with your grandfather?�

�He�s all right,� Lee assured his partner. His eyes
narrowed. �Now lets take down floating and ugly
before he kills anyone else.�

�I doubt it. You can try though. Soul Chopper!�
The scythe came down as Ninjamon dodged it.

�Ninjamon, go!� Lee shouted. �Try the other
side!�

Ninjamon leapt to the other side as he threw a
few Shurinken. The metal blades clashed against
the weapon Phantomon held. Lee frowned. �No
good, he�s blocking every shot we take.�

�I wonder,� Raine said from behind him. Lee
nearly jumped out his skin. �Can he block
two attacks at once?�

�Where did you... oh never mind.� Lee returned
his full attention to the battle as Ninjamon faded
in and out of a whirling tornado of leaves.

�You can run but you can�t hide,� Phantomon
said, slashing at movement behind him. Ninjamon
reappeared, crying out in pain as he landed with
a painful thud.

�Ninjamon!� Lee rushed over. �Are you okay?�

�Damn, that hurt,� Ninjamon groaned. �Lee,
you have to get away.�

A yelp of pain and Phantomon rose up behind 
Lee and smirked. �So dies a legacy before it 
begins.� His weapon raised up and came down.

Lee clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the blow
that would finish him. Suddenly, a bright glow
flared out from his D3 as Phantomon stopped in
mid strike, cursing and floating backwards from
the light.

�Ninjamon super-evolve!� The squat ninja
reformed in a flash of light. �Piximon!�

Piximon flew out from Lee as he smirked at
Phantomon who was just regaining his eyesight.
�Lights out ugly. Fairytale!�

Phantomon had no time to cry out as a safe
crashed down on him, spilling data everywhere.

Piximon floated over to Lee as he asked, �Are
you okay?�

�Yeah.... thanks for saving me,� Lee said.

�Thanks for evolving me,� Piximon replied as
he helped his partner up.

�Anytime,� Lee said warmly.