Disclaimer: Although the severely warped and twisted imagination is my own, Shaman King and its characters are the property of Hiroyuki Takei. Similarly, Digimon and its characters are the property of Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai and Toei Animation.

Author's Notes: This is probably going to get a heck of lot more convoluted from this point on. That's what happens when people let me play by my own rules.

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An Instrument of Light

From the looks of it there was only one viable escape route from the rather unsettling stretch of beach that Hana had become stranded on just a few moments earlier. It was a tunnel entrance that looked like it might lead to the other side of the mountains that seemed to surrounded the beach. There was no telling what he might find on the other side, but Hana reasoned that at the moment anything was better than waiting around for that giant flying abomination to reach shore. He made a run for it.

The interior of the tunnel was illuminated in the sense that Hana could still see, but even the light that filled the tunnel seemed to be tainted with darkness. The overall effect was kind of unnerving.

Just what is this place anyway? Hana had become less concerned about where he was and more concerned by why it was even there in the first place. It was one of those places that just felt wrong all over.

As he was running he hadn't given much thought to the fact that there might also be something else inside the tunnel. This is what led him to collide with what could best be described as some kind of anthropomorphic lion. An anthropomorphic lion wearing what were probably darkly colored pants with a somewhat darker belt and additional straps around the ankles. There were additional straps and buckles wrapped around its left arm with another strap around the hand adorned with some kind of metal studs. The anthropomorphic lion also wore a necklace of some kind of fangs with a small pendant and had a single loop earring dangling from his left ear. He also had some kind of sword strapped around the back of his waist.

Hana took this all in as the beast man in question caught him by the arm before he was able to fall back after the collision. Under any other circumstances he probably would have been a little more apologetic, but as it was Hana was simply relieved that this new guy didn't seem to have an interest in attacking him. In fact, Hana detected a measure of surprise reflected in the beast man's expression. The distinct lack of color in this place was really starting to get to him.

"You can see me?" The beast man had the voice of a hardened warrior and yet, was also gentle. And that was when Hana realized that his new companion was also rather transparent.

"Yeah," Hana responded in a rather offhanded fashion. He was still in kind of a hurry on account of trying to get as far away as possible from the abomination outside that had some kind of breath attack that could incinerate sand.

"So you must be what has Chimeramon in such a frenzy," the beast man continued.

Hana stopped in his tracks, "You mean that monster outside?"

Chimeramon. It took several seconds for the significance of the name to occur to him. Chimera-mon. Wizar-mon. There was a definite pattern to them. Don't tell me... "That thing is actually a digimon, isn't it?"

"Or what's left of one anyway," the beast man confirmed for him.

Hana looked him over again. The conclusion seemed obvious. "I guess that goes for you too."

"You can call me Leomon," the beast man verified for him.

Hana brushed a hand through his unruly hair. This was getting complicated. "Can you tell me what this place is?"

"This place has been given many names by those who have been here," Leomon started. "The Dark Ocean, the World of Darkness, Dagomon's Ocean, and the Dark Area are among the most common titles given to this location. It is the place where data remnants that can no longer be reconfigured are sent to keep them separate from the rest of the Digital World. It is also highly unstable."

"So this Chimeramon is basically an evil spirit. An oni bent on destruction," Hana determined for himself. "How do I get back to my own world?"

"The connection between the two worlds is probably strongest at the point where you arrived," Leomon suggested.

Hana looked back the way he had come from, "That means I have to go back out there and somehow get past Chimeramon."

"I should be able to distract him for you," Leomon flexed appreciatively. "I might be a little out of practice."

---

To be perfectly honest, Hana could tell just by looking at them that Leomon was probably greatly outclassed by the monstrosity that was Chimeramon. Leomon really must have been a brave warrior and Hana knew there wasn't anything he could do to even the odds, but he still felt kind of bad about having to abandon him in such a dreadful place. If only he had arrived in this location with something he could have used to fight with.

Hana watched from the tunnel entrance as Leomon set out to draw Chimeramon's attention away. By that point the enormous amalgamation of seemingly incompatible body parts had already landed on the beach. It was even bigger up close than it had been from a distance.

Leomon pulled his fist in front of his chest as it became charged with a glow that was visible even in the absence of color. In the next instant he swung his fist toward Chimeramon, still a considerable distance away, and called out, "Fist of the Beast King!" as a projectile in the shape of the face of a lion shot off his fist to smash into Chimeramon. Clearly Leomon could take care of himself.

As Chimeramon charged at Leomon, Hana was able to make a run for the crater that marked the place where he had first arrived on that awful beach. That was when he hesitated. Hana knew he was the one that Chimeramon was after. He was a shaman and he wanted to be able to fight his own battles. It was already unfair that he had been born too late to participate in the Shaman Fight. He didn't want to be left out of this too.

The sand beneath Hana's feet seemed to rumble as a pillar of light bubbled to the surface. Unlike the false light that had illuminated the tunnel this light was real and it had color.

"Huh?" Hana was surprised when he suddenly felt the Futsu-no-Mitama no Tsurugi materialize in his hand. The ancient stone sword gave him a sense of assurance. There would be plenty of times to ask questions later. Right now he had what he needed to help Leomon.

---

The ongoing battle between Leomon and Chimeramon had raged a little ways down the coastline so that Hana had to run to catch up. At the very least he was certainly getting plenty of exercise today. Of course he probably wasn't going to make it to school on time at this rate, assuming he would even bother going after all this.

Leomon was surprised to see him again, "I thought you were trying to get out of here."

"I changed my mind," Hana stated simply. "I want to help."

Leomon still looked uncertain, "How do you propose to do that?"

"I'm a shaman. Since you're technically a spirit," Hana explained as he held up the Futsu-no-Mitama no Tsurugi, "we should be able to take him if you lend me your strength. Are you up for that?"

Leomon probably didn't understand, but he seemed to trust Hana's new found confidence. "Sure. Let's give it a try."

What followed definitely wasn't what Hana had been going for. He got as far as having Leomon transform into a spirit flame and integrating him with Futsu-no-Mitama no Tsurugi before the process seemed to take on a life of its own. Leomon was transformed into something more powerful, but it certainly didn't look or behave like an Oversoul. Leomon became larger and his beast-like features became more pronounced. His pants became metallic and frayed along the edges. Heavy metal gauntlets formed around his hands and a flowing cape adorned his shoulders. He clutched an impressively large blade in his right hand. Hana really wasn't sure how this had happened, but it was kind of cool anyway.

"Lion King Sword," Leomon was able to expertly wield his newly enhanced blade to chop off one of Chimeramon's demonic arms in a single stroke. His opponent screeched in agony and retaliated with a fireball from its mouth. Leomon cleaved the breath attack cleanly in half so that the shockwave merely blew past him. Leomon sheathed his sword and assumed a fighting stance. "Let's finish this."

Chimeramon exhaled another fireball. Leomon slammed his fist through the blast smashing straight through it. "Fist of the Beast King!" The modified version of his earlier attack was devastating enough that Chimeramon's entire body was gradually consumed by the blast. When the dust settled, Chimeramon was gone and Leomon had returned to his previous state.

What just happened? Hana looked on in wonder at what he had just witnessed.

---

The pillar of light that had granted Hana access to the Futsu-no-Mitama no Tsurugi was right where he had left it. Leomon escorted him back also in awe of what had just transpired. With Chimeramon out of the way the atmosphere of the place felt lighter somehow although the eerie beach was still devoid of color. Perhaps this was the reason that Hana had been brought here in the first place.

"Take care of yourself," Hana bid farewell to Leomon.

"That goes for you as well," Leomon informed him.

The light from the pillar brightened and Hana found himself surrounded by it. The view of the peculiar beach was eventually lost in a void of white.

---

Hana was once again standing beside the river back in Funbari. Amidamaru was relieved to see him.

"Hana-dono! Where were you?" Amidamaru sounded frantic.

"I'm not really sure," Hana answered truthfully. "It's kind of hard to explain." It was pretty cool though.

Amidamaru relaxed a little although he suspected there was something Hana wasn't telling him. For the moment all that mattered was that he was safe. He was also, however, going to be late for school.

To Be Continued...

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Additional Author's Notes: This is probably going to be it for awhile since I'm going to be participating in NaNoWriMo next month. Sorry for the inconvenience.