. : WARRIORS OF THE PAST : .

A Digimon Frontier X Digimon Adventures Crossover

Prologue: Approaching Apocalypse

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon in any way, shape, or form.

Beware, beware, the dark draws near...
Speak to the ones who hold worlds dear...

From the ground, all looked to be a normal, peaceful night. The crescent moon gleamed from its position high in the sky, surrounded by a seemingly endless amount of little pinpoints of light – stars, glistening in all their glory, shining through the cloudless air. Beneath the night skies, a blanket of quiet settled on the creatures living on the ground as they curled up in their respective homes to rest, while others moved silently among the dark shadows as nocturnal hunters.

None looked up. But if they had, and if they could peer through the night with perfect vision, then perhaps they would've caught a glance of a blue, snake-like shape, streaking through the sky.

High enough that his massive figure would never be noticed at a glance, even though no clouds lingered in the night air, the huge oriental dragon soared through the sky with amazing grace for one of his size. Small white wings arched as his flight pattern shifted every so often when he weaved between the air currents. Clinking softly, silver chains wrapped tightly around his body, and despite their appearance, the metal links did not restrict the dragon's movement at all. The aura wreathing his figure like a light mist of blue gave him a holy, ethereal look. Electrical energy crackled along his translucent blue body, only adding to the aura's glow.

The dragon flew on for a little more, then descended to the ground at a steady angle until he hovered no more than a yard away from the earth. He raised his armored head, four red eyes glinting as he calmly met the gazes of the other creatures before him.

To the dragon's left floated a vermillion phoenix, his many wings half extended. Small embers flickered at the edges of the red feathers as he flicked his reptilian tail agitatedly. The mythical bird's entire being emanated heat waves, cloaking him with an angry crimson aura. Two pairs of crimson eyes glared at nothing as he silently opened his beak a little, showing off rows of small but sharp teeth in a half snarl.

A colossal turtle with two heads and an ancient tree on his back stood to the blue dragon's right. The tree's leaves shivered slightly as a light breeze passed by, creating a small rustle of plants. Lively green aura danced around the beast's large body, contrasting sharply with the solemn, serious look in his softly lowing red eyes.

Directly across from the great dragon was a white tiger with many purple stripes marking his fur. He wore two guards on his front ankles, each bearing a different symbol, and two spiked anklets on his back paws. The tiger shimmered with a pure, silver-white aura of power. Four ruby eyes looked piercingly through the mask that hid most of his head and braced his lower jaw.

The four beings each stood at a cardinal direction of the compass; North for the earthen tortoise, South for the flaming phoenix, East for the majestic dragon, and West for the white tiger.

Together, they were known as the Harmonious Ones. Legendary creatures who wielded great power, enough to bring down all but the strongest of foes. To an outsider, unfamiliar with the ways of their kind, just the four's presence was enough to induce awe.

The dragon rumbled, "My apologies for being late. I was informing Gennai of the situation."

"A worthy reason," the tiger soothed in response. "He will inform the children, who will then be prepared for the battle… when it comes."

"Why bother?" one of the turtle's heads sighed.

"This foe is much too powerful for the children to handle," the second agreed. "He has torn apart dimensions that have even allied together to increase their strength. If we are his next target, our only hope would be a miracle."

"If by 'miracle' you mean the golden dragon, then surely not!" the tiger exclaimed softly. "Should we awaken him before the correct moment is upon us, he would rampage across the Digital world and obliterate everything!"

"And what if that time is now?" the turtle argued back. "Better destroyed than feeding that monstrosity. And we would at least stand a better chance against-"

"The time for him to wake has not yet arrived, and you know this," the dragon interrupted before the dispute could escalate further. "We would feel it in our cores if it was." Accepting the dragon's words for truth, the turtle bowed his heads and rest his case.

"We have a plan, anyway," the phoenix declared firmly. "Our world will not fall to this mindless beast without a fight. I will not accept that disgrace; bad enough we rely on mere human children."

Ignoring the jab at the children, the dragon spoke. "I did not call us together to pointlessly reiterate what we already know. Tonight, the Angels will be arriving. Any minute, as a matter of fact. The barrier between our dimensions is failing, so it shouldn't take them very long."

As if on cue, a low growl of thunder rolled through the sky, followed by a light gust of wind. Then, a flash of light exploded into existence, sending several fractal codes streaming into the air. The breeze increased in intensity, whipping around the once-calm atmosphere as the fractal codes dissolved.

The four beasts looked up and silently observed the scene taking place above them, none of them startled by its sudden luminous display.

Dimming, the light faltered for a moment before abruptly increasing in brightness, nearly lighting up the entire sky. Its intensity did not last long, though, and the light shut itself off quickly afterwards.

In its place floated three angelic figures, which slowly lowered in altitude to land in the center of the four beings. In comparison to size, they were far smaller than the Harmonious Ones, but gave off the same feeling of power.

One of the angels wore blue and silver armor with five pairs of golden wings sprouting from his back. Another wore teal armor. She had golden wings as well. The third was the largest of the three, vaguely resembling a pink and white rabbit on two legs. He had long ears with two golden rings at the base of each, and seemed to be the only one of the three who did not distinctly have a human-like form.

"Welcome, Celestial Angels. It's wonderful to see you in person, I must say. I trust your trip was safe?" the dragon inquired softly.

"Of course," the rabbit-like deity answered. His voice was startlingly deep and a little rough, but had a kind tone. "That enemy is not upon us just yet… However, he grows close. Have your chosen children been informed of the situation?"

"I have one of our helpers sending a message right now. They will know of it – and its severity – soon enough."

"Good. We shouldn't waste time."

"I agree," the angel in blue and silver armor nodded. "This enemy… He is very dangerous. We need to prepare as much as possible."

"Your Warriors, even they could not stand to him?" the white tiger asked.

"In truth, they did," the one in teal armor sighed. "They managed to drive him off with a very ancient technique, but it came at the cost of their lives. Not to mention it offered only temporary protection; nothing offensive appears to work."

"I heard as much in the rumor mill," the phoenix murmured. "The greatest Warriors, all felled by this foe. They managed to save the world from its impending destruction, though, which was a first."

"That was our dimension, the place they regard as home, their place of origin," she replied. "We were fortunate that they were revived… A miracle, if you will."

"Stronger than ever," added the other humanoid angel, with something akin to amusement in his voice. "It seems that they never stop growing more powerful."

"A common trait in all children, it appears," the dragon commented.

"As much as I'd love to chat some more, we have more important things to discuss, and time is wasting away," the turtle announced, redirecting the conversation.

"That is true."

"Are they prepared to go into battle?" the phoenix questioned.

The female angel laughed lightly. "They never weren't! Overprotective, those six."

"Speaking of which, they will have trust issues," the beast angel warned the four creatures. "Your Destined will have to pass a test of determination, power, and loyalty to prove themselves. There's really no preparation, except for past experiences. The test seems to vary, so I don't know what it might be."

"Oh…" The female angel sighed, picturing the glints in her Warriors' eyes. "I have an idea, but I don't like it. I do hope your children pass this test, Sovereigns."

"So do we… So do we." Twisting in anxiety, the dragon lowered his head. "In any case, we've done the best we can. It's up to them, now."

"It always has been, hasn't it? On the shoulders of children and their pets." The phoenix's statement could have be taken as dry sarcasm or amusement, if not for the despair lacing his words.

"They will come through," assured the angel in blue-silver armor.

Silence reigned for a while.

The Harmonious Ones and Celestial Angels, powerful and gifted as they were, could only turn their gazes to the crescent moon and stars above, and hope for the best.

DragonAce1999: I just rewrote this, so it should be just a little better. Just a little. It's also longer.

I know, I know, I should be working on Guild of Chaos, and I am! This just popped out of reading too many Fanfictions about 4x2 Digimon crossovers... Sorry.

Published: 5/16/13
Updated: 2/7/14