Claws of Ice and Wings of Now
The ending of our tale takes place a long time ago, in a far-off place that might one day grow to be the Digital World of modern times. The seed is planted, but it is not yet growing. For this is a savage, brutal and deadly place to make a living. The weak die young and the stronger prosper and grow stronger. Most Digimon die out at around their champion stage, which makes the hulking form of the lone Digimon left standing on the burning plain, something of an abnormality.
Omnimon was hurt badly; his armour was cracked and dented, blood was leaking from a deep gouge along his chest and he couldn't see out of one eye. His cannon-arm had been rendered totally useless. Streams of raw data were leaking from it even as he watched. Its crushed, mutilated form a mute testament to the power of his adversaries – and the greatness of his victory. He was using his sword to balance, it too was cracked but not too badly. It might mend. In time.
The sun was setting in the sky; strange but he'd never really stopped to watch the sun set before... it stained the sky crimson, like blood. But it was a good sight to see because it meant that the sun was setting on the last day of the Digital Kingdom, and that when it rose tomorrow, maybe, just maybe, they could have what they had always wanted. Freedom. He turned his eyes upon the multiple crumpled bodies that littered the plains – some had fallen into the many craters blasted like wounds into the earth, others just lay where they had fallen. There were many bodies, many poor souls who would not be reborn. By rights, their bodies should have been de-constructing, being pulled apart so as to be reconfigured. They should be starting life again. They were not. He felt a coldness in his gut, the same old feeling that he had known as long as he had lived. He probably got it from WarGreymon. One of the bodies twitched, groaning as it tried to draw itself up. Omnimon was there in an instant, kneeling he withdrew his blade and helped the red-armoured Digimon to his knees.
His heart beat like a drum as he helped one of his oldest friends. Gallantmon! But he had thought that the other was dead, the shadow-lance had impaled him from side to side – and yes, Omnimon could see the twin great holes in his armour, the tiny streams of data leaking out, but not enough. No, nowhere near enough. For Gallantmon, everything would end here. Besides that, his lance had been broken and no inch of his armour was free of dents, gauges or deep scratches. It made Omnimon want to cry; here lay so many brave warriors, who had given everything for this one, final fight and they would not even be allowed a new life? Would they slumber in the place between life and rebirth endlessly? Would they die? Digimon did not, in general, have the mental toolbox to contemplate true death. It was alien to their very being; no Digimon ever died forever. Even those ones who were absorbed by a rival would be separated and reborn when said rival met its own end. Omnimon had to struggle, not just for words, but for thoughts. He had to turn over and think of complex concepts that had never before held any sway for him or his kin. True death; so huge, so alien, so terrifying. Was this how humans felt? Did they feel every second ticking away, did they fear the dark? Did oblivion wait for them as well?
Omnimon knew that he was going to die. The wounds were too deep, the damage too great. He'd used up so much energy during the fight that there was little left for survival or healing. This was the end for him as well as for Gallantmon. But it had been worth it! Yes, he told himself, it had been worth it. The fight, the sacrifice, his own life – his whole existence – he'd do it again if he had to.
"Gallantmon..." He chocked..." Old friend, speak to me."
"We...won." Gallantmon's voice was weak, he didn't have much time left. Omnimon was siezed by a terrifyingly strong desire to take his friend and run. To move as fast as he could to the edge of the field and then...then they could be reborn! Outside the field, they could start again... But no, his desperation crushed the feeble hope. He didn't have the energy to fly and lacked the mobility to run. They were done for.
" We won."
"The others...?"
"None survived... we're the last."
" And when we two pass...there shall end the Royal Knights."
" Don't speak of such things." Said Omnimon, desperation tainting his voice. " We're not wounded too badly."
"Ah my old friend, but you always did cover up the truth when you didn't think I was up to. We're not going anywhere. I am mortally wounded...the shadow-lance did a real number on me. I'm having trouble just holding myself together...I think I see the same pain on your face. Its over."
"Yes." Omnimon acknowledged, not just to Gallantmon, but also to himself, "It is over."
"But we left some stories for them to tell." Gallantmon's chuckle sounded like a death-rattle. " The final fight of the Royal Knights! That tale will be passed on for generations, and we'll be remembered always as the ones who brought down the Digital Kingdom."
" But we won't be reborn." Omnimon said, his feeling rushing out of him in a torrent of emotion. " Its over. We don't come back."
"Yes. But that is a risk we both took when we marched out to meet the enemy in battle. I don't think we expected it to end any other way. Did any of the Knights survive?"
"I don't know...I do not think so...maybe two... Magnamon was missing when the mission began, and Alphamon was presumed lost during the initial wave. I do not know if they have survived but if they did..."
"The Royal Knights may not be consigned to history after all. Let us hope then, old friend."
The end was coming now, his limbs were going numb, Omnimon realised that he could no longer stand even if he wanted to. His vision was starting to blur, to go dark at the edges. So this is how a Royal Knight dies. He thought, wounded and alone on the battlefield. He looked down at Gallantmon, his chest still moving, but too weak to speak now. Then, he looked at the bodies, so many bodies. Some armoured, some with fur or feathers. All knights. Every one of them had come knowing that they would die, and every one of them had knew there was no coming back and they'd gone and they'd fought and died. No, never alone. He added. Never alone.
In time, the world went totally dark and Omnimon felt his body slipping to the ground in a distant kind of way. He was numb but not cold, perhaps this wasn't so unpleasant, he thought. As he felt death closing in on him, he wondered, would he dream?
Then, a felt an armoured hand on his shoulder and a voice by his ear.
" Omnimon? What happened to you? This looks bad...hold on, Royal Knight, I can heal you."
And then he knew no more.
Chapter One: Claws of Ice and Wings of Snow
The beginning of the story – or at least, the chapter of the story that we will concern ourselves with for today, takes place on the icy northern wastes. The wind howled like a wild beast, snow cold enough to freeze water in minutes coated the ground like a thick carpet. The Frigimon were almost invisible, crouching down so that it covered them like a coat. Fifteen of them all in all, the best that the Digimon Emperor had captured. The Dark Rings around their legs, necks and arms glinted as they always did with a malignant energy. Their eyes, devoid of anything but a cold desire to do the will of the Digimon Emperor.
IceDevimon felt his lips curl up in a feral smile, the Control Spire at his back pushed up through the clouds like a defiant fortress, a bastion of order in a world of chaos. And it was his duty – no, his privilege, to defend it to the last breath. He felt the snow beat against his great wings, wrapped about his body like a cloak. It was not the cold he hide from – an icy Digimon by nature, he felt quite at home here – but with the cloak braking up his shape he was quite efficiently hidden in the icy wind. The small computer-terminal perched on the ice-encrusted rock was a small bastion of light, it was winter here, the clouds constantly shifting and covering the sun. Here, he thought with a skip of his evil heart, here was the place that the Digi-Destined would die! By his hands, the red blood of the humans would flow and he would exult in their despair and drink it like the finest wine. Here, he would prove to the beloved Digimon Emperor that he was not the worthless scum that he was taken for, he would serve his Emperor with all the breath in his body and all the flesh on his bones.
The Dark Ring around his neck was a comfort, of course. A constant reminder of the benevolence and love of the Digimon Emperor. It was a light to guide his way, before he had been released by it, he had been nothing. Oh how petty his schemes and revenges felt now! Oh how pale his life had been... but thanks to the Dark Ring – and the Control Spire that jutted from the ground so defiantly – his life had purpose, his life had meaning. It did not even occur to him that his life had plenty of meaning beforehand – the Dark Ring simply would not allow such seditious thoughts into his brain.
The terminal began to flash, his heart hammered in his chest. They were coming, the Digi-Destined were arriving to meet there doom. His hands itched, he yearned to strike at those fools, to kill them in the name of the most glorious Digimon Emperor. Wait, he cautioned himself, he didn't want to mess up. One slip-up and the fools would escape and he would have failed the trust that the beloved Emperor put in him! The thought was nearly too much to bare, the shame and guilt of the action reached deep into his soul like a jagged knife. No, he would wait and watch. And it was well that he did, for rather than the whole team emerging from the terminal, only two did. The tall one with goggles and the smaller child. They had come up a Veemon and an Armadillomon. Briefly, he worried that the Emperor would be upset. If he managed to kill only to out of the whole team, surely he would not have failed the magnificent leader? Surely the Emperor would appreciate that at least now his enemies were weaker and reward him? Still, there was no helping it.
"There's the Control Spire." The child said, pointing at the great tower. " Strange... its unguarded. That's not like the Emperor at all."
" Hey, maybe they heard we were coming and all ran away!" Suggested the tall one with the goggles. " It doesn't matter anyway, let's just knock it down so we can meet up with Kari and what'shisface."
"You mean TK?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Strange." Pondered the child, " Look there's a sea out there. All frozen up now of course, but I suppose in the summer this place must be right on the coast."
"Yeah, so?"
" It looks like a major hub of travel, The Emperor should have some guards at the very least. Its an important location. He's not been stupid so far, don't expect him to start now."
" Still," he continued, as though in deep thought. " We can't just stand around all day... lets do it."
" All right!" Cheered the goggled one, " Veemon hear that? Lets do this! Digi-Armour Energise!"
"Veemon Armour Digivolve to...Flamedramon. The Fire of Courage."
IceDevimon felt himself shake just a little bit as the force of the evolution brushed so lightly against his hidden form. His own evolution had been dangerous, long and hard. He'd had to fight his way up – first as an Impmon and then as IceDevimon. He still remembered the days from before the Emperor rose and how hard, unforgiving and cruel life had been. He was much better now, of course but still... the sheer energy required to force a digivolution so easily? For the first time, he felt a little apprehension. But only for a second before the Dark Ring vanquished it.
" Armadillomon, you too!"
"Right, Armadillomon Armour-Digivolve to...Digmon. The Drill of Knowledge!"
The two armour Digimon stood side-by-side, their bodies gleaming. But only two...only two against sixteen. The smirk returned to his face. The great wisdom of the Digimon Emperor proved right once again. He waited just another heartbeat before springing forth; jerking back his wings like a devil from hell itself. He savoured the look of shock on the face of the goggled one, the look of expectation from the short one, and then the fifteen Frigimon sprang forth.
" Enemies of the Digimon Emperor must be destroyed!" IceDevimon roared, swooping down upon Digmon.
The battle began.
"Subzero Ice Fist!" A rain of icy blows descended towards Flamedramon. He ducked and weaved but he wasn't important. IceDevimon let him face from his mind. The Digimon Emperor was depending on him. All that mattered was him and his target.
"Digmon! Prepare to meet your doom! Tundra Freeze!"
The blast of friezing energy lanced from his eyes. Digimon sidled out of the way, but a stray beam caught his foot. It froze to the ground.
" Oh, this ain't good."
IceDevimon threw back his head and laughed.
"You fools don't understand the danger that you're in! I am IceDevimon, and I have haunted stronger Digimon than you for sport! Meet your doom! Tundra Freeze!"
"Gold Rush!"
IceDevimon howled in outrage. The drills ripped through the sky and he just barely got out of the way. One of them nicked his left wing as it moved past and he growled in pain. You're going to regret that!
" Frozen Claw!"
With a flap of his ragged wings, he darted down. His claw flashed out and Digmon staggered back.
"Frozen Claw!"
He struck out again. The blow forced Digmon to the ground.
" Now, time to end this. FROZEN CLAW!"
"Gold Rush!"
He was too close to dodge, IceDevimon realised too late. The drills slammed into him, he recoiled in pain. But he was a champion-level of the Devimon line. Such a simple attack would never finish him.
" I won't let you fools take another step." He growled, " Here and now is when you die! For the glory of the Digimon Emperor I will destroy you all!"
"Tundra Freeze!"
This time he held nothing back, Digmon crossed his arms as the massive blast of icy power washed over him like a flood. Ice began to crystallise into being. Digmon tried to step back but his feet were frozen to the ground. He tried to uncross his arms, but they were iced together.
"Digmon!" His young partner yelled, " Digmon do something! Get out of there!"
" I'm tryin'." Digmon growled. " I can't move."
IceDevimon started to cackle. " You never really had a chance, you know that right? With my power, I could have crushed you at any time. You amused me for a while but now you're just a pest. And pests get exterminated."
"You talk too much."
Devimon jolted to the side just in time, as the blast of fiery heat surged passed him. His eyes narrowed. Flamedramon. He should have known that those worthless Frigimon wouldn't be able to hold their own against a determined rookie, never-mind an armoured fire-based Digimon. Sure enough, he spotted six of them lying on the ground. His narrowed. Their Dark Rings had been shattered! Instinctive hatred surged through his body.
" You...scum." He hissed through clenched teeth. Flamedramon had broken their connection with the Digimon Emperor – he had shattered the freedom afforded by the rings, dragged them back to what they once had been. But that still left nine Frigimon scattered throughought the field of battle, some of them had been knocked down and were just getting back to their feet. Others were circling Flamedramon slowly. The fire Digimon looked tired. He didn't have the power left to take on the rest of the Frigimon. This fight was as good as over.
But...
Flamedramon had broken the Dark Rings, that made it a personal insult against the beloved Emperor and that meant that this was personal to him.
" Frigimon, deal with Digmon. He should be more than weak enough for even low-level scum like you to defeat. Do not delete him. The Emperor wants... a living specimen."
The Frigimon saluted and began to break away from Flamedramon, but the armoured Digimon had other plans.
" Not on my watch! Fire Rocke-"
"Tundra Freeze!"
Caught in mid-attack, Flamedramon was helpless as the friezing beam strafed his side.
"Ah! That's cold."
" Frozen Claw!"
Flamedramon was knocked off his feet, trailing a stream of broken ice as he fell backwards.
The goggled human watched wide-eyed.
"Flamedramon! You can do this! Its only one Digimon."
Poor foolish human. IceDevimon thought as he swooped like an overgrown bird, down upon Flamedramon. He has no idea just what kind of power I have at my disposal.
"Frozen Claw!"
Flamedramon grunted, three deep claw-marks stood out in his blue flesh.
" Now, DIE! Frozen Claw!"
" Flamedramon!"
For a second, they seemed to be frozen in time, IceDevimon exalting in his victory, Flamedramon, exhausted from his battle with the Frigimon, still trying to rise. His arm up-raised in a desperate attempt to fend of the oncoming blow.
Then, the ice along the coast exploded.
" Harpoon Torpedo!"
A massive shaggy form roared as it heaved itself up into dry land.
" Ikkaumon!" Gasped the humans.
The Digimon grinned, " Heard you were in the neighbourhood, thought you could use my help.
IceDevimon screamed in frustration.
" How many of you must I defeat before I have victory?"
" I don't know, all of us?"
IceDevimon spun around, and hissed at the horse-like Digimon that had accompanied Ikkakumon. Even as an armoured form, IceDevimon recognised the shape of one of his most hated enemies.
Pegasusmon!
This was spinning out of control, two more new enemies and who knew how many more to come? This wasn't part of the plan at all! The Digi-Destined were supposed to be ambushed, and then they were supposed to be surprised by his own far above champion strength. But now two more had arrived, one armour and one champion. And they'd seen him fight and would know his strength! He had to escape, flee... but that would mean leaving the Control Spire to the defence of the Frigimon who, quite frankly, were probably just as likely to destroy it through their own incompetence. And then the Emperor would know that he had failed... He felt shame, such deep shame that he'd even ever contemplated running. Why, it was an honour to give his life up for the Emperor! He was privileged to have this chance.
" You think too much too."
He was broken out of his musing by a voice, he looked down. Flamedramon! The fool had recovered enough to gather his power. Suddenly, it dawned on IceDevimon just how much danger he really was in. He leapt into the air, his wings strained to carry him to safety... but it was too late.
" Fire Rocket!"
This time, there was no dodging. No time to move or to leap to the side or even to brace for the pain. The fiery blast caught him right in the chest and he screamed, flames ate into him, his very essence – that of ice – was under assault. Smoke rose form his body, he forced the agony back. Pain, he felt sick, but he couldn't let that fool Flamedramon win. He couldn't let them see how badly he'd been hurt.
Flapping his wings to clear the steam, he roared.
"I'll take you all on! Tundra Freeze!"
"Harpoon Torpedo."
"Fire Rocket!"
"Equus Beam!"
The three combined attacks slammed into his beam, and to his horror started to push it back.
No! It can't end like this! I cannot fail the Emperor. I-I I don't want to die!
He roared, the pain that filled his body forgotten, he poured everything into his attack. All his cold heart, his driving desire to grow stronger, his will to survive. Everything.
The Tundra Freeze sputtered for a second, and died.
He just had time to see the oncoming attacks before they slammed into him, and he knew nothing but pain. As he fell from the sky, trailing smoke, his body started to lose cohesion. Streams of data spiralled up into the air, his outline blurred. Hitting the ground was almost as painful as the attack itself had been. He thought that the force of impact would finish him of for sure, but somehow he managed to keep himself from being deleted.
Despite the agony pounding through his body, he forced himself to one knee. Shaking his head to clear it of the ringing and the pain, he chocked out an order.
" Frigimon, help." The Frigimon wouldn't last long, but he could use the time to escape. ( The Dark Ring on his neck filled him with revulsion and shame, but some deep part of him had risen and blotted out its power for the minute. He could atone to the Emperor later, he needed to survive to have any chance of making this right.)
"Frigimon?"
He turned round to see the last of the Frigimon fall to the ground, Digmon – free from the ice, grinned at him.
"That was a pretty good attack. But they don't call me the Drill of Knowledge for nothing you know."
IceDevimon slumped to the ground It was all over then, outnumbered, badly wounded and with no reinforcements. But he wasn't going to die on the ground like this, he would fight for as long as he could! For the Glory of the Digimon Emperor!
He rose again, ignoring the pain. It didn't matter now.
" Tundra Freeze!"
Flamedramon was caught square in the blast, a thin skin of ice formed at once and thickened as he continued to pour in power. This time there would be no holding back, he would suck all warmth out of that Digimon until he was dead. IceDevimon would not be reborn alone!
" I don't think so. Rock Cracking!"
The earth opened up under him, with a final screech, IceDevimon fell into the waiting darkness. The last sight he saw, outlined in the sky, was the Control Spire, the magnificent, glorious Control Spire, dying in a hail of attacks.
And the last thing he knew, was that he had failed and did not deserve to live. Then, darkness swallowed him whole and he knew no more.
And that might have been the end of it, should have been the end of it. But destiny has a way of mucking about with what should happen. Because deep in the darkness, a mind that was not a mind laughed to itself. And if it could have thought, its thoughts might go something like this:
"Finally."
And so, the nightmare began.