GARDENS OF BABYLON

Chapter 02

Ambushed by Cacti (Part One)


In a world outside of our world, a world outside of perception, two opponents clashed before a chessboard.

It was the setting for a game of madness; a pointless struggle fed by Takato's rage and tears.

The game obeyed no obvious rules. It did not even have a fixed number of pieces. Lucemon could pull out minion after minion after minion, every single inhabitant of the Dark Area, with the exception of GranDracmon.

To the greatest of Demon Lords, every piece is a pawn.

At the moment, Takato studied his far more limited set of pieces.

If there was a king in his size of the board, it would be himself, if only because the game would end should he fall. Most fortunately, his mobility was nowhere near as limited. In fact, he was probably his most powerful piece, and the one he relied on the most, by far.

In the same way, if his board had a queen, it would be Ruki. She was his best friend, his confidant and a powerful Tamer; their closeness allowed Takato to wield her more easily and comfortably than any other of his pieces.

It was a bitter feeling, the awareness that he was using her feelings, their friendship, as a mere tool. At least she had Renamon, her Digimon partner, a bond which transcended mere friendship, to support her should she ever come to hate him.

Then there were his bishops, Lee Jenrya and Katou Juri. Their uses were fairly straightforward…Katou-san's usefulness was fairly limited, though. So far, at least, she had not caused him any trouble. He doubted it would stay like that for much longer; it was a matter of time before Lucemon decided to exploit that weakness.

His knights: Akiyama Ryo and Lee Shaochung. They were knights because they were meant to be used unconventionally. Ryo was the most powerful of the Tamers, but he lived in a different part of the country, so his uses were rather limited. Now that the Demon Lords were sending their armies to world of humans, Takato expected to be able to rely on his powerful knight more often.

The Legendary Tamer would probably kill him if he ever found out he had become but a piece under his command, though…not to mention his partner.

As for Jenrya's little sister, she was a wild card, bursting with potential. Even if the girl failed, Takato could count on Lopmon, who was absolutely loyal to him. It had been a while since he had to deploy Shaochung as a piece. The last time was, of course, when he had her transported to the Digital World to meet Antiramon and become a Tamer. Then, like all the other Tamers, she fought against D-Reaper's agents.

Finally, his rooks, Hirokazu and Kenta. He would be the first to admit they were not very reliable, thus he did not use them very often. The abilities of Kenta's partner shone the brightest against D-Reaper, though.

Then there was the row of pawns: the Digimon partners. Of course, two of them shone with their absence. Leomon's death hurt, painfully, as it dropped the worth of Juri's piece to near uselessness. Furthermore, her fall into despair only made the battle against D-Reaper all the more complicated. However, on the bright side, he got both Megidramon and Dukemon out of it.

Guilmon…

Guilmon was terminated in a move born out of spite. Spite and fear.

It was the first and only time Takato saw Lucemon displaying that amount of emotion.

The angel was terrified, and with good reason. Releasing D-Reaper had been a big, risky maneuver from his part, and he had truly believed it would be the game-ender. Never did he expect the Tamers to actually push back the rampaging program to the deepest recesses of the Digital World. Furthermore, a new, powerful, and dangerous Digimon was born.

Dukemon Crimson Mode.

Lucemon eliminated Guilmon because it possessed the power to destroy him.

Looking back on that day, he really should have seen it coming.

"Very well," Lucemon finally declared. "I guess I should make a move now."

Takato whined like the pitiful child he was. "I guess you won't wait until I'm out of the hospital, will you? That would be too nice."

"Now, now, the game allows no interruptions," Lucemon chided. "Lilithmon, come here, will you?"

"Yes, milord."

The demon lady winked at Lucemon's opponent before sauntering her way to her liege's side.

"How can I be of service, milord?"

"Well…" Lucemon began, never taking his eyes off the game board. "You are the closest of my pieces to Takato, both figuratively and literally, so I thought of letting you make the move this time."

The female Digimon blinked. "Milord? Are…with all due respect, are you serious?"

Takato was admittedly surprised himself. This was not Lucemon's style. This…generosity.

"Why not?" the angel dismissed the other two's reaction with a mild shrug. "Unlike the other five, you actually know how to play. So, now, come on." He smirked devilishly. "Impress me."

Lilithmon's expression quickly hardened. Of course, there was a catch.

If she made a move, and it backfired, Lucemon obviously would not be happy. This was as much a test as it was a gift.

Glancing at Takato, she was met by a subtle smile, full of compassion. Obviously the boy was aware of this as well.

Damn it, she wanted him so badly…

The proverbial light bulb went alight in her head.

"Well…if Lord Lucemon wishes for me to play directly on the chessboard, then that is exactly what this humble lady will do."

"There's absolutely nothing humble about you, Lilithmon," Takato deadpanned. The demon lady childishly poked her tongue out at him.

"Booh, now for that I won't be nice to you, onii-sama~"

Takato raised an eyebrow. "You actually expected me to believe you intended to be nice in the first place?"

Lilithmon giggled at such bluntness. She did not deny anything, though.

"Well…" she began as she stepped closer to the game board. "Since you asked for her, I might as well use that piece."

On cue, a white figure about the size of Takato's pinky finger appeared in Lilithmon's right hand.

"LadyDevimon…" he muttered, easily recognizing the piece.

"Hoo…" Lucemon mused, smirking all the time. "That's surprisingly straightforward."

"I'm horny and not in the mood for strategizing."

"Fair enough."

"How exactly?" Takato muttered.

Takato's pieces were neatly aligned near the center of the board, with the exception of the piece representing him, which was placed on the left corner, indicating his current, unmovable status. Lilithmon rudely slammed her piece in the square diagonal to Takato's piece.

"And that's my move. You see it, right? Onii-sama?"

"It's a very obvious move…" Lucemon stated. "But, in the current circumstances, it might actually work…" Chuckling one more time, he focused his gaze on Takato. "So? Your response? The clock starts ticking…"

"Be quiet, I'm trying to think here."

Takato frowned. This was, indeed, an extremely simple move. He had several ways to counter it, but the easier one would involve revealing a card he did not want to show just yet. But, even without that trump card, he could deal with this very easily.

That meant, of course, that Lucemon was hiding something.

It would not do to prepare a single counter-move. In case his response was somehow countered itself, Takato would need multiple alternatives. Lucemon would somehow nullify his moves, closing all avenues of escape until he had him cornered.

Takato sighed and tried to make himself comfortable in his seat.

"Very well, let's see what my pieces are doing right now. Then I'll make my move."

Lucemon only nodded…and smiled.

He found the anticipation thrilling.


"Kuroyama Takako, daughter of Kuroyama Shigeru, the IT magnate and the fourth richest person in the planet. A rather secluded girl; you wouldn't believe how long it took me to find a picture in the net."

Jenrya spoke those words to his mobile phone as he walked past the school gates. Classes were over for the day and it was too early for him to pick an afterschool club, so he was already free.

"So she's daddy's little ojou-sama, got it."

The boy could not keep the smile off his face. He could actually see Ruki's scowl clearly depicted in his mind.

"So, is she really Takato's sister?"

"Ruki-san, no amount of digging around in the Internet will tell me that."

'Ruki-san' was the most cordial way Lee Jenrya would use to address his fellow Tamer. In fact, it was probably the most cordial way Ruki would allow him to address her, ever.

Besides, he did not have Takato's monumental balls.

"And I see no reason to believe she's lying. They obviously resemble each other."

"Then why the hell is she with that rich guy?"

Jenrya rolled his eyes. Honestly, it was getting ridiculous.

"That story you'll have to find someplace else. Like, from Kuroyama-san herself, or from Takato."

"Takato! That bastard! Why didn't he tell us he had a sister! When I get my hands on him, I swear I'm gonna—"

Jenrya massaged his forehead with two fingers, purposely ignoring Ruki's rather creative ideas for Takato's corporal punishment. Seriously, why was he even listening to this? Wasn't this Juri-san's role or something? And why was Ruki reacting like this, anyway? It's been a while since he had seen her this…belligerent.

"Ruki-san…"

"…and then I'll lift his sorry ass and—"

"Ruki-san, please."

"…what?"

She sounded angry. Was it because he had interrupted her?

Takato probably never interrupts her, he mused with a subtle smile.

"I'm sure Takato had a good reason to keep it to himself. From what I could catch yesterday, his parents had kept her a secret from him as well, and Takato somehow found out on his own."

"…yeah."

Jenrya would not be as pretentious as to believe he understood girls, but he could somewhat see the issue here.

She would never admit it to the world around her, but Ruki considered Takato her best and closest (human) friend.

She was obviously hurt because Takato would not tell her something important like this.

Admittedly, even he was a little bothered.

Seriously, Takato, what's in your mind?

"…so, will you be there?"

"Ah, yeah…" Jenrya nodded to nobody. "But, my school is farther, so you guys will probably make it first."

They learned from Yamaki that Takato had been moved to a single room, which meant people other than family were allowed to visit him.

"Ah…Glasses Idiot told me he has cleanup duty, so he'll go later. Visor Idiot is also staying at school for…some club thing, wasn't paying attention."

Jenrya secretly wondered if the day when Ruki stopped looking down on those two would ever come. Probably not.

"Juri…did not see her. We're not in the same class, so we didn't see each other except at lunchtime. Glasses Idiot didn't know either, the useless prat."

You're laying it thick with the insults today, Ruki-san…

It just showed how disturbed she was by the whole situation, starting with Takato's trip to the operating room the day before.

"So Ruki-san is going on her own?"

"Yeah, see you there, then."

"Sure thing. Later, then."

"Un."

After ending the call, Jenrya began to walk at a slightly faster pace.

Of course, he was worried about Takato…but mostly because he had plenty of questions in his head.

Takato's twin sister was the last thing in his mind at the moment; so his best friend suddenly had a new relative, good for him. No big deal there.

No, his questions were of a darker scope.

Everything in the previous day's events triggered questions marks in his head: the strange behavior of the Digital Field, the sheer amount of Realized Digimon and their sudden retreat were just the tip of the iceberg.

He remembered Ruki's recount of the events on the school rooftop. Her description of the attack on Takato brought up a few interesting points.

First, Takato's "ability". Ruki had said Takato had used Omegamon's Grey Sword and Garuru Cannon. In fact, his very arms had become Omegamon's weapons.

Second, Takato's actions during the fight. They showed either quick thinking in the face of mortal danger or a premeditated strategy…which apparently did not work that well, in the end.

From these two points, he could propose a hypothesis: Takato was aware of this power; namely, it was not something he suddenly discovered yesterday. With this ability available to him, he devised an unfortunately flawed strategy to face the attacking Digimon. It would explain why he was on the rooftop in the first place.

However, that would imply Takato had expected the invading Digimon to make it to the school and attack him. That just did not make sense. Furthermore, did Takato really come up with a strategy to fight those Digimon in the short time after he noticed them, most likely when they reached the school gates?

In addition, there was the issue of Juri's D-Arc.

When the nurse handed Takato's clothes and the things he carried when he was picked up by the paramedics, they found not only his golden D-Arc, but Juri's as well. Juri then mentioned Takato had asked her about the D-Arc before sending her to the gym.

Why did Takato take Juri's D-Arc?

And then there was Takato's quick reaction to the situation once Ruki, Kazu and Kenta left, asking Juri to help him maintain order in the school. But that was not really suspicious, just admirable.

Still, there were too many questions. The whole situation was just too strange. Juri had said it the day before in the hospital, right?

It seemed like those Digimon were actually aiming for Takato.

In that case, why so many? There was even an Ultimate, BelialVamdemon!

The previous night, in the quietude of his bedroom, he had asked his partner.

"Terriermon…did Takato…do something? When in the Digital World? You know, something that could explain what happened today?"

Terriermon denied anything like that happening.

After a suspiciously lengthy silence.

He sighed.

He had felt like this for a while already—ever since the end of D-Reaper, he'd say—but all of sudden the feeling became uncomfortably stronger.

Takato was still clumsy and childish, and he still tripped on his own shadow from time to time, but he was no longer the shy, nervous wreck from two years ago. He could face—and even smile at—Ruki's fiercest glare, a feat he had to admit still eluded him.

But none of those things were bad; Jenrya guessed it was all part of growing up. Then, what was this uncomfortable feeling…?

The feeling that his best friend was changing into someone he was not sure he could follow.

A sudden weight on top of his head, added to the strange looks he was getting, drew him out of his gloomy thoughts.

"Wassup!"

"…Terriermon, I thought I told you not to wander by yourself."

"Tee-hee!"

The boy merely chuckled, buried his hands in his pockets and continued to walk in silence.

Curiously enough, having his partner around made his head feel much lighter.

'Moumantai', was it?


Takato silently watched the city outside the hospital room's window, purposely ignoring his mother's eyes on him.

He needed no special powers to figure out what was in her mind. He did not even need Takako's input.

She had told him, had she not? When the doctors stepped out of the operating room, the first thing they did was not to announce his wellbeing. Instead, they called for Yamaki and exchanged words away from the others, his own mother included.

He could guess that, by this point, his parents had already been briefed by Yamaki. In fact, any person with a modicum of intelligence would have noticed at some point.

Considering the injuries he took in that fight, there was no way he should be this healthy less than 36 hours later. He did not even spend a day in intensive care!

It was unsettling, to be seen by his own mother with those eyes. However, there was no point in pretending to be a mere human.

He was special. He was unique. That made him immensely happy.

If the price of being special was to carry the fate of the world on his shoulders, then so be it.

There was a knock on the door, and he sighed in response.

So, it began.

He held back on rolling his eyes when then nurse stepped in.

"I'll be taking Takato-kun for an X-ray~"

Matsuda Mie got on her feet, a frown on her face.

"I was not told anything about an X—"

The end of the sentence ended in her throat.

"I'm terribly sorry~" the merry, beautiful nurse apologized. "It was decided all of a sudden, but it shouldn't take long."

Takato did not bother hiding his feelings and offered her mother a look of pity she could not have noticed.

The emptiness in her eyes was disgusting.

"In that case, I'll go get something to eat, Takato," the woman said with an empty expression and a voice devoid of vitality as she walked to the door.

"Sure," Takato responded with a sad voice. "Take your time."

Like that, he was left alone with the nurse, which immediately became the focus of his attention.

"…you're not very subtle, are you?"

The smiling nurse tilted her head cutely.

"…what gave me away?"

Takato's facial expression screamed "are you stupid?"

"The average Japanese woman is nowhere near as tall…and definitely not that voluptuous. And Japanese women generally don't have silver hair. And I'm pretty sure the uniform's skirt is not supposed to be that short…and the dress should not show that much cleavage."

The visibly amused woman blinked a few times, and then she laughed, allowing the disguise to fade away, revealing disturbing amounts of black leather.

"Congratulations on evolving to Perfect level," Takato allowed himself to say.

He quickly came to regret it when the fallen angel jumped on the hospital bed, straddling her legs on either side of his waist.

"Thank you very much, Takato-sama."

The boy did his very best to remain unfazed by the curvaceous Digimon on top of him. Still, he could not hide the blood rushing to his face…or his uncontrollable, wandering pupils.

LadyDevimon smirked, letting Takato know that, yes, she had noticed.

"…I think I liked you best when I could pet you," Takato pouted miserably.

"Oh, who says you can't do it anymore, Takato-sama?" Her sultry voice dropped as she leaned her face closer to his. "There's now a lot more me to stroke and caress."

"I'd…rather not."

The lady in leather smirked. "I guess not. I can't have you before Lilithmon-sama."

"Joy."

LadyDevimon giggled. It sounded rather disturbing for some reason.

"Oh, Takato-sama, please never change. Now, shall we get going or will I have to knock you out?"

The boy made a face.

"That…should not be necessary."

Now, how would he get out of this one…?


With both elbows on the armrests and his entwined fingers in front of his mouth, the slightly-forward-leaning Takato opened his eyes and pierced Lucemon with a determined glare.

"…I'm ready. Let's begin."

Lucemon grinned gleefully.

"Good."

And Lilithmon shuddered.

What was this sudden atmosphere…?

It felt like electricity flowing through the air, a sudden coldness and a distant rumbling all together.

What was this tension? Why did everything seem…darker, all of a sudden?

She knew, of course, but it did not diminish the surprise in the slightest.

So far, besides Takato and Lucemon, the only ones allowed within the game room were the servants who poured tea and served pastries to the two players.

The first year it had been a Witchmon from Barbamon's army—technically, she belonged to Beelzebumon, but in his absence Barbamon had very subtly claimed possession of his horde. She was allowed to stick around for a while even after evolving to Bastemon, but Lucemon saw no point in having a Perfect fulfill the role of maid, and thus had her replaced for BlackTailmon from Lilithmon's "army", Sororité Salace.

This was Lilithmon's first time in the game room. Thus, it was the first time she was witness to it: Takato's and Lucemon's "battle".

Even if Lucemon's posture had not changed in the slightest, she could notice the sudden tenseness. It was not nervousness; it simply could not be.

Excitement? Expectation?

Even after five years of continuous playing, did the prospect of challenging Matsuda Takato still entice him so much?

BlackTailmon had shared many fascinating tales of the two's battles to her and her many "sisters". How many times had she been asked to narrate the whole story of the Tamers' fight against D-Reaper?

The female Demon Lord did not expect much from the basic move she had proposed, but, still, it was an enviable chance.

She wanted to see, with her very own two eyes…what it was that drew her lord Lucemon towards Matsuda Takato.

A fierce skirmish of words then began.

"I'll have you first verify that you recognize the move, Takato," Lucemon struck first.

It was a simple argument: if Takato did not know what was coming to him, he would not lose automatically, but he would be immediately placed at a serious disadvantage.

"Simple: LadyDevimon, disguised as an employee of the hospital, will abduct me to an unspecified location."

"Allow me to add to that statement: an unspecified location where Lilithmon of the Maou will ravish him until she's thoroughly sated."

"Thank you, Lilithmon," Takato promptly deadpanned.

"You're welcome, darling."

Lucemon nodded. "Very well. Now I will answer any questions concerning the setting. I swear on my pride I will answer with nothing but the absolute truth, in that it requires no further examination or proof. I reserve the right of choosing what and how to answer."

Takato nodded as well. It was a little protocol they had agreed upon very early in the game, and after five years Takato could be sure Lucemon would not break promises made on his fundamental pride.

"Repeat what I say: LadyDevimon is the only Digimon you have deployed in your move."

"LadyDevimon is the only Digimon I have sent after you in this move."

"That's not what I told you to say."

Lucemon's subtle smirk was as unsettling as ever.

"I never agreed to say that."

Takato nodded. So he could not fully discard the possibility of other Digimon.

"Repeat what I say: LadyDevimon is the only Digimon in the hospital."

Lucemon nodded curtly.

"At the moment, LadyDevimon is the only Digimon in the hospital."

Takato grimaced. 'At the moment'.

That could not possibly be more ambiguous. As far as he knew, a thousand Digimon could step into the hospital a second later.

Time was an aberrant concept within the game room. Most of the time it moved in tandem with the flow of time in the real world or even a little faster; when he was particularly bored at school he would often drift into the game room and waste time with Lucemon and his minions.

However, during these "game battles", time could stall almost to a standstill and lengthy periods of hostile exchange could take place in but an instant of real world time. While extremely convenient for the game itself, it was a problem for Takato: he had no way to predict the changes in the flow of time, so he never had an accurate estimate of just how much time he had to defend himself against Lucemon's moves.

So far that never seemed to be a problem for his angelic opponent, though.

"Explain LadyDevimon's mind control ability, or whatever it is she did to Mom."

Lilithmon looked at her liege, silently wondering whether she should take care of that particular explanation—she was a LadyDevimon at one point, after all. However, the fallen angel quickly answered.

"LadyDevimon's ability, Bewitching Temptation, places her victims in a state of hypnosis in which they obey her commands to the letter. This ability is unique to this specific LadyDevimon."

"Means to resist it?"

"None if the target is a human. They will even follow obviously harmful commands," Lucemon responded with a taunting smirk Takato did not react to. Instead, the young boy eased himself back in his seat, his left elbow resting on the armrest while his right hand drummed on his thigh.

"…define 'human'."

"What?" Lucemon spat out, as if Takato's latest question were some sort of bad joke.

"What I said: define 'human' for the purpose of the effect of LadyDevimon's power."

The angel frowned; it took him a moment to figure out the intent behind the question.

"Ah, I see. Yes, as partially digitalized beings, Bewitching Temptation would not succeed automatically on you, Makino Ruki, Lee Jenrya or Akiyama Ryo. However, if I were allowed to place bets, I would not bet on Ruki and Jen to be able to fight the charm, ufufufu~"

"…I see…very well."

Lucemon's smile widened just a bit. Takato was about to begin his counteroffensive.

The boy grinned mischievously.

"…when LadyDevimon flies out the window with me on tow, witnesses call the authorities. Fighter planes are deployed from Okinawa and take her down. I'm pretty sure I could survive that."

When Lucemon's eyes glowed a malevolent red for a second, Lilithmon unconsciously stepped back. However, Takato was only struck by a sharp glare.

"LadyDevimon would be gone and unreachable before anybody even considered calling the Americans. Don't be ridiculous, Takato."

Takato shrugged. "Lost nothing by trying."

"Only my humor."

"I'm not here to entertain you, Lucemon," Takato pointed out before leaning closer to the center table, his right arm reaching for the chess board. "But, if what you want is a serious move, well, here it goes! My move!"

Lucemon leaned closer as well. He was ready.

Takato reached for his most reliable piece and lift it off the board.

"Ruki arrives to my room before LadyDevimon leaves with—"

Lucemon slammed a piece in the empty space in front of where Ruki's piece had stood.

"Makino Ruki will not make it to the hospital in time," Lucemon stated with sickening glee, thoroughly enjoying Takato's stunned expression.

It was time to play.


In the real world, without any hint or possible explanation, a Digital Field came into existence around Makino Ruki.

Lucemon would later point out that her expression was strikingly similar to Takato's in that moment.

Panic naturally ensued, as the citizens of Shinjuku were already well acquainted with the significance of this fog appearing out of nowhere.

Ruki's mobile then rang, and the girl almost rolled her eyes at that. She knew Hypnos could track her via GPS, so they were probably calling to tell her a Digimon was Realizing in her vicinity, like she could not see that herself.

The girl noticed the area was very quickly becoming eerily empty—if anything, Japanese were quickly to react in response to a threat. Buildings would be locked and those inside would remain as quiet and still as possible and pray for the best.

With situations like this suddenly sprouting out again, how could they convince anyone to see Digimon as anything other than a threat?

"Ruki," the disembodied voice of Renamon spoke to her right ear.

"I know, I know."

She ran.

The time when she faced the incoming enemy face to face like some sort of superhero was over.

An ambush was just so much more efficient.

But then she stopped.

It was cold.

An annoyingly familiar, unsettling kind of cold.


Takato stared at Lucemon's newest piece for a while.

"…you are a sick bastard, did you know that?"

"From you, I'll take it as a compliment. But, my dear Takato, I do not think you have time to worry about your best friend right now."

Lucemon was right.

In all honesty, the predicament placed before Ruki was not really that worrisome. Ruki ate Adult-level Digimon for breakfast. On the other side, it still meant she would not make it in time to save him.

It was not like he could reach his D-Arc and cards in the hospital room's closet; there was no way LadyDevimon would allow him to and, even if he somehow managed to get them, he did not trust his fortune against a Perfect Digimon of her caliber.

Takato decided to try Plan B. He could already see how it would end up, though.

He reached for another piece.

"Jen has quite a few questions he wants to ask me, so he hurries up to the hospital, making it just in ti—"

"Lee Jenrya will not make it to the hospital in time."


A beacon of stillness surrounded by people hurrying in every direction, Jenrya picked his ringing mobile.

"Lee Jenrya,"

"It's me," Janyuu's voice came out of the speaker. "I guess you can see it."

"Yeah," the boy muttered as he took the sight of the expanding Field around him. "Leave it to me."

"There's another Field. It just…happened to appear where Ruki-san was."

"I…see. Keep an eye on things from Hypnos, please."

"Sure thing."

Jenrya hung up and then pocketed his mobile.

"Jen, frowning so much can't be good for you."

The half-Japanese only shook his head.

This cannot be a weird coincidence—

His thoughts came to a halt when a sudden hypothesis struck his mind.

"Could it be…?"

No matter how little sense it made, the very fact the thought had come to him bothered him. If it was true, then…


Takato carefully concealed his smile by covering his lips with the side of his right hand.

"Let me guess," he spoke out, doing his very best to look dismayed. "No matter what piece I move, you'll just stall them with a weak piece."

Lucemon's grin revealed two rows of perfect white teeth.

"There will be nobody to save you, Takato," he taunted with a darkly sweet tone. "Come on, why don't you try another piece? You could have Hirokazu and Kenta go together…"

Takato shook his head while staring at the game board. It would not make sense to use those two—even if Kenta had an Ultimate for a partner, he would immediately succumb to LadyDevimon's power. Even worse, Lucemon might stop using weak Digimon to stall and send an Ultimate against MarineAngemon.

"How about Katou-san or little Shao-chan, kukukuku~?"

Takato looked at Juri's piece. Lilithmon's piece was standing next to it.

"Very well, Katou-san is supposed to be missing, right? She actually went ahead of everyone else and is currently the closest to the hospital."

Lucemon snorted.

"Not that she would make any difference, but just for the sake of being thorough, Takako is walking to the hospital with her and delays the two's arrival—"

"That won't happen," Lilithmon declared, quickly turning her head away from Lucemon's frightening glare.

"And why would that be?"

"You will excuse me, milord, but there is no conceivable way you could justify Takako not wanting to reach her onii-sama's side as soon as possible."

Takato made a gesture with his left hand as if presenting Lilithmon.

"There you have it."

"Tch," Lucemon clicked his tongue. "It matters not; Katou Juri cannot save you."

"Oh, I know that; just wanted to rile you up a little."

Lilithmon had to cover her mouth and stifle her laughter.

What to make of this fearless human, who could speak to the most terrible of demon lords in such an insolent manner?

Regardless, Lucemon was very good at keeping his cool demeanor.

"I would advise against further stalling, Takato. You're out of both options and time."

The fallen angel made a gesture to present the lockdown on the board.

"None, and I mean none, of your Tamer friends can help you. LadyDevimon could walk out the front entrance with you if she wanted to, and nobody would stop her!"

The blond angel giggled. It was sounded cute, of course, but the darker undertone was unmistakable.

"To think that you would succumb to such a simple move, Takato…it's disappointing…" he shrugged. "…but, it was it was silly of me to expect some sort of dramatic finale as well." He shook his head in contempt. "I guess that, after D-Reaper and your little trip to the Digital World, I expect a little too much from you—"

"Haa, that won't do."

Lucemon frowned, deeply and darkly. He did not like being interrupted.

Takato had taken a posture eerily similar to Lucemon's, his right leg elegantly crossed over the leg, his left elbow on the armrest and the left side of his jaw gently resting on the longer knuckles of his left hand.

Even his smile, Lilithmon thought, was the kind of thing she would expect to see on her liege's face.

"…that just won't do at all," Takato continued, taunting his terrible opponent with the dancing mirth in his honey-colored pupils.

Lucemon, the one who apparently had the advantage, suddenly looked tense and disturbed. He wanted to see Takato desperate! Whimpering in the corner he had been pushed into!

Where was this confidence coming from!

Lilithmon quietly watched the exchange with hitched breath. She feared Lucemon might erase her if she uttered a word at this point.

But, it was so delightful!

"My move," Takato declared.

"Speak," Lucemon replied with a steely tone. It somehow made Takato's smile all the more villainous.

"After Katou-san, Ruki was the next to leave towards the hospital—"

"Makino Ruki will NOT make it in time!" the demon lord howled, slamming his small palm on both armrests, the Digital Hazard marks on them glowing menacingly. "Do not make me repeat myself, Takato!"

"Oh, but that's exactly what I'll do."

The two opponents stared at each other, both of them harboring poorly restrained emotions. Lilithmon could almost the sparks flying between them and roaring over the game board.

"…say it again, Lucemon. Makino Ruki will not make it in time," the smirking Takato prodded, much to Lucemon's annoyance.

"And just what are you trying to achieve by—"

Whatever it was Lucemon realized, Lilithmon did not. She only had eyes for the expression of gaping shock in the normally unflappable leader of the Maou; the kind of expression she had always believed the great Lucemon was fundamentally incapable of displaying.

It screamed 'why didn't I see something so stupidly obvious?'

But it was too late.

In a flash of motion, Takato reached for a piece and slammed it in front of his king.

"This!" He roared with the conviction of the victor. "Is my move!"


"Well, Takato-sama, it's about time we get going," LadyDevimon announced, getting off Takato's lap and the bed with slow, sensuous moves, as it was expected of her.

Even if he were not in the situation he was currently in, Takato would have probably not felt enticed at all. Looking at the lascivious she-devil sauntering around the bed to make her way to the window, he could only see the obedient little BlackTailmon whose ears he enjoyed scratching.

It was rather disturbing.

"We could make our way down the stairs and leave via the front entrance if I wanted to, but this window is just so convenient—"

"Touhakken!" were the first words the leather-clad fallen angel heard the moment she opened the window.

There was something strangely satisfying about the sight of LadyDevimon being sent flying across the room, through the door and onto the wall across the adjacent corridor.

"Matsuda Takato."

The boy on the hospital bed offered the newcomer a pleasant smile as he reached for the IV line in his left arm. It was time to leave, after all.

"Good day, Renamon. You made it just in the nick of time."


"This is…this cannot be right!" Lucemon loudly claimed.

"I'm not done," Takato quipped, reaching for yet another of his pawns.


"No fair, Renamon!" Terriermon moaned as he flew into the room, flapping his long ears. "You stole my heroic entrance!"

"Save it for later!" Takato urgently called out. "Renamon, carry me and get us out of here; Terriermon, my Digivice and cards are in the closet!"

"Aye aye, captain!"

"You're not getting away!" the Perfect's voice roared from outside the room.

"Move, move, MOVE!"

"It's easy to bark when you're not the one doing the moving!"

"Not now, Terriermon!"

"Darkness Wave!"

Like a scene out of an action movie, two Digimon—one of them carrying a human—leapt out of the hospital window just before it was flooded with obsidian bats which then burst and flooded the room with vile flames.

"Oh, yeah, just like the old times!"

Takato rolled his eyes.

"Glad to see at least one of us is enjoying himself!"

"Tee-hee!"


"And, like that, I have made it out of the hospital on my own, and not as LadyDevimon's hostage," Takato calmly declared. "Now, if you intend to have her pursue and continue this round, please go ahead. I'm ready for that as well."

A rather flustered Lilithmon stared at Takato with a hand on her voluptuous chest.

"…oh my…" she whispered, fanning herself. "…it's kinda hot in here…"

Lucemon was still staring at the game board, as if trying to find something he had failed to see so far. After a long period of quietness, the angelic Digimon sighed and chuckled darkly.

"So, is that it?" he began, fixing his unsettling stare on Takato. "You're finally willing to remove one of your handicaps?"

"Not in the slightest," Takato pointedly declared.

Noticing Lucemon's slightly startled expression, the boy's own expression became determined and almost vicious.

"I said it since the very beginning," he remarked, his right hand slowly moving to point at the fallen angel. "I will defeat you without sacrificing any other piece but mine, Lucemon!"

Of course, unlike Lucemon, to whom all pieces were disposable, Takato would cherish each and every single of his pieces, for they were also part of the world he wanted to protect.

However, Takato had not said "winning without sacrificing."

He was a realist: his opponent was Lucemon; there was no way he would be able to make it through this game unscathed.

Sometimes, in strategy, sacrifices have to be made. However, if that was to happen, he would be the one to make them.

If anyone had to suffer, then it would be him.

If anyone had to cry, then it would be him.

If anyone had to bleed, then it would be him.

Lucemon's opponent was him, Matsuda Takato. Nobody else should have to suffer the weight of that burden.

That was the boy's pride.

"Then explain yourself!" Lucemon demanded. "By taking their partners away when confronted by an enemy Digimon, aren't you sacrificing your friends!"

"Don't be silly," Takato chided. "What would be the point of saving Renamon and Terriermon and letting their Tamers die, anyway? Digimon and Tamer act as a pair; there is no point in choosing one over the other."

He smiled at the fallen angel, but the smile was not really directed at him. It was a smile of fondness and remembrance…and maybe even a little pride as well.

"You know, Lucemon?" the former Tamer said. "Those two…with enough clues, they don't need 24 hours to figure it out."

Yes, Matsuda Takato was very proud of his pieces.

"They're way smarter than silly old Gogglehead, after all."


It had been a repetition of that day she tried to never remember.

Instead of random Digimon, she had found her fellow Tamers and their partners captured in prisons of ice, their forms emaciated and exhausted as their very vitality was sapped.

She had even seen her own partner in one of those ice prisons, which was simply stupid, having sent Renamon away just seconds before.

Seriously, if they intended to trap her in an illusion, they could at least afford to be consistent.

Though, she would admit, the twist at the end was interesting. Instead of the hateful Digimon from her past, in the center of this museum of frozen misery, calmly sat her best friend, mocking her with a positively vicious smirk.

For a second, Ruki believed Takato had finally snapped and wanted to get back at her for all the time she had beaten him.

It wouldn't surprise her, really; even she knew the only reason their friendship worked was because he was so damn accepting of her pushy, aggressive ways.

Then she mentally kicked herself. Of course this could not be Takato; she had just stated why. The silly Gogglehead would complain and mutter ill words under his breath, but it would be all just part of their game.

Hadn't he said it at some point? He had fun when he was with her.

Even if she beat him on a regular basis—sometimes just for the sake of beating him; it just didn't feel natural not to do so anymore.

The fake Takato said something at some point; she was not really paying attention. Probably some sort of taunt about how scared she should be or whatever.

Since her earliest Tamer days, she had gotten into the habit of placing the cards of her battle deck in a very specific order, which she then memorized. She thought it was an obvious strategy. Thus, she did not need to look at the stack of cards to pick the ones she wanted.

This is why, at about the same time "evil Takato" (she would have to make fun of her best friend with this at some point, seriously; it was fucking hilarious) finished his spiel, she slashed her Rosemon card.

"Ivy Hug."

She could not help but grin at the sight of the grunting "evil Takato" straining himself against the vine bondage.

"I have to give you credit for the illusion; you look about as pathetic as I would've expected."

"Wha-what are you-let me go!"

"No way~"

The fake actually got noticeably paler when Rosemon's Thorn Whip came into existence in Ruki's right hand.

"You see, I always hold back with Takato; he's my best friend, and I kinda like him, so I don't really mean to hurt him…of course, I'd never say that to him; it would get all the way to his moronic, goggle-headed brain."

Her grin became utterly diabolic.

"A shame you're not him, huh?"

"No! You! You-you wouldn't dare—hii!"

She had not even touched him yet; she had just struck the concrete by her feet.

"Ooh, nice sound." The girl trembled with the excitement of a child before a mountain of Christmas presents. "I bet it sounds even better when it hits you."

"Whaa-noooooo!"

Indeed, it made a most impressive sound when it struck soft flesh.

"Ahahaha! I swear; I had a dream just like this!"


"…" Lucemon.

"…" Lilithmon.

"…allow me to point out: that girl sometimes scares the living shit out of me."

"Amen, brother."

The two boys in the game room nodded in a strange form of male bonding.

"…she's holding it wrong."

Takato and Lucemon stared at the female demon lord with identical flat expressions.

"Let's…" Lucemon finally spoke. "…let's just check on Jenrya, alright?"

"Please," Takato eagerly agreed.


Jenrya's enemy was FlaWizarmon.

Jenrya's enemy was getting his ass kicked.

This Digimon, as his name would imply, is an expert on fire techniques, and excels at bombarding his enemies from medium- to long-range. His Magic Ignition is particularly dangerous, being a relatively fast technique affecting a substantially large area.

However, FlaWizarmon is a caster, not a melee fighter.

After using High Speed Plug-In T, Jenrya was fast enough to prevent the Digimon from invoking his special attacks.

Also, conveniently enough, FlaWizarmon was one of the rare Digimon who happens to not possess particularly tough skin or wear armor.

The Digimon clad in red bent forward when the boy buried his right fist in his gut. Jenrya quickly retracted the arm and unleashed again, this time for a nasty uppercut. Thanks to the effect of the card, his blows carried a fearsome momentum.

FlaWizarmon stumbled back a few steps and was then struck by Jenrya's left elbow right in the middle of his chest, stumbling back two more steps before being smacked on the face by the boy's left palm.

It was disappointingly one-sided, really.


"He practices martial arts, you know," Takato stated the obvious. "I knew that would come in handy at some point."

Lucemon responded with a flat stare which easily portrayed how not amused he was. However, his immediate response was a dismissing gesture.

"Well, it matters little anyway; I expected them to figure it out sooner or later." He shrugged and eased back on his golden throne. "Regardless, the stalling is still successful and, like you said, LadyDevimon can still chase after you."

As the words came out of his lips, Lucemon's expression returned to his usual, subtly mocking smirk.

"So, how will you deal with that? Perfect or Ultimate?"

"Oh, no, no, no…" Takato shook his head as he chuckled, to further Lucemon's uneasiness and Lilithmon's arousal. "A fight won't be necessary."

"I'll use one of the best weapons you have given me, Lucemon."

The fallen angel frowned. He did not know what Takato was referring to.

He did not like not knowing things.

He did not like walking in the dark.

But he still pressed forward, commanding his piece to chase after his fearsome opponent. Besides, even in loss, forcing Takato to use new strategies and reveal new trump cards was already a victory in a way.

That was Lucemon's pride.


Renamon and Terriermon landed on ground level near a belt of bushes surrounding most of the hospital's perimeter. Takato immediately took the D-Arc and cards from the smaller Child, right at the same time LadyDevimon flew out of the window and gently began to fall.

It was relatively empty just outside the hospital, or at least that portion of the hospital's surroundings, and the evil Digimon's appearance promptly drove what few people remained to depart as quickly as possible. Takato inferred that the ones inside the building were still within LadyDevimon's thrall.

"Takato!" Terriermon urged. "Make me evolve! I can kick her round and shapely ass!"

Both human and Digimon ignored Renamon's unnerving stare. Takato tried to ease down his two Digimon guardians with a calm smile.

"That…won't be necessary."

Both Digimon looked in the same direction, where LadyDevimon had landed, and noticed something. They were not sure it was what Takato wanted them to see—they were not even sure Takato was trying to show them anything—, but there was undeniably something different about LadyDevimon. Did she even notice she was leaning away from them, even as she stood on the spot?

Was she…flinching?

"I see you understand," Takato spoke, his words aimed at the one who aimed to kidnap him. "I'm glad."

LadyDevimon made an odd face in response to Takato's gentle, relaxed expression—half-scowl, half-pout.

Renamon narrowed her gaze and tried to get a better read of the leather-clad Digimon.

What was that? Nervousness? Fear? Uncertainty?

Whatever it was, Renamon could not understand why it was there.

"The…they…" the Perfect Digimon stammered in a way most unexpected from her. "They're just…Child-level…"

Renamon's mouth opened just a bit, but no words came out, restraining themselves to the walls of her mind.

She…has no will to fight.

Takato tilted his head, as if to say "yeah, so what?"


"Wha…what's going on?" It was Lilithmon who asked the question Lucemon wanted to ask as well. "Why doesn't she attack?"

"I have two Digimon with me."

"They're just Child-level!" the Goddess of Darkness repeated her minion's weak argument.

"They can evolve," Takato placidly offered.

"She can attack before they evolve!" Lilithmon insisted, and Takato nodded.

"And you're completely right. To be honest, if she decided to attack on her own initiative, I would be in serious trouble."

"But LadyDevimon will not attack Matsuda Takato on her own initiative."

Takato's words carried the weight of one who speaks the absolute, irrefutable truth.

"And why is that?" Lucemon asked in a quiet and cold tone. "Don't tell me it's something stupid like she fell for you or…"

"Don't be ridiculous," Takato dismissed that thought with a snort. "It's your fault, you know? The fact she's like this."

Lucemon frowned. He honestly could not get it. Then again, not even the greatest of demon lords can hope to completely understand the way the mind works.

"She worked as our servant for years, pouring tea and offering cookies," Takato began his explanation. "As a consequence, she was in a unique position to watch the game unfold."

"She watched us fight each other, round after round after round. She was lucky enough to be around to be here when I created Guilmon, and she was present to watch me and my friends defeat D-Reaper."

"She watched me fight you, Lucemon. She watched me match you. And most importantly, she watched me beat you."

Takato's smile widened at the look of realization on the two demon lords' faces. He needed not say more.

LadyDevimon would not attack Takato because she was scared. Not of Takato himself—he is still mostly a puny human—, but of the image of Takato she has created in her mind.

She's scared of the idea of fighting Lucemon's opponent.

She was scared of the one person the great Lucemon acknowledged as his nemesis; the one person Lucemon could tolerate in his presence for almost all of his time; the one person Lucemon wanted to be with, wanted to fight with.

It was one thing to sneak her way to Takato's side and seize him away from a hospital bed. The current standoff was a different issue. Takato was no longer incapacitated and harmless.

Takato finished his most incredible of ultimatums.

"To LadyDevimon, and to those she has shared her thoughts with, Matsuda Takato has become Lucemon's equal."

Lilithmon went utterly stiff. Then she took a step back, and another one, and then left the game room, swallowed by her own shadow.

She needed to sit down, somewhere.

Meanwhile, Lucemon trembled on his throne. He had not expected much of this round of play, it being Lilithmon's poorly thought move and everything. He would have been disappointed if Takato had not defeated such a simple move.

But, to lose in such a humiliating way…! To lose to poorly made attacks, and to circumstances he created himself…!

Lucemon's face became a kaleidoscope, shifting between burning shame, deranged glee, pathetic stupor and disturbing ecstasy.

"Takato…" he hissed. "Takato, Takato, Takato, Takato…Takatoooooooooo!"

He was furious, embarrassed, and oh so very, very happy!

Throughout this entire display, Takato's own expression never changed.

A content smile; he was not one to brag about winning such a basic round.

Still, he had to make it official.

"This round is mine, Lucemon."

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

No other sound but the fallen angel's unhinged laughter filled the small game room.


CHAPTER 02 - TO BE CONTINUED


OMAKE – Tokimeki Babylonica, Chapter One

"Onii-chan~" a melodious and sweet whisper filled his ears. "Onii-chan, it's time to wake up~"

That was the first clue something was horribly wrong.

"Onii-chan, you better get up or there will be no breakfast for you~"

Okay, now he definitely had to open his eyes if only to find out what was up with those clichéd lines.

"Mou, onii-chan, if you're not waking up, you leave no choice! Morning chuu~"

He was getting up, like, now.

He opened his eyes and, as expected, a puckering Kuroyama Takako was leaning dangerous close to his lips…!

"I'm up! I'm up, up, up! So very up!"

Takato, clad in only boxers, and already very exhausted even if his day had begun only seconds ago, glared at the obviously disappointed young girl clad in the familiar school uniform.

"Muu…" Takako pouted cutely. "Onii-chan, you mweanie."

"What are you doing in my room! And what's with the strange speech!"

"Eh? What are you talking about, onii-chan?"

"That! That 'onii-chan' thing! What happened to 'onii-sama'? I liked 'onii-sama'!"

"Eh? But, onii-chan has always been onii-chan…" Suddenly the girl paused, tensed, and finally blushed beet red. "Ah…"

Takato's face, a mixture of fear and apprehension, only deepened when the girl began to tap the tips of her fingers together and smile sheepishly.

And he had thought his sister could not get any creepier!

"Bu-but, if onii-chan's into that kind of play…Takako…Takako can call you 'onii-sama'…kyan~!"

"Wah! No! Ugh!" Takato face palmed. He did not deserve a headache so early in the morning. "Why are you even here in the first place?"

"Eh? What do you mean? Takako wakes up onii-ch—onii-sama every morning…" the girl earnestly replied, her face adopting a shy expression when she changed the honorific.

"What do you mean, 'every mor'…?"

That was when he realized he was not in his room.

His room was not this large or spacious. Neither was his bookshelf. And he was pretty sure he did not have a PC.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Are? Onii-sama, what are you saying?" Takako giggled as she spoke. "Are you still half-sleep? Get changed quickly, breakfast will get cold."

A few seconds later, Takato was alone in this alien room. Silently, he watched his apparently safe surroundings.

"…Lucemon's behind this. Somehow."


A small ball of flames floated over Takato's chair in the game room. It rapidly grew and changed into Takato's shape, until the boy was fully formed.

Lucemon put down the portable game console he had been dawdling with in Takato's absence.

"Good morning, Takato," he greeted merrily.

"What. Did you do?"

"Hmm, I wonder~" the smiling, child-like demon lord looked away not looking in the least sincere.

Takato slammed the table, and the pieces jumped on the chess board.

"As your opponent, I demand to know the nature of this move!"

Lucemon promptly frowned.

"Pooh, you're no fun."

Still, he explained.

"I decided to try something different for this summer…mostly because I wanna catch up on my pile of unfinished videogames."

"…your what?"

"My pile of unfinished videogames," Lucemon repeated unceremoniously.

"…that's…so fucking unfair!" Takato reminded us that, after all, he's still a child. "How come you get to have fun with videogames while I have to torture myself with your game!"

The angel shrugged.

"That's what you get for wasting your time in other worthless endeavors such as school or sleep."

"If I didn't need to sleep we'd just play 24/7!"

"We do play 24/7; nothing stops me from making a move while you're sleeping."

"…you're a jerk, did you know that?"

"I love you too, Takato. Now, as I was saying," Lucemon continued. "I have created a game for you to enjoy; a…'world within a world', we could say."

"The real you is still sleeping, and time is frozen in your original world…well, it's more like, this game room is disconnected from every other world, so time's rather meaningless. Anyway, you don't have to worry about the real world or the real you. I promise I won't make any moves on that world; like I said, I have games to play."

"…okay…" Takato accepted the words, while still feeling a little uneasy. "So, how do I get out of this new world and back to mine?"

"Fulfill the winning conditions~" Lucemon declared, picking his portable console again and ending the pause on whatever it was he was playing. A rendition of some classical theme Takato could not recognize came out of the speakers.

"Which are…?"

"You already have all the information you need~" Lucemon replied, never taking his eyes off the game screen.

"I don't even know what kind of game this is!"

"You already have all the information you need~"

Takato held back on growling at the infuriating angel and decided to use his brain; that worked most of the time.

"Let's see, so far I've only woken up…in a bedroom…by my little sister…"

One plus one equals…

"…no. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no…"

Still looking at his videogame, Lucemon snickered at Takato's vocal reaction to the truth he had to face.

"You wouldn't!" Takato cried desperately. "You wouldn't!"

More snickering.

"Ah, who am I kidding, of course you would."

"Have fun~"

"I hate you."

"That's great, dear. Now go, shoo! You have girls to capture~"


Back in "his bedroom", Takato considered his options.

He was in a galge. If there was a flickering shard of mercy in Lucemon's vestige of a soul, it was an all-ages one.

Then he was reminded of the simple fact of Lucemon being a dick, and he immediately assumed the worst possible scenario.

Takato knew that, if anything, Lucemon was thorough. That meant there would be absolutely no other way out of this world other than the way Lucemon dictated.

He had to "win" at this game.

The question then was, did he need to capture all the possible girls, or just get a single not-bad ending?

Once again, he assumed the worst possible scenario.

This would take a while.

So far, he could assume Takako was one of the possible "conquests", by virtue of being: a) his little sister; and b) the very first person he met in this world.

…how did he know all this crap? He had never played a galge before.

The ridiculous thing from the Modern Culture Studies Club did not count.

Most definitely not.

"Lucemon, you're filling my brain with all this galge knowledge, aren't you?"

Takato could hear the fallen angel laughing his milky white ass off in his head.

"…you sick bastard. Anyway, I better get ready for school, after all."

It was not hard to imagine this game worked with the standard school setting. He would meet most, if not all, of his targets there.

"But first, it's rather dark and stuffy in here," Takato muttered before reaching for the close curtains and opening the window…

"There. Let the morning breeze pour in—ah."

He was so used to his window looking at a plain, dirty wall in a side alley that he forgot to consider that this window might look at something else.

Like another house. Or another window in that other house.

Or the bedroom beyond that other window in that other house.

Or the girl in underwear getting dressed in the bedroom beyond that other window in that other house.

But, really, how did he not see this coming?

Takato deserves credit for remaining astoundingly calm while the girl in question went through the compulsory stages following the standard peeping scene.

Surprise.

Embarrassment.

Realization.

RAGE.

The calm boy raised a hand in salutation.

"Mornin', Ruki—gebogh!"

The chosen projectile was a hairbrush.

"Pervert! DIE!"

Ah, so she's playing that kind of character… Takato mused as he traveled on a collision course with the floor.


To be continued...?