I recall saying a while back how the Tamers were hard for me to write... Now it seems I'm not really writing anyone but them. I'm so loving this group right now. It seems like I'm really getting past my writer's block now. On to more storytelling!
Breaking Point
Okay, maybe they weren't all ultimates, but the approaching digimon still meant trouble. They were dramon, like the one the Tamers had just fought beforehand. Two Maildramon. The children readied for the battle, sending WarGrowlmon and Taomon out front. The chosen digimon were more than prepared as the Maildramon shouted out a warcry.
WarGrowlmon calmly charged up his blasters while Taomon drew out her brush. The Maildramon were simple-minded, not even true champions. One ran right into WarGrowlmon's fire, while the other stayed its course while Taomon painted her talisman. Neither armour digimon survived.
The Tamers continued, gaining their confidence, and unanimously deciding to simply follow the directions their enemies were coming from. They didn't know where else they could possibly go. It wasn't as if one of the random light streams would be a direct gate to Corvusmon's base. The children walked across the valley patiently. There wasn't much of a reason to rush anything, despite the subtly growing tension between them. They hardly spoke to each other.
Takato was worried for his friends, namely Henry. Rika seemed to have returned to her old habit of shutting herself off in her own thoughts. The digimon walked with their senses ever trained on the surrounding terrain, waiting for another enemy to show its face. They had soon left the valley and came upon a gloomy forest. The air was quiet save for the stomping of WarGrowlmon.
The two chosen ultimates soon became rigid, waiting for a telltale roar or surprise attack. They may have been prepared for a fight, feeling the enemy come near, but the abrupt cracking of earth still caught them off guard. Out of the ground burst a new digimon. The force of its appearance shook the children from their feet, though Takato still managed to keep his eyes trained on the newcomer. He gave a sharp cry when he saw Henry airborne. The enemy had come up from right beneath the boy, throwing him high. The creature, a long, wooden-textured, serpentine beast with grass for fur and leaves for fingers, drew itself out of the ground rapidly, stretching its head into the air after Henry. Seeing the boy's danger, WarGrowlmon ran forward and threw himself into the new digimon, knocking it off balance.
Henry came down upon the creature, planting his feet on its head and rolling forward. He jumped off the dramon just before it teetered over onto the ground. Still falling fast, Henry knew at the height he was at, he would land with broken ankles. He snatched at the nearest branch, slowing down his momentum considerably, but still let go soon enough for his weight to carry him to the next lower branch. He grabbed on, hung there for a moment, and then let himself drop from four feet up.
Takato gave a sigh of relief when he saw Henry land safely, and then jumped to his feet in concern when he saw his friend collapse to his knees.
"Petaldramon!" Rika suddenly said behind him. She had the sense to look up the new digimon's data. "A Plant type digimon, ultimate level. Special attack Thorn Jab. Huh, that sounds painful."
"We've probably wandered right into its territory." Takato said as he ran over to Henry. Kneeling beside his friend, he asked, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," the dark haired boy replied simply before turning to check the continuing battle from where he sat. Rika came up and knelt on Henry's other side. They watched breathlessly as WarGrowlmon wrestled with Petaldramon. The red digimon had a firm grip around his foe, trying to hold it still. Taomon hovered nearby and readied to attack.
But then the creature stretched out its wooden tail and plunged it into the ground, again shaking the earth. Takato stared on in confusion for a moment until he noticed Petaldramon was gazing in their direction, in spite of WarGrowlmon. The quaking intensified, and Takato heard a cry beside him preceding a sudden push. He was sent off his feet from the pure force of the shove, and landed hard on his stomach. The din of earth rending sounded behind him. And then came a sudden yelp that tied a knot in his stomach.
Takato spun, horrified. "Henry!"
From the broken ground, Petaldramon's tail had spawned countless wooden roots from under Henry's feet. They had lashed upward, wrapping along his legs and around his torso. He was lifted roughly into the air as they tightened. Henry struggled desperately, trying to tear the wooden tendrils off him, but he only succeeded in getting his arms ensnared as well. Petaldramon, now securing its prey, to retrieve its tail, back underground.
WarGrowlmon wouldn't have it. He rammed hard into the enemy digimon, reengaging the wrestling match. He hoped to distract Petaldramon, in which it would relinquish its grip on the boy. The plan backfired. WarGrowlmon only succeeded in keeping his opponent from drawing Henry underground; Petaldramon tightened its hold instead. Henry cried out again as the air was squeezed further out of him. Takato and Rika ran up, disregarding any danger to themselves. They tried desperately to free their friend, and began grabbing and kicking at the mass of roots entangling him.
"Hang in there, Henry!" Rika said as their friend's shouts weakened into groans, his eyes clamped shut in pain.
Takato's grip on a certain wooden tendril slipped, and he fell back into a sitting position. His hands had come away dirty, stinging with splinters and scraped by the stickers that covered the bark. "They're just like normal tree roots and thorn bushes…" He observed.
Rika picked up on his train of thought, and called up to her partner, "Taomon! Help us out here!"
Without missing a beat, the anthropomorphic fox glided over, raising her hand. "Talisman Star!"
Taomon gracefully hurled the weapon at the base of the roots. The ninja-star-like blade merely bounced off of Petaldramon's tendrils, surprising the one who threw it. The children looked on in dismay, momentarily stumped until a choked gasp came from their captive friend.
"Hang on!" Takato cried, glancing up at Henry. "We're not giving up yet!"
Henry peeled one of his eyes halfway open, looking down at Takato to show that he heard. The goggle head saw that his friend's hands were purple, his skin swelling from the pressure of the wooden tendrils. Henry's face was distorted with pain and turning colour from a lack of air. The sight caused Takato to panic. He looked for his partner.
"WarGrowlmon! We need your help!"
"I'm sorry... Takato..." The red digimon replied, still struggling with his enemy. "But if I let Petaldramon go, he'll escape with Henry."
Takato ruffled his hair with his hands, desperate. "Rika! Ideas?"
"Hey!" Impmon's voice came in reply. "You didn't forget about me, did you?"
Takato looked just in time to watch Impmon stretch out his hands.
"Infernal Funnel!"
The rookie summoned up a sphere of fire, and sent it careening in Henry's direction. The ball crashed into the main mass of wooden roots, engulfing them in flames. Petaldramon let out a sudden shriek at the attack, which was accompanied by a final anguished scream from Henry as the dramon gave one more squeeze. The enemy released its prey at last and retrieved its tail in an attempt to put out the flames. Henry dropped to the ground, but Takato ignored this for the moment. He was focused on putting an end to this enemy.
"WarGrowlmon! Now's your chance. Take him out!"
"You go too, Taomon!" Rika followed up.
Impmon, not to be outdone, jumped forward with the other two.
WarGrowlmon, backing away from where he had Petaldramon pinned down, let out an enraged roar, "Atomic Blaster!"
"Talisman of Light!"
"Night of Fire!"
Through their combined efforts, the enemy was dispersed. The Tamers breathed a collective sigh of relief, but they weren't ready to relax. Takato spun on his heel and searched for Henry. The dark-haired boy lay limp in the same place where he had first fallen. They ran over to his side, trying hard to keep under control. Henry had that look about him again, the half-dead atmosphere. Takato recalled it from when Henry first dedigivolved from GreyXaldramon. It was a look that made him seem like he wouldn't ever wake up.
The children knelt around him, horror-struck by his appearance. The skin of his arms was streaked with a swollen red, as if he were diseased. Scrapes and small puncture wounds marred skin and clothes alike. Only his neck and upward, where the roots didn't reach, were left relatively unharmed. Still, there were so many scratches, all of them bleeding… It was alarming, despite the fact that most of them were superficial. Takato didn't fail to notice that his own hands were torn up from his frantic struggle to free his friend.
"Henry?" Rika ventured this time. The boy didn't respond. Takato held his breath as she tried again, this time reaching with her hand, bloodied as well by the thorns. She had no sooner laid her hand on his shoulder than Henry's eyes suddenly opened and he sucked in a deep breath. A wince followed. Takato recognized the cloudy look in his friend's expression, and scooted a step back as Henry sat up. It was the same look he had awoken with before their first meeting with Aquarimon. It filled Takato with foreboding; yet, he built up the will to speak.
"Hey... Henry?"
The dark-haired boy blinked, and turned his head to look Takato in the eye. The goggle-head examined his friend's look for an instant. That was a sort of normal Henry face. A very pained one. The fogginess in his eyes was gone.
"How're you feeling, pal?" Impmon asked.
Henry shifted his gaze to meet the rookie's. Impmon frowned at the lack of further reply. There was a moment of breathless silence, and then they realized Henry was slowly falling to the side. Rika caught him by the shoulders as he faded and straightened him, letting him lean on her. He didn't for long.
Shrugging her hand from his shoulders, Henry gave an attempt to stand, mumbling, "I'm fine."
He got to his feet only to fall back to his knees, gasping through his teeth. His limbs, which had fallen asleep under the pressure of Petaldramon's roots, came to life with a furious fire. The slightest movement was unbearable.
"Don't push yourself," Takato said gently.
"It's nothing," Henry snapped. Frustration riddled his voice. There was another collective pause, and then Henry tried again. He forced himself to stay standing. The others watched him closely as his body wavered from side to side.
"I shouldn't have come back," Henry said gloomily after a moment of catching his breath.
"Don't say that," Takato countered. "I know you can help us soon. You just need to get back into fighting mode."
The dark-haired boy shook his head, saying dryly, "Remember what happened last time?"
Takato sighed. There was no way of arguing when Terriermon came into the picture. Terriermon... Takato remembered his first time meeting the little digimon. That horrible day when he first lost track of Guilmon. You must not be a very good Digimon Tamer, if you can't even keep track of one digimon... What? What? It's not my fault if he's dense-headed, riiight?
Takato found that his eyes were tearing up. He missed Terriermon as well, even though he couldn't comprehend what Henry was going through. Yet, what would the little digimon say if he saw his partner like this? Probably a nice, long, drawn-out "Mou-man-tai." Takato didn't have to think long to decide against using Terriermon's catchphrase. It was too early. Still, as he watched Henry war with his conscience, Takato knew his friend needed something to help him out of it. Anything. Takato approached, though not in full confidence. He knew he wasn't the best at forming his words.
He came up behind Henry, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's okay. I know you'll come through. We understand, Henry."
The dark-haired boy's head snapped to the side as he gave Takato a fierce glare over his shoulder. The goggle head jerked his hand back like he had touched the stove, and his look turned apologetic. Takato proved himself right; he wasn't the best at words. He shifted backwards slightly as Henry slowly turned to face him. The corners of Takato's mouth lifted a touch in a crooked, innocent grin. Or rather his attempt at one. It was wiped off his face immediately as the goggle head received a punch to the jaw. The blow threw him clean off his feet, and he landed on his back.
"You don't understand," Henry said quietly, his voice dark with fury. And then his tone rose. "It's not okay! None of this is!"
Takato heard, but couldn't concentrate on replying. It was a tough job to even keep his eyes in focus. Henry walked slowly towards where the goggle head lay, his fists clenched. Rika, overcoming her initial alarm, ran forward. "Henry?"
"Listen, Takato! Terriermon's gone. Nothing can change that, and no one will change how I feel about it. But don't you understand that we can't make this situation any better? We can't! All we can do is help make sure that it doesn't get worse. For me, that means staying clear. I shouldn't have come with you guys, don't you see?"
Rika came up, and grabbed one of the boy's shaking arms. "Cut it out, Henry!"
He jerked his arm violently, trying to break free, but Rika grabbed on with her other hand as well. Growling, Henry threw his hand up so that the girl's arms were raised, planted a firm shove at the base of her neck, and struck her in the back of her knees with his foot, all in one simultaneous movement. Rika fell backwards just as Takato did, and Henry used her loss of balance to break free. As she hit the ground, amidst the protests of the children's digimon, a newcomer announced his advent with a loud shout.
"STOP!"
Takato finally found his bearings enough to get off his back, though his head still spun. He brought his hand up to the sore spot on his jaw. The voice was Ryo's, but when Takato searched for the source, all he saw was a dark growling dragon charging Henry. He watched his friend step only barely out of the way, his hands raised in a poise to fight. Was Henry thinking of taking on Cyberdramon? It was true he had wrestled an ultimate digimon before, and actually won, but Divermon wasn't exactly in Cyberdramon's league.
The dragon came for another pass, gliding suspended over the ground, claws outstretched, a snarl plastered on his face.
"Cut it out Cyberdramon!"
"My... arch-enemy..." The digimon argued.
The single phrase stunned Ryo into silence, and the three children only watched the coming collision between the two. Cyberdramon thrust out an open claw. Henry was poised with his hands in a position similar to his card slash technique. He was ready as Cyberdramon came head on.
"Cyber Nail!"
Faster than blinking, Henry stepped forward, swiping his left hand in a vertical motion to slap away Cyberdramon's claw. He followed up the same instant with an uppercut to the dragon's chin. The punch snapped Cyberdramon's mouth closed. He sailed over his target, not hurt in the least, though his balance was disrupted. He turned back on Henry with a growl, but a bolt of nimble lighting struck his neck and held him back.
"Cyberdramon! Enough! Now's not the time." Ryo barked.
The dragon stiffened as he held Henry in a death glare, yet relinquished after a breathless moment. The digimon sank into a sitting position and let himself relax, somewhat. Henry dropped his fighting stance in turn, though the two kept a close eye on each other. Takato stood as Ryo came up. The latecomer offered a hand to Rika, though she declined and got to her feet under her own power. She was still staring at Henry. Takato didn't blame her. What their friend had in his possession… It came with an incredible and very discernible concentration of power. Even Cyberdramon was driven mad by it. Takato could see why the likes of Airdramon and Petaldramon were targeting Henry. It all justified his friend's wish to be separate from the group, but there was something Henry didn't seem to realize. Takato was willing to journey through the Digital World and constantly have to put himself between any enemy digimon and Henry.
But his friend had a point in being so sceptical. No one had really gone out on a limb to prevent him falling in danger. Takato determined to change that.
The dark-haired boy glanced over at them, and then quickly averted his look. Takato realized they all had been staring at Henry. He closed his own eyes as he felt a pang of guilt. They really weren't making this any better, were they? Takato lifted his gaze to the sphere of the Real. It was time to move on, and get their minds on something else, like Corvusmon… The one who arranged Terriermon's deletion. Takato squeezed his eyes shut once more. There really wasn't a way to escape the situation they were in. Henry was right. Their sole focus had to be to stop the damage being done to those they cared for. A feat like that started with the deletion of Corvusmon himself.
"Let's go guys. Hey, Henry! Keep close to WarGrowlmon, okay? Maybe that'll make him the target." Takato said, taking charge.
Henry complied without so much as a nod, though WarGrowlmon let a confused sound leave his throat in minor protest.
The Tamers went on with their new reinforcements and followed the paths made by the trees. There wasn't much to do but walk and wait for something to happen. A clue or a new enemy. It wasn't like the lost Calumon.
"What took you so long to get here, big shot?" Rika asked the latecomer.
The blue-eyed boy smiled casually, "Well for one, no one told me we were coming back so soon."
Takato turned to Ryo. "How did you know we came, anyway?" He asked.
"I didn't," replied Ryo. "Monodramon felt like picking a fight so we came here. Guess he chose the wrong opponent, huh?"
Silence came for an instant too long.
Rika spoke up, saying, "So you spend your free time fighting digimon?" Her tone was a touch too condescending.
"Yeah... It's what I've always done with Cyberdramon. Something wrong with that?"
The girl frowned. The conversation was becoming uncomfortable for her, Takato could see. The subject needed changing. A crash in the forest nearby obliged him, though he wished he had a different subject to switch to. The Tamers nevertheless were set on alert.
A roaring mechanical creature showed itself through the foliage. It growled with a deep voice, "Power... The power is...here!"
The children gathered close to Taomon, who stood ready to defend. Takato brought out his analyser. "Machinedramon... Virus type... Special attack Giga Cannon... a Mega? Oh, boy. We're in for it now."
So much Henry... I'm not even sorry. After all, Rika got her own movie centred around her, so I had thought the other one would focus on Henry. I remember waiting for something to happen to him while he went scuba diving... and then Minami debuted everywhere... come oooon... Oh well. This is my way of making it up for him. I'm evil...
/rant
Leave a review while I write up some more!
