Chapter 10: Half Barrel Hinges
After dropping off Guilmon and Terriermon at their old hideout, Takato and Henry met up with Jeri, Kazu, Kenta, Impon, and Calumon in the back corner of an abandoned alley. Four out of the seven's clothes were damp and Jeri tried to wring the water out of her ponytail. The Ice Queen's Revenge and her crew had been put under guard by a Hypnos garrison. Their friends had only gotten off due to a rare moment of brilliance by Kazu. They had escaped by going below deck, lowering a rope through one of the canon-hatches, and swimming their way to freedom. Apparently Kazu's escape skills were useful for more than just skipping school.
"So, we have no captain, no ship, no crew, half of us are getting hypothermia, and we're stuck on the capital island of Hypnos." Impmon shivered terribly as he summed up their current situation, albeit exaggerating about the hypothermia. "So when are we gonna Badda-Boom the captain out Pinapple Head?"
Takato turned to Henry to indicate that it was his turn to take charge. He was hoping Henry had a plan at least. Otherwise the default was Impmon's plan, and charging one of the most heavily fortified buildings in Pacific Ocean wasn't his idea of a good time.
"We can't just go marching in there. Rika is a wanted criminal and we should consider ourselves fortunate that they didn't arrest us as well."
"So, you're saying we should just leave her?" Jeri asked. While she hadn't know the pirate captain very long, the time they had spent showed that Rika wasn't as bad as the stories made out, at least not anymore.
Henry shook his head. "No, but if we don't want to be branded criminals ourselves then were going to have to play this carefully."
"Right! We'll wait for the day of her execution and then blast our way out!" Kazu gleefully suggested. Henry just deadpanned at him.
"You didn't listen to a word I said, did you?"
"We could fake her death so they wouldn't go through with the execution. Then when they throw out the "body" we can retrieve her and get away home free." Kenta suggested. Henry actually took a moment to run that idea through his head, bringing a hand up in his famous thinking pose as he did so. While the plan was clever in theory, in execution it was much more complicated. Plus there was simply too much to be left to chance for his liking. In the background, Calumon declared something about creampuffs saving the day, but no one paid him any mind.
"That's…would be clever. But how are we going to fake her death to convince them?"
Kenta opened his mouth to speak, but deflated when he realized he hadn't thought of any specifics to the plan.
"Well, alright then mister genius. What's your grand idea?" Impmon inquired.
Henry breathed a sigh of defeat, knowing the plan was going to have some serious repercussions. "I say we go to Governess Makino and inform her that Rika is her daughter and has been thrown into prison."
Four pairs of eyes grew wide and three jaws dropped to the floor. Takato couldn't believe Henry was suggesting they tell Rika's mother, something she had expressly ordered them not to do. Impmon, Kazu, and Kenta couldn't…well, they just couldn't believe.
"Rika is Governess Makino's DAUGHTER!?" The three shouted out in question at the orange vested man before them. As the three stood silent while waiting for an answer, Takato took this moment to address the elephant in the room, or alley as it were.
"Henry, Rika was very adamant about her mother not finding out who she is. I don't think we should be breaking her trust like this, even if it does get her out."
"Look Takato," Henry spoke as he turned to face his friend, ignoring the stunned trio behind him. "If Rika really hates us that much afterwards, then I'll take all the blame. Right now though, Governess Makino is the one in the best position of power to demand Rika's release and with her help I'm sure we can at least work out some kind of deal with Yamaki. Besides, Rika has been running from her problems with her mother for years. Perhaps it's time something was done to mend the bridge between them."
Henry flashed a small smile at his friend as he tried to put a positive spin on the idea. Internally though, he had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy. He doubt Rika had a petty reason for running away from her mother, and regardless of how things turned out she wasn't going to let him off the hook easily.
Rika sat on the dirty stone floor of her cell with her legs crossed and her chin resting on one of her arms. Her uninterested lavender eyes stared out through the bars of her cell and into the dark brown eyes that were staring back at her. The two figures stared at each other for a few moments before Rika gave a sigh of boredom. A head of shaggy hair tilted to the side and the sharp clinking of keys echoed through the prison halls. The animal gave a whine of intrigue as it shifted its paws on the stone floor.
Yes, Rika Nonaka was having a staring contest…with a dog.
"Didn't Sparrow say something about being stuck in a prison with a key guarding dog?" Rika thought as her mind wandered to random topics due to her boredom. "I wonder what happened to him. Or rather, I wonder how many times he's lost that ship of his since I saw him last? Sunk once, mutinied twice, and somehow got it stuck in a bottle. How unfortunate can a captain get?"
The sounds of a commotion echoed down the hall and caused the two prison occupants to simultaneously turn their heads towards the source of the noise. A shrill voice seemed to be the louder and more dominant of the two. Rika's eyes widened in fear as the voice became clear enough for her to recognize.
"No! Those two wouldn't. They wouldn't!"
"Yamaki, I demand to see my daughter RIGHT NOW!"
"They did."
"Governess Makino, regardless of if she's your daughter or not, she is a dangerous criminal. I can't just-"
"Can it Yamaki! You're organization is based on this island which is under my jurisdiction, and I order you to let me see her!"
There was a moment of silence before Rika heard the door to the prison open. She stood up so that she would be at eye level when her mother got here. The dog with the keys repositioned himself next to a bench on the other side of the hall. The sound of high heels clacked one the stone floor grew louder and soon a blonde woman in blue dress and wearing a large blue hat walked into view of the cell with a frantic look on her face. Upon seeing Rika she rushed to the cell door and grabbed the bars. Rika then noticed Takato and Henry walk into view behind her. Takato looked scared to death and Henry seemed uneasy. Rumiko looked her up and down, instantly recognizing the signature red hair and violet eyes.
"Ruki," she said in disbelief, her own violet eyes looking upon her daughter in pity. "It really is you. Don't worry. In a few minutes I'll have you out of here. We can go home and get you into a dress."
In that instant, Takato knew that this plan was a lost cause. He helplessly watched as the stern look on Rika's face turned to anger. She clenched her hands into fists as she stomped up to the bars of her cell.
"No! I am done with dresses and there is no way that I am accepting your help." Rika said through gritted teeth as she forcefully grabbed the bars of her cell, causing her mother to back away. The governess looked in fear at her daughter's anger filled eyes. Not knowing why Ruki had turned so hostile, she hesitantly spoke up.
"Ruki, I haven't seen you in six years. Your friends told me everything and I want to help."
"Since when and why have you ever wanted to help me?"
Takato swallowed nervously, not liking where this was going. In Rika's eyes, he could see the years of anger she had been holding back.
"I've always wanted what's best for you. You are my daughter after all." That seemed to be the last straw as Rika's face turned livid.
"I WAS YOUR DOLL!" She screamed at the older woman. The governess backed away, aghast at her daughter's fierce tone. "I was just your plaything that you forced to wear stupid dresses and attend silly parties to make yourself look good."
With the onslaught of emotion Takato thought he could see tears starting to form at the corners of Rika's eyes and could hear her voice crack the slightest bit.
"You never cared about what I wanted, or what was best for me. The only things you cared about were attending to your duties as governess and throwing the most elaborate parties while showing off you perfect daughter to improve everyone's opinion of you. All just so you could make everyone forget about that scandal between you and dad!"
With that the imprisoned redhead pushed herself away from the bars and turned around to face away from her mother. The air was so silent and tense that a pin-drop would have made them jump. Henry looked between the two women, only now realizing the true severity of what must have happened between them. Rumiko was straight up shocked at the resentment her daughter had for her. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the daughter who had turned her back on her. Fitting, as she now realized how she had turned her own back to her years before. When she spoke, it was barely louder than a whisper.
"Ruki-"
"No." The daughter stated, cutting her mother off. "I'm not Ruki…not anymore."
The pirate captain straightened her back before turning around and proudly declaring to the three on the other side of the bars.
"I am Rika Nonaka: Digimon Tamer, Empress of the Pirates, and Queen of the Seven Seas!"
Rumiko brought a hand to her mouth as she looked at the young woman in front of her. Henry observed the pirate captain with newfound admiration, now realizing why her crew was loyal to her. Takato stared in awe as his heartbeat quickened. Even behind bars, Rika still held an immense air of power, confidence, and beauty. After a few moments, Rumiko broke her somber gaze and walked away with her eyes downcast.
Once Governess Makino had left the prison wing, a tense silence filled the air between the three Tamers. Rika's glare shifted between the two, waiting for one of them to break the quiet atmosphere. Tentatively, Henry decided this was as a good a time as any to explain.
"Rika I-"
"Shut your trap Wong!" she snapped at him. "You're lucky I don't leave you on some deserted island to starve when I get out of here."
"We were only trying to help." Takato interjected, trying to defuse the situation. "Your mom was our only chance to get you out without provoking Hypnos to hunt us down."
The gogglehead flinched as the captain's glare turned towards him. Her eyes glaring daggers into his skull and causing his heart to skip a beat. It was probably going to be a long time before she forgave either of them for this.
"I don't care. I thought I made it rather clear that I didn't want my identity made public. Then you go and tell them anyway."
"Look, Takato had nothing to do with this," Henry defended. "This entire thing was my plan. I didn't realize that things between you and your mom were this bad. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well now I'm still stuck in here and the secret I've been keeping for six years is out of the bag."
Before anyone could say another word, a tremor shook the ground and dust fell from cracks in the ceiling. The muffled sounds of running feet and soldiers shouting could be heard from outside. Rika dashed to the small barred window in her cell and looked out. A large amount of dust had been kicked up, but she thought she saw something white and purple slither through the trees. She turned back to her fellow Tamers.
"I'm pretty sure that's your queue."
"Right," Henry replied with a nod before running off to find Terriermon. Takato followed his friends for a few steps before turning back to Rika's cell.
"We'll back for you, so don't go anywhere."
Rika sweatdropped with a scowl on her face as Takato ran off to get Guilmon. After a moment she ran up to the bars and shouted through them.
"What do you mean, don't go anywhere? I'm in a cell!" She heard the door slam shut, not knowing if he had heard her or not. She glared at the door for a few seconds before letting out an annoyed sigh and shaking her head while muttering "gogglehead." She shifted her gaze back to the dog who was still sitting outside her cell. "I don't suppose you're willing to let me out of here?"
"'Don't go anywhere.' Why did I say that? Idiot, idiot, idiot, IDIOT!"
Takato screamed at himself in his head as he ran outside of Hypnos' headquarters. The two men ran into little resistance on their way out with most of the Hypnos soldiers rushing to fend off the attack. Henry looked up at the dust cloud rising over the walls of the base. Takato in the meantime looked around the streets for any sign of their Digimon. Guilmon's nose and instincts usually gave him a heads up when Digimon showed up. Knowing his partner, the red dinosaur will make haste to get here, bringing Terriermon along with him.
Sure enough, Takato spotted his partner running towards him down the street with Terriermon riding on his head. As the Guilmon got close he skidded to a halt, throwing Terriermon off his head and into the air. The rabbit-dog flew through the air and used his ears to glide onto Henry's head.
"You ready boy," Takato asked as he took out his D-ark. The reptile nodded his head and gave a grunt of confirmation.
"Come on already. Let's go get another one up on Hypnos!"
The Tamers and their partners rounded the outside corner of the base and were assaulted by a dust cloud as the Digimon attacked the wall. Henry brought up his arm to shield his eyes while Takato lowered his goggles over his eyes. As the dust cleared they looked on to see the attacking Digimon was a giant cobra snake. It had snow white scales and a dark purple hood with gold markings. Hypnos soldiers fired their rifle from atop the wall, but their guns either missed or did little damage as the snake slithered in and out of the forest just beyond the base. Their D-arks flickered for a few seconds before displaying information about the Digimon.
"Sandiramon: Ultimate Level Virus Type," Takato read out.
"Another Ultimate level? We just can't catch a break can we?"
"Come on Guilmon, let's go turn this snake into a pair of boots."
Terriermon jumped off Henry's head as he and Guilmon rushed forward. Seeing that the two were going to need some help, both Tamers pulled out their modify cards. Henry selected a digivolution card and swiped it through his D-ark while Takato continued to look through his cards.
"Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"
"Terriermon Digivolve to… Gargomon!"
"Gargo Lasers!" The rabbit leveled his gatling guns at the reptile and opened fire. The snake hissed in irritation as several of the bullets made contact. He turned his attention from Hypnos to the Tamers digimon.
"You would dare defy the devasss and ssssside with these filthy humansss."
Sandiramon slithered towards them and then swung the polearm he held in his tail at them. Guilmon ducked under the attack, but it struck Gargomon full in the chest causing him to fly backwards through the air. The weaponized rabbit landed a few yards away from Henry. Takato pulled a card out of his deck and swiped it through his D-ark.
"Digimodify! Power Activate!"
"Pyro Sphere!"
The charged fireball flew forward and hit Sandiramon dead center. The large snake reeled back and fell onto its back, his body starting to break apart.
"You may have beaten me humansss, but you will not stand a chance against the other ten devassss."
With that dying threat, the pale snake shattered into a thousand bits of data. Henry, Takato, and the Digimon stared as the red data particles floated into the sky. They were all surprised at how quickly the Ultimate was defeated. Granted, it had been fighting Hypnos for a good while before they had engaged.
"Hey look, there's more of them down there!"
The Tamers and their Digimon looked up to see one of the Hypnos soldiers pointing down at them. The four didn't even have to discuss their next course of action as they immediately ran away. They figured that having recently been attacked, a shoot-on-sight order was likely in effect. Hopefully they would be too busy assessing the damage to chase after them.
Meanwhile, the violet eyes of a redhead peered out from her cell. She had been watching the fight from her stone room. As reluctant as she was to admit it, Hypnos proved that they were capable of taking down a Digimon. Guilmon was powerful for a rookie, but even with a power boost he shouldn't have been able to take an Ultimate down in one shot. So Hypnos probably could have taken the snake down, eventually.
She then turned her head to the cell next to her. She scowled at it as her eyes moved over the stone bricks that lay across the floor. She then shifted her glare to the giant hole in the cell's wall. Had the attack that created the hole been ten feet to the left, she would have been able to run free with the others.
Takato, Henry, and the others met up at Guilmon's hideout. The two Tamers explained the turn of events to their friends while trying to catch their breath. Kazu, Kenta, and Impmon were disgruntled at the news. Jeri was disheartened, especially hearing about the tense relationship between Rika and her mother. It made her think about her own relationship with her step-mother. After her birth-mother's death, Jeri had a hard time accepting her father's remarriage; this resulted in a rift that separated the two. Perhaps she should treat her better once she got back from their adventure?
"So what is the plan now," asked Kenta.
There was a moment of silence as they all considered their situation. They all knew that their only option left was to bust Rika out and escape with haste. The only question left was when they were going to do it, and how. Henry was the first of them to speak up.
"For now we should play it by ear. I'll go see if I can talk to Rika's grandmother, maybe she can get through to Rika where her mother can't."
"You're dad was working with Hypnos right," Kazu inquired to Henry. "Maybe he can pull some strings with Yamaki to bargain a deal?"
"I'll see what I can do." Henry wondered what the conversation with his father will be like. He doubted his father would be thrilled at him sailing around with pirates. "In the mean time, Takato it might be best if you go to your parents. That way we don't have to resort to stealing in order to eat."
Takato felt a dead weight drop in his stomach but conceded regardless. He was not looking forward to having his ear screamed off by his mother. First he went missing, and then sailing with pirates, and now he's been home for weeks and didn't tell her. She wasn't going to let him hear the end of this. It wouldn't surprise him if she threw him in prison alongside Rika, just so he couldn't leave Shinjuku again.
As Henry and Takato set off to accomplish their respective tasks, the others discussed what they would be doing for the time being. Kazu, Kenta, and Impmon decided to wander off and explore the forests, while Jeri opted to stay behind to keep Guilmon and Terriermon company. As the group split up even more, a pair of red eyes glowered down at them from the branches above.
Guest Review Replies:
Hypernova.5.0: I really like your idea, but it's still a bit too early to bring in Takato's Rage Mode. As you could guess from this chapter, the Tamers are trying to keep on relatively good terms with Hypnos. I may include some elements of your idea in a different story I'm planning though, with your permission of course.