Chapter 9: Sin
The mutated, biomerged Digimon stand in front of us. His stance's like a zombie's; not forgot to mention the parts "attached" to him. A Devimon's arm, a broken scorpion tail & his own lance arm. Need to be careful on those.
However... we have Note here. With enough time, Note & I can created an antidote to cure them. A syringe with a mutation-reversing formula inside... I know it's too early to use it but... I fear we had no more time left. As such...
"A change of plans... I'm going to use 'that'," I said.
"Then, we'll back you up! We're counting on you," Veronica smiled.
"Silvia, take command, will you?"
"Leave it to me," The girl answered.
I retreated a few steps back & sat down on the floor with my legs crossed. Note hovered behind me, a lump of paper in hands. It will be the "offering" to create the item I have in my mind.
"Let's begin,"
Noel shut his eyes tight. He now needs deep concentration. It's crucial that the item materialized is 100% effective.
"We only need 3 minutes," Note explained.
"More than enough!" Riza readied his fists.
Gallantmon then roared. The scream-like cry echoed the hall. He soon charged forward. Energy began to gather on the tip of his lance.
"Boommon!" Silvia shouted.
"Roger that, Lady-o!" The two-headed crocodile Digimon intercepted the knight.
Both of its hands tied to one arm each -the shield & extra arm respectively! The lance-arm still free! And energy began to gather on the tip of it!
"NOW!" Boommon cried.
"Dooo-RYAAH!" The lance was then kicked upwards, causing the intended attack to shoot towards the ceiling!
An opening! Boommon saw & it charged right in, ramming the mutated knight in the chest & sending him flying backwards. But it quickly recovered. Boommon didn't used its full force, after all.
Gallantmon took a few steps back, staggered while Walter coughed out saliva. Effect of the impact just now? Regardless, they must keep on.
Thinking a few more punches might wake the two up, Riza & Buster leaped in & done the very thing. Walter was punched by Riza while Guil the Gallantmon got a blow in the face by Buster.
A dizzied step & another, the Mutant Digimon then retreated further back.
"Did we exhausted him?" Veronica asked.
"Don't let your guard down," warned Silvia.
The warning is correct. The mutated Gallatmon soon screamed & leaped away from our sight. It was as if he's taken a stamina-replenishing drug!
Immediately after he lands, Gallantmon kicked the pillar near him. A large portion of concrete was shot out of its place & the debris was flying... Towards Noel & Note!
It gave Silvia & the others their fright. Their inner alarms are sent into a frenzy. Boommon & Buster quickly stepped in, shielding them -with their bodies- in the nick of time.
"Buster!"
"Boommon!"
The two simultaneously cried.
To Boommon & Buster, the impact was like being hit by a cannonball. And soon, it continued. Gallantmon continued to send more pillars flying towards them, not holding back... not stopping for a second.
"STOP IT AT ONCE!" SpringFloramon threw her Cherry Grenades at the crazed knight. But the bomb were reflected back at her! "GAH!"
"Floramon!" Veronica cried.
Gallantmon... Walter & Guil... are they trying to kill them? The thoughts raided Noel's concentration. The Blonde was shocked. Walter & Guil... even if they were under the powers of a spell or something, there should be some signs of resistance in them... Even if they were being controlled, there should signs of them not wanting to hurt them!
But this... this is not "it"! There's no signs of them hesitating. They were intending to hurt them! As if the mutation had-
"NOEL!" Boommon yelled. "THE CURE! Make the cure... HURRY!"
That desperate yell... Noel just bit his lips & soon returned to his initial work. He shut his ears. Note followed with a clenched teeth & soon, resumed the item materialization process. Just a bit more... they're half-way done after all... All they needed to do now is to complete the "concept" of the liquid antidote as fast as they can.
Meanwhile, watching the events, Silvia & Veronica were left dumb-founded. Any hint of them had completely vanished from the creature running amok before them.
"Wa-Walter...? Guil?" Veronica stammered. "S-S-Stop... WALTER, GUIL, STOP IT ALREADY!"
They did stop... but only for another objective. They kicked down all the pillars. It only took them three seconds to realize what the Mutant Digimon's up to.
He had crushed the pillars supporting the platform on the upper-floors! And it was after they noticed that fact, the platforms felled & unleashed a fog of dust.
The tide has been turned...
The haze of dust hangs in the air, fogging the eyes & torturing the lungs. Noel still sat in the middle of the hall, concentrating hard & closing his mouth, nose & eyes.
The Blonde incredibly dislikes dirty air. They always left a bad taste in his mouth & Noel would complain even on normal battlefields. However... this is no longer a "normal battlefield"...
"Note, hurry!" said Noel before suddenly coughing.
"Almost there, just a bit more!"
Noel keeps his thoughts focused sharply at the image of the cure. A needle, a tube with green digital-like liquid inside... The liquid's "concept"... He literally beat his brain to focus on the thoughts. The more focus he is on the image, the faster the item can be materialized by Note's ability.
"Almost there..." Noel said in his mind. "Almost there... just a bit more... just a bit more & the syringe will be-"
"IT'S DONE!" Note yelled. "SOLID PLOT, WIND!" The haze was then blown away.
Noel immediately opened his eyes. He gasped & exhaled & breathed in and out. Finally, the process over...
"Noel!" Note's voice startled him.
He then noticed the shadow looming over him. The blonde looked up. He saw Boommon back falling towards him. The large Digimon reverted back into ZapZapmon & eventually fell into the blonde's arms.
"Z-zapzapmon..." He said with a shaken voice. No response came from the Digimon.
A step approached him, alarming him. He looked up again... only to find the culprit with the lance that stabbed the crocodile Digimon above his head. Gallantmon -Walter & Guil- had struck down his friend down. Its face showed no hesitation...not a single bit... and not a hint of Walter & his Digimon partner's mind in them...
A dart-like object then hit Walter's chest. It was the syringe with the cure! Note's the one who threw it. And immediately after that, he injected it via control over the syringe.
Gallantmon & Walter shrieked like a person stabbed by a sword in the chest.
The cure was made so its effect was immediate. As for that effect, it forced the DigiCore to revert back to its former state & subsequently, the body. It'll reconstruct Gallantmon back into the normal Digimon it was... It'll reconstruct Walter & Guil back into the human & Digimon they were... It'll...
"That's strange... i-it forced the DigiCore to act & yet... no... screaming?" Noel blurted, standing up & taking a step forward.
It was then... Gallantmon took a step forward. Frightened, Noel's legs picked up slight speed. In response, the Mutant Knight Digimon instantly shifted his eyes at the Blonde, breaking his courage & send his kneeling on his knees.
"W-Why!? H-How come?" He blurted out in panic. "I've made sure the cure was complete. How come!?" Gallantmon took another step forward. It was soon Noel realized. "He... Don't tell me... h-he d-didn't... HAVE A DIGICORE!?"
The knight Digimon readied his lance. Noel's too shocked by thoughts to even notice it!
"NOEEELLLLLL!" Note's call snapped him out.
Staring at hopelessness, Noel froze with his eyes wide opened. The lance soon dived down at the boy. He's going to die!
"DAMMIIIIITTTT!" Using the pages from the books attached to his garment, he trampolined forward! "NOOEELLL..."
Sing! The lance then hit the ground. Blood splashed on the floor... Digital blood, that is.
"NOTE, YOUR LEG!" yelled the blonde Tamer in Note's arms as he saw the gash.
"N-Nevermind... that..." said the noble Digimon before crash-landing into the floor.
"Zappers! Noel!" I heard Silvia's voice.
I forced myself up. Head slightly dizzy.
"ZAPZAP!" Silvia then charged in with panicked eyes. I handed the Digimon to the girl who squeezed him tight in her arms. "Oh... dear... "
"Oh... god..." Veronica gasped.
"Healing Pollen," SpringFloramon immediately commenced treatment on two injured Digimon.
The sound of a metal step approaches. Our eyes were shifted towards Gallantmon, who's walking towards us. It was then I saw Note trying to stand up!
"Stay down!" I kicked him to the ground. "You'll just pull our leg!" -And get hurt if you go & battle now...
I bit my lips. What to do? What to do now? Walter & Guil... they're already...
"WAAALLTERRR..."
"GUUILLL..."
Riza & Buster suddenly appeared from behind. Their fists high up, ready to smash the mutated knight down from behind! However...
Gallantmon's "attached" third arm lunged at them.
"DWAAHHH!"
"GACK!"
Riza was swiped to the side & a second after that, Buster was squeezed by the hand, captured!
"Note... get Riza..." I murmured.
"Eh?" He reacted.
"You can still move your pages, right?"
"Ah..." He nodded with uncertainty.
I have been hesitating... but after seeing how that Mutant Digimon acted... "Change of plans,"
Note's eyes widened upon my murmur. He knew it when he saw & heard me. Yes... I'm dead serious about it, Note... We're going to kill them... Send Walter & Guil away...
Note sent a paper swarm to retrieve Riza from the rubble nearby. The boy's half-awake but was jolted awake when he was pulled to Noel's side.
"Come on, Riza," The Blonde lifted him up. He immediately turned to his partner. "Note!"
It's a signal! And soon, a blade of papers cut down the claw crushing Buster & whisked the sky blue dragon away from the monstrous knight.
Mutant Gallantmon screamed in pain. And it was not long before a wave of flames washed him back to the edge of the wall behind him & burned the dismembered Devimon's arm to digital ash.
"A change of planes, Riza," Noel paused briefly- no, hesitated. "We're ending their misery..." He said it mildly... with an unknowingly dark tone.
"Huh!?" Everyone reacted. Confused, shocked and... deep in their hearts, they somehow knew of the answer already.
Kill... That's what Noel's suggesting... Kill Walter & Guil...
Veronica involuntarily took a step backward. "W-W-What are you-"
A shadow then flew past them. It's Gallantmon! It landed behind the girls!
A group of gasps came but soon became screams & shrieks. The mutated Gallantmon had slashed forward with its lance. His eyes showed rage. His voice carried vengeance. It had been agitated!
Everyone but Riza, Noel & their partners -who were watching in shock- were thrown to the ground. Silvia held tight to her Zapzapmon. Floramon held tight to Veronica's hand even after she fainted. And for the plant Digimon's Tamer, she struggled to get up.
The purple-haired girl turn to face the mutated knight. Her heartbeat tripled when she saw the creepy face of Walter "attached" to the Mutated Digimon's body. She wanted to cry "Walter! Guil!" but her voice was lost. She can now only make whimpers while shivering in fear.
Gallantmon stepped forward. His lance raised in a slow motion.
"Riza!" Noel then shoved a mechanical-like spear towards the boy. "Stab that into Walter!"
"W-WHAAT!?" The boy snapped.
"Listen, Riza... that's no longer Walter and Guil... It's just a monster with no DigiCore! You hear me!" Noel shouted at the boy.
"Wha-"
"Do you think the REAL Walter & Guil would try to kill us without any hesitation?" he yelled.
"WALTER!" Veronica's scream alerted them. They saw her sitting there, under the lance's tip! "P-Please... wake... up..." The girl pleaded weakly. Tears began to ran down her cheeks.
"There's no time left! DO IT!" Noel shoved the spear at Riza again. "Before Walter kills Veronica, DO IT ALREADY!"
"I... I..." Riza's voice shook in fright. But then... "I... I... I CAAANN'TT!"
Time then suddenly stopped for Noel. He's completely shocked. "Why can't Riza do it?" He soon realized. It needed no minutes of thought. Riza was like that form the beginning. He's like Walter... He's one of the hot-blooded hero types... The shonen protaganist types... So, he can't...
Another thought, no, truth then came to light. It frustrated him to the peak of his mind.
Gallantmon thrust his lance down at Veronica, who stared at her incoming death with teary eyes.
"GrrAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The mechanical javelin flew & struck Gallantmon's lance-arm.
A loud crash occurred. The spear shattered to pieces & the lance-arm was sent off course, stabbing the ground besides Veronica instead of the girl.
"WAAAAAAAALLLLLTEEEEEERRRRRRRR!" An ugly scream filled the room. Noel ran straight towards the mutated knight, crying his throat out & his face showed nothing but a crazed man's mental suffering.
He leaped forward, thrusting the sword in his hand forward. Gallantmon retaliated. He swung his lance forward, hitting Noel in a parry.
The blonde was sent spinning in mid-air. Gallantmon was ready to finish him but...
"Rune BIND!" Tidal wave of paper then rammed the mutated knight like water broken through a dam.
Some of the sheets then stick onto it, especially the lance! Before long, Gallantmon can no longer move a finger.
"NOTE!" Noel called.
In response, his Digimon placed a pile of papers below him. Quickly, the blonde regained his stance, landing on the pile before it propelled him forward!
"Drr... RAAAAAAAAHHH!" With a strike from the enhanced sword in his hands... Gallantmon fall... like a tree that's been cut down.
Like sprinkler water, blood spilled... Human's blood... It wasn't from the cut on Noel's forehead though it's bleeding down his face. It was...
From the large gash on chest of the boy attached to the Mutant Digimon's body. Noel Williams... had slashed his best friend, Walter Banagher.
Everyone stared on with immense shock. A Blonde carrying a sword enveloped in an orange aura being splashed with blood... of his friend who had been monstrously transformed along with his partner Digimon.
It wasn't heaven for Noel either... He knew from the start that he should be the one who performed the rite, not Riza. He's the one who came up with the malicious thought. And yet... he pushed all that responsibility to someone else... for the fact, he cannot stand seeing his friend's blood spilled on his face.
"What a jerk I am..." He thought.
He forced his eyes open. This is the "sin" he had committed... and he will not be forgiven... Not by himself... He will no longer forgive himself...
A white whip of paper soon came out of nowhere & pulled him away.
"Solid Plot," Note imprisoned Gallantmon in a ball covered by runes.
"STO-"
Ignoring his comrades' cry, Note snapped his finger with his eyes shut tight. Lightning instantly burst out within the ball. It surged & danced & the scream of the mutated, biomerged Digimon echoed from within.
Everyone stared on, completely dumbfounded. No... it was beyond the word "shock".
The scream last for only a moment. Soon, it faded... along with the mutated Gallantmon & the boy. And the only ones who didn't even peek at their friend's last moments...
...are the half-broken Noel Williams & his partner, Note.
***End of Chapter 9***
Disclaimer:
Noel & Note & Storiamon (c) Me.
Walter & Guil & Gallantmon (c) Me.
Veroniza & Floramon & SpringFloramon (c) Me.
Riza Ryuzaki & Buster & OmegaVeedramon (c) Riza23
Silvia & ZapZapmon & Boommon (c) starchart
Digimon (c) Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation, Bandai