A/N: Late as hell since this chapter has been sitting in my WIP folder for months now.
xXx Koh xXx
"Ugh!" Apollomon's cry as he smashed against the ground was all I could hear over the sound of battle, the loose dirt kicked up making it nearly impossible to see anything. My goggles would have been a great help had I not left them at home. Trust the one day I absolutely need them to be the day I decided to dress down for training.
Masaru was relentless and didn't pull any punches when it came down to the gravity of the situation. He was showing his true strength now and I was fired up to match. Though I was still a little sore from being thrown around these past few days, my Digimon are really feeling the after effects. But we won't allow that to hinder us for even a second, we need to get stronger, push our limits and beyond. To achieve something more than what could've been imagined through sheer willpower and determination; something Masaru has taken time to teach me.
There is only one thought left in our mind driving my team forward:
4 days left.
xXx Sayo xXx
As soon as the lightheadedness started setting in I knew I was in trouble. My body can't handle the strain that Barbamon is putting on it; the continuous exertion of my limited ability over the stone was starting to wear me down much faster than I thought. In the last two days I've spent nearly half my day in this room trying to gain some control over whatever powers the pendant gave me. I took my mid-day meals in here because it saved time for more training.
Though there wasn't much of a perception of time here in the first place, I'm sure any semblance of my awareness of passing time has been shot to hell. A single test of any emotion could feel like minutes or days, and without an light source to gauge my day, by the time I leave this room I'm disoriented.
With my legs shaky and on the verge of blacking out I release my hold on the pendant and allow my mind to clear. Sinking down to the-thankfully-stable floor I watch the fires from my attempt at controlling them slowly burn out, leaving scorch marks on the pillars and tiles. Barbamon stood a good distance away and I could hear Lilithmon's steps getting closer. Her cool hand wrapping around me as she brought a crystal glass of water to my lips. I had enough energy to take the glass from her and drain it before handing it back.
"You must continue Sayo, we don't have much time left." Barbamon's voice was even and commanding. His gaze was hard and I could see the frustration that his voice hadn't betrayed. I was well aware of the necessity of this stone to them and so long as I had power over it he couldn't exactly force my hand.
Perhaps he was just greedy to have it for himself.
"I understand Lord Barbamon, I will continue...but allow me a short moment of rest. My body isn't used to taking a task like this on." which was mostly true. I was well trained in the Union; Julia's training regimen was top notch in whipping us into shape when need be. My mental and physical strength flourished under her and I could have probably handled this at my peak back at the Union without a thought.
But all of that felt like ages ago. I've been in this castle for so long without any means of keeping myself in shape and at performance levels necessary for this. My stamina isn't what it used to be, all the time spent here has robbed me of my years of training. The deterioration of my abilities is a result of their efforts to try and keep me powerless and docile until needed.
Surely, they've realised it.
However, it isn't like the Demon Lords to admit to such a mistake, if anything they're boiling at my lack of skill in handling the pendant. I've always been a fast learner, true, but to master something that I've never seen or read about in two days isn't possible. There is nothing outside of what Barbamon knows that can teach me how to better myself, and it isn't as if I will learn it overnight.
If the Demon Lords were more aware and I less faithful in the Union it would more than likely seem like sabotage on my end. But neither is true and I am giving my all, placing myself wholly and completely in their hands and trusting that they are none the wiser and soaking up everything I can about this mystical gem.
Once I found myself steady enough to not keel over from the swimming feeling I planted my feet firmly down and pushed myself up. Weapon against the Union or not, the knowledge and experienced gained from Barbamon's tutilaedge was more valuable than anyone could imagine. With a steadying breath and a quiet mind, I unleashed my pent up frustration and watched the fireworks.
xXx Koh xXx
"Arrow of Apollo!" the fiery rain of arrows did little to deter ShineGreymon Burst's advances. He was fast and moved with a deadly accuracy that spoke volumes of his power. ShineGreymon had been thrown to a far corner of the battlefield, colliding against a large bolder, leaving a sizeable dent and cracks in the surface. He was quick to pick himself up and rejoin the others, his stagger though was obvious.
We were starting to wear down in the late afternoon, my digimon were losing momentum and recovery time was starting to take longer and longer. No doubt we will have to stop for the day after this battle is decided. Another chance lost.
Damn it all.
MagnaAngemon swung at ShineGreymon Burst with his blade, missing by centimeters before barely blocking the flaming sword thrusted at his body. The two parried back and forth while Apollomon and ShineGreymon circled around from below and above. We've exhausted every basic and advanced tactics that we have. Our strategies slowed them down but didn't get us any closer to victory and at this point we were just trying to hold out for as long as we can.
"Ah!" MagnaAngemon was effortlessly tossed aside, his attack deflected and countered with a blazing swing of the sword.
Seeing the chance Apollomon and ShineGreymon dove in to take advantage of the momentary opening. Though small, any opening we could try and exploit was worth a shot. The three danced across the sky with Apollomon sending balls of energy and arrows from all directions, darting back and forth trying to maximize his area of damage with ShineGreymon trying to keep ShineGreymon Burst from counterattacking. If this was going to work then they needed to buy enough time for MagnaAngemon to get back on his feet.
Looking around I found MagnaAngemon picking himself up, there was a stagger in his step that signaled he was approaching his physical limit, the stretch in his wings also seemed strained. Apollomon was probably burning through the last of his reserved energy and ShineGreymon had been taking hits all day. None of them could last much longer.
The boom of a crash nearly knocked me down from the tremors as I found myself standing not too far from ShineGreymon Burst's body, Catching the eyes of my team I made a quick upward motion with my hand knowing that they would understand the command. It was now or never, as soon as ShineGreymon Burst was back up we needed to end this. We would either emerge victor or be beaten down again.
As expected he was back up and ready to continue the fight within seconds, the force of his landing seeming to have been brushed off as he easily regained his lost momentum and expertly dodged attacks. He was quickly closing the gap between himself and MagnaAngemon, weaving past the attacks Apollomon was sending his way and with quick clean strokes of his sword keeping MagnaAngemon from getting too close. As Apollomon and MagnaAngemon kept him busy ShineGreymon kept his position high and away from the fight, guiding the two toward a small rock formation to the left of the clearing.
Soon enough they were in a decent enough position for the maneuver to work. With ShineGreymon from above and Apollomon and MagnaAngemon from either side the three had him cornered with his back to the rocks, ShineGreymon Burst had nowhere to go. It was our last chance for an all out attack, and without delay the three unleashed their last efforts at bringing him down.
"Glorious Burst!"
"Sol Blaster!"
"Gate of Destiny!"
ShineGreymon Burst was dead center of the triangle of attacks. The barrage was relentless and had this been anyone else we would have more than likely secured a victory. But since it wasn't we still had to be on guard; emerging from the smoke was ShineGreymon Burst, who had smartly covered himself in flames to lessen the damage, he didn't even look fazed by the flurry of attacks.
"You're holding up pretty okay considering. But now it's my turn!" The flames on ShineGreymon's body grew and whipped around him, the sword doubled in sized and with a single swipe he had knocked all three down. And without a second wasted he crafted a large orb of solar flames, flew high and ceremoniously dropped it down below. The impact was enough to force me to the ground, I couldn't imagine what it felt like getting hit by it.
"Apollomon! MagnaAngemon! ShineGreymon!" I yelled as soon as I caught my breath, the three of them laid on the ground, struggling to muster the strength to stand. They were beaten and done for, ShineGreymon Burst returned to Masaru's side and the two looked at us expectantly. I wanted to scream, it was frustrating beyond belief how much time we've spent in the last three days only to keep getting beat down over and over again. Masaru and ShineGreymon Burst have us beat in everything, we can't even hold the upper hand for one second, and just when we think we might be getting somewhere they've already got us figured out.
"Koh! Have you given up for the day yet?" Masaru shouted from the other side, his eyes hard and his mouth set in a firm line. He was just as serious about pushing us as we were about making to the end goal. There was no one better than him for us and the idea of disappointing was not welcomed.
"No!" the answer came from my side before I could even answer, my eyes darted to Apollomon who was barely able to stand, his armour scratched and himself looking tired. "We're not done until we all can't stand anymore. I've got enough energy in me for another round. We're here for intensive training, that means until we're beaten into the ground and done for we're not done yet. The Union is counting on all of us for the safe return of Sayo so we can't half ass our training if we want results. Besides, I'm not even tired yet."
"That's what I like hearin' from you!"
Apollomon brought himself to full stance, in his palms bright balls of energy sparked to life and with a roar he brought them together. A sudden burst of energy and light enveloped me, the shine from my digivice was warm and bright; the energy was fierce and overwhelming, uncontrollable even, it surged through me like a current that needed escape. I've never experienced something so amazing.
So this must be it.
Masaru's explanation of this feeling paled in comparison to the actual thing, in that moment it felt as if I was connected to everything; my digimon, our surroundings, even the data. It was unreal and exhilarating.
"Koh!" Apollomon's voice broke through the light and I could feel his presence, almost as if we shared thought. It was as if we were one. The synchronization of his energy and mine was indescribable as my body tingled, the only other time this feeling could be comparable to was right after my complete black-out in our last fight with Grimmon.
So this is what Masaru must've been talking about: the bond between Tamer and Digimon. It was the most important thing to becoming strong, strong enough to break through our limits and evolve even further. The bright light began fading, but instead of dissipating into the air it was condensed and concentrated around my digivice, the red glow of my soul was beginning to take form before my eyes.
"Remember: power isn't something borrowed or taken, it is combined. Now show me what you've got Koh!" Masaru called across the field, neither he or ShineGreymon Burst bore scratches or any proof of today's training. They barely looked ruffed up while my side looked more or less worse for wear, the only thing keeping us on our feet was sheer willpower and determination and with all our labour finally bearing fruit, we could show him what we were really made of.
"Alright, here we go!" I tossed my digivice up and caught it thrusting it in front of me, the red glow from the side port shining bright and just as I had seen Masaru done earlier I passed my fingers over it; the charge in the air seeming to have ignited something deep within myself and Apollomon.
"Charge! Digisoul...burst!"
A/N: Things are picking up some more and I'm glad to say that I am very much pumped to start putting together the next few chapters. I've also recently started rewatching a couple of my favourite seasons of Digimon-Savers being one of them-and I totally forgot how much I loved them. I also may have thrown in a reference from Savers...
But anyways, I am taking a couple liberties here and there from the information I have about the Dawn/Dusk universe. Since the Saver's characters appear and the Burst Forms of their Digimon are available in game I figured that I could also apply the burst mode in story as well. Something close to a universe alteration instead of an AU so the cannon isn't damaged. Not quite sure what Apollomon will look like in burst mode but I can save the description for when I get it down next time. I'm treating the Burst Mode as something rather difficult to obtain and who knows, maybe a few others down the story road will have them as well. As always I'd love a review and maybe some feed back about adding something like that in?
xoxo
Dragon