DISK 10
CHOOSING SIDES
Montecarlo, Europe
The very wealthy man was enjoying the outdoors in one of his lavish mansions, one of dozens he owned. He was lying on the patio in shorts that sunny afternoon when his butler came in with a guest.
- Lord Amster. How is life treating you? – said the guest with a British accent.
- Doing quite well Lord Midler. – replied the host rising from the chair.
- I see you forgot about our chess and tea reunion.
- Sorry, I got absent minded. Shall we get the chessboard?
As they sat down to play the butler came in with the mobile touch screen phone.
- Lord Amster. It seems you have a call regarding an operation you are invested in America.
- What of the many would that be? - said Amster chuckling making Midler laugh as well.
- They are talking about something called Digital Spear. – said the butler in a cold and mannered composure.
- Oh….- replied Amster. – I see…..Any details?
- Project Centurion seems to have been activated sir. – replied the butler.
- Hmmm…. Really. – thought Lord Amster calmly thinking about the project he had invested billions along with other people involving the creation of artificial life that could interact with computers. If successful he could have an army of those life forms to control telecommunications, the stock market and businesses. Competing wealthy people were having multidisciplinary teams working on the same project all around the world in a race to the top. The activation of project Centurion in his thoughts was premature and reckless. Losing one of the sites would not compromise anything. – Call this number. – said Amster handing to the Butler a piece of paper. – Tell them to execute scenario 3140.
- Any problems, Lord Amster? – asked Lord Midler with a smile on his face.
- Nothing major. It's just that sometimes, keeping a secret is hard, don't you think? – asked Lord Amster without losing his calm. – Shall we start our game?
Meanwhile, Tom, Mandy and the others ran back to the main corridor after they heard the explosion. As they turned sharply to the right, there was another explosion ahead and from the smoke they saw two creatures approaching them. One looked like an orange, scaly t-rex and the other looked like a walking plant with a lily pad on top of her head, green skin and big alien like eyes. Her arms ended in pointed vines.
- Agumon! – yelled Veemon as he saw the orange dinosaur approaching.
Veemon's excitement fizzled when behind both creatures a bigger one showed up. Half of his body was that of a horse and the other half was that of a man. His human head was covered with a helmet and a glittering red eye could be seen though a narrow opening in the middle. He had fired a cannon attached from his right arm at the group.
- Run back! - yelled Agumon, the orange small dinosaur. – It's Centaurmon.
All the group turned back and ran to the end of the corridor as the blast hit the opposite wall.
Stewart took a flashbang from his belt.
- Cover your eyes! – Fire in the hole! – he yelled tossing the flashbang which exploded in front
of the approaching creature making him blind.
The plant like creature turned around and as Centaurmon crashed onto the corner of the corridor blinded by the flashbang she lashed her vines out wrapping Centaurmon's hind legs.
- Heel boy! – cried the plant like creature pulling on her vines making the creature stumble back.
- Nice job Palmon. – said Veemon leaping forward propelling himself to Centaurmon. – Vee
headbutt. – yelled Veemon hitting Centaurmon squarely on the chest making him fall completely to the ground knocking him out cold.
- Go, go ! – yelled Stewart at the rest of the group squeezing past Centaurmon.
As they advanced, the corridor turned darker and the landscape became gradually all covered by a viscid, sticky substance that as they got to the adjoining cargo area looked like a giant spider web.
Ahead of them they could see and hear the flashing of gunfire that illuminated the place briefly. Two soldiers were on the ground aiming erratically at the ceiling.
- Can you see it, Lowell? - yelled one of the soldiers.
- Shit! I can't see it! It went up again! - replied McIntosh.
- Tom! - yelled the female voice from the far side. It was Shirley who was hiding behind some crates with the others and ran off when she saw her son.
- Mom! Don't come close! - yelled Tom.
In that moment, Lowell was pulled by a thick thread to the ceiling. The scream was followed by gunfire followed by the assault rifle banging against the beams and finally clang onto the spider web covered floor.
- Die you bastard! – yelled McIntosh firing his rifle to the roof in all directions. – Where are you? – he yelled with an echo that could be heard all around the corridor. Then a thread came out of nowhere and pulled him into the darkness. (Wilhelm scream)
As McIntosh screams died out, Shirley ran to the arms of his son, when suddenly a thick thread surrounded her waist and pulled her out suddenly.
- Mom! – yelled Tom.
- Tom! – yelled Shirley with a shrill cry.
- Stand back! – yelled Agumon looking up to the ceiling. – Pepper breath! – cried the orange dragon spitting out a 5x5 inch fireball that illuminated the ceiling progressively as it traveled to the target.
With the impact a piercing cry could be heard and the ones below could glimpse the attacker briefly. It was a giant spider with a very large head and enormous fangs sticking out. The body on the back was large and at the forehead and the back it had a mark that looked like a skull.
Shirley plummeted to the ground that was covered with the viscid substance, breaking her fall. Fortunately, she had not gone up far or she would have been killed.
Tom was very angered at this.
- Rex, synchronize. Hyperthread to…. – but Agumon stopped him getting in front of them.
- Wait. This one is mine! – said Agumon.
Once again, as it happened before with Veemon the small dinosaur changed and became a huge dinosaur with a brown helmet with horns. This time the creature seemed to be in control of the transformation.
- Agumon….digivolve to….Greymon! – yelled Agumon before he changed, triggering a flashback on Rex.
Rex remembered what had happened after a drill where he was challenged to evolve.
- Brice! Get your butt here! – yelled one of the field Sergeants of the drill. – Why is this one not evolving? – yelled the sergeant.
Brice did not expect that drill happening without his supervision. He ran to the side of Rex.
- Are you sure you are doing it right? – asked Brice.
- Don't be a smartass with me Brice and tell me what's going on. – demanded the sergeant.
Brice made the motions that he pulled his laptop and punched some keys. Brice was sweating. He was trying to make something up to explain why this creature was not like the others.
- Well!...- said the sergeant.
- You are using the wrong terminology. Tell the marine to use this word. – said Brice replying to the sergeant.
- Hyperthread? What the hell is that? Why not "evolve", like the others?
- Didn't you want this fixed? – replied Brice stammering and raising his voice slamming the laptop closed. Rex was trembling close to his knee.
- Fine! - said the sergeant with a hiss. – Resume training RX-2001. On the double.
Rex remembered when he returned to the cell and was able to sneak out because he was able to cheat out the electrostatic field of the cell. He was able to go to Brice's studio.
- Hi Rex. – saluted Brice. - Sorry about what happened… I did not expect they would train today. The evolution is the only process I have not been able to replicate to perfection. – said Brice. – Use the abilities you have as much as you can. We may have to leave sooner than we thought.
Rex shook up from remembrance as Greymon leapt to battle the giant spider. Fred beckoned the group from the nearby crates on the farside of the room. The exit to the adjoining corridor was left open and now the spider was distracted.
The rest ran for the exit. Stewart picked Shirley from the ground and carried her because she had broken her ankle with the fall.
As they passed to the next corridor they could hear rumbling and battle sounds.
- What the hell was that? – asked Mandy looking back.
- Dokugumon. He has a very bad temper. – explained Gatomon. - Let's hope Greymon can hold him off while we get out.
They were heading for the South area cargo bay. From the scaffold upstairs they could see in the lower level soldiers shooting to a creature that was able to teleport quickly beating the soldiers unconscious.
He was a 6 feet rust colored skeleton with a helmet on the skull with bat wings on the side. A long drape covered his waist. His limbs were metallic and he held a scepter with a rounded sphere in one end, and the other end had the shape of a sickle.
- Fire! Fire! – yelled the Seargent on the ground to the remaining soldiers who fired their EMP weapons, however this digimon with a wave of his scepter was able to deactivate the probes before they made contact. With another motion of the scepter soldiers were sent flying like ragdolls against the walls.
- Stop that! – Tom heard from Rex in his head as he leapt down to the lower level.
- Rex! Get back here! – yelled Tom. – God damn it! - hissed Tom running to the stairwell so he could go down below.
- Tom. I want to fight! – said Rex to Tom as he saw him behind him.
The skeleton turned around and saw the creature at his feet and laughed out loud. He then noticed Gatomon and Veemon close to the other humans.
- You traitors will die for joining these parasites! – hissed the skeleton creature pointing the rounded side of the scepter to both digimon.
- Not without a fight Skullsatamon! – yelled Gatomon leaping forward.
- Tom, let's go. – demanded Rex.
- Here we go Rex. Hyperthread to Ursos Actos. – said Tom and Rex became a giant bear once
again now matching the size of the giant skeleton.
Rex swung with his claws and Skullsatamon blocked with his scepter and countered hitting Rex's belly making him stagger. Gatomon leapt and swung her glove clawed paws connecting the left side of Skullsatamon's face.
- You little pest! – yelled Skullsatamon swinging at Gatomon but she was too fast. She sommersaulted backward and stood in a menacing stance.
- Let's dance! – hissed Gatomon.
- How pathetic… - said Skullsatamon dodging an attack from Rex and then hitting him on the back of the head with scepter and then batted him sending Rex flying against the wall.
Rex got up bruised up but willing to fight.
- You are not even a digimon! You are not even a human! What a sad excuse of a creature you are. – taunted Skullsatamon.
Rex got angry and leapt forward attacking fiercely and Gatomon along with him.
They threw punches quickly but Skullsatamon blocked them with ease.
- I've had it! – yelled Skullsatamon banging the scepter on the ground.
A giant shockwave rattled the place and propelled Rex and Gatomon against the wall.
- Gatomon! – yelled Veemon and once again he transformed. – Veemon digivolve to X-Veemon.
The creature that had attacked Rex previously was on their side and now was joining the attack punching skullsatamon on the face sending him flying against crates nearby.
- No more Mr nice guy! – said Skullsatamon rising from the ground. The rounded edge of the scepter glowed with menace.
- Get to the ground! – Gatomon yelled to the group of humans who ducked.
With a yell the scepter glowed with a burst and it burnt objects directly in front of his path. Rex was severely burned and when he fell on the ground he went back to normal. X-veemon and gatomon were also hit and landed on the ground. Veemon was unconscious. Gatomon was barely able to stand.
Skullsatamon approached the three fallen with the intent of finishing them off.
- It was a nice try losers. Good bye. – said Skullsatamon but he was hit on the side by a haze of transparent shards.
- Diamond storm! – had yelled the creature that met the humans previously and attacked Fred.
- Renamon…..- said Gatomon weakly. – I'm glad you're here….. – said Gatomon fainting.
- What? You are helping this filth? – said Skullsatamon.
- It's not their fault we were imprisoned. – said Renamon calmly standing a few feet away.
- Don't give me that crap! – said Skullsatamon. – If you have decided to become their pet and fight me I'll tear you apart.
- I will also fight you Skullsatamon. – said another creature coming from the side door.
He looked like a 5 foot man wearing a pointy hat with a skull ornament. His face was partially covered and was wearing a cape. He was wearing long pointer leather boots and brandished a scepter as well.
- Fine. Your treachery won't go unpunished! You die here! – said Skullsatamon teleporting and hitting Renamon and the newcomer.
Renamon landed in pain but the new digimon was able to block the attack.
- How weak! Do you think I was using all my power against those pipskeaks? – taunted Skullsatamon.
- I know Skullsatamon! – said the new Digimon raising his scepter in the air.
- Cover your eyes! – yelled Renamon to the group of humans.
When he landed the scepter on the ground a blinding light invaded the place and tore apart crates and vehicles parked in the area. Tom, Mandy, Fred and Steward braced for impact. Steward embraced Tom's parents.
They felt they were lifted off the ground. The shockwave hit skullsatamon directly sending him flying out the ceiling of the warehouse. A huge cloud of dust formed on the ground. When it all cleared it did not remain peaceful for long because then one of the wall of the building bursted and two figures came in clashing. Doguwamon and Greymon were still fighting. Greymon looked scratched and burned by the spit acid from the opponent but Doguwamon was weaker.
- Nova flame! – yelled Greymon impacting Doguwamon directly sending him flying out the warehouse.
In that moment he changed back to Agumon and ran to help the others. Then the ground started to shake like a giant earthquake. The ground was moving like if the base was alive. The blastdoors next to the warehouse opened up.
Meanwhile at the South Command of the Army the red phone started ringing.
- South Command post. – picked the soldier. – Ok. Roger that. – said the soldier hanging up. – then he took out a procedure manual and looked for procedure 3140. When he looked what it was he started to make phone calls.
Skullsatamon was angry. He rose from the ground seething for revenge. Dokugumon had practically landed next to him. He was also very angry and wanted to get even. As they got up to go back to the warehouse somebody stopped them.
- Wait! – said the figure behind them.
- Lord Daemon… - said Skullsatamon kneeling in front of the tall creature wearing long red robes. His head was concealed in a hood from where horns came out of each side. He had bat like wings on his back and a medallion hung from his neck.
- Forget about them. – said Daemon with deep voice. - I have intercepted the radio transmissions in this world. It seems humans elsewhere want to come and wipe this area out and will also use a gigantic emitter to shut everything down.
- They will kill their own allies? – asked Dokugumon.
- It seems that that's what they want. We need to look for the portal to go back to our world and regroup. Leave the treacherous ones to die by the hands of the ones they consider protectors.
- Serves them right. – spat Skullsatamon.