Chapter 10: Rescued by a Devil

Two Goburimon walked down the hallway of Ogre Hideout, heading for the back room where prisoners were kept. At the moment the gang only had two prisoners on ice, but the boss was particularly interested in them. Though why he was interested in a human and a wimpy Agumon was beyond the Goburimons' understanding. But they didn't need to understand, they just needed to do what the boss ordered.

"What do you think?" asked one.

"I think we should roast 'em," said the other.

"Really? I think we should fry 'em."

"Don't be stupid. Roasting keeps the meat juicy."

"Don't call me stupid, stupid! Frying gives the meat a nice crunch to it!"

The two Digimon were nearing the prison door and one took the lead to open it. But as its hand neared the handle -

"Pepper Breath!"

The door exploded outward in a hurricane of flame and struck the lead Goburimon in the face. It went down like a sack of rocks. The other Goburimon just gaped, its club hanging limply from its hand. It never saw you coming as you leapt through the dissipating fire to charge past it. But your aim was a little off - your foot connected solidly with the Goburimon's face and it went down as you followed through.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," you mumbled.

Agumon followed you to make sure that the Goburimon were out cold. "Good kick!"

"Thanks. Now which way do we go?"

You had both been walking quickly down the hall and had paused at a T-junction with two doors. Suddenly the door on the right opened and a mob of Goburimon confronted you.

"Go left!" Agumon shouted and you both fled through the door and down another dim hallway.

You could hear the footsteps of the Goburimon as they chased the two of you down but your vision had narrowed to the door at the end of the hall. Could you and Agumon reach it before the evil monsters caught you?

You barely made it. The two of you rushed through the door and slammed it closed behind you. There was no lock so you prodded Agumon to keep running.

But when you turned around, you found that you'd stumbled into an occupied room. It was jam-packed with Goburimon, all of them staring at you in surprise. There was no sound and no movement for a few heartbeats.

"Crap!" you shouted.

"Hey!" called a voice. Your eyes moved to the back of the room and your heart stopped when you saw the speaker. It was Fugamon again! "I remember you!"

"Double crap!" It occurred to you to run back through the door, but your ears caught the sound of the horde of Goburimon bursting into the room behind you. And the only other escape would've been through a second door clear across the room behind Fugamon. You were well and truly trapped.

"Don't let that human get away!" Fugamon ordered. "We have a score to settle!"

"Okay, boss!" Now the Goburimon were starting to get their act together and they surrounded you and Agumon threateningly. "Come here, little human."

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon attacked in your defense, spitting fireballs at the ring of Goburimon. But captivity seemed to have weakened him - the goblins easily swatted away the projectiles and kept coming closer.

One of them rushed you and grabbed your arm. You cried out and pulled away but its grip on you remained firm. "Let go!"

Then suddenly a dark blue blur was zipping through the air. "Shadow Slam!"

Tsukaimon struck the Goburimon's head, flinging it away from you with incredible force. It was thrown into several others and they all fell to the ground in a tangled mess.

"Tsukaimon!" you cried. You'd never been so relieved in your whole life.

"Shar!" Barely slowing, he dove into your arms and hugged you tight. "I was so worried about you!"

You squeezed him back with all the strength you had.

"Boom Bubble!"

"Lightning Paw!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Pepper Breath!"

Goburimon were flying willy-nilly through the air as the techniques struck them, but you and Tsukaimon were wrapped up in your own little world. Then you heard your name called and saw T.K. and Kari come through the doorway.

"T.K.! Kari!" you said happily.

"Shar!" they replied with equal joy.

"Sorry to break up this touching reunion, but now it's time for you to die!" Fugamon bellowed. He leapt over his fallen henchmen and headed straight for you and Tsukaimon. "This time I'll finish you for good!"

Your legs were paralyzed and you could only let out a weak scream of fear. Tsukaimon sprang from your numb arms with a fierce roar to challenge Fugamon. There was a loud electronic whine and a brilliant flash of light.

"Tsukaimon digivolve to - Devidramon!"

The light faded and a huge black figure materialized before you, smelling of leather and smoke. A long tail whipped past your head and struck a low table nearby, sending it crashing into the wall where it shattered. There was a great shrieking roar that rattled every loose object in the room.

Devidramon slammed into Fugamon and flung him to the ground. He spread his four wings as if to fly but the room was too restricted - the larger pair smacked into the ceiling with a sound like a cloth sheet being shaken out sharply. The unexpected impact made Devidramon recoil and hiss with annoyance.

The momentary distraction let Fugamon regain his footing and he counterattacked immediately. "Evil Hurricane!"

The punch of concentrated wind struck Devidramon in the chest and he grunted but remained firm. He quickly refocused on Fugamon as the ogre Digimon charged with his club raised high to strike. Almost lazily Devidramon slapped Fugamon aside and lifted his arms; his long red claws began to glow eerily.

"Crimson Nail!" Devidramon darted forward with astonishing speed and his wicked claws arced down, stabbing deeply into Fugamon.

With a defeated cry, Fugamon vanished into multicolored particles. A hush fell over the room.

The quiet was split by a growl and Devidramon turned around and fixed you with a glare. A thrill ran up your spine as you got your first look at his face - he had a long snout like Agumon's, though it was gray, and he was covered by a leathery cloth all over his body and most of his face. He had four blood-red eyes that pierced your soul and four huge leathery wings. His arms were long and almost spindly, but his torso and legs were thickly muscled.

With a soft rustle he took a step closer to you; but before you could panic he moved to straighten up and his massive head struck a low-hanging light fixture.

"Ow!" he rumbled and rubbed his head.

Just like that the illusion of a fierce dark dragon was dispelled and you realized that inside the terrifying façade was your little squishy Tsukaimon. He was certainly good at the whole "digi-balling" thing.