A/N: I apologize for the long delay, but it has been a rollercoaster for me since my last update. I couldn't write since I had so many exams to prepare for as well as midterms. But now that is all over, I can finally write some chapters for this story and Eclipse (until finals that is). Anyhow, a huge thank you to those who have stayed patient with me. I will try to update weekly just like before until December.
Aone: Thanks for your enthusiasm. Here's the next chapter. I apologize for the delay, but college come first for me. But don't worry, I'll try to update on a regular schedule until finals.
Chapter 11
"So this is Cyber Kowloon…" Eri mumbled as she and the others landed on the roof of a building overlooking the landscape. Surrounding the roof they were standing on were many darkly colored buildings, while several pillars of blue light in the distance seem to stretch towards the dark blue sky. She watched as digital fish swam near them towards a large neon sign. She nor the others hadn't expected the Deep Web to look like a darkly lit city only illuminated by signs. It was odd seeing the place where 99% of the internet existed as in comparison to the Surface Web.
She turned towards Gatchmon, noticing how he was gazing at the city with an impatient gaze. She knew that now that they were here, he was not going to rest until he found Haru. But even then, she was worried about Gatchmon. While she wanted to find Haru too, she understood that searching for him blindlessly in a city as large as the one they were in would not do them any good. Especially when Gatchmon was as more impatient and angry as ever.
She wondered why Gatchmon had not gotten angry when Rei and Hackmon splitted up from them to find information on his brother. She was a bit agitated that he went off on his own, but she understand why. Still, she wondered if Gatchmon understood. She was certain that it was not healthy for him, even if he was data, to be so focused on one goal with negative emotions driving him. It was unsettling for her to think what might happen if those emotions got the best of Gatchmon. She did not want that to happen to him.
"Humans! More humans are here!" A voice suddenly called out.
Eri turned along with the others seeing hooded masked figures jumping onto the roof and surrounding them. They pointed their fingers at her and Astra as they called out in a spiteful tone at them.
"Humans are disgusting!"
"You don't belong here!"
"Let's kill them!"
Dokamon immediately glared at the hooded figures as he placed himself in front of Eri protectively as Musimon did the same for Astra. Eri watched them as they did this and gazed down at her Appli Drive in her hand with a hesitant expression. She knew that she and Astra couldn't evolve their Appmon to Ultimate. There was a time limit. And after that time, they would be too weak to press on further in the city. She had no idea what to do.
Seeing Eri's expression understanding what she thinking, Dokamon turned to Gatchmon with clear worry on his face.
"What should we do Aniki?"
"More humans?" Gatchmon suddenly said, ignoring Dokamon's question. His question caught all the hooded masked figures attention as they stopped approaching him and the others. Gritting his teeth, Gatchmon took a step forward with anger coursing through him as he yelled.
"Where is he?! Where is Haru?!"
All the hooded masked figures backed away in fear and surprise from Gatchmon's outburst. They spoke in whispers, while one took a step forward raising a weapon at Gatchmon.
"We don't know where that human went." The figure said with a snarky tone. "But you can bet we won't let those two humans by you get away."
Gatchmon gritted his teeth angrily. While he was glad that none of the figures in front of him had touched Haru, he hated the fact that they did not where he went. Judging by the size of Cyber Kowloon, it was going to be difficult to find Haru on their own. It would take too long. And time was not on their side. Especially when Leviathan still needed to be stopped.
"It's Minerva! Minerva is back!" One figure suddenly called out pointing a shaky cloaked hand at Eri. Gatchmon widened his eyes and he and the other Buddy Appmons turned towards Eri and Astra seeing that the Seven Code bands that they had just received were glowing bright blue. On the screens flashing was Minerva's mark.
"Run!" Another figure called. Immediately, all the figures turned away in fear and jumped off the roof. Once again, Gatchmon and the others found themselves alone, realizing that they had just been saved by Minerva.
"Minerva's mark… They were afraid of it…" Eri said as she stared at the glowing mark on her Seven Code band's screen. The glowing eventually resided and the mark disappeared making the screen turned dark.
"All the Appmon here must work for Leviathan then." Gatchmon said, turning towards the stairs that led down to the ground.
"Wait! Those were Appmon?" Astra asked, his expression widening in surprise.
"Appmon here wear masks and hoods to hide their identities." Gatchmon answered coldy with very little emotion in his voice.
Eri immediately noticed this and bit the bottom of her lip. She opened her mouth ready to speak her mind to Gatchmon, but stopped hearing her Seven Code band give off sounds, while Astra's did the same. They both looked down at their Seven Code bands seeing a red light appear on the screen flashing at the top right. She and Astra widened their eyes as their Appmon stared up at them understanding what they were thinking. The flashing red light was Haru. Minerva had helped them locate him. They could quickly find them now.
"Haru…" Gatchmon muttered, his eyes watering slightly as he stared at the flashing red dot of light as if it were his lifeline. He rubbed his tears away and stared up at Eri and Astra with a determined expression.
"Let's go find him."
Both Astra and Eri nodded, but Eri frowned slightly. She walked forward to Gatchmon and kneeled down to him, placing her hand on his shoulder as she spoke.
"Gatchmon, please be patient. I know you want to find Haru badly, but you have to be calm. If you won't, I'll give you a huge explosive punch to remind you."
Gatchmon lightly smiled, but Eri could tell it was not full heartedly. Still, she accepted it. She knew if she tried to lecture Gatchmon anymore, it might make it more worse. The only person that could fix things was Haru. He was Gatchmon's Buddy after all.
After Gatchmon expressed his thanks to Eri, the two Appli Drivers and the Appmon set of to the direction of the red dot that was on their Seven Code band's screen. They walked towards the stairs, making their way down, finding themselves in an alley surrounded by shops. Appmons standing at the shops wearings cloaks and masks watched them make their way past them, but none of them made a move to hurt them no longer. Eri was thankful for this. She didn't want Dokamon and any of their Buddy Appmons to waste their energy to evolve and fight them. It was not worth it.
Eventually, the two Appli Drivers and their Appmon found themselves at a bridge that was connected to two exits, one of them leading up to the top floor. Eri glanced around uncertain about the place they were at now. But one glance at her band reassured her that they were at the right place. What they needed to do next was take the exit that would lead them to the top floor.
But before she and the others could do so, they heard screams coming from the other side of the bridge. She turned surprised, watching as Appmons ran out of the exit crying out in fear as a large white creature appeared from around the corner. One of its tentacles wrapped around one of the Appmons and lifted it in the air, destabilizing the Appmon as he cried out in agonizing pain. She could only watch horrified as the Appmon bursted into a rainbow particles, as if it never existed.
"W-what is that?" Eri heard Astra say in shock. Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could tell he was just as horrified as she was.
"A worm." Gatchmon answered, with his magnifying glass over his eye. He placed it back on its spot on his helmet as he continued speaking.
"They're programs that corrupt data."
Gatchmon turned his head over to the other exit that led to the top floor and glanced back at the others.
"We need to hurry and get over there." He said, pointing over to the exit.
Both Eri and Astra nodded and they began to run along with their Appmon towards the elevator. However, before they could reach it, a certain movement caught the corner of Eri's eye. She turned to see the worm moving out of the exit it had appeared out of, diving in towards them. She and the others were forced to duck, barely missing its white tentacles that had been outstretched to grab them. When they all stood back up, she realized that their exit was now blocked by the worm.
"Eri-chan!" Eri heard Dokamon say in fear, watching as he got in front of her protectively. She turned and looked at Gatchmon seeing that he was looking up at the worm with a tense expression. She knew he would do anything to get on that elevator, but she couldn't let him risk his life for that nor Dokamon and Musimon. Especially after knowing what the worm did to that Appmon it grabbed.
"Look out!" They heard a voice call out from behind them.
They all turned seeing a hooded masked Appmon dived towards the worm, spraying red paint at it from it's head. The worm immediately became agitated at this action and directed its attention towards the Appmon raising its tentacles at it. The Appmon narrowly dodged the tentacles and moved away from the worm, as it began to follow it. The two Appli Drivers and Buddy Appmons watched this, realizing that the elevator was no longer blocked. The Appmon was trying to save them
"What are you waiting for?!" They heard the Appmon call out to them as it dodged another tentacle that moved to grab it. "Go!"
Eri didn't want to, but she followed the Appmon's command along with the others. They ran towards the elevator and watched as the Appmon dodged another tentacle. It looked over to them to see if they had listened, causing it to miss the worm's movement. Before Eri could call out for the Appmon, one of the worm's tentacles finally found its target, wrapping it around him. Immediatly, the Appmon cried out in pain as its body began to destabilize. The longer she heard its agony, the more Eri couldn't stand it. Unknownst to her, Gatchmon couldn't either.
He moved out of the elevator giving her no time to react as he ran towards the worm and the Appmon wrapped in its tentacle. He raised his arm as he took a leap at the worm.
"Gatchi Claw!" Gatchmon called out, as his glowing blue clawed hand me its target, causing the worm to cry out as it released its victim. Wasting no time, Gatchmon helped the Appmon up, and together they ran for the elevator as the worm behind them regained its bearings and began to give chase.
"Hurry!" Eri and Astra cried out, fearful that they wouldn't make it.
But they did. They barely made it inside the elevator inches away from the worm's tentacles. When they did, Astra quickly pulled down the gate and Eri pressed the button to go up. Everyone moved to the side of the elevator as the tentacles found their way into the elevator. But as the elevator began to go up, the worm was forced to pull its tentacles back.
No one said a word as the elevator went up. Eri wondered if it was because everyone was still trying to process what just happened. She was afraid when Gatchmon went out of the elevator to save the Appmon. Not because Gatchmon was one of her friends, but because he was Haru's Buddy. She wouldn't know how to explain to Haru when they found him what happened if Gatchmon hadn't succeeded. She wouldn't know what she would do if something like that happen to Dokamon.
Pushing that thought away, Eri took a deep breath and turned over to Gatchmon, seeing that he was silently gazing at the ground. She was sure that he was thinking about what would have happened if he had been caught by one of the worm's tentacles.
"Gatchmon," Eri said, breaking the silence. "Are you okay?"
Gatchmon blinked and looked up to Eri, silently nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."
"Thank you for saving me!" The Appmon that Gatchmon had saved called out from the corner. They all turned towards it as it took off its mask and hood.
"I'm Drawmon, a paint Appmon! I know I had saved you first, but thanks for saving my life as well!"
Eri smiled as she shook her head. "No, we should be thanking you. You risked your life for us."
"Anyway, what are humans like you doing in such a bad place?" Drawmon asked. "Just because you're data now doesn't mean you're on easy street. If your data gets erased, even you humans will die. Don't you know that?"
"W-what do you mean?" Eri asked, as she and Astra both widened their eyes in shock.
"In order for humans to enter the internet, their entire being as a biological life form is converted into information. If that information disappears, your biological self also disappears."
"Seriously, you mean we can die here?" Astra asked in fear.
Drawmon nodded as Dokamon and Musimon stared at Eri and Astra with worried expressions. Knowing that was bound to make Eri and Astra more fearful of moving deeper into Cyber Kowloon. Unlike them, they had lives in the real world and families and friends. They understood that this would be a challenge for them to overcome in the battle against Leviathan and their journey to press on further to find Haru.
"We can't give up." Gatchmon suddenly said, looking up at Eri and Astra with a determined gaze. "We've come this far to find Haru."
"Haru?" Drawmon asked.
"He's a friend we are looking for." Eri explained with a solemn expression. "He was taken by an Appmon that worked for Leviathan."
"I see… And do you have any idea where he might be? Not many Appmon here take kindly to humans." Drawmon asked.
"Why's that?" Astra questioned.
Drawmon glanced down at the ground with a sorrowful look. "They work for Leviathan. Awhile back, right after Leviathan took over everything, it was made a rule that we shouldn't trust humans and despise them. But some of us don't. We wish that things could be changed here, but we don't have the courage to go against Leviathan."
"But I would if I could!" Drawmon said, looking back up at Eri and the others with a small smile. "Would you allow me to help you find a friend?"
"Of course!" Eri answered, happy that they had finally found an Appmon that didn't hate humans. She was glad to see that Leviathan hadn't completely made all Appmons obey it.
"So where are you guys heading?" Drawmon asked, curiously.
Both Eri and Astra glanced over to each other and turned back to Drawmon, showing their Seven Code bands at him. On the band's screens was a glowing red dot, except it was much closer than now.
"We're heading to where this red dot is." Eri answered as she lowered her hand down.
"Given how close that red dot is, I think you're friend must be at Leviathan's hideout." Drawmon said, as he placed his hand under his chin in thought.
"Leviathan's hideout?!" Gatchmon said, his expression widening in fear. Before he could say anything else, the elevator finally stopped and they turned seeing that they were at a new path. Astra narrowed his eyes and opened the gate, while Eri looked over to Gatchmon knowing that he was thinking about the worst what was happening to Haru.
"Gatchmon," she said, snapping him out of his thoughts and causing him to look up at her. "Don't give up or I'll give you an explosive punch."
Gatchmon stared at her in silence for serveral seconds and gave a slight chuckle. "Sorry." He mumbled as he looked back to Drawmon with a small smile.
"Drawmon, do you want to help us find my Buddy?"
"Of course!" Drawmon said with a smile.
Gatchmon smiled and together, he and the others moved out of the elevator towards the direction the red dot was at on Astra and Eri's bands. As they got closer to the flashing dot, the faster they moved until eventually they broke into a run. They ignored their surroundings not caring that they were open for attacks from any of the Appmon that were there staring at them. Only one thing was on their mind and that was to find Haru.
They finally found themselves at a rectangular field surroundings by buildings. Eri and the others stopped, breathing heavily as they looked around hearing voices of Appmons that could be seen in the windows and balconies of the buildings screaming with hate at them. Eri bit the inside of her cheek and glanced down at her Seven Code band, hoping that they had made a mistake. But they didn't. They were at the spot the red dot on her band's screen was flashing at.
"Drawmon, what is going on here?!" Gatchmon yelled with anger noticeable in his voice.
Eri looked up from her band and watched as Drawmon suddenly turned and sprayed paint at them. She and Astra barely missed them, noticing that Drawmon was now gazing at them with burning hate.
"I hate you two! I hate humans!"
"Y-you are working for Leviathan the whole time?" Astra asked, narrowing his eyes at the thought they had been trick.
Drawmon simply laughed, confriming it. "Yes! Of course I was! As if I would work with humans! After all, Leviathan isn't someone you can take on easily!"
"That's right you human scums!" An Appmon shouted from one of the balconies.
"Humans would just keep abusing us in the past…" Another Appmon shouted.
"But thanks to Leviathan, we are free!" A few Appmon shouted, raising their fists to the sky.
Drawmon smiled at these cheers and pointed its finger at Eri and the others. "You have no place here in this world, so your data is about to get erased!"
Gatchmon gritted his teeth as he and the others noticed the gate that was near them began to shake as loud sounds could be heard being made inside of it. They watched as the gate shook and crumbled as gray smoke appeared from the debris. When it finally lifted, they found a huge worm with a shell on top of it staring at them coldly with its large slithering tentacles. They could only stare at the worm as it leered over them in horror realizing one thing.
They were in trouble.
